Joan Plowright, the acclaimed UK star of stage and screen who was married to Laurence Olivier for 28 years, died Thursday, January 16, her family has said. She was 95.
Born in 1929 in Lincolnshire, she made her stage debut in 1954 and subsequently co-starred with Sir Laurence Olivier in the original London production of John Osborne’s The Entertainer, before appearing in the film version of that production.
In 1992, she appeared in Mike Newell’s Enchanted April as Mrs. Fisher, securing an Academy Award nomination and a Golden Globe for her performance. Other major performances included The Scarlet Letter, 101 Dalmatians and Tea with Mussolini. On TV she appeared in HBO’s Stalin, for which she also won a Golden Globe in the same year as Enchanted April, and the likes of Encore! Encore!.
Plowright was married to Olivier from 1961 to his death in 1989, working closely with the UK icon at the National Theatre, which he set up. She was made a Dame in the 2004 New Year Honour’s list.
*Frank Hildebrand, a producer and production manager who most recently worked on Fear the Walking Dead, has died. He was 73.
Tony Roberts, the actor who collaborated with such filmmakers as Woody Allen and Sidney Lumet, has died. He was 85.
Legendary Bay Area news anchor Dennis Richmond, one of the nation’s first Black anchors of a major market TV newscast who spent 40 years with Oakland’s KTVU, died Wednesday, the station announced. He was 81.
Irv Gotti, the Murder Inc. Records founder and music producer who worked with DMX, Aaliyah, Kanye West and Jay-Z, has died. He was 54.
David Edward Byrd Dies: ‘Follies’ Artist Whose Iconic Psychedelic Posters Spanned Rock And Broadway Was 83
Olga James, the singer and actor who costarred with Harry Belafonte in Otto Preminger’s classic 1954 musical film Carmen Jones, died January 25 at an assisted living facility in Los Angeles. She was 95.
Brian Murphy, star of 1970s UK sitcoms Man About the House and George and Mildred, died Sunday morning at his home in Kent in England. He was 92.
Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu, who starred in hit 2001 series Meteor Garden, has died from pneumonia at the age of 48.
Lee Joo-Sil, a veteran actress known for her role in Netflix’s hit Squid Game and who appeared in such films like Train to Busan over the course of her six decade career, has died at her family home in Uijeongbu at the age of 81.
John Erwin Dies: Voice Actor Behind ‘He-Man’ And Morris The Cat Was 88
Animation Producer & Designer Jerry Eisenberg Dies Age 87
Born December 14, 1937 in Los Angeles — the son of animation and comics artist Harvey Eisenberg (Tom and Jerry) — Jerry Eisenberg attended CalArts and started his career in 1956 as an in-betweener for MGM, where his father had also worked. When the animation studio closed just seven months later, the young artist moved on Warner Bros. Cartoons, as an assistant to animator Ken Harris.
Eisenberg was hired at Hanna-Barbera Productions (founded by MGM alums William Hanna and Joseph Barbera) in 1961. Here, he notably co-created The Peter Potamus Show, provided character designs for Wacky Races and Super Friends, and worked in the layout department for hits like The Jetsons, Jonny Quest and The Huckleberry Hound Show.
Kevyn Major Howard, known for appearing as Rafterman in the 1987 Stanley Kubrick Vietnam War film Full Metal Jacket, has died at the age of 69.
Born Jan. 27, 1956 in Montreal, Quebec, Howard soon moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting. His credits on TV include Cagney & Lacey; The A-Team; MacGyver; Magnum, P.I. and The Outsiders. His last credited appearance is in Crusade in 1999.
On the silver screen, Howard has acted alongside Clint Eastwood in 1983’s Sudden Impact, James Caan in 1988’s Alien Nation and Charles Bronson in 1982’s Death Wish II.