OBITUARY

Actress Dorothy Janis dies: one of the last silent screen performers

(PHOTO: Chickeyonthego/flickr)

By Andre Soares

Alternative Film Guide

March 11, 2020

Dorothy Janis, who made a few film appearances at the dawn of the sound era and was the widow of bandleader Wayne King, died Wednesday morning in the Phoenix suburb of Paradise Valley, according to musician Lew Williams, who received the news from Janis’ granddaughter. Janis, one of the last surviving performers to have played at least one major role in silent films, was either 98 or 100, depending on the source.

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OBITUARY

Merlin Olsen dies at 69; Hall of Fame football star later became actor

Olsen was one-quarter of the Los Angeles Rams’ Fearsome Foursome as well as a familiar face from ‘Little House on the Prairie.’ He also served for 15 seasons as football analyst for NBC and CBS.

By Keith Thursby

Los Angeles Times

March 11, 2010

Merlin Olsen, a Hall of Fame defensive lineman with the Los Angeles Rams who was a charter member of the team’s famed Fearsome Foursome, then made a remarkably smooth transition into careers in broadcasting and acting, has died. He was 69.

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OBITUARY

Actor Corey Haim dies at age 38 Former ’80s teen heartthrob had struggled with drug addiction

LOS ANGELES – Corey Haim, a 1980s teen heartthrob for his roles in “Lucas” and “The Lost Boys” whose career was blighted by drug abuse, has died. He was 38.

Haim died at 2:15 a.m. Wednesday at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, Los Angeles County coroner’s Lt. Cheryl MacWillie said.

An autopsy will determine the cause of death and there were no other details, she said. Police Sgt. Michael Kammert said there’s no evidence of foul play.

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OBITUARY

Lionel Jeffries, a veteran British actor-director, dies at 83

Los Angeles Times

February 20, 2010

Lionel Jeffries, 83, a British actor-director whose 50-year career included portraying Grandpa Potts in the film “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,” died Friday in London after a long illness, the Associated Press reported.

He also wrote the screenplay for and directed the 1971 film “The Railway Children,” which the British Film Institute named one of Britain’s 100 best films in 1999. It was one of five movies he directed.

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OBITUARY

Kathryn Grayson dies at 88; MGM singing star in 1940s, ’50s

A dark-haired beauty with a heart-shaped face and brilliant coloratura voice, she appeared in the musicals ‘Anchors Aweigh,’ ‘Kiss Me Kate’ and ‘Show Boat.’

By Dennis McLellan

Los Angeles Times

February 19, 2010

 Kathryn Grayson, an MGM singing star in the 1940s and early ’50s in musicals such as “Anchors Aweigh,” “Kiss Me Kate” and “Show Boat,” has died. She was 88.

Grayson died Wednesday of natural causes at her home in Los Angeles, said publicist Dale Olson.

A dark-haired beauty with a heart-shaped face and a brilliant coloratura voice, Grayson signed with MGM as a teenager and made her screen debut in “Andy Hardy’s Private Secretary,” starring Mickey Rooney, in 1941.

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OBITUARY

J.D. Salinger, reclusive author of ‘The Catcher in the Rye,’ dies at 91

(Associated Press)

Salinger, whose 1951 novel created a lasting symbol of teenage discontent, died Wednesday at his remote New Hampshire home. He refused interviews for years and published his last story in 1965.

By Elaine Woo

Los Angeles Times

January 28, 2010

J.D. Salinger, one of contemporary literature’s most famous recluses, who created a lasting symbol of adolescent discontent in his 1951 novel “The Catcher in the Rye,” died Wednesday. He was 91.

Salinger died of natural causes at his home in Cornish, N.H., the Associated Press reported, quoting the author’s son in a statement from Salinger’s literary representative.

Perhaps no other writer of so few works generated as much popular and critical interest as Salinger, who published one novel, three authorized collections of short stories and an additional 21 stories that only appeared in magazines in the 1940s. He abandoned publishing in 1965, when his last story — “Hapworth 26, 1924″ — was published by the New Yorker. Rarely seen in public and aggressively averse to most publicity, he was often called the Howard Hughes of American letters.

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OBITUARY

Zelda Rubinstein, who played psychic in ‘Poltergeist,’ dies at 76

The 4-foot-3 actress made her film debut in 1981; she later was a regular on the TV show ‘Picket Fences.’ Rubinstein also was an advocate for little people and an early AIDS activist.

By Dennis McLellan

Los Angeles Times

January 27, 2010

Zelda Rubinstein, the diminutive character actress with the childlike voice who was best known as the psychic called in to rid a suburban home of demonic forces in the 1982 horror movie “Poltergeist,” has died. She was 76.

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OBITUARY

Pernell Roberts dies at 81; played eldest son on TV’s ‘Bonanza’

The Cartwright clan, reunited for the sixth season of “Bonanza” in 1964: From left, Adam (Pernell Roberts), Little Joe ( Michael Landon), Ben (Lorne Greene) and Hoss (Dan Blocker). (NBC)

Roberts quit the popular western at the height of its popularity. He later starred in the TV series ‘Trapper John M.D.’

By Elaine Woo

Los Angeles Times

January 25, 2010

Pernell Roberts, a versatile actor best remembered for his portrayal of the handsome, eldest Cartwright son on the classic television western “Bonanza” and later as the lead character in the medical drama “Trapper John, M.D.,” died at his Malibu home Sunday. He was 81.

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OBITUARY

Jean Simmons dies at 80; radiant beauty was known for stunning versatility

Over a career that spanned more than 60 years, she appeared in about 55 feature films and nearly as many television productions.

By Valerie J. Nelson

Los Angeles Times

January 23, 2010

Jean Simmons, a radiant British actress who as a teenager appeared opposite Laurence Olivier in “Hamlet” and emerged a star whose career flourished in the 1950s and 1960s in such films as “Guys and Dolls, “Elmer Gantry” and “Spartacus,” has died. She was 80.

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OBITUARY

Beverly E. Fisher dies at 67; Errol Flynn’s final girlfriend

Beverly Fisher, then named Beverly Aadland, costarred with Errol Flynn in his last film, 1959’s “Cuban Rebel Girls.” (Associated Press)

Formerly Beverly Aadland, she was 15 when her affair with the swashbuckling actor began. Two years later she was there when he had a fatal heart attack.

By Rong-Gong Lin II

Los Angeles Times

January 10, 2010

Beverly E. Fisher, who became famous at 17 as Beverly Aadland, the final girlfriend of 50-year-old swashbuckling Hollywood actor Errol Flynn, has died. She was 67.

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