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 HOLLYWOOD 
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'Designing Women' star Dixie Carter dies :candle

(CNN) -- Actress Dixie Carter, best known for her role as Julia Sugarbaker on the TV show "Designing Women," has died, her agent said Saturday. She was 70.

No other details were provided.

Carter was drawn to roles portraying steely Southern women. One of her more recent roles included a guest appearance on the show "Desperate Housewives," for which she was nominated for an Emmy in 2007.

"This has been a terrible blow to our family," her husband, the actor Hal Holbrook, told "Entertainment Tonight." "We would appreciate everyone understanding that this is a private family tragedy."

Carter and Holbrook met while filming the CBS-TV movie, "The Killing of Randy Webster."

Carter was born in 1939 in McLemoresville, Tennessee. In addition to her role as feisty Julia Sugarbaker, she's been on other television series including "Family Law" and "Diff'rent Strokes."

She also had a long career on Broadway and appeared on stage in "Southern Comforts" with her husband in 2006.

In addition to Holbrook, to whom she has been married since 1984, Carter is survived by two daughters, Mary Dixie and Ginna. :heart

http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/TV/04/10/dixie.carter.obit/index.html

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Sun Apr 11, 2010 6:38 am
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Post Re: HOLLYWOOD
‘Wizard of Oz’ Munchkin actor dies at 94 :candle

updated 9:29 a.m. CT, Sat., April 10, 2010

Meinhardt Raabe, who played the Munchkin coroner in "The Wizard of Oz" and proclaimed in the movie that the Wicked Witch of the East was "really most sincerely dead," has died. He was 94.

His caregiver, Cindy Bosnyak, said Raabe — pronounced RAH'-bee — died Friday morning at a hospital in Orange Park, Fla. He was one of the few surviving Munchkins from the 1939 film.

Bosnyak said he complained of a sore throat at his retirement community before collapsing and going into cardiac arrest. He was taken to Orange Park Medical Center, where he later died, she said.

"He had a headful of hair at 94 and he ... remembered everything everyday," she said. "To me he was a walking history book, very alert."

Raabe was one of the 124 Munchkins in the film classic and one of only nine who had speaking parts. He was 22 years old and a show business veteran, earning money for college as a "midget" performer, as they were called then, when the movie was shot in 1938.

Raabe portrayed the diminutive Munchkin official who solemnly pronounces the witch dead after Dorothy's farmhouse lands on her: "As coroner I must aver, I thoroughly examined her, and she's not only merely dead, she's really most sincerely dead."

His costume included a huge hat with a rolled brim, and dyed yak hair was used for his handlebar mustache and long beard.

In a 1988 Associated Press interview, he said he had no idea the movie would become a classic, because at the time of its release, it was overshadowed by "Gone With the Wind."

"It was only after CBS got the film in 1956 and used it for their promotions that it became as well known," he said.

"There is nothing in the picture that dates it," he said. "There are no old vintage cars or old vintage streetcars. ... It's a fantasy picture that will be fantasy for generations to come."

‘It’s an ego trip’
Raabe was about 3½ feet tall when the movie was made. He eventually grew to about 4½ feet. He toured the country for 30 years in the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile, promoting hot dogs as "Little Oscar, the World's Smallest Chef." :heart

He also enjoyed going to Oz nostalgia events and getting fan mail.

"It's an ego trip," he said. "This is our reward, the nostalgia."

In 2005, his book "Memories of a Munchkin: An Illustrated Walk Down the Yellow Brick Road," co-written by Daniel Kinske, was published. In later years, he lived in a retirement community in Penney Farms, Fla.

In 2007, Raabe was one of seven surviving Munchkins on hand when the Munchkins were honored in Los Angeles with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Raabe said he couldn't remember what he was paid for his role in the movie, but that it was very low. :roflmao

"By today's standards, people would say you were crazy to work for that," he said.

Raabe, born in Watertown, Wis., in 1915, was a member of the Midget City cast at the Chicago World's Fair in 1934. He also performed at other fairs, including the San Diego Exposition in 1935.

"By working at these world's fairs as a midget, I was able to work my way through the university," Raabe said. He earned a bachelor's degree in accounting from the University of Wisconsin and, years later, a master's degree in business administration from Drexel University.

Raabe married Marie Hartline, who worked for a vaudeville show called Rose's Royal Midget Troupe, in 1946. She died in a car crash in 1997.

Raabe said some little people resented the word "midget," but that was the description widely used when he was in show business.

"My wife and I were both in show business, were both midgets. My wife worked from 1929 to 1932 as a member of Rose's Royal Midgets, the largest midget troupe in vaudeville," he said.

OzFest takes off
Raabe became a regular visitor to the annual OzFest in Chittenango, N.Y., the birthplace of "Oz" author L. Frank Baum, after reading about it in a magazine in the late 1980s.

"Meinhardt wrote us a letter and said, 'You know I'm a Munchkin. I was in this movie. Would you ever be interested in having me come.' Of course, after we stopped screaming ...," organizer Barbara Evans said in 1998. :lol

"Things didn't start to get really big until Meinhardt first came and we started getting the Munchkins to come," said Evans. :heart

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36360621/ns/entertainment-celebrities/

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Sun Apr 11, 2010 6:45 am
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Post Re: HOLLYWOOD
Godspeed, Georgy Girl!

Actress Lynn Redgrave dies at 67 :candle
By Alan Duke, CNN
May 3, 2010 12:35 p.m. EDT

(CNN) -- Actress Lynn Redgrave died Sunday after a seven-year battle with breast cancer, according to her family.

Redgrave, 67, was surrounded by her children at her Connecticut home when she died, the family said in a statement Monday morning.

The star of stage, film and television was twice nominated for an Academy Award: for best actress in 1966 for her role in "Georgy Girl" and for best supporting actress in the 1998 film "Gods and Monsters."

"She lived, loved and worked harder than ever before," the family said. "The endless memories she created as a mother, grandmother, writer, actor and friend will sustain us for the rest of our lives. Our entire family asks for privacy through this difficult time," the statement said.

Redgrave is from "a family of actors, embracing as it does more than five generations," she wrote on her official website.

She is the younger sister of Oscar-winning actress Vanessa Redgrave and the aunt of the late actress Natasha Richardson.

Her parents, Sir Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson, were British stage and film actors.

Her paternal grandparents, Roy Redgrave and Margaret Scudamore, were stage and silent film actors.

Redgrave teamed with daughter Annabel Clark in 2004 to produce the book "Journal: A Mother and Daughter's Recovery from Breast Cancer."

"I thought I was living very fully before this happened," she said in 2005. "But in comparison, no, I really wasn't. I wasn't taking the time to notice things. I didn't see things as brightly or as sharply or as memorably as I do now.

"I really don't let a moment slide by. I just don't. It's a big price to pay, isn't it, to have to have cancer to learn that? But it is in the end, I have to say, a price worth paying," Redgrave said.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/Movies/05/03/lynn.redgrave.obit/index.html?hpt=T3

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Mon May 03, 2010 9:50 am
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Post Re: HOLLYWOOD
Legendary singer, actress Lena Horne dead at 92 :candle
By Alan Duke, CNN

(CNN) -- Singer, dancer and actress Lena Horne died at New York-Presbyterian Hospital on Sunday night, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Horne was 92.

She was one of the first African-Americans to sign a long-term movie contract with a major Hollywood studio when she joined MGM in 1942.

Horne's expressive voice made her a singing star after Hollywood failed to give her roles that might have made her a big screen starlet.

Horne complained she was used as "window dressing" in white films, mostly limited to singing performances that could be easily edited out for play in southern theaters.

The light-complected Horne refused to go along with studio plans to promote her as a Latin American. :shock:

She later said she did not want to be "an imitation of a white woman."

Her childhood was nomadic as she traveled with her actress mother, but much of her time growing up was spent in Brooklyn, New York, where she was born in 1917.

Horne was 16 when she began her show business career as a dancer at Harlem's Cotton Club. She later became a singer there, playing to packed houses of white patrons, with band leaders Cab Calloway and Duke Ellington.

She toured as a featured singer with a white band in 1940, a first for an African-American, according to her official biography.

Her first film role came in 1938 in "The Duke is Tops," but her next movie didn't come along for another four years.

She was given a screen test by MGM and signed to a movie contract after a studio scout saw her performing in a New York club.

"I think the black boy that cleaned the shoes and me were the only two black people except the maids who were there working for the stars," Horne said in a CNN interview. "And it was very lonely, and I wasn't very happy."

Still, Horne said she was grateful that her World War II-era films -- including "Cabin in the Sky" and "Stormy Weather" -- were seen by black and white soldiers.

"But after I realized I would only go so far, I went on the stage," Horne said.

With only subservient roles available for a black actress in Hollywood in the 1940s, Horne turned to recording top-selling songs.

Horne said performing for live audiences was what she loved most.

"I'm always happy when I'm surrounded by people to react and feel and touch," she said. :heart

She has a son and daughter from a first marriage that ended in 1944.

Horne married again in 1947 to Lennie Hayton, who was then MGM's music director.

She was an active supporter of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s civil rights movement. Horne was there when King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech on the Lincoln Memorial steps in 1963.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/05/10/obit.lena.horne/index.html?hpt=T2

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Mon May 10, 2010 6:34 am
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Post Re: HOLLYWOOD
Farewell and Godspeed! :candle

Art Linkletter dies at 97

Art Linkletter, the easygoing, smooth-voiced emcee famed for his long-running hosting gigs of the radio show “House Party” and the TV shows “People Are Funny” and “Kids Say the Darndest Things,” has died, CNN has confirmed. He was 97.

Linkletter rose to fame as a radio announcer in San Diego, later becoming a program director. In 1944, he launched “Art Linkletter’s House Party,” a daytime CBS radio show that moved to television in 1952 and ran until 1969.

His nighttime show, “People Are Funny,” started on radio in 1942 and ran on NBC television from 1954 to 1961. According to Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh’s “The Complete Directory to Primetime Network and Cable Shows, 1946-Present,” the show featured everyday guests who would be interviewed by Linkletter and then be asked to do a stunt. The result for those who failed at the stunt was often a pie in the face or a splash of water.

Linkletter also hosted a short-lived quiz show, “The Art Linkletter Show,” in 1963.

But he’s probably best remembered for “Kids Say the Darndest Things,” which began as a segment on “House Party.”

Linkletter would ask several children their thoughts on various topics; their responses were often hilariously absurd. A collection of the children’s sayings eventually became one of the best-selling books of the era.

At its height, Linkletter’s fame was notable enough to make him part of Milton Bradley’s “Game of Life,” which featured Linkletter’s endorsement and his photo on the game’s $100,000 bill. His 1960 biography was called “Confessions of a Happy Man.”

http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2010/05/26/art-linkletter-dies-at-97/?hpt=C1

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Wed May 26, 2010 1:28 pm
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I thought he was already gone, what a surprise to find he'd lived to that age!! ;)

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Gary Coleman dies after brain bleeding :candle
By Alan Duke, CNN

(CNN) -- Actor Gary Coleman, who had suffered from a brain hemorrhage from an accident in his home Wednesday, died Friday in a Utah hospital, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Family members and close friends were at his side when life support was terminated at 12:05 p.m. (2:05 p.m. ET), Janet Frank said.

Coleman's wife, Shannon Price, issued a short statement Friday afternoon saying details of how the former child actor died will be made public later.

"Now that Gary has passed, we know he will be missed because of all the love and support shown in the past couple of days," Coleman's spokesman, John Alcantar, said in a written statement. "Gary is now at peace and his memory will be kept in the hearts of those who were entertained by him throughout the years."

Coleman, 42, was rushed by ambulance to a hospital after the accident in his Santaquin, Utah, home Wednesday, Frank had said in a statement released earlier Friday.

Later Wednesday night he was taken to another hospital -- Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo -- where he had been listed in critical condition, she said.

While Coleman appeared "lucid and conscious" Thursday morning, his condition worsened by the afternoon, leaving him unconscious and on life support, she said.

Coleman is best known as the wisecracking youngster Arnold on TV's "Diff'rent Strokes" from the late 1970s to the mid-1980s.

"There was a touch of magic and a different stroke in Gary Coleman," said TV legend Norman Lear, who produced the show. "He was the inspiration behind his show's title."

http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/TV/05/28/gary.coleman.dies/index.html?hpt=T2

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Fri May 28, 2010 6:30 pm
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Post Re: HOLLYWOOD
I hate cancer! :evil

'Easy Rider' actor Dennis Hopper dies :candle

(CNN) -- Dennis Hopper, the one-time Hollywood enfant terrible who portrayed such indelible characters as "Easy Rider's" biker Billy and "Blue Velvet's" and huffing villain Frank Booth, died of prostate cancer Saturday morning at his home in Venice, California, his wife said. He was 74.

Hopper, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer last October, was surrounded by his children when he died, his wife, Victoria Hopper. told CNN.

Funeral arrangements have not been decided, but Hopper's wish was to be buried in Taos, New Mexico, "his heart home," Victoria Hopper said. :heart

The American film icon made his last public appearance on March 26, 2010, when his star was dedicated on Hollywood's Walk of Fame.

Over almost six decades as a performer and director, his career spanned a range of Hollywood trends: TV's live "Golden Age," films about disillusioned teenagers, a variety of Westerns, anti-establishment dramas, offbeat indie films, action blockbusters and edgy cable series. He often played villains, occasionally lost souls, almost all with a force and empathy.

There was Dennis Hopper before "Easy Rider," generally known as a clean-cut, if rebellious, character actor who had built a career of supporting roles in Westerns, youth-oriented films and TV shows.

There was Dennis Hopper after "Easy Rider," for years one of Hollywood's wild men, an actor with a penchant for alcohol, drugs and outlandish behavior, and later a go-to performer to play villains and commanding misfits.

And then there was "Easy Rider," the 1969 film that he directed and co-wrote, and in which he played a dissolute, countercultural biker named Billy. Thanks to the film, Hopper helped blaze a trail for the young, aggressive filmmakers who would take Hollywood by storm in the 1970s.

Dennis Lee Hopper was born in Dodge City, Kansas, on May 17, 1936. He grew up in San Diego, California, and established an early reputation for stage work.

Making his way to Hollywood while still in his teens, he quickly earned roles in several films and TV shows, including "Rebel Without a Cause" (1955), in which he met James Dean, who became a friend and lifelong model, Hopper once said.

Dean was "a guerrilla artist who attacked all restrictions on his sensibility. ... I imitated his style in art and in life. It got me in a lot of trouble," Hopper recalled.

Hopper also appeared in "Giant" with Dean, who died in a car accident in September 1955.

"He's the greatest actor that I ever saw. I never saw anyone that could even touch him," he told CNN's Larry King in 2005.

"He moved better than any actor. He's like an expressionist to me. He not only filled himself with emotion, but he, like -- he did things that were so unbelievably physical."

Hopper maintained a somewhat uneven career through the mid-'60s, appearing in such films as the John Wayne vehicle "The Sons of Katie Elder" (1965) and the Paul Newman classic "Cool Hand Luke" (1967) as well as several TV shows -- often Westerns.

But it was 1967's psychedelic "The Trip," directed by "King of the B's" Roger Corman, that exposed the actor to an antiestablishment audience and two of his "Easy Rider" colleagues, actor Peter Fonda and "Trip" writer Jack Nicholson.

In early 1968, Hopper led the group through his own low-budget film, a biker road movie about two disenchanted riders who -- thanks to some drug money -- travel from Los Angeles to New Orleans. "A man went looking for America and couldn't find it anywhere," went the words of its famous tagline.

"Easy Rider" was finally released in the summer of 1969, and became a sensation -- after 1967's "Bonnie and Clyde" and "The Graduate," the breakthrough that set free the baby boomer generation on Hollywood. (Ironically, another of Hopper's 1969 films was "True Grit," an old-fashioned Western that earned John Wayne an Oscar.)

The film, made on the fly by Hopper and co-star Fonda for less than $500,000, became one of the highest-grossing movies of its time and helped make a star of Nicholson, who played an ill-fated, alcoholic lawyer.

"It was just a very special time when the lunatics really got to take over the asylum for a minute," Hopper told Reuters in 2008. "For a brief moment there, there really seemed to be an independent film movement. Then it was over."

But even at the height of "Rider's" success, Hopper was developing a reputation as a difficult artist, using drugs and drinking heavily. He and Fonda -- best friends in the movie -- weren't that way in real life, he told People in 2002.

"Peter and I weren't friends. By the time we started the film, Peter tried to have me fired. He considered me out of control, and I was," Hopper said. "We made a good film, but it wasn't made out of love."

Given carte blanche to direct his next movie, Hopper made "The Last Movie" (1971) an indulgent failure that made the list of the Medved brothers' "50 Worst Films of All Time" in their 1978 book of that name.

Hopper descended into drug and alcohol abuse in the '70s. A marriage to Mamas and Papas singer Michelle Phillips famously lasted eight days in 1970, and he barely sustained his career as an actor, though he gave a notable turn as the crazed photographer in Francis Ford Coppola's "Apocalypse Now" (1979).

"The alcohol was awful. I was a terrible alcoholic," Hopper told CBS' Charlie Rose. "I mean, people used to ask how much drugs I did. I said, 'I only do drugs so I can drink more.' I was doing the coke so I could drink more. I mean, I don't know any other reason. I'd start drinking in the morning. I'd drink all day long."

After hitting bottom -- he had a breakdown in a Latin American jungle -- Hopper entered rehab in the early '80s, and his career began a renaissance. He was determined to do 1986's "Blue Velvet," about the sordid underbelly of a small town, reportedly telling writer and director David Lynch, "I've got to play this part, David, because I AM Frank."

Frank Booth -- fond of profanity, Roy Orbison and inhaling a mysterious gas -- earned Hopper wide acclaim. He received a best supporting actor Oscar nomination for his next film, "Hoosiers" (1986), in which he played the drunk father of a high school basketball player.

Hopper never strayed far from the A list after that, giving notable turns in "Speed" (1994)," "Basquiat" (1996), "Jesus' Son" (1999) and the TV show "Crash."

In recent years, Hopper was as well known for his political views -- he self-identified as a Republican in liberal Hollywood -- as his work. (He did play a Democratic presidential candidate in 2008's "Swing Vote," however.)

Among his recent roles were a villain in the TV series "24" and an officer in the short-lived TV show "E-Ring." He was starring in the TV version of the Oscar-winning film "Crash" at his death, playing a conniving record producer. He was named a chevalier of France's Order of Arts and Letters in 2008.

Hopper was married five times and had four children, ranging in age from 47 to 6. :huh

His personal life continued its ups and downs to the end. In January, while Hopper was suffering from prostate cancer, he filed for divorce from his fifth wife, Victoria.

Hopper's lawyer argued in the divorce case that his estranged wife's presence was hampering his fight with cancer, but the judge allowed her to continue living in the family's Venice compound with their daughter.

But it's his films for which he'll be remembered -- and there was something for everybody, he told People in 2002.

"I can be in the 24-hour grocery store at midnight, and suddenly someone come up and says, 'Man, you know I loved you in 'Chainsaw Massacre 2,' " Hopper said with a laugh. "Well, 'Chainsaw Massacre 2' is not my favorite film to be remembered for. Then there was 'Hoosiers,' which was a very likable, inspirational sports film. Kids will come up asking for the coach's autograph.

"Somewhere in my strange career, someone has liked something."Go in peace!

http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/05/29/obit.dennis.hopper1/index.html?hpt=C1

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Sat May 29, 2010 4:27 pm
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Post Re: HOLLYWOOD
This one set me on my ass (No Pun Intended) not only because I LOVE Dennis & his work but I am also a HUGE Advocate for Prostate Cancer and I had NO CLUE he was suffering from it?

We lost a good guy today, the Blue Ribbons should fly in his honour!

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Sat May 29, 2010 9:21 pm
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I will never, ever forget Some Like It Hot! Funniest movie evah, IMHO. God with God and Rest in Peace!

Screen Star Tony Curtis Dead at 85 :candle

Tony Curtis, one the beefcake screen stars of the 1950s who went on working for the next four decades, has died, his daughter, Jamie Lee Curtis, told Entertainment Tonight. The cause was cardiac arrest in his Las Vegas home early Wednesday, the Clark County coroner told the Associated Press.

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20401718,00.html?hpt=T2

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Thu Sep 30, 2010 6:16 am
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Leslie Nielsen, star of 'Airplane!' and 'Naked Gun,' dead at 84 :candle

"I am serious -- and don't call me Shirley." :roflmao :crylaugh :wavey

(CNN) -- Leslie Nielsen, whose longtime career as a square-jawed dramatic actor took a sudden turn into comedy with gut-busting spoofs like "Airplane!" and "The Naked Gun," has died at age 84, his family said Sunday.

The Canadian-born Nielsen's career reached back into the early days of television, when he made frequent appearances on live drama series like "Goodyear Playhouse."

He played the earnest starship captain in the 1956 science-fiction classic "Forbidden Planet" and made regular appearances on a wide range of TV dramas into the 1970s, including "Hawaii Five-O."

He also played the captain of an overturned ocean liner in the 1972 disaster movie, "The Poseidon Adventure."

Much of that changed in 1980, when he was cast as a doctor aboard an endangered jetliner in the gag-a-minute disaster-movie parody "Airplane!"

Read more here: http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/Movies/11/29/obit.leslie.nielsen/index.html?hpt=T2

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Mon Nov 29, 2010 9:17 am
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Blake Edwards, director of Breakfast at Tiffany's and Pink Panther films, dies at 88
Actor-turned-director found fame with romantic classic but carved out a niche in comedy, particularly his collaborations with Peter Sellers, and with his wife, Julie Andrews

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Blake Edwards, the director of Breakfast at Tiffany's, 10 and eight Pink Panther movies, has died aged 88. One of Hollywood's most successful specialists in comedy, Edwards never won an Academy award for any of his films, but was given an honorary Oscar in 2004 citing "his writing, directing and producing an extraordinary body of work for the screen." He married Julie Andrews in 1969 and directed her in a strings of films – most notably The Tamarind Seed (1974), S.O.B. (1981) and Victor/Victoria (1982).

Edwards was born in Tulsa in 1922 and started off as an actor, appearing in around 30 films between 1942 and 1948. He moved into scriptwriting, starting with the westerns Panhandle and Stampede, and then started directing in the mid-50s, honing his skills across a variety of genres. His aptitude for comedy became apparent with the Cary Grant vehicle Operation Petticoat, and thereafter he never looked back, creating a signature style of loose-limbed, freewheeling humour that astutely worked a fine line between high camp and chic smut.

Breakfast at Tiffany's, based on Truman Capote's novel, distilled the Edwards style to perfection, and gave Audrey Hepburn arguably her most iconic role. Shortly afterwards he began his long association with Peter Sellers, with the first Pink Panther movie. Sellers would play Inspector Clouseau seven times for Edwards, including the frankly ill-advised 1982 film The Trail of the Pink Panther, stitched together from out-takes after Sellers' death. By then though, Edwards had lost sympathy for his star, telling Playboy in that year: "Peter Sellers became a monster. He just got bored with the part and became angry, sullen and unprofessional."

Edwards' career dipped after a dismal experience filming the wacky-races style comedy The Great Race in 1965; it was only by returning to the Panther movies in the mid-70s did he regain his former lustre. His most significant late hit was the Dudley Moore/Bo Derek film "10", but a badly-received remake of Truffaut's The Man Who Loved Women in 1982 meant another career dip. He never recaptured his position as a comedy master, even though he managed to attract actors of the calibre of Jack Lemmon (That's Life, 1986) and Bruce Willis (Sunset, 1988). His final feature film credit, 1993's Son of the Pink Panther, attracted more sour notices as he attempted to revive the Panther brand.

However, his marriage to Andrews remained intact, and he is survived her her, and his four children – two from his first marriage to Patricia Walker, and two adopted children with Andrews.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/dec/16/blake-edwards-dies-88


Sad - I liked some of his work - like "10", and the Pink Panthers!


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Elizabeth Taylor dead at 79 :candle

Los Angeles (CNN) -- Elizabeth Taylor, the legendary actress famed for her beauty, her jet-set lifestyle, her charitable endeavors and her many marriages, has died, her publicist told CNN Wednesday. She was 79.

Taylor died "peacefully today in Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles," said a statement from her publicist. She was hospitalized six weeks ago with congestive heart failure, "a condition with which she had struggled for many years. Though she had recently suffered a number of complications, her condition had stabilized and it was hoped that she would be able to return home. Sadly, this was not to be."

Read more here: http://www.cnn.com/2011/SHOWBIZ/03/23/obit.elizabeth.taylor/index.html?hpt=T1&iref=BN1#

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Wed Mar 23, 2011 6:38 am
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James Arness dies at 88; TV's Marshal Dillon on landmark 'Gunsmoke' series :candle :heart

James Arness, the towering actor best known for portraying Marshal Matt Dillon, the strong and commanding symbol of frontier justice on the landmark TV western series "Gunsmoke," died Friday. He was 88.

Arness died of natural causes at his home in Brentwood, said family spokesperson Ginny Fazer.

Gunsmoke" debuted on CBS on Sept. 10, 1955, and, with the start of "The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp" on ABC four days earlier, a new era in television horse operas was launched: the adult western.

But whereas "Wyatt Earp," starring Hugh O'Brian, ended its run in 1961, "Gunsmoke" ran until 1975, far outdistancing its many competitors and becoming one of the longest-running prime-time series in network TV history.

In the process, Arness became one of television's most enduring stars, returning as Dillon in a handful of "Gunsmoke" TV movies in the late '80s and early '90s.

At 6 feet 7, Arness was a bigger-than-life actor who amply filled the boots of the mythic Dodge City lawman in the series, which earned praise for breaking TV western-genre conventions with its strong dramatic stories and psychologically complex characters.

Read more here: http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/la-me-james-arness-20110604,0,7660912.story

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Fri Jun 03, 2011 11:06 am
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Post Re: HOLLYWOOD
Sniff, sniff, boo hoo

One of my fav's...

Gets kleenex...


'Columbo' actor Peter Falk dies at 83 :candle

(CNN) -- Actor Peter Falk, who rose to fame on a shambling manner and a rumpled raincoat as the TV detective Lt. Columbo, has died. He was 83.

Falk died peacefully at his Beverly Hills home Thursday evening, according to a statement released by his friend, attorney Larry Larson. The cause of death was not released.

Though he was a renowned movie and stage actor -- he earned two Oscar nominations in the early '60s and won an Obie (an off-Broadway honor) for his performance in Eugene O'Neill's "The Iceman Cometh" -- he is best remembered for the polite, raincoat-wearing, Peugeot-driving Los Angeles police detective who always wanted to know "just one more thing."

Read more here: http://www.cnn.com/2011/SHOWBIZ/celebrity.news.gossip/06/24/obit.falk/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

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Fri Jun 24, 2011 1:48 pm
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Columbo was teh best detective series ever done, RIP Peter

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Fri Jun 24, 2011 3:13 pm
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Post Re: HOLLYWOOD
Sad indeed - Peter was one on my fav's

Hamba Kahle Peter ....


:candle

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Mon Jun 27, 2011 2:37 pm
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Post Re: HOLLYWOOD
Not really, Hollywood, I know but no where else to put this.

RIP Smokin' Joe. I will never forget the Thrilla in Manila!


Former heavyweight boxing champ Joe Frazier dies :candle

CNN) -- Former heavyweight boxing champion Joe Frazier died Monday, after he was diagnosed with liver cancer, his family said in a statement.

Frazier was 67.

"We The Family of ... Smokin' Joe Frazier, regret to inform you of his passing," the statement said. "He transitioned from this life as 'One of God's Men,' on the eve of November 7, 2011 at his home in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania."

He fought fellow boxing legend Muhammad Ali three times, including the famous "Thrilla in Manila" fight in 1975.

"The world has lost a great champion," Ali said in a statement early Tuesday. "I will always remember Joe with respect and admiration. My sympathy goes out to his family and loved ones."

Star boxer Floyd "Money" Mayweather offered to pay for Frazier's funeral.

"My Condolences go out to the family of the late great Joe Frazier," read a post on Mayweather's official Twitter feed. "#TheMoneyTeam will pay for his Funeral services."

Frazier, nicknamed "Smokin' Joe," used his devastating left hook with impunity during his professional career, retiring in 1976 with a 32-4-1 record and staging one last comeback fight in 1981.

Read more here: http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/07/sport/joe-frazier-obit/index.html?hpt=hp_c1

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Tue Nov 08, 2011 6:37 am
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Post Re: HOLLYWOOD
Legendary blues singer Etta James dies :candle

LOS ANGELES — Etta James, a legendary singer known for her enduring classic “At Last,” died today at 73 at Riverside Community Hospital, in California, with her husband and sons at her side from complications of leukemia, her longtime friend and manager, Lupe De Leon, said.

“It’s a tremendous loss for her fans around the world,” he said. “She’ll be missed. A great American singer. Her music defied category.”

The platinum blonde’s first hit was a saucy R&B number about sex, and she was known as a hell-raiser who had tempestuous relationships with her family, her men and the music industry. Then she spent years battling a drug addiction that she admitted sapped away at her great talents.

James’ spirit could not be contained — perhaps that’s what made her so magnetic in music; it is surely what made her so dynamic as one of R&B, blues and rock ‘n’ roll’s underrated legends.

“The bad girls … had the look that I liked,” she wrote in her 1995 autobiography, “Rage to Survive.” ”I wanted to be rare, I wanted to be noticed, I wanted to be exotic as a Cotton Club chorus girl, and I wanted to be obvious as the most flamboyant hooker on the street. I just wanted to be.”

Read more here: http://blog.chron.com/celebritybuzz/2012/01/legendary-blues-singer-etta-james-dies/

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Fri Jan 20, 2012 11:21 am
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Post Re: HOLLYWOOD
Whitney Houston RIP

Whitney Houston Cause of Death : Big Pharma To Blame?

Whitney Houston is dead and her cause of death seems to be down to drugs like Xanax—not street drugs, as many believed. Instead, it appears that Whitney could have overdosed on prescription drugs and that has caused some to place blame on "big pharma" AKA the pharmaceutical companies that peddle the drugs to doctors who then peddle them to patients.
Snip

http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474981106953

Go in peace dear Whitney...we will sure miss that amazing voice of Yours!


:heart :candle :heart

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Mon Feb 13, 2012 2:38 am
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Imagine treating a drug addict with more drugs albeit prescription...

When will the insanity stop...

RIP Whitney

:candle :candle :candle

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Mon Feb 13, 2012 6:39 am
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Post Re: HOLLYWOOD
Mike Wallace Dead: '60 Minutes' Icon Dies At 93

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Broadcasting legend Mike Wallace has died, CBS News announced on Sunday.

He was 93. Wallace died on Saturday night in a long-term care center in New Canaan, Connecticut. He was surrounded by family.

:candle :candle :candle

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Sun Apr 08, 2012 7:49 pm
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Post Re: HOLLYWOOD
'America's oldest teen' Dick Clark dies
By Alan Duke, CNN

updated 7:04 PM EDT, Wed April 18, 2012

Los Angeles (CNN) -- Broadcast icon Dick Clark, the longtime host of "American Bandstand," has died, publicist Paul Shefrin said. He was 82.

Clark suffered a heart attack while at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica for an outpatient procedure, his publicist said. "Attempts to resuscitate were unsuccessful."

The family has not yet decided if there will be a public memorial service for Clark, although Shefrin said, "There will be no funeral."

Read more here: http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/18/showbiz/dick-clark-obit/index.html?hpt=hp_c1

Go with God, good man! You gave me many wonderful years of great music! :candle

TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes was one of the funniest shows evah!

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Wed Apr 18, 2012 4:33 pm
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Post Re: HOLLYWOOD
Donna Summer dies at age 63

The Queen of Disco Donna Summer died Thursday morning from cancer, TMZ reported. She was 63.

Known for belting it out on “Last Dance” and “MacArthur Park,” the singer had been trying to continue making music while keeping her condition secret.

snip

Read more here: http://blog.chron.com/celebritybuzz/2012/05/donna-summer-dies-at-age-63/

Last dance
Last dance for love
Yes, it's my last chance
For romance tonight

I need you by me
Beside me, to guide me
To hold me, to scold me
'Cause when I'm bad
I'm so, so bad

So let's dance the last dance
Let's dance the last dance
Let's dance this last dance tonight

Last dance
Last dance for love
Yes, it's my last chance
For romance tonight


Oh my goodness! Donna Summer you made me fall in love with East Texas. We danced the Last Dance many, many a night during our courtship.

McArthur's Park, too.

Love to love you, baby

Bad girls


Oh my! That is the sound track of my romance! :(

Go with God, girl. :candle :heart

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Thu May 17, 2012 9:34 am
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Post Re: HOLLYWOOD
America’s sheriff Andy Griffith dead at 86

By Gael Fashingbauer Cooper

Actor Andy Griffith, who won the hearts of 1960s TV viewers with his role as gentle Sheriff Andy Taylor in “The Andy Griffith Show,” then returned as a 1980s country lawyer in “Matlock,” died Tuesday at 86. The news was confirmed to North Carolina television station WITN by Bill Friday, former president of the University of North Carolina and a Griffith friend. :candle

Griffith began his entertainment career with comic monologues and moved into movies, debuting in 1957’s “A Face in the Crowd” with Patricia Neal. But it was as the widower sheriff Andy Taylor on “The Andy Griffith Show” that he really made his mark. The show, which also starred a young Ron Howard as Griffith’s son Opie, and comedian Don Knotts as bumbling Deputy Barney Fife, ran from 1960-1968. Its setting, in the fictional small-town of Mayberry, became almost as famous as any one episode.

snip

Read more here: http://todayentertainment.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/03/12543460-americas-sheriff-andy-griffith-dead-at-86?lite%C2%A0

Go with God, Sheriff Andy. You brought joy to so many people and showed us an America that was...

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Tue Jul 03, 2012 7:24 am
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