Best New Horror #26, page 57
American character actor Russell [David] Johnson, who played “The Professor” in TV’s Gilligan’s Island (1964-67) and several spin-offs, died of kidney failure on January 16, aged 89. He appeared in the movies It Came from Outer Space, This Island Earth, Roger Corman’s Attack of the Crab Monsters, The Space Children, The Horror at 37,000 Feet and The Ghost of Flight 401. On TV Johnson was in episodes of Adventures of Superman, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Thriller (‘The Hungry Glass’), Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, The Invaders, Wonder Woman, Beyond Westworld, ALF, Monsters and Meego.
Another American TV legend, Canadian-born comedy actor Dave Madden (David Joseph Madden) who co-starred in The Partridge Family (1970-74), died of congestive heart and kidney failure the same day, aged 82. Madden was a regular on Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In (1968-69) and appeared in episodes of Bewitched, Fantasy Island and Sabrina the Teenage Witch. He was also in the TV movies Skinflint: A Country Christmas Carol and More Wild Wild West, and contributed voice work to the animated Charlotte’s Web (1973).
Ruth Robinson Duccini, the last female member of the diminutive troupe of actors to portray Munchkins in The Wizard of Oz (1939), also died on January 16 after a short illness. She was 95.
British-born actress Sarah [Lynne] Marshall died in Los Angeles of stomach cancer on January 18, aged 80. She appeared in episodes of Thriller (‘God Grante That She Lye Stille’), Twilight Zone (‘Little Girl Lost’), Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, My Favorite Martian, Get Smart, The Wild Wild West, Star Trek (‘The Deadly Years’), Strange Report and Orson Welles’ Great Mysteries. Many years later she turned up in the horror movie Bad Blood and its sequel, Bad Blood: The Hunger.
Cuban-born character actor Luis Ávalos died in California on January 22, aged 67. He had recently suffered a heart attack. Between 1972-77 Ávalos played “Igor” on PBS’ The Electric Company, and his other TV credits include episodes of Highcliffe Manor and The Incredible Hulk. He was also in The Ghost of Flight 401, Ghost Fever, The Butcher’s Wife and Wishcraft.
British character actress Lisa Daniely (Mary Elizabeth Bodington), who co-starred in the TV series H.G. Wells’ The Invisible Man (1958-60), died on January 24, aged 83. She was in the film Curse of the Voodoo (aka Curse of Simba) and episodes of TV’s The New Adventures of Charlie Chan, Out of the Unknown, Doctor Who (‘The Space Pirates’), Strange Report, Menace and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. In her late seventies she recorded some audio shows of Sapphire and Steel with David Warner and Susannah Harker.
Former child actress Ann Carter, who appeared in Val Lewton’s production The Curse of the Cat People (1944), died after a long battle with ovarian cancer on January 27, aged 77. She also appeared in I Married a Witch, The Two Mrs. Carrolls, The Boy with Green Hair and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (1949). She retired from acting in the early 1950s after contracting polio in her early teens.
American cult star Christopher Jones (William Franklin Jones), who starred as the rebel rock star in Wild in the Streets (1968), died of cancer on January 31, aged 72. He also appeared in 3 in the Attic and an episode of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. before suffering a nervous breakdown following Sharon Tate’s murder and retiring from acting in 1970. In later years Jones was described as “reclusive and eccentric”. He was married to actress Susan Strasberg between 1965-68.
Oscar-winning Austrian actor and director Maximilian Schell died of pneumonia on February 1, aged 83. His film credits include Hamlet (1960), The Castle, Disney’s The Black Hole, The Phantom of the Opera (1983, as the “Phantom”), The Eighteenth Angel, John Carpenter’s Vampires, Deep Impact and Darkness (aka T.M.A.).
46-year-old American actor Philip Seymour Hoffman was found dead with a hypodermic needle in his arm in the bathroom of his New York apartment on February 2. He died from acute mixed drug intoxication, with heroin, cocaine, benzodiazepines and amphetamines all found in his system. The Oscar-winning Hoffman appeared in My Boyfriend’s Back, Red Dragon, The Invention of Lying, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 and Part 2 (as “Plutarch Heavensbee”). In the 2012 movie The Master he basically played L. Ron Hubbard.
American actor Richard Bull, who was often cast as doctors, died of pneumonia on February 3, aged 89. Best known for his recurring roles on TV’s Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and Little House on the Prairie, he also appeared in Hammer’s failed pilot Tales of Frankenstein, The Satan Bug, In Like Flint, The Andromeda Strain (1971), Sweet Sweet Rachel, Heatwave!, Mr. Sycamore and The Golden Gate Murders, along with episodes of Men Into Space, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Bewitched, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Herbie the Love Bug, Amazing Stories and Highway to Heaven.
Chinese actor and director Wu Ma (Hung-Yuan Feng) died on February 4, aged 71. His many films include The Demons in the Flame Mountain, Spooky Encounters, Mr. Vampire, Xiao sheng meng jing hun, A Chinese Ghost Story (1987) and Mr. Vampire Saga.
Former Hollywood child star Shirley [Jane] Temple, who received a special Academy Award when she was six, died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease on February 10, aged 85. She made her movie debut in 1932 and appeared in The Bluebird (instead of The Wizard of Oz) and the TV series Shirley Temple’s Storybook (1958-61) before retiring from acting in the early 1960s. Her signature song, ‘On the Good Ship Lollipop’, sold 500,000 sheet music copies. A staunch Republican and vocal supporter of the Vietnam War, she became an American ambassador to Ghana and later, Czechoslovakia. Temple’s first husband (1945-50) was actor John Agar.
Pioneering American comedian and actor Sid Caesar (Isaac Sidney Caesar) died on February 12, aged 91. In a long show business career he appeared in William Castle’s The Busy Body and The Spirit is Willing, Curse of the Black Widow, America 2100, The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu, The Munsters’ Revenge, Alice in Wonderland (1985), The Wonderful Ice Cream Suite (based on the story and play by Ray Bradbury) and Mark Hamill’s Comic Book: The Movie, along with episodes of TV’s General Electric Theatre (‘The Devil You Say’) and Amazing Stories.
American actor and director Ralph [Harold] Waite, who starred as the patriarch on The Waltons (1972-81), died on February 13, aged 85. He was also in the movies Red Alert, Crash and Burn, Timequest and Spirit, along with episodes of Time Trax, the revived The Outer Limits and Carnivàle.
British character actor Ken Jones died of bowel cancer the same day, aged 83. He had small roles in the films Murder by Decree, Whoops Apocalypse and Stanley’s Dragon, and appeared in episodes of TV’s The Guardians, Thriller (1974), Dead Ernest, Mr. Majeika and Goodnight Sweetheart.
48-year-old John [Paul] Henson, the son of Muppets creator Jim Henson, died of a heart attack while building a snow igloo with one of his daughters on February 14. As a Muppet performer and the voice of “Sweetums” he contributed to Muppet Treasure Island, Muppets from Space, It’s a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie and The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz.
American character actress Mary Grace Canfield died of lung cancer on February 15, aged 89. Best known for her recurring role on TV’s Green Acres (1965-71), she also appeared in the 1983 movie of Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes and episodes of Thriller, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Bewitched and Tabitha.
Scottish-born character actor Christopher Malcolm, who portrayed one of the rebel pilots in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, died of cancer the same day, aged 67. His other credits include A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1968), The Spiral Staircase (1975), Shock Treatment (1981), Superman III, Highlander, Labyrinth, Eat the Rich, and episodes of Strange Report, Thriller (1975) and Whoops Apocalypse. Malcolm played the first “Brad Majors” in the original 1973 stage production of The Rocky Horror Show, and he was artistic director for the Rocky Horror Company from 1989-2004, responsible for world-wide licensing and production rights of the cult stage musical.
British actor Malcolm Tierney died of pulmonary fibrosis on February 18, aged 75. He appeared in Star Wars, The Medusa Touch and Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, along with episodes of TV’s Out of the Unknown and Doctor Who.
American actor, writer and director Harold [Allen] Ramis died of complications of autoimmune inflammatory vasculitis on February 24, aged 69. Best remembered as the writer of Ghostbusters (1984) and its sequel, in which he co-starred as “Dr. Egon Spengler”, Ramis also directed the comedies Groundhog Day, Multiplicity, Bedazzled (2000) and Year One.
Canadian-born ballet dancer turned actress Gail Gilmore (Gail Gerber, aka “Gale Gerber”/”Gail Gibson”) died of lung cancer on March 2, aged 76. She arrived in Hollywood in 1963 and made just ten films, including Village of the Giants, The Loved One and The Magic Christian (both co-scripted by her long-time companion, Terry Southern) and a couple with Elvis Presley.
British-born character actress Sheila MacRae (Sheila Margaret Stephens, aka “Sheila Stephenson”) died in New Jersey on March 6, aged 92. She had been suffering from dementia and had recently undergone surgery. Best known for her role as “Alice Kramden”in the revived 1960s series of The Honeymooners, MacRae also appeared in Bikini Beach, How to Stuff a Wild Bikini, and an episode of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Her first husband was actor Gordon MacRae (1941-67).
American voice-over Hal Douglas (Harold Cone) died of pancreatic cancer on March 7, aged 89. His distinctive baritone voice can be heard on thousands trailers intoning “In a world…” and he also provided the narration for Waterworld.
82-year-old Belfast-born character actor James Ellis, best known for his role as “Sgt. Bert Lynch” in BBC-TV’s Z Cars (1962-78), died of a stroke in Lincolnshire on March 8. His other credits include Where the Bullets Fly, Leapin’ Leprechauns! and its sequel Spellbreaker: Secret of the Leprechauns, and Dragonworld: The Legend Continues, along with episodes of TV’s Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense (‘Mark of the Devil’), Doctor Who, Woof! and Eternal Law.
Irish character actress Eileen Colgan died after a brief illness on March 10, aged 80. She was in The Secret of Roan Inish and I Sell the Dead.
American actor Richard Coogan died on March 12, aged 99. A former radio announcer and stage actor, he became the first “Captain Video” in 1949-50 for the daily TV series Captain Video and His Video Rangers, and went on to appear in episodes of several TV series during the 1960s.
Japanese actor Ken Utsui died of respiratory failure on March 14, aged 82. He portrayed his country’s first superhero, “Super Giant” (aka “Starman”), in a series of short films in the late 1950s, which were edited into the 1965 US movies Invaders from Space, Evil Brain from Outer Space, Attack from Space and Atomic Rulers of the World. Utsui was also in the 2013 SF film Time Scoop Hunter.
65-year-old American actor James [Robert] Rebhorn, who had a recurring role in TV’s Homeland, died of complications from melanoma on March 21. He also appeared in He Knows You Are Alone (1980), Cat’s Eye, Shadows and Fog, Independence Day, The Adventures of Pluto Nash, Anamorph, The Box and Real Steel (both based on stories by Richard Matheson), and the 2012 mini-series Coma.
American actress and cattle rancher Patrice Wymore, the widow of actor Errol Flynn, died of pulmonary disease in Jamaica on March 22, aged 87. Her credits include small roles in Chamber of Horrors and an episode of TV’s The Monkees.
British leading lady Kate O’Mara (Frances Meredith Carroll) died of ovarian cancer on March 30, aged 74. Her credits include Corruption (with Peter Cushing), Hammer’s The Vampire Lovers and The Horror of Frankenstein, and episodes of TV’s Adam Adamant Lives!, The Champions, The Avengers, The Adventures of Don Quick and Doctor Who (as renegade Time Lord “The Rani”).
South African-born actor, scriptwriter and author Glyn Jones died in Greece on April 2, aged 82. He not only wrote a four-part Doctor Who serial ‘Doctor Who and the Space Museum’ in 1965, but ten years later he appeared as “Krans” in the two-part story ‘The Sontaran Experiment’.
50-year-old American comedian and actor John Pinette was found dead from a pulmonary embolism in a hotel room in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on April 5. He had been suffering from heart and liver disease. Pinette appeared in The Punisher (2004) and an episode of TV’s ALF.
Hollywood legend Mickey Rooney (Ninian Joseph Yule, Jr.) died on April 6, aged 93. A former child star, he made his movie debut in 1926 and his credits include the 1934 serial The Lost Jungle, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1935, as “Puck”), The Atomic Kid (which he also produced), Francis in the Haunted House, Pinocchio (1957), How to Stuff a Wild Bikini, Pete’s Dragon, Arabian Adventure (with Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing), Silent Night Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker, Sinbad: The Battle of the Dark Knights, Babe: Pig in the City, Phantom of the Megaplex, Night at the Museum, The Thirsting, The Muppets (2011), The Voices from Beyond, Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb and a new version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (2015). On TV Rooney appeared in episodes of Twilight Zone, Night Gallery and Conan, and in the early 1930s he supplied the voice of “Oswald, the Lucky Rabbit” in a series of cartoon shorts made by Walter Lantz. His eight wives included actresses Ava Gardner (1942-43) and Martha Vickers (1949-52) and he received two special Oscars.
American character actor Darrell Zwerling died on April 11, aged 85. He was in Miracle on 34th Street (1973), George Pal’s Doc Savage The Man of Bronze (as “Ham”), The Ultimate Warrior, Capricorn One and High Anxiety, along with an episode of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (‘Planet of the Amazon Women’).
Exotic-looking British actress and ballet dancer April Olrich (Edith April Oelrichs) was born in Zanzibar, Tanzania, and died after a long illness in London on April 15. She was 80, and had small roles in Macbeth (1960), Amicus’ The Skull, and Supergirl, along with episodes of TV’s The Avengers and She-Wolf of London. She was married to actor Nigel Pegram.
American actor Craig Hill [Fowler] died in Spain on April 21, aged 88. After co-starring with Kenneth Tobey in TV’s Whirlybirds (1957-60), Hill eventually moved to Europe, where he appeared in such films as Assignment Terror (aka Dracula versus Frankenstein), Bloodstained Shadow, Stigma and Anguish. He was married to actress and model Teresa Gimpera.
73-year-old American TV character actor Doug (Douglas) Hale died on April 25. He appeared in episodes of The Bionic Woman, The Incredible Hulk, Galactica 1980 (aka Conquest of the Earth), The Greatest American Hero, Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1985), Highway to Heaven, Max Headroom, Misfits of Science, Weird Science and Babylon 5.
British actor Bob Hoskins (Robert William Hoskins) died of pneumonia on April 29, aged 71. His films include Pink Floyd The Wall, Brazil, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Heart Condition, Hook (as “Smee”), Super Mario Bros., Rainbow, The Lost World (2001), Son of the Mask, Hollywoodland, Doomsday, A Christmas Carol (2009), Pinocchio (2010) and Snow White and the Huntsman, before he retired from acting after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. On TV Hoskins starred in the series Pennies from Heaven (1978) and appeared in episodes of Thriller (1976) and Tales from the Crypt (which he also directed), along with the mini-series Neverland (as “Smee” again).
American leading lady Judi Meredith (Judith Clare Boutin) died on April 30, aged 77. Discovered by comedian George Burns, she appeared in Jack the Giant Killer (1962), William Castle’s The Night Walker, Dark Intruder and Queen of Blood, along with an episode of TV’s Shirley Temple’s Storybook. Meredith was married to director Gary Nelson.
American leading man Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., who starred in the TV series 77 Sunset Strip (1958-64) and The F.B.I. (1965-74), died on May 2, aged 95. He appeared in Wait Until Dark, Terror Out of the Sky, Disney’s Beyond Witch Mountain, The Tempest (1983), and episodes of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Fantasy Island, Babylon 5 and The Visitor. For twelve years he was the voice of Bruce Wayne’s butler “Alfred Pennyworth” on the animated TV series of Batman and various spin-offs, and he also voiced “Doctor Octopus” for the 1995-97 Spider-Man cartoon series.
American character actress Pauline [Cynthia] Wagner died the same day, aged 103. A contract player for RKO Radio Pictures and a founding member of the Screen Actors Guild, she was Fay Wray’s stunt double on King Kong (1933) for a re-shoot of the climactic sequence on top of the Empire State Building.
American-born actor Les Carlson (Leslie M. Carlson) died of cancer in Toronto, Canada, on May 3, aged 81. As well as appearing in the David Cronenberg films Videodrome (as “Barry Convex”), The Dead Zone, The Fly (1986) and the short Camera, he was also in The Neptune Factor, Deranged, Black Christmas (1974), Deadly Harvest, The Girl from Mars, The Wishing Tree, Anonymous Rex and Bag of Bones. Carlson’s TV credits include episodes of The New Avengers, War of the Worlds, The Twilight Zone (1988), Friday the 13th: The Series, Highlander, The X Files, PSI Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal, Odyssey 5, Haven, Lost Girl and Murdoch Mysteries (‘The Ghost of Queen’s Park’).
Former American child actress Jacqueline [Devon] Taylor died of Alzheimer’s disease on May 5, aged 88. She was in a number of “Our Gang” comedy shorts in 1934, along with an uncredited role in Laurel and Hardy’s Babes in Toyland.
American actor, producer and bookseller Magoo Gelehrter, who portrayed “Garou”, the werewolf henchman of New England horror host “Penny Dreadful” the witch (his wife Danielle S. Gelehrter) on cable TV show Penny Dreadful’s Shilling Shockers, died after a long battle with cancer on May 16. He was 51.
British leading lady Barbara [Ann] Murray died of a heart attack in Spain on May 20, aged 84. Her credits include A Christmas Carol (1950), Meet Mr. Lucifer, The Curse of King Tut’s Tomb and The Power (1984). On TV she appeared in the 1961 BBC-TV series The Escape of R.D.7, The Indian Tales of Rudyard Kipling, Strange Report, The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes, Tales from the Crypt and Doctor Who. She was married (1952-64) to actor John Justin.
Hollywood actress Jane Adams (Betty Jean Bierce), who played hunchbacked nurse “Nina” in House of Dracula (1945), died on May 21, aged 94. Her other movies include the Universal serial Lost City of the Jungle, The Brute Man (with Rondo Hatton), Tarzan’s Magic Fountain (uncredited), the Columbia serial Batman and Robin (1949) and Master Minds (with the Dead End Kids). She turned up on TV in a 1953 episode of The Adeventures of Superman before retiring from the screen.
