obituaries in the performing arts,...

Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2004

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Obituaries in thePerforming Arts,

2004

Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music,

Cartoons and Pop Culture

by

HARRIS M. LENTZ, III

McFarland & Company, Inc., PublishersJefferson, North Carolina, and London

Front cover, clockwise from top left : Ray Charles, Marlon Brando,Robert Pastorelli, Bob Keeshan.

ISSN ¡087-96¡7 / ISBN 0-7864-2¡03-7

(softcover : 50# alkaline paper)

©2005 Harris M. Lentz, III. All rights reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any formor by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopyingor recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Manufactured in the United States of America

McFarland & Company, Inc., PublishersBox 6¡¡, Jefferson, North Carolina 28640

www.mcfarlandpub.com

To the memory of those friendsand family lost during 2004—

Pam Gaia, Bob James, Dr. W.K. Dabbs,Patricia Welsh Mayer, Debbie Tauber

andJohn Randolph, Frances Dee, Irene Manning,Plato Skouras, Sam Edwards, Chris Alcaide,

Jerome Lawrence, Czeslaw Milosz, Skeeter Davis,Ray Traylor, Marion Shilling, Ed Kemmer, Tommy Farrell

I greatly appreciate the assistance of mygood friend, Carla Clark, and my mother, He-lene Lentz. Special thanks also go to my sister,Nikki Walker, and to Bob King at Classic Im-ages, for granting permission to use informationfrom my columns. Also, thanks to Rosa Bur-nett and the staff at State Technical Institute li-brary, Tom Weaver, Fred Davis, Forrest J Ack-erman, Mike Fitzgerald, John Beifuss, RayNeilson, John Whyborn, Boyd Magers, LarryTauber, Andrew “Captain Comics” Smith,Jimmy Walker, Tony Pruitt, Greg Bridges,Bobby Mathews, Kent Nelson, Dale Warren,Andrew Clark, Arrin Pritchard, Dr. MarkHeffington, Anne Taylor, Andy Branham,John Nelson, Richard Allynwood, Frank deAzpillaga, Irv Jacobs, Bill Warren, Bob Cuneo,Alun Jones, Marty Baumann, Joe Caviolo,

Rusty White of Entertainment Insiders, RussBlatt of Life in Legacy, the folks at VoyForums:Celebrity Obits, Joy Martin, Denise Tansil,Blaine Lester, Louis and Carol Baird, Michaeland Maggie Hernandez, “Doc,” Dave Ramsey,Ray and Judy Herring, Don and Elaine Ker-ley, Mark Webb, Wally Traylor, Letsie Ax-maker, Jerry Van Hausen, Ronnie McAfee,Mark Ledbetter, Dennis Traylor, Kira Chris-tensen, Keith John Mahr, Shannon Carrico,Miki McFarland, April Gibson, Suzie Valen-zuelo, Laura Crofcheck, the fine folks at J.Alexanders and Willy Moffitt’s, the MemphisFilm Festival, the gang at AOL’s Classic Hor-ror Film Board, Tommy Gattas, James Gattas,the University of Memphis Library and theMemphis and Shelby County Public Libraries.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

vii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgments vii

Introduction 1

Reference Bibliography 5

The 2004 Obituaries 7

ix

The entertainment world lost several leg-endary stars and a host of other men andwomen involved in film, television, stage andmusic in 2004. The notable passings includeThe Gipper (Ronald Reagan), The Godfather(Marlon Brando), and Superman (ChristopherReeve). Reagan, who went from Hollywoodstar to President of the United States, died aftera long illness during the year. Brando, whotransformed Hollywood with his masterfulperformances in the 1950s and won an Oscartwo decades later for his comeback role of VitoCorleone also passed on. Brando, who hadplayed Kryptonian scientist Jor-El in the 1979film Superman, shortly preceded in death thecourageous young man who had starred as theMan of Steel, Christopher Reeve. His near fatalhorse riding accident a decade earlier had lefthim paralyzed, but he had proven himself ahero both on and off the screen with his tire-less effort in favor of medical research. Thebaby boomers also lost a childhood televisionicon with the passing of Captain Kangaroo—Bob Keeshan, and those slightly older lost alate night fixture in Tonight show host JackPaar. Legendary singer Ray Charles’ deathcame shortly before the release of an acclaimedfilm about his life, and comic Rodney Dan-gerfield deserves our respect for his years ofmaking audiences laugh. King Kong’s para-mour, the lovely Fay Wray, and Artie Shaw, thelast of the Big Band leader, join tap-dancingqueen Ann Miller, Oscar-winning British actor

Peter Ustinov, comic legend Alan King, Frenchchef Julia Child, and Psycho shower victimJanet Leigh in this year’s volume. Whether hewas Felix Unger or Dr. Lao, Tony Randallnever failed to entertain, and Alistair Cookeadded dignity to the small screen with hismany years of hosting Masterpiece Theatre.They join Law and Order’s Lennie Briscoe( Jerry Orbach), The Jeffersons’ Isabel Sanford,Dead End Kid Bernard Punsley, Mercury As-tronaut L. Gordon Cooper, Murphy Brown’sEldin (Robert Pastorelli), Buffalo Springfieldguitarist Bruce Palmer, Superfly Ron O’Neal,Oscar-winner Mercedes McCambridge, TheBlob director Irwin Yeaworth, Jan and Dean’sJan Berry, Captive Wild Woman Acquanetta,Doobie Brother Cornelius Bumpus, MunchkinTiny Doll, bodybuilding legend Joe Gold,funkmeister Rick James, Broadway starHoward Keel, country singing sensation SkeeterDavis, and Rockin’ Granny Cordell Jackson inthe list of ones we’ve lost. John F. Kennedy’s bi-ographer—William Manchester, press secre-tary—Pierre Salinger, and comic imitator—Vaughn Meader, all passed away during theyear. Dorothy Hart, who was Jane to LexBarker’s Tarzan, and Eleanor Holm who lead-ing lady to Glenn Morris’ Tarzan are also foundwithin these pages. They join James Bond vil-lain Tee Hee — Julius Harris and Hercules’television mom—Liddy Holloway, along withother notables including Cabaret lyricist FredEbb and Cabaret’s Max, Helmut Griem, Space

INTRODUCTION

1

Patrol star Ed Kemmer, game show host ArtJames, UFO abductee Betty Hill, Hawaii FiveO’s Kono — Zulu, Disney animator FrankThomas, Blair Witch Project’s ground-breakingcinematographer Neil Fredericks, and NoriakiYuasa, director of the Japanese film series star-ring Gammera, the giant flying turtle. Theworld of opera lost legends Robert Merrill andRenata Tebaldi, and ballet’s loses includeDame Alicia Markova and Ludmilla Tcherina.Sexploitation director Rene Meyer andschlockmeister Larry Buchanan, are joined indeath with cult film leading lady KatherineVictor and Playboy Playmates Donna Michelleand June Cochran. Famous families are alsorepresented with the passing of John Barry-more’s son John Drew, Kirk Douglas’ son Eric,Bing Crosby’s son Philip, Bob Hope’s sonTony, and Doris Day’s son Terry Melcher.Other passings include Frances Dee, who, inthe 1940s, Walked with a Zombie, and PaulAtkinson, who rocked with The Zombies inthe 1960s. Some met violent ends during theyear. Pantera’s rock guitarist Dimebag Darrellwas shot to death during a performance, actorand essayist Spaulding Gray drowned in a sui-cide plunge from a New York Ferry, Dutchfilmmaker Theo Van Gogh was gunned downin the streets of Denmark, and Abbott andCostello Meet Frankenstein scripter Robert Leeswas decapitated by a deranged intruder whothen carried his head to a neighbor’s home.The ranks of film composers were hard hit dur-ing the year with the loss of Elmer Bernstein,Jerry Goldsmith, Carlo Rustichelli, DavidRaksin, Piero Piccioni, Gil Melle, and FredKarlin. The list of celebrity photographers wasalso thinned with the passings of Helmut New-ton, Richard Avedon, Francesco Scavullo, CarlMydens, and Henri-Cartier Bresson. Theworld of Superman also lost radio actor Jack-son Beck, who intoned the familiar phrase “It’sa bird… It’s a plane… It’s Superman!,” andDanny Dark, who lent his voice to the Man ofSteel in the animated Super Friends cartoons.Longtime DC Comics editor Julius Schwartzalso died, as did Harry Lampert, artist and co-creator of the Golden Age Flash and Bob

Hamm, creator of the Silver Age Teen Titansand Doom Patrol. December Bride’s Matt andRuth Henshaw (Dean Miller and Frances Raf-ferty) both died during the year, as did Baby-lon 5’s Dr. Franklin (Richard Biggs) and Za-thras (Tim Choate). Among the athletes foundin this volume are football star Elroy “CrazyLegs” Hirsch and Reggie White, and prowrestlers The Big Bossman, Pepper Gomez andHercules Hernandez. Palmolive’s Madge theManicurist ( Jan Miner), Broadway’s Lion King( Jason Raize), the voice of Cousin Itt (TonyMagro) and the voice of Deputy Dawg (Day-ton Allen), General Hospital’s Lila Quarter-maine (Anna Lee), Doctor Who villain TheMaster (Anthony Ainley), Dark Shadows’ DonBriscoe, and reality television producer Mary-Ellen Bunim also died in 2004. The literaryworld lost author and essayist Susan Sontag,along with the writers of Bonjour Trieste (Fran-coise Sagan), The Far Pavilions (M.M. Kaye),Day of the Dolphin (Robert Merle), Fail-Safe(Harvey Wheeler), The Ruling Class (PeterBarnes), Airport (Arthur Hailey), Inherit theWind ( Jerome Lawrence), and horror novelistHugh B. Cave. The music scene also lost rocksinger Laura Branigan, jazz drummer ElvinJones, the New York Doll’s Arthur “Killer”Kane, The Ramones’ Johnny Ramone, and WuTang Clan rapper Old Dirty Bastard. Othernotable passings include Jerry Scoggins, whosang the unforgettable theme to The BeverlyHillbillies, June Taylor, who led the June Tay-lor Dancers on The Jackie Gleason Show, OnDeath and Dying psychologist ElisabethKubler-Ross, The Haunting scriptwriter NelsonGidding, Guinness Book of Records co-creatorNorris McWhirter, Amicus horror film pro-ducer Max Rosenberg, Indiana Jones stuntmanPat Roach, and Alexandra Ripley, author of theGone with the Wind sequel, Scarlett. Also join-ing the death roll of 2004 were numerous otherfamiliar faces from films and television in-cluding leading actors Richard Ney and PaulWinfield, child star Sammy McKim, leadingladies Irene Manning, Peggy Ryan, BarbaraWhiting, Maria Perschy, Laura Betti, CaitlinClarke, Marion Shilling, Carrie Snodgress, Jan

Introduction 2

Sterling, Uta Hagen, Suzanne Kaaren, and Vir-ginia Grey, and character performers BuckFlower, Lu Leonard, J. Edward McKinley, Eu-gene Roche, John Randolph, Peter Blythe,Lynn Cartwright, Doris Dowling, Joe Viterelli,Noble Willingham, Peter Woodthorpe, SamEdwards, Carl Esmond, Tommy Farrell, Paul“Mousie” Garner, H.B. Haggerty, Lincoln Kil-patrick and Robert Lang.

This book provides a single source thatnotes the deaths of all major, and many minor,figures in the fields of film, television, car-toons, theatre, music and popular literature.The obituaries within this volume contain per-tinent details of deaths including date, placeand cause, of 842 celebrities. Biographical in-formation and career highlights and achieve-ments are also provided. I have also includeda complete-as-possible filmography for filmand television performers. Most obituaries arefollowed by citations to major newspapers andperiodical stories reporting the death. A pho-tograph has been included for many of the in-dividuals.

I have been writing obituaries of film per-sonalities for over twenty years, beginning witha column in Forry Ackerman’s Famous Monsters

of Filmland in the late 1970s. Many of the filmobituaries in the work are taken from mymonthly column in Classic Images (P.O. Box809, Muscatine, IA 52761), a newspaper de-voted to classic films and their performers.

Information on the passing of the indi-viduals found in this volume has been gatheredfrom a myriad of sources. Primary sources, aspreviously noted are listed in the individualbibliographies, including The New York Times,The Los Angeles Times, Times (of London), TheWashington Post, Variety, Time, People, TVGuide and Newsweek. Other sources includeBoyd Mager’s Western Clippings, The MemphisCommercial Appeal, The Hollywood Reporter,The (Manchester) Guardian, The ComicsBuyer’s Guide, Locus, Pro Wrestling Torch, Psy-chotronic Video, The Comics Journal and Factson File. Several sources on the internet havealso been helpful, including Celebrity Obits(http://www/voy.com/60649/), Life in Legacy(formerlly Famous Deaths—Week in Review)(http://www.lifeinlegacy.com/), EntertainmentInsiders (http://www.einsiders.com/features/columns/2003obituaries), and the InternetMovie Database, Ltd. (http://us.imdb.com/).

3 Introduction

Books

The Academy Players Directory. Beverly Hills,Calif.: Academy of Motion Picture Artsand Science, 1978–2003.

The American Film Institute Catalog: FeatureFilms, 1911–20. Patricia King Hansen, ed.Berkeley: University of California Press,1988.

American Film Institute Catalog: Feature Films,1921–30. Kenneth W. Munden, ed. NewYork: R.R. Bowker, 1971.

The American Film Institute Catalog: FeatureFilms, 1931–40. Patricia King Hansen, ed.Berkeley: University of California Press,1993.

American Film Institute Catalog: Feature Films,1961–70. Richard P. Krafsur, ed. NewYork: R.R. Bowker, 1976.

Brooks, Tim. The Complete Directory of PrimeTime TV Stars. New York : BallantineBooks, 1987.

Brown, Les. The New York Times Encyclopedia ofTelevision. New York: Times Books, 1977.

Bushnell, Brooks. Directors and Their Films.Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1993.

Chilton, John. Who’s Who of Jazz. Philadel-phia, PA: Chilton Book, 1972.

Contemporary Authors. Detroit : Gale Research,various editions.

DeLong, Thomas A. Radio Stars. Jefferson,NC: McFarland, 1996.

Dimmitt, Richard Bertrand. An Actors Guideto the Talkies. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow,1967. Two Volumes.

Erickson, Hal. Television Cartoon Shows. Jef-ferson, NC: McFarland, 1995.

Fetrow, Alan G. Feature Films, 1940–1949. Jef-ferson, NC: McFarland, 1994.

_____. Feature Films, 1950–1959. Jefferson,NC: McFarland, 1999.

_____. Sound Films, 1927–1939. Jefferson, NC:McFarland, 1992.

Finch, Yolande. Finchy. New York: WyndhamBooks, 1981.

Fisher, Dennis. Horror Films Directors, 1931–1990. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1991.

Hunter, Allan, ed. Chambers Concise Encyclo-pedia of Film and Television. New York: W & R. Chambers Ltd., 1991.

Katz, Ephraim. The Film Encyclopedia, 2d ed.New York: HarperPerennial, 1994.

Malloy, Alex G., ed. Comic Book Artists.Radnor, Penn.: Wallace-Homestead,1993.

Maltin, Leonard, ed. Movie and Video Guide1995. New York: Signet Books, 1994.

Marill, Alvin H. Movies Made for Television.Westport, CT: Arlington House, 1980.

Mathis, Jack. Republican Confidential, Vol. 2:

REFERENCE BIBLIOGRAPHY

5

The Players. Barrington, IL: Jack MathisAdvertising, 1992.

McNeil, Alex. Total Television. New York: Pen-guin Books, 1996.

Monaco, James. Who’s Who in American FilmNow. New York: Zoetrobe, 1988.

Nash, Jay Robert, and Stanley Ralph Ross. TheMotion Picture Guide. 10 vols. Chicago;Cinebooks, 1985.

Nowlan, Robert A. & Gwendolyn WrightNowlan. The Films of the Eighties. Jeffer-son, NC: McFarland, 1991.

Oliviero, Jeffrey. Motion Picture Players’ Cred-its. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1991.

Parrish, James Robert. Actors’ Television Cred-its 1950–1972. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow,1973.

_____. Film Actors Guide: Western Europe.Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow, 1977.

Ragan, David. Who’s Who in Hollywood,1900–1976. New Rochelle, NY: ArlingtonHouse, 1976.

Rovin, Jeff. The Fabulous Fantasy Films. SouthBunswick, NJ: A.S. Barnes, 1977.

Terrace, Vincent. Encyclopedia of Television Se-ries, Pilots and Specials, 1937–1973. NewYork: Zoetrobe, 1986.

_____. Encyclopedia of Television Series, Pilotsand Specials, 1974–1984. New York :Zoetrobe, 1986.

Walker, John, ed. Halliwell’s Filmgoer’s andVideo Viewer’s Companion, 10th Edition.New York: HarperPerennial, 1993.

Watson, Elena M. Television Horror MovieHosts. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1991.

Weaver, Tom. Attack of the Monster MovieMakers: Interviews with 20 Genre Giants.Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1994.

Weaver, Tom. Eye on Science Fiction. Jefferson,NC: McFarland, 2003.

Weaver, Tom. I Was a Monster Movie Maker.Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2001.

_____. Interviews with B Science Fiction andHorror Movie Makers. Jefferson, NC: Mc-Farland, 1988.

_____. It Came from Weaver Five: Interviewswith 20 Zany, Glib and EarnestMoviemakers in the SF and Horror Tradi-tions of the Thirties, Forties, Fifties and Six-ties. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1994.

_____. Monsters, Mutants and Heavenly Crea-tures. Baltimore, MD: Midnight MarqueePress, 1996.

_____. Science Fiction and Fantasy Film Flash-backs. Jefferson, NC.: McFarland, 1998.

_____. Science Fiction Stars and Horror Heroes.Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1991.

_____. They Fought in the Creature Features:Interviews with 23 Classic Horror, ScienceFiction and Serial Stars. Jefferson, NC:McFarland, 1994.

Who’s Who in the World. Chicago: MarquisWho’s Who, various editions.

Willis, John, ed. Screen World. New York :Crown Publishers, 1958–2001.

Reference Bibliography 6

OBITUARIES IN THEPERFORMING ARTS,

2004

Abel, Elie

Elie Abel, a former print and television re-porter, died in a Rockville, Maryland, hospiceafter a long illness on July 22, 2004. He was 83.Abel was born in Montreal, Canada, on October17, 1920. He served in the Royal Canadian AirForce during World War II. After the war hejoined the staff of The Montreal Gazette and spentseveral years covering the Nuremberg War CrimesTribunal. He became a foreign correspondentwith the New York Times in 1949. After a ten yearstint with the Times he spent two years with theDetroit News. He then joined NBC News, cover-ing London and the diplomatic circuit, until 1969when he was made dean of Columbia Univer-sity’s School of Journalism. He wrote severalbooks including 1966’s The Missile Crisis and Spe-cial Envoy to Churchill and Stalin, 1941–1946 withW. Averell Harriman. Abel had a stroke in 1998and was also inflicted with Alzheimer’s disease atthe time of his death.

New York Times, July 24, 2004, A14.

Acey, Wendy Charles

Television director Wendy Charles Aceydied in Los Angeles on October 20, 2004. Aceyworked as an associate director on the televisionseries Blossom and Greg the Bunny. She was alsoan associate director for the tele-films Kathy &Mo: Parallel Lives (1991) and Fail Safe (2000), the2001 special America: A Tribute to Heroes, andseveral Academy Award programs.

Acquanetta

Film actress Acquanetta died of complica-tions from Alzheimer’s disease in an Ahwatukee,Arizona, care center on August 16, 2004. She was83. She was born Burnu Acquanetta in Cheyenne,Wyoming, on July 17, 1921. Her exotic beauty ledto featured roles in a handful of films in the 1940sand 1950s. She appeared in the Films ArabianNights (1942) and Rhythm of the Islands (1943),before making her most memorable screen ap-pearance as ape woman Paula Dupree in the 1943horror film Captive Wild Woman (1943). Shereprised her role the following year in the sequelJungle Woman. Acquanetta co-starred with LonChaney, Jr., in the 1944 Inner Sanctum mysteryDead Man’s Eyes and was the High Priestess in1946’s Tarzan and the Leopard Woman withJohnny Weismuller. She continued to appear infilms in the early 1950s including The Sword ofMonte Cristo (1951), Lost Continent (1951), Call-away Went Thataway (1951), and Take the HighGround! (1953). She largely abandoned her film

Obituaries • 2004 8

Elie Abel Acquanetta

career after her marriage to auto dealer Jack Rossin the late 1950s and settled in Mesa, Arizona. Sheappeared often in television commercials for herhusband’s car dealership and appeared in a smallrole in the 1990 film The Legend of Grizzly Adams.She and Ross divorced in the 1980s.

Los Angeles Times, Aug. 23, 2004, B7; NewYork Times, Aug. 23, 2004, B7; Variety, Aug. 30,2004, 38.

Actor, Allen

Screenwriter Allen Actor died in a Los An-geles hospital following surgery on January 12,2004. He was 71. Actor was born in San Antonio,Texas, on September 22, 1932. He taught screen-writing for over a decade at Santa Monica Col-lege. He wrote the 1972 horror film The Folks atRed Wolf Inn (aka Terror House). He was also awriter on the 1985 science fiction feature TheDungeonmaster.

Adair, Red

Legendary firefighter Paul N. “Red” Adairdied in a Houston, Texas, hospital on August 7,

2004. He was 89. Adair was born in Houston onJune 18, 1915. A pioneer in the dangerous worldof capping and extinguishing burning and ex-ploding oil wells, Adair founded the Red AdairCo. in 1959. The company is credited with bat-tling fires at over 2,000 oil wells on land and sea.He and his crew capped over 100 Kuwaiti oil wellsthat were left burning by Iraqi troops after thePersian Gulf War in 1991. Adair served as techni-cal advisor for the 1968 The Hellfighters, whichstarred John Wayne as an oil well firefighterlargely based on Adair himself. He continued tofight fires in the field until his retirement in 1994at the age of 79.

Los Angeles Times, Aug. 9, 2004, B9; NewYork Times, Aug. 10, 2004, B8; People, Aug. 23,2004, 83; Time, Aug. 23, 2004, 21; Times (ofLondon), Aug. 9, 2004, 29b.

Adam, Stewart

Australian television actor Stewart Adamdied of a blood clot in the heart brought on by adeep vein thrombosis while on route to a hospi-tal from his parents’ home in Melbourne, Aus-tralia, on June 21, 2004. He was 24. Adam had

9 2004 • Obituaries

Acquanetta (as the Ape Woman)

Red Adair

played the recurring role of mechanic AaronBarkley on the Australian soap opera Neighbourssince 2003.

Adams, Cecily

Actress and casting director Cecily Adamsdied of lung cancer at her home in Los Angeleson March 3, 2004. She was 39. Adams was bornin Queens, New York, on February 6, 1965, thedaughter of Get Smart star Don Adams and singerAdelaide Adams. She worked as an actress fromthe 1980s, appearing on television in episodes ofSimon & Simon, Check It Out, The Equalizer,Home Improvement, Murder One, Just Shoot Me,Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as Quark’s Ferengimother Ishka on several episodes, Party of Five,Murphy Brown, Jenny, and Total Recall 2070. Shewas also seen in the tele-films Get Smart, Again!(1989) with her father, and Ordeal in the Arctic(1993), and the 1991 feature film Little Secrets. She

stared as Gina in the short-lived television com-edy series Cleghorne! in 1995. As a casting direc-tor, Adams was involved in the production ofsuch films as Sweet Revenge (1987), Destroyer(1988), Defense Play (1988), The Forgotten One


Stewart Adam

Cecily Adams

Cecily Adams (from Star Trek)

(1990), Edge of Honor (1991), Little Secrets (1991),American Heart (1992), Home Room (2002),Young Arthur (2002), and Wave Babes (2003). Shealso was casting director for such television seriesas Eerie, Indiana, 3rd Rock from the Sun, BoneChillers, Lost on Earth, That ’70s Show, and That’80s Show.

Los Angeles Times, Mar. 6, 2004, B18; Vari-ety, Mar. 22, 2004, 59.

Adams, Phyllis

Pioneer television producer Phyllis Adamsdied at her home in Santa Monica, California, onFebruary 26, 2004. She was 80. Adams producedthe early 1950s syndicated show It’s a Problem,which dealt with such issues as divorce and delin-quency. She later produced such series as AuthorMeets the Critics, Home Show, and Inside OurSchools.

New York Times, Mar.2, 2004, B9.

Addison, Anita

Television producer and director Anita Ad-dison died suddenly in New York City on January24, 2004. She was 51. Addison was born in Greens-boro, North Carolina, in 1952. She directedepisodes of numerous television series from the1980s including Knots Landing, Freddy’s Night-mares, Quantum Leap, Homefront, Sirens, ER, EZStreets, and Judging Amy. She also directed the 1989film Savannah, and the tele-films There Are NoChildren Here (1993) and Deep in My Heart (1999).Addison had served as a vice president for dramadevelopment at CBS-TV, and produced severaltelevision series including Sisters, St. Michael’sCrossing, It Had to Be You, and That’s Life.

Los Angeles Times, Jan. 30, 2004, B13; Va-riety, Feb. 2, 2004, 96.

Agrelot, Jose Miguel

Puerto Rican television and radio comedianand host Jose Miguel Agrelot died at his home inSan Juan, Puerto Rico, on January 28, 2004. Hewas 76. Agrelot was born in San Juan on April 21,


Phyllis Adams

Anita Addison

1927. He began working in radio while in histeens, creating the comic character Torito for theradio program The College of Happiness. Thecharacter’s popularity led to Agrelot hosting hisown program, Torito and Company. He continuedplaying Torito when The College of Happiness be-came a television program. His radio program SuAlegre Despertar are continuously for over 53years. He was also the star of such Puerto Ricantelevision programs as The Nasty Maid, Chal-lenging the Geniuses, Making History, and It SeemsIncredible, and appeared in several films includ-ing 1990’s Chona, La Puerca Asesina.

Ahmed, Ashfaq

Pakistani writer and broadcaster AshfaqAhmed died of gall bladder cancer in Lahor, Pak-istan, on September 6, 2004. He was 79. Ahmedwas born in Ferozepur, India, on August 22,1925. He began writing short-stories and poemsfor magazines while in his teens. He achievedprominence with the publication of his shortstory Gadariya in 1955. He also wrote the novelKhail Kahnai and the play Tota Kahani. He cre-

ated the character Talqeen Shah for Radio Pak-istan in 1962, which continued to air through theearly 1990s. He produced the film Dhoop Aur Saiein the 1960s. He worked often in television fromthe 1970s, writing the dramas Eik Muhabbat SoAfsane and Tota Kahani. He was hosting the Zaviatelevision program at the time of his death.

Variety, Sept. 13, 2004, 62.

Aiken, Joan

British children’s writer Joan Aiken died inPetworth, West Sussex, England, on January 4,2004. She was 79. Aiken was born in Rye, Sus-sex, England, on September 4, 1924, the daugh-ter of Pulitzer Prize–winning poet Conrad Aiken.She wrote over 90 books during her career fromthe early 1940s. The BBC adapted some of hershort fiction for the Children’s Hour radio pro-gram in 1941. A collection of short fiction, AllYou’ve Ever Wanted and Other Stories, was pub-lished in 1953. She and was best known for thechildren’s story The Wolves of Willoughby Chase,


Ashfaq Ahmed

Jose Miguel Agrelot

which was published in 1963 and adapted to filmin 1988. Her short story, Marmalade Wine, wasadapted as a segment of Rod Serling’s NightGallery in 1971. She received the Edgar Allan PoeAward for juvenile mystery for her book NightFall in 1972. Many of her works were also adaptedfor BBC radio and television, including Shadows(1975), Midnight Is a Place (1977), and Blackheartsin Battersea (1996). Her novel Death on a RainySunday was adapted for film in 1986.

Los Angeles Times, Jan. 10, 2004, B21; NewYork Times, Jan. 9, 2004, B7; Times (of London),Jan. 9, 2004, 47b.

Ainley, Anthony

British character actor Anthony Ainley, whowas best known for his role as the Master, arch-villain in the long-running Doctor Who televisionseries, died in Harrow, Middlesex, England, onMay 3, 2004. He was 71. Ainley was born in Lon-don on August 30, 1932. His father, Henry Ain-ley, was a leading stage and silent film actor andAnthony made his film debut at the age of five in1942’s The Foreman Went to France. He left act-

ing for several decades to work as an insuranceclerk, but returned to the screen in the 1960s. Heappeared in such features as Naked Evil (1966),You Only Live Twice (1967), Inspector Clouseau(1968), Joanna (1968), Oh! What a Lovely War(1969), Blood on Satan’s Claw (1970), Assault (akaIn the Devil’s Garden (1971), and Edgar Rice Bur-roughs’ The Land That Time Forgot (1975). Hewas featured as Detective Sgt. Hunter in theBritish television series It’s Dark Outside in 1965and was Clive Hawksworth in the 1972 series Spy-der’s Web. He was also seen as the Rev. Emilius inThe Pallisers in 1974. Ainley was also a familiarface in such tele-films and mini-series as TheRainbirds (1971), Hassan (1971), Elizabeth R(1971), Trelawny of the Wells (1972), Clouds of Wit-ness (1972), Anne of Avonlea (1975), NicholasNickleby (1977), and Lillie (1978). He also guest-starred in episode of Champion House, TheAvengers, Department S, Doomwatch, Out of theUnknown, Brett, The Adventurer, Great Mysteries,Upstairs, Downstairs, Within These Walls, SecretArmy, and Target. Roger Delgado had originallyplayed Doctor Who’s nemesis, The Master, untilhis death in a car accident in 1973. Ainley tookover the role of the renegade Time Lord in 1981,remaining with the series through four incarna-tions of the Doctor—Tom Baker, Peter Davison,Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy. BBC ceasedproduction of Doctor Who in 1989.

Times (of London), June 15, 2004, 30b.


Joan Aiken

Anthony Ainley (as the Master from Doctor Who)

Alcaide, Chris

Actor Chris Alcaide, who was best knownfor his long career playing Western badmen, diedof cancer in an assisted living facility in PalmSprings, California, on June 30, 2004. He was81. Alcaide was born in Youngstown, Ohio, onOctober 22, 1923. He served in the infantry dur-ing World War II, earning two purple hearts anda Bronze Star. He worked as a bouncer at theHollywood Palladium after the war before be-coming a familiar face in films and television inthe early 1950s. His film credits include The GlassMenagerie (1950, Smoky Canyon (1952), CrippleCreek (1952), Junction City (1952), The Kid fromBroken Gun (1952), Man in the Dark (1953), The49th Man (1953), The Big Heat (1953), Bad forEach Other (1953), Overland Pacific (1954), Mas-sacre Canyon (1954), The Miami Story (1954), TheOutlaw Stallion (1954), The Black Dakotas (1954),Jupiter’s Darling (1955), Chicago Syndicate (1955),Duel on the Mississippi (1955), Illegal (1955), TheHouston Story (1956), Miami Expose (1956), Gun-slinger (1956), Rock All Night (1957), CarnivalRock (1957), Day of the Bad Man (1958), Vice Raid(1959), Kid Galahad (1962) with Elvis Presley,The Oscar (1966), and Assassination (1987). Al-caide was a prolific performer in television West-

erns and action series, lending a menacing pres-ence to such shows as The Adventures of Kit Car-son, Annie Oakley, Buffalo Bill, Jr., The Adventuresof Champion, Tales of the Texas Rangers, Gun-smoke, Broken Arrow, Zane Grey Theater, Sugar-foot, Maverick, Casey Jones, Sheriff of Cochise, ManWithout a Gun, The Court of Last Resort, Texas JohnSlaughter, Have Gun, Will Travel, State Trooper,The Californians, Panic!, Richard Diamond, Pri-vate Detective, The Texan, U.S. Marshal, Track-down, Perry Mason, The Rifleman, Bronco,Rawhide, Wanted: Dead or Alive, Black Saddle,Law of the Plainsman, Shotgun Slade, Laramie,Bonanza, The Deputy, Two Faces West, Klondike,Stagecoach West, The Tall Man, 87th Precinct,Cheyenne, The Virginian, The Dakotas, Death Val-ley Days, Destry, Daniel Boone, The Outer Limits,Branded, A Man Called Shenandoah, The Virgin-ian, Run for Your Life, The Big Valley, T.H.E. Cat,Dragnet 1967, Hondo, and Land of the Giants.

Alexander, Nick

Nick Alexander, who was sound and dub-bing editor for numerous European films fromthe 1970s, died in January of 2004. Alexanderworked as an actor from the early 1960s, appear-ing in the film Love with the Proper Stranger(1963), and in episodes of Temple Houston, Dr.Kildare, Kraft Suspense Theatre, and Garrison’s


Chris Alcaide Nick Alexander

Gorillas. Alexander began working as a sound ed-itor later in the decade, and was dubbing editoron such films as Revenge of the Blood Beast (1966),Four Flies on Grey Velvet (1971), Man from DeepRiver (1972), The Child (1972), Don’t Open theWindow (1974), Stateline Motel (1975), Deep Red(1975), Black Emanuelle (1975), Emanuelle inBangkok (1976), Violent Naples (1976), Tough Cop(1976), Django Rides Again (1976), Emanuelle inAmerica (1977), Dario Argento’s Suspiria (1977),The Last Survivor (1977), Emanuelle Around theWorld (1977), Counterfeit Commandos (1977),Weapons of Death (1977), Damned in Venice(1978), Last Feelings (1978), Tough to Kill (1978),The Sicilian Boss (1979), Zombie (1979), AlienContamination (1980), Terror Express (1980), Cityof the Walking Dead (1980), Cannibal Apocalypse(1980), Great White (1981), The Black Cat (1981),1990: The Bronx Warriors (1982), Angkor: Cam-bodia Express (1982), The Raiders of Atlantis(1983), The World of Con Camillo (1973), TheNew Gladiators (1984), Desert Warrior (1984),Creepers (1985), Demons (1985), Wild Team(1985), Warbus (1985), Demons 2 (1986), Terror atthe Opera (1987), Bermuda: Cave of Sharks (1987),Nosferatu in Venice (1988), Cop Game (1988),Santa Sangre (1989), Two Evil Eyes (1990), Amer-ican Rickshaw (1990), Indio 2—The Revolt (1991),Body Puzzle (1991), Husbands and Lovers (1992),Circle of Fear (1992), Beyond Justice (1992), JonahWho Lived in the Whale (1994), Honey Sweet Love(1994), The Stendahl Syndrome (1996), StealingBeauty (1996), The Legend of the Pianist on theOcean (1998), and Break of Dawn (2002).

Allen, Dayton

Comedian and voice actor Dayton Allen diedof complications from a stroke in a Hendersonville,North Carolina, hospital on November 11, 2004.He was 85. Allen was born in New York City onSeptember 24, 1919. He began his career in radioin the mid–1930s and was soon a popular per-former for voice-overs and cartoons. He performedin such early children’s television series as TheHowdy Doody Show, The Adventures of Oky Dokyand Winky-Dink and You in the late 1940s andearly 1950s. Allen was also the voice of the cartoonbirds Heckle and Jeckle and the canine lawmanDeputy Dawg. Allen’s numerous cartoon voices alsoinclude Fearless Fly, Professor Weirdo on Milton

the Monster, the father of Penny Penguin, StufyDurma, Flukey Luke, Sidney the Elephant, Stanleythe Lion and Cleo the Giraffe in the Sidney car-toons, The Astronut and Lariat Sam and Tippytoeson The Adventures of Lariat Sam. Allen was also aregular performer on The Steve Allen Show in thelate 1950s, where he was noted for the catch-phrase“Whooooyy not!” He also appeared in an episodeof the television series The Munsters in 1965.

New York Times, Nov. 18, 2004, A29; Vari-ety, Nov. 22, 2004, 72.

Allen, Lorene

Country songwriter Lorene Allen died inNashville, Tennessee, of lung cancer on January9, 2004. She was 78. She was born in Hominy,Oklahoma, on October 13, 1925. Allen wrote sev-eral hit songs for Loretta Lynn including “ThePill,” “Let Me Go, You’re Hurtin’ Me,” and “An-other Man Loved Me Last Night.” She also wrotesongs for such artists as Conway Twitty, EddyArnold, Dottie West, and Pat Boone.

Allen, Ralph

Ralph Allen, who wrote the hit Broadwayburlesque musical Sugar Babies, died in New York


Dayton Allen

City on September 9, 2004. He was 70. Allenwas chairman of the theatre department of Uni-versity of Victoria in British Columbia, Canada,from 1968 to 1972. His knowledge of burlesqueled him to write the Tony nominated revue SugarBabies, which ran on Broadway from 1979 to1982. He also wrote the musical comedy HonkyTonk Nights in 1986.

New York Times, Sept. 11, 2004, B8.

Allen, Rusty

Teri Kay Cooper, who performed in films inthe 1960s as Rusty Allen, died in Las Vegas onNovember 1, 2004. She was 60. Allen was born inTexas on March 10, 1944. She was featured in Her-schel Gordon Lewis’ nudist camp film Daughterof the Sun in 1962. Allen also appeared in the 1965film Girl Happy with Elvis Presley, and performedin Black Spurs (1965) and The Sexperts (1965).

Allison, Gene

Blues singer Gene Allison died of liver andkidney failure in a Nashville, Tennessee, hospitalon February 28, 2004. He was 69. Allison was bornin Pegram, Tennessee, on August 29, 1934. Hebegan singing in a church choir in the early 1940sand was soon performing with such professionalgroups as the Skylarks and The Fairfield Four.Allison was best known for the 1957 recording of“You Can Make It if You Try.” He also had hitsingles with “Have Faith” and “Everything WillBe All Right.” He continued to record in the 1960s,although he never repeated his earlier success.

Los Angeles Times, Mar. 15, 2004, B9; NewYork Times, Mar. 14, 2004, 33; People, Mar. 29,2004, 99; Time, Mar. 29, 2004, 21.

Alonso, Enrique “Cachirulo”

Mexican television actor and producer En-rique Alonso, who was known as Cachirulo, diedof a heart attack in Mexico City on August 27,2004. He was 79. Alonso was born in Mexico on


Rusty Allen

Allison, Gene

August 28, 1924. He was best known as the pro-ducer and director of the children’s television se-ries Teatro Fantastico from 1955 to 1969. He alsoadapted numerous classic children’s stories fortelevision and the stage.

Los Angeles Times, Aug. 31, 2004, B8.

Alsberg, Arthur

Radio and television writer Arthur Alsbergdied in Los Angeles on August 7, 2004. He was87. Alsberg was born in New York City on July25, 1917. He began his career in radio, writingcomedy routines for such stars as Milton Berleand Danny Kaye. He moved to Hollywood in themid–1940s, and later worked in television. Hewrote for such series as Our Miss Brooks, Bache-lor Father, I Dream of Jeannie, Mona McCluskey,Julia, The Doris Day Show, The Ghost and Mrs.Muir, and Nanny and the Professor. He joinedwith long-time collaborator Don Nelson to cre-ate the television series Bridget Loves Bernie in

1972. He and Nelson also wrote several films in-cluding Gus (1976), No Deposit, No Return (1976),Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo (1977), and Hot Leadand Cold Feet (1978). They also wrote and pro-duced the 1981 tele-film The Munsters’ Revenge.The duo were story editors for the 1985 versionof the cartoon classic The Jetsons, and for TheFlintstones Kids the following year. They alsowrote for The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones in 1987,and for Tom and Jerry Kid Show from 1990 to 1993.

Variety, Aug. 23, 2004, 39.

Anand, Mulk Raj

Indian novelist Mulk Raj Anand died onSeptember 28, 2004. He was 98. Anand was bornin Peshawar, Northwest Frontier Province, India,on December 12, 1905. He came to London to at-tend college at London University and Cam-bridge, where he studied philosophy. He becamea leading literary figure in the mid–1930s after thepublication of his novel Untouchable. He contin-ued to write such novels as Coolie (1936), TwoLeaves and a Bud (1937), The Village (1939), Acrossthe Black Waters (1940) and The Private Life of anIndian Prince (1951). He began writing a projectedseven volume series of autobiographies in 1951with Seven Summers, but the series ended after


Mulk Raj Anand

Enrique “Cachirulo” Alonso

four books. His later works consisted largely ofessays and reminiscences including 1981’s Con-versations in Bloomsbury.

New York Times, Sept. 30, 2004, A27; Times(of London), Sept. 30, 2004, 33b.

Anand, Vijay

Indian film director, writer and actor VijayAnand died of a heart attack in Mumbai, India,on February 23, 2004. He was 70. Anand wasborn in Bombay, India, on January 22, 1934. Heappeared in numerous films in India from the1950s including Wife’s Brother (1955), Agra Road(1957), The Black Market (1960), Reality (1964),Our Dreams (1971), Double Cross (1972), An Oathon India (1973), Dark Horse (1973), Chor Chor(1974), and The Tinkling of Anklets (1981). Anandalso directed many films including Nine Plus TwoMakes Eleven (1957), The Black Market (1960), InFront of Your House (1963), The Guide (1965), TheThird Floor (1966), Jewel Thief (1967), Let’s GoElsewhere (1968), Our Dreams (1971), Dark Horse(1973), Bullet (1976), Ram and Belram (1980),Raiput (1982), and Main Tere Liye (1988).

Variety, Mar. 1, 2004, 44.

Anderson, Carl

Actor and singer Carl Anderson, who wasbest known for his role as Judas in the stage andfilm production of the musical Jesus Christ Su-perstar died of leukemia in Los Angeles on Feb-ruary 23, 2004. He was 58. Anderson was bornin Lynchburg, Virginia, on February 27, 1945.He made his Broadway debut in Andrew LloydWebber’s Jesus Christ Superstar in 1971, andreprised his role as Judas in the 1973 film version.Anderson was also seen in the films The BlackPearl (1978), The Color Purple (1985), and Mello’sKaleidoscope (2002), and the 1979 tele-film MindOver Murder. He was featured as King Monroe inthe television soap opera Another World from 1997to 1998. Anderson’s other television credits in-clude episodes of Starsky and Hutch, The RockfordFiles, Hotel, Magnum P.I., and Cop Rock. He againplayed Judas in the 20th anniversary tour of themusical in 1992.

Los Angeles Times, Feb. 25, 2004, B10; NewYork Times, Feb. 27, 2004, A25; People, Mar. 15,2004, 131; Times (of London), Feb. 27, 2004, 44b;Variety, Mar. 1, 2004, 45.


Vijay Anand Carl Anderson

Andress, Herb

German actor Herb Andress died of cancerin Grasbrunn, near Munich, Germany, on April8, 2004. He was 69. Andress was born in Steeg aHallstattersee, Austria, on January 10, 1935. Hecame to Hollywood in the mid–1960s, appearingin such films as The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini(1966), What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?(1966), Movie Star, American Style or; LSD, I HateYou (1966), and The Battle of the Damned (1969).Sometimes billed as Herbert Andreas, he also ap-peared on television in episodes of Combat!, MyFavorite Martian, and Burke’s Law. He returnedto Europe in the 1970s, appearing in such filmsas Rangers Attack at Hour X (1970), Churchill’sLeopards (1970), Beware of a Holy Whore (1971),The Last Rebel (1971), Lady Frankenstein (1971) asthe Hunchback, The Big Bust Out (1972), Who?(1973), As of Tomorrow (1976), Casanova & Co.(1977), The Expulsion from Paradise (1977), It CanOnly Get Worse (1979), Purity of Heart (1980), LiliMarleen (1981), Be Gentle, Penguin (1982), RedHeat (1985), Enemy Mine (1985), Hell Hunters(1986), The Venus Trap (1988), Naval Cadets III(1992), Burning Heart (1995), She, Me & Her(2002), Luther (2003), and Baltic Storm (2003).Andress also appeared frequently on German tele-

vision in such series as Tatort, Regina on the Lad-der to Success, Balko, and Monsignor Renard.

Variety, Apr. 26, 2004, 64.

Andrews, Charles

Television writer Charles E. Andrews diedof acute pancreatitis in New York City on July 2,2004. He was 88. Andrews was born in Fond duLac, Wisconsin, on July 2, 1916. He was active inearly television writing for Dave Garroway andthe original Today Show. Andrews also producedThe Steve Allen Show and various television spe-cials including the Emmy Awards and the MissUSA pageants.

New York Times, July 8, 2004, C12.

Angelus, Muriel

Actress Muriel Angelus died in a Virginianursing home on June 26, 2004. She was 85. Shewas born in London of Scottish parents on March10, 1909. She began performing as a singer in


Herb Andress

Charles Andrews

obituaries in the performing arts,...

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