Who's Next To Croak?

Started by cine, September 28, 2003, 11:07:39 AM

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MacGuffin

Bob Keeshan, Captain Kangaroo, Dies at 76  



Television's Captain Kangaroo, Bob Keeshan, died Friday morning in Vermont, a family friend told CNN.

"Captain Kangaroo," a children's show, featured the walrus-mustached, bowl-haircut Keeshan entertaining youngsters with his gentle, whimsical humor. Among the show's other characters were Bunny Rabbit, Mr. Moose and Mr. Green Jeans (Hugh Brannum).

The show ran on CBS from 1955 to 1985, and then moved to public television for six more years.

Shows were frequently interrupted with silliness, such as hundreds of ping-pong balls dropping from the ceiling or Mr. Moose's knock-knock jokes, but the mainstay was Keeshan, who chatted with Brannum and told stories.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


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edison

Not in front of the camera but whatever:

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Mary-Ellis Bunim, a pioneering reality TV producer who co-created MTV's "The Real World" and other influential unscripted programs, has died of breast cancer in Los Angeles. She was 57.

With Jon Murray, her partner in the Bunim-Murray Prods. banner, Bunim produced a number of top reality series, including Fox's recent hit "The Simple Life," a "Green Acres"-esque vehicle featuring socialites Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie and their adventures on an Arkansas farm.

Bunim, who died Thursday, helped launch the current wave of reality programming with the 1992 debut of "Real World," which focused cameras on a diverse group of seven young adults who agreed to live together and let producers document their daily lives. The series has become a signature franchise for MTV and is now in its 14th season.

"She had a great sense of character, and it showed in the casting on 'Real World,"' said Brian Graden, entertainment president at MTV and VH1. "She had great insight and could forecast the stories that might play out in these people's lives.

"They were also absolutely pioneers of diversity and showing how people learn by interacting with one another and being with people who are different than themselves," Graden said, citing the cultural significance of "Real World," including an HIV (news - web sites)-positive gay man, Pedro Zamora, in its 1994 edition.

The idea for "Real World" grew in part out of Bunim's earlier work as an executive producer of such network soap operas as "Search for Tomorrow," "As the World Turns," "Santa Barbara" and "Loving."

In 1987, Bunim partnered with Murray at the suggestion of their mutual friend, Mark Itkin of the William Morris Agency. Murray's background in news made him interested in chronicling the coming-of-age struggles of youth, while Bunim brought a keen sense of what would make for intriguing drama gleaned from the hours and hours of footage collected.

"Mary-Ellis was a one-in-a-million partner and friend, and I will always treasure our incredible years of collaboration," Murray said. "We will honor her memory by remaining committed to her ideals of creativity, adventure and excellence, both on the screen and in our lives."

Itkin called Bunim "a lovely person and a class act."

Bunim was born in North Hampton, Mass. After a successful run in soaps, she worked in the mid-1980s as an executive at New World Entertainment developing a range of daytime, late-night and children's programs.

In addition to "Simple Life," Bunim-Murray's active production slate includes the drama "Starting Over," distributed by NBC Enterprises & Syndication, which follows the lives of a group of women whose lives are at a crossroads.

"Mary-Ellis was a true visionary in our business," NBC Enterprises & Syndication president Ed Wilson said. "She was a true professional who not only cared about the product she put up on the screen but also those she worked with."

Bunim is survived by her daughter, Julianna Bunim. A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Bunim's name to the Washington-based National Breast Cancer (news - web sites) Coalition Fund.

cine

Tough-guy actor Viterelli dead at 66[/size]


LAS VEGAS, Nevada (AP) -- Joe Viterelli, a stocky actor whose pug face helped him land a series of roles as lovable mugs in mob flicks that included "Analyze This," its sequel, and a recent Staples ad, has died. He was 66.

Viterelli died of complications from heart surgery on January 29, said his son, film composer Joseph Vitarelli, who spells his last name differently than his father.

A jack-of-all-trades before embarking on an acting career in his 50s, Viterelli said in interviews that he once operated a string of music schools started by his family in Queens. He later ran bars, drove a truck and had a job drilling bowling-ball holes, he said.

A New York City native, Viterelli moved to Los Angeles in the late 1970s. He became friends with director Leo Penn, who thought Viterelli's tough-guy features would play well in movies and television.

Viterelli initially declined to get into acting, but years later, the director's son, Sean Penn, called about his 1990 gangster tale "State of Grace."

Viterelli accepted the role and established himself as a dependable character actor, appearing in several dozen movies, including "Bullets Over Broadway," "Mobsters" and "Shallow Hal."

MacGuffin

Oscar-Nominated Actor Paul Winfield Dies



Paul Winfield, an Academy Award-nominated actor who was known for his versatility in stage, film and television roles, including a highly praised 1978 depiction of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., has died. He was 62.

Winfield died Sunday of a heart attack, said his agent Michael Livingston.

In 1968, Winfield played the boyfriend of Diahann Carroll in her situation comedy "Julia" - a role that some suggest helped open television to other black performers.

Four years later Winfield's portrayal of the father in "Sounder" earned him an Academy Award nomination for best actor.

He was Emmy-nominated for best actor in the title role of the 1978 miniseries "King," and nominated the next year in the best supporting actor category for playing a college chancellor willing to sing Negro spirituals to get donations for his school in "Roots: The Next Generation."

He finally won an Emmy in 1995 for a guest appearance on "Picket Fences." He played a federal judge whose rulings on busing inner-city children are challenged by a local resident.

Despite acclaim, Winfield was often relegated to supporting roles, including the 1974 remake of "Huckleberry Finn," "The Terminator," "Presumed Innocent" and his portrayal of Don King in the 1995 HBO movie, "Tyson."
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


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jasper_window

'Murphy Brown' Co-Star Pastorelli Dies Aged 49  




LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Robert Pastorelli, the boxer-turned-actor best known to television audiences as the house painter Eldin on long-running CBS comedy "Murphy Brown," has died, the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office said on Tuesday.

Pastorelli, 49, was found dead in the bathroom of his Hollywood Hills home on Monday afternoon, a coroner's spokesman said. Drug paraphernalia was found on the scene, he added, and an autopsy was to be conducted on Tuesday.


The New Jersey-born Pastorelli got into stage acting in the 1970s in productions like "Rebel Without A Cause" but found his greatest fame on "Murphy Brown," painting the house of the title character played by Candice Bergen (news) but never quite finishing his ambitious artistic projects on her walls.


He briefly had his own series, "Double Rush," about the manager of a bicycle messenger service. Most recently, he was cast in the film "Be Cool," a sequel to "Get Shorty."


Syndicated TV entertainment show Access Hollywood, which first reported the actor's death, said his girlfriend died in the same home in early 1999. The two had a daughter.

MacGuffin

Dead Milkmen bassist commits suicide

NEW YORK -- Dave Blood, bassist for defunct Philadelphia rock act the Dead Milkmen, committed suicide Wednesday, according to a post by his sister on the band's official message board (http://deadmilkmen.com). In a subsequent post, drummer Dean Clean confirmed the news. A memorial service will be held in the Delaware County area of southeastern Pennsylvania at some point in the near future, with details to be announced. The Dead Milkmen formed in 1983 and quickly rose to prominence in the college radio circuit. Their 1985 debut album, "Big Lizard in My Backyard" boasts the cult-classic single "Bitchin' Camaro," but was overshadowed in 1988 by "Punk Rock Girl," which was an MTV staple of the time. The band dissolved after releasing "Stoney's Extra Stout (Pig)" in 1995. In late 2003, Restless/Ryko released a retrospective of early and rare recordings, "Now We Are 20," and the "Philadelphia in Love" DVD, which compiled all of the band's videos. In recent years, Blood had stopped playing bass due to extreme tendonitis.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


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Jeremy Blackman

Quote from: MacGuffinDead Milkmen bassist commits suicide
or just: Dead Milkmen bassist Dead

Pubrick

Quote from: Jeremy Blackman
Quote from: MacGuffinDead Milkmen bassist commits suicide
or just: Dead Milkmen bassist Dead

or just: Dead Milkman Dead
under the paving stones.

cine

Quote from: P
Quote from: Jeremy Blackman
Quote from: MacGuffinDead Milkmen bassist commits suicide
or just: Dead Milkmen bassist Dead
or just: Dead Milkman Dead
I prefer: Dead Dead Milkman

Pubrick

Quote from: Cinephile
Quote from: P
Quote from: Jeremy Blackman
Quote from: MacGuffinDead Milkmen bassist commits suicide
or just: Dead Milkmen bassist Dead
or just: Dead Milkman Dead
I prefer: Dead Dead Milkman
how bout: Dead Milkmen Man Dead, man
under the paving stones.

cine

Quote from: P
Quote from: Cinephile
Quote from: P
Quote from: Jeremy Blackman
Quote from: MacGuffinDead Milkmen bassist commits suicide
or just: Dead Milkmen bassist Dead
or just: Dead Milkman Dead
I prefer: Dead Dead Milkman
how bout: Dead Milkmen Man Dead, man
Or even something sort of ridiculous like: Dead Milkman Man of Dead Milkmen Dead, Call the Milkmen because he's outta milk, man

MacGuffin

MTV "VJ" J.J. Jackson Dead at 62  



LOS ANGELES, Mar 18, 2004 (United Press International) -- J.J. Jackson, one of the original VJ's on MTV, has died of an apparent heart attack in Los Angeles, MTV reported Thursday. He was 62.

Jackson died Wednesday night, according to friends and former business associates.

Jackson was part of the first line-up of air personalities when MTV was launched in 1982. In five years with the music cable channel, he became familiar to viewers for his upbeat, friendly demeanor -- as well as his interviews with some of the top musical acts of the era.

He covered the Live Aid benefit concert in 1985 and took part in the "unmasking" of KISS during a 1982 interview on MTV.

"J.J. Jackson's deep passion for music, his ease and good humor on air, and his welcoming style really set the tone for the early days of MTV," said the music channel in a statement. "He was a big part of the channel's success and we are sure he is in the music section of heaven, with lots of his friends and heroes."
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


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El Duderino

i hope the woman that plays George's mom on Seinfeld dies soon. Estelle somethin
Did I just get cock-blocked by Bob Saget?

Pubrick

Quote from: El Duderinoi hope the woman that plays George's mom on Seinfeld dies soon. Estelle somethin
wtf, did she kill ur father or sumthing?
under the paving stones.

El Duderino

Quote from: Pubrick
Quote from: El Duderinoi hope the woman that plays George's mom on Seinfeld dies soon. Estelle somethin
wtf, did she kill ur father or sumthing?

stepfather
Did I just get cock-blocked by Bob Saget?