Eve's Obits

"People are dying who never died before!"

British actor David Burke—Watson to Jeremy Brett’s Sherlock Holmes—has died, his family announced on May 14. He was 91. The Liverpool native was an RADA grad, and started his career onstage. He appeared in nearly 100 films and TV shows beginning in the early ’60s. Among his many vehicles were Reilly, Ace of Spies (as Stalin), The Avengers, Coronation Street (was everyone in that?), Dr. Finlay’s Casebook, Crown Court, The House of Eliott, Poirot, Casualty, Holby City, and that

Stage and screen actress Aleta Mitchell, 74, died on April 14. Mitchell played Dussie Mae in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom on Broadway, and appeared in Off-Broadway and regional productions of such plays Distracted, Ohio State Murders, and Intimate Apparel. She had roles in the films The Serpent and the Rainbow, Valmont, Malcolm X, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, and the upcoming Morning Into Night, and was on TV’s The Cosby Show, Law & Order, and The Equalizer. Her famil

Death Elves alert me that actress and comic scion Kitty Bruce, 70, has died after surgery for a knee replacement (so far the only confirmation I can find is on Facebook and Instagram, and I been done fooled before!). Kitty was the daughter of scandalous couple Lenny Bruce and Honey Harlow, and acted in the 1970s movies Switchblade Sisters and Andy Warhol’s aptly titled Bad. She was also a singer, opening for such acts as opening for acts such as George Carlin and Diana Ross.

British actor Alan Rothwell, 89, died on May 14. Rothwell costarred in the TV series Oliver Twist, Top Secret, Coronation Street (he was one of the original cast members), Brookside, Emmerdale Farm, Wilmot, Dead Man Weds, and Doctors, and did one-offs on many other series (he was Capt. Smith in the 2005 TV movie Titanic: Birth of a Legend). He also appeared in the films Linda, Nothing but the Best, Zeppelin, and Reunion. Rothwell was a presenter on the kids’ shows Picture Box

Actress, singer, and convicted killer Claudine Longet, 84, has died, her family announced on May 14. The native Parisienne married singer Andy Williams (from 1961-75), and with her move to to US, and was soon doing bits on TV (McHale’s Navy, Dr. Kildare, Hogan’s Heroes, Laugh-In, Alias Smith and Jones); she also frequently appeared on her husband’s variety show. She also had some success as a soft-pop singer. In 1976 Longet was found guilty of negligent homicide in the shooti

Comic, TV writer and producer John Barbour, 93, died on May 10. Born in Canada, he started his career as a stand-up comic eventually hosting radio shows in L.A. and Chicago. As an actor, he had small roles in Sanford and Son, The Governor and JJ, Get Smart, Ironside, The Odd Couple, and Laugh-In. He produced and directed two JFK assassination documentaries and a documentary on Ernie Kovacs, as well as hosting the pilot for The Gong Show, which he found beneath him, forcing Ch

Big tough-guy character actor Donald Gibb, 71, died on May 12. He played Ogre in three Revenge of the Nerds movies, also appearing in two Bloodsport movies with Jean-Claude Van Damme. He played football with the San Diego Chargers before turning to acting, and his distinctive looks got him roles on such movies and TV shows as Stripes, Conan the Barbarian, The A-Team, Magnum PI, Amazon Women on the Moon, Night Court, Quantum Leap, Cheers, The X-Files, Seinfeld, Murphy Brown, D

Screenwriter Barry W. Blaustein, 71, died of pancreatic cancer on May 12. He started his career working for Mike Douglas; Blaustein befriended Eddie Murphy while writing for Saturday Night Live in the early ‘80s, penning his hilarious Buckwheat, Gumby, Velvet Jones, and Mr. Robinson sketches. With his frequent writing partner David Sheffield, Blaustein wrote the Murphy vehicles Coming to America, Boomerang, and two Nutty Professor films, as well as contributing to four Police

American actor Jack Taylor, best known for his European films, died at the age of 99, it was announced on May 12. He started his career on American TV, but by the late 1950s had moved to Spain, where he found success in such films as Succubus, Count Dracula, Eugenie… The Story of Her Journey into Perversion, Female Vampire, and Pieces. He also appeared in such US and international films as Cleopatra (“If you blink, you will not see me, but I am there, acting as a Greek slave

Film critic and sometimes actor Rex Reed, 87, died on May 12. Reed wrote for the The New York Observer, the New York Daily News, and the New York Post, as well as penning such gossipy books as Do You Sleep in the Nude?, Conversations in the Raw, People Are Crazy Here, and Valentines & Vitriol. Reed was known for his particularly bitchy, insulting reviews (he’s the one who started the “Marisa Tomei didn’t really win an Oscar” rumor), so when he attempted to act, in the appalli

TV commercial writer and director Joe Sedelmaier, 92, died on May 8. Working at at Young & Rubicam and J. Walter Thompson, Sedelmaier was the brain behind Wendy’s “Where’s the Beef?!” ad, and the Fed-Ex “fast-talking guy” (the stars of which were Clara Peller and John Moschitta, Jr., respectively). The Wendy’s “Russian Fashion Show” was another spot that always made me laugh (though I must add, neither the fashion show nor Clara Peller got me to actually eat at Wendy’s). His

Stage and TV actress Jennifer Harmon, 82, died on May 9. Harmon—not related to the other Acting Harmons—appeared more than a dozen times on Broadway, in You Can’t Take It with You, The School for Scandal, The Wild Duck, The Cherry Orchard, The Sisters Rosensweig, The Dinner Party, and Dividing the Estate, among other shows. She had continuing roles in One Life to Live and How to Survive a Marriage, and did one-offs in Barnaby Jones, Dallas, St. Elsewhere, Oz, and The Good Wif

British actor Michael Pennington, 82, died on May 10. He was best-known to film fans as Moff Jerjerrod in Return of the Jedi and The Empire Strikes Back, but much of his career was spent onstage. Pennington was a regular with the Royal Shakespeare Company, touring throughout the UK and playing on the West End, in both Shakespeare and the moderns (he also starred as Shakespeare in the one-man show Sweet William, and co-founded the English Shakespeare Company). He also appeared

Scottish actress Claire Nielson, 89, died on April 26. A graduate of the Royal Scottish Academy of Dramatic Art, she played many roles onstage, including a helping of Shakespeare. Nielson’s obits are doing nip-ups over her role as an American guest on Fawlty Towers, but I remember her as one of Rose’s suffragists on Upstairs, Downstairs. She was very busy on TV, having recurring roles on Redgauntlet, Ghost Squad, The Revenue Men, The Prior Commitment, The Scobie Men, The Brot

Swashbuckling media mogul Ted Turner, 87, died on May 6. If he never did anything else, Turner founded Turner Classic Movies, for which I have a small shrine to him in my apartment. He also founded CNN, pretty much setting off the 24-hour news cycle, which I have very divided opinions on. A billboard heir, Turner got into broadcasting with a UHF station in the 1970s, and quickly built his empire (he also owned he Atlanta Braves, and promoted anti-nuke and environmental causes

Actor Jonathan Tiersten, 60, died at his New Jersey home, his family announced on May 5. He costarred in the 1983 slasher film Sleepaway Camp, also appearing in the sequel, Return to Sleepaway Camp. He also starred as a serial killer in The Perfect House (2012), and appeared in Sugar!, The House That Wept Blood (I hope they didn’t have carpeting), Blood Reservoir, Redemption, and the intriguingly titled Toilet Zombie Baby Strikes Back. Tiersten told writer Todd Martin, “In ac

French actress Claire Maurier, 97, died on May 3. She is most familiar to US audiences as the harried mother in The 400 Blows, Simone (Renato’s baby mamma) in La Cage aux Folles, and as the café owner in Amélie. Maurier started her career onstage, and after WWII, she turned to films and TV. Some of the vehicles which reached the US include The Adventures of Gil Blas, The Parisian, Rendezvous, A Mistress for the Summer, My Wife’s Husband, and A Bad Son; she also had supporting

Actor Gary Lydon, 61, died on May 3. Born in England but raised in Ireland, he appeared mostly in his adopted country. Lydon appeared as Patrick Murray on the TV show The Clinic (2003-09). He started his career with the Wexford Theatre Workshop, acting in such plays as Fool for Love, Equus, and What the Butler Saw. He went on to appear in some 60 TV series and movies, having two in post-production at the time of his death. Lydon recalled that his parents “were a bit annoyed”

Search engine Ask Jeeves shut down operations on May 1. “We are deeply grateful to the brilliant engineers, designers, and teams who built and supported Ask over the decades,” the company posted. “And to you—the millions of users who turned to us for answers in a rapidly changing world—thank you for your endless curiosity, your loyalty, and your trust. Jeeves’ spirit endures.” A more user-friendly version of Google (which now holds an infuriating monopoly over the world), th

Tough-guy actor Beau Starr, who played Lt. Harding Welsh in TV’s Due South, died on April 24. He was 81. The brother of actor Mike Starr, Beau played football for the Montreal Alouettes, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, and the New York Jets. From the 1980s through 2013, Starr was a very busy character actor in films and on TV: He played Sheriff Ben Meeker in Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers and Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers, and was seen in such shows and movies

Florida-based budget Spirit Airlines shut its operations on May 2. Cause of death is said to be high fuel prices due to the US war on Iran. Spirit was founded as Clippert Trucking Company in 1964, took to the air as Charter One Airlines in 1990, changing its name to Spirit in ’92. It had gone through frequent FAA and financial problems, though it was known for reliable on-time arrivals, safety, and low prices (though they were the first US airline to charge for carry-on bags)

Actress Gwen Farrell, 93, died in Los Angeles on April 30. The daughter of Lovie Yancey, founder of the Fatburger chain of restaurants, Farrell had a brief acting career in the 1970s— she was best known as Nurse Wilson in 26 episodes of M*A*S*H, also playing small roles in Soylent Green, Billy Jack Goes to Washington, Earthquake, The Towering Inferno, Starsky and Hutch, Black Gunn, and Coffy. Farrell was also a boxing referee, the first woman to referee a world title bout.

Country singer/songwriter David Allan Coe, 86, died on April 29. Coe wrote “Take This Job and Shove It,” and sang such country hits as "You Never Even Called Me by My Name,” "Longhaired Redneck,” "The Ride,” "Mona Lisa Lost Her Smile,” and "She Used to Love Me a Lot.” After a youth spent in prisons and reform schools, Coe moved to Nashville, where he lived in a hearse and busked on the streets; his career took off in the 1970s, and he toured and recorded, becoming a popular “

Actor Dion Anderson, 87, died on April 26. Anderson was a regular on Days of Our Lives and Townies, and from 1982 through 2005 appeared in such films and TV shows as Kate & Allie, Murphy Brown, The Golden Girls, Dying Young, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Dream On, The Shawshank Redemption, Murder She Wrote, The X-Files, Will & Grace, and Gilmore Girls. Anderson served in in the US Army, and attended the University of Texas and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts; he a

Film historian David Fantle, 66, died of a heart attack at his Milwaukee home on April 28. Fantle wrote several books, including Hollywood Heyday: 75 Candid Interviews with Golden Age Legends, C'mon, Get Happy: The Making of Summer Stock, Reel to Real: 25 Years of Celebrity Interviews from Vaudeville to Movies to TV, and Bad Boys: The Real Story Behind America's Hot Rebels, interviewing such stars as Lucille Ball, James Cagney, Robert Wagner, Jerry Lewis, Bob Hope, Janet Leig

Character actress Mariclare Costello, 90, died on April 17. In New York, she appeared at the Sheridan Square Theater, the Public Theater, the Actor's Studio, and Lincoln Center; she also acted on Broadway in After the Fall, Tartuffe, The Country Wife, Lovers and Other Strangers, and Harvey, among other shows. Costello also had small or supporting roles in such films and TV shows as Ordinary People, The Execution of Private Slovik, Kojak, Raid on Entebbe, The Waltons, Little H

Singer Nedra Talley—the last surviving Ronette—died on April 26. She was 80. Talley and her cousins Ronnie and Estelle Bennett sang as "The Darling Sisters" till they were discovered by batshit-crazy producer Phil Spector, who signed them in 1963, renamed them The Ronettes (he also married Ronnie, from 1968-74; she was lucky to escape with her life). The Ronettes recorded such hits as “Be My Baby,” "Walking in the Rain,” "Frosty the Snowman,” “Silhouettes," "Baby, I Love You,

Chicago-based character actor Matt DeCaro, 70, died on April 25; he was currently appearing in The Goodman Theater’s production of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. He was a regular at the Goodman, also acting with the Drury Lane Theater, the Marriott Theater, and the Steppenwolf Theater. He also appeared in such movies and TV shows as Richie Rich, Cold Case, NYPD Blue, Prison Break, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Boston Legal, and Chicago Fire, among others. DeCaro’s agent Jim McCaffrey wrot

Classical music conductor, pianist, and composer Michael Tilson Thomas, 81, died on April 22. I grew up in a musical household—not like The Seven Little Foys; I just mean we all loved a variety of music. I fell in love the with Baroques—Bach, Vivaldi, Corelli (my father leaned toward the loud, crashy composers, and my mother liked swing and Motown). Anyway, Thomas was conducting and composing practically before he was out of short pants, and eventually conducted (and recorded

British actress Elsie Kelly, 89, died on April 21. Kelly had costarring roles on TV’s Crossroads, The Famous Five, Harry and the Wrinklies, and Benidorm. She was also director of the Birkenhead Operatic Society Trust, for which she helmed numerous productions around the country (as well as becoming the head of the Elliott-Clarke School of Dance and Drama in Liverpool), She also appeared on TV in Bread, The Ghost Hunter, Skins, Occupation, Coronation Street, and Inside No. 9,

Argentine tango dancer and choreographer María Nieves , 91, has died, her family announced on April 19. Nieves and her dance partner Juan Carlos Copes starred in the 1983 musical Tango Argentino (they were also married from 1964-73, and continued dancing together after their amicable divorce). The pair met as teens, and were soon dancing together (among other things), and eventually toured through Central America, Venezuela, Brazil, Mexico, Cuba, and Puerto Rico, becoming th

Alan Osmond , the oldest of the singing Osmonds, died on April 20. He was 76 (there were two older Osmond siblings, but they did not sing). Alan, Wayne, Merrill, and Jay Osmond started as a barbershop quartet, and were soon appearing on The Andy Williams Show and The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters (younger siblings Donny and Marie didn’t join the group till later). Alan acted as piano and guitar player, songwriter, producer and choreographer for the gang of wholesome, toothy

Busy TV actor Rif Hutton , who costarred as Dr. Ron Welch on Doogie Howser, M.D ., died of cancer at his Pasadena home on April 11. He was 63. Hutton also appeared as Lenny Caulfield on General Hospital , and guested on such shows as The Jeffersons , Night Court , L.A. Law , Married... with Children , Wings , Murphy Brown , The Larry Sanders Show , Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman , Knots Landing, Babylon 5, 3 rd Rock from the Sun, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and

British scientist and TV host Desmond Morris , 98, died on April 19. Morris is best known for his best-selling 1967 book The Naked Ape , a study of monkeys, apes, and humans, which also popularized “ape paintings” (insert your favorite joke about modern art here). Morris wrote countless books on various animals and humans and—before the ubiquitous David Attenborough cornered the market—hosted such TV series as Zoo Time, The World About Us, Nature, The Animal Contract, The Hum

Actor and producer Patrick Muldoon , 57, died of a heart attack on April 19. Muldoon costarred as Richard Hart on Melrose Place and as Austin Reed on Days of Our Lives ; he also played Zander Barcalow in the film Starship Troopers . Muldoon started his career as a model, breaking into TV and movies in the early ’90s. He appeared in countless indie films and Hallmark and Lifetime TV-movies (most recently he was seen in last year’s Double Scoop , on Hallmark). Starting in 2013

Moroccan-born French actress Nadia Farès , 57, died on April 17, a week after having been found unconscious in a swimming pool in Paris. Born in Marrakech, she moved to France to pursue her acting career, and quickly found success with the 1992 film My Wife's Girlfriends , and costarring in the TV series The Exile . She went on to costar in TV’s Revivre, Marseille, Les Ombres Rouges, The Promise , and Luther , and such films as Wasabi, War , and Storm Warning . Farès is survi

Nathalie Baye , a French actress also well known in the US, died on April 17 in Paris. She was 77. Baye appeared in such films as Truffaut’s Day for Night, The Man Who Loved Women , and The Green Room , Robert Wise’s Two People , Jean-Luc Godard’s Every Man for Himself and Detective , and Steven Spielberg’s Catch Me if You Can , as well as Le Retour de Martin Guerre , winning eight César Awards in her long career. Her romantic partners included actor Philippe Léotard and sin

Irish actor Finnian Garbutt , 28, died of skin cancer (diagnosed four years ago) on April 17. Garbutt was a graduate of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, and had acted onstage (he played Benvolio in Romeo and Juliet at the Lyric Theatre in Belfast). He was best known for playing PC Ryan Power on the BBC cop show Hope Street , and also acted on TV’s Casualty , the film Housejackers , and the short To Break a Circle . His Hope Street production company wrote, “He wa

Scottish actor Alexander Morton , 81, has died, his family announced on April 15. Morton costarred as Golly Mackenzie on Monarch of the Glen (2000-05), also playing continuing roles in Cloud Howe, Winners and Losers, Take the High Road, Firm Friends , and Taggart . Morton co-founded Glasgow’s Raindog Theatre Company, and played everything from Shakespeare to One Flew Over the Cuckooo’s Nest . He was also seen in the films Get Carter, Silent Scream (a horror film, not that a

1960s blonde bombshell Joy Harmon , 85, died on April 14. A model, pin-up girl, and beauty-pageant contests, she appeared on Broadway in Make a Million (1958) and Off-Broadway in Susan Slept Here (1961). In the 1960s and early ’70s, Harmon lent her decorative looks to such movies and TV shows as Cool Hand Luke (doing a sexy car-wash), The Beverly Hillbillies, Bewitched, Batman, Village of the Giants, The Loved, One, Young Dillinger, Burke’s Law, Occasional Wife, That Girl

Canadian actor Richard Donat (nephew of film star Robert Donat and brother of actor Peter Donat) died on March 28. He was 84. Donat costarred in the Canadian TV series Emily of New Moon, Blackfly , and Haven , as well as acting in numerous other shows and movies (among them Little House on the Prairie, The Littlest Hobo, The Weight of Water, My American Cousin, Amelia, Moby Dick, Hemlock Grove , and Sullivan’s Crossing ). He also acted onstage throughout Canada, and made it

Valerie Lee , who appeared in The Wizard of Oz , died on April 12. She was 94. Oz was Lee’s first film and her only feature (she was one of the tinier Munchkins). She was already an accomplished dancer when cast in that, and she went on to act and dance in such late Our Gang shorts as Time Out for Lessons, Ye Olde Minstrels, Doin’ Their Bit, Benjamin Franklin, Jr., Election Daze, and Dancing Romeo . Lee left the show business for marriage and family by the late ’40s.

Sid Krofft , who with his brother Marty (who died in 2023) created some of the most popular, and cheesiest, kid’s shows on TV, died on April 10, He was 96. Krofft started his career working with puppets and marionettes, in nightclubs (opening for Judy Garland) and what was left of vaudeville. He and Marty teamed up for the adult-themed Les Poupées de Pari s show; they eventually moved to TV and created the hugely popular H.R. Pufnstuf, The Bugaloos, Lidsville, Sigmund and the

British actor John Nolan , 87, died on April 11. Nolan acted extensively onstage, including with the Royal Shakespeare Company (he was Romeo to Francesca Annis’s Juliet) and the Old Vic (where he appeared in in Tennessee Williams' Small Craft Warnings ). On TV, he costarred in Daniel Deronda, Person of Interest , and Doomwatch ; his other vehicles included The Prisoner, The Nelson Affair, The Sweeney, Dickens of London, Crown Court, Batman Begins and The Dark Knight Rises, D

British actress Angela Pleasence , 84, has died, her family announced on April 10. The daughter of performers Donald Pleasence and Miriam Raymond, she acted onstage through the 1970s, and was appearing in films and on TV by 1965. She appeared in such vehicles as Coronation Street, The Six Wives of Henry VIII (as Catherine Howard), Hitler: The Last Ten Days, A Legacy, Les Miserables, The Barchester Chronicles, Silas Marner, Stealing Heaven, Gangs of New York, The Bill, Dr. Wh

Swiss-born German character actor Mario Adorf , 95, died on April 8 in Paris. Adorf often played villains or authority figures: "In and of itself, the villain is the interesting role in a book,” he said. “I don't love the villains as people, as characters, but I know their significance, so I'm happy to lend them my body, my face.” He appeared in such films as The Tin Drum , Ten Little Indians , Smilla's Sense of Snow , Major Dundee , The Devil Strikes at Night , Smiley's Peo

Irish actor and playwright Michael Patrick , 35, died of motor neuron disease (which also killed his father) on April 7. Patrick acted with the Royal Shakespeare Company, The Abbey Theatre, The Lyric Theatre, and Northern Ireland Opera; with writing partner Oisín Kearney, he penned the autobiographical plays My Left Nut and My Right Foot . He also acted in 20-some movies and TV shows, including Game of Thrones, The Keeper, Bravery Under Fire, Krypton, The Spectacular, Blasts

Actor Carl W. Crudup , 79, died on Jan. 10. Crudup appeared on Broadway in The First Breeze of Summer (1975), and in Los Angeles MET's The Tempest , as Prospero. The Mississippi native served in the Army, and studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. He was seen in such films as J.D.’s Revenge, The Monkey Hu$tle , and Love in a Day , as well as numerous indie shorts. On TV, Crudup had roles in Harry O, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Rockford Files, Vega$, TJ Hooker,

Actress Dee Freeman, 66, died of cancer on April 2. A former Marine Corps sergeant, DJ, and flight attendant, Freeman appeared onstage at the the (former) Kennedy Center, the Court Theater, and the Colsac Theater. On TV, she had continuing roles in The Hughleys, Pretty the Series , and Do Us Part , and had one-off appearances in The Young and the Restless , NCIS L.A., Dexter, E.R., Crossing Jordan, Boston Public, Six Feet Under, Suddenly Susan, Kenan & Kel, 3 rd Rock from th

Actress and writer Jessie Jones , 75, died on March 20 (most of her obits trumpet her as “ Murphy Brown Star,” but she appeared in one episode —must have given Candice Bergen quite a turn!). Jones also showed up in such TV series as Newhart, Night Court, Designing Women, Perfect Strangers, Who’s the Boss?, Caroline in the City , and Melrose Place ; she also wrote the play Dearly Departed , and episodes of the series For Your Love and Teacher’s Pet . Her family wrote that “J