Eve's Obits

"People are dying who never died before!"

Character actress Marcia Ann Burrs , 85, died on March 22. Burrs played Mrs. Claus in the Hallmark TV-movies Meet the Santas  and Single Santa Seeks Mrs. Claus , and she did one-offs on such TV series as Moonlighting, Suddenly Susan, Will & Grace, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Gilmore Girls, Judging Amy, Monk, That ‘70s Show, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Scrubs, Bones, Mad Men , and Angie Tribeca , among others. Born in the Philippines, she moved to New York and worked in t

Chip Taylor , who wrote such wildly diverse hits as "Angel of the Morning" and "Wild Thing," died on March 23. He was 86. Born James Wesley Voight, Taylor was the brother of actor Jon Voight, and uncle of Angelina Jolie. He performed with his sometime songwriting partner Al Gorgoni in the group Just Us. Besides the above-named successes, Taylor wrote such pop songs as "I Can't Let Go," "Worry," "Any Way That You Want Me," and "Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)." He continued to

Pin-up and actress Reagan Wilson , 79, died on March 20. The Montana native moved to L.A. as a teenager, and was soon working as a model; she was Playboy ’s Playmate of the Month in October 1967, and in 1969 her photo was taken aboard Apollo 12 (which raises questions about what one can and cannot do in zero gravity). In 1968, she appeared at an anti-feminist “Men's Day” event at the University of Washington in Seattle, where counter-protesters chanted, “Reagan Wilson, you ar

Leonid Radvinsky , who ran the ultra-skeevy website OnlyFans, died of cancer on March 20. He was 43. Forbes estimated that Radvinsky made $4.7 billion getting people to take their clothing off, which is more than the Minsky brothers could claim. Born in Odessa, he grew up in Chicago and started his career investing in tech companies (I would like to do that, too, but was disappointed to find that you had to have actual money  to do that). In 2018, he bought a 75% stake in Onl

Valerie Perrine , 82, whose successful acting career was derailed by Parkinson’s, died on March 23. Perrine was not pursuing an acting career when an agent spotted her at a party and got her a part in Slaughterhouse-Five (1972). Her showgirl looks (her cheekbones could cut diamonds) plus humor and talent were displayed in Lenny, The Last American Hero, Superman  (and Superman II ), The Electric Horseman, Water , and the disco camp classic Can’t Stop the Music . Her last film

Downtown artist, actor and archivist Agosto Machado  died on March 21. He was thought to be in his 80s, but as he said, “a lady never tells.” The Chinese-Spanish-Filipino-American orphan landed in the East Village in the late 1950s, and became a fixture of the artsy-fartsy downtown scene, befriending such pioneer as Candy Darling, Marsha P. Johnson (which whom Machado claimed to be with at Stonewall), Ethyl Eichelberger, Holly Woodlawn, Jack Smith, “and a number of friends wh

Actress Carrie Anne Fleming died of cancer in her native British Columbia on Feb. 26. She was 51. Fleming costarred in the series iZombie , and had nice supporting roles in such films and TV series as Happy Gilmore, Bloodsuckers, Masters of Horror, The L Word, Smallville, Good Luck Chuck, Supernatural, Continuum, Motive , and Rememory , among others. Fleming said of her work on Masters of Horror , “I've got this prosthetic face on and these monster teeth with drool coming of

Irish actor Ben Keaton , 69, died on March 20. The Dublin native was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 2000 for his role in Animal Crackers , also appearing onstage in American Buffalo, Harvey, Cyrano de Bergerac , and Hay Fever . He was also a stand-up comic, both touring and heading up the revue Ben Keaton & Friends . Keaton was a regular on TV’s Casualty and Hububb , and did one-offs on Father Ted, Doctors, TV Burp , and The Bill , as well as the films Eas

Singer and actor Louis Edmond Cordero , who performed both as Louie Louie  and Louie Cordero , died on March 20. He was 63. Louie played Madonna’s pool-playing love interest in her “Borderline” video. He also acted in House Party 2, Kids , and Debating Christ . As a singer, he toured, and recorded the hits "Sittin' in the Lap of Luxury" and "I Wanna Get Back with You.” “I like to use words like 'energy' and 'drive' to describe my act," Louie said. “It's up-tempo, glad-you're-

Australian horror-film director Jamie Blanks , 54, died on March 20 at his home in Melbourne; he had recently been in poor health. Blanks directed such successful horror films as Urban Legend, Valentine, Storm Warning , and Nature’s Grave ; he also composed music for some 30 films, including his own. Blanks was married to assistant director Simone Chin. Film historian Brian W. Collins wrote that Blanks “was a genuine film fan . . . despite his career, he still had the same ge

I am paying a belated tribute to New York DJ Rich Conaty  (1954 - 2016) because I miss him, and because I wanted to provide a link to his wonderful archives. Rich hosted The Big Broadcast , a Sunday night radio show, from 1973 till his death. He played 1920s-30s pop and jazz, my favorite music. I was interviewed on The Big Broadcast  when my Vernon and Irene Castle book came out (Rich kindly dug out some 1910s tunes for that), and I won the Miss Big Broadcast pageant two year

Actor Nicholas Brendon , 54, died on March 20 after years of poor health (he had cauda equina syndrome, a spinal-cord disorder). Brendon was best known for playing Xander Harris in Buffy the Vampire Slayer  and Kevin Lynch in Criminal Minds . He had pretty much given up on acting when cast in Buffy , but with that success went on to appear in such films and TV shows as Psycho Beach Party, Kitchen Confidential, Relative Chaos, American Dragon, Unholy, Blood on the Highway, Pri

In a further sign of the general crappification of the CBS News Division, it was announced on March 20 that the owner, Paramount Skydance Corporation, would be firing the CBS News Radio  Team and closing operations CBS News provided content to more than1,000 radio stations throughout the United States. The service was founded as United Independent Broadcasters in 1927, and the following year, William S. Paley bought half-interest and whipped it into one of the Big Three radio

Hilariously macho actor Chuck Norris , 86, died on March 19. With his squinty eyes and weirdly felt-like beard, Norris starred as Walker, Texas Ranger from 1993-2001. He was an Air Force vet who held just about every martial-arts black belts that they make, and by 1968 he’d moved into acting. Norris appeared in such movies and TV shows as The Way of the Dragon (requested by Bruce Lee himself), Breaker! Breaker!, Lone Wolf McQuade, Missing in Action, Code of Silence, The Del

Character actor Ed Bernard , 86, died on Jan. 23 (though whether it was January of 2025 or ’26 is up to some debate). The Philadelphia native played undercover cop Joe Styles on Police Woman  and Principal Willis on The White Shadow , as well as Lt. Giles on Hardcastle and McCormick  for five episodes. Bernard started his career onstage, and made his film debut in Shaft  (1971). Through 2005, he appeared in such movies and TV series as The Hot Rock, Trader Horn, Mannix, That’

British character actor Tom Georgeson , 88, died on March 18 in London. He was a Liverpool native, and his his nephew, Danny Conway, said, “The whole family has got an artistic streak through them. They're either artists or performers. It started with my grandad, who was into amateur dramatics. He got Tom into it as well.” Georgeson was known for his stage, screen and TV work; onstage, he acted with the Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse Theatres, in such shows as The Kindness

Dancer and actress Kiki Shepard , 74, died of a heart attack on March 16. Shepard danced with the D. C. Repertory Dance Company, and acted with the Delacourt Summer Shakespearean Festival in New York. She appeared on Broadway in Bubbling Brown Sugar , Comin' Uptown , Reggae , Your Arms Too Short to Box With God , and Porgy and Bess , and in such movies and TV shows as The Wiz, The Cotton Club, A Rage in Harlem, A Different World, Baywatch, Thunder in Paradise, NYPD Blue, Ever

Silent-film historian and author John Bengtson , 68, died of ALS on Jan. 29. Bengston wrote Silent Traces: Discovering Early Hollywood Through the Films of Charlie Chaplin, Silent Visions: Discovering Early Hollywood and New York Through the Films of Harold Lloyd , and Silent Echoes: Discovering Early Hollywood Through the Films of Buster Keaton , tracing locations where famous films were shot in today’s L.A. I love those “Then and Now” city books, so these are fascinating to

Busy character actor Matt Clark , 89, died on March 12 in his Austin, Texas, home. He started his career in the theater—Off-Broadway and Washington, DC, theater groups—before making his film debut as a mugger in 1964’s Black Like Me . Clark went on to play small or supporting roles in more than 100 films and TV shows. He did a lot of westerns, due to his tall, lanky looks (surely there were some short, pudgy cowboys!): Will Penny, Bonanza, The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid,

TV and movie actress Judy Pace , 83, has died, it was announced on March 15. Pace was best known for playing Vickie Fletcher on Peyton Place  and Pat Walters on The Young Lawyers , as well as Billy Dee Williams’s wife in Brian's Song . She was also seen in the movies 13 Frightened Girls  (her film debut, in 1963), The Oscar, The Fortune Cookie, The Thomas Crown Affair, Three in the Attic, Cotton Comes to Harlem , and Frogs , and just about every TV series of the 1960s-80s (in

Troubled British actor and singer John Alford , 54, was found dead in his jail cell in Norfolk on March 13. Alford got his start as a child actor, costarring in the Britcom Now and Then  and the series Grange Hill . As an adult, he costarred as one of the firemen in London's Burning , and in the film Mike Bassett: England Manager . His other vehicles included Mile High, Provoked, Casualty, Wounded,  and The Hatton Garden Job . In the ‘90s, he also hit the charts with several

British actress Jane Lapotaire , 81, died on March 5. She was famed for her stage, TV and films roles, winning a Tony for Piaf , which she’d also performed on the West End. She performed with the the Bristol Old Vic, the National Theatre, The Young Vic (which she co-founded), and the Royal Shakespeare Company. She also played Maria Callas in Masterclass , and and Gertrude to Kenneth Branagh‘s Hamlet , and starred in the one-woman show Shakespeare As I Knew Her .  From the 196

Australian actress Wendy Playfair,  99, died on March 11. A descendant of politician Thomas Playfair (as well as being a relative of Olympic swimmer Judy Playfair, TV exec David Leckie, and the Sydney Theatre Company’s Kip Williams), she started her career on radio and in the theater. She played Minnie Donovan, a Prisoner of Cell Block H  (1983-84), and costarred in the Geena Davis film Accidents Happen . Among her other movie and TV vehicles were The Affair, Homicide, Matloc

TV ( Charles in Charge ) and movie ( Ghostbusters ) actress Jennifer Runyon , 65, died on March 6 after a long illness. The daughter of disc jockey Jim Runyon and actress Jane Roberts, Runyon played Sally Frame for two years on Another World , and was Scott Baio’s girlfriend Gwendolyn in the first season of Charles in Charge . She had small or supporting roles in Ghostbusters, Quantum Leap, The Fall Guy, The Falcon and the Snowman, Magnum PI, Who’s the Boss?, Dear John, 18 Ag

Eccentric country/folk singer/songwriter Joseph Allen "Country Joe" McDonald , 84, died on March 7. McDonald was lead singer and co-founder of the 1960s Country Joe and the Fish, whose biggest hit was the (just as pertinent today--"Vietnam" and "Iran" even rhyme) anti-war ballad “I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die” (1967), which I will have stuck in my head the rest of the day. Named after Joseph Stalin (!) by his lefty parents, McDonald was a Berkeley dropout, an anti-war demonst

Actor Corey Parker , 60, died of cancer on March 5. The son of actress Rocky Parker, he attended the High School of Performing Arts, and performed with Chicago's Steppenwolf Theater Company, Joe Papp’s Public Theater, and the Mark Taper Theater in Los Angeles. He appeared on the big and small screens (usually in small or supporting roles) in Friday the 13 th : A New Beginning, 9-1/2 weeks, Biloxi Blues, How I Got Into College, Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story  (as Eddie Fisher

A whole quill of writers has keeled over dead! Bob Rosenfarb , 74, died on March 3. He wrote and/or produced such TV shows as Who’s The Boss?, Step by Step, St. Elsewhere, Cagney & Lacey,  and The Golden Girls . “Those who knew him will remember his wit, his warmth and the unmistakable twinkle in his eye when he shared a story or told an outrageous joke,” his family wrote. Gary Dontzig , 79, died on Feb. 23; his credits include the Dan Quayle episode of Murphy Brown , as well

Sporty retailer Eddie Bauer  will close all of its North American stores by April 30, after filing for bankruptcy failed to tempt any buyers. Founded in Seattle, Bauer sold sportswear (including its famed quilted down jackets), expanding to everything from eyeglasses to cars to home furnishings; its mail-order catalogs became tempting “wish books” worldwide (I am a Vermont Country Store girl, myself). During WWII, the United States Army Air Corps commissioned Eddie Bauer to d

Screenwriter and actor Stephen Hibbert  died of a heart attack on March 2. He was either 65 or 68, depending on what sources one believes. The British-born Hibbert wrote for The Groundlings comedy troupe, Late Night with David Letterman, Animaniacs, Darkwing Duck, Mad TV , and Boy Meets World ; he also wrote It’s Pat for his then-wife, national treasure Julia Sweeney. Hibbert played small roles in Pulp Fiction, Newhart, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Just Shoot Me!,

Actress Maria O’Brien , 75, died on Feb. 24. The daughter of Edmond O’Brien and Olga San Juan, she appeared in such films and TV shows as Protocol , Smile , The Incredible Shrinking Woman ,  The Love Boat , How the West Was Won , CHiPs , Magnum, P.I. , L.A. Law , Matlock , Murder, She Wrote , and Suddenly Susan ; she also had costarring roles in The Life and Times of Eddie Roberts and Ave 43. O’Brien also worked as an acting coach (for 22 years on Days of Our Lives). Her bro

Model turned actress Annabel Schofield , 62, died of cancer on Feb. 28. The Welsh-born Schofield became a top fashion model in the ‘80s, walking the runways, posing for ads and doing the occasional commercial. She turned to acting, appearing in such non-classic films as Bloodtide, Dragonard, Solor Crisis, Midnight Blue , and A Man is Mostly Water ; her biggest role was in a dozen episodes of Dallas . In later years, she worked a commercial producer. Schofield also wrote the a

Pre-Beatle Len Garry , 84, died on March 2. The singer and bass guitarist joined The Quarrymen in 1956; the rock/skiffle/ska band consisted of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Eric Griffiths, Pete Shotton, Colin Hanton, and Rod Davis. They played at The Cavern in Liverpool, but Garry had to leave the group in 1958 after developing tubercular meningitis. He never recorded with them, and was long-gone from the group by the time George Harrison joined them (Ringo Starr didn’t join u

Australian stage, screen, and TV actress Lorraine Bayly , 89, died on Feb. 28. Bayly was probably best remembered as the host of the kiddie show Play School  (from 1966-78), but she was also very active in other ventures. She costarred on TV in The Sullivans  and Carson’s Law , and was also seen in The Rovers, Homicide, The Man from Snowy Rover, 1915, Neighbours, Pizza , and Locks of Love , among other films and TV shows. As a child, she did a ventriloquist act and played cla

Singer/songerwriter Neil Sedaka , 86, died on Feb. 27. The balladeer wrote (and usually performed) such hits as "Oh! Carol,” "Calendar Girl,” "Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen,” "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do,” "Laughter in the Rain,” "Stupid Cupid,” and "Love Will Keep Us Together,” among many others. Sedaka was classically trained, but by the late 1950s had discovered pop music: “It’s hard to deny the influence Chopin, Debussy, Beethoven and Prokofiev have had on my writing,” he sa

Actor Bobby J. Brown , 62, died in a barn fire in Maryland on Feb. 26. Born in Washington, D.C., Brown started his career as a boxer, winning five Golden Glove Championships. He moved to New York and attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Brown is best known for playing Officer Bobby Brown in 12 episodes of The Wire , and costarring in the 2022 mini-series We Own This City . He also was seen in such TV shows and movies as Law & Order, Homicide: Life on the Street, Th

British comedy writer Rob Grant , 70, died on Feb. 25. Along with his writing partner Doug Naylor, he wrote the sci-fi comedy series Red Dwarf ; he also wrote for radio and TV ( Spitting Image, The 10 Percenters, Carrott’s Lib, Cannon and Ball, Three of a Kind, Dark Ages, The Strangerers ). Grant also wrote several novels, and did stand-up comedy. “It was like our wildest dream come true,” Grant said of his most popular project, Red Dwarf . “It had taken so long from writing

Broadway star Sondra Lee , 97, died on Feb. 23. From 1947 through 1970, Lee appeared in such shows as High Button Shoes, Peter Pan (as Tiger Lily to Mary Martin’s Peter), Hotel Paradiso, Jerome Robbins’ Ballet USA  (she worked often with Robbins), Sunday in New York , and Hello, Dolly!  (as Minnie Fay, to a raft of Dollies). The tiny (under 5 feet) blonde singer and dancer also appeared on TV in Peter Pan  and Hansel and Gretel , and danced on Ed Sullivan’s show and in La Dol

Character actor John Wheeler , 95, died on Feb. 6. Wheeler appeared on Broadway in The Happiest Girl in the World, Kean, Cafe Crown, I Had a Ball , and Sweet Charity , and in various regional productions around the country. From the 1950s through 2005, he was seen in countless TV one-off appearances ( Star Trek, Green Acres, Mannix, Love American Style, The Brady Bunch, The Odd Couple, Rhoda, Dallas, The Golden Girls ) and the occasional film ( Tell Them Willie Boy is here, S

Actress Lauren Chapin (“Kitten” on Father Knows Best ) died on Feb. 24. She was 80. The L.A. native (sister of actors Billy and Michael Chapin) had already appeared in a handful of films and TV shows before being cast, at age nine, as youngest daughter Kathy “Kitten” Anderson on the popular sitcom Father Knows Best  (1954-60). Post- Father , Chapin only appeared in a handful of shows (some of them Father reunions), most recently on School Bus Diaries (2016-17). Chapin late

Delightfully off-kilter singer Joseph Montanez, who performed as Sir Monti Rock III , died on Feb. 23. He was 86. Born in the Bronx, Rock became famous through appearances on Johnny Carson’s and Merv Griffin’s shows in the 1960s, his get-up-and-dance rock and disco numbers including “The Tennessee Waltz,” "Get Dancin’,” and "I Wanna Dance Wit' Choo” becoming minor hits. Rock also acted, turning up in small roles in Saturday Night Fever, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,

Australian drag performer Kristopher Elliot  (“Maxi Shield”), 51, died of cancer on Feb. 21. Elliot performed at the 2000 Olympic Games closing ceremony, the Gay Games in 2002, RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under, and at RuPaul's DragCon UK. He also campaigned against domestic violence. “I’m a silly old queen,” Elliot told the Star Observer . “I’m not skinny, I wanted to represent plus-sized old girls and just show everyone that just because you get over forty doesn’t mean you’re d

Actor Robert Carradine , 71, died by suicide on Feb. 23. He was 71. The son of John Carradine and brother of Keith and David, Robert played more comic roles than most in his family: he was Lewis Skolnick in the Revenge of the Nerds  films and dad Sam on TV’s Lizzie McGuire . Robert made his film debut in 1972’s in The Cowboys  (he also appeared in the TV series) and went on to play gradually bigger roles in Go Ask Alice, Mean Streets, Cannonball, Orca, Coming Home, The Long R

Salsa superstar Willie Colón , 75, died in his native New York on Feb. 21. He was 75.  The composer, singer, musician (trumpet and trombone), and producer had his first hit album at 17, and has been recording (some 40 albums) and touring ever since. His jazz, rock, and salsa-infused music reflected both his Puerto Rican parents, and the New York music scene of the past 60 years. Colón also took a fling at acting ( Miami Vice, It Could Happen to You, The Last Fight, The Cosby

Actor Eric Dane , who played Dr. Mark “McSteamy” Sloan on Grey’s Anatomy , died of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis on on Feb. 19. He was 53. The San Francisco native got his start in the early ’90s, and besides Dr. McSteamy, he had continuing roles in Gideon’s Crossing, Charmed, The Last Ship, Euphoria , and Countdown ; he also appeared in countless TV-movies, and such films as The Basket , Zoe, Duncan, Jack & Jane , Sol Goode , Feast , and X-Men: The Last Stand . Dane was stil

Character actor Tom Noonan , 74, died on Feb. 14. The tall, cadaverous Noonan (not to be confused with comic actor/director Tommy Noonan) appeared in such films and TV shows as Manhunter (as serial killer Francis Dollarhyde), The Monster Squad  (as Frankenstein’s), RoboCop 2 , Last Action Hero , Heat , Synecdoche, New York , The House of the Devil , Hell on Wheels , and 1 2 Monkeys . The brother of actor and playwright John Ford Noonan, Tom didn’t begin acting till his late

Mexican actress Dolores Muñoz , died on Feb. 13 at the ridiculous age of 107. Shortly after WWII, Muñoz was hired by MGM as a voice dubber for films to be released in Latin America. Among many other projects, she was the voice for Chip in Chip and Dale cartoons, the Sorceress in He-Man and the Masters of the Universe , and Adrian in Rocky IV . Her voice was also heard in such films as Waterloo Bridge, Dangerous Partners, The Seventh Cross, Assignment in Britain, We Were the S

Italian actor Giuseppe "Pino" Colizzi , 88, died on Feb. 15 in his home town of Rome. The handsome matinee idol became a star in 1960 with the Italian TV version of Tom Jones ; he went on to appear in numerous movies and TV shows (among his US-released hits were Jesus of Nazareth  and Tea with Mussolini ). Colizzi also became one of Italy’s busiest voice-dubbers, providing the Italian voices of Jack Nicholson, James Caan, Richard Dreyfuss, Omar Sharif, and Michael Douglas, an

Documentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman , 96, died on Feb. 16. Wiseman is most famous for his 1967 Titicut Follies , which exposed the horrors at the Bridgewater State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. His many other films include Domestic Violence, High School, Hospital, Model, Central Park, Ballet , and Ex Libris: The New York Public Library . Wiseman called his films “reality fictions” (as a biographer, that very term makes my teeth hurt). He said that “What I try to do

Songwriter Billy Steinberg , 75, died on Feb. 16. Along with writing partner Tom Kelly, Steinberg wrote such hits as "Like a Virgin” (for Madonna), "True Colors" (Cyndi Lauper), "Eternal Flame" (The Bangles),  (1989), "So Emotional" (Whitney Houston), "I Drove All Night" (Roy Orbison, Lauper),  "I Touch Myself" (Divinyls) and "I'll Stand by You” (The Pretenders). After Kelly’s retirement, Steinberg wrote solo or with other partners for such artists as Ashley Tisdale and Demi

Superstar character actor Robert Duvall , 95, died on Feb. 15. Duvall was one of the hordes of “ordinary-looking” actors who became stars in the 1960s and ’70s; he eventually starred (or costarred) in To Kill a Mockingbird, The Chase, Bullitt, True Grit, M*A*S*H, The Godfather, The Conversation, Network, The Eagle Has Landed, Apocalypse Now, The Great Santini, Rambling Rose, Sling Blade , and Jayne Mansfield’s Car , among many others. Duvall was born into a military family, b