More from Mike Barnes
Coslough Johnson, Writer on ‘Laugh-In’ and Sonny and Cher Variety Shows, Dies at 91
Coslough Johnson, the Emmy-winning writer who worked with his late older brother, Arte Johnson, on Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In and wrote for two variety shows toplined by Sonny and Cher, has died. He was 91. Johnson died March 23 of prostate cancer at a nursing facility in the Thousand Oaks area, his wife, Mary Jane, […]
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Sharon Acker, Actress in ‘Point Blank’ and ‘Perry Mason,’ Dies at 87
Sharon Acker, the Canadian actress who portrayed Lee Marvin’s unfaithful wife in the 1967 neo-noir classic Point Blank and the right-hand woman Della Street opposite Monte Markham on a rebooted Perry Mason in the 1970s, has died. She was 87. Acker died March 16 in a retirement home in her native Toronto, her daughter Kim […]
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Leo D. Sullivan, Pioneering Black Animator, Dies at 82
Leo D. Sullivan, the groundbreaking Black animator who contributed to the iconic opening for Soul Train and to cartoons featuring Fat Albert, Transformers and My Little Pony during his 50-year-plus career, has died. He was 82. Sullivan died Saturday of heart failure at Kaiser Permanente West Los Angeles Medical Center, his wife, Ethelyn, told The Hollywood […]
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N’Neka Garland, ‘General Hospital’ Producer, Dies at 49
N’Neka Garland, an Emmy-winning producer on General Hospital who spent the past 22 years with the venerable ABC soap opera, has died. She was 49. Garland suffered a heart attack at her home in Sherman Oaks and died Monday at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, her friend Cori Murray told The Hollywood Reporter. […]
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Tad Devine, Son of Prolific Character Actor Andy Devine, Dies at 88
Tad Devine, who appeared alongside his father, the popular raspy-voiced character actor Andy Devine, and younger brother in the Dana Andrews-starring 1946 film Canyon Passage, has died. He was 88. Devine died March 22 in Newport Beach, his family announced. In Universal Pictures’ Canyon Passage, directed by Jacques Tourneur and also starring Susan Hayward and […]
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Royal Blakeman, Former NATAS President, Dies at 99
Royal Blakeman, a president of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in the 1960s, died Sunday in Delray Beach, Florida. He was 99. Blakeman served as president of the New York chapter of NATAS from 1963-65 and then as the seventh national president of the organization from 1966-68. For a quarter-century, he was […]
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George Levitt, Longtime National Amusements Executive, Dies at 80
George Levitt, who spent more than four decades as an executive with the National Amusements theater company, has died. He was 80. Levitt died Monday at his home in Indian River Shores, Florida, a family spokesperson announced. The cause of death was a stroke. Levitt was senior vp of film at National Amusements and overseeing […]
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Erik Lomis, Veteran Studio Distribution Executive, Dies at 64
Erik Lomis, the admired distribution executive who handled numerous blockbusters and Oscar winners during his three-decade career in Hollywood, died suddenly Wednesday at his home in Santa Monica. He was 64. As MGM’s head of distribution, Lomis was in the midst of helping parent company Amazon Studios prepare for the release of Ben Affleck’s Air, […]
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Norman Steinberg, Screenwriter on ‘Blazing Saddles,’ ‘My Favorite Year’ and ‘Johnny Dangerously,’ Dies at 83
Norman Steinberg, the Emmy-winning screenwriter who teamed with Mel Brooks on Blazing Saddles and My Favorite Year and wrote for the Michael Keaton-starring Mr. Mom and Johnny Dangerously, has died. He was 83. Steinberg died March 15 at his Hudson Valley home in upstate New York, his family announced. Steinberg also wrote Yes, Giorgio (1982), […]
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Gordon T. Dawson, Peckinpah Protégé and ‘Walker, Texas Ranger’ Writer and Producer, Dies at 84
Gordon T. Dawson, who parlayed a stint as a costumer for Sam Peckinpah into a career as a writer and producer with credits including The Ballad of Cable Hogue, The Rockford Files, Bret Maverick and Walker, Texas Ranger, has died. He was 84. Dawson died March 6 in West Hills Hospital of complications from chronic […]
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Every Film on TCM in April Will Be From Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. will be top of the world on TCM in April when the network devotes the entire month to films and more from the studio that is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, it was announced Wednesday. TCM will shower viewers with scores of Warners movies, from every decade of its sister studio’s history, […]
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Ric de Azevedo, King Family Singer and ‘Private Benjamin’ Producer, Dies at 75
Ric de Azevedo, who performed as a member of the voluminous King Family and served as a TV producer on Private Benjamin, California Dreams, Young Maverick and the Dukes of Hazzard spinoff Enos, has died. He was 75. De Azevedo died March 14 in Fruit Heights, Utah, after an undisclosed illness, his family announced. Survivors […]
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