'Beyond the Sea' lyricist, Jack Lawrence, has died

Bobby Darin sang it, but Jack Lawrence wrote it. 'Beyond the Sea' was actually a French song, Lawrence created English words for, and it became a huge hit for Bobby Darin.

I remember this song connected with a popular cult TV show or maybe movie (too long ago to remember), but it is still a standard to this day. Here is a link to Bobby having some fun singing it on a television special many years ago.

Jack Lawrence was 96 years old. more>

Coy Watson Jr. has died

Silent film actor, Coy Watson Jr. has died at the age of 96.

Born November 16, 1912, Coy home was Edendale, California, where Mack Sennett Studios was located.

When Sennett studio needed a baby, Coy was hired at $5 per day. It was the beginning of his child acting career, which earned him the name 'The Keystone Kid'.

He made nearly 60 films, from bit parts to films with Marion Davies in "Show People" and with Jackie Coogan "Buttons".

In late years, Coy worked for ABC and CBS in California, as a cameraman.

He died Saturday in Alpine, California, after a long bout with cancer. more from the LA Times>

Other notes:
• The Watson Family have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
• He authored his book, The Keystone Kid: Tales of Early Hollywood, 2001.

Reviews:
"A charming memoir..." - Kevin Brownlow, Director & Film Historian

"The stories have the ring of truth..." - Bob Mondello, National Public Radio

"What a wonderful slice of Hollywood history!" - Leonard Maltin, Entertainment Tonight


Update Mar. 17th: I ordered Mr. Watson's book last night and it is in the mail now. I will share more, once I get it.

Update Mar. 24: The book arrived today! Full of rare images from Watson's collection, including many showing early day Sennett Studios.

Sydney Chaplin, Charlie Chaplin's son, has died

Sydney Chaplin, Charlie Chaplin's second son during his marriage to Lita Grey Chaplin, has died at his home in Rancho Mirage, California from complications after a stroke. He was 82.

March 30, 1926 - March 3, 2009

Sydney Earle Chaplin was born March 30, 1926, during the time his father was creating The Circus and producing The Sea Gull, A Woman of the Sea.

But Sydney's life with his parents, Charlie and Lita Chaplin, would not last long, as his mother took him and his brother, Charlie Chaplin Jr. away from Chaplin's home and started her long divorce from Chaplin.

Sydney and Charlie Jr. wouldn't return to Chaplin's home, until after the divorce, where they would meet Paulette Goddard in the early 1930s. Goddard would become the third Mrs. Chaplin (though there was no official paperwork of their marriage).

Lita Grey Chaplin was very grateful to Paulette. The boys loved her. Paulette became the perfect 'step' mother for the boys at Charlie's home during their visits.

Being around acting, Sydney co-founded a group called The Circle Theater in Los Angeles. His father took an interest in the group, as well.

Both Sydney and Charlie Jr. would play in Chaplin's film Limelight in 1952.

Sydney played the young composer, Neville, who was the love of Terry (Claire Bloom), the ballet dancer in Limelight.

Sydney would continue working in films and plays, including his role in Funny Girl, with Barbara Streisand and Bells are Ringing, with Judy Holliday.

Sydney would work again with his father in A Countess From Hong Kong. It was his last time working with his father.

A few months after the film opened, Sydney's brother, Charlie Chaplin Jr. died in 1968.

In the late 1980s, Oona Chaplin gave Sydney $500,000, which Sydney used to open a bistro in Palm Springs, California. The bistro didn't stay open for long, as he closed it in the mid-1990s.

Retired, he would travel to Charlie Chaplin events and gave talks about his father. He also appears in some of the documentaries created for his father.

Sydney had only one child, Stephen, with his wife Noelle Adams.

He married his current wife, Margaret Beebe, in 1998. He is survived by his wife, eight half-siblings (all from the marriage of Oona and Charlie), and one granddaughter.

Story at the LA Times.

Films
Limelight - with Charles Chaplin and Claire Bloom (1952)
Land of the Pharaohs - with Joan Collins (1955)
Funny Girl - with Barbara Streisand (1964)

Play
Bells Are Ringing - with Judy Holliday (1956)
(Dean Martin go the film role Sydney played.)

Dilys Laye has died

Comic actress, Dilys Laye, has died at the age of 74. Laye's played in the film 'A Countess from Hong Kong' directed by Charles Chaplin. The Stage (UK) reports it will have a full obituary notice on Laye.
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67-Foot Tall Chaplin Statue
Under the odd news section, a 67-foot tall statue of Charlie Chaplin is planned to be unveiled in OtthineNe, March 28th. The statue is being used for a scene in a film called 'Houseful'.

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For our UK readers:
BBC 4 (Broadcast) - February 28, 2009 - 21:00 (9PM London Time) - Paul Merton Looks at Alfred Hitchcock

Update March 1, 2009 - Live in the UK? Check the BBC 4 website to see it online on iPlayer. (check site for how long)

Our Gang Star Shirley Jean Rickert has died

February 12, 2009 - Our gang star Shirley Jean Rickert died at her nursing home in Saratoga Springs, New York last Friday. Born in Seattle in 1926, she was 82 years old. Shirley played the girl with the blond spit curls in the Hal Roach 1930s Our Gang comedies. more>

Ricardo Montalban has died

While many people may remember him on 'Fantasy Island', I will remember his performances as Khan in 'Star Trek'. But Ricardo Montalban was a contract player at MGM before any of these.

I was just watching him in the MGM documentary TCM was showing this week 'When the Lion Roars', so sad to read of this passing today, at the age of 88. Link for more information.

French Filmmaker Claude Berri has died

Claude Berri has died at the age of 74. He has been in the French film industry for over 50 years. He directed two of my favorite films: "Jean de Florette" and the sequel "Manon of the Spring" in the 1980s. He was born July 1, 1934 in Paris.

Star Trek's 'Nurse Chapel' Majel B. Roddenberry has died

While I wasn't a fan of Star Trek when it first came out in the 1960s, I became a fan while showing 'snowy over the air' reruns in the 1970s. And one of the ladies on the ship was Nurse Christine Chapel.

While she had an interest in Mr. Spock during her space adventures, she was Dr. McCoy's trusted nurse, as well as the voice of the Enterprise, during her long relationship with the show. She was in the very first pilot (test of the show).

She was also the wife of the creator of Star Trek, Gene Roddenberry.

Born in Columbus, Ohio in 1932, Majel has died at her home in Bel-Air, California at the age of 76. She was fighting leukemia. She has one surviving son.

She was working again as the computer voice for the new Star Trek movie. She will be missed by fans of the show. More from the LA Times >

Film Star Van Johnson has died

Film and television star, Van Johnson, has died at the age of 92. He is remembered for many works, including "Brigadoon" with Gene Kelly and "In the Good Old Summertime" with July Garland. Here is more information from the Los Angeles Times.

Pete Newell, once kid actor, has died

Said to be once considered to play with Charlie Chaplin in The Kid, basketball coach, Pete Newell has died at the age of 93.

""Mr. Newell was born Aug. 3, 1915, in Vancouver, British Columbia. He grew up in Los Angeles, where through his mother's persistence he became a child actor before he reached kindergarten age, appearing in several "Our Gang" movie comedies and being strongly considered for a plum part opposite Charlie Chaplin in "The Kid" in 1920.

But Jackie Coogan got the role, which didn't bother Mr. Newell at all. "I hated acting," he said. "All I wanted to do was to be home playing ball."" - San Francisco Gate

Paul Newman has died from cancer

Paul Newman, who has been battling cancer, died at his Westport home on Friday. The legendary actor was 83 years old. more>

Silent Film star, Anita Page, has died

Anita Page, who played with Buster Keaton, Lon Chaney, and who was good friends to Jean Harlow and Marion Davies, died at the age of 98, at her home in Los Angeles. Anita did star with Joan Crawford in Our Dancing Daughters and recently filmed a cameo in Frankenstein Rising. more>

L to R - Carrol Nye, Lon Chaney and Anita Page
While the City Sleeps - 1928

Don LaFontaine, the voice of movies, has died

You may not know him by sight, but you know his voice, for his voice has introduced more films than anyone in the last 30 years.

Don LaFontaine, who has been seen in the car insurance commercials the last couple of years and recorded over 5,000 trailers, died Monday from complications from a long illness. He was 68 years old... more>

UPDATE: SEPTEMBER 4, 2008 - Bill Melendez has died
Bill Melendez, Peanuts animator (and voice of Snoopy) has died at the age of 91. more>

"In 1948, Melendez joined UPA, whose innovative approach to animation delighted him.

"The animation we were doing was not limited, but stylized," he recalled in an interview in 1986.

"When you analyze Chaplin's shorts, you realize people don't move that way--he stylized his movements.

We were going to do the same thing for animation. We were going to animate the work of Cobean, Steinberg--all the great cartoonists of the moment--and move them as the designs dictated." - Los Angeles Times

Soul Singer Isaac Hayes died

Los Angeles Times - Soul Singer Isaac Hayes has died in Memphis.

In 1972, Hayes won the Academy Award for his "Theme from Shaft." That same year, Charlie Chaplin was at the 1972 Oscars, picking up his Honorary Academy Award. It was the first time Chaplin was in America in 20 years.

According to the LA Times, Hayes was found 'unresponsive' by a treadmill. He was taken to the hospital and died one hour later. He was 65 years old. more>

George Carlin dies age 71

George Carlin was known for pushing the line on language used in public, but I best remember him from his numerous appearances on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.


In the early 1970s, my family passed through Las Vegas and we saw he was signing record albums at a local LV store. So I (and think my mother too) got into line. I didn't buy a LP but had George sign my autograph book I received at Christmas. George Carlin's autograph is the only one in the whole book, but it is the real deal!

Carlin died after going to the hospital on Sunday for chest pains. He was 71 years old. He was just informed last week he was to receive the Mark Twain Award for American Humor. more>

Cyd Charisse has died, age 86

Dancer Cyd Charisse died today at the age of 86. She danced with the greats, like Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly. One well-known performance was with Gene Kelly in Singin' in the Rain. more>

Tim Russert died at age 58

I was sad to read the news of Jim McKay passing last weekend, since I watched ABC's Wide World of Sports for many years, when McKay hosted it (including the Knievel Snake River Canyon jump, which I watched as a child back in my hometown in the 1970s). But today, we had a more sudden lost.

NBC news political journalist, Tim Russert, died while at work at this NBC Washington DC office. He was 58 years old. He has been the host of the long running NBC Sunday morning program Meet the Press for many years.

Russert was part of the 'old school' of journalism (much as Jim McKay), that is missing so much in the current younger generation of reporters. Watching the elections will not be the same.

Harvey Korman has died age 81

If you are old enough to remember The Carol Burnett Show, you will remember Harvey Korman. He was one of Carol's regulars, along with Tim Conway, Lyle Waggoner and Vicki Lawrence. Korman has appeared in movies and other television programs as well, but I will remember him best with Tim Conway from Carol's show.

For some of you who may not know, The Carol Burnett Show was a top rated variety show, that was one hour each week and had special guest from the music, movie and television world, along with a few surprises. And it had nearly all the top name stars from the golden era of movies.

The weekly skits were the highlights, and Carol's opening 'chat for questions from the audience' was a mainstay. The cast breaking up on their own jokes while doing a skit, was not really planned, but just part of the fun of the show.

You can learn more from this link at the LA Times.
(note: sometimes these links do 'disappear' as pages are removed from the news site.)

Interesting sidebar: Carol Burnett and Lita Hill were born the same year and month. Carol, April 26, 1933 and Lita, April 3, 1933.

Sydney Pollack has died at age 73

Sydney Pollack, US film director, known for such films as Tootie, Out of Africa, and The Way We Were, has died at the age of 73, at his Los Angeles home. more>

Pop Artist, Robert Rauschenberg has died

May 13, 2008 - US Pop Artist, Robert Rauschenberg has died at the age of 82. I remember seeing his work in San Francisco, during our college art trips in the 1980s.

On one of those trips, while roaming the old record shops, we picked up the album 'Speaking in Tongues' by Talking Heads, which the cover was designed by Robert Rauschenberg.

In 1984, he won the Grammy Award for best album cover for that same cover (see image). It is still sealed and in the same bag it was purchased.

Cost $15. That was a large amount of money for an album in those days.


Okay, I do have an Edna Purviance tie in to this. Edna use to stay at one of her relatives homes not far from where we bought this LP. It was the same home her stepfather, Robert Nurnberger died in 1911. From records I have at the moment, the property was taken over by University of California. This property could have been purchased about the time Sidney Buckingham Hill (Bessie Purviance Hill husband and Edna's brother-in-law) attended the University.