General "RIP" announcements that might be of interest

Taka,

THANK YOU for posting that! What wonderful stories!

Did you guys realize that one of Paul Newman's last roles was as the voice of Doc Hudson in the movie Cars (and then in a video game of the same name, and one other Cars-related short)? What a versatile, interesting man.

Mrs. C

Hi

Sad to see yet another star go. I enjoyed many of his films.

Regards

Arthur

Another member of Hollywood has passed away. House Peters Jr., a veteran character actor and the original Mr. Clean of the tv ads has died at age 92. Peters career spanned the mid 30's to the mid 60's. He acted in many movie and tv westerns usually playing the heavy or villain. One role I just seen him in was in Disneys Johnny Tremain, where he played the patriot commander at Lexington who tells the colonists gathered "to not fire a shot unless fired upon, that if the British want a war, let it begin here".

Thanks, Jim, for posting about Mr. Peters - he represents a fond childhood memory, from the TV commercials for Mr. Clean!

Mrs. C

Michael Crichton author & director has died of cancer at 66. In addition to books and film listed below he wrote and directed Westworld with Yul Brynner Coma with Michael Douglas and my favorite the 1st Great Train Robbery with Sean Connery

Author Michael Crichton dies, 66

Michael Crichton won awards including an Emmy

Best-selling author Michael Crichton has died in Los Angeles aged 66 after a "courageous and private battle against cancer", his family has said.
He penned Jurassic Park, as well as books like Congo and Disclosure, all of which were adapted into films.
His books have sold more than 150 million copies. He also created the long-running US hospital TV drama ER.
"He will be profoundly missed by those whose lives he touched," his family said in a statement.
A private funeral service is expected.
Crichton is survived by his wife, Sherri, and daughter, Taylor.
Michael's talent out-scaled even his own dinosaurs of Jurassic Park

Steven Spielberg

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The family's statement paid tribute to a "devoted husband, loving father and generous friend".
It added: "Through his books, Michael Crichton served as an inspiration to students of all ages, challenged scientists in many fields, and illuminated the mysteries of the world in a way we could all understand."
'Gentle soul'
"Michael's talent out-scaled even his own dinosaurs of Jurassic Park," said filmmaker Steven Spielberg, who directed the blockbuster film version of that novel.
"He was the greatest at blending science with big theatrical concepts, which is what gave credibility to dinosaurs again walking the Earth.
CRICHTON'S BEST-KNOWN NOVELS

Odds On (1966)
The Andromeda Strain (1969)
The Great Train Robbery (1975)
Congo (1980)
Jurassic Park (1990)
Disclosure (1994)
The Lost World (1995) - pictured
Timeline (1999)
State of Fear (2004)
Next (2006)

"Michael was a gentle soul who reserved his flamboyant side for his novels. There is no-one in the wings that will ever take his place," he added.
A new Crichton novel had been scheduled to come out in the US next month.
Publisher HarperCollins said the book would now be postponed indefinitely.
A Harvard Medical School graduate, Chicago-born Crichton became the toast of Hollywood when his 1971 novel The Andromeda Strain was turned into a film.
Many of his novels and screenplays were adapted for cinema.
The most successful were Jurassic Park, which burst onto the screen in 1993, and its sequel The Lost World.
ER has won a host of Emmys since it began in 1994, and helped launch the career of George Clooney.
John Wells, executive producer of the medical drama, called the author "an extraordinary man - brilliant, funny, erudite, gracious, exceptionally inquisitive and always thoughtful.
"No lunch with Michael lasted less than three hours and no subject was too prosaic or obscure to attract his interest.
"Sexual politics, medical and scientific ethics, anthropology, archaeology, economics, astronomy, astrology, quantum physics, and molecular biology were all regular topics of conversation," he added. Crichton's 2004 bestseller State of Fear caused controversy when it cast doubt on the dangers of global warming. Environmentalists said his novel was marring efforts to pass legislation to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

Quote from DukePilgrim

Michael Crichton author & director has died of cancer at 66. In addition to books and film listed below he wrote and directed Westworld with Yul Brynner Coma with Michael Douglas and my favorite the 1st Great Train Robbery with Sean Connery

Thanks for posting Mike.
R.I.P. to a geat contributor,
and now a sad loss to modern cinema

I'd have to agree that the "Great Train Robbery" was my favorite Crichton film, followed by the Jurrassic Park movies.

R.I.P. Michael Crichton. He could really whip up a good tale with plausible scientific background.

I really like Paul Newman's movies myself. A little late but I wanted to add my condolences as well. Some of my favorite movies:

Torn Curtain
The Long Hot Summer
Absence of Malice
Nobody's Fool
Fort Apache
The Left-Handed Gun
Somebody Up There Likes Me
The Road to Perdition
Fat Man & Little Boy

One's Already Mentioned
Cool Hand Luke
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Hud
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
The Sting
Exodus
The Hustler

I haven't seen Cars, but I plan to see it soon.

Cheers

Mr Sci Fi aka Forrest J. Ackerman has passsed away at 92.

Sci-fi's grand old man, Forrest J Ackerman, dies

By JOHN ROGERS – 17 hours ago
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Forrest J Ackerman, the sometime actor, literary agent, magazine editor and full-time bon vivant who discovered author Ray Bradbury and was widely credited with coining the term "sci-fi," has died. He was 92.
Ackerman died Thursday of heart failure at his Los Angeles home, said Kevin Burns, head of Prometheus Entertainment and a trustee of Ackerman's estate.
Although only marginally known to readers of mainstream literature, Ackerman was legendary in science-fiction circles as the founding editor of the pulp magazine Famous Monsters of Filmland. He was also the owner of a huge private collection of science-fiction movie and literary memorabilia that for years filled every nook and cranny of a hillside mansion overlooking Los Angeles.
"He became the Pied Piper, the spiritual leader, of everything science fiction, fantasy and horror," Burns said Friday.
Every Saturday morning that he was home, Ackerman would open up the house to anyone who wanted to view his treasures. He sold some pieces and gave others away when he moved to a smaller house in 2002, but he continued to let people visit him every Saturday for as long as his health permitted.
"My wife used to say, 'How can you let strangers into our home?' But what's the point of having a collection like this if you can't let people enjoy it?" an exuberant Ackerman told The Associated Press as he conducted a spirited tour of the mansion on his 85th birthday.
His collection once included more than 50,000 books, thousands of science-fiction magazines and such items as Bela Lugosi's cape from the 1931 film "Dracula."
His greatest achievement, however, was likely discovering Bradbury, author of the literary classics "Fahrenheit 451" and "The Martian Chronicles." Ackerman had placed a flyer in a Los Angeles bookstore for a science-fiction club he was founding and a teenage Bradbury showed up.
Later, Ackerman gave Bradbury the money to start his own science-fiction magazine, Futuria Fantasia, and paid the author's way to New York for an authors meeting that Bradbury said helped launch his career.
"I hadn't published yet, and I met a lot of these people who encouraged me and helped me get my career started, and that was all because of Forry Ackerman," the author told the AP in 2005.
Later, as a literary agent, Ackerman represented Bradbury, Isaac Asimov and numerous other science-fiction writers.
He said the term "sci-fi" came to him in 1954 when he was listening to a car radio and heard an announcer mention the word "hi-fi."
"My dear wife said, 'Forget it, Forry, it will never catch on,'" he recalled.
Soon he was using it in Famous Monsters of Filmland, the magazine he helped found in 1958 and edited for 25 years.
Ackerman himself appeared in numerous films over the years, usually in bit parts. His credits include "Queen of Blood," "Dracula vs. Frankenstein," "Amazon Women on the Moon," "Vampirella," "Transylvania Twist," "The Howling" and the Michael Jackson "Thriller" video. More recently, he appeared in 2007's "The Dead Undead" and 2006's "The Boneyard Collection."
Ackerman returned briefly to Famous Monsters of Filmland in the 1990s, but he quickly fell out with the publisher over creative differences. He sued and was awarded a judgment of more than $375,000.
Forrest James Ackerman was born in Los Angeles on Nov. 24, 1916. He fell in love with science-fiction, he once said, when he was 9 years old and saw a magazine called Amazing Stories. He would hold onto that publication for the rest of his life.
Ackerman, who had no children, was preceded in death by his wife, Wendayne.
(This version Links photo)

Beverly Garland died. I always liked her.

http://www.latimes.com/news/pr…2008dec07,0,5645483.story

Forry Ackerman loved sci-fi and horror movies and was at one time owner of the
largest science fiction and horror collection in the world.
Even up to this past summer he was signing autographs.He sent me a signed
inscribed card and signed a video cover of one of the many movies in which he had a cameo.He was a truly giving person,who made time for everyone.
He will be sadly missed.

R.I.P. Forrest J. Ackerman (affectionately known as Forry J). Not well known outside of Sci-Fi circles, he had a cult following there. I did not realize that he was 92!!!

Quote from may2

Beverly Garland died. I always liked her.

I did too! She was a good actress.

Another member of the Golden Age of Hollywood bites the dust, Van Johnson has died at 92.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200…ap_en_ce/obit_van_johnson

Quote from may2

Another member of the Golden Age of Hollywood bites the dust, Van Johnson has died at 92.

That's too bad! Well, maybe not . . . he was 92, and had lived a good long life.

may2, I couldn't get your link to work, so in case others are having the same problem, here's (hopefully) a link that will work.

My biggest memory of him is mostly from Yours, Mine, and Ours, as the match-making friend that got Lucille Ball's and Henry Fonda's characters together!

Mrs. C

I also recall him in Yours, Mine and Ours too. I do remember him dancing with Lucy in I Love Lucy, and the Minstrel in Batman TV series in the 60's. He is well liked actor, and a full life. I see that he hasn't been in anything since 1992 (over 16 years). Rest in peace, Van.

Cheers Hondo