R.i.p 2010

[_____V_____]

Art Gilmore, whose disembodied voice, introducing television shows and narrating hundreds (if not thousands) of movie trailers, was a trademark of Hollywood’s self-salesmanship from the 1940s through the 1960s, died Sept. 25 in Irvine, Calif.

He was 98. He died of age-related causes, said his wife, Grace.

Mr. Gilmore actually did some acting on television, playing full-bodied parts in shows like “Dragnet,” “Emergency!” and “Adam 12.” But for most moviegoers and television watchers of a certain age, Mr. Gilmore was a star without a name or a face; he was even cast as a never-seen radio announcer in several episodes of “The Waltons.”

His voice — crisp and articulate, just a tad piercing, cagily pitched to the subject matter and inflected with a precisely calibrated measure of enthusiasm — was as recognizable as a theme song.

As the narrator of countless movie trailers (his wife estimated he did 3,000), Mr. Gilmore was an especially effective pitchman, delivering the language of hype with masterful conviction. Comedies, thrillers, romances, musicals, animation, documentaries — it didn’t matter.

Among the films Mr. Gilmore promoted as coming attractions were “Dumbo,” “A Place in the Sun,” “Roman Holiday,” “Shane,” “Born Yesterday,” “Rear Window,” “South Pacific,” “War and Peace,” “Ocean’s 11,” “White Christmas” and “Bye Bye Birdie.”

“The screen jumps for joy with Glendon Swarthout’s inside story of those uproarious Easter vacations,” Mr. Gilmore pronounced in the trailer for “Where the Boys Are,” a 1960 comedy about college girls on the make.

“Never before has any film contained such a full measure of the joy of living,” he asserted in the trailer for Frank Capra’s life-affirming small-town tale from 1946, “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

For the 1953 science-fiction thriller “The War of the Worlds” he declared: “This could be the beginning of the end for the human race!”

And in a virtuosic bit of melodramatic recitation, he described Alfred Hitchcock’s loopy and masterful psychodrama “Vertigo” (1958) as “the story of a love so powerful it broke through all the barriers between past and present, between life and death, between the golden girl in the dark tower and the tawdry redhead that he tried to remake in her image.”

Among many other television appearances, Mr. Gilmore was the announcer on “The Red Skelton Show” — “Live! From Television City in Hollywood!” — from 1954 to 1971. He was an announcer of the mid-1950s dramatic anthology series “Climax”; he narrated all 39 episodes of the late 1950s western series “Mackenzie’s Raiders.” And from 1955 to 1959, he narrated the crime series “Highway Patrol,” which starred Broderick Crawford.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by two daughters, Marilyn Gilmore, of Irvine, and Barbara McCoy, of Rockford, Ill., two grandchildren and four great grandchildren.

[_____V_____]

The director who made A Night to Remember, the 1958 film recounting the final night aboard the Titanic, has died, his son confirmed today.

Roy Ward Baker died peacefully in his sleep at a London hospital on Tuesday. He was 93.

His son Nicholas said that preparations were being made for a funeral in London, adding that his father's work "speaks for itself".

Ward Baker, who was born in London in 1916, started out as an assistant director on Alfred Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes in London in 1938. After serving in the army during the second world war, he went to Hollywood, where he directed Marilyn Monroe in the 1962 movie Don't Bother to Knock.

He later returned to England where he directed a number of television dramas including The Avengers, The Persuaders and Minder.

During the latter half of his career, Ward Baker directed a number of British horror films including, among others, Quatermass and the Pit (1967), The Vampire Lovers (1970), Scars of Dracula (1970), Dr Jekyll and Sister Hyde (1971), and The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (1974) for Hammer, and Asylum (1972), And Now The Screaming Starts! (1973), The Vault of Horror (1973) and The Monster Club (1980) for Amicus. He also directed Bette Davis in the black comedy The Anniversary (1968).

He returned to television during the late 1970s and 1980s before retiring in 1992.

[neverending]

A great groundbreaking director. A great loss.

[roshiq]

Originally Posted by _____V_____

Ward Baker, who was born in London in 1916, started out as an assistant director on Alfred Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes in London in 1938. After serving in the army during the second world war, he went to Hollywood, where he directed Marilyn Monroe in the 1962 movie Don't Bother to Knock.

During the latter half of his career, Ward Baker directed a number of British horror films including, among others, Quatermass and the Pit (1967), The Vampire Lovers (1970), Scars of Dracula (1970), Dr Jekyll and Sister Hyde (1971), and The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (1974) for Hammer, and Asylum (1972), And Now The Screaming Starts! (1973), The Vault of Horror (1973) and The Monster Club (1980) for Amicus. He also directed Bette Davis in the black comedy The Anniversary (1968).

Wow! A great loss indeed.

[_____V_____]

Bob Guccione, who brought full frontal nudity to men's magazines and built a publishing empire on the success of his flagship magazine, Penthouse, died of cancer yesterday at 79, his family said.



His wife, April Dawn Warren Guccione, and two of his children were at his side at a hospital in Plano, Texas.

The success of Penthouse's mix of racy photos, investigative reporting, sci-fi and sexual-advice columns allowed Guccione to launch other magazines, most notably the glossy science publication Omni.

He once owned one of the largest mansions in Manhattan -- on East 67th Street -- but eventually lost his empire due to a series of business failures and the Web onslaught of free porn.

He garnered world headlines and sent Penthouse sales rocketing with publication of nude photos of Vanessa Williams -- taken before she was named Miss America -- in 1984 and of pop queen Madonna in 1985.

[newb]

Originally Posted by _____V_____

Bob Guccione, who brought full frontal nudity to men's magazines and built a publishing empire on the success of his flagship magazine, Penthouse, died of cancer yesterday at 79, his family said.



His wife, April Dawn Warren Guccione, and two of his children were at his side at a hospital in Plano, Texas.

The success of Penthouse's mix of racy photos, investigative reporting, sci-fi and sexual-advice columns allowed Guccione to launch other magazines, most notably the glossy science publication Omni.

He once owned one of the largest mansions in Manhattan -- on East 67th Street -- but eventually lost his empire due to a series of business failures and the Web onslaught of free porn.

He garnered world headlines and sent Penthouse sales rocketing with publication of nude photos of Vanessa Williams -- taken before she was named Miss America -- in 1984 and of pop queen Madonna in 1985.

Tits a sad day indeed...I don't wanna beat around the bush so I'll just say R.I.P. to a great pioneer. You brought much happiness to a young newb, back in the day.

A great loss for the world.......Kleenix sales shall plummet.

[_____V_____]

James MacArthur, best known to American television audiences as "Danno" in the classic TV series "Hawaii Five-O," died of natural causes today in Florida.

He was 72 years old.

As youthful Detective Danny "Danno" Williams, MacArthur became as recognizable as Jack Lord, who played the team's leader Steve McGarrett. However, it was Lord who uttered what would become the series' signature catchphrase: "Book 'em, Danno."

The original "Hawaii Five-O" aired from 1968 until 1980; CBS recently premiered a modern reboot of the crime drama with Scott Caan playing Danny Williams. MacArthur, the last living member from the original series main cast, had agreed to appear in an upcoming episode, according to a statement on his personal website.

Born James Gordon MacArthur on December 8, 1937, in Los Angeles, California, MacArthur is the adopted son of playwright Charles MacArthur and his wife Helen Hayes, who was considered to be the First Lady of the American stage. He grew up in Nyack, New York, with his parents' biological daughter Mary, and was educated at Allen Stevenson School in New York, and later at Solebury School in New Hope, Pennsylvania. MacArthur would later attend Harvard but, after working in several Walt Disney films over his summer breaks, left to pursue an acting career full-time.

MacArthur also won acclaim onstage, making his Broadway debut in 1960 playing opposite Jane Fonda in "Invitation to a March." But his clean-cut looks and athletic build won him roles in the late 1950s and 60s in several Disney films, including The Light in the Forest, Third Man on the Mountain, and the classics Kidnapped and Swiss Family Robinson. He also played a pivotal role in the 1965 film classic Battle of the Bulge. During that period MacArthur also guest starred on a number of television series including "Gunsmoke," "Bonanza," "Wagon Train," "The Untouchables" and "12 O'Clock High." He even co-starred with Hayes in a 1968 episode of "Tarzan."

Reportedly it was his appearance in the legendary Clint Eastwood Western Hang 'Em High that would eventually lead to MacArthur winning the role on "Hawaii Five-O."

After "Hawaii Five-O" came to an end, MacArthur returned to the stage, making guest appearances on series such as "Fantasy Island," "The Love Boat," "Vega$,"and "Murder, She Wrote." He also reprised the role of Dan Williams in a 1997 attempt to resurrect "Hawaii Five-O" but the pilot, in which Williams had been made Hawaii's Governor, was never picked up. His final small-screen appearance was in the 1998 TV movie "Storm Chasers: Revenge of the Twister."

According to a family statement reported by People.com, MacArthur spent his time off-camera enjoying sports and played flamenco guitar. He was formerly married to actress Joyce Bulifant from 1958 to 1967, and to actress Melody Patterson from 1970 to 1975. Both unions ended in divorce.

MacArthur is survived by his wife, Helen Beth Duntz, four children and seven grandchildren.

[newb]

Actress
Jill Clayburgh died on Friday, after a 21 year battle with chronic lymphocytic leukemia. She was 66 and passed away at her home in Connecticut.

Clayburgh has been a very creative artist who tried her hand at Hollywood, TV and was also a Broadway actress. She was twice nominated for the Oscar awards – once in the year 1978 for her role as Erica in the movie ‘An Unmarried Woman’ and for which she also won best actress award at the Cannes Film Festival. Her other Oscar nomination was in 1979, for another movie that she starred in opposite Burt Reynolds.

Clayburgh was also nominated for Emmy’s for the movies ‘Hustling’, in which she portrayed the character of a prostitute. It was a TV movie released in 1975 as well as Nip/Tuck, a 2005 film
.

As far as her TV projects are concerned, she was seen in “Dirty Sexy Money” and the “Ally McBeal” series. Her last film “Bridesmaids” is yet to be released.

She is survived by her husband David Rabe and children Michael Rabe and Lily Rabe.

[Zero]

Sad day for cheezy film fans - Serpico, King Kong (1976), Army of Darkness, The Dead Zone, Orca, . .. more than 160 films in a career spanning 70 years.

Amazing

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20101111/...s_delaurentiis

[cheebacheeba]

Christopher Walken died one time too
R.I.P Dino