Must have been the cold weather.
"He did it! he did it! he did it!"
Creepy bearded Paul Benedict best known as the sinister Number Painter from Sesame Street, and for his role of a slave trader in Dino De Laurentiis' sexy hump-a-thon Mandingo painted his last over Xmas, joining top tunester Derek Wadsworth, the groovy jazz trombonist, session musician, composer and arranger for such classics as the Gerry Anderson productions The Day After Tomorrow and series 2 of Space: 1999, Britannia Hospital (1982), The Whales of August (1987) and A Child Is a Wild Thing as well as producing two gold albums for Bill (Corries Jack Duckworth) Tarmey.
On the movie front the cruel hand of death stole away Munchkin queen Donna Stewart-Hardaway, creator of Famous Monsters of Filmland, occasional author, actor, producer and full time film fan Forrest J Ackerman and star of the classic scifi blockbuster It Conquered the World, Beverly Garland.
Lest we forget Apocalypse Now's Navy Gunner's Mate Lance Johnson and star of the chiller Mommy Dearest Sam Bottoms, one time Batman villain Van (The Minstrel) Johnson and former Catwoman and owner of the sexiest cha-cha heels ever, Ms. Eartha Kitt.
Oliver Postgate the genius animator, puppeteer and writer behind such classics as Pingwings, Pogles' Wood, Noggin the Nog, Ivor the Engine, Clangers and Bagpuss passed away to the toot of the Soup Dragon as did Yuri Nikolayevich Glazkov, former Soviet Air Force officer, cosmonaut and author of several books including a technical guide to spacewalking, Outside Orbiting Spacecraft, the space exploration bible The World Around Us as well as several science-fiction novels (all in Russian).
Brit teevee icon and reluctant sex symbol Kathy Staff, best known for her portrayal of northern battleaxe Nora Batty, in Last of the Summer Wine as well as that of Doris Luke in Crossroads; appearances in Coronation Street as Vera Hopkins and in Open All Hours as Mrs Blewitt hung up her wrinkled stockings for the last time as did (if she/he wore them) transgendered voice actress and comic book writer and artist Madeleine Joan Blaustein. Famous as, amongst other things, the voice of Sartorius in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX as well as the dulcet tones of Meowth in Pokémon and if that wasn't enough she also served as Creative Director for the unofficial Unwell bible The Weekly World News.
Telly 'tec fans were in shock at the death of Horst Tappert, the actor behind Inspector Stephan Derrick in the German television drama Derrick, tho' not as shocked as Bond fans waking to the news that one time Bond gal Celine Cawley, who was bludgeoned to death by her hubbie in their garden.
If all that wasn't depressing enough, we've still to mention Gregoire, Africa's oldest known chimpanzee, Carry On star Jack Douglas, nurse Chapel herself (and the voice of the Enterprise computer) Majel Barrett-Roddenberry.
Playwright, actor and one time Doctor Who star (yup, that's how I'll remember him) Harold Pinter, Starsky and Hutch's grumpy Captain Dobey (Bernie Hamilton), former saline breasted AV star cum manga heroine Ai Iijima and Edd Cartier, illustrator extrodanaire whose work has graced such iconic magazines as The Shadow, Astounding Science Fiction and Doc Savage Magazine.
But the most upsetting death last month had to be the passing of Bettie Mae Page.
Famous in the 1950s for her fetish modeling and pin-up photos, Bettie was also one of the earliest Playmates of the Month for Playboy magazine as well as the main pin up for many of us check shirted, bequiffed 80's indie kids (and girlfriend of The Rocketeer!).
No comments:
Post a Comment