Passages
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Rufus T. Firefly
- Joined: Wed Nov 10, 2004 8:24 am
- Location: Sydney, Australia
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kinjitsu
- Joined: Sat Feb 12, 2005 5:39 pm
- Location: Uffa!
NY Times Carlo Ponti & Yvonne De Carlo obituaries
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Cinephrenic
- Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 6:58 pm
- Location: Paris, Texas
A.I. Bezzerides Dies at 98
Wrote some great noir film classics.LOS ANGELES - A.I. Bezzerides, a novelist-turned-Hollywood screenwriter best known for post-World War II film noir classics such as "Kiss Me Deadly," "On Dangerous Ground" and "Thieves' Highway," has died. He was 98.
Bezzerides died Jan. 1 at the Motion Picture & Television Hospital in Woodland Hills after a brief illness, daughter Zoe Ohl said.
Bezzerides was working as a communications engineer for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power when his 1938 novel "Long Haul" was turned into "They Drive by Night," a 1940 melodrama starring George Raft and Humphrey Bogart as struggling trucker brothers hauling produce.
After Warner Bros. paid him $2,000 for the rights to his novel and put him under contract as a $300-a-week screenwriter, Bezzerides discovered that a script based on his book already had been written.
"I had no idea whether it was guilt or conscience, or greed to swindle more stories out of me, for peanuts, that motivated Warner Bros. to offer me a seven-year contract, with options to be exercised every six months," Bezzerides wrote in the afterword to the 1997 University of California Press republication of his 1949 novel "Thieves' Market."
"Whatever their reason, I grabbed their offer so I could quit my putrid career as a communications engineer by becoming a writer, writing scripts in an entirely new world," he wrote.
Bezzerides' first film credit was "Juke Girl," a 1942 story of migrant farmworkers starring Ann Sheridan and Ronald Reagan.
After leaving Warner Bros., Bezzerides, nicknamed Buzz, wrote or co-wrote films such as "Beneath the 12-Mile Reef," "Desert Fury," "Sirocco" and "Track of the Cat."
He got into television in the 1950s, writing for such series as "Bonanza," "DuPont Theater," "Rawhide," "77 Sunset Strip" and "The Virginian."
He was perhaps best known for "Thieves' Highway," director Jules Dassin's thriller based on Bezzerides' 1949 novel; "On Dangerous Ground," Nicholas Ray's 1952 crime drama; and "Kiss Me Deadly," Robert Aldrich's 1955 crime thriller loosely based on the Mickey Spillane novel.
"Buzz was more of a pivotal figure in the development of American film noir than he has been given credit for," said writer-publisher Garrett White, who interviewed Bezzerides for the foreword White wrote for the reprint of "Thieves' Market."
While at Warner Bros., Bezzerides was a close friend with William Faulkner, another contract writer at the studio.
"Faulkner actually stayed with Buzz and his first wife in Brentwood from time to time," White said.
Albert Isaac Bezzerides was born Aug. 9, 1908, in Samsun, Turkey. His mother was Armenian and his father a Turkish-speaking Greek.
He moved to America with his parents by age 2, and they settled in Fresno, where his father worked in the fields before becoming a produce-hauling trucker.
Bezzerides began writing short stories while studying at the University of California at Berkeley.
A longtime Woodland Hills resident whose first marriage ended in divorce, Bezzerides was married to film and television writer Silvia Richards until her death in 1999.
In addition to his daughter Zoe, he is survived by another daughter, son, a granddaughter and four great-grandchildren.
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Matt
- Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 4:58 pm
So it's not really film-related, but I'm having a hard time dealing with this one. "Journey in Satchidananda" is one of my favorite records.
Jazz pianist Alice Coltrane dies in Calif
Reuters: Sun Jan 14, 4:43 PM ET
Alice Coltrane, an avant-garde jazz pianist and widow of saxophone great John Coltrane, whose musical legacy she helped keep, has died at age 69 of respiratory failure, an official said on Sunday.
Coltrane died on Friday at West Hills Hospital and Medical Center in West Hills, a Los Angeles suburb, a hospital spokeswoman said.
Famed for replacing McCoy Tyner on piano in her husband's last quartet as he broke new and controversial musical ground, Coltrane was also a convert to Hinduism and a guru who had her own commune.
Born Alice McLeod in Detroit, Coltrane was trained as a classical musician and as an organist, harpist and pianist. Among her jazz teachers was the legendary Bud Powell.
Jazz vibist Terry Gibbs told the Los Angeles Times that Alice Coltrane met her husband while playing with his band at Birdland in the 1960s.
"He saw something in her that was beautiful. They were both very shy in a way. It was beautiful to see them fall in love," he told the paper adding, she was "the nicest person I ever worked with. She was a real lady."
She left Gibbs' band to marry and play piano for Coltrane as he moved into bolder, more spiritual music than he had been playing before.
In an interview with Essence magazine in September 2006, she was asked if she caused the change in his music and the break-up of the famous John Coltrane Quartet.
Her answer was, "I didn't have to inspire John toward the avant-garde; he did not need anything from me. That is why it's so interesting that critics decided to dislike me. At some point the members of the quartet felt it was time for a change, and left on their own.
"When John said that he wanted me to play with him on piano, I told him that there were many others who were qualified. He said, 'I want you there because you can do it."' She credited Coltrane with "showing me how to play fully."
After his death in July 1967 at age 40, she raised the couple's children, continued playing and expanding upon his music and devoted herself to the study of Eastern religions, adopting the Sanskrit name, Turiyasangitananda.
Jazz pianist Alice Coltrane dies in Calif
Reuters: Sun Jan 14, 4:43 PM ET
Alice Coltrane, an avant-garde jazz pianist and widow of saxophone great John Coltrane, whose musical legacy she helped keep, has died at age 69 of respiratory failure, an official said on Sunday.
Coltrane died on Friday at West Hills Hospital and Medical Center in West Hills, a Los Angeles suburb, a hospital spokeswoman said.
Famed for replacing McCoy Tyner on piano in her husband's last quartet as he broke new and controversial musical ground, Coltrane was also a convert to Hinduism and a guru who had her own commune.
Born Alice McLeod in Detroit, Coltrane was trained as a classical musician and as an organist, harpist and pianist. Among her jazz teachers was the legendary Bud Powell.
Jazz vibist Terry Gibbs told the Los Angeles Times that Alice Coltrane met her husband while playing with his band at Birdland in the 1960s.
"He saw something in her that was beautiful. They were both very shy in a way. It was beautiful to see them fall in love," he told the paper adding, she was "the nicest person I ever worked with. She was a real lady."
She left Gibbs' band to marry and play piano for Coltrane as he moved into bolder, more spiritual music than he had been playing before.
In an interview with Essence magazine in September 2006, she was asked if she caused the change in his music and the break-up of the famous John Coltrane Quartet.
Her answer was, "I didn't have to inspire John toward the avant-garde; he did not need anything from me. That is why it's so interesting that critics decided to dislike me. At some point the members of the quartet felt it was time for a change, and left on their own.
"When John said that he wanted me to play with him on piano, I told him that there were many others who were qualified. He said, 'I want you there because you can do it."' She credited Coltrane with "showing me how to play fully."
After his death in July 1967 at age 40, she raised the couple's children, continued playing and expanding upon his music and devoted herself to the study of Eastern religions, adopting the Sanskrit name, Turiyasangitananda.
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zedz
- Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2004 11:24 pm
Sad news indeed. We can make it film related, if you like, as I once saw a documentary (about a streetwise Buddhist nun?) that used her amazing 'Journey in Satchidananda' repeatedly on the soundtrack. Far and away the best part of the film - I was pleasantly transported out of the film whenever it occurred.
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jorencain
- Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 5:45 am
Wow - that's two major blows for the jazz world in the space of two days. I just got this in an email this morning (so I don't know where this originally comes from):
Grammy-Winning Saxophonist Michael Brecker Dies
(AP) NEW YORK Michael Brecker, a versatile and influential tenor saxophonist who won 11 Grammys over a career that spanned more than three decades, died Saturday. He was 57.
Brecker died in a hospital in New York City of leukemia, according to his longtime friend and manager, Darryl Pitt.
In recent years, the saxophonist had struggled with myelodysplastic syndrome, a cancer in which the bone marrow stops producing enough healthy blood cells. The disease, known as MDS, often progresses to leukemia.
Throughout his career, Brecker recorded and performed with numerous jazz and pop music leaders, including Herbie Hancock, James Taylor, Paul Simon and Joni Mitchell, according to his Web site. His most recently released recording, "Wide Angles," appeared on many top jazz lists and won two Grammys in 2004.
His technique on the saxophone was widely emulated, and his style was much-studied in music schools throughout the world. Jazziz magazine recently called him "inarguably the most influential tenor stylist of the last 25 years," according to a press release from his family.
Though very sick, Brecker managed to record a final album, as yet untitled, that was completed just two weeks ago. Pitt said the musician was enthusiastic about the final work.
"In addition to the love of his family and friends, his work on this project helped keep him alive and will be another jewel in his legacy," Pitt said.
Brecker, who had a home in the New York City suburb of Hastings-on-Hudson, was born in 1949 in Philadelphia to a musically inclined family. His father would take his sons to performances of jazz legends such as Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk and Duke Ellington.
Brecker, who first studied clarinet and alto saxophone, decided to pursue the tenor saxophone in high school after being inspired by the work of John Coltrane, according to his Web site. He followed his brother, Randy, a trumpet player, to Indiana University, but he left after a year for New York.
In 1970, he helped found the jazz-rock group Dreams. He later joined his brother in pianist and composer Horace Silver's quintet. Michael and Randy also started the successful jazz-rock fusion group the Brecker Brothers. The two also owned the now-defunct downtown jazz club Seventh Avenue South.
His solo career began in 1987, when his self-titled debut was voted "Jazz Album of the Year" in both Down Beat and Jazziz magazines.
His struggle with the blood disease led him and his family to publicly encourage people to enroll in bone marrow donor programs. His own search for a donor led to an experimental blood stem cell transplant that "did not work as hoped," according to a May 2006 entry on his Web site.
Brecker's survivors include his wife, Susan; his children, Jessica and Sam; his brother, Randy; and his sister, Emily Brecker Greenberg. Memorial services are being planned.
Grammy-Winning Saxophonist Michael Brecker Dies
(AP) NEW YORK Michael Brecker, a versatile and influential tenor saxophonist who won 11 Grammys over a career that spanned more than three decades, died Saturday. He was 57.
Brecker died in a hospital in New York City of leukemia, according to his longtime friend and manager, Darryl Pitt.
In recent years, the saxophonist had struggled with myelodysplastic syndrome, a cancer in which the bone marrow stops producing enough healthy blood cells. The disease, known as MDS, often progresses to leukemia.
Throughout his career, Brecker recorded and performed with numerous jazz and pop music leaders, including Herbie Hancock, James Taylor, Paul Simon and Joni Mitchell, according to his Web site. His most recently released recording, "Wide Angles," appeared on many top jazz lists and won two Grammys in 2004.
His technique on the saxophone was widely emulated, and his style was much-studied in music schools throughout the world. Jazziz magazine recently called him "inarguably the most influential tenor stylist of the last 25 years," according to a press release from his family.
Though very sick, Brecker managed to record a final album, as yet untitled, that was completed just two weeks ago. Pitt said the musician was enthusiastic about the final work.
"In addition to the love of his family and friends, his work on this project helped keep him alive and will be another jewel in his legacy," Pitt said.
Brecker, who had a home in the New York City suburb of Hastings-on-Hudson, was born in 1949 in Philadelphia to a musically inclined family. His father would take his sons to performances of jazz legends such as Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk and Duke Ellington.
Brecker, who first studied clarinet and alto saxophone, decided to pursue the tenor saxophone in high school after being inspired by the work of John Coltrane, according to his Web site. He followed his brother, Randy, a trumpet player, to Indiana University, but he left after a year for New York.
In 1970, he helped found the jazz-rock group Dreams. He later joined his brother in pianist and composer Horace Silver's quintet. Michael and Randy also started the successful jazz-rock fusion group the Brecker Brothers. The two also owned the now-defunct downtown jazz club Seventh Avenue South.
His solo career began in 1987, when his self-titled debut was voted "Jazz Album of the Year" in both Down Beat and Jazziz magazines.
His struggle with the blood disease led him and his family to publicly encourage people to enroll in bone marrow donor programs. His own search for a donor led to an experimental blood stem cell transplant that "did not work as hoped," according to a May 2006 entry on his Web site.
Brecker's survivors include his wife, Susan; his children, Jessica and Sam; his brother, Randy; and his sister, Emily Brecker Greenberg. Memorial services are being planned.
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HerrSchreck
- Joined: Sun Sep 04, 2005 3:46 pm
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solent
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Caligula
- Carthago delenda est
- Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 6:32 am
- Location: George, South Africa
Harvey Cohen has died.
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Fletch F. Fletch
- Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 7:54 pm
- Location: Provo, Utah
Writer/Producer Krantz Dies
Steve Krantz, who produced the X-rated animated movie Fritz The Cat and created successful TV mini-series out of wife Judith Krantz's romance novels, has died. He was 83. Krantz died of complications from pneumonia on January 4 in Los Angeles. During his TV career, he wrote for Milton Berle and Arthur Godfrey and helped create several comedies, including Dennis The Menace and Bewitched as head of creative development at Columbia Pictures Television. He was also executive producer for Steve Allen's The Tonight Show. Krantz later turned to feature films such as Fritz the Cat, based on the Robert Crumb underground comic and Cooley High, about black high school students in the 1960s. In the 1980s and 1990s, he produced mini-series based on his wife's steamy novels, including Scruples, Mistral's Daughter and Dazzle. After his retirement, Krantz was involved with mental-heath counseling and former California Governor Pete Wilson appointed him to the board of the California Mental Health Council.
Steve Krantz, who produced the X-rated animated movie Fritz The Cat and created successful TV mini-series out of wife Judith Krantz's romance novels, has died. He was 83. Krantz died of complications from pneumonia on January 4 in Los Angeles. During his TV career, he wrote for Milton Berle and Arthur Godfrey and helped create several comedies, including Dennis The Menace and Bewitched as head of creative development at Columbia Pictures Television. He was also executive producer for Steve Allen's The Tonight Show. Krantz later turned to feature films such as Fritz the Cat, based on the Robert Crumb underground comic and Cooley High, about black high school students in the 1960s. In the 1980s and 1990s, he produced mini-series based on his wife's steamy novels, including Scruples, Mistral's Daughter and Dazzle. After his retirement, Krantz was involved with mental-heath counseling and former California Governor Pete Wilson appointed him to the board of the California Mental Health Council.
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Rufus T. Firefly
- Joined: Wed Nov 10, 2004 8:24 am
- Location: Sydney, Australia
There are as yet unconfirmed reports that Solveig Dommartin of Wings of Desire fame has died of heart failure at the age of 48.
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dadaistnun
- Joined: Thu Nov 04, 2004 12:31 pm
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Rufus T. Firefly
- Joined: Wed Nov 10, 2004 8:24 am
- Location: Sydney, Australia
Somewhat belatedly comes the news of the death of Canadian actor Lionel Murton, who was one of those familiar North American players who regularly appeared in small roles in British films and TV, like Ed Bishop and Shane Rimmer.
He died last September aged 91.
He died last September aged 91.
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kinjitsu
- Joined: Sat Feb 12, 2005 5:39 pm
- Location: Uffa!
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Caligula
- Carthago delenda est
- Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 6:32 am
- Location: George, South Africa
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Rufus T. Firefly
- Joined: Wed Nov 10, 2004 8:24 am
- Location: Sydney, Australia
British screenwriter, producer and director Tudor Gates has joined the recent exodus. Most fondly remembered for his work on Hammer's Karnstein Trilogy: The Vampire Lovers, Twins of Evil and Lust For a Vampire, he also worked on Barbarellaand Diabolik.
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HerrSchreck
- Joined: Sun Sep 04, 2005 3:46 pm
That's a woman who anyone can admire.The pair were often photographed canoodling together, and when Cohen was accused of laundering mob money through her bank account she was jailed for perjury.
On her release, she toured with her daughter in a double striptease act; and in 1974, watched by a crowd of 4,000, she became the first grandmother to streak down Hollywood Boulevard at high noon. Although it was a publicity stunt for a film, the authorities charged her with indecent exposure. She was acquitted.
If there's a heaven she's throwing chairs thru the windows. Salud, Liz.
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Fletch F. Fletch
- Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 7:54 pm
- Location: Provo, Utah
And things just get stranger...
From MSNBC:
From MSNBC:
Anna Nicole Smith dies in Florida hospital
Former model found unresponsive in Florida hotel room
Anna Nicole Smith died Thursday after collapsing at a hotel and being being rushed to the hospital, one of her lawyers said.
Smith collapsed in her room at the Hard Rock Cafe and Casino in Hollywood, Fla., and was rushed to a hospital on Thursday. A Hollywood, Fla., fire department spokesman told MSNBC TV that the actress was unresponsive when the rescue unit arrived on the scene and had been intubated. Smith was transported to Memorial Regional Hospital shortly after 2 p.m. EST and attorney Ron Rail confirmed that she had died nearly an hour later.
On Tuesday, Smith and the diet products company TrimSpa Inc., for which she is a spokeswoman, were sued in a class-action lawsuit alleging their marketing of a weight loss pill is false or misleading.
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Cinesimilitude
- Joined: Tue Jul 09, 2013 4:43 am
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dx23
- Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 12:52 am
- Location: Puerto Rico
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justeleblanc
- Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 10:05 pm
- Location: Connecticut