RIP: Reel Important People -- November 20, 2006
Filed under: Obits
Bettye Ackerman (1928-2006) - Actress who appeared in Ted and Venus, Rascal and the straight-to-DVD sequel Prehysteria! 2. She died of Alzheimer's disease November 1, in Columbia, South Carolina.- Timothea Beckerman (1951-2006) - New Orleans-based R&B singer who appeared in Jim Jarmusch's Down by Law. She died of complications from hepatitis C November 14, in New York.
- Ruth Brown (1928-2006) - R&B singer who played "Motormouth Maybelle" in John Waters' Hairspray and also appeared in Under the Rainbow, True Identity and the recent documentary Lightning in a Bottle. She had just recorded music for John Sayles' next film, Honeydripper, and was set to play a part in the film, as well. Tragically, she became ill and could not show up to the Alabama film set. She had surgery last month, but suffered a heart attack and a stroke afterward, keeping her on life support from October 29 until her passing on November 18. She died in Las Vegas.
- Daryl Duke (1929-2006) - Director of Tai-Pan, The Silent Partner and Payday (1975). He died of pulmonary fibrosis October 21, in West Vancouver, British Columbia.
- Francis Girod (1944-2006) - French filmmaker (pictured) who made La Banquière (The Woman Banker), Le Bon Plaisir and The Elegant Criminal. He died Sunday morning of a heart attack, in Bordeaux, France.
- Gary Graver (c.1938-2006) - Prolific writer, director, actor and cinematographer who worked on Cassavetes' A Woman Under the Influence, Welles' F for Fake (along with other Welles projects -- see Ryan's post) and Spielberg's Always. Much of his career was spent as director or DP on adult films and soft-core fare, often using the pseudonym Robert McCallum. Some of the best-sounding movie-mockery porn titles he helmed include Three Men and a Hooker, Home But Not Alone, Driving Miss Daisy Crazy Again and So I Married a Lesbian. Other non-adult titles he shot include Eating Raoul, Grand Theft Auto, Chatanooga Choo Choo, Dracula vs. Frankenstein and Deathsport. He died of cancer November 16.
- John Hallam (1941-2006) - Character actor who appeared in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Dragonslayer, Flash Gordon, The Wicker Man (1973), The Charge of the Light Brigade and Santa Claus: The Movie. He died November 14, in Clifton, Oxfordshire, England.
- Nigel Holton (c.1952-2006) - Composer who scored Kiss Me a Killer, for which he was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award, Carnosaur, Naked Souls and Alien Terminator. He died from drowning October 26, in New Zealand.
- Nicholas Proffitt (1943-2006) - Former war correspondent for Newsweek during Vietnam who wrote the novel Gardens of Stone, which was made into the movie by Francis Ford Coppola. He died of kidney cancer November 10, in Naples, Florida.
- Mark Rodgers (?-2006) - Writer and producer who scripted the William Castle film Let's Kill Uncle and the Raquel Welch thriller Flareup, as well as many TV series and movies. He died of Parkinson's disease November 5, in California.
- Joe Scully (1926-2006) - Casting director on In Like Flint, Lady Sings the Blues, Planet of the Apes, Hello, Dolly!, The Parallax View, Coffy and Blacula. He died November 10, in Woodland Hills, California.
- Milton Seltzer (1918-2006) - Character actor who appeared in Marnie, The Cincinnati Kid, Lady Sings the Blues, Blue Collar and Sid and Nancy. He died of pulmonary and stroke complications October 21, in Oxnard, California.
- Jeremy Slate (1926-2006) - Actor who appeared in Hell's Angels '69 (for which he also wrote the story), G.I. Blues, Girls! Girls! Girls!, The Sons of Katie Elder, True Grit and The Lawnmower Man. He died Sunday of complications following surgery for esophogeal cancer, in Los Angeles.
- Ronnie Stevens (1925-2006) - British actor who appeared in I'm All Right Jack, Doctor in Love, Goodbye, Mr. Chips, Brassed Off and the remake of The Parent Trap. He died November 11, in Middlesex, England.
- Francais "Rusty" Tullis (c.1936-2006) - Woman portrayed by Cher in Mask, which was about her son, craniofacial disease victim Rocky Dennis. She died last week of an infection related to a motorcycle accident.she was injured in one month ago.
- John Veale (1922-2006) - Composer who scored The Purple Plain, The Spanish Gardener and Portrait of Alison. He was also a film critic for the Oxford Mail. He died November 16, in Bromley, Kent, England.
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