• Abby Mann (1927-2008) - Oscar-winning screenwriter of Judgment of Nuremberg. He was also nominated for writing Stanley Kramer's Ship of Fools. He also worked on Vittorio De Sica's The Condemned of Altona, wrote John Cassavetes' A Child is Waiting and Gordon Douglas' The Detective, which starred Frank Sinatra, and created the TV series Kojak. He also appears in the documentary Imaginary Witness: Hollywood and the Holocaust. He died of heart failure March 25, in Beverly Hills. (Variety)

• Art Aragon (1927-2008) - Professional boxer-turned-actor who appears as himself in the Bob Hope comedy Off Limits and in Kur Neumann's film-noir The Ring. He also appears in John Huston's boxing picture Fat City and in the WWII film To Hell and Back. He died of complications from a stroke March 25, in Northridge, California. (NY Times)
• Paul Arthur (c.1948-2008) - Film historian, scholar and critic who taught English and film studies at Montclair State University in New Jersey. He was known for his writings on avant-garde and documentary cinemas and had made a number of short films, himself. He died of melanoma March 25, in White Plains, New York. (NY Times)

American filmmaker Jules Dassin has reportedly died today in Athens, Greece, of complications after catching flu. Obviously it is a sad time for fans of Dassin's Night and the City; Richard Widmark, the actor who starred in that classic noir, died one week ago.

Dassin was born in Connecticut in 1911, became an actor in Yiddish theater in New York and then went on to Hollywood, where he made films noir like Brute Force, The Naked City, Thieves' Hideaway and of course Night and the City, which was his last American film thanks to the persecution of the House Un-American Activities Committee.

Fortunately, as an exile in Europe, he continued to churn out brilliant movies, such as the pre-eminent heist flick Rififi, the crime caper Topkapi and the gold-hearted hooker film Never on a Sunday, which starred Dassin and his future wife, Greek actress Melina Mercouri, and for which he received Oscar nominations for writing and directing. His last film was the disappointing 1980 Canadian production Circle of Two, which starred Richard Burton and Tatum O'Neal.

Actor Richard Widmark passed away this week at the age of 93. IMDb lists 75 appearances in films and television shows, in which he demonstrated a wonderfully varied dramatic range, yet his very first film role set the standard for post-World War II villains, and can also be considered a landmark horror performance.

While no one would describe 1947's Kiss of Death as a horror movie in the traditional sense, Widmark's embodiment of the giggling killer Tommy Udo established him "as the most frightening person on the screen," according to critic David Thomson in his book The Biographical Dictionary of Film (as quoted by Aljean Harmetz in The New York Times). David Hudson at GreenCine Daily has a good roundup of coverage, and he points to an AP story in which Widmark is quoted as saying: "I played the part the way I did because the script struck me as funny and the part I played made me laugh. The guy was such a ridiculous beast."