The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 22

by Stephen Jones

  American actress Barbara Billingsley (Barbara Lillian Combes), best remembered as sensible mother “June Cleaver” in the 1950s TV series Leave It to Beaver, died from a rheumatoid disease on October 16, aged 94. The former model also appeared in the 1953 Invaders from Mars (uncredited), the TV movie Bay Coven, plus episodes of Mork & Mindy, Amazing Stories, Monsters (“Reaper”, based on a story by Robert Bloch) and Mysterious Ways.

  Another famous TV parent, American character actor Tom Bosley (Thomas Edward Bosley), died of a staph infection and cancer on October 19, aged 83. He had been battling lung cancer. Well known for starring in such popular TV series as Happy Days, Murder She Wrote and Father Dowling Investigates, Bosley also appeared in Miracle on 34th Street (1973), Death Cruise, The Night That Panicked America, Wicked Stepmother, Little Bigfoot 2: The Journey Home, Mary Christmas and The Fallen Ones, along with episodes of Hallmark Hall of Fame (“Arsenic and Old Lace”), The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. (“The Faustus Affair”), Get Smart, Night Gallery, Bewitched, The Sixth Sense, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Tales of the Unexpected, Out of This World, Early Edition and Touched by an Angel.

  Fussy Scotish character actor [Clement] Graham Crowden died the same day, aged 87. His films include Morgan: A Suitable Case for Treatment, If . . ., The Night Digger, The Ruling Class, The Amazing Mr Blunden, The Final Programme (based on the novel by Michael Moorcock), O Lucky Man!, The Little Prince, Jabberwocky, For Your Eyes Only, Britannia Hospital, The Company of Wolves and a 1996 version of Gulliver’s Travels. On TV Crowden was in a 1959 version of Trilby, plus episodes of The Indian Tales of Rudyard Kipling, Mystery and Imagination (“The Curse of the Mummy”), The Adventures of Don Quick, Catweazle, Star Maidens, The 10th Kingdom and Dr Terrible’s House of Horrible. In 1974 he was offered the title role of Doctor Who following the departure of Jon Pertwee, but turned it down. However, he did turn up as the villainous “Soldeed” in the show’s 1979 sequence “The Horns of Nimon”.

  German-born singer Ari Up (Ariane Daniele Forster), who was Sex Pistol John Lydon’s step-daughter and a founding member of the British all-girl punk-reggae band The Slits, died of cancer in Los Angeles on October 20. She was 48.

  American character actor and film historian Don Leifert (Donald L. Leifert, Jr) died on October 23, aged 59. He appeared in the no-budget SF and horror movies The Alien Factor, Fiend, Nightbeast, The Galaxy Invader, Blood Massacre and Crawler for Maryland independent film-maker Don Dohler.

  Jamaican-born reggae singer Gregory Isaacs died of lung cancer in his London home on October 25, aged 59. The smooth-voiced singer released an estimated 500 albums and was best known for his 1982 hit “Night Nurse”. He was arrested more than fifty times on drug and illegal firearms charges.

  The body of 53-year-old Lisa Blount was found at her Arkansas home on October 27, although the actress most likely died two days earlier. Best known for her role in An Officer and a Gentleman, Blount also appeared in the movies Dead and Buried, What Waits Below, Radioactive Dreams, Annihilator, Nightflyers (based on the novel by George R.R. Martin), John Carpenter’s Prince of Darkness, Needful Things (uncredited) and Stalked, along with episodes of TV’s The Hitchhiker and Starman.

  Actor James [Gordon] MacArthur, best known for playing “Danny ‘Danno’ Williams” opposite Jack Lord’s “Steve McGarrett” on CBS-TV’s Hawaii Five-O (1968–79), died on October 28, aged 72. He was the last surviving main cast member of the original series. The adopted son of playwright Charles MacArthur and America’s “First Lady of the American Stage”, Helen Hayes, MacArthur also appeared in Disney’s Swiss Family Robinson, The Bedford Incident and episodes of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Tarzan, Fantasy Island, Time Express (starring Vincent Price) and Superboy.

  American character actor Robert Ellenstein died the same day, aged 87. He began his career playing “Quasimodo” in a two-part 1950 Robert Montgomery Presents adaptation of The Hunchback of Notre Dame on live TV. His other credits include Mandrake the Magician (1954), Love at First Bite and Star Trek: The Voyage Home, plus episodes of Climax!, One Step Beyond, Thriller (1961), The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Get Smart, The Wild Wild West, The Bionic Woman, A Man Called Sloane, V (1984) and Star Trek: The Next Gerneration.

  Maurice Murphy MBE, the principal trumpet player with the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO), also died on October 28, aged 75. His distinctive playing can be heard on the soundtracks for Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Summer of Sam, Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, The Golden Compass, The Dark Knight and Fantastic Mr Fox.

  Acclaimed Hollywood actress Jill Clayburgh died of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia on November 5, aged 66. Her credits include The Terminal Man (based on the novel by Michael Crichton) and the TV sequel Phenomenon II.

  Marie Osborne [Yeats] (Helen Alice Myres) who, as “Baby Marie Osborne” was one of the first American child stars of the silent screen, died on November 11, six days after her 99th birthday. Between 1914 and 1919 she appeared in twenty-eight silent movies, before becoming a stand-in and uncredited extra in various 1930s and ’40s productions, including The Last Days of Pompeii. From the mid-1950s until the mid-1970s, she worked as a wardrobe costumer on such films as Around the World in Eighty Days, Cleopatra and The Legend of Lylah Clare. At the height of her fame she was earning $300 a week (when the average American was making less than $1,000 per year) and Baby Marie Osborne dolls were sold around the world.

  Polish-born actress and author Ingrid Pitt (Ingoushka Petrov) died of heart failure while on her way to a dinner in her honour in London on November 23, two days after her 73rd birthday. She had been in poor health for some time. In the early 1970s she became a horror icon when Hammer Films starred her in The Vampire Lovers (based on J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s “Carmilla”) and Countess Dracula. Her other film credits include the Spanish Sound of Horror, The Omegans, The House That Dripped Blood (in a segment based on Robert Bloch’s “The Cloak”), The Wicker Man (1973), Artemis 81, The House, Underworld (aka Transmutations, based on a story by Clive Barker), The Asylum, the short Green Fingers, Minotaur, Hammer’s Beyond the Rave and Sea of Dust, and she also appeared on TV in episodes of Doctor Who (“The Time Monster” and “Warriors of the Deep”) and Thriller (1975). The actress wrote the non-fiction studies The Ingrid Pitt Bedside Companion for Vampire Lovers, The Ingrid Pitt Bedside Companion for Ghosthunters and The Ingrid Pitt Book of Murder, Torture & Depravity, as well as contributing a regular column to Shivers magazine and an Introduction and story to The Mammoth Book of Vampire Stories by Women. Her 1999 autobiography was titled Life’s a Scream. In 2010 Ingrid Pitt was Special Media Guest at the World Horror Convention in Brighton, England.

  British leading lady Joyce Howard, who co-starred with James Mason in the psychological chiller The Night Has Eyes (aka Terror House, 1942), died the same day in Santa Monica, California. She was 88. Howard also appeared in the old dark lighthouse comedy-mystery Back-Room Boy with Arthur Askey. After marrying actor Basil Sydney, she retired from acting in the early 1960s, becoming a novelist, playwright and, eventually, an excutive story editor and executive at Paramount TV in Los Angeles.

  Danish stage and screen actor Palle Huld, who was reputed to be the inpiration for cartoon character “Tintin”, died on November 26, aged 98. In 1928, the fifteen-year-old Huld won a newspaper competition for an aspiring journalist to celebrate the centennial of Jules Verne by travelling around the world in fourty-four days by any means except flying. The first Tintin strip, Tintin in the Land of the Soviets, appeared in a Belgian newspaper the following year.

  Versatile Canadian-born Hollywood actor Leslie [William] Nielsen, who starred as the starship commander in the 1956 classic Forbidden Planet (based on William Shakespeare’s The Tempest), died in Florida from pneumonia on November 28 while battling a staph infection. He was 84. His movie credits include the underrated Dark Intruder, The Reluctant Astronaut, Change of Mind, Night Slaves, The Aquarians, Hauser’s Memory (based on the novel C
urt Siodmak), The Resurrection of Zachary Wheeler, The Poseidon Adventure (1972), The Return of Charlie Chan, Project: Kill, Day of the Animals, Prom Night (1980), Creepshow (based on stories by Stephen King), Harvey (1996) and Santa Who?. Although he was often cast as the “heavy”, with Airplane! in 1980, Nielsen began a second career appearing in comedy spoofs such as The Creature Wasn’t Nice, Repossessed, Dracula: Dead and Loving It (as “Count Dracula”), 2001: A Space Travesty, Scary Movie 3 and Scary Movie 4, Superhero Movie, Stan Helsing and Spanish Movie. On TV the busy actor appeared in episodes of Lights Out (including adaptations of stories by John D. MacDonald, August Derleth and M.R. James), Suspense (including “The Black Prophet” with Boris Karloff as Rasputin), Tales of Tomorrow (including a two-part adaptation “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea”), Robert Montgomery Presents (including a version of “The House of Seven Gables”), Thriller, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (“The Magic Shop”, based on the story by John Collier), Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Wild Wild West, Cimarron Strip (“The Beast That Walks Like a Man”), The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Night Gallery, The Evil Touch, Lucan, Fantasy Island, The Ray Bradbury Theatre and Highway to Heaven.

  Mexican luchador enmascarado El Hijo de Cien Caras (Eusacio “Tacho” Jimínez Ibarra) was shot dead by two assassins while sitting in his car in Coyoacan, Mexico, on November 29. The masked wrestler was aged 32 and had bought the rights to his stage name as a way of linking himself to the famed wrestler Cien Caras (“Hundred Faces”), to whom he was not related. He also wrestled under the names “Frankenstein” and “Suplex”.

  American character actor Ted Sorel (Theodore Eliopoulos) died of Lyme’s disease on November 30, aged 74. His credits include Doctor Franken, The Clairvoyant (aka The Killing Hour), The Tempest (1983), H.P. Lovecraft’s From Beyond (as “Dr Edward Pretorius”), Basket Case 2 and an episode of TV’s Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

  Adult film star, director and producer John Leslie [Nuzzo] died on December 5, aged 65. As an actor, his more than 300 porno films since the mid-1970s include Dracula Sucks, Pleasure Zone, Fantasex Island, Erotic Zone, The Lust Potion of Doctor F, Friday the 13th: A Nude Beginning, Fatal Erection, The Cat Woman and Beauty and the Beast (1988) and its sequel. He also turned up (uncredited) in the 1984 horror movie, The Prey. Among Leslie’s more than 140 credits as a director are The Cat Woman, The Chameleon, Mad Love (1989), Laying the Ghost and Curse of the Catwoman.

  Japanese voice actor Takeshi Watabe (Masato Maeno), who worked on numerous anime TV series such as Dragonball, Dragon Quest, Doraemon, Detective Conan, Paranoia Agent and Strike Witches, along with the 1986 film Fist of the North Star (1986), died on December 13, aged 74.

  American character actress Neva [Louise] Patterson, who played “Eleanor Dupres” in the 1980s TV movie V and the mini-series V: The Final Battle, died of complications from a broken hip on December 14, aged 90. She also appeared in the Steve Martin comedy All of Me, along with episodes of Lights Out, Suspense, Moment of Fear, Ghost Story, Tales of the Unexpected (aka Twist in the Tale) and Logan’s Run.

  Innovative American musician and visual artist Captain Beefheart (Donald Van Vliet) died after a long battle with multiple sclerosis on December 17, aged 69. He recorded twelve studio albums with The Magic Band between 1965 and 1982.

  American character actor Steve Landesberg died after a long battle with cancer on December 20, aged 65. He made guest appearances on such TV shows as When Things Were Rotten, Harry and the Hendersons and Dinosaurs.

  American radio and television announcer Fred Foy (Frederick William Foy), who provided the opening “Hi-Yo, Silver!” narration for ABC Radio’s The Lone Ranger (1948–54), died on December 22, aged 89. Foy also announced The Green Hornet and Challenge of the Yukon series for radio and The Lone Ranger TV series (1949–57). He was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2000.

  Adult film actress Viper (Stephanie Green, aka “Stephanie Bishop”), best known for her trademark full body snake tattoo, died of lung cancer on December 24, aged 51. A former ballet dancer and US marine, her porn movies include Jane Bond Meets Thunderballs, Future Sodom, Dreams in the Forbidden Zone, Voodoo Lust: The Possession, Debbie Does the Devil in Dallas and Captain Hooker & Peter Porn. She abruptly left the X-rated movie industry in 1991 and later worked as a hair-stylist and phlebotomist.

  American R&B singer and songwriter Teena Marie (Mary Christine Brockert) died in her sleep on December 26, aged 54. She had suffered a grand mal seizure a month earlier. A protégé of funk music legend Rick James, the Grammy Award-nominated singer released thirteen studio albums from the mid-1970s onwards, and had hits with such songs as “I’m Just a Sucker For Your Love” and “Lovergirl”. In 1964 she appeared in an episode of TV’s The Beverly Hillbillies.

  Prolific French actor Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu died of cancer on December 27, aged 61. His many credits include Roman Polanski’s The Tenant and George Sluizer’s The Vanishing.

  Prolific American character actor Bill Erwin (William Lindsey Erwin) died on December 29, aged 96. Best known for his numerous Western roles, he was also in The Brass Bottle, How Awful About Allan, Tarantulas: The Deadly Cargo, Somewhere in Time, Wes Craven’s Invitation to Hell, The Willies, Menno’s Mind and A Crack in the Floor, along with episodes of TV’s Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Science Fiction Theatre, The Twilight Zone, Mister Ed, The Invaders, The Wild Wild West, Get Smart, Struck by Lightning, Voyagers!, ABC Weekend Specials (“Henry Hamilton Graduate Ghost”), Highway to Heaven, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Quantum Leap and Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. Erwin was also the voice of “Grandfather” in the animated The Land Before Time.

  Swedish-born actor Per [Oscar Heinrich] Oscarsson, who portrayed “The Monster” in Calvin Floyd’s Victor Frankenstein (aka Terror of Frankenstein, 1977), was apparently killed with his wife, Kia Ostling, early on December 31 when a fire burned their rural home in the small Swedish town of Skara to the ground. He was 83 and she was 67. Oscarsson’s other credits include The Night Visitor, Endless Night, The Sleep of Death (based on the story by J. Sheridan Le Fanu) and the second and third movies in Stieg Larsson’s “Millennium” trilogy.

  FILM/TV TECHNICIANS & PRODUCERS

  Gary “Tex” Brockette died of cancer on January 1, aged 62. A former actor – he appeared in Mark of the Witch, the Rod Serling-narrated Encounter with the Unknown and Ice Pirates (as “Percy the Robot”) – he worked as an assistant director on R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour: Don’t Think About It and Sirens of the Caribbean. Brockette also co-scripted and associate-produced the dinosaur comedy Tammy and the T-Rex and was script supervisor for Mannequin: On the Move.

  American music producer, arranger and songwriter Willie Mitchell died of cardiac arrest on January 5, aged 81. A former session musician, he is best known for his work during the 1970s with Al Green on such hit songs as “Let’s Stay Together”, “I’m Still in Love with You” and “Tired of Being Alone”.

  American “claymation” animator Art Clokey (Arthur Charles Farrington), died of a gall bladder infection on January 8, aged 88. Best known for creating the green “Gumby” character in the 1960s for a short-lived TV series (successfully revived 1988–2002), he also directed the series Davey and Goliath and Gumby: The Movie (1995).

  The “King of the Paparazzi”, Felice Quinto, died of pneumonia at his home in Rockville, Maryland, on January 16, aged 80. The pioneering Italian-born celebrity photographer is widely believed to be the inspiration for the aggressive character “Paparazzo” in Frederico Fellini’s 1960 movie La Dolce Vita. For a time Quinto was also Elizabeth Taylor’s personal photographer.

  69-year-old British special effects designer Ian Scoones died of liver cancer in Spain on January 20. He began his career working as an uncredited special effects assistant with Les Bowie on such Hammer films as Taste of Fear (aka Scream of Fear), The Shadow of the Cat, Captain Clegg (aka Night Creatures), The Damned (aka These Are the Damned), The Kiss of the Vampire, She (1965), F
rankenstein Created Woman, The Mummy’s Shroud and Quatermass and the Pit (aka Five Million Miles to Earth). Scoones also worked on Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1980), The Dark Crystal, Nineteen Eighty-Four, Haunted Honeymoon, the Max Headroom pilot, and The Mystery of Edwin Drood (1993), along with episodes of Blake’s 7, Doctor Who, Hammer House of Horror and Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense.

  American stage actor Ed Ragozzino, who directed the 1977 docu-drama Sasquatch, the Legend of Bigfoot, died of cancer on January 30, aged 79.

  American film producer, journalist and author David Brown who, with Richard D. Zanuck produced Steven Spielberg’s Jaws, died of kidney failure on February 1, aged 93. His other credits include SSSSnake, Jaws 2, The Island, Cocoon, Cocoon: The Return, Kiss the Girls, Deep Impact and Along Came a Spider.

  Fred [Walter Frederick] Morrison, inventor of the “Frisbee”, died of cancer on February 9, aged 90. Early versions were called “Whirlo-Way”, “Flyin-Saucers” and “Pluto Platter”, before Morrison sold the rights to toy company Wham-O in 1957. It has since sold more than 200 million Frisbees.

  British-born studio executive Gareth Wigan who, while at 20th Century Fox in the 1970s championed a little film called Star Wars, died of cancer in Los Angeles on February 13, aged 78. Wigan’s other credits include All That Jazz, Alien and Bram Stoker’s Dracula. His first wife was singer/actress Georgia Brown.

  American animation director Rudy (Rudolph) Larriva, who created the opening titles for the original series of The Twilight Zone, died on February 19, aged 94. As an animator, he worked on numerous “Merrie Melodies” and “Looney Tunes” shorts in the 1930s, ’40s and ’50s, as well as the “Mr Magoo” cartoons. His many other credits include Popeye the Sailor, The Lone Ranger, Sabrina and the Groovie Goolies, My Favorite Martians, Tarzan Lord of the Jungle, The New Adventures of Batman, Space Sentinels, Fangface, The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show, Thundarr the Barbarian, The Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Puppy Hour and a TV version of Beauty and the Beast (1983).