Fade to Black: A Book of Movie Obituaries

by Paul Donnelley

  CAUSE: Shortly before her death, Elsa Buchanan watched a DVD of the film Gosford Park. The plot concerns a house party in the Thirties at which an American producer spends much of his time discussing the casting for Charlie Chan In London. At the end of Gosford Park, he offers the movie-obsessed blonde maid a lift to London, and the clear chance that she will get the part originally played by Elsa Buchanan. The original died at Childswickham, near Evesham, Worcestershire, aged 95, from natural causes.

  Jack Buchanan

  Born April 2, 1890

  Died October 20, 1957

  Mr Suave. Born in Helensburgh, near Glasgow, Scotland, the son of an auctioneer 6́ 2˝ Walter John Buchanan seemed to spend his entire cinematic working life in top hat and tails. At school he veered towards the law but his heart was never there. When Buchanan made his music hall début in 1911 he was so appallingly bad that the audience booed him and began to throw things. Fearing for his safety the management quickly brought down the curtain. Rather too quickly. It hit Buchanan on the head and made him see stars. The catcalls and jeers turned to sympathetic laughter and thereafter the management paid him £1 a week to do the routine twice nightly. Among his films (the vast majority of which were made in Britain) were Auld Lang Syne (1917), The Audacious Mr Squire (1923), Bulldog Drummond’s Third Round (1925), Brewster’s Millions (1935), Bulldog Sees It Through (1940), As Long As They’re Happy (1953) and The Band Waggon (1953) opposite his American equivalent, Fred Astaire. Buchanan was a generous, loyal man and it was his efforts that saw the building of the Leicester Square Theatre, as well as being involved in the early days of television. He was married twice – firstly, on November 25, 1915 to Drageva Sava and then on January 14, 1949 to Susan Bassett. There were no children from either match.

  CAUSE: He died aged 67 in the Middlesex Hospital, London. His ashes were scattered on Southampton Water. He left £24,489 12s 9d.

  Horst Buchholz

  Born December 4, 1933

  Died March 3, 2003

  The Magnificent German. There have been comparatively few German cowboys but Horst Buchholz achieved fame as one of them. Born in the predominantly proletarian Prenzlauer Berg district of Berlin, the son of a shoemaker, he was evacuated during the Second World War to the countryside. When his father was killed, Buchholz left a Bavarian children’s home and went back to Berlin where he left school to study acting. In the cinema he was first employed dubbing foreign language films but he caught the eye of the French director Julien Duvivier while he was performing in a play at the Berlin Schiller Theatre. Horst first appeared on stage at the age of 15 in a Berlin production of Emil And The Detectives. His early show business work was on radio and he had a flare for languages – he spoke English, French, German, Spanish, Russian and Italian. In his native land he became a brooding James Dean figure in films such as Die Halbstarken (1956) in which he played Freddy Borchert. His early films included: Die Spur Führt Nach Berlin (1952) as Junger mann am funkturm, Marianne De Ma Jeunesse (1954) as a student, Himmel Ohne Sterne (1955) as Mischa Bjelkin for which he won a Silver German Film Award, Robinson Soll Nicht Sterben (1957) as Tom, Bekenntnisse Des Hochstaplers Felix Krull (1957) as Felix Krull, Herrscher Ohne Krone (1957), Monpti (1957) as King Christian, Ein Stück Vom Himmel (1957) as Cabrio-Fahrer, Endstation Liebe (1957) as Mecky Berger, Nasser Asphalt (1958), Auferstehung (1958) as Nechljudoff, Tiger Bay (1959) as Korchinsky opposite Hayley Mills and Das Totenschiff (1959) as Philip Gale. But it was his performance as the hot-headed Chico in The Magnificent Seven (1960) that gained him international fame. Although not the star of the film, Buchholz commanded attention in the role which Toshiro Mifune had made famous in the Japanese original as the youngest of the seven mercenaries hired to defend a Mexican town from bandits. James Coburn, who played another of the Magnificent Seven, certainly thought so. He felt that the director, John Sturges, had become besotted with Buchholz: “John was enamoured … He shot a lot of film of Horst. I thought he missed there, but that was the one place. I think everybody else was cast quite well.” Buchholz also did himself no favours by retaining the German name that young American teenagers (his natural audience) would have found hard to pronounce. Two years earlier, on December 7, 1958, he had married the actress Myriam Bru (b. Paris, France, April 20, 1932), by whom he had one son, Christopher (b. January 9, 1962) and one daughter, Beatrice. Following The Magnificent Seven he failed to capitalise on his success and although he made several films, he was never again able to capture the public’s attention. His post-Seven work included: Fanny (1961) as Marius, Billy Wilder’s One, Two, Three (1961) as Otto Ludwig Piffl, an East Berlin communist who secretly marries the daughter of a West Berlin Coca-Cola executive played by James Cagney, Nine Hours To Rama (1963) as Naturam Godse, Estambul 65 (1965) as Tony Maecenas, Marco The Magnificent (1965) as Marco Polo, Cervantes (1966) as Miguel de Cervantes, Johnny Banco (1967) as Johnny Banco, Come, Quando, Perché (1968) as Alberto, L’Astragale (1968) as Julien, Le Sauveur (1971), La Colomba Non Deve Volare (1971), The Great Waltz (1972) as Johann Strauss, Jr, … aber Jonny! (1973) as Jonny Pittsville, Ein Safe Voll Blut (1974) as Mark Kalvin, Frauenstation (1976) as Dr Schumann, Dead Of Night (1977), Da Dunkerque Alla Vittoria (1979) as Jurgen Dietrich, Avalanche Express (1979) as Scholten, Aphrodite (1982) as Harry Laird, Wenn Ich Mich Fürchte (1984) for which he won a Gold German Film Award, Code Name: Emerald (1985) as Walter Hoffman, I Skrzypce Przestaly Grac (1988) as Dymitr, Touch And Die (1991) as Limey, Aces: Iron Eagle III (1992) as Leichman, In Weiter Ferne, So Nah! (1993) as Tony Baker, Roberto Benigni’s La Vita è Bella a.k.a. Life Is Beautiful (1997) as Dr Lessing and Detective Lovelorn Und Die Rache Des Pharao (2002) as Professor Svedenborg. He was also the voice of the emperor of China in the German version of Mulan (1998).

  CAUSE: Buchholz died in Berlin’s Charite Hospital, aged 69. He had been recovering from a broken thighbone when he died of pneumonia in the intensive care unit. Buchholz had been in and out of hospital in his last few months.

  George Bunny

  Born July 13, 1867

  Died April 16, 1952

  The replacement. The younger brother of John Bunny, whom he resembled, 5́ 7˝ George was born in New York and signed by Vitagraph as a replacement following John’s premature death. However, his films did not prove as successful as those of his brother and he was later signed to Samuel Goldwyn. George Bunny’s films included “If Only” Jim (1921), Danger Ahead (1921), The Lost World (1925), Thrilling Youth (1926), The Love Mart (1928) and The Locked Door (1929). He made almost 50 films but much of his later work was limited to bit parts. He was married to Anna McCade.

  CAUSE: He died in Hollywood, California, aged 84, from a heart attack.

  John Bunny

  Born September 21, 1863

  Died April 26, 1915

  America’s first comedy film star. Born in New York, the son of a sailor from Penzance, Cornwall, Bunny senior was the last of seven generations of his family to have gone to sea with the Royal Navy. John Bunny decided that a life on the ocean waves was not the life for him so he became a shop assistant but found serving customers boring so he formed a minstrel troupe and toured America. A large, affable man he appeared in musicals, comedies and straight work. Realising that films were the future, he travelled to New York at the end of 1910 where, according to one story, he offered his services free to Vitagraph. Keen to hire him, Vitagraph bosses J. Stuart Blackton and Albert E. Smith could not match the money he was earning on stage. His films included Jack Fat And Jim Slim At Coney Island (released December 1910), He Who Laughs Last (December 1910), Doctor Cupid (January 1911), The New Stenographer (February 1911), The Wooing Of Winnifred (April 1911) in which he played Maurice Costello’s butler, The Troublesome Secretaries (1911), Vanity Fair (December 1911), A Cure For Pokeritis (February 1912), Mr Bolter’s Infatuation (March 1912), The Troublesome Stepdaughters (July 1912), Bachelor Buttons (October 1912), Bunny All At Sea (October 1912), Bunny At The Derby (October 1912), Michael McShane, Matchmaker (Novem
ber 1912), Cork And Vicinity (December 1912), Doctor Bridget (December 1912), And His Wife Came Back (January 1913), Blarney Stone (March 1913), When The Press Speaks (August 1913) and Bunny’s Little Brother (December 5, 1914).

  CAUSE: In late 1914, Bunny went on tour with his own show, Bunny In Funnyland, but the strain proved too much for him and he fell ill. Although Vitagraph were keen for him to make more films, his health did not permit it. He died, aged 51, from Bright’s disease.

  Luis Buñuel

  (LUIS BUñUEL PORTOLéS)

  Born February 22, 1900

  Died July 29, 1983

  The father of cinematic Surrealism. Born in Calanda, Spain, and raised by Jesuits, Buñuel moved to Madrid to study religion. He befriended Salvador Dalí and Federico García Lorca. His name and reputation was made with just one 17-minute long film, Un Chien Andalou (1928), which he wrote, directed, produced, edited and appeared in. The film was partly financed by his mother and received creative input from Dalí. He was lauded by Surrealists for the film, which includes a scene of an eyeball being sliced. He left Spain after the 1936 Civil War and moved to America and then Mexico, becoming a citizen in 1948. He spent the Fifties making cheap films. In 1961 Generalissimo Franco asked Buñuel to come back to Spain but insteaad he made the film Viridiana (1961) which was banned in his home country because it was considered blasphemous. His film Belle De Jour (1966) with Catherine Deneuve playing a housewife who works as a prostitute by day was lauded and he won an Oscar nomination for The Discreet Charm Of The Bourgeoisie (1972). He married Jeanne Rucar in 1925.

  CAUSE: He died in Mexico City from cirrhosis of the liver, aged 83.

  Victor Buono

  Born February 3, 1938

  Died January 1, 1982

  Sixties Sydney Greenstreet. Born in San Diego, Charles Victor Buono’s star blazed briefly and was just as quickly extinguished. He was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar at 24 for his début film performance as Edwin Flagg in Robert Aldrich’s Whatever Happened To Baby Jane? (1962). His other films included Robin And The Seven Hoods (1964), Hush … Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1965), The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965), Young Dillinger (1965), Beneath The Planet Of The Apes (1970) and The Man With Bogart’s Face (1980). He was also memorable as the villainous King Tut in Batman. Buono, who weighed 22st, never married. He once commented: “I’ve heard or read about actors being asked the immortal question ‘Why have you never married?’ They answer with the immortal excuse ‘I just haven’t found the right girl.’ Because I’m on the hefty side, no one’s asked me yet. If they do, that’s the answer I’ll give. After all if it’s good enough for Monty Clift and Sal Mineo …”

  CAUSE: He died aged 43 in Apple Valley, California, a premature death brought about by his chronic obesity.

  Helen Burgess

  Born 1918

  Died April 7, 1937

  Young tragedy. Discovered by Cecil B. DeMille in the studio commissary, Burgess made her début in his The Plainsman (1936) as Buffalo Bill’s wife, Louisa Cody. It was a promising start and she appeared in King Of Gamblers (1937) as Jackie Nolan and A Doctor’s Diary (1937) as Ruth Hanlon.

  CAUSE In early 1937 she eloped with musician Herbert Rutherford and began to film Night Of Mystery (1937) in which she played Ada Greene. During filming she came down with a heavy cold that turned into lobar pneumonia. She died in Beverly Hills, California, aged 18. The studio, Paramount, decided to carry on filming and used a double for Helen’s scenes. Her marriage was annulled on the grounds of non-consummation.

  Bobby Burns

  Born September 1, 1878

  Died January 16, 1966

  Comedy support. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the diminutive Robert P. Burns began acting in rep before moving into vaudeville. He began making films in 1908 for Selig. He formed a partnership with Walter Stull as Pokes & Jabbs in the Wizard films and then in Vim comedies from 1915. He appeared in seven Laurel & Hardy films and later supported The Three Stooges. He made more than 120 films and directed a dozen more.

  CAUSE: He died in Los Angeles, California, aged 87.

  George Burns

  (NATHAN BIRNBAUM)

  Born January 20, 1896

  Died March 9, 1996

  Centenarian comedian. Born in New York’s Lower East Side, he began his career in vaudeville in 1903 as a member of a children’s singing quartet. In 1910, aged 14, he adopted the prop that was to stay with him for the rest of his life – the cigar. It was after he married Gracie Allen (on January 7, 1926) that his star really began to shine. They were a massive hit on the radio and then on television. When Allen retired through ill-health in 1958, Burns carried on as a solo performer. Following the cancellation of his sitcom Wendy And Me in 1965 he faded from view. The death of Jack Benny was a lucky break for Burns, who was given the role of Al Lewis intended for Benny in The Sunshine Boys (1975). He won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance. In 1985 he hosted The George Burns Comedy Week. He once quipped, “People think all I do is stand up and tell a few jokes. The jokes are easy. It’s the standing up that’s hard.”

  CAUSE: In July 1994 Burns fell in his bath and hit his head. His health was never the same afterwards. In December 1995 he caught influenza after attending a Christmas party at the Frank Sinatras. He died at his home, 720 North Maple Drive, in Beverly Hills 90210, where Gracie Allen had died 32 years earlier. The house was used as the façade in The George Burns And Gracie Allen Show from October 12, 1950, until September 22, 1958. Burns, a couple of months after his 100th birthday, died at 10am from cardiorespiratory failure, congestive heart failure and coronary artery disease. His funeral was held on March 12, 1996, at the Wee Kirk O’ the Heather Chapel, Forest Lawn Memorial-Parks, 1712 South Glendale Avenue, Glendale, California 91209. According to his butler, Daniel Dhoore, Burns was interred in his best dark blue suit, light blue shirt and red tie. Dhoore said: “We put three cigars in his pocket, put on his toupee, put on his watch that Gracie gave him, his ring, and in his pocket, his keys and his wallet with ten $100 bills, a five and three ones – so wherever he went to play bridge he’d have enough money.” He was buried in the Freedom Mausoleum next to his wife.

  Raymond Burr

  Born May 21, 1917

  Died September 12, 1993

  Defender of right. It’s rare for an actor to have two characters so closely identified with him that the public accepts both equally. Such was the case with Raymond William Stacy Burr, who was born in New Westminster, British Columbia. He spent part of his formative years in China. Following his parents’ divorce he was raised by his mother and grandparents; it is believed by many psychologists that the presence of a dominating mother can affect a boy’s sexuality. To support his mother and siblings Burr took a variety of jobs including working as a rancher in Roswell, New Mexico, as a deputy sheriff, selling photographs and even as a nightclub singer. He joined the Navy in World War II and was wounded (shot in the stomach) in Okinawa and shipped home. Burr made his film début in San Quentin (1946) playing Jeff Torrance. He went on to appear in over 90 films including Without Reservations (1946) as Paul Gill, Desperate (1947) as Walt Radak, Walk A Crooked Mile (1948) as Krebs, Ruthless (1948) as Pete Vendig, Raw Deal (1948) as Rick Coyle, Red Light (1949) as Nick Cherney, Love Happy (1950) as Alphonse Zoto, M (1951) as Pottsy, A Place In The Sun (1951) as Frank Marlowe, His Kind Of Woman (1951) as Nick Ferraro, Meet Danny Wilson (1952) as Nick Driscoll, Tarzan And The She-Devil (1953) as Vargo, Fort Algiers (1953) as Amir, Casanova’s Big Night (1954) as Bragadin, Godzilla, King Of The Monsters! (1956) as Steve Martin and Affair In Havana (1957) as Mallabee. However, in the last 30 years of his life he was known for playing two upholders of law and order, lawyer Perry Mason (from September 21, 1957, until 1993) and paralysed former San Francisco police chief Robert T. Ironside in A Man Called Ironside (from September 14, 1967, until January 16, 1975). Perry Mason never lost a case and this irritated one fan, causing Burr to respond, “But madam, you only see the cases I try on Satur
days.” In his entries in biographical dictionaries, 6́ 2˝ Burr claimed he had married three times. Sadly, for the Mrs Burrs they had an unfortunate propensity for dying – or so their supposed husband claimed. Burr’s first wife, English actress Annette Sutherland, allegedly died in the same plane crash that killed Leslie Howard. Their son, Michael, was reported to have died of leukaemia ten years later aged 12. Burr divorced his second wife, Isabella Ward, while the third, Laura Andrine Morgan, reportedly died in 1955. In reality Burr made up his first and third weddings and his son. Playwright Emlyn Williams commented, “He uses the same trick a lot of Latin American actors, singers and writers use – he invents wives and offspring for himself so people will believe him heterosexual.” In fact, Burr lived with his lover of 31 years, the 12-years-younger Robert Benevides, whom he ‘married’ in a gay ceremony in 1963, on a 40-acre ranch in Heraldsburg, northern California. The couple was known as Mr & Mrs Benevides, since Burr preferred to be the ‘woman’ in the relationship. A friend of the couple said that Burr didn’t “like women and preferred not to have them around.”