CAUSE: For the last 16 years of his life Sellers suffered from a heart condition. On April 5, 1964, he suffered a heart attack in Los Angeles and was admitted to the Cedars of Lebanon Medical Center the next day. At 4.32am Sellers’ heart stopped beating and remained immobile for one and a half minutes. Restarted manually by a doctor, it stopped seven more times that day. In 1977 another heart attack necessitated the fitting of a pacemaker. Sellers collapsed in 1979. He needed a daily intake of between 50 and 60 pills to stay alive. He flew to London, alone, on July 21, 1980, and booked into the Dorchester Hotel, paying £200 a night for his sixth-floor suite. He had told his son that his marriage to Lynne Frederick was over. It therefore came as something of a shock when, on hearing the news of his collapse, Frederick flew over from America. On July 22, at 2pm he suffered another attack and was attended by the Dorchester medical staff. His pacemaker had failed. At 5pm he was taken to the Middlesex Hospital, Mortimer Street, London, where he died at 12.26am. Glenn Miller’s ‘In The Mood’ was played, at his request, at his funeral.
FURTHER READING: Peter Sellers – Alexander Walker (London: Coronet, 1982); P.S. I Love You Peter Sellers 1925–1980 – Michael Sellers with Sarah and Victoria Sellers (London: William Collins, 1981); The Life And Death Of Peter Sellers – Roger Lewis (London: Century, 1994).
David O. Selznick
Born May 10, 1902
Died June 22, 1965
Legendary producer. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, probably at 4743 Ben Venue Street, the son of film mogul Lewis Joseph Selznick (b. Kovno, Lithuania, May 5, 1869, d. Los Angeles, January 25, 1933, of a cerebral haemorrhage) a jeweller who made and lost a fortune in silent films and brother of agent Myron Charles Selznick (b. 44 Federal Street, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, October 8, 1898, d. Santa Monica Hospital, March 23, 1944, of an abdominal haemorrhage). Some time after his arrival in the United States the family name was shortened to the more familiar Selznick. In 1910 the family uprooted to New York City and Lewis’ jewellery business went under. He began to make films and soon recouped his losses, but the victory was only temporary. In 1923 Lewis went bankrupt and David began to produce documentaries, but they were not commercial successes and three years later he upped sticks to Hollywood where he was taken under the wing of Louis B. Mayer, Lewis’ former partner. He left MGM in 1928 and joined Paramount where he stayed until 1931. It was at Radio-Keith-Orpheum (RKO) that David began to create a name for himself with films such as A Bill Of Divorcement (1932), What Price Hollywood (1932) and King Kong (1933). He moved to MGM in early 1933, where he made Dinner At Eight (1933), David Copperfield (1935) and A Tale Of Two Cities (1935). On October 15, 1935, he formed Selznick International Studios and bought the rights to Margaret Mitchell’s epic Civil War novel Gone With The Wind. He had previously made Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936), A Star Is Born (1937), which earned eight Oscar nominations, The Prisoner Of Zenda (1937) and The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer (1938), but when he bought Mitchell’s lengthy book, many people thought he had taken leave of his senses. Director Victor Fleming was not impressed. Rejecting a share of the profits in lieu of a fee, he told Selznick, “Don’t be a damn fool, David. Gone With The Wind is going to be one of the biggest white elephants of all time.” As the world knows, he proved them all wrong. The following year he hired Alfred Hitchcock to direct Rebecca (1940), which won 11 Academy Award nominations, but thereafter Selznick seemed to lose the magic touch. His Spellbound (1945), Duel In The Sun (1947) and The Third Man (1950) were all successes, but he struggled to recapture his early form. In the Fifties he worked with European producers but also failed to ignite the flames of success. His last film was A Farewell To Arms (1957). Incidentally, the ‘O ’ in his name didn’t stand for anything – he simply thought it sounded good. Selznick married twice. His first wife (on April 29, 1930) was Irene Mayer (b. 101 Russell Street, Greenpoint, April 2, 1907, d. Apartment 1007, Pierre Hotel, Los Angeles, October 10, 1990), the third daughter of Louis B. Mayer. His second wife was the actress Jennifer Jones (b. Tulsa, Oklahoma, March 2, 1919, as Phylis Isley) and she appeared in many of his later films.
CAUSE: Selznick was in a Beverly Hills office when at 12.30pm he suffered a heart attack. At 2.22pm he was pronounced dead at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. He was 63.
FURTHER READING: Showman: The Life Of David O. Selznick – David Thomson (London: Andre Deutsch, 1993).
Mack Sennett
(MICHAEL SINNOTT)
Born January 17, 1880
Died November 5, 1960
The self-proclaimed king of silent comedy and the father of the casting couch. Born in Richmond, Quebec, Canada, the Catholic Sennett’s family moved to East Berlin, Connecticut in 1897. He landed a job in an iron factory but was unhappy there and moved to Northampton, Massachusetts, where through the good offices of Calvin Coolidge (nicknamed ‘Silent Cal’, later 30th US President and the man about whom Dorothy Parker said, on being informed he was dead, “How can they tell?”) he met actress Marie Dressler and she encouraged him to be an actor and so Sennett moved to New York. He appeared in minor roles in various musicals but never got his big break. On January 17, 1908, he signed with the Biograph and began working as an extra. He also worked on writing screenplays and in March 1911 directed his first film, Comrades. A disagreement on the direction of films led to Sennett leaving in 1912 to create the Keystone Film Company. The first Keystone Comedies premièred on September 23, 1912, and quickly became the industry standard by which others were measured. By 1915 Sennett was producing Fatty Arbuckle, Chester Conklin, Al St John and many others, but was bemused by the success of Charlie Chaplin, whom he found direly unfunny. He introduced the Bathing Beauties, having personally auditioned as many as he could find the energy for. As audience tastes became more sophisticated, Sennett moved with the times; although the Twenties were his most successful financial decade, they didn’t produce his best films. In 1935, following a financial disaster that saw him lose $15 million, he retired from making films. Sennett claimed he could only relax in hot water and had his best ideas in the bath. Ever mindful of star egos, a tub was installed in his office.
CAUSE: Sennett died aged 80 in Hollywood from natural causes.
Athene Seyler, CBE
Born May 31, 1889
Died September 12, 1990
Centenarian actress. Born in London, she studied at the Academy of Dramatic Art where she won a Gold Medal in 1908. Her stage début came on February 11, 1909, at the Kingsway Theatre, appearing as Pamela Grey in The Truants. Twice-married, she was rarely out of work but didn’t begin appearing in films until she was 34, when she appeared in This Freedom (1923) as Miss Keggs. It would be another eight years before she stepped in front of a camera again, in The Perfect Lady (1931) as Lady Westhaven. She eventually made over 50 films including: Blossom Time (1934) as the Archduchess, The Private Life Of Don Juan (1934) as Theresa, Drake Of England (1935) as Queen Elizabeth, Royal Cavalcade (1935) again as Queen Elizabeth, Southern Roses (1936) as Mrs Rowland, It’s Love Again (1936) as Mrs Durland, Moscow Nights (1936) as Madame Sabline, The Mill On The Floss (1937) as Mrs Pullet, Sailing Along (1938) as Victoria Gulliver, Jane Steps Out (1938) as Grandma, Young Man’s Fancy (1939) as Milliner, Quiet Wedding (1940) as Aunt Mary, Dear Octopus (1943) as Aunt Belle, Nicholas Nickleby (1947) as Miss la Creevy, The Pickwick Papers (1952) as Miss Witherfield, Made In Heaven (1952) as Miss Honeycroft, The Beggar’s Opera (1953) as Mrs Trapes, Yield To The Night (1956) as Miss Bligh, Campbell’s Kingdom (1957) as Miss Abigail, Doctor At Large (1957) as Lady Hawkins, The Inn Of The Sixth Happiness (1958) as Mrs Lawson, Make Mine Mink (1960) as Dame Beatrice, Passport To China (1961) as Mao Tai Tai and Satan Never Sleeps (1962) as Sister Agness.
CAUSE: She died in London of natural causes at the age of 101.
Tupac Shakur
Born June 16, 1971
Died September 13, 1996
Gangsta rapper. Born in Brooklyn, New York, 5́ 10˝ Tupac Amaru Shakur was raised in Oakland, California. He was named aft
er Tupac Amaru, the Inca sentenced to death by the Spanish; Tupac Amaru means ‘shining serpent’ in Incan. In 1991 he came to public attention with the group Digital Underground and his solo album 2Pacalypse Now. He was criticised for the references to sexual violence and killing policemen in his songs. He made his first film, Nothing But Trouble (1991), as a result of being in Digital Underground. His first acting film was Juice (1992), in which he played Bishop. The following year he starred opposite Janet Jackson as Lucky in Poetic Justice (1993). In 1994 he was sentenced to 15 days in jail for assault and battery. That year he appeared in Above The Rim (1994) as Birdie. On April 29, 1995, he married Keisha Morris but the marriage was annulled the following year. That year he was accused of sexually assaulting a female fan. He was released after eight months pending an appeal. His last films were Bullet (1996) as Tank, Gridlock’d (1997) as Spoon and Gang Related (1997) as Rodriguez.
CAUSE: Following the Mike Tyson-Bruce Seldon fight in Las Vegas on September 7, 1996, Shakur was riding with Death Row Records chief executive Marion ‘Suge’ Knight when he was shot four times. Taken to hospital, his right lung was removed but doctors could do no more and after six days in a coma, he died. Amazingly, none of Shakur’s 15-strong team of hangers-on was able to give police any details as to the crime. In spring of 1996 he told an interviewer: “All good niggers, all the niggers who change the world, die in violence. They don’t die in regular ways.”
Peggy Shannon
(WINONA SHANNON)
Born January 10, 1909
Died May 11, 1941
Alcoholic actress. Pine Bluff, Arkansas-born and Sacred Heart Convent-educated Shannon, 5˝ 4˝ was given a golden opportunity in Hollywood. She was cast as Wanda Kelly in The Secret Call (1931) opposite Richard Arlen, replacing It Girl Clara Bow. Paramount promoted her as a worthy successor to Bow but Peggy liked boozing better than making films and her drinking led to erratic behaviour, which eventually led to her being sacked. Her films included: Touchdown (1931) as Mary Gehring, This Reckless Age (1932) as Mary Burke, Society Girl (1932) as Judy Gelett, The Painted Woman (1932) as Kiddo opposite Spencer Tracy, False Faces (1932) as Elsie Fryer, Girl Missing (1933) as Daisy Bradford, Deluge (1933) as Claire Arlington, Fury Of The Jungle (1934) as Joan, Youth On Parole (1937) as Peggy, Fixer Dugan (1939) as Aggie Moreno, Adventures Of Jane Arden (1939) as Lola Martin, Blackwell’s Island (1939) as Pearl Murray and The House Across The Bay (1940) as Alice.
CAUSE: Her body was discovered by actor Albert Roberts (d. 1941), her second husband, at their kitchen table in North Hollywood. She was dead at 32 from acute alcoholism.
Ray Sharkey
Born November 14, 1952
Died June 11, 1993
Evil bastard. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Sharkey may have been a friend of Sylvester Stallone and John Travolta, he may have appeared in films such as Paradise Alley (1978) as Legs, Wise Guys (1986) as Marco, Wired (1989) as Angel Velasquez and Scenes From The Class Struggle In Beverly Hills (1989) as Frank but he was also the man who callously disregarded the fact he had AIDS to sleep with and infect several women with the deadly disease. Twice-married Sharkey contracted AIDS through a £200-a-day heroin habit.
CAUSE: He died of AIDS aged 41 in New York.
Robert Shaw
Born August 9, 1927
Died August 28, 1978
Tough guy. Born in Westhoughton, Lancashire, the son of a doctor, RADA-trained (he paid his own fees after failing to get a scholarship) Shaw made his film début in The Lavender Hill Mob (1951), having made his stage début two years earlier. He then worked in television (he was Captain Dan Tempest in The Buccaneers from 1956 until 1957), wrote five novels and a play and was a stalwart support player in films such as Operation Secret (1952) as Jacques, The Dam Busters (1954) as Flight Sergeant Pulford, A Hill In Korea (1956) as Lance-Corporal Hodge, Double Cross (1956), Sea Fury (1958) as Gorman, The Valiant (1962) as Lieutenant Field, From Russia With Love (1963) as S.P.E.C.T.R.E. assassin Donald ‘Red’ Grant, Tomorrow At Ten (1964) as Marlowe and Battle Of The Bulge (1965) as Colonel Hessler. His rise to stardom began with his portrayal of King Henry VIII in A Man For All Seasons (1966) for which he was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar. He appeared in the lead or leading roles in Custer Of The West (1967) as General George Armstrong Custer, The Royal Hunt Of The Sun (1969) as Francisco Pizarro, Battle Of Britain (1969) as Squadron Leader Skipper and Young Winston (1972) as Lord Randolph Churchill, before his stardom was assured in The Sting (1973) as Doyle Lonnegan. He kept his profile high in hits such as The Taking Of Pelham One Two Three (1974) as Blue, Jaws (1975) as the maverick Quint, Robin And Marian (1976) as Sheriff of Nottingham, The Scarlet Buccaneer (1976) as Ned Lynch, The Deep (1977) as Romer Treece, Force 10 From Navarone (1978) as Mallory and Avalanche Express (1979) as General Marenkov. He was married three times: firstly in 1952 to Jennifer Bourke by whom he had four daughters, secondly, in 1963 to Mary Ure who predeceased him and by whom he had two sons and two daughters and finally in 1976 to Virginia Jansen.
CAUSE: He died of a sudden heart attack while driving his car near his home in Tourmakeady, Ireland, 19 days after his 51st birthday.
Norma Shearer
Born August 11, 1902
Died June 12, 1983
‘The First Lady of the Screen’. Born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada (most sources list August 10, 1900 as her birthday but her assiduous biographer Gavin Lambert, who knew her, gives the above date), Edith Norma Shearer was the MGM movie queen of the Thirties, and wife of studio mogul ‘Boy Wonder’ Irving Thalberg. Her sister, Athole, married director Howard Hawks. Aged 14 Norma won a beauty contest (she was the first girl in her high school [Westmount High] to wear her hair in a bob) and when her father lost all his money she, her mother and sister moved to New York in the hope of becoming showgirls. Since money was tight the trip was partly paid for by selling the piano and family dog. She worked as a model after failing an audition for the Ziegfeld Follies. (Both Florenz Ziegfeld and D.W. Griffith dismissed her as talentless.) Nonetheless, Griffith hired her as an extra in his films Way Down East (1920) and The Flapper (1920). Irving Thalberg spotted her in The Stealers (1920) in which she played Julie Martin. Her agent managed to wangle her a meeting with Thalberg who was then working for Carl Laemmle at Universal. It didn’t get off to a good start – she mistook him for an office boy. When he moved to MGM Thalberg offered Shearer a five-year contract at $150 a week. Louis B. Mayer wasn’t certain about the actress, but was persuaded by Thalberg to star her in their big-budget films. Shearer was a perfectionist when it came to her work, insisting her make-up, lighting, outfits and films be perfect. Before the five years were up, Thalberg offered her a different sort of contract and they married on September 29, 1927, at 9401 Sunset Boulevard. She had two children: Irving Jr (b. Good Samaritan Hospital, Los Angeles, August 25, 1930, d. 1987 of cancer) and Katharine (b. Good Samaritan Hospital, Los Angeles, June 13, 1935), who married in 1961, as her second husband, the actor Richard Anderson, who had previously been married to Alan Ladd’s stepdaughter and who played Oscar Goldman in the TV series The Six Million Dollar Man. Not everyone liked Shearer. “How can I compete with Norma,” moaned Joan Crawford, “when she sleeps with the boss?” Thalberg screened one of Shearer’s pictures and awaited revered British actress Mrs Patrick Campbell’s verdict. “Your wife is charming. Such a dainty creature, she. Such tiny hands, a tiny waist, and tiny, tiny eyes.” Mrs Campbell’s Hollywood career never materialised. Shearer’s first talkie was The Trial Of Mary Dugan (1929) and the following year she won an Oscar for The Divorcee (1930). That year her salary was raised to $6,000 a week. Two years later, she became an American citizen. The Thirties saw Shearer cut down on the number of films she was making and concentrate on blockbusters. Her subsequent movies included: A Free Soul ( 1931) as Jan Ashe, for which she was nominated for an Oscar, Private Lives (1931) as Amanda Chase Prynne, Strange Interlude (1932) as Nina Leeds, The Barretts Of Wimpole Street (1934) as Elizabeth Barrett, Riptide (
1934) as Lady Mary Rexford, Romeo And Juliet (1936) as Juliet (aged 33!), for which she was nominated for an Oscar, and Marie Antoinette (1938), the last production Thalberg had arranged for her, as Marie Antoinette, for which she was nominated for yet another Oscar. Following Thalberg’s untimely death, she signed a three-year contract at $150,000 per film. Her last film was Her Cardboard Lover (1942) as Consuelo Croyden. She retired from acting in 1942, married ski instructor Marti Arrougé (b. San Francisco, March 23, 1914) at the Church of the Good Shepherd, Beverly Hills, on August 23 of the same year, ‘discovered’ Janet Leigh and Robert Evans and lived happily until she fell victim to mental problems and failing eyesight.
Fade to Black: A Book of Movie Obituaries Page 158
