Danish actress Bodil Miller (Jørgensen), who was featured in the Danish version of Reptilicus (1961), died on September 16, aged 89. She was briefly under contract with Universal in the early 1950s.
British actress Suzan [Maxine] Farmer died of cancer on September 17, aged 75. Her genre credits include Hammer’s The Devil-Ship Pirates, Dracula—Prince of Darkness and Rasputin the Mad Monk (all with Christopher Lee), along with Monster of Terror (aka Die, Monster, Die!, with Boris Karloff), Where the Bullets Fly, Persecution and the comedy short Talk of the Devil. On TV, Farmer appeared in episodes of Sherlock Holmes (1965), Out of the Unknown, UFO, Thriller (1975), Blakes 7 and Leap in the Dark. She retired from the screen in 1980. Farmer was married to actor Ian McShane from 1965-68.
American character actor Ben Hammer, who often played authority figures, died on September 18, aged 92. He was in Johnny Got His Gun (based on the novel by Dalton Trumbo), Invasion of the Bee Girls, Haunts, The Beastmaster and Mannequin. On TV, Hammer appeared in episodes of One Step Beyond, The Six Million Dollar Man, Gemini Man, Holmes and Yo-Yo, The Incredible Hulk and Highway to Heaven.
Former American pro-football player and actor Bernie Casey (Bernard Terry Casey) died on September 19, aged 78. He was in the movies Gargoyles, Dr. Black Mr. Hyde, The Man Who Fell to Earth, It Happened at Lakewood Manor (aka Ants!), the “alternate” Bond movie Never Say Never Again (as CIA agent “Felix Leiter”), Amazon Women on the Moon, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, John Carpenter’s In the Mouth of Madness and Vegas Vampires. On TV, Casey’s credits include episodes of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1985), Time Trax, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, SeaQuest 2032, Babylon 5 and the mini-series The Martian Chronicles, based on the stories by Ray Bradbury.
American middleweight boxing champion Jake LaMotta (Giacobbe LaMotta), who was portrayed by Robert De Niro in Raging Bull (1980), died the same day of complications from pneumonia, aged 95. La Motta turned up in small roles in Confessions of a Psycho Cat and Maniac Cop (he was the uncle of the movie’s director, William Lustig).
British character actor and political campaigner Tony Booth (Anthony George Booth) died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease on September 25, aged 85. He appeared in The Return of Mr.Moto, Corruption (with Peter Cushing), Neither the Sea Nor the Sand (aka The Exorcism of Hugh) and an early episode of TV’s The Avengers. Booth was married four times and the father of eight daughters, including Cherie Booth, who is married to former Prime Minister Tony Blair.
80-year-old Czech actor Jan Triska died the same day from injuries he sustained after falling from Prague’s iconic Charles Bridge two days earlier. His credits include The Death of Tarzan (1963), The Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E.: The Fifteen Years Later Affair, The Fantastic World of D.C. Collins, 2010, Apt Pupil, The Omega Code and Lost Souls, along with episodes of Fantasy Island, Quantum Leap, Highlander and Highlander: The Raven.
American character actor and singer Barry Dennen died on September 26, aged 79. He had suffered a brain injury following a fall at his home three months earlier. Best known for playing “Pontius Pilate” in the original Broadway production and 1973 movie of Jesus Christ Superstar, he was also in Madhouse (with Vincent Price and Peter Cushing), The Shining (1980), Shock Treatment (1981), The Dark Crystal, Superman III, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1991) and Liquid Dreams. Dennen’s TV credits include episodes of Batman, Monster Squad (as “Mr. Mephisto”), Wonder Woman (as “Adolf Hitler”), Amazing Stories, Tales from the Darkside, Hard Time on Planet Earth, The Munsters Today, They Came from Outer Space, The Comic Strip Presents…(‘Demonella’, which he co-scripted with Paul Bartel) and Weird Science, and he was also a prolific voice actor in cartoon shows and video games. In the early 1960s Dennen was instrumential in developing the singing career of Barbara Streisand, whom he was in a turbulent relationship with at the time.
Veteran Hollywood actress Anne Jeffreys (Annie Jeffreys Carmichael), who played the detective’s girlfriend “Tess Truehart” in Dick Tracy (1945) and Dick Tracy vs. Cueball, died on September 27, aged 94. She also appeared in the movies Tarzan’s New York Adventure, I Married an Angel, Zombies on Broadway (with Bela Lugosi) and Genius at Work (with Lugosi and Lionel Atwill). On TV, Jeffreys starred as the ghostly “Marion Kerby” alongside her husband Robert Sterling in the 1953-55 CBS series of Topper, and she was in episodes of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (‘The Abominable Snowman Affair’), Tarzan (1967), Fantasy Island, Battlestar Galactica (1979), Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Mr. Merlin and the 1967 pilot Ghostbreakers.
American character actress Marietta Marich (Marietta Cox), who appeared as “Luda Mae Hewitt” in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006), died of complications from an aortic dissection on September 28, aged 87. Her other credits include Children of the Corn: The Gathering and House of Good and Evil.
Avuncular British stage and screen actor Benjamin [John] Whitrow died the same day, aged 80. He was in Brimstone & Treacle, Fairy Tale: A True Story, and episodes of TV’s Tales of the Unexpected and Bonekickers.
American actress Elizabeth [Ellen] Baur who was a regular on TV’s Ironside from 1971-75, died after a long illness on September 30, aged 69. She began her career with small parts in The Boston Strangler and a 1968 episode of Batman. Her other credits include an episode of Fantasy Island.
Legendary American rock singer, songwriter and guitarist Tom Petty (Thomas Earl Petty) died of cardiac arrest from an accidental prescription drug overdose on October 2. He was 66. Petty had numerous hits with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers and as a member of The Traveling Wilburys, while as an actor he appeared in the movies Made in Heaven and The Postman.
American actor-stuntman Ben Bates, who portrayed the “Arcane Monster” in Wes Craven’s Swamp Thing (1982), died on October 4, aged 84. He was actor James Arness’ stunt double for more than twenty years, and his credits also include an episode of TV’s Gemini Man.
Japanese character actor Yoshio Tsuchiya died on October 5, aged 90. His many credits include Godzilla Raids Again (aka Gigantis the Fire Monster), Throne of Blood, The Mysterians, The H-Man, Varan the Unbelievable, Battle in Outer Space, The Human Vapor, Attack of the Mushroom People (aka Matango: Fungus of Terror), Frankenstein Conquers the World, Invasion of the Astro-Monster (aka Monster Zero), The Killing Bottle, Son of Godzilla, Destroy All Monsters, Yog: Monster from Space, Rouge (1984), Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah and Inferno (2005), along with episodes of the TV series Ultra Q and Ultraman.
British actor Trevor [Gordon] Martin died the same day in Bulgaria, aged 87. On TV he appeared in episodes of Sherlock Holmes (1965) and Doctor Who, and he was the voice of “The Beast” in the 1983 fantasy movie Krull. In 1974 Baxter became the first actor to portray the Time Lord on stage, in Terrance Dick’s play Doctor Who and the Daleks: Seven Keys to Doomsday at London’s Adelphi Theatre. He reprised the role for Big Finish’s 2008 audio adaptation.
Former British professional boxer Terry Downes died on October 6, aged 81. He portrayed the hunchbacked servant “Koukol” in Roman Polanski’s Dance of the Vampires (aka The Fearless Vampire Killers) and was also in A Study in Terror and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1980).
Acclaimed French actor Jean [Raoul Robert] Rochefort died on October 9, aged 87. He appeared in Luis Buñuel’s surreal The Phantom of Liberty, Death Rite, the comedy Frankenstein 90 (as “Victor Frankenstein”), L’Atlantide (1992), Barracuda (1997), RRRrrrr!!!, Astérix and Obélix: God Save Britannia and the 2004 TV mini-series Frankenstein (as the blind hermit). Rochefort was also the voice of the title character in Philippe Druillet’s animated Nosferatu (2002). The actor became seriously ill while making Terry Gilliam’s The Man Who Killed Don Quixote and the movie was eventually abandoned, as detailed in the fascinating documentary Lost in La Mancha (2002).
American character actor Don Pedro Colley died of cancer on October 11, aged 79. His credits include Beneath the Planet of the Apes, George Lucas’ THX 1138, Disney’s The World’s Greatest Athlete and Her
bie Rides Again, Sugar Hill (as “Baron Samedi”), Quest of the Delta Knights and Piranha (1995), along with episodes of TV’s The Wild Wild West, Rod Serling’s Night Gallery, Search, The Bionic Woman, Space Academy and Fantasy Island.
British character actor Trevor [Mills] Byfield (aka “Ziggy Byfield”) died of pneumonia the same day, aged 73. He appeared in The Wolves of Willoughby Chase and Hammer’s Beyond the Rave. On TV, Byfield had recurring roles in the supernatural sitcom So Haunt Me (1992-93) and the children’s show The Ghost Hunter (2001), and was also featured in episodes of Metal Mickey and Urban Gothic. Byfield joined the original stage production of Richard O’Brien’s musical The Rocky Horror Show when it transferred from a tryout at London’s Royal Court in 1973 to the Classic Cinema, Chelsea, followed by a long run at the King’s Road Theatre. Byfield played the dual role of “Eddie” and “Dr. Everett Scott” for a year, before taking over the part of “Dr. Frank N. Furter” from Tim Curry. He reprised the role for a tour of Japan in 1975, where his version of the song, ‘Sweet Transvestite’ (“from Transsexual, Transylvania”), was released as a single.
British actor Roy [Louis] Dotrice OBE, who co-starred as “Jacob ‘Father’ Wells” in the CBS-TV series Beauty and the Beast (1987-90), died on October 16, aged 94. Born on Guernsey, in the Channel Islands, he appeared in the films A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1959), the ill-fated SF musical Toomorrow, Amicus’ Tales from the Crypt, Eliminators, Suburban Commando, Like Father Like Santa, Alien Hunter and Guillermo del Toro’s Hellboy II: The Golden Army. The actor also dubbed Harvey Keitel’s voice in the SF movie Saturn 3. On TV, Dotrice’s credits also include episodes of Late Night Horror, Tales of Unease, The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes, Space: 1999, The Wizard, Tales from the Darkside (Scott Edelman’s ‘My Ghostwriter—the Vampire’), Faerie Tale Theater, Nightmare Classics (‘Carmilla’), Earth 2, Babylon 5, Strange Luck, Tales from the Crypt, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (as “Zeus”), Sliders, Touched by an Angel, Angel and Game of Thrones. He was cited in the Guinness Book of World Records for his voice work on the first five audio book versions of George R.R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones, for voicing the greatest number of characters (224) by a single person in an audio book (which have a combined running time of more than 200 hours). All three of Dotrice’s daughters are actresses.
Award-winning British comedian Sean Hughes (John Hughes) died the same day, aged 51. He was being treated for cirrhosis of the liver. Hughes appeared in Neil Jordan’s The Butcher Boy and the BBC-TV version of Gormenghast (2000).
Canadian character actor John [Francis] Dunsworth, who played town historian “Dave Teagues” on Syfy’s Haven (2010-15), also died on October 16, aged 71. His credits include Lizzie Borden Took an Ax and episodes of Lexx: The Dark Zone and Lexx.
American actor Brent Briscoe, who played “Detective Dave Macklay” in the 2017 revival of David Lynch’s Twin Peaks, died on October 18, aged 56. He had been hospitalised with internal bleeding and heart complications following a fall. Briscoe also appeared in Modern Vampires, The Thirteenth Year, The Green Mile, Lynch’s Mulholland Drive, Spider-Man 2, The Messengers, The Dark Knight Rises, Beneath and Zombeavers, along with an episode of TV’s Medium.
Argentine actor Federico Luppi (Federico José Luppi Malacalza), a favourite with Guillermo del Toro, died of a subdural haematoma on October 20, aged 83. Luppi starred in the director’s Cronos and The Devil’s Backbone, and also appeared in Pan’s Labyrinth. Luppi was also in Phase 7 and the forthcoming Necronomicón.
British character actress Rosemary [Anne] Leach died after a short illness on October 21, aged 81. She began her screen career in 1960 and appeared in such films as The Mystery of Edwin Drood (1993), Whatever Happened to Harold Smith?, The Great Ghost Rescue and May I Kill U?. On TV, the actress was in episodes of Sherlock Holmes (1965), Judge Dee (‘The Haunted Pavilion’), Bedtime Stories, Worlds Beyond, The Tomorrow People (‘The Living Stones’), Chiller, Frighteners and Stephen Volk’s Afterlife. In 1996, Leach acted in a stage production of Emlyn Williams’ play Night Must Fall at London’s Theatre Royal, Haymarket.
American actor Robert Guillaume (Robert Peter Williams), best known as the voice of “Rafiki” in Disney’s The Lion King and numerous spin-offs, died of complications from prostate cancer on October 24, aged 89. He was in The Kid with the Broken Halo, The Meteor Man, Merry Christmas George Bailey, 13th Child and Tim Burton’s Big Fish. The actor was a regular on the TV sitcom Soap (1977-80) and starred in the spin-off Benson (1979-86), and he also appeared in episodes of Cosmic Slop, Touched by an Angel and The Outer Limits (1998). Guillaume became the first black actor to play the title role in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera when he replaced Michael Crawford in the initial Los Angeles run of the stage musical.
American actor Jack Bannon (John James Bannon), the son of B-movie actor Jim Bannon, died on October 25, aged 77. He was in What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice?, the TV movie Perry Mason: The Case of the Sinister Spirit, and episodes of The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Invaders, Rod Serling’s Night Gallery, Gemini Man, The Six Million Dollar Man, Future Cop and Nearly Departed.
Former Hollywood child actress Juanita Quigley (aka “Baby Jane”) died on October 29, aged 86. Her credits include Universal’s The Man Who Reclaimed His Head (1934, with Claude Rains and Lionel Atwill), Tod Browning’s The Devil-Doll, The Blue Bird (1940), The Lady and the Monster and the short Cinderella’s Feller. She retired from the screen in 1951 to become a nun, but later renounced her vows and married a former priest.
American actor and singer Ned Romero, who co-starred as “Sgt. Joe Rivera” in the TV series Dan August (1970-71) and spin-off movies, died on November 4, aged 91. He was also in House IV and Children of the Corn II: The Final Sacrifice, and guest-starred (often as native Americans) in episodes of Get Smart, The Munsters, Star Trek, The Six Million Dollar Man, Land of the Lost (1974), Bigfoot and Wildboy, The Incredible Hulk, Galactica 1980, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Seven Days, Star Trek: Voyager, Roswell and The Invisible Man (2001).
Glamorous German leading lady Karin Dor (Kätherose Derr) died in a nursing home on November 6, aged 79. In July the previous year she had suffered a fall while on holiday, and her condition steadily worsened. Dor starred in such genre movies as The Invisible Dr. Mabuse, The Carpet of Horror, The Strangler of Blackmoor Castle, Room 13, The Secret of the Back Widow, The Face of Fu Manchu (with Christopher Lee), The Sinister Monk, Die Nibelungen, Teil 1—Siegfreid and Teil 2—Kriemhilds Rache, the James Bond movie You Only Live Twice, The Blood Demon (aka The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism, with Lee again), Assignment Terror (aka Dracula Versus Frankenstein) and Dark Echo. Her first husband (1954-68) was director Harald Reinl, who was thirty years her senior and featured her in many of his films.
Irish actor Scott Fredericks (Frederick Wehrly) died the same day, aged 74. He appeared in two 1970s series of Doctor Who (‘Day of the Daleks’ and ‘Image of the Fendahl’), along with See No Evil, Amicus’ From Beyond the Grave, Sherlock Holmes and the Baker Street Irregulars and an episode of TV’s Blakes 7.
Muscular American leading man and producer Brad Harris (Bradford Jan Harris) died on November 7, aged 84. He began his career in Hollywood in the mid-1950s, but his career took off in the early 1960s after he moved to Europe. He portayed the eponymous peplum heroes in Goliath Against the Giants, Samson and The Fury of Hercules, before moving on to the long-running “Kommissar X” spy series (co-starring Tony Kendall) and such other titles as The Three Fantastic Supermen, King of Kong Island, Supermen, The Mad Butcher (with Victor Buono), Zambo King of the Jungle, The Mutations (which he associate produced), Lady Dracula (which he wrote the original story for), The Beast in Heat, Hercules (1983) and Shiver (2012). Harris was also in an episode of TV’s The Incredible Hulk.
American character actor Charles Tyner died on November 8, aged 92. He often played villains and slimeballs, and his credits include Lilith, The Stalking Moon, Alfred Hitchcock’s Family Plot, Disney’s Pete’s Dragon (1977), Evilspe
ak, Deadly Messages and Pulse. On TV Tyner appeared in episodes of The Incredible Hulk, Highway to Heaven and Diagnosis Murder (‘The Blair Nurse Project’).
Urbane American character actor John Hillerman (Jack Ben Hillerman) died on November 9, aged 84. He was in Sweet Sweet Rachel, High Plains Drifter, Audrey Rose and Hands of a Murderer (as “Dr. John Watson”). On TV, Hillerman was a regular on the CBS series Magnum P.I. (1980-88) as the butler “Higgins”, and he also appeared in episodes of The Sixth Sense, Wonder Woman (‘Wonder Woman vs Gargantua’) and the 1989 mini-series Around the World in 80 Days. Despite his clipped English accent, Hillerman was actually born in Texas.
Italian actor Ray Lovelock (Raymond Lovelock) died of cancer on November 10, aged 67. He was in Queens of Evil (and sang the theme song), The Living Dead at the Manchester Morgue (aka Don’t Open the Window), the giallos Autopsy and Murder-Rock: Dancing Death, and House of Shadows.
Austrian leading lady Erika Remberg (Erika Crobath) died in Spain the same day, aged 85. Born in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia), she began her film career in 1950 and co-starred in Circus of Horrors and Cave of the Living Dead. She married actors Gustavo Rojo (who pre-deceased her by seven months) and Walther Reyer, and director Sidney Hayers.
British character actor Keith Barron, who co-starred with Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing in Nothing But the Night (1973), died after a short illness on November 15, aged 83. He also appeared in Amicus’ The Land That Time Forgot and At the Earth’s Core (with Cushing again in the latter), and Police 2020. Barron also had a small role in The Elephant Man (1980), but his scenes were cut from the final film, and he narrated the UK trailer for Hammer’s Countess Dracula. On TV he was in episodes of The Avengers, Out of the Unknown, Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased), Strange Report (‘Report 8944: Hand—A Matter of Witchcraft’), Thriller (1975), The New Avengers, Leap in the Dark, Tales of the Unexpected, Doctor Who, The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes (‘The Last Vampyre’), Midsomer Murders (‘The Straw Woman’) and Johnny and the Bomb, and he narrated the 1982-83 anthology series West Country Tales.
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