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Entries tagged with 'R.I.P.'
Posted Apr. 30, 2008,
Trip Movies in Honor of Albert Hoffman
By Dennis Dermody
More grieving over the father of LSD -- Albert Hoffman, who died at age 102. But what I'll especially miss are those fabulous campy movies made about tripping. From serious efforts like The Trip to Psych-Out, The Hallucination Generation, Riot on Sunset Strip, The Hooked Generation, Free Grass, Wild in the Streets, The Big Cube, where Lana Turner was dosed, and of course, Jeff Lieberman's classic Blue Sunshine, in which LSD that you took 10 years ago causes you to lose your hair and become homicidal. Now that's what I call a good trip!
Posted Apr. 22, 2008,
RIP B-I-N-G-O
By Ann Magnuson
L.A. Weekly columnist Seven McDonald wrote a wonderful eulogy to everyone's favorite dachshund, the recently deceased Bingo. Anyone who had spent any quality time in Silver Lake's Sunset Junction area -- or even just a fleeting moment -- fell in love with the bacon-loving Bingo. (Bingo was given one of L.A. Woman' s Choice People Awards in 2007 as he brightened our days as much as any two-legged, life-loving Angeleno!)
Officially the charge of Sarah Dale, proprietor of the hipster boutique Pull My Daisy, Bingo soon became everyone's beloved pet (especially if you fed him bacon from the once packed, now-closed EAT WELL restaurant next door!) Sadly, Bingo was getting older and his judgment must have been impaired the day he darted into the street. His death was quick but his memory will last as long as those of us who adopted Bingo are still eating bacon (now the tempeh variety down the steet at the popular new vegan hang-out Flore).
Posted Apr. 18, 2008,
R.I.P. Hazel Court
By Dennis Dermody
Saddened to hear of the death of Hazel Court, the beautiful, amply endowed, British scream queen. Her luminous presence graced some of my favorite horror films like The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), Premature Burial (1962), The Masque of the Red Death (1964) and The Raven (1963). She died in Lake Tahoe, Cal. at age 82. The gorgeous star wrote a great autobiography called Hazel Court: Horror Queen, and will be missed by all of us who basked in her beauty on screen.
Posted Apr. 8, 2008,
Charlton Heston: Alpha Male/Omega Man
By Ann Magnuson
I very much enjoyed Carina (The New Pauline Kael!) Chocano's article on recently deceased movie legend Charlton Heston that appeared today's L.A. Times. A grand assessment of Heston's heroic old-school grandiosity, the piece also painted an evocative picture of what movie-going used to be -- grand events in even grander movie palaces. In other words, it was the multiplexes that got small (no doubt shrunk to fit the caliber of movie stars). But I have to say, I was disappointed that the L.A. Times obit of Heston did not mention one of my favorite childhood movies, The Omega Man. (Clips above and below -- good stuff.)
Posted Mar. 18, 2008,
R.I.P. Anthony Minghella
By Rebecca Carroll
Anthony Minghella, the brilliant director with sweet and focused eyes, has died. He was only 54 years old and I just hate it: Too young, too talented, too beautiful in spirit (I didn’t know him personally, but feel he is among a handful of directors whose inner-heart and very personal dreams and desires are on the screen as you’re watching their films). In films like The English Patient (for which he won an Oscar for Best Director), The Talented Mr. Ripley and Cold Mountain, Minghella treated broad stories and themes -- love, isolation and faith -- with uncomplicated yet specific care; encouraging the characters to grow in difficult, unknown ways inside the safety of easy, known worlds. I’m glad for his work and sad there won’t be more.
Posted Feb. 22, 2008,
R.I.P Ben Chapman
By Dennis Dermody
Sad to report the passing of Ben Chapman, who played the gill man (on land) in Creature from the Black Lagoon, the fabulous 1954 Universal Pictures monster movie that thrilled kids around the world. Ricou Browning played the creature underwater. I used to see the affable Ben Chapman at the Chiller convention every time I went and he was charming and gracious. He died on Feb. 22 at a VA hospital in Honolulu. Goodbye Gill Man....
Posted Feb. 11, 2008,
R.I.P. Roy Scheider
By Ann Magnuson
Roy Scheider has died. Long live Joe Gideon! Mr. Scheider fought killer sharks, French heroin dealers and the U.S. military intervention in Iraq. But it was his turn as Bob Fosse's alter-ego, speed freak choreographer Joe Gideon in the 1979 classic All That Jazz that I will remember him best. Hopefully this wonderful classically-trained actor will be met in Show Biz heaven by long-legged angels in vein-painted spandex unitards!
Posted Feb. 6, 2008,
R.I.P. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
By Ann Magnuson
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the grand guru to the stars of the '60s, has died. The divinely diminutive daeva, who I am told George Lucas used as the model for Yoda, brought Transcendental Meditation to the householders of the world and some of us ex-neurotics are quite grateful for it. Still the question remains... did he really come on to Mia Farrow?
Posted Jan. 21, 2008,
RIP Suzanne Pleshette
By Dennis Dermody
Was saddened to hear of the passing of Suzanne Pleshette, who died at age 70 and had that remarkably sexy and smokey deep voice. Most people know her from The Bob Newhart Show, on which she played Newhart's wife, but I remember her from Rome Adventure (1962) where she was paired with her future husband (of nine months) Troy Donahue; Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds (1963); Youngblood Hawke (1964) (which I finally tracked down a copy of after five years of searching); and one of my all time faves -- A Rage To Live (1965), where Pleshette played a raging nymphomaniac. This was a distorted version of the John O'Hara novel but it was so sordid and fun and Pleshette was sexy and fabulous in it. I just adored when she appeared on screen. And I also loved the fact that she married Tom Poston in 2001 until his death in 2007, who was another favorite of mine. Think I have to go in the other room and watch A Rage To Live all afternoon now...
Posted Jan. 14, 2008,
R.I.P. Vampira
By Dennis Dermody
Beloved former TV horror host Vampira (aka Maila Nurmi) died in her sleep of natural causes at age 86. Dressed like a Charles Addams ghoul girl, she introduced fright flicks on KABC-TV from 1954-1955, and will be known for co-starring in the notorious Ed Wood film Plan 9 from Outer Space, (1956) and her appearances in The Beat Generation (1959) and Sex Kittens Go to College (1960). Lisa Marie immortalized her in Tim Burton's glorious Ed Wood (1994).
Posted Nov. 26, 2007,
RIP Michael Blodgett
By Dennis Dermody
Was sad to hear to the passing of Michael Blodgett, who was so memorable in Russ Meyer’s 1970 cult masterpiece Beyond the Valley of the Dolls as L.A. studmuffin Lance Rocke. As rock promoter “Z-Man” Barzell (John La Zar) describes Lance: “Greek God and part-time actor. See how he performs. His is a special talent. The golden hair...the bedroom eyes...the firm young body. These are the tools of which he plies his trade. All are available for a price.” Blodgett, who also acted in such movies as The Velvet Vampire (1971) and alongside Kirk Douglas in There Was a Crooked Man (1970). He was also a novelist (Captain Blood, The White Raven) and wrote screenplays (with Dennis Shryack) such as Rent-A-Cop (1987) and Turner & Hooch (1989). But he’ll always be burned into my brain as the cocky, sexy, Lance Rocke getting beheaded in Beyond The Valley of the Dolls.
Posted Nov. 2, 2007,
R.I.P. Eddie Vegas
By Ann Magnuson
Remember the Cocktail Nation craze of the early '90s? Besides bands like Combustible Edison, there was L.A. lounge lizard superstar Joey Cheezhee. The brainchild of Joe Sehee, "Joey" helped put The Dresden Room on the hipster map long before Vince Vaughn told Jon Favreau he was "so money". (Sehee left the lounge scene long ago and currently lives in Sante Fe where he established the Green Burial Council , an non-profit organization that "seeks to move the deathcare industry in a more ethical and environmentally sustainable direction.") In addition to rounding up a roaming variety show of young entertainers dedicated to recreating the Rat-Pack-era Vegas of yesteryear, Joe Sehee also "re-discovered" vintage lounge acts and brought them into the retro spotlight.
One of those acts was Eddie Vegas who passed away recently. (Eddie is pictured in the photo above between Joey Cheezhee and the legendary Korla Pandit.) Joe returned to L.A. this week for a celebration of Eddie Vegas' life that will be taking place this Friday night. The "wake" begins at 7 p.m. at the 3 Clubs in Hollywood and it is open to the public. But let me let Mr. Sehee tell you all about that and Eddie Vegas...
Posted Oct. 29, 2007,
RIP Porter Wagoner
By Ann Magnuson
Anyone (of a certain age) who grew up in the Bible Belt grew up watching Porter Wagoner's TV show. The long-running syndicated program ran from 1960 to 1981 and not only showcased Mr. Wagoner's talents (and phantasmagoric nudie suits!) but launched the career of Miss Dolly Parton. Porter Wagoner, who passed away Sunday night at the grand ole age of 80, had an easy-going personality that you can see on display in the clip above.
Dolly wrote her monster hit "I Will Always Love You" for Porter to help ease the ill-feelings between them when she left his TV show and went on to become a pop crossover superstar. Thank goodness they eventually made up. We used to laugh at his nudie suits but I reckon Mr. Wagoner is the most dazzling star up in Grand Ole Opry Heaven now!
Posted Oct. 18, 2007,
RIP Deborah Kerr
By Dennis Dermody
Sad to hear about the death of actress Deborah Kerr, the classy thespian best known for her water-logged kiss on the shore with Burt Lancaster in From Here to Eternity. She was also famous for her roles in The King and I (1954) and the sentimental favorite An Affair to Remember (1957). But I recall her brilliant turn as the disturbed governess in The Innocents (1961) or the sensitive traveler in Night of the Iguana (1964) and especially this end scene with John Kerr in Tea and Sympathy (1956).
Posted Oct. 3, 2007,
Michael Lucas: Dead or Alive?
By Alexis Swerdloff
We've just received information that Michel Lucas, the larger than life male porn entrpreneur, was found dead in his apartment last night.
Some in the know insist this could be a publicity stunt for his next film -- either way, we're pretty horrified.
Here's the press release we received:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New York, NY (October 3rd, 2007) -- The body of Lucas Entertainment founder and CEO Michael Lucas was found last night in his Manhattan apartment.
Authorities released the photo below of the crime scene.
No additional information has been released. Stay tuned for further developments.
So, it is a publicity stunt. Gross.
Posted Oct. 1, 2007,
RIP Miss Moneypenny, Lois Maxwell
By Ann Magnuson
Lois Maxwell, who played the intelligent and flirtateous secretary Miss Moneypenny in 14 James Bond movies, passed away at the ripe old age of 80. She was by far my favorite Bond Girl. All others were mere bimbos compared to Moneypenny. (Sorry, Ursula. You were hot but Moneypenny was smart!) Maxwell was a woman with more to offer than just a roll in the hay. That's probably why Bond couldn't handle her. No way could he control this vixen-with-a-brain! You can watch scenes of Maxwell with both Sean Connery and Roger Moore in this tribute video. (Underscored, appropriately, with "I Think I Love You" by the Partridge Familly!)
Posted Oct. 1, 2007,
Farewell to the Sweet Kazuko
By Kim Hastreiter
The fashion world lost one of its most spiritual participants last Friday night. I first met the jewelry designer Kazuko through my late friend, the gallerist Holly Solomon, who always wore Kazuko's enormous crystals around her neck. Her work was always the first thing one saw as he or she entered Barneys New York on Madison Avenue. Kazuko must have had a zillion customers from Barneys over the years. Kazuko was a huge fan of PAPER and was always so sweet sending me letters and crystal surprises for many years. I was shocked to find out that she was only 65 at the time of her death. I have a feeling that Kazuko and Holly are sitting up there having a glass of champagne right this minute! RIP Kazuko.
Posted Sep. 6, 2007,
RIP Robert Garlock
By Mickey Boardman
We were greatly saddened recently to learn of the death of Robert Garlock, one of our favorite publicists, who for two decades loomed large in the world of celebrity PR while always maintaining a discreet distance. He played an integral part in developing the careers of superstar clients like Uma Thurman (with whom he is pictured above), Penelope Cruz, Hugh Grant and Keanu Reeves. We've had to deal with some publicists about whom we'd be hard pressed to say anything nice, but we always had a warm spot it our heart for Garlock. Maybe it's because he, like Mr. Mickey, was a Broadway show lover. Maybe it was because he was always courteous and professional and told it like it was. Who knows, maybe he was such a good publicist that it was all spin. Whatever the case, it makes us very sad that he's gone. We'll miss him.
Posted Aug. 14, 2007,
RIP Elizabeth Murray
By Kim Hastreiter
I was sad but also glad to read the op-ed piece in the New York Times today about Elizabeth Murray, the painter who passed away earlier this week from lung cancer. Elizabeth was one of my art school mentors when I was a graduate student at Cal Arts in the '70s and I always really loved her. Although I was not a traditional painter, she was such a wonderful and generous teacher supporting all my crazy multimedia and conceptual art projects I attempted in those days with gusto. I used to bump into Elizabeth every once in a while in the Village and we'd have a quick chat, but our lives never really crossed again after school. But every time I would read about her success or her shows or her retrospectives, I'd smile because she was a lovely, lovely and beautiful person and deserved it all. Ask anyone who knew or had the chance to meet her. Whether the op-ed writer or one of her student interns. RIP Elizabeth.
Posted Aug. 7, 2007,
RIP Lee Hazlewood
By Ann Magnuson
The king is dead. Lee Hazlewood, singer, songwriter and Nancy Sinatra starmaker, has passed away and we're listening to the classic Nancy & Lee album all day in his honor!
From the L.A. Times:
Posted Jul. 31, 2007,
RIP Michelangelo Antonioni
By Dennis Dermody
Talk about a bad week for great directors- first Ingmar Bergman, now the brilliant Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni dies at 94. Antonioni, best known for films like Blow Up, L'Avventura, La Notte, The Passenger, The Red Desert.
Antonioni's films about modern alienation (known for excruciating but beautiful long tracking shots) caused controversy and lots of fights among film fantatics. But they really hold up well -- and feel even more radical today. I remember a screening of The Red Desert at the Museum of Modern Art one morning -- it was a new print of that exquisite film starring Monica Vitti -- and Antonioni was there. It was after his stroke but he looked elegant and he was with a woman who spoke for him which was really bizarre. I didn't care -- he was sitting two rows in front of me and I was giddy with joy. I remember a film critic had brought an original poster of La Notte for Antonioni to sign and I thought seriously about mugging that person in the elevator.
Zabriskie Point (1970) was Antonioni's film shot in America at the height of hippie era, he used non-actors in the leads, with a script by Sam Shepard and score by Pink Floyd. It was hated at the time but I loved the end when he blows up a house (repeatedly) with shots of Wonder Bread exploding among other typically American things -- and it made me crazy.
Posted Jul. 30, 2007,
RIP Tom Snyder
By Ann Magnuson
I loved Tom Snyder and his late, late night Tomorrow show! How sad that he has passed away at a relatively young age of 71. (Just wait kids, that will seem young to you soon!) Snyder was an affable fellow who pioneered late, late night TV by booking fascinating, often cutting-edge personalities and engaging them in real conversations... often about things that no other TV show dared discuss at the time. His interviews with folks like Charles Manson, Johnny "Rotten" Lydon and the members of KISS are legendary... and all available now on YouTube! The interview above with PiL members Lydon and Keith Levine reveal Snyder to be a class act and Lydon -- as cute as he is -- a royal twat. Funny how when you're younger you think this sort of behavior is groundbreaking and decades later realize, no, they're just assholes.
Snyder's guffaw-riddled repartee with Ace Frehley of KISS is a real treat (see it here) as are his interviews with a very wasted Iggy Pop and First Amendment champion Wendy O. Williams of The Plasmatics (fresh from her infamous altercation with Milwaukee police).
Posted Jul. 30, 2007,
RIP Ingmar Bergman
By Dennis Dermody
The great Swedish director Ingmar Bergman died at 89 and I must say the news saddened me greatly. Can't express how much his movies meant to me -- think I saw nearly all of them at the Brattle Theater in Boston when I was 19 -- from The Seventh Seal, Persona, The Silence, Wild Strawberries, Shame, Hour of the Wolf (which totally freaked me out). And his later, extraordinary work like Cries and Whispers, Scenes from a Marriage and the stunning Fanny and Alexander. Horror fans have him to thank for Last House on The Left, which was basically a remake of The Virgin Spring. And there are actors whose faces I totally associate with his movies like Liv Ullman, Max Von Sydow and Bibi Andersson. His exploration on screen of faith, metaphysics and madness and man's isolation are branded on my brain. A truly great loss for this world.
Posted Jul. 13, 2007,
RIP Kerwin Mathews
By Dennis Dermody
The handsome star of one of the best movies I ever saw as a child The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, Kerwin Mathews, died in San Fransisco at the age of 81. His partner of 46 years, Tom Nicoll, confirmed this to the press. The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, with those glorious special effects by Ray Harryhausen, was a movie I saw countless times, and the battle with the skeleton was one of the film's high points. Also the open shirt revealing Mathews' sexy hairy chest was definitely a turn on for me as a kid. Mathews starred in another wonderful Harryhausen film: The Three World Of Gulliver. He was always one of my favorites.
Posted Jul. 12, 2007,
RIP Lady Bird Johnson
By Ann Magnuson
Former first lady Lady Bird Johnson has passed away. We remember her tireless campaign in the 1960s to help Keep America Beautiful which she did by supporting the Highway Beautification Act. This law helped eliminate so many awful billboards that used to litter our nation's highways (yes, even more than now). A devoted conservationist, Mrs. Johnson also established the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center to protect and preserve North America's native plants and natural landscapes.
Posted Jun. 15, 2007,
Mr. Little Was Big (R.I.P.)
By Kim Hastreiter
I was so sad to hear from my friend David Humphries (the visionary who created Hair Wars, Detroit's awesome hair entertainment competition that I have written about often) that one of the great Hair Wars artists named Mr. Little was killed in a motorcycle accident yesterday. I remember seeing Mr. Little perform miraculous hairdos -- he invented the "hairycopter" (seen at right) -- and he was a true artist and performer. I met him years ago after I had worked on a movie with filmmaker Andrew Dosunmu about Hair Wars. We even did a big Hair Wars party last year in Los Angeles!!!
I once watched him hang a model upside down at the Apollo Theater in Harlem and cut her hair upside down while doing a kind of limbo dance. When the model stood back up again her hair was in a perfect shag. My condolences to the whole Hair Wars family. Rest in peace, Mr. Little. You were big.
Posted Jun. 12, 2007,
RIP Lee Frost
By Dennis Dermody
Sadly read on the forum on www.dvdmaniacs.com that exploitation director Lee Frost died on May 25. Frost was responsible for some of the more colorful grindhouse films like the above, hilarious, The Thing With Two Heads (1972) where a racist doctor's (Ray Milland) head is grafted onto a man on death row (Rosey Grier). Saw this on 42nd Street and everyone was howling with laughter. Frost also did gems like Love Camp 7 (1969), The Black Gestapo (1975) and The Defilers (1965).
Posted May. 29, 2007,
R.I.P. Charles Nelson Reilly
By Ann Magnuson
We are genuinely very sad to hear of the passing of comic legend Charles Nelson Reilly. Those of a "certain age" will also share our fond memories of coming home from school and losing ourselves (and probably many brain cells) to Match Game (after Dark Shadows and/or The Mike Douglas Show).
Charles Nelson Reilly was a zany anarchist -- Bugs Bunny in human form. Yet he was also a very serious actor who taught folks like Lily Tomlin and Christine Lahti how to hone their craft. Even so, we'll remember him mostly for his inspired nuttiness. Reilly never failed to entertain with his wacky banter. His "relationship" with Match Game co-panelist Brett Somers was a shrouded in mystery - yet did two people ever seem more right for each other? Here Reilly is taking over the host duties from Gene Rayburn. Ah, those were the days!
Posted May. 24, 2007,
SS Girls Director Bruno Mattei Dies!
By Dennis Dermody
Italian exploitation director Bruno Mattei died on May 21st at the age of 75. A fave for eurosleaze fans, Mattei, usually under the pseudonym Vincent Dawn, cranked out a record number of grindhouse favorites. Rats: Night Of Terror, Hell of the Living Dead, Violence in a Women's Prison, SS Girls, The Other Hell, Virus, among countless others. Nunsploitation, Nazisploitation, zombie movies, women's prison flicks -- he covered the waterfront on this junk. He even completed Island of the Living Dead in 2006. Never much of an "original," on one of the message boards about his demise, a fan griped that Mattei "probably ripped off someone else's death" which is meanly funny. But attention must be paid.
Posted May. 23, 2007,
RIP Nicholas Worth!
By Dennis Dermody
Character actor Nicholas Worth died on May 7th at age 69. Most of the online sites mentioned his roles in Star Trek: Voyager, The Naked Gun: Files Of The Police Squad! and Darkman, but to me he will always remain Kirk Smith, the balding photographer rapist and strangler in Don't Answer The Phone! (1980), one of the sleaziest movies I can remember seeing on 42nd Street.
His performance was so over-the-top and fabulous -- pulling a stocking over his face as he terrorized women in Hollywood and then making taunting phone calls to daytime radio host Dr. Lindsay Gale (Flo Gerrish). The audience went crazy with his every rant.. It was almost Divine-like in manic intensity. I even tracked down the poster for this film, I loved it so much. He'll be missed!
Posted May. 14, 2007,
Sopranos RIP: Christopher Moltisanti
By David Hershkovits
Holy shit. I almost didn't believe my eyes. Tony Soprano snuffing out the life of his cousin Christopher. I suppose he had it coming, considering that in the previous episode Christopher shot his friend right between the eyes, not to mention all the others he'd knocked off over the years. That's the beauty and the power of the show -- you fall in love with the characters and tend to forgive them their flaws. We are all members of this dysfunctional family.
Somehow I can't help connecting the show with events in Iraq. The Sopranos and their cohorts represent two sides of the American Dream. The optimism, comraderie, entrepreneurship and family values that hold it all together coupled with a capacity to kill anything that gets in the way of fulfilling the dream.
The LA Times set up two critics to discuss their pro and con views of the series, only to have the conversation rendered irrelevant by the twists and turns of each new episode. Christopher was the loose canon and Tony smelled a potential rat that had to be exterminated. To cool out after the killing, he went to Vegas and looked up an old flame of Christopher's, a hot co-ed he subsequently beds. She turns him on to pot and then mushrooms. They go out to the desert and Tony Soprano sits down to watch the sunset. Has Tony discovered the true meaning of life via psychedelics? Only three more episodes to go.
Posted May. 8, 2007,
Gordon Scott: RIP
By Dennis Dermody
Gordon Scott, the musclebound star of '60s gems like Goliath and the Vampires and several Tarzan movies like Tarzan’s Fight for Life, Tarzan and the Trappers and Tarzan’s Hidden Jungle, died April 30th in a South Baltimore, Maryland nursing home. The German/American Scott was born on August 3, 1927 in Portland, Oregon, and as a kid I had a real fondness for seeing him oiled up and handsome on the silver screen. There’s a terrific, slightly sad, story about him that you should check out on his final years: http://www.citypaper.com/news/story.asp?id=13574
Posted May. 7, 2007,
Isabella Blow: RIP
By Mickey Boardman
We here at MMBlog have heard a horribly upsetting and devastating rumor that style legend Isabella Blow has died. A source close to Mr. Mickey has said that the cause of death is suicide, but we're hoping it's not true -- though this would not be Blow's first attempt (she jumped off a bridge), and her friends have been concerned about her for some time.
Blow hadn't lost her sense of humor completely, and after surviving the bridge jump, she joked with Mr. Mickey that she was no longer able to wear heels and had to wear flats.
Blow is an icon to all fashion lovers and has discovered many talents, championing the likes of Alexander McQueen, Jeremy Scott, Sophie Dahl and of course, her longtime collaborator, milliner Philip Treacy.
We are hoping this terrible news is just a rumor, but if it's not, we're absolutely devastated and this is a terrible loss.
UPDATE: The Telegraph has confirmed her death and is reporting that cancer was the cause of death.
These photos from Style.com
Above photos by Steven Meisel © 1993
Posted Apr. 24, 2007,
R.I.P. Jim Lyons
By Ann Magnuson
Oh NO! I just recieved an email from Jim's partner, Terrence Savage, with links to Jim's obits! I knew Jim back in New York and adored him! Our paths continually crossed during the glory days in the East Village and every few years we'd get together to dream, scheme and generally catch up. A film editor of the highest caliber (he worked wonders editing Ghostlight, a film I did with Richard Move about dance legend Martha Graham), Jim was best known for his collaborations with Todd Haynes (Safe, Far From Heaven) and Sofia Coppola (The Virgin Suicides).
This is sad, sad news. I last saw Jim a couple of years ago (two? three? four? time flies when you move to L.A. and lose touch with your old New York pals). He was out here for work and rang me up to meet for lunch -- which lasted for several hours. Jim was not only talented but one of the smartest men I've ever known. His understanding of film and story and just plain ole human behavior was extraordinary. Plus he was such a handsome, charming guy! Everyone has a crush on him. I can't even write anymore. This is a real loss. At 46 Jim had so much creativity ahead of him! He would've made an incredible director! All the best editors do!
Rest in peace Jim! We loved you so much!!!!
Posted Apr. 18, 2007,
R.I.P. Kitty Carlisle Hart
By Ann Magnuson
The eternally elegant Kitty Carlisle Hart has finally passed away at 96!
Known as a tireless advocate for the arts, Hart was a real class act who first began working as an actress way back when a "lady" wouldn't be caught dead trodding the boards on Broadway! She knew everyone and travelled effortlessly between show business and high society with class, sass and wit. I remember first being captivated by her sophisticated presence while watching her on the '60s game show "To Tell The Truth". You can see Kitty Carlisle radiate her charm on this clip from the show on YouTube (embedding disabled, alas). I love her questions posed to the young women in the vintage swimsuits who are trying to fool the panelists into choosing the wrong girl (whose real life job is as a whale trainer).
Posted Apr. 10, 2007,
R.I.P. Calvin Lockhart
By Dennis Dermody
The handsome charismatic actor Calvin Lockhart died on March 29th at age 72 and his obit was in the New York Times about his career and film roles in such films as Cotton Comes To Harlem and Let's Do It Again, but they omitted a favorite of mine: The Beast Must Die, a 1973 British horror mystery set at a country mansion where one of the guests is a werewolf. There's even a werewolf break at the end so the audience can guess who the shape-shifter is. Here's the funny trailer for this gem.
Posted Apr. 5, 2007,
R.I.P. Roger Watkins
By Dennis Dermody
I was greatly distressed to hear of the passing of Roger Watkins, the director of the infamous cult classic Last House On Dead End Street on March 6 in Apalachin, N.Y. I saw that movie on 42nd Street and it really freaked me out at the time. The director’s name listed was “Victor Janos” (which was just a pseudonym for Watkins). Watkins was a director, author, editor and starred in the film as Terry Hawkins, just released from prison after a one year drug bust. Pissed off at the world, he rounds up a few friends and they decide to direct some films aimed at a “specialized” audience of degenerates. Actual snuff films, which they can make money from and get back at society with.
The Manson-like girls in his gang wear see-through masks and they film in an abandoned college building. Shot on 16mm, it’s grainy cinema verite shooting and the overdubbing give the film a creepy realistic rawness. And the murders are graphic and unpleasant -- they saw off a woman’s legs, yank out her intestines and play with them. They plunge an electric drill through a man’s eye. A topless girl with a deer hoof sticking out of her jeans forces a man to fellate it before they brutally kill him on camera. Audiences really freaked out when the film was over, because it felt so real and so wrong. Years later on Barrel Entertainment, a two-disc DVD came out which uncovered the history behind this nasty little shocker.
Watkins shot the movie after getting out of SUNY Oneonto college in 1972. In an interview he said there was $3,000 for the shoot but only $800 was used on the movie. The rest “I think it was to buy drugs,” he said. “I didn’t spend anything on that film.” It’s original title was The Cuckoo Clocks Of Hell (a reference from Kurt Vonnegut’s Mother Night). After it was finished it went through many shady distributors and didn’t hit theaters until 1977 as: The Fun House and later: Last House On Dead End Street, tying it into the Last House On The Left popularity. But as a film it still manages to unsettle -- it’s a nihilistic dark little horror masterpiece.
Posted Mar. 30, 2007,
R.I.P. Hollywood Christmas Parade
By Ann Magnuson
They've officially pulled the plug on a Hollywood tradition! The Hollywood Christmas Parade is no more. Something about low wattage stars and skyrocketing costs. 'Tis a pity. When I first arrived in L.A. in the mid-'80s one of THE things to during the holidays do was go down to The Frolic Room, get tanked and heckle the fading stars passing by on Hollywood Boulevard in their shiny vintage convertibles.
Those were the days when you could see icons like Gene Autry, Jimmy Stewart and Sammy Davis, Jr. serving as Grand Marshall! And our current Governator! (Wow, does this mean that one day two-time parade Grand Marshall Tony Danza may one day be running things from Sacremento?)
Christmas just won't be the same. But, thankfully, the magic is well preserved in digital amber here.
Posted Mar. 26, 2007,
R.I.P. Freddie Francis
By Dennis Dermody
The great British cinematographer Freddie Francis died on March 17 at the age of 89. Francis won Oscars for his work on such films as Sons & Lovers and Glory not to mention the stunning work he did for David Lynch's Elephant Man. But he also directed some great horror movies in the 1960s that I adore like The Skull, Tales From The Crypt and The Ghoul. I had the great pleasure of meeting him at the NY Film Critics awards when he won an award for cinematography for Lynch's The Straight Story. He was so gracious and sweet when I ranted at him that in my kitchen hangs the giant 3-sheet for his film The Psychopath, which screams "Mother May I Go Out To Kill?" He was an amazing talent, and visonary eyes like his behind the lens are quite a loss.
Posted Mar. 21, 2007,
R.I.P. Luther Ingram
By Dennis Dermody
The great soul singer Luther Ingram, died on Monday in St. Louis at age 69, of heart failure. Here he is live in concert singing his fabulous hit "If Loving You Is Wrong (I Don't Want To be Right)", the perfect excuse for sleeping with a married man. Listening to those velvet tones will melt your brain. The stupid NY Times even spelled his named wrong in his obit: "Luther Igram." But that voice... sheer heaven.