JIMMY SANGSTER - Screenwriter for the Classic Hammer Horror Films of the 1950s and 1960s

British screenwriter Jimmy Sangster, who scripted many of the classic Hammer horror films of the 1950s and 1960s, died on August 19, 2011.  He was 83.  Sangster was born in North Wales on December 2, 1927.  He began working in films in the late 1940 as an assistant director on such films as “The Adventures of Jane” (1949), "Man in Black” (1949), “Dick Barton Strikes Back” (1949), “Room To Let” (1950), “Whispering Smith vs. Scotland Yard” (1952), “Spaceways” (1953), “The Saint’s Girl Friday” (1953), “Terror Street” (1953), and “Paid To Kill” (1954).  He worked as a production manager over the next several years, and also scripted Hammer's 1956 science fiction film “X The Unknown”.  He also wrote Hammer's initial forays in the realm of classic horror films, scripting “The Curse of Frankenstein” (1957), “Horror of Dracula” (1958), “The Revenge of Frankenstein” (1958), “The Snorkel” (1958), “Blood of the Vampire” (1958), “The Crawling Eye” (1958), “Jack the Ripper” (1959), “The Man Who Could Cheat Death” (1959), “The Mummy” (1959), “The Brides of Dracula” (1960), “The Hellfire Club” (1961), “The Terror of the Tongs” (1961), “The Pirates of Blood River” (1962), “Paranoiac” (1963), “The Devil-Ship Pirates” (1964), “Dracula, Prince of Darkness” (1966), “Deadlier Than the Male” (1967), and “Crescendo” (1970).   He produced and wrote the thrillers “Scream of Fear” (1961), “Maniac” (1963), “Nightmare” (1964), “Hysteria” (1965), “The Nanny” (1965) and “The Anniversary” (1968) both starring Bette Davis, and “Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?” (1972).  He wrote and directed several of Hammer’s new wave of horror film, including “The Horror of Frankenstein” (1970), “Lust For A Vampire” (1971), and “Fear In the Night” (1972).  Sangster worked in Hollywood from the early 1970s scripting the tele-films “A Taste of Evil” (1971), “Scream, Pretty Peggy” (1973), “Maneater” (1973), “Good Against Evil” (1977), “The Billion Dollar Threat” (1979), “Ebony, Ivory and Jade” (1979), and “Once Upon A Spy” (1980).  His other television credits include episodes of “Circle of Fear”/ “Ghost Story”, “The Magician”, “Banacek”, “The Six Million Dollar Man”, “Kolchak: The Night Stalker”, “Wonder Woman”, and “Beyond Belief !!”.  He also scripted the films “The Legacy” (1978), “Phobia” (1980), and “The Devil and Max Devlin” (1981).  His survivors include his wife, actress Mary Peach, star of "The Projected Man".

DEREK CREWE - Welsh actor in "The Tomorrow People" & "Doctor Who"

Welsh actor Derek Crewe died following a brief illness on May 16, 2011.  He was 65.  Crewe was born in Wales on June 6, 1945.  He began performing with the band The Renegades in the 1960s, before turning to acting.  He became a prolific stage performer in venues throughout Great Britian.  He also appeared frequently on television from the early 1970s, starring as Lefty in the premiere "The Tomorrow People" serials "The Slaves of Jedikiah" and "The Vanishing Earth" in 1973.  He was also featured as Synge in the 1977 "Doctor Who" serial "The Sun Makers".

EDSON STROLL - Snow White and the Three Stooges' Prince Charming,

Edson Stroll, who co-starred with the Three Stooges and ice skater Carol Heiss in the 1961 film "Snow White and the Three Stooges", died of cancer in Marina del Rey, California, on July 18, 2011.  He was 82.  Stroll was born in Chicago  on January 6, 1929.  He served in the U.S. Navy in the late 1940s, before training as an actor and singer.  He performed frequently on stage with national touring companies and appeared on Broadway and with the New York Shakespeare Festival.  He made his television debut in the late 1950s, appearing in episodes of “How To Marry a Millionaire”, “Tombstone Territory”, “Sea Hunt”, and “Men Into Space”. He guest starred in the "Twilight Zone" episodes "The Trade-Ins" and "Eye of the Beholder" in the early 1960s. He co-starred with the Three Stooges in “Snow White and the Three Stooges” (1961) and “The Three Stooges in Orbit” (1962).  He was perhaps best known for his role as Virgil Edwards on the television series “McHale’s Navy” from 1962 to 1966, and in the film spin-offs “McHale’s Navy” (1964) and “McHale’s Navy Joins the Air Force” (1965).  He continued to make occasional appearences on television with roles in “It’s About Time”, “The Lost Saucer”, “Murder, She Wrote”, “Simon & Simon”, and “Dallas”.  Stroll also worked as a marine surveyor from the late 1960s.

G.D. SPRADLIN - Veteran Character Actor

Character actor G.D. Spradlin, who was the corrupt Senator Geary in "Godfather II" and General Corman, who sends Martin Sheen on his mission to assassinate Marlon Brando's Col, Kurtz in "Apocalypse Now", died at his ranch in San Luis Obispo, California, on July 24, 2011.  He was 90.   He was born Gervase Duan Spradlin in Daylight Township, Garvin County, Oklahoma, on August 31, 1920.  He served in the Army Air Force in China during World War II.  He earned a law degree from the University of Oklahoma after the war, and became an attorney for Phillips Petroleum Co.  He became an independent oil producer in the early 1950s, and was successful enough to retire in 1960.  He began acting several years late on the local stage in Oklahoma City, where he was also an unsuccessful candidate for Mayor in 1965.  He began his acting career in earnest the following year, and appeared frequently on television in episodes of such series as “The Iron Horse”, “Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.”, “I Spy", “The Outsider", “It Takes A Thief”, “Dragnet”, “Bonaza”, “Search”, “Kung Fu”, “City of Angels”, “Columbo”, “The Greatest American Hero”, and “Dark Skies”.  He was also seen in the tele-films “Dial Hot Line” (1970), “Sam Hill: Who Killed Mr. Foster?” (1971), “Maneaters Are Loose!” (1978), James Michener’s “Space” (1985), “Dream West” (1986), “Resting Place” (1986), “Nutcracker: Money, Madness & Murder” (1987), “Carolina Skeletons” (1991), and “Riders of the Purple Sage” (1996).  Spradlin was also noted for his roles as an authority fiqure in numerous films, including “Will Penny” (1968), “Hell’s Angels ‘69” (1969), “The Formula” (1980), “Wrong is Right” (1982), “Ed Wood" (1994) as the legendary schlock director’s financier, Reverend Lemon,  “Nick of Time” (1995), and “The Long Kiss Goodnight” (1996).    

   

SHEILA BURRELL - British character actress

British character actress Sheila Burrell died in England on July 19, 2011.  She was 89.  She was born in Blackheath, London, England, on May 9, 1922.  She trained as an actress and began performing on stage entertaining the troops in 1942.  She made her London debut two years later, and earned acclaim in Peter Brook’s 1949 production of the controversial play of black magic, “Dark of the Moon”.  She also appeared frequently on television from the 1950s in such episodes as “Fabian of the Yard”, “Colonel March of Scotland Yard” with Boris Karloff, “Adam Adamant Lives!”, “Out of the Unknown”, “The Avengers”, “Tales of the Unexpected”, and “The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles”.  Burrell also appeared in a handful of films including the 1949 Hammer thriller “Man In Black” (1949), the Hammer psychological horror “Paranoiac” (1960) with Oliver Reed, “Hell Is Empty” (1967), “Afraid of the Dark” (1991), and Franco Zeffirelli’s 1996 version of “Jane Eyre” (1996).  She starred as Aunt Ada Doom in John Schlesinger's 1995 adaptation of the creepy classic "Cold Comfort Farm".

ROBERTS BLOSSOM - Veteran Character Actor Who Starred in "Deranged"

Veteran character actor Roberts Blossom, who was noted for his roles as quirky and cantankerous old men, died in Santa Monica, California, on July 8, 2011.  He was 87.  Blossom was born in New Haven, Connecticut, on March 25, 1924.  He served in the Army in Europe during World War II, and began performing in local productions in Cleveland after the war.  He soon relocated to New York and made his Off-Broadway debut in the 1955 play “Village Wooing”.  He earned an Obie Award for his role in that production and also for “Do Not Pass Go” in 1965 and “The Ice Age” in 1976.  Blossom was also seen on Broadway in Edward Albee’s adaptation of Carson McCullers’ “Ballad of the Sad Cafe”, Sam Shepard’s “Operation Sidewinder”, and Peter Brook’s 1988 production of “The Cherry Orchid”.  He appeared frequently on television from the late 1950s, with roles in episodes of “Naked City”, “The Defenders”,  and the 1980 “ABC Weekend Special” adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's “The Gold Bug”.  He starred in the 1985 "Ghost Train" episode of Steven Spielberg's anthology series "Amazing Stories", and was the Inquisitor in the "Heretic" episode of "Tales from the Darkside" in 1986.  Blossom also starred in the episodes "The Burning Man" and "Song of the Younger World" on the new "Twilight Zone" in the mid-1980.  His grizzled visage made him a memorable character in such films as the black comedy “The Hospital” (1971) as Guensey, the old man whose death by medical malfeasance leads to surreal, yet appropriate consequences; the 1972 adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's “Slaughterhouse - Five” (1972) as Wild BillCody; the gruesome horror film “Deranged” (1974) as the cannibal/necrophile serial killer Ezra Cobb; Stephen Spielberg’s science fiction classic “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” (1977); the Clint Eastwood thriller “Escape From Alcatraz” (1979) as Doc, the long-time inmate and artist who cuts his hands off after his unflattering portrait of the warden causes the loss of his painting privileges; “Resurrection” (1980) with Ellen Burstyn; the Stephen King thriller “Christine” (1983) as George LeBay, the old man who sells Arnie the title car, a '58 Plymouth Fury; “The Last Temptation of Christ” (1988); the fantasy “Always” (1989); “Home Alone” (1990) as Old Man Marley; “Death Falls” (1991); “Doc Hollywood” (1991); and Sam Raimi's quirky western “The Quick and the Dead” (1995) as Doc Wallace.

LINDA CHRISTIAN - The Original Bond Girl

Actress Linda Christian died of colon cancer in Palm Springs, California, on July 22, 2011.  She was 87.  She was born Blanca Rosa Henrietta Stella Welter Vorhauer in Tampico, Mexico, on November 13, 1923, the daughter of a Dutch oil executive and his German-Mexican wife.  She travelled the world with her family as a child, and became fluent in several languages.  She made her film debut in the early 1940s and appearing in small roles in several films.  She was featured as Mora in 1948's "Tarzan and the Mermaids" with Johnny Weissmuller.  Christian was married to actor Tyrone Power from 1949 until their divorce in 1956.  She was seen in several films in the 1950s including "Show Boat", "Slaves of Babylon", "The House of Seven Hawks", and "Rebel Flight to Cuba".  She was the leading lady in the first screen adaptation of a James Bond adventure, co-starring with Barry Nelson and Peter Lorre in "Casino Royale" for television's "Climax!" in 1954.  She also appeared in an episode of "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour", and starred as cult leader Bianca Milan in the off-beat 1962 horror film "The Devil's Hand" with Robert Alda.  She largely retired from the screen in the mid-1960s.