LESLIE BROOKS - 1940s Leading Lady

Actress Leslie Brooks, who appeared in numerous films in the 1940s, died in Sherman Oaks, California, on July 1, 2011. She was 88. She was born Virginia Leslie Gettman in Lincoln, Nebraska, on July 13, 1922.  She began her career in the films in the early 1940s, with small roles in “Ziegfeld Girl” (1941), “The Body Disappears” (1941), “The Man Who Came to Dinner” (1942), and “Yankee Doodle Dandy" (1942), “The Talk of the Town” (1942).  She graduated to more substantial roles playing second leads and femme fatales in the “You Were Never Lovelier” (1942), “Underground Agent” (1942), “The Man Who Dared” (1946), “The Secret of The Whistler” (1946), “The Corpse Came C.O.D.” (1947), and “The Cobra Strikes” (1948) before retiring from the screen.

JOHN BOSWALL - British Character Actor Feature as Wyvern in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" Films

fr. 1984

British character actor John Boswall died in South Woodchester, Gloucestershire, England, on June 6, 2011.  He was 91.  Boswall was born in England on May 2, 1920.  He served with the British military in Burma during World War II.  He appeared frequently in stage, film and television from the early 1970s.  He was featured such series as “Paul Temple”, “Agatha Christie’s Piorot”, "Sapphire and Steel", “Murder Most Horrid”, “Virtual Murder”, “Covington Cross”, and “The Secret World of Michael Fry”.   His other television credits include productions of  “Lady Killer” (1973), “Edward the King” (1975), “The Hound of the Baskervilles” (1982), “The Return of the Native” (1994), and Terry Pratchett's "Hogfather" as the Chair of Indefinite Studies.  He was featured as Emmanuel Goldstein - the presumed leader of the opposition to Big Brother - in Michael Radford's 1984 film version of George Orwell's dystopian novel "1984". Boswall was best known in recent years for his role as Wyvern in the films “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” (2003) and “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” (2006), as Wyvern, a crew member of the Flying Dutchman, whose body had largely merged with the ship during his time with Davy Jones.

CHRISTOPHER NEAME - Hammer Films Production Manager

Christopher Neame, who was a production manager for Hammer Films during their horror heyday in the 1960s and early 1970s, died in Provence, France, on June 12, 2011.  He was 68.  He was born in Windsor, England, on December 24, 1942, the son of director and cinematographer Ronald Neame.  He began working in films in the early 1960s before joining Hammer Films as a production manager during their horror film heyday.  His credits include “Dracula, Prince of Darkness” (1965), “Rasputin, the Mad Monk” (1965), “Frankenstein Created Woman” (1967), “Five Million Years To Earth” (aka “Quatermass and The Pit”) (1967), “The Anniversary” (1968), “The Devil Rides Out” (1968), “Frankenstein Must be Destroyed” (1969), “The Beast In The Cellar” (1970), “Blood From the Money’s Tomb” (1971), “Fear In The Night” (1972), “Demons of the Mind” (1972), “Blueblood” (1973), the sexy sci-fier “The Love Factor” (aka “Zeta One”) (1973) which he also scripted, and “Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell” (1974).  He also worked in television from the late 1970s as a producer for such series as “Danger UXB” and “Q.E.D.”  (Note: He is not the actor of the same name who appeared in several Hammer horrors in the early 1970).

JOHN WOOD - Veteran British Character Actor

British character actor John Wood died in England on August 6, 2011.  He was 81. Wood was born in Derbyshire, England, on July 5, 1930.  He began performing on stage at Jesus College, Oxford, where he was studying law in the 1950s.  He appeared frequently on stage, films and television from the early 1950s.  Wood was seen in episodes of  “Tales of Mystery”, “Saki”, “Out of the Unknown”, “The Avengers”, “Doomwatch”, and “The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles".  He also appeared frequently in films throughout his career with roles in “The Mouse on the Moon” (1963), “Somebody Killed Her Husband” (1978), “WarGames” (1983), “The Purple Rose of Cairo” (1985), “Ladyhawke” (1985), “Lady Jane” (1986), “The Madness of King George” (1994), “Richard III” (1995) as King Edward IV, and “Sabrina” (1995) as Sabrina’s father, “Jane Eyre” (1996).  He was the only actor to have appeared in the 1960s television series "The Avengers" (other than Patrick MacNee) that resurfaced in the 1998 film version, appearing in the role of Trubshaw.  He was also seen in the films , “Mad Cows” (1999), “The Little Vampire” (2000), “Chocolat” (2000), “The Rocket Post” (2004), and “The White Countess” (2008). 

VIC DUNLOP - Comedian Star of "Martians Go Home"

Comedian and actor Vic Dunlop died of complications from diabetes in a Glendale, California, hospital on August 13, 2011.  He was 62.  Dunlop was born in New York City on November 6, 1948.  He began his career as a comic in the early 1970s with the comedy inprov group Natural Gas that appeared regularly on “Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert”.  He was featured on television and in several films including “The Devil and Max Devlin” (1981), “Meatballs Part II” (1984), “Night Patrol” (1984),  “Martians Go Home” (1989) as the Main Martian, “Wishful Thinking” (1990), and “Breakfast of Aliens” (1993) which he also co-scripted.  Dunlop lost a leg to diabetes in 2000, but continued to perform at comedy clubs around the country until death.

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".