LEONARD HARRIS - "Taxi Driver"'s Senator Palantine

Drama critic Leonard Harris, who was featured in the 1976 film "Taxi Driver", died of complications from pneumona in Hartford, Connecticut, on August 28, 2011. He was 81.  Harris was born in the Bronx, New York, on September 27, 1929. He graduated from City College, and began his career writing obituaries and book reviews for "The Hartford Courant" in 1955. He began working for the CBS television affliate in New York as a drama and culture critic in 1966. Harris was cast as Senator Charles Palantine in Martin Scorsese’s 1976 film "Taxi Driver" - whose Presidential campaign indirectly inspired Robert DeNiro's Travis Bickle on his violent urban rampage. He was also featured as the Mayor in the 1980 film "Hero At Large" starring John Ritter. Harris was the author of several books including the thriller "The Masada Plan".

 

JUNPEI TAKIGUCHI - Japanese Anime Voice Actor

 

 

Uranai Baba from Dragon Ball

Japanese voice actor Junpei Takiguchi died of stomach cancer in Japan on August 29, 2011. He was 80.  He was born Kohei Takiguchi in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, on April 17, 1931. He was a leading voice actor from the early 1960s, working on such anime productions as "Goku no Daiboken" (1967), "Mazinger Z" (1972), "Gatchaman" (1973), "Time Bokan" (1975), "Treasure Island" (1978), "Unico: Black Cloud White Feather" (1979), "Lupin the 3rd" (1977), "The Ultraman" (1979), "Tomb of Dracula" (1980), "Fumoon" (1980), "Space Cruiser Yamato III" (1980), "Lucy of the Southern Rainbows" (1982), "Urusei Yatsura" (1982), "Don Dracula" (1982), "Cat's Eye" (1983), "Fist of the North Star" (1986), "Dragon Ball" as Uranai Baba, Saichourou and others from 1987, "Genji Tsushin Agedama", "One Piece" (2001) as Commodore Nelson, "Lupin III: Alcatraz Commection" (2001), "Cyborg 009: The Cyborg Soldier" (2002), ".hack//Roots" (2006) as Phyllo, "Princess Resurrection" (2007), "D. Gray-Man" (2006) as Millennium Earl, and "Yatterman" (2008) as Dokurobee. He also narrated the railroad travel program "Burari Tochu Gesha no Tabi" fron 1992 to 2011.

GUALTIERO JACOPETTI - Italian Shockumentary Pioneer Director of "Mondo Cane"

Italian filmmaker Gualtiero Jacopetti, who co-directed the 1962 shockumentary classic "Mondo Cane", died at his home in Rome on August 17, 2011.  He was 91.  Jacopetti was born in Barga, Italy, on September 4, 1919. He worked as a journalist and magazine editor from the 1940s, and made newsreels before moving to feature films. He teamed with Paolo Cavara and Franco Prosperi to create "Mondo Cane" ("A Dog’s World") which depicted shocking customs and activities from around the globe. Similar productions soon followed, including "Women of the World" (1963) and "Mondo Cane 2" (1963). Jacopetti also made the 1966 film "Africa Addio" ("Goodbye, Africa"). He reteamed with Prosperi to make 1971’s "Goodbye Uncle Tom", which featured the two filmmakers travelling back in time to chronicle slavery in the United States.

ANN MUFFLY - Star of George Romero's "Season of the Witch"

Actress Ann Muffly died in Providence Point, Pennsylvania, on August 15, 2011.  She was 85.  She was born Ann Little in West Virgina on May 23, 1926.  She began her career on stage in the Pittsburgh area, where she worked in radio and locakl television.  She was featured as Shirley Randolph in George Romero’s 1972 film “Season of the Witch” (aka “Hungry Wives”). She was also seen in Romero’s “Knightriders” (1981), and was the voice of Lenora Castonmeyer in the “They’re Creeping Up On You” segment of “Creepshow”(1982).

 TOM HENNESY - Actor and Stuntman Featured as the Gill Man on Land in "Revenge of the Creature"

Actor and stuntman Tom Hennesy died in Malibu, California, on May 23, 2011.  He was 87.  Hennesy was born in Los Angeles on August 4, 1923.  He worked primarily as a stuntman in the 1950s and 1960s on such films as “Jack and the Beanstalk” (1952), “The High and the Mighty” (1954), “It Should Happen To You” (1954), “The Caine Mutiny” (1954), “Prince of Players” (1955), “The Road to Denver” (1955), “The Long Gray Line” (1955), the 1955 sequel to "Creature from the Black Lagoon", “Revenge of the Creature”, “Blood Alley” (1955), “The Ten Commandments” (1956), “The Buccaneer” (1958), “North to Alaska” (1960), “The Man Who Shot Liberty Vallance” (1962), "Stagecoach” (1966), “The War Wagon” (1967), and “The Green Berets” (1968).  Hennesy performed stunts in many films with actor John Wayne and had his largest role in as the gentle giant, Mr. Sweet, in 1971’s “Big Jake”.  He also appeared on television as Clint Walker’s stunt double for the western series “Cheyenne” in the 1950s.   His other television credits include episodes of  “The Further Adventures of the Spin and Marty”, “26 Men”, "Gunsmoke", and Boris Karloff's “Thriller” as the spectral figure in the episode “The Return of Andrew Bentley”.               

NOEL COLLINS - British Character Actor

British actor Noel Collins died in England after a long battle with lung cancer on August 15, 2011.  He was 74.  Collins appeared frequently on television from the late 1960s, with roles in “New Scotland Yard”, “When the Boat Comes In”, “Within These Walls”, “Enemy at the Door”, “Pennies From Heaven”, “Accident”, and “A Question of Guilt”.  He starred as Sergeant George Parrish in the BBC police series “Juliet Bravo” from 1980 to 1985, and was landlord Pat Rowlinson in the “Battlefield” segment of “Doctor Who” in 1989.  He was featured in a handful of films, including Andy Millgan's “The Rats Are Coming! The Werewolves Are Here!” (1972) and “Never Never Land” (1980).

SYBIL JASON - Child Star of the 1930s

Sybil Jason, a leading child actress in the 1930s, died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Northridge, California, on August 23, 2011.  She was 83.  She was born Sybil Jacobson in Cape Town, South Africa, on November 23, 1929.  She learned to play the piano by the age of 2, and was soon performing before audiences.  She moved to England as a child, where she appeared regularly at nightclubs in London.  She made her film debut in 1935’s “Barnacle Bill”, and was subsequently signed to a Hollywood contract with Warner Bros., as a possible rival to Shirley Temple.  She was featured in the films “Little Big Shot” (1935), “I Found Stella Parish” (1935), “The Singing Kid” (1936) with Al Jolson, “The Great O’Malley” (1937) with Pat O’ Brien and Humphrey Bogart, and “Comet Over Broadway” (1938).  Warner declined to renew her contract and her final films were at 20th-Century Fox in supporting roles to Shirley Temple.  She was Becky in 1939’s “The Little Princess” and was Angela Berlingot in the 1940 fantasy “The Blue Bird”. Jason penned her autobiography, “My Fifteen Minutes: An Autobiography of a Child Star of the Golden Era of Hollywood”, in 2005.