NICO MINARDOS - Veteran Character Actor in Films and Television

(fr. The Twilight Zone Museum)

Character actor Nico Minardos died in Los Angeles on August 27, 2011. He was 81.  Minardos was born in Athens, Greece, on February 15, 1930. He studied at the Sorbonne in Paris and graduated from the University of California in Los Angeles. He began his acting career in the early 1950s, and was a contract player at 20th Century Fox. He appeared in numerous films during his career, including "Monkey Business" (1952), "The Ten Commandments" (1956), "Ghost Diver" (1957), "Day of the Evil Gun" (1968), "Cannon For Cordoba" (1970), and "Assault On Agathon" (1977) which he also produced. He appeared frequently on television from the mid-1950 through the mid-1980s, with roles in episodes of "Soldiers of Fortune", "Broken Arrow", "Have Gun-Will Travel", "Whirlybirds", "Maverick", "Five Fingers", "Adventures in Paradise", "Sugarfoot", "Route 66", "The Case of the Dangerous Robin", "The Rebel", "Hawaiian Eye", "Twilight Zone" as the Doctor in the 1962 episode "The Gift", "77 Sunset Strip", "Naked City", "The Rogues", "Perry Mason", "Burke’s Law", "Ben Casey", "Daktari", "The Flying Nun", "It Takes a Thief", "The Name of the Game", "Mod Squad", "The Immortal", "Mission: Impossible", "Ironside", "Primus", "The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries", "The Greatest American Hero", "The A-Team", and "Simon & Simon". Minardos survived a canoe accident in September of 1966 while filming the television movie "High Jugle". He and actor Eric Fleming (the star of tv's "Rawhide") were thrown into the Huallaga River in Peru when their canoe capsized. He was able to swim to shore but Fleming drowned in the mishap. Minardos was also seen in the the tele-films "The Challengers" (1970) and "River of Mystery" (1971). He largely retired in the 1980s, but was the subject of Owen Prell’s 2010 documentary film "Finding Nico".



DERRETT LEE - Starlost Production Coordinator

Film and television producer Derrett Lee died in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on July 5, 2011. He was 64.  Lee was born in Toronto on August 19, 1946. He was a producer of the 1973 Canadian film "The Hard Part Begins", and served as production coordinator for the short-lived syndicated sci-fi television series "The Starlost" starring Keir Dullea. He was later associate producer for the 1983 horror film "American Nightmare".

JACK ADLER - DC Comics Cover Artist and Production Manager

Comic book artist and executive Jack Adler died in New York City on September 18, 2011. He was 91.  Adler was born in Manhattan, New York, on July 1, 1917. He began working at DC Comics in 1946, working in production and as a colorist. He served as assistant production manager from 1960 to 1975, and was production manager and vice president of production from 1975 until his retirement in 1981. He was also cover artist for numerous DC Comics titles during his tenure there, including "Western Comics", "Tomahawk", "All-Star Western", "Big Town", "Strange Adventures", "G.I. Combat", "Our Fighting Forces", "Mystery in Space", "Showcase", "Sea Devils", "Blackhawk", "Green Lantern", "Detective Comics", and "Challengers of the Unknown".

PAUL E. HUNT, 67 - Cult Film Producer and Director

Film producer and director Paul Edward Hunt, who was noted for his work in B films in the 1960s and 1970s, died of a heart attack in Redondo Beach, California, on September 13, 2011. He was 67.  Hunt was born in Redondo Beach on October 14, 1943. He was making surfboards when he was cast in a small role as a surfer in the 1964 film "North Swell". He directed "The Psychedelics" in 1966, and also helmed, and frequently produced, wrote, and photographed, the films "The Harem Bunch" (1968), "You" (1968), "Wild, Free & Hungry" (1969),"Fusion" (1970), "Machismo: 40 Graves for 40 Guns" (1971), and "California Country" (1973). He was also producer of the films "Surfari" (1967), "Blow the Man Down" (1968), "All the Way Down" (1968), "Tropic of Scorpio: (1968), "The Pleasure Machines" (1969), "House of a Thousand Dreams" (1969), "The Toy Box" (1971), "Erika's Hot Summer" (1971), and Orson Welles' unfinished "The Other Side of the Wind" (1972), and was seen in small roles in "Four Kinds of Love" (1968), "Mantis in Lace" (aka "Lila") (1968), "The Scavengers" (1969), and "The Other Side of the Wind" (1972). He produced, directed, wrote, and was featured in the 1973 science fiction film "The Clones". He produced and directed the films "Home Grown" (1974) and "Woman in the Rain", and directed, scripted, and appeared in the 1977 western "The Great Gundown".

He was featured in the 1988 film "The 13th Floor", and produced, directed, and wrote the 1987 horror film "Twisted Nightmare". He produced "Demon Wind" in 1990, and produced, directed, and wrote 1993's "Merlin", and appeared onscreen as the Mayor. He was involved with David Carradine's film "Mata Hari", starring daughter Callista Carradine, which has been in production for over 25 years.

FRANCES BAY - Leading Character Actress

Actress Frances Bay, who began her acting career later in life in films and television, died in a Tarzana, California, hospital on September 15, 2011. She was 92.  She was born in Mannville, Canada, on January 23, 1919. She was an aspiring actress in her youth, and occassionally performed on the radio Winnipeg and Toronto. After marrying her childhood sweetheart, Charles Bay, she abandoned her acting career to raise a family in the United States. She rekindled her interest in acting while living in New York in the early 1970s. She became a familiar face in films and television after moving to Los Angeles later in the decade. She made her film debut as a sweet elderly lady in the 1978 comedy "Foul Play" with Goldie Hawn and Chevy Chase. She was featured in numerous films over the next thirty years, including "Chilly Scenes of Winter" (1979), "The Attic" (1980), "Double Exposure" (1983), "The Karate Kid" (1984), and "Nomads" (1986). She was featured as Aunt Barbara in David Lynch’s 1986 film "Blue Velvet", and became one of his repertory players, appearing in the film "Wild At Heart" (1990), and television’s "Twin Peaks" (1990) and the film sequel "Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me" (1992) as Mrs. Tremond.  Her other film credits include "Big Top Pee-wee" (1988), "Twins" (1988), "The Karate Kid, Part III" (1989), "Arachnophobia" (1990), "The Grifters" (1990), "The Pit and Pendulum" (1991), "Critters 3" (1991), "Single White Female" (1992), "Inside Monkey Zetterland" (1992), "The Paper Boy" (1994), John Carpenter’s "In the Mouth of Madness" (1994), "Happy Gilmore" (1996) as Adam Sandler’s Grandma, "Krippendorf’s Tribe" (1998), "Inspector Gadget" (1999), "Stranger Than Fiction" (2000), "The Movie Hero" (2003), "A Freudian Image" (2003), "The Red Scarf" (2006), "Ring Around the Rosie" (2006), "Repo Chick" (2009), and "Bare Knuckles" (2010). She was also seen in the tele-films "Topper" (1979), "Murder In Texas" (1981), "Second Sight: A Love Story" (1984), "Police Story: Monster Manor" (1988), "By Way of the Stars" (1992), "Brave Secrets: The Legacy of Hilltop Drive" (1992), "Rossini’s Ghost" (1996), "Annie’s Point" (2005), and "Oh, Baby" (2005). Her other television credits include episodes of "Hart to Hart", "Remington Steele", the "Faerie Tale Theatre" production of "Little Red Riding Hood" (1983) as Granny, "Happy Days" in the recuring role of Grandma Nussbaum, "Amazing Stories" as Mrs. Santa Clause in the episode "Santa ‘85", "Santa Barbara", "T.J. Hooker", "Alien Nation", "ALF", "Normal Life", "Equal Justice", "Tales From the Crypt", "Over My Dead Body", "Father Dowling Mysteries", "Hunter", "Quantum Leap", "Baby Talk", "Who’s the Boss?", "L.A. Law", "Middle Ages", "The X-Files", "Platypus Man", "The Marshal", "Murder, She Wrote", "Diagnosis Murder", "Seinfeld" as the elderly woman Jerry steals a loaf of marble rye from, "C-16: FBI", "Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction", "Da Vinci’s Inquest", "The Hughley’s" in the recurring roles of Mrs. Fitch, "ER", "Passions", "Charmed",  "Cavemen", and "Grey’s Anatomy". Bay also starred as Aunt Ginny in the comedy series "The Middle" from 2009 until 2011. Her right leg was amputated below the knee after being struck by a car in Glendale in 2002 but she continued her career after her recovery. She also was seen frequently on the local stage. Bay was widowed in 2002.

CLIFF ROBERTSON - Oscar-Winning Star of "Charley"

Academy Award winning actor Cliff Robertson died in a Long Island, New York, hospital on September 10, 2011. He was 88.  Robertson was born in Los Angeles on September 9, 1923, the heir to a ranching fortune. He was raised by his materal grandmother after his mother died when he was young. He served in the Merchant Marine during World War II, and attended Antioch College in Ohio after his discharge. He subsequently moved to New York City with aspirations to be a playwright, but soon found himself appearing on stage instead. He became a familiar face on early television, and was the star of the juvenile science fiction series "Rod Brown of the Rocket Rangers" from 1953 to 1954. He was also seen in episodes of "Hallmark Hall of Fame", "Kraft Theatre", "Wagon Train", "The Untouchables", "Playhouse 90", "Riverboat", "The Dick Powell Theatre", and "The United States Steel Hour". He made his film debut in 1955’s "Picnic" opposite Kim Novak. He was also featured in the films "Autumn Leaves" (1956), "The Girl Most Likely" (1958) opposite Jane Powell, the World War II drama "The Naked and the Dead" (1958), "Gidget" (1959) as the Big Kahuna with Sandra Dee, "Battle of the Coral Sea" (1959), "Underworld U.S.A." (1961), "The Interns" (1962), and "Sunday In New York" (1963). He starred in the 1957 Broadway production of Tennessee Williams’ "Orpheus Descending". He was chosen to play John F. Kennedy in the 1963 film version of the future president’s World War II heroics in "PT 109". He also starred in the films "The Best Man" (1964) as Sen. Joe Cantwell, "Masquerade" (1965), "Up From the Beach" (1965), "The Honey Pot" (1967), and "The Devil’s Brigade" (1968). He also continue to perform frequently on television with roles in the series "Outlaws", "Bus Stop", "Ben Casey", "Alcoa Premiere", "Twilight Zone" (in the episodes "The Dummy" and "A Hundred Yards Over the Rim"), "The Eleventh Hour", the pilot episode of "The Outer Limits" ("The Galaxy Being"), "The Greatest Show on Earth", "Suspense", "Breaking Point", "Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In", "Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre", and "Bracken’s World". He starred as western-themed Bat-villain Shame in several episodes of the "Batman" series in the mid 1960s. His role in a 1961 episode of "The United States Steel Hour" entitled "The Two Worlds of Charlie Gordon" earned him an Emmy nomination as a mentally disabled man who undergoes a surgical prodedure to increase his intellect. Robertson bought the rights to the story, based on Daniel Keyes’ "Flowers for Algernon", and starred in the 1968 film adaptation, "Charley", by Stirling Silliphant. He earned the Academy Award for his performance. He starred in Robert Aldrich’s "Too Late the Hero" in 1970, and produced, directed, wrote, and starred in the modern western rodeo film "J.W. Coop" in 1971. He was outlaw Cole Younger in 1972’s "The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid, and stunt pilot Ace Eli in "Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies" (1973). He also appeared in the films "Man on a Swing" (1974), "Out of Season" (1975), "Three Days of the Condor" (1975), "Shoot" (1976), "Midway" (1976) as Commander Carl Jessop, "Obsession" (1976), Brian De Palma’s thriller "Obsession" (1976), "The Little Prince" (1979) as the voice of the Pilot, "The Pilot" (1980) which he also directed, and the 1980 horror film "Dominique". He also starred in television productions of "The Man Without a Country" (1973) as Philip Nolan, "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" (1974), "Return to Earth" (1976) as Astronaut Buzz Aldrin, "Washington: Behind Closed Doors" (1977), "Overboard" (1978), and "Two of a Kind" (1982). Robertson precipitated a major scandal in Hollywood in 1977 after learning that a $10,000 check had been sent payable to him from Columbia Pictures for work he had not done, and had been deposited in another account with his forged signature. The subsequent exposure that Columbia head David Begelman had perpetrated the fraud against Robertson and several other individuals involved in the film industry, resulted in Begelman's conviction on charges of grand theft and forgery. Begelman received a minor fine and probabtion, but Robertson became victim of an unofficial blacklist by the studios because of his role in exposing the scandal.                  He starred on television as Dr. Michael Ransom on the prime-time soap opera "Falcon Crest" from 1983 to 1984, and returned to the films as Alex Terson in 1983’s science fiction film "Brainstorm", which starred Natalie Wood in her final role. Robertson’s other film credits include "Class" (1983), "Star 80" (1983) as Playboy founder Hugh Hefner in the tale of ill-fated Playmate Dorothy Stratten, starring Mariel Hemingway, "Shaker Run" (1986), "Malone" (1987), "Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken" (1991), "Wind" (1992), "Renaissance Man" (1994), John Carpenter’s "Escape from L.A." (1996) as the President, "Assignment Berlin" (1998), "Mach 2" (2001), "Falcon Down" (2001), "The 13th Child, Legend of the Jersey Devil" (2002) which he also wrote, and 2004’s adaptation of Stephen King’s "Riding the Bullet". His later television credits include the tele-films "The Key Rebecca" (1985), "Dreams of Gold: The Mel Fisher Story" (1986), "Ford: The Man and the Machine" (1987) as Henry Ford, "Dead Reckoning" (1990), and "Judith Krantz’s Dazzle" (1995). He was featured in an episode of 1999’s reboot of "The Outer Limits", and was Hal Malloy in the short-lived 2003 series "The Lyon’s Den". He became best known to a new generation as Ben Parker, the ill-fated uncle of soon-to-be super-hero Peter Parker (played by Toby Maguire) in Sam Raimi’s 2002 film adaptation of the comic book icon "Spider-Man". Despite perishing in the first film, he returned in the sequels "Spider-Man 2" (2004) and "Spider-Man 3" (2007) in flashback sequences. Robertson was married to actress Cynthia Stone from 1957 to 1960, and to actress and heiress Dina Merrill from 1966 to 1986.

ANDY WHITFIELD - Star of "Spartacus: Blood and Sand"

Welsh-born Australian actor Andy Whitfield, who starred in the Starz cable series "Spartacus: Blood and Sand", died of non-Hodgkin Lymphomia in Sydney, Australia, on September 11, 2011. Whitfield was born in Amlwch, Wales, in 1974, and settled in Australia in 1999. He worked as a fashion model, and also appeared on television in episodes of "All Saints", "The Strip", "Packed To The Rafters", and "McLeod’s Daughters". He starred in the 2007 film "Gabriel" and appeared in 2010’s "The Clinic". He starred in the cable series "Spartacus: Blood and Sand" for it’s first season in 2010. He was preparing to continue in the role of the gladiator hero when he was diagnosed cancer, and was replaced by Liam McIntyre.