ROBERT CARTLAND - British Actor in Doctor Who in the 1960s

British character actor Robert Cartland died on July 14, 2011. He was 89.  He was born in Hackney, England, in 1922. He began his career on stage in the late 1940s, and was featured in the 1948 film "A Gunman Has Escaped. He was best known for his roles on television in such episodes as "Dead Giveaway", "Maigret", "Legend of Death", "Doomwatch", "The Adventurer", "Whodunnit?", "Great Mysteries", "Spy Trap", and "Convington Cross".  Cartland was the voice of Rill in the 1965 William Hartnell "Doctor Who" serial "Galaxy 4", and was Malpha, a Dalek ally, in the subsequent one-off, "Mission to the Unknown".  Cartland was also featured in the 1983 film "The Ploughman’s Lunch" and the 1984 television production "Squaring the Circle".

NORMA EVERHARDT - Leading Lady of 1958's "The Return of Dracula"

Actress Norma Everhardt, who was best known as the leading lady in the 1958 horror film "The Return of Dracula", died of a stroke in a New York City hospital on September 16, 2011. She was 82.  Everhardt was born in Oakhurst, New Jersey, in 1929. She began her career as a model while in her teens with John Robert Powers. She relocated to Hollywood in 1951, where she was soon appearing in films and television. She was featured in small roles in the films "Sailor Beware" (1952) and "Jumping Jacks" (1952). She was featured in 1953’s "Problem Girl", before marrying French actor Claude Dauphin in 1955. She subsequently starred in the cult classics "Live Fast, Die Young" (1958) and "The Return of Dracula" (aka "Curse of Dracula") (1958) as Rachel Mayberry, opposite Francis Lederer as the Vampire Count. Everhardt was also seen on television in episodes of "Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok", "Captain Gallant of the Foriegn Legion", "Whirlybirds", "Telephone Time", "State Trooper", "Dragnet", "The Lawless Years", "The Best of the Post", and "Hogan’s Heroes". She largely retired from the screen in the 1960 and remained married to Dauphin until his death in 1978.

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.