FREDERICK E. SMITH - Author of "Devil Doll" (1964) & the 633 Squadron Series

British author Frederick E. Smith died of a heart attack in Bourneouth, England, on May 15, 2012.  He was 93.  His 1951 short story about a diabolical ventriloquist was adapted for the 1964 horror film "Devil Doll" starring Bryant Haliday.  Smith's experiences while serving in the Royal Air Force inspired his 1956 novel "633 Squadron", which was adapted for a film starring Cliff Robertson in 1964.  He later penned several spin-off from 1975's "Operation Rhine Maiden" through 2007's "Operation Safeguard".  He was the author of numerous other books including "Of Masks and Minds" (1954), "Laws Be Their Enemy" (1955), "Lydia Trendennis" (1957), "The Sin and the Sinners" (1958), "The Grotto of Tiberius" (1961), "The Other Cousin" (1962) and "Temptation Isle" under the pseudonym David Farrell, "The Devil Behind Me" (1962), "The Dark Cliffs" (1962), "The Storm Knight" (1966), "A Killing for the Hawks" (1966), "Strange Enemy" (1967) again as Farrell, "The Wider Sea of Love" (1969), the 1970 novelization of the film "Waterloo", "See How We Run" (1972), three novelizations of the television series "The Persuaders!" in 1972, "The Tormented" (1974), "Saffron's War" (1975), "Saffron's Army" (1977), "Saffron's Trials" (1996), "The War God" (1980), "The Obsession" (1984), "Rage of the Innocents" (1986), "A Meeting of Stars" (1987), "In Presence of my Foes" (1988), and "Years of the Fury" (1989). He published two volumes of memoirs, "A Youthful Absurdity" (2011) and "An Author's Absurdities" (2012).

JEROME ROSS - Television Writer - Way Out & The Outer Limits

Television writer Jerome Ross died on February 11, 2012. He was 101. Ross was born in New York City on February 10, 1911.  He became a leading writer in the early days of television, penning episodes of such series as “The Philco Television Playhouse”, “Mister Peepers”, “Robert Montgomery Presents”, “Medallion Theatre”, “The Star and the Story”, “Appointment with Adventure”, “Goodyear Television Playhouse”, “Matinee Theatre”, “The Ford Television Theatre”, “The Alcoa Hour”, “Studio One”, “General Electric Theater”, “Perry Mason”, “The Untouchables”, “Way Out” (the episode "20/20"), “Armstrong Circle Theatre”, “Naked City”, “The Defenders”, “Saints and Sinners”, “The DuPont Show of the Week”, “Breaking Point”, “The Outer Limits” ("The Man with the Power" episode starring Donald Pleasence), “Arrest and Trial”, “Kraft Suspense Theatre”, “Dr. Kildare”, “The Fugitive”, “Alfred Hitchcock Hour”, “The Bing Crosby Show”, “The Long, Hot Summer”, “Mission: Impossible”, “Felony Squad”, “Mannix”, “The Mod Squad”, “Hawaii 5-O”, “Marcus Welby, M.D.”, “The Paper Chase”, and “Young Maveick”. 

JAMES ISAAC - Director of "Friday the 13th"'s "Jason X" and "Pig Hunt"

Film director and visual effects supervisor James Isaac died of blood cancer on May 6, 2012, at age 51.  Isaac was born on June 5, 1960.  He began working in films in the early 1980s, helping create creatures for "Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi" (1984), "Gremlins" (1984), "Enemy Mine" (1985), "House II: The Second Story" (1987), and "DeepStar Six" (1989).  He worked on several films for director David Cronenberg including "The Fly" (1986), "Naked Lunch" (1991), and "eXistenz" (1999).  He was also a special effects supervisor for Chris Walas Inc. on the films "Look Who's Talking Too" (1990) and "Virtuosity" (1995).  He made his directorial debut with 1989's "The Horror Show" starring Lance Henriksen and Brion James.  He also helmed the 10th film in the "Friday the 13th" franchise, "Jason X", in 2001, and directed the horror films "Skinwalkers" (2006) and "Pig Hunt" (2008).

BRUCE HOWARD - Television Writer Who Scripted the U.S. Version of "King Kong vs. Godzilla"

Television writer Bruce Howard in Studio City, California, on January 30, 2012. He was 86.  Howard was born in Brooklyn, New York, on June 6, 1925.  He began his career as a stand-up comic, performing in the Catskills.  He began writing for television in the early 1960s, scripting many episodes of “The Red Skelton Hour”, which earned him an Emmy nomination.  He also wrote the U.S. version of the 1962 Japanese monster-mass “King Kong vs. Godzilla”.  He also penned cartoon segments for “Beetle Bailey” and “Snuffy Smith and Barney Google”.  He was a prolific television writer for the next 25 years, scripting episodes of “My Favorite Martian”, “Broadside”, “Valentine’s Day”, “The Lucy Show”, “McHale’s Navy”, “It’s About Time”, “Gilligan’s Island”, “The Beatles” cartoon series, “Good Morning, World”, “The Andy Griffith Show”, “The Flying Nun”, “The Mothers-In-Law”, “I Dream of Jeannie”, “The Doris Day Show”, “That Girl”, “Arnie”, “Love, American Style”, “The Brady Bunch”, “The Partners”, “Dusty’s Trail”, “The Jeffersons”, “One Day at a Time”, “What’s Happening!!”, “Alice”, “Good Times”, “The Love Boat”, “Too Close For Comfort”, “The Dukes of Hazzard”, “Trapper John, M.D.”, and “Punky Brewster”. 

JOEL GOLDSMITH - Film & TV Composer - from Star Trek to Stargate

 Film and television composer Joel Goldsmith died of cancer at his home in Hidden Hills, California, on April 29, 2012.  He was 54.  He was born in Los Angeles on November 19, 1957, the son of Oscar-winning composer Jerry Goldsmith.  He began his career working with Richard Band on the science fiction films "Laserblast" (1978) and "The Day Time Ended" (1980).  He scored Ulli Lommel's 1983 film "Olivia".  He worked with his father on several films including "Runaway" (1984), "Hoosiers" (1986), and "Star Trek: First Contact" (1996).  Goldsmith also scored the films "Island of Blood" (1982), "The Man with Two Brains" (1983), "Hollywood Hot Tubs" (1984), "Banzai Runner" (1987), "Watchers" (1988), "Moon 44" (1990), "The Rift" (1990), "Instant Karma" (1990), "Across the Tracks" (1991), "Blue Desert" (1991), "Ramona!" (1991), "Brotherhood of the Gun" (1991), "A Woman, Her Men, and Her Futon" (1992), "Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence" (1993), "Joshua Tree" (1993), "Shootfighter: Fight to the Death" (1993), "Little Miss Millions" (1993), "Man's Best Friend" (1993), "Bad Blood" (1994), "Midnight Man" (1995), "One Good Turn" (1996), "Shiloh" (1996), "Kull the Conqueror" (1997), "Shadow of Doubt" (1998), "American Dragons" (1998), "Shiloh 2: Shiloh Season" (1999), "Diamonds" (1999), "Thank Heaven" (2006), and "War of the Dead" (2011).  He composed for television's "H.E.L.P." (1990), "Super Force" (1991-1992), "The Untouchables" (1993-1994), "Hawkeye" (1994-1995), "Rattled" (1996), "Vampirella" (1996), "The Outer Limits" (1997), "Inferno" (1998), "Monster!" (1999), "Diagnosis Murder" (1998-1999), "Chameleon 3: Dark Angel" (2000), "At Any Cost" (2000), "Witchblade" (2000-2002), "Helen of Troy" (2003), "Haunting Sarah" (2005), "Fatal Desire" (2006), and "Sanctuary" (2008-2009).  Goldsmith was also the chief composer for the television series "Stargate SG-1", "Stargate: Atlantis", and "SGU Stargate Universe", and scored several video games including "Tom Clancy SSN" and "Tour of Duty 3".

RUTH FOSTER - Character Actress in 1966's "Cyborg 2087" and "Dimension 5"

Actress Ruth Foster, who was best known for her recurring role as Melinda Foster on the television series "Little House on the Prairie", died on May 12, 2012.  She was 92.  She was born on January 29, 1920.  She began her show business career as a child, performing as a dancer in traveling dance troupe.  She became a featured performer at with the Latin Quarter Show, and appeared on television in episodes of "Four Star Revue", "Ben Casey", and "Bonanza".  She also had small roles in the science fiction films "Cyborg 2087" (1966) with Michael Rennie and "Dimension 5" (1966) with Jeffrey Hunter.  She was featured in the recurring role of Melinda Foster on "Little House on the Praire" from 1974 to 1983, and in the subsequent tele-films "Little House: Bless All the Dear Children" (1984) and "Little House: The Last Farewell" (1984).  She was also seen in an episode of "Highway to Heaven" in 1989.

JOHN FABIAN - British Actor in Enemy from Space & The Haunted Strangler

British actor turned television production manager John Fabian died in England on April 11, 2012.  He was 84.  Fabian was born in Wolverhampton, England, on May 19, 1927.  He became involved in theater and began his career on stage in the late 1940s at Birmingham Rep.  He was also featured in the films “Trottie True” (1949), “The Spider and the Fly” (1949), “Appointment In London” (1953), “Passing Stranger” (1954), “The Night My Number Came Up” (1955), “The Cockleshell Heroes” (1955), “A Town Like Alice” (1956), and “A Question of Adultry” (1958).  He appeared in small roles in the science fiction & horror films “Enemy From Space” (aka “Quatermass II”) (1957), “The Haunted Strangler” (1958), and “First Man Into Space” (1959).  He was also seen on television productions of “The Boy With a Cart” (1951), “To Live In Peace” (1951), “Henry V” (1951), “The Barretts ofWimpole Street” (1951), “The Life and Death of King John” (1952), and “Cinderella” (1958).  His other television credits include episodes of “The Count of Monte Cristo”, “Assignment Foriegn Legion”, “White Hunter”, “Ivanhoe”, and “The Vise”.  Fabian moved behind the camaras, where he directed episodes of “Panorama”, “Dr. Finlay’s Casebook”, “Z-Cars”, “Compact”, and “The Newcomers”.  He became an assistant producer on the drama program “The Onedin Line” and was a production manager or associate producer on the series “Warship”, “The Bucceneer”, “Secret Army”, Juliet Bravo”, “Angels”, “Morgan’s Boy”, “Trainer”, and “Howards’ Way”.  He also worked on Dutch films, directing action sequences.  He retired from the BBC in 1987.

ERNIE CHAN - Conan Comic Book Artist

Filipino-American comic book artist Ernie Chan, who was best known for his work on Marvel's "Conan the Barbarian" series, died of cancer on May 16, 2012, at age 71. He was born in The Philippines on July 27, 1940. He began working in comics at Marvel in the early 1970s, and was soon inking for John Buscema on "Conan the Barbarian" and Sal Buscema on "The Incredible Hulk". Originally known as Ernie Chua, he also illustrated such titles as "Doctor Strange", "Kull the Destroyer", "Spectacular Spider-Man", "Master of Kung Fu", and "Power Man". He also worked at DC in the 1970s and 1980s, where he was co-creator of "Claw the Unconquered" in 1975. He was cover artist on numerous series and drew the "Batman" title for several years. He became a U.S. citizen in 1976 and reclaimed his family name, Ernie Chan. He later worked as an artist and designer for video games and animated productions including "The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest" in the mid-1990s. He largely retired in 2002, but had been involved in illustrating the adult-oriented webcomic "The Vat" in recent years.

RONAN O'CASEY - "Trollenberg Terror" star & Vanessa Redgrave's ill-fated lover in "Blowup"

Canadian-born actor Ronan O'Casey died in Los Angeles on April 12, 2012.  He was born in Montreal, Canada, on June 15, 1922, the son of poet Michael Casey and actress Margaret Sheehy.  He began performing on stage with his mother's theatrical company in Montreal as a child.  He continued his career as an actor in theatrical productions in Ireland and England, and was seen frequently in British films and television productions from the late 1940s.  O'Casey was featured in the films "Give Us This Day" (1949), "The Mudlark" (1950), "Escape by Night" (1953), "Three Steps to the Gallows" (1953), "Double Exposure" (1954), "Tonight's the Night" (1954), "Murder on Approval" (1955), "Tiger by the Tail" (1955), "1984" (1956) as Rutherford, "Reach for the Sky" (1956), "Satellite in the Sky" (1956), "Bitter Victory" (1957), "Blind Spot" (1958), "Inn for Trouble" (1960), "Blowup" (1966) as Vanessa Redgrave's murdered lover,

Dead - in Blowout

 "Feelings" (1976), and "The Double Exposure of Holly" (1976).  O'Casey appeared in television productions of "The Front Page" (1948), "Willie the Squouse" (1954), "The Voices" (1955), "The Trollenberg Terror" (1956) (which was filmed by Hammer several years later and released in the U.S. as "The Crawling Eye"), "Come Read Me a Riddle" (1956), "The Wooden Dish" (1957), "All My Sons" (1958), and "The Town Has Turned to Dust" (1960).  He was featured as Jeff Rogers in "The Larkins from 1958 to 1963, and was the Chief in "The New Forest Rustlers" in 1966.  O'Casey was associate producer for Terry Southern's 1969 comic fantasy "The Magic Christian", starring Ringo Starr and Peter Sellers.  He was married to actress Louie Ramsay from 1956 until 1979.  O'Casey moved to the United States the following year, where he married writer Carol Tavris,  He continued his acting career, appearing in the 1986 tele-film "Beverly Hills Madam", and in episodes of "Dallas", "The A-Team", "L.A. Law", "Shell Game", "Easy Street", "Hotel", "ABC Afterschool Specials", "Sledge Hammer!", "Santa Barbara", and "Falcon Crest".  His later film credits include "The Protector" (1985), "The Beverly Hillbillies" (1993), and "The Drop Off" (2007).