Linda Christian dead at 87

I just heard that actress Linda Christian, the true first Bond Girl, passed away last Friday, July 22, after a battle with cancer. (Christian appeared with Barry Nelson and Peter Lorre in the 1954 version of "Casino Royale," giving one of the best performances of her career.)

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Amy Winehouse dead at 27

I wouldn't know an Amy Winehouse song if it jumped up and bit me--I was only vaguely aware of her existence through entertainment feature headlines and Eminem mocking her in a song a year or two ago. But it's always a shame when someone young and apparently talented passes away... doubly so when it appears to be from something as avoidable as drug and alcohol abuse, something Winehouse did a lot of by all accounts.

It might also be that she was hounded to death by the cruelty of "fans"--her deterioration was chronicled on the Internet with posted videos and pictures.

A cause of death had not been announced at the time of this writing, but police stated she was pronounced dead at her home in Camden Square, having expired before the ambulance arrived on the scene.

The 27-year-old Winehouse was a five-time Grammy winner whose second album, "Back to Black", rocketed her and her mix of pop and jazz to global fame. The drugs, the drink, and a range of health and personal problems, cut that fame short.

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Gene Colan dead at 84

Legendary comic book artist Gene Colan has passed away from a broken hip and complication relating to liver disease. He was 84.

Colan had nearly 70 years of experience in the comic book industry and worked for nearly every noteworthy publisher. Achievements in his career include penciling every issue of "Tomb of Dracula" in the 1970s, as well as "The Curse of Dracula" and the "Tomb of Dracula" mini-series in the 1990s; multi-year, landmark stints on "Daredevil", "Iron Man", and "Doctor Strange" for Marvel Comics and "Detective Comics" and "Batman" for DC Comics. He also co-created the Falcon for Marvel, the first African-American superhero in mainstream comics, penciled most issues of the surreal humor title "Howard the Duck", and illustrated the landmark miniseries "Silver Blade".

Another giant has left us, and there is no one working today that can even come close to filling his shoes.

Colan's last published work appeared last year in "Captain America" #601. My personal favorite Colan work can be found in the first 60 or so issues of "Tomb of Dracula", his stint on the "Batman" titles and "Howard the Duck", and the obscure "Ragamuffins" series from Eclipse Comics.

For more samples of Colan's art, visit Joe Bloke's Grantbridge Street & Other Misadventures blog.

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Ryan Dunn dead at 34

"Jackass" star Ryan Dunn, who along with his cast mates made Americans cringe and snicker through vulgar stunts in their multimillion-dollar TV and movie franchise, was killed early Monday in a fiery car crash. He was 34.

Both Dunn and his passenger were severely burned. The passenger was identified late Monday as 30-year-old Zachary Hartwell. Dunn had been more easily identified based on his hair and tattoos.

Dunn's current series, "Proving Ground", had just debuted on the G4 network. The network has placed future episodes on hold while they determine the future of the series.

Dunn's final movie role saw him playing a slacker who returns from the dead as a playful and perverted ghost in "Living Will...". The film was completed in 2010, but has yet to find its way into wide distribution. Now, he might have a chance to make life (or the after-life, I suppose) imitate art.

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Mohammed has been sent to Hell!

Well, a Mohammed anyway. Every other terrorist and their mothers are named Mohammed, it seems.

Somali gov't: 1998 US Embassy blasts suspect dead

If your morally opposed to visiting www.breitbart.com, or too lazy to click on the link, here's a little background on today's dead terrorist:

The Mohammed in question--Fazul Abdullah Mohammed--was a major player in the only Muslim terrorist group to openly admit they're a bunch of self-hating homosexuals, namely Al-Shabab or "The Lads". He was also a high-ranking member of al-Qaeda, quite possibly the guy who test-drove the Sharmuts (Halal, Fatwa-approved, gay male prostitutes) for Osama bin Laden himself. His membership in NAMBLA (North African Man-Boy Love Association) is rumored, but it has yet to be confirmed.

Mohammed was reported on his way to a rave party with his long-time companion Ali Mohammed (no relation, other than carnal) when they were shot by Somali security forces.

(While I'm on the topic of honest terrorists, are there any others who so open advertise their mothers as whores than Ali Saed bin Ali El-Hoorie?)

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This post is presented in part to honor the Tennessee State Legislature and their valiant efforts to keep posts and images that cause "emotional distress" off the Internet. Legions of Mohammeds (both little and big ones, dead and alive) salute you!

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Jeffrey Catherine Jones dead at 67

Fantasy artist Jeffrey Catherine Jones passed away this morning after a battle with emphysema.

Jones worked in comics during the 1970s, illustrating tales for "Creepy", "Eerie", and Wonder Woman, but by the mid-1980s, he had moved onto painting and focused later in his career almost entirely on covers for sci-fi and fantasy books and movie posters.

Frank Frazetta once described Jones as "the greatest living painter."

Jones had essentially retired and had produced very little art in the past few years, and he has now have left us completely. But his artwork remains for us to enjoy.

To see more of Jones' work, click here to visit Grantbridge Street and Other Misadventures for a sampling of Jones' amazing comic book art (not be scared by the "adults only" notice; the Jones stuff isn't bad); and here to visit Golden Age Comic Book Stories for a gallery of Jones' early paintings.

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Cause for global celebration: Bin Laden Dead!

Newsflash: Osama bin Laden is taking Satan's cock up the ass as I type these words.

First, the main attraction: Officials: Bin Laden killed near Islamabad

Second, the after-party, with Americans celebrating and President Obama behaving like an actual American President for once: Bin Laden dead, Obama says justice is done

It's been reported before that Osama bin Laden has been killed, but never with this degree of detail. And as a special bonus, at least one of his foul off-spring were reportedly sent to Hell at the same time. This time, reports state that the bin Laden carcass is actually in U.S. possession.

What a great way to start my birthday week! It will be a great gift from the universe if it turns out there is a little less evil in the world today.

The trash finally got taken out.

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'Hub' Schlafly dead at 91

Hubert 'Hub' Schlafly, the co-creator of the teleprompter--a device that travels with U.S. President Obama everywhere--was buried today in Greenwich, Connecticut. He passed away on April 20 at the age of 91.

Click here for a brief obit from the AP.

Obama and his Teleprompter are in mourning today.

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Elizabeth Sladen dead at 63

Actress Elisabeth Sladen, best known for her role as Sarah Jane Smith on the "Doctor Who" television series has died. She was 63.

The BBC says the Liverpool-born Sladen died from cancer on Monday. Sladen starred co-starred as Doctor Who's sidekick opposite Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker in many fan favorite episodes of the classic BBC series from 1973 to 1976. More recently, she went on to star in spin-off specials and a four-season television series centered on her Doctor Who character, as well numerous other roles in made-for-television films and guest-shots on other series.

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Michael Gough dead at 94

Michael Gough, a British actor who appeared in more than 150 movies and television shows, died at his home in England on March 17. He was 94.

Gough is best remembered for his roles in some of Hammer Films' best gothic horror films, his appearances on the sci-fi series "Doctor Who", and for being the only constant element in the Batman films of the 1990s, where he portrayed Bruce Wayne's butler Alfred. (My personal favorite of Gough's role was that of Soviet spy-master Zorin in the 1991 mini-series "Sleepers".)

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Tura Satana dead at 75

Tura Satana, a busty exotic dancer and actress best known for her breakthrough role in "Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!" passed away on Friday, February 4. She was 75 (according to most sources, although her manager has stated she was 72).

Satana also appeared in the "Astro Zombies" trilogy, playing a succession of evil triplets, each of whom come to a bad end during the films' climaxes.

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John Barry dead at 77

British film composer John Barry, who won five Oscars and is best known for creating iconic music for the James Bond movies, has died of a heart attack, at the age of 77.

"I think James Bond would have been far less cool without John Barry holding his hand," film composer David Arnold wrote on Twitter upon hearing of Barry's passing

Barry is rightly regarded as being one of the greatest ever composers of incidental music – and individual songs – for movies. In addition to scoring 11 Bond films--including the groundbreaking music for "Goldfinger" and "Thunderball"--he created soundtracks for such diverse films as "The Ipcress File", "The Lion in Winter", "Midnight Cowboy", "King Kong", "Body Heat", "The Cotton Club", "Jagged Edge", "Chaplin", and dozens more.

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Blake Edwards dead at 88

Writer, director, and master of the screwball comedy Blake Edwards passed away Wednesday, December 15, in Santa Monica, CA. According to his publicist, Edwards died of complications from pneumonia. He was 88.

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Irvin Kershner dead at 87

Director Irvin Kershner, probably the last man employed by George Lucas to ever dare to disagree with him, and who together with writer Leigh Brackett can probably be given much of the credit with making "The Empire Strikes Back" the great movie that it was, passed away on November 29 in his Los Angeles home after a long illness. He was 87.

Born in Philadelphia in 1923, Kershner trained as a musician and in photography before entering the film business in 1950. He first made documentaries about the Middle East, but turned to feature films in the 1960s. He directed a total of 17 movies--among them"The Empire Strikes Back", "Never Say Never Again", "Robocop II" and "The Eyes of Laura Mars"--and around a dozen episodes of television series before retiring in 1997.

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Leslie Nielsen dead at 84

Leslie Nielsen, the handsome actor who started his screen career playing romantic leads and more serious-than-serious heroes, and ended as one of the most famous cinematic clowns, has died. He was 84.

Nielsen passed away Sunday, November 28, in a hospital near his Fort Lauderdale, Fla. home surrounded by his wife and close friends. He had reportedly been hospitalized for nearly two weeks prior to his death.

From the mid-1950s through the late 1970s, Nielsen portrayed perfectly straight-laced he-man characters, even when he appeared in comedies. With comedic hits "Airplane!" and "The Naked Gun", his career path took him nearly exclusively into the world of nonsense comedies and spoofs for three decades.

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Ingrid Pitt dead at 73

Ingrid Pitt, who in survived Nazi concentration camps and dodged East German secret police in her youth, and who went onto become an acclaimed actress appearing in films as diverse as "Where Eagles Dare" and "The House That Dripped Blood", has died. She was 73 years old.

According to the AP, Pitt's daugther, Steffanie Pitt, said that her mother collapsed while on her way to a birthday dinner to be held in her honor over the weekend. Pitt stated that her mother had been in poor health recently, but the cause of Tuesday's death hasn't yet been announced.

(Strangely, I had just yesterday slated Ingrid Pitt to be the Terror Titans Saturday Scream Queen selection for December 4. This isn't the sort of period I like putting at the end of those entries.)

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Dino De Laurentiis dead at 91

Prolific Italian film producer Dino De Laurentiis has passed away in Los Angeles at the age of 91. Entering the film business in 1941, he reportedly produced over 500 films, spanning almost every genre and budget level. Among his many movies are "Barbarella" and "Danger Diabolik"; the two Conan movies starring Arnold Schwarzenegger; and the Stephen King adaptations "The Dead Zone", "Cat's Eye", "Silver Bullet", "Maximum Overdrive", and "Sometimes They Come Back".

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Alexander Anderson Jr dead at 90

Alexander Anderson Jr., a pioneer television cartoonist who created  Dudley Doright, Crusader Rabbit, Rags the Tiger,  and two of TV's most enduring characters, Rocky and Bullwinkle, has died. He was 90.

Anderson,  who had Alzheimer's disease, died Friday at a rest home in Carmel, his son, Terry M. Anderson, told the "LA Times."

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Mike Esposito dead at 83

Mike Esposito, a comic book artist best known for his exceptional collaborations with fellow artist on "The Amazing Spider-Man" for Marvel Comics and "Wonder Woman" for DC Comics, died Sunday, October 24 at the age of 83.

Esposito was a prolific inker whose career in comics spanned close to four decades. He enhanced the pencils of just about every major artist you'd care mention during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, but it was his career-long pairing with Ross Andru that was the most fruitful for both artists. It is one of artdom's legendary pairings, and a case of two styles meshing perfectly to create a spectacular result.

 

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Roy Ward Baker dead at 93

British director Roy Ward Baker passed away in London on October 5, 2010. He was 93.

Baker started in the film industry as a tea boy at Gainsborough Studios, but he soon worked his way up to assistant director, contributing to the Hitchcock classic "The Lady Vanishes." He went onto direct many acclaimed and noteworthy pictures, including the epic tale of the Titanic, "A Night to Remember" and the first fusion of horror and martial arts "The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires".

Baker spent the latter half of his career working primarily in television, directing episodes of "The Avengers",
"Minder" and many other series. He also directed Peter Cushing in his final appearance as Sherlock Holmes in the made-for-television movie "The Masks of Death".

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