RIP: Karl Malden (1912-2009)

Award-winning film & TV legend passes away peacefully at 97

BY EMIL TIEDEMANN

Legendary Oscar-winning screen and television star Karl Malden passed away from "natural causes" yesterday (July 1st) at his Brentwood, California home. He is survived by his wife of over 70 years, Mona, as well as two daughters, three grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. He was 97 years old.

Born Mladen George Sekulovich in Chicago, Illinois, the future film star was reared by a Czech actress for a mother and a Serbian father who was a steel mill worker, and who taught acting on the side. Malden caught the acting bug young, appearing in school plays, and then officially changed his name when he was 22.

After studying drama in college, Malden married actress Mona Greenberg in 1938, but not before he made his Broadway debut the year prior. Malden, who served as a non-commissioned officer during World War II, resumed his acting career in 1945, with roles in features like Boomerang (1947), The Gunfighter (1950) and Halls of Montezuma (1951).

Also during 1951 Malden got his big break when he landed a role in Elia Kazan's A Streetcar Named Desire, which earned him an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor. He was nominated for the same Oscar for his part in Kazan's 1954 epic On the Waterfront. But the prolific actor was also well-known for his TV roles, most notably as Lt. Mike Stone in The Streets of San Francisco (1972-77).

The one-time Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences president (1989-91) has collected various other awards and accolades throughout his six-decade career, including a 1985 Emmy for the Fatal Vision mini-series, the Screen Actors' Guild's Lifetime Achievement Award in '03, and a couple of honorary degrees (1985 and 2001).

In 1997 Malden published his autobiography, When Do I Start?, which he co-penned with daughter Carla. The former American Express spokesman's other films have included Baby Doll (1956), Pollyanna (1960), One-Eyed Jacks (1961), Birdman of Alcatraz (1962), How the West Was Won (1962), Gypsy (1962), Dead Ringer (1964), Hotel (1967), Patton (1970), Beyond the Poseidon Adventure (1979) and his last, Nuts (1987).

"I'm a workaholic. I love every movie I've been in, even the bad ones, every TV series, every play, because I love to work. It's what keeps me going."
-Karl Malden

RIP: Farrah Fawcett (1947-2009)

TV Angel & pin-up girl taken too soon

BY EMIL TIEDEMANN

One of the most iconic sex symbols of the last 35 years, Farrah Fawcett, lost her battle with cancer yesterday morning (Thursday, June 25) at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California, after being diagnosed with anal cancer three years earlier. Fawcett, who was 62-years-old at the time of her death, passed away on the same day Hollywood lost another legend, Michael Jackson.

Fawcett began chemotherapy soon after her diagnosis in 2006, and surgeries followed as well, until she was declared cancer free on her 60th birthday, just four months later. But, in May 2007 a doctor discovered a malignant polyp in the same area that the initial cancer had been found. She receieved various treatments in Germany and back home in L.A., but the cancer refused to retreat for good.

In April 2009 Fawcett was rushed to hospital in critical condition, as her cancer metastasized to her liver, which had the TV and film legend in and out of hospitals in L.A. and Germany. On May 15th NBC aired Farrah's Story, a 2-hour documentary that spotlighted the deteriorating actress in her final days. Earlier this month her off-and-on partner for the last 27 years, Ryan O'Neal (Love Story), asked Farrah for her hand in marriage. She said yes, but they were unable to make it to the alter.

Farrah Fawcett got her start in film by appearing in a small role in 1969's Love Is a Funny Thing, but not before she landed bit parts in TV commercials for Mercury Cougar, Ultra Brite, Noxema and Wella Balsam. She continued with an appearance in 1970's Myra Breckinridge, before she got the big break she needed.

In 1976 Fawcett became an overnight sensation with her cult-status role as private investigator Jill Munroe in the major hit ABC-TV series Charlie's Angels, alongside co-stars Kate Jackson and Jaclyn Smith. Fawcett was the stand-out star of the break-out show, winning a People's Choice Award as Favorite Performer in a New TV Program.

That same year Pro Arts Inc. approached the blonde bombshell and pitched an idea to have Fawcett pose in a one-piece red bathing suit for a pin-up poster (pictured left). The result was beyond anyone's expectations, as upwards of 12 million copies of the infamous poster were sold, making Fawcett one of the decade's most recognizable faces.

In addition to the series and the poster, Fawcett's signature hair style was getting unprecedented attention as well, becoming known as the "Farrah Do" or "Farrah Hair." Even to this day, the style is credited to the late actress.

In 1977, after just one season, Fawcett famously left Charlie's Angels, though much legal scrutiny ensued over contract obligations. In the end Fawcett was replaced by Cheryl Ladd, but continued making guest appearances on the show that made her an instant star. As a cast member she also landed on the cover of Time magazine.

After leaving Angels Fawcett starred in the controversial off-Broadway stage production Extremities (1983). She followed that up with a lead role in 1984's most-watched TV movie, The Burning Bed, for which she was nominated for Emmy and Golden Globe Awards for her portrayal of an abused housewife. It also helped shed her Angels image as an "all-American" pretty girl. Two years later, in 1986, she earned another Globe nod for her role in the film version of Extremities. Over the years Fawcett has also appeared in movies like The Cannonball Run (1981), Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story (1987), Small Sacrifices (1989), Man of the House (1995), The Apostle (1997), Dr. T & the Women (2000) and her final film, The Cookout (2004). She's also made countless appearances in numerous other TV shows.

Fawcett, who was married to fellow '70s TV star Lee Majors (The Six Million Dollar Man) from 1973 to 1982, had been romantically linked to O'Neal (pictured right) since 1982, and the couple welcomed son Redmond in 1985.

The TV icon has also had her share of controversy throughout the years, including physical abuse allegations within her kinship with O'Neal, posing nude for Playboy magazine in December 1995, and an infamous appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman in 1997, in which she appeared erratic and confused. Her son Redmond has also had his quarrels, and was in fact incarcenated at the time of his mother's death. According to reports, though, Redmond was able to speak with Farrah over the phone before she passed.

Rest in peace.

RIP: Michael Jackson (1958-2009)

Trailblazing & historical figure of pop culture is dead at 50

BY EMIL TIEDEMANN

As hard as it is to fathom, Michael Jackson--the rightful "King of Pop"--died today (Thursday, June 25) as a result of cardiac arrest, two months short of his 51st birthday. The iconic entertainer had collapsed at his Los Angeles residence at around noon (Pacific Time) today, and was rushed to UCLA Medical Center, where the pop legend was pronounced dead at 2:26 pm.

"Michael Jackson made culture accept a person of colour," remarked the Rev. Al Sharpton upon hearing the tragic news. "To say an 'icon' would only give these young people in Harlem a fraction of what he was. He was a historic figure that people will measure music and the industry by."

Just hours after Michael's untimely death his older brother Jermaine Jackson, 54, made a public statement in which he pleaded for privacy for himself and the rest of the infamous Jackson family, which includes sisters Janet & La Toya and other brothers Marlon, Jackie, Tito and Randy Jackson. Meanwhile, thousands of fans had gathered at the UCLA Medical Center, as well as at the late singer's home and even at the Apollo Theatre in New York, where Jackson and his brothers got their start back in the '60s.

Born August 29, 1958 in Gary, Indiana, Michael Joseph Jackson became a musical prodigy when, at age five, he began performing with his older brothers as The Jackson Five. The quintet, led by the young Michael, signed a recording contract with Motown Records in 1968, where they enjoyed hits like "I Want You Back" (1969), "ABC" (1970), "The Love You Save" (1970) and "I'll Be There" (1970), all No.1's.

By 1972 Michael had begun making records on his own with Motown, and even moonlighted as a part-time actor when he starred as the "Scarecrow" in Sidney Lumet's modest hit The Wiz (1978), a black variation of The Wizard of Oz that also featured Diana Ross, Lena Horne and Richard Pryor. Over his lengthy showbiz career Jackson had dabbled with acting via his classic music videos (most notably in the 13-minute, John Landis-directed "Thriller"), a guest voice appearance on The Simpsons (1991), a cameo in Men in Black II (2002), and mini-films Captain EO (1986) and Ghosts (1997).

In 1979 Michael broke new ground as a solo artist with the Quincy Jones-produced Off the Wall (Epic Records), which sold 20 million copies worldwide, won him his first of 14 Grammy Awards, and spawned five hit singles, including chart-toppers "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" and "Rock with You." In 2003 Rolling Stone magazine ranked it amongst the "500 Greatest Albums of All-Time," placing Off the Wall at No.68.

Jackson, a self-proclaimed prefectionist, returned in 1982 with what is considered to be the most commercially successful album in music history, the renowned Thriller. Again produced by Jones, Thriller sold in excess of 27 million copies in the U.S. alone, and upwards of 50 million around the world, birthing numerous major hits along the way, including "Beat It" (#1), "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" (#10), "The Girl Is Mine" (#2/ a duet with Paul McCartney), the title cut (#4) and the groundbreaking and infectious "Billie Jean" (#1). The legacy of Thriller also includes memorable music videos that changed the face of MTV forever, and a stunning Grammy sweep that saw the singer walk away with eight trophies. Thriller was reissued in 2001 and again last year.

Around the same time, in 1983, Jackson premiered his signature "moonwalk" dance move on the TV special Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever. The following year saw Jackson suffer second degree burns to his scalp during the filming of a Pepsi TV commercial, which led to a $1.5 million lawsuit and his long addiction with pain killers. During 1985 he was part of USA for Africa, a group of popular musicians who topped the charts (in 17 countries) with a song Jackson co-wrote, "We Are the World," which raised millions of dollars for aid to Africa.

Although Jackson's subsequent albums, Bad (1987) and Dangerous (1991), sold extremely well, they could not come close to the daunting triumph that was Thriller, despite lodging #1 smash hits in "Bad" (1987), "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" (1987), "The Way You Make Me Feel" (1987), "Dirty Diana" (1988), "Man in the Mirror" (1988) and "Black or White" (1991). Combined, Bad and Dangerous saw international sales of more than 60 million units.

Jackson, who published an autobiography in 1988 (Moon Walk), would also become a staple of the tabloids, as his personal trials and tribulations fed the pages of supermarket mags, including his countless plastic surgeries, gay accusations, a bizarre relationship with his pet monkey Bubbles, a brief affair with actress Brooke Sheilds, an eating disorder, supposed skin bleaching, and even claims that he slept in an oxygen chamber and had purchased the remains of the "Elephant Man."

But it all came to a boiling point in 1993 when a 13-year-old boy alleged that the pop superstar had sexually molested him at the singer's infamous Neverland Ranch in Santa Barbara, California. Later in the year Jackson underwent a "humiliating" strip search after a police warrant was issued in order to verify descriptions of Jackson's genitals, according to the young boy. The case was eventually settled out of court on New Year's Day 1994 for a reported $2 million.

Unfortunately, from this point on Jackson's eccentric and peculiar personal life overshadowed his music career (despite 1995's #1 hit "You Are Not Alone" and Janet Jackson duet "Scream"), as he made headlines for his short marriage to the daughter of Elvis Presley, Lisa Marie (1994-96), a second marriage to nurse Debbie Rowe (1996-99), and the births of his three children, Prince Michael (b. 1997), Paris Michael (1998) and Prince Michael II (2002). Known now as "Wacko Jacko," Jackson also had to deal with the "failure" of his anticipated comeback album Invincible (2001), which offered just one Top 10 hit, "You Rock My World."

Things somehow took a turn for the worse in 2003, when a candid Michael revealed too much in a British documentary titled Living with Michael Jackson, in which the reclusive performer admitted to sharing his bed with "many children," something he saw nothing wrong with. As part of a damage control campaign, Jackson released a "rebuttal video" that claimed doc host Martin Bashir lied, misled, and took things out of context for the interview. The documentary aired shortly after Jackson went under fire for dangling his newborn son from a balcony at a hotel in Berlin, Germany.

As of late Michael Jackson's name continued its drag through the mud, made worse with bizarre court appearances, various lawsuits, failed comeback attempts, and rumours that the former multi-millionaire was broke. Jackson, who was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame twice (1997 and 2001), was scheduled for another career comeback this July, as he was to perform for over 1 million fans over 50 sold-out concerts at London's O2 arena. Unfortunately, we will never get to see what this latest attempt to regain the spotlight would've resulted in. Rest in peace.

"People think they know me, but they don't. Not really. Actually, I am one of the loneliest people on this earth. I cry sometimes, because it hurts. It does. To be honest, I guess you could say that it hurts to be me."
-Michael Jackson

RIP: David Carradine (1936-2009)

Kung Fu, Kill Bill actor apparently took own life in Thailand

BY EMIL TIEDEMANN

Although unconfirmed, television, theatre and film legend David Carradine, 72, has committed suicide, found hanging in his luxury hotel room in central Bangkok, Thailand. Michael Turner, a spokeman for the U.S. embassy in Thailand, said the actor died either late Wednesday night or in the early morning of Thurday (June 3), though further details have not yet been provided.

The prolific thespian has appeared in more than 100 feature films over his lengthy career, but will be best remembered as Kwai Chang Caine in the '70s TV series Kung Fu (1972-75), as well as its popular spin-off series Kung Fu: The Legend Continues (1993-97) and a 1986 TV movie (Kung Fu: The Movie). He was also an expert in Tai chi and Qi Gong martial arts training.

Carradine, who recently returned to the spotlight in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill movies (2003 & 2004), is part of Hollywood royalty that includes his actor father John Carradine (The Hurricane), brother Bruce Carradine (Kung Fu), half-brothers Keith Carradine (Nashville) & Robert Carradine (Revenge of the Nerds), and neices Ever Carradine (Bubble Boy) and Martha Plimpton (The Goonies).

Also a Broadway performer, the Golden Globe-nominated actor (born John Arthur Carradine in Hollywood, California) studied drama at San Francisco State College and landed smaller roles before he changed his given name to David, to avoid confusion with his own father. In 1965 he won a Theatre World Award as Best Debut Performance for his role in Broadway's The Royal Hunt of the Sun.

In addition to the Kill Bill features, Carradine's filmography also includes Taggart (1964) (his first), The Violent Ones (1967), Boxcar Bertha (1972), Death Race 2000 (1975), Bound for Glory (1976), Q (1982), Bird on a Wire (1990), Epic Movie (2007), and his latest appearance, Crank: High Voltage (2009). He's also been featured in numerous other TV shows, including The Virginian (1964), Gunsmoke (1971), Airwolf (1984), Matlock (1987), Charmed (1999), Alias (2005) and Mental (2009).

Carradine, who had married five times, leaves behind daughters Calista and Kansas, son Tom, and widow Annie, whom he married on Boxing Day 2004. According to a police statement a maid of the Swissotel Nai Lert Park Hotel discovered Carradine hanging from a cord wrapped around his neck and body. He was in Thailand for the filming of a movie titled Stretch.

RIP: Mickey Carroll (1919-2009)

One-time actor leaves behind legendary legacy with Oz

BY EMIL TIEDEMANN

One of the last surviving movie "Munchkins," Mickey Carroll, died in his sleep at the Crestwood, Missouri home of his caretaker. He was 89.

Born Michael Finocchiaro in St. Louis, the 4'7" Italian actor became best-known as one of the famous "Munchkins" in the iconic 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, later claiming he earned $125 a week for his time on set.

Before he appeared in Oz (his only film), Carroll tried his hand at dance, comedy, and vaudeville, and even worked warming up crowds for former presidents Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman.

Carroll, who also appeared on radio with Mae West and in Phillip Morris ads, was honoured with six other surviving "Munchkins" with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in November 2007.

Besides West and Judy Garland, Carroll had also worked with George Burns, Gracie Allen, Al Jolson, and Jack Benny. He was not married and had no children.

RIP: Jim Hutchison (1934-2009)

Little-known Hawaiin-based actor dies in Honolulu

BY EMIL TIEDEMANN

England, Arkansas-reared actor/director Jim Hutchison, 75, died last Thursday (April 16) in Honolulu, Hawaii, where the late filmmaker was an important part of the arts community.

After winning various talent competitions in his home state, Hutchison decided to try to make it big in acting, moving to New York and landing parts in Broadway musicals like The Ziegfeld Follies, The Pajama Game, Kean, and Happy Hunting.

In 1965 he appeared as a dancer in Jim Henson's Oscar-nominated short film Time Piece, and then had an uncredited bit part in Gene Kelly's Oscar-winning classic feature film Hello, Dolly!, which starred Barbra Streisand and Walter Matthau.

When Hutchison left the continental U.S. to settle in Hawaii he found work appearing in episodes of TV shows like Magnum, P.I., Hawaii Five-O, and Jake & the Fatman. His final role was as Ernest Billings in the 1986 mini-series Blood & Orchids.

Hutchison, who is survived by a son and a daughter, also taught tap dancing in Honolulu, and served as the director for the city's Community Theater. In addition to wearing those hats, Hutchison was on the board of directors for the Honolulu City Ballet, served as the director for the Screen Actors Guild's Hawaii chapter, and worked as both a choreographer and director for various organizations of the Hawaiin capital.

RIP: Lee Madden (1926-2009)

Obscure director & writer's pneumonia leads to death

BY EMIL TIEDEMANN

At the age of 82, director-producer-writer Lee Madden died from complications of pneumonia last week (April 9), in Camarillo, California.

The Brooklyn native, who is survived by two children (Geraldine, David), reached the peak of his career with his feature film debut, Hell's Angels '69 (1969), which starred actual Hell's Angels from the Oakland chapter, including its then-president Sonny Barger.

Madden continued directing movies right into the late-'80s, including Angel Unchained (1970) (also wrote & produced), The Night God Screamed (1971), The Manhandlers (1975), Night Creature (1978) (also wrote & produced), and his final film Ghost Fever (1987). He was credited for the latter as "Alan Smithee."

In addition to the big screen, Madden also worked in television, directing episodes of The Most Deadly Game (1970), Bearcats! (1971), Cade's County (1972), and The New Perry Mason (1973), as well as TV commercials and industrial films.

Madden, who had initially pursued acting, formed his own production company, Lee Madden Associates, in 1978.

RIP: Shakti Samanta (1926-2009)

Legendary Bollywood filmmaker succumbs to heart problems

BY EMIL TIEDEMANN

One of the most sought-after Indian directors of the Bollywood film industry, Shakti Samanta, passed away at his home in Mumbai last Thursday (April 9), at the age of 83. The official cause of death was cardiac arrest, which he suffered while recovering from a stroke and a short illness.

The Calcutta University graduate (1944) had initially worked as a schoolteacher before he began pursuing acting in Hindi films, but ended up working as an assistant director to some of the top Indian directors, beginning in 1948.

In 1955 Samanta helmed his first feature film, Bahu, and followed that up with over 40 more up until 2002, including Inspector (1956), Howrah Bridge (1958), Kashmir Ki Kali (1964), An Evening in Paris (1967), The Great Gambler (1979), and his final film Devdas (2002).

Samanta, who established his own production company in 1957 (Shakti Films), also served as President of the Indian Motion Pictures Association, as well as Chairman for the Central Board of Film Certification and the Satyajit Ray Film & Television Institute in Kolkata. He's also accepted the Filmfare "Best Film" Award three times, for 1969's Aradhana, 1969's Anuraag, and 1975's Amanush.

RIP: Marilyn Chambers (1952-2009)

Famed porn star found dead in home at age 56

BY EMIL TIEDEMANN

Marilyn Chambers, one of the most well-known porn stars of the '70s, was found dead last Sunday (April 12) in her Santa Clarita, California mobile home, discovered by her 17-year-old daughter McKenna Taylor. Foul play has been ruled out.

The former exotic dancer was born Marilyn Ann Briggs in Providence, Rhode Island, and gained her first taste of fame modeling on a box of Ivory Snow soap, holding an infant that was once rumoured to be Brooke Sheilds. By 1970 she landed a bit part in Barbra Streisand's film The Owl and the Pussycat, billed as "Evelyn Lang."

In 1972 Chambers' career had peaked with her memorable starring role as "the all-American girl" in the Mitchell brothers' adult film Behind the Green Door, which is credited as the first hardcore porn to be widely released in the U.S. In the film Chambers has sex with African-American actor Johnny Keyes, at a time when interracial sex scenes were taboo.

Chambers appeared in more than 30 films during her lengthy career, including Together (1971), David Cronenberg's Rabid (1977), Insatiable (1980), My Therapist (1984), and her final picture, last year's Solitaire. She also penned an autobiography in 1975 (Marilyn Chambers: My Story), scored a disco-pop hit in 1976 ("Benihana"), and even ran for vice presidency in 2004, as a member of the Personal Choice Party.

Known for her versatility and trend-setting approaches (she was one of the first porn stars to shave her pubic hair or to bare a genital piercing!), Chambers earned a Lifetime Achievement FOXE Award in 2005. Five years earlier, in 2000, Tracy Hudson portrayed Chambers in Emilio Estevez's Rated X film, based on the Mitchell brothers.

Chambers leaves behind one daughter.

RIP: Jorge Preloran (1933-2009)

Argentina-born filmmaker Preloran dies at age 75

BY EMIL TIEDEMANN

Prolific Argentine film legend Jorge Preloran died late last month (March 28) in Los Angeles, after a decade-long battle with prostate cancer.

Preloran, who was exactly two months away from his 76th birthday when he passed, was born in Buenos Aires, where he began his journey into pioneering ethnobiographic film, which are documentaries about scientifically-explained human culture.

He left his homeland to study film at UCLA, graudating in 1961, and later became a prominent professor at the university's School of Theater, Film & Television, where he taught for nearly 20 years (1976-94).

Perhaps Preloran's greatest contribution to the art was 1969's Hermogenes Cayo (Imaginero), which he directed and co-wrote, and which was recently voted as one of the top 10 Argentine movies of all-time. Over the next decades Preloran directed more than a dozen other films, including Painted Hands (1971), The Pump (1978), and his final feature My Aunt Nora (1983), as well as the 7-part TV series Patagonia-In Search of Its Remote Past (1992).

Once invited to the White House by President Ronald Reagan, Preloran served as a Fulbright scholar during 1987, and again in '94, and was also honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award at Argentina's 2005 Mar del Plata Film Festival. Preloran, who retired by 1994, also recieved the first International Cinema Artist Award, just last year.

A feature documentary of Preloran's life and career is slated for a release later this year, titled Huellas y Memoria (Footsteps and Memory). He leaves behind a wife, Mabel.