Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Final Credits: Actors and Filmmakers Who've Died in 2011

Anne Francis (Jan. 2, 80): appeared in the science fiction classic, Forbidden Planet, teen drama Blackboard Jungle and two episodes of the original Twilight Zone series.

Elizabeth Taylor (March 23, 79): Screen icon's credits included Giant and National Velvet. Taylor won two Oscars for best actress in a leading role (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Butterfield 8). She was nominated three consecutive years (1958-1960) for Raintree Country, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Suddenly, Last Summer.

Sidney Lumet (April 9, 86): Acclaimed director's credits include 12 Angry Men (1957) and Dog Day Afternoon (1975).

William Campbell (April 28, 87): Actor co-starred with Elvis Presley in Love Me Tender and Star Trek episode, The Trouble with Tribbles.

Jackie Cooper (May 3, 88): Earned an Oscar nomination for best actor for his performance in The Champ. Appeared as crusty newspaper editor Perry White in Superman films with Christopher Reeve.

Bill Hunter (May 21, 71): Australian actor appeared in Strictly Ballroom and Finding Nemo. Cooper won a best supporting actor award from Australian Film Institute for Gallipoli

Harry Redmond (May 23, 101): American special effects pioneer's credits included King Kong, The Princess and the Pirate and The Magnetic Monster. He worked on King Kong with his father, Harry, Sr.

Jeff Conaway (May 27, 60): American actor co-starred in Grease with John Travolta and appeared in The Eagle Has Landed with heavyweights Robert Duvall, Michael Caine and Donald Sutherland.

James Arness (June 3, 88): Portrayed Matt Dillion in long-running television series, Gunsmoke. He was also The Thing in The Thing from Another World.

Paul Massie (June 8, 78): Canadian actor's credits included Orders to Kill with Eddie Albert and Lillian Gish, The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll with Christopher Lee and the crime drama Sapphire.

Laura Ziskin (June 12, 61): Produced all three Spider-Man films with director Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire.

Ryan Dunn (June 20, 34): Appeared in three Jackass films.

Peter Falk (June 23, 83): Earned lasting fame for his starring role in television's Columbo. Falk's film credits included The Princess Bride (Special Edition), Robin and the 7 Hoods and The Great Muppet Caper.

Edith Follows (June 26, 88): Child star co-starred with Bing Crosby in Pennies From Heaven. Follows made her debut in 1929 short, Movie Night, and appeared in Jane Eyre five years later.

Anna Massey (July 3, 73): British actress appeared in The Machinist with Christian Bale, Alfred Hitchcock's Frenzy and The Importance of Being Earnest with Colin Firth and Rupert Everett.

Gordon Tootoosis (July 5, 69): Canadian aboriginal actor appeared in Black Robe, Legends of the Fall and Pocahontas.

Polly Platt (July 27, 72): Producer (Bottle Rocket), production designer (The Bad News Bears and costume designer (Target Harry).

John Wood (Aug. 11, 81): British actor appeared in The Purple Rose of Cairo, Heartburn and Shadowlands.

Jimmy Sangster (Aug. 19, 83): Wrote scripts, including The Curse of Frankenstein, and Dracula, for Hammer Films.

Sybil Jason (Aug. 23, 83): Child actor appeared in about 20 films, including The Little Princess and The Singing Kid, between 1935 and 1940.

Rosel Zech (Aug. 31, 69): German actress starred in German director Rainer Werner Fassbinder's Veronika Voss.

George Kuchar (Sept. 6, 69): Avant-garde/underground filmmaker directed more than 200 films, many of them shorts, including Arizona Byways, The Flakes of Winter and The Litter Box.

Mary Fickett (Sept. 8): Long-time soap star (All My Children) made her big-screen debut in Man on Fire with Bing Crosby in 1957.

Cliff Robertson (Sept. 10, 88): Actor won a best actor Oscar for Charly. He also appeared in Gidget, PT 109 and Spider-Man films with director Sam Raimi.

John Calley (Sept. 13, 81): Producer credits included The Remains of the Day and The Cincinnati Kid.

Frances Bay (Sept. 15, 92): Made her film debut in Foul Play (1978). Also appeared in The Karate Kid, Part III, Big Top Pee-Wee and three episodes of television's Seinfeld, including The Rye in 1996.

Tom Daly (Sept. 18, 93): Filmmaker with National Film Board of Canada. His credits included Circle of the Sun and In the Labyrinth.

David Zelag Goodman (Sept. 26, 81): Earned an Oscar nomination for screenplay for Lovers and Other Strangers (1970). Other credits include Logan's Run, Man, Woman and Child and Straw Dogs.

Doris Belack (Oct. 4, 85): American actress had roles in Tootsie, What About Bob?, *Batteries Not Included and Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult.

Barbara Kent (Oct. 13, 103): Canadian actress made her debut in Flesh and the Devil. She also appeared in Oliver Twist and Indiscreet.

Liviu Ciulei (Oct. 25, 88): Romanian director received best director award at Cannes Film Festival in 1965 for Padurea Spanzuratilor, or Forest of the Hanged.

Gilbert Cates (Oct. 31, 77): Produced a record 14 Oscar telecastsl. Directing credits included I Never Sang for My Father and Oh, God! Book II.

Dulcie Gray (Nov. 15, 95): British actress appeared in Wanted for Murder and Mine Own Executioner.

Karl Kosiczky (Nov. 15, 93): Achieved lasting fame as Munchkin Herald No. 1 in The Wizard of Oz. The Czech native also starred in Terror of Tiny Town.

John Nelville (Nov. 19, 86): British actor had starring role in The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. Appeared in eight episodes of The X Files as The Well-Manicured Man.

Harold Hopkins (Dec. 11, 67): Australian actor appeared in Gallipoli and Don's Party.

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