It’s finally true: as he once told John Lennon, Peter Fonda knows what it’s like to be dead. The actor, best known for his counter-culture hero role in “Easy Rider” (1969), passed away last week at 79. His death was attributed to lung cancer, not a gunshot to the stomach. That was an accidental wound
I don’t think any character has made me laugh harder on television than Artie on The Larry Sanders Show. Torn’s face was a caricaturist’s dream, flashing between wild anger, numbing indifference and forced sunshine. He was a one man Norman Rockwell gallery of exaggerated American expression. Arte was the perfect marriage of actor and part.
Veteran character actor Sean McCann’s busy career spanned six decades in Canadian television. He passed away last week in Toronto at 83. The actor was starring with Jayne Eastwood in the children’s series Noddy when I interviewed him in 1998. The ambitious and entertaining TVOntario/BBC production boasted a toy-strewn set, with Katie Boland among the
Normally I don’t post obits unless I have my own story to tell about an encounter with the deceased, be it through a one-on-one interview or press tour appearance. Unfortunately, I never met Doris Day, but always appreciated her triple-threat talent, especially as a singer and actress. The award-winning star and long time animal rights
Peter Tork just took that last train to Clarksville. The performer, who died Thursday in Connecticut from complications from cancer, is another of those deaths that causes children of the ’60s to put down their burgers and fries and reach for the metamucil. The so-called “court jester” of The Monkees was 77. Not as cute
In 1997, I met Ken Berry at one of those Hollywood Collector’s shows. That’s where fans line up to get autographs from some of their favourite former TV stars. Berry, an always affable TV presence, died Saturday in Burbank, Calif. He was 85. The Illinois native was a familiar face throughout the ’60s and ’70s
James Karen is one of those actors whose face you recognize even of you don’t know his name. If “Actor whose name I don’t know” was something you could look up, Karen’s face and name would likely be on the other end of a search. He played a lot of nameless guys, including Larry’s silver-haired
Comedian Mike MacDonald’s death at 62 on March 17 wasn’t totally unexpected. He suffered from serious health problems in recent years, at one point requiring a liver transplant. Still, his passing was decades premature and jolting for me personally because it stirred memories of shared comedy club stages way back in the day. I had the good fortune to catch