Eve's Obits

"People are dying who never died before!"

Actress Christa Lang , 82, died on Jan. 30 at her Los Angeles home. Born in Germany, she moved to France and was soon acting in such films as Alphaville, Circle of Love, Le Scandal e, and Code Name: Tiger . In the US, Lang had small or supporting roles in Peter Bogdanovich’s What’s Up, Doc?, At Long Last Love , and Nickelodeon . In 1967 Lang married director Samuel Fuller (he died in 1997; their daughter Samantha Fuller is an actress). She continued to work sporadically, most

Nigerian singer Ifunanya Nwangene , 26, died on Jan. 29, when she was bitten by a snake while sleeping in her Abuja apartment. She was rushed to the hospital, but doctors could not find the right antivenin to save her (a cobra  was later found in her apartment!). Nwangene sang as NANYAH on her YouTube channel, was a member of the AMEMUSO choir, and had just recently appeared on the Nigerian version of The Voice .   Ifunanya Nwangene singing “Right Now” https://www.youtube.com

Three Dog Night founder Chuck Negron , 83, died on Feb. 2. The native New Yorker was a street singer when Danny Hutton invited Negron and Cory Wells to found Three Dog Night in 1967. Through the’70s, Negron was the lead singer on such hits as "One,” "Easy to Be Hard,” "Joy to the World,” "An Old Fashioned Love Song,” "Pieces of April,” "The Show Must Go On,” and "Til the World Ends.” After the band broke up in 1976, Negron suffered through a drug phase, finally getting clean

Actress Elyse Donalson , 78, died on Jan. 28. The Texas native began acting in L.A. in the early ’80s, and was seen in small roles in the movie Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers , and in such TV shows as St. Elsewhere , The X-Files , Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, Chicago Hope , The Practice  and Beverly Hills, 90210 . Donalson was last seen onscreen in 2004.

Film and theater writer Harry Haun , 85, died on Feb. 2. Haun wrote for Playbill  (he had “On the Aisle” and “Theatregoer’s Notebook” columns), the New York Daily News , the New York Observer , the Village Voice , and the New York Sun , among other publications; he also wrote The Movie Quote Book and The Cinematic Century: An Intimate Diary of America’s Affair with the Movies . Haun told interviewer Suzanna Bowling, “What I’ve done I have loved. I have gone to Broadway and Of

Here I am still in mourning over Campbell’s green pea soup, when Coca-Cola (which owns Minute Maid ) announces that they are discontinuing their frozen lemonade, limeaid, orange juice, pink lemonade, and raspberry lemonade in both the US and Canada. "We are discontinuing our frozen products and exiting the frozen can category,” the Juice Lady announced. “With the juice category growing strongly, we're focusing on products that better match what our consumers want." I suppose

Israeli actress and dancer Tal Berkovich , 41, died in a car accident on Jan. 29 (she and her brother were en route to their mother’s birthday—her brother is in cirtitcal condition). Berkovich began her career as a dancer, in the Israeli ballet and the Bat-Dor Dance Company, then moved to London and L.A., where she appeared in such TV shows and movies as Payday, Widows, Sprout, Don’t Forget Me, Perfect , and DisGraced . Her most recent product was in the cooking show Game of

Producer and director Woody King, Jr ., 88, died on Jan. 29. Known as “the Renaissance Man of Black Theater,” King was the founding director of the New Federal Theater in New York, which (since 1970), showcased black playwrights and performers. King wrote theater criticism and opened the Concept-East Theater in Detroit, moving to New York in the 1960s. In addition to the New Federal Theater, he also founded the The National Black Touring Circuit. Last year, King to interviewe

Demond Wilson , who played Redd Foxx’s long-suffering son Lamont on Sanford and Son , died on Jan. 30. He was 79. Wilson started his career as a child actor onstage, and served in the 4th Infantry Division in Vietnam. He was a rising young actor ( Mission: Impossible , All in the Family , The Organization ) when cast in Sanford and Son . The big, handsome Wilson, with his impressive ‘70s pornstache, played straight man to such comic greats as Foxx (who called him “Dummy,” at

Delightful comic actress Catherine O’Hara , 71, died on Jan. 30. O’Hara first came to fame on the sketch-comedy show SCTV , in the 1970s. She went on to deliver fey, hilarious performances in such movies as After Hours, Beetlejuice, Betsy’s Wedding, Home Alone, Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show , and For Your Consideration (I cannot stand those improv films), and in the sitcom Schitt’s Creek . The Toronto-born O’Hara was the sister of singer-songwriter, actress and composer

TV chef and consumer affairs reporter Peter Napolitano , known as Produce Pete, or Pete Your Produce Pal, died on Jan. 26. He was 80. Known throughout the East Coast, Napolitano appeared for decades on WNBC and WCAU, offering friendly, chatty advice on cooking—and buying—food. He also did commercial for Pathmark, and ran his family’s farmer’s market. The New Jersey native advised, “buy produce when it’s plentiful and cheap in the supermarket because that reflects that it’s in

Blonde starlet Yvonne Lime  ( High School Hellcats, I Was a Teenage Werewolf ), 90, died on Jan. 23. Lime was spotted while acting at the Pasadena Playhouse, and began appearing on TV ( December Bride, The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, Dragnet, December Bride, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis ). Her first movie was the big-budget (though low-quality) The Rainmaker , but she soon found herself cast in the delightfully lurid B-films that become her legacy: the two above-nam

Singer Guy Hovis , 84, died on Jan. 22. Hovis (and no, I don’t think he was related to Larry Hovis) was born and raised in Mississippi, and got his first break on Art Linkletter’s House Party  show, in 1967. He went on to become a regular on The Lawrence Welk Show , and appeared on such talk and game shows as Tattletales, The Mike Douglas Show , and Beat the Clock , as well as numerous Lawrence Welk specials and reunions. He often performed with his first wife, Ralna English.

Italian actor Carlo Cecchi , 86, died on Jan. 23. Cecchi was well known as a stage actor and director, especially in Florence. From the 1960s through the 2010s, he also appeared in numerous films and TV shows, including some that were seen in the US: Le Mans, Stealing Beauty, The Red Violin, Silk, Martin Eden, Death of a Neapolitan Mathematician, Honey . Cecchi stayed active onstage, and was last seen in 2025 in The Legend of the Holy Drinker , by Joseph Roth.

New Jersey TV personality Floyd Vivino , who hosted The Uncle Floyd Show  (1974–98), died on Jan. 22. He was 74. Vivino was the brother of musicians Jerry and Jimmy Vivino (who played with Conan O’Brien’s house band) and actress Donna Vivino. Uncle Floyd  was one of those “kids like it, but there’s grown-up stuff in there, too” shows, on various broadcast and cable TV networks, proving very popular (when I was growing up in Phila., the kid’s shows Sally Starr, Gene London an

Busy TV director Bruce Bilson , 97, died on Jan. 16. Starting as assistant director on The Andy Griffith Show , he went on to helm episodes of Life with Lucy, Get Smart (for which he won an Emmy), The Patty Duke Show, Please Don’t Eat the Daisies, Gidget, That Girl, Bewitched, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Sanford and Son, Hogan’s Heroes, The Brady Bunch, The Doris Day Show, The Odd Couple, Love American Style, B.J. and the Bear, Barney Miller, The Fall Guy, Hotel, Dallas , and

Scottish actor Donald Douglas , 92, died on Jan. 14. He played Mr. Darcy’s father in the Bridget Jones  films, costarred in the TV series Rob Roy, Moonstrike, The Newcomers, Middlemarch, War & Peace , the 1970s Poldark (as Capt. McNeil), Couples, Jackanory (as the storyteller), and Take the High Road , and appeared in countless other movies and TV shows. Onstage, he costarred with Diana Rigg on the West End and Broadway in Medea , and played in regional theaters around the

Australian actress Patsy King , who played prison governor Erica Davidson on TV’s Prisoner: Cell Block H , died on Jan. 19. She was 95. King was also a mainstay onstage, appearing in such plays as Victoria Regina , The Miser , Blithe Spirit , Absurd Person Singular , Half a Sixpence , Love Letters , The   Four Poster , and just about everything that Shakespeare ever wrote. Besides her five-year run in Prisoner , King costarred in such series as Homicide, The Box, and the soap

Italian fashion designer Valentino Clemente Ludovico Garavani , 93, died in Rome on Jan. 19. Known for his elegant (if sometimes glitzy) gowns, he was named after Rudolph Valentino, and started his career as a sketch artist and designer for several houses. He opened his own house in 1959, and dressed such fashion icons as Elizabeth Taylor, Diana Vreeland, Jacqueline Kennedy, Jacqueline de Ribes, and Babe Paley. He and his partner (business and romantic) Giancarlo Giammetti ra

Animation director Roger Allers , 76, died on Jan. 17. Allers directed (or co-directed) the animated films The Lion King, Open Season, The Prophet , and The Little Matchgirl . Allers started his career doing background, character design and animation for Dirty Duck, Rock & Rule, The Mind’s Eye , and 1989’s Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland . He worked his way up at Disney as storyboard artist on The Little Mermaid , The Prince and the Pauper , The Rescuers Down Under , a

Former actress Kianna Underwood , 33, was struck by as many as three cars and dragged for several blocks while crossing a street in Brooklyn on Jan. 16. No arrests have yet been made. Underwood is best known for playing Fuchsia on Nickelodeon’s series Little Bill  (1999-2004). She also appeared in The 24-Hour Woman, Santa Baby!, and on the sketch-comedy show All That . Onstage, she toured as Little Inez in Hairspray . Underwood left the show business around 2005 and pretty m

Brazilian actress and model Vera Valdez , 89, died on Jan. 14. Born in Rio de Janeiro, she became a top model in Paris in the 1950s, walking the runways for Schiaparelli, Dior, and that Nazi whore Coco Chanel. She returned to Brazil, where she worked as a costume designer for Louis Malle, acted onstage (primarily with the Teatro Oficina), and appeared in such films as Sol Alegra, Quebranto, The Grandmother , and Tia Virgínia  (her last film, in 2023). According to Publico , V

British teen actress Vera Frances , 95, died on Jan. 7. The daughter of a prop and special effects man for Gainsborough Pictures, she made her debut at 12 in comic Arthur Askey’s 1942 film Back-Room Boy . Frances became a favorite of Askey’s, touring with him in stage shows and appearing in his film King Arthur Was a Gentleman  (also 1942). Vera was also seen with George Formby in Get Cracking  (probably the only leading lady the formidable Mrs. Formby wasn’t jealous of), and

Yet another British actor gone: Marcus Gilbert , 67, died of cancer on Jan. 11. Gilbert was a founder member of the Odyssey Theatre Company, which toured schools throughout London. He also acted with the Dundee Repertory Theatre and the Library Theatre, in Manchester. He ran the company, Touch the Sky Productions, and was seen in many commercials, most notably for Lee Jeans. The tall, handsome actor appeared in such films and TV shows as Dr. Who, Biggles: Adventures in Time,

Successful but controversial cartoonist Scott Adams  ( Dilbert ) died of cancer on Jan. 13. He was 68. While working as an office drone, Adams created Dilbert  in 1989—the strip was a smart, funny look at the horrors of office work, which most of us could identify with. The strip was carried by some 800 newspapers, released in collection form, and inspired a terrible TV show. He wrote several books, including the best-selling Dilbert Principle , and hosted the online talk sho

Lots of British people dying lately! Today it’s comic actress and singer Sheila Bernette , who died on Jan. 12, age 94. Bernette was a regular on the comedy/sketch shows The Black and White Minstrel Show  (which ran till 1978 and was just as horrifying as you think it was), The Saturday Crowd , the British version of Candid Camera  (never liked that show, it just struck me as mean), and The Good Old Days ; she also had continuing roles in the shows Coronation Street  and Hote

British actor Trevor a Toussaint (sometimes billed as Trevor A. Toussaint ) died on Jan. 11. He was 65. He costarred in the soap Hollyoaks , as the father of two of the leading characters, appearing on the show from 2018-22. Toussaint was also seen in such films and TV shows as Death in Paradise, Nine Nights, Sulfur and White , and Dreaming Whilst Black . His Hollyoaks costar Kéllé Bryan wrote that “He wore his waist-length dreads with pride for over 10 year’s fighting again

Erich von Däniken , author of the chuckle-headed best-seller Chariots of the Gods?,  died on Jan. 10. He was 90. The Swiss-born von Däniken wrote Chariots of the Gods?  while working as a hotel manager in Davos (he served a year in jail for embezzling from the hotel, and wrote his second book, Gods from Outer Space , while in stir). Chariots was rewritten by a former Nazi author, and became a surprise hit amongst the nincompoop crowd. Von Däniken claimed that ancient peoples

British stuntman turned actor Derek Martin , 92, died on Jan. 10. Martin is best known for playing patriarch Charley Slater on EastEnders , till he was axed in 2016, in an attempt to bring more youth to the show (“youthanizing it?”). Born in London and possessing a marketable cockney accent, Martin worked as a stuntman till a broken collarbone convinced him to seque into acting. He appeared in over 100 movies and TV shows, including recurring roles in It’s Square World, Adam

Singer, songwriter and guitarist Bob Weir —a founder of The Grateful Dead—died on Jan. 10. He was 78. He met Jerry Garcia in 1963, and they formed the Dead two years later, along with Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann, and Ron "Pigpen" McKernan. How to describe the band? Not being a Deadhead, I will leave that to whomever wrote their Wikipedia entry: “Known for their eclectic style that fused elements of blues, jazz, folk, country, bluegrass, rock and roll, gospel, reggae, and world

Actor Thomas Kent (“T.K.”) Carter , 69, died at his Calif. home on Jan. 9. Carter had good (mostly comic) supporting roles in The Thing, Good Times, Corvette Summer, The Jeffersons, Seems Like Old Times, Southern Comfort, Dr. Detroit, Runaway Train, Amazon Women on the Moon, A Rage in Harlem, Moesha , and The Nanny ; he also had continuing roles on TV’s Punky Brewster, Just Our Luck, Jem, Good Morning Miss Bliss, The Sinbad Show, The Corner, Dave, and The Company You Keep . C

British actress turned director Tina Packer , 87, has died, her family announced on Jan. 10. Packer began her career as an actress, most famously costarring in the 1966 mini-series David Copperfield  (she was Dora to Ian McKellen’s David). She was also seen in films and on TV in Dr. Who, The Avengers, No Hiding Place, Boy Meets Girl, Crime of Passion , and a handful of other vehicles. But she left acting for directing in the 1970s, moving to the US and forming Shakespeare & C

Historian Mark Masek , 68, died on Dec. 31. A former L.A. Times reporter, he was the author of numerous cemetery guidebooks (including Hollywood Remains to Be Seen: A Guide to the Movie Stars' Final Homes ), and wrote and spoke about the kind of stuff I count as a guilty pleasure: celebrity graves and disaster sites (as well as the LAPD End of Watch project, documenting the memorials for officers killed in the line of duty). I’ll let our mutual friend Scott Michaels take it

1960s TV and movie actor Roger Ewing , 83, died on Dec. 18. Ewing is best remembered as Thad Greenwood on Gunsmoke —he was hired to scare James Arness into signing up for more seasons, and after that was summarily dumped from the show (he was seen in 52 episodes, from 1965-67). The tall, blond L.A. native was also seen in the films Ensign Pulver, None but the Brave, Smith!,  and Play It as It Lays , and on TV in The Mothers-in-Law, Bewitched, The Baileys of Balboa, Rawhide ,

Boyishly cute character actor Richard Dimitri , 83, died on Dec. 18. Dimitri is best known as twins Bertram and Renaldo on TV’s When Things Were Rotten , and for Johnny Dangerously . Dimitri (also billed as Dmitri) appeared on Broadway in Zorba, The Guide , and Lysistrata , and also worked as a stand-up comic. In films and on TV, Dimitri played in Th e World’s Greatest Lover , Starsky & Hutch , Welcome Back Kotter , Hawaii Five-O , Tracey Takes On …,  and Hearts Afire . He pr

Broadway actor John Cunningham , 93, died on Jan. 6. Between 1963 and 2002, Cunningham appeared on Broadway in such shows as Hot Spot  (the second veteran of that doomed show to die recently), Cabaret  (as Cliff, replacing Bert Convy), Zorba, 1776, Company  (as Peter, and replacing Dean Jones as Bobby), California Suite, The Sisters Rosensweig, Titanic , and Anything Goes , among others. He also turned up on the big and small screens in Another World, Search for Tomorrow, Mat

Stage, screen and TV actress Marcia Rodd , 87, died on Dec. 27. The Kansas-born Rodd moved to New York in the 1960s, and appeared in such on- and off-Broadway shows as The Mad Show,   Oh, What a Lovely War , Love in E Flat , The Last of the Red Hot Lovers , I’m Not Rappaport , and Shelter . Rodd had Jessica Walter/Elizabeth Ashley sharp, dark good looks, and found much work on TV: she was the original Carol to Bea Arthur’s Maude , also showing up on Medical Center , Phyllis ,

“Little Rascals curse,” my eye and Betty Martin— Sidney Kibrick , who played Woim in 20-some Little Rascals  (aka Our Gang ) shorts, died at the age of 97 on Jan. 3. Kibrick made his debut in 1933’s Out All Night , starring ZaSu Pitts and Slim Summerville; besides his many Little Rascals films, he also appeared in The Bowery, Kid Millions, The Great O’Malley, Nothing Sacred, The Affairs of Annabel, Jesse James , and Little Men . Kibrick told interviewer Nick Thomas, “I was Bu

Bodybuilder and actress Jayne Trcka , 62, died on Dec. 12. No cause of death has yet been determined. Trcka was a competitive bodybuilder and trainer; she also paid the rent by working as a Realtor. She made her film debut as the insultingly named gym teacher Miss Mann in 2000’s Scary Movie  (she turns out to be a trans Nazi—Jesus Christ , people), and from then on pretty much was cast as a human punchline, in such films and TV shows as The Black Magic, Cattle Call, Hot Packa

Playwright Robert Heide , 91, died on Dec. 17.  Beginning in the mid-1960s, he wrote numerous Off-Off-Broadway plays, including Hector, West of the Moon, Why Tuesday Never has a Blue Monday, At War with the Mongols, Suburban Tremens,  and Crisis of Identity ; his The Bed  was filmed by Andy Warhol. As a writer, Heide became the Henri Murger of the new Bohemians of 1960s-70s Greenwich Village, writing books and articles on the playwrights, novelists, artists, performers, and c

Character actor Jon Korkes , 80, died on Jan. 3. Korkes got his start Off-Broadway in Jules Feiffer’s Little Murders , and appeared on the Main Stem in Unlikely Heroes, Conversations with My Father , and The Penny Wars . He was ubiquitous on the big and small screens, in All in the Family, Maude, The Front Page, The Day of the Dolphin, Two-Minute Warning, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Getting Away with Murder, Starsky & Hutch, Riding in Cars with Boys, Catch-22, The Larry Sander

Actor Bret Hanna-Shuford , 46, died of cancer on Jan. 3. He appeared on Broadway in Beauty and the Beast, Wicked, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Little Mermaid , and Amazing Grace , among other shows. His films and TV shows include The Wolf of Wall Street, Law & Order , and Only Murders in the Building . Hanna-Shuford recalled that “I fell in love with movie musicals before I even hit kindergarten. When I was five, my mom took me to our local library to see a performance by The

British actor Gregory de Polnay  (Det. Sgt. Brewer on TV’s Dixon of Dock Green ) died on Jan. 1. He was 82. The son of novelist Peter de Polnay, Gregory was popular onstage as well as in radio, TV and films; he worked as a voice and acting coach, and worked on the West End and with the Royal Shakespeare Company. He was Director of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art Shakespeare Certificate Scheme, and directed many Jacobean and Restoration plays for RADA. Besides his most famou

Comedian and actor John Mulrooney , 67, died on Dec. 29. The Brooklyn-born Mulrooney started his career as a radio announcer and host, and beginning in the late 1970s was showing up at Comic Strip Live, the Improv, the Laugh Factory, and Dangerfield’s. He guest-hosted several talk shows, and briefly replaced Joan Rivers when she was fired from The Late Show . He also acted in such films and TV shows as Ryder P.I., 1st and Ten, Ellen, Midtown North, The Good Life, Hardball , a

British-born Australian actor Tim Robertson , 81, will die tomorrow (well, the obit notices say he died on Jan. 2, which it already is  in Australia!). Born in Essex, he moved to Australia in 1952, where he taught acting, and directed several shows. Robertson began appearing on TV and in movies in the 1970s, starring in 1976 mini-series Power Without Glory , and Peter Weir’s horror/comedy film The Cars That Ate Paris . His other notable vehicles included the sketch-comedy ser

Australian actress Candy Raymond , 75, died on Jan. 1 in Sydney. Raymond played small roles in films and TV till getting her big break in 1973, in the soap Number 96 , which involved some shocking onscreen nudity on her part. She also had continuing roles in Class of ’74 , the sketch-comedy show The Norman Gunston Show, Prisoner , and Cornflakes for Tea . Her films included Alvin Rides Again, Don's Party, The Getting of Wisdom, Money Movers, The Journalist, Freedom , and Monk

Dancer, choreographer, and actress Carmen de Lavallade , 94, died on Dec. 29. A cousin of ballet dancer Janet Collins, de Lavallade grew up in L.A., and danced with Lester Horton’s and Alvin Ailey’s companies. De Lavallade appeared on Broadway in Hot Spot  (Judy Holliday’s last, doomed show), House of Flowers , and A Streetcar Named Desire , and in numerous Off-Broadway shows. She also acted and/or danced in such movies and TV shows as Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and

Fashion designer and socialite Jacqueline, Comtesse de Ribes , died on Dec. 30. She was 96. Born in Paris to the Comte de Beaumont, she married Édouard, Comte de Ribes, in 1948. She designed clothing beginning in the 1950s, and soon both show-biz royalty and real royalty were her customers (de Ribes signed an exclusive contract with Saks in 1985). She also produced French TV shows, and was manager at the International Ballet of the Marquis de Cuevas, and supported several mus

Actor Isiah Whitlock, Jr.,  who played Senator Davis in The Wire , died “after a short illness” on Dec. 30. He was 71. Whitlock made his debut in 1981 and was continually busy thereafter. He appeared in the Spike Lee films She’s Gotta Have It, Red Hook Summer , She Hate Me, Chi-Rag,  and Da 5 Bloods , as well as the films Goodfellas , Pieces of April , 1408 , Enchanted , Cedar Rapids , Pete’s Dragon , Cars 3,  and The Old Man & the Gun , and on TV in The Good Cop , Veep , Cha

“Artist” Cecilia Giménez , 94, creator of Monkey Jesus, died on Dec. 29. The church volunteer in Borja, Spain, became (in)famous in 2012 when she “restored” a deteriorating 1930 fresco of Jesus (titled Ecce Homo , painted by Elías García Martínez). The result was a fall-down-laughing funny monkey-like painting, which first brought fury and insults, but which quickly became a beloved tourist attraction. "The priest knew it. I've never tried to do anything hidden,” Giménez defe