Pabst Brewing Company announced the end of the line for the 177-year-old Schlitz Beer, “the beer that made Milwaukee famous.” The beer company was started by August Krug in 1849, but bought out by Joseph Schlitz in 1858 when he married Krug's widow (!). Schlitz weathered Prohibition—barely—by switching to candy production, and fought with rival Anheuser-Busch as the country’s most popular beer by the mid-20th century. I am the original “Papa, what is beer?” girl—I have never

Voice actor Tom Kane, 64, died of a stroke on May 18. I know him from his work on the delightful Powerpuff Girls, in which he played the heroic Prof. Utonium and the villainous HIM. Kane also provided voices on a whole lotta stuff I have never seen: Star Wars: The Clone Wars 9, Wolverine and the X-Men, Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds, Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Kim Possible, The Angry Beavers, and The Wild Thornberrys. Oh w

Actress Ann Robinson, 96, died on Sept. 26 of last year, her family finally announced; Robinson was the female lead in 1953’s The War of the Worlds. She started her career in 1949 as a stunt double and extra; The War of the Worlds was her first major role. She never had as good a showcase, but kept working steadily in films and on TV through the mid-60s (Racket Squad, Bad for Each Other, Rocky Jones, Space Ranger, Dragnet, The Millionaire, Gun Duel in Durango, Perry Mason, Al

Everyone is going nertz about Marilyn Monroe’s upcoming centennial, but being Queen of the Dead, I am nodding toward all the high-profile deaths that happened in 1926. The most famous, of course, is Rudolph Valentino (there better be a clutch of Ladies in Black at his grave this year!). Among the others who popped their clogs (as my British friends would say) were performers Barbara La Marr, Annie Oakley, Zip the Pinhead, Harry Houdini, Billy Quirk, Alva Garbo (Greta’s actres

British film and TV actress Jill Curzon, 87, died in April, her family has announced. Curzon costarred in the 1966 movie Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D., also appearing in such films as Dr. Syn, Alias the Scarecrow, Smokescreen, and The Intelligence Men. On TV—both in the UK and US—she was seen in Hugh and I, The Saint, The World of Wooster, Adam Adamant Lives!, The Dick Emery Show, and It Takes a Thief. Pete Sims, who coauthored Curzon’s memoirs, said, “She was just a joy t

Former child actor Dennis Rush, 74, has died of leukemia, his family announced on May 14. Rush appeared in the films Man of a Thousand Faces (as James Cagney’s son), No Name on the Bullet, and Follow Me, Boys!, but he was much busier on TV. He had recurring roles on The Andy Griffith Show, as one of Opie’s pals (Rush recalled, “I got to be in eight episodes over about a two-and-a-half year period. It was just the best of the best”), and on Laramie and Wagon Train; he also did

British actor David Burke—Watson to Jeremy Brett’s Sherlock Holmes—has died, his family announced on May 14. He was 91. The Liverpool native was an RADA grad, and started his career onstage. He appeared in nearly 100 films and TV shows beginning in the early ’60s. Among his many vehicles were Reilly, Ace of Spies (as Stalin), The Avengers, Coronation Street (was everyone in that?), Dr. Finlay’s Casebook, Crown Court, The House of Eliott, Poirot, Casualty, Holby City, and that

Stage and screen actress Aleta Mitchell, 74, died on April 14. Mitchell played Dussie Mae in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom on Broadway, and appeared in Off-Broadway and regional productions of such plays Distracted, Ohio State Murders, and Intimate Apparel. She had roles in the films The Serpent and the Rainbow, Valmont, Malcolm X, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, and the upcoming Morning Into Night, and was on TV’s The Cosby Show, Law & Order, and The Equalizer. Her famil

Death Elves alert me that actress and comic scion Kitty Bruce, 70, has died after surgery for a knee replacement (so far the only confirmation I can find is on Facebook and Instagram, and I been done fooled before!). Kitty was the daughter of scandalous couple Lenny Bruce and Honey Harlow, and acted in the 1970s movies Switchblade Sisters and Andy Warhol’s aptly titled Bad. She was also a singer, opening for such acts as opening for acts such as George Carlin and Diana Ross.

British actor Alan Rothwell, 89, died on May 14. Rothwell costarred in the TV series Oliver Twist, Top Secret, Coronation Street (he was one of the original cast members), Brookside, Emmerdale Farm, Wilmot, Dead Man Weds, and Doctors, and did one-offs on many other series (he was Capt. Smith in the 2005 TV movie Titanic: Birth of a Legend). He also appeared in the films Linda, Nothing but the Best, Zeppelin, and Reunion. Rothwell was a presenter on the kids’ shows Picture Box

Actress, singer, and convicted killer Claudine Longet, 84, has died, her family announced on May 14. The native Parisienne married singer Andy Williams (from 1961-75), and with her move to to US, and was soon doing bits on TV (McHale’s Navy, Dr. Kildare, Hogan’s Heroes, Laugh-In, Alias Smith and Jones); she also frequently appeared on her husband’s variety show. She also had some success as a soft-pop singer. In 1976 Longet was found guilty of negligent homicide in the shooti

Comic, TV writer and producer John Barbour, 93, died on May 10. Born in Canada, he started his career as a stand-up comic eventually hosting radio shows in L.A. and Chicago. As an actor, he had small roles in Sanford and Son, The Governor and JJ, Get Smart, Ironside, The Odd Couple, and Laugh-In. He produced and directed two JFK assassination documentaries and a documentary on Ernie Kovacs, as well as hosting the pilot for The Gong Show, which he found beneath him, forcing Ch

Big tough-guy character actor Donald Gibb, 71, died on May 12. He played Ogre in three Revenge of the Nerds movies, also appearing in two Bloodsport movies with Jean-Claude Van Damme. He played football with the San Diego Chargers before turning to acting, and his distinctive looks got him roles on such movies and TV shows as Stripes, Conan the Barbarian, The A-Team, Magnum PI, Amazon Women on the Moon, Night Court, Quantum Leap, Cheers, The X-Files, Seinfeld, Murphy Brown, D

Screenwriter Barry W. Blaustein, 71, died of pancreatic cancer on May 12. He started his career working for Mike Douglas; Blaustein befriended Eddie Murphy while writing for Saturday Night Live in the early ‘80s, penning his hilarious Buckwheat, Gumby, Velvet Jones, and Mr. Robinson sketches. With his frequent writing partner David Sheffield, Blaustein wrote the Murphy vehicles Coming to America, Boomerang, and two Nutty Professor films, as well as contributing to four Police

American actor Jack Taylor, best known for his European films, died at the age of 99, it was announced on May 12. He started his career on American TV, but by the late 1950s had moved to Spain, where he found success in such films as Succubus, Count Dracula, Eugenie… The Story of Her Journey into Perversion, Female Vampire, and Pieces. He also appeared in such US and international films as Cleopatra (“If you blink, you will not see me, but I am there, acting as a Greek slave

Film critic and sometimes actor Rex Reed, 87, died on May 12. Reed wrote for the The New York Observer, the New York Daily News, and the New York Post, as well as penning such gossipy books as Do You Sleep in the Nude?, Conversations in the Raw, People Are Crazy Here, and Valentines & Vitriol. Reed was known for his particularly bitchy, insulting reviews (he’s the one who started the “Marisa Tomei didn’t really win an Oscar” rumor), so when he attempted to act, in the appalli

TV commercial writer and director Joe Sedelmaier, 92, died on May 8. Working at at Young & Rubicam and J. Walter Thompson, Sedelmaier was the brain behind Wendy’s “Where’s the Beef?!” ad, and the Fed-Ex “fast-talking guy” (the stars of which were Clara Peller and John Moschitta, Jr., respectively). The Wendy’s “Russian Fashion Show” was another spot that always made me laugh (though I must add, neither the fashion show nor Clara Peller got me to actually eat at Wendy’s). His

Stage and TV actress Jennifer Harmon, 82, died on May 9. Harmon—not related to the other Acting Harmons—appeared more than a dozen times on Broadway, in You Can’t Take It with You, The School for Scandal, The Wild Duck, The Cherry Orchard, The Sisters Rosensweig, The Dinner Party, and Dividing the Estate, among other shows. She had continuing roles in One Life to Live and How to Survive a Marriage, and did one-offs in Barnaby Jones, Dallas, St. Elsewhere, Oz, and The Good Wif

British actor Michael Pennington, 82, died on May 10. He was best-known to film fans as Moff Jerjerrod in Return of the Jedi and The Empire Strikes Back, but much of his career was spent onstage. Pennington was a regular with the Royal Shakespeare Company, touring throughout the UK and playing on the West End, in both Shakespeare and the moderns (he also starred as Shakespeare in the one-man show Sweet William, and co-founded the English Shakespeare Company). He also appeared

Scottish actress Claire Nielson, 89, died on April 26. A graduate of the Royal Scottish Academy of Dramatic Art, she played many roles onstage, including a helping of Shakespeare. Nielson’s obits are doing nip-ups over her role as an American guest on Fawlty Towers, but I remember her as one of Rose’s suffragists on Upstairs, Downstairs. She was very busy on TV, having recurring roles on Redgauntlet, Ghost Squad, The Revenue Men, The Prior Commitment, The Scobie Men, The Brot