Died Today

Died Today (September 11th): Jessica Tandy

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jessicatandy.jpgHappy Birthday actor Jessica Tandy (1909–1994)

Born: Jessie Alice Tandy
June 7, 1909 in Stoke Newington, London, England, UK

Died: September 11, 1994 (age 85) in Easton, Connecticut, USA

OSCAR Winner for Best Actress (Driving Miss Daisy)

Married to: Hume Cronyn (27 September 1942 – 11 September 1994) (her death) (2 children)
Jack Hawkins (22 October 1932 – 2 January 1940) (divorced) (1 child)

QUOTES:

[joking reference to her husband, Hume Cronyn] When he’s late for dinner, I know he’s either having an affair or is lying dead in the street, I always hope it’s the street.

I must say, if I had known at the beginning of my life that this is where I would get to, I would have said, “Not possible. Not possible.”

I’m most comfortable on the stage. Because of the nature of film and television, you’ll very often do the climactic scene on the first day and the other parts weeks later. It’s hard to remember exactly what state you were in. It’s easier when you start at the beginning and go through to the end. Any new project, new play, new film, you’re really starting from square one every time. You can’t be sure enough of yourself to say, “Well, this is just a piece of cake.” It’s not like that at all — not for me.

Died Today (September 9th): Burgess Meredith (1907–1997)

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burgessmeredith.jpgBurgess Meredith (1907–1997)

Born: November 16, 1907 in Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Died: September 9, 1997 (age 89) in Malibu, California, USA

Married:
Kaja Sundsten (8 January 1951 – 9 September 1997) (his death) (2 children)
Paulette Goddard (21 May 1944 – 8 June 1949) (divorced)
Margaret Perry (10 January 1936 – 19 July 1938) (divorced)
Helen Derby Berrien (1932 – 20 August 1935) (divorced)

[on his childhood] All my life, to this day, the memory of my childhood remains grim and incoherent. If I close my eyes and think back, I see little except violence and fear. In those early years, I somehow came to understand I would have to draw from within myself whatever emotional resources I needed to go wherever I was headed. As a result, for years, I became a boy who lived almost totally within himself.

Advise and Consent
1962
dir. Otto Preminger
starring
Henry Fonda
Meridith		 Batman 1966Batman
1966
dir. by Leslie H. Martinson
starring
Adam West
Burt Ward
ROCKYRocky
1976
dir. John G Avildsen
starring
Sylvestor Stallone
Tia Shire
Burt Young		 Burnt OfferingsBurnt Offerings
1976
dir. by Dan Curtis
starring
Karen Black
Oliver Reed
Rocky II
1979
dir. Sylvestor Stallone
starring
Sylvestor Stallone
Carl Weathers		 ROCKY IIIRocky III
1982
dir. Sylvestor Stallone
starring
Sylvestor Stallone
Talia Shire
Mr. T
SANTA CLAUSSanta Claus
1985
dir. Jeannot Szwarc
Starring
Dudley Moore
John Lithgow		 ROCKY VRocky V
1990
dir. John G Avildsen
starring
Sylvestor Stallone
Tommy Morrison
MOVIE POSTERGRUMPY OLD MEN
1993
dir. Donald Petrie
Stars:
Jack Lemmon
Walter Matthau

THE HINDENBURG
1975
dir. Robert Wise
Starring:
George C. Scott
Anne Bancroft

Died Today (September 8th): Zero Mostel (1915–1977)

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zeromostel.jpgZero Mostel (1915–1977)

Born: February 28, 1915 in Brooklyn, New York, USA
Died: September 8, 1977 (age 62) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Married to:
Kathryn Harkin (2 July 1944 – 8 September 1977) (his death) (2 children)

[Commenting on Jim Henson’s Muppets:] “He has the best possible actors. If you have a disagreement with them, you can always use them to wash your car.”

If people know your name, you’re famous. If they only know your face, it doesn’t count. It’s the name. One reason I became Zero was so if I accomplished only a middle level of fame, I still wouldn’t be a zero. If you know my name, how can I be a zero? Smart, huh?

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
1966
dir. Ricard Lester
Starring
Mostel
THE PRODUCERSThe Producers
1968
dir. Mel Brooks
starring
Gene Wilder
Mostel
Watership Down
1978
dir. Martin Rosen
Starring
John Hurt
Richard Briers
Best BoyBest Boy
1979
dir. Ira Wohl
Cast
Mostel
Philip Wohl

Died Today (September 8th): Dorothy Dandridge (1922–1965)

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dorothydandridge.jpgDorothy Dandridge (1922–1965)

Born: November 9, 1922 in Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Died: September 8, 1965 (age 42) in West Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

It [prejudice] is such a waste. It makes you logy and half-alive. It gives you nothing. It takes away.

If I were white, I could capture the world.

CARMEN JONESCARMEN JONES
1954
dir. Otto Preminger
Starring:
Harry Belafonte
Dorothy Dandridge

 

Died Today (September 7th): Keith Moon

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keithmoon.jpgKeith Moon (1946–1978)

Born: August 23, 1946 in Wembley, London, England, UK
Died: September 7, 1978 (age 32) in London, England, UK

With a flair for theatrical and ridiculous behaviour, he was the centre point and self-publicist for, if they liked it or not, The Who.

I love to see people laugh and I love it more if I can make them laugh. I think this comes across in my drumming. I watch a lot of The Marx Brothers’ movies and they were doing the same sort of things. You’ve seen the way [Chico Marx] plays the piano with that certain flair . . . adding something to the music while taking liberties within his own capabilities? It’s a question of taking somebody else’s music but not sending it up in a derogative sense, just injecting your own personality. [Pete Townshend]’s music allows me to do this.

Died Today (September 6th): Akira Kurosawa (1910–1998)

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akirakurosawa.jpgAkira Kurosawa (1910–1998)

Born: March 23, 1910 in Tokyo, Japan
Died: September 6, 1998 (age 88) in Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan

Married tO:
Yôko Yaguchi (21 May 1945 – 1 February 1985) (her death) (2 children)

With a good script, a good director can produce a masterpiece. With the same script, a mediocre director can produce a passable film. But with a bad script even a good director can’t possibly make a good film. For truly cinematic expression, the camera and the microphone must be able to cross both fire and water. The script must be something that has the power to do this.

SUGATA SANSHIROSugata Sanshiro
1943
dir. Kurosawa
Cast
Denjirô Ôkôchi
Susumu Fujita		 STRAY DOGStray Dog
1949
dir. Kurosawa
starring
Toshirô Mifune
Takashi Shimura
RASHOMONRashomon
1950
dir. Akira Kurosawa
Starring
Toshirô Mifune
Machiko Kyô
IKIRUIKiru
1952
dir. Kurosawa
Starring
Takashi Shimura
Shinichi Himori
SEVEN SAMURAISeven Samurai
1954
dir. Akira Kurosawa
Starring
Takashi Shimura
Toshirô Mifune		 YOJIMBOYojimbo
1961
dir. Akira Kurosawa
starring
Toshirô Mifune
Tatsuya Nakadai

Of all the director’s on this list, none except Kubrick were as skilled at as many different types of films. He’s well remembered for his samurai films, but he was just as skilled at crime stories, dramas and even comedy.

Though “The Seven Samurai” and his other samurai films are probably the most well known, his influence among filmmakers and their films was far more wide ranging, from western and adventure directors to surrealists like Fellini. Other directors on the list were as practiced in pure cinema storytelling, but no one else was quite as good at it. Besides unifying certain techniques that we take for granted now–like slow motion, weather for atmosphere, and the frequent use of long lenses–he told stories through images in a way no one else could ever quite match. Which is probably why so many different types of filmmakers have found so much to be inspired in by him.

Died Today (September 4th): Joan Rivers

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joanrivers.jpgJoan Rivers (1933–2014)

Born: June 8, 1933 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA
Died: September 4, 2014 (age 81) in East Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Married to:
Edgar Rosenberg (15 July 1965 – 14 August 1987) (his death) (1 child)

[on her idea of a perfect childbirth experience] Knock me out with the first pain, and wake me up when the hairdresser arrives.

I’m in nobody’s circle, I’ve always been an outsider. I don’t have those wonderful dinners with Woody, I’ve never been asked by Jay. And it makes you sad, because I think it would be wonderful to sit and talk about things that very few people understand. But I’m very competitive, and I’m sure they feel that. I’m jealous of that little slut Paris Hilton. Why? I’m very competitive. And I think that’s what has kept me going. I’m not gracious.

Died Today (September 3rd): Frank Capra

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frankcapra.jpg Frank Capra

Born: Francesco Rosario Capra

May 18, 1897 in Bisacquino, Sicily, Italy

Died: September 3, 1991 (age 94) in La Quinta, California, USA

Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream, it takes over as the number one hormone; it bosses the enzymes; directs the pineal gland; plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to film is more film.

The Strong Man
1926
dir. Capra
Starring
Harry Langdon
Priscilla Bonner		 LONG PANTSLong Pants
1927
dir. Capra
Starring
Harry Langdon
Gladys Brockwell
PLATINUM BLONDEPlatinum Blonde
1931
dir. Frank Capra
starring
Loretta Young
Jean Harlow		 It Happened One NightIt Happened One Night
1934
dir. Capra
starring
Clark Gable
Claudette Colbert
MOVIE POSTERIT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE
1946
dir. Frank Capra
Stars:
James Stewart
Donna Reed

Died Today (September 3rd): Michael Clarke Duncan (1957–2012)

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michaelclarkeduncan.jpgMichael Clarke Duncan (1957–2012)

Born: December 10, 1957 in Chicago, Illinois, USA
Died: September 3, 2012 (age 54) in Los Angeles, California, USA

After suffering a heart attack on July 13, 2012, he was taken to a Los Angeles hospital in which his girlfriend Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth tried to save his life with CPR. Unfortunately, on September 3, 2012, Michael Clarke Duncan died at age 54 from respiratory failure.

[on The Green Mile (1999)] I think the toughest scene for me to film was the two dead girls, simply because I had a lot of crying to do, a lot of howling to do, and it really drained me.

PLANET OF THE APES
2001
dir. Tim Burton
Starring:
Mark Wahlberg
Tim Roth		 THE GREEN MILEThe Green Mile
1999
dir. Frank Darabont
Starring
Hanks
Michael Clarke Duncan
Kung Fu PandaKung Fu Panda
2008
Directed by Mark Osborne
John Stevenson
Voices by
Angelina Jolie
Dustin Hoffman		 ARMAGEDDONArmageddon
1998
dir. Michael Bay
Starring
Bruce Willis
Liv Tyler
Affleck
GREEN LANTERN
dir. Martin Campbell
Stars:
Ryan Reynolds
Blake Lively		 THE LAST MIMZYTHE LAST MIMZY
2007
dir. Robert Shaye
Stars:
Timothy Hutton
Chris O’Neil
Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li Movie PosterStreet Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li
2009
Directed by
Andrzej Bartkowiak
Starring
Kristin Kreuk		 ConstantineSin City
2005
dir. Rodriguez
Frank Miller
starring
Mickey Rourke
Willis
MOVIE POSTERTALLADEGA NIGHTS: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
2006
dir. Adam McKay
Stars:
Will Ferrell		 MOVIE POSTERSCHOOL FOR SCOUNDRELS
2006
dir. Todd Phillips
Stars:
Billy Bob Thornton
Jon Heder

 

Died Today (September 2nd): J.R.R. Tolkien (1892–1973)

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jrrtolkien.jpgJ.R.R. Tolkien (1892–1973)

Born: January 3, 1892 in Bloemfontein, Orange Free State, South Africa
Died: September 2, 1973 (age 81) in Bournemouth, Dorset, England, UK

Married to:
Edith Bratt (22 March 1916 – 29 November 1971) (her death) (4 children)

The Inklings (Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams & Owen Barfield) met on Tuesdays for lunch at the ‘Eagle and Child’ pub in Oxford where they would read out pages from their books.

‘The Lord of the Rings’ is of course a fundamentally religious and Catholic work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision. That is why I have not put in, or have cut out practically all references to anything like ‘religion,’ to cults or practices, in the imaginary world. For the religious element is absorbed into the story and symbolism.