DEATHS ; Notable Passings; The Thread to Pay Last Respects

[dhermann1]

Soupy

Oh, dear, very sad.
"Wanna hear something great? Rub two bricks together!"
"Show me a pastry with a stick of dynamite in it, and I'll show you a Napoleon blownapart!"
"And now the weather: Muggy today, tomorrow Tuggy, then Weggy and Thurgy . . ."
"Introducing. . . The Pooky Players! Starring . . Pooky! Directed by . . . Pooky! Featuring . . . Pooky!"
"Hey, Do-oo-oo-oo the Mouse, Yeah!"
"Pafalafaka, Pafalafaka, they whisper it all over Turkey . . ."
Hobart and Reba, naked ladies at the door, Philo Kvetch and Onions Oregano, etc., etc., etc.
I loved the guy. I think he might have saved my life in 1965.
RIP, Soupy.
Oh, and speaking of Vic Muzzy, I can't believe I said the Munsters, I MEANT the Addams Family. :eusa_doh:

 

[Carlisle Blues]

R.I.P. Soupy I am still waiting for my dollar back....

 

[MisterCairo]

Joseph Wiseman an under-rated Bond villain I think.
Certainly no apologies needed.
Lois Maxwell was also Canadian, I believe, she was the perfect Moneypenny.

"Yesh, mish Moneypenny".

That's my Sean Connery as Bond impression via the internet.

Lois was Canadian, God bless her. She dies not too long ago. She wrote a column for the Toronto Sun newspaper under the name Miss Moneypenny. She was the longest-serving actor in the series, appearing in every film I recall prior to the 1983 return of Conner in Never Say Never Again. Paid relatively little, and she provided her own clothing for the role. In real life, she served in the RCAF, underaged entrant if memory serves.

 

[tortswon]

Lou Jacobi

Here is an article on the passing of character actor Lou Jacobi at age 95.

http://www.comcast.net/articles/entertainment-movies/20091025/US.Obit.Jacobi/

I remember him best from the Diary of Ann Frank and the 10th Man.

 

[Prairie Dog]

I remember him best from the Diary of Ann Frank and the 10th Man.

I remember Lou Jacobi as one of the uncles in the Barry Levinson film, Avalon where he delivered the famous line,

"You cut the turkey, you cut the turkey without me?”!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YsDolNuUHg&feature=related

Mr. Jacobi was surely an "original", and had a very long and distinguished career.
RIP Lou! :eusa_clap​

 

[Foofoogal]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091103/ap_on_en_ot/eu_obit_france_levi_strauss

Levi Strauss. Wow. Long life he led. RIP.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

.


You weren't a philosophy major, eh?

.

 

[Hondo]

Carl Ballantine

Gruber, what an actor, I always enjoyed him RIP Gruber


Carl Ballantine, 92; sailed with 'McHale's Navy'
Saturday, November 7, 2009

SPECIAL FROM THE LOS ANGELES TIMES


LOS ANGELES — Carl Ballantine, the comic magician and actor who was part of the "McHale's Navy" crew on 1960s television, has died at 92.

Mr. Ballantine died in his sleep of age-related causes on Tuesday at his home in the Hollywood Hills, said Saratoga Ballantine, his daughter.

As an actor, Mr. Ballantine was best known for playing the supporting role of crew member Lester Gruber on "McHale's Navy," the popular 1962-66 sitcom that starred Ernest Borgnine.

"He was a natural. Everything to him had humor," said Tim Conway, who played the bumbling Ensign Parker on the show, where he first met Mr. Ballantine.

"I only knew him from seeing him on 'The Ed Sullivan Show,' which I thought was the funniest thing I ever saw — the magic act that wasn't working."

It was as a comically inept magician variously billed as "The Amazing Ballantine," "The Great Ballantine" and "Ballantine: The World's Greatest Magician" that he made his biggest impact as a performer.

In 2007, Steve Martin presented Mr. Ballantine with the Lifetime Achievement Fellowship from the Magic Castle in Hollywood.

"Carl Ballantine influenced not only myself but a generation of magicians and comedians," Martin said in a statement to the Los Angeles Times. "His was also the most copied act by a host of amateurs and professionals."

Magician David Copperfield is another longtime fan.

"Basically, Carl Ballantine created comedy magic," he said. "The combination of magic and comedy had perhaps been done before, but he truly defined it and made it his own."

Beginning in nightclubs in the early 1940s, the lanky Chicago native would walk out on stage in top hat, white tie and tails.

"If the act dies, I'm dressed for it," he would announce, and he was off and running with a satirical magic act that conjured up laughs rather than amazing feats.

At one point in his act, he would tear a newspaper page into strips, boldly proclaiming that he would restore the paper to its original state. Then he would stop to read the want ads.

Mr. Ballantine performed at the legendary Palace Theatre in New York and in Las Vegas in the '40s.

He later brought his act to television, appearing on a host of programs, including the Garry Moore, Andy Williams, Kanny Kaye and Dean Martin shows, as well as "The Hollywood Palace" and "The "Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson."

Born Meyer Kessler in Chicago on Sept. 27, 1917, Mr. Ballantine learned his first magic tricks from his barber at age 9.

In 1940 he was performing straight magic with poker chips, playing cards and money in an act called "The River Gambler" when he underwent a career reassessment.

"The act wasn't successful in nightclubs," he told Hyla M. Clark, author of the 1976 book "The World's Greatest Magic."

"I had to make a living, so I looked at myself in the mirror and said, 'You don't look much like a magician.' Then I put this other thing together."

The other thing, Clark wrote, "soon became one of the most successful of contemporary magic acts."

Exempt from military service during World War II because of back trouble, Mr. Ballantine entertained the troops in England.

He performed his act for the last time at the "It's Magic" show at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles last fall, said his daughter. "To great acclaim, I might add. His timing was still fantastic."

Mr. Ballantine appeared in a number of films, including "The Shakiest Gun in the West," "The World's Greatest Lover" and "Mr. Saturday Night."

He was a regular cast member on the 1969 sitcom "The Queen and I" and the 1980 sitcom "One in a Million."

He made guest appearances on numerous other series, sometimes appearing as a magician. He showed up on "Fantasy Island" as the Great Zachariah, on "Night Court" as the Fabulous Falconi and on "Cosby" as the Great Ballantine.

He also did occasional cartoon voice-overs and hundreds of voice-overs for commercials, including the California Raisins.

Mr. Ballantine's wife of 45 years, actress Ceil Cabot, died in 2000.

In addition to his daughter Saratoga, he is survived by another daughter, Molly; and his sister, Esther Robinson.
Page 1 2 >> Fit story on 1 page

LOS ANGELES — Carl Ballantine, the comic magician and actor who was part of the "McHale's Navy" crew on 1960s television, has died at 92.

Mr. Ballantine died in his sleep of age-related causes on Tuesday at his home in the Hollywood Hills, said Saratoga Ballantine, his daughter.

As an actor, Mr. Ballantine was best known for playing the supporting role of crew member Lester Gruber on "McHale's Navy," the popular 1962-66 sitcom that starred Ernest Borgnine.

"He was a natural. Everything to him had humor," said Tim Conway, who played the bumbling Ensign Parker on the show, where he first met Mr. Ballantine.

"I only knew him from seeing him on 'The Ed Sullivan Show,' which I thought was the funniest thing I ever saw — the magic act that wasn't working."

It was as a comically inept magician variously billed as "The Amazing Ballantine," "The Great Ballantine" and "Ballantine: The World's Greatest Magician" that he made his biggest impact as a performer.

In 2007, Steve Martin presented Mr. Ballantine with the Lifetime Achievement Fellowship from the Magic Castle in Hollywood.

"Carl Ballantine influenced not only myself but a generation of magicians and comedians," Martin said in a statement to the Los Angeles Times. "His was also the most copied act by a host of amateurs and professionals."

Magician David Copperfield is another longtime fan.

"Basically, Carl Ballantine created comedy magic," he said. "The combination of magic and comedy had perhaps been done before, but he truly defined it and made it his own."

Beginning in nightclubs in the early 1940s, the lanky Chicago native would walk out on stage in top hat, white tie and tails.

"If the act dies, I'm dressed for it," he would announce, and he was off and running with a satirical magic act that conjured up laughs rather than amazing feats.

At one point in his act, he would tear a newspaper page into strips, boldly proclaiming that he would restore the paper to its original state. Then he would stop to read the want ads.

Mr. Ballantine performed at the legendary Palace Theatre in New York and in Las Vegas in the '40s.

He later brought his act to television, appearing on a host of programs, including the Garry Moore, Andy Williams, Kanny Kaye and Dean Martin shows, as well as "The Hollywood Palace" and "The "Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson."

Born Meyer Kessler in Chicago on Sept. 27, 1917, Mr. Ballantine learned his first magic tricks from his barber at age 9.

In 1940 he was performing straight magic with poker chips, playing cards and money in an act called "The River Gambler" when he underwent a career reassessment.

"The act wasn't successful in nightclubs," he told Hyla M. Clark, author of the 1976 book "The World's Greatest Magic."

"I had to make a living, so I looked at myself in the mirror and said, 'You don't look much like a magician.' Then I put this other thing together."

The other thing, Clark wrote, "soon became one of the most successful of contemporary magic acts."

Exempt from military service during World War II because of back trouble, Mr. Ballantine entertained the troops in England.

He performed his act for the last time at the "It's Magic" show at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles last fall, said his daughter. "To great acclaim, I might add. His timing was still fantastic."

Mr. Ballantine appeared in a number of films, including "The Shakiest Gun in the West," "The World's Greatest Lover" and "Mr. Saturday Night."

He was a regular cast member on the 1969 sitcom "The Queen and I" and the 1980 sitcom "One in a Million."

He made guest appearances on numerous other series, sometimes appearing as a magician. He showed up on "Fantasy Island" as the Great Zachariah, on "Night Court" as the Fabulous Falconi and on "Cosby" as the Great Ballantine.

He also did occasional cartoon voice-overs and hundreds of voice-overs for commercials, including the California Raisins.

Mr. Ballantine's wife of 45 years, actress Ceil Cabot, died in 2000.

In addition to his daughter Saratoga, he is survived by another daughter, Molly; and his sister, Esther Robinson.

http://www.northjersey.com/obituaries/69445027.html

 

[Kid Mac]

Edward Woodward

Edward Woodward, actor - Breaker Morant, The Wicker Man, Callan, The Equalizer - and a score of others.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1228216/Screen-veteran-Edward-Woodward-dies-79.html

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/article6918528.ece

 

[MisterCairo]

This is very sad news. Edward Woodward was always to me one of the most underrated actors out there. I recall him many years ago, on David Letterman I think, talking about his heart surgery. All things considered he lived to a good age, and lived well while doing it.

 

[BinkieBaumont]

"He also had an amazing singing voice"

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Edward Woodward, actor - Breaker Morant, The Wicker Man, Callan, The Equalizer - and a score of others.

Sad! I remember how, in "The Equalizer" TV series, his (modern day) character wore
a gold watch chain attached to his jacket's boutonniere hole: http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00755/SNN16TV4C-380_755266a.jpg


.

 

[Diamondback]

Well, CRAP! This week is off to a freakin' wonderful start... first, one of the few folks in media I trust hanging it up and now EW's gone. :cry:

Guess khaki is out and black is back...

Vaya con Dios. It will be a great while before we see such a combination of talent and character again...

 

[pgoat]

+1 on Edwin Woodward being vastly underrated. He was fantastic in The Wickerman.

 

[Story]

Lieutenant-Commander Edgar Lee

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obi...s/6591622/Lieutenant-Commander-Edgar-Lee.html

Lieutenant-Commander Edgar Lee, who has died aged 88, was the last of the Fleet Air Arm heroes in the famous Channel Dash, the daring attack on a powerful German fleet in the English Channel in February 1942.

*

Despite the suicidal nature of the mission, Vice-Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsey was told by Sir Dudley Pound, the First Sea Lord: "The Navy will attack the enemy whenever and wherever he is to be found."

At RAF Manston, Wing Commander Tom Gleave was so appalled that he stood alone at the edge of the snow-covered airfield to give the six Swordfish a farewell salute. The Germans, too, would be astounded at such foolhardy bravery.

 

[Kid Mac]

Stanley Ellis English Dialect expert

"Stanley Ellis was one of Britain’s foremost dialect experts...He was the first person to provide expert evidence for speaker identification in an English court, at Winchester Magistrates’ Court in 1967, which resulted in his recruitment as a consultant to MI5 and his work with the security forces for the next 25 years."

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article6928769.ece

 

[Marc Chevalier]

.


Elisabeth Soderstrom, wonderful Swedish soprano and opera star, dies at age 82. She will be missed! http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/arts_and_culture/8373946.stm


.

 

[dhermann1]

A friend's grandmother. Pretty amazing woman.
http://www.smh.com.au/national/obituaries/pianist-prodigy-won-every-contest-20091125-jrra.html

 

[Maguire]

While this happened in january this year, I didn't see any coverage of the passing of Patrick McGoohan from the original The Prisoner and to us younger viewers as Edward Longshanks in Braveheart and Scanners. Great actor.

 

[Kid Mac]

His Tremendousness Giorgio Carbone

"Carbone claimed the sovereignty of Seborga (pop. 364) from the Italian government in 1963 and took the title His Tremendousness. . .Seborga has its own flag, a white cross on a blue background, a patron saint, St Bernard, and a Latin motto: Sub Umbra Sede (Sit in the shade)."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/royalty-obituaries/6671765/His-Tremendousness-Giorgio-Carbone.html