Notable Showbiz Deaths of 2017
A list of the notable entertainment figures who passed away in 2017, ordered by date of death.
Please note that, due to time constraints, I may not be able to write up descriptions for many of this year's entries.
Please note that, due to time constraints, I may not be able to write up descriptions for many of this year's entries.
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- Producer
- Additional Crew
- Writer
William T. Marshall was born in 1939 in Glasgow, Scotland, UK. He was a producer and writer, known for Outrageous! (1977), The Naked Country (1985) and Dr. Frankenstein on Campus (1970). He was married to Sari Ruda. He died on 1 January 2017 in Toronto, Canada.1939 – January 1, 2017
Film producer and co-founder of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF); was producer of the acclaimed, landmark Canadian comedy 'Outrageous!' (1977) and served as executive producer on many films for Australian writer-director Paul Cox, including 'Golden Braid' (1990), 'A Woman's Tale' (1991), 'Lust and Revenge' (1996), 'Innocence' (2000) and 'The Diaries of Vaslav Nijinsky' (2001); hailed as a pioneer in the Canadian film industry for his role in establishing TIFF and for helping to expand Canadian filmmaking into a major, nationwide artistic and financial enterprise- Stuart Hamilton was born on 28 September 1929 in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. He was an actor, known for Anne of Green Gables (1985) and A Scattering of Seeds (1998). He died on 1 January 2017 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.September 28, 1929 – January 1, 2017
Toronto-based pianist, operatic vocal coach, radio broadcaster, artistic director and producer perhaps best known as the longtime quiz master for CBC Radio’s 'Saturday Afternoon at the Opera'; also taught opera repertoire and diction at the University of Toronto and was internationally recognized as a panelist for the 'Metropolitan Opera Quiz' broadcast from New York; coached and toured with coached and toured with the acclaimed Canadian vocalists Lois Marshall and Maureen Forrester and also accompanied such celebrated artists as Isabel Bayrakdarian, Ben Heppner, Richard Margison, Stuart Howe and Mary Lou Fallis; was founding director of the annual Opera in Concert and the first music director of the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble; was made a member of the Order of Canada in 1984 and received many other honors, including the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012 - Art Director
- Production Designer
- Art Department
Fred Harpman was born on 10 May 1927. He was an art director and production designer, known for Deliverance (1972), Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970) and Take the Money and Run (1969). He died on 21 September 2012 in Johnson City, Texas, USA.died January 1, 2017- Writer
- Actor
- Art Department
John Berger was born on 5 November 1926 in Stoke Newington, London, England, UK. He was a writer and actor, known for Jonah Who Will Be 25 in the Year 2000 (1976), The Salamander (1971) and The Middle of the World (1974). He was married to Patricia Marriott, Anya Bostock and Beverly Bancroft. He died on 2 January 2017 in Antony, Hauts-de-Seine, Paris, France.November 5, 1926 – January 2, 2017- Richard "Mack" Machowicz is best known as the host/producer of Discovery Channel's FutureWeapons and Weapons that Changed the World. He was also the host of Spike TV's Deadliest Warrior and History Channel's Ultimate Soldier Challenge. Mack offered his military and weapons expertise as a key contributor to two of History's mega-hit miniseries, America: The Story of Us and Mankind:The Story of All of Us.1965 – January 2, 2017
- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Rodney Bennett was born on 24 March 1935. He was a director and writer, known for Great Performances (1971), The Legend of King Arthur (1979) and The House of Eliott (1991). He died on 3 January 2017.March 24, 1935 – January 3, 2017- Ivo Bresan was born on 27 May 1936 in Vodice near Sibenik, Croatia, Yugoslavia. He was a writer, known for The Rat Savior (1976), Acting Hamlet in the Village of Mrdusa Donja (1974) and Obecana zemlja (1986). He was married to Jela Godlar Bresan. He died on 3 January 2017 in Zagreb, Croatia.May 27, 1936 – January 3, 2017
- Shigeru Kôyama was born on 16 January 1929 in Hiroshima, Japan. He was an actor, known for Black Rain (1989), Azumi 2: Death or Love (2005) and Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995). He died on 3 January 2017 in Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan.January 16, 1929 – January 3, 2017
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Georges Prêtre was born on 14 August 1924 in Waziers, Nord, France. He is known for The Bridges of Madison County (1995), War Dogs (2016) and T2 Trainspotting (2017). He was married to Gina Marny and Suzanne Lefort. He died on 4 January 2017 in Navès, Tarn, France.August 14, 1924 – January 4, 2017
Debonair French conductor (or, as he considered himself, an "interpreter") whose seven-decade career included close associations with Maria Callas and many of the world’s top orchestras- Sound Department
- Additional Crew
Les Lazarowitz was born on 2 October 1941 in the USA. He is known for Tootsie (1982), Raging Bull (1980) and Saturday Night Fever (1977). He died on 6 January 2017 in Florida, USA.October 2, 1941 – January 6, 2017
Sound mixer who earned Oscar nominations for his work on Martin Scorsese's 'Raging Bull' (1980) and Sydney Pollack's 'Tootsie' (1982), as well as a BAFTA nomination for John Badham's 'Saturday Night Fever' (1977); received his first credit as a sound recordist on Alan Arkin's 'Little Murders' (1971), which was followed by uncredited work as a boom operator on Francis Ford Coppola's 'The Godfather' (1972); first worked with Scorsese on 'Taxi Driver' (1976) and would do so one last time on 'The King of Comedy' (1983); worked with Woody Allen on 'Hannah and Her Sisters' (1986) and reteamed with the prolific filmmaker for several projects in the '90s, including the TV movie 'Don't Drink the Water' (1994) and the features 'Deconstructing Harry' (1997), 'Celebrity' (1998) and 'Sweet and Lowdown' (1999); collaborated with Brian De Palma on the films 'Wise Guys' (1986), 'Bonfire of the Vanities' (1990) and 'Carlito's Way' (1993) and was Penny Marshall's sound mixer on 'Big' (1988), 'Awakenings' (1990), 'A League of Their Own' (1992), 'Renaissance Man' (1994) and 'The Preacher's Wife' (1996); other sound-mixing credits include John D. Hancock's 'Bang the Drum Slowly' (1973), Michael Winner's 'The Sentinel' (1977), Allan Moyle's 'Times Square' (1980), Arthur Hiller's 'Author! Author!' (1982), Frank Oz's 'The Muppets Take Manhattan' (1984), Robert Mandel's 'F/X' (1986), Jonathan Demme's 'Something Wild' (1986), Adrian Lyne's 'Fatal Attraction' (1987), Mike Nichols' 'Working Girl' (1988) and Harold Ramis' 'Groundhog Day' (1993) and 'Analyze This' (1999)- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Music Department
Om Puri was an Indian actor who has appeared in both mainstream Indian films and art films. His credits also include appearances in British and American films. He has received an honorary OBE.
Puri was born in Ambala, Haryana. His father worked on the railways and served in the Indian Army. Puri graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India. He is also an alumnus of the 1973 class of National School of Drama where Naseeruddin Shah was a co-student.
Puri had worked in numerous Indian films and in many films produced in the United Kingdom and the United States. He made his film debut in the 1976 film Ghashiram Kotwal, based on a Marathi play of the same name. He has claimed that he was paid "peanuts" for his best work. He had collaborated with Amrish Puri as well as Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi and Smita Patil in art films such as Bhavni Bhavai (1980), Sadgati (1981), Ardh Satya (1982), Mirch Masala (1986) and Dharavi (1992). He had been active in cinema. He was critically acclaimed for his performances in many unconventional roles such as a victimized tribal in Aakrosh (1980) (a film in which he spoke only during flash-back sequences); Jimmy's manager in Disco Dancer (1982); a police inspector in Ardh Satya (1982), where he revolts against life-long social, cultural and political persecution and for which he got the National Film Award for Best Actor; the leader of a cell of Sikh militants in Maachis (1996); as a tough cop again in the commercial film Gupt in 1997; and as the courageous father of a martyred soldier in Dhoop (2003). In 1999, Puri acted in a Kannada movie A.K. 47 as a strict police officer who tries to keep the city safe from the underworld - it became a huge commercial hit. Puri's acting in the movie is very memorable. He has rendered his own voice for the Kannada dialogues. In the same year, he starred in the successful British comedy film East is East, where he played a first-generation Pakistani immigrant in the north of England, struggling to come to terms with his far more westernized children. Om Puri had a cameo in the highly acclaimed film Gandhi (1982, directed by Richard Attenborough). In the mid-1990s, he diversified to play character roles in mainstream Hindi cinema, where his roles are more tuned to mass audiences than film critics. He became known internationally by starring in many British films such as My Son the Fanatic (1997), East Is East (1999) and The Parole Officer (2001). He appeared in Hollywood films including City of Joy (1992), opposite Patrick Swayze; Wolf (1994) alongside Jack Nicholson; and The Ghost and the Darkness (1996) opposite Val Kilmer. In 2007, he appeared as General Zia-ul-Haq in Charlie Wilson's War, which stars Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts. He has worked in Hindi television serials like Kakkaji Kaheen (1988) (roughly meaning "Uncle says") as a paan-chewing 'Kakkaji', which was a parody on politicians, and Mr. Yogi (1989) as a suave 'Sutradhaar' who enjoys pulling the protagonist's leg. These two serials underlined Om Puri's versatility as a comedian. He received critical acclaim for him performance in Govind Nihalani's television film Tamas (1987) based on a Hindi novel of the same name. He essayed comic roles in Hindi films like Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro which reached a cult status, followed by Chachi 420 (1997), Hera Pheri (2000), Chor Machaye Shor (2002) and Malamaal Weekly (2006). His more recent Hindi film roles include Singh Is Kinng, Mere Baap Pehle Aap and Billu. Puri was seen in the role of Mohammad Ali Kasuri in Road to Sangam (2009). In 2010, he appeared in The Hangman. In 2011 he was in the Indian action movie Don 2. He had also worked in Aahat TV Series in some episodes during second season which was aired between 2004-2005 on Sony channel.October 18, 1950 – January 6, 2017
Veteran Indian actor who has appeared in nearly 300 feature and amde-for-TV films, with perhaps his most prominent credits being his leading roles in 'Sadgati' ('Deliverance,' 1981), 'Arohan' ('The Ascent,' 1982), 'Ardh Satya' ('Half Truth,' 1983), 'Tamas' ('Darkness,' 1988), 'Maachis' ('Matches,' 1996), 'East Is East' (1999), 'Malamaal Weekly' (2006) and 'The Hundred-Foot Journey' (2014) and his supporting roles in 'Aakrosh' ('Cry of the Wounded,' 1980), Best Picture Oscar winner 'Gandhi' (1982), 'Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro' (1983), 'Wolf' (1994), 'The Ghost and the Darkness' (1996), 'Chachi 420' (1997), 'Hera Pheri' (2000), 'Rang De Basanti' ('Color It Saffron,' 2006) and 'Charlie Wilson's War' (2007); won a Filmfare Award for his performance in 'Aakrosh,' won National Film Awards for his performances in 'Arohan' and 'Ardh Satya' and received a BAFTA nomination for his work in 'East Is East'; earned Filmfare nominations for his villainous turn in 'Narasimha' (1991), his comedic work in 'Chachi 420' and his supporting performance in the suspense thriller 'Gupt: The Hidden Truth' (1997); other notable film credits include 'Bhavni Bhavai' ('The Tale of the Life,' 1980), 'Sparsh' ('Touch,' 1980), 'Mandi' ('Market Place,' 1983), 'Mirch Masala' ('Hot Spice,' 1987), 'Ghayal' (1990), 'City of Joy' (1992), 'Dharavi' ('City of Dreams,' 1992), 'Droh Kaal ('Times of Treason,' 1994), 'Ghatak: Lethal' (1996), 'My Son the Fanatic' (1997), 'China Gate' (1998), 'Hey Ram' ('Oh God,' 2000), 'Maqbool' (2003), 'Lakshya' ('Aim,' 2004) 'Don' (2006) and 'Don 2' (2011), 'OMG – Oh My God!' (2012), 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan' ('Brother Bajrangi,' 2015) and 'Actor in Law' (2016); was awarded Padma Shri--the fourth highest civilian award of India--in 1990 and was made an honorary Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2004- Francine York was born in the small mining town of Aurora, Minnesota to her parents, Frank and Sophie Yerich. When Francine was five, her family (including her younger sister, Deanne) moved to Cleveland, where she began to write short stories and take an interest in acting. At age nine, Francine made her theatrical debut in the Hodge Grammar School production of Cinderella, playing Griselda. Initially quite upset that she did not get the starring role, Francine ended up stealing the show with her performance as the evil stepsister. Right after the show, Francine ran into the audience and told her mother that she wanted to be an actress.
When Francine was age 12, the family moved back to Aurora, where she continued to perform in class plays, as well as writing, producing, directing and starring in a three-act play called "Keen Teens or Campus Quarantine". Francine, displaying an entrepreneurial spirit at a young age, charged five cents admission to the show, and the whole town turned out for the production.
While studying journalism and drama at Aurora High School, Francine worked as the feature editor of the school newspaper, Aurora Borealis, and she won all of the school's declamation contests with her dramatic readings. Additionally, she was the baton-twirling majorette for the school band, and active in the 4-H club, where she won several blue ribbons for cooking in both county and state fairs. This proved to be valuable experience for Francine later on, when she would not only host, but do all of the gourmet cooking for dinner parties for some of Hollywood's biggest names.
At age 17, Francine won the Miss Eveleth contest (Eveleth being a nearby town), and became a runner-up in the Miss Minnesota contest, which was hosted by former Miss America BeBe Shopp. For the talent portion of the Miss Minnesota pageant, Francine, who was not afraid to be less than glamorous during a performance, donned some old clothes, removed her makeup, grayed her hair, and performed a reading of a monologue called "The Day That Was That Day" by Amy Lowell, in which she played a dual role of two elderly Southern women. BeBe Shopp encouraged Francine in her theatrical ambitions, and predicted that she would end up in Hollywood very soon. At this point, however, Hollywood was still a dream for Francine, who wanted desperately to leave Minnesota and make her mark in show business.
Moving to Minneapolis, she got a job modeling sweaters for New York-based Jane Richards Sportswear and began traveling throughout the United States, ending up in San Francisco. After leaving Jane Richards, Francine began a modeling course at the House of Charm agency, which started her off on a very successful modeling career for all of the major department stores, including Macy's. Her modeling work got the attention of the producers of the Miss San Francisco beauty pageant, which she subsequently entered and was voted runner-up, but ended up taking over the title after the winner became too sick to participate. Soon after, Francine got a job as a showgirl at Bimbo's, a well-known San Francisco nightclub, which was highly disapproved of by Francine's modeling agency, but this turned out to be the right choice for Francine when she met Bimbo's headliner, singer Mary Meade French, who brought Francine to Hollywood and, later, got her signed with her first agent.
Arriving in Los Angeles, Francine once again found herself working as a showgirl at Frank Sennes' Moulin Rouge, a popular nightclub on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, where she performed in three shows a night, seven nights a week for six months. Tired of sharing a stage with elephants, pigeons and horses, she moved on to pursue her acting career and began study with famed actor/teacher Jeff Corey. While performing in Corey's class, Francine was spotted by a theatrical producer, who cast her in a play called "Whisper in God's Ear" at the Circle Theatre. During this time, the same producer gave Francine her very first movie role, starring in Secret File: Hollywood (1962), a film about the day-to-day operations of a sleazy Hollywood tabloid. The movie premiered in Francine's hometown of Aurora, which gave her the biggest thrill of her life as the whole town, the press, her family, friends, and even the high school band turned out at the airport to greet her with banners proclaiming, "Welcome Home, Francine!"
Francine's first big break came when Jerry Lewis cast her in his film It's Only Money (1962), in which she played a tantalizing sexpot, a role which brought her a tremendous amount of publicity. This led to Lewis hiring her for five more of his films, including The Nutty Professor (1963), The Patsy (1964), The Disorderly Orderly (1964), The Family Jewels (1965) and Cracking Up (1983), in which she played a fifteenth century marquise. Other notable film appearances include Bedtime Story (1964) (with Marlon Brando and David Niven), Tickle Me (1965) (with Elvis Presley), Cannon for Cordoba (1970) (with George Peppard), and science fiction cult films Curse of the Swamp Creature (1968), Mutiny in Outer Space (1965) and Space Probe Taurus (1965). Francine's most popular film was the cult classic The Doll Squad (1973), where she played Sabrina Kincaid, leader of an elite team of gorgeous female assassins who attempt to stop a diabolical madman from destroying the world with a deadly plague virus. Francine also delivered a stunning performance as Marilyn Monroe in an otherwise lackluster film, Marilyn Alive and Behind Bars (1992). (Film critic Tom Weaver has been quoted as saying that Francine's performances often rise above the low-budget films she has been cast in.) More recently, Francine played Nicolas Cage's mother-in-law in The Family Man (2000).
Francine has also had tremendous success in television, with appearances on Route 66 (1960), Hawaiian Eye (1959), 77 Sunset Strip (1958), My Favorite Martian (1963), Burke's Law (1963), Perry Mason (1957), Batman (1966), Gomer Pyle: USMC (1964), Lost in Space (1965), It Takes a Thief (1968), Green Acres (1965), The Wild Wild West (1965), Ironside (1967), I Dream of Jeannie (1965), Love, American Style (1969), Mannix (1967), Bewitched (1964), Adam-12 (1968), Mission: Impossible (1966), Kojak (1973), Columbo (1971), Matlock (1986), The King of Queens (1998) and Las Vegas (2003), among many others. Francine's personal favorites among her television roles include her portrayal of nineteenth century British actress Lily Langtry in the Death Valley Days (1952) episode "Picture of a Lady", and her role as the princess opposite Shirley Temple (one of Francine's childhood idols) in NBC's presentation of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid". One of Francine's other favorite roles was that of high-class prostitute and blackmailer Lorraine Temple on Days of Our Lives (1965).
While Francine was enjoying great success as a film and television actress, she was also making a name for herself as a fitness/nutrition expert and gourmet cook. She made many appearances on television demonstrating her culinary skills, and many of her recipes, as well as her exercise programs, were published in national health magazines. Francine also became known as one of Hollywood's leading hostesses, cooking for such celebrities as Clint Eastwood, Rex Harrison, Vincent Price, Regis Philbin, Jean Stapleton, Neil Sedaka, James Arness, Glenn Ford and Peter Ustinov.
Francine continued to act in films and on television. Two recent television appearances include Hot in Cleveland (2010) (as British matriarch Lady Natalie), and Bucket and Skinner's Epic Adventures (2011) (as Aunt Bitsy). She was also quite busy working on her autobiography, something her fans are looking forward to with great interest. In 1996, she met director Vincent Sherman (Mr. Skeffington, The Adventures of Don Juan, The Young Philadelphians), and was his companion until his death in 2006. Francine never married - she once said, "Like Cinderella, I always wanted to marry the handsome prince...but they don't make glass slippers in size ten!" On January 6, 2017, Francine York died of cancer at age 80 in Van Nuys, California.August 26, 1936 – January 6, 2017
Statuesque actress perhaps best known for playing The Bookworm’s henchwoman Lydia Limpet in two episodes of the 1960s BATMAN television series and for starring in the cult low-budget action film THE DOLL SQUAD - Actor
- Additional Crew
- Camera and Electrical Department
Actor and extra Greg Bronson was born on September 2, 1954 in Tuba City, Arizona. The fifth in a family of twelve children, Bronson grew up in Flagstaff, Arizona. He attended the Navity of the Blessed Virgin grade school, Flagstaff Junior High, and Flagstaff High School. Following graduation from the latter in 1973, Greg worked as a manager of his father's lighting store before eventually moving to California in 1985. Bronson began appearing in a slew of films and TV shows alike in often uncredited minor roles in the mid-1990's. In 2004 Greg moved back to Arizona, where he began working with the local independent film industry as well as with the staff and students in the theatre department at Scottsdale Community College. Bronson died after a long battle with cancer at age 62 on January 7, 2017. He was survived by almost all of his many siblings.September 2, 1954 – January 7, 2017- Music Department
- Actor
- Writer
Nat Hentoff was born on 10 June 1925 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Sweet and Lowdown (1999), CBS Schoolbreak Special (1984) and New York Philharmonic Young People's Concerts (1958). He was married to Margot Goodman Wolinski, Gertrude A Bernstein (Trudi Farmilant) and Miriam Fonda Sargent. He died on 7 January 2017 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA.June 10, 1925 – January 7, 2017
Longtime music columnist and jazz critic for THE VILLAGE VOICE and an outspoken advocate of free speech- Producer
- Director
- Music Department
An internationally recognized producer, director, writer, composer, conductor, arranger and musical director. Since the 1950s, Bregman has worked with many of the biggest names in the business. After high school, Bregman attended the University of California. During his sophomore year, he arranged and conducted Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller's hit record "Bazoom (I Need Your Lovin')" for the Cheers. In 1955 he was appointed orchestra leader for the Gary Crosby Show on CBS radio. At age 19 he was a producer, and went on to arrange and conduct music for double-platinum album artists Ella Fitzgerald's Cole Porter and many others. He helped launch "the Verve", and served as the record company's head of A & R. Bregman later produced and directed television and film in Europe, for both the BBC, producing 28 shows within the first two years, and the London Weekend ITV, where he served as Head of Entertainment. Bregman passed away on the 8th of January after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease.July 9, 1930 – January 8, 2017- Actor
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Nicolai Harry Gustav Gedda (Nikolaj Ustinov) was born on July 11, 1925, in Stockholm, Sweden. He was adopted by his Russian-Swedish aunt, named Olga Gedda, and her Russian husband, named Mikhail Ustinov; who came to Sweden after the Russian Civil War and sang with an émigré Don Cossac choir and also was a cantor in a Russian Orthodox Church.
His first voice and music teacher was his father. He took his adopted son to the Cossac choir rehearsals and to a Russian Orthodox Church services in Leipzig, where they lived from 1928-1934. The family had to flee from the tide of Nazism under Adolf Hitler. Back in Stockholm he continued singing with his father in the Russian church. Gedda initially worked as a bank teller at a local Stockholm bank, where a wealthy client overheard him speaking of his dream of becoming a professional opera singer. The sponsor paid for his studies with tenor Karl Martin Oehmann at the Stockholm Conservatory.
Gedda made his debut in April 1952 at the Stockholm Opera in the role of Chapelou in Adam's 'Postillon de Longjumeau'. After a success in Stockhiln, he was auditioned by Herbert von Karajan. He was so impressed that he took Gedda along to Italy, promoting him both in concerts and opera performances. In 1953 he was contracted by La Scala to sing Don Ottavio in "Don Giovanni" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. In 1954 he made his Paris Opera debut in Oberon by Carl Maria von Weber. A few months later he sang the title role in Faust by Charles Gounod. Since then Gedda had a permanent engagement with the Paris opera for several years and established himself as the leading interpreter of the French repertoire.
In 1957, Gedda made his debut at the Pittsburg Opera with the title role in 'Faust'. In November of 1957 he made his Metropolitan Opera debut with the same role. In 1958, Gedda created the role of Anatol in the premiere of 'Vanessa'. The role was specially written for him by Samuel Barber. Gedda sang with the Met for the next 26 seasons and performed 28 roles there. He also continued his voice training in New York with the international teacher Paola Novikoa. She taught Gedda a healthy technique, contributing to his long and successful career. His latest recordings were made in 2003.
Gedda's mastery of nine languages enables him to singing with total freedom the entire standard operatic repertoire. He sings with natural beauty on Italian, English, Latin, Hebrew, French, German, Pan-Scandinavian, and his native Russian and Swedish. Nicolai Gedda is arguably the most versatile of tenors in the second half of the 20th Century. Luciano Pavarotti said of him, "there is no tenor with a greater ease in the upper register than Gedda." He is equally strong in opera and song. He made over 200 recordings over the course of his career. In the autobiography 'My Life and Art' (1999), written in collaboration with his third wife, Aino Sellermark Gedda, he revealed his devotion to art and his indifference to fame.
Nicolai Gedda is living in retirement in Switzerland.July 11, 1925 – January 8, 2017
Celebrated operatic tenor who, with his strong, attractive voice, masterful tonal control and ability to perform fluently in a spate of languages, became one of the most widely recorded opera singers in history- Composer
- Soundtrack
Peter Sarstedt was born on 12 December 1941 in New Delhi, British India. He was a composer, known for The Darjeeling Limited (2007), The Leading Man (1996) and Trap for Cinderella (2013). He was married to Joanna Sarstedt and Jill Hall. He died on 8 January 2017 in Sussex, England, UK.December 10, 1941 – January 8, 2017
Singer-songwriter and musician best known for writing and performing the hit single "Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)?"- Stunts
- Actress
Acrobat and stuntwoman Paula Dell was born Paula Adele Unger on November 15, 1926 in Longmont, Colorado. Her sister Rosalie was an expert tumbler. Dell moved with her family to California in 1935. Following graduation from Santa Monica High School, Paula went on to attend both Stephens College and the University of Southern California, where she studied physical education. Moreover, Dell also established herself as the Queen of Venice's Muscle Beach as well as was a performer with the Dwayne Bros. Circus and an international acrobatic judge. In addition, Paula also performed stunts in a handful of films and TV shows; she's best known for doubling Carol Channing for the scene in which Channing gets shot out of a cannon onto a stage in Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967). Dell also worked as a teacher in Los Angeles when she wasn't doing stunts. Paula was inducted into the U.S. Sports Acrobatics Hall of Fame in 2003. Dell died at age 90 at her home in Santa Monica, California on January 9, 2017. She was survived by her son Randy, sister Rosalie, and granddaughters Emily and Gracie.November 15, 1926 – January 9, 2017- Director
- Producer
- Additional Crew
David Richards was born in 1948 in Hollinwood, Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, UK. He was a director and producer, known for Conviction (2004), This Is Personal: The Hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper (2000) and Emmerdale Farm (1972). He was married to Judith Hackett. He died on 9 January 2017 in Islington, London, England, UK.1948 – January 9, 2017- Teresa Ann Savoy was born on 18 July 1955 in London, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Caligula (1979), Madam Kitty (1976) and Bambina (1974). She died on 9 January 2017 in Milan, Lombardy, Italy.July 18, 1955 – January 9, 2017
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Singer, composer songwriter, and pianist who conducted his own trio from 1944 to 1949 and thereafter performed with, and arranged for, the Benny Goodman orchestra into 1952. He sang in theatres and night clubs, and made many records. Joining ASCAP in 1957, his popular-song compositions include "Make Up Your Mind," "El Greco," "Just Walk Away," and "Stay Warm."August 14, 1926 – January 10, 2017- Make-Up Department
- Special Effects
- Additional Crew
Manlio Rocchetti was born on 28 November 1943 in Rome, Italy. He is known for Driving Miss Daisy (1989), Shutter Island (2010) and Gangs of New York (2002). He died on 10 January 2017 in Florida, USA.1943 – January 10, 2017
Makeup artist who won an Oscar for DRIVING MISS DAISY and an Emmy for LONESOME DOVE and whose many other credits include ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA, THE AGE OF INNOCENCE, GANGS OF NEW YORK and BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN- Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Tony Rosato was born on 26 December 1954 in Naples, Campania, Italy. He was an actor and writer, known for Night Heat (1985), SCTV (1976) and Seeds of Doubt (1998). He was married to Leah Murray. He died on 10 January 2017 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.December 26, 1954 – January 10, 2017- Actor
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Meir Banai was born on 5 July 1961 in Be'er Sheva, Israel. He was an actor, known for Cafe Paris (1996), Ha-Hofesh Ha'Acharon (1989) and Lo Kolel Sherut (1990). He was married to Anat Peri-Builder. He died on 12 January 2017 in Ganot, Israel.July 5, 1961 – January 12, 2017