Friday, May 20, 2016

Notable Passings

...Actor Alan Young, best known for voicing a cartoon duck and acting opposite a talking horse, has passed on at the age of 96.

Young made his film debut 70 years ago playing Roy in the classic Jeanne Crain film MARGIE (1946).

He starred in the 1958-1966 TV series MISTER ED and decades later voiced Scrooge McDuck in MICKEY'S CHRISTMAS CAROL (1983), a role he continued to play in the TV series DUCK TALES, the film DUCK TALES THE MOVIE: THE TREASURE OF THE LOST LAMP (1990), and more.

Young wrote the memoirs THERE'S NO BUSINESS, LIKE SHOW BUSINESS...WAS and MISTER ED AND ME.

Additional obituaries have appeared in The Hollywood Reporter and Variety.

...Actor William Schallert, who has 375 credits on his IMDb page, passed away on May 8th, age 93.

Schallert's best-known role was as the father on THE PATTY DUKE SHOW (1963-66). Schallert's passing came a little over a month after the passing of Duke, who played his TV daughter and her lookalike cousin.

Schallert turned up regularly in science fiction and crime films of the '50s. Favorite Schallert supporting roles include a nerdy weatherman in THE MONOLITH MONSTERS (1957), an ambulance attendant in THEM! (1954), a police dispatcher in BOBBY WARE IS MISSING (1955), and a doctor in THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN (1957).

Schallert had a rather remarkable career as a steadily working actor for the better part of seven decades, and by all accounts was also a wonderful man.

...French actress Madeleine Lebeau, the last surviving cast member of CASABLANCA (1942), has died at 92.

Lebeau was part of the iconic scene in which the crowd sings "La Marseillaise" in Rick's Cafe. She acted until 1970, but her work in that scene alone, in one of the best-loved films of all time, guarantees she will always be remembered.

...Along with the previously mentioned MISTER ED and THE PATTY DUKE SHOW, the Sally Field TV series THE FLYING NUN (1967-70) is one of my earliest childhood TV memories. Madeleine Sherwood, who played the Mother Superior, died at the end of April, age 93.

Sherwood also memorably played Mae in the filming of Tennessee Williams' CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF (1958), seen at the left, a role she also played on Broadway. She also appeared in the stage and screen versions of Williams' SWEET BIRD OF YOUTH.

3 Comments:

Blogger DKoren said...

Aw, so sad, all of them. My family loves Alan Young for his role in The Time Machine. We still quote so many of his lines.

8:35 AM  
Blogger Terence Towles Canote said...

I always remember William Schallert as Mr. Pomfritt on Dobie Gillis. He was such a talented and busy actor. I sometimes think he appeared in every show ever made! And I loved Alan Young. He was so good on Mister Ed and as Uncle Scrooge.

10:30 AM  
Blogger mel said...

I first became aware of Alan Young when I acquired a 16mm copy of "tom thumb" (sic) (1958), in which he was most endearing in his role of Woody.

Unfortunately we missed out on his television work as we didn't have TV in South Africa until the later 1970s, but he turned up in several feature films and we always loved him.

R.I.P.

9:17 PM  

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