Alice Ghostley Has Died
Alice Ghostley, the Tony Award-winning actress best known on television for playing Esmeralda on “Bewitched” and Bernice on “Designing Women,” has died. She was 81.
Ghostley died Friday at her home in Studio City after a long battle with colon cancer and a series of strokes, longtime friend Jim Pinkston said.
Ghostley made her Broadway debut in “Leonard Sillman’s New Faces of 1952.” She received critical acclaim for singing “The Boston Beguine,” which became her signature song.
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She was well aware of the types of roles she should pursue.
“I knew I didn’t look like an ingenue,” she told The Globe. “My nose was too long. I had crooked teeth. I wasn’t blond. I knew I looked like a character actress.
“But I also knew I’d find a way,” she added.
Ghostley, whose actor husband, Felice Orlandi, died in 2003, is survived by her sister, Gladys.
Brett Somers Has Died
Actress and comedian Brett Somers, who amused game show fans with her quips on the “Match Game” in the 1970s, has died, her son said. She was 83.
Somers died Saturday at her home in Westport of stomach and colon cancer, Adam Klugman said Monday.
Hosted by Gene Rayburn, “Match Game” was the top game show during much of the 1970s. Contestants would try to match answers to nonsense questions with a panel of celebrities; much of the humor came from the racy quips and putdowns.
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Somers married actor Jack Klugman, the future star of the television shows “Quincy” and “The Odd Couple,” in 1953. The two separated in 1974, but never divorced.
They made many television appearances as a couple. Somers appeared on several episodes of “The Odd Couple,” playing the ex-wife of Klugman’s character.
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In addition to Adam Klugman, Somers is survived by another son, David, and a daughter, Leslie.
Actress Jane Wyman Has Died
Jane Wyman, an Academy Award winner for her performance as the deaf rape victim in “Johnny Belinda,” star of the long-running TV series “Falcon Crest” and Ronald Reagan’s first wife, died Monday morning at 93.
Wyman died at her Palm Springs home, said Richard Adney of Forest Lawn Memorial Park and Mortuary in Cathedral City. No other details were immediately available.
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Her marriage in 1940 to fellow Warner Bros. contract player Reagan was celebrated in the fan magazines as one of Hollywood’s ideal unions. While he was in uniform during World War II, her career ascended, signaled by her 1946 Oscar nomination for “The Yearling.”
The couple divorced in 1948, the year she won the Oscar for “Johnny Belinda.” Reagan reportedly cracked to a friend: “Maybe I should name Johnny Belinda as co-respondent.”
Luciano Pavarotti Has Died
Luciano Pavarotti, whose vibrant high C’s and ebullient showmanship made him one the most beloved tenors, has died, his manager told The Associated Press. He was 71.
Pavarotti had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last year and underwent further treatment in August 2007. His manager, Terri Robson, told the AP in an e-mail statement that Pavarotti died at his home in Modena, Italy, at 5 a.m. local time.
“The Maestro fought a long, tough battle against the pancreatic cancer which eventually took his life. In fitting with the approach that characterised his life and work, he remained positive until finally succumbing to the last stages of his illness,” the statement said.
Breakfast At Tiffany’s Actor Dies
Jose Luis de Vilallonga, an author, aristocrat and actor who shared the silver screen with Audrey Hepburn in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” died Thursday at his home on the island of Mallorca. He was 87.
A colorful character in Spain’s high society, Vilallonga worked as a journalist for the national press agency EFE and for the magazines Paris-Match, Marie-Claire and Vogue. He wrote an official biography of Spain’s King Juan Carlos that was published in 1993.
A high point in his acting career came when he starred as Jose da Silva Pereira, the dashing Brazilian multimillionaire who Holly Golightly planned to marry in Blake Edwards’ 1961 classic movie.
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He is survived by children John and Carmen from his first marriage and an adopted son Fabricio.
Source: Yahoo! News
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Merv Griffin Dies
Merv Griffin, the entertainer turned impresario who parlayed his “Jeopardy” and “Wheel of Fortune” game shows into a multimillion-dollar empire, has died. He was 82.
Griffin died of prostate cancer, according to a statement from his the family that was released by Marcia Newberger, spokeswoman for The Griffin Group/Merv Griffin Entertainment.
Griffin, who began his career as a $100-a-week radio singer in San Francisco, created the “Wheel of Fortune” and “Jeopardy!” game shows, soon moved on to become the featured vocalist in Freddy Martin’s band.
That led to a brief film career, in which he appeared opposite Doris Day and Kathryn Grayson, and later to a successful TV career as host of “The Merv Griffin Show,” which aired for more than 20 years.
James Callahan Dies
Sphere: Related ContentJames T. “Jimmy” Callahan, an actor best known for playing the cranky grandfather on television’s “Charles in Charge,” has died. He was 76.
Callahan, who was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in February, died Friday at his Fallbrook home, said his wife, Peggy Cannon-Callahan.
“As an actor, he was just an absolute pleasure. He wanted what was best for the team, and that’s very rare,” Scott Baio, who starred in “Charles in Charge,” told The Times on Tuesday.
On the show, Callahan played Walter Powell, a retired Navy man he referred to as the “blustery old grandfather” in a 2000 People magazine interview. When CBS canceled “Charles in Charge” after one season, Callahan joined the cast for the syndicated version, which ran from 1987 to 1990. The role was a favorite that brought him wide recognition.
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In 1994, at 63, he married for the first time. His wife survives him.