Final Curtain (the Visual Arts obituary thread)*

Yeah, there was a time when she seemed to everywhere, then just dropped off the screen (no pun intended). I especially remember her appearance on an early (and very bittersweet) episode of WKRP.

 

Appeared to have died from the same thing that got Tommy Ramone.

 

Rae Allen Dead: Tony-Winning ‘Damn Yankees,’ ‘Sopranos’ Actress Was 95 – Deadline

 

I just saw him in Some Like it Hot a few days ago. But to me he will always be Pancho Rodriguez in that classic episode of Gilligan's Island.

 

Robert Morse, star of Mad Men and Broadway, dies aged 90

 

Damn!
Robert Morse has always been one of my absolute favorite performers. Very sad news. RIP Ponty!

 

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying was a favorite of mine as a kid (there was a time when it seemed you couldn't turn on a TV without it being on somewhere, be it an afternoon or late night movie).

 

Veteran Hong Hong Actor Kenneth Tsang has died at the age of 86

Hong Kong actor Kenneth Tsang dies at age 86, found unconscious in hotel: report

An active actor since he was a teenager in the mid 50s, Mr.Tsang was a constant presence on Hong Kong television and movie screens. In the west, he was probably best known as General Moon in the James Bond movie "Die Another Day" and Jackie Chan's superior office in "Rush Hour 2".

Several days ago, I read an article about his visit to Malaysia. His death occurred when he returned to Hong Kong from the trip and started his seven day quarantine. He was found to be COVID-19 negative.

An interesting fact about Mr. Tsang is that he was an architect, with a architecture degree from UC Berkeley.

RIP

 

Doctor Who and EastEnders star Ann Davies & wife of Richard Briers dies 87

 

Just remember....Mr. Tsang's former brother-in-law died earlier this month....

RIP Jimmy Wang Yu

 

David Birney Dead: Actor on ‘Bridget Loves Bernie’ and ‘St. Elsewhere’ Was 83 – The Hollywood Reporter

 

Kenneth Welsh, Twin Peaks and Star Trek Actor, Dies at 80

"Once upon a time, there was a place of great goodness called the White Lodge. Gentle fawns gamboled there amidst happy, laughing spirits. The sounds of innocence and joy filled the air, and when it rained, it rained sweet nectar that infused one's heart to live life in truth and beauty. Generally speaking, a ghastly place, reeking of virtue's sour smell, engorged with the whispered prayers of kneeling mothers, mewling newborns, and fools, young and old compelled to do good without reason. But I'm happy to point out that our story does not end in this wretched place of saccharine excess. For there is another place, its opposite. A place of almost unimaginable power, chock full of dark forces and vicious secrets. No prayers dare enter this frightful maw, for spirits there care not for good deeds or priestly invocations. They are as likely to rip the flesh from your bones as to greet you with a happy "good day". And if harnessed, these spirits in this hidden land of unmuffled screams and broken hearts will offer up a power so vast that its bearer might reorder the Earth itself to his liking. Now, this place I speak of is known as the Black Lodge. And I intend to find it."

RIP Windom Earle. Second only to BOB as the most iconic villain from the original run of Twin Peaks.

 

Mike Hagerty, Friends and Somebody Somewhere Star, Dead at 67

 

R.I.P.

Whenever I saw Hagerty on TV or the movies, he reminded me of John Candy quite a bit

 

That's the guy from Wayne's World who said "They laid me off".

 

I used to watch Bridget Loves Bernie every week, hard to believe it's been 50 years.
I haven't seen David Birney in anything since he was on St. Elsewhere in the mid '80s.
RIP.

 

His last onscreen appearance was on a 2007 episode of Without A Trace.

 

Weird timing on learning of David Birney’s passing. I was just remembering the other day having met him in the mid-80’s when I was working as a host at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s restaurant. Birney was with his wife Meredith Baxter and their kids, they had just come by to have a look at the grand space the now long gone eatery occupied. It was the summer of 1983 following the first season of St. Elsewhere, because I recall asking him if the show was being renewed and he said he didn’t know yet.

I really enjoyed Bridget Loves Birney as a kid, and it must have been inspired me, as both my first and current marriages have found me with Shiksas.

 

I remember the show existing, but don't recall a single episode. But what a great main title, with the VW 'drawing' the logo onscreen out of the black!

 

Jack Kehler Dead: 'Lost Highway,' 'Big Lebowski' Actor Was 75 - Variety

 

Larry Storch Dead: ‘F Troop’ Star Was 99 – The Hollywood Reporter

 

So that's it. The entire cast of F Troop is no more, sadly.

 

A good show for its time with a great theme song (that was dropped after one season). Johnny Carson had a somewhat modified name for his "Heckowi" tribe.

 

Larry Storch was an admirable real life human being. So sometimes the good don't die young. Still, very sad news today.

 

May have been posted already....

Bond theme composer Monty Norman dies aged 94