Gone With or Without fanfare

[moira finnie]

Sadly, Kim Hamilton, the beautiful and talented lady who brought dignity to all her roles, from "The Leech Woman" to her appearance as a judge in "Law and Order" on television, has passed away, according to a post from Alan K. Rode. Here is Ms. Hamilton discussing her role in Robert Wise's Odds Against Tomorrow (1959), in which she played Harry Belafonte's wife.

[youtube][/youtube]

[clore]

From the Hammer Films Facebook page:

We regret to announce the passing on Monday 30th September of Anthony Hinds. A remarkable figurehead in the history of Hammer, and the British film industry.

Son of founder William Hinds, Anthony was responsible for re-focusing the Hammer brand on the Horror market. During his time at the company he produced many of our most celebrated features and introduced audiences to Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing in The Curse of Frankenstein.

A man of many talents he also wrote numerous screenplays, including that of Frankenstein Created Woman.

Hammer historian Marcus Hearn who has spoken to representatives for the family had the following to say of the irrefutably talented Mr Hinds "In my view Tony Hinds was the most important creative figure in Hammer's history. Much of the credit for the creation and enduring success of Hammer horror belongs to him. His passing represents the end of an era."

Our thoughts are with his family.

[Lomm]

Nick, thank you for posting these obituaries. The story of Maxine Stuart certainly gives us a window into the life of an aspiring actress of the time.

Thanks. I'm working on a project that will try to bring more attention to all living actors/actresses that weren't super famous. I found out about the relatively forgotten Maxine Stuart as I was looking for names.

For my project, I've created Wikipedia articles for 5 classic performers that were active during the 30s, 40s & 50s.

Connie Sawyer (1912-)
Monica Lewis (1922-)
Jean Porter (1922-)
Noreen Nash (1924-)
Tommy Kelly (1925-)

We don't know how long we will have people from this era with us, so now is the time to let the world know they exist.

This is a great idea and some nice work you've done. It would be nice if someone could sit and interview some of these people about their experiences in old Hollywood, the people they knew, the films they worked on, etc. Something like what was done by Larry Ritter in the 60s and 70s with old time major league baseball players (The Glory of Their Times). Of course it would be nicer if it was done 20 years or so ago, when more of them were still alive.

[Western Guy]

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/tom-clanc ... AAslHQtDMD

A terrific novelist and a fine gentleman.

RIP Mr. Clancy.

[RedRiver]

Oh, my gosh! I had no idea. For a while in the 1990s, it seemed everybody was reading Tom Clancy. His work defined the techno-thriller. This is a loss.

[Western Guy]

Darn, more terrible news to report. Actor Jay Robinson has passed on. How memorable he was as the evil emperor Caligula in THE ROBE and especially DEMETRIUS AND THE GLADIATORS, which just recently aired on TCM.

A fine if underrated actor:

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/latime ... bLoggedOut

[clore]

Italian film star Giuliano Gemma was killed in a car crash on Tuesday (01Oct13).

The 75 year old was involved in a collision near Rome, Italy. He was taken to hospital but died shortly after his arrival.

After working as a stuntman, he began acting in 1962. He became famous for his roles in spaghetti westerns, appearing in films such as A Pistol for Ringo, Blood for a Silver Dollar and Day of Anger.

He went on to win the David di Donatello, Italy's equivalent of the Oscar, for his performance in Desert of Tartars in 1976.

http://www.contactmusic.com/story/itali ... sh_3887922

Loved him in "My Son, the Hero" which I must have seen four or five times at the Marcy Theater in Brooklyn.

[moira finnie]

Remarkably, the late Jay Robinson was a mere 23 when he played his best remembered role of Caligula in The Robe (1953), and, even though he was a survivor, Carr certainly went through a great deal of turmoil during his long life off-screen. My only memory of him in later years was a dimly remembered appearance on the old 700 Club speaking about his rehabilitation and faith--though his list of acting credits is very extensive. Here he is describing the hubbub around the premiere of The Robe:
[youtube][/youtube]

Before Gun Crazy was rediscovered in recent decades, did anyone else sometimes confuse him with John Dall, who also wore a toga and looked decadent in a few movies?

[Western Guy]

Sadly, with Halloween rapidly approaching - indeed, the season now upon us, we lost a genre writer whose most famous book was made into one of the most original and entertaining of the werewolf movies: Gary Brandner.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertain ... story.html

Seems we've been losing a more-than-usual number of authors as of late.

[Nick]

John Calvert (1911-2013) died recently. Though mainly a magician, he appeared in more than 10 Hollywood films. RIP.

LA Times, 28 September 2013.

John Calvert dies at 102; stage magician was also in movies

Sleight-of-hand artist John Calvert, who was chummy with Hollywood stars, played a detective called 'the Falcon' in the 1940s and did hand-stunt work and was a film advisor.

John Calvert, a Hollywood illusionist whose magic tricks won him numerous fans as well as several film roles, including three movies during the 1940s in which he played the detective known as the Falcon, has died. He was 102.

Calvert died Friday in Lancaster, according to the International Brotherhood of Magicians. No cause was given.

Hollywood's Magic Castle said on its Facebook page Friday: "We are very sad to report that Mr. John Calvert, our oldest performing magician, has passed away at the age of 102."

Calvert impressed many of Hollywood's most famous personalities with his sleight-of-hand tricks, and he invited some of them to perform in his stage shows. Among the stars he counted as friends were Cary Grant, Danny Kaye and Gary Cooper.

His magic shows were often humorous and usually involved sequences such as firing a woman from a cannon and sawing volunteers with a buzz saw. His wife, Tammy, sometimes served as his onstage assistant.

In his heyday during the '40s and '50s, Calvert performed regularly in Hollywood to star-filled audiences. He also brought his acts to Las Vegas and Broadway. Known for his robust physical presence, Calvert often flew his own airplanes and sailed the world aboard his yacht.

Calvert managed to parlay his stage success to the big screen, appearing in a handful of movies. His most famous role was as the detective Michael Watling, better known as the Falcon, in 1948's "Devil's Cargo" and two more movies.

He also worked as a Hollywood stuntman, and his hands stood in for Clark Gable's in a card-playing scene in the 1941 movie "Honky Tonk." As a technical advisor on "The Silver Chalice" in 1954, he taught Jack Palance the tricks of the trade for the role of a magician.

In 1956, he produced, wrote, directed and starred in "Dark Venture," an adventure tale about a reporter in Africa.

Calvert was born in 1911 in New Trenton, Ind. When he was 8, his father took him to see magician Howard Thurston in Cincinnati. The young Calvert was smitten and started performing for friends almost immediately after.

His career took off when an agent spotted him during a performance he gave while attending college.

Calvert remained active well into his later years, traveling the country with his magic acts and entertaining audiences with a mixture of charm and storytelling panache. At 100 he appeared at the London Palladium.

He accumulated numerous awards and was regarded by many in the field of magic as its most distinguished elder member.

"God has been good to me," he told the St. Petersburg Times in 1998. "People always ask why I don't just retire. I don't know what else I would do. Go fishing?"

Survivors include his wife, Tammy.

[moira finnie]

Thanks for posting this one, Nick. I think that TCM has aired his Falcon movies, Devil's Cargo, Appointment with Murder, and Search for Danger at least once. I definitely remember his face, though I did not know much more about him until you added this obituary here.

John Calvert in his prime

[Vecchiolarry]

HI,

Very sad, although he had a long and successful life and was loved by all he knew....
I remember him in the 50's and saw his act several times - fascinating!! Dorothy Di Frasso used to hire him many times to entertain at her parties; he was also a great friend of Binnie Barnes and Mike Frankovitch.

Funny story:
He once offered to take off Binnie's head in a trick (similar to Palance and Virginia Mayo in "The Silver Chalice"). Binnie said "No" as she had already had her head removed in "The Private Life of Henry VIII"....

R.I.P. John Calvert, a dear man.

Larry

[Vienna]

By sheer coincidence, I saw the first of John Calvert's Falcon films a few days ago. I can see how he would great on stage, but it seemed very odd how,in the middle of a drama, he would suddenly do some magic tricks!

[RedRiver]

Fascinating! I've never seen any of his Falcon movies. Didn't even know about them.

[JackFavell]

Stage great Paul Rogers has died.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/15/arts/ ... l?src=recg