Ghoulish Observers

The Sun has the story.

HARRY Potter film star Richard Griffiths has died from complications following heart surgery, aged 65.

Griffiths, who played Uncle Vernon Dursley in the blockbuster movies, was one of Britain's most celebrated actors.

He also starred in The History Boys both on stage and on the screen, in TV's Pie in the Sky and played Uncle Monty in cult movie Withnail And I.

He also acted in the production of Equus that featured Daniel Radcliffe.

Radio Times: Doctor Who's Romana, Mary Tamm, dies
The actress who played the first incarnation of the Time Lady has passed away, aged 62, following a battle with cancer

Bloomberg News via Los Angeles Times: Author-screenwriter Nora Ephron dies at 71
June 26, 2012, 5:39 p.m.

Nora Ephron, the author, screenwriter and playwright whose wry take on life, love and loss informed the hit films "When Harry Met Sally" and "Sleepless in Seattle" as well as the novel "Heartburn," about the breakup of her marriage to journalist Carl Bernstein, died Tuesday at age 71 in New York.

Through her writing and filmmaking, Ephron was a fixture at the crossroads of New York City, where she was born, and Hollywood, around which she was raised by her screenwriter parents. Starting with a post-college job in the mailroom at Newsweek, Ephron rose swiftly in journalism, writing for the New York Post and New York magazine and landing a column in Esquire.

Unsentimental and cynical in much of her early writing, she found fame in romantic comedies for the big screen. "When Harry Met Sally" (1989) starred Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan as two friends finally drawn into love. Ryan paired with Tom Hanks for "Sleepless in Seattle" (1993) and "You've Got Mail" (1998), which likewise end with attraction conquering obstacles.

Ephron was nominated for the Academy Award for screenwriting for "When Harry Met Sally" and "Sleepless in Seattle," as well as for "Silkwood" (1983), written with Alice Arlen. She directed "Sleepless in Seattle" and "You've Got Mail." She also wrote and directed "Michael" (1996) and "Julie & Julia" (2009), among other films.

More at the link in the headline.

Obituaries and art from Wired, CNN, CBS, and TrekWeb.

The Daily Telegraph (UK): Actress Susannah York has died, aged 72
Susannah York, the celebrated film and stage actress best known for her role in the film They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, has died aged 72.

In a fandom-related note, she played Kal-El's mother in the 1978 Superman film. ETA: BBC video on the story.

Veteran producer Dino De Laurentiis has died in Los Angeles, per reports. He was 91.

...De Laurentiis got his start over 70 years ago, climbing through the ranks of the Italian film industry before getting into producing in 1940s. He and partner Carlo Ponti collaborated on Fellini classics like Nights of Cabiria and the Oscar-winning La Strada before De Laurentiis spun off to one of the greatest big-budget genre careers in Hollywood history — including Barbarella, King Kong, Flash Gordon and Dune — while producing little masterpieces like Blue Velvet and Evil Dead 2 along the way. He produced more than 500 films overall. They don’t make them like him anymore.

Jean Simmons, the Ophelia to Laurence Olivier's Hamlet, dies at age 80.

Stage and screen actor Harve Presnell, 75, has died of pancreatic cancer..

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090701/ap_en_mo/us_obit_malden

*****
Oscar-winning actor Karl Malden dead at 97
11 mins ago

LOS ANGELES – The family of Karl Malden says the actor who won an Oscar for his role in "A Streetcar Named Desire" has died at age 97.

Malden's family informed the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences of his death on Wednesday. Malden served as the academy's president from 1989-92.

He made his screen debut in the 1940 movie "They Knew What They Wanted," and was praised for his role as Mitch in the 1951 classic "A Streetcar Named Desire."

His greatest fame came as Detective Mike Stone in the 1970s TV series "The Streets of San Francisco," in which he co-starred with Michael Douglas.

Malden also was a pitchman for American Express in a series of commercials airing over 21 years.

Ron Silver, age 62

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James Whitmore

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BBC News magazine has an audio slideshow of some of the big deaths of the year in tribute.

At least she wasn't killed by a giant pickle from Venus.

Actress Beverly Garland dies at 82.

I know her best from a few films MST3K did, but she was in lots more movies and tv shows. And if the footage from the MST3K convention is accurate, she was a fantastic sport.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081213/ap_en_ot/obit_van_johnson_14

"NEW YORK – Van Johnson, whose boy-next-door wholesomeness made him a popular Hollywood star in the '40s and '50s with such films as "30 Seconds over Tokyo," "A Guy Named Joe" and "The Caine Mutiny," died Friday of natural causes. He was 92.

Johnson died at Tappan Zee Manor, an assisted living center in Nyack, N.Y., said Wendy Bleisweiss, a close friend.

With his tall, athletic build, handsome, freckled face and sunny personality, the red-haired Johnson starred opposite Esther Williams, June Allyson, Elizabeth Taylor and others during his two decades under contract to MGM.

He proved to be a versatile actor, equally at home with comedies ("The Bride Goes Wild," "Too Young to Kiss"), war movies ("Go for Broke," "Command Decision"), musicals ("Thrill of a Romance," "Brigadoon") and dramas ("State of the Union," "Madame Curie").

During the height of his popularity, Johnson was cast most often as the all-American boy. He played a real-life flier who lost a leg in a crash after the bombing of Japan in "30 Seconds Over Tokyo." He was a writer in love with a wealthy American girl (Taylor) in "The Last Time I Saw Paris." He appeared as a post-Civil War farmer in "The Romance of Rosy Ridge."

More recently, he had a small role in 1985 as a movie actor in Woody Allen's "The Purple Rose of Cairo.""

Oliver Postgate, animator

Nina Foch, actress

Forrest J. Ackerman, "sci-fi" guy

Paul Benedict, actor

Michael Crichton passes away.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/books/11/05/obit.crichton/index.html

Info via Porn Stars: Where are they now?

- Veteran actor/director Buck Adams (whom I have just learned was the IRL brother of fellow porn star Amber Lynn) died on the 28th of heart failure. He was 54.

Gerard Damiano, director of Deep Throat, has passed on to the porn studio in the sky.

Rudy Ray Moore, the self-proclaimed "Godfather of Rap" who influenced generations of rappers and comedians with his rhyming style, braggadocio and profanity-laced routines, has died. He was 81.

Moore, whose low-budget films were panned by critics in the 1970s but became cult classics decades later, died Sunday night in Toledo, Ohio, of complications from diabetes, his brother Gerald told the Associated Press.

The heyday of his fame was in the 1970s, with the release of "Dolemite" followed by "The Human Tornado," "Petey Wheatstraw: The Devil's Son-in-Law" and "Money Hustler."

New York Daily News:  He was the Tops - Levi Stubbs dead at 72

If you put a freight train up against Levi Stubbs' vocals on Four Tops classics like "Can't Help Myself" or "Reach Out, I'll Be There," the freight train wouldn't even cover the spread. Levi Stubbs died Friday at his home, age 72, and he took with him a voice that enriched the golden age of 1960s popular music.

It wasn't exactly a gospel voice, it wasn't exactly soul. Stubbs himself told author Don Waller years ago that he didn't even consider it all that remarkable. "I don't consider myself as being a heckuva singer," he told Waller. "I'm more of a stylist, if you will."

Yeah. And Michael Jordan was more of a point guard.

Reuters:  Four Tops vocalist Levi Stubbs dies at 72

DETROIT (Billboard) - Arguably the most powerful voice in Motown's storied history has been silenced. Four Tops lead singer Levi Stubbs Jr. died Friday at his home in Detroit after a long series of health problems, including cancer and a stroke, that forced him to stop performing in 2000. He was 72.

Funeral arrangements were pending for Stubbs, who is survived by Clineice, his wife of 48 years, and five children.

"He had one of the most prolific and identifiably voices in American history," the Motown Alumni Association's Billy J. Wilson told Billboard.com. "It's a deep loss, to the entire Motown family and to the world."

For completeness, Los Angeles Times:  Levi Stubbs, lead singer of the Four Tops, dies at 72