In Memory: Myrna Dell (March 5, 1924 - February 11, 2011).

I was just informed by Tom from Motion Picture Gems, that Myrna Dell, who was a film femme fatale in the 1940s and 1950s, died in Studio City, California, on February 11, 2011. My condolences goes to her daughter, Laura Patterson.

I re- posted a couple comments left on N and CF a few months ago..

Anonymous said...

I met Myrna years ago in a McDonalds in Studio City, Ca. I was on vacation with my sister and cousin. We didn't have much money so we ate at McDonalds alot that vacation. This woman was sitting there and called me over to her table and we started chatting. She told me who she was but I had no idea. She wrote to me and sent us autographed pictures. She did talk to me about acting because at the time I wanted to be an actress but didn't know how to get started. Well,all said and done, I never fulfilled my dream. Do you know if she ever was married or had children?

October 8, 2010 2:39 PM

Anonymous said...

Hello,

My name is Laura Patterson, and I am the only child of Myrna Dell. She married a handsome actor by the name of Herbert Patterson, and retired from Show Business to raise me in the 1960's


February 21, 2011 1:12 PM

In Memory: Elizabeth Taylor (27 February 1932 – 23 March 2011).

Screen legend Elizabeth Taylor, the film goddess whose life was often upstaged by her stormy personal life, died Wednesday at age 79. Taylor was considered one of the great actresses of Hollywood's golden age. She was one of my favorite film actresses.

Please click here to read past Elizabeth Taylor movie reviews.

In Memory: David Nelson. (October 24, 1936 – January 11, 2011).

David Oswald Nelson (October 24, 1936 – January 11, 2011) was an actor, director, producer, and son of bandleader/TV actor Ozzie Nelson and singer Harriet Hilliard and the older brother of late singer Ricky Nelson.

David Nelson, starred on his parents' popular television show "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. The show originated on radio in 1952 as "Here Come the Nelsons," then ran for 320 episodes on TV from 1952 to 1966 as "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet" with some of the story lines taken from the stars' own lives. David Nelson also directed and produced numerous episodes of the show throughout its run.



"The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet" was shot in the Nelson family home in the Hollywood foothills, which remains a popular attraction for visitors on Hollywood celebrity bus tours.

His film credits included "Peyton Place," "The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker," "The Big Circus," "Day of the Outlaw," "30,""The Big Show," `Love and Kisses and "Swing Out, Sweet Land." In 1976, he costarred with his mother in "Smash-Up on Interstate 5."

His television credits included "Up In Smoke," "The Love Boat," "High School USA," and "A Family For Joe." Directing credits included "O.K. Crackerby," "Childish Things," "Easy To Be Free," "Ozzie's Girls," "Death Screams," "Last Plane Out," "Goodnight Beantown" and "A Rare Breed."

David Nelson will greatly be missed.

In Memory: Neva Louise Patterson (10 February 1920 – 14 December 2010).

Neva Louise Patterson (10 February 1920 – 14 December 2010), was a wonderful character actress. Her first film performance was in, Taxi (1953). Other film credits include: The Buddy Holly Story, All of Me, and as Cary Grant's fiancee in, An Affair to Remember.

Her television credits include: Nichols, The Governor and J.J. and as Eleanor Dupres in V, which she reprised in V: The Final Battle. She made guest appearances on The Defenders, Ironside, Barnaby Jones, The Dukes of Hazzard, and St. Elsewhere.

Filmography:
All of Me (1984)
Star 80 (1983)
The Buddy Holly Story (1978)
The Spiral Road (1962)
An Affair to Remember (1957)
Desk Set (1957)

In Memory: Leslie Nielsen(February 11, 1926 – November 28, 2010) .

Leslie Nielsen, (February 11, 1926 – November 28, 2010) was a Canadian–American actor and comedian. Nielsen performed in over one hundred films and 1,500 television programs.

Born in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, Nielsen enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force and worked as a disc jockey. Beginning with a television role in 1948, he made over 50 television appearances. In 1956 Nielsen performed in dramas, westerns, and romance films. Nielsen's performances, Forbidden Planet (1956) and The Poseidon Adventure (1972) received positive reviews as a serious actor.

While Nielsen's early performances were dramatic roles, he became best known for his comedic roles, particularly in the 1980 satire Airplane!. Nielsen played Alan Rumack, a doctor on board a plane where several passengers and pilots get food poisoning after eating fish for dinner. Nielsen said the line that would later become one of film's most memorable quote. "Don't Call me Shirley".

Nielsen was also successful with The Naked Gun film series, based on a short-lived television series Police Squad!. His portrayal of serious characters seemingly oblivious to their surroundings gave him a reputation as a comedian. His wonderful sense of humor will be missed.

Jill Clayburgh (April 30, 1944 – November 5, 2010).

Jill Clayburgh, made her screen debut in, The Wedding Party(1963). She became well known for her performance in the comedy-mystery, Silver Streak(1976).

She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for the film, An Unmarried Woman(1978), for which she won the "Best Actress Award" at the Cannes Film Festival, and for the film, Starting Over(1979). She also received strong notices for a dramatic performance in, I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can.

Her other films: Portnoy's Complaint, Gable and Lombard (in which she portrayed screen legend Carole Lombard), Semi-Tough, It's My Turn, First Monday in October and in La Luna.

Television audiences know Clayburgh from the series and movies: Law and Order, The Practice. She received Emmy Award nominations for her work in the made-for-television movie Hustling(1975) and for guest performance in the series Nip/Tuck (2005).

In 2006, she performed on Broadway in, Barefoot in the Park. She also returned to the screen in, Running With Scissors. During 2007, Clayburgh performed in the ABC television series, Dirty Sexy Money.

I was really surprised to learn of this wonderful actress passing. She played many feminist parts, but.. no less glamorous .

Tom Bosley(October 1, 1927 - October 19, 2010).

Actor Tom Bosley, career spanned five decades which included his best known role as the father on popular 1970s TV comedy, Happy Days. Bosley's first film performance was in, Love with the Proper Stranger(1963). Other films include: The World of Henry Orient, Divorce American Style and the made-for-television, The Triangle Factory Fire Scandal. Bosley shared a story about his experience with the Holocaust in the documentary film, Paper Clips.

Bosley's was one of my favorite character actors who guested star in a number of popular 1960s television shows such as: Diagnoses Unknown, The Man Who Wanted to Die(1962), The Law and Mr. Jones. In 1969 he performed in a comical episode of The Virginian. Other performances include: Route 66, Dr. Kildare, Marcus Welby, M.D, Bonanza,The Love Boat and Murder, She Wrote. He continued working well into the 2000s with parts in series such as That 70s Show. So long, Mr. C.

Barbara Billingsley (December 22, 1915 – October 16, 2010) .

Barbara Billingsley, landed a contract with MGM Studios in 1945 , where she went on to perform in uncredited roles, in major motion picture productions: The Bad and the Beautiful, Three Guys Named Mike, Invaders from Mars (1953). Her film experience led to roles on the sitcoms: Professional Father and The Brothers as well as an appearance with David Niven on his anthology series, Four Star Playhouse. In 1957, she guest starred in the episode "That Magazine" of the CBS sitcom Mr. Adams and Eve. She co-starred in, The Careless Years, which was her first and only major role in the movies.

In 1952, Billingsley had her first guest-starring role on an episode of The Abbott and Costello Show. The part led to other roles on The Lone Wolf, two episodes of City Detective, The Pride of the Family, Schlitz Playhouse of Stars, Letter to Loretta, General Electric Summer Originals, You Are There, Cavalcade of America, Panic!, Mr. Adams and Eve, The Love Boat, Silver Spoons, Parker Lewis Can't Lose, Mike Hammer, Empty Nest. She reprised her June Cleaver role three times, in Amazing Stories, Baby Boom and Roseanne. She also guest-starred on an episode of Make Room For Daddy, in which Thomas's character is a widower.

After Billingsley signed a contract with Universal Studios in 1957, she made her mark on TV as everyday mother, June Cleaver on, Leave It to Beaver (Pictured above). Leave it to Beaver 1950s-1960s. Idealized suburban family situation comedy about an inquisitive/naive boy and his adventures at home, in school, and around his neighborhood.

I will always remember Barbara Billingsley performance in the TV show, Leave it to Beaver.

Tony Curtis wife Jill talks to the media.

Jill Curtis talks to the media outside the Henderson, Nevada, home she lived in with her husband, actor Tony Curtis. The Oscar nominee passed away Wednesday night of cardiac arrest at the age of 85.

Tony Curtis (June 3, 1925 – September 29, 2010).

Tony Curtis, began his acting career in an uncredited screen debut came in the film, Criss Cross (1949) playing a rumba dancer. Later, he performed in the film, Sweet Smell of Success (1957) with Burt Lancaster (who also starred in Criss Cross) and an Oscar-nominated performance in, The Defiant Ones.

He also performed in the comedies:

Some Like It Hot. When musicians, Joe and Jerry (Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon), witness what looks like the Saint Valentines Day Massacre of 1929. When the Chicago gangsters see them, they decide to leave town, taking a job where they disguise themselves as women, playing in an all-girl musical band. Calling themselves Josephine and Geraldine, they join the band and board a train. Joe and Jerry both have eyes for"Sugar Kane" (Marilyn Monroe), the band's singer and Ukulele player. Another wonderful comedy, Sex and the Single Girl.

His dramas include: The Outsider, the true story of WW II veteran Ira Hayes, and The Boston Strangler, in which he played the self-confessed murderer of the film's title, Albert DeSalvo.

Curtis also performed on television, he co-starred with Roger Moore in the TV series The Persuaders!. Later, he co-starred in McCoy and Vega$.

In the early 1960's, he was immortalized as "Stony Curtis," a voice-over on The Flintstones.

Curtis loved to paint and since the early 1980's, it became his second career.

In 2007, his painting The Red Table was on display in the Metropolitan Museum in Manhattan. His paintings can also be seen at the Tony Vanderploeg Gallery in Carmel, California.

Curtis was disappointed that never won an Oscar. But in March 2006, Curtis did receive the Sony Ericsson Empire Lifetime Achievement Award.  I will always remember his wonderful performances. He will be missed. He is part of the vanishing era of Hollywood .....

Eddie Fisher (August 10, 1928 – September 22, 2010).

Eddie Fisher (August 10, 1928 – September 22, 2010).  He will be greatly missed as a talented singer and entertainer, who was one of the world's most famous and singers in the 1950's, selling millions of records and having his own TV show. He was married to Debbie Reynolds, Elizabeth Taylor and Connie Stevens.

In Memory: Patricia Neal. (January 20, 1926 – August 8, 2010)

After Patricia Neal moved to New York, the first films she performed in were, John Loves Mary(1949), The Fountainhead(1949), The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), The Breaking Point(1952), Operation Pacific, A Face in the Crowd (1957) and co-starred in Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961).

In 1963, Neal won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Hud. Three years later, in 1965, she was reunited with John Wayne for, In Harm's Way winning her second BAFTA Award.

She returned to the big screen in The Subject Was Roses (1968), for which she was nominated for an Academy Award.

She later performed as Olivia Walton in the television movie The Homecoming: A Christmas Story (1971), which was the pilot episode for The Waltons. Creator Earl Hamner, was not sure if Neal was well enough to commit to the grind of a weekly television series, after her stroke. Neal played a dying widowed mother trying to find a home for her three children in a moving 1975 episode of NBC's Little House on the Prairie.

In 1978, Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center in Knoxville dedicated the Patricia Neal Rehabilitation Center in her honor. The center serves as part of Neal's paralysis victim advocacy. She appeared in Center advertisements throughout 2006.

In 2007, Neal worked on Silvana Vienne's movie Beyond Baklava: The Fairy Tale Story of Sylvia's Baklava, appearing as herself in the documentary talking about alternative ways to end violence in the world. Also in 2007, Neal received one of two annually-presented Lifetime Achievement Awards at the SunDeis Film Festival in Waltham, Massachusetts.

She often performed on the Tony Awards telecast, possibly because she was the last surviving winner from the first ceremony. Her original Tony was lost, so she was given a replacement by Bill Irwin when they presented the Best Actress Award to Cynthia Nixon in 2006.

In April 2009, Neal received a lifetime achievement award from WorldFest Houston on the occasion of the debut of her film, Flying By. Neal was a long-term actress with Philip Langner's Theatre at Sea/Sail With the Stars productions with the Theatre Guild. I do not think I will never forget any of her performances. She will be greatly missed.

In Memory: Marilyn Monroe.

Some of my favorite Marilyn Monroe trivia:
In Marilyn Monroe personal library she had over 400 books on topics ranging from art, history, psychology, philosophy, literature, religion, poetry, and gardening. Many of her books, auctioned in 1999, had her pencil notations in the margins.

Her dog named Tippy was given to her by foster father Albert Bolender. Her final, unfinished film, Something's Got to Give (1962), the dog was also named Tippy.

Often carried around the book, "The Biography of Abraham Lincoln."

Was an outstanding player on the Hollygrove Orphanage softball team.

Wore glasses.

My favorite Marilyn Monroe movie is, How to marry a Millionaire(1954). The story is about three New York models who move into a Manhattan penthouse apartment looking for eligible millionaires to marry. All three fall in love with men who may not be as rich as they were hoping. Now they have to decide to marry for.. love or money?

Marilyn Monroe's 48th Anniversary

Just a mention that today marks the 48th anniversary of Marilyn's tragic death. Let us honor her today by keeping her alive through memories, film, stories, and photos.

Dennis Hopper (May 17, 1936 – May 29, 2010)

Dennis Hopper, was an actor, filmmaker and artist. As a young man, Hopper became a student of the Actors Studio. He made his first television performance in 1955, and performed in two films with James Dean, Rebel Without a Cause (1955) and Giant (1956). Over the next ten years, Hopper performed on television in guest roles, and by the end of the 1960s had played supporting roles in several films. He directed and starred in one of my favorite Dennis Hopper movies, Easy Rider (1969), winning an award at the Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay as co-writer of the film's script. This hard-living screen star, will be missed.

TCM Remembers: Lena Horn, On Friday, May 21st.

Click to view TCM's, Lena Horn, line up of movies.

Lynn Redgrave ( 8 March 1943 – 2 May 2010)

Lynn Rachel Redgrave, was an English actress. A member of the well-known British family of actors, Lynn Redgrave trained in London, before making her theatrical debut in 1962. By the mid-1960s she performed in films, Tom Jones (1963), and Georgy Girl (1966) which won her a New York Film Critics Award and nominations for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award.

In 1967, she made her Broadway debut and had performed in stage productions in New York, while continuing to make frequent returns to the London West End. She performed with her sister Vanessa in Three Sisters in London, and in the title role in a television production of Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?. Redgrave made a return to films in the late 1990s in films such as Shine (1996) and Gods and Monsters (1998), for which she received another Academy Award nomination. Hollywood has lost their Georgy Girl.

Dixie Carter (1939-2010)

Dixie Carter, attended college at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and Southwestern at Memphis (now Rhodes College). She was a graduate of Memphis State (now University of Memphis) with a degree in English.

In 1960, Carter made her first stage performance in a Memphis production of Carousel. She moved to New York City in 1963 and played a part in a production of Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale.

After an eight-year hiatus from acting, she returned in 1974, when she filled in for actress Nancy Pinkerton as Dorian Cramer on One Life to Live, while Pinkerton was on maternity leave. After which she was cast in the role of Assistant D.A. Olivia Brandeis "Brandy" Henderson on the soap opera The Edge of Night, which she performed from 1974-76. Carter took the role even though some advised her that doing a daytime soap might hurt her career. After leaving Edge of Night in 1976, she moved from New York to Los Angeles and pursued prime-time television roles.

She performed in Out of the Blue, On Our Own, Diff'rent Strokes and Filthy Rich (1982). Carter's performance in Filthy Rich made the way for her best-known role, of interior decorator Julia Sugarbaker in the 1980s/1990s TV show Designing Women, set in Atlanta, Georgia. Filthy Rich had been created by Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, who went on to create Designing Women. Hal Holbrook, her real-life husband, performed as Reese Watson.

From 1999-2002, she played "Randi King" on the legal drama Family Law, portraying a lawyer. In 2004, she made a guest performance on Law and Order: SVU, playing a defense attorney named Denise Brockmorton in the episode called Home.

Carter performed in several Broadway musicals and plays, She performed on and off-Broadway, most recently portraying Maria Callas in Terrence McNally's Master Class.

In 2006-07 Carter found renewed fame as Gloria Hodge on Desperate Housewives, earning an Emmy nomination for her work on the series.

Her final film was That Evening Sun, which she filmed on location with her husband Hal Holbrook in East Tennessee in the summer of 2008 and is based on a short story by William Gay.

We will greatly miss Dixie Carter, a very classy lady.

John Forsythe (Jan. 29,1918- April 1, 2010).

John Forsythe, before he was a successful actor, he worked as a baseball announcer and a drama teacher. Forsythe starred in three television series, spanning three decades, as single father Bentley Gregg in the 1950's sitcom Bachelor Father (1957–1962); as the unseen millionaire Charles Townsend on the 1970s crime drama Charlie's Angels (1976–1981), and as a patriarch Blake Carrington, on Dynasty (1981–1989). He will be greatly missed. Now he joins with another Angel that passed on last year.

Robert Culp (August 16, 1930- March 24, 2010).

At 21, Culp made his Broadway debut in He Who Gets Slapped. Within six years, he was starring in his own TV Western, Trackdown. Culp began writing scripts for The Rifleman and Gunsmoke. He performed on the big screen for the first time in 1963, in the film Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1968). In 1965, Culp and Bill Cosby were co-starred on the TV series I Spy. During I Spy's three seasons, Culp made his directorial debut in the 1972 theatrical feature Hickey and Boggs, in which he was reunited with Cosby. He then performed in the role of CIA chief Bill Maxwell on the weekly show, The Greatest American Hero (1980-1982), and played character roles as the President in The Pelican Brief (1993). Culp co-starred with Cosby for a 1994 I Spy TV-movie reunion. He will be greatly missed.
Robert Culp Official Websight