Year: 2008

Charles "Van" Johnson (August 25, 1916 – December 12, 2008) was an American film and television actor and dancer.

He passed away on December 12, 2008 at an assisted living center in Nyack, NY. He was 92.

Van Johnson with Lucy

Van Johnson’s filmography continues next page

Van Johnson Filmography

Too Many Girls (1940)
Murder in the Big House (1942)
The War Against Mrs. Hadley (1942)
Somewhere I’ll Find You (1942)
Dr. Gillespie’s New Assistant (1942)
The Human Comedy (1943)
Dr. Gillespie’s Criminal Case (1943)
Pilot #5 (1943)
Madame Curie (1943)
A Guy Named Joe (1943)
Two Girls and a Sailor (1944)
The White Cliffs of Dover (1944)
Three Men in White (1944)
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944)
Between Two Women (1945)
Thrill of a Romance (1945)
Week-End at the Waldorf (1945)
Ziegfeld Follies (1946) (scenes deleted)
Easy to Wed (1946)
No Leave, No Love (1946)
Till the Clouds Roll By (1946)
High Barbaree (1947)
The Romance of Rosy Ridge (1947)
The Bride Goes Wild (1948)
State of the Union (1948)
Command Decision (1948)
Mother Is a Freshman (1949)
Scene of the Crime (1949)
In the Good Old Summertime (1949)
Battleground (1949)
The Big Hangover (1950)
Duchess of Idaho (1950)
Grounds for Marriage (1951)
Three Guys Named Mike (1951)
Go for Broke! (1951)
It’s a Big Country (1951)
Too Young to Kiss (1951)
Invitation (1952)
When in Rome (1952)
Washington Story (1952)
Plymouth Adventure (1952)
Confidentially Connie (1953)
Remains to Be Seen (1953)
Easy to Love (1953)
Siege at Red River (1954)
Men of the Fighting Lady (1954)
The Caine Mutiny (1954)
Brigadoon (1954)
The Last Time I Saw Paris (1954)
The End of the Affair (1955)
The Bottom of the Bottle (1956)
Miracle in the Rain (1956)
23 Paces to Baker Street (1956)
Slander (1956)
The Pied Piper of Hamelin (1957)
Kelly and Me (1957)
Action of the Tiger (1957)
The Last Blitzkrieg (1959)
Beyond This Place (1959)
Subway in the Sky (1959)
The Enemy General (1960)
Wives and Lovers (1963)
Divorce American Style (1967)
Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows (1968)
Yours, Mine and Ours (1968)
Eagles Over London (1969)
The Price of Power (1969)
Eye of the Spider (1971)
Concorde Affaire ’79 (1979)
From Corleone to Brooklyn (1979)
The Battle of the Eagles (1979)
The Kidnapping of the President (1980)
Murder in an Etruscan Cemetery (1982)
The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)
Down There in the Jungle (1986)
Taxi Killer (1988)
Killer Crocodile (1989)
Delta Force Commando II: Priority Red One (1990)
Clowning Around (1992)

Bettie Page (April 22, 1923 – December 11, 2008) was a former American model who became famous in the 1950s for her fetish modeling and pin-up photos. She was also one of the earliest Playmates of the Month for Playboy magazine.

Death of Bettie Page
Bettie Page died on December 11, 2008, having been on continuous life support since her heart attack in December 2008

While she faded into obscurity in the 1960s after converting to Christianity and serving as a Baptist missionary in Angola, she experienced a resurgence of popularity in the 1980s and had a significant cult following. Her look, including her jet black hair and trademark bangs, has influenced many artists. Bettie is a great aunt of comedian/writer Benjy Bronk and Bettie is a cousin of actress Mena Suvari.

Related story: Pinup Legend Bettie Page in Coma

Robert Prosky (December 13, 1930 – December 8, 2008) was an American actor with hundreds of credits on stage and screen including "Mrs. Doubtfire" and "Hill Street Blues"

Death of Robert Prosky
Robert Prosky died on December 8, 2008, five days short of his 78th birthday, of complications following a heart procedure. At the time of his death, he lived on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.

Biography
Robert Prosky appeared in such films as Thief, Christine, The Natural, Broadcast News, Green Card, Hoffa, Rudy, and Dead Man Walking. In addition to appearing in numerous films, Prosky appeared as a regular on the television shows Hill Street Blues and Veronica’s Closet. Prior to his film and television career, Prosky appeared in numerous productions at the Arena Stage in Washington, DC, most notably as Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman. He was considered for the role of Martin Crane in Frasier and later made a guest appearance in the show as a reclusive writer. He also played Rebecca Howe’s father on Cheers.

Prosky often performed at Arena Stage in Washington, DC, with over 100 stage credits to his name at that theatre alone. He also originated the role of Shelly Levene in David Mamet’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play Glengarry Glen Ross.

Robert Prosky’s biography continues next page

Filmography
The Skeptic (2009)
Suits on the Loose (2005)
D-Tox (2002) – McKenzie
Death to Smoochy (2002) (uncredited)
Dudley Do-Right (1999) – Inspector Fenwick
Veronica’s Closet (1997) (TV series) (1997–1998)
The Chamber (1996)
Dead Man Walking (1995)
The Scarlet Letter (1995) – Horace Stonehall
Miracle on 34th Street (1994) – Judge Henry Harper
Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) – Jonathan Lundy
Rudy (1993) – Father Cavanaugh
Last Action Hero (1993)
Hoffa (1992)
Far and Away (1992) – Daniel Christie
Green Card (1990)
Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)
The Great Outdoors (1988)
Outrageous Fortune (1987) – Stanislav Korzenowski
Broadcast News (1987)
Hill Street Blues (1981) (TV series) (1984–1987)
The Natural (1984)
The Keep (1983)
Christine (1983)
The Lords of Discipline (1983)
Monsignor (1982)
Hanky Panky (1982)
Thief (1981)

Dennis Yost passed away of respiratory failure, on December 7, 2008, at the age of 65 

Dennis Yost was a singer & a drummer of Classics IV, a pop rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida, United States, in 1965. Their signature songs include "Spooky" and "Stormy".

Dennis Yost became seriously ill. On July 11, 2006, while recovering at home in a suburb of Cincinnati, Yost fell down a flight of stairs and suffered serious brain trauma. Although Yost subsequently underwent a significant amount of rehabilitation, he was never again able to perform. Since Yost’s unique voice was integral to the Classics IV sound, his injury effectively placed the group on hiatus.

To assist Yost and his wife with their medical bills, a benefit concert was held on March 25, 2007, at Rhino’s Live in Cincinnati, Ohio, the benefit was originally thought up by Yost’s close friend Jon "Bowser" Bauman. Many musical entertainers and some surprise guests from the 1950’s through the 70’s performed some of their biggest chart-topping hits in tribute to Dennis Yost, backed by local favorites, BlueStone Ivory and Classics IV guitarist Brian Correll. An interesting note to the benefit concert is that it didn’t benefit Dennis or his wife financially. Without question the benefit was a huge boost for Dennis allowing him to see and visit with so many old friends, but the expenses far exceeded the money raised leaving the whole event in the red.

Dennis Yost passed away of respiratory failure, on December 7, 2008, at the age of 65

Pinup Legend Bettie Page suffered a heart attack on 2 December 2008. The 85-year-old had been hospitalized for three weeks with pneumonia and was about to be released when she had the heart attack. Page was transferred to another hospital in Los Angeles and remains in intensive care, reportedly in a coma.

Bettie Page (born Betty Mae Page April 22, 1923 in Nashville, Tennessee) is a former American model who became famous in the 1950s for her fetish modeling and pin-up photos. She was also one of the earliest Playmates of the Month for Playboy magazine.

While she faded into obscurity in the 1960s after her conversion to Christianity, she experienced a resurgence of popularity in the 1980s and now has a significant cult following. Her look, including her jet black hair and trademark bangs, has influenced many artists.

Related Story: Bettie Page dies 85

Paul Benedict (September 17, 1938 – December 1, 2008) was an American character actor who made numerous appearances in television and movies beginning in the 1960s. He is probably best recognized for his roles as The Number Painter on the PBS children’s show Sesame Street, and as the quirky English neighbor "Harry Bentley" on the CBS sitcom The Jeffersons.

Death of Paul Benedict
On December 1, 2008, Benedict was found dead at his home in Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. Paul Benedict was 70 years old at the time of his death.

Biography
Benedict was born in Silver City, New Mexico, the son of Alma Marie (née Loring), a journalist, and Mitchell M. Benedict, a doctor.[1] He grew up in Massachusetts. As a young man, he suffered from acromegaly, a pituitary disorder that affects the extremities and face, which accounted for his slightly oversized jaw and nose.

As could be heard in his other film and TV roles, he had a slight English accent even when not in character as Bentley. Benedict played the director of the Richard III production in the 1977 movie The Goodbye Girl starring Richard Dreyfuss, in which Richard was to be portrayed in the play as a stereotypical gay man. He was in a short scene in the 1984 mockumentary film This is Spinal Tap, playing the awkward desk clerk who checks in the band. In the 1990 film The Freshman, he played the condescending NYU film school professor of Matthew Broderick’s main character. He also made a memorable appearance as the incorrectly assumed title character in the 1996 film Waiting for Guffman, another mockumentary involving many of the same writers and actors.

Benedict also played the role of a slave trader in Dino De Laurentiis’ Mandingo opposite James Mason and Perry King in 1975. Perhaps his best known movie role was of the reverend Lundquist in the 1972 Sydney Pollack film Jeremiah Johnson.

William R. Finnegan (June 29, 1928 Kansas City Missouri – November 28, 2008 Sag Harbor, Suffolk County New York) was a five times Emmy nominated TV & film producer.

William Finnegan’s credits include "Hawaii Five-0," "The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd" and "The Fabulous Baker Boys,"

He co-produced movies such as; "Support Your Local Gunfighter" (1971), "North Shore" (1987), "The Fabulous Baker Boys" (1989), "White Palace" (1990), "The Babe" (1992), "CrissCross" (1992), "Reality Bites" (1994) and "Ed" (1996).

Death of William Finnegan
William Finnegan died of parkinson’s disease at his home in Sag Harbor, N.Y.
William Finnegan was 80 years old at the time of his death.

Irving Brecher (January 17, 1914, New York City –  November 17, 2008, Los Angeles) enjoyed early success as a screenwriter for the Marx Brothers; he was the only writer to get sole credit on a Marx Brothers film including At the Circus in 1939 and Go West in 1940. He was also one of the numerous uncredited writers on the screenplay of 1939’s The Wizard of Oz. Some of his other screenplays were Shadow of the Thin Man (1941), Ziegfeld Follies (1946) and Bye Bye Birdie (1963).

He wrote and directed Sail A Crooked Ship starring Ernie Kovacs and a young Robert Wagner.
He received an Academy Award nomination in 1944 for his screenplay of Meet Me in St Louis.
His memoir is scheduled for 2008 publication by Ben Yehuda Press

Death of Irving Brecher
Irving Brecher died of age-related causes at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Irving Brecher was 94 years old at the time of his death.

John "Mitch" Mitchell (July 9, 1947 – November 12, 2008) was an English drummer, most famous for his membership in The Jimi Hendrix Experience.

Mitchell, 61, apparently died of natural causes, the Multnomah County Medical Examiner said

Jimmy Carl Black (born James Inkanish, Jr., February 1, 1938 – November 1, 2008) was a drummer and vocalist for The Mothers of Invention.

Born in El Paso, Texas, he was of Cheyenne heritage. His trademark line was “Hi Boys and Girls, I’m Jimmy Carl Black, and I’m the Indian of the group.” He has been credited on some Mothers albums as playing “drums, vocals, and poverty”.

He appeared in the movie 200 Motels and sings the song Lonesome Cowboy Burt.

He worked as a guest vocalist with Muffin Men, a Frank Zappa tribute band based in Liverpool, England, and with Jon Larsen, on the surrealistic Strange News From Mars project, featuring several other Zappa alumni, such as Tommy Mars, Bruce Fowler, Arthur Barrow.

Black was diagnosed with lung cancer in August 2008, and died on November 1st. A benefit will be held on 9 November 2008 at the Bridgehouse II in London.