That is because we kick ass bro;)

Ronald Reagan pardoned his felony conviction, getting past the Pearly Gates might take a bit longer...

Speed Racer Voice Actor Peter Fernandez Passes Away
 

William Winckler has informed ANN that Peter Fernandez, the actor and voice director best known as the title character in the animated Speed Racer series, passed away this morning due to lung cancer. He was 83.

Fernandez not only voiced Speed himself, but also his brother Racer X and several other characters in the English-dubbed adaptation of Tatsunoko's Mach Go Go Go anime series. He also directed the voice cast and even wrote the lyrics to the signature theme song. He later played Lupin III, Daisuke Jigen, and President Jimmy Carter in the JAL dubbing of the Lupin III: The Secret of Mamo film. His voice can be heard in such dubbed anime titles as Astro Boy, Gigantor, Marine Boy, Star Blazers: The Bolar Wars, and Superbook. He made a cameo appearance as an announcer in the 2008 live-action Speed Racer film.

Corinne Orr, the actress who played Speed Racer's romantic interest Trixie and younger brother Sprittle Racer, spoke with Fernandez as recently as last week. The two had worked together on 200 productions, and she noted that he was a big star on radio and Broadway and had starred in the 1949 film City Across the River "where Tony Curtis only had a bit part." Orr is the last surviving member of Speed Racer's main cast. Orr told ANN, "His great joy was doing all these conventions and receiving the acknowledgement and accolades from all his fans at the end of his life."

Winckler said that he was glad that, in the renewed interest that accompanied the Speed Racer film, Fernandez "finally got the attention and respect he deserved from the general public and mainstream press." He added, "Anime and Japanese live-action fantasy will never be the same without him. Peter's contribution to anime and Japanese live-action will live forever."

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news...ez-passes-away

Cinderella, Dies at 81
 

Ilene Woods, the Voice of Disney’s Cinderella, Dies at 81

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ilene Woods, the voice of the title character in the Walt Disney animated feature “Cinderella,” died on Thursday in Canoga Park, Calif. She was 81.

She died of causes related to Alzheimer’s disease, her husband, the drummer Ed Shaughnessy, told The Los Angeles Times.

Ms. Woods was an 18-year-old radio singer in 1948 when two songwriter friends asked her to make a demonstration recording of some songs they had written for a planned Disney feature. Two days later, Walt Disney himself interviewed her and offered her the job.

She was both the speaking and singing voice of Cinderella in the film, which was released in 1950 and went on to become a big success for the Disney studio. The singing voice of Prince Charming was provided by the future talk-show host Mike Douglas.

Ilene Woods was born Jacquelyn Ruth Woods on May 5, 1929, in Portsmouth, N.H. She had her own local radio show at 11 and her own network show at 14.

Ms. Woods sang on the Perry Como, Arthur Godfrey and Garry Moore television shows in the 1950s. She retired from show business in the early 1970s.

She was given a Disney Legends award in 2003.

In addition to her husband, a former member of the “Tonight Show” band, whom she married in 1963, she is survived by their son, Daniel Shaughnessy; a daughter from her first marriage, Stephanie Pagoto; and three grandchildren.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/06/movies/06woods.html

Oscar winner Stan Winston dies
 

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/...78377d8626568d


Stan Winston, the Oscar-winning special effects, creature and makeup artist whose innovative creations include the full-scale animatronic dinosaurs in "Jurassic Park" and the futuristic Terminators, has died. He was 62.

Winston died Sunday at his home in Malibu after a seven-year battle with myeloma, a Stan Winston Studio spokeswoman said.

During a film and TV career that spanned four decades, Winston collaborated with such filmmakers as Steven Spielberg and James Cameron and worked on some of his generation's most memorable films.

He won four Oscars, for the visual effects in "Jurassic Park," "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" and "Aliens" and for makeup on "T2." He also earned Oscar noms for his work on "AI: Artificial Intelligence," "The Lost World: Jurassic Park," "Batman Returns," "Edward Scissorhands," "Predator" and "Heartbeeps." He was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2001.

In the early years of his career, during which he worked primarily in television, Winston garnered five Emmy noms, winning for "Gargoyles" and "The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman."

Praise for Winston poured in Monday from his showbiz friends and colleagues.

"Stan was a fearless and courageous artist/inventor," Spielberg said. "And for many projects, I rode his cutting edge from teddy bears to aliens to dinosaurs. My world would not have been the same without Stan. What I will miss most is his easy laugh every time he said to me, 'Nothing is impossible.' "

Producer Kathleen Kennedy told The Hollywood Reporter: "He has a tremendous impact in the world of special effects and makeup and bringing things to life that, for the most part, only existed in people's imaginations. We had an extraordinary working relations with Stan going back over 20 years. He was one of those wonderful personalities to have on the set because Stan was always laughing, always making jokes, and ultimately he delivered what you often thought was impossible."

Said Calif. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger: "The entertainment industry has lost a genius, and I lost one of my best friends with the death Sunday night of Stan Winston. What will live forever in my heart is the way that Stan loved everyone and treated each of his friends like they were family."

Dennis Murren, ILM's senior visual effects supervisor, said, "Stan took risks and said 'yes' when other creature people would say no, and that meant that you could make a movie like 'Jurassic Park.' That's what I think he will be remembered for and should be -- taking a chance because he wanted the movies to be as good as they could possibly be."

Murren added: "His work paralleled the growth of the industry, the growth of the tentpole movie."

Stan Winston Studio recently created the physical suit in "Iron Man."

"He was a giant," the film's director Jon Favreau said. "He was experienced and helped guide me while never losing his childlike enthusiasm. He was the king of integrating practical effects with CGI, never losing his relevance in an ever-changing industry.

"We were looking forward to future collaborations," he added. "I knew that he was struggling, but I had no idea that he would be gone so soon. Hollywood has lost a shining star."

Said David Gersh, Winston's longtime rep: "He was a kind person, a generous person, had a great sense of humor. There must be 25 characters that he created that are landmark, standout characters that have completely influenced the movie landscape over the last 20 years."

Winston was born April 7, 1946, in Arlington, Va. As a child, he enjoyed drawing, puppetry and classic horror films. He continued to pursue his interest in art and performance as a student at the University of Virginia, where he graduated from its fine arts and drama programs in 1968.

He headed West after graduation with dreams of becoming an actor but found his true calling as a makeup artist and creator of characters -- a career that enabled him to merge his sensibilities as an artist and performer. After completing a three-year makeup apprenticeship program at Walt Disney Studios in 1972, he established Stan Winston Studio. The studio eventually contributed characters and effects to more than 75 feature films, several music videos and countless commercials.

In 1988, Winston directed his first feature, "Pumpkinhead." He also produced a series of horror films for HBO as well as a number of genre films, and he created a line of high-end toys based on some of his studio's iconic characters.

He was one of the founders of VFX house Digital Domain, with partners Cameron and Scott Ross. "Hollywood will miss Stan Winston, a larger-than-life creative powerhouse and a wonderful father, husband and grandpa," Ross said.

At the time of his death, Winston was in the process of morphing his physical makeup and effects studio into the Winston Effects Group with the team of senior effects supervisors heading the new company. Managing the new company as partners and owners are veteran effects supervisors John Rosengrant, Shane Mahan, Alan Scott and Lindsay Macgowan.

The studio's upcoming projects include "Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins," "G.I. Joe," "Shutter Island" and "Avatar." ∂

Winston is survived by his wife Karen; son Matt and daughter Debbie; and a brother, Ronnie Winston; and four grandchildren. In lieu of flowers the family requests that donations be made to the Institute for Myeloma & Bone Cancer Research, Free Arts for Abused Children and UNICEF.

He died two years ago. I thought I was going crazy and had to check the thread to make sure it was the same Stan Winston.

WOUPS!
now I feel like a total retard for posting that:o

Don't worry, I feel like that most days anyway! :D

Prehaps it was one of the many animatronics versions of himself he created. Expect him to die again.:D

Maury Chaykin, Character Actor, Dies at 61
 

{I am pretty sure that unlike the last time I posted in this thread this guy has been dead for less than two years.}:o

Actor Maury Chaykin died early Tuesday -- his 61st birthday -- according to CBC.ca. The cause of death is undetermined, but the veteran actor had been struggling with kidney problems.

Though you might not recognize Chaykin's name, you will surely recognize his credits. His IMDB.com entry lists more than 150 projects in a career that spanned film and television, including 'Dances with Wolves,' 'Nero Wolfe,' recent Canadian sitcom 'Less Than Kind' and several films by director Atom Egoyan, including 'Where the Truth Lies' and 'The Sweet Hereafter.' Chaykin even played Harvey Weinstein, or rather, Harvey Weingard, a character based on Weinstein, on HBO's 'Entourage.'

Chaykin was a Brooklyn native, but his mother was Canadian. He studied at SUNY Buffalo before moving to Toronto in the mid '70s, where he remained while maintaining a career on both sides of the border. His death drew accolades and tributes from his peers.

Ferne Downey, president of ACTRA, the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists, told the CBC, "Maury was an infinitely gifted actor who has left us an incomparable body of work that will be cherished for many generations to come. We will miss his passion for his craft and his love and commitment to building our Canadian industry."

Egoyan told the Globe and Mail, "He was an incredible privilege to work with -- so full of possibilities, anger, range, humor, life, contradiction."

Chaykin won a Genie, the Canadian equivalent of an Oscar, for 'Whale Music' and Gemini awards, the Canadian version of the Emmys, for 'La Femme Nikita' and 'At the Hotel.'

http://www.tvsquad.com/2010/07/28/ac...61st-birthday/

Patricia Neal, RIP

Patricia Neal, the willowy, husky-voiced actress who won an Academy
Award for 1963's "Hud" and then survived several strokes to continue
acting, died on Sunday. She was 84.

Neal had lung cancer and died at her home in Edgartown, Mass., on
Martha's Vineyard, said longtime friend Bud Albers of Knoxville.



http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/...n6755382.shtml

:)

R.I.P. Eazy E

He was for 15 years till you brought up his sorry name...

Sally Menke
Edited all of Tarantino's feature films.
Found dead in a ravine near her home, her dog stayed beside her all day and night until they searchers found both of them.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/29/mo...ke.html?src=mv

Actor Tony Curtis has passed:
http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories...s-obit-100930/

And a few days ago, from James Cameron's Titanic, Gloria Stuart passed away at the age of 100:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001784/

RIP Yul Brynner...His Death Date is on Sunday...October 10th:(

RIP Leave It To Beaver's Barbara Billingsley (June Cleaver - age 94):
CBC: June Cleaver actress Barbara Billingsley dies

Jill Clayburgh, who embodied hopeful and determined women in such '70s and '80s
movies as An Unmarried Woman and It's My Turn, died at her Connecticut home on
Friday from chronic leukemia, a disease she quietly battled for 21 years, her
husband, playwright David Rabe, told THE New York Times.
She was 66.

:(

I almost wanted to give this a thread of its own but...so long Leslie Nielsen!

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment...est=latestnews

Yeah, I just read this. Sad news.
I loved him in the Naked Gun series, Airplane!, Mel Brooks' Dragula: Dead and Loving It and his role in Creepshow.
RIP, Leslie Nielsen.

Leslie Nielsen, RIP

Before he appeared in comedies like "Naked Gun" and "Airplane",
Leslie Nielsen appeared in "Tammy and the Bachelor" with Debbie Reynolds,
and "Forbidden Planet" with Anne Francis.

:)

Hate to be one of those "I was there" guys but...
I was an extra in Leslie's final film... at this moment titled "Stonerville".
From what I could tell he seemed like a very kind soul.
Very Kind...
and obviously he was a cultural icon.
It always makes me sad to see one of our elders go... the world seems smaller and smaller daily. But even if others don't, I put Leslie on the same pedestal as the other great american actors.

Here is to you Leslie!

And the director of Empire Strikes Back...ol' what's his name...

Hate to break it to you, Gonzo, but Leslie Nielsen was Canadian.;) He was in the Royal Canadian Air Force, his dad was a "mountie" in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and his brother, Erik Nielsen, was Deputy Prime Minister of Canada (equivalent to Vice President)!

Cool that you're in one of his movies, though!:cool:
After his success with "Airplane" and (especially) the "Naked Gun" movies, it was kind of sad when he started doing TV commercials as a Frank Drebin-type character. He was once a actor in serious roles but most people these days know him as someone who played a bumbling fool. (That said, who else remembers the short-lived "Police Squad" TV series which was a spin-off of "The Naked Gun"?)

As I mentioned above, his father was in the RCMP and Leslie played a "mountie" more than once such as his recurring character in the TV series, "Due South". However, my favourite of all his roles is his portryal of real-life Major Leif Crozier in the film, "Riel", who fought at the Battle of Duck Lake in Saskatchewan, not too far from Regina where Leslie Nielsen was born.



R.I.P. Mr. Nielsen. (Tonight, I've going to watch the 1966 version of "Beau Geste" in his honour.)

Gonna miss Leslie. His older brother lived here in Kelowna, but he passed away two years ago, also at the age of 84. That would explain why Leslie showed up here about 5 or 6 years ago for a charity event. One of Canada's best exports. Thanks for the laughs Leslie.

Some favourite Naked Gun quotes:
"I've finally found someone I can love - a good, clean love... without utensils."
and of course...
"Nice beaver!" :up: