Louis Gossett Jr., the celebrated An Officer and a Gentleman actor who became the first Black man to win the Best Supporting Actor Oscar, has died at the age of 87.
“It is with our heartfelt regret to confirm our beloved father passed away this morning,” the actor’s family said in a statement Friday (via CNN). “We would like to thank everyone for their condolences at this time. Please respect the family’s privacy during this difficult time.” No cause of death was provided.
Over an onscreen career that spanned seven decades,...
“It is with our heartfelt regret to confirm our beloved father passed away this morning,” the actor’s family said in a statement Friday (via CNN). “We would like to thank everyone for their condolences at this time. Please respect the family’s privacy during this difficult time.” No cause of death was provided.
Over an onscreen career that spanned seven decades,...
- 3/29/2024
- by Daniel Kreps
- Rollingstone.com
We are sad to report that legendary African-American actor Louis Gossett Jr. passed away on March 28, 2024 in Santa Monica, CA. He was 87 years old at the time of death, and was on his way to celebrate his 88th birthday in May this year. No official cause of death has been given, but Gosset has had health issues in the recent decade, being diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2010 and being hospitalized for Covid-19 during the pandemic. The news was confirmed by Gossett’s first cousin Neal L. Gossett.
A true acting legend, Louis Gossett Jr. was born in New York on May 27, 1936. His mother was a nurse, and his father was a porter. Although he was proficient in sports as well, after his stage debut at the age of 17, his teacher encouraged him to pursue an acting career. Although he obtained a sports scholarship at the NYU and was offered to play basketball,...
A true acting legend, Louis Gossett Jr. was born in New York on May 27, 1936. His mother was a nurse, and his father was a porter. Although he was proficient in sports as well, after his stage debut at the age of 17, his teacher encouraged him to pursue an acting career. Although he obtained a sports scholarship at the NYU and was offered to play basketball,...
- 3/29/2024
- by Arthur S. Poe
- Fiction Horizon
Sacheen Littlefeather has received an apology from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences for the abuse she endured over her 1973 Oscars speech.
The actor and activist graced the stage on Marlon Brando’s behalf after he was awarded Best Actor for his portrayal of Vito Corleone in The Godfather.
In a powerful speech, she rejected the award as part of Brando’s protest of Hollywood’s depictions of Native American people. The gesture also intended to highlight the events at Wounded Knee, South Dakota, where a massacre of Native Americans took place in 1890, and where protests were ongoing.
At the time, her remarks were met with some sounds of support, as well as boos from those who disagreed with her taking a political stand at the ceremony.
According to the actor, someone who took particular offence to her stance was Western film star John Wayne. In many of his pictures,...
The actor and activist graced the stage on Marlon Brando’s behalf after he was awarded Best Actor for his portrayal of Vito Corleone in The Godfather.
In a powerful speech, she rejected the award as part of Brando’s protest of Hollywood’s depictions of Native American people. The gesture also intended to highlight the events at Wounded Knee, South Dakota, where a massacre of Native Americans took place in 1890, and where protests were ongoing.
At the time, her remarks were met with some sounds of support, as well as boos from those who disagreed with her taking a political stand at the ceremony.
According to the actor, someone who took particular offence to her stance was Western film star John Wayne. In many of his pictures,...
- 8/19/2022
- by Nicole Vassell
- The Independent - Film
Sacheen Littlefeather has received an apology from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences for the abuse she endured over her 1973 Oscars speech.
The actor and activist graced the stage on Marlon Brando’s behalf after he was awarded Best Actor for his portrayal of Vito Corleone in The Godfather.
In a powerful speech, she rejected the award as part of Brando’s protest of Hollywood’s depictions of Native American people. The gesture also intended to highlight the events at Wounded Knee, South Dakota, where a massacre of Native Americans took place in 1890, and where protests were ongoing.
At the time, her remarks were met with some sounds of support, as well as boos from those who disagreed with her taking a political stand at the ceremony.
According to the actor, someone who took particular offence to her stance was Western film star John Wayne. In many of his pictures,...
The actor and activist graced the stage on Marlon Brando’s behalf after he was awarded Best Actor for his portrayal of Vito Corleone in The Godfather.
In a powerful speech, she rejected the award as part of Brando’s protest of Hollywood’s depictions of Native American people. The gesture also intended to highlight the events at Wounded Knee, South Dakota, where a massacre of Native Americans took place in 1890, and where protests were ongoing.
At the time, her remarks were met with some sounds of support, as well as boos from those who disagreed with her taking a political stand at the ceremony.
According to the actor, someone who took particular offence to her stance was Western film star John Wayne. In many of his pictures,...
- 8/16/2022
- by Nicole Vassell
- The Independent - Film
Prop master Barry Bedig was literally born into the biz. Yet despite being the son of storied special effects man Sass Bedig, Barry’s youth was largely unaffected by Tinseltown’s glare. Infrequent studio visits with Dad produced understated memories. “I got to ride [Roy Rogers’ horse] Trigger once,” he deadpans.
Obtaining union status at 25 in 1964 at 20th Century Fox after a stint in the U.S. Navy, Bedig was one of the youngest prop masters in the history of Iatse Local 44, having gained the prerequisite 2,000 hours for membership, then passed the daunting written exam.
He hit the big time in 1972 when he was called for Woody Allen’s “Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex but Were Afraid to Ask.” Bedig’s contributions to the seven-segment film would become his career trademark: detail. He was tasked with creating the Jester’s wand for the “Do Aphrodisiacs Work?” sequence — a...
Obtaining union status at 25 in 1964 at 20th Century Fox after a stint in the U.S. Navy, Bedig was one of the youngest prop masters in the history of Iatse Local 44, having gained the prerequisite 2,000 hours for membership, then passed the daunting written exam.
He hit the big time in 1972 when he was called for Woody Allen’s “Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex but Were Afraid to Ask.” Bedig’s contributions to the seven-segment film would become his career trademark: detail. He was tasked with creating the Jester’s wand for the “Do Aphrodisiacs Work?” sequence — a...
- 2/1/2019
- by James C. Udel
- Variety Film + TV
Had I not recently revisited Don Siegel’s dusty, nail-hard crime thriller Charley Varrick, in fact just the night before seeing Hou Hsiao-hsien’s Three Times, it stands to reason that I probably would not have found myself thinking about the Walter Matthau-starring crime thriller midway through the Taiwanese director’s film. After all, Siegel’s tale of morally ambivalent “heroes,” scabrous, misanthropic villains, and the various levels of grime and corruption to be waded through and scraped off on the way toward accidentally absconding with three-quarters of a million dollars in laundered mob money would seem to have little in common with Hou’s deliberately paced, exquisitely mounted collection of three love stories, each from a different time, each told in a manner most rewardingly compared to the elliptical style of a short story on the page.
And yet, as the first episode of Three Times, “A Time of Love,...
And yet, as the first episode of Three Times, “A Time of Love,...
- 8/11/2018
- by Dennis Cozzalio
- Trailers from Hell
It’s the loose-censored early 1970s, and screen bandits shootin’ up the American movie landscape are no longer suffering the once-mandated automatic moral retribution. Walter Matthau launched himself into the genre with this excellent Don Siegel on-the-run epic, about an old-fashioned independent bandit who accidentally rips off the mob for a million. It’s great, wicked fun.
Charley Varrick
Region B Blu-ray
Indicator
1973 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 111 min. / Charley Varrick the Last of the Independents; Kill Charley Varrick / Street Date January 22, 2018 / available from Powerhouse Films UK / £14.99
Starring: Walter Matthau, Joe Don Baker, Andrew Robinson, John Vernon, Felicia Farr, Sheree North, Jacqueline Scott, William Schallert, Norman Fell, Benson Fong, Woodrow Parfrey, Rudy Diaz, Charles Matthau, Tom Tully, Albert Popwell
Cinematography: Michael Butler
Film Editor: Frank Morriss
Original Music: Lalo Schifrin
Written by Dean Riesner, Howard Rodman from the novel The Looters by John Reese
Produced by Jennings Lang, Don Siegel
Directed by...
Charley Varrick
Region B Blu-ray
Indicator
1973 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 111 min. / Charley Varrick the Last of the Independents; Kill Charley Varrick / Street Date January 22, 2018 / available from Powerhouse Films UK / £14.99
Starring: Walter Matthau, Joe Don Baker, Andrew Robinson, John Vernon, Felicia Farr, Sheree North, Jacqueline Scott, William Schallert, Norman Fell, Benson Fong, Woodrow Parfrey, Rudy Diaz, Charles Matthau, Tom Tully, Albert Popwell
Cinematography: Michael Butler
Film Editor: Frank Morriss
Original Music: Lalo Schifrin
Written by Dean Riesner, Howard Rodman from the novel The Looters by John Reese
Produced by Jennings Lang, Don Siegel
Directed by...
- 1/20/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
A generic spy story becomes an inspired light comedy with the application of great talent led by the star-power of Walter Matthau. Matthau’s CIA spook hooks up with old flame Glenda Jackson to retaliate against his insufferable CIA boss (Ned Beatty) with a humiliating tell-all book about the agency’s dirty tricks history. Matthau’s sloppy, slouchy master agent is a comic delight; Ronald Neame’s stylishly assured direction makes a deadly spy chase into a wholly pleasant romp.
Hopscotch
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 163
1980 / Color / 2:39 widescreen / 105 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date August 15, 2017 / 39.95
Starring: Walter Matthau, Glenda Jackson, Sam Waterston, Ned Beatty, Herbert Lom, David Matthau, George Baker, Ivor Roberts, Lucy Saroyan, Severn Darden, George Pravda.
Cinematography: Arthur Ibbetson, Brian W. Roy
Production Designer: William J. Creber
Film Editor: Carl Kress
Original Music: Ian Fraser
Written by Bryan Forbes from a novel by Brian Garfield
Produced...
Hopscotch
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 163
1980 / Color / 2:39 widescreen / 105 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date August 15, 2017 / 39.95
Starring: Walter Matthau, Glenda Jackson, Sam Waterston, Ned Beatty, Herbert Lom, David Matthau, George Baker, Ivor Roberts, Lucy Saroyan, Severn Darden, George Pravda.
Cinematography: Arthur Ibbetson, Brian W. Roy
Production Designer: William J. Creber
Film Editor: Carl Kress
Original Music: Ian Fraser
Written by Bryan Forbes from a novel by Brian Garfield
Produced...
- 8/5/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Unsung actress Beverly Garland becomes TV’s first lady cop, in what’s claimed to be the first TV show filmed on the streets of New York City. This one-season wonder from 1957 has vintage locations, fairly tough-minded storylines and solid performances, from Bev and a vast gallery of stage and TV actors on the way up.
Decoy
(Policewoman Decoy)
TV Series
DVD
Film Chest Media
1957-’58 / B&W / 1:33 flat full frame (TV) / 39 x 30 min. / Street Date May 30, 2017 / 19.98
Starring: Beverly Garland
Art Direction (some episodes): Mel Bourne
Original Music: Wladimir Selinsky
Written by Lillian Andrews, Nicholas E. Baehr, Cy Chermak, Jerome Coopersmith, Don Ettlinger, Frances Frankel, Steven Gardner, Abram S. Ginnes, Mel Goldberg, Saul Levitt, Leon Tokatyan
Produced by Arthur H. Singer, David Alexander, Stuart Rosenberg, Everett Rosenthal
Directed by Teddy Sills, Stuart Rosenberg, David Alexander, Michael Gordon, Don Medford, Arthur H. Singer, Marc Daniels
How did I experience...
Decoy
(Policewoman Decoy)
TV Series
DVD
Film Chest Media
1957-’58 / B&W / 1:33 flat full frame (TV) / 39 x 30 min. / Street Date May 30, 2017 / 19.98
Starring: Beverly Garland
Art Direction (some episodes): Mel Bourne
Original Music: Wladimir Selinsky
Written by Lillian Andrews, Nicholas E. Baehr, Cy Chermak, Jerome Coopersmith, Don Ettlinger, Frances Frankel, Steven Gardner, Abram S. Ginnes, Mel Goldberg, Saul Levitt, Leon Tokatyan
Produced by Arthur H. Singer, David Alexander, Stuart Rosenberg, Everett Rosenthal
Directed by Teddy Sills, Stuart Rosenberg, David Alexander, Michael Gordon, Don Medford, Arthur H. Singer, Marc Daniels
How did I experience...
- 5/16/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
God bless Walter Matthau. In late 1972, when I began taking a closer interest in movies, Walter Matthau was the first "star" who appealed to me. Maybe it was as simple as his vague resemblance to my father, a lanky fellow born a year later and an inch or two shorter. Maybe it was how he walked with an uneven gait, or how he glared at stupid people doing stupid things, or how his smiles lit up the space around him. He was one of the rare actors who could convincingly think on screen, which is much in evidence in The Laughing Policeman, a police drama in which jokes are in short supply. Come to think of it, the title doesn't really make any sense...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 1/13/2017
- Screen Anarchy
In this episode of Off The Shelf, Ryan and Brian take a look at the new DVD and Blu-ray releases for the week of October 18th, 2016.
Subscribe in iTunes or RSS.
Episode Notes & Links Links to Amazon
Us
Alice Through the Looking Glass Body Snatchers Bride of Re-Animator Cafe Society Child’s Play Cobra the Animation Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Fake Fuzz Gas-s-s-s Hamburger Hill Independence Day Resurgence King of Pigs The Laughing Policeman Little Fauss & Big Halsy The Marx Brothers Silver Screen Collection Nighthawks Pan’s Labyrinth The Pit Return of Dracula Salem’s Lot Short Cuts Stephen King’s Cat’s Eye Stephen King’s It Trilogía de Guillermo del Toro Villa Rides Waxworks Compilation What We Become
UK
52 Pick-Up Burnt Offerings The Clan Dekalog and Other TV Works The Lion In Winter Remainder Stigmata Twilight’s Last Gleaming Credits Ryan Gallagher (Twitter / Website / Wish List) Brian Saur...
Subscribe in iTunes or RSS.
Episode Notes & Links Links to Amazon
Us
Alice Through the Looking Glass Body Snatchers Bride of Re-Animator Cafe Society Child’s Play Cobra the Animation Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Fake Fuzz Gas-s-s-s Hamburger Hill Independence Day Resurgence King of Pigs The Laughing Policeman Little Fauss & Big Halsy The Marx Brothers Silver Screen Collection Nighthawks Pan’s Labyrinth The Pit Return of Dracula Salem’s Lot Short Cuts Stephen King’s Cat’s Eye Stephen King’s It Trilogía de Guillermo del Toro Villa Rides Waxworks Compilation What We Become
UK
52 Pick-Up Burnt Offerings The Clan Dekalog and Other TV Works The Lion In Winter Remainder Stigmata Twilight’s Last Gleaming Credits Ryan Gallagher (Twitter / Website / Wish List) Brian Saur...
- 10/18/2016
- by Ryan Gallagher
- CriterionCast
In the early '70s Walter Matthau excelled in three powerful cops 'n' robbers movies; the second sees him as a tough, laconic San Francisco detective charged with an impossible task -- running down a machine gun mass murderer, with no clues and no living witnesses. The Laughing Policeman Blu-ray Kl Studio Classics 1973 / Color / 1:85 enhanced widescreen / 112 min. / Street Date October 18, 2016 / available through Kl Studio Classics / 29.95 Starring Walter Matthau, Bruce Dern, Louis Gossett Jr., Albert Paulsen, Anthony Zerbe, Val Avery, Cathy Lee Crosby, Mario Gallo, Joanna Cassidy, Shirley Ballard, William Hansen, Paul Koslo, Louis Guss, Clifton James, Gregory Sierra, Warren Finnerty, Matt Clark, Joseph Bernard, Leigh French, Anthony Costello. Cinematography David M. Walsh Film Editor Bob Wyman Original Music Charles Fox Written by Thomas Rickman from the novel by Maj Sjowall, Per Wahloo Produced and Directed by Stuart Rosenberg
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Viewers that like Walter Matthau in The Taking of Pelham One Two Three...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Viewers that like Walter Matthau in The Taking of Pelham One Two Three...
- 10/17/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
In this episode of Off The Shelf, Ryan and Brian take a look at the new DVD and Blu-ray releases for the weeks of, July 19th and 26th 2016.
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News Lost in Space Tweets The Abyss coming in 2017 at last, plus Aliens: 30th, Star Trek Beyond, Steven King’s It, new Scream & more! Raising Cain Collector’s Edition Blu-ray Detailed Sid & Nancy 30th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray The Man Called Noon Blu-ray Criterion: McCabe & Mrs. Miller Blu-ray Delayed James Cameron: The Abyss Remastered in 4K, Coming to Blu-ray in 2017 Scream Factory: 13 New Titles Prepped for Blu-ray Shout Factory: To Live and Die in L.A. Special Edition Blu-ray Coming Up Upcoming Code Red Blu-ray Releases The Laughing Policeman Blu-ray Detailed An American Werewolf in London 35th Anniversary Blu-ray Edition The Wolf Man: Complete Legacy Blu-ray Collection Frankenstein: Complete Legacy Blu-ray Collection Scream Factory:...
Subscribe in iTunes or RSS.
News Lost in Space Tweets The Abyss coming in 2017 at last, plus Aliens: 30th, Star Trek Beyond, Steven King’s It, new Scream & more! Raising Cain Collector’s Edition Blu-ray Detailed Sid & Nancy 30th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray The Man Called Noon Blu-ray Criterion: McCabe & Mrs. Miller Blu-ray Delayed James Cameron: The Abyss Remastered in 4K, Coming to Blu-ray in 2017 Scream Factory: 13 New Titles Prepped for Blu-ray Shout Factory: To Live and Die in L.A. Special Edition Blu-ray Coming Up Upcoming Code Red Blu-ray Releases The Laughing Policeman Blu-ray Detailed An American Werewolf in London 35th Anniversary Blu-ray Edition The Wolf Man: Complete Legacy Blu-ray Collection Frankenstein: Complete Legacy Blu-ray Collection Scream Factory:...
- 7/28/2016
- by Ryan Gallagher
- CriterionCast
In this episode of Off The Shelf, Ryan and Brian take a look at the new DVD and Blu-ray releases for Tuesday, May 3rd 2016.
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Follow-Up FilmStruck Follow-up: Mad Max, regions Over the Garden Wall deal News Criterion: Cat People Shout Factory: Shout Selects: Buckaroo Banzai, John Carpenter’s Elvis Scream Factory: Session 9, Invasion of the Body Snatchers Kino Lorber: The Laughing Policeman, 100 Rifles, Wolf Lake Warner Home Video: McQ, Chisum, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon Warner Archive: Love Me or Leave Me Universal: The Great Outdoors, The ‘Burbs, The Dream Team, The Money Pit (Bb exclusive?) Olive Films: July Titles 88 Films: Retroactive, Short Night of Glass Dolls, The Perfume of the Lady in Black Scorpion Releasing – City on Fire, + Truck Stop Women and Cheerleaders Wild Weekend to be sold through Diabolik & Code Red’s Sites Links to Amazon Airwolf – The...
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Follow-Up FilmStruck Follow-up: Mad Max, regions Over the Garden Wall deal News Criterion: Cat People Shout Factory: Shout Selects: Buckaroo Banzai, John Carpenter’s Elvis Scream Factory: Session 9, Invasion of the Body Snatchers Kino Lorber: The Laughing Policeman, 100 Rifles, Wolf Lake Warner Home Video: McQ, Chisum, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon Warner Archive: Love Me or Leave Me Universal: The Great Outdoors, The ‘Burbs, The Dream Team, The Money Pit (Bb exclusive?) Olive Films: July Titles 88 Films: Retroactive, Short Night of Glass Dolls, The Perfume of the Lady in Black Scorpion Releasing – City on Fire, + Truck Stop Women and Cheerleaders Wild Weekend to be sold through Diabolik & Code Red’s Sites Links to Amazon Airwolf – The...
- 5/4/2016
- by Ryan Gallagher
- CriterionCast
There.s a myth out there that claims Quentin Tarantino doesn.t do director commentary tracks. It.s half true. He rarely sits down and overanalyzes his own films. But Tarantino Loves talking over other people.s films. He chimed in on Robert Rodriguez.s From Dusk til Dawn (which he co-wrote and starred), and Eli Roth.s Hostel. And then there is the marathon session Tarantino agreed to do with Wright for the Blu-ray release of my personal favorite Cornetto Trilogy film: Hot Fuzz. This isn.t as off-the-wall as one might assume. Apparently these two have been friends or years. As Wright explains on the commentary track, Tarantino coached the director through the writing stages of Hot Fuzz by playing him a double-feature for inspiration that consisted of Walter Matthau.s The Laughing Policeman and an Italian cop film called Live Like a Cop, Die Like a Man.
- 8/20/2013
- cinemablend.com
By 1974, Cathy Lee Crosby had decided she needed a change from her career as a professional tennis player, and looked towards acting. She had scored a role in the Walter Matthau feature film The Laughing Policeman, but then got what she thought was a dream role: that of Wonder Woman in a TV movie/backdoor pilot of the same name released on DVD December 11th. Says Wikipedia of that film, "The first serious attempt at adapting Wonder Woman to live-action TV starred Cathy Lee Crosby as a blonde Amazon with superhuman agility (à la Captain America) and gadgets, similar to those used by movie super-spy James Bond and secret agent Emma Peel of TV's The Avengers, both of which were still somewhat popular at that time, when the script of this pilot movie was in its early stages of development. Though this version owed much to a brief period in...
- 12/11/2012
- ComicBookMovie.com
Reviewer: Jeffrey M. Anderson
Rating (out of five): ****
While director Edgar Wright was working on his fake trailer for Grindhouse (2007), and preparing Hot Fuzz (2007), Quentin Tarantino screened a couple of cop films for him: Stuart Rosenberg's The Laughing Policeman (1973) and Ruggero Deodato's Live Like a Cop, Die Like a Man (1976).
Of the second film, Wright said it was "the most amazing title, ever, apart from Half Past Dead. It's probably the most homoerotic cop film I've ever seen. The cops in it share a bedroom. They have bunks, and they're both real lady killers, but the fact that they share a bedroom -- it's like Bert and Ernie from 'Sesame Street.'"...
Rating (out of five): ****
While director Edgar Wright was working on his fake trailer for Grindhouse (2007), and preparing Hot Fuzz (2007), Quentin Tarantino screened a couple of cop films for him: Stuart Rosenberg's The Laughing Policeman (1973) and Ruggero Deodato's Live Like a Cop, Die Like a Man (1976).
Of the second film, Wright said it was "the most amazing title, ever, apart from Half Past Dead. It's probably the most homoerotic cop film I've ever seen. The cops in it share a bedroom. They have bunks, and they're both real lady killers, but the fact that they share a bedroom -- it's like Bert and Ernie from 'Sesame Street.'"...
- 8/16/2011
- by weezy
- GreenCine
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