In Memoriam 2018

Born in Wellesley, MA, USA, Buxton grew up in Larchmont, NY, USA, graduated from Northwestern University (BS) and Syracuse University (MS). After service in the U.S. Army in the Korean War, he worked in local television as a producer-director in Buffalo, N.Y. and Chicago, IL and then began his performing career as a stand-up comedian, TV host (Discovery '70 (1962), Get the Message (1964)), and stage performer ("Brigadoon", "Bye Bye Birdie", "The Tender Trap", etc.). His television writing, producing and directing work included The Odd Couple (1970), Happy Days (1974), Mork & Mindy (1978), among many others, and he created the Peabody Award-winning series Hot Dog (1970) for NBC which starred Woody Allen and Jonathan Winters. As a film and TV actor, he has appeared in Overboard (1987), Beaches (1988), Frankie and Johnny (1991), Face of a Stranger (1991), With a Vengeance (1992) and Roommates (1994), as well as many series and specials. He wrote and created voices for Woody Allen's What's Up, Tiger Lily? (1966) and has done cartoon and commercial voices for innumerable projects.

Marián Labuda was born on 28 October 1944 in Hontianske Nemce, First Slovak Republic [now Slovakia]. He was an actor, known for Král Ubu (1996), The Garden (1995) and I Served the King of England (2006). He was married to Viera. He died on 5 January 2018 in Bratislava, Slovakia.

He had that same genuine likability factor, owned that same trademark lantern jaw and was just as appealing and gifted as his older brother, Dick Van Dyke, but, for decades, Jerry Van Dyke bore the brunt of his brother's overwhelming shadow.

Six years younger than brother Dick, the comic actor was born on July 27, 1931, in Danville, Illinois. Raised there, the crew cut blond showed an aptitude for clowning in high school. His stand-up comedy venues first took the form of dives and strip clubs throughout the Deep South in which his banjo-playing became an intricate part of the routine. At one point, Jerry was a regular on the Playboy club circuit. He then set his sights on the top showrooms in Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe and Atlantic City and became a dependable opening act.

Jerry's early career should have been rightfully interrupted when he joined the Air Force in 1952. He, instead, kept the troops laughing by performing in Special Services shows. Winning a military talent contest actually earned him a couple of appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show (1948) (aka "The Ed Sullivan Show") and resulting TV exposure. Following his tour of duty, he nabbed variety appearances and a regular comic relief role on The Judy Garland Show (1963). He found comic acting parts as well on TV. Like brother Dick, who was a huge TV star by this time, Jerry also did a stint emceeing a game show. In Jerry's case, it was Picture This (1963).

Ever the hapless klutz and happy-go-lucky stammerer, Jerry built up his TV reputation in the early 60s. He turned down the title role in Gilligan's Island (1964), which he rightfully deemed inane, but instead chose the equally silly My Mother the Car (1965). It proved to be a detrimental career move. While "Gilligan" became a surprise hit that still runs in syndication four decades later, Jerry had to live down starring in one of the most lambasted sitcoms of all time. Truthfully, the two shows were on an equal (sub)par with each other. It was just a cruel luck of the draw that Jerry ended up biting the bullet while Gilligan's Bob Denver found cult celebrity. Jerry's subsequent two series were also one seasoners with Accidental Family (1967), a sitcom in which he more or less played himself (a nightclub comedian), and Headmaster (1970), a drama starring Andy Griffith in which he played a physical education coach. Neither did much for his career. A promising co-star role with Griffith in the film Angel in My Pocket (1969) also went nowhere. Over the years, Jerry has appeared as a guest star on a number of brother Dick's shows, including the classic The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961) in which he played, of course, Dick's brother.

The genially dim character "George Utley" on Bob Newhart's 1980s series was originally created for Jerry but Tom Poston assumed the part. Good fortune finally smiled on Jerry when he won the hapless role of "Luther Van Dam", a role that capped his long career, on Coach (1989). He earned four consecutive Emmy nominations and a steady paycheck for eight seasons. His seesaw struggle and survival after nearly five decades truly paid off this time, and only proves his love for the business.

Nearing the millennium, Jerry was seen frequently on the smaller screen. In addition to guesting on such shows as "The New Addams Family," "The District," "Diagnosis Murder," "My Name Is Earl," "Committed" and "Raising Hope," the veteran actor played the regular roles as grandpa types in the sitcom fantasies Teen Angel (1997) and You Wish (1997); had the recurring grandparent role of Big Jimmy Hughes in the comedy series Yes, Dear (2000) and ended his career as a grandpa in the established sitcom The Middle (2009) starring Patricia Heaton and Neil Flynn.

In later years, Jerry spent much of his time at a ranch in Arkansas where he lived with his second wife, the former Shirley Jones (not the singer/actress), and raised cattle. Tragedy struck in 1991 when one of his three children, Kelly Van Dyke, a substance abuser, took her own life. On the sly, one could also find Jerry at the poker table as part of ESPN tournaments. He died in Arkansas on January 5, 2018, aged 86.

Helmut Stange was born on 20 February 1929 in Bremen, Germany. He was an actor, known for Cymbelin (2000), Tatort (1970) and Wehe, wenn Schwarzenbeck kommt (1979). He died on 1 January 2018 in Munich, Bavaria, Germany.

Hans Werner Kettenbach was born on 20 April 1928 in Bendorf, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. He was a writer, known for Tatort (1970), Tennessee Waltz (1989) and Im Jahr der Schildkröte (1988). He died on 5 January 2018 in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

Spending his youth in Skåne, due to his mother's engagement at the Malmö City Theater, wasn't easy for somebody with a Stockholm accent, but Johannes avoided being bullied by cracking jokes and doing pranks. At 18 he applied to acting school but was rejected. He applied successfully later and has since worked in both Malmö and Stockholm. In 1991 he started with stand-up-comedy. During the 1990s he starred in several comedy plays in theaters in Stockholm. He biggest claim to fame though is the role as 'Joker' in the long running TV show "Rederiet".

Born and raised in Winnipeg, Canada, Donnelly Rhodes trained to be a warden in the National Park Service in Manitoba and joined the Royal Canadian Air Force as an airman-mechanic before finally settling into his long and successful career as an actor. Rhodes studied at the Royal Manitoba Theatre Center and was a member of the first graduating class of the National Theatre School in Canada. After making his professional debut on stage as Stanley Kowalski in Streetcar Named Desire, he became a contract player for Universal Pictures in the U.S., landing film and television roles ranging from a gunslinger in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) to a country singer in The Hard Part Begins (1973) to various guest appearances in series such as Mission: Impossible (1966). Later, he was popular as the suave Phillip Chancellor Sr. on The Young and the Restless (1973), but left the show in 1976 to avoid devoting too much of his career to the one role. He continued to work steadily, taking roles in a wide variety of television and theatrical movies and making guest appearances on more than 100 television series. Major TV roles saw him range from dim-witted escaped con Dutch on Soap (1977) to veterinarian and family man Dr. Grant Roberts on the popular Canadian family series Danger Bay (1983). More recently, he has appeared in a number of TV movies as well as in guest spots on popular series such as Sliders (1995) and The X-Files (1993). Rhodes' diverse interests include music and horses, but his real passion is boats. He has said that if he hadn't succeeded as an actor, he would have pursued a career as a naval architect.

Tom Heaton was born on 13 October 1940 in Bronx, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Slither (2006), Reindeer Games (2000) and Shanghai Noon (2000). He died on 1 January 2018 in Gibsons, British Columbia, Canada.

The enticing, voluptuous European beauty Greta Thyssen filled out the pages of movie magazines everywhere during the 1950s. Born on March 30, 1927, she was a freshly-scrubbed brunette when she was crowned Miss Denmark in 1952. The subsequent attention had her packing her bags for Hollywood. At that time, Marilyn Monroe had become an international sex symbol and Hollywood hopefuls were falling all over themselves to be just like her. Enter Greta, in a major, major transformation, as a statuesque, peroxide-blonde bombshell -- competing against the whistle-blowing likes of Jayne Mansfield and Mamie Van Doren. With mouth-dropping measurements reported at 40-24-36, this pin-up favorite became the best piece of Danish pastry in town. She also had her eyes out for films.

Like Ms. Mansfield and Ms. Van Doren, Greta's movie career was a bust -- literally. She bordered slightly on the seamy side and was offered such roles. However, she proved a trooper and was qualified enough to handle a scattered amount of low-grade crime dramas, adventures and horror stories -- a few having since reached "cult turkey" status. Greta actually started off in the quality movie Bus Stop (1956), unbilled as a "cover girl". She also served as Ms. Monroe's double in the movie. Another small film role in Accused of Murder (1956) led to a regular role as a busty "Pirate Girl" model on the quiz show Treasure Hunt (1956) starring wolfish host Jan Murray. She momentarily took a few male minds off the horrific The Beast of Budapest (1958) and did her scream queen schtick in Terror Is a Man (1959), in which she played vulnerable to a mad scientist-turned-panther-like creature à la "The Island of Dr. Moreau".

Greta added the requisite hard-boiled touch to the noirish detective film Three Blondes in His Life (1961) opposite Jock Mahoney and showed up in Journey to the Seventh Planet (1962) as well, which was another John Agar sci-fi cheapie. On television, she played a fetching foil in some of The Three Stooges shorts (Joe Besser was the third Stooge at the time) and appeared on television series, mostly crime stories, including Dragnet (1951) and Perry Mason (1957). Her film career ended dismally with the inane comedy Cottonpickin' Chickenpickers (1967), which pretty much says this all. Toward the end, she appeared in a couple of wink-wink stage comedies such as "Pajama Tops" until the early 1970s. She then retired from acting and moved to New York City where she found success as a painter, combining representational nude figures and surrealistic allegory. Generally, Greta took advantage of the equipment she had, made this work for her, and got her "fifteen minutes".

Greta Thyssen passed away at age 90 of complications from pneumonia on January 6, 2018 at her Manhattan home.

Leopold Ahlsen was born on 12 January 1927 in Munich, Germany. He was a writer, known for Des Christoffel von Grimmelshausen abenteuerlicher Simplicissimus (1975), Twenty Brave Men (1960) and The Woman from Sarajevo (1980). He was married to Ruth Gehwald. He died on 10 January 2018 in Munich, Bavaria, Germany.

Terence Marsh was born on 14 November 1931 in London, England, UK. He was a production designer and art director, known for Doctor Zhivago (1965), The Hunt for Red October (1990) and Oliver! (1968). He was married to Sandra Marsh and Lorna Wrapson. He died on 9 January 2018 in Pacific Palisades, California, USA.

One of MGM's more vivacious secondary stars during the 40s, petite and lovely Jean Porter was born in Texas in 1922 but left the state while young to pursue her dream as an actress. Following some vaudeville experience, she made her uncredited film debut in 1939 (age 17) and slowly graduated to sweet-natured ingénues in light, wholesome "B" fare. Most were sentimental trifles, such as Andy Hardy's Blonde Trouble (1944)and Easy to Wed (1946), or western action with such obvious titles as Heart of the Rio Grande (1942) and Home in Wyomin' (1942). Despite her promise and talent, none of her approximately 30 films managed to set her apart and top stardom remained elusive.

Jean's finest screen roles probably came with The Youngest Profession (1943) and Till the End of Time (1946), where she met future husband, director Edward Dmytryk. They married in 1948 and had three children: Richard, Victoria and Rebecca, the latter becoming a wildlife rescuer and rehabilitator. Not long into their marriage, Dmytryk was branded a Communist as one of the "Hollywood Ten" (he was admittedly once a member of The American Communist Party) and the next decade or so would be a dark period of time for them.

Unable to work, the blacklisted director moved his family to England where he found some employment. In 1951, however, Dmytryk decided to return to the States and was jailed for six months before giving testimony and being granted a reprieve. As a result, he was allowed to return to directing. Jean's last film, in fact, would be The Left Hand of God (1955) starring Humphrey Bogart and Gene Tierney, which was directed by her husband. She last appeared on 1961 TV episodes of "Sea Hunt" and "77 Sunset Strip."

Throughout their ordeal Jean and Edward remained a loyal couple and in later years wrote a book together "On Screen Acting" in 1984. Happily married until his death at age 90 of heart and kidney failure in 1999, Jean continues to be a regular attendee of film-related events and a by-line contributor for "Classic Images," the popular magazine for old-styled film fans, in which she reminisces of Hollywood back then. Jean died at age 95 on January 13, 2018, in Canoga Park (Los Angeles), California.

Dolores Mary Eileen O'Riordan was born in Ballybricken, a town 8 miles outside Limerick on Sept. 6, 1971. Her parents are Eileen and Terrance. Terrance was in a wheelchair due to a motorcycle accident. Dolores was the youngest of seven children, and one of two girls. In the late eighties, Dolores met up with her band members-to-be. Feargal Lawler of Parteen, and Mike and Noel Hogan of Moycross gave Dolores the music to their future hit "Linger". She came back the next day with lyrics. It took some time for The Cranberries to take off, very emotionally impacting Dolores who was overcome with frustration. Their debut album, "Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We" is a quote-Dolores said it while the band members were part of an audience at a concert. It was in America where the Cranberries first found satisfying success - when they returned to their native Ireland, success was awaiting them there as well.

Dolores' life went from railing against war and childhood strife (she was always an avid child advocate) and condemning disrespectful lovers, to deciding that she is "Free to Decide". The mother of three children, her family life brightened up her music. She died in London on 15 January 2018.

Hugh Wilson was born on 24 August 1943 in Miami, Florida, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for Blast from the Past (1999), WKRP in Cincinnati (1978) and Frank's Place (1987). He was married to Charters Smith. He died on 14 January 2018 in Charlottesville, Virginia, USA.

Peter Groeger was born on 1 June 1933 in Gröbzig, Germany. He was an actor and director, known for Police Call 110 (1971), Das unsichtbare Visier (1973) and Die Geschichte Mitteldeutschlands (1999). He died on 16 January 2018 in Berlin, Germany.

Peter Paul Wyngarde was born at the home of an aunt in Marseille, Southern France, and is the son of an English father and French mother. Owing to his father's work as a member of the British Diplomatic Service, Peter spent much of his early childhood moving from one country to another, and was educated in a number of different schools.

One city which left a lasting impression on him was Shanghai, where he had been temporarily left in the care of a Swiss family whilst his father was away in India on business. The year was 1941, and amid a mass of turmoil and confusion, news broke that the Japanese had captured the city, and before long, Peter and his surrogate family found themselves in Lunghua concentration camp.

Confined in these desperately brutal conditions for four years, Peter struggled to prevent his family and friends from dying at the hands of the cruel and barbaric soldiers who governed the camp, and on one occasion while running errands between accommodation huts, he was discovered and punished by having both his feet broken with a rifle butt, and then put into solitary confinement for two weeks.

During better times however, the young Mr. Wyngarde worked in the camp laundry and gardens, and began to write and appear in plays staged by, and for, his fellow inmates, making his acting debut in his own production of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. When the camp was finally liberated in 1945 Peter, who was then suffering from malnutrition, beriberi and malaria, was taken to a sanatorium in the Swiss mountains where he remained for the next two years.

After completing his education in Switzerland, France and England, Peter reluctantly honored his parents' wishes, and entered university, where he began studying law, but soon dropped the idea in favor of a career in advertising. After a brief spell with an agency in London, he walked into an audition, read the part, and was cast as the understudy for the lead in a play in Brighton.

His first role on the London stage, however, was with the Nottingham Repertory Company at the Embassy Theatre as Cassio in Othello. From there, he moved to the world famous Old Vic in Bristol, where he not only took the lead role in such classics as Cyrano de Bergerac and Taming of the Shrew, but also tried his hand at directing, most notably with Long Day's Journey Into Night.

In 1956, Peter was invited over to the United States to take a screen test for the part of Pausanius in Robert Rosen's epic feature film, Alexander the Great opposite Richard Burton and Fredric March, but after almost a year's work on location in Spain, he watched in horror as his role was cut almost out of existence.

Disillusioned with Hollywood, Peter returned to his first love - the British stage, where he took the role of Yang Sun, a Chinese fighter pilot, in Bertold Brecht's, The Good Woman of Setzuan, at the Royal Court Theatre in London's West End. It was here that he first made the acquaintance of the Oliviers - Laurence and his wife, Vivien Leigh, the latter of whom he later played opposite in the critically acclaimed Duel of Angels.

Following the plays hugely successful run at the Apollo Theatre in London in 1958 Ms Leigh, who had since become a close friend of Peter's, begged her leading man to join her in the New York production of the play. Although reluctant at first, Peter was at last persuaded to reprise his role as Count Marcellus, and he made his Broadway debut at the Helen Hayes Theatre in 1959, taking the coveted award for Best Actor in a Foreign Play.

On his triumphant return to Britain in 1960, he was almost immediately cast as the enigmatic Peter the Painter in Monty Barman's production of The Siege of Sidney Street - a film which was based on the true story of the British Governments legendary battle with a notorious gang of Slavonic anarchist, whose reputation throughout Europe for robbery and murder lead to one of the bloodiest confrontations in British criminal history.

Between numerous starring roles in television productions such as Independent Televisions popular Armchair Theatre and Play of the Week, Peter made two more big screen appearances - both Albert Fennell productions.

The first, in 1961, was The Innocents - a feature-length adaptation of the Henry James novella The Turn of the Screw, which was followed in 1962 by the classic supernatural thriller, Night of the Eagle (aka Burn, Witch, Burn) which was once again based on a novel - this time Fritz Leiber's Conjure Wife.

Between July of 1960 and March of 1969, Peter appeared in no less than thirty television plays, and guest starred in such classic series as The Avengers, I Love Lucy, The Baron, The Saint, The Champions and The Prisoner. In 1969, Peter was cast in what was undoubtedly his most famous role as the legendary author-cum-investigator, Jason King, in the ITC action series, Department S, and soon became the idol of thousands of women the world over. So overwhelming was his effect on television viewers that in 1971, a brand new series - Jason King - was devised, which allowed the handsome novelist to go adventuring without restriction.

Following the cancellation of the series at the end of 1972, Peter decided to return to the theatre, and after being greeted at Melbourne Airport by more than 30,000 screaming fans, he took the city by storm in the world premiere of Butley before packed houses every night. Once back in London, Peter took the lead role in Charles Dyers Mother Adam at the Hampstead Theatre, and then went on to tour Britain in the lead role of the King in Rodgers and Hammerstein's The King and I opposite Sally Ann Howes. The following year, he once again took up the mantle of actor/director with Present Laughter, stopping off along the way to host the 1974 Miss Television Contest.

In 1975, Peter headed out to Austria to work at the English Theatre in Vienna, to both act in and direct productions of The Merchant of Venice and Big Toys, before returning to the big screen in an Austrian film (Himmel, Scheich Und Wolkenbrunch) in the role of a latter-day Rudolph Valentino. The following year, he returned to the British stage in the Lawrence Parnes production of Anastasia, and then on to the big screen courtesy of Dino De Laurentiis' lavish 1980s sci-fi blockbuster, Flash Gordon, in which he was cast in the role of General Klytus. It was then back to the stage for a nine-months' tour of South Africa in Deathtrap.

In 1984, after an absence of almost 12 years, Peter returned to the small screen with a rare television appearance in the four-part Doctor Who installment, Planet of Fire, which was followed in short succession by the Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense story, And The Wall Came Tumbling Down, and a memorable guest-starring role in Granada Television's Bulman.

Having been cast as the somewhat unsavory character of Sir Robert Knights in the stylish, yet overtly violent British thriller, Tank Malling in 1989 Peter, who scarcely ever agrees to be interviewed, consented to appear on SKY TV's Jameson Show, plus a hearing on Channel 4s Right To Reply and the BBC's daytime magazine, Pebble Mill. More recently, Peter appeared in 1994 in Granada Televisions popular Sherlock Holmes series opposite Jeremy Brett, playing the newspaper gossip-columnist, Langdale Pike, in The Three Gables.

The long-overdue release of both Department S and Jason King on video in 1993 helped rekindle huge interest in the debonair Mr Wyngarde, with repeats of the series being shown on satellite and cable channels, and public pressure resulting in the re-release of his infamous 1970 album on CD.

In recent years, Peter has made numerous TV appearances, which include Astleys Way, Dee Time, 100 Greatest TV Characters, Don't Knock Yourself Out and narrated the acclaimed Timeshift documentary, The Many Faces of Sherlock Holmes in 2014.

Peter remains one of the most popular British actors of the past 50 years, with a thriving fan club and devoted worldwide following. His appearances at TV and Sci-Fi conventions have drawn thousands of attendees, eager to meet him and to shake the hand of a true acting legend.

Dark-haired, Ivy League-looking Bradford Dillman, whose white-collar career spanned nearly five decades, possessed charm and confident good looks that were slightly tainted by a bent smile, darting glance and edgy countenance that often provoked suspicion. Sure enough, the camera picked up on it and he played shady, highly suspect characters throughout most of his career.

The actor was born in San Francisco on April 14, 1930, to Dean and Josephine Dillman. Yale-educated, he graduated with a B.A. in English Literature. Following this he served with the US Marines in Korea (1951-1953) before focusing on acting as a profession. Studying at the Actors Studio, he spent several seasons apprenticing with the Sharon (CT) Playhouse before making his professional acting debut in "The Scarecrow" in 1953.

Dillman took his initial Broadway bow in Eugene O'Neill's play "Long Day's Journey Into Night" in 1956, originating the author's alter ego character Edmund Tyrone and winning a Theatre World Award in the process. This success put him squarely on the map and 20th Century-Fox took immediate advantage by placing the darkly handsome up-and-comer under contract. Cast in the melodrama A Certain Smile (1958), he earned a Golden Globe for "Most Promising Newcomer" playing a Parisian student who loses his girl (Christine Carère) to the worldly Italian roué Rossano Brazzi. He followed this with a strong ensemble appearance in In Love and War (1958), which featured a cast of young rising stars including Hope Lange and Robert Wagner. More acting honors followed after completing the film Compulsion (1959), which told the true story of the infamous 1920s kidnapping/murder case of Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb. He went on to share a "Best Actor" award at the Cannes Film Festival with fellow co-stars Dean Stockwell, who played the other youthful murderer, and veteran Orson Welles.

Though he was a magnetic player poised for stardom, Dillman's subsequent films failed to serve him well and were generally unworthy of his talent. Though properly serious and stoic as the title character in Francis of Assisi (1961), the film itself was stilted and weakly scripted. Circle of Deception (1960) was a misguided tale of espionage and intrigue, but it did introduce him to his second wife, supermodel-cum-actress Suzy Parker. While A Rage to Live (1965) with Suzanne Pleshette was trashy soap material, The Plainsman (1966) was rather a silly, juvenile version of the Gary Cooper western classic. As a result of these missteps--and others--he began to top-line lesser quality projects or play supporting roles in "A" pictures. His nothing role as Robert Redford's college pal-turned Hollywood producer in The Way We Were (1973) and his major roles in the ludicrous The Swarm (1978) and Lords of the Deep (1989) became proof in the pudding. His last good film role was in O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh (1973), although he did play an interesting John Wilkes Booth in the speculative re-enactment drama The Lincoln Conspiracy (1977) and had a fun leading role in the Jaws (1975)-like spoof Piranha (1978).

Dillman bore up very well on TV over the years, subsisting on a plethora of mini-movies and guest spots on popular series, playing everything from turncoats to frauds and from adulterers to psychotics. He earned a Daytime Emmy for his appearance in Last Bride of Salem (1974) and starred in two series--Court Martial (1965), as a military lawyer, and King's Crossing (1982), as an alcoholic parent and teacher attempting to straighten out. He also spent a season on the established nighttime soap Falcon Crest (1981) in 1982.

A narrator, director and teacher of acting in later years. Bradford launched a late-in-the career sideline as an author. The football fan inside him compelled him to write "Inside the New York Giants" (1995), a book that rated players drafted by the team since 1967. Two years later he published his memoirs, the curiously-titled "Are You Somebody?: An Actor's Life." He retired from the screen after a few guest star shots on "Murder, She Wrote" in the mid-90s.

From 1956 to 1962, Dillman was married to Frieda Harding, and had two children, Jeffrey and Pamela. Following their divorce, he met well-known model-turned-actress Suzy Parker during the production of Circle of Deception (1960) and the couple married on April 20, 1963. They had three children, Dinah, Charles, and Christopher. Daughter Pamela Dillman has worked as an actress. Dillman was made a widower when Parker died on May 3, 2003. He lived for many years in Montecito, California, and helped raise money for medical research. He died in Santa Barbara, California on January 16, 2018, aged 87, from complications of pneumonia.

The blonde, sultry, dreamy-eyed beauty of Dorothy Malone, who was born Mary Maloney in Chicago on January 29, 1924, took some time before it made an impact with American film-going audiences. But once she did, she played it for all it was worth in her one chance Academy Award-winning "bad girl" performance, a role quite unlike the classy and strait-laced lady herself.

Raised in Dallas, she was one of five children born to an accountant father and housewife mother. Two older sisters died of polio. Attending Ursuline Convent and Highland Park High School, she was quite popular (as "School Favorite"). She was also a noted female athlete while there and won several awards for swimming and horseback riding. Following graduation, she studied at Southern Methodist University with the intent of becoming a nurse, but a role in the college play "Starbound" happened to catch the eye of an RKO talent scout and she was offered a Hollywood contract.

The lovely brunette started off in typical RKO starlet mode with acting/singing/dancing/diction lessons and bit parts (billed as Dorothy Maloney) in such films as the Frank Sinatra musicals Higher and Higher (1943) and Step Lively (1944), a couple of the mystery "Falcon" entries and a showier role in Show Business (1944) with Eddie Cantor and George Murphy. RKO lost interest, however, after the two-year contract was up. Warner Bros., however, stepped up to the plate and offered the actress a contract. Now billed as Dorothy Malone, her third film offering with the studio finally injected some adrenaline into her floundering young career, when she earned the small role of a seductive book clerk in the Bogart/Bacall classic The Big Sleep (1946). Critics and audiences took notice of her captivating little part. As a reward, the studio nudged her up the billing ladder with more visible roles in Two Guys from Texas (1948), Romance on the High Seas (1948), South of St. Louis (1949) and Colorado Territory (1949), with the westerns showing off her equestrian prowess if not her acting ability.

Despite this positive movement, Warner Bros. did not extend Dorothy's contract in 1949 and she returned willingly back to her tight-knit family in her native Dallas. Taking a steadier job with an insurance agency, she happened to attend a work-related convention in New York City and grew fascinated with the big city. Deciding to recommit to her acting career, she moved to the Big Apple and studied at the American Theater Wing. In between her studies, she managed to find work on TV, which spurred freelancing "B" movie offers in the routine form of Saddle Legion (1951), The Bushwhackers (1951), the Martin & Lewis romp Scared Stiff (1953), Law and Order (1953), Jack Slade (1953), Pushover (1954) and Private Hell 36 (1954).

Things picked up noticeably once Dorothy went platinum blonde, which seemed to emphasize her overt and sensual beauty. First off was as a sister to Doris Day in Young at Heart (1954), a musical remake of Four Daughters (1938), back at Warner Bros. She garnered even better attention when she appeared in the war picture Battle Cry (1955), in which she shared torrid love scenes with film's newest heartthrob Tab Hunter, and continued the momentum with the reliable westerns Five Guns West (1955) and Tall Man Riding (1955) but not with melodramatic romantic dud Sincerely Yours (1955) which tried to sell to the audiences a heterosexual Liberace.

By this time she had signed with Universal. Following a few more westerns for good measure (At Gunpoint (1955), Tension at Table Rock (1956) and Pillars of the Sky (1956), Dorothy won the scenery-chewing role of wild, nymphomaniac Marylee Hadley in the Douglas Sirk soap opera Written on the Wind (1956) co-starring Rock Hudson, Lauren Bacall and Robert Stack. Stack and Malone had the showier roles and completely out-shined the two leads, both earning supporting Oscar nominations in the process. Stack lost in his category but Dorothy nabbed the trophy for her splendidly tramp, boozed-up Southern belle which was highlighted by her writhing mambo dance.

Unfortunately, Dorothy's long spell of mediocre filming did not end with all the hoopla she received for Written on the Wind (1956). The Tarnished Angels (1957), which reunited Malone with Hudson and Stack faltered, and Quantez (1957) with Fred MacMurray was just another run-of-the-mill western. Two major film challenges might have changed things with Man of a Thousand Faces (1957) as the unsympathetic first wife of James Cagney's Lon Chaney Sr, and as alcoholic actress Diana Barrymore in the biographic melodrama Too Much, Too Soon (1958). Cagney, however, overshadowed everyone in the first and the second was fatally watered down by the Production Code committee.

To compensate, Dorothy, at age 35 in 1959, finally was married -- to playboy actor Jacques Bergerac (Ginger Rogers's ex-husband). A daughter, Mimi, was born the following year. Fewer film offers, which included Warlock (1959) and The Last Voyage (1960), came her way as Dorothy focused more on family life. While a second daughter, Diane, was born in 1962, the turbulent marriage wouldn't last and their divorce became final in December 1964. A bitter custody battle ensued with Dorothy eventually winning primary custody.

It took the small screen to rejuvenate Dorothy's career in the mid-1960s when she earned top billing of TV's first prime time soap opera Peyton Place (1964). Dorothy, starring in Lana Turner's 1957 film role of Constance MacKenzie, found herself in a smash hit. The run wasn't entirely happy however. Doctors discovered blood clots on her lungs which required major surgery and she almost died. Lola Albright filled in until she was able to return. Just as bad, her the significance of her role dwindled with time and 20th Century-Fox finally wrote her and co-star Tim O'Connor off the show in 1968. Dorothy filed a breach of contract lawsuit which ended in an out-of-court settlement.

Her life on- and off-camera did not improve. Dorothy's second marriage to stockbroker Robert Tomarkin in 1969 would last only three months, and a third to businessman Charles Huston Bell managed about three years. Now-matronly roles in the films Winter Kills (1979), Vortex (1982), The Being (1981) and Rest in Pieces (1987), were few and far between a few TV-movies -- which included some "Peyton Place" revivals, did nothing to advance her. Malone returned and settled for good back in her native Dallas, returning to Hollywood only on occasion.

Dorothy's last film was a cameo in the popular thriller Basic Instinct (1992) as a friend to Sharon Stone. She will be remembered as one of those Hollywood stars who proved she had the talent but somehow got the short end of the stick when it came to quality films offered. She retired to Texas and died in Dallas shortly before her 94th birthday on January 19, 2018.

Paul Bocuse was born on 11 February 1926 in Collonges-au-Mont-d'Or, Rhône, France. He was an actor. He was married to Raymonde Duvert. He died on 20 January 2018 in Collonges-au-Mont-d'Or, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France.

Angelika Meissner was born on 25 November 1939 in Berlin, Germany. She was an actress, known for Ferien auf Immenhof (1957), Die Mädels vom Immenhof (1955) and Hochzeit auf Immenhof (1956). She died on 10 January 2018 in Berlin, Germany.

Yves Afonso was born on 13 February 1944 in Saulieu, Côte-d'Or, France. He was an actor, known for Les arcandiers (1991), France, Incorporated (1974) and Frank Riva (2003). He died on 21 January 2018 in Paris, France.

Connie Sawyer was born on 27 November 1912 in Pueblo, Colorado, USA. She was an actress, known for Dumb and Dumber (1994), Pineapple Express (2008) and Out of Sight (1998). She was married to Marshall Schacker. She died on 21 January 2018 in Woodland Hills, California, USA.

Olivia Cole was born on 26 November 1942 in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. She was an actress, known for Roots (1977), Backstairs at the White House (1979) and First Sunday (2008). She was married to Richard Venture. She died on 19 January 2018 in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico.

John Morris was born on 18 October 1926 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, USA. He was a composer, known for The Elephant Man (1980), Blazing Saddles (1974) and Coach (1989). He was married to Francesca Bosetti. He died on 25 January 2018 in Red Hook, New York, USA.

Robert Dowdell was born on 10 March 1932 in Park Ridge, Illinois, USA. He was an actor, known for Stoney Burke (1962), Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1964) and Assassination (1987). He was married to Sheila Connolly. He died on 23 January 2018 in Coldwater, Michigan, USA.