Deaths: November 21

Gugu Liberato was born on 10 April 1959 in São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. He was a writer and actor, known for August Winds (2014), Miguelito (2000) and O Noviço Rebelde (1997). He was married to Rose Miriam di Matteo. He died on 21 November 2019 in Orlando, Florida, USA.

Andrée Lachapelle was born on 13 November 1931 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She was an actress, known for And the Birds Rained Down (2019), Cap Tourmente (1993) and Le misanthrope (1966). She was married to Dominique Briand and André Melançon. She died on 21 November 2019 in Canada.

She began her career as an intern at Elektra Records and after her graduation from UCLA was hired as a publicity assistant at Atlantic in 1993. There, she rose to senior director, working with Stone Temple Pilots, Kid Rock and Jewel before moving to Columbia Records as a VP in 2001. At that label, she worked closely with such acts as John Mayer, System of a Down and the Offspring, and also developed a strong relationship with a young singer whose album for the label was never released: Katy Perry.

Cob-Baehler moved to Virgin Records as an SVP in 2005 (which merged into the EMI Music Group), where she launched an ultimately successful campaign to bring Perry to the label. She played a large role in the A&R and creative direction of the singer's 2008 breakthrough album, "One of the Boys," as well as the follow-up, "Teenage Dream." She was SVP of media and creative services at the company at the time of her departure in 2011, for an EVP marketing job at Epic.

After less than a year, she left the Sony Music label to join Jeff Kwatinetz at Prospect Park, which morphed into The Firm and later Big3/Prospect Park/Cube Vision, where she worked closely with Ice Cube, his son (and "Straight Outta Compton" star) O'Shea Jackson Jr. and other artists.

She was promoted to the head of music at the company in 2016 but became ill not long afterward and spent much of the past couple of years battling cancer.

The son of a sales clerk and a department store owner, Bill Bixby was the sixth-generation Californian born as Wilfred Bailey Bixby, on January 22, 1934, in San Francisco, California. An only child growing up in the 1940s and 1950s, he attended schools in the same area, took ballroom dance lessons, before attending Lowell High School, where he excelled in drama. After his graduation from high school, he attended San Francisco City College, where he majored in drama. He transferred to the University of California-Berkeley, where he majored in the pre-law program, but never stopped falling in love with his interest in acting. After almost graduating, he left his native San Francisco, to travel to Los Angeles, where he became a lifeguard and a bellhop.

Two years later, in 1959, two executives noticed him and hired him immediately for commercial work and modeling, in Detroit, Michigan. At the same time, he auditioned for theater roles. He joined the Detroit Civic Theatre Company and made his professional stage debut in the musical, "The Boy Friend." Long after his trip to Michigan, he continued doing commercial work and made numerous guest appearances on popular TV sitcoms.

He made his TV debut in an episode of The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (1959). He also did many other roles, most notably as "Charles Raymond" in The Joey Bishop Show (1961). After many guest and recurring roles, he landed a co-starring role opposite Ray Walston in My Favorite Martian (1963), in which he portrayed a newspaper reporter playing host to a visitor from another planet. After the first season, it became a hit and Bixby became a household name to millions of fans who liked the show. The show was going well until its cancellation in 1966, which left Bixby in the dark, for the time being. However, he finally got the chance to go onto the big screen. The first of the four post-"Martian" 60s movies he played in was the Western, Ride Beyond Vengeance (1966). The following year, he played in Doctor, You've Got to Be Kidding! (1967) and, soon after, he was approached by Elvis Presley to appear in both Clambake (1967), and Speedway (1968). Afterwards, he once again returned to series television, this time playing widowed father, "Tom Corbett", on The Courtship of Eddie's Father (1969), based on the popular 1963 movie. After its first season, it became a much bigger hit than his first show and Bixby, heretofore one of Hollywood's most confirmed bachelors, changed his views on marriage and family, subsequently taking actress Brenda Benet as his bride and fathering a son. He also tried his hand at directing an episode of the series, called "Gifts Are For Giving," about Norman's highly treasured gift. After completing its second season, Bixby received an Emmy nomination for Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, but didn't win. By its third season in 1972, the show had bad scripts and ABC decided to pull the plug.

Once again, Bixby was not long out of work and was offered a chance to star in a lead role as "Anthony Dorian/Anthony Blake," on his first and only NBC dramatic series called, The Magician (1973). The show focused on Anthony performing magic tricks which helped people who were in trouble, and in real-life, Bill became a fine magician, performing to both children and adults. But sadly, the show was canceled after one season due to its expensive costs.

After a seven-year absence from the big screen, he co-starred in another western, opposite Don Knotts and Tim Conway, in The Apple Dumpling Gang (1975). Like most of the theatrical movies he did, it was not a blockbuster at the box office, but was still an average hit. In late 1977, he was offered the role of "Dr. David Bruce Banner," in a two-hour pilot called, The Incredible Hulk (1977). About a physician/scientist who turned into a green monster whenever he became angry, the idea appealed to CBS, and several months later, they premiered a new science fiction-dramatic series, called, The Incredible Hulk (1977). When it debuted as a mid-season replacement, it became the #1 show in the United States, and in many other countries. His character became famous for ripping up shirts each time he turned into the Hulk, played by bodybuilder Lou Ferrigno. Bixby had wanted to direct some episodes, but the time he had to spend in the make-up chair for the transformation sequences made that problematical, and he managed to helm only one segment, "Bring Me the Head of the Hulk," in the fourth season. The series was canceled in 1981 (although the last few episodes didn't air until 1982).

Bixby, once again, came back to series television, acting in, producing and directing his last sitcom, Goodnight, Beantown (1983), on which he played "Matt Cassidy." Chosen for the role of "Jennifer Barnes," was one of Bixby's old friends, Mariette Hartley, who had won an Emmy for her guest appearance in The Incredible Hulk (1977) as Banner's second wife. The two played co-anchor newscasters of a Boston television station whose sparring on and off the air developed into friendship and respect. Discounting a brief, inconsequential return to the network's schedule in the summer of 1984, the series lasted for less than a year, from April 1983 to January 1984.

Bixby now decided to concentrate on directing and worked on Wizards and Warriors (1983), Goodnight, Beantown (1983) and Sledge Hammer! (1986). He also directed the pilot for a New York spy series, "Rockhopper." He also appeared in front of the camera as the host of the daytime anthology series, True Confessions (1985), which dealt with real-life crises of everyday people. Bixby additionally served as host for two shows targeting younger viewers: "Against the Odds," a series of biographies of prominent people, frequently from history, for the Nickelodeon cable channel; and "Once Upon a Classic," a collection of British TV adaptations of literary classics on PBS.

He came back to reprise his role of "Dr. David Banner" from The Incredible Hulk (1977) by acting in, producing, and directing the three spin-off movies: The Incredible Hulk Returns (1988), The Trial of the Incredible Hulk (1989) and The Death of the Incredible Hulk (1990). He also directed TV movies such as Baby of the Bride (1991) and Another Pair of Aces: Three of a Kind (1991).

In April 1991, while directing one of his last movies, he became very ill and was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He underwent surgery and by December, his cancer seemed to be in remission, so he came back to guest star as "Nick Osborne" in a two-hour TV movie/pilot called Diagnosis Murder: Diagnosis of Murder (1992). In mid-1992, while his cancer continued to be in remission, Bixby returned to work as a director to direct several episodes of the popular NBC sitcom, Blossom (1990), where he became the main director of the show. At first, he hid his illness from the cast and crew, until one of the producers found out, and then he announced publicly that he wanted to continue working until he could no longer do so. Prior to going public with his cancer, he directed a TV movie starring Roseanne Barr and Tom Arnold, The Woman Who Loved Elvis (1993), which was his final directing project.

Unfortunately, the cancer returned by mid-1993 and, on November 21, 1993, six days after directing his last episode on "Blossom" (1991), Bill Bixby died at age 59 in his home after a two-year battle with cancer. For over 30 years, he was in great demand and his big roles and directing credits have been a personal testimony to his fans. His life is gone, but his legacy lives on for years to come.

Buzz Belmondo was born on 20 February 1947 in San Francisco, California, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Faster (2010), Out of This World (1987) and Baywatch (1989). He was married to Kathy Keeley. He died on 20 November 2017 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Dan Fitzgerald was born on 30 December 1928 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, USA. He was an actor, known for The Final Countdown (1980), In Her Shoes (2005) and Police Academy 5: Assignment: Miami Beach (1988). He was married to Dolores Stever. He died on 21 November 2017 in Miami, Florida, USA.

One of the modern US cinema's greatest stuntmen and stunt innovators, Dar Robinson only appeared in a relatively small number of films compared to other stuntmen (before losing his life in an off-set motorcycle accident); however, he set new benchmarks in stunt performances.

Robinson first appeared onscreen doubling for Steve McQueen jumping into the sea off a clifftop in Papillon (1973), and the following year leapt into the sea again on a motorbike doubling for crooked cop David Soul in Magnum Force (1973). Robinson also doubled for Henry Silva in the dramatic conclusion to Sharky's Machine (1981) where Silva's hitman character is blasted by cop Burt Reynolds through a plate glass window and falls to his death from an Atlanta, Georgia, skyscraper. In reality, Robinson took the dive out the window and landed an on an airbag many floors below to break his fall!

Dar was a high-fall specialist and one of his most amazing stunts was doubling for Christopher Plummer at the conclusion of Highpoint (1982) where the villain falls from the 1,170-foot-high CN Tower in Toronto, Canada. Once again, Dar took the plunge with a concealed parachute, which he opened at the absolute last moment, and he earned $150,000 for his work. Robinson also appeared in several minor acting roles onscreen; however, in 1987, Burt Reynolds backed his faith in Dar by casting him as the sadistic albino villain "Moke" in the crime thriller Stick (1985). Not only did Dar act in front of the camera but he also designed and performed the incredible stunt where "Moke" falls to his death from a very high balcony, seemingly straight onto the pavement below. In actual fact, Dar was rigged to a complex wire rig that "deccelerated" his fall, and made the use of an airbag unnecessary.

Dar Robinson was much loved by many people in Hollywood and his tragic passing meant the movie business lost a stunt genius and many people lost a sincere friend. Director Richard Donner dedicated his high voltage action film Lethal Weapon (1987) to Dar's memory!

David Cassidy was born on April 12, 1950 in Manhattan, to Jack Cassidy, a very skilled actor and singer, and Evelyn Ward, an actress. By the time he was five, his parents were divorced and Jack had married actress Shirley Jones, an actress who in 1955 had just made Oklahoma! (1955). When David was about 10, his mother moved to California from New Jersey. A few years later, she married a director and, like Jack Cassidy and Shirley Jones, the marriage ended in divorce. David was thrown out of schools and hardly made it through one year of college. When he was eighteen, he went east to New York to perform in a play called "The Fig Leafs are Falling." He did some other spots on TV, but in 1970 he got the opportunity to play Keith Partridge on the TV show The Partridge Family (1970). (He did not know until he got the part that his real life stepmother Shirley Jones was to play his mother Shirley.) The show ended in 1974, but not the close relationship he had with his "sister" Susan Dey, who played Laurie Partridge. In 1976, David's father Jack died when his apartment caught on fire. That year, David married Kay Lenz, but they later divorced. He married again to a horse trainer in 1984, but it did not last either. In 1990, he married Sue Shifrin. He had two children, a son named Beau, with Sue, and actress Katie Cassidy. In 1994, he wrote a book about his years being Keith Partridge, and performed updated songs from the Partridge Family years.

David died on November 21, 2017, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He was sixty seven.

Deborah Raffin was born on 13 March 1953 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She was an actress and producer, known for Death Wish 3 (1985), God Told Me To (1976) and Touched by Love (1980). She was married to Michael Viner. She died on 21 November 2012 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

The chances are, you have seen Derek Deadman in a movie - but just don't realize it! He is one of those actors to whom you instantly recognize the face, but not the name.

He has starred in a whole array of films and television series since the 1970s, playing normally minor roles, generally as the fall guy who gets kicked around by some nasty villain, or as a comedic sidekicks to people such as Benny Hill.

But it's minor roles that have seemed to keep this actor in business. Work has always seemed to be available to him and, most recently, Derek has starred in one of the Harry Potter movies, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001), as Tom the Landlord.

He has also appeared in the non-franchised James Bond film Never Say Never Again (1983); Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991); Crush (2001) and other major films.

If you happen to be watching a 1970s or 1980s British movie, look out for Derek Deadman - chances are he's in it!!

Distinguished American costume designer, who worked with some of the biggest names in Hollywood, including John Huston, William Wyler, Cecil B. DeMille and Robert Wise. Abandoned by her parents at an early age, Dorothy Jeakins was educated at schools in San Diego and Los Angeles. Early in her childhood, she demonstrated an aptitude for drawing, which won her a State of California Scholarship at the Otis Art Institute. She supplemented her studies by working as a live-in servant with local families. After submitting some very good illustrations to the Los Angeles City Planning Commission, she was taken on by the Southern California Arts Project. In 1936, Dorothy held a job in the colour department at Walt Disney studios, painting animated cells of 'Mickey Mouse' for $16 a week. Her first work in fashion design was doing layouts for Magnin's Department Store, which attracted the attention of 20th Century Fox art director Richard Day. Day then brought her to the attention of film director Victor Fleming. Before long, Dorothy was seconded to the studio wardrobe department as an illustrator under Ernest Dryden.

Her big break came when she was hired by Fleming as sketch artist for Joan of Arc (1948). Fleming liked her work so much that he promoted her to design the costumes for the picture, effectively replacing the previously designated Barbara Karinska (though both ended up sharing the Academy Award in 1949). Dorothy won her second Oscar, back-to-back, for Samson and Delilah (1949), along with the legendary Edith Head. Within a very short time, Dorothy established a reputation for sense of style and an eye for colour. She had a notable penchant for period and/or ethnic themes. She was also said to design to the specific requirement of each individual picture and director, rather than asserting her own personal stamp over the project. Throughout her subsequent career, she remained doggedly free-lance, never under long-term contract to any individual studio. Her work also encompassed theatrical costume design, notably for the Shakespearean festival in Stratford, Connecticut, and, for John Houseman on Broadway.

Dorothy Jeakins was nominated for a total of 12 Academy Awards, winning her third for The Night of the Iguana (1964). Among her best showcases are Niagara (1953) (who could ever forget Marilyn Monroes sexy red dress ?), Friendly Persuasion (1956), Elmer Gantry (1960), The Music Man (1962), The Way We Were (1973) and Young Frankenstein (1974). Her last film was John Huston's The Dead (1987), for which she used mud colours to convey the oppressive atmosphere of social life in Dublin in 1904. From 1967 to 1970, she held the position of curator of textiles at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

At the beginning of Emily Squires career in the entertainment business, she was scriptwriter for the soap operas "Search for Tomorrow" and "The Secret Storm." After transitioning to director, Ms. Squires directed numerous children's programs including the PBS show "Between The Lions". Squires later directed documentaries including "Visions of Perfect Worlds," a conversation with the Dalai Lama.

Spanish actor and director of cinema and theater. Son of the actress Carola Fernán Gómez. When he was three years old he returned to Spain from Argentina. He wrote comedies, novels and poetry, and played a wide repertoire of roles from comedy to drama. He was a prolific actor and director, and received numerous awards in various countries. Married twice, he had a son and a daughter.

Gahan Wilson was born on 18 February 1930 in Evanston, Illinois, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for Monsters (1988), It's True! (1998) and The Freeway Maniac (1989). He was married to Nancy Winters . He died on 21 November 2019 in Scottsdale, Arizona, USA.

Gardner is the son of Deane McKay, an ad executive, and Catherine. He was raised in New York and Paris. He attended Cornell University two years but left when his father died. He worked in advertising for 6 months but found that he could not stand it. At age 20, he became a sculptor and had a piece displayed in the Museum of Modern Art. In 1959, he was spotted by a Hollywood producer who convinced him to join the cast of TV's Adventures in Paradise (1959). When it was over, he decided he really did not like the celebrity spotlight and proceeded to roam the world. He hiked in the Amazon, rode camels in Egypt, and crewed on Caribbean yachts. Finally, in 1980, he met Madeleine Madigan, who became his wife. The life-long bachelor settled down and decided to become a writer.

George Springate was born on 12 May 1938 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He was an actor, known for The Last Straw (1987) and ESPN SportsCentury (1999). He was married to Judy Gill. He died on 21 November 2019 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Germán Robles was born on 20 March 1929 in Gijón, Asturias, Spain. He was an actor and director, known for Pasión (2007), The Vampire (1957) and The Curse of Nostradamus (1961). He was married to Judy Ponte, Elisa Aragonés and Ana María Vázquez. He died on 21 November 2015 in Mexico City, Mexico.

Portly, pudding-faced, wavy dark-haired actor/announcer Harry Von Zell, whose well-modulated voice was a standard radio fixture during the 1930s and '40s, also extended his talents toward film and TV where he appeared in numerous comedy outings, often as a straight man foil. Born in Indianapolis, Indiana, on July 11, 1906, he attended UCLA and first started on the air waves in 1927 with KMIC as both announcer and singer, eventually moving into national radio, announcing for Bing Crosby among others. Known for his quick and clever ad-libbing, he nevertheless got quite a bit of ribbing and won an honorary award in the Immortal National Hall of Bloopers Fame for referring to President Herbert Hoover once as "Hoobert Heever."

Von Zell decorated a number of films, owning a few prime buttoned-down support parts in both comedy--including The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry (1945), For Heaven's Sake (1950) and Son of Paleface (1952)--and dramas, such as The Guilt of Janet Ames (1947) and The Saxon Charm (1948). He was also front-and-center in a number of comedy shorts, usually playing himself. The name Harry Von Zell became a household word, while riding on the talented coattails of the husband/wife team of George Burns and Gracie Allen in their classic TV sitcom The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show (1950). He played the hesitant, somewhat bewildered friend of the family, also serving as the program's announcer. In addition, he was with CBS in New York for six years and a TV network announcer for the likes of Eddie Cantor, Fred Allen, Phil Baker, Dinah Shore and Joan Davis over his long career. Following his retirement in the 1970s after some TV work including Bachelor Father (1957) and Perry Mason (1957) (he also once wrote and appeared on a Wagon Train (1957) episode), Von Zell was seen frequently at nostalgic functions. He died of cancer in 1981 at the age of 75 in Los Angeles. He was a posthumous inductee of the National Broadcasters Hall of Fame.

Horacio Gómez Bolaños was born on 28 July 1930 in Mexico, Distrito Federal, Mexico. He was an actor and producer, known for Chespirito (1980), El Chapulín Colorado (1973) and El Chavo del Ocho (1972). He died on 21 November 1999 in Mexico City, Mexico.

Iola Gregory was born in 1946 in Hammersmith, London, England, UK. She was an actress and writer, known for Cravings (2006), Coming Up Roses (1986) and Storms of August (1988). She was married to Robert Blythe. She died on 21 November 2017 in Caernarfon, Gwynedd, Wales, UK.

Ivan Jandl was born in 1937 to the family of accountant Klement Jandl and his wife, Bozena. When he was three, he suffered from polio, and it seemed that he would not be able to walk again, but a Dr. Pribramsky managed to do what seemed a miracle: Ivan was soon practically perfectly well. While at school, he played in the school theater and later joined the famed Disman Children's radio choir. From the choir, it was just a step to various roles in radio plays. His first film appearance was a very small role in Martin Fric's "Varúj!" but he remained with radio, which was where Fred Zinnemann chose him in an audition for The Search. After the film's success, Ivan got lots of fan mail from all over the world, and in 1949 he received a telegram, an approximate translation of which reads: "You won the Academy Award for outstanding child actor. Congratulations. F. Zinnemann," followed the next day by an explanation (because Oscars were not generally known there at the time) from the production company (Praesens Film): "An Oscar is the highest award given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Congratulations." Ivan couldn't attend the ceremony, so the Oscar was brought to him in Prague by some members of the academy. There he received many offers (films and contracts), but it was decided by the government that he was to be "preserved to be used by the Czech film industry," but ironically, he went on to make only 3 films: 1 in 1949, 1 in 1951, and 1 in 1955. After graduating from high school, Ivan wanted to study at the Theatre Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (DAMU), but he was told he should not have accepted an award from the American film industry and was thus turned down. He then changed careers many times, only to return to the radio in 1965 as a program manager, becoming an announcer in 1969. In 1972, he was forced to leave radio. He had a brief stint as a stage manager in a theater in Teplice, and that was all there was for him in show business. In 1985, for the first time since 1948, he met Jarmila Novotna, the famed opera singer who portrayed his mother in The Search. In 1987, Ivan died at the age of 50 of diabetic complications in his apartment in Prague.

Jack Purvis was born on 13 July 1937 in London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Time Bandits (1981), Brazil (1985) and Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977). He was married to Marjie Purvis. He died on 11 November 1997 in Bushey, Hertfordshire, England, UK.

Comedian, composer, songwriter ("At Dusk", "I Came to Say Goodbye"), author and trombonist, educated in high school, then a trombonist with the Columbia Symphony (1931-1936). He was a member of the Bob Hope radio program, and appears in many films. Joining ASCAP in 1956, his other songs include "Life of a Sailor", "Sleighbells in the Sky", "Take Your Time", and "One Day".

John Kastner was born on 6 April 1946 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He was a director and producer, known for Out of Mind, Out of Sight (2014), NCR: Not Criminally Responsible (2013) and Life with Murder (2010). He was married to Renee Bernstein. He died on 21 November 2019 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.