In Memoriam 2020

Sabine Zimmermann was born on 22 July 1951 in Hannover, Lower Saxony, West Germany. She was an assistant director and producer, known for Verbrechen, die Geschichte machten (1995), K - Verbrechen im Fadenkreuz (1992) and Natascha Kampusch - 3096 Tage Gefangenschaft (2010). She died on 1 May 2020 in Munich, Bavaria, Germany.

Michael Keenan was born on 12 December 1939 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor and producer, known for Star Trek: Voyager (1995), Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993) and Dallas (1978). He died on 30 April 2020 in Woodland Hills, California, USA.

Mort Fallick was born on 7 November 1933 in Bronx, New York City, New York, USA. He was an editor and director, known for Cape Fear (1991), Mission Mars (1968) and Jezebel's Kiss (1990). He died on 22 April 2020 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.

Utilitarian character actor Richard Herd was one of those stern familiar faces you saw countless times on film and TV but couldn't quite place the name. The stage-trained actor, who shared a striking resemblance to actor Karl Malden, never found the one role that would make him a household name, but did make up for it with a number of rich and rewarding stage, film and TV assignments bolstered by his trademark authoritarian look and stance.

Born on September 26, 1932 in Boston, Massachusetts, he was the son of Katherine (Lydon) and Richard Herd, a railroad engineer and WWII vet, who died when the boy was quite young. The younger Herd suffered from bone marrow cancer which affected the growth of his legs as a child. As a result, he was educated at the Industrial School for Crippled Children during his formative years. Luckily, loving care and several operations saved his legs from deformity.

It was his mother Katherine's love of music that ignited Richard's initial desire to perform. Trained on the drums, he received early acting training on radio and in summer stock (Liberty Mutual Theatre in Boston) during his high school years and, in the late 1940s, studied Shakespeare under veteran Claude Rains at one point. Other plays such as "Our Town" and "Sing Out Sweet Land," and the children's theatre productions of "Penrod" and "Robin Hood" helped to beef up his early resume.

Richard enlisted in the Army during the Korean War but injured a knee in basic training, which led to an honorable discharge within 90 days of his enlistment. He did, however, go on to work for the Army Signal Corps in a host of training films.

Richard continued to gather experience in such classical plays as "The Miser" and "A Month in the Country". With several summer stock runs, Shakespearean bus-and-truck tours and industrial films under his belt, he finally made his New York debut in the minor role of an usher in The Dress Circle" at Carnegie Hall. He also became a member of the Player's Club.

Making a highly inauspicious film debut in the minor role of a coach in the film, Hercules in New York (1970), which was the showcase debut for the massively-muscled Arnold Schwarzenegger, Richard didn't settle in Hollywood, until the mid 1970s, after replacing actor Richard Long (who died before filming began) in the role of Watergate figure James McCord in All the President's Men (1976). Although Richard made a handful of other movies throughout the rest of the decade (I Never Promised You a Rose Garden (1977), F.I.S.T. (1978), The China Syndrome (1979), The Onion Field (1979)), he appeared with much more frequency on TV, playing stern, authoritarian types on episodes of Kojak (1973), The Rockford Files (1974), The Streets of San Francisco (1972) (starring the similar-looking Karl Malden), Rafferty (1977), Eight Is Enough (1977) and Starsky and Hutch (1975), as well as in the TV movies Pueblo (1973), Captains and the Kings (1976), The Hunted Lady (1977), Dr. Scorpion (1978), Kate Bliss and the Ticker Tape Kid (1978), Terror Out of the Sky (1978), Marciano (1979) and, most notably, Ike: The War Years (1979), in which he portrayed General Omar Bradley.

Never finding the one support role that might have made him a character star, Richard nevertheless was featured impressively on all three mediums for over four decades. On stage, he appeared in a pre-Broadway tryout of "On the Waterfront" and played, to great applause, in productions of "Other People's Money" and "The Big Knife". His finest hour on stage, however, would come with his portrayal of the epic film producer in the one-man show "Cecil B. DeMille Presents", which he has toured throughout the country. On TV, Richard has guested on most of the popular TV programs of late, including Desperate Housewives (2004) and CSI: Miami (2002) and is probably best remembered for his recurring roles as "Admiral Noyce" on SeaQuest 2032 (1993), as Jason Alexander's boss "Wilhelm" in the sitcom classic, Seinfeld (1989), and as "Admiral Owen Paris" in Star Trek: Voyager (1995). A few of his lightweight cinematic crowd-pleasers include Private Benjamin (1980), Deal of the Century (1983), Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987) and Sgt. Bilko (1996). More recently, he also had a memorable bit in the Oscar-winning horror film Get Out (2017).

On occasion, Richard moved into the director/producer/writer's chair. He directed the play, "Idle Wheels", for the Road Theatre Company in North Hollywood, was a producer of the N.Y. play, "Agamemnon", and co-producer (and performer) of the play, "The Couch with the Six Insides", and, as a playwright, had a presentation of his play, "Prisoner of the Crown", produced at Dublin's Abbey Theatre.

Married briefly at the age of 19, Richard remarried and had two children (Richard Jr. and Erica) by his second wife. That marriage also ended in divorce, but his third (in 1980), to actress Patricia Herd (Patricia Crowder Ruskin), lasted. Patricia has a daughter from an earlier marriage. Making his final film appearances in the Clint Eastwood vehicle The Mule (2018) and the baseball biopic The Silent Natural (2019), Richard was diagnosed with cancer and died on May 26, 2020, at age 87.

Renate Krößner was born on 17 May 1945 in Osterode am Harz, Germany. She was an actress, known for Vergiss dein Ende (2011), Solo Sunny (1980) and Nordkurve (1992). She was married to Bernd Stegemann. She died on 25 May 2020 in Mahlow, Brandenburg, Germany.

Manfred Heidmann was born on 27 December 1923 in Lübeck, Germany. He was an actor, known for Tim Frazer (1963), Miranda (1966) and Robin Hood, the Noble Robber (1966). He was married to Elisabeth Hausmann. He died on 19 May 2020 in Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

This suave, elegant character star was a ubiquitous presence in French cinema for nearly seven decades. His distinguished career extended to both stage and screen and his versatility was such that he could take on just about any persona (in his own words: "I do not put on an act... I slip away behind my characters"), from police inspectors to gangsters, from priests and academics to King Louis XVI and the Marquis de Sade. More than a few of his portrayals were of ordinary bourgeois caught up in difficult circumstances or undergoing mid-life crisis. However, Piccoli truly excelled in sardonic, cynical or morally ambiguous roles - playing smooth, quietly-spoken types harbouring dark passions or sinister secrets. His directors have included a veritable who's who of European film makers: Luis Buñuel (six times), Claude Sautet (five times), Alfred Hitchcock (who cast him as Jacques Granville, the principal antagonist in Topaz (1969)), Jean-Pierre Melville, Louis Malle, Alain Resnais, and Jean-Luc Godard.

Piccoli was born in Paris on December 27 1925. His parents were both musicians: his father a Swiss-born violinist, his mother a French pianist. He made his screen debut at 19, for a number of years confined to small supporting roles. Becoming actively involved in left-wing politics, Piccoli joined the Saint-Germain-des-Prés social set, headquartered at the Tabou club and comprising intellectuals and artists whose adherents included the philosophers Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre, as well as the chanson and cabaret singer Juliette Gréco (to whom Piccoli was married from 1966 to 1976). His career took off in the early 60s and he enjoyed his first major success as Brigitte Bardot's husband in Godard's Contempt (1963). Luis Bunuel also recognized Piccoli's potential and employed his trademark cerebral eloquence on pivotal parts in important films like Diary of a Chambermaid (1964), Belle de Jour (1967) and The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972). In 1973, Piccoli formed his own production company, Films 66, which allowed him even greater freedom in selecting his roles. He continued to work steadily, retaining his huge popularity with French audiences throughout the 80s and 90s. Though nominated four times, he never won the coveted Cesar Award. However, his many other accolades included a win as best actor at Cannes in 1980 and two German Film Awards (in 1988 and 1992). He also directed three feature films, one of which, Alors voilà, (1997), won the Bastone Bianco critical award at the Venice Film Festival.

He grew up in broken circumstances. The father was a drug addict and he ran away from his parents' home when he was still a child. Attracted by big cats, he found a job at the zoo, where he became particularly friendly with a cheetah named "Chico." Here Roy found his talent for dressage, which he was able to combine with magical tricks. In 1959 he was hired as an entertainer and steward on the German luxury liner TS-Bremen. He dropped out of school early because of this. Here he met Siegfried Fischbacher, who also worked as a steward. Inspired by their shared passion for the art of magic, they decided to perform together in the future. Roy's cheetah "Chico" became part of the first shows. In 1964, Siegfried & Roy celebrated their stage debut at the Astoria Theater. They then toured with "Chico" and their tricks on small variety stages through Germany and Switzerland. A close relationship developed from the professional collaboration.

The combination of magic and big cats proved to be so spectacular that they were able to start their first European tour in 1965. Shortly afterwards, Siegfried & Roy also performed in Puerto Rico and Las Vegas. In particular, the Americans, who were used to shows, were so impressed by their performances that they were awarded the prize for "Best Stage Show of the Year" in the same year, 1972. Siegfried & Roy received an exclusive, lifetime contract from the Mirage Hotel. The performances of the two became more and more spectacular due to their high income. Later, not only cheetahs were trained for their tricks, but also tigers. During their long career, however, critical voices were also raised, accusing Siegfried & Roy of exploiting and degenerating the noble big cats.

Siegfried & Roy, however, made it their mission to breed the white Bengal tigers in particular with great effort and to protect them from extinction with financial support. The white Bengal tiger also became a central part of their shows. In 1976, Siegfried & Roy were voted the best magicians of the year. In the years that followed, both became the highest-paid show artists in the world. During the 1980s they increased their popularity to Asia. Their career together was filmed in IMAX format. Since the beginning of the 1990s, Siegfried & Roy have performed under the show title SARMOTI, which is made up of the acronym "Siegfried and Roy, Masters of the Impossible". This also became the most successful show program in the United States. In 1997, Siegfried & Roy opened the "Secret Garden" within the Mirage hotel complex in Las Vegas. Tigers, lions, cheetahs and panthers from all continents of the world lived in these exotic outdoor enclosures in the middle of the city. In 2000, Siegfried & Roy were voted the best magicians of the decade with their SARMOTI program, ahead of David Copperfield.

The dramatic accident occurred during the stage show on October 3, 2003. On Roy Horn's 59th birthday, he was critically injured by the white tiger named Montecore, which he had bottle-raised himself. He had a faint attack on stage and fell; doctors later said it could have been a first stroke. The tiger Montecore then pulled Roy off the stage with the usual cat bite on his neck. A fang injured the main artery, which led to significant blood loss. Doctors fought for his life for days. During the course of treatment, the entertainer suffered several strokes. Roy Horn would not recover from this accident. After worldwide sympathy, the two entertainers were awarded the "World Entertainment Award" by Mikhail Gorbachev on October 23, 2003. Siegfried accepted the award with emotion in Hamburg. Both artists stayed in Las Vegas, but withdrew from the public except for a few interviews. In February 2009, the two ended their stage careers with a ten-minute show in which Montecore also took part.

Daniel Cauchy was born on 13 March 1930 in Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine, France. He was an actor and producer, known for Bob le Flambeur (1956), Don't Touch the Loot (1954) and Samedi soir (1961). He died on 8 May 2020 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, France.

Richard Wayne Penniman, better known as Little Richard, the self-proclaimed "Architect of Rock 'n' Roll", traveled in his early days with the legendary vaudeville star Spencer "Snake" Anthony. One of Richard's early bands had the young, then unknown singer James Brown (the Godfather of Soul), a fourteen-year-old keyboardist named Billy Preston, and the famous and legendary rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix. His first recording session took place at WGST in Atlanta, Georgia, USA; he was backed by a local band led by Billy Wright. This session produced a local hit called "Every Hour" which enjoyed heavy airplay on Atlanta's WERD radio station which was the first completely Black-owned radio station in the United States. Little Richard was backed up by his idol Billy Wright, once referred to him as the most fantastic entertainer he had ever seen. Indeed, it was Wright who used a brand of makeup called Pancake 31.

Little Richard admitted to copying Wright's penchant for heavy makeup and wild stage theatrics. With a public persona and personal life marked by sexual ambiguity, he would make his mark with later hits such as the suggestive "Tutti Frutti" and "Good Golly Miss Molly". Unbeknownst to many fans, Richard overcame a debilitating drug habit and eventually became an ordained minister. Beginning in the 1980s, he saw a resurgence in his popularity as he acquired small acting roles where he impressed fans, old and new, with his unique comedic timing. As versatile and ageless as ever, Little Richard continues to delight fans the world over with his extraordinary stage presence and flamboyant antics. Now inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the American Songwriters Hall of Fame, he remains one of the most popular entertainers in the world.

Andree Melly was born on 15 September 1932 in Liverpool, England, UK. She was an actress, known for The Horror of It All (1964), The Brides of Dracula (1960) and ITV Television Playhouse (1955). She was married to Oscar Quitak. She died on 31 January 2020 in St Eulalia, Ibiza, Spain.

As the short, straight-man counterpart of the stellar husband-and-wife comedy team "Stiller & Meara", Jerry Stiller and wife Anne Meara were on top of the comedy game in the 1960s, a steady and hilarious presence on television variety, notably The Ed Sullivan Show (1948), on which they appeared 36 times. Decades later, Jerry's career was revitalized in the role of the raucous, gasket-blowing Frank Costanza on the sitcom classic Seinfeld (1989).

Jerry Stiller was born Gerald Isaac Stiller in the Unity Hospital in Brooklyn, New York, to Bella (Citron) and William Stiller, a bus driver. His paternal grandparents were Jewish emigrants from Galicia, and his mother was a Polish Jewish emigrant, from Frampol. In the beginning, Stiller was a drama major at the Syracuse University. Though he had played rather uneducated, blue-collar sorts for most of his career, he received his Bachelor of Science in Speech and Drama before making his acting debut on stage with Burgess Meredith in "The Silver Whistle" in 1951. While a member of the improvisational team The Compass Players (the company later evolved into the well-known Second City troupe), he met Anne.

They married in 1954 and began touring together on the national club circuit while giving new and inventive meaning to the term spousal comedy. This led to television prominence on "The Ed Sullivan Show", "The Tonight Show", "The Steve Allen Comedy Hour", "The Merv Griffin Show", as well as game shows "He Said, She Said", "You're Putting Me On" and "What's My Line?" as well as other talk/comedy venues.

After well over a decade of fame together, they decided to pursue individual successes and both found it. A Broadway favorite in such shows as "Hurlyburly", "The Ritz" (he later recreated his hilarious mobster family member role in the film The Ritz (1976)), "The Golden Apple", "Three Men on a Horse", "What's Wrong with This Picture" and "The Three Sisters", Stiller even appeared with Kevin Kline and Blythe Danner as Dogberry in William Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing" in 1988. Musicals were not out of his range, either, as he created the role of Launce in "Two Gentlemen of Verona" and co-starred as Nathan Detroit in a production of "Guys and Dolls". Although he kept afloat on television as a 1970s regular on The Paul Lynde Show (1972) and Joe and Sons (1975), he had some rocky years and Anne's pilot fizzled when they reunited for a possible "Stiller & Meara" sitcom.

Then came eight seasons as hypertensive Frank Costanza and his character star was reborn. Nominated for a 1997 Emmy Award and the recipient of the 1998 American Comedy Award, Stiller found back-to-back sitcom hits with The King of Queens (1998) as the irascible Arthur Spooner. He also appeared in a number of his successful son Ben Stiller's comedy pictures including Heavyweights (1995), Zoolander (2001), The Heartbreak Kid (2007) and Zoolander 2 (2016)

Into the millennium, Jerry has appeared in a number of independent films, including a starring role as a low-level director seeking a comeback in the comedy The Independent (2000); had a cameo in the off-color Rodney Dangerfield slapstick farce My 5 Wives (2000); played the slick Mr. Pinky in the film version of the Broadway musical hit Hairspray (2007); and featured roles in the romantic comedies Swinging with the Finkels (2011) and Excuse Me for Living (2012).

Daughter Amy Stiller is also a thriving actress. He and Anne wrote, performed and produced award-winning radio commercials together for such products as Blue Nun Wine, United Van Lines and Amalgamated Bank, among others. His autobiography "Married to Laughter" came out in 2000. Stiller's wife Anne passed away on May 23, 2015, and he passed away nearly five years later, on May 11, 2020, at age 92.

Martin Pasko was born on 4 August 1954 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He was a writer, known for Batman: The Animated Series (1992), Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993) and Mister T (1983). He was married to Judith Faye. He died on 10 May 2020 in North Hills, Los Angeles, California USA.

Arthur Dignam was born on 9 September 1939 in Lord Howe Island, New South Wales, Australia. He was an actor, known for Australia (2008), The Duellists (1977) and Moulin Rouge! (2001). He was married to Bobbie Gledhill. He died on 9 May 2020 in Sydney, Australia.

Martin Spellman was born in 1925 in Des Moines, Iowa. His family moved to California, and at the age of nine he first entered the MGM Studios as a newsboy. He became such a familiar figure at the Studios that for Christmas 1937, they decided to give him a very special Christmas present. He was invited by Carole Lombard and Clark Gable to work as an extra for a few days on the film Test Pilot where he had an uncredited role. After that, he played Skinny in the 1938 film Boys Town, starring Spencer Tracy and Mickey Rooney. In 1939, he co-starred in Streets of New York with Jackie Cooper. The following year he had anther leading role in Son of the Navy with Jean Parker and James Dunn. His other films included: Sharpshooters; Santa Fe Stampede (with John Wayne); I Am a Criminal and several more.

Martin's film career ended in 1941. He then enlisted in United States Army Air Corp during World War II. Returning to civilian life, he worked 27 years in the finance business, and then switched to automobile finance and insurance. He had six children by two marriages, and spent his golden years in Washington state.

Fred Willard radiated a unique charm that established him as one of the industry's most gifted comic actors, first coming to prominence as ambitious but dimwitted sidekick Jerry Hubbard to Martin Mull's smarmy talk-show host Barth Gimble in the devastating satirical series Fernwood Tonight (1977). A master of sketch comedy, he was most heralded for his quick wit and improvisational expertise. His 50 appearances in sketches on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1992) were indicative of his ability to transform any character into a unique comic portrayal. Fred starred in an oft sold-out one-man show, "Fred Willard: Alone At Last!" (actually with a cast of 12) that received two Los Angeles Artistic Director Awards, for Best Comedy and Best Production. He was also an alumnus of The Second City and headed a sketch comedy workshop, The MoHo Group.

Geno Silva was born on 20 January 1948 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. He was an actor, known for A Man Apart (2003), Scarface (1983) and 1941 (1979). He was married to Pamela Phillips. He died on 9 May 2020 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Forever tagged as the unctuous, trouble-making truant Eddie Haskell on the quintessential 50s family show Leave It to Beaver (1957), actor Ken Osmond did not manage much of a career after the stereotype. So inextricably typed was he that he gave up on any semblance of a career within a short time after the series' cancellation. Unlike so many other tragic child stars who did not survive the transition into adulthood, Osmond's life remained quite balanced. It did not careen out of control or disintegrate into alcohol and drugs.

Ken was born on June 7, 1943 in Glendale, California, to Pearl (Hand) and Thurman Osmond, a studio carpenter and propmaker, who were both originally from the American South. He started appearing on film and TV prior to his sitcom success thanks to a typically insistent stage mother. Taking up athletic skills such as fencing and martial arts as well as diction classes, Ken and his brother Dayton Osmond made their film debuts as child extras in the Mayflower pilgrim tale Plymouth Adventure (1952) starring Spencer Tracy. Other minor tyke film roles came for Osmond with So Big (1953), Good Morning, Miss Dove (1955) and Everything But the Truth (1956). He went on to appear in the popular shows of the day including "Circus Boy," "Annie Oakley" and "Lassie." Both public and studio schooled, Ken nabbed the key role of Eddie Haskell at age 14. With his tight, curly blond locks, ugly sneer and intimidating stance, he became an instant sensation on the show, delightfully smudging up the squeaky-clean Cleaver name on occasion with his nasty antics. As the two-faced buddy of teenager Wally Cleaver, Eddie was forever brown-nosing the Cleaver parents ("You look lovely today, Mrs. Cleaver!") while showing his true colors bullying poor Beaver (nicknaming him "squirt") or goading Wally on to break some family rule or curfew. A certifiable radar for trouble, he was the resident scene-stealer for six seasons until the show's demise in 1963, when things went downhill quickly. In retrospect, a spin-off show starring the Eddie Haskell character could have been something to consider; however, Osmond as a 20-year-old juvenile delinquent (his age when the show ended) might have been hard to swallow.

Osmond struggled in its aftermath. After a hitch in the Army, he grabbed a few TV remnants that came his way on such lightweight comedy shows as "The Munsters" and "Petticoat Junction." Following a minor role in the youth-oriented flick C'mon, Let's Live a Little (1967) starring pop singers Bobby Vee and Jackie DeShannon, Osmond pretty much called it quits. He subsequently made a very un-Eddie-like career choice by joining the Los Angeles Police Department. He grew a mustache to help secure his anonymity. A long-time member of its vice squad, he was wounded three times during the line of duty, eventually retired and earned a medical disability pension from the police force.

In the 1980s, Ken came back to TV with a reunion mini-movie and then a cable-revived version of "Leave It to Beaver" entitled The New Leave It to Beaver (1983), which featured Barbara Billingsley, Tony Dow, Frank Bank and Jerry Mathers from the original 1950s cast. The series revolved around the boys all married now, having kids and faced with grown-up problems. Ken's real-life offspring Christian Osmond and Eric Osmond played his impish sons on the series, Eddie Jr. and Freddie. A full-length film version of Leave It to Beaver (1997) had Osmond turning back once again to the show, this time as the father of his infamous role. Ken still makes personal appearances occasionally at film festivals, collectors' shows and nostalgia conventions. Ken was last seen in an isolated featured part in the family comedy film Characterz (2016).

Married to wife Sandy since 1970, he kept fairly prosperous handling rental properties in the Los Angeles area. His brother Dayton later became a special effects supervisor for the TV show "Babylon 5." Kenneth Charles Osmond died at age 76 of cardiac arrest on May 18, 2020.

Peter Thomas is the son of a Welsh minister and an English school teacher. He learned communication, projection, and enunciation in the United States and from his parents. In his college, Peter would read stories a loud to his family, which he preferred.

Dedication landed a then 13 year old Peter Thomas his first radio job in a drama. After graduating from high school, he joined the United States Army and was one of 28 replacements sent to Omaha Beach the day after D-Day. Peter served this country proudly in World War 2 with the First Infantry Division in Europe. The life altering experience gave him a deeper appreciation for American soldiers, his country, other Americans and also freedom.

He returned to radio after World War 2 and attended a American college as an adult through the American GI Bill. He also married his high school sweetheart, Stella Thomas. He eventually left the new college for a job with CBS television in New York. 13 years later, Peter left to pursue freelance narration and documentary work full time in the United States.

Peter Thomas worked time and dedicated himself to improving the community through charitable work with Stella Thomas and the United States. He was devoted to veterans, serving as a board member for the National D-Day Memorial Foundation, contributing to the MIA Society and the Veterans Council, and organizing the 50th Anniversary Veterans of the Naples Parade.

Shad Gaspard was born on January 13, 1981 in Brooklyn, New York, USA as Shad Chad Javier Romain Chittick Gaspard. He is a Professional wrestler, actor, and writer, known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment, and films such as Get Hard (2015), WWE Raw (1993) and From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series (2014).

John Mahon was born on 2 February 1938 in Scranton, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor, known for Armageddon (1998), L.A. Confidential (1997) and Zodiac (2007). He was married to Margaret Jean Street and Deidre. He died on 3 May 2020 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Manfred Stelzer was born on 22 September 1944 in Augsburg, Bavaria, Germany. He was a director and writer, known for Schwarzfahrer (1983), Ein Schnitzel für drei (2009) and Allein machen sie dich ein (1974). He was married to Beatrice E. Stammer. He died on 12 May 2020 in Berlin, Germany.

Amazingly talented child star Jon Whiteley was born Jon James Lamont Whiteley on February 19, 1945 in Monymusk, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and put together an enviable, albeit brief, career in 1950s film drama. This precocious talent started things off winningly at age six by earning first prize for verse-speaking at the Aberdeen Music Festival when he was only 6. A BBC radio "Children's Hour" producer in Scotland visited the Monymusk Primary School, where his father was headteacher, to record the children's various talents. Little Jon's recitation of Edward Lear's nonsense poem "The Owl and the Pussycat" brought him to the attention of a talent scout, who successfully screen-tested him for a co-starring role in the suspenser The Stranger in Between (1952) in which he plays a young runaway abducted and subsequently befriended by fugitive Dirk Bogarde.

Although this intriguingly slim-eyed, offbeat-looking, tousled blond appeared in only five films during his brief reign, he made an award-winning impression. His astonishingly natural performance as Harry in only his second film The Little Kidnappers (1953) so captivated critics that he and fellow child co-star Vincent Winter were awarded an honorary, miniature "Juvenile Oscar" at the Academy Awards ceremony of 1954. In this touching drama, the two boys play orphaned brothers who secretly adopt an abandoned baby after their grandfather's refusal to allow them to keep a pet dog.

Other superb portrayals came Jon's way as Fritz Lang's young protagonist John Mohune in Moonfleet (1955) opposite Stewart Granger, and in The Weapon (1956) as a lad who accidentally shoots his friend with a gun used long ago in a murder. Jon also scored in The Spanish Gardener (1956) as the lonely son of a British consul living in Madrid who finds solace with (again) Dirk Bogarde as the title character. Following a tiny spat of TV appearances, his career ended as quickly as it began and he focused on schooling.

Jon studied at Inverurie Academy and Atlantic College at St Donat's Castle in the Vale of Glamorgan, earning a degree in modern history from Pembroke College, Oxford, then an MA and a doctorate in the subject after writing a thesis on 19th-century French painting. At the University of Oxford, he began his new career in 1976 as assistant curator of Christ Church Picture Gallery. Two years later, he moved to the Ashmolean Museum, the Oxford University's home of art and archaeology, as an assistant keeper of the Department of Western Art, becoming its senior curator in 1993.

A respected art historian, Dr. Whitely authored and co-authored several books on artists including Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Pierre Puvis de Chavannes and Claude Lorrain. He published a book on the Ashmolean's Stringed Instruments in 2009. Married in 1972 to a fellow art historian, Linda Whiteley, the couple had two children, William and Flora. He was made a chevalier (knight) of the French Order of Arts and Letters in May, 2009. Jon died at age 75 on May 16, 2020, in Oxford.

Irm Hermann was born on 4 October 1942 in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. She was an actress and assistant director, known for Five Last Days (1982), The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (1972) and The Merchant of Four Seasons (1972). She was married to Dietmar Roberg. She died on 26 May 2020 in Berlin, Germany.

Cindy Butler was born on 15 October 1955 in Texarkana, Arkansas, USA. She was an actress, known for The Town That Dreaded Sundown (1976), Boggy Creek II: And the Legend Continues (1983) and Grayeagle (1977). She was married to Robert Floyd Stevens. She died on 26 May 2020 in Texarkana, Texas, USA.