Deceased Crew Members: SpongeBob SquarePants

Max Schreck was born in Berlin. He worked in an apprenticeship until his father's death before enrolling into a school for acting. He toured the country with his peers and was a member of several theaters until he became a part of Max Reinhardt's group of innovative German actors. He played mostly out of the norm characters, the elderly and the grotesque, because of his talent and passion for make-up and costume fabrication. Although film was a challenge in which he excitedly and hopefully participated, he had small roles in films that are scarcely available, and his real career was in German theatre. He played hundreds of roles in his lifetime. He was married to Fanny Normann, a fellow performer whom he met a short time after his actor's education and shared many times with on stage. They had no children. He died on the morning of February 20th, 1936 from a heart attack.

Composer ("12th Street Rag", "Kansas City Blues"), author and arranger, educated in public schools, he later became an arranger for dance orchestras. Joining ASCAP in 1946, his other popular compositions included "11th Street Rag", "Colorado Blues", "Fort Worth Blues", "Petticoat Lane", "Tipperary Blues", "Shamrock Rag", "Water Lily Dreams", and "Old Glory On Its Way".

Harry Bluestone was born on 30 September 1907 in London, England, UK. He was a composer, known for X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), Sicario (2015) and Eternals (2021). He died on 22 December 1992 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Frank Chacksfield was born on 9 May 1914 in Battle, East Sussex, England, UK. He was a composer, known for Monster-in-Law (2005), Porky's (1981) and The Harassed Hero (1954). He was married to Jeanne ?. He died on 9 June 1995 in England, UK.

Gerhard Trede was born on 17 January 1913 in Hamburg, Germany. He was a composer and director, known for Outside the Wire (2021), Keeping the Faith (2000) and The Lost City (2022). He died on 30 September 1996 in Hamburg, Germany.

Tiny Tim, the ukulele-playing singer of 1920s ditties who was a true icon of the 1960s, was born Herbert Khaury on April 12, 1932, in New York City. The son of a Lebanese father and Jewish mother, the young Khaury grew up in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan. A high school dropout, his interest in the popular music of the 1890s through the 1930s manifested itself early, and his dream was to become a singer. He learned to play guitar and ukulele and began performing professionally as "Larry Love" in the early 1950s, making his debut at a lesbian cabaret in Greenwich Village called Page 3, where he became a regular. Though his parents tried to discourage him, Khaury continued to publicly perform the early mass culture American music that he so loved and collected on 78 records, at small clubs, parties and talent shows under a variety of names.

Khaury had established himself as a cult performer in the Greenwich Village music scene by the early 1960s, singing under the name that he would become famous for, that of the crippled lad in Charles Dickens' novel "A Christmas Carol" (allegedly the stage name was suggested by a manager who used to work with midgets; Khaury himself stood an inch over six feet, but the name helped to reinforce his bizarre persona). After appearing in You Are What You Eat (1968), he made an appearance on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (1967), the smash hit series that was as much a part of the 1960s as Tim would come to be. He was an instant sensation and his career was made. His weird appearance and act (he evinced the polite manners of a bygone era, which stood out in stark contrast to the "Let it All Hang Out!" ethos of the time) touched a nerve and he became a cultural specimen that elucidated the zeitgeist of that era.

Tiny Tim appeared several more times on "Laugh-In" but became better known through his frequent guest spots on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962), where audiences were bemused by his eccentric personality. He signed with Frank Sinatra's record label Reprise and issued his debut album, "God Bless Tiny Tim," in 1968, featuring what became his signature song, a falsetto cover of "Tip-Toe Through the Tulips." "Tulips" became a hit, reaching the Top 20, and "God Bless Tiny Tim" sold over 200,000 copies. He followed it up before the year was out with the ingeniously entitled "Tiny Tim's Second Album."

Tiny Tim's wave crested in 1969, in terms of cultural recognition and popularity. In August he released his third LP, an album of children's songs called "For All My Little Friends," while on December 17 of that year he married "Miss Vicki," his 17-year-old girlfriend (Vicki Budinger) on "The Tonight Show." The wedding drew the largest rating ever recorded for an evening talk show, enjoying an incredible 85% share of the audience watching TV at that time. The couple mostly lived apart (as Tim did with his two later wives), and while the union produced a daughter, inevitably named Tulip, he and Miss Vicki divorced after eight years of marriage.

Tiny Tim performed around the country in 1970, enjoying some highly lucrative gigs in Las Vegas, but his business associates fleeced him. A one-trick pony, his popularity began to wane in the early 1970s and the lucrative bookings and TV appearances became a thing of the past. A trouper, Tiny Tim kept performing, eventually traveling the country playing community centers, high school theaters and other less-than-prestigious venues as part of Roy Radin's Vaudeville Revue with the likes of The Five Harmonica Rascals. He continued to record throughout the 1970s and 1980s for small labels, but he never again achieved any real success.

After the Roy Radin Revue, Tim kept on performing. He even joined a circus for its 36-week schedule. In the late 1980s he moved to Des Moines, Iowa, and managed a small comeback of sorts in the mid-'90s, when he appeared on Howard Stern's radio show. However, his comeback suffered a setback after he had a heart attack performing at a ukulele festival in September of 1996. After getting out of the hospital, Tiny Tim the trouper resumed his concert schedule. The schedule proved too taxing, and on November 30 he suffered another heart attack while performing "Tip-Toe Through the Tulips" in Minneapolis, and died an hour later. He was 64 years old.

Dimebag Darrell was born on 20 August 1966 in Dallas, Texas, USA. He was an actor and composer, known for Triple Frontier (2019), The Big Short (2015) and Lethal Weapon (2016). He died on 8 December 2004 in Columbus, Ohio, USA.

Abundantly busy and much-loved Asian-American actor who became an on-screen hero to millions of adults and kids alike as the wise and wonderful Mr. Miyagi in The Karate Kid (1984), the sparkling Noriyuki Morita was back again dishing out Eastern philosophy and martial arts lessons for The Karate Kid Part II (1986) and The Karate Kid Part III (1989), and even for The Next Karate Kid (1994). However, putting all that karate aside, the diminutive Morita actually first started out as a stand-up comedian known as the Hip Nip in nightclubs and bars, and made his first on-screen appearance in Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967). He quickly adapted to the screen and showed up in small parts in such comedy films as The Shakiest Gun in the West (1968), alongside Don Knotts, and in Evil Roy Slade (1972) supporting John Astin. He also appeared in such popular series as Sanford and Son (1972) and M*A*S*H (1972).

Morita got his next break playing the often-perplexed restaurant owner Matsho "Arnold" Takahashi in 26 episodes of the hugely popular sitcom Happy Days (1974) between 1975 and 1976, and again between 1982 and 1983. Morita was quite in demand on the small screen and also scored the lead in his own police drama Ohara (1987), and guest-starred on other high-profile television series including Magnum, P.I. (1980), Murder, She Wrote (1984), Baywatch (1989) and The Hughleys (1998). Although most often used as a minor character actor, he remained consistently busy and occasionally lent his vocal talents to animated features such as Mulan (1998). However, his real strengths lay in portraying slightly oddball or unusual characters in offbeat films. He died at age 73 of natural causes at Sunrise Hospital in Las Vegas, Nevada on November 24, 2005.

Geoff Bastow was born in 1949 in Yorkshire, England, UK. He was a composer, known for The Wedding Planner (2001), Extreme Ops (2002) and Becoming Colette (1991). He died on 16 March 2007 in Munich, Germany.

Charles Nelson Reilly was born to Charles Joseph Reilly and Signe Elvera Nelson. His father was Irish-American and Catholic, his mother was Swedish-American and Lutheran. As a child he amused himself with improvised puppet theater performances.

He had a traumatic experience in 1944, when present for the Hartford circus fire in Hartford, Connecticut. A fire during a performance of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus killed 167 people and injured 700 people. While Reilly was one of the survivors, he was left with a life-long fear of fires. He never attended public performances of theater and circus again, as an audience member, for fear of another fire.

Reilly wanted to enter show business as a youth, and in particular to become an opera singer. He took lessons at the University of Hartford Hartt School, but eventually realized that his voice skills were inadequate. He turned to theater next, and debuted in film with a bit role in "A Face in the Crowd" (1957). During the late 1950s, Reilly appeared regularly in comic roles in theatrical performances off-Broadway. In 1960, Reilly first gained critical attention, for a small but noteworthy part in Broadway musical "Bye Bye Birdie". In 1961, Reilly joined the cast of the musical "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying". He won his first Tony Award in 1962 for that performance. He kept appearing in Broadway shows for the rest of the decade.

As a notable actor, Reilly started making television appearances in the 1960s. He started as a guest in panel shows and as a player in television advertisements. He eventually gained a key role in the television series "The Ghost & Mrs. Muir", where he appeared from 1968 to 1970. In the 1970s, Reilly was a regular in game shows and children's series, such as "Match Game" and "Uncle Croc's Block".

In 1976, Reilly started teaching acting to others, while shifting his own career from acting to directing. He directed Broadway shows regularly and was nominated for a Tony Award for directing in 1997. He also directed a number television episodes. In the 1990s, he had guest roles in television series such as "X-Files" and "Millennium".

In the 2000s, Reilly was primarily known for the autobiographical play "Save It for the Stage: The Life of Reilly", and for its film adaptation. While touring the United States, he developed respiratory problems which led to his retirement. His illness got worse, and he died due to pneumonia in 2007.

An Emmy Award and Pulitzer Prize nominee composer, conductor, and arranger, Will Schaefer was educated at Mary D. Bradford High School in Kenosha (Distinguished Alumni Award), De Paul University (BM, Distinguished Alumni Award), and Northwestern University (MA and graduate work extending into study for a Doctor of Music degree). During the Korean War, he was assistant conductor and arranger for the 5th Army Band, Special Services at Fort Sheridan, Illinois (1951-1954) where he wrote music for Radio Free Europe, the Voice of America, and local stations. Coming to New York after his military service, he wrote for well-known music publishers and composed, conducted and arranged for radio, television, commercials (Pillsbury, Post Cereals, Ford, Chevrolet and over seven hundred others), industrial films and records. While there, he arranged for the Buddy Rich and Count Basie bands and thirteen Broadway musicals ("What Makes Sammy Run?", "Kicks & Company", "The Prince and the Showgirl", "Spotlight" and others). In Los Angeles from 1966 for Walt Disney Studios, he orchestrated about thirty episodes of The Magical World of Disney (1954) (aka "The Wonderful World of Disney") and sections of many Disney films plus music for the live attractions "Pirates of the Caribbean", "America the Beautiful", "Bear Country", "It's a Small World", and "Innoventions". His over-150 songs and instrumentals include "Midnight Matinee", "Caribeguine, "Autumn Beguine", "Overture - Fanfare and Capriccio", and "Ballada" plus others.

Ronnie Hazlehurst was born on 13 March 1928 in Dukinfield, Cheshire, England, UK. He was a composer, known for The English Patient (1996), Last of the Summer Wine (1973) and Only Fools and Horses (1981). He died on 1 October 2007 in Guernsey, Channel Islands, UK.

Erick Lee Purkhiser, better known as his stage name Lux Interior was born on October 21st, 1946 in Stow, Ohio. He grew up enamored with the culture of the 1950s. In particular he loved Rockabilly music, EC Horror comic books and B-movies. As a child he was drawn to the antics of the early 60s Cleveland horror host Goulardi, whose rebellious act and off-color jokes would earn him much scorn from the local PTA. Purkhiser later joked that Goulardi was so popular the crime rate went down when he was on because everyone was watching his show. In 1972 in Sacramento he met his soul mate; a fellow fan of Alice Cooper, LSD, record collecting and B-movies known as Kristy Wallace, better known as Poison Ivy. According to legend he picked her up while she was hitch-hiking. After discovering just how similar they were the two moved back to Ohio in 1973 and later to New York City in 1975. Influenced by the burgeoning punk scene in New York with bands like The New York Dolls and The Ramones setting the standard the two decided they would start their own punk rock band, The Cramps. In contrast to other punk bands at the time however, they also mixed a heavy dose of Rockabilly and B-movie imagery to form their own unique image. It was during this time that Purkhiser took the stage name Lux Interior, taking his name from a car advert. He also created a unique stage personia, one of a complete honky tonky punk wild man, or as one reviewer put it "the psychosexual werewolf/ Elvis hybrid from hell". The genre they helped create was later known as "Psychobilly" even though Interior denies that that is what their music really is. In 1978 The Cramps showed the world just how deep their love for the weird and the off beat went when they gave a free concert to the patients at the Nappa Valley State Mental Institution. The next year The Cramps released their first official EP, "Gravest Hits". That same year they released their first LP, "Songs the Lord Taught Us". In 1985 The Cramps were able to perform one original song for Dan O'Bannon's classic horror-comedy zombie flick The Return of the Living Dead with the song "Surfin' Dead". Sadly however Lux Interior passed away on February 4th 2009 from a pre-existing heart condition. The rock and roll world lost an irreplaceable member on that date, but luckily the spirit of the Cramps still lives on through their recordings as well as the numerous bands that count The Cramps as a major influence.

Davy Jones left home to become a jockey. While he was an apprentice, he was encouraged to go into acting and got a role in a production of "Peter Pan". From there, he played on Coronation Street (1960) and The Pickwick Papers (1952) before landing the role of "The Artful Dodger" in "Oliver!". This job took him to America's Broadway, where he was discovered by Ward Sylvester and brought to Los Angeles. From there, he was given a role in The Monkees (1965). With this sitcom, he made 58 television episodes, 9 albums, a television special, and a movie before calling it quits in the early 1970s. In the mid-1970s, Davy rejoined fellow Monkee Micky Dolenz and songwriters Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart to make an album and do some touring. Davy had gone on to perform in more plays, including "The Real Live Brady Bunch" and "Oliver!" (again), and had also fulfilled his dream of becoming a jockey. He rejoined The Monkees for touring from 1986-89 and 1996-97. Davy Jones died at age 66 of a heart attack on February 29, 2012.

Ernest Borgnine was born Ermes Effron Borgnino on January 24, 1917 in Hamden, Connecticut. His parents were Anna (Boselli), who had emigrated from Carpi (MO), Italy, and Camillo Borgnino, who had emigrated from Ottiglio (AL), Italy. As an only child, Ernest enjoyed most sports, especially boxing, but took no real interest in acting. At age 18, after graduating from high school in New Haven, and undecided about his future career, he joined the United States Navy, where he stayed for ten years until leaving in 1945. After a few factory jobs, his mother suggested that his forceful personality could make him suitable for a career in acting, and Borgnine promptly enrolled at the Randall School of Drama in Hartford. After completing the course, he joined Robert Porterfield's famous Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Virginia, staying there for four years, undertaking odd jobs and playing every type of role imaginable. His big break came in 1949, when he made his acting debut on Broadway playing a male nurse in "Harvey".

In 1951, Borgnine moved to Los Angeles to pursue a movie career, and made his film debut as Bill Street in The Whistle at Eaton Falls (1951). His career took off in 1953 when he was cast in the role of Sergeant "Fatso" Judson in From Here to Eternity (1953). This memorable performance led to numerous supporting roles as "heavies" in a steady string of dramas and westerns. He played against type in 1955 by securing the lead role of Marty Piletti, a shy and sensitive butcher, in Marty (1955). He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance, despite strong competition from Spencer Tracy, Frank Sinatra, James Dean and James Cagney. Throughout the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, Borgnine performed memorably in such films as The Catered Affair (1956), Ice Station Zebra (1968) and Emperor of the North (1973). Between 1962 and 1966, he played Lt. Commander Quinton McHale in the popular television series McHale's Navy (1962). In early 1984, he returned to television as Dominic Santini in the action series Airwolf (1984) co-starring Jan-Michael Vincent, and in 1995, he was cast in the comedy series The Single Guy (1995) as doorman Manny Cordoba. He also appeared in several made-for-TV movies.

Ernest Borgnine has often stated that acting was his greatest passion. His amazing 61-year career (1951 - 2012) included appearances in well over 100 feature films and as a regular in three television series, as well as voice-overs in animated films such as All Dogs Go to Heaven 2 (1996), Small Soldiers (1998), and a continued role in the series SpongeBob SquarePants (1999). Between 1973 until his death, Ernest was married to Tova Traesnaes, who heads her own cosmetics company. They lived in Beverly Hills, California, where Ernest assisted his wife between film projects. When not acting, Ernest actively supported numerous charities and spoke tirelessly at benefits throughout the country. He has been awarded several honorary doctorates from colleges across the United States as well as numerous Lifetime Achievement Awards. In 1996, Ernest purchased a bus and traveled across the United States to see the country and meet his many fans. On December 17, 1999, he presented the University of North Alabama with a collection of scripts from his film and television career, due to his long friendship with North Alabama alumnus and actor George Lindsey (died May 6, 2012), who was an artist in residence at North Alabama.

Ernest Borgnine passed away aged 95 on July 8, 2012, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, of renal failure. He is survived by his wife Tova, their children and his younger sister Evelyn (1926-2013)

Robin Sachs was a British actor from London who is known for playing Ethan Rayne from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He also voiced Zaeed Massani from Mass Effect, Sergeant Sam Roderick from SpongeBob SquarePants, and Admiral Saul Karath from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. He passed away in February 2013 due to heart failure.

Hiram Titus is known for Blind Vision (1992), Attack of the Killer Tomatoes (1990) and Puss in Boots (1983).

Voiceover artist par excellence Hal Douglas was born Harold Cone on September 1, 1924 in Stamford, Connecticut. The son of Samuel and Miriam Levenson Cone, Hal and his brother Edwin were primarily raised by their grandparents Sarah and Tevya Levenson after their mother died when Hal was only nine. (Their father later remarried.) Douglas trained as a pilot and served three years in the Navy during World War II. Hal wrote fiction in his spare time and upon finishing his tour of duty enrolled on the G.I. Bill at the University of Miami, where he studied acting. He changed his last name to Douglas after moving to New York and began supplementing his slight income from acting gigs with voiceover and announcer work on both radio and television. Hal soon became one of the most sought after (and instantly recognizable) vocal talents for commercials and lead-ins for TV shows. Douglas worked steadily out of New York and not only continued to lend his distinctive gravelly baritone to television, but also narrated the occasional documentary and countless film trailers in a diverse array of genres. Hal was still working two years prior to his death from pancreatic cancer at age 89 at his home in Lovettsville, Virginia on March 7, 2014. He's survived by his wife of forty-three years, Ruth Francis Douglas; their daughter Sarah Douglas; and two sons from a previous marriage, Jon and Jeremy.

Robin McLaurin Williams was born on Saturday, July 21st, 1951, in Chicago, Illinois, a great-great-grandson of Mississippi Governor and Senator, Anselm J. McLaurin. His mother, Laurie McLaurin (née Janin), was a former model from Mississippi, and his father, Robert Fitzgerald Williams, was a Ford Motor Company executive from Indiana. Williams had English, German, French, Welsh, Irish, and Scottish ancestry.

Robin briefly studied political science at Claremont Men's College and theater at College of Marin before enrolling at The Juilliard School to focus on theater. After leaving Juilliard, he performed in nightclubs where he was discovered for the role of "Mork, from Ork", in an episode of Happy Days (1974). The episode, My Favorite Orkan (1978), led to his famous spin-off weekly TV series, Mork & Mindy (1978). He made his feature starring debut playing the title role in Popeye (1980), directed by Robert Altman.

Williams' continuous comedies and wild comic talents involved a great deal of improvisation, following in the footsteps of his idol Jonathan Winters. Williams also proved to be an effective dramatic actor, receiving Academy Award nominations for Best Actor in a Leading Role in Good Morning, Vietnam (1987), Dead Poets Society (1989), and The Fisher King (1991), before winning the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in Good Will Hunting (1997).

During the 1990s, Williams became a beloved hero to children the world over for his roles in a string of hit family-oriented films, including Hook (1991), FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992), Aladdin (1992), Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), Jumanji (1995), Flubber (1997), and Bicentennial Man (1999). He continued entertaining children and families into the 21st century with his work in Robots (2005), Happy Feet (2006), Night at the Museum (2006), Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009), Happy Feet Two (2011), and Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (2014). Other more adult-oriented films for which Williams received acclaim include The World According to Garp (1982), Moscow on the Hudson (1984), Awakenings (1990), The Birdcage (1996), Insomnia (2002), One Hour Photo (2002), World's Greatest Dad (2009), and Boulevard (2014).

On Monday, August 11th, 2014, Robin Williams was found dead at his home in Tiburon, California USA, the victim of an apparent suicide, according to the Marin County Sheriff's Office. A 911 call was received at 11:55 a.m. PDT, firefighters and paramedics arrived at his home at 12:00 p.m. PDT, and he was pronounced dead at 12:02 p.m. PDT.

Don Newhouse was born in 1924. He was an actor, known for The Fairly OddParents (2001), SpongeBob SquarePants (1999) and The Mighty B! (2008). He died on 12 May 2015.

Lemmy was born on 24 December 1945 in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, UK. He was an actor and composer, known for Grosse Pointe Blank (1997), Airheads (1994) and Smokin' Aces (2006). He died on 28 December 2015 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

David Bowie was one of the most influential and prolific writers and performers of popular music, but he was much more than that; he was also an accomplished actor, a mime and an intellectual, as well as an art lover whose appreciation and knowledge of it had led to him amassing one of the biggest collections of 20th century art.

Born David Jones, he changed his name to Bowie in the 1960s, to avoid confusion with the then well-known Davy Jones (lead singer of The Monkees). The 1960s were not a happy period for Bowie, who remained a struggling artist, awaiting his breakthrough. He dabbled in many different styles of music (without commercial success), and other art forms such as acting, mime, painting, and play-writing. He finally achieved his commercial breakthrough in 1969 with the song "Space Oddity", which was released at the time of the moon landing. Despite the fact that the literal meaning of the lyrics relates to an astronaut who is lost in space, this song was used by the BBC in their coverage of the moon landing, and this helped it become such a success. The album, which followed "Space Oddity", and the two, which followed (one of which included the song "The Man Who Sold The World", covered by Lulu and Nirvana) failed to produce another hit single, and Bowie's career appeared to be in decline.

However, he made the first of many successful "comebacks" in 1972 with "Ziggy Stardust", a concept album about a space-age rock star. This album was followed by others in a similar vein, rock albums built around a central character and concerned with futuristic themes of Armageddon, gender dysfunction/confusion, as well as more contemporary themes such as the destructiveness of success and fame, and the dangers inherent in star worship. In the mid-1970s, Bowie was a heavy cocaine abuser and sometime heroin user.

In 1975, he changed tack. Musically, he released "Young Americans", a soul (or plastic soul as he later referred to it) album. This produced his first number one hit in the US, "Fame". He also appeared in his first major film, The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976). With a permanently-dilated pupil and skeletal frame, he certainly looked the part of an alien. The following year, he released "Station to Station," containing some of the material he had written for the soundtrack to this film (which was not used). As his drug problem heightened, his behavior became more erratic. Reports of his insanity started to appear, and he continued to waste away physically. He fled back to Europe, finally settling in Berlin, where he changed musical direction again and recorded three of the most influential albums of all time, an electronic trilogy with Brian Eno "Low, Heroes and Lodger". Towards the end of the 1970s, he finally kicked his drug habit, and recorded the album many of his fans consider his best, the Japanese-influenced "Scary Monsters". Around this time, he appeared in the title role of the Broadway drama The Elephant Man, and to considerable acclaim.

The next few years saw something of a drop-off in his musical output as his acting career flourished, culminating in his acclaimed performance in Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (1983). In 1983, he released "Let's Dance," an album which proved an unexpected massive commercial success, and produced his second #1 hit single in the United States. According to producer Nile Rodgers, the album was made in just 17 days and was "the easiest album" he'd ever made in his life. The tour which followed, "Serious Moonlight", was his most successful ever. Faced with this success on a massive scale, Bowie apparently attempted to "repeat the formula" in the next two albums, with less success (and to critical scorn). Finally, in the late 1980s, he turned his back on commercial success and his solo career, forming the hard rock band, Tin Machine, who had a deliberate limited appeal. By now, his acting career was in decline. After the comparative failure of Labyrinth (1986), the movie industry appears to have decided that Bowie was not a sufficient name to be a lead actor in a major movie, and since that date, most of his roles have been cameos or glorified cameos. Tin Machine toured extensively and released two albums, with little critical or commercial success.

In 1992, Bowie again changed direction and re-launched his solo career with "Black Tie White Noise", a wedding album inspired by his recent marriage to Iman. He released three albums to considerable critical acclaim and reasonable commercial success. In 1995, he renewed his working relationship with Brian Eno to record "Outside." After an initial hostile reaction from the critics, this album has now taken its place with his classic albums. In 2003, Bowie released an album entitled 'Reality.' The Reality Tour began in November 2003 and, after great commercial success, was extended into July 2004. In June 2004, Bowie suffered a heart attack and the tour did not finish its scheduled run.

After recovering, Bowie gave what turned out to be his final live performance in a three-song set with Alicia Keys at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York in November 2006. He also returned to acting. He played Tesla in The Prestige (2006) and had a small cameo in the comedy David Bowie (2006) for fan Ricky Gervais. In 2007, he did a cartoon voice in SpongeBob SquarePants (1999) playing Lord Royal Highness. He had a brief cameo in the movie ''Bandslam'' released in 2009; after a ten year hiatus from recording, he released a new album called 'The Next Day', featuring a homage cover to his earlier work ''Heroes''. The music video of ''Stars are Out Tonight'' premiered on 25 February 2013. It consists of other songs like ''Where Are We Now?", "Valentine's Day", "Love is Lost", "The Next Day", etc.

In 2014, Bowie won British Male Solo Artist at the 2014 Brit Awards, 30 years since last winning it, and became the oldest ever Brit winner. Bowie wrote and recorded the opening title song to the television miniseries The Last Panthers (2015), which aired in November 2015. The theme used for The Last Panthers (2015) was also the title track for his January 2016 release, ''Blackstar" (released on 8 January 2016, Bowie's 69th birthday) was met with critical acclaim. Following Bowie's death two days later, on 10 January 2016, producer Tony Visconti revealed Bowie had planned the album to be his swan song, and a "parting gift" for his fans before his death. An EP, No Plan, was released on 8 January 2017, which would have been Bowie's 70th birthday. The day following his death, online viewing of Bowie's music skyrocketed, breaking the record for Vevo's most viewed artist in a single day.

On 15 January, "Blackstar" debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart; nineteen of his albums were in the UK Top 100 Albums Chart, and thirteen singles were in the UK Top 100 Singles Chart. The song also debuted at #1 on album charts around the world, including Australia, France, Germany, Italy, New Zealand and the US Billboard 200. At the 59th Annual Grammy Awards, Bowie won all five nominated awards: Best Rock Performance; Best Alternative Music Album; Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical; Best Recording Package; and Best Rock Song. The wins marked Bowie's first ever in musical categories. David Bowie influenced the course of popular music several times and had an effect on several generations of musicians.

Joe Alaskey, among the most talented voice actors in the business, impeccably recreated many of the original characters which the late cartoon pioneer Mel Blanc invented. A natural mimic and gifted actor, his amazing "ear" for voices enabled him to imitate almost anything, including some of the most obscure show business personalities. Alaskey was one of the most employed voice actors in the business during his career.

Sam Spence was born on 29 March 1927 in San Francisco, California, USA. He was a composer, known for Queen of Diamonds (1976), Pumpkin (2002) and The Sweeney (1975). He died on 6 February 2016 in Lewisville, Texas, USA.

Barry Trop was born on 22 June 1952 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a composer, known for SpongeBob SquarePants (1999), Paranormal Activity 4 (2012) and Armed Response (1986). He died on 27 October 2016 in California, USA.