The Soviet space program, which Khrushchev firmly supported, appeared to confirm his claims when the Soviets launched Sputnik 1 into orbit, a launch many westerners, including U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon, were convinced was a hoax.[194] When it became clear that the launch was real, and Sputnik 1 was in orbit, Western governments concluded that the Soviet ICBM program was further along than it actually was.
Nikita Khrushchev - Wikipedia
Nikita_Khrushchev,_Valentina_Tereshkova,_Pavel_Pop ovich_and_Yury_Gagarin
Joel Schumacher, Director of ‘St Elmo’s Fire’ and ‘The Lost Boys,’ Dies at 80
He also directed the notorious ’90s comic-book movies “Batman Forever” and “Batman & Robin”
Joel Schumacher, director of films like “St. Elmo’s Fire,” “The Client” and “A Time to Kill,” has died from a year-long battle with cancer, his spokesperson told TheWrap. He was 80.
His films “Falling Down” (1993) and “8mm” (1999) competed for Palme d’Or and Golden Bear, respectively. His other credits include “Flatliners,” “The Lost Boys,” “Tigerland,” “Batman Forever” and “Batman & Robin,” as well as “Phone Booth,” “The Phantom of the Opera,” “The Number 23” and, most recently, two episodes of “House of Cards.”
Schumacher developed a reputation for spotting young talent, casting stars like Colin Farrell, Kiefer Sutherland, Matthew McConaughey and Brad Renfro in their first major screen roles. He also often cast the same actors in different films, collaborating with stars like Farrell, Sutherland, Nicole Kidman, Jim Carrey and Nicolas Cage.
Schumacher was born in New York City on Aug. 29, 1939. He first studied at Parsons School for Design and the Fashion Institute of Technology, but after working in the fashion industry, he realized he loved filmmaking. He moved to Los Angeles, where he began his career working as a costume designer in films like Woody Allen’s “Sleeper” and “Interiors.”
His first screenplay was 1976’s musical drama “Sparkle,” which he developed with Howard Rosenman. His other screenwriting credits include 1976’s “Car Wash” and 1979’s “The Wiz.” His directorial debut was “The Incredible Shrinking Woman” in 1981 starring Lily Tomlin.
Schumacher directed two adaptations of John Grisham novels: “The Client” and “A Time to Kill.” He then replaced Tim Burton as the director of the “Batman” film franchise, and “Batman Forever” scored the highest-grossing opening weekend of 1995. Its sequel, “Batman & Robin,” was panned by critics and didn’t perform as well at the box office at its predecessor.
The director apologized for the film once in 2006 and again in 2017. “Look, I apologize,” Schumacher had said in 2017. of “Batman & Robin.” “I want to apologize to every fan that was disappointed because I think I owe them that.”
Schumacher also directed several music videos including “Kiss From a Rose” by Seal and “The End Is the Beginning Is the End” by The Smashing Pumpkins.
Joel Schumacher, Director of 'St Elmo's Fire,' Dies at 80
Most atypical of his other work, and the only thing there that I liked.“Falling Down” (1993)
^"Falling Down" was a good movie. Loved the Korean rip-off 7/11 scene at the beginning.
A cult legend and galactic international songstress. Tragic that she never got to do a duet with Tony Clifton.
Margarita Pracatan dead: Clive James Show star dies at 89
Margarita Pracatan has died at the age of 89, it has been confirmed.
The singer was best known for her appearances on The Clive James Show.
Margarita Pracatan dead: Clive James Show star dies at 89 - Mirror Online
I don't know if he was depressed about reading this thread, but Kruschev's son has shot himself.
Sergei Khrushchev, son of Soviet leader, dies at US home - SFChronicle.com
The Fly, Zoolander, and Tropic Thunder Producer Stuart Cornfeld Dies at 67
The producer of The Fly, Zoolander, and Tropic Thunder, Stuart Cornfeld has passed away at the age of 67. He died of cancer according to The Hollywood Reporter. The main source of notoriety was his association withBen Stiller and his role in bringing wild comedies like Dodgeball to life. Cornfeld was born in Tarzana in 1952 and was named as part of the American Film Institute’s class of 1975. While there were other contributions along the way like The Fly and Kafka, helping Stiller launch Red Hour Films would prove to be the move that drew large crowds toward his work. A lot of the comedies that fans of Stiller and his band of famous buddies made famous are directly from Cornfeld’s work.
Zoolander got things going and the Duplex, Starsky & Hutch, Dodgeball, Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny, Blades of Glory, and Tropic Thunder all followed. If you spent a lot of time at the movies laughing in the early aughts, there was a good chance that Cornfeld’s work was represented in your favorites.
https://comicbook.com/movies/news/zoolander-fly-tropic-thunder-producer-stuart-cornfeld-dies-67/
Carl Reiner, ‘The Dick Van Dyke Show’ Creator and Hollywood Legend, Dies at 98
“The Dick Van Dyke Show” creator and Hollywood legend Carl Reiner has died. He was 98.
“Last night my dad passed away. As I write this my heart is hurting. He was my guiding light,” Rob Reiner, Carl Reiner’s son, tweeted Tuesday morning.
According to TMZ, which first reported the news of his death, Carl Reiner died of natural causes, surrounded by his family at his home in Beverly Hills.
A prolific entertainer, Reiner is best known as the creator of “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” which he starred on with Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore.
A nine-time Emmy winner, Reiner was also famous for his collaborations with Mel Brooks, his partner on the two-man comedy routine “2000 Year Old Man,” and Steve Martin, who starred in Reiner’s films “The Jerk,” “Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid,” “Man with Two Brains” and “All of Me.”
Reiner began his career writing for and acting in Sid Caesar’s variety shows “Caesar’s Hour” and “Your Show of Shows.”
Carl Reiner, 'The Dick Van Dyke Show' Creator and Hollywood Legend, Dies at 98
Wow. He was an oldie but goodie. I was beginning to think he would live forever.
Oscar-winning composer Johnny Mandel, best known for 'M*A*S*H' theme, dies at 94
Johnny Mandel, who composed and arranged for some of the leading big bands of the 1940s and 1950s before establishing himself as a writer of memorable movie scores and themes like “The Shadow of Your Smile,” “Emily” and “Suicide Is Painless,” died on Monday at his home in Ojai, Calif. He was 94.
His daughter, Marissa, confirmed the death.
Mr. Mandel was for many years a journeyman jazz trumpeter and trombonist, a reliable member of any band’s brass section but not an outstanding soloist. He found his calling when he branched out into arranging.
His arrangements were heard on Sid Caesar’s groundbreaking 1950s television series “Your Show of Shows” and on the first recordings Frank Sinatra made for Reprise, the record company founded by the singer in 1960. He wrote a Grammy-winning new arrangement (based on Nelson Riddle’s original one) of the Nat King Cole hit “Unforgettable” for the record that, through overdubbing, posthumously reunited Cole with his daughter Natalie.
The most lasting chapter in his musical career began in 1958, when he began writing for Hollywood.
His lush theme songs for the 1964 film “The Americanization of Emily” (“Emily”) and for 1965’s “The Sandpiper” (“The Shadow of Your Smile,” which won both an Academy Award and a Grammy Award for song of the year) are probably better remembered now than the movies themselves. His jarringly serene “Suicide Is Painless” became the theme of both the film “M*A*S*H” (1970) and the subsequent long-running TV version. Among the many other movies he scored were “The Last Detail” (1973), “Caddyshack” (1980) and “The Verdict” (1982).
Oscar-winning composer Johnny Mandel, best known for 'M*A*S*H' theme, dies at 94 | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Hugh Downs, genial presence on TV news and game shows, dies
By DAVID BAUDER Associated Press
July 2, 2020 — 6:05pm
STEVE FENN – ABCHugh Downs and Barbara Walters of ABC's "20/20" in a 1997 photo.
NEW YORK — Hugh Downs, the genial, versatile broadcaster who became one of television's most familiar and welcome faces with more than 15,000 hours on news, game and talk shows, has died at age 99.
Downs died of natural causes at his home in Scottsdale, Arizona, on Wednesday, said his great-niece, Molly Shaheen.
"The Guinness Book of World Records" recognized Downs as having logged more hours in front of the camera than any television personality until Regis Philbin passed him in 2004.
He worked on NBC's "Today" and "Tonight" shows, the game show "Concentration," co-hosted the ABC magazine show "20/20" with Barbara Walters and the PBS series "Over Easy" and "Live From Lincoln Center."
His signature sign-off at the end of "20/20" told viewers: "We're in touch, so you be in touch."
"I've worked on so many different shows and done so many shows at the same time," Downs said in a 1986 Associated Press interview. "I once said I'd done everything on radio and television except play-by-play sports. Then I remembered I'd covered a boxing match in Lima, Ohio, in 1939."
Downs began his broadcasting career at the age of 18 as a $12-a-week announcer on a small Ohio radio station. When television came along, he at first looked on it as a gimmick, but quickly realized "it was probably a juggernaut, and I'd better be in on it."
He was an announcer in Chicago, which was a television incubator in the 1950, for "Kukla, Fran & Ollie" and "Hawkins Falls," which he said was television's first soap opera. In 1954, he went to New York for "The Home Show."
In 1961, Newsweek described him as "a gluttonous reader with a first-rate brain that he keeps curried and exercised like a prize poodle."
His reputation was such that he even won the right to approve any commercial he was assigned to read, striving to keep dubious claims off the air.
"My loyalty was with the person tuning in," he said. "It was expedient. If I lost my credibility, what use would I be to a client?"
He showed his principled side again in 1997, when he took a vacation day on "20/20″ rather than be part on a show that included an interview with Marv Albert after the sportscaster was caught in a lurid sexual assault scandal.
On Twitter Thursday, CBS News political correspondent Ed O'Keefe noted: "He retired from '20/20' in 1999 and died at age 99 in the year 2020. Sweet symmetry. Rest easy, Hugh Downs. One of the best."
Downs had a particular interest in science, once launching into a monologue on the Paar show on the science underlying water-skiing. It prompted Paar to quip, "Well, Hugh, when you drown, you'll know the reason why."
His interest in problems of the aging — he even earned a postgraduate degree in gerontology — was highlighted in his Public Broadcasting Service series "Over Easy" as well as many of his "20/20" pieces.
"We all suffer in our culture from the idea ... that youth was the big thing," he said.
"There has been kind of a loss of respect for older people, and we lose gleaning wisdom from older people. We lose the ability to see that impairment and decrepitude don't necessarily go along with age."
His work on "20/20″ also showed his adventurous spirit, such as the time he got to ride a killer whale, and another time he put on breathing apparatus to swim near a great white shark. There was a hazardous expedition to the South Pole in which one participant nearly fell to his death.
"I'm interested in science, the environment, medicine and certain personalities," he said. "I just do the stories I want to do. I don't want to be just the anchor."
Downs began his work as Paar's second banana in 1957, after a stint as host of NBC's "The Home Show."
In a highly publicized incident in February 1960, Paar stormed off the air in a dispute involving network cutting a Paar "water closet" (toilet) joke the censors disliked. Downs won praise for calmly telling the audience "I'd like to think this is not final" and keeping the live show running until signoff time.
Downs said later that he expected that Paar would at any minute return to the stage "with some punch line or something. He didn't." But Downs said he was eventually grateful for the boost the brouhaha gave his career.
Paar finally returned to the show a few weeks later.
Paar's departure from "Tonight" in 1962 paved the way for Johnny Carson. Downs, meanwhile, began his nine-year run as host of the "Today" show. Walters was a "Today" colleague for part of that time. She admired Downs and praised his generosity and collegiality.
He expressed his views modestly in the 1995 book "The Box: An Oral History of Television, 1920-1961": "In a way the less talent you have or deploy, the less chance you have of overexposure. That may be why I have been on network television more than anybody in the world."
Legendary composer Ennio Morricone dies at the age of 91
Legendary composer Ennio Morricone has died at the age of 91.
The Italian composer, who is best known for scoring The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, died in Rome last week following complications from a fall, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Morricone, who scored more than 500 films, is widely regarded as one of cinema’s greatest composers and won a long-overdue Oscar for his work on Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight in 2015.
He also received nominations for Terrence Malick’s Days of Heaven (1978), Roland Joffe’s The Mission (1986), Brian De Palma’s The Untouchables (1987), Barry Levinson’s Bugsy (1991) and Giuseppe Tornatore’s Malena (2000).
Affectionally known as “The Maestro,” Morricone was handed an honorary Oscar by Clint Eastwood in 2007, with the Academy hailing his “magnificent and multifaceted contributions to the art of film music”.
He also picked up 11 David di Donatello Awards, the highest film honor in Italy.
But in a career spanning over 50 years, it was Morricone’s collaboration with Sergio Leone on the ‘Dollars’ trilogy that arguably spawned his best known work – the iconic theme to The Good, The Bad & The Ugly.
Leone, who died in 1989, previously said of Morricone’s work: “The music is indispensable, because my films could practically be silent movies, the dialogue counts for relatively little, and so the music underlines actions and feelings more than the dialogue. I’ve had him write the music before shooting, really as a part of the screenplay itself.”
His influence also extended far beyond cinema, with Muse previously hailing Morricone as one of their biggest influences. Since 2008, all performances of the band’s track ‘Knights of Cydonia’ have begun with bassist Chris Wolstenholme playing a harmonica solo of ‘Man With a Harmonica’ from Once Upon a Time in the West.
Similarly, Metallica have used ‘The Ecstasy of Gold’ as their introductory music since 1984 and recorded an instrumental metal cover for a 2007 tribute album to Morricone.
Paying tribute, director Edgar Wright wrote: “Where to even begin with iconic composer Ennio Morricone? He could make an average movie into a must see, a good movie into art, and a great movie into legend. He hasn’t been off my stereo my entire life. What a legacy of work he leaves behind. RIP.”
https://www.nme.com/news/film/legendary-composer-ennio-morricone-dies-at-the-age-of-91-2702047?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign =legendary-composer-ennio-morricone-dies-at-the-age-of-91
Charlie Daniels, fiddle player and country music legend, dies aged 83
Charlie Daniels, who went from being an in-demand session musician to a staple of Southern rock with his hit The Devil Went Down to Georgia, has died at 83.
A statement from his publicist said the Country Music Hall of Famer died on Monday at a hospital in Hermitage, Tennessee, after doctors said he had a stroke.
Charlie Daniels, fiddle player and country music legend, dies aged 83 | Music | The Guardian
Kelly Preston, Actress in ‘Mischief,’ ‘Jerry Maguire,’ Dies at 57
Kelly Preston, who appeared in films including “Mischief,” “Twins” and “Jerry Maguire,” has died after a two-year battle with breast cancer. She was 57.
John Travolta, her husband of 29 years, confirmed her death on his Instagram account.
“It is with a very heavy heart that I inform you that my beautiful wife Kelly has lost her two-year battle with breast cancer,” Travolta wrote. “She fought a courageous fight with the love and support of so many. …I will be taking some time to be there for my children who have lost their mother, so forgive me in advance if you don’t hear from us for a while. All my love, JT.”
Her daughter Ella also posted a tribute on Instagram, writing “I have never met anyone as courageous, strong, beautiful and loving as you. Anyone who is lucky enough to have known you or to have ever been in your presence will agree that you have a glow and a light that never ceases to shine and that makes anyone around you feel instantly happy. Thank you for being there for me no matter what. Thank you for your love. Thank you for your help and thank you for making this world a better place. You have made life so beautiful and I know you will continue to do so always. I love you so much mama.”
Born Kelly Kamalelehua Smith in Honolulu, she changed her name to Kelly Preston before securing her first film role in the 1985 romcom “Mischief,” then appeared in another teen comedy, “Secret Admirer.”
She went on to appear in “SpaceCamp” and then “Twins” with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito.
In “Jerry Maguire,” she played Tom Cruise’s fiancee Avery Bishop, then co-starred opposite Kevin Costner in “For Love of the Game.”
Other roles during the 1990s included “Holy Man” with Eddie Murphy and Jeff Goldblum, “Nothing to Lose” with Tim Robbins and Martin Lawrence and “Jack Frost.”
Travolta’s passion project was the L. Ron Hubbard adaptation “Battlefield Earth,” which he co-produced and starred in along with Preston. The film lost millions and was universally panned.
Travolta and Preston met on the set of the 1987 movie “The Experts.” The duo would later marry in Paris in 1991. Preston has said in interviews that she had a premonition when she saw the poster for “Grease” at age 16 that she would marry Travolta.
In the 2000s, Preston appeared on TV in “Medium” and “Fat Actress” and in films including “What a Girl Wants,” “Sky High” and “Casino Jack.”
Her final film role was as mobster’s wife Victoria Gotti alongside Travolta as John Gotti in “Gotti.”
The actress and philanthropist is survived by her husband and two children. Her son Jett died in 2009.
Kelly Preston Dead: ‘Jerry Maguire,’ ‘Twins’ Actress Was 57 – Variety
RIP Kelly - too young
Grant Imahara dead: Former Mythbusters host dies suddenly aged 49
Grant Imahara dead: Former Mythbusters host dies suddenly aged 49 - NZ Herald
Sure was. Would be interested in what caused his death.
brain aneurysm
John Lewis, civil rights icon and longtime congressman, dies
John Lewis, who went from being the youngest leader of the 1963 March on Washington to a long-serving congressman from Georgia and icon of the civil rights movement, died Friday. He was 80.
In December 2019, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
As a leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, Lewis was a committed participant in some of the key moments of the movement — an original Freedom Rider in 1961, a principal speaker at the March on Washington in 1963, one of those brutally clubbed during a 1965 march in Selma, Ala. Through it all, he faced taunts, beatings and dozens of arrests.
MORE John Lewis, civil rights icon and longtime congressman, dies - POLITICO
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)