Humbert Alstredo, a stage actor who played opposite James Earl Jones, Frank Langella and Elizabeth Taylor but is best remembered by generations of scared kids as the evil, devil-bearded warlock of Dark Shadows, died February 19 at the age of 86. No cause of death was listed in the paid death notice published today in The New York Times.
After performing for Joe Papp's Shakespeare in the Park and in various Off Broadway productions, Astredo joined Shadows in 1968 in his primary role Nicholas Blair, a demon-summoning warlock and foe of witch hunters. The role was at the center of a brief controversy in '68 when real-life Christian groups protested a plotline in which Astredo's character seemed to be gearing up for an encounter with Satan himself. The show's writers – in what was either a real reaction or a publicity stunt – renamed the devil character Diablos and outfitted him in generic grim reaper garb.
Humbert served in the Korean War before studying acting at the Pasadena Playhouse, working in local L.A. theaters in Los Angeles and establishing classical theater company The Hollywood Center Theatre. He played Sergius in Shakespeare in the Park's Arms and the Man.
He also performed with James Earl Jones in Othello and in various Off Broadway and regional theater productions. After Shadows, he toured nationally with both Langella and Martin Landau in Dracula. On Broadway he performed in Gore Vidal's An Evening with Richard Nixon, Lorraine Hansberry's Les Blancs and the world tour of Little Foxes with Elizabeth Taylor.
Before retiring to Connecticut in the 1980s, he appeared on soaps Another World, The Edge of Night,For Richer, for Poorer, Guiding Light, Love of Life, Loving,One Life to Live, Somerset and Texas. He was predeceased by his daughter Jennifer.
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LOS ANGELES, Feb. 26 (UPI) -- Actor and former athlete Tony Burton, who played boxing trainer Tony "Duke" Evers in the Rocky films, has died, his family announced. He was 78.
Burton's sister, Loretta Kelley, said her brother's health had been failing for some time, causing him to be in and out of the hospital for a year. He never received an official diagnosis, Kelley said.
Burton appeared in the first six Rocky movies opposite Sylvester Stallone. During the first two films, he played the trainer of Rocky Balboa's opponent, Apollo Creed. He ultimately became Rocky's trainer in the next two films.
Kelley said Burton's health kept him from seeing the latest film in the Rocky universe, Creed. His character makes an appearance in the form of a flashback in the MGM film, but it was taken from earlier stock footage.
Burton also appeared in the films The Shining, Stir Crazy and The Toy, and in 2007 played Sheriff Stoker in the comedy-horror film Hack!
The late celebrity's co-star, Carl Weathers, took to Twitter to commemorate his colleague. "Sad news. RIP Tony Burton," he wrote. "His intensity and talent helped make the Rocky movies successful."
MGM Studios also paid homage to Burton on Twitter writing, "Rest in Peace, Tony."
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George Gaynes, who played a grouchy foster parent on the 1980s sitcom "Punky Brewster," the beleaguered commandant in seven "Police Academy" films and a soap opera star with a crush on Dustin Hoffman in drag in the Hollywood hit "Tootsie," died at his daughter's home in North Bend, Wash. He was 98.
His death was confirmed by his daughter, Iya Gaynes Falcone Brown.
With his baritone voice, chiseled good looks and versatility as a character actor and singer, Mr. Gaynes appeared in hundreds of episodes of sitcoms and dramas on television, 35 Hollywood and made-for-TV films, and many plays, musical comedies and operas in New York and Europe.
Critics often applauded his work in supporting roles, and his face became familiar to millions of Americans. But he never achieved leading man stardom.
"Anyone who believes in happy endings will take consolation from the career of George Gaynes, about to become a television celebrity at the age of 64," The New York Times reported (erroneously; he was 67 ) in 1984, shortly before NBC telecast the first episode of "Punky Brewster." The show ran for four seasons, first on NBC and then in syndication.
Mr. Gaynes, in the television role for which he was probably best known, played a building manager, Henry Warnimont, who finds an abandoned little girl, played by Soleil Moon Frye, in an empty apartment and becomes first her foster parent and then her adoptive father. Their tender relationship was the heart of the show. There was a puppy, too.
"The two things an actor dreads most are children and dogs," he told The Times in 1984. "I have both in this series."
Mr. Gaynes got the part on the heels of two of his strongest film performances. In the first, in "Tootsie," released in 1982, he was a misguided would-be paramour pursuing his leading lady (Mr. Hoffman), an unemployed actor who wins celebrity by masquerading as a woman on a daytime soap opera.
Then, in 1984, he was the commandant in charge of misfit recruits in the first "Police Academy" movie, which critics called crude and noisy — although some found it also hilarious — and which spawned six sequels, all of them with Mr. Gaynes in the cast.
Writing about Mr. Gaynes's performance in "Tootsie," Vincent Canby of The Times called him "priceless as the seedy but tirelessly lecherous leading man on the soap" and "so memorably funny in such memorably funny circumstances that I doubt he'll much longer remain one of those actors whose looks are as familiar as his name, though one never puts the two together."
Mr. Gaynes appeared in many television series in the 1960s and '70s, including "The Defenders," "Mission: Impossible," "Bonanza," "Mannix," "Hogan's Heroes," "The Six Million Dollar Man" and "Hawaii Five-0." He also acted in the daytime soap operas "General Hospital" and "Search for Tomorrow." His films included "The Way We Were," "Altered States" and "Wag the Dog."
He retired in 2003 and lived in Santa Barbara, Calif., before moving to Washington to stay with his daughter's family.
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Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who served on the nation's highest court since 1986, died on Saturday at the age of 79.
The justice passed away due to natural causes at the Cibolo Creek Ranch, a luxury resort in West Texas, federal authorities told the San Antonio Express-News. According to the paper, Scalia attended a function on Friday and was found after failing to appear for breakfast the next morning.
A government official said Scalia went to bed Friday night and told friends he wasn't feeling well. Saturday morning, he didn't get up for breakfast. And the group he was with for a hunting trip left without him.
Someone at the ranch went in to check on him and found him unresponsive.
In a statement, Chief Justice John Roberts said he and other justices were "saddened" to hear of Scalia's passing.
"He was an extraordinary individual and jurist, admired and treasured by his colleagues," Roberts said. "His passing is a great loss to the court and the country he so loyally served. We extend our deepest condolences to his wife Maureen and his family."
Deputy White House Press Secretary Eric Schultz said President Barack Obama was informed of Scalia's passing on Saturday afternoon.
"The President and First Lady extend their deepest condolences to Justice Scalia's family. We'll have additional reaction from the President later today," Schultz said.
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Joe Alaskey dies at 63; impersonator was a later voice of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck
Joe Alaskey, a voice actor who succeeded the legendary Mel Blanc as characters Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck in various TV and film reprisals of the Looney Tunes through the 1990s, has died.
Alaskey, who was also Yosemite Sam in the live-action and animated film "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" (1988), died Wednesday in Green Island, N.Y., after a short illness, said his niece and former assistant, Trish Alaskey. He was 63.
Alaskey was a self-taught impersonator who started doing impressions at the age of 5, and he worked his way from radio gigs to Hollywood, his niece said.
He had been a colleague of Blanc's and had a prominent place among a pool of actors tapped to play the Looney Tunes characters after Blanc's death in 1989. He voiced them all, including Sylvester the Cat and Tweety Bird, in videos, short films and TV cartoons through the early 2000s.
"He took it so seriously, it meant so much to him — it was a heavy responsibility," his niece said. "He loved the characters — he loved Mel — and it was very important to him that they came off the right way."
Alaskey also did voice roles in the "Rugrats" movies and was Plucky Duck in "Tiny Toon Adventures."
Alaskey's niece recalled her uncle's visits to her school during her childhood, when he would perform his familiar voices for children. "Oh my God — it made us stars! My friends were requesting autographs," she said.
Joseph Francis Alaskey III was born April 17, 1952, in Troy, N.Y., to Joseph Francis Alaskey Jr. and Domenica "Dorothy" De Sorrento De Luca Alaskey. He graduated from the La Salle Institute in Troy and was a longtime resident of Encino before recently relocating back to New York state.
He was preceded in death by his parents and sister, JoAnne Valente, and is survived by his brother, John Ned Alaskey, and his nieces and nephews.
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Earth, Wind & Fire soul band founder Maurice White dies
The founder of soul group Earth, Wind & Fire, Maurice White, has died in the US, his brother has said.
White, 74, died in his sleep in Los Angeles on Thursday morning. He suffered from Parkinson's Disease.
His band had a series of hits including September, Boogie Wonderland, Shining Star and After the Love has Gone.
The singer-songwriter was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 1992 but his condition was reported to have got worse in recent months.
Earth, Wind & Fire were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000, and Maurice was individually inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2010.
Image copyrightAPImage captionMaurice White (centre) pictured here in 2003 with fellow Earth, Wind & Fire band mates Phil Bailey (left) and Ralph Johnson picked up numerous music industry awardsImage copyrightGetty ImagesImage captionEarth, Wind & Fire is perhaps best known for its exuberant, horn-driven mix of jazz, funk, gospel and Big Band musicImage copyrightGetty ImagesImage captionMaurice White (left) is reported to have shown symptoms of neurological disease as far back as the 1980s
Popularly known by his nickname of Reese, he worked with various well-known recording artists such as The Emotions, Barbra Streisand, Cher and Neil Diamond.
Earth, Wind & Fire have sold more than 90 million albums worldwide.
"My brother, hero and best friend Maurice White passed away peacefully last night in his sleep," Verdine White, also a member of the band, told The Associated Press on Thursday.
"While the world has lost another great musician and legend, our family asks that our privacy is respected as we start what will be a very difficult and life changing transition in our lives. Thank you for your prayers and well wishes."
Earth, Wind & Fire
A nine-piece band centred around the two White brothers and singer Philip Bailey
The band's most successful period began with the 1975 album That's The Way of The World
They remained prominent in the charts for at least a decade afterwards
White publicly revealed he was suffering from Parkinson's at the time of the band's Hall of Fame induction
He stopped touring with the band in 1995 because of a combination of tiredness and health problems
White said in an interview with the Associated Press news agency in 2000 that he wanted Earth, Wind & Fire's music to inspire people rather than just entertain them.
"That was the whole objective, to try to inspire young people to believe in themselves and to follow through on their ideas," he said.
"We've touched so many people with these songs."
A former session drummer, White formed a band called Salty Peppers in the Chicago area in the late 1960s.
He subsequently moved to Los Angeles, disposing of all of the band members except Verdine, The band was renamed Earth, Wind & Fire after the three elements in his astrological chart.
Many of the group's earlier hits were characterised by Bailey's bright falsetto voice.
The band is perhaps best known for its exuberant, horn-driven mix of jazz, funk, gospel and Big Band music played at concerts where they performed in glitzy costumes underneath multi-coloured lights. They played at many top venues including the Super Bowl and the White House.
"We live in a negative society,'" White informed Newsweek at the peak of the band's success. "Most people can't see beauty and love. I see our music as medicine."
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Bob Elliott, best known for his work with comedy partner Ray Goulding, has died, his son Chris Elliott -- also a comedian -- The New York Times reports. He was 92.
Bob and Goulding first showcased their comedy on radio shows beginning in the '40s and went on to host a television show titled The Bob and Ray Show for two years in the early '50s, but remained loyal to their original medium of choice.
"Ray and I both grew up with radio," Bob once said, according to the Times. "Our whole hopes for the future were that we'd get into radio." The duo also dabbled in theater, debuting The Two and Only on Broadway in 1970.
Bob and Goulding worked together up until Goulding's death in 1990. Bob started his run on Get a Life, a Fox sitcom starring his son Chris that aired until 1992, that year. He most recently voiced a character in a 2008 episode of King of the Hill.
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