[DeadCelebrityAlert] Kenneth Mars, co-star in Mel Brooks comedies, dies

 

Kenneth Mars, co-star in Mel Brooks comedies, dies
25 minutes ago
GRENADA HILLS, Calif. - Kenneth Mars, a Mel Brooks collaborator who played a Hitler-worshipping playwright in "The Producers" and an earnest police inspector with a malfunctioning artificial arm in "Young Frankenstein," has died. He was 75.
In a statement Monday, Mars family said the actor died Saturday of pancreatic cancer at his home in Grenada Hills.

In Brooks' 1968 romp "The Producers," Mars co-starred as Franz Liebkind, a Nazi enthusiast whose play, "Springtime for Hitler," is the basis for a scheme by two conniving showmen (Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder) to bilk investors by putting on a surefire Broadway flop.

Brooks cast Mars again in 1974's "Young Frankenstein" as the constable poking around the castle grounds on the trail of mad scientist Wilder's monster.

In both films, the Chicago-born Mars demonstrated his talent for vocal farce, lending over-the-top German accents to the characters.

Mars' nearly 50-year career included a long list of voice credits, including "The Little Mermaid," "The Jetsons" and the "The Land Before Time" movies and TV series.

Among Mars' other film credits were Woody Allen's "Radio Days" and "Shadows and Fog," and Peter Bogdanovich's "What's Up, Doc." His extensive television work featured regular roles on "Malcolm in the Middle," "Fernwood Tonight" and the 1960s series "He & She."

On stage, Mars appeared in such plays as "The Affair" and "Anything Goes."

Mars is survived by two daughters, Susannah Mars Johnson and Rebecca Mars Tipton, and six grandchildren.

A private funeral service was planned.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

__._,_.___
Recent Activity:
Remember to visit the Dead Celebrity Alert
Blog, a searchable database of obituaries
back to 2001:

http://DeadCelebrityAlert.com

- - -

In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section
107, any copyrighted work in this message is
distributed under fair use without profit or
payment to those who have expressed a prior
interest in receiving the included
information for non-profit research and
educational purposes only.

http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
.

__,_._,___

[DeadCelebrityAlert] 'Blood Feast' B-movie producer David Friedman dies

 

'Blood Feast' B-movie producer David Friedman dies
ANNISTON, Ala. - David F. Friedman, the B-movie producer of the 1960s and '70s who turned out the cult classic "Blood Feast," died Monday at age 87, his niece said.
Bridgett Everett said her uncle died of heart failure at a nursing home in Anniston, Ala.

Friedman worked with director Herschell Gordon Lewis to create 1963's "Blood Feast," a roughly acted film that depicted the dismemberment of attractive women. The film is considered one of the first of the so-called "gore" movies, said Mike Vraney, owner of Something Weird Video in Seattle.

"Blood Feast" cost a paltry $24,500 to make - and netted a $6.5 million profit, Everett said.

Friedman was born in Birmingham, Ala., and spent much of his youth in Birmingham and Anniston. After working with carnivals, he became a press agent at Paramount before leaving in 1958 to try his hand at independent movies.

Some of his adult-oriented B-movies, such as "Goldilocks and the Three Bares were shot in nudist colonies. Others combined sexual themes with horror and crime, including "The Adult Version of Jekyll and Hide" and "The Defilers." His other drive-in fare included "Two Thousand Maniacs!" and "Color Me Blood Red."

Friedman was involved in every aspect of marketing his movies, including writing lines for the always titillating posters.

Vraney said Friedman always sold more sizzle than he actually showed in his movies, and each movie included a provocative trailer for his next film. But he thought his days as a moviemaker were over when hard-core pornography began to catch on in the mid-1970s.

"He said when it got to the point you showed it all, there was no more sizzle," Vraney said.

Friedman moved to Anniston in 1988 to be near his late wife's family.

"He thought all of his movies were forgotten," Vraney said.

In 1991, Vraney tracked him down and began reissuing his films. His films found new markets and he was invited to speak at film festivals, where he delighted audiences with his promoter-style personality.

"He was bigger than life," Vraney said. "He could drink like a fish and he smoked giant cigars."..

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

__._,_.___
Recent Activity:
Remember to visit the Dead Celebrity Alert
Blog, a searchable database of obituaries
back to 2001:

http://DeadCelebrityAlert.com

- - -

In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section
107, any copyrighted work in this message is
distributed under fair use without profit or
payment to those who have expressed a prior
interest in receiving the included
information for non-profit research and
educational purposes only.

http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
MARKETPLACE

Stay on top of your group activity without leaving the page you're on - Get the Yahoo! Toolbar now.

Find useful articles and helpful tips on living with Fibromyalgia. Visit the Fibromyalgia Zone today!

.

__,_._,___
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)