“They were all my friends, and they died”- Jim Carroll (People Who Died)
A remembrance to those artists whose talents have enriched our lives, moved our hearts , inspired our minds and just plain entertained us over the years. They are gone but they have left behind legacies that we will not forget.
Paul Burke
Dan O’Bannon
Britney Murphy
Jim Carroll (Writer, Musician)
Val Avery
Paul Naschy
Gene Barry
Michael Jackson
Soupy Sales
Al Martino 
Patrick Swayze
Les Paul
John Hughes
Frank McCourt
Gale Storm
Farrah Fawcett
Ed McMahon
David Carradine 
Dom DeLuise
Arnold Stang
Beatrice Arthur
Natasha Richardson 
James Whitmore
John Updike
Andrew Wyeth
Ricardo Montalban
Patrick McGohoon 
Pat Hingle
Paul Wendkos
Carl Ballantine
Lou Jacobi 
Joseph Wiseman
Rosanna Schiaffino
Henry Gibson
Sammy Petrillo
Brenda Joyce
Helen Levitt
Ron Silver
Howard Zieff
John: This is absolutely beautiful beyond words, and so very poignant. The choices are precise and I scrolled through, reliving all the memories with each. Perhaps the most tragic was the youthful passing of Miranda Richardson. The one that really hit my family hard was the death of Michael Jackson, but so many remembrances of icons like Karl Malden, Jennifer Jones and Budd Schulberg, whom I was lucky to meet personally during an ON THE WATERFRONT tour in Hoboken back in 2003. John Updike and Robert Anderson were great literary figures that I mourned. And then there was cinematographer Jack Cardiff, who was one of the best ever. Patrick Swayze’s fight inspired us all.
John, this is really something.
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Thanks Sam,
Yes, I remember your discussion about how you and your family were affected by MJ’s death and your remembrance of your meeting with Schulberg. I guess the people whose deaths affected me most on this list are Karl Malden, author Donald Westlake whose novels I enjoyed and Larry Gelbart, IMO a brilliant writer of comedy. Then again, there are people like Lou Jacobi who I was fortunate enough to see in Woody Allen’s first play “Don’t Drink the Water” and who is fondly remembered from so many movies (Irma La Douce) and TV. There is Ellie Greenwich, who younger folks may not be familiar with, but the songs she wrote or co-wrote are part of the soundtrack of my life (Be My Baby, Leader of the Pack, Do Wahl Daddy Diddy Diddy and Rive Deep, Mountain High). It is always sad when talent is silenced.
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Thanks for remembering Paul Burke.
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How could I forget, The Naked City!
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I’d also include composer Maurice Jarre in that list.
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C.K.
What an omission! Jarre just slipped by in my research. I have added him on. Thanks much!!!
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A great list, John, and sad to think how many greats we have lost this year. My daughter, who is 20, is a big fan of Ellie Greenwich, so at least some younger people do know about her – we saw a good musical drama based on her life a couple of years ago at the New Wolsey Theatre in Ipswich. I love Natasha Richardson’s performance in Merchant-Ivory movie The White Countess in particular and her passing at such a young age was so tragic. I’m also especially interested in the obituary you linked for Dorothy Coonan Wellman, since I’ve been getting into her husband’s movies recently and it is interesting to know more about her too – she clearly had a lot of talent as an actress and dancer in her own right. This posting is a great and poignant idea as the year ends.
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Judy, that sounds interesting, that is the musical based on Ellie Greenwich and about your daughter’s interest, good to hear. Richardson’s unfortunate death was a tragedy for sure, a talented woman and of course a mother. I thought of you when I posted Dorothy Coonan Wellman’ information. Have you seen her in “Wild Boys of the Road?”
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Thanks, John. I’ve got ‘Wild Boys of the Road’ in the Wellman box set, but haven’t watched it yet – will do so very soon, though.
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Hopefully you will make it part of your Wellman retrospective. Would like to know your thoughts.
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