One year ago: Brittany Murphy

Actress Brittany Murphy was only 32 when she died a year ago. She had become known for performances in such movies as the 1995 teen comedy "Clueless" and the 2002 drama "8 Mile" with rapper Eminem.

"She was a very special and vulnerable person," Curtis Hanson, who directed her in "8 Mile," told The Times. "The honesty of her emotions made it so that [her lines] didn't feel like scripted dialogue."

Firefighters were called to Murphy's home and were unable to revive her. She was pronounced dead at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

In February, the Los Angeles County coroner's office announced that her death had been ruled accidental from pneumonia exacerbated by anemia and a harmful combination of medications.

Murphy was born in Atlanta in 1977 and came to Southern California with her mother when she was 13. Her parents had divorced several years earlier.

Murphy's other notable roles included "Girl, Interrupted" in 1999 and the comedy "Just Married" in 2003.

The Times' story about her death can be found here.

--Keith Thursby

 

Photo: Brittany Murphy in 2006. Credit: Associated Press

One year ago: Connie Hines

Connie Hines was an actress best known for playing Carol Post, whose husband, Wilbur, was the only person who could talk with Mister Ed in the 1960s television show. She died one year ago at age 78.

The "Mister Ed" part was "a tough chore," said actor Alan Young, who played Wilbur. "She was a girl married to a fellow listening to a horse. Her biggest line was 'lunch is ready.' The rest of it was reacting to it. Connie never complained. How many actors would react that way?"

After her first marriage ended in divorce, Hines moved to New York with a girlfriend who was a dancer and wanted to be on Broadway. There, she modeled and appeared in commercials, eventually landing a romantic leading role on the CBS anthology series "Rendezvous" that was shot in Europe.

CBS was impressed with her work and in 1959 sent her to Hollywood, where she appeared on television shows and won a role in the 1960 film "Thunder in Carolina" before making her big break with "Mister Ed."

After "Mister Ed" ended, Hines worked on TV sporadically, including "Medical Center," "The Mod Squad" and "Bonanza."

In 1970, Hines married Lee Savin, an entertainment lawyer and producer. They retired to Dana Point in 1989 on the recommendation of Young, who had been living there.

For more about the actress, read Connie Hines' obituary by The Times.

-- Michael Farr

Photo: Connie Hines

Credit: Coulter-Straus Inc.

One year ago: Jennifer Jones

Jennifer Jones was an Academy Award-winning actress who in her life married two legendary men — producer David O. Selznick and industrialist and art collector Norton Simon. She died one year ago at age 90.

Jones starred in more than two dozen films, playing opposite such A-list actors as William Holden, Joseph Cotten and Gregory Peck. She won an Oscar for best actress for her performance in the 1943 film "The Song of Bernadette."

Her acting talent may have gone undiscovered if not for Selznick. He groomed her for stardom, pulled strings to get her roles and eventually married her  after she divorced her first husband, actor Robert Walker, with whom she had two sons.

Starting in the mid-1960s, Jones went through a bleak period. Her film career was on the wane and, in 1965, Selznick died. Two years later, she attempted suicide.

Her life took a turn for the better, however, around the time she met art collector Simon at a reception in Los Angeles in 1971 when she was 52. By then, she had retreated from Hollywood and taken up work with mental-health and charity organizations while raising her daughter by Selznick.

Jones, originally not an art connoisseur, became enamored of it when she married Simon. At his death in 1993, Simon named her president of Pasadena's Norton Simon Museum, where she oversaw a $3-million renovation of the museum's interior and gardens that was completed in 1999.

Jones herself was surprised at the many turns her life had taken.

"Actually," she told the Washington Post in 1977, "every time I stop to think about it, I'm really amazed. I think I've had an extraordinary life. And lots of times I can hardly believe it's me."

For more on the actress, read Jennifer Jones' obituary by former Times staff writer Claudia Luther, and view a photo gallery of her life.

--Michael Farr

Photo: Jennifer Jones in 1949, the year she married David O. Selznick. Credit: Associated Press

Director Blake Edwards dies at 88

Blake Edwards, the veteran writer-director whose films include the "Pink Panther" comedies, "Breakfast at Tiffany's," "Days of Wine and Roses" and "10" and whose legendary disputes with studio chiefs inspired his scathing Hollywood satire "S.O.B." has died. He was 88.

Edwards, whose collaborations with his wife, Julie Andrews, included the 1982 comedy "Victor/Victoria," died of of complications of pneumonia Wednesday evening at St. John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, said Gene Schwam, Edwards’ longtime publicist. Andrews and members of their immediate family were at his bedside.

Edwards scored his first box-office hit with "Operation Petticoat," a 1959 comedy about a World War II submarine crew starring Cary Grant and Tony Curtis. But a turning point in Edwards' film career came in 1961 with "Breakfast at Tiffany's."

The light, sophisticated romantic comedy based on the Truman Capote novella earned Audrey Hepburn an Academy Award nomination for best actress. Composer Henry Mancini also won an Oscar for his score, and he and Johnny Mercer won Oscars for their memorable song "Moon River."

Displaying his versatility, Edwards followed up that success with the 1962 thriller "Experiment in Terror" and, that same year, "Days of Wine and Roses," a grim drama about a young couple (Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick) battling alcoholism. Both Lemmon and Remick received Academy Award nominations, and Mancini and Mercer won Oscars for their title song.

But it's Edwards' comedies for which he is best known.

As co-writer and director of "The Pink Panther" and "A Shot in the Dark" (both released in 1964), starring Peter Sellers as the bumbling French police inspector Clouseau, Edwards earned a reputation as a modern master of slapstick comedy and sight gags.

Other Edwards-directed comedies in the '60s included "The Great Race," "What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?" and "The Party."

A more complete obituary is here.

-- Dennis McLellan

Photo: Blake Edwards and Julie Andrews in September. Credit: Valerie Macon / Getty Images

Turning the channel to TCM Remembers 2010

Here at latimes.com, we have a running picture gallery of notable deaths for the year.

Turner Classic Movies also compiles a lovely tribute package, studded with movie stars and streaming clips drawn from its trove of film treasures. The big names are all here -- Dennis Hopper, Lena Horne, Tony Curtis and Patricia Neal -- as well as a trio from "Airplane!" -- Peter Graves, Barbara Billingsley and Leslie NIelsen. The images fade in and out to the tune of Sophie Hunger's "Headlights."

 

You can watch it on the network's website or on YouTube, where you can also check out the remembrance clips from previous years.

 

 

-- Claire Noland

 

Ingrid Pitt, star of campy horror films, dies at 73

Ingrid Pitt, who survived a Nazi concentration camp to become an acclaimed British movie actress, died Tuesday in London. She was 73.

Dubbed "the first lady of English horror" by her fans, Pitt also dodged Communist police in Germany before moving to England to become one of the country's best-known fright film stars.

She played in movies such as "Where Eagles Dare" and "The Wicker Man" along with a slew of camp horror classics, including "The Vampire Lovers" (seen above in a YouTube clip).

Steffanie Pitt says that her mother collapsed while on her way to a birthday dinner to be held in her honor over the weekend. The cause of death isn't known, although Steffanie Pitt says her mother had recently been in poor health.

-- Associated Press

Photo: Ingrid Pitt in 1968. Credit: Associated Press

Appreciating Jill Clayburgh

Times film critic Betsy Sharkey offers an appreciation of actress Jill Clayburgh, who died Friday of leukemia at age 66.

Clayburgh, twice nominated for an Academy Award, portrayed characters that were "flawed, vulnerable, feisty, funny, sometimes steely and always smart." Sharkey wrote.

"They were a better, more beautiful version of what many of us wanted to be, but only slightly. Like everything else about Clayburgh, her beauty was subtle, never showy."

You can read the appreciation here and Clayburgh's news obituary here.

-- Keith Thursby

Photo: Jill Clayburgh with Alan Bates in the 1978 film "An Unmarried Woman."

Actress Jill Clayburgh dies of leukemia at 66

 
Jill Clayburgh, an Oscar-nominated actress who starred on Broadway, TV and in films including "An Unmarried Woman" and "Dirty Sexy Money," has died. She was 66.

Her husband, playwright David Rabe, said Clayburgh was surrounded by her family and brother when she died Friday morning at her home in Lakeville, Conn., after a 21-year battle with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Rabe said his wife dealt with the disease courageously, quietly and privately.

She was nominated for Academy Awards for "An Unmarried Woman" and "Starting Over."

She is survived by three children, including actress Lily Rabe, Michael Rabe and stepson Jason Rabe.

Rabe said there will be no funeral. The family will have a memorial in about six months.

More later at www.latimes.com/obits.

-- Associated Press

Photo: Jill Clayburgh in 2002.

Credit: Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times

Shannon Tavarez, 11-year-old actress in Broadway's 'The Lion King,' dies of leukemia

 
Shannon Tavarez, the 11-year-old girl who starred on Broadway in "The Lion King" and whose story of a battle with leukemia won the hearts of many including Alicia Keys, Rihanna and 50 Cent, has died.

Tavarez died Monday afternoon at Cohen Children's Medical Center in New Hyde Park, on Long Island, said Katharina Harf, co-founder of the bone marrow donor center DKMS.

Adriana Douzos, a spokeswoman for the long-running Tony-winning show, also confirmed the death but declined further comment.

Tavarez, who played the young lion Nala, had received an umbilical-cord blood transplant in August. The procedure was performed as an alternative to a bone marrow transplant. Her doctor, Dr. Larry Wolfe, said that a perfect bone marrow match for Shannon could not be found.

The search for a match was especially daunting because Shannon's mother is African American and her father is Hispanic, from the Dominican Republic. For bone marrow transplants, minorities and those of mixed ancestry have a more difficult time finding good matches because there aren't as many people from those groups signed up as potential donors. Right now, 83% of African American patients who need marrow transplants don't find matches after six months of searching, according to the National Marrow Donor Program, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping patients receive transplants.

Tavarez was forced to quit the show in April. She beat out hundreds of other hopefuls last year to earn her spot playing Nala, the childhood pal and girlfriend of Simba, hero of "The Lion King." She split the role with another girl, performing four shows a week for six months.

Keys, Rihanna and 50 Cent campaigned to help Tavarez find a bone marrow donor, and cast members held bone marrow donor registration drives. Harf said the donor center registered 10,000 people as potential donors. Keys talked via Skype with Tavarez while she was at the hospital, Harf said, and the singer, Rihanna and 50 Cent urged their fans to sign up as potential donors.

Child performers from "The Lion King" and other shows also sold bracelets and key chains that read, "Shine for Shannon," to raise money to help pay for her medical bills.

"It's rare that you meet such a spirited girl at such a young age," Harf said. "She touched so many people to register. She was really, really a special girl."

"Shannon's bright smile, amazing talent and courage will continue to inspire us in our efforts," the New York Blood Center said in a statement.

-- Associated Press

Photo: Shannon Tavarez in July. Credit: Associated Press

‘Sopranos’ actress Denise Borino-Quinn dies at 46

Denise Borino-Quinn, who won a role on the HBO show "The Sopranos" after she attended an open casting call, has died. She was 46.

Borino-Quinn died Wednesday after a long battle with liver cancer, according to the Farmer Funeral Home in Roseland, N.J.

She had no acting experience when she was hired in 2000 to play Ginny Sacrimoni, the wife of a mob boss. The character quickly became popular and was featured in an October 2002 episode.

Borino-Quinn had attended the casting call mostly to support a childhood friend and was shocked when she was hired.

"It has been the greatest ride of my life," she told The Times in 2006. "I don't look at it as work."

-- Associated Press

Photo: Denise Borino-Quinn as Ginny Sacrimoni on "The Sopranos."

Credit: Barry Wetcher / HBO

Actress Lisa Blount, memorable for 'An Officer and a Gentleman,' is found dead at 53

 

Lisa Blount, 53, who played Lynette Pomeroy in the 1982 film "An Officer and a Gentleman" and won an Academy Award for producing the 2001 live-action short film "the accountant," was found dead Wednesday by her mother at her home in Little Rock, Ark., the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported.

Pulaski County Coroner Garland Camper told the newspaper that Blount appeared to have died Monday. He said there were no signs of foul play.

Blount, a native of Fayetteville, Ark., and her husband, Ray McKinnon, moved to Arkansas from Los Angeles in 2005. McKinnon directed and starred in "the accountant," and he wrote and directed the 2004 film "Chrystal," which Blount starred in opposite Billy Bob Thornton.

In "An Officer and a Gentleman," Blount played a factory worker who gets involved with the cadet played by David Keith alongside the couple played by Debra Winger and Richard Gere.

More later at latimes.com/obits. 

-- Claire Noland

Photo: Linda Blount and David Keith in a scene from "An Officer and a Gentleman."

Credit: Paramount Pictures

One year ago: Collin Wilcox Paxton

Collin Wilcox Paxton, who played the poor Southern white girl who falsely accuses a black man of raping her in the 1962 film adaptation of the novel "To Kill a Mockingbird," recalls receiving unfriendly looks when she appeared to speak at an NAACP conference. An official had to remind the crowd that "she is not the character in the film."

Paxton, who spent her life acting and advocating for desegregation, died one year ago of brain cancer at her home in Highlands, N.C. She was 74.

Paxton said she believed she could play the character of Mayella because she understood both sides of the racism issue and the culture from which her character would have come. She once recalled that the other girls auditioning for the role were overly made up, while she intentionally dressed in worn-down clothes that better reflected the character's background.

Both Paxton and Brock Peters, who played the accused black man in the film, were involved in the civil rights movement and the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People.

"On the set, there was a main feeling that we were making a film that had meaning, had something to say," she recalled. "But no one ever expected or anticipated the kind of impact the film actually created."

In addition to "To Kill a Mockingbird," Paxton also made appearances on Broadway and as a guest star in a variety of TV shows.

For more on her career, read Collin Wilcox Paxton's obituary by The Times.

--Michael Farr

Photo: Collin Wilcox Paxton. Credit: Eric Skipsey