Reel Reporting

Nicholas Lloyd Webber

Nicholas "Nick" Lloyd Webber, a Grammy-nominated composer and the eldest son of Andrew Lloyd Webber, died March 25 following an 18-month battle with gastric cancer. He was 43. On March 23, the musician's father announced that his son had been moved to hospice care after developing pneumonia as a result of his cancer. A composer like his father, Nicholas received a Grammy nomination for Best Musical Theater Album for co-producing and mixing the original cast album for Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cinderella in 2022. His other composition credits include music for the 2017 television series Love, Lies, and Records as well as the theatrical adaptation of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince.

Wayne Swinny

Wayne Swinny, a guitarist and founding member of the nu metal band Saliva, died March 22 at 59 after suffering a brain hemorrhage while on tour. Swinny was the last remaining original member of Saliva, which formed in Memphis in 1996 with Josey Scott, Chris Dabaldo, Dave Novotny, and Paul Crosby. Current members include Bobby Amaru, Brad Stewart, and Sammi Jo Bishop. The band has released 10 studio albums, including Every Six Seconds; Love, Lies & Therapy; and 10 Lives. Their notable songs include "Your Disease," which earned a Grammy nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance in 2001, and "Click Click Boom."

Gunter Nezhoda

Gunter Nezhoda, a recurring fan favorite competitive bidder on A&E's Storage Wars, died March 21 at 67. The actor and TV personality appeared on multiple seasons of the reality series, in which self-proclaimed treasure hunters buy repossessed storage units hoping the contents inside could score them a profit, between 2015 and 2019. Nezhoda also appeared as an actor in movies like I Am Here... Now, Astro Zombies: M4 - Invaders from Cyberspace, Do Not Disturb, and The Haunting at Death Valley Junction. He was also a photographer and a bass player who played with Pat Travers, Leslie West, and Michael Schenker, among others.

Peter Werner

Peter Werner, the prolific director who won an Oscar for Best Live-Action Short as an AFI student and went on to work on such TV series as Moonlighting, Justified, and Elementary, died of a torn aorta on March 21. He was 76. Werner won his Oscar in 1977 for In the Region of Ice, a short film based on a Joyce Carol Oates short story. His other directorial credits included spotlight episodes on Blue Bloods, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Grimm, The Blacklist, and Medium.

Paul Grant

Paul Grant, the British actor and stuntman who appeared in Star Wars and Harry Potter films, was pronounced dead March 21, at 56. The actor appeared as an Ewok in 1983's Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi opposite Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, and the late Carrie Fisher, and played a goblin in 1986's David Bowie-led Labyrinth and in 2001's Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Grant also appeared as a stuntman in 1985's Legend and 1988's Willow, and produced an episode of TV series Liquid Assets.

Lance Reddick

Lance Reddick, the veteran actor known for his work on TV shows including The Wire, Fringe, Resident Evil, and Bosch, and films including John Wick and its sequels, died March 17 of natural causes. He was 60. A Baltimore native, Reddick studied music at the University of Rochester and went on to attend the Yale School of Drama. His first major TV role came on the HBO prison drama Oz in 2000, and he went on to star on the network's acclaimed series The Wire, playing a Baltimore police officer. With his commanding voice and imposing presence, Reddick often portrayed authority figures: a G-man on Fringe, a power-hungry scientist on Resident Evil series, a gruff LAPD chief on Bosch, a corrosive CEO on Corporate. His other screen credits included Lost, Godzilla vs. Kong, Rick & Morty, and One Night in Miami. Reddick also worked on a number of video games, such as Horizon Zero Dawn, Horizon Forbidden West, Destiny, Destiny 2, and Quantum Break.

Sharon Acker

Sharon Acker, the Canadian actress best known for playing faithful secretary Della Street in The New Perry Mason, died March 16, per The Hollywood Reporter. Born in Toronto, Acker got her start appearing in a made-for-television adaptation of Anne of Green Gables before making her film debut in 1957's Lucky Jim. After taking a hiatus to raise her family, Acker returned to acting and starred in a 1961 adaptation of Macbeth opposite Sean Connery and Zoe Caldwell. Her other credits include the 1967 film Point Blank and the television series Star Trek, The Love Boat, The Rockford Files, Days of Our Lives, and The Young and the Restless.

Norman Steinberg

Norman Steinberg, the screenwriter known for such films as Blazing Saddles, My Favorite Year, and Johnny Dangerously, died March 15 at his home in upstate New York. He was 83. A former lawyer, Steinberg won an Emmy early in his writing career for his work on Flip, a Flip Wilson variety show. His TV credits also included Cosby; Doctor, Doctor; and Teech; and his other film included Yes, Giorgio; Wise Guys; and Funny About Love.

Bobby Caldwell

Bobby Caldwell, the soulful and versatile vocalist behind hits "What You Won't Do For Love" and "Open Your Eyes," died March 14 at age 71. He released over a dozen albums that spanned genres, including jazz, soul, and R&B, beginning with his eponymous debut in 1978, which featured "What You Won't Do For Love." A multi-generational hit that ascended the Billboard 100 chart, the song has been sampled or covered by the likes of Tupac, Boyz II Men, Michael Bolton, and more. Caldwell also penned hits for musicians like Neil Diamond, Bob Scaggs, and Amy Grant. He released his final non-compilation album, Cool Uncle, in collaboration with Jack Splash in 2015.

Costa Titch

Constantinos Tsobanoglou, better known by his rap alias Costa Titch, died Mar. 11 after appearing to collapse while performing at the Ultra South Africa music festival in Johannesburg. He was 28. Titch was remembered as "a galvanizing voice among South Africa's amapiano scene" and a talented rapper, dancer, singer, and songwriter. He released his critically-acclaimed debut album Made in Africa in 2020 and two years later his track "Big Flexa" became the most viewed amapiano music video on YouTube.

Chaim Topol

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, Topol, 1971 — 'Fiddler on the Roof' star Chaim Topol. EVERETT COLLECTION

Chaim Topol, the veteran stage and screen actor who delighted audiences as Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof, died at 87. Israeli President Isaac Herzog announced his death on March 9. Born in Tel Aviv in 1935, Topol received international acclaim for his performance as Tevye — a pious, hard-working father raising seven daughters — in the 1971 film adaptation of the musical. His powerful performance earned Topol his second Golden Globe after he won for Most Promising Male Newcomer in 1964. Over the course of his career, Topol appeared, to his estimate, in more than 3,500 Fiddler on the Roof performances from the 1960s to 2009. He also starred in 1964's Sallah Shabati, 1975's Galileo, 1980's Flash Gordon, and the 1981 James Bond film For Your Eyes Only.

Bert I. Gordon

Bert I. Gordon — the sci-fi director, writer, producer, and visual effects artist behind some of cinema's greatest giant-monster films — died March 8 at the age of 100. He made his directorial debut with the 1955 film King Dinosaur, in which four scientists travel to a new planet only to discover that it's inhabited by larger-than-life creatures including an iguana, an armadillo, and a mastodon. Gordon's supersized adventures soared to new heights in the following years as he wrote and directed 1957's The Amazing Colossal Man, unleashed large locusts to terrorize Chicago in 1957's Beginning of the End, and set a small town up against a big arachnid in 1958's Earth vs. the Spider. His other credits include 1960's The Boy and the Pirates, 1972's Necromancy, and 1977's Empire of the Ants, starring Joan Collins and Robert Lansing.

Ian Falconer

Ian Falconer, the Caldecott-winning author and illustrator known for creating the Olivia series of children's books, died March 7 at 63. Originally conceived as a Christmas gift for his young niece, the Olivia books chronicle the adventures of a smart, imaginative piglet and feature a strikingly minimal aesthetic. The first book was published in 2007, and seven sequels followed. Falconer also created 30 magazine covers for The New Yorker and designed sets and costumes for theater and ballet companies across the globe. Born in Ridgefield, Conn., he studied at New York University, the Parsons School of Design, and the Otis College of Art and Design.

Gary Rossington

Gary Rossington, a guitarist and the last surviving original member of the rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, died March 5 at the age of 71. "Gary is now with his Skynyrd brothers and family in heaven and playing it pretty, like he always does," his bandmates said in a statement. Rossington founded My Backyard, the band that would eventually be renamed Lynyrd Skynyrd, with lead singer Ronnie Van Zant and drummer Bob Burns as teenagers growing up in Jackson, Fla. in 1964. Guitarists Allen Collins and Larry Junstrom were later added to the mix. The history of band is marked by the 1977 plane crash that killed multiple members of Lynyrd Skynyrd, including Van Zant. Rossington survived with severe injuries, but he rejoined the band a decade later when it was reformed by Van Zant's brother. Rossington continued with the band, though he also formed the Rossington Collins Band with Collins and the Rossington Band with wife Dale Krantz-Rossington.

Judy Heumann

Judy Heumann, "mother of the disability rights movement"and star of the Oscar-nominated documentary Crip Camp, died on Mar. 4. She was 75. Born in Brooklyn in 1947, Neumann developed polio at 18 months, causing her to use a wheelchair for the rest of her life. From the ages of nine to 18, Heumann attended Camp Jened, a summer camp for disabled teens in the Catskills of New York run by self-professed hippies. In 2020, Heumann was featured in the documentary Crip Camp, produced by Barack and Michelle Obama's Higher Ground Productions, following how campers at Jened were inspired and invigorated by their time there and went on the become activists in their own right. The film was nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 2021 Academy Awards.

Ted Donaldson

Ted Donaldson, the former child actor who starred as Cornelius "Neeley" Nolan in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and Bud Anderson in the original radio version of Father Knows Best, died March 1 at the age of 89. He made his big screen debut in the 1944 fantasy comedy Once Upon a Time opposite Cary Grant and Janet Blair, and also headlined all eight of the Adventures of Rusty children's films, centered on a German Shepherd dog named Rusty. Other credits included movies Mr. Winkle Goes to War, A Guy, a Gal and a Pal, Personality Kid, The Decision of Christopher Blake, and Phone Call from a Stranger, and shows Front Row Center, Matinee Theatre, and The Silent Service. Donaldson also starred in the Broadway productions of Life With Father and Sons and Soldiers. Later in life, Donaldson taught acting classes and worked at a bookstore in Hollywood.

Tom Sizemore

Tom Sizemore, an actor who made memorable turns in Saving Private Ryan, Black Hawk Down, and Heat, died March 3 at 61 after suffering a brain aneurysm. Sizemore worked with many of Hollywood's most esteemed directors, including Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Oliver Stone, and Michael Mann, and amassed more than 200 film and television credits, including True Romance, Natural Born Killers, Born on the Fourth of July, Strange Days, The Relic, Passenger 57, and Blue Steel. The embattled star struggled with drug abuse and faced numerous legal troubles, including a 2003 domestic violence conviction involving former fiancee Heidi Fleiss.

Steve Mackey

Steve Mackey, a record producer and bass guitarist for English rock band Pulp, died on March 2 following a three-month-long stay in the hospital. He was 56. Mackey joined Pulp a decade into the band's career in 1989 and is featured on some of its biggest hits including "Common People," "Do You Remember the First Time," and "Disco 2000." He was also a prolific producer who helped co-write Marianne Faithfull's "Sliding Through Life on Charm," Florence + The Machine's "Kiss With a Fist," and Arcade Fire's "Everything Now." Alongside Pulp bandmate Jarvis Cocker, Mackey also appeared as a member of fictional wizard rock group The Weird Sisters in the 2005 film Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Wayne Shorter

Wayne Shorter, a master jazz saxophonist and composer, died March 2 at the age of 89. Shorter began his musical career in the 1950s as a member of the prominent jazz group Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. He would later join Miles Davis' Second Great Quintet in the 1960s before going on to co-found the jazz fusion band Weather Report in the following decade. The 12-time Grammy award-winning musician released more than 20 albums over his lifetime and frequently collaborated with an array of artists including Joni Mitchell, Carlos Santana, and Steely Dan. In 2002, Norah Jones told EW that there was simply "no way to be as cool as Wayne Shorter," adding, "Who is that cool?"

Ricou Browning

Ricou Browning, the actor who donned the Gill-man suit in extensive underwater sequences in Creature From the Black Lagoon, died Feb. 27 at 93. Browning, who reportedly could hold his breath for up to four minutes, was widely considered the last surviving actor to have played one of the original Universal monsters. He reprised the role in two sequels to the original 1954 film. Browning also worked extensively in marine coordination for television and film, often directing underwater sequences, including scenes in Thunderball, Never Say Never, and Caddyshack. He was also the creative force behind Flipper, both the movie and the TV series, directing 37 episodes of the television show and co-writing the film.

Dorian Zev Kweller

Ben Kweller, Dorian Kweller — Ben Kweller; Dorian Zev Kweller. ROB LATOUR/SHUTTERSTOCK; BEN KWELLER/INSTAGRAM

Dorian Zev Kweller, son of singer-songwriter Ben Kweller, died Feb. 27 at the age of 16. A rising musician, the young Kweller followed in his famous father's footsteps as an aspiring artist who created music under the name Zev. He released the singles "SH3," "How I Am," "4th of July," "Parachute," "Nobody's Perfect," and "Hickeys," and was set to play his first gig at South by Southwest weeks before his untimely death. He is survived by his parents and younger brother, Judah.

Burny Mattinson

Burny Mattinson, Walt Disney Animation's longest-serving employee who worked as an animator, story artist, director, and producer across multiple films, died Feb. 27 at the age of 87. Mattinson was involved in many of the studio's classics, from 1977's The Rescuers all the way up to 2022's Strange World. Disney had been planning to award Mattinson a first-of-its-kind honor on June 4 for 70 years of service to the company. Mattinson had been named a Disney Legend in 2008. In 2018, he broke the record for longest-serving Disney employee, which was previously held by Disney artist and Imagineer John Hench, who worked for nearly 65 years.

Gordon Pinsent

Gordon Pinsent, the prolific Canadian actor who gained international recognition in Away From Her and voiced beloved children's book character Babar the Elephant, died Feb. 25 at the age of 92. With more than 150 film and TV credits, Pinsent's seven-decade-spanning career made him a household name in his native country. Notable credits include The Rowdyman, Due South, John and the Missus, A Gift to Last, The Red Green Show, Quentin Durgens, M.P, and American productions It Takes a Thief, Colossus: The Forbin Project, Banacek, and The Thomas Crown Affair. A three-time Genie Awards winner, Pinsent was also named a Companion of the Order of Canada and the recipient of the Governor General's Performing Arts Award and the Earle Grey Award. He voiced Babar in Babar: The Movie and on the animation series Babar and the Adventures of Badou. Beyond acting, Pinsent was a painter, writer, playwright, and director; he authored memoir By the Way and novels The Rowdyman and John and the Missus, which serve as the basis of the films in which he starred.

Jansen Panettiere

Jansen Panettiere, an actor who appeared on Disney Channel and Nickelodeon projects occasionally alongside his sister Hayden Panettiere, died on Feb. 19 from an enlarged heart. He was 28. After his first on-screen performance in an episode of Disney Channel's Even Stevens, Jansen went on to give voiceover performances in animated movies and TV shows including Blue's Clues, Ice Age: The Meltdown, and The X's. His final screen performances were in 2019, for the film How High 2 and an episode of The Walking Dead. Since then, he seemed to dedicate himself more to visual art like graffiti and shoe designs, as seen on his Instagram.

Richard Belzer

Richard Belzer, the comedian and actor best known for his role as John Munch on the Law & Order franchise, died Feb. 19 at the age of 78. Belzer began his career as a stand-up comic, but his most memorable role came as investigator John Munch in the NBC crime drama Homicide: Life on the Street, which aired between 1993 and 1997, before becoming a fixture on the long-running Law & Order franchise. Over the course of two decades, Belzer played the wisecracking investigator not just within the franchise but in several other shows that spanned different networks, including The X-Files, The Wire, Arrested Development, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and 30 Rock. His other credits included films Scarface, Missing Pieces, The Puppet Masters and shows Mad About You, Minding the Store, and American Dad. A self-proclaimed conspiracy theorist, Belzer also authored a series of books, including UFOs, JFK, and Elvis: Conspiracies You Don't Have to Be Crazy to Believe and Hit List: An In-Depth Investigation into the Mysterious Deaths of Witnesses to the JFK Assassination. Belzer survived testicular cancer in 1983, which he discussed in his stand-up special Another Lone Nut.

Barbara Bosson

Barbara Bosson, the Emmy-nominated actress best known for her role on Hill Street Blues, died Feb. 18. She was 83. Bosson's first major onscreen role was in Steve McQueen's 1968 crime film Bullitt, but she rose to critical acclaim while playing Fay Furillo on NBC's 1980s drama Hill Street Blues — which was created by her then-husband, Steven Bochco. She earned five Emmy nominations from her time on that series, as well as an additional nomination a decade later for her work playing Miriam Grasso on ABC's drama Murder One.

Kyle Jacobs

Kyle Jacobs, a songwriter and the husband of American Idol alum Kellie Pickler, died on Feb. 17 at the age of 49. A CMA Award and ACM Award winner, Jacobs penned and produced a collection of country staples throughout his musical career, including co-writing Garth Brooks' 2007 hit "More Than a Memory," which made history by becoming the first song ever to debut at the top of the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. Jacobs went on to write for numerous country legends including Tim McGraw, Kelly Clarkson, Scotty McCreery, and his wife. Two of his co-written songs — "Back Home" and "Already Gone" — were also featured in the pilot episode of the musical series Nashville.

Stella Stevens

Stella Stevens, the beloved 1960s actress and bombshell who dazzled on screen in The Nutty Professor and Too Late Blues, died Feb. 17 at the age of 84. Born Estelle Eggleston, Stevens began her film career as a chorus girl in the 1959 film Say One for Me, a role that won her the Most Promising Female Newcomer award at the 17th Annual Golden Globes in 1960. She went on to share the screen with other legends, including Elvis Presley in the 1962 musical Girls! Girls! Girls!, Jerry Lee Lewis in 1963's The Nutty Professor, and Dean Martin in 1966's The Silencers. Her 50-year career in entertainment also included credits in 1972's The Poseidon Adventure, 1975's Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold, 1980's Make Me an Offer, and 2005's Pop Star.

Chuck Jackson

Chuck Jackson, an R&B singer and one of the first artists to make hit records out of music written by Burt Bacharach, died on Feb. 16 — little more than a week after Bacharach himself. Jackson was 85; his cause of death has not been disclosed. Born in Winston-Salem, N.C. in 1937, he grew up singing gospel music in church and began his professional career as a member of doo-wop group the Del-Vikings. After leaving the group in 1959, Jackson began recording as a solo artist and had his biggest hit with the Bacharach-composed "Any Day Now," which became Jackson's signature song and scored him a deal with Motown Records. Jackson's longtime friend and fellow Bacharach collaborator Dionne Warwick had this to say after this death: "Another heartache has come my way. Chuck Jackson has made his transition. He was my label mate on Scepter Records and was like a big brother to me. I'll truly miss his daily calls checking on me and his wonderful voice. Rest in heavenly peace, my dear friend."

Thursday, August 29, 2024

🎯 Samantha Hanratty Surprises 'Yellowjackets' Cast with Pregnancy Announcement! 🎯

Tuesday, July 9, 2024

Shark Week 2024 hosted by John Cena: How to watch and what to know

When is Shark Week 2024?

Where can I watch Shark Week 2024?

What’s on Shark Week 2024?

Sunday, July 7

Monday, July 8

Tuesday, July 9

Wednesday, July 10

Thursday, July 11

Friday, July 12

Saturday, July 13

Sunday, May 5, 2024

Stars whom we lost in 2023: Part 10