Reel Reporting: Stars who left us in 2023: Part 7

Josephine Chaplin

Josephine Chaplin, the actress and daughter of screen legend Charlie Chaplin, died July 13 at 74. The third of Chaplin and Oona O'Neill's eight children, she began her career acting in her father's films, including an uncredited role in the 1952 dramedy Limelight and another small part in 1967's A Countess from Hong Kong. She went on to appear in such movies as Escape to the Sun, The Canterbury Tales, Cop au Vin, Jack the Ripper, and Shadowman.

Carlin Glynn

Carlin Glynn, who played Molly Ringwald's mom in Sixteen Candles, won a Tony as the star of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, and was the mother of fellow actress Mary Stuart Masterson, died July 13 at 83. Glynn's first screen role came in the 1975 political thriller Three Days of the Condor, starring Faye Dunaway and Robert Redford. She made her Broadway debut in The Best Little Whorehouse four years later. Glynn's other film and TV credits included Resurrection, Continental Divide, The Escape Artist, Mr. President, A Woman Named Jackie, and Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

Andrea Evans

Andrea Evans, the soap opera star best known for portraying troubled teenager Tina Lord on One Life to Live, died July 9 at 66. Born in Aurora, Ill., Evans earned two Daytime Emmy nominations over the course of her career, for OLTL and the web series DeVanity. She was a fixture on daytime television, with credits including The Young and the Restless, The Bold and the Beautiful, Passions, and The Bay. Not long before her death, she completed work on a memoir, My One Life to Live.

George Tickner

George Tickner, a co-founding member and the original rhythm guitarist of Journey, died July 5 at 76. Tickner founded the rock band alongside Neal Schon, Prairie Prince, Gregg Rolie, and Ross Valory in 1973, and went on to co-write and compose several songs featured on Journey's first three albums, including "Of a Lifetime" and "Mystery Mountain." He departed the group in order to pursue a Ph.D. at Stanford University on a full scholarship, but remained in close contact with the founding members and reunited with them when Journey received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2005.

Coco Lee

Coco Lee, the Hong Kong singer-songwriter who voiced Mulan in the Mandarin version of the Disney classic and was featured on the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Runaway Bride soundtracks, died by suicide July 5 at 48. Born in Hong Kong and raised in the U.S., Lee began her singing career in the 1990s and went on to release more than 15 studio albums over the next 30 years. The vocalist, who performed in English, Mandarin, and Cantonese, is best known for her hits "Di Da Di," "Before I Fall in Love," and "A Love Before Time," the latter of which appeared on the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon soundtrack and was nominated for Best Original Song at the 2001 Oscars.

Leandro De Niro Rodriguez

Leandro De Niro Rodriguez, grandson of actor Robert De Niro, died July 2 at the age of 19. De Niro Rodriguez was the son of Drena De Niro, Robert's adopted daughter by first wife Diahnne Abbott. He had appeared in a few films opposite his mother, most notably 2018's A Star Is Born. He was one of De Niro's four grandchildren.

Robert Lieberman

Robert Lieberman, the director whose credits included the films D3: The Mighty Ducks and Fire in the Sky, the TV series The X-Files and Dexter, and countless commercials, died of cancer July 1. He was 75. An alum of the University at Buffalo, Lieberman became the school's first student to graduate with a film degree. Over the course of his career he won more than two dozen Clio Awards, as well as the inaugural DGA Award for commercials. His other film and TV credits included Table for Five, All I Want for Christmas, Thirtysomething, The Dead Zone, The Expanse, and Criminal Minds.

Lawrence Turman

Lawrence Turman, the Oscar-nominated producer of The Graduate, died July 1 at the age of 96. Turman was a pioneering producer of the 1960s and '70s "New Hollywood," putting together The Graduate from scratch and recruiting Simon & Garfunkel to do the music, as well as director Mike Nichols. His other producing credits include The Great White Hope, Pretty Poison, American History X, The Drowning Pool, and John Carpenter's 1982 remake of The Thing. Turman also served as the chair of USC's Peter Stark Producing program from 1991 until his retirement in 2021.

Alan Arkin

Alan Arkin, the prolific Oscar-winning actor, director, producer, and author, died at 89. His storied career spans more than 65 years and includes standout performances in Catch-22, The In-Laws, Edward Scissorhands, Grosse Pointe Blank, Glengarry Glen Ross, The Pentagon Papers, Argo, The Kominsky Method, and his Academy Award–winning role in 2006's Little Miss Sunshine. As talented behind the camera as he was in front of it, Arkin produced and directed several films, including Little Murders and Fire Sale. He was also an accomplished author, penning The Lemming Condition, its follow-up The Clearing, and the memoirs An Improvised Life and Out of My Mind.

Sue Johanson

Sue Johanson, the beloved Canadian sex educator who shared unabashedly honest sex advice on programs like Sunday Night Sex Show and Talk Sex With Sue Johanson, died at 93. Johanson rose to popularity when she began hosting her radio program Sunday Night Sex Show, which saw her answer all manner of sex-related questions live on air. The program went on to become a successful television series and received its own U.S. spin-off, Talk Sex With Sue Johanson, in 2002. Johanson was also the author of three books and starred on several episodes of the television series Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi: The Next Generation.

Julian Sands

The remains of 65-year-old English actor Julian Sands were identified June 27, more than five months after he was reported missing following a hike in the Southern California mountain. Sands first earned attention as an actor opposite Anthony Hopkins in the 1983 miniseries A Married Man, NBC's adaptation of The Sun Also Rises, and The Killing Fields, before rising to prominence as the romantic lead of the 1985 drama A Room With a View. He went on to appear in such films and TV series as Leaving Las Vegas, Arachnophobia, Boxing Helena, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Ocean's Thirteen, Smallville, Dexter, and 24.

Nicolas Coster

Nicolas Coster, the soap opera star best known for playing Lionel Lockridge on NBC's Santa Barbara, died June 26 after complications of myelodysplastic syndromes following a long battle with cancer. He was 89. Coster made his big-screen debut in the 1950s with an uncredited role in Titanic. The prolific character actor had a career that spanned several decades, including roles in All the President's Men, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Charlie's Angels, and All My Children. Coster received three Daytime Emmy nominations during his tenure on Santa Barbara and later won in 2017 for his turn as Mayor Jack Madison on Prime Video's The Bay. In recent years, he appeared on The Young Pope, The Last Exorcist, and The Deep Ones, which he also co-produced. In 2021, Coster published a memoir, Another Whole Afternoon.

Frederic Forrest

Frederic Forrest, a veteran character actor who was known for playing an excitable chef in Apocalypse Now and also received an Oscar nomination for his work in the 1979 musical drama The Rose, died June 24 at 86. Born in Waxahachie, Texas, Forrest moved to New York to study acting, and found success in the theater before moving to Los Angeles to pursue a film career. His big-screen credits included The Conversation, Tucker: The Man and His Dream, Valley Girl, The Two Jakes, Falling Down, Chasers, Lassie, and Point Blank, while his TV credits included Lonesome Dove, Quo Vadis, and 21 Jump Street.

Betta St. John

Betta St. John, the actress known for playing Lita in the original Broadway production of South Pacific and for starring alongside Cary Grant in Dream Wife, died June 23 at 93. Born Betty Jean Striegler in Hawthorne, Calif., she also appeared in a few Tarzan films — first Tarzan and the Lost Safari and later returning for Tarzan the Magnificent. Her other film credits included Corridors of Blood, The City of the Dead, High Tide at Noon, and The Naked Dawn. On the TV side, St. John appeared on International Detective, The Four Just Men, Armchair Theatre, and The Invisible Man, among others.

Malcolm Mowbray

Malcolm Mowbray, the British filmmaker behind A Private Function and Out Cold, died June 23, at 74. The director and screenwriter was best known in his native U.K. His biggest hit was 1984's A Private Function, starring Maggie Smith, Michael Palin, Denholm Elliott, and Richard Griffiths. The film won six BAFTAs, including Best Original Screenplay and Best Film. His other titles included The Revengers' Comedies, Meeting Spencer, and The Boyfriend School. Since 2016, he served as the head of directing at Northing Film School Leeds.

Sheldon Harnick

Sheldon Harnick, Fiddler on the Roof lyricist, died June 23 at the age of 99. The Chicago-born Harnick moved to New York in 1950 and teamed with composer Jerry Brock, with whom he wrote 1959's Fiorello!, 1960's Tenderloin, 1963's She Loves Me, 1966's The Apple Tree, and 1970's The Rothschilds. But the two collaborators will be best remembered for 1964's Fiddler on the Roof, a tale of Jewish life in a Russian village, which premiered on Broadway in 1964 and was turned into the 1971 film of the same name with Chaim Topol playing the role of the milkman Tevye.

Teresa Taylor

Teresa Taylor, former Butthole Surfers drummer and Madonna merch peddler in Richard Linklater's 1990 film Slacker, died at the age of 60 after a battle with lung disease. Taylor was one of two active drummers for the Butthole Surfers from 1983 until 1989, performing alongside fellow drummer King Coffey on a host of the band's records, including 1984's Psychic... Powerless... Another Man's Sac, 1986's Rembrandt Pussyhorse, and 1987's Locust Abortion Technician. Taylor is also known for her role as a woman attempting to sell Madonna's pap smear in the film Slacker, and was often featured on the film's posters and its physical release artwork.

Milton 'Big Pokey' Powell

HOUSTON, TEXAS - FEBRUARY 08: Big Pokey sand Paul Wall at the Lil KeKe Legends Only Listening Party Dinner at Five Central Houston on February 08, 2022 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) — Milton "Big Pokey" Powell. BOB LEVEY/GETTY

Milton Powell, known as rapper Big Pokey, died June 18 at the age of 45. Powell collapsed on stage during a Juneteenth performance in Texas before being taken to the hospital, where he later died. Part of the Screwed Up Click rap collective, Powell was an influential figure in the Houston rap scene. His first full-length album Hardest Pit in the Litter was released in 1999, which he followed up the next year with D-Game 2000. His other albums included Da Sky's Da Limit, Evacuation Notice, and Sensei. He also collaborated with the Wreckshop Wolfpack on 2001's Tha Collabo.

Paxton Whitehead

Paxton Whitehead, the veteran British stage actor, died June 16 at the age of 85. Whitehead made his Broadway debut in 1962's The Affair and appeared in 16 different Broadway productions, including a 1980 revival of Camelot for which he earned a Tony nomination for his work as Pellinore. Whitehead also had a memorable turn as the uptight school dean in 1986's Back to School, which marked his feature film debut. He was best known to audiences for his long string of guest appearances on television, most notably recurring on Mad About You and Friends.

Jim Tweto

Jim Tweto, a pilot featured on Discovery Channel's Flying Wild Alaska, died June 16 at the age of 68. Tweto died as a result of a plane crash while flying his Cessna 180, which appeared to have trouble immediately after take-off. He was flying the plane and accompanied by hunting and fishing guide Shane Reynolds. Tweto featured alongside his family on Flying Wild Alaska, which ran from 2011 to 2012. At that time, Tweto was operating their Era Alaska airline.

Glenda Jackson

Glenda Jackson, the Oscar-winning actress and former British politician, died June 15 after a short illness. She was 87. After making a name for herself on the British stage in the '60s, Jackson moved into movies and earned two Academy Awards for Best Actress in quick succession: The first was for 1970's Women in Love, and the second came a few years later for 1973's A Touch of Class. She also earned two Emmys for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth I in Elizabeth R. In the early '90s, Jackson left acting to pursue politics. She was elected a member of Parliament in 1992, served as a transport minister in Tony Blair's first government, and held her seat until 2015. She then returned to the theater, winning a Tony Award for her role in a Broadway revival of Edward Albee's Three Tall Women and playing the traditionally male lead of King Lear in a 2019 production.

Brett Hadley

Brett Hadley, a longtime member of The Young and The Restless cast, died June 14 at the age of 92. Hadley spent 10 years on the daytime soap portraying Genoa City police detective Carl Williams, father of Doug Davidson's Paul Williams. After his stint from 1980 to 1990, Hadley left the show, with Williams mysteriously disappearing. He returned in 1998 as Jim Bradley, supposedly Carl returning with a serious case of amnesia. Hadley worked steadily as a guest actor on television in the 1970s and '80s, including on shows such as Room 222, Marcus Welby, M.D., The Waltons, Ironside, Kojak, The Rockford Files, The F.B.I., and Police Story.

Cormac McCarthy

Cormac McCarthy, the celebrated author whose distinctive writing style blended sparse punctuation with eloquent meditations on the darkness of the human spirit, died of natural causes June 13, at 89. His work found both mainstream and critical success. All the Pretty Horses, which won the National Book Award, and The Road, which won the Pulitzer Prize, were both best-sellers, and No Country for Old Men was adapted into an Oscar-winning film by Joel and Ethan Coen. McCarthy published his final two novels in October and December 2022: The Passenger and Stella Maris.

Larry Myers Jr.

Larry Myers Jr., who appeared on season 10 of the TLC reality series My 600-lb. Life and acquired the nickname "Mr. Buttermilk Biscuits" after a video of him singing about one of his favorite foods went viral, died June 13 at 49. An aspiring gospel singer, Myers appeared on My 600-lb. Life in a January 2022 episode titled "Larry's Journey," in which he described his binge-eating habits. He weighed 940 pounds when he was on the show, years after his attempt to lose weight through bariatric surgery.

Treat Williams

Everwood star Treat Williams died June 12 in Vermont after a motorcycle accident. He was 71. The actor made his film debut in the 1975 thriller Deadly Hero before rising to fame in the 1979 film adaptation of Hair, based on the Broadway musical. The role earned him his first Golden Globe nomination, and he was later nominated again for his role in Prince of the City. He also made appearances in 1941, Heart of Dixie, Blue Bloods, Chicago Fire, and Chesapeake Shores. "He was an actor's actor,” Williams’ longtime agent Barry McPherson said. “Filmmakers loved him. He's been the heart of the Hollywood since the late 1970s. He was really proud of his performance this year. He's been so happy with the work that I got him. He's had a balanced career."

John Romita Sr.

John Romita Sr., the influential comic artist who shaped Marvel's art style for generations, died June 12 of natural causes. He was 93. Romita had the unenviable task of succeeding Spider-Man co-creator Steve Ditko as the artist on Amazing Spider-Man, but his gorgeous art (shaped by the many romance comics he drew in the '50s) propelled Peter Parker to his lasting status as Marvel's most iconic superhero. Romita then became Marvel's art director for decades, a position that allowed him to help design subsequent Marvel creations like Wolverine and the Punisher while mentoring younger artists. His son, John Romita Jr., is a celebrated comic artist in his own right and currently works on Amazing Spider-Man.

Pat Robertson

Pat Robertson, the controversial religious television personality and former 700 Club host who influenced a generation of conservative politics, died June 8 at age 93. He is best known as the face of CBN's The 700 Club talk show, which allowed him to build an audience around the nation and welcome guests like Jimmy Carter and Donald Trump. Though he was popular with his religious base, Robertson, who also co-founded the Christian Coalition, drew heavy criticism during his life for his radical views, including fierce condemnations of abortion, feminism, and homosexuality.

The Iron Sheik

Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri, the Iranian-born pro wrestler better known as the Iron Sheik, died June 7 at age 81. Initially dubbed "the Great Hossein Arab," Vaziri made his World Wrestling Federation debut by winning the first-ever Battle Royal at New York's Madison Square Garden in 1979. Vaziri spent a few years wrestling in regional companies and officially changed his stage name to the Iron Sheik before returning to the WWF in 1983. He also partnered with Nikolai Volkoff and the pair became tag-team wrestlers in the late '80s. They continued to make sporadic appearances in the WWF and its successor the WWE for decades. Vaziri was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005.

Pat Cooper

Pat Cooper, the veteran stand-up comedian whose decades-long career included appearances on Seinfeld and the Howard Stern Show, died June 6 at age 93. Cooper, whose onstage persona earned him the nickname "Comedian of Outrage," was a frequent guest host on the Mike Douglas Show, made regular appearances on the Howard Stern Show, and later appeared in films and TV shows, including Seinfeld, 1999 crime comedy Analyze This, and 2005 comedy documentary The Aristocrats, among other titles. He also released well-regarded comedy albums Our Hero and Spaghetti Sauce & Other Delights.

Kerri-Anne Donaldson

Kerri-Anne Donaldson, a former contestant on Britain's Got Talent, died at the age of 38. She performed on the talent show as part of the dance group Kings and Queens, which reached the season 8 semi-finals in 2014. Donaldson also worked as a choreographer on The Masked Dancer UK.

Reel Reporting

Saturday, March 18, 2023

Stars who left us in 2023: Part 7