News

Toian Matchinga, who guest-starred three times on the 1960s CBS series The Wild Wild West and appeared on such other shows as Death Valley Days, I Dream of Jeannie and The Odd Couple, has died. She was 82.

Matchinga, who later in her acting career went by her birth name, Caryn Matchinga, died Sunday of natural causes at home in Belmont, Massachusetts, her family announced.

In films, Matchinga appeared for Don Siegel in Madigan (1968), for Irvin Kershner in Up the Sandbox (1972) and NBC’s Raid on Entebbe (1977) and, in her final onscreen role, for Costa-Gavras in Mad City (1997).

The Ohio native booked gigs on The Wild Wild West, which starred Robert Conrad and Ross Martin, in 1965, 1967 and 1969. Her résumé also includes episodes of The Wackiest Ship in the Army, The Rat Patrol, The Flying Nun, The Big Valley, Rango, Ellery Queen and Rich Man, Poor Man.

Caryn Lee Matchinga was born in Painesville,...

Will Smith became an A-lister in the ‘90s when he continuously gave hits such as Bad Boys, Independence Day, and Men in Black. The latter was a huge commercial success, and Smith was established as a bankable Hollywood superstar, despite all three films having a co-lead actor.

Smith then made the Wester-sci-fi comedy Wild Wild West with his Men in Black director Barry Sonnenfeld. Though it has a cult following now, the film was a box-office disaster upon release. It was one of the most expensive films ever made. Sonnenfeld reflected in his book why it did not work, and the reason was reportedly Kevin Kline.

Men in Black’s Barry Sonnenfeld Blamed Kevin Kline’s Vanity For Wild Wild West’s Failure A still from Men in Black | Credits: Sony Pictures

After the grand success of Men in Black, which reportedly earned over $589 million at the box office against a $90 million budget,...

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

Outside of established IP, there are few sure things in Hollywood filmmaking. There was a time when John Wayne astride a horse was a license to print money, ditto Clint Eastwood (who also packed 'em in whilst brandishing a shield and a hand cannon). And there was that remarkable decade-long run where Rob Reiner standing behind the camera meant guaranteed critical, if not full-on commercial success.

Hot streaks don't just happen like this, so when it looks like a shooter is heating up, studios line up to place the heaviest of bets on their next roll. Such was the case with the team of star Will Smith and director Barry Sonnenfeld after the blockbuster breakthrough of 1997's "Men in Black." This was Smith's first smash outside of an ensemble (one he almost turned down), and Sonnenfeld's fourth box office hit after "The Addams Family,...

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

It's hard to overstate just how popular Will Smith was in 1999. He's still one of the biggest movie stars in the world, but in 1999, he was everywhere. Fresh off his hit sitcom "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" and the wildly successful film "Men in Black," Smith was one of the hottest stars around. Oh, and his debut solo album, "Big Willie Style," was a multiplatinum hit. So imagine everyone's excitement when he reteamed with "Men in Black" director Barry Sonnenfeld for a movie reboot of the 1960's TV western "The Wild Wild West," co-starring Kevin Kline, Kenneth Branagh, and Salma Hayek. 

The hype was real, but unfortunately, "Wild Wild West" was a critical and box office disaster. It was a major hiccup in Smith's career, and he later admitted that he believes it's the worst movie in his entire filmography.

Robert Logan, who succeeded Edd “Kookie” Byrnes as the valet parking attendant on the famed ABC detective show 77 Sunset Strip and starred as the dad in a series of return-to-nature adventure movies, has died. He was 82.

Logan died May 6 of natural causes in Estero, Florida, his son, Anthony Logan, told The Hollywood Reporter. His family chose to wait until this week to announce his death.

After Gerald Lloyd Kookson III was promoted from parking attendant at Dino’s Lodge — a nightclub owned by Dean Martin — to partner and private investigator at the detective agency next door, the Brooklyn-born Logan joined Warner Bros. Television’s 77 Sunset Strip to play his replacement, another hipster named J.R. Hale.

On the swanky series that starred Efrem Zimbalist Jr. and Roger Smith as the crime solvers Stu Bailey and Jeff Spencer, respectively, Logan portrayed Hale on 50 episodes of the show’s final two seasons,...

“We had a 13-year run of a robust market and are experiencing a necessary cycle change,” says Rayni Williams of The Beverly Hills Estates, reflecting on the 36 percent drop in luxury home sales that hit L.A. in the second quarter. Meanwhile, the median price of a home in Los Angeles hovered at $963,000, down 1 percent from the previous year. The decline can be attributed to a combination of high interest rates, the dual strikes that hit Hollywood and the new Ula mansion tax, in which home sellers in the city of Los Angeles must pay at least a 4 percent transfer on any sales above $5 million. “Sellers are hesitant to sell given these barriers,” says Akg’s Aaron Kirman.

Despite the challenges, L.A.’s agents (chosen based on total sales volume, Hollywood clients and media visibility) continued to smash records, led by the most expensive sale in California history — Beyoncé and...

"Batman: The Animated Series" may be a wholly original take on the Dark Knight but it's also indebted to numerous inspirations. Show co-creators Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski, along with writer Paul Dini, were keen to draw on not just the best of Batman's history, but cultural history in general. The goal was to produce a show that, as Dini told Syfy, depicted "a dark world, a world where crime really exists on every level." That approach would often cause them to run afoul of the Fox censors, who weren't enthusiastic about the show's mature tone. After all, this was a Fox Kids cartoon.

Thankfully, the team behind "Batman: Tas" were adept at navigating their way through the treacherous waters of Standards and Practices, maintaining their mature vision despite frequent pushback. And that extended beyond the usual stuff that gets censors riled up, such as violence or edgy language. The...

Emmy award winning show runner Mitch Watson discusses some of the movies he saw when he was a kid that ruined him for life.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

A History Of Violence (2005)

On The Border (1998)

Hollywood Boulevard (1976) – Jon Davison’s trailer commentary

Gremlins (1984) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review, Tfh’s Mogwai Madness celebration

E.T. The Extraterrestrial (1982)

Santa Claus Conquers The Martians (1964)

Harold and Maude (1971) – Dan Ireland’s trailer commentary

Witchfinder General (1968) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Charlie Largent’s review

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994)

Shampoo (1975) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review

Swashbuckler (1976)

Jaws (1975) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Tfh’s Shark Attack At Hero Complex Gallery

The Neverending Story (1984)

Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) – Adam Rifkin’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairing

Videodrome (1983) – Mick Garris’s trailer commentary

Don’t Look Up (2021)

Starship Troopers (1997)

They Live (1988)

Magic (1978)

Dead Of Night...

Sally Kellerman, who was Oscar nominated for her supporting role as Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan in Robert Altman’s “Mash” feature film, died Thursday in Woodland Hills, Calif. She was 84.

Her publicist Alan Eichler confirmed her death, and her daughter Claire added that she had been suffering from dementia for the past five years.

Among her other roles were a cameo in Altman’s “The Player,” a professor in Rodney Dangerfield’s “Back to School” and a Starfleet officer in the “Star Trek” episode “Where No Man Has Gone Before.”

The willowy blonde actress with the characteristically throaty voice appeared in two Altman films in 1970; the other was the more experimental “Brewster McCloud,” in which she starred with Bud Cort and Michael Murphy. In this film, which did not have a conventional narrative, Kellerman played Louise, the mother of Cort’s bewinged character, Brewster.

She next starred opposite Alan Arkin...

SAG-AFTRA’s unclaimed residuals fund has grown to roughly $76 million – up 60% from $48 million six years ago. According to the union, the fund now contains 124,000 separate accounts for members and others, living and dead, that it can’t locate. That’s up from 96,000 accounts in 2016.

“The funds may be unclaimed for a variety of reasons including a bad address or as a result of mail returned for other reasons; unresolved estate issues, or the funds may be in trust for an inactive or dissolved loan out corporation,” a spokesperson for the union said. “Most often, residuals may be waiting for a recipient or their agent to formalize a change of address or submit the appropriate paperwork to claim the funds. The union uses a number of tools to locate and get money to those individuals due unclaimed residuals including mail, email and telephone outreach to last known address and telephone number,...

Exclusive: Judy Greer has been tapped for a key role opposite Woody Harrelson and Justin Theroux in The White House Plumbers, HBO’s five-part limited series that revisits one of the biggest political scandals in American history, Watergate.

The series, now in production, hails from Veep executive producers Alex Gregory, Peter Huyck, David Mandel and Frank Rich. Created and written by Gregory and Huyck and directed by Mandel, White House Plumbers is based part on public records and the book Integrity by Egil “Bud” Krogh and Matthew Krogh. It tells the true story of how Nixon’s own political saboteurs and Watergate masterminds, E. Howard Hunt (Harrelson) and G. Gordon Liddy (Theroux), accidentally toppled the presidency they zealously were trying to protect.

Greer will play Fran Liddy, G. Gordon Liddy’s unflappable wife who has a misplaced faith in her husband’s intelligence and abilities.

Lena Headey plays Hunt’s wife,...

Even though Sunday’s SAG Awards ceremony will be shortened to just one pre-taped hour on TNT and TBS, the special In Memoriam segment will still be a highlight. Since the 2020 event aired on January 19, it will be over 14 months until the one on April 4. That means even more actors, actresses and members of SAG/AFTRA will hopefully be honored than the 40 people in the tribute last year.

Chadwick Boseman died last August and is a four-time nominee for the Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday. The two individual nominations are for his leading role in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and his supporting performance in “Da 5 Bloods.” Those two films also are nominated for the top ensemble category.

Oscar winners who have died in the past 14 months include Sean Connery, Olivia de Havilland, Cloris Leachman and Christopher Plummer. Academy Award nominees include Boseman, Kirk Douglas, Hal Holbrook, Ian Holm,...

G. Gordon Liddy, the colorful chief operative in the Watergate scandal who went to prison for his crimes and later cut a wide swatch across pop culture as a talk show host and actor, has died. He was 90.

His son, Thomas P. Liddy, confirmed his death to the Washington Post, but did not provide a cause.

Liddy held many roles during his lifetime, including as a lawyer, FBI agent, talk show host and actor. However, he is best known as the chief operative in the Nixon administration’s White House Plumbers unit, which organized and carried out a burglary of the DNC headquarters in the Watergate building. The scandal rocked American politics and led to Nixon’s resignation from the presidency in 1974. Liddy was ultimately convicted of conspiracy, burglary, illegal wiretapping and refused to testify during the Senate committee hearing on the scandal. As a result, Liddy served over four years in prison.

Looking back over the beloved stars we lost in the past year is always emotional, and this year has been especially devastating, given how many members of the entertainment community died due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The pandemic hit the music community especially hard, but television and film performers, as well as stage actors and below-the-line workers were also affected. Singer-songwriter John Prine, record producer Hal Willner and “Nashville” actor Allen Garfield all died of coronavirus on April 7. Broadway actor Nick Cordero died on July 5 after a four-month battle with the disease.

Adam Schlesinger, a composer and co-founder of Fountains of Wayne, died on April 1 at 52. Charley Pride, remembered as country music’s first Black superstar, died on Dec. 12 of coronavirus complications.

Movie greats

Chadwick Boseman‘s death due to colon cancer rocked the entertainment industry on Aug. 28. The “Black Panther” star was just 43, and his death came as a...

Chicago – On November 18th, 2020, the streaming service HBO Max premiered “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Reunion.” 30 years after the popular sitcom debuted, the primary cast got together to talk about the joys and foibles of developing family ties while creating and performing their characters in the show. Among the reunited cast was Will Smith (Will), Alfonso Riberiro (Carlton), Tatyana Ali (Ashley), Karyn Parsons (Hilary), Jazz (DJ Jazzy Jeff) along with the actress who portrayed Aunt Vivian, Daphne Maxwell Reid.

Reid was the second Aunt Vivian cast on the show. Janet Hubert was the first, and left the show under tremendous stress and personal issues, which was highlighted rather poignantly on the reunion show, when her and Will Smith met to work out those issues that led to the recasting. Regardless, Daphne Maxwell Reid steered the character to the end of the show in 1996, and did one more episode (75) as Aunt Vivian than Hubert.

Many TV legends and contributors were included for the “In Memoriam” segment on Sunday’s Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony for ABC. But producers are always forced to omit some of the 100+ insiders who died since the last ceremony. Who was left out of the group that was honored?

With dozens of television veterans having died since last year’s mid-September ceremony, people certainly included were these six TV Academy Hall of Fame members:

Diahann Carroll

Leonard Goldberg (executive at 20th Century Fox and ABC; producer of “Charlie’s Angels” and more)

Jim Lehrer (anchor/reporter of “MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour)

Regis Philbin

Carl Reiner

Fred Silverman

SEECelebrity Deaths 2020: In Memoriam Gallery

Even though he wasn’t known for his TV work, blockbuster film actor Chadwick Boseman was featured in the final slot. NBA Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant was not mentioned, even though the event was being held in the Staples Center.

For Sunday’s Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony on ABC, producers will have the always difficult task of assembling a memoriam segment. Even though the event hosted by Jimmy Kimmel will be virtual, it’s a certainty they will include the popular “In Memoriam” on the show.

With over 100 television veterans having died since last year’s mid-September ceremony, those expected to be honored would include such TV legends and TV Academy Hall of Fame members:

Diahann Carroll

Leonard Goldberg (executive at 20th Century Fox and ABC; producer of “Charlie’s Angels” and more)

Jim Lehrer (anchor/reporter of “MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour)

Regis Philbin

Carl Reiner

Fred Silverman

SEECelebrity Deaths 2020: In Memoriam Gallery

Even though they weren’t known for their TV work, it’s very likely NBA Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant and blockbuster film actor Chadwick Boseman will be honored. Also among the dozens most likely included since they...

When The Karate Kid premiered in 1984, new students rushed to enroll in Karate Dojos across the nation. However, for anyone aspiring to learn the true ways of Miyagi-Do—or Cobra Kai as the case may be—Dojos weren’t propounding deck sanding and fence painting as part of their curriculum. There are many different styles of Karate. Fans wondered which style Daniel and Johnny were really doing. Now that Netflix has picked up Cobra Kai from YouTube Red, a whole new crop of fans has discovered the show and the question has come up again: What type of Karate do they practice at Miyagi-Do and Cobra Kai? The truth is it might not even be Karate.

In any movie or series, the filmmakers and showrunners aren’t beholden to a specific style. They are telling a story, not making a documentary. With most productions, a hodge-podge of movie-fu makes...

Longtime TV and film editor Susan Kesler died Thursday, March 19, following a brief battle with ovarian peritoneal cancer. She was 60.

Kesler started out in the business as an apprentice editor on “The Love Boat” and “Dynasty,” two of the most popular TV shows in the late 1980s. Her career blossomed to include working as an assistant editor on such TV series as “The X-Files,” “Crossing Jordan,” “Heroes,” “Alphas,” “Falling Skies,” “Dominion,” “Defiance” and “Zoo,” as well as the feature films “Tremors” and “ ‘night, Mother.” Most recently, she served as assistant editor for the current NBC series “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist.”

Emmy-winning editor Jon Koslowsky, Ace, who frequently worked with Kesler, said, “Sue was always there if you needed a friend.”

Kesler was an avid classic TV buff who, at various times, owned a 1965 Sunbeam Tiger, a replica of the one featured in “Get Smart” (1965-1970), and a “Rockford Files” (1974-1980) Pontiac Firebird replica.

Throughout 2020, Gold Derby continues to update our photo gallery above with major celebrity deaths from film, television, theater and music. Tour through our pictures so far with the following 11 people currently featured:

Max von Sydow died on March 8 at age 90. The Swedish actor often worked with Ingmar Bergman, including in “The Seventh Seal,” “The Passion of Anna” and “Shame.” He received Oscar nominations for “Pelle the Conqueror” and “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” plus Emmy bids for “Red King, White Knight” and “Game of Thrones.”

SEEIngmar Bergman movies: 25 greatest films ranked worst to best

James Lipton, longtime host of “Inside the Actors Studio,” is dead at the age of 93 on March 2. He received 20 Emmy nominations for that Bravo program and won the award in 2013. He was also nominated in 1988 for an original song on a Bob Hope comedy special.

Actor Robert Conrad died on February 8 at age 84. He was the...

“YouTube at 15” is our package of stories to celebrate the streaming site’s anniversary. It’s hard to imagine, but there really was a time before makeup tutorials, conspiracy explainers, on-demand music videos — really, viral videos at large. Since it’s become such a ubiquitous part of culture, we set out to look at how it’s changed our world. To kick things off, contributing editor Rob Sheffield investigated its surprising origins.

Everybody knows the story of Nipplegate. Janet Jackson. Justin Timberlake. The 2004 Super Bowl halftime show. A wardrobe malfunction.

Updated with Academy statement: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has responded to complaints about the exclusion of some entertainment figures from its annual In Memoriam segment on Sunday’s Oscar telecast.

“The Academy receives hundreds of requests to include loved ones and industry colleagues in the Oscars In Memoriam segment,” the organization said in a statement obtained by Deadline. “An executive committee representing every branch considers the list and makes selections for the telecast based on limited available time. All of the submissions are included on Oscar.com and will remain on the site throughout the year.”

Previously: Kobe Bryant led off the Oscar telecast’s In Memoriam segment and Kirk Douglas was the last film personality it honored.

The annual portion late in the show, introduced this time by Steven Spielberg and accompanied by a rendition of “Yesterday” by Grammy winner Billie Eilish, appeared to avoid major controversy.

The 2020 Oscars In Memoriam segment memorialized late Hollywood icons such as Kobe Bryant, who died in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26, and Kirk Douglas, who died last week at age 103. But the Academy left off a few notable names, including Luke Perry, Cameron Boyce and Sid Haig.

Orson Bean, the 91-year-old “Being John Malkovich” actor who died in a car accident Friday, was also omitted. That’s likely because the Academy didn’t have time to modify the segment before Sunday’s telecast. Likewise, Robert Conrad, who appeared in films including “Palm Springs Weekend” and “Jingle All the Way,” died on Saturday at 84.

The organization behind the Oscars has faced blowback before for failing to include major filmmakers in the In Memoriam reel. But viewers were particularly surprised by Perry’s exclusion, since his final on-screen appearance was in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” one of this year’s best picture nominees.

(Robert Conrad (R) with Ross Martin in "The Wild, Wild West".

By Lee Pfeiffer

Actor Robert Conrad has died at age 84. Conrad's got his first big break with a key role in the 1950s hit TV series "Hawaiian Eye". But it was in the 1960s that he soared to fame in "The Wild, Wild West", one of the more enduring TV series inspired by the James Bond phenomenon. Set in the late 1800s, Conrad and co-star Ross Martin played government agents James West and Artemus Gordon, who employed Victorian-age super gadgets to thwart nefarious megalomaniacs. The show's tongue-in-cheek approach to plots relied heavily on the comedic byplay between Conrad and Martin. The series lasted four seasons and the actors returned in TV movies based on the show many years later. In 1999, the series inspired the poorly-received big screen adaptation starring Will Smith and Kevin Kline. Conrad excelled at stunt work...

Tony Sokol Feb 8, 2020

Robert Conrad took stunt gigs with lines to pick up two checks, and was a singer who hit billboard.

Robert Conrad, best known for his roles in the television series Hawaiian Eye, The Wild Wild West and Baa Baa Black Sheep, died of heart failure in Malibu, Calif., on Feb. 8, according to Variety. He was 84.

“He lived a wonderfully long life and while the family is saddened by his passing, he will live forever in their hearts,” family spokesperson Jeff Ballard said in a statement. The family will hold a small private service on March 1, which would have been Conrad's 85th birthday.

Conrad Robert Falk was born on March 1, 1935, in Chicago, Al Capone's old stomping grounds. According to a 2008 interview with Tony Medley, One on One with Robert Conrad, Conrad said his "best friend. Best." was Michael Spilotro, the character Joe Pesci played in Martin Scorsese's gangster film Casino.

Veteran TV actor Robert Conrad has died, at age 84.

“He lived a wonderfully long life and while the family is saddened by his passing, he will live forever in their hearts,” family spokesman Jeff Ballard said in a statement to People.com. No other details were immediately available.

More from TVLineCynthia Erivo Performs Harriet Anthem 'Stand Up' at 2020 Oscars -- WatchHomeland Premiere Recap: Carrie's Back... But Is She 'Compromised'?Power Series Finale: Ep Courtney Kemp Reveals the 'Amazing' Episode Ending 'No One Will Ever See'

Conrad’s long TV career began with one-shots on series such as Bat Masterson,...

Actor Robert Conrad, the star of television series including “Hawaiian Eye,” “The Wild Wild West” and “Baa Baa Black Sheep” during an almost five-decade career that also included the occasional feature film, has died in Malibu, Calif. He was 84.

Conrad toplined at least one series in the 1950s, ’60s, ’70s, ’80s and ’90s, a rare feat of longevity for a TV star.

He made his debut playing a pilot in the 1958 film “Thundering Jets” and would go on to make credited appearances in some 15 features, making the biggest impression in 1975 heist pic “Murph the Surf” and playing John Dillinger in 1979’s “The Lady in Red.” But Conrad was a far bigger presence in television.

In 1959 Conrad signed a contract with Warner Bros., and the studio cast the young actor, with Anthony Eisley, in the Honolulu-set detective show “Hawaiian Eye,” which ran from 1959-63. Conrad played the half-Hawaiian P.I. Tom...

Robert Conrad, who was the star of the 1960s TV series “Wild Wild West,” has died at the age of 84.

“He lived a wonderfully long life and while the family is saddened by his passing, he will live forever in their hearts,” family spokesman Jeff Ballard told People. He died from heart failure in Malibu, California.

Conrad was born in Chicago, Illinois, and worked as a milkman while pursuing a career as a lounge singer. He moved to Los Angeles in 1958 and began acting, signing to Warner Brothers Pictures and starring in the hit TV series “Hawaii Eye” in 1959.

Also Read: Kirk Douglas, 'Spartacus' Star and Legend of Hollywood's Golden Age, Dies at 103

He would go on to star in numerous TV shows and made-for-tv movies throughout the ’60s, ’70s and well into the late 1990s, including the “Mission: Impossible” TV series.

Conrad later starred in the World...

Robert Conrad, the actor best known for his role in the television show The Wild Wild West, died today in Malibu, Calif. of heart failure. He was 84 and his death was announced by a family spokesman.

Born in Chicago, Illinois on March 1, 1935, Conrad moved to Los Angeles in 1958 and found almost instant success, booking a recurring role on the TV show Hawaiian Eye in 1959.

After Hawaiian Eye, he scored his signature role, that of Secret Service agent James West in The Wild Wild West. The show ran from 1965 to 1969, but became an even bigger hit in syndication. The premise followed West and sidekick Artemus Gordon as the country’s first Secret Service agents, taking on the super villains of the era during the Ulysses S. Grant administration.

After Wild West West, Conrad moved on to other television shows, including The D.A., Assignment: Vienna, Centennial and Baa Baa Black Sheep...

Robert Conrad, the athletic, two-fisted actor who starred as Secret Service agent James West and did his own spectacular stunts on the 1960s futuristic CBS Western The Wild Wild West, has died. He was 84.

Conrad died Saturday of heart failure in Malibu, family spokesman Jeff Ballard told the Associated Press. "He lived a wonderfully long life, and while the family is saddened by his passing, he will live forever in their hearts," he said.

Conrad, among the actors employed by Warner Bros. Television to appear on the studio's stable of shows starting in the 1950s, first gained ...

Robert Conrad, the athletic, two-fisted actor who starred as Secret Service agent James West and did his own spectacular stunts on the 1960s futuristic CBS Western The Wild Wild West, has died. He was 84.

Conrad died Saturday of heart failure in Malibu, family spokesman Jeff Ballard told the Associated Press. "He lived a wonderfully long life, and while the family is saddened by his passing, he will live forever in their hearts," he said.

Conrad, among the actors employed by Warner Bros. Television to appear on the studio's stable of shows starting in the 1950s, first gained ...

King of the second-unit cinematographers, Rexford Metz is second to none when it comes to getting shots on the ground, in water or high in the sky.

He operated the camera during the famed 10-minute chase sequence in “Bullitt” on the streets of San Francisco in 1968, and it was his coverage of muscle cars — and stuntman Bud Ekins’ motorcycle slide — that viewers could feel on the seat of their pants.

Metz was born in Los Angeles in 1937 to Glen and Mildred Metz. His dad built race car engines, and Metz graduated from Fairfax High School in 1955 with knowledge of two things: fast cars and using his 4×5 Graflex camera to photograph them.

On “Bullitt,” Ekins, who raced motorcycles with Metz, introduced his friend to star Steve McQueen, who got him hired on the film as a background actor. But after Metz shared his passion for cameras with Dp Bill Fraker, the cinematographer helped him change jobs.

Denise DuBarry, an actress and producer who was president of Palm Springs Women in Film and Television, died Saturday at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles after battling a deadly fungus, her husband told the Desert Sun newspaper. She was 63.

DuBarry appeared in Hal Ashby's Being There (1979), The Devil and Max Devlin (1981) and Monster in the Closet (1986); had a recurring role as nurse Samantha Greene Moore on Robert Conrad's Black Sheep Squadron; and showed up on the soap opera Days of Our Lives, CHiPs and The Love Boat.

A resident of La Quinta, DuBarry recently produced two films, Do It or Die (2017) ...

Denise DuBarry, an actress and producer who was president of Palm Springs Women in Film and Television, died Saturday at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles after battling a deadly fungus, her husband told the Desert Sun newspaper. She was 63.

DuBarry appeared in Hal Ashby's Being There (1979), The Devil and Max Devlin (1981) and Monster in the Closet (1986); had a recurring role as nurse Samantha Greene Moore on Robert Conrad's Black Sheep Squadron; and showed up on the soap opera Days of Our Lives, CHiPs and The Love Boat.

A resident of La Quinta, DuBarry recently produced two films, Do It or Die (2017) ...

Chicago – In one of Jan-Michael Vincent’s most recent photos, taken in 2016 by photographer Joe Arce of HollywoodChicago.com, the ex-heart throb actor is revealed as a man who lived his life hard to the end. Vincent died last month in Asheville, North Carolina, on February 10th, 2019. He was 73.

Jan-Michael Vincent was born in Denver, and after high school in Washington state he bounced around with three years of college and a stint in the California National Guard. In 1966, he began to audition, and his rugged good looks landed him in a Robert Conrad film “The Bandits” (1967). After doing several TV and movie bit parts, he scored in the early 1970s with high profile roles in “Going Home” (1970), “The Mechanic” (1972) and in Walt Disney’s “The World’s Greatest Athlete” (1973) as the title character.

Jan-Michael Vincent in 2016

Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

The hits continued...

Jan-Michael Vincent, who starred in the TV series “Airwolf” and movies like “The Mechanic,” died on Feb. 10 at the age of 74 in North Carolina, according to a death certificate obtained by Ktla.

According to CBS, the actor died of cardiac arrest.

Vincent’s other credits including 1970’s “Tribes,” 1975’s “White Line Fever,” 1976’s “Baby Blue Marine.” In 2002, he starred in the drama “White Boy.” Other films include “Bite the Bullet” and “Big Wednesday.”

See Photos: Hollywood's Notable Deaths of 2019

Vincent was born on July 15, 1944, in Denver. He made his first appearance on screen in the 1967 TV film “The Hardy Boys: The Mystery of the Chinese Junk.” He was found by a talent scout because of his looks as he was finishing a tour of duty in the California Army National Guard, and then made his movie debut opposite Robert Conrad in “The Bandits.”

His career took off in the late...

Jan-Michael Vincent, best known for playing the lead role in the 1980s CBS series “Airwolf,” died on Feb. 10 after suffering cardiac arrest, according to a death certificate obtained by several outlets. His death, first reported by TMZ, has only now come to light. He was 73.

His image as a baby-faced blonde heartthrob was at odds with his history of violence and substance abuse. The troubled 1970s TV star had a long string of arrests and charges relating to domestic violence, drug possession, and alcohol abuse.

Vincent’s acting career began in 1967, when he was spotted by a talent scout just after finishing a stint in the California Army National Guard. His first film was the Robert Conrad movie “The Bandits.”

Born in Denver, he was signed to Universal Studios in the late ’60s by casting agent Dick Clayton, and in 1969, he appeared in the John Wayne and Rock Hudson Civil War pic “The Undefeated.

Cinema Retro has received the following press release:

Normal 0 false false false En-us X-none X-none

The Los Angeles Comic Book And Science Fiction Convention features Author Susan E. Kesler, who will be signing The Wild Wild West, The Series, a new book on the popular 1965-1969 CBS-TV Series. Robert Conrad stars as James West and Ross Martin as master of disguise Artemus Gordon, Secret Service Agents during the 1870’s. Featuring Science Fiction and Horror themed storylines, spy gadgets, kung fu and steampunk, Wild Wild West was conceived as James Bond on horseback. Wild Wild West is known for it’s many distinctive villains such as Dr. Miguelito Loveless, a brilliant megalomaniacal dwarf, played by Michael Dunn, and Count Manzeppi played by Victor Buono. Every episode had a title with the word Night such as: The Night of the Puppeteer, The Night of the Inferno and The Night of the Steel Assassin.

Chicago – This week marks the 50th Anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination and funeral, but locally it was one month later – May 3rd, 1968 – that a “sit-in” took place at Northwestern University near Chicago, as protesting African American students sought change. Future actor Daphne Maxwell Reid was a participant.

Reid is an actor, activist, photographer, seamstress, designer and also currently a spokesperson for Virginia State University. She was an undergrad at Northwestern in 1968, when she and 100 other students occupied the Bursar’s Office for 36 hours, seeking more equity for the growing black student population at the school. The sit-in was successful, as negotiations yielded more services and support relating to admissions, scholarships, housing, curriculum, counseling and facilities for African American attendees, eventually leading to the establishment of “The Black House” at the university. Northwestern will commemorate the historic event at a three-day seminar next month, and Reid will...

Welcome to Weekend Watch, where we highlight some of the best nerd-related videos released throughout the week. Whether it be short films, behind the scenes videos, video essays, the only requirement is that they are about–in some shape of form–our favorite movies and TV shows!

In this edition of Weekend Watch, we have a nifty video on the history of ‘Black Panther‘, a really cool video of P.T. Anderson on set as a P.A. in 1992, and a great featurette on the creation of the world in Netflix’s ‘Bright‘. Plus, we have an in-depth video essay on Steven Spielberg‘s use of sound design, along with a fun video that showcases Tommy Wiseau talking about his experience at this year’s Golden Globes.

Jumping right in, we have a video essay that explains the comic book origins of T’Challa, as well as giving a great...

Paul Thomas Anderson held a Reddit Ama today, where the subject of a video from 1992 came up. In the video, Anderson wanders the set of the Robert Conrad movie Sworn to Vengeance, asking various crew departments about their work and which one is the most important while generally being very snarky and making Clinton jokes. It’s a fun curio.

Red West, a boyhood friend and member of Elvis Presley's "Memphis Mafia" who appeared in many of the singer's movies as well as in Road House, Black Sheep Squadron and Goodbye Solo, has died. He was 81.

West died Tuesday at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis after suffering an aortic aneurysm, his wife, Pat, told The Commercial Appeal newspaper.

West appeared as a stuntman/actor on dozens of episodes of CBS' futuristic Western series The Wild Wild West in the 1960s and a decade later had a regular role as Sgt. Andy Micklin on another Robert Conrad-starrer, NBC's Black...

The obstacle course of red, white and blue tires is the same, but the dunk tank is a bit more extreme as ABC wages a new Battle of the Network Stars starting Thursday, June 29 at 9/8c.

RelatedBattle of the Network Stars Cast Announced: The 10 Celebs We’re Most Psyched to See Throw Down

For the unfortunately uninitiated of you, gather ’round as I spin a yarn about the original intra-network “field day” competition that aired on ABC during the 1970s and ’80s, pitting the Alphabet network against CBS and NBC and… well, that was it, kids. PBS and the...

Ron Moody as Fagin in 'Oliver!' based on Charles Dickens' 'Oliver Twist.' Ron Moody as Fagin in Dickens musical 'Oliver!': Box office and critical hit (See previous post: "Ron Moody: 'Oliver!' Actor, Academy Award Nominee Dead at 91.") Although British made, Oliver! turned out to be an elephantine release along the lines of – exclamation point or no – Gypsy, Star!, Hello Dolly!, and other Hollywood mega-musicals from the mid'-50s to the early '70s.[1] But however bloated and conventional the final result, and a cast whose best-known name was that of director Carol Reed's nephew, Oliver Reed, Oliver! found countless fans.[2] The mostly British production became a huge financial and critical success in the U.S. at a time when star-studded mega-musicals had become perilous – at times downright disastrous – ventures.[3] Upon the American release of Oliver! in Dec. 1968, frequently acerbic The...

“Comprehensive” is one way to describe the grasp on filmmaking that Paul Thomas Anderson possesses—a feeling that everything in the frame was put there just so, and with enormous knowledge of the result. That combination is certainly on display in his first feature “Hard Eight," but as a cheeky video with a young PTA shows, he was gathering knowledge of each aspect of filmmaking from the very beginning. In 1992, Anderson was knee-deep at night in devising what would eventually become “Boogie Nights," but during the day he worked as a production assistant on “Sworn To Vengeance," a telefilm thriller starring Robert Conrad. From this gig sprang a brief, fascinating clip of the future director giving viewers a tour of the different departments on-set, from transpo to catering and make-up/wardrobe. Done with no small amount of sarcasm and ridiculous banter between crew, it’s a funny look at Anderson...

Eddie Romero dies: Filipino filmmaker best known for his exploitation horror and action movies Eddie Romero, one of most best-known Filipino filmmakers, died of prostate cancer on Tuesday, May 28. Romero was 88. Named a National Artist of the Philippines in 2003, Romero (born on July 7, 1924, in Dumaguete City) began his film career in the late ’40s, when The Philippines were still recovering from the devastation of World War II. His international reputation rests chiefly on his low-budget horror and action movies; usually Filipino / American co-productions made in collaboration with actor-producer John Ashley. Among those are the the horror sci-fier Brides of Blood (1968), featuring veteran Kent Taylor, Beverly Powers, tropical-island natives, and radioactively mutated human-eating plants; Beast of Blood (1971), featuring John Ashley and a headless monster; The Twilight People (1972), which has no connection to either Stephenie Meyer or the Cullen Clan — in the film, reminiscent of Erle C. Kenton’s Island of Lost Souls...

Summer TV shows usually don’t get me very excited. Some of them are okay, some of them are great, and some of them just annoy me. If I’ve got nothing better to do, there are a few of those summer shows that I end up watching fairly regularly. That’s changed this year, mostly because of A&E and their addition Longmire.

I like westerns and have for a long time. I can remember watching Terence Hill movies when I was just a tiny little starry-eyed sprocket. I used to laugh at how lazy Trinity was and marvel at how adept he was at talking himself out of the trouble that he would get into. They Call Me Trinity was a perennial favorite around my house.

I’ve seen Clint Eastwood westerns and Charles Bronson westerns and, of course, Robert Redford westerns. All of the greats have graced...

DVD Playhouse—March 2011

By

Allen Gardner

127 Hours (20th Century Fox) Harrowing true story of Aron Ralston (James Franco, in another fine turn), an extreme outdoorsman who finds himself trapped in a remote Utah canyon, his arm pinned between two boulders, with no help nearby, no communication to the outside world, and dim prospects for survival, to say the least. Director Danny Boyle manages to prove again that he’s one of the finest filmmakers working today by making a subject that is seemingly uncinematic a true example of pure cinema. Inventive, breathtaking, funny, and horrifying, often all at once. Amber Tamblyn and Kate Mara make a memorable, brief appearance as hikers who connect with Ralston during his journey. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Commentary by Boyle, producer Christian Colson, co-writer Simon Beaufoy; Deleted scenes; Featurettes. Widescreen. Dolby and DTS-hd 5.1 surround.

Amarcord (Criterion) Federico Fellini’s Oscar-winning, autobiographical classic might...

God love it, there was no decade quite like the '70s, particularly when it comes to mining pop culture gold (or perhaps cubic zarconium). Case in point, this clip from the kitsch classic "Battle of the Network Stars" from 1976. Watch as NBC team captain Robert Conrad, of "Wild Wild West" and "Baa Baa Black Sheep" fame goes ballistic over what he views as an unfair call by the officials, challenging seemingly-geeky ABC team captain Gabriel Kaplan, of "Welcome Back Kotter," to a race to settle the score. Little did Conrad know, Kaplan had been a champion runner in both high school and college. Don't let the Jew 'fro fool you, Bob!

And as if that wasn't fun enough, check out CBS captain Telly Savalas look fit in his jogging suit while puffing non-stop on cigarettes, lots of hot babes running sans-bra, and the wealth of racist jokes from a...

Well kids, figgy is back from her three week hiatus and will return to her position as Head Mistress of the Eloquent Eloquence this week. Hopefully you've enjoyed my Ee posts and think I'm pretty swell and nice and funny. (Or at least you don't hate me. I'll take being tolerated.) I have loved reading all of the comments on this site despite being scared shitless that my head would explode and my bowels would escape through my bellybutton after reading All Of The Things instead of some of the things.

The majority of the commenters on this site are gifted with the hilarious and have made this job something closely resembling A Joy. Also, despite liking to pretend otherwise, the majority have hearts beating quietly in their dark little chests that make appearances every once in a while. A couple of commenters, however, are pure shit kickers. These commenters...