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Here's to Ray Dennis Steckler, the independent filmmaker who wrote, starred (as Cash Flagg) and directed influential films including The Thrill Killers, Rat Pfink a Boo Boo, and his masterpice The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies. A visionary artist whose influnce is clearly seen in contemporary cinema, Steckler was prolific (producing movies from 1963 until last year), economical (his films were self-produced, shot on 16mm film and later Hi-8 video), and brilliant (as clearly evidenced in this dance sequence from Creatures, "The First Monster Musical"). It hasn't been widely reported yet, but fans are mourning...

Actor Don Galloway, who's career was launched in the early days of television soap operas and later included the big screen, died Thursday in Reno, his family said. He was 71.

Fr. Richard John Neuhaus slipped away today, January 8, shortly before 10 o’clock, at the age of seventy-two. He never recovered from the weakness that sent him to the hospital the day after Christmas, caused by a series of side effects from the cancer he was suffering. He lost consciousness Tuesday evening after a collapse in his heart rate, and the next day, in the company of friends, he died.My tears are not for him—for he knew, all his life, that his Redeemer lives, and he has now been gathered by the Lord in whom he trusted.I weep, rather for...

Richard John Neuhaus, prominent Catholic priest and founder of the religion magazine First Things, died today after a short battle with cancer. He was 72. According to a note sent out by Joseph Bottum, editor of First Things, Father Neuhaus died shortly before 10 a.m. at Manhattan's Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. In a post on the First Things blog after Christmas, Bottum reported that Father Neuhaus was diagnosed with serious cancer over Thanksgiving. At the time he said the long-term prognosis was not good, but that the priest would be undergoing outpatient chemotherapy treatment. The day after Christmas, however, Father Neuhaus...

The cross-dressing Harvard-educated millionaire dermatologist who murdered his wife in their North Shore home in 2000 was found dead in his cell at MCI-Norfolk last night after he hanged himself, prison officials tell the Herald. Dr. Richard Sharpe – who was also charged with hatching a plan to escape from jail shortly after he was charged with murder – was found in his cell at 7:26 p.m. last night, said Department of Correction spokeswoman Diane Wiffin. Wiffin said Sharpe, who blasted his wife in the chest with a shotgun, hanged himself with a bedsheet. According to a prison source, a...

Famed rock-and-roll guitarist and longtime Ann Arbor resident Ronald "Ron" Asheton was found dead in his home on the city's west side this morning, police said. Asheton, 60, was an original member of The Stooges, a garage-rock band headlined by Iggy Pop and formed in Ann Arbor in 1967. His personal assistant contacted police late Monday night after being unable to reach Asheton for days, Detective Bill Stanford said. Officers went to the home on Highlake Avenue at around midnight and discovered Asheton's body on a living-room couch. He appeared to have been dead for at least several days, Stanford...

Carl Pohlad, a savvy rags-to-riches financier who bought the Minnesota Twins in 1984, died today at his Edina home, a Twins executive said today. Pohlad died about 2 p.m. today, according to Twins Sports Inc. president Jerry Bell. Pohlad, 93, oversaw the Twins’ World Series championships in 1987 and 1991. In March of last year, his son, Jim Pohlad, CEO of Twins Sports Inc., said the family intends to own the franchise far into the future. Pohlad earned his first dollar as a teenager in Dubuque, Iowa, going door to door during the Great Depression collecting unpaid debts. He was...

Former President Jimmy Carter's attorney general, Griffin B. Bell, has died in an Atlanta hospital at age 90. Bell was being treated for complications due to pancreatic cancer, and suffered from kidney disease for years.

You'd be forgiven for never hearing of designer Alfred Shaheen. Yet he inspired one of the most colourful, amusing and unforgettable styles of fashion ever known - the Hawaiian shirt. Sadly the pioneering textile manufacturer has died at age 86, his family have confirmed. As tourists from the US to Hawaii after World War II, many began to bring home colorful but cheesy looking shirts and sundresses that would be cause for much amusement among friends. Shaheen began to change that in 1948 when he opened Shaheen's of Honolulu and began designing, printing and producing "aloha" shirts, dresses and other...

CAROLINA BEACH, N.C. — Pat Hingle, a veteran actor whose career included a recurring role as Commissioner Gordon in several Batman movies, has died after battling blood cancer. He was 84. Family spokeswoman Lynn Heritage said Hingle died at his home in Carolina Beach shortly around 10:45 p.m. Saturday. Heritage said Hingle's wife, Julie, was with him. Heritage said Hingle had been diagnosed with myelodysplasia in November 2006. Hingle had lived at Carolina Beach for more than 15 years. Family friend Michele Seidman said Hingle decided to settle in the coastal town after shooting the movie "Maximum Overdrive," a Stephen...

Actor Pat Hingle died Saturday night after a battle with blood cancer. He was 84. The veteran of stage, television and film acting passed away at 10:45 p.m. Saturday, according to family spokesperson Lynn Heritage. He suffered from myelodysplasia, with which he was diagnosed in November 2006. He was survived by his wife, Julia, two sisters, five children and 11 grandchildren. Born Martin Patterson Hingle in Miami on July 19, 1924, Hingle’s long career took him around the country until he settled in the Wilmington area in 1986 after filming the big-screen thriller "Maximum Overdrive." More recently, while living in...

Boehm pioneered Navy's unconventional warfare Roy Boehm of Punta Gorda, a cantankerous retired U.S. Navy lieutenant commander who fought three wars, started the Navy's first SEAL team and shared his harrowing adventures --and his battles against military bureaucracy --in an autobiography, has completed his last mission. Roy Boehm, who had struggled with health problems for many years, died at home Tuesday night. He was 84. His widow, Susan Boehm, declined to be interviewed about her husband. In fact, she pleaded that no story be written. Susan said she was trying to carry out her husband's last wish, that his death...

Paul Hofmann, an Austrian who informed on his Nazi commanders in occupied Rome and later became a New York Times correspondent and author, has died, the newspaper reported Thursday. He was 96. Hofmann died in Rome on Tuesday, the Times quoted his son, Alexander Hofmann-Lord, as saying. An ardent opponent of Nazism, Hofmann fled his native Vienna for Rome after German troops occupied his homeland. He was eventually drafted into the German Army and posted to Rome, where he worked as the personal interpreter for two successive Nazi commanders, Gen. Rainer Stahel and Gen. Kurt Maelzer, the Times said. After...

Claiborne deBorda Pell, 90, who served as United States senator from Rhode Island from 1961 to 1997, died shortly after midnight today at his home in Newport. Democrat Pell, who had suffered from Parkinson’s disease since before his retirement from the Senate, died peacefully in the presence of his wife, Nuala O’Donnell Pell, and family members, according to a statement released by the family. Pell, perhaps best known nationally for the college grant program that bears his name, focused heavily on education, the arts and humanities, and foreign affairs during his 36 years in the Senate. During the latter part...

He entered the U.S. Naval Academy as an undersized teenager, but Victor H. “Brute” Krulak rose to command all Marine Corps forces in the Pacific, helped develop a boat crucial to amphibious landings during World War II and spoke his mind in disagreeing with a president over Vietnam War strategy. Lt. Gen. Krulak, a decorated veteran of three wars, died of natural causes late Monday night at the Wesley Palms Retirement Community in San Diego. He was 95. Standing barely 5 feet 5 inches tall, he was jokingly nicknamed Brute by his academy classmates. The moniker stuck, reinforced by his...

BETHESDA, Md. — Quentin C. Aanenson, a Minnesota-born fighter pilot whose wartime experiences helped millions of television viewers understand World War II, has died. A subject of Ken Burns' documentary "The War" and the producer of his own film a decade earlier, Aanenson died Sunday of cancer at his home in Bethesda, his son, Jerry, said. He was 87. "He lived a magnificent life," Jerry Aanenson said. "He said if he had a chance to be 15 again, he wouldn't take it." The native of Luverne, Minn., flew 75 combat missions in Europe as a captain in P-47 Thunderbolt fighters....

Freddie Hubbard, the Grammy-winning jazz musician whose blazing virtuosity influenced a generation of trumpet players and who collaborated with such greats as Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins, died Monday, a month after suffering a heart attack. He was 70. Hubbard died at Sherman Oaks Hospital, said his manager, fellow trumpeter David Weiss of the New Jazz Composers Octet. He had been hospitalized since suffering the heart attack a day before Thanksgiving. A towering figure in jazz circles, Hubbard played on hundreds of recordings in a career dating to 1958, the year he arrived in New York from his...

Ann Savage, 87, who had a large cult following due to movies like the 1940s hit "Detour" died in her nursing home on Christmas Day. Ann Savage was suffering several strokes and according to her manager died from the complicatiosn of the strokes according to reports. Savage was most well known for her role in Edgar G. Ulmer's 1945 movie called "Detour" in which she played as a woman who ruthlessly blackmailed a stranger. From this movie she had the start of a cult following. She was forgotten later in the 50s and 60s but as of late has gotten...

<p>From the summit of Everest, the top of the world - to the intricate workings of the human heart. From outer galaxies to the dungeons of Stalin's gulag.</p> <p>Sir Edmund Hillary was the first man to stand atop the world's highest mountain. Dr. Michael DeBakey developed treatments for heart disease that prolonged the lives of millions.</p>

FRESNO, Calif. — Ellie Nesler, who sparked a national debate about vigilantism after killing her son's accused molester in a courtroom in 1993, has died of cancer. She was 56. Nesler died Friday morning at UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, according to hospital spokeswoman Phyllis Brown. She had battled breast cancer since 1994. Nesler made headlines when she shot Daniel Driver five times in the head in a Tuolumne County courtroom during a break in his preliminary hearing for allegedly molesting four boys, including her then-6-year-old son William, at a Christian camp. Some hailed her for exacting her own...

Ellie Nesler, who sparked a national debate about vigilantism after killing her son's accused molester in a courtroom in 1993, has died of cancer. Nesler shot Daniel Driver five times in the head during a break in his preliminary hearing in a Tuolumne (too-WAH'-lum-ee) County courtroom. Driver had been accused of molesting four boys, including her son Willy.

In her heart, Ellie Nesler loved her children, friends say, even when that love caused her enormous trouble and pain. Nesler, who died Friday, gained international notoriety in 1993 when she took a .25 caliber pistol into a Tuolumne County courtroom and put five bullets in the head and body of a man accused of molesting her son. She served 3 1/2 years as her case wended through trial and appeal before pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter in 1997, a plea bargain that released her back to her son and daughter. But her story did not end there. Nesler spent...

Delaney Bramlett, a friend and fellow musician with greats such as Eric Clapton and George Harrison, has died in Los Angeles at the age of 69. The many successes of Delaney Bramlett make for a long story. He was a musician’s musician, admired by the cream of rock at the centre of the birth of the music industry. As a songwriter, he co-wrote the classic ‘Superstar’ with Leon Russell. Russell, as well as Joe Cocker and The Carpenters recorded the song as did Usher more recently. He also co-wrote ‘Let It Rain’ with Eric Clapton. That song went on to...

BOSTON (Reuters) - Political scientist Samuel Huntington, whose controversial book "The Clash of Civilizations" predicted conflict between the West and the Islamic world, has died at age 81, Harvard University said on Saturday. Huntington, who taught for 58 years at Harvard before retiring in 2007, died Wednesday at a nursing facility in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, the university said on its website. In his 1996 "The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order," which expanded on his 1993 article in Foreign Affairs magazine, Huntington divided the world into rival civilizations based mainly on religious traditions such as Christianity, Islam,...

Harold Pinter, praised as the most influential British playwright of his generation and a longtime voice of political protest, has died after a long battle with cancer. He was 78. Pinter, whose distinctive contribution to the stage was recognized with the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2005, died on Wednesday, according to his second wife, Lady Antonia Fraser. "Pinter restored theater to its basic elements: an enclosed space and unpredictable dialogue, where people are at the mercy of each other and pretense crumbles," the Nobel Academy said when it announced Pinter's award. "With a minimum of plot, drama emerges from...

<p>A family friend says Eartha Kitt, a sultry singer, dancer and actress who rose from South Carolina cotton fields to become an international symbol of elegance and sensuality, has died. She was 81.</p> <p>Andrew Freedman says Kitt died Thursday of colon cancer and was recently treated at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York.</p>

LONDON – The wife of Harold Pinter says the Nobel Prize-winning playwright has died after a long battle with throat cancer. He was 78. His wife Antonia Fraser says Pinter, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2005, died Wednesday.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- An Ohio pilot who died in a small plane crash was a Republican media consultant who helped operate campaign Web sites for President Bush and former presidential nominee John McCain. Forty-five-year-old Michael Connell of Akron was killed Friday when his plane crashed near a vacant house in a rural area of Uniontown, about 10 miles southeast of Akron. He was attempting to land the aircraft at the nearby Akron-Canton Airport. Connell was the CEO and founder of Cleveland-based New Media Communications, which built campaign Web sites for Bush and McCain, according to the company's Web site. The...

Edie Adams, 81, Oct. 15—blonde beauty who won a Tony Award for bringing Daisy Mae to life on Broadway. Philip Agee, 72, Jan. 7—unprosecuted former CIA officer who turned against the intelligence agency and exposed many undercover agents overseas, prompting Congress in 1982 to pass a law against exposing covert U.S. operatives. Alexy II, 79, Dec. 2—Patriarch (head archbishop) since 1990 of the Russian Orthodox Church, which claims more than 100 million adherents as the world's largest Orthodox body. Sandy Allen, 53, Aug. 13—Guinness-recognized world's tallest female (from Indiana) at 7 feet, 7 inches. Eddy Arnold, 89, May 8—country singer...

Majel Barrett Roddenberry, "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry's widow who nurtured the legacy of the seminal science fiction TV series after his death, has died. She was 76. Roddenberry died of leukemia Thursday morning at her home in Bel-Air, said Sean Rossall, a family spokesman. At Roddenberry's side were family friends and her son, Eugene Roddenberry Jr. Roddenberry was involved in the "Star Trek" universe for more than four decades. She played the dark-haired Number One in the original pilot but metamorphosed into the blond, miniskirted Nurse Christine Chapel in the original 1966-69 show. She had smaller roles in all...

Watergate 'Deep Throat' W. Mark Felt Dies at 95 SAN FRANCISCO — W. Mark Felt, the former FBI second-in-command who revealed himself as "Deep Throat" 30 years after he tipped off reporters to the Watergate scandal that toppled a president, has died. He was 95. Felt died Thursday in Santa Rosa after suffering from congestive heart failure for several months, said family friend John D. O'Connor, who wrote the 2005 Vanity Fair article uncovering Felt's secret. The shadowy central figure in one of the most gripping political dramas of the 20th century, Felt insisted his alter ego be kept secret...

Dock Ellis, the former major league pitcher best remembered for his flamboyance and social activism as a member of the great Pittsburgh Pirates teams of the 1970s, died Friday of a liver ailment in California, his former agent, Tom Reich, confirmed. Ellis was 63. Ellis spent 12 years in the majors with Pittsburgh, the New York Yankees, Oakland, Texas and the New York Mets. He retired in 1979 with a record of 138-119, but was best known for several colorful incidents on and off the field.

Mark Felt, the FBI official who as the anonymous journalistic source "Deep Throat" helped bring down President Richard M. Nixon, died on Thursday at his home in Santa Rosa, Calif. He was 95. Felt suffered from congestive heart failure but the immediate cause of death was not known on Thursday night. "He was an important person for the history of our nation, but also such a gem and such a treasure to our family," said his grandson Nick Jones, who confirmed the death. "He was a great man." Jones said the family would issue a formal statement on Friday. In...

Conservative Leader Paul Weyrich Dies; First to Lead Heritage

LUBBOCK, Texas – Sammy Baugh, who set numerous passing records with the Washington Redskins in an era when NFL teams were running most every down, died Wednesday night, his son said. Baugh, who was 94 and had numerous health issues, died at Fisher County Hospital in Rotan, David Baugh said. David Baugh said his father had battled Alzheimer's and dementia for several years. He had been ill recently with kidney problems, low blood pressure and double pneumonia.

Bettie Page, the brunet pinup queen with a shoulder-length pageboy hairdo and kitschy bangs whose saucy photos helped usher in the sexual revolution of the 1960s, has died. She was 85. Page, whose later life was marked by depression, violent mood swings and several years in a state mental institution, died Thursday night at Kindred Hospital in Los Angeles, where she had been on life support since suffering a heart attack Dec. 2, according to her agent, Mark Roesler.

LOS ANGELES — Bettie Page, whose magazine photographs in bikinis and see-through lingerie helped her become one of the most notable models of the 20th century, died at a Los Angeles hospital Thursday evening at age 85.

No article, just pictures. Says "entertainment world" "celebrities" but lists Russert and Crichton, neither of whom are actors, but leaves off their own Tony Snow. We haven't forgotten you Tony.

Robert Prosky, 77, a supporting actor with hundreds of film, TV and stage credits and whose roles included an avuncular sergeant on the NBC police drama "Hill Street Blues" and a desperate real estate salesman in David Mamet's play "Glengarry Glen Ross," has died.

Thought some folks here would remember this Wonderful group? Brenda

...Forrest J Ackerman, who died Thursday at 92 of a heart attack in Los Angeles, was all these things and many more: literary agent for such science fiction authors as Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, A.E. van Vogt, Curt Siodmak and L. Ron Hubbard; actor and talisman in more than 50 films ... editor of Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine and creator of the Vampirella comic.... ...Born in Los Angeles in 1916, Ackerman traced the birth of his vocation to 1926, when he read his first "scientifiction" tale in an early issue of Amazing Stories... ...His dream of bringing together the...

MIAMI — The father of Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino has died at the age of 71.

Beverly Garland, whose long and varied acting career ranged from B-movie cult stardom in the 1950s portraying gutsy characters in movies such as "Not of This Earth" and "It Conquered the World" to playing Fred MacMurray's wife on the sitcom "My Three Sons," has died. She was 82. Garland, who also was an involved owner of her namesake hotel in North Hollywood, died Friday after a long illness at her Hollywood Hills home, said son-in-law Packy Smith. In a career that spanned more than 50 years and began with a supporting role in the 1950 film noir classic "D.O.A.," Garland...

NEW YORK—Martha "Sunny" von Bulow, the heiress who spent the last 28 years of her life in oblivion after what prosecutors alleged in a pair of sensational trials were two murder attempts by her husband, died Saturday at age 76. She died at a nursing home in New York, her children said in a statement issued by family spokeswoman Maureen Connelly.

Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexy II, who presided over a vast post-Soviet revival of faith but struggled against the influence of other churches, died Friday at age 79 Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexy II, who presided over a vast post-Soviet revival of faith but was criticized for bullying other denominations and making the church a force for nationalism, died Friday, Dec. 5, 2008, at age 79. The Moscow Patriarchate said he died at his residence outside Moscow, but did not give a cause of death. Alexy had long suffered from a heart ailment.

Forrest J Ackerman, who influenced a generation of young horror movie fans with Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine and spent a lifetime amassing what has been called the world's largest personal collection of science fiction and fantasy memorabilia, has died. He was 92.

The patriarch died on Friday morning, aged 79, the Church told the BBC.

"I am shocked. It is hard to find words. I had immense respect for him". These are the grieving words attributed to Mikhail Gorbachev in a multitude of news reports now streaming out of Russia concerning the death of Patriarch Alexy II, the beloved head of the Russian Orthodox Church. Reportedly interested in the claims of the Christian faith in the last few years, the last President of the Soviet Union and champion of the “Glasnost” strategy which helped consign that former world power to the history books expressed the sentiments of the entire Russian people. Under the leadership of...

BOSTON – Paul Benedict, the actor who played the English neighbor Harry Bentley on the sitcom "The Jeffersons," has died. He was 70. Benedict was found dead Monday on Martha's Vineyard and his brother, Charles, said authorities were still investigating the cause of death. Benedict began his acting career in the 1960s in the Theatre Company of Boston, alongside such future stars as Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman and Al Pacino. Benedict went on to appear in a number of movies, including a role as the oddball director in "The Goodbye Girl" with Richard Dreyfuss. But he was mainly known...

<p>ALEXANDRIA, Pa. (AP) - The Rev. George M. Docherty, credited with helping to push Congress to insert the phrase "under God" into the Pledge of Allegiance, has died at 97.</p> <p>Docherty died on Thanksgiving at his home in central Pennsylvania, according to his wife, Sue Docherty.</p>