The Band singer and drummer Levon Helm is in the final stages of cancer, according to a note posted on his website Tuesday by his wife, Sandy, and daughter, Amy. [more inside]
posted by flapjax at midnite on Apr 17, 2012 - 137 comments

Perhaps you remember him as the esteemed author of sure-fire flop Springtime for Hitler, or as an inspector with an artificial arm in Young Frankenstein, or maybe even for his impersonation of Henry Kissinger singing Bachman-Turner Overdrive's Takin' Care of Business ( I must hear this. I must.) Maybe you don't remember him at all, as he was a prolific voice actor and character actor. A That Guy. But if you do remember him, you probably remember him making you laugh really, really hard, which is a wonderful thing to be remembered for. I am sad to report that Kenneth Mars passed away on Saturday, February 12th, from pancreatic cancer.
posted by louche mustachio on Feb 14, 2011 - 45 comments

Gravelly-voiced character actor James Gammon has passed away of cancer at the age of 70. His career spanned more than 50 years in television, (with roles from "Gunsmoke" to "Grays Anatomy",) film and theater, but most will probably remember him as either the cantankerous manager of the Cleveland Indians in the 1989 comedy "Major League" or as Don Johnson's crotchety, retired longshoreman father on the television show Nash Bridges. [more inside]
posted by zarq on Jul 18, 2010 - 23 comments

Actor, Playwright, Artist, Comedian, Magician, "Man of A Thousand Voices" (including Mighty Mouse,) "Beloved Herring Maven"

Mr. Ira Stadlen (Stage name: "Captain" Allen Swift) has passed away at the age of 87. Throughout his career, Mr. Stadler voiced characters in more than 30,000 television and radio commercials, as well as cartoons such as Underdog, Tom and Jerry and Diver Dan, but some might remember him most as the man who saved Howdy Doody. His nephew has posted a remembrance on his blog, which includes a link to a "novelty 45" mp3 recording of Swift's "Are You Lonesome Tonight." [more inside]
posted by zarq on Apr 28, 2010 - 13 comments

"Those of us who are the firstborn always dream of that imaginary brother or sister who will be their protector, the buffer, the one to take the blows. I'm a firstborn, and Bob was the answer to my dreams. He was the big brother that all of us wish for." ~ Bill Cosby on his I-Spy co-star Robert Culp (79), who died of a heart attack yesterday after a fall outside his Hollywood Hills home [more inside]
posted by zarq on Mar 25, 2010 - 39 comments

Barry Morse - an actor with an extremely rich and varied career, popular in many roles but iconic as the (original) pursuer of Dr Richard Kimble in the (original) tv series The Fugitive, and memorable to Sci Fi fans as Professor Victor Bergman in Space: 1999, has passed on. He was 89. [more inside]
posted by Henry C. Mabuse on Feb 5, 2008 - 11 comments

Mr. Whipple is dead. Long live Mr. Whipple. Oh how we loved you. [more inside]
posted by miss lynnster on Nov 19, 2007 - 62 comments

John Inman, RIP --better known as the campy stereotype Mr. Humphries on Are You Being Served? (a gay icon?)
posted by amberglow on Mar 8, 2007 - 93 comments

RIP, Jack.
posted by bz on Nov 10, 2006 - 79 comments

Veteran actor Paul Gleason, who played Principal Richard "Dick" Vernon of The Breakfast Club and who acted in over 120 films television shows, died Saturday of lung cancer at age 67.
posted by QuestionableSwami on May 29, 2006 - 46 comments

Call him Mr. Limpet, Mr. Furley, Wormie, Les Calhoun, or Barney Fife. Actor Don Knotts has passed away at 81.
posted by Smart Dalek on Feb 25, 2006 - 129 comments

RIP Vincent Schiavelli , a character actor who appeared in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Buckaroo Banzai, Amadeus, Death to Smoochie and a ton of other films. A cult favorite, he was one of those actors you looked at and thought, "who is that guy?".
posted by dbiedny on Dec 26, 2005 - 81 comments

"Come and knock on my door..." Actor John Ritter dies of aortic dissection, an unexpected rupture of the aortic wall.
posted by mischief on Sep 12, 2003 - 44 comments

Leslie Cheung has died. I have no idea how to express my grief, but I feel that this should be discussed here. Yet his death seems to go unmentioned. What could drive someone to do this, and how could the media ignore such a tragic event?
posted by son_of_minya on Apr 1, 2003 - 30 comments

Actor Richard Harris dies "Don't let it be forgot - that once there was a spot - for one brief, shining moment - that was known as Camelot..." Such a sad day all around. R.I.P., Richard.
posted by dnash on Oct 25, 2002 - 21 comments

Actor Kevin Smith (no, not Silent Bob... Ares from Xena) has died after a large fall in China.
posted by sycophant on Feb 15, 2002 - 31 comments

Jack Lemmon, RIP
These things seem to happen all at once....Johm Lee Hooker, now Jack Lemmon...such a pity :-(
posted by tomcosgrave on Jun 28, 2001 - 23 comments