GONE, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
From Fonda to Harper, the arts and entertainment world lost some legends in 2019
CAROLL SPINNEY DEC. 26, 1933—DEC. 8, 2019
Puppeteer Caroll Spinney brought childlike vulnerability to Big Bird and even made garbage-loving Oscar the Grouch lovable. Those Muppets were part of the groundbreaking children’s TV show Sesame Street when it made its debut in 1969. After decades in the canary suit, a movement disorder left Spinney unable to wear the costume and he had provided only Big Bird’s voice since 2015. Spinney had announced his retirement in October 2018 after he completed shooting for the show’s 50th year in 2019.
MARIE FREDRIKSSON MAY 30, 1958—DEC. 9, 2019
Marie Fredriksson, the Swedish pop star who with Per Gessle made up Roxette, best known for their iconic 1986 hit It Must Have Been Love, fought a 17year battle with cancer. Roxette formed in 1986 and had a breakout hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1989 with The Look. The band released its 10th album, Good Karma, in 2016.
ROBERT EVANS JUNE 29, 1930—OCT. 26, 2019
When Ernest Hemingway opposed the casting of Robert Evans as a bullfighter in 1957’s The
Sun Also Rises, producer Darryl Zanuck declared “The kid stays in the picture.” And stay he did, helping transform Hollywood with new talent on a meteoric rise to run production at Paramount Pictures at 36. There, he helped shepherd The Godfather, Chinatown, Harold and Maude, Love Story and True Grit onto the screen before a downfall with cocaine and involvement in a murder trial around 1984’s The Cotton Club. He eventually bounced back and in 2003 produced How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.
RIC OCASEK MARCH 23, 1944—SEPT. 15, 2019
It was a 1976 Air Force base gig where Ric Ocasek first powered up the synth and guitar sound of The Cars, one of the early new wave bands that found mainstream success with hits such as Just What I Needed and My Best Friend’s Girl. The band made six records before ending in 1988. They reunited in 2011 for a final album, then for a final show at their 2014 induction in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Ocasek was also a prolific producer for Weezer, Bad Religion and No Doubt, among many.
VALERIE HARPER AUG. 22, 1939—AUG. 30, 2019
Valerie Harper got her comedy start touring with The Second City in Toronto and Los Angeles, writing in her 2013 memoir that the troupe’s first major performance was at Toronto’s Royal Alexandra Theatre, where she remembered, “many polite and welcoming Canadians.” She was best known for playing Rhoda Morgenstern on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, later leading popular spinoff series Rhoda. In the mid-1980s, she played a mother of three kids in the sitcom Valerie, before being fired after two seasons over a salary dispute.
PETER FONDA FEB. 23, 1940—AUG. 16, 2019
Peter Fonda brought a cool and sexy counterculture demeanour to his most famous role in Easy Rider 50 years ago. There, his writing with Terry Southern and co-star Dennis Hopper earned him one of his two Oscar nominations and helped cement his place in a Hollywood dynasty begun by his father, Henry, and widened by his sister, Jane. Oscar came knocking again for his portrayal of a contemplative beekeeper in 1997’s Ulee’s Gold.
TONI MORRISON FEB. 18, 1931—AUG. 5, 2019
A recipient of both the Nobel Prize in Literature and Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, Toni Morrison is one of the most celebrated authors in U.S. literature, chiefly for examining the black experience. Morrison grew up working-class in the Midwest, going on to become the first black female fiction editor at Random House in New York City. She published her first novel, The Bluest Eye, in 1970 at age 39. Morrison would see continued success with such notable titles as Song of Solomon and the Beloved trilogy.
HAROLD PRINCE JAN. 30. 1928—JULY 31, 2019
Broadway’s lights were destined to dim the day Hal Prince died. Prince almost gave up musical theatre before finding success with the original Broadway production of Cabaret in 1966. From powerhouse producer to era-defining director, his career includes Company in 1970, Evita in 1978, Sweeney Todd in 1979 and The Phantom of the Opera in 1986, still the longest-running show on Broadway. Prince took home 21 Tony Awards, including for lifetime achievement in the theatre in 2006.
RIP TORN FEB. 6, 1931—JULY 9, 2019
Actor Rip Torn was once arrested for breaking into a bank after hours with a gun, but got off with a suspended sentence by claiming he was so drunk he thought it was his house. Such was the volatile nature of the veteran actor, best known as the stern stage manager Artie on the Larry Sanders Show. That role earned him his only major award, an Emmy in 1996, despite an Oscar nomination for 1983’s Cross Creek and a 1960 Tony nomination for Sweet Bird of Youth. He also played Agent Zed in 1997’s Men in Black and its 2002 sequel.
GLORIA VANDERBILT FEB. 20, 1924—JUNE 17, 2019
Gloria Vanderbilt was a model, actor and designer. As a toddler in the ’20s, she inherited a fortune that her mother began spending as she partied around Europe, leaving Gloria in the care of a nanny and earning her the title “poor little rich girl.” Her fourth marriage produced future CNN anchor Anderson Cooper in 1967. In the mid-’70s she built a Us$100-million brand by marketing jeans, a predominately male clothing item, to women.
DORIS DAY APRIL 3, 1922—MAY 13, 2019
Doris Day nixed the role of
Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate because she didn’t believe seducing a younger man fit her sense of values. That image, which even she called Mrs. Chastity Belt, was honed during the ’50s and ’60s when Day, real name Kampelhoff, played the girl next door seeking marriage, such as in her sole Oscar nomination in 1959’s Pillow Talk with Rock Hudson. And there was that voice, one that earned her multiple accolades, including topping the Billboard charts with 1945’s Sentimental Journey. Day singing Que Sera, Sera in Alfred Hitchcock’s The Man Who Knew Too Much helped earn an Oscar for its composers.
PEGGY LIPTON AUG. 30, 1946—MAY 11, 2019
Margaret Ann Peggy Lipton began modelling when she was 15 and rose to fame as part of the hit ABC series The Mod Squad, playing detective Julie Barnes. After marrying music mogul Quincy Jones and taking a professional hiatus to raise daughters Kidada and Rashida Jones, Lipton returned to acting, most notably as Norma Jennings in David Lynch’s ’90s quirky mystery
Twin Peaks.
PETER MAYHEW MAY 19, 1944—APRIL 30, 2019
Peter Mayhew worked in the radiology department of King’s College Hospital in London when he heard about auditions for a movie called Star Wars. Standing up to meet director George Lucas, the 7-foot-3 Mayhew was hired on the spot to play Chewbacca, taking the role from 6-foot-6 David Prowse, who was recast as Darth Vader. Mayhew played the Wookiee until 2015 before health issues forced his retirement.
NIPSEY HUSSLE AUG. 15, 1985—MARCH 31, 2019
Nipsey Hussle, real name Ermias Joseph Asghedom, was a Grammy-nominated rapper from Los Angeles known for his community work. Asghedom regularly denounced gun violence, spoke about his experiences with gangs and helped fund public schools. He founded Marathon Clothing in 2017, opening a retail store to invest in and provide opportunities to his neighbourhood. He was shot 10 times outside the store at age 33. On April 11, former president Barack Obama wrote an open letter to Asghedom’s friends and family. “Nipsey saw potential,” he said. “He saw hope. He saw a community that even through its flaws taught him to always keep going.”
LUKE PERRY OCT. 11, 1966—MARCH 4, 2019
TV star and ’90s heartthrob Luke Perry worked in a doorknob factory to afford acting classes, tallying 216 audition rejections before appearing in daytime soaps in the late ’80s. Perry’s big break came when he was cast as the brooding Dylan Mckay in teen drama Beverly Hills, 90210. Today’s younger generation knows him best as Fred Andrews, Archie’s father on the CW series Riverdale. His final performance was in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood, playing ’60s TV western star Wayne Maunder.
ANDRÉ PREVIN APRIL 6, 1929—FEB. 28, 2019
Born in Berlin to Jewish parents, André Previn’s family fled Nazi Germany for Los Angeles, and by age 16, Previn was already arranging music for Hollywood studios. He was involved in the composing, conducting or performance of music in more than 50 movies, including Gigi, Porgy and Bess and My Fair Lady. He was a well-respected jazz pianist and would also gain high regard as a conductor, becoming principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. His five wives included Mia Farrow.
STANLEY DONEN APRIL 13, 1924—FEB. 21, 2019
Stanley Donen directed Fred Astaire dancing on the ceiling in 1951’s Royal Wedding and Gene Kelly Singin’ in the Rain the next year during a six-decade career that included some of Hollywood’s greatest musicals. “For a time, Donen epitomized Hollywood style,” The New Yorker said. “He made the world of champagne fountains and pillbox hats look enchanting, which is much harder than it sounds.” He began as a tap dancer before moving behind the camera and later worked with Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant.
PETER TORK FEB. 13, 1942—FEB. 21, 2019
Peter Tork was a lovable dummy on TV in The Monkees, the 1960s comedy that aped The Beatles in their irreverence and pratfalls, in contrast to his real-life demeanour as a serious folk musician. Real name Thorkelson, Tork shot to fame as a teen idol in the manufactured band that was mocked as the Prefab Four because they didn’t write their songs and mimed playing instruments. Years later, the band reformed for reunion tours after Tork’s stints as a solo performer, leading a blues band and even as a high school teacher.
KARL LAGERFELD SEPT. 10, 1933—FEB. 19, 2019
Known for his white ponytail, black sunglasses, fingerless gloves and smileless face, German designer Karl Lagerfeld’s prolific career in fashion spanned seven decades. He was Pierre Balmain’s assistant in the ’50s and went on to work for Fendi in the ’60s, hitting his stride as the creative director of Chanel beginning in 1983. He successfully rescued the brand from serious decline, modernizing the ready-to-wear line and helping to solidify Paris as the fashion capital of the world.
ALBERT FINNEY MAY 9, 1936—FEB. 7, 2019
Though nominated five times for an Oscar, British actor Albert Finney never attended the ceremony, one he derided as
“five hours in a non-smoking, non-drinking environment.” Bursting onto the scene as one of the U.K.’S “angry young men,” Finney was at times the roguish lover Tom Jones (1963) and much later the avuncular lawyer boss to Julia Roberts in Erin Brockovich. Once presented with a five-year deal and the prospect of acting in Lawrence of Arabia, he said: “I didn’t know where I want to be in five years’ time — or tomorrow, for that matter.”
CAROL CHANNING JAN. 31, 1921—JAN. 15, 2019
Carol Channing personified Broadway legend by missing just one of her 5,000 Tony Award-winning performances of the 1960s smash Hello, Dolly! Her star ascended in 1949’s Gentlemen Prefer Blondes singing Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend, and she later performed well into her 80s. Channing captivated audiences with her distinctive raspy voice, eyes like saucers of milk and smile so bright it rivalled stage lights. She was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 1981 and given a lifetime achievement Tony Award in 1995.