Animated Views Celebrity Obituary Thread

[GeorgeC]

I liked The Godfather! That's one of my favorite films...

I have a hard time deciding whether I like Brando, Cagney, or Robinson best as a gangster! Humphrey Bogart was darn good in his day as heavy until he got typecast as a good guy because of a "bad film" named The Maltese Falcon!

Yeah, I'm sorry but I saw Forbidden Planet on TNT years ago and it didn't sit well for me... I don't know if it's the fact that so many of those props and space patrol costumes appeared in other films and TV series through the 1960s!

Robbie the Robot was always cool by me. I think I liked his appearance on a Lost in Space episode even better than his Forbidden Planet intro.

[Ben]

Well.

Um...you know that was one of Drebin's many repeated lines, right? I wasn't suggesting we shouldn't be talking about him!

[GeorgeC]

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/40702736/ ... ?gt1=43001


Blake Edwards died at age 88 late Wednesday due to complications from an extended case of pneumonia.

He is survived by Julie Andrews and their children.

Edwards was best known as the director of the original Pink Panther series of films covering the casework of bumbling French detective Inspector Clouseau. The late Peter Sellers starred as Clouseau in this series that spanned two decades until his death in the early 1980s.

Blake Edwards also directed Breakfast at Tiffany's which led to an Oscar nomination for Best Actress for the late Audrey Hepburn.

The live-action Pink Panther comedies led to the animated theatrical shorts featuring the title character who was introduced in the original series' credits animation. These theatrical shorts were among the last regular hand-drawn animated shorts produced for exhibition all over the world.

[Ben]

Ahhh, man... I am really seriously bummed at this one. I just watched The Great Race again not two weeks ago. Seriously upsetting...

[GeorgeC]

It's definitely a downer seasons...

There have been a lot of deaths recently of people whose work was widely admired, respected, and loved by many audiences.

These men (and a lady or two) all produced or starred in great films that people enjoy to this day.

As cliche as the phrase is, we really won't see their like again!

The Golden Age of Hollywood has seen a high body count this year.

... And it had to between Thanksgiving and Christmas.



I feel bad for Ms. Andrews... She's suffered two devastating personal losses.
First, her singing voice because of a batched operation, and now the love of her life...

I wish she gets all the comfort from family and friends during her mourning period but I'm almost positive she probably knew Blake Edwards' time was limited. Still doesn't make it hurt less.

[Darkblade]

Too bad Blake didnt do anything else after Son of the Pink panther...He shall be missed.

[Ben]

Well, he did do Victor/Victoria on stage in the late 1990s and was actually returning to the Panther series just before he died, writing the book for a stage musical featuring Clouseau in an attempt to reclaim the material from the poor recent 2000s films.

Edwards leaves an amazingly solid legacy: I hope that his films remain preserved and loved as they always have been.

[Darkblade]

I actually heard that peter sellers had drafted a script to end off the Pink panther series called Romance of the Pink Panther, it didnt get made since edwards and sellers had a disagreement. Too bad too, that would have been an interesting film. I've also heard that he had a few original scripts or movies, but I guess they couldn't get made since how the previous panther films after Seller's passing were not so good to his name.

[EricJ]

Thought Romance was the "lost" footage that was recycled into "Trail of the PP" after Sellers' death (and you can see the point twenty minutes in where imitators had to be called in to fill in the post-dubbing)--
Trail and Curse were actually planned as a closed two-part finale for Clouseau's character, although no word on whether Edwards actually planned to continue with Ted Wass (or Roberto Benigni).

[Ben]

Nope, Eric. Nothing was ever shot for Romance. It never got off the ground. It was Sellers' script, and Edwards wanted to put his stamp on it, having obviously written much of the previous films. They fell out over it and although apparently it was close to becoming resolved, Sellers died.

Since they couldn't use a script that Sellers had not actually given permission for (and couldn't very well star in), Romance died with him, and Trail Of The Pink Panther was cobbled together as a "tribute" with outtakes and deleted scenes from the 1970s films, interwoven with the journalist looking for Clouseau "plot".

The pull of the franchise (and the chance to see some final Sellers moments) obviously made some money, since Edwards attempted to keep the series going with Curse Of The Pink Panther in 1983, where bumbling detective Ted Wass actually does find Clouseau...except he's had plastic surgery and is now played by...Roger Moore!

I don't think the plan was to continue with Wass, but probably to make more with Moore (possibly even Romance?) though the tiresome film understandably did what no other gangster or filmmaker could previously do: it killed Clouseau for good! After a decade trying, Son came along and is also best left forgotten, apart from one extremely funny recurring gag featuring long-suffering Herbert Lom and a swimming pool that is very reminiscent of the old films.


Darkblade: far from the two early 80s films giving Edwards a bad name, he actually did make some good films during the later 80s: Victor/Victoria, Sunset, Blind Date and Switch are as good if not better than the non-Panther films he made, and that's a good average for one decade, with over six credits to his name.

[Darkblade]

I was aware of those films ben, but I havent seen Blindate and Switch.

[GeorgeC]

Warning: this list does NOT include all personalities who passed away. Notably absent are non-American entertainment figures and a personality or two that passed away this previous month. Irvin Kershner is not on this list...

http://specials.msn.com/A-List/Lifestyl ... ORM=MSNIIT

The year in review... Devastating to say the least.

There a lot of really well-known people on that list.

[ibrmacf]

http://www.cnn.com/2011/SHOWBIZ/Movies/ ... tml?hpt=T2

Great actor that we'll miss, I'm sure! (Also provided the voice of Benjamin as well as playing the farmer in the 1999 film, Animal Farm).

[Ben]

...And provided James with his magic green things in James And The Giant Peach.

He's been a favorite of mine since seeing him in the early 1990s in a string of films, and what a shocker to have gone so suddenly and so young.

[GeorgeC]

http://mubi.com/notebook/posts/2722

She played the daughter to the doomed scientist in Forbidden Planet. Robby the Robot was both her servant and friend.

She was definitely the eye-candy of the science fiction classic Forbidden Planet but also warm and endearing.

She later left movies for a time tired of the constant search for the "new face" and enjoyed guest appearances on TV series for many years. She still did occasional movie roles to demonstrate she was still around. Anne Francis worked well into her 70s only retiring in more recent years.

Anne Francis died Sunday from pancreatic cancer. She was 80 years old.