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One of stage, screen and TV's finest transatlantic talents, slight, gravel-voiced John Vincent Hurt was born on January 22, 1940, in Shirebrook, a coal mining village, in Derbyshire, England. The youngest child of Phyllis (Massey), an engineer and one-time actress, and Reverend Arnould Herbert Hurt, an Anglican clergyman and mathematician, his quiet shyness betrayed an early passion for acting. First enrolled at the Grimsby Art School and St. Martin's School of Art, his focus invariably turned from painting to acting.

Accepted into the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1960, John made his stage debut in "Infanticide in the House of Fred Ginger" followed by "The Dwarfs." Elsewhere, he continued to build upon his 60's theatrical career with theatre roles in "Chips with Everything" at the Vaudeville, the title role in "Hamp" at the Edinburgh Festival, "Inadmissible Evidence" at Wyndham's and "Little Malcolm and His Struggle Against the Eunuchs" at the Garrick. His movie debut occurred that same year with a supporting role in the "angry young man" British drama Young and Willing (1962), followed by small roles in Appuntamento in Riviera (1962), A Man for All Seasons (1966) and [link

Hurt found his more compelling early work in offbeat theatrical characterizations with notable roles such as Malcolm in "Macbeth" (1967), Octavius in "Man and Superman" (1969), Peter in "Ride a Cock Horse" (1972), Mike in '"The Caretaker" (1972) and Ben in "The Dumb Waiter" (1973). At the same time he gained more prominence in a spray of film and support roles such as a junior officer in Before Winter Comes (1968), the title highwayman in Sinful Davey (1969), a morose little brother in In Search of Gregory (1969), a dim, murderous truck driver in 10 Rillington Place (1971), a skirt-chasing, penguin-studying biologist in Cry of the Penguins (1971), the unappetizing son of a baron in The Pied Piper (1972) and a repeat of his title stage role as Little Malcolm and His Struggle Against the Eunuchs (1974).

Hurt shot to international stardom, however, on TV where he was allowed to display his true, fearless range. He reaped widespread acclaim for his embodiment of the tormented gay writer and raconteur Quentin Crisp in the landmark television play The Naked Civil Servant (1975), adapted from Crisp's autobiography. Hurt's bold, unabashed approach on the flamboyant and controversial gent who dared to be different was rewarded with the BAFTA (British TV Award). This triumph led to the equally fascinating success as the cruel and crazed Roman emperor Caligula in the epic television masterpiece I, Claudius (1976), followed by another compelling interpretation as murderous student Raskolnikov in Crime and Punishment (1979).

A resurgence occurred on film as a result. Among other unsurpassed portraits on his unique pallet, the chameleon in him displayed a polar side as the gentle, pathetically disfigured title role in The Elephant Man (1980), and as a tortured Turkish prison inmate who befriends Brad Davis in the intense drama Midnight Express (1978) earning Oscar nominations for both. Mainstream box-office films were offered as well as art films. He made the most of his role as a crew member whose body becomes host to an unearthly predator in Alien (1979). With this new rush of fame came a few misguided ventures as well that were generally unworthy of his talent. Such brilliant work as his steeple chase jockey in Champions (1984) or kidnapper in The Hit (1984) was occasionally offset by such drivel as the comedy misfire Partners (1982) with Ryan O'Neal in which Hurt looked enervated and embarrassed. For the most part, the craggy-faced actor continued to draw extraordinary notices. Tops on the list includes his prurient governmental gadfly who triggers the Christine Keeler political sex scandal in the aptly-titled Scandal (1989); the cultivated gay writer aroused and obsessed with struggling "pretty-boy" actor Jason Priestley in Love and Death on Long Island (1997); and the Catholic priest embroiled in the Rwanda atrocities in Shooting Dogs (2005).

Latter parts of memorable interpretations included Dr. Iannis in Captain Corelli's Mandolin (2001), the recurring role of the benign wand-maker Mr. Ollivander in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010), the tyrannical dictator Adam Sutler in V for Vendetta (2005) and the voice of The Dragon in Merlin (2008). Among Hurt's final film appearances were as a terminally ill screenwriter in That Good Night (2017) and a lesser role in the mystery thriller Damascus Cover (2017). Hurt's voice was also tapped into animated features and documentaries, often serving as narrator. He also returned to the theatre performing in such shows as "The Seagull", "A Month in the Country" (1994), "Afterplay" (2002) and "Krapp's Last Tape", the latter for which he received the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award.

A recovered alcoholic who married four times, Hurt was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) by the Queen in 2004, and Knight Bachelor of the Order of the British Empire in 2015. That same year (2015) he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. In July of 2016, he was forced to bow out of the father role of Billy Rice in a then-upcoming London stage production of "The Entertainer" opposite Kenneth Branagh due to ill health that he described as an "intestinal ailment". Hurt died several months later at his home in Cromer, Norfolk, England on January 15, 2017, three days after his 77th birthday.

Mary Tyler Moore was born in Flatbush, Brooklyn, on December 29, 1936. Moore's family relocated to California when she was eight. Her childhood was troubled, due in part to her mother's alcoholism. The eldest of three siblings, she attended a Catholic high school and married upon her graduation, in 1955. Her only child, Richard Meeker Jr., was born soon after.

A dancer at first, Moore's first break in show business was in 1955, as a dancing kitchen appliance - Happy Hotpoint, the Hotpoint Appliance elf, in commercials generally broadcast during the popular sitcom The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952). She then shifted from dancing to acting and work soon came, at first a number of guest roles on television series, but eventually a recurring role as Sam, Richard Diamond's sultry answering service girl, on Richard Diamond, Private Detective (1956), her performance being particularly notorious because her legs (usually dangling a pump on her toe) were shown instead of her face.

Although these early roles often took advantage of her willowy charms (in particular, her famously-beautiful dancer's legs), Moore's career soon took a more substantive turn as she was cast in two of the most highly regarded comedies in television history, which would air first-run for most of the '60s and '70s. In the first of these, The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961), Moore played Laura Petrie, the charmingly loopy wife of star Dick Van Dyke. The show became famous for its very clever writing and terrific comic ensemble - Moore and her fellow performers received multiple Emmy Awards for their work. Meanwhile, she had divorced her first husband, and married advertising man (and, later, network executive) Grant Tinker.

After the end of The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961), Moore focused on movie-making, co-starring in five between the end of the sitcom and the start of The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970), including Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967), in which she plays a ditsy aspiring actress, and an inane Elvis Presley vehicle, Change of Habit (1969), in which she plays a nun-to-be and love interest for Presley. Also included in this mixed bag of films was a first-rate television movie, Run a Crooked Mile (1969), which was an early showcase for Moore's considerable talent at dramatic acting.

After trying her hand at movies for a few years, Moore decided, rather reluctantly, to return to television, but on her terms. The result was The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970), which was produced by MTM Enterprises, a company she had formed with Tinker, and which later went on to produce scores of other television series. Moore starred as Mary Richards, who moves to Minneapolis on the heels of a failed relationship. Mary finds work at the newsroom of WJM-TV, whose news program is the lowest-rated in the city, and establishes fast friendships with her colleagues and her neighbors. The sitcom was a commercial and critical success and for years was a fixture of CBS television's unbeatable Saturday night line-up. Moore and Tinker were determined from the start to make the sitcom a cut above the average, and it certainly was - instead of going for a barrage of gags, the humor took longer to develop and arose out of the interaction between the characters in more realistic situations. This was also one of the earliest television portrayals of a woman who was happy and successful on her own rather than simply being a man's wife. The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970) is generally included amongst the finest television series ever produced in America.

Moore ended the sitcom in 1977, while it was still on a high point, but found it difficult to flee the beloved Mary Richards persona - her subsequent attempts at television series, variety programs, and specials (such as the mortifying disco-era Mary's Incredible Dream (1976)) usually failed, but even her dramatic work, which is generally excellent, fell under the shadow of Mary Richards. With time, however, her body of dramatic acting came to be recognized on its own, with such memorable work as in Ordinary People (1980), as an aloof WASP mother who not-so-secretly resents her younger son's survival; in Finnegan Begin Again (1985), as a middle-aged widow who finds love with a man whose wife is slowly slipping away, in Lincoln (1988), as the troubled Mary Todd Lincoln, and in Stolen Babies (1993), as an infamous baby smuggler (for which she won her sixth Emmy Award). She also inspired a new appreciation for her famed comic talents in Flirting with Disaster (1996), in which she is hilarious as the resentful adoptive mother of a son who is seeking his birth parents. Moore also acted on Broadway, and she won a Tony Award for her performance in "Whose Life Is It Anyway?"

Widely acknowledged as being much tougher and more high-strung than her iconic image would suggest, Moore had a life with more than the normal share of ups and downs. Both of her siblings predeceased her, her sister Elizabeth of a drug overdose in 1978 and her brother John of cancer in 1991 after a failed attempt at assisted suicide, Moore having been the assistant. Moore's troubled son Richie shot and killed himself in what was officially ruled an accident in 1980. Moore was diagnosed an insulin-dependent diabetic in 1969, and had a bout with alcoholism in the early 1980s. Divorced from Tinker in 1981 after repeated separations and reconciliations, she married physician Robert Levine in 1983. The union with Levine proved to be Moore's longest run in matrimony and her only marriage not to end in divorce. Despite the opening credits of The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970), in which she throws a package of meat into her shopping cart, Moore was a vegetarian and a proponent of animal rights. She was an active spokesperson for both diabetes issues and animal rights.

On January 25, 2017, Mary Tyler Moore died at age 80 at Greenwich Hospital in Greenwich, Connecticut, from cardiopulmonary arrest complicated by pneumonia after having been placed on a respirator the previous week. She was laid to rest during a private ceremony at Oak Lawn Cemetery in Fairfield, Connecticut.

Kevin Geer's celebrated acting career includes appearances in feature film, on television, Broadway, Off-Broadway and London's West End. He recently completed one of the lead roles in the independent feature film Bunker Hill, from director Kevin Willmott (CSA: Confederate States of America). Geer appears alongside James McDaniel (NYPD Blue) and Saeed Jaffrey (Gandhi).

His many film credits include The Pelican Brief, Arrowshot (Sundance Film Festival), Walter Foote's The Tavern and Rod Luries' The Contender opposite Joan Allen. Kevin's extensive stage career includes celebrated performances on London's West End, where he most recently played Jonesey in Side Man, the 1999 Tony Award winner for Best Play. On Broadway, he co-starred in a highly acclaimed staging of Twelve Angry Men and A Streetcar Named Desire. His Off-Broadway credits include The Foreigner at the Astor Place Theatre and Found A Peanut at The Public.

On television, Kevin has appeared on Oz, Law & Order, Homicide, China Beach, M.A.S.H., Macgyver and the TV film Sweet Bird Of Youth opposite Elizabeth Taylor.

Jack Mendelsohn was born on 8 November 1926. He was a writer and producer, known for Yellow Submarine (1968), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987) and Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (1967). He was married to Carole Bruce Mendelsohn. He died on 25 January 2017 in the USA.

Shunji Fujimura was born on 8 December 1934 in Kamakura, Japan. He was an actor, known for Death Note (2006), Death Note: The Last Name (2006) and Death Note: L Change the World (2008). He died on 25 January 2017 in Japan.

Parvez Rana was a director and writer, known for Humayoon Gujjar (2001), Kalu Shah Puriya (2002) and Ishtehari Gujjar (2000). He died on 25 January 2017 in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan.

Raúl Valerio was born on 1 January 1927 in Zinacatepec, Puebla, Mexico. He was an actor, known for En busca de la muerte (1961), Marisol (1996) and Te presento a Laura (2010). He died on 25 January 2017 in Mexico, Distrito Federal, Mexico.

Paulette Rollin was born on 23 March 1920 in Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, France. She was an actress, known for Un rayon de soleil (1951), Cabaret du soir (1957) and Variétés (1951). She died on 25 January 2017 in Cozes, Charente-Maritime, France.

Siewert Öholm was born on 7 August 1939 in Husby, Hedemora Kommun, Dalarnas Län, Sweden. He was a producer and writer, known for Varuhuset (1987), Hela kyrkan sjunger (1973) and Nattkafé (1984). He was married to Gitten Bolin and Ann-Britt Larsson. He died on 25 January 2017 in Växjö, Sweden.

Stanislav Molganov was born on 15 April 1935 in Kiev, Ukrainian SSR, USSR. He was an actor, known for Zalozhniki strakha (1994), Tsyganka Aza (1987) and Gibel eskadry (1966). He died on 25 January 2017 in Kiev, Ukraine.

Agustín Sauret was born on 7 March 1927 in San Martín, Michoacán, Mexico. He was an actor, known for Una noche sin mañana (1961), Secuestro a mano armada (1992) and Entre sombras (1967). He was married to Marissa Garrido. He died on 25 January 2017 in Mexico, Distrito Federal, Mexico.

Gerardo Marotta was born on 26 April 1927 in Naples, Campania, Italy. He died on 25 January 2017 in Naples, Campania, Italy.

Buchi Emecheta was born on 21 July 1944 in Lagos, British Nigeria. She was a writer, known for Crown Court (1972), Centre Play (1973) and The Light of Experience (1976). She was married to Sylvester Onwordi. She died on 25 January 2017 in London, England, UK.

Sayed Hejab was born on 23 September 1940 in El Matareya, Egypt. Sayed was a writer and composer, known for Katibat el-Idam (1989), The Beginning (1986) and Kit Kat (1991). Sayed died on 25 January 2017 in Egypt.

Tom Edwards is known for The Blueblack Hussar (2013). Tom died on 25 January 2017 in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, USA.

Giuliano Varesco was born in 1924 in Cavalese, Trentino Alto-Adige, Italy. He was an actor, known for Doc. 33 (2011). He died on 25 January 2017 in Cavalese, Trentino Alto-Adige, Italy.

Nora Cífková was born on 21 February 1920 in Prague, Czechoslovakia. She was an actress, known for Babichka (1940), Minulost Jany Kosinové (1940) and 13. revír (1946). She was married to Vladimír Novotný. She died on 25 January 2017 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

Harry Mathews was born on 14 February 1930 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. He was married to Marie Chaix and Niki De Saint Phalle. He died on 25 January 2017 in Key West, Florida, USA.