Deaths: December 6

Ron Leibman was born on 11 October 1937 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Garden State (2004), Zorro: The Gay Blade (1981) and Kaz (1978). He was married to Jessica Walter and Linda Lavin. He died on 6 December 2019 in New York City, New York, USA.

Ace Cannon was born on 5 May 1934 in Greneda, Mississippi, USA. He died on 6 December 2018 in Calhoun City, Mississippi, USA.

Burr Tillstrom was born on 13 October 1917 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was an actor and producer, known for Kukla, Fran and Ollie (1969), The Wizard of Oz (1950) and That Was the Week That Was (1963). He died on 6 December 1985 in Palm Springs, California, USA.

Carlos Silveyra was born on 15 April 1969 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was an actor, known for 25 miradas, 200 minutos (2010) and Chasqui (2010). He died on 6 December 2017 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Conrad Brooks was born as Conrad Biedrzycki on January 3, 1931 in Baltimore, Maryland. He was the son of Polish immigrants, with a baker father, and had seven brothers and sisters. At seventeen, along with his brothers Henry and Ted, he went to Hollywood, California. Brooks first encountered legendary Grade-Z filmmaker Ed Wood in a donut shop. Conrad first collaborated with Wood on the fifteen minute short movie "Range Revenge." Brooks had three roles in Wood's "Glen or Glenda." He achieved his greatest enduring cult popularity as Patrolman Jamie in "Plan 9 from Outer Space." Conrad briefly popped up in the uproariously awful cheapie clunker "The Beast of Yucca Flats."

Brooks took a hiatus from acting in the 1960s and 1970s. He came back with a vengeance in the 1980s and went on to work profusely in a slew of enjoyably tacky low-budget independent fright features. Conrad acted in three amusingly crude comedies for director Mark Pirro: "A Polish Vampire in Burbank," "Deathrow Gameshow," and "Curse of the Queerwolf." Brooks has a small role as a bartender in Tim Burton's wonderful "Ed Wood." Conrad gave a really funny and engaging performance as flaky, good-natured projectionist Oscar in Fred Olen Ray's delightful "Bikini Drive-In." Brooks appeared in a bunch of pictures for director Donald G. Jackson; he's especially memorable as the amiable Swamp Farmer in "Rollergator," "Toad Warrior," and "Max Hell Comes to Frogtown." Conrad also wrote, produced, and directed a few films that include "Gypsy Vampire" and all three "Jan-Gel" movies.

Brooks was interviewed in a handful of documentaries about Ed Wood. Moreover, Conrad was also a regular guest at horror movie conventions held all over the country and lived in northeast West Virginia. Brooks died at age 86 on December 6, 2017.

Dobie Gray was born on July 26, 1940, to a family of sharecroppers in Simonton, Texas (some sources cite Brookshire, Texas, as Gray's place of birth, but he claimed on his official website that he hails from Simonton. Moreover, his birth name has been variously cited as either Lawrence Victor Ainsworth or Laurence Darrow Brown). Gray's Baptist minister grandfather introduced him to gospel music. Dobie also listened to country/western and rhythm-and-blues music as a kid.

He moved to Los Angeles in the early 1960s. His seventh recorded single, "Look at Me", was his first chart success. Dobie had a top-20 hit with the catchy "The 'In' Crowd" in 1965. The follow-up song, "See You at the Go-Go", was only a modest success. While in Hollywood Gray took acting classes and acted in stage productions of "A Raisin in the Sun," "The Amen Corner," "Look Homeward Angel," "Rhinoceros," and the hugely popular hippie counterculture musical "Hair" (he stayed with this play for two and a half years). He sang with the band Pollution in the early 1970s. In 1973 he scored his biggest and most beloved smash with the supremely mellow and soothing "Drift Away", which reached #5 on the pop charts, has been covered by many major artists (among them Elvis Presley and Ray Charles) and has since become a staple on classic rock radio stations. Dobie played a lead role in the blaxploitation feature Mean Mother (1973) and appeared as himself in the comedy Out of Sight (1966).

Dobie's sound changed from soul to country in the mid-'70s. He relocated to Nashville, Tennessee, and had modest country chart hits with such songs as "That's One to Grow On" and "From Where I Stand." In addition, Gray enjoyed a nice sideline career as a songwriter; among the artists he penned songs for are Charley Pride, George Jones, Johnny Mathis, Conway Twitty, John Denver, B.J. Thomas and Tammy Wynette. Moreover, Dobie did radio and TV commercial work for such high-profile companies as Budweiser, Coca-Cola, Allstate, Chevrolet, Buick, and Kraft. He toured in Europe, Australia, and Africa (he performed for integrated audiences in South Africa during the apartheid era). His songs are featured on the soundtracks to such movies as Uptown Saturday Night (1974) (in which he sings the titular theme song), Casey's Shadow (1978), Casino (1995) and Wonderland (2003). In 2003 he sang a duet with rap artist Uncle Kracker on a hip-hop cover of "Drift Away;" the cover peaked at #1 on the charts for 28 weeks. Gray died at age 71 from cancer on December 6, 2011 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Don Ameche was a versatile and popular American film actor in the 1930s and '40s, usually as the dapper, mustached leading man. He was also popular as a radio master of ceremonies during this time. As his film popularity waned in the 1950s, he continued working in theater and some TV. His film career surged in a comeback in the 1980s with fine work as an aging millionaire in Trading Places (1983) and a rejuvenated oldster in Cocoon (1985).

Ameche was born Dominic Felix Amici in Kenosha, Wisconsin, to Barbara Edda (Hertel) and Felice Amici, a bartender.

Dónall Farmer was born on 24 November 1937 in Cork, Ireland. He was a producer and director, known for The Riordans (1965), Thursday Play Date (1964) and A HAon is a HAon Sin a HAon (1968). He was married to Colette Mulcahy. He died on 6 December 2018 in Dublin, Ireland.

Ed Cassidy was born on 4 May 1923 in Harvey, Illinois, USA. He was an actor, known for Spirit: I Got a Line on You (1984) and Spirit: 1984, Version 2 (1970). He died on 6 December 2012 in San Jose, California, USA.

Eduardo Rudy was born on 8 October 1920 in Esperanza, Santa Fe, Argentina. He was an actor and writer, known for Cuatro hombres para Eva (1966), El hombre que volvió de la muerte (1969) and Los hermanos (1965). He died on 6 December 1989 in La Falda, Córdoba, Argentina.

Enrique Anderson Imbert was born on 12 February 1910 in Cordoba, Argentina. He was a writer, known for El leve pedro (2013). He was married to Margot Di Clerico. He died on 6 December 2000 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Frances Bavier was born in New York City on December 14, 1902. Her first Broadway appearance was in April 1925 in "The Poor Nut," the start of a successful Broadway career. She traveled with the USO to entertain the U.S. troops in the Pacific during World War II. Her last appearance on Broadway was in the 1951 play, "Point of No Return" starring Henry Fonda. It ran for 356 performances.

Her first movie was the 1951 sci-fi classic The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), which was also the first time Frances appeared with Olan Soule. He later went on to play Mayberry's choir director, John Masters, on the The Andy Griffith Show (1960). In the movie, they were both boarders in the rooming house where the alien stayed. She made many movies during the 50s and appeared on TV as featured characters on shows like It's a Great Life (1954) and The Eve Arden Show (1957) before what would become her most famous role, that of Aunt Bee to Andy Taylor (Andy Griffith) and Opie Taylor (Ron Howard) on The Andy Griffith Show (1960).

Gerald Lawson was born on 30 April 1897 in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, UK. He was an actor and writer, known for The Mummy (1959), Doctor Blood's Coffin (1961) and St. Ives (1955). He died on 6 December 1973 in Bingley, Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, UK.

Born in Milan in 1933, Gian Maria Volontè studied in Rome at the National Dramatic Arts Academy, where he obtained his degree in 1957. He began working in theatre and television, where he was soon noticed as one of the most promising actors of his generation. After several supporting appearances in film, he reached notoriety with the character of Ramón Rojo in Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars (1964). This success was doubled in Leone's next film, For a Few Dollars More (1965). The following ten years would be the most intense of Volontè career. L'armata Brancaleone (1966) (directed by Mario Monicelli) was the most successful Italian movie of the year, We Still Kill the Old Way (1967) (directed by Elio Petri) won the Grand Prix du Scenario at the Cannes Film Festival, and Volontè won his first Nastro d'Argento (Silver Ribbon - the most prestigious acting award in Italy) in 1970 for Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion (1970) (also directed by Petri), making him an international star. The film won the Academy Award for Best Foreign-Language Film, the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival and two Italian Golden Globes, including one for his performance. In 1972, he starred in two Italian movies as the protagonist: Petri's The Working Class Goes to Heaven (1971) and Francesco Rosi's The Mattei Affair (1972), both of which won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival, where he also won a Special Mention. In his life, Volontè won a huge number of other prizes and honours, becoming one of the most celebrated Italian actors of the seventies, and challenging Vittorio Gassman and Marcello Mastroianni as the most popular Italian actor. He died in Greece in 1994.

American character actor, mainly in Westerns in comic or rustic roles. Born Norton Earl Worden in Rolfe, Iowa, during his parents' visit to a relative's home there, he was raised on a cattle ranch near Glendive, Montana. Educated at Stanford and the University of Nevada as an engineer, he trained as an Army pilot, but washed out of flight school. Worden toured the country in rodeos as a saddle bronc rider and broke his neck in a horse fall in his 20s, but didn't know it until his 40s. Chosen along with Tex Ritter from a rodeo at Madison Square Garden in New York to appear in the Broadway play "Green Grow the Lilacs", the play from which the musical "Oklahoma" was later derived, he afterward drove a cab in New York, then worked on dude ranches as a wrangler and as a guide on the Bright Angel trail of the Grand Canyon. Recommended by Billie Burke to several movie producers, Worden became friends with John Wayne, Howard Hawks, and later John Ford, all of whom provided him with much work. He was married to Louise Eaton, who predeceased him. Following his wife's death, he shared his house with Jim Beaver for several years, thus generously helping the young actor gain a foothold in Hollywood. He died in his sleep at 91, survived by his adopted daughter Dawn Henry.

Woodlawn was born Haroldo Santiago Franceschi Rodriguez Danhakl in Juana Díaz, Puerto Rico. Her mother, Aminta Rodriguez, married the baby's father, a German-American sailor in the U.S. Navy stationed in Puerto Rico, but they divorced when his military service ended. When Woodlawn was nine, her mother moved to New York and remarried, to Joseph Ajzenberg, a Polish Jewish immigrant whom she met while waiting tables at a resort in the Catskills Mountains. The new family eventually relocated to Miami Beach, Florida.

Irena Laskowska was born on 15 March 1925 in Piotrowice, Wilenskie, Poland [now Lithuania]. She was an actress, known for Stalowe serca (1948), The Last Day of Summer (1958) and Gangsterzy i filantropi (1963). She was married to Mieczyslaw Piotrowski. She died on 6 December 2019 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.

Iván Delgado was an actor and composer, known for La Ley: Desiertos (1990), Saiko: La fábula (1999) and Saiko: Cuando miro en tus ojos (2000). He died on 6 December 2018 in Chile.

J. Edward Bromberg was a founding member of the legendary Group Theatre. His appearance being rather short and stocky, Bromberg from the start was known as a character actor who was very respected by his peers. He was primarily a stage actor but in the mid-thirties made his way into film where he further enhanced his reputation as a diverse character actor.

In 1950 he was accused of being a communist and ordered to appear before the House Committee of Un-American Activities. He plead the 5th amendment refusing to answer questions as was his right. He was also named as a communist by film director Edward Dmytryk. Bromberg was then blacklisted and could no longer appear in films. The trauma of all that he went through took a terrible toll on his health. While working on a play in England, J. Edward Bromberg died of a heart attack just before his 48th birthday.

At a memorial service for Bromberg, actress Lee Grant was asked to give one of the eulogies. Ms. Grant, a close friend of Bromberg's was fresh on the heels of her great successes in the stage and film productions of "Detective Story" (garnered her a Critic's Circle Award, the Cannes Film Festival award for Best Actress and an Best Supporting Actress Academy Award Nomination as the "Shoplifter".) Ms. Grant knowing the awful pressures exerted upon J. Edward and the possible fallout that was wreaking havoc in the film community gave a moving eulogy. This eulogy was printed in "Red Channels" and effectively squelched Ms. Grant's film career for many years. It was her small but wonderfully played role as Mrs. Colbert in Norman Jewison's "In the Heat of the Night" that revived her film career. Such was only two of the numerous tragedies done to American Artists of the time.

James Dobson was born on 2 October 1920 in Greeneville, Tennessee, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Dark Echoes (1977), The Undefeated (1969) and Hornets' Nest (1970). He died on 6 December 1987 in Hollywood, California, USA.

As Disney's lively lass Katie O'Gill, she was the freshness of spring. She could inspire you to dance a jig through a field of flowers. Her entrancing green eyes and catchy spirit had that kind of life-affirming effect. Cute, spunky, almond-eyed British actress Janet Munro was deemed to be an actress from day one as the daughter of Scottish stage and variety-hall comedian Alex Munro (1911-1986) (born Alexander Horsburgh). Janet Neilson Horsburgh was born in Blackpool (near Liverpool), Lancashire, England on September 28, 1934. Her entertainer father adopted the name Munro a few years after she was born. His wife, Janet's mother Phyllis, died when Janet was 8 and she was raised by his second wife, Lilias.

Janet first trained as a teenager in repertory theatre in the Lancashire area, and in the late 1950s she found popularity on British TV, even earning the title of "Miss Television of 1958" from a fan magazine. She also dabbled in films and had prominent roles in the breezy comedy Small Hotel (1957), the drama The Young and the Guilty (1959), and the creepy sci-fi/horror The Crawling Eye (1958) [aka The Trollenberg Terror].

Adaptable to both comedy and drama, the little charmer caught the eye of Walt Disney who saw big things for her, and she was signed to a five-picture deal in 1959. She made four. Appealing to a brand new generation of Britishers and Americans as the scrappy, brunette-banged ingénue of several box-office family films, she brightened up the screen with her performances in Darby O'Gill and the Little People (1959), Third Man on the Mountain (1959), and Swiss Family Robinson (1960).

The Golden Globe winner for "most promising newcomer" eventually outgrew Disney and tried to move ahead by altering her wholesome image with some mature, spicier roles, but audiences didn't respond well to this sudden departure. The idea of an adult Janet Munro playing overly-sexy ladies and seriously downtrodden women did not take and her career quickly faltered. Despite a BAFTA nomination for her role in Walk in the Shadow (1962), she began to see life unraveling both personally and professionally right before her eyes.

Janet's marriages to actors Tony Wright and Ian Hendry fell by the wayside and two miscarriages, plus chronic medical ills, only deepened her suffering. Worse yet, she developed an acute alcohol problem. Semi-retired from acting between 1964 and 1968 while married to Hendry in order to raise her children, she found the going difficult when she tried to return full-time.

Ironically, one of Janet's last screen roles showed her at her dramatic best, a boozing pop star in the British film Sebastian (1968). Four years later Janet died under somewhat mysterious circumstances. Reports circulated that she choked to death at a London hotel while drinking tea. The immediate cause of her death was acute myocarditis; the underlying cause was chronic ischemic heart disease. The sun set all too soon on this lovely actress when she was only 38. She was survived by her daughters, Sally and Corrie Hendry.

Janusz Dzieciol was born on 11 December 1953 in Dabrowa Chelminska, Kujawsko-Pomorskie, Poland. He was an actor, known for Gulczas, what do you think... (2001) and Big Brother (2001). He was married to Wieslawa. He died on 6 December 2019 in Bialy Bór, Zachodniopomorskie, Poland.

Perhaps not so surprisingly, John Payne maintained that his favorite movie of all time was one of his own -- Miracle on 34th Street (1947) -- simply because it reflected his own strong and spiritual belief system. Today, of course, the film, which co-stars beautiful Maureen O'Hara, Oscar-winning Edmund Gwenn as Kris Kringle and little non-believing scene-steal Natalie Wood, is a perennial holiday favorite and his best-remembered film role despite the mighty fine product he turned out over the years.

Born John Howard Payne on May 28, 1912 (not May 23, according to his daughter, actress Julie Payne), he was the middle son of three boys (Peter and Robert were the others). His parents, businessman George Washington Payne and Ida Hope (ne Schaeffer) Payne were quite well-to-do and came from a rich heritage. John was named after an ancestor who wrote the song, "Home, Sweet, Home." The boys grew up privileged on a Roanoke, Virginia estate complete with equestrian stables and swimming pools. At his mother's request, John took singing lessons in order to curb an extreme shyness problem. During his teens, the boy was shipped off to Mercersburg Academy, a prep school in Pennsylvania, and later was studying at Roanoke College at the time his father died. John was forced to give up his studies in an effort to help support his family, finding work as a male nurse and, better yet, a radio singer at a local station. Eventually, he was able to return to his studies, enrolling at the Pulitzer School of Journalism at Columbia University. John continued to find work as a singer and even earned some extra cash as a boxer and wrestler.

The tall (6'2"), dark, and handsome Payne, in his mid-20s, eventually turned to the stage and, while understudying Reginald Gardiner in the musical "At Home Abroad," was spotted by Samuel Goldwyn during a performance signed for film work. Billed initially as John Howard Payne, he made his debut with a minor role in Dodsworth (1936), but nothing else came of it and he was released. Freelancing in minor musicals and comedies, he appeared in a starring role (billed now as John Payne) opposite soon-to-be acting guru Stella Adler in Love on Toast (1937), and also teamed up vocally with Betty Grable on a radio show. Payne met actress Anne Shirley during this time and the couple married in August of 1937. Three years later they had a daughter, Julie Payne, who would become an actress in her own right. The happiness for John and Anne wouldn't last, however, and the couple divorced in 1943.

In 1937, Paramount took over the actor's interest with a featured part in Bob Hope's College Swing (1938). Warner Bros. then signed him up briefly, allowing him a third-billed role in the Busby Berkeley musical Garden of the Moon (1938) starring Pat O'Brien and Margaret Lindsay in which he sang the title song as well as the tune "Love Is Where You Find It," among others. Again, John didn't have the right studio fit until 20th Century-Fox came along in 1940. Then it all began to happen for him. Co-starring roles opposite Alice Faye in the musicals Tin Pan Alley (1940) and Week-End in Havana (1941), and with popular skating star Sonja Henie in Sun Valley Serenade (1941) and Iceland (1942) started the ball rolling. But it was a starring role in the war tearjerker Remember the Day (1941), in which he was romantically paired with Claudette Colbert, that secured his place as a dramatic actor and gave him one of his best career showcases.

After co-starring with former radio partner Betty Grable in Springtime in the Rockies (1942), John served a two-year hitch (1942-1944) with the Army. Upon his discharge he went right back to courting Betty Grable in the musical film The Dolly Sisters (1945) and met 18-year-old singer/actress Gloria DeHaven during its shoot. The twosome wed in 1945 and a daughter and son were born within three years. Problems arose when Gloria insisted on continuing her career and the couple, after on and off separations, finally divorced in 1950. John's early post-WWII work offered some of his finest roles with significant non-singing parts coming in the form of Sentimental Journey (1946) with Maureen O'Hara which was a project he bought for himself, the glossy epic The Razor's Edge (1946) co-starring Gene Tierney, Miracle on 34th Street (1947), again paired up magically with O'Hara, and Larceny (1948) with Joan Caulfield.

After John left 20th Century-Fox, his film vehicles grew more routine. Crimers, war drama, and westerns became the norm but a smart and lucrative business arrangement (that included a seven-picture deal) with action producers William H. Pine and William C. Thomas (Pine-Thomas Productions) compensated greatly. As such John appeared in El Paso (1949), Tripoli (1950), Passage West (1951), Kansas City Confidential (1952). 99 River Street (1953), Silver Lode (1954) and ended the deal with Slightly Scarlet (1956). A shrewd businessman, Payne also obtained rights to these films in the aftermath. In 1953, he entered into his third and final marriage to Alexandra ("Sandy") Crowell Curtis, the former wife of actor Alan Curtis. In addition to returning to his singing roots with Las Vegas showroom engagements, John went on to star in his own western TV series The Restless Gun (1957) which lasted two seasons. Daughter Julie appeared in one episode.

A very serious 1961 accident, however, in which John was hit by a car in New York City, slowed him down considerably. It took well over two years for him to recover enough from his leg fractures and facial/scalp wounds to return to acting. In 1964, he co-starred on Broadway with Lisa Kirk in the Broadway musical "Here's Love". A decade later he returned to the arms of Alice Faye when they reunited on stage with a Broadway revival of "Good News". Unfortunately he had to leave the show prematurely as the dancing required was re-aggravating his leg pain. His 70s career ended with TV roles on such shows as "Gunsmoke," "Cade's Country" and "Columbo".

Retiring in 1975, John focused quietly on reading, writing short stories, flying, and cooking. In addition to daughter Julie, two of his grandchildren went on to become actresses as well -- Katharine Towne and Holly Payne. The 77-year-old Payne died on December 6, 1989 at his Malibu home of congestive heart failure. A reliable and steady leading man who may not have been a great mover or shaker on screen, he nonetheless brought tremendous entertainment to the industry and his fans both musically and dramatically in a career that lasted four decades.

Joseph Joffo was born on 2 April 1931 in Paris, France. He was an actor and writer, known for Un sac de billes (1975), A Bag of Marbles (2017) and The Origin of Violence (2016). He died on 6 December 2018 in Saint-Laurent-du-Var, Alpes-Maritimes, France.

Juan Luis Buñuel was born on 9 November 1934 in Paris, France. He was a director and assistant director, known for Expulsion of the Devil (1973), That Obscure Object of Desire (1977) and Viridiana (1961). He was married to Joyce Buñuel. He died on 6 December 2017 in Paris, France.