Deaths: June 2

Mary Pat Gleason was born on 23 February 1950 in Lake City, Minnesota, USA. She was an actress and writer, known for Intolerable Cruelty (2003), The Crucible (1996) and A Cinderella Story (2004). She died on 2 June 2020 in Burbank, California, USA.

Alan Rollinson was born on 15 May 1943 in Walsall, West Midlands, England, United Kingdom. He died on 2 June 2019 in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England, United Kingdom.

Alistair has been working as an actor and stage-director for 43 years, in New Zealand, Australia and England. He has won seven awards for acting and one for for directing. He trained at Theatre Corporate and the Mercury Theatre in Auckland, NZ and went on to play Hamlet and many other Shakespeare and classic roles, as well as comedies, modern dramas and musicals in theaters around New Zealand, and then in the countries above. He then began an ongoing career in film and television. He continues to work to this day, based in Auckland, NZ.

Ann Nelson was born on 27 May 1916 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She was an actress, known for Airplane! (1980), My Girl (1991) and Airplane II: The Sequel (1982). She was married to Froyd Nelson and Stanley McDonald. She died on 2 June 1992 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Anthony 'Scooter' Teague attended Jacksboro High School from 1953-55. Always seeking to be in the entertainment business, he landed the role of "Big Deal" in West Side Story (1961) and was in several other films, including How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1967) and received a role in the Elvis Presley film, The Trouble with Girls (1969), and appeared in several stage productions. His family included son Christian (born 1972) and daughter Kendall (born 1975) , and a brother, Charles A Teague.

Bernard E. Trainor was born on 28 September 1928 in New York City, New York, USA. He is known for Odysseus in America (2005), The Korean War: Fire and Ice (1999) and Meet the Press (1947). He was married to Peggy Hamilton. He died on 2 June 2018 in Potomac Falls, Maryland, USA.

Ever heard "I Want Candy" or "Not Fade Away" or "Willie & The Hand Jive", Shirley & Company's "Shame, Shame, Shame" or U2's "Desire" or George Michael's "Faith"? If you have, then you've heard the "Bo Diddley beat", the most famous beat in the world! One of the founding fathers of rock 'n' roll, Bo Diddley's innovative pounding and hypnotic, Latin-tinged beat, his vast array of electric custom-built guitars, his use of reverb, tremelo and distortion to make his guitars talk, mumble and roar, his use of female musicians, his wild stage shows, and his on-record and on-stage rapping, pre-date all others. Bo Diddley was born Ellas Bates on Sunday December 30, 1928, on a small farm near the town of McComb, Mississippi, in rural Pike County, close to the Louisiana border, the only child of Ethel Wilson and Eugene Bates, he had three half-brothers and a half-sister. He was adopted by his mother's cousin, Mrs. Gussie McDaniel, along with his cousins Willis, Lucille and Freddie, and adopted the name Ellas McDaniel. In the mid-1'30s the family moved to the south side of Chicago. Soon after, he began to take violin lessons from Professor O.W. Frederick at the Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church. He studied the violin for 12 years, composing two concertos for the instrument. For Christmas in 1940, his sister Lucille bought him his first guitar, a cheap Harmony acoustic. It was at this time that he acquired the nickname "Bo Diddley" (" . . . Bo Diddley is me; to tell ya the truth, I don't know what it [the name] really is . . . ") from his fellow pupils at the Foster Vocational High School in Chicago. The newly named Bo Diddley had long been fascinated by the rhythms that he heard coming from the sanctified churches. A frustrated drummer, he tried to translate the sounds that he heard into his own style. Gradually he began to duplicate what he did with his violin bow by rapidly flicking his pick across his guitar strings: "I play the guitar as if I'm playing the drums . . . I play drum licks on the guitar." He continued to practice the guitar through his early teens. Shortly before leaving school he formed his first group, a trio named The Hipsters, later known as The Langley Avenue Jive Cats, after the Chicago street where he lived. Upon graduation he pursued a variety of low-paid occupations including truck driving, building site work and boxing, playing locally with his group to supplement his income. Around this time he married his first wife, Louise Woolingham, but the marriage did not survive. A year later he married Ethel "Tootsie" Smith, a marriage that lasted just over a decade. In 1950 maracas player Jerome Green joined the group, followed a year later by harmonica player Billy Boy Arnold. After more than a decade of playing on street corners and in clubs around Chicago, Bo Diddley finally got the chance to cut a demo of 2 songs that he had written; "Uncle John" and "I'm A Man". After various rejections from local record labels (most notably VeeJay), in the spring of 1955 he took the recordings to brothers Leonard and Phil Chess, owners of Chess Records, with studios located at 4750-2 South Cottage Grove Ave. in Chicago. They suggested that he changed the title and the lyrics of "Uncle John" to more reflect his own unique personality. The twp songs were re-recorded at Bill Putnam's Universal Recording Studio at 111 E. Ontario in Chicago on Wednesday, March 2, 1955, and released as a double A-side disc "Bo Diddley"/"I'm A Man" on the Chess Records subsidiary label Checker Records. It went straight to the top of the R&B charts, establishing him as one of the most exciting and original new talents in American music. With musical influences of his own ranging from Louis Jordan to John Lee Hooker, and from 'Nat 'King' Cole' to Muddy Waters, Bo Diddley was now set to help shape and define the sound and presentation of rock music for all time. From Elvis Presley to George Thorogood, from The Rolling Stones to ZZ Top, from The Doors to The Clash, from Buddy Holly to Prince, and from The Everly Brothers to Run DMC, all acknowledged the unique influences of Bo Diddley upon their styles of music. Now in his early 70s, he is still very much active in the recording studio and in the clubs and the concert halls around the world. He performed a rousing version of his classic song "Who Do You Love" with George Thorogood & The Destroyers in front of a TV audience of millions at the Live Aid Concert in Philadelphia in 1985. A couple of years later he was deservedly an early inductee into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame. In 1996 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Rhythm 'n' Blues Foundation and in 1998 received another Lifetime Achievement Award, this time from The Recording Academy at that year's annual Grammy Awards Ceremony. In 2000 yet another honor was justifiably awarded to him when he was inducted into The Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame. In the words of one of his many famous eponymous songs, "Bo Diddley Put The Rock in Rock 'n' Roll", and remember . . . Bo Knows!

Bunny Berigan was born on 2 November 1908 in Fox Lake, Wisconsin, USA. He is known for Brick (2005), Me and Orson Welles (2008) and Save the Tiger (1973). He was married to Donna. He died on 2 June 1942 in New York City, New York, USA.

Born in Port Richey, Florida, and raised in Dearborn, Michigan, Chris Trousdale was a natural performer, who at only three years of age was drawn to the bright lights of the stage. Chris began his Broadway career when he was eight years old, touring with the production of "Les Miserables," where he starred alongside Ashley Tisdale and after a successful run, moved to New York City at the age of ten, to join the Broadway production of the play with Lea Michelle of "Glee." While in New York, Chris joined the well known children's group "The Broadway Kids" (past members include Christy Carlson Romano, Jenna Ushkowitz, and Lacey Chabert) and performed in popular plays such as "Beauty and the Beast," "Wizard of Oz," and "Radio City Christmas," to name a few.

Chris' ability to captivate audiences caught the attention of two producers who were putting together a boy band in New York City. Consisting of five members, including Jesse McCartney, Chris joined "Dream Street" in 1999. The group released their debut, self-titled, album in 2001 which was #1 on Billboard's Independent Albums chart its first week of release. The album went on to sell a million copies nationwide. After three years together, "Dream Street" parted ways and Chris decided to embark on a career as a solo artist as well as finish his schooling at the renowned Professional Performing Arts School.

Chris went on to record "Kissless Christmas" and "Wild Christmas" for School's Out! Christmas album in addition to the popular duets with the girl group Play (rendition of "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me") and solo artist Nikki Cleary (remake of the Grease track "You're the One that I Want"), which were huge hits on Radio Disney. However, shortly after his solo career started to take off, Chris put his career on hold in 2006 and moved back home to Michigan to take care of his ailing mother.

After taking a year break from showbiz, Chris came back stronger than ever, starring in the crime thriller "Seducing Spirits" and he hasn't looked back ever since.

Currently, Chris can be seen on the popular Disney show "Shake It Up" where he plays teen "it" boy "Justin Starr," who makes girl's hearts melt every time he sings (just think Justin Bieber). Justin likes to think of himself as a "normal regular kid," a regular kid who has sold ten million albums, had a sold out concert tour and even his own lunch box, but there's more behind his mega-watt smile than meets the eye.

In addition to "Shake It Up," Chris is currently in studio recording a self-titled, dance/pop album due out in 2011.

Dick Cusack was born on 29 August 1925 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for While You Were Sleeping (1995), Eight Men Out (1988) and The Fugitive (1993). He was married to Ann Paula "Nancy" Carolan. He died on 2 June 2003 in Evanston, Illinois, USA.

Dorothy DeBorba was born on 28 March 1925 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She was an actress, known for Love Business (1930), Dogs Is Dogs (1931) and The Stolen Jools (1931). She was married to Max Ferdinand Haberreiter. She died on 2 June 2010 in Walnut Creek, California, USA.

Stickney, who was born in Dickinson, North Dakota, studied acting in Minneapolis, after which she spent several years in summer stock and vaudeville. Her father, Victor Hugo Stickney, was a doctor who made house calls on horseback; he was among the first 10 elected to the National Cowboy Hall of Fame.

She attended the North Western Dramatic School in Minneapolis, and was one of the four singer/dancer "Southern Belles" in vaudeville. Her initial failure to obtain acting roles in New York in the 1920s led her to write a poem, "You're Not the Type", published in Liberty magazine. Her 1926 Broadway debut was a bit part in "The Squall", after which she often played character roles as an eccentric.

She created the role of Mollie Molloy (who jumps out of the window) in "The Front Page." Other plays included "Chicago," "Another Language," and "On Borrowed Time." "Life With Father," written by her husband Howard Lindsay, was turned down by everyone (including Lunt and Fontanne), so she and Lindsay played the parts in summer stock, bringing it finally to Broadway's Empire Theater on November 8, 1939. It closed seven years and 3,224 performances later, still the longest running non-musical on Broadway. When the Empire was demolished, she and Lindsay put two salvaged orchestra seats in their East Side townhouse; she died there, aged 101.

Elina Colomer was born in 1922 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She was an actress, known for The Count of Monte Cristo (1953), Mujeres casadas (1954) and Bicho raro (1965). She died on 2 January 1987 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Floyd Zaiger was born on 26 April 1926 in Kennard, Nebraska, USA. He was married to Betty Jean Taylor. He died on 2 June 2020 in Modesto, California, USA.

George Riddle was born on 21 May 1937 in Auburn, Indiana, USA. He was an actor, known for Arthur (1981), The Innkeepers (2011) and The Kitchen (2019). He died on 2 June 2023 in North Plainfield, New Jersey, USA.

American playwright of acerbic wit. Twice won the Pulitzer Prize, and is best known for his collaborative authorship of "Once in a Lifetime," with Moss Hart (1930); "Of Thee I Sing," with Morrie Ryskind and Ira Gershwin (1931); "Dinner at Eight," with Edna Ferber (1932); "You Can't Take It with You" and "The Man Who Came to Dinner," again with Hart (1936 and 1939, respectively) and "The Solid Gold Cadillac," with Howard Teichmann (1953). (George Gershwin supplied the music for "Of Thee I Sing.")

Gloria Ugarte was born in 1925 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She was an actress, known for Ché OVNI (1968), Sola (1983) and Alta comedia (1965). She died in 1995 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Héctor Suárez was born on 21 October 1938 in Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico. He was an actor and director, known for El mil usos (1983), Las fuerzas vivas (1975) and ¿Qué nos pasa? (1985). He died on 2 June 2020 in Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico.

Helen Carter was born on 12 September 1927 in Maces Springs, Scott County, Virginia, USA. She died on 2 June 1998 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA.

Imogene Coca is best remembered for playing opposite Sid Caesar in the live 90-minute Your Show of Shows (1950), which ran every Saturday night in regular season on NBC from February 1950 to June 1954. Their repertoire of comedy acts included the very memorable, hilarious, timeless and irreconcilable married couple Charlie and Doris Hickenlooper. Coca, however, did not begin her career in comedy. Her father, who was the conductor at a small Philadelphia opera house, and her mother, who performed in vaudeville, certainly instilled in her a desire to perform, but nurtured that desire with piano lessons, vocal training and dance. "I began as one of those horrible little children who sing with no voice," Coca said of her early training. By the time she was 13, she found herself tap dancing, somersaulting (along with various other acrobatics), dancing ballet and otherwise committed full-time as a serious vaudeville trouper. She left Philadelphia at 15 for New York, where she plied her trade as a dancer. She debuted in the chorus of "When You Smile." For the next 30 years music and dance were her staple. She could be found in the troupes of musical revues and doing her own acts in Manhattan clubs, such as the Rainbow Room, the Silver Slipper and Cafe Society Uptown. Her first husband, Robert Burton (who died in 1955), arranged music for many of her performances. Comedy and pantomime filtered into her routines quite by accident. In the production of "New Faces of 1934" Leonard Sillman, the choreographer for the show, loaned her his coat to keep her warm in what was a very cold theater. To augment what warmth she was getting from the oversized coat, Coca, along with three male dancers in the chorus began jumping up and down and improvising dance steps. Stillman noticed them and immediately recognized the comedic affect. He encouraged them to repeat the routine in the show, coat and all, which they did. Although coolly received by the audience at first, eventually the bit had the audience in stitches. Even the critics laughed, crediting Coca with great comedic talent. To hone her skills in what would become her forte in show business, Coca did the next four summers in the Poconos working with Danny Kaye, Carol Channing and the like.

It wasn't until near the end of WWII that she found much work in her new field and it wasn't until January 1949 that she was paired with Caesar in NBC's The Admiral Broadway Revue (1949), a show that aired only until that summer. In the fall of 1950 "Your Show of Shows" was launched on NBC. Coca won an Emmy the following year for her contributions to the program. She and Ceasar left the show in 1954 to pursue individual routes. They did not, however, match the success they enjoyed in "Your Show of Shows." Coca attempted a solo with The Imogene Coca Show (1954), but it lasted only one season. In 1958 Caesar and she paired again on Sid Caesar Invites You (1958); still, it was not the same. Only in 1967 did some of that same magic again occur when the original cast from "Your Show of Shows" reunited on CBS in _The Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca, Carl Reiner, Howard Morris Special (1967) (TV)_; it won an Emmy for outstanding variety special.

Coca starred in two single-season sitcoms in the 1960s: NBC's 1963-64 Grindl (1963) and CBS' 1966-67 It's About Time (1966). In the 1970s she could be found visiting on Dick Cavett's talk show and making guest appearances on The Carol Burnett Show (1967). Thereafter, she appeared only sporadically on TV and in the movies--her most notable appearance was as Aunt Edna in National Lampoon's Vacation (1983) with Chevy Chase. Coca and Caesar re-visited some of their old sketches and put together the 1991 show "Together Again", which they toured throughout the country on stage. In her later years Coca and her second husband, actor King Donovan (who died in 1987), lived in Connecticut and Manhattan, staying close to her roots in vaudeville, theatre and "Your Show of Shows."

Inga Edwards was born on 7 September 1937 in Stockholm, Sweden. She was an actress, known for 13 Demon Street (1959), Gyllene år (1975) and Raggare! (1959). She was married to Folke Edwards. She died on 2 June 2020 in Stockholm, Sweden.

Irving Sandler was born on 22 July 1925 in New York City, New York, USA. He died on 2 June 2018 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA.

Jack O'Neill was born on 27 March 1923 in Denver, Colorado, USA. He was married to Marjorie Bennett and Noriko. He died on 2 June 2017 in Santa Cruz, California, USA.

If ever there was a Great Dane in Hollywood it was Jean Hersholt - and one of its great hearts as well. He was from a well-known Danish stage and entertainment family that had toured throughout Europe performing with young Jean as an essential cast member. He graduated from the Copenhagen Art School and continued expanding his stage experience and evidently decided early that he wanted to work in films. He did just two very early (1906) silent films in Germany. Hersholt emigrated from Denmark to the US while still a young man in 1913. Like many another European he came to America to seek further opportunities. Unlike many other European actors who appeared on Broadway in their early American careers, Hersholt never trod The Great White Way. He moved on to Hollywood in 1914 where the future of silent movies had taken the lead. He started as a movie extra then progressed into small feature player roles from 1915 through 1917. For that latter year he had no less than 17 bit parts.

By the 1920s his roles were substantial feature pieces, but most of these were as villains - in fact, a concoction of really vile characters. His theater experience serving him well, he played them so well that he much sought after by directors. Several of his 1920s films were landmarks of the silent era, an early one being The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921) which helped propel Rudolf Valentino into the stellar heights. Hersholt became popular and well paid. And certainly his signature silent role was the lead character of Marcus Schouler in the Erich von Stroheim great film Greed (1924), based on the novel McTeague. Stroheim, who spent far more time in front of the camera as an actor, was already well know as a task master and perfectionist director. He went through 42 reels of film for the picture - a numbing nine hours of screen time (shown only once at that length in a private studio screening). He cut the film to five hours, but it was further whittled to a bit over two for release, causing Stroheim to quip bitterly of the editor, "The only thing he had on his mind was his hat!" The powerful film was still there, but the massive editing resulted in whole roles disappearing, not to mention some telltale continuity. Stroheim's need for realism resulted in the climax of the movie to be shot in Death Valley. Still hot in the fall time, Hersholt endured like a veteran but required a hospital stay after sweating away 27 pounds.

Fortunately into the later 1920s Hersholt's roles expanded into a more realistic balance of characters-more virtuous roles - but still some shady fellows and especially the unsuspected, and thus surprising, guilty party in the ever popular murder mysteries. He worked for Samuel Goldwyn for about a year (1923-1924), for Paramount from 1927 through 1929, and several other studios during the period. By the end of the silent era, including those early primitive part mono features with small bits of audio music, sound effects, or dialog, Hersholt was a tried veteran of 75 films. His first all mono sound film was The Climax (1930) and despite a Germanic accent, he had a pleasant, mellow voice and a camera friendly presence that ensured him continued success. The variety ran the gamut from a sturdy supporting part in Grand Hotel (1932), to supporting Boris Karloff and a pretty hot Myrna Loy in The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932), and doing the same in Dinner at Eight (1933). Busy with nine movies in 1930, he also moved into people's living rooms on radio as well during that year.

Of course, for some time Hersholt was a mature actor-simply meaning he had many secondary roles as doctors and professors and nobles of many sorts and increasingly he appeared as benign fatherly types. Father roles of the 20s continued into the 30s - augmented with grandfather roles as well. He was the father of Sonja Henie in that charismatic champion ice skater's first Hollywood film One in a Million (1936), and he is perhaps best remembered as the embittered but deeply caring grandfather of Shirley Temple in the beloved Heidi (1937). But it was another role as a doctor that would provide a continuing vehicle for Hersholt and something of a fateful direction for the actor. The mid-30s were abuzz with the births of the Dionne Quintuplets in Canada. Hollywood jumped on it with usual alacrity, highlighting the story and the officiating obstetrician, Dr. Dafoe, who was translated into Dr. John Luke, in The Country Doctor (1936). Hersholt brought the right ingredients to the part of Luke and two years later a sequel followed, Five of a Kind (1938). Hersholt thought the character good medicine all round and was enthusiastic about a series of movies, but Dafoe himself blocked this idea. Nevertheless, in 1937 Hersholt had already germinated a new radio series to continue portraying a dedicated and kindly small town doctor. For a character name Hersholt turned to his most beloved author, his countryman, literary light Hans Christian Andersen, for a name-Dr. Christian. It was a hit and, and he convinced RKO Radio Pictures to bankroll a series of six Dr. Christian films (1939-41).

These latter and a few other films would mark the end of Hersholt's film career, but he was so very busy otherwise. His familiarity with Andersen was a scholarly avocation and labor of love, furthered by enthusiastic collecting of a library of important Andersen editions and related bibliography (which would later go to the Library of Congress). His English translation (see Trivia below) of the Andersen corpus of fairy tales (including his addition of several other Andersen stories from the author's private papers) remains perhaps the most comprehensive and best effort-even more so for Hersholt personal interpretation of Andersen. Hersholt would also write several articles about Andersen and edit The Andersen-Scudder-Letters (1948). Among other literary pursuits Hersholt also co-wrote a novel based on his Dr. Christian character.

It was in Hersholt's generous nature to give back something in gratitude for the acting career afforded him in Hollywood. His payment was rich indeed: the Motion Picture Relief Fund, the retirement home and hospital inspired by it and generated from it (see Trivia below), and the great charitable work that Hersholt would perform were paid back with two Academy Awards, the second after his tenure as president of the Academy. These special honors would be the seed of the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award (see Trivia below). But in 1956 Hersholt was dying of cancer - and yet that would not stop him from one more good turn. His beloved Dr. Christian character was going to TV (produced by the Ziv Studios), and he was asked to symbolically pass the baton to the new Dr. Christian, Macdonald Carey. With a tremendous effort, Hersholt, now withered to 95 pounds braved the first episode shooting, capping his life with one last magnificent example of his humanity.

Jeffrey Tate was born on 28 April 1943 in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017), The Metropolitan Opera HD Live (2006) and Der Ring des Nibelungen (1980). He died on 2 June 2017 in Bergamo, Lombardy, Italy.