Deaths: July 16

Barry Coe was born on 26 November 1934 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Peyton Place (1957), Jaws 2 (1978) and The 300 Spartans (1962). He was married to Jorunn Kristiansen. He died on 16 July 2019 in Palm Desert, California, USA.

Alcides Ghiggia was born on 22 December 1926 in Montevideo, Uruguay. He was an actor, known for Protocolo Celeste (2014) and Maracaná (2014). He was married to Beatriz. He died on 16 July 2015 in Montevideo, Uruguay.

Ante Garmaz was born on 5 January 1928. He was an actor and producer, known for Cosquín, amor y folklore (1965), Men Only Think of That (1976) and El soltero (1977). He died on 16 July 2011 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Barbara Eiler was born on 27 July 1922 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She was an actress, known for The Magical World of Disney (1954), Shirley Temple's Storybook (1958) and The Rifleman (1958). She was married to Martin Sperzel and Don Nelson. She died on 16 July 2006 in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, California, USA.

Bob Babbitt was born on 26 November 1937 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. He is known for McHale's Navy (1997), Phil Collins: Going Back (2010) and Standing in the Shadows of Motown (2002). He was married to Ann Kreinar. He died on 16 July 2012 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA.

Carlos Nine was born on 21 February 1944 in Haedo, Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was a writer and director, known for La marcha sobre Ezeiza (1973) and Ánima Buenos Aires (2012). He died on 16 July 2016 in Olivos, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Carlos Torres Vila was born on 9 November 1946 in Los Toldos, Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was an actor and composer, known for La carpa del amor (1979), The Beach of Love (1980) and Los éxitos del amor (1979). He died on 16 July 2010 in San Miguel, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Celia Cruz was born on 21 October 1925 in Havana, Cuba. She was a music artist and actress, known for Carlito's Way (1993), Amores Perros (2000) and Tower Heist (2011). She was married to Pedro Knight. She died on 16 July 2003 in Fort Lee, New Jersey, USA.

Clancy Sigal was born on 6 September 1926 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was a writer, known for Frida (2002), Maria/Callas and In Love and War (1996). He was married to Janice Tidwell. He died on 16 July 2017 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Connie Van was born on 7 February 1907 in Iowa, USA. She was an actress, known for The Veil (1958), The Red Skelton Hour (1951) and The Far Country (1954). She died on 16 July 1961 in Hollywood, California, USA.

Don Segall was born on 11 August 1933 in Winthrop, Massachusetts, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for Ball Four (1976), The Four Seasons (1984) and Who's the Boss? (1984). He died on 16 July 1994 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Evan Whitton was born on 5 March 1928 in Muswellbrook, New South Wales, Australia. He is known for Police State (1989) and The Last Man Hanged (1992). He was married to Irene Patricia Wilkes and Noela McMahon. He died on 16 July 2018 in Australia.

George A. Romero never set out to become a Hollywood figure; by all indications, though, he was very successful. The director of the groundbreaking "Living Dead" films was born February 4, 1940 ,in New York City to Ann (Dvorsky) and Jorge Romero. His father was born in Spain and raised in Cuba, and his mother was Lithuanian. He grew up in New York until attending the renowned Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA.

After graduation he began shooting mostly short films and commercials. He and his friends formed Image Ten Productions in the late 1960s and they all chipped in roughly $10,000 apiece to produce what became one of the most celebrated American horror films of all time: Night of the Living Dead (1968). Shot in black-and-white on a budget of just over $100,000, Romero's vision, combined with a solid script written by him and his "Image" co-founder John A. Russo (along with what was then considered an excess of gore), enabled the film to earn back far more than what it cost; it became a cult classic by the early 1970s and was inducted into the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress of the United States in 1999. Romero's next films were a little more low-key but less successful, including The Affair (1971), The Crazies (1973), Season of the Witch (1972) (where he met future wife Christine Forrest) and Martin (1977). Though not as acclaimed as "Night of the Living Dead" or some of his later work, these films had his signature social commentary while dealing with issues--usually horror-related--at the microscopic level. Like almost all of his films, they were shot in, or around, Romero's favorite city of Pittsburgh.

In 1978 he returned to the zombie genre with the one film of his that would top the success of "Night of the Living Dead"--Dawn of the Dead (1978). He managed to divorce the franchise from Image Ten, which screwed up the copyright on the original and allowed the film to enter into public domain, with the result that Romero and his original investors were not entitled to any profits from the film's video releases. Shot in the Monroeville (PA) Mall during late-night hours, the film told the tale of four people who escape a zombie outbreak and lock themselves up inside what they think is paradise before the solitude makes them victims of their own, and a biker gang's, greed. Made on a budget of just $1.5 million, the film earned over $40 million worldwide and was named one of the top cult films by Entertainment Weekly magazine in 2003. It also marked Romero's first work with brilliant make-up and effects artist Tom Savini. After 1978, Romero and Savini teamed up many times. The success of "Dawn of the Dead" led to bigger budgets and better casts for the filmmaker. First was Knightriders (1981), where he first worked with an up-and-coming Ed Harris. Then came perhaps his most Hollywood-like film, Creepshow (1982), which marked the first--but not the last--time Romero adapted a work by famed horror novelist Stephen King. With many major stars and big-studio distribution, it was a moderate success and spawned a sequel, which was also written by Romero.

The decline of Romero's career came in the late 1980s. His last widely-released film was the next "Dead" film, Day of the Dead (1985). Derided by critics, it did not take in much at the box office, either. His latest two efforts were The Dark Half (1993) (another Stephen King adaptation) and Bruiser (2000). Even the Romero-penned/Tom Savini-directed remake of Romero's first film, Night of the Living Dead (1990), was a box-office failure. Pigeon-holed solely as a horror director and with his latest films no longer achieving the success of his earlier "Dead" films, Romero has not worked much since, much to the chagrin of his following. In 2005, 19 years after "Day of the Dead", with major-studio distribution he returned to his most famous series and horror sub-genre it created with Land of the Dead (2005), a further exploration of the destruction of modern society by the undead, that received generally positive reviews. He directed two more "Dead" films, Diary of the Dead (2007) and Survival of the Dead (2009).

George died on July 16, 2017, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He was 77.

A singer/songwriter and activist for many charitable causes, especially in the realm of ending world hunger, Harry Chapin never let the often lukewarm reviews of his music-making abilities faze him and as a result of his strong folksy persona, the fans he made stuck by him throughout his career and continue to this day. Born December 7, 1942, in New York's Greenwich Village the son of a big-band drummer, Harry's musical influence took hold at an early age. He took up trumpet playing originally but switched to strumming a guitar later and joined his younger brothers, Tom Chapin and Steve Chapin, in a homegrown musical act that was well received in the folk era of the 1960s. After a short stint in the Air Force Academy and studying architecture and later philosophy, at Cornell University, Harry tried his hand at film-making and found himself to be quite good at it, directing an academy award-nominated film about boxing heavyweights, Legendary Champions (1968). In the '70's, Harry joined Electra Records and produced a number of albums capitalizing on his story-telling abilities, resulting in his first major hit, "Taxi", which was one of the longest songs played on radio up until that time. He also found the time to produce a number of Broadway shows and write songs for his brother Tom's children's TV series, '"Make a Wish' (1970)'". Other recordings followed, such as the hits "Cat's in the Cradle" and "W.O.L.D". As Harry decided to put his fame to work, establishing himself as an activist for charitable causes as well as supporting self-sufficiency, he convinced President Jimmy Carter to create a Hunger Commission exploring ways to eliminate world hunger. His own organization, "World Hunger Year," formed with Bill Ayres, strenuously fought the good fight with Harry and his band performing virtually every other concert solely for the causes he espoused. In 1981, while on the way to another benefit, Harry's life was tragically ended in an automobile accident on the Long Island expressway.

Howard Engel was born on 2 April 1931 in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. He was a writer and actor, known for The Suicide Murders (1985), Murder Sees the Light (1986) and 15 Reasons to Live (2013). He was married to Janet Hamilton and Marian Engel. He died on 16 July 2019 in Ontario, Canada.

Rugged-looking James Gammon first broke into the entertainment industry not as an actor but as a TV cameraman. From there, his weatherbeaten features, somewhat menacing attitude and a tough-as-nails voice--the kind that used to be described in detective novels as "whiskey-soaked"--reminiscent of '40s noir icon Charles McGraw got him work in front of the cameras in TV westerns (though he sounds as if he's from Texas or Oklahoma, he was actually born and raised in Illinois) and he made his film debut in 1967. Not the kind of guy you'd see in a tuxedo in a Noël Coward drawing-room comedy--unless he was one of a gang holding them up--Gammon could play lighter parts also, as evidenced by his work as the manager in the baseball comedy Major League (1989) and in his regular role as Don Johnson's rambunctious father in Johnson's Nash Bridges (1996) series.

Jo Stafford's early fame came as a vocalist with the big band of Tommy Dorsey, for which she sang both on her own and with her group, The Pied Pipers. After leaving Dorsey in 1944, Stafford went solo, eventually racking up no less than 93 hits over the next 13 years. Among them: chart-toppers like "Candy" (1945), "My Darling, My Darling" (1948), "You Belong To Me" (1952) and "Make Love To Me" (1955). According to Joel Whitburn's Record Research, Jo Stafford and Dinah Shore were the two top female hit-makers of the pre-rock era. Jo also ranked #6 among all hit makers of the early '50s (1950-4). As her music career dominated her time, Stafford's movie appearances were limited to a handful in '40s films featuring Dorsey and his band.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy Jr. was born on November 25, 1960, in Washington, DC, to John Fitzgerald Kennedy (President-to-be John F. Kennedy) and Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy (Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis). Three weeks before his birth, his father was elected President of the United States, and the nation loved little John. The press dubbed him "John-John", but his family called him John. Even as a toddler, he loved to fly. On his third birthday, his father was buried, and he was photographed giving his father's casket a salute in a photo and video seen around the world. About a month later, they moved out of the White House and into a 15-room apartment overlooking Central Park in New York City. He went to private schools. When he was six, his uncle Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated while running for president. He had been a father figure to John and his sister, Caroline Kennedy, a fact that Ethel Kennedy -- who had nine children with RFK -- did not like. That same year, Jackie married Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Socrates (Ari) Onasis (Aristotle Onassis). He virtually played no part in John's life because John hardly saw him. Ari died in 1975. John went on to high school and then decided to go to Brown University in Rhode Island. He graduated and, after his mother said no to his becoming an actor, went to law school and became an assistant District Attorney. In 1994, Jackie died of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. In 1996, John married Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy on an island off Georgia. She was very shy, and that did not bode well because they were constantly being photographed. On July 16th, 1999, Carolyn and her sister Lauren, with John as pilot, took off in his plane for Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, to drop Lauren off, with John and Carolyn continuing onward to the Kennedy Compound for the wedding of his cousin Rory Kennedy (Robert's youngest daughter, born after RFK's death). It was foggy, and several miles off Martha's Vineyard, the plane crashed, killing all three of them. The bodies of the women were found near the wreckage, but John's body was found in the pilot's seat.

Johnny Clegg was born on 7 June 1953 in Rochdale, Lancashire, England, UK. He was an actor and writer, known for George of the Jungle (1997), Rain Man (1988) and Invictus (2009). He was married to 'Jenny Clegg'. He died on 16 July 2019 in Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa.

Johnny Winter was born on 23 February 1944 in Beaumont, Texas, USA. He was an actor and composer, known for The Accused (1988), Sliver (1993) and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978). He was married to Susan Warford. He died on 16 July 2014 in Zurich, Switzerland.

Jon Lord was born on 9 June 1941 in Leicester, Leicestershire, England, UK. He was an actor and composer, known for Point Break (1991), Twister (1996) and Almost Famous (2000). He was married to Judith Feldman and Vickie. He died on 16 July 2012 in London, England, UK.

Jonathan Gathorne-Hardy was born in 1933 in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. He was a writer, known for Al sur de Granada (2003), Jackanory (1965) and Nanny (1981). He died on 16 July 2019 in Aldeburgh, England, UK.

Kitty Wells was born on 30 August 1919 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. She was an actress, known for The Blues Brothers (1980), Mississippi Burning (1988) and Crazy Heart (2009). She was married to Johnny Wright. She died on 16 July 2012 in Madison, Tennessee, USA.

Madeleine Kamman was born on 22 November 1930 in Courbevoie, Hauts-de-Seine, France. She was married to Alan Kamman. She died on 16 July 2018 in Middlebury, Vermont, USA.

Marija Kohn was born on 7 August 1934 in Lopud, Croatia, Yugoslavia. She was an actress, known for Atomic War Bride (1960), Nights and Days (1959) and H-8... (1958). She was married to Vladimir Majerovic-Majer, Vojislav Kuzmanovic and Tomislav Knezovic. She died on 16 July 2018 in Zagreb, Croatia.