"Casablanca" Actor Humphrey Bogart 1957 Forest Lawn Glendale Cemetery

Humphrey DeForest Bogart (December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957) was an American actor. He is widely regarded as a cultural icon. The American Film Institute ranked Bogart as the greatest male star in the history of American cinema.

After trying various jobs, Bogart began acting in 1921 and became a regular in Broadway productions in the 1920s and 1930s. When the stock market crash of 1929 reduced the demand for plays, Bogart turned to film. His first great success was as Duke Mantee in The Petrified Forest (1936), and this led to a period of typecasting as a gangster with films such as Angels with Dirty Faces (1938) and B-movies like The Return of Doctor X (1939).

His breakthrough as a leading man came in 1941, with High Sierra and The Maltese Falcon. The next year, his performance in Casablanca (1942) raised him to the peak of his profession and, at the same time, cemented his trademark film persona, that of the hard-boiled cynic who ultimately shows his noble side. Other successes followed, including To Have and Have Not (1944), The Big Sleep (1946), Dark Passage (1947) and Key Largo (1948), with his wife Lauren Bacall; The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948); The African Queen (1951), for which he won his only Academy Award; Sabrina (1954) and The Caine Mutiny (1954). His last movie was The Harder They Fall (1956). During a film career of almost thirty years, he appeared in 75 feature films.

Death

By the mid-1950s, Bogart's health was failing. Once, after signing a long-term deal with Warner Bros., Bogart predicted with glee that his teeth and hair would fall out before the contract ended. That sent a fuming Jack Warner to his lawyers. Bogart had formed a new production company and had plans for a new film Melville Goodwin, U.S.A., in which he would play a general and Bacall a press magnate. His persistent cough and difficulty eating became too serious to ignore and he dropped the project. The film was re-named Top Secret Affair and made with Kirk Douglas and Susan Hayward.

Bogart, a heavy smoker and drinker, contracted cancer of the esophagus. He almost never spoke of his failing health and refused to see a doctor until January 1956. A diagnosis was made several weeks later and by then removal of his esophagus, two lymph nodes and a rib on March 1, 1956 was too late to halt the disease, even with chemotherapy. He underwent corrective surgery in November 1956 after the cancer had spread.

Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy came to see him. Frank Sinatra was also a frequent visitor. Bogart was too weak to walk up and down stairs. He valiantly fought the pain and tried to joke about his immobility: "Put me in the dumbwaiter and I'll ride down to the first floor in style." Which is what happened; the dumbwaiter was altered to accommodate his wheelchair. Hepburn, in an interview, described the last time she and Spencer Tracy saw Bogart (the night before he died):

'Spence patted him on the shoulder and said, "Goodnight, Bogie." Bogie turned his eyes to Spence very quietly and with a sweet smile covered Spence's hand with his own and said, "Goodbye, Spence." Spence's heart stood still. He understood.'

Bogart had just turned 57 and weighed 80 pounds (36 kg) when he died on January 14, 1957 after falling into a coma. He died at 2:25 a.m. at his home at 232 Mapleton Drive in Holmby Hills, California. His simple funeral was held at All Saints Episcopal Church with musical selections played from Bogart's favorite composers, Johann Sebastian Bach and Claude Debussy. It was attended by some of Hollywood's biggest stars including: Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, David Niven, Ronald Reagan, James Mason, Danny Kaye, Joan Fontaine, Marlene Dietrich, Errol Flynn, Gregory Peck and Gary Cooper, as well as Billy Wilder and Jack Warner. Bacall had asked Spencer Tracy to give the eulogy, but Tracy was too upset, so John Huston gave the eulogy instead, and reminded the gathered mourners that while Bogart's life had ended far too soon, it had been a rich one.





'Himself, he never took too seriously—his work most seriously. He regarded the somewhat gaudy figure of Bogart, the star, with an amused cynicism; Bogart, the actor, he held in deep respect...In each of the fountains at Versailles there is a pike which keeps all the carp active; otherwise they would grow overfat and die. Bogie took rare delight in performing a similar duty in the fountains of Hollywood. Yet his victims seldom bore him any malice, and when they did, not for long. His shafts were fashioned only to stick into the outer layer of complacency, and not to penetrate through to the regions of the spirit where real injuries are done...He is quite irreplaceable. There will never be another like him."

His cremated remains are interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, Glendale, California. 

Buried with him is a small gold whistle, which he had given to his future wife, Lauren Bacall, before they married. In reference to their first movie together, it was inscribed: "If you want anything, just whistle."

"MASH" Actor David Arkin Commits Suicide 1991

David Arkin (December 24, 1941 – January 14, 1991) was an American actor, known for his numerous supporting appearances in the films of Robert Altman. These roles were part of Altman's frequent ensemble and included Staff Sergeant Vollmer in MASH (where he also wrote and voiced the PA announcements), Harry in The Long Goodbye (1973), Norman in Nashville (1975), and The Mailman/The Police Officer in Popeye (1980).

Early life and education

He was born David George Arkin in Los Angeles, California.

Career

Arkin had an "introducing" credit in I Love You, Alice B. Toklas (1968) and brief appearances in Valley of the Dolls (1967), All the President's Men (1976), and Cannonball (1976).

His television credits include Hawaii Five-O, Whitney and the Robot, and a season-long appearance as the character Gabriel Kaye in the CBS television series Storefront Lawyers, co-starring Robert Foxworth and Sheila Larken. 

He also appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and on the Joey Bishop and the Steve Allen late night shows with the Hollywood Sunset Strip improvisational comedy troupe The Session (which included Richard Dreyfuss, Rob Reiner, Larry Bishop, Bobbie Shaw-Chance, Marj Dusay, and Phil Mishkin); he later performed with The Second City touring troupe.

Arkin wrote Human Cargo: Great Escapes, which Curry later produced with their company Old Dime Box Productions for the Showtime television network as Escape: Human Cargo; it starred Treat Williams and was filmed in Israel. She also produced and directed One Man’s Opinion, a politically incorrect take on newly released films; it starred Arkin and Professor Tyrone Shaw, now on the faculty of journalism at Johnson State College in Vermont.

Personal life and death

Arkin was married three times, the last time to actress Anne E. Curry at the time of his death in 1991.

David Arkin was not related either to the actor Alan Arkin or Alan's son Adam Arkin (also an actor). Alan's father was David I. Arkin.

Arkin was known among his friends and colleagues for having introduced his friend Arnold Schwarzenegger (then Arnold Strong) to Altman, at the time The Long Goodbye was being cast. This began Schwarzenegger's career in film.[1]

On January 14, 1991 he committed suicide in Los Angeles, California at the age of 49.

Filmography

I Love You, Alice B. Toklas (1968) as Herbie Fine 
Hawaii Five-O (television series, "Killer Bee" episode (1970)) as George Loomis 
Storefront Lawyers (1970, television series) as Gabriel Kaye 
Up in the Cellar (1970) as Hugo Caine 
MASH (1970) as Staff Sergeant Vollmer/PA Announcer 
The Long Goodbye (1973) as Harry 
Nashville (1975) as Norman 
Medical Story (television series) 
Cannonball! (1976) as TV Producer Anchorman 
All the President's Men (1976) as Eugene Bachinski 
Whitney and the Robot (1979, television series) as David 

Popeye (1980) as The Mailman/Police Officer

Notes

1. Zuckoff, Mitchell. Robert Altman: An Oral Biography, Random House, 2009, p.254.

Producer, Director, Writer, & Actor Sheldon Leonard 1997 Hillside Cemetery

Sheldon Leonard (born Sheldon Leonard Bershad; February 22, 1907 – January 11, 1997) was an American film and television producer, director, writer, and actor.

Life and career

Sheldon Leonard was born in New York City, the son of middle class Jewish parents Anna (Levit) and Frank Bershad,[2][3] and graduated from Syracuse University in 1929.

As an actor, Leonard specialized in playing supporting characters, especially gangsters or "heavies," in films such as It's a Wonderful Life (1946; as bartender Nick), To Have and Have Not (1944), Guys and Dolls (1955), and Open Secret (1948). His trademark was his especially thick New York accent, usually delivered from the side of his mouth. In Decoy (1946), Leonard uses his "heavy" persona to create the hard-boiled police detective Joe Portugal.

On radio, Leonard played an eccentric racetrack tout on The Jack Benny Program in the late 1940s and early '50s, and later in the TV series of the same name. His role was to salute Benny out of the blue in railroad stations, on street corners, or in department stores ("Hey Bud. C'mere a minute."), ask Benny what he was about to do, and then proceed to try to argue him out of his course of action by resorting to inane and irrelevant racing logic. Ironically, as "The Tout," he never gave out information on horse racing, unless Jack demanded it. One excuse the tout gave was "Who knows about horses?"

Leonard was part of the cast of voice actors on the Damon Runyon Theatre radio show (1948-1949). He was part of the ensemble cast of the Martin and Lewis radio show.[4] He also appeared frequently on The Adventures of the Saint, often playing gangsters and heavies, but also sometimes in more positive roles. Sheldon Leonard was also a regular on the radio comedy series The Adventures of Maisie in the 1940s. During the 1950s, Leonard provided the voice of lazy cat Dodsworth in two Warner Bros. cartoons directed by Robert McKimson.

In the adventure movie The Iroquois Trail (1950), Leonard played against type in the significant role of Chief Ogane, a Native American warrior, who pursues and fights the frontiersman Nat "Hawkeye" Cutler (George Montgomery) in a climactic duel to the death with knives.

Later in the 1950s and 1960s, he established a reputation as a producer of successful television series, including The Danny Thomas Show (aka Make Room For Daddy) (1953–64), The Andy Griffith Show (1960–68), The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961–66), and I Spy (1965–68). Leonard also provided the voice of Linus the Lionhearted in a series of Post Crispy Critters cereal TV commercials in 1963-64, which led to a Linus cartoon series that aired on Saturday (and later, Sunday) mornings on CBS (1964–66) and ABC (1967–69). He also was briefly the star of his own television show Big Eddie (1975), where he played the owner of a large sports arena. The show lasted for only ten episodes.

The character of Andy Taylor was introduced in a 1960 episode of The Danny Thomas Show, which led to the series The Andy Griffith Show. Leonard is informally credited with developing the practice of using an episode of a series as a backdoor pilot episode for new series, in which a guest star is introduced as a new character with the intention of using this character as the basis for a new show.

Leonard also has the distinction (along with author Mickey Spillane) of being one of the first two Miller Lite spokesmen. Using his trademark accent, he told the audience, "I was at first reluctant to try Miller Lite, but then I was persuaded to do so by my friend, Large Louis." One of his last acting roles was a guest appearance on the TV series Cheers, in which he played Sid Nelson, the proprietor of "The Hungry Heifer," Norm Peterson's favorite eating establishment.

Leonard died on January 11, 1997, at the age of 89,[5] and was buried at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City, California. 

Bill Cosby, whom Leonard cast in I Spy, described Leonard as "my last father" when he dedicated an episode of Cosby to both Leonard and his slain son Ennis Cosby. Bill Cosby also included an impersonation of Sheldon Leonard in one track of his 1966 hit comedy album Wonderfulness. The track, "Niagara Falls," describes Sheldon Leonard's honeymoon at Niagara Falls.

His name served as a namesake for the characters Sheldon Cooper and Leonard Hofstadter in the American sitcom The Big Bang Theory, as the writers are fans of his work.[6]





Select filmography

Actor

Another Thin Man (1939) 
Tall, Dark and Handsome (1941) 
Rise and Shine (1941) 
Tortilla Flat (1942) 
Born To Sing (1942) 
Lucky Jordan (1942) 
Hit the Ice (1943) 
Passport to Suez (1943) 
The Falcon in Hollywood (1944) 
Uncertain Glory (1944) 
To Have and Have Not (1944) 
Zombies on Broadway (1945) 
Bowery Bombshell (1946) 
Decoy (1946) 
It's a Wonderful Life (1946) 
The Gangster (1947) 
Sinbad the Sailor (1947) 
Open Secret (1948) 
Jinx Money (1948) 
Take One False Step (1949) 
Two Knights from Brooklyn (1949) 
The Iroquois Trail (1950) 
Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951) 
Behave Yourself! (1951) 
Stop, You're Killing Me (1952) 
Money From Home (1953) 
Guys and Dolls (1955) 

Pocketful of Miracles (1961) 

The Brink's Job (1978)

Producer

The Danny Thomas Show (1953 - 1964). He also appeared onscreen as Phil Brokaw (1957 - 1961). 
The Andy Griffith Show (1960 - 1968). 
The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961 - 1966). He also appeared onscreen in the season 3 episode "Big Max Calvada." 
Gomer Pyle, USMC (1964 - 1969). He also appeared onscreen in the season 5 episode "A Star is Not Born." 

I Spy (1965 - 1968)

My World and Welcome to It 

From a Bird's Eye View 
Shirley's World

Director

The Andy Griffith Show* 
The Danny Thomas Show* 
The Dick Van Dyke Show 
My Favorite Martian (pilot only) 
I Spy

References

Notes

1. "California Death Records." Vitals.rootsweb.ancestry.com. 1907-02-22. 
2. Vosburgh, Dick (1997-01-17). ""Obituary: Sheldon Leonard" by Vosburgh, Dick - The Independent (London, England), January 17, 1997 | Questia, Your Online Research Library." Questia.com. 
3. Sheldon Leonard Biography - Yahoo! Movies 
4. Dunning, John (1998). On the air: the encyclopedia of old-time radio. Oxford University Press US. p. 438. ISBN 0-19-507678-8. 
5. "Beaver County Times - Google News Archive Search." google.com. 
6. "'Big Bang Theory': 'We didn't anticipate how protective the audience would feel about our guys'." Variety. May 5, 2009. Q. Are Sheldon and Leonard named after the brilliant (producer) Sheldon Leonard of "The Andy Griffith Show," "The Danny Thomas Show," "The Dick Van Dyke Show," "My Favorite Martian," and "I Spy"? (Binnie) A. Yep. Chuck and I are both fans. Chuck's idea.

Further reading

Leonard, Sheldon. And The Show Goes On: Broadway and Hollywood Adventures. Limelight, 1995, ISBN 0-87910-184-9

Studio Executive Sam Jaffe 2000 Westwood Village Cemetery

Sam Jaffe (May 21, 1901 – January 10, 2000)[1] was, at different points in his career in the motion picture industry, an agent, a producer and a studio executive.

Biography

Jaffe was born in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City to Russian Jewish immigrants,[2] the son of Hannah and Max Jaffe. He has three older siblings: brothers, Joseph and David, and sister Adeline. He was raised on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.[3]

After dropping out of DeWitt Clinton High School, he took a job as an office boy for the Famous Players-Lasky Corporation where his brother-in-law, B.P. Schulberg, was an executive.[1] He eventually worked his way up through the ranks to become the executive in charge of production[2] including films directed by Ernst Lubitsch, Josef von Sternberg and Rouben Mamoulian.[1] In 1932, he was released from Paramount over internal politics[4] and then worked briefly for Harry Cohn at Columbia Pictures[1] before joining the Ad Schulberg Agency,[3] a talent agency founded by his older sister, Adeline Jaffe Schulberg in 1933 after her divorce from B.P. Schulberg that represented the likes of Marlene Dietrich, Fredric March, and Herbert Marshall.[3] When his sister opened a branch in London, he assumed control of the agency, re-named the Jaffe Agency.[1] While running the agency, he was able to convince 20th Century Fox head Darryl F. Zanuck to let him produce The Fighting Sullivans in 1944.[1] 

He successfully represented several stars and directors of the era, including Humphrey Bogart, Fritz Lang, Raoul Walsh, Stanley Kubrick,[1] Lauren Bacall, David Niven, Zero Mostel, Richard Burton, Mary Astor, Barbara Stanwyck, Lee J. Cobb, and Jennifer Jones.[2] In the 1950s, his business was negatively affected by the investigations of many of his clients by the House Un-American Activities Committee investigations into Hollywood.[1]

In 1959, he retired and moved to London[2] where he produced several films including Born Free in 1966 and Theater of Blood in 1973.[1] In 1985, he returned to Los Angeles[2] where he became a collector of modern art.

Personal life

Jaffe was married to Mildred Gersh, sister of Hollywood agent, Phil Gersh, who would later purchase the Jaffe Agency in 1949 which he renamed The Gersh Agency in the 1960s.[5] He has three daughters: Naomi Jaffe Carroll, Barbara Jaffe Kohn, and Judith Jaffe Silber.[1] His grandson is Matt Tolmach, co-president of production at Sony Pictures Entertainment.[6]

Sam Jaffe died on January 10, 2000. His ashes are interred at Westwood Village Cemetery. 

Partial filmography

Theater of Blood (1973) 
Born Free (1966) 
Damian and Pythias (1962) 
The Fighting Sullivans (1944) 
Diplomaniacs (1933) 
The Vanishing Frontier (1932)



References

1. "Sam Jaffe, 98, Hollywood Agent; Represented the Icons of His Day". The New York Times. January 19, 2000. 
2. Sun Sentinel: "Sam Jaffe, Movie Talent Agent, 98" January 15, 2000 
3. Jewish Women's Archives: "Adeline Schulberg 1895 – 1977" 
4. Baxter, John Von Sternberg P 150 | ISBN 978-0813126012 |University Press of Kentucky | September 2010 
5. New York Times: "Phil Gersh, a Leading Agent In Hollywood, Is Dead at 92" By BERNARD WEINRAUB May 12, 2004 
6. Deadline Hollywood: "Matt Tolmach Discusses Exit As Sony Pics Prez And Segue To Producing 'Spider-Man'" by Mike Fleming Jr October 29, 2010

Hollywood "Mayor" Johnny Grant Dies at Roosevelt Hotel 2008

Johnny Grant (May 9, 1923 – January 9, 2008) was an American radio personality and television producer who also served as the honorary mayor of Hollywood, in which capacity he was often present at Hollywood community functions, including the unveiling of new stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. An intersection just north of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue is designated "Johnny Grant Way."[1]

Early life and career

Grant was born in Goldsboro, North Carolina.[2] He made his show business debut on the radio in 1939 as a local newscaster there.[3] According to publicity released by the third annual Hollywood Film Festival in 1999:[4]

He received national recognition for his unprecedented coverage of North Carolina's Irby Holmes murder trial. Mr. Grant convinced the judge to allow him to stand in the courtroom doorway and broadcast live periodic reports of the progress in the trial. According to court and station officials, this was the first time that a live microphone had been allowed in a courtroom. The defendant, a part-time preacher, was convicted of murder and sentenced to death. He asked the judge for permission to preach a final sermon and was refused, but he was allowed to write his sermon and Mr. Grant delivered it on the air.

Grant joined the Army Air Corps during World War II, hosting a daily radio show in New York City for servicemen and women. During this time, he interviewed many entertainment stars who were in the city. After his discharge, he stayed in New York, working as a reporter for station WINS.

Having moved to California, Grant appeared as a disc jockey on Los Angeles area radio stations KGIL (1949–50) and KMPC (1951–59).[5] Along with Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Frank Sinatra, Grant co-hosted the first national telethon ever produced, a fundraiser to help send America's athletes to the Helsinki Olympics in 1952.[4] In the 1950s, he appeared in several films, often portraying uncredited fictional hosts. He played "Ed Harrison," an Ed Sullivan-type TV-show host, in the 1954 film White Christmas, and the Master of Ceremonies in the 1956 film The Girl Can't Help It.[2]

Honorary Mayor of Hollywood

Grant was named honorary Mayor of Hollywood in 1980 by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and held the position for the rest of his life. Grant was recommended for the position by the previous mayor of Hollywood, Monty Hall, the host of the hit game show Let's Make a Deal.

Grant was perhaps best known for having hosted the more than 500 celebrities he inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame with stars in the sidewalk. Grant claimed that his mission in life was bringing the Hollywood story to everyone. He played host to red-carpet arrivals at the Oscars, appeared in bit parts in movies and produced the annual Hollywood Christmas Parade.[6] Grant also won two Emmy Awards.[1]

In this capacity, he appears in the documentary Confessions of a Superhero, complaining about people who dress as superheroes seeking tips on Hollywood Boulevard.[7]

Accomplishments

Grant served as a USO ambassador, joining the globe-trotting comedian Bob Hope in taking entertainers to war zones to perform for military personnel, and was the first recipient of the highest honor awarded by the USO, the United Service Organizations. Grant arranged for stars from Hollywood to visit wounded veterans of the Vietnam War at places such as San Antonio's Brooke Army Medical Center, including such actors as the late Christopher George.[8] Grant was also a retired major general in the California State Military Reserve, a volunteer backup and support force of the California National Guard. He had been chairman of the Los Angeles City Fire Commission, the Los Angeles County Social Service Commission, and the Burbank, California Police Commission.[4] More recently, he had been a member of the Los Angeles City Cultural Heritage Commission.[1]

Grant was the only person ever to twice receive an Order of California, the state's highest honor.

Grant said of all his accomplishments in Hollywood, he was most proud of three things: the Hollywood sign, the Walk of Fame and the Hollywood postmark. "We're not supposed to have one because we're not our own city," he said. "But I got it."[9]

For contributions to the television industry, Johnny Grant was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6937 Hollywood Boulevard, and a second one for contributions to the Hollywood community at 6897 Hollywood Boulevard.[10]

Grant was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame in 2009.[11]

Death

On January 9, 2008, Grant was not feeling well when he had lunch with Ana Martínez-Holler, a spokeswoman for the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. Later that afternoon he relayed the same to his business manager, Jim Harper, stating he felt "lousy." Later that evening, Grant was found unconscious in his bed, in a 14th floor suite he lived in at the Roosevelt Hotel, by an associate. He was the only full-time guest at the hotel.

Paramedics were called, but Grant was eventually pronounced dead after they arrived, apparently of natural causes, at the age of 84.[12]

On January 11, 2008, Grant's sister, Peggy G. Adams of Goldsboro, North Carolina, announced that Johnny did not want a funeral service. Instead, there was a private memorial service held at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood, California. Various publications reported that Grant wished for cremation, and for his ashes to be scattered under the Hollywood Sign.[13] 

The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce has not set a timetable to name one or more persons to succeed Grant as mayor.[14] Gary Owens was among those interested in the post, and he claimed that Grant tapped him as his successor.[15] However, Owens died in early 2015.[16]

After his death, Hollywood Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Leron Gubler replaced Grant as the emcee of unveiling new stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

References

1. "Johnny Grant's Bio." JohnnyGrant.com. 
2. "Johnny Grant (I)." Internet Movie Database.  
3. "Hollywood's "Mayor" Johnny Grant Dies at 84." Hollywood.com. January 10, 2008. 
4. "3rd Annual Hollywood Film Festival - August 4–9, 1999 - Johnny Grant, Ceremonial Mayor of Hollywood." Internet Entertainment Network. 2004-08-04. 
5. Los Angeles Radio People, Where are They Now? 
6. "Hollywood Icons: Hollywood's Honorary Mayor Johnny Grant." Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. 2007. Archived from the original on 2008-01-07. 
7. Confessions of a Superhero, 2007 
8. Photo Play Magazine, 'Chris George, George Morris and the Man Who Came Back from the Dead,' page 59, April 1968 
9. "Johnny Grant, honorary Hollywood mayor, dies." CNN. 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-01-11. 
10. "Hollywood Walk of Fame database." HWOF.com. 
11. "2009 Inductees." North Carolina Music Hall of Fame.  
12. "Johnny Grant, honorary mayor of Hollywood, dead at 84." Daily News. 2008-01-09. 
13. "Grant did not want a funeral." Goldsboro News-Argus. 2008-01-11.  
14. Hollywood Chamber of Commerce statement 
15. "Pin-Up Queen Turns Hollywood Mayor Race Pink" (NPR, 2008) 
16. "Gary Owens, Announcer of 'Laugh-In' Fame, Dies at 80." Variety. 13 February 2015. ISSN 0042-2738.