"Medium Cool" Actress Verna Bloom 1938-2019 Memorial Video

Verna Bloom (August 7, 1938 – January 9, 2019) was an American actress. She co-starred in Clint Eastwood's 1973 film, High Plains Drifter and in the 1974 made-for-TV movie Where Have All The People Gone? with Peter Graves and Kathleen Quinlan. 

Bloom also had roles in more than 30 films and television episodes beginning the 1960s, including playing Ellen in Medium Cool in 1969, Mary, mother of Jesus, in The Last Temptation of Christ in 1988 and Marion Wormer in Animal House in 1978. 

 Bloom was born in Lynn, Massachusetts and attended the School of Fine Arts in Boston University, graduating with a BFA. She also studied at the HB Studio in New York City. She was Jewish. 

 Verna Bloom died aged 80 on January 9, 2019 in Maine of complications of dementia.

"Our Gang" Child Actor Matthew “Stymie” Beard, Jr. 1981 Evergreen Cemetery

Matthew Beard Jr. (January 1, 1925 – January 8, 1981) was an American child actor, most famous for portraying the character of Stymie in the Our Gang short films from 1930-35. The role was so high profile that he adopted the name Stymie Beard, credited with this for some later roles, such as his 1978 appearance in The Buddy Holly Story. He was a native of Los Angeles, California.

Early life

Matthew Beard, Jr. was born near Los Angeles, California. His father was Matthew Beard and his mother was Johnnie Mae Beard (née Clay). His father was also the founder pastor of Beloved Church of God in Christ, located at 7529 S. Main St, Los Angeles.[1]

Our Gang years

Beard had previously played baby parts in many films before signing a five-year contract to play in Our Gang. In contrast to Farina, the character he replaced, Stymie was a slick-tongued con-artist who was always self-assured, nonchalant, and ready with a sly comment as well as clever ideas to solve the problems he faced. Stymie could also offer sound, commonsense advice that helped resolve the dilemmas of his playmates. The character's trademark was a bald head crowned by an oversize derby hat, a gift to Beard from comedian Stan Laurel, who had also worked under Our Gang creator Hal Roach. Stymie is the only Our Ganger who both replaced one of the original gang members (Allen "Farina" Hoskins) and was in turn replaced by one who would stay on until the series disbanded, Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas.

The name "Stymie" was provided by Our Gang director Robert McGowan, who was always frustrated ("stymied") by little Matthew's curious wanderings around the studio; the character was originally to be named "Hercules." McGowan would later recall that Stymie was his favorite of all the Our Gang kids. The then five-year-old Beard came to the series a year after the transition from the silent/early talkie era Our Gang. He had the exclusive distinction of being with the gang from "Miss Crabtree" talkies of the early 1930s, through the mid-thirties transitional period, up until the era of the more familiar group of Spanky, Alfalfa, and Buckwheat, who would ultimately replace Stymie in 1935.

Beard's paycheck was used to help support his East Los Angeles family, including thirteen brothers and sisters. After Beard renamed his younger brother Bobbie "Cotton" (which was also used as Bobbie's Our Gang character name), his parents allowed him to name all of the rest of his siblings as they were born. He named one "Dickie" after his best friend, child actor and Our Gang kid Dickie Moore. Four other members of the Beard family would appear in the Our Gang comedies:

His younger sister Betty Jane Beard preceded Stymie in the gang, playing Farina's little brother Hector in Moan and Groan, Inc. and When the Wind Blows (even though she was a girl).

His younger sister Carlena Beard appeared as Stymie's younger sister in Shiver My Timbers, Readin' and Writin,' and For Pete's Sake!.  She did not appear in The First Round-Up. Willie Mae Taylor played "Buckwheat," a role which would eventually be converted to a male character and given to Billie Thomas.

His younger brother Bobbie Beard appeared in six Our Gang shorts from 1932 to 1934 as Stymie's younger brother, "Cotton."

His mother, Johnnie Mae Beard, has a cameo as Stymie's mother in Big Ears and Free Wheeling.

Beard's younger brother Renee Beard would appear in Hal Roach's Our Gang-derived featurettes of the 1940s: Curley and Who Killed Doc Robbin.

Later years

After Beard left the series in 1935 at the age of ten, he went on to score some minor roles in feature films, such as Captain Blood (1935) starring Errol Flynn and Jezebel (1938) with Bette Davis. At the age of 15 he made an appearance and was credited as "Mose" the bellboy in the 1940 Fritz Lang directed The Return of Frank James with Henry Fonda and fellow child star (and Our Gang alumnus) Jackie Cooper.[2] By the time he was in high school, he had retired from acting.

Falling into drug use and street life, Beard became addicted to heroin. He spent most of his early adult life in and out of jail on drug and theft charges.[3] 

In the 1960s, he checked himself into Synanon, a drug rehabilitation facility in Los Angeles, and successfully ended his heroin use.[3] 

After leaving Synanon, he made a small comeback, appearing in small roles in feature films and episodes of television shows such as Sanford and Son and The Jeffersons as a guest star (including two episodes of Maude as a resident of an apartment complex where the title character's husband temporarily lived)[4] and Good Times where he had a recurring role (1974-1977) as "Monty."[4]

In 1978, he appeared in the movie The Buddy Holly Story as a member of the backstage crew at the Apollo Theatre, wearing his trademark bowler hat.[4]

Beard traveled around the country, giving lectures on drug-abuse awareness.[3]

Death

Beard suffered a stroke on January 3, 1981 (two days after his 56th birthday), sustained head injuries from falling down a flight of stairs, and died of pneumonia on January 8, 1981. He was residing in Los Angeles, California at the time of his death.

He is interred in the Evergreen Cemetery, Los Angeles. He was buried with the famous derby hat he wore all his life, from his Stymie days.

References

1. Matthew Beard Jr. U.S. Social Security Applications and Claims Index (subscription required)
2. "The Return of Frank James (1940)" – via www.imdb.com.
3. "Matthew 'Stymie' Beard - Biography - IMDb".
4. "Matthew 'Stymie' Beard". IMDb.

Further reading

Holmstrom, John. The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995, Norwich, Michael Russell, 1996, p. 132.
Dye, David. Child and Youth Actors: Filmography of Their Entire Careers, 1914-1985. Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Co., 1988, pp. 13–14.
Willson, Dixie. Little Hollywood Stars, Akron, OH, and New York: Saalfield Pub. Co., 1935.

"Super Dave" Comic Actor & Writer Bob Einstein 1942-2019 Memorial Video

Stewart Robert Einstein (November 20, 1942 – January 2, 2019) was an American actor, comedy writer and producer. He was known for creating and performing the satirical stuntman character Super Dave Osborne. Einstein was also known for his roles as Marty Funkhouser in Curb Your Enthusiasm and Larry Middleman on Arrested Development.

Einstein got his start as a writer on several television variety shows, including The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour and The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour. Einstein won two Emmy Awards as a writer and was nominated four other times. He also won a Cable ACE Award for acting as Super Dave, along with five other nominations.

Einstein was the son of radio comedian Harry Einstein, and the older brother of fellow actor and comedian Albert Brooks.

Einstein died on January 2, 2019, shortly after being diagnosed with leukemia.

"A Woman's Face" Danish-American Actress Osa Masson 2006 Westwood Village Cemetery

Osa Massen (January 13, 1914[2] – January 2, 2006) was a Danish actress who went on to become a successful movie actress in Hollywood. She became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1941.[3]

Background and early career

Born Aase Madsen Iversen in 1914, she began her career as a newspaper photographer, before becoming an actress. She first came to the United States in 1937.[4] 

Massen's first film was Kidnapped (1935).[5] 

Massen notably appeared as Melvyn Douglas' unfaithful wife dealing with blackmailer Joan Crawford in A Woman's Face (1941). 

She also appeared as a mysterious woman with something to hide in Deadline at Dawn (1946).

She starred with Lloyd Bridges in the science fiction film Rocketship X-M (1950), the first space adventure of the post-World War II era. 

Later in her career, she appeared in guest roles on many television programs. She made three guest appearances on Perry Mason: in 1958, she played Lisa Bannister in "The Case of the Desperate Daughter," and in 1959, she played Sarah Werner in "The Case of the Shattered Dream." Her last television role was in 1962 when she played Lisa Pedersen in "The Case of the Tarnished Trademark."

Personal life

She was married three times, including once to Allan Hersholt, the son of Jean Hersholt, on December 15, 1938.[2]:229

Death

Massen died on January 2, 2006, 11 days before her 92nd birthday, following unspecified surgery in Hollywood, California.[note 1][6] She had previously been living just outside Copenhagen until just before her final relocation (to California).

Osa Massen is buried at Westwood Village Memorial Park in Los Angeles, California next to her third husband Dr. Stanley William Vogel. 

Partial filmography 

Kidnapped (1935) 

Bag Københavns kulisser (1935) 

Honeymoon in Bali (1939) 

Honeymoon for Three (1941) 

You'll Never Get Rich (1941) 
A Woman's Face (1941) 
The Devil Pays Off (1941) 

Accent on Love (1941) 

Background to Danger (1943) 

Jack London (1943) 

Cry of the Werewolf (1944) 

The Black Parachute (1944) 
Deadline at Dawn (1946) 

Strange Journey (1946) 

The Gentleman Misbehaves (1946) 

Million Dollar Weekend (1948) 

Night Unto Night (1949) 

Rocketship X-M (1950) 

Outcasts of the City (1958)

Notes

The book Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2006: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture says Massen "... died of complications from surgery in a Santa Monica, California, convalescent home ...."

References

1. IMDB The Master Race (1944)
2. Hans J. Wollstein (1994). Strangers in Hollywood: the history of Scandinavian actors in American films from 1910 to World War II. Scarecrow Press. p. 227. ISBN 978-0-8108-2938-1.
3. Copy of Petition for Naturalization #90276, filed in Los Angeles, California under the name Aase Madsen Iversen Hersholt, ancestry.com
4. She was recorded as Aase Madsen-Iversen, Danish actress, aged 23, on the manifest of the S/S Normandie, which sailed from Southampton, England, on 18 December 1937, and arrived at the Port of New York on 23 December 1937.
5. "Osa Massen, 91; 1940s Danish-Born Actress Famous as Femme Fatale". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 13 September 2017.
6. Lentz, Harris M. III (2007). Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2006: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture. McFarland. pp. 230–231. ISBN 9780786452118.