Canadian guitarist Domenic "Donnie" Troiano died May 25 at his home in Toronto after a long fight with cancer. He was 59.
Born in Modugno, Italy, and a naturalized Canadian since 1955, Troiano was a force in Canadian music for 40 years. He came to prominence with Toronto-based Robbie Lane & the Disciples, which backed up Arkansas rockabilly singer Ronnie Hawkins in the early '60s.
Leon Askin, who played Nazi Gen. Albert Burkhalter in "Hogan's Heroes," died recently in a hospital in Vienna, Austria at the age of 97.
The actor passed away on Friday, June 3, reports his official website. A funeral service will be held at on Thursday, June 9 at Vienna's Zentralfriedhof.
Ah, bummer! I loved Askin's portrayal of Burkhalter, especially his dialogues with Col. Klink. Man, I didn't even realize he was with us until a few days ago.
Anne Bancroft, who won the 1962 best actress Oscar as the teacher of a young Helen Keller in "The Miracle Worker" but achieved greater fame as Mrs. Robinson, the seducer of her daughter's boyfriend in the 1967 movie "The Graduate," has died, a spokesman for her husband, producer Mel Brooks, said Tuesday. She was 73.
She died of cancer on Monday at Mount Sinai Hospital, spokesman John Barlow said.
Simon "Si" Waronker, founder of Liberty Records, one of the top indie labels of the 1950s and early '60s, died in his sleep Tuesday in Los Angeles. He was 90.
A child prodigy on violin, the Los Angeles native studied in Philadelphia and France. He attempted to establish a music career in Germany, but fled the country after the rise of the Nazis. From 1939-55, he worked at 20th Century Fox, playing on countless scores for the studio.
