Dead Celebs - 2003

[Barendd Nobeard]

Worked on that first post so that we'd have a solid list for our reference archives in years to come.

Nice!

Your link to Paul Simon (IV) 8 December goes to someone else. The correct URL is http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0800331/

 

[Mark]

Nice!

Your link to Paul Simon (IV) 8 December goes to someone else. The correct URL is http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0800331/

Thanks. Fixed!

 

[Villano]

R.I.P. Superfly

'Superfly' Star Ron O'Neal Dies

LOS ANGELES (Jan. 16) - Ron O'Neal, whose role as cocaine dealer Youngblood Priest in the 1972 film "Superfly" epitomized the so-called "blaxploitation" film genre of that era, died Wednesday of cancer, his wife said. He was 66.

O'Neal was raised in Cleveland, where he became involved in Karamu House, an experimental interracial theatrical troupe.

He moved to New York in 1966 and taught school to support himself.

In 1970, he won an Obie Award for his performance in Joseph Papp's Public Theatre production of "No Place To Be Somebody." His acting gained the attention of the producers of "Superfly."

"Superfly" was a surprise hit, leading O'Neal to reprise the role and take over directing chores in the sequel, 1973's "Superfly TNT."

Unfortunately for O'Neal, his bad-boy persona became entwined with the entire blaxploitation film genre, which quickly devolved into parody.

Undaunted, he embarked on a long career as a character role player on TV and film, appearing in such low budget films as "Mercenary Fighters" (1987) and "Up Against the Wall" (1991), which he also directed. He appeared in 2002's "On The Edge."

That's a shame. I once read an interview with him and he seemed like a nice guy.

 

[Mark]

I've begun a new thread for 2004 here -

http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=74694

 

[Cthulhu's Librarian]

As a wrapup for the year, the SFSite.com has posted a list of genre related deaths from 2003. It's quite long, and is broken down by month, with a short bio on each person and their genre accomplishments.

sfsite.com memorial

 

[Mark]

We'll give this a little more time and then I'll request that it be archived.

 

[Mark]

Many lost and a nice tribute to them at the Oscars this year.