Actor Ron Silver dies in NYC at age 62 of cancer
By DAVID GERMAIN, AP Movie Writer David Germain

Actor Ron Silver, who won a Tony Award as a take-no-prisoners Hollywood producer in David Mamet's "Speed-the-Plow" and did a political about-face from loyal Democrat to Republican activist after the Sept. 11 attacks, died Sunday at the age of 62.

"Ron Silver died peacefully in his sleep with his family around him early Sunday morning" in New York City, said Robin Bronk, executive director of the Creative Coalition, which Silver helped found. "He had been fighting esophageal cancer for two years."

Silver, an Emmy nominee for a recurring role as a slick strategist for liberal President Jed Bartlet on "The West Wing," had a long history of balancing acting with left-leaning social and political causes.

But after the 2001 terrorist attacks, longtime Democrat Silver turned heads in Hollywood with outspoken support of President George W. Bush over the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Silver spoke at the 2004 Republican National Convention, began referring to himself as a "9/11 Republican" and reregistered as an independent.

In an interview with The Associated Press a month later, Silver said his support for the war on terror was costing him work in liberal-minded Hollywood.

"It's affected me very badly. I can't point to a person or a job I've lost, but this community is not very pluralistic," Silver told the AP. "I haven't worked for 10 months."

His switch to a more conservative image threatened to overshadow an esteemed career on stage, television and film, along with his long history of activism, which included co-founding the nonpartisan Creative Coalition, an advocacy group for entertainers.

"He was a talented actor, a scholar and a great believer in participatory democracy," Bronk said Sunday evening. "He was an activist who became a great artist and his contributions will never be forgotten."

His big-screen credits included "Ali," "Reversal of Fortune," "Enemies: A Love Story," "Silkwood" and "Semi-Tough."

Besides "The West Wing," Silver was a regular or had recurring roles on such TV shows as "Veronica's Closet," "Chicago Hope" and "Wiseguy." He directed and costarred in the 1993 TV movie "Lifepod," a science-fiction update of Alfred Hitchcock's "Lifeboat."

Silver's Tony for "Speed-the-Plow" came in 1988, a year after he earned his first Emmy nomination, for the murder thriller "Billionaire Boys Club."

Silver still found work despite his conservative shift, appearing in episodes of "Law & Order" and "Crossing Jordan" and such movies as "Find Me Guilty" and the Ten Commandments comedy "The Ten."

He continued his recurring role on "The West Wing," joking that he faced some taunting over his views from co-workers on the show which took place in a fiercely liberal White House administration.

"Often when I walked onto the set of 'The West Wing' some of my colleagues would greet me with a chanting of 'Ron, Ron, the neo-con.' It was all done in fun but it had an edge," Silver wrote in a Nov. 15, 2007, entry of his blog on the Pajamas Media Web site.

Silver's on-screen work rankled liberals, too. He narrated 2004's "Fahrenhype 9/11," a deconstruction of Michael Moore's Bush-bashing hit documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11."

"Michael Moore and that faction of the party was one of the factors that did not let me support the Democratic nominee this year," Silver told the AP in 2004. "He is a charlatan in a clown suit."

Born July 2, 1946, in New York City, he was the son of Irving and May Silver. His father worked in New York's garment industry and his mother was a teacher.

Earning a bachelor's degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo and a master's degree in Chinese history from St. John's University, Silver studied drama at the Herbert Berghof Studio and the Actors Studio.

In the 1970s, he gradually moved from theater work in New York City into television and film. His early credits included "The Mac Davis Show," "Rhoda" and "The Stockard Channing Show."

Silver and ex-wife Lynne Miller had a son, Adam, and daughter, Alexandra.

Whichever end of the political spectrum his activism fell, Silver viewed such involvement as something of a duty for entertainers.

"I think there's almost an obligation," he said in a 1991 interview with the AP. "Many of us are very well compensated for work which a lot of people would love to do. And we also have a lot of leisure time in between jobs. ...

"They say that Hollywood is sex without substance, and Washington is substance without sex, so maybe the marriage of the two is mutually intriguing."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/obit_natasha_richardson

Natasha Richardson dies after fall on ski slope

By HILLEL ITALIE, AP National Writer

NEW YORK – Natasha Richardson, a gifted and precocious heiress to acting royalty whose career highlights included the film "Patty Hearst" and a Tony-winning performance in a stage revival of "Cabaret," died Wednesday at age 45 after suffering a head injury from a skiing accident.

Alan Nierob, the Los Angeles-based publicist for Richardson's husband Liam Neeson, confirmed her death in a written statement.

"Liam Neeson, his sons (Micheal and Daniel), and the entire family are shocked and devastated by the tragic death of their beloved Natasha," the statement said. "They are profoundly grateful for the support, love and prayers of everyone, and ask for privacy during this very difficult time."

The statement did not give details on the cause of death for Richardson, who suffered a head injury when she fell on a beginner's trail during a private ski lesson at the luxury Mont Tremblant ski resort in Quebec. She was hospitalized Tuesday in Montreal and later flown to a hospital in New York.

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How something so innocent as learning how to ski could end up so tragic is beyond comprehension...

Deepest condolences to her friends and family.

bmwracer wrote:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/obit_natasha_richardson Natasha Richardson dies after fall on ski slope How something so innocent as learning how to ski could end up so tragic is beyond comprehension... Deepest condolences to her friends and family.

wow It so sudden, wow it can of shocking
My condolences to her family and friends
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bmwracer wrote:

How something so innocent as learning how to ski could end up so tragic is beyond comprehension... Deepest condolences to her friends and family.

Life is random and ruthless sometimes, isnt it.
Poor woman. Poor family.
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Eve wrote:

Life is random and ruthless sometimes, isnt it.

Painfully so.

^^^What???? I thought her condition wasn't critical. How tragic.

Takoyama wrote:

^^^What???? I thought her condition wasn't critical. How tragic.

It was an odd set of circumstances: supposedly after the accident, she just got up and was fine... It was only later when she complained of a headache, then things got worse really fast.

bmwracer wrote:

It was an odd set of circumstances: supposedly after the accident, she just got up and was fine... It was only later when she complained of a headache, then things got worse really fast.

Kind of sounds like what happened to race car driver Mark Donohue in the 1975. He had an accident (spun out, hit a guard rail) and said he was fine. A couple days later he dropped dead from a brain hemmorage.

gaijinmark wrote:

Kind of sounds like what happened to race car driver Mark Donohue in the 1975. He had an accident (spun out, hit a guard rail) and said he was fine. A couple days later he dropped dead from a brain hemmorage.

Oh yeah... I remember that...

I guess the lesson is no matter how apparently minor an accident is, especially one to the head, you should always get fully checked out by a doctor...

That was really sad... she was a good actress.

I was so stunned when I heard about Natasha Richardson. I mean, it just happened so suddenly and it's just such a tragedy. I haven't seen her in many films, but I always thought she was a beautiful and classy lady. RIP.

And as other people mentioned in some messageboards I frequent, this totally reminded me of Liam Neeson's character in Love, Actually, who lost his wife and had to bring up his (step)son alone. Quite sad. Condolences to him and the rest of their family.
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sadacori wrote:

And as other people mentioned in some messageboards I frequent, this totally reminded me of Liam Neeson's character in Love, Actually, who lost his wife and had to bring up his (step)son alone.

Wow, talk about cruel irony.

bmwracer wrote:

Wow, talk about cruel irony.

Yeah, it truly is. You should check it out if you haven't. I just watched it last month and thought it was great. Of course, because this recent event, it might be too painful to watch now.
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Currently watching: Netflix stuff

Noted film composer Maurice Jarre has passed away.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090330/film_nm/us_jarre

Jarre was really exceptional in the art of film scoring, among the best ever and my favorite film composer.

One of the great movie watching experiences of my life was seeing Lawrence of Arabia at one of those grand old-style movie theaters and hearing that magnificent music which perfectly accented what you were viewing on the screen.

Among the many other films he scored were Dr. Zhivago, The Man Who Would Be King, Witness, Ryan's Daughter, A Passage to India, Ghost, The Year of Living Dangerously, Topaz, Is Paris Burning?, and Grand Prix. He also did the score for the TV mini-series Shogun.

Actor Dom De Luise Dies

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Actor and comedian Dom DeLuise, whose big screen classics included "The Cannonball Run," "Spaceballs" and "History of the World Part I," died on Monday night at a Los Angeles hospital.
He was 75.

Funny, funny actor. Remember him for his Mel Brooks' stuff, (The Twelve Chairs, Blazing Saddles) not the Burt Reynolds movies. Also, "The Cheap Detective" one of my favorites.

I was so sad to hear about Dom DeLuise passing.

The movies were wonderful. But my best memories of Dom come from his appearances on the Dean Martin Show.

And he was always great on the talk show circuit. From Johnny Carson to Mike Douglas... he could always be counted on to be funny.
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Actor David Carradine found dead in Bangkok

BANGKOK – Actor David Carradine, star of the 1970s TV series "Kung Fu" who also had a wide-ranging career in the movies, has been found dead in the Thai capital, Bangkok.

A spokesman for the U.S. Embassy, Michael Turner, confirmed the death of the 72-year-old actor. He says Carradine died either late Wednesday or early Thursday, but he could not provide further details out of consideration for his family.

The Web site of the newspaper The Nation cited unidentified police sources as saying Carradine was found Thursday hanged in his luxury hotel room and is believed to have committed suicide.

Carradine was a leading member of a venerable Hollywood acting family that included his father, character actor John Carradine, and brother Keith.

I just read of David Carradine's death, how lamentable! His death prompted a little snooping and I just found out the man went through 5 wives O_O

Aside from Kill Bill nothing seems to stand out in the later half of his career, but he was still a great actor. Also didn't realize Robert Carradine was his brother, even though they together appeared in an epi of Lizzie McGuire together! That should have been a no brainer. I wonder what will become of the movie he was working on.

tabemonster wrote:

I just read of David Carradine's death, how lamentable! His death prompted a little snooping and I just found out the man went through 5 wives O_O

The first thing that came to my mind was if he had some grave illness that would've prompted him to kill himself.

First sensible bit of speculation I have seen. They're doing an autopsy, so we'll know soon.
Damn he was cool. Not a great actor, or martial artist, but he would have been fun to chill out with.
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