Ken Russell - 1927-2011

British film director Ken Russell, whose 1969 film Women In Love received a number of Oscars as well as generating plenty of controversy, has passed away.

Russell is best remembered for Women In Love, Tommy, and Altered States, as well as one of my early favorites, The Music Lovers, which focused on Tchaikovsky. Russell’s Women In Love courted controversy (and was banned in Turkey) due to its depiction of male genitalia in a mainstream film, something which hadn’t been done before – fear not gentle reader, it was in the context of a wrestling match between Oliver Reed and Alan Bates. Other films in his oeuvre include Lisztomania, The Devils, Crimes Of Passion, Prisoner Of Honor, Whore, Gothic, and The Lair Of The White Worm (with Hugh Grant), among others.

Mr Russell passed away on November 27, aged 84.

John Neville - 1925-2011

X Files and Terry Gilliam fans will be saddened today, to learn of the passing of British actor John Neville.

Neville made a name for himself playing The Well Manicured Man in the 90′s sci-fi series The X Files, as well as playing the title role in Terry Gilliam’s fabulous The Adventures of Baron Munchhausen. He had cameos in a large number of films, including The Fifth Element, Little Women, The Man Who Sued God, Spider, Crime & Punishment, István Szabó’s Sunshine (1999), and Separate Lies. Mr Neville was also an accomplished stage actor, with acting credits in productions of Henry V, Romeo & Juliet, Pygmalion, Sherlock Holmes, and The Tempest, and directorial stints with productions of The Importance of Being Ernest, Antony & Cleopatra, Hamlet and Othello, among the many, many others.

Mr Neville passed away on November 19th, aged 86.

Sarah Watt - 1958-2011

Sad news over the weekend, as we learned of the passing of wonderful Aussie director Sarah Watt. Watt directed the AFI Best Picture film, Look Both Ways, during which I had the pleasure of spending time on set while they filmed key scenes at my apartment a few years ago. Look Both Ways is a stunning, low-key Aussie film, and anybody who has yet to see it, can I urge you to do so. Watt also directed My Year Without Sex, released in 2009, a film I have yet to see, although I can only assume it was of the same high caliber as Look Both Ways.

I met Ms Watt on the set of Look Both Ways, and she struck me as quiet and thoughtful – it was during production on this film that she was diagnosed with cancer, a fact I would not discover until much later. Regardless, she held herself well in the rigors of on-set filming, and I always have fond memories of her at that time.

Ms Watt was married to fellow Aussie, actor William McInnes. She passed away on November 4, aged 53.

Gilbert Cates - 1934-2011

Long time Hollywood producer, and legendary man behind-the-scenes of many an Oscar ceremony, Gilbert Cates, has passed away. Cates, who directed a number of films in the 70′s and 80′s, including O God Book II and The Last Married Couple In America, was best known as the man who reinvigorated a stale and steadfastly dull Oscar broadcast during the 90′s. After a decidedly bizarre Oscar’s ceremony in 1989, the Academy gave Cates the job of reinventing the formula for presenting this industry’s top gongs, and consequently the modern Oscar ceremony was born – thanks to the introduction of Billy Crystal and a focus on film clips. Cates went on to produce the Oscar ceremony 14 times over 18 years.

For his work behind the scenes at the Academy Awards, we salute Mr Cates today. He was 77.

George Baker - 1931-2011

British actor George Baker has passed away.

Baker was best known for his television role in The Ruth Rendell Mysteries, as Inspector Wexford. He also appeared in numerous films, including I Claudius, The Dam Busters, The Moonraker, Goodbye Mr Chips, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, The Spy Who Loved Me, You Only Live Twice, Out Of Order and Back To The Secret Garden, to name only a few. His television appearances outside of Wexford included Minder, The Goodies, Coronation Street, and even a Tom Baker-era Doctor Who serial.

Mr Baker passed away on October 7th. He was 80.

Diane Cilento (with Sean Connery) - 1933-2011

Acclaimed Australian actress Diane Cilento has passed away.

Ms Cilento appeared in a number of stage and screen appearances over her career, including an Oscar nominated performance opposite Albert Finney and Susannah York in Tom Jones (1963). Cilento was also nominated for a Tony Award for a role she played in the stage show Tiger At The Gates. Among her many film appearances, she can be spotted in the original 1952 version of Moulin Rouge, The Passionate Stranger, The Naked Edge, The Agony And The Ecstacy (with Charlton Heston), Hombre (with Paul Newman), The Wicker Man (1973) and The Boy Who Had Everything. Between 1962 and 1973, Cilento was married to James Bond actor Sean Connery, appearing as a stand-in for his You Only Live Twice co-star Mie Hama during a diving sequence.

Ms Cilento passed away from a log battle with cancer, on October 6th, aged 78.

Charles Napier - 1936-2011

Hollywood film and television star Charles Napier has passed away. Napier appeared in a string of television series’, from the live action format (Knight Rider, The A Team, Dukes Of Hazzard) and to voicing roles in the animated format (The Superman Adventures), as well as a vast number of bit-roles in film. He’s best remembered as the leader of the Good Ol’ Boys in the original Blues Brothers film, as well as opposite Sly Stallone in Rambo: First Blood Part II, Silence of the Lambs, The Cable Guy (with Jim Carrey), Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery (and the sequel, The Spy Who Shagged Me), Philadelphia (with Denzel Washington), Steel (with former NBL star Shaquille O’Neill), the remake of The Manchurian Candidate, and among his last films, Annapolis, in 2006.

Mr Napier passed away on October 5th, aged 75.

Frances Bay - 1919-2011

Just wanted to quickly pay tribute this afternoon to the recent passing of film and television actress Frances Bay.

Ms Bay was best known to cinema audiences as the elderly grandmother of Adam Sandler’s character in his ’96 film Happy Gilmore, as well as television episodes of Grey’s Anatomy, The Middle, and Seinfeld, among others. Ms Bay’s first film was a bit-part in the Goldie Hawn thriller Foul Play, and went on to appear in a number of David Lynch films (Blue Velvet and Wild At Heart), as well as an appearance in Clive Barker’s horror flick In The Mouth of Madness. Her television work also included appearances in Happy Days, Charmed and Twin Peaks.

Frances Bay passed away on September 15th, aged 92.

Cliff Robertson - 1923-2011

Academy Award winning actor Cliff Robertson has passed away. Robertson’s name may not sound familiar to most, but his face is instantly recognizable to fans of the Sam Raimi-directed Spider-Man films, playing Peter Parker’s beloved (and ill-fated) Uncle Ben. Mr Robertson received his Oscar for his performance as the titular Charly, in the 1968 film of the same name, based on the classic story Flowers For Algernon, about a mentally disabled man who, through science, becomes exceptionally intelligent, before regressing once more into retardation.

Among Mr Robertson’s first roles was his portrayal of a young John F Kennedy Jr, in the film PT109, as well as parts in films as diverse as Gidget, Underworld USA, and Three Days Of The Condor. Mr Robertson passed away on September 10, in New York State, aged 88.