| From soap One Life To Live, with Laurence Fishburne |
Al Freeman, Jr.
March 21, 1934 - August 9, 2012
Born in San Antonio, Texas, Albert Cornelius Freeman, Jr. was known as a prolific, seasoned actor. Distinguished, with the utmost intelligence and advocacy of detailed truth. In 1960, he made his Broadway stage debut in The Long Dream, directed by Lloyd Richards. Director/writer Joshua Logan cast him in the 1962 play about black life in New Orleans, Tiger Tiger Burning Bright, in which he played alongside Claudia McNeil, Alvin Ailey, Roscoe Lee Browne, Diana Sands and Cicely Tyson.
In 1964, he portrayed a lynching victim in James Baldwin's production, Blues For Mr. Charlie, regarding race relations in the south. It initially did not do very well, and was set to close, because of a small number of attendance. However, with strong publicity, including Nelson Rockefeller daughter's participation of large contributions, the play continued with 148 performances.
Mr. Freeman also appeared in various off-Broadway plays, even working with Vinnette Carroll's musical adaption of James Weldon Johnson's God's Trombone, the huge hit Trumpets Of The Lord, as well as several others. His work was always so phenomenally sound!
He was a true artist of TV, as well, acting in roles for Mod Squad, The Defenders, Maude, The Cosby Show, and Law and Order. Historically, he portrayed cop Ed Hall on soap opera One Life To Live, being the first African-American to win a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor. He also proved his ability, by directing some of the episodes.
| From Malcolm X, with Denzel Washington |
The big screen was not strange to Mr. Freeman, either. He appeared in many films: Ensign Pulver (1964), The Dutchman (1967), The Detective (1968), Finian's Rainbow (1968), Once Upon A Time... When We Were Colored (1995), and Down At The Delta (1998). He portrayed Malcolm X in the 1979 TV mini-series, Roots: The Next Generations, and amazingly enough, played Elijah Mohammad in Spike Lee's 1992 film, from Alex Haley's 1965 autobiographical book Malcolm X.
He was 78 years of age.
He was 78 years of age.
Don Grady
June 8, 1944 - June 27, 2012
| Don Grady on Mickey Mouse Club |
| Cast of My Three Sons, with Don Grady (far right) |
When Mr. Grady was 16, he played Robbie, on one of the longest-running family shows during the sixties, My Three Sons (1960). It was purely a clean-cut show, starring Fred MacMurray, as the widow father Steve Douglas, raising sons, two of which, Chip and Ernie, were real-life brothers, Stanley and Barry Livingston. The show also included William Frawley, who played Uncle Charley O'Casey, helping with the raising of the boys, and running the house like a military base. Where has quality TV gone? The good ole days!
Mr. Grady, when he was younger, was very musically inclined, lessons to play the accordion, clarinet, also teaching himself to play guitar, trumpet and bass. Being strongly ad versed in music, once the show ended in 1972, he became instrumental in composing the theme song for The Phil Donahue Show. He also co-wrote "Keep the Dream Alive," which was recorded by Herbie Hancock, Della Reese and others for the "Jazz to End Hunger" project.
He was 68.
Ernest Borgnine
January 24, 1917 - July 8, 2012
Born in Hamden, Connecticut, Ermes Effron Borgnino, an amazing actor who would try any role, and succeed brilliantly. His name appears on the screens' of the some of the biggest movies of the 50s. Among the list are From Here To Eternity (1953), Johnny Guitar (1954), and Bad Day At Black Rock (1955).
| Ernest Borgnine, in Marty |
Mr. Borgnine proved again and again of his strong work ethic, appreciating every role, no matter what it consisted of. His movie and TV list spans from 1950, to the millennium years, including Spongebob Squarepants voice-overs.
| From McHale's Navy, with Joe Flynn |
He co-starred in TV shows like Wagon Train (1957), McHale's Navy (1962), and Airwolf (1984), as well as a long list of special guest appearances throughout the decades. As far as movies he appeared in, I absolutely loved him in Dirty Dozen (1967), and Jesus of Nazareth (1977).
In my opinion, he was one of the most archaic and genuinely talented actors of his time. He was 95.
In my opinion, he was one of the most archaic and genuinely talented actors of his time. He was 95.
Below is a clip from one of my favorite scenes of him, portraying Jonathan, an angel sent from heaven to minister to little Laura when she ran away from home. It's priceless, and one the best episodes of Little House On The Prairie's first season.
Davy Jones
December 30, 1945 - February 29, 2012
| Davy Jones |
| The Monkees |
Born in Mancester, England, David Thomas Jones, was a child performer on stage, cast to play the Artful Dodger in the musical Oliver! Performing the role in London first, and then on Broadway stage, where he was nominated for a Tony Award.
In addition to his magnificence on Broadway, he was also a singer and musician, with recorded songs from the pop culture TV show The Monkees. He was a member of the group, singing most of the lead vocals. Songs like "Daydream Believer" and "I Wanna Be Free" became chart hits. His solo projects in the studio included hit "What Are We Going To Do," etc.
After The Monkees, Mr Jones appeared in other TV series, from Love, American Style (1969) to doing voice-overs in Phineas and Ferb (2007).
He was 68 years of age.
Michael Clarke Duncan
December 10, 1957 - September 3, 2012
Born in Chicago, Illinois, Michael Clarke Duncan hurtled through barriers, with exceptional gifts, dreaming of becoming a great actor, instead of another unfortunate casualty of the neighborhood.
| Michael Clarke Duncan |
| The Green Mile, with Tom Hanks |
Choosing not to get caught up in drugs or alcohol, he studied, attended college, even dug ditches and worked as a bodyguard for the stars to make a living, before branching out into acting. He appeared in the popular movie, Armageddon, starring Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck, which led to the sweet opportunity of a lifetime. Green Mile (1999), starring Tom Hanks, assisted him with receiving major accolades, including an Oscar nomination for Supporting Actor.
List of major flick opportunities, as well as TV show spots, continued to become visual for him, with The Whole Nine Yards (1999), The Scorpion King (2003), Daredevil (2004), and so many more.
He was 54 years of age.
| William Windom |
William Windom
September 28, 1923 - August 16, 2012
Born in Manhattan, New York, NY, William Windom, whose great-grandfather held the same name, was of the United States Secretary of Treasury. He served in the Army, during World War II, as a paratrooper.
Probably appeared in almost every TV show known to man, from Marcus Welby, MD (1969), to Murder, She Wrote (1984), which happens to be one that included one of his recurring roles, as Dr. Seth Hazlitt.
Mr. Windom also showed incredible talent, appearing in his award-winning series, My World And Welcome To It (1969), receiving 2 Primetime Emmys.
He was 88 years of age.
| James Farentino |
James Farentino
February 24, 1938 - January 24, 2012
Born in Brooklyn, New York, James Ferrantino was one of the regular faces of TV drama, as well as movies. Attending Catholic schools, while exhibiting strong interest in acting, also desiring to learn higher levels of drama
Appearing in various TV shows, including Naked City (1962), 77 Sunset Strip (1963), Ben Casey (1965), Police Story (1979), and Rod Serling's Night Gallery (1971). Even showed amazing ability to be one who could handle character acting with weekly series such as The Bold Ones: The Lawyers (1969), and nighttime soap opera Dynasty (1981).
The list of movies, both on the silver screen, and TV, were many, throughout the 1960s-2000s: "Ensign Pulver" (1962), "Ride To Hangman's Tree," (1967), "Rosie!" (1967), "Jesus of Nazareth" (1977), "The Final Countdown" (1980), and When No One Would Listen (1992), a true story, portraying an abusive husband.
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