IF: reflection
Reflections of a career that spanned seven decades.
Archive of posts filed under the death category.
from my sketchbook: june fairchild
Just after high school, June Fairchild landed a small role as a party guest in a 1966 episode of “The Monkees.” She also appeared in the teen comedy Where Angels Go Trouble Follows, and The Monkees’ 1968 big-screen effort Head. Soon, she found herself in films with Michael Douglas, Rock Hudson, Bruce Dern, Tony Curtis, …
from my sketchbook: frank christi
You’ve seen Frank Christi before. His chiseled mug has graced the big and small screens countless times. The New York native brought his craggy streetwise visage to villainous roles in Baretta, The Rockford Files, Kojak and other police dramas. In movies, he appeared on the wrong side of the law in Terminal Island, The Hit …
from my sketchbook: marjorie white
Marjorie Guthrie began performing in her native Winnipeg at the tender age of 8. She was part of a group of child entertainers in a troupe that toured throughout Canada. As a teenager, Marjorie traveled to San Francisco to take a stab at vaudeville. She partnered with Thelma Wolpa as a comedy duo under the names …
from my sketchbook: donna douglas
Granny: Elly May done popped the buttons off her shirt again. Jed: Elly May carries herself proud with her shoulders throwed back. Granny: It ain’t her shoulders that have been poppin’ these buttons. — The Beverly Hillbillies Doris Smith, a pretty Southern tomboy, was voted Miss Baton Rouge in her home state of Louisiana. The …
IF: invention
Thomas Edison is a beloved figure in the history of science, technology and invention. But, boy, what a jerk. In 1882, Nikola Tesla emigrated to the United States to work for Edison. An innovative electrical engineer in his native Serbia, he was hired to redesign Edison’s inefficient motor. At the time, Tesla was paid a salary …
from my sketchbook: miroslava
Barely a teenager, Miroslava Šternová fled her native Czechoslovakia with her adoptive parents as the country was on the verge of war in 1930. The family headed to North America and settled in Mexico. Young Miroslava entered and won a beauty contest and briefly visited Los Angeles to try her hand at acting. Her exotic …
IF: home
Elisa Lam last called home on January 31, 2013. Then, she disappeared. Soon, some guests in the Cecil Hotel began to complain about low water pressure. The front desk of the Los Angeles Skid Row hotel received additional calls about black water when faucets or showers were turned on. After nearly three weeks (coinciding with Elisa Lam’s disappearance), a …
IF: sea
It was Thanksgiving weekend 1981. Natalie Wood and her husband, actor Robert Wagner had asked fellow actor Christopher Walken, Natalie’s co-star in her current film Brainstorm, to join them aboard their yacht the Splendour. They would sail to Catalina Island, dine at Doug’s Harbor Reef, the only restaurant in Isthmus Cove on the northern end …
from my sketchbook: cathy downs
A talent scout from 20th Century Fox spotted dark-haired Vogue model Cathy Downs and brought her to Hollywood. After a few uncredited roles , including State Fair and a biopic about The Dolly Sisters, Cathy was cast in the titular role in the John Ford Western My Darling Clementine, a mostly inaccurate account of the …