Category Archives: ’50s

Past & Curious: Lyle Be Seeing You & More!

Links to the past with relevance today: Jim Nabors passed this eye exam! (Image via CBS) KENNETH IN THE (212): A lavish tribute to the late Lyle Waggoner's physical perfection. DO YOU REMEMBER?: Now you can get 50 Sesame Street stamps in honor of the show's 50th anniversary! EXTRATV: RIP Maggie Griffin. Comic Kathy Grifin's…
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Stuart Whitman Dies @ 92

Via ExtraTV: Stuart Whitman, a rugged, handsome leading man known for his work in westerns and for a Best Actor Oscar nomination, died Monday at 92. TMZ reports Whitman died of skin and blood cancer. His son Justin told the site, "Old Hollywood lost another one of its true stars. Stuart Whitman was known for…
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Ja’Net DuBois’s Family: She Was Cab Calloway’s Daughter

Good Times star Ja'Net DuBois, who died last month unexpectedly, was a colorful person with some holes in her personal story — but who would have predicted her death certificate would claim her birth father was big-band legend Cab Calloway? According to her family, DuBois' mother was Lillian Gouedy, as previously known, but her father…
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Acting Legend Max von Sydow Dies @ 90

Max von Sydow, a powerhouse actor known for the craft he displayed in the films of Ingmar Bergman (1918-2007), as well as for popular performances in a host of Hollywood productions, died Sunday at 90. His death was confirmed by his widow, Catherine, but a cause was not given. Von Sydow was born into affluence…
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And Scene: James Lipton Dies @ 93

It's not clear how many fans of the eternal Bravo (and later Ovation) series Inside the Actor's Studio (1994-2020) realized how advanced in years creator and host James Lipton was — he had an ageless, yet wizened, quality in his role as the ultimate actor whisperer. James Lipton (September 19, 1926-March 2, 2020) (Image via…
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Western Actor Ben Cooper Dies @ 86

Ben Cooper, a sweet-faced western actor whose cap was feathered with a memorable appearance as a doomed outlaw named Turkey in the classic Johnny Guitar (1954), died Monday at 86. Ben Cooper: September 30, 1933-February 24, 2020 (Image via video still) THR reports his death followed "a long illness" that was reportedly dementia. Born on…
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Mitzi Gaynor Sticks Up for Boys Who Dance

Good Morning America host Lara Spencer, 50, put her left foot in her mouth this week by mispronouncing "ballet" while offhanded mocking Prince George, 6, for reportedly loving his studies in the field. Mitzi with some of her boys (Image via Mark Alan Knowles) The implication was that he would come to hate ballet once…
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Peter Fonda Dies @ 79

A month after the 50th anniversary of Easy Rider, the iconic '60s film that he co-wrote and in which he starred, actor Peter Fonda has died at 79. One of the most iconic films of the '60s (Image via Columbia) People magazine reports exclusively that Fonda died of respiratory failure due to lung cancer. In a statement…
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42 Years Since Elvis Died at 42

Elvis Presley, the King, died 42 years ago today. Aloha, Elvis ... (GIF via GIPHY) It was an ignominious end for a glorious performer, a death that so shocked the world, many of its citizens to this day believe he couldn't have died, but instead faked his own death. Page from one tabloid of many…
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Julie Newmar Unveils 86th B’Day Snap

Lovely Julie Newmar (b. 1933) has many accomplishments under her dancing belt, chief among them her electrifying turn as Stupefyin' Jones in Li'l Abner (1956 Broadway, 1959 film), a 1958 Tony for her performance in The Marriage-Go-Round, early-TV fame as Rhoda the Robot on My Living Doll (1964-1965) and notoriety as Catwoman on Batman (1966-1967).…
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