by Steven H Silver [Editor's Note: Here you will find the other In Memoriam columns.] |
As 2001 ended, Jack C. Haldeman II's family announced that he had been moved into hospice. Jack clung to life throughout New Year's Eve, but succumbed to cancer on New Year's Day, 2002. Haldeman (b.1941) published several science fiction novels, mostly in collaboration with Jack Dann, Harry Harrison, or his brother, Joe Haldeman. In addition he wrote numerous short stories, many of them science-fictional sports stories. He is survived by his wife, science fiction author Barbara Delaplace.
Benjamin Lum (b.1953), who portrayed a Studio Guard in Mike Jittlov's science fiction film "The Wizard of Speed and Time" as well as Assistant Chief Engineer Jim Shimoda in "Star Trek: The Next Generation," died of cancer on January 1 in Los Angeles, CA. Film Producer Julia Phillips (b.1944), whose genre work included "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," died of cancer on January 1. Phillips was the first woman to win an Academy Award for Best Picture for "The Sting" and recently had written the Hollywood exposé You'll Never Eat Lunch in This Town Again. Actress Meg Wylie (b.1917), who appeared in the film "The Last Starfighter" as Granny Gordon" died of heart failure on January 1. Although most recently seen on the show "Mad About You," Wylie appeared on the television show Batman and played the Keeper in the original "Star Trek" pilot "The Cage," pieces of which were used in the episode "The Menagerie." John W. Locke, who served as an artist agent for Edward Gorey and Ronald Searle among others, died on January 3. Composer Juan García Esquivel, who composed the music for the film "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" and "Battlestar Galactica" died on January 3 at his home in Jiutepec, Mexico. Avery Schreiber (b.1935), a comedian who got his start at Second City in Chicago, died of an heart attack on January 7. Schriber had bit roles in the Mel Brooks films "Dracula: Dead and Loving It" and "Robin Hood: Men in Tights. He also appeared in the science fiction spoof "Galaxina." Schreiber also provided voices for the "Smurfs" television show and "Animaniacs." Bill McCutcheon (b.1924), who got his acting start as Dropo in the film "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians" died on January 9 in Ridgewood, NJ. John Buscema (b.1927), a comic book artist who worked on Conan the Barbarian and other Marvel titles died of stomach cancer on January 10. Buscema began working for Timely Comics in 1948. Timely later became Marvel and Buscema remained there until 1958 when he left the field to work in advertising. He returned to Marvel in 1966 and remained there until his retirement in 1996. He co-wrote the book How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way with Stan Lee. Comedian Stanley Unwin (b.1911), who influenced other actors including Spike Milligan, Peter Cook, and the Monty Python troupe, died in Daventry, England on January 12. Unwin appeared as the Chancellor in the film version of Ian Fleming's "Chitty Chitty bang Bang." Director Ernest Pintoff (b.1931), whose genre credits included episodes of "The Six-Million Dollar Man," "The Bionic Woman," and the short-lived "Voyagers!," died on January 12 following a stroke in Woodland Hills, CA. in 1964, Pintoff won an Academy Award for his short animated film "The Critic." Screenwriter/Producer Mike Marmer (b.1925) who is best known for his show "Lancelot Link/Secret Chimp" died on January 12 in Los Angeles of cancer. Cele Goldsmith Lalli (b.1933) was killed in a car accident on January 14 near her home in Connecticut. Lalli served as the editor of Amazing Stories and Fantastic from 1958-1965. Among the authors she discovered were Ursula K. Le Guin, Thomas Disch and Roger Zelazny. Singer Ron Taylor, who created the voice of the Audrey II in the 1982 Broadway production of "Little Shop of Horrors" died on January 15. Ed Moore (b.1962) a member of the Kansas City Science Fiction and Fantasy Society, died on January 17. Roy Conrad, who provided voices for characters in the film "Titan: AE" and played Captain Merrick for the video game "Star Wars: Rebel Assault II—The Hidden Empire" died on January 18 of lung cancer. Carrie Hamilton (b.1963), who portrayed a comic store owner in the film "Cool World," died on January 20 of lung and brain cancer. Hamilton also appeared in the television show "Touched by an Angel. Isaac Grand, whose two acting jobs were as a cantina patron in "Star Wars" and a Gamorrean Guard in "Return of the Jedi" died on January 21. Sheldon Allman (b.1924), an actor on the (very) short-lived television show "The Man with the Power," who is better known as the composer of the theme song for the television show "George of the Jungle," died of heart failure in Culver City, CA. Allman also provided the singing voice for the title character on "Mr. Ed." Kurt Schaffenberger (b.1920), a comic book artist for Fawcett and DC died of diabetes-related problems on January 24. Scheffenberger worked on Ibis the Invincible and the Marvel Family comics for Fawcett before moving to DC in 1957. At DC, he worked on the various Superman titles. In the late 60s, Schaffenberger and other staff members at DC demanded better working conditions and benefits which led to a period when he was not given work by DC. He filled the next two years working for Marvel before returning and once again working on both Superman and Shazam! Swedish author Astrid Lindgren (b.1907), best known for writing a series of books about Pippi Longstocking, died on January 28 in Stockholm of a viral infection. Lindgren's work was frequently adapted for television and film. In 1958, she was awarded the Hans Christian Andersen Medal. Actress Barbara Townsend (b.1913) died on January 29 from ovarian cancer. Townsend appeared in guest roles on "Star Trek: The Next Generation," "Quantum Leap," and "Northern Exposure." She also portrayed Mildred Potter on the short-lived "AfterM*A*S*H." Edward Jewesbury, whose recent roles included Ambrosius in "The Mists of Avalon" and Vildan Vilder in "Dungeons and Dragons," died on January 30. Jewesbury also appeared in the miniseries "The Tenth Kingdom" and the 1994 version of "Frankenstein." Cathleen Jordan (b.1941), who served as the editor of Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine from 1981-2002, died on January 31. In 1984, Jordan published a novel, A Carol in the Dark, but her main talent was finding new talent, with nine of her authors winning the Robert L. Fish Memorial Award for best short story by a new author. Shortly before her death, Jordan was informed that she would be the 2002 recipient of the Ellery Queen Award. Actress Irish McCalla, who portrayed Sheena in the 1955 television "Sheena, Queen of the Jungle," died on February 1. McCalla overcame brain tumors in 1969 and 1981, she finally succumbed to a brain tumor and stroke complications. Originally a Varga Girl, McCalla also became a successful artist. George Nader (b.1921), the author of the novel Chrome, died of pneumonia on February 4 after being hospitalized with a bacterial infection since September. Nader also acted, appeared in the 3-D film "Robot Monster" in 1953. Nader and Rock Hudson were friends and helped each other hide their homosexuality. Kevin Smith (b.1963), who portrayed Ares on the television show "Xena: Warrior Princess" died on February 15 while filming "Warriors of Virtue II" in China. Smith was thrown from a horse and suffered a fatal head injury. In addition to appearing on "Xena," Smith appeared on "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" and played Valdemar in the television adaptation of Philip José Farmer's Riverworld. Newscaster Howard K. Smith (b.1914), who portrayed himself in the television series "V" and the film "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" died of pneumonia and congestive heart failure in Bathesda, MD on February 15. Smith served as the moderator in the first televised Presidential debate in 1960 between Richard Nixon and John Kennedy. Byrne Smith (b.1929), who portrayed Captain Mertin in the Hugo-nominated "Being John Malkovich," died on February 18 from lung cancer. Smith also appeared as a guest star on episodes of "X-Files" and "Quantum Leap. Children's author Virginia Hamilton (b.1936) died on February 19 of breast cancer. Hamilton was the first children's author to be awarded a MacArthur genius grant and also won a Newbery Medal and National Book Award for M.C. Higgins, the Great. Hamilton's grandfather escaped from slavery in the 1850s and his flight played a role in many of Hamilton's books. Suzy Vick (b.1937), wife of fan Sheby Vick, died on February 19 in a Florida nursing home following a battle with pancreatic cancer. She met Shelby through the fan mail network in 1954 and they married in 1959. The Vick family hosted Corflu Sunsplash in 1999, and although Mrs. Vick had suffered a stroke by that time, she was able to attend, although two more stroke followed, sending her to a nursing home. Fredric Steinkamp (b.1927?), who served as a film editor on "Scrooged" and "Charly," the latter based on Daniel Keyes's "Flowers for Algernon," died on February 20 from heart failure. Animator Chuck Jones (b.1912), best known for his work on the golden age Looney Toons cartoons of Warner Brothers, died on February 22 of congestive heart failure. In addition to more than 300 short films, he also animated the film-length "The Phantom Tollbooth. He helped develop Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and other Warner characters and co-created such popular characters as the Road Runner, Pepe Le Peu, and Michigan J. Frog. Jones worked as the director on the animated specials "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" and "Horton Hears a Who," for which he won Peabody Awards. He published two volumes of memoirs, Chuck Amuck and Chuck Reducks. Drew Christian Staffanson (b.1962), partner of SF author M. Shayne Bell, died on February 25 from complications related to AIDS. Staffanson worked as a foreign correspondent and covered the Gulf War, among other Middle Eastern issues. He developed an interest in science fiction following his return to Utah in 1992.. British comedian Spike Milligan (b.1918) died on February 27 from liver failure. Best known for his work on "The Goon Show," Milligan inspired a generation of comedians. He served for seven years as a gunner in the British Army in World War II and also wrote numerous noels and poems, including many with fantastic elements. His films include "Monty Python's Life of Brian" and "The Three Musketeers" Harry Nadler (b.1941), UK fan and chief organizer of the Festival of Fantastic Films for since 1989, died of an heart attack on March 1. Along with some friends, he had purchased and renovated the Savoy in Sale, England so he could run his own movie theater. In the 60s and 70s, he made his own films and published the movie fanzine L'Incroyable Cinema. Disney writer William Berg (b.1917) died at his home in San Juan Capistrano on March 2 of pneumonia. Berg wrote several of the Disney cartoon starring Donald Duck and also worked on the Jiminy Cricket education series. His most recent credit at Disney was as a clean-up artist on the film "The Little Mermaid." Curtis W. Casewit (b.1922), the author of the post-apocalyptic novel The Peacemaker, died on March 2 in Denver. Fridrikh Gorenshtein (b.1932) was a Soviet born screenwriter who made his professional debut in 1972 as the co-writer of the Andrei Tarkovsky production of Stanislaw Lem's "Solaris." He died on March 3 in Berlin. Claire Davenport (b.1933), who played the dancer Yarna d'al'Gargan in "Return of the Jedi, died of renal failure on March 4. Davenport also appeared as Mrs. Wilson in the "Fawlty Towers" episode "The Germans" and the Empress in the "Doctor Who" episode "Marco Polo" in 1964. Eric Flynn (b.1939), an actor who portrayed Alan-a-Dale in "A Chellenge for Robin Hood," died on March 4 of cancer. Flynn also appeared in the film adaptation of J.G. Ballard's Empire of the Sun and had roles in episodes of "Doctor Who" and "The Avengers." Dan Brennan (b.1916) died in his sleep on March 5. Brennan served as a press secretary for Hubert Humphrey, but also wrote mysteries and at least one science fiction novel, Insurrection. Actor William Radovich (b.1915), who appeared on the 1950s television show "Rocky Jones, Space Ranger," died on March 6 of cancer. Mati Klarwein (b.1931), who worked as an artist for Ballantine SF in the 1970s, died on March 8. Among his covers were Philip José Farmer's The Lovers, R.A. Lafferty's Arrive in Easterwine and John Wyndham's The Midwich Cuckoos. Klarwein was born in Germany but fled the Nazis in 1934 for Palestine. When he was 17, the family moved to Paris. Also the cover artist for many rock albums, Klarwein claimed that although he got his inspiration from drug induced trips, he did not paint while high. Brazilian author Cassandra Rios (b.1932) died of respiratory failure on March 8. Although focusing on soft-porn, many of Rios's works had fantastic elements in them and one of them, A Mulheres de Cabelos de Metal was straight science fiction. She published her first novel when she was 16. Martha Beck (b.1929) died of respiratory failure on March 13. She was a concom member of Chicon III, where she ran the N3F suite. New Zealand author Cherry Wilder (b.1930) died following a lengthy battle with cancer on March 14. Her first professional sales were poetry, but she began publishing science fiction in 1973 with "The Ark of James Carlyle." Her first novel, The Luck of Brin's Five was awarded the Ditmar. Before her death, Wilder finished the novel The Wanderer, which will be published in the near future. Novelist and reviewer Vincent D. Kohler (b.1948) died following a stroke on March 16. As a reporter for The Oregonian, Kohler traveled to Soviet, US and Chinese space facilities and also reviewed science fiction and fantasy. His article "China's New Long March," about the Chinese space program, appeared in Analog. Although Kohler published mysteries, his novels had a science fictional and fantastic bent. R.A. Lafferty (b.1914), whose science fiction stories were collected in books such as Lafferty in Orbit and Nine Hundred Grandmothers, and who wrote the novels Past Master and Fourth Mansions, died on March 18. In 1973, Lafferty's story "Eurema's Dam" shared a Hugo with Pohl & Kornbluth's "The Meeting." Annette Lotz (b.1962), a worldcon volunteer who worked on daily newletters, died on March 24. She was first diagnosed with cancer in 1996. In 1994, she called Bob Eggleton from Winnipeg to let him know he had won the Hugo Award. Joan Benford (b.1938), the wife of science fiction author Gregory Benford, died on March 25 of cancer. Benford served as a thinly-veiled model for many characters in her husband's novels. Engineer Thomas J. Kelly (b.1930) died on March 25 following a battle with interstitial lung disease. Kelly served as the chief engineer on the Apollo Lunar Module while working for Grumman in the 1960s. IN 2001, he published a memoir, Moon Lander: How We Developed the Apollo Lunar Module. Rock Musician John B. Spencer (b.1944) died of encephalitis on March 25. In addition to performing with several bands, Spencer wrote eight science fiction novels, the last of which will be published posthumously. In 1970, he started Young Artists, an art agency that represented Jim Burns, Angus McKie, Les Edwards, and Ian Craig. Milton Berle, (b.1908) who got his start acting in "The Perils of Pauline" and later went on to play both himself and "Louie the Lilac" on Batman, died on March 27. Berle was the first actor to appear on television during an experimental broadcast in 1928. He later went on to become known as Mr. Television for the success of his comedy show, The Milton Berle Show. Comedian Dudley Moore (b.1935) died on March 27 from complications brought about by his battle with Progressive Supranuclear Palsy. In the early 60s, Moore formed the comedy troupe "The Lunatic Fringe" with Peter Cook, Jonathan Miller, and Alan Bennett. The group was heavily involved in the film "Bedazzled" in which Moore makes a deal with the devil. In the 70s, his career in Hollywood took off with the films "10" and "Arthur." Special Effects wizard Glen Robinson, whose work graced films including "Forbidden Planet," "Logan's Run," and "Flash Gordon," died on March 27 in Woodland, Hills, CA. Although uncredited, Robinson also built the ray guns and other props used in "Forbidden Planet." John R. Pierce (b.1910), a scientist and electrical engineer who wrote both SF and non-fiction under his own name and the pseudonyms John Roberts and J.J. Coupling, died on April 2. While working at Bell Labs, Pierce named the transistor. Henry Slesar (b1927) had a writing career which spanned six decades. Several of his short stories were written in collaboration with Harlan Ellison, and he also published solo novels. Slesar, who also used the pseudonym O.H. Leslie, also wrote mysteries and won an Edgar Award for the novel The Grey Flannel Shroud. He was a writer for the soap opera "The Edge of Night" and also contributed scripts to "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" and "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." Slesar died on April 2. Television producer and writer Roy Huggins (b.1914), a protégé of Amazing and Fantastic editor Howard Browne, died on April 3. On at least one occasion, Brown wrote a story that appeared under Huggins's byline when Huggins's promised story failed to materialize. The pilot for the television show "Maverick" was based on a story by Huggins and he also worked on "The Fugitive" and "The Rockford Files." John Agar (1921), who appeared in the films "Attack of the B-Movie Monster," "The Brain from the Planet Arous" and "Journey to the Seventh Planet," died on April 7 of emphysema. Agar was married to Shirley Temple from 1945-1950. In 1972, Famous Monsters of Filmland announced that Agar had died. Bruce Pelz (1939), former Worldcon chair, fanhistorian and archivist and too many other things to mention, died on the evening of April 9. He fainted at 6:00pm and was rushed to the hospital, where his heart stopped. Pelz was the co-chair of LACon I, the 1972 Worldcon. It was the first time a Worldcon would have an attendance greater than 2000 members. Eight years later, he would be the fan guest of honor at Noreason II, where, coincidentally, Damon Knight, who died five days later, was one of the author guests of honor. Jon Gustafson (b.1945) was an art historian who wrote columns about SF art for a variety of publications, including Pulphouse, Figment, and Science Fiction Review. He published several biographies in the first edition of the Science Fiction Encyclopedia (1979) and the biography Chroma: The Art of Alex Schomberg (1986). A member of the so-called Moscow Moffia, he had several short stories published. Gustafson died on April 13. Damon Knight (b.1922) was an author, reviewer, editor and historian of science fiction, whose contributions not only included his fiction, but his early history of fandom, The Futurians (1977) and the foundation of both the Clarion Writer's Workshop (1968) and the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA, 1965). Prior to Clarion, Knight founded the Milford Writer's Workshop (1956), which continues to thrive in England. Knight began working as a reviewer with a deconstruction of A.E. van Vogt's serialized version of The World of Â, which appeared in Destiny's Child. His early reviews were collected in In Search of Wonder (1956), for which he received a Hugo Award. In 1975, the Science Fiction Research Association honored Knight with a Pilgrim Award. His best known short story was, perhaps, "To Serve Man," which was also made into an episode of "The Twilight Zone." In the 1960s, Knight began issuing reprint anthologies, which led, in 1966, to his creation of Orbit, an original anthology that ran for 21 issues. Knight was married to SF and mystery author Kate Wilhelm. Knight died on April 14. James Martin (b.1920), who served as Project Manager for the Viking 1 and Viking 2 missions, died on April 14. In 1964, Martin was recruited by NASA to work as assistant manager on the Lunar Orbiter project. Following the successful Soviet landing on Venus in 1967, Martin's team began to work with JPL to create the Viking landers, which would eventually land on Mars in the 1970s. Betsy Curtis (b.1918) died on April 17. Curtis was a short-story writer, costumer, and poet. She published her first story, "Divine Right" in the Summer, 1950 issue of Fantasy and Science fiction and was a Hugo nominee in 1969 for the story "The Steiger Effect." Explorer Thor Heyerdahl (b.1914) died on April 18. In 1947, Heyerdahl built a raft, the Kon-Tiki in an attempt to prove that primitive people could sail across the Pacific Ocean from Peru to Polynesia. He later successfully navigated from Morocco to Barbados on a reed raft, the Ra. In addition to being anthropological studies, these expeditions also provided data on ocean pollution. Reginald Rose (b.1920) died on April 19. Rose was the writer of the "Twilight Zone" episode "The Incredible World of Horace Ford." Joan Harrison (b.1930), the wife of author Harry Harrison, died on April 21 of cancer. They had been married for 48 years. Terry Walsh, a stuntman whose work was featured in the Superman films, "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?," "Krull," "Dragonslayer," and "Willow" died of cancer. British illustrator and comic book artists Denis McLoughlin (b.1918) died on April 22. While serving in the British army in World War II, he used his half day of leave each week to show his portfolio around to London publishers. Beginning in 1947, he began working for Boardman, for whom he produced more than 1,000 covers, comics strips and other pieces of art. He created the comic "Swift Morgan" to allow himself the opportunity to draw dinosaurs and also worked on "Saber, Lord of the Jungle" and "The Green Lizard." Publicist Betty Shapian (b.1928) died of cancer on April 22. During her career, her clients included Isaac Asimov and Ray Bradbury. British author Mary Scott (b.1947) died of breast cancer on April 23. Although most of Scott's work was literary in nature, she often strayed into the fantastic and science fiction. Time travel and interstellar travel both played roles in her work. Throughout the 1990s, Scott was an attendee of the British Science Fiction Association and the British Fantasy Society meetings. George Alec Effinger (b.1948) was a part of the Clarion class of 1970 and had three stories in the first Clarion anthology. His first published story was "The Eight- Thirty to Nine Slot" in Fantastic in 1971. During his early period, he also published under a variety of pseudonyms. His first novel, What Entropy Means to Me (1972) was nominated for the Nebula Award. He achieved his greatest success, perhaps, with the trilogy of Marid Audran novels set in a 21st century Middle East, with cybernetic implants and modules allowing individuals to change their personalities or bodies. The novels are in fact set in a thinly veiled New Orleans, telling the fictionalized stories of the transvestites and other people Effinger knew in the slums of that city. The three published novels were When Gravity Fails (1987), A Fire in the Sun (1989) and The Exile Kiss (1991). He apparently wrote a fourth book. However, legal issues prevented its publication. His novelette, "Schrödinger's Kitten" (1988) received both the Hugo and Nebula Award. Other stories were the series of Maureen (Muffy) Birnbaum parodies which placed a preppy into a variety of science fictional, fantasy, and horror scenarios. Throughout his life, Effinger suffered from health problems. These resulted in enormous medical bills which he was unable to pay. A lawsuit by the hospital tied up the rights to all of his books and characters, causing a dearth of Effinger material. Eventually the suit was dropped and Effinger regained the rights to all his intellectual property. Effinger was married, for a few years, to fellow science fiction author Barbara Hambly. He died on April 27 Richard Cowper (b.1926) was the pseudonym for John Middleton Murry, Jr. He began using the name Richard Cowper in 1967 for the publication of the novel Breakthrough. He followed this with several other fantasy and science fiction novels, eventually achieving his greatest success with the Corlay Trilogy, comprised of The Road to Corlay (1978), A Dream of Kinship (1981) and A Tapestry in Time (1982). The Road to Corlay was nominated for a Nebula Award in 1979. Cowper attended the Milford Writer's Workshop in England. Cowper died on April 29. Producer John Nathan-Turner (b.1947) died on April 29. Nathan-Turner was the longest-serving producer of Doctor Who, beginning work in 1969 on "The Space Pirates" with Patrick Troughton. He was named producer in 1980. Following the departure in 1981 of Tom Baker, Nathan-Turner hired the next three doctors, Peter Davison, Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy. Tom Sutton (b.1937) broke into comics in the early 1960s doing black and white horror comics for Warren Publishing. He quickly began doing work for Marvel, DC, Charlton and Skywald. His DC work appeared as a penciller for Star Trek and for Marvel as an inker for Conan the Barbarian and Planet of the Apes. Sutton died on May 1. Actor Sihung Lung (b.1930), who portrayed Sir Te (Be-La-Ye) in the Hugo Award-winning "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," died on May 2 of liver failure in Taipei. He fought with Chiang Kai-shek's army against the Communists before escaping to Taiwan. Bernard Wilkie died on May 3. Wilkie worked on special effects for the British television show "Doctor Who" in the 1960s and 70s and had previously done special effects for "Quartermass II" and "Quartermass and the Pit." Nancy Rapp, wife of fan Art Rapp, died on May 4 at a nursing home. Mrs. Rapp entered fandom in the 1940s and invented the fannish ghod Ignatz. Mrs. Rapp helped her husband publish Spaceways and also published her own 'zine, Hodgepodge in the Spectator Amateur Press Society. Brazilian author Guido Wilmar Sassi (b.1922) died on May 5. Sassi was part of the First Wave of Brazilian science fiction and began publishing in 1949 with the story "Amigo Velho." In 1959, his novel Sao Miguel, written in under two months, won a literary contest. Comic writer and editor Robert Kanigher (b.1915) died on May 6. Kanigher began working on comics in the 1940s with the Blue Beetle and went on to work on Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Flash and All-Star Comics. Kanigher created Sgt. Rock and the Metal Men and inaugurated the new Flash in the 1960s. Tova Pechenick, Massachusetts fan who worked on several Arisias and was active in the SCA died on May 7 in her home.
|
Visual effects animator Suki Stern (b.1960), who worked on "Return of the Jedi" and "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom," died on May 9 of cnacer in Huntington Beach, California. Scott McCormick, known in the SCA as Master Morgan the Tanner died three months after suffering a stroke localized in his brain stem on May 10. He had been making daily progress in his rehabilitation, and his respiratory and cardiac failure on the night of May 9 came as a surprise to those close to him. In addition to being a leatherworker, he was also a Middle Eastern drummer, who enlivened many SCA gatherings with his rhythms. Disney animator Bill Peet (b.1915) died of a combination of heart problems, pneumonia and cancer on May 11. One of Disney's "Nine Old Men," Peet worked on "Dumbo," "Cinderella," "Fantasia," "Alice in Wonderland," "Peter Pan" and "The Sword in the Stone." He also wrote the screenplay for "101 Dalmations." After leaving Disney in 1964, Peet turned his attention to writing children's books. David Chappe (b.1947), a screenwriter whose produced works included the 1999 version of "Beowulf" and "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" episodes, died following a battle with angiosarcoma on May 13. Dave Berg (b.1920) died on May 16. Berg was a cartoonist who began working for Mad Magazine in 1957. He was, perhaps, best known for the feature "The Light Side Of. . . ," begun in 1961. This feature looked at a topical issue each month with a twist. Prior to working for Mad, Berg had studied to be a rabbi and worked for Will Eisner, first as an inker, and later producing his own books. Berg went on to work on the original Captain Marvel. Stephen J. Gould (b.1941) wrote numerous science articles which were both entertaining and informative. Many of his essays can be found in his collections The Panda's Thumb, Eight Little Piggies, and the Flamingo's Smile. He received his Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1967. Although he viewed himself as a paleontologist and evolutionary biologist, his lectures and essays crossed the gamut of scientific research. Gould apparently died of complications from cancer on May 20. Actor Des Webb died of a stroke on May 21. Webb portrayed the Wampa snow beast in "The Empire Strikes Back" and also appeared in the film "Morons from Outer Space." He had a bit role in the "Black Adder" episode "The Black Seal" as well. Roy Field (b.1932), an optical effects supervisor, died of cancer on May 23. Field worked on such science fiction fare as the Superman films, "Dragonslayer," "Clash of the Titans" and "Saturn 3." St. Louis fan Donn P. Brazier (b.1917), who published the fanzine Title from 1972-1977 and Farrago from 1975 to 1978, died from a stroke on May 27. Brazier is considered to be among the earliest fans to move from the traditional mimeograph to photocopier in publishing his fanzine. In 1976, he attended Autoclave 1 as the fan guest of honor. Actor Robert Barron (b.1922?) died of heart disease on May 28. Barron appeared in the 1948 Superman serial as Ro-Zon, the leader of Krypton, as well as in the film "Atom Man vs. Superman." Producer Herman Cohen (b.1925), who was responsible for "I Was a Teenage Werewolf" and the lesser known "I Was a Teenage Frankenstein" as well as numerous other horror films, died on June 2. Donald Franson (b.1916) died of heart failure on June 5. Franson served several terms of the N3F President and also participated in the organization in a variety of other roles. He was a member of First Fandom and SFWA. Franson was active in welcoming new fans into science fiction and bringing fans together through the New Fanzine Appreciation Society and published the fanzine Trash Barrel. James Wheaton (b.1924) suffered a fatal cardiac arrest on June 9. Wheaton made his film debut in 1971 in the George Lucas film "THX 1138" playing OMM. Producer Shull Bonsall (b.1917), who worked on the "Crusader Rabbit" cartoon for Jay Ward died on June 27. "Crusader Rabbit" was the first animated series produced specifically for television, and although color television had not yet been perfected, the show was produced in color. Robert Randolph Medcalf, Jr. (b.1949), the founder of Quixsilver Press, died at his home in Biglerville, PA on July 3. Beginning in 1976, he published short stories and poems in various magazines, most recently the March issue of the on-line magazine Strange Horizons. He also founded the on-line magazine Science Fiction Poetry Review. Frank Liltz was an artist and a fan, the husband of Barbara Fister-Liltz, with whom he had created many works of science fictional art over the past twenty-five years. Litz served in the Navy during Viet Nam. He died in Chicago on July 6 from advanced metastatic cancer at age 55. TV screenwriter Phyllis White (b.1923), who wrote for the 1963-66 television series "My Favorite Martian," died of a stroke on July 7 in Venice, California. (She is not the same Phyllis White who was married to Anthony Boucher. That Phyllis White died in 2000.) Laurence M. Janifer (b.1933) died on July 7. He was an editor at the Scott Meredith Literary Agency in the 1950s who began publishing war stories in 1952 and broke into science fiction with "Expatriate" in Cosmos under his birth name "Larry Mark Harris." In the late 50s and early 60s, he collaborated with Randall Garrett on books and short stories, the two using the psuedonym "Mark Phillips." In 1963, he began using the name by which he was generally known. His last book was published in 1987, although he continued to write short stories, with the most recent, "Vibes" being published in Analog in 2001. Paleontologist and geologist William Antony Swithin Sarjeant (b.1935) died on July 8 in Saskatoon. As Antony Swithin, Sarjeant wrote four fantasy novels in the "Perilous Quest for Lyonesse series in the early 1990s. Ward Kimball (b.1914) was one of the "Nine Old Men" of Disney Animation. He began working as an animator for Disney on the 1936 film "Elmer Elephant" and went on to direct animation on Pinocchio, Dumbo, Alice in Wonderland and other Disney films. His most notable achievement was the creation of the character Jiminy Cricket for Pinocchio, although he also worked on the redesign of Mickey Mouse. He won an Oscar for his short "It's Tough to Be a Bird" in 1969. Kimball died on July 9. Rod Steiger (b.1925) acted in numerous films and television series, most notably, for genre interest in the 1969 adaptation of Ray Bradbury's "The Illustrated Man," as Father Delaney in "Amityville Horror" and as General Decker in the 1996 spoof "Mars Attacks!." Steiger, who won an Oscar in 1967 for his role in "In the Heat of the Night," died of pneumonia and kidney failure on July 9. Composer Carey Blyton (b.1932) died of cancer and post-polio syndrome on July 13. A nephew of author Enid Blyton, Blyton wrote incidental music for the television series "Doctor Who" in the early 1970s. Kathleen Massie-Ferch (b.1955) was the editor of two fantasy anthologies, Ancient Enchantresses and Warrior Enchantresses. She also wrote several short stories and had recently completed the first draft of a novel. She had been diagnosed with cancer a few years ago, and succumbed after a period in hospice care on July 15. Gene Moss (b.1926), a voice actor who provided the voice of Doodle on "Roger Ramjet" died of cancer on July 15 in Rancho Mirage, California. Moss is perhaps best known for providing the voice of Smokey the Bear in a series of television commercials. Moss was born Eugene Moshontz. Bill Saracino (b.1913?), music editor for films including "Meteor," "2010," and "Logan's Run," died on July 17. Harry Gerstad (b.1909), a film editor who worked on several of the Superman serials as well as "Rocketship X-M" died on July 17. His last genre-related work was on the film version of Batman starring Adam West and Burt Ward. Gerstad won editing Oscars for his work on "Champion" and "High Noon." Actor Leo McKern (b.1920), who appeared in "Ladyhawke" and "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" died on July 23 following a long illness. Perhaps best known for his role as Horace Rumpole in the "Rumpole of the Bailey" series, he also played Number Two on "The Prisoner" and provided voice work for the television adaptation of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Tony Anholt (b.1941), who portrayed Tony Verdeschi on the television series "Space 1999," died on July 26 from a brain tumor. More recently, Anholt had appeared as a news anchorman in episodes of "Lexx." Artist Ron Walotsky (b.1943) died of kidney failure near midnight on July 29 following a month-long hospitalization. Walotsky, whose art has graced hundreds of book and magazine covers beginning with The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, had just returned from a trip to Africa. In addition to his traditional science fiction art, Walotsky has also illustrated the covers for several albums and has worked on music videos for Billy Joel and the Romantics. In 1996, Walotsky was the artist guest of honor at World Fantasy Con. In 1993, his October/November cover for Fantasy and Science Fiction was nominated for a Hugo for Best Original Artwork. Australian author Ian Hails (b.1957), who wrote the conspiracy thriller Back Door Man and the story "Crowd Control," lost a long battle with a congenital heart condition on August 2. He was in his late forties. Dave van Arnam (b.1935) died on August 3. Van Arnam began publishing science fiction with the novelization Lost in Space in 1957 with "Ron Archer." Van Arnam went on to write a number of science fiction and fantasy novels in the 1960s. Italian science fiction and mystery author Franco Lucentini (b.1920) committed suicide by jumping from the stairwell of his house in Turin, Italy following a lengthy battle with lung cancer on August 4. Perhaps best known for his completion of Charles Dickens's unfinished novel The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Lucentini published science fiction in collaboration with Carlo Fruttero. On August 5, a baby girl, Ella Durene Mae Morehouse Rounds, was born to author Lyda Morehouse and her partner, Shawn Rounds. Unfortunately, the baby died shortly after her birth. The baby was born a full week after her due date. Norman Jolley (b.1916) died on August 13. He portrayed villain "Agent X" in the television series "Space Patrol" before becoming the show's head writer. Over the course of the series, Jolley would create numerous gadgets which would be mirrored by later science fiction films. Jeff Corey (b.1914) died following a fall on August 16. Corey was a veteran actor who provided the voice of Silvermane for the 1994 television series "Spider-Man" and portrayed the Grand Vizier in "Conan the Destroyer." In "The Sword and the Sorcerer," he played Craccus and also appeared in "Battle Beyond the Stars" and "Beneath the Planet of the Apes." Early genre films included "Superman and the Mole Men" and "Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man." Screenwriter Stanley R. Greenberg (b.1928), who won a Nebula Award for his screenplay "Soylent Green," an adaptation of Harry Harrison's novel Make Room! Make Room!, died on August 25 from a brain tumor. He became known as the father of the docudrama for his Emmy award winning "Pueblo," in 1973. Finnish SF fan Tom Ölander (b.1945) died, most likely of a ruptured aorta, on August 26. For many years, he was the only Finnish fan to travel to conventions outside of Finland. In 1981, Ölander helped start the first Finnish semiprozine, Aikakone and the following year organize the first Finnish National Convention. The typical Finncon now attracts nearly 2000 members. Ölander worked to promote fandom outside of Finland to Finnish fans and worked to arrange to translate authors' work into Finnish. J. Lee Thompson (b.1914) died on August 30. Thompson was a film director whose genre work included "Battle for the Planet of the Apes" and "Conquest of the Planet of the Apes." Marion K. "Doc" Smith (b.1933), a professor at Brigham Young University who helped mentor BYU's science fiction community, died following a protracted fight with cancer on September 3. His students included future authors M. Shayne Bell and Dave Wolverton. He helped found the Science Fiction and Fantasy symposium Life, the Universe and Everything and also helped found the Leading Edge magazine. Actor Ted Ross (b.1934), who played the lion in the film version of "The Wiz" and also appeared in "The Fisher King" and "Amityville II: The Possession," died on September 3. Ross made his film debut in "The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars and Motor Kings" as Sallison Potter. He died following a stroke. Dutch fan Jo Thomas (b.1943), a convention runner and translator, died on September 10 of kidney cancer. Thomas served as Head of Programme at ConFiction, the 1990 World Science Fiction Convention in The Hague. Actress Kim Hunter (b.1922) died on September 11 of an heart attack in her home in New York at age 79. Hunter, who won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for the role of Stella in "A Streetcar Named Desire," portrayed Dr. Zira in "Planet of the Apes," "Beneath the Planet of the Apes" and "Escape from the Planet of the Apes." In the 1950s, she was blacklisted after reports that she was a communist sympathizer. Science fiction author Lloyd Biggle, Jr. (b.1923) died on September 12 following a twenty-year long battle with leukemia and cancer. Biggle, who held a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan, where he also taught, was the founder of the Science Fiction Oral History Association. Biggle began writing science fiction in 1955 and became a full-time writer in 1963. In addition, he wrote mysteries, with the popular Grandfather Rastin stories appearing in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. Biggle was the founding treasurer of the SFWA and served as the Chairman of its trustees. Actor James Gregory (b.1911), who played Ursus in "Beneath the Planet of the Apes," died on September 16 in Sedona, Arizona. Gregory also appeared as Dr. Tristan Adams in the "Dagger of the Mind" episode of "Star Trek." Robert L. Forward (b.1932), who built and operated the first bar antenna for the detection of gravitational radiation astronomy, died at his home from brain cancer on September 21. In addition to spending 31 years working at the Hughes Aircraft Company Corporate Research Laboratory, Forward published eleven science fiction novels, numerous science fiction stories, as well as more than 200 papers and articles on science. His books include Dragon's Egg, Rocheworld, and Saturn Rukh. Ivor A. Rogers (b.1930), one of the founding members of the Science Fiction Research Association (SFRA) and the organization's first treasurer, died on September 25 of an heart attack. Rogers's health had been failing for some years and he leaves behind a wife and two daughters. A memorial service will be held at an as yet unannounced time in Des Moines, Iowa. Australian author and fan Wynne Whiteford (b.1915), who entered the hospital last week and was not expected to make a full recovery, slipped in and out of a coma for the last few days before he died on September 30, apparently in no pain. Whiteford began publishing fiction in 1934 with the story "Beyond the Infinite." His first novel, Breathing Space Only, was published in 1980. Whiteford will be cremated and a small wake will be held on October 11. Dal Coger (b.1921), a fan since the 1940s, died from a post-surgery antibiotic resistant bacterial infection on October 2. Dal attended his first convention, Michicon II in 1942 and lived in the Slan Shack of Battle Creek before entering the military during World War II. While in California, he connected with LASFS before being sent to France. About twenty years of gafiation (getting away from it all) followed. In the mid-1970s, now a professor of African studies in Memphis, he re-entered fandom in Memphis and wrote fanhistorical articles, some of which appeared in the fanzine Mimosa. Scholar Raymond T. McNally (b.1931), who set out to prove that Bram Stoker's Dracula had a basis in fact, died on October 3 of cancer. McNally earned his doctorate in Berlin on a Fulbright Scholarship and went on to teach at Boston College. Working with Radu Florescu, he proposed the idea that Dracula was based on Vlad Tepes and later drew connections between Dracula and Elizabeth Bathory. His final book tied Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde to an Edinburgh city councilman who committed crimes at night. Bob Wallace (b.1949), a computer programmer who was Microsoft employee #9, died unexpectedly at his home on October 4. Wallace was instrumental in creating the shareware industry and is often credited with coining the phrase "shareware." Wallace was the first Microsoft employee to leave with stock options, although he left to found Quicksoft in 1983, three years before Microsoft went public. At Quicksoft, Wallace developed PC-Write, a word processing program. Wallace believed that both computing and drugs had the potential to expand the mind and in 1998 he established a foundation to research psychedelic drugs. Actress Teresa Graves (b.1949), who starred in the title role in "Vampira," died in a house fire on October 10. Graves was also a regular performer on the television variety show "Laugh-In." Producer Sydney Pink (b.1916) died on October 12 following a long illness. Pink began his production career with the first widely released #-D film, "Bwana Devil." He also produced "Angry Red Planet." As a writer, Pink wrote the screenplays for "Angry Red Planet" and "Journey to the Seventh Planet." Dennis Patrick (b.1918), an actor who appeared in episodes of "The Twilight Zone" and played Jason McGuire and Paul Stoddard on "Dark Shadows," was killed in a fire in his home on October 13. He is believed to have died of smoke inhalation. Patrick was also battling cancer and was receiving kidney dialysis. Patrick also appeared in "The Time Travelers," "The Bionic Woman," and "Lost in Space." In 1951, he played televisions first vampire in an episode of Stage 13. Craig Mills (b.1955), the author of four fantasy novels beginning with The Bane of Lord Caladon (Del Rey, 1982) died at his home on October 15, evidently of an heart attack. Mills studied acting in college and acted on stage in New York for four years before moving to California and taking up his writing career. In addition to four original fantasy novels, he also wrote the gaming tie-in King's Quest #1: The Floating Castle. Although Mills attended conventions in the San Francisco area, he was quiet and may not have been known to many. Television screenwriter John Meredith Lucas (b.1919) died on October 19 of leukemia. Lucas's screenplays included several episodes of "Logan's Run" and "Star Trek." He also directed episodes of "Planet of the Apes," "The Six-Million Dollar Man" and "Star Trek." Nikolai Rukavishnikov (b.1932), a Soviet cosmonaut who made three trips into space, died of an heart attack on October 19. Rukavishnikov's first mission was aboard the Soyuz 10 in 1971. Although the mission was to deliver the first humans to the Salyut-1 space station, a faulty hatch meant that access to the station was not possible and the mission was aborted. His second mission was in 1974 as part of the Apollo-Soyuz joint missions on Soyuz 16. His final mission occurred in 1979 on Soyuz 33. Upon preparing to dock with the Salyut-6 space station, his engine failed, leaving him unable to maneuver. His backup engine fired, but failed to work properly, resulting in the first known landing of a space craft under manual control. George Hall (b.1916), who portrayed an aged Indiana Jones in "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles," died on October 21 following complications from a stroke. Austrian-born director Nathan Juran (b.1907) died in Palos Verdes Estates, California on October 23. Juran directed numerous science fiction television shows and films including "The Time Tunnel," "The Land of the Giants," "First Men in the Moon," "The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad," and "Attack of the 50 Foot Woman," the last using the name Nathan Hertz. Richard Harris (b.1930), an actor most recently known for his role as Albus Dumbledore in the first two "Harry Potter" films, died peacefully on October 25. Recently, Harris announced that he was undergoing chemotherapy since being diagnosed with Hodgkin's Disease. Despite that, he was optimistic that he would be able to reprise his role of Dumbledore in the third Harry Potter film, scheduled to begin filming in January. His first film was "Shake Hands with the Devil" in 1959. Hungarian-born director Andre de Toth (b.1913?) died on October 27 of an aneurysm in his home. Although most of his work was in the western genre, de Toth, who lost an eye and his depth perception as a child, was best known for the film "House of Wax," made in 3-D, which spurred the 3-D craze of the 1950s. He became a director in 1938 and in 1939 was assigned to make Nazi propaganda films of the invasion of Poland. That same year, he left for England, eventually finding his way to Hollywood in 1942. Animator Glenn McQueen (b.1960), who worked as a supervising animator on Pixar projects "Toy Story 2," "A Bug's Life" and "Monster's, Inc." died on October 29 of melanoma. McQueen also worked as an animator on the original "Toy Story." British-born author Charles Sheffield (b.1935), who was diagnosed with a brain tumor earlier this year, died on November 2 following multiple surgeries to alleviate the problem. He was the author of numerous books, including the recent Dark as Day and The Amazing Dr. Darwin. He won the 1993 Nebula Award for his novelette "Georgia On My Mind," which also won the 1994 Hugo Award. His novel Brother to Dragons won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award. Sheffield served as toastmaster at the 1998 worldcon in Baltimore. In addition to being an author, Sheffield was also a physicist and contributed numerous fact articles to Analog. He has published over 100 technical papers and scientific articles. Sheffield was married to author Nancy Kress. Author Jerry Sohl (b.1913) died on November 4 in his home in Thousand Oaks, CA. He began writing in the 1950s and published under several pseudonyms, including Nathan Butler and Sean Mei Sullivan. His first story was "The 7th Order." Perhaps Sohl's most famous novel was Costigan's Needle. In the late fifties and sixties, he turned his attention to screenwriting and produced scripts for "The Twilight Zone," "Star Trek," and "The Outer Limits." Veteran actor Jonathan Harris (b.1914), who is best known for his portrayal of Dr. Zachary Smith on the television series "Lost in Space," died from a blood clot in his heart while receiving treatment for a chronic back problem on November 4. Despite an accent and mannerisms which made him appear British, Harris was born in the Bronx to Russian immigrant parents. In recent years, Harris has been providing animation voice-overs, including the elderly toy repairman in "Toy Story 2." Antonio Margheriti (b.1930), an Italian director of "Alien degli abissi," "L'Isola del tesoro," and "Space Men," died on November 4 of an heart attack. Margheriti, who also produced and wrote, occasionally used the names Anthony Dawson and Anthony Daisies. Peg Phillips (b.1918), who portrayed Ruth Anne Miller on the series Northern Exposure, died on November 7 of lung disease. Phillips, who only began acting when she was 65, not only appeared in the fantasy-influenced "Northern Exposure," but also the shows "Seventh Heaven" and "Touched by an Angel." Two-time Emmy award-winning writer Hillary Bader (b.1952), who wrote for "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and "Star Trek Voyager," died on November 7 from cancer. Bader was not only a Star Trek writer, but also a fan and wrote episodes of "Xena: Warrior Princess," "Lois and Clark," and "Batman Beyond." Irving Wyner (b.1904) died on November 8. Wyner served as a background artist for Warner Brother studios on their Looney Toons from 1952 until his retirement in 1995. Belgian publisher Charles DuPuis (b.1918) died on November 14. DuPuis published the French-language comics magazine Spirou. He is best known for publishing the Smurfs beginning in 1958. His company currently sells more than 10 million comics a year, a third of the French comics market. He published his first comic in 1938 for the printing company his father founded in 1898. In 1985, upon his retirement, DuPuis sold his company to the Groupe Bruxelles Lambert. Bert Granet (b.1910), who produced episodes of "The Twilight Zone," died from injuries sustained in a fall on November 15. James Coburn (b.1928), who provided the voice for Henry J. Waternoose III in "Monsters, Inc." died on November 18 of an heart attack. Coburn, best known for his work in "The Magnificent Seven" and the Flint films, only made a handful of genre films, including the made for television "Mr. Murder," based on a novel by Dean Koontz and "Call from Space." Malcolm Ashworth (b.1933) died of heart failure in a pub on Saturday, November 23. Ashworth has been active in fandom since the 1950s, although he recently curtailed his con-going due to heart disease and other ailments. Despite this, he still was able to attend club meetings of the Leeds Group. Until 1984, Ashworth published the fanzine ROT, and has continued to contribute pieces to other fanzines in the years since then. He is survived by his wife, Hazel. Actor Glenn Quinn (b.1970), who portrayed the half-Brachen demon Doyle on the television show "Angel," died on December 3 of undisclosed causes. Quinn was born in Ireland and moved to the United states in 1989. In addition to appearing on "Angel," he starred in the short-lived Medieval sitcom "Covington Cross." William "Tex" Henson (b.1924) died of head injuries at Parkland Memorial Hospital after being struck by a pickup truck in Dallas, Texas on December 4. Henson was an animator who championed the characters of Chip and Dale at Disney and was the supervisor for the team that animated Rocky & Bullwinkle as well as Underdog and the Trix rabbit. Walt Cole (b.1933) died the first week of December. Cole was a member of First Fandom and the author of Checklist of Science Fiction Anthologies (1964). In addition, Cole was a member of the Lunarians and served as the organization's secretary for twenty years beginning in the 1950s. No cause of death has been announced, but he had been in ill health for some time. Producer/Director Ian McNaughton (b.1925), best known for his work on "Monty Python's Flying Circus" and the troupe's films, died on December 10 in Munich, Germany. Actor Ken Tobey died on December 22. Tobey appeared in both Gremlins films and "Attack of the B-Movie Monster" as well as "The Thing." Actress Susan Fleming (b.1908) died of an heart attack on December 22 of an heart attack. Fleming had no genre credits to her name, but was married to Harpo Marx, who also had no genre credits to his name, but as a Marx Brother didn't need them. Mary De Vithas, Chico Marx's widow, also died on December 22. Director George Roy Hill (b.1922), who directed the Hugo Award-winning "Slaugherhouse-Five" based on Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.'s novel of the same name, died from complications with Parkinson's Disease in Manhattan on December 27. Hill won an Oscar in 1973 for directing the Paul Newman-Robert Redford film "The Sting" and was also nominated for "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid."
|
Steven H Silver is a four-time Hugo Nominee for Best Fan Writer and the editor of the anthologies Wondrous Beginnings, Magical Beginnings, and Horrible Beginnings (DAW Books, January, February and March, 2003). In addition to maintaining several bibliographies and the Harry Turtledove website, Steven is heavily involved in convention running and publishes the fanzine Argentus.
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
If you find any errors, typos or other stuff worth mentioning,
please send it to editor@sfsite.com.
Copyright © 1996-2014 SF Site All Rights Reserved Worldwide