Actor S. William Hinzman (b.1936) died after a battle with cancer on February 5. Hinzman made his debut in George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead where he was the first zombie on screen and subsequently made a career out of playing zombies. He had the title role in 1988′s Flesheaster, and often was cast in roles like “The Experienced Zombie” and “Romero the Zombie.”
SFX announced the winners of the SFX Awards at the SFX Weekender 3 on February 4. The awards are a mix of reader voted awards and awards given by a jury. The Elisabeth Sladen Award is a new category which was added in memory of Elisabeth Sladen. It will be given for contributions to children’s sf/f in any media.
Reader-Voted Awards
SFX Team Choice Awards
Actor Ben Gazzara (b.1930) died on February 3. Gazzara, who was perhaps best known for his non-genre roles in Anatomy of a Murder and Run for Your Life, also appeared in a handful of horror, fantasy, and sf films, including Believe, The Neptune Factor, Too Tired to Die, and Christopher Roth.
The Screen Actors Guild announced the winners of the annual SAG Awards on January 29. Genre works took three awards during the evening.
Director John Rich (b.1925) died on January 29. Although best known for his work on The Dick van Dyke Show and All in the Family, Rich’s genre credits included two episodes of The Twilight Zone several episodes of the ghostly comedy Nearly Departed. He also worked on MacGyver.
Actor Ian Abercrombie (b.1934) died on January 26. Abercombie was known best to recent audiences as Elaine’s boss on Seinfeld, but he has a long history of genre roles, including providing the voice of the Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious on The Clone Wars. He has appeared on The Wizards of Waverly Place, Star Trek: Voyager, played Alfred Pennyworth on Birds of Prey, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Flash, and was in The Lost World: Jurassic Park. His other voice work includes Green Lantern, Rango, and The Batman.
Actress Dimitra Arliss (b.1932) died on January 26. Arliss provided voice work for both the Iron Man and Spider-Man animated television series in the 1990s. She also appeared in the science fiction film Firefox and the fantasy film Xanadu. She may have been best know for her brief role as Salino, the hired killer, in The Sting.
Costume designer Eiko Ishioka (b.1939) died on January 21 from pancreatic cancer. Ishioka won an Academy Award for her work on Bram Stoker’s Dracula and also designed costumes for The Cell, The Fall, Immortals, and the upcoming Mirror, Mirror. She recently helped design costumes for teh Broadway show Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. Ishioka also won a Grammy Award for the cover design of the Miles Davis album, Tutu.
Actor Nicol Williamson (b.1938) died on December 16. Williamson, who hasn’t appeared on film since 1997, is best known for his role as Merlin in John Boorman’s 1981 film Excalibur, has appeared in numerous genre films over the years, including Venom, Spawn, Return to Oz, and The Exorcist III. Williamson also took great pride in a recording of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit. He also played Little John in Robin and Marion and Sherlock Holmes in The Seven-Per-Cent Solution.
Actor James Farentino (b.1938) died on January 24. Farentino appeared in two episodes of Rod Serling’s Night Gallery, the film The Final Countdown, and horror films Dead & Buried, The Possessed.