Actor Jack Shea (b.1928) died on April 28. Shea is best known for directing television sit coms and was the president of the Directors Guild of America for five years from 1997-2002. His one foray into science fiction was the 1969 comedy The Monitors.
Actor Allan Arbus (b.1918) died in April 19. Arbus is best known for his portrayal of Major Sidney Freedman on M*A*S*H, but also appeared in episodes of Wonder Woman, Salvage 1, and the animated series The Amazing Spider-Man. He also appeared in the horror film Damien: Omen II. Prior to acting, Arbus has a successful career as a photographer and served during World War II.
Artist Quentin Hoover (b.1964) died in April 20. Hoover created numerous cards for Magic: The Gathering as well as other collectible games. In addition to his work in the gaming industry, he also was one of the co-creators of the comic Morgana X.
Comics author Robert Morales (b.1959) died on April 18. He was the author of the comic Truth: Red, White, and Black, about African-American soldiers given a super serum, based on the Tuskegee experiment. Morales also attended Clarion in the mid-1970s.
Fan Donna Amos (b.1946) died on March 25. Amos was active in convention fandom, attending Midwestcon, Rivercon, and some other Southern conventions. In addition to fandom, she worked in Afghan dog rescue, serving as the President of the New Orleans Afghan Hound Club and was on the Afghan Hound Club of America’s Board of Directors. She is survived by her husband, fan Ken Amos.
Actor Richard LeParmentier (b.1946) died on April 15. LeParmentier is best known for his portrayal of General Motti in Star Wars, where he was strangled by Darth Vader after questioning the power of the Force. His other genre roles included a reporter in Superman II, Lt. Santino in Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, and an episode of Space: 1999. LeParmentier, who also used the name Richard Parmentier focused on screenwriting and voice work after 1992.
Fan Allyn Cadogan died on April 16 of liver cancer. Cadogan helped found Corflu, the fanzine fans’ convention, in 1983 with Lucy Huntzinger and Shay Barsabe. Cadogan entered fandom in Vancouver, Canada, editing BCFSAzine for a year in the mid 70s and working as treasurer for Westercon 30. She also published Genre Plat with Susan Wood, William Gibson, and John Park before continuing to publish it solo. She published other fanzines and, along with Huntziger and Barsabe, was responsible for the public access show Emperor Norton Science Fiction Hour.
Author Nick Pollotta (b.1954) died on April 13. Pollotta has recently been diagnosed with cancer. Pollotta’s novels included Bureau 13, Illegal Aliens, and That Darn Squid God, as well as numerous other humorous novels. In addition, he wrote adventure novels under the house names James Axler and Don Pendleton. His “Satellite Night” series was written under the name Jack Hopkins.
Actor Jonathan Winters (b.1925) died on April 11. Winters made his film debut in It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and also appeared in The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming. He created the character Maude Frickert, but is best known to genre audiences for his role as Mearth on Mork and Mindy. Other genre work includes an episode of The Twilight Zone, the film The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle, and voice-work on The Smurfs film.
Indianapolis fan Donna Stump (b.1944) died on April 8. Stump was active in Chicago and Indianapolis fandom for several years, beginning in Star Trek fandom and attending the first InConJunction in 1981. The following year, she attended her first Worldcon in Chicago and went on to become a regular Worldcon attendee, attending a total of 20 Worldcons, her last one being in Chicago in 2013.