Dia de los Muertos 2004
By Chris Hyde
November 2, 2004
It’s time for BOP’s annual tribute to the recently deceased - so please help us to honor the memory of the dearly departed once again on this, El Dia de los Muertos.
The traditional Mexican holidays that honor the dead run on the first two days of November each year, with the first being generally devoted to the memory of children and the second to adults. Here at Box Office Prophets we’ve taken to using these days to put up a tribute of our own to some of the lost luminaries of the world of cinema who have left this mortal coil inside the past calendar year, though of course issues of space dictate that many worthwhile figures get left out. With this in mind, the selections here are skewed a bit toward less-celebrated persons than your usual A-listers. This is in no way meant as a slight to those like Marlon Brando, Mercedes McCambridge, Fay Wray, Anita Mui, Janet Leigh or Russ Meyer (yes, even cult films have an A-list) who should also command your attention on this occasion; but since you can likely read about those greats just about anywhere we’ll keep our eyes firmly fixed on those who are a bit lower profile. So without further ado, let’s proceed now to honoring a few of the celluloid personalities who have gone on to star in the big screen in the sky since last November.
Paula Raymond - Actress Raymond is best remembered for her parts in B-movies like Blood of Dracula’s Castle and the Beast From 20,000 Fathoms, though she was also in a large number of television productions as well as appearing in Anthony Mann’s The Devil’s Doorway and The Tall Target. Unfortunately, in the early 1960s Raymond was involved in a major automobile accident that necessitated that she undergo procedures to restore her countenance; but with true aplomb she managed a return to the screen in just a year’s time. However, her career did ramp down for the most part after this point, although she did hook up with drive-in movie impresario Al Adamson for a couple of low budget features in the late '60s — effectively closing her career with the bizarre Western titled Five Bloody Graves.
Samuel L. Rubin — Now here’s a name you’re unlikely to recognize but whose pioneering efforts you’ve undoubtedly sampled. Rubin, whose nickname was “Sam the Popcorn Man”, is the person most responsible for the ubiquitous presence of the popped version of the world’s most important domesticated plant in theaters all over America. Though this snack food was fairly widespread in theaters by the forties, it was Rubin who spread the practice of popping the kernels fresh in theaters at his stands. But it’s not only here where Rubin’s influence is still felt today, as he is also credited with the invention of the “movie-size” candy bar — a product that carried much higher margins than the standard store size, a marketing coup which stands as the precursor to the super sizing seen today all across the food service industry. Rubin’s other major innovation is the concession stand itself, for in the early days of movie snacks it was vending machines that were the standard means of dispensing foodstuffs at theatres. But when one day a vending machine rolled into the stage and broke, Rubin improvised and used it as a stand from which to sell candy. So the next time you’re standing in line waiting to buy your overpriced treats, just remember that it was Samuel L. Rubin who made it all possible.
Elly Schneider aka Tiny Doll — This diminutive actress was in only a handful of films, though one is a timeless classic of the cinema that continues to entertain film fans today. A member of a family troupe of German born midgets who came to America and performed under the sobriquet of The Doll Family for the circus, Elly Schneider was the last surviving sibling of the group. Tiny’s brother Harry was the most famous of the family, garnering much screen time in Tod Browning’s famous Freaks as well as his lesser known but still excellent The Unholy Three. Elly herself appears in Freaks in a bit part, and is also present as a Munchkin in Victor Fleming’s brilliant adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz.
Acquanetta — While she began her career as a Manhattan model, this beautiful woman quickly moved to the silver screen in the 1940s when demand for her appearances grew. Though a Native American who was born on an Arapaho reservation in Wyoming, in true Hollywood fashion Acquanetta eventually made her movie debut with a completely fabricated resume that painted her as a South-of-the-Border “Venezuelan Volcano”. Appearing in a number of Universal pictures with titles like Rhythm of the Islands and Captive Wild Woman, the actress parlayed her “exotic” look into a successful—if brief—screen career. Her highest profile work was certainly her appearance with ex-Olympian Johnny Weismuller in the 1946 Tarzan and the Leopard Woman. Retiring from acting in the 1950s (save for a final appearance in a 1990 Grizzly Adams outing), Acquanetta devoted much of the rest of her life to philanthropic work in the Arizona area, which included selling her holdings of the archaeologically important Mesa Verde ruins to the city of Mesa once she was sure that the city would preserve the site.
Noel Toy — Probably most recognizable to people today through her 1970s appearances on the M*A*S*H television series or in the 1986 John Carpenter pic Big Trouble in Little China, Ms. Toy initially made her name back in the day on the burlesque circuit. Known as the “Chinese Sally Rand” during her reign at San Francisco’s legendary Forbidden City club, Toy’s controversial “Bubble Dance” was infamous for its exposure of the dancer’s intimate assets. The strip-tease artist was also later married to prolific character actor Carleton Young (the man who utters the “print the legend” bit in John Ford’s The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance) for decades and shows up as herself in the Arthur Dong documentary on her old Bay Area nightclub called Forbidden City USA.
Soundarya — Here is perhaps the most tragic of this year’s remembrances, as this still youthful Bollywood actress was killed in an April airplane accident when the Cessna four-seater in which she was riding crashed and burned at takeoff. Initially planning to study medicine, Soundarya’s life path changed hugely when she made a film called Gandharva in the early '90s and it became successful enough that she then abandoned her schoolwork to embark on a career in the movies. Her final output consists of nearly 100 movies overall as well as a Filmfare Best Actress award for her turn in the motion picture Dweepa. Soundarya was also known for her many activities in the Indian political scene and her sad and untimely death came as a shock to her many fans all over the globe.
Jackson Beck — Voice actor Beck had nearly a 50-year career in the movies and on television, and his dulcet tones could certainly be easily identified by anyone who soaked up cartoons or commercials during this lengthy career. Possibly known most for his intimation “It’s a bird…it’s a plane… it’s Superman!” from the radio show about the Man of Steel, Beck was also the voice of Bluto for a couple hundred Popeye cartoons in the '40s and '50s. Other work included pitching products such as Frosted Flakes, Combat insecticide, Brawny paper towels and the like for advertisers for an innumerable number of commercials. One other famous bit of voice work performed by this man is in Woody Allen’s hilarious mockumentary Take the Money and Run, where Beck handled the job of the narrator who describes Virgil Starkwell’s foibles to the audience.
Etta Moten — A pioneering actress who in 1933 became the first black artist to perform at the White House, this groundbreaking singer’s legacy was as one of the primary African-Americans to appear in American film in a role that somewhat befit her stature rather than in the unfortunately usual racist caricature of the time. Though her screen appearances were limited to three movies (and in one — the Jean Harlow vehicle Bombshell — her scenes ended up on the cutting room floor), her brief outings in Gold Diggers of 1933 and especially in the Astaire/Rogers musical Flying Down to Rio helped raise the profile of black people on screen. Ms. Moten was also a very successful Broadway actress (among other parts she played Bess in Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess) and additionally often represented the US at the ceremonies for the newly independent nations of Ghana, Nigeria, Lusaka and Zambia after her retirement from singing.
Jan Sterling — This New York-born (but English trained) actress made her screen presence felt in a number of roles where her reedy blonde frame combined with her impressive acting skill to bring serious heft to what otherwise may have been minor parts. Sterling’s performances in films like Caged, Mystery Street and The Human Jungle tended to run towards the classic tramp type, an interesting happenstance for a woman who in real life had been born into a family who were quite well off. But Sterling was more than just your average film noir hussy, as her job as a passenger in the 1954 drama The High and the Mighty garnered her a Golden Globe award in addition to an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Still, her finest moment might come as the wife of the man trapped in the cave in Billy Wilder’s bitter media diatribe Ace in the Hole — for who can forget Lorraine Minosa’s signature line: “I don’t pray. Kneeling bags my nylons.”?
Max J. Rosenberg — Co-founder of the British genre company Amicus Productions, Max J. Rosenberg also oversaw some 50 movies as a producer during his long tenure in film. At first beginning with the Chuck Berry/LaVern Baker/Flamingos/Johnny Burnette (let’s ignore Cirino and the Bow Ties, shall we?) vehicle Rock Rock Rock starring a young Tuesday Weld, Rosenberg quickly added horror and sci-fi works to his arsenal to supplement the rocksploitation. A casual glance at Rosenberg’s resume reveals his name associated with such gems as The Deadly Bees, The Terrornauts, At the Earth’s Core, The House That Dripped Blood, Invasion Earth 2150 AD and The Incredible Melting Man. Rosenberg was also associated with a few projects involving the popular British character Dr Who, and his late career included stints as executive producer on Perdita Durango and the Cat People remake.
Don Trumbull — Special effects technician Trumbull is famous in the cinema for both his own work as well as his fathering of son Douglas Trumbull, the director of the '70s eco sci-fi epic Silent Running. Don Trumbull’s film labors go as far back as a stint working under A. Arnold Gillespie on The Wizard of Oz, but he’s much better known for his visual effects on movies such as the first Star Wars, Spaceballs and Lifeforce as well as the Battlestar Galactica television series. Twice during his lifetime Mr. Trumbull was honored by the Academy for his innovations from the technical side of the cinema: in 1985 he and his fellow Apogee, Inc. employees were honored for their development of a projector for traveling matte composite photography and in 1999 he shared an Oscar with two others from Sorensen Designs International for the advancement of the art of real time motion control in camera dolly systems.
Fumio Watanabe — This Japanese actor may not be a household name here in the states, but his dramatic career in film is notable in many ways. First off there are his ten collaborations with director Nagisa Oshima, including Cruel Story of Youth and The Pleasures of the Flesh. Watanabe also shows up in a pair of great Meiko Kaji women-in-prison offerings, playing the evil warden in Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion and the brutal inspector Goda in Female Convict Scorpion Jailhouse 41. Those credits alone would be enough to have left a mark on the cinema, but Watanabe also is a co-star in the great manga adaptation Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance and turns up uncredited in the Sonny Chiba X-rated-for-violence piece Street Fighter. But even that’s not all: Watanabe also once teamed up with Terou Ishii for his infamous pink eiga The Joy of Torture and additionally appears in the 1975 Land of the Rising Sun porno ripoff Tokyo Deep Throat. Now that’s a life in the movies.
Wah Chang — The versatile Wah Chang worked in film in a number of capacities, from animation to costume design. He labored in the effects department at Disney making models for such films as Pinocchio and Bambi, and also contributed stop motion animation to The Three Bears. Other movies that he made contributions to were projects such as The King and I (for which he designed the dresswear), The Seven Faces of Dr Lao, Dinosaurus, Journey to the Seventh Planet and Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women. There was extensive television employment for Mr Chang as well, as he designed and made creatures for both Star Trek and The Outer Limits in addition to doing model work on the Land of the Lost series. He also received an Oscar with the famous George Pal and friends for the stellar effects job they did on the 1960 version of H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine.
Robert Lees — The strangest celebrity death to be covered here this year is surely the sad tale of this former blacklistee’s Hollywood decapitation at the age of 91. During the '40s Lees engaged in activities such as serving with Frank Capra’s wartime film unit and co-scripting seven Abbott and Costello films. But when Sterling Hayden pointed the finger at him during HUAC testimony in 1951, Mr. Lees became one of the Tinseltown personalities to be shunned because of their supposed sympathy to the communist cause. While Lees continued to work pseudonymously for television series like Lassie, Rawhide and Land of the Giants, his career was effectively stunted by Hayden’s outing of his leftism. Oddly, Mr Lees’ life came to an end when a homeless man entered his home, cut off his head and jumped over his back fence with it before going on to murder Lee’s neighbor with a knife. Thus did wrap yet another bizarre chapter of real world stories from Hollywood Babylon.
Bernard Grant — Unless you’re an older fan of soap operas, you likely wouldn’t recognize the countenance of Mr. Grant — but if you’ve seen any dubbed films from the '60s and '70s, then you definitely know his voice. A former radio actor, Grant’s tones are heard in countless numbers of spaghetti westerns and other imports from Europe and Japan. Grant was often used to speak the dialogue of heavies in the Italian horse operas that had their heyday in the late 1960s, and he was also known as the American voice of such great actors as Toshiro Mifune, Jean Gabin, Yves Montand and Marcello Mastroianni. While Grant also engaged in much work for advertisers and had long running roles on The Guiding Light and One Life to Live, it’s these dub tracks that serve today as his most lasting legacy.
Noriaki Yuasa — This Japanese filmmaker’s signature claim to fame was as “The Father of Gamera”, for he helmed not only the friendly turtle’s successful debut but also directed six of the sequels and contributed special effects work to a seventh. Daiei Studios’ successful challenge to Toho’s Godzilla franchise featured an atomic powered chelonian whose gargantuan size hid a love of children not generally seen amongst the Japanese rubber-suited dinosaur set. Though the earliest movies in the series are slightly darker in tone, once the studio figured out that they should aim these at a younger audience they became kiddie romps rather than nuclear age parables — a development that suited Noriaki Yuasa’s disposition ideally. Unfortunately, when Daiei Studios went belly up in the early seventies the director was forced to move mostly onto television work for the rest of his career, laboring on sci-fi series such as Electroid Zaborger and Ultraman 80.
George S. “Buck” Flower — Prolific actor Flower appeared in well over a hundred films during his career on screen, quite often playing a no-account boozehound or street tramp. A brief glance at his resume reveals sightings in such sparkling gems as Ilsa, She-wolf of the SS, Candy Tangerine Man, The Daring Dobermans, Video Vixens, Lady Cocoa and Big Bob Johnson and His Fantastic Speed Circus (among many others!). Buck also turns up in a number of classic John Carpenter flicks, appearing in six of that director’s movies, including The Fog and Escape From New York (wherein he plays — what else? — a lush who somehow ends up with the President’s wrist transmitter). While all of that would be enough filmic accomplishment for most people, Buck Flower also undertook screenwriting duties for fine projects such as Drive-In Massacre and the Kitten Natividad vehicle Takin’ It All Off and for good measure co-wrote the white trash novel Rednecks in Love. Need I say more?
Irvin S. Yeaworth —Filmmaker Yeaworth died suddenly this summer in the Middle Eastern country of Jordan when he fell asleep at the wheel of his automobile, tragically cutting short the good work he was doing on the Jordanian Experience at the Aqaba Gateway. This project was a way for the intensely religious man to attempt to mitigate the profound differences that exist between Arabs and Israelis. Still, though through the last quarter century much of Yeaworth’s activities were tied to his faith it is his science fiction association that garners him a mention here. While he helmed many a religious film - including his final major directorial effort, a 1967 oddity titled The Gospel Blimp - this filmmaker would stand behind the camera for three B-movie works in the years 1958-1960. The final two, Dinosaurus and 4D Man are fairly obscure (though worthwhile viewing) but it’s the Steve McQueen vehicle The Blob that remains his best-known effort. Already remade once in 1988, it appears now that Hollywood is once again ready to tackle the timeless kids-are-smarter-than-adults theme of this alien invasion effort in a doubtlessly CGI dominated version. Here’s hoping that the updated edition drives some interest in Yeaworth’s classic original.
Robert A. Burns — When diagnosed with terminal cancer, the 60-year-old designer Burns chose to take his own life early in 2004 rather than face the debilitating effects of his condition. Legendary for the sleazy milieu that his art direction helped provide for '70s classics The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Hills Have Eyes, Burns also contributed his unique talents to films such as Joe Dante’s The Howling and the Stuart Gordon directed Re-Animator. Beyond his excellent work behind the scenes on these cult outings, Burns was also known for his deep interest in the work of B-movie icon Rondo Hatton, even going so far as to pitch a screenplay he had written on the actor’s most interesting life. Unfortunately, with the untimely demise of Mr. Burns it may be that Rondo and Mae: A True American Love Story will now never see the light of day, which strikes this writer as a sad development indeed.
Narciso Ibanez Menta — This Spanish-born actor had quite the successful life in film, though he’s not really at all well known to English speaking audiences. Many of his movie and television appearances were in Spanish or Argentine tales of horror, for example Molina’s 1980 Return of the Wolfman or Menta’s take on a famed Transylvanian Count in La Saga de Los Dracula. A multi-talented man, it wasn’t only acting that Menta pursued as he also took a directorial role for a few television series and worked as a makeup designer through the 1960s. Perhaps his most familiar film to North Americans is the 1960 Masterworks of Terror, a Poe anthology that showed up in dubbed form in the USA as well as in Canada where it was distributed by famed North-of-the-Border Canuxploitation outfit Cinepix.
Anthony Steffen — This son of a former racing driver and a Brazilian ambassador began in Italian film as a messenger boy, even garnering himself a credit on de Sica’s neorealist classic The Bicycle Thief. He later moved on to minor acting roles in the industry, working on both dramas and the “peplum” or sword and sandal movies that were popular in the '50s. It was upon the advent of the famed spaghetti western that Steffen would make his real mark, however, as during the '60s and early '70s he would appear in many films such as Django the Bastard, Arizona Colt, Blood at Sundown and A Stranger in Paso Bravo. Additionally, Steffen was in an occasional horror film as well, showing up in The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave and also in the 1979 Lee Majors/Karen Black/Margaux Hemingway piranhafest Killer Fish.
Ron O’Neal — When Ron O’Neal died this past January, the obituaries of necessity touted his most famous role as the antihero Superfly. His starring part in this blaxploitation milestone marked him forever, and while he continued to act for another 30 years, he truly would never escape this iconographic moment in the sun. Still, he did manage to keep employed in film and television and had roles in a number of interesting projects: he plays Lt. Garber in When A Stranger Calls, a Cuban heavy in Red Dawn, Mustapha Mond in the Brave New World TV movie and Col. Robles in the Powers Boothe as Jim Jones biopic Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones.
Frances Dee — While Ms. Dee had roles in some 50 films during the course of her life, there was one cult movie appearance for which she is most lastingly remembered. She got her start in pictures during the '30s, and when she met actor Joel McCrea on the set of The Silver Cord in 1933 she met the man to whom she would be married for some 57 years until he died in 1990. Her single most famous screen appearance would come in the 1943 Val Lewton classic I Walked With a Zombie, wherein she plays Betsy Connell, the young Canuck nurse who goes to the Caribbean to minister to the stupefied wife of a local plantation employee. Active to the very end, as recently as December of 2003 the actress was still making public appearances related to her famed horror role; she attended a Tufts College screening of the film as part of the Somerville Museum’s Lost Theatres of Somerville series.
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