RIP

[Kobi]

Jimmy Piersall, former Major League center fielder who wrote about his struggle with mental illness, has died at the age of 87.

PIersall played with the Red Sox for seven seasons and is a member of the Red Sox Hall of Fame. He made his first appearance in the Majors in 1950. He made the All-Star team in 1954 and 1956. In 1956, he led the league in doubles. Piersall was an outstanding defensive player who won two gold gloves. After playing for the Red Sox, he went on to play for the Indians, Senators, Mets and Angels. Piersall retired after the 1967 season.

Piersall co-wrote his biography in 1955 titled “Fear Strikes Out: The Jim Piersall Story.” He talks about having a nervous breakdown and being admitted to a mental hospital for therapy. Piersall’s father put a great amount of pressure on him to be great in baseball. The book was adapted into a movie in 1957 that featured Anthony Perkins as Piersall. Piersall later was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

After his playing career, Piersall was a broadcaster for the Texas Rangers in 1974 and the Chicago White Sox from 1977 until 1981.

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Guy bears an uncanny resemblance to Ben Affleck.

[Kobi]

Adam West — an actor defined and also constrained by his role in the 1960s series “Batman” — has died. He was 88.

With its “Wham! Pow!” onscreen exclamations, flamboyant villains and cheeky tone, “Batman” became a surprise hit with its premiere on ABC in 1966, a virtual symbol of ’60s kitsch. Yet West’s portrayal of the superhero and his alter ego, Bruce Wayne, ultimately made it hard for him to get other roles, and while he continued to work throughout his career, options remained limited because of his association with the character.

West also chafed against the darker versions of Bob Kane’s hero that emerged in more recent years, beginning with the Michael Keaton-starring, Tim Burton-directed adaptations that began in 1989, and followed by Christopher Nolan’s enormously successful Dark Knight trilogy.

In February 2016, CBS sitcom “The Big Bang Theory,” which had hosted a number of geek favorites over the years, celebrated its 200th episode — and marked the 50th anniversary of “Batman” — with an appearance by West.

[Kobi]

Stephen Furst, the actor best known for playing Flounder in “Animal House,” died Saturday, from complications related to diabetes. He was 62.

He starred as awkward fraternity pledge Kent “Flounder” Dorfman in the hit comedy, “National Lampoon’s Animal House” (1978). He reprised the role in the TV sitcom version, “Delta House,” which aired for one season in 1979.

Furst’s had other notable television roles, including Dr. Elliot Axelrod in “St. Elsewhere” (1983-1988), and Vir Cotto in the sci-fi series “Babylon 5” (1994-1998). He also went on to direct three movies for the Sci Fi Channel during the 2000s.

[Kobi]

Bill Dana, the entertainer who was known best for his dialect comedy embodied in the character José Jiménez, had died. He was 92.

Dana created and, with a thick accent, played the Bolivian character José Jiménez, frequently as an astronaut, on television programs. He created the character in 1959.

Dana was born William Szathmary Oct. 5, 1924, in Quincy, Massachusetts. He later created the Dana stage name, altering the first name of his mother, Dena.

Dana served in the U.S. Army during World War II, earning a Bronze Star as a combat infantryman. After the war, he began his career as an NBC page. At night, he performed in New York City nightclubs along with partner Gene Wood.

In the 1950s, he performed on “The Imogene Coca Show,” “The Danny Thomas Show,” and “The Martha Raye Show.” Dana also wrote for and produced “The Spike Jones Show.”

Dana’s career began to be noticed after he wrote comedy routines for the stand-up comedian Don Adams. Among them was the “Would you believe?” routine that Adams later used on his sitcom “Get Smart.” With that success, Dana was hired to write for “The Steve Allen Show,” the program for which he originated the Jiménez character for Allen’s “Man in the Street” interviews. Dana also played Jiménez on “The Ed Sullivan Show” as well as Dana’s eponymous sitcom, which aired from 1963 to 1965; he played the character as a clumsy bellhop.

Dana also wrote for several television shows, and he penned lines including those for the episode of “All in the Family” that featured the actor and singer Sammy Davis Jr.

In the 1990s, he played Uncle Angelo on “The Golden Girls.”

In 1997, Dana received an image award from the National Hispanic Media Coalition.

[Kobi]

His résumé includes 'Mission: Impossible,' 'Tucker: The Man and His Dream' and 'North by Northwest.'

Martin Landau, the all-purpose actor who showcased his versatility as a master of disguise on the Mission: Impossible TV series and as a broken-down Bela Lugosi in his Oscar-winning performance in Ed Wood, has died. He was 89.

Landau, who shot to fame by playing a homosexual henchman in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1959 classic North by Northwest, died Saturday of "unexpected complications" after a brief stay at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, his rep confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter.

After he quit CBS’ Mission: Impossible after three seasons in 1969 because of a contract dispute, Landau’s career was on the rocks until he was picked by Francis Ford Coppola to play Abe Karatz, the business partner of visionary automaker Preston Tucker (Jeff Bridges), in Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988).

Landau received a best supporting actor nomination for that performance, then backed it up the following year with another nom for starring as Judah Rosenthal, an ophthalmologist who has his mistress (Anjelica Huston) killed, in Woody Allen’s Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989).

Landau lost out on Oscar night to Kevin Kline and Denzel Washington, respectively, in those years but finally prevailed for his larger-than-life portrayal of horror-movie legend Lugosi in the biopic Ed Wood (1994), directed by Tim Burton.

Landau also starred as Commander John Koenig in the 1970s science-fiction series Space: 1999, opposite his Mission: Impossible co-star Barbara Bain, his wife from 1957 until their divorce in 1993.

A former newspaper cartoonist, Landau turned down the role of Mr. Spock on the NBC series Star Trek, which went to Leonard Nimoy (who later effectively replaced Landau on Mission: Impossible after Trek was canceled).

Landau was born in Brooklyn on June 20, 1928. At age 17, he landed a job as a cartoonist for the New York Daily News, but he turned down a promotion and quit five years later to pursue acting.

In 1955, he auditioned for Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio (choosing a scene from Clifford Odets’ Clash by Night against the advice of friends), and he and Steve McQueen were the only new students accepted that year out of the 2,000-plus aspirants who had applied.

With his dark hair and penetrating blue eyes, Landau found success on New York stages in Goat Song, Stalag 17 and First Love. Hitchcock caught his performance on opening night opposite Edward G. Robinson in a road production of Middle of the Night, the first Broadway play written by Paddy Chayefsky, and cast him as the killer Leonard in North by Northwest.

He went on to perform for such top directors as Joseph L. Mankiewicz in Cleopatra (1963) — though he said most of his best work on that film was sent to the cutting-room floor — George Stevens in The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965), John Sturges in The Hallelujah Trail (1965) and Henry Hathaway in Nevada Smith (1966).

Landau met Bruce Geller, the eventual creator of Mission: Impossible, when he invited the writer to an acting class. Bain was in the class as well, and Geller wrote for them the parts of spies Rollin Hand and Cinnamon Carter. Landau earned an Emmy nomination for each of his three seasons on the series.

Landau found a kindred spirit in Burton, who also cast him in Sleepy Hollow (1999) and as the voice of a Vincent Price-like science teacher in the horror-movie homage, Frankenweenie (2012).

Landau played puppet master Geppetto in a pair of Pinocchio films and appeared in other films including Pork Chop Hill (1959), City Hall (1996), The X-Files: Fight the Future (1998), Rounders (1998), Edtv (1999), The Majestic (2001), Lovely, Still (2008) and Mysteria (2011).

On television, he starred in the Twilight Zone episodes “Mr. Denton on Doomsday” and “The Jeopardy Room,” played the title role in the 1999 Showtime telefilm Bonnano: A Godfather’s Story and could be found on The Untouchables, Bonanza, Gunsmoke, Maverick, Wanted: Dead or Alive, Wagon Train, I Spy and The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

More recently, Landau earned Emmy noms for playing the father of Anthony LaPaglia’s character on CBS’ Without a Trace and guest-starring as an out-of-touch movie producer on HBO’s Entourage. He portrayed billionaire J. Howard Marshall, the 90-year-old husband of Anna Nicole Smith, in a 2013 Lifetime biopic about the sex symbol, and starred for Atom Egoyan opposite Christopher Plummer in Remember (2015).

And Landau appeared opposite Paul Sorvino in The Last Poker Game, which premiered at this year's Tribeca Film Festival.

[Kobi]

Harvey Atkin, the Canadian character and voice actor has died. He was 74.

He was famous for the combination of glasses, a big nose, and a mustache for most of his roles.

Atkin was perhaps best known as camp director Morty in the 1979 comedy “Meatballs.” He also played Staff Sgt. Capt. Ronald Coleman on “Cagney and Lacey” and Judge Ridenour on “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.” Most recently, he has a role as a judge on the tv series "Suits".

Atkin appeared in more than 75 films during his long and varied career. Besides Meatballs, he was also in Silver streak, Atlantic City, Beetlejuice, and Ticket to Heaven.

He was also the voice of Mario's and Luigi's archenemy King Koopa on DiC Entertainment's cartoon version of Super Mario Bros. (notably, he is the first English voice actor for the character). Playing Bowser in all three Mario animated series, he is the only voice actor to appear in all three series as the same character.

[GeorgiaMa'am]

from The New York Times:

Chester Bennington, the ferocious lead singer for the platinum-selling hard rock band Linkin Park, was found dead in his home near Los Angeles on Thursday. He was 41.

Brian Elias, the chief of operations for the Los Angeles County coroner’s office, confirmed the death, in Palos Verdes Estates, and said it was being investigated as a possible suicide after law enforcement authorities responded to a call shortly after 9 a.m.

Mr. Bennington, who was known for his piercing scream and free-flowing anguish, released seven albums with Linkin Park. The most recent, “One More Light,” arrived in May and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard album chart. The band was scheduled to start a tour with a concert on July 27 in Mansfield, Mass.

Mike Shinoda, one of Linkin Park’s founders, spoke on behalf of the group in a tweet. “Shocked and heartbroken,” he wrote, adding that the band would issue a statement.