Gene Wilder death: Star of Willy Wonka dies aged 83

Gene Wilder death: Star of Willy Wonka dies aged 83

Courtesy of http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-37215553

US actor Gene Wilder, remembered by many for his namesake role in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, has died at the age of 83, his family confirmed.

The comic actor also starred in classic films such as The Producers, Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein.

Mr Wilder frequently collaborated with writer and director Mel Brooks as well as stand-up comedian Richard Pryor.

The two-time Oscar-nominated actor was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma in 1989.

Mr Wilder's nephew confirmed the actor died on Sunday in Stamford, Connecticut, due to complications from Alzheimer's disease.

The star first made waves on Broadway before transitioning to the silver screen for a brief role as a kidnapped undertaker in Bonnie and Clyde (1967).

Obituary: Gene Wilder

·         Mel Brooks then cast Mr Wilder as Leo Bloom, an anxious accountant in the 1968 comedy, The Producers.

·         In 1971, he took on the role of one of his most beloved characters, Willy Wonka, in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.

·         Mr Wilder's other well-known roles included the Waco Kid in the 1974 cult classic Blazing Saddles and Doctor Ross in Woody Allen's 1972 film, Everything You Wanted to Know About Sex* But Were Afraid to Ask.

Gary Marshall, Hollywood Director/Producer known for Pretty Woman dies aged 81

Garry Marshall: Tributes paid to Happy Days creator and Pretty Woman director

Courtesy of http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-36843823  

Tributes have been paid to Garry Marshall, creator of hit US TV series Happy Days, who has died aged 81.

Marshall died at a hospital in Burbank, California, on Tuesday of complications from pneumonia following a stroke, his publicist Michelle Bega said.

Henry Winkler, who played "The Fonz" on Happy Days, wrote on Twitter: "Garry Marshall rest in peace.

"Thank you for my professional life. Thank you for your loyalty, friendship and generosity."

Several other Hollywood figures who have previously worked with Marshall have also taken to social media to pay tribute, including Steve Carell, Lea Michele and Zach Braff, who said: "God I loved this man."

As well as creating Happy Days, Marshall directed blockbusters such as Pretty Woman and Runaway Bride - both starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Gere said: "Everyone loved Garry... he was a super fine and decent man."

"He was a mentor and a cheerleader and one of the funniest men who ever lived. He had a heart of the purest gold and a soul full of mischief."

Actor Rob Lowe said: "Garry Marshall hired me at 15 years old. He gave my wife her start at 18, as a makeup artist. He changed our lives and many others."

Ashton Kutcher and Jessica Alba - both of whom worked with Marshall on the film Valentine's Day - also paid tribute, with Alba calling him "a true pioneer".

Octavia Spencer said she "will miss that talented one" and Ghostbusters director Paul Feig described Marshall as "an amazing person".

As well as creating Happy Days, Marshall wrote sitcoms such as The Odd Couple and Mork and Mindy.

The prolific director, producer and writer is survived by his wife, Barbara, and their three children.

Actress Sarah Paulson, who appeared in Marshall's 1999 film The Other Sister, said: "Garry Marshall, I am forever indebted to you. Thank you for taking a chance on me."

Mandy Moore, whose first on-screen film role was in 2001's The Princess Diaries, which Marshall directed, wrote: "Garry Marshall was one of the greats.

"He connected us all through joy, laughter, compassion and kindness. He also gave me my very first job."

Olvia De Havilland from the Golden Age of Hollywood & last surviving main cast member of Gone With the Wind reaches 100th Birthday

Olivia de Havilland: Hollywood grande dame to celebrate 100th birthday

Courtesy of http://edition.cnn.com/2016/06/30/entertainment/cnnphotos-tbt-olivia-de-havilland-100th-birthday/index.html

She was pretty and demure, and usually played sympathetic heroines with ladylike airs in a movie career that spanned three decades.

But off-screen she was a fighter, maneuvering for challenging roles and winning a tough legal battle against a major studio, a victory that still resonates in Hollywood 70 years later.

This Friday, Olivia de Havilland proves once again she's no ordinary Hollywood survivor. The Oscar-winning actress is celebrating her 100th birthday as the last surviving female superstar from the golden era of movies. Her chief male competitor, Kirk Douglas, will join the centenarian club in December, but de Havilland made her screen debut more than 10 years before him.

She first became famous as a damsel in distress opposite Errol Flynn in swashbuckling epics such as "Captain Blood" (1935) and "The Adventures of Robin Hood" (1938).

Her most enduring role came in "Gone With the Wind" (1939), still Hollywood's top moneymaking film when adjusted for inflation. Her sweet and gentle Melanie Wilkes seemed too good to be true, but she held her own against the fiery Scarlett O'Hara.

De Havilland won two Academy Awards for best actress -- for "To Each His Own" (1946) and "The Heiress" (1949) -- after breaking free from what she considered the unworthy parts being offered to her at Warner Bros. She successfully sued the studio in 1943 after it tried to extend her seven-year contract. Under the old contract system, studios wielded enormous power over actors, forcing them to take roles and suspending them without pay if they refused.

De Havilland's case helped shift the power from the big studios of that era to the mega-celebrities and powerful talent agencies of today, and it remains a cornerstone of entertainment law.

The Hollywood grande dame has lived in Paris for six decades and outlasted most of her contemporaries, including her younger sister, actress Joan Fontaine, with whom she had a notoriously testy relationship.

In an interview last year for a recent Vanity Fair profile, writer William Stadiem remarked of de Havilland: "Her face is unlined, her eyes sparkling, her fabled contralto soaring ... her memory photographic. She could easily pass for someone decades younger."

To see this classic movie star in action, you can tune in to Turner Classic Movies on Friday nights in July. TCM, a Time Warner company like CNN, has named de Havilland its star of the month.