Rolling Obituary Thread 2022

How Lansbury was cast in her first film, Gaslight: She was 17, had never performed in front of a camera (& only a bit on the stage), & was working as a shopgirl at Bullocks department store. The screenwriter met her at a party & told George Cukor she should do a screen test.

— Dana Stevens (@thehighsign) October 11, 2022

Yeah, Cukor said he'd never seen a newcomer make such an impression in a screen test.

One of my favorite screen moments:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wd0_K0fqGVA

Wes Anderson cast her in The Grand Budapest Hotel, but she ultimately had a scheduling conflict and was replaced by Tilda Swinton.

That might've been cruel considering how Swinton's made up.

I met her once when I was working in the King’s Road Body Shop and got her to sign our save-the-rainforest petition.

RIP you magnificent socialist lady.

Worth a peek. Used to be on the VHS:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjEWLmc1p0U

thread

pic.twitter.com/rHngHeZerm

— Brandon Bird (@Brandon_Bird) October 11, 2022

Aw shame, RIP Angela ;_;

Anita Kerr

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/11/arts/music/anita-kerr-dead.html

xp to Suzy - I only found out yesterday that her father was in the Communist Party of Great Britain, and her grandfather was leader of the Labour Party!

I roll my eyes a bit at the "newcomer discovered at a shop-counter" - her mother was a well-known Irish actress with her own film career, and her half-sister had married Peter Ustinov.

She aged quickly into maternal roles by the (bullshit) standards of the time - she was only three years older than Raymond Shaw in the Manchurian Candidate, four years older than Joan Plowright in A Taste of Honey, nine years older than Elvis in Blue Hawaii.

Anyway she was great, RIP

Seeing reports from people who would know on FB that bassist JW Brown (father of Myra Gale Brown, cousin and 3rd wife of Jerry Lee Lewis) has passed away at age 95.

important memories of bruno latour rip:

These came back up on Facebook memories this week. I no longer remember why people started telling their very cute “I met Bruno Latour” stories on my twitter. But with his passing, it felt like a good time to reshare these sweet little moments. pic.twitter.com/sLvoRF5xpH

— Maggie Koerth (@maggiekb1) October 13, 2022

SALUT VIEUX!

RIP Mike Schank pic.twitter.com/8UomJv74tt

— ❐ (@ruderubin) October 13, 2022

Aw man

noooo ;_;

rip mike

:(

Austin Stoker, one of the stars of ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13, has died Oct. 7. He was a nice man and I enjoyed working with him.

— John Carpenter (@TheHorrorMaster) October 14, 2022

Christina Moser of Krisma

https://www.repubblica.it/spettacoli/musica/2022/10/13/news/morta_christina_moser_krisma-369919232/

aww I love Chrisma, their first album from 1977 has some amazing Neu! influenced sounds on it

yeah cool career that falls through the cracks though they've def got a cult in the states. That weird blend of krautrock, post-punk/new wave and italo/synthpop.

Robbie Coltrane, 72

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2022/oct/14/robbie-coltrane-cracker-harry-potter-dies-national-treasure

I was just enjoying him and his fucking terrible accent in Goldeneye at the weekend!

Ah, shoot. He's one I've worried about with his size. I have a few signed photos from the Cracker days.

Was chuffed in the day to find an audio snippet with him leads off "Sean Penn Blues" on Lloyd Cole and the Commotions' _Mainstream_.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E7TGkHIXoCsJAZ6?format=jpg&name=small

RIP big man

https://en.24smi.org/public/media/2019/7/4/02-kk7ech3.jpg

Anyway it was a nice photo of him leaning on a car

RIP

Robbie Coltrane once roared at Piers Morgan in the Ivy, 'Don't you fucking dare come near me if you know what's good for you, you cunt!'

Morgan later described Coltrane as a 'foul-mouthed fatso'.

I offer no comment.

— Andy Dawson (@profanityswan) October 14, 2022

RIP Robbie, and also interesting that I can see that ProfanitySwan tweet there even though he's blocked me on Twitter.

RIP Robbie, but 72 is not bad for a fat Scottish guy.

12 in normal white guy years.

(sidebar: gee i’m so glad he confirmed everyone itt’s concerns by dying, what with being fat and all :/ not a good look, lads)

RIP robbie, loved him since i was a kid, so sad :(

Veg otm

RIP Robbie, but 72 is not bad for a fat Scottish guy.

was discussing this earlier. for a fat fu*k from the west coast of scotland he lived an impressively long life.

lots of horrendous stories about him circulate locally but hey, let's not speak ill of the deid.

very sad to hear about the passing of Christina Moser. Chrisma / Krisma rule.

robbie coltrane in tutti frutti is one of the best things ever.

If an overweight Scottish guy can't make jokes about overweight Scottish guys then who can? See also the well-established medical phenomena The Glasgow Effect.

I have also heard bad things about RC, from ppl who work for BBC Scotland mainly, so may have their own axe to grind. I saw him once standing outside Oran Mor in the West End, unmistakeable, and I did have some sympathy for how difficult it must have been for him to avoid recognition when out and about.

Having people yell "Sausaaaage?!" at him all too often

Unfortunately, like many before him, he has fallen victim to the Harry Potter Effect whereby, as far as the UK media is concerned, he was in Harry Potter and some other stuff no-one cares about but let's talk about how great he was in Harry Potter.

There was a revival of Tavernier's Death Watch a few years ago, and it was pleasurably surprising to see a very young RC making his on-screen debut, in the Glasgow of 1979:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eMWSwuXwLM

An old friend was in the film Revolution with him and said he used to hang up the world’s largest Y-fronts in his dressing room.

I have also heard bad things about RC

Wondering if this is why The Sun referred to him as National Treasure, remembering tabloid tricks to get round rumour and/or injunctions (e.g. Hugh Bonneville and Elton/David Furnish headlines or subheadings) and his role in that.

"like many before him, he has fallen victim to the Harry Potter Effect whereby, as far as the UK media is concerned, he was in Harry Potter and some other stuff no-one cares about but let's talk about how great he was in Harry Potter"

This is why I've always felt sorry for Adam Samuelson, crane technician. Despite being a crane technician on Full Metal Jacket, Goldeneye, Alien3, Kafka etc the newspaper obituaries will go on and on about how he was dolly grip on Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and crane technician on Chamber of Secrets and Goblet of Fire. Those films will totally overshadow his other work.

His life must be a living nightmare with kids running up to him and saying "did you meet Harry Potter" or "what does the top of Harry Potter's head look like". Top chefs have Asia Argento going up to them and saying "I like your food let's fuck" but Adam Samuelson has stupid kids saying "how do you operate a crane" and "Harry Potter". At this point death would be a blessed relief.

xpost

I hasten to add that nothing I heard about RC was at all Savile-like - just, you know, that he was not an especially nice person to deal with. But I agree that it's best to keep this thread a positive one, wherever possible.

Having people yell "Sausaaaage?!" at him all too often

Or alternately

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZZ_J4A4X9Q

I remember RC being a voice of caution in the televised 'after UK live aid' party, broadcast while nothing much was happening on the US feed.

nothing I heard about RC was at all Savile-like

Phew, thanks.