British actor Malcolm Tierney died of pulmonary fibrosis on February 18, aged 75. He appeared in Star Wars, The Medusa Touch and Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, along with episodes of TV’s Out of the Unknown and Doctor Who.
American actor, writer and director Harold [Allen] Ramis died of complications of autoimmune inflammatory vasculitis on February 24, aged 69. Best remembered as the writer of Ghostbusters (1984) and its sequel, in which he co-starred as “Dr. Egon Spengler”, Ramis also directed the comedies Groundhog Day, Multiplicity, Bedazzled (2000) and Year One.
Canadian-born ballet dancer turned actress Gail Gilmore (Gail Gerber, aka “Gale Gerber”/”Gail Gibson”) died of lung cancer on March 2, aged 76. She arrived in Hollywood in 1963 and made just ten films, including Village of the Giants, The Loved One and The Magic Christian (both co-scripted by her long-time companion, Terry Southern) and a couple with Elvis Presley.
British-born character actress Sheila MacRae (Sheila Margaret Stephens, aka “Sheila Stephenson”) died in New Jersey on March 6, aged 92. She had been suffering from dementia and had recently undergone surgery. Best known for her role as “Alice Kramden”in the revived 1960s series of The Honeymooners, MacRae also appeared in Bikini Beach, How to Stuff a Wild Bikini, and an episode of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Her first husband was actor Gordon MacRae (1941-67).
American voice-over Hal Douglas (Harold Cone) died of pancreatic cancer on March 7, aged 89. His distinctive baritone voice can be heard on thousands trailers intoning “In a world…” and he also provided the narration for Waterworld.
82-year-old Belfast-born character actor James Ellis, best known for his role as “Sgt. Bert Lynch” in BBC-TV’s Z Cars (1962-78), died of a stroke in Lincolnshire on March 8. His other credits include Where the Bullets Fly, Leapin’ Leprechauns! and its sequel Spellbreaker: Secret of the Leprechauns, and Dragonworld: The Legend Continues, along with episodes of TV’s Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense (‘Mark of the Devil’), Doctor Who, Woof! and Eternal Law.
Irish character actress Eileen Colgan died after a brief illness on March 10, aged 80. She was in The Secret of Roan Inish and I Sell the Dead.
American actor Richard Coogan died on March 12, aged 99. A former radio announcer and stage actor, he became the first “Captain Video” in 1949-50 for the daily TV series Captain Video and His Video Rangers, and went on to appear in episodes of several TV series during the 1960s.
Japanese actor Ken Utsui died of respiratory failure on March 14, aged 82. He portrayed his country’s first superhero, “Super Giant” (aka “Starman”), in a series of short films in the late 1950s, which were edited into the 1965 US movies Invaders from Space, Evil Brain from Outer Space, Attack from Space and Atomic Rulers of the World. Utsui was also in the 2013 SF film Time Scoop Hunter.
65-year-old American actor James [Robert] Rebhorn, who had a recurring role in TV’s Homeland, died of complications from melanoma on March 21. He also appeared in He Knows You Are Alone (1980), Cat’s Eye, Shadows and Fog, Independence Day, The Adventures of Pluto Nash, Anamorph, The Box and Real Steel (both based on stories by Richard Matheson), and the 2012 mini-series Coma.
American actress and cattle rancher Patrice Wymore, the widow of actor Errol Flynn, died of pulmonary disease in Jamaica on March 22, aged 87. Her credits include small roles in Chamber of Horrors and an episode of TV’s The Monkees.
British leading lady Kate O’Mara (Frances Meredith Carroll) died of ovarian cancer on March 30, aged 74. Her credits include Corruption (with Peter Cushing), Hammer’s The Vampire Lovers and The Horror of Frankenstein, and episodes of TV’s Adam Adamant Lives!, The Champions, The Avengers, The Adventures of Don Quick and Doctor Who (as renegade Time Lord “The Rani”).
South African-born actor, scriptwriter and author Glyn Jones died in Greece on April 2, aged 82. He not only wrote a four-part Doctor Who serial ‘Doctor Who and the Space Museum’ in 1965, but ten years later he appeared as “Krans” in the two-part story ‘The Sontaran Experiment’.
50-year-old American comedian and actor John Pinette was found dead from a pulmonary embolism in a hotel room in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on April 5. He had been suffering from heart and liver disease. Pinette appeared in The Punisher (2004) and an episode of TV’s ALF.
Hollywood legend Mickey Rooney (Ninian Joseph Yule, Jr.) died on April 6, aged 93. A former child star, he made his movie debut in 1926 and his credits include the 1934 serial The Lost Jungle, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1935, as “Puck”), The Atomic Kid (which he also produced), Francis in the Haunted House, Pinocchio (1957), How to Stuff a Wild Bikini, Pete’s Dragon, Arabian Adventure (with Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing), Silent Night Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker, Sinbad: The Battle of the Dark Knights, Babe: Pig in the City, Phantom of the Megaplex, Night at the Museum, The Thirsting, The Muppets (2011), The Voices from Beyond, Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb and a new version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (2015). On TV Rooney appeared in episodes of Twilight Zone, Night Gallery and Conan, and in the early 1930s he supplied the voice of “Oswald, the Lucky Rabbit” in a series of cartoon shorts made by Walter Lantz. His eight wives included actresses Ava Gardner (1942-43) and Martha Vickers (1949-52) and he received two special Oscars.