Celebrity R.I.P

by GD Sat 27 Sep 2008, 5:23 pm

Hollywood legend Paul Newman has died of cancer at the age of 83, his spokesman has confirmed.

The blue-eyed star of films like Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid had died at home on Friday surrounded by family and close friends, said Jeff Sanderson.

Newman was nominated for an Oscar 10 times, winning the best actor trophy in 1987 for The Color Of Money.

In May 2007, he said he was giving up acting because he could no longer perform to the best of his ability.

"I'm not able to work any more... at the level that I would want to," he told US broadcaster ABC.

"You start to lose your memory, you start to lose your confidence, you start to lose your invention.

"So I think that's pretty much a closed book for me."

Earlier this year, he pulled out of directing a stage production of John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men in Connecticut because of unspecified health problems.

Broadcaster Sir Michael Parkinson, who interviewed Newman for a documentary, said the star had been "a real giant of the cinema".

"He was the link between the great time of Hollywood, the Cary Grant and people like that, and Tom Cruise," he told BBC News.

"He fills the gap between the two, and fills it in a most extraordinary, dominant manner." (from BBCnews)

RIP... this guy was a legend

by Digger Sat 27 Sep 2008, 5:43 pm

Yep he was in some great films.

by GD Sun 16 Nov 2008, 10:04 pm

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Reg Varney's first major TV role was in BBC sitcom The Rag Trade

Comedy actor Reg Varney, best known for playing driver Stan Butler in ITV sitcom On The Buses, has died aged 92.
He died following a short illness in a nursing home in Budleigh Salterton, Devon, where he had recently been admitted with a chest infection.
His daughter Jeanne Marley, 59, said her father had died "peacefully" on Sunday afternoon.
On The Buses was one of the most successful British comedies of the 1970s, with over 60 TV episodes.
Varney's partnership with co-star Bob Grant, who played randy conductor Jack Harper, saw them become household names for a generation of viewers.
The series, which ran for seven years from 1969 and spawned three feature films, followed the two characters as they dodged work and did their best to wind up inspector Cyril "Blakey" Blake, played by Stephen Lewis.
Mrs Marley said he had only recently been admitted to the nursing home after he had begun suffering from a chest infection.
She said: "He's always been very young for his age. When he was in On The Buses he was playing a 35-year-old, but he was actually 50."
Working men's clubs

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] The On The Buses cast after Bob Grant's 1971 wedding to Kim Benwell

Varney was born in east London as one of five children, and attended school in West Ham.
He worked at the Regent's Park Hotel after leaving school, but went on to play the piano and sing in working men's clubs.
Varney entertained the forces during World War II, where he served in the Royal Electrical Engineers, and later appeared in seaside shows and played pantomime dames.
He first came to the public eye in BBC sitcom The Rag Trade, in 1961, and starred alongside Pat Coombs and June Whitfield in another comedy, Beggar My Neighbour, in 1966.
In 1967, Varney opened the UK's first automatic cash dispenser in Enfield, north London. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

The success of On The Buses saw him land his own, self-titled TV series, as well as roles in films Go For A Take and The Best Pair Of Legs In The Business.
Later in his career Varney spent time in Australia and New Zealand, sometimes working as a pianist. A remake of On The Buses was mooted in 1990, but failed to be commissioned.
Varney had lived in Devon for the past 20 years, and had lived alone since his wife Lilian died in 2002.
He is survived by his daughter, two grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. (From BBC News)

Classic British Comedian... RIP Reg

by GD Tue 09 Dec 2008, 2:28 pm

Bagpuss creator Oliver Postgate has died aged 83, his family has confirmed.
Postgate, who lived in Kent, created some of the best-loved children's TV series including Ivor the Engine, the Clangers and Noggin the Nog.
His work, screened on the BBC and ITV from the 1950s to the present day, was often in collaboration with the artist and puppeteer Peter Firmin.
In a poll earlier this year, Bagpuss, a saggy pink cloth cat, was voted the best TV animal of all-time.
Postgate's partner, Naomi Linnell, confirmed he died at a nursing home near his home in Broadstairs in Kent on Monday.

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Friend and colleague, Sandra Kerr, has been paying tribute to "a creative and eccentric talent".
Ms Kerr, the voice of the mice in Bagpuss, said they had so much fun working together, their giggles can be heard on the Bagpuss soundtrack.
Asked where his inspiration came from, she said: "Oliver said it himself, he was always a little boy.
"He and Peter just responded to that part of themselves they had never lost."
Conservative leader David Cameron told BBC Radio 5 Live that Ivor the Engine was his favourite of Postgate and Firmin's characters.
"I never really got the Clangers," he added. "My wife's a big Clangers fan - I never quite got that in the same way."

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Oliver Postgate created many much-loved children's TV programmes

Postgate's work was popular with generations of children who loved the strangeness of the characters and the warmth of his story-telling.
The short animated films, which he would script and narrate, were created by Smallfilms production company, set up with Firmin.
The partners worked in a makeshift studio in a disused cowshed in Kent on a tiny budget often using home-made equipment.
Ivor the Engine, a series for ITV about a little Welsh steam engine who wanted to sing in a choir, was their first creation. The 1960s BBC series of Noggin the Nog about a baby-faced king of the race of Nogs followed.
The pair swiftly established themselves as reliable purveyors of children's entertainment, in the days when there were just two channels and children's television occupied a privileged teatime slot.
'Praise and encouragement'
Describing the commissioning process, Postgate said: "We would go to the BBC once a year, show them the films we'd made, and they would say, 'Yes, lovely, now what are you going to do next?'" (from BBC News)

Oliver Postgate's work was a big part of my childhood. Noggin the Nog, The Clangers, brilliant, inspired stuff

by GD Sun 14 Dec 2008, 3:49 pm

Summer Wine star Staff dies at 80

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Nora Batty was Kathy Staff's most enduring TV role

Actress Kathy Staff, who played Nora Batty in long-running BBC One sitcom Last Of The Summer Wine, has died.
The 80-year-old, who was born in Dukinfield, Greater Manchester, also played cleaner Doris Luke in long-running ITV soap Crossroads.
And she appeared in Emmerdale Farm, Coronation Street, and with David Jason and Ronnie Barker in Open All Hours.
Last of the Summer Wine producer Alan Bell told BBC News the actress had been ill for some time.
"We're distraught, but we have very fond memories of her," he said.
Battleaxe Nora Batty proved to be her most enduring character.

Actor Peter Sallis, who played Norman Clegg, remembered his colleague fondly
She appeared in 243 episodes of the Yorkshire-based comedy, beginning in the first episode in January 1973.
She made her last appearance in August, at the end of the show's 29th series.
Co-star Peter Sallis said he was "terribly upset" by the loss of an "irreplaceable" colleague.
"She dominated anything that she was in. You could stop acting when Kathy was there because she was going to do it all for you," he said.
"We don't know quite for sure whether we're going to do any more episodes, but if we do she's going to be terribly missed."

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Staff starred alongside Ronnie Barker in Open All Hours

Sallis, who plays Cleggy in the series, joked: "Years and years ago David Frost interviewed her on television and all they seemed to talk about was her wrinkled stockings.
"I got hotter and hotter under the collar and thought, why can't they have something about how marvellous it is to work with Peter Sallis? But all we got was wrinkled stockings instead."
Mike Grady, who played Barry in the series, said: "She was blessed with a wonderful, quite formidable face, which I hope isn't disrespectful, but she knew it.
"What was good about her was that she was well aware of her work and what she could bring to a role.
"And she had that wonderful resonant voice, which was quite intimidating. She was actually a very sweet woman."
Mr Bell said she often yearned for her character to be more gentle.
"She would play a scene quite gently, and I'd say, 'But Kathy, you've got to harden up, because that's who we all love, the hard, tough Nora Batty.'
"And she said, 'Why can't I be just soft and gentle at times?' And I said, 'Maybe some time we will.'
"She was such a good lady, she was religious, she would never do anyone any harm.
"But above all that, she was thoroughly professional."
Peter Sallis said it had not yet been decided if Last of the Summer Wine would return for a 30th series.
"The BBC have been terribly loyal to us - with good reason because we're so popular," he said.
"I shouldn't say this, but I would be a bit surprised if we've done our last one." (from BBC News)

Who could forget those stockings... prehaps I could get a pair for the wife for Christmas..lol

by GD Thu 18 Dec 2008, 2:17 pm

Carry On star Jack Douglas dies

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Douglas was known for his nervous and fidgety character Alf Ippititimus

Carry On actor Jack Douglas, who was also known for his theatrical work in plays and pantomimes, has died aged 81.
He had been ill in recent years and died on the Isle of Wight, where he lived with his partner, Vivien Howell.
His character, Alf Ippititimus, had the catchphrase "phwaay" and appeared in eight Carry On films, two Christmas specials and a TV series.
Douglas, who was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, was also seen with The Goodies and on The Benny Hill Show.
Phil Dale, who was Douglas's agent and a long-time friend, described him as "one of those lovely people who came from the world of comedy and understood comedy timing in the sense of the old British tradition of farce".
This was an art that was "seldom done these days", Mr Dale added.
Theatrical family
Douglas's credits included Carry On Matron, Carry On Abroad, Carry On Girls, Carry On Dick, Carry On Behind, Carry On England and Carry On Emmanuelle.
And he was seen in the film which revived the franchise in 1992, Carry On Columbus.
He had put on his first stage show at the age of 15, having come from a theatrical family where his father was a producer.
On one occasion he performed, standing in for an actor who was ill, and enjoyed it so much that he decided he preferred to be on stage rather than behind the scenes.
As well as his acting career, he wrote a musical, a cookery book and an autobiography, entitled A Twitch in Time. (from BBC News)

He was great laugh... R.I.P.

by GD Fri 26 Dec 2008, 12:53 pm

American singer, dancer and actress Eartha Kitt has died at the age 81, her friend and publicist has said.
Kitt died of colon cancer on Thursday,

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Eartha Kitt: Versatile diva

Once described by Orson Welles as the most exciting woman in the world, Kitt's smouldering, feline drawl in memorable hits, such as Santa Baby, Old Fashioned Millionaire and I Wanna Be Evil conveyed a wealth of innuendo.
Ostracized at an early age for her mixed race heritage, international star Eartha Kitt defied criticism of her illegitimate past and conquered the entertainment world with finesse.
Born in 1927, she endured a tough childhood. Kitt's mother, who worked on a cotton plantation, was just 14 when she gave birth, the white father thought to have been the son of the plantation owner.
Kitt's features, neither black nor white, led to her being accepted by neither community. She was given away by her mother at the age of eight to live with an aunt in Harlem, New York City. Little did she know that this would be the start of a long showbiz career.
With a flair for the dramatic, Kitt, aged 15, auditioned for the famed Katherine Dunham Dance Troupe and won a spot as a featured dancer.
The work took her worldwide, and her unique style was enhanced as she became fluent in French during the European tour. It was during a performance in Paris that she caught a certain director's eye, and was cast as Helen of Troy in Orson Welles' production of Dr Faust.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Eartha Kitt had a tough upbringing

Kitt made her name back in New York in the 'New Faces of 1952' revue. Her show-stopping performances, which ran for a year, led to a national tour and a follow up feature film with the same title.
Other films followed, such as St Louis Blues with Nat King Cole, and she played the title role in Anna Lucasta alongside Sammy Davis.
For her succession of best-selling records Kitt earned a Grammy nomination, she received her first Tony nomination for her acting, and also managed to complete her first volume of autobiography Thursday's Child.
One of Kitt's more recognisable roles was her part as Catwoman, in succession to Julie Newmar, in the late 1960s television series Batman. She excelled in the part, and her trademark growl became a part of pop culture.
In the late sixties, however, Kitt's career encountered a substantial setback after she made her anti-Vietnam war views explicit during a White House luncheon.
The CIA put together a dossier on her and she became professionally exiled from the US. She worked abroad for 11 years, where her reputation remained unscathed, but returned triumphantly to New York in 1974 to star in a Broadway spectacle of Timbuktu!
One-woman show
Kitt became a firm fixture on the Manhattan cabaret scene. Live theatre was always her passion and, in 2001, Broadway critics singled her out for praise for her role in The Wild Party.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Sophisticated: Kitt's exotic style kept her at the top for decades

More recently, she starred in US tours of The Wizard of Oz, and Cinderella, and appeared as the Fairy Godmother in The New York City Opera production.
Her distinctive voice and great versatility enthralled an entirely new generation of fans when she lent her services to the role of Yzma, the villain, in Disney's animated feature The Emperor's New Groove.
In 1994 she also was part of BBC Radio's adaptation of The Jungle Book, where her role as Kaa the python was performed with a ferocity and bite.
She visited England many times throughout her career, firstly in the early 1950s and, most recently, for Follies in 1988, which she followed with a one-woman show in March 1989.
Eartha Kitt will be remembered as a distinguished and charismatic performer who, up to her death, could boast she had worked in more than 100 countries.
Alongside her cabaret performances, her singing career and her roles in film and television, Kitt was also a prominent jazz singer to which the "sex kitten" in her voice seemed aptly suited.

Eartha Kitt singing Santa Baby

She appeared at legendary venues, such as The Cafe Carlyle, Detroit's Music Hall and Seattle's Jazz Alley, where she became the epitome of chic.
Her strong onscreen independence was mirrored off screen, since Kitt spent most of her life alone.
She was married briefly, from 1960 to 1965, from which a daughter, Kitt McDonald, was born in 1961. She became her mother's manager. (from BBC News

She was a great lady still singer, still singing in her 80's she will be missed...

by GD Fri 09 Jan 2009, 3:15 pm

British pop star Dave Dee has died at the age of 65, following a three-year battle with cancer.
The singer continued playing gigs with band members Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich until close to the end of his life, record plugger Sean Cooney said.
"He didn't let it get him down. He was defying it," Mr Cooney added.
The group had eight top 10 hits, including a UK number one single in 1968 with The Legend of Xanadu, in which Dee famously cracked a whip.
A spokeswoman for the family said that Dee died in Kingston Hospital in Surrey on Friday morning following "a long and courageous battle" with cancer.
Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich - named after the five friends' nicknames - first entered the UK chart in December 1965 with You Make it Move, which peaked at number 26.
Subsequent singles included Hold Tight!, Bend It! and Save Me.
Between 1965 and 1969 they spent more weeks in the UK singles charts than any other band.
Two of their albums charted - their eponymous debut, in 1966, followed a year later by If Music Be the Food of Love... Prepare for Indigestion.
Charity work
In 1969 Dee left the group for a short-lived solo career, but they reformed in the 1990s with Dee as lead vocalist once again.
They had recently been performing dates in the UK and Germany and were due to play another eight concerts before the end of April.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] The Legend of Xanadu helped the group to find success in the US

Dee performed his last gig in Eisenburg, Germany on 20 September last year.
The singer, whose real name was David Harman, came from Wiltshire and was originally a police officer before turning his hand to music.
In the 1970s he was a founding committee member of the Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy charity and was actively involved in fundraising and increasing the profile of the organisation, for more than 30 years.
He later worked as a magistrate in Cheshire. (BBC News)

by GD Mon 12 Jan 2009, 2:21 pm

David Vine, who for 40 years was one of the most distinctive voices of BBC sport, presenting shows such as Grandstand and Ski Sunday, has died aged 73.

by GD Wed 14 Jan 2009, 6:19 pm

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] McGoohan wrote and starred in The Prisoner from 1967

Emmy-winning actor Patrick McGoohan, best known for starring in cult 1960s TV show The Prisoner, has died at the age of 80.
He died in Los Angeles after a short illness, his film producer son-in-law Cleve Landsberg told Associated Press.
McGoohan played the character Six in the surreal 1960s show, filmed in the north Wales village of Portmeirion.
He won two Emmy awards for his work on TV detective series Columbo, playing different characters.
The first came for an episode of the series in 1974, with another 16 years later.
'I am a free man'
The screen star also won a Bafta award for best television actor in 1959 for his role in The Greatest Man In The World, a one-off drama in ITV's Armchair Theatre series.
In more recent years, McGoohan played King Edward Longshanks in the 1995 Mel Gibson film Braveheart.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] The actor also starred in ITV series Danger Man, which began in 1960

The actor, who was born in New York and raised in England and Ireland, came to screen prominence in TV series Danger Man, in which he played a secret service agent. The programme later aired as Secret Agent in the US.
He was later considered for the role of James Bond for the movie Dr No.
But McGoohan was chiefly associated with cult ITV drama The Prisoner, writing some of the episodes himself under a different name.
His character spent the entire time attempting to escape from The Village and finding out the identity of his captor, the elusive Number One.
He repeatedly declared: "I am not a number - I am a free man!"
In 2000, McGoohan reprised his most famous role in an episode of The Simpsons.
McGoohan's last role came in 2002, as a voice artist in animated picture Treasure Planet.

by GD Thu 15 Jan 2009, 2:02 pm

Fantasy Island's Montalban dies

Montalban was best-known as the mysterious white-suited Mr Roarke
Actor Ricardo Montalban, who starred in the popular US TV show Fantasy Island in the 1970s-80s, has died aged 88, a Los Angeles city official says.

The Mexican-born actor died at his home, the official said.

Fantasy Island ran for six years and centred on a magical island where guests could live out their dreams.

Montalban - who had a long career in entertainment - was also well-known for playing the villain in Star Trek, both on television and in a feature film.

Montalban's death was announced by Eric Garcetti, who represents the LA district where the actor lived.

David Brokaw, the actor's friend, described him as a "very courtly, modest, dignified individual," the Associated Press news agency reports.

Montalban had been a film star in Mexico before moving to Hollywood in 1946.

by GD Sun 18 Jan 2009, 11:26 am

Artist and children's presenter Tony Hart has died, aged 83.
Mr Hart had suffered from health problems for a number of years, including two strokes. His family said he died peacefully.
Mr Hart appeared on art programmes for nearly 50 years before retiring in 2001 because of health problems.
He first appeared on Saturday Special as an illustrator before fronting his own shows such as Vision On, Take Hart and Hart Beat.
The artist served as an officer in the 1st Gurkha Rifles in World War II, before joining a course at the Maidstone College of Art.
It was a chance meeting in 1952 with a BBC TV producer and a demonstration of his quick art skills on a paper napkin that secured his on-screen career.
In an interview last year he said not being able to draw after suffering two strokes was the "greatest cross I have to bear." (from BBC News)

by gsyguy Sun 18 Jan 2009, 4:03 pm

aww i liked him too,and the programme

by GD Mon 19 Jan 2009, 11:11 am

Lost in Space Robot star May dies

Bob May landed the Robot part because he could fit in the suit
Veteron actor and stuntman Bob May, best known for donning The Robot's suit in the hit 1960s TV show Lost in Space has died at the age of 69.

The star died of congestive heart failure at a hospital in Lancaster, Los Angeles, his daughter Deborah said.

He was particularly fond of his Robot role, once saying he came to consider the suit a "home away from home".

May wore the suit for hours and learned the lines of every actor in the show so he would know when to respond to them.

Loyal sidekick

June Lockhart, who played family matriarch Maureen Robinson in the show, recalled how May had landed the job.

"It was one of those wonderful Hollywood stories. He just happened to be on the studio lot when someone saw him and sent him to see [producer] Irwin Allen about the part.

"Allen said 'If you can fit in the suit, you've got the job'."

Lost in Space was a space-age story about the Robinson family who were on a space mission when they became trapped in space.

The Robot was the Robinson family's loyal sidekick, warning them of approaching disaster at every turn, although May did not provide the voice to the character.

May went on to appear in numerous films with Jerry Lewis and in such TV shows as The Time Tunnel, McHale's Navy and The Red Skelton Show.

He and his wife lost their house in November when a wildfire destroyed their upscale mobile home park in the San Fernando Valley.

by GD Sun 25 Jan 2009, 6:22 pm

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Gutteridge was a well-respected figure in the world of boxing

Legendary boxing commentator and journalist Reg Gutteridge has died after a short illness aged 84.
An amateur boxer as a youngster, he turned to journalism after losing a leg when he stepped on a mine in Normandy during the Second World War.
He worked for the Evening News, in London, as its boxing correspondent for 40 years but made his name as ITV's voice of boxing before moving to Sky.
Awarded an OBE in 1995, Gutteridge also covered six Olympic Games.
Gutteridge, who lived in Barnet, died on Saturday. He leaves a wife, daughter and four grandsons.

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His daughter Sally said: "He was a much-loved husband, father and grandfather. He touched many lives."
In 2002 he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

by Thistle Sun 25 Jan 2009, 6:24 pm

they sure are dropping like flies recently.must be the cold weather.

by GD Thu 26 Feb 2009, 2:46 pm

Former EastEnders actress Wendy Richard has died aged 65, her agent has confirmed.
The star, who played Pauline Fowler in the BBC One soap opera, had been suffering from cancer.
Her agent Kevin Francis said: "She was incredibly brave and retained her sense of humour right to the end."
Last October, Richard revealed she had an aggressive, terminal form of cancer. Soon after that she married her long-term partner John Burns.
Planned funeral
Francis said the star passed away in the Harley Street Clinic in London with her husband by her side.
In an interview with the Sunday Express last year, Richard revealed she had already planned her funeral and written her will.
She discovered the disease had returned after her usual annual check-up, which revealed cancerous cells in her left armpit.

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THE CAREER OF WENDY RICHARD
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1965 Aged 22, joins the cast of soap The Newcomers
1970-73 Stars in four episodes of Dad's Army as Private Walker's girlfriend, Shirley
1972 Plays Miss Willing in Carry On Matron
1972-85 Stars as Miss Brahms in the series Are You Being Served? (pictured)
1985-2006 Appears in more than 1,400 episodes of EastEnders as Pauline Fowler
2008 Films her last TV role as Mrs Crump in Marple: A Pocket Full Of Rye

She told the paper: "Now I have a cancerous growth on my right kidney and the cancer has spread to my bones.
"It's more aggressive this time, unfortunately, and has spread to the top of my spine and left ribs."
Minder star Shane Ritchie, who played EastEnders' character Alfie Moon alongside Richard until 2005, said he was, "absolutely devastated" by news of her death.
"I send all my love to John and her immediate family," he added.
Mark Thompson, director general of the BBC, said: "Wendy Richard is going to be incredibly missed by the BBC and by our audiences."
Veteran actress, June Whitfield, added: "She was always delightful.
"I'm very, very sorry. I did not work with Wendy. We met at dos. It's very sad."
'Funny and witty'
Presenter Dale Winton had known Richard for years.
"I'm very saddened to hear the news, she was a real fighter and actually a very kind and funny lady in her own right," he said.
"My thoughts are with her family, she will be missed."
In 2000, Richard was awarded the MBE for services to television and in 2007 she was given a British Soap Award for Lifetime Achievement for her role in EastEnders.
As well as her 21 years on Albert Square, Richard starred in sitcoms Are You Being Served?, Dad's Army and Grace and Favour.
She joined EastEnders when the programme began in 1985 and remained in it until 2006, when her character died.
The reason she gave for her departure was because she objected to a storyline that saw her character remarry.
"I left because I wasn't happy," she revealed in 2008. "Also, I couldn't believe in what they wanted me to do and unless I can find some truth in what I am doing, I cannot play it.
"Pauline remarrying was wrong. Some women never remarry. My mother never remarried after Daddy died. I always had it in my heart that Arthur was Pauline's husband and that was that." (from BBC News)

by Thistle Thu 26 Feb 2009, 5:18 pm

i met and spoke to wendy richards many years ago when she was in guernsey.she was a lovely lady and will be sadly missed.rip wendy xx

by karma Thu 26 Feb 2009, 5:33 pm

She put up a good fight - Old Mr Grace would have been proud of her .....

by kiwis kitten Thu 26 Feb 2009, 6:13 pm

R.I P Wendy Richards...

by kingcolemk Thu 26 Feb 2009, 7:27 pm

I met her just once. In Woolworths checkout queue in................. Geurnsey of all places. I believe she used to spend quite a bit of time in the CI s.

by Chok Dee Ja Fri 27 Feb 2009, 3:05 am

R.I.P

by Dell Fri 27 Feb 2009, 5:57 pm

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A genuine lady of the small screen.

by GD Sun 08 Mar 2009, 9:52 pm

Magician Ali Bongo, who made numerous appearances on television, has died aged 79 after suffering a stroke.
Bongo - whose real name was William Wallace - also acted as a consultant on programmes including The Paul Daniels Magic Show and Jonathan Creek.
The BBC drama's creator David Renwick once said that Bongo's work had inspired its lead character.
He became president of The Magic Circle in September and had been giving a lecture in Paris when he fell ill.
Bongo's other screen appearances included 1970s children's shows Pauline's Quirkes and The Tomorrow People.
'Great entertainment'
He also fronted Ali Bongo's Cartoon Carnival, which ran for nine episodes on the BBC in 1971.
His ability to devise and demonstrate tricks led to to work with TV magicians including as assistant to David Nixon, and later with Paul Daniels as his chief consultant.
Bongo also worked with actors, teaching them how to replicate illusions on film, including the BBC's 1999 production of Oliver.
Bongo, who was born in India, also produced a number of books in which he illustrated how to perform magic tricks.
The magician said he was against exposing tricks on television, saying it ruined the fun for budding young illusionists.
"It's rather silly. That spoils it for a great many kids. If their tricks are exposed on TV, they can't show them to their friends.
"Magic is a great entertainment if done professionally and with style," he added.

by karma Sun 08 Mar 2009, 9:56 pm

R.I.P. Ali

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