Dean Webb obit

Legendary mandolin player Dean Webb dies at 81

He was not on the list.

A musician known for a fictional band on a beloved TV show died on Saturday, leaving behind a legacy of introducing bluegrass music to a wider audience.

Dean Webb was 81. Living in the Branson area, the Independence-born man was the mandolin player for the Dillards, a notable bluegrass band that landed a starring role on "The Andy Griffith Show."

Born in 1937, Webb grew up in a family of musicians, according to a report in BluegrassToday.com, and quickly learned the instrument so that he could play alongside his cousins.

Through the early '60s he played with the Ozark Mountain Boys and Lonnie Hoopers, according to the report, and performed regularly in concert and on television around Springfield and Joplin. In 1962, he joined with brothers Doug and Rodney Dillard and Mitch Jayne in Salem. The quartet became the Dillards, and after a long, cross-country trip in an old Cadillac, they found themselves ensconced in a folk-rock movement.

A chance advertisement in Variety led to the band performing on "The Andy Griffith Show," said Ronnie Ellis, a longtime friend of Webb's and a Kentucky statehouse reporter for CNHI.

"Variety put out a blurb about how the band signed a record contract, and Andy Griffith saw it," Ellis said. "He was looking at a script that called for hillbilly boys playing music, so he had them come by."

Webb was a virtuoso player, Ellis said. He wore the mandolin a little bit differently than most players, keeping the strap around a shoulder instead of looped around his neck, for a distinctive physical style.

"I heard someone say he held a mandolin like a machine gun," Ellis said. "He was lightning quick, incredibly fast, precise, clean and clear. That's the way he played. He had long fingers, so he didn't have to slide his arm up and down."

Performing as the Darlings, the band appeared in six episodes. The music recorded under the band's real name became much more influential, inspiring the likes of Don Henley, Ringo Starr and others, Ellis said. Webb's singing and arranging were used by the Byrds for their first hit, "Mr. Tambourine Man," and Webb is credited as the writer of "The Old Home Place," a bluegrass standard, according to the BluegrassToday.com report.

The band recorded 15 studio albums between 1963 and 2006. Most notable was 1968's "Wheatstraw Suite," an experimental album that broke all sorts of bluegrass rules with its orchestral arrangements, electric instruments and traditional rhythms, setting the stage for today's form of country rock. A song on that album, "The Biggest Whatever," features the voice of Joplin fiddler Howe Teague, Ellis said.

Robbie Knott obit

Special Effects Guru Robbie Knott Dies

 

He was not on the list.

Special effects guru Robbie Knott, died on June 29 in Portland, Oregon, from complications relating to a scuba diving accident that ended his career in 2006, his son Brian Knott told The Hollywood Reporter.

Robbie Knott, who was 73 years old at the time of his death, was best known for his work in special effects for "The Muppet Movie," "Donnie Darko" and "The Nutty Professor" reboot, according to IMDb.

Growing up near the Paramount lot in Hollywood, California, where his mother was an assistant to legendary costume designer Edith Head, Robbie Knott carved himself a career in film.

One of the first major films in which he worked for was "Repo Man" in 1984, which was followed by a string of other blockbusters including "Dances with Wolves" in 1990, "Dante's Peak" in 1997 and "Stuart Little 2" in 2002, The Hollywood Reporter said.

He also dabbled in television, working on programs such as NBC's "Remington Steele."

A 1979 article appearing in American Cinematographer magazine described him as a "new breed of special effects technician — youngish, with a quiet but vibrant enthusiasm for what he does and, more often than not, operating independently of any major studio affiliation."

Speaking to the publication shortly after wrapping up filming for "The Muppet Movie," Robbie Knott described what it was like building "the world's largest puppet."

He explained that crews "only built the head, collar, arms and hands, but it was a 15-foot head, a little larger than King Kong."

His career came to an abrupt end during a visit to Micronesia in 2006, when he suffered a scuba-diving accident after getting the bends, and became paralyzed from the waist down, The Hollywood Reporter noted.

Special Effects

For Your Consideration (2006)

For Your Consideration

6.3

special effects coordinator: The Effects Group

2006

 

Morgan Thompson in Red Riding Hood (2006)

Red Riding Hood

3.6

special effects coordinator

2006

 

Gina Gershon, Tom Skerritt, James Brolin, Shannen Doherty, Swoosie Kurtz, Randy Quaid, and Robert Wagner in Category 7: The End of the World (2005)

Category 7: The End of the World

4.5

TV Mini Series

special effects coordinator

2005

 

Annette Bening and Ben Kingsley in Mrs. Harris (2005)

Mrs. Harris

5.9

TV Movie

special effects coordinator (uncredited)

2005

 

Michael J. Fox in Stuart Little 2 (2002)

Stuart Little 2

5.5

special effects supervisor (as Robert L. Knott)

2002

 

The Deluge (2002)

The Deluge

6.2

Short

special effects supervisor

2002

 

John Hay in First Light (2002)

First Light

7.5

Short

special effects foreman

2002

 

Life as a House (2001)

Life as a House

7.4

special effects coordinator

2001

 

Drew Barrymore, Patrick Swayze, Mary McDonnell, Noah Wyle, Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, and Stuart Stone in Donnie Darko (2001)

Donnie Darko

8.0

special effects coordinator

2001

 

Atomic Train (1999)

Atomic Train

4.7

TV Mini Series

special effects coordinator (as Robbie Knot)

1999

2 episodes

 

Mary Stuart Masterson and Jena Malone in The Book of Stars (1999)

The Book of Stars

6.8

special effects coordinator

1999

 

Matthew McConaughey in Edtv (1999)

Edtv

6.1

special effects coordinator

1999

 

Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau in The Odd Couple II (1998)

The Odd Couple II

6.4

special effects coordinator (as Robert L. Knott)

1998

 

Howie Long in Firestorm (1998)

Firestorm

4.8

special effects technician: Los Angeles (as Robert Knott)

1998

 

Pierce Brosnan and Linda Hamilton in Dante's Peak (1997)

Dante's Peak

6.1

special effects foreman: second unit

1997

 

Countdown (1996)

Countdown

3.9

special effects

1996

 

Richard Dean Anderson, Jane Leeves, and Robert Guillaume in Pandora's Clock (1996)

Pandora's Clock

6.1

TV Mini Series

special effects coordinator

1996

2 episodes

 

Eddie Murphy in The Nutty Professor (1996)

The Nutty Professor

5.7

special effects

1996

 

Wil Horneff in Born to Be Wild (1995)

Born to Be Wild

5.2

special effects coordinator

1995

 

Whoopi Goldberg, Macaulay Culkin, Christopher Lloyd, Leonard Nimoy, Patrick Stewart, Jim Cummings, Phil Hartman, and Frank Welker in The Pagemaster (1994)

The Pagemaster

6.2

special effects coordinator: live action

1994

 

Cabin Boy (1994)

Cabin Boy

5.3

special effects coordinator (as Robert Knott)

1994

 

Lolita Davidovich and John Lithgow in Raising Cain (1992)

Raising Cain

6.1

special effects coordinator

1992

 

William Forsythe, Edward James Olmos, and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa in American Me (1992)

American Me

7.1

special effects coordinator

1992

 

Voyager (1991)

Voyager

6.7

special effects: USA

1991

 

Kevin Costner in Dances with Wolves (1990)

Dances with Wolves

8.0

chief special effects

1990

 

Kevin Costner in Field of Dreams (1989)

Field of Dreams

7.5

special effects

1989

 

Jeff Daniels in Checking Out (1988)

Checking Out

4.8

special effects coordinator

1988

 

Miracle Mile (1988)

Miracle Mile

7.0

special effects coordinator

1988

 

Journey to the Center of the Earth (1988)

Journey to the Center of the Earth

2.6

special effects coordinator

1988

 

Walt Disney in The Magical World of Disney (1954)

The Magical World of Disney

8.3

TV Series

special effects

1987–1988

2 episodes

 

In the Mood (1987)

In the Mood

6.0

special effects

1987

 

Circle of Violence: A Family Drama (1986)

Circle of Violence: A Family Drama

6.0

TV Movie

special effects

1986

 

Pierce Brosnan and Stephanie Zimbalist in Remington Steele (1982)

Remington Steele

7.3

TV Series

special effects

1983–1984

16 episodes

 

Emilio Estevez, Olivia Barash, and Harry Dean Stanton in Repo Man (1984)

Repo Man

6.8

special effects (as Robby Knott)

1984

 

Ultra Flesh

5.3

special effects (as Robbi Knott)

1980

 

Orson Welles, Steve Martin, Mel Brooks, James Coburn, Frank Oz, Milton Berle, Dom DeLuise, Elliott Gould, Jim Henson, Bob Hope, Madeline Kahn, Carol Kane, Cloris Leachman, Richard Pryor, Telly Savalas, Edgar Bergen, and Paul Williams in The Muppet Movie (1979)

The Muppet Movie

7.6

special effects

1979

 

The Dark (1979)

The Dark

4.2

special effects (as Robby Knott)

1979

 

The Triangle Factory Fire Scandal (1979)

The Triangle Factory Fire Scandal

6.9

TV Movie

special effects

1979

 

Night Cries (1978)

Night Cries

6.1

TV Movie

special effects (as Robby Knott)

1978

 

Halloween with the New Addams Family (1977)

Halloween with the New Addams Family

5.6

TV Movie

special effects coordinator

1977

 

Stunts

Leslie Nielsen and Nicollette Sheridan in Spy Hard (1996)

Spy Hard

5.3

stunts

1996

 

Additional Crew

Morgan Thompson in Red Riding Hood (2006)

Red Riding Hood

3.6

key effects coordinator

2006

 

Self

Jake Gyllenhaal in Donnie Darko (2001)

'Donnie Darko': Production Diary

7.1

Video

Self

2004

Liliane Montevecchi obit

Tony Award Winner Liliane Montevecchi Dies at 85

Montevecchi is best known to Broadway audiences for her acclaimed appearances in two Maury Yeston-Tommy Tune collaborations: Nine and Grand Hotel.

She was not on the list.

Tony winner Liliane Montevecchi—the Paris-born dancer, actor, and singer—passed away June 29 at her Manhattan home at the age of 85 following a battle with colon cancer, according to The New York Times.

Born October 13, 1932, the triple threat, who had a zest for life and the stage, started her ballet studies when she was nine; by the time she was 18 she had joined Roland Petit's dance company, Les Ballets de Paris, where she eventually became a prima ballerina.

By the mid-50s, Hollywood had beckoned, and Montevecchi became a contract player for MGM, appearing in such films as The Glass Slipper, Daddy Long Legs, Moonfleet, Meet Me in Las Vegas, The Living Idol, The Sad Sack, The Young Lions, and more. Montevecchi returned to dancing in 1964 when she joined the Folies-Bergère in Las Vegas. She spent nine years working with that troupe and the Paris company.

Although she had made her Broadway debut in 1958 in La Plume de Ma Tante and appeared in the 1964 musical revue Folies Bergère, Montevecchi's breakthrough role was playing producer Liliane La Fleur in Maury Yeston and Arthur Kopit's Nine, which was directed and choreographed by Tommy Tune and won the 1982 Tony Award for Best Musical. Montevecchi, who stopped the show with the appropriately titled “Folies Bergeres,” was also honored with the Tony for Best Featured Actress in a Musical—a category that included two of her Nine co-stars, Karen Akers and the late Anita Morris.

Montevecchi would return to Broadway one more time, in 1989 in Grand Hotel—another musical that featured a score by Yeston (half of the score was by Robert Wright and George Forrest) and direction and choreography by Tune. Montevecchi, who was cast as prima ballerina Elizaveta Grushinskaya, earned a Tony nomination for Best Actress in a Musical.

She also starred in the 1998 Broadway-aimed Paper Mill Playhouse production of Follies, appeared in concerts at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, and toured internationally with her semi-autobiographical shows On the Boulevard and Back on the Boulevards. She last appeared on the New York cabaret stage in 2016 at Feinstein's/54 Below.

Montevecchi took her first dance classes at 8 with Pierre Duprez, primo ballerino of the Opera in Paris, France. She entered the Conservatoire and completed her training of two years, with Jeanne Schwarz and Mathilde Kschessinska, on the stage of the Opéra Comique. She appeared for the first time on a stage at the Champs Elysées theater in a ballet by David Lichine. She then worked with Léonide Massine and danced in Monte Carlo for the coronation of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco in 1949. She also danced her first steps at the Casino de Paris with Jean Guélis.

Montevecchi began her international career as a prima ballerina in Roland Petit's dance company. She appeared in The Glass Slipper with Michael Wilding and Daddy Long Legs (with Fred Astaire), in both of which she was acting with leading lady Leslie Caron. In the mid-1950s, she was signed to a contract by MGM, which cast her in various roles in such films as Moonfleet with Stewart Granger and Meet Me in Las Vegas with Cyd Charisse and John Brascia. She then played in the Jerry Lewis vehicle The Sad Sack, King Creole with Elvis Presley, and The Young Lions with Montgomery Clift, Dean Martin and Marlon Brando. She knew Gene Kelly, Elizabeth Taylor and Clark Gable, and she took classes at the Actors Studio in New York.

Montevecchi replaced Colette Brosset in the 1958 Broadway revue La Plume de Ma Tante. After some television work in series such as Playhouse 90 and Adventures in Paradise at the end of the decade, Montevecchi opted to leave Hollywood for a star spot in the Folies Bergère in Las Vegas, toured with the company for nine years before appearing at the Folies Bergère in Paris from 1972 to 1978. In 1982, she drew the attention of critics and audiences for her performance in Nine, with Raúl Juliá, for which she won both the Tony and Drama Desk Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. Seven years later, she starred in Grand Hotel, earning a Tony nomination for Best Actress in a Musical.

On TV, she guest–starred in more than 20 shows. Montevecchi also appeared in the films Wall Street and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days with Matthew McConaughey. She appeared in concert at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center and toured internationally with her semi-autobiographical shows On the Boulevard and Back on the Boulevard. Her solo album On the Boulevard is available from Jay Records. She is featured in the recording of the 1985 concert version of Follies staged at Avery Fisher Hall, and she has starred in musicals such as Irma La Douce, Gigi and Hello Dolly!.

In 1998, she replaced Eartha Kitt as The Wicked Witch of The West in Radio City Entertainment's touring production of The Wizard of Oz, co-starring Mickey Rooney as The Wizard and Jessica Grové as Dorothy. She continued with the show until the spring of 1999 and was succeeded by Jo Anne Worley.

In 2001, Montevecchi appeared as Mistinguett at the Théâtre National de l’Opéra Comique in Paris.

In Seattle, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco, Montevecchi had a very successful turn as Madame ZinZanni at Teatro ZinZanni beginning with the production at its opening, with Frank Ferrante, Michael Davis (juggler), Les Castors, Dreya Weber, and Mat Plendl. She took part in the recording of the album The Divas with Joan Baez, Thelma Houston, Sally Kellerman, Christine Deaver, Debbie de Coudreaux, Francine Reed, Juliana Rambaldi and Kristin Clayton in 2006.

Montevecchi, who is survived by longtime companion Claudio Saponi, was honored by the French Minister of Culture in 2013 as an Officer of Arts and Culture to France and the world. She will be buried in a private ceremony in Paris; a New York memorial service is expected.

 

Filmography and roles

Montevecchi along with Sara García in The Living Idol (1957)

 

    Women of Paris (1953) as Une Femme de Paris (as Montevecchi)

    The Glass Slipper (1955) as Tehara

    Daddy Long Legs (1955) as College Girl (uncredited)

    Moonfleet (1955) (as Liliane Montevecchi of the Ballet de Paris) as Gypsy

    Meet Me in Las Vegas (1956) (a.k.a. Viva Las Vegas!) (UK) as Lilli

    The Living Idol (1957) (a.k.a. El Ídolo viviente) (Mexico) as Juanita

    The Sad Sack (1957) as Zita

    The Young Lions (1958) as Françoise

    King Creole (1958) as Forty Nina

    Me and the Colonel (1958) as Cosette

    77 Sunset Strip (1959, TV series) as Tosca

    Behind Closed Doors (1959, TV Series) as Marcella

    Playhouse 90 (1959, TV series) as Estrella / Carla

    Adventures in Paradise (1959, TV Series) as Therese Privaux

    The Tab Hunter Show (1960–1961, TV series) as Andrea / Maria

    Mr. Broadway (1964, TV series) as Vici

    T.H.E. Cat (1967, TV series) as Countess De Laurent

    It Takes a Thief (1969, TV Series) as Madame Tanya Varhos

    39° Gala de l'Union des Artistes at the cirque d'hiver in Paris (1972)

    La vie rêvée de Vincent Scotto (1973, TV movie) as Gay Deslys

    Musidora (1973, TV movie) as Musidora

    Au théâtre ce soir (1974, TV series) as Francine

    Chobizenesse (1975) (a.k.a. Show Business, English title) as Gigi Nietzsche

    Wall Street (1987) as Woman at 'Le Cirque'

    The Funny Face of Broadway (1997, documentary by Rémy Batteault)

    Of Penguins and Peacocks (2000, TV movie) as Sarah Bernhardt

    Mistinguett, la dernière revue (2001, TV movie) as Mistinguett

    An Evening with Rosanne Seaborn (2001, TV movie) as Mrs. Mannering

    L'Idole (2002) (a.k.a. The Idol, English title) as Nicole

    How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003) as Mrs. DeLauer

    Comment j'ai accepté ma place parmi les mortels (2008, short) as Mirna

    Jours de France (2016) (a.k.a. 4 Days in France, English title) as Judith Joubert (final film role)

 

Stage work

 

    La Croqueuse de Diamants (1952), Théâtre de l’Empire, Paris, France

    La Plume de Ma Tante, original Broadway production (1958), Broadway

    La Grosse Valse (1962-1963), Théâtre des Variétés, Paris, France as Nana

    Folies Bergère, original Broadway production (1964), Broadway

    Nine, original Broadway production (1982), Broadway as Liliane La Fleur

    Gotta Getaway! (1984) Radio City Music Hall, New York

    Irma La Douce (1986) with Robert Clary, Atlantic City

    Star Dust, concert reading (1987), New York

    On the Boulevard (1988), Kaufman Theatre, New York

    Nymph Errant, London concert revival (1989), West End, London, UK

    Grand Hotel, original Broadway production (1989), Broadway as Elizaveta Grushinskaya

    Grand Hotel, national tour (1992), US Tour

    Nine, London concert revival (1992), West End, London, UK as Liliane La Fleur

    Grand Hotel, London production (1992), West End, London, UK as Elizaveta Grushinskaya

    Hello, Dolly! (1995), Opéra Royal de Wallonie, Liège, Belgium

    Gigi (1996) with Gavin MacLeod, Paper Mill Playhouse, Millburn, New Jersey

    Back on the Boulevard (1996), Kaufman Theatre, New York

    Divorce Me, Darling!, Regional Revival (1997), UK

    Gigi (1998) with Gavin MacLeod, TX's Theatre Under the Stars, Houston, Texas

    Follies, Paper Mill Playhouse Revival (1998), Millburn, New Jersey as Solange Lafitte

    The Wizard of Oz, Radio City Entertainment's touring production (1999) as The Wicked Witch of the West

    Mistinguett, la dernière revue (2001), Opéra Comique, Paris, France as Mistinguett

    Love, Chaos and Dinner (2002-2003), Teatro ZinZanni, San Francisco, California as Madame ZinZanni

    The Boy Friend, regional revival (2003), UK as Madame Dubonnet

    Love, Chaos and Dinner (2007), Teatro ZinZanni, Seattle, Washington as Madame ZinZanni

    A La Folie! (2008) with Michael Davis (juggler), Teatro ZinZanni, San Francisco, California

    Back on the Boulevard (2009), Pizza on the Park, London, UK

    Bottega ZinZanni : All Dressed Up with Some Place to Go (2009), Teatro ZinZanni, Seattle, Washington as Dina Monte

    Majestic (2009) with Les Castors, Palazzo, Vienna, Austria

    From Broadway With Love (2010) with Kaye Ballard & Donna McKechnie, Lensic Theater, Santa Fe, New Mexico

    Tigerplast Varieté Show (2011), Tigerpalast, Frankfurt, Germany

    Bonsoir Liliane! (2011), Teatro ZinZanni, Seattle, Washington

    Doin' It For Love (2012) with Kaye Ballard & Lee Roy Reams, Austin, TX & Wilshire Ebell Theatre, Los Angeles, California

    Broadway Babes ONE NIGHT ONLY (2014) with Kaye Ballard & Donna McKechnie, Albuquerque, New Mexico

    Zazou (2014), The York Theatre, New York

    Tigerplast Varieté Show (2014), Tigerpalast, Frankfurt, Germany

    Paris on the Thames (2015), Brasserie Zédel, London, UK

    54 Sings Grand Hotel: The 25th Anniversary Concert (2015), Feinstein's/54 Below, New York as Elizaveta Grushinskaya

    An intimate evening with Liliane Montevecchi (2015), The Mansion Inn, Rock City Falls, New York

    Steve Ross on Broadway (2015), Birdland Jazz Club, New York

    A Classic Night: A Tribute to Liliane Montevecchi (2015), Alvin Ailey Theatre, New York

    Tigerplast Varieté Show (2015), Tigerpalast, Frankfurt, Germany

    Aller-Retour, musical review (2015), Vingtième Théâtre, Paris, France

    Concert les Funambules (2015), Sunset/Sunside, Paris, France

    Be My Valentine (2016), Feinstein's/54 Below, New York

    Liliane Montevecchi Live at Zédel (2016), Brasserie Zédel, London, UK

    Tigerplast Varieté Show (2016), Tigerpalast, Frankfurt, Germany

    Hotel l'Amour (2016) with Frank Ferrante, Teatro ZinZanni, Seattle, Washington

    Ziegfeld Follies of the Air: The New 1934 Live from Broadway Broadcast Revue (2017), Birdland Jazz Club, New York

    We'll Take a Glass Together: The Songs of Wright & Forrest from MGM to Grand Hotel (2017) with Karen Akers, Ida K. Lang Recital Hall at Hunter College, New York

    Francesca Capetta sings Dean Martin: A Centennial Celebration (2017), Carnegie Hall, New York

 

Other works

 

    The Hollywood Palace as Herself - Singer / ... (3 episodes, 1965–1966) - Episode #4.10 (1966) TV episode as Herself - Singer - Episode #3.19 (1966) TV episode as Herself - Singer/Dancer - Episode #2.29 (1965) TV episode as Herself - Singer/Dancer

    The 36th Annual Tony Awards (1982) (TV) as Herself - Winner : Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical

    The 37th Annual Tony Awards (1983) (TV) as Herself - Presenter

    Follies in Concert (1986) (TV) as Solange Lafitte

    The 44th Annual Tony Awards (1990) (TV) as Herself - Nominee: Best Actress in a Musical

    NBC's "The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson" with Jay Leno - Season 29 (1991) (TV) as Herself - Guest

    Tout le monde en parle as Herself (1 episode, dated 28 April 2001)

    Broadway The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There (2003) as Herself a.k.a. Broadway (USA: short title) a.k.a. Broadway: The Golden Age (USA: short title) a.k.a. Broadway: The Movie (USA: short title)

Steve Ditko obit

Steve Ditko, Spider-Man Co-Creator and Legendary Comics Artist, Dies at 90

Steve Ditko was the co-creator of Spider-Man and Doctor Strange. 

He was not on the list.

Artist Steve Ditko, who co-created Spider-Man and Doctor Strange with Stan Lee, has died. He was 90.

The New York Police Department confirmed his death to The Hollywood Reporter. Ditko was found dead in his apartment on June 29; no cause of death has yet been announced.

In 1961, Ditko and Lee created Spider-Man. Lee, the editor-in-chief at Marvel Comics, gave Ditko the assignment after he wasn’t satisfied with Jack Kirby’s take on the idea of a teen superhero with spider powers. The look of Spider-Man — the costume, the web-shooters, the red and blue design — all came from Ditko. Spider-Man first appeared in Amazing Fantasy No. 15. The comic was an unexpected hit, and the character was spun off into The Amazing Spider-Man. Ditko helped create such classic Spider-Man characters as Doctor Octopus, Sandman, the Lizard and Green Goblin. Starting with issue No. 25, Ditko received a plot credit in addition to his artist credit. Ditko’s run ended with issue No. 38.

In 1963, Ditko created the surreal and psychedelic hero Doctor Strange. The character debuted in Strange Tales No. 110, and Ditko continued on the comic through issue No. 146, cover dated July 1966.

After that, Ditko left Marvel Comics over a fight with Lee, the causes of which have always remained murky. The pair had not been on speaking terms for several years. Ditko never explained his side, and Lee claimed not to really know what motivated Ditko’s exit. The best explanation suggests Ditko was frustrated at Lee’s oversight and his failure to properly share credit for Ditko’s contributions to Spider-Man and Doctor Strange. The charismatic Lee was always the face of Marvel Comics, but Ditko (and Jack Kirby) thought Lee was more interested in self-promotion than selling the company, and, in the process, implied that he deserved the lion’s share of the credit for creating the characters in the Marvel Universe.

Ditko went on to work for Charlton, DC Comics and other small independent publishers. He returned to Marvel in 1979, where he worked on Machine Man and the Micronauts, and he continued working for them as a freelancer in the 1990s. Among his last creations was Squirrel Girl in 1992, who has become a cult favorite in recent years.

After his work at Marvel, Ditko is probably best known for creating Mr. A in 1967. The character embodied Ayn Rand’s objectivist philosophy, in which Ditko was an ardent believer from the mid-1960s on. Other objectivist-inspired characters Ditko created included The Question, Hawk and Dove and the Creeper — all for DC Comics.

The reclusive Ditko was known as the “J.D. Salinger” of comics. From the 1970s on, he rarely spoke on the record, declining almost every interview request. He sat out the publicity booms that accompanied the Spider-Man films and the Doctor Strange movie.

“We didn’t approach him. He’s like J.D. Salinger. He is private and has intentionally stayed out of the spotlight like J.D. Salinger,” Doctor Strange director Scott Derrickson told THR in 2016. “I hope he goes to see the movie, wherever he is, because I think we paid homage to his work.”

Tom Holland, who has played Spider-Man in three movies since 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, on Saturday remembered Ditko on Twitter, writing, “We all want to leave our mark on the world – this guy crushed it. He made so many people so happy and changed lives – most of all, mine! Thank you Steve – your life lives on man, thank you.”

Ditko was inducted into the comics industry's Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1990 and into the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame in 1994. He will be posthumously honored as a Disney Legend in 2024.

In a statement, Marvel chief creative officer Joe Quesada said, “Only a small group of individuals can claim that they have affected and redefined not just an industry, but popular culture worldwide. Steve Ditko was one of those few who dared to break molds every time his pencil and pen hit a blank sheet of paper. In his lifetime he blessed us with gorgeous art, fantastical stories, heroic characters and a mystical persona worthy of some of his greatest creations. And much like his greatest co-creation, Steve Ditko’s legend and influence will outlive us all.”

Added Marvel president Dan Buckley, “The Marvel family mourns the loss of Steve Ditko.”

Derrickson, director Guillermo Del Toro, author Neil Gaiman and filmmaker Edgar Wright also paid tribute on Twitter upon learning news of Ditko’s death.

Wright tweeted that Ditko was “influential on countless planes of existence” and “his work will never be forgotten.”

Gaiman wrote, “I know I’m a different person because he was in the world.”

Del Toro shared an iconic cover to Amazing Spider-Man No. 33, which last year’s Spider-Man: Homecoming paid homage to. The filmmaker called it “Peak Ditko.”

Ditko maintained a Manhattan studio until his death, where he continued to write and draw, though how much and what unpublished material remains is unknown.

Comic book creator Graig Weich of BeyondComics.TV struck up a friendship with Ditko over the last year of his life and would visit him in his Manhattan office, where he’d find the legendary creator well-dressed and sporting a beret, as though he had stepped out of the 1940s. Ditko continued to work on his own creations, though he didn’t share the details of them with Weich, who recalls Ditko seeming younger than his years.

“He wasn’t 90. He seemed like a young, cool artist who happened to have an aged body,” Weich tells THR. Weich recalls asking Ditko about his relationship with Lee, and says the artist looked down and told him, “We’re peaceful.”

Weich learned of Ditko’s death when he went to visit him again and the security guard informed him of the artist’s passing. The security guard also told him that Weich was one of the few people over the past four years the artist had allowed up into his office.

Stephen J. Ditko was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, on Nov. 2, 1927. His father worked at a steel mill and his mother was a homemaker. He developed an interest in comics from his father, who loved Prince Valiant, and from the characters Batman and The Spirit, which both debuted as he entered his teens.

After graduating high school, Ditko served in the Army in post-war Germany, drawing for a military paper. Once discharged, he moved to New York City in 1950 and studied under Batman artist Jerry Robinson at the Cartoonists and Illustrators School (later the School of Visual Arts).

By 1953, Ditko was getting work as a professional comics artist, including at the studio of Captain America creators Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. Ditko came down with tuberculosis in 1954 and spent the next year recovering in Johnstown. He began drawing for Marvel Comics forerunner Atlas Comics in 1955. He had a successful collaboration with Stan Lee at first, as the pair worked on a number of science fiction stories together.

Ditko is survived by his brother and a nephew. He is believed never to have married.

Harlan Ellison obit

Controversial Science Fiction Writer Harlan Ellison Passes Away At 84

 

He was not on the list.

One of the most famous and controversial authors in the field of science fiction, Harlan Ellison passed away in his sleep last night at the age of 84.  News of his passing was conveyed via Twitter by family friend Christine Valada (the widow of Marvel Comics’ Len Wein), at the behest of Ellison’s widow Susan.

Throughout his career, Ellison was famous for his writing, but perhaps more so for his temper which led to several controversies over the years.  One of his own book dust jackets described him as “possibly the most contentious person on Earth.” He was expelled from Ohio State University after throwing a punch at a professor.

He filed or attempted to file numerous lawsuits against those he perceived to have wronged him and engaged in very public feuds, including one with Gene Roddenberry over the script Ellison wrote for the 1967 ‘Star Trek’ episode ‘The City on the Edge of Forever‘, which Roddenberry heavily modified.  Ellison’s original script, however, won a Writer’s Guild award, while Roddenberry’s rewritten “shooting script” won a Hugo Award.  In 2009, Ellison filed a lawsuit against CBS Paramount Television over the decades-old episode, which was settled out of court.

He also filed suits against ABC and Paramount over the 1977 TV series ‘Future Cop’ and James Cameron over the original ‘Terminator’, claiming that the concept borrowed heavily from his work on ‘The Outer Limits’.

British science fiction author Christopher Priest wrote an article lambasting Ellison, which was actually expanded into a full book.  He was hired to turn Isaac Asimov’s ‘I, Robot’ into a film script, which was never produced after Ellison got into a feud with a Warner Brothers executive.  (The 2004 Will Smith ‘I, Robot’ film did not use any of Ellison’s work.)

At one point, he was hired by Walt Disney Studios but fired on his first day when Roy Disney heard him describe a desire to make an animated porno using Disney characters.  And there were many more instances of verbal disagreements, physical assault, and sexual misconduct.

As for his work, among his best known printed works were his first novel, ‘Web of the City’, published in 1959, the novellas ‘Mefisto in Onyx’ and ‘A Boy and his Dog’, the latter of which was made into a movie starring Don Johnson in 1975, and the short story ‘I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream’, which he helped turn into a video game in 1995.  Stephen King famously cited Ellison’s collection ‘Strange Wine’ as the best horror collection published between 1950-80.

Over the course of his career, Ellison won eight and a half Hugo Awards (the “half” being a shared award for the screenplay for ‘A Boy and his Dog’), four Nebula Awards (sci-fi and fantasy), five Bram Stoker Awards (horror), two Edgar Awards (mystery), two World Fantasy Awards and two Georges Méliès fantasy film awards, plus many more.

He co-wrote the screenplay for the 1966 film ‘The Oscar’ and contributed scripts to TV series such as ‘Route 66’, ‘The Outer Limits’, ‘The Man from U.N.C.L.E.’, ‘The Alfred Hitchcock Hour’ and ‘The Flying Nun’ although in the case of the last, he reportedly only agreed to write the script in hopes of shagging star Sally Field.

Much later, he worked as a creative consultant on the 1980s reboot of ‘The Twilight Zone’ and ‘Babylon 5’.  He appeared on ‘Babylon 5’ and provided voice work for a number of animated series.  Most recently, he appeared as a fictionalized version of himself on two episodes of ‘Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated’.

 

On a personal level, he was married five times, but never had children.

 

Harlan Jay Ellison

 

May 27, 1934 – June 27, 2018)

 

Additional Crew

Babylon 5: A Call to Arms (1999)

Babylon 5: A Call to Arms

7.1

TV Movie

conceptual consultant

1999

 

Bruce Boxleitner, Mira Furlan, Richard Biggs, Jerry Doyle, and Andreas Katsulas in Babylon 5 (1993)

Babylon 5

8.4

TV Series

conceptual consultant

consultant

1993–1998

111 episodes

 

Martin Sheen in Babylon 5: The River of Souls (1998)

Babylon 5: The River of Souls

6.5

TV Movie

conceptual consultant

1998

 

Bruce Boxleitner, Shari Belafonte, and Claudia Christian in Babylon 5: Thirdspace (1998)

Babylon 5: Thirdspace

6.8

TV Movie

conceptual consultant

1998

 

Bruce Boxleitner, Mira Furlan, and Andreas Katsulas in Babylon 5: In the Beginning (1998)

Babylon 5: In the Beginning

7.7

TV Movie

conceptual consultant

1998

 

The Twilight Zone (1985)

The Twilight Zone

7.7

TV Series

creative consultant

1985–1986

24 episodes

 

The Sixth Sense (1972)

The Sixth Sense

7.1

TV Series

story editor

1972

4 episodes

 

Writer

A Boy and His Dog

novel "A Boy and His Dog"

Pre-production

 

Love, Death & Robots (2019)

Love, Death & Robots

8.4

TV Series

based on the short story written by

2021

1 episode

 

Anne Heche, Sean Astin, James Cromwell, John Hurt, Malcolm McDowell, Judy Davis, Brian Dennehy, Sam Waterston, Clifton Collins Jr., James Denton, Stephen Hawking, Terry O'Quinn, and Elisabeth Röhm in Masters of Science Fiction (2007)

Masters of Science Fiction

6.7

TV Series

based on the short story by

teleplay by

2007

1 episode

 

The Outer Limits (1995)

The Outer Limits

7.7

TV Series

"The Human Operators" based on the short story by

based on the short story by

1999–2002

2 episodes

 

Bruce Boxleitner, Mira Furlan, Richard Biggs, Jerry Doyle, and Andreas Katsulas in Babylon 5 (1993)

Babylon 5

8.4

TV Series

story by

1998

2 episodes

 

Silver Surfer (1998)

Silver Surfer

7.1

TV Series

story

1998

1 episode

 

The Hunger (1997)

The Hunger

6.2

TV Series

story by

written by (as Cordwainer Bird)

1998

2 episodes

 

I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream (1995)

I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream

8.2

Video Game

design, dialog and story

short story "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream"

1995

 

Cadillacs and Dinosaurs (1993)

Cadillacs and Dinosaurs

7.0

TV Series

story by

1994

1 episode

 

Try a Dull Knife (1992)

Try a Dull Knife

story

1992

 

The Twilight Zone (1985)

The Twilight Zone

7.7

TV Series

written by

teleplay by

from a short story by ...

1985–1989

5 episodes

 

Tales from the Darkside (1983)

Tales from the Darkside

7.4

TV Series

based upon a story by

1985

1 episode

 

The Starlost: Deception (1980)

The Starlost: Deception

5.5

TV Movie

creator (as Cordwainer Bird)

1980

 

Keir Dullea, Gay Rowan, and Robin Ward in The Starlost: The Beginning (1980)

The Starlost: The Beginning

6.0

TV Movie

Writer (as Cordwainer Bird)

1980

 

Jackpot (1980)

Jackpot

story

1980

 

Gregory Harrison and Heather Menzies-Urich in Logan's Run (1977)

Logan's Run

7.1

TV Series

story

1977

1 episode

 

Don Johnson and Tiger in A Boy and His Dog (1975)

A Boy and His Dog

6.4

novella

1975

 

The Starlost (1973)

The Starlost

6.2

TV Series

creator

written by (as Cordwainer Bird)

1973–1974

16 episodes

 

Circle of Fear (1972)

Circle of Fear

7.5

TV Series

story

1973

1 episode

 

The Young Lawyers (1969)

The Young Lawyers

7.3

TV Series

written by

1971

1 episode

 

Sally Field in The Flying Nun (1967)

The Flying Nun

6.5

TV Series

written by (as Cordwainer Bird)

1968

1 episode

 

Stuart Whitman in Cimarron Strip (1967)

Cimarron Strip

7.1

TV Series

written by

1968

1 episode

 

Walter Koenig, Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner, James Doohan, DeForest Kelley, George Takei, and Nichelle Nichols in Star Trek (1966)

Star Trek

8.4

TV Series

written by

1967

1 episode

 

Robert Vaughn, Leo G. Carroll, and David McCallum in The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964)

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

7.7

TV Series

story by

teleplay by

writer

1966–1967

2 episodes

 

Ernest Borgnine, Stephen Boyd, Joseph Cotten, Jill St. John, Tony Bennett, Edie Adams, Eleanor Parker, and Elke Sommer in The Oscar (1966)

The Oscar

5.2

screenplay

1966

 

Historias para no dormir (1966)

Historias para no dormir

7.9

TV Series

Writer (uncredited)

1966

1 episode

 

Alfred Hitchcock in The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1962)

The Alfred Hitchcock Hour

8.5

TV Series

story and teleplay

1964

1 episode

 

The Outer Limits (1963)

The Outer Limits

8.2

TV Series

written by

1964

2 episodes

 

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1964)

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea

7.2

TV Series

written by (as Cord Wainer Bird)

1964

1 episode

 

Burke's Law (1963)

Burke's Law

7.3

TV Series

written by

1963–1964

4 episodes

 

Ripcord (1961)

Ripcord

7.4

TV Series

written by

1963

1 episode

 

George Maharis and Martin Milner in Route 66 (1960)

Route 66

7.7

TV Series

based on a story by

1963

1 episode

 

Actor

NPRmageddon (2023)

NPRmageddon

Podcast Series

Old Man Stimson

2023

7 episodes

 

Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Dan Castellaneta, and Yeardley Smith in The Simpsons (1989)

The Simpsons

8.7

TV Series

Harlan Ellison (voice)

2014

1 episode

 

Matthew Lillard, Mindy Cohn, Grey Griffin, and Frank Welker in Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated (2010)

Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated

8.1

TV Series

Harlan Ellison (voice)

2013

1 episode

 

The Delivery (2008)

The Delivery

Short

Dan

White Rabbit

2008

 

Anne Heche, Sean Astin, James Cromwell, John Hurt, Malcolm McDowell, Judy Davis, Brian Dennehy, Sam Waterston, Clifton Collins Jr., James Denton, Stephen Hawking, Terry O'Quinn, and Elisabeth Röhm in Masters of Science Fiction (2007)

Masters of Science Fiction

6.7

TV Series

Nate

2007

1 episode

 

PSI Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal (1996)

PSI Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal

7.1

TV Series

Grifter

1999

1 episode

 

Bruce Boxleitner, Mira Furlan, Richard Biggs, Jerry Doyle, and Andreas Katsulas in Babylon 5 (1993)

Babylon 5

8.4

TV Series

Zooty

Psi Cop

Sparky the Computer

1996–1998

3 episodes

 

I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream (1995)

I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream

8.2

Video Game

AM (voice)

1995

 

The Pirates of Dark Water (1991)

The Pirates of Dark Water

8.3

TV Series

(voice)

1992–1993

8 episodes

 

The Godson (1971)

The Godson

4.2

Guy with Barbara and Brunette (uncredited)

1971