Ana Ofelia Murguía obit

Disney’s Coco star Ana Ofelia Murguia dies aged 90

 

She was not on the list.

Disney star Ana Ofelia Murguia has died at the age of 90.

The actress was most known for her role as Mama Coco in 2017 flick Coco, as well as other big screen roles.

The National Theater Company of Mexico confirmed the sad news on Twitter.

‘Today our dearest companion Ana Ofelia Murguía, one of the greatest actresses that Mexico has ever had, left,’ the translated post read.

‘The members of the CNT celebrate her incredible life on stage and send our love to her family and friends.’

Murguia’s cause of death has not yet been confirmed.

The Mexican-born actress boasted a huge career on the big screen across many decades, with roles in 1994 flick The Queen of the Night.

She also appeared in 1995 movie Nobody Will Speak Of Us When We’re Dead.

Despite countless credits over the years, she is best known for her voice role in beloved Disney Pixar movie Coco, playing Mama Coco, beside Anthony Gonzalez, Benjamin Bratt, Alanna Ubach and Gabriel Iglesias.

After playing the musician’s old guitar, Miguel is plunged into the dark and magical world of the Dia De Los Muertos festival — the Day of the Dead – and embarks on a wild chain of events.

Over the course of her career, Murguia landed five nominations for the coveted Ariel Award for best actress, while also winning three best supporting actress trophies.

Tributes poured in for the late star on social media.

A message from the National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature translated into: ‘With deep sadness we regret the sensitive death of the leading actress Ana Ofelia Murguía, who was part of the stable cast of the @CNTeatromx of #INBAL and whose artistic career was vital for the performing arts of Mexico.

‘We send condolences and lovingly hug her family and friends.’

 

 

John Pilger obit

John Pilger, Australia-Born Journalist and Documentary Filmmaker, Dies at 84

He won an International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences award for his 1979 film 'Year Zero: The Silent Death Of Cambodia,' which revealed the extent of the Khmer Rouge's atrocities. 

He was not on the list.

John Pilger, an Australia-born journalist and documentary filmmaker known for his coverage of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, has died, his family said Sunday. He was 84.

A statement from his family, posted on X, formerly Twitter, said Pilger died on Saturday in London.

“His journalism and documentaries were celebrated around the world, but to his family he was simply the most amazing and loved dad, grandad and partner,” the statement said.

Pilger, who has been based in Britain since 1962, worked for Britain’s left-leaning Daily Mirror newspaper, broadcaster ITV’s investigative program World In Action and for the Reuters news agency.

He won an International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences award for his 1979 film Year Zero: The Silent Death Of Cambodia, which revealed the extent of the Khmer Rouge’s atrocities. He followed that with a 1990 documentary titled Cambodia: The Betrayal, which examined international complicity in the Khmer Rouge remaining a threat.

He also won acclaim for a 1974 documentary looking into the campaign for compensation for children after concerns were raised about birth defects when expectant mothers took the drug Thalidomide.

Pilger was known for his opposition to American and British foreign policy, and he was also highly critical of Australia’s treatment of its Indigenous population.

In more recent years, he campaigned for the release of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who has fought a lengthy battle against extradition to the United States.

Kevin Lygo, managing director of media and entertainment at ITV, described Pilger as “a giant of campaigning journalism” who offered viewers a level of analysis and opinion that was rare in mainstream television.”

He had a clear, distinctive editorial voice which he used to great effect throughout his distinguished filmmaking career. His documentaries were engaging, challenging and always very watchable,” Lygo said.

“He eschewed comfortable consensus and instead offered a radical, alternative approach on current affairs and a platform for dissenting voices over 50 years,” he added.

Cale Yarborough - # 317

Cale Yarborough, three-time NASCAR champion in '70s, dies at 84

 

He was number 317 on the list.

Cale Yarborough, considered one of NASCAR's all-time greatest drivers and the first to win three consecutive Cup titles, died Sunday at the age of 84.

Yarborough's crowning achievements include four Daytona 500 victories and five Southern 500 wins at his home track of Darlington Raceway.

His championships in 1976, 1977 and 1978 made him the only driver to win three straight NASCAR titles until Jimmie Johnson's run of five in a row from 2006 to 2010. Yarborough and Johnson are tied on NASCAR's career wins list with 83.

"Cale Yarborough was one of the toughest competitors NASCAR has ever seen," NASCAR chairman and CEO Jim France said in a statement. "His combination of talent, grit and determination separated Cale from his peers, both on the track and in the record book. He was respected and admired by competitors and fans alike and was as comfortable behind the wheel of a tractor as he was behind the wheel of a stock car. On behalf of the France family and NASCAR, I offer my deepest condolences to the family and friends of Cale Yarborough."

Johnson honored his "childhood hero" in a post on social media, saying "the legacy of Cale Yarborough will forever live on."

Cale Yarborough was my childhood hero. What an honor to be tied with the legend for 83 Cup series wins. He was "the man" and the legacy of Cale Yarborough will forever live on. My deepest condolences to Cale's family. pic.twitter.com/xcikjl2pu6

— Jimmie Johnson (@JimmieJohnson) December 31, 2023

Yarborough competed in NASCAR's top series for more than four decades, making his debut in the 1957 Southern 500 and closing his career in Atlanta in 1988. He won his final race in Charlotte in 1985 and had 319 career top-10 finishes and 69 pole positions. A three-time Driver of the Year award winner, Yarborough was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2012.

But one of his most famous moments came in the 1979 Daytona 500, the first to be televised live flag to flag across the country. Yarborough crashed while racing with Donnie Allison on the final lap for the win. The two drivers got out of their wrecked cars to fight, Allison's brother, Bobby, pulled over to join the scrap, and it was two Allison brothers versus Yarborough as Richard Petty crossed the finish line first.

It was a breakthrough moment for NASCAR, which because of a snowstorm on the East Coast was being shown on live television to its largest audience ever.

Yarborough quit full-time racing after winning six races in 1980 and finishing second in the Cup standings. He said at the time it was to spend more time with his three daughters. During his NASCAR Hall of Fame induction speech, Yarborough said he felt he had completed his journey from the bottom rung of the ladder to the top.

"I sure hoped I was going to get to this point because working in the back of the fields in that hot sun would make you want to do something else," he said. "I always dreamed of ... ending up where I have ended up tonight."

Yarborough also competed in open-wheel racing, including four appearances in the Indianapolis 500 with a best finish of 10th in 1972.

William Caleb "Cale" Yarborough was born March 27, 1939, to a tobacco farmer, in the tiny community of Sardis, just on the outskirts of Timmonsville, South Carolina. The oldest of three boys, Yarborough was 10 years old when his father died in a plane crash.

A star athlete during high school, Yarborough went on to play semipro football for four seasons and was a Golden Gloves boxer for a period before turning to racing.

After retiring for good in 1988, he owned Cale Yarborough Motorsports, which competed in the Cup Series until 2000, as well as several agricultural businesses and a used car dealership.

Yarborough is survived by his wife, Betty Jo, whom he married in 1961, and daughters Julie, Kelley and B.J.

Shecky Green obit

Comic legend Shecky Greene dies at 97

 

He was not on the list.

Shecky Greene, the legendary standup comedian known for his long tenure as a Las Vegas headliner and for working with Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley, died Dec. 31 at his home in the city. He was 97.

Greene’s wife of 41 years, Marie Musso Greene, confirmed his death to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Greene was a regular on the TV talk show and guest star circuit in his 1960s and ’70s heyday, when he often sported a comb-over haircut and wide-lapel suits. Earlier in his career, he came to represent the epitome of the Rat Pack-adjacent comedian in a tux, delivering lightly risque or edgy anecdotal stories and zingers on stage.

Greene was known for his many appearances on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” and for working as the opening act for Sinatra in Miami and Presley in Las Vegas. During the 1962-63 season, he played a recurring character on the World War II-set ABC drama “Combat.” His other TV appearances included “Love, American Style,” “The Love Boat,” “Fantasy Island,” “Laverne & Shirley,” “The Fall Guy,” “The A-Team,” “Trapper John, MD,” “Roseanne” and “Mad About You.” His prominent film roles include “Splash,” Mel Brooks’ “History of the World: Part I” and “Tony Rome.”

He guested on more than 60 episodes of “The Tonight Show,” including several outings as a guest host replacement for Carson. He also made a 1957 appearance on the show during Jack Paar’s run behind the desk. Greene also co-hosted and guest hosted “The Mike Douglas Show” and “The Merv Griffin Show.” He was a regular on game shows and variety shows ranging from “Tattletales,” “Hollywood Squares” and “Match Game” to “The Dean Martin Show” and “The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour.”

Greene hailed from the Chicago area. He served in the Navy during World War II, and got his start as a comedian in Milwaukee while attending college, according to Greene’s official website. Martha Raye recruited him to her nightclub in Miami. He later returned to Chicago to work the famed Chez Paree nightclub.

Greene’s time with Sinatra inspired one of the comedian’s most oft-repeated jokes, playing on Sinatra’s reputation as a tough guy. “Frank Sinatra once saved my life,” Greene quipped. “A bunch of guys were beating on me and Frank said, ‘OK, that’s enough.’ ” (According to ABC News, “Sinatra wasn’t actually there, but the beatdown was real.”)

Later in his career, Greene struggled publicly with mental health and substance abuse problems. In 1968, he famously drove his Oldsmobile into one of the fountains outside Caesars Palace and admitted he was drunk at the time.

In the 1990s, Greene made a comeback after a long period of inactivity due to chronic depression, recalls Tony Angellotti, a longtime friend and former PR representative. “He came back roaring, filled the Wiltern Theater [in Los Angeles] on two nights and was invited by Jay Leno onto ‘The Tonight Show’ as a result. He started working after that regularly,” Angellotti told Variety.

Greene had lived in Las Vegas since the 1950s. His long association with Sin City began in 1954 when he performed on the bill with singer Dorothy Shay at the New Frontier casino, according to the Review-Journal. His last performances in the city were in 2011, per the newspaper.

Greene was renowned among comedians for his ability to work without a net or script.

“The many times I was with him I was struck by two things — he never wrote down a joke, never bought a joke, just conjured them, remembered them and performed them,” said Angellotti, who now heads the Angellotti Co. public relations firm. “He loved to entertain. It didn’t matter. He’d call my mother up and sing some made up on the spot song and hang up. He’d take a birthday cake we bought him and put red frosting on his nose to make my young son laugh. He lived to make and hear people laugh. It’s a gift he gave all of us.”

In 1978, Greene took out a full-page ad in weekly Variety to celebrate the signing of a rich new contract with Las Vegas’ Sands Hotel and Casino. “It has taken me 30 years of trial and error, triumphs and failures, good fortune and adversities to finally reach the apex of the first love of my profession — night clubs,” he wrote.

In addition to his wife, Greene’s survivors include five adult children.

 

Actor

Brian Unger in Hollywood Off-Ramp (2000)

Hollywood Off-Ramp

4.5

TV Series

2000

1 episode

 

Lauren Holly, Burt Reynolds, and Benjamin Bratt in The Last Producer (2000)

The Last Producer

4.6

Poker Player (as Shecky Green)

2000

 

Beverly Hills Pizza Girls

6.0

Video

Max

1997

 

Helen Hunt and Paul Reiser in Mad About You (1992)

Mad About You

6.8

TV Series

Uncle Marty

1997

1 episode

 

John Goodman, Roseanne Barr, Sara Gilbert, Michael Fishman, Alicia Goranson, and Laurie Metcalf in Roseanne (1988)

Roseanne

7.0

TV Series

Uncle Sol

1995

1 episode

 

Jerry Orbach and Barbara Babcock in The Law and Harry McGraw (1987)

The Law and Harry McGraw

7.5

TV Series

Siggy Dreyfuss

1987

1 episode

 

Pernell Roberts in Trapper John, M.D. (1979)

Trapper John, M.D.

6.6

TV Series

Mickey O'Bannion

1986

1 episode

 

George Peppard, Mr. T, Dirk Benedict, and Dwight Schultz in The A-Team (1983)

The A-Team

7.5

TV Series

Shecky Greene

1986

1 episode

 

Lovelines (1984)

Lovelines

5.2

Master of Ceremonies

1984

 

Splash (1984)

Splash

6.3

Mr. Buyrite

1984

 

The Fall Guy (1981)

The Fall Guy

7.1

TV Series

Lou Carnesco

1982–1983

2 episodes

 

Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams in Laverne & Shirley (1976)

Laverne & Shirley

7.0

TV Series

Clayton Pike

1983

1 episode

 

History of the World: Part I (1981)

History of the World: Part I

6.8

Marcus Vindictus

1981

 

Midnight Lace (1981)

Midnight Lace

5.5

TV Movie

Lieutenant Sam Ackerman

1981

 

Ricardo Montalban and Hervé Villechaize in Fantasy Island (1977)

Fantasy Island

6.6

TV Series

Roger Fox

1981

1 episode

 

Fred Grandy, Bernie Kopell, Ted Lange, Gavin MacLeod, and Lauren Tewes in The Love Boat (1977)

The Love Boat

6.3

TV Series

Paul Baynes

1977

1 episode

 

Bruce Dern, Madeline Kahn, Art Carney, and Augustus von Schumacher in Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976)

Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood

4.8

Tourist

1976

 

Love, American Style (1969)

Love, American Style

6.8

TV Series

Eugene (segment "Love and the New You")

Dr. Sigmund (segment "Love and the Fighting Couple")

1970–1972

2 episodes

 

The Love Machine (1971)

The Love Machine

4.8

Christie Lane

1971

 

The Dean Martin Show (1965)

The Dean Martin Show

8.1

TV Series

1969

1 episode

 

Frank Sinatra and Deanna Lund in Tony Rome (1967)

Tony Rome

6.5

Catleg

1967

 

Kelly's Kingdom

TV Movie

1966

 

Combat! (1962)

Combat!

8.4

TV Series

Braddock

1962–1963

8 episodes

 

Craig Hill and Kenneth Tobey in Whirlybirds (1957)

Whirlybirds

7.8

TV Series

Ferguson

1959

1 episode

 

The NBC Comedy Hour (1956)

The NBC Comedy Hour

7.9

TV Series

Minor Role

1956

1 episode

 

Additional Crew

Northern Exposure (1990)

Northern Exposure

8.4

TV Series

special material courtesy of

1994

1 episode

Eddie Bernice Johnson obit

Former U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, Black Democratic trailblazer, dies at 88

Johnson, the first Black woman elected to any seat in Dallas and the first Black Dallasite to serve in Congress, was a towering figure in Texas politics. 

She was not on the list.

Retired U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson has died, her family said Sunday on social media. She was 88.

 

A towering Dallas political figure — once a nurse, state legislator and congresswoman — Johnson was the dean of the Texas Congressional delegation before retiring from office in 2022. She proved effective at her work due to her long tenure serving in the U.S. House — nearly 30 years at the time of her passing — and a pragmatist streak that made her open to working with Republicans.

 

"I am heartbroken to share the news that my mother, Eddie Bernice Johnson, has passed away," Johnson's son, Kirk Johnson, wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday. "She was a remarkable and loving mother, mother-in-law, grandmother and great grandmother, as well as a trailblazer and public servant. While we mourn the loss of an extraordinary woman, we celebrate her life and legacy."

 

Born in Waco on Dec. 3, 1935, Johnson became one of the most powerful Texas Democrats in recent memory to serve on Capitol Hill. She was the lone Texas-based committee chair in either chamber when she became the chair of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee.

 

She broke many glass ceilings: she was the first Black woman elected to any seat in Dallas, she was the first nurse and Black Dallasite to serve in Congress, and she was only the third Texas woman — behind Lera Thomas and Barbara Jordan, both from Houston — to represent the state in the U.S. House.

 

Funeral services are pending, the family said.

 

“I am stunned and saddened to learn of the passing of my dear friend, Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson,” Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson wrote on X Sunday morning. “Congresswoman Johnson was a groundbreaking leader for this country and for our state and city, and there really are no words to express my profound sense of grief and loss at the passing of this legendary American.”

 

Johnson’s ascent

Johnson said her first introduction to a career in fighting racial injustice came when she was in elementary school. That’s when she met Doris “Dorie” Miller, a Black Navy man who was relegated to mess duties due to segregation policies while stationed at Pearl Harbor in 1941. During the Dec. 7 attack, he joined the combat to shoot down Japanese planes with no munitions training, becoming a heralded war hero.

“I met Mr. Miller when I was in the first grade. I shook his hand and I just knew that I wanted to do something to thank him for his service in the military," she told KXAS in 2020. "I collected money in my neighborhood to buy him something nice for his return, but he never made it back."

Miller died when a torpedo struck his ship in the Pacific theater in 1943.

Decades later, Johnson helped get a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier named after Miller, which was the first to be named after a Black man.

After graduating from A.J. Moore High School in 1952, Johnson sought to work in the medical field. Segregated Texas had no nursing program she could attend, so she went to St. Mary’s College at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, where she received a nursing certificate in 1955. She received a bachelor’s of science from Texas Christian University in 1967, followed by a master’s of public administration from Southern Methodist University in 1976.

Soon after finishing nursing school in South Bend, she accepted a job to work for the Veterans Administration hospital in Dallas.

"My father worked for the V.A. in Waco, and two members of the same family couldn't work for the same federal facility, so I applied for a position in Dallas, and they accepted me. When I showed up, they were shocked that I was Black. They hadn't had any black professionals at all at that time in Dallas,” she told Dallas reporter Jim Schutze in 1985.

"I had never witnessed the kind of extreme separatism,” she added. “In Waco they had 'Colored' and 'White' signs all over, and there was a history of lynchings. But, in Dallas, the overt racism immediately became clear.”

Eventually, Johnson became the chief psychiatric nurse and psychotherapist at the Veterans Administration hospital in Dallas. She was the first Black female chief psychiatric nurse at the hospital.

High-end Dallas retailers barred her from entering their stores until she befriended a white saleswoman at Neiman Marcus who welcomed her. The CEO of Neiman Marcus at the time was civic leader Stanley Marcus, who spotted Johnson’s potential and groomed her into a new generational leader of the Dallas Black community.He offered her a job at the retailer on the condition that she run for the Texas Legislature. In 1972, she was elected to the state House of Representatives.

That year Johnson made what would become an important political alliance, working with a young Democratic staffer named Bill Clinton who was sent to the state in support of George McGovern’s presidential campaign that year.

Once sworn into the state House, Johnson encountered another hero: Lyndon Baines Johnson. She recalled in 2014 to The Waco Tribune that she saw him in January 1973 with her son when he visited the Texas Capitol. He died a week later of a heart attack.

During her third term in the Texas House, Johnson resigned to accept a post in the Carter administration as a regional appointee for the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (now the Department of Health and Human Services). She was reelected to the Legislature in 1986, this time in the Senate.

From her perch chairing the Senate Committee on Redistricting in the early 1990s, Johnson is widely credited with drawing a version of the newly-formed 30th Congressional District that overlapped heavily with her state legislative constituency.

That district, which is anchored in Dallas, is one of the bluest districts in Texas.

Congressional career

Johnson would go on to win the Congressional district she helped create in 1992. She regularly sailed to reelection in every contest to follow.

When Johnson was first sworn into Congress, she was the only woman in the state’s U.S. House delegation. Now there are eight women serving the state in the U.S. House, including Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas, who was elected with Johnson’s endorsement to replace the retiring congresswoman.

Johnson’s start in Washington matched the political ascent of her close friend, Clinton, to the presidency. Five years later, the Almanac of American Politics credited Johnson as a key player in consolidating Black support behind Clinton when Republicans impeached him for perjury and obstruction of justice in 1998.

Her career was not without controversy. Johnson came under a hail of criticism in 2010 when The Dallas Morning News reported that she directed scholarship money toward relatives and the children of aides from the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, a violation of the group’s anti-nepotism rules.

From 2001-2003, Johnson served as the chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, a powerful voting bloc in the U.S. House. In objection to what she deemed an illegitimate 2000 presidential election, Johnson led the caucus out of the House chamber in protest in early 2001 when Congress met for its ceremonial certification of the electoral college victory of her fellow Texan, President George W. Bush.

Later that year, Johnson was among those who evacuated the Capitol complex when a hijacked plane raced toward Washington, D.C., on Sept. 11, 2001.

A little under two years later, she cast her most consequential vote — against giving Bush the authorization to use armed forces in Iraq.

“I am awed by the moral weight of this decision,” she said on the House floor on Oct. 8, 2002.

“No one desires to be on the opposite side of our president in times like these, but I regret to tell my colleagues that I am unable to support this resolution in its present form.”

At the same time, Johnson was known among Texas Republican members as a Democrat who took initiative to work together on parochial issues of concern to the state.

The 2008 Democratic presidential primary marked, perhaps, the most fraught political moment in her career. Early on, she backed former U.S. Sen. John Edwards for the nomination. But as soon as he withdrew from the race, both Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama pounced to win her backing. By that time in the presidential contest, the fight began to shift from voters and caucus-goers to Democratic “superdelegates” like Johnson.

Johnson ultimately backed Obama, but she telegraphed years later the scale of the distress that choice put on her.

Johnson got behind Hillary Clinton’s second presidential campaign early in 2016 and backed former Vice President Joe Biden early in his 2020 presidential contest.

In 2019, Johnson became chairwoman of the U.S. House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, a Congressional oversight panel that had its roots in the American response to the Russian launch of Sputnik.

In that role, she was the top Democrat overseeing NASA, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Weather Service and parts of the Department of Energy and the Department of Transportation.

During President Donald Trump’s final two years in office, she was a top critic of his administration’s unwillingness to embrace policies to significantly combat global warming.

Johnson delivered millions of dollars in improvements for North Texas, including federal grant funding to expand the Dallas light rail to accommodate more riders and longer trains. In a nod to Johnson’s unique place in Dallas history, city leaders renamed the city’s downtown train station in honor of Johnson in 2016, on the station’s 100th birthday.

News of Johnson's passing prompted an outpouring of support from friends and public officials.

Colin Allred, a Dallas congressman, credited Johnson for helping him pave the way for his leadership.

“I would not be here today if it weren’t for Congresswoman Johnson and the doors she opened for a new generation of Texans in public service," Allred said in a statement. "Everywhere you look, Texans can see the mark she made on our state — from improving the VA, to investing in transportation, to fighting for Texans’ civil rights, to her work to pass the CHIPS Act and invest in high-tech manufacturing as Chair of the House Science Committee."

Crockett, who replaced Johnson in the U.S. House, said she was honored when Johnson called her and asked her to run for the District 30 seat, even though Crockett was only a freshman in the Texas House at the time.

"Never in my wildest dreams would I think that she was aware of anything that I was doing in the House," Crockett said in a statement. "But that is the thing about her: She never slept. She was always working."

"The Chairwoman didn't take passing the torch on lightly, and likewise, I've not taken it lightly that she entrusted me to honor her work and legacy," Crockett added. "Everyday that passes is a day I dedicate to continuing her work and attempting to fill her shoes."

Johnson had a son, Kirk, and three grandsons, Kirk Jr., David and James. She was married to Lacey Kirk Johnson until 1970.

Disclosure: Facebook, Southern Methodist University and Texas Christian University have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

Tom Wilkinson obit

 

Tom Wilkinson: The Full Monty actor dies at 75

He was not on the list.

British actor Tom Wilkinson, known for films like The Full Monty, Shakespeare In Love and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, has died aged 75.

Wilkinson won a Bafta for 1997's The Full Monty, and reprised the role of Gerald when a Disney+ streaming series revisited the characters 26 years on.

He received six Bafta nominations in total as well as two Oscar nominations, for Michael Clayton and In The Bedroom.

He died suddenly at home with his wife and family, they said in a statement.

With more than 130 film and TV credits in total, Wilkinson was as comfortable in period dramas like 1995's Sense and Sensibility and 2013's Belle, as he was playing criminal masterminds in movies like Rush Hour opposite Jackie Chan in 1998, or Guy Ritchie's RocknRolla in 2008.

He also earned an Emmy for playing US political figure Benjamin Franklin in 2008 mini-series John Adams and an Emmy nomination as John F Kennedy's father Joe in The Kennedys. He played President Lyndon B Johnson in 2014's Selma, and appeared in The Grand Budapest Hotel and Girl with a Pearl Earring.

His death on Saturday was confirmed in a statement shared by his agent on behalf of his family.

Wilkinson was, according to the Encyclopaedia of British Film, "a major character star, with a remarkable gift - one among several - for conveying inner pain".

In a tribute on X, formerly Twitter, British actor Phil Davis called him "powerful and delicate and hugely intelligent - one of the very best", while singer and actor Will Young described him as "British acting royalty".

US film maker Scott Derrickson said Wilkinson was "an amazing talent" and recalled a time when the actor gave him a surprise kiss on the lips on the set of The Exorcism of Emily Rose.

Born in Leeds before moving to Canada and then Cornwall in childhood, he found his calling at the age of 18 when he was asked to direct a play.

"For the first time in my life, I started doing something I knew how to do," he said.

"I realised it wasn't necessarily just these southern middle-class types that got to be actors; it could possibly be people like me. And once I knew, I never changed my mind."

He trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (Rada) before following the well-worn path to theatre and television work. In 1986, he got his first major screen role in mini-series First Among Equals, based on Jeffrey Archer's best-selling novel.

Playing alongside him was Diana Hardcastle. The couple married in 1988, and also went on to play husband and wife in The Kennedys in 2011, and in 2014 action film Good People. The couple had two daughters, Alice and Molly.

When he portrayed Pecksniff in Martin Chuzzlewit for the BBC in 1994, Wilkinson said: "I looked at it and I thought, I can't get it any better than that. It came out exactly as I meant it to come out. It won a couple of prizes and I thought, I can act, there's no question."

Three years later, he was cast as a former factory foreman who joins fellow unemployed workmates in staging a strip show in The Full Monty.

"I was simultaneously offered the lead in a TV series and a possible part in a low-budget movie," he told The Guardian.

"I remember phoning a friend and he said, 'Take the TV, take the TV'. But I didn't follow his advice, and the TV turned out to be crap."

The low-budget movie, meanwhile, turned out to be the highest-grossing British film up to that point, and took his career to a new level on both sides of the Atlantic.

Wilkinson received high critical acclaim for Todd Field's 2001 US domestic drama In the Bedroom, in which he played a bereaved father. He was nominated for an Oscar for best actor.

He hoped the film would do two things for him, he later said. "One, [prove] I could play the lead role in a movie. Two, I could play an American lead role. And it did both of those things."

The actor earned his second Academy Award nomination for his supporting role in Tony Gilroy's 2007 legal thriller Michael Clayton, starring George Clooney.

Wilkinson's other credits included Batman Begins, The Patriot, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Gathering Storm, Black Knight, Valkyrie, The Lone Ranger and Denial.

He also provided the voice of the fox in the TV adaptation of children's best-seller The Gruffalo.

His long term agent Lou Coulson has described him in interviews as "one of the best".

Off screen, Wilkinson was known for being down-to-earth and keeping a relatively low profile. He said in an interview: "I like to go to Waitrose and not be recognised."

In the 2005 New Year Honours, Wilkinson was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to drama.

 

Filmography

Film

Year     Title            Role            Notes

1976    Smuga cienia    Chef Ransome            Wajda's adaptation of The Shadow Line

1984    Parker            Tom    

1985    Sylvia            Keith Henderson       

Wetherby            Roger Braithwaite      

1990    Paper Mask   Dr Thorn  

1993    In the Name of the Father  Grant Richardson      

1994    Priest            Father Matthew Thomas           

A Business Affair    Bob     

Prince of Jutland            Hardvendel     

1995    Sense and Sensibility            Mr Dashwood       

1996    The Ghost and the Darkness            Robert Beaumont        

1997    Smilla's Sense of Snow            Prof. Loyen  

The Full Monty            Gerald Cooper           

Wilde            Marquess of Queensberry    

Oscar and Lucinda            Hugh Stratton           

1998    The Governess            Charles Cavendish       

Rush Hour            Thomas Griffin/Juntao   

Shakespeare in Love    Hugh Fennyman        

1999    Ride with the Devil            Orton Brown 

Molokai: The Story of Father Damien Brother Joseph Dutton 

2000    Essex Boys    John Dyke   

The Patriot            General Lord Cornwallis       

Chain of Fools            Robert Bollingsworth   

2001    In the Bedroom            Matt Fowler

Another Life            Mr Carlton

Black Knight            Sir Knolte of Malborough     

2002    The Importance of Being Earnest            Dr. Frederick Chasuble         

Before You Go            Frank  

2003    Girl with a Pearl Earring Pieter Van Ruijven     

Normal Jane Anderson        

2004    If Only            Taxi driver  

Piccadilly Jim            Bingley Crocker          

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind            Howard Mierzwiak    

Stage Beauty            Betterton       

A Good Woman            Tuppy 

2005    Ripley Under Ground            John Webster          

Batman Begins            Carmine Falcone        

The Exorcism of Emily Rose            Father Moore 

Separate Lies            James Manning          

2006    The Night of the White Pants            Max Hagan 

The Last Kiss            Stephen         

2007            Dedication        Rudy Holt     

Cassandra's Dream            Howard         

Michael Clayton            Arthur Edens  

2008            RocknRolla    Lenny Cole    

Valkyrie            Colonel General Friedrich Fromm

Recount            James Baker  

2009            Duplicity            Howard Tully 

44 Inch Chest            Archie 

2010    The Ghost Writer            Paul Emmett

Burke & Hare            Dr. Robert Knox   

Jackboots on Whitehall            Albert and Joseph Goebbels            Voice

2011    The Green Hornet            James Reid    

The Conspirator            Reverdy Johnson        

The Debt            Stefan Gold    

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol            IMF Secretary            Uncredited

2012    The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel            Sir Graham Dashwood       

Fury     Xavier            aka The Samaritan

2013    The Lone Ranger            Latham Cole    

Belle     Lord Mansfield        

Felony            Detective Carl Summer           

2014    The Grand Budapest Hotel            Author 

Good People            DI John Halden

Selma            President Lyndon B. Johnson           

2015            Unfinished Business            Timothy McWinters   

Bone in the Throat  Charlie

Little Boy            Fr Oliver  

Jenny's Wedding            Eddie  

2016    The Choice Dr. Shep   

Snowden            Ewen MacAskill        

Denial   Richard Rampton         

This Beautiful Fantastic            Alfie Stephenson      

2018    The Catcher Was a Spy      Paul Scherrer          

Burden Tom Griffin  

Dead in a Week or Your Money Back            Leslie  

The Happy Prince   Fr Dunne 

The Titan            Professor Martin Collingwood    

2021    Dr. Bird's Advice for Sad Poets            Dr. Bird      Voice

SAS: Red Notice  William Lewis  

Television

Year     Film            Role            Notes

1979    Crime and Punishment            Cadet            Episode: "Part 1"

1983            Panorama        Czuma            Episode: "Two Weeks in Winter: How the Army Took Over Poland"

Spyship            Martin Taylor  6-part BBC television miniseries

1984            Strangers and Brothers            George Passant 2 episodes

Sharma and Beyond            Vivian            Television film

Squaring the Circle            Rulewski

1985    A Pocket Full of Rye            Detective Inspector Neele

Travelling Man            "Granny" Jackson            Episode: "On the Hook"

Happy Families            Jack            Episode: "Cassie"

1986    First Among Equals            Raymond Gould            10-episode miniseries

1988    The Woman He Loved  Ernest Aldrich Simpson            Television film

The Attic: The Hiding of Anne Frank            Silberbauer

The Ruth Rendell Mysteries            Robert Hathall  3 episodes

1989    First and Last            Stephen            Television film

1990            Inspector Morse            Music Master Jake Normington            Episode: "The Infernal Serpent"

TECX  Hugo Gillon            Episode: "The Wine Business"

Counterstrike            Unknown        2 episodes

1990–1996            Screen Two     David Hanratty / Father McAteer / Dr. Middleton            4 episodes

1991    Parnell & the Englishwoman            Sir Charles Russell            Episode: "The Libel"

Lovejoy            Ashley Wilkes            Episode: "One Born Every Minute"

Prime Suspect            Peter Rawlins            2 episodes

1992            Underbelly       Paul Manning            Miniseries

Resnick: Lonely Hearts            Detective Inspector Charlie Resnick            Television film

1993    Stay Lucky   Allon            Episode: "Gilding the Lily"

Resnick: Rough Treatment            Detective Inspector Charlie Resnick            Television film

1994    The Inspector Alleyn Mysteries            Gerald Lacklander            Episode: "Scales of Justice"

Shakespeare: The Animated Tales            Buckingham (voice)            Episode: "King Richard II"

Performance            Duke Vincentio            Episode: "Measure for Measure"

Martin Chuzzlewit            Seth Pecksniff            Miniseries

1996    Eskimo Day      Hugh Lloyd            Television film

1997    Cold Enough for Snow   Hugh Lloyd

1999    David Copperfield            Narrator (Old David Copperfield)

2002    The Gathering Storm   Sir Robert Vansittart

An Angel for May     Sam Wheeler

2003    Normal            Roy/Ruth Applewood

2008    John Adams            Benjamin Franklin            Miniseries

Recount            James Baker            Television film

A Number            Salter

2009    The Gruffalo            Fox (voice)

2011    The Kennedys            Joseph P. Kennedy Sr.            Miniseries

The Gruffalo's Child            Fox (voice)            Television film

2017    The Kennedys: After Camelot            Joseph P. Kennedy Sr.            Cameo; The Kennedys Sequel

2018            Watership Down            Threarah (voice)            Miniseries

2020            Belgravia            Peregrine, Earl of Brockenhurst   

2023    The Full Monty            Gerald Cooper           

 

Theatre

Year     Film            Role            Notes

1980    Hamlet            Horatio            Aldwych Theatre, West End

1988    An Enemy of the People  Dr. Stockmann            Playhouse Theatre, West End

 

Video games

Year     Film            Voice role      Notes

2005    Batman Begins            Carmine Falcone        

2012            Sleeping Dogs            Superintendent Thomas Pendrew          

Cindy Morgan obit

Cindy Morgan, ‘Caddyshack' and ‘Tron' Actress, Dies at 69

 She was not on the list.

Cindy Morgan, best known for her roles in the 80s films Caddyshack and Tron, died on Dec. 30. She was 69.

The actress died of natural causes at her home in Lake Worth Beach, Florida, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office told The Hollywood Reporter Saturday.

Born Cynthia Ann Cichorski on Sept. 29, 1954, in Chicago, Illinois, Morgan was the first in her family to attend college, attending Northern Illinois University to study communications. After working in local news and radio for some time, she eventually moved to Los Angeles in 1978.

 Morgan was born as Cynthia Ann Cichorski in Chicago, Illinois, on September 29, 1954.[6] She was of Polish and German descent. Morgan attended 12 years of Catholic school, then studied communications at Northern Illinois University, where she was a DJ on the campus radio station. A commercial station in town invited her to report the news for them and she adopted the last name Morgan, from a story she had read about Morgan le Fay when she was 12 years old.

After graduation, Morgan worked at a television station in Rockford, Illinois, where she forecast the weather. She kept her hand in radio by working the graveyard shift at a local rock station. She returned to Chicago and deejayed on WSDM, until quitting on air during a labor dispute at the station, walking out with a record still spinning on the turntable.

The following year, she appeared in commercials for Irish Spring, becoming known as the Irish Spring girl. During that time, she was also attending acting classes and workshops.

She scored her first film role in the 1979 movie Up Yours. The following year, she took on the role of Lacey Underall in the sports-comedy Caddyshack, starring alongside Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Bill Murray, Ted Knight and Michael O'Keefe.

A few years later, the actress landed the role of Yori in 1982's cult sci-fi film Tron, starring opposite Jeff Bridges, Bruce Boxleitner and David Warner.

Morgan also had a recurring role on the soap opera Falcon Crest, which aired from 1981 to 1990. She played Gabrielle Short and Lori Chapman.

The actress appeared in dozens of other film and television projects throughout the 80s and 90s, including The Love Boat, CHiPs, Bring ‘Em Back Alive, She's the Sheriff, The Fall Guy, Matlock, The Highwayman, Hunter, The Larry Sanders Show, Galaxis, Dead Weekend and Out There.

No details on survivors were immediately available.

 

Actress

Jamil Malik, Lyndsay Rager, Joshua Allen Rager, Tim Toomey, and Sofia Leaty in Face of the Trinity (2022)

Face of the Trinity

Mason's Mother (voice)

2022

 

Face of the Father (2016)

Face of the Father

7.7

Short

Mason's Mother (voice)

2016

 

Empty Sky (2011)

Empty Sky

6.6

Short

Donna Pershing

2011

 

Summer Waters

Short

Mrs. Leeds

2009

 

Open Mic'rs (2006)

Open Mic'rs

6.9

Cindy Morgan

2006

 

Tron 2.0 (2003)

Tron 2.0

8.3

Video Game

Ma3a (voice)

2003

 

Billy Campbell and Wendy Schaal in Out There (1995)

Out There

5.3

TV Movie

Judith Daws

1995

 

Nicole Eggert in Amanda & the Alien (1995)

Amanda & the Alien

4.7

TV Movie

Holly Hoedown, Hotel Clerk

1995

 

Stephen Baldwin in Dead Weekend (1995)

Dead Weekend

2.5

TV Movie

Newscaster

1995

 

Brigitte Nielsen in Galaxis (1995)

Galaxis

3.5

Detective Kelly

1995

 

Silent Fury

6.4

Woman

1994

 

Philip Casnoff and Karen Sillas in Under Suspicion (1994)

Under Suspicion

8.2

TV Series

Laura Brian

1994

1 episode

 

The Larry Sanders Show (1992)

The Larry Sanders Show

8.5

TV Series

Karen Jackson

1992

1 episode

 

Bruce Davison, Zachary Bostrom, Molly Cheek, and Carol-Ann Merrill in Harry and the Hendersons (1991)

Harry and the Hendersons

5.6

TV Series

Julia

1992

1 episode

 

Fred Dryer and Stepfanie Kramer in Hunter (1984)

Hunter

6.9

TV Series

Paula Allen

Carol Benson

1987–1991

2 episodes

 

Mancuso, FBI (1989)

Mancuso, FBI

7.3

TV Series

Amanda

1990

1 episode

 

Andy Griffith in Matlock (1986)

Matlock

7.1

TV Series

Linda Hansfield

Jessie Martin

1988–1989

3 episodes

 

She's the Sheriff (1987)

She's the Sheriff

4.1

TV Series

Samantha

1988

1 episode

 

Sam J. Jones in The Highwayman (1987)

The Highwayman

6.6

TV Series

Mink

1988

1 episode

 

Falcon Crest (1981)

Falcon Crest

6.2

TV Series

Gabrielle Short

Lori Chapman

1982–1988

16 episodes

 

Dennis Franz and Peter Jurasik in Beverly Hills Buntz (1987)

Beverly Hills Buntz

6.5

TV Series

Randy St. James

1987

1 episode

 

The Magical World of Disney (1954)

The Magical World of Disney

8.4

TV Series

Laura Wells

1987

1 episode

 

Kevin Costner, Harvey Keitel, Charlie Sheen, Christopher Lloyd, and John Lithgow in Amazing Stories (1985)

Amazing Stories

7.4

TV Series

Beth

1986

1 episode

 

John Rubinstein and Jack Warden in Crazy Like a Fox (1984)

Crazy Like a Fox

7.0

TV Series

1986

1 episode

 

Tough Cookies (1986)

Tough Cookies

6.2

TV Series

Maggie

1986

1 episode

 

The Fall Guy (1981)

The Fall Guy

7.1

TV Series

Zoe LeRoy

1986

1 episode

 

Solomon's Universe

TV Movie

Stephenie

1985

 

The Midnight Hour (1985)

The Midnight Hour

6.4

TV Movie

Vicky Jensen

1985

 

Masquerade (1983)

Masquerade

6.9

TV Series

1984

1 episode

 

Tracy Scoggins, Robert Ginty, and Jeff McCracken in Hawaiian Heat (1984)

Hawaiian Heat

5.4

TV Series

Sharon

1984

1 episode

 

Bruce Boxleitner, Clyde Kusatsu, and Cindy Morgan in Bring 'Em Back Alive (1982)

Bring 'Em Back Alive

7.1

TV Series

Gloria Marlowe

1982–1983

13 episodes

 

Tron (1982)

Tron

6.7

Lora

Yori

1982

 

Erik Estrada and Larry Wilcox in CHiPs (1977)

CHiPs

6.4

TV Series

Melanie Mitchell

Jennifer

1981

3 episodes

 

Tony Curtis, Robert Urich, Phyllis Davis, and Judy Landers in Vega$ (1978)

Vega$

6.9

TV Series

Margie Jenkins

1981

1 episode

 

Fred Grandy, Bernie Kopell, Ted Lange, Gavin MacLeod, and Lauren Tewes in The Love Boat (1977)

The Love Boat

6.3

TV Series

Tracy Cotts

1981

1 episode

 

Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, and Ted Knight in Caddyshack (1980)

Caddyshack

7.2

Lacey Underall

1980

 

The Farmer's Other Daughter (1965)

Up Yours

4.7

Elaine

1979

 

Producer

Billy Campbell and Wendy Schaal in Out There (1995)

Out There

5.3

TV Movie

associate producer

1995

 

Nicole Eggert in Amanda & the Alien (1995)

Amanda & the Alien

4.7

TV Movie

associate producer

1995

 

Stephen Baldwin in Dead Weekend (1995)

Dead Weekend

2.5

TV Movie

associate producer

1995