Duane Eddy obit

Remembering 'Rebel Rouser' rock icon Duane Eddy, dead at 86

 

He was not on the list.

Duane Eddy was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 on the strength of a career he launched in 1958 with the million-selling instrumental “Rebel Rouser.”

The most commercially successful instrumental artist in the history of rock 'n' roll, the Grammy-winning guitarist died peacefully on April 30, surrounded by family members in Franklin, Tennessee.

He was 86.

Born in Corning, New York, and raised in New York State, Eddy moved to Tucson then to Coolidge, Arizona, with his family as a teenager. It was while living in Coolidge that he hooked up with a DJ named Lee Hazlewood, who cut the young guitarist’s instrumental breakthrough, “Rebel Rouser,” in a Phoenix studio called Audio Recorders.

“Rebel Rouser” was the third song he and Hazlewood recorded.

The first was “Soda Fountain Girl,” recorded with a friend named Jimmy Delbridge and released in 1955 as a duet by Jimmy and Duane.

In an interview with blogger Simon Nott in 2013, Eddy said of “Soda Fountain Girl,” “The first record Lee Hazlewood produced with Jimmy Dell and myself, we sang together when we were 16/17.

By 1957, Eddy was renting a room from Hazlewood in Phoenix and had purchased his signature hollow-body Gretsch "Chet Atkins" model at Ziggie's Music when a twangy instrumental titled "Raunchy" hit the Top 5 in two versions at the same time — one by Bill Justis, the other by Ernie Freeman.

As Eddy told The Republic in 2020, "When 'Raunchy' hit, Lee said, 'You need to go home and write something. We need to cut an instrumental.'"

Hazlewood had recorded "everybody that could hum a tune by then," Eddy recalled.

"He'd take them in the studio and send the record off to different independent labels in LA to try and get a deal," Eddy said. "I just wanted to play. And he said 'Write an instrumental' so I did."

The next Hazlewood session resulted in “Movin’ ’N’ Groovin’,” a less-than-subtle instrumental rewrite of Chuck Berry’s “Brown Eyed Handsome Man.” It failed to set the charts on fire, stalling at No. 72 in early 1958.

"That was enough to encourage the company back east to say, 'Go do some more,'" Eddy told The Republic. "So we went in, in March of '58, and cut 'Rebel-Rouser.' The rest is history, so to speak."

“Rebel Rouser” was a different matter altogether. Boasting one of early rock and roll’s essential riffs, a haunting low-end melody swimming in echo, it peaked at No. 6 in 1958, and Eddy followed through with two more Top 10 singles, “Forty Miles of Bad Road” (No. 9) and “Because They’re Young” (No. 4) by 1960.

Jon Anderson of Yes told The Republic "Rebel-Rouser" was the first song that inspired him to buy a record.

"They’re incredible recordings," Anderson said. "Very much like Ricky Nelson’s. So damn good. So clean."

Eddy went Top 40 15 times on Billboard’s Hot 100 and sold more than 100 million records worldwide.

'The first rock 'n' roll guitar god'

Released in 1958, his debut album, “Have ‘Twangy’ Guitar Will Travel,” peaked at No. 5 and spent 82 weeks on the charts. Among his more well-known recordings is the theme to “Peter Gunn,” which peaked at No. 27 on the U.S. charts in 1960 but did better in the U.K., where it peaked at No. 6.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame website quotes John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival calling Eddy “the first rock and roll guitar god." The Hall of Fame goes on to note the influence of Eddy’s trademark twang in everything from “Born to Run” to the Beatles (dig the twangy low-end riffing on “I Want to Hold Your Hand”).

Eddy moved to California in the late ’60s, but he talked to the Republic in 2012 about the role the Valley played in shaping the sound of his music.

How the Arizona desert shaped Duane Eddy's twang

“The spaciousness and openness of the desert, the feel of it and the smells, shaped my music," he said. "I play like that, with big notes and open spaces. I figured out through the years that I’ve been subconsciously influenced by that.”

Few guitarists in the history of rock 'n' roll have had a more distinctive trademark than the low-end twang he captured on those instrumental classics he and Hazlewood recorded at Floyd Ramsey's Audio Recorders in Phoenix.

A lot of that came down to Eddy's fondness for the low strings on his hollow-body Gretsch, a preference he developed as a teen at Ramsey's studio when session great Al Casey couldn't make it.

"Sometimes I would do a little turnaround on lead guitar if Al wasn't around," Eddy told The Republic in a 2020 interview.

"And that's when I learned that the low strings were much more powerful than the high ones. So I noted that in my brain and then revisited that idea when I started making my own records."

The other quality that made those early instrumental classics so identifiably Duane Eddy?

That involved a road trip to a junkyard on the banks of the Salt River, where Hazlewood found the echo he was after in an empty water tank they carted back and set up as a makeshift echo chamber in the parking lot behind the studio.

"They just dropped it in there on a rack," Eddy told The Republic. "They put a speaker at one end and a mic at the other and it would come out the speaker, swirl through the tank and the mic would pick it up at the other end and we had our echo. It was great."

Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys is a huge Duane Eddy fan.

"You take this instrument that everybody has," he told The Republic in 2022. "You can go to a store and buy it. But nobody can pick it up and sound like that except Duane Eddy. That is the rarest of abilities as a musician, to take this inanimate object and give it a singular voice. His sound is so identifiable."

Although the hits dried up for Eddy after “Boss Guitar” hit No. 28 in 1963, he played guitar on Art of Noise’s version of the theme to “Peter Gunn,” a Top 10 U.K. hit in 1986. A year later, the legend’s first album in nearly a decade featured guest appearances by Fogerty, George Harrison, James Burton, Ry Cooder and Steve Cropper (of Booker T. & the M.G.’s), speaking to the lasting impact of those early records.

Published in 2004, “The Rolling Stone Album Guide” summed up the pioneering surf guitarist’s role in the early development of rock and roll.

“Twang is the word most closely associated with guitar legend Duane Eddy,” the entry began.

“And certainly that sound best summarizes his personality on record. But Eddy wasn’t all lower-register melodies, liberal tremolo and omnipresent whammy bar. His instrumentals were the original music-minus-one exercises — only the vocalist was missing. This emphasis on song construction separated Eddy from inspired ’50s primitives such as Link Wray and set a standard for the rock instrumental that flowered in the’60s when the Ventures came on the scene, and later with the advent of surf music.”

Eddy always looked back fondly on his days in Phoenix, working with Hazlewood at Audio Recorders.

"That was where it all happened for me," he told The Republic in 2020. "And for Lee."

Eddy is survived by his his wife Deed, four children, five grandchildren and nine great grandchildren.

He had a string of hit records produced by Lee Hazlewood, which were noted for their characteristically "twangy" sound, including "Rebel-'Rouser", "Peter Gunn", and "Because They're Young". He had sold 12 million records by 1963.

He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994, and the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2008.

While performing at local radio station KCKY, they met disc jockey Lee Hazlewood, who produced the duo's single, "Soda Fountain Girl", recorded and released in 1955 in Phoenix. Hazlewood then produced Sanford Clark's 1956 hit, "The Fool", featuring guitarist Al Casey, while Eddy and Delbridge performed and appeared on radio stations in Phoenix before joining Buddy Long's Western Melody Boys, playing country music in and around the city.

Eddy devised a technique of playing lead on his guitar's bass strings to produce a low, reverberant "twangy" sound. When he was 19 he had obtained a 1957 Chet Atkins model Gretsch 6120 guitar at Ziggie's Music in Phoenix, Arizona[citation needed] and in November 1957, Eddy recorded an instrumental, "Movin' n' Groovin'", co-written by Eddy and Hazlewood. As the Phoenix studio had no echo chamber, Hazlewood bought a 2,000-gallon (7570-litre) water storage tank that he used as an echo chamber to accentuate the "twangy" guitar sound. In 1958, Eddy signed a recording contract with Lester Sill and Lee Hazlewood to record in Phoenix at the Audio Recorders studio. Sill and Hazlewood leased the tapes of all the singles and albums to the Philadelphia-based Jamie Records.

"Movin' n' Groovin'" reached number 72 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1958; the opening riff, borrowed from Chuck Berry's "Brown Eyed Handsome Man", was in turn copied a few years later by the Beach Boys on "Surfin' U.S.A.". The follow-up, "Rebel-'Rouser", featured a overdubbed saxophone by Los Angeles session musician Gil Bernal, and yells and handclaps by doo-wop group the Rivingtons. The tune became Eddy's breakthrough hit, reaching number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It sold over one million copies, earning Eddy his first gold disc.

Eddy had a succession of hit records over the next few years, and his band members, including Steve Douglas, saxophonist Jim Horn, and keyboard player Larry Knechtel went on to work as part of Phil Spector's Wrecking Crew. According to writer Richie Unterberger, "The singles — 'Peter Gunn', 'Cannonball', 'Shazam', and 'Forty Miles of Bad Road' were probably the best — also did their part to help keep the raunchy spirit of rock and roll alive, during a time in which it was in danger of being watered down." On January 9, 1958, Eddy's debut album, Have 'Twangy' Guitar Will Travel, was released, reaching number five, and remaining on the album charts for 82 weeks. On his fourth album, Songs of Our Heritage (1960), each track featured him playing acoustic guitar or banjo. Eddy's biggest hit came with the theme of the movie Because They're Young in 1960,[3] which featured a string arrangement, and reached a chart peak of number four in America and number two in the UK in September 1960. It became his second million-selling disc. Eddy's records were consistently even more successful in the UK than they were in his native United States, and in 1960, readers of the UK's NME voted him World's Number One Musical Personality, ousting Elvis Presley.

In 1960, Eddy signed a contract directly with Jamie Records, bypassing Sill and Hazlewood. This caused a temporary rift between Eddy and Hazlewood. The result was that for the duration of his contract with Jamie, Eddy produced his own singles and albums.

Duane Eddy and the Rebels became a frequent act on The Dick Clark Show.

During the 1960s, Eddy launched an acting career, appearing in such films as A Thunder of Drums, The Wild Westerners, Kona Coast, and The Savage Seven, and two appearances on the television series Have Gun – Will Travel. He married singer Jessi Colter in 1961, the same year he signed a three-year contract with Paul Anka's production company, Camy, whose recordings were issued by RCA Victor. In the early days of recording in the RCA Victor studios, he renewed contact with Lee Hazlewood, who became involved in a number of his RCA Victor singles and albums. Eddy's 1962 single release, "(Dance With The) Guitar Man", co-written with Hazlewood, earned his third gold disc by selling a million records.

In the 1970s, he produced album projects for Phil Everly and Waylon Jennings. In 1972, he worked with Al Gorgoni, rhythm guitar, on BJ Thomas's "Rock and Roll Lullaby". In 1975, a collaboration with hit songwriter Tony Macaulay and former founding member of The Seekers, Keith Potger, led to another UK top-10 record, "Play Me Like You Play Your Guitar". The single, "You Are My Sunshine", featuring Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings, hit the country charts in 1977.

Actor

The Art of Noise Feat. Duane Eddy: Peter Gunn (1986)

The Art of Noise Feat. Duane Eddy: Peter Gunn

8.2

Music Video

Duane Eddy

1986

 

Sing a Country Song

5.8

1973

 

Joan Blondell, Richard Boone, and Vera Miles in Kona Coast (1968)

Kona Coast

4.5

Tiger Cat

1968

 

The Savage Seven (1968)

The Savage Seven

5.4

Eddie

1968

 

Have Gun - Will Travel (1957)

Have Gun - Will Travel

8.4

TV Series

Young Cowboy

Carter Whitney Tyler

1961–1962

2 episodes

 

Nancy Kovack in The Wild Westerners (1962)

The Wild Westerners

5.0

Deputy Marshal Clint Fallon

1962

 

George Hamilton, Richard Boone, and Luana Patten in A Thunder of Drums (1961)

A Thunder of Drums

5.9

Trooper Eddy

1961

 

Music Department

Roger Clark in Red Dead Redemption II (2018)

Red Dead Redemption II

9.7

Video Game

baritone guitar

2018

 

Christian Slater and John Travolta in Broken Arrow (1996)

Broken Arrow

6.1

musician: baritone guitar

1996

 

Dixie Dynamite (1976)

Dixie Dynamite

5.1

musical artist

1976

 

George Hamilton, Richard Boone, and Luana Patten in A Thunder of Drums (1961)

A Thunder of Drums

5.9

musician: banjo, guitar (uncredited)

1961

 

Terry Moore and Debra Paget in Why Must I Die? (1960)

Why Must I Die?

5.6

music

1960

 

Composer

Charlotte Rampling, Willie Nelson, and Sophie Lowe in Waiting for the Miracle to Come (2018)

Waiting for the Miracle to Come

4.2

Composer (music by)

2018

 

La fuga (2014)

La fuga

Short

Composer

2014

 

Because They're Young (1960)

Because They're Young

5.9

Composer (performer: Shazam)

1960

Paul Auster obit

Paul Auster, American author of The New York Trilogy, dies aged 77

The writer of The New York Trilogy, Leviathan and 4 3 2 1 – known for his stylised postmodernist fiction – has died from complications of lung cancer 

He was not on the list.

Paul Auster, the author of 34 books including the acclaimed New York Trilogy, has died aged 77.

The author died on Tuesday due to complications from lung cancer, his friend and fellow author Jacki Lyden confirmed to the Guardian.

Auster became known for his “highly stylised, quirkily riddlesome postmodernist fiction in which narrators are rarely other than unreliable and the bedrock of plot is continually shifting,” the novelist Joyce Carol Oates wrote in 2010.

His stories often play with themes of coincidence, chance and fate. Many of his protagonists are writers themselves, and his body of work is self-referential, with characters from early novels appearing again in later ones.

“Auster has established one of the most distinctive niches in contemporary literature,” wrote critic Michael Dirda in 2008. “His narrative voice is as hypnotic as that of the Ancient Mariner. Start one of his books and by page two you cannot choose but hear.”

The author was born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1947. According to Auster, his writing life began at the age of eight when he missed out on getting an autograph from his baseball hero, Willie Mays, because neither he nor his parents had carried a pencil to the game. From then on, he took a pencil everywhere. “If there’s a pencil in your pocket, there’s a good chance that one day you’ll feel tempted to start using it,” he wrote in a 1995 essay.

While hiking during a summer camp aged 14, Auster witnessed a boy inches away from him getting struck by lightning and dying instantly – an event that he said “absolutely changed” his life and that he thought about “every day”. Chance, “understandably, became a recurring theme in his fiction,” wrote the critic Laura Miller in 2017. A similar incident occurs in Auster’s 2017 Booker-shortlisted novel 4 3 2 1: one of the book’s four versions of protagonist Archie Ferguson runs under a tree at a summer camp and is killed by a falling branch when lightning strikes.

Auster studied at Columbia University before moving to Paris in the early 1970s, where he worked a variety of jobs, including translation, and lived with his “on-again off-again” girlfriend, the writer Lydia Davis, whom he had met while at college. In 1974, they returned to the US and married. In 1977, the couple had a son, Daniel, but separated shortly afterwards.

In January 1979, Auster’s father, Samuel, died, and the event became the seed for the writer’s first memoir, The Invention of Solitude, published in 1982. In it, Auster revealed that his paternal grandfather was shot and killed by his grandmother, who was acquitted on grounds of insanity. “A boy cannot live through this kind of thing without being affected by it as a man,” Auster wrote in reference to his father, with whom he described himself having an “un-movable relationship, cut off from each other on opposite sides of a wall”.

Auster’s breakthrough came with the 1985 publication of City of Glass, the first novel in his New York trilogy. While the books are ostensibly mystery stories, Auster wielded the form to ask existential questions about identity. “The more [Auster’s detectives] stalk their eccentric quarry, the more they seem actually to be stalking the Big Questions – the implications of authorship, the enigmas of epistemology, the veils and masks of language,” wrote the critic and screenwriter Stephen Schiff in 1987.

Auster published regularly throughout the 80s, 90s and 00s, writing more than a dozen novels including Moon Palace (1989), The Music of Chance (1990), The Book of Illusions (2002) and Oracle Night (2003). He also became involved in film, writing the screenplay for Smoke, directed by Wayne Wang, for which he won the Independent Spirit award for best first screenplay in 1995.

In 1981, Auster met the writer Siri Hustvedt and they married the following year. In 1987 they had a daughter, Sophie, who became a singer and actor. Auster’s 1992 novel Leviathan, about a man who accidentally blows himself up, features a character called Iris Vegan, who is the heroine of Hustvedt’s first novel, The Blindfold.

Auster was better known in Europe than in his native United States: “Merely a bestselling author in these parts,” read a 2007 New York magazine article, “Auster is a rock star in Paris.” In 2006, he was awarded Spain’s Prince of Asturias prize for literature, and in 1993 he was given the Prix Médicis Étranger for Leviathan. He was also a Commandeur de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

In April 2022, Auster and Davis’s son, Daniel, died from a drug overdose. In March 2023, Hustvedt revealed that Auster was being treated for cancer after having been diagnosed the previous December. His final novel, Baumgartner, about a widowed septuagenarian writer, was published in October.

Auster is survived by Hustvedt, their daughter Sophie Auster, his sister Janet Auster, and a grandson.

Diane Ford obit

Diane Ford, Stand-Up Comic on HBO Specials and ‘An Evening at the Improv,’ Dies at 68

She also headlined in Las Vegas and had a big fan in Tim Allen, for whom she wrote an episode of ‘Home Improvement.’

 She was not on the list.

Diane Ford, a stand-up comic and Las Vegas headliner who drew laughs on HBO specials and A&E’s An Evening at the Improv, died April 30 of cancer in Sarasota, Florida, her nephew Wes Roberts announced. She was 68.

Ford also showed up 13 times on Fox’s Comic Strip Live and eight times on Jerry Lewis’ Labor Day telethon, which raised money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

Ford was on the HBO specials Women of the Night II in 1988, Command Performance in 1990 and episodes of One Night Stand in ’90 and ’92. She made 13 appearances on Evening at the Improv and had three shows recorded for the BBC.

When Tim Allen was asked by Bon Appetit magazine which three comedians he would invite to dinner, he replied that one “would have to be a woman who wouldn’t be afraid to tell us if we were being full of it, and it would be one of my contemporaries. I’d choose Diane Ford, who is a very funny comedienne.”

Ford wrote on an episode of Allen’s ABC sitcom Home Improvement in 1994.

Ford was born on Sept. 4, 1955, in Waseca, Minnesota. When she was 14, her parents died in a car accident, and she lived with relatives, in foster homes and at a Catholic Girls boarding school.

“A lot of comics have known some personal tragedy in their lives. A lot of comedy comes out of pain,” she once noted in an interview with The Detroit News. “If you can turn it around somehow and then laugh at it, it makes the pain easier to bear.”

Ford received 11 nominations at the American Comedy Awards for comedian of the year and had her own Vegas show, Diane Ford’s Cosmopolitan Comedy, at the Desert Inn. She also performed on Carnival cruises and at McCurdy’s Comedy Theatre in Sarasota when not on the road.

“I was so impressed with her strength as an independent woman,” Les McCurdy, co-owner of McCurdy’s, said. “You’re talking about the ’80s, and she was in a very male-dominated industry. She wasn’t intimidated by anyone; she only allowed you to get so close. Basically, a ballbuster.”

Survivors include her husband, John; stepsons Rhett and Travis; grandsons Charles, Aubrey, Addison, Selkie and Uhtred; and her siblings, Jerry, Lyle, Connie and Carol.

The self-deprecating Ford frequently made her and her husband the butt of jokes, and he enjoyed being part of the show, her nephew said.

“I knew when the punchline was coming up,” her husband said, “so I loved looking at the audience and watching their drinks come out of their noses at just the right moment!”

Donations in her memory can be made to the Big Cat Habitat and Gulf Coast Sanctuary in Sarasota.

Jan Haag obit

Jan Haag, Founder of the AFI’s Directing Workshop for Women, Dies at 90

She got the likes of Ellen Burstyn, Maya Angelou, Lee Grant, Julia Phillips, Lily Tomlin and Nancy Walker involved in the ground-breaking program that kicked off 50 years ago. 

She was not on the list.

Jan Haag, who a half-century ago founded the landmark Directing Workshop for Women at the American Film Institute, has died. She was 90.

The remarkable Haag, who also was an actress, painter, poet, novelist, playwright, writer of travel stories and creator of needlepoint canvases, some of which required hundreds of hours to complete, died Monday in Shoreline, Washington, according to the AFI and the MB Abram agency.

Haag had directed dozens of educational films for the John Tracy Clinic and the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare when she became the first woman accepted into the Academy Intern Program at the AFI in 1970, three years after it was founded by George Stevens Jr.

She was assigned to Paramount’s Harold and Maude (1971), directed by Hal Ashby, then joined the AFI staff in 1971, and among her duties was to administer the nonprofit’s film grant program funded by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Three years later, with $35,000 in start-up funds from the Rockefeller Foundation, Haag launched the Directing Workshop for Women with help from Tony Vellani, Joan Didion, Mathilde Krim, Eleanor Perry and others.

(From the mid-1930s through the mid-’60s, only Dorothy Arzner and Ida Lupino could boast of having sustainable careers as female directors in Hollywood. Elaine May was the sole woman to have directed for a major studio with A New Leaf and The Heartbreak Kid in 1971 and 1972 since Lupino had helmed The Trouble With Angels in 1966.)

Haag realized that the initial participants needed to be women who had already experienced success as actresses, producers, studio executives, editors, writers, etc. That would draw Hollywood’s attention to the workshop.

The first year’s group included Oscar-winning producer Julia Phillips, actresses Ellen Burstyn, Lee Grant, Margot Kidder, Karen Arthur, Susan Oliver, Lily Tomlin and Nancy Walker, writers Maya Angelou and Joanna Lee, SAG president Kathleen Nolan and Columbia Pictures casting executive Nessa Hyams.

Others like Joanne Woodward, Anne Bancroft, Dyan Cannon, Cicely Tyson and Randa Haines would soon follow.

The DWW provided AFI student crews and resources to the participants so they could make short films on videotape that could be used as calling cards.

“If you had started the workshop with completely unknown women, you could not have had nearly that kind of bombshell effect on the whole Hollywood scene,” she said in 2014. “When [we had] Julia Phillips and Lee Grant, Kathleen Nolan, Ellen Burstyn participating in it, that really shook the studio heads awake.”

The AFI paid tribute to her in an Instagram post:

“Jan recognized the need to give women a seat in the directing chair, and her visionary spirit lives on in this trailblazing program today,” it wrote. “She left an indelible mark on the over 350 filmmakers who have participated in the program, and her legacy is having launched one of the first gender impact programs of its kind in the cinematic arts.”

Jan Marie Smith was born on Dec. 6, 1933, in Marysville, Washington, and studied art, painting, dance and law in schools around the country, then performed in regional theaters and directed plays. In 1957, she married John Haag, a professor and poet in residence at Penn State (they divorced in 1968).

She continued to run the DWW at the AFI until 1982, when she moved to India to focus on her art and writing.

Survivors include her two nieces — Suzanne Hawley, retired professor of astronomy and former dean at the University of Washington, and Jana Hawley — and nephew Sam Hawley.

According to the MB Abram website, Haag created 23 contemporary needlepoint canvases, working on some of these simultaneously, from 1975-2008. One took a decade to complete.

She walked alone through India, Korea, China, Thailand, Nepal, Russia and Europe, memorializing her travels in a series of free-form needlepoint diaries later exhibited at the Seattle Art Museum and international shows.

“Over the years, working on these pieces has become one of my primary ways of understanding both the world and my experience of it,” she once said. “The works … transmit knowledge. Not only the powerful subjective awareness of light and color, but the pleasure associated with study — in this case, study of music, astronomy, mathematics, travel, archaeology and the iconographic, mystical and esoteric traditions of many cultures.”

Dingaan Thobela obit

Ex-boxing champ Thobela, 57, passes on

 

He was not on the list.

Former boxing world champion and darling of SA sports Dingaan "Rose of Soweto" Thobela has been found dead at his Joburg flat after battling illness.

The celebrated boxer from Chiawelo, Soweto, was found dead in his flat in Mayfair, Johannesburg, on Monday evening.

Born Dingaan Bongane Thobela  57 years ago,  Thobela had been unwell. His childhood friend Eddie Mutungutungu confirmed the former world champion was found dead after several attempts to contact him drew a blank. "He was strangely unavailable on his mobile, and his family, accompanied by police, managed to gain access to his place of residence and found he had passed on," Mutungutungu told Sowetan.

His poor health prevented him from attending Boxing SA's symposium at the Arena Holdings offices in Parktown last Friday.

Thobela held three world titles in two-weight divisions - the first two being the WBO and WBA lightweight belts in the lightweight divisions early in his blossoming career under veteran trainer Norman Hl;abane

In September 2000, the "Rose" finally bloomed as Thobela won the most prestigious WBC super middleweight belt via a 12th-roud stoppage victory over defending champion Glen Catley at Carnival City in Brakpan. Trainer Elias Tshabalala was in his corner.

Thobela was separated from his common law wife Sandra. They had two children together, Ntombi and Dingaan Thobela Junior.

Thobela enjoyed SA support beyond colour lines as his victories outside SA brought traffic to a standstill, with wild celebrations in townships.

Just two weeks ago, Joseph Makaringe – the former SA welterweight champion – passed away after a short illness.

Wally Dallenbach Sr. obit

 

INDYCAR RACE WINNER, LONGTIME OFFICIAL DALLENBACH DIES AT 87

He was not on the list.

Wally Dallenbach, a respected INDYCAR SERIES race winner as a driver and longtime series official dedicated to racing safety, died April 29. He was 87.

Dallenbach, a native of East Brunswick, New Jersey, made 13 Indianapolis 500 starts between 1967-79. His best finish was fourth, in 1976 and 1977, in the No. 40 Wildcat/DGS owned by Patrick Racing. He qualified in the middle of the front row in 1974 for Patrick, his best “500” start.

Perhaps Dallenbach’s most memorable performance as a driver at Indianapolis came in 1975, again for car owner U.E. “Pat” Patrick. He led four times for a race-high 96 laps, losing the top spot only at pit stops. But Dallenbach was eliminated from the race by a burnt piston while leading on Lap 162, just 12 laps before the race was called due to rain, with Bobby Unser earning his second “500” victory. Dallenbach was credited with ninth place.

Dallenbach recorded five victories, 27 podium finishes and one pole in 180 INDYCAR SERIES starts. His best championship finish was second, behind Roger McCluskey, in 1973 despite not qualifying for the first two races of the season.

The most memorable of Dallenbach’s victories came in the 1973 California 500 at Ontario Motor Speedway, the last of his three straight wins that season for Patrick Racing.

Dallenbach started his driving career in drag racing on the East Coast before switching to oval racing in midgets and sprint cars. He made his INDYCAR SERIES debut in 1965 at Langhorne Speedway, with his final start coming in 1979 at Phoenix. He then retired as a driver, but it wasn’t his last appearance in an INDYCAR SERIES car.

In 1981, rain severely curtailed the first weekend of Indianapolis 500 qualifying, and Mario Andretti didn’t get a chance to make an attempt. Andretti had a clashing commitment to race in the Belgian Grand Prix Formula One race during the second qualifying weekend, so Dallenbach briefly exited retirement to put Andretti’s No. 40 STP Oil Treatment Wildcat/Cosworth safely in the field before turning the car back to Andretti for the race.

After his initial retirement, Dallenbach became the first competition director and chief steward of Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) in 1980. He served as chief steward until 2004, easily recognized by his trademark cowboy hat and earning respect from all corners of the paddock for his even-handed officiating and humble, personable demeanor.

Dallenbach also made significant contributions to racing safety. He worked with doctors Steve Olvey and Terry Trammell and safety directors Steve Edwards and Lon Bromley to develop a trailblazing safety team including doctors, nurses and emergency medical technicians that traveled to all CART races. He also worked with teams and car builders to create improvements in chassis construction, including more energy-absorbing materials.

“Wally Dallenbach made a huge contribution to our sport for five decades as a driver and official,” a joint statement from INDYCAR and Indianapolis Motor Speedway said. “He was a talented competitor behind the wheel, who always raced hard but clean. That sense of fairness and decency extended to his legendary tenure as chief steward of CART, where he was respected and liked by all for his steady, sensible officiating. Wally’s many contributions to racing safety, especially a traveling medical team, will resonate long into the future. He was one of the true good guys of open-wheel racing, and our thoughts and sympathies are with his family.”

Said two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Gordon Johncock, Dallenbach’s teammate for six seasons at Patrick Racing: “Wally was as good a teammate as you could ever ask for. He took racing seriously. I've never met anyone at the track as helpful as Wally. He loved the sport and after he retired spent years helping as chief steward of Championship Auto Racing Teams. He helped the veterans and rookies – everyone. I'll miss him. He did a lot for the sport over the years. A very good man.”

Motorcycles also were an object of passion for Dallenbach. He moved to a ranch in Basalt, Colorado, after his successful 1973 season – fulfilling a dream spawned during his honeymoon in 1960 in Aspen – and organized the Colorado 500 dirt-bike ride with friend Sherm Cooper in 1976.

By 1981, the invitation-only event grew so big that the Colorado 500 Charity Fund was established, with a road ride added in 1987. The ride has raised more than $1.2 million for scholarship funds, medical centers, teen services, scouting and other charities, including groups that preserve trail-riding areas.

His vast and varied accomplishments were rewarded with enshrinement in multiple Halls of Fame, including the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame, Motorsports Hall of Fame of America, the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb Hall of Fame and state sports halls of fame in his native New Jersey and Colorado.

Dallenbach’s wife, Peppy, passed away in 2023. He is survived by three children – two sons, former NASCAR Cup Series driver Wally Jr. and multiple Pikes Peak International Hill Climb winner Paul, and daughter, Colleen.

Daniel Zirilli obit

Daniel Zirilli Dies: Prolific Director Of Action Films And Music Videos Was 58

 

He was not on the list.

Daniel Zirilli, a prolific director, producer and writer of action films and more than 200 music videos including the Rolling Stones’ “Voodoo Lounge,” died April 28. He was 58.

His death was announced by his family. No cause was disclosed, but an Instagram message posted by his daughter Talise Zirilli last weekend indicated that he had been missing since April 24.

Born November 13, 1965, Zirilli founded Popart Film Factory at age 24 after graduating from Pepperdine University in Malibu. In the subsequent years, he would direct and write more than 30 feature films, most in the action and thriller genres. He was a producer on more than 85 films. Among his most recent, Zirilli directed, produced and co-wrote Invincible, released by Lionsgate in 2022. Shot on location in Thailand, Invincible starred Johnny Strong, Marko Zaror and Michael Pare, who also appeared in Zirilli’s Hollow Point (2019) along with Luke Goss and Jay Mohr.

Other film credits include Acceleration (2019) starring Dolph Lundgren, Sean Patrick Flanery and Jason London; Renegades, a 2022 London-shot gangster crime drama featuring Ian Ogilvy, Nick Moran, Patsy Kensit, and Lee Majors; and Phoenix, a 2023 female-driven revenge thriller lead by Natalie Eva Marie, Neal McDonough, and Randy Couture.

Zirilli directed The Asian Connection (2016) starring Steven Seagal and Michael Jai White which debuted on Netflix, and also produced It’s So Easy and Other Lies, a 2015 film about the early days of Guns N’ Roses.

Zirilli directed/produced more than 250 music videos, including for such artists as Three 6 Mafia (featuring Katt Williams), Redman, Cypress Hill, Shaq, Scarface, Montel Jordan, Master P, Twista, Chayanne, Freddie Jackson, Roger Troutman Jr., Gerald Levert, Bobby Womack, Bokeem Woodbine, Peter Himmelman, and Flea. He produced music videos for the Russell Simmons film The Show for Def Jam, Michael Nesmith of The Monkees and many other recording artists.

In Music Videos, Zirilli worked his way up in the business with artists such as NWA, Cher and Danzig, then directed/produced over 250 Music Videos, with some going to #1 on MTV and BET, with more than 25 singles that reached beyond gold or platinum sales (1 million units RIAA) for artists including Three 6 Mafia (featuring Katt Williams), Dvbbs, Redman, Cypress Hill, Shaq, Scarface, Montel Jordan, Master P, Twista, Chayanne, Freddie Jackson, Roger Troutman Jr., Gerald Levert, Bobby Womack, Bokeem Woodbine, Peter Himmelman, Flea, Domino, Supercat, WC & The Madd Circle, Wilton Felder, Najee, and other Grammy Award Winning Artists. Zirilli also produced music videos for Russell Simmons film "The Show" for Def Jam, Michael Nesmith (of The Monkees) and many other legendary recording artists.

Daniel Zirilli's Public Service Announcements include projects commissioned by the Earth Communication Office (E.C.O.), Earth Summit, Save our Skies (S.O.S.), and The Garden Project L.A. (in association with Disney) which have featured socially conscious celebrities such as Mark Hamill, Pierce Brosnan, Olivia Newton-John, Ed Begley Jr., Herbie Hancock, Bob Saget, Rita Coolidge, Richard Mull, Jane Seymour and the Late John Ritter, among many others.

Daniel Zirilli graduated from Pepperdine University, Malibu and received his Bachelor Of Arts, in Speech Communication/Creative Writing.

Zirilli is survived by daughter Talise Zirilli; son Calian Zirilli; father Richard Buchta; mother Diane Zirilli Buchta; brother Rick Buchta and sister Kym Rusch. The funeral will be a private ceremony for close family.

 

Director

The Gunrunner

Director

Pre-production

 

Intercept

Director

In Production

 

Kevin Costner, Keanu Reeves, Jay Giannone, CJ Mac, Neal McDonough, Vic Mignogna, Kelly Reilly, Nicholas Rivera, Bernard Salzmann, Philip Tan, Daniel Zirilli, Chuck Zito, Arnold Chon, Jessie Camacho, Sofia Nistratova, Oleg Prudius, Randy Couture, Alan Woodman, Randy Roven, Jason Bing, Lewis Michael, Jonathan Camp, Devon Soltendieck, Rashad Evans, Asif Akbar, Wendie Colter, Bobby Scott, Natalie Eva Marie, Joseph Aviel, Kit Connor, Donta Tanner, and Colten Dietz in Phoenix (2023)

Phoenix

4.3

Director

2023

 

Lee Majors, Danny Trejo, Louis Mandylor, Nick Moran, and Ian Ogilvy in Renegades (2022)

Renegades

3.7

Director

2022

 

Invincible (2020)

Invincible

3.7

Director

2020

 

Dolph Lundgren, Sean Patrick Flanery, Danny Trejo, Chuck Liddell, and Natalie Burn in Acceleration (2019)

Acceleration

3.7

Director

2019

 

Hollow Point (2019)

Hollow Point

4.2

Director

2019

 

Dvbbs & CMC$ feat. Gia Koka: Not Going Home

Music Video

Director

2017

 

Steven Seagal and Pim Bubear in The Asian Connection (2016)

The Asian Connection

3.2

Director

2016

 

Luke Goss, Jacob Vargas, and Shawn Lock in Crossing Point (2016)

Crossing Point

5.1

Director

2016

 

Ron Smoorenburg, Dean Alexandrou, Selina Lo, and Byron Gibson in Bangkok Rush (2016)

Bangkok Rush

3.2

Director

2016

 

Luke Perry and Jennifer Mckenzie in Black Beauty (2015)

Black Beauty

3.6

Director

2015

 

Locked Down (2010)

Locked Down

4.2

Director

2010

 

Kevin 'Kimbo Slice' Ferguson in Circle of Pain (2010)

Circle of Pain

3.6

Video

Director

2010

 

Fast Girl (2008)

Fast Girl

4.7

Director

2008

 

Curse of Alcatraz (2007)

Curse of Alcatraz

2.4

Director

2007

 

Hereiti Biron and Teiki Pambrum in The Stonecutter (2007)

The Stonecutter

6.1

Director

2007

 

Damon Whitaker, Alex A. Quinn, and Daniel Venegas in Clash (2006)

Clash

6.0

Video

Director

2006

 

Aces (2006)

Aces

2.7

Director

2006

 

Suri Serano, Tarah Tobiason, Lacey Toups, and Candise Lakota in The Champagne Gang (2006)

The Champagne Gang

3.1

Director

2006

 

CrossBones (2005)

CrossBones

1.9

Video

Director

2005

 

Legendz of Rap

Video

Director

2005

 

Choices 2 (2004)

Choices 2

7.3

Video

Director

2004

 

Raul Julia-Levy, Danny Romo, Damon Whitaker, Lorenzo De La Cruz, Erlinda Navarro, and Daniel Venegas in Vengeance (2004)

Vengeance

4.8

Video

Director

2004

 

Scarface: Greatest Hits on DVD (2003)

Scarface: Greatest Hits on DVD

8.3

Video

Director (video Homies and Thuggs)

2003

 

Latin Kingz (2003)

Latin Kingz

3.8

Video

Director

2003

 

Voodoo Tailz (2002)

Voodoo Tailz

2.1

Video

Director

2002

 

Daron Fordham, Karlie Redd, and Rod Z in Black Spring Break 2: The Sequel (2001)

Black Spring Break 2: The Sequel

3.5

Video

Director

2001

 

Winner Takes All (1998)

Winner Takes All

5.8

TV Movie

Director

1998

 

Montell Jordan: Daddy's Home

Music Video

Director

1995

 

20 Fingers Feat. Gillette: Short Dick Man (1995)

20 Fingers Feat. Gillette: Short Dick Man

5.4

Music Video

Director

1995

 

Montell Jordan Feat. Redman: Somethin' 4 da Honeyz (Remix)

Music Video

Director

1995

 

Suga: What's Up Star? (1995)

Suga: What's Up Star?

Music Video

Director

1995

 

Domino: Getto Jam

Music Video

Director

1994

 

Writer

Wildtrack

story

Post-production

 

The Gunrunner

Writer

Pre-production

 

Affinity

story

Post-production

 

Kevin Costner, Keanu Reeves, Jay Giannone, CJ Mac, Neal McDonough, Vic Mignogna, Kelly Reilly, Nicholas Rivera, Bernard Salzmann, Philip Tan, Daniel Zirilli, Chuck Zito, Arnold Chon, Jessie Camacho, Sofia Nistratova, Oleg Prudius, Randy Couture, Alan Woodman, Randy Roven, Jason Bing, Lewis Michael, Jonathan Camp, Devon Soltendieck, Rashad Evans, Asif Akbar, Wendie Colter, Bobby Scott, Natalie Eva Marie, Joseph Aviel, Kit Connor, Donta Tanner, and Colten Dietz in Phoenix (2023)

Phoenix

4.3

Writer

2023

 

Dolph Lundgren and Luke Wilson in The Best Man (2023)

The Best Man

3.8

story by

2023

 

Invincible (2020)

Invincible

3.7

Writer

2020

 

Hollow Point (2019)

Hollow Point

4.2

written by

2019

 

Saye Yabandeh in Breakout (2016)

Breakout

6.7

screenplay & story

2016

 

Steven Seagal and Pim Bubear in The Asian Connection (2016)

The Asian Connection

3.2

story

2016

 

Luke Goss, Jacob Vargas, and Shawn Lock in Crossing Point (2016)

Crossing Point

5.1

additional dialogue

2016

 

Luke Perry and Jennifer Mckenzie in Black Beauty (2015)

Black Beauty

3.6

Writer

2015

 

Danny Trejo in Alcatraz Prison Escape: Deathbed Confession (2015)

Alcatraz Prison Escape: Deathbed Confession

5.1

screenplay

2015

 

Locked Down (2010)

Locked Down

4.2

screenplay

2010

 

Kevin 'Kimbo Slice' Ferguson in Circle of Pain (2010)

Circle of Pain

3.6

Video

story

2010

 

Fast Girl (2008)

Fast Girl

4.7

co-story

2008

 

Curse of Alcatraz (2007)

Curse of Alcatraz

2.4

story

2007

 

Damon Whitaker, Alex A. Quinn, and Daniel Venegas in Clash (2006)

Clash

6.0

Video

screenplay

2006

 

Aces (2006)

Aces

2.7

story

2006

 

Suri Serano, Tarah Tobiason, Lacey Toups, and Candise Lakota in The Champagne Gang (2006)

The Champagne Gang

3.1

written by

2006

 

CrossBones (2005)

CrossBones

1.9

Video

Writer

2005

 

Saafir in Tha' Crib (2004)

Tha' Crib

3.7

Video

story

2004

 

Raul Julia-Levy, Danny Romo, Damon Whitaker, Lorenzo De La Cruz, Erlinda Navarro, and Daniel Venegas in Vengeance (2004)

Vengeance

4.8

Video

screenplay

story

2004

 

Tami Roman, Sticky Fingaz, and Kenya Moore in Hot Parts (2003)

Hot Parts

5.3

Video

story

2003

 

Latin Kingz (2003)

Latin Kingz

3.8

Video

screenplay

story

2003

 

Voodoo Tailz (2002)

Voodoo Tailz

2.1

Video

screenplay

2002

 

Winner Takes All (1998)

Winner Takes All

5.8

TV Movie

story

1998

 

Skee-Lo: I Wish (1995)

Skee-Lo: I Wish

7.7

Music Video

co-writer

1995

 

Producer

Affinity

producer

Post-production

 

Steel Goddesses

executive producer

Pre-production

 

Intercept

producer

In Production

 

Three (2024)

Three

7.5

producer

2024

 

Louis Mandylor in Hellhound (2024)

Hellhound

4.3

executive producer

2024

 

Louis Mandylor and Natassia Malthe in Holiday Boyfriend (2023)

Holiday Boyfriend

7.8

executive producer

2023

 

Dolph Lundgren and Luke Wilson in The Best Man (2023)

The Best Man

3.8

producer

2023

 

Tom Berenger and Cam Gigandet in Black Warrant (2022)

Black Warrant

4.6

executive producer

2022

 

Lee Majors, Danny Trejo, Louis Mandylor, Nick Moran, and Ian Ogilvy in Renegades (2022)

Renegades

3.7

executive producer

2022

 

The Guest List (2022)

The Guest List

8.2

executive producer

2022

 

Nick Moran, Billy Murray, and Jeanine Nerissa Sothcott in Nemesis (2021)

Nemesis

3.3

executive producer

2021

 

Invincible (2020)

Invincible

3.7

producer

2020

 

Vinnie Jones, Iván Palomares, Alyssa Lozovskaya, Sam Medina, Juanmi Márquez, Paco Arana, Javier Pérez Corrales, and Franky Lankester in Ron Hopper's Misfortune (2020)

Ron Hopper's Misfortune

4.1

co-producer

2020

 

Ben Ramsey's iNTERFACE (2019)

Ben Ramsey's iNTERFACE

7.0

Short

executive producer

2019

 

Ron Smoorenburg, Dean Alexandrou, Selina Lo, and Craig Ryan in Haphazard (2019)

Haphazard

3.8

producer

2019

 

For Ed Ricketts (2018)

For Ed Ricketts

executive producer

2018

 

Gina Carano in Scorched Earth (2018)

Scorched Earth

4.4

executive producer

2018

 

Larceny (2017)

Larceny

3.5

executive producer

2017

 

Steven Seagal in End of a Gun (2016)

End of a Gun

3.6

executive producer

2016

 

Saye Yabandeh in Breakout (2016)

Breakout

6.7

producer

2016

 

Luke Goss, Jacob Vargas, and Shawn Lock in Crossing Point (2016)

Crossing Point

5.1

producer

2016

 

The Tell-Tale Heart (2016)

The Tell-Tale Heart

3.4

producer

2016

 

Ron Smoorenburg, Dean Alexandrou, Selina Lo, and Byron Gibson in Bangkok Rush (2016)

Bangkok Rush

3.2

executive producer

2016

 

The Grapes of Wrath: We Shall Overcome

producer

2015

 

Stephen Lang, Dominic Purcell, and Marie Avgeropoulos in Isolation (2015)

Isolation

4.6

producer

2015

 

Dolph Lundgren in Shark Lake (2015)

Shark Lake

3.4

line producer

producer

2015

 

Luke Perry and Jennifer Mckenzie in Black Beauty (2015)

Black Beauty

3.6

producer

2015

 

It's So Easy and Other Lies (2015)

It's So Easy and Other Lies

6.0

producer

2015

 

Danny Trejo in Alcatraz Prison Escape: Deathbed Confession (2015)

Alcatraz Prison Escape: Deathbed Confession

5.1

producer

2015

 

Dolph Lundgren, Billy Zane, and Vinnie Jones in Blood of Redemption (2013)

Blood of Redemption

4.4

executive producer

2013

 

Byron Mann, Stuart Townsend, Colin Egglesfield, and Catalina Sandino Moreno in A Stranger in Paradise (2013)

A Stranger in Paradise

4.5

co-producer

2013

 

The Package (2012)

The Package

5.0

executive producer

2012

 

Danny Trejo, Amy Smart, Craig Fairbrass, Dominic Purcell, and Dave Bautista in House of the Rising Sun (2011)

House of the Rising Sun

4.4

executive producer

2011

 

Bai Ling, Danny Trejo, and Gary Daniels in The Lazarus Papers (2010)

The Lazarus Papers

2.9

producer

2010

 

Locked Down (2010)

Locked Down

4.2

producer

2010

 

Beatdown (2010)

Beatdown

4.5

executive producer

2010

 

Kevin 'Kimbo Slice' Ferguson in Circle of Pain (2010)

Circle of Pain

3.6

Video

executive producer

2010

 

Godfrey and Kadeem Hardison in The Sweep (2008)

The Sweep

1.6

producer

2008

 

Curse of Alcatraz (2007)

Curse of Alcatraz

2.4

producer

2007

 

Hereiti Biron and Teiki Pambrum in The Stonecutter (2007)

The Stonecutter

6.1

producer

2007

 

Damon Whitaker, Alex A. Quinn, and Daniel Venegas in Clash (2006)

Clash

6.0

Video

producer

2006

 

Aces (2006)

Aces

2.7

producer

2006

 

Suri Serano, Tarah Tobiason, Lacey Toups, and Candise Lakota in The Champagne Gang (2006)

The Champagne Gang

3.1

producer

2006

 

CrossBones (2005)

CrossBones

1.9

Video

producer

2005

 

Saafir in Tha' Crib (2004)

Tha' Crib

3.7

Video

executive producer

2004

 

Anthony Auriemma, Adrianne Bottrell, and Princess Noemi Zavala in Border Warz (2004)

Border Warz

2.6

Video

executive producer

2004

 

Raul Julia-Levy, Danny Romo, Damon Whitaker, Lorenzo De La Cruz, Erlinda Navarro, and Daniel Venegas in Vengeance (2004)

Vengeance

4.8

Video

producer

2004

 

Elizabeth Alvarez in Devil's Knight (2003)

Devil's Knight

2.6

associate producer

2003

 

Guilty by Association (2003)

Guilty by Association

2.3

Video

co-executive producer

2003

 

Wrong Casa (2003)

Wrong Casa

2.5

Video

executive producer

2003

 

Latin Kingz (2003)

Latin Kingz

3.8

Video

producer

2003

 

The Legend of Diablo (2003)

The Legend of Diablo

1.6

executive producer

2003

 

15 to Life (2002)

15 to Life

2.9

Video

producer

2002

 

Voodoo Tailz (2002)

Voodoo Tailz

2.1

Video

producer

2002

 

Daron Fordham, Karlie Redd, and Rod Z in Black Spring Break 2: The Sequel (2001)

Black Spring Break 2: The Sequel

3.5

Video

producer

2001

 

Black Spring Break: The Movie (1998)

Black Spring Break: The Movie

2.0

executive producer

producer

1998

 

Winner Takes All (1998)

Winner Takes All

5.8

TV Movie

producer

1998

 

Rolling Stones: Voodoo Lounge (1995)

Rolling Stones: Voodoo Lounge

6.8

Video Game

producer (film & video segments)

1995

 

Montell Jordan: Daddy's Home

Music Video

executive producer

1995

 

Skee-Lo: I Wish (1995)

Skee-Lo: I Wish

7.7

Music Video

producer

1995

 

Domino: Getto Jam

Music Video

producer

1994

Brian McCardie obit

Outlander and Line of Duty star Brian McCardie dies aged 59

The Motherwell-born actor's death was announced on social media by his sister Sarah. 

He was not on the list.

Tributes have poured in for Line of Duty actor Brian McCardie who has died, aged 59.

The Motherwell-born star was best known for his role as the mafia boss John Thomas "Tommy" Hunter alongside fellow Scot Martin Compston in the police drama.

He was described as a ‘wonderful and passionate actor’ by his sister Sarah, who announced the news of his death on social media today.

She tweeted: “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Brian James McCardie, beloved son, brother, uncle and dear friend to so many.

“Brian passed away suddenly at home on Sunday 28th April. A wonderful and passionate actor on stage and screen, Brian loved his work and touched many lives, and is gone much too soon. We love him and will miss him greatly; please remember Brian in your thoughts.

“Funeral arrangements will be announced in the days ahead.”

McCardie played Sir Marcus MacRannoch in an episode of Outlander and had only recently joined the cast of the Outlander prequel Blood of My Blood, in which he was cast as the chief of Clan Grant.

Starz network revealed McCardie that was currently filming in Scotland alongside the likes of Sara Vickers, Harriet Slater, Jamie Roy and Peter Mullan in the upcoming series, which centres around the lives of Outlander character Jamie Fraser’s parents.

McCardie’s acting career had already seen him take on dozens of roles in prime time television stretching back over 35 years as well as on the big screen.

His best known TV role was in Line of Duty , he also starred opposite Sean Bean in the 2021 BBC prison drama Time and in the film Rob Roy and in Irvine Welsh’s TV series Crime.

His film appearances included Rob Roy, Irvine Welsh’s Filth and the thriller Low Winter Sun alongside Mark Strong.

Producer Peter Broughan added: Shocked to hear that. Great memories of working with him on Rob Roy. Requiescat in pace.”

Author Paul Larkin tweeted: “Shocked and devastated to learn of the passing of Brian McCardie.

“Brian was a brilliant friend and we had many discussions about mental health issues where he was a fantastic help to me.

“As well as that; he was a phenomenal actor. Sleep tight Brother.”

George Clark responded: “Aw sorry to hear this. Was a presence on everything he was in. Especially Filth and Crime. RIP.”

Director Alan Bowman Clarke posted: I'm saddened to hear about the death of legendary actor #brianmccardie. I spoke to him a few times about projects & always found him genuine, passionate, generous & funny. I wrote a part for him in a future project. My thoughts go out to his family, friends & colleagues.”

McCardie’s parents moved from Motherwell to Carluke while he was at school and he developed an interest in theatre, starring in a production of the musical Godspell with a local drama group consisting of youngsters from local schools.

He recently appeared in Jimmy McGovern’s three-part BBC One drama Time as Jackson Jones.

He also appeared in Sky Atlantic’s Domina , set in Ancient Rome playing Roman statesman Cicero.

At the Lyric Theatre Belfast, he performed his self-penned one-man play Connolly, about the Irish republican, socialist and trade union leader James Connolly who was executed for his part in the 1916 Easter Rising against British rule in Ireland.

The cancellation of 2020's Edinburgh Festival meant he lost the opportunity to present it in a six-week run in Edinburgh's Cowgate, where Connolly was born and raised.

 

Selected filmography

Forget About Me (1990, TV Movie) – Bunny

Waterfront Beat (1990–1991, TV Series) – PC Ronnie Barker

Tonight at 8.30 (1991, TV Series) – Bill – 1st Soldier

Murder Most Horrid (1991, TV Series) – Supermarket Assistant

Doctor Finlay (1993, TV Series) – Archie Henderson

Taggart (1994–2010, TV Series) – Thomas Keenan / Fisher / Martin McLean / Alex Currie

Dirty Old Town (1995, TV Movie) – Vic Leigh

Rob Roy (1995) – Alasdair McGregor

Kidnapped (1995, TV Movie) – David Balfour

The Ghost and the Darkness (1996) – Angus Starling

Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997) – Merced

200 Cigarettes (1999) – Eric

Kavanagh QC (1999, TV Series) – Philip Boxer

Rituals and Resolutions (1999, Short) – Will

Snatch (2000) – Uncle Dean

Beyond the City Limits (2001) – Sergei Akotia

Mr. Barrington (2003) – Mr Barrington

Solid Air (2003) – Robert Houston Junior

The Bill (2004, TV Series) – Taffy Saunders

Ellie Parker (2005) – Acting Student

Murphy's Law (2006, TV Series) – Billy Johnstone

Low Winter Sun (2006, TV Movie) – Det Con Joe Geddes

Lilies (2007, TV Mini-Series) – Dadda Moss

The Whistleblowers (2007, TV Series) – Tim Robey

Rebus (2007, TV Series) – Brian Robertson

Shameless (2008, TV Series) – Paddy McGrath

Kiss of Death (2008, TV Movie) – Michael Bovery

Heroes and Villains (2008, TV Series documentary) – Hernán Cortés

The Damned United (2009) – Dave Mackay

Wasted (2009) – Party Host

Seaside Stories (2009) – Dr. Forbes

Soulboy (2010) – Fish-shop Bobby

Anywhere But Here (2010, TV Movie) – Peter McBride

Thorne: Sleepyhead (2010, TV Mini-Series) – Frank Calvert

Accused (2010, TV Series) – DI Warren

The Witcher 2 (2011, Video Game) – (English version, voice)

The Ripper (2011, Computer Game) – The Reverend (voice)

Case Histories (2011, TV Series) – Terence Smith

Titanic (2012, TV Mini-Series) – First Officer Murdoch

Vexed (2012, TV Series) – Robert Randell

Doors Open (2012, TV Movie) – Charlie Calloway

Line of Duty (2012–2014, TV Series) – Tommy / John Thomas Hunter

The Crash (2013, TV Series) – Charlie Harris

MI High (2013, TV Series) – Mr. McNab

For Those in Peril (2013) – Dr. Forbes

The Groundsman (2013, Short) – Steve

Filth (2013) – Dougie Gillman

Ghosts (2014) – Jacob Engstrand

Peterman (2014) – Bill

Wasted Time (2014) – Danny

The Musketeers (2015, TV Series) – Sebastian Lemaitre

Dropping Off Michael (2015, Short) – Duncan

Holby City (2015, TV Series) – Archie Pugh

Outlander (2015, TV Series) – Sir Marcus MacRannoch

Scarlet (2016, Short) – Fisherman

Rebellion (2016, TV Mini-Series) – James Connolly

The Job (2016) – Geoff

Fortitude 2 (2017, TV Series) – Lazlo Hindemith

Come Out of the Woods (2017, Short) – PC Brian Cassidy

Walk Like a Panther (2018) – Ziggy Barrow

Ordeal by Innocence (2018, TV Mini-Series) – Bellamy Gould (Transmission BBC 1 Easter 2018)[5]

Agatha and the Truth of Murder (2018, DPS Productions, TV Movie) – Sir Hugh Persimmion

Moscow Noir (2018, 8 Part TV Series) – Lord Pendergast

Giri/Haji (2019, 8 Part Series) – Jack Sister Pictures

Last of The Czars (2019, Netflix/Nutopia, 6 Part Series, TV Series documentary) – Prime Minister Pyotr Stolypin

Our Ladies (2019) – Police Sergeant

Charles lst (2019, TV series) – Sir John Pym

Domina (2021, TV series) – Cicero

Time (2021, TV series) – Jackson Jones

Six Four (2023, 4 Part TV Series) – Bill Martin

Mia and The Dragon Princess (2023) – Skipper Matthews

The Long Shadow (2023, 7 Part TV Series) – Steve

Damaged (2024) – Avery