Actress Patty Duke, who won an Academy Award for her performance as young Helen Keller in "The Miracle Worker" has died at age 69 from complications relating to an intestinal disorder. Duke was 16 years old when she won the Oscar for Best Supporting actress opposite Anne Bancroft in the classic film. Duke also starred in the popular 1960s sitcom "The Patty Duke Show" and went on to star in the feature film "Valley of the Dolls", which was lambasted by critics but which proved to be a major boxoffice success. However, Duke suffered from mental health problems and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 1982. Duke's tumultuous personal life extended to her love life, which saw her marry four times. Her husbands included director Harry Falk, rock promoter Michael Tell, actor John Astin and Michael Pearce, who was not in show business. She was the mother of actor Sean Astin, who took the Astin name due to Duke's belief that John Astin was his father. Biological testing later proved this was not the case and that Michael Tell is his real father. Despite her personal problems, Duke worked steadily throughout her career and also became a leading advocate for curing mental health disorders. For more click here.
Nancy Sinatra posted a tribute to her brother on her Facebook page.
BY LEE PFEIFFER
Frank Sinatra Jr, the only son of the iconic singer and actor, has died at age 72 from cardiac arrest. A consummate performer who was described by the Washington Post as the "Keeper of his father's flame", was on tour when he fell ill. Sinatra Jr.'s story is not dissimilar to that of other children of legendary entertainers in that his last name opened certain doors and helped him establish a career but also posed challenges in terms of his ability to establish an identity of his own. Sinatra Jr. always had a checkered relationship with his father. While not actually estranged, the young man found his father to be a remote figure who was content to have his son educated in expensive boarding schools. The elder Sinatra never tried to mentor his son or advise him as to what profession to enter. Sinatra Jr. discovered early in life that he also had a gift for singing. In the 1960s he made the decision to follow in his father's footsteps by crooning traditional love songs accompanied by a big band. His father neither encouraged or discouraged that decision. Sinatra Jr. was bucking the trends of the 1960s counter culture, an era in which hard rock music was all the rage among people his age. Yet he never embraced it and in fact denounced rock and roll. Over the decades Sinatra Jr. doggedly worked to establish his own identity- an admittedly difficult task considering he was mostly singing numbers made famous by his father. Sinatra Jr. made headlines in 1963 when he was kidnapped and held for ransom. Ironically, one of his kidnapper's was a friend of his sister Nancy. The situation made international news and involved such disparate figures as Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, F.B.I. chief J. Edgar Hoover and mob boss Sam Giancana. He was eventually released unharmed and the kidnappers were arrested. In 1988 he was shocked and delighted to be asked by his father to serve as his conductor for his live concerts. Sinatra Jr. indicated that this was the closest he would ever get to his father, traveling and working with him over a period of seven years. The two men were never close but Sinatra Jr. was clearly grateful for the opportunity to work with his father in a professional capacity. After his father's death, Sinatra Jr. resumed his big band concert tours, winning over appreciative audiences. He candidly told the media in 2006 that "I was never a success", pointing out that he never had a hit record or movie. However, he did take satisfaction from performing in front of his own fans and working diligently with his sisters to ensure the Sinatra legacy through official documentaries and books. In that respect he was indeed a success.
Cinema Retro mourns the loss of Sir Ken Adam, the ingenious, Oscar-winning production designer who has passed away at age 95. Adam's work helped redefine films in terms of the elaborate and creative designs he invented, particularly for the James Bond franchise. Adam's work on the first 007 film, "Dr. No" in 1962 was deemed to be nothing less than remarkable, considering that the entire film was shot on a relatively low budget of just over $1 million. His exotic designs so impressed Stanley Kubrick that he hired Adam as production designer on his 1964 classic "Dr. Strangelove." For that film, Adam created the now legendary "War Room" set which many people believe actually exists at the Pentagon. In fact when Ronald Reagan was inaugurated as President in 1981 he asked to see the War Room, only to be told that it was a fictional creation. Reagan acknowledged that he had been intrigued by the concept since seeing it in "Dr. Strangelove". Adam had a somewhat tumultuous relationship with Kubrick, whose habit of changing his mind at the last minute caused Adam enormous grief. However, the two collaborated again on "Barry Lyndon" and Adam won his first Oscar for his work on that film. Adam's close relationship with the Bond franchise is based on his now famous designs seen in the early films. They include the massive Fort Knox set for "Goldfinger", which was created entirely on the back lot at Pinewood Studios on the outskirts of London. Perhaps his greatest achievement was the gigantic volcano set that housed a full size rocket capable of lifting off. This was done for the 1967 Bond film "You Only Live Twice". Incredibly, Adam's work was not recognized with an Oscar nomination despite what many feel is one of the greatest production design achievements in film history. His other Bond films were "Thunderball", "Diamonds Are Forever", "The Spy Who Loved Me" and "Moonraker". For "The Spy Who Loved Me", Adam built the first incarnation of the massive "007 Stage" at Pinewood Studios. It burned down in 1984 and was rebuilt by his protege, production designer Peter Lamont.
Adam's other film achievements include two of the Michael Caine Harry Palmer spy films, "The Ipcress File" and "Funeral in Berlin", "Sleuth", "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" (for which he designed the famed "flying car"), "The Madness of King George" (for which he won a second Oscar), "The Last of Sheila", "Woman of Straw" and "Addams Family Values". He was also a prolific race car driver and had the distinction of serving in RAF in action against Hitler's forces, despite being a German national himself.
On a personal basis, Sir Ken was a good friend of Cinema Retro and had contributed to our magazine in its early stages through interviews conducted by his friend, Sir Christopher Frayling, who co-authored books about Sir Ken's remarkable life and career.He also contributed valuable interviews for documentaries we worked on about the Bond film franchise as well as "Dr. Strangelove". In his later years, Adam appeared at events pertaining to the Bond franchise that were held at Pinewood Studios by www.bondstars.com With his laid back mannerisms, wry sense of humor and omnipresent cigar, he always delighted fans with his remarkable stories. This writer sat next to him a few years ago to watch the digital screening of "Goldfinger" at Pinewood. Ken told me that he was incredulous at how wonderful it all looked. When the scene came to the interior of Fort Knox, he said to me, "I never thought I'd live to see my work presented so gloriously". It's safe to say we won't see his kind again.
(For full interview with Sir Ken Adam, see Cinema Retro issue #2)
Sir George Martin, arguably the most influential producer in the history of rock 'n roll music, has died peacefully at age 90. Martin was described by Paul McCartney as his "second father" because he had guided the Beatles through their early years, producing all but one of their albums and giving them the distinctive sound that resulted in them becoming legends. His influence on the band was so important that he gained the nick name of "The Fifith Beatle". Martin went on to exert his influence with other major acts over the decades, remaining a powerful force in the music industry. For full details of Sir George's remarkable life, click here.
Oscar winning actor George Kennedy has died at age 91, five months after the passing of his wife Joan. Kennedy's popularity as a character actor led to eventual leading man roles in major films. Born in New York City, he experienced stage life early, working with his parents in Vaudeville. During WWII he served under General Patton and was decorated for bravery. He drifted into acting on television in the 1950s. With his imposing physical presence (he was 6'4"), Kennedy immediately found work, generally playing heavies who squared off against the series' heroes. Among the shows he guest-starred on were such hits as "Have Gun, Will Travel", "Rawhide", "Gunsmoke" and "The Untouchables". He crossed into feature films in the early 1960s and first made a splash in Stanley Donen's 1963 comedy thriller "Charade" in which he played a crook with a hook hand who attempts to kill Cary Grant in a rooftop fight. The film demonstrated that Kennedy could play light comedy as well as menacing characters. From that point he never stopped working and quickly became one of the most popular "second bananas" in the film industry. He specialized in Westerns and appeared in plenty- squaring off against John Wayne in "The Sons of Katie Elder" and co-starring with James Stewart, Dean Martin and Raquel Welch in "Bandolero!". He also had a major role in the 1967 WWII blockbuster "The Dirty Dozen". His appearance as a buffoonish convict who initially fights but later befriends Paul Newman on a chain gain in "Cool Hand Luke" won him the Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 1968. This elevated his marketability in Hollywood and Kennedy got the occasional starring roles in films such as "Guns of the Magnificent Seven" and "The Human Factor". Generally, however, he was relegated to supporting roles, but high profile ones. As gruff, cigar crunching engine Joe Patroni in the original "Airport", Kennedy made a significant enough impression that he became the only cast member from that film to appear in the three sequels. He also co-starred with Clint Eastwood in "Thunderbolt and Lightfoot" and "The Eiger Sanction". He enjoyed a late career surge in popularity as Lesiie Nielsen's co-star in the three hit "Naked Gun" comedies. Kennedy had two children from his first marriage. After marrying Joan, the couple adopted four more including Kennedy's granddaughter, whose mother had been battling drug addiction. In 2011 he published his memoirs under the title "Trust Me".