Sci-Fi Illustrator John Schoenherr R.I.P.

John Schoenherr, who illustrated art for science fiction authors from Frank Herbert to Philip K. Dick, passed on April 8 at the age of 74. The cause was chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

John Schoenherr was born in Manhattan on July 5, 1935, but raised in Queens. His future as an artist developed in part from growing up in a neighbourhood where multiple languages were spoken. Growing up in a German speaking household, Mr. Schoenherr used pictures to communicate with his English, Italian, and Chinese speaking neighbours. He studied at the Art Students League of New York. He earned a bachelor of fine arts at the Pratt Institute.

John Schoenherr had wanted to be a painter, but eventually found himself as a illustrator often published in the science fiction magazine Astounding (later renamed Analog). He was the first man to illustrate the classic novel Dune by Frank Herbert, which was first published as a serial in Analog from 1963 to 1965. He was also the first artist to depict the world of Pern created by Anne McCaffrey "Dragonriders of Pern" series. By 1961 Mr. Schoenherr was regularly illustrating the covers of science fiction, fantasy, and horror paperbacks. Among the works Mr. Schoenherr illustrated were Bright New Universe by Jack Williamson, We Can Build You by Philip K. Dick, Children of Tomorrow  by A. E. Van Vogt, and many many more. From 1962 to 1967 John Schoenherr was nominated for the Hugo for Best Professional Artist every year, winning the award in 1965.

Beginning in 1963 with Rascal: A Memoir of a Better Era by Sterling North, John Schoenherr also illustrated children's books. He also illustrated Gentle Ben by Walt Morey, The Wolfling by M. Miles, and Julie of the Wolves by Jean C. George. He won a Caldecott Medal for Owl Moon by Jane Yolen in 1988. He also wrote and illustrated several of his own children's books, including The Barn, Bear, and Rebel.

There can be no doubt that John Schoenherr was one of the greatest science fiction illustrators of all time. No one could depict alien landscapes as well as he could. And with a background in nature illustration, he could make even the strangest creatures seem real. Indeed, it would be Mr. Schoenherr's depiction of Dune that would shape our image of the alien world ever since. Charged with depicting the gigantic sandworms, Mr. Schoenherr accomplished what seemed impossible---making a worm seem terrifying. Schoenherr's sandworms had gaping maws into which one could only inky, perpetual darkness. No one has ever improved on Mr. Schoenherrr's depiction of Dune, and it is doubtful anyone ever will.

Dixie Carter Passes On

Dixie Carter, best known for her role on the Eighties sitcom Designing Women, passed yesterday at the age of 70. The cause was endometrial cancer.

Dixie Carter was born on May 25, 1939 in McLemoresville, Tennessee. It was when she was four years old, after hearing a broadcast of the Metropolitan Opera, that she decided she wanted to be an opera singer. She attended the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and Southwestern at Memphis. She graduated from Memphis State University. In 1959 she competed in the Miss Tennessee pageant, where she took first runner up.

Dixie Carter made her professional debut in a production of Carousel in Memphis in 1960. In 1963 she moved to New York City. She appeared in a production of A Winter's Tale in Central Park. She joined the Music Theatre of Lincoln Centre, but never rose above the level of understudy. She left the Musical Theatre of Lincoln Centre in 1966 for the revues at the Upstairs at the Downstairs nightclub.

Dixie Carter made her television debut on The Edge of Night, on which she played Assistant District Attorney Brandy Henderson from 1974 to 1976. In 1974 she made her Broadway debut in Sextet. In 1976 Miss Carter appeared on Broadway in a revival of Pal Joey. In 1977 she guest starred on The Andros Targets. That same year she joined the cast of the short lived show On Our Own. In 1979 she was part of the cast of the short lived sitcom Out of the Blue. The early Eighties saw Miss Carter guest star in such shows as Cassie & Co., Brett Maverick, Best of the West, Quincy M.E., The Greatest American Hero, and Lou Grant. From 1982 to 1983 she was a regular on the series Filthy Rich. From 1984 to 1985 she was a regular on Diff'rent Strokes.

In 1986 Dixie Carter guest starred on Crazy Like a Fox. It was that same year that she was cast in her best known role, as Julia Sugarbaker on the series Designing Women. Julia was the head of a four woman interior design firm in Atlanta, gifted with both beauty and sarcasm. The series proved to be a hit, running until 1993. In the Nineties Miss Carter appeared in the television movies Gambler V: Playing for Keeps, Dazzle, and Gone in the Night She guest starred on Christy, Diagnosis: Murder, and Fired Up. From 1999 to 2000 she was a regular on the short lived series Ladies Man. From 1999 to 2002 she played lawyer Randi King on the series Family Law. Miss Carter also returned to Broadway. She appeared in the play Master Class.

The Naughts saw Dixie Carter on Broadway one last time, in a revival of Thoroughly Modern Millie. She guest starred on Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, and Hope and Faith. She had a recurring role on Desperate Housewives as the mother-in-law of Marcia Cross. She appeared in the film That Evening Sun, released in 2009. It was her last appearance on film. From the Eighties onwards she had a career as a cabaret singer.

Dixie Carter was undoubtedly beautiful. She was also very talented. Although best known as Julia Sugarbaker, she played a number of different roles. In Thoroughly Modern Millie she played the fiendish Mrs.Meers. On Desperate Housewives she played the sometimes frightening Gloria Hodge. She could play far more than Southern belles. She was also a talented singer, a craft she was able to display on Designing Women. There can be little doubt that the reason for much of that series' success was Dixie Carter.

Munchkin Coroner Meinhardt Raabe & Jiminy Cricket Voice Eddie Carroll R.I.P.

Meinhardt Raabe

Meinhardt Raabe, who played the Munchkin's coroner who pronounced the Wicked Witch of the East "really, most sincerely dead" in The Wizard of Oz, passed Thursday at the age of 94. He was one of the last surviving actors to play one of the Munchkins.

Meinhardt Raabe was born on September 2, 1915 in Watertown, Wisconsin. Growing up he in rural Wisconsin, he assumed that he was unique, as there were no other little people in the area. It was in 1933 that he went to the Chicago World's Fair and visited the Midget Village there. He so enjoyed the experience that he took a job as a barker there the next summer. He attended the University of Wisconsin in Madison where he received a bachelor's degree in accounting in 1937. He graduated from Drexel University in 1970 with an M.B.A.

Mr. Raabe experienced a good deal of discrimination because of his height, with one recruiter even telling him he belonged in a carnival. He eventually took a job with Oscar Mayer as a salesman. The company appointed him their mascot, Little Oscar "the World's Smallest Chef," and he spent nearly thirty years travelling with the Wienermobile to promote the company. He would be one of the first to drive the Wienermobile, the original having been designed in 1936.

It was in 1938 that he found out MGM was hiring little people for a film. Meinhardt Raabe took a leave from his job and went to Hollywood. MGM was impressed with Mr. Raabe, and cast him in the role of the coroner in The Wizard of Oz. Like the other actors who played Munchkins in the film, it is believed his lines were later dubbed. Despite this, Mr. Raabe always remained a fan of the film. It would be his only feature film role. For the rest of his life he would appear before schools and clubs to talk about his experiences in making the film.  He was frequently seen at fan conventions dedicated to the film.

During World War II he served in the Civil Air Patrol. It is believed he was the smallest pilot in uniform. Mr. Raabe later worked as a horticulturist and a teacher.

Meinhardt Raabe had only one role in a feature film, and it was a role that lasted only a few seconds. Despite this, he made an impression that actors who work for years in their profession would not. For years later he would continue to promote The Wizard of Oz, becoming one of its best loved supporters. He also worked for years in public relations for Oscar Mayer, many of them as "Little Oscar." In this position he again made a memorable impression on many. It was perhaps a photograph autographed by Judy Garland, which Mr. Raabe kept his whole life, that may have best summed up the man, "For Meinhardt, A perfect coroner, and person, too."


Eddie Carroll 
Eddie Carroll, only one of two men to voice Disney's Jiminy Cricket (the other was the legendary Cliff Edwards), passed on April 6 at the age of 76. The cause was a brain tumour.

Eddie Carroll was born Edward Eniak in Edmonton, Alberta on September 5, 1933. In high school he acted alongside another student who would one day be famous, Robert Goulet. It was in the Fifties that he moved to the United States as part of a NBC talent programme. He served in the United States Army, where he wrote and produced shows for Armed Forces Radio and Television. It was his mother who suggested he choose a simpler name for use in show business. He chose Carroll for a favourite aunt.

Eddie Carroll made his debut on television in a guest appearance on The Lieutenant in 1963. He also guest starred on Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C., Mission: Impossible, and The Andy Griffith Show. He appeared in the film The Last of the Secret Agents in 1966. In 1970 he was a regular on The Don Knotts Show. It was in 1971 that Mr. Carroll would receive the role for which he was best known. Following the death of Cliff Edwards, Disney needed to find a new voice for Jiminy Cricket. Prior to the audition, Mr. Carroll studied Mr. Edwards' rendition of "When You Wish Upon a Star." He also realised that he would have to adopt a Missouri to get the part. In the end, Eddie Carroll was cast as the new voice of  Jiminy Cricket. He first voiced the character in the animated short "Bongo" in 1971. In the end, Mr. Carroll would be the voice of Jiminy Cricket nearly until his death. He would become the man to voice a Disney character the longest.

In 1983 Eddie Carroll performed in a one man show, A Small Eternity with Jack Benny, in which he impersonated the legendary comedian. He continued to appear in the role of the comedian until last year. To play the role, Mr. Carroll had to teach himself violin.

Eddie Carroll did an admirable job as Jiminy Cricket, to the point that is difficult to notice any differences between his voice and that of Cliff Edwards. Indeed, he mastered Mr. Edwards' Hannibal, Missouri accent, no mean feat. He also did an admirable job impersonating Jack Benny. He was one of the few men who could capture the great comedian's character and personality nearly perfectly. Mr. Carroll's success as both Jiminy Cricket and as a Jack Benny impersonator was largely due to his ability to engulf himself in a character. It was an ability which he put to good use throughout his career.

Malcom McLaren R.I.P.

Macolm McLaren, who promoted both The New York Dolls and managed The Sex Pistols, passed on Thursday at the age of 64. The cause was cancer.

Malcolm McLaren was born on 22 January, 1946 in London. He attended art school, but never graduated. He became an admirer of Situationist International, the revolutionary political group of the Fifties and Sixties, and their tactics and slogans would later shape McLaren's approach to music promotion. In 1971 he opened the boutique Let It Rock with then girlfriend Vivienne Westwood. McLaren and Westwood also designed costumes for various theatrical productions. It was a designer that he met The New York Dolls. It was in 1975, when the groups was in decline, that The New York Dolls let McLaren assist them. He created extravagant stunts to promote the band, including dressing the group in red with a Soviet flag in the background. Unfortunately, McLaren's efforts to promote the band would ultimately backfire on the band.

Before McLaren's activities with The New York Dolls, he had met a young group called The Strand through the boutique, a group later renamed The Sex Pistols.  After having renamed Too Fast to Live Too Young to Die in 1972, McLaren and Westwood renamed the boutique SEX in 1975. Having been exposed to the developing punk scene in New York City while working with the New York Dolls, McLaren began taking a greater interest in The Strand. It was not much later that the band was renamed QT Jones and The Sex Pistols. McLaren then set about finding a lead vocalist for the group (their original lead singer, Wally Nightingale having been kicked out).  It was in late 1975 that Johnny Lydon joined the band as its lead vocalist, Lydon becoming famous under the name Johnny Rotten. Having gone through a number of names since QT Jones and The Sex Pistols, the band settled on the name "The Sex Pistols."

It was in 1976 that McLaren and Westwood began promoting The Sex Pistols with publicity tactics largely borrowed from the Situationists. It was in October 1976 that EMI signed The Sex Pistols to a two year contract. The first single, "Anarchy in the UK" was released that November. After various controversial incidents, EMI released The Sex Pistols from their contract. Not long after, bassist Glen Matlock left the band to be replaced by Sid Vicious. It was on 10 March, 1977 that The Sex Pistols were signed to A&M Records, only to have the record company to release them six days later. It was in May 1977 that the band was signed to Virgin Records. Their first single on Virgin, "God Save the Queen," proved to be a source of great controversy in the United Kingdom. Released to coincide with Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee, Malcolm McLaren chartered a boat on which The Sex Pistols would perform the song while sailing on the River Thames, a path which would take them past both Parliament and the Westminster Pier. The publicity stunt resulted in arrests for nearly everyone involved.

It was in January 1978 that The Sex Pistols toured the United States. McLaren deliberately booked redneck bars in hopes that incidents would occur. It was towards the end of the tumultuous American tour that The Sex Pistols broke up. McClaren would go onto manage Adam Ant, Bow Wow Wow (formed from former members of Adam and the Ants and lead singer Annabella Lwin), and Jimmy the Hoover. In 1983 he launched his own music career. His first album, Duck Rock, was influenced by African music and American rap music. In all, he would release fifteen albums, the last being in 2009.

It was in the Eighties that Malcolm McLaren tried to produce a movie entitled Fashion Beast, using a script by Alan Moore. The film was never made. McLaren would direct and write the television movie The Ghosts of Oxford Street, a musical history of Oxford Street in London. He was a producer on the documentary Fast Food Nation.

Malcolm McLaren's music was never my cup of tea and I cannot say that I have ever seen much of his fashion, but I do not think it can be denied that as a manager he got his bands attention. Certainly he turned The Sex Pistols into a sensation, one that was short lived primarily only due to the volatility of the group. Although lesser known, he would actually have more success with Adam Ant and Bow Wow Wow. At any rate, he does have to be given credit for one of the most outrageous publicity stunts in rock history. Having The Sex Pistols perform "God Save the Queen" aboard a boat in the Thames during Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee may have been in very poor taste (not to mention very unpatriotic), but it certainly did draw attention.

The Songs of Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart

If the names "Boyce and Hart" sound familiar, it is with good reason. Not did Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart write many of The Monkees' greatest hits, but they also shaped what we think of today as The Monkees' sound. Together they also wrote songs for Paul Revere and The Raiders, The Leaves, Jay and the Americans, Chubby Checker, The Astronauts, and many others. They would also have their own music career as artists, recording five albums (two with Micky Dolenz and Davy Jones) and producing three top forty singles.

The Songs of Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart was a compilation album compiled by Cary E. Mansfield of Varese Saraband Records and Bobby Hart  and released in 1995. While most greatest hits albums are compiled of songs from a single artist, The Songs of Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart compiled songs which written by Boyce and Hart, either together or with other people. For Boyce and Hart fans, then, this album is a real treat. It features their biggest hits as recording artists ("I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight, "Alice Long (You're Still My Favourite Girlfriend", and "Out and About") and songs they wrote for other artists (The Monkees'  "Last Train to Clarksville" and the original version of "Vallieri," Paul Revere and the Raiders' "(I'm Not) Your Steppin' Stone," The Astronauts' "Tomorrow's Gonna Be Another Day," and so on.).

 What really makes The Songs of Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart a very special album is that it features some truly rare songs. Even though Boyce and Hart performed "I'll Blow You a Kiss in the Wind" on Bewitched, the song did not hit the top forty and has been hard to find ever since. Similarly, the Boyce and Hart singles "We're All Going to the Same Place" and "Goodbye, Baby (I Don't Want to See You Cry)" have also been difficult to find. It also contains the rare single by Dolenz, Jones, Boyce, & Hart, "I Remember the Feeling," released in 1975. In fact, if I have one complaint about this album, it that it should have had more songs by Boyce and Hart as musical artists. "Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows (the theme song to the movie of the same name) is conspicuously absent, as are "Sometimes She's a Little Girl," "Maybe Someday Heard," and "L.U.V. (Let Us Vote)." While the songs written by either Tommy Boyce or Bobby Hart with others (such as "Hurt So Bad" for Little Anthony and The Imperials, "Pretty Little Angel Eyes" for Curtis Lee, and "Action" by Freddie Cannon are all good songs, I would rather have had more songs by Boyce and Hart together as performers.

Of course, that one complaint is a minor one. This album has most of the songs Boyce and Hart fans love, and I can't see too many being disappointed in the album. Indeed, it is good to hear "I'll Blow You a Kiss in the Wind" on something other than a Bewitched rerun!

Christopher Cazenove R.I.P.

British actor Christopher Cazenove died today at the age of 64. The cause was septisema.

Christopher Cazenove was born in Winchester, Hampshire on 17 December, 1945. He was raised in Somerset and attended Eton. His father, who had been a brigadier in the Coldstream Guards, wanted him to enter the military, but Christopher Cazenove wanted to go into acting. After graduating from Eton, he worked as a nanny, a chauffeur, and a handyman. He broke into acting through the Bristol Old Vic Theatre, where he learned his craft and made his debut in Man and Superman in 1967. He played Hamlet at the Pitlochry Festival Theatre. He made his London debut in The Lionel Touch at the Lyric Theatre in 1970.

It was in 1970 that he made his movie debut in an uncredited role in Julius Caesar. That same year he appeared in an uncredited role in There's a Girl in My Soup. In 1971 he made his television debut in a guest shot on The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes. From 1972 to 1973 he played Lieutenant Richard Grant on the TV series The Regiment. He guest starred on the shows Affairs of the Heart, Jennie: Lady Randolph Churchill, Hammer House of Horror, and the British series Thriller. From 1976 to 1977 he appeared in the TV series The Duchess of Duke Street. He appeared in the films Royal Flash, East of Elephant Rock, and Zulu Dawn. In 1979 he appeared on the West End in Joking Apart and  in 1980 on Broadway in Goodbye Fidel.

In the Eighties he guest starred on the shows Lady Killers, Lou Grant, and Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense. Christopher Cazenove was a regular on the series Dynasty and appeared in five episodes of  A Fine Romance. He appeared in the films Eye of the Needle, From a Far Country, Mata Hari. The Fantasist, Blinf Justice, Souvenir, and Three Men and a Little Lady. From the Nineties into the Naughts he guest starred on Tales From the Crypt, Daziel and Pascoe, Charmed,  and Hotel Babylon. He was a semi-regular on Judge John Deed.  He appeared in the films Shadow Run, Contaminated Man, A Knight's Tale, Beginner's Luck, Young Alexander the Great, and Bloodline.

Actor Corin Redgrave Passes On

Actor Corin Redgrave passed today at the age of 70.He had fallen ill on Sunday.

Corin Redgrave was born in Marylebone, London on 16 July, 1939, the son of actors Sir Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson. Acing was literally in his blood. His grandfather was silent actor Roy Redgrave. His sisters were Lynn and Venssa Redgrave.

Mr. Redgrave attended the Westminster School at King's College and the University of Cambridge. He made his acting debut in 1961 at the Royal Court, playing Lysander in A Midsummer Night's Dream. He made his television debut with a guest appearance in The Avengers episode "Lobster Quadrille (the last episode in which Honor Blackman appeared as Cathy Gale). He appeared in minor roles in the films Crooks in Cloisters (1964) and A Study in Terror (1965). He was a regular on the TV series The Big Spender. Throughout the Sixties he appeared in roles in such films as The Deadly Affair (1966), A Man For All Seasons (1966), The Magus (1968), and The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968). He appeared in such TV shows as Mystery and Imagination (as Jonathan Harker in that series' adaptation of Dracula), The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Canterbury Tales, and Callan. He made his Broadway debut in 1963 in Chips with Everything.

The Seventies saw Corin Redgrave appear in such films as When Eight Bells Toll (1971), Von Richthofen and Brown (1971), and  Between Wars (1974). In the Eighties Mr. Redgrave appeared in the movies Excalibur ( 1981, as Cornwall), Eureka (1983), and The Fool (1990). In the Nineties he was in the films In the Name of the Father (1993), Four Wedding and a Funeral (1994), England, My England (1995), Persuasion (1995), and Honest (2000). On television he appeared on Performance (that show's adaptations of Measure for Measure and Henry IV). Dangerfield, Ultraviolet, and The Vice. In 1999 he returned to Broadway in Not About Nightingales.

The Naughts saw Mr. Redgrave appear in such films as Gypsy Woman (2001), Doctor Sleep (2002), To Kill a King (2003), and Enduring Love (2004). On television he appeared in the mini-series The Forsythe Saga, the shows  Waking the Dead, Trial & Retribution, Shameless, and Spooks (known as MI-5 in the Untied States), and in the television films Shackleton, Bertie and Elizabeth, and The Turn of the Screw (his last appearance on the screen).

Corin Redgrave appeared on the stage throughout his career. He appeared often at the Old Vic Theatre, as well as with other acting troupes in England. He won the Olivier award for his role in Tennessee Williams' Not About Nightingales in England and was nominated for a Tony when he repeated his performance on Broadway. He played opposite his sister Vanessa in a revival of A Song at Twilight. He also wrote and performed his own one man plays including Michael Redgrave, My Father. He played in such Shakespeare plays as King Lear, Much Ado About Nothing, Henry IV, Part 1, and The Tempest.

Corin Redgrave was a political activist with very left wing views. As a result he often found work difficult to obtain for much of his career, and even stated that the BBC had blackballed him for his political views. This was a shame as Mr. Redgrave was a very talented actor. He more often than not played strong, slightly sinister characters, such as Jolyon Forsyte in The Forsythe Saga and Dr. Kidson in The Woman in White, and adaptation of Wilkie Collins' novel of the same name. He was capable of playing other roles, such as the hapless Cornwall in Excalibur and straight arrow pilot Lanoe Hawker in Von Richthofen and Brown. In nearly everything he appeared Corin Redgrave gave impressive performances. It is a shame that many prevented him from practising his craft more often.