Advanced search

Joseph Ranft was an American writer, voice actor, animator, storyboard artist and magician. He worked for Disney and Pixar. He worked on The Lion King, The Brave Little Toaster, Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Cars, Monsters, Inc and Finding Nemo. He voiced in the many films he worked on, notably as Heimlich the Caterpillar from A Bug's Life and the outtakes of Toy Story 2. He passed away in August 2005.

Tall, blonde, busty and radiant, Eva Renzi created a sensation when she rose to stardom in her native West Germany in the mid-60s. Born to a 17-year-old French mother and a 49-year-old Danish father, Eva's childhood was everything but happy. Her parents got divorced when she was three, and her mother put her into an orphanage run by nuns. Eva was 14 when she returned to live with her abusive father; she later claimed that "he beat the daylights out of me on a daily basis". Living with her father proved to be so difficult that Eva tried to kill herself twice before she eventually left home at the tender age of 17 to pursue a career in acting. Famous drama coach Else Bongers took her under her wing, and the beautiful teenager supported herself as a model, a phone operator, and a waitress before making her debut on stage in late 1961. She became a member of the Freie Volksbühne Berlin in 1964 when renowned director Erwin Piscator hired her as "Electra".

In early 1965, Renzi was a single mother - her daughter Anouschka Renzi was fathered by a Brazilian bar owner named Raimundo - and a fairly successful stage actress when journalist-turned-director Will Tremper became so fascinated and infatuated with her extraordinary temper and raving beauty that he wrote a movie specifically for her: That Woman (1966), a personality vehicle for Eva Renzi, successfully premiered in 1966. The German press hailed her as "a sensuous mix between Julie Christie and Ingrid Bergman", and the movie itself caused quite a stir with its almost Godard-like atmosphere and international flair. On the set of That Woman (1966), Renzi, then 21, met Paul Hubschmid, 27 years her senior. The Swiss film star and notorious womanizer fell madly in love with Eva, married her in Las Vegas in 1967 and adopted her little daughter Anouschka to raise her as his own child. By that time, Eva's international career was going gangbusters: she was doing two, sometimes three movies a year, alternating between Hollywood, France, Italy, West Germany, and England. Her most successful movies were Funeral in Berlin (1966) alongside Michael Caine (unable to master the English language without an accent, she was dubbed by Nikki Van der Zyl in this one), the charming and underrated The Pink Jungle (1968) with James Garner and George Kennedy, and The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970) by Dario Argento, a movie that she later labeled "my career-suicide". The Renzi-Hubschmid family lived in Southern France, near Saint Tropez, and on the surface everything seemed happy, happy, happy.

By 1972, however, Eva's momentum was pretty much over, and she got tired of acting, the spotlight, her marriage, and society in general. She rejected a movie offer by Orson Welles and refused to be cast as a Bond girl in a Sean Connery film, passionately hating her sexy-girl image. She later said that, young as she was, she did not value her movie career in the first place and loathed everything about it except the money. After a miscarriage, her marriage was in deep trouble, and her often aggressive outbursts didn't help. She delved into a depression and turned to spirituality and Eastern religions to find answers. One day, she took her then 9-year-old daughter, packed the car and drove 14,000 miles to India. But that trip turned into a nightmare when she found herself in the midst of the Osho-Rajneesh movement. She later told the press about drug abuse and forced group sex experiences and launched a law suit in India against the leaders of the movement. Now in her early 30s, she relocated permanently to France and revived her career with beautifully tailored parts in Das blaue Palais (1974) and Papa Poule (1980). She gave one of her finest, most nuanced and mature performances in a supporting role in The Prodigal Daughter (1981), sensitively directed by Jacques Doillon. Her co-stars were Jane Birkin, Michel Piccoli and Natasha Parry.

Her marriage to Paul Hubschmid was practically over in 1980. The pair continued to work together on stage but lived in separate hotels. The divorce was finalized in 1983 after 16 years of marriage. In the late 1980s, Renzi returned to Germany and had a minor comeback on TV in Das Erbe der Guldenburgs (1987). She continued to act successfully in the 1990s and early 2000s, touring Germany, Austria and Switzerland with a stage production of Anton Chekhov's "The Seagull" and receiving rave reviews for her moving portrayal of a woman coming to terms with herself after her husband's death in the one-woman play "Amanda". One of her final TV appearances was alongside her (then) son-in-law Jochen Horst in Das Schweigen der Hämmer (1995).

A heavy smoker throughout her life, Eva Renzi was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2004. Mistrustful of contemporary treatments, she chose not to have any and died in her daughter's arms at the age of 60 on August 16, 2005.

Tonino Delli Colli was born on 20 November 1922 in Rome, Lazio, Italy. He was a cinematographer and actor, known for The Name of the Rose (1986), Life Is Beautiful (1997) and Bitter Moon (1992). He was married to Alexandra Delli Colli. He died on 16 August 2005 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.

Jay Jackson was born on 4 November 1918 in Stockdale, Ohio, USA. He was an actor, known for The Edge of Night (1956), Laurel and Hardy's Laughing 20's (1965) and Days of Thrills and Laughter (1961). He died on 16 August 2005 in Jupiter, Florida, USA.

Cláudio Corrêa e Castro was born on 27 February 1928 in Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He was an actor, known for O Dono do Mundo (1991), Cabocla (1979) and Os inocentes (1974). He was married to Ileana Kwasinski and Ileana Kwasinski. He died on 16 August 2005 in Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

William Corlett was born on 8 October 1938 in Darlington, Durham, England, UK. He was a writer and actor, known for The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1960), The Agatha Christie Hour (1982) and Emmerdale Farm (1972). He died on 16 August 2005 in Sarlat-la-Canéda, Dordogne, France.

Venelin Pekhlivanov was born in 1936 in Sliven, Bulgaria. He was an actor, known for Prokurorat (1988), Tarnovskata tzaritza (1981) and The Young Picasso: 1881-1906 (1993). He died on 16 August 2005 in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Aleksandr Gomelskiy is a Soviet and Russian professor, candidate of pedagogical sciences, honored coach of the USSR, honored coach of Lithuania, honored worker of physical culture of Russia, judge of the international category. For eighteen years he headed the USSR national team, which under his leadership became the 1988 Olympic champion, two-time world champion (1967, 1982) and seven-time European champion (1961, 1963, 1965, 1967, 1969, 1979, 1981).

Gomelskiy was born January in Kronstadt, Soviet Union. There were three children in the Gomelskiy's family: Aleksandr, the eldest, sister Lidiya and brother Evgeniy. He studied at school No. 5 on Lev Tolstoy Square. His favorite teacher was a physical education teacher - Yakov Ivanovich. He was the first who instilled in Aleksandr a love of sports, put him on skates. Soon he became the champion of the region, then won the championship of Leningrad in cross-country skating. At the same school, he began to play volleyball and basketball.

He graduated from the Higher School of Trainers at the Lesgaft Institute in Leningrad, where he studied from 1945 to 1948, as well as the Military Institute of Physical Culture (1949-1952), after which he received the specialty 'coach-teacher in sports games'. He played for the Leningrad basketball teams 'Skif' (1945-1949) and SKA (1949-1953).

For the first time on the world basketball arena Gomelskiy came out as one of the coaches of the USSR national team at the Olympics in Melbourne 1956: Games of the XVI Olympiad (1956). For Aleksandr Yakovlevich, it was a double premiere, a kind of test as a professional, because for the first time his pupils appeared on the stage. In Melbourne, the third premiere took place - as a judge. Due to the lack of experienced referees, he was asked to act on the site in this role. The debut was successful, he received the title of judge of the international category.

Half a century has passed since then. Half a century of sports battles on the grounds of all continents, hundreds of tournaments, thousands of matches in which the great coach took part, experienced the happiness of many victories and the bitterness of defeats.

Vicky Mosholiou was born on 17 May 1943 in Athens, Greece. She was an actress, known for I Blame the People (1966), Kapote klaine kai oi dynatoi (1967) and To mystiko mias miteras (1966). She was married to Mimis Domazos. She died on 16 August 2005 in Athens, Greece.

Peter Gerretsen was born on 16 August 1939 in Netherlands. He was a director and writer, known for Night Friend (1987), The Kidnapping of Baby John Doe (1987) and Apocalypse: Caught in the Eye of the Storm (1998). He died on 16 August 2005 in Toronto, Canada.

Lionel Wiggam was born on 16 September 1914 in the USA. He was a writer, known for The Very Thought of You (1944), Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman (1947) and Tap Roots (1948). He died on 16 August 2005 in Ocean Grove, New Jersey, USA.

Subol Das was born on 26 December 1928 in Brahmanbaria, Bengal Presidency, British India [now in Brahmanbaria, Bangladesh]. He was a composer, known for Dosti (1981), Sotter Joy (1987) and Akash Ar Mati (1959). He died on 16 August 2005 in Calcutta, West Bengal, India.

Virtuoso fiddler Vassar Clements was a true musician's musician. Vassar was born on April 25, 1928 in Kinard, Florida and grew up in Kissimmee, Florida. Clements taught himself how to play the fiddle at age seven. He started playing for bluegrass legend Bill Monroe when he was only fourteen and still in school. Vassar became a regular Bluegrass Boy with Monroe in 1949 and was with him through 1956. From 1957 to 1961 Clements performed with bluegrass stalwarts Jim and Jesse McReynolds. In 1962 he took leave from music to pursue other interests, but returned to music full time when he decided to make Nashville, Tennessee his home in January, 1967. Vassar participated in recording sessions and played tenor banjo in Nashville's "Dixieland Landing" Club until October, 1969. Clements started touring with Faron Young and did occasional solo dates when time permitted. In February, 1971 he joined John Hartford and his Dobrolic Plectral Society. One of the most respected and sought after session musicians in Nashville, Vassar performed and/or recorded with a huge array of artists who include Jerry Garcia, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Johnny Cash, David Grisman, Dickey Betts, Paul McCartney, Linda Ronstadt, The Del McCoury Band, Gordon Lightfoot, Jimmy Buffett, The Grateful Dead, J.J. Cale, The Byrds, Hank Williams, Earl Scruggs, and The Allman Brothers. He recorded twenty-seven solo albums and played on over 200 albums throughout his long and impressive career. Vassar appeared as himself in Robert Altman's acclaimed movie "Nashville." Besides the fiddle, other instruments Clements played were the viola, cello, bass, guitar, banjo, and mandolin. Moreover, his musical work encompassed such genres as blues, country, swing, jazz, bluegrass, and even waltzes. Vassar was married twice and had five children. Clements died at age 77 from lung cancer on August 16, 2005 in Goodlettsville, Tennessee.

Miodrag Stanisavljevic was born on 5 March 1941 in Srednja Dobrinja, Serbia, Yugoslavia. He was a writer, known for Snovi, zivot, smrt Filipa Filipovica (1980), The Days on Earth Are Flowing (1979) and Slom (1979). He died on 16 August 2005 in Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro.