News

Peter Renaday, a longtime and prolific voice actor best known as the voice of rat sensei Master Splinter in the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles TV series, died Sunday, September 8, at his home in Burbank, California. He was 89.

News of his death was shared on social media by friend and Turtles costar Townsend Coleman, who voiced the character of Michaelangelo on the immensely popular generational touchstone animated series of the 1980s-’90s.

A cause of death has not been determined, but TMZ cites law enforcement sources as having discovered an unresponsive Renaday during a welfare check at his home on Sunday. Natural causes are suspected.

“Pete was one of the most genuine, salt of the earth people I have ever known and I will miss him dearly,” Coleman wrote on social media (see the post below). “I had the privilege of visiting with him a month ago and he was as vibrant as ever,...

James B. Sikking, the veteran actor best known for playing Lt. Howard Hunter on the hit 1980s television series Hill Street Blues, has died. He was 90. Sikking passed away peacefully at his Los Angeles, California, home due to complications from Dementia on Saturday, July 13, according to his publicist, Cynthia Snyder. “In a remarkable career, Sikking’s wonderfully exciting face gave us drama, comedy, tragedy and hilarious farse. His career spanned over six decades in television, film and on stage,” Snyder said in a statement (per Deadline). “His talent, integrity and imagination intrigued and delighted audiences.” Born on March 5, 1934, in Los Angeles, California, Sikking graduated from UCLA in 1959 and began his on-screen acting career in the 1960s, appearing in episodes of Perry Mason, Combat!, The Outer Limits, The Fugitive, Bonanza, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., Hogan’s Heroes, and more. ABC/courtesy Everett Collection He would continue to be a regular on television throughout the 1970s,...

James B. Sikking, an actor best known for playing Hill Street Blues‘ Swat leader Lt. Howard Hunter and the father of Doogie Howser M.D., died peacefully at his Los Angeles home, of complications from Dementia, on July 13. He was 90.

“In a remarkable career, Sikking’s wonderfully exciting face gave us drama, comedy, tragedy and hilarious farce. His career spanned over six decades in television, film and on stage,” the late actor’s publicist, Cynthia Snyder, said in a statement. “His talent, integrity and imagination intrigued and delighted audiences.”

More from TVLineJacoby Jones, NFL Great and Dancing With the Stars Finalist,...

Tony Mordente, the actor, dancer and choreographer who starred in the original Broadway and big-screen versions of West Side Story before carving out a long career as a TV director, has died. He was 88.

Mordente, who lived in Henderson, Nevada, died Tuesday, his family announced.

Mordente also worked on Broadway as an actor, understudy and/or assistant choreographer in Li’l Abner, Bye Bye Birdie and Ben Franklin in Paris.

The Brooklyn native portrayed A-Rab on stage in West Side Story, which premiered at the Winter Garden Theatre in September 1957, and played Action, another member of the Jets gang, in the 1961 United Artists adaptation. (David Winters was given the part of A-Rab in the movie.)

He married West Side Story castmate Chita Rivera, who of course played Anita, in December 1957. “A Jet marrying a Shark. It was quite a thing,” he said in a 1963 interview. (Rivera died in January.)

Mordente began...

Terry Carter, who portrayed Pvt. Sugie Sugarman on The Phil Silvers Show, the sidekick of Dennis Weaver’s character on McCloud and Colonel Tigh on the original version of Battlestar Galactica, has died. He was 95.

Carter died Tuesday at his home in Manhattan, his son, Miguel Carter DeCoste, told The New York Times.

Carter appeared three times on Broadway early in his career and produced and directed a documentary on jazz legend Duke Ellington for PBS’ American Masters series in 1988.

The Brooklyn native appeared on all four seasons (1955-59) of CBS’ The Phil Silvers Show (also known as Sgt. Bilko) as Pvt. Sugarman. He then played Sgt. Joe Broadhurst alongside Weaver’s Deputy Marshal Sam McCloud on NBC’s McCloud from 1970-77 and Tigh in the 1978 Battlestar Galactica movie and 1978-79 ABC series.

An only child, John Everett DeCoste was born in Brooklyn on Dec. 16, 1928. He graduated from Stuyvesant High...

Jack Hogan, an actor who starred in ABC’s Combat! for 111 episodes, died Dec. 6 of natural causes at his home in Bainbridge Island, Wash. He was 94 years old.

The news was confirmed to Variety by his son West.

More from TVLineAnna 'Chickadee' Cardwell, Daughter of Here Comes Honey Boo Boo's Mama June, Dead at 29Hilary Duff Remembers Late Lizzie McGuire Producer Stan Rogow: 'Thank You for All of the Lizzie Adventures'Ryan O'Neal, Oscar Nominee and Peyton Place Star, Dead at 82

Hogan played Pfc William G. Kirby on Combat!, starring alongside Rick Jason, Vic Morrow and Pierre Jalbert. The show...

Jack Hogan, who most famously played Pfc William G. Kirby on ABC’s WWII-set series Combat!, died in his sleep Wednesday, December 6, according to the curator of an online community dedicated to Combat! He was 94.

Hogan played Pfc Kirby on 111 episodes of the long-running drama opposite Rick Jason, Vic Morrow and Pierre Jalbert. Robert Altman directed many episodes of the show, which was on the air from 1962-1967. It was not unfamiliar terrain: Hogan had been a staff sergeant in Japan during the Korean War.

Combat! was far from Hogan’s only credit.

He made his debut in the 1956 Anthony Quinn-starrer Man From Del Rio, Hogan worked steadily. He had multiple-epsisode arcs on The Rough Riders, Have Gun – Will Travel, Sea Hunt, Lock Up, Bat Masterson, The Lawman and The Rifleman.

After Combat!, Hogan worked steadily for the better part of the next three decades. His credits during...

Jack Hogan, a retired actor who starred in the WWII drama series “Combat!” from 1962 until 1967, died of natural causes on Dec. 6 at his home on Bainbridge Island, Washington, his son West told Variety. He was 94.

Hogan played Pfc William G. Kirby on the ABC series “Combat!,” starring Rick Jason, Vic Morrow and Pierre Jalbert. The show, which ran for five seasons, follows a squad of American soldiers fighting the Germans in France during WWII.

Born Richard Roland Benson, Jr. on Nov. 24, 1929, in Chapel Hill, N.C., Hogan earned his pilot’s license at the age of 16 and joined the Air Force after graduation. He spent four years serving as a staff sergeant in Japan during the Korean War.

After moving to Hollywood, Hogan worked as a lifeguard at the Beverly Hills Hotel and began taking acting classes at the Pasadena Playhouse.

Hogan made his onscreen debut as an uncredited role...

Anna “Chicakdee” Cardwell, the oldest daughter of reality TV star June Shannon (aka Mama June) died on Saturday. She was 29 years old.

Shannon confirmed the news of her daughter’s death in a post on Instagram Sunday.

More from TVLineJack Hogan, Combat!'s Kirby, Dead at 94Hilary Duff Remembers Late Lizzie McGuire Producer Stan Rogow: 'Thank You for All of the Lizzie Adventures'Ryan O'Neal, Oscar Nominee and Peyton Place Star, Dead at 82

“With the breaking heart, we are announcing that [Anna] is no longer with us,” she wrote. “She passed away in my home last night peacefully at 11:12 Pm.

Hilary Duff is paying tribute to Stan Rogow, a producer on Disney Channel’s Lizzie McGuire, following the news of his death.

Rogow passed away on Thursday at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, a family spokesperson confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter Saturday. He was 75.

More from TVLineJack Hogan, Combat!'s Kirby, Dead at 94Anna 'Chickadee' Cardwell, Daughter of Here Comes Honey Boo Boo's Mama June, Dead at 29Ryan O'Neal, Oscar Nominee and Peyton Place Star, Dead at 82

“Writing this right now is bringing back so many distant memories of what feels like a completely different lifetime…,” Duff, who played...

Marisa Pavan, the Italian actress and twin sister of Pier Angeli who received an Oscar nomination for her performance as the daughter of Anna Magnani’s seamstress in the 1955 drama The Rose Tattoo, has died. She was 91.

Pavan died Wednesday in her sleep at her home in Gassin, France, near Saint-Tropez, Margaux Soumoy, who wrote Pavan’s 2021 biography, Drop the Baby; Put a Veil on the Broad!, told The Hollywood Reporter.

Pavan also portrayed the French queen Catherine de’ Medici in Diane (1956), starring Lana Turner; an Italian girl who had an affair years ago with a corporate exec (Gregory Peck) in The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956); and the love interest of a former cop (Tony Curtis) investigating the murder of a priest in the film noir The Midnight Story (1957).

In Paramount’s The Rose Tattoo (1955), an adaptation of the Tennessee Williams play that won four Tony Awards, including best play,...

Jerome Coopersmith, who received a Tony nomination for writing a 1965 Sherlock Holmes musical and penned more than two dozen episodes of the original Hawaii Five-o during the series’ first nine seasons, has died. He was 97.

Coopersmith died peacefully Friday in Rochester, New York, his family announced.

After earning a Purple Heart for his service during World War II, Coopersmith broke into television writing for quiz shows and historical programs. In the early 1950s, he and Horton Foote worked on the kids-focused Gabby Hayes Show and Johnny Jupiter, and the future Pulitzer Prize and Oscar winner behind To Kill a Mockingbird would become his mentor.

Coopersmith wrote 30 regular installments and two feature-length episodes of CBS’ Hawaii Five-o from 1968-76. Among those was the notable 1975 eighth-season installment Retire in Sunny Hawaii … Forever, which featured Helen Hayes in an Emmy-nominated guest-starring stint as the aunt of her real-life son, James MacArthur.

He then...

Edward L. Rissien, who produced the Burt Lancaster-starring war film Castle Keep and served as an executive at ABC, Bing Crosby Productions, Filmways and Playboy Productions, has died. He was 98.

Rissien died April 8 of natural causes at his home in Los Angeles, his nephew, Emmy-nominated director Michael Zinberg (The Bob Newhart Show, The Good Wife, NCIS), told The Hollywood Reporter.

“Eddie was a well-respected man who had beautiful taste in material,” Zinberg said. “He was always looking for something that would make a difference.”

An Iowa native who started out as a stage manager on Broadway, Rissien helped set up Harry Belafonte‘s HarBel Productions after acquiring the film rights for Odds Against Tomorrow (1959), the Robert Wise-directed drama that starred Belafonte, Robert Ryan and Shelley Winters.

He also produced Snow Job (1972), starring legendary French skier and Olympic champion Jean-Claude Killy as a thief in his only feature role,...

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Rolling Stone may receive an affiliate commission.

Nostalgia is having a moment, with new products re-capturing the fun and whimsy of our youth. Case in point: this miniature arcade set from Atari, which has been popularized on TikTok as the “World’s Smallest Arcade Game.”

Available on Amazon right now for just 25 (regularly 27.99+), the Mini Atari Arcade Machine measures just 3.5 inches wide (smaller than the length of a credit card) and is no thicker than a ring box.

Activision Blizzard is currently under investigation following accusations of harassment, discrimination, and fostering a hostile work environment. You can read more about the investigation here.

Phase 2 of Wrath of the Lich King Classic is here. With it comes the much-anticipated Ulduar raid, a few new pieces of world content, and new power rankings for WoW‘s Dps, Healer, and Tank Classes.

These class rankings are primarily based on each class’ viability in the Uduar raid as that is the main piece of Phase 2 content. to be more specific, these rankings are based on how viable a class is throughout the Ulduar raid. In other words, the classes that remain a strong option throughout the raid are ranked higher than those who either perform better at the start or end of the raid.

Finally, be sure to remember that we’re talking about an update to what is essentially a 15-year-old game.

John Aniston, who starred as Victor Kiriakis in nearly 3,000 episodes of “Days of Our Lives,” died on Friday, Nov. 11. He was 89.

The Greek-born, Emmy-nominated actor was a staple on the NBC soap opera for over 30 years, also appearing on daytime serials “Love of Life” and “Search for Tomorrow.”

In 2022, Aniston received a Daytime Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award for his work on “Days of Our Lives.” In 1986, the role earned him two Soap Opera Digest Awards — for outstanding actor in a leading role and for outstanding villain on a daytime serial.

He was also the father of Jennifer Aniston, who wrote on Instagram Monday morning, “Sweet papa…⁣ John Anthony Aniston. You were one of the most beautiful humans I ever knew. I am so grateful that you went soaring into the heavens in peace — and without pain. And on 11/11 no less! You always had perfect timing. That number will forever hold...

John Aniston, the veteran soap actor best known in the daytime world for his long-running role of Victor Kiriakis on Days of Our Lives, and, in his personal life as the father of TV superstar Jennifer Aniston, died Nov. 11. He was 89.

A cause of death has not been released.

Related Story Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2022: Photo Gallery Related Story Steve Burton Joins 'Days Of Our Lives' On Peacock Related Story Matthew Perry Credits Jennifer Aniston For Being There For Him In His 'Friends' Drinking Days

In an Instagram post today, Friends star Jennifer Aniston wrote, “You were one of the most beautiful humans I ever knew. I am so grateful that you went soaring into the heavens in peace – and without pain. And on 11/11 no less! You always had perfect timing. That number will forever hold an even greater meaning for me now. I’ll love you till the end of time.

John Aniston, the charming Greece-born actor who for more than three decades portrayed the ruthless Victor Kiriakis on the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives, has died. He was 89.

The father of actress Jennifer Aniston died Friday, his daughter announced.

“Sweet papa …⁣ John Anthony Aniston,” the Friends megastar wrote in a tribute post on Instagram Monday, “You were one of the most beautiful humans I ever knew. I am so grateful that you went soaring into the heavens in peace — and without pain. And on 11/11 no less! You always had perfect timing. That number will forever hold an even greater meaning for me now.”

She ended the post: “I’ll love you till the end of time.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jennifer Aniston (@jenniferaniston)

Aniston had played a different character, a doctor, on Days of Our Lives in 1969-70, then worked on two other daytime serials,...

"Band of Brothers" was one of the first shows to bridge the gap between television and film. It took the baton from Steven Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan" and improved on it, at least regarding character and story. There is nothing in "Band of Brothers" that is quite so arrestingly savage as Spielberg's genre-changing Omaha Beach sequence. However, HBO's 10-part miniseries is still a thunderous account of World War II, replete with many sad and brutal moments.

Based on Stephen Ambrose's non-fiction book of the same name, "Band of Brothers" follows "Easy" Company of the 101st Airborne Division through Normandy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and the German interior. Human interest is somewhat diluted by the sheer number of characters involved, but there are focalizers in the ranks, namely Maj. Richard Winters (Damian Lewis) and Capt. Lewis Nixon (Ron Livingston). These men and their peers are quickly battle-hardened, facing the enemy in fields,...

The Master Chief is back and -- stop me if you've heard this before -- he's ready to finish the fight. After a sprawling opening season introduced diehard gamers and casual viewers alike to the Paramount+ live-action take on "Halo," the sci-fi series is set to make its return for a second go-around depicting the epic war between 26th century humanity and the fearsome conglomerate of alien species known as the Covenant.

Originally brought to life in the critically-acclaimed and immensely popular "Halo" video game series, and the subject of decades of fevered demands to translate such material to the big screen, the valuable IP has instead found its home on streaming with a much more indirect approach than fans may have expected. Far from an exact, beat-for-beat adaptation of "Combat Evolved" or any other story set in the "Halo" universe, the Paramount+ series has largely forged its own original,...

In what sounds like a reality TV version “Cobra Kai,” TelevisaUnivision is set to release a mixed martial arts competition series — with a 50,000 prize for the winning squad of fighters — on its ViX+ Spanish-language subscription streaming service.

The series comes from Combate Global, the Hispanic Mma sports franchise, and will be available on ViX+ (regularly 6.99/month in the U.S.), which TelevisaUnivision launched last month in the U.S., Mexico and across Latin America.

The first six episodes of “Combate Global Exclusivo ViX+” drop Wednesday, Aug. 24. The show pits members of four Mma training gyms from Mexico, the U.S. and Spain against each other. Each episode will culminate with Combate Global Mma bouts that pit fighters from the different camps against one another. Points will be awarded to the gyms based on their fighters’ performances in each bout, and the gym that earns the greatest number of points over...

He was tough, he was sexy, and he was one of the most charismatic movies stars of the 1970s — he was James Caan, your go-to guy when you wanted someone who could be flinty yet charming, smooth yet volatile. A Bronx-born, Queens-raised actor who claimed he was the “only New York Jewish cowboy,” the former Michigan State football player got bit by the acting bug when he transferred to Hofstra University, and was already making the bit-player rounds on TV shows (Dr. Kildare, Combat!, Route 66, The Alfred Hitchcock Show) in the early ’60s.

The Clash will mark the 40th anniversary of their penultimate LP Combat Rock with a new reissue featuring unreleased songs, demo and outtakes recorded in the lead-up to the 1982 album.

Ahead of the May 20 release of the Combat Rock/The People’s Hall special edition of the album, a pair of the band’s unreleased collaborations with the English Beat singer Ranking Roger have been released, with the late toastmaster contributing his rapid-fire vocal stylings to the hit “Rock the Casbah” and “Red Angel Dragnet.”

In addition to the legendary...

Veteran actor and frequent scene stealer Bruce Davison joins Josh Olson and Joe Dante to discuss a few of his favorite films.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Extra School (2017)

Gone With The Wind (1939)

Willard (1971) – Joe Dante’s review, Lee Broughton’s Blu-ray review

Fortune And Men’s Eyes (1971)

Short Cuts (1993) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Longtime Companion (1989)

Last Summer (1969) – Larry Karaszewski’s trailer commentary

Short Eyes (1977)

The Manor (2021)

Ulzana’s Raid (1972) – John Landis’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review and All-Region Blu-ray review

King Solomon’s Mines (1950) – John Landis’s trailer commentary

Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (1937)

Them! (1954) – Joe Dante’s trailer commentary

Tarantula (1955) – Joe Dante’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

20,000 Leagues Under The Sea (1954) – Mick Garris’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Spartacus (1960) – Larry Cohen’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Ben-Hur (1959) – John Landis’s trailer commentary

Psycho (1960) – John Landis’s trailer commentary,...

Donald May, a major Daytime actor during the 1960s and ’70s through his longrunning role as attorney Adam Drake on The Edge of Night, died Friday, Jan. 28, at his home in Kent, New York. He was 92.

His death was announced by his family on a Facebook page devoted to The Edge of Night.

From 1967 to 1977, May played the good-guy attorney Adam Drake, first making his mark on the soap in a notable 1968 episode during which May delivered the episode’s only dialogue: a 22-minute trial summation in which he argued for the innocence of his client, a singer accused of murder. The jury found the client guilty and sentence her to be hanged, but Drake went into detective mode to find the real killer, saving the singer at the last minute.

May joined The Edge of Night following a steady TV career that began in 1956 with a starring role in...

Even though it’s technically a sequel to 2015’s Halo 5: Guardians, Halo Infinite‘s mission was not so much to continue the story of the Reclaimer Saga and all the Cortana and Forerunner baggage that comes with it. Yes, there’s still a bit of that throughout Halo Infinite’s 10-15 hour story campaign, but the game’s main concern, as Master Chief crash lands on yet another mysterious Halo ring, is to recapture the magic of 2001.

From the opening space mission, it’s clear that Halo Infinite wants its 30+ year old fandom who bought the original Xbox two decades ago to feel nostalgic for the days of “The Silent Cartographer,” funny Cortana quips, and Lan parties. Overall, the game succeeds as a legacy sequel full of easter eggs and callbacks, even if at times it seems like the story wants to deconstruct the legend of Master Chief, show how it’s imperfect,...

One of the more intriguing fights in recent years takes place tonight as Triller Fight Club presents its inaugural “Triad Combat” event. Taking place live from Texas and streaming on pay-per-view, Triller Fight Club Triad Combat features a stacked fight card as well as a special concert performance from Metallica.

Buy:

Triller Fight Club Triad Combat PPV

at

$19.99

What is Triad Combat?

Triad Combat is a new combat team sport that incorporates both boxing and Mma rules, with fighters competing in a specially-designed triangular ring over two-minute rounds. Triller Fight...

Jerry Douglas, the actor best known for playing patriarch John Abbott on the long-running soap opera “The Young and the Restless,” died Nov. 9 in Los Angeles after a brief illness. He was 88.

Douglas was a mainstay of CBS’ top-rated daytime serial for more than 30 years in the role of the square-jawed cosmetics magnate and pillar of “Y&r’s” fictional Genoa City. He also racked up dozens of TV guests shots and supporting roles in movies over his long career, ranging from “The Bionic Woman,” “Barnaby Jones” and “The Streets of San Francisco” to “Arrested Development,” “Cold Case” and “Melrose Place.”

Douglas was a regular on “Y&r” from 1982 to 2006. Even after his character died, Abbott appeared in flashbacks from time to time, most recently in 2006 when he returned as a ghost to guide his children from the afterlife.. “Y&r” has been a mainstay of CBS’ daytime lineup since 1973. The serial topped the 20,000-episode mark last year.

Dean Stockwell, who died Sunday at 85, made every movie and television show he was in better. As an actor, he had a scurrilous twinkle that could light up a scene. He started off as a child star in films like “Gentleman’s Agreement” and “The Boy with Green Hair” — the latter of which I was shocked to discover really was about a boy with green hair (I’ve never forgotten what a poignant urchin the actor made him).

Stockwell was born in Hollywood in 1936, the same year as Dennis Hopper, and if his career had taken a slightly different turn he would have been part of the James Dean/Marlon Brando new-wave-of-Method-Hollywood rat pack. In 1959, he took on his edgiest studio-system role, playing one of the kinky killers in “Compulsion,” the drama based on the Leopold and Loeb murder case, and he wound up sharing the award for best actor at the Cannes Film Festival.

Raymond Cavaleri, a former child actor who became a talent agent and founded Cavaleri & Associates in 1981, died July 19 in West Hills, CA. He was 74.

His son Damian Cavaleri announced his death to Deadline, noting that he died peacefully surrounded by family.

Born in Syracuse, NY, Cavaleri was 6 months old when he and his parents moved to California. As a child actor, he got roles on such 1960s TV series as Boris Karloff’s Thriller, Dennis the Menace, Going My Way, Combat and a memorable 1962 episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents titled “The Children of Alda Nuova” in which actor Jack Carson played an American gangster hiding out in Rome who is menaced by a group of teenagers.

Cavaleri had several small roles in the 1970s, including in the TV series Bracken’s World and the 1975 Tony Curtis crime drama film Lepke, but by the early 1980s he’d become a talent agent.

Richard Donner, the director and producer of film and television including "The Omen" (1976), "Superman" (1978) and the "Lethal Weapon" series has died: 

Donner started his film career with hopes of acting but got a job at Desilu, where he directed commercials. 

He transitioned into TV dramas in the late 1950's, directing episodes of the Steve McQueen western series "Wanted: Dead or Alive" and Chuck Connors in "The Rifleman".

In his early career as a TV director Donner also worked on "Have Gun Will Travel", "The Fugitive", "Combat!", "Get Smart", "The Man from U.N.C.L.E.", "The Wild Wild West", "Gilligan's Island"...

..."Kojak", "Tales from the Crypt" and "The Twilight Zone" episode "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" starring William Shatner. 

Click the images to enlarge...

There’s no denying that Richard Donner, who died Monday at 91, was one of the most influential architects of the blockbuster era. He directed “Superman,” the 1978 man-of-steel epic that invented the comic-book movie as we know it. He directed all four films in the “Lethal Weapon” series, which may be the quintessential incarnation of the joshingly abrasive, throwaway buddy-cop movie. He directed “The Omen,” the 1976 Satan-is-alive-and-he’s-a-scowling-schoolboy horror film that ruled the box office and spooked a generation of moviegoers’ imaginations.

Yet unlike those other formative directors of the blockbuster era, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, Donner was a crowd-pleasing showman who never pretended to be a deep cinematic artist. At his best, he worked with a straight-down-the-middle craft and vitality, and with a human touch that made his movies play like escapist fairy tales.

A telling thing about him is that he didn’t just start off in television,...

Richard Donner, the prolific director behind 1978’s “Superman” and the “Lethal Weapon” franchise has died, according to media reports. Donner was 91. Donner passed away on Monday, according to his wife, producer Lauren Schuler Donner.

Donner’s last film was 2006’s “16 Blocks.” Other classics directed by Donner include “The Omen,” “The Goonies,” “Ladyhawke,” “Scrooged” and “Conspiracy Theory.”

Born in 1930 in the Bronx, Donner started his career directing commercials for Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball’s Desilu banner. Donner then pivoted to directing television in the 50s and directed episodes of “Wanted: Dead or Alive” and “The Rifleman.” Donner would end up working on 25 television series which included “Have Gun Will Travel,” “The Fugitive,” “Combat!,” “Get Smart,” “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.,” “The Wild Wild West,” “Gilligan’s Island,” “Kojak, “Tales from the Crypt” and “The Twilight Zone.” Donner directed the classic “Twilight Zone” episode “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” which starred William Shatner...

In today’s TV news roundup, HBO released a trailer for “Mare of Easttown,” and Combate Americas announced a partnership with Univision.

First Looks

HBO released a trailer for “Mare of Easttown,” the seven-part limited series premiering April 18 on HBO. Kate Winslet stars as Mare Sheehan, a small-town Pennsylvania detective who investigates a local murder as life crumbles around her, with Craig Zobel directing. “Mare of Easttown” is created and written by Brad Ingelsby and also stars Julianne Nicholson, Jean Smart, Angourie Rice, Evan Peters, Guy Pearce, David Denman, Joe Tippett, Cailee Spaeny, John Douglas Thompson, Patrick Murney, James McArdle, Sosie Bacon and Neal Huff. Watch the trailer below.

Partnerships

Combate Americas, the world’s premiere Hispanic Mixed Martial Arts (Mma) sports franchise, and Univision have announced a five-year media rights partnership that includes 30 live television events annually, for a total of 150 events, beginning April 9. The events will be available across Univision platforms,...

James Henerson, an Emmy-nominated writer and producer who worked on such shows as I Dream of Jeannie, Bewitched and The Flying Nun, has died. He was 84.

Henerson died Thursday in his sleep at his home in Sherman Oaks, his sons, Matthew and Evan, announced.

A staff writer for the famed TV studio Screen Gems, Henerson also wrote episodes of The Partridge Family, The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries, Combat!, National Velvet, Love on a Rooftop, Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice and The Second Hundred Years.

With partners Jim Hirsch and Michael Douglas, he produced the 1986-87 ABC series Starman, which ...

Robert Walker Jr., best known for a classic early Star Trek episode and as the son of Hollywood stars Robert Walker and Jennifer Jones, died Thursday in Malibu, according to family members. He was 79.

The New York native portrayed the twitchy, callow title character in “Charlie X,” the second episode of Star Trek’s pioneering first season in 1966, and also handled the title role of the notable 1960s feature films Ensign Pulver and Young Billy Young.

For Ensign Pulver, the comedic 1964 naval drama, Walker inherited a role that had earned Jack Lemmon an Oscar for best supporting actor for Mister Roberts (1955). In the 1969 gunfighter tale Young Billy Young, Walker was the volatile outlaw who finds a mentor in Robert Mitchum in film that also featured Angie Dickinson and David Carradine. That same year Walker and his wife, Ellie Wood, appeared together in the milestone counter-culture epic Easy Rider.

Walker’s...

By Lee Pfeiffer

Actor Rip Torn has died at age 88. He was a volatile figure in the entertainment industry, known for his sometimes bizarre behavior as well as his brilliant performances. A native Texan, he gravitated to  New York City in the 1950s where he studied under Lee Strasberg at the legendary Actors Studio. He was championed by director Elia Kazan, who gave Torn high profile roles in his stage and film productions. Torn gained major acclaim with a Tony-nominated performance on Broadway in "Sweet Bird of Youth", a role he would reprise in the 1963 film version. Torn's film career occasionally saw him attain leading man status but he remained a highly acclaimed supporting actor throughout his career. His feature films include "A Face in the Crowd", "Baby Doll", "The Cincinnati Kid", "Pork Chop Hill", "King of Kings", "Beach Red", "Coming Apart", "Tropic of Cancer", "Crazy Joe", "The Man Who Fell to Earth...

Prolific actor Seymour Cassel, who received an Academy Award nomination for “Faces” and appeared in Wes Anderson films including “Rushmore,” died Sunday in Los Angeles of Alzheimer’s disease. He was 84.

Cassel was a veteran of dozens of independent films, appearing in multiple roles in films directed by John Cassavetes and Anderson. In addition to playing Bert Fischer in “Rushmore,” he appeared in “The Royal Tenenbaums” and “The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.”

Cassel was born in Detroit on Jan. 22, 1935. His early career was tied to Cassavetes and he made his movie debut in an uncredited role in Cassavetes’ first film, “Shadows,” in 1958 and became an associate producer on the project. He co-starred with Cassavetes in “Too Late Blues” and “The Webster Boy” and appeared on “The Lloyd Bridges Show” in the episode “A Pair of Boots” directed by Cassavetes. His early TV credits included “Twelve O’Clock High,” “Combat!,...

Robert Altman, one of cinema's great democratic spirits whose wry appreciation of the idiosyncrasies of human nature suffused such films as MASH, McCabe and Mrs. Miller, Nashville and The Player, has died. He was 81.

Surrounded by his family, the director died Monday night at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles from complications of cancer. He had been dealing with the disease for the past 18 months, even as he completed his last film, A Prairie Home Companion, and readied his next movie, a typically Altmanesque-sounding project about a Texas endurance contest where the locals compete to win a Nissan Hardbody.

Altman was Oscar-nominated as best director five times without winning -- he also earned two best picture noms for Nashville and Gosford Park. But the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences remedied that oversight this year at the 78th Annual Academy Awards, where he was presented with an honorary Oscar.

Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin, who appear together as a singing sister act in Prairie, introduced the director with a bravura demonstration of the overlapping dialogue and free-floating humor that characterized his films.

"No other filmmaker has gotten a better shake than I have," Altman said in accepting the award. "I'm very fortunate in my career. I've never had to direct a film I didn't choose or develop. My love for filmmaking has given me an entree to the world and to the human condition." In a sense, he had become America's answer to France's Jean Renoir, whose 1939 The Rules of the Game, with its indulgent view of human foibles, could have served as a gentle template for Altman's more raucous take on the absurdities of life.

In the warmth of the moment, Altman, often depicted as a cantankerous maverick, chose to overlook the obstacles that Hollywood sometimes threw in his path -- and which he somehow managed to overcome, bucking the odds as his career just kept rolling along.

Even after more than 30 subsequent movies, his most commercially successful film remained the anti-war comedy MASH, which rocketed him to success in 1970 as it grossed $81.6 million, eventually spinning off the hit TV series that Altman himself couldn't abide.

But even though the movie, which won the Palm d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, pushed him into the company of a new generation of Hollywood filmmakers who were shaking up the studio status quo, Altman, who was 45 by the time of his breakthrough film, had taken a surprisingly conventional route. He learned his craft by turning out such industrial films as How to Run a Filling Station before moving on to such episodic TV fare as The Millionaire, Bonanza and Combat.

For Altman could be as hard to categorize as the best of his films, which turned established genres inside out. With 1971's "McCabe & Mrs. Miller," starring Warren Beatty and Julie Christie, he reimagined the Western as a muddy opium dream in which pioneering individualism is pitted against corporate business interests. In 1973's The Long Goodbye, he cast a shambling Elliott Gould as a modern-day Philip Marlowe -- instead of Raymond Chandler's mean streets of Los Angeles, Gould must find his way through the laid-back Los Angeles smog. And in 1974's Thieves Like Us, he drained the romantic glamour out of period tales of lovers on the run such as Bonnie and Clyde or They Live by Night by having a vulnerable Keith Carradine and Shelley Duvall play the awkward fugitives.

"Bob embodied the directors' ideal: a fiercely independent voice that was always challenging convention," DGA president Michael Apted said. "In doing so, he created a body of work of breathtaking diversity."

In 1975, Altman's groundbreaking experiments -- with dialogue seemingly overheard on the fly and a constantly prowling camera that can't resist poking around corners -- found an exuberant canvas in Nashville. The film, full of music, much of which was penned by its sprawling cast of actors, was a celebration of America in all its craziness as it tossed together country singers, lonely housewives, preening politicians, clueless reporters and an ominous assassin.

Related story: Critic Kirk Honeycutt's appreciation

Columnist Martin Grove: Altman's final Oscar shot...

Robert Altman, one of cinema's great democratic spirits whose wry appreciation of the idiosyncrasies of human nature suffused such films as MASH, McCabe and Mrs. Miller, Nashville and The Player, has died. He was 81.

Surrounded by his family, the director died Monday night at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles from complications of cancer. He had been dealing with the disease for the past 18 months, even as he completed his last film, A Prairie Home Companion, and readied his next movie, a typically Altmanesque-sounding project about a Texas endurance contest where the locals compete to win a Nissan Hardbody.

Related story: Critic Kirk Honeycutt's appreciation

Altman was Oscar-nominated as best director five times without winning -- he also earned two best picture noms for Nashville and Gosford Park. But the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences remedied that oversight this year at the 78th Annual Academy Awards, where he was presented with an honorary Oscar.

Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin, who appear together as a singing sister act in Prairie, introduced the director with a bravura demonstration of the overlapping dialogue and free-floating humor that characterized his films.

"No other filmmaker has gotten a better shake than I have," Altman said in accepting the award. "I'm very fortunate in my career. I've never had to direct a film I didn't choose or develop. My love for filmmaking has given me an entree to the world and to the human condition." In a sense, he had become America's answer to France's Jean Renoir, whose 1939 The Rules of the Game, with its indulgent view of human foibles, could have served as a gentle template for Altman's more raucous take on the absurdities of life.

In the warmth of the moment, Altman, often depicted as a cantankerous maverick, chose to overlook the obstacles that Hollywood sometimes threw in his path -- and which he somehow managed to overcome, bucking the odds as his career just kept rolling along.

Even after more than 30 subsequent movies, his most commercially successful film remained the anti-war comedy MASH, which rocketed him to success in 1970 as it grossed $81.6 million, eventually spinning off the hit TV series that Altman himself couldn't abide.

But even though the movie, which won the Palm d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, pushed him into the company of a new generation of Hollywood filmmakers who were shaking up the studio status quo, Altman, who was 45 by the time of his breakthrough film, had taken a surprisingly conventional route. He learned his craft by turning out such industrial films as How to Run a Filling Station before moving on to such episodic TV fare as The Millionaire, Bonanza and Combat.

For Altman could be as hard to categorize as the best of his films, which turned established genres inside out. With 1971's "McCabe & Mrs. Miller," starring Warren Beatty and Julie Christie, he reimagined the Western as a muddy opium dream in which pioneering individualism is pitted against corporate business interests. In 1973's The Long Goodbye, he cast a shambling Elliott Gould as a modern-day Philip Marlowe -- instead of Raymond Chandler's mean streets of Los Angeles, Gould must find his way through the laid-back Los Angeles smog. And in 1974's Thieves Like Us, he drained the romantic glamour out of period tales of lovers on the run such as Bonnie and Clyde or They Live by Night by having a vulnerable Keith Carradine and Shelley Duvall play the awkward fugitives.

"Bob embodied the directors' ideal: a fiercely independent voice that was always challenging convention," DGA president Michael Apted said. "In doing so, he created a body of work of breathtaking diversity."

In 1975, Altman's groundbreaking experiments -- with dialogue seemingly overheard on the fly and a constantly prowling camera that can't resist poking around corners -- found an exuberant canvas in Nashville. The film, full of music, much of which was penned by its sprawling cast of actors, was a celebration of America in all its craziness as it tossed together country singers, lonely housewives, preening politicians, clueless reporters and an ominous assassin.