News

Arthur “Buddy” Botham, who served as a cinematographer on The Dukes of Hazzard and handled second-unit shooting on films including Blake Edwards’ Skin Deep and John Carpenter’s Village of the Damned (1995), has died. He was 88.

Botham died June 26 at his home in Woodland Hills, his daughter Julia Bergeron announced.

Botham also worked on several Stephen J. Cannell-produced series, from The A-Team, Hardcastle and McCormick and Hunter to Riptide, Stingray, Sonny Spoon and Stone, and he was a generator operator on James Cameron’s Titanic (1997) and Bill Lawrence’s Scrubs.

Born in Chicago on March 19, 1935, Arthur Ronald Botham joined the Chicago Stage Guild at age 21 and starred in Uncle Vanya and other productions. After a stint in the U.S. Marine Corps as a helicopter repairman, he returned to Chicago, resumed acting and became a cinematographer.

As the in-house director of photography for Encyclopedia Britannica, he shot dozens of educational...

Dawn Wells, the actress best known for playing Mary Ann on “Gilligan’s Island,” has died at the age of 82.

Wells passed away in Los Angeles on Wednesday of complications related to Covid-19, according to a representative for the actress.

A native of Reno, Nev., Wells’ lengthy list of TV credits includes “77 Sunset Strip,” “Maverick,” “Bonanza,” “Growing Pains” and “Vegas,” in addition to her role on “Gilligan’s Island” and its various spinoffs and follow-ups. Her film credits include “Winterhawk,” “Super Sucker” and “The Town That Dreaded Sundown.”

Wells got her start in Hollywood after being crowned Miss Nevada in 1959 and representing the state in the Miss America pageant the following year. Her on-screen debut was a guest role in the 1960s ABC series “The Roaring ’20s.”

She landed the career-defining role of Mary Ann in 1964, beating out 350 other actresses for the part. “Gilligan’s Island” ran for 98 episodes and three seasons on CBS,...

Dawn Wells, who starred as “good girl” Mary Ann in popular 1960s sitcom “Gilligan’s Island,” died Wednesday of causes related to Covid-19 in Los Angeles. She was 82.

Pig-tailed and attired in her ubiquitous dungarees or gingham dress, which is on display at the Hollywood Museum, the Mary Ann character was the girl-next-door to Tina Louise’s suggestive evening dress-clad Ginger, who was often subjected to leering comments from the male stars they were shipwrecked with on a tropical island after becoming stranded during a “three-hour tour.”

Louise, the last remaining member of the crew, said in a statement, “I was sad to learn of Dawn’s passing, I will always remember her kindness to me. We shared in creating a cultural landmark that has continued to bring comfort and smiles to people during this difficult time. I hope that people will remember her the way that I do – always with a smile on her face.

Well look-e here my creeps; none other than Kill Or Be Killed‘s Die-rector slash writers Justin Meeks and Duane Graves have just rolled into the Crypt o’ Xiii like a couple o’ tumblin’ tumbleweeds!

Famous Monsters. Welcome to the Crypt! Let’s just jump right in; what inspired ya to create Kill Or Be Killed?

Justin Meeks. I have always had a special place in my heart for westerns, and a burning desire to make one. Sergio Leone, Clint Eastwood, Peckinpah, and others have brought their visions into my living room many times. So, after our film Wild Man Of The Navidad was sold at Tribeca, we had a meeting with the Weinstein Co. They were interested in what was on the back burner, and we pitched them a rough idea for Kill Or Be Killed, untitled at the time. They seem to love it, and that inspired Duane...

Have you ever wanted to see Mary Ann from ‘Gilligans Island’ covered in blood and chased through a corn field by a serial killer who wears a potato-sack as a hood and commits murders with a knife strapped to the end of a trombone? If so track The Town That Dreaded Sundown, a fact-based blend of police procedural, slasher flick, and redneck comedy from 1977. In addition to having one of the great movie titles of the ‘70s, The Town That Dreaded Sundown is a realistic, chilling, and effective thriller that Shout Factory has released on Blu-ray just ahead of its 2014 remake.

‘The Phantom Killer’(aka ‘The Moonlight Murderer’) was a real life fiend who committed a series of murders in Texarkana, a border town between Texas and Arkansas, in 1946. Like the ‘Zodiac’ killer who terrorized San Francisco 25 years later, he was never caught or identified. Stalking couples parked at lovers...

Charles B. Pierce was a popular regional filmmaker who made his feature film debut as director, producer, and cinematographer for the 1972 docu-drama The Legend of Boggy Creek. The low-budget film dramatized the legend of a Sasquatch-like creature known as the Fouke Monster, that was reputed to terrorize the small town in Arkansas near Texarkana. Boggy Creek became a major hit on the drive-in circuit. Pierce also directed and wrote a 1985 pseudo-sequel, The Barbaric Beast of Boggy Creek, Part II, and appeared in the role of Professor Brian C. `Doc’ Lockart.

Pierce was born in Hammond, Indiana, on June 16, 1938, and moved to Hampton, Arkansas, with his family as a child. He operated an advertising agency in Texarkana, and began working in films as a set decorator in the mid-1960s. He worked on numerous film and television productions including Chuck Jones’ animated feature The Phantom Tollbooth (1970), and the films Pretty Maids All in a Row...

American filmmaker Charles B. Pierce has died, aged 71.

Pierce passed away on Friday at a nursing home in Dover, Tennessee. No cause of death was specified.

He is best-known for documentary-style 1972 horror movie The Legend of Boggy Creek, which cost just $160,000 (£100,000) to make and grossed over $20 million (£13.3 million), according to the New York Times.

The film is an acknowledged influence on 1999 hit horror movie The Blair Witch Project.

Pierce's other directing credits include Bootleggers, The Town That Dreaded Sundown, Winterhawk, Sacred Ground and Boggy Creek II: And the Legend Continues, released in 1985.

His writing credits include the story for 1983 Clint Eastwood movie Sudden Impact - the fourth film in the actor/director's Dirty Harry series.

Have you ever wanted to see Mary Ann from .Gilligans Island. covered in blood and chased through a corn field by a serial killer who wears a potato-sack as a hood and commits murders with a knife strapped to the end of a trombone? If so track The Town That Dreaded Sundown, a fact-based blend of police procedural, slasher flick, and redneck comedy from 1977. In addition to having one of the great movie titles of the .70s, The Town That Dreaded Sundown is a realistic, chilling, and effective thriller but it.s Not available on DVD.

.The Phantom Killer.(aka .The Moonlight Murderer.) was a real life fiend who committed a series of murders in Texarkana, a border town between Texas and Arkansas, in 1946. Like the .Zodiac. killer who terrorized San Francisco 25 years later, he was never caught or identified. Stalking couples parked at lovers lanes and striking exactly every 21 days,...