Ben Gazzara, whose powerful dramatic performances brought an intensity to a variety of roles and made him a memorable presence in such iconic productions over the decades as the original “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” on Broadway and the film “The Big Lebowski,” has died at age 81.

Longtime family friend Suzanne Mados said Gazzara died Friday in Manhattan. Mados, who owned the Wyndham Hotel, where celebrities such as Peter Falk and Martin Sheen stayed, said he died after being placed in hospice care for cancer. She and her husband helped marry Gazzara and his wife, German-born Elke Krivat, at their hotel.

Gazzara was a proponent of method acting, in which the performer attempts to take on the thoughts and emotions of the character he’s playing, and it helped him achieve stardom early in his career with two stirring Broadway performances.

In 1955, he originated the role of Brick Pollitt, the disturbed alcoholic son and failed football star in “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.” He left the show after only seven months to take on an equally challenging role, Johnny Pope, the drug addict in “A Hatful of Rain.” It earned him his first of three Tony Award nominations.
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Don Cornelius is shown in a 2009 file photo.

Law enforcement sources said police arrived at Cornelius’ home around 4 a.m. He apparently died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the case was ongoing.

The sources said there was no sign of foul play, but the Los Angeles Police Department was investigating.

In a 2010 interview with The Los Angeles Times, he said he was excited about a movie project he was developing about “Soul Train.”

“We’ve been in discussions with several people about getting a movie off the ground. It wouldn’t be the ‘Soul Train’ dance show, it would be more of a biographical look at the project,” he said. “It’s going to be about some of the things that really happened on the show.”

According to a Times article, Cornelius’ “Soul Train” became the longest-running first-run nationally syndicated show in television history, bringing African American music and style to the world for 35 years.

Cornelius stopped hosting the show in 1993, and “Soul Train” ceased production in 2006.

Cornelius was 75 years old. He had two children with his first wife, Delores, and was married to his second, Viktoria, at the time of his death, though the two had filed for divorce.

Ian Abercrombie, a veteran British stage and screen actor whose TV roles included Elaine’s boss Mr. Pitt on “Seinfeld” and the voice of Chancellor Palpatine in “Star Wars: The Clone Wars,” has died. He was 77.

A website statement from LucasArts said Abercrombie died Friday. A friend, Cathy Lind Hayes, told the Los Angeles Times that he died at a Los Angeles hospital from complications of kidney failure and recently had been diagnosed with lymphoma.

“Though he played a villain on our show, you would be hard pressed to meet a kinder person,” said Dave Filoni, a supervising director for “Clone Wars.” ”He loved to laugh and his sense of humor always lightened our record sessions. I will miss his stories, I will miss his performances, and I will miss his contribution to our show.”

Abercrombie began his career as a dancer and made his American stage debut in a 1951 production of “Stalag 17.”
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The doctor convicted of involuntary manslaughter in Michael Jackson’s death is asking a judge to release him from jail pending his appeal.

Dr. Conrad Murray said in a motion filed Friday that he should be released either on his own recognizance or on bail with electronic monitoring. He said he is not a danger to society.

Murray, who is serving a four-year sentence, said he would try to find employment to contribute to the support of his seven children.

His lawyer said Murray is being held in solitary confinement and is chained to a table when he meets with his lawyers. He said the sentence and confinement are extremely severe for a man with no prior criminal history and that Murray is extremely sorrowful about Jackson’s death.

Robert Hegyes, the actor best known for playing Jewish Puerto Rican student Juan Epstein on the 1970s TV show “Welcome Back Kotter” has died. He was 60.

The Flynn & Son Funeral Home in Fords, N.J., said it was informed of Hegyes’ death Thursday by the actor’s family.

A spokesman at JFK Medical Center in Edison, N.J., told the Star-Ledger newspaper that Hegyes, of Metuchen, arrived at the hospital Thursday morning in full cardiac arrest and died.

Hegyes was appearing on Broadway in 1975 when he auditioned for “Kotter,” a TV series about a teacher who returns to the inner-city New York school of his youth to teach a group of irreverent remedial students nicknamed the “Sweathogs.” They included the character Vinnie Barbarino, played by John Travolta.

The show’s theme song, performed by John Sebastian, became a pop hit.

Hegyes also appeared on many other TV series, including “Cagney & Lacey.”
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RELATED: Bob May, who donned The Robot’s suit in ‘Lost in Space,’ has died

By Claire Noland

Dick Tufeld, a longtime radio and TV announcer who intoned “Danger, Will Robinson!” as the voice of the Robot in the 1960s science-fiction TV series “Lost in Space,” has died. He was 85.

Tufeld died Sunday at his home in Studio City while watching the NFL playoffs, his family said. He had heart disease and had been in declining health since sustaining a fall last year.

In “Lost in Space,” producer Irwin Allen’s futuristic retelling of the “Swiss Family Robinson” story that aired on CBS from 1965 to 1968, actor Bob May wore the Robot costume and Tufeld provided the voice.

Besides warning young Will Robinson of impending danger, Tufeld’s Robot uttered other lines that became catchphrases for faithful viewers — including “That does not compute” — and needled the antagonistic Dr. Zachary Smith with barbs like “Dr. Smith is a bubble-headed booby.”
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Actor James Farentino, who appeared in dozens of movies and television shows, died Tuesday in a Los Angeles hospital, according to a family spokesman. He was 73.

Farentino died of heart failure at Cedars-Sinai Hospital after a long illness, said the spokesman, Bob Palmer.

Farentino starred alongside Kirk Douglas and Martin Sheen in the 1980 science fiction film “The Final Countdown.” The movie featured a modern aircraft carrier that travels back in time to Pearl Harbor hours before the Japanese attack.

Farentino also starred opposite Patty Duke in 1969′s “Me, Natalie.”

In 1967, he won a “Most Promising Newcomer” Golden Globe for his performance in the comedy “The Pad and How to Use It.”

He also had recurring roles on “Dynasty,” ”Melrose Place,” ”The Bold Ones: The Lawyers” and “ER,” playing the estranged father to George Clooney’s character.

In 1978, he was nominated for an Emmy for his portrayal of Saint Peter in the television mini-series “Jesus of Nazareth.”

A four-time divorcee, Farentino’s tumultuous personal life made headlines, too.

In March 1994, he pleaded no contest to stalking his ex-girlfriend Tina Sinatra, daughter of Frank Sinatra. Read the full story

Singer Etta James was best known for her song 'At Last.' (AP)

Etta James’ performance of the enduring classic “At Last” was the embodiment of refined soul: Angelic-sounding strings harkened the arrival of her passionate yet measured vocals as she sang tenderly about a love finally realized after a long and patient wait.

In real life, little about James was as genteel as that song. The platinum blonde’s first hit was a saucy R&B number about sex, and she was known as a hell-raiser who had tempestuous relationships with her family, her men and the music industry. Then she spent years battling a drug addiction that she admitted sapped away at her great talents.

In other words, she was one of music’s original bad girls.

“The bad girls … had the look that I liked,” she wrote in her 1995 autobiography, “Rage to Survive.” `’I wanted to be rare, I wanted to be noticed, I wanted to be exotic as a Cotton Club chorus girl, and I wanted to be obvious as the most flamboyant hooker on the street. I just wanted to be.”

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Singer and actress Kaye Stevens, who performed with the Rat Pack and was a frequent guest on Johnny Carson’s “The Tonight Show,” has died at a central Florida hospital. She was 79.

Close friend Gerry Schweitzer confirmed that Stevens died Wednesday at the Villages Hospital north of Orlando following a battle with breast cancer and blood clots.

Stevens, a longtime South Florida resident, performed with Rat Pack members including Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and Joey Bishop. She also sang solo at venues like Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas and the Plaza Hotel’s Persian Room in New York City.

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During the Vietnam War era, Stevens performed for American soldiers in the war zone with Bob Hope’s USO tour.
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Michael Jackson’s daughter says she was inspired to be an actress after seeing her father in the film “Moonwalker.”

Paris Jackson spoke to talk show host Ellen DeGeneres about her acting aspirations and the lengths that her father took to protect her identity for the episode airing Thursday.

The 13-year-old says her father encouraged her and did improvisation sessions to develop her skills. The teen has been cast alongside Larry King in a film based on a children’s book that is in early stages of development.

Paris Jackson says she had a normal childhood thanks to her father’s decision to place her and her two brothers in masks when they were in public.

She says no one recognized her when she began attending school.