Some Reads for Tuesday, Including Forgotten Obits

 Cartoon of the Day:

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Here are a couple of missed obits over the past year:

Actress Marisa Pavan, who was also the identical twin sister of the doomed actress Pier Angeli, died last year (December 6, 2023)  at the age of 91.  Needless to say, she fared much better in her life than her sister did.

She had died in her sleep at her home in France.  Pavan had also been Oscar-nominated back in the 1950s for her role in the film The Rose Tattoo.

Snip:

She was born Maria Luisa Pierangeli a few minutes after her sister Anna Maria Pierangeli on June 19, 1932, in Sardinia, Italy.

The family moved to Rome a few years later, where they were threatened when Nazis occupied the city.

Pavan scored a contract with studio Fox, despite having no acting experience, when she and her sister moved to Los Angeles in 1951 at the age of 19.

Her sister Anna had been spotted by Italian actor and director Vittorio De Sica when she was walking along the Via Veneto at the age of 16.

I wanted to make note of the death, which I had planned to put here on this blog, but I kept forgetting.

Marisa Pavan had a life well lived.

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Likewise I forgot to note the death of rock blues pioneer John Mayall, who was 90 when he passed away this past July.  He was a major figure in rock, and I somehow forgot to mention him on this blog despite knowing he had passed.

Anyway, it is better late than never to note it.  Noted guitarists like Eric Clapton, Peter Green  and Mick Taylor were members of Mayall's Bluesbreakers band at the start of their careers, or near the start of their careers.

Variety article and a snip from the piece:

He was born Nov. 29, 1933, in the midlands city of Macclesfield. His father was an amateur guitarist and jazz enthusiast, and young Mayall fell under the sway of American jazz and blues stars as a youth, teaching himself piano, guitar and harmonica.

After an army stint, Mayall enrolled in Manchester College of Art; his design training there later served him – he painted the band portrait for the cover of his 1967 album “A Hard Road” and crafted the look of 1969’s “The Turning Point.”

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Not a forgotten obit:  Actor Earl Holliman, 96, who was the main character of the very first Twilight Zone episode, "Where is Everybody,"  has died.   He died  yesterday.

Snip:

He was raised in Oil City, La., and enlisted in the U.S. Navy at the age of 15 during WWII where he mingled with stars at the famous Hollywood Canteen. The Navy discovered his age a year later and he was discharged, only to re-enlist after he graduated high school.

He returned to Los Angeles and trained at the Pasadena Playhouse and UCLA. While working at North American Aviation, he snuck onto the Paramount lot and meet Paul Nathan, associate producer for Hall Wallis, who gave him his first role in Martin & Lewis’ “Scared Stiff.”

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