Helene was born in Memphis on August 7, 1923, the daughter of Dominic and Mary Zollo. She studied dance and accordion as a child, and performed frequently on the local stage and radio in the 1930s. She was a graduate of St. Agnes Academy in Memphis in 1940. Helene worked at her family’s Diamond Ice Cream Company during World War II while her husband Harris Lentz, Jr. served as a paratrooper in Europe. After the war, she and her husband continued to operate the ice cream company and raise a family.

Helene was very active in civic and charitable organizations and was an early supporter of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. She was frequently involved in political campaigns, working for candidates on both sides of the political divide. She even ran for alderman in her hometown of Bartlett, Tennessee at the age of 78. Helene began working as a bookkeeper with The Fred P. Gattas Company following the death of her husband and sale of the ice cream factory in 1974. She continued to work with the Gattas family, serving as an accountant and office manager with James Gattas Jewelry until her death.

She was an elegant and wonderful lady who never met a stranger, and could make a trek to the post office or the grocery store a festive event.  She reveled in watching old films and television shows (which weren’t so old when she first saw them). She was an avid attendee of the Memphis Film Festival and the MidSouthCon for over 20 years, where she delighted in hobnobbing with old cowboy stars and Klingons alike. She left an indelible impression on the film stars and fellow fans she met. On several occasions, while taking a rare moment to rest in a convenient chair, she would look up to see a small line forming around her, with fans thumbing through 8x10s and wondering which of the stars she was. When I first began writing for the original Famous Monsters of Filmland in the 1970s, Forry Ackerman would frequently call to discuss a story. Most of the time, his call would come when I wasn’t home, and he and my mother would have long conversations. I came to believe Forry was intentionally calling when I wasn’t there so he could talk to my mom. I largely owe whatever success I have achieved as a writer and a human being to her guidance, inspiration, and support, and can never hope to repay that debt.

Gary was born in Illinois in 1920. He was an aspiring actor before taking a job as a script supervisor on John Ford’s 1956 western classic The Searchers. He also served as script supervisor for the films The Magic Sword (1962), What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962), The Strangler (1964), Hush… Hush… Sweet Charlotte (1964), and The Flight of the Phoenix (1965). He also worked frequently in television on such shows as Perry Mason, The Outer Limits, and Highway to Heaven.

Gary died in Los Angeles on May 3, 2010 at age 90.

Sato was born in Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima, Japan, on December 21, 1928.  He worked as a municipal government official in Fukushima before moving to Tokyo to study acting in 1950. He trained at the Haiyuza Theater and made his film debut in Masaki Kobayashi’s 1959 epic The Human Condition. He worked frequently with New Wave director Nagisa Oshima from the early 1960s, appearing in such films as Cruel Story of Youth (1960) and Night and Fog in Japan (1960).

His many screen credits also include Bushido: The Cruel Code of the Samurai (1963), Zatoichi #13: Zatoichi’s Vengeance (1966), The Sword of Doom (1966), Irezumi (1966), Three Resurrected Drunkards (1968), Yotsuya Kaidan – Oiwa no Borei (a.k.a. The Ghost of Yotsuya) (1969), Evil Spirits of Japan (1970), Live Today, Die Tomorrow! (1970), A Japanese Demon (1973), Oniwaban (a.k.a. Demon Spies) (1974), The Resurrection of the Golden Wolf (1979), The Beast to Die (1980), The Strange Tale of Oyuki (1992), and The Whispering of the Gods (2005).

Sato died of pneumonia in Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan on May 2, 2010 at age 81.

She was born Eddi-Rue McClanahan in Healdton, Oklahoma on February 21, 1934.  She studied theater at the University of Tulsa and made her professional stage debut at the Erie Playhouse in Pennsylvania in 1957. Soon after, she was performing in off-Broadway plays in New York.

McClanahan began acting in films in the early 1960s, appearing in the low-budget thriller Five Minutes to Live (aka Door-to-Door Maniac) (1961) starring Johnny Cash.  She continued her career in such features as the Sherlock Holmsian fantasy They Might Be Giants (1971) with George C. Scott, and the western slasher film Blade (1973).

She starred as Vivian Cavender Harmon, Bea Arthur’s title character’s best friend, in the sitcom Maude from 1972 to 1978. She starred as Ginger-Nell Hollyhock in the short-lived comedy series Apple Pie in 1978, and guest-starred in episodes of Supertrain, Darkroom, Fantasy Island, and Small & Frye. She was also featured in the supernatural comedy tele-film Topper in 1979.

She had a recurring role in the sitcom Mama’s Family from 1983 to 1984 as Aunt Fran Crowley. She rejoined Bea Arthur in the hit sitcom The Golden Girls in 1985, which also starred Betty White and Estelle Getty as a quartet of senior citizens sharing a home in Miami. McClanahan earned several Emmy nominations and won the award for Outstanding Lead Actress for her performance as Blanche Devereaux in 1987. The series continued through 1992, and she guest-starred as Blanche in episodes of Nurses and Empty Nest. She also reprised the role in the short-lived spin-off Golden Palace from 1992 to 1993.

McClanahan was also seen in the tele-films The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1989) on Nightmare Classics, The Man in the Brown Suit (1989), The Wickedest Witch (1989), The Dreamer of Oz (1990) as L. Frank Baum’s mother-in-law. Her other television credits include episodes of the animated Spider-Man, Touched by an Angel, and Wonderfalls.

McClanahan also continued to appear on films later in her career, with roles in Biosphere 2 (1991), the animated Christmas classic Annabelle’s Wish (1997), Starship Troopers (1997), and Wit’s End (2005).  She returned to Broadway in April of 2005, taking over the role of Madame Morrible in the musical Wicked for the remainder of the year.

McClanahan had been in poor health for several years and died of complications from a stroke and a brain hemorrhage in a New York City hospital on June 3, 2010 at age 76.

She was born Phyllis Callow in Hollywood on July 24, 1936, the daughter of leading second unit director Ridgeway Callow and Ziegfeld showgirl Margaret Watts.

She was featured in a small role in the 1961 film Atlantis, the Lost Continent, and was Josie Miller in a 1967 episode of Batman with Cesar Romero as the Joker.

Douglas died in Palm Springs, California on May 12, 2010 at age 73.

He was born Ernest Joseph Caringi in Mechanicville, New York on December 23, 1931, and served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War.  He and his parents owned and operated the Hollywood supper club Panzas Lazy Susan in the 1950s and 1960s. He began appearing in films and television in the late 1950s as Steve Drexel, and was featured in such films as the Lon Chaney bio-pic Man of a Thousand Faces (1957). His other films include The Tarnished Angels (1958), Hot Rod Gang (1958), Swamp Girl (1971), and Superchick (1973). He also appeared on television in episodes of World of Giants, Assignment: Underwater, and The Six Million Dollar Man.

Drexel died of lung and bone cancer in Quartz Hill, Lancaster, California on April 17, 2010 at age 78.

Barth was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on September 29, 1931.  He co-starred as Lt. Al Rossi in the short-lived 1973 television version of Shaft starring Richard Roundtree, and appeared in the recurring role of Myron Fowler, a rival private detective, in the series Simon & Simon from 1981 to 1988.  He was also seen in the tele-films The Man in the Santa Claus Suit (1979) and The Murder of Sherlock Holmes (1984), and the feature films The Amityville Horror (1979) and Killing Obsession (1994).

He was also noted as a voice actor in such films as Rover Dangerfield (1991), Babe: Pig in the City (1998), and Osmosis Jones (2001), and in the animated television series Challenge of the GoBots, James Bond Jr., Biker Mice from Mars, Superman, and Men in Black: The Series.

Barth died of heart failure at his home in Los Angeles on May 28, 2010 at age 78.

Fraker was born in Los Angeles on September 29, 1923 and served in the U.S. Navy in the Pacific during World War II. He studied at the USC School of Cinema and worked as a photographer’s assistant. He began working as a camera operator for television in the early 1960s. He served as a cinematographer for the obscure television production The Ghost of Sierra de Cobre (a.k.a. The Haunted) (1964) for director Joseph Stefano, and for Leslie Steven’s off-beat, Esperanto-language horror film Incubus (1965) starring William Shatner. He was director of photography for the psychological thriller Games (1967) and the satire The President’s Analyst (1967), starring James Coburn.

Fraker also directed several films, including the western Monte Walsh (1970) with Lee Marvin, the psychological horror film A Reflection of Fear (1973) starring Robert Shaw, and 1981′s The Legend of the Lone Ranger.  He also helmed episodes of such television series as J.J. Starbuck, Unsub, and The Flash.

He continued to work primarily as a cinematographer, shooting such films as The Day of the Dolphin (1973), The Killer Inside Me (1976), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), The Hollywood Knights (1980), SpaceCamp (1986), Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992), and The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996).

Fraker died of cancer in a Los Angeles hospital on May 31, 2010 at age 86.

Keefe died of throat cancer in Rochester, New York on May 27, 2010 at age 57.

Hopper was born in Dodge City, Kansas on May 17, 1936. He moved to San Diego, California with his family in the late 1940s, and began studying at the local Old Globe Theater while attending high school. He soon signed with Warner Brothers and was featured in a small role in 1955′s Rebel Without a Cause. He was later featured as Jordan Benedict III, the son of Rock Hudson’s wealthy rancher character, in 1956′s Giant; outlaw Billy Clanton in Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957); and Napoleon Bonaparte in The Story of Mankind that same year. Hopper also starred as Johnny Drake in Curtis Harrington’s 1961 cult psychological horror film Night Tide.

He appeared frequently on television in the 1950s, with roles in such series as Medic, Conflict, The Twilight Zone, and The Time Tunnel. He co-starred in the 1966 sci-fi/horror film Queen of Blood (1966), and was featured in Roger Corman’s cult drug classic The Trip with Peter Fonda in 1967. He also appeared in Hang ‘Em High (1968) with Clint Eastwood, and True Grit (1969) with John Wayne, before helming Easy Rider in 1969. He shared an Academy Award nomination for co-writing the screenplay. His next project was 1971′s The Last Movie, a hallucinogenic epic shot with a band of hippies in Peru about the making of a film. It was panned by critics and proved a box-office flop. Hopper’s own increasing drug use made it difficult for him to find work in Hollywood.

He returned to prominence as a manic photojournalist in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1979 Vietnam War magnum opus Apocalypse Now with Marlon Brando. He went on to appear in such films as the fantasy thriller Reborn (1981), Neil Young’s Human Highway (1982), Sam Peckinpah’s The Osterman Weekend (1983), Jungle Warriors (1984), My Science Project (1985), and Riders of the Storm (1986).  He starred as Lt. Lefty Enright in 1986’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2.  He earned acclaim for his performance as a drug dealer in the 1986 slacker crime drama River’s Edge, and as a violent criminal in David Lynch’s Blue Velvet (1986).  He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as alcoholic, small-town, former basketball star Wilbur ‘Shooter’ Flatch in 1986′s Hoosiers.  Hopper continued to appear in on screen in character roles in such films as Straight to Hell (1987), Black Widow (1987), Blood Red (1989), Eye of the Storm (1991), and the 1993 screen adaptation of the video game Super Mario Bros. as the villainous King Koopa. He shared a memorable scene opposite Christopher Walken in the crime drama True Romance in 1993, and starred as John Canyon in Stuart Gordon’s Space Truckers (1996).  His other films include The Blackout (1997), The Prophet’s Game (1999), The Spreading Ground (2000), Michael Angel (2000), Ticker (2001), Unspeakable (2002), The Night We Called It a Day (2003) as Frank Sinatra, The Keeper (2004), Hoboken Hollow (2005), George A. Romero’s Land of the Dead (2005) as Kaufman, The Crow: Wicked Prayer (2005), House of 9 (2005), Memory (2006), An American Carol (2008), and Hell Ride (2008).

Hopper was also featured on television in such tele-films and mini-series as Wild Times (1980) as Doc Holliday, Stark (1985) and the sequel Stark: Mirror Image (1986) as Lt. Ron Bliss, Paris Trout (1991) earning an Emmy Award nomination for his performance in the title role, the crime drama Nails (1992) as Harry ‘Nails’ Niles, the supernatural thriller Witch Hunt (1994) as private detective H. Phillip Lovecraft, Samson and Delilah (1996) as General Tariq, the mythological adventure Jason and the Argonauts (2000) as Pelias, and Firestarter 2: Rekindled (2002). He starred as the evil Mr. Smith in the short-lived sci-fi television series Flatland in 2002, and was Victor Drazen, a former Balkan warlord whose machinations were the catalyst behind the action in the first season of 24 in 2002. He also starred as Col. Eli McNulty in the military action drama E-Ring from 2005 to 2006, and was Ben Cendars in the Starz drama series Crash from 2008 to 2009.

Hopper had been diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer in the fall of 2009. He made his last public appearance when he attended the addition of his star to the Hollywood Walk of Fame in March of 2010.

Hopper died of complications from prostate cancer at his home in Venice, California on May 29, 2010 at age 74.