Sterling Holloway, Actor, 87, Is Dead; Voice of Pooh Bear

Stirling Holloway. Photo courtesy Fandom

Sterling Holloway, an actor who lent his distinctive voice to the animated film version of "Winnie-the-Pooh" and also spoke for the snake in the film of "The Jungle Book," died on Sunday morning at Good Samaritan Hospital. He was 87 years old and lived in Los Angeles.

He died of cardiac arrest, said his agent, Kingsley Colton.

Mr. Holloway's acting career began in the silent-film era with a series of short comedies. In the 1930's and 40's, he played comic roles in films including "Gold Diggers of 1933" and "The Beautiful Blonde From Bashful Bend." He often played country bumpkins or delivery boys.

Walt Disney put Mr. Holloway's raspy voice to good use in a number of animated films, including "Alice in Wonderland" (as the frog), "Dumbo" (as the stork), "Winnie-the-Pooh," "The Aristocats" and "The Jungle Book." Mowgli's Nemesis, Riley's Friend

For the honey-grubbing bear Pooh, Mr. Holloway created a sweet and innocent, sing-song voice for four short films. Three were combined in the 1983 movie "The Many Adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh."

Sterling Holloway. Photo courtesy IMDb

In "The Jungle Book" (1967), his snake character sang the memorable song "Trust in Me" as he hypnotized Mowgli, the wolf boy.

On television, Mr. Holloway was a regular in "The Life of Riley," from 1953 to 1958, as Riley's friend Waldo, an amateur inventor. He also appeared in "The Baileys of Balboa" in 1964-65.

Among his other film credits were "Casey at the Bat," "American Madness," "Hell Below," "Life Begins at 40," "Professor Beware," "The Bluebird," "A Walk in the Sun," "Shake, Rattle and Rock," and "Live a Little, Love a Little."

Mr. Holloway was born in 1905 in Cedartown, Ga. He graduated from Georgia Military Academy and later studied in New York at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

He is survived by a son, Richard.

First published at The New York Times, November 24, 1992

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Denholm Elliot

Denholm Elliot. Photo courtesy IMDb

Denholm Elliott was a British character actor known for his many supporting roles in film, theater, and television during his 47-year career.

Elliott received his education at Malvern College and briefly studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. During World War II, he served as a radio operator and gunner in the Royal Air Force. After the war, Elliott acted in London’s West End in The Guinea Pig (1946) and with Sir Laurence Olivier in Venus Observed (1950). He made his Broadway debut the same year in Ring Round the Moon .

Elliott began his film career in 1949 with his role in Dear Mr. Prohack . He went on to appear in The Sound Barrier (1952) and The Cruel Sea (1953) and later achieved a breakthrough with Nothing But the Best (1964) and Alfie (1966). Throughout his career, Elliott's roles included a washed-up director in The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1974), a greedy doctor in A Private Function (1984), an emotional father in A Room with a View (1985), and an aging drunken actor in Noises Off (1992), his last motion picture. He also appeared in a number of commercially successful movies including Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Trading Places (1983), and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). His last stage appearance was in David Mamet’s A Life in the Theatre (1989) in London.

All told, Elliott’s nearly half-century career included an astounding 162 acting credits on screen as well as more than 20 on stage. He was nominated for an Academy Award in 1987 for his supporting role in A Room with a View .Denholm Elliot

Elliott had a brief marriage to actress Virginia McKenna in 1954 but later remarried actress Susan Robinson. The couple had two children together. Two years after his death, Robinson wrote a biographical book about her late husband, Denholm Elliott: Quest for Love (1994), in which she revealed that Elliott was bisexual. In the book, Robinson documented their open marriage and her husband's fluid sexuality. Elliott was diagnosed with HIV in 1987 and died in 1992.

First published at bi.org 

Anthony Perkins, Star of 'Psycho' And All Its Sequels, Is Dead at 60

Anthony Perkins. Photo courtesy Newsbreak

By Steven Lee Myers

Anthony Perkins, the actor who starred in dozens of films and plays but was best known for his role as Norman Bates, the eerily soft-spoken psychopath in Alfred Hitchcock's classic thriller "Psycho," died on Saturday afternoon at his home in Hollywood. He was 60 years old.

Mr. Perkins died of AIDS, Leslee Dart, a press agent who said she was speaking for the family, reported on Saturday night.

Though he began his career as Hollywood's next teen idol, Mr. Perkins created in "Psycho," one of his early films, a persona that has become a part of American iconography: one that he could never shake as an actor and one that he returned to more than a quarter of a century later, in the first of three sequels.

"Norman appears on request," he said in an interview in 1989. "I would even say on demand. I can dial my own personal 800 number and Norman will reply."

Ms. Dart said that as Mr. Perkins became increasingly ill last week, he wanted to talk about his condition. "I chose not to go public about this," he said, "because, to misquote 'Casablanca,' 'I'm not too much at being noble, but it doesn't take much to see that the problems of one old actor don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy old world.' "

"There are many who believe that this disease is God's vengeance, but I believe it was sent to teach people how to love and understand and have compassion for each other.

"I have learned more about love, selflessness and human understanding from the people I have met in this great adventure in the world of AIDS than I ever did in the cutthroat, competitive world in which I spent my life." A Childhood Ambition

Mr. Perkins, the son of the actor Osgood Perkins, was born in New York City on April 4, 1932. From childhood, he wanted to be an actor, working in amateur productions and later in summer stock and television. After enrolling at Rollins College in Winter Park, Fla., he transferred to Columbia University, acting in his first film, "The Actress," in 1953, while still a student.

Shortly before he was to graduate in 1954, he auditioned with Elia Kazan for a role in "East of Eden" that he eventually lost to another young unknown actor, James Dean. Mr. Kazan, though, asked Mr. Perkins to replace John Kerr as the sensitive adolescent, Tom Lee, in the Broadway play "Tea and Sympathy."

His role in that play, which ran for 54 weeks, caught the attention of Hollywood, where film makers saw a new teen idol in the tall, gawky, but attractive young man. In his second film, "Friendly Persuasion," he played a younger Quaker torn between his religious beliefs and the need to defend his family's homestead; the performance resulted in an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor.

It was in his next film, however, that Mr. Perkins first established the style that would recur throughout his career. In "Fear Strikes Out" (1956), he hauntingly portrayed Jim Piersall, the gifted Boston Red Sox outfielder who suffered a nervous breakdown and had to struggle to recover his sanity. A Cult Classic

That style culminated in his career-defining role in "Psycho," a film which critics initially panned but which became a cult classic and a precursor of such horror films as "Halloween" and "Friday the 13th."

Mr. Perkins portrayed the deranged, eager-to-please Norman Bates, who ran the Bates Motel, practiced taxidermy and lived with his dead mother in the quaint Victorian house on the hill. His performance had an alarming gawkiness and repressed terror and the movie added a new anxiety to taking a shower.

He went on to appear in many films, including Orson Welles's adaptation of Kafka's "Trial" (1962), "Catch-22" (1970) and "The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean" (1972).

While he often played moody, troubled or deranged men, he never again achieved the success of Norman Bates. In 1983, he returned to the role in "Psycho II," which was followed in 1986 by "Psycho III," which he also directed, and in 1990 by "Psycho IV: The Beginning."

"Who's to say how it affected my career," Mr. Perkins said as he worked on the first sequel in 1982. "I never look backwards, you know. I made my first movie over 30 years ago. Without 'Psycho,' who's to say if I would have endured?"

In addition to his films, Mr. Perkins appeared in many plays, including "Look Homeward, Angel," "Greenwillow," "Harold," "Steambath," "Equus" and "Romantic Comedy."

Mr. Perkins is survived by his wife, the former Berry Berenson, and two sons, Osgood and Elvis, all of whom live in Hollywood.

The passage beginning at the end of the second column, discussing his performance on Broadway in "Tea and Sympathy," should have read:

"His role in that play, which ran for 54 weeks, caught the attention of Hollywood, where film makers saw a new teen idol in the tall, gawky but attractive young man. In his second film, 'Friendly Persuasion,' he played a younger Quaker torn between his religious beliefs and the need to defend his family's homestead; the performance resulted in an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor.

"It was in his next film, however, that Mr. Perkins first established the style that would recur throughout his career. In 'Fear Strikes Out' (1956), he hauntingly portrayed Jim Piersall, the gifted Boston Red Sox outfielder who suffered a nervous breakdown and had to struggle to recover his sanity."

First published at The New York Times, September 14, 1992

Tony publicity photo July 1992

Me, July 1, 1992. Photo: Robert Roach

Coward and his leading lady inspiration for play

January 14, 1992

Noel and Gertie tells of the fascination and love between English playwright Noel Coward and actress and comedienne Gertrude Lawrence since they met at the age of 13.

The stars of Noel and Gertie, Kate Peters and Ian Croker

Although their relationship was not sexual, their performing partnership was fuelled by his private fascination with her.

She inspired him endlessly and he wrote some of his most magical work for her to perform - Private Lives, Blithe Spirit and Still Life all echoed some part of her.

Noel and Gertie is an entertainment devised by Sheridan Morley with words and music by Noel Coward.

The show recreates some of the most famous moments of their lives and the productions the couple starred in.

The show is presented by Kate Peters and Associates and the Canberra Southern Cross Club.

The songs, dance, humour, unforgettable characters and razor sharp repartee are all a feature of this new show which will be held at the Southern Cross Club on Friday and Saturday nights February 7 and 8, February 14 and 15 and February 21 and 22.

The show is $14 or $32 with dinner. Bookings 281 5755.

Noel once said of Gertie, “I wish so deeply, so very deeply, that I could see her just once more playing in a play of mine; from the time we started together as child actors in Liverpool, we have been integrally part of each others lives. “No-one I have ever known, however gifted or however brilliant, has contributed quite what she contributed to my work.”

“Her quality was to me unique and her magic imperishable.”

First published in The Canberra Chronicle, January 14, 1992

February 20, 1992

Canberra Times ad, February 20, 1992

Editor's note: An extra performance was added due to audience demand: Saturday February 29, 1992

Social: Inside back - Canberra, with Mike Colman

by Mike Colman

Canberra’s famous Singing Waiters entertained the throng at the Australian Health Insurance Association Ball at the Old Parliament House on Wednesday night. Clockwise from bottom left, they are: Nick Begbie, Chris Woods, Greg Stott, Andrew Bisset, Tony Magee, Dean Salonga and Craig Schneider.

Originally published in The Sunday Telegraph, April 26, 1992

Tony Magee and Gabrielle Bermingham 1992

 

Myself with Gabrielle Bermingham (and Antonio Vivaldi on right). Photo: Robert Roach

Article: 'Bush' talent for Sydney

by Helen Musa

SYDNEY’S Tilbury Hotel has been basking for some weeks in the description of itself in The Canberra Times as “the mecca of cabaret”.

Now it seems the Tilbury is to be a real centre of pilgrimages, but what an unlikely bunch of pilgrims - Gery Scott, Kate Peters and Tony Magee, three of the stars of the Queanbeyan School of Arts Cafe have been invited to bring their musical entertainments to Sydney.

They are joined by a young group of outstanding talent - pianist Peter Casey and actor-singers Mark Fuller, Queenie van der Zandt and David Pearson will perform two recent successes, The Mere Male on Broadway and Three’s Company. School of Arts cafe maestro Bill Stephens can count this invitation a major coup.

Since 1986, the Tilbury has become a showcase for Australian theatre talent; its minuscule stage has seen the likes of Kerrie Bidell, Lorrae Desmond, June Bronhill and Toni Lamond.

Gery Scott, fresh from her current Cole Porter program, is a giant of a performer at any time. Magee is constantly in demand as a pianist and singer. And Peters, acknowledged Queen of Cabaret in Canberra, is flushed with the Canberra Southern Cross Club’s decision to run Noel and Gertie for an extra night tonight.

Originally published in The Canberra Times, February 29, 1992.

Review: Providence grant us the joy of more concerts like this

by Michael Foster

PROVIDENCE grant us the joy of more concerts like this. The Singing Waiters finish a Queanbeyan School of Arts Cafe season on Sunday. They are part of a flourish of jazz-oriented entertainment at the cafe.

Photo: Robert Roach

The Waiters are a male a cappella group drawn from Gery Scott’s Vocal Jazz Ensemble of the Canberra School of Music’s Jazz Studies Course. They are Nick Begbie, Andrew Bisset, Tony Magee, Dean Salonga, Craig Schneider, Greg Stott and Chris Woods.

Scott herself is singing Particularly Porter for six nights tonight, tomorrow and Saturday (February 20, 21, 22) and next week, February 27, 28 and 29. Tony Magee is to accompany Scott on keyboards.

Another very good Canberra talent, Linda Hansen has sung Empress of the Blues, “an evocation of the life and career of … Bessie Smith”, backed by the piano of Erol Richardson and bass of Roger Morelli.

Hansen’s background as a band, including rock, singer of covers and originals has led to jazz and blues. Belief that these better suited her voice and a fascination with The Empress inspired the show.

It is directed by Bill Stephens, costumed by Mark Glaser against a backdrop by Rose-May Swann with makeup by Lorraine Francis.

From The Canberra Times, Feb 20 1992

Article: Good year for local talent 'showcase'.

Thursday, January 2, 1992

By Gordon Sheldon

Kate Peters and Tony Magee

Kate Peters returns to Queanbeyan’s School of Arts Cafe on January 29, with her evening of comedy and song. She will again be accompanied by associate artist Tony Magee, who established an enviable reputation as an outstanding cocktail pianist and rapidly became one of Canberra's most sought-after and accomplished accompanists.

He has previously appeared at the cafe with Gery Scott in her Noel Coward program, with Trish and Doug Williams in Farce Meets Class and with Wendy Ann Hart. On New Year's Eve he ended a packed season with the Bull 'n' Bush Christmas Party, one of the few Cafe shows to run each week from Wednesday to Saturday.

Magee will appear with Judy Burnett and David Cox in From Pakistan With Love for Sunday evening shows on January 12 and 19, which kick off the 1992 season.

David Cox, a diplomat when not on stage, last appeared in Canberra in Rep's Bicentennial Music Hall. In the same year he played in Rep's production of Coward's Present Laughter.

From a portion of an article first published in The Canberra Times, January 2, 1992