Celebrity Graveland

May 4, 1939 – May 27, 2006

Paul Gleason was an aspiring baseball player who – with the help of Ozzie Nelson – stumbled into a career in acting. As he was known to do, Nelson offered the young ballplayer a guest spot on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet and Gleason was bitten by the acting bug. Gleason’s most notable roles included stints on the television shows All My Children and Boy Meets World. But, he’s perhaps most widely recognized for film roles in classic ’80s movies like Die Hard, Trading Places and The Breakfast Club. His memorable portrayal of assistant principal Richard Vernon in The Breakfast Club cemented his place in pop culture history. Gleason continued to work in TV and movies for years before he succumbed to lung cancer at the age of 67. Continue reading →

November 4, 1925 – April 17, 2016

Doris May Green was a stage, film and television actress whose biggest fame came from playing Marie Barone on the long-running sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond. Over the course of her career, Roberts (having adopted her stepfather’s surname) earned 5 Emmys and a Screen Actors Guild award to go along with numerous other nominations. Prior to Raymond, she appeared in recurring roles on Remington Steele and St. Elsewhere and guest starred on dozens of other shows. She also appeared in more than 30 films including 1989’s National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. She was a tireless advocate for animal rights and childhood AIDS causes. At the age of 90, Doris died in her sleep following a stroke. Continue reading →

January 3, 1930 – December 4, 2015

For nearly 60 years, Salvatore “Robert” Loggia entertained film audiences with his gruff but lovable persona. The son of Italian immigrants appeared in dozens of movies including Prizzi’s Honor, An Officer and a Gentleman, Necessary Roughness, Big, Scarface, Independence Day and Jagged Edge, the latter of which led to an Oscar nomination for Supporting Actor. He appeared in commercials and television shows (like The Sopranos, naturally) and also directed episodes of hit shows like Hart to Hart and Magnum P.I. Away from the screen, Loggia was heavily involved in humanitarian work and was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in 2010. That same year, Loggia was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease. He continued working regardless and died at home in 2015. Continue reading →

November 6, 1914 – November 3, 2002

Jonathan Charasuchin was an American character actor who became so good at playing villainous characters that he fought the typecast for most of his career. After high school, he legally changed his last name to Harris and went on to appear in hundreds of television shows, films and animated projects. He is, of course, most widely known for his portrayal of the evil Dr. Smith in the 1960s Sci-Fi series Lost in Space. Prior to that, he appeared opposite Michael Rennie in the popular mystery series The Third Man. He continued to appear in guest spots on TV shows and lent his distinct voice to dozens of animated shows and features including Rainbow Brite, Darkwing Duck, A Bug’s Life and Toy Story 2. Continue reading →