MARKKU PELTOLA Died Dec. 31, 2007

Finnish actor Markku Peltola died of an undisclosed illness at age 51. Mr. Peltola starred in the Oscar-nominated film " The Man Without a Past ." The 2002 film dealt with a man who loses his memory after a severe beating. It received a Best Foreign Film Oscar nomination. Mr. Peltola appeared in over 30 films and TV shows during his career. He was also a noted musician in his native land.

BILL IDELSON Died Dec. 31, 2007

Writer, producer and actor Bill Idelson died at age 87. Mr. Idelson was nominated for an Emmy award for the TV series " Love American Style ." He began his career as a child actor on the radio. Mr. Idelson played Rush Gook on the radio show " Vic & Sade ." Military service during WWII put an end to his gig on the long-running radio show. Mr. Idelson wrote the book " The Story of Vic & Sade " which was a history of the show. Though he was a prolific writer for TV during the 1960s and 70s, many will remember him for playing Rose Marie's boyfriend Herman Glimsher on " The Dick Van Dyke Show ." Mr. Idelson's writing credits include " The Twilight Zone ," " The Andy Griffith Show ," " M*A*S*H " and " Happy Days ." His daughter Ellen Idelson was a successful TV writer herself. In 2003 she tragically died of cancer at age 42.

KATHERINE DE HETRE Died Dec. 29, 2007

Actress Katherine De Hetre was killed in an automobile accident at age 61. Ms. De Hetre played the mother of evangelist Joni Eareckson Tada in the 1980 biopic " Joni ." She had supporting roles in the Oscar-winning " Being There ," " Meteor " (photo at right from her death scene in that film), " The Promise " and " Looker ." Ms. De Hetre was an understudy in the 1975 Broadway production of " Death of a Salesman ." She appeared on Broadway in the 1972 production " The Love Suicide at Schofield Barracks ." Prayers of comfort for her family and friends.

KAREL CERNOCH
Date of Death: 27 December 2007, Prague, Czech Republic. (colon cancer)

Actor:
Ahmed a Hazar (1991) (TV)
Skriváncí ticho (1989)
Petrolejové lampy (1971) .... Brother
... aka Oil Lamps
... aka The Kerosene Lamps
El cantante de pop checo Karel Černoch falleció a la edad de 64 años. En el firmamento de la música popular se mantuvo desde los años 60 como solista de las bandas Komety, Donald y Juventus. Karel Černoch fue considerado, junto con Karel Gott y Karel Hála, como uno de los mejores cantantes de la música pop checa en cuanto al timbre y diapasón de la voz. Sus colegas lo apreciaban tanto por su inconfundible tenor de tres octavas como por su carácter. Entre ellos, también la cantante Marta Kubišová.
“Karel tenía unas disposiciones físicas ideales para el canto. Además era capaz de manejar su voz tal como lo necesitaba y sabía ganarse las simpatías del público”, sostuvo Kubišová. Karel Černoch nació en una familia de aficionados a la música. “Fue mi mamá quien me llevó al canto y me enseñó a amar la música”, recordó muchas veces el artista. De niño cantó en un coro infantil. Posteriormente tomó clases de canto y de guitarra.
El guardarropa de los estudios fílmicos de Barrandov comenzó su carrera musical en los años 60. Conoció entonces a la famosa pareja del teatro satírico checo, Miloslav Šimek y Jiří Grossmann, y juntos fundaron la compañía de teatro The Vojsko. Más tarde, Karel Černoch actuó en los grupos beat Cometas, Donald y Caperucita. En 1969 triunfó en el festival de música Lira de Bratislava.
Karel Černoch (2007) Foto: CTKEn los años 70 se le abrieron las puertas al mundo del cine. Protagonizó varios cuentos de hadas checos y actuó en distintos programas televisivos. Al mismo tiempo, cantaba con las mejores orquestas de música pop del país, entre ellas, las de Karel Vlach, Gustav Brom y Václav Hybš.
Černoch fue autor de éxitos como El espejo, Una canción bien simple, El llanto del barquero y también de la balada sentimental Ella se resiste. “Tengo una relación especial hacia esta canción, que me acompaña toda mi vida. Siempre que la interpreto me da escalofríos”, señaló el artista en una entrevista.
Tras la revolución de terciopelo, en 1989, el cantante se dejó seducir por los musicales. Desempeñó el papel del abate Faria, en El conde de Montecristo, de Agustín Magaldi, en Evita, y de Jean Valjean, en Los Miserables.
A pesar de estar enfermo, Karel Černoch publicó hace un año una selección de sus mejores canciones y emprendió una gira por todo el país.

WIM MEULDIJK
Date of Birth:8 June 1922, Schiedam, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands more
Date of Death:27 December 2007, Vera, Almería, Spain

Filmography
Writer:
Pipo en de p-p-Parelridder (2003) (books)
"Sesamstraat" (1976) TV series (unknown episodes)
"Koning Bolo" (1977) TV series (writer)
"Pipo en de lachplaneet" (1976) TV series (scenario)
"Pipo en het grachtengeheim" (1975) (mini) TV mini-series (scenario)
"Pip + Zip" (1971) TV series (writer)
"Mik Mak" (1962) TV series (writer)
"Pipo de clown" (1958) TV series (books)
Wim Meuldijk is best known for his work in television, as the creator of the popular children's show 'Pipo de Clown', but he is also the artist and writer of the classic comic series 'Ketelbinkie'. Born in Rotterdam, Meuldijk started his career during World War II with the text-comic 'Sneeuwvlok Eskimo', that appeared in Het Volk and Voorwaarts. Starting on 14 July 1942, the comic lasted for 1253 episodes until 30 December 1944. After the war, Meuldijk and Ton van Heusden launched the magazine Sneeuwvlok appeared, of which ten issues appeared in 1945-46. Besides a new episode of 'Sneeuwvlok', Meuldijk made 'Pirandello' and 'Plukkie Buksjek' for the magazine.
In 1945, Meuldijk began his popular 'Ketelbinkie' strip in the local newspaper Rotterdamsch Parool. The strip, about a boy from Rotterdam, soon appeared in many other Dutch newspapers. Because of the character's popularity, Meuldijk and Van Heusden renamed the Rotterdam edition of Sneeuwvlok magazine to Ketelbinkiekrant. In 1952, Sneeuwvlok and Ketelbinkiekrant were renamed Rob's Vrienden, after the popular comic 'Kapitein Rob' by Pieter Kuhn. Meuldijk remained his position as editor, and made a text balloon version of 'Ketelbinkie' for the magazine, of which the final issue was printed in 1957.

PATRICIA KIRKWOOD
Date of Birth:24 February 1922, Manchester, England, UK more
Date of Death:25 December 2007, Ilkley, West Yorkshire, England, UK. (Alzheimer's Disease)

British stage actress Pat Kirkwood, whose storied career spanned six decades, has died in a nursing home in Ilkley, England, at 86.
Dubbed the "queen of the West End," Kirkwood was the last surviving leading lady of the Noel Coward era, The Daily Telegraph said Thursday.
Despite her accomplishments on stage, Kirkwood was always remembered for a 1948 occasion when she danced the night away with the Duke of Edinburgh.
Kirkwood always denied she and the royal had a romantic relationship.
"He was full of life and energy," she recalled years later. "I suspect he felt trapped and rarely got a chance to be himself."
The actress, who married four times, recently declined to be interviewed for a documentary about the Duke: "I long ago brought down the curtain on the subject. It is an episode that has done me an immense amount of harm."
Kirkwood began her career as a teenager and became a star in 1939 in the revue "Black Velvet" at the London Hippodrome.
In 1954, she headlined "The Pat Kirkwood Show," marking the first time a woman starred in her own one-hour series on British television, The Daily Telegraph said.
Filmography - Actress:
'Wiltons' - The Handsomest Hall in Town (1970) (TV) .... Music Hall Performer
After the Ball (1957) (as Pat Kirkwood) .... Vesta Tilley
Stars in Your Eyes (1956) (as Pat Kirkwood) .... Sally Bishop
Once a Sinner (1950) .... Irene James
No Leave, No Love (1946) (as Pat Kirkwood) .... Susan Malby Duncan
Flight from Folly (1945) .... Sue Brown
Band Waggon (1940) .... Pat
Come on George! (1939) .... Ann Johnson
Me and My Pal (1939) .... Peggy
Save a Little Sunshine (1938) .... Pat

BENAZIR BHUTTO
Died Dec. 27, 2007

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated at a campaign rally near Islamabad, Pakistan. Ms. Bhutto returned to Pakistan from exile in London this past October. Assassins attempted to kill her the day she returned. 134 died in the October attempt. News reports state that Ms. Bhutto was attacked by a suicide gunman/bomber who shot her in the neck and chest before detonating a bomb. Ms. Bhutto returned to Pakistan to try and restore democracy to the troubled land. She pledged, if elected to rid Pakistan of the Taliban and Al Quaeda. I imagine that the rat Osama Bin Laden is smiling from the depths of some dank cave this day. Like Mahatma Ghandi and Martin Luther King, Benazir Bhutto put herself in harm's way for the principles of freedom in which she believed. As was the case with Ghandi and King, the principles by which Ms. Bhutto lived will not be silenced by the cowardly act of a fanatical extremist. Benazir Bhutto appeared in the documentary " Our Own Private Bin Laden ."

STU NAHAN
Died Dec. 26, 2007
Date of Birth: 1926

Famed sportscaster Stu Nahan died of lymphoma at age 81. Mr. Nahan worked as a sportscaster in the LA market for 31 years. He appeared nearly 30 films and TV shows, usually playing sports announcers. He played himself opposite Sean Penn in the character Jeff Spicolli's dream sequence in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High." Mr. Nahan appeared in all six of the "Rocky" films. Other credits include the original version of "Brian's Song," the TV biopic "Babe," "Gus," "Private Benjamin," "Meteor," "Baywatch" and "The Great White Hype."

PAT KIRKWOOD
Died Dec. 25, 2007
Date of Birth: 24 February 1922, Manchester, England, UK

British actress/singer Pat Kirkwood died at age 86. Ms. Kirkwood Appeared in several films during the 1930s and 40s. She made five films in the UK before coming to the US. She starred opposite Van Johnson in the comedy "No Leave, No Love." The movie failed at the box office and Ms. Kirkwood returned to her home land. Ms. Kirkwood enjoyed success on stage at London's West End, TV and the radio in the UK. Her third husband, Hubert Gregg wrote two of Ms. Kirwood's film: "Stars in Your Eyes" and "After the Ball."