65 thoughts on “2021 UMR In Memoriam – RIP Betty White”

1. Bruce – Jane Powell has died at the age of 92. She died of natural causes. Rest in peace

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   1. Hey Flora. Goodness gracious…..I have been updating this page way too much lately. Rest in Peace Ms. Powell.

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2. Norm Macdonald, the deadpan comedian, actor, writer and “Saturday Night Live” star, has died after a battle with cancer, Variety has confirmed. He was 61.

   Macdonald privately battled the disease for almost a decade. “Norm was an original! He defined American humor with honesty and blunt force,” Jeff Danis, president of DPN Talent and one of Macdonald’s reps, told Variety in a statement.

   Dozens of comedians, including Seth Rogen, Jon Stewart, Ron Funches and Jim Gaffigan, paid tribute to Macdonald, “one of the greatest comedians to have ever lived,” on social media.
   The comedian got his start in showbiz as a writer on “Roseanne” in 1992 after making rounds at comedy clubs in Canada. He joined the cast of “Saturday Night Live” in 1993, and the next year, began his memorable stint as “Weekend Update” anchor until early 1998, when he was replaced by Colin Quinn. Macdonald was known for his dry humor, non-sequiturs and impressions of Burt Reynolds, David Letterman, Larry King, Quentin Tarantino and many more during his five-year run on the show.

   Macdonald anchored “Weekend Update” during the O.J. Simpson trial, where he delivered one of his most memorable jokes at the top of the episode following Simpson’s acquittal: “Well, it is finally official: Murder is legal in the state of California.” After his removal from “Weekend Update,” Macdonald accused NBC exec Don Ohlmeyer of firing him over his controversial Simpson jokes, though Ohlmeyer cited poor ratings.

   After exiting “SNL,” Macdonald created “The Norm Show” with Bruce Helford on ABC, which ran from 1999 until 2001. The comedian starred as Norm Henderson, a hockey player who is banned for life from the NFL because of gambling and tax evasion, so he must perform five years of community service as a social worker. The cast included Laurie Metcalf, Ian Gomez, Max Wright, Artie Lange and Faith Ford.

   In the 1990s, Macdonald appeared in films like “Billy Madison,” “The People vs. Larry Flynt” and Eddie Murphy’s “Dr. Dolittle” as the voice of Lucky the dog. In 1998, he starred in the film “Dirty Work,” directed by Bob Saget based on the Roald Dahl short story, about two friends who raise money to pay for heart surgery for one of their fathers by starting a revenge-for-hire business. The cast included Lange, Chris Farley, Jack Warden, Traylor Howard, Chevy Chase and Christopher McDonald, and featured cameos by Don Rickles, Adam Sandler, John Goodman, and more.

   Macdonald went on to provide voice work in the “Dr. Dolittle” sequels, and other animated films and shows. He voiced Lieutenant Yaphit, a gelatinous, shape-shifting engineer on Fox’s sci-fi comedy “The Orville,” starring Seth MacFarlane. A third season of the show is set to release on Hulu.

   Lot of connections in Dirty Work.

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   1. The above was from Variety.

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   2. Norm MacDonald was Canadian, not American, regardless of what his representative said. Rest in peace.

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3. Hey Dan….thanks for the notice on the passing of Michael Constantine and Art Metrano. I knew Constantine right away, but I had to look up Metrano to make sure I knew who he was. Sad news for both men. Rest in Peace Mr. Constantine and Mr. Metrano.

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4. Art Metrano dies.

   From the New York Post

   Art Metrano, ‘Police Academy’ actor and comedian, dead at 84

   Art Metrano, a stand-up comedian best known for playing callous police captain Ernie Mauser in the second and third “Police Academy” films, has passed away. He was 84.

   The Brooklyn-born funnyman died of natural causes at his Aventura, Florida home on Wednesday, his son told the Hollywood Reporter.

   In addition to his roles in the 1985 and 1986 installments of the comedic cop series, Metrano also appeared in the 1982 “Happy Days” spinoff “Joanie Loves Chachi” and guest-starred on “All in the Family,” “Bewitched,” “Starsky and Hutch” and “Mod Squad,” among other TV shows.

   A Bensonhurst native, Metrano began his career studying acting with Stella Adler and John Cassavetes and doing stand-up in the Catskills, according to THR. His big break came when a producer for “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” invited him onto the show in 1970 after seeing his mock magic act “The Amazing Metrano” on a late-night California variety show.

   Carson was so delighted by Metrano’s performance on his show that he fell out of his chair with laughter and began opening doors for the curly-haired Brooklynite.

   “He really loved it and became a big fan of mine,” Metrano said in a 2015 interview. “All of a sudden I was doing all these shows. It was just amazing.”

   Then, at the height of his success in 1989, while working on the roof of his Los Angeles home, he fell off a ladder and fractured three vertebrae, rendering him a quadriplegic.

   “He was at the peak of his career when that happened, and then it just stopped,” his son told THR. “But he managed to enjoy life and overcome adversity.”

   He eventually even turned his trauma into a one-man play called “Metrano’s Accidental Comedy,” which he performed from a motorized wheelchair.

   He is survived by his wife, four children and both grand- and great-grandchildren.

   “Art would want all of his friends and family to continue to smile when they think of him and to laugh and continue on celebrating life,” his family said.

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5. Michael Constantine, # 654 on the 2020 Oracle of Bacon list has passed

   From AP.

   Michael Constantine, an Emmy Award-winning character actor who reached worldwide fame playing the Windex bottle-toting father of the bride in the 2002 film “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” has died. He was 94.

   Constantine died Aug. 31 at his home in Reading, Pennsylvania, of natural causes, his family said. The news was confirmed to The Associated Press on Thursday by his agent, Julia Buchwald.

   Constantine made appearances on such TV shows as “My Favorite Martian,” “The Twilight Zone,” “Bonanza,” “Hogan’s Heroes,” “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” “The Fugitive,” “Quincy, M.E.,” “The Love Boat,” “Remington Steele,” “MacGyver” and “Murder, She Wrote.” His big break came in the role of a principal on “Room 222,” an ABC comedy-drama set in a racially diverse Los Angeles high school, for which he won an Emmy for outstanding performance by an actor in a supporting role in 1970.

   But he became best known for his work in the indie comedy “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” which centered on a middle-class Greek American woman who falls in love with an upper-middle-class White Anglo-Saxon Protestant. Constantine reprised his role on the TV series “My Big Fat Greek Life” and in the 2016 film, “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2.”

   “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” became the highest-grossing romantic-comedy of all time with a $241.4 million domestic gross. It was based on writer-star Nia Vardalos’ one-woman play and produced by Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson for just $5 million.

   “Michael was always the kindest person,” Wilson wrote on Instagram. “He had time for everyone, and when you were with him he made you feel like you were the only person in the room. He will be with us forever in our hearts and for future generations who will watch his work.”

   Constantine initially auditioned for the part of Gus and told The Hollywood Reporter that he was anxious to read Vardalos’ script, leery about how it might represent the Greek American experience.

   “I was anxious about someone writing some Greek thing. Was it going to be baloney or was it going to be something by somebody who really knows Greeks? So I read the script and I said, ‘Yes, this person obviously knows Greeks,’” he said.

   Vardalos paid tribute to Constantine on Twitter, writing: “Acting with him came with a rush of love and fun. I will treasure this man who brought Gus to life. He gave us so much laughter and deserves a rest now.”

   Constantine was the son of Greek immigrants. He started his career on stage and was on Broadway in the late 1950s and early ’60s in such shows as “Arturo Ui,” “The Miracle Worker” and “Inherit the Wind.”

   He made his big-screen debut alongside Mickey Rooney in “The Last Mile” and had roles in “The Hustler,” “Don’t Drink the Water,” “Prancer,” “The Reivers,” “My Life” and “The Juror.”

   Constantine was married and divorced twice. Survivors include his sisters, Patricia Gordon and Chris Dobbs.

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