Christopher Fowler: The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror. Volume 10

The voice of cartoon characters Betty Boop, Olive Oyl and Sweet Pea, Mae Questeldied on January 4th, aged 89. She played opposite Bela Lugosi (dressed as Dracula) in the 1933 novelty short Hollywood on Parade No. 8, appeared in Woody Allen’s New York Stories and Zelig, and revived her Betty Boop characterisation for Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

Cher’s ex-husband and business partner, a former mayor of Palm Springs and Republican Congressman, Sonny Bono(Salvatore Bono) was killed in a freak skiing accident on January 5th. He was 62. After rising to fame as half of the singing duo Sonny and Cher in 1965 with the hit “I Got You Babe”, he appeared as a cartoon character in a 1972 Scooby-Doo TV movie and turned into a tree in the 1985 horror film Troll.

Veteran stuntman and actor Joe Yrigoyendied on January 11th, aged 87. He appeared in numerous serials, including Fighting Devil Dogs, Daredevils of the Red Circle, Drums of Fu Manchu, The Masked Marvel, Secret Service in Darkest Africa, Captain America, The Crimson Ghost and Canadian Mounties vs. Atomic Invaders.

83-year-old character actor Emil Sitka, who was a favourite foil of The Three Stooges, died on January 16th following a stroke. He appeared in thirty-five Stooges shorts between 1938–58, often playing dignified butlers, plus The Three Stooges in Orbit, The Three Stooges Meet Hercules, Watermelon Man, Intruder and TV’s My Favorite Martian.

British actor James Villiersdied on January 18th, aged 64. For Hammer he appeared in The Damned (aka These Are the Damned), The Nanny and Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb (as the scheming Corbeck). His other film credits include Repulsion, The Ruling Class, The Amazing Mr Blunden, Asylum, Spectre and the Bond movie For Your Eyes Only.

American actor Jack Lord(John Joseph Ryan), who played Detective Steve McGarrett on TV’s longest-running cop show, Hawaii Five-O (1968–79), died of congestive heart failure on January 21st, aged 77. His film roles include Dr. No and The Name of the Game is Kill, and he guested on such series as One Step Beyond, The Invaders and The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

German-born character actor Ferdinand(Ferdy) Mayne(Ferdinand Mayer-Boerckel) died in London of complications from Parkinson’s Disease on January 30th, aged 81. He was a spoof vampire in Dance of the Vampires (aka The Fearless Vampire Killers) and Dracula in The Vampire Happening. His other films include All Hallowe’en, Hammer’s The Vampire Lovers, The Horror Star, Hawk the Slayer, Conan the Destroyer, Howling II Stirba — Werewolf Bitch, My Lovely Monster and Warlock The Armageddon. On TV he guest-starred in The Avengers, The New Avengers, Monsters and the 1986 Czechoslovakian/West German series Frankenstein’s Auntie.

Character actor Philip Abbott, whose film credits include The Invisible Boy, Hangar 18 and The First Power, died of cancer on February 22nd, aged 73. He played assistant director Arthur Ward on the ABC-TV series col1_0 (1965–74).

“The King of the One-Liners”, comedian Henny Youngmandied of pneumonia on February 24th, aged 92. The man who coined the phrase “Take my wife. please!” appeared in Herschell Gordon Lewis’ The Gore Gore Girls, History of the World Part 1 and Amazon Women on the Moon.

Hard-working supporting actor J. T. Walshdied of a heart attack while on vacation on February 27th, aged 54. He appeared in adaptations of Stephen King’s Misery and Needful Things, The Last Seduction, Miracle on 34th Street (1994), Outbreak, Breakdown and Pleasantville, and starred as Colonel Frank Back in the 1996–97 TV series Dark Skies.

American actor Donald Woodsdied on March 5th, aged 88. He starred in William Castle’s 13 Ghosts and also appeared in The Lost Volcano, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms and Dimension 5. On TV his credits include Lights Out, Inner Sanctum, Men Into Space, Thriller and The Wild Wild West.

Hollywood leading man Lloyd(Vernet) Bridges, the father of actors Jeff and Beau, died of complications from a heart condition at his home in Los Angeles on May 10th, aged 85. His many credits include The Crime Doctor’s Strangest Case, Here Comes Mr Jordan, Strange Confession and High Noon (both with Lon Chaney, Jr.), Rocketship X-M, The Deadly Dream, Haunts of the Very Rich, Airplane and Airplane II, Honey, I Blew up the Kid and numerous TV shows, including the series Sea Hunt (1958–61). In the early 1950s he admitted to being a former member of the Communist Party and was a key witness before the House of Representatives Un-American Activities Committee.

American leading lady Helen Westcottdied of cancer on March 17th, aged 70. She starred in Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde (with Boris Karloff) , Whirlpool, Invisible Avenger and Monster on the Campus.

American actress Ramsay Ames,who portrayed the reincarnated love of Lon Chaney, Jr’s Kharis in The Mummy’s Ghost (1944), died of lung cancer on March 21st, aged 78. She also co-starred with Chaney in Calling Dr. Death the previous year.

British actor Daniel Massey, the son of Raymond Massey and brother of Anna, died on March 25th of Hodgkin’s Disease after a long illness. He was 64, and his credits include Sabu and the Magic Ring, Fragment of Fear, Vault of Horror, Warlords of Atlantis, The Cat and the Canary (1977) and the TV series Sherlock Holmes and The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes.

American character actor Gene Evansdied of complications from heart disease on April 1st, aged 75. He starred in Donovan’s Brain, Behemoth the Sea Monster (aka The Giant Behemoth), Shock Corridor, A Knife for the Ladies, Devil Times Five (aka Peopletoys) and was a regular on TV’s Matt Helm (1975–76).

Country singer Tammy Wynette(Virginia Wynette Pugh) died from a blood clot in the lung on April 6th, aged 55. She had ten consecutive No. 1 hits in America (out of a total of twenty), the best-known being “Stand by Your Man”. A year after her death, her body was exhumed and an autopsy performed at the request of her fifth husband, George Richey, after three of the singer’s daughters filed a $50 million lawsuit for wrongful death, claiming she died because he did not seek medical attention for her.

Punk singer with The Plasmatics, Wendy O. Williamscommitted suicide the same day. She was 48, and appeared in the cult 1986 movie Reform School Girls.

Actor Liam Sullivan, who portrayed the villainous Sir Branton in the 1961 fantasy The Magic Sword, died of a heart attack on April 19th, aged 74. He also played a telepathic alien in the 1968 Star Trek episode “Plato’s Stepchildren”.

Variety performer Peter Lind Hayesdied in a Las Vegas hospice on April 21st, aged 82. With his wife Mary Healy he starred in The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T in 1953.

American actor Frederic Downs, whose credits include Terror from the Year 5000, died on April 24th, aged 81. For ten years he appeared on the sit-com Days of Our Lives.