Stephen Jones - Best New Horror #26

British actress and painter Joanna[Elizabeth] Dunham, the wife of actor, playwright and author Reggie Oliver, died after a long illness on November 25, aged 78. Marilyn Monroe recommended her to director George Stevens for the role of “Mary Magdalene” in The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965), and her other film credits include Amicus’ The House That Dripped Blood (with Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing). On TV she appeared in episodes of H.G. Wells’ Invisible Man (1959), A Choice of Coward (‘Blithe Spirit’, as the ghostly “Elvira”), Thriller (1973), Space: 1999 , ITV Playhouse (M.R. James’ ‘Casting the Runes’, 1979) and the Gerry Anderson pilot The Day After Tomorrow (aka Into Infinity ).

Japanese actor Bunta Sugawaradied on November 28, aged 81. He appeared in the movies Girl Diver of Spook Mansion , The Bloody Sword of the 99th Virgin and The Cursed Pond . As a voice actor, Sugawara contributed to the animated productions Spirited Away and Tales from Earthsea .

American actor Loren Ewing(William Russell Ewing) died on December 2, aged 77. He had roles in The Last of the Secret Agents? and Frankenstein’s Castle of Freaks (as “Goliath”), and played The Archer’s henchman “Big John” in a two-part episode of TV’s Batman . His acting career ended after he suffered a serious head injury while filming a Western in the late 1970s.

Former American child actor Ken Weatherwax(Kenneth Patrick Weatherwax), who played “Pugsley” in the original ABC-TV series The Addams Family (1964-66) and the 1973 animated show, died of a heart attack on December 7, aged 59. Weatherwax also appeared in the 1977 TV movie Halloween with the New Addams Family , and he later became a camera grip at Universal Studios.

30-year-old Canadian-born actress and dancer Stephanie[Elyse] Moseleywas shot to death in a murder-suicide in Los Angeles on December 8. Her rapper husband Earl Hayes believed she had cheated on him before turning the gun on himself. Moseley appeared in Catwoman, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1, Mirror Mirror and Girl vs. Monster.

American actress and former Miss America Mary Ann Mobleydied after a long battle with breast cancer on December 9, aged 77. She played “April Dancer”, the original “Girl from U.N.C.L.E.”, in a 1966 episode of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (‘The Moonglow Affair’) but was later replaced by Stefanie Powers, and she was originally cast as “Batgirl” in Batman, but the role eventually went to Yvonne Craig. Mobley also appeared in episodes of TV’s The Smothers Brothers Show (‘The Ghost is Clear’), Search, The Sixth Sense, The Fantastic Journey and Fantasy Island, and she co-starred with Elvis Presley in the movies Girl Happy and Harum Scarum. She was married to actor Gary Collins from 1967 until his death in 2012.

British leading man Tom Adams(Anthony Frederick Charles Adams) died of prostate cancer on December 11, aged 76. He starred as “Charles Vine” in the 1960s James Bond spoofs Licensed to Kill (aka The 2nd Best Secret Agent in the Whole Wide World), Where the Bullets Fly and Somebody’s Stolen Our Russian Spy, and his other movie credits include The House That Dripped Blood (alongside Joanna Dunham, who died sixteen days earlier). On TV, Adams appeared in episodes of The Avengers, Hammer’s Journey to the Unknown (Robert Bloch’s ‘The Indian Spirit Guide’), Strange Report, UFO, Doctor Who (‘Warriors of the Deep’) and Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense (‘Mark of the Devil’).

British character actor Gerald[Grant] Sim, the brother-in-law of Richard Attenborough, died the same day, aged 89. Best known for his role in Hammer’s Dr Jekyll & Sister Hyde (1971), he also appeared in Seance on a Wet Afternoon, The Man Who Haunted Himself, Alfred Hitchcock’s Frenzy, Dr. Phibes Rises Again (with Vincent Price), The Slipper and the Rose: The Story of Cinderella, Jack the Ripper (1988) and Shadowlands, along with episodes of TV’s The Avengers, It’s Dark Outside (‘Wake the Dead’), Adam Adamant Lives!, Out of the Unknown, Hammer’s Journey to the Unknown, Doomwatch, Thriller (1974), The Wide World of Mystery, The New Avengers and Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense.

82-year-old Italian leading man Giorgio Ardisson(aka “George Ardisson”) also died on December 11. He appeared in Mario Bava’s Hercules in the Haunted World (with Christopher Lee) and Erik the Conqueror, along with the obscure Katarsis (with Lee again), Antonio Margheriti’s The Long Hair of Death (with Barbara Steele), Agent 3S3: Passport to Hell, Hercules and the Princess of Troy, Federico Fellini’s Juliet of the Spirits, Operation Counterspy, Agent 3S3: Massacre in the Sun, Eyes Behind the Stars, Don’t Look in the Attic and Cross of the Seven Jewels.

American character actress Mary[Dawne] Ardendied on December 13, aged 81. While a fashion model living in Italy during the 1960s, she appeared in Mario Bava’s seminal giallo Blood and Black Lace, Fellini’s Juliet of the Spirits and Umberto Lenzi’s Kriminal. She also turned up in the 2012 movie Bloody Christmas.

American character actor Booth Colman, who played “Dr. Zaius” on the short-lived TV series Planet of the Apes (1974), died on December 15, aged 91. He was in Them!, The Silver Chalice, Fritz Lang’s Moonfleet, World Without End, Time Travelers, The Return of the World’s Greatest Detective and Return to the Secret Garden, along with episodes of The Veil and Thriller (both hosted by Boris Karloff), The Outer Limits, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Wild Wild West, The Monkees, I Dream of Jeannie, The Invaders, Tarzan (1968), The Flying Nun, Project U.F.O., Galactica 1980 and Star Trek: Voyager.

Italian actress Virna Lisi(Virnia Lisa Pieralisi) died of lung cancer on December 18, aged 78. Her films include Dual of the Titans, The Possessed and Bluebeard (1972). The actress was reportedly offered the title role of Barbarella (1968), but turned it down.

British character actress Billie[Honor] WhitelawCBE died on December 21, aged 82. She made her acting debut in the 1952 BBC-TV series The Secret Garden, and her many other credits include the films The Flesh and the Fiends (aka Mania, with Peter Cushing), The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1968, with Jack Palance), Twisted Nerve, Alfred Hitchcock’s Frenzy, Night Watch, The Omen (1976), The Water Babies, The Dark Crystal, The Secret Garden (1987), The Cloning of Joanna May, Jane Eyre (1996), Merlin (1998), Quills and Hot Fuzz, along with episodes of BBC Sunday-Night Theatre (‘Gaslight’), Wessex Tales, Space: 1999, Supernatural (‘The Werewolf Reunion’/ ‘Countess Ilona’) and Imaginary Friends. She was married (1952-66) to actor Peter Vaughn and later to playwright Robert Muller.

British stuntman and stunt arranger Richard Graydondied on December 22, aged 92. Staring with From Russia with Love , he worked on ten James Bond films, along with Don’t Look Now , The Man Who Fell to Earth , Star Wars , Raiders of the Lost Ark , Ladyhawke , Dream Lover , Willow and Batman (1989). Additionally, Graydon had small roles in Déjà Vu (1985) and an episode of TV’s The Avengers .

American voice actor Christine Cavanaugh(Christine Josephine Sandberg) died the same day, aged 51. Her credits include Darkwing Duck , A Flintstone Family Christmas , Babe (as the titular porcine), The Spooktacular New Adventures of Casper , Dexter’s Laboratory (as “Dexter”) and Rugrats (as “Chuckie”), amongst many other titles. Cavanaugh also appeared in an episode of TV’s The X Files .