Wrap Staff

  • Obit: Beatles, Stones Manager Allen Klein

    Infamous record label owner Allen Klein, who at one time controlled music from such rock luminaries as the Rolling Stones, managed the Beatles, and represented the Animals, Herman's Hermits, Bobby Womack, the Kinks, Chubby Checker, Bobby Rydell and others, died in New York on Saturday after a battle with Alzheimer's disease, a spokesman said. He…

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  • Obit: Longtime Johnny Carson sidekick Ed McMahon

    Longtime Johnny Carson sidekick and TV host Ed McMahon died in his sleep early Tuesday morning at the UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center in Los Angeles. Although no official cause of death is known yet, the man who sat by Carson’s side on “The Tonight Show” from 1962 to 1992 — and who created the…

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  • Obit: Comic Actor Dom DeLuise

    Larger than life funnyman Dom DeLuise died in his sleep Monday night at St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica, according to his son Michael DeLuise. He was 75 and had suffered from a long undisclosed illness. DeLuise's agent Robert Malcolm told the Associated Press that the actor had high blood pressure and diabetes but "seemed…

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  • Obit: Las Vegas Star Danny Gans

    Singer-impressionist-comedian Danny Gans — barely known outside of Las Vegas but one of that city’s biggest draws — died early Friday morning in his Vegas home. He was 52; no cause of death has yet been announced. He complained of shortness of breath in at about 3:30 a.m., but was dead by the time paramedics…

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  • Obit: Director Ken Annakin

    Director Ken Annakin has died at the age of 94. The British-born filmmaker is best known for directing the 1965 World War II epic "The Battle of the Bulge" with Henry Fonda, Charles Bronson, Robert Shaw and Telly Savalas. Annakin's daughter, Deborah Peters, says he died at his Beverly Hills home Wednesday night. Peters says…

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  • Obit: Brit Cinematographer Jack Cardiff

    Oscar-winning British cinematographer Jack Cardiff, who was also nominated as a director, died after a short illness in his home at Cambridgeshire in southeast England on Wednesday. He was 94. Cardiff won his Academy Award for the 1947 film "Black Narcissus." He received two more nominations, for "War and Peace" in 1956 and "Fanny" in…

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  • Obit: Jody McCrea, ‘Beach Party’ Star

    Jody McCrea, best known for his roles as a muscle-bound surfer in the "Beach Party" movies in the 1960s, died on April 4 in New Mexico, of cardiac arrest. He was 74. McCrea was the son of movie stars Joel McCrea and Frances Dee. In addition to the "Beach Party" comedies "Muscle Beach Party," "Bikini…

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  • Obit: J.G. Ballard, Wrote ‘Empire of the Sun’

    British writer J.G. Ballard, a novelist whose work was turned into films by such directors as Steven Spielberg and David Cronenberg,  died Sunday, his agent said. He was 78. Ballard had been suffering from prostate cancer diagnosed in 2006. It was not immediately clear where he died. He was best known for the autobiographical novel…

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  • Obit: Peter Rogers, Produced ‘Carry On’ Series

    Peter Rogers, producer of the popular British "Carry On" films, has died. He was 95. Rogers died Tuesday at his home in Gerrards Cross, northwest of London. He produced all 31 of the innuendo-laden "Carry On" films, beginning with "Carry On Sergeant" in 1958 and including "Carry On Nurse" and "Carry On Doctor," which featured…

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  • Obit: Marilyn Chambers, Porn Star, Found Dead at 56

    Marilyn Chambers, the Ivory Snow model who became a porn sensation, was found dead in her Southern California home April 12. She was 56. Chambers was found unresponsive in her Canyon Country home at 8:15 p.m. Los Angeles County coroner's spokesman Ed Winter told the Los Angeles Times that the cause of death was under…

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  • Obit: Jazz Flutist Bud Shank

    Bud Shank, a flutist and alto saxophonist who worked with a variety of jazz greats as well as famous pop acts such as the Mamas and the Papas, has died. He was 82. Shank died Thursday of pulmonary failure at his home in Tucson, Arizona, according to his Web site and JazzTimes magazine. Shank first…

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  • Obit: Documentary Filmmaker Jorge Prelorán

    Jorge Prelorán, a pioneer in the field of ethnographic documentary film and a professor emeritus at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, died March 28 in Los Angeles following a 10-year battle with prostate cancer. He was 75. A cinematic icon in his native Argentina and a UCLA alumnus, Prelorán taught at UCLA…

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  • Sundance Names John Cooper Festival Director

    Sundance named John Cooper, a respected veteran of its organization, to run the Sundance Film Festival.

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  • Who Will Run Sundance Next?

    TheWrap looks at possible replacements for Geoff Gilmore. John Cooper is the favorite   John Cooper, currently Director of Programming for the Sundance Film Festival and Director of Creative Development for the Sundance Institute.     Trevor Groth, a Sundance programmer and artistic director of the CineVegas Film Festival.     Christian Gaines, the former director…

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  • Hollywood 2.0 with Barry Diller, Chairman and CEO of IAC/InteractiveCorp

    TheWrap talks to Barry Diller about the challenges posed to Hollywood by the Internet.

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