Franco Zeffirelli

popular name: Richard Blackwell

date_of_death: October 19, 2008

age: 86

cause_of_death: Complications from an intestinal infection

claim_to_fame: Show Business

best_know_for: Mr. Blackwell, whose first name was Richard, was a little-known dress designer when he issued his first tongue-in-cheek criticism of Hollywood fashion disasters for 1960 – long before Joan Rivers and others turned such ridicule into a daily affair. He was the creator of the "Ten Worst Dressed Women List", an annual awards presentation he unveiled in January of each year. He published the "Fabulous Fashion Independents" list and an annual Academy Awards fashion review, both of which receive somewhat less media attention. Prior to his Worst Dressed list, Blackwell designer dresses sold for between $800 to $1,000 and were very successful. During the nearly two decade existence of the "House of Blackwell", he was designer to Yvonne De Carlo, Jayne Mansfield, Dorothy Lamour, and Jane Russell. During the 1980s, the emerging drift toward casual wear brought an end to The House of Blackwell. As he pivoted as a fashion critic, overtime Mr. Blackwell's somewhat mean spirited list began to wear thin. His take on Wynonna Judd ("She looks like Hulk Hogan in sequins"), on Martha Stewart ("Dresses like the centerfold for Farmers' Almanac") and the Dixie Chicks ("They look like a trio of truck stop fashion tragedies/ trapped in a typhoon") was losing it's audience appeal over time. Despite the waning audience he continued up until his death at age 86.

popular name: Rita Hayworth

date_of_death: May 14, 1987

age: 68

cause_of_death: Complications associated with Alzheimer's disease

claim_to_fame: Show Business

best_know_for: Rita Hayworth (Margarita Carmen Cansino 1918-1987) was a film actress and dancer who performed publicly for the first time at the age of six with her father, dancer Eduardo Cansino, Sr. By the age of 8 she was featured in her first film for Warner Bros., and by age 16 was working with Dolores del Rio. The first performances of her career were under her birth name, Margarita Carmen Cansino, and Rita Cansino. In 1936, Harry Cohn, studio head for Columbia and her then-husband, Edward C. Judson began working on her physical transformation, which would be dramatic and prove to be fruitful. Rita had electrolysis to raise her hairline, changed her hair color to dark red, and changed her name to Rita Hayworth, taking on her mother's maiden name. The transformation complete, the exotic foreigner had now become a classic "American" pin-up. As Rita Cansino, she made fourteen pictures. As Rita Hayworth, she made fifty-one, and became one of the eras top stars, winning critical acclaim for many of her films. She was featured on the cover of Life magazine five times. Her personal life proved to be tumultuous from the beginning. Sadly, Hayworth struggled with alcohol throughout her life and had difficulty coping with the ups and downs of the business and with her personal life, causing her once stellar career to spiral downward. Unfortunately her alcoholism hid symptoms of Alzheimer's disease (discovered in 1980), which went undiagnosed for approximately 20 years. In February 1987, Hayworth lapsed into a semi coma. She died a few months later on May 14, 1987 from Alzheimer's disease, and was interred in Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City.

popular name: Michael O'Shea

date_of_death: December 4, 1973

age: 67

cause_of_death: Heart attack

claim_to_fame: Show Business

best_know_for: Michael O'Shea was a talented actor who appeared in feature films and later in television and whose career spanned the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. Some of his most memoriable roles included the leading man opposite Barbara Stanwyck Lady of Burlesque (1943), the title role in the biopic Jack London (1943), The Eve of St. Mark (1944), Something for the Boys (1944), the lead in Man from Frisco (1944), and a musical, Something for the Boys (1944), with Carmen Miranda. The next year O'Shea then went into It's a Pleasure! (1945), playing a hockey star who marries figure skater Sonja Henie. And if you look hard enough, you might spot him as a guest star in one episode of the television police drama Adam-12. He is was also married to actress Viriginia Mayo up until the time of his passing.