Gregg Toland

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: Anne Heche

date_of_death: August 11, 2022

age: 53

cause_of_death: Smoke inhalation and thermal injuries from a vehicular crash, following a sternal fracture due to blunt trauma

claim_to_fame: Show Business

best_know_for: Anne Heche was an actress known for her roles in a variety of genres in film, television, and theater. She received numerous accolades, including a National Board of Review Award and multiple Emmy Awards. Heche's professional acting career began on the soap opera Another World (1987–1991) portraying the twins Vicky Hudson and Marley Love, for which she received a Daytime Emmy Award in 1991. She made her film debut in a supporting role in O Pioneers!, a 1992 American made-for-television drama film based on the 1913 novel by Willa Cather. Heche's acting profile rose during the 1990s, gaining particular attention for her co-starring role in the independent film Walking and Talking (1996) and for her standout supporting role in the crime drama Donnie Brasco (1997). Further high-profile roles followed in 1997, including Volcano, I Know What You Did Last Summer and Wag the Dog. In 1998, Heche further rose to prominence with her leading role in the romantic comedy Six Days, Seven Nights opposite Harrison Ford. Also in 1998, she starred in Gus Van Sant's shot-for-shot remake of Psycho. Heche's personal life often upstaged her acting career. From 1997 to 2000, she was in a high-profile relationship with comedian Ellen DeGeneres. Immediately following her split with DeGeneres in 2000, she had a highly publicized psychotic breakdown.

popular name: George Montgomery

date_of_death: December 12, 2000

age: 84

cause_of_death: Heart attack

claim_to_fame: Show Business

best_know_for: George Montgomery was an American actor best known for his work in Western films and television including Accent on Love (1941), Last of the Duanes (1941), Riders of the Purple Sage (1941), and The Cowboy and the Blonde (1941). Critics often wrote that Montgomery was a handsome leading man in the style of Clark Gable. During his film career he played opposite some of the greatest actors of the Golden Age of Hollywood including Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, John Wayne, Carole Landis, Maureen O'Hara, Tyrone Power, Ginger Rogers, Gene Tierney, and Betty Grable. In the 1958–59 season, Montgomery starred in his own 26-episode NBC Western series, Cimarron City as Mayor Matt Rockford, with co-stars John Smith and Audrey Totter. He also made guest appearances on a number of television shows, including NBC's Bonanza, The Odd Couple, The Six Million Dollar Man and Alias Smith and Jones. As a boy, George Montgomery had become an excellent wood craftsman. As an adult, he began building furniture, first for himself and then for a few friends. His skill was such that his hobby became a full-fledged cabinet-making business, in which he employed as many as 20 craftsmen. Montgomery oversaw the furniture business for more than 40 years, and expanded his interest to house design. He became involved with the building of 11 homes for friends and family. His artistic instincts included learning how to sculpt in bronze. Self-taught, he sculpted upwards of 50 bronze sculptures of subjects such as John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Gene Autry, Randolph Scott, and Ronald W. Reagan. He received renown in particular for a sculpture he did of Custer's Last Stand.