Gregg Toland

popular name: Roscoe Arbuckle

date_of_death: June 29, 1933

age: 46

cause_of_death: Heart attack

claim_to_fame: Show Business

best_know_for: Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle was one of the most popular silent stars of the 1910s and one of the highest paid actors in Hollywood. As a silent film actor, comedian, director, and screenwriter, Arbuckle mentored legendary Charlie Chaplin and discovered Buster Keaton and Bob Hope. In 1921, Arbuckle was accused of alleged rape and manslaughter of actress Virginia Rappe. After three trials, Arbuckle was acquitted but the scandal had tarnished his legacy as a pioneering comedian.

popular name: Nicholas Colasanto

date_of_death: February 12, 1985

age: 61

cause_of_death: Heart attack

claim_to_fame: Show Business

best_know_for: Nicholas Colasanto was a well-loved actor and television director who achieved his greatest success as "Coach" on the TV series Cheers (1982). After serving his country during World War II, at the age of 28, he saw Henry Fonda perform on Broadway and was infected by the acting bug. He joined a theater company in Phoenix, Arizona before moving back to New York, where he performed in off-Broadway productions and appeared in TV commercials. He relocated to Hollywood in 1965 and began to appear on TV, were he also made his mark as a TV director. Eventually, he directed over 100 episodes of series TV in the 1960s and 70s, including episodes of Bonanza (1959), Columbo (1971), S.W.A.T. (1975) and Starsky and Hutch (1975). His two most memorable film roles were the the boxing manager in John Huston's Fat City (1972) and the mob boss in Martin Scorsese's Raging Bull (1980). Colasanto was primarily a dramatic actor but the producers of the TV comedy Cheers (1982) cast him as Ernie "Coach" Pantusso, the absent-minded and dumb but lovable bartender. The role made him famous and he earned an Emmy nomination as Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series each of the three years that he appeared on the show. Sadly, at the height of his fame, he died from a heart ailment at his home in Studio City, California on February 12th, 1985.

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.