Comedian George Carlin Died at 71

George Carlin, 71, the much-honored American stand-up comedian whose long career was distinguished by pointed social commentary that placed him on the cultural cutting edge, died last night in Santa Monica, Calif.

His death was reported by the Reuters news agency and on the Los Angeles Times Web site. He had long struggled with health problems and a heart condition dating to the 1970s.

Carlin was selected last week by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to receive this year's Mark Twain Prize, a lifetime achievement award presented to an outstanding comedian.

Over a career of half a century, Carlin placed himself in the forefront of comic commentators on the American scene. He was particularly known for an album that referred to what he described as the seven words that could not be used on television.

The playing of the album on a radio station led to a case that went to the Supreme Court, and the material was judged indecent but not obscene. The legal controversy brought about the enunciation of a rule permitting a ban on certain material when children are most likely to be in the audience.


The case was one of the highlights of a career that included TV and radio performances, including HBO specials and many comic albums.

The New York-born performer, who also was an Air Force veteran, once summed up his approach:

"I think it is the duty of the comedian to find out where the line is drawn and cross it deliberately."

Carlin's entertainment career began in 1956 at a radio station in Shreveport, La. while he was in the service.

In the early 1960s, he began his one-man act, and his live appearances and the albums he recorded proved highly popular.

His wife Brenda, predeceased him. They had a daughter, Kelly. A second wife survives him.

Dody Goodman died at 93

Dody Goodman, the delightfully daffy comedian known for her television appearances on Jack Paar's late-night talk show and as the mother on the soap-opera parody "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman," has died at 93.
Goodman died Sunday at Englewood (N.J.) Hospital and Medical Center, said Joan Adams, a close family friend. The actress had been ill for some time and had lived in the Actors Fund Home in Englewood since October, Adams said.
Goodman, with her pixyish appearance and Southern-tinged, quavery voice, had an eclectic show-business career. She moved easily from stage to television to movies, where she appeared in such popular films as "Grease" and "Grease 2," playing Blanche, the principal's assistant, and in "Splash."
It was on "The Tonight Show" when Paar was the late night TV program's second host in the late 1950s that Goodman first received national attention. Her quirky, off-kilter remarks inevitably got laughs and endeared audiences.
"I was just thrown into the talking," Goodman said in a 1994 interview with The Associated Press. "I had no idea how to do that. In fact, they just called me up and asked me if I wanted to be on 'The Jack Paar Show.' I didn't know who Jack Paar was. They said, 'We just want you to sit and talk."'


After a falling out with Paar, other chat shows took up the slack, including "The Merv Griffin Show" and "Girl Talk." And there were roles on TV series, too, most notably her appearances as Martha Shumway (Louise Lasser's mother) on "Mary Hartman,
Mary Hartman," starting in 1976, and guest shots on such shows as "Diff'rent Strokes," "St. Elsewhere" and "Murder, She Wrote."
In later years, Goodman was a regular in "Nunsense" and its various sequels, appearing off-Broadway and on tour in Dan Goggin's comic musical celebration of the Little Sisters of Hoboken. She started out playing Sister Mary Amnesia, later graduating to the role of Mother Superior.
"Dody had the most impeccable comic timing," Goggin said. "When we had her in the show, she was the only person on Earth who could walk on stage, say, 'Are you ready to start?' and bring the house down. Within seconds, the audience was eating out of her hand."

The actress was born Dolores Goodman on Oct. 28, 1914, in Columbus, Ohio, where her father ran a small cigar factory. She arrived in New York in the late 1930s to study dance at the School of American Ballet and the Metropolitan Opera Ballet School, and later graduated to Broadway musicals.
The actress performed regularly on stage in the 1940s and early '50s as a chorus member in such musicals as "Something for the Boys," "One Touch of Venus," "Laffing Room Only," "Miss Liberty," "Call Me Madam," "My Darlin' Aida" and "Wonderful Town," in which she originated the role of Violet, the streetwalker.
"I had to make so many transitions into other things," Goodman said in the AP interview. "When I first came out of dancing, I did revues."
It was the early to mid-'50s, when small, topical nightclub revues flourished. Goodman, a natural comedian, thrived in them. She performed in shows by Ben Bagley and Julius Monk, and in Jerry Herman's first effort, a revue called "Parade."
In more recent times, she appeared on David Letterman's late-night talk show.
"He understands my sense of humor. I will do a dumb thing for fun. That's how I got the reputation for being dopey and dumb. I don't like dumb jokes but I will do dumb things for a laugh," she said in the AP interview.
Goodman, who never married, is survived by seven nieces and nephews, 11 great nieces and nephews and 15 great-great nieces and nephews, Adams said.

Don Haskins dies at 78

The greatest triumph was mostly a memory when Disney decided to take another look. Then came the movie "Glory Road" and a whole new generation learned what Bob Knight already knew about his old friend's career — and legacy.


"Don got more out of his teams and players than any coach who has ever coached college basketball," Knight said.

Haskins, the Hall of Fame coach credited with helping break color barriers in college sports in 1966 when he used five black starters to win a national basketball title for Texas Western, died Sunday. He was 78.

Dr. Dwayne Aboud, Haskins' physician, told reporters Sunday that Haskins had been suffering from congestive heart failure and died at home about 4:30 p.m. He was surrounded by friends and relatives, Aboud said.

"As many of you know, Coach Haskins has had some cardiac problems. He opted not to go back to the hospital but to remain at home," Aboud said, standing outside the UTEP basketball arena named for Haskins.

As word of Haskins' death spread Sunday afternoon, those who knew him were quick to sing his praises.

"The word unique does not begin to describe Don Haskins," Knight, the winningest men's coach in the sport's history, said Sunday. "There is no one who has ever coached that I respected and admired more than Don Haskins. I've had no better friend that I enjoyed more than Don Haskins."

"The myth that surrounds Don Haskins in the movie 'Glory Road' and what he did for black players is better said that he cared like that for all his players," Knight added. "To me that tells me more about the man than anything. ... There was never anyone like him before and there will never be one like him again."

Haskins, who was white, was an old-time coach who believed in hard work and was known for his gruff demeanor. That attitude was portrayed in the 2006 movie that chronicled Haskins' improbable rise to national fame in the 1966 championship game against an all-white, heavily favored Kentucky team coached by Adolph Rupp.

Nolan Richardson, who coached Arkansas to a national title, played for two years under Haskins.

"I think one of the truest legacies that he could ever leave was what happened in 1966. He was never political. Those were the times and the days the black kids didn't play at other schools, but he started five and was able to win with them without worrying about what color they were," Richardson said.

Haskins retired in 1999 after 38 seasons at the school. He had a 719-353 record and won seven Western Athletic Conference titles. He took UTEP to 14 NCAA tournaments and to the NIT seven times and briefly worked as an adviser with the Chicago Bulls.

Haskins, 19th on the Division I men's victory list, turned down several more lucrative offers, including one with the now-defunct American Basketball Association, to remain at UTEP as one of the lowest paid coaches in the WAC.

Former coach Eddie Sutton said Haskins "had a tremendous impact on the college game. Anybody who's been around college basketball dating back to those days, they've seen how it changed after Texas Western won the national championship."

Sutton said he hadn't talked to Haskins for at least six weeks.

"Don had not been in good health and was having a hard time," Sutton said. "He'll be dearly missed. He was a great basketball coach."

Haskins, born in Enid, Okla., played for Hall of Fame coach Henry "Hank" Iba at Oklahoma State, back when the school was still Oklahoma A&M. Haskins was later an assistant under Iba for the 1972 U.S. Olympic team in Munich.

As a coach, Haskins became a star early in his career by leading his Miners to the 1966 NCAA championship game, then making the controversial decision to start five blacks against Kentucky. The Miners won 72-65, and shortly after that many schools began recruiting black players.

"He took a school that had no reason to be a basketball giant and made it into one," Knight said.

Haskins said he wasn't trying to make a social statement with his lineup; he was simply starting his best players. The move, however, raised the ire of some who sent Haskins hate mail and even death threats during the racially charged era.

"When they won the national championship against the University of Kentucky, that changed college basketball," Sutton said. "At that time, there weren't many teams in the South or Southwest that had African-Americans playing. There was a change in the recruiting of the black athlete. It really changed after that. They've had a great impact on the game."

The coach always was focused on the game of basketball. He had a reputation for working his players hard.

"Our practices wore us out so much that we'd have to rest up before the games," said Harry Flournoy, a starter in the 1966 championship. "If you work hard all the time and if you go after every loose ball, you see things like that (championship) happen."

Haskins helped Nate Archibald, Tim Hardaway and Antonio Davis, among others, make it to the NBA.

In November 2000, Haskins was awarded the John Thompson Foundation's Outstanding Achievement Award during a tournament hosted by Arkansas.

"We couldn't think of anyone that deserves this recognition more than coach Haskins," Richardson said. "He opened the door for African-American players to play basketball."

Former UTEP and current Kentucky coach Billy Gillespie said every conversation he had with Haskins left an impression.

"I looked forward to the phone calls after each and every game. He was watching almost every game of our team," Gillespie said. "It was just like having another coach on the bench present at every single practice. I took every single thing he said to heart. I knew he didn't have any agenda, he was just trying to help one of his friends win a game."

Doc Sadler, also a former UTEP coach and now head coach at Nebraska, said Haskins called frequently last season just to discuss strategy and outcome.

"If you were one of his guys, you were one of his guys," Sadler said. "He was bigger than life. The word I was told was that he was the John Wayne of college basketball. He had that much respect."

Haskins was hired in 1961 as a virtual unknown. Ben Collins, the school's athletic director at the time, said he consulted people who knew more about basketball than he did. And from the beginning, Collins said Sunday, he never had a second thought.

"He was a success almost from his first year," Collins said. "That in itself speaks a lot about his ability as a basketball coach."

Haskins' health had been an issue for several years, stretching back to his final season at UTEP when he was often forced to remain seated during games. The program that Haskins built struggled after twice being slapped with NCAA sanctions. Serious health concerns continued in his retirement. In the midst of a series of book signings and other appearances Haskins was hospitalized with various woes.

In recent weeks his health had declined rapidly, prompting friends and some former players to make special visits to see the ailing coach.

"It was a blessing ... for us to go by and visit with Coach Haskins," said Togo Railey, a guard/forward for Haskins' 1966 team.

"He was still just full of life, as sick as he was. We talked about of our old friends. Don, as sick as he was, had a little smirk on his face and was telling jokes and fibbing on one and another. It was just a blessing."

After his retirement, Haskins kept close ties with the Miners. The school's most recent hire, Tony Barbee, said he even met with Haskins just after accepting the job.

"We are losing a national treasure," Barbee said. "I am very fortunate to have had the opportunity to get to know him over the last two years. The information he shared with me was invaluable to a first-time head coach. He is a Hall of Fame coach and a Hall of Fame person."

UTEP athletic director Bob Stull called Haskins an "icon."

"He has had a huge impact on the city and the University of Texas at El Paso," Stull said. "He remains one of the most revered and honored coaches in basketball history. His decision to start five black players in the 1966 national championship game ... changed college basketball and the sports world. He will always be remembered for that."

Haskins is survived by wife Mary and son Brent, David and Steve. A fourth son, Mark, died in 1994.

Bill Melendez died he was 91.

Bill Melendez, best known for bringing the Peanuts characters to life with such classics as "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown," died Tuesday at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica. He was 91.

Melendez, the only animator permitted by Charles M. Schulz to work with the Peanuts characters, earned eight Emmy Awards, 17 Emmy nominations, one Oscar nomination and two Peabody Awards. He began his career at Disney and Warner Bros., working on classic characters at those studios, and spent more than 70 years in the entertainment industry.

In 1948, the Mexican native left Warner Bros. and for more than a decade served as a director and producer on more than 1,000 commercials and films for United Productions of America, Playhouse Pictures and John Sutherland Prods.

It was at UPA that Melendez started doing work for the New York-based J. Walter Thompson ad agency, whose client included Ford. The carmaker expressed interest in using the Peanuts characters to sell its cars on TV, and in 1959 Melendez prepared his animation work and showed it to Peanuts creator Schulz.

Melendez went on to bring Charlie Brown and his pals to the screen in more than 63 half-hour specials, five one-hour specials, four feature films and more than 372 commercials. In addition to perennial favorites "A Charlie Brown Christmas" (1965) and "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" (1966), Melendez produced the Oscar-nominated "A Boy Named Charlie Brown" (1971), "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" (1973), "She's a Good Skate, Charlie Brown" (1980) and "You're a Good Sport, Charlie Brown" (1975). He also provided the voices for Snoopy and Woodstock through the years.

Melendez also animated TV specials "Garfield on the Town," "Cathy," "Babar Comes to America" and "The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe," among others. He shared an Emmy in 1987 for outstanding animated program with three others for "Cathy."

His last credit was as a producer for 2006 TV special "He's A Bully, Charlie Brown."

Lucky Dube died at 43

Lucky Dube was born in Ermelo, then in the Eastern Transvaal, near the house now Mpumalanga, on 3 August 1964. His parents separated before his birth and he was raised by his mother, Sarah, who named him because she considered his birth fortunate after a number of failed pregnancies. [6] Along with his two siblings, Thandi and Patrick, Dube spent much of his childhood with his grandmother, while his mother relocated to work. In a 1999 interview he described his grandmother as "his greatest love" who "multiplied many things to bring up this responsible individual that I am today."As a child Dube worked as a gardener but, realizing that he wasn't earning enough to feed his family, he began to attend school. There he joined a choir and, with some friends, formed his first musical ensemble, called The Skyway Band.[8] While at school he discovered the Rastafari movement. At the age of 18 Dube joined his cousin's band, The Love Brothers, playing Zulu pop music known as mbaqanga. The band signed with Teal Record Company, under Richard Siluma (Teal was later incorporated into Gallo Record Company). Though Dube was still at school, the band recorded material in Johannesburg during his school holidays. The resultant album was released under the name Lucky Dube and the Supersoul. The second album was released soon afterwards, and this time Dube wrote some of the lyrics in addition to singing. Around this time he also began to learn English.





His desire to learn about the rest of the world and South Africa's controversial history had him immediately immersed in the world of literature. It was here that he became acquainted with the Rastafarian religion, discovering it in an Encyclopedia. He also read about the music which is synonymous with Rastafarianism - REGGAE. His interest grew the more he read and found out, and soon he was working and earning enough money to buy Peter Tosh albums (which were the only Reggae albums available in South Africa at the time). Whilst he was at school he founded his first band - THE SKYWAY BAND - and raised enough money to buy his first guitar from a stage play he produced. His talents soon came to the attention of Richard Siluma, who was a distant relative and a record producer, and it was clearly evident to Richard that Lucky had a huge talent and a wonderful potential as a mbaqanga singer.


In 1979 Lucky launched his career as a mbaqanga singer and along with future slave members Thutukani Cele and Chris Dlamini recorded an album in 1982 as a member of the band THE LOVE BROTHERS entitled MBAQANGA. In the next 3 years Lucky went on to release his debut solo album entitled LENGANE NGEYETHA which spawned his first hit single and went gold. His next album KUKUWE also went gold. He subsequently released another two Zulu traditional albums.


On the release of his fifth Mbaqanga album, Dave Segal (who became Dube's sound engineer) encouraged him to drop the "Supersoul" element of the name. All subsequent albums were recorded as Lucky Dube. At this time Dube began to note fans were responding positively to some reggae songs he played during live concerts. Drawing inspiration from Jimmy Cliff [9] and Peter Tosh,[7] he felt the socio-political messages associated with Jamaican reggae were relevant to a South African audience in an institutionally racist society. [9]During 1985 and without the knowledge of his record company, Teal Records, Lucky and Richard went into the studio and recorded "Rastas Never Die" - the first ever reggae album to be recorded in South Africa. The record sold poorly - around 4000 units - in comparison to the 30000 units his mbaqanga records would sell. Keen to suppress anti-apartheid activism, the apartheid regime banned the album in 1985. [10] However, he was not discouraged and continued to perform the reggae tracks live and wrote and produced a second reggae album. Think About The Children (1985). It achieved platinum sales status and established Dube as a popular reggae artist in South Africa, in addition to attracting attention outside his homeland.[8]





Because of the political situation and censorship in the government controlled media it did not reach the airwaves and was banned immediately. The album gained awareness but did not sell well. Record company executives demanded a return back to traditional Zulu pop music.


Dube continued to release commercially successful albums. In 1989 he won four OKTV Awards for Prisoner, won another for Captured Live the following year and yet another two for House Of Exile the year after.[11] His 1993 album, Victims sold over one million copies worldwide.[2] In 1995 he earned a worldwide recording contract with Motown. His album Trinity was the first release on Tabu Records after Motown's acquisition of the label.[11]In 1996 he released a compilation album, Serious Reggae Business, which led to him being named the "Best Selling African Recording Artist" at the World Music Awards and the "International Artist Of The Year" at the Ghana Music Awards. His next three albums each won South African Music Awards.[11] His most recent album, Respect, earned a European release through a deal with Warner Music. [2] Dube toured internationally, sharing stages with artists such as Sinéad O'Connor, Peter Gabriel and Sting. [9] He appeared at the 1991 Reggae Sunsplash (uniquely that year, was invited back on stage for a 25 minute long encore) and the 2005 Live 8 event in Johannesburg. [9]In addition to performing music Dube was a sometime actor, appearing in the feature films Voice In The Dark, Getting Lucky and Lucky Strikes Back. [12]





Lucky established himself as a truely international artist, and got rave reviews at every show.





On October 18, 2007, Lucky Dube was killed in the Johannesburg suburb of Rosettenville shortly after dropping two of his seven children off at their uncle's house. Dube was driving his Chrysler 300C which the assailants were apparently after. Police reports suggest he was shot dead by carjackers. Five men have been arrested in connection with the murder[13]. He is survived by his wife, Zanele, and his seven children.





"It signifies yet again how much criminals disregard human life. I learned about Lucky in 1998, and have been hooked every since. Words cannot explain the pains i bear in my heart when I hear of a great music superstat that has been gun down and we loose our legacy of music. The man was not doing anything bad, just being a good dad!





Discography


MbaqangaLengane Ngeyethu (1981)





Kudala Ngikuncenga (1982)









Kukuwe (1983)







Abathakathi (1984)







Ngikwethembe Na?







(1985) Umadakeni (1987)









AfrikaansHelp My Krap (1986)


ReggaeRastas Never Die (1984)


Think About The Children (1985)







Slave (1987)




Together As One (1988)







Prisoner (1989)







Captured Live (1990)







House of Exile (1991)







Victims (1993)







Trinity (1995)


Serious Reggae Business (1996)


Tax man (1997)



The Way It Is (1999)


The Rough Guide To Lucky Dube (compilation) (2001)


Soul Taker (2001)




The Other Side (2003)


Respect (2007)


CompilationThe Best of Lucky Dube (2008)

Elizabeth Spriggs died at 78

The British Shakespearean actress Elizabeth Spriggs diedat the age 78. Her theatre career, which lasted more than four decades, included thirteen years at the Royal Shakespeare, roles in several popular British TV series and even a part in a Harry Potter movie.

Spriggs joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1962 at the time when Peter Hall was establishing the theatre as a permanent company. Spriggs became an associate artist with the RSC and one of the company’s most accomplished performers. Spriggs also appeared in the BBC’s television productions of “Julius Caesar” and “The Merry Wives of Windsor.”

Spriggs later performed with the National Theatre and was nominated for a Tony Award in 1975 as best supporting or featured actress in a play for “London Assurance.” She stopped performing live theatre when a bad hip prevented her from standing on stage for long periods of time.

Spriggs appeared in many television shows but she is probably best known for the role of Nan in the ITV series “Shine On Harvey Moon.” Spriggs also appeared in several movies including Emma Thompson’s adaptation of “Sense and Sensibility” and “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.”

was a versatile actress on stage and screen, and became familiar to television viewers in the role of Nan in Shine On Harvey Moon.

In the 1960s she brilliantly justified Peter Hall's new policy of turning the Royal Shakespeare Company at Stratford-on-Avon from a seasonal set-up with a new star-led cast every season into a permanent company.


Joining it aged 36 as an unknown but soundly-trained character actress, she stayed for 14 years to become one of its most accomplished, reliable and mature leading players.

Elizabeth Spriggs went on to star at the National Theatre as well as on television. She was the kind of serious-minded, though never solemn, performer for whom the play was the thing; she never asked herself whether it suited her career.

Acting for Elizabeth Spriggs could be a painful experience: "You have to be open to new ideas. It's a little like an open wound, never healing ... It's vital to be constantly stretched ... I hated most of my disciplining, but it taught me more than technique."

From the age of 11 she had nursed hopes of acting at Stratford-on-Avon, and from the day she did so 25 years later for Hall's newly-formed Royal Shakespeare Company she never ceased to celebrate her luck.

At that time she was nearing middle age. She was not beautiful, and she could not hope for glamorous roles. But she was mature, intelligent, experienced and patient; and she developed over the years into one of the RSC's most valued assets who, now and then, brought real distinction to her acting.

Her Gertrude, for example, to David Warner's Hamlet was rated by one experienced critic as "among the best in living memory". Her Nurse in Romeo and Juliet, her Mistress Ford in The Merry Wives of Windsor and her Maria in Twelfth Night also won high praise.

But the performance which stuck longest in most playgoers' memories came with the whip and riding breeches she sported opposite Donald Sinden in London Assurance. As Lady Gay Spanker in Dion Boucicault's 19th-century comedy in the Restoration style, she addressed her friends and relations as if they were quadrupeds; her acting was a triumph of high comedy.

Although she went on to do admirable work with the National Theatre Company when Peter Hall took over as artistic director from Laurence Olivier, it was her work with the RSC which took her to the top of her profession.

Elizabeth Spriggs was born on September 18 1929 at Buxton, Derbyshire, and was educated there and in Coventry before training for the stage at the Royal School of Music. She taught speech and drama at Coventry Technical College and privately.

This was a career path, however, that brought her no fulfilment: "I felt as if I was dying inside. The desire to act was like a weight within me, and I knew if I didn't do anything it would destroy me." In 1953 she got the opportunity to join the Bristol Old Vic, and after several seasons she moved to the Birmingham Rep, where her roles included Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra and Madame Ranevsky in The Cherry Orchard (1958).

In 1962 she joined the Royal Shakespeare Company. In the following Aldwych season she played Mrs Vixen in The Beggar's Opera, Mother in The Representative by Rolf Hochhuth, Ida Mortemarte in Roger Vitrac's Victor and Rossignol in Peter Weiss's Marat/Sade.

At Stratford-on-Avon in 1965 her roles included Courtezan in The Comedy of Errors, Phrynia in Timon of Athens and a blowsy Gertrude to David Warner's Hamlet – considered by JC Trewin to be "among the best in living memory, a shallow woman terrified by the pressure of events she could not comprehend".

At the Aldwych she played Chairman Maudsley in David Mercer's one-acter, The Governor's Lady; Locksmith's Wife in The Government Inspector by Gogol; and Gertrude again in Hamlet, which she repeated at Stratford-on-Avon in 1966.

She also appeared at Stratford as Mistress Quickly in Henry IV Parts I and II; as the hostess in Henry V; the Widow in All's Well That Ends Well; a Witch in Macbeth; and as the Nurse in Romeo and Juliet to Estelle Kohler's Juliet. In the last two of these she toured to Helsinki, Leningrad and Moscow before playing at the Aldwych in 1968.

Back at Stratford that year she played Portia in Julius Caesar, Mistress Ford in The Merry Wives of Windsor and – at the Aldwych in 1969 – Claire in A Delicate Balance by Edward Albee. Repeating her Mistress Ford at Stratford, she also played Livia in Middleton's Women Beware Women, Paulina in The Winter's Tale and Maria in Twelfth Night. Her 1970 triumph as Lady Gay Spanker in London Assurance was also seen on Broadway in 1974.

Other roles for the RSC included Lady Britomart in Shaw's Major Barbara; a warmly sympathetic Emilia to Brewster Mason's Othello (Stratford 1971); the Duchess of York in Richard II for the Theatregoround touring company; and a sunny, complacent and busy Beatrice to Derek Godfrey's Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing, rediscovering, as one critic put it, "a capacity for love she had long since laid aside".

Among notable performances at the National Theatre were Madam Arcati, Noël Coward's tweedy, suburban and eccentric medium in Blithe Spirit (1976), and the tarty tobacconist with a heart of gold who seduces young men and corrects the shortcomings of others in Tom Stoppard's version of Odon von Horvath's Tales From the Vienna Woods.

At the National she was also the indomitable Lady Would-Be in Volpone, and the frightful Lady Fidget in Wycherley's Country Wife. As the stoical wife of Michael Gough's dying trades unionist in Arnold Wesker's Love Letters on Blue Paper (Cottesloe, 1978) she won the West End Managers' prize for the best supporting actress of the London season.

Among her numerous television credits were Shine on Harvey Moon, in which she played Harvey's mother, Nan; the title role of Hannah in Victorian Scandals; Dilecta in the Balzac serial Prometheus; Maud Lowther in Wings of a Dove; Frade in The Dybbuk; and Calpurnia in Julius Caesar. She also appeared in the ever-popular Midsomer Murders (she was a murder victim in the very first episode). She was Connie Fox in the serial Fox, the wife in We, The Accused, and she had the title role in The Kindness of Mrs Radcliffe. In Strangers and Brothers she played Lady Muriel Royce and the Mistress in Those Glory, Glory Days.

She also played The Witch in Simon and the Witch, and appeared in Gentleman and Players, Watching, Boon and Survival of the Fittest. She was in Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit, The Old Devils, Heartbeat and Anglo-Saxon Attitudes.

Elizabeth Spriggs appeared as the formidable Aunt Agatha in Jeeves and Wooster and had parts in several Alan Bennett plays, including Bognor, Intensive Care and Our Winnie. She was a staple of costume drama, featuring in adaptations of both Our Mutual Friend and Martin Chuzzlewit (in the latter she excelled as the gin-sodden midwife Sairey Gamp) as well as the BBC's version of Middlemarch.

Her feature film credits included Peter Hall's Work Is A Four-Letter World, An Unsuitable Job For a Woman, The Cold Room, Sakharov, Parker and Yellow Pages. In 1995 she appeared as Mrs Jennings in Emma Thompson's adaptation of Sense and Sensibility and in 2001 was the Fat Lady in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

Elizabeth Spriggs met her third husband, Murray Manson, in 1972 when he was working as a minicab driver and she was starring at the Albery in London Assurance. He survives her with the daughter of her first marriage.

Larry Harmon dies at 83

Larry Harmon, who turned the character Bozo the Clown into a show business staple that delighted children for more than a half-century, died Thursday of congestive heart failure. He was 83. Best known as the longtime owner of the name and likeness of "Bozo the Clown". Although Harmon credited himself as the character's creator and original portrayer, Capitol Records producer Alan Livingston created Bozo in 1946 for a popular series of children's storytelling record-album and illustrative read-along book sets, the first of their kind; and Pinto Colvig portrayed the character on the recordings, radio and first television series "Bozo's Circus" (1949) on KTTV-Channel 11 (CBS) Los Angeles, California in 1949. Harmon, one of several actors hired by Livingston and Capitol Records to portray Bozo at promotional appearances, formed a business partnership and bought the licensing rights (excluding the record-readers) to the character when Livingston briefly left Capitol in 1956. In 1959, Jayark Films Corporation distributed a series of Harmon-produced limited-animation cartoons (with Harmon as the voice of Bozo) to television stations, along with the rights for each to hire its own live Bozo host. In 1965, Harmon became the sole owner of the licensing rights after buying out his business partners. In 1971, Larry Harmon Pictures Corporation took over Capitol Records' "Bozo the Clown" copyright. In 2001, the last Bozo television series ended a 40-year-run on Superstation WGN-Channel 9 Chicago, Illinois.

He also created an aborted television pilot in the 1950s called "General Universe", in which he was going to use the life size, stationary model of the robot "Gort", from the movie The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951). He then went on to create the studio bound, 50s television show called "Commander Comet", which flourished for 2 and a half seasons. He used the "Gort" prop for this show as well. He made some additions to the "Gort" suit & called it "Rotar", who was the ever faithful companion to "Commander Comet".

Children: son, Jeff Harmon, and daughters Lori Harmon, Marci Breth-Carabet and Leslie Breth.

Became interested in theater while studying at the University of Southern California.

Caught up in a minor controversy when the International Clown Hall of Fame took down his 1990 Lifetime of Laughter Achievement Award plaque honoring him as the creator and original Bozo, and formally endorsed Alan Livingston in 1998 as creator and inducted Pinto Colvig in 2004 as the first Bozo. Harmon, who was one of several actors playing Bozo at promotional appearances in the early 1950s and later acquired all rights to the character, denied ever misrepresenting Bozo's history.