Latest in Obituaries

Alfred Louis Onorato, a former talent manager who co-founded the Casting Society of America, died April 21. He was 88. "Casting Society mourns the passing of Al Onorato, whose passion and dedication and love for casting was pivotal in co-founding our organization in 1982,” the org said in a…

John Barbata, who played on the final Jefferson Airplane album and was successor band Jefferson Starship original drummer and also made hit records with The Turtles and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, has died. He was 79. He died May 8 in Oklahoma. Barbata’s death was confirmed on the official…

Samm-Art Williams, whose Tony-nominated 1979 play Home is being revived on Broadway this year and whose TV producing credits include Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Martin and Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, died peacefully today in Burgaw, North Carolina. He was 78. His death was announced by family. Born…

There’s been an outpouring of love over the past few days after the untimely death of KTLA entertainment journalist Sam Rubin on Friday, and this morning Rubin’s son, Colby, has added his voice to the chorus. Colby joined the KTLA 5 Morning News with a four-minute tribute to his father spoken direct…

David Sanborn, the six time Grammy-winning alto saxophonist who played at Woodstock, composed music for the Lethal Weapon movies, played in the SNL and Late Night with David Letterman bands and worked with everyone from Stevie Wonder to David Bowie, died Sunday afternoon, May 12th, after an extended…

Mark Damon, a film producer, sales executive, and spaghetti Western actor, died at 91, representatives for the executive told Deadline on Sunday night. Damon, born Alan Harris in Chicago, started his career in Hollywood in 1956 after signing a contract with 20th Century Fox. After starring in House of…

Susan Backlinie, whose gruesome death in Jaws scared millions from swimming in the ocean, died Saturday at 77 in her home in Ventura, CA. Her death was confirmed by Matthew Templeton, the agent who handled her convention bookings. No cause has been determined. Related…

The Hollywood filmmaking community remembered Roger Corman today as a man who had a “can-do” attitude about making movies. Along the way, he touched many lives, blazing a path for newcomers to enter the business and others to keep the lights on through his relentless drive to produce films. Amid that…

Roger Corman, the independent filmmaker known as the “King of the Bs,” has died at the age of 98. The Oscar-winning director and producer of films like 1959’s The Wasp Woman and 1960’s The Little Shop of Horrors, died at his home in Santa Monica on Thursday, May 9th. “He was generous…

Rudy Moreno, a veteran of the Los Angeles comedy circuit and an actor who appeared in numerous TV shows, has died at 66. Moreno was in a hospital ICU when he died, his agent, Mark Scroggs, confirmed to TMZ. No cause of death was given, although he had been battling pneumonia and receiving…

The news this morning of the death of entertainment journalist Sam Rubin has touched a nerve in Los Angeles, with his home base KTLA going live and commercial free with remembrances and tributes from the top of the 1 o’clock news through the station’s regularly-scheduled programming at 2 p.m. and right…

UPDATED with family confirming cause of death: Sam Rubin, who was a Los Angeles TV news mainstay as the longtime entertainment reporter for KTLA and regular interviewer on red carpets, died today, the station announced. He was 64. Rubin's family confirmed he died of a heart attack, KTLA reported. He…