Notable Passings, 2013, S-Z

Jerry Scott, 67, Manhattan-based singer-pianist and cabaret entertainer, won several MAC and Bistro Awards.

Alan Sharp, 79, screenwriter of dark thrillers such as “The Last Run,” “Night Moves,” and “The Osterman Weekend” and the historic drama “Rob Roy.”

Ashton Springer, 82, one of Broadway’s first major African-American producers, his credits include “Eubie,” “Bubbling Brown Sugar,” “A Lesson from Aloes,” “No Place to Be Somebody,” and the 1976 all-black revival of “Guys and Dolls.”

Jean Stapleton, 90, beloved portrayer of Edith Bunker on the groundbreaking sitcom “All in the Family,” appeared on Broadway in “Damn Yankees,” “Bells Are Ringing,” “Funny Girl,” and “Arsenic and Old Lace,” won an Obie Award for her performances in Harold Pinter’s “Mountain Language” and “The Birthday Party,” other Off-Broadway credits include John Osborne’s “The Entertainer” and Horton Foote’s “The Roads to Home” and “The Carpetbagger’s Children,” appeared in many productions at the Totem Pole Playhouse in her native Pennsylvania, played the nervous school receptionist in “Up the Down Staircase” (“Disregard all bells”) and the nasty secretary in “Klute” (“Mr. Goldfarb!”).

Sally Starr, whose Philadelphia kiddie TV show
 I watched on many afternoons after school

Sally Starr, 90, Philadelphia-area TV cowgirl and kiddie show hostess during the 1950s and ‘60s, introduced Popeye, the Three Stooges, and Clutch Cargo to generations of children.

Rise Stevens, 99, silver-voiced soprano who reached the height of her fame at the Metropolitan Opera in the 1940s and ‘50s, Carmen was her signature role, others included “Der Rosenkavelier,” “Die Fledermaus,” “Samson et Delia,” and “The Marriage of Figaro,” also appeared in the Hollywood films “The Chocolate Soldier” and “Going My Way,” starred in “The King and I” at Lincoln Center in 1964, voiced Glinda the Good Witch in the animated film “Journey Back to Oz,” a frequent guest on “The Ed Sullivan Show” and “The Tonight Show.”

Maxine Stuart, 94, had a recurring role on the long-running daytime drama “The Edge of Night,” and appeared on “The Twilight Zone,” “Perry Mason,” “Doctor Kildare,” “Chicago Hope,” and “The Wonder Years” as Kevin’s piano teacher for which she received an Emmy nomination, her exploits as a struggling actress were chronicled in her friend Helene Hanff’s books “84 Charing Cross Road” and “Underfoot in Show Business.”

Maria Tallchief, 88, ballerina, star of the Ballets Ruse de Monte Carlo and City Ballet, muse for and third wife of George Balanchine, who created roles for her in his stagings of  “The Firebird,” “Swan Lake,” “Orpheus,” and many others, she also appeared in the film “Million Dollar Mermaid” as fellow ballerina Anna Pavlova.

Richard S. Thomas, 87, founder of the New York School of Ballet with his wife, Barbara Fallis, mentor to dancers such as Eliot Feld, father of the actor Richard Thomas.

Malachi Throne, 84, character actor with a recurring role as Robert Wagner’s boss on “It Takes a Thief,” also appeared on “Batman” as False Face (receiving no screen credit to conceal the identity of the actor in order to mystify and confuse viewers) and “Star Trek” as Commodore Mendez on the two-part “The Menagerie” episode. Other credits include “Kojak,” “Ryan’s Hope,” “Hogan’s Heroes,” “The Time Tunnel,” “Lost in Space,” and “Ben Casey.”

Paul Walker, 40, star of the “Fast and Furious” franchise.

Marcia Wallace on "The Bob Newhart Show"

Marcia Wallace, 70, comic actress best known as Carol the receptionist on “The Bob Newhart Show” and the voice of Bart’s teacher Mrs. Krapabble on “The Simpsons,” frequent panelist on “The Match Game,” other TV credits include “The Love Boat,” “Fantasy Island,” “Taxi,” “The Brady Bunch,” “Bewitched,” and many others.

Christopher Evan Welch, 48, busy actor principally in Off-Broadway roles, Obie winner for his Mitch in Ivo van Hove’s unconventional staging of “A Streetcar Named Desire,” his other numerous stage credits include “London Assurance,” “Festen,” and “The Crucible” on Broadway,  van Hove’s staging of “The Little Foxes” at New York Theater Workshop, “Our House” and “The Pain and the Itch” at Playwrights Horizons, “The Madrid” at Manhattan Theater Club, “Romeo and Juliet,” “Othello,” and “Measure for Measure” at the Delacorte Theatre in Central Park, films include “Lincoln,” “The Master,” “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” “Whatever Works,” and “Synechdoche, New York.”  

Ned Wertimer, 89, played Ralph the doorman on “The Jeffersons” and was a fixture on network TV from “Ironside” and “That Girl” to “Mork and Mindy” and “Simon and Simon.”

Esther Williams, 91, America’s Mermaid, appeared in numerous MGM films, swimming through eleaborate aquatic production numbers in between romances and songs, including “Dangerous When Wet,” “Million Dollar Mermaid,” “Easy to Love,” and “Neptune’s Daughter,” among her non-swimming films were “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” and “Jupiter’s Darling.”

Snoo Wilson, 64, British playwright, his dark edgy works included “The Pleasure Principal,” “The Soul of the White Ant,” “Vampire,” “The Glad Hand,” “Darwin’s Flood,” and “Revelations.”

Jonathan Winters, 87, wildly imaginative comedian with hundreds of TV guest shots and voice-overs to his credit, created his own crew of zany characters including the demented granny Maude Frickert, headlined his own TV series and was a regular on “Mork and Mindy,” films include “The Loved One,” “The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming” and “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.”

Miller Wright, 56, theater and nightclub publicist, his clients included Feinstein’s at the Regency, John Pizzarelli, Andrea Marcovicci, and Ann Hampton Callaway.

Lee Thompson Young, 29, former chld star who gained fame on The Disney Channel’s “The Famous Jett Jackson,” starred on TNT’s “Rizzoli and Isles.”