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Rest in Peace: Martin Landau Dead at 89

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The legendary, Oscar-winning actor, Martin Landau has passed away at the age of 89. His publicist, Dick Guttman, told the Associated Press that Landau passed on Saturday due to “unexpected complications during a short stay at UCLA Medical Center.” Landau was truly a jack of all trades during his lengthy career in Hollywood, creating numerous unforgettable characters and greatly contributing to the very fabric of filmmaking.

Martin Landau has documented acting credits on 177 works. His major works include his roles in television’s Mission: Impossible from 1966-1969, Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest, Francis Ford Coppola’s Tucker: The Man and His Dream, and Woody Allen’s Crimes and Misdemeanors. Horror fans know Landau best for his unforgettable sympathetic role as Bela Lugosi in Tim Burton’s greatest film, Ed Wood. His performance earned him an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. His flawless portrayal of Lugosi at the end of his life in the final scenes of the film takes on a new level of poignancy with the news of Landau’s passing. read more

Mark Wahlberg Recalls Being Attacked by Chimpanzees on the Set of ‘Planet of the Apes’

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If you think you have bad memories from simply watching Tim Burton’s 2001 remake of Planet of the Apes, wait until you find out what Mark Wahlberg went through while trying to film it! He recently appeared on the Graham Norton show and revealed a traumatic encounter he had with real life chimpanzees on the set of the film.

When asked what it was like to work with living primates on the set of Planet of the Apes, Wahlberg responded with the following anecdote:

“The monkeys, no, they were the worst… They wanted us to get acclimated with the chimps, and anytime I would go near (actress Helena Bonham Carter), the chimps would start attacking me. They’d start like trying to punch me in the nuts, like my 5-year-old-son. Like really bad, like nonstop. I’m like ‘Okay, alright, stop now. Stop playing around. We’ve gotta work.’ And the chimps were constantly trying to attack me.” read more

George “the Animal” Steele (aka Jim Myers) Dead at 79

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WWE sadly announced today via Twitter that long time pro-wrestling star George “The Animal” Steele passed away yesterday at 79 years of age.

Steele (whose real name was Jim Myers) was a major star in the 1970’s and 80’s, primarily as a villainous heel before a famous angle in 1986 that saw “the beast fall for the beauty” in the form of Randy “Macho Man” Savage’s valet Mrs. Elizabeth.  The feud would eventually bleed into the semi-main event of Wrestlemania Three when Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat defeated Savage for the Intercontinental Title (with a little help from Steele) in what many fans still consider one of the greatest professional wrestling matches of all time. read more