Obitiries: Jeanne Carmen, Pat Kirkwood, Michael Kidd, G.P. Sippy

28-12-2007 03:01

B-Movie Icon Carmen Dead At 77 Marilyn Monroe's former best friend Jeanne Carmen died of lymphoma at her home in California on Thursday (20Dec07).

The B-movie actress was 77.

Born in Arkansas, Carmen ran away from home as a teenager to seek her fortune in New York.She became a model and burlesque dancer before developing a bizarre career as a trick-shot golfer, touring America as part of Jack Reed's sports revue.

During a stop in Hollywood, Carmen decided to give acting a go, and she quickly became a B-movie staple with her peroxide blonde locks and shapely figure.Her life story, written by her son Brandon James, is in the process of being turned into a biopic. Christina Aguilera was reportedly connected to the project before she fell pregnant earlier this year (07).In a recent interview with WENN, Carmen revealed she'd like Scarlett Johansson to portray her on the big screen.

Actress Kirkwood Dies

British stage and screen star Pat Kirkwood has died. She was 86.

The actress died from Alzheimer's disease in a nursing home in West Yorkshire, England on Christmas Day (25Dec07).

Kirkwood made her stage debut at 14 and enjoyed a career spanning more than 60 years. She played the lead in the West End shows of Noel Coward, Cole Porter and Leonard Bernstein.

Married four times, she persistently denied rumours of an affair with British royal Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, after meeting him backstage in 1948.

In 1954, she became the first female star to have her own TV series, The Pat Kirkwood Show.

She is survived by her husband.

Broadway Choreographer Kidd Dies

Legendary Broadway choreographer Michael Kidd has lost his battle with cancer. He was 92.

Kidd died on Sunday (23Dec07) at his home in Los Angeles.

Born Milton Greenwald in New York City, Kidd began his career as a dancer at the Big Apple's Ballet Theater, and was given his first opportunity to choreograph in 1945.

But it was in 1947 when Kidd's career really began to take off and he was invited to work on a theatre production of Finian's Rainbow. His efforts won him his first of five Tony Awards, before moving into Hollywood.

On the big screen, Kidd is perhaps best known for his work on 1954's Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, and directing dances for Fred Astaire in 1953 comedy, The Band Wagon, and Marlon Brando in 1955's Guys and Dolls.

His innovative dance sequences earned him much high praise, and in 1997 he was recognised by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and presented with a special prize for "his services in the art of the dance in the art of the screen".

But his biggest success remained in theatre, where his choreography in shows like Can-Can in 1954, and Destry Rides Again in 1960, won him a further four Tony Awards.

He even received critical acclaim for one of his few ventures into television, earning himself an Emmy nomination in 1981 for directing former Sex and the City star Mikhail Baryshnikov in Baryshnikov in Hollywood.

Kidd is survived by his second wife, former dancer Shelah Hackett, and their two children, Amy and Matthew, as well as his two daughters from an earlier marriage, Kristine and Susan, reports the New York Times.