Notable Passings

Singer-arranger Gene Puerling, who led the Hi-Los and later was part of the Singers Unlimited, has passed away at age 78.

Here's a blog post quoting Clark Burroughs, another founding member of the Hi-Los. See the subject link above for the L.A. Times obituary.

We own a good-sized number of Hi-Los and Singers Unlimited LPs and CDs. Puerling was an amazing talent who contributed much to great American music.

Jules Dassin, director of classic examples of film noir, has passed away at age 96. One of Dassin's best-known noirs was NIGHT AND THE CITY, starring Richard Widmark, who passed away last week. Dassin also directed BRUTE FORCE and THE NAKED CITY.

Dassin's earliest films were for MGM; the best-known of his MGM films is THE CANTERVILLE GHOST, starring Charles Laughton, Margaret O'Brien, and Robert Young. Two of his very entertaining MGM "B" movies have been reviewed here, THE AFFAIRS OF MARTHA and A LETTER FOR EVIE.

DVD Times has published an essay remembering both Dassin and Widmark.