Notable Passings

...There's word today from 50 Westerns at the 50s that character actor Paul Picerni, who amassed nearly 200 screen credits in a 60-year career, has passed away.

Picerni's many credits included THE KILLER THAT STALKED NEW YORK (1950), FORT WORTH (1951), and AIRPORT (1970). He guest starred on countless TV shows and costarred with Robert Stack in THE UNTOUCHABLES (1960). He's pictured second from the left in the cast photo shown here.

There's an Official Paul Picerni Website. Picerni, who turned 88 last month, was on the guest list of the Lone Pine, California Film Festival as recently as last year; his films made in Lone Pine included THE ADVENTURES OF HAJJI BABA (1954).

Update: There's a lovely tribute, filled with interesting links, from Moira at Skeins of Thought. I've put Picerni's autobiography on my future reading list.

...Longtime soap opera star Jacqueline Courtney passed away last month. She was 64 and had suffered from cancer.

Courtney starred for years on both ANOTHER WORLD and ONE LIFE TO LIVE.