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1-12 of 12
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Best known for the role of Florida Evans on the 1970s sitcoms Maude (1972) and Good Times (1974), African-American actress Esther Rolle proved to be as spirited and iron-willed off-camera as well. The gap-toothed actress with the gravelly voice was born in Pompano Beach, Florida, the 10th child of 18 born to Caribbean farming immigrants. Her first important work came with the Negro Ensemble Company and over the years would earn a solid careworn reputation in such theater plays as "The Blacks", "Blues for Mister Charlie", "The Amen Corner", "A Raisin in the Sun" and "A Member of the Wedding". Ironically, her father insisted she promise him that she would never become a servant or maid in real life. She didn't, and however Esther would have her biggest successes playing just those types of roles. She caught the attention of television producer Norman Lear while performing on stage who cast her in the Maude (1972) supporting role in 1972. Audiences loved her so much as the feisty domestic who stood her ground, and then some, against her volatile and liberal-minded employer Maude Findley (Bea Arthur), that Esther earned her own spin-off series with Good Times (1974). Compelled to fight racial stereotypes, she insisted before accepting the series that a strong father figure be central in the show (actor John Amos). And while she still played the role of a lower middle-class maid, the show's emphasis was to be on her home and family life, not her outside work. Still, Esther left the show for one season when she was unhappy about the negative role model perpetuated by Jimmie 'JJ' Walker's jive-talking character J.J., but later returned after the producers assured her that more responsibility would be taken. In other assignments, she won an Emmy Award for the television movie Summer of My German Soldier (1978) and gained further respect for her work in Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1979) and for her film work in Driving Miss Daisy (1989) and Rosewood (1997). Two of her sisters, Estelle Evans and Rosanna Carter, were also character actresses. Afflicted with diabetes, Esther's health failed in the 1990s and toward the end of her life she was on kidney dialysis. The actress, who was divorced and had no children, died nine days after her 78th birthday on November 17, 1998.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Dick O'Neill was born on 29 August 1928 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for The Jerk (1979), The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) and The Front Page (1974). He was married to Susan Jacqueline (Jackie) Shaw and Dina Harris. He died on 17 November 1998 in Santa Monica, California, USA.- Kenneth McDuff has the dubious distinction as being the only man in Texas history to be sentenced to death for murder, paroled, arrested and convicted of murder, and re-sent to death row. While it is confirmed he killed 9 people, he may have killed as many as 14.
Born and raised in Rosebud, Texas, his parents, John and Addie, owned and operated a concrete company. Rosebud residents Wanda Fischer and Glen Stock recalled young McDuff as a bully with a hair-trigger temper who was coddled by his mother, known around town as "the pistol-packing Mama" as she carried a pistol in her purse. He was already known to Charlie Butts, one of the Tarrant County District Attorneys assigned with prosecuting McDuff and Roy Dale Green for the August 6, 1966 murders of Richard Brand - son of Louise Brand and brother of Fran Brown - his girlfriend, Edna Sullivan, and his cousin, Mark Dunnam. McDuff was dubbed "The Broomstick Killer" because he used a broomstick to snap Edna's neck after raping her repeatedly. Found guilty, Green was sentenced to 31 years in prison; McDuff to death. When the U.S. Supreme Court struck down all death penalty statutes in 1972, McDuff's sentence was commuted to life with the possibility of parole. In 1981, he offered members of the parole board $10,000, and was promptly convicted of bribery. In October 1989, he made parole thanks to a federal judge's order to release 150 prisoners a day to ease overcrowding.
A run-in with a group of black teens in July 1990 should have sent McDuff, a vehement racist, back to prison, but he fell through the cracks; likewise, the disappearances of three prostitutes - Sarafia Parker, Valencia Joshua, and Regenia Moore - in the months after he was paroled. But authorities could not ignore the disappearances of accountant Colleen Reed, sister of Lori Bible, and convenience store clerk Melissa Northrup, daughter of Brenda Solomon and step-daughter of Richard Solomon. A nationwide manhunt instigated by Deputy U.S. Marshals Mike McNamara and Parnell McNamara, and a profile on "America's Most Wanted" led to McDuff's capture in Kansas City, Missouri on May 4, 1992.
His court-appointed attorney Dwight Goains did what he could, but the evidence was overwhelming, and McDuff was sentenced to death twice by two different juries for the murder of Melissa Northrup, and the murder of Colleen Reed. He never confessed to any of the murders until the weeks leading to his execution. The maps he drew led investigators to the remains of Sarafia, Valencia, and Regenia. But he would not give up Colleen Reed. After he was assured that he would not lose his commissary privileges, McDuff was taken out of prison on a "clandestine high security move" so he could direct investigators to the location of her remains.
He never expressed any remorse; his last words were: "I am ready to be released. Release me". Neither Addie or any of his four sisters claimed his body. McDuff was also survived by a daughter he fathered when he raped her mother in 1964. - Federico Astwood died on 17 November 1998 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
- Jaroslav Heyduk was born on 21 June 1921 in Prague, Czechoslovakia [now Czech Republic]. He was an actor, known for Gagman (1988), The End of Agent W4C (1967) and Fantom Morrisvillu (1966). He died on 17 November 1998 in Plzen, Czech Republic.
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Enrique Martinez was born on 8 February 1926 in Havana, Cuba. He was an actor, known for Live from Lincoln Center (1976), The Turning Point (1977) and Producers' Showcase (1954). He died on 17 November 1998 in New York City, New York, USA.- Additional Crew
- Actor
Jon Gregory was born on 29 June 1919 in Auburn, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Shock Corridor (1963), King's Rhapsody (1955) and Confessions of an Opium Eater (1962). He was married to Helene Gregory Hinden. He died on 17 November 1998 in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Producer
Don Buccola was a director and assistant director, known for Celebrity Tennis (1974), Celebrity Bowling (1971) and This Is the Life (1952). He died on 17 November 1998 in Burbank, California, USA.- Jakub Zaklukiewicz was born on 25 September 1949 in Trzebinia, Malopolskie, Poland. He was an actor, known for Stan wewnetrzny (1989), Na klopoty... Bednarski (1986) and Wkrótce nadejda bracia (1986). He died on 17 November 1998 in Vilnius, Lithuania.
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Producer
- Writer
Tânia Savietto was born in 1947. She was an assistant director and producer, known for Noites Paraguayas (1982), O Melhor Amigo do Homem (1982) and They Don't Wear Black Tie (1981). She died on 17 November 1998 in São Paulo, SP, Brazil.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Ike Carpenter was born on 11 March 1920 in Durham, North Carolina, USA. He was an actor, known for Holiday Rhythm (1950) and The Buddy Rogers Show (1951). He died on 17 November 1998 in Durham, North Carolina, USA.- Weeb Ewbank is an American professional football coach. He led the Baltimore Colts to NFL championships in 1958 and 1959 and the New York Jets to victory in Super Bowl III in 1969. He is the only coach to win a championship in both the National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL).
Ewbank grew up in Indiana and attended Miami University in Ohio, where he was a multi-sport star who led his baseball, basketball and football teams to state championships. He immediately began a coaching career after graduating, working at Ohio high schools between 1928 and 1943, when he entered the U.S. Navy during World War II. While in the military, Ewbank was an assistant to Paul Brown on a service football team at Naval Station Great Lakes outside of Chicago. Ewbank was discharged in 1945 and coached college sports for three years before reuniting with Brown as an assistant with the Cleveland Browns, a professional team in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC). The Browns won all four AAFC championships. They joined the NFL with the leagues merger in 1950, winning the championship that year.
Ewbank left the Browns in 1954 to become head coach of the Colts, a young NFL team that had struggled in its first season. In 1956, Ewbank brought in quarterback Johnny Unitas, who quickly became a star and helped lead a potent offense that included wide receiver Raymond Berry and fullback Alan Ameche to an NFL championship in 1958. The Colts repeated as champions in 1959, but the team's performance slipped and Ewbank was fired in 1963. He was soon picked up by the Jets, another struggling team in the AFL. While his first few years were unsuccessful, Ewbank helped build the Jets into a contender after signing quarterback Joe Namath in 1965. The Jets won the AFL championship in 1968 and went on to win Super Bowl III.
Weeb Ewbank, who was known as a mild-mannered coach who favored simple but well-executed strategies, retired after the 1973 season and settled in Oxford, Ohio. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1978.