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Bob Anderson
LOS ANGELES -- Bob Anderson, who played the young George Bailey in the Christmas classic "It's a Wonderful Life," died Friday. He was 75.
Anderson died of cancer at his home in Palm Springs, his wife, Victoria, said Saturday.
Robert J. Anderson grew up in a Hollywood family. His father, Gene, was an assistant director and later a production manager. His uncles were directors William Beaudine and James Flood, and his brothers and cousins were editors and production managers.
Anderson was introduced to films when relatives arranged for him to appear in a movie scene that called for a baby, his wife said.
He was 7 when he appeared in the 1940 Shirley Temple film "Young People" and went on to play roles in such films as 1945's "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn."
Jimmy Croll
OCEANPORT, N.J. -- Jimmy Croll, the Hall of Famer who trained Holy Bull, the 1994 Horse of the Year, and who won the 1987 Belmont Stakes with Bet Twice, died Friday. He was 88.
Based at Monmouth Park throughout his career, Croll died at Monmouth Medical Center, track officials said Saturday.
Warren A. "Jimmy" Croll also trained the influential sire Mr. Prospector, as well as champions Parka, Forward Gal and Housebuster.
Bet Twice was among Croll's top horses, finishing second to Alysheba in the 1987 Kentucky Derby and Preakness before spoiling the colt's Triple Crown bid with a 14-length win in the Belmont.
Croll attended the University of Pennsylvania for two years before leaving school to work at the racetrack, first for Charlie Mills. He moved to New Jersey in 1946 for the opening of Monmouth Park and returned every summer.
Dino Risi
ROME -- Dino Risi, a director and Oscar-nominated master of the Italian comedy who combined a light touch with a merciless look at the flaws of his compatriots, died Saturday. He was 91.
Risi died in his Rome apartment, said the Aldrovandi Palace apartment residence where he lived.
Risi was acclaimed as a father of the Italian comedy for his ability to mix the funny with the tragic.
His comedies were a ferocious satire of habits and flaws of Italians, often featuring unflattering characters: the superficial charlatan, the cheating husband, the immoral father. But the chilling, sometimes tragic, endings of some of his movies showed depth and moral rigor behind the laughs.
His hits include "Poveri ma belli" ("Poor But Beautiful") in 1957, and "Il Sorpasso" ("The Easy Life") in 1962, starring Gassman and Jean-Louis Trintignant as an improbable pair traveling toward a tragic end during an Italian summer.
-- The Associated Press |
