Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Another pair of obituaries

Jayne Meadows died on Sunday at the age of 95. Meadows wasn't a big star in Hollywood for her work in movies, but for what dhe did on TV and who she was. Her movie work includes the last of the Thin Man movies; the first person point-of-view movie The Lady in the Lake, and a part in David and Bathheba. On TV, she was a long-running panelist on the quiz show I've Got a Secret, which also landed her a part in the movie It Happened to Jane when the plot of that movie involved a scene with the game show. It's one of the few clips of the I've Got a Secret Set in color. Meadows was also known for her family; she was married to entertainer and early Tonight Show host Steve Allen for 45 years, and was the sister of Audrey Meadows, who was one of the stars of The Honeymooners.

Andrew Lesnie died yesterday at the age of 59. Like me, you're probably wondering who Lesnie was. That would be because his work was behind the camera as a cinematographer. I've mnntioned briefly that cinematographers are important and never really get the credit they deserve for the work that they do in making the movies we watch look as good as they do. At least, they don't get that credit from the general public. People recognize the names of directors like Kathryn Bigelow, but wouldn't know the names of most of the cinematographers, unless they're avid TCM watchers or otherwise movie buffs. It's pretty much only the Academy that puts cinematographers in more of a spotlight, and Lesnie did win an Academy Award for 2001's Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.

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