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Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse LoughreyGet our The Life Cinematic email for freeWhite Christmas star Anne Whitfield has died aged 85, her family have shared. Whitfield played Susan Waverly, the grand-daughter of Captain Bob Wallace, in the 1954 film featuring Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney. Her death comes following an “unexpected incident” during a walk in her neighbourhood in Washington. Family have released a statement confirming that the actor passed away on…

The Italian film-maker Paolo Taviani, whose gritty biopic Padre Padrone won top prize at the Cannes film festival, has died aged 92, Rome’s mayor, Roberto Gualtieri, said on Thursday.For more than three decades Taviani and his brother Vittorio formed one of cinema’s greatest directorial duos. “Paolo Taviani, a great maestro of Italian cinema, leaves us,” Gualtieri said on X. The brothers “directed unforgettable, profound, committed films which entered into the collective imagination and the history of cinema”, Gualtieri…

Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse LoughreyGet our The Life Cinematic email for freeGood Time actor Buddy Duress has died at the age of 38. The star’s brother Christopher Stathis revealed the cause of his passing on Tuesday (27 February). He was best known for his performances in Good Time alongside Twilight star Robert Pattinson, and for his role as Mike in the Safdie brothers movie Heaven Knows What. Duress died of “cardiac arrest from a drug cocktail” in November…

Pamela Salem, known for her role as James Bond’s secretary Miss Moneypenny in Sean Connery’s Never Say Never Again, has died at the age of 80. The British actor, who also had a role in 1978 crime film The Great Train Robbery opposite Connery, died on Wednesday according to Big Finish Productions.Born in 1944 in India, she attended Heidelberg university in Germany and the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London, before starting in repertory theatre in Chesterfield and York. She also appeared in US drama series…

Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse LoughreyGet our The Life Cinematic email for freePorky’s actor Tony Ganios has died of a heart attack, aged 64.The actor, known for playing the fan favourite role of Meat in the 1981 comedy, died on Sunday (18 February) after suffering a cardiac arrest following surgery at a hospital in New York. The news was confirmed by his fiancée, Amanda Serrano-Ganios, on Tuesday (20 February). She wrote on X/Twitter: “The last words we said to…

Zara Larsson in 2008 and 2023Zara Larsson in 2008 and 2024. Later photograph: Pål Hansen. Styling: Andie Redman. Makeup: India Rawlings. Archive image: courtesy of Zara LarssonBorn in Stockholm in 1997, pop star Zara Larsson first shot to fame in 2008 as the winner of Talang, otherwise known as Sweden’s Got Talent. She signed to Ten Records in Sweden at the age of 14, and enjoyed homegrown success until her career launched internationally in 2014. Aside from her own albums, including the platinum-selling So Good, which…

Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse LoughreyGet our The Life Cinematic email for freeAs society evolves, moments in films that were once beloved can start to sour in history’s proverbial rear-view mirror. When Sandy (Olivia Newton John) revamps her entire look and personality to please her boyfriend Danny (John Travolta) at the end of Grease (1978), for example. Or when the cartoon crows in Disney’s animated classic Dumbo are literally called “The Jim Crows”.Even…

Damo Suzuki, the Japanese-born singer who fronted pioneering krautrock group Can during the band’s creative peak, has died aged 74.Suzuki’s death was confirmed on Saturday afternoon via Can’s Instagram. While the cause of his death was not stated, the Cologne-based musician was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2014, having first been diagnosed with the disease 30 years earlier.“It is with great sadness that we have to announce the passing of our wonderful friend Damo Suzuki, yesterday, Friday 9th February 2024,” the message…

Toby Keith, the country singer who topped the US album chart four times, has died aged 62. A post on his website said he died on Monday surrounded by family, adding: “He fought his fight with grace and courage.”Keith had been suffering from stomach cancer. He announced his diagnosis in June 2022, saying that he had been in treatment for six months by that point.Born Toby Keith Covel in 1961 in Oklahoma, Keith had an all-American, blue-collar youth that helped to inform a hugely successful body of songwriting. As well as…

The Dad’s Army and EastEnders actor Ian Lavender has died at the age of 77, his agent has said.Lavender, who is best known for playing Private Pike in the classic BBC TV comedy, was also its last surviving regular cast member. He died on Friday morning.His hapless Pike frequently had run-ins with Captain George Mainwaring, played by Arthur Lowe, and was looked after by Sergeant Arthur Wilson, played by John Le Mesurier.Pike, the youngest member of the Home Guard troop and a bank clerk, would often refer to Wilson as Uncle…