RIP, continued

Daliah Lavi (1940-2017), aged 76.  Daliah was one of the glamorous 1960s stars who brightened up many a 60s caper or comedy. Israeli Daliah impressed me a lot as 'The Girl' opposite Peter O'Toole in LORD JIM in 1965, and was one of the girls with Woody in the 1967 CASINO ROYALE, and with Dean Martin in THE SILENCERS. She had an early role opposite Kirk Douglas in Minnelli's 1962 drama TWO WEEKS IN ANOTHER TOWN, one we like, but we liked her most of all in the deliriously silly 1965 version of Agatha Christie's TEN LITTLE INDIANS, with that helmet of hair, she and Fabian, not to mention Britian's glamour girl Shirley Eaton, added to some sparkle to this.

Daliah was a star in Europe before she went into American films. My movie buff friend Martin, speaking from his ivory tower, would say "she was not a great star or a great actress", but you know what Martin, some people don't need to be, they just are perfect as they were - Daliah was up there with Ursula Andress, Belinda Lee, Scilla Gabel, Senta Berger, Elke Summer, Marisa Mell and the rest of the Eurobabes from those spy spoofs and exotic thrillers (NOBODY RUNS FOREVER, THE SPY WITH A COLD NOSE etc). She sang too and had hit records in Europe, served in the Israeli army, married four times and had 4 children, and worked until 1997, and was fluent in Hebrew, English, German, French, Italian and Spanish. Quite a gal.

Michael Parks |(1940-2017) aged 77. Another Sixties icon who developed a long interesting career, starting off a a James Dean type (BUS RILEY IS BACK IN TOWN -we like it a lot -, THE IDOL), as the naked Adam in Huston's THE BIBLE in 1966, and in THE HAPPENING, lots of television, and later work with Tarantino in the KILL BILL films, TWIN PEAKS etc. and kept working to the end.

Following the recent demises of Tomas Milian and Christine Kaufmann (RIP label), a lot of those European players my generation grew up are departing the scene ....