In memoriam: obituaries of those who died in 2023

Joss Ackland (29 Feb 1928 — 19 Nov 2023): character actor whose strong presence and workaholic tendencies led to a wide variety of roles (White Mischief; Lethal Weapon 2).

Alan Arkin (26 Mar 1934 — 29 June 2023): actor of great versatility whose remarkable career spanned 60 years (The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter; The In-Laws; Little Miss Sunshine).

Keith Baxter (29 Apr 1933 — 24 Sept 2023): stage veteran occasionally seen in films who made a memorable Prince Hal opposite Orson Welles’s Falstaff in Chimes at Midnight.

John Beasley (26 June 1943 — 30 May 2023): made his film debut in his forties and worked steadily in supporting parts for over 30 years (The Apostle; The Sum of All Fears).

Harry Belafonte (1 Mar 1927 — 25 Apr 2023): activist, singer and actor who was among the few Black producers during Hollywood’s studio era (Carmen Jones; Odds against Tomorrow; Buck and the Preacher).

Helmut Berger (29 May 1944 — 18 May 2023): Austrian star of Visconti’s later films (The Damned; Ludwig) who also worked with De Sica and Losey.

Jane Birkin (14 Dec 1946 — 16 July 2023): English actor and singer who found greater fame in France (La Piscine; Jane B. par Agnès V.; La Belle Noiseuse).

Robert Blake (18 Sept 1933 — 9 Mar 2023): child actor who turned to darker roles as an adult in TV (Baretta) and films (In Cold Blood; Lost Highway).

Andre Braugher (1 July 1962 — 11 Dec 2023): actor who was highly respected for his skill with both comedy and drama, whether for TV (Homicide: Life on the Street; Brooklyn Nine-Nine) or film (Glory).

Jim Brown (17 Feb 1936 — 18 May 2023): superstar athlete who successfully pivoted from American football to acting, mostly in action roles (The Dirty Dozen; 100 Rifles).

Byun Heebong (8 June 1942 — 18 Sept 2023): South Korean actor who had prominent supporting roles in the films of Bong Joon Ho (Barking Dogs Never Bite; The Host).

Margit Carstensen (29 Feb 1940 — 1 June 2023): German actor who was a regular in Fassbinder’s productions, including playing the title roles in The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant and Martha.

Inna Churikova (5 Oct 1943 — 14 Jan 2023): Russian actor known for frequently starring in the films of her husband Gleb Panfilov (The Beginning; Vassa).

Marlene Clark (19 Dec 1937 — 18 May 2023): actor mostly seen in 1970s’ genre pictures who made her biggest impression as Ganja in the arthouse horror Ganja & Hess.

Teodor Corban (28 Apr 1957 — 17 Jan 2023): actor who was prominent in the Romanian New Wave (12:08 East of Bucharest; Aferim!).

Michel Côté (25 June 1950 — 29 May 2023): Quebecois actor who was among Canada’s most popular screen stars (Cruising Bar; C.R.A.Z.Y.).

Patricia Dainton (12 Apr 1930 — 31 May 2023): entered films as a teenager in the 1940s, then moved into leading roles in the 50s (The Dancing Years; The Third Alibi).

Melinda Dillon (13 Oct 1939 — 9 Jan 2023): delivered sensitive performances in Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Absence of Malice and was Ralphie’s long-suffering mom in A Christmas Story.

Ted Donaldson (20 Aug 1933 — 1 Mar 2023): child actor (A Tree Grows in Brooklyn) who starred in the boy-and-his-dog Rusty film series of the 1940s.

Sharon Farrell (24 Dec 1940 — 15 May 2023): had major roles in Marlowe and The Reivers and was the mother to the murderous newborn in the cult horror It’s Alive.

Shirley Anne Field (27 June 1936 — 10 Dec 2023): established herself in the 1960s (Saturday Night and Sunday Morning; Losey’s The Damned) and made a comeback with My Beautiful Laundrette.

Frederic Forrest (23 Dec 1936 — 23 June 2023): played the title role in Hammett, romanced Bette Midler in The Rose and was a favorite of Francis Ford Coppola (Apocalypse Now).

Michael Gambon (19 Oct 1940 — 27 Sept 2023): powerful actor of stage, TV (The Singing Detective) and films (The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover) who reached new audiences as Dumbledore in the Harry Potter movies.

Léa Garcia (11 Mar 1933 — 15 Aug 2023): Brazilian actor who had a key supporting role as Serafina in Black Orpheus and starred in the Cinema Novo classic Ganga Zumba.

Carlin Glynn (19 Feb 1940 — 13 July 2023): character actor who split her time between stage, TV and films (The Trip to Bountiful; Judy Berlin).

Lelia Goldoni (1 Oct 1936 — 22 July 2023): earned Bafta nominations for her lead role in Cassavetes’s landmark Shadows and her supporting turn in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

Barry Humphries (17 Feb 1934 — 22 Apr 2023): actor who was one of Australia’s most famous exports, especially as Dame Edna Everage (The Adventures of Barry McKenzie; Finding Nemo).

Gayle Hunnicutt (6 Feb 1943 — 31 Aug 2023): American actor who spent much of her career in England (Marlowe; The Legend of Hell House).

Glenda Jackson (9 May 1936 — 15 June 2023): seemingly fearless star of stage and screen (Women in Love; Sunday Bloody Sunday; A Touch of Class) who served over 20 years in Parliament.

Vani Jairam (30 Nov 1945 — 4 Feb 2023): playback singer of Indian cinema who performed in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam and over a dozen other languages (Guddi; Dheerga Sumangali).

Inga Landgré (6 Aug 1927 — 31 July 2023): Swedish actor who starred as young Nelly in Bergman’s debut film Crisis and was the knight’s wife in The Seventh Seal.

Piper Laurie (22 Jan 1932 — 14 Oct 2023): gave an unforgettable performance in The Hustler, then abandoned film acting for fifteen years before returning to play the fanatical mother in Carrie.

Sarah Lawson (6 Aug 1928 — 18 Aug 2023): played leading roles in the 1950s (You Know What Sailors Are) and co-starred in the Hammer horror The Devil Rides Out.

Lee Sunkyun (2 Mar 1975 — 27 Dec 2023): South Korean actor (Oki’s Movie; A Hard Day) whose highest-profile role was as the father of the Park family in Parasite.

Michael Lerner (22 June 1941 — 8 Apr 2023): character actor (Rafelson’s The Postman Always Rings Twice; Eight Men Out) who had the role of his career as the studio chief in Barton Fink.

Gina Lollobrigida (4 July 1927 — 16 Jan 2023): glamourous star who also distinguished herself as a photographer and sculptor (Bread, Love and Dreams; Beat the Devil; Beautiful but Dangerous).

Ignacio López Tarso (15 Jan 1925 — 11 Mar 2023): played the title role in the Mexican classic Macario and had supporting roles for Buñuel and Huston (Nazarín; Under the Volcano).

Antonella Lualdi (6 July 1931 — 10 Aug 2023): Italian leading lady of the 1950s and 60s who also worked in France (Autant-Lara’s The Red and the Black; Let’s Talk about Women).

Guy Marchand (22 May 1937 — 15 Dec 2023): actor and singer who was among France’s top supporting players since the 1970s (Coup de torchon; Garde à vue).

Mark Margolis (26 Nov 1939 — 3 Aug 2023): long-time character actor (Scarface; Pi) who found late-career recognition on TV’s Breaking Bad.

Juliette Mayniel (22 Jan 1936 — 21 July 2023): had prominent roles for Chabrol and Franju (Les Cousins; Eyes without a Face) and won best actress at the Berlinale for Kirmes.

David McCallum (19 Sept 1933 — 25 Sept 2023): supporting actor who found stardom on TV’s The Man from U.N.C.L.E., which briefly elevated him to leading roles (The Great Escape; Sol Madrid).

Murray Melvin (10 Aug 1932 — 14 Apr 2023): broke ground as one of the cinema’s earliest sympathetic gay characters in A Taste of Honey and played roles for Kubrick and Ken Russell.

Cindy Morgan (29 Sept 1954 — Dec 2023): actor who had some notable leading roles in the early 1980s (Caddyshack; Tron).

Ana Ofelia Murguía (8 Dec 1933 — 31 Dec 2023): Mexican actress (The Queen of the Night) who was known internationally for her final film role, voicing the aged Mamá Coco for the Pixar film Coco.

Hildegard Neil (20 May 1939 — 19 Sept 2023): actor who starred as Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra and played second leads in A Touch of Class and England Made Me.

Barry Newman (7 Nov 1930 — 11 May 2023): played the lead role in the existential road movie Vanishing Point but was more often seen in support (The Limey).

Richard Ng (17 Dec 1939 — 9 Apr 2023): popular actor of Hong Kong comedies, especially the Lucky Stars and Pom Pom series of movies.

Ryan O’Neal (20 Apr 1941 — 8 Dec 2023): star actor of the 1970s who fell hard for Ali MacGraw in Love Story, played the title role in Barry Lyndon and starred in three films for Bogdanovich.

María Onetto (18 Aug 1966 — 2 Mar 2023): gained international attention for The Headless Woman and played leads in several other Argentine films (2010’s Puzzle).

Marisa Pavan (19 June 1932 — 6 Dec 2023): followed her twin sister Pier Angeli from their native Italy to Hollywood, where she played second leads in the 1950s (The Rose Tattoo; Solomon and Sheba).

Matthew Perry (19 Aug 1969 — 28 Oct 2023): catapulted to fame as Chandler Bing on TV’s Friends and starred in some big-screen comedies (Fools Rush In; The Whole Nine Yards).

Gordon Pinsent (12 July 1930 — 25 Feb 2023): distinguished Canadian actor and occasional writer and director who also found work in Hollywood (The Rowdyman; Away from Her).

Lance Reddick (7 June 1962 — 17 Mar 2023): actor who was often cast as commanding figures for TV (The Wire) and films (Angel Has Fallen) and was Charon in the John Wick movies.

Paul Reubens (27 Aug 1952 — 30 July 2023): acted in a variety of roles but is most identified with his surrealist character Pee-wee Herman (Pee-wee’s Big Adventure; Mystery Men).

Richard Roundtree (9 July 1942 — 24 Oct 2023): achieved screen immortality in the title role of Shaft and continued acting for TV and films for 50 years (Q: The Winged Serpent; Fincher’s Seven).

Betta St. John (26 Nov 1929 — 23 June 2023): leading lady of the 1950s, both in the U.S. and the U.K. (Dream Wife; Corridors of Blood).

Julian Sands (4 Jan 1958 — c.13 Jan 2023): portrayed romantic leads and villains but also had a refreshing taste for more bizarre or offbeat roles (A Room with a View; Warlock; Naked Lunch).

Satsuma Kenpachiro (27 May 1947 — 16 Dec 2023): played Godzilla’s opponents in the 1970s, then donned the Godzilla suit for seven features from 1984’s The Return of Godzilla to 1995’s Godzilla vs. Destoroyah.

Henri Serre (26 Feb 1931 — 9 Oct 2023): French actor who was best known for his portrayal of Jim in Jules et Jim.

Carmen Sevilla (16 Oct 1930 — 27 June 2023): starred in Spanish musicals, comedies and melodramas (1958’s Vengeance) and was Mary Magdalene in Nicholas Ray’s King of Kings.

Peter Simonischek (6 Aug 1946 — 29 May 2023): leading actor of the Austrian stage who had his greatest film role as the father who challenges his daughter’s complacency in Toni Erdmann.

Tom Sizemore (29 Nov 1961 — 3 Mar 2023): specialized in tough, dangerous or even unhinged characters, seen on either side of the law (Natural Born Killers; Heat; Saving Private Ryan).

Frances Sternhagen (13 Jan 1930 — 27 Nov 2023): character actor who was busiest on stage and TV but stood out in her occasional film appearances (Outland; Raising Cain).

Stella Stevens (1 Oct 1938 — 17 Feb 2023): played leading lady to Jerry Lewis in The Nutty Professor, co-starred in The Ballad of Cable Hogue and was a passenger in The Poseidon Adventure.

Ray Stevenson (25 May 1965 — 21 May 2023): actor whose imposing presence led to frequent casting as warriors and villains (Thor movies; Kill the Irishman; RRR).

Sylvia Syms (6 Jan 1934 — 27 Jan 2023): versatile actor who became a star in the late 1950s and later transitioned into character parts (Ice Cold in Alex; Victim; The Queen).

Miiko Taka (24 July 1925 — 4 Jan 2023): made her acting debut as Marlon Brando’s love interest in Sayonara and co-starred in Cary Grant’s last film, Walk, Don’t Run.

Nadja Tiller (16 Mar 1929 — 21 Feb 2023): Austrian actor who was a leading star of German-language films in the 1950s and 60s (Das Mädchen Rosemarie; 1962’s Lulu).

Chaim Topol (9 Sept 1935 — 8 Mar 2023): Israeli actor (Sallah; Losey’s Galileo) who had his defining role, on both stage and screen, as Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof.

Tina Turner (26 Nov 1939 — 24 May 2023): rock icon who was the Acid Queen in Tommy and Aunty Entity in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome and sang the title tune to GoldenEye.

Wei Wei (17 May 1922 — 2 Nov 2023): actor whose most famous role came as Yuwen, the lonely wife who reunites with a former lover in the Chinese classic Spring in a Small Town.

Raquel Welch (5 Sept 1940 — 15 Feb 2023): memorably a wore fur bikini in One Million Years B.C., was a microscopic scientist in Fantastic Voyage and proved her comedic skills in Lester’s The Three Musketeers.

Tom Wilkinson (5 Feb 1948 — 30 Dec 2023): character actor whose performance in The Full Monty brought him greater recognition and larger roles in films (In the Bedroom; Michael Clayton).

Cindy Williams (22 Aug 1947 — 25 Jan 2023): had a few film roles in the 1970s (American Graffiti; The Conversation) before achieving stardom as one-half of TV’s Laverne & Shirley.

Treat Williams (1 Dec 1951 — 12 June 2023): actor whose performances regularly dug beneath the surface of his classical movie star looks (Hair; Prince of the City; Smooth Talk).

Yoon Jeonghee (30 July 1944 — 19 Jan 2023): actor who was one of South Korea’s greatest screen stars, from her 1967 debut Sorrowful Youth to her 2010 swan song Poetry.

Burt Young (30 Apr 1940 — 8 Oct 2023): character actor who specialized in streetwise working stiffs and no-nonsense gangsters (Rocky movies; The Pope of Greenwich Village).

Per Åhlin (7 Aug 1931 — 1 May 2023): filmmaker who pioneered feature animation in Sweden, often incorporating live-action elements (Out of an Old Man’s Head; Dunderklumpen!).

Paul Bush (2 Feb 1956 — 17 Aug 2023): independent filmmaker known for his experimental animation technique (The Albatross; The Five Minute Museum).

Ian Emes (17 Aug 1949 — 16 July 2023): animator who visualised the music of Pink Floyd and later expanded into live-action filmmaking (French Windows; Goodie-Two-Shoes).

Keith Learner (25 Dec 1936 — 13 June 2023): early collaborator of Bob Godfrey whose own distinguished animation career included film, TV and advertising (Watch the Birdie; Do Be Careful Boys).

Burny Mattinson (13 May 1935 — 27 Feb 2023): spent 70 years at Disney as an animator, story artist, director, producer and, latterly, mentor (Mickey’s Christmas Carol; Beauty and the Beast).

Raoul Servais (1 May 1928 — 17 Mar 2023): Belgian filmmaker whose versatile animation style could shift dramatically from one film to the next (Chromophobia; Pegasus; Harpya).

Yamamoto Nizo (27 June 1953 — 19 Aug 2023): Japanese art director and background artist with a long tenure with Studio Ghibli (Grave of the Fireflies; Spirited Away).

John Bailey (10 Aug 1942 — 10 Nov 2023): cinematographer who also served two terms as president of the Motion Picture Academy (Ordinary People; Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters; Groundhog Day).

Bill Butler (7 Apr 1921 — 5 Apr 2023): cinematographer renowned for his work on several classics of the 1970s (The Conversation; Jaws; One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest).

Jacques Haitkin (29 Aug 1950 — 21 Mar 2023): shot many horror pictures (Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street) and handled 2nd unit photography on big-budget action films (Fast & Furious series).

Ken Kelsch (8 July 1947 — 11 Dec 2023): photographed several films for Abel Ferrara (Bad Lieutenant; The Addiction) and brought a nostalgic look to the restaurant comedy Big Night.

Victor J. Kemper (14 Apr 1927 — 27 Nov 2023): DP who shot major credits for directors of such dissimilar styles as Cassavetes, Lumet, Tim Burton, Elaine May, Arthur Hiller and Carl Reiner.

Elemér Ragályi (18 Apr 1939 — 30 Mar 2023): Hungarian cinematographer who also worked in the U.S. (István Gaál’s The Falcons; Peter Kassovitz’s Jakob the Liar).

Owen Roizman (22 Sept 1936 — 6 Jan 2023): DP who captured some of the defining images of the New Hollywood era (The French Connection; The Exorcist; Network).

Soumendu Roy (7 Feb 1933 — 27 Sept 2023): camera assistant on the Apu trilogy who graduated to cinematographer, shooting over a dozen features for Satyajit Ray (Three Daughters; The Chess Players).

Brian Tufano (1 Dec 1939 — 12 Jan 2023): cinematographer who spent many years at the BBC before filming some classics of British cinema (Quadrophenia; Trainspotting; Billy Elliot).

Oliver Wood (21 Feb 1942 — 13 Feb 2023): photographed the cult film The Honeymoon Killers, but made his name on action pictures, especially The Bourne Identity and its first two sequels.

Burt Bacharach (12 May 1928 — 8 Feb 2023): composer and songwriter who regularly contributed to movies during his most popular period (Alfie; Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid; Arthur).

Carl Davis (28 Oct 1936 — 3 Aug 2023): composed for TV (1995’s Pride and Prejudice) and films (The French Lieutenant’s Woman) and was celebrated for his many new scores for silent films (Napoleon).

Gerald Fried (13 Feb 1928 — 17 Feb 2023): composer on Kubrick’s early films (The Killing; Paths of Glory) who spent much of his career scoring for television (Roots).

Christopher Gunning (5 Aug 1944 — 25 Mar 2023): composer of much TV work, including the series Poirot, as well as some films (When the Whales Came; La Vie en Rose).

Joseph Koo (23 Feb 1931 — 3 Jan 2023): composer whose pop songs and scores were a staple of Hong Kong TV (Below the Lion Rock) and films (Fist of Fury; A Better Tomorrow).

Bill Lee (23 July 1928 — 24 May 2023): composer, bassist and father of Spike Lee who scored his son’s early films (Do the Right Thing; Mo’ Better Blues).

Robbie Robertson (5 July 1943 — 9 Aug 2023): songwriter and guitarist with the Band who regularly worked with Scorsese in various musical capacities from The Last Waltz to Killers of the Flower Moon.

Sakamoto Ryuichi (17 Jan 1952 — 28 Mar 2023): Japanese composer with an experimental style who had a few acting roles in addition to his scores (Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence; The Last Emperor; The Revenant).

Tom Whitlock (20 Feb 1954 — 18 Feb 2023): lyricist whose film work included the classic soundtrack to Top Gun, notably the hit songs “Take My Breath Away” and “Danger Zone.”

Kenneth Anger (3 Feb 1927 — 11 May 2023): influential underground filmmaker (Fireworks; Eaux d’artifice; Scorpio Rising) whose book Hollywood Babylon explored the movie colony’s scandalous past.

Abdellatif Ben Ammar (25 Apr 1943 — 6 Feb 2023): major figure of Tunisian cinema who directed its first film to compete at Cannes (A Simple Story; Sejnane).

Michael Blackwood (15 July 1934 — 24 Feb 2023): directed and produced over 100 documentaries with subjects ranging from Cristo and Zaha Hadid to Thelonious Monk and Philip Glass.

Nancy Buirski (24 June 1945 — 29 Aug 2023): founded and ran the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival before shifting to making her own films (The Loving Story; The Rape of Recy Taylor).

Román Chalbaud (10 Oct 1931 — 12 Sept 2023): writer-director who influenced Venezuela’s cultural scene through his work for the theater, TV and film (Caín adolescente; The Smoking Fish).

Terence Davies (10 Nov 1945 — 7 Oct 2023): created some of the most significant British films of recent decades, often drawing on his own experiences (Distant Voices, Still Lives; The Long Day Closes; The House of Mirth).

Michel Deville (13 Apr 1931 — 16 Feb 2023): French writer-director who rarely received as much attention abroad as he did at home (Ce soir ou jamais; La Lectrice).

Safi Faye (22 Nov 1943 — 22 Feb 2023): Senegalese filmmaker who was a pioneer of sub-Saharan African cinema, including as one of its earliest female directors (Kaddu Beykat; Mossane).

William Friedkin (29 Aug 1935 — 7 Aug 2023): redefined the police and horror genres and later saw his less acclaimed work find renewed appreciation (The French Connection; The Exorcist; Sorcerer).

K.G. George (24 May 1946 — 24 Sept 2023): Indian writer-director of Malayalam-language films who had critical and commercial success in the 1970s and 80s (Swapnadanam; Yavanika).

Roger Gnoan M’Bala (1943 — 9 July 2023): Ivorian filmmaker whose profile was most prominent in the 1990s and 2000s (In the Name of Christ; Adanggaman).

Ebrahim Golestan (19 Oct 1922 — 22 Aug 2023): director, writer and producer who played a major role in the Iranian New Wave (A Fire; Crown Jewels of Iran; Brick and Mirror).

Bert I. Gordon (24 Sept 1922 — 8 Mar 2023): master of low-budget sci-fi creature features beginning in the genre’s 1950s’ heyday (The Amazing Colossal Man; Earth vs. the Spider).

Piers Haggard (18 Mar 1939 — 11 Jan 2023): directed the groundbreaking TV production Pennies from Heaven as well as the folk-horror feature The Blood on Satan’s Claw.

Birgit Hein (6 Aug 1942 — 23 Feb 2023): director, performance artist and scholar who was a pioneer of German experimental film beginning in the late 1960s (Rohfilm; Baby, I Will Make You Sweat).

He Ping (1957 — 10 Jan 2023): Chinese director known for his wuxia westerns and historical dramas (The Swordsman in Double Flag Town; Red Firecracker, Green Firecracker).

Ellen Hovde (9 Mar 1925 — 16 Feb 2023): documentary filmmaker known for her work with the Maysles brothers as an editor and co-director (Christo’s Valley Curtain; Grey Gardens).

Hugh Hudson (25 Aug 1936 — 10 Feb 2023): directed the global hit Chariots of Fire and whose eclectic credits also include Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes, documentaries and countless TV commercials.

Leon Ichaso (3 Aug 1948 — 21 May 2023): independent filmmaker who explored Latino culture in the U.S., especially the Cuban community (El Super; Piñero).

Otar Iosseliani (2 Feb 1934 — 17 Dec 2023): writer-director who started in his native Georgia during the Soviet era then relocated to France in the 1980s (Falling Leaves; Favourites of the Moon).

Juraj Jakubisko (30 Apr 1938 — 24 Feb 2023): leading Slovak filmmaker who faced years of censorship but rebounded in the 1980s (Birds, Orphans and Fools; The Millennial Bee).

Kim Sooyong (23 Sept 1929 — 3 Dec 2023): director from South Korean cinema’s 1960s’ golden age who compiled over 100 credits, working until 2000 (Sorrow Even up in Heaven; Mist).

Konuma Masaru (30 Dec 1937 — 22 Jan 2023): Japanese director who was prominent during Nikkatsu’s controversial Roman Porno period (Flower and Snake; Cloistered Nun: Runa’s Confession).

Maunu Kurkvaara (18 July 1926 — 31 Dec 2023): filmmaker who brought an auteur approach to Finnish cinema and helped launch its new wave (Darling; Private Area; Feast by the Sea).

Aldo Lado (5 Dec 1934 — 25 Nov 2023): Italian writer-director who made noteworthy giallo pictures during the peak of the genre’s popularity (Short Night of Glass Dolls; Who Saw Her Die?).

David Leland (20 Apr 1941 — 24 Dec 2023): actor-turned-screenwriter (Mona Lisa; Personal Services) who made his highly regarded directorial debut with Wish You Were Here.

Alfred Leslie (29 Oct 1927 — 27 Jan 2023): painter who came out of Abstract Expressionism and was also a noted experimental filmmaker (Pull My Daisy; The Cedar Bar).

Peter Lilienthal (27 Nov 1927 — 28 Apr 2023): German filmmaker who moved from TV into features in 1970 with Malatesta and won the Golden Bear at the Berlinale for 1979’s David.

Jessie Maple (14 Feb 1937 — 30 May 2023): TV news camerawoman and author who is believed to be the first Black American woman to write and direct a feature film (Will; Twice as Nice).

Eugenio Martín (15 May 1925 — 23 Jan 2023): Spanish genre specialist whose output included horror, westerns, adventures and musicals (The Ugly Ones; Horror Express).

Francesco Maselli (9 Dec 1930 — 21 Mar 2023): protégé of Antonioni who directed explicitly political films and woman-oriented dramas (1975’s The Suspect; Storia d’amore).

Sid Ali Mazif (16 Oct 1943 — 2 May 2023): Algerian director who worked on shorts and collective films before establishing himself in features (Les Nomades; Leila and the Others).

Dariush Mehrjui (8 Dec 1939 — 14 Oct 2023): Iranian New Wave innovator who regularly battled censorship, both before and after the Revolution (The Cow; The Cycle; Leila).

Christopher Miles (19 Apr 1939 — 15 Sept 2023): filmmaker whose credits reflect his literary tastes, especially his deep interest in D.H. Lawrence (The Virgin and the Gypsy; Priest of Love).

George T. Miller (28 Nov 1943 — 17 Feb 2023): director whose debut feature The Man from Snowy River remains one of Australia’s most enduringly popular films.

Giuliano Montaldo (22 Feb 1930 — 6 Sept 2023): Italian writer-director who started in films as an actor before moving behind the camera (The Reckless; Sacco and Vanzetti).

Malcolm Mowbray (24 June 1949 — 23 June 2023): director of comedies who scored at the box office with his debut feature, A Private Function.

Charles Officer (28 Oct 1975 — 1 Dec 2023): director, producer and writer who in recent years emerged as one of Canadian film’s most significant new talents (Nurse.Fighter.Boy; Akilla’s Escape).

Gerry O’Hara (1 Oct 1924 — 9 Jan 2023): served as an assistant on Olivier’s Richard III and other high-profile films before becoming a journeyman director (The Pleasure Girls; The Bitch).

Horace Ové (3 Dec 1936 — 16 Sept 2023): pioneering filmmaker who started in documentaries and made the first British feature by a Black director (Reggae; Pressure; Playing Away).

Gleb Panfilov (21 May 1934 — 26 Aug 2023): established his reputation in the late 1960s as one of Russia’s preeminent filmmakers and continued directing into the 2020s (The Beginning; The Theme).

Pema Tseden (3 Dec 1969 — 8 May 2023): brought world attention to Tibetan culture, including making some of the earliest Tibetan-language films (Old Dog; Tharlo; Jinpa).

Sumitra Peries (24 Mar 1935 — 19 Jan 2023): started as an editor on her husband Lester’s films, then became Sri Lankan cinema’s first female director (Girls; A Letter Written in the Sand).

Leonard Retel Helmrich (16 Aug 1959 — 15 July 2023): Dutch documentary filmmaker who received international acclaim for his Indonesian trilogy (The Eye of the Day; Shape of the Moon; Position among the Stars).

David Rimmer (20 Jan 1942 — 27 Jan 2023): Canadian experimental filmmaker (Variations on a Cellophane Wrapper; Canadian Pacific).

Jacques Rozier (10 Nov 1926 — 31 May 2023): nouvelle vague director who, long overshadowed by his better-known contemporaries, has been rediscovered in recent years (Adieu Philippine; Du côté d’Orouët).

Carlos Saura (4 Jan 1932 — 10 Feb 2023): filmmaker who had one of the most influential and admired bodies of work in Spanish cinema (The Hunt; Cría cuervos; Blood Wedding).

Donald Shebib (27 Jan 1938 — 5 Nov 2023): documentarian who switched to fiction and directed some of the seminal Canadian films of the 1970s and early 80s (Goin’ down the Road; Between Friends).

Elliot Silverstein (3 Aug 1927 — 24 Nov 2023): directed two radically different westerns (Cat Ballou; A Man Called Horse) and was an advocate for protecting directors’ creative rights within the industry.

Michael Snow (10 Dec 1928 — 5 Jan 2023): multi-faceted Canadian artist whose work had a seismic impact on avant-garde cinema (Wavelength; La Région centrale; *Corpus Callosum).

Paul Vecchiali (28 Apr 1930 — 18 Jan 2023): veteran French director, producer, writer and occasional actor (Drugstore Romance; Once More).

Agustí Villaronga (4 Mar 1953 — 22 Jan 2023): Spanish director who competed at Cannes with Moon Child and whose drama Black Bread won ten Goyas.

K. Viswanath (19 Feb 1930 — 2 Feb 2023): Indian writer-director, primarily of Telugu-language films (Sankarabharanam; Swathi Muthyam), who also kept busy as an actor.

Donn Cambern (9 Oct 1929 — 18 Jan 2023): editor who helped shape Easy Rider and had further credits on The Last Picture Show and Romancing the Stone.

Garth Craven (28 Feb 1939 — 20 May 2023): film and sound editor for Peckinpah in the 1970s, starting with Straw Dogs, who later largely worked on comedies (Legally Blonde).

Raimondo Crociani (14 Jan 1946 — 14 June 2023): prolific Italian film editor who was a regular collaborator of Ettore Scola for over 40 years (We All Loved Each Other so Much; Le Bal).

Robert Dalva (14 Apr 1942 — 27 Jan 2023): edited Hollywood productions ranging from The Black Stallion to Captain America: The First Avenger and directed The Black Stallion Returns.

David Finfer (7 June 1942 — 3 Apr 2023): worked on four films for Albert Brooks and played an important part in the notoriously complex task of editing Andrew Davis’s The Fugitive.

Mike Hill (24 Mar 1949 — 5 Jan 2023): editor who worked on 22 films for Ron Howard over more than 30 years (Splash; Apollo 13; A Beautiful Mind).

John Refoua (20 Aug 1960 — 14 May 2023): editor known for his collaborations with James Cameron (Avatar films) and Antoine Fuqua (Olympus Has Fallen).

Marion Rothman (3 July 1928 — 17 May 2023): co-wrote the early Jack Nicholson film The Wild Ride before embarking on a long career as a film editor (The Boston Strangler; Starman).

Arthur Schmidt (17 June 1937 — 5 Aug 2023): edited for top directors, including a long association with Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future trilogy; Who Framed Roger Rabbit; Forrest Gump).

John Wright (4 July 1943 — 20 Apr 2023): earned Oscar nominations for The Hunt for Red October and Speed and also edited several other blockbusters (The Passion of the Christ).

Marina Cicogna (29 May 1934 — 4 Nov 2023): Italian producer and distributor of auteurist classics (Belle de Jour; Once Upon a Time in the West; Investigation of a Citizen above Suspicion).

Eva Maria Daniels (5 July 1979 — 30 June 2023): emerging Icelandic independent producer whose films frequently screened at major festivals (What Maisie Knew; 2023’s Reality).

Gordon T. Dawson (1938 — 6 Mar 2023): close associate of Peckinpah for a decade, graduating from costumer to producer and writer (The Ballad of Cable Hogue; Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia).

James Flynn (21 Aug 1965 — 11 Feb 2023): producer who was a long-time fixture of the Irish TV and film industry (The Secret of Kells; The Banshees of Inisherin).

Daniel Goldberg (7 Mar 1949 — 12 July 2023): Canadian producer-writer who frequently teamed with Ivan Reitman (Meatballs; Stripes) and also produced the massive hit The Hangover.

Norman Lear (27 July 1922 — 5 Dec 2023): producer-writer who revolutionized American TV (All in the Family; The Jeffersons) and dabbled in films (Divorce American Style).

Walter Mirisch (8 Nov 1921 — 24 Feb 2023): producer who backed an impressive list of box office smashes, three of which won the Oscar for best picture (The Apartment; West Side Story; In the Heat of the Night).

Hengameh Panahi (c.1956 — 5 Nov 2023): French-Iranian sales agent and producer whose company Celluloid Dreams was a major player in the global arthouse film world since the 1980s.

Edward R. Pressman (11 Apr 1943 — 17 Jan 2023): producer who was a directors’ champion, including important credits for Oliver Stone, Brian De Palma, Kathryn Bigelow and Charles Burnett.

Jess Search (15 May 1969 — 31 July 2023): producer who was a vital supporter of documentary filmmakers, especially through her work with the groups Shooting People and Doc Society (Citizenfour; Virunga).

Kevin Turen (16 Aug 1979 — 12 Nov 2023): producer and executive for TV (Euphoria) and films (Pieces of a Woman; Ti West’s X series).

Lawrence Turman (28 Nov 1926 — 1 July 2023): had his greatest success with The Graduate but also backed other notable works (John Carpenter’s The Thing; American History X).

Bo Goldman (10 Sept 1932 — 25 July 2023): writer who was admired for his original scripts and his skills at adaptation (One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest; Melvin and Howard; Shoot the Moon).

Gregory Allen Howard (28 Jan 1952 — 27 Jan 2023): writer-producer who explored Black American history of the 19th and 20th Centuries (Remember the Titans; Harriet).

Evan Jones (29 Dec 1927 — 18 Apr 2023): Jamaican poet and TV writer who wrote screenplays for Ted Kotcheff (Wake in Fright), John Huston (Victory) and especially Joseph Losey (King & Country).

Robert Klane (17 Oct 1941 — 29 Aug 2023): writer of the dark comedies Where’s Poppa? and Weekend at Bernie’s who also directed the hit disco film Thank God It’s Friday.

Christine Laurent (29 Mar 1944 — 5 Jan 2023): screenwriter for Rivette (La Belle Noiseuse; Va savoir) who was also a director (Vertiges) and costume designer.

Vahideh Mohommadifar (c.1969 — 14 Oct 2023): Iranian screenwriter and costume designer on the later films of her husband Dariush Mehrjui (Mom’s Guest; 2014’s Ghosts).

John Pilger (9 Oct 1939-30 Dec 2023): crusading journalist and documentary writer and occasional director known for tackling controversial subjects (Year Zero: The Silent Death of Cambodia; Death of a Nation: The Timor Conspiracy).

Herman Raucher (13 Apr 1928 — 28 Dec 2023): scripted Melvin Van Peebles’s provocative satire Watermelon Man and the coming-of-age (and semi-autobiographical) sleeper hit Summer of ‘42.

Arnold Schulman (11 Aug 1925 — 4 Feb 2023): adapted his play A Hole in the Head to film and wrote several other screenplays (Love with the Proper Stranger; Tucker: The Man and His Dream).

Norman Steinberg (6 June 1939 — 15 Mar 2023): veteran comedy writer who had his greatest success with Blazing Saddles and My Favorite Year.

Nitin Chandrakant Desai (9 Aug 1965 — 2 Aug 2023): leading Indian production designer and art director (Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love; Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India; Devdas).

Osvaldo Desideri (16 Feb 1939 — 18 Oct 2023): Italian set decorator and production designer who had credits for Antonioni, Cavani, Pasolini and Leone and won an Oscar for The Last Emperor.

Charles Knode (c.1942 — 16 Feb 2023): designed the costumes for Monty Python’s Life of Brian, then showed off his versatility with Blade Runner and Braveheart.

Norman Reynolds (26 Mar 1934 — 6 Apr 2023): production designer and art director who helped shape the visual style of the Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Superman and Mission: Impossible franchises.

Pete Kozachik (28 Mar 1951 — 12 Sept 2023): visual effects artist and cinematographer who was a leading specialist in stop-motion photography (The Nightmare before Christmas; Coraline).

François Musy (6 Oct 1955 — 22 Nov 2023): Swiss sound engineer and mixer known for his long collaboration with Godard (First Name: Carmen; Histoire(s) du cinéma).

Rob Young (c.1946 — 11 June 2023): sound mixer who amassed over 100 credits in a decades-long career that spanned Hollywood and his native Canada (The Grey Fox; Unforgiven).

Ricou Browning (16 Feb 1930 — 27 Feb 2023): played the title role in Creature from the Black Lagoon for the swimming scenes, then became an underwater specialist as a 2nd unit director (Thunderball), stuntman, director and writer.

Dean Smith (15 Jan 1932 — 24 June 2023): Olympic gold medalist who spent decades performing stunts in Hollywood, especially in westerns (The Alamo; McLintock!).

Ginger Stanley (19 Dec 1931 — 19 Jan 2023): swimmer who worked in films as an underwater double, notably for Julie Adams in Creature from the Black Lagoon and Esther Williams in Jupiter’s Darling.

Simone Bär (1965 — 16 Jan 2023): German casting director whose ability to spot talent made her highly sought after by top directors (The Lives of Others; Berger’s All Quiet on the Western Front; Tár).

Cari Beauchamp (12 Sept 1949 — 14 Dec 2023): film historian whose books include the landmark study Without Lying Down: Frances Marion and the Powerful Women of Early Hollywood.

Pearl Bowser (25 June 1931 — 14 Sept 2023): historian and collector who brought attention to early Black filmmakers, including Oscar Micheaux, through her research and screenings and her documentary Midnight Ramble.

Robert L. Carringer (c.1941 — Mar 2023): scholar who did groundbreaking research into Orson Welles, including the books The Making of Citizen Kane and The Magnificent Ambersons: A Reconstruction.

Bernard Chardère (21 Sept 1930 — 25 Aug 2023): French critic, curator and cinephile who co-founded Positif and served as the first director of the Institut Lumière.

Jamie Christopher (1971 — 29 Aug 2023): assistant director who worked on all of the Harry Potter pictures as well as several Marvel movies.

Michel Ciment (26 May 1938 — 13 Nov 2023): French film critic, historian, author and radio host whose association with Positif as contributor and chief editor spanned over half a century.

Noah Cowan (22 July 1967 — 25 Jan 2023): programmer, curator and distributor who had tenures as co-director of the Toronto International Film Festival and executive director of SFFILM.

Leslie Hardcastle (8 Dec 1926 — 14 Mar 2023): BFI controller who played a critical leadership role in the NFT (BFI Southbank) and helped establish the London Film Festival and the Museum of the Moving Image.

Iain Johnstone (8 Apr 1943 — 4 May 2023): film critic, author, screenwriter (Fierce Creatures) and documentary filmmaker who also produced and occasionally presented the BBC’s Film… programme.

Roger Kastel (11 June 1931 — 8 Nov 2023): illustrator who created the iconic Jaws paperback cover and movie poster as well as the poster for The Empire Strikes Back.

Tom Luddy (4 June 1943 — 13 Feb 2023): film programmer, producer and co-founder and artistic director of the Telluride Film Festival who was a close ally of numerous filmmakers.

Derek Malcolm (12 May 1932 — 15 July 2023): film critic with the Guardian for over a quarter-century who also served as director of the London Film Festival in the 1980s.

David Meeker (22 Dec 1935 — 24 May 2023): long-time BFI archivist whose legacy includes greatly expanding its acquisition and preservation efforts and exploring the presence of jazz in film.

Russell Merritt (31 Aug 1941 — 3 Mar 2023): historian known for his research on the silent era and co-authoring books chronicling Walt Disney’s films of the 1920s and 30s.

Victor S. Navasky (5 July 1932 — 23 Jan 2023): journalist whose book Naming Names is considered one of the more important accounts of the Hollywood blacklist.

Michael Parkinson (28 Mar 1935 — 16 Aug 2023): broadcaster whose long run interviewing actors, musicians, athletes and newsmakers set the standard for the celebrity talk show.

Donald Spoto (28 June 1941 — 11 Feb 2023): author known for his biographies of Marilyn Monroe, Laurence Olivier, Audrey Hepburn and especially Hitchcock.

Ravi Srinivasan (13 Nov 1985 — 14 Jan 2023): programmer who was an important behind-the-scenes player of the Toronto International Film Festival for the past decade.

Jane Wodening (7 Sept 1936 — 17 Nov 2023): author who, as Jane Brakhage, was the filmmaking partner of then-husband Stan, both in front of and behind the camera (Window Water Baby Moving; Dog Star Man).

Dee Dee Wood (7 June 1927 — 26 Apr 2023): choreographer who, with then-husband Marc Breaux, created the dance numbers for Mary Poppins, The Sound of Music and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.