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Actress Dawn Wells passed away in 2020 at the age of 82, having experienced a prolific career in TV and on film. In the early 1960s, Wells appeared on hot TV shows like "Wagon Train," "Maverick," and "77 Sunset Strip" in various supporting roles, and her career boomed in 1964 when she was hired to play the friendly hayseed Mary Ann on Sherwood Schwartz's mega-hit "Gilligan's Island." While "Gilligan's Island" was derided at the time for its silliness and broad, cartoony tone, it was still a huge hit, and the seven lead actors all became household names. Indeed, "Gilligan's Island" became so popular that several of its stars had trouble shaking off their association with the show.

After the series ended, Wells continued to work on hit shows like "Bonanza," and she appeared in notable horror movies like "The Town That Dreaded Sundown" and "Return to Boggy Creek," but many of her...

Oscar-winning composer, Grammy-winning arranger, jazz pianist and bandleader, pioneer in the digital recording world: Dave Grusin could retire on his laurels. But at 86, he’s itching to get back on the road and perform again.

“Oh, if they ever let us,” he tells Variety from his Montana ranch. “Not to have anything to do, it’s disconcerting to say the least.” Adds Grusin’s longtime bandmate, guitarist Lee Ritenour: “He’s gotten used to it, traveling the world and being appreciated. I think he enjoys that.”

And yet, if the pandemic continues to torture artists throughout 2021, there are still all those Grusin soundtracks to appreciate: the fragile beauty of “The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter” (1968), the atmospheric colors of “Three Days of the Condor” (1975), the hymn-like simplicity of “On Golden Pond” (1981), the delightfully upbeat “Tootsie” (1982), the Mexican folk influences of “The Milagro Beanfield War” (1987), the late-night jazz of “The Fabulous Baker Boys...

Larry Rosen, a producer of The Partridge Family, the Sally Field sitcom The Girl With Something Extra and The Mike Douglas Show, died Sept. 14 in Los Angeles of complications from pancreatic cancer. He was 84.

His death was announced by his family.

A native of Newark, New Jersey, Larry Rosen started his television career in Youngstown, Ohio, later moving to Philadelphia where he worked as a producer on the Emmy-nominated The Mike Douglas Show.

After moving to California, Rosen worked for Screen Gems, Columbia Pictures TV, and dick clark productions. Rosen produced ABC’s hit sitcom The Partridge Family from 1971-73 before leaving to produce another Bernard Slade creation The Girl With Something Extra, starring Sally Field as a woman with Esp and John Davidson as her hapless husband. Despite the popularity of its stars, the sitcom lasted for only one season – 1973-74 – at the tail-end of the Bewitched-i Dream of Jeannie supernatural craze.

Larry Rosen, an Emmy-nominated producer who worked on programs including The Partridge Family and The Mike Douglas Show, died Sept. 14 in Los Angeles of complications from pancreatic cancer, his family announced. He was 84.

Working with Larry Tucker, the onetime writing partner of Paul Mazursky, Rosen also created the short-lived sitcoms Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, an adaptation of the 1969 movie; Mr. Merlin, starring Barnard Hughes as the legendary wizard living in present-day San Francisco; Jennifer Slept Here, with Ann Jillian playing a screen legend who returns as a ghost; and Stir Crazy, featuring Larry Riley and Joseph Guzaldo as prison escapees....

Larry Rosen, an Emmy-nominated producer who worked on programs including The Partridge Family and The Mike Douglas Show, died Sept. 14 in Los Angeles of complications from pancreatic cancer, his family announced. He was 84.

Working with Larry Tucker, the onetime writing partner of Paul Mazursky, Rosen also created the short-lived sitcoms Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, an adaptation of the 1969 movie; Mr. Merlin, starring Barnard Hughes as the legendary wizard living in present-day San Francisco; Jennifer Slept Here, with Ann Jillian playing a screen legend who returns as a ghost; and Stir Crazy, featuring Larry Riley and Joseph Guzaldo as prison escapees....

Bradley Rubenstein: Can you give me a little of your backstory? I know you went to Yale for painting, but you have also been a sign painter and worked in movies and TV, and you are also a musician. How has all of that informed your work?

John Paul: In St. Louis I had solid training, and at Yale exposure to cutting-edge thinking.

The St. Louis years were dominated by the importance of Max Beckmann, who taught there after the war until the Fifties. His canvases were a part of a student's daily diet, lining a corridor between the schools of art and architecture.

In New Haven the lesson given was freedom! -- through hard work within the canons of modern art. Jack Tworkov and Al Held were the proponents -- and Knox Martin, a dynamic mind in the unlocking of intuitive power.

After a brief stint in teaching in New England,...