Bob Hoskins Retires Due to Illness

Airlock Alpha has listed an article concerning Bob Hoskins. For you that might be in the dark about Hoskins, He was responsible for bringing to life Eddie Valiant, a rough, angry and hard drinking private eye in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" an animated live action film.
And his role as Smee in the movie Hook in which he stared with Robin Williams and Dustan Hoffman.

Hoskins has been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and instead of continuing on a reduced schedule he has opted to retire and spend more time with his family.

RIP: Jeff Conaway of Babylon 5 fame

Airlock Alpha reports that Jeff Conaway, best known to genre fans as Security Chief Zack Allen on the syndicated series Babylon 5, died May 27th at 60 after being removed from life support.

Conaway was found unconcious in his home May 11 from what his doctors describe as complications from pneumonia and sepsis.

Complete Airlock Alpha article, Wiki article

R.I.P. Leslie Nielsen

Legendary film and TV actor Leslie passed away 11/28/2010 at the age of 84, due to complications stemming from pneumonia.

Nielsen appeared in over 100 films and 1,500 television programs over the span of his career, portraying over 220 characters.

Maybe one of Neilson's best known genre appearance was as Commander John J. Adams, in the 1956 film "Forbidden Planet alongside acting notables such as Walter Pidgeon and Anne Francis.

Leslie Nielsen Wiki Forbidden Planet Wiki

Charlton Heston RIP @ 84

Before we say good bye to actor Charlton Heston we should remember, as I had forgotten, his contributions to some of the seminal science fiction stalwarts. Who can forget or hasn't used "Get your dirty paws off me you damn dirty ape!" or the scene of Miss Liberty herself all but destroyed. Yes, at the very least let us take a moment to appreciate that cornerstone. And not to be forgotten, Soylent Green (It's People!) or The Omega Man, which if you didn't know is Richard Matheson's 1954 novel, I Am Legend which had just been redone by Will Smith.

All in all Heston did his part to legitimizing big screen science fiction. In the process giving us some of the most memorable moments in science fiction film history.

Actor Barry Morse RIP

Actor Barry Morse, who played a detective in 1960s TV series The Fugitive, but better known to Sci-Fi fans as Professor Victor Bergman in 1970s science fiction series Space 1999 has died, his son said Tuesday. He was 89.

For those of you that don't remember space 1999, the series took place on a wayward Luna which had been flung into deep space after an explosive mishap disrupted its' orbit. The series also stared husband and wife team Barbara Bain and Martin Laundau, earlier of Mission Impossible fame. Space 1999, played on many American TV station but was never picked up by the major networks. Mostly it played on independent stations but did make it onto many network affiliate stations who would preempt regular network programming to play the series.

Thanks to SF Signals for the post

Actor Dick Wilson, "the Charmin man," Dies

British-born actor Dick Wilson, who will forever be known as the "Please, don't squeeze the Charmin" man, died 19 November 2007 at the Motion Picture & Television Fund Hospital in Woodland Hills, California. From 1964 to 1985, he played the grocer, Mr. Whipple, who always found himself squeezing the product. His few genre film roles included parts in The Incredible Shrinking Woman (1981) and Diary of a Madman (1963). But he was far more a television actor, and his genre appearances on the small screen were much more numerous, including: Fantasy Island (1978), Tabitha (1977), the two-part Disneyland episode "The Whiz Kid and the Mystery at Riverton" (1974), 18 episodes of Bewitched (1965-1972), two episodes of I Dream of Jeannie (1969), two episodes of Get Smart! (1966 and 1968), The Flying Nun (1967), My Mother the Car (1966), The Munsters (1965), three episodes of My Favorite Martian (1963 and 1964), My Living Doll (1964), and two episodes of The Twilight Zone (1959 and 1963).
ap photo Wilson as Mr. Whipple

Actor Robert Symonds Dies

From SFScope

Actor Robert (Barry) Symonds died of prostate cancer on 23 August 2007. Born on 1 December 1926, he was both a stage and film actor.

His genre film roles include parts in: Mandroid (1993), C.H.U.D. II—Bud the Chud (1989), Rumpelstiltskin (1987), The Ice Pirates (1984), Superstition (1982), Demon, Demon (1975), and The Exorcist (1973).

His genre television appearances include episodes of: Alias (2006), Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1996), Quantum Leap (1991), Beauty and the Beast (1987), Knight Rider (1984), The Six Million Dollar Man (1974, 1978), Future Cop (1977), and Wide World Mystery (1975).

Starship Troopers 3 a possibility?

Joe Crowe, of RevolutionSF fame reports that the nasty rumors of a straight to DVD production of Starship Troopers #3 are more than just rumors....There seems to be some evidence that the rumor mill in fact has been churning out fact! Writer/director Ed Neumeirer said it could start filming in 2007, he told Moviehole.net. It'll be straight to DVD, like the previous sequel, Starship Troopers: Hero of the Federation. Casper Van Dien, who played Johnny Rico in the first one, will return.

Day Break ABC's midseason LOST replacement

First off is Day Break science fiction? hummmm Time is screwed up and now police officer Harper is caught in an apparent time loop. Sounds like good sci-fi to me! Wow, when I first heard about Day break .from an ABC blurb that said Day Break was ground hog day with a bit of die hard mixed in. I thought “ Oh yeah fat chance!” But by the third time Harper wakes up into the same day, I was seriously hook. And talk about bringing out the big guns! - car chases, fights, falls, beatings, interrogations, car crashes, thugs, hoodlums, murders, shootouts you name it.. And just who isn't involved!! ABC aims to keep you interested enough to tune in again next week. Can they keep this pell-mell pace up? I doubt it, but I sure will watch next week. click the title to go straight to this weeks episode player online. Some of the notables in the cast are Tayne Diggs plays Harper on the run - wanted for murder that he is being framed for. Diggs as you remember played in Basic, opposite Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta. Adam Baldwin plays Chad Shelten an IAD officer hell bent on getting Harper and may or may not be involved with the shadowy group that is framing Harper. Baldwin has appeared in projects that include HBO's acclaimed miniseries From the Earth to the Moon and is known to the sci-fi world audiences for his starring role on Firefly, recurring roles on The X-Files, Angel and The Visitor, and guest starring roles on Stargate SG-1 and the new The Outer Limits. He followed up his Firefly character once again in Joss Whedon's motion picture, Serenity. Victoria Pratt plays Harper's police partner Andrea Battle. You might remember Pratt from her stint on Fox networks Mutant X where she played Shalimar Fox.

Actor Arthur Hill dies

Arthur Hill — Canadian born actor who stared in many films and tv episodes, died October 22nd at the age of 84.

films of note were

The Andromeda Strain a 1971 science-fiction film, based on the novel published in 1969 by Michael Crichton about a team of scientists who investigate a deadly disease of extraterrestrial origin which causes rapid, fatal clotting of the blood. Hill played Dr. Jeremy Stone

Futureworld a 1976 sequel to the 1973 science fiction film Westworld. It was written by George Schenk and Mayo Simon, and directed by Richard T. Heffron. Arthur played Dr. Duffy

In addition to his film work Mr. Hill appeared in many notable TV science fiction shows such as:

Murder in Space (1985) (TV) .... Vice President
Prototype (1983) (TV) .... Gen. Keating
Tomorrow's Child (1982) (TV) .... Dr. Glenn Gorham
Revenge of the Stepford Wives (1980) (TV) .... Dale 'Diz' Corbett
The Invaders" - The Leeches (1967) TV Episode .... Warren Doneghan
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" - Monster from the Inferno (1966) TV . Lindsay