Now showing:
People we remember
Biographies are where we share about family & friends to connect with others who remember them.
Stephen Sardi:
"I'd like to give credit where credit is due. Thank you -- AncientFaces team!!
I had dropped by AncientFaces for many years prior to writing about my brother. I wasn't ready -- but clearly AncientFaces was -- at any time. For a long time, I just couldn't find the internal will to remember my love for my brother in detail.
I used to think that what I knew about my brother would be handed down to family members. As time has gone by, though, the family has remained apart. I don't have access to those who might benefit from hearing these stories about their relative who died way too young. I want them to feel pride and perhaps an 'aha!' moment when they think about what they might have inherited from him.
Maybe, also -- there is just no interest. That's why AncientFaces is such a critical way for people like me to preserve history. The person I write about had a great, interesting life and his effect on me lingers to this day. He deserves to be remembered.
Someday, someone out there will stumble on my musings and learn something about their distant relative. He was a young man with hopes, dreams, and a bright future. He was and would have been a valuable member of society, contributing in many positive ways. His death made the world a poorer and less happy place.
Thank you, AncientFaces team -- without you, the memories would die and there would only be a simple stone in a cemetery informing the world of absolutely nothing. Thank you for the chance to give my brother a little hope for immortality in the digital age."
Linnea Wells Cashmore:
Mom was a wonderful, loving wife and mother who was very spiritual and kind. She and Dad brought us up in the Lutheran church. Both of her parents were of full-blooded Swedish heritage of which Mom was quite proud. While Dad worked hard at being a farmer and later a mechanic and factory worker, Mom took care of we 3 kids and our home. She was very creative in home decoration and was an excellent seamstress, crocheter and knitter. She baked homemade Swedish limpa rye bread, cakes, pies, etc. She and Larry loved antiques and music, especially classical. Mom played the piano and chord organ. She and Dad had 4 children: Virginia, Larry, Sheila and me, Linnea. Virginia died at age 2 of mosquito-borne encephalitis. Larry became Mom's favorite. We 3 kids were encouraged to attend college, which we all did. Our family was devastated when in her 50's she began showing signs of what would be determined to be early onset Alzheimer's disease, something that in the early 1970's we'd never heard of. She spent 1 year at home and 2 years in the nursing home prior to being released into Heaven where lives now, whole and healed. We miss her.
Amanda S. Stevenson:
Ray Stark, Influential Hollywood Producer, Dies at 88
By Corey Kilgannon
Jan. 19, 2004
Ray Stark, one of the most successful independent producers in postwar Hollywood, died Saturday at his West Hollywood home. He was 88.
Mr. Stark, whose health had been flagging for some time, died of heart failure, said his daughter, Wendy Stark Morrissey.
Mr. Stark was a producer on more than 125 films, including ''Funny Girl,'' ''The Way We Were'' and ''The Sunshine Boys.''
His success making profitable films came from his eye for talent and good, adaptable storylines. He began his career as a literary and theatrical agent and became deft at pairing the right stars with the right plot, usually an adaptation of a popular book, or Broadway comedy or musical.
Mr. Stark made eight films with Herbert Ross, five with Jackie Gleason, four with John Huston, and three with Sydney Pollack.
But perhaps his best-known partnerships were with Barbra Streisand and the playwright Neil Simon. During an 18-year span, Mr. Stark produced 11 Simon scripts, including ''The Goodbye Girl'' and ''The Sunshine Boys.''
Mr. Stark gave Ms. Streisand her film debut with ''Funny Girl'' in 1968, based on the life of Fanny Brice, a star of ''The Ziegfeld Follies'' who was Mr. Stark's mother-in-law. He was married to her daughter, Frances Brice, for 53 years until she died in 1992.
''Ray was the last of the great old-world Hollywood producers,'' said Don Safran, a producer and longtime friend of Mr. Stark. ''Louis Mayer and Harry Cohn and Sam Goldwyn all mentored him when he was young. Ray used to say that the problem with the new Hollywood is that the creative people on top don't have time to teach the younger people.''
''He felt that talent was the most important thing, so he treated his stars like stars, whether they were actors, directors, or writers,'' he said. ''So they loved working with him again and again.''
Other films produced by Mr. Stark include ''Murder by Death'' (1976), ''California Suite'' (1978), ''The Cheap Detective'' (1978), ''The Electric Horseman'' (1979), ''Chapter Two'' (1979), ''Annie'' (1982) and ''Brighton Beach Memoirs'' (1986).
In the 1970's Mr. Stark became a power broker in Hollywood and was generous with business advice. He collected fine art and bred thoroughbred horses.
In 1980 the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented him with the Irving G. Thalberg Award for his work as a producer.
But Mr. Stark remained until his death a private man who gave few interviews.
''As prolific a producer as he was, he was a quiet, gentle man at home,'' Ms. Stark Morrissey said in a telephone interview. ''He only did publicity for his films, not himself.''
''He liked doing comedy, films that were up and happy,'' she added. ''He didn't like negative or violent films.''
Mr. Stark attended Rutgers University and left law school in New York to move to Los Angeles in 1938. There, he worked as a reporter and in the publicity department at Warner Bros. He became a literary agent, with clients like Raymond Chandler, J. P. Marquand, and Ben Hecht.
Mr. Stark, who served in the Navy in World War II, became a theatrical agent at the Famous Artists Agency. He represented John Wayne, Marilyn Monroe, Lana Turner, Ava Gardner, William Holden, Kirk Douglas, Richard Burton and Ronald Reagan.
In 1957 he began producing and later formed Rastar Productions. ''Funny Girl'' was the first film that company produced.
Instead of offering the lead role to an established screen star, Mr. Stark picked Ms. Streisand after hearing her perform in a New York nightclub.
He also chose the three-time Oscar-winning director William Wyler to direct, although Mr. Wyler had never directed a musical.
Ms. Streisand won an Oscar as best actress, tying with Katharine Hepburn for ''The Lion in Winter.''
Mr. Stark never ran a film studio but became a major stockholder of Columbia, where he personally produced 17 films.
When Coca-Cola bought Columbia for $750 million in 1982, he took his Columbia holdings in Coke stock. By 1987 his shares were worth $44 million, and in 1984 Forbes magazine estimated his net worth at at least $175 million.
Mr. Safran said Mr. Stark recalled that during his days as a literary agent he sold a script that Louis Mayer wanted to another producer.
''Ray's partner said: 'If Louis Mayer is mad at us, we'll never work again. We're doomed,' '' Mr. Safran recalled. ''But Ray said: 'You don't understand. If Louis Mayer is mad at us, we're made.' ''
Other actors in films he produced won Oscars: George Burns for ''The Sunshine Boys,'' Richard Dreyfuss for ''The Goodbye Girl'' and Maggie Smith for ''California Suite.''
In addition to Ms. Stark Morrissey, Mr. Stark is survived by her daughter, Allison Gorsuch.
The New York Times
Adena Harmon:
John was partner to Farrell. Both were great friends during a time when the world felt “crazy fun.” Every year, Razzle Dazzle was one of the most exciting times and I've been reflecting on those years a lot lately. Friends from New Mexico, Colorado, and Michigan would arrive in town, and Linda and I would host unforgettable parties.
Since you loved nursing, Linda and I were honored to have thrown a MAS*H-themed party. There were hot air balloon rides in Taos, and our favorite moments were dining at The Steak Out, watching the sun set between two mountains while a young man strummed his classical guitar.
John, you were a special guy. I mean—what girl could truly say she’d lived if she didn’t know who Divine was?
I would’ve crossed the desert barefoot just to make sure you and Farrell were safe. We faced too many dangerous haters each time we left a restaurant, a club, or a theater. Nights we would kiss and bandage wounds of our neighbors. But in the end, it wasn’t the crowds that stopped us—it was the fear of AIDS that brought everything to a halt.
And your diagnosis was devastating. But you managed to care for your sweet mom until she passed. You were truly a blessing.
In time we become hand-holders, caregivers, storytellers—whatever it meant to be the hands of Christ in our community.
I will carry our friendship with me to the other side.
Linnea Wells Cashmore:
Memories of my Dad, Delbert Martin Riepe. - My Dad had a hard life likely all of his life, though I don't know a lot of his childhood years. I do know that he always wanted to be a farmer, which Dad pursued for many years though true success at it eluded him. He loved his wife and children and always brought his paycheck home for us. He was a quiet person most of the time, but loved to chat, joke and laugh in social situations with extended family and friends. My cousin Steve once confided that Dad was his favorite uncle because of his entertaining sense of humor. Also, Dad loved to tease Mom and get her to laugh, which all of us kids enjoyed. When my Dad got cleaned up with the help of Brylcreem and Old Spice shaving lotion, and dressed up in his best clothes I always thought he was so handsome, resembling Ronald Reagan. Those occasions were rare because he worked from sun-up until past sun-down, coming home exhausted. I don't think Dad got the full respect he should have gotten from we three kids while we lived at home, in part due to the hold that alcohol had on him which sometimes caused problems at home between him and Mom. I'm sure our neglect must have hurt him. Dad stuck with all of us, and I'm very grateful for that, especially since Mom loved and really needed his help once her early-onset Alzheimer's Disease showed up. When Dad and I parted in 1975, we didn't know we'd never see one another again in this life, but that's what happened. He's living in Heaven with Mom.
Susan Fryson:
He was my uncle...Him and his wife (Hilda) were very loving...They took me on vacations every summer when I was a child...these were very special...my uncle had a bird that he loved...I remember when he left cage open and the bird would always sit on his shoulder when he would read the newspaper...I loved them both dearly...they are truly missed...your niece, Susan Emmett💖💖💖
Linda Dreyer:
Billy Joe as he liked to be called by his full name. He loved people and made friends with everyone… And remained friends forever. He remember friends from school and the army and passed residence.
He was a great Deer hunter. And loved being with his friends hunting at Deer season.
Loved to dance which he loved going to Archie Blue, in Bandera, Texas which was the town he had Hunting lease at..
He never met someone that he would not be friends with forever.
BEST FRIEND EVER he loved every one……. Miss you, Billy Joe!
Maisha Green:
For ever in my heart - Mom I miss you so much! It’s 2025 and it seems like 2011 was just yesterday! So much has changed in the world, with me. I wish badly that you were here to see me! I dream of you often and it’s never a good dream I’m always unable to reach out or conversate the way I know we use to! I love you mom rest in heaven
Cynthia Lynch:
Robert s. Whalen' great niece - I remember Uncle Bobby always carried me around on his neck. Picking me up and throwing me in the air. I was three
I also remember the night my dad walked in and said that Bobby's car was found in lake vasucies. And he had drowned in his car. I remember going to the funeral.
Uncle Bobby was married to a black lady named rose with alit of children but none from him.
I don't know what ever happened to her or her children. Never saw them again.
I always missed my Uncle Bobby the rest of my years growing up and still so. He will 4/ever be in my heart and memory.
James Henderson:
An old photograph - We are sorting family photos. One that I particularly enjoy shows my dad, Paul F. Henderson, Jr., in a suit and bow tie, sitting at a bar with another dashing young man. The back of the photo is enscribed with my dad's name, and the name Walter Nettbaum.
Based on the year, 1946, and my dad's likely age, 22-23, I did some Ancestry searching to locate Walter Nettbaums born around 1922 or 23, and perhaps in or around Chicago. I located several records, some of which seemed to indicate that Walter was wounded while on active duty in the USMC, possibly in the Pacific Theater. Among records I reviewed, a couple listed him within the long categories of Navy Department wounded in action.
My dad enlisted in January 1942 and served in the South Pacific. Maybe they were just two Reservists that bumped into each other in a bar. Or maybe they were on ship together. Or, perhaps, they served on Guadalcanal, American Samoa, or other particular zones. In any event, there is that picture, the information about Walter that I found on Ancestry, and, sadly, Walter's obituary.
Now Walter and Paul are beyond inquiry. But I still like the photograph showing two brothers in arms home again, and hopefully finding the way to make themselves whole again.
Jim
Margaret Egan:
Arrena was my Aunt - I grew up with Aunt Rena from when I was an infant. She helped raise and care for me. I loved her completely. She struggled and feared things, but she was a caring, simple person with a pure heart and a great sense of humor. She had polio when she was very young and was unable to run or drive a car, but she lived mostly independently and was an important member of our little family.
