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Toian Matchinga, who guest-starred three times on the 1960s CBS series The Wild Wild West and appeared on such other shows as Death Valley Days, I Dream of Jeannie and The Odd Couple, has died. She was 82.

Matchinga, who later in her acting career went by her birth name, Caryn Matchinga, died Sunday of natural causes at home in Belmont, Massachusetts, her family announced.

In films, Matchinga appeared for Don Siegel in Madigan (1968), for Irvin Kershner in Up the Sandbox (1972) and NBC’s Raid on Entebbe (1977) and, in her final onscreen role, for Costa-Gavras in Mad City (1997).

The Ohio native booked gigs on The Wild Wild West, which starred Robert Conrad and Ross Martin, in 1965, 1967 and 1969. Her résumé also includes episodes of The Wackiest Ship in the Army, The Rat Patrol, The Flying Nun, The Big Valley, Rango, Ellery Queen and Rich Man, Poor Man.

Caryn Lee Matchinga was born in Painesville,...

Welcome to The B-Side, from The Film Stage. Here we talk about movie stars! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between.

Today is Barbra Streisand day! And what a day it is. Just one day after Babs herself announced the start to production of her approved documentary film, in which she plans to unveil the creative contents of her quite famous vault, we here at The B-Side tackle some of the legend’s lesser-seen films. They include The Owl and the Pussycat, Up the Sandbox, For Pete’s Sake, Nuts, and The Guilt Trip. Our guest on this long-in-the-making journey is Chris Feil, co-host of the incredible This Had Oscar Buzz podcast.

We talk about the autobiography in all of its glory. We talk about Barbra’s early years, Barbra’s late years, her passion for design,...

We will probably never see a motion picture phenomenon like George Lucas' "Star Wars" ever again. The United States was still shaking off its Vietnam War hangover in the mid-1970s, and while the top filmmakers of the New Hollywood were mostly attracted to edgy material that explored its characters' damaged psyches, audiences were in the mood to escape. Steven Spielberg's "Jaws" offered emphatic proof of this mindset during the summer of 1975 when it briefly became the highest-grossing movie in U.S. box office history.

Lucas' space opera was an altogether different kind of sensation. The briskly paced yarn about a young farm boy who discovers he might be the galaxy's savior ignited the imaginations of kids the world over, and Lucas deepened the viewer's immersion by employing an array of pioneering special effects and wildly inventive creature/production designs. "Star Wars" was world-building on a scale that matched "The Wizard of Oz,...

Barbra Streisand was determined to get Robert Redford to star opposite her in The Way We Were, as detailed in her upcoming memoir, My Name Is Barbra, out on Nov. 7.

“Bob is that rare combination… an intellectual cowboy… a charismatic star who is also one of the finest actors of his generation,” Streisand wrote in an excerpt in Vanity Fair. “But like my husband, he’s almost apologetic about his looks, and I liked that about him.”

She added, “So I wanted Redford for Hubbell. But he turned it down.”

Streisand turned to director Sydney Pollack, a close friend of Redford, for help.

“I have to give Sydney credit,” she confessed. “He was as persistent as I was, because we both felt that only Redford would make the picture work.”

It wasn’t easy.

“Bob was concerned that the script was so focused on Katie that Hubbell’s character was underdeveloped.

Barbra Streisand is looking back at how she convinced Robert Redford to star in the 1973 film The Way We Were after he turned down the role twice.

The romantic drama follows an unlikely couple, Katie Morosky (Streisand) and Hubbell Gardiner (Redford), who fall in love despite political and historical events. The pair must navigate their relationship while trying to overcome fundamental societal beliefs.

In an excerpt from her upcoming memoir, My Name Is Barbra, in Vanity Fair, the actress-singer opens up about what she and director Sydney Pollack went through to get Redford to star opposite Streisand.

“Bob is that rare combination … an intellectual cowboy … a charismatic star who is also one of the finest actors of his generation,” she wrote. “But like my husband, he’s almost apologetic about his looks, and I liked that about him.”

Streisand continued, “So I wanted Redford for Hubbell. But he turned it down.

Barbra Streisand has revealed in her upcoming memoir “My Name is Barbra” the lengths she went to in order to cast Robert Redford in Sydney Pollack’s 1973 romantic drama “The Way We Were,” even after he initially refused the part.

“The Way We Were” stars Streisand and Redford as Katie and Hubbell, an unlikely couple who fall in love and marry against the backdrop of various political and historical events.

“Bob is that rare combination… an intellectual cowboy… a charismatic star who is also one of the finest actors of his generation,” Streisand wrote in her memoir (via Vanity Fair). “But like my husband, he’s almost apologetic about his looks, and I liked that about him.”

She continued, “So I wanted Redford for Hubbell. But he turned it down.”

Streisand turned to Pollack, who was friends with Redford, to help convince him to take the part. “I have to give Sydney credit,...

Cynthia Harris, who appeared in numerous Broadway and Off Broadway productions and is most widely known for playing the mother of star Paul Reiser’s character on the sitcom Mad About You, died October 3 in New York. She was 87.

Showbiz & Media Figures We’ve Lost In 2021 – Photo Gallery

Her death was announced by her family.

Harris, a co-founder in 1993 of Off Broadway’s The Actors Company Theatre, for which she had served as a both an actor and co-artistic director, also starred in the 1979 TV miniseries Edward & Mrs. Simpson, playing Wallis Simpson. She was nominated for a BAFTA Award for the performance.

Harris replaced Barbara Barrie in the original 1970 Broadway production of the Stephen Sondheim-George Furth musical Company, playing the character Sarah. She would return to Broadway in 1974 in Terrence McNally’s Bad Habits, opposite F. Murray Abraham, Doris Roberts and Paul Benedict.

Harris made her film debut in Isadora (1968) starring Vanessa Redgrave,...

Pat Loud, America’s first reality TV star, passed away on January 10 at her home in Los Angeles at age 94. I knew Pat through her oldest son, Lance, and it was clear to me from the beginning of our decades-long friendship that she never fully recovered from the negative reaction to that first reality TV show, “An American Family,” which aired on public television in 1973.

Pat and her husband, Bill, gave permission to filmmaker Craig Gilbert to document their family of five children over several months at their Santa Barbara home. He filmed 300 hours, and cut it down to 12 episodes of one hour each.

When the series aired, it shocked for two reasons: Pat asked her husband for a divorce on grounds of infidelity, and their 20-year-old son Lance, living in Manhattan’s Chelsea Hotel, made no effort to hide his homosexuality. It was the latter controversy that most rocked the family.

Billy Goldenberg, the Emmy-winning composer and songwriter, died Monday night at his home in New York City. He was 84.

Goldenberg wrote the themes for such 1970s TV series as “Kojak,” “Harry O” and “Rhoda,” composed the pilot scores for “Night Gallery” and “Columbo,” and won Emmys for the TV-movie “Queen of the Stardust Ballroom” and miniseries “The Lives of Benjamin Franklin,” “King” and “Rage of Angels.”

He expanded his 1975 “Queen of the Stardust Ballroom” song score, with lyricists Marilyn and Alan Bergman, into the score of the 1978 Broadway musical “Ballroom,” directed and choreographed by Michael Bennett of “A Chorus Line” fame. It earned eight Tony nominations including Best Musical.

Reminiscing Wednesday about their collaboration on “Ballroom,” Alan Bergman told Variety: “Billy was one of the rare composers who was also a dramatist. Lots of people can write melodies, but you could tell Billy the situation, what the characters were feeling,...

John Carpenter sure was busy in 1978; not only did he release the seminal Halloween, he also wrote and directed the taut TV movie Someone’s Watching Me! as well as co-writing Zuma Beach, another TV movie. But today we’re going to look at the other project he co-wrote, Eyes of Laura Mars, a slick theatrical thriller with a killer premise and enough Carpenter DNA to satisfy horror buffs.

Released in early August, Eyes (also the title of his original script) brought in around $20 million against a $7 million budget (not including ad expenses); a minor hit with audiences, and flatly received by most critics who felt its intended satirical targets - high fashion and the media’s portrayal of violence - were nothing more than window dressing in a drab storefront. But Eyes of Laura Mars does skewer its targets well enough, especially with the help of time and distance. When new,...

Bernie Styles, who cast actors and extras for such films as The Manchurian Candidate, Up the Sandbox and Outrageous Fortune, has died. He was 99.

Styles died Wednesday at his home in Rancho Mirage, Calif., producer and former Motion Picture Academy president Hawk Koch told The Hollywood Reporter.

Working out of New York City, Styles owned the Central Casting Talent Agency and for a time lived above the now-defunct Stage Deli on Seventh Avenue near Carnegie Hall (the restaurant had a prominent place in the 1984 Woody Allen movie Broadway Danny Rose).

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Each year, the Tribeca Film Festival fills out its schedule with a variety of events that extend far past the typical film fest fare, including their signature Tribeca Talks program and a continuing bent towards the possibilities of Virtual Reality. This year’s slate is no different, offering up intimate chats between industry luminaries (did you know that Robert Rodriguez and Barbra Streisand are pals? they are!) and special screening opportunities for projects both new (Ken Burns and Lynn Novick’s “The Vietnam War”) and classic (a “Godfather” one-two punch). There’s a little something for everyone here.

This year’s Tribeca Film Festival takes place April 19 – 30. Check out some of our must-attend events below.

Read More: Tribeca 2017: 14 Must-See Films From This Year’s Festival

Tribeca Talks: Jon Favreau with Scarlett Johansson

Friday, April 21 at 5:00Pm

The must-see event at Tribeca’s Directors Series is “Iron Man...

I Drink Your Blood (1970) is as old as I am. Unlike me, however, it shows very little wear and tear; a loud and proud exploitation horror diorama from an age when all boundaries of good taste and reason were pushed to the breaking point. If you only have room in your life for one rabies-infested satanic hippies movie, make it I Drink Your Blood.

This film is the blueprint for creating your very own grimy, crude, offensive B classic. First, you need a backer. Enter producer Jerry Gross, known at the time as a king of grindhouse hype, modeled after William Castle. For example, when he rereleased two of the ‘60s Mondo films (real rituals and customs from exotic locales, documentary style), Mondo Cane and Mondo Pazzo on a double bill, he paraded around actors in tribesmen costumes to sell the authenticity of the films. He offered director David Durston...

Cannon Films knocks one out of the park: Jon Voight and Eric Roberts escape from prison only to end up on a huge, speeding, out of control juggernaut of a freight train plowing through the Alaskan wilderness. It's both an action bruise-fest and an existential statement, and it's still a wild thrill ride. Runaway Train Blu-ray Twilight Time 1985 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 111 min. / Street Date October 11, 2016 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store 29.95 Starring Jon Voight, Eric Roberts, Rebecca De Mornay, Kyle T. Heffner, John P. Ryan T.K. Carter, Kenneth McMillan, Edward Bunker, Hank Worden, Danny Trejo, Tommy Lister, Don MacLaughlin, Loren James, Dick Durock, Dennis Franz. Cinematography Alan Hume Original Music Trevor Jones Written by Djordje Milecevic, Paul Zindel, Edward Bunker based on a screenplay by Akira Kurosawa. Produced by Yoram Globus, Menachem Golan Directed by Andrei Konchalovsky

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

When I stumbled into The Cannon Group on...

The Guilt Trip is a quaint road comedy with a little something extra: the sweetness and dynamite comic timing of Seth Rogen and the still-unmatched Barbra Streisand. Playing a son and mother who venture across the country in an unlikely but feasible trek, Rogen and Streisand pester each other, protect each other, and -- best of all -- don't mind throwing down and getting real at just the right moments. Do you want to see Barbra Streisand holler the F-word with the force of a Glengarry Glen Ross character? Watch this movie. 

I sat down for a brief interview with Streisand, Rogen, and their director Anne Fletcher to discuss issues important to all of us: the shops under Barbra's house, Seth Rogen's choice in classic Streisand leading men, and why Streisand asked Fletcher to watch her 1972 flop Up the Sandbox in preparation for the film.

Barbra Streisand and Seth Rogen...

Having made his mark as a villain for many of his 45 years in the entertainment industry, David Selby is only too happy to provide the heroic voice of Commissioner James Gordon for Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1.

Selby is best known for his long-running roles as Quentin Collins, the werewolf brother to vampire Barnabus Collins on the original series Dark Shadows, and as the ruthless, vengeful Richard Channing on the 1980s primetime soap opera Falcon Crest. Between those two series alone, Selby logged more than 500 episodes as an antagonist.

Finally, Selby gets a beloved protagonist turn as the everyman hero James Gordon, a straight-shooting, intelligent lawman bent on doing what’s right … with the help of his old pal, Bruce Wayne (and his alter ego, Batman).

Selby will be in attendance on both coasts for the World and West Coast Premieres of Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1. Selby...

One thing's for sure: The frosting on her birthday cake will be like buttah. As Barbra Streisand turns 70 on Tuesday, you'd think her reputation would be secure. She's conquered every medium, she's one of only a dozen or so members of the Egot club (people who've won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony), and she's one of the most popular and best-selling singers of all time. Still, despite her two Oscars, her Hollywood career has never gotten its due. In part, that's because, in 44 years of screen acting, she's made just 18 movies. Young audiences who know her only as Ben Stiller's exuberant mother from the "Fockers" movies can't be blamed for not knowing that she was once a groundbreaking dramatic and comic star, a reliably funny and sexy leading lady, a pioneering jill-of-all-trades filmmaker, or a celebrated (and reviled) movie diva. She's made just six movies in the last 30 years,...

Beginning in March 2010, Steven Soderbergh decided to document his cultural diet for the year, noting down everything he watched and read, the results of which have just been made public. Taking in almost a hundred movies, 50 books and several tv shows, Soderbergh also found time to finish shooting two movies, Haywire and Contagion. Put’s us to shame, right?

The list, which is also dated and organised was given to Studio 360′s Kurt Anderson and reveals busy viewing days, possible favourites and no less than 20 viewings of his new film Haywire, 5 of The Social Network (none of the other Oscar noms get a look in!), and several Raiders of The Lost Ark, in black and white! And if he sticks to his retirement plans in the near future, god knows how large this list may grow.

Here is the list of just the movies he devoured and in the order...

Steven Soderberg recently revealed every movie that he watched from April 12, 2010, to March 23, 2011. There are 92 movies in total. These are the movies he watched while he was making his two films Haywire and Contagion.

Check out Soderberg’s list below, 83 of which I’ve actually watched in the last year. How many on the list have you seen this last year? And in case you didn't know Soderberg is retiring from the movie buisness soon.

Haywire

Primer

Exit Through the Gift Shop

All the President's Men

Panic Room

Dune

Please Give

The Godfather

The Special Relationship

The Godfather Part 2

The Tall Target

The Social Network

The Room

The Day of the Jackal

In Cold Blood

Jaws

The Shark Is Still Working

Cloverfield

Rebecca

To Catch a Thief

Inception

Tiptoes

Salt

A Prophet

The White Ribbon

His Way

Catfish

Thrilla in Manilla

Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work

The King of Kong...

Chosen to direct The Empire Strikes Back, he turned in one of the best sequels – and highest box-office earners – of all time

The film director Irvin Kershner, who has died aged 87, was known in the trade as a hired gun. His most famous film, The Empire Strikes Back (1980), the fifth episode in the Star Wars saga, is most commonly linked to its executive producer, George Lucas. Never Say Never Again (1983) is celebrated as the film in which Sean Connery made his comeback as James Bond after 12 years away from the role, the director merely providing the vehicle. Kershner's first feature, Stakeout On Dope Street (1958), was made under the aegis of Roger Corman, who usually gained the main credit for the films he produced. Yet, eclectic as Kershner seemed, his best films reveal a visual flair, with an eye for the telling detail and a sympathy for the rebel.

The Philadelphia...

There was another death in the world of cinema yesterday, as director Irvin Kershner (1923 -2010) passed away at the age of 87 on November 27th, after a long illness.Kershner first started in the industry when Roger Corman hired him to directed “Stakeout on Dope Street”, in 1958. He later would direct a number of films, including “A Fine Madness” with Sean Connery in 1966, and “Up the Sandbox”...

Director Irvin Kershner has died at the age of 87. The American moviemaker, best known for directing "Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back", passed away at his home in Los Angeles after a long illness. The news was confirmed by his goddaughter Adriana Santini on Monday, November 29.

Kershner began his career teaching photography at the University of Southern California, before stepping behind the camera to work on a number of TV shows and small screen movie "Stakeout On Dope Street" in 1958. His film career took off in the 1960s and he went on to direct a number of movies including "A Fine Madness" with Sean Connery in 1966, "Up the Sandbox" starring Barbra Streisand in 1972 and "The Return of a Man Called Horse" with Richard Harris in 1976.

He remains most famous for stepping behind the camera for the second "Star Wars" installment in 1980. After stepping away from the sci-fi franchise,...

Irvin Kershner, who directed "Empire Strikes Back," the 1980 sequel to George Lucas' original "Star Wars" film, died Saturday at his Los Angeles home after a 3-year battle with lung cancer. He was 87. "The world has lost a great director and one of the most genuine people I've had the pleasure of knowing," Lucas said in a statement. "Irvin Kershner was a true gentleman in every sense of the word. I knew him from USC - I attended his lectures and he was on the festival panel that gave the prize to my Thx short. I considered him a mentor." During his four-decade career, Kershner also directed "The Flim-Flam Man" (1967), "Up the Sandbox" (1972), "Eyes of Laura Mars" (1978), "The Return of a Man Called Horse" (1976) and "Never Say Never Again" (1983). In June, Kershner received a lifetime achievement award from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. At the time of his death,...

It’s been a rather sad day in the film world, what with news of Leslie Nielsen’s passing and now this. The director of everybody’s favourite episode of Star Wars, Irvin Kershner, has died aged 87 years old. Not bad innings that. After George Lucas handed over the directing reigns to his old film tutor in 1981, Kersher helmed The Empire Strikes Back! bringing a darkness to proceedings.

A journeyman Hollywood director he worked primarily in the action and thriller genre and also directed Robocop 2 and Sean Connery’s fond farewell to James Bond in Never Say Never Again. Kershner died on Saturday 27th and had struggled valiantly with lung cancer for over three years. Brave chap.

Of his much loved classic instalment of the Star Wars series, only back in October did he tell Vanity Fair:

“When I finally accepted the assignment, I knew that it was going to be a dark film,...

Two sad farewells to octogenarians of cinematic note, director Irvin Kershner and actor Leslie Nielsen.

"Kersh" (by the camera) about to shoot Han, Leia and Lando.

I will forever appreciate Irvin Kershner (1923-2010), who died today, for making the best of the Star Wars films The Empire Strikes Back (1980). Yes, long before George Lucas ruined his own classic franchise, he once entrusted the directing of them (at least to a certain degree) to others. I haven't yet read many obits, but I'm hoping that some of them will recognize that it's hardly his only contribution to the movies; Star Wars has a way of gobbling up the internet oxygen, doesn't it? Though Kershner's filmography isn't exactly robust, other notable films include the thriller The Eyes of Laura Mars (1978), the last (unofficial) James Bond film with Sean Connery Never Say Never Again (1983) and the underseen but by most accounts praiseworthy Barbra Streisand...

1926 – 2010

Veteran comic actor Leslie Nielsen, star of Airplane! and The Naked Gun, has died at the age of 84.

He died in hospital in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he was being treated for pneumonia, his agent John S Kelly said.

Canadian-born Nielsen started out as a serious actor but in 1980, his role as a hapless doctor in the disaster spoof film Airplane! made him a comic star.

In all, he appeared in more than 100 films and had a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame.

1923 – 2010

Irvin Kershner, director of Star Wars film The Empire Strikes Back, has died in Los Angeles aged 87, his agent has confirmed.

Kershner - who also directed James Bond film Never Say Never Again - died at home after a long illness, according to his goddaughter Adriana Santini.

Born in Philadelphia in 1923, Kershner trained as a musician before making documentaries and then features.

His other credits include Robocop...

Irvin Kershner, who directed The Empire Strikes Back, has died at age 87. Many Star Wars fans consider this to be the high point of the series and bemoan the fact that Kershner never directed another film in the franchise. Kershner, who also dabbled in acting, made relatively few films for a man with a resume extending back to the 1950s. Among his movies: Up the Sandbox, The Eyes of Laura Mars, Robocop 2, Return of a Man Called Horse, A Fine Madness, The Luck of Ginger Coffee and The Flim-Flam Man. In 1983 he also directed the troubled James Bond remake of Thunderball titled Never Say Never Again which brought Sean Connery back to the role of 007 for one last time after a 12 year absence. For more and to view trailers for Nsna and Empire, as well as a link to a recent Vanity Fair interview with Kershner, click here...

Director Irvin Kershner has died at the age of 87.

The American moviemaker, best known for directing Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, passed away at his home in Los Angeles after a long illness.

The news was confirmed by his goddaughter Adriana Santini on Monday.

Kershner began his career teaching photography at the University of Southern California, before stepping behind the camera to work on a number of TV shows and small screen movie Stakeout On Dope Street in 1958.

His film career took off in the 1960s and he went on to direct a number of movies including A Fine Madness with Sean Connery in 1966, Up The Sandbox starring Barbra Streisand in 1972 and The Return Of A Man Called Horse with Richard Harris in 1976.

He remains most famous for stepping behind the camera for the second Star Wars installment in 1980.

After stepping away from the sci-fi franchise, Kershner directed Connery again in 1983's unofficial James Bond film Never Say Never Again and took the helm of RoboCop 2 in 1990.

When he was hired to direct the sequel to Star Wars, no one in fandom knew the name Irvin Kershner. By the time Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back had rolled out in theaters in the summer of 1980, director Irvin Kershner had been assured of his slice of immortality.

Widely regarded by film critics and the general Star Wars fanbase to be a superior sequel to an already great first movie, The Empire Strikes Back took the characters that George Lucas had created and gave them maturity, inner complexity and raised the personal stakes that they were fighting for. Without Empire the final Star Wars film in the original trilogy, Return of the Jedi, and even the following prequel trilogy, would have turned out differently.

Born in 1923, Kershner began his directing career by working in television in the 1950s. He began to build up a positive reputation as a solid...

"Hello Gorgeous!"

Barbra Streisand turned 68 yesterday. I thought we'd celebrate with posters for every movie she ever made. Because we're crazy like that. And it's fun to see someone's complete cinematic history all displayed like so.

Funny Girl (1968) | Hello Dolly (1969) | On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (1970)

The Owl and the Pussycat (1970) | What's Up Doc? (1972) | Up the Sandbox (1972)

The Way We Were (1973) | For Pete's Sake (1974) | Funny Lady (1975)

A Star is Born (1976) | The Main Event (1979) | All Night Long (1981)

Yentl (1983) | Nuts (1987) | The Prince of Tides (1991)

The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996) | Meet the Fockers (2004) | Fockers Sequel (2010)

Babs is still one of the most famous people on the planet but I'm guessing that younger generations have quite the incomplete picture of her career. I'm guessing that that picture hangs in an old fashioned frame and shows the diva in a turtleneck sweater. Somehow her expression conveys stifling self regard, political activism and mega-wealth all at once.