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Just over a week ago, we had to share the sad news that director George Armitage, best known for bringing the world Grosse Pointe Blank and Miami Blues, had passed away at the age of 82. Armitage got his start in the entertainment industry at the start of the 1970s, writing the film Gas-s-s for producer Roger Corman and then going on to write and direct Private Duty Nurses and write Night Call Nurses, also for Corman. By the end of the ’70s, he had written and directed the films Hit Man and Vigilante Force, as well as the TV movie Hot Rods, and wrote the scripts for the film Darktown Strutters and an episode of the TV series Monty Nash. Oddly, he did not earn any writing or directing credits in the 1980s – but, of course, this was not for a lack of trying. In fact, Kevin Tenney, the writer...

Beloved director of such iconic films as Grosse Pointe Blank and Miami Blues, George Armitage, has died at 82. A popular director in the '90s and Roger Corman protégé, known for his dark comedies, he also helmed the 1972 Blaxploitation film called Hit Man. The news was confirmed by his son, the writer-producer Brent Armitage.

Born and briefly raised in Hartford, Connecticut, Armitage's family moved to Los Angeles in the 1950s. His first job in the industry was in the mail room at 20th Century Fox, which led to him getting into production on television shows. He worked as an associate producer on the soap opera Peyton Place starting in 1967, and leveraged that experience to get in with the folks at Roger Corman's New World Pictures. Corman was a revolutionary in the industry, creating an entire ecosystem of micro-budget films that gave many Hollywood mega-talents their start.

RelatedWhy Grosse Pointe Blank...

George Armitage, the director of Grosse Pointe Blank and Miami Blues, as well as a close collaborator of Roger Corman’s, has died. He was 82.

George Armitage entered the business in the ‘70s but it took a while to find his footing. That came with 1990’s Miami Blues, which starred Alec Baldwin as a criminal fresh out of prison posing as a cop with a stolen police badge. Armitage would develop his mixture of crime and comedy later that decade with 1997’s Grosse Pointe Blank with John Cusack and Minnie Driver.

Even though he was a buddy of Corman’s, it does feel like George Armitage is too rarely mentioned in the list of notable directors who got their start working under him. But we can’t ignore where he got his start. George Armitage met Roger Corman at just the right time in the 1960s. In 1971, Corman hired him to write Gas-s-s,...

George Armitage, the filmmaker behind Miami Blues and Grosse Pointe Blank, has died at the age of 83. His son, Brent Armitage, confirmed that he passed away on February 15 in Playa del Rey, California.

Armitage’s career in Hollywood began in the 1960s and spanned decades. He directed and wrote films that combined crime, action, and humor, earning a reputation for his approach to storytelling.

Born in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1942, Armitage moved to Los Angeles in 1957. He studied political science at UCLA while developing an interest in filmmaking. His first industry job was in the mailroom at 20th Century Fox, leading to a role as an associate producer on Peyton Place in 1967.

His transition to feature films came after connecting with producer Roger Corman. Armitage wrote Gas-s-s-s or It Became Necessary to Destroy the World in Order to Save It (1970), a satirical youth comedy. This led to more work with Corman,...

George Armitage, the film director best known for the 1996 crime thriller/comedy “Grosse Pointe Blank” and the 1990 neo-noir “Miami Blues,” died Saturday, his son announced Friday. He was 82; no cause of death was made public.

Born in Hartford, Connecticut in 1942, Armitage moved with his mother to Beverly Hills at age 13 and attended UCLA. He began his career in entertainment working in the mail room at 20th Century Fox and, rising quickly, became an associate producer on “Peyton Place” in 1966 when he was still only 23 years old.

He made the jump to films later in the decade, writing the script for the 1970 Roger Corman film “Gas-s-s-s” before making his directorial debut with “Private Duty Nurses” the same year. He wrote the script for a sequel, “Night Call Nurses” in 1972 and that same year also wrote and directed “Hit Man” starring Bernie Casey.

Other films he wrote and directed include “Vigilante Force...

George Armitage, who directed, wrote and produced films including “Grosse Pointe Blank” and “Miami Blues,” died Saturday in Playa del Rey, his son Brent confirmed. He was 83.

Raised in Hartford, Conn., Armitage started out in the 20th Century Fox mailroom before becoming associate producer on the long-running series “Peyton Place” in the 1960s. He met Roger Corman on the Fox lot and moved into feature films, writing the Corman-produced 1970 comedy “Gas! – Or – It Became Necessary to Destroy the World in Order to Save It.”

He continued making films for Corman and his brother Gene Corman, moving into directing with “Private Duty Nurses.” The 1972 Blaxploitation film “Hit Man,” which he directed and co-wrote, starred Pam Grier and Bernie Casey. Next up was “Vigilante Force,” with Kris Kristofferson and Jan-Michael Vincent, and the TV movie “Hot Rod.”

“Kaplan, Demme, Dante, Arkush and me… We were making little 45 Rpm rock ’n’ roll movies.

George Armitage, the director known for Hit Man (1972), Miami Blues (1990) and Grosse Pointe Blank (1997), has died. He was 82.

The writer, director and producer died last Saturday, Deadline has confirmed with his former agency Gersh. A cause of death was not immediately disclosed.

Born Dec. 13, 1942 in Hartford, Connecticut, Armitage moved to Beverly Hills with his family as a child. After majoring in political science and economics at UCLA, he found himself breaking into the film industry, working in the mail room at 20th Century Fox while waiting for his real estate license to come through.

Within a year, Armitage was an associate producer on the ABC soap Peyton Place. “It was an incredible experience,” he recalled in 2015.

“There was a producer there named Everett Chambers who would work on a number of films with John Cassavetes, he was usually helpful,” said Armitage. “This was just at the time when the fortysomething...

Going into "First Blood," director Ted Kotcheff and star Sylvester Stallone surely weren't aware they were making one of the best action movies ever made and crafting an action icon in the process. But they might have had an inkling, considering they were working from David Morrell's 1972 novel of the same name. The book contained the very mix of Hollywood-style bombast and social critique that would define the very first Rambo movie as the innovative outlier it is within the larger canon. Inspired by two harrowing true stories about war veterans, Morrell wrote John Rambo as a killing machine haunted by his experiences in Vietnam. While he could dispatch enemies with preternatural ease, Rambo was also a believably tortured man, with Morrell using his prose to interrogate the very real psychological effects of serving in 'Nam.

That combination of action and analysis made its way into the original script...

Over the course of a screen acting career that stretched across fifty years, Charles Cyphers racked up 100 credits, but he’s best known for his collaborations with John Carpenter, having appeared in the director’s Assault on Precinct 13, Halloween, Someone’s Watching Me!, Elvis, The Fog, and Escape from New York. His most popular character was Sheriff Leigh Brackett from the 1978 Halloween, a role he reprised in 1981’s Halloween II and, after a forty year absence from the Halloween franchise, 2021’s Halloween Kills. Sadly, we’ve lost this great character actor, as Variety reports that Cyphers has passed away “from a brief illness” at the age of 85.

Cyphers’ manager Chris Roe confirmed his passing to Variety and provided the following statement: “Charles was a lovable and sensitive man. He always had the best stories, and you got a full performance while he told you. He was a close friend and...

Film producer Gene Corman, who frequently collaborated with his older brother Roger Corman, died at his home on Sept. 28. He was 93.

Roger Corman confirmed Gene Corman’s passing and said, “My brother was a great man, both as a producer and as a family man.”

Gene Corman was born in Detroit in 1927, 17 months after his brother. In 1940, the family moved from Detroit to Beverly Hills and both attended Beverly Hills High School and Stanford University.

Gene Corman broke into the entertainment business as an agent at McA, where his clients included Joan Crawford, Fred MacMurray, Ray Milland, Harry Belafonte, Richard Conte and Nicholas Ray. He also arranged the distribution deal for Roger Corman’s first film, “Monster From the Ocean Floor,” in 1954.

The brothers first collaborated on the 1958 film “Hot Car Girl,” followed by “Night of the Blood Beast,” “Beast From Haunted Cave,” “Premature Burial,” and “Tower of London.” The...

Joseph Baxter Mar 8, 2019

Former Hollywood heartthrob Jan-Michael Vincent, star the hit TV series, Airwolf, is revealed to have died last month.

Jan-Michael Vincent, former star of the smash 1980s TV series, Airwolf, has died, reportedly at the age of 73. It’s an occurrence that, in actuality, took place nearly a month ago – on February 10 – and we only just now learned.

According to Vincent’s death certificate, as obtained by THR, the actor passed away as a result of cardiac arrest at Mission Hospital's Memorial Campus in Asheville, North Carolina. His death caps off widely-reported struggles with drugs and alcohol, which led to a tumultuous personal life rife with permanent-injury-inducing accidents and shameful legal issues, notably connected to domestic violence. However, his downfall contrasts sharply with an auspicious early career.

Indeed, Vincent was essentially the Brad Pitt of the 1970s, bearing a name and chiseled-jawed countenance that was synonymous with the...

As we edge into a world where Hollywood blockbusters threaten to consume every weekend in every theater in every country throughout the world, it's a relief to sit back, relax, and watch Vigilante Force (1976), which is far more entertaining than I ever could have imagined. Released on a sparkling Blu-ray by Kino Lorber in September 2015 (and it's still available!), the disc features a fabulous audio commentary by director George Armitage with filmmaker Elijah Drenner (That Dick Miller, a very good documentary). I enjoyed the film so much that I immediately watched it again so I could listen to the audio commentary, which is a great bonus because Armitage is genuinely witty and warm, and Drenner prompts him with the type of questions that...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

He starred opposite Charles Bronson in The Mechanic in 1972 (see where that falls on my list of best Bronson movies Here) and he played the title role in Disney’s The World’S Greatest Athlete the next year. Jan-Michael Vincent went on to star in a string of modest hits in the ‘70s – Baby Blue Marine, Buster And Billie, Defiance, Vigilante Force and my favorite – White Line Fever. He was in Bite The Bullet with Gene Hackman in 1975 and costarred with Burt Reynolds in Hooper in 1978. Jan-Michael Vincent has been somewhat forgotten over the last couple of decades, but now author David Grove has written a book about the actor; Jan-Michael Vincent Edge of Greatness

With his chiseled features, effortless screen presence, otherworldly vitality, striking blue eyes, Jan-Michael Vincent seemed destined for superstardom. However, the real Jan-Michael Vincent was a reluctant sex symbol plagued by doubt and low self-confidence, a perpetual misfit doomed to alcoholism.

This week on Off The Shelf, Ryan is joined by Brian Saur to take a look at the new DVD and Blu-ray releases for the week of September 8th, 2015, and chat about some follow-up and home video news.

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Episode Links & Notes Follow-up Masters Of Cinema: Shane aspect ratio Jacques Rivette Collection News Monkees Box Set Bray Studios Kickstarter We’re Back: A Dinosaur Story on Blu-ray Arrow Video Sale New Olive October titles Kino – The Mask 3D (1961) New Releases

September 1st

Abbott and Costello Meet the Monsters Collection BackCountry Dark Star: H.R. Gigers World Good Kill Mad Max: Fury Road Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume 1 Peter Pan – Starring Mary Martin Robot Carnival Star Wars Rebels: Complete Season 1

September 8th

10 to Midnight The Age Of Adaline Angst At Close Range Over the Garden Wall Defiance Dressed to Kill The Editor Emperor of the North...