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Leslie Barbara Carter (June 6, 1986 – January 31, 2012) was an American pop singer best known as the sister of fellow singers Nick and Aaron Carter.

Leslie Carter was born in Tampa, Florida, the third of five children of Jane Elizabeth (née Spaulding) and Robert Gene Carter (born September 23, 1952). She was born at the Garden Villa Retirement Home, where the Carter family lived and worked at the time. She was the older sister of Aaron Charles (born December 7, 1987), and younger sister of Nickolas Gene (born January 28, 1980). She also had two sisters: Angel Charisma (a model and Aaron's twin; born December 7, 1987), and B.J. (Bobbie Jean; born 1982). She had an older half-sister, named Virginia "Ginger" Marie (born 1972), from her father's first marriage. After Carter's parents divorced in 2003 her father married Ginger R. Elrod (born December 5, 1974) on April 1, 2004 and had a son in 2005.

In 2008, Carter married Mike Ashton and moved to Toronto, Ontario, Canada where she gave birth to a daughter, Alyssa Jane Ashton on April 1, 2011.

Carter signed a record deal with Dreamworks Records in 1999 and began recording her debut album. This album was set for release in June 2000, but it was delayed because Dreamworks wanted to test Carter's fan base before releasing the album in order to ensure its success. Her single, "Like Wow!" appeared on the Shrek soundtrack and received minor radio airplay, peaking at 15 on the Hot 100.

Her debut album Like Wow! was set for release on April 10, 2001. However, Dreamworks later canceled the release, the cancellation followed a number of reported problems from the set of her debut music video. Promo copies later became available online and Metal Mike Saunders of The Village Voice described it as "the best bubblegum album of the entire '97-Y2K era.

Carter started a small club tour in Canada in December 2005, and had a showcase in New York City on January 19, 2006, with hopes it would lead to a new record deal. The songs performed on this tour had her abandoning her bubblegum pop roots for a more mature, pop rock-oriented sound. Carter co-wrote her material with.High Holy Days guitarist Dave Thompson. In late 2006, Leslie Carter created the band The Other Half with her backup musicians Mike Ashton, DJ Porter, Casey Clowater, Paul Davidson, and Dave Thompson.[citation needed]

The final line-up consisted of Carter (vocals), Ashton (drums), Jason Eldon (electric guitar), and Sean Smit (bass guitar, back-up vocals). In September 2009, the band mutually decided to split up. Carter was seen writing music and performing her own songs for her siblings on the family's reality show "House of Carters".

On January 31, 2012, at age 25, Carter, who had complained of feeling ill, was found unresponsive at the home of her father, Robert Carter, in Mayville, New York, and was pronounced dead on arrival at Westfield Memorial Hospital in Westfield, New York. While not attributing a cause of death, a Chautauqua County police incident report and supplemental "Overdose Follow Up" report said Carter, identified by her married name of Leslie B. Ashton, had suffered an overdose and was taking the prescription medications olanzapine, cyclobenzaprine (muscle relaxer) and alprazolam (Xanax).

Leslie Carter Died From An Overdose: Report
Thu, 02 February 2012 at 2:50 pm
Leslie Carter died of an apparent overdose after taking several prescription medications, ABC News reports.

The 25-year-old sister of Aaron and Nick Carter had “a long history of mental illness and was on medication for depression,” her stepmother, Ginger Carter, told authorities, according to an incident report.

Medication for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and anxiety and panic disorder were found near Leslie, who died on Tuesday in upstate New York.

According to the report, on the morning of Janury 30, Leslie fell in the shower. Ginger helped her lie down but late in the afternoon, she found Leslie was not breathing. Leslie‘s father, Robert, tried to perform CPR, then her stepmother called 911.

The official cause of death will be determined after New York’s Chautauqua County coroner’s office receives toxicology reports in about four to six weeks, ABC News adds.

Donald Cortez "Don" Cornelius (September 27, 1936 – February 1, 2012) was an American television show host and producer who was best known as the creator of the nationally syndicated dance/music franchise Soul Train, which he hosted from 1971 to 1993. Cornelius sold the show to MadVision Entertainment in 2008.

Cornelius was born in Chicago's South Side on September 27, 1936, and raised in the Bronzeville neighborhood. Following his graduation from DuSable High School in 1954, he joined the United States Marine Corps and served 18 months in Korea. He worked at various jobs following his stint in the military, including selling tires, automobiles, and insurance, and as an officer with the Chicago Police Department. He quit his day job to take a three-month broadcasting course in 1966 despite being married with two sons and only $400 in his bank account. In 1966, he landed a job as an announcer, news reporter and disc jockey on Chicago radio station WVON.

Prior to moving the show to Los Angeles where it went into national syndication, Cornelius began SOUL TRAIN as a local show on WCIU-TV in Chicago in the mid 1960s.

Originally a journalist inspired by the civil rights movement, Cornelius recognized that in the late 1960s there was no television venue in the United States for soul music, and introduced many African-American musicians to a larger audience as a result of their appearances on Soul Train, a program that was both influential among African-Americans and popular with a wider audience.

As writer, producer, and host of Soul Train, Cornelius was instrumental in offering wider exposure to black musicians such as James Brown, Aretha Franklin, and Michael Jackson, as well as creating opportunities for talented dancers that would presage subsequent television dance programs. Cornelius said "We had a show that kids gravitated to," and Spike Lee described the program as an "urban music time capsule."

Besides his smooth and deep voice, Cornelius was best known for the catchphrase that he used to close the show: "... and you can bet your last money, it's all gonna be a stone gas, honey! I'm Don Cornelius, and as always in parting, we wish you love, peace and soul!" After Cornelius's departure, it was shortened to "...and as always, we wish you love, peace and soul!" and was used through the most recent new episodes in 2006. Another introductory phrase he often used was: "We got another sound comin' out of Philly that's a sure 'nough dilly."

He had a small number of film roles, most notably as record producer Moe Fuzz in 1988's Tapeheads.

The 2008 Soul Train Music Awards ceremony was not held due to the WGA strike and the end of Tribune Entertainment complicating the process of finding a new distributor to air the ceremony and line up the stations to air it. The awards show was moved in 2009 to Viacom's Centric cable channel (formerly BET J), which now airs Soul Train in reruns.

Cornelius last appeared at the 2009 BET Awards to present The O'Jays with the 2009 BET Lifetime Achievement Award.

In the early-morning hours of February 1, 2012, officers responded to a report of a shooting at 12685 Mulholland Drive and found Cornelius with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. He was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead by the Los Angeles County Assistant Chief Coroner. According to former Soul Train host, Shemar Moore, Cornelius may have been suffering from early onset of dementia or Alzheimer's disease and his health had been on the decline.

Don Cornelius, ‘Soul Train’ Creator, Is Dead at 75
By JAMES C. McKINLEY Jr.
Published: February 1, 2012

Don Cornelius, the smooth-voiced television host who brought black music and culture into America’s living rooms when he created the dance show “Soul Train,” was found dead at his home in Los Angeles early Wednesday in what appeared to be a suicide, the authorities said. He was 75.

Police officers responding to a report of a shooting found Mr. Cornelius’s body at 4 a.m. on the floor of his house on Mulholland Drive with a gunshot wound to the head. It appeared to have been self-inflicted, said Ed Winter, the Los Angeles County assistant chief coroner.

He was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. The police said they had ruled out murder and were talking to relatives about Mr. Cornelius’s mental state.

“Soul Train,” one of the longest-running syndicated shows in television history, played a critical role in spreading the music of black America to the world, offering wide exposure to musicians like James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye and Michael Jackson in the 1970s and ’80s.

“ ‘Soul Train’ created an outlet for black artists that never would have been if it hadn’t been for Cornelius,” said Kenny Gamble, who with his partner, Leon Huff, created the Philly soul sound and wrote the theme song for the show. “It was a tremendous export from America to the world, that showed African-American life and the joy of music and dance, and it brought people together.”

News of Mr. Cornelius’s death prompted an outpouring of tributes from civil rights leaders, musicians, entrepreneurs, academics and writers. “He was able to provide the country a window into black youth culture and black music,” said Lonnie G. Bunch III, the director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. “For young black teenagers like myself, it gave a sense of pride and a sense that the culture we loved could be shared and appreciated nationally.”

Mr. Cornelius, a former disc jockey, created “Soul Train” in 1970 for the Chicago television station WCIU and served as its writer, producer and host. When it became a local sensation, he moved the show to Los Angeles and began broadcasting nationally in 1971, beginning a 35-year run in syndication.

In its heyday, it was a formative experience every Saturday morning for young people of all backgrounds and afforded some of the most important soul and R&B acts their first national television exposure. It was also a platform for white rock musicians like Elton John and David Bowie to reach black audiences.

Beyond music, “Soul Train” showcased dances and clothing styles then popular among young blacks. It laid the groundwork for dance programs like Fox’s “So You Think You Can Dance” and MTV’s “America’s Best Dance Crew.”

Born on Chicago’s South Side on Sept. 27, 1936, Mr. Cornelius had an early craving to go into broadcasting. He graduated from DuSable High School in 1954, did a stint in the Marine Corps and then returned to Chicago to marry a childhood sweetheart, Delores Harrison. They had two sons, Anthony and Raymond, who are among his survivors.

In 1966, he gave up a career selling insurance and cars to take a three-month broadcast course, despite having young children to feed. With his deep baritone, he landed a job as a substitute disc jockey at WVON in Chicago and later as a sports anchor on the television program “A Black’s View of the News.” He produced the “Soul Train” pilot with $400 of his own money, taking the title from a road show he had created for local high schools.

“ ‘Soul Train’ was developed as a radio show on television,” Mr. Cornelius told The New York Times in 1995. “It was the radio show that I always wanted and never had. I selected the music, and still do, by simply seeing what had chart success.”

He said the show was originally patterned on Dick Clark’s “American Bandstand,” but with a focus on black music, fashion and dance. “There was not programming that targeted any particular ethnicity,” he told The Associated Press in 2006. “I’m trying to use euphemisms here, trying to avoid saying there was no television for black folks, which they knew was for them.”

The formula for the show did not change much over the years, though the sets were updated and the music evolved from Motown to funk and eventually to rap. As the host every week, Mr. Cornelius, tall and powerfully built, would play the hottest songs and corral a few performers to be interviewed. They would do a song or two, sometimes live, sometimes lip-synching. He signed off each show by intoning “Love, peace and soul.”

Mr. Cornelius stepped down as host in 1993, handing the reins to a series of actors, comedians and other guest hosts. “I took myself off because I just felt that 22 years was enough and that the audience was changing and I wasn’t,” he said.

It was not until 2006, however, that he stopped producing new shows. He sold the franchise and the archives two years later to a subsidiary of Vibe Holdings LLC.

In recent years he went through a bitter divorce from his second wife, Viktoria Chapman-Cornelius, a Russian model. In 2008 he was arrested and charged with spousal battery, assault with a deadly weapon and dissuading a witness from making a police report, all misdemeanors, after a domestic dispute with his wife in their home.

A year later he was sentenced to three years’ probation after pleading no contest to misdemeanor charges of spousal battery in a plea bargain. During divorce proceedings later that year, he mentioned having “significant health problems” but did not elaborate.

Clarence Avant, a former chairman of Motown Records, said the suggestion that Mr. Cornelius had committed suicide surprised his friends. He did not appear despondent or upset when the two men met for lunch last week, Mr. Avant said, though Mr. Cornelius did mention that he had had seizures recently and avoided driving himself. “He was very private,” Mr. Avant said.

Zalman King, erotic film producer-director, dies at 70
Feb. 3, 2012, 6:31 PM EST
By Tim Kenneally

Producer, director and screenwriter Zalman King, whose credits include erotically-charged films such as "9 1/2 Weeks," "Red Shoe Diaries" and "Wild Orchid," died Friday morning at his Santa Monica home following a six-year battle with cancer. King, whose wife Patricia Louisianna Knop, was at his side at the time of his death, was 70.

Born Zalman Lefkovitz in 1942 in Trenton, N.J., King was primarily known for his racy fare of the '80s and '90s, though his son-in-law, Allison Burnett, told TheWrap that his reputation failed to capture the totality of King's personality.

"Zalman was a far more complex and human artist and man than anyone who only knew him from afar can possibly comprehend," Burnett told TheWrap. "He was a truly magnificent human being."

In his later career, King focused on documentaries about musicians, directing films about country singers Willie Nelson and Dale Watson, and musician Toledo Diamond. Burnett told TheWrap that he also directed music videos for rap groups, typically free of charge.

"He loved to support artists everywhere he went," Burnett said.

Actor Charlie Sheen, a longtime friend of King's offered tribute to the director on his Facebook page Friday.

"The world lost a brilliant and noble soul today," Sheen wrote. "My dear friend of 40 years, Zalman King, just lost his battle with cancer. Fought like a recon Marine til the bitter end. Say a prayer for his amazing wife Pat and their lovely daughters. Safe travels my friend."

King is survived by his wife and their two daughters, screenwriter Chloe King and designer and painter Gillian Lefkovitz.

Legendary blues singer Etta James dies in Calif.
By NEKESA MUMBI MOODY,
Associated Press – Jan 20, 2012

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Etta James' performance of the enduring classic "At Last" was the embodiment of refined soul: Angelic-sounding strings harkened the arrival of her passionate yet measured vocals as she sang tenderly about a love finally realized after a long and patient wait.

In real life, little about James was as genteel as that song. The platinum blonde's first hit was a saucy R&B number about sex, and she was known as a hell-raiser who had tempestuous relationships with her family, her men and the music industry. Then she spent years battling a drug addiction that she admitted sapped away at her great talents.

The 73-year-old died on Friday at Riverside Community Hospital from complications of leukemia, with her husband and sons at her side, her manager, Lupe De Leon said.

"It's a tremendous loss for her fans around the world," he said. "She'll be missed. A great American singer. Her music defied category."

James' spirit could not be contained — perhaps that's what made her so magnetic in music; it is surely what made her so dynamic as one of R&B, blues and rock 'n' roll's underrated legends.

"The bad girls ... had the look that I liked," she wrote in her 1995 autobiography, "Rage to Survive." ''I wanted to be rare, I wanted to be noticed, I wanted to be exotic as a Cotton Club chorus girl, and I wanted to be obvious as the most flamboyant hooker on the street. I just wanted to be."

"Etta James was a pioneer. Her ever-changing sound has influenced rock and roll, rhythm and blues, pop, soul and jazz artists, marking her place as one of the most important female artists of our time," said Rock and Roll Hall of Fame President and CEO Terry Stewart. "From Janis Joplin to Joss Stone, an incredible number of performers owe their debts to her. There is no mistaking the voice of Etta James, and it will live forever."

Despite the reputation she cultivated, she would always be remembered best for "At Last." The jazz-inflected rendition wasn't the original, but it would become the most famous and the song that would define her as a legendary singer. Over the decades, brides used it as their song down the aisle and car companies to hawk their wares, and it filtered from one generation to the next through its inclusion in movies like "American Pie." Perhaps most famously, President Obama and the first lady danced to a version at his inauguration ball.

The tender, sweet song belied the turmoil in her personal life. James — born Jamesetta Hawkins — was born in Los Angeles to a mother whom she described as a scam artist, a substance abuser and a fleeting presence during her youth. She never knew her father, although she was told and had believed, that he was the famous billiards player Minnesota Fats. He neither confirmed nor denied it: when they met, he simply told her: "I don't remember everything. I wish I did, but I don't."

She was raised by Lula and Jesse Rogers, who owned the rooming house where her mother once lived in. The pair brought up James in the Christian faith, and as a young girl, her voice stood out in the church choir. James landed the solos in the choir and became so well known, she said that Hollywood stars would come to see her perform.

But she wouldn't stay a gospel singer for long. Rhythm and blues lured her away from the church, and she found herself drawn to the grittiness of the music.

"My mother always wanted me to be a jazz singer, but I always wanted to be raunchy," she recalled in her book.

She was doing just that when bandleader Johnny Otis found her singing on San Francisco street corners with some girlfriends in the early 1950s. Otis, a legend in his own right, died on Tuesday.

"At the time, Hank Ballard and the Midnighters had a hit with 'Work With Me, Annie,' and we decided to do an answer. We didn't think we would get in show business, we were just running around making up answers to songs," James told The Associated Press in 1987.

And so they replied with the song, "Roll With Me, Henry."

When Otis heard it, he told James to get her mother's permission to accompany him to Los Angeles to make a recording. Instead, the 15-year-old singer forged her mother's name on a note claiming she was 18.

"At that time, you weren't allowed to say 'roll' because it was considered vulgar. So when Georgia Gibbs did her version, she renamed it 'Dance With Me, Henry' and it went to No. 1 on the pop charts," the singer recalled. The Gibbs song was one of several in the early rock era when white singers got hits by covering songs by black artists, often with sanitized lyrics.

After her 1955 debut, James toured with Otis' revue, sometimes earning only $10 a night. In 1959, she signed with Chicago's legendary Chess label, began cranking out the hits and going on tours with performers such as Bobby Vinton, Little Richard, Fats Domino, Gene Vincent, Jerry Lee Lewis and the Everly Brothers.

"We would travel on four buses to all the big auditoriums. And we had a lot of fun," she recalled in 1987.

James recorded a string of hits in the late 1950s and '60s including "Trust In Me," ''Something's Got a Hold On Me," ''Sunday Kind of Love," ''All I Could Do Was Cry," and of course, "At Last."

"(Chess Records founder) Leonard Chess was the most aware of anyone. He went up and down the halls of Chess announcing, 'Etta's crossed over! Etta's crossed over!' I still didn't know exactly what that meant, except that maybe more white people were listening to me. The Chess brothers kept saying how I was their first soul singer, that I was taking their label out of the old Delta blues, out of rock and into the modern era. Soul was the new direction," she wrote in her autobiography. "But in my mind, I was singing old style, not new."

In 1967, she cut one of the most highly regarded soul albums of all time, "Tell Mama," an earthy fusion of rock and gospel music featuring blistering horn arrangements, funky rhythms and a churchy chorus. A song from the album, "Security," was a top 40 single in 1968.

Her professional success, however, was balanced against personal demons, namely a drug addiction.

"I was trying to be cool," she told the AP in 1995, explaining what had led her to try heroin.

"I hung out in Harlem and saw Miles Davis and all the jazz cats," she continued. "At one time, my heavy role models were all druggies. Billie Holiday sang so groovy. Is that because she's on drugs? It was in my mind as a young person. I probably thought I was a young Billie Holiday, doing whatever came with that."

She was addicted to the drug for years, beginning in 1960, and it led to a harrowing existence that included time behind bars. It sapped her singing abilities and her money, eventually, almost destroying her career.

It would take her at least two decades to beat her drug problem. Her husband, Artis Mills, even went to prison for years, taking full responsibility for drugs during an arrest even though James was culpable.

"My management was suffering. My career was in the toilet. People tried to help, but I was hell-bent on getting high," she wrote of her drug habit in 1980.

She finally quit the habit and managed herself for a while, calling up small clubs and asking them, "Have you ever heard of Etta James?" in order to get gigs. Eventually, she got regular bookings — even drawing Elizabeth Taylor as an audience member. In 1984, she was tapped to sing the national anthem at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles, and her career got the resurgent boost it needed, though she fought addiction again when she got hooked on painkillers in the late 1980s.

Drug addiction wasn't her only problem. She struggled with her weight, and often performed from a wheelchair as she got older and heavier. In the early 2000s, she had weight-loss surgery and shed some 200 pounds.

James performed well into her senior years, and it was "At Last" that kept bringing her the biggest ovations. The song was a perennial that never aged, and on Jan. 20, 2009, as crowds celebrated that — at last — an African-American had become president of the United States, the song played as the first couple danced.

But it was superstar Beyonce who serenaded the Obamas, not the legendary singer. Beyonce had portrayed James in "Cadillac Records," a big-screen retelling of Chess Records' heyday, and had started to claim "At Last" as her own.

An audio clip surfaced of James at a concert shortly after the inauguration, saying she couldn't stand the younger singer and that Beyonce had "no business singing my song." But she told the New York Daily News later that she was joking, even though she had been hurt that she did not get the chance to participate in the inauguration.

Upon hearing of her death, Beyonce released a statement on her website that read: "This is a huge loss. Etta James was one of the greatest vocalists of our time. I am so fortunate to have met such a queen. Her musical contributions will last a lifetime. Playing Etta James taught me so much about myself, and singing her music inspired me to be a stronger artist. When she effortlessly opened her mouth, you could hear her pain and triumph. Her deeply emotional way of delivering a song told her story with no filter. She was fearless, and had guts. She will be missed."

James did get her accolades over the years. She was inducted into the Rock Hall in 1993, captured a Grammy in 2003 for best contemporary blues album for "Let's Roll," one in 2004 for best traditional blues album for "Blues to the Bone" and one for best jazz vocal performance for 1994's "Mystery Lady: Songs of Billie Holiday." She was also awarded a special Grammy in 2003 for lifetime achievement and got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Her health went into decline, however, and by 2011, she was being cared for at home by a personal doctor.

She suffered from dementia, kidney problems and leukemia. Her husband and her two sons fought over control of her $1 million estate, though a deal was later struck keeping Mills as the conservator and capping the singer's expenses at $350,000. In December 2011, her physician announced that her leukemia was terminal, and asked for prayers for the singer.

In October 2011, it was announced that James was retiring from recording, and a final studio recording, "The Dreamer," was released, featuring the singer taking on classic songs, from Bobby "Blue" Bland's "Dreamer" to Guns N' Roses "Welcome To the Jungle" — still rocking, and a fitting end to her storied career.

Etta James: Stars attend funeral of Blues legend
29 January 2012, Last updated at 02:41 ET

Hundreds of mourners gathered in Los Angeles for the funeral of US rhythm and blues star Etta James, who died earlier this month at the age of 73.

Civil rights activist Rev Al Sharpton gave a rousing speech about her rise from poverty and drug addiction to make music that crossed racial divides.

He read a statement from US President Barack Obama, who praised her part in "our nation's musical heritage".

Stars Stevie Wonder and Christina Aguilera performed some of her hits.

Trailblazer

In his eulogy, Rev Sharpton described Etta James as a "bridge of American culture that changed the culture of the world".
Etta James The singer's anguished blues vocals made her stand out, even as a child

"Etta James helped break down the culture curtain of America before the Civil Rights Act of 1964," he said. "She was able to get us to sing the same rhythms and melodies."

He began the two-hour service by reading the statement from President Obama, who danced at his inaugural ball to Etta James' most famous song At Last.

"Etta will be remembered for her legendary voice and her contributions to our nation's musical heritage," Mr Obama said.

Stevie Wonder performed three songs, including Shelter in the Rain, while Christina Aguilera performed a version of At Last.

"Out of all the singers that I've ever heard, she was the one that cut right to my soul and spoke to me," Ms Aguilera said before her performance.

Rebuilt career

Etta James was born Jamesetta Hawkins to a teenage single mother in 1938.

Raised mainly by friends and relatives, she began singing when her grandparents took her to a Baptist Church, where she joined the choir as a soloist.

Later in San Francisco she formed a singing group, but it was not until 1960, when James became a solo artist, that she began to achieve musical recognition.

However, her success in the 1960s was hindered by an addiction to heroin, and she was forced to rebuild her career after quitting the drug in 1974.

Although she was popular on the R&B circuit throughout her career, mainstream success eluded her for many years.

She did not receive her first Grammy Award until 1994, for the album Mystery Lady, which consisted of covers of Billie Holiday songs. In 2003, she was given the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

She leaves husband Artist Mills and and two sons Donto and Sametto.

Dick Tufeld dies at 85; actor who intoned 'Danger, Will Robinson!'
- Dick Tufeld's most famous role may have been as the voice of the Robot on 'Lost in Space,' but his announcing career was long and varied.
By Claire Noland, Los Angeles Times
January 25, 2012

Dick Tufeld, a longtime radio and TV announcer who intoned "Danger, Will Robinson!" as the voice of the Robot in the 1960s science-fiction TV series "Lost in Space," has died. He was 85.

Tufeld died Sunday at his home in Studio City while watching the NFL playoffs, his family said. He had heart disease and had been in declining health since sustaining a fall last year.

In "Lost in Space," producer Irwin Allen's futuristic retelling of the "Swiss Family Robinson" story that aired on CBS from 1965 to 1968, actor Bob May wore the Robot costume and Tufeld provided the voice.

Besides warning young Will Robinson of impending danger, Tufeld's Robot uttered other lines that became catchphrases for faithful viewers — including "That does not compute" — and needled the antagonistic Dr. Zachary Smith with barbs like "Dr. Smith is a bubble-headed booby."

Tufeld was the announcer for Allen's other TV shows, including "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" and "The Time Tunnel," and his narration and other voice-over work could be heard on an array of TV programs. He introduced many Walt Disney productions, notably the 1950s TV series "Zorro" and Disney's long-running prime-time anthology series.

His other TV credits from the '50s through the '90s included "Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends," "The Fantastic Four," "The Gallant Men," "Surfside 6," "Annie Oakley" and variety shows starring Judy Garland and Julie Andrews.

Richard Norton Tufeld was born Dec. 11, 1926, in Los Angeles to Tanya and Bentley Tufeld and raised in Pasadena. He grew up entranced by the radio fiction of "The Shadow" and "The Green Hornet" and rehearsed his own play-by-play accounts of sporting events.

After studying speech at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., he returned to Los Angeles and began working in radio. Beginning in 1949 he was the announcer for ABC radio's "The Amazing Mr. Malone" and "Falstaff's Fables" before becoming the narrator for "Space Patrol," a science-fiction serial on radio.

"Space Patrol!" Tufeld cried out at the beginning of the show. "High adventure in the wild vast reaches of space ... missions of daring in the name of interplanetary justice. Travel into the future with Buzz Corry ... commander-in-chief of ... the Space Patrol!"

Tufeld also worked as a sports and news announcer for local TV and radio stations and narrated hundreds of commercials.

He returned as the voice of the Robot in the 1998 "Lost in Space" feature film. By 2004 he was still playing the Robot, for an episode of "The Simpsons."

Tufeld's wife of 56 years, Adrienne, died in 2004. He is survived by sons Bruce and Craig, daughters Lynn and Melissa, six grandchildren and a brother, Howard "Bud" Tufeld.

Richard Norton "Dick" Tufeld (December 11, 1926 – January 22, 2012) was an American actor, announcer, narrator, and voice actor from the 1950s onward.

Tufeld is perhaps best known as the voice of the Robot in the TV series "Lost in Space", a role he reprised for the 1998 feature film. He also provided the narration voiceover for many other Irwin Allen productions, such as Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and The Time Tunnel, and did voice work for the 1978 animated television series Fantastic Four. He nar­rated sev­eral episodes of Thun­darr the Bar­bar­ian (1980), as well. The main title nar­ra­tor on the 1979 DePatie-Freleng series Spider-Woman, he was also the main title announcer on the 1981 Mar­vel Pro­duc­tions show Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends.

Tufeld's voice career began in radio. He was the announcer on The Amazing Mr. Malone on the American Broadcasting Company in early 1950 (before the show moved to New York and NBC), then on Alan Reed's Falstaff's Fables, an ABC five-minute program, starting in the fall radio season of 1950. From October 25, 1952 to March 19, 1955, he was the announcer for the entire run of ABC Radio's Space Patrol. He moved to television news, anchoring The Three Star Final, a 15-minute newscast on KABC-TV, Los Angeles, which debuted on October 3, 1955 at noon (replacing Wrangler Jim), then moved to 11 p.m. on April 2, 1956.

Tufeld was often used as the announcer on various Disney television shows, including the 1957–1959 series, Zorro, starring future Lost in Space lead Guy Williams. He had stints as the house announcer on two ABC variety series, The Hollywood Palace and The Julie Andrews Hour.

He died in 2012 of congestive heart failure.

Robert Hegyes (pronounced Hedges; May 7, 1951 – January 26, 2012) was an American actor best known for his portrayal of high school student 'Juan Epstein' on the 1970s American sitcom "Welcome Back, Kotter" opposite John Travolta.

Within a year of graduating from college, Hegyes was cast to co-star in the highly acclaimed Off Broadway drama, Naomi Court, starring actor Brad Davis (Midnight Express). After completing the successful Manhattan Theater Club engagement, Robert was cast by Tony Award- winning actor Len Cariou (making his directing debut) to co-star in the Broadway drama, Don't Call Back, starring Arlene Francis and Dorian Harewood. While performing on Broadway, Hegyes auditioned for television producer James Komack and was cast to star in what was to become the award-winning ABC comedy, Welcome Back, Kotter. Hegyes portrayed the character of Juan Luis Pedro Felipo de Huevos Epstein (typically referred to as simply "Epstein"). The show lasted four seasons, from 1975-1979. Hegyes became one of the show's directors at age 25.

Hegyes guest starred in more than thirty television shows, including Saturday Night Live with Quentin Tarantino, NewsRadio, Diagnosis: Murder with Dick Van Dyke, The Drew Carey Show (in an April Fools' Day episode where the character Oswald was recast for a brief scene with Hegyes playing the role) and The Streets of San Francisco, with Michael Douglas. He also appeared in the award-winning Volkswagen Passat commercial, "The Chase", for director Kinka Usher. Hegyes appeared in Honeymoon Hotel, with Jane Kaczmarek, Underground Aces, with Melanie Griffith, Dirk Benedict, Bob Roberts, with Tim Robbins, The Purpose, with Mia Farrow, and Bar Hopping, with Weeds star Kevin Nealon.

Hegyes made his Los Angeles stage debut as "Chico Marx" in the Westwood and national touring company engagements of An Evening with Groucho. Upon returning from the tour, Hegyes was cast by producer Barney Rosenswieg to star as a series regular portraying undercover detective "Manny Esposito" in Cagney & Lacey. During this time he also appeared on the game show the $25,000 Pyramid from time to time.

Hegyes became "Artist-In-Residence" at his alma mater, Rowan University, teaching screenplay writing, acting for camera and public speaking, and was a guest lecturer in the Radio/Television/Film & Theater Departments. He was an adjunct instructor at Brooks College in Long Beach, California, where he taught essay writing and public speaking. Hegyes was a California Certified Secondary Education teacher, but had worked infrequently in recent years.

On January 26, 2012, after suffering from chest pains at his Metuchen, New Jersey home, Hegyes died from an apparent heart attack at John F. Kennedy Medical Center in Edison, New Jersey. He was 60 years old.