Veteran comedian and actor Richard De Angelis, most recently of the HBO crime drama "The Wire," died of congestive heart failure and complications from prostate cancer in his Silver Spring, MD home on December 28. He was 73.
De Angelis played Baltimore police Col. Raymond Foerster on "The Wire." He also appeared in plays, TV commercials, feature films such as "Homicide: The Movie," and the John Waters films "A Dirty Shame" and "Cecil B. Demented," radio spots, and print advertisement during his 40 year acting career.
A Boston native, De Angelis performed standup comedy under the name Ricky Roach. In addition to acting and standup, he served in the Navy during the Korean conflict and worked as an accountant for 14 years.
Character actor Patrick Cranshaw died of natural causes on December 29 at his home in Fort Worth, TX. He was 86. Cranshaw achieved cult-like status as elderly fraternity brother "Blue" in the 2003 comedy "Old School," starring Luke Wilson, Will Ferrell, and Vince Vaughn.
His career spanned almost 50 years, where Cranshaw appeared in "Bonnie and Clyde," "Herbie: Fully Loaded," "Bandolero," and "Best in Show." He also appeared in television series "Mork & Mindy," and "The Dukes of Hazzard."
Cranshaw was born in Bartlesville, OK in 1919 and became interested in acting while entertaining American troops before World War II.
 |  |  | |  | |  |
