Obituaries in the News

Ron Silver

NEW YORK (AP) — Actor Ron Silver, who won a Tony Award as a take-no-prisoners Hollywood producer in David Mamet's "Speed-the-Plow" and did a political about-face from loyal Democrat to Republican activist after the Sept. 11 attacks, has died. He was 62.

Silver died Sunday after a two-year battle with esophageal cancer, said Robin Bronk, executive director of The Creative Coalition, which Silver co-founded as an advocacy group for entertainers.

Silver, an Emmy nominee for a recurring role as a slick political strategist on "The West Wing," had a long history of balancing acting with left-leaning social and political causes. He help establish the Creative Coalition.

But after the 2001 terrorist attacks, longtime Democrat Silver turned heads in Hollywood with outspoken support of President George W. Bush over the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

His big-screen credits included "Ali," ''Reversal of Fortune," ''Enemies: A Love Story," ''Silkwood" and "Semi-Tough."

Besides "The West Wing," Silver was a regular or had recurring roles on such TV shows as "Veronica's Closet," ''Chicago Hope" and "Wiseguy." He directed and co-starred in the 1993 TV movie "Lifepod," a science-fiction update of Alfred Hitchcock's "Lifeboat."

Silver's Tony for "Speed-the-Plow" came in 1988, a year after he earned his first Emmy nomination, for the murder thriller "Billionaire Boys Club."

Joanne Gore Davis

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Altovise Joanne Gore Davis, a dancer and actress and the widow of Sammy Davis Jr., has died. She was 65.

Davis died Saturday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center after suffering a stroke, said Amy Malone, a publicist for her family.

Davis worked her way to the Broadway stage where she met the legendary entertainer when they performed together in the musical "Golden Boy" in 1967.

She became his third wife when they wed in 1970 (Davis was previously married to dancer Loray White and Swedish actress Mai Britt). They adopted a son and remained together until Davis died of throat cancer in 1990 at the age of 64.

After his death, she was left to sort through his multimillion IRS tax debt and oversee his troubled estate. Last year, she sued two former business partners in federal court, claiming they tricked her into signing away the rights to the estate. The suit is pending.

 

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