Robert Sahakyants, Aug. 30, 1950 – Sept. 24, 2009, author and artistic-director of animation films, died in Yerevan after undergoing heart surgery for an aorta exfoliation. He was 59.

Sahakyants gained fame mostly in part to his animation film called “Knopka.” The film dealt sharp satire towards the Soviet reality of that epoch, and the animation film is shot in the genre of comic surrealism.

Others productions followed including “Tebye Armenia” (To you, Armenia), and “Taverna’ (Tavern). In the latter, he touched upon the contrast of present day and future Armenia and the issues of declaring independence. The root of his fame came, not only from his animations, but for the tough statements concerning different political issues, that were expressed with his work.

All told, Sahakyants authored approximately 30 scenarios of animation films, winning awards at international festivals in France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Japan as well as Kiev, Yerevan, Moscow, and Estonia. He was given the title of Honored Artist and became the Artistic Director of the Union of Animation Films at the ‘Hayfilm’ film studio.

In real life, however, his colleagues considered him easygoing, kind and friendly. Artistic director Erik Muradyan who worked with Sahakyants at ‘Zatik’ Studio commented, “Youth was kept in him, and it is impossible to create animation films without it. This is an irretrievable loss.”

Robert Sahakyants leaves behind his wife, four children and seven grandchildren.

S. Varalakshmi also known as S. Varlaxmi, Aug. 13, 1925 – Sept. 22, 2009, Telugu and Tamil actress and singer, died in Chennai of complications due to a fall six months ago that injured her back. She was 84 years old.

The veteran Indian actress, born in Jaggampeta, Andhra Pradesh, started her career as a child with a role in “Balayogini” at the age of 9. The Internet Movie Database has no less than 116 listing of appearances for the actress and she worked with most of the notable stars of Telugu and Tamil cinema. Known not only for acting, Varalakshmi was famous for her singing and she sang in all the movies in which she acted.

S. Varalakshmi was married to movie producer A. L. Srinivasan and has two children.

Robert Ginty, Nov. 14, 1948 – Sept. 21, 2009, action film actor, director and producer, passed away at his home in Los Angeles from cancer according to his son’s manager, Michael Einfeld. He was 60.

Ginty had a long and varied career first starting out as a rock drummer playing with Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Carlos Santana and John Lee Hooker. When his band appeared in a film, he was hooked and made the switch to acting.

In the 1970s, he moved to California and started his rise to popularity as an action hero star. But with such a prolific career spanning multiple genres, it is hard to say just what Robert Ginty was most noted.

As an action hero, he gained widespread fame with a recurring role as Lt. T.J. Wiley in the NBC television series “Baa Baa Black Sheep,” starring Robert Conrad. But then he made a huge impression in “Coming Home” in 1978 playing Bruce Dern’s pal. The film was nominated for no less than 8 Oscars. "The Paper Chase" (1978), "Falcon Crest" and "Hawaiian Heat" all followed along with an appearance in John Llewellyn Moxey's "The Courage and the Passion."

The 1980’s action flick "The Exterminator” however, propelled him to the level of other action hero stars such as Clint Eastwood and Sylvester Stallone. The movie was an instant box office hit. "Gold Raiders," "Cop Target," "The Alchemist," "Gold Raiders," "The Scarab" and the sequel "Exterminator 2" rounded out a solid action hero career.

But then, there was another side of Robert Ginty. He also became an important figure in experimental theater. He challenged the traditional notion that an artist must have a set style. Instead he constantly experimented with different media, subjects and formats. All told, Ginty directed over three dozen off Broadway and international plays, including the acclaimed 2004 “A Cloockwork Orange.”

And so closes the door for Robert Ginty at the early age of 60. With an incredible career that swept across all areas of entertainment; acting, directing, theater, television and film, he leaves behind his wife, Michelle Ginty and son, actor James Ginty.

Frank Liberman, long-time PR man representing some of the biggest names in Hollywood, died at Providence Tarzana Medical Center of pneumonia after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. He was 92.

His associates considered him one of the greatest jokesters in the public relations profession. And how could he not be? As the long-time representative of Bob Hope and Phyllis Diller, jest would have had to been a way of life.

Liberman worked in the industry for seven decades. He represented Bob Hope for 41 years, Phyllis Diller for 33 and David Janssen for 16. He also repped Henry Fonda, Nat "King" Cole, Tony Bennett, Jack Paar, Harry Belafonte, Steve Allen, Charles Bronson, Joan Blondell, Dorothy Lamour, Peggy Lee, Mel Ferrer, Mike Nichols, Frank Langella, Nick Nolte and William Shatner, among others.

But it was his decades-long relationships with Bob Hope, and later Phyllis Diller, that defined his career. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Diller commented that Liberman was a "gentle man" with a "marvelous sense of humor. Frank was such a fun, fun, fun, fun guy. We were always back and forth with the jokes."

He, along with his firm, Liberman and Associates (he founded in 1947), also repped film, books as well as restaurants. Films including "The Miracle Worker," "David and Lisa," "Fiddler on the Roof" and "Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number” and L.A. celebrity restaurants, Dan Tana's and La Scala, are included.

Frank Liberman is predeceased by his wife Pat Harris, a talent agent and casting director who died in 1984. He has two daughters who work in the entertainment industry. Meg Liberman works at CBS Television Studios casting and Kay Liberman is a manager and producer. He was also the brother-in-law of New York showbiz columnist Radie Harris.

Bill Shepard, casting director for Disney and Mel Brooks, has died in Sherman Oaks, Calif. after suffering a heart attack. He was 79.

He began as an usher at CBS, but found his niche with Disney in 1954 – a move that would last the next 30 years. Starting as a clerk in the editing department, he proved his worth at Disney by identifying key players for roles. His talent was rewarded and he moved into the position of senior casting assistant and before long landed in the role of casting director.

From there, Shepard worked on such films as Tim Burton’s “Frankenweenie,” “My Science Project,” “Herbie Goes Bananas,” “The Last Flight of Noah’s Ark,” “The Devil and Max Devlin,” and “Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend.” If you have ever wondered who gave Michael J. Fox his first feature film, the answer is Bill Shepard acting as casting director for the 1980 movie “Midnight Madness.”

When he left Disney in 1984, he worked with Mel Brooks as the casting director on four of his films: "Spaceballs," "Life Stinks," "Robin Hood: Men in Tights" and "Dracula: Dead and Loving It."

"He not only found stars and big players that helped make the pictures successful, but he also was a genius at finding the right featured players and smaller character roles that gave my movies depth and reality," said Mel Brooks in a statement.

Bill Shepard is survived by two daughters, a sister and four granddaughters.

John Hart, Dec. 13, 1917 – Sept. 20, 2009, took over the famous role of “The Lone Ranger,” has died at his home in Rosarito Beach, Mexico according to his wife, Beryl. He was 91.

Handsome and athletic, the actor also starred in the 1940s movie serial “Jack Armstrong: The All-American Boy” and in the series "Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans.”

But his best role came in 1952 when he was chosen to take over the lead role in “The Lone Ranger” after Clayton Moore walked out reportedly in a pay dispute. For 52 episodes, Hart played the Masked Man, an iconic role in American television and one that would be hard to live up to.

"Tough job, but somebody's got to do it," said Boyd Magers, editor and publisher of Western Clippings, a western-film publication. "He [Hart] walked right into it, and he played the Lone Ranger to the hilt. For those 52 episodes, he became the man behind the mask."

"I don't know how many other actors they looked at, but I got the part," Hart said in an interview for the book "The Story of the Lone Ranger" by James Van Hise. "They didn't pay me much, either. It was unbelievable. But being an out-of-work actor, to have a steady job for a while is great."

Hart’s wife, Beryl commented on his role with the part of the Lone Ranger mystic, the horse Silver. "He worked very hard with Silver,” she said. “The horse, had been spooked previously, and was very large and very hard to handle. They hired him for a month to work with him…He said he could call Silver from one side of a corral and get him pounding toward him, this huge horse, and get him to stop on a dime right in front of him."

After Moore returned to "The Lone Ranger," Hart went on to star in the 1955 Columbia serial "The Adventures of Captain Africa." Hart also played the Lone Ranger in a 1981 episode of "The Greatest American Hero" and in a 1982 episode of "Happy Days." In later years, he supervised post-production on the TV series "Quincy, M.E."

John Hart is survived by his wife of 52 years and his daughter, Robyn Prioette.

Eduard Zimmermann, Feb. 4, 1929 – Sept. 19, 2009, German presenter and creator of unsolved crime television, has died in Munich. He was 80.

He was the inventor of the TV show "Aktenzeichen XY... ungelöst" ("File reference XY... unsolved"). He also presided over the series from 1967 through 1997. The significance of this German television series is that it was the forerunner to reality TV shows like "Crimewatch" and "America's Most Wanted."

In 1997, Zimmermann was given an Honorary Award of the Bavarian Minister President. The award is given for high achievement in Bavarian television.

Eduard Zimmermann is predeceased by his wife, Rosmarie Zimmermann who died in Jan. 2008.

Peter Denyer, Aug. 20, 1947 – Sept. 18, 2009, British actor and panto writer, has died. He was 62.

Best known as the slow-witted but lovable pupil Dennis Dunstable in the London Weekend Television’s sitcom “Please Sir!,” the part brought Denyer fame though he was only in his 20s at the time.

The show was based around a school in South London. Room 5C, headed up by newly graduated teacher Mr. Hedges played by John Alderton, was the focus along with a variety of teenagers including Denyer as the class dunce. The series first aired Nov. 11, 1968 and ran for four series consisting of a total of 53 episodes.

Denyer also appeared in the show’s spinoff series called “The Fenn Street Gang” and later, in a variety of shows including the soap “Emmerdale Farm” in 1979 and “Dixon of Dock Green.”

Peter Denyer was a shy sort however and left acting. In 1986, he teamed up with the producer Kevin Wood and together they wrote, directed and produced pantomimes. At his death, Denyer was considered one of Britain’s premier writers of pantomimes.

Frank Deasy, 1960 – Sept. 17, 2009, Irish-born award winning screenwriter, has died in Edinburgh’s Royal Infirmary in Scotland due to liver cancer. He was only 49 years old.

Deasy won an Emmy for the final television mini-series “Prime Suspect” and penned several notables including “The Passion,” the mini-series “Looking After Jo Jo,” “Real Men,” and “England Expects.” But his greatest achievement was to raise public awareness for the need of organ donors.

In his public appeals such as speaking on RTE's “Liveline,” Deasy stated, "It's an invisible death row. The solution is there, the procedure is there, and the budgets are allocated for the surgery, but the one thing they [medical teams] don't have is organs… I want to highlight the situation faced by people who have a life-threatening illness. You're on a transplant list to save your life."

"I'm hoping more people will sign up and be donors and talk about organ donation if they are faced with bereavement, and that they do talk about it beforehand," Deasy said. "It's the public who can save a life. By donating, one woman on Liveline said her son saved five people. That's a modern miracle, but it needs the public to make that miracle happen…I know it's a huge decision to make, but allowing your loved one's organs to be used is a huge act of charity."

In response to just the RTE interview, the Irish Kidney Association received a record number of applications for organ donor cards for the week.

Unfortunately, Frank Deasy never received his liver transplant. He belonged to the relatively rare blood group “B” only shared by 10% of the population. But his public appeal may have saved countless lives.

He leaves behind his wife Marie and their three children.

Dick Durock, Jan. 18, 1937 – Sept. 17, 2009, stuntman who played the monster in “Swamp Thing,” has died at his home in Oak Park, Calif. after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 72.

Handsome, 6 feet, 5 inches tall and 225 pounds, Durock was built for Hollywood and stunt work in particular. Early on, he did stunts for "The Beverly Hillbillies" and played a guard in an episode of "Star Trek." Later, he did stunt work for "The Poseidon Adventure" and "A-Team," "The Rockford Files," “Married with Children" and "Stand by Me." He also played the evil hulk in “The Incredible Hulk” television series.

All told he appeared in more than 700 films and television shows including what he is most noted for, his role as DC Comics character Swamp Thing, a plant-like humanoid charged with protecting the natural world from the abuses of man.

Durock wore a latex bodysuit and make-up to play the monster in 1982 movie, “Swamp Thing” directed by Wes Craven. In the 1989 sequel, “The Return of Swamp Thing,” Durock also played the title role. A subsequent Swamp Thing series resulted and the show ran for 71 episodes from 1990 to 1993.

"At the end of the day you're wearing 80 pounds of wet latex," Dick Durock said in a 2008 interview with Mania, "plus all the chemicals on your face. It sure isn't sunglasses and autographs, I'll tell ya."

One interesting note, Warner Bros is considering a remake of “Swamp Thing” with Joel Silver producing. He said in a previous interview, "I'm developing a picture now that I'd like to do...I'll hopefully do Swamp Thing, which is a movie we've had for a long time. We think that would be great to do in 3D."

Director Guillermo del Toro stated in an interview with The LA Times, "Oh, I would love to make a Swamp Thing movie. Really, Swamp Thing is one of the last Holy Grail projects that is still out there. Those stories were fantastic, with the hallucinogenic feel of that world. I don't think anyone is tackling that one anytime soon. It is one of those Holy Grails that dates back to that same boom as Watchmen and The Killing Joke. For me it would be an honor to do it."

Dick Durock leaves behind three sisters and a significant other.