You may be asking yourself, “who the hell is Pete Postlethwaite?” I know I certainly did.

Most recently, he was seen as Maurice Fischer in Inception and in Ben Affleck’s The Town but Postlethwaite is one of those character actors that seem to pop up in every other movie. He also played in Romeo + Juliet, the Lost World, In the Name of the Father, and The Usual Suspects. He died of cancer at the age of 64.

Writer, Director, Producer Blake Edwards passed away Wednesday at the age of 88. His death was a result of complications from pneumonia.

Some of his most notable films  were Breakfast at Tiffany’s, The Pink Panther (and it’s many follow ups) and 10. He was married to Julie Andrews, who appeared in many of his films. She was with him when he passed.

Information is still coming in at this point but it is reported by Deadline Hollywood that the beloved actor Leslie Nielsen has passed away at the age of 84 from causes unreported at the time of posting. Best known more for his shift from dramatic roles to spoof movies with the ZAZ boys like The Naked Gun and Airplane, even though he has been the cause of some of my derision over his recent role choices (cough … Stan Helsing), his presence will be sorely missed.

You may not know the name Dino De Laurentiis off hand but chances are very great that you have watched some of the films he has been involved in. With a career stretching back to the 1950s in his native country of Italy, de Laurentiis has seen relative success even though some of his properties have not been particularly lauded. While his output has slowed over the past few years, he produced over 150 movies including veritable classics such as Army of Darkness, Manhunter, and Serpico. He was 91.

Arthur Penn, director of Bonnie and Clyde and the Miracle Worker, passed away Tuesday, a day after he turned 88. He is said to have died of heart failure. He also worked on Broadway and won a Tony Award.

Sally Menke, who was Quentin Tarantino’s Oscar nominated editor, passed away Tuesday as well. She was 56. It is reported that she died as a result of the heatwave that California is experiencing. She had been hiking, and was found in her home. Menke was the editor on all of Tarantino’s films, including his segment in Four Rooms.

Kevin McCarthy, perhaps best known for his role in Invasion of the Body Snatchers, passed away of natural causes yesterday. He was 96.

His career in film, television and stage spanned many decades, and thus it is likely impossible that you have not seen him in at least one film or show. Here is but a small list of films he was in: Innerspace, Twilight Zone: The Movie, The Howling and Piranha (1978).

Rather than provide a list of television shows he was in, I will just say that it is quite possible that he appeared at least once on every show that ever existed following his birth.

Glenn Shadix, perhaps most famous for playing Otho in Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice, died this morning after a fall in his home. He was 58. He also appeared in Heathers and on various television programs.

Robert Schimmel has passed away last night at the age of 60. He was in a serious car accident last week, and died as a result of injuries. He was mostly famous for his quite colorful stand up acts, and was also in the films Blankman and Scary Movie 2. He also appeared on the Howard Stern show, and did voices on animated programs.

Dennis Hopper passed away in his home today at 8:15am Pacific Time. He was 74 and suffered from prostate cancer, and his death was a result of complications from that.

If you are not sure who Dennis Hopper was, then you are clearly just as batty as some of his characters. Allow me to link some of his movies to learn something to that 1% of America, and to remind the other 99% of just how awesome his films were: Easy Rider, Blue Velvet, Jesus’ Son and much to Puck’s delight, Speed. In addition to starring in Easy Rider, he co-wrote and directed it and also directed Colors, a fantastic film. He also did video game voices and hosted an amusing episode of SNL.

This is obviously a very short sample of his very long and distinguished career.  Peruse his resume and watch one of his films tonight.

Meinhardt Raabe, the Munckin Coroner that pronounced the Wicked Witch of the West dead with the following lines:

He died today of a heart attack. He was the last surviving cast member of the entire film with any significant dialogue.

Malcom McLaren, manager of the punk band Sex Pistols also died, after battling cancer. He left us yesterday, April 8th. McClaren appeared in The Great Rock and Roll Swindle and The Filth and the Fury, both films by Julien Temple, thus securing my ability to make a post about him on am movie website. McLaren, formed the pistols as a “product” that he would use to make a significant amount of money. Often times, the band would actually be paid to leave their current record label due to their drunken anti-establishment (mostly just drunken) acts. McClaren also formed Bow Wow Wow, managed the Clash for a bit, and produced television shows and artwork. This is merely a slice of what his body of work includes.