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Sam Berns, who battled the rare and fatal genetic condition that accelerates the aging process and was the subject of the award winning documentary LIFE ACCORDING TO SAM, has died. He was 17. Berns died Friday due to complications from Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome, commonly known as progeria. Berns was diagnosed with progeria when he was 22 months old. 

James Avery, who played “Uncle Phil” on “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” died earlier this week at age 68. According to reports, Avery died Tuesday night at a Los Angeles hospital due to complications from open-heart surgery. Avery just recently wrapped the indie film WISH I WAS HERE directed by Zach Braff, set to premiere later this month at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.

Actor James Gandolfini, best known for playing New Jersey mob boss Tony Sopranos on the HBO series “The Sopranos,”  died of a heart attack earlier today in Italy. He was 51. Gandolfini was reportedly scheduled to appear in conversation with director Gabriele Muccino at the 59th Taormina Film Festival in Sicily.

Mott Green, who founded the Grenada Chocolate Company, the subject of the documentary “NOTHING LIKE CHOCOLATE,” directed by Kum-Kum Bhavnani, died on June 1 in Grenada. He was 47.

Award-winning, Bengali director Rituparno Ghosh, THE LAST LEAR, suffered a heart attack and died last Thursday in Calcutta, India, reports the New York Times. He was 49.

Jazz documentarian Jean Bach “A GREAT DAY IN HARLEM,” died on Monday at her home in New York City reports the New York Times. She was 94.

Film director Bryan Forbes whose work includes the original 1970s horror classic Stepford Wives and Whistle Down The Wind has died “following a long illness” at the age of 86. Forbes, who started his career as an actor, was married to the actress Nanette Newman, died surrounded by his family at his home in the UK. He was awarded the Dilys Powell Award for outstanding contribution to cinema at the London Film Critics’ Circle Awards in 2006.

Roger Ebert, arguably the most popular film critic of all times, died today in Chicago. He was 70.

Ebert was originally diagnosed with thyroid and salivary cancer cancer in 2002, but earlier this week, he disclosed that he will be taking a “leave of presence” due to a recurrence of cancer.

Oscar-nominated screenwriter and former president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Fay Kanin, died Wednesday. She was 95.

Kanin wrote screenplays for 1958 Clark Gable-Doris Day comedy “Teacher’s Pet”, for which she received an Oscar nomination, and the 1954 Elizabeth Taylor romantic drama “Rhapsody”.

Kanin served as president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from 1979 to 1983, and was its second female president after actress Bette Davis. Kanin also was a longtime chairperson of the National Film Preservation Board of the Library of Congress and served on the board of the American Film Institute.

Award-winning director Adam Strange was attacked and killed yesterday by what is believed to be a great white shark while swimming at popular Muriwai Beach north of Auckland, New Zealand. Strange was 46 years old.

“All of a sudden, we saw the shark fin and next minute, boom, attack him and then blood every where on the water,” said witness Pio Mose.  “He was still alive, he put his head up, we called him to swim over [to] the rock to where we were. He raised his hand up, and then while he was rising his hand up we saw another attack pull him in the water.”

Sad new news to report today. Former New York City Mayor Edward I. Koch, star of the documentary, aptly titled Koch, opening today, died Friday morning at age 88. According to the NY Times, Mr. Koch’s spokesman, George Arzt, said the former mayor died at 2 a.m. from congestive heart failure. Mr. Koch who had experienced coronary and other medical problems since leaving office in 1989, was recently forced to miss the premiere of his documentary Koch.  Koch which […]