Rich Schafler of Schafler Artists Management, New York, has signed Minneapolis music company Hest & Kramer, and Santa Monica production shop Uncle for East Coast representation….Dektor Film, Hollywood, has secured Chicago-based independent rep Marguerite Juliusson to handle the Midwest….Director Vadim Perelman, who made a major splash with his feature debut House of Sand and Fog, is once again available for spots via Tate USA, Santa Monica. He had planned on returning to commercials sooner after having wrapped House of Sand and Fog, but he became attached to another film, Talisman, via Universal-DreamWorks. However, his association with that project ended, freeing him to now resume his spotmaking career….Mark Mirsky and Eileen Platt of Mirsky & Platt, New York, have been hired to represent Rogue Creative, New York, on the East Coast…. Editors Hideaway, New York, has added Frank Ferrante as VP of sales….Production designer Paul Martin is now repped by Lyons Sheldon Prosnit, Los Angeles….Production designer Aaron Goffman has signed with The Vertigo Agency, Toronto, for exclusive Canadian representation….DP Enrique Chediak has completed principal photography on Down in the Valley, and is again available for commercials through Partos, Santa Monica…. Cinematographer Bojan Bazelli has wrapped principal photography on director Doug Liman’s Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and is back for spot assignments at Dattner Dispoto and Associates, Los Angeles….
Gene Hackman Died Of Heart Disease; Hantavirus Claimed His Wife’s Life About One Week Prior
Actor Gene Hackman died of heart disease a full week after his wife died from hantavirus in their New Mexico hillside home, likely unaware that she was dead because he was in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's disease, authorities revealed Friday. Both deaths were ruled to be from natural causes, chief medical examiner Dr. Heather Jarrell said alongside state fire and health officials at a news conference. "Mr. Hackman showed evidence of advanced Alzheimer's disease," Jarrell said. "He was in a very poor state of health. He had significant heart disease, and I think ultimately that's what resulted in his death." Authorities didn't suspect foul play after the bodies of Hackman, 95, and Betsy Arakawa, 65, were discovered Feb 26. Immediate tests for carbon monoxide poisoning were negative. Investigators found that the last known communication and activity from Arakawa was Feb. 11 when she visited a pharmacy, pet store and grocery before returning to their gated neighborhood that afternoon, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said Friday. Hackman's pacemaker last showed signs of activity a week later and that he had an abnormal heart rhythm Feb. 18, the day he likely died, Jarrell said. Although there was no reliable way to determine the date and time when both died, all signs point to their deaths coming a week apart, Jarrell said. "It's quite possible he was not aware she was deceased," Jarrell said. Dr. Michael Baden, a former New York City medical examiner, said he believes Hackman was severely impaired due to Alzheimer's disease and unable to deal with his wife's death in the last week of his life. "You are talking about very severe Alzheimer's disease that normal people would be in a nursing home or have a nurse, but she was taking care... Read More