Jeff MacKay, an actor on dozens of TV shows who had an unusual gig on “Magnum, P.I.,” died Aug. 22 in Tulsa, Okla., of liver failure. He was 59.
MacKay, whose cousin, Robert Redford, got him a part in 1976’s “All the President’s Men” to get him his SAG card, played Lieutenant “Mac” MacReynolds in 24 episodes of 1980-88 CBS series “Magnum.” His character was blown up in Magnum’s Ferrari, but MacKay soon returned to play a different part — that of a con man who coincidentally looked liked Mac.
The Dallas native also was a regular on “Baa Baa Black Sheep,” “JAG” and “Tales of the Gold Monkey” and appeared in “The Krofft Supershow,” “Battlestar Galactica” and “The Greatest American Hero.”
Lata Ryan, a producer whose credits include “Jurassic Park,” the first “X-Files” film and “Rent,” died July 19 at St. John’s Hospital in Santa Monica of complications of pancreatic cancer. She was 59.
A daughter of famed still photographer Phil Stern, Ryan began her career as an assistant producer in commercials. She segued into films as a production coordinator in 1979 and worked on “Return of the Jedi,” the second and third “Back to the Future” films and “The Color Purple.”
Ryan, the wife of cinematographer Bob LaBong, served as associate producer for 1993’s “Jurassic Park” and exec producer on “Grosse Point Blank” (1997), “The X-Files” (1998), “Cold Creek Manor” (2003) and 2005’s “Rent,” which gave her the opportunity to blend her love of dance, musical theater and movies.
Ruth Cohen, seen in almost every “Seinfeld” episode as the cashier at Monk’s Cafe but rarely heard, died of a heart attack on Aug. 23 at Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Panorama City, Calif. She was 78.
Cohen was a “Seinfeld” regular but had few lines. Her character’s name, Ruthie Cohen, was not revealed until the 10th episode of Season 7, “The Gum.”
Jerry Finn, who produced albums for Blink-182 and Morrissey, died Aug. 21 after suffering a brain hemorrhage last month. He was 39.
Finn received his start as an engineer in the early 1990s before shifting into production on albums like Rancid’s “… And Out Come the Wolves.” Among his best-known production credits are Blink-182’s “Enema of the State” and Morrissey’s “You Are the Quarry.” Most recently, Finn lent production to Morrissey’s “Years of Refusal,” due in February.
Finn also worked with Green Day, Bad Religion and the Offspring.
Ralph Young, half of the singing duo Sandler & Young, died Aug. 22 in Palm Springs. He was 90.
From the 1960s through the early ’90s, the duo released 22 albums and played Caesars Palace, the Desert Inn, the Flamingo and the Persian Room at New York’s Plaza Hotel.
They appeared on TV shows including “The Andy Williams Show,” “The Merv Griffin Show,” “The Tonight Show” and “The Ed Sullivan Show,” including that show’s final broadcast. In 1969, they hosted CBS’ Kraft Music Hall from London for an entire season.
After serving in World War II, Young became lead vocalist for bandleaders Les Brown, Tommy Reynolds and Shep Fields. He later starred in the Broadway musical “Whoop-Up” in 1958-59, then met the Belgian-born Tony Sandler in 1963.
Julius Carry, an actor who appeared on such series as “Doctor, Doctor,” “Murphy Brown” and “Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place,” died Aug. 19 in Los Angeles from pancreatic cancer. He was 56.
The Chicago native made more than 100 appearances in TV shows.
In films, he portrayed the main villain Sho’nuff in “The Last Dragon” (1985) and Malik Jamal Truth in “The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh” (1979).
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