Vachik Mangassarian, ‘NCIS’ and ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ Actor, Dies of COVID at 78
Vachik Mangassarian, known for his work in “NCIS,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” and more, has died. He was 78. A rep for Mangassarian told the Hollywood Reporter he died in Burbank, Calif. from COVID-19 complications.
On “NCIS,” he played a fake Iranian president and on “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” he played a cleric. His other TV credits include “The Mentalist,” “JAG,” “NYPD Blue,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “Falcon Crest.”
More from Variety
The Iran-born Armenian actor moved to the United States at age 23 and worked as a waiter in Los Angeles while immersing himself into the entertainment scene. Mangassarian then landed his first film role for “The South’s Shark” in 1978.
In addition to Mangassarian’s extensive work in television, recently with a small appearance on “Chad,” he appeared on both the stage and big screen throughout the following decades — including “The Stoning of Soraya M” starring Jim Caviezel and “Moving On” starring Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin.
As a strong supporter of the Armenian community, the actor also anchored his own radio and later television show, “The Armenian National Network,” where guests discussed politics, film and art. In 2012, he helped bring the feature film “Lost and Found in Armenia,” in which he also appeared, to U.S. audiences.
According to the Daily Beast, in the months before his death from COVID-19-related complications, Mangassarian frequently expressed his opposition to COVID-19 vaccines and shared misinformation on social media that suggested the pandemic was part of a grand conspiracy.
In an October Facebook post, for example, Mangassarian shared a photo of a billboard that read, “I am more afraid of a Democrat in the White House than I am of COVID-19.”
Story continues
Mangassarian is survived by two sisters, Linda Lalaian of Glendale and Elda Hacopian, two nephews, Derek Hacopian, Ara Hacopian and niece Aida Hacopian. He was managed by Valerie McCaffrey of McCaffrey Talent Management.
Best of Variety
Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Click here to read the full article.
Kanye West says Kim Kardashian is putting North on TikTok without his permission
]
Yahoo Entertainment
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is apologizing for saying the unvaccinated have less freedom than Anne Frank did. He’s faced backlash for his comments, made at an anti-vax rally Sunday in Washington, D.C., with his wife, Curb Your Enthusiasm actress Cheryl Hines, distancing herself from his remarks. “I apologize for my reference to Anne Frank, especially to families that suffered the Holocaust horrors,” the environmental lawyer and anti-vaccine activist wrote on Twitter Tuesday. “My intention was to use examples of past barbarism to show the perils from new technologies of control. To the extent my remarks caused hurt, I am truly and deeply sorry.”
Ring camera shows delivery person having close encounter with large bear
]
Oxygen
Authorities say there are “persons of interest” in the shooting deaths last summer of a married couple found dead near their Utah campsite. The bodies of newlyweds Kylen Schulte, 24, and Crystal Turner, 38, were discovered in the South Mesa area of the La Sal Mountains on Aug. 18, 2021, as previously reported. The Grand County Sheriff’s Office investigated the possibility that the double murder was related to the high-profile disappearance of Gabby Petito after it was discovered that Petito and
Melanie Ham: Crafting YouTuber dies aged 36
(Melanie Ham / YouTube)
YouTuber and crafter Melanie Ham, who was well-known for the stories about her art and personal life she shared on social media, has died at the age of 36.
According to posts shared to her social media accounts, which were published by her husband Robert Ham, Ham passed away from cancer on 12 January.
“It is with a heavy heart and deep sadness I share the news of the passing of my sweet, amazing, beautiful wife Melanie,” the caption of the Instagram post reads. “If you’ve been following our journey I’m sure you were, like us, hopeful she could defeat this insidious disease.”
Robert noted in the caption that he and his wife were only nine days away from their 16-year anniversary before her death. He praised the nurses, doctors, and his family who helped Ham fight “until the end” of her cancer battle.
“Melanie fought like a warrior queen,” he wrote.
“Despite the deep grief my family and I feel today we want to celebrate an amazing woman and a life well-lived,” he added. “She loved passionately, created beautifully, provided abundantly and was my best friend all the way to the end.”
The influencer’s husband then detailed how loved she was by her family and friends, before encouraging her more than 46,000 Instagram followers to “put up a toast of bourbon” in her honour, since it was her favourite drink.
On January 15, a post about her funeral details was shared on Instagram. “A celebration of Life In loving memory of Melanie Ham” was planned for 22 January at Crossroad Community Church in Valencia, California,” the caption of the post read, adding that “colourful attire was encouraged”.
Ham’s YouTube channel, which has more than 810,000 subscribers, features crocheting, quilting, and sewing tutorial videos. Her final video, posted in April of last year, was a beginner’s guide for people learning how to crochet.
Story continues
Back in November 2020, Ham posted a video about her cancer, where she revealed that she was still living with a tumour in her body.
The YouTuber noted that she had epithelioid angiomyolipoma, a rare type of sarcoma, which is a term for “a group of cancers that begin in the bones and in the soft tissues,” according to the Mayo Clinic .
Prior to her death, the influencer frequently discussed her cancer on her social media accounts, with one post shared in August 2020 describing one of her recent surgeries.
Following the news of her death, many of Ham’s Instagram followers have shared their condolences. “This is certainly one person I’ve never met but will really miss. She was and always will be amazing,” one person wrote.
“Anyone who followed her YouTube channel will miss her so much,” another Instagram user wrote. “But, she will live on forever in the people she inspired. Your entire family will forever be in my thoughts and prayer.”
“Such a loss,” another comment reads. “Melanie was a beautiful soul and an amazing teacher. May her memory be a blessing. I know a piece of her will go into every quilt I make.”
John Boyega, Director Abi Damaris Corbin on the Making of Sundance Feature ‘892’: “It Was Nonstop”
892 tells the real-life story of Brian Easley, a Marine veteran who threatened to bomb a Wells Fargo in an Atlanta suburb in 2017. The 33-year-old father suffered from PTSD and was frustrated that his disability checks — totaling $892 — were being withheld by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The movie had its Sundance Film Festival premiere on Jan. 21, with The Hollywood Reporter review praising lead actor John Boyega’s “ability to reflect, with poise and command, the competing, often incongruent layers of a man most of us will never know.”
More from The Hollywood Reporter
Boyega joined the project after Jonathan Majors, who was originally cast to play Easley, had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts. “I was pretty much relaxing after spending time with family, and then I got a call from my agent about this project,” remembers the actor. (Prior to this, Boyega had abruptly exited the filming of Netflix feature Rebel Ridge.) 892 was co-written by Young Vic artistic director Kwame Kwei-Armah, who cast Boyega in his first acting job in the 2009 play Seize the Day, years before he landed the role that would make him a household name in the Star Wars galaxy. “He put this story in front of me years ago, but scheduling didn’t allow us to do it. So, it came full circle,” explains Boyega.
Abi Damaris Corbin, a Boston native whose own father was a U.S. military veteran having fought in Vietnam with the Navy, was making her feature debut on the project. Boyega and Corbin begin rehearsals almost immediately over Zoom, with only a handful of weeks prior to 892’s Los Angeles production start date. “It was definitely a 180,” remembers Boyega. “Especially at the time, I didn’t have the intention of working so soon.”
An abandoned bank in L.A.’s San Fernando Valley stood in for the Wells Fargo, where much of the film takes place. “It was like a stage play,” says Corbin of the production. “It was nonstop.” Much of 892, which also stars Connie Britton, Selenis Leyva and Nicole Beharie, sees Boyega acting opposite a phone as Easley makes calls to his ex-wife, his daughter, a local television news producer and a hostage negotiator.
Story continues
The negotiator is played posthumously by late actor Michael K. Williams. (Williams passed away in September at 54.) Corbin highlights Williams’ dedication to the story, remembering the filming of a scene that was proving particularly difficult to land. “We were at like take 18. And I’m like, ‘Mike, we got the pieces. We’re good.’ He’s like, ‘Abi, let me go one more,’” says the director. “We knew, between the two of us, that this was something that we couldn’t punt.”
That commitment to telling Easley’s story was a driving force for those working on the indie production, says Corbin. Boyega would come to set on his days off to do line readings for the actors who were meant to be talking to Easley on the phone. “He was in the car in 106-degree weather, on the phone for every actor, or hiding in a corner because there was no place else to fit,” she says.
“I like to say there are some roles where you can use elements of yourself to help prompt your knowledge of the role, and then there are some roles that you just did not go through, and you have gotta act,” says Boyega. Playing Easley was the latter for the star, who did have to take a forced break from the character after he tested positive for COVID-19 during the shoot. “I had like a few weeks off to recover and then came back and finished it off,” he recalls. “That really worried me because we’re in a streak, like getting into the meat of it. And then it happened, and I was like, ‘Damn, I’m gonna lose the flow.’”
Before scripting, Corbin and Kwei-Armah reached out to Easley’s wife, Jessica, and daughter for their blessing in making the movie but also to learn more about the man who would be at its center. Boyega met with the family over Zoom after they had watched the film, where he says they voiced their support of his performance. The actor notes, “When you go and do the work, and you circle back, it’s always in hopes that they appreciate and support what you are doing.”
While 892 is based on a 2018 Longreads article, little is available about Easley outside of contemporaneous news reports. The team behind 892 hopes that this will change with their movie, which is a part of the fest’s U.S. Dramatic Competition lineup and is seeking distribution. Says Boyega, “This is Bryan’s legacy, here and now. This is part of the same spark that made him go is that back; this movie is created from that same spark.”
Click here to read the full article.