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4 articles from 2009

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Actor McCrea Dies

20 April 2009 9:23 AM, PDT | WENN | See recent WENN news »

American actor Jody McCrea has died of cardiac arrest. He was 74.

McCrea, who appeared in over 90 films during his career, died on 4 April in New Mexico - where he worked as a cattle rancher.

The son of movie stars Joel McCrea and Frances Dee, he began acting on the 1960 TV western Wichita Town with his father.

He became best-known for acting in the Beach Party movies of the decade, in which he co-starred with Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon.

McCrea also acted in numerous film and television productions before his retirement in 1970 - including 1962 movie The Broken Land, co-starring Jack Nicholson, and small screen appearances on Wagon Train, Vacation Playhouse and The Greatest Show on Earth.

His wife, Dusty, died in 1996. »

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Obit: Jody McCrea, 'Beach Party' Star

19 April 2009 10:50 PM, PDT | The Wrap | See recent The Wrap news »

By Wrap Staff

Jody McCrea, best known for his roles as a muscle-bound surfer in the "Beach Party" movies in the 1960s, died on April 4 in New Mexico, of cardiac arrest. He was 74.

McCrea was the son of movie stars Joel McCrea and Frances Dee.

In addition to the "Beach Party" comedies "Muscle Beach Party," "Bikini Beach," "Beach Blanket Bingo" and "How to Stuff a Wild Bikini," he appeared in a variety of Western-themed movies and... »

- harley lond

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The Tide Goes Out For "Beach Party" Co-star Jody McCrea - A Tribute By Tom Lisanti

18 April 2009 8:39 AM, PDT | Cinemaretro.com | See recent CinemaRetro news »

Jody McCrea, the son of Joel McCrea, passed away earlier this month. He was primarily known for his roles in cult films. In this excerpt from his book, Cinema Retro columnist pays tribute to McCrea's career. 

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Tall, strapping, square-jawed Jody McCrea who became a favorite of teenage audiences during the Sixties for his amusing performances as “Deadhead” in the series of Beach Party (1963) movies starring Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello passed away on April 4 of this year.  As the dumb surfer in the bunch, Deadhead could be counted on to say something idiotic in his slow drawl.  Though McCrea was always assured a laugh based on how the role was written, it is to his credit that Deadhead came off as sweetly naïve rather than a complete moron.

Jody McCrea was born on September 6, 1934 in Los Angeles.  His father was western star »

- nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)

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Real Or Imagined: Homoeroticism In 60S Beach Movies

13 April 2009 10:30 AM, PDT | Cinemaretro.com | See recent CinemaRetro news »

By Tom Lisanti

To get in a warm weather mood with summer not approaching fast enough, here is a look at Hollywood surf movies from a different and albeit biased perspective.  Gay men are always looking for gay subtext in movies and TV, and I am no exception.  Am I reading more into these films? Probably—but it was sure a lot of fun doing the research.

The Sixties beach movie craze began with Gidget (1959) starring Sandra Dee and James Darren, a fictionalized look at teenager Kathy Kohner’s surfing escapades in Malibu during the mid-Fifties.  It was groundbreaking as the movie contributed to the mass dissention of surfers on the beaches of Malibu and started a series of surf-theme films such as Gidget Goes Hawaiian and Ride the Wild Surf.  The surf movie soon morphed into the beach-party film, whose heyday was from 1963 through 1965, where surfing was only used »

- nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)

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4 articles from 2009

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