Joan Benedict Steiger, who was part of the original stock company for Candid Camera and later became the wife of actor Rod Steiger, died June 24 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles of complications from a stroke. She was 96.

Her death was announced by a family spokesperson.

As Joan Benedict, she got her start on TV during the medium’s early days, appearing in the 1950s on Candid Camera and The Steve Allen Show. She would go on to score dozens of TV credits with guest appearances in the 1970s on such series as The Smith Family, Apple’s Way, The Incredible Hulk and Fantasy Island, among others.

Later TV and film credits include The Happy Hooker Goes to Washington, Hotel, The Trials of Rosie O’Neill and Dollhouse. She recurred on soap General Hospital as the character Edith Fairchild, and also appeared in Days of Our Lives and Capitol.

Born July 21, 1927, in Brooklyn,...

Lenka Peterson, whose Broadway performances included a 1984 Tony-nominated turn in the musical Quilters, co-starring roles with Shelley Winters, Lillian Gish and Colleen Dewhurst in plays with creative teams including Truman Capote and Arthur Penn, died Sept. 24 in her sleep at home in Roxbury, Connecticut. She was 95.

Her death was announced by her family, including daughter, actress Glynnis O’Connor.

In addition to her stage work, Peterson appeared in an extensive roster of film and television projects, spanning more than 50 years beginning with a small role in director Elia Kazan’s 1950 film Panic in the Streets (Peterson was a charter member of The Actors Studio) and continuing through the 2006 remake of All The King’s Men starring Sean Penn, Jude Law and Kate Winslet.

Born Lenka Isacson in Omaha, Nebraska, Peterson moved to New York City following World War II to pursue a stage career, and soon landed...

John Reilly, a veteran soap opera actor best known for his role as Sean Donely on “General Hospital,” has died. He was 84.

Reilly’s daughter, actor and TikTok personality Caitlin Reilly, shared the news on Instagram.

“The brightest light in the world has gone out. Imagine the best person in the world. Now imagine that person being your dad,” Caitlin wrote. “I’m so grateful he was mine. I’m so grateful I got to love him. I’m so grateful I made it in time to hold him and say goodbye. I honestly don’t know what I’m going to do, but I know he’ll be with me.”

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Born on Nov. 11, 1936 in Chicago, Ill., Reilly began his acting career in the 1960s with small roles on shows like “Death Valley Days,” “Apple’s Way” and “Gunsmoke.

Else Blangsted, a Holocaust survivor who went on to a 35-year career as a film music editor who worked with some of the industry’s most successful directors, producers and composers – Robert Redford, Steven Spielberg, Quincy Jones, Dave Grusin, Sydney Pollack, among others – died Friday, May 1, from natural causes at her home in Los Angeles. She was 99.

Blangsted’s death, which occurred just three weeks short of her 100th birthday, was confirmed by her cousin, the Oscar–winning filmmaker and producer Deborah Oppenheimer.

Though she occasionally worked in TV throughout the years – Hazel, Dennis the Menace, Apple’s Way and the 1976 miniseries Helter Skelter, among others – it was in film that Blangsted left her most indelible professional mark. A partial roster of her film credits, spanning 1955’s Picnic to 1990’s The Bonfire of the Vanities, includes On Golden Pond, The Great Santini, Ordinary People, The Color Purple, The Goonies, In Cold Blood,...

Lan O’Kun, a multi-talent whose long collaboration with sister-in-law and entertainer Shari Lewis brought to life Lamb Chop and other beloved characters, died Jan. 9 at his home in Malibu. He was 87 and passed from heart failure.

A composer, lyricist, writer, performer, storyteller, and pianist, O’Kun created hundreds of scripts and songs for ventriloquist Shari Lewis and her puppets Lamb Chop, Charlie Horse, and Hush Puppy.,

Born January 13, 1932 in New York City, O’Kun was enrolled in New York’s High School of Music and Art. He graduated from Syracuse University in New York.

His career as a writer includes scripts for “The New Twilight Zone,” “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” “The Love Boat,” “Highway to Heaven,” “Apple’s Way,” “That Was the Week That Was,” and many episodes of the award-winning “Insight” anthology series. His Hallmark Hall of Fame special “The Littlest Angel” is regarded as a TV classic, as is his children’s series,...