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On-line version ISSN 2223-6279
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Curationis vol.38 n.2 Pretoria 2015
Using mobile phones and social media to facilitate education and support for rural-based midwives in South Africa
Jennifer ChippsI, II; Christoph PimmerIII; Petra BrysiewiczIV; Fiona WaltersIV; Sebastian LinxenIV; Thandiwe NdebeleIII; Urs GröhbielIV
ISchool of Nursing, University of the Western Cape, South Africa
IISydney Nursing School, University of Sydney, Australia
IIIInstitute for Information Systems, HSW, University of Applied Sciences and Arts North-Western Switzerland, Switzerland
IVSchool of Nursing and Public Health, College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
BACKGROUND: Empirical studies show the value of mobile phones as effective educational tools to support learning in the nursing profession, predominantly in high income countries
PROBLEM STATEMENT: The rapidly increasing prevalence of mobile phone technology in Africa nourishes hopes that these tools could be equally effective in lowly resourced contexts, specifically in efforts to achieve the health-related Millennium Development goals. The purpose of this study was to investigate the perception and use of mobile phones as educational and professional tools by nurses in lowly resourced settings
METHODOLOGY: A quantitative survey using self-administered questionnaires was conducted of rural advanced midwives
RESULTS: Fifty-six nurses (49.6%) from the 113 rural-based midwives attending an advanced midwifery training programme at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, filled in a questionnaire. The results showed that, whilst nurses regarded their technology competences as low and although they received very little official support from their educational and professional institutions, the majority frequently used mobile functions and applications to support their work and learning processes. They perceived mobile devices with their voice, text, and email functions as important tools for the educational and professional activities of searching for information and engaging with facilitators and peers from work and study contexts. To a lesser extent, the use of social networks, such as WhatsApp and Facebook, were also reported
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION: It is concluded that educational institutions should support the appropriate use of mobile phones more systematically; particularly in relation to the development of mobile network literacy skills
As part of a strategy to address three of the Millennium Development goals to improve child and maternal health and fighting HIV, rural-based registered midwives have been enrolled in a part-time, two-year, Advanced Midwifery Programme at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
Background and selective literature review
Challenges of health workers in rural areas and the potential of mobile technology
In rural and disadvantaged areas in lower- and middle-income countries, health workers have limited access to education, up-to-date knowledge, and professional networks. These conditions contribute, amongst others, to professional isolation, attrition, poor performance, and emigration (HIFA Report 2010; Hongoro & McPake 2004; WHO 2010). In these settings the mobile phone is often the most reliable technology for health care providers to perform their work (Crow et al. 2012). In fact, in low- and middle-income countries, the use of mobile phones has dramatically increased and is considered to have a large impact on developmental issues. In South Africa this increase includes 94.2 mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 people (The World Bank 2011) and a mobile broadband penetration that had reached 29% by the end of 2013 (ITU 2014).
In this light, United Nations organisations, such as UNICEF, ITU and the World Bank, have great expectations for the potential of mobile phones to support and educate health care providers (Holmes 2010; ITU 2010; The World Bank 2012), and educational institutions have started piloting these tools (Chang et al. 2011).
Mobile learning and communication
Mobile phones, similar to the old digital assistants, form new kinds of communication and interaction that can also define novel approaches to teaching and learning (De Marcos Ortega et al. 2011; McLeod & Mays 2008). In nursing education and midwifery, smartphones can be used for quick access to educational materials and guidelines during clinical and class activities or clinical conferences; a range of applications expand the smartphone functions even further (Havelka 2011; Phillippi & Wyatt 2011). In a number of studies, mobile phones are reported to be used for educational purposes in clinical contexts to access learning materials (Clay 2011) or social support at the bedside (Young et al. 2010). However, some barriers to the use of mobile phones in nursing have been recorded, including cost, disease transmission, equipment interference (Phillippi & Wyatt 2011), and ethical issues of data security.
However, despite the increasing pentetration of mobile devices in low- and middle-income countries, mobile learning research seems to focus on learning at schools, universities, workplaces, or on life-long learning in high income areas (Hwang & Tsai 2011; Wu et al. 2012). There is still little solid knowledge available about how to use mobile media to effectively support health workers in disadvantaged areas in low- and middle-income countries (Braun et al. 2013; Deglise, Suggs & Odermatt 2012; Mechael et al. 2010; Tomlinson et al. 2013). In these settings, Traxler and Kukulska-Hulme (2005) consider the potential of mobile learning to provide education without dependence on extensive traditional communications infrastructure. However, it is argued that current perceptions about mobile learning and development seems to be oversimplified and techno-centred (Traxler 2012; Winters 2013). Similarly, most health studies focus on small-scale pilot interventions, adopt a 'techno-optimistic' view, do not pay attention to socio-cultural practices and have a limited theoretical foundation. Beyond interventions, published literature on the gradual growth and appropriation of mobile phones for health and educational purposes is scarce (Chib 2013; Chib, Van Velthoven & Car 2014).
Midwifery studies in Indonesia point to the potential of cell phones. Their use is positively associated with access to institutional resources (Lee, Chib & Kim 2011), their capacity to solve patient-related challenges, the enhancement of peer interaction (Chib & Chen 2011), the empowerment and respect that midwives enjoy within their communities (Chib & Chen 2011), and higher levels of health knowledge (Lee et al. 2011). These positive outcomes have been realised in a non-linear approach resulting from the dialectical tensions amongst the interactions of benefits and constraints, such as gender or midwifery roles, a lack of technical competency and resource control in traditional social hierarchies (Chib & Chen 2011).
The use of mobile technology to access social media and social networks
Internet-enabled mobile phones increasingly permit users to access social network sites. Indeed, statistics allow the conclusion that smart mobile phone users spend considerably more time on social media and social network sites than users of personal computers (Favell 2010). Again, medical and health research has concentrated on the educational use of social media in high income countries (Gray, Annabell & Kennedy 2010). Their findings identify educational benefits as well as risks regarding ethical issues and privacy. However, very little research has been conducted about the use of social software on mobile phones in developing or transitional countries, though their potential is considered to be high (Kolko, Rose & Johnson 2007). Only a few studies have analysed the rich educational potential of the convergence of mobile phones and social networking sites for nursing and medical education in developing countries. A study, for example, illustrates how Asian health professionals are using social network sites on their mobile phones to deliberately engage with explicit forms of educational content, such as quizzes and case presentations, as well as to participate in virtual professional communities that allow for the announcement and negotiation of occupational status and professional identities. Such technologies permit the users' educational engagement beyond local communities and facilitate loose and ephemeral connections to professional (health) networks (Pimmer, Linxen & Gröhbiel 2012a; Pimmer et al. 2013). A qualitative study in a similar programme setting as this investigation concluded that midwives are using their mobile phones to support authentic problem solving in relation to critical patient cases to facilitate reflective practice and to establish social presence in the form of emotional support and inclusion (Pimmer et al. 2014). As a result of the prevailing qualitative findings it can be concluded that future research must concentrate more attention on analysing such applications. Further research is required to address the extent to which the engagement with such technologies impacts learning and communicating health information.
Problem statement
More than 100 midwives enrolled in a two-year Advanced Midwifery Programme at five rural sites in the KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa. The challenge for the teaching staff of the programme was to connect these midwives to the university in real time and to ensure that they had ready access to all learning materials and resources. Though lectures were provided by means of videoconferencing and midwives reported that they had access to computers, it was clear that uptake of the learning management systems had been low (Chipps et al. 2015). A previous study concluded that, despite the high possibility of phone ownership (Pimmer et al. 2014), it was not clear what the use for, and perceptions about, the functionality of mobile phones for educational and work-related activities had been.
Definition of key concepts
ICTs: ICTs are information and communication technologies that include hardware, such as computers (desktop and laptop) and mobile phones (smartphones and traditional mobile phones), as well as software applications and communication functions, such as calling and messaging.
Mobile phones: A subset of ICTs includes smartphones (e.g. iPhone, Blackberry) that have additional functions to basic phoning and SMS (text messaging), such as Internet access and a range of applications, and mobile phones without Internet access.
Facilitators: Facilitators were Registered Educators and Midwives employed by the university to support students clinically and academically in rural areas.
Research objectives of the study
The research objectives were to establish existing usage patterns and perceptions of ICT and, in particular, of mobile phones and social media and networks, e.g. Facebook to gain a better understanding for the purpose of incorporating these technologies into existing educational programmes.
Research method and design
Context of the study
The context of the study was the Advanced Midwifery Training Programme at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, which was presented at five remote rural hospital sites and one university site. Because the midwifery students were living, working, and studying locally a blended educational programme had been designed to address their educational needs with the aim of not removing them from their local setting for educational purposes. That included weekly in-person videoconferencing lectures from the university to the local rural hospitals and the appointment of local facilitators to support the midwives at those rural sites. Programme material in four subjects had also been placed online by utilising an open source learning management system; however, most of the material and resources were photocopied and posted to the rural sites.
A quantitative survey on the use and effectiveness of mobile phones, computers and social networks for work and educational purposes was conducted in the second half of 2012 by means of a structured questionnaire. This survey was the second component of a mixed method study to investigate mobile phone and social media usage for educational purposes in lowly resourced settings (Pimmer et al. 2014).
Sample and population
The population of the study comprised 113 advanced midwifery nursing students enrolled in the two-year programme at the time of the survey; 69 respondents were second year students whilst 44 of them were first year students. No sampling was done and all midwives were eligible to participate in the study, resulting in 56 valid respondents (49.6% response rate): 45 from the second year (65.2%) and 11 from the first year (25.0%). Participation varied across sites, ranging from 100% at one rural site to 27.5% at the university attendance site (Table 1).
The questionnaire was developed and refined based on the findings of previous qualitative studies, mainly from an interview-based investigation from the same programme setting (Pimmer et al. 2014) and, additionally, from a qualitative study from a different low resourced context (Pimmer, Linxen & Gröhbiel 2012b). In addition, items were adopted from an extensive survey with established validity and reliability that had examined the use and perception of information technology by undergraduate students (EDUCAUSE 2011). The questionnaire was in English and took approximately 20 to 30 minutes to complete.
Data collection and analysis methods
The questionnaires were distributed by the local facilitators and then returned to the research staff at the university. Data were entered in the SPSS version 22.0 computer program and analysed using appropriate descriptive and non-parametric statistics. Frequency of mobile phone usage was estimated out of a possible 365 days a year, with responses assigned the following estimated values to convert frequency of use to a numeric variable: 'using it more than once a day' = 356, 'more than once a week' = 208 (52 weeks x 4 times a week), 'more than once a month' = 48 (12 months x 4 times a month), and 'once a month' = 12. Four times was taken as an estimate of use per week or month. Inapplicable data were excluded and missing data were included.
The study received ethical clearance from the Human and Social Science Ethics Committee from the University of KwaZulu-Natal and permission was granted by the School of Nursing at the university to conduct the study. Written informed consent was obtained, anonymity of respondents was maintained and participation in the study was voluntary. Data were not able to be traced back to the respondent.
Description of sample
Fifty-six midwives (49.6%) from four rural sites and one site attached to a university responded to the survey (Table 1); 42 from the second year of training (60.9%) and 11 from the first year of training (25.0%). Of the 56 respondents, only two midwives reported that they were male. The average age was 42.5 years (SD 75) with a range between 30 and 57 years. Only six respondents (10.7%) reported having completed a degree in nursing with the rest having completed diplomas in nursing.
General mobile phone use
Though respondents in this study did report having access to computers (n = 48; 85.7%), nearly a quarter of them (n = 13; 23.2%) had no computer access at home. In contrast, all respondents excepting two (96.4%) reported owning a mobile phone. Twenty-eight (50.0%) of the respondents reported owning a smartphone. The mobile phone was used most frequently for making phone calls with an estimated average use of 302 days a year (SD 108.9); 41 respondents (73.2%) reported that they made phone calls several times a day. That was followed by SMSs or texting with an estimated use of 250 days a year (SD 135.8). Twenty-nine (51.8%) respondents reported that they sent text messages several times a day; respondents reported sending an average of 4.7 (SD 5.2, median 3, range 0-27) outgoing messages per day and receiving an average of 6.2 (SD 6.4, median 5, range 0-30) messages per day. The WhatsApp messaging application had a general estimated use of 181.8 days a year (167.4) and was used several times a day by 13 (23.2%) respondents; Facebook was used for 127.9.8 days a year (143.8) and was used several times a day by 6 respondents (10.7%); email had an overall general estimated use of 101.6 days a year (143.5) and was used several times a day by 7 respondents (12.5%). There were significant differences by age group for how often they used Facebook functionalities, with only one of the 9 respondents over 50 years old reporting using Facebook at all and then only about once per month (X2 = 20.1 [df = 8], p = .002).
Current use of mobile phones and social networks to support learning
Mobile phones: When examining how mobile phones were used to support learning, three areas were identified: (1) contacting facilitators or peers to discuss topics and tasks from the course, (2) contacting facilitators or peers to discuss work-related topics and tasks, and (3) searching for information and using mobile phones in the clinical context.
Forty-five (80.4%) respondents thought mobile phones were important for contacting programme facilitators, 38 (67.9%) for contacting colleagues, and 40 (71.4%) for contacting their peers or fellow students. The majority of the respondents (n = 47; 83.9%) thought they were important for searching for work-related information, whilst 40 (71.4%) respondents reported using them at least several times a week. Though 31 (55.4%) thought mobile phones were important for work-related clinical care, mobile phones were seldom used to document or share cases by means of images (n = 11; 19.6%).
The most frequent activity reported by respondents was contacting fellow students by phone call (n = 31; 55.4%) followed by SMS messages (n = 26; 46.4%) to discuss study issues. Nearly half (n = 25; 44.6%) used phone calls to contact facilitators for both study and work-related reasons (Table 2).
Social networks: Facebook: The use of Facebook as a social network application on either mobile phone or computer was specifically evaluated as a potential new application to use for educational activities. Regarding the current use of Facebook at the time of the survey, 17 respondents (30.4%) reported accessing social network sites, such as Facebook, using their laptops and 20 respondents (35.7%) reported accessing social networks using their smartphones. Twenty-three respondents (41.1%) agreed that social networking sites were becoming important. However, the use of social networks to reflect on work-related experiences was low with only 10 (17.9%) respondents who reported that they were using social networking sites for that purpose. Obtaining information for medical and clinical support was even lower with only small numbers of respondents using Facebook at least several times a week: for example reading messages from Facebook friends on medical and clinical topics (n = 7; 12.5%), sharing or accessing medical and clinical resource lines in chats (n = 6; 10.7%), as well as sharing medical experiences in chats (n = 5; 8.9%), comments (n = 4; 7.1%), participation in quizzes (n = 2; 3.6%), clinical case presentations (n = 2; 3.6%), and posts (n = 2; 3.6%).
Possibilities for mobile phone and social networking use in the education of midwives in rural communities
The respondents' perceptions of the use of technology were examined with regard to the potential of using mobile phones and social networking activities such as Facebook to provide access to information and support learning. The characteristics of the institution (educational learning environment and ICT support) were also examined.
Institutional learning environment characteristics
Teaching related activities: In respect of the potential to enhance the current learning environment using mobile technology, the most prevalent learning activities in respondents' educational programme were teamwork and problem solving (n = 45, 80.4%), which were identified as activities that could be enhanced through access and use of ICTs (Table 3).
Respondents were asked to identify which ICT facilitators should be used more frequently, with the highest support indicated being for texting (n = 32; 57.1%), followed by phone calls (n = 30; 53.6%), MS PowerPoint presentations (n = 27; 48.2%), learning management systems (n = 23; 41.1%), e-learning programmes (n = 18; 32.1%), WhatsApp and emailing (n = 14; 25.0 %), MS Word documents (n = 13; 23.2%), eBooks (n = 13; 23.2%), video sharing sites (n = 12; 21.4%), Skype (n = 11; 19.6%), bookmarking on an Internet browser (n = 10; 17.9%), Internet chats (n = 9; 16.1%), wikis and virtual worlds (n = 6; 10.7%), Facebook (n = 5; 8.9%), podcasts (n = 4; 7.1%), and blogs (n = 3; 5.4%). This was further supported with respondents reporting low use by lecturers of ICTs such as mobile phones (n = 31; 55.4%) (Table 3).
Institutional support: Respondents were asked about the ICT support they were receiving for using mobile phones and applications, such as Facebook at work and at institutions for educational purposes. Support for the use of mobile phones and social networking sites at university and work places was generally reported as poor, ranging from 9 (16.1%) for social networking to 34 (60.7%) for mobile phone support (Table 3). When examining whether mobile phones or social networking sites were used for educational and work-related purposes, more than half of the respondents (n = 32; 57.1% and n = 34; 60.7% respectively) reported that those functionalities were not supported at work.
Individual characteristics
There is evidence (Gagnon et al. 2012) that the following individual characteristics are good indicators of future use of technology: perceived levels of competency, perceived effectiveness of technology, and general attitudes towards the use of ICTs.
Perceived competency: The ICT device that the respondents were most competent with was the mobile phone (Table 4). This finding was supported by additional findings that only 23 (41.1%) of the respondents reported that their friends would describe them as interested in the latest technology, and only 30 (53.6%) reported that they found technology easy to use.
Perceived effectiveness of ICTs: In contrast, when respondents were asked to rate the perceived effectiveness of various technologies for learning, most respondents agreed that the laptop was effective (n = 43; 76.8%) followed by an LMS (n = 41; 73.2%), whilst less respondents agreed that the smartphone (n = 31; 55.4%) and mobile phone (n = 22; 39.3%) were effective (Table 4).
Attitudes: Respondents' attitudes towards the use of ICTs in education were measured with regard to their own learning, their attitudes towards the use of ICTs at the university, and their perceived use of ICTs by their facilitators. The respondents' attitudes towards using ICTs for learning showed that most respondents felt technological devices could be very helpful to access information (n = 42; 75.0% agreed) but less than half (n = 25; 44.6%) still felt that using technological devices was more helpful than frustrating (Table 5). Regarding the use of technology by the university and the facilitators, the respondents felt that technology was essential for learning (n = 41; 73.2%) and that the university used technology appropriately (n = 36; 64.3%). However, more investment was needed (n = 33; 58.9%) and although facilitators used technology effectively (n = 45; 80.4%) and frequently (n = 43; 76.8%), they did not know how to use technology that was available (n = 28; 50.0%) (Table 5).
The respondents' attitudes towards the possible future use of mobile phones and Facebook for educational purposes were measured (Table 4). Though only half the respondents viewed mobile phones as important in their daily lives, mobile phones were rated important with regard to discussing learning and accessing information (n = 44; 78.6%). Respondents were positive about the use of social networking sites to assist their education (n = 31; 55.4%), however the specific ratings for Facebook were poor; only 13 respondents (23.2%) reported that they were using Facebook for obtaining medical information (Table 5).
In the context of using mobile phones and social networks to provide access to educational learning opportunities in lowly resourced settings for nurses, the following factors were considered: the specific rural context, the learners, and the potential applications and perceptions of these technologies for learning purposes.
Owing to insufficient access to the Internet at homes in the rural areas, mobile phones provide an opportunity to increase access to the Internet for learners. In South Africa mobile phones offer access to the Internet more readily than fixed line Internet connections at home, specifically in rural households where 17.9% of rural households access the Internet by using mobile devices as opposed to home Internet connection (2%) (Statistics South Africa 2013). In our study, a similar pattern was confirmed with low personal computer ownership. Unfortunately, rural hospitals in KwaZulu-Natal had very limited Internet access with a very slow bandwidth of 148 kbps (Wooton et al. 2009). In contrast, all except two respondents in this study reported that they owned a mobile phone. Half of them specifically reported owning smartphones that were used to access the Internet.
A second issue concerns the characteristics of nursing learners resident in rural areas, specifically regarding age and attitude towards the use of new technology. Owing to the fact that the respondents in this study were already qualified professional nurses, they were older learners with an average age over 40 years with 16% of the respondents over the age of 50 years. This finding was similar to the findings of other studies conducted in nursing at these settings (Chipps et al. 2015). Older nurses (nurses with extensive experience) might be more reluctant to embrace new technologies (Putzer & Park 2010), and age is known to be a factor that significantly affects computer competency levels (Hsu et al. 2009). Our study supported these findings, with more than half the respondents who reported low levels of computer competency and difficulty in using new technology. Generally, however, respondents felt relatively competent in using their mobile phones, though less so with new technological tools such as Facebook, with less than half of them ever having used Facebook. Only one of the Facebook users was over 50 years old.
Attitudes towards using a smartphone and technology are reported to have influenced the intention to use technology such as a smartphone (Chen, Park & Putzer 2010; Gagnon et al. 2012; Putzer & Park 2010). Generally, the respondents had a positive attitude towards technology and investments in technology by universities and their work place, though their views in respect of the use of those technologies for educational purposes remained out of date. Most of them rated the laptop as the most effective ICT for education and learning, followed by learning management systems and smartphones.
In assessing the potential for using mobile phones and social networks for learning at the time of the study, respondents' mobile phone usage patterns, specific views on the use of mobile phones and social networks for education purposes, and institutional support were examined. The use of mobile phones and smartphones is increasing in health care provision with 64% of American physicians in 2009 using smartphones (Gill, Kamath & Gill 2012) and more than three-quarters of nurses in a recent study acknowledging that they often use their personal mobile phone or other communication devices at work, excluding during breaks or meal times (McBride, LeVasseur & Li 2015). The respondents in our study reported higher use of mobile phones compared to any of the other ICTs for educational and work-related activities, including contacting facilitators or peers to discuss topics and tasks related to the programme or work and searching for information. Making phone calls was the most frequent activity followed by SMS or texting, but they reported low current usage of smartphone functions.
With reference to social networks, the low engagement on Facebook in our study contradicts international studies of younger nurses with reports in the USA of up to 90% engagement on Facebook (Ferguson 2013). This is viewed as being related to the age of the nurses. Although, similar to international studies (Ferguson 2013; Schmitt, Sims-Giddens & Booth 2012) the respondents reported that social networking sites such as Facebook were becoming important in the nursing profession and education, regular use in our study to reflect on work-related experiences was low. Mobile phones were rated as important with regard to discussing learning and accessing information, and respondents were positive about the use of social networking sites to augment their education. However, the specific ratings for Facebook were poor. This could possibly be due to a perception that mobile phones and Facebook are not used for educational and clinical purposes and concerns about the potential distraction of those devices in a working environment (McBride et al. 2015).
Numerous studies have found that adoption of new technologies is largely dependent on the internal support of organisations (Bhattacherjee & Hikmet 2008; Putzer & Park 2010). The positive views towards potential use of mobile phones for learning were in direct opposition to reported poor support for the use of social networks or mobile phones at university or work. This was further compounded by a perception of lecturers' poor awareness of the latest technology available for education and learning.
The study had a number of limitations. The main limitation was the 50% response rate which might have influenced the findings as a result of the non-responders' own disposition towards using ICTs. Likewise, there was uncertainty about whether the respondents clearly understood the dissimilarity between mobile phones with smartphone capacities and traditional mobile phones.
A number of recommendations emerged from this study. Firstly, there is empirical evidence from studies that the potential exists to use mobile phones and social networks more systematically in lowly resourced settings to facilitate nursing education. Institutions should evaluate how mobile phones and social media can contribute to key aspects of education, how to integrate them, and how to support learners to use them effectively. Specifically, orientation and training of older learners should be done to raise their awareness and skills in using mobile and social networks. Nursing education should invest in developing guidelines for the use of mobile phones in the clinical settings (Royal College of Nursing 2012). However, more formal research into possible strategies and interventions to facilitate the uptake of technologies in education in these setting is recommended.
The study revealed an inherent tension and struggle between respondents' relatively high usage patterns of mobile phones and high expectations with regard to their value for learning and work purposes on the one hand, and their limited perceived technical competency and the restricted institutional support on the other. Thus, it is concluded that much would be gained when educational institutions start supporting the learners with the use of mobile phones more systematically, particularly concerning the development of mobile literacy skills.
Competing interests
The authors declare that they have no financial or personal relationship(s) that may have inappropriately influenced them in writing this article.
Authors' contributions
All authors help with the conceptualisation of the study and review of this article. F.W. (University of KwaZulu-Natal) and T.N. (University of KwaZulu-Natal) did the data collection. C.P. (University of Applied Sciences and Arts North-western Switzerland) did the literature review and J.C. (University of the Western Cape) the data analysis and preparation of the article for publication.
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Hsu, H.-M., Hou, Y.-H., Chang, I.C. & Yen, D., 2009, 'Factors influencing computer literacy of Taiwan and South Korea nurses', Journal of Medical Systems 33, 133-139. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10916-008-9173-5 [ Links ]
Hwang, G.J. & Tsai, C.C., 2011, 'Research trends in mobile and ubiquitous learning: A review of publications in selected journals from 2001 to 2010', British Journal of Educational Technology 42, E65-E70. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8535.2011.01183.x [ Links ]
Itu, 2010, Barcelona: International telecommunication union, Media Release, viewed 09 October 2010, from http://www.itu.int/net/pressoffice/press_releases/2010/06.aspx [ Links ]
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Kolko, B.E., Rose, E.J. & Johnson, E.J., 2007, 'Communication as information-seeking: The case for mobile social software for developing regions', 16th International Conference on World Wide Web, 2007, New York, ACM, pp. 863-872. http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/1242572.1242689 [ Links ]
Lee, S., Chib, A. & Kim, J.-N., 2011, 'Midwives' cell phone use and health knowledge in rural communities', Journal of Health Communication 16, 1006-1023. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2011.571344 [ Links ]
McBride, D.L., Levasseur, S.A. & Li, D., 2015, 'Non-work-related use of personal mobile phones by hospital registered nurses', JMIR Mhealth Uhealth 3, e3. http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/mhealth.4001 [ Links ]
McLeod, R.P. & Mays, M.Z., 2008, 'Back to the future: Personal digital assistants in nursing education', Nursing Clinics of North America 43, 583-592, vii. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cnur.2008.06.008 [ Links ]
Mechael, P., Batavia, H., Kaonga, N., Searle, S., Kwan, A., Goldberger, A. et al., 2010, Barriers and gaps affecting m-Health in low and middle income countries. Policy white paper, Center for Global Health and Economic Development, Earth Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, viewed on 31 October 2014, from http://cgsd.columbia.edu/flles/2012/11/mHealthBarriersWhitePaperFINAL.pdf [ Links ]
Phillippi, J.C. & Wyatt, T.H., 2011, 'Smartphones in nursing education', Computers, Informatics, Nursing 29, 449-454. http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/NCN.0b013e3181fc411f [ Links ]
Pimmer, C., Brysiewicz, P., Linxen, S., Walters, F., Chipps, J. & Gröhbiel, U., 2014, 'Informal mobile learning in nurse education and practice in remote areas. A case study from rural South Africa', Nurse Education Today 34, 1398-1404. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2014.03.013 [ Links ]
Pimmer, C., Linxen, S. & Gröhbiel, U., 2012a, 'Facebook as a learning tool? A case study on the appropriation of social network sites along with mobile phones in developing countries', British Journal of Educational Technology 43, 726-738. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8535.2012.01351.x [ Links ]
Pimmer, C., Linxen, S. & Gröhbiel, U., 2012b, 'Facebook as a learning tool? A case study on the appropriation of social network sites from mobile phones in developing countries', British Journal of Educational Technology 43, 726-738. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8535.2012.01351.x [ Links ]
Pimmer, C., Linxen, S., Gröhbiel, U., Jha, A. & Burg, G., 2013, 'Mobile learning in resource-constrained environments. A case study of medical education', Medical Teacher 35, e1157-e1165. http://dx.doi.org/10.3109/0142159X.2012.733454 [ Links ]
Putzer, G.J. & Park, Y., 2010, 'The effects of innovation factors on smartphone adoption among nurses in community hospitals', Perspectives in Health Information Management / AHIMA, American Health Information Management Association 7, 1b. [ Links ]
Royal College of Nursing, 2012, RCN guidance. Nursing staff using personal mobile phones for work purposes, Royal College of Nursing, London. [ Links ]
Schmitt, T., Sims-Giddens, S. & Booth, R., 2012, 'Social media use in nursing education', OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing 17, Manuscript 2. [ Links ]
Statistics South Africa, 2013, General household survey, Statistics South Africa, Pretoria. [ Links ]
The World Bank, 2011, The little data book on information and communication technology, International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Washington, viewed 16 August 2011, from http://eurasiapac-fp7.eu/flles/2011/07/ICT11_Version7.pdf [ Links ]
The World Bank, 2012, Information and communications for development. Maximizing mobile, Washington, DC, viewed 29 September 2012, from http://www.worldbank.org/ict/IC4D2012 [ Links ]
Tomlinson, M., Rotheram-Borus, M.J., Swartz, L. & Tsai, A.C., 2013, 'Scaling up mHealth: Where is the evidence?', PLoS Medicine , viewed 03 June 2013, from http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1001382 [ Links ]
Traxler, J., 2012, 'The challenge of working across contexts and domains: Mobile health education in rural Cambodia', in A. Chib & R. Harris (eds.), Linking research to practice in Asia: ICT for development research, management and perspectives, IDRC, Ottawa. [ Links ]
Traxler, J. & Kukulska-Hulme, A., 2005, Mobile learning in developing countries, Commonwealth of Learning, viewed 03 January 2012, from http://dspace.col.org/bitstream/123456789/159/1/KS2005_mlearn.pdf [ Links ]
WHO, 2010, Increasing access to health workers in remote and rural areas through improved retention. Global policy recommendations, viewed n.d., from http:// www.who.int/hrh/retention/guidelines/en/index.html [ Links ]
Winters, N., 2013, 'Mobile learning in the majority world: A critique of the GSMA position', in S. Price, C. Jewitt & B. Brown (eds.), The SAGE handbook of digital technology research. http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781446282229.n27 [ Links ]
Wooton, R., Patil, N.G., Scott, R.E. & Ho, K., 2009, Telehealth in the developing world, Royal College of Medicine Press Ltd, London. [ Links ]
Wu, W.H., Jim Wu, Y.C., Chen, C.Y., Kao, H.Y., Lin, C.H. & Huang, S.H, 2012, 'Review of trends from mobile learning studies: A meta-analysis', Computers & Education 59, 817-827. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/jj.compedu.2012.03.016 [ Links ]
Young, P., Moore, E., Griffiths, G., Raine, R., Stewart, R., Cownie, M. et al., 2010, 'Help is just a text away: The use of short message service texting to provide an additional means of support for health care students during practice placements', Nurse Education Today 30, 118-123. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/jj.nedt.2009.06.010 [ Links ]
Jennifer Chipps
Private Bag X17, Bellville 7535
South Africa
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Received: 22 Mar. 2015
Accepted: 01 June 2015
Published: 14 Dec. 2015


text:
Solange Knowles Keeps Her Natural Hair, Vintage, Hippy, Hella Colorful Steez Alive On The Cover Of Time Out New York Magazine
You already know how the Sol Angel gets down
Beyonce's lil sister has carved out a nice lil niche for herself amongst the eclectic and artistic kids. In this month's issue of Time Out New York, she plays cover girl, interview subject, and guest editor all while rockin' her organic-type threads.
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VA health care: One man's story
Health care has been in the news and on the minds of Americans lately with the Affordable Care Act, also known as "Obamacare," taking center stage in the political theater. While civilians wonder how the act will affect them and whether the changes might be positive or negative, veterans already struggle with health care issues of their own. Local clinics without emergency services and hospitals with multitudes of patients are some issues veterans face when navigating the potentially perilous pathway to good health through the veterans health care system.
One veteran shared the story of his journey through that system. Frank Miller served with the Marines in the Vietnam War. Miller spent 13 months trekking through jungles, fighting for his life on behalf of the United States of America. Because he is a veteran, Miller receives his medical care through the Veterans Administration (VA).
On Monday, Feb. 27, 2012, Miller awoke in pain and bleeding at 3:22 a.m.
"It was a nosebleed," Miller said. "I woke up bleeding and tried to stop it. I called my sister, Donna. She came over, and we tried to stop the bleeding but couldn't. We called an ambulance, and I went to St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Beaumont."
Miller said once the emergency room staff stopped the bleeding using balloons in each nostril, he was considered stable and able to be moved to the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston (MEDVAMC).
Bobbi Gruner, public affairs officer with the VA, confirmed the procedure regarding the emergency health care needs of veterans.
"The standard of care is if you have an emergency as a veteran, you go to the closest ER," Gruner said. "If the hospital says you are stable but you continue to need inpatient care, once you are stabilized, you will be transferred to the closest VA hospital for continued care."
Gruner said Beaumont has a clinic for veterans, but the clinic can only provide general care and urgent care, not emergency care. She said the requirement to visit the closest emergency room is important to the welfare of veterans in need of immediate care.
Miller said he was transported to MEDVAMC in Houston via ambulance. He said he arrived about 1:30 a.m. on Feb. 28. Once there, he was put in the emergency room. While he was in the ER there, he started bleeding again. ER personnel attempted to stop the bleeding.
"They kept me in the ER on morphine," Miller said. "I was throwing up blood. They just kept inflating the balloons. They used something, I think silver nitrate, on a Q-tip and tried to cauterize it."
Miller said he was weak to the point of stumbling due to the amount of blood he had lost by that time. When a specialist finally saw him at around 6 or 7 a.m., Miller said he was told he would not be admitted.
"Dr. David Cuthbertson, the (ear, nose and throat) doctor there, said it would cost too much to admit me," Miller said. "He wrote me a prescription for 500 mg Cephalexin, an antibiotic. By this time, I had probably lost around 6-7 pints of blood."
Miller was with his family and friends when the doctor told him he would not be admitted into the hospital. He went downstairs to the hospital pharmacy to have his prescription filled. While waiting, his nose began bleeding again. He said he was sitting in a wheelchair in the hallway with hospital personnel walking by without stopping.
"The maintenance worker was the only one who offered to help," Miller said. "I have no idea why they would not admit me. That's just what he said."
Dr. James Scheurich, medical center deputy chief of staff at MEDVAMC, nurse's notes indicated that an ER physician saw Miller at 2:35 a.m. He said there are doctors on staff in the ER and on the hospital floor around the clock. At 3:30 a.m., Scheurich said hospital records indicate a resident applied silver nitrate to Miller's nose to cauterize it and stop the bleeding. Miller said from what he recalls, the silver nitrate was not applied until after he saw the specialist in the morning at around 6 a.m. Scheurich said Miller was under observation for several hours at the facility. He said the notes indicated staff did not see focal bleeding when examining Miller, which Scheurich said would be a clear sign of potential arterial bleeding. He said Miller was released at about 1 p.m. after the bleeding had stopped for a period of two hours.
"It doesn't make sense to me," Scheurich said regarding Miller's assertion that the doctor he saw told him he would not be admitted due to cost. "It would not be any more expensive for us. … We never run out of beds."
"It didn't make sense to me either," Miller said. "It didn't make sense to any of us standing there. I've never heard a doctor say something like that."
Scheurich said if the hospital staff had believed Miller's bleeding stemmed from arterial bleeding, he would not have been released. Miller was, however, released from MEDVAMC and sent home. On his was from Houston to his home in Vidor, the bleeding started again. He said he was close to the College Street exit ramp on Interstate 10 in Beaumont when it started. His daughter was driving and took him to the nearest ER at Baptist Hospital. Upon arrival, the family stopped near the ER entrance and two EMTs from a nearby ambulance offered assistance in getting him into the ER. Miller said ER staff at Baptist told him he had to be admitted immediately due to blood loss.
"By the time I got to Beaumont, they were not going to release me until they got some blood back into my system," Miller said. "I was guessing I had lost 6-7 pints earlier because I had lost 8 pints by the time I got to Baptist."
Miller said the hospital did not have an ENT doctor on staff. A friend referred him to Dr. Carey Jordan of Southeast Texas ENT. Dr .Jordan went to Baptist Hospital to treat Miller. He was diagnosed with epistaxis, a nosebleed that in this case was caused by a ruptured artery. Dr. Jordan performed an interior maxillary artery ligation to stop the bleeding. Miller said he was hospitalized for seven days while receiving blood transfusions at the hospital. He credits Dr. Jordan and Baptist Hospital with saving his life after the VA hospital facility almost killed him, he said.
"The VA Hospital in Houston is just way, way, way overloaded," Miller said. "All they need are doctors. It was strained already with the guys from World War II, Korea and Vietnam. Now, with the veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan, it's just flooded."
MEDVAMC has 397 beds, according to the Houston VA website. For fiscal year 2012, running from October 2011 to September 2012, 128,387 veterans were enrolled in the system serving Angelina, Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Colorado, Fort Bend, Galveston, Grimes, Hardin, Harris, Jasper, Jefferson, Liberty, Matagorda, Montgomery, Nacogdoches, Newton, Orange, Polk, Sabine, San Augustine, San Jacinto, Trinity, Tyler, Walker, Waller, Washington, and Wharton counties in Texas. During that time, 13,301 veterans were admitted to MEDVAMC. In Houston, 879,222 went for outpatient visits. Gruner said she could not confirm the exact number of patients whose care each doctor provides but that if there is a need for a physician, the facility will bring in a doctor.
"If we don't have the staff for whatever reason, we fee base it out," Gruner said. "If we find a problem, we fix it."
She said MEDVAMC has a close relationship with the Baylor Medical Center next door.
"We are a teaching hospital," she said, and because of that, there is a lot of opportunity for research and a variety of techniques in use at the facility. "We have some of the best doctors in the world here."
Gruner said MEDVAMC was recently given the "go ahead" for a breast cancer center, which the facility is currently lacking. She said soon, MEDVAMC will be able to perform liver and kidney transplants at the facility. She said the hospital is one of five VA hospitals in the nation that will have the ability to perform kidney transplants.
Gruner said there is light at the end of the tunnel for veterans seeking faster, better and more convenient care. She said when she started with the VA 11 years ago, there were only two veterans medical clinics in the area, one being the Beaumont clinic.
"Since then, we've opened up a number of clinics in the area," Gruner said. "Next year, we are opening clinics in Katy and Tomball. We will have nine outpatient clinics to service veterans closer to where they live."
She said the clinics would provide outpatient care for veterans so they do not have to go exclusively to MEDVAMC for care. She said by alleviating the number of veterans seeking care at the hospital, staff would likely be able to see patients hoping to receive rapid care or in need of emergency care in a timely manner. If veterans are able to access local clinics, they would not be forced to travel to MEDVAMC. She said the VA is also looking into staffing the local clinics with more specialists. She indicated the facility receives government funding and more is always welcome.
Miller said he feels more needs to be done to provide better care for veterans' health care. He hopes his story will bring attention what he says are serious deficiencies in Texas, particularly.
"I'm not the only one who has had problems with the veterans health care system," Miller said. "I have several friends who are veterans. They feel the VA is so bad in Texas they are willing to go to other states for care. One friend goes to the VA hospital in Louisiana. … I would like to help veterans get better benefits and better medical treatment. If this opens some eyes, then good."


text:
Monday, November 29, 2010
RIP Irvin Kershner
PARIS (AFP) – US director Irvin Kershner, renowned for making the second Star Wars film, "The Empire Strikes Back", has died in Los Angeles, his goddaughter Adriana Santini told AFP on Monday. He was 87 years old.
Kershner, who besides the 1980 sci-fi epic also directed Sean Connery as James Bond in "Never Say Never Again" (1983) and Peter Weller in "Robocop II" (1990), died at home after a long illness, said Santini, who lives in France.
Born in Philadelphia in 1923, Kershner trained as a musician and in photography before starting making documentaries and then feature films.
KERSHNER, Irvin
Born: 4/29/1923, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
Died: 11/29/2010, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
Irvin Kershner's westerns - director:
The Rebel (TV) - 1959-1961
The Return of a Man Called Horse - 1976
Posted by Tom B. at 8:07 AM No comments:
Sunday, November 28, 2010
RIP Leslie Nielsen
Actor Leslie Nielsen, best known for his film roles in "Airplane" and "The Naked Gun" series, died Sunday November 28 of complications from pneumonia, his family said. Nielsen, 84, died in a hospital near his home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, surrounded by his wife and friends.
Leslie William Nielsen was born on February 11, 1926 in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canad and grew up 200 miles from the Arctic Circle in Fort Norman where his father was officer of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. He was often beaten by his father and when he turned 17 he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force. After World War II he became a disc jockey then trained at a Toronto radio school operated by Lorne Greene. A scholarship to the Neighborhood Playhouse brought him to New York where he began his career in television. He made over 150 TV appearances. His first film role was in "Forbidden Planet" and his best dramatic roles was as the captain of the ocean liner in "The Poseidan Adventure" (1972), but he's best remembered for his role in "Airplane" and "Naked Gun". Nielsen appeared in one Euro-western "Four Rode Out" (1970) with Sue Lyons and Pernell Roberts.
NIELSEN, Leslie William
Born: 2/11/1926, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
Died: 11/28/2010, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S.A.
Leslie Nielsen's westerns - actor:
The Sheepman - 1958 (Col. Stephen Bedford / Johnny Bledsoe)
Rawhide (TV) - 1958 (Eli Becker)
The Swamp Fox (TV) - 1959-1961 (Col. Francis Marion)
Wagon Train (TV) - 1960, 1964 (Jeremy Dow/Jeff Durant, Brian Conlin)
Daniel Boone (TV) - 1964 (William Russell)
The Virginian (TV) - 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1969 (John Hagen, Harry Lightfoot, Cleve
Mason Winthrop, Ben Stratton)
The Loner (TV) - 1965 (McComb)
The Wild Wild West (TV) - 1965 (Major General Ball)
The Plainsman - 1966 (Col. George Armstrong Custer)
Bonanza (TV) - 1967 (Sheriff Paul Rowan)
Gunfight in Abilene - 1967 (Grant Evers)
Cimarron Strip (TV) - 1967 (Rowan Houston)
Gunsmoke (TV) - 1969 (Jess Trevor)
The Big Valley (TV) - 1969 (Sgt. Maj. Earl Conway)
Four Rode Out - 1970 (Mr. Brown)
Kung Fu (TV) - 1975 (Vincent Corbino)
The Chisolms (TV) - 1980 (Sinclair)
Posted by Tom B. at 9:07 PM No comments:
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
RIP Christopher Shea
SHEA, Christopher Dylan
Born: 2/5/1958, Honeydew, California, U.S.A.
Died: 2/19, 2010, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
Christopher Shea's westerns - actor:
Shane (TV) - 1966 (Joey Starch)
Bonanza (TV) - 1968 (Sean)
Firecreek - 1968 (Aaron Cobb)
Smith - 1969 (Alpie)
Here Come the Brides (TV) - 1969 (Joseph)
Posted by Tom B. at 1:29 PM 1 comment:
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
RIP Ingrid Pitt
Her popularity in Hammer Film Productions made her a cult figure.
Hammer horror actress Ingrid Pitt, best known for starring in cult classics such as Countess Dracula, has died at the age of 73.
The Polish-born star passed away at a hospital in south London after collapsing a few days ago.
She was regarded by many fans as the queen of Hammer Horror films.
The star's death comes weeks after film-maker Roy Ward Baker, who directed Pitt in The Vampire Lovers, died at the age of 93.
Pitt's daughter told the BBC News website that her mother's death had come as a "huge surprise".
After the actress has collapsed recently, doctors told her was she suffering from heart failure.
"She could be incredibly generous, loving, and she'll be sorely missed," Mrs Blake said.
She added that she wanted her mother to be remembered as the Countess Dracula with the "wonderful teeth and the wonderful bosom".
'Gloriously uninhibited'
Official Hammer historian Marcus Hearn paid tribute to the star, calling her a "talented actress and fine writer". All fans of Hammer and of British horror are going to miss her terribly" He added: "She was partly responsible for ushering in a bold and brazen era of sexually explicitly horror films in the 1970s, but that should not denigrate her abilities as an actress." A good friend of the actress, Mr Hearn said she was "gloriously uninhibited" and "great fun to be with".
Although she was not the first female star of a Hammer film, Mr Hearn said she had always been "very proud" of becoming the first prominent female protagonist in a Hammer after her role in The Vampire Lovers.
She began her career with fairly minor roles in several Spanish films in the mid-1960s.
But in 1968 she landed a supporting role in war movie Where Eagles Dare, appearing alongside Clint Eastwood and Richard Burton.
The actress got her breakthrough role two years later in the horror thriller The Vampire Lovers, which was a box office success.
Several Hammer movies followed, firmly establishing her as one of the key women of British horror of the 1970s.
Her other film credits included The Wicker Man (1973), Who Dares Wins (1982), Smiley's People (1982) and Wild Geese II (1985).
Pitt made regular appearances at horror conventions and penned several books about her career in the genre.
PITT, Ingrid (Ingoushka Petrov)
Born: 11/21/1937, Treblinka, Poland
Died: 11/23/2010, South London, London, England, U.K.
Ingrid Pitt's western - actress:
Dundee and the Culhane (TV) - 1967 (Tallie Montreaux)
Posted by Tom B. at 10:21 AM No comments:
Monday, November 22, 2010
RIP Rosemary Dexter
DEXTER, Rosemary
Born: 7/19/1944, Quetta, Paksitan
Died: 9/7/2010, Via Leopardi, Recanati, Marche, Italy
Rosemary Dexter's westerns - actress:
For a Few Dollars More - 1965 (Col. Mortimer's sister)
The Dirty Outlaws - 1967 (Katy)
In the Name of the Father - 1969 (Miss Baxter)
Posted by Tom B. at 10:12 AM No comments:
Friday, November 19, 2010
RIP Antony Alda
When it came to his own acting, Tony says, the most important advice he ever got from Alan was, "Know what you want in a scene." For a while, though, he wasn't into that scene at all. Despite a few boyhood acting experiences, including a 1967 episode of TV's Daniel Boone, he decided to study music and attended New York's Juilliard School. Fed up with Manhattan after his apartment was burglarized, he moved to Los Angeles in 1977 and switched to acting. His first role was—ha! Poetic justice strikes!—a rock musician on a detective series called Switch. That was followed by parts on Knots Landing, Quincy and Alan's sitcom M*A*S*H (where Robert and Tony appeared together in an episode).
The family name, of course, opened mc than a few doors. But though Robert had starred on Days of Our Lives in 1980 and the soap's executive producer, Ken Corday insists, "Antony won us over during the screen test." Tony's half brother believed the family resemblance helped. "My father was one of the most charming actors of his generation," says Alan, "and there was some of that natural charm and charisma in Tony. Plus, Tony's basic honesty added to that, which made him an appealing person to watch." Tony said it did not bother him a bit that he was less watched than Alan. "It's never been a bummer," he sais. Besides, "it's conceivable that teenagers who haven't seen M*A*S*H might say, 'Hey, that's an Alda—he must be related to Tony.' "
Acting dynasty aside, it was Tony's resemblance to a guy named Jeff that helped him get to know his musician-actress wife, Lori. They met in 1978 in Columbus, Ohio, where he was starring in the musical King of Hearts, and she was playing piano in a nightclub. "I was instantly attracted to him," says Lori. "He had a zest for life." She went home that night to find that her mother had left out a newspaper article about him and the play. "It was so weird," Alda says. "Her mother asked her, 'Doesn't this guy look like Jeff?' He was an ex-boyfriend."
"Marriage was good for Tony," says his mom. "It changed him and made him more mature." But some things—such as practical joking—not even love can cure. When Alda and Lori were starring together in St. Petersburg, Fla., in a play about Da Vinci, one scene called for Alda—as Leonardo—to show Lori his drawing tablet. The script called for her to be overwhelmed by the beauty of a sketch of the Mona Lisa. Instead, says Alda, "I had drawn a penis. Lori started crying out, 'Oh, Leonardo!' She was supposed to be crying, but she was laughing so hard she had tears coming down her face." No, it would probably be easier to reform Johnny Corelli.
Tony Alda passed away on July 3, 2009 in California caused by alcoholism.
ALDA, Tony (Antony Alda)
Born: 12/9/1956, Saint-Julien, Rhône-Alpes, France
Died: 7/3/2009, California, U.S.A.
Tony Alda's western - actor:
Daniel Boone (TV) - 1968 (Rudi)
Posted by Tom B. at 11:54 AM No comments:
RIP Carroll Pratt
Pratt was a co-founder of the Cinema Audio Society and a key figure in the development of the television laugh track.
November 16, 2010
Carroll Pratt, a Primetime Emmy-winning sound mixer who was at the forefront of the development of the laugh track, died November 11, 2010, in Santa Rosa, California. He was 89. According to news reports, Pratt died of natural causes.
Pratt shared six primetime Emmys for 1985's Motown Returns to the Apollo, 1987 The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and the 1989 Grammy Awards.
The son of a sound engineer, Pratt worked as re-recording mixer at MGM. During World War II served in the Air Force and was captured as a prisoner of war in Germany. After about two years of captivity he escaped.
After the war he returned to MGM. During the 1950s he joined forces with Charley Douglass, the creator of the Laff Box, and assisted with the looping of laugh tracks on sitcoms. The business eventually expanded to other human sounds.
As the laugh track increased in popularity among television producers, the business expanded. In the 1970s Pratt and his brother John set up their own company, Sound One. They worked on such sitcoms as The Mary Tyler Moore Show, which included the longest laugh he recorded, and Married … with Children.
In addition, he was a founder and past president of the Cinema Audio Society.
John Pratt died earlier this year. Carroll Prat's survivors include his wife, a son, a daughter, four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
On June 12, 2003, Carroll Pratt had the distinction of being interviewed by the Television Academy Foundation's Archive of American Television. During the two-and-a-half hour interview, conducted in Philo, California by the director of the Archive, Karen Herman, Pratt talked about his start in feature films at MGM in the sound department where his father worked.
He spoke in great detail about the audience reaction (laugh) machine created by engineer Charley Douglass, for whom Pratt worked for after leaving MGM. Pratt described the device and the types of responses that the machine was capable of creating, from whistles to belly laughs.
Pratt went on to describe the updated version of the laugh machine, which he created with his brother, John, in the 1970s, when he split from Douglass and started his own company, Sound One.
Pratt also talked about providing laugh tracks for numerous television series throughout the years (including the longest laugh he ever recorded, for The Mary Tyler Moore Show), until his retirement from Sound One in the mid-1990s.
PRATT, Carroll (Carroll Pratt Holmes)
Born: 4/19/1921, Hollywood, California, U.S.A.
Died: 11/11/2010, Santa Rosa, California, U.S.A.
Carroll Pratt's western - sound engineer:
Sergeant Preston of the Yukon (TV) - 1957-1958
Posted by Tom B. at 10:32 AM No comments:
Thursday, November 18, 2010
RIP William Self
Self died Monday at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center after suffering a heart attack Nov. 11, said his daughter, Barbara Malone.
A former movie actor who launched his television career behind the camera in the early 1950s, Self produced the "Schlitz Playhouse of Stars" for four years.
After producing the short-lived "The Frank Sinatra Show," which aired from 1957 to '58, he became director of development at CBS, where his first pilot was for Rod Serling's landmark series "The Twilight Zone."
In late 1959, Self was lured to 20th Century-Fox Television.
During his 15 years at Fox, he reportedly was responsible for 44 TV series, including "Daniel Boone," "Room 222," "Julia," "Twelve O'Clock High," "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea," "Lost in Space," "Land of the Giants," "Nanny and the Professor" and "The Ghost & Mrs. Muir."
"He was a major influence on television programming during that period, and Fox became very successful as a major television-producing company," said Alan Silverbach, who was senior vice president in charge of worldwide television distribution at 20th Century-Fox Television at the time.
"I credit the whole television success to Bill," said Richard Zanuck, who was vice president in charge of production at the studio at the time. "My contribution really was appointing Bill and letting him run with the ball. I had great confidence in him."
One of the biggest hits to come from 20th Century-Fox Television in the '60s was "Batman," the campy fantasy-adventure series starring Adam West as the famous comic-book hero.
But the series pilot didn't go over well with a test audience, Self recalled in a Starlog magazine interview with Tom Weaver in 2002.
"It was," Self said, "a disaster."
Enough so, he said, that ABC wanted to get out of the deal.
"But we analyzed it and thought about it, and finally decided the (test audience) didn't know what we were trying to do," he said. "In the original version, those animated POWs and BAMs (in the fight scenes) and other things like that, were not in the show. We decided we had to say to the audience, 'We're kidding all this. We're having fun. It's a comic strip.' And we re-did the whole post-production on it."
By the time Self left Fox at the end of 1974, he had risen through the ranks to become president of 20th Century-Fox Television and vice president of 20th Century-Fox Corp.
He then teamed with Mike Frankovich to form a company that would be involved in both television and feature films.
Frankovich-Self Productions produced a couple of TV pilots and two movies, both of which were released in 1976: "The Shootist," John Wayne's final film; and "From Noon Till Three," starring Charles Bronson and Jill Ireland.
"I loved the movie business, but it was too slow for me," Self said in a 2001 interview with the Archive of American Television.
In 1977, he returned to CBS as vice president/head of the West Coast; the following year, he became vice president in charge of television movies and miniseries.
Named president of CBS Theatrical Film Production in 1982, he supervised the making of 10 movies over the next three years. He then created the independent William Self Productions to develop television and feature films.
In partnership with Norman Rosemont, he produced a number of productions for television's "Hallmark Hall of Fame," including the high-rated "Sarah, Plain and Tall."
The son of an advertising executive who wrote plays on the side, Self was born in Dayton, Ohio, on June 21, 1921, and earned a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Chicago in 1943.
Exempt from the military draft during World War II for medical reasons, he worked for about a year as a copy writer at an ad agency in Chicago, where he also made his professional acting debut playing a small part in one of his father's plays.
Self moved to Hollywood in 1944 with the intention of becoming a movie actor and landed a succession of mostly uncredited small roles in films such as "Story of "G.I. Joe," "Red River," "Operation Pacific," "Sands of Iwo Jima" and "Adam's Rib."
One of his credited roles was that of Air Force Cpl. Barnes in "The Thing from Another World," the 1951 science fiction-horror classic about a flying saucer that crash-lands at the North Pole.
Although it was a decent part, Self readily acknowledged in the 2001 interview that "not many people cared that I was an actor."
He broke into television in 1952 when a producer friend, Bernard Tabakin, asked him to help on "China Smith," a syndicated adventure series starring Dan Duryea.
The series was so low-budget, Self later recalled in the Television Archive interview, that they shot 13 half-hour episodes in 19 days.
But it was a start. And, as he said in the 2001 interview, "I never acted a day since then."
Margaret, his wife of 66 years, died in 2007.
In addition to his daughter, Self is survived by his son, Edwin; his sister, Jean Bright; four grandchildren; and six great grandchildren.
SELF, William Edwin
Born: 6/21/1921, Dayton, Ohio, U.S.A.
Died: 11/15/2010, Westwood, California, U.S.A.
William Self's westerns, actor, executive in charge of production, producer, executive producer:
Marshal of Cripple Creek - 1947 [actor]
Red River - 1948 [actor]
A Ticket to Tomahawk - 1950 [actor]
The Big Sky - 1952 [actor]
Hotel de Paree (TV) - 1959 [executive producer]
Daniel Boone (TV) -1964-1969 [executive in charge of production]
The Monroes (TV) - 1966-1967 [executive in charge of production]
Custer (TV) - 1967 [executive in charge of production]
Lancer (TV) - 1968-1969 [executive in charge of production]
The Shootist - 1976 [producer]
From Noon Till Three - 1976 [producer]
Posted by Tom B. at 8:13 PM No comments:
RIP Claudio Obregón
Claudio Obregón, one of the great Mexican actors in the theater and film, died at age 74 on Saturday night, a victim of respiratory failure.
Remembered for his memorable participation in such films as The Alley of Miracles (as in love with Salma Hayek), De noche vienes Esmeralda, Pedro Páramo and Finding a single man, Obregon is survived by two sons, Claudio and Gerardo.
His remains were veiled in a funeral home last night from Mexico City as reported by Notimex. In 2005 he was awarded the Gold Medal of Fine Arts.
In the theater was part of large pieces such as art, King Lear, All My Sons and Engdame.
He also participated in traditional telenovelas as Toy World, Mama bell and in the nineties in the home at the end of the road with the also deceased Eduardo Palomo, and selfish mothers with Maria del Sol.
OBREGON, Claudio (Claudio Obregón Posadas)
Born: 7/11/1935, San Luis Potosi, Mexico
Died: 11/13/2010, Mexico City, Federal District, Mexico
Claudio Obregón's westerns - actor:
Zapata - 1970
Reed, Insurgent Mexico - 1973 (John Reed)
Posted by Tom B. at 2:20 PM No comments:
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
RIP Roberto Risso
He would gain fame in "Pane, amore e fantasi" (1953) and "Pane, amore e gelisia" (1954) both directed by Luigi Comencini playing a policeman in love with Gina Lollobrigida. His career peaked with his appearance in "Una pelliccia di visione" (1956) directed by Glauco Pellegrini. He appeared with Gordon Scott in "Zorro and the 3 Musketeers" (1963), but his stereotypical roles convinced him to leave films and he turned to television where he appeared on the RAI TV show "Quelli della domenica" hosted by Paolo Villaggio. He then became a fashion designer and appeared in several soap operas. His last film was his only Euro-western appearing as Duke in "Hate Thy Neighbor" (1968) under the pseudonym Robert Rice.
RISSO, Roberto (aka Robert Rice) (Pietro Roberto Strub)
Born: 11/22/1925, Geneva, Switzerland
Died: 11/16/1925, Milan, Lombardy, Italy
Roberto Risso's western - actor:
Hate Thy Neighbor - 1968 (Duke) [as Robert Rice]
Posted by Tom B. at 8:25 AM No comments:
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
RIP Jack LeMaire
LeMaire toured with Bob Hope and Johnny Grant doing standup for USO shows, ending each set with a song on his guitar. His passion for playing occasionaly overshadowed his love of comedy, and he can be heard on recordings with the likes of Dizzy Gillespie, who nicknamed LeMaire "Chords."
LeMaire started working vaudeville as a toddler with his father, George, in "The Ziegfeld Follies," and soon moved on to film work, making 33 silent comedies with Pathe.
Among his other credits were 1958 TV series "Mac King," 1959's "The Lawless Years" and "Bat Masterson" plus 1964's "The Farmer's Daughters."
Later in life, LeMaire appeared as Colonel Sanders in a number of KFC advertisements. Just last year, he performed in a sketch on "The Tonight Show" with Jay Leno.
Survivors include a son, two daughters, five grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
Donations may be made to Actors and Others for Animals at actorsandothers.com.
LeMAIRE, Jack
Born: 7/1/1911, Bronxville, New York, U.S.A.
Died: 10/18/2010, North Hollywood, California, U.S.A.
Jack LeMaire's westerns - actor:
Sky King (TV) - 1958 (Mac)
Bat Masterson (TV) - 1959 (Detective Shorty Mason)
A memorial will be held at 12:30 p.m. Saturday in Church of the Hills. Forest Lawn -- Hollywood Hills 6300 Forest Lawn Dr. Los Angeles, 90068.
Posted by Tom B. at 7:31 AM 1 comment:
Monday, November 15, 2010
RIP Marie Osborne
By age 12, Marie had left the movie screen, only to return in her twenties with the help of Henry King for his film Caroline (1934). At Fox, Marie also did stand-in work for Ginger Rogers in Change of Heart (1934) and also appeared in the Gay Divorcée (1934); she later did stand-in work for Deanna Durbin. At Paramount, Marie did stand-in work for Betty Hutton. Marie would stop working before the camera altogether as she developed a new talent as a costumer, beginning with the Western Costume Company, then with Republic.
Her work as a costumer included these films: Guys and Dolls (1955) with Marlon Brando and Jean Simmons; This Earth is Mine (1959) with Rock Hudson and Jean Simmons; Spartacus (1960) with Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, and Jean Simmons; Circus World (1964) with John Wayne and Rita Hayworth; The Chase (1966) with Jane Fonda and Robert Redford; The Legend of Lylah Clare (1968) with Kim Novak and Peter Finch; The Way We Were (1973) with Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford; Mame (1974) with Lucille Ball and Bea Arthur, and many others, including The Godfather, Part II, as well as becoming special costumer for Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra (1963).
Marie married twice, to Frank J. Dempsey on May 2, 1931, whom she divorced in 1937. Dempsey was the father of Marie's only child, Joan, born May 13, 1932. In the 1940s, Marie married Murray F. Yeats on June 14, 1945, a fellow actor with whom she enjoyed a conjugal life till his death on January 27, 1975.
After her retirement, Marie moved to San Clemente in 1977 until her death with her daughter, Joan, and son-in-law Don Young.
Baby Marie always savored the moment, exhibiting a kind and responsible tenderness toward those around her: family, friends, and all living things, including her special appreciation of the animal world. In order of importance, Marie was most grateful for her Roman Catholicism, for her excellent health throughout her full and interesting life, for her cherished daughter, Joan, and for the beauty of nature.
Marie is survived by her loving daughter Joan and son-in-law, Don Young, and their five children, Mark, Gary, Brian, Joyce, and Karen.
OSBORNE, Marie (Helen Alice Myres)
Born: 11/5/1911, Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.
Died: 11/11/2010, San Clemente, California, U.S.A.
Marie Osborne's western - actress:
A Daugher of the West - 1918
Posted by Tom B. at 3:26 PM No comments:
RIP Roberto Pregadio
In the late 1960's he encounter with a friend, Conrad. Whom he owes hiss fame for his role as a conductor for the the Bulls, first, to Conrad and then, Gerry Scotti. After abandoning a controversial program of Channel 5, which took place in 2009 due to disagreements with its production, he joined the cast of the Recommended Rai1.
Next to "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" his score for "The Forgotten Pistoler" is probably heard more than any other Spaghetti western score. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMS0hbX9_tg
PREGADIO, Roberto
Born: 12/6/1928, Catania, Catania, Sicily, Italy
Died: 11/15/2010, Rome, Lazio, Italy
Roberto Pregadio's westerns - composer:
Django the Last Killer - 1967
A Hole in the Forehead - 1968
Shotgun - 1968
Ciccio Forgives, I Don't - 1968
Wrath of God - 1969
The Forgotten Pistolero - 1969
Paths of War - 1969
Twice a Judas - 1969
Mallory Must Not Die - 1971
Four Gunmen of the Holy Trinity - 1971
Three Supermen of the West - 1974
Posted by Tom B. at 10:09 AM No comments:
Saturday, November 13, 2010
RIP Addison Powell
POWELL, Addison (Addison Powell Shelburne)
Born: 2/23/1921, Belmont, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
Died: 11/8/2010, Shelburne Bay, Vermont, U.S.A.
Addison Powell's western - actor:
Gunsmoke (TV) - 1959 (Tal)
Posted by Tom B. at 11:06 AM No comments:
Thursday, November 11, 2010
RIP Dino DeLaurentis
In 1962, the prolific producer began building a sprawling studio complex on the outskirts of Rome that he called Dinocitta — Dino City. During the 1960s — he is credited with pioneering the now-common practice of financing films by pre-selling the distribution rights in foreign countries — De Laurentiis produced films such as director Richard Fleischer's "Barabbas," starring Anthony Quinn; John Huston's star-studded "The Bible"; and Roger Vadim's "Barbarella," starring Jane Fonda. After selling his studio and moving to the United States in the 1970s, De Laurentiis produced films such as "Serpico," "Death Wish," "Three Days of the Condor," "The Serpent's Egg," "Ragtime" and "Conan the Barbarian." But De Laurentiis' name also became synonymous with expensive box-office failures such as "Dune," "Tai-Pan" and "King Kong Lives." The son of a pasta manufacturer, he was born Agostino De Laurentiis on Aug. 8, 1919, in Torre Annunziata, some 17 miles from Naples. One of seven children, he dropped out of school at 15 and traveled as a salesman for his father's pasta factory. But he wasn't enamored of the family business. He worked for a time as an extra, stagehand, electrician and director's assistant before changing his first name from Agostino to Dino and launching a production company.
DeLAURENTIS, Dino (Agostino DeLaurentis)
Born: 8/8/1919, Torre Annunziata, Campania, Italy
Died: 11/11/2010, Beverly Hills, California, U.S.A.
Din DeLaurentis' westerns - producer, presenter:
The Hills Run Red - 1966 [producer]
Navajo Joe - 1966 [producer]
A Man Called Sledge - 1971 [producer]
The Deserter - 1972 [producer]
Chino - 1973 [producer]
The Shootist - 1976 [presenter]
The White Buffalo - 1977 [producer]
Posted by Tom B. at 9:09 AM No comments:
Monday, November 8, 2010
RIP Noel Taylor
Originally trained as an artist, Taylor thought of his work not as pieces of a wardrobe, "but as a painting." He won an Emmy and a Costume Designers Guild lifetime achievement award.
By Valerie J. Nelson, Los Angeles Times
November 9, 2010
Noel Taylor, an award-winning costume designer whose career spanned seven decades and started almost by accident after artist Marc Chagall sought his help, has died. He was 97.
Taylor, a longtime resident of West Hollywood, died of natural causes Thursday at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, said Patrick Munoz, executor of his estate.
Nominated four times for an Emmy Award, Taylor won in 1978 for costume design for the PBS drama "Actor: The Paul Muni Story." He also had designed for more than 70 Broadway plays, many local stage productions and nearly 30 television shows and films.
At 16, Taylor dropped out of high school to work in the theater and at 22 was starring on Broadway in "Cross Ruff," a play he also wrote.
Trained as a painter, Taylor turned toward costume design when Chagall asked him to help paint costumes in the late 1940s for a New York City Ballet production of "The Firebird." "When I'm doing a costume, I don't think of it as a piece of wardrobe," Taylor told The Times in 1980. "I think of it as a painting."
On Broadway, he was prominent and prolific until his early 80s. In the 1950s, he laboriously dyed fabric for "The Teahouse of the August Moon" and did costumes for "Dial 'M' for Murder," and the early 1960s plays "The Night of the Iguana" and " One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." He was nominated for Emmys for the 1991 Civil War miniseries "Ironclads," the 1982 special "Eleanor, First Lady of the World" and the 1965 Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation of "The Magnificent Yankee."
"He was a brilliantly talented designer," said Rachael Stanley, interim director of the Costume Designers Guild, which gave Taylor a lifetime achievement award in 2004. "His sketches are really pieces of art in and of themselves. One he did of Katharine Hepburn is on my wall."
Before Hepburn would agree to Taylor designing costumes for her 1986 TV movie "Mrs. Delafield Wants to Marry," she insisted on seeing samples of his work, according to the 2006 biography "Kate: The Woman Who Was Hepburn." After Hepburn pronounced his designs beautiful, "we were best friends," Taylor said in the book. He worked with her on several more TV movies.
In 2005, he accompanied Julie Harris to Washington, D.C., when the actress received a Kennedy Center Honor while wearing a Taylor design. Their friendship began "20 plays and 30 years ago," Taylor had told The Times in 1980.
In 1961, when Harris was uncomfortable with a costume for Broadway's "A Shot in the Dark," Taylor said he made another overnight because "nobody ever has to wear anything I make that they don't like."
He was born Harold Alexander Taylor Jr. on Jan. 17, 1913, in Youngstown, Ohio, the second of two sons of a stockbroker and his wife, a painter. At 7, he moved with his family to Paris for two years and acquired
"Noel" as a childhood nickname. In his 20s, Taylor often summered in Austria, where he witnessed the growing discrimination against Jewish people during the rise of Adolf Hitler.
He wired his mother to tell her, "Forget everything you thought you knew," Taylor later said, and solicited her help in raising $200,000 to help exiled Jews. Jailed for participating in illegal meetings, he was released after four days by a sympathetic Austrian interrogator and soon returned to the U.S., he said in several interviews.
During World War II, Taylor was an equestrian trainer for the Coast Guard.
In Los Angeles, he had worked on theater stages both large and small, and had designed costumes for the Laguna Playhouse's "Harvey" in 2003 when he was 90.
He had two major life partners, George Sullivan and artist Adnan Karabay. Taylor is survived by a nephew.
TAYLOR, Noel (Harold Alexander Taylor, Jr.)
Born: 1/17/1913, Youngstown, Ohio, U.S.A.
Died: 11/4/2010, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
Noel Taylors' western - costume designer:
The Legend of the Lone Ranger - 1981
Posted by Tom B. at 8:47 PM No comments:
Sunday, November 7, 2010
RIP Martin Baum
experience for the upstart Creative Artists Agency in the late 1970s.
By Claire Noland, Los Angeles Times
November 7, 2010
Martin Baum, an old-time New York theatrical talent agent who became a
veteran voice of experience for the upstart Creative Artists Agency in the late 1970s and who brought to the firm such established star clients as Sidney Poitier and Peter Sellers, has died. He was 86.
Baum died Friday at his home in Beverly Hills, the agency announced. The cause was not given.
"To those of us in his CAA family, Marty was a hero," the agency's partners said in a statement. "He was not only a brilliant agent, but a generous mentor to so many."
Since the late 1940s, Baum's clients included Bette Davis, Richard Attenborough, Richard Harris, Julie Andrews, Blake Edwards, Joanne Woodward, Cliff Robertson, Maggie Smith, Red Buttons, Gene Wilder, Bo Derek, John Cassavetes, Gena Rowlands, Rock Hudson, Dyan Cannon and Carroll O'Connor, among others.
CAA founding partners Michael Ovitz, Ron Meyer, Michael Rosenfeld Sr., Rowland Perkins and Bill Haber invited Baum to join CAA in 1977, two years after the ambitious young guns left the William Morris Agency en masse. They coveted Baum's A-list talent roster, but they also saw his value as a shrewd deal-maker.
Baum was known as a "packager," someone who brought together actors, directors, writers and others he represented and then delivered the bundled group to a studio for a film production. One of his early film successes was gathering Poitier, director Ralph Nelson and screenwriter James Poe - all Baum clients - for "Lilies of the Field" in 1963.
And he knew another side of the business. From 1968 to 1971, Baum had been president of ABC Pictures, the television network's motion picture division. He was responsible for such films as "Cabaret," "Straw Dogs" and "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?"
As the first head of CAA's motion picture department, he brought credibility as well as an ability to scrutinize projects as a studio executive would.
Baum got his start in the entertainment business in his native New York City. Born March 2, 1924, he served in the Army during World War II. After returning from military duty, he became a stage manager - but the
shows kept flopping, he told a Times reporter in 1969. "Finally, we opened a show in which it seemed everyone lost money," Baum said. "I looked around to see just who had made money in this particular disaster. Only the actors and their agents. So I decided to became an agent."
In 1948, he and another agent, Abe Newborn, formed the Baum-Newborn Agency and began to turn a profit. They sold the firm to General Artists Corp., and in 1960 Baum moved to Los Angeles as the head of GAC's motion picture department. After GAC, Baum took a similar position with the Ashley Famous Agency and then formed his own firm, which later merged with CAA.
At his CAA office in Century City, Baum displayed the Academy Award statuette his client Gig Young won as best supporting actor for the 1969 film "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" Before committing suicide in 1978, Young indicated that he wanted the Oscar to go to Baum, his friend and his agent, who had cast him as the dance-marathon promoter. Jennifer Young, the actor's daughter, sued for the rights to the statuette, but a judge ruled in Baum's favor in 1997. At the time, the agent said he planned to bequeath the Oscar to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences when he died.
Baum's wife Bernice died in 1997. Survivors include his girlfriend of 12 years, Vicki Sanchez; his daughter, Fern; his son, Rich; and three grandchildren.
BAUM, Martin
Born: 3/2/1924, New York City, New York, U.S.A.
Died: 11/5/2010, Beverly Hills, California, U.S.A.
Martin Baum's western - producer:
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia - 1974
Posted by Tom B. at 12:52 AM 1 comment:
Friday, November 5, 2010
RIP Emilio Franco
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 3:16 PM on 4th November 2010
Actor and nightclub owner Emilio Franco has been gunned down after a suspected 'hit' at his California home.
Franco, 53, was pronounced dead at the scene of the shooting in the 9300 block of Gainford Avenue in Downey, police officials said in a written statement.
The owner of several night spots including Los Angeles club El Farallon.
Police and local reports say Franco was killed when he attempted to confront two suspects thought to be trying to rob Franco's Downey residence in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
One man was wounded at the scene and is being treated at a hospital while police are looking for a second suspect who is believed to have fled the scene after a 'home-invasion robbery'.
Police believe Franco, an actor and singer turned businessman, may have been followed to his home by the suspects before the apparent attempted robbery.
Relatives have since confirmed that Franco's wife and pregnant daughter are alive and were in the home when the shooting took place.
'Officers were dispatched to a possible prowler call with 'shots heard' at a residence on Gainford Avenue,' said a statement from Downey police.
'When officers arrived, family members contacted them and said there were intruders inside the residence.'
Officers said Franco was found lying on the floor of his home suffering from a fatal gunshot wound.
One of the suspects in the deadly intrusion was also found inside the home suffering from a gunshot wound, Downey police Detective Sam Gatfield told the Whittier Daily News.
'That suspect was taken into custody and transported to a local hospital where he is listed in serious condition and expected to survive,' Gatfield added.
A second suspect in the killing was spotted by witnesses fleeing the area on foot and remained at large. He was only described as wearing dark clothing.
Franco's neighbour said the late nightclub owner was a pleasant and personable man. 'My mom use to be the secretary down in Lynwood at El Farallon night club for about 14 years,' she said. 'He was a very funny man, a very helping person and even though he had money he was just a down to earth person. He was really nice. 'I remember on Tuesdays he would do a barbecue for all of his workers on his ranch. It was fun. He would let us borrow his horses,' Renteria added. 'He would always give people whatever he could.'
Franco's residence was said to be in a peaceful and quiet area but an anonymous source quoted by Indiepropub.com suggested the actor and businessman 'had a dark side, with ties to drug dealing'.
The same source alleged Franco's nightclubs in El Monte, Riverside and Lynwood, California, were 'hangouts of the narco-criminal element' and said Franco's death was the result of a 'hit'.
Franco's family could not be reached for comment by local outlets on Wednesday.
FRANCO, Emilio
Born: 1956 Mexico
Died: 10/3/2010, Downey, California, U.S.A.
Emilio Franco's western - actor:
La fuga de los Pérez - 1995
Posted by Tom B. at 9:38 AM No comments:
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
RIP Robert Ellenstein
As an L.A. theater director, one of Robert Ellenstein's most notable
productions was his staging of 'Hamlet' using only six actors and no
props. He appeared in more than 20 films and many television shows.
By Keith Thursby, Los Angeles Times
11:01 AM PDT, November 3, 2010
Robert Ellenstein, an actor and director with a varied career, including a long list of Los Angeles theater productions over several decades, died Oct. 28 of natural causes at a nursing home in West Los Angeles, said his son David. He was 87.
Ellenstein also had more than 20 film roles, including "North by Northwest" in 1959 and "Star Trek IV" in 1986, and a long television resume that began in the mid-1950s.
He was the first artistic director of the Company of Angels, co-founder and artistic director of the Los Angeles Repertory Company and a founding member of Theatre West in Hollywood.
The Company of Angels, a longtime nonprofit professional theater in Los Angeles, recently honored him as part of its 50th anniversary.
One of Ellenstein's most notable Los Angeles productions starting in the late 1980s was his staging of "Hamlet" using only six actors and no props.
David Ellenstein, who played Hamlet, said his father's direction was memorable because of "the accessibility and clarity of the production. It glorified the actor and the words."
Robert Ellenstein was born June 18, 1923, in Newark, N.J., where his father, Meyer, was mayor from 1933 to 1941. Ellenstein attended New York University and graduated with a degree in theater from the University of Iowa. He also served in the military during World War II and was wounded in Holland, his son said.
Ellenstein's career started with the Cleveland Play House in 1947. By the time he moved his family to Los Angeles in 1957, he was appearing on such television shows as "The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse" and " Robert Montgomery Presents."
In the 1960s, his stage work included co-starring with Juliet Prowse in the national tour of "Irma La Douce."
Ellenstein directed and was directed by his sons. David is artistic director of the North Coast Repertory Theater in Solana Beach; Peter is artistic director of the William Inge Center for the Arts in Kansas.
"I don't feel any extra pressure with him here," Peter Ellenstein told
The Times in 1992 during a production of "Rocket to the Moon," in which he directed his father. "A lot of what I do is based on what I learned from him."
In 1999, Robert Ellenstein played the title role in "King Lear" for the Los Angeles Repertory Company with Peter Ellenstein directing. Philip Brandes, writing in The Times, said Ellenstein "renders Lear's dark journey with admirable clarity."
In addition to his sons, Ellenstein is survived by his wife of 58 years, Lois; daughter Jan Ellenstein-Keeva of Evanston, Ill.; and four grandchildren.
ELLENSTEIN, Robert
Born: 6/18/1923, Newark, New Jersey, U.S.A.
Died: 10/28/2010, West Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
Robert Ellenstein's westerns - actor:
Gunsmoke (TV) - 1956 (Tewksbury)
3:10 to Yuma - 1957 (Ernie Collins)
The Californians (TV) - 1957 (Collie Andrews)
The Adventures of Jim Bowie (TV) - 1958 ('Johnny Appleseed' Chapman)
Zane Grey Theater (TV) - 1958 (Alf Stokes)
Wanted: Dead or Alive (TV) - 1959 (Mr. Sims)
The Rifleman (TV) - 1959 (Bart Jamison)
The Man from Blackhawk (TV) - 1959 (Matthew Larkin)
Rawhide (TV) - 1959 (Orderly)
Riverboat (TV) - 1960 (Sheriff Stone)
Tales of Wells Fargo (TV) - 1962 (Augustus Parmalee)
The Dakotas (TV) - 1963 (judge)
Bonanza (TV) - 1966 (Harry Fitts)
The Wild Wild West (TV) - 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969 (Luis Vasquez, Arthur Tickle, Dr. Theobald Raker, Dr. Horatio Occularis II)
The Virginian (TV) - 1967 (Milo Temple)
The Big Valley (TV) - 1967, 1969 (Salazar, Dr. Amos Pearce)
Death Valley Days (TV) - 1970
Posted by Tom B. at 2:53 PM No comments:
Monday, November 1, 2010
RIP Michael Galloway
May 8, 1925 - October 12, 2010
Michael "Mick" Galloway 85, husband, father, actor. A familiar face on many TV series, including "The Blue Angels" in the early 60s, Michael's career encompassed more than 350 roles on stage, screen and TV.
Born into a family of Boise, Idaho lawyers, Michael was the youngest of four brothers. Following his Air Force service during WWII, he attended the University of Idaho and USC on basketball scholarships. When his athletic ambitions were sidelined by a car accident, Michael discovered his passion for acting and theater.
In 2008, he campaigned vigorously for Obama. His childhood memory of listening to Marion Anderson sing at FDR's Inauguration on the radio with his mother inspired him to post a YouTube video on behalf of that effort.
Michael Galloway is survived by wife Karen, children from his first marriage, Steve Galloway (Ellen) and Kathleen Rogan (Tim), grandsons Sean and Cameron Rogan; and brother, Robert, Michael will be remembered for his humanity, decency, intelligence and a wacky sense of humor.
GALLOWAY, Michael F.
Born: 5/8/1925, Boise, Idaho, U.S.A.
Died: 10/12/2010, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
Michael Galloway's westerns - actor:
Zane Grey Theater (TV) - 1957 (Thompson)
Broken Arrow (TV) - 1958 (Sgt. Galloway)
Maverick (TV) - 1959 (Jim Hedges)
Frontier Doctor (TV) - 1959 (Sam Ross)
The Texan (TV) - 1959 (Frank Kincaid)
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avvo1 needed a new wordpress theme design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 27 designs submitted by 9 freelance designers.
Right now lawyers who are looking to setup a blog don't have many options when it comes to legal themes. I'd like to create one that will be accepted to Wordpress' theme directory.
Lawyer bloggers.
I need a generic Wordpress theme made that will be used by lawyers.
I'm thinking that the legal look will probably be heavily achieved with a header graphic that will involve some type of legal imagery like books, scales of justice, gavels, etc. However, if you've got other ideas that convey the legal theme in terms of graphics or doing something in addition to, or beyond, the header, please try them.
At the bottom of the theme, it needs to say "Design by Avvo"
Final design must be delivered in layered PSD form.
IMPORTANT: It is very important that you do not violate anyone's copyright when you use an image in your design. Accordingly, please be prepared to show the source of your images and verify you are allowed to use them.