If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
American actress Brittany Murphy has died today from a reported heart attack at the age of 32. According to reports, her mother Sharon Murphy discovered her daughter unconscious in the shower. Paramedics determined that Brittany was in full cardiac arrest and administered CPR. They continued mouth-to-mouth as they sped to Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre but Brittany was pronounced dead on arrival at 10.04 a.m.
Speculation immediately began surrounding the cause of Brittany’s sudden death from cardiac arrest which is the same cause of Michael Jackson’s death in June. Police are still investigating the singer’s apparent dependency on prescription drugs. Today, Murphy’s friends said they feared that she died in a similar way to Jackson and Hollywood insiders said she had a long running problem with prescription drugs.
One source said: “We have been very worried that something like this was about to happen. Brittany has been living life on the edge. She definitely had a drug problem and we have all begged her to seek help. Sadly our words fell on deaf ears.”…
Another added that Murphy, who just over a month ago celebrated her 32nd birthday, had struggled to beat a prescription drug problem since becoming hooked on painkillers after undergoing a series of plastic surgery procedures. It was also claimed that the drugs she was using included Vicodin - a painkiller Michael Jackson was also known to abuse.
Brittany is also said to have suffered from eating disorders in the past which can cause weakness in the heart muscle and heart attack is a common cause of death for anorexics i.e Karen Carpenter in the 80’s.
Whatever the cause of this young woman’s death it is a tragedy for her family and admirers - she was too young for such a fate.
One of my most enduring memories from my childhood in Australia during the late 1970’s is this little song: “Travel all over the countryside, ask the Leylands, ask the Leyland Brotheeeeerrrrs!”
Each Sunday evening at around 5.30 we settled down to watch Mike and Mal Leyland take their young families to places around Australia that the viewing public had never heard of. They got around in 4X4’s before your suburban Mum ever got her hands on one and they actually used them for the purpose for which they werecreated - traversing swamps, deserts, the Cape region in the wet season - and they had all the rigs and winches to get them out of any sticky spots.
Sadly Mike Leyland has died at the age of 68 and he leaves a legacy that we Australians probably have never really appreciated. The Leyland Brothers opened up Australia to it’s people through their weekly show; we learned that ours is wide and vastly varied nation of landscapes, people, flora and fauna. All you had to do was send in a letter and ask them to go somewhere you wanted to see and off they went for you. Remember them standing superimposed on that big map of Australia while reading the viewers letter…?
They were the pioneers of the current roving-travel shows and they did it without the five star comfort; they slept in caravans and the wives cooked on open fires. Great memories for sure.
You cannot just call ‘Bud’ an actor; he was an icon of the Australian film and stage industry. A giant of a talent, a modest man of great humility and generosity.
He was there when the Australian film industry was in it’s infancy and it would be impossible to find any other individual who did more to promote and develop the medium that Australian film-making has become today.
Not only was he a great actor of radio, stage, television and screen Bud was a fighter pilot of great courage during WWII flying 76 missions over North Africa for the British Airforce. In 1946 he returned to Australia and appeared in an uncredited role in the landmark film about Sir Charles Kingsford Smith - ‘Smithy’.
Bud travelled to London where he established himself as an actor and is best remembered for his role as the Inspector in the ‘Miss Marple’ series of films starring opposite the great Margaret Rutherford.
Loved and respected for his warmth and intelligence, he was a fond favourite of film crews and fellow actors and was generous with his time and advice for the younger actors he worked with.
My favourite memories of Bud are of his roles in Homocide, the Australian crime drama series from the early 70’s, and his wonderful portrayal of a retired QC who volunteers to help out Aussie battler Daryl Kerrigan save his home from corporate developers in the 1997 film ‘The Castle’.
Not only does Bud leave a huge gap in the hearts of Australians, he leaves a void in the Australian film and stage industry that will never be filled.
American actress Brittany Murphy has died today from a reported heart attack at the age of 32. According to reports, her mother Sharon Murphy discovered her daughter unconscious in the shower. Paramedics determined that Brittany was in full cardiac arrest and administered CPR. They continued mouth-to-mouth as they sped to Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre but Brittany was pronounced dead on arrival at 10.04 a.m.
I was very saddened today to read of the 
