American comedy actress Dixie Carter, best known for her role as interior decorator Julia Sugarbaker in the 1980’s southern sitcom Designing Women, opposite Delta Burke, has passed away aged 70. Famous for portraying strong-minded Southern women Carter guest starred in Diff’rent Strokes, the legal drama Family Law and was awarded an Emmy for guest acting in Desperate Housewives as recently as 2007. She is survived by her two daughters and her third husband, the actor Hal Holbrook, who was nominated for an Oscar for the Sean Penn film Into the Wild (2007).
Another act
or, Meinhardt Raabe, one of the last remaining Muchkins from the film The Wizard of Oz (1939), has passed away aged 94. The 107cm tall actor played the Coroner in the classic film, his role famous for confirming the death of the Wicked Witch of the West with the verse “As coroner, I must aver, I thoroughly examined her; And she's not only merely dead, She's really, most sincerely dead!”
Arthur Mercante, the man who refereed boxing’s Fight of the Century between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier has passed away in New York State aged 90. Born in Brockton, Massachussets in 1920 Mercante’s childhood friend was future undefeated heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano. Mercante fought in WWII then gained a Masters degree in Physical Education and became a pro-referee in 1954. He is best remembered for the 1971 Fight of the Century. Ali and Frazier, then undefeated boxing superstars, each received a then-record purse of $2.5 million USD for the fight at Madison Square Garden won by Frazier. Mercante refereed his last fight in 2001, aged 81.
