Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/681807
51 Q2 2016 / CINEMONTAGE California in 1944, and grew up on Long Island. He attended Amherst College and Yale School of Drama before joining the cast of Neil Simon's Promises, Promises on Broadway, writes Mark Olsen in The Los Angeles Times. His performance in Child's Play won him a Tony award in 1970. That performance got the attention of director Otto Preminger, who cast Howard opposite Liza Minnelli in the film Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon. Later, the 6-foot- 6 Howard found his most iconic role as a former pro basketball player-turned-inner-city high school coach in The White Shadow, which lasted for three seasons on CBS before ending in 1981. "The best way to honor his legacy will be for all performers — even those who opposed the merger — to work hard to see that his dream of a stronger union becomes a reality," writes David Robb in Deadline Hollywood. "With his passing, there could be no better time to put aside old differences." Actor Gabrielle Carteris, who was serving as SAG-AFTRA's acting president since Howard's death, was elected president by the union's board to fill out the remainder of his term, the union announced in early April. She will serve until August 2017. 'MIDNIGHT RIDER' DIRECTOR RELEASED Movie director Randall Miller was released from jail in late March after serving a year behind bars for the death of a crewmember killed by a train during filming of Midnight Rider, a movie about musician Gregg Allman, according to the Associated Press. Wayne County Sheriff John Carter confirmed that Miller had been freed shortly after a court appearance. The director had been jailed since March 2015, when he pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the death of 27-year-old camera assistant Sarah Jones. He was given a two-year sentence. Jones' parents told Superior Court Judge Anthony Harrison they opposed Miller's early release. Her father said his chief concern wasn't punishing Miller but sending the strongest possible message to Hollywood to improve safety conditions on film sets. "The message we did not want to send is that because you may be a movie director, you may be getting off lightly," Richard Jones said after the hearing. "Sarah's dead, for heaven's sake. These were just blatant decisions that put these people in danger unnecessarily." f