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Earl Hindman was an American actor from Arizona. His most famous role was that of helpful neighbor Wilson W. Wilson, Jr. in the popular sitcom "Home Improvement" (1991-1999). The series lasted for 8 seasons, and a total of 204 episodes.

In 1942, Hindman was born in Bisbee, Arizona, which at the time was a mining city. Bisbee was established in 1880, as a settlement for copper, gold, and silver miners. The city became the county seat of Cochise County in 1929. Hindman's parents were Burl Latney Hindman and his wife Eula. His father worked in the oil pipeline business.

Hindman studied acting at the University of Arizona. He made his film debut in the exploitation film "Teenage Mother" (1967), at the age of 25. His early films included the mystery film "Who Killed Mary What's 'Er Name?" (1971), and the political assassination-themed thriller "The Parallax View" (1974). He played the hijacker code-named "Mr. Brown" in the action thriller "The Taking of Pelham One Two Three" (1974).

Hindman next found a regular role in television, playing police lieutenant Bob Reid in the soap opera "Ryan's Hope" (1975-1989). He was a regular in the series from 1975 to 1984, and then was written out. He returned to the series in 1988 and remained until its end in 1989. The series was canceled due to its steady decline in Nielsen numbers. In total, it lasted for 13 seasons and 3,515 episodes.

Hindman was featured as race-car driver Beau Welles in the biographical film "Greased Lightning" (1977), depicted as the main rival to protagonist Wendell Scott (played by Richard Pryor). The film was loosely based on the life of Wendell Scott (1921-1990), the first African-American to win a race in the Grand National Series, NASCAR's highest level.

Hindman was reduced to minor roles in film for the duration of the 1980s, with the exception of playing gunfighter J.T. Hollis in the Western film "Silverado" (1985). In television, he played Lt. Commander Wade McClusky in the miniseries "War and Remembrance" (1988-1989). His career experienced a revival when cast as a regular character in "Home Improvement". In the series, his character Wilson W. Wilson, Jr. would regularly offer advice to protagonist Timothy "Tim" Taylor (played by Tim Allen), As a running gag, Wilson's face remained hidden from the audience.

Following the series' cancellation, Hindman mostly appeared in guest star roles in television series, such as "Law & Order" and "Law & Order: Criminal Intent". Meanwhile his health declined. Hindman was a longtime smoker, and was diagnosed with lung cancer. He died due to the disease in December 2003, at the age of 61.

Hindman died in Stamford, Connecticut, and was buried there in Roxbury Cemetery. He was survived by his wife, actress Molly McGreevey. McGreevey died in 2015.

One of British TV's most popular performers with a career that spanned over four decades, funny-man Bob Monkhouse started off as a radio broadcaster (1947) and stand-up comic. He earned success early on as a gag writer, partnering with Denis Goodwin.

In 1953, the duo won their own TV show called Fast and Loose (1954), which was sketch-comedy based. A nightclub comedian to boot, he also pursued films on occasion appearing in such slapstick dillies as Carry on Sergeant (1958), Dentist in the Chair (1960), Dentist on the Job (1961) and A Weekend with Lulu (1961). But TV would be his prime venue, and he moved quite easily into various parlor game and variety show hosting duties.

For Love or Money (1959) was his first, a Brit version of "Candid Camera". Along the way, he found emceeing chores with The London Palladium Show (1966), The Golden Shot (1967) (which made him a household name), Celebrity Squares (1975) (based on Hollywood Squares (1965)), Family Fortunes (1980), "The $64,000 Question", Opportunity Knocks (1956), The National Lottery (1994), and many others. Monkhouse died in 2003 of prostate cancer.

Dinsdale Landen was educated at King's School, Rochester, and trained at the Florence Moore Drama School. This was followed by National Service with the RAF, during which time he joined a drama group. Upon demobilisation he joined Worthing rep. He enjoyed an extensive career in cinema, television and theatre. He announced his retirement from acting in 1998, upon the diagnosis of oral cancer. He died of pneumonia on 29 December 2003, aged 71, and left a widow, the actress Jennifer Daniel. At the time of his death the cancer was in remission.

I.M. Hobson was born on 11 August 1935 in Clifton, Illinois, USA. He was an actor, known for Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992), The Hudsucker Proxy (1994) and Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992). He died on 29 December 2003 in Evanston, Wyoming, USA.

Dorothy Konrad was born on 30 September 1912 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. She was an actress, known for Sweet Bird of Youth (1962), The Love Boat (1977) and Dixie Dynamite (1976). She died on 29 December 2003 in Santa Monica, California, USA.

Miko Sotto was born on 10 May 1982 in the Philippines. He was an actor, known for Fantastic Man (2003), Click (1999) and Bahay ni Lola (2001). He died on 29 December 2003 in Mandaluyong City, Philippines.

Gerald Gutierrez was born on 3 February 1950 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He was a director and actor, known for Comedy Zone (1984), Great Performances (1971) and Kiss-Kiss, Dahlings! (1992). He died on 29 December 2003 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA.

Daniel Pommereulle was born on 15 April 1937 in Sceaux, Seine [now Hauts-de-Seine], France. He was an actor and writer, known for The Collector (1967), One More Time (1968) and Vite (1969). He died on 29 December 2003 in Paris, France.

Marley the Dog was an actor, known for The Last Home Run (1996). He died on 29 December 2003 in Pennsylvania, USA.

Zhuo Pan was born on 16 September 1921 in Shunde County, Guangdong Province, Hong Kong. Zhuo was a writer, known for Wuqing baojian youqing tian (1964), Leiming jingu zhan jiasheng (1963) and Mong ngai ting Seung zap (1960). Zhuo died on 29 December 2003 in Hong Kong, China.