As new formats like DVD, Blu-ray, and now Ultra HD Blu-ray have brought
better picture quality, sound, and room for special features, most people
have moved away from the VCR. As a result, it’s finally time to say goodbye
to the home video progenitor for good.

Funai, the last remaining manufacturer of the VCR, will cease production of
the players by the end of the month, according to Japanese newspaper The
Nikkei (via Anime News Network). The company is citing a declining market
and increasing difficulty in sourcing parts as the reasons behind the decision.

JVC developed the VHS format and began selling the first VCRs in 1976,
while Funai began selling its first models in 1983. Betamax players, a format
developed by Sony, were released in Japan in early 1975 and discontinued
in 2002.

Fletcher in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.

Estelle Louise Fletcher was born in Birmingham, Alabama.

Louise Fletcher won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her role as Nurse
Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975). She worked as a secretary
by day and took acting lessons by night.

Jack Nicholson from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.

Garry Kent Marshall (November 13, 1934 – July 19, 2016)

BALTIMORE (TMZ) – Actor, producer, director and writer Garry
Marshall has died.

Marshall was well known for producing TV shows including "Happy
Days," "Mork & Mindy" and "Laverne and Shirley." He also appeared
as an actor in "The Odd Couple," "Hot in Cleveland," "Brooklyn Nine-
Nine," "Murphy Brown" and "The Dick Van Dyke Show," to name just
a few. Among his directing credits: "Pretty Woman," "Runaway Bride"
and "The Princess Diaries."

According to TMZ, Marshall died at 5 p.m. on Tuesday of complications
from pneumonia and had been in and out of the hospital, following a
stroke.

Frank Sinatra married actress Mia Farrow in Las Vegas when she was 21 and he
was 50. At the time, Frank was enjoying renewed popularity as the song “Strangers 
in the Night" returned him to the top of the Billboard charts only seventeen days
later. The couple met on the set of Sinatra’s film, Von Ryan’s Express. The marriage
fell apart 18 months later when she refused to drop her performance in the movie
Rosemary’s Baby. Sinatra served her divorce papers in front of the cast and crew
on the set during the filming.  

Red as "Freddie the Freeloader".

Richard Bernard "Red" Skelton (July 18, 1913 – September 17, 1997)

Red Skelton was known as a TV clown who portrayed Clem Kadiddlehopper
along with many other comic characters. He was a long-time national radio
and television star for 34 years. He also appeared in vaudeville, films,
nightclubs, and casinos, all while he pursued an entirely separate career
as an artist. His first audition was at age 10 for a role in a medicine show.

Red Skelton as Clem Kadiddlehopper.