Actress/Audio Book Pioneer Deborah Raffin R.I.P. - Blu-ray Forum

rkolinski · 11-24-2012, 07:17 AM

[Show spoiler]

with Christopher Reeve in "Morning Glory"

with Kirk Douglas in "Once Is Not Enough"

"Deborah Raffin, an actress who had roles in movies like “Forty Carats” and “Once Is Not Enough,” died here on Wednesday. She was 59.

The cause was leukemia, her brother, William, told The Los Angeles Times. The disease was diagnosed about a year ago.

Besides her film roles, Ms. Raffin starred in television movies and mini-series, most notably playing the actress Brooke Hayward in “Haywire” and a business executive in “Noble House,” based on the James Clavell saga set in Hong Kong.

She was also the co-founder of a successful audiobook business.

She and her husband, the music and film producer Michael Viner, started Dove Books-on-Tape in their garage in the mid-1980s. It became a multimillion-dollar business. The company’s first best seller was Stephen Hawking’s opus on the cosmos, “A Brief History of Time.”

Ms. Raffin’s job included getting celebrities to provide voices for some of the books. Among them were the nonfiction best sellers “Anatomy of an Illness” and “The Healing Heart,” both by Norman Cousins, which were read by Jason Robards Jr. and William Conrad.

Ms. Raffin also compiled celebrities’ Christmas anecdotes for a 1990 book, “Sharing Christmas,” which raised money for groups serving the homeless. It included stories from Margaret Thatcher, Kermit the Frog and Mother Teresa.

Ms. Raffin and Mr. Viner sold the company in 1997, and the couple divorced eight years later. Mr. Viner died of cancer in 2009.

Deborah Iona Raffin was born March 13, 1953, in Los Angeles. Her mother, Trudy Marshall, was a contract player at 20th Century Fox. Her father, Phillip Raffin, was a meat broker and restaurateur.

Besides her brother, Ms. Raffin is survived by a daughter, Taylor Rose Viner, and a sister, Judy Holston. "http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/24/ar...t-59.html?_r=0

Best Blu-ray Movie Deals