Dino De Laurentiis Dead at 91

Dino De Laurentiis, the producer of Conan the Barbarian and Barbarella, among many other films, has died in Los Angeles at the age of 91. The cause of death wasn't revealed in the announcement of his death by his daughter Raffaella. De Laurentiis's first successful film, Bitter Rice, was released in 1948. He went on to be the producer on more than 500 movies, often alternating blockbusters like 1976's King Kong remake with smaller films, including the cult classic Blue Velvet.

"The extraordinary thing that Dino taught all of us is the true figure of the independent producer," his nephew, noted Italian film producer Aurelio De Laurentiis, told the AP. "He always behaved in the US as a major studio, even though he was a one-man show." (More Dino De Laurentiis stories.)