'The Birds' actor Rod Taylor dies at age 84 - Gospel performer, songwriter Andrae Crouch dies at 72

Australian actor Rod Taylor, who rose to film fame in Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" and "The Time Machine", died Thursday in Los Angeles. He was 84.

Taylor's daughter Felicia confirmed the news in a statement to media outlets.

"My dad loved his work," Felicia Taylor's statement read, in part. "Being an actor was his passion – calling it an honorable art and something he couldn't live without."

Taylor was born and raised in Sydney, but spent the bulk of his career in Hollywood. His first major role was that of the inventor in George Pal's 1960 adaptation of H.G. Wells's famous novel. That same year, he voiced the character of Pongo, the lead dog in Disney's "101 Dalmatians."

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LOS ANGELES –  Andrae Crouch, a legendary gospel performer, songwriter and choir director whose work graced songs by Michael Jackson and Madonna and movies such as "The Lion King," has died. He was 72.

Crouch died Thursday afternoon at Northridge Hospital Medical Center, where he had been admitted Saturday after suffering a heart attack, said his publicist, Brian Mayes.

Crouch and his sister, Sandra Crouch, lived in the Pacoima area of Los Angeles, Mayes said. They were pastors at the New Christ Memorial Church in the Los Angeles suburb of San Fernando.

Born in San Francisco, Crouch wrote his first gospel tune at age 14.

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