Former Bon Jovi Bassist, Founding Member Alec John Such Dies

In this June 19, 2004 photo Alec John Such, of Colts Neck, NJ, sits for a portrait inside his second floor bathtub. (AP)
In this June 19, 2004 photo Alec John Such, of Colts Neck, NJ, sits for a portrait inside his second floor bathtub. (AP)
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Former Bon Jovi Bassist, Founding Member Alec John Such Dies

In this June 19, 2004 photo Alec John Such, of Colts Neck, NJ, sits for a portrait inside his second floor bathtub. (AP)
In this June 19, 2004 photo Alec John Such, of Colts Neck, NJ, sits for a portrait inside his second floor bathtub. (AP)

Alec John Such, the bassist and a founding member of the iconic rock band Bon Jovi, has died. He was 70.

The group on Sunday announced the death of Such, the New Jersey band’s bassist from 1983 to 1994. No details on when or how Such died were immediately available. A publicist for singer-songwriter Jon Bon Jovi didn’t immediately respond to messages.

“He was an original,” Bon Jovi wrote in a post on Twitter. “As a founding member of Bon Jovi, Alec was integral to the formation of the band.”

Bon Jovi credited Such for bringing the band together, noting that he was a childhood friend of drummer Tico Torres and brought guitarist and songwriter Richie Sambora to see the band perform. Such had played with Sambora in a band called Message.

The Yonkers, New York-born Such was a veteran figure in the thriving New Jersey music scene that helped spawn Bon Jovi. As manager of the Hunka Bunka Ballroom in Sayreville, New Jersey, Such booked Jon Bon Jovi & The Wild Ones before joining the singer-songwriter’s band. He played with Bon Jovi through the group’s heyday in the 1980s.

Such departed the band in 1994, when he was replaced by bassist Hugh McDonald. He later rejoined the band for its induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2018.

“When Jon Bon Jovi called me up and asked me to be in his band many years ago, I soon realized how serious he was and he had a vision that he wanted to bring us to,” said Such at the Hall of Fame induction. “And I am only too happy to have been a part of that vision.”



‘The Brutalist’ Cast Beams over Breadth of Film’s Story

 This image released by A24 shows Adrien Brody in a scene from "The Brutalist." (Lol Crawley/A24 via AP)
This image released by A24 shows Adrien Brody in a scene from "The Brutalist." (Lol Crawley/A24 via AP)
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‘The Brutalist’ Cast Beams over Breadth of Film’s Story

 This image released by A24 shows Adrien Brody in a scene from "The Brutalist." (Lol Crawley/A24 via AP)
This image released by A24 shows Adrien Brody in a scene from "The Brutalist." (Lol Crawley/A24 via AP)

The cast of the film “The Brutalist” is giving their director Brady Corbet all the credit when it comes to the strong acclaim for the movie.

“He's a special filmmaker because he focuses on psychology and behavior and those things that we as actors are genuinely interested in,” said Guy Pearce, who plays wealthy industrialist Harrison Lee Van Buren.

“So, it was a real treat from start to finish,” he added.

The movie is an epic tale of a Hungarian immigrant who flees the horrors of World War Two to rebuild his life in the United States, and stars Oscar-winner Adrien Brody in the leading role of the architect Laszlo Toth.

"The Brutalist", which has a three-hour and 35-minute runtime and comes with a 15-minute intermission, was co-written by Corbet's wife, Mona Fastvold.

It was successful at the Venice International Film Festival earlier this year, with Corbet winning the best director prize.

The film, distributed by A24, arrives in movie theaters on Dec. 20 in the United States.

Brody, who had read the script nearly six years ago, expressed his deep connection to the story and his character through both his Hungarian-born mother and grandfather.

“Her [his mother’s] journey as an artist, her pursuits as an artist are deeply profound and linked to this,” he said.

For Brody, the role connected him with his mother’s yearning to leave something of great meaning behind, which was enhanced when contrasted with an understanding of hardship.

He also thought of his own grandfather's struggles with language and assimilation as a foreigner without work opportunities or respect.

“That (respect) was lost and taken from him,” Brody added.

His grandfather, fleeing from home due to the war, largely shaped the actor’s perspective of his role.

For “The Theory of Everything” actress Felicity Jones, who portrays Toth’s wife in the film, Erzsebet Toth, some of the most compelling aspects of the film are its characters and unique storytelling style.

“These characters, particularly Laszlo and Erzsebet, you know, they're doing everything they can to preserve their integrity and their self-worth,” she said.

Brody was recently nominated for a Golden Globe for best performance for a male actor in a motion picture drama and is receiving Oscar buzz for his role.

For “The Pianist” actor, having a strong team was key to the power of the film.

“In order to do work on this level, you need all of those to conspire with you and not against you,” Brody said.