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Guess who died in 2011

Benjamin Grimm Jan 01 2011 05:18 AM

According to Wikipedia, our first celebrity death of the New Year is Faizal Yusof, 32, Malaysian actor, heart failure. I'm looking forward to Vic Sage's posting of Faizal Yusof's filmography.

metirish Jan 03 2011 07:05 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Actor Pete Postlethwaite (64) dies Oscar-nominated British actor Pete Postlethwaite has died in hospital following an illness, aged 64. He passed away peacefully in hospital in Shropshire yesterday. The actor had continued to work until recent months despite receiving treatment for his illness. Postlethwaite was best known for his role in Jim Sheridan's 1993 film in In The Name of the Father , and for his role in the 1996 film Brassed Off . He was nominated in 1994 for an Oscar for In The Name of the Father . Postlethwaite, who was made an OBE in the 2004 New Year’s Honours List, was described by Hollywood director Steven Spielberg as “the best actor in the world”. They worked together on The Lost World: Jurassic Park and Amistad . In response to the praise, Mr Postlethwaite joked: “I’m sure what Spielberg actually said was, ‘the thing about Pete is that he thinks he’s the best actor in the world’.” Had many memorable roles in his career , one I would like to recommend it a great movie called "Brassed Off" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxU9qEltkYk

Edgy DC Jan 03 2011 07:26 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Postlethwait brought good supporting characters to a lot of films. I don't know if he was the best actor in the world, but his name on the box at the video store was a good indicator that the disc in your hand contained a good film and not a bad one. Brassed Off, The Shipping News, In the Name of the Father. Let me check... Wait a minute... he was in Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet, Dragonheart, Clash of the Titans... Pete Postlethwait SUCKED!

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Jan 03 2011 09:03 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Was just rewatching Inception last night with BetterHalfer. So... as he was dying half a world away, we were watching him fake-die. Spoooooky. He always, at the very least, made the margins of some big "meh"vies pretty durned interesting.

Edgy DC Jan 03 2011 09:07 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

He certainly didn't drag too many films down, including those I cited as sub-meh.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Jan 03 2011 09:14 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

'Cause like any real character actor, he virtually always worked his arse off to serve the film. (See also: The Usual Suspects, The Constant Gardener.) But, yeah, when he was the focus, he was damn fine (In the Name... , Among Giants, Brassed Off).

smg58 Jan 03 2011 09:20 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Let the successful actor who's never taken a role in a movie of dubious quality cast the first stone.

TransMonk Jan 03 2011 09:28 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Kobayashi in The Usual Suspects. Who is Keyser Soze?

Edgy DC Jan 03 2011 02:02 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

And Leslie Nielsen is joined in the hereafer by his Forbidden Planet costar, Anne Francis.

Benjamin Grimm Jan 03 2011 02:04 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

I love that photo of the robot helping her put on her shoe! If only the robot had a Brannock device... the picture would be perfect!

metirish Jan 04 2011 01:00 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Gerry Rafferty Singer and songwriter known for Stuck in the Middle With You and Baker Street http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/ja ... y-obituary some pretty great songs to be known for

G-Fafif Jan 04 2011 01:09 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

R.I.P. Rafferty. "Baker Street" came out toward the end of ninth grade and that sax solo still echoes. (No. 430 among the Top 500 Songs of All-Time.) Bad first week of 2011 for the late spring of 1978, I must say. Josephine Cuneo, 87 -- nobody to you, but a great English teacher to me.

metirish Jan 04 2011 01:10 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

25 years ago today Phil Lynott died....25 years, hard to believe.

Edgy DC Jan 04 2011 01:17 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Man, Gerry Rafferty. He gave me this dream... about buyin' some land.

Frayed Knot Jan 04 2011 01:40 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

'Baker Street' had to be one of the most played songs EVAH during that summer. In an era with a somewhat less-fractured radio market just about every station was playing that one: rock stations, easy listening, top-40, AM, FM, AOR, MOR, ... I believe a proper statistical analysis will reveal that in all car trips longer than 4.7 miles your odds of hearing Baker Street were at least 50/50.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jan 04 2011 01:48 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Edgy DC wrote: Man, Gerry Rafferty. He gave me this dream... about buyin' some land. Wow. For a while I was trying to save enough nickels to buy 'City to City' but by the time I could afford it I think I bought 'Zenyatta Mondatta' instead.

Edgy DC Jan 04 2011 02:11 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

My head exploded the day I found out that he was the singer for "Stealers Wheel." I think most folks more or less think that "Stuck in the Middle with You" is Dylan, which they'd know it wasn't if they really thought about it, but they don't.

G-Fafif Jan 04 2011 02:20 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Nice run of solo hits followed "Baker Street": "Right Down The Line"; "Home And Dry"; "Get It Right Next Time". Definitely hit the sweet spot of 1978-79 MOR.

sharpie Jan 04 2011 02:21 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

"Stuck in the Middle With You" is to Bob Dylan what "Horse With No Name" is to Neil Young: blatant appropriations that were pretty good in their own right.

Edgy DC Jan 04 2011 02:23 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Well put.

G-Fafif Jan 04 2011 02:24 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Discovered a few years ago that Waylon Jennings traveled "Baker Street" -- join him here.

TransMonk Jan 04 2011 03:57 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

I didn't put 2 and 2 together until today that the guy who sang "Right Down the Line" and "Baker Street" was the lead singer of Stealer's Wheel. My head, however, did not explode. RIP

Benjamin Grimm Jan 04 2011 04:30 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Did you know that Joyce Kilmer was a dude? THAT made my head explode!

Frayed Knot Jan 04 2011 04:35 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hL2y5If1oYk

Fman99 Jan 04 2011 08:05 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

TransMonk wrote: I didn't put 2 and 2 together until today that the guy who sang "Right Down the Line" and "Baker Street" was the lead singer of Stealer's Wheel. My head, however, did not explode. RIP Ditto.

Kong76 Jan 04 2011 08:19 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

The exploding head thread is dead already on page 3.

Edgy DC Jan 04 2011 08:53 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Rafael Ravenscroft, the sax player, was reportedly paid £27 for the session, and the check bounced anyway. Guitarist Hugh Burns traded phrases with the sax until you stopped caring where one ended and the other began. According to Slash, the solo inspired his on "Sweet Child o' Mine."

Edgy DC Jan 05 2011 08:46 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Top Ten Things Gleaned from Reading Rafferty's Obits and Biographical sketches 10) I always found it curious that rafferty was a Scotsman with an Irish name. My former pastor came from a broken home and was raised by his parents. He said that when he went back to his ancestral hometown and asked after his people, the locals would spit on the grounds and say, "Raffertys?! Horse thieves!" Gerry, it turned out, was the Scots son of an asshole Irish immigrant father who beat on him regularly. 9) Produced "Letter from America" for the Proclaimers. 8) Contributed to the Local Hero soundtrack --- which I thought was 100% Mark Knopfler and is simply gorgeous. 7) It's "Stealers Wheel," not "Steeler's Wheel." I did not know that. 6) Baker Street might have been an even bigger hit if its sleeve illustration wasn't so ugly. 5) But if you look at the Stealers Wheel abum covers, he apparently liked that look. 4) The struggle-with-the-dream theme of "Baker Street" referred largely to his inability to extricate himself from the legal issues surrounding the Stealers Wheel breakup. 3) Back in the sixties he started a band with comic actor Billy Connolly. 2) Apparently spent his last 20 years in an alcoholic haze. 1) Hopefully, when he wakes up, it'll be a new morning, and he's going, he's going home.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jan 05 2011 09:41 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Edgy DC wrote: Top Ten Things Gleaned from Reading Rafferty's Obits and Biographical sketches 8) Contributed to the Local Hero soundtrack --- which I thought was 100% Mark Knopfler and is simply gorgeous. Rafferty's contribution must be the ballad "That's the Way It Always Starts" you know, with the singing. Very nice song.

TheOldMole Jan 06 2011 11:31 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Raphael Hillyer, Founding Violist of Juilliard Quartet, Dies at 96

The Second Spitter Jan 07 2011 07:47 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

metirish wrote: Gerry Rafferty Singer and songwriter known for Stuck in the Middle With You and Baker Street First bit of news from 2011 that upset me. Edgy DC wrote: Top Ten Things Gleaned from Reading tRafferty's Obits and Biographical sketches 6) Baker Street might have been an even bigger hit if its sleeve illustration wasn't so ugly. I remember having a 2 hour conversation with a muso on the Eurostar, fuelled by some above-average French wine, whether Baker Street can be categorized as "an epic". There's a CPFer who was trying to convince me that Baker Street is a shit song. I think said CPFer is nuts.

smg58 Jan 08 2011 08:28 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMAIsqvTh7g I had no idea a video of this song even existed until a couple of days ago. It's totally bizarre, and the band members look just a tad out of date, but it's priceless regardless (or perhaps because of it).

Ashie62 Jan 09 2011 07:44 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Ashie has been sick with flu all week which has allowed me to prepare a thread "the CPF Grim Reaper" of 2010. That being the member who inititated the most death threads.

TheOldMole Jan 10 2011 06:16 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

R&B pioneer Bobby Robinson, dead at 93.

Elster88 Jan 10 2011 09:51 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Dick Winters of Easy Company dead at 92 [url]http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postmortem/2011/01/dick-winters-dies-wwii-hero-co.html

MFS62 Jan 10 2011 09:28 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Cookie Gilchrist: http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=A ... egilchrist I saw him play for Buffalo against the New Your Titans at the Polo Grounds. After the game, I went down onto the field and spoke to him. He was huge. I have spoken to many pro football players, including famous defensive players Sam Huff and Andy Robustelli. Cookie was bigger, far bigger. And he had the reputation as being one mean dude. I remember a story about when Cookie was playing and living in Denver. It reported that heavyweight champion boxer Sonny Liston said he was moving to Denver, and many policemen said they were quitting the force if both of them would be in town at the same time. I'm still not sure if it was apocryphal or not. RIP, Cookie. Later

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jan 11 2011 09:31 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Did we miss the passing over the weekend of filmaker Peter Yates? "Breaking Away" is a midwestern coming-of-age story that combines the warmth, silliness and spunk of Booth Tarkington's boys' books with its own modern sense of American ingenuity. The airily goofy hero is a bicyclist who models himself after the victorious Italians he reads about in sports magazines. To the dismay of his father (Paul Dooley) he shaves his legs because the Italian sports champs do. He even gets his mother (Barbara Barrie) to cook what his father calls " 'ini' food. Zucchini. Fettucini." Dooley's looks of ingrained anguish are persuasive, mirth-provoking, and cumulatively touching. The family comedy-drama culminates in a bridging of the generation gap that, despite the characters' roughness, is delicate. The movie is also about the playful, affectionate bond between Christopher's character and three other aimless 19-year-olds, played by Dennis Quaid, Daniel Stern and Jackie Earle Haley. Their friendship provides a cushion for mutual frustrations. The volatile Quaid blurts out, "The only thing I'm afraid of is wasting the rest of my life with you guys," and the hang-dog Stern replies, "I thought that was the plan. We'd waste the rest of our lives together." The movie casts such an observant eye on Bloomington, Indiana, that it becomes less a small city than a small world. When Christopher and his pals compete against the campus heroes of Indiana University, they fight for the dignity of all "cutters" -- as townies are called here, because the main blue-collar industry is quarrying. Yates' directing genius extended to guiding "Breaking Away" screenwriter Steve Tesich as he put together two separate scripts to create a modest marvel of wit, construction and empathy. This movie shows how fantasizing about Europe can humanize Americans -- and how Old World grace can flower in unlikely spots. also directed Bullitt. [url]http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/movies/blog/2011/01/peter_yates_19292011_from_bull.html

Edgy DC Jan 11 2011 09:52 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Breaking Away typically got three stars upon it's release. It's only improved over time and today deserves about ten. It's almost perfect (though sad) that Dennis Christopher was rarely heard from again. Jackie Earl Haley made it well into middle age before re-emerging playing creeps on the fringe. But Daniel Stern has never stopped playing genial awkward sidekicks and Dennis Quaid is forever playing jock heroes whose charming Irish smile masks a tortured fear that his best days are behind him. It would have watered down the movie's singular sublimeness if Christopher carried on the role. Academy Award winning screenwriter Steve Tesich would disappear early also, sticking strictly to the stage after the mid-eighties. But good on you, Peter Yates. I wonder if there's a Bloomington company who does a Breaking Away tour?

soupcan Jan 11 2011 09:54 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

For a long time Cookie Gilchrist was part of a great answer to a trivia question I liked to ask people. "The four players, one from the National League, the American League, the N.F.L. and the A.F.L. that all won M.V.P. awards in 1963, all wore the same uniform number. What is the number and who were the players?" Well the answer was: number 32 and the players were Sandy Koufax, Elston Howard, Jim Brown and Cookie Gilchrist. It was a great question because after a little bit of thought, guys that had a working knowledge of professional sports could get Sandy Koufax and/or Jim Brown. From there they could get the number. Once they got the number it was not a stretch to get Elston Howard. The kicker was Gilchrist for two reasons. One because he wasn't nearly as well known as the other three and two because he was the last guy to wear 32 for the Bills before O.J. Simpson. So they'd guess O.J. and then I'd say 'no, but he played for the Bills. The look of confusion was priceless. Just a great question. A few years ago though I did a little research and unfortunately debunked it myself. Sandy, Elston & Jim did in fact win their MVPs in '63, Cookie however, as noted in the line below from his New York Times obit, got his a year earlier. Joining the Bills in 1962, the A.F.L.’s third season, Gilchrist ran for 1,096 yards in 14 games and was named the league’s player of the year.

metirish Jan 11 2011 09:56 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

And you gave back the money you "stole" from those poor people that you stumped with you great trivia question?

Frayed Knot Jan 11 2011 10:44 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

metirish wrote: And you gave back the money you "stole" from those poor people that you stumped with you great trivia question? Soupy never played that question for money but did win a ton of bar bets for free drinks back in the day. So, while he can't really 'return' all that free booze he swindled under false pretenses, he's going to have to do the next best thing and that's to go up to each one of them individually and throw up on their shoes. He starts Monday; hope he posts the results on YouTube.

TheOldMole Jan 12 2011 12:11 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Margaret Whiting, my dear friend and a great singer. Here's an obit.

themetfairy Jan 12 2011 01:56 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

My condolences Mole.

Edgy DC Jan 12 2011 02:04 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Mole continues to reveal that knows the most interesting folks, and we continue to unfortunately find out too late. Lovely alto.

TheOldMole Jan 13 2011 02:03 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

The last one.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jan 18 2011 12:56 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Don Kirshner, Rock Producer and Promoter, Dies at 76 By BEN SISARIO Don Kirshner, who guided the course of Brill Building and bubblegum pop in the 1950s and ’60s as a music publisher and promoter, and later served as an Ed Sullivan for 1970s artists like Bruce Springsteen, Pink Floyd, Kiss and the Ramones with his weekly program “Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert” on television, died on Monday in Boca Raton, Fla. He was 76. The cause was heart failure. Born in the Bronx, Mr. Kirshner entered the music business in the mid-1950s, writing commercial jingles with Bobby Darin, whom he had met in a Washington Heights candy shop as Robert Cassotto. When Mr. Darin went on to fame as a singer in 1958 with “Splish Splash,” Mr. Kirshner assumed a powerful role behind the scenes with his publishing company Aldon, which he founded with Al Nevins. Aldon published songs by many of the classic songwriters of the Brill Building era, like Neil Sedaka and the teams of Carole King and Gerry Coffin (“Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” “The Loco-Motion”) and Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil (“You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’,” written with Phil Spector). As a producer and impresario, Mr. Kirshner was also responsible for putting together the songs for two manufactured pop groups on television: the Monkees and the Archies. Mr. Nevins died in 1965. From 1973 to 1981 Mr. Kirshner was the producer and host of “Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert” on ABC, a live show that opened with a performance by the Rolling Stones and had appearances by Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Allman Brothers, David Bowie and many others. He is survived by his wife, Sheila; his children Ricky and Daryn; and five grandchildren.

Edgy DC Jan 18 2011 01:10 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

A very tan individual: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gU7xxW94bhw

Frayed Knot Jan 18 2011 02:58 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Pre-MTV there wasn't a lot of places to find "your" music on TV except for DK's Rock Concert. Certainly the stuff available on variety shows rarely cut it. That said, now somebody has to find the SNL skit where a young Paul Schaefer imitates Don Kirshner introducing 'The Village Persons' and their hit 'Bend Over Chuck Berry'

G-Fafif Jan 18 2011 03:11 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Sargent Shriver, 95, first Peace Corps director, fill-in for Tom Eagleton as George McGovern's running mate and Kennedy in-law.

seawolf17 Jan 18 2011 03:15 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

G-Fafif wrote: Sargent Shriver, 95, first Peace Corps director, fill-in for Tom Eagleton as George McGovern's running mate and Kennedy in-law. But perhaps best known for his stint in the WWE. (Wait, that was Sgt. Slaughter. My bad.)

Frayed Knot Jan 18 2011 05:01 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

That said, now somebody has to find the SNL skit where a young Paul Schaefer imitates Don Kirshner introducing 'The Village Persons' and their hit 'Bend Over Chuck Berry' Couldn't find a video, just a partial transcript: [Pop music impresario Don Kirshner sits in a TV control room, woodenly reading off cue cards, addressing the camera.] Don Kirshner: I'm Don Kirshner and welcome to Rock Concert. I first met the Village Persons two years ago when their lead singer, Lyle Manning, provided the floral arrangements for my daughter Karen's bas mitzvah. Today, thanks to the brilliant disco production of Giorgio Morali and to their manager Maury Mineo, they have become a vibrant force in the music industry. Now, to introduce them from the perspective of a young person who can enjoy their music without understanding its homosexual connotations, here is my daughter, Karen Kirshner. [Applause for Karen Kirshner who enters and sits next to Don -- she, too, reads the cue cards woodenly, sounding exactly like her father.] Karen Kirshner: I first saw the Village Persons perform at L.A.'s famed Roxy Theater where they debuted their hit single "Health Club Man." Tonight, thanks to my good friend Herb Karp at Polysutra Records, they're here to perform their new hit, "Bend Over, Chuck Berry." Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome The Village Persons. [Applause. Disco music begins. Dissolve to a mirrored chandelier and pan down to reveal a glittering disco set where the Village Persons gyrate to the beat: a native American Indian in full tribal regalia, a construction worker, a biker in leather with a thick mustache, a sailor, a cowboy and the wildly intense, energetic lead singer, a uniformed cop.]

dgwphotography Jan 20 2011 04:55 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

My Uncle, Arthur Viola, 92

themetfairy Jan 20 2011 05:16 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

My condolences dgw :(

metsguyinmichigan Jan 20 2011 05:20 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

dgwphotography wrote: My Uncle, Arthur Viola, 92 Arthur then served in the U.S. Army during WWII from May 1942 to April 1946 where he served as a Forward Observer with 492 AFA Battalion in Europe with Patton's Third Army 11th Armored Division, which was known as the Thunderbolt Division. Arthur fought in the Battle of the Bulge and received Battlefield Commission at Bad Ischl, Austria in 1945 when he helped liberate the concentration camp at Mauthausen. A hero. Sorry for your loss, dgw. Sounds like a wonderful and brave person.

Edgy DC Jan 20 2011 05:39 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Forward observer: had to be one dangerous job. I salute you for a brave life, Uncle Arthur.

smg58 Jan 20 2011 06:15 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

It sounds like he had a long and enviable life. My condolences.

metirish Jan 20 2011 06:19 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Condolences dgw, a hell of a life he lived.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jan 20 2011 06:37 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Condolences. 92! Not bad, man.

G-Fafif Jan 20 2011 10:14 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

All best to your family, Dave. Sounds like a helluva man.

TheOldMole Jan 21 2011 12:28 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Condolences to dgw, respect for Mr. Viola.

TheOldMole Jan 21 2011 12:32 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

themetfairy Jan 23 2011 08:11 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Jack La Lanne, age 96

metirish Jan 23 2011 08:17 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

themetfairy wrote: Jack La Lanne, age 96 RIP Jack My first job over here I was told to report to a building site , couldn't miss it I was told , right behind the Jack LaLanne center.

Frayed Knot Jan 23 2011 08:18 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

themetfairy wrote: Jack La Lanne, age 96 I think he was swimming while pulling boats until about 2 or 3 years ago. I remember my mother watching his old daytime TV show back in the black & white days. His routines and philosophies were both right and WAY ahead of the curve compared to the fads that have come and gone during his time.

Edgy DC Jan 23 2011 08:23 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Frayed Knot wrote: I remember my mother watching his old daytime TV show back in the black & white days. Me, too, although in color. Frayed Knot wrote: His routines and philosophies were both right and WAY ahead of the curve compared to the fads that have come and gone during his time. How so? (Besides the idea that his extended life, health, and vigor could be understood to speak for themselves.)

Fman99 Jan 23 2011 08:27 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

No truth to the rumor that he will be cremated in a juicer.

Frayed Knot Jan 23 2011 09:22 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011 Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Jan 24 2011 11:00 AM

Edgy DC wrote: Frayed Knot wrote: His routines and philosophies were both right and WAY ahead of the curve compared to the fads that have come and gone during his time. How so? (Besides the idea that his extended life, health, and vigor could be understood to speak for themselves.) Just that his preaching about there being no real substitute for healthy diet and exercise has outlasted all the intervening fads that try to get around that idea; that he was doing things like denouncing sugar in the days when cereal makers would play up how much sugar they put into their products (they weren't Frosted Flakes back then, they were SUGAR Frosted Flakes); that he was saying all these things when we were more like a 10% obese nation rather than a 40% one (or whatever the stats are these days). * On edit - and on the exercise front he was touting the value of weights and resistance work at a time when many in pro sports thought it a bad idea, and was aiming exercise shows for women at a time when some still thought it would do them more harm than good because they were too delicate.

metsguyinmichigan Jan 23 2011 09:28 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

His funky workout jumpsuit with the little belt kinda freaked me out.

MFS62 Jan 25 2011 08:27 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

I remember hearing that when George Burns was asked (on his 96th birthday) if he exercized, he said "The only exercize I get these days is carrying the caskets of my friends who exercize". Later

A Boy Named Seo Jan 26 2011 09:15 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Charlie Louvin, 1927-2011. They didn't write this, but the first time I heard their version of this traditional murder ballad, it kinda blew me away. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhMiKeSffns They also wrote "The Christian Life", which Gram Parsons & the Byrds did a bang-up job on 'Sweetheart of the Rodeo'. RIP, Charlie.

sharpie Jan 26 2011 09:37 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Sad to hear about Charlie Louvin. I saw him come onstage and do a number with Lucinda Williams a couple of years ago. Guy was a legend.

TheOldMole Jan 26 2011 09:44 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

One of the greats.

metirish Jan 26 2011 11:27 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

German film producer, director and screenplay writer Bernd Eichinger, who was behind films such as The Neverending Story and Downfall, has died aged 61. He suffered a heart attack on Monday during a dinner with family and friends in Los Angeles. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/bre ... ing60.html

TheOldMole Jan 28 2011 11:04 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Gladys Horton of the Marvelettes, Motown's first hit act.

G-Fafif Jan 28 2011 04:16 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Crazy Charlie Callas, game show guest and generally wacky comedian, 83.

Frayed Knot Jan 28 2011 04:39 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

TheOldMole wrote: Gladys Horton of the Marvelettes, Motown's first hit act. Just 16 y/o when she recorded 'Please Mr. Postman'

G-Fafif Jan 29 2011 07:00 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

David Frye, great political impressionist, 77. His 1973 album, Richard Nixon: A Fantasy gave me three of my favorite lines ever: • Nixon: I'll take the responsibility, but not the blame. • McGovern (as Nixon is about to be executed): I'm against violence, but in this case I'll make an exception. • Humphrey (from a record commercial featuring "Hubert Humphrey's Greatest Hits"): "I concede... I concede... I concede..." I got a lot of mileage out of quoting that last one at the bitter end of many Met seasons.

themetfairy Jan 29 2011 07:38 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

David Frye, great political impressionist, 77. His 1973 album, Richard Nixon: A Fantasy gave me three of my favorite lines ever: • Nixon: I'll take the responsibility, but not the blame. • McGovern (as Nixon is about to be executed): I'm against violence, but in this case I'll make an exception. • Humphrey (from a record commercial featuring "Hubert Humphrey's Greatest Hits"): "I concede... I concede... I concede..." I got a lot of mileage out of quoting that last one at the bitter end of many Met seasons. You left out the unforgettable one, "I DO concede!" That's a major quotable in our family also. When it was released, Nixon was still President; there was a time when, with the exception of Spiro Agnew's resignation, the record seemed to become more and more factual with each passing day. RIP to a very funny man.

TheOldMole Jan 30 2011 12:58 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Charlie Callas. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiA6fQgL5as When are we going to get the embed feature working?

Benjamin Grimm Jan 30 2011 01:20 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Today

G-Fafif Jan 30 2011 01:56 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

[youtube:2elrz4fm]RiA6fQgL5as[/youtube:2elrz4fm] Damn!

TheOldMole Jan 30 2011 01:57 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Hey hey!

Edgy DC Jan 31 2011 10:38 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Film-scoring giant John Barry. [youtube:15ycez3z]DLh8oDnWHHw[/youtube:15ycez3z] [youtube:15ycez3z]tkh0Xdaev3k[/youtube:15ycez3z]

Valadius Jan 31 2011 10:42 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

TheOldMole wrote: Charlie Callas. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiA6fQgL5as When are we going to get the embed feature working? We finally got it working. You just need to cut and paste the code after the equals sign between the "YOUTUBE" tags.

metirish Feb 06 2011 10:49 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Gary Moore found dead in a hotel in Costa del Sol Spain [youtube:3t7vsl4o]18FgnFVm5k0[/youtube:3t7vsl4o]

Fman99 Feb 06 2011 10:50 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

This guy had some chops.

Frayed Knot Feb 14 2011 09:35 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Kenneth Mars - 74 Best known for playing "playwright" Franz Leibkind in 'The Producers' and also the stiff-armed inspector in 'Young Frankenstein'

themetfairy Feb 15 2011 06:46 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Frayed Knot wrote: Kenneth Mars - 74 Best known for playing "playwright" Franz Leibkind in 'The Producers' and also the stiff-armed inspector in 'Young Frankenstein' He was a brilliant comic actor. We're just the audience. He outranked us. RIP Kenneth.

Benjamin Grimm Feb 15 2011 06:49 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Watched The Producers just a couple of weeks ago. Very funny movie. Very funny actor.

Frayed Knot Feb 15 2011 06:51 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

The remainder of his resume, outside of those two Mel Brooks movies, seemed to be mostly television and much of that a lot of one-offs and guest-spots.

MFS62 Feb 15 2011 08:11 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Betty Garrett, once blacklisted actress who made a comeback: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obitu ... 14950.html Later

Benjamin Grimm Feb 15 2011 08:12 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Irene Lorenzo! (See the Bunkerverse thread.) I didn't know, until reading her obit, that she was married to Larry Parks. All I know about Parks is that he played Al Jolson in The Jolson Story, which I've never seen but currently have in my TiVo.

themetfairy Feb 15 2011 08:47 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Frayed Knot wrote: The remainder of his resume, outside of those two Mel Brooks movies, seemed to be mostly television and much of that a lot of one-offs and guest-spots. He had a short but funny turn as a rabbi in the Woody Allen film Radio Days.

TheOldMole Feb 16 2011 01:07 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

[youtube:2ewf4yx8]LKXvMbAKAmY[/youtube:2ewf4yx8]

MFS62 Feb 16 2011 07:15 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Wow! I listened to Shearing's music long time ago. Thought he passed away years ago. RIP, George Later

TheOldMole Feb 16 2011 10:31 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

I was amazed that he was still alive too.

Valadius Feb 16 2011 07:21 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Actor Len Lesser, famous as "Uncle Leo" on Seinfeld, has died at 88.

Edgy DC Feb 16 2011 07:40 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

He was also Billy Pendergrast on All in the Family. I wonder if half the folks in this thread can be eventually traced to AitF.

Fman99 Feb 16 2011 08:19 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Valadius wrote: Actor Len Lesser, famous as "Uncle Leo" on Seinfeld, has died at 88. RIP Uncle Leo.

HahnSolo Feb 17 2011 06:55 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Valadius wrote: Actor Len Lesser, famous as "Uncle Leo" on Seinfeld, has died at 88. "If anyone betrays me, I never forget!" His final words to the CPFers who didn't vote Seinfeld.

Frayed Knot Feb 17 2011 07:22 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Jerry, GOODBYYYYYYYYYYYYE !!!!

TheOldMole Feb 17 2011 07:24 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

David F. Friedman, a film producer who cheerfully and cheesily exploited an audience’s hunger for bare-breasted women and blood-dripping corpses in lucrative low-budget films like “Blood Feast” and “Ilsa: She-Wolf of the S.S.,” died on Monday in Anniston, Ala. He was 87. [youtube:y1nxtj8b]9YS10vQ_ax8[/youtube:y1nxtj8b]

Edgy DC Feb 17 2011 07:36 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

I dated an Ilse in college. Not her favorite film.

Benjamin Grimm Feb 17 2011 11:02 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

I think Ralph Kramden also had an Uncle Leo.

The Second Spitter Feb 18 2011 09:14 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

RIP Professor Manuel Aroney. A great man. A great mentor.

themetfairy Feb 18 2011 09:21 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

My condolences 3D.

Frayed Knot Feb 18 2011 09:30 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Edgy DC wrote: I dated an Ilse in college. She didn't leave you on a foggy tarmac did she? Oh no wait, that was Ilsa.

TheOldMole Feb 18 2011 11:27 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

John Strauss, who penned the theme song to the 1960s comedy TV series 'Car 54, Where Are You?,' has died in Los Angeles at the age of 90. A music editor as well as composer, Strauss had a long career that included an Emmy Award for sound editing in 1977's 'The Amazing Howard Hughes' and a Grammy Award for best classical album for 1984's 'Amadeus.' The latter film won an Oscar for Best Picture and included a brief shot of Strauss playing a conductor. [youtube:v38c67s0]KAPtM6Q_mwA[/youtube:v38c67s0]

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Feb 23 2011 09:26 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Belated goodbye to Dave Duerson, Notre Dame/Harvard grad, former Chicago Bears All-Pro safety (and former Giant), former NFL Man of the Year... a suicide at age 50 last Friday. In the past seven years, he had buried both his parents, dissolved a 27-year marriage, and fallen on hard times, business-wise, having to declare personal bankruptcy last fall. Perhaps worse than-- and perhaps intertwined in-- all of these, he had apparently begun displaying signs of CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy). In fact, having his brain studied for future gain may have been a motivating factor in when/how he ended his life. Excellent, haunting oral interview-- less than three months old-- on the past, growing up, and saying goodbye to his parents here, from Deadspin's Rob Trucks. (They do some good work/publish some good stuff among the dong photos.)

Edgy DC Feb 25 2011 08:46 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

But his heart never left the game. Last spring he warned a gathering of former players about dementia. and now a singular, tragic statement impossible to ignore. I think "... his heart never left the game" is a strange way to describe warning players about the devastation the game can bring to their lives.

TheOldMole Feb 27 2011 01:49 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

[youtube:2d06we14]5ukctOPg3lo[/youtube:2d06we14] Eddie Kirkland, friend-of-friends and blues legend, killed in an auto accident today in Tampa, FL.

TheOldMole Feb 27 2011 03:43 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

A baseball-related death: Andy Jurinko, Painter Whose Art Memorialized Ballparks, Dies at 71

themetfairy Feb 27 2011 03:54 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

A baseball-related death: Andy Jurinko, Painter Whose Art Memorialized Ballparks, Dies at 71 That's sad - we always loved his work. We once bought this work of his as a gift for my brother -

sharpie Feb 27 2011 04:33 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Suze Rotolo, the girl from the cover of The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. 67 years old. http://www.feelnumb.com/wp-content/uplo ... _dylan.jpg

Valadius Feb 27 2011 10:05 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Frank Buckles, 110, the last living American World War I veteran. [url]http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/02/27/wwi.veteran.death/

TheOldMole Feb 28 2011 03:51 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Eddie, just a couple of months ago, still playing the blues at 88.

TheOldMole Feb 28 2011 03:52 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

My father was an ambulance driver in Europe in WWI. Goodbye and all honor to Frank Buckles.

metirish Feb 28 2011 09:09 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Valadius wrote: Frank Buckles, 110, the last living American World War I veteran. [url]http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/02/27/wwi.veteran.death/ Rest in Peace No national memorial for WWI?, that's not right.

Edgy DC Feb 28 2011 09:23 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

There is one. It's just relatively understated and neglected. It was built before equity-in-memorials movement.

Benjamin Grimm Feb 28 2011 09:26 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

There's a museum, I think in Kansas City, that I'd like to go to. If I'm ever in Kansas City, that is.

Willets Point Feb 28 2011 09:30 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

I read somewhere that there was an era in US history ca. 1880-1910 where there was a big memorial-building phase leading to many memorials to the Civil War and an inordinate number of Spanish-American War memorials that appear in the public square of many an American town. After the great bloodshed and futility of WWI and the Lost Generation there was a lot of disillusionment in America that lead to the First World War not being commemorated in memorials. With the Depression, WWII and an anti-war movement coming in ensuing decades (not to mention general American forgetfulness), WWI continued to be overlooked.

Benjamin Grimm Feb 28 2011 09:37 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

The first World War got trumped, relatively soon afterward, by an even bigger World War. World War I is enormously important. It set the stage for what would happen in the world for the next 75 years or so.

Edgy DC Feb 28 2011 09:39 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

National World War I Memorial:

metsguyinmichigan Feb 28 2011 09:41 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011 Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Feb 28 2011 09:42 AM

Benjamin Grimm wrote: There's a museum, I think in Kansas City, that I'd like to go to. If I'm ever in Kansas City, that is. It's an awesome museum, and at one time was considered the nation's official World War I memorial, or so I was told my the Kansas City superintendent when I visited.

seawolf17 Feb 28 2011 09:41 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Why did they build it in the snow? That's a bad job right there. Nobody's going to want to go see a memorial in the snow.

metirish Feb 28 2011 09:57 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

seawolf17 wrote: Why did they build it in the snow? That's a bad job right there. Nobody's going to want to go see a memorial in the snow. Chris Russo??

seawolf17 Feb 28 2011 11:00 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

metirish wrote: seawolf17 wrote: Why did they build it in the snow? That's a bad job right there. Nobody's going to want to go see a memorial in the snow. Chris Russo?? Ah, COME ON, IRISH!! Say something funny, Mike!

Benjamin Grimm Feb 28 2011 05:55 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Jane Russell, 89.

Edgy DC Feb 28 2011 05:59 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Whoah.

seawolf17 Feb 28 2011 06:47 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Edgy DC wrote: Whoah. No kidding. She looked fucking awesome for 89.

metirish Mar 09 2011 10:34 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Mike Starr ex bass player for Alice In Chains found dead at a residence in Utah....the surprise might be that he lasted this long. RIP

Frayed Knot Mar 09 2011 11:17 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

David Broder, 81 - long-time Washington/national political reporter

G-Fafif Mar 09 2011 12:17 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Frayed Knot wrote: David Broder, 81 - long-time Washington/national political reporter The home office of conventional wisdom was in Broder's head. Sometimes he wasn't altogether wrong as he helped set the media agenda.

TheOldMole Mar 14 2011 08:23 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

The music industry lost three artists recently. Joe Morello, one of the most famous drummers in jazz music history, died Saturday at his home in northern New Jersey, according to family members. A cause of death was not immediately available. Morello, who was 82, was best known for his work with the Dave Brubeck Quartet. He was a member of the group for more than 12 years and was featured on such jazz classics as "Take Five" and "Blue Rondo a la Turk." Morello also played with many leading jazz musicians over the years, including pianist Marian McPartland's Hickory House Trio in the early '50s. After Brubeck disbanded the quartet in 1968, Morello turned to teaching and writing instructional books. Hugh Martin Jr., a composer, lyricist and arranger who created the enduring standards "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and "The Trolley Song," sung by Judy Garland in the 1944 MGM musical "Meet Me in St. Louis," has died. He was 96. Martin, who collaborated in an unusual partnership with Ralph Blane on Broadway and in film, died of natural causes Friday at home in Encinitas, Calif., north of San Diego, said his niece Suzanne Hanners. The two men shared songwriting credits for "Meet Me in St. Louis," which is set at the turn of the 20th century and follows a Midwestern family on the verge of moving to New York City. Garland lit up the screen with her renditions of "The Boy Next Door," "The Trolley Song" (which was nominated for an Academy Award for best original song) and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." But the melancholy Christmas lyrics Garland sang in the film were not the ones Martin originally wrote. His first lines were even darker. "Have yourself a merry little Christmas, it may be your last," went the original, then, "Next year we may all be living in the past," followed by "Faithful friends who were dear to us, will be near to us no more." A studio executive suggested lightening the lyrics, saying, "It's OK for it to be bittersweet and nostalgic, but it shouldn't be a dirge." So Martin went back to work, revising the lines: "Have yourself a merry little Christmas, let your heart be light; next year all our troubles will be out of sight." Released during World War II, the film and its signature songs struck a chord with moviegoers. "The audience comes to care deeply about these people and their story," Miles Kreuger, president of the Los Angeles-based Institute of the American Musical, said in an interview Saturday. "The score very subtly and successfully captures the essence of what these characters are thinking and feeling, so the audience is immediately drawn to the integrity of the songs." Then, in 1957, Frank Sinatra was making recordings for a holiday album to be called "A Jolly Christmas" and asked Martin to "jolly up" his song. So to substitute for "Until then we'll have to muddle through somehow," he came up with "Hang a shining star upon the highest bough." Sinatra's version helped lift "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" into the ranks of cherished holiday classics. It has since been recorded by hundreds of performers, including Bing Crosby, Tony Bennett, Diana Krall, James Taylor and the Pretenders. Although Martin and Blane shared writing credits in the 1940s, they worked independently. Martin and Blane met in the late 1930s as performers singing in Broadway musicals. Martin was making a name for himself as a vocal arranger for Broadway shows when the duo got the chance to write words and music for "Best Foot Forward" in 1941. That brought them to the attention of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, which signed them to write for the movies. After finishing "Meet Me in St. Louis," Martin served in the Army, performing for troops in Europe. He returned to Hollywood after the war and received another Oscar nomination along with Blane and Roger Edens for the song "Pass That Peace Pipe" from 1947's "Good News." Martin continued to write and arrange for both film and stage productions, including the Tony-nominated "High Spirits" (1964). He and Blane teamed up again for a 1989 Broadway revival of "Meet Me in St. Louis," writing several new songs. Blane died in 1995. Martin was born Aug. 11, 1914, in Birmingham, Ala. He never married and retired to Encinitas in the 1970s. Martin is survived by brother Gordon of Birmingham as well as nieces and nephews and his longtime manager and caretaker, Elaine Harrison of Encinitas. Jean Dinning, 86, who wrote the tragic pop song "Teen Angel," which became a No. 1 hit for her brother in 1959, died Feb. 22 in Garden Grove, Calif., said her daughter, Cynthia Wygal. Dinning had a respiratory illness. She wrote the song after reading a newspaper article about teenagers making positive contributions that used the phrase "teen angels." Her younger brother, Mark Dinning, recorded the sad ballad, and it was his only major hit. He died of a heart attack at 52 in 1986. The song is credited with inaugurating an early-1960s cycle of morbid songs about teenage mortality that included Ray Peterson's "Tell Laura I Love Her" and Jan & Dean's "Dead Man's Curve." One of nine children, she was born Eugenia Dinning on March 29, 1924, in Enid, Okla. As one of the Dinning Sisters -- a trio that included her twin, Ginger -- she performed from the late 1930s until 1954. The group had a top 10 hit with "Buttons and Bows" in 1948 and appeared on the country music TV show "The National Barn Dance." A mother of five, Dinning was married and divorced twice. Her third husband, Joel "Red" Beasley, died in 1994.

Edgy DC Mar 14 2011 08:27 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Wow, the founding mother of the teenage death song.

G-Fafif Mar 14 2011 08:34 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Longtime NY disc jockey Danny Stiles, 87. Began his career in 1947, was still spinning standards and such more than six decades later. A late-night favorite of my father's. “I started collecting records when I was 13, and even then I was nostalgic,” Mr. Stiles once told The New York Times. “I went for Jean Goldkette and Isham Jones, and even then they were out of style.” Mr. Stiles, who proclaimed himself the King of Nostalgia and the Vicar of Vintage Vinyl, unearthed gems from his collection of 200,000 or so recordings going back to the big band era of the 1930s and sometimes the Roaring Twenties. His personal odyssey took him through more than 20 radio stations, stacks of sometimes scratchy 78 r.p.m. records and countless standards from Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller, the Dorsey brothers, Bing Crosby, Harry James and Paul Whiteman. Broadcasting in his later years from “the east wing of the Art Deco penthouse” — he actually did his programs at studios in Lower Manhattan — Mr. Stiles waxed on about the musicians and singers he had known. But his musical taste extended beyond the personalities. “I pick the songs that hit me in the heart; I pick by feeling. I concentrate on the record itself, not the songwriter, not the musician, but the whole thing,” he told The Times. “I concentrate on the song as I first heard it, what my listeners remember.”Mr. Stiles struck a personal chord with listeners, dedicating records to his fans, among them “the Lemon Ice King” and “Josie, the Bayonne Bunny.” The Dean of Déjà Vu — yet another of Mr. Stiles’s self-styled sobriquets — evoked the times when his fans of a certain age had danced the nights away. As he put it, “In their minds I am speaking into a circular, spring-suspension carbon microphone.”

Chad Ochoseis Mar 14 2011 02:57 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Just a couple of days ago, I was listening to Kid Charlemagne by Steely Dan and trying to remember what that LSD guy's name was. It was Owsley Stanley, 76.

Frayed Knot Mar 14 2011 03:13 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

While the music played you worked by candlelight Those San Francisco nights You were the best in town Just by chance you crossed a diamond with a pearl You turned it on the world That's when you turned the world around Did you feel like Jesus? Did you realize that you were a champion in their eyes? On the hill the stuff was laced with kerosene But yours was kitchen clean Everyone stopped to stare at your technicolor motor home Every A-Frame had your number on the wall You must have had it all You'd go to L.A. on a dare And you'd go it alone Could you live forever? Could you see the day, could you feel your whole world fall apart and fade away? Get along, get along Kid Charlemagne Get along Kid Charlemagne Now your patrons have all left you in the red Your low rent friends are dead This life can be very strange All those dayglow freaks who used to paint the face They've joined the human race Some things will never change Son you were mistaken You are obsolete Look at all the white men on the street Get along, get along Kid Charlemagne Get along Kid Charlemagne Clean this mess up else we'll all end up in jail Those test tubes and the scale Just get them all out of here Is there gas in the car? Yes, there's gas in the car I think the people down the hall Know who you are Careful what you carry 'Cause the man is wise You are still an outlaw in their eyes Get along, get along Kid Charlemagne Get along Kid Charlemagne

TransMonk Mar 14 2011 03:19 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

If I enjoyed Steely Dan, The Royal Scam would be my favorite album of theirs.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Mar 15 2011 06:00 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Ronnie Hammond, lead singer of the Atlanta Rhythm Section, 60. [url]http://www.macon.com/2011/03/14/1487507/former-ars-lead-singer-ronnie.html

Edgy DC Mar 15 2011 07:02 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Man, he was like the Brad Delp of Southern rock. He had been so deeply wrecked by booze and depression, he picked a fight with a cop some years back just to force the cop to shoot him. Which he did.

Frayed Knot Mar 15 2011 07:12 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Bad week (in the wake of Mitchell Page's death) for 59 year old former sports stars. Rick Martin, an early star on the Buffalo Sabres teams of the 1970s, also dead at 59 - heart failure while driving. The 1971 #5 overall draft pick went on to form, with Rene Robert and Gilbert Perreault, 1/3 of Buffalo's 'French Connection'* line which spearheaded the young expansion team to early success although always falling short of winning the Stanley Cup (hey, we are talking about Buffalo here). Martin finished his career with 384 goals. * All names/players actually were French: Rick Mar-TAN, Re-NAY Ro-BEAR, Gil-BEAR Peh-ROW - and it was always a good test as to whether your nightly sports reporter was clueless about hockey in those days (most were) when you'd hear, in true Les Nessman fashion, about goals from the likes of Ree-Nee Rob-Erts or Rod Gil-Bert.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Mar 15 2011 07:28 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Fascinating. I thought ARS had an interesting thing going there for awhile. They were undeniably "Southern Rock" but they never veered too far into boogie or country.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Mar 16 2011 09:56 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

R. I. P. Death Row Records affiliate/West Coast rapper/hit single "That Guy" Nate Dogg, age 41. He done rocked it 'till the wheels fell off.

TransMonk Mar 16 2011 10:30 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Regulate, sucka!

G-Fafif Mar 21 2011 06:54 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Warren Christopher, 85, former Secretary of State under Bill Clinton, chief hostage negotiator for President Carter in the Iran crisis, Al Gore's senior point man in 2000 Tallahassee debacle. And if anybody ever looked like his face belonged on a can of Diplomacy, it was him.

Edgy DC Mar 21 2011 07:30 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Every time a nation goes to war, a diplomat dies.

The Second Spitter Mar 21 2011 07:33 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

My mother met him in Tel-Aviv in 1994.

TransMonk Mar 23 2011 07:11 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Per CNN: Elizabeth Taylor, 79

metirish Mar 23 2011 07:15 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

would have sworn she was more like 89.....

Benjamin Grimm Mar 23 2011 08:04 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

TransMonk wrote: Per CNN: Elizabeth Taylor, 79 For the last 30 years, it seems like every time I went to the supermarket I saw a tabloid cover story about Elizabeth Taylor being on her deathbed. Who would have guessed that it would ever really happen?

seawolf17 Mar 23 2011 08:05 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Moment of internet silence for Randy Martin, who went by the handle "fatboycards" over at The Bench, the card board I moderate. One of the really good guys in our community. The lesson, fortunately or not, is that you need to take care of your body, because it will fail you if you don't. Randy -- as you might guess from his handle -- was not a small guy. edit: It's funny, the internet, and how you can be affected by the death of a "friend" you've never actually met.

Edgy DC Mar 23 2011 08:12 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Who's Afraid of Viginia Woolf? Disturbing stuff.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Mar 23 2011 11:03 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

I'd forgotten exactly how great she was in that. ["I hope that was an empty bottle, Jaawj-- you can't afford to waste good liquor."]

TheOldMole Mar 23 2011 12:34 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

[youtube:3r17er6f]UJnqcQmPAMo[/youtube:3r17er6f] [youtube:3r17er6f]oertr7UPVbA[/youtube:3r17er6f]

Fman99 Mar 23 2011 08:07 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

I'm only young enough to remember Liz Taylor as a fat washout, past her prime. Maybe I'm ruined by Belushi's bit of her eating the drumstick and choking during the interview on SNL.

Edgy DC Mar 23 2011 08:32 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Here's someone who takes a lot of secrets with her. Houdini's last surviving stage assistant, 103, dies at home in Tinton Falls TINTON FALLS — Dorothy Young, the last surviving stage assistant of illusionist Harry Houdini and an accomplished dancer, has died. She was 103. Young's death was announced Wednesday by Drew University, where she was a prominent donor and patron of the arts. Drew spokesman Dave Muha said Young died Sunday at her home in a retirement community here. Young joined Houdini's company as a teenager after attending an open casting call during a family trip to New York. During her year with Houdini's stage show in the mid-1920s, she played the role of 'Radio Girl of 1950,' emerging from a large mock-up of a radio and performing a dance routine. Young went on to become a professional dancer, performing in several movies. She also published a novel inspired by her career.

Benjamin Grimm Mar 23 2011 08:35 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Edgy DC wrote: Houdini's last surviving stage assistant, 103, dies at home in Tinton Falls Wow!

Willets Point Mar 23 2011 08:47 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

I wouldn't put it as crudely as Fman, but I had the same sense of Liz Taylor as someone who was famous for being famous, marrying & divorcing, and hanging out with Michael Jackson. I watched a lot of classic movies growing up and can't recall ever seeing one with her in it (although I should see "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf").

themetfairy Mar 23 2011 09:23 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

I can remember Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, during their first marriage, guest starring on Here's Lucy (or maybe The Lucy Show), with a plot that involved Elizabeth's famously huge diamond being stuck on Lucille Ball's finger. Not high theater, but a more likable memory than "famous for being famous."

Benjamin Grimm Mar 24 2011 04:36 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

She was a big star in the 1960's but then, as Willets said, evolved into someone who was famous for being famous. But in her time, she was a beautiful lady. And how often do you see someone with purple eyes? (Wait a minute... those eyes don't look all that violet...)

metirish Mar 24 2011 04:41 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

She had those caterpillar eyebrows that David Wright sports these days.

Frayed Knot Mar 24 2011 08:27 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Except that unlike [crossout]some[/crossout] many of today's "stars" who are solely famous for being famous (I have no idea what anyone named Kardashian, Hilton, or Lohan for instance actually did to get famous) Taylor was a MAJOR star who won two Oscars while making over 50 films starting from the time she was 12 years old. The looks, the glamour, the husbands and all the associated gossip about them got piled on top of that to make her a tabloid sensation in a time when that part of the industry was a lot more tame than the frenzy that exists now.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Mar 24 2011 08:33 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Don't give a shit about most actors or actresses, and my Liz experience mostly Willets: I know her best as a cologne saleslady and MJ hanger-on. First thing I did when I got the Snooze today was separate the newspaper from the 16-page Liz Taylor wraparound commemorative section and threw the latter in the trash.

Edgy DC Mar 24 2011 08:43 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

What a waste. You could sold that for big buck$ on DoucheBay.com.

G-Fafif Mar 24 2011 08:45 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

John Belushi did a great impression of latter-day Liz when she was back in the news as the wife of newly elected. Sen. John Warner in 1978. Not flattering. Neither, come to think of it, was Molly Shannon's "Gladiator!" bit based on Liz's confusion at the Golden Globes in 2001. [youtube]MGT-NUBNTZc[/youtube]

metirish Mar 24 2011 08:50 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

WOW , that was painful

Willets Point Mar 24 2011 08:50 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011 Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Mar 24 2011 10:01 AM

Frayed Knot wrote: Except that unlike [crossout]some[/crossout] many of today's "stars" who are solely famous for being famous (I have no idea what anyone named Kardashian, Hilton, or Lohan for instance actually did to get famous) Taylor was a MAJOR star who won two Oscars while making over 50 films starting from the time she was 12 years old. The looks, the glamour, the husbands and all the associated gossip about them got piled on top of that to make her a tabloid sensation in a time when that part of the industry was a lot more tame than the frenzy that exists now. Yeah, I didn't want to deny she hadn't done something to achieve her fame it was more to the fact that in my lifetime there was little evidence of it. Kind of similar to Elvis Presley in that that there was Elvismania and Elvis impersonators and Elvis is Alive rumors but few people who actually seemed to listen to his music.

Benjamin Grimm Mar 24 2011 10:00 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Zsa Zsa Gabor became so hysterical at the news of Elizabeth Taylor's death that she had to be hospitalized, according to the Daily News. "Celebrities go in threes, and I'm next!" (Jane Russell was the first, Taylor the second...)

metirish Mar 24 2011 10:05 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Zsa Zsa Gabor became so hysterical at the news of Elizabeth Taylor's death that she had to be hospitalized, according to the Daily News. "Celebrities go in threes, and I'm next!" (Jane Russell was the first, Taylor the second...) She's still alive?...obviously but still....fuck sake woman

TheOldMole Mar 24 2011 10:38 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Well, there is a whole Sirius/XM station devoted to nothing but Elvis, so someone must be listening.

Benjamin Grimm Mar 24 2011 11:01 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

There's also one devoted to Chris "Mad Dog" Russo, isn't there? I can't imagine anyone's listening to that!

MadDog Mar 24 2011 11:45 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Benjamin Grimm wrote: There's also one devoted to Chris "Mad Dog" Russo, isn't there? I can't imagine anyone's listening to that! That's a bad job by Gremm right there.

Lefty Specialist Mar 24 2011 11:50 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Zsa Zsa Gabor became so hysterical at the news of Elizabeth Taylor's death that she had to be hospitalized, according to the Daily News. "Celebrities go in threes, and I'm next!" (Jane Russell was the first, Taylor the second...) Like she's got a leg to stand on.

Edgy DC Mar 24 2011 01:32 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

If you've been gay and/or HIV+ in Washington, DC the last two decades, then you sure don't need to work hard to come up with a substantial association with her name. While this city was going to bits, it was still about the best place in the world (if there had to be one) to be an HIV patient, thanks in a very large part to the generosity of Elizabeth Taylor and the work of the Whitman-Walker Clinic she supported.

Vic Sage Mar 25 2011 03:17 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

playwright Lanford Wilson. A sweet, gentle man. http://www.npr.org/2011/03/24/134837679 ... t=1&f=1144

TheOldMole Mar 25 2011 06:47 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Just saw this. An important contributor to American theater.

sharpie Mar 25 2011 06:55 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Yes, liked his plays a lot. Sad.

Frayed Knot Mar 26 2011 02:48 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Geraldine Ferraro - 75

G-Fafif Mar 27 2011 10:15 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

On a Friday evening in August 1998, when a big crowd was filing into Shea to watch the Wild Card-contending Mets hopefully stop Mark McGwire in his march toward the single-season home run record (though some frontrunners were clearly rooting differently), Geraldine Ferraro's handlers had her standing a few yards away from the old 7 staircase that led you toward the ballpark. She was running for the Democratic nomination for Senate that summer, competing in a race she'd eventually lose to Chuck Schumer. One guy was calling out, "Come meet Geraldine Ferraro!" but nobody was biting. There she stood, incredibly alone, fourteen years removed from having been the first woman on a major-party ticket in a presidential election, in her home borough...and nothing. She plastered on a smile but couldn't hide this look of "this isn't going well, is it?" What the hell, I thought, and walked over, shook her hand, told her it was an honor to meet her and went on my way to the game(s). I didn't vote for her, I found her attacks on Obama during the 2008 campaign embarrassing and never believed she was chosen by Walter Mondale in 1984 as anything but a shot in the dark (to put it kindly), but I did admire that she made history and that, under difficult circumstances, made the best of it (as best as one can make of a 525-13 electoral college blowout). Somebody had to be first, and Geraldine Ferraro was it. A couple of weeks later, I was back at Shea and Schumer's handlers were far sharper. They had him right by Gate E, practically tearing your ticket. He was grinning and shaking hands and was on his way to a resounding victory (as were the Mets that day). He was so convincing in his conviviality that I had no idea he wasn't a Mets fan. That, I figured, is how you run for office. Schumer was in his prime. Ferraro was, for whatever reason, trying to hang on, not utterly unlike Jason Isringhausen this spring. Izzy, however, has had a better March than Gerry had an August in 1998. I still can't get over that someone who was, for several months, the most famous woman in America, stood there all by herself in a crowd so close to where she was from.

Willets Point Mar 27 2011 10:41 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Wow, was that at these games?: http://www.ultimatemets.com/gamedetail. ... 68&tabno=D http://www.ultimatemets.com/gamedetail. ... 69&tabno=D There was a double-header that night. I got there late for the first game which the Mets lost, but the second was a classic in which Armando Reynoso struck out McGwire three times. I don't remember seeing Ferraro but it was a rare occasion that I drove to the game so I wasn't by the 7 steps.

G-Fafif Mar 27 2011 12:18 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Those were the ones, recalled here.

Ashie62 Mar 27 2011 12:25 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

G-Fafif wrote: Those were the ones, recalled here. I don't go to many games but was at the doubleheader. Time to find the photos. I was taking pictures of McGwire and hot dog vendors.

Ashie62 Mar 29 2011 06:45 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Hitchcock favorite Farley Granger checks out at 85. His romantic conquests included Ava Gardner and Leonard Bernstein.

MFS62 Apr 10 2011 09:45 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Sidney Lumet. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidney_Lumet He was known for being able to bring out the best in his acotors. He was so good at it that he actually got a Best Actor Oscar for Paul Newman. Later

Vic Sage Apr 12 2011 08:46 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

my lumet filmography -- viewtopic.php?f=11&t=15938

The Second Spitter Apr 13 2011 11:29 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Danny Fiszman 1945-2011 It is with great sadness that Arsenal Football Club announces the death of Danny Fiszman after a long battle with illness. He was 66. Danny, who joined the Board of Directors in 1992, was a much loved and respected figure at the Club and will be deeply missed by his many friends and colleagues at Arsenal. During his time as an Arsenal Director, Danny, a hugely successful businessman whose love of Arsenal was obvious to all, was a leading influence at the Club. He played an integral role in the Club’s move from Highbury to our new stadium, working tirelessly for many years leading the team which created one of the finest sporting arenas in the world. Arsenal Chairman Peter Hill-Wood said: “Danny Fiszman was a visionary Director, a gentleman and a true Arsenal fan. “We are all deeply saddened by the loss of our dear friend Danny. His voice, wisdom and presence around the football club he so dearly loved will be sorely missed. “Arsenal Football Club will forever be indebted to Danny for his invaluable foresight and contribution during the move from Highbury to our new stadium. “Our thoughts at this time are with Danny’s wife Sally, family and friends. We have lost a much loved husband, father, grandfather and friend.”

themetfairy Apr 19 2011 09:18 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Grete Waitz RIP to a true champion who helped elevate the sport of women's distance running. She will be greatly missed.

soupcan Apr 19 2011 12:36 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Any fan of running and New York City has to appreciate Grete. I was a fan of hers and reading about her today, learning about her life makes me proud that I was.

MFS62 Apr 20 2011 08:14 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Did either of you ever meet her or race against her? Later

themetfairy Apr 20 2011 08:19 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

I never met her or raced against her. But I did see her run the Marathon in the late '80s - my husband and I went out to Central Park for the end of the race and we saw her run by on her way to victory.

soupcan Apr 20 2011 08:28 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

My dad ran the NYC Marathon for the first time in 1978. Same year Waitz ran it. It was also her first although she did a little better than my dad. She won it and set the world record in doing so. So in my family it was a big day. We thought Waitz was just great coming out of nowhere and blowing everybody's mind. I followed her careeer after that. Whenever she ran NYC it always reminded me of my dad running it.

TransMonk Apr 21 2011 07:47 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

TV On The Radio's Gerard Smith dies at 36 TV On The Radio has confirmed via the band’s website that bassist Gerard Smith has passed away at the age of 36. “We are very sad to announce the death of our beloved friend and bandmate, Gerard Smith, following a courageous fight against lung cancer,” the group’s message says. “Gerard passed away the morning of April 20th, 2011. We will miss him terribly.” The band has also canceled upcoming tour stops in Detroit, Chicago, Minneapolis and Denver. "There will be more information as it becomes available," the group adds. TV On The Radio released its latest album, "Nine Types of Light," last week, and according to the New York Times, Smith was diagnosed with lung cancer shortly after they finished recording the disc.

Edgy DC Apr 21 2011 08:30 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

I'm not familiar with TV on the Radio. Any good? Great? Hard to not jump to conclusions of drug abuse when I read about a rocker dying at 36. Shame on me.

TransMonk Apr 21 2011 08:50 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

I like TV on the Radio, but I find them very hard to listen to for long periods of time. The songs are written, performed and recorded technically well, but they have a very unique sound that is hard to describe and I suppose could turn some off of them. For example, despite much respect for them and my enjoyment of their songcraft and performance, listening to The Flaming Lips is sometimes like nails on a chalkboard for me. It's in the sound...but it's hard for me to put my finger on. I could see some peeps having the same reaction to TV on the Radio. I would recommend a listen, though.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Apr 21 2011 09:58 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011 Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Apr 21 2011 10:06 AM

What Monk said resonates. Like some of their electro-art-rock kin-- say, Yeah Yeah Yeahs-- I like 'em best in 2-3 song chunks. "Staring At The Sun," 2004 [youtube:3802l1ha]oHrTOQ18yzU[/youtube:3802l1ha] "Satellite," 2004 [youtube:3802l1ha]cCzfyy6gfGs[/youtube:3802l1ha] "Wolf Like Me" (live), 2006 [youtube:3802l1ha]73qBnuzrjx0[/youtube:3802l1ha]

Edgy DC Apr 21 2011 10:03 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

That's fine. Sometimes Talking Heads were the best thing I knew. Sometimes they annoyed me to no end.

batmagadanleadoff Apr 21 2011 10:08 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Edgy DC wrote: That's fine. Sometimes Talking Heads were the best thing I knew. Sometimes they annoyed me to no end. This could be said of almost every single Talking Heads album.

G-Fafif Apr 26 2011 10:26 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Phoebe Snow, 58, of a brain hemorrhage. Best known for her 1975 hit "Poetry Man," which was beautiful and haunting even in sixth grade.

Edgy DC Apr 26 2011 10:55 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Phoebe was a good singer whose blues chops didn't get a chance to shine on the pop and folk music of hers that got on the radio. Things I know about her. Things I know about Phoebe: [list][*]As a jazz-influenced folkie from the mid-seventies, she is frequently confused with Janis Ian.[/*:m] [*]Like Ian, she had one career-defining hit.[/*:m] [*]She was a repeating guest on Howard Stern.[/*:m] [*]Was supposedly going to take a DNA test to prove she wasn't black after some pride campaign listed her among successful African-American singers. She was of Jewish heritage.[/*:m] [*]There is an organization of LGBT train afficianados called the Phoebe Snow Society that is not named after her, but after a train called The Phoebe Snow.[/*:m] [*]Because of this confusion, confusion of her with Janis Ian, and other assumptions reasons, she has been believed in some quarters to be a lesbian, but if she was, I don't think she ever came out as such.[/*:m] [*]She sang the theme to A Different World. (OE: That was season one. An Aretha Franklin version [clearly her when you listen] replaced her in seasons two through five.)[/*:m] [*]Duetted with Linda Ronstadt on Saturday Night Live when I was 12: [youtube]sFSiVsYJ8p8[/youtube][/*:m][/list:u]

TheOldMole Apr 26 2011 11:54 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

The song by U. Utah Phillips that I'm guessing Phoebe took her name from. Rdio doesn't have it, but Rhapsody will give you 25 free plays a month.

metirish Apr 26 2011 11:58 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

If yo have a passing interest in horse racing then you'll know this name.... Sadler’s Wells passes away at 30 Racing: One of the sport’s greatest stallions, Sadler’s Wells, died peacefully at Coolmore Stud in Co Tipperary this afternoon at the age of 30 A son of Northern Dancer, Sadler’s Wells was bred in Kentucky by Robert Sangster’s Swettenham Stud. Trained by Vincent O'Brien he had a successful racing career as a three-year-old in 1984 when he won the Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial, the Irish 2,000 Guineas, the Eclipse Stakes and the inaugural Phoenix Champion Stakes. He also finished second in the Prix du Jockey Club and King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes. Retired to stud that year, Sadler’s Wells went on to be the leading sire in England and Ireland a record-breaking 14 times, including 13 years in succession (1992-2004). And retired from stud in May 2008. He has sired 323 stakes winners to date, while his offspring have also won a record six Breeders’ Cup events. Coolmore manager Christy Grassick said: “He was undoubtedly the best sire Europe has ever seen and through his sons Galileo, Montjeu, High Chaparral and Yeats along with grandsons Hurricane Run and Rip Van Winkle he has left a wonderful legacy at Coolmore and his influence looks set to continue for many years to come. We all feel privileged to have been involved with such a special horse.” http://www.irishtimes.com/sports/other/ ... 40120.html

Benjamin Grimm Apr 26 2011 11:59 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Any relation to Orson or Dawn?

metirish Apr 26 2011 12:04 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Edgy DC Apr 26 2011 02:13 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Punk pioneer Poly Styrene of X-Ray Specs. [youtube:1se7h4kh]L2NYrIUG518[/youtube:1se7h4kh] It was a bad day for unconventionally-voiced white musical chicks with afros from the seventies with who named themselves after industrial products.

TransMonk Apr 27 2011 03:47 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

588-2300, Empire! East-coasters prolly won't know this guy, but I grew up watching baseball games on WGN out of Chicago and this guy did all of this carpet company's commercials. I couldn't help singing the jingle all day. RIP.

Rockin' Doc Apr 27 2011 05:40 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Damn, I still remember that jingle for Empire Carpets from my days in Chicago (1981-1985). It just had a way of dislodging useful phone numbers and permanently etching itself into my subconscious.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Apr 28 2011 08:45 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

TransMonk wrote: 588-2300, Empire! East-coasters prolly won't know this guy, but I grew up watching baseball games on WGN out of Chicago and this guy did all of this carpet company's commercials. I couldn't help singing the jingle all day. RIP. His commercials live on over here, actually; he's replaced by animated/Sims-like virtual Elmers laying carpet and singing.

themetfairy Apr 28 2011 08:55 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: TransMonk wrote: 588-2300, Empire! East-coasters prolly won't know this guy, but I grew up watching baseball games on WGN out of Chicago and this guy did all of this carpet company's commercials. I couldn't help singing the jingle all day. RIP. His commercials live on over here, actually; he's replaced by animated/Sims-like virtual Elmers laying carpet and singing. I always thought his voice was a bit creepy. Nonetheless, RIP Empire Guy

Frayed Knot May 07 2011 08:19 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Seve Ballesteros - 54 The three time winner of the Bristish Open and two-time Masters champ rode an imaginative and inventive short game to become both the #1 golfer in the world for a time in the mid-1980s and an immense crowd favorite. The emergence of the charismatic Spanish teenager marked the beginning a wave of golfers from the continent of Europe which expanded the game beyond its British Isles roots and in turn revived the sleepy Ryder Cup to the more intense competition that exists today. He was part of five European wins in the RC including once as captain when it was played in his native Spain. His death was the result of a brain tumor which was discovered three years ago.

Edgy DC May 09 2011 08:17 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Surprised to find out how young he was. Seems like he'd been around forever.

Willets Point May 09 2011 09:56 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

I want to see this made into a movie.

TheOldMole May 09 2011 02:17 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Cornell Dupree. [youtube:321bqtuo]t-s8mhNIrtc[/youtube:321bqtuo]

metirish May 09 2011 02:24 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Willets Point wrote: I want to see this made into a movie. what a story right?

John Cougar Lunchbucket May 11 2011 04:43 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Bill Gallo, Daily News cartoonist, father of Basement Bertha and General Von Steinbrenner. Nice guy IRL who was a friend of my dad.

Edgy DC May 11 2011 06:12 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Benjamin Grimm May 11 2011 06:33 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Bill Gallo, Daily News cartoonist, father of Basement Bertha and General Von Steinbrenner. Nice guy IRL who was a friend of my dad. Wow! I noticed last week that the lettering in his cartoon looked very shakey, and I was worried that it might have meant bad news. I never met him, but I did get the impression that he was a nice guy.

DocTee May 11 2011 07:26 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Loved his World Series "hero" and "goat" sketches. RIP Bill

Edgy DC May 11 2011 07:40 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

The Net wasn't kind to him. With his style intentionally crude and often cluttered, he needed the large format that the News provieded ---- often a third to a half page --- to be fully digested. I liked his jaws. His caricatures weren't always recognizable. His larger portraits certainly were, but in group shots it could be initially hard to tell Elster from Sasser from Dykstra, or Mazzilli from Flynn from Allen, but then you'd look at the line of the jaw and it would be clear.

Frayed Knot May 11 2011 07:52 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Yeah, judged as a pure cartoonist alone he was far from the top pantheon, although I recently leafed through a book of his stuff and the earlier works were certainly better than in recent years. The shaky lettering Grimm noticed was probably a result of age as much as anything. What set him apart was the cartooning combined with the writing combined with the history he carried around in his head - mostly of baseball and boxing. He knew anyone and everyone it seems and was one of the few guys who could actually call Joe DiMaggio (probably had his phone number on speed-dial). When my father died Gallo gave a mention of it in his column as they had crossed paths both at the Daily News and in cartooning circles. Later he purchased a full-page farewell/tribute in a Cartoonists magazine. When going through Dad's stuff I found a small sketch of former heavyweight champ (and NY native) Floyd Patterson dating from 1962. I have no idea what it was originally made for but figured it was tailor-made for a thank you gift for Gallo's kind words given his background in boxing. So mom had it framed and sent off. Hope you enjoyed it for these past two years BG.

G-Fafif May 11 2011 08:07 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Marvelous profile the Sunday before last. The handsome, dark-haired young soldier stood in Grand Central Terminal and knew he was finally home. It was 1946 and he had fought from island to island in the Pacific, dodging bullets and bombs in places like Saipan and Iwo Jima. When World War II had come to an end, he and some fellow Marines were sent to Hawaii to demolish unexploded ordinance and they missed all the big homecoming parties. But now, as Bill Gallo stood there in the train station his green uniform with its "ruptured duck" patch signaling his honorable discharge, he paused for a moment to gaze up at the ceiling of the Main Concourse. For the first time in years, he realized, he didn't have any orders. "It was the first time you were free, nobody's telling you what to do," says Gallo, who had first come to work at the Daily News as a copyboy in 1941 and now, 70 years later, remains the institutional memory of the paper and a precious link to New York sports history. "When you're in the service, whether you're a corporal or a lieutenant or a captain, somebody's always telling you what the hell to do." Gallo got on the subway, "the good ol subway," he called it and headed home to Astoria, where he'd grown up with a love for sports he had inherited from his father, a newspaperman who immigrated to New York from Spain. (Gallo's mother was an aspiring concert pianist who came to New York from Argentina on vacation and met Gallo's father in an English language class.) Within a week of his return, a 24-year-old Gallo was back at The News. He gravitated to the sports desk - "I did everything except sweep the floor and I did that too," he says - at a time when the big three sports were baseball, boxing and horse racing. Back then, Gallo says, every reporter had a bottle in his desk - and good thing too; one day, one of the News' boxing writers got too drunk to cover an Ernie Durando fight and the sports editor, knowing that Gallo was at the match, gave him the assignment. Suddenly, he had orders again. Gallo recalls the panic he felt, sitting in the press section next to the seasoned sports writers, including the esteemed boxing writer Frank Graham. "I get a call, from Charlie Hoerter, who says, 'Hey kid, whatshisname is not going to do the story. You're going to have to do it,'" Gallo recalls. "I'd never done it in my life. I was nervous about it. Frank Graham was noticing me and he saw my apprehension. He felt it actually. After the semifinal fight came on, he gave me a pad, a yellow pad. He said, 'Look, this is easy. Take this pad, look at that fight, take a few notes, not a whole bunch of them, just impressions. Then, in longhand, write a letter to your friend and tell them what you just saw.' And that's what I did and I sent that in as a story." Countless stories have followed. Over seven decades, the News has published more than 15,000 of Gallo's cartoons, many of the classics collected in his 2000 book "Drawing a Crowd," where Pete Hamill's foreword celebrated Gallo's "grace, humor and invincible sense of proportion." Last year he wrote movingly about his experiences in the Pacific and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. At the age of 88, even as illness has kept him from his beloved newsroom in recent months, Gallo has continued to churn out work, sometimes falling back on Graham's advice. "That was a lesson that I never forgot," Gallo says. "I always think, if I get stuck, I'm writing a letter to my friend." Gallo himself recently received a letter from some friends, informing him that he will be honored with the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, an award bestowed by the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations upon immigrants and their descendants who have, to borrow Gallo's words, "succeeded in grabbing the American dream by the hoof." Gallo is hoping to attend the May 7 awards ceremony at the Great Hall on Ellis Island, a place that lights the spark to his deep patriotism. But today he is in the hospital, fighting off pneumonia and worries he won't get to deliver his acceptance speech in person. And so on a recent afternoon, as his wife, Dolores and son, Greg, looked on, Gallo sat for an interview in which he called America "the greatest invention" mankind has ever known. "The idea of opening the gates and building, bit by bit, from countries all over the world, to develop a melting pot, which is what we are, which is the greatest goddam idea in the world," says Gallo. "I love the expression 'melting pot.' Because there's where the strength is. Right there lies the essence." Gallo has spent a lifetime absorbing the city's mix of cultures and personalities and his cartoons reflect the way these different groups often unify around sports. Kids have a prominent place in Gallo's cartoons too; they are the original sports fans, with the smartest commentary on the ups and downs of their teams and heroes. Gallo himself was just a kid when his father died, in 1934, at the height of the Great Depression. That forced the 12-year-old boy to become a breadwinner for his mother, brother and sister. "I always loved to be the guy who got a job to put food on the table," Gallo recalls. "I wanted to be somebody . . . I wanted to achieve. So I broke my neck trying to do something. I guess I did achieve, there's no question about that." As Gallo speaks, his half-eaten lunch of chicken pot pie and peas is going cold in front of him. Arrayed around the tray are colored pencils and erasers, dark pens and paint brushes sticking out of Dixie Cups. For several months now, messengers have brought his cartoons down from Westchester County. "I'm just as enthusiastic about work today as I've ever been," Gallo says. "If I wasn't sick I'd be putting out some great stuff." Over the years Gallo spent time with iconic figures - Joe DiMaggio, Frank Sinatra. His friend and fellow Marine, New York police commissioner Ray Kelly, visits frequently. Gallo tells a good story about the time he and Dick Young went to interview Muhammad Ali, who only recently had converted to Islam. "So we were backstage and we get a little round table and we started to talk to him, so I said to him, 'if you're Muslim, exactly tell us what happens to you after you die,'" Gallo says. "He gave a very simple answer . . . He said, 'Man, where are you gonna go from that box? You can't go anywhere from that box. You're locked in man.'" It's stories like that that have made Gallo an institution at the News, where distinguished guests stop by his office for a chat and where younger staffers are privileged to catch him in the hallways lined with his work and pick up a piece of old-school journalistic wisdom, or an otherworldly anecdote from a bygone Gotham. Is boxing going to survive? The sport is in a sad way, Gallo says, but Manny Pacquiao is a gem. "That rejuvenates your interest because it's done so well" Gallo says. "He takes the stigma of brutality out of it and you look at his art." What about the current military and the conflicts in the Middle East? Should they reinstate the draft? "No, because it will encourage more goddam wars," Gallo says. "If you have a draft, somebody from another country lights a firecracker and you got another war. You know? These goddam people want to fight and I don't know why. I was in the war, but I'm a pacifist." How long will the American experiment last? Gallo: "I think it's going to go on forever, with some large bumps on the road. Maybe it's my patriotism, but I don't think so." The strength, he says, comes from all of those elements of the melting pot, an amalgam of religions and ethnicities and races and ideas that the award he is about to receive is meant to honor. As he talks, the metaphors turn visual - "everything connected in a solid ball," he says - and one can almost see a new Gallo illustration being born. "To build that, what I just explained, how the hell can we miss?"

seawolf17 May 11 2011 08:19 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

I still have -- and love -- my 1986 Mets calendar with all the Bill Gallo art. Great stuff there.

Willets Point May 11 2011 08:38 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Circa 1982-83 there were pull-out posters of the Mets from the Sunday comics of The Daily News. I remember having George Foster and Mookie Wilson on my bedroom wall. Does anyone recall these and if so were they by Gallo? I remember the Foster drawing having a sharp jawline and Edgy's comment about jaws reminded me of these posters.

DocTee May 11 2011 08:46 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

I remember those, and his cover art for the 81 yearbook. I thought he did the 83 one too (I like that one a lot more) but he didn't.

batmagadanleadoff May 11 2011 09:27 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Circa 1982-83 there were pull-out posters of the Mets from the Sunday comics of The Daily News. I remember having George Foster and Mookie Wilson on my bedroom wall. Does anyone recall these and if so were they by Gallo? I remember the Foster drawing having a sharp jawline and Edgy's comment about jaws reminded me of these posters. Those were Bruce Starks (1982): Mookie's legs were spinning like wheels.

batmagadanleadoff May 11 2011 10:47 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Willets Point wrote: Circa 1982-83 there were pull-out posters of the Mets from the Sunday comics of The Daily News. I remember having George Foster and Mookie Wilson on my bedroom wall. Does anyone recall these and if so were they by Gallo? I remember the Foster drawing having a sharp jawline and Edgy's comment about jaws reminded me of these posters. Mookie Wheelson

batmagadanleadoff May 11 2011 10:53 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Benjamin Grimm May 11 2011 01:48 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Frayed Knot May 11 2011 02:53 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Marty Noble chimes in

metirish May 19 2011 08:37 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Former Irish PM http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/ma ... d-obituary

John Cougar Lunchbucket May 21 2011 08:08 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Lefthanded power hitter! Oooh, yeah!

TheOldMole May 23 2011 09:34 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Not a happy family: Joseph Brooks, an Academy Award winning songwriter, was found dead in his NYC Upper East Side apartment Sunday afternoon in an apparent suicide. He was famous for writing the 1977 Oscar-winning song, "You Light Up My Life." According to the Associated Press, Brooks, 73, "was discovered slumped over on a couch in the den, fully-clothed, with a plastic dry-cleaning bag around his head and a towel wrapped around his neck," police spokesperson Paul Browne told the AP. "A hose attached to a helium tank was hooked up to the bag; a three-page suicide note included." No details on the context of the letter have been released. In 2009, the late musician pled not guilty to over 90 charges of rape, sexual assault, and sexual abuse, and was still awaiting trial on the allegations. The AP writes: "Prosecutors say he lured most of the women to his apartment through an online ad offering auditions for a movie role, then sexually assaulted them after making them drink apparently drugged wine as part of an "acting exercise." Last December, Brooks's 24-year-old son, Nicholas Brooks, was charged in the death of his girlfriend, swimsuit designer Sylvie Cachay. Cachay, 33, was found dead in a bathtub at the exclusive Manhattan members-only club Soho House, where the younger Brooks had been with her. According to the AP, he "has pleaded not guilty and is being held without bail at the Rikers Island jail complex."

Edgy DC May 23 2011 02:38 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

I was going to make mention of Brooks, but the details were just. too. sordid. for me to recount. It's a twisted world full of pain sometimes.

G-Fafif May 27 2011 01:31 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Jeff Conaway, 60. Bobby from Taxi (a Mets fan on the show, judging by the pennant in his apartment) after a featured role as Kenickie in the movie version of Grease, and the lead role on stage. Alan Sepinwall remembers him here.

TransMonk May 27 2011 01:51 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

I had read earlier in the week that he was not doing well. I hope he is not remembered for doing Celebrity Rehab. Those shows are horrible.

TheOldMole May 27 2011 11:51 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Leonora Carrington, who has died aged 94, led a life almost as picaresque and surreal as her art; born in Britain, she eloped with Max Ernst, hung out with Picasso and Dali, fled the Nazis, escaped from a Spanish psychiatric hospital and later settled in Mexico, where she built a reputation as one of the most original and visionary British artists and writers of the 20th century. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituar ... ngton.html

G-Fafif May 28 2011 02:33 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Gil-Scott Heron, 62. [youtube]l-HnVvAxabc[/youtube]

Edgy DC May 28 2011 06:23 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

62 -- these folks need to be growing older.

metirish Jun 03 2011 06:49 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Dr. Jack Kevorkian Dr. Jack Kevorkian — embraced as a compassionate crusader and reviled as a murderous crank — died early this morning. Known as Dr. Death even before launching his fierce advocacy and practice of assisted suicides, Kevorkian, 83 dob 5/28/1928, died at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, where he had been hospitalized with kidney and heart problems. His attorney, Mayer Morganroth, said it appears Kevorkian suffered a pulmonary thrombosis when a blood clot from his leg broke free and lodged in his heart. With Kevorkian was his niece Ava Janus and Morganroth. “It was peaceful, he didn’t feel a thing,” Morganroth said. Morganroth said there were no artificial attempts to keep Kevorkian alive and no plans for a memorial. http://www.freep.com/article/20110603/N ... y=nav|head

Edgy DC Jun 03 2011 07:48 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Ava, Janus, and Morganroth Sounds like Conan's offspring.

MFS62 Jun 03 2011 08:33 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

James Arness - 88 http://tv.yahoo.com/news/article/tv-new ... mes_arness RIP, big Jim. Later

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jun 06 2011 07:51 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Oh what a dead boy. Thank you for being a friend: Andrew Gold, who was most famous for the late 1970's hits "Thank You For Being A Friend" and "Lonely Boy," died of a heart attack on Friday, June 3, 2011 in Los Angeles. He was 59. "Lonely Boy" peaked at #3 on the Cash Box pop chart in June and July of 1977. It made the soundtracks of two movies--"Boogie Nights" and "The Waterboy"--and would become the #23 single for the year 1977. Ten months later in April, 1978, "Thank You For Being A Friend" just missed the Cash Box top 10, peaking at #11. For the year 1978, "Friend" sneaked into the year-end rankings at #98. Although "Thank You For Being A Friend" didn't peak as high as "Lonely Boy," a case could be made that it was Gold's most famous song. "Friend" was often used as a dedication song on Casey Kasem's countdown shows. In fact, it was the final Long Distance Dedication song ever for Casey. It was dedicated to him by one of his many fans on his final countdown shows that aired on the Fourth Of July weekend of 2009. "Friend" also became the theme song sung by Cynthia Fee for the TV series "Golden Girls" from 1985 to 1992. Fee would later re-record the song to make it the theme song for the CBS spinoff TV show, "The Golden Palace." Long before "Lonely Boy," Andrew Gold was a fixture in music along with his parents. His dad, the late Ernest Gold, won an Oscar for writing the music for the movie "Exodus" and won a Golden Globe for his work on another movie, "On The Beach." According to writer Paul Cashmere of the web site undercover.com, Andrew's mom, Marni Nixon, was the singing voice for at least three major actresses. They were Natalie Wood ("West Side Story"), Deborah Kerr ("The King And I") and Audrey Hepburn ("My Fair Lady"). Andrew Gold's early music projects included writing songs at the age of 13 and forming the group Bryndle in the late 1960's. Bryndle's lineup included Karla Bonoff, who would have a Top 40 hit in 1982 with "Personally." Andrew's musical talent included the ability to play a multitude of instruments. He played many instruments for the 1974 "Heart Like A Wheel" album that put Linda Ronstadt on the musical map. He played all the instruments on Art Garfunkel's 1975 hit, "I Only Have Eyes For You." Plus, he played guitar and drums on Eric Carmen's 1977 hit, "She Did It." According to Wikipedia, he had a #5 hit in England in 1978 with "Never Let her Slip Away." He toured with the Eagles and Jackson Browne plus had ties with the Beatles. Gold sang on records and/or played live with Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and John Lennon. Andrew was also a long-time fan of the group, 10cc. After 10cc broke up in the 1980's, Andrew and 10cc member Graham Goldman formed the group, Wax. In 1986, Wax barely missed the Cash Box pop chart's Top 40 with "Right Between The Eyes," which reached #42. No one is sure whatever happened to the group 10cc, but a source close to this writer indicated that someone is working on such a project that dates back to 1991. According to writer Christopher Morris of Variety Magazine, Gold was a producer, writer and sideman for a number of other artists. That list includes Celine Dion, Stephen Bishop, Vince Gill, Aaron Neville, Nicolette Larson, James Taylor, Wynonna Judd, Cher and Brian Wilson. Andrew Gold is the answer to an ultra-trivia question. His voice was the first to be heard on the planet Mars in 1996. That's when his version of "Final Frontier," the theme song for the TV series, "Mad About You," was used as the wakeup call for the Mars Pathfinder space probe. [youtube]iCOS2vOxuXE[/youtube]

Edgy DC Jun 06 2011 08:15 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Andrew Gold is the answer to an ultra-trivia question. His voice was the first to be heard on the planet Mars in 1996. That's when his version of "Final Frontier," the theme song for the TV series, "Mad About You," was used as the wakeup call for the Mars Pathfinder space probe. That would be something cool to look back at at the end of any life. What was the Cash Box pop chart? OE: Also, Marni Nixon was his mom? She's a big deal trivia quesiton herself!

themetfairy Jun 06 2011 08:15 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Oh what a dead boy. Dammit Lunchie - not cool making me laugh at the dead!

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jun 06 2011 08:21 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Edgy DC wrote: Andrew Gold is the answer to an ultra-trivia question. His voice was the first to be heard on the planet Mars in 1996. That's when his version of "Final Frontier," the theme song for the TV series, "Mad About You," was used as the wakeup call for the Mars Pathfinder space probe. That would be something cool to look back at at the end of any life. What was the Cash Box pop chart? [url]http://cashboxmagazine.com/CashboxCharts.htm

The Second Spitter Jun 07 2011 12:37 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Seo's Jetta.

G-Fafif Jun 07 2011 05:24 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Gerry Rafferty, Phoebe Snow, now Andrew Gold ... something's very wrong with my radio this year.

metirish Jun 10 2011 04:52 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Brian lenihan most recently finance minister in Ireland died this morning, he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2009.

TransMonk Jun 10 2011 09:38 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Leonard B. Stern, Creator of Mad Libs, Dies at 88

TheOldMole Jun 13 2011 10:43 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

[youtube:2b6vwcl3]WR2FvrU-NIM[/youtube:2b6vwcl3] Carl Gardner, 83.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jun 24 2011 12:20 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Peter Falk, 83

metirish Jun 24 2011 12:21 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Damn , one of the good guys

soupcan Jun 24 2011 12:30 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

I must have been about 7-8 years old and we were living on the Upper West Side. We were in the car on our way somewhere and my mom wanted to get some stuff from this deli - Gitlitz - that used to be on (I think) 79th and Broadway. Dad pulls over and mom and I get out and go into the deli. We walk in and mom looks, stops, grabs my arm, bends down to my ear and whispers 'go tell your dad that Peter Falk is in here'. I nod, turn back, see that the deli's door is open and dad is sitting in the car with the window open. Rather than walk all the way over to him I just stood in the middle of the store and yelled towards the car 'HEY DAD, MOM SAYS PETER FORK IS IN HERE!!' She wasn't too thrilled with me.

sharpie Jun 24 2011 12:47 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Growing up in Long Island there were a couple that lived across the street who had a kid who was a year or two younger than me and so therefore unplaywithable. The dad was in advertising and I used to like to talk with him about current TV commercials. I found it fascinating to talk about such stuff of overweening importance with a grownup. The mother was gloomy sort who, I found out later, had been engaged when younger to Peter Falk. Her father forbade the marriage to a one-eyed actor and she ended up depressed in the suburbs married to an adman. Can't imagine that marriage lasted.

Benjamin Grimm Jun 24 2011 02:23 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

So instead of Lt. Columbo she married Don Draper? (Or was he more of a Darren Stephens?)

sharpie Jun 24 2011 02:43 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

I'm going with Pete Campbell.

dgwphotography Jun 24 2011 06:42 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

uh, excuse me, one more thing.... SERPENTINE!

Frayed Knot Jun 24 2011 07:23 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

A varied career there for Mr. Falk. Most know him as TV's Lt. Columbo, the grandfather in 'Princess Bride', or as half of a great comic tandem with Alan Arkin in 'The In-Laws'. But earlier than that he was a regular part of the cast that filmmaker John Cassavetes used for his highly personal and decidedly non-mainstream movies.

Willets Point Jun 24 2011 08:30 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

And don't forget his work with Wim Wenders.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Jun 24 2011 08:34 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Wings of Desire was one of my favorite movies during high school. Still dig the crap out of it.

Vic Sage Jun 24 2011 08:37 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

http://beta.news.yahoo.com/comic-book-a ... 41929.html Gene Colan passed away. He was one of my favorite comic book artists during Marvel's silver age. His work was always atmospheric, and so he was good with horror-based titles, like DR. STRANGE and TOMB OF DRACULA. But for some reason his DAREDEVIL/BLACK WIDOW run has stayed with me most. So long Gene, and thanks for all the fish.

Benjamin Grimm Jun 24 2011 08:42 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Gene Colan was fantastic. Especially when inked by Tom Palmer. I think of him on Tomb of Dracula first, then Daredevil and Sub-Mariner.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Jun 24 2011 10:07 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Did some sweet work w/Bats on Detective Comics in the '80s.

metirish Jul 01 2011 12:06 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

@AdamRubinESPN Songwriter Ruth Roberts, who penned Meet the Mets, passed away this morning at age 84, #Mets announced

Edgy DC Jul 01 2011 12:10 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: Did some sweet work w/Bats on Detective Comics in the '80s. Where's the rest of that blade that Skully is holding? It seems to be going right into the heel of his glove. Ruth Roberts, thanks for the happiest song ever.

G-Fafif Jul 01 2011 12:52 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

metirish wrote: @AdamRubinESPN Songwriter Ruth Roberts, who penned Meet the Mets, passed away this morning at age 84, #Mets announced So sorry to hear this. She co-wrote an enduring classic of the genre. SI did a piece on best sports songs ever in the current issue; this one should have been No. 1.

Chad Ochoseis Jul 08 2011 07:53 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Betty Ford, 93

metsguyinmichigan Jul 08 2011 09:19 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Chad Ochoseis wrote: Betty Ford, 93 And there goes my weekend and week. This will actually be exciting to cover. One logistical challenge. We had a horrible event yesterday, when a nut killed seven people, two of them kids. If the funerals are all on the same day as Mrs. Ford's, it's going to be a challenge. The Ford family is usually wonderful to deal with. Very nice people.

dgwphotography Jul 11 2011 08:28 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Funny bit from The Mary Tyler Moore Show, showing Mrs. Ford's great sense of humor about herself: [youtube:24kmudde]aPrs9IhTE2Q[/youtube:24kmudde]

G-Fafif Jul 11 2011 08:39 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

dgwphotography wrote: Funny bit from The Mary Tyler Moore Show, showing Mrs. Ford's great sense of humor about herself: [youtube]aPrs9IhTE2Q[/youtube] Honestly, this was the first thing I thought of when I heard of the former First Lady's passing.

themetfairy Jul 12 2011 12:03 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Gilligan's Island and Brady Bunch creator Sherwood Schwartz

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jul 12 2011 12:15 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Rob Grill, lead singer of the Grass Roots.

Frayed Knot Jul 12 2011 01:22 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Rob Grill, lead singer of the Grass Roots. Let's live [crossout]for[/crossout] 'til today How's this intro for a cross-generation bridge? [youtube]hnFZsrs32Co[/youtube] That's apparently Grill on vocals. Had several other nice pop-tunes in their day: 'Midnight Confessions' and 'Temptation Eyes'

Farmer Ted Jul 14 2011 11:41 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Roberts Blossom, the old guy from Home Alone. 87.

TransMonk Jul 23 2011 11:01 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Amy Winehouse, 27. Not surprising, but still sad...mostly because you would have to be Helen Keller not to have seen it coming. http://news.yahoo.com/singer-amy-wineho ... 48160.html

Edgy DC Jul 23 2011 11:02 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

27. Shit. It seems like she's been dying that long. http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertain ... story.html

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Jul 23 2011 11:10 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Treeeeeeemendously predictable and prodigious waste. The album she made with the Ronson kid still floors me.

Willets Point Jul 23 2011 12:06 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

What a great voice. I don't know what was troubling her, but I was hoping she'd figure it out. So many musicians with drug/alcohol problems die at the age of 27.

Frayed Knot Jul 23 2011 01:54 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Willets Point wrote: So many musicians with drug/alcohol problems die at the age of 27. 27, it's the new 90.

G-Fafif Jul 23 2011 02:20 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

[youtube:26c04zfj]5LTPRJqt2z4[/youtube:26c04zfj] My favorite song of this millennium. Would have ranked high in the last one, too. What a voice, what a shame.

Chad Ochoseis Jul 23 2011 09:21 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

That whole album is somewhere in my Millenial Top Ten. I always thought the self destructive rep was as much career-enhancing hype as it was truth. Sadly, I was wrong.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jul 26 2011 07:41 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Dan Peek, co-founder of America, 60 Little is known at this point about the death on Sunday (July 24) of Dan Peek, co-founder of the band America, who left the group in 1977 and then continued on as a somewhat reclusive Christian pop artist. The home page of Peek's official web site includes a simple note saying that "Dan went to Heaven on July 24," along with a video of Peek performing the 1974 America hit "Lonely People." No other information was offered. He was 60 years old and, by all accounts, living with his wife Catherine in the Cayman Islands and was "semi-retired," according to America bandmate Dewey Bunnell. Bunnell and Gerry Beckley have both paid tribute to him with notes on the duo's own web site. Bunnell writes that, "I am so sorry to learn of Dan's passings. Dan, along with Gerry (Beckley) & myself, formed the band America as teenagers after being great friends in high school during the late 60's. It was a joyous time for the three of us, full of excitement and laughter. We created lasting music together and experienced a life that we could never have imagined. Dan was an equal and integral part of that early history, and I have never forgotten the good times we spent making that music and learning about life together." He goes on to say that, "Although we eventually went our separate ways, his contributions to the music of America have always been present and will last forever. This news brings great sadness. My sincere condolences go out to his wife, Catherine, and the entire Peek family. May Dan rest in peace, and his memory be cherished forever." Beckley's note reads, "I am deeply saddened to hear the news of Dan's passing. He was a dear friend for many years. Dan & his music will live on in the great songs he shared with us all. My sincere condolences go out to Catherine and the entire Peek family. May he rest in peace ..." Shortly before Peek's death, Bunnell told Billboard.com that Peek's departure from the band was "an organic split" and that he and Beckley felt no acrimony towards their former band mate. "Dan wrote some songs, Dan played lead guitar and Dan sang the high harmonies -- so at the end of the day his contributions have never been questions," Bunnell explains. "We still do 'Lonely People' and 'Don't Cross the River' every night on stage. We'll always acknowledge Dan's contribution, and those years that we were together as America were really special times." He added that there was some thought about asking Peek to join him and Beckley when America receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame next year to mark the group's career achievements as well as the 40th anniversary of the band winning the Grammy Award for Best New Artist. Peek was born in Panama City, Fla., to a U.S. Air Force officer father. He moved to England in 1963 when his father was assigned to a base there, meeting Bunnell and Beckley at London Central High School. Peek and Beckley played in a band called The Days, and after Peek left to attend Old Dominion University in Virginia, Bunnell took his place. Returning to England after just a year away, the three musicians regrouped and formed America, hitting big with their first single, "A Horse With No Name." America scored three platinum and three gold albums as well as eight Top 40 hits between 1971-75. But Peek, who became a born-gain Christian after becoming disenchanted with travel and recreational drug use and sex, decided to leave the band. "I...was trying to walk the walk and was just unable to do it" in the band, Peek said in an interview after the publication of his memoir, "An American Band: The America Story." Peek launched his solo career wtih "All Things Are Possible" in 1979; the title track hit No. 1 on the Contemporary Christian Music chart and was nominated for a Grammy Award, while Beckley and Bunnell sang harmonies on the track "Love Was Just Another Word," marking the last time the three recorded together -- although they did occasionally reunite on stage. Peek recorded and performed sporadically after that, putting a revised version of "Lonely People," which was a No. 2 CCM hit, on his 1986 album "Electro Voice." His other CCM hits included "Divine Lady," "Doer of the World," "Cross Over" and the title track from "Electro Voice."

Edgy DC Jul 26 2011 08:09 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

You think of "Ventura Highway" you think of Gerry Beckley's nasaly distant Neil Young-like tenor, but (and I've mentioned it here, Peek really delivered that song with the sublime little guitar lick he works. What makes a band think they can survive without such a signature on their songs. You get a formula like that, you guard it and preserve it at all costs. [youtube:2b3q4wai]5I0d29s6GCc[/youtube:2b3q4wai] But Peek also had a tenor of his own. And when he stepped up to the center mic, parted his hair in the middle like the impossible son of Meat Loaf and Jim Morrison, he didn't brag about his rising Mojo, but reached out my lonely 12-year-old self, thinking that life had passed me by. [youtube:2b3q4wai]IRDnEqW1vAc[/youtube:2b3q4wai] Thanks, Dan Peek. Thanks. Hopefully, when I'm 60, I'll be semi-retired in the Caymans. I hope you've retired now to someplace sweeter.

Willets Point Jul 26 2011 08:28 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Dan Peek, co-founder of America, 60 Does that make him a Founding Father?

Ashie62 Jul 28 2011 03:07 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Pussy toad Hideki Irabu found dead in apparent suicide. [url]http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/07/28/hideki-irabu-found-dead-suicide-suspected/

themetfairy Aug 03 2011 11:51 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

I'm sorry, but this is just too Simpsonesque - British singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse's father, Mitch, is planning to set up a drug rehabilitation centre in the singer's name.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Aug 03 2011 12:13 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

themetfairy wrote: I'm sorry, but this is just too Simpsonesque - British singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse's father, Mitch, is planning to set up a drug rehabilitation centre in the singer's name. He hadn't been in-country when she died... because he was busy parlaying her name into club gigs over here, on the East Coast. (Supposedly dangling the possibility of cameo drop-ins from the daughter.)

themetfairy Aug 03 2011 12:23 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: themetfairy wrote: I'm sorry, but this is just too Simpsonesque - British singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse's father, Mitch, is planning to set up a drug rehabilitation centre in the singer's name. He hadn't been in-country when she died... because he was busy parlaying her name into club gigs over here, on the East Coast. (Supposedly dangling the possibility of cameo drop-ins from the daughter.) Listen, I'm willing to believe that he is sincerely devastated at the death of his daughter and would like to do something to honor her memory. I'm sympathetic to that. But the Amy Winehouse Rehab Center? Who would send a loved one there?

Edgy DC Aug 03 2011 12:29 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Sounds like a good way to get people to comply, though. "Dave, man you look like a mess." "The night is young, man!" "What say we take a walk?" "Where?" "A little place called the Winehouse." "Sounds like my kinda place!"

Chad Ochoseis Aug 03 2011 12:46 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

But the Amy Winehouse Rehab Center? Who would send a loved one there? No worse of an idea than naming a rehab center the "Betty Ford Clinic". Though I'll grant that Betty Ford never publicly got on stage and said "No, no, no" to rehab.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Aug 03 2011 01:04 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Well, except Betty was a success story. It's like the difference between The Marie Osmond Weight Loss Program and The Mama Cass Weight Loss Program.

themetfairy Aug 03 2011 01:18 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: Well, except Betty was a success story. It's like the difference between The Marie Osmond Weight Loss Program and The Mama Cass Weight Loss Program. Exactly!

Fman99 Aug 03 2011 07:43 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

RIP Bubba Smith, aka Hightower from the Police Academy movies.

Frayed Knot Aug 08 2011 07:02 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Not a good weekend for ex-pols - Hugh Carey (D) - former NYS Governor, 92 - Mark Hatfield (R) - former US Senator from Oregon, 89

Edgy DC Aug 08 2011 07:15 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Carey's children included: [list:11i77pue][*:11i77pue]Alexandria[/*:m:11i77pue] [*:11i77pue]Christopher[/*:m:11i77pue] [*:11i77pue]Susan[/*:m:11i77pue] [*:11i77pue]Peter[/*:m:11i77pue] [*:11i77pue]Hugh, Jr.[/*:m:11i77pue] [*:11i77pue]Michael[/*:m:11i77pue] [*:11i77pue]Donald[/*:m:11i77pue] [*:11i77pue]Marianne[/*:m:11i77pue] [*:11i77pue]Nancy[/*:m:11i77pue] [*:11i77pue]Helen[/*:m:11i77pue] [*:11i77pue]Bryan[/*:m:11i77pue] [*:11i77pue]Paul[/*:m:11i77pue] [*:11i77pue]Kevin[/*:m:11i77pue] [*:11i77pue]Thomas[/*:m:11i77pue][/list:u:11i77pue] I believe at least two predeceased him, but for most of us, "he died surrounded by his family" is just an expression.

Frayed Knot Aug 08 2011 08:35 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Carey was interesting cat. A guy straight out of the Irish-Brooklyn Democratic machine, taking over NYS at the time of fiscal crisis as he did led him to make a ton of governmental cuts which in turn made him the favorite Democrat to some on the right*. I even read a recent piece (forget the author now) by some political conservative praising the hell out of old Hugh. On the other hand I was living in Albany during part of his term and the guy had a marvelous penchant for sticking his foot in his mouth which made him both the source and the target of some funny stuff. - At one point he proposed a way to raise more state money was to allow bars to remain open 24 hours a day. When that idea was roundly panned he didn't just withdraw it but insisted he never said any such thing. He continued those denials even after news orgs produced film clips of his saying exactly that. - That story wasn't helped when an old-fashioned Irish bar not far from the Governor's mansion started taking out newspaper ads billing their place as 'The Second Largest Irish Drinking Establishment on Eagle Street', a tweak which certainly implied, though never quite stated, that the largest one was the mansion itself. - There was also the crude but effective student protests following Carey's proposed tuition hikes. Painted signs and loud chants simply uttered; "Fuck Hugh" - And finally the story of his second wife, a Greek-American real estate mogul who he met, I believe, at Reagan's inauguration and married in fairly short order. She insisted she was a widow (not only to the public but to him also apparently) although news reports quickly surfaced about her being at least thrice divorced. He then had to do some quick backpedaling while insisting; 'Oh yeah, I knew about her past all along'. That story made for an easy target including DJs saying to their drive-time listeners; 'Honk if you've been married to Evangeline Gouletas'. * not unlike the way Hatfield became the favorite Republican to many on the left

Frayed Knot Aug 08 2011 08:46 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Carey's children included: [list][*]Alexandria[/*:m] [*]Christopher[/*:m] [*]Susan[/*:m] [*]Peter[/*:m] [*]Hugh, Jr.[/*:m] [*]Michael[/*:m] [*]Donald[/*:m] [*]Marianne[/*:m] [*]Nancy[/*:m] [*]Helen[/*:m] [*]Bryan[/*:m] [*]Paul[/*:m] [*]Kevin[/*:m] [*]Thomas[/*:m][/list:u] I believe at least two predeceased him, but for most of us, "he died surrounded by his family" is just an expression. According to Wikipedia (so you know it's true): Hugh, and first wife Helen, were parents of Alexandria, Christopher, Susan, Peter, Hugh, Jr., Michael, Donald, Marianne, Nancy, Helen, Bryan, Paul, Kevin, and Thomas. Alexandria was, I believe, her daughter whom he adopted (Helen was a WWII widow) and the rest were theirs together. Helen Carey died of breast cancer in 1974. Peter and Hugh, Jr. died in an automobile accident in 1969. (I assume the same crash) Paul, who served as White House Special Assistant to President Bill Clinton as well as Commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission, died of cancer in 2001. oe: and one more thing. I went to the NYPost's website curious to see if Carey's death was one of their 'Top Three' stories. Nope. One was on the debt/credit story. One was about a pet monkey being returned to its owner. And one was that J-Lo wants 'Steven Tyler' money for 'Idol'.

Edgy DC Aug 08 2011 12:32 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Switched his views on legal abortion shortly after leaving office, after establishing New York as one of the few states to fund it. Around the same time, Jesse Jackson, seeking to attain office, switched his to favor it.

SteveJRogers Aug 08 2011 05:46 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Marshall Grant. Johnny Cash's longtime bassist. Was still touring up through the last few years.

Edgy DC Aug 08 2011 06:51 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Tennessee Two and Johnny reunited?

SteveJRogers Aug 08 2011 07:43 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Edgy DC wrote: Tennessee Two and Johnny reunited? Will the circle be unbroken, by and by, Lord by and by...

TransMonk Aug 12 2011 08:07 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Jani Lane, lead singer of 90's metal band Warrant dead at 47. It's never a good sign to be found dead in a Los Angeles hotel room. http://www.eonline.com/news/warrant_roc ... _in/257697

Benjamin Grimm Aug 12 2011 08:09 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

I spotted an obit for Fred Imus, 69, in the paper this morning.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Aug 12 2011 08:09 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

TransMonk wrote: Jani Lane, lead singer of 90's metal band Warrant dead at 47. It's never a good sign to be found dead in a Los Angeles hotel room. http://www.eonline.com/news/warrant_roc ... _in/257697 whoa

Edgy DC Aug 12 2011 08:16 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Leadoff hitter in the "Guys with Girly Names" thread.

seawolf17 Aug 12 2011 08:47 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

My stream of consciousness this morning: http://higheredmusiccritics.blogspot.co ... -lane.html

Edgy DC Aug 12 2011 09:06 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

he even replaced Great White singer Jack Russell on tour, even awkwardly opening for Warrant a few times, who had moved on with other singers as well. Mind. Blown.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Aug 12 2011 09:17 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

My stream of consciousness this morning: http://higheredmusiccritics.blogspot.co ... -lane.html Nice writeup man. I went and streamed "Tipper" on Rdio. You're not missing anything. Also added "Down Boys" to the Rdio version of this thread I have going there. [url]http://rd.io/x/QGJDL0Ffhw

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Aug 12 2011 02:17 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Nancy Wake, raised-in-Oz Kiwi, British agent, French resistance leader, and WWII's most decorated woman, at 98. GREAT tribute in the Independent here. Even before she escaped to Britain, through Spain, in 1943 to train as a guerrilla leader, Nancy had been top of the Gestapo's French "wanted" list. With her husband, she ran a resistance network which helped to smuggle Jews and allied airmen out of the country. Her "invisibility", according to French colleagues, was partly explained by her gender and her beauty. The Germans could not believe that one of their chief opponents was a slender, pretty, dark-haired woman. Nancy both used, and refused to hide behind, her femininity. In London, at the age of 31, she became one of 39 women, and 430 men, recruited into the French Section of the British Special Operations Executive. She was trained in guerrilla fighting techniques and parachuted back into France in April 1944. Nancy recalled later in life that her parachute had snagged in a tree. The French resistance fighter who freed her said he wished all trees bore "such beautiful fruit". Nancy retorted: "Don't give me that French shit."

Edgy DC Aug 12 2011 02:20 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

I read her obituary in The Post. Made me want to go and join the resistance somewhere.

Frayed Knot Aug 13 2011 12:40 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

TransMonk wrote: Jani Lane, lead singer of 90's metal band Warrant dead at 47. It's never a good sign to be found dead in a Los Angeles hotel room. http://www.eonline.com/news/warrant_roc ... _in/257697 OK, how screwy is it that Jani Lane's given name was John Kennedy Oswald? I mean you're born with the name of Oswald just after the assassination of the President (Feb '64) so your parents hand you the name of John Kennedy to tack onto that?!?!

Edgy DC Aug 13 2011 12:47 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

More likely, to make up for that. Probably had to say to everybody they met: "No, we're not related; name's Oswald --- no relation; never heard of the guy; yes, Oswald, no definitely no relation" until finally they came up with, "Hi, Jack Oswald, how you doin'? This is my wife Barbara and my son John Kennedy; God, I loved that man."

John Cougar Lunchbucket Aug 13 2011 07:42 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Sebastian Bach in a fb post one of my friends shared. He is sad & concerned & lonely & mournful & pitying & weird. Jani Lane: His Only Real Friend... That Killed Him in the End RIP by Sebastian Bach on Friday, August 12, 2011 at 6:53pm People have been asking me about Jani Lane & I really don't know what to say. Picturing him by himself in a Comfort Inn in Woodland Hills with a bottle of vodka & a bottle of pills is so typical of what a rock musicians life actually is. It is a life marked by extremes. Extreme attention from people you don't know, while all the work & travel takes you away from those you actually do know. Playing to thousands of people & then going back to your hotel room & shutting the door. When the door shuts... the quiet is the exact opposite of the volume of the concert. The solitude of the empty hotel room becomes the diametric parallel of the adulation of strangers. For some, the bottle of vodka or whatever becomes a friend that is always there for you while others come & go. Yes I have felt these emotions myself. If you see me going head over heels over a girl, it's because all I have ever wanted is to have a girl to love & share my life with, & for the one I love to be with me wherever I'm at, travel with me to distant locales & stay in nice kick ass hotel suites & have fun & sing & dance & see the world. But so far this is a fantasy. Just like Jani, I spend most of my time alone in a hotel room dreaming of a girl I love who is somewhere else. I bet Jani Lane felt exactly what I feel. How could he not? I remember decades ago being invited to Janis house for a barbeque, which we went to. But Jani didn't show up. So I spent the afternoon with Janis dad cooking burgers & steaks & having a wonderful day with his family. My condolences to his family & especially Janis children who now only have memories of their dad to hold on to. That is truly heartbreaking. Let this be yet another lesson to tell someone some kind words sometimes... before it's too late... while they are still alive. I can guarantee Jani Lane would not have anticipated everyone coming out of the woodwork extolling the life & times of Jani Lane. Which is why he probably died alone. In a hotel room. With his only real friend...that killed him in the end.

TheOldMole Aug 22 2011 06:23 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

I can't believe Jerry Lieber is dead. He was one of my true heroes. [youtube:1vsgmfg8]NgX3a6ApQbs[/youtube:1vsgmfg8]

Gwreck Aug 22 2011 08:59 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Kansas City Jailhouse Rock Stand By Me There Goes My Baby On Broadway RIP

G-Fafif Aug 22 2011 11:11 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Another half of another powerhouse songwriting duo passes, Nick Ashford, from throat cancer at 70. Nick Ashford, of Motown Writing Duo, Dies at 70 By BEN SISARIO Nick Ashford, who with Valerie Simpson, his songwriting partner and later wife, wrote some of Motown’s biggest hits, like “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough“ and “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing,” and later recorded their own hits and toured as a duo, died Monday at a hospital in New York City. He was 70 and lived in Manhattan. Mr. Ashford had throat cancer and was undergoing treatment, but the cause of his death was not immediately known. His death was announced by Liz Rosenberg, a friend who is a longtime music publicist. One of the primary songwriting and producing teams of Motown, Ashford & Simpson specialized in romantic duets of the most dramatic kind, professing the power of true love and the comforts of sweet talk. In “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” from 1967, their first of several hits for Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, lovers in close harmony proclaim their determination that “no wind, no rain, no winter’s cold, can stop me, baby,” but also make cuter promises: “If you’re ever in trouble, I’ll be there on the double.” Gaye and Terrell also sang the duo’s songs “Your Precious Love,” “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing” and “You’re All I Need to Get By.” Diana Ross sang their “Reach Out and Touch Somebody’s Hand,” and when she rerecorded “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough“ in 1970, it became the former Supreme’s first No. 1 hit as a solo artist. “They had magic, and that’s what creates those wonderful hits, that magic,” Verdine White of Earth, Wind and Fire told The Associated Press after learning of his friend’s death. “Without those songs, those artists wouldn’t have been able to go to the next level.” Nickolas Ashford was born in Fairfield, S.C., and raised in Willow Run, Mich., where his father, Calvin, was a construction worker. He got his musical start at Willow Run Baptist Church, singing and writing songs for the gospel choir. He briefly attended Eastern Michigan University, in Ypsilanti, before heading to New York, where he tried but failed to find success as a dancer. In 1964, while homeless, Mr. Ashford went to White Rock Baptist Church in Harlem, where he met Ms. Simpson, a 17-year-old recent high school graduate who was studying music. They began writing songs together, selling the first bunch for $64. In 1966, after Ray Charles sang “Let’s Go Get Stoned,” a song Ashford & Simpson wrote with Joey Armstead, the duo signed on with Motown as staff writers and producers. They wrote for virtually every major act on the label, including Gladys Knight and the Pips (“Didn’t You Know You’d Have to Cry Sometime”) and Smokey Robinson and the Miracles (“Who’s Gonna Take the Blame”). While writing for Motown, Ashford & Simpson nursed a desire to perform, which Berry Gordy Jr., the founder and patriarch of the label, discouraged. They left the label in 1973 and married in 1974. Ashford & Simpson’s initial collaborations sold poorly, but by the late ‘70s, songs like “Don’t Cost You Nothing,” “It Seems to Hang On” and “Found a Cure” became hits on the R&B charts. Their biggest hit as a solo act was “Solid,” which reached No. 12 on the pop chart and No. 1 on the R&B chart in 1984. They also continued to write hits for other people. “I’m Every Woman“ was a hit for Chaka Khan in 1978, and later for Whitney Houston on the soundtrack to the 1992 film “The Bodyguard.” In 1996, they opened the Sugar Bar on West 72nd Street in Manhattan, where they often presided over open mic nights. Recently, they received a songwriting credit on Amy Winehouse’s song “Tears Dry on Their Own,” which contains a sample from “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.” Besides his wife, Mr. Ashford is survived by two daughters, Nicole and Asia; his brothers Paul, Albert and Frank; and his mother, Alice Ashford. Ashford & Simpson toured throughout their career, their harmony and vocal interplay illustrating the passion of their lyrics and of their life together. “When Ms. Simpson sits down at the piano and begins to sing in a bright pop-gospel voice, unchanged since the 1970s,” Stephen Holden of The New York Times wrote in a review in 2007, “she awakens the spirit and tosses it to Mr. Ashford, whose quirkier voice, with its airy falsetto, has gained in strength from the old days. Soon they are urging each other on. By the time their romantic relay winds to a close, both are sweating profusely, and the audience is delirious.”

metirish Aug 23 2011 12:33 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Ashford always looked so happy , RIP man.

Frayed Knot Aug 23 2011 12:40 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Besides his wife, Mr. Ashford is survived by two daughters, Nicole and Asia; his brothers Paul, Albert and Frank; and his mother, Alice Ashford. Not a lot of 70 year-olds are survived by their mother. One of the drawbacks to living a long life is that you make it increasingly likely that you'll outlive one or more of your children. Gotta suck at any age.

Edgy DC Aug 23 2011 02:04 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Mike Stoller and Valerie Simpson should see if they can get together and pen some tunes.

Edgy DC Aug 23 2011 08:56 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Hoodoo Guru David Faulkner wrote: Very sad to hear about the passing of two songwriting legends today, Jerry Leiber (heart failure) and Nickolas Ashford (throat cancer). These two brilliant men, along with their equally talented collaborators (Mike Stoller and Valerie Simpson respectively) wrote and produced many of my favourite songs. I can't think of any better way to describe these two men than to say they were a gift from the universe - a gift that will keep on giving forever.

Edgy DC Aug 23 2011 09:18 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Lieber and Stoller using the vehicle of Happy Days to pay tribute to their favorite Met: [youtube]EiStYiEBV50[/youtube] I'm not sure, but I think that clip features Jenny Piccolo --- a character who I thought remained an exclusively offscreen presence until the post-Richie years.

metirish Sep 12 2011 08:11 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Jeez Spartacus star Andy Whitfield dies of cancer aged 39 Read more: http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/ind ... z1XkOizQo2

Frayed Knot Sep 12 2011 10:12 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011 Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Sep 12 2011 11:49 AM

I have to admit to never hearing of this version of 'Spartacus' and was initially wondering how someone from the Kirk Douglas/Tony Curtis movie could be only 39 y/o. We also missed actor Cliff Robertson - 88 - over the weekend. Won an Oscar for the title role in 'Charley' (foreshadowing many Oscars for handicapped roles to come) but probably best known for portraying young JFK in 'PT-109' (reportedly with Kennedy's approval).

seawolf17 Sep 12 2011 11:40 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Frayed Knot wrote: We also missed actor Cliff Robertson - 88 - over the weekend. ...who died on campus! (Well, at the hospital.) Filled up my daily Google Alerts e-mail.

SteveJRogers Sep 12 2011 01:18 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Frayed Knot wrote: I have to admit to never hearing of this version of 'Spartacus' and was initially wondering how someone from the Kirk Douglas/Tony Curtis movie could be only 39 y/o. We also missed actor Cliff Robertson - 88 - over the weekend. Won an Oscar for the title role in 'Charley' (foreshadowing many Oscars for handicapped roles to come) but probably best known for portraying young JFK in 'PT-109' (reportedly with Kennedy's approval). Also was Uncle Ben in the Sam Rami Spider-Man trilogy.

Vic Sage Sep 12 2011 01:59 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

SteveJRogers wrote: Frayed Knot wrote: I have to admit to never hearing of this version of 'Spartacus' and was initially wondering how someone from the Kirk Douglas/Tony Curtis movie could be only 39 y/o. We also missed actor Cliff Robertson - 88 - over the weekend. Won an Oscar for the title role in 'Charley' (foreshadowing many Oscars for handicapped roles to come) but probably best known for portraying young JFK in 'PT-109' (reportedly with Kennedy's approval). Also was Uncle Ben in the Sam Rami Spider-Man trilogy. with regard to SPARTACUS, it was an excellent Cable TV series (STARZ, i think), and he was really good in it. They made the 2nd season as a "pre-quel", so he didn't have to be in it, hoping he'd be back for the 3rd season. I guess they'll either recast it, or cancel. with regard to Cliff Robertson, he had an interesting career. CHARLY is one of the few Oscar-winning performances for a movie based on an SF novel, perhaps the only one since Fredric March's DR. JEKYL & MR. HYDE.

Edgy DC Sep 16 2011 07:46 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Sam DeLuca, Jets guard, broadcaster, and high school classmate of Fred Wilpon and Sandy Koufax.

HahnSolo Sep 16 2011 08:54 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Edgy DC wrote: Sam DeLuca, Jets guard, broadcaster, and high school classmate of Fred Wilpon and Sandy Koufax. Post-football, he owned some McDonald's franchises, including the first one in my neighborhood. Me and my dad met him one time. He asked me how my cheeseburger was.

metirish Sep 16 2011 09:02 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

HahnSolo wrote: Edgy DC wrote: Sam DeLuca, Jets guard, broadcaster, and high school classmate of Fred Wilpon and Sandy Koufax. Post-football, he owned some McDonald's franchises, including the first one in my neighborhood. Me and my dad met him one time. He asked me how my cheeseburger was. Sounds like a TV commercial.....you had to have been young?

HahnSolo Sep 16 2011 10:56 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

metirish wrote: HahnSolo wrote: Edgy DC wrote: Sam DeLuca, Jets guard, broadcaster, and high school classmate of Fred Wilpon and Sandy Koufax. Post-football, he owned some McDonald's franchises, including the first one in my neighborhood. Me and my dad met him one time. He asked me how my cheeseburger was. Sounds like a TV commercial.....you had to have been young? Oh, yeah. I was probably about 8 or so. I recall it was not uncommon to see him there, but that was the only time I remember him speaking to us.

Ashie62 Sep 16 2011 10:26 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Edgy DC wrote: Sam DeLuca, Jets guard, broadcaster, and high school classmate of Fred Wilpon and Sandy Koufax. Wilpon & Koufax are Madoff victims while Deluca & Madoff both hail from Laurelton.

Edgy DC Sep 17 2011 08:17 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Yeah, I kind of half expected an aside in his obit to note that he was among the Madoff victims.

Benjamin Grimm Sep 17 2011 12:21 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

This is weird... Ted Kennedy's daughter Kara, and Walter Mondale's daughter Eleanor, both dead at the age of 51.

sharpie Sep 17 2011 02:16 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Both of their fathers had complicated relationships with Jimmy Carter.

Ashie62 Sep 17 2011 03:49 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Monica Lewinsky believes Eleanor Mondale had a complicated relationship with Bill Clinton.

metirish Sep 17 2011 08:39 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Benjamin Grimm wrote: This is weird... Ted Kennedy's daughter Kara, and Walter Mondale's daughter Eleanor, both dead at the age of 51. Kara Kennedy died from brain cancer just like Ted, very strange(or not), she had beaten lung cancer before.Young kids left behind, sad really.

Benjamin Grimm Sep 20 2011 06:39 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Tom Wilson, creator of Ziggy, 80. His son, Tom Jr. had taken over the strip.

Edgy DC Sep 20 2011 07:23 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Became a painter in his later years, I believe, and briefly a backup catcher with the Mets.

Valadius Oct 05 2011 05:46 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Steve Jobs, 56.

Ashie62 Oct 05 2011 05:54 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

This sux [url]http://www.npr.org/2011/10/05/123826622/apple-visionary-steve-jobs-dies-at-56 Our Edison.

metirish Oct 05 2011 05:57 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Sad news, a brilliant innovator.

Vic Sage Oct 05 2011 09:49 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

captain of industry, made a fortune selling us expensive toys. I don't care.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Oct 06 2011 08:39 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

More Jobs lost. Thanks a lot Obama!

metirish Oct 06 2011 08:46 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: More Jobs lost. Thanks a lot Obama! Lol

Edgy DC Oct 06 2011 08:47 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

What he'd done since returning to Apple, I think, is just beat other people to the market with a lot of hunks of hardware. They also seemed to have a style that really engaged people and became cultural touchstones. For that, he owes a post-mortem high five to his designers as well as his programmers. I think, if the Segway was put out by Apple, it would have had a look and a feel for the zeitgeist, and by now, everyone would own one.

metirish Oct 06 2011 01:55 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Jesus, did Reagan or the Pope die again?, vigils, flags at half mast, world leaders compelled to wax lyrical. Will his plane like Reagan's fly over the entire country?

TransMonk Oct 06 2011 02:06 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

"Did you hear? Reagan died." That was the running joke in my household during that 6-8 month mourning period. I felt bad about Jobs last night. I've moved on today.

Vic Sage Oct 06 2011 02:11 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Jesus, did Reagan or the Pope die again?, vigils, flags at half mast, world leaders compelled to wax lyrical. Will his plane like Reagan's fly over the entire country? Thank you! He was the high priest of high tech culture, so i expected to see this level of approbation in internet eulogies, but the worldwide rending of clothes and covering of mirrors i find all a bit much. I mean, its sad when anybody dies young, and his family deserves our best wishes, as anybody's would, but come on already. He came up with software and used it to make you buy his hardware at exorbitant prices. He was a toymaker who specialized in planned obsolescence. He was a mega-successful industrialist for the post-industrial world. whoop de damn doo.

Edgy DC Oct 06 2011 02:29 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Andrew Ross Sorkin had the stones to ask, as Jobs fell seriously ill, what's he gonna do wit' all that money?

smg58 Oct 06 2011 02:57 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

[url]http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/06/arts/music/bert-jansch-influential-guitarist-is-dead-at-67.html Legendary Scottish folk guitarist Bert Jansch, 67.

Edgy DC Oct 06 2011 04:57 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Charles Napier, forever condemned in my mind to be conflated with Chuck Connors.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Oct 06 2011 05:48 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Vic Sage wrote: Jesus, did Reagan or the Pope die again?, vigils, flags at half mast, world leaders compelled to wax lyrical. Will his plane like Reagan's fly over the entire country? Thank you! He was the high priest of high tech culture, so i expected to see this level of approbation in internet eulogies, but the worldwide rending of clothes and covering of mirrors i find all a bit much. I mean, its sad when anybody dies young, and his family deserves our best wishes, as anybody's would, but come on already. He came up with software and used it to make you buy his hardware at exorbitant prices. He was a toymaker who specialized in planned obsolescence. He was a mega-successful industrialist for the post-industrial world. whoop de damn doo. Yeah, I'm getting a little chuckle out of the folks who absorbed the whole "Think different" slogan and have been reciting it as though it applies to them, oblivious to the irony of it all, I guess that more than anything is evidence of Jobs' evil genius. He did create very elegant products I should say.

metirish Oct 06 2011 06:03 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011 Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Oct 06 2011 06:42 PM

Oh for fucks sake Enda , I guess because Apple employs thousands in Ireland the PM felt the need to drink from the alter ENDA KENNY, TAOISEACH “Steve Jobs was a creative genius who broke down walls in business and opened doors in people’s minds. His innovative prowess in the area of technology has brought about a level of access to information for millions that few would have ever foreseen. His legacy will be not just his products and business achievements, but also the way in which he altered mindsets in the business world and in everyday life”. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/bre ... king4.html

Frayed Knot Oct 06 2011 06:17 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

I suspect at least part of this has to do with many of those within the media world being as big a group of Apple fan-boys as some of the stereotyped geeks they're reporting to. Apple/Jobs still represent a great American success story and he clearly deserves a significant obit but, yeah, a bunch of the hosannas are a bit over the top and it's kind of funny in this anti-corporate environment (with the NYC protests starting to spread - much of it via social media) that he's being practically worshipped by many who wouldn't even tap the brakes if informed they were speeding straight at any other CEO.

Edgy DC Oct 06 2011 07:40 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Well, in the case of Enda Kenny and other heads of government, it comes across to me as a thinly veiled desperate plea for Apple to set up a few assembly plants in their job-starved countries.

MFS62 Oct 06 2011 09:13 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

metirish wrote: His legacy will be not just his products and business achievements, but also the way in which he altered mindsets in the business world and in everyday life”. And one very memorable Super Bowl commercial. RIP, Steve. Later

Vic Sage Oct 06 2011 09:14 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011 Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Oct 13 2011 09:37 AM

Frayed Knot wrote: I suspect at least part of this has to do with many of those within the media world being as big a group of Apple fan-boys as some of the stereotyped geeks they're reporting to. Apple/Jobs still represent a great American success story and he clearly deserves a significant obit but, yeah, a bunch of the hosannas are a bit over the top and it's kind of funny in this anti-corporate environment (with the NYC protests starting to spread - much of it via social media) that he's being practically worshipped by many who wouldn't even tap the brakes if informed they were speeding straight at any other CEO. yes, they certainly wouldn't brake for Bill Gates, that evil monopolist, who has made the 2nd part of his career all about figuring out ways to make his personal billions actually help and educate people. While Jobs, the lord high exalted mystic ruler, was apparently content to be buried with his billions, like a pharoah.

Gwreck Oct 08 2011 09:24 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

He didn't exactly die an old man with his money. So his estate gives it away instead. Whatever. --- Al Davis died. He was 82.

Edgy DC Oct 08 2011 09:43 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Assuming that's the way it will go (and I'm not sure it will) I think there's a big difference between what and ever there. As a guy who was reduced to a desperate search for a liver transplant donor, I imagine he'd have appreciated the difference between charity now and charity later. In fact, when he resumed control of Apple in 1997, Jobs eliminated all corporate philanthropy programs.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Oct 08 2011 10:15 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Gwreck wrote: Al Davis died. He was 82. I congratulate him on his 'ascension,' and wish him the best of luck in his new, no doubt terrifying form. (All kidding aside, the man does deserve credit for being the finger in Pete Rozelle's eye, and for hiring Art Shell as the league's first African-American coach... along with blame for hiring Art Shell as the league's first African-American coach.)

metsguyinmichigan Oct 08 2011 01:44 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: Gwreck wrote: Al Davis died. He was 82. I congratulate him on his 'ascension,' and wish him the best of luck in his new, no doubt terrifying form. (All kidding aside, the man does deserve credit for being the finger in Pete Rozelle's eye, and for hiring Art Shell as the league's first African-American coach... along with blame for hiring Art Shell as the league's first African-American coach.) Hi Lane Kiflin firing press conference was kind of scary.

MFS62 Oct 09 2011 10:53 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

http://www.newstimes.com/default/articl ... 209402.php The story mentions that he coached at Ft. Belvoir when he was in the Army. I heard a story about that when I served at Ft. Blevoir. I have some stuff to do around the house today. I'll post it later. Later

MFS62 Oct 09 2011 11:59 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

My Al Davis Story: In those days, several military posts had their own football teams. The most famous was the Quantico Marines, who would play against some of the top college teams. Davis was there in the early 50's. It was during the Korean War and many college and pro players were being drafted. When he wasn't coaching the team, Al worked in the Fort Belvoir headquarters personnel office. He scanned the records of recently drafted people and if they had major college or pro experience, he had them transferred to Ft. Belvoir after basic training. It was "Just win, baby!" for him, even then. RIP, Al. Later

A Boy Named Seo Oct 12 2011 09:52 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

8 dead in Seal Beach. It's the next town south of Long Beach, about 10 minutes from my place. I haven't been to the salon or anything, but I drive past it every time I go surf and have eaten at some spots next to it. It's such a small, little Mayberry kinda town, Seal Beach is. I know you 'never expect anything like that would happen here', but really. RIP all those people. So sad.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Oct 12 2011 10:21 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

I think that's where you may have encountered Sheila, when I saw that news that's what I thought of.

A Boy Named Seo Oct 12 2011 11:31 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Yup. Exactly there. A couple hundred steps away.

themetfairy Oct 13 2011 05:27 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

OMG - that's horrible!

G-Fafif Oct 13 2011 11:09 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

From Newsday the other day; I had him as a gym teacher and interviewed him at least once for the school paper: Thomas DeLuca, a Long Beach High School star and later a three-sport coach there, passed away in his Las Vegas home surrounded by family Oct. 1. He was 78. [...] He undertook a teaching career that led him back to Long Beach High School. During his 20-year tenure, he taught physical education and coached baseball, basketball and football. In 1984, "Mr. D," as he was called, led the Marines' basketball team to the Class A Long Island championship and the state final. "He never expressed regret about not making the majors," John DeLuca said. "He loved children, so he enjoyed teaching . . . Long Beach was a rough neighborhood at the time and he helped a lot of kids. He got so many letters from people over the years saying he impacted their lives." DeLuca retired in 1995 and, with his wife, moved to Las Vegas, where he opened Toys of Yesteryear, selling antique toys he collected. The passion for sports never left DeLuca. He remained an avid Mets (post-Brooklyn Dodgers), Jets and Knicks fan. Also a Cardinals' farmhand for one season, when he was a teammate of two future Mets.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Oct 16 2011 09:47 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

32-year-old two-time Indy 500 winner Dan Wheldon, in a horrific 15-car crash at a Las Vegas open-wheel-race.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Oct 16 2011 10:22 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Horrific. I channel surfed past the red Flag period today, figured it had to be a biggie.

metirish Oct 17 2011 06:22 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Horrific. I channel surfed past the red Flag period today, figured it had to be a biggie. I surfed there and stopped when I realized something bad happened, saw on Twitter there was a crash.....I don't know much about the sport but this $5 million bonus for Wheldon if he started at the back of the field and won the race seems downright dangerous and asking for trouble......again, maybe they do this stuff all the time. 'I could see within five laps people were starting to do crazy stuff,' - Dario Franchitti Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z1b2bM9pYv some awful pix in here of the crash......apparently his head hit the catch fence as his car came apart.....

Frayed Knot Oct 17 2011 06:40 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Deaths in just about all forms of racing are way down compared to how they were a couple decades back when stories like this one seemed almost like a common occurrence; like back when the late LA Times columnist Jim Murray opened his Indy 500 article with the line; 'Gentlemen, start your coffins'. It almost gets to the point where the public and press get lulled into a state of thinking that they've somehow beaten the problem. And then an incident like this pops up to remind us all that this is still a ridiculously dangerous sport and there's no way that very ugly and very public deaths are ever NOT going to be a specter hanging over the sport every single day.

metirish Oct 17 2011 06:50 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

like back when the late LA Times columnist Jim Murray opened his Indy 500 article with the line; 'Gentlemen, start your coffins'. that made me laugh....he'd probably get fired today for that.

Edgy DC Oct 17 2011 08:02 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

God, I'd hope not. If he did, I'd sure as hell follow him to whatever online-only outlet he landed at.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Oct 17 2011 08:13 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

There appears to be a little more desperation here than the average "that's what happens in a dangerous sport" kinda feel you get with a typical accident like this. The IndyCar series itself is barely viable any longer, it feels as though they've been trying to force feed this style of racing to Americans who now strongly prefer stock car racing and desperately build something around the singular spectacle of the Indy 500 and it hasn't been working. There apparaently was big prize money, guarantees of ratings, etc etc here at a new track built for stock cars.

Edgy DC Oct 17 2011 08:21 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

My understanding has been that the NASCAR circuit has been on decline during the recession as well. So here you have the open wheelers' asses kicked by the stockers more and more over a 15-20 year period, followed by a national decline that the leaders weren't immune to. The smart guys on the Indy Car circuiot could say "Well, a decline for them is a decline for us, so let's dig in" or they could try to see an opportunity. I think the narrative going forward is that they were trying the latter and took some big risks.

Centerfield Oct 20 2011 08:59 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Moammar Gadhafi, Dictator of Libya, 69.

Benjamin Grimm Oct 20 2011 09:11 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

I guess we won't be seeing him on Dancing With The Stars.

Centerfield Oct 20 2011 09:38 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

If we do I'm guessing he won't be very good.

metirish Oct 20 2011 09:55 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Centerfield wrote: If we do I'm guessing he won't be very good. I don't watch but from what I hear a dead stiff might do as good as Chaz Bono, and look better too.

A Boy Named Seo Oct 20 2011 10:21 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Weekend at Gadhafi's.

Frayed Knot Nov 02 2011 05:08 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

We shouldn't let Dorothy Rodham - the 92 y/o mother of Hillary R. Clinton - slide by without being acknowledged.

Edgy DC Nov 02 2011 08:46 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Known as D-Rod in Yankee circles.

Fman99 Nov 03 2011 10:23 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Edgy DC wrote: Known as D-Rod in Yankee circles. BOC (if such a thing existed).

metirish Nov 05 2011 05:55 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Andy Rooney dead at 92 , CBS

TransMonk Nov 05 2011 05:57 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Can't say I didn't see that one coming. An old man who retires suddenly and is in the hospital within weeks. Sad. RIP.

Frayed Knot Nov 05 2011 06:31 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

That's almost Charles Schulz-like creepy - he died the very day the final episode of 'Peanuts' ran in the comics.

seawolf17 Nov 08 2011 03:46 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

RIP "Heavy D." A huge (no pun intended) part of my youth. Loved loved loved this song. [youtube:2q4h63sg]NNEgUPKxk7A[/youtube:2q4h63sg]

Ashie62 Nov 08 2011 07:45 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Joe Paterno

Edgy DC Nov 08 2011 07:55 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Now wait...

Kong76 Nov 08 2011 08:14 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

I thought I was gonna read Smokin' Joe, but Paterno is pretty funny.

Edgy DC Nov 08 2011 08:27 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Yeah, I just half believed it and had to go check.

Centerfield Nov 09 2011 07:38 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

seawolf17 wrote: RIP "Heavy D." A huge (no pun intended) part of my youth. Loved loved loved this song. [youtube]NNEgUPKxk7A[/youtube] Dead: Heavy D Biggie Smalls Alive: Fats Domino Chubby Checker

Edgy DC Nov 09 2011 07:46 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Guest rapper of choice for Michael and Janet Jackson. Also did a bang-up job guesting on A Different World and gently putting that stuck-up Whitley in her place.

Benjamin Grimm Nov 09 2011 01:48 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

USA Today wrote: Bil Keane, who started drawing Family Circus in February 1960, died Tuesday at his Arizona home in Paradise Valley, near Phoenix. He was 89. Keane's beloved, one-panel cartoon featuring Billy, Jeffy, Dolly, P.J. and their parents entertained readers with its gentle humor and traditional values for more than a half century, reports AP. His comic strip is featured in nearly 1,500 newspapers across the country. Jeff Keane, Keane's son who lives in Laguna Hills, Calif., said that his father died of congestive heart failure with one of his other sons by his side after his condition worsened during the last month. All of Keane's five children, nine grandchildren and great-granddaughter were able to visit him last week, Jeff Keane said. "He said, 'I love you' and that's what I said to him, which is a great way to go out," Jeff said of the last conversation he had with his father. Jeff has been drawing Family Circus in the last few years as his father enjoyed retirement.

Edgy DC Nov 09 2011 02:06 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

RiP, Bil Keane. Now that little exhibitionist son/successor of his can really cut loose. Has any man ever made such a living rendering himself as a naked pre-schooler?

Frayed Knot Nov 09 2011 02:37 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Bil Keane, in real life, was a very funny man.

Vic Sage Nov 09 2011 02:57 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

it was just in his comic strip that he was profoundly unfunny, i guess.

themetfairy Nov 09 2011 03:09 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011 Edited 2 time(s), most recently on Nov 09 2011 03:10 PM

I had clipped this comic many years ago and had put it away with my son's files. I was looking for a document the day before he left for college, and the comic got me totally choked up - RIP Bil....

Edgy DC Nov 09 2011 03:09 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

I bet he was. The earliest strips of Family Circus recently re-ran to mark the strip's 50th anniversary, and rather than the safe bastion of easy, genteel, suburban, Christian heteronormativity, they were subversive: They were scandalous: Daddy was more of a broken sad sack than the picture of a comfortable suburban professional illustrator. They were profane: They exploded your petty bourgeois values with songs about the seamy underworld of murderous gangsters: They hinted at jokes of Bil's sexual insecurity: Long live the memory of Bil. Hope he's reunited with his missing "l" in the hereafter.

A Boy Named Seo Nov 09 2011 04:24 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Edgy DC wrote: RiP, Bil Keane. Now that little exhibitionist son/successor of his can really cut loose. Has any man ever made such a living rendering himself as a naked pre-schooler? The last cartoon depicts my favorite Family Circus era, when Jeffy rebels against his parents, goes nudey everywhere, and starts smoking ciggies and dropping f-bombs like mad. In that particular scene, if I remember correctly, Thelma caught Jeffy 'violating' one of Dolly's dollys and when confronted, Jeffy responded as we see in the caption. Thelma looks like she wants to slap lil Jeffy with the towel, but is too distraught and saddened to even deal with another of his disturbing outbreaks. She dejectedly and passively puts one hand behind her back and quietly wonders what kind of monster she and Bill have been raising. It was a dark time for the family, a bold move by Keane, but unsurprisingly the papers and their advertisers wanted nothing of it.

Vic Sage Nov 10 2011 08:30 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

now that's a family circus!

seawolf17 Nov 17 2011 02:12 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Dr. Bill Edgar, philosophy professor at Geneseo and a man who made an enormous impact on my life. http://sbuchris.blogspot.com/2011/11/dr ... -2011.html

Fman99 Nov 17 2011 03:52 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

I shared that post with Dr. Edgar's son, whom I worked with for the better part of the last eight years and is a friend of mine.

Edgy DC Nov 17 2011 06:04 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

That's some good Kranepool Konnections. Sorry for your loss, 'wolf.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Nov 18 2011 03:12 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Lipid-loaded rapper/dancer/producer/composer of virtually every rappy TV theme during the last 20 years Dwight Errington "Heavy D" Myers, pneumonia.

Edgy DC Nov 18 2011 07:43 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Rapper of choice for Jackson-family crossovers. Guest-starred on on A Different World and told that stuck-up Whitley what's what.

seawolf17 Nov 18 2011 07:47 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Fman99 wrote: I shared that post with Dr. Edgar's son, whom I worked with for the better part of the last eight years and is a friend of mine. Thanks for sharing that, by the way. Small world indeed.

G-Fafif Nov 26 2011 06:43 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Tom Wicker, longtime New York Times columnist and reporter, 85. A very close friend of mine clerked for him in the late '80s and early '90s. He came in one Sunday to watch a Knicks playoff game on Wicker's office TV (didn't have one of his own at the time) and found Tom had come in to do the same (though it is assumed as a big-shot op-ed titan that he did have one of his own). They watched together. It was awkward, my friend reported.

TheOldMole Nov 26 2011 04:40 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

[youtube:1704o05p]50vT6gUegds[/youtube:1704o05p]

metirish Nov 29 2011 01:53 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Over the weekend Gary Speed took his own life ,some cliches are that because they are true so it's safe to say he was one of those soccer players beloved by all fans, age 42. http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011 ... NETTXT3487

sharpie Nov 29 2011 02:39 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Also Ken Russell who directed sometimes interesting but frequently unwatchable movies: The Devils, Tommy, Women in Love, Altered States, etc.

Vic Sage Nov 29 2011 03:36 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Even his unwatchable movies were oddly watchable, even when incomprehensible. A filmography to follow.

Frayed Knot Nov 29 2011 05:02 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Lana Peters - aka Svetlana Alliluyeva, daughter and last surviving child of Josef Stalin. Her defection to the United States in the late '60s along with her claim that she "switched sides" [from Communism to Capitalism] was a huge event in that cold war era. Her later return to Russia in the '80s was short-lived and she lived out the last years of her life in Wisconsin where she died.

HahnSolo Nov 30 2011 12:37 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Chester McGlockton, 42. former Pro Bowl defensive lineman, and current assistant coach for Stanford. [url]http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2011/11/30/2600444/chester-mcglockton-dead-stanford-football-coach No known cause of death at this time.

metirish Nov 30 2011 12:38 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Patrice O'Neal dead at 41 from complications from a stroke, funny guy.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Nov 30 2011 03:26 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Patrice O'Neal dead at 41 from complications from a stroke, funny guy. Loved his standup, and on "Tough Crowd." Sort-of-soulless/sort-of-hilarious comic Anthony Jeselnik on Twitter: Goodbye, Patrice O'Neal. I didn't know you well. But I knew you'd never miss Thanksgiving.

Fman99 Nov 30 2011 06:12 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

I've been listening to the Opie and Anthony show on XM/Sirius since 2006 or so and he was a regular on that program. One of my favorites, too, a seriously funny man with a unique viewpoint. RIP Patrice.

Frayed Knot Nov 30 2011 07:29 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Never heard of the dude until this thread.

Benjamin Grimm Nov 30 2011 08:15 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

I thought he was the mom on The Waltons.

metirish Dec 01 2011 05:50 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I thought he was the mom on The Waltons. He'd have loved that ...... that's the kind of stupid shit we say about dead people.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Dec 07 2011 10:46 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Harry Morgan, Colonel Potter on ‘M*A*S*H,’ Dies at 96 By MICHAEL POLLAK Published: December 7, 2011 Harry Morgan, the prolific character actor best known for playing the acerbic but kindly Colonel Potter in the long-running television series “M*A*S*H,” died Wednesday morning at his home in Los Angeles. He was 96. His son Charles confirmed his death. In more than 100 movies, Mr. Morgan played Western bad guys, characters with names like Rocky and Shorty, loyal sidekicks, judges, sheriffs, soldiers, thugs and police chiefs. On television, he played Officer Bill Gannon with a phlegmatic but light touch to Jack Webb’s always-by-the-book Sgt. Joe Friday in the updated “Dragnet,” from 1967 to 1970. He starred as Pete Porter, a harried husband, in the situation comedy “Pete and Gladys” (1960-62), reprising a role he had played on “December Bride” (1954-59). He was also a regular on “The Richard Boone Show” (1963-64), “Kentucky Jones” (1964-65), “The D.A.” (1971-72), “Hec Ramsey” (1972-74) and “Blacke’s Magic” (1986).But to many fans he was first and foremost Col. Sherman T. Potter, commander of the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital unit in Korea. With a wry smile, flat voice and sharp humor, Mr. Morgan played Colonel Potter from 1975 to 1983, when “M*A*S*H” went off the air. He replaced McLean Stevenson, who had quit the series, moving into the role on the strength of his performance as a crazed major general in an early episode. In an interview for the Archive of American Television, Mr. Morgan said of his “M*A*S*H” character: “He was firm. He was a good officer and he had a good sense of humor. I think it’s the best part I ever had.” Colonel Potter’s office had several personal touches. The picture on his desk was of Mr. Morgan’s wife, Eileen Detchon. To relax, the colonel liked to paint and look after his horse, Sophie — a sort of inside joke, since the real Harry Morgan raised quarter horses on a ranch in Santa Rosa. Sophie, to whom Colonel Potter says goodbye in the final episode, was Mr. Morgan’s own horse. In 1980 his Colonel Potter earned him an Emmy Award as best supporting actor in a comedy series. During the shooting of the series’ final episode, he was asked about his feelings. “Sadness and an aching heart,” he replied Harry Morgan was born Harry Bratsburg on April 10, 1915, in Detroit. His parents were Norwegian immigrants. After graduating from Muskegon High School, where he played varsity football and was senior class president, he intended to become a lawyer, but debating classes in his pre-law major at the University of Chicago stimulated his interest in the theater. He made his professional acting debut in a summer stock production of “At Mrs. Beam’s” in Mount Kisco, N.Y., and his Broadway debut in 1937 in the original production of “Golden Boy,” starring Luther Adler, in a cast that also included Karl Malden and Lee J. Cobb. After moving to California in 1942, he was spotted by a talent scout in a Santa Barbara stock company’s production of William Saroyan’s one-act play “Hello Out There.” Signing a contract with 20th Century Fox, he originally used the screen name Henry Morgan, but changed Henry to Harry in the 1950s to avoid confusion with the radio and television humorist Henry Morgan. Mr. Morgan attracted attention almost immediately. In “The Ox-Bow Incident” (1943), which starred Henry Fonda, he was praised for his portrayal of a drifter caught up in a lynching in a Western town. Reviewing “A Bell for Adano” (1945), based on John Hersey’s novel about the Army in a liberated Italian town, Bosley Crowther wrote in The New York Times that Mr. Morgan was “crude and amusing as the captain of M.P.’s.” He went on to appear in “All My Sons” (1948), based on the Arthur Miller play, with Edward G. Robinson and Burt Lancaster; “The Big Clock” (1948), in which he played a silent, menacing bodyguard to Charles Laughton; “Yellow Sky” (1949), with Gregory Peck and Anne Baxter; and the critically praised western “High Noon” (1952), with Gary Cooper. Among his other notable films were “The Teahouse of the August Moon” (1956), with Marlon Brando and Glenn Ford, and “Inherit the Wind” (1960), with Spencer Tracy and Fredric March, in which he played a small-town Tennessee judge hearing arguments about evolution in the fictionalized version of the Scopes “monkey trial.” In “How the West Was Won” (1962), he played Gen. Ulysses S. Grant. After a personable performance as Glenn Miller’s pianist, Chummy MacGregor, in “The Glenn Miller Story” (1954), starring James Stewart, he often played softer characters as well as his trademark hard-bitten tough guys. There were eventually a number of comedies on his résumé, among them “John Goldfarb, Please Come Home” (1965), with Shirley MacLaine and Peter Ustinov; “The Flim-Flam Man” (1967), with George C. Scott; “Support Your Local Sheriff!” (1969), with James Garner and Walter Brennan; and “The Apple Dumpling Gang” (1975), a Disney movie with Tim Conway and Don Knotts. He returned as Bill Gannon, by now promoted to captain, in the 1987 movie “Dragnet,” a comedy remake of the series starring Dan Aykroyd and Tom Hanks. Mr. Morgan’s television credits were prodigious. He once estimated that in one show or another, he was seen in prime time for 35 straight years. Regarded as one of the busiest actors in the medium, he had continuing roles in at least 10 series, which, combined with his guest appearances, amounted to hundreds of episodes. He reprised the role of Sherman Potter in “AfterMASH” (1983-85), a short-lived spinoff. Among the later shows on which he appeared as a guest star were “The Love Boat, “ “3rd Rock From the Sun,” “You Can’t Take It With You,” “Murder, She Wrote” and “The Jeff Foxworthy Show.” Mr. Morgan’s first wife, Eileen Detchon, died in 1985 after 45 years of marriage. He is survived by his wife, Barbara Bushman, whom he married in 1986; three sons from his first marriage, Christopher, Charles and Paul; and eight grandchildren. A fourth son, Daniel, died in 1989. Mr. Morgan lived in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles. His son Charles, a lawyer in Los Angeles, said in a telephone interview that he would marvel at his father’s photographic memory. “My dad would read a script the way somebody else would read Time magazine and put it down and be on the set the next day,” he said. But Harry Morgan never sat as a guest on a talk show, Charles Morgan said ; it did not seem appropriate or necessary. “Appearing on a talk show to focus on himself because he was Harry Morgan,” he said, “was not nearly as natural as appearing in a role as Pete Porter or Bill Gannon or Colonel Potter, or as the cowboy drifter who wandered into town with Henry Fonda and got wrapped up in a vigilante brigade in ‘Ox-Bow Incident.’ ”

Edgy DC Dec 07 2011 11:12 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Before M*A*S*H*, he was one of those guys that would appear as a guest on a show and then appear the next season as a different character. I think he was three different guys on The Partridge Family. Even on M*A*S*H*, he originally appeared during the McLean Stevenson days in a different role as a deranged general who was so well-connected that nobody could report his lunacy.

Benjamin Grimm Dec 07 2011 11:13 AM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Wow, 96. I saw him in High Noon earlier this year and it reminded me that he was still alive, and quite old.

G-Fafif Dec 07 2011 12:04 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Edgy DC wrote: Even on M*A*S*H*, he originally appeared during the McLean Stevenson days in a different role as a deranged general who was so well-connected that nobody could report his lunacy. But first, a number...

John Cougar Lunchbucket Dec 07 2011 12:19 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

He was Lt. Steele "3 E's, not all in a row." Seemed as though Potter was written to be a hardass but especially ;late in the game he became a friutcake kitten like the rest of 'em.

Frayed Knot Dec 07 2011 01:08 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Yeah, when M*A*S*H replaced characters they did what sports teams liked to do, replace the outgoing guys with an almost complete opposite. So just as "players coaches" are replaced by hard-ass disciplinarians, the skirt-chasing Trapper was replaced with the ultimate family man BJ; the fumbling Frank was swapped for the technically brilliant Winchester; and they brought in the career military man Potter as a sub for the country-club suburbanite/draftee Blake. But the show also softened him up pretty quickly. After scaring the 'Swamp' boys and Radar with his military manner, within two episodes he was drinking from their still (and even suggesting improvements) as well as tolerating Klinger's get-ups, all of which was much to the horror of Frank & Hot Lips who assumed Blake's weak leadership had been the only impediment to their dream of maximum military efficiency. I still remember him mostly for being Bill Gannon to Jack Webb's Sgt. Friday.

Fman99 Dec 07 2011 07:07 PM Re: Guess who died in 2011

Wow, I would have sworn he had been dead for ten years. Ninety six, there but for the grace of God go I.