Celebrity death that bummed you out the most...
There have been a few celebrity passings that bummed me out but I got over them quickly. The one that really bummed me out and still does from time to time - especially when I see one of his old movies or SCTV reruns is John Candy.
He was one of my all-time favorites and I wish he were still around to make me laugh. Here's a shot of John from the early days of SCTV in one of my favorite skits as the obsessive-compulsive maitre'd, Johhny LaRue.
I bet they are laughing their asses off in heaven. Oh, wait, people in heaven don't have asses. Never mind.
Which celebrity do you wish were still around to entertain you or make you feel good in some other way?
Bill Hicks, who is making hell competitive with heaven.
And to a lesser extent Sam Kinison, who seemed like he had burned himself out anyway.
Frank Sinatra.
Heh. Just kidding.
I was really bummed out when I heard Phil Hartman died. It was such a surprise, and he was so talented.
1. Mr. Rogers
2. Jerry Orbach
Chris Farley and Johnny Carson
I second Phil Hartman. I can't even count the number of times I've been watching a movie and though, "Phil Hartman would have done that better."
1. Janis Joplin
2. Jimmy Hendrix
3. Jim Croce
1. Jim Belushi
2. John Lennon
3. John Entwistle
4. Keith Moon
1. Jerry Garcia - I cried. A lot. Not just becuase he died but because he was alone when it happened and that just didn't seem right to me. I wish someone had been there for him. :(
2. Brent Mydland
3. Phil Hartman
4. Chris Farley
I think everybody else gave my choices ... I'll have to think on this for a while.
Oh.
Harry Chapin.
Madeline Kahn and Gilda Radner...same culprit.
And Kurt Cobain. He was my hero during my grunge phase.
1. Graham Chapman
2. Douglas Adams
I don't know about which one do I wish were still here to entertain me, but the most traumatic one was John Lennon. I was just a little kid at the time, but my mother fell to pieces, and I reacted by hiding in the closet for a couple of hours. Stayed home from school that day because Mom couldn't pull herself together in time to get us on the bus.
Yeah, she had some issues.
1. Stevie Ray Vaughan - I went home sick from work that morning because of it.
2. "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, who got shot onstage a couple weeks ago. Double bummed me just because fans can be so sick and it ruins it for everyone. Why can't rock stars just O.D. like they used to? What's with the violence?
3. Ray Gillen, a tremendous rock singer who did stints with Deep Purple and Sabbath, but is best known from being in 80's hard rock act Badlands. Died of AIDS, really sad situation.
4. Jonathan Brandis (sp?). Remember SeaQuest DSV? I was looking at Roy Scheider's entry on IMDB.com for something completely unrelated and suddenly remembered that show. Click click click, suddenly I find that the kid who played the son committed suicide a few years back. Apparently couldn't adjust to life after child stardom. Don't know why it made me so sad that day, but it did.
Phil Hartman and John Candy, too.
Hey Elpsode, it was John Belushi, right? Jim hasn't croaked has he?
Yes...duh. I had Jim on the brain because I was considering Jimi Hendrix, but figured it was redundant.
Wolf - good call on Harry.
Rodney Dangerfield
Chris Farley
Ray Charles
Sam Kinnison
Madeline Kahn
After reading through the rest of the posts, I'd have to agree with John Lennon. That one really bummed me out at the time.
I also miss John Candy, but wasn't sad when he died. If that makes sense.
A lot of these guy lived hard before they died, and their deaths weren't such a shock. Also, when someone old dies, it's not unexpected.
John Lennon and Phil Hartman did not live gangster lives. They were both still in their prime. They were healthy. Even Lennon had cut back on the drugs. They were both a shock.
I was sad when Mr. Rogers died too, but he was getting old. He was a decent man, and as much as people liked to joke about him, he really made the world a better place.
I was bummed when Captain Kangaroo died.
Ditto Graham Chapman, John Candy, Gilda, Madeline and Phil. They all were incredible talents.
George Harrison
Johnny Cash
Phil Hartman
Chris Farley
You guys got mine.
1) SRV
2) Candy
3) Farley
Which celebrity do you wish were still around to entertain you or make you feel good in some other way?
A - Marilyn Monroe
B - in some other way
:elkgrin:
Walter Payton
Chris Farley
John Candy
We used to see Farley and Candy in social settings in Chicago all the time. Farley was a really quiet guy when it was just you and him. down to earth, almost shy. but when the 3rd person got on the elevator, the SNL characters took over.
Phil Hartman... I was deeply saddened by his death. He was so funny. I loved him on SNL and News Radio.
Lennon shook me up
Belushi , well that was no real suprise , but still a tragic loss
SRV mess me up for a week or so , he was JUST getting his shit togather
The older folks ,like Senatra , Carson, Hope , Mr. Rodgers , they all had a good run , left lasting memorys for MANY folks , Sad they died but we are ALL worm dirt one day .
Freddie Mercury - I think Queen would still be cranking out great stuff he if were still around.
I almost forgot: Gregory Hines
now that I sit and think about it (read: go to one of those celebrity death websites), there are a lot of people from my childhood who passed last year. Isabel Sanford, Julia Child, Tony Randall, Rodney Dangerfield,
there's more, but that's all my beleaguered short term memory can produce
And now,
the drummer from the Doobie Brothers.
The day is quickly approaching when the only living musicians will be Ashley Simpson and Keith Richards.
I was pretty sad when George Harrison died. But I think Ronald Regan was worse. The media probably had something to do with that.
I was pretty sad when George Harrison died. But I think Ronald Regan was worse. The media probably had something to do with that.
no, sadly, no - that was radar honoring Ronnie Raygun, by telling us of his desire to piss on the coffin, or was it spit? either way, it was a bodily function.
did you love him... or did you love him? if we've got a celebrity shack up story, we need to hear it.
Celebrity Shack-Up Stories is a good idea for a Thread... :cool:
I always felt sorry for Raul Julia that his last movie was "Street Fighter"...
I was pretty sad when George Harrison died. But I think Ronald Regan was worse. The media probably had something to do with that.
Wow, I was the exact opposite. George Harrison made the world a better place and Reagan did the opposite.
I was brokenhearted when Ray Charles died, but I almost wanted to throw a party when Reagan died. I seriously planned on going to Simi Valley and pissing on his grave. The drive isn't that far.
Arthur Miller passed away today.
I have seen "Death of a Salesman" a few times. It is one of the most powerful plays I have ever seen. I can't think of any recent plays that have had the same kind of impact. It just seems that noone today writes like that.
Was gutted when Bill Hicks died. I went to see him live in Manchester about 18 months before his death. The man was brilliant.
As to Arthur Miller.....Really really sad to see him come to his end. I loved all his plays and my most prized possession is an autographed copy of the Crucible
Speaking of Hunter S. Thompson..........
I think he's going into my Bummed Me Out list for sure.
Although, in a way, it's a more fitting end than his dying quietly in bed.
I was bummed when Princess Diana died. I think it was just so out of the blue that it made me realise how fleeting life can be. Also, she did so much for the less fortunate.
John Lennon.
Gus Grissom, Ed White, Roger Chaffee (all the space program deaths get me, but these most of all, because they were the first, and I was a kid that lived, ate, and breathed the Apollo program. I miss purple Tang).
Graham Chapman... May he take his talents to death and back.
For those who don't know him, he was an actor for Monty Python.
Likely known in Holy Grail for his roles as:
King Arthur, God, middle head, and GUARD #2. ^_^
May the circus live on.
My favorite Chapman part:
(Castle Guard) "Who's the other one?"
(Chapman) "I am...and this is my faithful squire, Patsy".
Oh, and how could I forget Peter Sellers. :(
I think the young and tragic ends affect me more than the old and died in his sleep or after a long illness type ... yes, I was saddended by the passing of George Burns and Bob Hope, but they had long and productive careers ...
Lennon, Harrison ... those were sad (although "young" isn't technically correct in either case.)
I don't have as much feeling for the young(er) and stupid, though ... like River Phoenix, John Belushi, anyone who threw away career and life for the sake of recreational chemicals.
Slim Dusty - cuz he was like a guy you just treat like a mate in the street. A "one of us
" kind o guy.
May chapman rest in piece...... *in rememberance of a Chapman, I pick up a little chapman model*
"He is no more! He has ceised to be!"
"Wink wink, nudge nudge, snap snap, say-no-more say-no-more"
"and now for something completely different"
"He is no more! He has ceised to be!"
John Cleese
"Wink wink, nudge nudge, snap snap, say-no-more say-no-more"
Eric Idle
"and now for something completely different"
Michael Palin
None of your quotes were made by Graham Chapman.
Here's one of my favorite things Graham Chapman ever did...from The Meaning of Life.
Graham Chapman plays Harry Blackitt, and Eric Idle plays his wife Mrs. Blackitt.
========================
MR. HARRY BLACKITT: Look at them, bloody Catholics, filling the bloody world
up with bloody people they can't afford to bloody feed.
MRS. BLACKITT: What are we dear?
MR. BLACKITT: Protestant, and fiercely proud of it.
MRS. BLACKITT: Hmm. Well, why do they have so many children?
MR. BLACKITT: Because... every time they have sexual intercourse, they have
to have a baby.
MRS. BLACKITT: But it's the same with us, Harry.
MR. BLACKITT: What do you mean?
MRS. BLACKITT: Well, I mean, we've got two children, and we've had sexual
intercourse twice.
MR. BLACKITT: That's not the point. We could have it any time we wanted.
MRS. BLACKITT: Really?
MR. BLACKITT: Oh, yes, and, what's more, because we don't believe in all that
Papist claptrap, we can take precautions.
MRS. BLACKITT: What, you mean... lock the door?
MR. BLACKITT: No, no. I mean, because we are members of the Protestant
Reformed Church, which successfully challenged the autocratic power of the
Papacy in the mid-sixteenth century, we can wear little rubber devices to
prevent issue.
MRS. BLACKITT: What d'you mean?
MR. BLACKITT: I could, if I wanted, have sexual intercourse with you,...
MRS. BLACKITT: Oh, yes, Harry.
MR. BLACKITT: ...and, by wearing a rubber sheath over my old feller, I could
insure... that, when I came off, you would not be impregnated.
MRS. BLACKITT: Ooh!
MR. BLACKITT: That's what being a Protestant's all about. That's why it's
the church for me. That's why it's the church for anyone who respects
the individual and the individual's right to decide for him or herself.
When Martin Luther nailed his protest up to the church door in fifteen-
seventeen, he may not have realised the full significance of what he was
doing, but four hundred years later, thanks to him, my dear, I can wear
whatever I want on my John Thomas,... [sniff] ...and, Protestantism
doesn't stop at the simple condom! Oh, no! I can wear French Ticklers
if I want.
MRS. BLACKITT: You what?
MR. BLACKITT: French Ticklers. Black Mambos. Crocodile Ribs. Sheaths that
are designed not only to protect, but also to enhance the stimulation of
sexual congress.
MRS. BLACKITT: Have you got one?
MR. BLACKITT: Have I got one? Uh, well, no, but I can go down the road any
time I want and walk into Harry's and hold my head up high and say in a
loud, steady voice, 'Harry, I want you to sell me a condom. In fact,
today, I think I'll have a French Tickler, for I am a Protestant.'
MRS. BLACKITT: Well, why don't you?
MR. BLACKITT: But they-- Well, they cannot, 'cause their church never made
the great leap out of the Middle Ages and the domination of alien
episcopal supremacy.
NARRATOR #1: But, despite the attempts of Protestants to promote the idea of
sex for pleasure, children continued to multiply everywhere.
My favorite Chapman role was after he sobered up.
Brian in "Life of Brian"
John Peel who has left a great gulf and of course gentle George Harrison.
Cowboy singer Chris LeDoux died yesterday from cancer. He was the real deal - pure western through and through. Even people who normally dislike country music respected him, and there were as many Metallica t-shirts as Ropers at his shows. Not too much airplay in the age of country-rock-pop garbage, but there are a whole lot of hardass cowboys who are having to pretend they "got somethin in my eye" this morning.
Dammit.
If you get a chance, listen to "This Cowboy's Hat" to get an idea of what he sounded like at his peak.
George Harrison
Bill Hicks
Stanley Kubrick
The so sad news yesterday, Friday March 11th, as comic relief Red Nose Day was dawning we heard of the passing of Dave Allen and I was really moved to tears. He was honestly iconic in a world where cheap copies and mediocrity are the commonplace and he was so very much more than a comedian.
Dave Allen joyously celebrated his atheism but those who remember him will recall his parting words at the end of every programme. "Whoever he is, may your God go with you". Cheers Dave.
I remember him once saying that tonight he would change it and say "May my God go with ME". He was a riot, even for a Brit. I loved his Robin Hood skits and his immortal joke about the Phantom Piddler!
RIP Dave Allen.
Crowded House drummer is dead. Doesn't bum me out particularly, but this is the only celebrity death thread.....
hey, has the cellar ever run a celebrity dead pooL? a morbid but sometimes interesting distraction..
I submit michael jackson for the celebrity dead pool.
.................if there is one thing that confirms in my mind that the kind of religion that drives people that are this feverant about stupid stuff like the whole schaivo case is nothing short of a dangerous cancer on society that should be treated like any other mental disorder it's stuff like this. Seriously, life is sacred! We need to protect it by...killing people!
To keep this more on topic - I can see why Hunter killed himself, if I'd seen the zenith, the highpoint in change and freedom and lived to watch this decline I'd have blown my brains out too.
the only problem with that, jaguar, is that every generation is convinced that the highpoint was somewhere 1-2 generations back - you know the "good old days".
... if [Hunter S. Thompson had] seen the zenith, the highpoint in change and freedom...
[color=darkblue] [scratching head] [/color] When exactly
was that?[color=darkblue][/scratch][/color]
[color=darkblue] [scratching head] [/color] When exactly was that?[color=darkblue][/scratch][/color]
: DOUBLETHUMBSUP!:
"There was no point in fighting -- on our side or theirs," he wrote. "We had all the momentum; we were riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave. So now, less than five years later, you can go up on a steep hill in Las Vegas and look West, and with the right kind of eyes you can almost see the high-water mark -- the place where the wave finally broke and rolled back."
'65 IIRC. Maybe you're right lookout but I look around me, I look at the trends, hell, it's what I do and talk to those around me, it's just not pretty.
"'65 IIRC. Maybe you're right lookout but I look around me, I look at the trends, hell, it's what I do and talk to those around me, it's just not pretty," he typed on his high-speed-internet-enabled computer in her upper middle class flat, before draining the remainder of his chai tea and going to bed for 8 hours of slumber before getting up to go to his high-paying job. Ahh, the travails of the hunter-gatherer class.
I'm just kidding. Because I agree that things are getting generally more kooky and can look sort of depressing at times. I'm sure that our reasons for thinking so are on opposite poles, but anyway.
My point is, if you are reading this message, things could be worse.
her? his! Didn't think I came across that effeminate. I'm not talking about scientific progress or medical science, don't get me wrong, however if I got 8 hours sleep on a regluar basis I'd be jumping for joy. Nice flat wouldn't hurt either. Don't get me wrong, this isn't some kind of broad winge at the world in general, I guess what I'm waxing on about is a sense of social liberalism and forward momentum, nothing broader than that.
i edited it for gender, but too late.
i always get you and catwoman mixed up.
social liberalism and forward momentum
but how can we be sure these two ideas go together?
her? his! Didn't think I came across that effeminate
Ha! you probably carry a murse. (man + purse = murse) or as Joey called it - "a man bag".
i always get you and catwoman mixed up.
what? how? one is a bitchy, american-capitalist hating, elitist... the other is... :eek:
J/K
Ha! you probably carry a murse. (man + purse = murse) or as Joey called it - "a man bag".
Gotta draw the line somewhere, timbuk2 messenger bags and zero halliburton briefcases are the only things I carry.
what? how? one is a bitchy, american-capitalist hating, elitist... the other is...
Awwwww thanks.
but how can we be sure these two ideas go together?
How can they not?
just messing with you all the way around. well, except for the bitchy, elitist, purse carrying part. :eek:
i'm in more of a "poke them with a stick" mood than a debating mood.
I wasn't being sarcastic!
Crowded House drummer is dead.
The Finn Brothers were just in Lawrence a few weeks ago. I really wanted to go see them, but noooo....
The final riddle was answered today for Frank Gorshin who played the Riddler in the 60's series Batman. He was really perfect for that part.
The final riddle was answered today for Frank Gorshin who played the Riddler in the 60's series Batman. He was really perfect for that part.
Also played in one of my favorite Star Trek (original) shows -
Let That Be Your Last Battlefield - a comment on racial prejudice and hatred.
Grave Danger, the May 19th season finale of CSI will be a special two-hour episode written and directed by Quentin Tarantino and features big names such as John Saxon and Tony Curtis as well as Frank Gorshin's final acting role.
My PVR is on high alert. 8pm EST but double check.
Thanks for the heads up on the early start for CSI this week!
As much as I enjoyed him in Planet Earth (A Gene Roddenberry Pilot and follow up to Genesis II), and as an evil robot and, later in the series (apparently after three years we forget that he played someone else) an alien on The Six Million Dollar Man and the kindly dad/cop in multiple Nightmare on Elm Street, I don't know that "big" is a word I'd use to describe John Saxon. Great Character Actor, yeah ...
Also played in one of my favorite Star Trek (original) shows - Let That Be Your Last Battlefield - a comment on racial prejudice and hatred.
:blkwht: :whtblk:
:weird:
:question::thumbsup:
Gorshin was a mainstay on variety and talk shows in the 70's. He did an absolutely dead-on Kirk Douglas and Edward G. Robinson. He was also on the Ed Sullivan show on the same night that The Beatles made their US TV debut.
Frank Gorshin was a damn funny man, a gifted impressionist, and a great entertainer of the old school.
Holy shit! I'd completely forgotten Gorshin was an impressionist. :smack:
Didja ever see him imitate Cagney?
Now THAT was perfection.
Rod Serling, writer of many a fine drama, most of which were award winning in his day and are kinda rare to find today. Best known as creator of the Twilight Zone series, the first one, in the early sixties. I grieve he died suddenly on an operating room table, way too young, before I could shake his hand. Looking back, after my faith and my parents and grandparents, he did more for the way I look at the world and people than any other single person in my life, because of the the things he invited me to think through at such an early age. <deep bow>
Vincent Price. I know he was almost as old as Dick Clark, but I loved all his old horror movies, and he had a great voice for them.
Lady Sidhe, for a great treat, find a copy of Price's film "Champagne for Caesar". You may have to buy it used on Amazon if no videostore in your area has it. But under $20 used, it's a bargain you'll want to pass around the family. : )
Absolutely delightful.
None of them. Because they live in a "dream" world
Lady Sidhe, for a great treat, find a copy of Price's film "Champagne for Caesar". You may have to buy it used on Amazon if no videostore in your area has it. But under $20 used, it's a bargain you'll want to pass around the family. : )
Absolutely delightful.
I'll look for it. Thanks!
Lane Smith has died. He's that guy in movies and TV shows that makes you go, "Hey, it's that one guy...what was he in?"
He was a friend/client of mine - He will be missed. ("I -[clap for effect]- Dentical!" from My Cousin Vinnie.....)
well, that sucks, i've always enjoyed him.
I saw something with him in it just the other day ... probably the Judging Amy episode. He was a decent character actor.
He was a good Perry White.
Not a bad Dick Nixon, and from what I heard he was good on Lois & Clark.
By golly, he *was* a fine character actor. I really enjoyed him in Son-in-Law, actually.
Mrs. Dar and I love "My Cousin Vinnie". We had to watch it tonight in his honor.
*southern accent* Uhn-huhn */southern accent*
Scotty beams up at last
James Doohan, Who Played Scotty on `Star Trek,' Dies at 85
July 20 (Bloomberg) -- James Doohan, who fielded the request ``Beam me up'' as the starship Enterprise's engineer Scotty in the ``Star Trek'' science-fiction television series and subsequent films, has died. He was 85.
Doohan died of pneumonia and Alzheimer's disease at his home in Redmond, Washington, this morning, the Associated Press reported, citing his agent Steve Stevens. His wife was with him, AP said. The actor also suffered from Parkinson's disease, diabetes and lung fibrosis and used a wheelchair.
Doohan played Lieutenant Commander Montgomery ``Scotty'' Scott, the Enterprise's chief engineer, on ``Star Trek,'' which ran on NBC network from 1966-1969.
I'll miss you, Scotty.
The Tribbles will miss him dearly. Me too.
'computer. computer. com-pu-ter."
"just use the keyboard"
"hmmm. how quaint."
"I canna change the laws of physics!"
WHAAAAAAT?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
WHAT ARE YOU SAYING??? DID MICHAEL DIE???????????????????????????????????//
I think Mr. Mouse is kidding...god, I hope.
He died like two years ago.
Purhaps he means just his career.
NO! I had NO IDEA!
I am a walking commercial for why DRUGS ARE BAD, MMMMMKAY?
God. Now I am retroactively depressed.
And, I feel stupid.
I feel depressed AND stupid.
Jeez.
Um.... heh heh heh... OOPS.
My bad, sorry, Brianna, sorry, Mr. Stipe. He lives.
Can I change my pick to Earnest Borgnine?
Um.... heh heh heh... OOPS.
My bad, sorry, Brianna, sorry, Mr. Stipe. He lives.
Can I change my pick to Earnest Borgnine?
Too late! You can't change! Now get out of line.
Just teasing. I was going to say, I Googled the crap out of Stipes and didn't see any mention of dying. In fact, they are starting a tour here in '05.
Too late! You can't change! Now get out of line.
Just teasing. I was going to say, I Googled the crap out of Stipes and didn't see any mention of dying. In fact, they are starting a tour here in '05.
I just asked the guy I thought I'd remembered hearing it from and
he really thought M.S. was dead.
Glad he's not, though.
Borgnine, on the other hand...
Goddamn! You nearly gave me a heartattack! JEEZ!
I'd have been happy to give you mouth-to-mouth inspiration. :)
Borgnine, on the other hand...
:lol:
For me it was a toss up between John Candy and Phil Hartman. I wasn't a really huge fan of Phil's it just effected me as if I was. I was depressed for days after. What a waste of life and talent over something so stupid. And to leave those kids behind with nothing....
As for John, again, another waste of life and talent. As is with most self-inflicted celeb deaths.
The thing about Phil Hartman was that he was young, healthy, and wasn't a crazy party guy you expected to die at any time. It was a real shock. He was in his prime. Plus, he was very talented. A shock and sad.
Umm. What he said.
He was one of the original Solid Gold dancers.
A funny story about Michael Stipe:
Gibby, a la The Butthole Sufers, and the rest of the band found out where Stipe lived in Georgia. They bought a beat-to-hell van, parked it in front of his house in the dead of night, took the wheels off, and spray-painted on the side 'Michael Stipe, despite the hype, I stil wanna suck your big long pipe!'
True story.
For most of you, the passing about which I am going to write probably wouldn't be a blip on your sociological radar. For me, it is a passing of tremendous enormity...the loss of a visionary giant whose very name is synonomous with innovation and creativity; a man who almost single-handedly changed the musical world with his creations.
Today, Dr. Robert Moog, the inventor of the Moog Synthesizer, died of a malignant and aggressive brain tumor at his home in North Carolina. Bob Moog was 71 years old. In those 71 years, Bob was an inventor, a self-made, humane, universally loved and admired engineer and scientist whose youthful fascination with electronics led him first to building theremins and selling them to help pay his way through school. Today, those early Moog theremins bring almost unimaginable prices as collector's items, examples of both ingenuity and vision, a vestige of simpler technological days when erstwhile youths could still cobble together something in their basements and amaze the hell out of their friends and neighbors.
While Moog afficionados have long known of Bob's fascination with the theremin and those who play them, the world at large usually thinks of the Moog Synthesizer when they think of Bob at all. So revolutionary was this device, that the name Moog has become almost generic for synthesizers, much like Kleenex is for tissues. While Bob did not invent the synthesizer, he did something much more meaningful and important - he made these devices practical for use by musicians. Before Bob's advent, synthesizers were enormous devices (the earliest true example, the RCA synthesizer, literally took up two large rooms due to the fact that integrated circuits had not yet become commonly used when it was built).
Bob engineered synthesizers into boxes that were at least marginally portable at first. At the very least, they were suitable for installation into recording studios and universities. Synthesizers are, in their most basic form, devices that produce and manipulate the various parts of a musical event such as note generation, breaking the event down into its component parts. For each portion of that event, a different part of the synthesizer generates or controls an aspect of each part of the sound - an oscillator creates the pure tone, a waveform generator gives the wave a distinctive shape, imparting color and harmonic content, an envelope generator controls the rise, decay, sustain and fall of the sound, a filter strains out the more desireable harmonics or imparts resonance...and so on and so on. Bob Moog took this rather simple yet complex set of parameters and unified them into hardware modules capable of producing the necessary part of the equation, and which could then be assembled (patched) in the manner necessary to produce a simulation of an instrument...or some sound that no one had ever even imagined.
The impact on music was immediate and profound. Once the creative minds of the music world got their hands on these devices, nothing was ever the same. While truly avant garde types had played with various forms of electronic music for over sixty years, no one had ever had so much raw sonic power at their fingertips before the Moog Synthesizer, and it began to show up in popular music almost immediately. Synthesizers didn't really come into their own, though, until an album entitled "Switched on Bach" was released. In one fell swoop Walter (now Wendy) Carlos turned the classical and popular music world on its collective ear, thanks to a large, custom specified Moog modular synthesizer rig.
Wendy Carlos has remained friends with Bob for nearly forty years, as have others with whom Bob worked over his stellar career. Rick Wakeman, Keith Emerson, Dick Hyman...the list goes on and on. These people were not just customers of Bob Moog, not just admirers, not just adopters of his technology. They were truly his friends and confidantes, part of the extended Bob Moog family of musicians and technicians, music lovers and gear heads. Of all the things I have ever read about Bob Moog, he has never been characterized as anything except kind, loving, gentle, friendly, sincere, devoted, dedicated. Truly, he was a man for whom superlatives fail.
Bob Moog always said that he was not a musician, he was an engineer. But he was an engineer who observed what musicians wanted and needed, and then strove to give it to them, because in the end, what he created wasn't about IC's and knobs and voltage control. What he created was a new way for musicians to bring into being sounds which existed only in their heads, and give those audio visions to the world.
As I mention from time to time, I am utterly consumed by synthesizers. I have owned several over the years, including a couple of Bob's most successful and well-known units, the MiniMoog, still the most coveted portable synthesizer in the world today, and regularly selling for more at 30 years of age or older than they did when they were new. The passing of Bob Moog is, for me, the passing of an era, a turning of a page in history. He is the father of a major portion of the soundtrack in my mind, and I will always, always remember him fondly for that.
To expand upon one of my favorite Gary Larson cartoons - "Welcome to Heaven...here's your harp."
"Welcome to Hell...here's your accordion."
"Welcome to the Universe, Bob. Here's your Moog."
(Picture below - Dr. Robert Moog with a Mini Moog Model D)
Most of us grew up watching "Gilligan's Island" after school on our local afternoon tv channels. The most recognizable character dressed in white pants, a red shirt, and a white sailors hat was of course Willie Gilligan. The actor who played him, Bob Denver, passed away today at the age of 70 of complications due to cancer.
Many might not realize that he had a fairly robust career both before and after his stint on "Gilligan's Island" as well. He played Maynard G. Krebs on the show "Dobbie Gillis," along with many guest appearences on shows like "Love American Style," "Fantasy Island," "Roseanne," even "Baywatch."
There aren't very many actors that I have a desire to meet in person, but I would have loved to have met Bob. He always seemed to me to be genuine and friendly. He will be sorely missed.
RIP, little buddy.
Bob Denver was a fine comic actor whose career was severely truncated by the inevitable typecasting brought on by having had the fortune (or misfortune) to have played such an iconic character. If you ever get the chance, catch old reruns of "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis", in which Denver played, to hysterically good effect, beatnik Maynard G. Krebs. Hysterical.
That is a real bummer. I pretty much grew up with Gilligan, Mr. Rogers and Kaptain Kangaroo. Yeah, the show was dumb but it was great for kids.
About seven months ago, I got in touch with him and bought a pub photo from the set of the GI which he was kind enough to autograph.
I guess his little break from having the skipper smack him with his captain's hat is over :)
He was a great comic actor. He was typecast from his two best roles and his career ended after Gilligan's Island, but while he was on he really made it seem effortless. I really think that he was as good as Jerry Lewis and Buster Keaton at physical comedy.
By all reports, he was a nice person who cared about his community.
Goodbye, little buddy.
He was always the famous person I was proudest of when I would rattle off my "shares my birthday" list.
I always liked the one with the Trans-Pacific phone cable best ... and the orange ... and the irradiated seeds ... and ...
Kurt Cobain.... I have never been much of a Nirvana Fan but.... there's something about his passing and the desolation of his suicide that struck home with me. It really made me believe in the power of compassion.
Within two days we had someone admitted to the unit wearing a Kurt Cobain suicide tee shirt (The NYT Obit, IIRC). Yes, we made them take it off.
I was looking for a picture of that on Google Image Search, but instead I found what purports to be a hospital pic.
Shotguns are very, very messy. Not for the fainthearted. Don't say I didn't warn you.Kurt Cobain........not only was he a good musician....but i found him very interesting too......
Agent 86 is no more.
In the end, KAOS gets us all.
86 86'
d.:(
I read yesterday that Don Adams was a pretty smart guy. Apparently, he never read the scripts. He would have someone read the script to him once or twice and that was all he needed. The crew would take bets that he wouldn't be able to finish the shoot without having to review his lines. Another actor done in by doing too good a job with his character - all he was able to get after Get Smart were voice jobs (including Inspector Gadget) excluding a few B-movie parts and some reunion stuff.
Get Smart took in a total of five Emmy Awards: Three for Don Adams (best actor in a comedy) and two for the show (best comedy).
For extra credit, which two people came up with the idea for the series and wrote the pilot? (Answer below - highlight from here down)
[color=lemonchiffon]
Mel Brooks and Buck Henry[/color]
[size=1][color=gray](Answer just above)[/color][/size]
For extra credit, which two people came up with the idea for the series and wrote the pilot? (Answer below - highlight from here down)
[color=lemonchiffon]Mel Brooks and Buck Henry[/color]
[size=1][color=gray](Answer just above)[/color][/size]
I was surprised when I found this out. You only see Mel Brook's name mentioned once in the credits in the begining of the show. If you miss it, you'd never realize he had anything to do with it.
When I first heard this, I was surprised, because I didn't know Buck Henry did anything other than host SNL in the good old days.
you hand upon the wheels, for the future's uncertain and the end is always near.....
Roll, baby, roll...and welcome to The Cellar.
all night long...........
Thanks for your welcome..
"Gather ye rosebuds while ye may for time is quickly flying, and the rose that blooms today, tomorrow will be dying." Ain't that the truth.
This answers the title rather than the detail of the question, but the Labour leader John Smith's death in 1994 really affected me at the time.
I grew up with Labour parents under a Conservative Government and in John Smith I thought that finally Britain had a left wing statesman that the electorate would vote for. He was considered a man of integrity - decent and honest, and respected by politicians on both sides of the House.
I honestly went around for days feeling like it was all a cruel joke and someone, somewhere was laughing up their sleeve at those of us who felt we were living in a single party state. I suppose it affected me more than a celebrity death because he genuinely had the opportunity to make a difference to my life when he was alive.
In the end we only had to wait another 3 years, but even now it seems a shame that we lost the chance to have this man as our Prime Minister.
And even after waiting 3 years we got a tory in a red shirt.
I was personally quite upset when Robin Cook died. I think he was a real loss. Mo Mowlem too.....and I know I'll cry when Tony Benn dies.
JFK Jr. What a hottie. :(
Welcome to The Cellar, Whoopteedo.
I heard yesterday that Butch from Our Gang died the week before Don Adams.
Not a "bummed me out the most," but certainly indications of the passing of an era.
Those of you holding
Nipsey Russell tickets can exchange them at the nearest cashier's window. Thank you. [/pa]
I was a big fan of Nipsey Russell back in my youth. Funny, funny man. Keep 'em laughin' upstairs, Nipsey!
Nipsey was dyslexic
Now he stands in Heaven's fog.
No wonder the boss is kinda pissed
Nipsey always prayed to Dog.
Welcome to The Cellar, Whoopteedo.
Thank you :)
I was a big fan of Nipsey Russell back in my youth. Funny, funny man. Keep 'em laughin' upstairs, Nipsey!
Nipsey was dyslexic
Now he stands in Heaven's fog.
No wonder the boss is kinda pissed
Nipsey always prayed to Dog.
Once again, the perfect eloquent tribute.
Thanks, Els!
Just to mark the passing of Ronnie Barker. The Frost Report, The Two Ronnies, Porridge, Open All Hours. An inspiration to many of my comedy favourites and a mainstay of my childhood weekend television.
Died this week at 76.
Layne Staley (lead singer of Alice In Chains) is probably the celebrity death that hit me hardest. Kurt Cobain's was no surprise, nor was Johnny Cash's. Staley's shouldn't have been either, given his history of drug use. But it totally caught me off-guard. What a loss...and what a waste.
Man, I hate when this thread pops to the top. Oh well.
I just heard about Pat Morita. He always seemed to be very good at picking roles. Except for one clunker with Jay Leno, I've never seen him in a bad movie.
Even when he was playing comic roles, he always brought a likeable dignity to his characters, so that everyone was on his side.
Here is his Internet Movie Database profile.
dammit. i guess that puts the kabosh on any hopes Ralph Machio had for a comeback.
dammit. i guess that puts the kabosh on any hopes Ralph Machio had for a comeback.
Not really, now he can play the sensei, sort of like what Stallone did in Rocky ??.
BTW, he probably had fun playing himself in Entourage in the episode at the Playboy mansion.
George Best died last week. An amusing commentary on how bad it got
-Later in life, Best laughed at his own dissolution. He would recount the moment it all went bad: "Tell me, Mr. Best, where did it all go wrong?" asked the waiter as he delivered vintage champagne to the footballer in a luxury hotel suite. At the time £20,000 was scattered on the bed, which also happened to contain Miss Universe."...he turned yellow, and died with tubes in his nose."
Great obit writing, a guy after my own heart.
Okay, he isn't a celebrity - not in the strictest sense of the word. Unless you are something of synthaholic (and I am), you probably would have never heard of him, nor the company he founded in the late 1960's, naming it after a Hawaiian city he remembered fondly -
Paia (pronounced pie'-uh). But for people like me, who grew up during the golden age of DIY synthesizers, Paia was a household word. Their catalogues came to my mailbox at regular intervals - not because I bought anything from them, but because I liked to look through them and dream.
The products produced by Paia came from the mind of John Simonton for the most part, although he also produced kits to help budding musical electronics heads build the ingenious designs of Craig Anderton which frequently appeared in electronics and musician's magazines during the same period. John ran his basically one man business out of his homeland, Oklahoma, for 35 years, until his recent passing from cancer.
John did for synthesizers what Heathkit did for radios - he made them accessible to people with much more time than money, and who didn't mind learning a new, patient skill to get what they desired out of the deal. Few could afford even Moog or ARP's most reasonably-priced gear unless they were working musicians (or at least musical hobbyists with decent jobs), but almost anyone could afford to piece together a small, fully-featured modular synth from John's wide variety of component kits, and, in the process, learn not only about the mechanics and principles of electronic construction, but also the theory and practice of sound synthesis. Because of Paia, Joe Sixpack (usually, Little Joey Sixpack, actually) could procure components over time and end up as a budget Keith Emerson in the comfort of their own home.
Although the onslaught of digital synthesis and MIDI took a huge bite out of John's livelihood, he never stopped serving those who needed what he did. Indeed, tales abound of his generosity with his time as his old designs were rediscovered and restored by those who once again wanted a cheap inroad to the newly reborn interest in analogue synths. And John did not sit idle, dreaming of the old glory days during the slow years. John saw the resurgence of analogue early on, and developed an incredibly affordable mini-synth kit, the Paia Fatman, to serve the new generation of technoids and electronica performers. Indeed, Simonton's touch has reached as far as The Cellar, where only a few weeks back someone was mentioning their desire to purchase Paia's Theremax theremin kit and build it for their own amusement.
Celebrities are celebrities only because we *make* them so in our own minds. Therefore, in my oscillator-afflicted brain, John Simonton was quite the celebrity indeed. RIP, John. Here's to the hope that someone can carry your banner into this new milennia.
"...he turned yellow, and died with tubes in his nose."
Bill Brasky had a four day heart attack...a day for each chamber. At the autopsy, they said his heart looked like a basketball filled with riccotta cheese.
I'm sure Mark Twain is doing a flip flop over his award! IMHO
One of my favorite Pryor jokes:
"I don't drink and drive anymore. Nuh-uh."
"Got tired of waking up in my car..."
"....doing 90."
Interviewer: Alright, Mr. Wilson, you've done just fine on the Rorshach.. your papers are in good order.. your file's fine.. no difficulties with your motor skills.. And I think you're probably ready for this job. We've got one more psychological test we always do here. It's just a Word Association. I'll throw you out a few words - anything that comes to your mind, just throw back at me, okay? It's kind of an arbitrary thing. Like, if I say "dog", you'd say..?
Mr. Wilson: "Tree".
Interviewer: "Tree". [ nods head, prepares the test papers ] "Dog".
Mr. Wilson: "Tree".
Interviewer: "Fast".
Mr. Wilson: "Slow".
Interviewer: "Rain".
Mr. Wilson: "Snow".
Interviewer: "White".
Mr. Wilson: "Black".
Interviewer: "Bean".
Mr. Wilson: "Pod".
Interviewer: [ casually ] "Negro".
Mr. Wilson: "Whitey".
Interviewer: "Tarbaby".
Mr. Wilson: [ silent, sure he didn't hear what he thinks he heard ] What'd you say?
Interviewer: [ repeating ] "Tarbaby".
Mr. Wilson: "Ofay".
Interviewer: "Colored".
Mr. Wilson: "Redneck".
Interviewer: "Junglebunny".
Mr. Wilson: [ starting to get angry ] "Peckerwood!"
Interviewer: "Burrhead".
Mr. Wilson: [ defensive ] "Cracker!"
Interviewer: [ aggressive ] "Spearchucker".
Mr. Wilson: "White trash!"
Interviewer: "Jungle Bunny!"
Mr. Wilson: [ upset ] "Honky!"
Interviewer: "Spade!
Mr. Wilson: [ really upset ] "Honky Honky!"
Interviewer: [ relentless ] "Nigger!"
Mr. Wilson: [ immediate ] "Dead honky!" [ face starts to flinch ]
Interviewer: [ quickly wraps the interview up ] Okay, Mr. Wilson, I think you're qualified for this job. How about a starting salary of $5,000?
Mr. Wilson: Your momma!
Interviewer: [ fumbling ] Uh.. $7,500 a year?
Mr. Wilson: Your grandmomma!
Interviewer: [ desperate ] $15,000, Mr. Wilson. You'll be the highest paid janitor in America. Just, don't.. don't hurt me, please..
Mr. Wilson: Okay.
Interviewer: [ relieved ] Okay.
Mr. Wilson: You want me to start now?
Interviewer: Oh, no, no.. that's alright. I'll clean all this up. Take a couple of weeks off, you look tired.
"When I was 25, I used to be able to pee in the toilet in the morning and not even get out of bed..."
Al Lewis just passed. As a typecast actor, I didn't get to see him on TV much, but like Bob Denver, the real story of his life is what he did with it after his acting career cooled down.
Looking at his obituary and his
acting credits, it seems he had a full, fun life. He sounds like a cool guy to know who was respected by his friends and a pain in the ass to his enemies.
Goodbye, Grandpa.
How could you not love the guy who drove Dragula?
I was 14 in 1968, when Robert F. Kennedy was shot and killed. He was very much our man - the Presidential candidate of the young...at least that's how we thought of him. The level of generational division and hostility was exceptionally high then, and many of us were immediately angry at our elders (despite their having had nothing to do with his death) and took it out on them whenever possible.
Somewhat more recently (although it's been over ten years ago now, I think), the death of John Candy hit me pretty hard.
Hunter S. Thompson, certainly. Peter Cook - a genuis without whose influence the whole of British comedy would look entirely different, I think.
that has to be dime bag darrel. (pantera/damage plan) amazing musician
Well it's a ressurected thread, but I wasn't here when it started, so I'll answer now :).
I was most upset by the death of Freddie Mercury.
John Peel was a sad surprise, too.
When I heard that John Entwhistle died (in bed with a prostitute, on coke, natch) the night before the Who kicked off their tour at the Hollywood Bowl (to which I had tickets) I was so upset that I interrupted a painting series I was working on to create an image of him as the Ox, which I then pasted onto some devotional candles and set up at the entrance to the Bowl when the remainder of the Who played their rescheduled show. Also, when I heard on the car radio that Mark Sandman of Morphine had died on stage I had to pull over because I was crying too much to drive. And Jerry Garcia's death was, of course, the death of so much more.
Andreas Katsulas, felled by lung cancer.
IMDB
He was the One Armed Man in
The Fugitive, but I knew him best as G'Kar in
Babylon 5. His interaction with Peter Jurasik was the absolute best part of a great show. Katsulas infused more power and emotion into a latex creation than anyone I've seen in any show. If there's ever a return to the B5 universe, his absence will be keenly felt.
Well it's a ressurected thread, but I wasn't here when it started, so I'll answer now :).
I was most upset by the death of Freddie Mercury.
John Peel was a sad surprise, too.
I was just about to post that too. Freddie Mercury. I was shopping in a department store when it came across the news. I felt like crying right in the middle of the store.
:sniff:
Barney Fife has finally gotten that long-awaited promotion. There'll be a new sheriff in town upon the streets of Glory...even if he'll only be carrying one golden bullet.
Don Knotts parlayed a shtick of high-strung near-franticism into a memorable and hysterical career spanning over 50 years. His best-known character, the bumbling deputy sheriff of Mayberry, North Carolina, made him into one of the most loved comedic characters of all time.
Don Knotts has died at the age of 81, but he's left me with a lot of chuckling memories - The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, The Incredible Mr. Limpet, The Reluctant Astronaut, and a small but memorable part as a psychiatrist in No Time for Sargeants etched his mark indelibly on the pop culture scene. Knotts even managed to make a rare late-in-life "comeback" following his appearance in Pleasantville as a tv repairman with a remote control that tossed two feuding siblings into a Leave It To Beaver-style, black and white sitcom world (curiously, Knotts' voice was overdubbed by a comedian for this film for some reason). That in turn led to many dinner theater appearances (especially here in Kansas City), and a whole new boom in fandom.
Gonna miss ya, Barn.
Looks like Barn finally got the corner room at the Y in the sky.:sniff:
Rumor has it he was hung like a racehorse and kept quite a stable of fillys, well into his senior years. ;)
He won 5 Emmys for playing Barney Fife between 1961-67, which shows how innovative he was compared to everyone else at the time.
If Phil Silvers, Sid Caeser, and Milton Berle represented the Golden Age of TV Comedy, Don Knotts ushered in the Silver Age. Barney Fife wasn't a character for a single sketch, but a well thought out whole person.
Don Knotts created a character that people could laugh at and sympathize with at the same time. A guy who everyone could admire and hope that even if he hit his thumb with the hammer the past 99 times, on the 100th try he might get lucky. Barney Fife will remain one of the best comic characters ever brought to television. Don Knotts was a comic genius.
What Richlevy said
I nominate Rich to deliver the eulogy. I heard that Andy Griffith was one of his final visitors. I took some measure of comfort from that. I think when we lose Andy, I'm not going to handle that very well. If I had to finish out my days on a deserted island with a complete collection of any single TV show, I'd pick the black and white episodes of the Andy Griffith Show. First Gilligan and now Barney. Dangit.
And, in today's tragic twofer, Darren McGavin has passed at 83. Quirky, distinctive, and absolutely perfect as the father in A Christmas Story, which I had *just* finished labelling ten minutes before I saw the news item come across.
The Night Stalker has joined the denizens of the midnight streets.
And, in today's tragic twofer, Darren McGavin has passed at 83. Quirky, distinctive, and absolutely perfect as the father in A Christmas Story, which I had *just* finished labelling ten minutes before I saw the news item come across.
The Night Stalker has joined the denizens of the midnight streets.
Shit. I loved him in
'Kolchak: The Night Stalker'. It was one of the best horror shows ever put on television. It seems that Mr. McGavin held the show together. Unfortunately, the show was ahead of it's time.
I don't remember many leading roles after that, but he was a great character actor who could deliver a pithy line at the right moment.
Darren McGavin is often incorrectly considered to be, and listed in many official references guides, as the show's Executive Producer. In fact, he never held the position, although he unofficially assumed many of the duties. This put him at odds with Paul Playdon and then Cy Chermak, the official producers appointed by Universal.
Been a bad couple of days for classic TV stars. Dennis Weaver has crossed through the veil at age 81 from complications of cancer.
Weaver broke in to the big time on Gunsmoke, and he also made a big splash as McCloud, the Western lawman in the big city. I, however, will always remember him as the terrorized Plymouth driver in Spielberg's first effort, "Duel", based on a classic Richard Matheson short story.
Marshall Dillon! Marshall Dillon! Chester is a' limpin' up to see Miss Kitty!
Don, Darren, and Dennis... Dead. Damn.
Damn, that sucks. I was pretty impressed by him. He was a champion of the earthships. He actually had his filmed while it was being built. I'm pretty sad about Don Knotts too.
Harry Browne died today. This one literally brought me to tears.
http://www.downsizedc.org/blog/2006/mar/02/harry_browne_r_i_pBruce Lee and John Bonham.
Welcome to the Cellar, DWKing. :)
When I first saw this thread, I couldn't really think of a celeb whose death even blipped on my screen.
Yesterday I was browsing the CDs trying to decide what to listen to and picked up a robert palmer disc.
I had almost forgotten he died. When I found out I felt really sad for some reason. He seemed like a good guy.
I still feel disappointed that he died.
Middle-aged men shouldn't do cocaine. Ask John Entwistle.
Supremely talented character actress Maureen Stapleton has died. She was the only reason I was ever able to watch "Airport" with anything like a straight face. She made melodrama seem real. Classy, classy lady, great actress, and a true no-bullshit human being who always did unquestionably fine work as an actress.
Thanks, Maureen. You rock.
Robert Palmer is dead? That does suck. Is that why everyone's been ripping off that video for Simply Irresistable?
By the way, the host of the game show Press Your Luck died in a plane crash today (or yesterday). It's not particularly noteworthy, but that show was a part of my late childhood, and I have fond memories of me and my brother watching it in the morning during the summer. Big bucks, no whammies.
Robert Palmer is dead? That does suck. Is that why everyone's been ripping off that video for Simply Irresistable?
no, i believe its John Bonham.
no, i believe its John Bonham.
what? John Bonham was the drummer in Zeppelin. Palmer did simply irresistable.
Layne Stanley
Princess Di
Because their passing was tragic.
I also admire Maureen Stapleton but she had a full life.
Christa Paeffgen (Nico) 1987
<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a387/wiccan33/Nico.jpg" border="0" alt="Image hosting by Photobucket"></a>
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john lennon, hands down................still makes me sad............
my local runs a sweeepstake on this... choose a celeb, pay the kitty weekly, if your celeb dies first, you win....
they call it the 'Death Pool'......
Honestly there are some that I really miss, but would not have them suffer any more.
Who I think I miss the most would be Johnny & June Cash, but there are so many it is hard to think of a list... it is really depressing to even consider it.
Raul Julia, Madeline Kahn and Phil Hartman are high on the list too.
Jerry Garcia
Hunter Thompson
John Lennon
Peter Jennings
The ones that still sting are the ones that I am constantly reminded of, such as Phil Hartman (whose work is all over the shows I love), and to a lesser degree Dimebag (Pantera), who is from my hometown, was such a harmless guy, and one of the last of the breed of true heavy metal guitar soloists.
John Lennon put me into pause mode for like two hours. If the world had stopped turning, or polarity had changed.
Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix were like a one two punch.
So few celebrities I like were still alive when I began liking them, or making the news if they are. It saddened me when Johnny Ramone died...
And I hope I won't have to be sad when Jason Becker dies... he's slowly getting better...
If you don't know of him, go check out his website:
www.jasonbecker.com. The guy is honestly like, a god, both as a guitarist and as a person.
I subscribe to Celebrity Death Beeper. I get emails when a well known person departs this plane.
Tonight, I totally freaked when I got an email from them that said "Steve Howe dies in truck accident".
I thought they were referring to the insanely talented, profoundly strange looking guitarist from Yes. As it turns out, it was the disgraced addict baseball pitcher.
It isn't good when anyone dies, but does it make me a horrible person if I say that I'm really glad it wasn't the more talented Steve Howe that died?
Ah ha! I always wondered how you always seemed to be the first to know...
Princess Diana in terms of shock
Bruce Lee
Jim Morrison
John Belushi (Someone said Jim belushi his brother, who is actually still alive)
Paula Yates
I can't believe no local has mentioned the death of Benny Krass, of Krass Bros fame. It's nearly two years now.
We wuz ROBBED!
Brian
Never met Benny, he was strictly a UHF celebrity. Like the chick with huge boobs selling clear plastic slip covers from U&I Decorators.:biggrinje
John Spencer, when he passed away that was very sad indeed.
Frank Zappa, knew it was coming, but still was gutted beyond belief.
JImmy Doohan and Michael Piller. I'm a huge Trekkie and their deaths really hit me.
1) Carroll O'Connor -- Archie Bunker to the classic T.V. fans our there.
2) Elizabeth Montgomery -- I grew up watching "Bewitched". So sad to hear she died of cancer. She didn't go to the MD until it had really spread.
Stevie Ray Vaughan. He played in my town the summer before he passed for the In Step tour. I passed on the show thinking he'd play again. :thepain3:
Vince Welnick, the last keyboard player for the
Grateful Dead, died yesterday. Bummer.
Vince was awesome. that is sad news.
He changed the face of tv weather as we know it today.
This is one that was near and dear to my heart. Billy Preston, legendary gospel rooted organist/keyboardist who rose to popular fame by doing session work with The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and through his own hits "Outta Space" and "Will It Go Round in Circles", has died at the age of 59.
Billy will always be remembered by me for his enduring positivity, an uncanny ability to pour forth joy from his words and music. Billy Preston never played an insincere note, and he always had a big smile when he performed, as though he knew something wonderful deep down that the rest of us had overlooked.
I have a sort of up-close and personal Billy Preston story. In 1996, a group billing itself as the Northwest All Stars did a tour of small venues, and Mrs Elspode, my son and I went to see them. All Stars is a vast understatement...the group consisted of Mark Farner, Steve Cropper, Felix Cavalaire, David Santos, Wendy Moten, Lou Gramm, Liberty DeVito and...Billy Preston. Now, if you love music like I love music, being *anywhere* in the vicinity of this incredible assemblage of hitmaking talent is awe-inspiring enough, let alone standing five feet from them all...which is precisely where we were.
The closest performer to us was Mr. Billy Preston. Throughout the set, when he wasn't swinging joyously on the keys, Billy was leaning over, talking personably to the fans, signing autographs, and simply *exuding pure joy*. It was an awesome thing to be a part of. Never once did he display anything but pure pleasure at what he was doing and the people for whom he was doing it. That night, each performer did several of their hit songs, and believe me, there was a bunch. In fact, the people onstage either wrote, performed, arranged or otherwise accounted for over *200 Top Ten* songs. Simply amazing.
My son got a tiny piece of paper and handed it to Billy, and he spoke with him briefly, signed the miniscule shard, smiling all the while, handed it back to him, then ripped into a killer keyboard riff. It was a memory that my family and I will hold for many years to come.
Billy is gone, but his music and glowing spirit will remain forever. Billy...it does indeed go 'round in circles.
Again Well done Splode !!!
I heard about this on NPR today , they told about an interview he did in Rolling Stones a few years back , one statement really tells about this mans spirit , he said " My arms are open for a hug to ALL of my fans , rockers , gospel , country , black, white , EVERYBODY !! "
Bill Owen - Compo Simonite - "Last of the Summer Wine"
For some reason, his death hit me very hard.
CDB is great.
...Well done Splode !!!
I think you are confusing this thread with the Zarquawi thread.
[/snicker]
I'm having a hard time working up much sorrow at Al-Z's passing. Sorry.
No, I meant Zip's spelling. "Splode" as in explode as in Al-Z versus Spode as in Elspode.
Has anyone mentioned Stevie Ray Vaughn? I never imagined I would see him in concert, but he performed at an out-of-the-way concert series one summer, and I did get to see him. A stroke of fate, I thought. Especially when he died 6 weeks later. What a phenomenal loss to the world of blues.
Billy Preston, the "fifth beatle", died on the sixth...
Oops. My bad. I really should read better...
No worries...I haven't been doing a very good job of that myself, lately.
Page 16, and yet nobody's mentioned Jim Henson.
We're all still in such deep distress that we can't talk about it.
Page 16, and yet nobody's mentioned Jim Henson.
my neighbor's dead? guess i won't have to return the weedwacker.
Aaron Spelling has left the building. Like it or not, the man has impacted every TV owner's life.
I am woman enough to admit that I liked The Mod Squad.
But I was very disappointed when I caught one of their scripts being reused for an episode of Charlie's Angels.
(I don't remember much of the plot, but it had something to do with this little kid, and him running away. In one of the shows he runs to these White Swan Boats on a lake, and in the other it was the White Horse or Unicorn on the Merry-Go-Round at an extremely similar park. Other than that, word for word sameness. That is the day that I become disillusioned by television. Well, it was either that or the day that I found out that the guy playing Longstreet wasn't really blind.)
when the not-quite-ex was on 5 months of strict bedrest trying to hold in little lookout we were sooooo incredibly broke. i literally lived on peanut butter sandwiches. we always found money to pay the cable bill because she was stuck there 24/7. anyway, we got hooked on 90210 reruns. cheesy yes, but good memories.
we got hooked on 90210 reruns. cheesy yes, but good memories.
Same here. I kept the last episode on VHS. I personally did not care for the show but watching the reruns brings back some good times. Funny how fast time goes. That was seven years ago and I have no idea where 7 years went. My son turns 7 in December and I can not remember big chunks of those 7 years.
I remember going to Six Flags when I was a kid. I would wait for over an hour for the "Big" roller coaster. Then it would be over. And I could scarcely remember it. I didn't like that then and I don't like it now.
Good times......gooooood times.
Spelling made a lot of crap, but he made very, very *popular* crap, which made him a very, very rich man.
I don't think you can even put out that much crap without a lot of very hard work and keen insights. He was a sharp cookie, indeed, and a bonafide TV legend.
Spelling made a lot of crap, ~snip
Tori?;)
I wasn't going to reference her directly, but...yes, Tori, too. :rolleyes:
Spelling also made Gilligan's Island which was about the only bright spot for an eight/ nine-year old me (1968-9) during a particularly "challenging" period of growing up.
Ok,
this is an odd fit for this category, but I like to stir things up sometimes.
From Reuters
Marshall, legal adversary of Nicole Smith, dies
Sat Jun 24, 2006 4:01 AM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - E. Pierce Marshall, who battled Playboy Playmate Anna Nicole Smith in the courts over his father's vast oil fortune, died unexpectedly this week, his family said on Friday.
The 67-year-old died after a "brief and extremely aggressive infection," the family said in a statement from Dallas.
The death in 1995 of his father, J. Howard Marshall, triggered a long-running legal battle with Smith, who married the oil tycoon a year earlier after meeting him while working as a topless dancer. She was 26 when they married; he was 89.
Marshall was one of the wealthiest men in Texas, worth more than an estimated $1.6 billion. Smith claimed that her husband promised her half of his estate. The son said that more than $6 million in gifts she received was all his father left her.
(snip)
No matter where you stand on whether she deserves the money, you have to admire the guys tenacity. You also have to wonder how being
rebuffed by the Supreme Court affected him?
Tenacity? Yes, all the J.R. Ewing clones have that selfish, vindictive, tenacity.:rolleyes:
Eddie is kaput. The little dog that caused people to think Jack Russel terriers were a good idea is chasing bumpers in heaven.
http://tv.msn.com/tv/article.aspx?news=226276>1=7703Jim Baen was a modern sci-fi publisher who tried to maintain the traditions of the past.
Baen Books featured a lot of the hard sci-fi that
Hugo Gernsback would have liked.
In an era where a lot of 'intellectual property' companies were aggressively pursuing methods to squeeze profits from legacy content, limit sales to libraries and even went so far as to fine 12-year-old girls in an effort to sow fear among their consumers, Baen Books made it their policy to
give away old content for free to build new readership.
This approach showed the kind of innovation that is completely foreign to a large corporation.
RIP Jim, and I hope the ********ers at Sony don't get their hands on your legacy.
Everything you love, everything meaningful with depth and history,
all passionate authentic experiences will be appropriated, mishandled,
watered down, cheapened, repackaged, marketed and sold to the people you hate.
Mister Jalopy :(
Jim Baen was a modern sci-fi publisher who tried to maintain the traditions of the past. Baen Books featured a lot of the hard sci-fi that Hugo Gernsback would have liked.
I've always loved Baen Books for doing what they do. Sorry to hear of Jim's passing.
Shine On...
That sucks. I grew up on Floyd, even though I was after their time.
Red Buttons died today at 87. I really liked his performance in Hatari.
The scene with the rocket powered monkey catching net...
I was a big Red Buttons fan.
Mickey Spillane died today. He was 88. I've never read any of the Mike Hammer novels. I guess I need to go do that.
Bruno Kirby has died. He was 57. Bruno played best friend to Billy Crystal in both "When Harry met Sally" and "City Slickers".
Strange, I was just thinking about Bruno Kirby the other day. We were talking about baby names, and mentioned how some friends named their kid Bruno.
Damn. That's way too young to go.
Sad, but my biggest surprise was finding out that his dad was still alive ...
Glenn Ford has passed on at the age of 90. There are so few of the great screen actors of the 20th Century left by now, and Ford was one of the greatest. He could do it all, and in a believeable, Everyman sort of way, whether he was portraying a hero or an average Joe. He was extremely convincing in military roles, probably because he was, in fact, a military man during WWII, and became a Naval Reserve Captain thereafter.
Ford's greatest performances came in "Gilda" and "Blackboard Jungle", two landmark films of the American cinema, but I will, for some reason, always think of him as a Western star. There never was a better cowboy than Glenn Ford.
Thanks for all the great work, Glenn.
Don't forget The Courtship of Eddie's Father. One of Mrs. Dar's favorites.
I saw
Vinnie Paul at Sam's the other day. You don't really know what to say anymore.
Ford's greatest performances came in "Gilda" and "Blackboard Jungle", two landmark films of the American cinema, but I will, for some reason, always think of him as a Western star. There never was a better cowboy than Glenn Ford.
He also played Superman's father in the original 1970s TV series.
I loved him in Pocketful of Miracles.
I think he produced that on too, Shawnee. :cool:
He also played Superman's father in the original 1970s TV series.
He played Pa Kent in the first of the Superman movies with Chris Reeve. Young Clark Kent was portrayed by a local boy, Jeff East, in that film. Saw the kid in a high school play once back in the day.
The original TV series of Superman was in the 50's, starring George Reeves as the super guy.
I loved A.I.C.
I was shattered that he died lonely and alone. The fact that nobody checked up on him was doubly stark and lonely. Seemingly having so much but ultimately when it mattered having nothing at all.
Just mentioning Freddie Mercury again, cause I'm all psyched for his birthday.
What did you get him, Ibram? :eek:
He played Pa Kent in the first of the Superman movies with Chris Reeve... The original TV series of Superman was in the 50's, starring George Reeves as the super guy.
Whoops. Yeah, uh, that's what I meant. :)
's okay. Supe was my favorite superhero as a child, until I discovered Marvel.
Steve Irwin, "Crocodile Hunter" died this morning after being struck in the chest by a Sting Ray's barb.
The animal kingdom has lost its greatest and most enthusiastic conservationist.
Crikey.
1) JFK
2) Pim Fortuyn
3) Jim Clarke
Steve Irwin has flirted with death for years, but I guess he never expected it came from a sting ray.
Yeah. This, even though Steve Irwin died doing what he does best, is a bummer.
This one may not mean much outside of Kansas City, but here...it means a great deal.
Today, one of the greatest promoters of baseball that has ever lived, Buck O'Neill, passed away in a Kansas City hospital at the age of 94. Buck had, in recent years, become a one man machine whose major purpose was to firmly cement the memory of Negro Leagues Baseball in the minds of the American public.
There couldn't have been a better individual than Buck for this job. If you've heard of him, it is probably in connection with him having been rejected for admission to Cooperstown this past Spring by a single vote, and the subsequent public swell of support for reconsideration and a much-deserved spot in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Buck was a Kansas City treasure, a tangible piece of our history, a link to our past, and a fine example of a human being. We're gonna miss him awful bad.
http://www.thekansascitychannel.com/news/10021291/detail.html?treets=kc1&tml=kc1_break&ts=T&tmi=kc1_break_1_10400210062006having been rejected for admission to Cooperstown
I already had no respect for professional baseball. Now, I have even less.
While I'm not so familiar with the KC Negro leagues, I learned much about the Atlanta Negro league team and the injustice after injustice those men suffered.
And now
this?
Fuck baseball forever. I mean it.
One of the single worst PR moves MLB has ever made. I believe that Buck will eventually make it to Cooperstown, but he won't be able to attend the ceremony.
Buck is someone who I believe will still be present in Spirit, though. What a guy.
The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum is here in KC, the cornerstone of a long running revival effort in the historic 18th and Vine Jazz District. Our team was the Monarchs, and the history of this and the other Negro Leagues teams is rich and fascinating.
Isn't the MLB Hall of Fame voting done by sports writers/casters. MLB puts up a list of candidates and then they vote on one or maybe a couple players, and the top so many vote getters are in? Theoretically not voting against anybody, just for somebody else. And beyond the control of MLB, pretty much.
I'd say Buck (with a little help from Burns) did a hell of a promotion job, considering the number of Negro League shirts, hats and paraphernalia, I see.
Of course he couldn't help being an outstanding player, being trained by the Yankees. :cool:
You're correct about the voting procedure, Bruce, but I think there's an ad hoc or at-large (or something like that) selection possibility as well. I could be wrong.
Your right.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball_Hall_of_Fame_balloting%2C_2006
The process is a lot more complicated than I thought, with committees doing several elections in different categories, some on even or odd years.
Typical modern complicating of the simple game Buck O'Neill stood for.:(
What was overlooked, tragically overlooked, was the fact that we had a bona fide, living, breathing legend who, by all accounts, was one of the finest examples of a human being, let alone baseball player, who could have been recognized.
Baseball is about much more than performance. It is the quintessential American game, a part of our culture. Someone like Buck, who spent his last decade as perhaps the finest emmisary the game ever had, deserves enshrinement because he was not only a great player, but a great scout, a great administrator, and - goddamn it - a great person.
In a world of steroidal cheating, salaries that would make a sheikh blush, and an influx of world players bettering us at our own game, Buck was a reminder that baseball *is* just a game. You hit the ball, you throw the ball, you catch the ball...and you run for all you're worth.
Buck understood that. Why doesn't the rest of Baseball?
The owner of his team (Monarchs) made it in. :eyebrow:
Hunter S. Thompson
Spaulding Gray
Ruth Gordon
Warren Zevon
Elliott Smith
I am a lover of Westerns. When I was a kid, the heyday of the Western was past, but a few classics still rolled out now and then, often starring The Duke. It wasn't until I was older, and made a point of watching older oaters, that I discovered and learned to appreciate Jack Palance.
If ever a man was born to wear a Stetson, it was Jack. Big, strapping, with a face that looked as though it had been extracted from Mount Rushmore, Palance filled a movie screen like few others ever could. His villains were the most menacing, his heroes the most thrilling, and his ladies men the most...unlikely.
Most of our modern generation fell in love with Palance when he starred in "City Slickers", alongside Billy Crystal. Playing Curly, an amalgam of every steely-eyed hardass he'd ever portrayed, Palance turned an otherwise unremarkable fishes out of water story into a genuinely funny, genuinely warm, genuinely surprising romp suitable for the whole family.
Palance won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for that portrayal, delighting audiences and spurring the most hilarious series of adlibbed jokes from presenter Crystal when Palance did a set of one arm pushups on stage while accepting his Oscar. His fame was born anew at the age of 70, and he became a household name once again.
Jack Palance has passed on at the age of 87, possibly the last of great cowboys, headed for his last roundup. Yippie I Oh, Jack.
Well done 'Splode !!!
Written from the heart !!!
I remember him best from the times he hosted Ripley's on television.
Aw, shit. Bob Altman was a personal hero of mine. A KC native, and surely one of the most original, independent and revered directors of all time.
Selene and I just watched "A Prairie Home Companion" this past weekend. Damn it. I am going to miss him, for sure.
Unfortunately, I have only seen MASH. I love that movie - it is one of my favorites. (You know, I was talking to someone who didn't know it was a movie BEFORE it was a TV show???)
I never heard of this guy until I read
his obituary.
COLUMBIA, South Carolina (AP) -- Wearing Superman pajamas and covered with his Batman blanket, comic book illustrator Dave Cockrum died Sunday.
The 63-year-old overhauled the X-Men comic and helped popularize the relatively obscure Marvel Comics in the 1970s. He helped turn the title into a publishing sensation and major film franchise.
Cockrum died in his favorite chair at his home in Belton, South Carolina, after a long battle with diabetes and related complications, his wife Paty Cockrum said Tuesday.
Cockrum and Wein added their own heroes to the comic and published "Giant-Size X-Men No. 1" in 1975. Many signature characters Cockrum designed and co-created -- such as Storm, Mystique, Nightcrawler and Colossus -- went on to become part of the "X-Men" films starring Hugh Jackman and Halle Berry.
Cockrum received no movie royalties, said family friend Clifford Meth, who organized efforts to help Cockrum and his family during his protracted medical care.
"Dave saw the movie and he cried -- not because he was bitter," Meth said. "He cried because his characters were on screen and they were living."
Bummer. I always knew that the movie renditions of X-Men were very, very true to the characters. Now that I know one of the creators thought so, too, I feel even more enthusiastic about this particular adaptation.
For someone like me, who grew up with superheroes, the quality of big screen renditions is a matter of some import, right up there with having a proper James Bond.
One of the few things that I disliked about the LOTR movies is that they changed the character of Faramir. I don't mind some tweaking of a story as long as they are faithful to the characters.
Peter Boyle died today. "ut'n onna itz" will never sound the same.
What the hell is that stuff (other than heart disease) that killed him? Never heard of it.
Multiple myeloma, a cancer of the plasma cell, is an incurable but treatable disease.
I'll never forget watching Young Frankenstein at the drive-in as a kid. My sister and I both got to wear pyjamas, and stay up way past our bedtimes. Every time I'd see Peter Boyle in something after that, I'm reminded of that fun night.
Momofuku Ando
TOKYO -- Momofuku Ando, the Japanese inventor of instant noodles - a dish that has sustained American college students for decades - has died. He was 96.
In 1958, his "Chicken Ramen" - the first instant noodle - was introduced after many trials. Following its success, the company added other products, such as the "Cup Noodle" in 1971. "The Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum" opened in 1999 in Ikeda City in western Japan commemorating his inventions.
Domo arigato Ando-san.:sniff:
Good long life, and he created a fundamental product. We should all be so fortunate.
Denny Doherty 1/4 of the Mamas & Papas (and the male lead on most of their tunes) has passed away at age 66.
Michelle Phillips must be feeling her own mortality rather keenly at the moment. God, I love that group.
Cass Eliots' death was the only celebrity death that ever made me cry.
They euthanized Barbaro today. :(
Very sad. I thought he would pull thru.
Aww, that sucks, Bri. I thought he was going to make it.:mecry:
Aww, that sucks, Bri. I thought he was going to make it.:mecry:
Me, too. Poor baby. He was very brave.
I also, was hoping Barbaro would make it. Even though he did not, his case has provided countless advances in the art of horse medicine and how to treat leg and hoof injuries for future horses.
I applaud the owners for trying to save his life in the face of such a traumatic injury. Their reasons weren't for monetary gain, it would have taken 20 years of stud fees to equal the amount he was insured for if he was just euthanized on the track at the time of his injury. Purely good motives, on their part. The horse won them a lot of money, they spent that money he earned, trying to save him...
...but I also have to think...
What sort of life would he have? A horse, bred to run...that could NEVER be allowed to run again. Well, now he is running free. Race on, Barbaro. Race on!
I thought the burgers at Flying J tasted different!
Yes, I'm on my way to Hell...why do you ask?
No one - *no one* - could sing a Western themed song like Frankie Laine. From "Rawhide" to "Gunfight at the OK Corral" to "High Noon" to "Blazing Saddles", Frankie Laine was *the* voice of old time Western adventure. The almost campy passion he put into a song was a throwback to earlier days. He was one of the last of the Italian crooners, they say, one of the last greats before Rock and Roll began to whittle away the audience for such performers.
Frankie Laine lived a long, productive and blessed life. He passed away today at the age of 93, leaving behind a legacy of music that few can equal, let alone surpass.
Frankie was more than a singer, though. He was also a staunch believer in the equality of all peoples, and he put his reputation to work at the height of his popularity by making frequent appearances in support of civil rights when no other Caucasian performers would. He even appeared on the struggling Nat King Cole program when ratings were sagging and advertisers balking at this groundbreaking variety show featuring another unexcelled great musician and singer.
I'm sad that I never got to see Frankie Laine in person. I am a doofus in that I only came to really appreciate the man and his music in the past ten years or so, but appreciate him I do...and will, for many years to come.
Thanks for the great music, Frankie. Thanks for widening my scope of listening and the appreciation of real talent in a world where so many "stars" are prefabbed and packaged. You were an original.
[youtube]HJxwiBPKjlo[/youtube]
Joe Zawinul passed away Tuesday. Joe was keyboard player for Cannonball Adderley's jazz group before forming the jazz-fusion pioneering Weather Report.
Zawinul wrote the song "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" which was covered by The Buckingham's (among others).
Jazz giants like this have a discography too extensive to discuss at length, but suffice it to say he tracked with Miles Davis on In a Silent Way, and Bitches Brew. That speaks volumes right there. This dude was a founding father of what came to be known as the fusion movement.
I don't usually like birds, but
Alex the parrot was very cool. :yeldead:
Arguably the greatest ever to ply his particular craft, Marcel Marceaux has passed.
http://deathbeeper.com/0539622.html
May I suggest that, in his honor, we all observe a moment of loud and obnoxious yelling and screaming.
Lil' Pete's first fencing master worked for Santelli back in the day, when Santelli was Marceaux's fencing instructor. small world
There is a certain tempo to a fencing lesson where it builds and you finish strong. Marceaux was notorious for not taking the hint and stretching lessons out when Santelli was done with him. It would be ironic but was probably intentional.
I heard he died quietly in his sleep....
Marceaux's death, like Osama's, unfortunately won't slow his minions a whit.
I saw Marceaux live one time in Berkeley. He will be remembered.
Wally Parks, the driving force behind the National Hot Rod Association, died Sept. 28 at the age of 94."An institution is the lengthened shadow of one man," wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson in a collection of essays 166 years ago. He could have been talking about the NHRA. Emerson's quote was stitched on a quilt presented to Parks by Louise McClelland, wife of longtime NHRA announcer Dave McClelland, at Park’s 90th birthday party four years ago. Parks' shadow stretched much taller than his six-foot four-inch frame across drag racing, lakes racing, automotive publishing and the aftermarket speed parts industry.
Parks was born in Oklahoma in 1913 and took pride in his humble roots, always referring to himself as an “Okie.” He was eight years old when his family moved west, and he remained in Southern California for the rest of his life. While the rest of the world progressed to e-mail, Parks stayed with faxes, which he called, "Oakie e-mail." Parks helped to found the Southern California Timing Association in 1937 to organize dry lakes racing. Then, like most of the racers, he went into the military during WWII. He served in the Philippines where he was said to have “the fastest Jeep in the Pacific.” It was during the war that Parks first heard the term “hot rod.” Parks returned home in 1946 and was, naturally, elected president of the SCTA.
Parks, along with future publishing magnate Pete Petersen and fellow rodder Lee Ryan (who looked the oldest among them, they decided, and therefore the most respectable) made the first pilgrimage to Utah to convince the Salt Lake City Chamber of Commerce to let the Southern California kids run on the Bonneville Salt Flats. They took Petersen’s car because they didn’t think Ryan’s or Parks’ cars would make it. They made it, and racers have journeyed to Bonneville ever since. In 1948 Parks and Petersen organized a speed parts show in the Los Angeles Armory that would go on to fame, many years later, as the SEMA show held now in Las Vegas. That same year Parks became editor of a magazine Petersen started called Hot Rod. In 1951, Parks, Ak Miller and Marvin Lee signed the incorporation papers that founded the National Hot Rod Association. Naturally, Parks was its president.
Actually, the most recent one that bummed me out happen 3 years ago:
Please don't squeeze the Charmin. Goodbye Mr Whipple.
Also, farewell
Joe Nuxhall, a Cincinnati Reds Icon.
John Lennon- Still tear up every time I hear "Imagine", and Mitch Hedberg
Dan Fogelberg has succumbed to prostate cancer at a mere 56 years of age. That sucks bad.
Dan was a brilliant and emotive songwriter with a golden and evocative voice. A tragic loss to music.
Did anyone mention Ike?
EDIT: oh wait, nobody was really bummed. nevermind.
Ike was a brilliant musician and a consumate asshole.
[youtube]cIGiX-vc6M8[/youtube]
Dan Fogelberg has succumbed to prostate cancer at a mere 56 years of age. That sucks bad.
Dan was a brilliant and emotive songwriter with a golden and evocative voice. A tragic loss to music.
Nice mention. He will be missed. No press nonsense just a good American singer song writer.
And one that got throughly screwed by the "music business".
It wasn't just the who but the how and when.
I had to Google, that.
Me too. And that's an unbelievably stupid quote you've got in your signature.
Have you been told today? bb
Me too. And that's an unbelievably stupid quote you've got in your signature.
Pot Kettle Black much?
Me too. And that's an unbelievably stupid quote you've got in your signature.
I agree completely.
I, for one, think Bruce has a great sig.
Me? I think all signatures are silly.
Pot Kettle Black much?
The link to a website I'm building is a stupid quote?
All I'm saying is there is no such thing as an illegal immigrant in the United States of America. The Founders never granted power over immigration to the federal government. All federal immigration laws are unconstitutional. The Fed has absolutely zero Constitutional authority to create or enforce immigration laws.
By the way, this isn't an opinion, it's a fact.
So if all unconstitutional laws are automatically null and void without the requirement of judicial review
(as stated by the Supreme Court in Marbury vs. Madison) it means all of the immigrants from everywhere on earth who were invited by us, are not ILLEGAL whether they are using documentation or not.
If you doubt that these immigrants weren't invited, you may want to read these words and see if they sound familiar...
[CENTER]"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"[/CENTER]
This really should be another thread though. I don't want to hijack this one.
Back on topic...
I'm a bit bummed out about the death of Benazir Bhutto. This is going to be very ugly for America and the rest of the world, and it means instability for a nuclear power. I'm convinced Musharraf is behind it which means at the very least, an insane murdering scumbag is in charge of nuclear weapons....and this time it's not George W. Bush.
but we got sadam, didnt that take care of all the murdering scumbags with access to nuclear weapons? but but but...:eyebrow:
[SIZE="1"]
The link to a website I'm building is a stupid quote?
Linking to a site that isn't up and running is pretty unbelievably stupid, yes. Not all press is good press -sites that don't work cause people not to come back, you're killing your business before you get it started. [/SIZE]
No wonder he lost! Land of the fruits & nuts?
Didn't say that.
Me too. And that's an unbelievably stupid quote you've got in your signature.
IMHO. bb
Calling an illegal alien an 'undocumented immigrant' = calling a drug dealer an 'unlicensed pharmacist'. bb
Voted top ten of 2007
All I'm saying is there is no such thing as an illegal immigrant in the United States of America. The Founders never granted power over immigration to the federal government. All federal immigration laws are unconstitutional. The Fed has absolutely zero Constitutional authority to create or enforce immigration laws.
The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress
prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person.
Back on topic...
I'm a bit bummed out about the death of Benazir Bhutto.
I'm totally freaked, all in all. She was a formidable woman...and she was shit hot.
Yeah, that does suck. He was a cool guy.
Extra cool that he died at the age of 88 years, 5 months, 21 days. (20 July 1919 – 11 January 2008)
That's 88.48 years.
The height of Everest? 8,848 meters.
How did he manage that?
has that been snopes-ified yet?
has that been snopes-ified yet?
No, I just made it up. really.
You heard it here first.
Well Everest is generally acknowledged to be 8,848 meters (some measurements differ) and I noticed the similarity when I saw he died at 88, so I checked wikipedia for his exact dates, which are 20 July 1919 – 11 January 2008. I fudged the rest.
I repeat, I fudged the math. It might be 88.48, it's certainly close.
You can check it if you care too. I couldn't be bothered.
Cheers.
has that been snopes-ified yet?
actually, snopes had be proven to be an elaborate internet hoax. It was started as a joke by two teenagers who were surfing the internet whilst suspended from school. They started creating "proofs" for some of the urban myths on a website created by a friend of theirs, and the project snowballed. They randomly picked stories to reject to increase the perceived validity of the site, using 12-sided dice to determine the outcome for each myth.
from herewow, thanks monster. i feel like a dumbass now. i've been telling my mom for a long time now that microsoft had no way of tracking how many times an email was forwarded so they couldn't possibly give $.01 for each forward to little Susie to fix her lisp.
Well of course they know how many times it's been forwarded. Every single email you send goes through their data banks to compile the report for the department of homeland security. Hell even I, know how many times your mom's forwarded that email -I just use the Email Offenders Register.
www.chainmugs.com If you don't want them to track your email, you have tio type *a55w1pe in the bcc field.
That AP writer seems really broken up about it.
snap.
http://www.cellar.org/showthread.php?p=439783#post439783 :lol: Anthony Minghella died today too.
(I'm a slow poster)
Extra cool that he died at the age of 88 years, 5 months, 21 days. (20 July 1919 – 11 January 2008)
That's 88.48 years.
The height of Everest? 8,848 meters.
How did he manage that?
20 July 1919 to 11 January 2008 is 32317 days.
32317/365.25 = 88.479 (to 3 decimal places)
So it is accurate to the nearest day, if the year is assumed to be 365.25 days long.
Well spotted.
Resurrecting an old thread in a good cause, albeit an obscure one to most people.
Humphrey Lyttleton died yesterday.
He was 86, so had a good innings, and made his mark, but it's the passing of an era.
He was a jazz musician (trumpet) and the host of I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue - the long running (over 40 years) and extremely funny Radio 4 comedy.
Humph - more than Mornington Crescent mourns you.
Though I never got the hang of the game, it seemed like fun. Godspeed, Mr. Lyttleton
I think it would also be appropriate to note the passing, much too young, of Danny Federici, the awesome Hammond B3 player from Springsteen's E Street Band.
To me, he is best known for playing the accordian on "Sandy". Takes a lot of imagination and balls to play accordian on a rock and roll ballad.
Albert Hofmann, Swiss chemist and discoverer of LSD died yesterday at the age of 102. Hofmann, who succumbed to a heart attack while at his home in Switzerland, first synthesized lysergic acid diethylamide in 1938 while researching the alkaloid compounds of ergot, a fungus which grows on rye and wheat. It was deemed to be of no interest at the time and was set aside until Hofmann decided to reinvestigate the compound five years later. In mid April of 1943 while resynthesizing LSD, he accidentally ingested a small amount and was made aware of its effects. On April the 19th, he deliberately consumed 250 micrograms and set off on his bicycle to return home, unwittingly setting in motion a major catalyst for the drug counterculture of the 1960's.
Hofmann is probably up in Heaven beating the shit out of Timothy Leary for fucking up his creation. :)
He was my late mother's favorite country singer, a smooth-voiced, gentle, genuine human being who was easy on the ears. A pioneer of The Nashville Sound, that often uneasy melding of Pop and Country, Eddie Arnold's nearly 60 year plus career gave us dozens of memorable, affable, listenable pieces to remember him by.
My mom's favorite was "Make the World Go Away". My favorite is this:
[youtube]SE6rdpMV2Dg[/youtube]
Thanks for all the great music, Eddy. Gonna miss you a lot.
Thanks for posting that, Spode. Now, I commence in playing his music all day in tribute.
But apparently, it is so. Carol Burnett's foil, Mel Brooks' villain, and Tim Conway's golfing buddy, all gone in one fell swoop.
Harvey was one of the funniest men ever to live. He was old school, Snidely Whiplash, vaudeville funny. Goddamn it, Death. Now, I'm just fucking pissed.
But apparently, it is so. Carol Burnett's foil, Mel Brooks' villain, and Tim Conway's golfing buddy, all gone in one fell swoop.
Harvey was one of the funniest men ever to live. He was old school, Snidely Whiplash, vaudeville funny. Goddamn it, Death. Now, I'm just fucking pissed.
I'm sorry to hear that, Els. Those Carol Burnett skits were great. When they couldn't help cracking a smile, they just took you right along with them.
The biggest problem with being old, is your heroes, growing up, are even older.
The touchstones, people, places, traditions, we could always rely on to give us pleasure, and a sense of continuity, fade away.
Goodbye Mr Korman... and thank you. :(
This is, in point of fact, why I started writing these mini obits in the first place. I just wanted to share something of my respect and admiration for these people who have so enriched my life. As you may have noticed, these bits have become shorter and shorter with time. I have yet to decide if this is because it is just too depressing to ponder, or if my life is just so much better that I don't relate to death as much lately.
Awww man...
Harvey Korman died. Confirmed
here on deadoraliveinfo.com.
Flint, thats what Els was talking about - see post 364
Flint, thats what Els was talking about - see post 364
Okay, thanks. I'm just bumping this thread again to confirm that I read your post #369, re: post #364. Also I read posts #365 and #366, in addition to the aforementioned post (#365). Thanks for the helpful post! I'm working on a proposal for Cellar mgmt, regarding the establishment of a "super helpful posts" thread, as a central repository for great information like whether somebody read something, or whether somebody posted something about whether somebody read something or not. And things like that because they're my favorite and I can't get enough of them and I want to read them over and over all day long, just in case I missed some subtle nuance or additional bit of super helpful information contained therein.
Edit: Sorry, what I meant to say was SHUT YOUR FACE STUPID FACE
It was amusing before the edit. I thought you should know.
I struggle with these decisions.
Please see the previous discussion regarding decision-struggling.
I was very sad to hear about Harvey Korman as well. I have a videotape of the first Carol Burnett Reunion Show; there is nothing BUT funny on those skits. Though many of us grew up with that show, perhaps there is small consolation that they will probably show some of the reruns, in memoriam, and a whole new generation can see the brilliance.
Rest in peace, Mr Korman. :(
Bo Diddley passed away at the age of 79.
Gee Flint. Is that really how you feel? Cuz personally I like it when someone just posts whatever they want in a thread without actually having the courtesy to read what other people already posted. I love it when "tailposters" just regurgitate what someone else said a few posts prior, simply because they were too lazy, disrespectful or didn't really care enough to read anyone else's posts/opinions.
But who the fuck am I to say anything?
COCK!
Yves St Laurent snuffed it, too.
All hail the "Bo Diddley beat" - one of the most versatile and interesting drum patterns of the 20th century!
Think of the beat to "Who Do You Love?" (bom, bom, bom; bom-bom)... now flash forward to such diverse popular tunes as "I Want Candy", "How Soon Is Now" (yes, the Smiths played a Bo Diddley beat variation), and even the pinnacle of modern pop drumming, Jeff Porcaro's beat on Toto's "Rosanna" - a cross between the Bo Diddley beat and the Purdie shuffle!
Kenny from South Park died.
Kenny from South Park died.
Again?!?! Poor guy. :lol:
I was bummed to learn that (author) Robert Aspirin died last week. Not sure he ranks as celebrity though... :neutral:
I was bummed to learn that (author) Robert Aspirin died last week. Not sure he ranks as celebrity though... :neutral:
Now I
am bummed. No more Myth Adventures. He was still a youngster too - 61.
Holy shit!! Robert Asprin died! Man, that sucks. I really am bummed about that. :(
I was bummed to learn that (author) Robert Aspirin died last week. Not sure he ranks as celebrity though... :neutral:
I think he does. That guy was my favorite author.:(
Wow, I didn't realize. I met him, too. (Asprin).
His eulogy should all be in puns.
Giant Salamander
...oh wait... :smack:
Tim Russert
I'm watching the Meet The Press Memorial now
Yeh - Sky, I grew up with him reporting and he was one of the best - no doubt. A real icon in that arena has been lost way too soon.
Visual effects master Stan Winston has died at age 62. He won Oscars for his work on Aliens, Terminator 2, and Jurassic Park.
Cyd Charisse has passed at 86. She was lovely, a lithe, graceful, beautiful dancer and actress. "Brigadoon" and "Silk Stockings" will be viewed in her honor this weekend at my house.
George Carlin, today, age 71.
The men go early, don't they. Mr. Carlin's heart was a problem all along and it got him in the end, but so thankful he got so much longer after the first heart attack. Although many people found him bitter in the end - and one wonders whether that got him, really - he had both the sense of the common man and the wit of the wordsmith, a great combination for standup. His last HBO special found him really aging hard... but still bringing huge laughs.
His 70s vinyl albums taught me so much about life through his excellent observations, and helped form the center of my early funny bone. A serious thinker who loved to play with words. A great standup who could compose a truly original set out of what are usually considered "hack" standup topics, such as "dogs versus cats".
And the dude who built HBO, because outside cable TV he wouldn't be broadcast saying "fuck" -- an aesthetic rebel, defining his own way and defying the rules for the comedy that told truths and made the people laugh.
He'll get many accolades, and he'll deserve them. It's the rare standup who can last decades. It's probably the most difficult form there is. To last as long as Carlin did, to turn out routines utterly dense with material, to stay relevant and funny for so long is really quite miraculous.
Carlin said it best, "Shit, Piss, Fuck, Cunt, Cocksucker, Motherfucker and Tits." Strange to think a generation of kids only know him as the conductor on Thomas the tank engine.
I loved Carlin's wordplay and the 'light bulb' expression he would employ after asking one of his insightful questions that could leave one laughing too hard to answer. Must admit I did not enjoy Brain Droppings that much, but it hardly counts by comparison.
"We're gonna fuck ya now Sherrif. And we're gonna fuck ya slow."
I actually got weepy when I found out George Carlin died. George Carlin, Lenny Bruce, and Richard Pryor invented modern comedy. He was a legend and my life is a bit more empty knowing he's gone.
I remember when I was in high school listening to one of his comedy tapes in the car. I was laughing so hard I was in tears and I had to pull over because I couldn't see the road.
His creative use of the English language was hysterical. He was a poet, and a comic genius the likes of which the world will never see again. He was a national treasure.
"I'm a modern man, digital and smoke-free; a man for the millennium.
A diversified, multi-cultural, post-modern deconstructionist; politically, anatomically and ecologically incorrect.
I've been uplinked and downloaded, I've been inputted and outsourced. I know the upside of downsizing, I know the downside of upgrading.
I'm a high-tech low-life. A cutting-edge, state-of-the-art, bi-coastal multi-tasker, and I can give you a gigabyte in a nanosecond.
I'm new-wave, but I'm old-school; and my inner child is outward-bound.
I'm a hot-wired, heat-seeking, warm-hearted cool customer; voice-activated and bio-degradable.
I interface with my database; my database is in cyberspace; so I'm interactive, I'm hyperactive, and from time to time I'm radioactive.
Behind the eight ball, ahead of the curve, ridin' the wave, dodgin' the bullet, pushin' the envelope.
I'm on point, on task, on message, and off drugs.
I've got no need for coke and speed; I've got no urge to binge and purge.
I'm in the moment, on the edge, over the top, but under the radar.
A high-concept, low-profile, medium-range ballistic missionary.
A street-wise smart bomb. A top-gun bottom-feeder.
I wear power ties, I tell power lies, I take power naps, I run victory laps.
I'm a totally ongoing, big-foot, slam-dunk rainmaker with a pro-active outreach.
A raging workaholic, a working rageaholic; out of rehab and in denial.
I've got a personal trainer, a personal shopper, a personal assistant, and a personal agenda.
You can't shut me up; you can't dumb me down. 'Cause I'm tireless, and I'm wireless. I'm an alpha-male on beta-blockers.
I'm a non-believer, I'm an over-achiever; Laid-back and fashion-forward. Up-front, down-home; low-rent, high-maintenance.
I'm super-sized, long-lasting, high-definition, fast-acting, oven-ready and built to last.
A hands-on, footloose, knee-jerk head case; prematurely post-traumatic, and I have a love child who sends me hate-mail.
But I'm feeling, I'm caring, I'm healing, I'm sharing. A supportive, bonding, nurturing primary-care giver.
My output is down, but my income is up. I take a short position on the long bond, and my revenue stream has its own cash flow.
I read junk mail, I eat junk food, I buy junk bonds, I watch trash sports.
I'm gender-specific, capital-intensive, user-friendly and lactose-intolerant.
I like rough sex; I like tough love. I use the F-word in my e-mail. And the software on my hard drive is hard-core—no soft porn.
I bought a microwave at a mini-mall. I bought a mini-van at a mega-store. I eat fast food in the slow lane. I'm toll-free, bite-size, ready-to-wear, and I come in all sizes.
A fully equipped, factory-authorized, hospital-tested, clinically-proven, scientifically-formulated medical miracle.
I've been pre-washed, pre-cooked, pre-heated, pre-screened, pre-approved, pre-packaged, post-dated, freeze-dried, double-wrapped and vacuum-packed.
And . . . I have unlimited broadband capacity.
I'm a rude dude, but I'm the real deal. Lean and mean. Cocked, locked and ready to rock; rough, tough and hard to bluff.
I take it slow, I go with the flow; I ride with the tide, I've got glide in my stride.
Drivin' and movin', sailin' and spinnin'; jivin' and groovin', wailin' and winnin'.
I don't snooze, so I don't lose. I keep the pedal to the metal and the rubber on the road. I party hearty, and lunchtime is crunch time.
I'm hangin' in, there ain't no doubt; and I'm hangin' tough.
Over and out."
-George Carlin
Just saw online that Bernie Mac died from complications from pneumonia. :(
Bill Melendez. Damn. One of the last great old school animators.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080904/ap_en_ce/obit_melendez_3
I remember when "Peanuts" was only a comic strip - no TV specials, which were brought to us by Mr. Melendez. Damn, I'm old.
I had just watched Smokey and the Bandit II the night before.
No more Amos Moses.
[youtube]n7GyLr7Cz2g[/youtube]
Bill Melendez dies at 91.
Rest in peace, little Snoopy. :(
eta: didn't see that 'spode already mentioned this. We've lost Schulz and Melendez...does anyone know if Giraldi is still around? If not, my childhood is officially over.
This one really bummed me out a lot....
Don LaFontaine
I do a very good impression of him doing movie trailers. His voice was outstanding. I wish I could do what he did and make the kind of money he made doing it. The guy made millions and would sometimes do 36 different voice-over spots in a single day.
Oh, I heard that too Radar. That is "the" voice!
I remember a Janeane Garofalo bit where she talked about movie trailers all starting with "In a world..." and she mimicked his voice.
He had a nickname.... "The voice of god"
Bill Melendez dies at 91.
Rest in peace, little Snoopy. :(
eta: didn't see that 'spode already mentioned this. We've lost Schulz and Melendez...does anyone know if Giraldi is still around? If not, my childhood is officially over.
Vince Guaraldi died at age 47 in 1976. He was a great jazz composer and it was a shame for him to die so young.
Sorry about ur childhood.
Vince Guaraldi has been dead for a long time:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vince_GuaraldiWell, that explains why I couldn't find anything on him, I was spelling it wrong! :blush:
Well, then, my childhood is officially over. Good thing I still act 12 years old most of the time.
Couldn't you act at least 17? Lusting after 12 year olds is kinda sick.
When people ask how old I am, I tell them that I'm 54... but I act like I'm 12, so I figure it averages out somewhere in my 30s.
Couldn't you act at least 17? Lusting after 12 year olds is kinda sick.
Hey pat? most of us find lusting after 17 year olds kind of creepy too. even drax thinks so. [COLOR="White"]possibly for the opposite reason though.[/COLOR]
When people ask how old I am, I tell them that I'm 54... but I act like I'm 12, so I figure it averages out somewhere in my 30s.
I get a lot of comments about looking younger than my age, so often I'll respond to "how old are you?" with "I am WAY younger than I look. Yep. I'm 87 years old. Clean livin' and all that." The clean livin' is what cracks them up because, hey, it's ME!
I get a lot of comments about looking younger than my age, so often I'll respond to "how old are you?" with "I am WAY younger than I look. Yep. I'm 87 years old. Clean livin' and all that." The clean livin' is what cracks them up because, hey, it's ME!
I love it. I'm going to use that next time.
*sniff* RIP, Paul Newman!
double sniff!!! sigh :(
My heart sank when i read that he died.Another great actor...gone
I fell in love with Paul when I saw Cool Hand Luke for the first time. It was on TV, so it couldn't have been 1967. His eyes were so beautiful. Such a marvelous talent.
Here was a great, great man: he wound up giving about $250 million to charity through his Newman's Own brand.
That's really too bad. I'll miss the guy.
sad sad loss
but Hey he had one HELL of a run !!!
Oh, my. This is a *huge* one for me.
Paul Newman was my late mother's favorite actor, and her admiration for him carried on with me.
Here was a guy who could play Everyman, Romantic Lead, Tough Guy, Cowboy, Emotionally Impacted, Emotionally Over The Top...in short, there was *nothing* this incredible thespian could not do, and do better than pretty much everyone else.
Goodbye, Butch. Rest in peace, Reg. I'm gonna miss you, Fast Eddie.
actors never die. Mr. Newman's intense blue eyes are preserved for all eternity.
What a guy. He's one of those actors you just kind of feel will be around forever.
He adored his wife and they had such a great relationship, from their personal reports. He once said, when asked if he fooled around "why go out for hamburger when you have steak at home?"
RIP, Mr Newman. :(
what's with the big black letters on the big blue background? did art class get out early today?
Levi Stubbs - Other than just being the lead singer of the Four Tops, he was also Audrey II, in the movie version of Little Shop of Horrors.
[youtube]GglD5Icnc7Y[/youtube]
[youtube]SfcPnul77T8[/youtube]
Michael Crichton passed away, today.
One of the first authors I ever read, and one of my lifelong favorites.
Peace and best wishes for his family.
I actually met Michael Crichton a while ago. He (and his entourage) were doing research for Disclosure which was about a tech company in the skid-row area in Seattle. At the time I was a programmer at Aldus (a tech company in the skid-row area in Seattle).
He was tall and impressive - could have been a CEO from anywhere. He and his staff were very polite.
I liked his stuff. I'm very sorry to see him go.
Wow - how old was he?
That one really surprised me.
Oh and RIP Levi Stubbs. Great voice.
When people ask how old I am, I tell them that I'm 54... but I act like I'm 12, so I figure it averages out somewhere in my 30s.
I do that same thing, only I tell them that I look really good for my age!:p
Crichton was once a genius. His works post-Jurassic Park were not good. "Sphere" was a decent book and one of the worst films ever made, despite a great cast.
I've wonderful memories of Crichton's creations, starting with "The Andromeda Strain". His directorial effort of his own work, "The Great Train Robbery" starring Sean Connery, Donald Sutherland and Leslie Ann Down is still one of my favorite films.
But...Michael got lazy. As far as I was able to tell, he died of shame for what he was no longer able to produce.
That's very atypically unfair and disrespectful for me, and I apologize.
M C The Swarm ? nano tech
cool hand Luke moves me every time
That smile no matter what
But...Michael got lazy. As far as I was able to tell, he died of shame for what he was no longer able to produce.
I think he fell into the typical trap of trying to expand into other creative industries for no good reason. He was a major producer/writer on the TV drama ER (at least in the early years, I don't know if he stayed on forever,) and some others. I got the impression he really wanted to do more movies rather than write more books. The book quality definitely suffered--I thought
Next was positively stupid. Still, I was very sad to hear he'd died. I had held out hope that the wisdom of years would help him focus on writing again and he could put out another great one.
I'd have to disagree with you Elspode, Sphere was a bad book.
But I give the guy props. I loved Jurassic Park, Adromedra Strain was a fun read, and his movies and ER were good.
My memory of Terminal Man was that it was also really good, though I read it when I was relatively young.
From coast to coast AM..?
Crichton was once a genius. His works post-Jurassic Park were not good. "Sphere" was a decent book and one of the worst films ever made, despite a great cast.
I've wonderful memories of Crichton's creations, starting with "The Andromeda Strain". His directorial effort of his own work, "The Great Train Robbery" starring Sean Connery, Donald Sutherland and Leslie Ann Down is still one of my favorite films.
But...Michael got lazy. As far as I was able to tell, he died of shame for what he was no longer able to produce.
That's very atypically unfair and disrespectful for me, and I apologize.
I don't think he had anything to be ashamed of given his body of work.
Take a look at the list of his books
on wiki.
If it was a downward trend, then it was pretty short. I really like most of his stuff right up until State of Fear. I've read both State of Fear and Next. I thought both jumped around too much.
On the other hand, I really liked both Prey and Timeline which were the books just previous.
I really think it's more a case of no one hitting a home-run every time.
I liked Timeline, I thought it was thrilling. But the whole time I read it, I thought, OK he's writing another hit movie. Jurassic Park set in history. They should still make this one IMO.
I liked Congo alright, but the whole time I read it, I thought, this would really be impossible to make into a movie. And then they made it into a movie... and the movie sucked.
I'd have to disagree with you Elspode, Sphere was a bad book.
But I give the guy props. I loved Jurassic Park, Adromedra Strain was a fun read, and his movies and ER were good.
Oh, I give full credit for his earlier stuff for sure. The Great Train Robbery was a brilliant example of his directorial skills, and I watch Andromeda Strain (written by Crichton) at least annually.
I liked Timeline, I thought it was thrilling. But the whole time I read it, I thought, OK he's writing another hit movie. Jurassic Park set in history. They should still make this one IMO.
A
movie version came out in 2003 and from what I remember, it was awful.
Dang! I wasn't even aware of it. They should make a good version.
Miriam Makeba 1932-2008
I am sad.
[SIZE="1"]Photograph by Mark Oppenheimer / (c) public domain[/SIZE]
michael crichton and george carlin... i sobbed when george died.
Wednesday Nov,12th 2008
Mitch Mitchell, the iconic drummer who provided the explosive heartbeat of the
[COLOR=#0000ff]Jimi Hendrix Experience[/COLOR] on rock classics including "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" and "Purple Haze," was found dead early Wednesday in a Portland hotel room.
Mitchell, 61, who pioneered a fusion style that allowed him and one of history's greatest guitar players to feed off each other, died of natural causes, the Multnomah County medical examiner said. He was found about 3 a.m. in his room at the
[COLOR=#0000ff]Benson Hotel[/COLOR] in downtown Portland.
Considered one of rock's greatest drummers, Mitchell was behind the kit at Hendrix's legendary sets at Woodstock, Monterey and the Isle of Wight.
Sad because I guess he said he wasn't feeling well at a concert and was dead a couple days later. Miriam Makeba 1932-2008
I saw in Boston, on her first US tour, with Harry Belefonte. Amazing voice.
I have a horrible feeling I didn't even register this here, but Geoffrey Perkins' passing was noted in my heart, and he was mourned in style at the Comedy Awards recently. I was watching it with my parents and Mum started talking over it. I politely asked her to wait til the tribute was over (I was polite, really).
Afterwards both she and Dad said they had no idea he was so important to British comedy and were sorry he'd died. I can't find the tribute on YouTube sadly.
Personally, I "knew" him from Radio Active (I have no idea why the Beeb haven't released it on CD!) At the end of every show was a list of the cast and of course the producer. Because Geoffrey Perkins was mentioned in both capacities, his name was bound to stick in my mind, especially as I listened to the tapes (technically bootlegs) over and over again. I could still sing you some Radio Active jingles if you like... I can also quote large swathes of Wahey! It's Saturday! but I fear they might lose something in the translation.
ANYWAY.
This man was a giant amongst comedy producers.
Sorry all I have is a radio broadcast. But he wouldn't be.
[YOUTUBE]MJND_oKBoKg[/youtube]
BTW if you haven't yet discovered Father Ted, get ye to a DVD store!
Goodnight to Star Trek regular and muse, Nurse Chapel, Lwaxana Troi...
Majel Barrett Roddenberry.
Anna Nicole Smith.
Ha.
Just kidding.
For real though, Heath Ledger. He was great.
Goodnight to Star Trek regular and muse, Nurse Chapel, Lwaxana Troi... Majel Barrett Roddenberry.
:eek::shock: :mecry:
Goodnight to Star Trek regular and muse, Nurse Chapel, Lwaxana Troi... Majel Barrett Roddenberry.
Aww. :(
Again, I'm late with the news. But to be honest the only person it might affect is Monster, given that the person in question was very English and his death was well noted here.
Oliver Postgate - the Telegraph obituary.
I loved his work. He had such a comforting and distinctive voice. It hid a remarkable intelligence and artistic drive of course, but as a child I didn't notice that. I just loved what he created and how it sounded. I can still quote the Bagpuss intro by heart.
Bagpuss, dear Bagpuss
Old fat furry cat-puss,
Wake up and look at this thing that I bring.
Wake up, be bright,
Be golden and light;
Bagpuss, oh hear what I sing.
I have it on video - I might ask my bro if there's a way to transfer it to DVD. Every episode is so simple, so complex and so very shining. Ask anyone of my generation what the Marvellous Magnificant Mouse Mill made and I'm pretty sure they'll be able to tell you it was chocolate biscuits. Out of breadcrumbs and butter beans no less.
He gave so much joy, I hope he went happily.
Never really got into Bagpuss..... but thanks
Yeh - Sky, I grew up with him reporting and he was one of the best - no doubt. A real icon in that arena has been lost way too soon.
I keep waiting for a good replacement. No disrespect to the moderator now. I am sure it is out of respect they seem to be waiting to make an official pick. * shrug*
Bernie Mac. Heath Ledger ( someone mention him?)
Funny, young and or unexpected deaths really shake me up.
Here's a year in review. Not sure how comprehensive though.
LinkOne of the four remaining British First World War veterans has died at the age of 108
Bill Stone, who joined the Royal Navy in Plymouth as a stoker at 18 before progressing to the battleship HMS Hood, died at a nursing home.
Dennis Goodwin, secretary of the World War One Veterans Association, said he had endured an ongoing battle with chest problems.
"He was always a battler," Mr Goodwin said.
Mr Stone took part in the evacuation of Dunkirk in 1940 on the minesweeper HMS Salamander.
Mr Stone's daughter and son-in-law were with him at his residential home near Wokingham, Berkshire, when he died, Mr Goodwin said.
Mr Stone was born the 10th of 14 children in Kingsbridge, Devon, at the turn of the last century. Yet he was still rattling a tin for the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal as recently as five years ago.
Speaking in recent years, Mr Stone said: "I've had a wonderful life. I've always worked hard, never stopped for a minute and it's kept me going all right."
Mr Stone travelled to Cape Town, Tasmania, Jakarta, Newfoundland, Buenos Aires and Malta during a career which saw him work as a barrow boy, steam engine driver, barber, tobacconist and farm hand.
"War is terrible," he once said. "I saw Plymouth flattened and at the end of the war I went to Germany and all their buildings were flattened too. We were guarding an island there but there was no trouble because the Germans were as glad, as we were, that it was all over. They didn't want war just as we didn't."
Ricardo Montalbon no shirt on an old old episode of Star Trek rowr ! He is now being welcomed to the final Fantasy Island! :(
mine would definetly have to be anna nicole smith and mr.rogers...i mean come on mr.rogers that just killed so many kiddy dreams of mine...*goes and hides in the corner to mourn him agian*
Ricardo Montalbon no shirt on an old old episode of Star Trek rowr ! He is now being welcomed to the final Fantasy Island! :(
De pearly gates, boss, de pearly gates!
mine would definetly have to be anna nicole smith and mr.rogers...i mean come on mr.rogers that just killed so many kiddy dreams of mine...
WTF? Translation plz?
Number 6: Where am I?
Number 2: In the Village.
Number 6: What do you want?
Number 2: We want information.
Number 6: Whose side are you on?
Number 2: That would be telling. We want information... information... information.
Number 6: You won't get it.
Number 2: By hook or by crook, we will.
Number 6: Who are you?
Number 2: The new Number 2.
Number 6: Who is Number 1?
Number 2: You are Number 6.
Number 6: I am not a number, I am a free man.
R.I.P. Patrick McGoohan
WTF? Translation plz?
You know of living in make believe land
Rich... :sob: Corinthian! leather. :cry:
SNL - Retardo Mentalblock.
Does anyone have a video of that. Guess the younger dwellars don't remember this skit - oh well.
Ricardo Montalbon :(
R.I.P. Patrick McGoohan
I liked them both. Sorry to see them go.
Goodbye,
John Mortimer.
John Mortimer, barrister, author, playwright and creator of Horace Rumpole, the cunning defender of the British criminal classes, has died, according to his publisher at Viking, Tony Lacey. He was 85 years old.
Mr. Mortimer is known best in this country for creating the Rumpole character, an endearing and enduring relic of the British legal system who became a television hero of the courtroom comedy.
Thank you for all you've done, not the least of which was defending the Sex Pistols in a landmark obscenity case, along with many other free-speech cases. And for creating "She Who Must Be Obeyed".
You will be missed.
Mortimer's autobiography Clinging to the Wreckage was the book I always used to take to interviews (either that or Orwell's Homage to Catalonia) because I could dip in and out of it and always find comfort.
It was so named because of something he once heard from a sailor who had never learned to swim. Apparently, many sailors drown because they are tempted to swim to shore after a shipwreck. The deceptive proximity of the land masks dangers such as undertow (not The Undertoad) rocks, cold, tides and sheer exhaustion. The survivors are usually those who are found clinging to the wreckage. And that's what Mortimers says is his philosophy - hold on, it might get better.
Mortimer defended not only the Sex Pistols but also Lady Chatterley's Lover and Oz magazine (the schoolkid's issue - infamous in its time, see Michael Palin's Diaries for example). I have a feeling he also defended Last Exit to Brooklyn in an obscenity trial, but I'm not 100% confident *
It surprised me, reading Clinging..., to find he had written a film that scared the life out of me at 16 and resonates with me still. It was called Bunny Lake is Missing - the daughter of an American woman, newly arrived in London goes missing, but there is apparently no record of her, and the mother is disbelieved to the point she thinks she is going mad. No Michelle Pfeiffer heroics, just a creepy, gloomy London and a woman slowly unravelling. Magic.
I have lost my copy of Clinging, but I have it with me still. Only yesterday, when my Mum was watching a black and white war film, I asked, "Is Richard Attenborough having the screaming ab-dabs in the bottom of a boat?" which was something Mortimer said happened in every film of that generation (except he called him Dickie). Mum laughed, assuming I was familiar with the genre, so I didn't acknowledge him. I will do in future.
I am very sorry at his passing. Like Peter Cook, he leaves a space which his talent, his skill and his personality occupied. Unlike Cook he also leaves kindness, love and gentle humour in the memory of those who admired and respected him.
*ETA - reading the various obituaries online I should have gone with my first instincts. Of course he defended Last Exit - it was one of his landmark cases. It would have been in his book as well, just that I hadn't heard of it at the time. Also the (unconscious) reason that made me so eager to read it last year/ year before - it was chosen by another of my heroes, Steve Pemberton, as the book of the 20th century. So the combination of the two of them really nailed it for me.
W.D. Snodgrass - Heart's Needle was a landmark.
Number 6: Where am I?
Number 2: In the Village.
Number 6: What do you want?
Number 2: We want information.
Number 6: Whose side are you on?
Number 2: That would be telling. We want information... information... information.
Number 6: You won't get it.
Number 2: By hook or by crook, we will.
Number 6: Who are you?
Number 2: The new Number 2.
Number 6: Who is Number 1?
Number 2: You are Number 6.
Number 6: I am not a number, I am a free man.
R.I.P. Patrick McGoohan
Don't you mean to say, "Be seeing you.":sniff:
Mortimer's autobiography Clinging to the Wreckage was the book I always used to take to interviews (either that or Orwell's Homage to Catalonia) because I could dip in and out of it and always find comfort.
It was so named because of something he once heard from a sailor who had never learned to swim. Apparently, many sailors drown because they are tempted to swim to shore after a shipwreck. The deceptive proximity of the land masks dangers such as undertow (not The Undertoad) rocks, cold, tides and sheer exhaustion. The survivors are usually those who are found clinging to the wreckage. And that's what Mortimers says is his philosophy - hold on, it might get better.
Mortimer defended not only the Sex Pistols but also Lady Chatterley's Lover and Oz magazine (the schoolkid's issue - infamous in its time, see Michael Palin's Diaries for example). I have a feeling he also defended Last Exit to Brooklyn in an obscenity trial, but I'm not 100% confident *
It surprised me, reading Clinging..., to find he had written a film that scared the life out of me at 16 and resonates with me still. It was called Bunny Lake is Missing - the daughter of an American woman, newly arrived in London goes missing, but there is apparently no record of her, and the mother is disbelieved to the point she thinks she is going mad. No Michelle Pfeiffer heroics, just a creepy, gloomy London and a woman slowly unravelling. Magic.
I have lost my copy of Clinging, but I have it with me still. Only yesterday, when my Mum was watching a black and white war film, I asked, "Is Richard Attenborough having the screaming ab-dabs in the bottom of a boat?" which was something Mortimer said happened in every film of that generation (except he called him Dickie). Mum laughed, assuming I was familiar with the genre, so I didn't acknowledge him. I will do in future.
I am very sorry at his passing. Like Peter Cook, he leaves a space which his talent, his skill and his personality occupied. Unlike Cook he also leaves kindness, love and gentle humour in the memory of those who admired and respected him.
*ETA - reading the various obituaries online I should have gone with my first instincts. Of course he defended Last Exit - it was one of his landmark cases. It would have been in his book as well, just that I hadn't heard of it at the time. Also the (unconscious) reason that made me so eager to read it last year/ year before - it was chosen by another of my heroes, Steve Pemberton, as the book of the 20th century. So the combination of the two of them really nailed it for me.
Nice post SG!
Cheers Merc!
Not really bummed out, but would like to mention the passing of
Tony Hart - who provided hours of televisual pleasure across the years of my childhood.
I never had the ability to reproduce any of his projects, but because my Dad did (have the ability AND sometimes make the things when he had time) I associate Hart with benevolence and twinkly eyed humour.
We're losing men in their 80s at the moment. My Grandad is older than Postgate, Mortimer and Hart. I worry a little.
John Updike passed away this morning.
R.I.P. Rabbit.:(
I wasn't really that bothered at the time, but after seeing The Dark Knight I was kinda bummed out about the death of Heath Ledger. The guy could hella act.
I liked Heath Ledger as an actor, but I thought that movie suxored hugely! That motorcycle was teh ghey too.
yep. movie sucked but incredible work by Ledger as the Joker.
I liked it, but I think it failed in that Bateman's gravelly Batman voice just made me want to laugh, and that despite the Joker being an incredibly psychotic killer, I still ended rooting for him over the 'good guys'.
Note to directors: making people like the bad guys, when you are not aiming at creating a 1990s style sociopathic 'hero', is generally not a good sign.
Then again, it could have been worse. At least they didn't base it on Frank Miller's latest Batman comic series.
Batman was overrated, as was Ledger's performance. He didn't stink, but it was nothing special. The only reason he's getting all the accolades is because he died.
When I first heard he got the role I expected a weak rehash of Nicholson. The Joker in this movie was freaking nuts. I thought he did a great job, dead or not.
Batman was overrated, as was Ledger's performance. He didn't stink, but it was nothing special. The only reason he's getting all the accolades is because he died.
Hardly. No doubt some of it was over the top, in the best traditions of posthumous accolades to actors, but I felt his performance was very well executed.
I still don't get the accolades. He didn't even die in a way that encourages pity. The ultimate finding of "accidental" overdose rankles. It's not like he tripped and bottles of oxycontin, xanax, valium, and several OTC sleep medications mysteriously ended up in his gullet.
I'm right there with you Wolf. He "accidentally" mixed the wrong load of drugs... self inflicted death. Either way, he's dead.
I'm not sure I follow how drug abuse impacts on his acting ability. But anyway
Is that Nicholas Cage?
Anyhoo...John Updike died today. One of my favorite writers, right up there with Poe and DH Lawrence.
There's a song in here somewhere: all my writers are dead.
I was bummed out when Groucho Marx died and it got hardly any news coverage because Elvis died 3 days later.
he's a Freebird now - RIP.
Found this nice
article about John Updike, and the following quote is how I feel about his writing:
What other writers, young and old, prized most about Mr. Updike was his prose — that amazing instrument, like a jeweler’s loupe; so precise, exquisitely attentive and seemingly effortless. If there were a pill you could take to write like that, who wouldn’t swallow a handful?
One of my all time hero's John Martyn has recently died and i'm gutted been into the great man since I was at school which wasn't yesterday
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/7858458.stm
Here's a clip of him at his best a few years ago
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kg_Utj4Aljc&feature=relatedI never heard of him, but thanks for the clip.
I was bummed out when Groucho Marx died and it got hardly any news coverage because Elvis died 3 days later.
That was one of the reasons i was glad Bing Crosby died 2 months after Elvis. It knocked him off the front pages for a while.
James Whitmore has left us. IMHO, he was one of our finest actors. There was nothing he couldn't play, and his one man shows, particularly "Give 'Em Hell, Harry", were uniformly outstanding - he was the king of the one man historical personage portrayal, hands down.
The suburban KC town of Grandview, where I lived for over 30 years, is the location of the Truman family farm where Harry spent his teen and young adult years. By way of celebration of its favorite son, Grandview's Spring festival has long been known as "Harry's Hay Days", and Whitmore was brought in a couple of times to do his show many years ago. I never got to see it live, but I've seen the film version (for which Whitmore was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar, the only person ever so nominated for a one-person film), and so have always had a huge admiration for Whitmore.
A little-known but amazingly well done film in which Whitmore starred along side Nancy Davis (the future Mrs. Ronald Reagan) is "The Next Voice You Hear", a tidy little moralistic piece which revolves around Jehovah speaking to the world over the radio over the course of six consecutive days. You never actually *hear* God's voice...you only see the reactions of those who have heard Him.
Another of his films that ranks amongst my favorites is "Them", the rampaging giant nuclear mutated ant film, and we cannot forget his outstanding portrayal of Shawshank's librarian in "The Shawshank Redemption".
James Whitmore was an actor of the sort they don't build anymore.
I read that earlier elspode. He was great. I loved his part in Shawshank Redemption.
Brooks was here.
Goodbye, Paul Harvey! I'll miss ya.
Good day!Oh Bri, I just saw that online.
"The rest of the story..."
When I was driving my parents' 1972 Impala to college, and back sometimes, it only had AM radio and I loved listening to Paul Harvey.
Good day, indeed.
RiP, Paul. Wonder if we'll get The Rest of The Story.
Natasha Richardson has died today following what was originally thought to be a minor skiing accident in Canada. She was only 45.
She was married to the equally handsome and talented Liam Neeson for nearly 15 years, and she leaves two sons motherless.
I first saw Natasha Richardson in the compelling film "The Handmaid's Tale", a cautionary tale of totalitarianism and religious misogyny, alongside Robert Duvall and Faye Dunaway. Ms Richardson's beauty and calm command of the screen struck me immediately, and I've been a fan ever since.
As I've often said before, it is a tragedy when anyone dies in a stupid accident, and Ms Richardson is only one mother, wife, daughter, sister who passed away today. Nevertheless, she brought some joy and interest into my world, and I will miss her. I am an equally big fan of Liam Neeson, who must be absolutely devastated tonight. Peace to him and his family.
well said and seconded. :(
Mark Fidrych made $16,500 in 1976, while pitching 24 complete games. He is why modern players take the cash and get contracts renegotiated. Most of all The Bird was just fun to watch. In a just universe he'd get that arm back in the after-life.
I'm gonna go with Marilyn Chambers, too.
First porn I ever saw starred her.
Yeah Marilyn Chambers died on Sunday and I did not find out until today. I was bummed :( She got me through my teens LOL
This is seriously depressing to me. I can't tell you how many spank sessions of mine Marilyn Chambers starred in. :(
Harry Kalas
I NEVER watch baseball, but on Easter, I was over at my m-in-law's and they had it on. I think I heard his last 'That Ball's OUUUUTTTAAAA heeeere' live.
I really liked him for his work with NFL films, though.
...A customer ...a grown man that looked like a slightly thinner Andy Reid actually teared up on me a little today when we talked about it.
yeah....it was the 5-5 to 5-7 2 run homer i heard
[youtube]1Lx43aN8hTQ[/youtube]
I guess he was like Chicago's Harry Caray?
He was also THE voice of Inside the NFL. One of the best ever. He starts 21 seconds into this clip:
[youtube]6AbM1e5oyz4[/youtube]
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Paul Harvey
The cantina misses ya Bea. ;)
[youtube]1D-y2RUB-2Q[/youtube]
David Carradine found dead in Thai hotel, apparent suicide.
Snatch this pebble from my hand, grasshopper. :(
Koko Taylor,
Queen of the Blues, has died.
That's why I'm cryin.
"A preliminary police investigation found that he had hanged himself with a cord used with the room's curtains. It cited police as saying there was no sign that he had been assaulted."
Sounds like the Ninja's finally got him...:ninja:
I know that I am surrounded by ninjas because I cannot see them.
I loved Kung Fu, but it was certainly sad to see an actor who could have had a much broader career get trapped into a role in that way.
Of course, the Carradine family always seemed to have a weird streak.
I met him about 8 years ago when i worked for a software company in CA. It was for film and TV writing and production and he was a client. We went to interview him about the product for an endorsement. He and his gf/wife? were fighting the whole time because they were in the middle of moving out of their house. And the 1st thing you noticed when getting close to the front door was the smell of pot all over.
And the interview was bizarre and pretty unusable.
David Carradine found dead in Thai hotel, apparent suicide.
Snatch this pebble from my hand, grasshopper. :(
WTF!!!!
:eek: :(
Possibly autoerotic asphyxiation instead of suicide, according to the radio show I'm listening to.
david carradine had guts.
And the curtain cord wrapped around his nuts.
Reports this AM said he was in a closet....naked.
link
.....needs to check for update......
....opts to pour scotch.....
Frankly, while I'm still sad he died, I'd rather believe it was AEA rather than suicide. AEA is risky, possibly foolish, embarrassing -- but it doesn't point to the kind of inner hell that exists for suicide victims and their families. 72 years old and still chasing the thrill...
did [COLOR="Silver"]the death of [/COLOR]Danny la Rue bum anyone?
Prolly would if I had the vaguest clue who that is.
Reports this AM said he was in a closet....naked.
Seems coming out of the closet is a good idea.
Possibly autoerotic asphyxiation instead of suicide, according to the radio show I'm listening to.
W.T.F!!!!!
Couldn't you just pay someone to choke you? They could quit when you start turning blue. :eek:
Prolly would if I had the vaguest clue who that is.
*sigh* D.C.
tragic
Must everyone have some dark secret. I am convinced it wasn't suicide although I haven't heard the news. I don't know why erotica like that is more believable to me.
The Kung Fu thing lived on in my psychie as some shadow of innocence past. I am bummed about this.
Am I so fragile I need to keep my heros without any human inclinations.
Rest in Peace, David Eddings. You provided my teenage years with many a gripping story. Rightly regarded as a tower amongst fantasy authors.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts_and_culture/8085289.stmRest in Peace, David Eddings. You provided my teenage years with many a gripping story. Rightly regarded as a tower amongst fantasy authors.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts_and_culture/8085289.stm
Now this saddens me beyond belief. The Belgariad and Mallorean series are my favorite books. I'm re-reading them for the 1000th time now.
did [COLOR="Silver"]the death of [/COLOR]Danny la Rue bum anyone?
Nope. I'm sure it meant much to his family and fans, but aside from a tribute in Mum's copy of
The Stage and me wishing I'd had him on my Celebrity Death List, he passed un-noticed in our house.
Rest in Peace, David Eddings. You provided my teenage years with many a gripping story. Rightly regarded as a tower amongst fantasy authors.
Now that
is a shock!
Talk about teenage years - when I was a homesick 15 year old at a French school, Magician's Gambit was my lifeline. I started it on the boat over there, and was still (re) reading it on the coach journey home. I had other books with me
of course but there was something so reassuring about this new world. On my return I immediately got hold of the first two and was not disappointed.
In the end I found Edding's writing formulaic. But he has a special place in my heart for the pleasure I derived from the Belgariad during a time I needed comfort and absolutes.
If I believed it, I would send prayers for the respose of his soul. As it is, I simply regret his passing.
ETA - the BBC obituary is very poor.
EVERYONE I know who knows of Eddings knows of the Belgariad. It's not even mentioned!
Very poor show.
EETA - sent them a spank. Told them it was like an obituary for Eric Idle which focussed his roles in
Nuns on the Run and
Casper.
hah excellent Sundae. I must admit I did wonder why the belgariad wasn't mentioned.
That series of books has a special place in my heart. It's a series my dad got into first and then got me into. I remember him telling me about Pawn of Prophecy whilst he was about half way through. Oh it was so tough waiting for him to finish so I could read it *smiles*.
It wasn't particularly unusual for a series of books to do the family round, but this was one that just me and dad read all the way through. We both reread it recently. And shortly before he died he bought a new set as a Christmas present for our Mart's youngest daughter. One of the last full conversations I had with dad was about the Mallorean; which I never finished reading and which dad was urging me to give another go.
I may just do.
I don't know if I've ever mentioned this here before, but my old HS girlfriend Liz, whom I went to see in Vegas 18 months ago, was David Carradine's sister in law. Liz's husband Scott's sister, Annie, was Carradine's wife.
Liz, and apparently everyone who knew Carradine, flatly state that suicide is the least likely scenario, and AEA isn't much more likely. Liz feels as though Carradine was far too vain to risk neck bruising while on a film shoot at a minimum.
Still, one never knows about the secret kinks people have, and we'll probably never know the truth.
I think the family will keep a cap on it media wise, and rightly so.
Some will know, but not many. RIP, David.
Maybe they're not back.
Maybe it's like on the third day they rose again.... and then ascended into heaven to sit on the right noodley appendage of FSM...
But then FSM will have to do everything with its left appendage....
Ed McMahon dies in LA at 86
LOS ANGELES – Ed McMahon, the loyal "Tonight Show" sidekick who bolstered boss Johnny Carson with guffaws and a resounding "H-e-e-e-e-e-ere's Johnny!" for 30 years, died early Tuesday. He was 86.
McMahon died shortly after midnight at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center surrounded by his wife, Pam, and other family members, said his publicist, Howard Bragman.
Bragman didn't give a cause of death, saying only that McMahon had a "multitude of health problems the last few months."
McMahon had bone cancer, among other illnesses, according to a person close to the entertainer, and had been hospitalized for several weeks.
McMahon broke his neck in a fall in March 2007, and battled a series of financial problems as his injuries preventing him from working.
McMahon and Carson had worked together for nearly five years on the game show "Who Do You Trust?" when Carson took over NBC's late-night show from Jack Paar in October 1962. McMahon played second banana on "Tonight" until Carson retired in 1992.
"You can't imagine hooking up with a guy like Carson," McMahon said an interview with The Associated Press in 1993. "There's the old phrase, hook your wagon to a star. I hitched my wagon to a great star."
McMahon, who never failed to laugh at his Carson's quips, kept his supporting role in perspective.
"It's like a pitcher who has a favorite catcher," he said. "The pitcher gets a little help from the catcher, but the pitcher's got to throw the ball. Well, Johnny Carson had to throw the ball, but I could give him a little help."
http://abcnews.go.com/2020/FarrahFawcett/story?id=7916217&page=1
Farrah Fawcett Receives Last Rites
EXCLUSIVE: Sources Close to Actress Tell Barbara Walters These Could Be Her Final Hours
By ALAN B. GOLDBERG and KATIE N. THOMSON
June 25, 2009
Farrah Fawcett, the 1970s "It Girl" who was known for her cascading golden hair, has been given her last rites, sources close to the actress tell Barbara Walters.
O'Neal talks to Barbara Walters about Redmond's relationship with his mother.Enduring a two and half year battle with cancer, those closest to Fawcett warn that these could be her final hours.
"I'm not sure if she's going to make it through the day," Walters said on "Good Morning America." "She's had her last rites."
As Fawcett clings to life, members of her inner circle, Dr. Lawrence Piro and longtime love Ryan O'Neal are gathered at her hospital bedside.
"This is all he wants to do is be with her," Walters said of O'Neal.
From her glory days as a pinup girl whose figure graced a generation of teenagers' walls, to her valiant fight against cancer, at 62, Farrah Fawcett has become a symbol of the will to live.
Those who know and love Fawcett spoke exclusively to Barbara Walters, during what appear to be the actress's final days.
"An amazing woman, with simple roots that ... took on challenges that others wouldn't try. I always admire women that are independent, that ... have a dream and look as good as she does," longtime love Ryan O' Neal told Walters.
Farrah's Golden Career: Pinup, Sex Symbol
In 1976, Fawcett was the pinup girl who launched a million fantasies. The iconic poster with her dazzling smile, cascading golden hair and bombshell body sold an unprecedented 12 million copies, catapulting Fawcett into a sex symbol, idolized by both men and women.
As the decade's "It Girl," her hair, which became known as the "Farrah Do," was emulated by millions around the world.
"That signature hair will definitely be remembered forever and ever and ever ... It was an easy carefree haircut, windblown, but also very sexy and very feminine. Everybody wanted it," legendary hairstylist Jose Eber, who has known and worked with the actress for over 30 years, told Walters.
"...But I think that Farrah ... represented to me what a woman was in the 70s," Eber said. "Woman's lib ...There was a freedom about Farrah's look. There was something healthy about her."
In a 1980 interview, just as her career was beginning to blossom, Fawcett opened up to Walters about her self-regard, ranking herself on a scale of one to 10.
"A nine. ... Barely a nine. I was going to say eight-and-a-half but I thought fractions aren't good," Fawcett told Walters.
"I think you have to have all of me in order to think that I'm beautiful. In other words, it's not just my looks. I think I have to speak and move and relate for you to feel that ... for you to feel beauty from me."
Known for her good looks, the actress later told Walters she was "exasperated" by those who seemingly ignored her intellectual side.
"I think it's a little bit of a curse," Fawcett said of her looks.
Farrah's Road to Fame
Growing up in Texas, that so-called "curse" always lingered. In 1969, as a college beauty queen, Fawcett's looks earned her a ticket to Hollywood where she was discovered by a talent scout. At first, she was one more model and actress surviving on guest parts and commercials, selling everything from shampoo to toothpaste.
In 1973, she married actor Lee Majors, who was starring in "The Six Million Dollar Man." Three years later, everything changed when posters of Fawcett in her red one-piece bathing suit flew off store shelves and she entered the world of television with a starring role on "Charlie's Angels."
"She wasn't a great actress then, but she was learning," said Leonard Goldberg, who created the hit, along with partner, producer Aaron Spelling. "She just had that way about her. When she would turn and look at you, you were mesmerized."
Fawcett played one of three undercover, underclothed crime fighters and "Charlie's Angels" became an enormous hit and cultural phenomenon, working to redefine gender roles.
"What we had for the first time were women operating in what was heretofore a man's world," Goldberg said.
But after only one year, Fawcett walked away from the show at the height of her fame to explore a career in film -- a move, the star told Walters, she did not regret.
"I would do it over again ... I felt that I needed to grow," Fawcett said in 1980. "I find that, for me, personally -- and this is in everyday life -- if I'm not growing, if I can't be stimulated in a conversation, then I am bored. And I'm not good when I'm bored."
Jaclyn Smith, one of Fawcett's "Angels" co-stars, told Walters, "I was sad because it was not an actress leaving, it was my friend," but says her friend didn't make a mistake. "When Farrah makes up her mind to do something, uh, it's well thought out, it's well ordered and planned, and it's right for her."
Her career faltered, but Fawcett was determined to take charge of her life. Firing her manager, her publicist and separating from Majors, the sweet blond from Texas revealed to Walters that she was no more.
"I think that when you're kind of just shoved out there and you have to be tough and you're facing tough people and people are saying bad things about you, that all of a sudden, you have to become a little less sweet. ... And with this surge in strength, you lose a little of the softness, I guess," she said.
Tired of being the sex symbol, Fawcett wanted to be taken seriously, so she dove into an unrecognizable role, playing an abused wife, Francine Hughes, driven to kill her husband in the 1984 movie "The Burning Bed."
"I knew that if I wanted to stay in the business, I had to change. I mean, I wanted to change," she told Walters in a later interview.
The TV movie became one of the most highly-rated in history and earned the actress the first of three Emmy nominations.
But if her acting career was finally the triumph she always knew it could be, her personal life wasn't.
Farrah and Ryan: A Hollywood Love Story
After she and Majors parted ways in 1979, Fawcett became romantically involved with actor Ryan O'Neal, who rose to stardom in the 1970 film "Love Story," ironically playing the husband of a woman dying of cancer.
Fawcett and O'Neal carried on a turbulent relationship that spanned two decades. Their first major milestone was the celebrated birth of their son Redmond in 1985.
Though the two never married, they remained one of Hollywood's great love stories.
"I used to ask her to marry me all the time," O'Neal told Walters in an exclusive interview. "But ... it just got to be a joke, you know. We just joked about it."
After 17 years together, Fawcett and O'Neal broke up in 1997.
Four years later, after O'Neal was diagnosed with leukemia, the couple reunited.
"She came right to my side, which I loved her for. And we gradually started to rebuild our relationship," he told Walters.
Fawcett's Courageous Battle With Cancer
As Fawcett helped O'Neal to heal, in 2006, she was struck by the devastating death of her mother and diagnosed with anal cancer -- a relatively rare disease that only affects about 5,000 Americans a year.
"I panicked. I didn't let her know, but I panicked," O'Neal told Walters. "I've been living with cancer for eight years at this point and ... I saw lots of what cancer can do. And I just knew one thing, that Farrah Fawcett was hard to kill."
"Farrah had symptoms for only a fairly brief time before her cancer was diagnosed," said Dr. Lawrence Piro, president of The Angeles Clinic and Research Institute, who began treating Fawcett after her cancer did not respond to the first course of treatment. "So there really wasn't an opportunity to find it earlier, it unfortunately just progressed."
Piro told Walters that Fawcett's cancer was treatable, but not curable.
"We had to use the best tools that we could to try to suppress the tumor, but that we would never get rid of it. So, eventually, the likelihood is that she would succumb to her tumor," he said.
With the 2006 diagnosis, Fawcett and O'Neal moved in together.
At her side for the past three years, O'Neal traveled with Fawcett to Germany for more aggressive treatments and, in recent months, was often Fawcett's voice to the media, making it clear that he will always be a constant and steadfast fixture in her life.
O'Neal told Walters that Fawcett is the only woman he's ever really loved.
"He loves her so much," Farrah's longtime friend Alana Stewart told Walters. "When he walks in the room, her face just lights up."
http://www.azcentral.com/ent/celeb/articles/2009/06/25/20090625fawcett.html
Actress Farrah Fawcett dies at 62
by Bill Goodykoontz - Jun. 25, 2009 09:44 AM
azcentral.com
Farrah Fawcett, who rose to fame as a sex symbol in the 1970s, died Thursday, June 25.
Fawcett, who was 62, had been battling cancer for two years.
Awwww. She fought for a long time.
Rest in peace, Farrah. :(
And thank you for The Burning Bed and Extremities.
edit: I find this one particularly sad. We, those of us in this age range, remember her poster, her hair, how pretty she was. Then she did those movies and many of us were like "Oh wow!"
I think I will have to rent or buy them to see them again.
And FUCK CANCER.
Wow. How sad. The 70's are officially over. RIP Farrah.
But that smile and that hair will live forever. Be at peace now Farrah, and thanks for the awesome memories.
Michael Jackson -- Cardiac Arrest
Posted Jun 25th 2009 4:30PM by TMZ Staff
Maybe he's really having his heart bleached and made smaller.
Michael Jackson Dies
Posted Jun 25th 2009 5:20PM by TMZ Staff
Michael JacksonWe've just learned Michael Jackson has died. He was 50.
Michael suffered a cardiac arrest earlier this afternoon at his Holmby Hills home and paramedics were unable to revive him. We're told when paramedics arrived Jackson had no pulse and they never got a pulse back.
A source tells us Jackson was dead when paramedics arrived.
Once at the hospital, the staff tried to resuscitate him but they had no luck.
We're told one of the staff members at Jackson's home called 911.
LaToya ran in the hospital sobbing after Jackson was pronounced dead.
Kind of unexpected in the short term. In the long term it has probably been a long time coming. I wonder what the post mortum will show.
can't tell if he's dead yet; tmz says yes, but CNN doesn't
They're not reporting his death (yet) on CNN.com. But TMZ has ways of finding stuff out.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/06/25/michael.jackson/index.htmlFox is reporting it ....citing TMZ as the source :lol:
...i think that broke my cherry on the deadpool thing
Yeah, I was thinking TMZ can find stuff out, but they also don't seem to care if they're not considered serious reporters and might not wait for official word.
Fox citing TMZ. I love it.
Hmmm...where's the deadpool?
I'll post a link. but I just found out I had him on my list in 2008, but not this year :(
Awwwww MAN!
Who won 08?
Thanks mon! :)
Fawcet didn't even make the news here. McMahon did though...and we're still just now only being told MJ had a heart attack.
Where would I be without the cellar???
I wouldn't know who's dead or who's alive, that's where!!!
Ed MacMahon
Farrah Fawcett
Michael Jackson
How'd you like to be in the elevator for THAT conversation on the way up?
No one had Jackson, that I saw. Here's mine:
Louie Anderson
Karl Malden
Olivia DeHavilland
Ted Kennedy
Hulk Hogan
Tara Reid
Oprah Winfrey
Walter Cronkite
Daniel Craig
Joan Rivers
I guess Fawcett is more an American icon. I did think she was wonderful in
The Burning Bed. Powerful movie and performance, imo.
He's not only merely dead...
RIP Michael
edit: it was just on local news...but not on CNN yet.
The grim reaper is working overtime. Damn.
Extra Michael Jackson O2 Arena tickets made available at NME.com
Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Steve Ruda told the Los Angeles Times that paramedics responded to a 911 call at 12:26 p.m. Jackson, 50, was not breathing when they arrived.
The parademics performed CPR on the way to the hospital, the paper said. A member of the Jackson family said his brothers and mother were on their way to see him. "[He's in] really bad shape," a family member told TMZ.
The cause of his death was unknown."
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2009/06/25/2009-06-25_reports_michael_jackson_.html#ixzz0JU3SHmQi&D
Katie just reported it. He's dead.
Katie who?
edit - Oh - she's still employed? Wow!
they probably put him in a coma . .. as a prelude to freezing his head
they probably put him in a coma . .. as a prelude to freezing his head
:lol2: I laughed out-loudz, really. Good one Cloud.
I think the confusion about if he was dead or in a coma stems from the fact that they tried holding a mirror to his nose.
LA Times reports he's dead according to hospital and law enforcement.
Holy shit. This has been a bad week for 70's icons.
Let's see him buy his way out of this one.
The 80's are officially over.
(the nineties were over when Kurt Cobain bit it)
He was amazing singing as a kid. Then he gave us some incredible ground-breaking stuff. It was both sad and creepy to watch him turn into what he became.
I feel sorry for his kids. They're still so young, and now they're going to have to put up with all the muck raking about his lifestyle choices.
Let's see him buy his way out of this one.
:haha:
I feel sorry for his kids. They're still so young, and now they're going to have to put up with all the muck raking about his lifestyle choices.
Um...being a pederast is not a lifestyle choice. Some of the other weirdness, yeah, fine, okay. But just because he was acquitted of child molestation and bought off several other claims of the same doesn't mean he wasn't a boy lover.
Was he enormously talented? Absolutely. I was a huge fan of his talent. But he was a messed up human being.
How did kids at Neverland know when it's bedtime?
When the big hand touches the little hand.
A jury failed to convict him. It's slanderous to accuse him of being a pedarist without proof, which obviously doesn't exist since he wasn't convicted.
Whether or not he was though, I still feel sorry for his kids because they're going to have to put up with all this being dragged up again.
eta: I wasn't referring to that anyway in my initial post. I was really just talking about his weird behaviour and lifestyle.
How did kids at Neverland know when it's bedtime?
When the big hand touches the little hand.
What's the difference between a grocery bag and Michael Jackson? One of them is made of plastic and it's dangerous for kids to play with, and the other one is used to carry groceries.
Ali...um, okay. Then I'm slandering the dead.
Undertakers have announced that now that Michael Jackson has died, they are gonna melt him down, recycle the plastic, and make toys so that the kids can play with him for a change.
Kind of ironic that the first time his kids appear in public WITHOUT those veils will be at his funeral.
Actually, this whole MJ the fiddler thing was all going through court when I first joined the cellar. I think that was where my trouble started here at the cellar, and in some cases, it has not improved.
I'm not mad at you, girl. I disagree with you. There's what you can get away with under the law, and there's what is. Michael bought his way out of a lot of potential lawsuits. That's why he's broke. If innocent, he should have gone to trial and been proclaimed innocent in every single case.
Yeah I know you're not upset with me. Some people were though. My whole thing was that if there were charges, and it went through the usual judicial chanels and for whatever reason was never convicted, that should be the end of it really, and that was my point back then too.
As far as now goes, I just think it'd be nice if people could lay off the whole thing for the sake of his kids, and also simply because he's gone now and if he was what some people believe, then they have nothing more to worry about now anyway. He's gone and it's a sad day for his family, and also the music industry.
The problem Els is that the truth and what can be proved are two extremely different things. For example - was/is OJ a murderer?
It's interesting what American culture seeps so far around the world.
Farrah was most famous for her poster.
The Dep't of Making Shit Up finds that 63% of American males age 38-50 have fapped to that image. Why: timing. It was approximately 1976, and America had not really discovered the female nipple. I know this seems far-fetched in our modern day and age, but it was a tremendous advance for its time. The poster was risque. Shortly after this, Jacqueline Bisset would do her white T-shirt move in "The Deep", and America would discover that the nipples were actually attached to larger areolas and breasts and things.
I'm sure the Aussies discovered the nipple in the late 50s, early sexual bloomers that they are.
We're big on nipples down under. :D
You have nipples "down under"? See a doctor, ya freak.
Now what did I say to you about being funny?!?
The Dep't of Making Shit Up finds that 63% of American males age 38-50 have fapped to that image.
Umm... Let's make that 64%...
Um...being a pederast is not a lifestyle choice. Some of the other weirdness, yeah, fine, okay. But just because he was acquitted of child molestation and bought off several other claims of the same doesn't mean he wasn't a boy lover.
Was he enormously talented? Absolutely. I was a huge fan of his talent. But he was a messed up human being.
THIS.
Now back to your regularyly scheduled fapping.
We're big on nipples down under. :D
As are we up from under. :D
Philly-area only: long-long-long time radio talk show host "Evil" Irv Homer, dead at 85.
I loved Irv. Met him a few times at Libertarian dinners, and he was always awesome.
I just heard about this. I called into his talk show a number of times - looooooong ago. Another great one gone.
Farah, Ed & Michael are all very sad...
But the ones who hit me the hardest... Gene Roddenberry, Jimmy Doohan & DeForrest Kelley. But then, I'm a huge ST fan, so there you have it.
I wouldn't know who's dead or who's alive, that's where!!!
This might help
http://www.deadoraliveinfo.com
Careful though... it's a time-sink.
I've got my dad's old Thermalite beer mug with that Farrah picture on it. I wonder if it's worth anything now?
WTF SHAMWOW!!!
That's Vince Shlomi.;)
Much as it sucks to have someone die, I am not going to miss Billy Mays yelling at me on TV.
Much as it sucks to have someone die, I am not going to miss Billy Mays yelling at me on TV.
It is strange, as I caught him on local Tampa TV news just last night being interviewed after his plane blew a tire on the runway during landing at TPA. He was remarkably soft spoken, so while it looked exactly like the bearded pitchman usually hawking some miracle putty adhesive, he wasn't yelling and therefore my brain couldn't accept that it was Billy Mays on TV.
strange rush of dying celebs lately. this probably means that Armageddon is just around the corner.
let's all have sex just in case.
let's all have sex just in case.
Taken care of in the toad household this afternoon :D
Pictures, we want pictures.:p
(972): they say celebs die in threes. leave it to billy mays to throw in one extra COMPLETELY FREE!
I'm guessing that the Jackson family had something to do with Billy Mays' death. They know it's going to take one hell of a sales pitch to get Michael through the gates.
you guys are too funny :lol:
Most of you are too young to remember Gale Storm but she makes death #2 for this week. One of my sister's was named after her.
http://www.azcentral.com/ent/celeb/articles/2009/06/28/20090628galestormtvstardies0628.htmlAnd we already have #3 as well. Fred Travalina. A very funny guy.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9948V4G0&show_article=1I'm sorry to report, and I just caught this on the news, Michael Jackson died. Thought you all would want to know.
I'm sorry to report, and I just caught this on the news, Michael Jackson died. Thought you all would want to know.
Who's Michael Jackson?
He had some hits in the 70s and 80s and 90s. Kind of a 9,001 Hit Wonder.
Billy Mays???? I'm crushed.
Billy Mays???? I'm crushed.
Wonder if they'll use the Awsome Auger to dig his grave.
I'm glad I'm not a celebrity
I know the press missed it, like it missed Michael Jackson, but did anyone see that Anna Nichol Smith is dead? Glad Shawnee and I are here to keep the Cellar up to date.:)
Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead.
[COLOR="White"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generalissimo_Francisco_Franco_is_still_dead[/COLOR]
Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead.
[COLOR="White"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generalissimo_Francisco_Franco_is_still_dead[/COLOR]
Shawnee, you ignorant slut.
As a result of MJ's death, McDonald's will honor him with a limited edition burger called the McJackson.
50 year old meat between 12 year old buns. No sauce.
Shawnee, you ignorant slut.
That's the news. Good night and have a pleasant tomorrow.
The Discovery Channel is actually airing a "Pitchmen" marathon, today, complete with touching memorial bumpers for the commercial breaks and a "Billy Mays 1958 - 2009" logo in the corner of the screen that includes a picture of him giving his trademark thumbs-up.
Just heard that Karl Malden died today. I liked him as an actor.
Karl Malden is still alive.
Karl Malden is still alive.
Um, well, yeah. No.
Actor Karl Malden, who won an Oscar in 1951 for "A Streetcar Named Desire," has died at 97, his manager says
--CNN Breaking News
Oh, and I caught "A Streetcar Named Desire" a few months ago on television, and loved seeing it again. I've always been a fan of Vivien Leigh...but that entire cast was STELLLLLAAARRRRRRRR.
RIP Karl
Karl Malden is still alive.
Then someone needs to stop the burial!
http://www.sltrib.com/entertainment/ci_12733375
Oscar-winning actor Karl Malden dead at 97
The Associated Press
Updated: 07/01/2009 01:50:59 PM MDT
Click photo to enlargeKarl Malden in 1950. Malden, a former steelworker who won an Oscar for his... (AP Photo / file)«12345»Los Angeles » The family of Karl Malden says the actor who won an Oscar for his role in "A Streetcar Named Desire" has died at age 97.
Malden's family informed the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences of his death on Wednesday. Malden served as the academy's president from 1989-92.
He made his screen debut in the 1940 movie "They Knew What They Wanted," and was praised for his role as Mitch in the 1951 classic "A Streetcar Named Desire."
His greatest fame came as Detective Mike Stone in the 1970s TV series "The Streets of San Francisco," in which he co-starred with Michael Douglas.
Malden also was a pitchman for American Express in a series of commercials airing over 21 years.
I always thought he had a funny nose. But I was fine with it.
Funny strange or funny haggis, like a clown?
I guess he finally left home without them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0mEAYOKWo8I guess you got it on your news feed before I did.
So, does that mean you had a constant news feed telling you that Karl Malden was still alive... or you just immediately contradicted Sheldon for no reason other than you hadn't heard it yet, so it must not be true?
Yeah...I wondered too. :lol:
My news feed was cnn.com.
Mollie Sugden died (Mrs Slocombe in "Are You Being Served?")
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8129617.stmNo!
She didn't even feature on my Death List.
Not being selfish, just expressing surprise.
She outlived Miss Brahms though. Who'da thunk it?
Persistence and I are just trying to work out if there is any of the cast of "Are you being served?" left alive?
Edit:Just checked the article,Frank Thorne is still alive,thought I read he'd died about 4 years ago.
Josephine Owaissa Cottle (Gale Storm), and if you don't know who that is, get the hell off my lawn. :p
Robert McNamara wrote later that he and others had not asked five basic questions: "Was it true that the fall of South Vietnam would trigger the fall of all Southeast Asia? Would that constitute a grave threat to the West's security? What kind of war — conventional or guerrilla — might develop? Could the U.S. win with its troops fighting alongside the South Vietnamese? Should the U.S. not know the answers to all these questions before deciding whether to commit troops?"
He never considered the question "Can a bunch of eggheaded nerds micromanage a war half a world away better than the Generals whose expertise they were ignoring?" The world is better off without Robert McNamara.
Persistence and I are just trying to work out if there is any of the cast of "Are you being served?" left alive?
Edit:Just checked the article,Frank Thorne is still alive,thought I read he'd died about 4 years ago.
Trevor Bannister, Nicholas Smith, and Mike Berry are still alive.
Robert McNamara wrote later that he and others had not asked five basic questions: "Was it true that the fall of South Vietnam would trigger the fall of all Southeast Asia? Would that constitute a grave threat to the West's security? What kind of war — conventional or guerrilla — might develop? Could the U.S. win with its troops fighting alongside the South Vietnamese? Should the U.S. not know the answers to all these questions before deciding whether to commit troops?"
He never considered the question "Can a bunch of eggheaded nerds micromanage a war half a world away better than the Generals whose expertise they were ignoring?" The world is better off without Robert McNamara.
I hope that motherfucker rots in hell. nuff said.
I hope that motherfucker rots in hell. nuff said.
I am with you on that one. I'm sure he's hanging out with Jesse Helms, Hitler, Nixon, and Reagan right now.
I am with you on that one. I'm sure he's hanging out with Jesse Helms, Hitler, Nixon, and Reagan right now.
are you sure they're all dead? :p
I am with you on that one. I'm sure he's hanging out with Jesse Helms, Hitler, Nixon, and Reagan right now.
What about the Kennedys and LBJ Radar?
Jeff Goldblum
Oh, wait...
Yeah - I saw this live on the Today show and called my BF who told everyone in his office. Dont I JUST look so credible now.
how funny to be at home watching people talk about you thinkinng your dead.
*shiver*
I wonder if they bury him, cremate him or just slice him up:
Oscar Mayer
MADISON, Wis. (AP) - Oscar G. Mayer, retired chairman of the Wisconsin-based meat processing company that bears his name, has died at the age of 95.
Mayer's wife, Geraldine, said he died of old age Monday age at Hospice Care in Fitchburg.
He was the third Oscar Mayer in the family that founded Oscar Mayer Foods, which was once the largest private employer in Madison. His grandfather, Oscar F. Mayer, died in 1955 and his father, Oscar G. Mayer Sr., died in 1965.
Mayer retired as chairman of the board in 1977 at age 62 soon after the company recorded its first $1 billion year. The company was later sold to General Foods and is now a business unit of Kraft.
Mayer's first wife, Rosalie, died in 1998. He married Geraldine Fitzpatrick in 1999.
I'm glad I'm not an Oscar Meyer weiner
That is what I'd truly hate to be
'Cause if I were an Oscar Meyer weiner
Soon there would be nothing left of me
:(
My baloney has a first name, it's O-S-C-A-R.
My baloney has a second name, it's M-E-Y-E-R.
I like to eat it every day
and if you ask my why, I'll say,
that Oscar Meyer has a way with B-O-L-O-G-N-A.
*sniff* :(
I just noticed I spelled it baloney and then later bologna. heh
I just noticed I spelled it baloney and then later bologna. heh
[nitpick]Also it's Mayer[/nitpick]
I hope they roll him up in a poppin' fresh crescent roll with a big old slice of American cheese. Then he'll be a longpig in a blanket.
And feed him to some orphan children. Survivors of Child Molesters.
Walter Cronkite is dead at 92. IMO, the last of a breed that we will never see again in our skills bereft, be-pretty-or-be-unemployed TV media.
Uncle Walter was a journalist first and a television personality second. His reporting carried a gravitas that cannot be denied. His reaction to the news of the successful moon landing was so incredibly human and honest that the image will never be erased from my mind.
Although he hadn't been seen regularly on TV for a couple of decades, he will be forever missed.
He was far and away THE VERY BEST journalist in television history.
RIP, Walter.
His reaction to the news of the successful moon landing was so incredibly human and honest that the image will never be erased from my mind.
As was his reaction when announcing the death of President Kennedy.
RIP Mr Cronkite. You were the best.
Sir Bobby Robson has died today,at the age of 76.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/8177945.stm
In an age where British football is increasingly mercenary and petulant,he stood out for the old school where loyalty and dignity and sportmanship were qualities to be admired. The British game has lost one of its senior statesmen,and the northeast of England mourns the passing of one of their heroes.
Well damn, my teenage years are disappearing.
Writer and Director John Hughes, director of The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, and many more, dead at 59.
I second that, shawnee.
Don't ask for whom the bell tolls and all that.
In memoriam (chicks cannot hold they smoke, that's what it is.) :)
[YOUTUBE]dkX8J-FKndE[/YOUTUBE]
Chick. Chicka chickahhh.
[YOUTUBE]hIGT7b9vE18[/YOUTUBE]
Just heard this on the news.
Damn.
RIP and all that, John Hughes. Too young to die.
He gave my my first female crushes (Ally Sheedy and Molly Ringwald).
I still say "vodka" the same way Sheedy did in The Breakfast Club.
Bueller? Bueller?
Defining moments of my teenage life, Mr. Hughes. Thank you.
/lawn. off. now.
Heard in the news:
Infomercial king Billy Mays' wife lashed out on Friday after Florida authorities released autopsy results showing cocaine helped kill him.
The medical examiner said Mays last used cocaine a few days before his June 28 death but wasn't high when he died in his sleep at his Tampa condo.
However, an autopsy found "cocaine use caused or contributed to the development of heart disease," the official cause of death.
Looks like his wife isn't to happy about it.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2009/08/08/2009-08-08_pitchman_billy_mays_wife_lashes_out_at_autopsy_report_that_said_he_used_coke.htmlHowever, an autopsy found "cocaine use caused or contributed to the development of heart disease," the official cause of death.
What bullshit. If it was an overdose or if he was high at the time of death, that's one thing. But trace amounts? Who cares?
What are they going to say when they do mine? "Traces of cheeseburgers were found in his system. Cheeseburger use caused or contributed to the development of heart disease".
There may be 'teachable moments' in celebrity deaths. But invading privacy in order to stretch the facts is wrong.
What are they going to say when they do mine? "Traces of cheeseburgers were found in his system. Cheeseburger use caused or contributed to the development of heart disease".
Absolutely. :)
There may be 'teachable moments' in celebrity deaths. But invading privacy in order to stretch the facts is wrong.
Now, now. He is basically a de facto public figure. You know the rules of our media. Anything goes if you live in the eye of the public, and even if you don't.
What bullshit. ..... But invading privacy in order to stretch the facts is wrong.
in this day and age people (errr news media) crave on anything bad in a persons life. then again, don't even get me started on the ffffmessed up judicial system......
RIP Mr Paul. You were an innovator.
[COLOR="White"](I hope dead people have internet access.)[/COLOR]
I just grabbed this line and I like it:
Known as "the Thomas Edison of the music industry"
From
here.Bruce has put up a Les Paul thread in Entertainment featuring some of the man's inimitable quotes. I dropped my reminisce there as Les Paul indeed deserves his own thread. :-)
I liked that post, Els. What a neat man he was, indeed.
Ted Kennedy--some of the tributes I saw today saddened me deeply.
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/08/26/kennedy-tribute/Senator Kennedy was an advocate for higher education.
Mr. Kennedy, who represented Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate for more than four decades, had a hand in the creation of nearly every major federal student-aid program, from Pell Grants in 1972 to the Academic Competitiveness and Smart Grants for high-achieving, low-income students in 2006. In the 1990s, he was a chief architect of the federal direct-loan program, in which the government lends money directly to students through their colleges, and one of its staunchest supporters in the Senate.
http://chronicle.com/article/Sen-Edward-Kennedy-Longtime/48175/Not that I'd do it, but he really deserved a thread of his own. I'm a lot surprised someone didn't do it yesterday.
I expected a lot of criticism and hateful words, so I didn't bring it up.
He was a champion for what he thought was right - for that, I respected him.
Wow, Kennedy was why I was able to go to college...despite effin Reagan.
There once was a senator from Mass
Who wanted a new piece of ass
He lucked out and found one
He fucked up and drowned one
And now his career's in the past.
May he rest in peace.
I am grateful for the break from the MJ death droning from the media.
He was a champion for what he thought was right - for that, I respected him.
Hey, I'm a champion for what I think is right, and you don't respect me. What's up with that?
T Kennedy was in the US Senate. You're just some asshole on a message board.
He didn't say he respected Ted Kennedy for being in the Senate. He said he respected him because he was a champion for what he thought was right.
I've spend decades doing political outreach, walking districts to gather signatures, registering people to vote, organizing protests, petitioning elected officials, and I ran for public office.
I didn't come from a rich or politically influential family. If I had, I might be in the U.S. Senate too.
For the record, I'm no more of an asshole than you, him, or anyone else on this board.
Hey, I'm a champion for what I think is right, and you don't respect me. What's up with that?
When did I ever say I didn't respect you ( gets nervous about someone finding an old post of mine made in anger or frustration)
Remember who helped you a few times with your marketing and logo designs??? Uh, yeh that was me. You
may be an asshole, but that is a different issue.
radar....generally speaking were are all just some asshole on a message board. Think of him like a modern aristotle of the cellar.
Hey, I'm a champion for what I think is right, and you don't respect me. What's up with that?
I suspect that Ted Kennedy was less abrasive than you.
At one time, I would have said P12 sandpaper was less abrasive than you. But you seem to have mellowed lately. Fatherhood rounding off the rough edges?
When did I ever say I didn't respect you ( gets nervous about someone finding an old post of mine made in anger or frustration)
Remember who helped you a few times with your marketing and logo designs??? Uh, yeh that was me. You may be an asshole, but that is a different issue.
Classic, I was just playing around with you. Than I got the A-sshole bomb dropped on me. :)
I suspect that Ted Kennedy was less abrasive than you.
At one time, I would have said P12 sandpaper was less abrasive than you. But you seem to have mellowed lately. Fatherhood rounding off the rough edges?
What am I now? 80 grit? 300? Super-fine wet/dry 600?
What am I now? 80 grit? 300? Super-fine wet/dry 600?
:D I'm not sure I've seen a large enough sample to quantify. You don't post as much since you've been back.
Mickey Mantle. Cried when I heard it. Cried even more when I listened to Bob Costas' eulogy. He was my favorite hero.:yeldead:
fuck, I was trying to find an update on him a couple of days ago and there was an eerie dearth of stories.... i so wanted to be Baby.....
No one puts Baby in a corner.
i wouldn't've cared if I was put in a corner. so long as i got the rest of it....
[youtube]y97bWP33d8I[/youtube]
Patrick Swayze, eternal memory.
haven't been this pissed off about a celeb death since Mercury. I'm really sad :(
RIP Patrick Swayze...you were my first love and you will be missed by my fantasies
I don't think I'll ever get past the way Lennon died...
But yeah. Point Break rocks. Best movie of all time.
Despite excruciating pain he refused painkillers.
RIP, Patrick.
I'm pretty sad about this.
I think Patric Swayze dying is sad, but I was more deeply saddened by the losses of John Lennon, John Ritter, Rodney Dangerfield, and George Carlin.
Why did Patrick Swayze die?
...
Patrick Swayze (aww :cry:)
......
It was Monster fault. :mad:
I was rooting for him, but pancreatic cancer is pretty much a death sentence. It's amazing he made it as long as he did.
All I know about his illness was that his gaunt face has been plastered over the tabloids at the checkout lines for several months. I'll be glad when those are gone.
I'm not glad that he's gone though. Poor guy. Fuck cancer.
I thought putting him on my death list was a certain way to ensure his survivial. I have never got one right yet..... well, until now :cry:
Keith Floyd :(
I'll raise a glass.
BTW Mon, that's what I thought about John Mortimer :mecry: indeed.
I remember seeing Patrick Swayze mowing the lawn of his summer house in a Speedo - He was always friendly with a "Hello!" and a wave. Even in a Speedo. RIP Patrick.
Seriously, Queen? You used to live next to him?
keith floyd too? Our radio station is calling it "The Summer of Death" because so many major celebs are kicking the bucket -and they don't even know about the British ones :lol:
I remember seeing Patrick Swayze mowing the lawn of his summer house in a Speedo - He was always friendly with a "Hello!" and a wave. Even in a Speedo. RIP Patrick.
pics or it never happened........ :yum:
sadly, in all of QOTR's Swayze pics he's no longer wearing the speedo...
:bolt:
I was a pretty big Swayze fan for a guy. "Road House" is one of my guilty pleasures since I get to watch both him and Sam Elliott be badasses.
Swayze always seemed to be a really likeable guy, pretty down to Earth, realistic about his gifts and fortunes in the business. He and his wife were an amazing couple as far as I could tell. There's something to this dancing with the Mrs thing, I think.
Hands down, my favorite film of his was "To Wong Foo". By all accounts, it was a part he wanted badly, and probably not just because he got to wear dresses. As with most serious actors, he wanted to be something on screen besides beefcake, and as Miss Vida Boheme, he most certainly was. Stunning performance, not only by him but by Snipes and Leguizamo as well.
Rest well, Patrick. You'll be missed.
A twofer of 60's classics today. Mary Travers of Peter, Paul and Mary, and Henry Gibson from Laugh In, both 72, both victims of cancer.
The local Pagan community also lost another member last night, Marge, a talented artist and potter, who finally succumbed to inflammatory breast cancer. Her condition was diagnosed by my friends (both old HS girlfriends, actually) Liz and Brenda who were visiting at the Pagan festival a few years ago. They're both nurses, Brenda an oncology nurse, and when Marge found out, she asked them to examine her. They nailed the diagnosis, but her survival was much longer than normal.
Been a damned bad week mortality wise.
So sorry Pat. This year has been horrible for so many. It seems as though too many good people are having terrible things happen to them.
Mary Travers from Peter, Paul & Mary passed away. I've been listening to her sing all my life. And I met her once at a Democratic fund raiser in NY a long time ago. Very nice and very intimidating.
Like an Amazon Queen but so kind. Rest in peace.
keith floyd too? Our radio station is calling it "The Summer of Death" because so many major celebs are kicking the bucket -and they don't even know about the British ones :lol:
Did you hear Sir Bobby Robson went earlier this year? I didn't post here because he didn't mean anything to me personally, but I forgot you might not have heard. He was 76. It's all my Dad's generation starting to go now - very sad.
Yes, thanks, I think someone did post it here, I thought it was you! I do have the BBC news as one of my home page tabs, so I do keep reasonably up-to-date, although occasionally something slips through the net if I have a busy day or the BBC chooses not to report something....
Hands down, my favorite film of his was "To Wong Foo". By all accounts, it was a part he wanted badly, and probably not just because he got to wear dresses. As with most serious actors, he wanted to be something on screen besides beefcake, and as Miss Vida Boheme, he most certainly was. Stunning performance, not only by him but by Snipes and Leguizamo as well.
Rest well, Patrick. You'll be missed.
THAT was a great movie...I forgot that he was in it. Those guys did such a fantastic job.
pics or it never happened........ :yum:
Our boat dock was next to his, so we had to walk down a little dirt path along the side of his yard to get there. Sorry no pics - Thought it might be a little rude to snap pics of my celeb neighbors. (Have some of Tommy Lee & Heather Locklear on their boat somewhere - will have to dig them up.)
And agreed on Too Wong Foo - terrific perfomances all around.
Mary Travers from Peter, Paul & Mary passed away. I've been listening to her sing all my life. And I met her once at a Democratic fund raiser in NY a long time ago. Very nice and very intimidating.
Like an Amazon Queen but so kind. Rest in peace.
I can't let this one go by without adding my .02.
Mary Travers was not just a fine singer and socially conscious person. She was an icon for an entire generation of young women, women who had dreams and consciences of their own. Look at any pictures from the late to mid 60's and you will see hoardes of young ladies with streaming hair and formidable bangs, especially those who were doing the college campus coffee shop thing.
Mary stood out like a peppercorn on a glacier on any stage. Her voice was powerful and distinctive, yet never overbearing. Her obvious joy as she performed was infectious and stimulating. She may have gotten third billing, but for me, she was always first and foremost in that trio.
Our generation had Mary Travers. This generation has Kanye West. What a fucking pity.
This generation has a lot more than just Kanye West. Every generation has its heroes and its dickheads :P
Of Course, it's Michael Jackson's death is one...
but for most Filipinos, like me, it is the death of our very first former lady President Corazon Cojuanco - Aquino that really bummed not only me, not only the whole archipelago of the Philippines but also the world who recognized her because of being the first woman president of our beloved country...
it's so sad we've lost a hero like her and her beloved husband, Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino.:(:(:(
Hello Bagbee and :welcome:
Breakfast TV was on yesterday morning as I was making my tea. I had my back to it. They cut to a clip from The News Huddlines.
ARGH! I thought, not Roy Hudd! Not another one gone too young.
Luckily by the time I turned round, there he was on the sofa (in the studio I mean) all balding and chubby and definitely alive.
He was promoting his autobiography.
June Whitfield's is out too.
Good on both of 'em.
Get them out while they still can :)
RIP Stephen Gately - died yesterday at the age of 33. Cause yet unknown.
He was a member of the Irish boyband Boyzone. I can't say I was a fan of the band per se (ballads and sitting on stools not being my thing) but I acknowledged he had a talent. From the band he went on to work that was more my thing, for example
Joseph,
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, a Dr Who audio play.
What I admired more was the way he handled his personal life. Irish and in a boy band he still came out, and in fact in Boyzone's last video (for
Better, although I had to look that up) a gay couple was included in the lovey-dovey soft focus shots. Not being dismissive - soft focus & lovey-dovey are boyband standards, a male couple is groundbreaking - Boyzone were nominated for a Stonewall Award for this reason (a LGBT charity and pressure group). Gately committed to Andrew Cowles in Las Vegas in 2003 and married in 2006.
Worth mentioning for the connection. Matt Lucas's ex Kevin McGee (32) hanged himself. It's only a connection, as I knew little about him - he was on the production side of showbiz - but it meant Matt Lucas had to pull out of Prick Up Your Ears (a play currently running in the Wesy End about Joe Orton) which I was kinda hoping to see. For those who don't know, Joe Orton was a playwrite who was bludgeoned to death by his lover Kenneth Halliwell and immediately committed suicide by overdose. Some of the same issues of one partner becoming far more successful and famous than the other appear to be a factor in both cases, so it obviously wasn't reasonable to expect Lucas to continue in the role. I can't mourn him myself, but the violent death of a young man is bound to affect people who knew him.
I never heard of the band or the guy, but I did see the obit.
Anna Nicole Smith
*sniff*
I'll miss Bozo the clown too Henry. ;)
I was just thinking the other day when I was little and had a Poky Little Puppy Golden Book with a 45 (that's a small record, for you kiddies) of Soupy reading the book.
RIP Soupy!
White Fang is sitting Shivah and won't be available for pie throwing for the next week.
One of the funniest videos I've ever seen was from the Soupy Sales show. He used to have this bit where he would here a knock at the door, answer it and then talk to someone off camera.
One time, he went to answer the door and just started laughing histerically and looking really embarassed. It turned out that the crew had set him up and it was a beautiful, NAKED lady on the other side of the door, dancing and shaking her breast at him. And it was filmed! The sketch was released on a bloopers video, unedited.
Funny stuff!
1:48
[youtube]rJB32sA0OjQ[/youtube]
That's sad. Soupy Sales was one of the great ones.
...a little weak in the name choosing department tho, IMO.
RIP, Soupy.
RIP Soupy.
I remember him and Gene London more than I do Captain Kangaroo or Mr. Rogers.
Soupy was more like the cool uncle that didn't have any parenting skills. While everyone else would talk to you in a cheerful baby voice, Soupy would be the kind of guy who would show you card tricks and talk about Jazz.
Soupy was awesome. Funny, funny guy.
I remember getting very misty when Osamu Tezuka, the creator of Astro Boy and Kimba the White Lion among many, many others, passed away in February, 1989.
Oddly enough, most other celeb deaths rank either "Oh. Too bad." or "Good riddance to bad rubbish." with me...
-MMM-
RIP Edward Woodward. Star of many things, but probably most well known his role in The Wicker Man.
He's a household name in the Uk. One of those names that's been around forever (for my generation)... probably at least in someway because it's a fun name is fun to say.
Died yesterday aged 79.
I always thought of him as the Equalizer, even thought I didn't ever really watch that. Starnge. He also always reminded me of Michael Caine.
Oh he was always The Equalizer to me as well, and didn't watch it either! But for the Merkins he's probably better known for the cult classic.
I brought home a male friend (who I had snogged) and he was terrified by my Dad.
Why?
Combination of my Dad not saying much, and what he did saw was in a gruff East London accent, and he looked like the Equaliser.
He did in some lights actually.
The rest was because he was terribly shy.
But it was quite good fun when the word was passed around that my Dad was some sort of East End hard man.
And no, I never watched it either. To me, Woodward was always Neil Howie. I have the Director's Cut DVD. I may have to watch it again tonight.
I've never seen the 1973 version of the wicker man. I've added it to my netflix queue.
I've never seen the 1973 version of the wicker man. I've added it to my netflix queue.
You're in for a treat... That butchered piece of crap... is terrible. (The new one, I mean.)
That's what happens when Modern Cinema has to take from the past, because there are no new ideas - They rape classics.
Nicholas Cage is one of my favourite actors, and that's the only saving grace of this movie; I still refuse, however, to watch it... because I hate when American cinema rapes British classics just because they're all out of ideas.*
(* Not that it's just American Cinema that's out of ideas, of course... Most Modern Cinema is suffering from a terrible lack of unique, new ideas.)
--
EDIT: Keeping the thread on-track, I'd have to say that the deaths that have, this year, bummed me out, are...
(In no order.) Michael Jackson, Keith Floyd, Patrick Swayze. < All men who, with extraordinary talent, died before their times.
Keith was my all-time-favourite Chef / T.V Chef. Has been for a very long time. He had a very troubled life, at times, which is probably what drove him to alcoholism, but he kept it in check, I think, in a decent manner. He was a very extrovert T.V personality, and paved the way for all the cooking shows that we, today, enjoy so much... I loved his excessive use of incredibly expensive ingredients, too. Throwing a fistful of saffron into something that was also loaded with rare truffles... That's Floyd!
Michael was an incredible man. I'm not one of those crazy, I'd-sell-all-I-own-to-see-him fans, just someone who can appreciate a decent person, with a decent message, who wants nothing more than love, to love, to be loved, to spread the word of love, etc... Not for profit, not for "a place in heaven" (he wasn't religious,) but just... out of decency. That is so rare, it's almost completely extinct, now that he's gone.
Patrick, well... Not the best actor, but... He just had "that face." Anyone who's a fan, should know what I mean. One of the most emotive faces I've ever observed in an actor, and, for that, he was truly gifted... If you don't know what I mean, just watch "Ghost." I mean, come on... that's just brilliant acting, right there.
They all bum me out, though; Deaths. Not just celebrity, but, of course, the celebrities are the ones we build "connections" with, through their chosen medium. It's like losing a distant friend, someone you may've shared many years with, good times, and bad...
This is a depressing thread!
But for the Merkins he's probably better known for the cult classic.
Hey. I resemble that remark. Officer Howie was a truly great character. :D
The original version of Wickerman is pretty well known among American Pagans ... most other Americans, not so much. I don't think enough people hereabouts were aware enough of it to qualify as a "cult," frankly.
Actually, I've noticed with a lot of recent remakes, the kids these days, don't understand that they're getting a recycled crap version of something that was really good and special. And totally not in need of being remade. Or reimagined. Or whatever they're calling plagiarism these days.
Or whatever they're calling plagiarism these days.
artistic license :rolleyes:
Mike Penner/Christine Daniels apparently commits suicide
The day Mike Penner left the Los Angeles Times made the news. The longtime sportswriter wrote the article himself, a personal essay explaining that he was taking some time off and, upon his return, he would be known from then on as Christine Daniels.
Penner's public acknowledgment in April 2007 that he was transgender and would soon live as a woman shocked the world of sports journalism and turned his new identity, Daniels, into an instant celebrity. Daniels gave speeches, was profiled in Sports Illustrated, collected honors for courage from transgender groups and wrote a blog for the Times titled "Woman In Progress."
Except that the transition didn't last. In mid-October 2008, after a lengthy leave of absence, Penner, 51, returned to the sports pages and the Times newsroom as a man.
And just as suddenly, Penner's story, heralded in its early days as a triumphant example of transgender progress, has instead become a cautionary tale of the lesser-known phenomenon: transgender regret.
"It's unfortunate and it's relatively uncommon but certainly not unheard of," says Denise Leclair, executive director of the International Foundation for Gender Education, a Waltham, Mass.-based transgender advocacy group. "The simplest way to think about it is being trans is something that never goes away. ... There's just a fairly constant social pressure to just go back. You don't have to be a genius to understand that society doesn't really accept this."
Penner, a 24-year veteran of the newspaper, did not respond to calls and e-mails for comment and has not written about his decision to resume life as a man. The blog and bylines as Christine Daniels have been removed from the newspaper's website.
Though there's no data available on how many transgender people abandon their new gender, psychologist Ron Lawrence of the Community Counseling Center in Las Vegas says about 5% of his transgender patients revert. Leclair echoes that estimate.
Adhering to a code
Transgender advocates say the case of Penner, who never had sex-change surgery, reflects the success of a system in which American sex-change surgeons, adhering to their own code of conduct, won't operate until the patient has had a year of intense psychotherapy while living publicly in the new gender.
"We're required (by doctors) to go through all this stuff for a reason, even though there are a lot of trans people who bristle at being told what they can and can't do," says Donna Rose, a male-to-female postoperative transsexual in Rochester, N.Y. "The thing that people have to understand is that even though Mike decided to retransition, that doesn't mean he's not trans. It's not like you go all of a sudden, 'Uh, I'm better.' Going back doesn't automatically clear the conundrum that causes you to get there in the first place."
Rose reversed course on her own transition at first because her then-wife became so distraught and co-workers were insensitive. Six months later, she went through with it and ended the marriage.
Transitioning carries with it the prospect of losing jobs, friends and family, as well as mockery from strangers who find the gender change visibly jarring, Rose and others attest. "You become a very visible minority," Leclair says. "The average male-to-female transsexual is taller, has bigger hands and feet, has more facial hair than most women. There are a lot of physical attributes that are hard to hide in a society that doesn't like you."
Religion sometimes comes into play. Joseph Cluse of Newport News, Va., lived his life as Joanna for 30 years after having the surgery in the 1970s. Yet Cluse, who was married twice and raised one husband's children, became religious in recent years and decided that God wanted him to resume his life as a man. Cluse, 54, stopped taking hormones and had breast implants removed.
Cases such as Penner and Cluse raise questions about the causes of transgenderism. Paul McHugh, director of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, is a leading proponent of the notion that the cause is not biological, that transgender people have chosen this path.
He halted the university hospital's practice of performing gender reassignment surgeries in the late 1970s because, he says, a study indicated that postoperative transsexuals were no happier than they were before the operation. "You can live any way you want, but don't come to us and ask us to give medical resources to this proposal of yours, because we think it's a social construct and not a condition of nature," McHugh says.
"No one has demonstrated any physical mechanism or physical problem that causes this. The burden of proof is on them to prove that."
Debating the cause
Such comments are anathema to the transgender advocates, who insist the decades-old study McHugh cites was debunked. Like most transsexuals, Daniels told Sports Illustrated in 2007 that her urges to be female began as a child, and she wrote in the Times that same year: "We are born with this. We fight it as long as we can, and in the end it wins."
Claire Winter, a transsexual from Seattle who mentored Penner and spoke to him late last year, doubts the sportswriter's reversal will further confuse the general public about transsexualism.
"I think people are so bloody confused, I don't know if this has a significant effect," Winter says. "But maybe this will help people to understand that this is a very complex, highly difficult situation. This indicates the fundamental problem of trying to shove people into either end of the gender pole. It serves to point out the fact that it isn't as simple as flipping a coin.
"I would say give (Penner) some time," Winter says. "We have to wait for him to let us know when he figures it out."
Penner was married to a fellow Los Angeles Times sportswriter Lisa Dillman.
Penner was found dead in his Los Angeles home on Nov. 28, 2009 of an apparent suicide.
Ah, sorry--that information wasn't actually mentioned in the article from USA Today. Hope he didn't leave any kids behind. :(
I believe that info was in the AP story that I saw first, but it was a little skimpy on details. The USA Today was meatier.
900 foot Jesus has called Oral Roberts home. Guess the fundraising effort didn't work out so well?
Guess he couldn't heal himself.:bolt:
That is generally considered to be spiritual masturbation.
'Spode was first in, but everybody was thinking it the moment they heard. Now for Leno and Letterman to tell the joke... by winking.;)
Brittany Murphy dies in LA at age 32
Brittany Murphy, the actress who got her start in the sleeper hit "Clueless" and rose to stardom in "8 Mile" before her movie roles declined in recent years, died Sunday in Los Angeles of what appeared to be natural causes, a Los Angeles County coroner's official said. She was 32.
Murphy was pronounced dead at 10:04 a.m. at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, hospital spokeswoman Sally Stewart said.
Murphy was transported to the hospital after the Los Angeles Fire Department responded to a call at 8 a.m. at the home she shared with her husband, British screenwriter Simon Monjack, in the Hollywood Hills.
Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter said Murphy apparently collapsed in the bathroom, and authorities were looking into her medical history.
An official cause of death may not be determined for some time, since toxicology tests will be required, but "it appears to be natural," Winter said. He said an autopsy was planned for Monday or Tuesday.
So sad for one so young.
Don't know why but this one saddens me. Never heard any bad press on this kid.
Anorexia induced cardiac arrest??
She was always super strange. If it's not drugs, I'll be shocked. Only two weeks ago she got fired from a movie her for being impossible to work with.
http://peoplemagazinedaily.com/?p=3822As I said in the Death Pool thread, I liked her. She was so eerily insane in Girl, Interrupted. So sad, so young.
As I said in the Death Pool thread, I liked her. She was so eerily insane in Girl, Interrupted. So sad, so young.
Was she the one with the chicken carcasses?
She certainly didn't look anorexic. If it isn't at least peripherally drug related, I'll be shocked. I really enjoyed her in "Just Married". In fact, it's been the only movie with Ashton Kutcher that I could stand.
Difficult to work with or not, 32 is damn young to bite the big one.
Was she the one with the chicken carcasses?
yes.
I guess I saw her in Girl, Interrupted. I can't say I saw anything else she was in. Apparently not a healthy mental place, movietown.
Art Clokey, creator of Gumby, has left the world of the animated at age 88.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100109/ap_en_ot/us_obit_gumby_creator
"Hey, Elspode", you ask, "what's your favorite Gumby memory?"
Glad you asked. In 1986, my wife, son and I were on a pilgrimage to Disney World. As we were stopped in the line to pay our thruway toll, I looked into my rearview mirror to see that the minipickup behind me had Gumby and his horse pal, Pokey, on his dashboard. Gumby was on all fours, and Pokey had mounted him from behind.
Ah, pop culture memories.
A passing friend of mine died yesterday,
Juliet Anderson, better known as Aunt Peg. I linked to the Wikipedia entry but there are plenty of other obits out there.
I'm quite surprised that no one has mentioned the death of homeboy
Teddy Pendergrass.
And I don't want to hear any more about that
transsexual model he was with the night of his accident in the 80's either. Old news.
I'm a bit bummed out by the death of a lot of non celebs at the moment :(
Kate McGarrigle shuffled off this mortal coil.
I'm a bit bummed out by the death of a lot of non celebs at the moment :(
Sorry to hear that Monsta. Care to share. Sorry for your loss.
Thanks, but not my loss per se -the earthquake victims
Stevie Ray Vaugha..nearly got sick when heard the news back then. :shred:
Robert B. Parker. The author of the Spencer for Hire series and Jesse Stone. Love all those books and re-read them often.
Jamie Gillis died Friday. A moment of silence, please!
Jamie Gillis died Friday. A moment of silence, please!
Proof that life is measured in inches.
Stevie Ray Vaugha..nearly got sick when heard the news back then. :shred:
I remember the night he died also. The local radio station played their
entire SRV catalog, in chronological order. At the end,
they did it again.Not a celebrity but a great public servant.A touching article about the life and death of Juanita Goggins. Rest in Peace.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/11/juanita-goggins-dead-once_n_495498.htmlPeter Graves has passed away.
:(
Give him Hamm on 5, hold the Mayo.
Peter Graves has passed away.
:(
Give him Hamm on 5, hold the Mayo.
If he chooses to accept it. This recording will self-destruct in 5 seconds.
bummer - another good one gone.
Yes a big man.
Fess Parker dead at 85.
Daniel Boone, as you'll see from the show lyrics, was like a pioneer-era Chuck Norris.
Daniel Boone was a man,
Yes, a big man!
With an eye like an eagle
And as tall as a mountain was he!
Daniel Boone was a man,
Yes, a big man!
He was brave, he was fearless
And as tough as a mighty oak tree!
From the coonskin cap on the top of ol' Dan
To the heel of his rawhide shoe;
The rippin'est, roarin'est, fightin'est man
The frontier ever knew!
Daniel Boone was a man,
Yes, a big man!
And he fought for America
To make all Americans free!
What a Boone! What a doer!
What a dream come-er-true-er was he!
Daniel Boone was a man!
Yes, a big man!
With a whoop and a holler
he c'd mow down a forest of trees!
Daniel Boone was a man!
Yes, a big man!
If he frowned at a river
In July all the water would freeze!
But a peaceable, pioneer fella was Dan
When he smiled all the ice would thaw!
The singin'est, laughin'est, happiest man
The frontier ever saw!
Daniel Boone was a man!
Yes, a big man!
With a dream of a country that'd
Always forever be free!
What a Boone! What a do-er!
What a dream-come-er-true-er was he!Only 85? I figured he'd must be much older than that by now.
Yeah, and he was 40 when he started doing Daniel Boone! (that doesn't sound right)
We're gonna miss you Dan'l! :sniff:
Date of Birth: August 16, 1924 - I'm shocked I thought he was much older
Power pop pioneer Alex Chilton.
I feel like I should really know who this guy is. You were the 3rd person I respect who has commented on his passing.
It's one of those things, where one rather unknown artist wound up influencing an entire generation of other artists. He took the Beatles and the Bryds, especially Roger McGuinn's jangly guitar, to the next logical step. It's a long list of acts that never would have existed without Mr Chilton, including REM, the Bangles, Television, Cheap Trick... and thus a whole nother generation of guitar pop.
You know the theme for That 70s Show? That was Chilton's band's debut single.
[youtube]fAtb65Z_bkA[/youtube]
My favorite and many others' favorite "September Gurls"
[youtube]BNKSs1J38EA[/youtube]
The Letter
[youtube]wD9mCp8SifM[/youtube]
Sad to hear about Robert Kulp. Seems like most of the actors from shows i watched when i was a kid are dead.
Greatest American Hero? Why could they never figure out how that suit worked?
because they lost the manual!
Johnny Maestro {The Crests}
16 candles
Fess Parker, Played Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone, plus lots of Disney stuff before Walt died.
June Havoc, immortalized in 'Gypsy,' dies at 97
Mar 29 11:37 AM US/Eastern
By BOB THOMAS
Actress and writer June Havoc, whose childhood in vaudeville as Baby June was immortalized in the musical "Gypsy," has died in Connecticut at age 97.
Havoc was the younger sister of famed stripper Gypsy Rose Lee and died Sunday of natural causes at her home in Stamford. Her death was confirmed Monday by her publicist and friend, Shirley Herz.
While she never reached the fame of her sister, Havoc had a varied, successful theater career that lasted from 1918 into the next century.
With music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by Arthur Laurents, "Gypsy" is considered one of the best musicals ever written. The original 1959 production starred Ethel Merman, and it has been revived several times since. It also became a 1962 movie starring Rosalind Russell, with Natalie Wood as the grown-up Gypsy.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Jaime Escalante is standing and delivering in heaven :angel:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaime_EscalanteNow he can talk to Farrah on that great intercom in the sky.
omg, I just saw this online before I read your post, Shel. She was so great in that show. Her tirades cracked me up! Classy and contained passion.
RIP, Miss Julia. :(
For Shel. :)
[YOUTUBE]qz_ZpoYBzaw[/YOUTUBE]
One of my favorites! Thanks Shawnee! :D
My favorite designing woman.
http://www.azcentral.com/ent/celeb/articles/2010/04/10/20100410dixie-carter-obit-0410.html
Wow, you really are gay, aren't you? Not that I had any doubts, but, well, you couldn't have be any gayer if you wore lavender shirts and swished around while you decorate interiors and make flower arrangements.
Well.... that and taking it up the arse are pretty strong clues I guess...
He has track lighting, but his name isn't Steve.
I only swish with mouth wash after swallowing. And I've NEVER worn lavender!
I don't take it up the ass, I put mine in other's asses. Never really liked getting fucked. To me, it feels the same as shitting. :eek:
And no track lighting!
:D
I don't take it up the ass, I put mine in other's asses. Never really liked getting fucked.
You're missing out!
But duly noted.
Is it hot in here?
Where's "here"? ;)
Don't know if it falls into the category of "death that bummed me out the most" but a notable fellow..
Daryl F. Gates
http://www.timesnewsline.com/news/Ex-LA-Police-Chief-Daryl-F-Gates-Dead-At-83-1271445437/I don't take it up the ass, I put mine in other's asses. :D
It is better to give, than to receive. :cool:
You're missing out!
Butt duly noted.
Fixed it for ya.
"I've given up hoping that my son isn't gay. Now my only hope is that he's a top."
-- Adam Carolla
All the California dominants eat Topper's Pizza.
Looks like Bret Michaels is
next.
Meinhardt Raabe, who played the Munchkin coroner in “The Wizard of Oz” is really most sincerely dead.
http://chestertontribune.com/Obituaries%202010/meinhardt_raabe_wizard_of_oz_mun.htmMany years ago when I was still nursing, I cared for a very elderly woman who had once worked for the family of Sir Micheal Redgrave. It was during the war years and later, and she was also godmother of Lynn Redgrave who died today.
Just before my patient died in London when she was almost a hundred years old, Lynn flew in from La La Land and spent some time quietly caring for the frail old woman and talking about the good old days, when all the Redgrave clan were living by the river in Chiswick.
I found her to be the least precious of the family and the most generous with her time. She brought great happiness and comfort to a dying woman and I really liked her.
I hate cancer.
Every time I hear her name, the lyrics just arise unbidden in my head...
But during...
National Brotherhood Week
National Brotherhood Week
Lena Horne and Sheriff Clark are dancing cheek to cheek
It's fun to eulogize
The people you despise
As long as you don't let 'em in your school
Looks like Bret Michaels is next.
He's one of the 20% who actually survived. I was scared for his family and fans, but I didn't really care for him on TV at all.
I cried all day when Patrick Swayze died. I think it was because I grew up watching his movies, and I could totally recollect times in my life just by watching certain movies of his. His life outside Hollywood was just as spectacular, and he had a very loving marriage that I think everyone could admire, and something I strive for. He was an amazing man.
(I didn't scroll back in the thread- I'm going to assume he's already been listed- but I'm new dammit!! :P )
Every time I hear her name, the lyrics just arise unbidden in my head...
But during...
National Brotherhood Week
National Brotherhood Week
Lena Horne and Sheriff Clark are dancing cheek to cheek
It's fun to eulogize
The people you despise
As long as you don't let 'em in your school
Tom Lehrer is funny as hell. My father bought "That was the Year That Was" when it was originally released. My siblings and I thought it was hilarious, now my son and his friends are into it.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9FL2FBO1&show_article=1
NEW YORK (AP) - A Broadway public relations firm says the last Ziegfeld Girl has died.
Boneau/Bryan-Brown says Doris Eaton Travis died Tuesday at age 106. It hasn't said where or how she died.
Travis was one of the legendary Ziegfeld Follies Girls, the chorus girls who wore elaborate costumes for the Ziegfeld Follies series of Broadway theatrical productions in the early 1900s.
She also was a supporter of the Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS fundraising organization and appeared often in its annual Easter Bonnet Competition.
She was from West Bloomfield, Mich.
holy crap... 106??? Jeez, she's lived lives for TWO people
holy crap... 106??? Jeez, she's lived lives for TWO people
Shit, so that means ONE person only has 53 years??! I don't have much time left, then...:mecry:
RIP Gary Coleman
Goodnight, catch-phrase slinging short non-threatening black dude who generally seemed happy with his lot in life.
RIP Gary Coleman
Goodnight, catch-phrase slinging short non-threatening black dude who generally seemed happy with his lot in life.
To quote his name-sake character from "Avenue Q", "it sucks to be me."
they didn't fully explain this purported "fall" though. ???
RIP Gary Coleman
Goodnight, catch-phrase slinging short non-threatening black dude who generally seemed happy with his lot in life.
I saw the headline only--what kind of a stroke did he have anyway?
I heard he fell while having a seizure and hit his head
and boy, there were sure a bunch of unhappy and dysfunctional people that came out of Different Strokes. Makes me wonder about it and the people behind it.
I saw the headline only--what kind of a stroke did he have anyway?
a diff'rent one?
ouch :lol: ouch :lol: ouch
a diff'rent one?
Clappity clap clap clap.
I had to endure an entire night of short life jokes from the cow orkers.
That, however, is brilliant.
Won't get much play outside of the Philadelphia area, but another piece of our childhood has passed ...
Wee Willie Webber (a DJ on a local Top 40 station, but also the host of afternoon children's TV programming, including introducing us all to the wonders of Ultraman) died this week.
Dennis Hopper has left the building.
that really is a bummer. Hope you have fun in the afterlife, Dennis!
There have certainly been a lot of them this year - is anyone scoring in the pool?
There have certainly been a lot of them this year - is anyone scoring in the pool?
Been there, done that. lol!!
I just watched Blue Velvet, had forgotten Hopper's great role in that.
My grandma had an Art Linkletter's Kids Say the Darndest Things book. I read that thing cover to cover, a few times, after I first found it hiding in a part of the closet that had just a handful of books. A treasure of a find!
RIP to both.
I just visualized an unholy mashup of Art Linkletter's Kid's say the darndest things with Frank Booth. I'm going to think of puppies now.
Never mix Lynch and Darn Things Said. :headshake
lots of weird and mysterious celebrity (or near-celebrity) deaths recently. What's up with Ted Koppel's son? Goes on a fatal drinking binge? Parties with a strange man (a waiter, no less) when he has a girlfriend and a new baby? Has a roommate at 40 years of age? I guess he's gonna carry that big L on the forehead into the afterlife.
Coleman's wife's call to 911? unfuckingbelievable! Who doesn't help their dying spouse because they're afraid of a little blood?
Oh, and she made the decision to "pull the plug" and yet they weren't even married...had been divorced a couple years!
That whole "I can't deal with blood" thing would certainly go out the window if someone you loved needed you, wouldn't it?
Weird!
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2010/06/03/20100603ugliest-dog-dies.html
Former 'World's Ugliest Dog' Miss Ellie dies at 17
Jun. 3, 2010 06:32 AM
Associated Press
.
PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. - Miss Ellie, a small, bug-eyed Chinese Crested Hairless dog whose pimples and lolling tongue helped her win Animal Planet's "World's Ugliest Dog" contest in 2009, has died at age 17 after a career in resort show business in the Smoky Mountains.
The Mountain Press reported Thursday that Ellie starred in shows at the Comedy Barn in Pigeon Forge.
She also appeared on The Animal Planet cable show "Dogs 101" and was on billboards and in a commercial.
Pigeon Forge Mayor Keith Whaley proclaimed Nov. 12 as "Miss Ellie Day" for her owner's efforts to raise money for the local humane society. Over the years, Ellie helped raise more than $100,000 for the Sevier County Humane Society.
She will be cremated.
Dennis Hopper has left the building.
A sad day to be sure.
Former 'World's Ugliest Dog' Miss Ellie dies at 17
She will be cremated.
Well... Would you really want an open casket? :greenface
Well I will miss her "Like I'm the only person who's ever mixed a margarita in a sailor's mouth!" ... RIP Rue McClanahan!
ME too - Thats the second hit for the golden girls this year.
RIP Rue.
And Betty White, the last remaining, might be at the height of her popularity!
RIP Rue.
John Wooden, 99, Legendary U.C.L.A. Coach, Dies
The last shot for the wizard of Westwood!
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/05/sports/ncaabasketball/05wooden.htmlRon Zappe, died June 1st.
Nom nom potato chips.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zapp%27s)
Anyone who makes food, is aces, with me... so it's always a shame, when they die.
Jimmy Dean country singer and sausage guy has passed. I remember when
Big Bad John was popular on the radio.
Some good info here too.
Link
As an aside - Does it seem like there are a ton of famous people dying lately?
As an aside - Does it seem like there are a ton of famous people dying lately?
Yes
I see two factors:
1) Age. The celebrities with whom one is most familiar usually come from the generation above. Their time is come -especially for those who lived in the fast lane.
2) Technology. More TV, more movies, more internet, more media.... more celebrities to die and more coverage of their death.
...As an aside - Does it seem like there are a ton of famous people dying lately?
In some cases, not enough. My dream "celebrity" death headline:
"Cast of "Jersey Shore" die in horrific hottub accident!"
There are too many "Dream Celebrity Deaths" to list. I don't really want them to die, I just want them to go away and shut up.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/29/business/29hayek.html?hpw
Nicolas Hayek Dies at 82; His Swatch Saved an Industry
By MARGALIT FOX
Published: June 28, 2010
Nicolas Hayek, a Lebanese-born business consultant who is widely credited with having saved the Swiss watch industry with the introduction of the Swatch, the inexpensive, plastic — and, as it transpired, highly collectible — wristwatch that made its debut in 1983, died Monday in Biel, Switzerland. He was 82.
Salvatore Di Nolfi/KEYSTONE, via Associated Press
Nicolas Hayek was asked to help shut the troubled Swiss watch industry, but instead he revived it by introducing the Swatch.
Mr. Hayek, a founder and the chairman of the Swatch Group, died of heart failure while working at the company’s headquarters, according to an announcement on the company Web site.
The formation of the Swatch Group, which in addition to Swatch today comprises high-end watch brands like Breguet, Omega, Longines, Tissot, Calvin Klein and Mido, made Mr. Hayek one of Switzerland’s wealthiest men. The exquisite irony is that the company came about after Mr. Hayek was brought in to help shut the foundering Swiss watch industry altogether.
A flamboyant figure with a roguish sense of humor, Mr. Hayek was “a rare phenomenon in Europe — a genuine business celebrity,” as The Harvard Business Review described him in 1993.
Nicolas Hayek was born in Beirut in 1928 and moved to Switzerland as a young man. After studying mathematics, physics and chemistry at the University of Lyon in France, he started a consulting firm, Hayek Engineering, in Zurich in the early 1960s.
By the 1970s, the vaunted Swiss watch industry, a pillar of the national economy for centuries, was in jeopardy. Japanese watchmakers like Seiko had begun to undercut Swiss prices. And public tastes were shifting from the finely wrought analog timepieces in which Swiss artisans had long specialized to the pale flickering faces of mass-market digital watches.
In the early 1980s, with no apparent remedy in sight, a group of Swiss banks asked Mr. Hayek to compile a report on how the watchmaking industry might best be liquidated. Instead, he merged two of its former titans, Asuag and SSIH, which between them owned brands like Omega, Longines and Tissot.
Mr. Hayek bought a majority stake in the reorganized group, known as SMH — the Société Suisse de Microélectronique et d’Horlogerie. (He was fond of telling interviewers that the initials stood for “Sa Majesté Hayek” — “His Royal Highness Hayek.”)
In 1983, SMH introduced the Swatch. Lightweight, with vibrantly colored bands and breezy novelty faces, it was remarkably inexpensive to produce. (It had 51 parts, as opposed to the nearly 100 needed to make a traditional wristwatch.) It retailed for less than $35 when it was first marketed in the United States later that year.
The Swatch quickly became a sought-after collector’s item worldwide. It was very likely the first time that ordinary people had even considered owning multiple watches. (Mr. Hayek himself was known to appear in public wearing as many as eight — four to an arm — though at least a few of these were from his luxury brands.) Several hundred million Swatches have been sold since the brand’s inception.
The success of the Swatch also resuscitated the high-end brands under the SMH umbrella. The company, whose name was changed to the Swatch Group in the 1990s, generated about $4.9 billion in sales last year, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.
By redirecting consumers’ attention to Swiss watchmaking as a whole, the little plastic watch lifted all boats. Even the expensive brands, like Breguet, “we will continue to sell — and sell well,” Mr. Hayek told the publication Swiss News in 2008. He added, “We sell the mentality of Switzerland.”
Mr. Hayek stepped down as the Swatch Group’s chief executive in 2002 and was succeeded by his son, Nicolas Jr. His daughter Nayla sits on the company’s board. Information about other survivors could not be confirmed.
Over time, the humble Swatch itself was borne upward by its own success: the company has issued limited-edition Swatches designed by noted artists like Keith Haring. In 1992, The New York Times reported, a Swatch by Kiki Picasso, a pseudonym of the French artist Christian Chapiron, sold at auction at Christie’s in London for $28,000.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/16/movies/16mcgee.html?_r=1&hpw
Vonetta McGee, Film and TV Actress, Dies at 65
By MARGALIT FOX
Published: July 15, 2010
Vonetta McGee, a film and television actress originally known for blaxploitation pictures like “Blacula,” “Hammer” and “Shaft in Africa,” died on July 9 in Berkeley, Calif. She was 65 and a Berkeley resident.
Vonetta McGee with William Marshall in “Blacula,” from 1972.
The cause was cardiac arrest, said Kelley Nayo, a family spokeswoman.
In “Blacula” (1972), Ms. McGee portrayed the love interest of Mamuwalde (William Marshall), an African prince who, after an ill-fated trip to Transylvania centuries earlier, re-emerges in modern Los Angeles as a member of the thirsty undead.
Reviewing the film in The New York Times, Roger Greenspun called Ms. McGee “just possibly the most beautiful woman currently acting in movies.”
In “Hammer” (1972), Ms. McGee appeared opposite Fred Williamson in the tale of a young black prizefighter. In “Shaft in Africa” (1973), the third installment in the private-eye series starring Richard Roundtree, she played an emir’s daughter.
Ms. McGee’s other films include “The Kremlin Letter” (1970); “Detroit 9000” (1973); “Thomasine & Bushrod” (1974); and “The Eiger Sanction” (1975), directed by and starring Clint Eastwood.
Lawrence Vonetta McGee, named for her father, was born in San Francisco on Jan. 14, 1945. While studying pre-law at San Francisco State College, she became involved in community theater. She left college before graduating to pursue an acting career.
Ms. McGee’s first film work was in Italy, where her credits include the 1968 films “Faustina,” in which she played the title role, and “Il Grande Silenzio” (“The Great Silence”). After seeing her Italian work, Sidney Poitier arranged for her to be cast in her first American film, “The Lost Man” (1969), in which he starred.
In later years Ms. McGee had recurring roles on several television shows, among them “Hell Town,” “Bustin’ Loose,” “L.A. Law” and “Cagney & Lacey,” on which she portrayed the wife of Detective Mark Petrie, played by Carl Lumbly. Ms. McGee and Mr. Lumbly were married in 1986.
Besides Mr. Lumbly, Ms. McGee is survived by their son, Brandon Lumbly; her mother, Alma McGee; three brothers, Donald, Richard and Ronald; and a sister, also named Alma McGee.
Though she was associated in public memory with the genre, Ms. McGee deplored the term “blaxploitation.” It wasn’t the “black” that troubled her — that was a source of pride. It was the “exploitation.”
“She was constantly a person who preferred roles where women got to make choices,” Ms. Nayo said on Friday. “Where women got to be strong.”
Manute Bol dead at 47
Pooka needed my help to reach some dishes on a high shelf in the kitchen cabinet, she said "see that small bowl up there" and I said "so you need my help to reach the
minute bowl. ???"Gloria Stuart died on the 26th. She is most recently famous for playing old Rose in
The Titanic.
She was quite the babe back in the day.
RIP Arthur Penn, director of "Bonnie and Clyde", "The Miracle Worker", "The Chase", "Alice's Restaurant", "Little Big Man" and "Penn and Teller Get Killed".
No relation to Sean Penn, Michael Penn, the late Chris Penn, nor to Penn Jillette.
RIP comedian Greg Giraldo, of an accidental overdose of prescription medications.
http://www.tmz.com/2010/09/29/comedian-greg-giraldo-dies-overdose-prescription-pills/
Damn - add him to the list...
You forgot to mention Gloria Stuart was 100 years old. Damn! quite a run.
Stephen J. Cannell
He was responsible for a lot of television that I really, really liked.
Pssst... Pete, that was 5 years ago. :haha:
I had him. I had him! I win, I win...
I had him. I had him! I win, I win...
You might want to clarify that statement.
:D
Pssst... Pete, that was 5 years ago. :haha:
Oh. :bonk::rollanim:
Oh, the irony
British Turkey Magnate bernard Matthews died on Thanksgiving
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-11845703Oh, the irony
British Turkey Magnate bernard Matthews died on Thanksgiving
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-11845703
What kind of twisted fruit would deprive children of something called Turkey Twizzlers? They must be full of natural goodness with a name like that.
I just can't believe Alan "call me Lord" Sugar is on Twitter!
Leslie Nielsen was 54 before being asked to play his first comedy role.
Goodnight Mr. Nielsen, you proved your range beautifully.
Srsly? He's dead? I loved him, although some of his movies sucked
Leslie Nielsen was Dr. Rumack, in "Airplane!"
Leslie Nielsen was 54 before being asked to play his first comedy role.
Goodnight Mr. Nielsen, you proved your range beautifully.
well said
No one has yet posted about Elizabeth Edwards passing today.
No one should get breast cancer, but they do... both the good and the no so good.
My wife and I were quite disappointed with her at one time,
when we learned that she knew about her husbands infidelity
during the time of the Presidential campaigns.
We felt she should have pulled the plug on his campaign right then and there.
But Elizabeth's personality did not go down that road.
We since have come to believe she was a very good and special person.
We are sad that her 6 years from Dx was not much, much longer.
I have a lot of respect for her. She stood by the issues and her man even though he was out screwing other women while she was getting breast cancer treatment.
30 yrs ago yesterday John Lennon shed his mortal coil.
Leslie Nielsen was 54 before being asked to play his first comedy role.
Goodnight Mr. Nielsen, you proved your range beautifully.
[COLOR="DeepSkyBlue"]Srsly? He's dead?[/COLOR] I loved him, although some of his movies sucked
Hunter S. Thompson, Bill Hicks and George Carlin. If there were anyone in the world left with half their intelligence and wit, I would be happy.
Man, I just found out that Martin Gardner passed in May 2010.
I need to make a new flexagon.
We lost Blake Edwards. :(
I join you in your :(
Thank you Mr Edwards, for your wonderful films (Breakfast at Tiffany's, the Pink Panthers, Days of Wine and Roses [so powerful]) and also for providing such fine vehicles for Henry Mancini music.
Captain Beefheart.
He played his balls off at the Spectrum in Philly, only to be dissed by the crowd waiting for Jethro Tull.
Steve Landesberg, most famous, I guess, as Detective Arthur Dietrich on "Barney Miller".
I've always just loved this guy's dry, deadpan delivery.
He also did a great Gregory Peck.
[YOUTUBE]6TwD3A28HmI[/YOUTUBE]
Fuck cancer.
Man, I just found out that Martin Gardner passed in May 2010.
I need to make a new flexagon.
[SIZE="1"]from Wikipedia[/SIZE]
Martin Gardner (October 21, 1914 – May 22, 2010)[1][2] was an American mathematics and science writer specializing in recreational mathematics...
"Recreational mathematics"? Fuck that.
So recreational that even I enjoyed them.
I have a high degree of math anxiety.
Damn... Detective Arthur Dietrich was always my favorite character.
[SIZE="1"]from Wikipedia[/SIZE]
"Recreational mathematics"? Fuck that.
I agree with wolf. Man, it's *all* mathematics. You might as well have fun.
Numbers have never sat still for me. They move around. I can add and shit, but, when it's time to use the sums, or check the work, nobody else sees the numbers I saw when I looked at them.
Pete Postlethwaite - noted English actor.
Died aged only 64.
Probably best know internationally for The Usual Suspects, The Lost World: Jurassic Park and Brassed Off.
Ah shit!! I liked that guy's characters, every one I ever saw him portray.
[SIZE="1"]from IMDB:[/SIZE]
Steven Spielberg called him "The best actor in the world".
ETA: Fuck cancer.
:( He was awesome. He made Brassed off, among so many others. One of those actors capable of sending chills down your spine, even in a comedy role.
Yeah, I liked him. Too bad he's gone.
Just read that character actor
Bill Erwin died. He was 96.
this a worse world for his Passing
HE was a True Leader and Hero
I don't care much for celebrities, I would have liked to shake his hand.
"If you can," he wrote, "find that peace within yourself, that peace and quiet and confidence that you can pass on to others, so that they know that you are honest and you are fair and will help them, no matter what, when the chips are down."
John Dye from "Touched by an Angel" died. I went to high school with him & we were in a production of The Sound of Music. Naturally, I'm a few years older
He was 3 years younger than me.
Also, Margaret Whiting died. Great singer. And VERY gay friendly. :-)
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/12/arts/music/12whiting.html?hpwOwsley "Bear" Stanley, who fuelled the 1960s flower power generation with LSD and worked closely with the Grateful Dead, has been remembered as a man of "enormous influence".
Stanley worked as a sound engineer for the band and is remembered for the millions of LSD doses he manufactured at his lab in San Francisco, which helped to kick off the psychedelic era.
The 76-year-old died on Sunday in a car crash close to his home near Cairns, in far north Queensland. His wife Sheilah was also injured in the crash but has now been released from hospital.
Joe Morello, drummer of the Dave Brubeck quartet. Seems weird to even mention one death while Japan is going through this craziness...
Joe Morello, drummer of the Dave Brubeck quartet. Seems weird to even mention one death while Japan is going through this craziness...
Sadly, it proves the old military saying, "One death is a tragedy; one million is a statistic".
It turns out that Lil' Griff's drum teacher took lessons from... Joe Morello. Small planet.
It turns out that Lil' Griff's drum teacher took lessons from... Joe Morello. Small planet.
My best friend's ex wife (also my friend) dated one of Brubeck's sons for years. The story gets more involved but I'll stop there.
It is a small world, but I still wouldn't want to have to paint it.
Have you got a steady boyfriend
Cause honey I've been watching you
I hear you're mad about Brubeck
I like your eyes, I like him too
He's an artist, a pioneer
We've got to have some music on the new frontier
New Frontier--Donald Fagan (The Nightfly)
Elizabeth Taylor died.
I really liked her - she was a huge talent.
RIP Liz.
Elizabeth Taylor. A great actress and humanitarian, died today.
ah, sad. but she will live on forever on screen.
I actually hit the gay jackpot once when i worked on Universal CityWalk in Hollywood about 19 years ago. There was a charity comedy show being held at the studio and i saw Elizabeth Taylor and Bette Midler having lunch at Wolfgang Pucks next door. She was stunningly beautiful in person.
I only knew her as a personality in the tabloids. I know, obviously, that she was a movie star once, but that's not what I think of when her name is spoken.
I think of her time with Michael Jackson and Malcolm Forbes, and all the husbands she had.
Random story: My cousin had to retrieve something from her bathroom for her once for some reason, and said she was not very tidy.
I only knew her as a personality in the tabloids. I know, obviously, that she was a movie star once, but that's not what I think of when her name is spoken.
Rent National Velvet and the original Father of the Bride. Both are worth seeing anyway.
Watch Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Or Suddenly Last Summer. She's amazing in both.
Watch Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Or Suddenly Last Summer. She's amazing in both.
I'd add "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof" as well.
I actually hit the gay jackpot once when i worked on Universal CityWalk in Hollywood about 19 years ago. There was a charity comedy show being held at the studio and i saw Elizabeth Taylor and Bette Midler having lunch at Wolfgang Pucks next door. She was stunningly beautiful in person.
So was I, 19 years ago...
She was a great British Ambassador. Probably why she was messy too :lol:
sheldon - you ought to be ashamed of yourself for the above post. it sure wasn't very christian of you!!
sheldon - you ought to be ashamed of yourself for the above post. it sure wasn't very christian of you!!
I don't mind being covered in shame so long as they get covered in shit!
Why are they protesting? They hated her, she's dead. Surely they should be celebrating?
on a serious note, i agree with you totally. these are some of the idiots that are protesting military funerals. they believe god is punishing soldiers because of gays in the military. i pray they don't show up for a funeral in my area. i don't think they would fare too well in my neck of the woods
On the contrary, I hope they DO show up to protest a funeral in your neck of the woods.
On a day when you and your colleagues are terribly busy elsewhere.
I'm sure you'd get there as quickly as you could just as soon as word reached you about the "disturbance"...
on a serious note, i agree with you totally. these are some of the idiots that are protesting military funerals. they believe god is punishing soldiers because of gays in the military. i pray they don't show up for a funeral in my area. i don't think they would fare too well in my neck of the woods
I wonder if they'll show up at the funeral for that church group that god
killed/maimed on the train ride?
First female VP candidate Ferraro dies at 75
"My name is Geraldine Ferraro," she declared. "I stand before you to proclaim tonight: America is the land where dreams can come true for all of us."
LINKI wonder if they'll show up at the funeral for that church group that god killed/maimed on the train ride?
Ken Martin, amusement ride safety consultant: "You as a rider, or as the mom or dad, is the final inspector, no matter how many times, or how many sets of eyes that ride has been inspected."
Hmmmmm. True. If you get on anything that malfunctions after working safely for years, you might well be the final inspector.
Hmmmmm. True. If you get on anything that malfunctions after working safely for years, you might well be the final inspector.
Similar to the wisdom about mushrooms: All of them are edible, some only once though.
First female VP candidate Ferraro dies at 75
"My name is Geraldine Ferraro," she declared. "I stand before you to proclaim tonight: America is the land where dreams can come true for all of us."
LINK
I remember when her son was busted for coke, I believe, in VT. back in the mid 80s. What a fuckwit, it sure didn't help his mom's political career.
Calvin_Russell
While not a fan, I like his music. He died yesterday.
on a serious note, i agree with you totally. these are some of the idiots that are protesting military funerals. they believe god is punishing soldiers because of gays in the military. i pray they don't show up for a funeral in my area. i don't think they would fare too well in my neck of the woods
On the contrary, I hope they DO show up to protest a funeral in your neck of the woods.
On a day when you and your colleagues are terribly busy elsewhere.
I'm sure you'd get there as quickly as you could just as soon as word reached you about the "disturbance"...
Well, gosh darn it! Next time I'll hope for Big Sarge winning a lottery as well:
Mississippi town figures out simple, effective way to stop Westboro Baptist Church funeral protest
Brandon, Mississippi will go down in history as the town where the Westboro Baptist Church met its match.
The lunatics showed up to protest at the funeral of local hero Staff Sgt Jason Rogers who was killed in Afghanistan, but left town without making a peep. They may have made a few moans and groans, but no peeps.
Much more at the link. I'm not too sure how reliable the source is -seems a bit one-sided, to put it mildly - but I reckon it is probably pretty accurate.
:lol:
Good stuff ZG! I hope those arseholes show up here...I already have my brass knuckles waiting...
Good stuff ZG! I hope those arseholes show up here...I already have my brass knuckles waiting...
your 'brass knuckles' did not help you out earlier in the 'chat room' LOL!!! You got your fat ass kicked.
Pam.
Refusing to answer your crazy ass questions in chat is not "losing." Thats called ignoring. You have out crazied me though, you win that game. You are the most psycho of all time.
Jackass star Ryan Dunn dies in car accident
Ryan Dunn, who will forever be known for sticking a Hot Wheels car up his own ass in the movie "Jackass," and another as-of-yet-unidentified person, both died in a crash outside of Philadelphia early this morning.
Police say they don't know whether the 34-year-old Dunn, who appeared in all of the "Jackass" movies, or the unidentified person was driving the car. The shot up top was taken at the scene of a one-car accident that took place in West Goshen, Pa. around 3:30 AM Monday morning.
It's too mangled to tell, but it may in fact be the remains of Dunn's Porsche 911 GT3.
link
RIP - your stupidity and insane antics brought laughter to many.
Clarence Clemmons - saxaphonist for Bruce Springstreet's E Street Band.
http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/blogs/124141563.htmlre: Ryan is Dunn
I can't say I'm bummed. I mean, it's a sad loss of life, but I was never into the jackass thing and can't imagine being famous for sticking a hot wheels up your ass. It looks to me like the porsche now has a Ryan in ITS ass.
I mean, how freaking fast did they have to be going? They don't even know who was driving? They're not even sure if that's the car?
Fine if you wanna be a jackass and die from it but you run the risk of killing someone who was just minding their own "no hot wheel up my ass" business.
The life you save may be mine. :right:
Darwinism.
kinda ironic about the movie yet to be released...living will.....just sayin....
Mike Waterson died today. That's pissed me off.
Colombo passed away? Awww.....
He was perfect as the Grandpa in The Princess Bride.
Grandpa: That's right. When I was your age, television was called books. And this is a special book. It was the book my father used to read to me when I was sick, and I used to read it to your father. And today I'm gonna read it to you.
The Grandson: Has it got any sports in it?
Grandpa: Are you kidding? Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles...
Oh i am so sad to hear about Peter Falk. What a damn fine actor and a lovely gent.
Columbo's dead?!?!
Aw shit!:mad:
Loved those shows. As a kid I had to go to bed early, but couldn't sleep (never been able to), but, after Momdigr went to bed, I could sneak back to the living room and watch the rest of whatever Popdigr was watching until the news came on.
A lot of times it was Columbo...
Maybe at his funeral the lid of the coffin will open and he'll sit up and say 'Just one more thing....'
I liked a lot of his work but my favorite was as Sam Diamond in "Murder By Death" with Truman Capote.
Maybe at his funeral the lid of the coffin will open and he'll sit up and say 'Just one more thing....'
Dana, that is funny! I'm using it.
We were just doing this bit. My brother told us that he wasn't thinking and opened an upsrairs window and his a/c fell to its death. I was kidding that I was going to come by and do a crime scene investigation thing (putting on sunglasses, saying it was pushed...'looks like we have a cold case' yeahhhhhhhhh) and brother did the columbo bit as he was leaving. It was spot on, and we laughed and laughed.
Rip Mr Falk. :(
I was just remembering Falk as Joy Boy in A Pocketful of Miracles. Funny stuff.
Maybe at his funeral the lid of the coffin will open and he'll sit up and say 'Just one more thing....'
har.
This was a show I watched with my nan.
My favorite Peter Falk scene
[YOUTUBE]YN1WxSITwWw[/YOUTUBE]
Serpentine, Sheldon, serpentine!
I liked a lot of his work but my favorite was as Sam Diamond in "Murder By Death" with Truman Capote.
I adored Murder by Death.
Had no idea Truman Capote was in it!
But then when I first watched it I had no idea who he was (forgive me, a provincial teen) and after that I just accepted the performances for what they were.
In fact despite reading his books, I had no idea what he looked or sounded like until reading an article which included his disparaging review of Audrey Hepburn singing Moon River. The journalist let fly about Truman's own shortcomings.
Back to Peter Falk - the part was well written and he embodied it perfectly.
He was one of my secret heroes because he appeared to have ptosis (in fact it was a glass eye). I could not watch Columbo with anyone else in the room in case they made a comparison.
It's sad when anyone dies, but when people have dementia their passing must be slightly easier for their loved ones; the person has already slipped beyond their reach.
Was in the car with ma today, and mentioned his passing. She said 'Oh, I know. I was going to call you about it. You used to love him!'
I adored Columbo. Whenever it was on I'd watch. Watched with Mum a few times.
I especially remember that one with the theatre actors. Can't recall the title. Brilliant, brilliant show.
I always liked how apparently unheroic he was. With his shambolic appearance and broken down car. I liked that it was never about guns and might, but rather intelligence and guile. And that often he had sympathy for the villain. It was rarely as black and white as other detective shows.
his passing.
ur gettin' Americanized.....
ur gettin' Americanized.....
From the country that brought you
[YOUTUBE]NQDGZVIgR6E[/YOUTUBE]
..."If you feel a bit guilty about it afterward we can dig a grave and you can throw up into it."
:lol2::lol2::lol2:
Can't find the thread that lies in between this one and the Celeb Death thread.
Just to say that Jimmy Saville is dead.
I met him.
He was odd. And misogynistic.
But he raised a lot of money for charity.
He was quite strange, almost anti-social for a man who courted fame and as you said, deeply mysoginistic and homophobic.
Did you know Thatcher entertained him at Chequers for several Christmases, now what do you suppose they talked about over the mince pies..?
I knew him slightly a long time ago and couldn't find a likeable side to him, but he had something. Fear? Massive insecurity?
He didn't have friends.
And yet I feel unaccounably sad at his passing. End of an era I guess.
Goodbye
Smokin' Joe. When boxing was cool, you were the coolest.
The past few days, this whole Michael Jackson/Dr Death trial finally got to me.
Not the trial or the verdict... the Dr probably got the verdict he deserved.
But the whole, extended ad nauseam, Jackson family is my issue.
I've believed they are a hoard of hangers-on, grasping for $.
Some may think otherwise. I've just come to that belief over years,
Then today, Janet Jackson is on TV talking about the trial and verdict.
She says the Dr was just in it for the money, and didn't care about Michael.
She may be speaking truth, but she also needs to look behind her.
Was in the car with ma today, and mentioned his passing.
ur gettin' Americanized.....
Is that a particularly Amercian phrase, or are you referring to
any euphemism?
I think the British and Americans have always danced around the subject of death. Our old graveyards have:
"Taken from us..."
"Fell asleep..."
"Left us..."
"sleeps with the fishes..."
Can't remember how to link to a specific point on a YouTube clip.
But this one is at 2.20.
[YOUTUBE]41SkP55Xyjk[/YOUTUBE]
Luca Brasi ah he sleeps with the fishes...
Sounds gorgeous in a Welsh accent
RIP Patrice O'Neal
An outstanding comedian
Again, sorry. I know Monster created a thread for public deaths that didn't score you points or bum you out but were worth a mention. I still haven't found it (see #1001 above).
Ken Russell died.
My interest in him was sparked by his association with Derek Jarman. But I accept he was probably a genius. Many people I admire with more knowledge of film have said so.
I wasn't really attracted to his films - it's not a medium which excites me and I admit my ignorance. I watched The Devils purely for Jarman's sets.
Heard Glenda Jackson on the Radio speaking very passionately about him. It moved me.
nah it was just to get them (i.e. huge long obits to people no-one had) out of the deathpool. This one doesn't bother me :lol:
It was a useful thread.
Do you remember what it was called?!
Russell's death didn't bum me out (oo-er matron) but he had enough influence on those who influenced me, for me to want to mark his passing.
If I get tired looking for threads I can be a bit "Oh fuckit", but generally I'll try to put posts in the most sensible place possible.
RIP celebrity? I dunno, never really took off
It will now.
I presume you are familiar with the word spree...?
of course....
....did big sarge send you a gun?
:eek:
Not enough funny in the world, bummer.
Harry Morgan of Dragnet and MASH fame died yesterday.
Harry Morgan of Dragnet and MASH fame died yesterday.
I liked his movies and TV shows but I lost all respect for him after he was arrested for beating his wife.
:(
RIP Colonel Potter
[YOUTUBE]NpIgQTeAD9c[/YOUTUBE]
I liked his movies and TV shows but I lost all respect for him after he was arrested for beating his wife.
I hadn't heard that. A good reminder that actors are not their roles.
I found reports of that, but not a lot of other information. He was 82 at the time. I'm not finding much, but this comment on a news board.
I hate domestic violence, and I rail against it all the time, as you should know. But I also don't care for peasants with pitchforks, who hear news blurbs and label the world and everyone in it as the evil devil.
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/entertainment/2011/12/harry-morgan-col-potter-on-mash-dies/
Posted by: XXXXXXXX | December 8, 2011, 12:24 am 12:24 am
Comment to the people who bring up Harry Morgan’s domestic violence case: he was 82 at the time. I don’t know if he had any problems with dementia or Alzheimer’s or issues with depression, all of which are possibilities in a man his age. He was married for 45 years to his first wife, who passed away in 1985; he remained married to his second wife at the time of his death. To me this certainly argues that whatever the situation was at the time of the event, it was resolved in a way that kept him and his wife together. It is worth noting that the charges were dropped when he completed a counseling program, and there were no other occasions involving violence in the relationship.
Having cared for an elderly parent, and observed the elderly parents of my friends and relatives, I have to say that it isn’t that unusual for changes in personality to take place in someone as old as Harry Morgan was. Excluding outright dementia and Alzheimer’s, there are a lot of elderly people who develop depression and experience anger and frustration at the onset of aging-related problems: memory issues, physical disabilities, sometimes pain from physical problems like arthritis. This can really be a problem, especially where the person who is experiencing the problems wants to deny that they exist or are affecting him/her.
I think that it’s very unfair to brand Harry Morgan as a “wife-beater” on the basis of a single incident that happened when he was 82 years old, especially without knowing any details of the situation. And especially when he and his wife remained married 15 years later.
It's very unusual for the comments section of a news story to contain such a thoughtful comment.
In all the stories I read and also what i remember from when it happened and got reported, he and his wife had gotten into an arguement at a party and when they got home, he hit her several times and caused several cuts, bruises and bumps.
If he had alzheimers, it was never reported. But having had a father who was abusive, my tolerance for abusers for any reason is slim to none.
I had a different abuser in my life, and I know what you mean.
I think everything just disappoints me lately, and things that seem good are often not, so I keep trying to think there's more to it than I know. Cock-eyed optimist, budding pessimist.
:comfort:
@iMonkey
Thanks.
:o You're welcome.
OK, back to the actor. Inherit the Wind? Hello! Of course one of the best films ever. :)
:o You're welcome.
OK, back to the actor. Inherit the Wind? Hello! Of course one of the best films ever. :)
Indeed. Just ask Elspode. :rar:
I just posted this on FB...
I'm extremely sad to hear of the passing Christopher Hitchens. He's been suffering from cancer for quite some time, so it's probably a much needed relief for him...dear man, I hope you are now enjoying civilised cocktails and after-dinner cigarettes with Mr. Wodehouse.
I have a lot of admiration for Mr. Hitchens. He was pegged as a conservative, but I don't believe he should have been pegged as anything less than a deep-thinking individual. I was fortunate to meet him twice at Timberlake's, a bar in Dupont Circle where the love of my life, [MB], used to bartend. MB got to know him a bit more than I did, lucky guy.
I remember when I first met Mr. Hitchens. It was only he and I at the bar (and MB behind the bar), and I was incredibly nervous! I was nearly one-on-one with one of the most brilliant minds alive, and I could think of almost nothing to say. Thankfully, we realized that we had a common love of P.G. Wodehouse...so that sustained the conversation for a while.
Mr. Hitchen, the world is a worse place without you. I hope your boy, who you were overheard to instruct that Russians are all alcoholics, will be able to continue your wonderful legacy in any way at all.
My FB post
Very sad this morning to learn of the death of Christopher Hitchens, although we knew it was coming and he had been ill for a long time. His awesome rhetoric and obvious brilliance were absolutely inspiring. This morning I have re-read the account of when he was attacked in Beirut for defacing the sign of a nationalist party there whose symbol is a stylized swastika. Said Hitchens later, if one sees a swastika, it is one's duty to deface it. He has defaced more intellectual swastikas than anyone else.
http://michaeltotten.com/archives/2009/02/christopher-hit.php
(
to have bartended for the man... to have met the man... that's amazing, bc)
RIP Mr. Hitchens. A great author.
He had a great mind, but as with many great minds his provided cover for lesser minds with lesser agendas.
Kim Jong Il? I did not know he was sick! :eyebrow:
[COLOR="Silver"]I am not bummed either[/COLOR]
LINKVaclav Havel also died.
Meanwhile a Russian oil rig capsized killing over 60 people when a wave crashed through portholes and washed away the only lifeboat. A disaster equivalent to Piper Alpha. Death of people who actually do something (or tried to) is the worst.
Vaclav Havel is a sad passing.
Say it isn't so! :sniff:
International Rockstar Legend Jon Bon Jovi dead at 49
December 19, 2011
LINKOh god. I had this flash of fear that all I would be hearing about for the next month would be Jon Bon Jovi. The city would shut down. [SIZE="1"](I'd be sad, too.)[/SIZE]
Indeed. Just ask Elspode. :rar:
Selene kept that one in the un-negotiated DVD pilfering. I'm not very happy about that. It is my single favorite film of all time.
CBS reporting that Joe Pa has passed.
Joe Paterno, the man who for decades was synonymous with Penn State football and was known by the college football world as just "JoePa", has died, according to Penn State student website Onward State. Onward State is reporting that the Penn State players were notified of Paterno's passing via email. Paterno, 85, had been receiving chemotherapy as part of his treatment for lung cancer.
However, Paterno family spokesperson Dan McGinn told a New York Times reporter that the report is "absolutely not true."
Paterno was the head coach of Penn State for 46 seasons before being fired in November as his role in the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal came under greater scrutiny. Combined with the time he spent as an assistant, Paterno spent a total of 61 years on the Penn State sidelines. He left behind a legacy that, on the field of play, was unparalleled in Division I football. Paterno holds the all-time Division I record for football coaching wins with a 409-136-3 record, and he won two national championships while going undefeated in five different seasons.
Link
...or maybe not.
Former Penn State coach Joe Paterno is in serious condition after experiencing health complications from lung cancer.
"Over the last few days Joe Paterno has experienced further health complications," family spokesman Dan McGinn said in a brief statement Saturday to The Associated Press. "His doctors have now characterized his status as serious.
"His family will have no comment on the situation and asks that their privacy be respected during this difficult time," he said.
The 85-year-old Paterno has been in the hospital since Jan. 13 for observation for what his family had called minor complications from cancer treatments.
Paterno was diagnosed with cancer in November, days after getting ousted as head coach in the aftermath of the child sex abuse charges against former assistant Jerry Sandusky.
LinkA letter from the (Now past) Managing Editor of Onward State:
Earlier this evening, Onward State reported that Joe Paterno had passed away. However, the mountain of evidence stacked opposite that report is too much to ignore. At this time, I would like to issue a retraction of our earlier tweets.
I never, in a million years, would have thought that Onward State would be cited by the national media, and today, I sincerely wish it never had been. To all those who read and passed along our reports, I sincerely apologize for misleading you. To the Penn State community and to the Paterno family most of all, I could not be more sorry for the emotional anguish I am sure we caused. There are no excuses for what we did. We all make mistakes, but it’s impossible to brush off one of this magnitude. Right now, we deserve all of the criticism headed our way.
In this day and age, getting it first often conflicts with getting it right, but our intention was never to fall into that chasm. All I can do now is promise that in the future, we will exercise caution, restraint, and humility.
I can only hope and pray that the outstanding work our writers and photographers do on a day-to-day basis is not overshadowed by the events of tonight. I understand that our reputation is in serious question, but I hope you will continue to stand by us as we do everything in our power to make amends.
To begin that process, I will be stepping down from my post as Managing Editor, effective immediately. I take full responsibility for the events that transpired tonight, and for the black mark upon the organization that I have caused.
I ask not for your forgiveness, but for your understanding. I am so very, very, sorry, and we at Onward State continue to pray for Coach Paterno.
Sincerely,
Devon Edwards
And now he has ...
ABC News
BREAKING: "It is with great sadness that we announce that Joe Paterno passed away earlier today.
His loss leaves a void in our lives that will never be filled," Paterno's family said in a statement.
RIP JoePa.
Just learned that Ralph McQuarrie died. As a Star Wars fan, I've known of this guy for 30+ years. Pretty much everything you can picture from the original trilogy was invented by him. George Lucas would say to him that he wanted a bad guy with a mask and a cape, and he would draw Darth Vader. The sets, the costumes, the ships. All of it was built to designs that he came up with.
If you go back and look at his art, you can see how his concepts evolved with feedback from Lucas.
Some of the first McQuarrie concept sketches of Vader:
[ATTACH]37660[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH]37661[/ATTACH]
I have several books of McQuarrie illustrations for Star Wars. Darn. I'll have to try to find them.
They're all bummin' me ... none of them are on my list.
Cheney: 20 months with a bum heart, then no heart at all, and he still makes it back.
That should settle any questions of the dark side of the force being stronger.
Mike Wallace, The Grand Inquisitor, has died.
Shit.
Along with Ferdinand Porsche, Marshall of the Marshall stacks, and Thomas Kinkaid.
Shawnee has already marked his death, but I wanted to give his passing more gravitas.
Maurice Sendak has died.
Best known for Where the Wild Things Are, although he was a prolific author.
But if you are only known for one book, at least let it be the most perfect children's book ever.
Or at least in the top five. My top five. I'm sure he stayed at night worrying about that.
The book is almost poetry in its sparse prose.
It holds such appeal to children everywhere. And lasting appeal to those who never grew up.
Maurice Sendak you made an impact on my life with your talent.
Thank you so much.
Tom Davis, writer for SNL, sidekick of Al Franken,
died yesterday.
[SIZE="4"]Tom Davis, ‘SNL’ writer and comedy partner of Al Franken, dies at 59[/SIZE]
By T. Rees Shapiro, Published: July 19
Tom Davis, the longtime stand-up comedy partner of Al Franken and a writer who created many of the most memorable sketches on “Saturday Night Live,” including the alien “Coneheads,” which he dreamed up while on LSD, died July 19 at his home in Hudson, N.Y. He was 59.
He had a metastatic tonsil cancer, said his wife, Mimi Raleigh.
Mr. Davis and Franken began writing jokes together as teenagers at the private Blake School in Minneapolis, making mock announcements over the public address system, including a satirical Ku Klux Klan march called “Superpatrioticanticatholicsegregatious.”
They joined “Saturday Night Live” before its debut season in 1975 and shared a single apprentice writer's salary of $350 a week, where they collaborated on sketches culled from politics, pop culture, and the bizarre.
Mr. Davis said he spent a small fortune throughout his lifetime on marijuana, hashish, cocaine, LSD and heroin, and enjoyed the substances with his friends Timothy Leary, John Belushi and Jerry Garcia.
The idea for the “Coneheads” came after a drug-fueled vacation to Easter Island with Dan Aykroyd, where Mr. Davis hallucinated that his own forehead had grown 10 inches.
Mr. Davis created the recurring Steve Martin character “Theodoric of York,” a medieval barber who dispatched sage advice on medicine and the law.
In one skit, Theodoric is called upon to rule judgment against a criminal, John the Tanner, who was accused of adultery.
“You were found guilty of theft and your right arm was cut off,” Theodoric says. “You were found guilty of lying and your tongue was cut out. Now, hmm, adultery.”
One of Mr. Davis’s best-known sketches was the scene in which culinary doyenne Julia Child tries to remain calm after she cuts the “dickens out of my finger.” She bleeds profusely all over her holiday chicken and shrieks, before passing out, “Save the liver! Save the liver!”
...
also
The two were largely inseparable and worked in tandem for much of their comedy careers. Franken even named his daughter in his best friend's honor, Thomasin Davis Franken.
He's movin' on up to a dee-luxe apartment in the sky ...
For those that didn't get Wolf's reference,
Sherman Hemsley, of tv's "The Jeffersons" has died at the age of 74.
Never married, no children.
He's movin' on up to a dee-luxe apartment in the sky ...
I was gonna post the same... greatish minds. From South Philly apparently.
I thought he was living in El Paso?
Yes, celebrities live there. More than one. My wife once took me on the tour. :D
I still think the place is a craphole.
Tom Davis, writer for SNL, sidekick of Al Franken, died yesterday.
He and Franken were the baggage handlers transporting the gorilla in "
Trading Places".
I thought he was living in El Paso?
Yes, celebrities live there. More than one. My wife once took me on the tour. :D
I still think the place is a craphole.
Chad Everett had a bit of a write up, and a clip from him... followed by a two sentence notice about Mr Helmsley. I was saddened to hear it described as "was found in his home in El Paso". Found? That's sad.
Good night Marvin Hamlisch, age 68.
I always remember him on Merv Griffin, behind the piano, talking about how he adapted Scott Joplin when he scored "The Sting". It was so perfect for the film, it renewed interest in ragtime. Ragtime FFS! And every kid who played piano that year was forever begged to bang out "The Entertainer".
He was also responsible for "A Chorus Line" which every theater person either has a true fondness for, or at least has heard their friends riffing on "One!..... singular sensation, every little step she takes..."
Only just found out that Crowded House's drummer, Peter Jones died in May this year.
Not big news over here, despite him being English.
He replaced one of my pop heroes, Paul Hester. After the band separated in the mid-nineties he pursued a career in music and television but hanged himself in 2005. Peter Jones replaced him when he band reformed. BIG shoes to fill.
Jones died at the age of 45 of brain cancer.
I saw him live twice and although I cannot judge him as a musician, he was a presence on stage and certainly competent. I don't mean to damn him with faint praise - just that Hestie was such a character in live shows.
RIP Peter Jones. I didn't mark your passing and that bums me out.
[YOUTUBE]3KlG1Z560bE[/YOUTUBE]
And all I want is something I can write about
And all I want is something I can cry about...
Damn Vevo.
[ATTACH]40178[/ATTACH]
The hell you say...
Phyllis Diller is back with Fang.
Nobody could wear a maribou dress like she could.
What a life. 95 years, and she didn't look an operation over 60.
Huh.
Sylvia Kristel.
Apparently she smoked a ton, and it caught up with her. Dead of lung and throat cancer at 60. :(
Last night on some news program I heard women who smoke/drink/mess around with too many boys usually die around the age of...sixty.
isn't that weird? Who wants to live to be too old anyway? I'm watching my folks lose their reasoning day by day.
Sam Kinison on amyl nitrate or somesuch:
Paraphrasing:
Now, there may be some heart damage, palpitations...but, that's way down the road, nothing that'll bother ya now. Anyway, you don't wanna be a fucking lifepig or anything...check out about sixty...leave a good looking corpse. "Man, he was just 60." "Goddamn, he looks great though doesn't he?"
Who wants to live to be too old anyway? I'm watching my folks lose their reasoning day by day.
Yeah. I've decided to be like Alan Arkin's character in "Little Miss Sunshine".
Who wants to live to be too old anyway? I'm watching my folks lose their reasoning day by day.
Its hard watching my old man, because I know he knows he's losing it. It would be easier if one switch got thrown. "Okay you're nuts now, have at."
There's the folks who "taper off" and then there's the folks who dive right in.
In today's news: Devo drummer Alan Myers dies of brain cancer
"In the past this information has been suppressed but how it can be told! Every man, woman and mutant on this planet shall know the truth about devolution!"
"Oh dad, we're all DEVO!"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRguZr0xCOc
And who can forget General Boy and Boogie Boy in their last appearance:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbiY3H0SmOkBeing reported now... Eileen Breenan
Brennan is best known for her role as Doreen Lewis in Private Benjamin
for which she received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
This is a lady who could not catch a break...
After having dinner together one night in 1982, Brennan and Hawn left a restaurant.
Brennan was hit by a passing car and was critically injured.
She took three years off work to recover, and had to overcome a subsequent addiction to painkillers.
If those iconic rock stars DIDn't die, what would they look like?
maybe like
this?
