The RIP Famous Person Thread

[Digby Fantona]

Woof ! I fancied her and to me she is famous.

[Looper]

German reunification architect Helmut Kohl dies at 87

Helmut Kohl, Germany's ex-chancellor and architect of reunification in 1990, has died at 87.

Kohl led Germany for 16 years (from 1982 to 1998). He is credited with bringing East and West Germany together after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Together with his French ally President Francois Mitterrand, he was responsible for the introduction of the euro.

European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker has ordered flags at EU institutions to be flown at half-mast.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said his death filled her with deep sadness.

"It will take a while before we can really appreciate what we have lost with his passing," she said.

"Helmut Kohl was a great German and a great European. Helmut Kohl's efforts brought about the two greatest achievements in German politics of recent decades - German reunification and European unity.

"Helmut Kohl understood that the two things were inseparable."

For his part, Mr Juncker said in a tweet: "Helmut's death hurts me deeply."

"My mentor, my friend, the very essence of Europe, he will be greatly, greatly missed."

Former US President George HW Bush paid tribute to the man he knew while in office from 1989 to 1993 as a "true friend of freedom" and "one of the greatest leaders in post-war Europe".

German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel paid tribute to a "great German statesman and above all a great European".
Thatcher's rival

Kohl suffered a bad fall in 2008 and had been using a wheelchair.
Image copyright AFP
Image caption A piece of the Berlin Wall was erected in Kohl's garden in 2011 as a souvenir

He died at his house in Ludwigshafen, in the western state of Rhineland-Palatinate, Bild newspaper reports.

Kohl, who led the centre-right Christian Democrats, was the longest-serving chancellor of the 20th Century.

A passionate believer in European integration, he persuaded Germans to give up their cherished deutschmark in favour of the European single currency.

In the UK, he is remembered for his differences over the EU with the late UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

In France, he is the German leader who held hands with Mitterrand at a service at the Verdun war memorial in 1984 to mark the 70th anniversary of World War One.

But for Germans he is above all the man who reunified a country divided by the allied powers after World War Two, promising the people of the ex-communist East "flourishing landscapes", in unity with the richer West.
Obituary: Helmut Kohl

Helmut Josef Michael Kohl was born on 3 April 1930 into a conservative, Catholic family.

His political outlook was shaped by his experiences in his hometown of Ludwigshafen in the Rhineland during World War Two.

Because of its huge chemical works, the town was heavily bombed and, at the age of 12, the young Helmut found himself helping to recover the charred bodies of his neighbours from the rubble. What he once described as "the blessing of a late birth" freed him from any taints of Nazism.

READ ON
Denounced by Merkel

Kohl fell from grace when a funding scandal under his leadership of the Christian Democrats came to light after he left office in 1998.
Image copyright AFP
Image caption Angela Merkel (R) has followed in Kohl's footsteps as a long-serving chancellor

Chancellor Merkel was once his protegee, first entering government under his rule in 1991.

But she publicly denounced Kohl and called for his resignation when it was revealed the party had received millions of dollars worth of illegal donations using secret bank accounts.

In 2011, in a series of interviews and statements, he spoke out against Mrs Merkel's policy of strict austerity to deal with the European debt crisis.

Kohl's later life was also marked by personal tragedy. His wife, Hannelore, killed herself in July 2001 after suffering from a rare skin condition and depression.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-40307918

[snakeeyes]

Oh, I think this deserves a red.

Please red Sheriff Cuju if you had posted it you would have got a red from the Sheriff ,

[Latindancer]

True, actually. I would have.

Not sure if I have the ammo from giving him his last handbagging though..


One of my favourite musicians died a couple of months ago, and I had not noticed.

Dave Valentin, a jazz flautist, gave me a lot of listening pleasure.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/08/a...tist.html?_r=0





His final years were rather sad....he ran out of money due to having no medical insurance, and had to downsize his accomodation, plus because of a stroke, couldn't play the flute.

A donation of $10,000, from the Puerto Rican city of Mayagüez, which also honored Mr. Valentin with the key to the city, helped prevent further financial calamity.

https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/06/n...gain.html?_r=0
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[Crestofawave]

Anyone want a cup of tea?

[Looper]

Vanuatu's President Baldwin Lonsdale dies in Port Vila after sudden heart attack

Vanuatu's widely revered President, Baldwin Lonsdale, has died after suffering a sudden heart attack in the Pacific island nation's capital of Port Vila.



Mr Baldwin, who had served as President since September 2014, died in the early hours of Saturday morning aged 67, the Vanuatu Daily Post reported.

Dan McGarry, media director at the Vanuatu Daily Post, said hundreds of people had stood in a vigil held after Mr Lonsdale's death to pay their respects to the highly regarded head of state.

"Baldwin Lonsdale was one of those rare people who had a completely unsullied reputation and was just universally respected. I've never heard anyone say a bad word about him," he said.

Though the presidency in Vanuatu is a largely ceremonial position akin to Australia's governor-general position, Mr McGarry said the late President's handling of a corruption scandal that shook the country in 2015 projected his influence beyond his power on paper.

When Vanuatu's Speaker of Parliament, Marcelline Pipite, pardoned 14 government MPs convicted of corruption, Mr Lonsdale returned from abroad, apologised for the abuse of power and rescinded the pardons.

"It was his response really, it catalysed the reaction against this abuse of power," Mr McGarry said.

Mr Lonsdale was also a clergyman and the highest-ranking chief in Vanuatu's Banks group of islands, where his body is expected to be returned to later next week, Mr McGarry added.

His body is lying in state and the Government is expected to announce a state funeral.

Vanuatu's President Baldwin Lonsdale dies in Port Vila after sudden heart attack - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

[fred flintstone]

Flounder....




Stephen Furst, best known for his role as the hapless Delta House fraternity pledge
Kent “Flounder” Dorfman in the landmark comedy “National Lampoon’s Animal House,” has died.

His sons Nathan and Griffin Furst posted a statement on Twitter that Furst died Friday due to complications from diabetes.

Stephen Furst, who played hapless frat pledge Flounder in 'National Lampoon's Animal House,' has died - LA Times

[Davis Knowlton]

^Bummer. He was great in that role.

[BaitongBoy]

Doesn't give an age there...But Animal House was 1978, so 39 years ago...If that's a clue...

RIP...

[Davis Knowlton]

^Sixty-three.

[Iceman123]

Delete

[Iceman123]

Oh, I think this deserves a red.

Please red Sheriff Cuju if you had posted it you would have got a red from the Sheriff ,

I will get him. Has "full jihad" been declared?

[BaitongBoy]

^ Are your panties on fire, cuntface?...

[Cujo]

Had to look at some pictures to see who she was. Still don't recognize her.






She's not famous, Cujo!

I think she is to any stones fan.

[harrybarracuda]

John Avildsen, dies aged 81



John G. Avildsen, a gifted (and Oscar-winning) director known for making two Rocky movies and all three [Karate Kid](http://www.empireonline.com/movies/karate-kid/) films, died on Friday. He was 81.

Born in Oak Park, Illinois, Avildsen attended The Hotchkiss School and New York University. He got his start in film working as an assistant director to Arthur Penn and Otto Preminger, and as a cinematographer.

Moving up to direct his own films, he first made Turn On To Love, but had his initial taste of success with 1970's Joe. Oscar success for Jack Lemmon on Save The Tiger boosted the director's career further and he scored the chance to work on Rocky with writer/star Sylvester Stallone. The rest is history, including a Best Director Oscar. "I owe just about everything to John Avildsen,"Stallone said in a statement. "His directing, his passion, his toughness and his heart – a great heart – is what made Rocky the film it became. He changed my life and I will be forever indebted to him. Nobody could have done it better than my friend John Avildsen. I will miss him."

Forging a career making movies about underdogs, he had a successful run of films, including all of the initial three Karate Kid movies, The Formula, Neighbors, For Keeps?, Lean On Me and The Stoolie.

He's survived by his daughter, Bridget, and sons Anthony, Jonathan and Ashley.

http://www.empireonline.com/movies/n...-dies-aged-81/

[SKkin]

Anita Pallenberg, actor, model and muse to the Rolling Stones

Is that the new word for groupie? I'm not a huge Stones fan but I remember her name being connected with them.

[yortyiam]

My sincere apologies for the absence of a link, but Sky reports that children's presenter Brian Cant has passed away after a long battle with Parkinson's.
Part of my childhood was made fun by his skills and that unmistakable voice that narrated many of the legendary BBC staples for kids from the mid-sixties on wards.
RIP Brian, thank you for your work.

[misskit]

Brian Cant, Play School presenter, dies at 83



Children's presenter Brian Cant has died at the age of 83.

He was best known for presenting BBC's Play School for 21 years from 1964, and Play Away from 1971 to 1984.

His agent said he had been living with Parkinson's disease and died at Denville Hall, a retirement home often used by those in the entertainment industry.

A statement from the family said: "He lived courageously with Parkinson's disease for a long time."

Cant was also a guest presenter on Jackanory and appeared on ITV's Dappledown Farm, which ran from 1990 to 2003.

He got his big break when he auditioned for Play School, when part of the audition required him to climb into a cardboard box.


'Comedy genius'

His voice was known to millions in shows such as Trumpton, his most famous line being the fire brigade call-out: "Pugh, Pugh, Barney McGrew, Cuthbert, Dibble, Grub."

Floella Benjamin, who also performed in Play School, said Cant was "comedy genius".
She told BBC News: "He was totally devoted to making children happy - he introduced children to comedy with zany jokes and his funny sketches."

Baroness Benjamin, who joined Play School in 1976, said she loved working with Cant. "We bounced off one another, we thought of new ideas of things to do," she said.

For millions his voice immediately evokes childhood.

more Brian Cant, Play School presenter, dies at 83 - BBC News

[harrybarracuda]

Jun 21, 6:28 AM EDT

SOVIET SPYMASTER YURI DROZDOV DIES AT 91



MOSCOW (AP) -- Russia's foreign intelligence agency says that Yuri Drozdov, the Soviet spymaster who oversaw a sprawling network of KGB agents abroad, has died. He was 91.

The Foreign Intelligence Service, a KGB successor agency known under its Russian acronym SVR, said Drozdov died Wednesday. It didn't give the cause of his death or any other specifics.

In 1979, Drozdov came to head a KGB department overseeing a network of undercover agents abroad, the job he held until resigning in 1991. The agents who lived abroad under false identity were called "illegals" and considered the elite of Soviet intelligence.

In December 1979, Drozdov led an operation to storm the palace of Afghan President Hafizullah Amin that paved the way to Soviet invasion.

Drozdov also founded the KGB's Vympel special forces unit.

News from The Associated Press

[Digby Fantona]

Alas, poor Yuri! I knew him, Harry !

[Latindancer]

Drozdov also founded the KGB's Vympel special forces unit.

Had to Google that : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vympel

[harrybarracuda]

Paddington Bear author/creator, Michael Bond, dies at 91
ON: JUNE 29, 2017, BY: BILL YOUNG



Michael Bond CBE, the author and creator of Paddington Bear, the marmalade-loving bear from ‘deepest, darkest Peru’ who comes heads to London (by Aunt Lucy) in his iconic old hat, ruffled coat, wellingtons and a battered suitcase to live, has died at the age of 91. Bond published his first book, “A Bear Called Paddington”, in 1958.

As the story goes, Bond, who was working as a BBC cameraman and engineer, based Paddington Bear on a lone teddy bear he noticed on a shelf in a London store near Paddington Station on Christmas Eve 1956, which he bought as a present for his wife.

Hugh Bonneville is reprising his role in Paddington 2 as Mr Henry Brown, the hapless City of London worker who, with his wife, Mary, find the lonely bear at Paddington railway station sitting on his suitcase with a note attached to his coat that reads “Please look after this bear. Thank you.”. The star of Downton Abbey and W1A learned of Bond’s death on the final day of filming of the upcoming sequel.

“In Paddington, Michael created a character whose enthusiasm and optimism has given pleasure to millions across the generations,” said Bonneville. More than 35 million Paddington books have been sold worldwide. The most recent, “Paddington’s Finest Hour”, was published in April.

Paddington Bear author/creator, Michael Bond, dies at 91 | Tellyspotting

[harrybarracuda]

Gary DeCarlo, ‘Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye’ Singer, Dies at 75
Steam singer had been battling cancer
Tim Kenneally | June 28, 2017 @ 6:19 PM



Gary DeCarlo, the singer and co-author of the 1969 chart-topper “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye,” has died following a battle with cancer.

DeCarlo’s friend Pat Horgan confirmed the news via Facebook on Wednesday, writing, “Sorry to report the passing of Gary DeCarlo, the lead singer/writer of the classic radio hit ‘Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye.’ Gary was a good friend and we worked many Chiller Theatre Conventions together. Hopefully, he’s with his best pal Marty now. Good journey Gary DeCarlo.”

DeCarlo wrote the song with fellow studio musician Dale Frashuer and producer Paul Leka. The song was attributed to the group Steam, though there was actually no band with that name at the time. The group featured on the cover of the single, and who lip-synched to DeCarlo’s vocals for promotional performances, were hired guns who had nothing to do with the creation of the song.

The faux band was a source of heavy contention for DeCarlo, who told ClassicBands.com, “Think back to Milli Vanilli when people found out that these guys weren’t singing. That was a big deal. People don’t like to be fooled. You’re paying money to go out and see these guys perform and they’re not the real deal. So obviously I walked away from it.”

Still, the song became a rock staple, particularly at sporting events, where it’s often used to taunt the losing team.

Horgan told TMZ that DeCarlo died while in hospice care in Connecticut, with his wife by his side.



Gary DeCarlo, 'Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye' Singer, Dies at 75

[Digby Fantona]

Film critic Barry Norman has died aged 83, his family says.
The journalist and former BBC presenter died in his sleep on Friday night.
A statement from his daughters, Samantha and Emma, called him "remarkable", adding: "He had a great life, a wonderful marriage and an enviable career."
Norman hosted BBC One's "Film…" show between 1972 and 1998 - its longest running host - as well as writing for the Daily Mail and the Guardian


Film critic Barry Norman dies - BBC News

[crackerjack101]

Now that is a shame. A top bloke and a brilliant reviewer. His knowledge of the movie world was encyclopedic. Few were as respected.
The only consolation is that he passed in peace.

R.I.P Mr. Norman