The RIP Famous Person Thread

[Eliminator]

Different strokes for different folks, all people have their own singers, actors or whatever.

[Happy As Larry]

His music will be around forever..one of the greats, RIP LOU REED

Well hopefully not all of it - Metal Machine Music must rank up there with one of the alltime worst albums.
It was very strange I was just reading a blog about said album when I opened the thread
Try to listen to that in one go. I can't. Generally though I enjoyed his work

RIP

[kmart]

wasn't Lou Reed a degenerate unpleasant drug user who wrote miserable songs? can't see what all the sentiment is about, no great loss to the world.

Let's all sing happy songs about rainbows and kittens then, Doris Day?

He also wrote a lot of very good songs. Dunno what you're into, but a huge slice of many people's record collection might not exist if it weren't for Reed, and the Velvet Underground's influence.

Rock n Roll Animal. RIP.

[Rupert Wanger]

Lou was one of the most influential artists of all time

[Cujo]

Lou was one of the most influential artists of all time

No, no he wasn't.
In the grander scheme of things he was a minor figure in the world of music.

[harrybarracuda]

William C. Lowe, the IBM executive who supervised the creation of the company's first personal computer, has died. He was 72.
Lowe died of a heart attack on October 19 in Lake Forest, Ill., his daughter, Michelle Marshall, told The New York Times.
Long a dominant force in mainframe computing for government and corporate customers, IBM became interested in the personal computer market in the late 1970s, well after brands such as Apple Computer, Commodore, and Atari had established a beachhead. Lowe, who joined IBM as a product test engineer in 1962, was director of IBM's Boca Raton Labs in 1980 when Atari approached IBM about marketing one of the game maker's computers under the IBM brand.
Knowing the company was seeking a quick entry into the market, Lowe took the Atari proposal -- along with an alternative suggestion to acquire Atari outright -- to an IBM management committee, which reportedly pronounced his suggestion "the dumbest thing we've ever heard of."
IBM CEO Frank Cary then tasked Lowe with creating a plan for bringing an IBM product to market within a year, along with assembling a team that could accomplish that goal. Under the codename "Project Chess," Lowe recruited "The Dirty Dozen" -- 12 engineers who would design and build a prototype personal computer dubbed Acorn within one month.
The fruit of their labor was released on August 12, 1981, when IBM launched its new computer, which had been renamed the IBM PC. Because "PC" stood for "personal computer," IBM was given credit for popularizing the term "PC."
The 5150 PC was powered by a 4.77 MHz Intel 8088 microprocessor and came with 16 kilobytes of RAM, expandable to 256k. Bundled with a handful of applications, the IBM PC had a retail price of $1,565.
A year later, in a move highlighting the growing personal computer revolution, Time magazine eschewed naming a traditional Man of the Year, opting instead to bestow the honor of "Machine of the Year" on the PC.
"The enduring American love affairs with the automobile and the television set are now being transformed into a giddy passion for the personal computer," the magazine wrote in its January 3, 1983, issue. "It is the end result of a technological revolution that has been in the making for four decades and is now, quite literally, hitting home."
Lowe later said his team at the time was more focused on the product than changing history.
"We didn't have any expectation that we were going to change the world," Lowe told CNET in 2001 for a report marking the PC's 20th anniversary. "We could see that the world was changing; Apple was attracting a lot of attention from IBM developers, and we wanted IBM developers to work on IBM products."
Lowe, whose role included forecasting demand for the new PC, reported to the company's senior management that he expected IBM would sell 220,000 units in a three-year period.
"People now come up and ask, 'Why such a small number?'" he said. "But you have to realize that this was larger than the installed base of all of IBM's computers at the time."
After serving as the PC division's president for three years, Lowe left IBM in 1988 during a management shakeup to become an executive vice president overseeing Xerox's office equipment product lines. Lowe went on become chief operating officer at Gulfstream Aerospace in 1991.
Lowe, who the Times reported was born in Easton, Penn., on January 15, 1941, held a bachelors degree in physics from Lafayette College, which is located in Easton.

[blue]

Lou was one of the most influential artists of all time

No, no he wasn't.
In the grander scheme of things he was a minor figure in the world of music.

Very minor indeed , his one good song and his stroke of luck was having Brit session musician Herby Flowers, who changed up the the bassline .
He's still alive too.
75.

[Boon Mee]

Lou was one of the most influential artists of all time

No, no he wasn't.
In the grander scheme of things he was a minor figure in the world of music.

That's right, Elvis & Frank Zappa were more influential...

[peaches]

Lou was one of the most influential artists of all time

No, no he wasn't.
In the grander scheme of things he was a minor figure in the world of music.

That's right, Elvis & Frank Zappa were more influential...

Isn't it ALL subjective.
I mean ALL subjective.

[BaitongBoy]

^Everything is everything...

[harrybarracuda]

Chariots of Fire actor Nigel Davenport dies aged 85

30 Oct 2013 01:41
He appeared in more than 40 films and TV shows and was a founding member of the English Stage Company

Chariots of Fire actor Nigel Davenport died at the age of 85 yesterday.

Known for playing tough heroes and scowling villains, Davenport appeared in more than 40 films and shows such as The Saint and The Adventures of Robin Hood. ]

He was a founding member of the English Stage Company at the Royal Court.

Born in Shelford, Cambridge, he was educated at Cheltenham College before reading English at Trinity College, Oxford.

His first job was as an understudy in a Noel Coward play, Relative Values in 1952.

Davenport was married and divorced twice.

His first wife was Helena Margaret White.

They had daughter Laura and son Hugo.

He later married actress Maria Aitken and they had a son, Jack, who starred in Pirates of the Caribbean.

[Cujo]

Lou was one of the most influential artists of all time

No, no he wasn't.
In the grander scheme of things he was a minor figure in the world of music.

That's right, Elvis & Frank Zappa were more influential...

Isn't it ALL subjective.
I mean ALL subjective.

Not all. Taste is, reality (influence) isn't.
Lou reed wasn't particularly influential in the world of music, like it or not.

[Mid]

Lou reed wasn't particularly influential in the world of music, like it or not.

Reed’s influence as a solo artist and as a member of The Velvet Underground touched countless artists and his prolific and eclectic career yielded some of the most seminal releases in popular music.

“Every song we’ve ever written was a rip-off of a Lou Reed song,” claimed Bono, while Brian Eno is often quoted as saying (without any actual evidence of the proclamation), “The first Velvet Underground record sold 30,000 copies in the first five years. I think everyone who bought one of those 30,000 copies started a band.”

Lou Reed’s Vast And Long-Lasting Influence - Music News, Reviews, Interviews and Culture - Music Feeds

Like it or not .

[Cujo]

Lou reed wasn't particularly influential in the world of music, like it or not.

Reed’s influence as a solo artist and as a member of The Velvet Underground touched countless artists and his prolific and eclectic career yielded some of the most seminal releases in popular music.

“Every song we’ve ever written was a rip-off of a Lou Reed song,” claimed Bono, while Brian Eno is often quoted as saying (without any actual evidence of the proclamation), “The first Velvet Underground record sold 30,000 copies in the first five years. I think everyone who bought one of those 30,000 copies started a band.”

Lou Reed’s Vast And Long-Lasting Influence - Music News, Reviews, Interviews and Culture - Music Feeds

Like it or not .

Meaningless.
I see no signs of any lou reed in any of U2s music, they're worlds apart.
Why on earth Bono would say something like that I have no idea.
Just because you read it on the internet doesn't make it true.
lou Reed wasn't a great and influetial musician.
the early velvet underground may have influenced a few bands back when thanks to the whole creepy Andy Warhol scene, it would have been inevitable, but to suggest that Lou reed had any kind of far reaching influence is wrong.
It was junkie music, written for and by junkies.

[jamiejambos]

I think influential is the wrong word to use as countless other artistes were more
influential than he was but I liked some of his stuff,.....
R.I.P. Lou.

[xanax]

He was still an unpleasant junkie who glamorised, or tried to, hard drug use. His status as some sort of underground cult icon far out weighed any musical ability and even fans admit he was not a good guitarist or a singer. Of course now he's gone people will be calling him a genius and all the rest of it, long lasting? nobody will remember who he was in 50 years.

[Looper]

Isn't it ALL subjective. I mean ALL subjective.

Depends what you define as 'ALL'

If you define 'ALL' as being your personal apprehension of your existence and your environment then, yes, it is all subjective.

If you think that your perception of the macrocosm is 'ALL' that there is and the universe will cease to exist the moment you fall off your perch then the probability that your are correct is, objectively speaking, very small and therefore, 'no', it is not 'ALL' subjective and Lou Reed was only a moderate talent in the grand scheme of things.

[peaches]

Depends what you define as 'ALL'

Let me just say, opinions on musical talent,
are ALL, ALL ,ALL, ALL, ALL, subjective.

[harrybarracuda]

Depends what you define as 'ALL'

Let me just say, opinions on musical talent,
are ALL, ALL ,ALL, ALL, ALL, subjective.

Opinions are like arseholes. Everybody's got one and most of them stink.

[toslti]

Chariots of Fire actor Nigel Davenport dies aged 85

30 Oct 2013 01:41
He appeared in more than 40 films and TV shows and was a founding member of the English Stage Company

Chariots of Fire actor Nigel Davenport died at the age of 85 yesterday.

Known for playing tough heroes and scowling villains, Davenport appeared in more than 40 films and shows such as The Saint and The Adventures of Robin Hood. ]

He was a founding member of the English Stage Company at the Royal Court.

Born in Shelford, Cambridge, he was educated at Cheltenham College before reading English at Trinity College, Oxford.

His first job was as an understudy in a Noel Coward play, Relative Values in 1952.

Davenport was married and divorced twice.

His first wife was Helena Margaret White.

They had daughter Laura and son Hugo.

He later married actress Maria Aitken and they had a son, Jack, who starred in Pirates of the Caribbean.

[harrybarracuda]

Whoops there's another actor to come...

Graham Stark, Pink Panther series star dies aged 91
30 Oct 2013 14:04
The actor appeared in almost 100 movies, including Alfie, Casino Royale and Pink Panther series as Inspector Clouseau's assistant Hercule Lajoy

Clouseau explains the facts to Hercule - YouTube

Wirral actor and director Graham Stark has passed away at the age of 91.

The Wallasey-born performer starred in almost 100 films including Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines, Alfie and Casino Royale, and was best man for his good friend Peter Sellers not once but four times.

Graham William Stark was born on January 20 1922 in Wallasey, the third son of Andrew Stark and his wife Ivy (nee De Valve). He studied at Wallasey Grammar School where he was spotted in a school play by the then Liverpool Playhouse director William Armstrong, later training with Sheilagh Elliott-Clarke of Elliott-Clarke theatre school fame.

While he made his professional debut aged 13 in pantomime at the Lyceum in London, a year later he was on stage at the Liverpool Playhouse himself, appearing as a son of Macduff in Macbeth.

He later studied at RADA and first came to prominence on radio, making his debut in Happy Go Lucky and appearing as a substitute on The Goon Show.

Described as the “man of a thousand comic voices”, he soon moved on to television and in 1964 he was given his own sketch series on the BBC, The Graham Stark Show, written by Johnny Speight.

Liverpool actors Deryck Guyler and Derek Nimmo were among supporting actors on the show.

Stark met Peter Sellers in the RAF in 1945 and they remained friends until the latter’s death in 1980.

He went on star with him in 13 films including all the Pink Panther series where he played a variety of characters.

Speaking to the ECHO in 1999 on the publication of his book Remembering Peter Sellers, the actor recalls: “Sometimes Peter was unhappy in that he wanted to live in the past. He remembered me mainly as Sgt Stark and I remembered him as Leading Aircraftsman Sellers.

“The important thing is, we did have a lot of fun.”

Stark also directed two films, Simon Simon and The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins, and was a keen photographer whose work included portraits of Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, Sophia Loren, Joanna Lumley and Ursula Andress.

Joanna Lumley described how he was “full of madness, energy, optimism, kindness and wild humour”.

Graham Stark died at his London home on Tuesday night. He had suffered a stroke in recent weeks.

He is survived by his wife, actress Audrey Nicholson, three children and five grandchildren.

[Boon Mee]

Lou was one of the most influential artists of all time

No, no he wasn't.
In the grander scheme of things he was a minor figure in the world of music.

That's right, Elvis & Frank Zappa were more influential...

Isn't it ALL subjective.
I mean ALL subjective.

Elvis Presley, the King of Rock & Roll?

Hardly a subjective description.

[BaitongBoy]

Well, anyway, there has never been this much written about anybody else, so Lou Reed has certainly touched a few people here...

[peaches]

Elvis Presley, the King of Rock & Roll?

Hardly a subjective description.

Michael Jackson " King of Pop " ???
Beatles " best group ever " ???
Frank Sinatra " best crooner " ???
Elvis Presley " King of rock & roll " ???

ALL subjective

[kmart]

Well, anyway, there has never been this much written about anybody else, so Lou Reed has certainly touched a few people here...

Yup. Everyone's heard of him (during a six-decade career that spanned the sublime to the frankly awful). Everyone has an opinion of him, positive or otherwise. Mission accomplished.