The RIP Famous Person Thread

[Mid]

Singer-Actress Eartha Kitt, 81, Dies of Cancer

CHICAGO _ Considering that she was abandoned by her mother at age 3, forced to pick cotton by age 6 and kicked out of the house at 16, Eartha Mae Kitt did not appear destined for global stardom.

Yet by her 20s she had willed herself into becoming a singing sensation in Europe _ the next Josephine Baker, proclaimed critics in the late 1940s and early '50s. In quick succession thereafter, Kitt seduced American audiences singing in Broadway and Hollywood musicals in the mid-'50s and purring as Catwoman on TV's "Batman" in the '60s.

Triply blessed with a pliant voice, a palpable charisma and a voracious appetite to succeed, Kitt conquered virtually every medium she took on, earning multiple Tony and Grammy Award nominations. Yet if she made her triumphs look easy, her journey was tumultuous from start and practically to finish.

The singer-actor-dancer-raconteur died Thursday at age 81 in Connecticut of colon cancer.


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americanchronicle.com


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[DrAndy]

Harold Pinter, excellent playright

RIP

[Jet Gorgon]

Saddened by both of these passings.
Loved Eartha Kitt as Catwoman. Purrrrrrfect purrs in the "per" words.



Mr Pinter
(12-25) 16:36 PST -- Harold Pinter, winner of the 2005 Nobel Prize for Literature and one of the most celebrated and iconoclastic playwrights of the past 50 years, died Wednesday in London after a long battle with cancer.
He was 78, and his death was announced Thursday by his second wife, historian Lady Antonia Fraser.
Mr. Pinter, who had battled cancer of the esophagus for many years, was too ill to travel to Stockholm to receive his Nobel Prize in person, but used the occasion to videotape a blistering attack on U.S. and British involvement in Iraq.
"The United States ... doesn't give a damn about the United Nations, international law or critical dissent, which it regards as impotent and irrelevant. It also has its own bleating little lamb tagging behind it on a lead, the pathetic and supine Great Britain," he said.
Both on stage and off, Mr. Pinter believed in challenging his audience and had little patience with complacency. Many of his plays - including "The Birthday Party," "The Caretaker," "The Homecoming" and "Betrayal" - are considered seminal works of unparalleled genius, but all demand much from their audiences. Writing about Mr. Pinter's Nobel Prize win three years ago, former Chronicle Arts and Culture Critic Steven Winn cited the "disturbing power, corrosive humor and unnerving silences" of Mr. Pinter's work.
"Writers of all kinds have fallen under its mesmerizing sway," Winn added. " 'Pinteresque' has become not only a shorthand descriptor of his own work but the marker of an enigmatically charged emotional state."
Among his most ardent Bay Area fans and frequent collaborators was Carey Perloff, artistic director of the American Conservatory Theater, which staged a pair of one-acts in 2001, the classic "The Room" and Mr. Pinter's most recent play at the time, "Celebration."
'Minutely observed reality'

"It's hard to imagine a theatrical landscape without Pinter," Perloff said in 2005. "When we talk about menace, a predatory world and a certain kind of sexual ambiguity, everyone recognizes that as Pinteresque. His work is all about minutely observed reality."
"Having spent many hours in the studio with him, what I remember most vividly is that he was the ultimate theater animal, reveling in every minute detail of the rehearsal process, observing every punctuation mark with the precision of a conductor, howling with laughter at his own jokes, unfailingly generous to actors, whom he adored, and relentlessly cantankerous to everyone else," Perloff said in an e-mail interview Thursday.
"I first met him when he walked into my theater in New York and stood in the crummy little lobby for five minutes without saying a word, until someone looked up and screamed 'Harold Pinter is here!' So my memory of Harold Pinter began, appropriately enough, with a Pinter pause. And today, it ends with another pause. It breaks my heart that this astonishing outrageous artist is no longer with us. I think I could be perfectly happy if I spent the rest of my career directing his plays. Theater doesn't get better than that."
Another classic, "The Homecoming," focusing on the disruption of an all-male household by the arrival of a woman, was staged by Berkeley's Aurora Theatre in 2000.
Turning to poetry

Mr. Pinter, the son of a Jewish tailor, was born in London's East End on Oct. 10, 1930. He won admission to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art but dropped out to turn his attention to writing poems under the name "Harold Pinta." His first play, "The Room," opened in 1957, but it was his next effort that made his name: "The Birthday Party," the story of a young man hiding from childhood guilt when his home is beset by invaders, was savaged by critics when it also opened in 1957.
Soon, though, both critics and audiences embraced Mr. Pinter with the premieres of "The Dumb Waiter" and "The Caretaker." A steady stream of new plays followed over the next two decades, including "The Homecoming" in 1964 and "No Man's Land" in 1974. In all, he wrote more than 30 plays, a novel, "The Dwarfs," and a number of screenplays including "The Quiller Memorandum" in 1965, "The Last Tycoon" in 1974 and "The French Lieutenant's Woman" in 1980.
Having begun his career as an actor with British repertory companies, Mr. Pinter continued to perform throughout his career. A decade ago, he was about to leave his London home for the Donmar Warehouse to act in his 1961 play "The Collection" when Winn caught up with him by telephone.
Why did he continue to act at this stage in his career, Winn asked.
'Always an actor'

"I just feel like it," Mr. Pinter replied. "For some time I was too busy writing and directing. But I've been a professional actor all my life. I started acting in all sorts of things, including Shakespeare, when I was 19. Once an actor always an actor, you know."
Two years ago, though in very frail health, Mr. Pinter performed in Beckett's "Krapp's Last Tape" during the 50th anniversary of the Royal Court Theatre.
Winn asked in 1998 whether acting served his writing in any way.
"I have no idea," Mr. Pinter replied. "I'm not an analyst of those kinds of things. I don't really excavate the relationships and correspondences. I just do things - I do acting and directing."
Mr. Pinter was equally reticent about assessing the meaning of his own work. "Who supposes I'm striving for lucidity?" he wrote to a director who was seeking guidance on the meaning of "The Birthday Party." In 2001, he said of his play "Ashes to Ashes": "I wouldn't attempt to define it. If I could have defined it, I wouldn't have written it."
In the final decades of his career, Mr. Pinter's work took on an even more overtly political point of view in plays such as "One for the Road" in 1984 and the political satire "Party Time" in 1991. Over the years, his output included essays, poems, published speeches, sketches, radio plays and other prose work.
Mr. Pinter was married to actress Vivien Merchant from 1956 to 1980, although for seven of those years he was involved with journalist and television presenter Joan Bakewell. That relationship became fodder for Mr. Pinter's play "The Betrayal," in 1978. In 1975, he took up residence with Antonia Fraser, the wife of actor Hugh Fraser. His 1980 divorce from Merchant enabled the two to marry. Mr. Pinter is survived by Fraser and his son, Daniel, from his first marriage.
Funeral arrangements have not been announced.

[Milkman]

Originally Posted by Jet Gorgon

Saddened by both of these passings.
Loved Eartha Kitt as Catwoman. Purrrrrrfect purrs in the "per" words.

Why did that bitch dress up like a cat?

She high?

[Jet Gorgon]

^ You on pain killers today, MM? Coz she was in the Batman TV series, numnuts.

YouTube - The Joke's On Catwoman

[Milkman]

Originally Posted by Jet Gorgon

^ You on pain killers today, MM? Coz she was in the Batman TV series, numnuts.

No painkillers.

Batman was before my time.

Adam West and Robin, the fag.

And this she-cat.

I hope Batmand and Robin are dead, by now.

[Jet Gorgon]

^ Well, your endorphins are pretty high...

[Milkman]

Originally Posted by Jet Gorgon

^ Well, your endorphins are pretty high...

I don't like dolphins.

[daveboy]

Helen Suzman, a celebrated South African MP and anti-apartheid campaigner, has died at the age of 91.
Ms Suzman, a member of parliament first for the United Party and later the liberal Progressive Party, was an outspoken critic of apartheid.
For 13 years, Suzman, the daughter of Lithuanian Jews, was the only MP to openly condemn South Africa's whites-only apartheid regime.
She was made an honorary dame by the Queen in 1989.
She was also twice-nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

[DrivingForce]

it seems the first tragedy of the new year is an unexpected one, the 16 year old son of a famous person.....Actor John Travolta's son..

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Autopsy planned in death of John Travolta's son

By JUAN McCARTNEY, Associated Press Writer Juan Mccartney, Associated Press Writer 22 mins ago
NASSAU, Bahamas – An autopsy is planned for John Travolta's teenage son, who died after apparently hitting his head on the bathtub while the family was vacationing at their home in the Bahamas, authorities said.
Jett Travolta, 16, had last been seen entering the bathroom on Thursday and had a history of seizures, Police Superintendent Basil Rahming said in a statement.
A house caretaker found the teenager unconscious in a bathroom late Friday morning. He was taken by ambulance to a Freeport hospital, where he was pronounced dead, the statement said.
Jett apparently hit his head on the bathtub, said a police officer who declined to be named because she was not authorized to speak on the matter.
Family attorney Michael Ossi said in a statement that Jett died suddenly on Friday. Publicists Samantha Mast and Paul Bloch released the statement but could not be reached for additional comment.
Obie Wilchcombe, a parliament member and former tourism minister in the Bahamas, said that an autopsy is planned for Monday, and "we expect a quick resolution."
"John spoke with the minister of health and the doctors and police are at the hospital. They're very, very quick to resolve things," he said.
Wilchcombe said Travolta "spent a tremendous amount of time with Jett."
"He always brought him along. There was a close affectionate relationship and lots of love," Wilchcombe told "Larry King Live" in a live telephone interview. "People in the old Bahama community today are in shock."
Travolta, 54, and his wife, actress Kelly Preston, 46, also have an 8-year-old daughter, Ella Bleu. The family had arrived in the Bahamas on a private plane Tuesday and was vacationing at their home in the Old Bahama Bay resort community.
Preston and Travolta have said that Jett became very sick when he was 2 years old and was diagnosed with Kawasaki disease, an illness that leads to inflammation of the blood vessels in young children. She blamed household cleaners and fertilizers, and said that a detoxification program based on teachings from the Church of Scientology helped improve his health, according to People magazine. Both Travolta and Preston are practicing Scientologists.
"I was obsessive about his space being cleaned. We constantly had the carpets cleaned," Travolta said in a 2001 interview with CNN's Larry King, a portion of which was rebroadcast on the "Larry King Live" show Friday night. During that interview, when Jett was 9, Travolta spoke of how his son nearly died when he was 2.
It is unclear whether Jett was taking any medications for his seizures.
The Scientology Celebrity Center in Los Angeles declined to comment.
A spokeswoman for Rand Memorial Hospital in Freeport said she could not release any information because of privacy concerns.
Travolta's corporate and commercial attorney, Michael McDermott, said the actor had a very strong relationship with his son.
"There was unspoken communication between the two. ... It's just so hard," he said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "Kelly is very quiet and both are grieving."
McDermott said his family and other friends are with the couple in the Bahamas. The group came for a two-day New Year's celebration and had planned to return to Florida on Sunday.
"We're are all here and trying to help in any way we can," McDermott said. "Their pain is so evident."
Travolta, who gained fame as Vinnie Barbarino on the 1970s television show "Welcome Back, Kotter" and the 1977 film "Saturday Night Fever," went on to become one of Hollywood's biggest names. He married Preston in 1991.
A television actress, Preston appeared with Travolta in the 2000 film "Battlefield Earth," based on a novel by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard.
_____
Associated Press Writers Josh Dickey in Los Angeles, Lisa Orkin Emmanuel in Miami and Kathy Corcoran in Mexico City contributed to this report.


Print Story: Autopsy planned in death of John Travolta's son - Yahoo! News

[daveboy]

British pop star Dave Dee has died at the age of 65, following a three-year battle with cancer.
The singer continued playing gigs with band members Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich until close to the end of his life, record plugger Sean Cooney said.
"He didn't let it get him down. He was defying it," Mr Cooney added.
The group had eight top 10 hits, including a UK number one single in 1968 with The Legend of Xanadu, in which Dee famously cracked a whip.
A spokeswoman for the family said that Dee died in Kingston Hospital, south-west London on Friday morning following "a long and courageous battle" with cancer.

[Jet Gorgon]

Interesting that Kawasaki disease (Jett Travolta's prob) was "discovered" in Japan. None of my apartos there had carpets. Lino in the kitchen and tatami in the living/bedrooms.

[daveboy]

Veteran BBC sports broadcaster David Vine has died of a heart attack at the age of 73.
Vine fronted a huge list of shows, including Match of the Day, A Question of Sport, Grandstand and Ski Sunday.
He also hosted the BBC's Olympic, snooker and tennis coverage, It's A Knock Out, Miss World and the Eurovision Song Contest.
Vine celebrated his birthday on 3 January and died on Sunday at home, near Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire.
He had triple heart by-pass surgery several years ago

[Moss]

BBC - WW2 People's War - William Stone - Memories of Dunkirk and Russian Convoys

William Stone 109, veteran of two world wars, led the last Remembrance Day March, died today.

Rest in Peace

Moss

[chitown]

Ricardo Montalban dies at 88


LOS ANGELES - Ricardo Montalban, the Mexican-born actor who became a star in splashy MGM musicals and later as the wish-fulfilling Mr. Roarke in TV's "Fantasy Island," died Wednesday morning at his home, a city councilman said. He was 88.

Montalban's death was announced at a meeting of the city council by president Eric Garcetti, who represents the district where the actor lived. Garcetti did not give a cause of death.

"The Ricardo Montalban Theatre in my Council District _ where the next generations of performers participate in plays, musicals, and concerts _ stands as a fitting tribute to this consummate performer," Garcetti said later in a written statement.

Montalban had been a star in Mexican movies when MGM brought him to Hollywood in 1946. He was cast in the leading role opposite Esther Williams in "Fiesta." He also starred with the swimming beauty in "On an Island with You" and "Neptune's Daughter."

A later generation knew Montalban as the faintly mysterious, white-suited Mr. Roarke, who presided over an island resort where visitors were able to fulfill their lifelong dreams. "Fantasy Island" received high ratings for most of its 1978-1984 span on ABC television and still appears in reruns.

In a 1978 interview, he analyzed the series' success:

"What is appealing is the idea of attaining the unattainable and learning from it. Once you obtain a fantasy it becomes a reality, and that reality is not as exciting as your fantasy. Through the fantasies you learn to appreciate your own realities."

[Propagator]

Patrick McGoohan Dies




Patrick McGoohan, the Emmy-winning actor who created and starred in cult classic TV show The Prisoner, has died. He was 80 years of age. His film producer son-in-law Cleve Landsberg made the announcement.
His death came after a short illness but the much-lauded actor has left a memorable legacy. He won two Emmys for his work on Columbo, the hit detective drama which starred Peter Falk. More recently, he appeared as King Edward Longshanks in the 1995 Mel Gibson film Braveheart. However, he remains best known as the title character Number Six in the surreal 1960s British series The Prisoner. Born in New York, Patrick McGoohan was raised in Ireland and England. He trod the boards but his first real brush with fame came courtesy of Danger Man, a 1960s Brit spy series. The work he did in The Prisoner, his next big TV project, stayed with him for the rest of his life. It was this show that brought us the iconic phrase: "I am not a number! I am a free man!"
First airing on ITV between 1967 and 1968, The Prisoner is viewed by many critics as one of the most radical, thought-provoking dramas in the history of television. Slick and intelligent, the 17-episode series explores numerous themes: from democracy and freedom, conformity and rebellion to the nature of the individual and revolution. Widely regarded as a political commentary which is as relevant today as it was 40 years ago, The Prisoner continues to fascinate. ITV are even remaking it with The Passion Of The Christ's Jim Caviezel in McGoohan's role and Ian McKellen as Number Two, the Chief Administrator of The Village.
At the time of his death, Patrick McGoohan was mostly retired and living in Los Angeles with his wife of 57 years, Joan Drummond McGoohan. In our gallery below, we pay tribute to the show that made his name.

• How will you remember Patrick McGoohan? Share your tributes

[melvbot]

TV presenter Tony Hart dies at 83


Tony Hart appeared on the shows Vision On and Take Hart

Artist and children's presenter Tony Hart has died, aged 83.
Mr Hart had suffered from health problems for a number of years, including two strokes. His family said he died peacefully.
Mr Hart appeared on art programmes for nearly 50 years before retiring in 2001 because of health problems.
He first appeared on Saturday Special as an illustrator before fronting his own shows such as Vision On, Take Hart and Hart Beat.
The artist served as an officer in the 1st Gurkha Rifles in World War II, before joining a course at the Maidstone College of Art.
It was a chance meeting in 1952 with a BBC TV producer and a demonstration of his quick art skills on a paper napkin that secured his on-screen career.

BBC NEWS | UK | TV presenter Tony Hart dies at 83

Good old Tony Hart, used to run home to watch him when I finished school.

[Loy Toy]

Funeral of Mike Franklin

Pattaya People 17.01.2009 18:55




The Funeral of the late Michael (Mike) Franklin took place on the 15th January at Wat Chaimongkol on South Pattaya Road.





Mike Franklin who died on the 7th January was a well known and highly respected figure in Pattaya, being a popular television presenter and former Golf Chairman at the Pattaya Golf Society. Often known as Mr. Golf, Mike Franklin was responsible over the years for raising the prominence and standards of golf in the area. The service was attended by 500 people, many of which were his friends and colleagues.

I was shocked to learn of Mikes untimely death! He may not have been a global celebrity but certainly Mike was loved and respected in this part of the world.

He was a wonderful man who went out of his way to help people not as fortunate as himself. Many people benefitted from his kindness and good nature and I send my sincere condolences too Mike's family and friends.

RIP.

[Texpat]

John Hoyer Updike (March 18, 1932 - January 27 2009) was an American novelist, poet, short story writer, art critic, and literary critic. Updike's most famous work is his Rabbit series (Rabbit, Run; Rabbit Redux; Rabbit Is Rich; Rabbit At Rest; and Rabbit Remembered). Rabbit is Rich and Rabbit at Rest received the Pulitzer Prize. Describing his subject as "the American small town, Protestant middle class," Updike was widely recognized for his careful craftsmanship, his highly stylistic writing, and his prolific output, having published more than twenty-five novels and more than a dozen short story collections, as well as poetry, art criticism, literary criticism and children's books. Hundreds of his stories, reviews, and poems appeared in The New Yorker, starting in 1954. He also wrote regularly for The New York Review of Books. His work attracted a significant amount of critical attention and he was considered one of the most prominent contemporary American novelists.

[DrivingForce]

Originally Posted by Milkman

Adam West and Robin, the fag.

actually I think that Adam West was the fag as I recall..