The RIP Famous Person Thread

[Seekingasylum]

Type of manner? Tautology or is that an Unwinism?

Hope I don't go out a la Floyd. Bowel cancer, COPD and a smidgin of a liver isn't on my list but then I don't have the imagination of the hagiographer that propounds the sentimental drivel currently on offer.

[S Landreth]

Mary Travers, one-third of the popular 1960s folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary who were perhaps best known for their hit "Puff (The Magic Dragon)," died in a Connecticut hospital after battling leukemia for several years. She was 72.

Link: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20090917/D9AOU66G0.html

[Muadib]

Actor Henry Gibson dead at 73, spokesman says - CNN.com

Actor Henry Gibson dead at 73

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Actor Henry Gibson, who played roles ranging from loopy poets to vengeful Illinois Nazis and cranky judges during a 40-year film and television career, has died at age 73, his representatives said Wednesday.



Henry Gibson had a role as a neo-Nazi in the cult movie classic "The Blues Brothers."

Gibson was a regular on "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In," where he was known for popping up to read short, humorous poems during the show's 1968-71 run.
He was a frequent guest star on television shows from the 1970s through the mid-2000s, with a recurring role as a judge on ABC's "Boston Legal" as late as 2008.

His movie roles included turns in two of director Robert Altman's 1970s films, "Nashville" and "The Long Goodbye," and as the neo-Nazi leader pursuing John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd in "The Blues Brothers."

No details of his death were immediately available, said Peter Gross, a spokesman Talentworks LA, which represented Gibson.

[slackula]

Sad, he was always very funny in Boston Legal.

[Jet Gorgon]

RIP William Safire.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - William Safire, the former Richard Nixon speechwriter who went on to become known for his columns on politics and language in The New York Times, has died, the newspaper said on Sunday.
Safire, who was 79, died at a hospice in Rockville, Maryland, the Times said. An aide to Safire said he had suffered from cancer.
Safire won a Pulitzer Prize for commentary in 1978 and had been writing the Times' On Language column since 1979. The column, which made him an influential commentator on language, examined the origins of words and phrases and their proper usage.

Before joining the Times, Safire worked in politically oriented public relations and joined the speechwriting team at the Nixon White House in 1968. He was credited with coining the phrases "nattering nabobs of negativism" and "hysterical hypochondriacs of history" that Vice President Spiro Agnew used to describe the U.S. media.
NY Times Columnist William Safire Dead at 79 - ABC News

Bladdy h*ll, I just took his book "I Stand Corrected" outta my bookcase a few days ago.
A sublime wit.

[barbaro]

studying/commenting on language is important in that industry.

RIP.

[shunpike]

RIP
Didn't think much of his politics but I followed his love affair with the English language through his columns in the NYT.

[venturalaw]

• September 28, 2009, 2:00 PM ET

Lucy Vodden, of “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds” Song Fame, Dies



Lucy Vodden (née O’Donnell), who was the inspiration for the Beatles’ song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” has died, following a long battle with the autoimmune disease lupus. The British housewife — whose passing was announced by the St Thomas’ Lupus Trust charity — was 46. Vodden first achieved pop culture fame as a tot, when John Lennon’s son Julian drew a picture of her in nursery school in 1966. He took the picture home to his pops, explained it as “That’s Lucy in the sky with diamonds,” and a song legend was born.
The married housewife officially fessed up to being the Lucy from the classic song — which was released as a part of the group’s iconic “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” album — two years ago, telling BBC radio:

“I remember Julian and I both doing pictures on a double-sided easel, throwing paint at each other, much to the horror of the classroom attendant… Julian had painted a picture and on that particular day his father turned up with the chauffeur to pick him up from school.”

A “Rock Band” tribute above, and the actual drawing below. [Guardian]

• Julian Lennon,
• The Beatles

Lucy Vodden, of "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" Song Fame, Dies - Speakeasy - WSJ

[JoGeAr]

Entertainer Don Lane dies, aged 75 A dementia-type illness has killed legendary entertainer Don Lane, his manager says. Don Lane was the most generous performer in showbiz, his old sparring partner Bert Newton says. PHOTOS: An Aussie entertainment icon The legendary entertainer died from a dementia-related illness on Thursday morning. Lane had been living in a care facility since 2008, when reports surfaced that he was suffering from dementia. The American-born Lane was best known for his work on the hugely successful Don Lane Show, which ran on the Nine Network from 1975 until 1983. It was on the show that he formed a close friendship with fellow entertainer Newton. Newton said that despite his first words to Lane on the show being "go home Yank", the pair "clicked" immediately. "He was one of the leading Australian television stars and certainly one of the most successful in the history of television," Newton told reporters at Sydney's Capitol Theatre, where he's performing in the musical Wicked. "He was certainly the most generous performer that I worked with - he didn't mind where the laughs were coming from and who was getting the laughs. "All I can say is that I can't think of anyone who I liked more in the industry, anyone I enjoyed working with, more than Don Lane." "Our friendship basically grew in front of a television camera," Newton said. "He was a great performer, a close friend and a man with a wonderful sense of humour ... Don could do anything." Newton credited Lane with reinventing the variety show, saying that without him the genre might not have survived. "(Without him) I think variety would have died early in the piece," he said. He said he had a lot to be thankful to Lane about, after his old friend "demanded" Newton be put on the show at a time when Newton said his career "needed a kick along". He credited Lane with giving him his famous moniker "Moonface". Newton said he hadn't seen Lane in more than a year, but had a feeling their conversations were coming to an end when they last spoke about six months ago. (ACA VIDEO: Lane's final TV interview) "I don't think either of us knew it was the last time we would talk to each other, but I think both of us realised it was towards the end of our regular conversations," Newton said. Lane's biographer and friend Janise Beaumont says he was charismatic and funny until the very end. "He didn't want this to happen, but he was still Don," Ms Beaumont told Macquarie Radio. "And pretty much up to the end he was very tactile ... he loved hugs, he still could make eye contact, still be funny, still be charismatic - but this bastard of Alzheimer's... "We've got to find a cure. "I'll go on any committee, I'll dress up in a chicken suit to raise money to help find a cure because it robs people of so much." Ms Beaumont said she noticed Lane was "starting to be a bit fragile" when she began working on his biography more than three years ago. "A lot of people did drop off like flies in Don's life, and I know that above all else Don would want me to say to people `if you know anybody with Alzheimer's, there's still a person in there, and don't walk away from them'," she said. She said she had been friends with the American-born television personality for almost 40 years. "I know him incredibly well and I love him very much," she said. "I preferred the world with him in it." Ms Beaumont said she was proud of Lane for completing the book because it had been hard for him at times. "But he had such a story to tell, such a story about adventures, talent and dreams, and a lot of women," she said. "He was so charismatic and I am one of the women who fell under his spell for a short time many years ago ... but that was nothing compared to the friendship." A private funeral service with very few in attendance would be held on Friday, but a public memorial would be held "down the track", Ms Beaumont said. His manager Jayne Ambrose said Lane's son PJ was devastated by the loss and Australia has suffered a great loss. (ACA VIDEO: Don's son tipped for success) "It's a very sad day for the family," Ambrose said. In parliament on Thursday, Federal Arts Minister Peter Garrett said "the very popular Australian entertainer" was a "household name". "On behalf of the government I pass onto his family friends and colleagues the tragic sympathies for his loss," he told parliament. Opposition frontbencher Steven Ciobo said Lane made "a fine contribution to Australian culture" and would be missed by millions. "(He was) someone who made a very marked impact on Australian cultural life," he told parliament. Nine Network chief executive David Gyngell has paid tribute to Mr Lane, calling him one of Australia's finest entertainers. "Today Australia lost one of its finest all-round entertainers," Mr Gyngell said in statement. "Don Lane was a stalwart of the industry and a great mate to so many of us here at Nine. "While Don may have passed, the memories and the laughs he provided will remain with us for many years to come. "Our deepest condolences are conveyed to Jayne Ambrose, PJ and Don's extended family." The Nine Network will air a one-hour special, A Tribute to Don Lane, at 8.30pm Thursday, featuring highlights from his career.

[Loy Toy]

Don Lane and Bert Newton made a great team and filled our households with laughter and great entertainment for years.

RIP.

[chitown]

Free Internet Press :: Comedian Soupy Sales Dies At 83 :: Uncensored News For Real People

Comedian Soupy Sales Dies At 83

Soupy Sales, the rubber-faced comedian whose anything-for-a-chuckle career was built on 20,000 pies to the face and 5,000 live TV appearances across a half-century of laughs, died Thursday. He was 83. Sales died at Calvary Hospice in the Bronx, New York, said his former manager and long-time friend, Dave Usher. Sales had many health problems and entered the hospice last week, said Usher.
At the peak of his fame in the 1950s and ‘60s, Sales was one of the best-known faces in the United States, said Usher.
“If President Eisenhower would have walked down the street, no one would have recognized him as much as Soupy,” said Usher. At the same time, Sales retained an openness to fans that turned every restaurant meal into an endless autograph-signing session.
“He was just good to people,” said Usher, a former jazz music producer who managed Sales in the 1950s.

Sales died at Calvary Hospice in the Bronx, New York, said his former manager and long-time friend, Dave Usher. Sales had many health problems and entered the hospice last week, said Usher.
At the peak of his fame in the 1950s and ‘60s, Sales was one of the best-known faces in the United States, said Usher.
“If President Eisenhower would have walked down the street, no one would have recognized him as much as Soupy,” said Usher. At the same time, Sales retained an openness to fans that turned every restaurant meal into an endless autograph-signing session.
“He was just good to people,” said Usher, a former jazz music producer who managed Sales in the 1950s.
Sales began his TV career in Cincinnati and Cleveland, Ohio, then moved to Detroit, Michigan, where he drew a large audience on WXYZ-TV. He moved to Los Angeles in 1961.
The comic's pie-throwing schtick became his trademark, and celebrities queued up to take one on the chin alongside Sales. During the early 1960s, Stars like Frank Sinatra, Tony Curtis and Shirley MacLaine received their just desserts side-by-side with the comedian on his television show.
“I'll probably be remembered for the pies, and that's all right,” he said in a 1985 interview. “That's fine and dandy.”
Sales was born Milton Supman on Jan. 8, 1926, in Franklinton, North Carolina, where his was the only Jewish family in town. His parents, owners of a dry-goods store, sold sheets to the Ku Klux Klan. The family later moved to Huntington, West Virginia.
His greatest success came in New York with The Soupy Sales Show - an ostensible children's show that had little to do with Captain Kangaroo and other kiddie fare. Sales' manic, improvisational style also attracted an older audience that responded to his envelope-pushing antics.
Sales, who was typically clad in a black sweater and oversized bow-tie, was once suspended for a week after telling his legion of tiny listeners to empty mommy's purse and mail him all the pieces of green paper bearing pictures of the presidents.
The cast of Saturday Night Live cast later paid homage by asking their audience to send in their joints - a particularly apt move, given that Sales' career was forged in live television. His influence was also obvious in the Pee-Wee Herman character created by Paul Reubens.
Sales returned from the Navy after the Second World War and became a $20-a-week reporter at a West Virginia radio station. He jumped to a DJ gig, changed his name to Soupy Heinz and headed for Ohio.
His first pie to the face came in 1951, when the newly christened Soupy Sales was hosting a children’s show in Cleveland. In Detroit, Sales’ show garnered a national reputation as he honed his act - a barrage of sketches, gags and bad puns that played in the Motor City for seven years.
After moving to Los Angeles, he eventually became a fill-in host on The Tonight Show.
He moved to New York in 1964 and debuted The Soupy Sales Show, with co-star puppets White Fang (the meanest dog in the United States) and Black Tooth (the nicest dog in the United States). By the time his Big Apple run ended two years later, Sales had appeared on 5,370 live television programs - the most in the medium’s history, he boasted. He had a pair of albums that hit the Billboard Top 10 in 1965; Do the Mouse sold 250,000 copies in New York alone.
Sales remained a familiar television face, first as a regular from 1968-75 on the game show What’s My Line? and later appearing on everything from The Mike Douglas Show to The Love Boat. He played himself in the 1998 movie Holy Man, which starred Eddie Murphy.
He joined WNBC-AM as a disc jockey in 1985, a stint best remembered because Sales filled the hours between shock jocks Don Imus and Howard Stern.
Sales is survived by his wife Trudy and two sons, Hunt and Tony, a pair of well-known musicians who backed David Bowie in the band Tin Machine.

[isanyokel]

RIP Robert Wiseman [James Bond's Dr. NO]


Joseph Wiseman, a longtime stage and screen actor most widely known for playing the villainous title character in “Dr. No,” the first feature film about James Bond, died on Monday at his home in Manhattan. He was 91.
Skip to next paragraph MGM/UA Entertainment
Joseph Wiseman in “Dr. No” in 1962.

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Sara Krulwich/The New York Times
Mr. Wiseman in a New York revival of Arthur Miller’s “I Can’t Remember Anything” in 1997.



His daughter, Martha Graham Wiseman, confirmed the death, saying her father had recently been in declining health.
Released in 1962, “Dr. No” was the first in what proved to be a decades-long string of Bond movies. Starring Sean Connery and Ursula Andress, the film featured Mr. Wiseman as Dr. Julius No, the sinister scientist who was Bond’s first big-screen adversary.
Mr. Wiseman’s other film credits include “Detective Story” (1951); “Viva Zapata!” (1952); “The Garment Jungle” (1957); “The Unforgiven” (1960); “The Night They Raided Minsky’s” (1968) and “The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz” (1974).
He had guest roles on many television shows, among them “Law & Order,” “The Streets of San Francisco,” “The Untouchables” and “The Twilight Zone.” In the late 1980s, he had a recurring role as the crime boss Manny Weisbord on the NBC drama “Crime Story.”
On Broadway, Mr. Wiseman was seen most recently, in 2001, as a witness for the prosecution in Abby Mann’s stage adaptation of his film drama “Judgment at Nuremberg.” In 1994, he appeared Off Broadway in the Tony Kushner play “Slavs!” in the role of Prelapsarianov, “the world’s oldest living Bolshevik.”
Writing in The New York Times, Vincent Canby said Mr. Wiseman played Prelapsarianov “to frail perfection.”
Joseph Wiseman was born in Montreal on May 15, 1918, and moved to the United States with his family when he was a boy. His first Broadway role was in the company of “Abe Lincoln in Illinois” (1938). Among his many other Broadway credits are “Joan of Lorraine” (1946), “Antony and Cleopatra” (1947), “Detective Story” (1949); “The Lark” (1955) and the title role in “In the Matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer” (1969).
Mr. Wiseman’s first marriage, to Nell Kinard, ended in divorce; his second wife, the choreographer Pearl Lang, died in February. In addition to his daughter, Martha, from his marriage to Ms. Kinard, Mr. Wiseman is survived by a sister, Ruth Wiseman.

[daveboy]

Actor Edward Woodward dies at 79




Veteran actor Edward Woodward has died aged 79, his agent has confirmed.

[chitown]

BBC News - Musician Eric Woolfson dies aged 64

Musician Eric Woolfson dies aged 64

Songwriter and musician Eric Woolfson, one of the key figures behind The Alan Parsons Project, has died aged 64.
He recorded a string of albums with his collaborator, record producer Alan Parsons, and wrote his own musicals and songs for other artists.
The musician had been suffering from cancer and died in London on Tuesday.
His friend Deborah Owen said: "Eric was very much a self-made man. He couldn't read music but if you asked him to play anything he could do it straight away."
"He had an extraordinary gift," she added.
Woolfson - who is survived by his wife Hazel, with whom he has two daughters - largely taught himself to play piano and spent the early part of his career working as a songwriter in London.

US success
The Glasgow-born musician wrote songs for Marianne Faithfull, Chris Farlowe and Frank Ifield.
He also worked as a producer for artists including The Tremeloes and The Equals, before hooking up with Parsons, for whom he had initially acted as manager.
It was in the early 1970s, during the prog-rock era, that Woolfson's work started to become well-known.
Parsons had already worked as an engineer on The Beatles' Abbey Road and Pink Floyd's The Dark Side Of The Moon, and together they formed The Alan Parsons Project.
The pair released 10 albums, none of which were huge hits in the UK, but found success in Germany and the US.
Woolfson performed vocals on the some of the Project's tracks and eventually moved in to musicals, including a production based on the life of Edgar Allan Poe which premiered in Berlin earlier this year.

[Goodgirl]

studying/commenting on language is important in that industry.

RIP.

Speaking of that industry, would you agree that language is an encyclopedia of false statements?

[chitown]

California Chronicle | 'Bat Masterson' actor Barry dead
'Bat Masterson' actor Gene Barry dead

Gene Barry, a debonair leading man who was best known as the sharply dressed lawmen of the television series "Bat Masterson" and "Burke's Law," and then earned a Tony Award nomination as a gay nightclub owner raising a son in "La Cage aux Folles," died Dec. 9 at an assisted living home in Woodland Hills, Calif. He was 90. His family said they did not yet know the cause of death.
After an early stage career that included acting opposite Mae West in a Broadway comedy, Barry went to Hollywood and starred in a series of films that included the 1953 alien-invasion movie "The War of the Worlds." But it was on television that he thrived over the next 20 years, usually specializing in affable and urbane characters.
He had a recurring role as a physical education teacher who romances Eve Arden on CBS's "Our Miss Brooks" before earning top billing on "Bat Masterson" for NBC in 1958.
At first weary of what he thought was the tiresome Western genre, Barry embraced the role of Masterson, based on a real-life figure from the Old West, because of its biggest twist: The character dressed as a dandy, sporting a brocade vest and carrying a gold- tipped cane. The show ran until 1961.
Barry's affinity for playing the dapper hero extended to two other TV shows -- "Burke's Law," in which he played a millionaire police official in Los Angeles who would be chauffeured to homicide scenes in a Rolls Royce, and "The Name of the Game," in which he portrayed a millionaire magazine publisher.
"Burke's Law" was producer Aaron Spelling's first hit, with the title character's opulent lifestyle a hint at what would come in Spelling's later series. "Burke's Law," later renamed "Amos Burke, Secret Agent," aired on ABC from 1963 to 1966 and resurfaced as a short-lived revival on CBS in 1994 with Barry.
A longtime cabaret and touring stage performer, Barry played President Richard M. Nixon in a 1982 Atlanta production of "Watergate: A Musical."
The next year he originated the Broadway role of Georges in "La Cage aux Folles," a Jerry Herman musical based on a French stage play. The show won the Tony Award for best musical.
Born Eugene Klass on June 14, 1919, in New York, Barry changed his surname as a nod to eminent stage actor John Barrymore. He made his Broadway debut in 1942 and appeared in musicals and operettas before being cast as a leading man opposite West in "Catherine Was Great" (1944).
During this period Barry met his wife of 58 years, Betty Kalb, with whom he had three children: Michael, Frederick James and Elizabeth. She died in 2003.

[jizzybloke]

This ones a real shocker way way too young!

Actress Brittany Murphy has died following a cardiac arrest, according to website TMZ.com.





The Los Angeles City Fire Department told TMZ that they received a call at 8am this morning to a home listed as belonging to Murphy's husband, Simon Monjack.
TMZ sources say the 32-year-old actress' mother discovered her unconscious in the shower.
The website says that when paramedics arrived, they quickly determined Murphy was in full cardiac arrest and immediately administered CPR.
They continued CPR en route to Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre. Murphy was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.
LA County Coroner's Office is expected to launch an investigation.
Jeanne Wolf, Editor of Parade Magazine, told Sky News that Murphy suffered from a heart murmur.
"This is a girl who was so full of life," she said. "She lit up the room when she entered. To think of her dying so young is very, very sad."
Murphy starred in 'Clueless' and '8 Mile'.

[StrontiumDog]

Yep, too young. Said to be of natural causes though, whatever that means. I guess she had an underlying problem. Tis a shame. I thought she was one of the better looking actresses, although the pic above doesn't do her justice. I rather liked her anyway.

Her poor husband sounds stunned...very nasty for her family also. A sad loss.

RIP.

[barbaro]

Yep, too young. Sad to be of natural causes though, whatever that means. I guess she had an underlying problem. Tis a shame. I thought she was one of the better looking actresses, although the pic above doesn't do her justice. I rather liked her anyway.

Her poor husband sounds stunned...very nasty for her family also. A sad loss.

RIP.

Cardiac Arrest. She might have had a bad ticker. It happens.

I presume an autopsy will be done. Surely.

Honestly, I've never heard of her. But I don't watch TV nor movies.

RIP. She was doable. I would have hit it.

[nedwalk]

my money is on a drug related problem, some of the latest photo's are not all that flattering..anywho RIP..what a waste

[slackula]

my money is on a drug related problem, some of the latest photo's are not all that flattering..anywho RIP..what a waste

Sadly I agree. She had that air of crazy (in the good way) though, but seemed to be losing it lately. The trout-pout last year was totally unnecessary:





/hotlinked

[baldrick]

but happily Grigori Perelman is still amongst the living

[jandajoy]

Fascinating story. The youtube vid is worth watching.



Man who inspired Rain Man dies

Posted 23 minutes ago
Updated 18 minutes ago
Inspiration behind Rain Man: Kim Peek (Supplied: file photo)

• Related Link: YouTube: Kim Peek 'Real Life Rain Man'

The man who inspired the 1988 Oscar-winning movie Rain Man died in Utah on Saturday of a heart attack, US media reported.
Kim Peek, 58, had mental handicaps but could memorise and recite huge amounts of information on various topics.
Mr Peek had committed 9,000 books to memory and NASA made him the subject of MRI-based research.
His death has been reported by the Salt Lake Tribune and ABC America.
The character portrayed by Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man was based in large part on Mr Peek, and he gained international attention after the movie premiered.
After the movie's release Mr Peek became a popular public speaker, travelling the world to address millions of people.
In recent weeks he had suffered from an upper respiratory infection, according to his father, Fran Peek.

[Gerbil]

Her husband is a bit of a slob:


Grief ... hubby Simon Monjack

[TizMe]

Rose Tattoo's Mick Cocks loses cancer battle

ROSE Tattoo guitarist Mick Cocks has died from cancer.

A brief statement on the band's website confirmed the death of the Sydney rocker yesterday.

"We're very sad to announce that Rose Tattoo founding member and guitarist Mick Cocks lost his battle against liver cancer and passed away today, on December 22th,'' the statement read.

He had been battling the disease for about twelve months.

Cocks is the fourth member of the band to die, all from cancer.

Ian Rilen (bladder cancer) and Pete Wells (prostate cancer) died in 2006 and Lobby Loyde (lung cancer) in 2007.