The RIP Famous Person Thread

Spanish singer María Mendiola has passed away, her Baccara band member has confirmed.

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The star – who sang the disco classic anthem Yes Sir, I Can Boogie – died in Madrid on Saturday while surrounded by family.

She was 69-years-old at the time of her death – and heartbroken band mate Cristina Sevilla has led tribute to the chart topping singer.

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The song recently came back into the spotlight when it was adopted by the Scottish international football team as an unofficial anthem for the 2020 UEFA European Football Championship – which was played over the summer of 2021.

The song was welcomed by Scotland supporters after a video of players dancing enthusiastically to the track went viral – while an Aberdeen player had brought the song back to the fore the year before after being filmed singing and dancing to the song on his stag do while dressed in drag.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YdW_7R2ncs

Maria Mendiola dead: Yes Sir, I Can Boogie, has died at the age of 69 - Mirror Online

This one a bit of a shocker.

Norm Macdonald, comedian and former "Saturday Night Live" star, dies at 61

Norm Macdonald, the comedian and former "Saturday Night Live" star, has died from cancer, his manager confirmed to CBS News on Tuesday. He was 61.




Macdonald began his career in television as a writer on "Rosanne" and the "Dennis Miller Show" in 1992. The following year, he became a cast member at "Saturday Night Live," a role that would define his career. He is best known for his work as an anchor for the show's Weekend Update sketch, a spot he held for four years before passing the torch to comedian Colin Quinn.


Macdonald would go on to appear in numerous films and TV shows, including "The Norm Show," "Billy Madison" and a notable appearance in "The Comedy Central Roast of Bob Saget."




In addition to his standup comedy and live-action work, Macdonald was also a successful voice actor, giving voice to the dog Lucky in several "Dr. Doolittle" films and Death in multiple episodes of "Family Guy." Some of his more recent roles included Yaphit, a gelatinous engineer on Fox's "The Orville," and as an alcoholic pigeon on the animated Comedy Central series "Mike Tyson Mysteries."


"Norm defined an American humor that was smart and real. He was a true original," Jeff Danis, the president of DPN Talent, said in a statement. "He will be greatly missed."

Friends and fellow comedians mourned Macdonald on social media Tuesday.


"I am absolutely devastated about Norm Macdonald," Conan O'Brien tweeted. "Norm had the most unique comedic voice I have ever encountered and he was so relentlessly and uncompromisingly funny. I will never laugh that hard again. I'm so sad for all of us today."

Seth Macfarlane, who created and starred in "Family Guy" and "The Orville," called the late actor "hilarious" and "generous."


"To so many people in comedy, me included, there was nobody funnier than Norm MacDonald," Macfarlane tweeted. "You always hoped he would hang around after the work was done, just so you could hear his stories and get a laugh. So hilarious and so generous with his personality. I'm gonna miss him."


Seth Rogen revealed he patterned many of his early appearances on Macdonald's voice and mannerisms. "I would stay up specifically to watch him on talk shows,' Rogen said. "He was the funniest guest of all time. We lost a comedy giant today. One of the all-time greats."

Norm Macdonald, comedian and former "Saturday Night Live" star, dies at 61 - CBS News

100 min of the Best of Norm Macdonald - YouTube

Yes bummer, I liked his style.
RIP norm.

Sir Clive Sinclair dies aged 81 - RIP clive - remebered for his failed little leccy car but a genius in the home computing world, ahead of his time.

Home computing pioneer Sir Clive Sinclair dies aged 81

Sir Clive Sinclair, the inventor and entrepreneur who was instrumental in bringing home computers to the masses, has died at the age of 81.


His daughter, Belinda, said he died at home in London on Thursday morning after a long illness. Sinclair invented the pocket calculator but was best known for popularising the home computer, bringing it to British high-street stores at relatively affordable prices.


Many modern-day titans of the games industry got their start on one of his ZX models. For a certain generation of gamer, the computer of choice was either the ZX Spectrum 48K or its rival, the Commodore 64.


Belinda Sinclair, 57, told the Guardian: “He was a rather amazing person. Of course, he was so clever and he was always interested in everything. My daughter and her husband are engineers so he’d be chatting engineering with them.”


He left school at 17 and worked for four years as a technical journalist to raise funds to found Sinclair Radionics.


In the early 1970s he invented a series of calculators designed to be small and light enough to fit in the pocket at a time when most existing models were the size of an old-fashioned shop till. “He wanted to make things small and cheap so people could access them,” his daughter said.


His first home computer, the ZX80, named after the year it appeared, revolutionised the market, although it was a far cry from today’s models. At £79.95 in kit form and £99.95 assembled, it was about one-fifth of the price of other home computers at the time. It sold 50,000, units while its successor, the ZX81, which replaced it, cost £69.95 and sold 250,000. Many games industry veterans got their start typing programs into its touch-based keyboard and became hooked on games such as as 3D Monster Maze and Mazogs. The ZX80 and ZX81 made him very rich: in 2010 Sinclair told the Guardian: “Within two or three years, we made £14m profit in a year.”


In 1982, he released the ZX Spectrum 48K. Its rubber keys, strange clashing visuals and tinny sound did not prevent it being pivotal in the development of the British games industry. Much-loved games – now in colour – that inspired a generation included Jet Set Willy, Horace Goes Skiing, Chuckie Egg, Saboteur, Knight Lore and Lords of Midnight.


Sinclair became a household name as his products flew off the shelves and was awarded a knighthood in 1983. But he would also become synonymous with one of his less successful inventions – the Sinclair C5 – which would cost him financially. The C5, a battery-powered electric trike, was launched in January 1985, with Sinclair predicting sales of 100,000 in the first year.


But it flopped, and Sinclair Vehicles found itself in receivership by October of the same year. Reviews expressed concerns about the safety of driving a vehicle below the sight line of other motorists, as well as exposure to the elements. The following year, Sinclair sold his computer business to Amstrad.


The Sinclair TV80, a pocket TV, was another device, like the C5, that did not catch on, although people now regularly view programmes on their mobile phones. And although they do not look like the Sinclair C5, which later acquired cult status, electric vehicles are, of course, all the rage today.


Belinda Sinclair said: “It was the ideas, the challenge, that he found exciting. He’d come up with an idea and say, ‘There’s no point in asking if someone wants it, because they can’t imagine it.’”


But he did not make personal use of his own inventions. His daughter said he never had a pocket calculator as far as she knew, instead carrying a slide-rule around with him at all times. And he told interviewers he used neither a computer nor email.


Outside inventing, his interests included poetry, running marathons and poker. He appeared in the first three seasons of the Late Night Poker television series and won the first season final of the Celebrity Poker Club spinoff, defeating Keith Allen.


He is survived by Belinda, his sons, Crispin and Bartholomew, aged 55 and 52 respectively, five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Years ahead of his time.

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RIP Jimmy Greaves 81 years

Only Fools and Horses actor John Challis dies aged 79

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John Challis, best known for playing Boycie in BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses, has died at the age of 79.

His family said he died "peacefully in his sleep, after a long battle with cancer".

Co-star Sir David Jason paid tribute to Challis as a "a wonderful actor" and "a gentleman in the true sense of the word".

His character - unscrupulous second-hand car dealer Terrance Aubrey Boyce - was a firm favourite with comedy fans.

Challis starred in the show, alongside Sir David and Nicholas Lyndhurst, throughout its time on air from 1981 right through to the final show in 2003.

The character - who was both a long-time former schoolmate and devious rival of Sir David's character Del Boy - was initially due to appear in just one scene, but the part grew in prominence as the series progressed.

In fact he was so popular with viewers that, when Only Fools and Horses ended its long run, the BBC developed a spin-off show following the continuing adventures of Boycie and long-suffering wife Marlene. It ran for four series.

Sue Holderness, who played Marlene, paid tribute to Challis as her "beloved friend".

"Marlene without Boycie - it's unthinkable," she said. "John Challis was my partner on screen and stage for 36 years and my beloved friend. RIP darling John. I will miss you every day."

And Steven Woodcock, who played Jevon in the sitcom, said Challis was a "fantastic actor and wonderful person, amazing to work with. There is no Del Boy without Boycie. RIP my Peckham pal".

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In a statement, his family said: "He will always be loved for being 'Boycie' and leaves a great legacy of work that will continue to bring pleasure and smiles for many years to come.

"Be assured that in the future there will be an occasion to celebrate John's life - when everyone will be welcome to come along."

The BBC's chief content officer Charlotte Moore said Challis was "a wonderful actor who will forever be remembered for playing Boycie in Only Fools and Horses - a character so well loved by millions".

Challis happily played Boycie on screen for decades - and even adopted the persona in appearances in other entertainment shows, fan conventions and even in a video message this year advocating the wearing of face-coverings in public places to help fight Covid.

But he also showed his range as a Shakespearean actor when he performed in open-air performances of Richard III and a Midsummer's Night Dream that were staged in Regents Park in London in 1995, right at the height of the popularity of Only Fools and Horses.

More recently he played Monty Staines in ITV show Benidorm.

Actress Crissy Rock, who appeared alongside Challis in the show, said she was heartbroken.

She tweeted: "John you were a true gentleman and always so loving and supportive towards me. I am thinking of your family and close friends at this hard time. Rest well. Crissy xx"

Earlier this month Challis cancelled a speaking tour due to ill health.

He was due to appear in 30 scheduled dates, billed as an "intimate evening with John Challis", but had to cancel the tour after one date.

Others paying tribute ranged from The Three Degrees singer Sheila Ferguson to US rapper and actor Ice T, who wrote: "He somehow became a Twitter friend... I'm very sad. Although I never met him in person, internet friends can become close."

Challis recently became an honorary citizen of Serbia, where Only Fools and Horses remains hugely popular.

He travelled to the Balkan country as part of a documentary, Boycie In Belgrade, which explored why the show was so well-loved there.

Although he was famed for his nasal south London twang as Boycie, he was actually born in Bristol and only moved to London as a young child. In a quirk of fate, much of his career as an on-screen Londoner was spent in Bristol where Only Fools and Horses was largely filmed.

Boycie's five best moments

• Delivering his trademark sneering laugh when he tricks Del Boy and Rodney into bursting into a wake dressed as Batman and Robin, because he'd "forgotten" to tell them the man hosting the fancy dress party had in fact died.

• Revealing his middle name as Aubrey in a séance held by Elsie Partridge, but dismissing her skills, saying: "If Elsie Partridge really could raise the dead, half the money lenders in Peckham would be employing her."

• Demonstrating his "devotion" to Marlene by rejecting a suggestion that he had murdered her and hidden the body with the retort: "I have never been so insulted in my life. You know how much I spent on that garden. You think I'm going to dig a hole in it?"

• Raising the stakes in a poker game with Del and revealing he has four kings ("un, deux, trois, quatre") to claim ownership of Del's flat. The smile is wiped off his face by Del's four aces, which he tells Boycie "came from the same place as his four kings".

• Boycie's grudging commentary when helping Del and Rodney escape the Mafia in Miami: "We were having a lovely holiday and then they turn up. Within 15 seconds, some sod's shooting at us."

Oh Omar...

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Williams died from ‘acute intoxication by the combined effects of fentanyl, p-fluorofentanyl, heroin and cocaine’, according to the autopsy, with his passing determined to have been accidental in nature.

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Former Secretary of State Colin Powell dies from Covid complications

https://teakdoor.com/attachment.php?...id=77379&stc=1

WASHINGTON — Former Secretary of State Colin Powell, the first Black Secretary of State, died Monday due to complications from Covid-19, his family said in a statement on Facebook.

Powell, 84, was fully vaccinated from Covid-19, his family said. He received treatment at Walter Reed National Medical Center.


“General Colin L. Powell, former U.S. Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, passed away this morning due to complications from Covid 19. He was fully vaccinated,” the family said in the statement. “We want to thank the medical staff at Walter Reed National Medical Center for their caring treatment. We have lost a remarkable and loving husband, father, grandfather and a great American.”

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell dies from Covid complications

Fighting form, even as the end neared

As death approached, Colin Powell was still in fighting form.


"I've got multiple myeloma cancer, and I've got Parkinson's disease. But otherwise I'm fine," he said in a July interview.

And he rejected expressions of sorrow at his condition.


"Don't feel sorry for me, for God's sakes! I'm [84] years old," said Powell who died Monday. "I haven't lost a day of life fighting these two diseases. I'm in good shape."


Over 32 years beginning in 1989 after the United States invasion of Panama, I conducted about 50 interviews with Powell who was the first Black chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the first Black secretary of state. The last interview was a phone call, three months ago on July 12 for 42 minutes and recorded with Powell's agreement.

Of his visits to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, he said "I have to get all kinds of exams and I'm a former Chairman, so they don't want to lose me so they make me come there all the time. I've taken lots of exams and I get there on my own. I drive up in my Corvette, get out of the Corvette and go into the hospital. I also go to a clinic to get the blood tests taken. I don't advertise it but most of my friends know it."

Worth reading more. Fighting form, even as the end neared

Leslie Bricusse, Acclaimed Songwriter for ‘Willy Wonka,’ ‘Goldfinger,’ and ‘Doctor Doolittle,’ Dies at 90


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One of cinema and theater's greatest songwriters is no longer with us. Leslie Bricusse passed away at 90 on Tuesday, leaving behind a catalog of cinema hits from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Goldfinger, Doctor Dolittle, and many more. His death was announced by his son via Instagram along with a tribute.

The London-born Bricusse was a cinema songwriting giant, often working alongside his creative partner Anthony Newley to create themes for some of the biggest productions from the 1960s through the 80s. Together, they wrote the theme to the James Bond film Goldfinger for Shirley Bassey, collaborated with Sammy Davis Jr. for the Willy Wonka hit "The Candy Man," and created the film's "Pure Imagination." Bricusse would win two Oscars over the course of his illustrious career, one for the 1967 Doctor Doolittle track "Talk to the Animals" and one for his work with Henry Mancini on the score for Victor/Victoria in 1982.

Some of Bricusse's other notable works include collaborating with John Berry for the theme to You Only Live Twice, creating 1963 Song of the Year winner "What Kind of Fool Am I" from Stop the World, I Want to Get Off with Newley, and co-writing "Feeling Good" from The Roar of the Greasepaint - The Smell of the Crowd. Over his career, his songs have been covered by artists from all over the spectrum, from Nina Simone to Frank Sinatra, and the American rock band The Turtles. Bricusse's life of accomplishments earned him an induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1989.

Joan Collins, one of Bricusse's closest friends and Newley's wife, paid tribute to the legendary songwriter over social media, calling him "One of the giant songwriters of our time." She added "He and his beautiful Evie have been in my life for over 50 years. I will miss him terribly, as will his many friends."

Bricusse's work was about as prevalent in cinema history as any songwriter's. Even to this day, songs like "The Candy Man" and "Pure Imagination" can still be heard in commercials and are referenced in modern media for their timelessness. His body of work is massive and memorable enough that most everyone knows at least a few songs from his storied career and each truly embodied the project it went with, whether it be for a musical or a massive blockbuster.

Leslie Bricusse, Willy Wonka and Goldfinger Songwriter, Dies at 90


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnseiOJ2jGQ

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American actor James Michael Tyler, best known for his role as Gunther in the hit sitcom "Friends", has passed away on Sunday (Oct. 24).
According to Tyler's representative, and as reported by CNN, the actor died peacefully at his Los Angeles home.
He was 59 years old.

James Michael Tyler, actor who played Gunther on &#39;Friends&#39;, dies aged 59 - Mothership.SG - News from Singapore, Asia and around the world

Mort Sahl , Canada's wittiest man R.I.P.

His biography Heartland reveals the inner man and the hidden state.
From nightclub circuit he transformed American comedy.

Prior to Mort we had Eltham's Bob Hope and teh Borscht belt schmolz of George Burns, Milton Berle and a lot of vaguely amusin stand ups

Sahl's topical comedy monolgue became the norm inspiring all from Lenny Bruce via Bille Smith, Ricahard Prior, Robin Wiliams up to today's Chapelle and Maher.

He was wrting gags for the Kennedy campaign and was the highest paid comedian in USA until he pointed the finger at the crimes of the deep state and was lucky to to get a campus gig.He was a lovely man in real life too.

For those unfamilair with his work a few snippets online.

The obits reflect his stature amongst professiona comedians and those ungagged.

Mort Sahl, Whose Biting Commentary Redefined Stand-Up, Dies at 94 - The New York Times

Mort Sahl, Political Comedy Pioneer, Dies at 94TheWrap

Mort Sahl obituary | Comedy | The Guardian


Mort Sahl explains politics - 1967 - YouTube

More Mort, unlike later polished scripted pap like Frends, Seinfeld, Have got news for you or Saturday Night Life je improvised, extemporised and dealt with live hecklers in uncontrolled small clubs.Most new stuff is no better than Crosby Lucy or Dick van Dyek in my view, Rodney Dangerfield an exception

Mort Sahl "San Francisco & 1960 Debates" on The Ed Sullivan Show - YouTube

^ I was a bit young to appreciate that when it came out. In 1967 he is describing most Americans as Social Democrats. He would be pilloried for saying that now. :)

Funny man, he was.

Alan Davidson, star of tied 1960 Test, dies at 92

Former Australia allrounder played 44 Tests and claimed 186 wickets at a remarkable average of 20.53

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Alan Davidson, the Australia allrounder who played a starring role in the 1960 tied Test, has died at the age of 92.

In a Test career that spanned 1953 to 1963, Davidson played 44 times and claimed 186 wickets at a remarkable average of 20.53. It is the second-lowest average for any bowler with more than 150 Test wickets behind SF Barnes (16.43). He was also a very useful batter with five Test fifties and a first-class average of 32.96

In the tied Test against West Indies in Brisbane, which he played with a broken finger, he became the first player to score 100 runs and take 11 wickets in the same match. Only Ian Botham, Imran Khan and Shakib Alan Hasan have since achieved the feat.

Alan Davidson star of tied 1960 Test dies at 92

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Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

Alan Davidson, the Australia allrounder who played a starring role in the 1960 tied Test, has died at the age of 92.

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A great knock.

RIP.

Australian media personality, Bert Newton passed away yesterday at age 83

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Originally Posted by Saint Willy

Australian media personality, Bert Newton passed away yesterday at age 83

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Australian TV legend Bert Newton dies at the age of 83 | ABC News - YouTube

Lionel Blair: veteran actor, dancer and entertainer dies aged 92

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Lionel Blair, the veteran actor, dancer and entertainer, has died at the age of 92, his agent has said.
Born Henry Lionel Ogus, he grew up in Stamford Hill, north London after his family moved from Canada, worked on television as an actor, tap dancer, presenter and choreographer across a seven-decade career. He died on Thursday morning surrounded by his family, according to his management company.
The entertainer went on to work in the West End but decided to give up acting in 1947 during which he took up his stage name Lionel Blair.
In the 1960s he rose to stardom by being part of variety shows as part of his dance troupe in addition to appearing in films including The Limping Man, A Hard Day’s Night and The Beauty Jungle.
He will perhaps be most remembered as one of the team captains on Give Us a Clue, a gameshow based on charades which aired from the 1970s until the 1990s.
Blair also wrote a musical based on Tolstoy’s War and Peace, which toured around the UK for six months.
In recent years, he made appearances on shows including Celebrity Big Brother in 2004 and The Real Marigold Hotel.
He married Susan Blair in 1967 and the couple have three children.
Blair fed his early passion for performing while sheltering from air raids during the the second world war. When it began, he was evacuated from north London to Oxford with his sister Joyce and mother Deborah.
However, the family’s stint in the countryside did not last long and they returned to London after witnessing a German plane crash leading to his father, Myer, calling them back to the capital.
“If that can happen there, what’s the point of being in the country away from each other?” Blair said his father told him.
His father’s parents were Russian, though Blair described him as “the archetypal north London barber”. Blair was 13 when his father died after going in for surgery on a hernia and duodenal ulcer.
Tributes have been paid by numerous celebrities on social media. Christopher Biggins, TV star and friend of Blair, said they often spoke on the phone. He told BBC News: “He was just the most wonderful, kind, funny, real giver of life. His energy was extraordinary.”
He said Blair had a “great sense of humour” and is a “tribute to his wonderful family”, describing him as the “king of the pantomime” and a man who was “adored” by the public.
The standup comedian Ed Byrne tweeted: “One of the highlights of my short lived Saturday morning radio show on BBC London (which I co hosted with my mother) was when we had Lionel Blair as a guest.
“Smoking fags and knocking back gin and tonics with us at 11am. We even got him to tap dance on a sheet of plywood. Legend,” he said.
The author Emma Kennedy tweeted: “I am very glad I got to meet Lionel Blair.
“He was a Phenomenon. Full of magical, fruity, end with a wink anecdotes. What a career. What a talent. RIPLionel.”
Danny Baker, the broadcaster, wrote on Twitter: “A true chum, an entertainer beyond compare, an archive of a golden era, an immeasurable talent.
“Impossible to think he won’t be in some Green room somewhere, dropping names and living out fantastic tales. A Giant. Really.”
The actor Julian Clary tweeted: “RIP dear Lionel Blair. A showbiz trooper if ever there was.”
In an interview with the Guardian in 2013, the entertainer discussed the secret behind his long marriage to Susan. He said: “The secret of a successful marriage is memories.
“You must have memories together.
“That’s why my dad insisted that we went everywhere together, so we could talk about things.
“I’m so lucky to have a wife who is a nest builder. Her nest is the most important thing in the world to her.”
The actor maintained a coyness over his true age and once famously said: “I am 59 plus VAT.”

Lionel Blair: veteran actor, dancer and entertainer dies aged 92 | Lionel Blair | The Guardian

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A trio of musicians:

Astro, founding member of UB40: UB40'''s Astro Dead: Founding Member Dies at 64 | Billboard

Brazilian sertajeno legend Marília Mendonça: Marilia Mendonca, Brazilian Singer and Latin Grammy Winner, Dies at 26

808 State keyboardist Andrew Barker: 808 State's Andrew Barker dies at the age of 53

A solid actor with a long career in both film and television.

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Dean Stockwell, ‘Quantum Leap’ and ‘Battlestar Galactica’ Star, Dies at 85

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Dean Stockwell, a prolific actor best known for celebrated roles on the sci-fi drama “Quantum Leap” and the acclaimed 2000s reboot of “Battlestar Galactica,” died Monday. He was 85.
TMZ first reported Stockwell’s death. According to Deadline, Stockwell died in his home of natural causes.
The son of actor Harry Stockwell and younger brother of actor Guy Stockwell, Dean Stockwell was born in North Hollywood in 1936 and began acting when he was 7 years old, when his father was in New York as part of the Broadway cast of “Oklahoma.” After a small part in the play “Innocent Voyage,” Stockwell was signed to a contract with MGM and went on to appear in films such as “Anchors Away” and “The Green Years,” both major hits in 1946.
He continued acting into his teens but took a brief break after graduating high school to attend the University of California, Berkley. He resumed acting in 1956, beginning a prolific period of his career that lasted a decade. Though he appeared in a few movies, Stockwell’s primary work was on television, with appearances on shows like “Combat!” and “The Eleventh Hour” among others.
After quitting acting and spending a brief period in the mid-60s living as a hippie, Stockwell returned to acting in 1968, working steadily in television and film roles, before his career started to fade at the end of the 70s. By the early 80s, he was working in real estate to make ends meet.
He had a comeback that proved permanent in 1984 with roles in the films “Paris, Texas” and David Lynch’s adaptation of “Dune.” This kicked off an extremely prolific period as a character actor. Among his more notable roles, he appeared in “Blue Velvet,” “Beverly Hills Cop II” and “To Live and Die in LA.” He had a breakthrough for his role in 1988’s “Married to the Mob,” for which he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the Academy Awards.

Dean Stockwell, 'Quantum Leap' and 'Battlestar Galactica' Star, Dies at 85

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Always found it amazing how many movies Stockwell has popped up in from the time he was just a child.

I’ll always remember him most for this scene.

Roy Orbison - In dreams - from the movie Blue Velvet - YouTube

^^ and ^ I knew Dean Stockwell from the 2000s reboot of Battlestar Galactica. He played one of the Cylons - he was a complex character there.

RIP Mr Stockwell

Dean Stockwell dead: Quantum Leap star's career in movies and TV photos | EW.com

F.W. de Klerk, South Africa's final apartheid president, dies at 85

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Nov. 11 (UPI) -- Frederik Willem de Klerk, the final South African president to rule during the country's brutal apartheid system and the man who took the first steps to end that system, has died at the age of 85, his foundation announced Thursday.

De Klerk, who commonly went by his initials, F.W., died at his home in the Fresnaye area of Cape Town.

De Klerk was president of South Africa between 1989 and 1994 and was the country's final ruler during the decades-long racist and White minority rule era known as apartheid.

In 1990, de Klerk announced in an address to South Africa's Parliament that Nelson Mandela, an anti-apartheid activist and revolutionary, would be released from prison after nearly 30 years. It was also de Klerk who took steps to lift the government ban on opposition groups like the African National Congress.

In 1993, de Klerk shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Mandela for their work against apartheid and laying a foundation for democracy in South Africa.

He entered the political arena as a conservative politician who initially defended the separation of races. Later, recognizing the possibility of civil war in South Africa, he initiated broad reforms and plans for a new constitution once he took up the presidency.

Mandela succeeded de Klerk as president of South Africa in 1994 after Black citizens were allowed to vote for the first time. Mandela died in 2013.

F.W. de Klerk, South Africa's final apartheid president, dies at 85 - UPI.com

Bestselling author Wilbur Smith dies aged 88


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Author Wilbur Smith died at his home in South Africa on Saturday after a decades-long career in writing, his office said. He was 88.

With 49 titles under his belt, Smith became a household name, with his swashbuckling adventure stories taking readers from tropical islands to the jungles of Africa and even Ancient Egypt and World War II.

“Global bestselling author Wilbur Smith died unexpectedly this afternoon at his Cape Town home after a morning of reading and writing with his wife Niso by his side,” said a statement released on the Wilbur Smith Books website, as well as by his publishers Bonnier Books UK.

“The undisputed and inimitable master of adventure writing, Wilbur Smith’s novels have gripped readers for over half a century, selling over 140 million copies worldwide in more than thirty languages.”

The statements did not reveal the cause of death.

His 1964 debut novel When the Lion Feeds, the tale of a young man growing up on a South African cattle ranch, became an instant bestseller and led to 15 sequels, tracing an ambitious family’s fortunes for more than 200 years.

Born in Zambia in 1933 to a British family, he was also a big game hunter, having grown up experiencing the forest, hills and savannah of Africa on his parents’ ranch. He also held a pilot’s licence and was a scuba diver.

As a conservationist, he managed his own game reserve and owned a tropical island in the Seychelles.

He credited his mother with teaching him to love nature and reading, while his father – a strict disciplinarian – gave him a rifle at the age of eight, the start of what he acknowledged was a lifelong love affair with firearms and hunting.

He contracted cerebral malaria when he was just one-year-and-half – an ailment so serious there were fears he would be brain damaged if he survived.

“It probably helped me because I think you have to be slightly crazy to try to earn a living from writing,” he later reflected.

His bestselling Courtney Series was the longest running in publishing history, spanning generations and three centuries, “through critical periods from the dawn of colonial Africa to the American Civil War, and to the apartheid era in South Africa”, said his publisher.

But it was with Taita, the hero of his Egyptian Series, that Wilbur “most strongly identified, and River God remains one of his best-loved novels to this day”, it added.

In his 2018 memoir On Leopard Rock, Smith recounts having had “tough times, bad marriages … burnt the midnight oil getting nowhere, but it has, all in the end, added up to a phenomenally fulfilled and wonderful life.

“I want to be remembered as somebody who gave pleasure to millions,” he wrote.

His office thanked “millions of fans across the world who cherished his incredible writing and joined us all on his amazing adventures”.

His books have been translated into around 30 languages and several made into films, including Shout at the Devil with Lee Marvin and Roger Moore in 1976.

Smith “leaves behind him a treasure-trove of novels,” including unpublished co-authored books, according to Kate Parkin, a managing director at Bonnier Books.

Kevin Conroy Scott, his literary agent for the past decade, described him as “an icon, larger than life” and said his “knowledge of Africa, and his imagination knew no limitations”.

He was married four times, with his last wife, Mokhiniso Rakhimova from Tajikistan, his junior by 39 years.

Bestselling author Wilbur Smith dies aged 88 | Wilbur Smith | The Guardian

^Loved his books - read them all when I was a kid.

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Originally Posted by Davis Knowlton

^Loved his books - read them all when I was a kid.

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Me too, a bit formulaic when you look back on them but at the time i loved them.

I don't think I've ever seen "Shout at the Devil". A few torrents around, not many seeders though.

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Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

“I want to be remembered as somebody who gave pleasure to millions,” he wrote.

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Being one of the millions, I read everyone of his books I could get my hands on.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

I don't think I've ever seen "Shout at the Devil". A few torrents around, not many seeders though.

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Shout at the Devil | Full Movie | Flick Vault - YouTube

Fucking youtube is brilliant innit :)

And you can actually switch it to 1080p.

And download it (1.7Gb).

Thanks for that!

^ Similar in some ways to "The Sea Wolves"? The Pirate Bay - The galaxy's most resilient bittorrent site

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Originally Posted by VocalNeal

^ Similar in some ways to "The Sea Wolves"? The Pirate Bay - The galaxy's most resilient bittorrent site

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Even that one's on Youtube. Only 720p (1Gb) but that means watchable.

The Sea Wolves (1980) full movie - YouTube

Mick Rock pop photographer

An icon bbc

Mick Rock, the photographer who took iconic images of stars like David Bowie and Queen, has died at the age of 72.


Once dubbed "the man who shot the 70s", Rock also worked with the likes of Iggy Pop, Blondie, Lou Reed.


A statement on his Twitter page read: "It is with the heaviest of hearts that we share our beloved psychedelic renegade Mick Rock has made the Jungian journey to the other side."


Sharon Osbourne paid tribute, saying his work would "live on forever".


She added: "We lost a legend, a true artist Mick Rock."


So may great pix on google here's a few faves

Much as appreciate Khvn Barrycud'ass film links witty tiffs if I had only one Harry

I'd have to look away when she was on Tv in case I creamed my pants without success, Bowie Queen etc etc

https://teakdoor.com/attachment.php?...id=78684&stc=1

My own dear teerak is very similar with her Fart of Glass

https://teakdoor.com/attachment.php?...id=78685&stc=1

more rock

RIP FW.

Composer Stephen Sondheim dies at 91 - US media

Attachment 79005

The American composer and songwriter Stephen Sondheim has died at his home in Connecticut aged 91, according to the New York Times. He was a titan of musical theatre who turned the unlikeliest of subjects into entertainment landmarks.

From Sweeney Todd and the president killers of Assassins to the fairy tale-based Into the Woods, his works boasted an audacity, complexity and linguistic dexterity that few of his peers could rival.

Born in New York in March 1930, the composer and lyricist saw his first Broadway musical at the age of nine.

The following year he met Oscar Hammerstein II, of The King and I and Oklahoma! fame, who became his mentor as he made his first forays into musical theatre.

After some adolescent experiments with the form, he was commissioned to turn Front Porch in Flatbush, a play by twin brothers Julius and Philip Epstein, into a musical.

The resulting piece, called Saturday Night, did not open on Broadway in 1954 as planned, following the death of its producer, Lemuel Ayers. Indeed, it would be 43 years before it received its professional premiere in London.