The RIP Famous Person Thread

[harrybarracuda]

Los Angeles - Abe Vigoda, the sad-faced star of Francis Ford Coppola's classic film The Godfather, died on Tuesday at 94, his manager told AFP


.
The actor died at the home of his daughter, Carol Vigoda Fuchs, in New Jersey.
"She went to get him something to drink and when she came back he was gone," said manager Sid Craig, who represented him for decades.

Vigoda apparently died of old age.

"He didn't seem particularly sick or tired. I dont think Abe was ever sick," Craig added.'

Vigoda was born in New York City to Russian Jewish immigrant parents. His father was a tailor. The actor cut his teeth on Broadway. But arguably his greatest on-screen impact came when Vigoda played sunken-eyed mafioso Sal Tessio in The Godfather.

He was also famous for playing detective Phil Fish on television's Barney Miller. The character was so popular it was spun off into its own series, Fish.

In his later years, the twice-married Vigoda was mistakenly reported to have died on several occasions, becoming a running social media joke.

The Godfather star dies at 94 | Channel24

[Scottish Gary]

Tory grandee Cecil Parkinson dies aged 84
James Tapsfield in London
PUBLISHED
26/01/2016



Former Tory cabinet minister Lord Parkinson (pictured) has died aged 84 after a long battle with cancer, his family has announced.


The Conservative grandee served in a variety of senior posts in Margaret Thatcher's governments.
A family spokesman said: "Cecil passed away on January 22 after a long battle with cancer. We shall miss him enormously. As a family, we should like to pay tribute to him as a beloved husband to Ann and brother to Norma, and a supportive and loving father to Mary, Emma and Joanna and grandfather to their children.
"We also salute his extraordinary commitment to British public life as a member of Parliament, cabinet minister and peer - together with a distinguished career in business."
Mr Parkinson was responsible for managing the 1983 Conservative Party election campaign, which delivered Thatcher the parliamentary majority that she used to push through controversial reforms.
He was rewarded with the post of secretary of state for trade and industry, but resigned later that year after it emerged that his former secretary, Sara Keays, was pregnant with his child.
He later served as secretary of state for energy and then for transport, leaving office at the same time as Thatcher in 1990. He was made a peer two years later.
Mr Parkinson briefly made a comeback as Conservative Party chairman after the Tories' general election hammering in 1997.
He retired from the House of Lords last September.
The family spokesman said: "There will be a private family funeral. The family requests that their privacy be respected in this matter.
"Details about a memorial service will be announced later."

Tory grandee Cecil Parkinson dies aged 84 - Independent.ie


Another one who will mostly be remembered for being a hypocrite who was caught with his pants down.

After managing the Conservative Party’s 1983 election campaign, leading to a landslide victory four years after Mrs. Thatcher had become prime minister, Mr. Parkinson was poised to rise in the government. Mrs. Thatcher considered elevating him to foreign secretary or chancellor of the Exchequer.

But his prospects ended the day after the election when, according to Mrs. Thatcher’s memoirs, she received a letter from Col. Hastings Keays saying that his daughter Sara had been having a long-running affair with Mr. Parkinson and that she was carrying his child.

Mr. Parkinson was instead put in charge of the trade and industry department. He resigned a few months later, when the affair became public.

Sara Keays said that Mr. Parkinson had promised to leave his wife and marry her and had pressured her to have an abortion, but that she had refused.

That's a shame. He was a great interviewer

[Neverna]

That's a shame. He was a great interviewer

Are you getting mixed up with Michael Parkinson?

[misskit]

^^^I thought Abe Vigoda was already dead.

[BaitongBoy]

^ He is...

[harrybarracuda]

^^^I thought Abe Vigoda was already dead.

This is not a social media joke.

the twice-married Vigoda was mistakenly reported to have died on several occasions, becoming a running social media joke.

[misskit]

^

Just couldn't help myself.

RIP, Abe Vigoda.

[NZdick1983]

I Know I spout some shit sometimes.. I go full retard (so to speak)... but so do you mate... and you and you innit..

Sometimes we all have a brain-fart .. or wana let off steam (or spout some shit)..

Don't see the point in dissecting every words we utter..

I read what interests me, skip what I don't...one man's bullshit is another man's treasure sunshine... simple is as simple does 55

[thaimeme]

I Know I spout some shit sometimes.. I go full retard (so to speak)... but so do you mate... and you and you innit..

Sometimes we all have a brain-fart .. or wana let off steam (or spout some shit)..

Don't see the point in dissecting every words we utter..

I read what interests me, skip what I don't...one man's bullshit is another man's treasure sunshine... simple is as simple does 55

Waiting for my title: Lord Thaimeme

[PeeCoffee]

Henry Worsley, 55, intrepid British adventurer that fulfilled his dreams after retiring from the military.
After 70 days and 900 miles solo across the Antarctic self-supported following the footsteps of Shackleton to raise monies for the Endeavour Fund (UK).
He died of bacterial infection probably due to physical exhaustion after being evacuated just 30 miles short of his goal. He is the only human that has successfully led parties on foot following in the footsteps previously of Amundsen, Shackleton and Peary.
RIP to an intrepid, brave individual that pursued his dreams to the end.

[kmart]

That's a shame. He was a great interviewer

Are you getting mixed up with Michael Parkinson?

Michael Parkinson is still alive, I think.

[harrybarracuda]

And doing geriatric insurance ads on TV.

[Humbert]

Paul Kantner RIP

Jefferson Airplane?s Paul Kantner dies at 74

"Paul Kantner, one of the giants of the San Francisco music scene, died Thursday, Jan. 28, of multiple organ failure. Mr. Kantner, founding member of the Jefferson Airplane, was 74 and had suffered a heart attack earlier this week.

His death was confirmed by longtime publicist and friend, Cynthia Bowman, who said he died of multiple organ failure and septic shock.

Mr. Kantner suffered from a string of health problems in recent years, including a heart attack in March 2015.

With Jefferson Airplane, Mr. Kantner pioneered what became known as the San Francisco sound in the mid-1960s, with such hits as "Somebody to Love" and "White Rabbit."

The Airplane was renowned for thrilling vocal gymnastics by singers Marty Balin, Grace Slick and Mr. Kantner, the psychedelic blues-rock sound developed by guitarist Jorma Kaukonen and bass player Jack Casady and the LSD-spiked, '60s-era revolutionary fervor of its lyrics.

The band was formed in a Union Street bar called the Drinking Gourd, when lead Balin met Mr. Kantner and expressed his interest in forming a "folk-rock" band. It didn't take long for the Airplane to attract a sizable local following, enough so that when fledgling promoter Bill Graham opened his legendary Fillmore Auditorium, the Jefferson Airplane served as the first headliner.

The Airplane was the first of the so-called "San Francisco sound" bands to sign a recording contract with a major label, and in August of 1966, its debut album, "The Jefferson Airplane Takes Off," was released. Slick joined the band a year later and songs like "Somebody to Love" and "White Rabbit" became national hits as the love children came streaming into San Francisco...."

[harrybarracuda]

Bit more background and pic.

Jefferson Airplane Guitarist Paul Kantner Dead at 74
Guitarist suffered multiple organ failure

BY KORY GROW January 28, 2016



Paul Kantner, founding member, guitarist and singer for Jefferson Airplane and Starship, died Thursday of multiple organ failure and septic shock. He had suffered a heart attack earlier in the week, according to San Francisco Chronicle. He was 74.

The musician had been in ill health in recent years, with Kantner suffering a heart attack in March 2015, according to the paper.

With Jefferson Airplane, Kantner helped pioneer the oft-imitated psychedelic sound: simple, fuzzy guitar lines steeped in dreamlike reverb. The group formed in 1965 and, within a few years, scored hits with "Somebody to Love" and "White Rabbit." In their first run, five of the band's seven albums went gold, including 1967's Surrealistic Pillow and 1968's Crown of Creation.

Verging on a breakup in the early Seventies, Kantner recorded a solo album, Blows Against the Empire, with Jefferson Airplane singer Grace Slick, crediting it to Paul Kantner and Jefferson Starship. The album was nominated for a Hugo Award presented to the best science-fiction and fantasy works. After formalizing the band Jefferson Starship, the band went on to greater commercial success than Jefferson Airplane, scoring platinum and gold records, including the double-platinum 1975 record Red Octopus. Kantner quit the group in 1984, but would rejoin in 1992 and continue to play with them until his death.

"Our condolences go out to the friends, family and fans of Paul Kantner of Jefferson Airplane on the news of his passing," members of the Doors wrote on their Facebook page. "Music would not be the same without the sounds of The Doors and Jefferson Airplane, which both contributed so heavily to the signature sound of the Sixties and Seventies."

Paul Lorin Kantner was born on March 17th, 1941 in San Francisco. His father was a traveling salesman, according to the Chronicle, and he was sent to military school after his mother's death. He found inspiration in science-fiction books and folk music, dropping out of college to pursue music.

Jefferson Airplane came together after Kantner began playing in a folk group with former actor turned singer and guitarist Marty Balin and vocalist Signe Toly Anderson. The group subsequently brought in guitarist Jorma Kaukonen and bassist Jack Cassidy. Balin plucked Skip Spence, a guitarist, for drums because he "looked like a drummer," and with the first lineup complete they commenced playing rock reminiscent of early Beatles, folk, blues and ballads. The year they formed, they became the first San Francisco band to sign to a major label.

The group's 1966 debut, Jefferson Airplane Takes Off, was a modest hit, charting in the lower half of the Top 200, but their fortune would change when lineup changes would welcome model-turned-singer Grace Slick, who'd been playing with the Great Society, into the fold.

With her powerful voice, the band recorded their breakthrough hits and became one of the defining bands of acid rock's free-love movement, printing bumper stickers that read "Jefferson Airplane Loves You." Their 1967 album, Surrealistic Pillow – which marked a turn toward more understated guitar playing with overtones of jazz and even Indian sensibility – brought the "San Francisco sound" to the mainstream. Later that year, they'd score a lesser hit with "The Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil," a harder-rocking song that Kantner wrote that would become the lead track on their After Bathing at Baxter's album.

Kantner's writing would become more politicized toward the end of the Sixties, and as Jefferson Airplane became falling apart – with Kaukonen and Casady forming Hot Tuna – and Balin leaving, the guitarist stepped into a larger role. He and Slick collaborated with several other San Francisco musicians.

After putting out Blows Against the Empire, which featured members of Crosby, Stills and Nash and the Grateful Dead, Kantner and Slick formed Jefferson Starship. Balin returned to the fold in time for Red Octopus, a Number One album, and the group's mainstream rock ambitions came into focus. The album's lush "Miracles" earned them a Number Three hit, and their next two albums – 1976's Spitfire and 1978's Earth – would also earn them Top 10 singles. By 1980, though, Kantner was the only original Jefferson Airplane member left in the lineup. He suffered a cerebral hemorrhage that year but recovered and continued with the band.

In 1984, he left the group and formed a legal agreement with the other members that they could not use the "Jefferson" name without the approval of all respective members. Slick kept her band's momentum with Starship, which earned a big hit with "We Built This City," without Kantner.

Kantner and Jefferson Airplane would reform in 1989, when they put out a self-titled album, and again in 1996, when they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Kantner put together Jefferson Starship – The Next Generation in 1992, which led to a trademark infringement suit with his former bandmates. He would continue to play with them, eventually dropping the Star Trek-y part of their name and putting out two albums, until his death.

Outside of his main bands, Kantner recorded two albums with Slick and a 1983 solo record, Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra. He also recorded with the KBC Band, which featured fellow Airplane members Blain and Casady.

In 1970, Rolling Stone asked Kantner why it was important for him to play live. "[We're] trying to make consciousness," he said. "Pointing things out. Just make people enjoy themselves. We didn't even know what we were doing when we started doing it. Looking back, all we were saying was, 'Look, we're having a good time.' And nothing else. Just sitting around having a good time with all this shit going on around us. Pretty soon people start filtering in, saying, 'Hey, they're having a good time.'"

Kantner is survived by three children: Gareth, Alexander and China.

Jefferson Airplane Guitarist Paul Kantner Dead at 74 | Rolling Stone

[nigelandjan]

Michael Parkinson is still alive, I think.

Would be an easy misstake to make

[harrybarracuda]

Frank Finlay dead: British Oscar-nominated actor who played opposite Olivier dies aged 89
In a wide-ranging career across stage and screen, Finlay starred as Porthos in the Three Musketeer films of the 1970s, alongside Oliver Reed, Richard Chamberlain and Michael York



Relatives of Frank Finlay have paid tribute to the Oscar-nominated actor after reporting that he had passed away earlier today aged 89.

Josh Coombes, a drummer with the band Tigress, said his grandfather had been a “funny, loving, amazing storyteller” and an “inspiration and one of the best actors this country has ever seen” as his family began posting messages on Twitter.

In a wide-ranging career across stage and screen, Finlay starred as Porthos in the Three Musketeer films of the 1970s, alongside Oliver Reed, Richard Chamberlain and Michael York, and opposite Susan Penhaligon in the taboo-challenging television series Bouquet Of Barbed Wire. He also took the lead role in Dennis Potter’s serial, Casanova, and starred in Shaft In Africa, the follow-up to the famous black private detective film starring Richard Roundtree. It was in a supporting role to Laurence Olivier in Othello back in 1965, for which he was nominated for an Oscar in 1965.

He was awarded a CBE gong in 1984, but many fans wondered why he was never knighted. "Perhaps I haven't been high-profile enough,” he suggested in a self-effacing interview with the Independent in the 1990s

His turns as Sancho Panza in The Adventures of Don Quixote and Voltaire in Candide, both BBC plays of the month, however, led to BAFTA awards.

He was married to his wife, Doreen Shepherd, for 50 years until her death in 2005. They had three children

Frank Finlay dead: British Oscar-nominated actor who played opposite Olivier dies aged 89 | People | News | The Independent

[chassamui]

Susan Penhaligon

Had a crush on her at the time.

[harrybarracuda]

Oooh two on the same day. Spooky.

Signe Anderson of Jefferson Airplane dies
January 30, 2016 by abel



Signe Anderson, the original female singer in Jefferson Airplane, has died at age 74.
Early Jefferson AirplaneAnderson, who sang with bands in Oregon over the years, had suffered from longtime health problems. Her passing came Jan. 28, the same day as the death of Airplane leader Paul Kantner.

“One sweet Lady has passed on,” Jefferson Airplane cofounder Marty Balin posted as the news broke. “I imagine that she and Paul woke up in heaven and said ‘Hey what are you doing here? Let’s start a band.'”

Anderson sang on the first Jefferson Airplane album, “Takes Off.” The album included her best-known song, “Chauffeur Blues.”

The singer, a new mother, found the road intolerable and decided to leave Jefferson Airplane in late 1966. Her final performances were at the Fillmore on Oct. 15 of that year. Grace Slick took over as female singer the following night. Anderson’s farewell gig was released to CD in 2010.

Anderson returned to Portland, Oregon, where she sang in the big band headed by Carl Smith. Anderson, a cancer survivor, also worked in a department store. She made occasional guest appearances with versions of the Jefferson Starship and with (Airplane spinoff) Hot Tuna.

Anderson credited the Airplane’s success with its members’ musical educations. “We all were very knowledgeable music-wise,” she told KGON radio in 2011. “We could all read music. We all knew the classics, we knew blues, we knew folk music — we had a lot of groundwork first.”

Airplane bassist Jack Casady wrote on Facebook that he’d been in touch with Anderson this past week when she moved from her home to a hospice. “She was a real sweetheart with a terrific contralto voice coming from a solid folk background,” he recalled. “Listen to how she made the three part harmonies of ‘JA Takes Off’ (first album) sound so thick … her wonderful tone between Paul’s and Marty’s.”

Airplane lead guitarist Jorma Kaukonen wrote on his blog: “Signe was one of the strongest people I have ever met. She was our den mother in the early days of the Airplane … a voice of reason on more occasions than one … an important member of our dysfunctional little family.”



Signe Anderson dies; early Jefferson Airplane singer

[harrybarracuda]

Sir Terry Wogan: Veteran broadcaster dies aged 77
5 minutes ago



Veteran BBC broadcaster Sir Terry Wogan has died aged 77, after short illness, his family confirms.

In a statement, they said: "Sir Terry Wogan died today after a short but brave battle with cancer.

"He passed away surrounded by his family. While we understand he will be missed by many, the family ask that their privacy is respected at this time."

BBC director general Tony Hall said: "Terry truly was a national treasure."

http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-35453541

Terry Wogan was one of Britain’s best loved broadcasters, after joining the BBC in the late 1960s, both as a unique radio voice, a TV chat show host, and the brilliantly sardonic commentator of the Eurovision Song Contest.

Originally from Limerick in Southern Ireland, Sir Terry was briefly a banker before joining Ireland’s national broadcaster RTE as a newsreader and announcer. Moving to the BBC in 1966, he got his public breakthrough standing in for Jimmy Young on his morning show, before being given a regular afternoon slot.

In 1972, he began his first stint on Radio 2’s breakfast show, where his morning musings including trying to work out who shot JR proved a hit with listeners.

He moved to TV full-time in 1984, where he had an instant hit with quiz show ‘Blankety Blank’. Celebrities had to help contestants find the missing word, and runners up were presented with the much-coveted Blankety-Blank chequebook and pen.

His thrice-weekly chat show found him playing host to all types of high-profile guests, from a drunken George Best, to a trembling Anne Bancroft, David Icke dressed in turquoise claiming to be the Son of God, and Rolling Stone Bill Wyman and teenage bride Mandy Smith, fresh from their wedding vows, Mandy still in her frock.

His return to Radio 2 in 1993 was a triumph, ‘Wake Up To Wogan’s huge audiences making him Europe’s most popular broadcaster as his self-deprecating style and willingness to share the joke with the listener made him a hit with fans old and young. He presented his final breakfast show in December 2009.

For nearly four decades, he was a perennial presence in the commentary box for the Eurovision Song Contest, first for radio then television. Through Terry Wogan’s eyes, we enjoyed the diverse talents on display - “there is literally a man playing the grapes” - and he even co-hosted the event when it came to the UK in 1998. He stepped down from his duties a decade later, his enthusiasm for the event diminished in recent years by the increasingly political voting he had witnessed.

In 1980, he became the the anchorman for the BBC’s very first Children in Need extravaganza, a role he performed for the next 35 years, as well as recording charity singles ‘Little Drummer Boy’ and ‘Silver Bells’ alongside singer Aled Jones.

In 2005, Terry Wogan was bestowed an honorary knighthood.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2016..._8962202.html?

[patsycat]

I had a wee cry.

[chassamui]

Are too many famous people dying or are there now, too many famous people?

[harrybarracuda]

It's the cold weather.

[blue]

Terry Wogan was one of Britain’s best loved broadcasters, after joining the BBC in the late 1960s

All those years at the BBC , I don't remember him ever outing any paedophiles there or going to the media to blow the lid on the sick organisation.
Nor being decent enough to appear for the the prosecution in any trials.
No..... he just played some naff chirpy little clown and took the money.

Probably only got the BBC job because of diversity.
I wonder how many English voices are heard on Irish Radio ?

What cancer he die of ? why do they always keep it secret , it's not like it's something to be ashamed of ...



Professional Irish man , I wonder how many weeks he spent there in the last 50 years,,

[KEVIN2008]

Ali G: “I is here with none other than the Lord Mayor of Ireland. Now I don’t know what’s going on here. Why is there all the fighting?”
Lord Mayor of Belfast: “There are people in Ireland who wish to be part of a united Ireland and then there are people living in Northern Ireland who wish to remain part of United Kingdom.”

Ali G: “And where does Wogan stand?”
Lord Mayor: “Who?”
Ali G: “Wogan, Wogan”

Lord Mayor: “ah Terry Wogan?!”
laughs
Lord Mayor: “I have no idea what Terry Wogan’s political beliefs are”

Ali G: “but, wasn’t Wogan in the IRA?”
Lord Mayor: very seriously “Terry Wogan was not in the IRA”

[snakeeyes]

(CNN) -- Joe Cocker, the British blues-rock singer whose raspy voice brought plaintive soul to such hits as "You Are So Beautiful" and the duet "Up Where We Belong," died Monday after a battle with lung cancer. He was 70.
Cocker's performing career spanned some 50 years, from Woodstock, where he sang the Beatles' "With a Little Help From My Friends," to the digital-music era. He had tour dates scheduled well into 2015.
"Goodbye and God bless to Joe Cocker from one of his friends peace and love," tweeted Beatles drummer Ringo Starr.
Cocker began as a singer in England at the same time as the Beatles, with whom he was often linked. He played pubs across the country in a series of rock bands before he and his Grease Band recorded "With a Little Help From My Friends" in 1968 with Jimmy Page, Steve Winwood and others.