The RIP Famous Person Thread

[cisco999]

I remember when all of that came to light. The world is a better place without William Calley.

I wouldn't disagree with you but I'd add that if ever there was a scaptgoat, William Calley was it.

[Neverna]

John Amos, ‘Good Times’ Dad, Dies at 84

Amos died Aug. 21 in Los Angeles of natural causes, his son, K.C. Amos, announced.

“It is with heartfelt sadness that I share with you that my father has transitioned,” he said in a statement.

Never heard it called "transitioned" before.

[cyrille]

Probably some looney US religion thing.

You know what they're like.

[harrybarracuda]

Alex Salmond.

Alex Salmond: King Charles leads tributes to 'monumental figure' of UK politics | Politics News | Sky News

[misskit]

Liam Payne, former One Direction member, dies at 31 in Argentina hotel fall

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Former One Direction singer Liam Payne, 31, was found dead after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires on Wednesday, local officials said.


Buenos Aires police said in a statement that Payne fell from the third floor of the Casa Sur Hotel in the trendy Palermo neighborhood of Argentina’s capital, resulting in “extremely serious injuries.” Medics confirmed his death on the spot, the statement said.


Pablo Policicchio, the spokesperson for the Security Ministry of Buenos Aires municipality, said in a statement to The Associated Press that Payne “had thrown himself from the balcony of his room.” He said police were dispatched to the hotel in response to an emergency call about an “aggressive man who could be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.” Arriving police heard a thud and found Payne’s body in the hotel courtyard, Policicchio said.

Alberto Crescenti, head of the state emergency medical system, said on Argentina’s Todo Noticias TV channel that authorities were investigating the circumstances of his death and conducting an autopsy. He declined to answer further questions about the incident, including whether Payne jumped from the balcony or fell by accident.

Payne had been vocal about struggling with alcoholism, posting a video in July 2023 to his YouTube channel where he said he had been sober for six months after receiving treatment. Representatives for Payne did not immediately return emails and calls.


One Direction fans flocked from across Buenos Aires to the Casa Sur Hotel after the news broke, forming lines that spilled into the street as police stood sentinel outside. Young women at the scene expressed shock and heartbreak.


“I didn’t think he was going to die so young,” 21-year-old Isabella Milesi told The Associated Press. Video showed dozens gathered on the cordoned-off street outside the hotel, with many recording videos on their cellphones. Forensic investigators were seen exiting the hotel, where Payne’s body remained Wednesday evening.

Payne was one of five members of One Direction, which formed in 2010 when they each auditioned for the British singing competition series “The X Factor.” After each singer failed to make it through the competition as solo acts, Simon Cowell and his fellow judges combined Payne, Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson into what would become one of the most successful boy bands — even though they lost the competition.


The band became known for their pop sound and romantic hits like “What Makes You Beautiful,” “Night Changes” and “Story of My Life.” They had six Top 10 hits on the Billboard charts by the time they disbanded in 2016. They had a loyal fan base, many of whom were teen girls, who became known as “Directioners.”


“I’ve always loved One Direction since I was little. To see that he died and that there will never be another reunion of the boys is unbelievable, it kills me,” said 18-year-old Juana Relh, another fan outside Payne’s hotel.


After the group’s dissolution, Payne — like each of his erstwhile bandmates — pursued a solo career, shifting toward EDM and hip-hop. His 2017 single “Strip That Down,” featuring Quavo, reached the Billboard Top 10, and stayed on the charts for several months. He put out an album “LP1” in 2019, and his last release — a single called “Teardrops” — was released in March.

Payne had a 7-year-old son, Bear Grey Payne, with his former girlfriend, the musician Cheryl who was known as Cheryl Cole when she performed with Girls Aloud. She was an “X Factor” judge during One Direction’s season. Payne was previously engaged to Maya Henry, from August 2020 to early 2022. Henry released a novel earlier this year that she said was based on their relationship.


In addition to his son, he is survived by his parents, Geoff and Karen Payne, and his two older sisters, Ruth and Nicola.

Liam Payne dies at 31 after fall from hotel balcony | AP News

[harrybarracuda]

Well I suppose he only went in one direction.

[snakeeyes]

[Happy As Larry]

Mitzi Gaynor, dancer and actor from South Pacific, dies aged 93

Mitzi Gaynor, the dancer and actor who starred as Nellie Forbush in the 1958 film of South Pacific and appeared in other musicals with Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly, has died. She was 93.
Gaynor, among the last survivors of the so-called golden age of the Hollywood musical, died of natural causes in Los Angeles on Thursday morning, her longtime managers, Rene Reyes and Shane Rosamonda, confirmed in a statement.

“As we celebrate her legacy, we offer our thanks to her friends and fans and the countless audiences she entertained throughout her long life,” Reyes and Rosamonda said in a joint statement. “Your love, support and appreciation meant so very much to her and was a sustaining gift in her life.”

Her entertainment career spanned eight decades across film, television and the stage, but she is best remembered for her turn in South Pacific.


The screen version of South Pacific received three Academy award nominations, and won for best sound, while Gaynor was a best actress nominee for a Golden Globe. Gaynor memorably sang both I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair and Some Enchanted Evening in the film.

She also appeared in We’re Not Married with Ginger Rogers, There’s No Business Like Show Business with Marilyn Monroe and The Birds and the Bees with David Niven.
Later in her career, Gaynor reinvented herself as a performing entertainer. Under the guidance of her husband-manager, Jack Bean, she starred in her own musical revue, earning top money in Las Vegas, Florida and theaters and auditoriums throughout the US and Canada and in England and Australia as well.

She also won an Emmy in 2008, for the special Mitzi Gaynor: Razzle Dazzle! The Special Years.

Born Francesca Marlene de Czanyi von Gerber (Mitzi is diminutive for Marlene) in Chicago on 4 September 1931, was a part of a musically inclined family, and she started singing and dancing at a young age.
Gaynor and Bean married in 1954 and in 1960 bought a spacious house in mid-Beverly Hills that became their home until his death in 2006. They rarely appeared at Hollywood events, preferring to entertain a few close friends. The couple had no children.

Mitzi Gaynor, dancer and actor from South Pacific, dies aged 93 | Film | The Guardian

[harrybarracuda]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAOOOOAAAAOAAAAAAOOOAAAAOOOAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAA

Ron Ely, who played Tarzan in the 1960s TV show, has died at the age of 86.

Ron Ely, TV's 'Tarzan' in the 1960s, dies at 86 | Daily Mail Online

[harrybarracuda]

He wasn't the best shot putter but he was the strongest man in the world (of those tested).

LONDON (AP) - Geoff Capes, a British shot putter who was a three-time Olympian and won the World´s Strongest Man competition twice in the 1980s, has died. He was 75.

Geoff Capes, an Olympic shot putter who won the World's... | Daily Mail Online

[misskit]

Grateful Dead’s Phil Lesh Dead at 84

Phil Lesh, original bassist for the Grateful Dead, “passed peacefully” at age 84 Friday morning, according to an official statement. “He was surrounded by his family and full of love,” the message reads. “Phil brought immense joy to everyone around him and leaves behind a legacy of music and love.” Along with lead guitarist Jerry Garcia, rhythm guitarist Bob Weir, keyboard player Ron “Pigpen” McKernan (who died in 1973) and drummer Bill Kreutzmann, Lesh co-founded the band in 1965 and remained part of the group until Garcia’s death in 1995. After that, he broke off into a series of side groups (most notably Phil Lesh and Friends) before joining the “Core Four” remaining members, which at that point included second percussionist Mickey Hart, for a series of reunion shows for the 50th anniversary “Fare Thee Well” tour in 2015. In addition to his lifelong dedication to music, Lesh was a vocal advocate for organ donation after undergoing a successful liver transplant in 1998, urging fans at every subsequent concert to become organ donors.

Grateful Dead’s Phil Lesh Dead at 84

[misskit]

[Molle]

Phil Lesh, original bassist for the Grateful Dead, “passed peacefully” at age 84 Friday morning

Thank you for the music and the visuals, R.IP Phil

[misskit]

^You’ve been to a Grateful Dead concert?

I was never a Deadhead but I did go to a concert once just before Jerry Garcia died.

[aging one]

Really sad to see Phil go. I am a Deadhead and have been to a lot of concerts. Fun when the crowd would chant, "Let Phil sing", Box of Rain was his song, written for his dad as Phil cared for him while he had a terminal disease. Really a great song with Robert Hunter providing the lyrics.

Notice he played a 6 string bass.

[david44]

Obvious headstone inscription

'Grateful Dead For Ever"

[harrybarracuda]

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. — Jack Jones, a Grammy-winning crooner known for “The Love Boat” television show theme song, has died. He was 86.
Jones died Wednesday night at a hospital in Rancho Mirage, California, after battling leukemia for more than two years, according to a statement from his manager, Milt Suchin.
Jones began his singing career in the 1950s and in the 1960s won two Grammy Awards for best vocal performance, one on the song “Lollipops And Roses” and one on the song “Wives and Lovers.”
He was nominated for several other Grammys in later years, including for the album “Jack Jones Paints A Tribute To Tony Bennett” in 1999.

Jack Jones dead: Grammy-winning crooner known for '''The Love Boat''' theme was 86 - Chicago Sun-Times

[harrybarracuda]

Magnificent piece of clickbait.

[misskit]

Teri Garr, Star of ‘Young Frankenstein’ and ‘Tootsie,’ Dies at 79

Teri Garr, the comic actress and singer who brought her buoyant personality to “Young Frankenstein” and was Oscar-nominated for “Tootsie,” died on Tuesday in Los Angeles after a long battle with multiple sclerosis. She was 79.


An influential performer to comedians including Tina Fey, Garr was a familiar face in dozens of TV shows and films of the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s. The actress revealed in 2002 that she had been diagnosed with MS, and she suffered an aneurysm in 2006.


MORE Teri Garr Dead: 'Young Frankenstein' and 'Tootsie' Star Was 79

[harrybarracuda]

That's sad. Superb actress that probably should have won an Oscar.

The beleaguered wife in my favourite feelgood movie.

[harrybarracuda]

That famed Tootsie scene.

[misskit]

It is sad to see her go. She was a real cutie.

[beachbound]

It is sad to see her go. She was a real cutie.

MS Finally got her. She was an original.
Loved her in young Frankenstein. One of the funniest movies of all time.

[misskit]

^ It was indeed. All of those actors now gone except Gene Hackman. Every one!

We still have Mel Brooks hanging on. He must be as old as Methuselah now.

[TizMe]

He's 98 and still going.