The RIP Famous Person Thread

[TizMe]

In his heyday … Michael Peterson has died at 59 from a heart attack. Photo: Alan Lambert
MICHAEL PETERSON, widely considered to have been the best surfer in the world 40 years ago, has died at 59 and suddenly a light has gone out for many baby boomer and younger generation surfers who rode his waves in their imaginations.
He died from a heart attack, his once paddling-honed slim Botticelli-like body bloated by years of drugs taken to combat schizophrenia.
Peterson had not ridden a surfboard for decades but his personification of the cool rebel surf purist so echoed down the years that his longtime sponsor Rip Curl is still selling aviator sunglasses he wore at his greatest victory for $140 a pair.


Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/national/one-l...#ixzz1qWHTnr00

[bobo746]

Jimmy Little

JIMMY LITTLE was a genuinely lovely soul who loomed large in Australian popular music history. The first indigenous singer to have a Top 10 hit died yesterday after a long illness, aged 75. He was a universally loved figure among Aboriginal people and in the wider Australian public.
Little was a warm and gentle person who was born at the Cummeragunja Mission outside Barmah on the banks of the Murray River.
As a young man, he moved to Sydney to further his musical career. His natural, warm singing voice was perfect for the times. He was a consummate mellow balladeer who was often favourably compared to both Nat King Cole and the smooth US country crossover singer Jim Reeves.
Little's period of greatest success occurred between 1959 and 1964 when he scored minor hits with Danny Boy (1959) and a cover version of Marty Robbins's El Paso (1960); he became the first Aboriginal musician to have a nationwide No.1 hit, in 1963 with the country gospel song Royal Telephone; and enjoyed Top 20 success in 1964 with the Barry Gibb-written song One Road.
Little's success with Royal Telephone occurred four years before the 1967 referendum that amended references to Aboriginal people in the constitution. He was a successful indigenous musician at a time when Aborigines had few rights.
Little continued to perform mostly to country music and indigenous audiences. He was a regular at the Tamworth Country Music Festival and was often in demand as an actor. He appeared in Shadow of the Boomerang in 1960 and in Wim Wenders's Until the End of the World in 1991. He seemed to be little more than a footnote in Australian music until, to the surprise of many, he went into the studio in 1999 and recorded the successful Messenger album on which he recorded highly original versions of Australian songs from the 1980s which had been hits for, among others, the Church, Crowded House, Paul Kelly, Ed Kuepper and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.
Little was at core a decent man who was widely respected within the Aboriginal community. He worked tirelessly to improve Aboriginal literacy and was always available to add his musical voice to any worthy Aboriginal cause. After being diagnosed with kidney failure in 2004, he established the Jimmy Little Foundation to help deal with kidney disease among indigenous people.
Little had been battling ill health and complications for a decade. He died at home in Dubbo.

Read more: Jimmy Little, the mellow voice of a generation



Read more: Jimmy Little, the mellow voice of a generation

[Mr Lick]

Sculptor Elizabeth Catlett dies aged 96

Elizabeth Catlett often used art to express her demand for social change

Sculptor and printmaker Elizabeth Catlett, known for her politically-charged artwork, has died aged 96.

The US artist was renowned for harnessing art to highlight better rights for black people and women.

She created large-scale sculptures of musicians Louis Armstrong and Mahalia Jackson as well as prints of Harriet Tubman and Malcolm X.

Catlett worked with wood, stone and other natural materials to produce her sculptures.

Although she depicted many high profile figures, a lot of her work consisted of ordinary people.

During the McCarthy era, which saw thousands of Americans accused of having communist sympathies, she was barred from her home country for political activism and moved to Mexico.

[Gerbil]

Jim Marshall

The founder of Marshall Amplification, Jim Marshall OBE, has died at the age of 88.
A tribute to the man known as the Father of Loud was posted on his official website, praising the man whose name became iconic for electric guitarists.

Marshall amplifiers have been used by some of the biggest and most famous names in rock music since the 1960s.

Marshall, of Acton, West London, received the Award for Export from the Queen in 1984 in recognition of his company's achievements over a three-year period.
A statement on his official website read: "It is with profound sorrow that we announce the passing of our beloved founder and leader for the past 50 years, Jim Marshall. While mourning the Guv'nor though, we also salute a legendary man who led a full and truly remarkable life.

"Jim's ascent into the history books as 'the Father of Loud' and the man responsible for 'the Sound of Rock' is a true rags-to-riches tale. Cruelly robbed of his youth by tubercular bones, Jim rose to become one of the four forefathers responsible for creating the tools that allowed rock guitar as we know and love it today to be born.

"The ground-breaking quartet also includes the late, great trio of Leo Fender, Les Paul and Seth Lover - together with Jim, they truly are the cornerstones of all things rock.

"In addition to the creation of the amps chosen by countless guitar heroes and game-changing bands, Jim was also an incredibly humble and generous man who, over the past several decades, has quietly donated many millions of pounds to worthy causes.
"While the entire Marshall Amplification family mourns Jim's passing and will miss him tremendously, we all feel richer for having known him and are happy in the knowledge that he is now in a much better place which has just got a whole lot louder!

"Rest in peace and thank you, Jim."


Read more: ?Father of Loud? Amp Inventor Jim Marshall Dies, Aged 88 - International Business Times

[Fuzzy Bob]

^ Met Jim Marshall at a music fair down in London in the 80's, played through a selection of amps and got his autograph on a poster.
A nice bloke. RIP

[Mr Lick]

The designer of the iconic Porsche 911 sports car, Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, has died at the age of 76.

FA Porsche first designed the model in the early 1960s.

The 911 first appeared in 1963, and the elegance and simplicity of its shape quickly made it a classic. It is now in its seventh version, and was recently voted one of the best cars of the twentieth century.

His grandfather, Ferdinand Porsche, designed the Volkswagen Beetle.

FA Porsche was in charge of the family firm's design department when he conceived the 911 as a replacement for its first model, the 356.



While it has undergone many technological changes since its inception, the 911 is recognisably still the same car today.

FA Porsche became the chairman of Porsche AG in 1990, and served in that role until 1993, helping to secure the company's future after sales fell in the late 1980s.

The company says FA Porsche died on Thursday in the Austrian city of Salzburg, but it has not revealed how he died.

He will be buried in Austria, and a memorial service will be held in Stuttgart, the city of his birth, and where the company is based.

[Thetyim]

His grandfather, Ferdinand Porsche, designed the Volkswagen Beetle.

Actually he didn't, he stole the design from Tatra

[Looper]

I guess he had reason to feel confident about a good outcome over the Czech car maker with Hitler watching the drama.

Tatra sued Porsche for damages, and Porsche was willing to settle. However, Hitler canceled this, saying he 'would settle the matter.' [5] When Czechoslovakia was invaded by the Nazis, the production of the original Tatra T97 was immediately halted, and the lawsuit dropped.

[Thetyim]

^
Yes but after the war Tatra sued again and this time they had to cough up.
Three million Dm was the settlement I think

[Mr Lick]

Painter Thomas Kinkade dies

Artist Thomas Kinkade once said that he had something in common with Walt Disney and Norman Rockwell: He wanted to make people happy.







NOVEMBER 30: Artist Thomas Kinkade (R) and wife Nanette Kinkade (L) pose for a photos Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree November 30, 2007



In this image of September 22, 2006, the California artist Thomas Kinkade works in your version of Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee. Kinkade, whose paintings of idyllic landscapes, cottages and churches gave him fame and high sales throughout the United States, died at age 54 on Friday, April 6, 2012.

[zeusbheld]

Artist Thomas Kinkade once said that he had something in common with Walt Disney and Norman Rockwell: He wanted to make people happy.

he's got something in common with Michelangelo, Titian and Rembrandt too: he's dead.

[S Landreth]

Mike Wallace Dies: '60 Minutes' Correspondent Was 93

Veteran broadcast journalist Mike Wallace has died, according to CBS News.

He was 93 years old and had been in declining health in recent years. A cause of death has not been released yet.

Wallace was a correspondent on the CBS News program "60 Minutes," since its premiere in 1968 where he earned a reputation as one of the toughest interviewers in the business.

He spent 38 seasons with the program before announcing his retirement in 2006.

But Wallace remained as correspondent emeritus with the program and still occasionally contributed to the news magazine and CBS News platforms after the 2005-06 season, according to his official CBS News biography.

When he announced his retirement, Wallace told CBS News' Bob Schieffer that the job has been a quite a journey.

"To go around the world, to talk to almost anybody you want to talk to, to have enough time on the air, so that you could really tell a full story," Wallace said. "What a voyage of discovery it was."

Over the years, Wallace sat down with seven U.S. Presidents as well as other world leaders, celebrities, sports stars, and controversial figures like Dr. Jack Kevorkian, Jose Canseco, Yasir Arafat and Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

His investigative reporting in the 1990's revealed the secrets of the tobacco industry and inspired the Hollywood movie, "The Insider."

Wallace also made his name as a war correspondent in the 1960's, covering Vietnam.

He started his journalism career in the 1940s as a radio news writer and broadcaster for Chicago Sun.

He joined CBS News in 1951 and later returned to the network in 1963 after leaving in 1955.

During his remarkable career, he won more than 20 Emmy Awards and several other honors.

He also wrote several books including "Between You and Me," with Gary Paul Gates and "Heat and Light: Advice for the Next Generation of Journalists" in collaboration with Fordham University journalism professor Beth Knobel.: Mike Wallace Dies: '60 Minutes' Correspondent Was 93 - ABC News

[zeusbheld]

'93... Wallace outdid my grandma by at least a year and 2 days...

[Cujo]

RIP Mike Wallace, He made 60 minutes for me.
He was great interviewer.

[Davis Knowlton]

RIP Mike Wallace, He made 60 minutes for me.
He was great interviewer.

Yep. One of the old school.

[Rural Surin]

Artist Thomas Kinkade once said that he had something in common with Walt Disney and Norman Rockwell: He wanted to make people happy.

he's got something in common with Michelangelo, Titian and Rembrandt too: he's dead.

Personally, I always found his work a bit gaudy - too much vivid colour.
Nonetheless, he had a long and very popular following.....for a known commercial artist.
So there must be something in his paintings.

RIP anyway.

[SEA Traveler]

an icon for sure. RIP Mike Wallace.

[venturalaw]

What I posted was unverifiable and upon further research turned out to most likely be a hoax. Therefore I have deleted it.

[Tom Sawyer]

But the movie undid his reputation and laid bare how the big guns are in fact simply parroting the agenda - how's life teaching in china bob?

[Humbert]

Personally, I always found his work a bit gaudy - too much vivid colour. Nonetheless, he had a long and very popular following.....for a known commercial artist. So there must be something in his paintings.

Banal, mass market crap churned out for the living rooms of Mac mansions.

[trabant]

Murray Rose, Australian Olympic Swimming Star, Dies at 73

April 15, 2012

Murray Rose, who won four Olympic gold medals in swimming for Australia, becoming one of his nation’s most celebrated athletes before going to Hollywood to try his hand in the movies, died Sunday in Sydney, Australia. He was 73.

The cause was leukemia, said Swimming Australia, the sport’s national governing body.

At 17, Rose won three golds at the 1956 Melbourne Games. He captured the 400 meters and the 1,500-meter freestyle and was part of the victorious 4x200-meter freestyle relay team.

“He has become, in a very short time, an All-Australian Boy among those looking for a hero Down Under,” Gay Talese wrote in The New York Times in July 1957. “With his clean-cut good looks, his status there is comparable here to that of Mickey Mantle, whom Rose has never heard of.”



Rose won the gold in the 400 freestyle again at the 1960 Rome Games; took the silver in the 1,500, finishing behind his countryman John Konrads; and was on the 4x200 relay team that won the bronze.

Gus Stager of the University of Michigan, the head coach of the United States swimming team at Rome, called Rose “the greatest swimmer who ever lived, greater even than Johnny Weissmuller.”

Rose won four gold medals at the 1962 Commonwealth Games and might have won more than six Olympic medals if he had not fun afoul of the Australian swimming authorities. They refused to let him compete in the trials for the 1964 Tokyo Games because his moviemaking had kept him from competing in Australia’s nationals, the qualifier for the trials.

In his later years, Rose worked with an organization providing swimming lessons for mentally and physically disabled Australian children. He was among eight Olympic flag bearers at the opening ceremony of the 2008 Sydney Games.

“My big reward after the Olympics was being granted a pass by the local council that gained me free entry to the pool I trained at. A few years later, they made it free for everyone.”

----

John Konrads: "In the amateur era he was the greatest long-distance swimmer of all time. I am specific to separate the amateur from the professional era because Grant (Hackett) was fantastic and dominated for 10 years."

[S Landreth]

Dick Clark dead at 82: Dick Clark dead at 82 - Celebrity Circuit - CBS News

Host and TV producer Dick Clark has died. He was 82.

TMZ first reported the news Wednesday afternoon. A rep told the site that Clark underwent surgery Tuesday night and suffered a "massive" heart attack following the procedure.

Clark started his career as a radio announcer at WRUN in Utica, N.Y., when he was 17.

His long-running show, "American Bandstand," was on the air from 1957-1989. "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve" began in 1972 and continues to this day with Ryan Seacrest.

Clark launched the American Music Awards in 1973. He became a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee in 1993.

Clark suffered a stroke in December 2004. He continued performing even after the stroke, even though it had affected his ability to speak and walk.

[nedwalk]

^bugger..thats sad

[Eliminator]

Clark dead, that is sad but he had a good turn in life and must have enjoyed it.

[Boon Mee]

Man...that's an end of an era for sure.

Enjoyed American Bandstand after school (dating myself here) everyday. Dick Clark was great.