The RIP Famous Person Thread

[misskit]

Gato Barbieri, Latin Jazz Saxophonist, Dies at Age 83



Latin Jazz saxophonist Leandro "Gato" Barbieri, who composed the Grammy-winning music for the steamy Marlon Brando film Last Tango in Paris and recorded dozens of albums over a career spanning more than seven decades, has died at age 83.

Laura Barbieri, his wife of nearly 20 years, said her husband died Saturday in a New York hospital from pneumonia. The musician recently had bypass surgery to remove a blood clot.

"Music was a mystery to Gato, and each time he played was a new experience for him, and he wanted it to be that way for his audience," she said. "He was honored for all the years he had a chance to bring his music all around the world."

The Argentine-born musician recorded some 35 albums between 1967 and 1982, when he stopped consistently making new records. He toured regularly and went on to record four more albums, including 1997's smooth jazz "Que Pasa," which reached No. 2 on Billboard's contemporary jazz charts.

Though in poor health, Barbieri, still sporting his trademark black fedora hat, had been performing monthly at the Blue Note jazz club in New York since 2013. He last performed at the club on Nov. 23.

more Gato Barbieri, Latin Jazz Saxophonist, Dies at Age 83 | Billboard

[harrybarracuda]

11 minutes ago
Merle Haggard, revered country singer of common man anthems, dies at 79
By Terence McArdle
The Washington Post
Published: April 6, 2016



Merle Haggard, the Grammy Award-winning singer whose autobiographical prison songs and populist political anthems, notably "Mama Tried" and "Okie From Muskogee," made him one of country music's most formidable and celebrated entertainers, died April 6 at his home in Palo Cedro, California. It was his 79th birthday.

The cause was complications from pneumonia, said his manager, Frank Mull.

Haggard was widely regarded as one of the most moving singers in the country genre. John Rumble, senior historian for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, called him "country music's greatest songwriter, with the arguable exception of Hank Williams. When you think about the vast array of subject matter, it's astonishing: the realism, the very careful and artful way that he puts songs together, the turns of phrase - it is deceptively simple."

Along with singers Buck Owens and Wynn Stewart, Haggard typified country music's "Bakersfield sound" of the 1960s. The California city, home to many who fled the dust bowls of the 1930s and worked in its oil fields, was a thriving center of country music. Whereas Nashville producers pressured their singers to adopt to a "countrypolitan" style with choirs and string sections, Bakersfield built its reputation on a grittier sound and twangy guitars.

Haggard was best known for his 1969 song "Okie From Muskogee," which protested the counterculture of the time with such lines as "We don't smoke marijuana in Muskogee/We don't take our trips on LSD" and "We don't burn our draft cards down at the courthouse."

The song won him an audience at the Nixon White House in 1973. Haggard later said that he did not intend the song as a political anthem; in fact, he acknowledged his own drug use by stating that he often smoked marijuana before going out on stage.

Between 1966 and 1987, Haggard had 38 No. 1 country hits, including several drawn from his experiences in the California penal system. Haggard once described his career in music as a "35-year bus ride," and a theme of restlessness runs through such compositions such as "The Running Kind" and "Ramblin' Fever."

Other songs, such as "Hungry Eyes"and "If We Make It Through December," were filled with empathy for the working poor - a reflection of his family background. "Today I Started Loving You Again," a plaintive love song about obsession co-written with Bonnie Owens, became one of the country genre's most covered songs.

Merle Ronald Haggard was born in Bakersfield on April 6, 1937, in a makeshift home that his father built from an abandoned boxcar. Haggard's parents left a barren farm in Oklahoma as part of the exodus from the Dust Bowl.

His father, a Western swing fiddler and carpenter, died when Merle was 9. While his mother struggled to support the family, Haggard spent his childhood in a reckless pattern of petty crimes, truancy and narrow escapes from the police, once running away to Texas by hopping freights and stealing cars. By 14, he had escaped from three juvenile facilities.

For Haggard, the one bright spot in this youth was music. After hearing country singer Lefty Frizzell at a local dance hall, Mr. Haggard took up singing and guitar. He prided himself on his ability to mimic Frizzell's singing style and, by his teens, secured music jobs in local honky tonks.

Prison curtailed these activities. In 1957, he was sentenced to five years in California's San Quentin State Prison for car theft and burglary.

The burglary charge resulted from an inebriated attempt to pry open the back door of a restaurant in broad daylight. After his apprehension, Haggard simply walked out of the Bakersfield City Jail.

Having embarrassed the local police with his escape, he was captured at his brother's house in Lamont, California, 25 miles away. Haggard recalled in his 1999 memoir, "Merle Haggard's My House of Memories," written with Tom Carter, that he had been spotted earlier that day in Bakersfield wearing a propeller beanie as a disguise.

While in San Quentin, Haggard sold home brew to other inmates, an activity that landed him in solitary confinement. Through the walls of solitary, he befriended death row inmates Caryl Chessman and Jimmy "Rabbit" Hendricks. Haggard said their executions inspired him to change his criminal behavior.

He recalled in his autobiography: "San Quentin was beneficial to me as the army is for some people. I was 20 and full of piss and vinegar with no intention of doing anything right."

Haggard was paroled in 1960 and was pardoned by then-California Gov. Ronald Reagan in 1973. On his release from prison, Haggard performed in Bakersfield and Las Vegas clubs, eventually joining established singers Wynn Stewart and Buck Owens as a bassist and opening singer.

In 1964, Stewart offered Haggard one of his compositions, "Sing a Sad Song," for his first recording on a small Bakersfield label, Tally Records. Capitol Records bought Haggard's contract when the record made the Top 20 country charts.

After his second release, "All My Friends Are Gonna Be Strangers" (1965), Haggard put together a touring band, the Strangers, with steel guitarist Norm Hamlet, lead guitarist Roy Nichols and vocalist Bonnie Owens.

Owens, previously married to Buck Owens, became Haggard's second wife in 1965. The two divorced in 1978. Bonnie Owens served as a bridesmaid later that year when Haggard married another backup singer in his band, Leona Williams. Owens and Haggard continued to perform together after their divorce.

His first marriage, to Leona Hobbs, ended in divorce, as did a later marriage to Debbie Parret. His fifth wife was Theresa Ann Lane. He had four children from his first marriage and two from his fifth marriage. A list of survivors was not immediately available.

Haggard's first No. 1 hit, "I'm a Lonesome Fugitive" (1967), written by Liz and Casey Anderson, was the first of many songs to allude to a criminal past. Haggard followed it with similarly themed songs from his own pen.

Perhaps the most memorable of these songs was "Mama Tried," with its line, "I turned 21 in prison doing life without parole." The song was later covered by the Grateful Dead and folk singer Joan Baez.

With the success of "Okie From Muskogee" and other conservative anthems such as the hawkish "Fightin' Side of Me" (1970), Haggard was given greater artistic freedom by Capitol. He exercised it with several concept and tribute albums.

The album "A Tribute to the Best Damn Fiddler in the World (Or My Salute to Bob Wills)" (1970) featured Haggard's versions of songs by Western swing bandleader Bob Wills. The record revitalized Western swing, a musical hybrid of traditional Southwestern country music and New Orleans jazz, popular in the 1930s.

Haggard received a Grammy for lifetime achievement in 2006 and a Kennedy Center Honor in 2010. He also won Grammys in 1998 for the Marty Stuart song "Same Old Train" - a collaboration with 12 other country performers - and in 1984 for his version of "That's the Way Love Goes." He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1994.

During the past two decades, a new generation of country singers gradually supplanted Haggard on the radio and in the charts. He was openly hostile about the lack of promotion by record companies and radio.

"Radio doesn't want substance," he told The Washington Post. "If a song actually had an opinion, that's the first thing they'd throw in the trash."

He remained a favorite of critics, garnering praise for such releases as "If I Can Only Fly" (2000) and "The Bluegrass Session" (2007). In 2005, he surprised many of his listeners with the song "Rebuild America First," which criticized the U.S. war in Iraq and suggested the money that paid for the war be put into infrastructure needs.

In 2007, he toured and recorded with two other veteran country singers, Willie Nelson and Ray Price, as "the Last of the Breed." A few months after the tour, surgeons removed a tumor from Haggard's right lung. He told reporters afterward that he craved marijuana. He had earlier acknowledged addictions to amphetamines, cocaine and valium.

"Life has been peaks and valleys all the way for me," Haggard once told the Toronto Sun. "The only way I know to come out of the valleys is to write my way out."

http://www.stripes.com/news/us/merle...at-79-1.403140

[Sumbitch]

W/O Harry, no doubt, we wouldn't have this kind of obit, which was a very interesting read. Because I can't think of any other reason, RIP Merle.

[Norton]

the Last of the Breed

And one of the all time greatest.

[BaitongBoy]

And made it to his final birthday on his dying day, April 6th...

[Looper]

Entertainer and producer David Gest found dead

Entertainer, producer and reality television star David Gest has died in a London hotel aged 62, a statement from his friend says.
Gest died at the Four Seasons hotel in Canary Wharf.



His friend and former bodyguard Imad Handi confirmed the news in a statement.
"It is with great sadness that I can confirm that David Gest has died today," the statement read, adding he was a "huge talent".

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption David Gest and Liza Minnelli divorced in 2007 He had planned to tour the UK in July with his latest show, called the David Gest Is Not Dead But Alive With Soul Tour!.

Several singers were due to appear on the tour, including Dina Carroll and Freda Payne.
It was named after the mix-up on this year's Celebrity Big Brother, when a fellow housemate mistakenly thought Gest - who was ill in bed - had died after she heard the news of David Bowie's death.

Gest stayed in the Celebrity Big Brother house for 13 days but left the series on medical grounds.
In 2007, he was admitted to hospital with chest pains and respiratory problems.

One of his biggest successes during his career was producing the highest-rated music special in US music history - 2001's Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Celebration.

Reality TV shows

He was perhaps was best-known for being the estranged husband of singer Liza Minnelli. They were married from 2002-2003 and officially divorced in 2007. He was also a childhood friend of Jackson and his brother Tito.

The entertainer became well known in the UK after appearing on ITV's I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here in 2006, finishing in fourth place.
He later became a judge on talent show Grease Is The Word and in January he appeared on Celebrity Big Brother in the UK.

Mr Handi added: "David was truly larger than life. He was not just a huge talent and a dear friend but a showbiz icon.

"I know he will be missed by millions of fans around the world, and particularly in Britain, who came to love his charm and blistering one-liners.

Police statement

"If I may steal the words of one eminent critic, David was a natural star and a genuine celebrity. I will miss him desperately."

A statement from the Metropolitan Police said: "Police were called at 10:17 on Tuesday 12 April to the Four Seasons hotel, in Westferry Circus to reports of an unexplained death of a man in his 60s.

"London Ambulance Service were called to the scene. Life was pronounced extinct at the hotel. A post-mortem will be held in due course. Next of kin are in the process of being informed."

Police have said there appear to be no suspicious circumstances.

Gest was born on May 11, 1953 in Los Angeles, California. He worked as a music video and television producer and last year he toured the the UK with David Gest's (I've Had) The Time Of My Life Tour - which played 14 cities.

http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-36028232

[harrybarracuda]

Very bizarre person that one.

[snakeeyes]

^
Strange man for sure but he was ok , I watched him on big brother and he was ok for an American , no offence to the Americans here ,

[BaitongBoy]

He had planned to tour the UK in July with his latest show, called the David Gest Is Not Dead But Alive With Soul Tour!.

Hmmm...That's a bummer, then...RIP...

[harrybarracuda]

I wonder how man millions of people heard this man's voice? Well now you know what he looked like....

"Mind the Gep".



London Underground: 'Mind the gap' voice provider, Phil Sayer, dies aged 62
By Joe Gamp
April 16, 2016 17:14 BST



A former BBC radio presenter, best known for providing the famous public service announcements on London Underground, died of cancer, aged 62, on Thursday, 14 April. Phil Sayer, whose career also saw him regularly voice on BBC Radio Manchester (formerly BBC GMR) in the 1980s, also read out regional news on local TV. He had been battling oesophageal cancer since 2014.

His famous words provided the soundtrack for the daily commute of millions of Londoners, from warnings when boarding trains to thousands of announcements for cancelled trains and delayed services. He was best known, world over, for the phrases "Mind the gap" and "Stand clear of the closing doors" across London's Tube network.

His voiceover was introduced to the network in 1968, after it had become impractical for drivers and attendants to continually warn passengers themselves. His voice was also used on Northern Rail, South West and South Eastern mainline rail services, according to a report by the BBC.

At one point, Sayer also provided his dulcet tones for service announcements at Birmingham's New Street station.

His wife, Elinor Hamilton, posted a tribute on Facebook, to the announcer and voice artist on Friday 15 April, saying: "Phil Sayer – voice of reason, radio and railways. A dearly loved husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle and friend. We are sorry to announce that the service terminates here."

Sayer and his wife both started up a voiceover company, Sayer Hamilton, in Bolton, Greater Manchester. In 2007, Sayer told the BBC: "These days, most of my work is as a voiceover artist, though I still present live shows and conferences for corporate clients from time to time. It's my voice on most of the automated PA systems on railway stations across the UK. As a result, I'm heard saying 'Sorry…' quite a lot."

London Underground: 'Mind the gap' voice provider, Phil Sayer, dies aged 62

[billy the kid]

"Mind the Gap".

watch out for pickpockets would have been more useful.

[Latindancer]

There was an article about David Gest in the weekend newspaper. When he divorced Liza Minelli, they tried to sue each other, and two of his accusatons were that she was a violent alcoholic and had not told him that she had herpes. Divorces can be sad and messy.

[harrybarracuda]

"Mind the Gap".

watch out for pickpockets would have been more useful.

Did you have your pocket picked on the Tube?

[harrybarracuda]

'Raymond's' Doris Roberts has died
Lorena Blas and Bill Keveney10:42 p.m. EDT April 18, 2016



Doris Roberts, celebrated for her portrayal of a loving but meddling mom on Everybody Loves Raymond, died Sunday.

Roberts' son, Michael Cannata, confirmed the news in a statement issued Monday that says his mother "died peacefully in her sleep of natural causes."

The 90-year-old actress, whose celebrated career spanned six decades, won four Emmys for her portrayal of Marie Barone on the top-rated, long-running CBS comedy series (1996-2005). She won an Emmy earlier in her career for supporting actress for her role on NBC's medical drama St. Elsewhere.

Raymond star Ray Romano remembered the actress who played his title character's mother in a statement: "Doris Roberts had an energy and a spirit that amazed me. She never stopped. Whether working professionally or with her many charities, or just nurturing and mentoring a young, green comic trying to make it as an actor, she did it all with such a grand love for life and people and I will miss her dearly."

On Raymond, Roberts' Marie was a loving, sometimes smothering and often all-knowing (at least in her own mind) presence in the home of son Raymond and his wife, Debra (Patricia Heaton), who did not always appreciate Marie's interference. The late Peter Boyle played Marie's husband, Frank, and Brad Garrett played Raymond's brother, Robert, who always felt that he played second fiddle to the coddled Raymond.

Roberts, who was born in St. Louis and grew up in New York, was a veteran of Broadway before starring in various films and TV series during an illustrious acting career that began in the 1950s. Her stage credits include The Desk Set, The Last of the Red Hot Lovers and Bad Habits, for which she won an Outer Critics Circle Award.

Besides Raymond, Roberts had memorable roles in other TV series, including Remington Steele and Angie. Early in her career, she appeared on such classic shows as The Naked City and Ben Casey and more recently she was featured in ABC's Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy and The Middle, which stars Heaton.

Roberts' feature film roles include Barefoot in the Park (1967), The Heartbreak Kid (1972) and The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974), National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989) and Madea's Witness Protection (2012).

Roberts' passion for cooking was reflected in her 2005 book, Are You Hungry, Dear? Life, Laughs and Lasagna, which she co-wrote with Danielle Morton.

In addition to son Michael, Roberts is survived by her daughter-in-law, Jane, and three grandchildren: Kelsey, Andrew and Devon Cannata.

'Raymond's' Doris Roberts has died

[bobo746]

^ Saw that this morning,this will get the sheriff's hair to fall out.

[Cujo]

Always liked her. RIP.

[BaitongBoy]

Heh...Dawg's an anomaly...

[billy the kid]

Did you have your pocket picked on the Tube?

No, and never fell through the gap.

Have many plain clothes ole bill prowling the underground for them.

[harrybarracuda]

Rod Daniel, Director of Michael J. Fox's 'Teen Wolf,' Dies at 73
4:12 PM PDT 4/19/2016 by Mike Barnes




Rod Daniel, who directed Michael J. Fox in the 1985 box-office hit Teen Wolf, died Saturday at his home in Chicago, his family announced. He was 73.

Daniel specialized in light comedies, also helming Like Father Like Son (1987), starring Kirk Cameron and Dudley Moore; K-9 (1989), with James Belushi and a German Shepherd; The Super (1991), toplined by Joe Pesci; the dog-filled Beethoven's 2nd (1993); and the 2002 ABC telefilm Home Alone 4 (minus Macaulay Culkin).

Born and raised in Nashville, Daniel got his start in television, where he produced and directed several episodes of the 1979-82 CBS sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati.

Daniel made his feature debut with Teen Wolf, which starred Fox — then 24 and on a break from NBC's Family Ties — as a high school basketball player who learns he's a werewolf. (His father, played by James Hampton, is a werewolf as well.)

In a 2011 interview with the Chicago Tribune, Daniel said he landed the gig after Fox asked a bunch of potential directors what the movie was about. While everyone else said, "A werewolf," Daniel's reply was, "It's about a father and son."

Released on Aug. 23, 1985, Teen Wolf debuted at No. 2 in its opening weekend with $6.1 million, second only to Back to the Future, which also starred Fox and was in its eighth week in theaters. Made for just $1.4 million, Teen Wolf grossed about $80 million worldwide.

A Vietnam veteran and the son of a surgeon, Daniel also directed episodes of such TV series as Newhart; Everybody Loves Raymond; Magnum, P.I.; Mary; Caroline in the City; Boston Common; and Men Behaving Badly. He retired from filmmaking in 2003.

Survivors include his wife Marti, whom he married in 1968, children John and Lucas and grandson Ethan.

The family requested that donations in Daniel's memory can be made to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research.

Rod Daniel Dead: 'Teen Wolf' Director Was 73 - Hollywood Reporter

[Smug Farang Bore]

Victoria Wood checks out at 62...

[snakeeyes]

Victoria Wood dead: Actress and comedian dies from cancer

The comedian Victoria Wood has died after suffering from cancer. She was 62.

Her publicist Neil Reading confirmed her death in a statement this afternoon.

“Victoria Wood has sadly passed away, after a short but brave battle with cancer," the statement said.

Victoria Wood dead: Comedian dies aged 62 from cancer | People | News | The Independent

[chassamui]

A brilliant comedian and a great writer of observational humour. I think she would be pissed off by the decision to move a huge chunk of broadcasting to Manchester, especially after she moved to London to be closer to work.

As Ricky Gervais said, a sad loss and not a good year for deadpool talent.

[toslti]

[barrylad66]

A great pianist too

[harrybarracuda]

Guy Hamilton, Director of Classic James Bond Films, Dies at 93

Matt Singer | an hour ago



If you like James Bond movies, you have several people to thank for your hero. Ian Fleming, obviously; he wrote the original Bond novels. Harry Saltzman and Albert R. “Cubby” Broccoli produced and guided the franchise for decades; Terence Young directed the first two movies starring Sean Connery. And then there’s Guy Hamilton, who helmed perhaps the greatest Bond adventure of them all, Goldfinger. Sadly, per the BBC, Hamilton past away on Wednesday in a hospital on the Spanish island of Majorca. He was 93 years old.

Although the first two Bond films, Dr. No and From Russia with Love, established the template for the 20 films to follow, it was Goldfinger that refined that formula to perfection. Here’s what I wrote about the film in a recent piece ranking every 007 movie (Goldfinger took the top spot):

Goldfinger is the ultimate Bond; the source from which springs not just every Bond film that followed, but many action movies of all shapes and sizes. It’s one of the most influential movies of the 20th century. Anytime a dapper hero peels off a scuba suit to reveal a freshly-pressed tuxedo, or fells his opponents with a gadget-heavy sportscar, Goldfinger’s impact lingers on.

While the Bond movies were always a team effort, Hamilton’s often credited with emphasizing gadgetry in the franchise, and Bond’s cool cars and weapons quickly became a staple of every film until the Daniel Craig reboot. Bond’s iconic Aston Martin DB5 was scripted only to have a few paltry tricks; Hamilton was the one who suggested its famous revolving license plate (because, supposedly, he’d been getting a lot of parking tickets). History also credits Hamilton with giving villain Auric Goldfinger his deadly laser weapon, which he uses to intimidate a captured James Bond in one of the most famous scenes in movie history. (In the Goldfinger novel, Goldfinger threatens Bond with a circular saw):



Hamilton returned to the 007 series three more times: for Connery’s last official Bond, Diamonds Are Forever (1971), Roger Moore’s first Bond, Live and Let Die (1973), and its underrated follow-up The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), which is my personal favorite of the Moore Bonds.

Hamilton actually knew Ian Fleming from their time serving in British intelligence during World War II. After the war, Hamilton became the assistant director to Carol Reed; he worked for Reed on his great movies The Fallen Idol and The Third Man. Reed then helped Hamilton get his start as a director; his directorial debut was the 1952 mystery The Ringer starring Herbert Lom. His other directorial efforts included the Harry Palmer thriller Funeral in Berlin (1966), the war epic Battle of Britain (1969), the Agatha Christie adaptation The Mirror Crack’d (1980), and the ’80s action classic Remo Williams: The Adventures Begins (1985).

It’s certain, though, that Bond will be his legacy. People will continue to watch (and filmmakers will continue to be inspired by) Goldfinger for decades to come. That movie inspired so many copies, both within the James Bond franchise and elsewhere. But in many ways, it has still never been topped. We here at ScreenCrush tip our razor-brimmed hats to the passing of an important director.

Guy Hamilton, Director of Classic James Bond Films, Dies at 93