The RIP Famous Person Thread

[harrybarracuda]

Ed Asner, seven-time Emmy winner, TV's beloved Lou Grant and star of 'Up,' dies at 91






Edward Asner, known to millions as gruff but lovable newsman Lou Grant, died Sunday at age 91.

His publicist, Charles Sherman, confirmed to USA TODAY that Asner died early Sunday morning at home, surrounded by his family.

"We are sorry to say that our beloved patriarch passed away this morning peacefully," read a tweet shared to Asner's official Twitter account. "Words cannot express the sadness we feel. With a kiss on your head - Goodnight dad. We love you."

Hard-drinking, tough-talking Grant, who originated on CBS' "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and grew to headline on drama spinoff "Lou Grant," made Asner a household name. But he was much more than one indelible character.

Asner, a U.S. Army veteran, took on a broad range of roles over an acting career that spanned seven decades, playing burly cops and 5 o'clock-shadowed heavies in pre-"Mary" '60s dramas while endearing himself to younger generations who wouldn't know Lou Grant from Ted Baxter in 2003's "Elf" and 2009's "Up."

His seven Emmys, five for playing Grant on "Mary" and "Lou Grant," are a record for a male actor, and Asner was the first actor to win Emmys for playing the same character on both a comedy and drama series. He won his other two Emmys for playing harsh, unlikable characters on two historic miniseries, "Roots" and "Rich Man, Poor Man."

But if Asner, who compiled more than 400 screen credits, were only remembered as Lou Grant, that would be plenty.
The WJM news director was an immediate breakout in the "Moore" pilot episode. After conducting a job interview that would have today's HR professionals assessing lawsuit damages, Lou smiles at polite but plucky applicant Mary Richards (Moore) and says, "You know what? You've got spunk!"

As Mary smiles back and starts an aw-shucks response, Lou, turning dark, cuts her off: "I hate spunk!"

It was jarring misdirection and a rebuke to predictable TV tropes of that era, as was so much of Moore's groundbreaking sitcom. Most of all, it was hilarious.

Speaking fondly of Moore following her death in 2017, Asner parted ways with his TV alter ego. "She had spunk," he told USA TODAY. Did he hate that? "No. Not when she has it."

When "Mary" premiered in 1970, Asner had no idea how it would be revered 50 years later. However, he quickly realized it was something special. "As we began to work on it and shape it and round it, it became quite revealing to us that we were doing the Lord’s work," he said.

Over the course of the series' seven-season run, Asner's Lou revealed different shadings: impatience, anger and even physical violence with Ted, and sweetness and friendship with Mary, although he had a sexist streak notable even for its time.

A married dad at the start of the series, Lou went through estrangement and eventual divorce, with Asner masterfully depicting the pathos and humor of a man sucker-punched in mid-life. His fear and loathing of sometimes paramour Sue Ann Nivens (Betty White, now the show's last surviving cast member) was a comic delight and a solid-gold talent pairing, while his friendship with Mary, despite one awkward and quickly dismissed date, showed real character development. Lou had many faults, but there was always the chance for learning and redemption.

As Asner mourned Moore's death in 2017, he thanked her, professionally and personally. She "never missed an (opportunity) to advance us. She took good care of us," he says. "I loved her. The world loved her – and it should have. She was an inspiration to women and she was a good example as a human being."

Moore indeed took care of Asner as MTM Enterprises, the production company she founded with then-husband Grant Tinker, transplanted Lou from Minneapolis TV news director in a half-hour CBS sitcom to Los Angeles newspaper editor in a one-hour drama.

Asner pulled off the impressive feat of avoiding typecasting with his signature role, toning down Lou's drinking and temper – no more physically throwing Ted out of the studio! – while turning up his sobriety, literally and figuratively, and dedication to shoe-leather journalism in the post-Watergate era. The new version of Lou earned him two Emmys.

Earlier, before "Mary" ended its seven-season run, Asner showed his dramatic chops as angry immigrant father Axel Jordache in 1976's "Rich Man, Poor Man," the first blockbuster miniseries, and then as slave ship captain Thomas Davies in 1977's "Roots," a hugely popular ABC miniseries and cultural landmark that broke new ground in TV’s (and the country’s) conversation about race.


https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2021/08/29/emmy-winner-ed-asner-dies-lou-grant-elf-up/4138015001/

[hallelujah]

Lee "Scratch" Perry, 85. Decent innings.

Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, visionary master of reggae, dies aged 85 | Lee 'Scratch' Perry | The Guardian

[nidhogg]

Looked back and could not see a post on this, but Muriel passed away early August.....

Actress Thea White, best known as the voice of Muriel in the cartoon series "Courage the Cowardly Dog," died on Friday at the age of 81.

Thea White, voice of Muriel in 'Courage the Cowardly Dog,' dead at 81 - CNN

[VocalNeal]

Sad but a good innings. Always made me smile in teh Top Gear interview with Ronnie Wood talking about cars. Ronnie said Charlie had loads of cars but never drove, he used to love dressing up appropriately for the car and just sitting in them and smelling the leather - money adds another dimension to eccentricity - RIP Charlie

Do you know why men like women in leather skirts? They smell like new cars.

[harrybarracuda]

Celebrated Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis has died aged 96.




His death at his home in Athens was announced by state TV in Greece, and came after a number of hospital admissions for a heart problem.


Theodorakis had a wide and varied career, but is perhaps best known as composer of the film Zorba The Greek, with the main track famous for its frantic increase in speed.



Mikis Theodorakis: Zorba The Greek composer and political activist dies at 96 | Ents & Arts News | Sky News

[KWAN]

This is a portrait an artist chum of mine in Athens did of him.

[harrybarracuda]

So, done by "a friend"...

[KWAN]

Yep ! Known him since the 60's back in 'Blighty'. Excellent artist.

[misskit]

No! Not Omar! He was my favorite Wire character.



“The Wire’’ actor Michael K. Williams was found dead in his Brooklyn apartment Monday afternoon, law-enforcement sources told The Post.


Drug paraphernalia was found in the apartment, suggesting a possible overdose, sources said.


Williams, 54, was found dead in the living room of his Kent Avenue penthouse by his nephew, sources said.


The Flatbush native was famous for his role as Omar Little in the gritty TV series “The Wire’’ and as Chalky White in “Boardwalk Empire.’’

Actor Michael K. Williams found dead in NYC apartment

[Klondyke]

French film great Jean-Paul Belmondo dies at 88



Jean-Paul Belmondo's battered face, laconic style and roguish smile captured the imagination of French 1960s youth.

Belmondo, who has died at his Paris home aged 88, was the cool rebel of the new wave of French cinema typified in Jean-Luc Godard's 1960 film classic, A Bout de Souffle.

His moody performance as a doomed thief and Humphrey Bogart fan struck a chord and saw him dubbed the Gallic James Dean.

Later, he forsook arts cinema to become a highly bankable commercial actor, as at home in comedy as in drama.

Jean-Paul Belmondo was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, a suburb of Paris on 9 Apr 1933, the son of Paul Belmondo, a sculptor whose statues grace many a Parisian park.

The intensely Bohemian atmosphere of his upbringing had a formative effect on him.

He failed at school and became an amateur boxer. In his short-lived career, he won 15 of his 23 bouts before giving up to concentrate on acting.


A Bout de Souffle was his first starring role

His trademark bumpy nose, however, was a result of a fight in the school playground rather than the ring.

After performing on stage in provincial theatres, his movie break came with the role of Laszlo in Marcel Carné's 1958 film Les Tricheurs.

On the strength of his forceful portrayal, he was given his first starring role in A Bout de Souffle.

One critic described him as "a bewitchingly ugly man."

His cult image carried him through several action films such as Les Distractions and La Novice.

Flying grandpa
Determined not to be stereotyped, Belmondo also accepted more demanding roles such as the idealistic intellectual of Vittorio de Sica's La Cioclara in 1961, and as the young country priest in Philippe de Broca's swashbuckling Cartouche the following year.

He also enjoyed comic roles, in Godard's Une Femme est une Femme, and, particularly, in De Broca's L'Homme de Rio, in which he played a suave, unflappable secret agent.

By the mid-60s, he had switched completely to the commercial mainstream and formed his own production company, Cerito.


Jean-Paul Belmondo
IMAGE SOURCEREUTERS
He relished his role as an elder statesman of French cinema

He even performed his own stunts in such films as Les Tribulations d'Un Chinois en Chine in 1965, though he gave this practice up after an accident in the 1985 film Hold-up.

He brightened many an all-star cast in international productions such as Is Paris Burning? (1966), the James Bond spoof Casino Royale (1967) and with Alain Delon in the gangster movie Borsalino (1970),

He moved away from action movies claiming that "I don't want to be a flying grandpa of the French cinema."

In 1987 Belmondo returned to the stage for the first time for nearly 30 years and divided his work between theatre and film for the rest of his career.

Two years later he won a Cesar, the French equivalent of an Oscar, for his performance in Itineraire d'un Enfant Gate.

He branched out creatively as part of the ensemble in Varda's homage to international cinema Les Cent et une Nuits de Samon Cinema in 1995 and as the Jean Valjean figure in Claude Lelouche's re-working of Les Miserables in the same year.

Jean-Paul Belmondo was divorced from his first wife Elodie in 1965. His second marriage to Constantin also failed. He later had long relationships with actresses Ursula Andress and Laura Antonelli.

Cinema audiences at home and abroad were drawn to his charm and seeming disregard for whatever absurdities were taking place on screen. He was chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history.

French film great Jean-Paul Belmondo dies at 88 - BBC News

[harrybarracuda]

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



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.

<snip>


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.



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

[misskit]

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

[Cujo]

Yes bummer, I liked his style.
RIP norm.

[malmomike77]

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.

[harrybarracuda]

Years ahead of his time.

[malmomike77]

RIP Jimmy Greaves 81 years

[Mendip]

Only Fools and Horses actor John Challis dies aged 79



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".



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."

[harrybarracuda]

Oh Omar...

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.

[harrybarracuda]

DuhDuh Duh DuhDuh
DuhDuh Duh DuhDuh
DuhDuh Duh DuhDuh
DuhDuh Duh DuhDuh
DuhDuh Duh DuhDuh
DuhDuh Duh DuhDuh
DuhDuh Duh DuhDuh
DuhDuh Duh DuhDuh
DuhDuh Duh DuhDuh
DuhDuh Duh DuhDuh
DuhDuh Duh DuhDuh
DuhDuh Duh DuhDuh

DuhDuh DuhDuh DuhDuhDuhDuh
Pew!


Link

[misskit]

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell dies from Covid complications



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

[misskit]

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

[harrybarracuda]

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




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

[harrybarracuda]

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

[david44]

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

[david44]

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