The RIP Famous Person Thread

[S Landreth]

Tom Jones, creator of ‘The Fantasticks,' dead at 95

Tom Jones, creator of the longest-running musical ‘The Fantasticks,’ dead at 95

Tom Jones — the lyricist, director and writer of “The Fantasticks,” the longest-running musical in history — has died. He was 95.

Jones died Friday at his home in Sharon, Connecticut, according to Dan Shaheen, a co-producer of “The Fantasticks,” who worked with Jones since the 1980s. The cause was cancer.

Jones, who teamed up with composer Harvey Schmidt on “The Fantasticks” and the Broadway shows “110 in the Shade” and “I Do! I Do!,” was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame in 1998.

“The Fantasticks,” based on an obscure play by Edmond Rostand, doesn’t necessarily have the makings of a hit. The set is just a platform with poles, a curtain and a wooden box.

The tale, a mock version of “Romeo and Juliet,” concerns a young girl and boy, secretly brought together by their fathers, and an assortment of odd characters.

cores of actors have appeared in the show, from the opening cast in 1960 that included Jerry Orbach and Rita Gardner, to stars such as Ricardo Montalban and Kristin Chenoweth, to “Frozen” star Santino Fontana.

The show was awarded Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre in 1991.

“So many people have come, and this thing stays the same — the platform, the wooden box, the cardboard moon,” Jones told The Associated Press in 2013. “We just come and do our little thing and then we pass on.”

For nearly 42 years the show chugged along at the 153-seat Sullivan Street Playhouse in Greenwich Village, finally closing in 2002 after 17,162 performances — a victim both of a destroyed downtown after 9/11 and a new post-terrorism, edgy mood.

In 2006, “The Fantasticks” found a new home in The Snapple Theater Center — later The Theater Center — an off-Broadway complex in the heart of Times Square.

In 2013, the show celebrated reaching 20,000 performances.

It closed in 2017, ending as the longest-running production of any kind in the history of American theater with a total of an astonishing 21,552 performances.

[Bob Mason]

Clarance Avant

The guy was hardly a household name but he was responsible for some wonderful music. RIP.

Clarence Avant: Music industry legend known as the '''Black Godfather''' dies aged 92 - BBC News

[PAG]

(Sir) Michael Parkinson, he of the late night show, interviewing more than 2000 celebrities including some absolute classics, has passed after a short illness, aged 88.Michael Parkinson, broadcaster and talkshow host, dies aged 88 | Television | The Guardian

[Happy As Larry]

Music mogul Jerry Moss, co-founder of A&M Records, dies at 88

Jerry Moss, a music industry mogul who co-founded A&M Records with Herb Alpert and rose from a Los Angeles garage to the heights of success with hits by Alpert, the Police, the Carpenters and hundreds of other performers, has died at 88.
Moss, inducted with Alpert into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006, died on Wednesday at his home in Bel Air, California, according to a statement released by his family. He died of natural causes, his widow, Tina, told Associated Press.

“They truly don’t make them like him any more and we will miss conversations with him about everything under the sun,” said the statement. “The twinkle in his eyes as he approached every moment ready for the next adventure.”

For more than 25 years, Alpert and Moss presided over one of the industry’s most successful independent labels, releasing such blockbuster albums as Alpert’s Whipped Cream & Other Delights, Carole King’s Tapestry and Peter Frampton’s Frampton Comes Alive! Their label was home to the Carpenters and Cat Stevens, Janet Jackson and Soundgarden, Joe Cocker and Suzanne Vega, the Go-Go’s and Sheryl Crow.

Moss made one of his last public appearances in January when he was honoured with a tribute concert at the Mark Taper Forum in downtown Los Angeles. Among the performers were Frampton, Amy Grant and Dionne Warwick, who was not an A&M artist but had been close to Moss from the time he helped promote her music in the early 1960s. While Moss did not speak at the ceremony, many others praised him.

“Herb was the artist and Jerry had the vision. It just changed the face of the record industry,” singer Rita Coolidge said on the event’s red carpet. “Certainly A&M made such a difference and it’s where everybody wanted to be.”
Moss’s surviving family include his second wife, Tina Morse, and three children……………….

Music mogul Jerry Moss, co-founder of A&M Records, dies at 88 | Music industry | The Guardian

[Bob Mason]

Ron Cephas Jones

Ron Cephas Jones, This Is Us star, dies aged 66 - BBC News

[dirk diggler]

Terry Funk dies, aged 79: Pro wrestling industry pays tribute to hardcore icon


(WWE)








Professional wrestling icon Terry Funk has died, aged 79.


The legendary performer, whose career spanned five decades across multiple promotions, had been battling dementia in recent years and living in an assisted living facility.
Funk rose to prominence in the 1970s, competing in Florida and Japan, before becoming a household name in the United States throughout the 1980s.


Originally from Indiana, the Funk family would relocate to Amarillo, Texas and the region would become synonymous with his lengthy pro wrestling career.


With stints across NWA, WCW, ECW and WWF throughout his career, Funk captured multiple world titles and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame alongside his brother Dory in 2009.


AD



But it was Funk's rejuvenation from a traditional southern grappler to an all-out hardcore wrestler that continued to transcend the business, with his battles against the likes of Mick Foley becoming an integral part of wrestling history.


Funk finally retired - for good - in 2017, ending one of the longest careers the industry has seen.

More here ---> Terry Funk dies, aged 79: Pro wrestling industry pays tribute to hardcore icon | Sporting News Australia

[dirk diggler]

And another one...

Former WWE champion Bray Wyatt dies at age 36

play


WWE star Bray Wyatt, known for being one of the most creative minds in professional wrestling who pushed the boundaries with innovative characters, died Thursday at the age of 36, WWE chief content officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque announced on social media.


Wyatt, whose real name was Windham Rotunda, had been inactive over the past several months in WWE while dealing with an undisclosed health issue. He had been with WWE since 2009, save for just over a year in 2021 and 2022 when he was surprisingly released. Rotunda returned to WWE last September with much fanfare and a mysterious storyline, including cryptic vignettes, which helped boost television ratings.


"Just received a call from WWE Hall of Famer Mike Rotunda who informed us of the tragic news that our WWE family member for life Windham Rotunda -- also known as Bray Wyatt -- unexpectedly passed earlier today," Levesque wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. "Our thoughts are with his family and we ask that everyone respect their privacy at this time."

Windham Rotunda, also known as WWE wrestler Bray Wyatt, has died at age 36. He had been inactive over the last several months in WWE while dealing with an undisclosed health issue. Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY SportsRotunda came from a wrestling family. His father Mike gained fame in WWE as Irwin R. Schyster, as well as in other promotions under his real name or Michael Wallstreet. Rotunda's uncle Barry Windham was one of the most highly regarded wrestlers of the 1980s and early 1990s and a former member of the prestigious Four Horsemen stable. Rotunda's brother, Taylor, also wrestles for WWE and in the past used the moniker Bo Dallas.
Windham Rotunda was married to former WWE ring announcer JoJo Offerman. They had two children and Rotunda had two other children from a previous marriage. He was a two-time former WWE Universal champion and former WWE champion.
After starting in WWE's developmental program as the character Husky Harris, Rotunda found himself with Bray Wyatt, a maniacal swampland cult leader who recruited followers with a devilish charm. He and his Wyatt Family (Erick Rowan and the late Luke Harper, whose real name was Jonathan Huber) got popular in NXT, WWE's developmental brand, and came to the WWE main roster with much fanfare in 2014.
Rotunda was known at that point as one of the most gifted performers on the roster, especially when it came to telling a story on the microphone. He started using the catchphrase "follow the buzzards" and the song lyrics "he's got the whole world in his hands." During his entrances, with the arena shrouded in darkness before he appeared holding a lantern, fans would hold up their cellphone lights as his eerie music played.

In 2019, Rotunda reinvented himself as the supernatural character The Fiend, wearing a horror movie mask that was a terrifying facsimile of a clown. Bray Wyatt still existed in kid-friendly skits called Firefly Funhouse, but The Fiend, a dark alter ego, wrestled in his place. These were intricate, creative ideas that Rotunda for the most part came up with himself. The Fiend was polarizing as a character due to its near invulnerability in the ring, but it was an inventive leap and one of the most interesting things on WWE television at the time.
Rotunda returned to WWE last year after being released in 2021 as the former Bray Wyatt, a good-guy character who was apparently haunted by past demons like The Fiend and Uncle Howdy. The storyline was still developing in February when Rotunda disappeared from television due to health issues.
"Always had tremendous respect and love for him and the Rotunda family," Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson wrote Thursday on X. "Loved his presence, promos, in ring work and connection with the WWE universe. Very unique, cool and rare character, which is hard to create in our crazy world of pro wrestling."

[spliff]

Covid 19 vaccine related?

[TizMe]

whose real name was Windham Rotunda

Well, my daddy left home when I was three
Didn't leave very much to my mom and me
Except this old guitar and an empty bottle of booze

[helge]

an empty bottle of booze

What's that ?

[dirk diggler]

Whitesnake guitarist Bernie Marsden dies aged 72


Rock and blues guitarist amassed one of the most extensive and coveted private guitar collections in the world
Bernie Marsden, original guitarist for the band Whitesnake, has died, according to a statement from his family. He was 72.


Marsden “died peacefully on Thursday evening with his wife, Fran, and daughters, Charlotte and Olivia, by his side”, his family wrote on Instagram. “Bernie never lost his passion for music, writing and recording new songs until the end.”



Whitesnake guitarist Bernie Marsden dies aged 72 | Music | The Guardian

[beachbound]

Bob Barker dead at 99.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna42292

“The price is wrong, bitch!”

[nidhogg]

Well, my daddy left home when I was three
Didn't leave very much to my mom and me
Except this old guitar and an empty bottle of booze

Now I don't blame him because he ran and hid......

[david44]

Now I don't blame him because he ran and hid......

But the meanest thing that my daddy ever did
Was before he left, he went and named me Socal

[dirk diggler]

Jack Sonni, Dire Straights "other guitarist".

Cause of death and obituary of Jack Sonni: how did the guitarist die? - Esajaelina

[Happy As Larry]

Mohamed Al Fayed, the Egyptian-born businessman who owned the department store Harrods, has died aged 94.

His death comes almost 26 years to the day after the car crash in Paris that killed his eldest son, Dodi, and Diana, Princess of Wales, on 31 August 1997.
In a statement released by Fulham FC, his family said: “Mrs Mohamed Al Fayed, her children and grandchildren wish to confirm that her beloved husband, their father and their grandfather, Mohamed, has passed away peacefully of old age on Wednesday 30 August 2023.

“He enjoyed a long and fulfilled retirement surrounded by his loved ones. The family have asked for their privacy to be respected at this time.”
Fayed was born in Alexandria and was the son of a schoolteacher.

His break in business came after he met his first wife, Samira Khashoggi, the sister of Saudi millionaire arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi, who employed him in his Saudi Arabian import business.
The role helped him forge new connections in Egypt and he went on to launch his own a shipping business, before becoming an adviser to one of the world’s richest men, the Sultan of Brunei, in 1966.

When he arrived in the UK in the 1960s, he joined the board of the mining conglomerate Lonrho in 1975, but left nine months later. In 1979, with his brother Ali, he bought the Paris Ritz Hotel.
The Fayeds’ next target became Harrods and in 1985, the brothers succeeded in clinching a £615m takeover bid of the store in Knightsbridge.

He retained ownership of the store after the Frasers group entered public trading until 2010, when he sold it to Qatar Holding. The businessman also resurrected the satirical magazine Punch.
In 1997 he bought Fulham football club in west London for £6.25m and famously invited Michael Jackson to watch a game at Craven Cottage.

In 1999, Fayed agreed for the club’s manager, Kevin Keegan, to take over as the England national team manager. Fayed sold the club to billionaire businessman Shahid Khan in 2013.
Khan said on Friday evening: “On behalf of everyone at Fulham Football Club, I send my sincere condolences to the family and friends of Mohamed Al Fayed upon the news of his passing at age 94.
“The story of Fulham cannot be told without a chapter on the positive impact of Al Fayed as chairman. His legacy will be remembered for our promotion to the Premier League, a Europa League final, and moments of magic by players and teams alike.
“I always enjoyed my time with Al Fayed, who was wise, colourful and committed to Fulham, and I am forever grateful for his trust in me to succeed him as chairman in 2013.
“I join our supporters around the world in celebrating the memory of Mohamed Al Fayed, whose legacy will always be at the heart of our tradition at Fulham Football Club.”

The entrepreneur is known for his involvement in the cash-for-questions scandal in 1994, which saw MPs resign after failing to declare that they had been paid by the Egyptian to ask questions in parliament.
He approached the Guardian with the allegations in 1994, and the affair led to the resignation of MP Tim Smith as a Northern Ireland minister

Another MP, Neil Hamilton, was found to have accepted bribes, including a holiday at the Ritz and a free shopping spree at Harrods. Hamilton did not stand down, lost a libel case he lodged against Al Fayed, and lost his seat at the 1997 general election.
Fayed married the Finnish socialite and former model Heini Wathén in 1985, with whom he had four children: Jasmine, Karim, Camilla, and Omar.

The billionaire fought a long-running campaign after the deaths of Dodi and Diana, alleging that the crash was not an accident and that it had been orchestrated by the British security services.
However, French police concluded that it was an accident, caused in part by speeding and by the high alcohol level in driver Henri Paul’s blood. In 2006, a Metropolitan police inquiry led by Lord Stevens found no evidence to back up claims that the security services were involved in any way.

Al Fayed became a friend of Diana through his sponsorship of charities and events attended by royal family members. The billionaire’s relationship with the royal family was recently depicted in season five of The Crown, where he was played by Salim Daw.
He set up the Al Fayed Charitable Foundation in 1987 to better the lives of impoverished, traumatised and very sick youngsters.

Al Fayed fell out with the British government over its refusal to grant him citizenship of the country that was his home for decades, and threatened to move to France, which gave him the Legion of Honour, its highest civilian award.

Mohamed Al Fayed, former Harrods and Fulham FC owner, dies aged 94 | Harrods | The Guardian

[S Landreth]

Jack Sonni, Former Dire Straits Guitarist, Dead at 68

Jack Sonni, The ‘Other Guitar Player’ In Dire Straits, Dies at 68

Jack Sonni, the ex-guitar player with Dire Straits, whose contributions can be heard on the band’s 1985 release Brothers In Arms, one of the U.K.’s all-time best-selling albums, died Wednesday (Aug. 30). He was 68.

Born Dec. 9, 1954 in Indiana, Pennsylvania, Sonni’s passion for music began at a young age, when he learned various instruments, including piano, trumpet and the six-string, which he mastered.

Sonni furthered his career with a relocation to New York, and he’d make his mark in the history books as the “other guitar player in Dire Straits,” a reference he was happy to share on his official biography.

Dire Straits’ lead guitarist is, of course, frontman Mark Knopfler, widely recognized by his peers as one of the finest to ever play the instrument. The two axemen reportedly met in a guitar shop, after which Sonni was invited to record parts for the band’s fifth studio album.

The result was Brothers In Arms, which led the Official U.K. Albums Chart for 14 weeks, and reigned over the Billboard 200 for nine weeks. The album smashed records around the world, shifting an estimated 30 million copies worldwide, and won two Grammys (best music video, short form for the title track, and best rock performance by a duo or group with vocal for the Billboard Hot 100 leader “Money For Nothing”).

When the rockers embarked on a major world tour in support, Sonni wore a distinctive red coat. That tour, too, was a record-setter. In Australia, fans bought more than 950,000 tickets, a record that stood for decades.

Sonni played guitar synthesizer on album cut “The Man’s Too Strong” and performed on stage with the band for the Wembley Stadium leg of the historic 1985 Live Aid concerts.

Following the birth of his daughters, Sonni calling time as on his career as a musician in 1988, instead pivoting to marketing. He went on serve as vice president of marketing for Guitar Center, a role that kept him connected with his beloved instrument.

Writing on his official site, Sonni described himself as “a writer, musician, nomadic raconteur, father and grandfather who has taken to heart the reality in the hard-learned lesson that life is short.” In life, he embraced the philosophy to “live well and live now” in pursuit of “creating memorable moments with friends and family”.

When the rockers embarked on a major world tour in support, Sonni wore a distinctive red coat. That tour, too, was a record-setter. In Australia, fans bought more than 950,000 tickets, a record that stood for decades.

Sonni played guitar synthesizer on album cut “The Man’s Too Strong” and performed on stage with the band for the Wembley Stadium leg of the historic 1985 Live Aid concerts.

Following the birth of his daughters, Sonni calling time as on his career as a musician in 1988, instead pivoting to marketing. He went on serve as vice president of marketing for Guitar Center, a role that kept him connected with his beloved instrument.

Writing on his official site, Sonni described himself as “a writer, musician, nomadic raconteur, father and grandfather who has taken to heart the reality in the hard-learned lesson that life is short.” In life, he embraced the philosophy to “live well and live now” in pursuit of “creating memorable moments with friends and family”.

[dirk diggler]

Jack Sonni, Dire Straights "other guitarist".

Cause of death and obituary of Jack Sonni: how did the guitarist die? - Esajaelina

Jack Sonni, Former Dire Straits Guitarist, Dead at 68

Jack Sonni, The ‘Other Guitar Player’ In Dire Straits, Dies at 68

Focus!

[S Landreth]

no justice was given on your post

[pickel]

........

[dirk diggler]

Accepted

[happynz]

Jimmy Buffett dies age 76

Jimmy Buffett, legendary '''Margaritaville''' singer, dies at 76

[S Landreth]

^My younger sister and I attended a concert of his in Miami (1973 - Coconut Grove Playhouse) before he made it, big time.

We had assigned seats at least 10 rows back and my sister noticed the entire front row was empty. Maybe set aside for his guests?

She had brought her Pentax camera to the concert to get some good pictures, so she slowly snuck down the aisle all the while snapping pictures. She wanted to test how far she could push it until she was stopped.

She made it to front row and sat down next to the aisle and shortly afterwards the entire row filled up with other fans, but no one was blocking her camera view any longer.

[misskit]

Jimmy did very well for himself with his nice mellow music.

[Norton]

Jimmy did very well for himself with his nice mellow music.

He did indeed. Still listen when a kick back is needed.