The RIP Famous Person Thread

[KWAN]

Val Kilmer. Gone.
Val Kilmer, Film Star Who Played Batman and Jim Morrison, Dies at 65 - The New York Times

[misskit]

That’s really sad. What a ham he was.

[Happy As Larry]

Michael Hurley, hero of the US folk underground, dies aged 83

Singer-songwriter made more than 30 albums away from the mainstream, inspiring numerous artists in American alternative music.

Michael Hurley, the American singer-songwriter whose unique path through the US folk scene made him an inspiration to generations of alternative musicians, has died aged 83.

A statement from the family announced his “recent sudden passing”, though no cause of death has been given. It added: “The ‘godfather of freak folk’ was for a prolific half-century the purveyor of an eccentric genius and compassionate wit … There is no other. Friends, family and the music community deeply mourn his loss.”

Born in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, in 1941, Hurley was the son of an operetta director and travelled the country with him as a child. This itinerant nature continued into young adulthood, when he started out as a musician – hitchhiking one day he was picked up by folklorist Fred Ramsey, who ended up producing his debut album First Songs which was released on the storied US label Folkways in 1964. The label, now Smithsonian Folkways, has paid tribute, writing: “His wit and wild imagination, steadfast through the decades, are a beacon for singers and songwriters seeking to express the joys and fantastical idiosyncrasies of the world.”

Hurley spent time in New York’s flourishing folk-revival scene, home to the likes of Bob Dylan, but by his own admission didn’t have the drive to climb the music career ladder. “I didn’t enjoy the process of applying for gigs, that determination to penetrate things, all this trouble you had to go through,” he told the Guardian in 2021. “I preferred playing parties. Little gatherings. Drinking with friends, hopping across the river.”

He shuttled between jobs and locales – “moccasin maker, carpenter, apple picker, tipi maker” was part of a long list of work he related in 2021 – but continued to put out music, eventually releasing more than 30 albums of material featuring his own cover illustrations (often populated by cartoon wolves). The shaggy, spirited energy of these genial records, backed by small ensembles and spanning straightforward folk as well as bluegrass and folk-rock, inspired numerous artists across US alternative music, from folk-leaning singer-songwriters such as Lucinda Williams and Bonnie “Prince” Billy to alt-rockers such as Yo La Tengo.

His most recent album is 2021’s The Time of the Foxgloves, which was a return to original songwriting after 12 years away. He had performed concerts in recent days, in Tennessee and North Carolina.

Mike Quinn, founder of No Quarter Records, said that Hurley had “just finished a new album. It was mastered the week before he died, and he was very proud of it (as he should be… it’s outstanding). Hopeful it will see the light of day soon.”

Michael Hurley, hero of the US folk underground, dies aged 83 | Folk music | The Guardian

[S Landreth]

Jay North, Former ‘Dennis The Menace’ Child Star, Dies At 73

Jay North, who rose to fame in the 1959 to 1963 sitcom Dennis the Menace, died Sunday after years of battling cancer. He was 73.

North’s passing was announced by Laurie Jacobson, whose husband is Lassie star Jon Provost. “Jeanne Russell just called us with terribly sad, but not unexpected news. Our dear friend Jay North has been fighting cancer for a number of years and this morning at noon EST, Jay passed peacefully at home,” wrote Jacobson on Facebook. “As many of his fans know, he had a difficult journey in Hollywood and after...but he did not let it define his life. He had a heart as big as a mountain, loved his friends deeply. He called us frequently and ended every conversation with ‘I love you with all my heart.’ And we loved him with all of ours. A life-long friend of Jon’s, a brother to Jeanne and a dear friend to me, we will miss him terribly. He is out of pain now. His suffering is over. At last he is at peace.”

Born August 3, 1951, Jay North debuted on television in an appearance on the gameshow Queen for a Day. Following guest appearances in Wanted: Dead or Alive, 77 Sunset Strip, Rescue 8, The Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse and Sugarfoot, among other TV series, Jay North debuted as rambunctious Dennis Mitchell in Dennis the Menace in 1959. Based on the comic strip of the same name, the family-themed CBS comedy preceded variety hour The Ed Sullivan Show on Sunday evening and ran for four seasons.

[harrybarracuda]

I must admit I did a bit of a double take.

Only Fools and Horses and Miami Vice actor Mario Ernesto Sánchez has died aged 78

Just a moment...

[harrybarracuda]

Iconic 'First Blood' and 'Weekend at Bernie's' Director Dies Aged 94



Ted Kotcheff, the notable Canadian director who directed classics such as First Blood and Weekend at Bernie's, has died at age 94 on April 10. Kotcheff's family confirmed his passing to The Globe and Mail newspaper. Described as a talented, multi-faceted journeyman by the Toronto International Film Festival, Kotcheff used his eye for hits to direct and produce works on television and theater in both Canada and Hollywood. He created a bridge in the gap between productions in both, using his projects as a way to show there's more power in collaboration.

First Blood (1982) gave Sylvester Stallone his first post-Rocky hit, which turned into sequels. Kotcheff didn't bother with the sequels because he thought they seemed to be celebrating the Vietnam War. "They offered me the first sequel, and after I read the script, I said, 'In the first film he doesn't kill anybody. In this film, he kills 75 people. It seemed to be celebrating the Vietnam War, which I thought was one of the stupidest wars in history."

He and Hill Street Blues co-creator Michael Kozoll adapted the first from a 1972 novel by David Morrell. THR said Warner Bros. passed on the script, but Orion Pictures saw its potential. They hired Stallone to portray John Rambo, as suggested by Kotcheff.

His other best-known classic, Weekend at Bernie's, is a black comedy starring Andrew McCarthy as Larry Wilson and Jonathan Silverman as Richard Parker. This 1989 film follows two young corporate insurance employees who discover their dead boss, Bernie, at his home in the Hamptons. Their goal is to convince people that Bernie is alive in an attempt not to be falsely accused of his death. In the process, they discover that their boss ordered their killing to cover up his embezzlement.

Wake in Fright (1971) gave Kotcheff a spot on the list of the best films to come out of Australia. It's based on Kenneth Cook's 1961 novel of the same name and follows a young schoolteacher who finds himself stranded in a brutal town in outback (remote) Australia. Filmed on location in Broken Hill and Sydney, Wake in Fright was an international co-production between the United States, Britain, and Australia.

Kotcheff's other iconic credentials include films like The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1974), Fun with Dick and Jane (1977), Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? (1978), Joshua Then and Now (1985), and more. The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, a comedy drama, is considered to be one of the finest Canadian films ever made. It stars Richard Dreyfuss as a young hustler embarking on a journey of get-rich-quick schemes to gain respect. The film won the Golden Bear (the highest prize awarded for best film) at the 24th Berlin International Film Festival.

Later in his career, he executive produced 13 seasons of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. This served as a full-circle moment for the Toronto native, who started his 60-year directing journey in television. Some of Kotcheff's television directing credits include Hour of Mystery (1957), BBC Sunday-Night Play (1962), The Desperate Hours (1967), A Family of Cops (1995), and more.

https://movieweb.com/ted-kotcheff-ra...or-dead-at-94/

[Happy As Larry]

Jean Marsh, co-creator of 1970s TV hit Upstairs, Downstairs, dies aged 90

ITV drama set in aristocratic house in Edwardian London explored class and social change, and won many awards

Jean Marsh, the actor and writer best known for co-creating and starring in the 1970s TV show Upstairs, Downstairs, has died aged 90.

The film-maker Michael Lindsay-Hogg, who was a close friend of Marsh, said she died of complications with dementia in her London home on Sunday.
“Jean died peacefully in bed looked after by one of her very loving carers,” he said. “You could say we were very close for 60 years. She was as wise and funny as anyone I ever met, as well as being very pretty and kind, and talented as both an actress and writer.

“An instinctively empathetic person who was loved by everyone who met her. We spoke on the phone almost every day for the past 40 years.”

Upstairs, Downstairs, covering class relations in Edwardian England, ran for five series from 1971 to 1975 in the UK and was also screened in the US. It won seven Emmy awards and a Peabody award, and Marsh won the Emmy for outstanding lead actress in a drama series in 1975 for her portrayal of Rose, the head parlour maid of the elegant Bellamy family that the show centred on.

Marsh also co-created The House of Eliott and appeared in films such as Cleopatra in 1963, Frenzy in 1972, The Eagle Has Landed in 1976, The Changeling in 1980, Return to Oz in 1985, Willow in 1988, Fatherland in 1994 and Monarch in 2000.
She became known for her appearances in the Doctor Who universe, including Joan of England in The Crusade, then as Sara Kingdom, a companion of the First Doctor. She later portrayed a villain opposite the Seventh Doctor.
Marsh was awarded an OBE in 2012 for services to drama.

The actor was born as Lyndsay Torren Marsh on 1 July 1934. She was six when the blitz began, and at seven she started ballet classes and took an interest in the performing arts. Rather than pursuing a traditional career, Marsh went to theatre school – which her parents considered a practical move, according to the New York Times.

In 1972, she told the Guardian: “If you were very working class in those days, you weren’t going to think of a career in science. You either did a tap dance or you worked in Woolworths.”

Marsh came up with the idea for Upstairs, Downstairs with her friend the actor Eileen Atkins when the pair were house-sitting at a wealthy friend’s house in the south of France. After explaining that she wished she lived in luxury more often, Marsh got the idea to create a show that explored class relationships within household dynamics.

Jean Marsh, co-creator of 1970s TV hit Upstairs, Downstairs, dies aged 90 | Upstairs Downstairs | The Guardian

[Happy As Larry]

Wink Martindale, host of game shows "Tic-Tac-Dough" and "High Rollers," dies at 91

Game show host Wink Martindale, known for "Tic-Tac-Dough," "High Rollers" and "Gambit," has died, according to his official Facebook page. He was 91.
"Wink was amazing, funny and talented," the post on his Facebook page reads. "Truly a LEGEND!"

The host, born Winston Martindale, had a 74-year career, according to Nashville Publicity Group, which also confirmed Martindale's death. A cause of death was not given.

"The entire Game Show Network family mourns the loss of Wink Martindale, the host of the original "Tic-Tac-Dough" and a true legend of television game shows," the Game Show Network posted on social media. "His charm and presence lit up the screen for generations of viewers and he will never be forgotten."

Martindale's professional career began when he was just 17, according to his Hollywood Walk of Fame biography. The Jackson, Tennessee, man worked as a disc jockey for several years and even had his rendition of the spoken-word song "Deck Of Cards" chart on the Billboard Hot 100.

His television career began at WHBQ-TV as the host of "Mars Patrol," a science-fiction program for kids, according to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, which Martindale earned a star on in 2006.
While at WHBQ-TV, Martindale began hosting "Teenage Dance Party," where he was joined by Elvis Presley in one appearance. The two were long-time friends; Presley dated Martindale's wife, Sandy, before they married.

In 1964, Martindale landed a job hosting NBC's "What's This Song." Other hosting credits include "Words and Music," "Can You Stop This" and "Headline Chasers." He hosted more than a dozen game shows, according to his 2000 autobiography.
He hosted "Tic-Tac-Dough" on CBS from 1978 until 1985, according to IMDB. Martindale hosted 185 episodes of NBC's "High Rollers" between 1987 and 1988. His show "Gambit," based on blackjack, was produced by Heatter-Quigley Productions.
"I remember that they auditioned practically every possible host. It came down to Dick Clark and me, and this is one time I beat Dick Clark," Martindale told the Television Academy Foundation in 2018.

He also told the Television Academy Foundation that he liked getting to meet so many different people while working on game shows.
"I enjoy finding out what makes people tick," he told the Television Academy Foundation. "As you play a game, you see why one person is more successful than another. But I just love working with people, and I love talking."
In recent years, Martindale made appearances on such programs as "Most Outrageous Game Show Moments," "The Chase" and "The Bold and the Beautiful," according to his publicist. He also appeared in commercials for Orbitz and KFC.

Martindale is survived by his wife, his daughters and his sister.

Wink Martindale, host of game shows "Tic-Tac-Dough" and "High Rollers," dies at 91 - CBS News

[harrybarracuda]

The Chief Kiddie Fiddler has carked it.

But they'll blow some smoke and replace him.

[david44]

Yes living in a hot smokey place surrounded by fornicatering must be hell.

Fear not a remedy to hand from the brother of the immaculate ejaculate

[harrybarracuda]

Dallas and Carrie star Priscilla Pointer, 100.

Although according to the Daily Star, she is a "starlet". Which I'm sure is as much about them rewriting a story they nicked off the Mirror as it is their own ignorance.



Priscilla Pointer dead: Dallas and Carrie star dies aged 100 as family pay tribute - Daily Star

[misskit]

Famed Hispanic Country Music Star Dies at 73

Venerated country music star Johnny Rodriguez has died shortly after entering hospice, according to his family. He was 73. Rodriguez’s daughter announced his death in an Instagram post on Friday—the same day he died. “It is with profound sadness and heavy hearts that we announce the passing of our beloved Johnny Rodriguez, who left us peacefully on May 9th, surrounded by family,” Aubry wrote. She added that her father was “not only a legendary musician whose artistry touched millions around the world” but “also a deeply loved husband, father, uncle, and brother whose warmth, humor, and compassion shaped the lives of all who knew him.” Born in Sabinal, Texas, Rodriguez was discovered by a music promoter after he was overheard singing in a jail cell. He is recognized as one of the earliest Hispanic country music stars, per Saving Country Music. “We are immensely grateful for the outpouring of love and support … during this time of grief,” Aubry added.

Famed Hispanic Country Music Star Dies at 73

[david44]

“not only a legendary musician whose artistry touched millions around the world” but “also a deeply loved husband, father, uncle, and brother whose warmth, humor, and compassion shaped the lives of all who knew him.”

Lovely who could ask for more. R.I.P.

Unlike my headstone a dull dimwit whose clarinet playing was enjoyed by family friends and neighbours, once he stopped and who almost grasped Basque Thai french and basic Engrish when the giant IKEA bookcase full of heavy sculptures flattened him.

[harrybarracuda]

Robert Benton, Oscar-winning filmmaker behind Kramer Vs Kramer, dies at 92




Robert Benton, the Oscar-winning filmmaker who helped reset the rules in Hollywood as the co-creator of Bonnie And Clyde, and later received mainstream validation as the writer-director of Kramer Vs Kramer, has died at the age of 92.
His son John said he died Sunday at his home in Manhattan of "natural causes".
During a 40-year screen career, the Texas native received six Oscar nominations and won three times: for writing and directing Kramer Vs Kramer and for writing Places In The Heart.

He was widely appreciated by actors as attentive and trusting, and directed Oscar-winning performances by Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep and Sally Field.
Although severe dyslexia left him unable to read more than a few pages at a time as a child, he wrote and directed film adaptations of novels by Philip Roth, EL Doctorow and Richard Russo, among others.


Bonnie and Clyde, directed by Arthur Penn and starring Beatty and Faye Dunaway, overcame initial critical resistance in 1967 to the film's shocking violence and became one of the touchstones of 1960s culture and the start of a more open and creative era in Hollywood.

Over the following decade, none of Benton’s films approached the impact of Bonnie And Clyde, although he continued to have critical and commercial success.


His writing credits included Superman and What’s Up, Doc? He directed and co-wrote such well-reviewed works as Bad Company, a revisionist western featuring Jeff Bridges, and The Late Show, a melancholy comedy for which his screenplay received an Oscar nomination.
His career soared in 1979 with his adaptation of the Avery Corman novel Kramer Vs Kramer, about a self-absorbed advertising executive who becomes a loving parent to his young son after his wife walks out, only to have her return and ask for custody.
Starring Hoffman and Streep, the movie was praised as a perceptive, emotional portrait of changing family roles and expectations and won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

Hoffman, disenchanted at the time with the film business, cited the movie and Benson’s direction for reviving his love for movie acting.
Five years later, Benton was back in the Oscars race with a more personal film, Places In The Heart, in which he drew on family stories and childhood memories for his 1930s-set drama starring Sally Field as a mother of two in Texas who fights to hold on to her land after her husband is killed.

Oscar-winning filmmaker Robert Benton dies aged 92

[misskit]

Actor Who Starred in 3 James Bond Films Dies at 89

Joe Don Baker, who rose to fame in the ’70s starring in Westerns like Junior Bonner and Walking Tall, has died. The actor’s family announced today that Baker passed away on May 7, describing him as a “beacon of kindness and generosity” whose “intellectual curiosity made him a voracious reader, inspiring a great love of nature and animals.” Though Junior Bonner was his breakout, Baker’s career reached new heights when he starred in three separate Bond movies. After appearing as villain Brad Whitaker opposite Timothy Dalton in The Living Daylights (1987), Baker returned to the franchise—this time as a good guy—when Pierce Brosnan took on the mantle, portraying CIA Agent Jack Wade in GoldenEye (1995) and Tomorrow Never Dies (1997). Born in 1936 in Groesbeck, Texas, Baker started his career performing on Broadway with New York’s Actor’s Studio and in bit parts in ’60s Westerns like films Cool Hand Luke and Guns of the Magnificent Seven and series Bonanza and Gunsmoke. He continued to play grizzled Southern characters and corrupt former cops in Westerns and crime dramas throughout the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s, including Wild Rovers, The Outfit, Charley Varrick, and Cape Fear.

Actor Who Starred in 3 James Bond Films Dies at 89

[Happy As Larry]

Brian Glanville, journalist lauded as ‘the greatest football writer’, dies aged 93

Brian Glanville, whose insightful football writing had a profound influence on generations of reporters and readers alike, has died aged 93.

A novelist and respected columnist, Glanville was a prolific commentator on his beloved game, a passionate chronicler of Italian football and author of some of football’s most influential books.

He spent 30 years as a football correspondent for the Sunday Times, contributed to World Soccer magazine for more than five decades, and wrote compelling obituaries for the Guardian. His most recently published tributes considered the careers of Northern Ireland and Aston Villa winger Peter McParland and the Manchester United legend Denis Law.

A lifelong Arsenal fan, his first book – with the Gunners winger Cliff Bastin – was published in 1950 and he was still writing about the north London club decades later, his final work a history of Highbury published in 2006.
Glanville’s The Story of the World Cup is considered a seminal work on the global tournament, and other books, such as The Puffin Book of Football, fostered a lifelong devotion to the sport for many young readers. He won admirers in the US long before the game enjoyed a wider following there, and Sports Illustrated’s Paul Zimmerman called him “the greatest football writer of all time”.

As well as numerous novels and short stories, two plays and a musical, he produced the screenplay for the 1967 documentary Goal! World Cup 1966, and saw Sir John Gielgud play the lead in a BBC radio production of his A Visit to the Villa.
His eye for the global game in the 1960s and 70s especially earned Glanville a place on the jury for the annual Ballon d’Or.

Glanville had a good relationship with England’s World Cup winning captain, Bobby Moore, but was acerbically critical of the national team’s managers, and pulled no punches when it came to Sir Alf Ramsey, the victor in 1966 but whose reputation was tarnished by the team’s failure in the heat of the Mexico tournament four years later.

“I have all sorts of amusing memories of Alf Ramsey, but he was a very strange man,” Glanville once recalled. “He should have gone two years before he did. He’d blown it. He’d gone. He’d shot his bolt. I got on very well with Walter Winterbottom, but he was a rotten manager. Bobby Robson was grotesquely overrated. I thought he was a very inadequate manager and he failed so badly in Europe. He made a shocking job of it. He had a lot of luck. We nearly reached the World Cup final in 1990, but that was luck more than judgment.”

Andrew Neil, among Glanville’s editors at the Sunday Times, posted on X: “Brian Glanville was indeed a true great. One of the brightest assets during my 11 years editing The Sunday Times. One of the greatest ever football writers.”

The Guardian’s former chief sports writer Richard Williams also paid tribute on social media, saying: “RIP Brian Glanville, 93, maestro of the football stadium press box (and purveyor of truly awful jokes).”
Tim Vickery, the BBC’s South American football correspondent, added on X: “I owe a huge debt to this man. A True giant of our trade, a mighty source of internacionalist inspiration. RIP Brian Glanville.”

Brian Glanville, football writer and author. Born 24 September, 1931. Died 16 May, 2025

Brian Glanville, journalist lauded as ‘the greatest football writer’, dies aged 93 | Football | The Guardian

[misskit]

Beloved ‘Cheers’ Star George Wendt Dies at 76

George Wendt, who played Norm Peterson on 11 seasons of the hit comedy Cheers, has died at 76.


Wendt reportedly died peacefully in his sleep at home, his family confirmed Tuesday morning.

“George was a doting family man, a well-loved friend and confidant to all of those lucky enough to have known him,” a rep for Wendt said in a statement. “He will be missed forever. The family has requested privacy during this time.”

Born and raised in Chicago, Wendt began his career in the 1970s with improv comedy group Second City. He later appeared on Saturday Night Live as a fan of “Da Bears,” watching games at coach Mike Ditka’s restaurant.


Wendt’s filmography includes Fletch (1985), Gung Ho (1986), Plains Clothes (1987), Never Say Die (1988), and Guilty by Suspicion (1991)—all of which were released during his role in Cheers, the Boston-based NBC sitcom for which he was primarily known.

Wendt was Emmy-nominated six times for outstanding supporting supporting actor in a comedy series every year from 1984 through 1989. Cheers ran from 1982 to 1993.


His iconic beer-loving character would later appear in several other shows, including Frasier, Family Guy and The Simpsons.

He also appeared in Michael Jackson’s 1991 music video for “Black or White,” playing the father of Macaulay Culkin’s character.

Wendt debuted on Broadway with 1998’s Art. Ten years later, he performed as Edna Turnblad in Hairspray.


Wendt parlayed his Cheers fame—which earned him plenty of free beers wherever he went—into starring in commercials for Miller Lite and Meister Brau, as well as co-writing the 2009 book, Drinking With George: A Barstool Professional’s Guide to Beer.

“I’m a simple man, I don’t ask for much. Give me a nice comfortable chair, a cool breeze, a ballgame on the radio and an ice-cold beer, and I couldn’t be happier,” he wrote.

Wendt leaves behind his wife, actress Bernadette Birkett, whom he met at Second City and who voiced his wife, Vera, on Cheers, who was famously never seen on the show.


Wendt also had three children, Hilary, Joe and Daniel, and two step-children, Joshua and Andrew.

Wendt’s nephew, through one of his sisters, is former SNL star Jason Sudeikis.

Shock as Beloved ‘Cheers’ Star George Wendt Dies at 76

[misskit]

[Neverna]

Norm!

[david44]

I imagine the hansum Borat of Korat looks like Norm , a funny series in an ear when there were only a few channels in UK so people discussed the same experiences the next day.Watching drinkers remotely was an early TD Lounge!!

Today with 1000s of channels streams Utube folks seldom watch teh same show at the same time, bar really succesful blockbusters

I am following Mobland with 2 last episodes next fortnight

Farewll Norm RIP beware of spoonbenders in cargo shorts!

[Happy As Larry]

Alan Yentob, former BBC executive and TV presenter, dies aged 78

Wife pays tribute to ‘profoundly moral man’ who was ‘creative in every cell of his body’

Alan Yentob, the former BBC executive and TV presenter, has died at the age of 78, his family has announced.
A statement from his family, released by the BBC, said Yentob died on Saturday.

His wife, Philippa Walker, said: “For Jacob, Bella and I every day with Alan held the promise of something unexpected. Our life was exciting, he was exciting.
“He was curious, funny, annoying, late and creative in every cell of his body. But more than that, he was the kindest of men and a profoundly moral man. He leaves in his wake a trail of love a mile wide.”

Yentob joined the BBC as a trainee in 1968 and went on to hold a number of senior and influential positions, including controller of BBC One and BBC Two; director of television; head of music and arts; director of BBC drama, entertainment and children’s; and creative director.

His commissions included Absolutely Fabulous, Have I Got News for You and the classic adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. He also launched CBBC and CBeebies.

He made his name on the 70s BBC series Omnibus and Arena, and edited and presented the arts documentary series Imagine from 2003.
The BBC director general, Tim Davie, called Yentob “a towering figure” in broadcasting and the arts and “one of the defining figures in the story of British culture”.
“A creative force and a cultural visionary, he shaped decades of programming at the BBC and beyond, with a passion for storytelling and public service that leave a lasting legacy,” Davie said.

“For nearly 60 years Alan championed originality, risk-taking and artistic ambition. From Arena to Imagine, from commissioning groundbreaking drama to giving emerging voices a platform, his influence is woven into the fabric of British cultural life.
“He believed profoundly in the BBC’s role as a home for creativity, curiosity and the arts – accessible to all.”

Davie paid tribute to Yentob’s “unforgettable presence”. “Engaging, witty and endlessly curious, he brought energy and warmth to every conversation. He was generous with his time, fierce in his convictions, and full of joy in the work of others.
“To work with Alan was to be inspired and encouraged to think bigger. He had a rare gift for identifying talent and lifting others up – a mentor and champion to so many across the worlds of television, film and theatre.”

Tributes were paid to Yentob from those who had worked with him. The actor and comedian Dawn French shared a picture of her and Jennifer Saunders with the late broadcaster on X, saying: “We’ve lost a tip top chap.”
“Our advocate from the start,” she added.

In a post on Bluesky, pop group Pet Shop Boys – who were the subject of one of Yentob’s Imagine documentaries – described him as “a legend in British TV, responsible for some of the BBC’s finest programmes”.

And the comedian David Baddiel described him as a “king of TV”.

In a video on Instagram, the BBC Radio 4 Today presenter Amol Rajan described Yentob as “such a unique and kind man: an improbable impresario from unlikely origins who became a towering figure in the culture of postwar Britain”.
He added: “Modern art never had a more loyal ally. His shows were always brilliant, often masterpieces, sometimes seminal. So much of Britain’s best TV over five decades came via his desk. That was public Alan. In private, he was magnetic, zealous and very funny, with a mesmerising voice and mischievous chuckle. He oozed fortitude until the very last.

“He had his foibles and failures, but Alan Yentob was one of the most generous, influential, singular, passionate, supportive, creative and loved men of his generation. I commend his spirit to the living.”
Yentob was born in London in 1947 into an Iraqi Jewish family. He grew up in Didsbury, Greater Manchester, until he was 12 and studied law at the University of Leeds, where he became heavily involved in drama.

When he joined the BBC World Service in 1968 he was the corporation’s only non-Oxbridge graduate of that year.
Yentob profiled and interviewed a wide range of important cultural and creative figures over the years, including David Bowie, Charles Saatchi, Maya Angelou and Grayson Perry.
His famous 1975 Omnibus feature, Cracked Actor, about Bowie, showed the drug-affected star opening up to him in the back of a limousine at an “intensely creative” but “fragile” time, Yentob later recalled.

Yentob stepped down as BBC creative director in 2015 after more than a decade in the position, after scrutiny over his role as chair of trustees of the charity Kids Company. He faced claims he tried to influence BBC coverage of the charity, but he always insisted there was no conflict of interest and he did not abuse his position.

But in the years that followed, he continued to make many more programmes for the BBC, and was appointed a CBE in 2024 for services to the arts and media.

Alan Yentob, former BBC executive and TV presenter, dies aged 78 | Alan Yentob | The Guardian

[harrybarracuda]

Another good fucking riddance.

Phil Robertson’s legacy: Inside the Duck Dynasty star’s many controversies following his death at age 79 | The Independent

[misskit]

Grammy-Winning Rocker Has Died at 77

Singer Rick Derringer died Monday at 77 surrounded by his friend and caretaker, Tony Wilson, and his wife. Wilson announced the “Hang on Sloopy” singer’s passing on Facebook Monday, writing that “with a career spanning six decades, The Legendary Rick Derringer left an indelible mark on the music industry as a guitarist, Singer songwriter, and producer.” “His passing leaves a void in the music world, and he will be deeply missed by fans, colleagues, and loved ones,” he added. Derringer’s wife and longtime bandmate, Jenda, told TMZ that he died “peacefully” after being taken off life support. “We thought we had years left but God’s timing is perfect,” she said. According to Wilson, Derringer seemed fine over the weekend but became ill on Monday night while getting ready for bed. He passed away later at a hospital in Ormond Beach, Florida. Jenda revealed earlier in February that the rocker had to undergo surgery on his legs, which resulted in some complications. But she noted that he remained “so positive and peaceful,” even after the difficult surgery. Derringer rose to fame while in the band The McCoys, releasing hits like “Hang on Sloopy,” which became the unofficial anthem for The Ohio State University’s football team beginning in 1965. He later worked with artists like Cyndi Lauper and Barbra Streisand. He won a Grammy for his work producing “Weird Al” Yankovic’s self-titled 1983 album.

Grammy-Winning Rocker Has Died at 77

[Happy As Larry]

Marcel Ophuls the unflinching chronicler of France’s suppressed wartime shame dies at 97

The Sorrow and the Pity punched a hole through France’s self-excusing myths and saw something nastier, shabbier, more political and more human.

The last great voice of wartime European cinema has gone with the death of documentary film-maker Marcel Ophuls, son of director Max Ophuls; he was born in Germany, fled to France with the rise of Hitler, fled again to the US with the Nazi invasion and then returned to France after the war. He therefore had an almost ideal background for a nuanced, detached perspective on the impossibly (and enduringly) painful subject of French collaboration with the Nazis during the second world war.

This was the basis of his four-and-a-half hour masterpiece The Sorrow and the Pity from 1969, commissioned by French TV (which refused to screen it); however, it gained an Oscar nomination and its international reputation grew from there. The film was in two parts, The Collapse, about the invasion, and The Choice, about the factional splits on the subject of resistance. It was an unflinchingly tactless and powerful look at what amounted to France’s traumatised recovered memories.

For decades since 1945, France had been content to see its wartime self as martyred and embattled, enduring occupation as a tragic reversal, an almost spiritual ordeal like the trial of Joan of Arc. And for the most part, its former allies gallantly participated in this view – especially the British, who for all their Churchillian euphoria, were quietly aware that if things had gone differently, they too might have collaborated with the invader. One of the most remarkable parts of The Sorrow and the Pity is the interview given on the subject in fluent French by Anthony Eden (who audiences might have then known chiefly as the prime minister who partnered with the French over the Suez fiasco). Ophuls shows him as genial, clubbable, worldly and rather melancholy.

The film, and Ophuls, punched a hole through France’s self-excusing myths and saw something nastier, shabbier, more political, more human: a society that embraced xenophobia and informing on your neighbours and in which antisemitism came to the surface. The Sorrow and the Pity takes its place with the great political movies by French directors: Jean Renoir’s The Rules of the Game (1939), Henri-Georges Clouzot’s The Raven (1943), Louis Malle’s Lacombe, Lucien (1974) and, of course, Claude Lanzmann’s Shoah (1985). The title of The Sorrow and the Pity is one of the most brilliant things about it; it is taken from a comment by a pharmacist interviewed by Ophuls who said these were the two emotions he chiefly experienced at the time. Really? Ophuls cleverly allows the audience to suspect that these were emotions experienced after, not during the Occupation, in which fear and rage and shame were perhaps stronger; sorrow and pity were the dramatic reflexes which France found to make the memories bearable and that pity has a fair bit of self-pity. But who can really tell?

Ophuls later won an Oscar for Hotel Terminus: The Life and Times of Klaus Barbie, his documentary portrait of the former head of the Gestapo in Lyon, and gained plaudits for films about the Northern Ireland Troubles, about the Bosnian war, and about the old East Germany; he had also been working on a project about Israel-Palestine called Unpleasant Truths. But his portrait of the wartime French mind is his masterpiece

Marcel Ophuls was the unflinching chronicler of France’s suppressed wartime shame | Film | The Guardian

[misskit]

Filipino singer Freddie Aguilar, best known for the hit song Anak, dies aged 72

Filipino singer-songwriter Freddie Aguilar, best known for his chart-topping international hit Anak, died in Manila aged 72 on Tuesday (May 27), local media reported.


He had been receiving treatment at the Philippine Heart Center, according to social media posts uploaded by his wife, Jovie Albao-Aguilar.

The one-time street musician was one of the leaders of the locally based Original Pilipino Music movement that emerged in the 1970s, and was known for his political activism, often tackling social issues through song.


In the 1980s, he lent his voice to the People Power Movement that overthrew then-dictator Ferdinand Marcos, with his rendition of the traditional patriotic ballad Bayan Ko (My Country) serving as an anthem.


According to his profile on music service Spotify, he got his start in the business performing cover tunes for American military personnel stationed in the archipelago nation.


"This is not goodbye, just farewell for now," Albao-Aguilar posted on her Facebook page.


"It was a good fight because we are fighting together."

Aguilar converted to Islam in 2013 at age 60 so he could marry Albao-Aguilar, then only 16 years old, under the country's Muslim Family Code.


In a special 2018 resolution, the Philippine Senate lauded him for "lifetime outstanding contributions to Philippine arts and culture".


He was the "only singer and composer who broke into the Western market and gained massive global recognition, bringing pride and honor to our country", the resolution said.


Anak, a Tagalog-language song about the struggles of raising a problematic child, sold more than 30 million copies.

Filipino singer Freddie Aguilar, best known for the hit song Anak, dies aged 72 - CNA Lifestyle