Rolling Obituary Thread 2026

The thread of the dead.

James Grauerholz, William S. Burroughs' longtime assistant/manager/editor/everything else. When I called Burroughs in Kansas to request an interview as a high school student, I spoke to Grauerholz. (Didn't get the interview.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3atJxdNJGc

(xpost)

Legendary Japanese psych-rock guitarist Munehiro Narita (High Rise, etc.).

Damn shame I never saw him live.

co-founder of Sega Games David Rosen, 95
(also a pilot in the Korean War!)

Andrew Bodnar, bassist for (Graham Parker &) the Rumour who also appeared on Nick Lowe's "I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass" with Bob Andrews (both got a co-writing credit), Elvis Costello's "Watching the Detectives," The Pretenders' Learning to Crawl, and a few of Garland Jeffreys's best records.

correction, he played on the Pretenders' cover of "Thin Line Between Love and Hate," not the entire album

Molly Parkin, painter novelist and journalist, 93

Andrew Bodnar was a favorite of mine, RIP :( Glad I got to see one of the Rumour reunion shows.

biographer/author Michael Schumacher, aged 75

i’d forgotten all about molly parkin. i used to have some sort of vague ongoing connection with her - it must have been back when i worked in a bookshop.

Béla Tarr

Only 70, I had assumed he was quite a bit older

Dunno why you would associate him with longevity

Bye bye Béla

damn, one of the greats imo. RIP Bela

RIP Béla, I will endeavour to actually watch Sátántangó this year in your honour. I've only had it on DVD for what, ten years?

RIP

RIP, Werckmeister Harmonies would be in my top 10 films of this century. One of these days I'll rewatch Sátántangó too.

I've got the Curzon box and have been trying to motivate myself enough to crack it open. Guess this is it.

i had about half the curzon box on £5 dvds from fopp so i didn't bother, but there's a lot of non-feature extras and it's a bump in quality. expensive though.

So did I but mine was a present so yay for me I guess.

Extremely sad news to wake up to. I'm glad he lived long enough to see his all of his work return to circulation in spectacular quality - it used be so difficult to see his films and even more difficult to do so in decent quality. (One of my most memorable filmgoing experiences was seeing Sátántangó in 35mm at Lincoln Center, years after the DVD fell out-of-print and years before it was finally restored in 4K.)

Only 70, I had assumed he was quite a bit older

I saw him at his last NYC appearance 16 months ago, and I was stunned how unhealthy he looked. In 2011, he was at the NYFF to present his final film, and on that gorgeous, unseasonably warm October afternoon, he walked onstage and said "what are you doing here? It's beautiful outside!" He looked great striding along with the ponytail and the shades on his head.

In fact, you can see him here at the free talk he gave at the festival (maybe even the same day):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxHNl2H8IO0

Now flash forward to June 2023, and he looked frail and physically unsteady, hunched over and tremoring while using a cane. I would've guessed he was easily in his 70s, maybe in his 80s. (He was 68.)

But he was still as sharp as ever and still had the same fire - when someone asked about making a film, he got worked up, whipped out his iPhone and basically said: "You have THIS in your pocket. You don't need anything else, just fucking make your movie and don't let anyone else tell you that you can't."

Afterwards he sat outside, smoking another cigarette (I'm guessing he never cut back) and when people asked him to sign their DVD's, he agreed while saying "promise not to sell this, I already saw one script I signed yesterday on fucking eBay."

He was never going to make another movie, but he was dedicated to mentoring and teaching new and uncompromising filmmakers. An Elephant Sitting Still is perhaps the best film made from one such filmmaker, though sadly the same person committed suicide before it ever saw release.)

(IIRC that free talk was probably the same day and before his film was scheduled to play - he probably gave the talk and walked over to Alice Tully afterwards. The NYFF's schedule is usually packed pretty tight that way.)

Martin Chivers, footballer.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/jan/07/martin-chivers-former-tottenham-england-southampton-striker-dies-aged-80

Aldrich Ames, CIA agent who spied for the Soviet Union - died in prison, aged 84

The NYT obituary for Ames is a very entertaining read in its vociferousness. RIP to all those people Ames exposed

Michael Reagan

Rest In Piss

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the city's paper of record.

(Actually, it won't officially die until May 3.)

Just read about Bob Pulford, a Leaf mainstay when I was a kid and watched hockey:

https://mapleleafshotstove.com/2026/01/06/bob-pulford-the-engine-of-the-maple-leaf-dynasty-in-the-1960s/

In the HOF, too. 16 seasons, never more than 30 goals, never fewer than 10.

Terry Yorath, ex dirty Leeds scum

I used to deal with him when I worked in the bookies when he was Jacko's assistant. He was such a rude, arrogant glowering presence. If you knocked him back on a price that had gone his puce bald head would start glowing an even brighter shade of puce. Horrible guy. tbh.

So RIP then?

Looked like a serious boozer to me.

peace was not a word to associate with Tel!

oh he was a boozer, in fact he was let go during his last period at Town for a drink driving incident

Actually from late 2025:

Marcia Rodd, actress who was very memorable (actually unbelievable) in Alan Arkin's Little Murders (1971) which was her film debut after doing Broadway, and was also acclaimed for her work in Jonathon Demme's Handle with Care, aka Citizens Band (1977), 87.

Yorath's son died in front of him aged 15 and he, being an unreconstructed man of a certain age, decided on drinking rather than counselling (according to a clip I just saw there).

Gabby Logan is his daughter and that's why she disappeared in the middle of MOTD last night.

Marcia Rodd also played Maude's daughter Carol in the All In The Family episode that was a backdoor pilot for Maude, but quit after the show was picked up for series and was replaced by Adrienne Barbeau.

I used to deal with him when I worked in the bookies when he was Jacko's assistant. He was such a rude, arrogant glowering presence. If you knocked him back on a price that had gone his puce bald head would start glowing an even brighter shade of puce. Horrible guy. tbh.

― calzino, Thursday, 8 January 2026 11:17 (seven hours ago)

So RIP then?

― Wilfried Nuance (Tom D.), Thursday, 8 January 2026 11:25 (seven hours ago)

Rest in puce, surely?

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/09/movies/bahram-beyzaie-dead.html?unlocked_article_code=1.DVA.y69j.Vha3CKOF6pCF&smid=nytcore-ios-share

RIP Bahram Beyzaie, pioneer in Iranian film and theatre

T.K. Carter, best known for playing Nauls in The Thing

Bob Weir

British character actor Derek Martin.

Lovely memory here from The Curious Orange.

Farewell Derek Martin. R.I.P.

Derek once came in to do a Fat Fighters sketch. Marjorie introduces him to the group, "he plays a character from EastEnders, but not one of the main ones". Derek roared with laughter. He was a really good sport & top bloke.https://t.co/6zozl0Da6R

— Paul Putner (@RealPaulPutner) January 11, 2026

92! I had not idea he was that old.

The thumbnail made me think Matt Lucas had died and was somehow 92.

erich von däniken (90)

https://childofatlantis.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/img_0141.png

I didn't realise he was still recently alive

Yeah, seriously - I mentioned him recently in the context of Chris de Burgh's A Spaceman Came Travelling being apparently influenced by Chariot of the Gods.

I think the next song in discussion afterwards might've been Driving Home For Christmas, actually...

not enough has been made of the second mayan crew-member imo (its gizmo from gremlins)

https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:lmtieqchvpjutjpqaed5tvyi/bafkreifffirkrh6s3s6eivl6x3u3y7g5o7ojcpzzagkc32i2bk2qmnpzve@jpeg

I just see a smiling piece of toast from a mid-70s cartoon show.

what was with the 70s and paranormal, hollow earth, ancient aliens, etc.

It was a dystopian time, people were looking for any way out. Not at all like our current halcyon days.

Good to see everyone has become more rational since then.

Chariot of the Gods fueled more nightmares for me than the Bermuda Triangle but less than Sasquatch

my preteen peers in the early ‘80s were all about the Bermuda triangle no one cared about cryptids but that’s probably because we lived on the wide open prairie so no bigfoot sightings

The tv show In Search Of, with Leonard Nimroy, had a profound impact on my young brain. Chariots in the same vein.

Oh yeah, In Search Of was awesome.. it always seemed a few years old, even when it was new

von däniken was a crackpot but in a fun way

I was a big Star Trek kid so I especially liked In Search Of. Also anyone remember the Project UFO series? (I remembered it as Project Blue Book, but I guess they probably just said Project Blue Book on the show a lot.) Kind of a proto-X Files.

I was heavily into Chariots of the Gods in my early teens until Nova did an episode taking it apart. Eventually I ritualistically ripped the paperback into tiny pieces.

I'd forgotten the Nova debunking! But now I can remember the weight it lifted from my shoulders!

I must admit I didn't know about his criminal past. Fraud, yeah that makes sense.

Also anyone remember the Project UFO series? (I remembered it as Project Blue Book, but I guess they probably just said Project Blue Book on the show a lot.) Kind of a proto-X Files.

Produced by Jack Webb's company! Saw it at the time, rewatched the pilot episode a couple of years ago to see how much I remembered from it (more than I had guessed).

I don't remember In Search of... getting aired in the UK but we had the similar sounding Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World which I was obsessed with.

I had a subscription to Omni magazine as a kid which was great for platforming all these kooks

In Search of... was definitely shown in the UK, maybe prior to the Arthur C. Clarke show which i seem to remember thinking of as its replacement

Matt Kwasniewski-Kelvin, formerly of black midi. 26.

RIP erich von däniken if only for inspiring Jack Kirby to create "Eternals".

Matthew Taylor. graphic designer for Touch and Go and bass player for a bunch of bands. Designed the logo for Kranky
https://chunkletindustries.substack.com/p/matthew-taylor-rip
https://bsky.app/profile/bruceadams.bsky.social/post/3mcbjd5sdz22z

Sheila Bernette, 94, English Singer

A competent singer, she was a regular on variety shows such as the Good Old Days and The Black and White Minstrel Show

uh, come again?

The Black and White Minstrel Show is a British light entertainment show on BBC prime-time television that ran from 1958 to 1978.

Oh I thought everyone knew about that.

Oddly, I don't believe it was aired in America.

Yes I just about remember seeing it, one of the many British national shames along with It Ain't Half Hot Mum

xxxxxpost I literally just bought a Kranky hoodie, had no idea he designed the logo. rip.

I think it toured until well into the 80s as well?

Isn't it still touring without the blackface?

I'm certainly old enough to have watched it except I don't remember ever seeing so much of a second of it. Not only did my parents never watch it but I doubt even my granny did.

Three number one UK albums

Scott Adams

vaxxed?

Prostate Cancer, apparently.

Made redundant

Scott Adams

Knock knock
Who's there?
Not you anymore

rest in piss asshole

i only regret that this man can die but once

Three number one UK albums

― Ward Fowler, Tuesday, 13 January 2026 15:36

First album was number one for nine weeks and on the chart for 142 weeks!

Pitied Marcello Carlin having to write about it on his number one albums blog.

at least he finally did something funny

I really think once someone has passed away, it’s not really fair anymore to judge them on politically incorrect missteps they might’ve made. We should judge them on the best of their work. I say this, of course, not knowing anything about the black and white minstrel show, it might just be an awkward title.

Andrew Hickey on Bluesky - "Scott Adams was the Dave Sim of Jim Davises"

The only memorial that matters:

https://kalebhorton.ghost.io/the-d-lbert-project/

I really think once someone has passed away, it’s not really fair anymore to judge them on politically incorrect missteps they might’ve made.

Dilbert had 3-4 good laughs in '96.

You kind of ruined the joke there.

Whoops

lol

I knew Jim Davis was a soulless huckster, but with only vague, distant memories of Dave Sim, it was nauseating to read up on his nuttery. (Cerebus hasn't crossed my mind since I was a child, but I didn't actually read that comic, it was just a character that was hard to miss in my local comic shop's decor.)

Dilbert was ubiquitous when I was growing up and gave me a few laughs - a character's strategic use of sick time and vacation time via 15 minute increments in order to avoid work is the one I remember most - but I stopped paying attention for at least a decade and was shocked that its creator turned out to be an insanely toxic creep. Pretty sure that was always a part of him rather than the result of fame and money, mainly because he was openly motivated by the pursuit of fame and money when he created that strip.

Sometime/former ilxor Chuck Eddy's son Will.

oh no, that's horrible. Chuck if you're reading this, I'm so sorry

I supplied a "funny" to Scott Adams, he used it on one of his larger "weekend" strips. So there's that.

Obviously, long before he went wonk

(xp) Very sad. Sending love, Chuck.

Ugh so sorry to hear that, my condolences to xhukx and his family.

terrible news, also this is rather strange but i definitely crossed paths with Linus back in the day// we are virtually the same age, were probably in the same year in school, but in slightly different parts of the Philly area. i remember his face!! oof.

John Forté, member of the broader Refugee Camp Alliance-Stars collective.

damn autocorrect

All-Stars, obviously

Claudette Colvin, Who Refused to Give Her Bus Seat to a White Woman, Dies at 86

Her defiance of Jim Crow laws in 1955 made her a star witness in a landmark segregation suit, but her act was overshadowed months later when Rosa Parks made history with a similar stand.

On his Substack, Chuck has now posted an amazing eulogy for, vivid bio of his gifted and accomplished son---also links to Will's YouTube channel and much more:
https://chuckeddy.substack.com/p/william-linus-eddy-1985-2025

Doug Cugini, co-founder of legendary Austin venue The Hole In The Wall

https://austin.culturemap.com/news/restaurants-bars/doug-cugini-hole-wall-obituary/

Kenny Morris, early drummer for Siouxsie and the Banshees

https://louderthanwar.com/kenny-morris-rip/

RIP

Damn, RIP dude. That first Banshees lineup is the best.

I had been swithering about going to see John McKay in the summer, I guess this is a kick up the arse to go.

RIP ECM guitarist Ralph Towner.

Oh man, I've been listening to so much Ralph Towner over the last 5 years. He has tons of good stuff on ECM.

Andrea Pruett, beloved owner of Bagdad Cafe in Newberry Springs, age 85.

https://www.thedesertway.com/bagdad-cafe-ca/

Andrew Clements, for 30 years The Guardian’s classic music critic, aged 75.

Valentino, 93

https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2026/jan/19/valentino-italian-fashion-designer-dies

You beat me to it by 45 seconds! RIP.

https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/2026/01/19/stephen-cat-coore-jamaican-music-icon-third-world-co-founder-dies-69/

RIP Stephen Cat Coore guitarist co-founder of Third World

Uncle Floyd. Legendary local cable Tv host from my hometown of West Orange NJ. Weird low budget shenanigans with surprising and hip guests musical and otherwise.

And commemorated in song by Bowie, no?

from wiki:

The first band to refer to The Uncle Floyd Show in a song was the Johnny Gork Band from Flemington, New Jersey, in the early 1980s, released on a 45 rpm single. Johnny and the band appeared on the show, during which Uncle Floyd said he was honored and humbled to have a band produce a record about the show.

David Bowie, a fan of Vivino's television show, recorded the song "Slip Away" on his 2002 album, Heathen, as a tribute. The lyrics mention Uncle Floyd and his puppets Oogie and Bones Boy. When asked how he had learned of the show, Bowie replied, "John Lennon told me about it."[5][8] He has also mentioned Iggy Pop regularly watching the show. While in Berlin in 2002 touring for his Heathen album, Bowie said, "This is another new song. It's about a television hero in America from '70s that myself, and Lennon and Iggy Pop used to watch in the afternoons. Crazy guy, and we were very addled and used to love fooling around watching this guy Uncle Floyd. And his song is called "Slip Away".[9] This story is also told in the 2024 documentary Flipside, which features Uncle Floyd.[10]

The song "Work for Food" by Dramarama, on the 1994 album Hi-Fi Sci-Fi features the Uncle Floyd Show in the lyrics. Footage of Vivino as Cowboy Charlie also appears in the video for the song. The members of Dramarama were from Wayne, New Jersey, and made their first television appearance on The Uncle Floyd Show.

The Ramones also recognized The Uncle Floyd Show in their song "It's Not My Place (In the Nine to Five World)",[11] as well as in various live appearances. Also, Ramones guitarist Johnny Ramone could often be seen wearing an Uncle Floyd Show T-shirt in pictures of the band, while Joey Ramone often wore an Uncle Floyd Show button on his leather jacket.[citation needed]

also a great lip-sycnhed appearance by Pussy Galore the appears in the Teenage Riot video but I can't find it online at the moment.

I used to see clips from the Uncle Floyd Show on Nickelodeon in the 80s, of all places.

oh man, a true New Jersey legend. always loved stumbling on his show late at night. RIP!

RIP. Loved the show and I remember talking to one of his brothers about him once years later.

RIP Uncle Floyd. Loved that show.

First place I saw The Ramones and I also once had a drawing on his wall :(((

Scorpions bassist Francis Buchholz, 71.

RIP :(

Scorpions had such an amazing run from 1975 to 1984. And some of their 21st century albums are really good.

yeah I love the Scorps! got super into the Uli Roth 70’s albums last year, which i had not heard before

anyway RIP Francis who was a huge part of all the Scorps big eras

RIP Francis (I believe he's on the left)

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/BgEuXKfuSfuKQxdKUmuNoY.jpg

A twitch channel is playing a lot of Uncle Floyd shows.

https://www.twitch.tv/scifiexplosion

Florio Vivino! Did not know his gov. name, but turns out:

He was the older brother of Jerry Vivino and Jimmy Vivino, who were members of the Basic Cable Band, formerly known as the Max Weinberg 7. Vivino was also the uncle of musical theater actress Donna Vivino.

Michael Parenti

RIP

RIP. one of the last of a certain kind of Marxist public intellectual

Mark Tully, a BBC journalist who was their bureau chief in India for a long time, has died in New Delhi at the age of 90.

Born in India, died in India. From wiki:

In 1992, when covering the demolition of the Babri Masjid by Hindutva activists, some of the perpetrators confronted him, chanting "Death to Mark Tully", reflecting their distrust of the BBC.

Hindutva can fuck off. RIP.

Nessa Hyams, Casting Director and ‘Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman’ Helmer, Dies at 84.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/nessa-hyams-dead-mary-hartman-blazing-saddles-casting-1236483226/

Sly Dunbar! One of the great.

https://www.dancehallmag.com/2026/01/26/news/sly-dunbar-influential-sly-robbie-drummer-is-dead-at-73.html?fbclid=IwY2xjawPkeCJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeY99Ov0taDxr2k0MVaP1fC2uxe1gxGmTz2izZlbr-MyZbvObXUIzXBnY0vME_aem_oRuIIqpQ0QEEvIkHaLaRDQ

Oh no!

Shit. Best rhythm section ever?

God tier.

:(

damn!

sly and robbie present taxi was an album that i got to young enough it’s in my brain for all time

RIP Sly, one of the best to ever do it. first reggae album I bought was Sly & The Revolutionaries "Black Ash" purely because of it's hilarious tracklisting

https://variety.com/2025/music/news/bobby-sherman-dead-singer-actor-1236439296/

Bobby Sherman, 1970s singer/TV actor, 81

Billy "Bass" Nelson, founding member of Parliament and Funkadelic, too.

https://ultimateclassicrock.com/billy-bass-parliament-funkadelic-dead/

RIP Sly! I forget when I first got hipped to Sly and Robbie, probably some features about them when Dylan used them on Infidels.

Oh ffs RIP Billy "Bass".

I'm FAR from an expert on Sly and Robbie and Compass Point but if I had to pick one song...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPil0Pt6M5E

this will always be peak sly & robbie for me...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbDJjjJQJ-o

Their playing on all that Compass Point Sessions stuff is incredible.

There are countless highlights to choose from, but I've always loved them on this Material album:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jr2Sh0hVGgI

Sal Buscema:

https://www.comicsbeat.com/sal-buscema-beloved-comics-artist-passes-away/

According to a post from the Black Rock Coalition, Billy "Bass" Nelson is in hospice care, but is not dead.

Dan McQuade, of cancer

https://defector.com/dan-mcquade-1983-2026?giftLink=6652e57d2f1a5c635a44d250ce85838a

I knew he was ill but didn't realize it was so dire. He had such a wonderful personality. Probably at least a lurker here too because I believe he name-dropped ILM in an article once.

Looks like we missed that Rob Hirst, drummer and lyricist of Midnight Oil, passed last week: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/jan/20/rob-hirst-was-a-force-of-nature-a-born-showman-who-led-midnight-oil-from-the-back

This one abt James Wisdom that McQuade wrote xp:

https://defector.com/a-notorious-pitchfork-reviewer-was-my-biggest-musical-influence

R.I.P. Rob Hirst! Fierce drummer, also co-wrote many of their songs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QzH4KOf9Bs

yeah, we talked about it a bit on ILM, really sad. To emphasize his greatness, here's that same song, live:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AONxdnTrZSU

I'd put him on par with Clem Burke.

Catherine O'Hara, 71

https://www.tmz.com/2026/01/30/catherine-ohara-dead

I of course reject this news and all its works.

oh no

that is awful news

Fuck. RIP

absolute legend in everything, iconic to the end

what the actual fuck

holy shit! that's awful news

RIP ;_;

jeez that one is unexpected :-(

wtf!!

aw fuck

i'm glad she was able to have that incredible role in Schitt's Creek to cement her legacy even further, and showing up in The Studio last year was just the cherry on top.

Always loved her.

Friend just said she was supposed to be on a panel about The Studio a couple of weeks back but noticed she didn't show up.

(her sister mary margaret o'hara is a strange and beguiling singer worth checking out)

Just finished The Studio last week and especially loved her in the final episode.

And yeah, Mary Margaret O'Hara's fantastic.

I'm shocked, did not see this coming at all, RIP

I actually gasped when I saw the news.

fuck. Amazing career and such a great series of roles recently, just more and more legendary.

we just watched Best in Show over the holidays because we thought our 8 year old, who loves dog shows, would love it. We forgot just how raunchy it was, but most of that went over her head.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oueIcGZUR9I

wow. she was having a career resurgence, too

Greatest comedic actor of her generation imo, RIP

Just hearing her laugh clears out whatever head trip you're on. Greatest comedic actor - full stop.

oh my god! she was excellent in everything and one of the world’s funniest humans

noooooo

Second City Television (Cdn precursor to SCTV) was my Monty Python equivalent in middle school. They were all heroes to me and damn, her passing hurts.

I have to wonder, once again, if that reunion doc that Scorsese apparently filmed pre-COVID is ever going to come out. Both Joe Flaherty and now O'Hara have passed since then.

this one is real tough (o’hara) esp 71 is young these days

DJ Michael "5000" Watts, Houston Hip Hop Pioneer & Co-founder of Swishahouse Records

https://www.chron.com/culture/music/article/michael-watts-swishahouse-dead-21325159.php

(her sister mary margaret o'hara is a strange and beguiling singer worth checking out)

― Andy the Grasshopper, Saturday, January 31, 2026 2:39 AM (nine hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

Yes, and they did perform together...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tdp3qdhCfmM

71 made me realize she was only around 40 making Waiting for Guffman.

..and mid-30s for Beetlejuice & Home Alone!

Demond Wilson, the son in Sanford & Son.

https://www.mensjournal.com/news/sanford-and-son-star-dies-at-79

Lamont! Aw RIP dummy.
We did a watch of Sanford & Son recently. Him & Redd made a great team.
And his fits! some of those threads were awesome

Haven't seen it since it first aired, but I still remember the affectionate way he'd say "Pop."

https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/more-than-200-killed-coltan-mine-collapse-east-congo-official-says-2026-01-30/

jesus thats horrific

The fact that Demond Wilson's first name was Grady makes all kinds of sense. RIP, Lamont. Thanks for the laughs.

Chuck Negron of Three Dog Night

https://variety.com/2026/music/obituaries-people-news/chuck-negron-dead-three-dog-night-singer-joy-to-the-world-1236650439/

RIP! They had SO many good songs

Jazz clarinetist and saxophonist Ken Peplowksi:
https://open.substack.com/pub/leemergner/p/ken-peplowski-heres-to-his-life

Dave Harper of the band Five or Six, as posted by Dorothy Max Prior (Rema Rema, Psychic TV)

Many of you will know of him as the legendary The Monochrome Set road manager and driver (never daunted by a One-Way or No Entry sign) turned PR person for 4AD, Cherry Red / Goldfrapp manager and loads more. But before all that, he was also a Cherry Red artist, with the legendary Five or Six.

This from the FB post from his partner:

'It is unbearable to write this but our lovely, funny, kind Harper, Harps, David, Dad, Dave, Roy Gold died last night. He’d begun recovering from cancer and cancer treatment last year but life took a cruel turn last November with a series of infections and falls.

He died peacefully, in hospital but with the windows open and the lights down watching an electrical storm over Jerez, holding my hand, having just seen the family the week before. All of us are just devastated...'
RIP dear Harper. You lived one hell of a life!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaeuO_nSWfY

Longtime music publicist Tracy Zamot, 55

I didn't know her personally, but had professional interactions with her over the years. Her husband died in 2015, which leaves her teenage daughter an orphan.

John Virgo, 79

!!!

I'll be snookering you tonight ... in heaven

RIP. Even though his shtick got increasingly irritating.

enabler of Jim Davidson, though he did do some cool trick shots

Camshaft King Ed Iskendarian, 104

https://www.hotrod.com/news/the-passing-of-a-legend-rest-in-peace-ed-iskendarian

Up, Up and Away: Fifth Dimension vocalist LaMonte McLemore, 90

RIP :(

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2026/02/03/multimedia/03Oliver--01-ljvh/03Oliver--01-ljvh-videoLarge.jpg

Virginia Oliver, a feisty, salty-tongued lobster boat skipper who fished off the New England coast wearing earrings, hot-pink lipstick and an occasional scowl for more than 80 years, until she was 103, died on Jan. 21 in Rockport, Maine. She was 105.

RIP Television bassist Fred Smith.

Oh no! RIP Fred!

also briefly in Blondie RIP

Aw fuck no, I saw Richard Lloyd share a recent photo of them together and since he looked fine, didn't think anything had happened.

Oh man, RIP Fred

Posted by Jimmy Rip on their official IG account (which includes a slideshow of some wonderful moments with Television off-stage - I've never seen Tom Verlaine joking around with his bandmates before):

FRED SMITH 1948-2026
The legendary bassist for Television, Tom Verlaine and many others, Fred Smith, was not only my bandmate for 46 years — he was my true friend. He was a great running buddy and exactly the guy you wanted around when road life got wearisome. His sense of humor, much like his musical voice, was dry, subtle, to the point, hilarious and always left you wanting a more. Yesterday, he left this world, leaving so many who loved him wanting so much more…of him.
We met in 1980 playing, with Jay Dee Daugherty on drums, in The Eve Moon Band, and soon after, the three of us were the NYC version of Holly and The Italians with Holly Beth Vincent. In 1981 when Tom Verlaine was preparing to tour for his disc Dreamtime, which Fred and Jay had performed on, they recommended me as second guitar, leading to very long and rich musical, and personal friendships.
If you are a lover of melodic bass lines and counterpoint, you could go to school on what Fred created so effortlessly. He was a natural — never flashy, always essential — always serving the song in ways that only the greatest musicians can…
He fought his illness long and hard these last few years, looking always forward to new projects… we had big plans to play Tom’s music live this year… but it just wasn’t meant to be. Thankfully, we were able to say goodbye, “love you” were our last words to each other.
I will miss him more than anyone can imagine.
-Jimmy Rip

https://www.instagram.com/p/DUbpDlUgfxc/

RIP Fred :(

hearing that guitarist Lynn Blakey of Let's Active & Tres Chicas has passed
Possibly more famous for being the muse/inspiration behind the Replacements 'Let of the Dial' off of Tim

'Left of the Dial'!!

Saw the news about Smith when Chris Stein posted about it before anything was official. He okayed bass with Blondie before Television. Apparently thought Blondie wasn’t going anywhere?