The rolling RIP/obituary thread

A thread for obituaries that may not need a separate thread of their own.

Case in point...

RIP Rosalie Kunert a.k.a. "Rosie The Riveter"

ROSALIE KUNERT "ROSIE THE RIVETER" Age 86 of Burbank, Rosie passed on June 28th. She was born Rosalie Helen Merritt on October 2, 1922 in Hackensack, Minnesota. In late 1942 she relocated to Southern California where she began working at the Lockheed Airplane Factory in Burbank. Like many women during WWII, she took on previously male dominated trades such as riveting teams working on the cockpit shells of airplane bombers. It was here that she was approached for an interview to help promote and encourage women to take over vacated jobs for the duration of the war. She was initially singled out for her tall, statuesque appearance and bright auburn hair tied back in her polka-dot head scarf. They asked her to consider appearing in a promotional film about the war effort at home but she modestly declined not wanting to be singled out from the others. Regardless, the name was still officially coined. Another woman in Michigan was chosen and eventually "Rosie the Riveter" went on to become perhaps the most widely recognized icon of that era

RIP, you weren't riveting enough to have your own thread.

wait, so the fuckin' oxyclean guy gets his own thread but rosie the riveter doesn't?

I think he started the thread to avoid future "RIP Billy Mays" type threads.

Well, RIP to a guy I vaguely knew. They are saying it was a cardiac arrest. But it seemed odd if you're in your 30s. I googled - urgh, I know - and it seems it was what I suspected: an overdose. I've known his mother for more than a decade. Played with the poor guy when we were toddlers. So there you go: RIP Federic. :-(

(Yes, yes, I know it should be celebs...)

Dave out of Chas and Dave, 's wife.

http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/143360main_Cronkite_with_capsules.jpg

whoa, he def outlived his... uh, i dont know what im aiming at here. not ubiquity or celebrity. cultural prominence?

File this one under people I didn't know where still alive.

I was hoping he would make it to the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing.

^^^Whoa, extra bummer aspect.

File this one under people I didn't know where still alive.

WAHT

wow srsly, he was still alive?

No, he died twice.

The last British survivor of the World War I trenches, Harry Patch, has died at the age of 111.

Mr Patch was conscripted into the Army aged 18 and fought in the Battle of Passchendaele at Ypres in 1917 in which more than 70,000 British soldiers died.

Somerset's finest. RIP.

John Ryan. creator of Mary, Mungo and Midge and Captain Pugwash

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/jul/24/obituary-john-ryan

Merce Cunningham apparently died.

oh shit, that sucks.

Merce Cunningham, a giant figure in the world of modern dance, died Sunday night at his home. He was 90. The Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation and his company made the announcement early Monday morning. A full obituary by Alastair Macaulay, the chief dance critic of The New York Times, is coming soon.

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/27/merce-cunningham-dies

Sidney Zion

http://dennisperrin.blogspot.com/2009/08/last-round.html

Harold Norse

Strange that they describe him as the last of the Beat poets though. Snyder and Ferlinghetti are still going, aren't they?

RIP the drummer from crap Britpop band Space, according to the Liverpool Echo.

got their best of only a week or two ago.

as a gift, mark you.

I honestly didn't know until a few days ago that Alice Coltrane died! 2 1/2 years ago, in fact. Couldn't imagine why I didn't notice (and post on) the RIP thread - then realized that all the condolences were redirected to the S&D thread instead.

RIP, harp lady

RIP Theodore D. Nierenberg, founder of Dansk.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver Dies at 88

Mink DeVille.

Eunice Shriver, RIP. She is a person who could have coasted for her whole life, instead she founded a charity that has done a fantastic amount of good. I was a volunteer for the Special Olympics for 10 years and I truly loved every minute of it.

Big time RIP to someone who made a real difference.

I guess not many people would contribute to a thread, but I'm a bit cut up about Gerry Cohen's death. We did a lot of work from his books in my undergrad Marx course, and I saw him lecture less than two years ago.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/aug/10/ga-cohen-obituary

RIP the drummer from crap Britpop band Space, according to the Liverpool Echo.

what the f. :-( not a fan of the band, but was aware of'em

and eunice! i knew she was sick... :-(

She was 88, and she seems to have made the most of that time-she leaves one hell of a legacy

From Variety (who mis-identify Jess Franco as an "Italian Giallo Auteur"):

By Pat Saperstein
Prolific B-movie producer and writer Harry Alan Towers, who made more than 100 films working with cult stalwarts such as Christopher Lee and director Jess Franco, died after a brief illness July 31. He was 88.
While Towers generally worked on low-budget fare, he favored literary adaptations by such writers as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Edgar Alan Poe, Agatha Christie and Edgar Wallace.

During the 1960s and 1970s, he wrote and produced dozens of films, sometimes credited as Peter Welbeck. Among the actors he worked with were Orson Welles, Michael York, Michael Caine, Richard Harris, James Earl Jones and Tony Curtis.

Towers often shot in locations such as South Africa, Ireland and Bulgaria on films such as "The Face of Fu Manchu," Iran-filmed "Ten Little Indians," South African classic adaptation "Cry the Beloved Country" and "Klondike Fever."

His association with Italian giallo auteur Franco produced films which have become underground classics including "Venus in Furs," "Eugenie," "Marquis de Sade: Justine" and "Night of the Blood Monster."

Capitalizing on the industry's need for video titles during the 1980s and early 1990s, Towers provided a steady pipeline of films such as Robert Englund starrers "Phantom of the Opera" and "Danse Macabre," "Warrior Queen" and "Delta Force 3."

Towers started as a child actor in Britain and during WWII, he became a radio writer while serving in the Royal Air Force. He and his mother started a company called Towers of London after the war to sell syndicated radio shows around the world, and he went on to produce numerous programs for British television including "The Scarlet Pimpernel" and "Tales from Dickens."

His literary agent, Albert T. Longden, said he was working on an autobiography. Recently he had been working on an adaptation of "Moll Flanders," which was at one time set to be directed by Ken Russell.

He is survived by his wife, actress Maria Rohm.

LOS ANGELES – John Quade, who played the heavy in several Clint Eastwood movies and was the sheriff in the TV miniseries "Roots," has died. He was 71.

His wife Gwen says Quade died in his sleep of natural causes Sunday at his home in the Southern California desert town of Rosamond.

Quade had dozens of TV and movie roles in a career that spanned more than a quarter-century. His movies included "Papillon" and "High Plains Drifter."

However, he is perhaps best remembered as the motorcycle gang leader in the Eastwood movie "Every Which Way But Loose" and its sequel, "Any Which Way You Can."

He also played Sheriff Biggs in episodes of "Roots."

The Kansas-born Quade leaves six children and 10 grandchildren.

Rashied Ali died, too. 2009 is the worst.

RIP Michael Turner, one of the translators of Herge's TINTIN:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/books-obituaries/6029763/Michael-Turner.html

Too bad, the Falcons were looking for big things from Michael "the Burner" Turner this year.

Rashied Ali died, too. 2009 is the worst.

― Your heartbeat soun like sasquatch feet (polyphonic), Thursday, August 13, 2009 4:09 PM (5 days ago) Bookmark

Either that or as ILX ages we're becoming like those death obsessed grandparents who call up their friends to ask if they've seen today's obituary yet.

The drummer (I think) from Lit died of brain cancer; saw the obit yesterday.

Virginia Davis, Disney child star of the silents.

http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-virginia-davis20-2009aug20,0,503720.story

DJ AM :(

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1619854/20090828/dj_am.jhtml

Y'know what, FUCK THIS YEAR already. Someone, anyone, fastforward, cause this year sucks.

Dr. Drew:
There is just a profound lack of appreciation of the impact of prescription drugs on the disease of addiction.This time I lost a friend.

Can't tell you how often I have seen an Rx for anxiety or pain result in a full relapse on hard drugs.
about 6 hours ago from TweetDeck

If the biology is activated even by appropriately prescribed medication, the disease awakens and progresses - really without exception
about 6 hours ago from TweetDeck

Simon Dee, apparently (according to Wikipedia).

And the BBC News: Opened up a thread for the dude.

Y'know what, FUCK THIS YEAR already. Someone, anyone, fastforward, cause this year sucks.

― Nathalie (stevienixed), Saturday, 29 August 2009 12:31 (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

^^^ 2009 is the year when all your childhood heroes will either die or publicly disgrace themselves.

I know it's pretty sad (like in the loser sense) but I do get upset when someone famous dies. :-(

darren sutherland, olympic boxing bronze medallist found dead in his flat in london aged 27.

:-( Cause of death still unknown? God that's young. :-(

Nevermind, I just noticed he hanged himself. :-(

i don't follow boxing much, but i remember how likeable he seemed in interviews around the time of the olympics.

Zakes Mokae, South African actor in the plays of Athol Fugard.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/15/theater/15mokae.html?_r=1&ref=obituaries

The Italian Job screenwriter Troy Kennedy Martin dies at 77

I just came in here to mention TKM. Edge of Darkness, Z Cars...

M*A*S*H co-creator Larry Gelbart too. And Felix Bowness, the jockey from Hi-De-Hi.

I think it's probably a good thing that TKM died before he got to see the forthcoming Mel Gibson/Ray Winstone remake of Edge of Darkness :/

Though it has the same director and... no, it'll be terrible.

And Gertrude Baines, the oldest living person in the world, relinquished her title last Friday. Perhaps there's already a thread about her.

Enough death for now, I think.

Paul Burke, star of TV's "Naked City"

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/16/arts/television/16burke.html?_r=1&ref=obituaries

too bad he didn't take his jerkass son with him

RIP Roc Raida of the X-Ecutioners.

I saw that on Joel Madden's twitter acc. :-(

hah Shakey, I was gonna ask you who Paul Burke's son was!

Irving Kristol's just a feelgood like Novak.

I hadn't realized Mary Travers died until Stephanopoulos this morning, couldn't find a separate thread...Not major, I suppose, although Peter, Paul & Mary's hit covers of Dylan obviously had a major impact on the course of Dylan's career and pop history in general. Mostly I'd say that a) she was very beautiful, and b) "Leaving on a Jet Plane" is a personal favourite.

http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2009/09/17/mary_travers_rip.jpg

There's an existing P,P&M thread on ILM where it was brought up.

Might not read about this one for a few days in the papers but RIP Dr. John J. Wild, pioneer of medical ultrasound (and inventor of the mechanism for the Teasmade), at 95. Every single one of you have probably benefited from something invented by this man.

RIP Dorothy Coonan Wellman 1914-2009, at 95, surely one of the last surviving berkeley girls, if not the last. 0.30 here:

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

RIP the great magazine illustrator bernie fuchs:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/18/AR2009091803542.html

there is a wonderful selection of his work here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/leifpeng/sets/72057594070673618/

Probably deserves its own thread:

Susan Atkins

RIP Freddy Bienstock- music publisher, business partner of Leiber and Stoller, imposer of the the "Elvis tax."

RIP Dr. Wild, ultrasound pioneer, as mentioned above

I didn't know Iain Cuthbertson passed away earlier this month. RIP.

William Garvey, the guy who wrote "Goodbye Horses" died of heart failure last month at 51.

xpost -- RIP to Cuthbertson! Funny as hell as the one thing I know him from offhand, an episode of Ripping Yarns.

lucy 'in the sky' vodden

producer Greg Ladanyi (Church, Jackson Browne, Fleetwood Mac etc) died yesterday morning

http://prosoundnews.com/article/24448

RIP Amy Farris

News spread today to shocked friends and fans that local musician Amy Farris had died over the weekend. As a member of Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women, Farris played the fiddle, viola and sang harmony vocals. An Austin, Texas native, Farris moved to Los Angeles in 2003 to record a solo album produced by Dave Alvin. She also played backup for a number of musicians including Exene Cervenka, Stan Ridgway, Brian Wilson, Peter Case and Ray Price.

According to newspaper Austin 360, Farris was found dead in her Los Angeles home. Suicide is suspected, but the cause of death is still being investigated. Farris was 40 years old.

Little Britain star Matt Lucas' former civil partner has been found dead in his flat after leaving a tragic message on Facebook.

Police found the body of Kevin McGee at his Edinburgh flat.

The television producer, who "wed" Lucas, 35, in December 2006, had posted a message on Facebook three hours earlier.

It read: "Kevin McGee thinks that death is much better than life."

Robert Kirby, college chum of Nick Drake's, arranged all his strings, went on to arrange for Elton John, John Cale, Costello, etc. Only 61.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Kirby

RIP, loved his arrangements

Belgian cyclist Vandenbroucke dead at 34

;_;

Reposting outside of the Who thread.

Barry Letts RIP

hearing rumours around facebook that brendan mullen, owner of the masque and co-author of some ace la punk, germs and janes addiction biogs (and very much a loveable and larger-than-life character himself) has passed away after a massive stroke.

I don't know much about him outside of the Germs book but that's a good read so on that basis I hope it's not true

WTF @ Frank VDB :(

Reposting outside of the Who thread.

Barry Letts RIP

That's Doctor Who, not "The Who" to clarify...

Damn, the Vandenbroucke news is depressing.

Captain Lou:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/sports_blog/2009/10/captain-lou-albano.html

and Al Martino (he had a #1 twenty years before The Godfather):

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/music-obituaries/6326236/Al-Martino.html#

RIP, Capt. Lou...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8M8I2SYEiA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdAYDL8CJy8

hilarious real-life mob details in that Martino obit btw

"I can put one of these in my nose and it comes right out the other side. Because I'm well groomed, brother."

VDB dying isn't that big of a surprise: the amount of drugs he took, multiple attempts at suicide,.. It is a loss, but otoh his rap sheet wasn't clean. He terrorized his wife for fucking years. Slapping her around, stalking her,... I'm not saying good riddance, but just a sad case of unfulfilled talent. (Same nationality: Dré Steemans, a Belgian presenter.)

Ian Wallace, beloved of anyone who owned this album.
http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/02/ciu/d6/20/81f1c27a02a00bb4cdf43110.L._SL500_AA240_.jpg

Because of this song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yzg4ALLYnXE

RIP Anne Friedberg. Postmodern/film/architecture/design/everything crit. Had her for a few classes back at UCI and she was a huge influence in how I perceived the world (and still do)

Kazuhiko Kato of 1970's band Sadistic Mika Band, seems he committed suicide : http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/musician-kazuhiko-kato-found-hanged-at-karuizawa-hotel

vic mizzy, composer of "addams family" theme and other things.

Ludovic Kennedy, broadcaster, justice campaigner, author of 10 Rillington Place.

RIP Anne Friedberg. Postmodern/film/architecture/design/everything crit. Had her for a few classes back at UCI and she was a huge influence in how I perceived the world (and still do)

― Elvis Telecom, Friday, October 16, 2009 12:30 AM (4 days ago)

I too had a few classes with her, and was friendly with her husband. She was a really really great woman, mother, and teacher.

Ludovic Kennedy, broadcaster, justice campaigner, author of 10 Rillington Place.

Apparently Thatcher blocked him from getting a knighthood as long as she was in office, well done Ludo

xpost Anne Friedberg also taught my wife (who was at UCI about 15 years ago) and she remembers her fondly

Joseph Wiseman, aka Dr. No in the first James Bond film.

he's super in Detective Story

One hell of a cast for that one.

"Asked in 1964 by his friend David Levy, the head of programming for NBC, to provide music for a new comedy called 'The Addams Family,' based on Charles Addams’s sinister cartoons, Mr. Mizzy came up with a da-da-da-dum beat followed by two finger snaps. The parody of beatnik ennui fit with the show’s satirical, proto-hipster humor. The theme, sung by Mr. Mizzy, was so distinctive that it remained popular far beyond the series’s two seasons."

R.I.P. George Tuska, who probably drew more issues of Iron Man than anyone else:

http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/george_tuska_1916_2009/

Mizzy did the "Green Acres" theme (sampled on "Licensed To Ill") too :(

Yes. RIP, another guy who I never knew existed until you died whose various works I have been enjoying since I was a lad.

rip kazuhiko kato

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

He's great in the film Little Murders:

Lou Jacobi, a scene-stealing actor who made a film and stage career playing comic ethnic characters but was lauded for serious dramatic roles as well, has died in New York. He was 95.

Jacobi made his Broadway debut in 1955 in “The Diary of Anne Frank,” playing a less-than-noble occupant of the Amsterdam attic where the Franks were hiding, and reprised the role in the 1959 film version. Among his other films were “Irma La Douce,” “My Favorite Year,” “Arthur,” Woody Allen’s “Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex” and Barry Levinson’s “Avalon.” He also appeared frequently on television on such shows as “Playhouse 90,” “The Man From UNCLE,” “That Girl,” “Love, American Style” and “The Dean Martin Show.”

From Wikipedia:

He made a spoof record album for Capitol Records called Al Tijuana and his Jewish Brass

Looks like he is interviewed in this book: http://www.amazon.com/Talking-Piano-Player-Stuart-Oderman/dp/1593933207

HERE we go!

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

Norman Painting, who held a world record for his near 60-year role in the BBC radio soap The Archers, dies at 85.

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/46631000/jpg/_46631258_painting1_226bbc.jpg

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8331558.stm

given the response to the Irving Penn RIP thread, I thought I'd just post this here.

RIP Roy DeCarava

I had a chance to check out a retrospective book on him, and the man did great work. not much of a eulogist, so I'll leave it at that - also recommending that jazz fans seek out all the photographs he's made of famous jazz musicians.

Robert H. Rines, inventor who claimed to have seen Loch Ness Monster, dies at 87

RIP famous UFO eyewitness Lonnie Zamora (I have a Stan Ridgway t-shirt with a picture of Zamora on it)

Robert H. Rines, inventor who claimed to have seen Loch Ness Monster, dies at 87

― Zeno, Tuesday, November 3, 2009 4:27 AM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

RIP famous UFO eyewitness Lonnie Zamora

coincidence?

zamora's sighting one of the best/most documented "unexplained" sightings from blue book

RIP Roy DeCarava

Saw a cool retrospective of his work in St. Louis about a decade ago.

Armin Gessert, CEO of Spellbound Entertainment and co-creator of Commodore 64 classic The Great Giana Sisters, passed away last Sunday after suffering a heart attack

RIP Hannover and former Barca keeper Robert Enke, all very heartbreaking.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE5A94JL20091110

yeah. hard stuff.

Yes, I read that. I nearly cried. Losing your daughter, bacterial infection,... :-(
A cyclist, DeFauw, also killed himself recently.

A little song, a little dance, a little seltzer down your pants.

http://www.thewrap.com/ind-column/chuckles-bites-dust-writer-dies-9984

Some friends in LA are saying Ken Ober (tv producer, host of Remote Control on MTV) has died. Nothing yet appearing on news searches though.

Ken Ober dead on wikipedia.

what's the source?

The first tweet about Ken Ober in the last 24 hours is here, but I don't know how this guy is connected. http://twitter.com/PaulGoebelShow/status/5758746554

Who knows.

From another comedian here: http://twitter.com/lindagambino/status/5758855872

his facebook wall is filled with "rip ken" kinda messages

is there any actual information from a reputable news source?

I haven't seen anything yet except tweets and, as noted above, a wiki entry. One of my LA friends who mentioned it works for MTV and hangs with comics, but I think she learned about it on twitter too. So now I don't know how reputable any of it is.

I can still sing the Remote Control theme song on demand.

Actor Edward Woodward, famous for his roles in The Wicker Man and The Equalizer died today.

Oh no!

http://991.com/newGallery/Edward-Woodward-Edwardian-Woodwar-288003.jpg

Had no idea that he was married to Michele Dotrice.

So what's teh deal with Ken Ober?

Stupid twitter rumour

http://twitter.com/PFTompkins/status/5768264480

Oh no, not Ewar Woowar :(

http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/opinion/blogs/football-banter/Anfield-Rap-co-writer-Derek-B-dead-at-44-article223623.html
;(

This is awesome.

Okay, so Ken Ober was dead, and then he wasn't dead and it was a hoax/misunderstanding, and now he's dead again. Is Colin Quinn behind this?

http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2009/11/ken-ober-mtvs-remote-control-host-dies.html

Dead again. RIP, Ken.

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1626376/20091116/story.jhtml

Ken Ober dying makes me sad. Only 52. I remember watching Remote Control, feeling like MTV's move into game shows/non-video programming could be okay, and thinking how hip and cool the show seemed (compared to, say, The Price Is Right). So long ago, I guess.

Malcolm Laycock

He used to do a record review programme back in 1977, I was on it as a guest reviewer.

Got a bunch of singles, oneof which, "Oh Bondage, Up Yours" changed the face of our 6th form common room!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/nov/17/derek-b-obituary

A tormented New Jersey dad, who spent nearly two decades grappling with his son's sensational molestation claims against Michael Jackson, finally ended his pain with a gunshot to the head, authorities said yesterday.

The body of Evan Chandler, 65, the father of Jordan "Jordy" Chandler, was found in his luxury Jersey City apartment on Nov. 5 -- still holding his .38-caliber revolver as he lay in bed, officials said yesterday.

"Jacko_molest_rap_dad"

V.Sad.

I had a kind of sad "hey, they're rerunning Remote Control on MTV2! they never do this! wait, what does that say in the corner?" moment. It's weird because a couple months ago Ken Ober was the first celebrity name I ever found in my old employer's database and I kept trying to explain to my co-workers who he was and they had no idea.

xxpost not much sympathy for a dad who makes his kid lie and thus "steal"' money.

I had a kind of sad "hey, they're rerunning Remote Control on MTV2! they never do this! wait, what does that say in the corner?" moment.

Was Remote Control the MTV game-show that Jenny McCarthy was on? I think it was another.

that was Singled Out, which was on in the late 90s, Remote Control was late 80s.

Right! Thanks.

Was this MTV Remote Control show related to the UK Channel 4 show of the same name presented by the late Tony Wilson?

Could be some kind of game show inspired conspiracy going on.

Holy shit, Wikipedia says it was. I think I might be onto somewhere. Frank Sidebottom had better look out.

Remote Control assistant was kinda hot; her name started with an M...?

kari wuhrer?
scott seward knows her i believe.

Marisol?

Marisol Massey (Season One), Kari Wührer (Seasons Two and Three), Alicia Coppola (Season Four) and Susan Ashley (Season Five) were the hostesses.

don't remember marisol

kari wuhrer? scott seward knows her i believe.

No way! She was HOT.

Whenever I saw Remote Control at someone's house (we never had cable), Ober always looked like a knock-off of some other celebrity, but I could never quite place it. Maybe Bill Murray meets Steve Guttenberg?

Yeah, I'd say that's right.

You should have seen the sexy assistant on the UK version:

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r234/THEFLATGIRL/FrankSidebottom32.jpg

Close call, but I still prefer kari wuhrer.

RIP Sy Syms: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/18/business/18syms.html?em

Chicago-based boxer Francisco Rodriguez died Sunday night in Philadelphia, two days after his bout with Teon Kennedy at the Blue Horizon.

After being stopped by a technical knockout in the 10th round, Rodriguez, 25, collapsed and was rushed to Hahnemann University Hospital, where he underwent emergency brain surgery.

Born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, Rodriguez was a successful amateur boxer in Chicago and turned pro in 2005.

RIP Marc Christian, Rock Hudson's partner. As the link explains, this apparently took some investigating.

RIP actor Richard Todd
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8394977.stm

RIP Paul Naschy, European Horror Star:

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118012112.html?categoryId=25&cs=1

RIP, music promoter Richard Nader:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/09/arts/music/09nader.html?ref=arts

RIP Gene Barry:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iKN02thd-DS-x6zBfY2Lhz616SbAD9CGSQ5G0

RIP Dr. Malcolm Perry, Dallas doctor who worked on both JFK and Lee Harvey Oswald

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/120909dnmetperryob.3fc0b99.html

RIP Qian Xuesen, born in China, educated in the US, pioneer of American rocket science, deported in the 1950's for alleged communist activity, returned to China and helped found the Chinese space and rocket science programs:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/04/world/asia/04qian.html

Harold Bell, a Creator of Woodsy Owl, Is Dead at 90
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/13/us/13bell.html

Harold Bell, who along with two forest rangers and another colleague created Woodsy Owl, the plump anthropomorphic bird in a red-feathered cap who for nearly four decades has exhorted youngsters to “Give a hoot, don’t pollute,” died Dec. 4 at his home in Los Angeles. He was 90.

robert samuelson, whose Intro the Economics textbook was required reading for many undergrads (me included), is dead at 94.

TCM's "in memorial" reel for 2009

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yzAzp7yMHU

RIP Oral Roberts, the amusingly named evangelist

God finally called him home.

About damned time.

The recession hit him too.

RIP Roy E. Disney

Aw. He always seemed like a mensch with the company's reputation at heart.

I think he certainly played up that image a bit. Whether or not it was always real...

I dunno. He was pretty firmly opposed to a lot of the bullshit that Eisner pulled, at the very least. Whether that was more a power play than a genuine desire to improve the company, I don't know.

RIP Jennifer Jones

Sol Price, Who Founded Price Club, Is Dead at 93

until I rewatched Portrait of Jennie last month, I'd forgotten JJ was still around.

rip dan o'bannon (screenwriter of 'alien' and many others

Damn.

Aw. Classic for Alien, Return of the Living Dead, and the "B-17" segment (pretty much the only redeemable segment) from Heavy Metal alone.

Also wrote the script for Dark Star, no?

Was co-writer, effects supervisor, production designer, editor, AND also played Sgt. Pinback.

He and Carpenter graduated from USC film school the same year.

Sorry, meant to say "was classic if only for ... alone."

"SEND...MORE...PARAMEDICS..."

RIP Brittany Murphy (apparently).

RIP Arnold Stang, voice of Top Cat

Nooo...

"Ivy Will Cling"

In Mexico, Top Cat is known as Don Gato y su pandilla.

Long WFMU blog article about him here: http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2007/06/you_wanna_make_.html

RIP, Arnold.

(Please ignore extra italics)

Grr, I meant to say Don Gato y su pandilla is much more popular than Top Cat ever was.

RIP Rainman, counting toothpicks in the sky

Kim Peek, the autistic savant who inspired the Oscar-winning film Rain Man, has died, aged 58.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-me-alaina-reed-hall22-2009dec22,0,5733815.story

Olivia from Sesame Street : (

oh, Arnold! great in The Man with the Golden Arm, and as one of Jonathan Winters' gas-station tormentors in It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World.

aww, RIP Stang

So sad about Olivia!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ab-Ne52cwKo&feature=player_embedded

That is a great version of that song.

Damn it, people! Quit dying! Olivia dying is a serious blow. These people were like surrogate parents during a formative period of your life, y'know? Just saw her in an episode of Friends and wondered what had happened to her. ;_;

Speaking of dead Sesame Street folks, for those of you who remember David and wondered what ever happened to him, I'd recommend (or maybe totally not recommend, depending) reading Street Gang. I knew he was dead but had never heard any specifics of why he left the show or what had happened to him afterwards. He apparently was on a psychological downward spiral for a long time and eventually just went full-blown psychotic before ultimately dying. So, so sad.

I remember hearing about David having problems when I was a kid and for some reason the mental image I formed as a 5 year old involved him running around the set of Seasame Street, naked, acting crazy, and waving a frying pan around.

God, I can still remember the day when Mr. Hooper died. A dark time for three-year-old kate78.

Oh, Mr. Hooper! They should've populated that show solely with Muppets so kids never had to endure the trauma of human cast members dying. Although the last couple of times I've seen Big Bird on TV, it was pretty clear that Carroll Spinney wasn't in a good way. Which is just a whole other level of horrifying and sad.

And from what I've read, joygoat, it sounds like your vision of David sadly isn't that far off from reality.

Just requested Street Gang, I need to get around to reading that.

I know! I just looked it up. Substitute an iron rod for a frying pan, Nashville for Sesame Street, and put a t-shirt on him and it's not too far off. I must have heard a news story or my parents talking about it and that's how I pictured it.

yeah but the death of Mr. Hooper episode, and Big Bird in denial, is one of the most beautiful things ever aired on televison

I read Street Gang a few months ago, it's awesome.

this fucking year

Ron Asheton, LUX INTERIOR, John Hughes, Rashied Ali, Les Paul, so many great people gone

The great film critic Robin Wood.

http://www.theauteurs.com/notebook/posts/1345

Didn't know abt Robin Wood before, thank you for letting me know, Dr Morb - HOLLYWOOD FROM VIET NAM TO REAGAN is prob my all-time fave collection of film crit, a big influence on the way I still try to think and write abt horror movies, especially (even if he was so very wrong abt Cronenberg) - RIP

Robin Wood, RIP.

Isn't there a scene in Day For Night in which Truffaut is reading the Robin Wood Hitchcock book?

I guess he couldn't show himself reading his own book.

Street Gang is great, but oh man, so many sad things in it.

I hadn't heard about Olivia! RIP

Also total WTF things in it. Like Jim Henson dating Daryll Hannah?!? Our tabloid culture today would've never let anything so juicy escape their notice.

according to kristin hersh's twitter, vic chesnutt attempted suicide. i feel bad putting that on this thread, but not sure what would be more appropriate. everyone think good thoughts for vic, ok?

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=4770549

:(

rip. i was so confused the first time i heard there was a show called "george michael's sports machine."

George Michael was a staple of my childhood growing up in DC. Excellent delivery and top-notch production. The Sports Machine was way ahead of its time; basically Sports Machine was the template for Sports Center.

Also, GM was instrumental in promoting DC sports punditry. Mike Wilbon, Tony Kornheiser, David Aldridge, and probably several others owe their broadcasting careers to George Michael.

I saw Michael at a few recent Society of American Baseball Research conventions -- he had an avocation of sleuthing out the details of unidentified game photos from the pre-WW2 era; also a good live interviewer.

Also, Lester Rodney, sports editor of The Daily Worker who agitated for the integration of baseball in the '40s:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/12/23/MNRO1B95TG.DTL

http://torturedfanbase.com/george_michael_sports_machine.JPG

rip

I just posted it on ILM, but it merits a mention here: RIP Vic Chesnutt, dead at 45.

RIP Knut Haugland - the last of the six crewmen of the Kon-Tiki

Badass guy too. Before hooking up with Thor Heyerdahl, Haugland was active in the Norwegian resistance and took part in the famous raid on the Nazi heavy-water plant. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knut_Haugland

RIP Tim Hart, founding member of Steeleye Span. Many people think of them as MOR folkie dullards due to their mid-70s hit "All Around My Hat", but the first 3 SS albums are up there with Fairport Convention, Incredible String Band etc as innovavtive folk-rock classics, imo anyway.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Hart

Oh damn. I've been listening to early Steeleye Span albums over Christmas, they were the perfect accompaniment to snow and mulled wine and curtains drawn tight against the cold black nights etc. And "All Around my Hat" is from my childhood - I think one of my elder brothers, or my Dad had the 7" single - so I have a big soft spot for it.
RIP

John Cushnie, my favourite Gardeners' Question Time panellist.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8437119.stm

Maybe there should be new thread for new year?

John Cushnie, my favourite Gardeners' Question Time panellist

Ditto, he was a very funny guy.

I thought I was the only square round here :)

Always listen to GQT on iPlayer if I'm feeling fretful about the hydrangeas.

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20334459,00.html?xid=rss-topheadlines&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+people%2Fheadlines+%28PEOPLE.com%3A+Top+Headlines%29

Singer Sandro, the 'Argentine Elvis,' Dies at 64

Maybe there should be new thread for new year?

Good idea... Here it is: The rolling RIP/obituary thread - 2010 edition

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/schmuck/ERNIEAAP.jpg

RIP Ernie Harwell, legendary Detroit Tigers radio announcer 1918-2010

Growing up in SE Michigan, WJR AM Detroit was on in my house & my dad's car ALL the time. My strongest memories of this are Paul Harvey's "The Rest of the Story" & this dude, who was the Tigers announcer for many, many years (55 seasons I read). My dad absolutely loved himm, to the extent that when he watched games at home, he would dial the volume down on the television & prop up an ancient single-speaker radio tuned to WJR. My dad even took me to an autograph signing at the downtown Jacobson's department store once. I was really young, but I remember EH seeming very genuinely gracious & friendly. He signed the foul ball I caught in Tiger Stadium '85!

Here is a quality feature from today's Detroit News - a list of misc. personal remembrances basically

he worked for other teams too, but Detroit for 40+ years.

abbey lincoln
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTGUkQQkttg

[aw crap, just saw new thread]

Pete Postlethwaite.

I kind of think he should have had his own thread. Seems to have been around for years, in lots of enjoyable films, all round good guy. So sad. RIP.

Check out The Muscle Market on youtube if you've got an hour to spare.

Postlethwaite was one of those actors who was always a real pleasure to watch, whatever he was in. 64 is no age at all. RIP.

Someone mentioned him on Distant Voices, Still Lives and he was excellent on that.

Thought he was older, he's been in so many things, real shame, liked him :(

Teena Marie RIP

RIP Anne Francis

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8k7m4e2TYeU/TCFjdzIrNsI/AAAAAAAAJCw/Xt6nTQ2MMY0/s400/rbbyaf.jpg

that just leaves me and Robby :(

Earl Holliman's still kicking.

terrible cook

Aw, man. Anne Francis. One of my first childhood crushes, thanks to "Honey West."

http://www.tvder60er.de/bilder/west.jpg

I was just watching Forbidden Planet on TCM a day or two ago.

http://davidmerryweather.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/forbiddenplanet_altaira.jpg

Altaira: [swiming in a pool] Come on in.
Commander John J. Adams: I didn’t bring my bathing suit.
Altaira: What’s a bathing suit?
Commander John J. Adams: [quickly turning his back] Oh, murder!

(i nearly posted that exact quote when nielsen died and everyone else was quoting airplane)

that was in the FP trailer!

John Howard Davies

For some reason I thought he'd died a few years ago. RIP JHD.

Thinking of Bob Spiers, maybe?

Nickolas Ashford

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mm_lnHVz4U

^^^ broke my damn heart yesterday

DJ Mehdi's reported to have died after falling from a balcony.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Apparently it was the roof of his apartment, and everybody with him fell except Riton who managed not to or something? Just horrific

Richard Hamilton

http://www.azcentral.com/ent/celeb/articles/2012/01/03/20120103soul-singer-robert-dickey-dies-72.html

aka Bobby Purify part of the duo that did "I'm Your Puppet"

Jennifer Miro of the Nuns.

http://www.dangerousminds.net/comments/jennifer_miro_of_the_nuns_r.i.p

David Gold of the Canadian metal band Woods of Ypres.

http://exclaim.ca/News/woods_of_ypres_singer_david_gold_dies_at_31

Actually used to work with him years ago, back when he was first putting his band together. Hadn't seen him in a few years. Very funny, intelligent, talented and passionate guy. A terrible loss.

William Duell, character actor (Mr Sefelt in Cuckoo's Nest)

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/06/theater/william-duell-puckish-character-actor-dies-at-88.html

Didn't know which one Mr. Sefelt was, but when I saw that he was in The Hustler, I figured out who he was.

I see there is also a Rolling RIP/obit 2012 thread. Maybe someone should ask a mod to decide whether to close this thread or not.

Rolling RIP/Obituary Thread 2012

Hal David
:(

Never heard of him before, but I'm not sure he would have wanted to be remembered this way: 'Snakes on a Plane' director David R. Ellis dies

"Cellular" is a great flick.

He also wanted to call Shark Night Untitled 3D Shark Thriller which would have been better.

André Cassagnes, Etch A Sketch Inventor, Is Dead at 86

RIP Reg Presley, lead singer of the Troggs

Rolling Obituary Thread 2013