Rolling Obituary Thread 2025

Wayne Osmond, 73, of the Osmonds

also

Russ North, 59, former singer of Clover Hoof, and runner-up to replace Bruce Dickinson in Iron Maiden.

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

Jocelyn Wildenstein has sadly used up the last of the 9 lives

Pippa Garner, whose work i only encountered for the first time at the most recent hammer museum biennial

https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/pippa-garner-dead-1234729124/

David Lodge

https://www.penguin.co.uk/articles/2025/01/david-lodge-obituary

Someone who felt everywhere when I was an Eng Lit teenager, & I read and enjoyed the campus trilogy, but then never anything else.

Britt Allcroft, creator of Thomas the Tank Engine.

RIP, David Lodge. Read most of what he wrote through the campus trilogy and then a few things after that. Seem him give a reading from Paradise News at Books, Inc. on the Upper East Side when it came out.

I gave up on him after his terrible book ‘Thinks…’. He was good when he was at his peak, but he couldn’t seem to shake off his rather tiresome obsessions in his later work.

Yeah, he became a bit of an old bore, sorry to say.

Adam Roberts said it better in his review of his H.G. Wells book.

Mick Hobbs of the Work, Officer! And other This Heat type adjacent arty stuff.

Soulman Brenton Wood

https://variety.com/2025/music/news/brenton-wood-dead-the-oogum-boogum-song-soul-singer-1236265160/

"CheckOutTheBootsEh CheckOutTheBootsEh CheckOutTheBootsEh"

Heh, Adam Roberts wrote something nice about David Lodge in his new(ish) substack and now says his H.G. Wells book is “better than its reputation.”

Jeff Baena, 47, filmmaker and Aubrey Plaza’s husband

Absolutely tragic. Reports suggest it was suicide

Tomiko Itooka, a Japanese woman who was the world's oldest person according to Guinness World Records, has died, an Ashiya city official said Saturday. She was 116.

https://abc7news.com/post/is-oldest-person-alive-tomiko-itooka-japanese-woman-was-worlds-116-has-died/15751689/

I wish I could have the extra years now, not when I'm 112

The Jeff Baena thing is mind wrecking

The Vivienne, winner of Rupaul's Drag Race UK Season One, 32.

this is just awful

Experimental playwright and one of the real heroes of the Downtown scene, Richard Foreman.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/04/theater/richard-foreman-dead.html

Per a post from Steven Krakow just now on FB, ESP-Disk veteran/painter Ed Askew, who had a good second run these past twenty five years with a full series of albums following the debut back in 1968.

xp wow i was just talking about Richard Foreman with someone the other day. learned about his work from my favorite college professor who had us read pages from some of his scripts. RF more or less retired from theater while i was living in nyc; sad i never got to see any of his productions, they seemed like quite the trip.

Think I only ever got over to see one production of his, which I enjoyed, but always found him interesting and intriguing. RIP.

Per a post from Steven Krakow just now on FB, ESP-Disk veteran/painter Ed Askew, who had a good second run these past twenty five years with a full series of albums following the debut back in 1968.

― Ned Raggett, Sunday, January 5, 2025 4:00 PM (three hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

I shared a bill with him at a Greenpoint loft party about ten years ago now— Ka Baird introduced him. Tons of people came out despite what was essentially a hurricane going on outside. He was a lovely person, chatted with him for a while. RIP.

"Goin' Down" Dude Don Nix

https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/entertainment/music/2025/01/01/don-nix-obituary-stax-artist-songwriter-producer/77388086007/

Alfa Anderson, the lead singer of Chic from 1978-1983, aged 78

https://ra.co/news/81880

Alfa Anderson passed in 2024 and already posted on the old thread.

oops i missed that!

Mike Rinder, 69, ex-Scientologist and Leah Remini’s co-host on several shows.

Jean-Marie Le Pen, French fascist, 96

good

Good riddance.

God that fucker was still hanging around, huh

Gunvor Nelson, one of the greatest experimental filmmakers. would encourage everyone to seek out red shift

Reuters describing him as an unabashed nationalist (not like those many meek, humble ones) and a 'pugnacious mix of populism, eloquence and charisma'.

🤮🤮🤮

Fascist ghouls tend to live forever unfortunately, or what seems like it. Unless they're shot and hung upside down from a lamppost first of course.

"oh I'm angin from a lamppost at the corner of the street .."

© Alexei Sayle

Peter Yarrow, 86

Wow!

Aww, the Italian 'Robinson Crusoe' Mauro Morandi has died... they killed him when they forced him off his island

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jan/07/hermit-guardian-budelli-island-off-sardinia-dies

Beej Chaney from Minneapolis greats the Suburbs:

https://www.startribune.com/beej-chaney-suburbs-death-guitarist/601203171

I just bumped the Suburbs thread to post this. I’m really sad.

RIP Pete Yarrow bc Peter Paul & Mary were a childhood cornerstone … but it’s hard to square that with the fact that Carter pardoned him for his ~admitted~ sexual assault of a 14yo girl and not scream into the void

Just read this now. So weird--I was in a theatre yesterday rewatching A Complete Unknown (Yarrow's in there two or three times, including the guy who reintroduces Dylan for his crowd-calming acoustic number at Newport '65). Fan from childhood too; didn't know about the assault at all.

apparently there may have been other incidents

https://web.archive.org/web/20210517122113/https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2021/05/17/peter-yarrow-carter-pardon-assault/

wow just read some of that, he was puff the magic scumbag

John Reid from the band Nightcrawlers, and writer of songs for Tina Turner, Rod Stewart, Kelly Clarkson. He worked with Simon Cowell and Ian Levine on writing for Simon's stable of artists, then went on to perform on a good few of Ian's records.

Professional cleaner and serial reality TV star Kim Woodburn:

https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/breaking-kim-woodburn-dead-celebrity-35402567

Journalist William Langewiesche, 70
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/16/business/media/william-langewiesche-dead.html
I think I've read just about everything he's published and never really forgotten any of them. This list is a great one: https://longform.org/archive/writers/william-langewiesche

Alfred Brendel, aged 94

https://www.gramophone.co.uk/classical%20music%20news/article/remembering-alfred-brendel-who-has-died-at-the-age-of-94

People you thought were dead... and now are.

Gave his first recital in 1948!

Sonny Rollins, who is still with us, made HIS first record also in 48 IIRC. Anyway Brendel is a connection to another world that’s disappearing fast —the grew up during the war humanist trying to carry the torch of the best of Western culture

Rollins too, I should say.

Brendel is my favorite beethoven pianist, i've spent hundreds and hundreds of hours listening to his sonata recordings. A hero to me, and perennially defamed by catty pianophiles. RIP.

Charles Rosen, I believe who called him”Al”

Rosen is another hero to me

The Romantic Generation - no music book has had more impact for me

But he's been dead quite awhile, to clarify

Wincey Willis, ITV's first female national weather presenter and co-host of Treasure Hunt with Kenneth Kendall.

Off topic: I like Rosen’s playing, never read the books (I heard they are not so much for general readers) but my understanding was he had some tart (maybe not catty) opinions apparently about Brendel.

I think anyone who reads any sort of cultural criticism can deal with The Romantic Generation just fine. The Classical Style was more challenging for me.

Lou Christie

https://www.post-gazette.com/ae/music/2025/06/18/pittsburgh-hitmaker-lou-christie-obituary/stories/202506180098

Fascinating character, that's for sure. Like not a Gene Pitney level of talent, say, but in the general area.

RIP Lou. Made some real bangers in his time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLFzep6BsxM

Big in pittsburgh. Great hits. Always thought Bruce singing "the gypsy lied" was a little Lou Christie nod.

82 is the new 27

RIP, “Lightnin’ Strikes” is such a classic.

I can't remember where, but "Lightnin' Strikes" turns up in some well-known novel where a character has a theory about the song, that it's the only song where the singer does such and such...wish I could remember.

Was probably the Cleveland by way or Pittsburgh thing but when I was in college listening to Cleveland’s majic fm oldies Lightning Strikes got as much airplay as the biggest hits by the four seasons. Or four tops.

James Prime, keyboardist with Deacon Blue

An "Oh, <That Guy>" Character Actor: Gailard Sartain

https://www.tmz.com/2025/06/20/gailard-sartain-dead-hee-haw-tulsa-oklahoma/

oh, that guy... 'Hee-Haw' was pretty big in my family so I totally remember him

he was in The Outsiders as well...

Patrick Walden, 46. Former guitarist in Babyshambles

David "Syd" Lawrence, England cricketer, 61 from motor neurone disease.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/jun/22/david-syd-lawrence-former-england-cricketer-dies-aged-61

Lisbon Lion John Clark.

https://www.celticfc.com/news/2025/june/23/celtic-legend--john-clark-passes-away/

RIP JC. Three left (four if you count John Fallon).

Aye, just Willie Wallace, Bobby Lennox and my former dentist and source of my best intro on Only Connect (...who had a wisdom tooth removed by a European Cup winning footballer), Jim Craig

Easiest tooth extraction ever, jaw dropped right down when I walked into the surgery round the corner from my new flat and got "Mr Craig" to see me

lol

Mick Ralphs

https://variety.com/2025/music/news/mick-ralphs-bad-company-mott-the-hoople-dead-1236438527/

RIP Mick .

"You're not the nazz
You're just a buzz
Some kind of temporary.................... GUITAR SOLO!!!!!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7v3Mrd9IIM

http://www.collectspace.com/review/memorial_john_casani01.jpg

John Casani, 92. Chief Enginner at the Jet Propulsion Lab and manager of just about everything sent to the outer planets and beyond. It was his "hey, let's include a greeting card" message to Carl Sagan that resulted in the Voyager Golden Record.
http://www.collectspace.com/ubb/Forum38/HTML/002642.html

https://static.scientificamerican.com/sciam/cache/file/8DEB2163-900C-47D7-9BD3539839B449DA_source.jpg

pretty amazing bio

Liam Byrne, 24. Wingsuit flyer, from the documentary The Boy Who Can Fly

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwyepy2zz11o

Bobby Sherman!

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2025-06-24/bobby-sherman-teen-idol-dead

Two of my early-'70s favourites:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tW90tW-a_5c

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9jwLMuzM0g

Serge Fiori, 73, leader of Québécois prog folk band Harmonium.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zYroy97tpI

aw, rip

i got kinda obsessed with 'un musicien parmi tant d'autres' for a while after hearing it on either shoresy or letterkenny

Over the course of their three albums, their ambition really soared and maybe got the better of them, but maybe it's best that they packed so much change into such a short career.

forever confusing with the krautrock band Harmonia

Fiori dying on Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day is as if Springsteen were to die on July 4th.

Is harmonium the woodwind based one is that the other band called harmonia

forever confusing with the krautrock band Harmonia

It helps if you pronounce it "are-moan-YUM"

Is harmonium the woodwind based one

They had a flute player sometimes?