The Celebrity Obituary Thread

[higashimori]

 '' Cream bassist Jack Bruce dies, aged 71 ''

 

Legendary supergroup Cream, which also included Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker, are now considered one of the most important bands in rock history.

They sold 35 million albums in just over two years and were given the first ever platinum disc for Wheels of Fire.

Bruce wrote and sang most of the songs, including "I Feel Free" and "Sunshine Of Your Love".

 http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-29772926

 

Jack Bruce was said to be one of the best bass guitarists in rock history

 
 
 R.I.P. Jack Bruce

[LCat]

RIP, Marcia Strassman, 66, of Welcome Back, Kotter.

(Too sad, too close!)

[The Schofield Kid]

RIP Marcia.

I only remember her from the first season or two of M*A*S*H.

[B.C.]

A local celebrity, Dale Dorman, has passed away.

Boston radio legend Dale Dorman dies at 71

As a friend of mine said upon hearing this news, "Another chapter from our childhood closed."  I remember watching Boston's Channel 56 (WLVI) when I was a kid and Dorman's voice and personality stood out in between shows I'd watch like Casper, The Flintstones, The Banana Splits and, on the weekends, Creature Double Feature. 

I didn't know he lived in Tewksbury.  Wonder how long he was there.  I moved there in April, '97 and lived there for about a year.  It's a nice area.

A few logos from WLVI's "Creature Double Feature"; Dorman with Hulk Hogan and Eddie Murphy, respectively





May God bless you, Mr. Dorman.  Rest In Peace, sir. 

[B.C.]

Former Boston Mayor Tom Menino passed away yesterday.

Mayor Tom Menino Dies, Boston Mourns



I remember passing by him once when I worked in Boston years ago.  I wish now I had stopped to say hello and shake his hand.

Rest in peace, Mr. Menino and may God Bless You.

[LCat]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2014/10/15/lone-star-actress-elizabeth-pena-dies-at-55/17330507/

RIP, Elizabeth Pena! Only 55 years old!

LCat

[Hemlock]

RIP Warren Clarke (Firefox)

http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=42728


Especially liked him in Dalziel And Pascoe

[KC]

^ He played the dissident Pavel Upenskoy in Firefox. Seems to have been much more active in TV than feature films, judging by his IMDb page.

R.I.P.

[Gant]

Sad news about Warren passing...
A very popular actor over here ...
There's a nice clip of him on you tube being interviewd
recently on TV and talking about working with Clint
on Firefox...

[KC]

Can you find us a link, Gant?

[B.C.]

Can you find us a link, Gant?

Gant, I hope you don't mind my taking the liberty.  This may not be what you're referring to but I was curious and found this:  https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kZUb0-iaW0I

RIP and God Bless to all the recently departed.

[Gant]

Thanks Jed... thats the one.
Firefox was the first Eastwood film I saw at the cinema so its always had a special place in my heart.
Warren was a very poular actor over here and will be very much missed.. R.I.P

Hey.. doesn't Clint look young in that pic..

[B.C.]

All this time watching Chuggington with my kids and I didn't realize Warren Clarke was one of the voices.

[higashimori]

 R.I.P Warren Clarke.


 R.I.P Glen Larson.

 '' Glen Larson, Producer of ‘Knight Rider’ and ‘Magnum, P.I.,’ Is Dead at 77 ''

 http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2014/11/15/us/ap-us-obit-glen-larson.html?module=Search&mabReward=relbias%3Ar%2C%7B%222%22%3A%22RI%3A14%22%7D

 

Glen A. Larson, the writer and producer behind a series of hit television shows in the 1970s and ’80s, including the original “Battlestar Galactica,” ‘'Knight Rider,” ‘'Magnum, P.I.” and “Quincy, M.E.,” died on Friday. He was 77.

[higashimori]

 '' Ken Takakura, Japanese Film Actor, Dies at 83 ''

 

Ken Takakura, who became a star playing outlaws and stoic heroes in scores of Japanese films, died on Nov. 10 in Tokyo. He was 83.   

His office said he died at a hospital where he was being treated for lymphoma.

Mr. Takakura, who because of his quiet, brooding screen presence was often compared to Clint Eastwood, made his screen debut in 1956 and rose to fame in the 1960s in crime films like “Abashiri Prison” (1965). Much of his appeal stemmed from his image as a hero fighting authority figures on behalf of the poor and weak.

 http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/19/movies/ken-takakura-japanese-film-actor-dies-at-83.html?_r=0

 http://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/nov/18/ken-takakura

 http://www.japantoday.com/category/entertainment/view/actor-ken-takakura-dies-at-83

 

 

 R.I.P.  Sayounara, Ken san....

[Christopher]

Director Mike Nichols (The Graduate) died at age 83. I didn't know that he'd been a part of a comedy team before directing. http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/20/showbiz/obit-mike-nichols/index.html

[higashimori]

 R.I.P. Mr.Nichols

 

Mike Nichols, one of America’s most celebrated directors, whose long, protean résumé of critic- and crowd-pleasing work earned him adulation both on Broadway and in Hollywood, died on Wednesday in Manhattan. He was 83.

 http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/21/movies/mike-nichols-celebrated-director-dies-at-83.html

 

[Christopher]

Novelist PD James has died at 94. I know she wrote tons of stuff, and had a wonderful and long career. I'm not very familiar with her work, though it seems like I might have read a short story for a literature class in college. http://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/news/novelist-pd-james-dies-aged-94/ar-BBg3ruI?ocid=ansentap11

[KC]

I just saw the TV movie based on her last novel, Death Comes to Pemberley. (Yes, if you hadn't heard, it's a spin-off from Pride and Predjudice.)



As usual, a very good obituary in the New York Times:

The family settled in Cambridge when she was 11, and before she left the Cambridge High School for Girls, at 16, she already knew that she wanted to be a writer and that mysterious death intrigued her.

“When I first heard that Humpty Dumpty fell off the wall,” she was fond of saying, “I immediately wondered: Did he fall — or was he pushed?”

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/28/arts/international/p-d-james-mystery-novelist-known-as-queen-of-crime-dies-at-94.html

R.I.P.

[B.C.]

A couple of Elvis-related passings recently, Mary Ann Mobley and Millie Kirkham December 9 & 14, respectively.

Former Miss America Mary Ann Mobley dies at 77

Nashville singer Millie Kirkham dies at 91

Kirkham was a singer and can be heard on Elvis' best known holiday classic, Blue Christmas, as well as The Wonder Of You, Surrender, How Great Thou Art, Polk Salad Annie, Bridge Over Troubled Water, Don't, Just Pretend, (You're The) Devil in Disguise, C.C. Rider and many others.   Mobley was a former Miss America (1959), married to film actor & tv personality Gary Collins and appeared in the Presley films Girl Happy and Harum Scarum.

RIP and God Bless