Pioneering Be-Bop Jazz drummer Max Roach passed away on Wednesday, August 16th, 2007. He was 83.
Tag Archives: obits
RIP Charles Nelson Reilly
Farewell, Funny Man (a href=”http://sportschump.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/charles-nelson-reilly-meh.jpg”>Image Source
Comic Actor Charles Nelson Reilly Dies at 76
Frequent Game Show Guest Was a Tony Award Winner
The New York Times
Charles Nelson Reilly, who acted and directed on Broadway but came to be best known for his campy television appearances on talk shows and “Match Game,” died on Friday (May 27th, 2007) in Los Angeles. He was 76 and lived in Beverly Hills, Calif.
The cause was complications of pneumonia, said his partner, Patrick Hughes, who is his only immediate survivor. Mr. Reilly had been ill for more than a year, he said.
Long before moving west to become what he somewhat ruefully described as a “game show fixture,” Mr. Reilly was an actor and an acting teacher in New York City. In 1962, he won a Tony Award for his portrayal of Bud Frump in the original Broadway production of “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.”
Continue reading RIP Charles Nelson Reilly
Jerry Falwell Goes To His Reward
Facist Douchebag Jerry Falwell: Dead at 73
Color me so very not sorry to hear the news. As my friend Elaine says, “I hope they bury him in something lightweight and comfortable. Much to his surprise, it’s VERY hot where he’s going.” Here’s what Salon Dot Com had to say about Falwell’s passing.
Farewell, Joe Barbera
Animation Greats William Hanna and Joe Barbera with Tom and Jerry
Joe Barbera, half of the Hanna-Barbera animation team that produced such beloved cartoon characters as Tom and Jerry, Yogi Bear and the Flintstones, passed away Monday, December 18th , a Warner Bros. spokesman said. He was 95.
I don’t know about you, but I was rasied on Hanna-Barbera cartoons — The Flinstones and The Jetsons being two of my favorites — and even had my first crush on animated boy adventurer, Johnny Quest. The picture below represents many of Hanna-Barbera’s most popular and enduring/iconic characters. That really takes me back. Maybe it’s cheaper to make all cartoons in Asia these days, but you sure don’t see the same quality as you did back in the day.
Death of a Legend: RIP Ahmet Ertegun
Another little piece of the music industry as we once knew it (read: back in the ’70s) is lost forever with the passing of Ahmet Ertegun, founder of the once great Atlantic Records, who died on December 14th, 2006. Ertegun was 83 years old. In an added note of poignancy, he had been in a coma for weeks after injuring his head in a fall at a Rolling Stones concert on October 29th.
Not only did Ertegun sign Led Zeppelin, but Ahmet Zappa, Frank’s youngest son is also named after him. A couple of years ago, when I was temping to supplement my meager income as a freelance writer, I did a few days stint at Atlantic Records working their switchboard. A few times when Ertegun’s assistant was away from her desk and I had to cover his phone, I got to pick up his extension and say “Mr. Ertegun’s office.” It actually gave me a tiny thrill to say that. Sadly, I never got to meet him even though he was just down at the end of the corridor from where I was sitting.
Speaking from Los Angeles, singer Daryl Hall (Hall & Oates) had the following to say about Ertegun’s passing:
“Ahmet Ertegun was a giant in the record business. He cared first and foremost about the ARTIST and the MUSIC – much more than the business. He believed that if the Artist was true to him or herself, good business would follow. Sadly in today’s atmosphere, this isn’t the case. But, during Ahmet’s days of influence it was! He was one of the first people to realize our potential and supported us during our beginning – the most important time. We couldn’t have done what we did without Ahmet and Arif Mardin’s support and encouragement. He changed music and created what I consider its golden age. He will be sorely missed.”