We will miss them: Green Dragon's obits - part two

This is a thread to remember people who have died and to talk about why they are important or memorable to us.

Just marking the thread.

I mourn the death of the frock-coat.

Mr. Andrew, I was at the opening night of a stage performance of The Picture of Dorian Gray on Wednesday night. A member of the audience was wearing a frock-coat. There is still some hope in the world.

in an attic somewhere, there is a portrait of a man in a frock-coat, and the painted frock-coat is aged, withered and horribly depraved.

Hey Guys, this is a thread about memorable PEOPLE, not clothing...see maggie's post #1

#6 - But this group is mainly about humor, so it's all good. :o)

Yup! Smile and Carry On!

Well, following the themes of people and humour and missing them:

Today is 101 years after the birth of Brian O'Nolan, better known by many here as Flann O'Brien, or even Myles na gCopaleen.

The Irish Times column, An Irishman's Diary, commemorates him today, along with Robbert H. Goddard (who would have been 130 today).

Wick-o-pedia entry.

Today's GOOGLE DOODLE also commemorates Brian O'Nolan.

Gone but not forgotten.

I don't think he had a frock-coat, but if he had I'm sure it would have been called J. Joyce.

:o( Must be a local Google doodle. Mine is the boring same ol' doodle. But happy birth anniversary, Brian O'Nolan!

so...WTF is really What the FROCK ?!?!? ;->

LOL Yes, I believe it is! ;o)

What else could it mean?

Could we rename this thread to something else and have a new obit thread?

Nope. Edit time is only a few minutes. Besides, once you've read the thread once you should be able to click so it takes you right to the newest posts so the humor shouldn't interfere with anyone's grief.

so the humor shouldn't interfere with anyone's grief
But they so frequently go together, as does sex. Emotions just tumble along.

Whether emotions just tumble along depends upon your attitude.

One of the reasons we read is because we love to find emotions tumbling along, or not. Sex, humor, grief, joy, sadness, hilarity. It all works.

I'm hoping we had very few deaths this past week or so.

Humour was one of the great things at my father's funeral (twelve years ago). I was about to give a post-Communion reading when the priest introduced me as a son-in-law of the deceased. He noticed the strange looks from my siblings and realised he'd made a mistake so went on to introduce me as a grandson. The church erupted with laughter and my dad would have been delighted.

I'm still not sure which one of my siblings is my parent.

>19 pgmcc:

My Dad died about the same time as yours. He was cremated as having had Alzheimers, Yale School of Medcine did not want the body. His ashes were scattered in our rather large, and isolated, backyard and my step-mom had a plaque made in memory that is affixed to our house.

#20 I like that thought. Ours was a very traditional funeral. My father would also have been amused by the fact that he died on February 29th and that after twelve years he has only had three anniversaries.

I "lifted" this from a liberal Facebook page: Rest in peace, George McGovern. You will be remembered for your relentless fight to end war, hunger, poverty and injustice...
Share this epitaph graphic by Beware of Images in respect of McGovern's legacy... " The Establishment center... has led us into the stupidest and cruelest war in all history. That war is a moral and political disaster - a terrible cancer eating away at the soul of our nation." ~George McGovern

I agree that we need to not forget our courageous American fighters for justice.

Composer Elliott Carter Dies at 103

"Carter didn't hit his stride musically until he was 40 years old, but he continued composing until just before his death. He debuted his first opera, "What Next?," at the age of 90 and premiered "Interventions" during a 100th birthday celebration at New York's Carnegie Hall."

Goodbye, Larry Hagman.
:o(
I think I liked him better in 'I Dream of Jeanie' than I did in 'Dallas.'

Those outside Australia might have missed out on the news of Bryce Courtenay's passing. I haven't really read his novels, but I remember appreciating a movie version of The Power of One as a child.

>24 clamairy:

I remember Hagman in "I Dream of Jeanie" as that was one of my favorite shows. I never watched "Dallas" as it sounded like a turn-off.

>25 Choreocrat:

There was a piece in the New York Times.

>25 Choreocrat:: I have one of his novels - can't remember the title but it's set in the Middle Ages. I'll have to get it out and read it.

Boris Strugatsky died on November 19th. I finally read my copy of Roadside picnic in his honour, and thought it was excellent. Highly recommended to SF fans if you haven't already read it.

South Fork Ranch is memorializing Larry Hagman.

http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/11/26/4440244/public-memorial-planned-for-larr...

I lived in the Dallas-Fort Worth area for nearly 30 years, and never once made it to South Fork ranch.

TEL, that sounds so like a local resident! I live almost in sight of (OK, 30 km of hills blocking the view ...) some of the country's best beaches. I walk on the beach once every second year. When I was growing up in Johannesburg, the only reason I ever set foot on a gold mine was when the school went, though the mines are still a major tourist attraction. And so it goes on. In general, I'd propose a rule of life that says 'NEVER ask a local about their nearby tourist attractions; they never go near the places, and so don't know.'. Or from the other side of the fence, "Don't ask me, I only live here" is a perfectly valid comment.

This happened yesterday.

Three Cups of Tea' Co-Author Relin Kills Himself

"David Oliver Relin, co-author of the best-selling book "Three Cups of Tea", said in legal filings about a year before his recent suicide that his career suffered from allegations of lies in the story of a humanitarian who built schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan."

I have a few thoughts on this, but I'll just keep them to myself, for now.

David Warren "Dave" Brubeck (December 6, 1920 – December 5, 2012)

oh, my, I am sorry to hear this! Brubeck was the sound of my childhood, my adolescence, and young adulthood. My "big" brother loved him, too. A giant of 1950s jazz! and 1960s

Very sad about Brubeck, and completely shocked about Relin. He's was only writing what Greg Mortenson told him had happened. Too sad.

Brubeck. Sigh. He did his recording Indian Summer, in one day, after badly banging his hip on the dresser in his room. The next day he was in the hospital, but he made sure he finished the CD first.

A class act, from start to finish.

Brubeck is a tremendous loss. I saw him in concert many years ago, just him on piano and a bass player, and it was like watching a classical pianist playing long, flowing runs on the keys, great swirls of emotion. Only these were Brubeck compositions. A master. A genius. An innovator. It was a remarkable performance, and I'm not much of a jazz fan.

Dad told me his fraternity house used to play Brubeck all the time.

I put this on my Christmas mix CD. Creates a great mood:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43T0HdVNOD8

My three connections: In 1946, the first year of our marriage, we heard Brubeck at a midnight concert in New York. Many years later, in Stillwater, Oklahoma as we were listening to him doing music based on whale song a student in the balcony began to sing a haunting thread. Near where we now live (Walnut Creek CA) is Dave Brubeck Park. He was a splendid musician.

didn't mention it in the notice (#31) but for a few years in the 60's one of his sons, Mike, and I both went to the same boarding school.

BBC this morning reports the death of Dr Alex Moulton, inventor of the folding bicycle.

Ravi Shankar.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2012/12/11/avi-shankar-dies/1762831/

A wonderful musician. It was thrilling to be in his audience.

Got to see him once. He was playing along with George Harrison during his Dark Horse tour. Billy Preston, too. Now all three are gone. :o(

Jack Klugman.
http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-jack-klugman-dies,0,3673802.story

I loved him in THE ODD COUPLE; his "Oscar" resonated with my own inner one!

Meredy, even though in Connecticut I use the LA Times as a homepage. I was just checking out Klugman's death there before LT!

I just posted this in another Group, but certainly don't mind sending another loving prayer of thanks for the life and art of the Swiss soprano Lisa della Casa, dead a few days ago. I have treasured her art for as long as I can remember anybody's voice -- and that's going back a ways. Whatever else its strengths and weakenesses, the Internet gives an easy way for many who didn't experience her in life, to savour now her extraordinary beauty of voice, aspect, and movement. She was a miracle, and may God rest her. -- GCG

Another we shall miss is Galina Vishnevskaya, who taught many to enjoy the Russian repertoire.

Methinks we ought to note the passing of Gen. ("Stormin' Norman") Norman Schwarzkopf of Iraq fame, recorded in yesterday's papers.

And Gerry Anderson, who gave us Thunderbirds, Fireball XL5, Stingray, Captain Scarlet, UFO, Space:1999 and more. Lots of fine childhood memories there for me.

Has anyone mentioned Charles Durning? I think he died the day after Klugman. I loved him as Mr. Hudsucker.

#48 - Oh no. :o( I loved him in everything I ever saw him in, but especially in "O Brother, Where art Thou?" :o(

oh yeah, I forgot about that. So that's 2 Coen films he was in.

‘Diff’rent Strokes’ Actor Conrad Bain Dies at 89

:o(

I saw earlier today. :(

Don't believe that I saw him mentioned previously in this thread, but think good thoughts about screen actor Turhan Bey.

The great audiobook narrator Robin Sachs passed away recently he was an amazing narrator and will be sorely missed by the audiobook community, he also played Ethan Rayne on Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV show. Here is his narrator profile on audiofile magazine
http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/gvpages/A2562.shtml

BBC news announced this morning that Raymond Cusick, who created the Daleks for Doctor Who in 1963, died on Thursday.

http://music.msn.com/music/article.aspx?news=793204

Concert pianist Van Cliburn died today in Fort Worth. The Van Cliburn competition was always a big deal in Fort Worth.

#57 - I just saw that on the news and had an "OH NO" moment. *sigh* I used to listen to one of his Chopin LPs* over and over again with my mom when I was a yoot.

* This one!

Yes, Clam, I had a similar moment. Damn. I'm here to say that being 68 means, for one thing, that people who meant something go me keep dying. Now, I don't mean I had an affair with Van Cliburn or anything like that, not even that I appreciated his piano expertise, it is just that he was a "name" in my youth, and I see that youth is now long gone. That's why I say Damn. Simply feeling sorry for myself, a little tiny bit.

But on the other hand, there are lots of new and grand things happening in my life, too. So onwards....

Much sympathy for those who loved his music making, and his very existence on our fair green earth.

58: So did I. It was one of the first albums I bought with my own money as a teenager. I could anticipate every phrase and every note the way he played it, in the Polonaise especially.

#60 - His Polonaise was so wonderful that every other rendition I heard in later years sounded 'off' to me. Also, his Etude in E is simply sublime. I might have to buy the MP3 of the album, because I'm not sure which of my siblings ended up with that vinyl. Do you still have yours, Meredy?

#59 - Yes, it is distressing to see so many icons of my youth passing.

#59, I hear you maggs. I still find it a little weird that presidents, prime ministers, doctors etc. are younger than me. When did that happen? These young whipper-snappers ;)

Yes, MerryMary, I have had that very thought myself. They are "too young" to be wise. Of course, we know that age and wisdom do not always correlate.

*pssst* That was katylit, mags. Not MerryMary. :o)

61: Yes, I do, but somewhere along the line I realized that I wasn't going to play it again, so I went ahead and bought the CD.

You're right, clam, but I do concur.

Ah, such a good illustration of how much fun and frivolity age gives a person! Katylit and MerryMary are two of my BFF in LibraryThing, so of course, I switch their names about as if I did not know better! (-:

This is months old now, but nobody here has said anything about Aaron Swartz's passing.  Well, like my other happy post, he didn't actually "pass".

Perhaps because suicide is never an easy thing to discuss and Swartz's problems grew out of some fairly fuzzy behaviors within the digital environment. He may well have been extraordinarily gifted but he was also extraordinarily reckless. .

Stompin' Tom Connors was a Canadian cultural icon. I grew up listening to his very distinctive songs about Canadian people, places, and history. He was definitely one-of-a-kind.

Sad about Stompin' Tom, he was a classic. Also Max Ferguson who was on CBC Radio as Rawhide among other roles, passed away today.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2013/03/07/max-ferguson-obit.html

I guess this is "jumping the gun" a bit, but I was so sad to see that "Valerie Harper, who played Rhoda Morgenstern on television's "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and its spinoff, "Rhoda," has been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer." The article went on to report that she may have as little as 3 months.

She made me laugh so many times when watching the Mary Tyler Moore show!

Oh that is sad news. My sister and I loved "Rhoda", what a delight she was.

Yes, it's been a sad week for Canadians, both Stompin' Tom and Max. :(

I'll bet he never thought he'd love to be 90.

Allan B. Calhamer (December 7, 1931 - February 25, 2013) was an American mail carrier who invented the board game Diplomacy “Destroying Friendships since 1959.”

http://www.suntimes.com/news/obituaries/18572633-418/allan-b-calhamer-inventor-o...

Chinua Achebe, author of Things Fall Apart (wrong touchstone) and many other works, died today.

I remember when Achebe was considered the "first author" out of Africa. How bizarre. But it was good to get some "literature" into people's hands so the old stereotypes could bite the dust. Condolences to family and fans

77:  I love Things Fall Apart.  When I saw it on the syllabus one year, I groaned because in a previous year, another teacher made us read a bunch of depressing novels (The Crucible followed by Of Mice and Men followed by Night supplemented by the movies Swing Kids and f*king Schindler's List).  It was sad, but I was still pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it.

Uncle Vernon has passed away.  :(

Oh no. :o(

Oh, I must schedule a viewing of "Withnail & I" tomorrow! With a glass of wine in one hand an a crunchy carrrrrrrot in the other!

Roger Ebert just passed away. I always enjoyed his reviews.

83: Me too. I used to be a faithful viewer of Siskel and Ebert on PBS back when, and I habitually turn to Ebert's written reviews when I want to dig into a movie. I'm sorry he's gone. He was fortunate enough to make a long career of doing what he loved, but he also exited by a rough road.

//Roger and Gene are probably doing the "two thumbs" in heaven//

Oh, Margaret Thatcher has passed. She was such a fixture of the 80s, even for folks on this side of the pond.

And Annette Funicello! Annette!

I know she has been ill, but it still makes me sad.

Now it's time to say goodbye
To all our company--
M-I-C... see you real soon
K-E-Y... Why? Because we love you.
M-O-U-S-EEE________________

Thank you, Annette.

Happy trails (oops, wrong show!)

> 89 Chuck
Thanks for that. You made me smile!

>89 chg1: yes, thanks; and >90 ccookie: me, too. Almost started humming....Mickey Mouse, Mickey Mouse

2 very different women but both iconic in their own way.

Jonathan Winters, the wildly inventive actor and comedian who appeared in such films as "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" and "The Loved One," has died. He was 87.

A huge talent and another piece of my youth gone. I mourn.

I am saddened by this news.

I vaguely remember him in "Mad...", the visual puns were cute. He also did "Peter and the Wolf", for children, on the radio.

He was at his best with a microphone and a box of hats. That's all he ever needed.

In re #89. Don't blame me: it was Thomas Pynchon who confected "Who's the little rodent that's been getting more than me? F - - - - - Y-O-U-S-E!" Look it up.

Sir Colin Davis, the conductor, has died aged 85. He will be best known for his interpretations of Berlioz, Mozart and Sibelius; he was also a keen knitter! Very sad news in the classical music world.

>99 Sakerfalcon:

yes, it is. "Music hath charms to sooth the savage breast". The Mourning Bride, by William Congreve

Rita MacNeil, Canadian singer/songwriter. I saw Rita perform onstage a few times, and she was always very warm and welcoming to her audience. This seems to be a bad year for Canadian folk music.

When we lived in Nova Scotia my daughter's choir sang with Rita and Men of the Deeps It was an amazing concert on so many levels and one we still talk about. Rita was an amazing singer.

... sad ...

>102 katylit:

That would be an experience to remember. I've seen Rita and The Men of the Deeps perform live separately, but I've only seen them together on TV.

"Lumpy"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Bank
http://articles.latimes.com/2013/apr/15/local/la-me-frank-bank-20130416

E. L. Konigsburg died and it makes me sad. From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler is one of my favorite childhood books.

>106 Morphidae: I hadn't heard! I especially love A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver, but I'm a sucker for Eleanor of Aquataine.

I particularly like The outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place, but I've enjoyed so many of hers...

Father's Arcane Daughter is short, but fascinating. There are so many layers in her books, that you can find something different each time you read them.

>106 Morphidae: Aww... :( From the Mixed Up Files is also one of my favorites. Just the idea of staying in a museum is so much fun, even to me as an adult!

I definitely will miss the soulful sounds of Richie Havens. I could listen to him forever! Freedom. I guess now his soul has freedom.

Alan Arbus aka Dr. Sidney Freedman of M*A*S*H fame has pulled down his pants and slid on the ice for the last time.

//>113 chg1: I was considering posting that from the NY times, but as I was doing something else I'm glad you did.//

I find it fascinating that Alan Arbus was married to Diane Arbus, the photographer.

3114 - I didn't know that either. Second marriage for him, I think.

Loved him in M*A*S*H. I'm glad he lived a long productive life.

I remember his gentle witty nonjudgmental character, Sid, and am firmly convinced it reflected his real-life character as well.

Yup, agree with Clam and yup, agree with Mary. M*A*S*H was such a great show!

Just read that George Jones has died at 81.
'He stopped loving her today' is a classic.

Bernard Waber died last week. I loved Lyle, Lyle Crocodile when I was a kid.

My kids loved Lyle too.

Ray Manzarek, the Doors keyboardist who died Monday at 74.

The Doors were a force in my life. A roommate was seduced by a boy friend and became pg all to the tune of "light my fire". Oh, the daze....

pg? Preggers?

I loved The Doors, too. :o/

yup, preggers. The terminology changes, the reality is the same.

Hard to say goodbye to Manzarek. As soon as you heard his organ riffs on the radio, you knew you were in for a ride.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vw40NMa_0RM

1968. Quite a year.

1967. Summer of Love. "Light My Fire" hit No.1 on the charts.

*hee* My dad was born in 1967.  Not to make anyone feel old...he's kind of a young'n.  When we get into a one-upping type of argument, I remind him that he's young enough to be my older brother.  Seriously, in middle school, I had classmates asking me which high school my "brother" went to... ~_~

#128 - And my dad was born in 1915, and was already 44 when I was born. A priest who was visiting the house for dinner one night when I was in high school asked me if I enjoyed living with my grandparents. :o( I do have 8 older siblings, but by then they were all gone.

My Mom was born in 1915, and my Dad in 1910. So they were 35 and 30 when I was born, an "accident" said my Mom. That was considered old for parents in those days.

RIP Jack Vance, 96 years old. His Dying Earth was an important influence on one of my favorites, Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun.

Jean Stapleton is gone.
I guess she's been stifled for the last time.
:o(

:'(

She and Carroll O'Connor both created characters who live on in the culture.

"'The benign, compassionate presence she developed made my egregious churl bearable,' O'Connor wrote of Stapleton in his 1998 autobiography. He died in 2001."
--L.A. Times, an hour ago.
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-jean-stapleton-dies...

She was a very classy lady and her acting was excellent. That show broke so much ground. Sammy Davis Jr. kissing Archie! Classic. Priceless. Never to be Forgotten.

I kind of miss the shows we all watched and then over coffee rehashed each morning before going to work.

Esther Williams died today. She was 91.

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/06/06/esther-williams-dead_n_3397463.html?flv=...

I do remember her swimming in movies when I was a child. That seems like a long time ago.....

Vince Flynn, author of the Mitch Rapp thriller series dead at 47 after a long battle with prostate cancer.

Slim Whitman, who saved the world in the movie "Mars Attacks!" He was 90.

Soprano's actor James Gandolfini, age 51 of an apparent heart attack.

47 and 51, it just seems wrong. I think by 90, though, I'd be ready.

Living in NJ and listening to the NYC radio news stations, all I heard about was Gandolfini. Nothing at all about Slim. Not even an "Also dead ..." mention. Having NEVER watched "The SOpranos", I'll miss Slim more than I will JG.

ditto.

142 -- Gandolfini is a terrible loss.

Rena Price dies at 97; her and son's arrests sparked Watts riots

http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-rena-price-20130623,0,1084258.story

Author Richard Matheson author of scary books such as I am Legend, Hell House,Stir of Echoes and many more and also writer of one of my all-time favorite Twilight Zone Episodes .. Nightmare at 20,000 Feet...

http://popwatch.ew.com/2013/06/24/richard-matheson-dies-obituary/

>144 susiesharp:

I remember that episode fairly well; it gave William Shatner a big break.
I watched much Twilight Zone in the mid-60's and early 70's.

Oh, that's too bad. Loved that episode as a kid and love it even more today for the cheese factor. I haven't read his books but I really enjoyed the film versions of Legend and Echoes.

Douglass Engelbart, inventor of the computer mouse.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/03/tech/mouse-inventor-dies/index.html

I have him to thank for the DEARTH of TRACKBALLS on the market. He should have inverted it before going public. A trackball takes up far less (I have NO ROOM for a mouse/mousepad) desktop real estate and is easier on the wrist.
Nevertheless, it is sad.

Joe Conley, probably best known to most of us as Ike Godsey from the TV show "The Waltons".

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/waltons-actor-joe-conley-dies-581742

Sorry to see Eileen Brennan died. I enjoyed her in Private Benjamin and a couple of other movies and TV shows.

Seriously? I thought she had passed a long time ago! Sad to hear it, though.

ETA: Now I remember, she almost died, right? She was hit by a car or something.

she was so great in Clue. And in The Sting.

Another of my favorites died not long ago...Dennis Farina. Law & Order. Get Shorty. So great.

And we say goodbye to Karen Black, a top-notch queen of the Bs.
Also Barbara Mertz aka Elizabeth Peters/Barbara Michaels.

I didn't realize Barbara Mertz was 85. I read lots of her books in the 1980s-90s, but kind of lost interest when they pretty much narrowed down to Amelia Peabody. I always liked that she knew what she was talking about when it came to archaeological detail.

Very sad to hear about Barbara Mertz - I've read and re-read her books many times, especially the Elizabeth Peters ones.

Oh, somehow I missed the news about Karen Black.
:o(
Oddly enough just last week I was thinking about her being chased by that little Zuni fetish warrior doll in Trilogy of Terror.

Lisa Robin Kelly from That 70s Show passed away in rehab.  I wouldn't have known if I weren't such a snob.  I was looking up whether or not they put an apostrophe S on the 70 when I was IMing a friend about a noteworthy speech by Ashton Kutcher.

Roz- I read about that yesterday. It is a sad testimony when social icons get involved over their heads and succumb to pressures.

Poet John Hollander....we were fortunate to get acquainted on his visits to Oklahoma State University in the 70s, and delighted when our paths later crossed in London. (I will try to post my favorite poem.)

Adam’s Task
BY JOHN HOLLANDER
And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field ... GEN. 2:20

Thou, paw-paw-paw; thou, glurd; thou, spotted
Glurd; thou, whitestap, lurching through
The high-grown brush; thou, pliant-footed,
Implex; thou, awagabu.

Every burrower, each flier
Came for the name he had to give:
Gay, first work, ever to be prior,
Not yet sunk to primitive.

Thou, verdle; thou, McFleery’s pomma;
Thou; thou; thou—three types of grawl;
Thou, flisket; thou, kabasch; thou, comma-
Eared mashawk; thou, all; thou, all.

Were, in a fire of becoming,
Laboring to be burned away,
Then work, half-measuring, half-humming,
Would be as serious as play.

Thou, pambler; thou, rivarn; thou, greater
Wherret, and thou, lesser one;
Thou, sproal; thou, zant; thou, lily-eater.
Naming’s over. Day is done.

James Herbert died recently; a great horror writer, he'll be greatly missed.
Also Mick Aston, a brilliant archaeologist, and guiding light of the long running T.V series Time Team R.I P.

The Dickens of Detroit has died... I didn't read all of his, but I enjoyed most of those that I read.

I didn't realize Elmore Leonard was 87. He'll be missed by many, including myself, and he was still writing. What a guy. I like his novels.

Thanks Esta for the naming poem.

Marian McPartland, truly the first lady of jazz piano. (If you were lucky you heard her radio series where she and guests collaborated in wondrous fashion. We also saw/heard her in live performance.)

Ah, I had the audio version of her memoir, delightful read.

Julie Harris.
http://www.today.com/entertainment/knots-landing-actress-julie-harris-dies-87-8C...
Very, very fine actress. I was a child of 11 the first time I saw her in something on TV, and even at that age I was impressed. (It was Johnny Belinda, on Hallmark Hall of Fame.)

She was wonderful. 87, I had no idea. How are all these actors that I fell in love with when I was younger getting so old?

Oh nooooo. She was superb in The Haunting. :o(

Tough to read this thread, we're losing so many recently.
Frederik Pohl (11/26/19 - 09/02/13). A terrific writer, editor and soldier.
I just put Gateway on hold at the library. I loved that book in my youth, hope the suck fairy hasn't been there.

:(

I didn't realize Barbara Mertz had died. I was just at a bookstore yesterday looking to see if there might be a new Amelia Peabody book. No more now.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/17/books/marc-simont-classic-childrens-book-illus...

I just opened my copy of School Library Journal this morning and found that illustrator Marc Simont died in July. He had some lovely books, and a prolific career, winning the Caldecott Award twice.

Audiophiles morn:

http://www.latimes.com/obituaries/la-me-ray-dolby-20130913,0,1038127.story

We owe that man so much...
:o(

Goodbye to Tom Clancy. I never read anything of his myself, but I did enjoy the movie adaptation of The Hunt for Red October.

I read The Hunt for Red October a really long time ago! It was a little too technical for me but he did know how to build tension! I was loving the spy/cold war novels those days and he definitely was a good choice. I don't think I read more of his books but I saw the movie and liked it, too.

He died very young. Sad, that.

Who can forget the Herdman children from The Best Christmas Pageant Ever?

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/authors/obituaries/article/58177-obi...

Scott Carpenter, Project Mercury:

http://www.latimes.com/obituaries/la-scott-carpenter-2nd-us-astronaut-in-orbit-d...

Marcia Wallace, of Bob Newhart fame:

http://www.nbcnews.com/entertainment/marcia-wallace-star-simpsons-bob-newhart-ha...

She was so much fun on that show.

Very sad. :o/ She was only 70.

It has been quite a while:

http://tv.yahoo.com/news/love-lucy-actress-shirley-mitchell-dies-94-050000771.ht...

I'd remember more of her appearances on Red Skelten if anything. I'm sure many remember her, though.

She looks familiar, and it sounds like she was in just about everything on TV during that era.

I remember the character she played on I Love Lucy.

I just discovered Lessing's powerful style this year. Luckily she's left an enormous body of work to explore. RIP, Lady Writer.

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/nov/17/doris-lessing-dies-94

I read The Golden Notebook oh so many years ago, it must be calling me for a re-read! She has been a name in most of my life. What an accomplished woman she was, and we were graced to be able to read her work.

If it wasn't for this lady:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/mavis-batey-bletchley-park-code-break...

Doris Lessing might never have written. Bletchley also wrote in later life

Thanks for the link, chg1. I should read something about those Bletchley Park folk. Any recommendations?

>188 Citizenjoyce:- I just watch some of the obits on the Washington Post and LATimes sites. Maybe if you did a search on some keywords, like her name,Enigma, Alan Turing,code, etc., you would find some historical works. Turing, whose machine presaged the modern computers and was used to crack the Enigma code, was featuredin a recent newspaper article in either The Post or The Times (I forgot witch). Good luck.

#188 I enjoyed The secret life of Bletchley Park a lot. Read before a visit and made it more comprehensible. The place itself is fascinating and well worth visiting. I did come home thinking I need to make my passwords better though!!!!!

We also lost children's Author Barbara Park who wrote the Junie B. Jones books..which my granddaughter just loved when she was younger and they are still very popular at our library

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/18/barbara-park-dies-dead-_n_4295513.html

The Junie B. Jones books were the first chapter books that my daughter really got into reading.

Sad to hear of Nelson Mandela's death, at age 95.

See a first TV interview, 1961 (I was in High School and we were greatly out raged to hear of South Africa's treatment of the first people of that nation) - http://www.openculture.com/2010/07/nelson_mandelas_first-ever_interview.html

Peter O'Toole, Dec. 14. Age 81.

Unforgettable as Henry II, not once but twice: in both "Becket" (1964) and "Lion in Winter" (1968). And of course in his first big starring role, as "Lawrence of Arabia" (1962).

:(

Great actor and he will be missed but ye gads, what a redundant name.

I will miss him. I loved his work every time I saw him in a movie, or whatever. Even photographs. Beautiful man; good actor; nice body; etc. etc. And the "bad boy" rep, too. Rest In Peace (whatever, wherever).

Of course I adored him when he was young and gorgeous, but he never did become unattractive. Those penetrating blue eyes and lovely voice were every present. I'm glad that he made lots and lots of movies.

Sad day in movie land yesterday the world lost not only Peter O'Toole ,Joan Fontaine, and Tom Laughlin. Joan Fontaine was in a few of my all time favorite movies Rebecca ,The Women,Jane Eyre & Suspicion just to name a few ..... Peter O'Toole was great in anything and everything he did..... Tom Laughlin was in Billy Jack which I remember seeing when I was very young and loved it.

We also lost Eleanor Parker yesterday she starred in 2 W. Somerset Maugham books to movies Of Human Bondage & The Painted Veil but the role she is most famous for is in The Sound of Music..very sad day indeed.

Harold Camping, he of "THE WORLD IS COMING TO AN END!!!" fame (or infamy) passed away

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/12/17/end-finally-comes-for-radio-evangelist-har...

re: 200

oh yeah... another sad testament of unfortunate incident of more terror and heartbreak, not to mention broken homes and depleted savings of those poor unfortunates who get caught up in personal, radio, or TV evangelical hucksterism (even if it is sincerely believed by it's proponent).

You all might want to look at this website:

www.lifeinlegacy.com

Many surprises for me.

Paul Torday of Salmon fishing in the Yemen fame died yesterday

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/dec/19/paul-torday-dies-67

The Professor on Gilligan's Island:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/tv/russell-johnson-gilligan-professo...

This makes me sad...
:o(

Very sad.

Roger Lloyd-Pack who played Barty Crouch, Sr in the Harry Potter movies.

Dave Madden who played the manager of the Partridge Family.

Russell Johnson lived in the Seattle area. I did not know that. He will be missed by friends and family as well as his fans.

Probably unknown to most Dragoneers, but Joan Brickhill with one or two others was theatre in South Africa while I was growing up, and for a long time afterwards.

>#207: Have they arrested David Tennant yet?

Another passing that indicates the passage of time, end of an era or something: the last Japanese soldier to surrender after WW2

I also loved Roger Lloyd-Pack as Owen on The Vicar of Dibley & as John Lumic on Doctor Who .

Ruth Robinson Duccini, one of the two surviving Munchkins from "The Wizard of Oz," died Thursday of natural causes in a hospice care center in Las Vegas. She was 95.

http://www.today.com/entertainment/last-female-munchkin-wizard-oz-dies-95-2D1194...

Geez Louise. Seems like an excessive celebrity death toll this last week.

Claudio Abbado, a great conductor whose interpretations have been definitive "since always".

John Schneider recently lost his father.

Pete Seeger died this evening at age 94 - a long life well lived. He was married for 70 years. Wow!

http://news.yahoo.com/folk-singer-activist-pete-seeger-dies-ny-065217408.html

Sad to lose him, but his was a long life well lived.

He did his best to make a difference, and provided great entertainment at the same time.

First thing I saw when I checked my phone (aka alarm clock) this morning...CNN newsfeed. Made me very sad to start my day with that news.

#220 Indeed. And it seems fitting that even that staid classical-music channel, BBC3, should honour him by playing 'Where have all the flowers gone?' on their breakfast programme this morning. *sigh* another defining character of my teens gone ...

Pete Seeger. I feel this one very personally. Don't cry, he said, but I need a moment for the sadness before the praise.

This, I think, is the memorial song: "To My Old Brown Earth."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4YwKPOgz5o

Lyrics:
http://www.peteseeger.net/tomyoldb.htm

#223 - perfect

Thank you so much for posting that, Meredy. What an advanced being that man was.

What a mountain of a man:

http://m.dailykos.com/story/2014/01/28/1273074/-Testimony-of-Pete-Seeger-before-...

Arthur Rankin, half of the team of Rankin and Bass, best known for their stop motion holiday programs to those of us in the USA, and the animated movie of The Hobbit passed away on Thursday.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/02/01/arthur-rankin-jr-producer-of-christmas-cla...

Oh I used to love those old shows. I'd ask my mom over and over when Rudolph was going to be on. Same with the Wizard of Oz.

:o(

Oh crap.
News outlets are reporting that Philip Seymour Hoffman has been found dead in his NY apartment.

That's a bummer.

230> Very sad - and so unexpected. I think there may be some quiet evenings with some of his films over the coming weeks in his honour. He'll be sorely missed.

46 years old - looks like a heroin overdose. Such a great actor, how could he do that?

This is a sad loss. Addiction is a terrible, terrible thing, a tragedy for everyone within range and not just for the addict, who has lost the power of choice.

He was such a fine actor and has been a favorite of mine for years. This has me rattled. I had no idea that he'd had problems decades ago but had managed to stay clean for 20+, until recently. What a waste. :o(

Shirley Temple has passed away. I always associate her with my mom, who loved her. Mom had a Shirley Temple doll that was one of her treasures, and I was allowed to play with it " if I was very careful". We grew up watching all the movies, had a record of her most famous songs. Good childhood memories.

She did make childhood so sweet, and attractive; unlike the dreary reality so many children experience.

She was a major phenomenon in my mother's youth. During my childhood her black-and-white singing-and-dancing movies were a TV staple, and "everybody" still knew her, knew her name, her dimples, her mop of golden ringlets. Even when I didn't want to love her, I did.

She had a considerable career in diplomacy as an adult, but I think her memory will rest forever on her stunning talent and natural-seeming charm as a child performer.

Yes, we watched a goodly number of B&W movies on the TV at my house. I liked her, too, as she was irrepressible. Dancing with Bo Jangles was the best!

I still have my mom's Shirley Temple doll (well, I think it was a knock-off during the depression). We have photos of my mother as a teen which look very similar to Shirley Temple.

My daughter had a sleepover birthday party when she was 6 (20 years ago). Five little girls and I watched Shirley Temple movies all night until we fell asleep. A beautiful memory.

Sid Caesar, pioneer of live television comedy, dies at 91

http://www.latimes.com/obituaries/la-et-st-sid-caesar-pioneer-of-live-television...

I feel like all the big trees in the forest are falling.

241: Every generation grows at least one for the next, or two: but they are felled to make room for the newer ones.....and those in turn......

#241 - It certainly does seem like the celebrity death rate has kicked up a notch.

I expect that as the Baby Boom made the schools bulge, and then filled the jobs, and now approaches retirement by striking fear into the hearts of the Social Security guardians; and the Medicare statisticians; so, too, the lists of those who pass on will grow larger in these next years. Some famous, some not so much and yet life rolls on. I am sorry to have lost Sid Caesar (who received his last name from the bureaucrats at Ellis Island, his parents immigrating from Poland).

(at least they could spell Caesar right! They did that with a lot of immigrants. Incidentally the term WOP was an acronym for 'With Out Passport.)

Thanks for that acronym, chg1. I had no idea. The more things change, the more they remain the same.

Ralph Waite, the father on The Waltons, has passed away at age 85.

Music will never sound the same again:

http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-maria-von-trapp-dies-20140222,0...

Wow, she was "was the last surviving member of the seven original Trapp Family Singers." At first I thought the link referred to the baroness, but the age seemed wrong. So the brother who was talking about her must be one of the children born after they left Austria. I should really read the book one of these days. Apparently it doesn't bear all that much resemblance to the film/musical version.

Based on this bit from the article I read in the NY Daily News, “She came to us as my teacher and after three years became our second mother. On November 26, 1927 they were married and would have three children, Rosmarie, Eleonore and Johannes.” I'd say quite a bit of the "story" as we know it is pure fabrication.

I saw the play early in my life (age 10 or 12, 1960's) and took a family trip to their lodge in Vermont. All I really remember about the history is that the von Trapps escaped Nazi Germany by going over the Alps into Switzerland.

There is a TV clip in The Washington Post on Maria but I can't figure out how to link to the clip itself (I don't use the TV stuff on the internet) :

Last member of 'Sound of Music' family dies

Harold Ramis has passed away at the age of 69. Ramis is best-known for playing Dr. Egon Spengler in 'Ghostbusters,' and for directing movies like 'Caddyshack,' 'National Lampoon's Vacation' and 'Groundhog Day.'

He was great in everything he did!

Another 'young' one. This has been a tough Winter for celebrity deaths.
:o(

Well that's a bummer.

Important safety tip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyaLZHiJJnE

Alice Herz-Sommer, concert pianist and at 110 the oldest known survivor of the Holocaust. A remarkable person, by all accounts.

Ghostbusters, one of my all time favorite movies. I can't believe Ramis is dead so young.

And Alice Herz-Sommer, the last half of her life must have seemed like a pure gift.

I was undecided about posting this but finally did as he died in my birth and longtime hometown:

http://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-et-jc-how-we-die-author-sherwin-b-nul...

BBC4's programme listing has a note indicating that Clarissa Dickson Wright of Two Fat Ladies died over the weekend. A sad day for foodies and amateur cooks :(

I loved the Two Fat Ladies show, and have them all on DVD. I also have enjoyed several of Clarissa's books, even though I strongly disagreed with some of her opinions. She was always entertaining.

This was a both a shock and brought back campy memories:

http://herocomplex.latimes.com/movies/batman-tv-show-creator-lorenzo-semple-jr-d...

She also was in the original English 'Dr. Who'.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/tv/former-dynasty-star-kate-omara-di...

She also played Patsy's sister on AbFab.

>263 susiesharp: Oh, I used to watch that on occasion!

Aww: Mickey Rooney.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2014/04/06/mickey-rooney-dies/7404557/

:(

I loved the Andy Hardy movies. He was in so many of my favourite classic movies.

>265 Meredy:, >266 katylit:-

Here is the article from the Washington Post; he was one of my favorites also:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/mickey-rooney-child-actor-who-went-o...

...and here is Rooney's obit in the L.A. Times:

http://www.latimes.com/obituaries/la-me-mickey-rooney-20140407,-11,1209655,full....

We also lost the comedian John Pinette over the weekend. Best known for his "Buffet" bits.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/04/07/seinfeld-comedian-john-pinette-found-dead-...

Sue Townsend, author of the Adrian Mole books, died yesterday.

Oh poo. I loved the Mole books so much that I bought them again after they were stolen.

#270 So sad to hear about the lovely Sue Townsend; a real loss to the literary world. She'd had health problems for many years but I don't think anyone expected we would lose her so soon.

>270 hfglen: When I first read the Adrian Mole books, I laughed until I cried. So brilliant.The TV series based on them was also very well-done and very, very funny. Oddly, I never wanted to re-visit either, but I will always think of them fondly.

>273 tardis: Here is a link to her obit on BBC4.

:o(
Gabriel Garcia Marquez has passed.

sad day; his genius is missed by the whole world

Here is a good informative article on Mr. Marquez:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/gabriel-garcia-marquez-nobel-pr...

Lea Rabin tells an interesting anecdote
about Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Yasser Arafat,
co-winner with her husband, of the
Nobel Peace Prize:
At a social event honoring the awardees, Garcia Marquez, I suppose an invited previous winner for Literature, came in
and, seeing Arafat immediately rushed up to him
and they embraced.
Later, chatting with Arafat,
(they were not of course old friends, but were on speaking terms) Rabin remarked,
"I see that you are an old friend of Gabriel Garcia Marquez."
Arafat replied, "You know itʻs strange, but this is the first time weʻve ever met!"

One of Canada's great short story writers, Alistair MacLeod, has passed away.

Not only was he a great storyteller, Canadian author Alastair MacLeod was a lovely, kind, funny man. I was lucky enough to meet and spend some time with him when he attended an author's festival in Toronto last October. July 20, 1936 – April 20, 2014

On this group and also the off topic group I posted an opinion piece from the L.A. Times on the probable last paper edition of the OED. This highly unfortunate death seems somehow germane:

http://www.latimes.com/obituaries/la-me-adrianne-wadewitz-20140424,0,1077455.sto...

Bob Hoskins is gone. http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/bob-hoskins-dead-at-71-1.2626773

He was wonderful in Roger Rabbit, and Mrs. Henderson Presents.

Sadface. He put a lot of smiles in the world.

71. Hard to believe. He was diagnosed with Parkinson's 2 years ago and dies of pneumonia now? Life can be pretty precarious.

Very sad. He was only 71, which certainly doesn't seem old to me. :o(

yeah, he was my dad's age and my dad doesn't seem old to me either.

Oh, I'm sorry. What a wonderful actor, and so versatile. I saw him first in the TV miniseries Flickers back many years ago, with Frances de la Tour (also wonderful), and have enjoyed his career ever since, including through some strange and even sinister roles.

He also starred as (edit) Eliot Ness Lewis Erskine (I keep confusing the two:

http://www.latimes.com/obituaries/la-me-efrem-zimbalist-20140503,0,6697404.story...

Efrem Zimbalist was 95. Pretty nice long life for a rather hard living guy. There's one who gives us old fogeys hope.

Awww. I feel badly about this one, too. The guy was still narrating documentaries and doing voice work until pretty recently, I think. :o(

I remember watching The FBI with my family when I was a young one. I always enjoyed his roles.

But 95, pretty good age.

Can't overlook this guy:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/01/business/media/soul-of-mad-magazine-al-feldste...

I loved Mad Magazine in my teens even when I didn't get the joke.

This is a great description: Mad's "identity as a smart-alecky, sniggering and indisputably clever spitball-shooter of a publication with a scattershot look, dominated by gifted cartoonists of wildly differing styles."

Spitball-shooter. Yep.

I'm guessing it must have been fun to be Al Feldstein.

Yeah, but since William Gaines died it hasn't been the same. For those that want a history of the rag:

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

I loved Mad magazine. Not the way some people loved it, but I did love at least some of it. It was a wee bit too raunchy for me sometimes. I was way too straight arrow in those days. I should probably read some editions of it again, now that I am sooooo much more wise and old!

Farley Mowat has passed away. I love his books, from The Dog Who Wouldn't Be to A Whale For The Killing to And No Birds Sang, just to mention a very few. He was wonderful. :(

Even my husband, who is not much of a reader, was sad to hear about Farley Mowat. Mowat books were an integral part of growing up in Canada for our generation.

:`(

I've only read a couple of Farley Mowat's books, but the were highly entertaining. And I can remember our teacher reading us Owls in the Family in grade school. It was neat for me as a kid to think there was this interesting Canadian having such adventures and trying to right wrongs for animals.

Oh no...
I absolutely adored Never Cry Wolf when I read it for a 'Nature in Literature' course back in grad school.
:õ(

Very sad about Farley Mowat - his books were a big part of my childhood reading, and he was such a character!

I too am sad to hear of Mowat's passing. He was a huge gift to the world, an environmentalist before it was "popular" and continuing even when it was thought to be "fringe". He loved the natural world and would love to spend his life without much human contact and I must say I'm feeling identification with that point of view. He will be missed.

Although Mowat died at 94 we all seem to think of him as the young man he was in "Never Cry Wolf." That is itself a form of tribute.

H. R. Giger, best known for his work on the "Alien" films, has died at age 74.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/13/hr-giger-dead-alien-artist_n_5314408.ht...