The Rest In Peace & Remembrance Thread #2

Art Donovan, hall of fame defensive tackle for Baltimore Colts, dies at age 88
By Frank Schwab | Shutdown Corner

Art Donovan was probably better known for his funny stories about playing in the NFL than actually playing in the NFL.

It might say something about how good of a storyteller Donovan was that he overshadowed his own impressive playing career.

Donovan died Sunday. Donovan was a longtime defensive tackle for the Baltimore Colts, and a Pro Football Hall of Fame member. His Pro Football Hall of Fame bio said he was 88 years old.News of his death spread during the Hall of Fame preseason game on Sunday night.

Donovan had a unique road to NFL stardom, which came through in some of his famous stories. He was a 26-year-old rookie. A stint in World War II pushed his football career back. He was on three teams his first three pro seasons, before he finally stuck with the Colts in 1953.

He got a late start, but made up for it. From 1954-57, Donovan was a first-team All-Pro every year. He was second-team All-Pro in 1958 and 1960. He retired after the 1961 season. He was part of Colts championship teams in 1958 and 1959, the first two title teams in Colts history, and played in the famous NFL Championship Game against the Giants in Yankee Stadium at the end of the 1958 season. He was the first Colts player elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Donovan's laughter and delivery made him even more famous after his playing career was done. He was a regular on television, including 10 guest appearances on David Letterman's talk show, according to the Baltimore Sun.

Donovan died of a respiratory ailment, the Sun reported.

"The only weight I ever lifted weighed 24 ounces," Donovan said in one of his many one-liners, according to the Sun. "It was a Schlitz. I always replaced my fluids."
 
Rep: Jazz keyboardist George Duke dies at 67
Aug 6, 12:58 PM (ET)
By MESFIN FEKADU

NEW YORK (AP) - George Duke, the Grammy-winning jazz keyboardist and producer whose sound infused acoustic jazz, electronic jazz, funk, R&B and soul in a 40-year-plus career, has died. He was 67.

A representative for Duke said the performer died Monday night in Los Angeles. Duke was being treated for chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Duke's son, Rashid, thanked his father's fans in a statement Tuesday.

"The outpouring of love and support that we have received from my father's friends, fans and the entire music community has been overwhelming," he said. "Thank you all for your concern, prayers and support."

Duke was born in San Rafael, Calif. He appeared on a number of Frank Zappa albums and played in the Don Ellis Orchestra, Cannonball Adderley's band and with jazz musician Stanley Clarke. Duke also played keyboard on Michael Jackson's multiplatinum 1979 album, "Off the Wall."

Full story at AP/Iwon News.
 
Margaret Pellegrini, One of the Last ‘Wizard of Oz’ Munchkins, Dies at 89
By Matt McDaniel | Movie Talk

Margaret Pellegrini, who staked a claim in cinematic history when she was just 16 years old as one of the residents of Munchkinland in "The Wizard of Oz," died Wednesday at the age of 89 in Arizona. According to a spokesperson for the few surviving actors who appeared in the 1939 classic, Pellegrini was best known as one of the "Flower Pot" Munchkins who greet Dorothy (Judy Garland) when her house lands in Oz.

Pellegrini told CBS5 in Phoenix earlier this year that she was spotted by a talent scout at a state fair when she was only 13, and a few years later she was invited to take a train to Hollywood to appear in the movie. She actually shows up in the Munchkinland sequence twice, once with a hat shaped like a flower pot and later as one of the "Sleepyheads."

Pelligrini continued to take part in "Oz" related events throughout her life. She was present in 2007 when the remaining Munchkins were given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She was also named the Grand Marshall of this year's annual "Oz-Stravaganza" parade in Chittenango, NY, but health issues prevented her from attending. Pelligrini was a mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother.

Of the 124 actors who appeared as Munchkin's in the original production, there are now only two known survivors 95-year-old Ruth Duccini (who played a villager) and 93-year-old Jerry Maren (who was the green-clad middle member of the Lollipop Guild).

Of course, "The Wizard of Oz" the film goes on in perpetuity. In fact, it will be back in theaters in IMAX 3D for the first time next month. The new, large-format 3D version will premiere at the remodeled Chinese Theater (the same place the original film premiered 75 years ago) on September 15, and it will be in IMAX venues for one week starting September 20.
 
Karen Black, Oscar-Nominated Star of ’70s Classics, Dies at 74
By Matt McDaniel | Movie Talk

Karen Black, the Oscar-nominated star of groundbreaking films of the '60s and '70s like "Easy Rider," "Five Easy Pieces" and "Nashville," died on Thursday at the age of 74. Her husband, Stephen Eckleberry, confirmed on Facebook that she succumbed to cancer after a two-year battle.

Black trained at the Actor's Studio in New York under the legendary acting teacher Lee Strassberg before making her film debut in 1966 with Francis Ford Coppola's early film "You're a Big Boy Now." She shot to stardom three years later in the counterculture classic "Easy Rider" alongside Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper as one of the women who join the bikers on a drug trip in a New Orleans cemetery ("Mickey" singer Toni Basil was the other).

Black earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in "Five Easy Pieces" as the country-singing waitress in an unhealthy relationship with Jack Nicholson's disaffected classical pianist. This led to roles in many high-profile films of the 1970s, including "The Great Gatsby" with Robert Redford, Robert Altman's "Nashville," and "Family Plot," Alfred Hitchcock's final film. She also hosted "Saturday Night Live" in its second season (she returned to the show again in 1981). Her most indelible work of the decade, though, might well be the TV movie "Trilogy of Terror," where she played the main character in three short horror films — including the famous solo battle with the Zuni fetish doll.

Karen Black continued to work throughout the '80s, '90s and 2000s, though mostly in low-budget independent and horror films, including Rob Zombie's directorial debut "House of 1000 Corpses." She had two projects she worked on before becoming gravely ill: the romantic indie "She Loves Me Not," which premiered just this past Tuesday at the Midwest Independent Film Festival, and the online project "The Being Experience."

Black grabbed headlines this past March when she went public with her cancer battle and started a crowdsourcing effort to raise funds for her treatment. Her GoFundMe page nearly doubled its fundraising goal, bringing in nearly $62,000 in donations from fans.

On her official blog, Black's husband posted an update on Wednesday detailing her struggle with her disease and deteriorating condition. Eckleberry wrote, "One doctor told me that he thought that Karen had only 24 hours to live when she arrive at St. Johns June 3rd, and yet here she is alive two months later." He went on to say that interactions with fans sustained both of them: "Karen and I have received hundreds of messages from you. Your prayers and well wishes help sustain us. We remain eternally grateful for all the love you continue to share."

Black is survived by her son, Hunter Carson (they appeared together in the 1986 film "Invaders From Mars") and adopted daughter Celine Eckleberry.
 
She was a great actress and will be missed. :( If you've never seen her in the horror flicks Trilogy of Terror or Burnt Offerings, check them out. They will truly scare you. :thumbsup:
 
Eydie Gorme dies at 84
pop singer did 'Blame It on the Bossa Nova'
By Claire Noland
August 10, 2013, 8:49 p.m.

Eydie Gorme, a pop vocalist who entertained nightclub audiences and TV viewers as a solo artist and with her husband, Steve Lawrence, died Saturday. She was 84.

Gorme died at a Las Vegas hospital of an undisclosed illness, said her publicist, Howard Bragman.

Since the mid-1950s, first as a soloist and then as part of the Steve and Eydie duo, Gorme sang pop hits, standards and show tunes while decked out in sequins and engaging in playful stage patter.

Her first album with Lawrence, "We Got Us," won a Grammy Award in 1960. The two also recorded separately, he making Billboard's top 10 with "Go Away Little Girl" in 1962 and she having a hit with "Blame It on the Bossa Nova" in 1963 and winning a Grammy for "If He Walked into My Life" in 1966. Together they starred in the Broadway musical "Golden Rainbow" in 1968.

"Eydie has been my partner onstage and in life for more than 55 years," Lawrence said in a statement. "I fell in love with her the moment I saw her and even more the first time I heard her sing. While my personal loss is unimaginable, the world has lost one of the greatest pop vocalists of all time."

Gorme (pronounced Gor-MAY) had been a singer with the Tex Beneke Band when Steve Allen hired her for his New York variety TV show in 1953. Lawrence was also part of the show's ensemble, and the two sang and acted in comedy sketches. They made the leap with Allen when his "Tonight" show was picked up by the NBC network in 1954, and for three years they were regulars on the late-night hit.

In 1957 Gorme appeared with comedian Jerry Lewis at the Palace Theatre on Broadway and with comic Joe E. Brown in Las Vegas. That December she married Lawrence in Las Vegas. They returned to television in 1958 with "The Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme Show" before Lawrence was called to the Army.

While he served for two years, she performed on her own, and upon his discharge in 1960 they resumed their professional partnership, billing themselves as Steve and Eydie.

"What has been the nature of their success?" Allen said in a 1996 Times story. "First, the fact that they are a couple has something to do with it. Secondly, they are damned good singers. And thirdly — this has both hurt and helped them — they concentrated for the most part on good music. This lost them the youthful audience, who prefer crap to Cole Porter's music. But it endeared them to people with sophisticated taste."

Gorme was born Aug. 16, 1928, in the Bronx, N.Y., to Sephardic Jewish immigrants. Her father was a tailor from Sicily and her mother was from Turkey. Before her singing career took off, Gorme worked as a Spanish-language interpreter.

In the mid-1960s she was pitched the idea of a Spanish-language recording. "Amor" and a follow-up album with the Mexican group Trio Los Panchos became hits in the U.S. and Latin America.

Gorme and Lawrence continued to perform on television variety shows, winning an Emmy for the 1978 special "Steve and Eydie Celebrate Irving Berlin," and on tour as a duo and opening for Frank Sinatra and others.

Besides her husband of nearly 56 years, Gorme is survived by their son David and a granddaughter. The couple's other son, Michael, who had a heart condition, died in 1986 at age 23.
 
'That '70s Show' Star Lisa Robin Kelly Dead at 43

Troubled actress Lisa Robin Kelly, best known for playing Laurie Forman on "That '70s Show," died last night in her home at the age of 43.

The star had recently checked herself into rehab after struggling with alcoholism for years.

"Unfortunately Lisa Robin Kelly passed away last evening," Kelly's agent, Craig Wyckoff, told People magazine. "Lisa had voluntarily checked herself into a treatment facility early this week where she was battling the addiction problems that have plagued her these past few years.

"I spoke to her on Monday and she was hopeful and confident, looking forward to putting this part of her life behind her. Last night she lost the battle. Cause of death has not been issued yet and no death certificate has been issued either."

Kelly was a veteran actress who got her start in 1992 on "Married … With Children." Her credits included "Murphy Brown," "Charmed," and "Silk Stockings."

On "That '70s Show," the veteran actress played the promiscuous elder sister of Topher Grace's Eric Forman for five years. Her character was written out, though Kelly returned for a few episodes in Season 5. Then, she was replaced by Christina Moore in Season 6.

She told ABC News that her drinking problems stemmed from a miscarriage. "I had lost a baby," she said. "As a result of that, I lost it. I lost everything and I was abusing alcohol."

Alcoholism plagued Kelly for years after that. In 2010, she was charged with a DUI and served probation. Last year, she was arrested for domestic violence against ex-boyfriend John Michas, though she denied the charges and they were eventually dropped.

Last November, both Kelly and her now-estranged husband Robert Gilliam were arrested for assault after a domestic disturbance. Gilliam was convicted of domestic battery and sentenced to three years of probation. And just a few months ago, in June, Kelly was arrested for another DUI.

TMZ's sources say that Kelly's new boyfriend took her to rehab earlier this week, but it was too late — the actress suffered a fatal cardiac arrested Wednesday night.
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Former Disney Channel Star Lee Thompson Young Found Dead

Lee Thompson Young, a former Disney Channel star who appeared on "Rizzoli & Isles," was found dead this morning at the age of 29.

Police confirmed that the versatile young actor died in an apparent suicide of a gunshot wound. TMZ reports that Young’s landlord found him when he did not report to the set of the TNT drama this morning.

When officers arrived to his apartment at the 5000 block of Tujunga Avenue, they pronounced him dead at the scene. There is no word on whether Young left a note, and the coroner is taking over the case.

"It is with great sadness that I announce that Lee Thompson Young tragically took his own life this morning," said Young's long-time manager Jonathan Baruch in a statement.

"Lee was more than just a brilliant young actor, he was a wonderful and gentle soul who will be truly missed. We ask that you please respect the privacy of his family and friends as this very difficult time."

Young began his acting career early, appearing in community theater as a child before heading toward the bright lights of New York City. There, he auditioned for and won the main role in Disney's "The Famous Jett Jackson." The show lasted for three seasons and a TV movie.

After the end of the series, Young appeared in Jamie Foxx's "Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story" and in the "Friday Night Lights" movie as Chris Comer. He also landed guest roles in TV shows including "The Guardian," "South Beach," and "Smallville."

In 2009, Young starred in the short-lived sci-fi drama "FlashForward" as an FBI agent who commits suicide to prevent a death.

His latest work was in TNT's "Rizzoli & Isles" as Det. Barry Frost, Rizzoli's (Angie Harmon) partner.

Young graduated with honors from the University of Southern California.
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Susan
 
Sid Bernstein, who brought Beatles to Shea, dies
Aug 21, 4:13 PM (ET)
By HILLEL ITALIE

NEW YORK (AP) - Misty-eyed music promoter Sid Bernstein, who booked such top acts as Jimi Hendrix, Judy Garland and the Rolling Stones and hit the highest heights when he masterminded the Beatles' historic concerts at Shea Stadium and Carnegie Hall, died Wednesday at age 95.

Bernstein's daughter, Casey Deutsch, said he died in his sleep at a hospital. She cited no illness and said he died of natural causes.

For decades, the squat, floppy-haired Bernstein excelled like few others at being everywhere and knowing everybody. He worked with Garland, Duke Ellington and Ray Charles, promoted Dion, Bobby Darin and Chubby Checker and managed Esy Morales, the Rascals and Ornette Coleman. He was an early backer of ABBA, setting up the Swedish group's first American appearances. He was behind one of the first rock benefit shows, the 1970 "Winter Festival for Peace" at Madison Square Garden, which featured Hendrix and Peter, Paul and Mary. And he helped revive Tony Bennett's career with a 1962 show at Carnegie Hall.

Full story at Iwon/AP News.

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Elmore Leonard, writer of sharp, colorful crime stories, dead at 87
(CNN) -- Elmore Leonard -- the award-winning mystery writer whose snappy dialogue, misfit characters and laconic sense of humor produced such popular works as "Get Shorty," "Hombre," "Fifty-Two Pickup" and "Out of Sight" -- has died, according to his literary agent, Jeffrey Posternak. He was 87.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/20/showbiz/elmore-leonard-obit/index.html?hpt=hp_t3


 
David Frost, known for Nixon interview, dies
Sep 1, 8:13 AM (ET)
By SYLVIA HUI


LONDON (AP) - Veteran British journalist and broadcaster David Frost, who won fame around the world for his TV interviews with former President Richard Nixon, has died, his family told the BBC. He was 74.

Frost died of a suspected heart attack on Saturday night aboard the Queen Elizabeth cruise ship, where he was due to give a speech, the family said. The cruise company Cunard said its vessel left the English port of Southampton on Saturday for a 10-day cruise in the Mediterranean.

Known both for an amiable personality and incisive interviews with leading public figures, Frost's career in television news and entertainment spanned almost half a century. He was the only person to have interviewed all six British prime ministers serving between 1964 and 2007 and the seven U.S. presidents in office between 1969 and 2008. Outside world affairs, his roster ranged from Orson Welles to Muhammad Ali to Clint Eastwood.

Prime Minister David Cameron was quick to send his condolences, praising Frost for being an "extraordinary man with charm, wit, talent, intelligence and warmth in equal measure."

"The Nixon interviews were among the great broadcast moments - but there were many other brilliant interviews," Cameron said. "He could be - and certainly was with me - both a friend and a fearsome interviewer."

The BBC said it received a statement from Frost's family saying it was devastated and asking "for privacy at this difficult time."

Frost began television hosting while still a student at Cambridge University. He went on to host the BBC's satirical news show "The Week That Was" in the early 1960s, and, later, a sketch show called "The Frost Report" and a long-running BBC Sunday show, "Breakfast with Frost." His signature, "Hello, good evening and welcome" was often mimicked.

While popular in Britain and beginning to launch a career on U.S. television, Frost did not become internationally known until 1977, when he secured a series of television interviews with Nixon.

Full story at AP News / Iwon.
 
Tom Clancy, best-selling author, dead at 66 :(

Bestselling author Tom Clancy, known for his espionage and military thrillers, died Tuesday in Baltimore, his publisher confirms to CBSNews.com. He was 66.

No cause of death was revealed.

Clancy was behind the CIA analyst character Jack Ryan who appeared in several of books, including "The Hunt for Red October," "Patriot Games" and "Clear and Present Danger."

Born in Baltimore in 1947, Clancy attended Loyala College and began his career as an insurance salesman before writing espionage and military science novels. He published his first -- "The Hunt for Red October" about the defection of a Russian submarine crew -- in 1984. Six years later, the bestseller was made into a film, starring Sean Connery, James Earl Jones and Alec Baldwin. Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck, Willem Dafoe and Liev Schreiber are among the other actors who have starred in films based on Clancy's books.

Clancy's other works include "The Sum of All Fears," "Without Remorse," "Debt of Honor," "Executive Orders" and "Rainbow Six." He was readying his 17th novel, "Command Authority," for a Dec. 3 release on G.P. Putnam's Sons.

Penguin Group (USA)'s executive David Shanks, who was personally involved in the publication of every one of Clancy's books, said in a statement, "I'm deeply saddened by Tom's passing. He was a consummate author, creating the modern-day thriller, and was one of the most visionary storytellers of our time. I will miss him dearly and he will be missed by tens of millions of readers worldwide."

Clancy told New York Times magazine in 1988 that he never read "kids' books" growing up, noting, "I remember reading Jules Verne in the third grade. I started on Samuel Eliot Morrison in the fourth or fifth grade -- he started me on military history. I read a lot of science fiction. I read every genre you can imagine."

In 1996, Clancy founded Red Storm Entertainment to create and market multimedia games based on his stories, including Ghost Recon and The Sum of All Fears. The latest Splinter Cell game was just released this past summer.

"Jack Ryan: Shadow One," an upcoming movie based on Clancy's character, is due out Christmas Day. Directed Kenneth Branagh, the film stars Chris Pine, Keira Knightly and Kevin Costner.
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Susan
 
Remembering Ed Lauter

Ed Lauter, a veteran character actor whose showbiz career stretched across five decades, died on Wednesday. He was 74.

The Long Beach, New York, native's death was caused by mesothelioma, which is a rare form of cancer most commonly caused by asbestos exposure, his publicist told the Associated Press.



Lauter is best known for playing stern and authoritative characters in movies and on TV — the military man, police detective, tough prison guard, and no-nonsense dad or coach. And while his name may not be recognizable at first look, his face likely is due to the vast number of roles he's had in popular movies and shows over the last 30 years.

The actor, whose mother worked on Broadway in the 1920s, was bit by the acting bug in college and, after several stage appearances, made his movie debut in the 1972 western "The Magnificent Seven Ride!" He went on to appear in four Charles Bronson films, including "Death Wish 3"; Alfred Hitchcock's last film, "Family Plot"; and alongside Burt Reynolds in "The Longest Yard." One of his later roles came in the Oscar-winning silent film "The Artist."

He had a TV career that was equally varied. After a bit role as a sergeant in 1971's "Mannix," he went on to appear in "Star Trek: The Next Generation, "The X-Files," and a slew of TV crime dramas, including "Baretta," "Kojak" and "CSI." His most recent TV role was on Showtime's "Shameless" with William H. Macy.

Lauter rarely headlined a project -- his most high-profile "lead" was probably Stephen King's 1991 miniseries "Golden Years," opposite Felicity Huffman -- but in true character actor fashion, proved a reliable scene stealer, leaving his mark on dozens of admired movies and television shows.

Lauter continued to work up until just a few months ago and several of his projects will be released posthumously.
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Susan
 
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