Here ya go. Broncos Say No Signs McKinley Was Suicidal - and here is the news from the NFL.com site BTW he was a wide reciever.
The Rest In Peace & Remembrance Thread #2
- Thread starter sandersidle
- Start date
Here ya go. Broncos Say No Signs McKinley Was Suicidal - and here is the news from the NFL.com site BTW he was a wide reciever.
Dynamo1
Head of the Swing Shift
Segway scooter firm owner dies after riding off cliff
September 27, 2010 6:01 AM
September 27, 2010 6:01 AM
LONDON -- The British owner of the firm that makes the Segway scooter died after riding one of the futuristic two-wheeled machines over a cliff and into a river, police said Monday.
The body of millionaire Jimi Heselden, 62, was discovered in the River Wharfe near his home in the town of Boston Spa in northern England on Sunday, said a spokeswoman for West Yorkshire Police.
"A Segway-style vehicle was recovered from the scene," the spokeswoman told AFP, adding that police were called to the scene after reports of a man "apparently having fallen from the cliffs above".
"The incident is not believed to be suspicious," she added.
Heselden led a British team which bought US-based Segway Inc. in December last year and now manufactures and distributes the distinctive self-balancing vehicles.
The Segway was introduced in 2002 amid great fanfare as a means of revolutionising urban transportation. They use gyroscopes, computers and electric motors to cruise to 12 miles (19 kilometres) per hour.
A former coal miner who left school at 15, Heselden made his fortune with the Hesco Bastion firm, which developed the "Hesco" blast walls that are widely used in Afghanistan and Iraq.
"It is with great sadness that we have to confirm that Jimi Heselden has died in a tragic accident near his home in West Yorkshire," Hesco Bastion said in a statement, without giving further details.
His death came a week after he became one of Britain's top philanthropists, giving 10 million pounds (11.7 million euros, 15.8 million dollars) to a charity and taking his lifetime donations to 23 million pounds, it said.
Source: Yahoo! News
'Titanic' co-star Gloria Stuart dies at 100
LOS ANGELES – Gloria Stuart, the 1930s Hollywood beauty who gave up acting for 30 years and later became the oldest Academy Award acting nominee as the spunky survivor in "Titanic," has died. She was 100.
Stuart died of respiratory failure Sunday night at her Los Angeles home, her daughter, Sylvia Thompson, said Monday. The actress had been diagnosed with lung cancer five years ago and had beaten breast cancer about 20 years ago, Thompson said.
"She did not believe in illness. She paid no attention to it, and it served her well," Thompson said. "She had a great life. I'm not sad. I'm happy for her."
In her youth, Stuart was a blond beauty who starred in B pictures as well as some higher-profile ones such as "The Invisible Man," Busby Berkeley's "Gold Diggers of 1935" and two Shirley Temple movies, "Poor Little Rich Girl" and "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm."
----
Stuart was born in 1910 in Santa Monica, Calif., and began acting while in college. She soon signed with Universal Studios, which was responsible for "The Old Dark House" and many other horror classics of the 1930s.
Stuart is survived by a daughter, Sylvia Vaughn Thompson, four grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.
For More See The Link Provided!
'Titanic' co-star Gloria Stuart dies at 100
LOS ANGELES – Gloria Stuart, the 1930s Hollywood beauty who gave up acting for 30 years and later became the oldest Academy Award acting nominee as the spunky survivor in "Titanic," has died. She was 100.
Stuart died of respiratory failure Sunday night at her Los Angeles home, her daughter, Sylvia Thompson, said Monday. The actress had been diagnosed with lung cancer five years ago and had beaten breast cancer about 20 years ago, Thompson said.
"She did not believe in illness. She paid no attention to it, and it served her well," Thompson said. "She had a great life. I'm not sad. I'm happy for her."
In her youth, Stuart was a blond beauty who starred in B pictures as well as some higher-profile ones such as "The Invisible Man," Busby Berkeley's "Gold Diggers of 1935" and two Shirley Temple movies, "Poor Little Rich Girl" and "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm."
----
Stuart was born in 1910 in Santa Monica, Calif., and began acting while in college. She soon signed with Universal Studios, which was responsible for "The Old Dark House" and many other horror classics of the 1930s.
Stuart is survived by a daughter, Sylvia Vaughn Thompson, four grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.
For More See The Link Provided!
smacked4ever
Prime Suspect
george blanda died sometime today. he was an ex-football player
Dynamo1
Head of the Swing Shift
From TV Guide online:
Sally Menke, Film Editor for Quentin Tarantino, Dies at 56
by Robyn Ross
Sep 28, 2010 04:20 PM ET
Film editor Sally Menke, best known for her work with Quentin Tarantino, was found dead in Los Angeles on Tuesday, the Los Angeles Timesreported. She was 56.
Friends contacted the police on Monday when Menke didn't return home from hiking with her dog.
Her body was found early Tuesday at the bottom of a ravine, not far from where her car was parked. The Los Angeles County coroner's office was determining whether the record-breaking heat was a factor in her death. Monday's 113 degrees was the hottest day ever recorded in downtown Los Angeles.
Her dog was sitting next to her body, which was about a football field's length from nearby homes, the Times said.
Menke and Tarantino worked together on his first feature, 1992's Reservoir Dogs. In an 2009 essay for the Guardian, Menkin said the script "was amazing. It floored me."
They continued their professional relationship on the films Pulp Fictionand Kill Bill: Vol 1 and 2. Menke also edited last year's Inglourius Basterds.
Sally Menke, Film Editor for Quentin Tarantino, Dies at 56
by Robyn Ross
Sep 28, 2010 04:20 PM ET
Film editor Sally Menke, best known for her work with Quentin Tarantino, was found dead in Los Angeles on Tuesday, the Los Angeles Timesreported. She was 56.
Friends contacted the police on Monday when Menke didn't return home from hiking with her dog.
Her body was found early Tuesday at the bottom of a ravine, not far from where her car was parked. The Los Angeles County coroner's office was determining whether the record-breaking heat was a factor in her death. Monday's 113 degrees was the hottest day ever recorded in downtown Los Angeles.
Her dog was sitting next to her body, which was about a football field's length from nearby homes, the Times said.
Menke and Tarantino worked together on his first feature, 1992's Reservoir Dogs. In an 2009 essay for the Guardian, Menkin said the script "was amazing. It floored me."
They continued their professional relationship on the films Pulp Fictionand Kill Bill: Vol 1 and 2. Menke also edited last year's Inglourius Basterds.
Source: Yahoo! News
Arthur Penn, director of 'Bonnie and Clyde' dies
NEW YORK – Director Arthur Penn, a myth-maker and myth-breaker who in such classics as "Bonnie and Clyde" and "Little Big Man" refashioned movie and American history and sealed a generation's affinity for outsiders, died Tuesday night, a day after his 88th birthday.
Daughter Molly Penn said her father died at his home, in Manhattan, of congestive heart failure. Longtime friend and business manager Evan Bell said Wednesday that Penn had been ill for about a year and that a memorial service will be held before the end of the year. Penn's older brother was photographer Irving Penn, who died in October 2009.
After first making his name on Broadway as director of the Tony Award-winning plays "The Miracle Worker" and "All the Way Home," Penn rose as a film director in the 1960s, his work inspired by the decade's political and social upheaval, and Americans' interest in their past and present.
"Bonnie and Clyde," with its mix of humor and mayhem, encouraged moviegoers to sympathize with the lawbreaking couple from the 1930s, while "Little Big Man" told the tale of the conquest of the West with the Indians as the good guys.
"A society would be wise to pay attention to the people who do not belong if it wants to find out ... where it's failing," Penn once said.
For More See The Link Provided!
Just a side note: He leaves behind a wife (of 55 yrs) Peggy Maurer, and two adult children, a son Matthew Penn (actor), and daughter Molly Penn.
Arthur Penn, director of 'Bonnie and Clyde' dies
NEW YORK – Director Arthur Penn, a myth-maker and myth-breaker who in such classics as "Bonnie and Clyde" and "Little Big Man" refashioned movie and American history and sealed a generation's affinity for outsiders, died Tuesday night, a day after his 88th birthday.
Daughter Molly Penn said her father died at his home, in Manhattan, of congestive heart failure. Longtime friend and business manager Evan Bell said Wednesday that Penn had been ill for about a year and that a memorial service will be held before the end of the year. Penn's older brother was photographer Irving Penn, who died in October 2009.
After first making his name on Broadway as director of the Tony Award-winning plays "The Miracle Worker" and "All the Way Home," Penn rose as a film director in the 1960s, his work inspired by the decade's political and social upheaval, and Americans' interest in their past and present.
"Bonnie and Clyde," with its mix of humor and mayhem, encouraged moviegoers to sympathize with the lawbreaking couple from the 1930s, while "Little Big Man" told the tale of the conquest of the West with the Indians as the good guys.
"A society would be wise to pay attention to the people who do not belong if it wants to find out ... where it's failing," Penn once said.
For More See The Link Provided!
Just a side note: He leaves behind a wife (of 55 yrs) Peggy Maurer, and two adult children, a son Matthew Penn (actor), and daughter Molly Penn.
Speedystokesgirl
Judge
Source: MTV News
Comediant Greg Giraldo Dies at 44
Comedy Central Roast staple suffered an accidental overdose Saturday.
_____________
Comedian Greg Giraldo died Wednesday (September 29) at age 44 from a reportedly accidental prescription-drug overdose. Giraldo had been hospitalized in New Brunswick, New Jersey after he overdosed on prescription pills last weekend. According to TMZ, the overdose was not a suicide attempt.
Giraldo reportedly collapsed Saturday evening in his hotel room in New Jersey, where he was performing at a club. He was discovered by friends after he failed to show up for his scheduled performance. He was rushed to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick.
Jim Norton confirmed the news via Twitter, including a picture with his fellow comedian: "Greg Giraldo passed away today. This is the last photo of us together, taken June 28 at Noam's wedding. RIP buddy."
A source close to Giraldo told TMZ: "Greg passed away today at the hospital in New Brunswick as a result of an accidental overdose. His family was by his side."
The Giraldo family's plans for a memorial service will reportedly be made public when they become available.
Giraldo was best known for his celebrity roast appearances and was a frequent guest on "The Late Show With David Letterman," "Late Night With Conan O'Brian" and "The Howard Stern Show." He had also been a judge on NBC's "Last Comic Standing" and appeared as a panelist on Jerry Seinfeld's "The Marriage Ref."
Before Giraldo became a comic, he worked as a lawyer. He was a graduate of Columbia University and attended Harvard Law School.
A few of Giraldo's noteworthy Comedy Central Roast subjects included: Chevy Chase, Pam Anderson, William Shatner, Jeff Foxworthy, Flavor Flav, Bob Saget, Joan Rivers, Larry the Cable Guy and David Hasselhoff.
Comediant Greg Giraldo Dies at 44
Comedy Central Roast staple suffered an accidental overdose Saturday.
_____________
Comedian Greg Giraldo died Wednesday (September 29) at age 44 from a reportedly accidental prescription-drug overdose. Giraldo had been hospitalized in New Brunswick, New Jersey after he overdosed on prescription pills last weekend. According to TMZ, the overdose was not a suicide attempt.
Giraldo reportedly collapsed Saturday evening in his hotel room in New Jersey, where he was performing at a club. He was discovered by friends after he failed to show up for his scheduled performance. He was rushed to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick.
Jim Norton confirmed the news via Twitter, including a picture with his fellow comedian: "Greg Giraldo passed away today. This is the last photo of us together, taken June 28 at Noam's wedding. RIP buddy."
A source close to Giraldo told TMZ: "Greg passed away today at the hospital in New Brunswick as a result of an accidental overdose. His family was by his side."
The Giraldo family's plans for a memorial service will reportedly be made public when they become available.
Giraldo was best known for his celebrity roast appearances and was a frequent guest on "The Late Show With David Letterman," "Late Night With Conan O'Brian" and "The Howard Stern Show." He had also been a judge on NBC's "Last Comic Standing" and appeared as a panelist on Jerry Seinfeld's "The Marriage Ref."
Before Giraldo became a comic, he worked as a lawyer. He was a graduate of Columbia University and attended Harvard Law School.
A few of Giraldo's noteworthy Comedy Central Roast subjects included: Chevy Chase, Pam Anderson, William Shatner, Jeff Foxworthy, Flavor Flav, Bob Saget, Joan Rivers, Larry the Cable Guy and David Hasselhoff.
Source: Yahoo! News
Actor Tony Curtis dies at Las Vegas-area home at 85
LAS VEGAS – Tony Curtis molded himself from a 1950s movie heartthrob to a respected actor, showing a determined streak that served him well with such films as "Sweet Smell of Success," "The Defiant Ones" and "Some Like It Hot."
The Oscar-nominated actor died about 9:25 p.m. PDT Wednesday at his Henderson, Nev., home of a cardiac arrest, Clark County Coroner Mike Murphy said Thursday.
-----
Curtis took a fatherly pride in daughter Jamie's success. They were estranged for a long period, then reconciled. "I understand him better now," she said, "perhaps not as a father but as a man."
He also had five other children. Daughters Kelly, also with Leigh, and Allegra, with second wife Christine Kaufmann, also became actresses. His other wives were Leslie Allen, Lisa Deutsch and Jill VandenBerg, whom he married in 1998.
He had married Janet Leigh in 1951, when they were both rising young stars; they divorced in 1963.
"Tony and I had a wonderful time together; it was an exciting, glamorous period in Hollywood," Leigh, who died in 2004, once said. "A lot of great things happened, most of all, two beautiful children."
NOTE: For More Please See Link Provided!
Actor Tony Curtis dies at Las Vegas-area home at 85
LAS VEGAS – Tony Curtis molded himself from a 1950s movie heartthrob to a respected actor, showing a determined streak that served him well with such films as "Sweet Smell of Success," "The Defiant Ones" and "Some Like It Hot."
The Oscar-nominated actor died about 9:25 p.m. PDT Wednesday at his Henderson, Nev., home of a cardiac arrest, Clark County Coroner Mike Murphy said Thursday.
-----
Curtis took a fatherly pride in daughter Jamie's success. They were estranged for a long period, then reconciled. "I understand him better now," she said, "perhaps not as a father but as a man."
He also had five other children. Daughters Kelly, also with Leigh, and Allegra, with second wife Christine Kaufmann, also became actresses. His other wives were Leslie Allen, Lisa Deutsch and Jill VandenBerg, whom he married in 1998.
He had married Janet Leigh in 1951, when they were both rising young stars; they divorced in 1963.
"Tony and I had a wonderful time together; it was an exciting, glamorous period in Hollywood," Leigh, who died in 2004, once said. "A lot of great things happened, most of all, two beautiful children."
NOTE: For More Please See Link Provided!
Stephen J Cannell has passed away 
Stephen J. Cannell, the producer of iconic television shows such as "The A-Team," "21 Jump Street" and "The Rockford Files" has died. He was 69.
Cannell's family tells ET, "Stephen J. Cannell passed away at his home in Pasadena on Thursday evening due to complications associated with melanoma. He was surrounded by his family and loved ones.
"Aside from being a legendary television producer and prolific writer, Stephen was also a devoted husband, loving father and grandfather, and a loyal friend. Mr. Cannell is survived by his high school sweetheart and wife of 46 years, Marcia, their three children, Tawnia, Chelsea and Cody and three grandchildren. Stephen was the pillar of strength within his family and he touched everyone he met. He will be most deeply missed.
"The family asks that in lieu of flowers donations be made to the American Cancer Society or The International Dyslexia Association. Details regarding his memorial service will be released."
The prolific Emmy-winning producer was also the author of 16 novels. Having overcome dyslexia, he was a spokesperson on the condition and advocated on behalf of those with learning disabilities.
Stephen J Cannell
Stephen J. Cannell, the producer of iconic television shows such as "The A-Team," "21 Jump Street" and "The Rockford Files" has died. He was 69.
Cannell's family tells ET, "Stephen J. Cannell passed away at his home in Pasadena on Thursday evening due to complications associated with melanoma. He was surrounded by his family and loved ones.
"Aside from being a legendary television producer and prolific writer, Stephen was also a devoted husband, loving father and grandfather, and a loyal friend. Mr. Cannell is survived by his high school sweetheart and wife of 46 years, Marcia, their three children, Tawnia, Chelsea and Cody and three grandchildren. Stephen was the pillar of strength within his family and he touched everyone he met. He will be most deeply missed.
"The family asks that in lieu of flowers donations be made to the American Cancer Society or The International Dyslexia Association. Details regarding his memorial service will be released."
The prolific Emmy-winning producer was also the author of 16 novels. Having overcome dyslexia, he was a spokesperson on the condition and advocated on behalf of those with learning disabilities.
Stephen J Cannell
Desertwind
Head of the Day Shift
Thank's Destiny he was so good in "Some Like It Hot", and "Spartacus" and as "The Boston Strangler" so creepy, he played the serial killer. They built up his nose to make him look more lke the real person. So many great flicks always enjoyable. And on his personal life he was married 6 times and had 4 daughters and two sons from different women~not just Jamie Lee Curtis.. wow 85, and loved living in Vegas and he was featured in "Grave Danger" May he RIP~
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Curtis
Dynamo1
Head of the Swing Shift
Miss USA winner who had title stripped dies in LA
Oct 9, 6:36 PM (ET)
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Leona Gage, who in 1957 was named Miss USA but had the title stripped the next day when pageant officials learned she was married and a mother of two, has died in Los Angeles at 71.
Her son, Robert Kaminer, said Saturday that Gage died of heart failure at a Sherman Oaks hospital Tuesday.
Like Vanessa Williams and Carrie Prejean decades later, Gage's pageant scandal brought her bigger stardom than keeping the crown.
The 18-year-old Gage also lied about her age - telling pageant officials she was 21.
She had been married twice starting at age 14 and had her second child at 16, all forbidden for a pageant contestant.
The lost tiara led to many television appearances, including a famous one on the Ed Sullivan Show.
Oct 9, 6:36 PM (ET)
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Leona Gage, who in 1957 was named Miss USA but had the title stripped the next day when pageant officials learned she was married and a mother of two, has died in Los Angeles at 71.
Her son, Robert Kaminer, said Saturday that Gage died of heart failure at a Sherman Oaks hospital Tuesday.
Like Vanessa Williams and Carrie Prejean decades later, Gage's pageant scandal brought her bigger stardom than keeping the crown.
The 18-year-old Gage also lied about her age - telling pageant officials she was 21.
She had been married twice starting at age 14 and had her second child at 16, all forbidden for a pageant contestant.
The lost tiara led to many television appearances, including a famous one on the Ed Sullivan Show.
Dynamo1
Head of the Swing Shift
Solomon Burke dies at Amsterdam airport at 70
Oct 10, 6:29 AM (ET)
By TOBY STERLING
AMSTERDAM (AP) - Soul singer Solomon Burke, who wrote "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love" and recorded the hit "Cry To Me" used in the movie "Dirty Dancing," has died at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport. He was 70.
Airport police spokesman Robert van Kapel confirmed the death of the "King of Rock and Soul" on Sunday, and referred further questions to his management.
Dutch national broadcaster NOS said Burke died on a plane early Sunday after arriving on a flight from Los Angles. The cause of death was not immediately clear.
Burke, who was both a Grammy winner and a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, had been due to perform at a well-known club in Amsterdam on Tuesday.
A Philadelphia native highly acclaimed by music critics, fellow musicians, and many loyal fans, Burke never reached the same level of fame as soul performers like James Brown or Marvin Gaye.
He wrote "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love" in 1964 and it was quickly recorded by the Rolling Stones and Wilson Pickett, and later and perhaps most famously by the Blues Brothers.
Legendary Atlantic Records producer Jerry Wexler once called Burke, "the best soul singer of all time."
Burke joined Atlantic in 1960 and went on to record a string of hits in a decade with the label.
According to his website, Burke was born March 21, 1940, "to the sounds of horns and bass drums" at the United Praying Band The House of God for All People in West Philly.
"From day one, literally God and gospel were the driving forces behind the man and his music," his website said.
Burke was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001 and won a Grammy a year later.
Those honors sparked a renewed interest in the singer and he toured extensively around the world in recent years.
Burke and his band would play without set lists, instead performing whatever the audience wanted to hear.
"It's like turning back the hands of time instantly," he said on his website. "We can be in the middle of singing something from my recent 'Like A Fire' album, and they'll call out 'Stupidity' from 1957 and we're back 50 years!"
Burke combined his singing with the role of preacher and patriarch of a huge family of 21 children, 90 grandchildren and 19 great grandchildren.
"Loving people," he said at a recent performance in London, "is what I do."
Oct 10, 6:29 AM (ET)
By TOBY STERLING
AMSTERDAM (AP) - Soul singer Solomon Burke, who wrote "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love" and recorded the hit "Cry To Me" used in the movie "Dirty Dancing," has died at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport. He was 70.
Airport police spokesman Robert van Kapel confirmed the death of the "King of Rock and Soul" on Sunday, and referred further questions to his management.
Dutch national broadcaster NOS said Burke died on a plane early Sunday after arriving on a flight from Los Angles. The cause of death was not immediately clear.
Burke, who was both a Grammy winner and a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, had been due to perform at a well-known club in Amsterdam on Tuesday.
A Philadelphia native highly acclaimed by music critics, fellow musicians, and many loyal fans, Burke never reached the same level of fame as soul performers like James Brown or Marvin Gaye.
He wrote "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love" in 1964 and it was quickly recorded by the Rolling Stones and Wilson Pickett, and later and perhaps most famously by the Blues Brothers.
Legendary Atlantic Records producer Jerry Wexler once called Burke, "the best soul singer of all time."
Burke joined Atlantic in 1960 and went on to record a string of hits in a decade with the label.
According to his website, Burke was born March 21, 1940, "to the sounds of horns and bass drums" at the United Praying Band The House of God for All People in West Philly.
"From day one, literally God and gospel were the driving forces behind the man and his music," his website said.
Burke was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001 and won a Grammy a year later.
Those honors sparked a renewed interest in the singer and he toured extensively around the world in recent years.
Burke and his band would play without set lists, instead performing whatever the audience wanted to hear.
"It's like turning back the hands of time instantly," he said on his website. "We can be in the middle of singing something from my recent 'Like A Fire' album, and they'll call out 'Stupidity' from 1957 and we're back 50 years!"
Burke combined his singing with the role of preacher and patriarch of a huge family of 21 children, 90 grandchildren and 19 great grandchildren.
"Loving people," he said at a recent performance in London, "is what I do."
Della
Police Officer
Simon MacCorkindale Dies
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbi...-MacCorkindale-dies-losing-battle-cancer.html
There's probably not many whom know of Simon MacCorkindale on here, but he was a very well respected and very much liked and adored man over in the UK and are quite saddened with his passing, so I thought to post notice of his passing on here.
He was only 58 and appeared in good spirits a few weeks ago, so it is a huge shock for his fans.
My condolences to his family and friends and may you Rest in Peace Simon
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbi...-MacCorkindale-dies-losing-battle-cancer.html
There's probably not many whom know of Simon MacCorkindale on here, but he was a very well respected and very much liked and adored man over in the UK and are quite saddened with his passing, so I thought to post notice of his passing on here.
He was only 58 and appeared in good spirits a few weeks ago, so it is a huge shock for his fans.
My condolences to his family and friends and may you Rest in Peace Simon
Source: Yahoo! News
Barbara Billingsley, Beaver Cleaver's TV mom, dies at 94
LOS ANGELES – Barbara Billingsley, who gained supermom status for her gentle portrayal of June Cleaver, the warm, supportive mother of a pair of precocious boys in "Leave it to Beaver," died Saturday. She was 94.
Billingsley, who had suffered from a rheumatoid disease, died at her home in Santa Monica, said family spokeswoman Judy Twersky.
When the show debuted in 1957, Jerry Mathers, who played Beaver, was 9, and Tony Dow, who portrayed Wally, was 12. Billingsley's character, the perfect stay-at-home 1950s mom, was always there to gently but firmly nurture both through the ups and downs of childhood.
Beaver, meanwhile, was a typical American boy whose adventures landed him in one comical crisis after another.
Billingsley's own two sons said she was pretty much the image of June Cleaver in real life, although the actress disagreed. She did acknowledge that she may have become more like June as the series progressed.
"I think what happens is that the writers start writing about you as well as the character they created," she once said. "So you become sort of all mixed up, I think."
A wholesome beauty with a lithe figure, Billingsley began acting in her elementary school's plays and soon discovered she wanted to do nothing else.
Although her beauty and figure won her numerous roles in movies from the mid-1940s to the mid-1950s, she failed to obtain star status until "Leave it to Beaver," a show that she almost passed on.
"I was going to do another series with Buddy Ebsen for the same producers, but somehow it didn't materialize," she told The Associated Press in 1994. "A couple of months later I got a call to go to the studio to do this pilot show. And it was `Beaver.'"
Decades later, she expressed surprise at the lasting affection people had for the show.
"We knew we were making a good show, because it was so well written," she said. "But we had no idea what was ahead. People still talk about it and write letters, telling how much they watch it today with their children and grandchildren."
After "Leave it to Beaver" left the air in 1963 Billingsley largely disappeared from public view for several years.
She resurfaced in 1980 in a hilarious cameo in "Airplane!" playing a demur elderly passenger not unlike June Cleaver.
When flight attendants were unable to communicate with a pair of jive-talking hipsters, Billingsley's character volunteered to translate, saying "I speak jive." The three then engage in a raucous street-slang conversation.
"No chance they would have cast me for that if I hadn't been June Cleaver," she once said.
She returned as June Cleaver in a 1983 TV movie, "Still the Beaver," that costarred Mathers and Dow and portrayed a much darker side of Beaver's life.
In his mid-30s, Beaver was unemployed, unable to communicate with his own sons and going through a divorce. Wally, a successful lawyer, was handling the divorce, and June was at a loss to help her son through the transition.
"Ward, what would you do?" she asked at the site of her husband's grave. (Beaumont had died in 1982.)
The movie revived interest in the Cleaver family, and the Disney Channel launched "The New Leave It to Beaver" in 1985.
The series took a more hopeful view of the Cleavers, with Beaver winning custody of his two sons and all three moving in with June.
In 1997 Universal made a "Leave it to Beaver" theatrical film with a new generation of actors. Billingsley returned for a cameo, however, as Aunt Martha.
In later years she appeared from time to time in such TV series as "Murphy Brown," "Empty Nest" and "Baby Boom" and had a memorable comic turn opposite fellow TV moms June Lockhart of "Lassie" and Isabel Sanford of "The Jeffersons" on the "Roseanne" show.
"Now some people, they just associate you with that one role (June Cleaver), and it makes it hard to do other things," she once said. "But as far as I'm concerned, it's been an honor."
In real life, fate was not as gentle to Billingsley as it had been to June and her family.
Born Barbara Lillian Combes in Los Angeles on Dec. 22, 1922, she was raised by her mother after her parents divorced. She and her first husband, Glenn Billingsley, divorced when her sons were just 2 and 4.
Her second husband, director Roy Kellino, died of a heart attack after three years of marriage and just months before she landed the "Leave it to Beaver" role.
She married physician Bill Mortenson in 1959 and they remained wed until his death in 1981.
Survivors include her sons, three stepchildren and numerous grandchildren.
Barbara Billingsley, Beaver Cleaver's TV mom, dies at 94
LOS ANGELES – Barbara Billingsley, who gained supermom status for her gentle portrayal of June Cleaver, the warm, supportive mother of a pair of precocious boys in "Leave it to Beaver," died Saturday. She was 94.
Billingsley, who had suffered from a rheumatoid disease, died at her home in Santa Monica, said family spokeswoman Judy Twersky.
When the show debuted in 1957, Jerry Mathers, who played Beaver, was 9, and Tony Dow, who portrayed Wally, was 12. Billingsley's character, the perfect stay-at-home 1950s mom, was always there to gently but firmly nurture both through the ups and downs of childhood.
Beaver, meanwhile, was a typical American boy whose adventures landed him in one comical crisis after another.
Billingsley's own two sons said she was pretty much the image of June Cleaver in real life, although the actress disagreed. She did acknowledge that she may have become more like June as the series progressed.
"I think what happens is that the writers start writing about you as well as the character they created," she once said. "So you become sort of all mixed up, I think."
A wholesome beauty with a lithe figure, Billingsley began acting in her elementary school's plays and soon discovered she wanted to do nothing else.
Although her beauty and figure won her numerous roles in movies from the mid-1940s to the mid-1950s, she failed to obtain star status until "Leave it to Beaver," a show that she almost passed on.
"I was going to do another series with Buddy Ebsen for the same producers, but somehow it didn't materialize," she told The Associated Press in 1994. "A couple of months later I got a call to go to the studio to do this pilot show. And it was `Beaver.'"
Decades later, she expressed surprise at the lasting affection people had for the show.
"We knew we were making a good show, because it was so well written," she said. "But we had no idea what was ahead. People still talk about it and write letters, telling how much they watch it today with their children and grandchildren."
After "Leave it to Beaver" left the air in 1963 Billingsley largely disappeared from public view for several years.
She resurfaced in 1980 in a hilarious cameo in "Airplane!" playing a demur elderly passenger not unlike June Cleaver.
When flight attendants were unable to communicate with a pair of jive-talking hipsters, Billingsley's character volunteered to translate, saying "I speak jive." The three then engage in a raucous street-slang conversation.
"No chance they would have cast me for that if I hadn't been June Cleaver," she once said.
She returned as June Cleaver in a 1983 TV movie, "Still the Beaver," that costarred Mathers and Dow and portrayed a much darker side of Beaver's life.
In his mid-30s, Beaver was unemployed, unable to communicate with his own sons and going through a divorce. Wally, a successful lawyer, was handling the divorce, and June was at a loss to help her son through the transition.
"Ward, what would you do?" she asked at the site of her husband's grave. (Beaumont had died in 1982.)
The movie revived interest in the Cleaver family, and the Disney Channel launched "The New Leave It to Beaver" in 1985.
The series took a more hopeful view of the Cleavers, with Beaver winning custody of his two sons and all three moving in with June.
In 1997 Universal made a "Leave it to Beaver" theatrical film with a new generation of actors. Billingsley returned for a cameo, however, as Aunt Martha.
In later years she appeared from time to time in such TV series as "Murphy Brown," "Empty Nest" and "Baby Boom" and had a memorable comic turn opposite fellow TV moms June Lockhart of "Lassie" and Isabel Sanford of "The Jeffersons" on the "Roseanne" show.
"Now some people, they just associate you with that one role (June Cleaver), and it makes it hard to do other things," she once said. "But as far as I'm concerned, it's been an honor."
In real life, fate was not as gentle to Billingsley as it had been to June and her family.
Born Barbara Lillian Combes in Los Angeles on Dec. 22, 1922, she was raised by her mother after her parents divorced. She and her first husband, Glenn Billingsley, divorced when her sons were just 2 and 4.
Her second husband, director Roy Kellino, died of a heart attack after three years of marriage and just months before she landed the "Leave it to Beaver" role.
She married physician Bill Mortenson in 1959 and they remained wed until his death in 1981.
Survivors include her sons, three stepchildren and numerous grandchildren.