The Rest In Peace & Remembrance Thread

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Former major leaguer Tom Burgess dies at 82
Nov 27, 2008

LAMBETH, Ontario (AP)—Tom Burgess, who played briefly in the major leagues before serving as a coach under Joe Torre and Bobby Cox, has died. He was 81.

A member of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, Burgess died Monday at his Lambeth home after a battle with cancer, Baseball Canada said.

Burgess spent most of his professional playing career in the minors but had two short stints in the big leagues as an outfielder and first baseman. He went 1-for-21 (.048) at the plate with the 1954 St. Louis Cardinals and didn’t get back to the majors until eight years later, when he batted .196 with two homers and 13 RBIs for the 1962 Los Angeles Angels.

After his playing career ended, Burgess managed at many levels for St. Louis, Atlanta, the New York Mets, Texas and Detroit. He was third base coach for the Mets under Joe Frazier and Torre in 1977 and for Atlanta under Cox in 1978.

Burgess also coached and managed for Baseball Canada and Baseball Ontario.

“Tom could not give enough back to baseball,” Tom Valcke, president of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, said in a phone interview Thursday. “He would teach anyone, anytime, everything he knew, as long as they wanted to learn and to work.”

As well as the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, Burgess also is a member of the London, Ontario, sports Hall of Fame and the Rochester Red Wings Hall of Fame.
 
Sydney Opera House mourns architect's death
Nov 30, 6:06 AM (ET)

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) - The distinctive white sails of the Sydney Opera House darkened Sunday night to mourn the death of Joern Utzon, the creative mind behind the globally known landmark.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd led praise for the Danish architect, whose most distinctive creation had a troublesome birth in Australia but is now held dear as perhaps the country's most recognized icon.

Floodlights that illuminate the shell-like structure were dimmed for one hour Sunday night to mark Utzon's death. Flags on the city's other landmark, the arch-like Sydney Harbor Bridge, would be lowered to half-staff on Monday to honor Utzon, the New South Wales state government announced.

Utzon died from a heart attack in his sleep early Saturday, surrounded by family members in Denmark, his son, Kim Utzon, told The Associated Press. He was 90.

Full story at Iwon/AP News.
 
Benedict, actor in `The Jeffersons,' dies at 70

BOSTON – Paul Benedict, the actor who played the English neighbor Harry Bentley on the sitcom "The Jeffersons," has died. He was 70.

Benedict was found dead Monday on Martha's Vineyard and his brother, Charles, said authorities were still investigating the cause of death.

Benedict began his acting career in the 1960s in the Theatre Company of Boston, alongside such future stars as Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman and Al Pacino.

Benedict went on to appear in a number of movies, including a role as the oddball director in "The Goodbye Girl" with Richard Dreyfuss. But he was mainly known for his role as Bentley in "The Jeffersons," which ran on CBS from 1975 to '85.
 
Sci-fi's grand old man, Forrest J Ackerman, dies
Dec 5, 4:02 PM (ET)

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Forrest J Ackerman, the sometime actor, literary agent, magazine editor and full-time bon vivant who discovered author Ray Bradbury and was widely credited with coining the term "sci-fi," has died. He was 92.

Ackerman died Thursday of heart failure at his Los Angeles home, said Kevin Burns, head of Prometheus Entertainment and a trustee of Ackerman's estate.

Although only marginally known to readers of mainstream literature, Ackerman was legendary in science-fiction circles as the founding editor of the pulp magazine Famous Monsters of Filmland. He was also the owner of a huge private collection of science-fiction movie and literary memorabilia that for years filled every nook and cranny of a hillside mansion overlooking Los Angeles.

Every Saturday morning that he was home, Ackerman would open up the house to anyone who wanted to view his treasures. He sold some pieces and gave others away when he moved to a smaller house in 2002, but he continued to let people visit him every Saturday for as long as his health permitted.

Ackerman himself appeared in numerous films over the years, usually in bit parts. His credits include "Queen of Blood,""Dracula vs. Frankenstein,""Amazon Women on the Moon,""Vampirella,""Transylvania Twist,""The Howling" and the Michael Jackson "Thriller" video. More recently, he appeared in 2007's "The Dead Undead" and 2006's "The Boneyard Collection."

Full story at Iwon/AP News.
 
'My Three Sons' actress Beverly Garland dies at 82
Dec 6, 10:04 PM (ET)

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Beverly Garland, the B-movie actress who starred in 1950s cult hits like "Swamp Women" and "Not of This Earth" and who went on to play Fred MacMurray's TV wife on "My Three Sons," has died. She was 82.

Garland died Friday at her Hollywood Hills home after a lengthy illness, her son-in-law Packy Smith told the Los Angeles Times.

Garland made her film debut in the 1950 noir classic "D.O.A.," launching a 50-year career that included 40 movies and dozens of television shows.

Her television credits also include "Remington Steele," "Scarecrow and Mrs. King," "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman," "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman" and "7th Heaven."

Full story at Iwon/AP News.
 
Culkin's sister killed after struck by car
Dec 11, 12:32 PM (ET)

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Police say Macaulay Culkin's sister Dakota Culkin was killed after she stepped in front of a car in west Los Angeles.

Police spokesman Richard French says Dakota Culkin was struck Tuesday night after she stepped into the street. She died a day later at a Los Angeles hospital after suffering massive head injuries.

French says there is no active criminal investigation.

Police say the driver stopped and tried to help the 29-year-old. Officers determined the motorist wasn't driving drunk and followed all laws.

Macaulay Culkin's spokeswoman, Michelle Bega, said it was a "terrible tragic accident" and the family had no further comment.
 
Hill Street Blues' Robert Prosky Dies at 77

Dec 11, 2008 04:32 PM ET
By Joyce Eng
TVGuide.com

Robert Prosky,best known to TV audiences as Sgt. Stan Jablonski on Hill Street Blues, has died. He was 77.

Prosky passed away Monday night in Washington, D.C. from complications following a heart procedure, his son Stefan Prosky told The Associated Press.

"He went gracefully last night, not in pain," Stefan Prosky said. "Everybody knows him as a fairly famous actor. My brothers and I know him as a marvelous father."

A veteran of not only television, but of stage and film as well, Prosky got his start in productions on the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., spending a total of 22 years there and appearing in more than 120 plays.

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1950s pinup model Bettie Page dies in LA at 85
Dec 11, 11:56 PM (ET)

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Bettie Page, the 1950s secretary-turned-model whose controversial photographs in skimpy attire or none at all helped set the stage for the 1960s sexual revolution, died Thursday. She was 85.

Page was placed on life support last week after suffering a heart attack in Los Angeles and never regained consciousness, said her agent, Mark Roesler. He said he and Page's family agreed to remove life support. Before the heart attack, Page had been hospitalized for three weeks with pneumonia.

Page, who was also known as Betty, attracted national attention with magazine photographs of her sensuous figure in bikinis and see-through lingerie that were quickly tacked up on walls in military barracks, garages and elsewhere, where they remained for years.

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Former CBS executive Robert Chandler dies at 80
Dec 12, 12:48 AM (ET)

PITTSFIELD, Mass. (AP) - Robert Chandler, a former CBS News executive who helped launch "60 Minutes" and supervised the TV newsmagazine in its early years, died Thursday, according to the network and his family. He was 80.

Chandler died of heart failure at his home in Pittsfield, said his son, Doug.

Chandler joined CBS News in 1963 as director of information services and later served as vice president in charge of public affairs broadcasts. He was an early proponent of the "60 Minutes" format, helping put Don Hewitt's concept for the pioneering program on the air.
 
Actor Van Johnson, 40's Heartthrob, dies at 92

Yahoo News
Dec. 12, 2008

NEW YORK – Van Johnson, whose boy-next-door wholesomeness made him a popular Hollywood star in the '40s and '50s with such films as "30 Seconds over Tokyo," "A Guy Named Joe" and "The Caine Mutiny," died Friday of natural causes. He was 92.

Johnson died at Tappan Zee Manor, an assisted living center in Nyack, N.Y., said Wendy Bleisweiss, a close friend.

With his tall, athletic build, handsome, freckled face and sunny personality, the red-haired Johnson starred opposite Esther Williams, June Allyson, Elizabeth Taylor and others during his two decades under contract to MGM.

He proved to be a versatile actor, equally at home with comedies ("The Bride Goes Wild," "Too Young to Kiss"), war movies ("Go for Broke," "Command Decision"), musicals ("Thrill of a Romance," "Brigadoon") and dramas ("State of the Union," "Madame Curie").
 
Some sad Star Trek news this evening. Majel Barrett Roddenberry, who played Nurse Chapel in the original series has passed away at the age of 76. She died of leukemia this morning. Majel was the widow of Gene Roddenberry. She will be missed. May you RIP Majel :(

Majel Roddenberry
 
I missed this last night but picked it up on my news feed just now. Very sad news indeed. Not that many of the original cast left these days :(
 
Mark Felt, Watergate's `Deep Throat,' dies at 95

SAN FRANCISCO – W. Mark Felt, the former FBI second-in-command who revealed himself as "Deep Throat" 30 years after he tipped off reporters to the Watergate scandal that toppled a president, has died. He was 95.

Felt died Thursday in Santa Rosa after suffering from congestive heart failure for several months, said family friend John D. O'Connor, who wrote the 2005 Vanity Fair article uncovering Felt's secret.

The shadowy central figure in one of the most gripping political dramas of the 20th century, Felt insisted his alter ego be kept secret when he leaked damaging information about President Richard Nixon and his aides to Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward.

While some — including Nixon and his aides — speculated that Felt was the source who connected the White House to the June 1972 break-in at the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee, he steadfastly denied the accusations until finally coming forward in May 2005.

Felt is survived by two children, Joan Felt and Mark Felt Jr., and four grandchildren. His wife, Audrey Felt, died in 1984.
 
Poet Adrian Mitchell dies at 76
Writer was known for works about nuclear war, Vietnam and racism

updated 1 hour, 59 minutes ago
LONDON - Poet Adrian Mitchell, whose passionate works about nuclear war, Vietnam and racism were often sung at left-wing rallies, has died at 76.

Publisher Bloodaxe Books said on its Web site that Mitchell died in his sleep early Saturday of a suspected heart attack after suffering from pneumonia for two months.

One of his best known poems, "Human Beings," was voted the poem people would most like to see launched into space in a 2005 poll by the writing charity The Poetry Society.

Mitchell was also a successful playwright, novelist and children's writer. He had just completed a new anthology, "Tell Me Lies: Poems 2005-2008," and a collection of work for children called "Umpteen Poems."

Mitchell was born in London in 1932 and worked as a journalist from 1955 to 1966 before becoming a full-time writer.
 
From TV Guide online:

Mockingbird Director Robert Mulligan Dies at 83
Dec 22, 2008 12:45 PM ET
by Joyce Eng

Robert Mulligan,who earned an Oscar nomination for directing 1962's To Kill a Mockingbird, died from heart disease Saturday, Dec. 20, in his Connecticut home. He was 83.

Though not a household name, Mulligan was considered one of the premier filmmakers of his era, directing five actors to Oscar nominations: Gregory Peck and Mary Badham (To Kill a Mockingbird), Natalie Wood (Love with the Proper Stranger), Ruth Gordon (Inside Daisy Clover) and Ellen Burstyn (Same Time, Next Year). Only Peck won for his turn as Atticus Finch.

Mulligan's other credits include Summer of '42, Fear Strikes Out, The Great Impostor and Baby, the Rain Must Fall.

An Emmy winner for 1959's The Moon and Sixpence, Mulligan got his start in television before moving into film. His final film was 1991's The Man in the Moon, which was Reese Witherspoon's movie debut.

Mulligan's younger brother was the late actor Richard Mulligan. He is survived by his wife, Sandy; three children from a previous marriage, Kevin, Beth and Christopher; two grandchildren; and a brother, James.
 
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