The Rest In Peace & Remembrance Thread

Ex-WWE champ, Andrew Martin, found dead in Fla.
Mar 14, 1:20 PM (ET)

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Authorities say former professional wrestler Andrew Martin, who was known as "Test" and "The Punisher" to fans, has died at his Tampa home. He was 33.

The former World Wrestling Entertainment champion was found dead at his apartment Friday night. Police say a neighbor reported that she could see into his apartment window and that Martin appeared motionless for several hours.

Police say there was no indication of foul play. A cause of death will be determined after an autopsy.

During his time with Stamford, Conn.-based World Wrestling Entertainment, Martin held the Intercontinental, European and Hardcore belts. He was also a tag-team champion.

Martin most recently worked for TNA Wrestling under the name "The Punisher."

 

Sammy Davis Jr.'s widow dies at age 65
Mar 15, 3:52 AM (ET)

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Altovise Joanne Gore Davis, a dancer and actress and the widow of Sammy Davis Jr., has died. She was 65.

Davis died Saturday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center after suffering a stroke, said Amy Malone, a publicist for her family.

Davis worked her way to the Broadway stage where she met the legendary entertainer when they performed together in the musical "Golden Boy" in 1967.

She became his third wife when they wed in 1970 (Davis was previously married to dancer Loray White and Swedish actress Mai Britt). They adopted a son and remained together until Davis died of throat cancer in 1990 at the age of 64.

After his death she was left to sort through his multimillion IRS tax debt and oversee his troubled estate. Last year, she sued two former business partners in federal court, claiming they tricked her into signing away the rights to the estate. The suit is pending.

Davis is survived by her son Manny.

A private memorial service was being planned.

 

Actor Ron Silver, 62, dies of esophageal cancer
Mar 15, 10:00 PM (ET)

New York (AP) - Actor Ron Silver has died in New York City after a two-year battle with esophageal cancer.

The Creative Coalition Executive Director Robin Bronk says the 62-year-old, who co-founded the nonprofit, died peacefully in his sleep with his family around him early Sunday morning.

Silver won a Tony Award as a take-no-prisoners Hollywood producer in David Mamet's "Speed-the-Plow" and did a political about-face from loyal Democrat to Republican activist after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Silver earned an Emmy nomination for a recurring role as a slick strategist for liberal President Jed Bartlet on "The West Wing." And Silver himself had a long history of balancing acting with left-leaning social and political causes.

 

WOW all these posts of all these people we lost recently.

Ron Silver. I liked him.

 

Ron Silver? Wow. I was just re-watching Married to it this weekend - a movie that he's in with Cybill Shepherd, Mary Stuart Masterson, Beau Bridges, Stockard Channing & Robert Sean Leonard. I don't remember him in anything else.

 

Screenwriter Millard Kaufman dies at 92
Mar 17, 3:53 AM (ET)

LOS ANGELES (AP) - A spokeswoman for McSweeney's Publishing says Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Millard Kaufman, who co-created the cartoon character Mr. Magoo, has died.

Kaufman died Saturday of heart failure at 92, said Laura Howard, spokeswoman for McSweeney's Publishing, which published his novel "Bowl of Cherries" in 1997.

Kaufman was nominated for Oscars for "Take the High Ground!" and "Bad Day at Black Rock."

His credits also include "Never So Few,""The Warlord,""The Klansman" and "Convicts 4," as well an episode of the TV series "Police Story" and the TV movie "Enola Gay."

In 1949, he wrote the screenplay for the short film "Ragtime Bear," which featured the first appearance of Mr. Magoo.

 

Natasha Richardson dies at 45 after ski accident

By HILLEL ITALIE, AP National Writer Hillel Italie, Ap National Writer

NEW YORK – Natasha Richardson, a gifted and precocious heiress to acting royalty whose career highlights included the film "Patty Hearst" and a Tony-winning performance in a stage revival of "Cabaret," died Wednesday at age 45 after suffering a head injury from a skiing accident.

Alan Nierob, the Los Angeles-based publicist for Richardson's husband Liam Neeson, confirmed her death in a written statement.

"Liam Neeson, his sons, and the entire family are shocked and devastated by the tragic death of their beloved Natasha," the statement said. "They are profoundly grateful for the support, love and prayers of everyone, and ask for privacy during this very difficult time."

The statement did not give details on the cause of death for Richardson, who suffered a head injury when she fell on a beginner's trail during a private ski lesson at the luxury Mont Tremblant ski resort in Quebec. She was hospitalized Tuesday in Montreal and later flown to a hospital in New York City.

Family members had been seen coming and going from the New York hospital where Richardson was reportedly taken.

Vanessa Redgrave, Richardson's mother, arrived in a car with darkened windows and was taken through a garage when she arrived at the Lenox Hill Hospital on Manhattan's Upper East Side at around 5 p.m. Wednesday. An hour earlier, Richardson's sister, Joely, arrived alone and was swarmed by the media as she entered through the back of the hospital.

 

Really sad news about Natasha Richardson. My prayers are with her family at this time.

 

The news of Natasha's death has me shedding more tears than I had expected. She always seemed like a great lady. My thoughts & prayers to Liam, the boys, and the rest of Natasha's family.

 

Dear god, I'm stunned I can't believe this, I thought she'd recover it's beyond tragic, may peace be with her beloved husband Liam and her sons and her immediate family and she will be missed, RIP Natasha~

 

Oh, how terrible.

Our prayers are with her family during this time.

 

So true...brain injuries are very tricky. Although I know it's sad news, I wasn't surprised to hear that she has died. What's even sadder was the fact that she refused to be checked out by a doctor after the accident. May she rest in peace.

 

True and the fact that she wasn't wearing a helmet...

RIP and prayers to the family & Friends she lived in love, died in love and will be remembered forever in the love of her family, friends and fans.