Chaplain remembered fondly



By Steve LathropAlbany



Democrat-Herald Richard Wade, the longtime chaplain at the Linn County Jail and creator of the “Free on the Inside” program, died Saturday.He is remembered fondly by those who had known him.“



Wade, 60, was a professional singer and keyboard player with the 1960s rock ’n’ roll group Paul Bearer and Hearsemen and other bands. His music ultimately took him all over the world.



Eventually Wade returned to Albany, where he worked at Albany First Assembly of God for 22 years. In the 1990s, he took over as chaplain at the Linn County Jail, starting a Sunday service that grew to include more than 100 inmates each week.



Born in in Albany in 1948, Wade graduated from Albany Union High School in 1966. He is survived by his wife, Donna, and daughters Julia and Karla, both of Albany.



Randy Cain (Herbert Randal Cain III), an original member of the Delfonics and founder of Blue Magic, was found dead inside his Philadelphia apartment Thursday (April 9) at the age of 63. The cause of death was not determined.



Formed in Philadelphia by Randy and his friends William and Wilbert Hart and Ritchie Daniels as the Four Gents and later the Orphonics, the group came to the attention of promoter/record shop owner Stan Watson, who hooked them up with producer Thom Bell and tiny Moon Shot Records. A name change to the Delfonics led to two regional hits on Moon Shot before Stan started his own Philly Groove label.



All told, the trio (Ritchie was drafted by this point) notched 16 pop and 20 R&B records, including "La - La Means I Love You" (#4 pop, #2 R&B-1968) and "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)" (#10 pop, #3 R&B, 1970).



Randy left the group in 1971 (he was replaced by Major Harris) and two years later started Blue Magic by combining singer/songwriter Ted Mills with the quartet Shades of Love. The result was three pop chart records, including the #8 hit, "Sideshow", in 1974. Randy returned to the group in the 1980s, (singing with Major Harris, who had left for a solo career in 1974 but returned as well), before leaving once again for good. (oldies music.Com)

Ex-Tiger Mark 'The Bird' Fidrych found dead

BY HOWARD ULMAN • ASSOCIATED PRESS • April 13, 2009 BOSTON —

Former All-Star pitcher Mark “The Bird” Fidrych has been found dead in an apparent accident at his farm in Northborough, Massachusetts. He was 54.Worcester County district attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. says a family friend found Fidrych about 2:30 p.m. Monday beneath a pickup truck. He appeared to be working on the truck, Early said.The colorful right-hander was the American League rookie of the year in 1976 when he went 19-9 with a 2.34 earned run average. He spent all five of his major league seasons with the Detroit Tigers, compiling a 29-19 record and a 3.10 ERA.His career was cut short by injuries.

The world-famous performer worked in both XXX and mainstream films

By Mark Kernes 04/13/2009 SANTA CLARITA, Calif. - Marilyn Chambers, star of such golden age classics as Behind the Green Door and Insatiable, was found dead Sunday in the mobile home where she had been living for the past several months. She was 57.

Chambers was found by her daughter, McKenna. No cause of death is yet known, and an autopsy will be performed.

Chambers, who said she began performing under her real name because she was unashamed of what she did, was nonetheless born Marilyn Ann Briggs, and she made 16 movies during the period 1972 to 1986, mostly for the Mitchell Brothers and Caballero Home Video. It was at Caballero that she created the series Marilyn Chambers' Private Fantasies. During this period, she was married to her manager, Chuck Traynor, and though they were divorced in 1985, when Chambers made her comeback film for VCA Pictures, Still Insatiable, in 1998, she requested that Traynor be present for the filming to lend her moral support. The comeback, however, was short-lived, generating just nine movies, some of which were non-sex roles.

Chambers tried her hand at producing as well, creating what was hoped to be a continuing series, Nantucket Housewives, for her own company, Damaged Productions.

Chambers was also famous for having appeared as the "cover girl" on boxes of Ivory Snow detergent, and was the star of David Cronenberg's horror film Rabid in 1977.