22 September 2011 3:35 PM
Finest kind of upper-class twit
The Londoner is sad to report the death of 72-year-old actor Jonathan Cecil, an Oxford contemporary of Alan Bennett famed for playing upper-class English characters. Cecil, who made his name as Peter Ustinov’s sidekick Hastings in Hercule Poirot films and as narrator of 25 audio books of P G Wodehouse, was dubbed “one of the finest upper-class twits of his era”. He also played Mr Grundy in Richard Wilson’s One Foot in the Grave. Son of Oxford Professor of English Lord David Cecil, he distinguished himself in amateur dramatics at Eton and Oxford. “I was stiff and awkward but this was rather effective for comedy parts, playing comic servants,” he once said.
Jack Neal Sr. VIRGINIA BEACH - Jack Neal Sr., 80, passed away
peacefully with his family and the angels by his side Sept. 22, 2011.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Jenny and Dixie B. Neal Sr.;
brothers, Alva Lee, Dixie B. Neal Jr.; and sister, Audrey Doughtie. He
was born in St. Brides, Va. He is survived by his loving wife of 61
years, Betty Neal; son, Jack Neal Jr. of Hampton; daughters, Nancy
Turco and husband John of Summerville, S.C., Jeri Phillips and husband
Michael of Norfolk, Jackie Richelieu and husband Kurt of Kennewick,
Wash.; five grandchildren, Jayna, Nicole, Charlie, Stephanie and
Emily; one great-grandchild, Jake; brother, William Earl Neal and wife
Patsy of Chesapeake; and sister, Georgia Shirley of Virginia Beach. He
retired from Virginia Beach City Schools in 1993, and continued
working for his good friends Teresa and Danny Garcia at Ceramic Arts
Dental Lab. Jack loved all music, rock 'n' roll, country and western
and jazz. He was a talented performer. To his many fans all over the
world who would claim him as the best bass player in the world, he
would say, "keep rockin." He was a member of Salem United Methodist
Church, Virginia Beach. His legacy is found not as much in what he
said, but as in how he lived his life; an unwavering faith in the
Lord, kindness and respect for all he encountered and a dedication and
pride in his family. His quick wit, contagious smile and loving touch
will surely be missed. The family will be having a private memorial
service at a later date. Online condolences may be expressed at
www.cremate.org.
Nico Minardos dies at 81
Actor appeared in films, TV
By Variety Staff
Actor Nico Minardos, who appeared in film and television during a three-decade career and was the subject of a 2010 documentary, died of natural causes on Aug. 27 in Los Angeles. He was 81.
Minardos was a contract player at 20th Century Fox, making his first (uncredited) film appearance in 1952's "Monkey Business" with Marilyn Monroe and Cary Grant. Film credits also include "Istanbul," with Errol Flynn; 1960's "Twelve Hours to Kill," in which he starred opposite Barbara Eden; "It Happened in Athens," with Jayne Mansfield; and 1977's "Assault on Agathon," which he produced and starred in with Marianne Faithfull and John Woodvine.
Minardos also made appearances on dozens of TV shows starting in 1956. Credits included "Maverick," "The Twilight Zone," "Perry Mason," "The Flying Nun," "Mod Squad," "Mission: Impossible," "Ironside," "Alias Smith and Jones" and "The A-Team."
He was also the subject of Owen Prell's 2010 feature documentary "Finding Nico."
Born and raised in Athens, Greece, Minardos attended the Sorbonne in Paris and graduated from UCLA.
He was briefly married to Deborah Jean Smith, who later married Tyrone Power.
John Larson, trumpet player with the Ides of March, died Wednesday (September 22) of complications from cancer in Warsaw, Indiana. He was 61. John joined the group in the late ‘60s and his playing can be heard on the brass-dominated tunes, such as “Vehicle.” A memorial service is being planned for November. (Oldies Music. Com)
Former Atomic Rooster Member Dies
mdome / News / 22/09/2011 15:27pm
Guitarist John Du Cann has passed away after a suspected heart attack.
He first made his name with Atomic Rooster, playing on hits like Devil’s Answer. Subsequently he was a touring guitarist with Thin Lizzy on their 1974 German tour, worked with Francis Rossi and had a solo hit in 1979 with Don’t Be A Dummy.
Du Cann was also a member of progressive rock bands like Andromeda and Bullet.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Kara Kennedy, the oldest child of the late Sen. Edward Kennedy, died suddenly Friday evening at a Washington-area health club.
Former Rep. Patrick Kennedy confirmed the death of his 51-year-old sister, adding "she's with dad."
Kara Kennedy had herself battled lung cancer: In 2003, doctors removed a malignant tumor. Patrick Kennedy said that his sister loved to exercise, but that he thinks her cancer treatment "took quite a toll on her and weakened her physically."
"Her heart gave out," he said.
Kara Kennedy was the oldest of three children. She and her brother Edward Kennedy Jr. helped run their father's U.S. Senate campaign in 1988. The National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome lists her as a national advisory board member on its website.
Edward Kennedy Jr. himself was a survivor after losing a leg to bone cancer as a child. And Patrick Kennedy had surgery in 1988 to remove a non-cancerous tumor that was pressing against his spine.
In 1990, Kara Kennedy married Michael Allen. The couple have two children: Max Greathouse Allen, 15, and daughter, Grace Kennedy Allen, 16.
Tom Wilson of Ziggy comic fame dies at 80
Published: Monday, September 19, 2011, 9:10 AM Updated: Monday,
September 19, 2011, 11:50 AM
By Grant Segall
The next time your toaster pops, pause to remember Tom Wilson.
The longtime Northeast Ohioan, who died Friday at age 80, helped
create blockbuster characters at American Greetings, especially his
own Ziggy, who struggles gamely with toasters, ice cream cones and
life.
"Tom leaves behind a wonderful legacy in Ziggy, a hard-luck comics
page hero who serves as a reflection of Tom's endearing wit and
optimism in the face of adversity," John McMeel, head of Andrews
McMeel Universal, whose Universal Uclick syndicates Ziggy, said in a
statement.
The bald, round-faced Ziggy, exactly half his creator's age, appears
in more than 500 newspapers, plus books, calendars, greeting cards and
an Emmy-winning Christmas special, "Ziggy's Gift."
Wilson spent about the last eight years in a nursing home in
Cincinnati and died in his sleep from pneumonia.
A coal miner's son, Thomas Albert Wilson was born in West Virginia and
raised in Uniontown, Pa.
"He was born drawing," said a daughter, Ava Wilson-Stewart of
Sebastian, Fla. A local billboard painter inspired him. "He thought
that was the coolest thing he'd ever seen."
Wilson played bass in an Army band, graduated from the Pittsburgh
School of Art and came to Cleveland with his wife, the former Carol
Sobble, in search of work. He later lived in Rocky River, Brook Park,
Lakewood and Cincinnati, with homes in Hollywood and New York.
He spent 35 years at American Greetings and became president of the
creative division, overseeing stars like Strawberry Shortcake and Care
Bears. He launched Hi Brow, an early series of humorous cards, and
Soft Touch, early romantic cards.
"He was a down-home guy," said a former colleague, Tom McGreevey. "He
had a terrific brain."
In 1969, he published a book of wordless, Ziggy-like cartoons called
"When You're Not Around." What was then Universal Press Syndicate
asked him to add words and start a strip in 1971.
After leaving American Greetings, he started Ziggy and Friends, still
based in Brook Park. In the late 1980s, he turned over the strip to
his son, Thomas M. Wilson of Loveland, Ohio.
Wilson exhibited paintings at the Cleveland Museum of Art and the
yearly Society of Illustrations annual show in New York. He
occasionally played the bass privately and loved to listen to jazz.
Survivors include his wife, three children and five grandchildren.
Weil Funeral Home of Cincinnati is handling his arrangements. The
family requests contributions to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
"Handsome" Johnny Barend, one of the most iconic characters from Hawaii's golden age of professional wrestling in the 1960s-70s, died today of natural causes at his home in Avon, N.Y. He was 82.
Barend's career spanned nearly 25 years and he wrestled everywhere from Japan to New York's famed Madison Square Garden.
But family, friends and fans said one of his favorite places was Hawaii.
A fixture in Hawaii during much of the 1960s when Ed Francis and Lord James "Tally Ho" Blears were the promoters, Barend was known for edgy interviews which amused some and terrified others.
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/Wrestler_Handsome_Johnny_Barend_dies_in_New_York.html
1980s R&B superstar Vesta Williams was found DEAD inside a Los Angeles hotel room.
Reports are still sketchy, but MediaTakeOut.com was told that Vesta and a gentleman CHECKED into the hotel together. Later in the evening, Vesta was found DEAD by a hotel chambermaid and the gentleman was NOT in the room..
Police were called to the scene and are conducting a FULL on investigation as to the cause and circumstances surrounding Vesta's death. Right now they are NEITHER confirming NOR ruling out FOUL PLAY.
For all you YOUNGSTERS wondering who VESTA WILLIAMS was, she made the below shong Congratulations
One of the last player to play in the Negro Leagues before integration. Also played in the Minor Leagues aftward. Can't find an obituary online yet, which has been the case with many of these old Negro Leaguers. My source is pretty reliable and his page at Baseball Referance.com has been updated to show his death on September 12.
Eleanor Mondale, the feisty media personality and daughter of former Vice President Walter Mondale and his wife, Joan, died early Saturday of brain cancer, which she had battled on and off for six years.
In a prepared statement issued Saturday morning, Walter Mondale: "Joan and I must report that our wonderful daughter, after her long and gutsy battle with cancer, went up to heaven last night to be with her angel."
Mondale, who had worked at WCCO-TV and its sister radio station, had been receiving hospice care for over a month at her home in Prior Lake. She was 51.
Her brain cancer was diagnosed in June 2005, after she suffered a seizure that May. Doctors at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester found two tumors in her brain. With radiation, chemotherapy and surgery, her cancer was twice diminished. But a routine checkup in January 2008 found another tumor. In September 2010, she said that a new form of chemotherapy appeared to be shrinking the tumor, but that she knew nothing was guaranteed and she was "too tired all the time" to return to her job as co-host of WCCO Radio's "Mondale and Jones" show with cohost Susie Jones.
An unsigned tribute posted on her CaringBridge site Saturday morning read, in part: "Early Saturday morning, September 17th, 2011, our dearest sweet Eleanor passed away from this world, peacefully in her sleep, her husband and beloved dogs at her side, surrounded in the last days by all of her family and friends.
"Eleanor Mondale Poling lived bravely, without regret or fear, with such amazing strength and grace, for six years after being diagnosed with brain cancer in 2005.
"She was a great inspiration to many. Through her we learned to live like her, for the moment, with a full and loving heart. We will miss her unique, beautiful, strong soul."
In June 2005, Mondale married Minneapolis musician Chan Poling, a founding member of The Suburbs. Previously, she was briefly married to Keith Van Horne, formerly of the Chicago Bears, and WLOL DJ Greg Thunder (Greg Malban).
She and Poling shared their secluded Prior Lake farmstead with a cockatoo, two dogs, three chickens, two barn cats, five mini-horses and one mini-donkey.
Campaigned for her father
She was born in Minneapolis and attended St. Timothy's boarding school in Baltimore for her senior year of high school. She received a bachelor's degree of science from St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y. where she majored in psychology and physical education.
As a teenager, she campaigned for her father, who lost to Ronald Reagan both as a vice-presidential candidate in 1980 and as the top of the Democratic ticket in 1984.
Her broadcasting career took her from Minnesota to Chicago to Los Angeles and back to Minnesota. Among her gigs were several radio shows in Minnesota, reporting jobs with the E! Online cable channel, CBS' "This Morning" and ESPN, covering horse racing. She tried acting, appearing in an episode of "Three's Company," and playing small roles in movies, including 2004's "Mirage," directed by Sayer Frey.
Most recently, Mondale was co-host of 'CCO's "Mondale and Jones," from August 2006 until 2009. She also narrated the Melody Gilbert documentary "Fritz: The Walter Mondale story," which premiered at the Minnesota History Center in 2008.
In her earlier decades, the blue-eyed, blond-haired, chisel-cheekboned Mondale was often gossip fodder, in Twin Cities press, much to her distress. She made headlines when she dated rock singer Warren Zevon in 1990 and then-actor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1979.
A fed-up Mondale bolted for Los Angeles in 1993, vowing never to return.
"The whole experience was kind of crummy," she said. "I just felt like I was being attacked from all sides. It was not very comforting, warm and loving."
But Mondale had a change of heart. She gave up aspirations of a show-biz career, married Poling and, for the first time, chose a quiet life.
"I just want to be at home with Chan, with my horses, dogs. Even my goldfish," said Mondale in 2005 when she was first diagnosed with cancer. "I've got a happy, wonderful guy. I've never had anything like it. I'd like to live. But that was always my goal."
She is survived by her husband, her parents and two brothers, Ted and William.
In his statement, the former vice president said funeral arrangements will be announced soon.
http://www.startribune.com/130015258.html
Billy Fury's younger brother, Albie Wycherley, who died on 5 September 2011, also had a notable career in the music business. In recent years, he developed a highly-praised repertoire of Billy Fury material, which could divert attention from his own very considerable abilities with new material, such as his excellent EP, I Never Met Collette. Albie, who kept his home in Liverpool, had been in poor health for several years..
In the mid-60s, Albie adopted the stage name Al Trent and fronted a group called The Centremen, composed of John Kirk (lead guitar), Terry Barrett (rhythm guitar), Charlie Richmond (bass guitar) and Billy Conroy (drums). At the age of 22 in 1965, he signed with Joe Meek (pictured left). Joe changed his stage name to Jason (because he thought that Albie looked Greek) Eddie (from Albie's middle name, Edward). Their first record, Whatcha Gonna Do Baby, backed by Come On, was released on Parlophone in December, 1965.
A near-mint copy of this record will set you back about £100. Much to the displeasure of Albie and the band, Meek added a distracting, furiously-paced guitar track before the record's release. (The copy on the left is the American release.) Albie made a final single as Jason Eddie, Heart And Soul, which was released on Tangerine in 1969. The early tracks have subsequently been released on the CD Billy Fury Sings A Buddy Holly Song (Ozit CD56).  Albie produced a superb four-track CD, I Never Met Colette, of which the title song is a tribute to Billy. To hear the title track, click here. The CD is available from our sponsors, Peaksoft. Read Shaun Mather's review. For a report of Albie's appearance at the tribute weekend in Blackpool in November 2000, click here. Albie appeared at the Olympia Theatre, Liverpool, on October 20, 2000 supported by Mike Berry and the Outlaws, Colin Paul and the Persuaders, Tommy Bruce, Terry Dene, Wee Willie Harris, and more great acts. For a copy of the poster, click here. He also appeared at Worcester Park Club, Malden Terrace, Worcester Park, Surrey, on August 4, 2000. For Ann Clark's pictures and review of the show, click here. He headlined a concert after the unveiling of the Billy Fury statue in Liverpool in April 2003. Read about it here. Away from the stage, he worked at various times as a butcher and a car salesman, He leaves a son and two grandchildren. He had been in poor health for several years. His wife Marie died in 1997, and his only son lives abroad with his two grandsons. Obituary: The Independent. Funeral report by Mags Cummings There was a large turnout to say farewell to Albie, who arrived at the church in a horse drawn glass carriage on a beautiful sunny day. There was a second car carrying flowers from friends and close family including a heart shaped blue and white wreath from BFITOY. We entered the church to 'Helpless', Albie's beautiful recording. The first hymn was 'All Things Bright and Beautiful ' . Lynne Amena and Colin Paul , both close friends of Albie gave the Family Tribute, telling of happy times with him and how much they loved and will miss him and his wonderful sense of humour. He always had time for people and enjoyed chatting and of course singing both as Jason Eddie and then with his tribute to his much loved and missed brother Billy. Colin said that Albie taught him a lot of stagecraft and after one appearance told him never to wear trousers with white pockets while sharing his stage ever again....just not professional! St Anne's is Jean's family church and her ex-vicar The Reverend Jonathan Anders came out of retirement to do a reading from Ecclesiastes and a prayer, showing the love and respect he has for her and Albie. A beautiful rendition of 'I Will' was then sung and played on keyboards by Dave from 'Liverpool Express' who used to play with Albie, most memorably at Rivington Barn. This was followed by an address from The Venerable Bob Metcalf which was very moving. After The Lord's Prayer we sang 'The Old Rugged Cross' and there was the Commendation and Blessing. We all exited the church to a recording of 'In Thoughts Of You' from one of Albie's live shows. We then made our way to Springwood Crematorium, a beautiful place in a lovely area taking a detour past 'Wondrous Place', Jean's home which was once home to Albie too. 'Helpless' was played through loudspeakers and everyone stood in silence as the coffin was removed from the carriage once more for Albie's last journey. After a brief prayer we said our final tearful goodbyes and left to be met by Jean who was so brave and took the time to have a word with everyone even though she was very distressed. We were invited to Woolton Golf Club which we got very lost trying to find but eventually arrived to a marvellous buffet and we had a chance to catch up with everybody and reminisce about our dear friend who we will all miss so much. Again, Jean was chatting to everyone and most people got the opportunity for a quiet moment with her. She says she doesn’t know what she’ll do after losing another beloved son but we pray she’ll come through in the knowledge that so many people love her and will be there for her. We’ll never forget you darling Albie and we’ll love you forever and we love you too Jean, you are a very special lady. xxxx Donations to 'Mersey Kidney Research' or 'The British Heart Foundation' can be made c/o Pearson Collinson Funeral Directors, 87-91 Allerton Road, Liverpool, L18 2DD and will be given in Albie's memory. |
He was born on 26 June 1943. 
.
Saturday, September 3, 2011
(Hollywood Reporter)- Fifties starlet played Jane in two Tarzan films during her long, steady career.
Eve Brent, whose steady work over 60 years in show business included playing Jane opposite Gordon Scott in two Tarzan films of the 1950s, died Aug. 27 of natural causes at Pacifica Hospital of the Valley in Sun Valley, Calif. She was 82.
The character actress appeared in dozens of films and TV shows, from 1955 pic Female Jungle (as Jean Lewis) to the indie film Hit List, which is scheduled for release in 2012.
Maverick director Samuel Fuller changed her name to Eve Brent when she appeared in Forty Guns, his 1977 Western that starred Barbara Stanwyck.
A native of Houston, Brent also had stints in such recent films as The Green Mile (1999), Garfield (2004) and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008).
She played Jane in Tarzan and the Trappers and Tarzan’s Fight for Life, both from 1958, and was a hooker in Clint Eastwood starrer Coogan’s Bluff (1968). Other film credits include Gun Girls (1957), The Bride and the Beast (1958) and Fade to Black (1980), for which she won a Saturn Award.
Brent’s multiple TV appearances include Death Valley Days, Adventures of Superman, Dragnet, Family Affair, thirtysomething, Highway to Heaven, Roswell, Scrubs and Community.
(LA Times)- Laurie Hoyt, who called herself Laurie McAllister when she hoisted the bass in L.A. bands the Runaways and the Orchids, died Aug. 25 in Eugene, Ore., according to her mother, Lavonne Hoyt. She said McAllister’s death was the result of asthma.
Born June 26, 1957, Laurie was the last in an illustrious line of foxy bass players to pass through the Runaways, the legendary all-girl band depicted in the 2010 movie "The Runaways." She joined guitarists-vocalists Joan Jett and Lita Ford and drummer Sandy West in 1978 and performed with the band live, but the Runaways broke up several months later. “Best job ever,” it said on McAllister’s Facebook profile, regarding her Runaways days.
“I am so sorry to hear of Laurie's passing,” Jett said in an emailed statement. “She was a good person and a good bass player. It was a great experience being in a band with her, as she was the last Runaways bass player before her own band, The Orchids, formed. I was still in touch with her and saw her last year at a show. It was as if no time had passed.
“My heart goes out to her family and friends, and most of all, to Laurie. Rock on girl.”
After the Runaways, McAllister played bass and sang for the Orchids, another all-girl band. Like the Runaways, the Orchids were managed and produced by the infamous Sunset Strip legend Kim Fowley. They recorded one self-titled album for MCA. “Second best job ever,” Hoyt-McAllister’s Facebook profile said of the Orchids.
“She had a big heart and was one of the most interesting people I have ever known,” Orchids guitarist Sunbie Harrell wrote in a Facebook notice that announced her bandmate’s death.”Tonight, my rock sisters and I lament her loss but celebrate her exuberant life.” Harrell set up a Memorial Wall for McAllister on Facebook.
Hoyt was always a rebel girl tomboy figure, says her sister, Susan Hoyt. The neighborhood kids teased her for wearing high-tops; at age 8, she begged her parents to let her have a mohawk. “She fit the Runaways perfectly,” said Susan Hoyt. “I used to say it was so cool that the punk rock movement came around to explain Laurie.”
After the Orchids broke up, McAllister moved to Amsterdam and lived with Dutch rock star Herman Brood. She then moved back near her hometown of Eugene, living in the country. "She loved it there, she just loved the last few years of her life,” her mother says.
"Laurie was one of the tragic figures in rock 'n' roll, who did everything right — she looked the part, she wrote the part, she performed the part, she sang the part — but never with the right people at the right time,” Fowley said. “She was a giant of a woman: good-looking, smart, and larger than life."
Eve Brent, whose steady work over 60 years in show business included playing Jane opposite Gordon Scott in two Tarzan films of the 1950s, died Aug. 27 of natural causes at Pacifica Hospital of the Valley in Sun Valley, Calif. She was 82.
The character actress appeared in dozens of films and TV shows, from 1955 pic Female Jungle (as Jean Lewis) to the indie film Hit List, which is scheduled for release in 2012.
Maverick director Samuel Fuller changed her name to Eve Brent when she appeared in Forty Guns, his 1977 Western that starred Barbara Stanwyck.
A native of Houston, Brent also had stints in such recent films as The Green Mile (1999), Garfield (2004) and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008).
She played Jane in Tarzan and the Trappers and Tarzan’s Fight for Life, both from 1958, and was a hooker in Clint Eastwood starrer Coogan’s Bluff (1968). Other film credits include Gun Girls (1957), The Bride and the Beast (1958) and Fade to Black (1980), for which she won a Saturn Award.
Brent’s multiple TV appearances include Death Valley Days, Adventures of Superman, Dragnet, Family Affair, thirtysomething, Highway to Heaven, Roswell, Scrubs and Community.
(LA Times)- Laurie Hoyt, who called herself Laurie McAllister when she hoisted the bass in L.A. bands the Runaways and the Orchids, died Aug. 25 in Eugene, Ore., according to her mother, Lavonne Hoyt. She said McAllister’s death was the result of asthma.
Born June 26, 1957, Laurie was the last in an illustrious line of foxy bass players to pass through the Runaways, the legendary all-girl band depicted in the 2010 movie "The Runaways." She joined guitarists-vocalists Joan Jett and Lita Ford and drummer Sandy West in 1978 and performed with the band live, but the Runaways broke up several months later. “Best job ever,” it said on McAllister’s Facebook profile, regarding her Runaways days.
“I am so sorry to hear of Laurie's passing,” Jett said in an emailed statement. “She was a good person and a good bass player. It was a great experience being in a band with her, as she was the last Runaways bass player before her own band, The Orchids, formed. I was still in touch with her and saw her last year at a show. It was as if no time had passed.
“My heart goes out to her family and friends, and most of all, to Laurie. Rock on girl.”
After the Runaways, McAllister played bass and sang for the Orchids, another all-girl band. Like the Runaways, the Orchids were managed and produced by the infamous Sunset Strip legend Kim Fowley. They recorded one self-titled album for MCA. “Second best job ever,” Hoyt-McAllister’s Facebook profile said of the Orchids.
“She had a big heart and was one of the most interesting people I have ever known,” Orchids guitarist Sunbie Harrell wrote in a Facebook notice that announced her bandmate’s death.”Tonight, my rock sisters and I lament her loss but celebrate her exuberant life.” Harrell set up a Memorial Wall for McAllister on Facebook.
Hoyt was always a rebel girl tomboy figure, says her sister, Susan Hoyt. The neighborhood kids teased her for wearing high-tops; at age 8, she begged her parents to let her have a mohawk. “She fit the Runaways perfectly,” said Susan Hoyt. “I used to say it was so cool that the punk rock movement came around to explain Laurie.”
After the Orchids broke up, McAllister moved to Amsterdam and lived with Dutch rock star Herman Brood. She then moved back near her hometown of Eugene, living in the country. "She loved it there, she just loved the last few years of her life,” her mother says.
"Laurie was one of the tragic figures in rock 'n' roll, who did everything right — she looked the part, she wrote the part, she performed the part, she sang the part — but never with the right people at the right time,” Fowley said. “She was a giant of a woman: good-looking, smart, and larger than life."
Philip Moody dies at 89
Composed for film, Vegas
By Variety Staff
British-born conductor, arranger and song writer Philip Moody died in Palm Springs on Aug. 22 after a brief illness. He was 89.
Born in Southampton, England, he was a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music. He entertained the British armed forces, performed in concert with many of England's top entertainers and appeared on British radio. From there, he began to write for motion pictures. After working on the film "London Town," he was brought to the U.S. by MCA and teamed with touring act the Sherrell Sisters. When the sister act disbanded, he married one sister and formed a successful songwriting partnership with the other.
In the U.S., Moody composed film scores for "Three Nuts in Search of a Bolt" and "Love Me Deadly" and contributed songs and cues to other films including "So This Is Paris," "Carnival Story," "Paris Follies of 1956," "The Second Greatest Sex" and "Footprints on the Moon," a documentary about the Apollo 11 landing that featured Moody's composition "The Laguna Concerto."
In the '70s, Moody's musical-composing piano talents took him to Las Vegas, where he created music and performed at the Desert Inn, Stardust, Sahara, and Flamingo hotels with such stars as Betty Grable, Jimmy Durante, Anna Maria Alberghetti, Mamie Van Doren, Debra Paget, Margaret Whiting, the Ritz Brothers and Mae West, whose nightclub act he and sister-in-law Pony Sherrell co-wrote. He also worked with opera great Helen Traubel.
When the MGM Grand hotel opened in Reno, Moody became the hotel's music director and conducted Donn Arden's stage spectacular "Hello, Hollywood, Hello."
In 1980, he and his wife Grace moved to Palm Springs and opened Moody's Supper Club, a cabaret bistro featuring original Broadway revues.
Moody is survived by a daughter and a brother.
Voice Actor/Narrator Junpei Takiguchi Passes Away
posted on 2011-08-29 09:00 EDT
Voice of Yatterman's head villain Dokurobee, Dragon Ball's Uranai Baba
Voice actor and narrator Junpei Takiguchi passed away Monday, August 29 at 7:33 a.m. due to stomach cancer. He was 80 years old.
Takiguchi's best known voice-acting role was Dokurobee, the head of the Dorombo Gang in the Yatterman franchise from the first anime series to the 2008 remake and even Takashi Miike's live-action film. He was also Uranai Baba and other roles in the Dragon Ball series. From 1992 to July of this year, he narrated the popular railroad travel program Burari Tochû Gesha no Tabi on NTV for a total of 958 episodes.
Services will be held for relatives only at the request of the family.
Source: News 24
(NY Times)- Leonard Harris, an arts and theater critic for New York’s CBS television affiliate who had his own dramatic turn playing a senator in Martin Scorsese’s classic film “Taxi Driver,” died on Sunday in Hartford. He was 81.
The cause was complications of pneumonia, Mary Hilliard, his longtime companion, said. He lived in Manhattan.
Mr. Harris began his career writing obituaries and book reviews for The Hartford Courant in 1955. In 1966 he became a culture critic at WCBS-TV, a position he held until 1974.
Mr. Scorsese cast Mr. Harris as Senator Charles Palantine in “Taxi Driver” (1976) because he knew him through the New York drama scene. When the film’s disturbed antihero, Travis Bickle, meets the senator, he delivers a tirade about flushing the “scum and filth” out of New York. The senator cautiously sympathizes with Travis, perhaps unknowingly leading to his later violent deeds.
Mr. Harris also played the mayor in a 1980 romantic comedy, “Hero at Large,” and wrote three novels. His first, “The Masada Plan,” was called “gripping, fast-moving, expertly engineered” by the novelist Meyer Levin in The New York Times Book Review.
Leonard Jerome Harris was born in the Bronx on Sept. 27, 1929. He graduated from City College and served in the Army at Fort Dix during the Korean War. In 1961 he married Mary Ann Wurth. They divorced in 1973. He also had homes in Stanfordville, N.Y., and West Palm Beach, Fla.
Composed for film, Vegas
By Variety Staff
British-born conductor, arranger and song writer Philip Moody died in Palm Springs on Aug. 22 after a brief illness. He was 89.
Born in Southampton, England, he was a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music. He entertained the British armed forces, performed in concert with many of England's top entertainers and appeared on British radio. From there, he began to write for motion pictures. After working on the film "London Town," he was brought to the U.S. by MCA and teamed with touring act the Sherrell Sisters. When the sister act disbanded, he married one sister and formed a successful songwriting partnership with the other.
In the U.S., Moody composed film scores for "Three Nuts in Search of a Bolt" and "Love Me Deadly" and contributed songs and cues to other films including "So This Is Paris," "Carnival Story," "Paris Follies of 1956," "The Second Greatest Sex" and "Footprints on the Moon," a documentary about the Apollo 11 landing that featured Moody's composition "The Laguna Concerto."
In the '70s, Moody's musical-composing piano talents took him to Las Vegas, where he created music and performed at the Desert Inn, Stardust, Sahara, and Flamingo hotels with such stars as Betty Grable, Jimmy Durante, Anna Maria Alberghetti, Mamie Van Doren, Debra Paget, Margaret Whiting, the Ritz Brothers and Mae West, whose nightclub act he and sister-in-law Pony Sherrell co-wrote. He also worked with opera great Helen Traubel.
When the MGM Grand hotel opened in Reno, Moody became the hotel's music director and conducted Donn Arden's stage spectacular "Hello, Hollywood, Hello."
In 1980, he and his wife Grace moved to Palm Springs and opened Moody's Supper Club, a cabaret bistro featuring original Broadway revues.
Moody is survived by a daughter and a brother.
Voice Actor/Narrator Junpei Takiguchi Passes Away
posted on 2011-08-29 09:00 EDT
Voice of Yatterman's head villain Dokurobee, Dragon Ball's Uranai Baba
Voice actor and narrator Junpei Takiguchi passed away Monday, August 29 at 7:33 a.m. due to stomach cancer. He was 80 years old.
Takiguchi's best known voice-acting role was Dokurobee, the head of the Dorombo Gang in the Yatterman franchise from the first anime series to the 2008 remake and even Takashi Miike's live-action film. He was also Uranai Baba and other roles in the Dragon Ball series. From 1992 to July of this year, he narrated the popular railroad travel program Burari Tochû Gesha no Tabi on NTV for a total of 958 episodes.
Services will be held for relatives only at the request of the family.
Source: News 24
(NY Times)- Leonard Harris, an arts and theater critic for New York’s CBS television affiliate who had his own dramatic turn playing a senator in Martin Scorsese’s classic film “Taxi Driver,” died on Sunday in Hartford. He was 81.
The cause was complications of pneumonia, Mary Hilliard, his longtime companion, said. He lived in Manhattan.
Mr. Harris began his career writing obituaries and book reviews for The Hartford Courant in 1955. In 1966 he became a culture critic at WCBS-TV, a position he held until 1974.
Mr. Scorsese cast Mr. Harris as Senator Charles Palantine in “Taxi Driver” (1976) because he knew him through the New York drama scene. When the film’s disturbed antihero, Travis Bickle, meets the senator, he delivers a tirade about flushing the “scum and filth” out of New York. The senator cautiously sympathizes with Travis, perhaps unknowingly leading to his later violent deeds.
Mr. Harris also played the mayor in a 1980 romantic comedy, “Hero at Large,” and wrote three novels. His first, “The Masada Plan,” was called “gripping, fast-moving, expertly engineered” by the novelist Meyer Levin in The New York Times Book Review.
Leonard Jerome Harris was born in the Bronx on Sept. 27, 1929. He graduated from City College and served in the Army at Fort Dix during the Korean War. In 1961 he married Mary Ann Wurth. They divorced in 1973. He also had homes in Stanfordville, N.Y., and West Palm Beach, Fla.
Another Gone: Budd Hopkins Dies
http://www.cryptomundo.com/cryptozoo-news/hopkins-obit/
John Howard Davies (Producer/Director 'Fawlty Towers' + 'Oliver' in David Lean's 1948 'Oliver Twist'
Further information at news sources including:
http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/news/people/fawlty-towers-producer-dies/5031083.article
Edwards was born in Shaw, Mississippi.[1] Edwards was 14 years old when he left home to travel with bluesman Big Joe Williams, beginning the life as an itinerant musician which he lead throughout the 1930s and 1940s. He performed with and was a friend of iconoclastic blues musician Robert Johnson. Honeyboy was present on the night Johnson drank poisoned whiskey which killed him,[2] and his story has become the definitive version of Johnson's demise. Edwards knew and played with many of the leading bluesmen in the Mississippi Delta: Charley Patton, Tommy Johnson, and Johnny Shines.
He described the itinerant bluesman's life:
“ On Saturday, somebody like me or Robert Johnson would go into one of these little towns, play for nickels and dimes. And sometimes, you know, you could be playin' and have such a big crowd that it would block the whole street. Then the police would come around, and then I'd go to another town and where I could play at. But most of the time, they would let you play. Then sometimes the man who owned a country store would give us something like a couple of dollars to play on a Saturday afternoon. We could hitchhike, transfer from truck to truck, or if we couldn't catch one of them, we'd go to the train yard, 'cause the railroad was all through that part of the country then...we might hop a freight, go to St. Louis or Chicago. Or we might hear about where a job was paying off - a highway crew, a railroad job, a levee camp there along the river, or some place in the country where a lot of people were workin' on a farm. You could go there and play and everybody would hand you some money. I didn't have a special place then. Anywhere was home. Where I do good, I stay. When it gets bad and dull, I'm gone.[3] ”
Folklorist Alan Lomax recorded Edwards in Clarksdale, Mississippi in 1942 for the Library of Congress.[1] Edwards recorded 15 album sides of music.[1] The songs included "Wind Howlin' Blues" and "The Army Blues".[4] He did not record again commercially until 1951, when he recorded "Who May Be Your Regular Be" for Arc Records under the name of Mr Honey.[1] Edwards claims to have written several well-known blues songs including "Long Tall Woman Blues" and "Just Like Jesse James".[1] His discography for the 1950s and 1960s amounts to nine songs from seven sessions.[4] From 1974 to 1977, he recorded material for a full length LP, I've Been Around, released in 1978 on the independent Trix Records label by producer/ethnomusicologist Peter B. Lowry.
Edwards authored the book, The World Don't Owe Me Nothin', published in 1997 by Chicago Review Press. The book recounts his life from childhood, his journeys through the South and his arrival in Chicago in the early 1950s. A companion CD by the same title was released by Earwig Music shortly afterwards. His long association with Earwig Music and Michael Frank spawned many late career albums on a variety of independent labels from the 1980s on. He has also recorded at a church-turned-studio in Salina, Kansas and released albums on the APO record label. Edwards continued the rambling life he describes in his autobiography as he still toured the world well into his 90s.
On July 17, 2011, his Manager Michael Frank announced that Edwards would be retiring due to ongoing health issues.[5]
On August 29, 2011, Honeyboy Edwards died peacefully at his home around 3 a.m. This puts an end to a magnificent life of travels, folklore, and authentic blues that influenced so many after him.
http://www.cryptomundo.com/cryptozoo-news/hopkins-obit/
John Howard Davies (Producer/Director 'Fawlty Towers' + 'Oliver' in David Lean's 1948 'Oliver Twist'
Further information at news sources including:
http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/news/people/fawlty-towers-producer-dies/5031083.article
Edwards was born in Shaw, Mississippi.[1] Edwards was 14 years old when he left home to travel with bluesman Big Joe Williams, beginning the life as an itinerant musician which he lead throughout the 1930s and 1940s. He performed with and was a friend of iconoclastic blues musician Robert Johnson. Honeyboy was present on the night Johnson drank poisoned whiskey which killed him,[2] and his story has become the definitive version of Johnson's demise. Edwards knew and played with many of the leading bluesmen in the Mississippi Delta: Charley Patton, Tommy Johnson, and Johnny Shines.
He described the itinerant bluesman's life:
“ On Saturday, somebody like me or Robert Johnson would go into one of these little towns, play for nickels and dimes. And sometimes, you know, you could be playin' and have such a big crowd that it would block the whole street. Then the police would come around, and then I'd go to another town and where I could play at. But most of the time, they would let you play. Then sometimes the man who owned a country store would give us something like a couple of dollars to play on a Saturday afternoon. We could hitchhike, transfer from truck to truck, or if we couldn't catch one of them, we'd go to the train yard, 'cause the railroad was all through that part of the country then...we might hop a freight, go to St. Louis or Chicago. Or we might hear about where a job was paying off - a highway crew, a railroad job, a levee camp there along the river, or some place in the country where a lot of people were workin' on a farm. You could go there and play and everybody would hand you some money. I didn't have a special place then. Anywhere was home. Where I do good, I stay. When it gets bad and dull, I'm gone.[3] ”
Folklorist Alan Lomax recorded Edwards in Clarksdale, Mississippi in 1942 for the Library of Congress.[1] Edwards recorded 15 album sides of music.[1] The songs included "Wind Howlin' Blues" and "The Army Blues".[4] He did not record again commercially until 1951, when he recorded "Who May Be Your Regular Be" for Arc Records under the name of Mr Honey.[1] Edwards claims to have written several well-known blues songs including "Long Tall Woman Blues" and "Just Like Jesse James".[1] His discography for the 1950s and 1960s amounts to nine songs from seven sessions.[4] From 1974 to 1977, he recorded material for a full length LP, I've Been Around, released in 1978 on the independent Trix Records label by producer/ethnomusicologist Peter B. Lowry.
Edwards authored the book, The World Don't Owe Me Nothin', published in 1997 by Chicago Review Press. The book recounts his life from childhood, his journeys through the South and his arrival in Chicago in the early 1950s. A companion CD by the same title was released by Earwig Music shortly afterwards. His long association with Earwig Music and Michael Frank spawned many late career albums on a variety of independent labels from the 1980s on. He has also recorded at a church-turned-studio in Salina, Kansas and released albums on the APO record label. Edwards continued the rambling life he describes in his autobiography as he still toured the world well into his 90s.
On July 17, 2011, his Manager Michael Frank announced that Edwards would be retiring due to ongoing health issues.[5]
On August 29, 2011, Honeyboy Edwards died peacefully at his home around 3 a.m. This puts an end to a magnificent life of travels, folklore, and authentic blues that influenced so many after him.
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