Obituaries for 2017

[Gefn]

Gossip columnist Liz Smith dead at age 94

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/liz-smith-daily-news-gossip-columnist-dead-94-article-1.3628352

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/liz-smith-syndicated-gossip-columnist-dies-94-51103366

I can't imagine NYC papers without her. RIP

[EasyAce]

Boston Red Sox great Bobby Doerr dies at 99

He was baseball's oldest living former major leaguer before his death; he was one of the
four Red Sox who were the subject of the late David Halberstam's lyrical ballad, The
Teammates, about their lifelong friendship, and the last surviving member of the
foursome. (Ted Williams, Dominic DiMaggio, and Johnny Pesky were the others; the book
hooked around their journey to visit the dying Williams one more time, a trip Doerr
couldn't make because he was tending his MS-stricken wife full-time.)

He was a nine-time All Star whose record for most 100+ RBI seasons (six) stood until
fellow Hall of Famer Joe Morgan broke it with eight.

I'm writing an essay about Doerr which I'll publish later today.

RIP, Mr. Doerr. Give a tip of the beak to Messers. Williams, Pesky, and DiMaggio, and
may your reunion with your beloved Monica be as sweet as your lives on earth
together seem to have been.

[Suppressed]

Boston Red Sox great Bobby Doerr dies at 99

Oh, wow...I hadn't realized he was still around!  Thanks for posting, @EasyAce.

[jmyrlefuller]

Malcolm Young, founder of AC/DC, dies at 64



Young was the rhythm guitarist for AC/DC, a group he established in 1973, and the older brother of lead guitarist and public face Angus Young. He remained with the band, keeping it alive after original lead singer Bon Scott died in 1980, and seamlessly transitioned the band from its hard-rock punk days under Scott to the stadium rock phenomenon it would become under Brian Johnson. Young's drinking problems eventually caught up with him around 2010, when he started experiencing symptoms of dementia; he was eventually forced to leave the band permanently in 2014 because of his worsening state.

Malcolm Young's death comes less than a month after his older brother George Young died of unrelated causes.

Obituary from News Corp

Wikipedia

[Applewood]

Bummer.  AC/DC was  one of my favorite bands years ago. 

Rest in peace, Mr. Young.i

[EasyAce]

Oh, wow...I hadn't realized he was still around!  Thanks for posting, @EasyAce.

Doerr's death now leaves Red Schoendienst as baseball's oldest living Hall of Famer.

[goatprairie]

Doerr's death now leaves Red Schoendienst as baseball's oldest living Hall of Famer.

I saw Schoendienst hit a home run against the Dodgers at Milwaukee County Stadium in June 1960. It was his only homer of the season. I was ten years old, and my dad let me go right up to the railing with the family camera. I took about five or six pictures of Don Drysdale pitching to Eddie Matthews.
They turned out perfect.  And they're all lost. One of my biggest regrets about things I've lost...maybe the biggest.

[catfish1957]

Bummer.  AC/DC was  one of my favorite bands years ago. 

Rest in peace, Mr. Young.i

Sick too.  First Tom Petty a short time ago, now this.

And I'll go into a major funk if any member of Rush passes.

[Gefn]

Sick too.  First Tom Petty a short time ago, now this.

And I'll go into a major funk if any member of Rush passes.

Me too.

[edpc]

@catfish1957
@Freya


What......John Rutsey doesn’t count?  He died in 2008.

[Cyber Liberty]

@catfish1957
@Freya


What......John Rutsey doesn’t count?  He died in 2008.

He left Rush in '74.  He was their Peter Best.

[EasyAce]

He left Rush in '74.  He was their Peter Best.

Not quite. He left the band himself, over music differences and health issues. (He was a diabetic.)
For years, too, he maintained a friendship with Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson; they worked out in the
same gym together. Pete Best was a whole 'nother smoke . . .

[Cyber Liberty]

Not quite. He left the band himself, over music differences and health issues. (He was a diabetic.)
For years, too, he maintained a friendship with Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson; they worked out in the
same gym together. Pete Best was a whole 'nother smoke . . .

I agree my analogy was imperfect.  Rush would probably break up completely today if anybody left.  They're a pretty tight-knit bunch.  Eh? 

[EasyAce]

I agree my analogy was imperfect.  Rush would probably break up completely today if anybody left.  They're a pretty tight-knit bunch.  Eh?

They must have been to spend almost a century together.

You could say likewise for ZZ Top.

[TomSea]

Mel Tillis has passed away.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JXG0e-Yh2M

[jmyrlefuller]

Commentator Robert E. Raiford dies at 89

Raiford was one of the last radio commentators of his era, serving as a broadcaster for over 70 years, beginning as a teenager in 1944 and culminating with a stroke in 2015. A serious newsman up through the 1960s, a drunken prank led to him losing his job with CBS Radio and he wound up back in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he had spent much of his early career.

His talk show on a local Charlotte TV station was noticed by local shock jocks John Boy and Billy, who felt the self-admitted curmudgeonly liberal with a strong distaste for political correctness would be a perfect fit as the show's newsman. When the show went national, Raiford's commentaries likewise were included.

Obituary from the Charlotte Observer

Wikipedia

[jmyrlefuller]

Mel Tillis has passed away.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JXG0e-Yh2M

Mel Tillis, Country Music Hall of Famer, dies at 85



Tillis was left with a stammer as a result of a bout with malaria as a child, but it never affected his singing voice. He held a number of blue-collar jobs early in his life before moving to Nashville in 1957 and breaking into the music industry. He enjoyed success both as a songwriter and as a singer, with his greatest heyday being in the 1970s, when he had a string of chart-topping country hits. He parlayed this success into mainstream popularity with an acting career and frequent appearances on the game show Hollywood Squares.

Like most other country singers, Tillis's career (although it had already begun to fade in the late 1980s) was sidelined in 1991 when a new brand of country rose to popularity. While his career faded, his daughter Pam would go on to become a country star in the new style herself. (Ironically, Pam would be inducted into the Grand Ole Opry before her father did, and Pam herself nominated Mel to the Opry in 2007.) He continued to record up until the early 2010s, recording a hit comedy album as recently as 2010.

Tillis died from complications from a January 2016 surgery that never healed properly.

Obituary from The Tennessean

Wikipedia

Discography


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muNDdYMKVMc

[catfish1957]

Not quite. He left the band himself, over music differences and health issues. (He was a diabetic.)
For years, too, he maintained a friendship with Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson; they worked out in the
same gym together. Pete Best was a whole 'nother smoke . . .

Well, the best to the late Mr. Rutsey, but Rush without the often acknowledged greatest Rock Drummer of all time?

Would not be near the same legacy that Rush has garnished.

[skeeter]

We can say goodbye to Keith Partridge, as well.

Geez...

[AllThatJazzZ]

Mel Tillis, Country Music Hall of Famer, dies at 85



Tillis was left with a stammer as a result of a bout with malaria as a child, but it never affected his singing voice. He held a number of blue-collar jobs early in his life before moving to Nashville in 1957 and breaking into the music industry. He enjoyed success both as a songwriter and as a singer, with his greatest heyday being in the 1970s, when he had a string of chart-topping country hits. He parlayed this success into mainstream popularity with an acting career and frequent appearances on the game show Hollywood Squares.

Like most other country singers, Tillis's career (although it had already begun to fade in the late 1980s) was sidelined in 1991 when a new brand of country rose to popularity. While his career faded, his daughter Pam would go on to become a country star in the new style herself. (Ironically, Pam would be inducted into the Grand Ole Opry before her father did, and Pam herself nominated Mel to the Opry in 2007.) He continued to record up until the early 2010s, recording a hit comedy album as recently as 2010.

Tillis died from complications from a January 2016 surgery that never healed properly.

Obituary from The Tennessean

Wikipedia

Discography


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muNDdYMKVMc

 

I was just watching a video of the "Old Dogs" last night. Just a casual chat session with Mel Tillis, Jerry Reed, Waylon Jennings, Jimmy Dean and Bobby Bare. Now Bare is the only one still alive. They're all leaving us.  Thank God for YouTube.
 


Country Legends Cavalcade - Glen Campbell, Johnny Cash, Buck Owens, Mel Tillis, Merle Haggard, Jerry Reed, Freddie Hart & More

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DO7cbxwi3cU
Queue up to 38:34 for a fun session with the whole gang.

[Cyber Liberty]

We can say goodbye to Keith Partridge, as well.

Geez...

May as well, as long as he can remember what it means.  He appears to have that one foot keeping him out of the grave on a banana peel.  My MIL died from Dementia, and my own Dad is being slowly stolen from us as well.

[skeeter]

May as well, as long as he can remember what it means.  He appears to have that one foot keeping him out of the grave on a banana peel.  My MIL died from Dementia, and my own Dad is being slowly stolen from us as well.

David Cassidy died today.

His is another one of those deaths that make you aware of the passage of time.

[Cyber Liberty]

David Cassidy died today.

His is another one of those deaths that make you aware of the passage of time.

Los of stories on Google about it's being imminent, but the only entry that says for sure he's left us is Wiki.  Wouldn't be surprised of it's happened already, though.

[skeeter]

Los of stories on Google about it's being imminent, but the only entry that says for sure he's left us is Wiki.  Wouldn't be surprised of it's happened already, though.

I saw it trending on FB but its no longer there.

Maybe someone jumped the gun.

C'mon get happy.

[Applewood]

David Cassidy died today.

His is another one of those deaths that make you aware of the passage of time.

So far, Cassidy is still alive and in ICU.  But organ failure indicates his condition is grave.