Obituaries for 2019

[Cyber Liberty]

55? 

[jmyrlefuller]

Danny Aiello
Actor dies at 86



Aiello, who spent most of his early life as a working-class man in New York City, broke through as a character actor beginning in 1973, when he was already 40 years old. His 46-year acting career mostly took place on the Broadway stage and in film.

Obituary from Inquisitr.com

Wikipedia

Broadway credits

IMDB

[Applewood]

Bummer!  Loved Aiello in everything.  My favorite though was as Cher's fiancé in Moonstruck. 

Rest in peace, Mr. Aiello.

[PeteS in CA]

I don't think I've seen anything Aiello has done, yet his name is familiar to me. Sounds like Hollywood lost a hard-working ubiquitous character actor.

[Free Vulcan]

Hayden Fry, Texan who turned around Iowa, dies at 90

Hayden Fry, the Texan who revived Iowa football and became a Hawkeye State institution over two decades as a Big Ten coach, has died. He was 90.

Fry's family announced through the University of Iowa that the former coach died Tuesday with his family at his side after a long battle with cancer. He had been living in the Dallas area with his wife, Shirley.

“We are proud to know that our father’s life had a positive influence on so many people, the players, the coaches, and the fans who played for, worked with, and supported his long and successful coaching career,” the family said in a statement. “His legend will live forever with the people he touched and inspired, and the programs he led to greater heights.”

Fry, a native of Eastland, Texas, had never been to Iowa before taking over the Hawkeyes in 1979, hired by then-athletic director Bump Elliott, the former Michigan star who died earlier this month.

https://www.gazettetimes.com/news/national/obituaries/hayden-fry-texan-who-turned-around-iowa-dies-at/article_5fd85d13-41c3-551a-88d2-270ec57f10f2.html

-----------------

Fry was Iowa's Bear Bryant, Tom Landry, and Vince Lombardi. Man those were the glory days. I will never forget that last second field goal by #1 Iowa to beat #2 Michigan 12-10 in '85 and Jimmy Zabel of WHO radio screaming his lungs out. That was as good as it gets.


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Ironically his death was 10 days after former Iowa athletics admin Bump Elliot, who hired Fry back in '79.

RIP to both. They had a helluva run.

[TomSea]

Yes, Hayden Fry, I can see him in that Hawk Eyes cap.

wikipedia bio

Knew Bush 41, check the bio.

[jmyrlefuller]

R.G. "Junior" Johnson
Moonshine runner turned NASCAR legend dies at 88



Coming from a long line of moonshine bootleggers, Johnson's father Robert Sr. spent much of his life in jail for his numerous moonshine raids, and even as Junior began his stock car racing career, he continued on the family tradition. One of the biggest moonshine raids the ATF ever conducted was at Junior Johnson's home.

Johnson, who in addition to NASCAR was a prolific dirt track racer, was one of the early wave of racers in the stock car circuit. His cars were much slower compared to his professional competition—not a huge problem on short tracks but a major one on superspeedways—but he was able to exploit the other cars' aerodynamics to speed up his own car and was credited with being one of the first to use "drafting" as a competitive weapon. He used his drafting techniques to win the 1960 Daytona 500.

With 50 wins on the NASCAR circuit, and his moonshining background, Johnson earned the popular nickname "The Last American Hero" after Tom Wolfe wrote about Johnson for Esquire. He retired from racing in 1966 but, having also expanded into the snack business and still doing some moonshining on the side, was able to invest in team ownership in the 1970s and 1980s, winning another 132 races with racers such as Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip, Terry Labonte, Bill Elliot, and Sterling Marlin. Johnson retired in 1996.

Obituary from the Daily Mail

Wikipedia

[mountaineer]

Claudine Auger, who starred opposite Sean Connery in “Thunderball” as Domino, has died. She was 78.

The actress died in Paris, according to her agency, AFP reported.

She was the first-ever French Bond Girl and appeared in the 1965 film.  ...


More from NY Post

[mountaineer]

 French fashion designer Emanuel Ungaro dead at 86
By Associated Press
December 22, 2019

French fashion designer Emanuel Ungaro, who was known for his use of vibrant color, mixed prints and elegant draping, has died at the age of 86.

Ungaro’s death was confirmed Sunday by the eponymous Paris fashion house he founded in 1965, which said in an Instagram post that he “will remain in our memories as the Master of sensuality, of color and flamboyance.”

The designer died Saturday in Paris, according to French media. ...


Rest of story

[Hoodat]

Richard Alpert

Ram Dass, psychedelic drug pioneer, dies at home aged 88

Bill Trott     |     December 23, 2019 / 2:46 AM

(Reuters) - Ram Dass, who in the 1960s joined Timothy Leary in promoting psychedelic drugs as the path to inner enlightenment before undergoing a spiritual rebirth he spelled out in the influential book “Be Here Now,” died at home on Sunday. He was 88 years old.

“With tender hearts we share that Ram Dass (born Richard Alpert) died peacefully at home in Maui on December 22, 2019 surrounded by loved ones,” according to his official Instagram account.

“He was a guide for thousands seeking to discover or reclaim their spiritual identity beyond or within institutional religion.”

The man who would become a serene, smiling forerunner of the New Age movement and play a leading role in bringing Eastern spirituality to the West grew up as Richard Alpert in a Jewish family in Newton, Massachusetts.

He considered himself an atheist, and after graduating from Tufts University and earning a Ph.D. from Stanford University, was an up-and-coming psychology professor and researcher at Harvard University in the early ‘60s.

Ram Dass would later describe himself at the time as a driven “anxiety-neurotic” who had an abundance of knowledge but lacked wisdom. Things began to change when Leary joined the Harvard faculty and the two became close friends.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-people-ram-dass-idUSKBN1YR0KY


It may have opened up new doorways, but they don't lead anywhere.

[jmyrlefuller]

Joseph Segel
Entrepreneur who founded the Franklin Mint and QVC dies at 88

Segel could be called the King of the Knockoffs because his two most prominent business successes were both based on imitations of existing product. In 1964, inspired by the success of the U.S. Mint's successful sell-offs of the last silver dollars, he decided that selling unofficial, non-monetary coins could be a profitable enterprise, and thus was born what today is known as the Franklin Mint.

In 1986, after watching Home Shopping Network, Segel decided to rip off the basic premise. His QVC was built around a no-gimmicks, no-hard-sell approach to home shopping. It was initially a flop, but when he was able to buy out the market leader at the time (Cable Value Network), QVC was able to make substantial inroads, becoming HSN's most enduring rival in the TV home shopping market. QVC nearly went broke in 1993 when Barry Diller bailed the company out, forcing Segel into a consulting role.

Obituary from CBS News

Wikipedia

[sneakypete]

It may have opened up new doorways, but they don't lead anywhere.

Sometimes it's the trip that is important,not the destination.

[EasyAce]

Sometimes it's the trip that is important,not the destination.

That's what I tell people whenever I mention that one of my bucket list items is an end-to-end road trip along whatever's left of Route 66.

[roamer_1]

That's what I tell people whenever I mention that one of my bucket list items is an end-to-end road trip along whatever's left of Route 66.

Not much will drag my furry butt out of these mountains... But I might do that... In something worthy of the trip, like a decked out Caddy or Bonneville... That sounds like fun. 

[EasyAce]

Not much will drag my furry butt out of these mountains... But I might do that... In something worthy of the trip, like a decked out Caddy or Bonneville... That sounds like fun. 

My original imagining was to do it in one of these . . .



. . . but they're a) expensive as bloody hell and b) a pain in the ass to keep up.

So I'd just settle for something like this . . .



I dare to dream . . .

[roamer_1]

My original imagining was to do it in one of these . . .



. . . but they're a) expensive as bloody hell and b) a pain in the ass to keep up.

Yeah, my boy has a class A diesel motorhome, except he can't take it more than 150 miles... Too expensive to drive, and too expensive to park for the night... He rents it out these days as an apartment.

Still, mighty nice to be able to stretch out a bit, or take a siesta after hittin a diner. 

So I'd just settle for something like this . . .



I dare to dream . . .

Yeah, that'd do... 

[TomSea]

Norway’s Ari Behn, ex-royal and Kevin Spacey accuser, dies in suicide
Published 15 mins ago
on December 25, 2019
By BNO News



Norwegian author Ari Behn, the ex-husband of Princess Märtha Louise and one of those accusing actor Kevin Spacey of sexual assault, has died in an apparent suicide, his family says. He was 47 years old.

“It is with great sadness in our hearts that we, the family of Ari Behn, must announce that he took his own life today,” the family said in a statement to NTB on Wednesday night. The circumstances of his suicide were not immediately known.

Behn married Princess Märtha Louise in May 2002 but the couple divorced in 2017. They had three children. King Harald V expressed his condolences in a statement and said Behn had been an important part of the royal family for many years.

Read more at: https://bnonews.com/index.php/2019/12/norwegian-author-ari-behn-dies/

His mental health probably suffered.

Spacey received a KBE,  must be Knight of the British Empire (is it Sir Kevin Spacey? That's doing as much as Paul McCartney, Jimmy Pagei is only an OBE, Officer of the British Empire), he was born in South Orange, New Jersey.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Spacey
I'm not too familiar with him though, of course, he is very famous.

[sneakypete]

His mental health probably suffered.

Spacey received a KBE,  must be Knight of the British Empire (is it Sir Kevin Spacey? That's doing as much as Paul McCartney, Jimmy Pagei is only an OBE, Officer of the British Empire), he was born in South Orange, New Jersey.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Spacey
I'm not too familiar with him though, of course, he is very famous.

@TomSea

A truly awul thing to do to your family.

[Smokin Joe]

@TomSea

A truly awul thing to do to your family.

Yep.

[jmyrlefuller]

Jerry Herman
Broadway composer dies at 88



Herman composed music for several Broadway musicals over the course of his career, mostly between the 1960s and 1980s. His biggest hits were Hello, Dolly! (whose star Carol Channing died earlier this year), Mame, and La cage aux folles. A master of the art of the show tune, the theme from "Hello, Dolly!" threw a giant wrench into the British Invasion when Louis Armstrong's cover it broke The Beatles' streak atop the Billboard chart.

Herman was openly gay and HIV-positive for over 30 years, one of the first recognizable celebrities to be diagnosed with the disease and still live a long and productive life.

Obituary from the Associated Press

Wikipedia

Broadway credits

[sneakypete]

Jerry Herman
Broadway composer dies at 88



 

Herman was openly gay and HIV-positive for over 30 years, one of the first recognizable celebrities to be diagnosed with the disease and still live a long and productive life.

 @jmyrlefuller

What,a man that is into Broadway show tunes is a homo???

Shut yo mouf! Who is gonna believe that?

 

[TomSea]

George Michael's sister Melanie dies aged 55 on Christmas Day exactly three years after her brother's death

    Melanie was found by her older sister Yioda Panayiotou at her home in London

    The Metropolitan Police said it was called to a property at 7pm on Wednesday

    She and her brother were close, and Melanie was left part of estate after death

    Her lawyer John Reid today confirmed the 'sudden' death on behalf of her family

    George was found dead at home in Oxfordshire on Christmas Day 2016, aged 53

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7830457/George-Michaels-sister-Melanie-dies-aged-55-Christmas-Day.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ito=1490&ns_campaign=1490

[sneakypete]

@TomSea

After reading the full story,I am sorry to say it sounds like suicide. She is no longer suffering,but her family is damn sure  suffering more than ever.

[Gefn]

Don Imus, Legendary 'Imus in the Morning' Host, Dies at 79

The controversial radio personality passed away on Friday morning at Baylor Scott and White Medical Center in College Station, Texas.
Legendary, cowboy hat-wearing radio personality Don Imus, who hosted the radio show Imus in the Morning for nearly 50 years, has died. Imus was 79.

Imus passed away on Friday morning at Baylor Scott and White Medical Center in College Station, Texas, after being hospitalized on Christmas Eve, a representative said. The cause of death was not given.

"Don loved and adored Deirdre, who unconditionally loved him back, loved spending his time watching Wyatt become a highly skilled, champion rodeo rider and calf roper, and loved and supported Zachary, who first met the Imus family at age 10 when he participated in the Imus Ranch program for kids with cancer, having battled and overcome leukemia, eventually becoming a member of the Imus family and Don and Deirdre’s second son," Imus' family said in a statement.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/don-imus-legendary-imus-morning-host-dies-at-79-1265052

[Smokin Joe]

Don Imus, Legendary 'Imus in the Morning' Host, Dies at 79

The controversial radio personality passed away on Friday morning at Baylor Scott and White Medical Center in College Station, Texas.
Legendary, cowboy hat-wearing radio personality Don Imus, who hosted the radio show Imus in the Morning for nearly 50 years, has died. Imus was 79.

Imus passed away on Friday morning at Baylor Scott and White Medical Center in College Station, Texas, after being hospitalized on Christmas Eve, a representative said. The cause of death was not given.

"Don loved and adored Deirdre, who unconditionally loved him back, loved spending his time watching Wyatt become a highly skilled, champion rodeo rider and calf roper, and loved and supported Zachary, who first met the Imus family at age 10 when he participated in the Imus Ranch program for kids with cancer, having battled and overcome leukemia, eventually becoming a member of the Imus family and Don and Deirdre’s second son," Imus' family said in a statement.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/don-imus-legendary-imus-morning-host-dies-at-79-1265052

I hope he took 1200 hamburgers to go....



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