Obituaries for 2023

[mountaineer]

She went through hell with the abusive Ike, and I'm glad she eventually found love with a decent man and was able to live her last few decades with him (he even donated one of his kidneys to her!).

[mountaineer]

George Maharis, TV Heartthrob of ‘Route 66,’ Is Dead at 94
May 28, 2023

George Maharis, the ruggedly handsome New York-born stage actor who went on to become a 1960s television heartthrob as a star of the series “Route 66,” died on Wednesday at at his home in Beverly Hills, Calif. He was 94.

His friend Marc Bahan announced his death on Facebook.

Mr. Maharis’s greatest fame arose from the role of Buz Murdock, one of two young men who traveled the country in a Corvette convertible, finding a new adventure and drama (and usually a new young woman) each week on CBS’s “Route 66.” ...

Herbert B. Leonard, the show’s executive producer, “thought he’d hired a young hunk for the show, a hip, sexy man and good actor that all the girls would go for,” Ms. Blocher wrote. “This was all true of Maharis, but not the whole story, as Leonard discovered to his anger and dismay. George was gay, it turned out.”

Ms. Blocher attributed Mr. Maharis’s departure to a number of factors. “The producers felt betrayed and duped when they learned of Maharis’s sexual orientation, and never trusted him again,” she wrote, adding, “Maharis, for his part, started to feel that he was carrying the show and going unappreciated.”

Mr. Maharis was arrested in 1967 on charges of “lewd conduct” and in 1974 on charges of “sex perversion” for cruising in men’s bathrooms. ...

More

[Smokin Joe]

Oh well, AIDS didn't arrive in Hollywood in a Corvette, it got there in the back of a Hudson...

[mountaineer]

Ed Ames, Singer and ‘Daniel Boone’ Sidekick, Dies at 95
He's also known for landing a tomahawk in an uncomfortable place on 'The Tonight Show.'
By Mike Barnes, Duane Byrge   
May 26, 2023 7:03am

Ed Ames, the deep-toned baritone pop singer and actor who portrayed the faithful Cherokee sidekick Mingo on the 1960s NBC series Daniel Boone, has died. He was 95.

Ames died Sunday at his home in Los Angeles after a battle with Alzheimer’s, his wife, Jeanne, told The Hollywood Reporter.

A native of Massachusetts and a son of Jewish immigrants from Ukraine, Ames starred as the Oxford-educated Mingo opposite Fess Parker as Daniel Boone on the first four seasons (1964-68) of the TV Western.

His most memorable night on television, however, came in April 1965 during an appearance on NBC’s The Tonight Show. Demonstrating to host Johnny Carson how Mingo would expertly handle a tomahawk, he hurled the weapon at an outline of a cowboy drawn on a wooden board — and it stuck right in the crotch.  ...

 After “Rag Mop,” “Sentimental Me,” “Undecided” and another top-10 hit, the 1954 novelty song “The Naughty Lady of Shady Lane,” the brothers began to perform regularly on Arthur Godfrey’s show and were one of the first acts to appear on Ed Sullivan’s Toast of the Town.

In 1955, they had their own 15-minute syndicated TV program, The Ames Brothers Show, and performed the title song for Man on Fire (1957), starring Bing Crosby. At their peak, the foursome could command $20,000 a week on tour, and they were named Billboard‘s best vocal group of 1958, when they had eight singles on the charts.  ...

Hollywood Reporter

[Smokin Joe]

Ed Ames, Singer and ‘Daniel Boone’ Sidekick, Dies at 95
He's also known for landing a tomahawk in an uncomfortable place on 'The Tonight Show.'
By Mike Barnes, Duane Byrge   
May 26, 2023 7:03am Hollywood Reporter

I thought he was already gone. I enjoyed his portrayal of Mingo, and his singing was good, too. RIP Sir, and thanks!

[sneakypete]

Oh well, AIDS didn't arrive in Hollywood in a Corvette, it got there in the back of a Hudson...

@Smokin Joe

LOL!

[sneakypete]

At their peak, the foursome could command $20,000 a week on tour, ...

@mountaineer

That was a serious amount of money back then!

And a decent down payment on a new Toyota today.

[Smokin Joe]

@mountaineer

That was a serious amount of money back then!

And a decent down payment on a new Toyota today.

Yep. $20K would buy a nice three bedroom house.

[jmyrlefuller]

@Smokin Joe

There can be no question about Tina being special in this world. If there was ever anyone who ended up doing EXACTLY what they were born to do,it was Tina. She was always great,but when she came out with "Proud Mary",she just blew the world away. If you haven't seen the video of her performing it,you have truly missed something you needed to see and hear.

And she didn't slow down after that one. It was almost like she was nuclear powered. How anyone could have THAT much energy and not explode has always been a mystery to me.

The entire world suffered a great loss when she died,despite the fact that she quit performing years ago. It was a great comfort to me to just know that she was still living,and it brought a smile to my face when I thought about it.

She had a LOT of health problems toward the end of her life and it's amazing to me that she lasted as long as she did.

[jmyrlefuller]

Ed Ames, Singer and ‘Daniel Boone’ Sidekick, Dies at 95
He's also known for landing a tomahawk in an uncomfortable place on 'The Tonight Show.'
By Mike Barnes, Duane Byrge   
May 26, 2023 7:03am Hollywood Reporter

Wow. Again, I forgot he was even alive. But then again, he was an old-style bass boomer even at his peak in the 1960s.

My personal favorite of Ed's


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u752L2hJg-c

[berdie]

Wow. Again, I forgot he was even alive. But then again, he was an old-style bass boomer even at his peak in the 1960s.

My personal favorite of Ed's


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u752L2hJg-c

Ed Ames had an awesome voice.

[GtHawk]

Wow. Again, I forgot he was even alive. But then again, he was an old-style bass boomer even at his peak in the 1960s.

My personal favorite of Ed's


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u752L2hJg-c

Once upon a time there were The Ames Brothers and while I agree that the My Cup Runneth Over by Ed is one of my favorites too, when it comes to the Ames Brothers I have always enjoyed this one.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HxB7lxbTnI

[sneakypete]

Once upon a time there were The Ames Brothers and while I agree that the My Cup Runneth Over by Ed is one of my favorites too, when it comes to the Ames Brothers I have always enjoyed this one.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HxB7lxbTnI

@GtHawk

"The Naughty Lady  of Shady Lane" is PROBABLY the first non-church song I ever heard that I can remember. Since the song was a big "nothing" musically,I suspect the reason I remember it is that we were living in a house on a street named "Shadow Lawn".

I can only  guess there weren't very many songs being written and produced back then,or it would have never gotten any air time.

[GtHawk]

@GtHawk

"The Naughty Lady  of Shady Lane" is PROBABLY the first non-church song I ever heard that I can remember. Since the song was a big "nothing" musically,I suspect the reason I remember it is that we were living in a house on a street named "Shadow Lawn".

I can only  guess there weren't very many songs being written and produced back then,or it would have never gotten any air time.

It was a novelty song and back then and into the sixties they were very popular, I think the king of novelty songs was The Singing Barber, Perry Como. You may recall he was so low key that SCTV did a parody of him.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HtaciCUrr0

Okay I'm done hijacking.

[Wingnut]

Ed Ames, Singer and ‘Daniel Boone’ Sidekick, Dies at 95
He's also known for landing a tomahawk in an uncomfortable place on 'The Tonight Show.'
By Mike Barnes, Duane Byrge   
May 26, 2023 7:03am Hollywood Reporter

Ed took an axe to the balls on the JC show right?

[GtHawk]

Ed took an axe to the balls on the JC show right?

Ed through an axe, as his Mingo character would at a man shaped target and the axe struck right at the crotch on live TV...hilarity ensued.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0L5QC9ZJkM8

[Kamaji]

‘You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling’ legend dead: Cynthia Weil was 82

By Ben Cost
June 2, 2023

Fans haven’t lost that lovin’ feeling for her.

Legendary songwriter Cynthia Weil, the muse behind “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” and countless other hits, passed away Thursday evening at 82.

Weil’s daughter Dr. Jenn Mann confirmed the icon’s death in a statement to TMZ.

“My mother, Cynthia Weil, was the greatest mother, grandmother and wife our family could ever ask for,” she wrote. “She was my best friend, confidant and my partner in crime and an idol and trailblazer for women in music.”

As of yet, the cause of death has yet to be revealed.

*  *  *

Source:  https://nypost.com/2023/06/02/youve-lost-that-lovin-feeling-legend-dead-cynthia-weil-was-82/

[jmyrlefuller]

She and Barry Mann managed to stay married for over 60 years. I mean, it's not the most surprising thing in the world (I mean, the Brill Building had its fair share of long marriages, at least among the straight people who worked there) but still, for the entertainment industry, that's impressive.

[libertybele]

www.youtube.com/watch?v=95ueS5PqVXA

[bigheadfred]

I admit I didn't who Cynthia is. I went to Wikipedia to find out more. Here is a fun fact.

"You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" co-written with Phil Spector[4] – The Righteous Brothers; later numerous other artists including Dionne Warwick, Hall & Oates, and a Roberta Flack-Donny Hathaway duet. As of 2010, the Righteous Brothers' rendition was radio's most-played song of all time, with 14 million airplays to date.[4

[sneakypete]

‘You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling’ legend dead: Cynthia Weil was 82

By Ben Cost
June 2, 2023

Fans haven’t lost that lovin’ feeling for her.

Legendary songwriter Cynthia Weil, the muse behind “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” and countless other hits, passed away Thursday evening at 82.

Weil’s daughter Dr. Jenn Mann confirmed the icon’s death in a statement to TMZ.

“My mother, Cynthia Weil, was the greatest mother, grandmother and wife our family could ever ask for,” she wrote. “She was my best friend, confidant and my partner in crime and an idol and trailblazer for women in music.”

As of yet, the cause of death has yet to be revealed.

*  *  *

Source:  https://nypost.com/2023/06/02/youve-lost-that-lovin-feeling-legend-dead-cynthia-weil-was-82/

@Kamaji

How is it even possible for someone with a "gift" THAT huge and go unnoticed?

I have spent the majority of my life thinking "The Righteous Brothers" wrote that song. There can be NO doubt it sure helped make them famous.

[Kamaji]

Roger Craig, Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher and original Met, dead at 93

By Joseph Staszewski
June 5, 2023

Roger Craig, who had the distinction of winning the last game in Brooklyn Dodgers history and the first game in Mets history and who was also a longtime major league manager, died Sunday.

He was 93.

The Giants, whom Craig managed for eight seasons, announced his passing.

“We have lost a legendary member of our Giants family.” Larry Baer, Giants president and chief executive officer, said in a statement. “Roger was beloved by players, coaches, front office staff and fans. He was a father figure to many and his optimism and wisdom resulted in some of the most memorable seasons in our history.”

Craig, played 12 seasons in the majors from 1955-66, posting a 74-98 record and 3.83 ERA in 186 starts and 368 career appearances for the Dodgers, Mets, Cardinals, Reds and Phillies.

*  *  *

Source:  https://nypost.com/2023/06/05/roger-craig-dodgers-pitcher-and-original-met-dead-at-93/

[mountaineer]

Robert Hanssen, FBI Agent Who Spied for Russia, Found Dead in Prison
Monday, 05 June 2023 04:20 PM EDT

Robert Hanssen, the former FBI agent turned spy whom the bureau describes as the most damaging in its history, was found dead in his prison cell on Monday, U.S. authorities said.

Hanssen, 79, was sentenced in 2002 to life in prison after pleading guilty to spying for the Soviet Union and later Russia for over 20 years.

Prison staff initiated life-saving measures after finding Hanssen unresponsive on Monday morning but were not successful, the Bureau of Prisons said in a statement. It did not provide a cause of death. ... Newsmax

[Kamaji]

Meh.  Good riddance.

[sneakypete]

Robert Hanssen, FBI Agent Who Spied for Russia, Found Dead in Prison
Monday, 05 June 2023 04:20 PM EDT

Robert Hanssen, the former FBI agent turned spy whom the bureau describes as the most damaging in its history, was found dead in his prison cell on Monday, U.S. authorities said.

Hanssen, 79, was sentenced in 2002 to life in prison after pleading guilty to spying for the Soviet Union and later Russia for over 20 years.

Prison staff initiated life-saving measures after finding Hanssen unresponsive on Monday morning but were not successful, the Bureau of Prisons said in a statement. It did not provide a cause of death. ... Newsmax

@mountaineer

Damn shame he didn't live to be 120 so  he could suffer more.