Obituaries for 2024

[Timber Rattler]

R.I.P. Enemy Mine, you did well on screen.

Jeriba Shigan!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jrzPv0ADhk

[Gefn]

Inventor of first karaoke machine, Shigeichi Negishi, dies aged 100

Shigeichi Negishi, the entrepreneur who invented the world’s first karaoke machine, has died aged 100.

Negishi, whose 1967 “Sparko Box” prototype is among several devices credited with ushering in Japan’s karaoke craze, died from natural causes in January. His death, which was made public last week, was confirmed to CNN by Shiro Kataoka, managing director of the All-Japan Karaoke Industrialist Association.

Born in 1923, Negishi founded and ran a company that assembled car stereos for automobile manufacturers in northern Tokyo. A regular listener to a singalong radio show broadcast in Japan at the time, he hooked a spare tape deck up to a microphone and mixing circuit so he could hear himself singing over music.

“When I asked the factory engineer, he said, ‘It’s easy,’” Negishi recalled in an account published by the All-Japan Karaoke Industrialist Association, an industry body for Japan’s karaoke operators. “So, I attached a microphone input terminal to the car stereo and created something like the prototype of a jukebox.”

https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/18/style/japan-shigeichi-negishi-karaoke-inventor-death-intl-hnk/index.html

[Gefn]

Inventor of first karaoke machine, Shigeichi Negishi, dies aged 100





https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/18/style/japan-shigeichi-negishi-karaoke-inventor-death-intl-hnk/index.html

Another interesting obit that never made the front page.

[Smokin Joe]

Inventor of first karaoke machine, Shigeichi Negishi, dies aged 100


https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/18/style/japan-shigeichi-negishi-karaoke-inventor-death-intl-hnk/index.html

RIP, and thanks for the hours of indescribable entertainment...

[mountaineer]

Lou Conter, the final USS Arizona survivor from Pearl Harbor, dies at 102
 Story by Jonathan Limehouse, USA TODAY via MSN
April 1, 2024

Lou Conter, the final surviving crewmember of those aboard the USS Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, has passed away at 102, according to multiple reports.

Surrounded by family in Grass Valley, California, Conter took his final breath, his daughter told KCRA 3. The veteran had been in hospice for the past four weeks, the Sacramento, California-based TV station reported ...

 

[Cyber Liberty]

Lou Conter, the final USS Arizona survivor from Pearl Harbor, dies at 102
 Story by Jonathan Limehouse, USA TODAY via MSN
April 1, 2024

Lou Conter, the final surviving crewmember of those aboard the USS Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, has passed away at 102, according to multiple reports.

Surrounded by family in Grass Valley, California, Conter took his final breath, his daughter told KCRA 3. The veteran had been in hospice for the past four weeks, the Sacramento, California-based TV station reported ...

 

 

[Smokin Joe]

Lou Conter, the final USS Arizona survivor from Pearl Harbor, dies at 102
 Story by Jonathan Limehouse, USA TODAY via MSN
April 1, 2024

Lou Conter, the final surviving crewmember of those aboard the USS Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, has passed away at 102, according to multiple reports.

Surrounded by family in Grass Valley, California, Conter took his final breath, his daughter told KCRA 3. The veteran had been in hospice for the past four weeks, the Sacramento, California-based TV station reported ...

 

[sneakypete]

@Smokin Joe

My next door neighbor when I was a kid was a cousin of my mothers,and was on the USS Arizona when it went down. He was MAYBE a 19 year old E-3 at the time,and manned a 50 cal machine gun and was credited with shooting down a forgotten number of Japanese airplanes before the ship started sinking and he had to jump overboard and swim for shore.

He got a Silver Star for his efforts,and the US Navy is known for being stingy when it comes to awarding serious "hero badges" like that to enlisted swine.

I didn't even know this until I was over playing with his son one day,and the son invited me to go into  his parents bedroom so he could show me the framed award letter and award. It was the first Silver Star I ever saw,and I will never forget it.

I was maybe 10 -12 years old at the time and didn't know diddly-squad about awards for bravery in the  face of enemy fire,but even I could tell that  was some serious stuff.

I have no idea  why he kept it hidden in his bedroom,unless MAYBE given all that  happened  that day,he didn't think he really earned it compared to what some of the others did. Seems like almost all of the real heroes I have me,and I have probably met more than most people (7 years in the US Army during the VN war,and 5 years of that in Special Forces) had that opinion about their own awards.  Didn't fool me,though. I clearly understood it was some serious "Hero Stuff",and was always kinda in awe of him after that.

It SEEMED like the people who had the most awards and the most impressive awards didn't like to wear them unless they had to.

My company commander on Okinawa received a Medal of Honor during the Korean War,and I saw him daily for over a year before I found that out. We had an award ceremony,and he was pretty much required to wear all his awards and decorations to hand out the awards to others.

His name was Ola Mize,in case any of you are interested,and he was genuinely one of the nicest human beings I have ever known.

To give you an example,I was a 19 year old E-4 in his company on Okie,and got drunk one night and got to wondering how the typical officers lived when off-duty,so I put on civilian clothes and went to the officers club that was located on a cliff overlooking the  East China Sea. Can't remember it's name now,but they had entertainers like Sammy Davis Jr putting on shows.

Anyhow,I kinda hung around the parking lot until a couple of car loads of officers and their wives arrived and headed for the entrance,so I just mingled in amongst them and got in without being carded.

Did ok for a while,and even saw a few junior officers from my company in there ,and they just smiled at me.

Then I got drunk enough to start wondering how the senior officers lived,so I went and sat down at a table in the  Senior Officers Lounge.

Didn't last long. Somebody from the company called Col Mize and told him what I was doing and where I was,and he came in and set a fresh whisky  glass down in front of me,and told me to "Enjoy your last drink of the evening."

I pretty much chugged it down and got the hell OUT of there.

When I saw him in the barracks hallway the next day,he just looked at me and smiled.

Not long  after that,he  called me into  his office and tried to talk me into going to OCS to become an officer. Told me he could arrange for me to come back to his command on Okie after graduating and he would send me off to VN with an A-Team so I could get some experience.

My extension papers got lost and I got new orders sending me back to Bragg before any of that could happen,though. So I volunteered to go to VA to get the HELL away from Bragg and back to Okie. That didn't work either because I got  medi-evaced back to Bragg before my 2nd  extension in VN started. Agent Orange sent me back to Bragg,and out of SF. I hated the regular army almost as much  as they hated me,so I just got out.

[Gefn]

Lou Conter, the final USS Arizona survivor from Pearl Harbor, dies at 102
 Story by Jonathan Limehouse, USA TODAY via MSN
April 1, 2024

Lou Conter, the final surviving crewmember of those aboard the USS Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, has passed away at 102, according to multiple reports.

Surrounded by family in Grass Valley, California, Conter took his final breath, his daughter told KCRA 3. The veteran had been in hospice for the past four weeks, the Sacramento, California-based TV station reported ...

 

 

[Smokin Joe]

@sneakypete

It SEEMED like the people who had the most awards and the most impressive awards didn't like to wear them unless they had to.

I have noticed that too. But if you have really done something, likely at the time you just did what needed doing and weren't concerned with how it would look later. You see even civilians who go into harm's way for others often act the same way about the heroic stuff they did.

Sometimes, they just didn't say a thing, but others carried that water.

There was a one armed guy I met when I first got to North Dakota, and I didn't pay much notice to the fact. Later I found out he'd become wrapped up in a PTO shaft while trying to clear a piece of farm equipment. His (now) missing arm so jammed up the works, that the machine shut down. He was two miles from the nearest help and not expected back for hours, long before cell phones. He tied off his upper arm with a bootlace, performed the amputation with a jack knife, and walked two miles to the nearest farmhouse for help.

Gotta respect that, but I found out from someone else who remembered the incident; he just didn't talk about it. Maybe he was sheepish about having ended up in that predicament, but farming remains in the top ten dangerous professions. That set the bar for me out here, in regards to 'tough'; that quiet strength that so many men (and women) have displayed, only to move on, and often only tell the stories among themselves or trusted friends, but usually others tell the tales about them before they will. They do not stand on their laurels.

That said, you should consider writing a book. I enjoy reading of your exploits and those of the guys around you when you were in SF.
 

[sneakypete]

@sneakypete
I have noticed that too. But if you have really done something, likely at the time you just did what needed doing and weren't concerned with how it would look later. You see even civilians who go into harm's way for others often act the same way about the heroic stuff they did.

@Smokin Joe

There was no shortages of that happening at Pearl Harbor,and especially not in the Philippines,where a non-combat arms Major whose name I can not remember at the moment refused to surrender,and headed for the jungles to create a VERY effective guerilla army.


Sometimes, they just didn't say a thing, but others carried that water.

There was a one armed guy I met when I first got to North Dakota, and I didn't pay much notice to the fact. Later I found out he'd become wrapped up in a PTO shaft while trying to clear a piece of farm equipment. His (now) missing arm so jammed up the works, that the machine shut down. He was two miles from the nearest help and not expected back for hours, long before cell phones. He tied off his upper arm with a bootlace, performed the amputation with a jack knife, and walked two miles to the nearest farmhouse for help.

Gotta respect that, but I found out from someone else who remembered the incident; he just didn't talk about it. Maybe he was sheepish about having ended up in that predicament, but farming remains in the top ten dangerous professions. That set the bar for me out here, in regards to 'tough'; that quiet strength that so many men (and women) have displayed, only to move on, and often only tell the stories among themselves or trusted friends, but usually others tell the tales about them before they will. They do not stand on their laurels.

That said, you should consider writing a book. I enjoy reading of your exploits and those of the guys around you when you were in SF

.

I did very little,but follow the "big boys" around and tried to learn from them.

I will admit despite hating the army at first,once I got into SF,I had the time of my life and met the most admirable people anyone could ever hope to meet.

And surprisingly,most of them were insanely funny people to be around. Can't remember even meeting ONE Prima Donna in a SF line company.

There was no shortage of them in the SF support companies,though. I suspect this is true of every infantry unit that ever existed.

[Timber Rattler]

Joe Flaherty, ‘SCTV’ and ‘Freaks and Geeks’ Actor, Dies at 82

https://variety.com/2024/film/news/joe-flaherty-dead-dies-sctv-freaks-and-geeks-1235957809/#recipient_hashed=ca404efc3565dc727e8a68cdb05ababfaa51bd490e64e15ba56ac5d3e184a1c6&recipient_salt=e110b10f72f8f762fe60da937b0cdb2c48ea6a21c80f9d1d81e85ca7cb0ee523

Joe Flaherty, the actor, writer and comedian known for his roles on the Canadian sketch comedy series “Second City Television” and “Freaks and Geeks,” died on Monday. He was 82.

Flaherty’s daughter, Gudrun, confirmed the news to Variety in a statement through the Comedic Artists Alliance, which had previously raised funds for Flaherty to obtain a 24-hour care provider.

“After a brief illness, he left us yesterday, and since then, I’ve been struggling to come to terms with this immense loss,” Flaherty said. “Dad was an extraordinary man, known for his boundless heart and an unwavering passion for movies from the ’40s and ’50s. His insights into the golden age of cinema didn’t just shape his professional life; they were also a source of endless fascination for me. In these last few months, as he faced his health challenges, we had the precious opportunity to watch many of those classic movies together — moments I will forever hold dear.”

EXCERPT

aka Count Floyd.

[GtHawk]

Joe Flaherty, ‘SCTV’ and ‘Freaks and Geeks’ Actor, Dies at 82

https://variety.com/2024/film/news/joe-flaherty-dead-dies-sctv-freaks-and-geeks-1235957809/#recipient_hashed=ca404efc3565dc727e8a68cdb05ababfaa51bd490e64e15ba56ac5d3e184a1c6&recipient_salt=e110b10f72f8f762fe60da937b0cdb2c48ea6a21c80f9d1d81e85ca7cb0ee523

EXCERPT

aka Count Floyd.

RIP Sir, while some of my best memories and laughs were with you on SCTV, you never failed to deliver a smile, chuckle or guffaw!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wf4exIiQr8

[mountaineer]

Aw, I loved Flaherty and the SCTV cast. Guy Caballero!

[Texas Yellow Rose]

 

[Timber Rattler]

Adrian Schiller: Victoria actor dies 'suddenly' aged 60

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-68731534

The Last Kingdom actor Adrian Schiller has died "suddenly" aged 60, his agent has confirmed.

The British actor was best known for playing rich ealdorman Aethelhelm in Netflix historical series The Last Kingdom and steward Cornelius Penge in ITV royal drama Victoria.

In a statement, his agent said: "His death was sudden and unexpected and no further details are yet available.

"He has died far too soon, and we are devastated by the loss."

EXCERPT

British character actor.

[jmyrlefuller]

Clarence "Frogman" Henry dies at 87

Henry was among the few remaining survivors of New Orleans's early swamp-rock-and-roll scene of the 1950s and early 1960s and was best known for his novelty number "Ain't Got No Home," in which each verse was sung in a different register: normal tenor, falsetto, and a "croak" meant to emulate a frog. Rush Limbaugh took the record for use of his Homeless Updates on his radio show.

https://www.nola.com/entertainment_life/keith_spera/new-orleans-singer-clarence-frogman-henry-has-died/article_d94ed3f0-f5b4-11ee-be0c-239705e5cc9d.html


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiU37ZPLMNg

[Gefn]

Peter Higgs, Nobelist Who Predicted the ‘God Particle,’ Dies at 94

Peter Higgs, who predicted the existence of a new particle that came to be named after him (as well as God) and sparked a half-century, worldwide, billion-dollar search for it culminating in champagne in 2012 and a Nobel Prize a year later, died on Monday at home in Edinburgh, Scotland. He was 94.

The cause was a blood disorder, said Alan Walker, his close friend and fellow physicist at the University of Edinburgh, where Dr. Higgs was an emeritus professor.

Dr. Higgs was a 35-year-old assistant professor at the university in 1964 when he suggested the existence of a new particle that would explain how other particles acquire mass. The Higgs boson, also known as “the God particle,” would become the keystone of a suite of theories known as the Standard Model, which encapsulated all human knowledge so far about elementary particles and the forces by which they shaped nature and the universe.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/09/science/peter-higgs-dead.html

[AllThatJazzZ]

Clarence "Frogman" Henry dies at 87

Henry was among the few remaining survivors of New Orleans's early swamp-rock-and-roll scene of the 1950s and early 1960s and was best known for his novelty number "Ain't Got No Home," in which each verse was sung in a different register: normal tenor, falsetto, and a "croak" meant to emulate a frog. Rush Limbaugh took the record for use of his Homeless Updates on his radio show.

https://www.nola.com/entertainment_life/keith_spera/new-orleans-singer-clarence-frogman-henry-has-died/article_d94ed3f0-f5b4-11ee-be0c-239705e5cc9d.html


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiU37ZPLMNg

Awwww. That makes me miss Rushie. 

[Smokin Joe]

Aw, I loved Flaherty and the SCTV cast. Guy Caballero!

Me, too. I always found it more entertaining than Saturday Night live.

[Smokin Joe]

Peter Higgs, Nobelist Who Predicted the ‘God Particle,’ Dies at 94




https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/09/science/peter-higgs-dead.html

RIP, sir and thanks for a different view of the Universe. I would believe you have access to far more information now...

[deb]

Awwww. That makes me miss Rushie. 

Absolutely!

[Ghost Bear]

O. J. Simpson reportedly dead after battle with cancer.

https://www.tmz.com/2024/04/11/oj-simpson-dead-dies-cancer/

[mystery-ak]

O.J. Simpson
@TheRealOJ32
·
15m
On April 10th, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer.

He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren.

During this time of transition, his family asks that you please respect their wishes for privacy and grace.

-The Simpson Family

[Polly Ticks]