Obituaries for 2015

[Machiavelli]

Click the link and look at the date of the article. She died 8 years ago.

[Machiavelli]

'Happy Days' Star Al Molinaro Dies

Al Molinaro, who played the beloved chef at the drive-in on "Happy Days" ... died in a Wisconsin hospital on Thursday.

Molinaro's son confirmed the actor's death ... telling us he had very bad gall stones, but Al elected not to have surgery due to his age. He was 96.

More

Wikipedia

IMDb

[Paladin]

Click the link and look at the date of the article. She died 8 years ago.

By golly, you're right. Wonder why no one told me. In any case, I still like Ms Moneypenny.

[mountaineer]

Fred Thompson dead at 73.
Reuters via Yahoo.

(Reuters) - Fred Thompson, a former U.S. senator and Republican presidential candidate, as well as a film and TV actor, has died at age 73, the Nashville Tennessean reported on Sunday.

Thompson died from a recurrence of lymphoma, the newspaper said, quoting a statement by his family.

[mystery-ak]

http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2015/11/01/former-us-sen-fred-thompson-dies-73/74752142/

5:12 p.m. CST November 1, 2015

Fred Thompson, a former U.S. senator for Tennessee, GOP presidential candidate, Watergate attorney and longtime "Law and Order" star, died on Sunday. He was 73.

continued at link

[mountaineer]

Just posted in the Obituaries thread. Apparently, lymphoma.

[mystery-ak]

Just posted in the Obituaries thread. Apparently, lymphoma.

I'll move it there later when everyone has a chance to see it

[mystery-ak]

 By Ian Swanson - 11/01/15 06:00 PM EST

Fred Thompson, the former U.S. senator also known as a start on television's "Law and Order," has died, according to a report in the Tennessean.

Thompson died from a recurrence of lymphona, according to a statement from his family to the newspaper.

"It is with a heavy heart and a deep sense of grief that we share the passing our our brother, husband, father, and grandfather who died peacefully in Nashville surrounded by his family," the statement said.

Thompson served as a U.S. senator from 1994 to 2003 for leaving the Senate to resume his acting career.

He briefly ran for president during the 2008 cycle before dropping out in the race eventually won by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).

As an actor, Thompson was best known for playing Manhattan D.A. Arthur Branch. He began playing in the role in the last several months of his Senate career.

Before entering the Senate, Thompson had memorable roles in "Die Hard II," "No Way Out," and "Days of  Thunder."

But before becoming an actor, Thompsoh had a long career in Tennessee and Washington as a lawyer, including a stint as minority counsel on the Senate Watergate Committee.

"Fred once said that the experiences he had growing up in small-town Tennessee formed the prism through which he viewed the world and shaped the way he dealt with life," his family said in a statement. "Fred stood on principle and common sense, and had a deep love for and connection with the people across Tennessee whom he had the privilege to serve in the United States Senate.

"He enjoyed a hearty laugh, a strong handshake, a good cigar, and a healthy dose of humility. Fred was the same man on the floor of the Senate, the movie studio, or the town square of Lawrenceburg, his home," the statement said.

"Fred believed that the greatness of our nation was defined by the hard work, faith, and honesty of its people. He had an enduring belief in the exceptionalism of our country, and that America could provide the opportunity for any boy or girl, in any corner of our country, to succeed in life," the statement concluded.

 http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/258795-sen-fed-thompson-dies-at-73

[aligncare]

Rest in peace, "Freddie."

In life he did much to raise the republican brand, giving conservatives a presence in Hollywood they never had before.

It's fitting he be given his own thread.

[musiclady]

Rest in peace, "Freddie."

In life he did much to raise the republican brand, giving conservatives a presence in Hollywood they never had before.

It's fitting he be given his own thread.

Completely agree.

Rest in peace, Senator Thompson.  You will be missed.

[mountaineer]

I saw a comment somewhere else to the effect that Fred didn't really want to be president - which is why he would have been a good one.

[alicewonders]

Rest in peace, "Freddie."

In life he did much to raise the republican brand, giving conservatives a presence in Hollywood they never had before.

It's fitting he be given his own thread.

Agree.

[Bigun]

I saw a comment somewhere else to the effect that Fred didn't really want to be president - which is why he would have been a good one.

Yep! He was a good man!

[DCPatriot]

Rest in peace, "Freddie."

In life he did much to raise the republican brand, giving conservatives a presence in Hollywood they never had before.

It's fitting he be given his own thread.

I agree!  Good man!  Filled the screen...that face...that voice.  The delivery!!

And for awhile, he inspired some of us.  RIP, Fred Thompson!

[jmyrlefuller]

Full Fred Thompson obituary:
http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2015/11/01/former-us-sen-fred-thompson-dies-73/74752142/?from=global&sessionKey=&autologin=

[Right_in_Virginia]

Damn.  Just damn.

RIP Senator.  You were one of the good guys and you will be missed. 

[jmyrlefuller]

I saw a comment somewhere else to the effect that Fred didn't really want to be president - which is why he would have been a good one.

He had a very ambitious wife and admittedly married, at least, for looks. (And seriously, could you blame the guy? She's gorgeous.)

But seriously, as much as I sparred with Thompson supporters back in '07, he was a genuinely decent man. It's a shame he had to go out that way. May he rest in peace.

[jmyrlefuller]

And might I add, he also had a gift for one-liners. His Twitter feed was great (his last tweet was four weeks ago).

[NavyCanDo]

Helluva guy.  I was always a huge fan of his radio commentary broadcast, which showed his common sense brilliance to the world. When he announced that he was running for President, I thought it was game set match. But that was not to be. He will be missed.

[Paladin]

"George Barris, Designer of TV’s Batmobile, Dead at 89"

Interesting the things for which we are remembered. When I was a 50s teenager growing up in So Cal George Barris was a specrtal figure somewhere out there in the Hollywood area who set the standards for how we customized our cars. Lowered, chopped, channeled. Lord knows I ruined my first car, a 55 Chevy, seeking to emulate the Barris style. LOl. Anyway, God rest his soul.

""Sorry to have to post that my father, legendary kustom car king George Barris, has moved to the bigger garage in the sky. He passed on peacefully in his sleep at 2:45 am," his son Brett said in a private post on Facebook. "He lived his life they way he wanted til the end. He would want everyone celebrate the passion he had for life and for what he created for all to enjoy."

Barris is credited with designing iconic automobiles for TV shows including the Munster Koach, the Green Hornet's car from the titular series, the jalopy from "The Beverly Hillbillies" and K.I.T.T. from "Knight Rider."

But he's arguably most renown for creating the Batmobile from the 1960s "Batman" series, a car he adapted from a concept car he acquired from the Ford Motor Company."

http://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/george-barris-designer-of-tv%E2%80%99s-batmobile-dead-at-89/ar-BBmSSFL?ocid=ansmsnent11

[aligncare]

My friend and I met George Barris in the 60s at a custom car show at the New York Coliseum. As teenagers we loved what were lovingly referred to as "funny cars" back then. I saved that photo and autograph for decades. Don't know if I still have it. But reading of his death, brought back the memory of that day.

Rest in Peace, George Barris.

[truth_seeker]

Before the goofy cars for television, there were some beautiful custom cars on the road, by older guys mostly.

I remember around age ten I walked a certain route to my grandmother's house, and there was about a 55 Chevy named "Chantilly Lace."

Later in high school, a rich friend had a custom car before he reached 16, so he got permission from his folks, for me to drive us around in it. He had an uncle that created it for him. About a 1950 Ford.

Lowered all around, lowered in front, spinners, twice pipes, record players, vibra-sonic, tuck-n-roll seats, trim removed (shaved), etc. Cars for show, cars for fast, cars for purpose of hauling surfboards to the beach, and the drive-in movies.

[Paladin]

Lowered all around, lowered in front, spinners, twice pipes, record players, vibra-sonic, tuck-n-roll seats, trim removed (shaved), etc. Cars for show, cars for fast, cars for purpose of hauling surfboards to the beach, and the drive-in movies.

Not a criticism, but you forgot "cars for cruising", a favorite pastime.

[aligncare]

Not a criticism, but you forgot "cars for cruising", a favorite pastime.

Cruisin' Friday night on the main drag with music blasting. Ah, the memories.

[truth_seeker]

Not a criticism, but you forgot "cars for cruising", a favorite pastime.

Good catch. American Graffiti. "Where were you, in sixty-two?"

"Let's take a trip down Whittier Boulevard"

Or Harbor, or Colorado, or Lakewood, or Balboa in Newport, or PCH from San Diego to Santa Barbara, etc.

[Paladin]

Truth_seeker, just curious. Do you recall how the police, LA Sheriffs and LAPD, possibly also the CHP if I recall, would establish stations along Hollywood Blvd and check "cruisers" for how low the cars were (there was a limit) and how loud exhaust pipes were? They were attempting to discourage cruising since some nights, especially weekends, there would be a ton of cars out there? Never thought at the time as to how the abundance of vehicles and how sloooowww cruisers drove (gotta see and be seen, ya know) must have driven regular citizens and tourists crazy. Now that I'm older I realize this but I would still do it all over again. It was fun.

[truth_seeker]

Truth_seeker, just curious. Do you recall how the police, LA Sheriffs and LAPD, possibly also the CHP if I recall, would establish stations along Hollywood Blvd and check "cruisers" for how low the cars were (there was a limit) and how loud exhaust pipes were? They were attempting to discourage cruising since some nights, especially weekends, there would be a ton of cars out there? Never thought at the time as to how the abundance of vehicles and how sloooowww cruisers drove (gotta see and be seen, ya know) must have driven regular citizens and tourists crazy. Now that I'm older I realize this but I would still do it all over again. It was fun.

My main hangout in high school was Whittier Blvd. back and forth between Whittier and La Habra.

The cops watched, but left you alone unless you did "exhibition of speed" or some outrageous equipment violation.

I mentioned all those other places to indicate how far and wide the scene stretched. When I outgrew it, I didn't keep up. Married, moved away a little, etc.

Instead of cruising, we were sitting around living rooms,  listening to FM radio later--late 60s.

[Paladin]

Ok, I didn't go out your way until years later when I moved from Long Beach to Orange County and I was way beyond cruising by then. Hollywood Blvd., Firestone Blvd., Pacific Ave in San Pedro, and the haunts of Long Beach were my "beat", Lol. That stuff about the police in Hollywood is quite true, too.

[truth_seeker]

Ok, I didn't go out your way until years later when I moved from Long Beach to Orange County and I was way beyond cruising by then. Hollywood Blvd., Firestone Blvd., Pacific Ave in San Pedro, and the haunts of Long Beach were my "beat", Lol. That stuff about the police in Hollywood is quite true, too.

My cruising days were cut short by marriage, drafted into the Army, college and a career.

[jmyrlefuller]

Andy White, session drummer who played for the Beatles and Tom Jones, dies at 85

White was a drummer who, after a tour of the U.S. in the late 1950s backing various rock-and-roll musicians, was hired in 1962 to cut some tracks for the Beatles. Pete Best, the Beatles' original drummer, had bombed an attempt at recording their first single, "Love Me Do," which had a shuffle beat Best could not handle. Best's replacement, Ringo Starr, played better, but George Martin wanted to try recording the track with a professional session drummer. White's recording was not substantially different from Starr's, but Martin chose the version with White's drumming for most of the single releases. White would record two further songs with the group, "P.S. I Love You" and "Please Please Me;" he only received session pay for his work and no cut of royalties.

He would later chart another hit backing Tom Jones on "It's Not Unusual." He continued session drumming and some touring work, including a U.S. tour with Marlene Dietrich. Drumming up until at least 2008, White died of a stroke on November 9.

Obituary from Rolling Stone

Wikipedia

[jmyrlefuller]

[float=right][/float]Allen Toussaint, swamp pop songwriter, dies at 77

Toussaint, a native of New Orleans, wrote and produced a number of songs that would go on to become hits, including "Working in a Coal Mine" (a hit for Lee Dorsey and later Devo), "I Like It Like That" (a top-10 hit for the Dave Clark Five), "A Certain Girl" (a minor hit for Warren Zevon), "Lipstick Traces on a Cigarette" (a minor hit for the O'Jays), "Southern Nights" (a big hit for Glen Campbell) and "Play Something Sweet" (one of the last hits for Three Dog Night). Being forced to leave New Orleans due to Hurricane Katrina, Toussaint began touring as a performer for the first time in his late 60s; he continued to do so the rest of his life, dying of a heart attack while still on tour in Spain.

Obituary from WWL-TV

Wikipedia

[Paladin]

"Pioneering stripper Carol Doda dies at 78"

"SAN FRANCISCO — Legendary San Francisco stripper Carol Doda, whose splashy act helped introduce topless entertainment to the city more than 50 years ago, died at age 78.

Doda died Monday in the city from complications of kidney failure, friend Ron Minolla disclosed Wednesday.

Doda first went topless in 1964 at the Condor Club — a move that changed every nightspot on busy Broadway in San Francisco.

During its heyday in the early 1970s, the street in North Beach buzzed with more than two dozen clubs where carnival-like barkers beckoned passers-by to watch bare-breasted dancers. The era spanned some 20 years.

Doda later had an acting role in "Head," a 1968 film featuring the Monkees, and was profiled in Tom Wolfe's book "The Pump House Gang."

"When the (beatniks) were handing the torch to the hippies, a girl named Carol Doda changed the world from a pole at the corner of Columbus Avenue and Broadway," her friend Lee Housekeeper said.

Doda, known for her augmented bust, rode onto stage atop a piano on an elevator platform, debuting her act the same day President Lyndon B. Johnson drew half-a-million people in a visit to San Francisco."

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/4740760-181/pioneering-stripper-carol-doda-dies?page=1

Doda was very well known for what the article calls her "augmented bust".

My memory tells me that Wolfe, in the "Pump House Gang", relates the story of how SF vice officers once pulled over a convertible with Doda in it because they thought she was so flamboyant she had to be a cross dresser. Doda got out of the car and started screaming at the officers how she was a close friend of some SF bigwig, possibly a cop, and was in fact having, uh, carnal relations with him. The vice cops, thoroughly cowed, sheepishly withdrew and Doda went on her way.

[jmyrlefuller]

[float=right][/float]Warren Mitchell, English actor, dies at 89

Little-known in the United States, Mitchell is best known in his native United Kingdom for originating the role of Alf Garnett on the sitcom Till Death Us Do Part. The Garnett character, a dimwitted right-wing satire of working-class conservatives, would later be adapted for sitcoms around the world, including the United States, where Norman Lear adapted the character into Archie Bunker for his own sitcom, All in the Family. (The casting of the Jewish Mitchell as an antisemite was a major source of ironic humor for the series.) Mitchell's roles also included parts in the 1960s TV series The Avengers and Secret Agent Man, both of which were syndicated worldwide.

Outside the UK, Mitchell also played Willy Loman in numerous performances of Death of a Salesman; playwright Arthur Miller would later describe Mitchell as one of his favorite actors.

Obituary from The Telegraph

Wikipedia

[Machiavelli]

Class personified: Nick Bockwinkel dies (Hall of Fame professional wrestler)

During his heyday as one of the most articulate heels of all time, Nick Bockwinkel, who died Saturday at the age of 80, had a secret weapon, and for those familiar with his eloquent discourses on the state of the world during interviews, it shouldn't surprise: it was a dictionary. Well, actually it wasn't one dictionary, but many. He had a little notebook that he wrote down interesting words into, and began to learn them and their meanings.

"I used to use the four, five or six syllable words as best I could," expounded Bockwinkel in The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Heels. "If I ran across one I didn't know, I had a little dictionary. I would have this little dictionary, with 70 or 80 words, that I would always be perusing. I had it with me all the time. Automatically, some of these words just starting coming to me in my interviews because I was familiar with them."

With his passing after many years battling memory issues, the world is robbed of one of the classiest individuals ever to step into the wrestling ring – or to the microphone.

More

Wikipedia

[Paladin]

"Jack Larson dies at 87; actor played Jimmy Olsen in 'The Adventures of Superman'"

The original Jimmy Olsen from the 50s TV show.

[jmyrlefuller]

[float=right][/float]Jim Perry, game show host, dies at 82

"Big Jim" Perry, born and raised in relative poverty in Camden, New Jersey, had an emceeing career that spanned from 1965 to the end of the game show era in 1990. Among the bigger hits Perry hosted were Card Sharks (which ran on NBC from 1978 to 1981), Sale of the Century (also an NBC show, which ran from 1982 to 1989), and Definition, a low-budget Canadian game show that ran from 1974 to 1990. Perry spent much of his time in Canada, where he was particularly well-received, a de facto (it's not clear if he ever got Canadian citizenship) Canadian citizen.

Perry died at his home in Ashland, Oregon after a five-year battle with cancer.

Obituary from NBC News

Wikipedia

[Machiavelli]

Actor Rex Reason has died

Rex Reason, the leading man in such films as "This Island Earth" and "The Creature Walks Among Us" has died according to his official Facebook page. He was 86.

More

Wikipedia

IMDb

Rex Reason's younger, and look-alike brother, Rhodes Reason, who died last December, is known for his role as Flavius, in the ST:TOS episode, Bread and Circuses.

[Machiavelli]

World champ boxer Bob Foster dies at 76

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Albuquerque's Bob Foster, arguably the greatest light-heavyweight boxing champion of all time, died Saturday morning.

No cause of death has been given, but the boxing Hall of Famer had been in failing health for some time.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

Foster was 76, having been born in December 1938. He is incorrectly listed by boxrec.com has having been born in April 1938.

More

Wikipedia

Boxing record


Bob Foster KOs Dick Tiger, Vicente Paul Rondon, and Mike Quarry

[jmyrlefuller]

[float=right][/float] Actor David Canary dies at 77

Canary, an indirect descendant of "Calamity Jane" Canary, began his acting career mostly in Westerns (most famously appearing in two runs on Bonanza) but made his biggest impact in soap operas. His longest-lasting role was the dual role of Stuart Chandler and his evil twin Adam, which he portrayed on All My Children from 1983 until shortly before the soap's demise.

Canary died on November 16 after a brief battle with Alzheimer's disease.

Obituary from the Wilton Bulletin

Wikipedia

[Machiavelli]

Keith Michell, actor - obituary (The Six Wives of Henry VIII)

Keith Michell, the Australian-born actor and director who has died aged 88, was celebrated for his many imposing stage and screen performances as Henry VIII.

Michell came to monopolise one of British history's favourite subjects for dramatisation. Such was the charm of this burly, sturdy, square-set, square-jawed, mellifluous upstart from the Antipodes that when he revived Shakespeare's King Henry VIII at the Chichester Festival in 1991 he could with justice claim to have made the part of the much-married monarch his own for a quarter of a century.

More

Wikipedia

IMDb

[Machiavelli]

Elmo Williams, Oscar-Winning Film Editor on 'High Noon,' Dies at 102

Elmo Williams, the celebrated Hollywood film editor who won an Academy Award for his clockwork, minute-by-minute efforts on the classic 1952 Gary Cooper Western High Noon, has died. He was 102.

Williams, who received another Oscar nom for his editing on the 1954 sci-fi film 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, died peacefully Wednesday at his home in Brookings on the coast of Oregon ...

More

Wikipedia

IMDb

[Machiavelli]

Al Markim of Space Cadet Passes Away

Actor Al Markim, who played the role of Astro, the Venusian friend of Tom Corbett, Space Cadet, died November 24 at the age of 88.

More

Al Markim at IMDb
 
Tom Corbett, Space Cadet at IMDb
 
Tom Corbett, Space Cadet at Wikipedia
 
Al Markim, Who Played Astro In Pioneering 'Tom Corbett, Space Cadet,' Dies At 88
 
Al Markim, Actor on the 1950s TV Serial 'Tom Corbett, Space Cadet,' Dies at 88
 
Al Markim Dead at 88

[Machiavelli]

Oscar-Nominated Actor Robert Loggia Dies at 85

Wikipedia

IMDb


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

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

[jmyrlefuller]

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

[flowers]

Oscar-Nominated Actor Robert Loggia Dies at 85

Wikipedia

IMDb


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

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

I enjoyed his acting.

[Paladin]

"Farewell to the man who invented 'climate change’"

Subtitle: "To this day, global climate policy is still shaped by the agenda of Maurice Strong, a Canadian multimillionaire

"A very odd thing happened last weekend. The death was announced of the man who, in the past 40 years, has arguably been more influential on global politics than any other single individual. Yet the world scarcely noticed.

Had it not been for this man, we would not last week have seen 150 heads of government joining 40,000 delegates in Paris for that mammoth climate conference: the 21st such get-together since, in 1992, he masterminded the Rio “Earth Summit”, the largest political gathering in history. Yet few people even know his name.

[snip]

In the Sixties, having become very rich himself from Canada’s oil industry, Strong came to see that the key to his vision was “environmentalism”, the one cause the UN could harness to make itself a truly powerful world government.

A superb political operator, in 1972 he set up a UN “Environment Conference” in Stockholm, to declare that the Earth’s resources were the common inheritance of all mankind. They should no longer be exploited for the benefit of only a few countries, at the expense of poorer countries across the globe.

To pursue this, he became founding director of a new agency, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), and in the Eighties he took up the cause of a tiny group of international meteorologists who had come to believe that the world faced catastrophic warming. In 1988, UNEP sponsored this little group into setting up the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

In 1992, now allied with the IPCC, Strong pulled off his greatest coup when he set up another new body, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), to stage that colossal “Earth Summit” over which he presided in Rio, arranging for it to be attended not only by 108 world leaders and 100,000 others but also by 20,000 UN-funded “green activists”.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/paris-climate-change-conference/12035401/Farewell-to-the-man-who-invented-climate-change.html

Maurice has now achieved ambient temperature.

[alicewonders]

The good news is Mr. Strong will not be breathing out anymore CO2.

[Machiavelli]

Famous Red Bull Pilot Killed in Apple Valley Plane Crash

The pilot killed in the Apple Valley plane crash has been identified as 60-year-old Mike Mangold, a world-famous aerobatics champion for Red Bull who was a resident of Victorville.

The crash occurred on Sunday, December 6, 2015 at about 2:20 P.M., according to the Apple Valley Fire Protection District the aircraft is described as an L39 Jet. Witnesses say, that the small plane was attempting to take off from the airport located at 21600 Corwin Road.

More

Wikipedia

[truth_seeker]

Scott Weiland, singer "Stone Temple Pilots," "The Wildabouts" and solo dead, age 48.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Weiland

Same high school as my daughter.

[Machiavelli]

Martin E. Brooks, Actor on 'The Six Million Dollar Man,' Dies at 90

Martin E. Brooks, best known for his portrayal of the scientist Dr. Rudy Wells on the 1970s ABC series The Six Million Dollar Man and its spinoff, The Bionic Woman, has died. He was 90 ...

Brooks was the third actor to play Wells, who oversees the bionic implants of Steve Austin (Lee Majors) and Jaime Sommers (Lindsay Wagner) on the two action shows. He then reprised the role of Wells on three telefilms ...

More

Wikipedia

IMDb

IBDB