Obituaries for 2016

[verga]

http://variety.com/2016/film/news/gene-wilder-dead-dies-willie-wonka-young-frankenstein-1201846745/

Gene Wilder, ‘Willie Wonka’ Star and Comedic Icon, Dies at 83
Richard Natale

August 29, 2016 | 12:22PM PT

Gene Wilder, who regularly stole the show in such comedic gems as “The Producers,” “Blazing Saddles,” “Young Frankenstein,” “Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” and “Stir Crazy,” died Monday at his home in Stamford, Conn. His nephew Jordan Walker-Pearlman said he died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease. He was 83.

He had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 1989.



more at link

You will be greatly missed. Comedic genius, perfect timing and the facial expressions. I can't think of anyone that did "exasperation" like he did.

[dfwgator]

You will be greatly missed. Comedic genius, perfect timing and the facial expressions. I can't think of anyone that did "exasperation" like he did.

He and Richard Pryor were a great comedy duo, right up there with Lemmon and Matthau.

[andy58-in-nh]

http://variety.com/2016/film/news/gene-wilder-dead-dies-willie-wonka-young-frankenstein-1201846745/

Gene Wilder, ‘Willie Wonka’ Star and Comedic Icon, Dies at 83
Richard Natale

August 29, 2016 | 12:22PM PT

Gene Wilder, who regularly stole the show in such comedic gems as “The Producers,” “Blazing Saddles,” “Young Frankenstein,” “Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” and “Stir Crazy,” died Monday at his home in Stamford, Conn. His nephew Jordan Walker-Pearlman said he died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease. He was 83.

He had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 1989.



more at link

I am truly saddened. A wonderful actor, a gifted comic, and by all accounts, a rare and kind soul.

[Wingnut]

[jmyrlefuller]

Check out "The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes's Smarter Brother" if you haven't seen it yet. It's not a laugh-a-minute, but it captures Wilder at his finest: cerebral, dynamic and unpredictable.

[Smokin Joe]

http://variety.com/2016/film/news/gene-wilder-dead-dies-willie-wonka-young-frankenstein-1201846745/

Gene Wilder, ‘Willie Wonka’ Star and Comedic Icon, Dies at 83
Richard Natale

August 29, 2016 | 12:22PM PT

Gene Wilder, who regularly stole the show in such comedic gems as “The Producers,” “Blazing Saddles,” “Young Frankenstein,” “Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” and “Stir Crazy,” died Monday at his home in Stamford, Conn. His nephew Jordan Walker-Pearlman said he died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease. He was 83.

He had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 1989.



more at link

Thanks for all the laughs, Gene, you were the best Willie Wonka, and a riot in Young Frankenstein. It will ever be tough to say the words "It's ALIVE!" without thinking of you.

[Idiot]

Thanks for all the laughs, Gene, you were the best Willie Wonka, and a riot in Young Frankenstein. It will ever be tough to say the words "It's ALIVE!" without thinking of you.

One of my favorite lines from Young Frankenstein.....


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3dXBoN1lFE

[Formerly Once-Ler]

 

[verga]

It is with great sadness that WSIG bids a final farewell to our beloved friend Bill Phipps.

Bill left this world Tuesday morning, August 30, 2016, after battling brain cancer for more than two years.  Our prayers are with his family and his friends.

We miss you already, Bill.

Bill was a local On air radio personality well known and love din the southern central Virginia area

[Free Vulcan]

Gene was one of the greats.

'It's Fronkensteen'.

[Machiavelli]

Joe Sutter, 'Father Of The 747,' Dies At 95

Joe Sutter, dubbed "Father of the 747" by the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, has died. He was 95. The cause of death was not revealed.

As the former chief engineer of Boeing's 747 program, Sutter is credited with leading the development of the first widebody aircraft, which ushered in the globe-shrinking age of mass air travel.

More

Wikipedia

[Machiavelli]

Actor Jon Polito, known for roles in Coen brother films 'The Big Lebowski' and 'Miller's Crossing,' dead at 65

Actor Jon Polito, who was best known for his roles in Coen brother films like "The Big Lebowski," "Miller's Crossing" and "Barton Fink," has died.

He was 65.

More

Wikipedia

IMDb

[Ghost Bear]

Actor Jon Polito, known for roles in Coen brother films 'The Big Lebowski' and 'Miller's Crossing,' dead at 65
More

Wikipedia

IMDb

As with any good character actor, my first response upon seeing his picture was to exclaim "Oh! that guy!"

I see from his IMDB listing that he worked a lot in both movies and television, even doing voice work for animated shows and games.  Nowadays, 65 seems to be too young for someone to pass. 

[jmyrlefuller]

As with any good character actor, my first response upon seeing his picture was to exclaim "Oh! that guy!"

I see from his IMDB listing that he worked a lot in both movies and television, even doing voice work for animated shows and games.  Nowadays, 65 seems to be too young for someone to pass. 

Polito always struck me as the poor man's Danny DeVito. They both had that same short pudgy stature and gruff attitude.

[jmyrlefuller]

Radio psychologist Dr. Joy Browne dies at 71

Browne was one of the early radio psychologists, launching her show in 1978, just three years after Toni Grant, who also died earlier this year, launched her show. Her show had been heard nationwide since the early 1990s, one of many that launched in that era. In contrast to her contemporary Laura Schlessinger (who was not a real psychologist), Browne took a less confrontational approach to her listeners and avoided controversial topics, opting to listen to her callers' personal problems and answer in as professional of a manner as she could to influence the listener's personal outlook. Browne held degrees from Rice University, Northeastern University and Tufts University.

Browne died suddenly August 27 and was still hosting her radio show at the time of her death.

Obituary from the New York Times

Wikipedia

[Machiavelli]

Fred Hellerman, Last of the Weavers Folk Group, Dies at 89

Fred Hellerman, a singer, guitarist and songwriter and the last surviving member of the Weavers, the quartet that in the 1950s helped usher in the folk music revival, died on Thursday at his home in Weston, Conn. He was 89...

With songs like “If I Had a Hammer,” “Goodnight Irene” and “Kisses Sweeter Than Wine,” the Weavers brought folk music to a mass audience, paving the way for singers like Joan Baez, Bob Dylan and Peter, Paul and Mary, who galvanized a young, politically conscious audience in the 1960s.

Mr. Hellerman’s mellow baritone, rock-steady guitar and songwriting talent made him a pillar of the group, whose other members were Pete Seeger, Lee Hays and Ronnie Gilbert. Mr. Hays died in 1981, Mr. Seeger in 2014 and Ms. Gilbert in 2015...

After Mr. Seeger was labeled a Communist by the influential publication “Red Channels in 1952, and an F.B.I. informant made the same charge against Mr. Hellerman and Ms. Gilbert, it became impossible for the group to perform on radio and television, or at most concert halls...

Full article

Fred Hellerman

The Weavers

[Sanguine]

I listened to them as a kid.  My parents had several of their albums.

[EasyAce]

RIP Wyatt Earp . . .

Hugh O'Brian, Famed Lawman on 'The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp,' Dies at 91

[dfwgator]

RIP Phyllis Schafly.

[mountaineer]

Longtime Conservative Icon Phyllis Schlafly Dies at 92
September 5, 2016 6:10 PM
ST. LOUIS (KMOX)
 — Multiple sources are confirming to KMOX news that Phyllis Schlafly, has died.

Schlafly founded the Eagle Forum in 1972, a pro-family conservative group focusing heavily on social issues — it has about 80,000 members and, as of this week, Schlafly was still president.

She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Washington University in 1944 — her masters from Radcliffe College in 1945 — and a J.D. from Washington University in 1978.

Schlafly’s organization has been split this presidential election — Schlafly supported Donald Trump, though many board members disagreed. She maintained her leadership of the organization.

She also fought nephew, Tom Schlafly, over the naming rights to his brewery in St. Louis. Schlafly contended her name juxtaposed with beer and libations would damage the conservative brand’s reputation. A judge disagreed.

Schlafly was 92.

[Cripplecreek]

Conservative icon Phyllis Schlafly, the leader of the 1970s Stop ERA movement, has died.

In a statement posted on its website on Monday afternoon, her Eagle Forum said she died at her home in St. Louis surrounded by family members. She was 92.

Mrs. Schlafly had been activist since the early Cold War era and began as a defense analyst, but she achieved her greatest prominence by leading traditional-religious women in the movement against the Equal Rights Amendment.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/sep/5/phyllis-schlafly-dies-92/

[musiclady]

Longtime Conservative Icon Phyllis Schlafly Dies at 92
September 5, 2016 6:10 PM
ST. LOUIS (KMOX)
 — Multiple sources are confirming to KMOX news that Phyllis Schlafly, has died.

Schlafly founded the Eagle Forum in 1972, a pro-family conservative group focusing heavily on social issues — it has about 80,000 members and, as of this week, Schlafly was still president.

She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Washington University in 1944 — her masters from Radcliffe College in 1945 — and a J.D. from Washington University in 1978.

Schlafly’s organization has been split this presidential election — Schlafly supported Donald Trump, though many board members disagreed. She maintained her leadership of the organization.

She also fought nephew, Tom Schlafly, over the naming rights to his brewery in St. Louis. Schlafly contended her name juxtaposed with beer and libations would damage the conservative brand’s reputation. A judge disagreed.

Schlafly was 92.

RIP, Phyllis.  I read her book A Choice, Not an Echo about Barry Goldwater, when I was 14 years old.

She lived a good long life......

(Edited to add: it was much more than a book about Barry Goldwater, but rather more about political corruption).

[Gefn]

92 is a good long life. May she rest in peace.

[Bigun]

RIP, Phyllis.  I read her book A Choice, Not an Echo about Barry Goldwater, when I was 14 years old.

She lived a good long life......

(Edited to add: it was much more than a book about Barry Goldwater, but rather more about political corruption).

She did some great things with her life but unfortunately her support for Trump in this election is all that will be remembered.

[austingirl]

Rest in peace.

[jmyrlefuller]

Sympathies to the family.  I didn't know she was ailing.

What, her Trump endorsement wasn't a huge honking hint?

[jmyrlefuller]

I won't say what I think about any of that until at least after the funeral.  I hear you though.

Just to be clear, I don't mean to speak ill of her—the left-wingers and the alphabet soup lobbyists are certainly doing that enough. She challenged the feminist view of how a woman was supposed to think, and for that she deserves a tremendous amount of respect.

[mountaineer]

Variety reports:

Hugh O’Brian, Star of TV’s ‘The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp,’ Dies at 91
Carmel Dagan
Staff Writer
September 5, 2016 | 11:18AM PT



Hugh O’Brian, who starred in the long-running series “The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp,” died Monday. He was 91.

The actor died peacefully in his Beverly Hills home, according to a statement from Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership.

ABC Western “The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp,” in which the exceedingly handsome, muscular O’Brian starred as the title character, ran for 221 episodes from 1955-61. At the time he was one of television’s great male sex symbols.

In 1957 he was nominated for an Emmy for best continuing performance by an actor in a dramatic series for his work on “The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp.”

So popular and so much a part of popular culture was O’Brian that he showed up as Earp, uncredited, in the 1959 Bob Hope Western comedy “Alias Jesse James,” as well as in the 1960 TV movie “The Secret World of Eddie Hodges”; when the actor guested on “Make Room for Daddy” in 1956, the episode was entitled “Wyatt Earp Visits the Williamses.”

The actor had appeared in many feature Westerns by the time ABC cast him in its series as Wyatt Earp, a lawman who was one of the legends of the Old West.

Later he appeared in features including the 1963 comedy “Come Fly With Me”; in 1965, he starred in the feature “Agatha Christie’s Ten Little Indians” along with Shirley Eaton and Fabian and had an uncredited role in Otto Preminger’s World War II drama “In Harm’s Way,” starring John Wayne, Patricia Neal and Kirk Douglas.

In 1972-73 he starred with Doug McClure, Anthony Franciosa and Burgess Meredith in the NBC series “Search.”

O’Brian had a small role in John Wayne’s last film, Don Siegel’s “The Shootist” (1976), as the last character ever killed by Wayne on screen — O’Brian, a good friend of Wayne’s, considered it a great honor.

The actor reprised the role of Wyatt Earp for two episodes of the CBS series “Guns of Paradise” in 1989, and in the TV movies “The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw” (1991), starring Kenny Rogers, and CBS’ “Wyatt Earp: Return to Tombstone” (1994).

O’Brian did plenty of work outside the Western genre, appearing in the Arnold Schwarzenegger-Danny DeVito comedy “Twins” (1988) as one of several men who donated DNA that produced the “twins” and guesting on “Charlie’s Angels,” “Fantasy Island,” “Murder, She Wrote” and “L.A. Law.” He appeared in an Animal Planet adaptation of Jack London’s “Call of the Wild” in 2000.

Hugh Charles Krampe was born in Rochester, New York. Hugh lettered in a variety of sports.

He spent a semester at the University of Cincinnati but during World War II he dropped out to enlist in the Marine Corps — where his father had been an officer. At 17 he became the youngest Marine drill instructor, according to the TCM website.   ...

O’Brian dedicated a great deal of his life to a charitable effort he created himself in 1958, the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership Foundation, a nonprofit youth leadership development program for high schoolers. The organization sponsors 10,000 high school sophomores annually through leadership programs in all 50 states and 20 countries.

The concept for the program was inspired by the nine days O’Brian spent visiting with humanitarian Dr. Albert Schweitzer in Africa in 1958.  ...

More at link.

[GtHawk]

Sympathies to the family.  I didn't know she was ailing.

Maybe she wasn't ailing, maybe at 92 she was just plum wore out.

[flowers]

Conservative Icon.......................................

[Cripplecreek]

True. 

My grandmother is 99.  She's amazing.  So I guess I figure 92 is still pretty young.  She seemed to be in great physical shape.

My mom was only 68. Her mother (my grandmother) who passed away in January was 92

[Applewood]

Rest in peace, Hugh O'Brian.  I remember the Wyatt Earp series well from childhood.  Good actor.   The Shootist is my favorite John Wayne movie.

[ABX]

Sad news. I got a chance to meet him in High School. His youth leadership development program was top notch (HOBY alumni 1991)

Hugh O’Brian, who rose to fame on television as the quick-drawing Wyatt Earp in the 1950s — but who later devoted extensive time to a foundation he created that trains young people to be leaders — died on Monday at his home in Beverly Hills, Calif. He was 91.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/06/arts/television/hugh-obrian-dies-dashing-tv-star-of-wyatt-earp-was-91.html?ribbon-ad-idx=5&rref=obituaries

[musiclady]

She did some great things with her life but unfortunately her support for Trump in this election is all that will be remembered.

I'll forget it and remember the good stuff.....

[musiclady]

Rest in peace, Hugh O'Brian.  I remember the Wyatt Earp series well from childhood.  Good actor.   The Shootist is my favorite John Wayne movie.

I can still sing the Wyatt Earp theme song.   Good show.

[Cripplecreek]

I just ate the last meal my mom ever cooked.

It was horrible.

Mom was not a cook.

[GtHawk]

True. 

My grandmother is 99.  She's amazing.  So I guess I figure 92 is still pretty young.  She seemed to be in great physical shape.

We are all different, my mom is 85 and she is wore out from pain all day every day. She says she's not looking for the end but is ready whenever God is.

[musiclady]

Are you a voice teacher, piano, something else....what?  If I asked you before, forgive me.  I don't remember.

That, and more...... adjunct prof/ music appreciation / music education / piano, voice...... stuff like that.  I've taught pre-K through 12, high school choirs, church choirs, private piano and voice.

Jack of all trades, you might say.   ^-^

But my strong suit is remembering old songs.  I can name that tune in 3 notes......

[Cripplecreek]

LOL!  I come from a whole family of bad cooks.  There are a couple of so-so cooks in there.  They think they are marvelous, but it is really just the contrast that makes them seem good.  You go to family gatherings for the company, not the food.

My grandmother was a terrible cook too. For cooking you had to go to my great grandmother. My sister and my niece are good cooks though. I've been told that I'm an OK cook.

[musiclady]

Wow.  That is very cool.

I enjoy my life!  ^-^

[Cripplecreek]

Sixty-eight is young these days.  But you said it was unexpected.  I guess God has his own timing.  My husband died at 54.     I am now just older than he was.     It makes me think about it more.  I know he is in good hands though.  His grandmother lived to be 102 and his mother was I think 90 or 92.  His dad 75.  He has a brother in his 70s.  My husband took very good care of himself, better than they did, yet he's the one who died young.   My mother was 74 and she abused her body her whole adult life.  You never know.

My mom was a teen mother who was only 16 years older than me so my family is all over me to break my habit of not seeing doctors like my mom.

[musiclady]

I always like music people.  Yet I'm not musical at all.  Go figure.  It's a personality thing I guess.

Music reaches the whole of your being.  You don't have to be "musical" to be enriched by it.

That's why I teach it.  Sort of like a music missionary.....   

[Applewood]

I just ate the last meal my mom ever cooked.

It was horrible.

Mom was not a cook.

Belated condolences on your mother's passing.

I have the opposite situation.  Mom and her mother were wonderful cooks.  Two Italians. Plus because Mom married an Austrian, she could cook German too.  Actually, Mom wasn't afraid to try any cuisine and she was usually successful. 

I on the other hand am a terrible cook.  I make a good salad though.       :)

[sinkspur]

Yeah.  We have a lot in common.  We are also not big doctor seeking people in my family.  Of course my sister and my husband paid a price for that.  But I don't know.  When my time is up then it is up.  I'm not going to waste time fretting over it.  Last time I went to the doctor other than eye doctor was 30 years ago.  I feel fine.  If I'm not fine then I'll know soon enough.

Anyone over 50 who doesn't get a colonoscopy every ten years is crazy.  Colon cancer is so easily preventable.  Hell, there's even a "virtual" colonoscopy now, so you don't have to drink the nasty prep the night before.  But even the real colonoscopy is so easy and gives you a great deal of peace of mind. 

Like a mammogram for women.

And, if you have colon cancer in the family, every 5 years. 

[hiram1950]

I guess we are all headed there. Nevertheless, she was one of the conservative giants of the 20th Century. She is both mourned and missed.

[SirLinksALot]

WYATT EARP THEME SONG:

CHORUS:

Wyatt Earp, Wyatt Earp,
Brave courageous and bold.
Long live his fame and long life his glory
and long may his story be told.

Full Version:

I'll tell you a story a real true life story
A tale of the Western frontier.
The West, it was lawless,
but one man was flawless
and his is the story you'll hear.

[Chorus:]
Wyatt Earp, Wyatt Earp,
Brave courageous and bold.
Long live his fame and long life his glory
and long may his story be told.

When he came to Kansas, to settle in Kansas,
He dreamed of a peaceable life,
Some goods and some chattel,
A few head of cattle,
A home and a sweet, loving wife.

(Chorus)

Now he wasn't partial to being a marshall,
but fate went and dealt him his hand,
While outlaws were looting, and killing and shooting,
he knew that he must take a stand.

(Chorus)

Well he cleaned up the country
The old wild west country
He made law and order prevail.
And none can deny it
The legend of Wyatt
Forever will live on the trail.

(Chorus)

[mrclose]

Another childhood hero has passed. :(

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Hugh O'Brian, who shot to fame as Sheriff Wyatt Earp in what was hailed as television's first adult Western, has died. He was 91.

A representative from HOBY, a philanthropic organization O'Brian founded, says he died at home Monday morning in Beverly Hills.

Until "The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp" debuted in September 1955, most TV Westerns - "The Lone Ranger," ''Hopalong Cassidy," the singing cowboys' series - were aimed at adolescent boys.

"Wyatt Earp," on the other hand, was based on a real-life Western hero, and some of its stories were authentic. (The real Earp, who lived from 1848 to 1929, is most famous for his participation in the 1881 "Shootout at the O.K. Corral" in Tombstone, Arizona.)

Critics quickly praised it, and it made O'Brian a star.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_OBIT_HUGH_OBRIAN?SITE=MYPSP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2016-09-05-16-51-46

[truth_seeker]

O'Brien served in the Marine Corps, serving as a Drill Instructors at age 17. He was a Republican.

They just don't make very many like that, anymore. (my father enlisted in the Marine Corps, earned a Purple Heart for a serious injury on Okinawa)

[GtHawk]

Another childhood hero has passed. :(


http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_OBIT_HUGH_OBRIAN?SITE=MYPSP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2016-09-05-16-51-46

They still run "The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp" on Cozi TV, anyone remember "Search"? Is it wrong that the channels I prefer all play programs from the 50's, 60's? But then in those programs men were MEN, and women were WOMEN and never a transgender word was heard, the values were strong, the morals were clear and queer meant something odd (okay so too many of us it still does) families consisted of one dad that lived in the home, one mom and reasonably normal children. A time when comedians could make you laugh without being filthy except in an adult venue.

[mrclose]

They still run "The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp" on Cozi TV, anyone remember "Search"? Is it wrong that the channels I prefer all play programs from the 50's, 60's? But then in those programs men were MEN, and women were WOMEN and never a transgender word was heard, the values were strong, the morals were clear and queer meant something odd (okay so too many of us it still does) families consisted of one dad that lived in the home, one mom and reasonably normal children. A time when comedians could make you laugh without being filthy except in an adult venue.

A GREAT post ... well worth repeating!