Obituaries for 2020

[Hoodat]

I got Moises Alou for $1 his rookie year in my Rotisserie Baseball League.  Two years later, I won the title.

[EasyAce]

Meanwhile, alas . . .

Ron Perranoski, 2-time World Series champ with Los Angeles Dodgers, dies at 84

Great relief pitcher of the early-to-mid 1960s.

Lou Johnson, hit winning homer in '65 World Series, dies at age 86

Trivia: Lou Johnson has a unique place in baseball history---he got the only hit and scored the only run in Sandy Koufax's 1965 perfect game---and one had nothing to do with the other:

* Bottom of the fifth: Johnson led off with a walk. Ron Fairly bunted him over to second. With Jim Lefebvre at the plate Johnson stole third . . . and came home when Cubs catcher Chris Krug's throw sailed past third base.

* Bottom of the seventh: Johnson hit a two-out double but was stranded when Fairly grounded out to shortstop.

It also meant that if it hadn't been for Johnson, Cubs pitcher Bob Hendley would have thrown a no-hitter on the backside of Koufax's perfect game.

RIP to two classic Dodgers.

[Restored]

Eddie Van Halen, 65, according to TMZ

[mountaineer]

 Eddie Van Halen Dead at 65
10/6/2020 12:35 PM PT



Eddie Van Halen -- the legendary guitarist and co-founder of Van Halen -- has died after a long battle with throat cancer ... TMZ has learned.

Sources directly connected to the rock star tell us ... he died at St. Johns Hospital in Santa Monica Tuesday. His wife, Janie, was by his side, along with his son, Wolfgang, and Alex, Eddie's brother and drummer.

We're told in the last 72 hours Eddie's ongoing health battle went massively downhill -- doctors discovered his throat cancer had moved to his brain as well as other organs.  ... TMZ

[Gefn]

Bummer. RIP. Eddie. Heaven has a great rock band for you to jam with.

[verga]

Eddie Van Halen, 65, according to TMZ

D@MN!, just D@MN! RIP sir.

[Applewood]

I knew Eddie Van Halen had cancer, but...Wow!  Just.  Wow!  Unexpected.

Rest in peace.   

[skeeter]

Eddie Van Halen, 65, according to TMZ

Another crappy surprise.

Talented guy, a bigger guitar influence than Jimi Hendrix, IMO. As big, at least.

[Free Vulcan]

Eddie and the band are irrevocably intertwined with my years from jr. high well into college. There isn't hardly a song that doesn't bring up a memory.

David Lee Roth said awhile back he wasn't doing good. Eddie barely beat cancer 20 years ago, so I wasn't as surprised as I might have been.

He changed guitar and rock-n-roll forever. RIP.

[Applewood]

And another one:

Johnny Nash, singer of ‘I Can See Clearly Now,’ dies at 80

Johnny Nash, a singer-songwriter, actor and producer who rose from pop crooner to early reggae star to the creator and performer of the million-selling anthem “I Can See Clearly Now,” died Tuesday, his son said.

Nash, who had been in declining health, died of natural causes at home in Houston, the city of his birth, his son, Johnny Nash Jr., told The Associated Press. He was 80.

https://wgntv.com/news/johnny-nash-singer-of-i-can-see-clearly-now-dies-at-80/


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[dfwgator]

And another one:

Johnny Nash, singer of ‘I Can See Clearly Now,’ dies at 80
 

Also did the theme to "The Mighty Hercules"


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[EasyAce]

Also did the theme to "The Mighty Hercules"


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We're all entitled to make mistakes early in our careers.

RIP Mr. Nash.

[Gefn]

Shoot, Johnny Nash too? I said it before 2020 really stinks.

[Gefn]

Whitey Ford, Pitcher Who Epitomized Mighty Yankees, Dies at 91

Whitey Ford, the street-smart New Yorker who had the best winning percentage of any pitcher in the 20th century and helped the Yankees become baseball’s perennial champions in the 1950s and ’60s, has died. He was 91.

A family member told The Associated Press on Friday that Ford died at his Long Island home Thursday night. The cause was not known.

Nicknamed the “Chairman of the Board,” Ford was a wily left-hander who pitched from 1950-67 in the major leagues, all with the Yankees. He was among the most dependable pitchers in baseball history.

He won 236 games and lost just 106, a winning percentage of .690. He would help symbolize the almost machinelike efficiency of the Yankees in the mid-20th century, when only twice between Ford’s rookie year and 1964 did they fail to make the postseason.

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/sports/whitey-ford-91-pitcher-who-epitomized-mighty-yankees-dies/2661047/

@EasyAce

[Gefn]

RIP Mr Ford

[Free Vulcan]

Heck I thought Whitey was long gone. RIP.

Since his name was Whitey, I expect the BLM terrorism to start against his family clear out to 6th cousins twice removed.

[EasyAce]

Whitey Ford, Pitcher Who Epitomized Mighty Yankees, Dies at 91

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/sports/whitey-ford-91-pitcher-who-epitomized-mighty-yankees-dies/2661047/

@EasyAce

@Gefn

Not too long ago, Ford and the late Yogi Berra attended a Yankee Old-Timers Day and, during the ceremonies, the video board flashed tributes to former Yankees who'd passed away that year thus far. Yogi turned to Whitey and said, "Boy, I hope I never see my name up there!"

Ford also spent as much of his career cleaning up after his bestie Mickey Mantle's messes as he did pitching for eleven pennant winners and six world champions.

Like Mantle, Ford was a pretty good practical joker. The two once collaborated on a gag the victims of which were young infielders Joe Pepitone and Phil Linz. In Detroit, Ford told the pair they'd arrived, they were ready to party with the big boys. He told them to dress to the nines, take a cab to a club called the Flame, and ask for Whitey Ford's table.

The Flame was actually once a legendary rhythm and blues club in Detroit. By 1963, alas, the Flame was long gone and the place was a ramshackle wreck. Pepitone and Linz found out the hard way after they followed Ford's instructions, hailed their cab, and discovered . . . a ramshackle wreck with nothing left inside but maybe a couple of toasted tables. No Ford, no Mantle, no dinner.

Jim Bouton revealed in Ball Four that Ford also had the habit of taking care of the Yankees' relief pitchers by setting up a table in the pen with a red-and-white checkered tablecloth, loaves of Italian bread, and assorted cold cuts and condiments. "Whitey Ford," Bouton wrote, "had style." A few weeks later, though, Bouton had to record this: "Hot flash! Whitey Ford's Italian restaurant has been topped by the Baltimore bullpen---wienie roasts!"

He also had a brain on the mound to make his assortment of junk balls into lethal weapons. Even if you didn't root for the Yankees, and I sure as hell didn't, you came to love and respect individual Yankees. Whitey Ford was one of them.

RIP, Chairman of the Board.

[Gefn]

@EasyAce my dad was a Yankee fan. I was so happy to get Whitey Ford’s autograph during a Trenton Thunder game a few years back when he was signing them. He seemed to be a nice man. Very patient with the little kids who wanted autographs.

[EasyAce]

@EasyAce my dad was a Yankee fan. I was so happy to get Whitey Ford’s autograph during a Trenton Thunder game a few years back when he was signing them. He seemed to be a nice man. Very patient with the little kids who wanted autographs.

@Gefn
He was when he was a Yankee.

When he was a soldier with the Army Signal Corps in 1951-52, it was a little different. Ford once brushed off an autograph-seeking kid with a simple, "Not now, kid."

Oops.

That kid grew up to be U.S. poet laureate Robert Pinsky. When Jane Leavy was researching her biography of Sandy Koufax, she met Pinsky---who'd once written a poem, "Night Game," about Ford and Koufax. (Koufax, of course, beat Ford and the Yankees twice as the Dodgers swept the 1963 World Series.) It happened that, just as Pinsky's hero of his later youth was Koufax, Ford was Leavy's girlhood hero. Pinsky mentioning Ford giving him the autograph brush-off struck a nerve with Leavy.

So she called Koufax. (Koufax cooperated with her book unofficially; he described her both as "a real neat lady" and "his CPA---certified pain in the ass.") She told Koufax about Pinsky and Ford. After a pause, Koufax asked Leavy, "Do you think he'd like a ball?" Leavy said yes. Two weeks later, Koufax sent Pinsky an autographed baseball . . . . and a small, handwritten note saying only, "Whitey's really a good guy."

That prompted Pinsky to reach out to Ford. At which moment Ford explained the real reason for that ancient autograph brush-off: soldiers weren't allowed to sign autographs, something Pinsky never knew. Leavy also wrote that Ford redeemed himself with her by replying, upon the mention of "Night Game," "He wrote nice things about Sandy? I'd like to see that."

[verga]

Just saw a notice that Charles Bronson passed away

[Cyber Liberty]

Just saw a notice that Charles Bronson passed away

About 17 years ago, according to Wiki.

[Gefn]

About 17 years ago, according to Wiki.

81 years old. November 3-1921
August 30-2003



He had several children. Maybe one of them passed away today. Could be have a Junior?

[truth_seeker]

Just saw a notice that Charles Bronson passed away

One of my all time faves.

[Gefn]

Cincinnati Reds Hall of Famer Joe Morgan dies at 77

Hall of Famer Joe Morgan, a 10-time All-Star and two-time World Series champion with the Big Red Machine, died Sunday at 77 at his home in Danville, California, according to a statement from his family.

He is survived by his wife of 30 years, Theresa, their twin daughters Kelly and Ashley, and his daughters Lisa and Angela from his first marriage to Gloria Morgan. Morgan died of non-specified polyneuropathy.

Morgan played eight seasons with the Cincinnati Reds (1972-79) and he was selected to the All-Star team each year. He was named the National League Most Valuable Player in 1975 and ’76, and he earned five Gold Gloves for his exceptional defense at second base.

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/mlb/reds/2020/10/12/cincinnati-reds-hall-famer-joe-morgan-dies-77/5966790002/

@EasyAce

[Gefn]

Two baseball players in a week. I hope this doesn’t go in threes.

[GrouchoTex]

I liked Joe Morgan.
Sorry to hear this.

[EasyAce]

Six Hall of Famers gone in a year: Lou Brock, Whitey Ford, Bob Gibson, Al Kaline, Tom Seaver, and now Joe Morgan.

As if 2020 wasn't enough of the kind of year that makes you want to call your parents and take them up on their childhood threats to knock you into the middle of next year.

RIP Joe Morgan, the final and number one cog in the Big Red Machine.

[Applewood]

Six Hall of Famers gone in a year: Lou Brock, Whitey Ford, Bob Gibson, Al Kaline, Tom Seaver, and now Joe Morgan.

As if 2020 wasn't enough of the kind of year that makes you want to call your parents and take them up on their childhood threats to knock you into the middle of next year.

RIP Joe Morgan, the final and number one cog in the Big Red Machine.

Joe Morgan was I think the youngest of these guys.  Most of them were big names when I was a kid watching baseball on tv with Dad. Joe Morgan came along later. One of the best infielders back in the day.  Without him the Reds would not have been the powerhouse they were back in the 70s.

Rest in peace.

[mountaineer]

Margaret Nolan, ‘Goldfinger’ and ‘Hard Day’s Night’ actress, dead at 76
By Hannah Sparks
October 12, 2020

Margaret Nolan, iconic for her role as Dink in the James Bond film “Goldfinger,” has died at 76. ...

In a thread, he [director Edgar Wright] continued, “She was the gold painted model in the iconic Goldfinger title sequence and poster (she also played Dink in the movie), she appeared in the classic ‘A Hard Day’s Night,’ ‘Carry On Girls,’ ‘No Sex Please We’re British’ & many others, frequently sending up her own glamourpuss image.”  ...

More at NY Post

[goatprairie]

Margaret Nolan, ‘Goldfinger’ and ‘Hard Day’s Night’ actress, dead at 76
By Hannah Sparks
October 12, 2020

Margaret Nolan, iconic for her role as Dink in the James Bond film “Goldfinger,” has died at 76. ...

In a thread, he [director Edgar Wright] continued, “She was the gold painted model in the iconic Goldfinger title sequence and poster (she also played Dink in the movie), she appeared in the classic ‘A Hard Day’s Night,’ ‘Carry On Girls,’ ‘No Sex Please We’re British’ & many others, frequently sending up her own glamourpuss image.”  ...

More at NY Post

They couldn't make that JB flick today. Not in the same way. I remember when Bond meets another agent, he slaps Dink on her rear end and tells her to get lost because "man talk" will be going on.
The radical feminists and soy boys in the media would blow their collective stacks.

[jmyrlefuller]

Roberta Wright McCain
Oil heiress best known as John McCain's mother dies at 108



https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/roberta-mccain-rebellious-heiress-navy-wife-and-mother-of-senator-dies-at-108/2020/10/12/0c40394c-c5dc-11df-94e1-c5afa35a9e59_story.html

[Applewood]

They couldn't make that JB flick today. Not in the same way. I remember when Bond meets another agent, he slaps Dink on her rear end and tells her to get lost because "man talk" will be going on.
The radical feminists and soy boys in the media would blow their collective stacks.

So true.  Many of the movies from decades ago could not be made today.  Blazing Saddles, one of my favorites, is another movie that if Mel Brooks tried to make it today, he would be run out of Hollywood on a rail. There would be riots.  Thing is, Mel was poking fun at racists, white nationalists, the KKK, Nazis and others.  The snowflakes today wouldn't get it.

[Cyber Liberty]

So true.  Many of the movies from decades ago could not be made today.  Blazing Saddles, one of my favorites, is another movie that if Mel Brooks tried to make it today, he would be run out of Hollywood on a rail. There would be riots.  Thing is, Mel was poking fun at racists, white nationalists, the KKK, Nazis and others.  The snowflakes today wouldn't get it.

They don't "get" sarcasm or satire at all.  That's how we end up seeing hilarious "fact checks" of Babylon Bee articles.

[skeeter]

So true.  Many of the movies from decades ago could not be made today.  Blazing Saddles, one of my favorites, is another movie that if Mel Brooks tried to make it today, he would be run out of Hollywood on a rail. There would be riots.  Thing is, Mel was poking fun at racists, white nationalists, the KKK, Nazis and others.  The snowflakes today wouldn't get it.

I watched Gettysburg the other night - made in '93. There's no way even THAT movie would be made today.

[sneakypete]

Roberta Wright McCain
Oil heiress best known as John McCain's mother dies at 108



https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/roberta-mccain-rebellious-heiress-navy-wife-and-mother-of-senator-dies-at-108/2020/10/12/0c40394c-c5dc-11df-94e1-c5afa35a9e59_story.html

@jmyrlefuller

108! YIKES! She was sure made from strong stuff!

[catfish1957]

@jmyrlefuller

108! YIKES! She was sure made from strong stuff!

Yep, this women was older than one my grandmothers.  Pretty rare to get to that number.

[sneakypete]

So true.  Many of the movies from decades ago could not be made today.  Blazing Saddles, one of my favorites, is another movie that if Mel Brooks tried to make it today, he would be run out of Hollywood on a rail.

@Applewood

Not a chance. Brooks is Jewish.

He would have a hell of a time trying to find financing and a production company to promote it,though.



   

Thing is, Mel was poking fun at racists, white nationalists, the KKK, Nazis and others.  The snowflakes today wouldn't get it.

True,despite all the claims of enlightenment,most of today's  "intellectuals" are incredibly small-minded.

BTW,I LOVED Brooks movie's,too. Blazing Saddles taught me to not to go see one while stoned. I laughed so hard I almost lost my wind and pissed my pants.

LOVED"Young Frankenstein",too! Marty Feldman ALWAYS cracked me up,and putting him in that role was a stroke of genius. LOVED the hell out of Madeline Kahn,too. That accent was hilarious as well as sexy.

[Applewood]

@jmyrlefuller

108! YIKES! She was sure made from strong stuff!

@sneakypete

Mrs. McCain was still traveling well into her 90s.  Traveled a lot with her twin sister who died some years ago.  Hell, I'm in my 60s and feeling like I'm getting too old to go to the supermarket, let alone to Europe or wherever all Mrs. McCain traveled. 

Rest in peace, Mrs. McCain.

[Smokin Joe]

So true.  Many of the movies from decades ago could not be made today.  Blazing Saddles, one of my favorites, is another movie that if Mel Brooks tried to make it today, he would be run out of Hollywood on a rail. There would be riots.  Thing is, Mel was poking fun at racists, white nationalists, the KKK, Nazis and others.  The snowflakes today wouldn't get it.

I showed it to a bunch of twenty year olds over twenty years ago, and they were mortified. They completely missed the humor, and the satire present and were triggered, for want of a better term. I was stunned, then, and I know it would be worse now.

[Smokin Joe]

@Applewood

Not a chance. Brooks is Jewish.

He would have a hell of a time trying to find financing and a production company to promote it,though.



   
True,despite all the claims of enlightenment,most of today's  "intellectuals" are incredibly small-minded.

BTW,I LOVED Brooks movie's,too. Blazing Saddles taught me to not to go see one while stoned. I laughed so hard I almost lost my wind and pissed my pants.

LOVED"Young Frankenstein",too! Marty Feldman ALWAYS cracked me up,and putting him in that role was a stroke of genius. LOVED the hell out of Madeline Kahn,too. That accent was hilarious as well as sexy.

IMHO, "Young Frankenstein' was his best.

As for today's intellectuals, they are just a bunch of overeducated (indoctrinated) people who have decided they have the correct knee-jerk reactions.

[Gefn]

Conchata Ferrell Dies: Former 'Two and a Half Men' Co-Star Was 77

Actress passed away on October 12 at 12:30 PM PST, at the age of 77 as a result of complications following a cardiac arrest. She died peacefully surrounded by family at Sherman Oaks Hospital in Sherman Oaks, California.

Ferrell is probably best known for her role as no-nonsense housekeeper Berta on the hit CBS comedy Two and a Half Men. This role earned her two Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Emmy nominations in 2005 and 2007.

“She was a beautiful human,” Two and a Half Men star Jon Cryer said following the news of Ferrell’s death. “Berta’s gruff exterior was an invention of the writers. Chatty’s warmth and vulnerability were her real strengths. I’m crying for the woman I’ll miss, and the joy she brought so many.” (You can see his tweet below.)

https://deadline.com/2020/10/conchata-ferrell-dead-two-and-a-half-men-co-star-77-1234596750/

[Gefn]

I remember seeing her in a TV show called “Hot L Baltimore” back when I was a kid. Norman Lear did it. She was really good in that.

RIP Berta. You gave us a lot of laughs on “Two and a half men” and other sitcoms.

[berdie]

@sneakypete

Mrs. McCain was still traveling well into her 90s.  Traveled a lot with her twin sister who died some years ago.  Hell, I'm in my 60s and feeling like I'm getting too old to go to the supermarket, let alone to Europe or wherever all Mrs. McCain traveled. 

Rest in peace, Mrs. McCain.




I couldn't agree with you more!

[Applewood]

I remember seeing her in a TV show called “Hot L Baltimore” back when I was a kid. Norman Lear did it. She was really good in that.

RIP Berta. You gave us a lot of laughs on “Two and a half men” and other sitcoms.

I remember Hot L Baltimore.  Too bad it didn't last because I thought it was a great show.

Rest in peace, Miss Ferrell. 

[Applewood]

@sneakypete
@Smokin Joe

Young Frankenstein was a hoot.  Marty Feldman was funny just looking at him. 

"Hump?  What hump?"

[sneakypete]

@sneakypete
@Smokin Joe

Young Frankenstein was a hoot.  Marty Feldman was funny just looking at him. 

"Hump?  What hump?"

@Smokin Joe

Now I'm temped to rent it and watch it again,but afraid I just don't have enough wind to laugh that hard anymore.

I can barely handle my annual viewing of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" on Halloween every year.

I consider the fact that Tim Curry didn't win an Oscar for Best Actor that year to be an actual crime.

He also appeared in 3 episodes of Criminal Minds as a serial killer,and that was maybe the best acting I had ever seen. He flat scared the hell out of me.

VERY underrated actor,and I can't figure out why.

[jmyrlefuller]

Tom Kennedy
Game show host dies at 93



Kennedy was born James Narz. He and his brother, Jack Narz, both went into the entertainment industry (Jack also hosted a number of game shows); to avoid getting the two confused with each other, James took on the stage name Tom Kennedy. In an era when most game shows only lasted a few months, Kennedy ran through numerous hosting gigs, the longest being Name That Tune, in which Kennedy initially split hosting duties with Dennis James, then took over full-time; all in all, Kennedy lasted seven years on the show.  Other prominent hosting gigs that lasted over a year included Split Second, Password Plus (where he replaced the late Allen Ludden), Whew!, Body Language and The Nighttime Price Is Right (a syndicated version of the still-on-the-air institution). Kennedy made a handful of efforts to produce his own game shows but none made it past the pilot stage.

Kennedy died October 7 following a long illness. He was among the last hosts from the golden age of game shows to still be alive prior to his death (the few remaining ones include Bob Barker, Peter Marshall and Bob Eubanks).

Obituary from WAVE-TV

Wikipedia


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[EasyAce]

Tom Kennedy
Game show host dies at 93

Trivia: Tom Kennedy and his older brother, Jack Narz, both announced for Betty White in the 1950s. Narz was the announcer/semi-narrator for White's early (and excellent) television comedy, Life with Elizabeth; Kennedy became the announcer for White's series of the later 1950s, A Date with the Angels.

[Applewood]

Good Grief!  Now I really feel old.  I remember some of Tom Kennedy's game shows.   Name That Tune of course, but I remember when Kathie Lee Gifford was the "La-La" vocalist (this was before she married Frank Gifford).  Still don't know how anyone could name a tune in one note.  You can give me a whole chorus and I probably couldn't name the song.

Anyway, rest in peace, Mr. Kennedy.

[Wingnut]

Man  more people we knew are dyeing that we never knew before.