Obituaries for 2024

[Cyber Liberty]

The spin off should have featured Isis

Would have worked better, for sure.

[Timber Rattler]

I think they were planning a Star Trek spin off about the adventures of Sevin.  I guess there were no takers.

Here's the story behind the story...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=1xaUODjODGI

[Smokin Joe]

Being Halloween season I've been watching alot of Young Frankenstein reactions, my fav Mel Brooks movie.

Also liked her in Close Encounters.

Smart, funny, talented actress and smokin' hot. Loved that woman. RIP.

Beautiful lady and will be missed. Great comedic timing.
RIP and 'Thank you, Doctor!'

[jmyrlefuller]

Quincy Jones, legendary R&B producer who made hits for everyone from Sinatra to Michael Jackson to the Fresh Prince, dies at 91

https://pitchfork.com/news/quincy-jones-dies-at-91/

[mountaineer]

Quincy Jones, music titan who worked with everyone from Frank Sinatra to Michael Jackson, dies at 91
 By  HILLEL ITALIE
Updated 5:22 AM EST, November 4, 2024
Associated Press

Quincy Jones, the multi-talented music titan whose vast legacy ranged from producing Michael Jackson’s historic “Thriller” album to writing prize-winning film and television scores and collaborating with Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles and hundreds of other recording artists, has died at 91.

Jones’ publicist, Arnold Robinson, says he died Sunday night at his home in the Bel Air section of Los Angeles, surrounded by his family. ...

Jones rose from running with gangs on the South Side of Chicago to the very heights of show business, becoming one of the first Black executives to thrive in Hollywood and amassing an extraordinary musical catalog that includes some of the richest moments of American rhythm and song. For years, it was unlikely to find a music lover who did not own at least one record with his name on it, or a leader in the entertainment industry and beyond who did not have some connection to him.

Jones kept company with presidents and foreign leaders, movie stars and musicians, philanthropists and business leaders. He toured with Count Basie and Lionel Hampton, arranged records for Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald, composed the soundtracks for “Roots” and “In the Heat of the Night,” organized President Bill Clinton’s first inaugural celebration and oversaw the all-star recording of “We Are the World,” the 1985 charity record for famine relief in Africa. ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vs0XDJ9ph5s

[berdie]

QJ was very talented. RIP

[DefiantMassRINO]

God bless, and thank you for the music.

Quincy Jones - The Streetbeater aka Sanford & Son Theme


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O20Sljxmy9M

[mountaineer]

The Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus:

Remembering Bernie Marcus
November 05, 2024

The Home Depot is deeply saddened by the passing of our beloved founder, Bernard Marcus. To us, he was simply “Bernie.”

Bernie was an inspiration in many ways. He was a master merchant and a genius with customer service. Together with Arthur Blank and Ken Langone, Bernie helped create a nation of doers who could tackle any project, large or small. He loved our customers. He also loved the associates who made the company what it is today.

More than anything, he deeply believed in the company’s core values, particularly that of giving back. He never lost sight of his humble roots, using his success not for fame or fortune but to generously help others. In business and in charity, Bernie was unparalleled in generosity and goodwill.

The son of Russian Jewish immigrants, Bernie was born in 1929 and grew up in a tenement in Newark, New Jersey. He dreamed of becoming a doctor. When his family couldn't afford medical school, he enrolled in pharmacy school and received a degree from Rutgers University. Bernie said he'd often cut classes to sell Amana freezers door-to-door.

After college, he worked his way up the corporate ladder at manufacturing conglomerate O’Dell’s and retail chain Vornado, Inc. By 1972, Bernie was the Chairman of the Board and President of Handy Dan Improvement Centers, Inc., a chain that was part of the Daylin conglomerate. While working for Daylin, Bernie formed a friendship with Arthur Blank that would last for the rest of his life.

The watershed moment in Bernie’s career came when he was fired from Handy Dan in April 1978, along with Arthur and Ron Brill. Bernie was faced with the prospect of reinventing himself at 49. He already had a vision of a one-stop shop for do-it-yourselfers, something that did not exist in the home improvement retail landscape at the time. Investment banker Ken Langone helped secure the financing to get The Home Depot started.  ...

Lee Zeldin
@LeeMZeldin
RIP my friend, Bernie Marcus. Had the honor of speaking to Bernie just before he passed and his fire and passion for this great nation was fully lit until the very end.
1:26 PM · Nov 5, 2024

[jmyrlefuller]

Elwood Edwards dies at 74

Anyone who was on the Internet through AOL in the 1990s recognizes Edwards's voice in just four words:

"Welcome. You've got mail."

https://www.wkyc.com/article/life/people/elwood-edwards-wkyc-employee-voice-aol-youve-got-mail-greeting-dies-74/95-940b6ed4-b90b-4c4c-b0d5-6c57fddb6546


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

[Cyber Liberty]

I remember that voice well...once I got past the landline connection.

[mystery-ak]

I remember that voice well...once I got past the landline connection.

Oh man I remember those days..we have come so far...

[Bigun]

I had such a bad experience with AOL years ago that I have refused to allow one of those disks in the same room with any of my machines ever since. Even if it was just used as a coaster.

[Timber Rattler]

Bobby Allison, ‘Alabama Gang’ legend and Hall of Famer, dies at 86

https://www.nascar.com/news-media/2024/11/09/bobby-allison-alabama-gang-legend-and-hall-of-famer-dies-at-86/

Bobby Allison, founding member of NASCAR’s legendary “Alabama Gang,” the 1983 premier-series champion and winner of 85 races, died Saturday. He was 86 years old.

Allison gained fame and fortune during a racing career that lasted nearly three decades and earned the Florida native practically every racing accolade imaginable. But it was a career that also included more than its share of tragedy — Allison lost two sons in tragic incidents, and his own career ended after a nearly fatal on-track accident in 1988.

A member of NASCAR’s second Hall of Fame class in 2011, Allison currently holds fourth place on NASCAR’s all-time win list for its premier series. He was recognized for an 85th victory on Oct. 23, 2024, with NASCAR officials deeming him the winner of a disputed race in 1971 at Bowman Gray Stadium.

His 718 career starts are 14th in series history and his 336 top-five finishes are second only to fellow Hall of Famer Richard Petty.

Allison also earned 446 top-10 finishes and 59 poles during a career that began in 1961 and lasted until midway through the 1988 season. He was honored as one of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers in 2023.

Along the way, the affable Allison won some of the sport’s biggest events on multiple occasions. He captured the prestigious Daytona 500 three times (1978, ’82, ’88), the legendary Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway four times (’71, ’72, ’75, ’83) and he was a three-time winner of the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (’71, ’81, ’84).

His 1988 Daytona victory was especially memorable — the then-50-year-old held off a strong late-race bid by his son, Davey, to collect the win.

EXCEPT

[Smokin Joe]

I had such a bad experience with AOL years ago that I have refused to allow one of those disks in the same room with any of my machines ever since. Even if it was just used as a coaster.

I had a collection of them at one time...almost all the different versions, unopened.

[Smokin Joe]

Bobby Allison, ‘Alabama Gang’ legend and Hall of Famer, dies at 86

https://www.nascar.com/news-media/2024/11/09/bobby-allison-alabama-gang-legend-and-hall-of-famer-dies-at-86/

EXCEPT

RIP, Bobby!

[AllThatJazzZ]

Kamala Harris' installment by the Party of Lies died in 2024...

   


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GwjfUFyY6M

[Timber Rattler]

Tony Todd, veteran actor behind the ‘Candyman’ horror movie franchise and more, dies at 69

https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/09/entertainment/tony-todd-candyman-death/index.html

Tony Todd, the actor who played the eponymous phantom killer in the original “Candyman” horror franchise and other notable roles, has died at 69.

The news was confirmed to CNN on Saturday by Todd’s talent agent, Dede Binder, of the Defining Artist agency. No additional details on the actor’s death were immediately available.

Todd was best known for his portrayal of Daniel Robitaille, also known as the Candyman, a killer who is summoned by saying his name five times in front of a mirror.

Todd portrayed the character, originally based on a 1985 Clive Barker short story, in the original film franchise starting with the 1992 movie, and reprised the role in the 2021 reboot directed by Nia DaCosta.

The actor’s second-ever screen credit was the character Warren in the Oliver Stone movie “Platoon,” which won Best Picture at the 1987 Academy Awards. Other notable film roles for Todd came in Clint Eastwood’s 1988 Charlie Parker biopic “Bird,” 1989’s “Lean on Me” and “The Rock” from 1996.

But Todd made his mark primarily in the horror genre playing the character of Bludworth in the “Final Destination” franchise and appearing in movies like “Night of the Living Dead” from 1990, “The Crow” (1994) and 2006’s “Hatchet.”

EXCERPT

[Free Vulcan]

Theodore Olson, RIP

The American Spectator lost a great friend today, Ted Olson. He was a steadfast Spectator board member, a gifted writer of some of our most memorable anti-Clinton diatribes, and an all-around wise counselor. He remained vigorous and intellectually curious all his days, and that’s the way it ought to be. Now he is reunited with his wife Barbara, a victim of the 9/11 atrocities.

I remember him fondly, and with a sense of enormous loss. There won’t be another to fill his shoes ever again at The American Spectator. I recall one wintry afternoon when he came to my house to review a tranche of raw FBI files. Don’t ask how we laid hands on them. They had to do with our Clinton adventures, and the picture they painted of the president was shocking. But the material was raw and couldn’t be verified. Ted would not allow us to use them. Doubtless he saved me from a grave embarrassment, not for the first time.

He and Barbara introduced me to my wife, Jeanne. As I said, he was a wise counselor. We have been together almost 27 years. He was best man at our wedding and Barbara was a maid. Now Ted is gone, and we shall miss him terribly. He was much more than a sage counselor. He was an irreplaceable friend.

https://spectator.org/theodore-olson-rip/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=theodore-olson-rip

[Smokin Joe]

RIP, Sir, say 'Hi' to Barb from all of us.

[jafo2010]

Nothing dead about the politician Kamala Harris.  She will resurrect herself and prepare for the next election over the next four years.  She may not make it through the whole campaign season during the primary, but we will see her again.

I expect she will take lessons on how to string two sentences back to back, how to answer a question, something she did not do the whole time she ran for POTUS in 2024, and perhaps learn that policy actually matters to Americans when battered to death economically by the likes of two fools who were utterly clueless.

She is alive and well, and focusing on raising money to pay her debt off from 2024 and building a war chest for 2028.  And the liberals are dumb enough to continue to throw money at her.  She will be back like the plague of the Dark Ages.

[Timber Rattler]

Nothing dead about the politician Kamala Harris.  She will resurrect herself and prepare for the next election over the next four years.  She may not make it through the whole campaign season during the primary, but we will see her again.

I don't think she will ever try another presidential run because she's too lazy and learned the hard way that she really has no core constituency.  However, I expect her to slink back to California to try and get her old Senate seat back or run for governor once Newsome's term is over and he himself runs for prez in 2028.

[Bigun]

Theodore Olson, RIP

The American Spectator lost a great friend today, Ted Olson. He was a steadfast Spectator board member, a gifted writer of some of our most memorable anti-Clinton diatribes, and an all-around wise counselor. He remained vigorous and intellectually curious all his days, and that’s the way it ought to be. Now he is reunited with his wife Barbara, a victim of the 9/11 atrocities.

I remember him fondly, and with a sense of enormous loss. There won’t be another to fill his shoes ever again at The American Spectator. I recall one wintry afternoon when he came to my house to review a tranche of raw FBI files. Don’t ask how we laid hands on them. They had to do with our Clinton adventures, and the picture they painted of the president was shocking. But the material was raw and couldn’t be verified. Ted would not allow us to use them. Doubtless he saved me from a grave embarrassment, not for the first time.

He and Barbara introduced me to my wife, Jeanne. As I said, he was a wise counselor. We have been together almost 27 years. He was best man at our wedding and Barbara was a maid. Now Ted is gone, and we shall miss him terribly. He was much more than a sage counselor. He was an irreplaceable friend.

https://spectator.org/theodore-olson-rip/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=theodore-olson-rip

BKO was a friend and frequent poster at TOS back when that place was in it's heyday. Tony Snow and many other notables were also in that crowd.

[Cyber Liberty]

BKO was a friend and frequent poster at TOS back when that place was in it's heyday. Tony Snow and many other notables were also in that crowd.

Yes, I had many conversations with BKO.

[Bigun]

Yes, I had many conversations with BKO.

As did I. She was a great lady and a true conservative. I don't think that her husband was but I hope he rests in peace and he and Barb are enjoying their reunion.

[jmyrlefuller]

Thomas Kurtz, co-creator of the BASIC programming language, dies at 96

If you grew up in the 1980s, or were like me and grew up in the 1990s surrounded by a lot of outdated 1980s tech, you were immersed in the Beginner's All-Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code as your introduction to computer programming. Though BASIC was largely obsolete by the turn of the millennium replaced by object-oriented languages, derivatives of BASIC continue to be released for various applications. We owe that to the work, in part, of Dartmouth math professor Thomas Kurtz, who died November 12.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-11-14/thomas-kurtz-co-creator-of-computer-language-basic-dies-at-96

[Smokin Joe]

Thomas Kurtz, co-creator of the BASIC programming language, dies at 96

If you grew up in the 1980s, or were like me and grew up in the 1990s surrounded by a lot of outdated 1980s tech, you were immersed in the Beginner's All-Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code as your introduction to computer programming. Though BASIC was largely obsolete by the turn of the millennium replaced by object-oriented languages, derivatives of BASIC continue to be released for various applications. We owe that to the work, in part, of Dartmouth math professor Thomas Kurtz, who died November 12.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-11-14/thomas-kurtz-co-creator-of-computer-language-basic-dies-at-96

First computer course I took in college was BASIC. FORTRAN came later...

RIP, sir.

[DB]

I still use https://www.freebasic.net/ for making quick tools.

[PeteS in CA]

I learned some BASIC back in 1973, at DeVry Phoenix (and some Fortran in high school Physics when our teacher got some time on the Burroughs computer at UC Davis ... punch cards!!!).

[PeteS in CA]

Bela Karolyi, who led Nadia Comaneci and Mary Lou Retton to Olympic gymnastics gold, dies

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/other/bela-karolyi-who-led-nadia-comaneci-and-mary-lou-retton-to-olympic-gymnastics-gold-dies/ar-AA1udcwE

Bela Karolyi, who led Nadia Comaneci and Mary Lou Retton to Olympic gold and revolutionized the sport of gymnastics, only to see his legacy destroyed by allegations of abusive coaching, has died. He was 82.

Comaneci confirmed the news with a post on her Instagram, showing a carousel of photos including a black and white photo of her with the coach on a walk in the woods. The caption read: "A big impact and influence in my life. RIP Bela Karolyi."

[Lando Lincoln]

First computer course I took in college was BASIC. FORTRAN came later...

RIP, sir.

Likewise. I remember the experience well. The language, not so much.

[Ghost Bear]

Thomas Kurtz, co-creator of the BASIC programming language, dies at 96
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-11-14/thomas-kurtz-co-creator-of-computer-language-basic-dies-at-96

I taught myself BASIC on the Sinclair ZX-81 that I bought with my high school graduation money. I learned FORTRAN shortly after that, in a class during my first quarter of college.

[jafo2010]

When I learned BASIC and COBOL back in the 80s, both were dying out, and yet they insisted we learn both languages.  Now, even to program in COBOL, you are a dinosaur.  But he launched something absolutely grand.  Look where we are today!

[DB]

I taught myself BASIC on the Sinclair ZX-81 that I bought with my high school graduation money. I learned FORTRAN shortly after that, in a class during my first quarter of college.

I had one of those... That was my first experience with BASIC too.

[Kamaji]

I taught myself BASIC on the Sinclair ZX-81 that I bought with my high school graduation money. I learned FORTRAN shortly after that, in a class during my first quarter of college.

I learned on an Atari 800.  Learned Atari assembler on that machine, too.

[Hoodat]

First computer course I took in college was BASIC. FORTRAN came later...

RIP, sir.

I learned BASIC on a TRS-80.  I would stop at Radio Shack every day on the way home from Jr. High School and learn to program.

[Timber Rattler]

I learned BASIC on a TRS-80.  I would stop at Radio Shack every day on the way home from Jr. High School and learn to program.

TI-99 and Apple 2E here in the early 1980s.

[PeteS in CA]

Our first home computer was a Commodore 64, using a 9” B & W TV as a monitor.

Back in 1980 or 1981 I tested an Apple II+ power supply for my employer. It was rated for just 43W. Unlike Chee-Pee no-name Chinese-built “800” or “1000” watt power supplies, that Astec could actually do 43W, all day long, without launching.

[mountaineer]

Arthur Frommer, who changed travel with his guidebooks, has died at 95
NPR
By Ayana Archie
Published November 19, 2024 at 11:54 AM CST

Arthur Frommer, who revolutionized travel with his 1957 guidebook Europe on 5 Dollars a Day, has died at 95, his daughter confirmed Monday.

He went on to write a series of Frommer's guidebooks, which eventually became Frommers.com. He additionally was a writer, television and radio host and speaker. ...

https://www.tpr.org/arts-culture/2024-11-19/arthur-frommer-who-changed-travel-with-his-guidebooks-has-died-at-95

His guidebooks have been invaluable to me, always the first place to go when planning a trip that won't break the bank.

[mountaineer]

‘Red-Letter Christians’ Founder Tony Campolo Dead At 89
Staff Writer
Protestia
Nov. 19, 2024

The Father of the Progressive Left, Tony Campolo, passed away this evening at the age of 89.

Campolo was a popular teacher, speaker, and sociologist who pastored several American Baptist Churches. He was perhaps best known for being the spiritual advisor to Bill Clinton and for founding the left-wing organization ‘Red-Letter Christians’ Movement 2007, with the help of Shane Claiborne and Sojourner’s Jim Wallis.

Red-Letter Christians was envisioned to be a counter-movement to the political influence of conservative Christianity, advancing social justice by focusing on the words of Jesus (the red letters) frequently at the exclusions or depreciation of other portions of the biblical text. By failing to see the entire bible as cohesive and God-breathed, all from the mouth of God, the organization quickly evolved into a liberal rag that eventually released articles supporting abortion and homosexuality.  ...

[AllThatJazzZ]

It would be impossible to fathom how much damage Campolo did to the church. Praying for the souls he led astray. 

[deb]

It would be impossible to fathom how much damage Campolo did to the church. Praying for the souls he led astray. 

And Compolo knows the Truth now.

[Free Vulcan]

And Compolo knows the Truth now.

And it burns.

[PeteS in CA]

Jim Wallis was a "Progressive Evangelical" long before Campolo, possibly 2 or 3 decades. As for the "Red-Letter Christians" movement, God didn't write first- and second-class Scripture. "Red-Letter Christians" should know this, since Jesus directly and expressly avowed the laws Moses wrote and quoted from Moses, Isaiah, and other prophets and pointed toward more Scripture to come. Red-Letter-Buffet Christians is probably more accurate, as even among things spoken by Jesus, "Red-Letter Christians" pick what they like and ignore what they don't.

[mountaineer]

Red-Letter-Buffet Christians is probably more accurate, as even among things spoken by Jesus, "Red-Letter Christians" pick what they like and ignore what they don't.

Agreed. I always associated Wallis with The Wittenburg Door humor publication, and even considered visiting his church when I spent a few months in D.C. as an intern (never did it, though), not realizing just how insidious his brand of theology was.

[PeteS in CA]

Agreed. I always associated Wallis with The Wittenburg Door humor publication, and even considered visiting his church when I spent a few months in D.C. as an intern (never did it, though), not realizing just how insidious his brand of theology was.

A Christian friend of mine back in the mid 1970s subscribed to "Sojourners" magazine and that is how I came to hear of Wallis. How "Progressive Christians" do not realize that Jesus command to charitly pertains to believers' personal lives and is not a command to hijack government tax $$, I do not understand.

[jmyrlefuller]

Alice Brock, the owner of "Alice's Restuarant," dies at 83

Brock's restaurant the Back Room, open only for a brief time in the mid-1960s, was immortalized by her friend and former student Arlo Guthrie in the song "Alice's Restaurant." For more information, I recommend the Wikipedia article on her life I wrote, which she famously called "all bullshit" in 2022, though she later admitted in private it was mainly because of a couple of date errors.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/11/22/lifestyle/alice-brock-alices-restaurant-has-died-arlo-guthrie/
https://theberkshireedge.com/alice-brock-of-alices-restaurant-dies/

[Fishrrman]

"Alice Brock, the owner of "Alice's Restuarant," dies at 83"

"Walk right in, it's around the back,
Just a half a mile from the railroad track,
And you can get anything you want
At Alice's Restaurant"

Scanned photos I took just about 55 years ago, October 1969.
Alice had moved on by then, but the interior was pretty much the same:


And it really was "in the back":

[PeteS in CA]

Chuck Woolery, Game Show Host Behind ‘Love Connection' and More, Dies at 83

https://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/chuck-woolery-game-show-host-behind-love-connection-and-more-dies-at-83/ar-AA1uEd61

Chuck Woolery, the veteran game show host who gained fame as the original emcee behind "Wheel of Fortune" and later as the face of the popular syndicated dating show "Love Connection," has died. He was 83.

The news was first reported on the social media site X by Woolery's friend Mark Young, who noted that "it is with a broken heart that I tell you that my dear brother @chuckwoolery has just passed away. Life will not be the same without him, RIP brother."

The website TMZ confirmed the news, reporting that Woolery died in his Texas home after having trouble breathing.

Woolery, who spent more than ten years as host of "Love Connection" (where he famously told viewers before commercial breaks that the show would be back in "two and two"), became known in recent years as a conservative talk show host and pundit. He hosted a nationally syndicated radio commentary show, "Save Us Chuck Woolery," as well as the podcast "Blunt Force Truth," with Young as his co-host.

[Timber Rattler]

That's a real shame.  I always liked Chuck on the game shows.

He also sang with Dolly Parton!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKU7wKeGjHA

[Free Vulcan]

Chuck stood tall when conservatives were very much endangered species in Hollywood.

Respect and RIP.