The Rest In Peace and Remembrance Thread

[David Paleg]

`Dragonriders' author Anne McCaffrey dies aged 85
Nov 23, 6:11 PM (ET)
By SHAWN POGATCHNIK

DUBLIN (AP) - Anne McCaffrey, whose vision of an interstellar alliance between humans and dragons spawned two dozen "Dragonriders of Pern" novels, has died in Ireland aged 85, her publisher and family announced Wednesday.

Random House said the Cambridge, Massachusetts-born author died of a stroke Monday at her rural residence south of Dublin, her home for four decades. She christened her self-designed house Dragonhold.

"Surrounded by the reassuring presence of family and close friends, her passing was swift and without suffering," her three children said in a statement.

McCaffrey turned to the male-dominated world of sci-fi writing after dabbling in singing and amateur acting.

"I have always used emotion as a writing tool," McCaffrey told the science fiction magazine Locus in a 2004 interview. "That goes back to me being on the stage. The thing is, emotion - if it's visibly felt by the writer - will go through all the processes it takes to publish a story and still hit the reader right in the gut. But you have to really mean it."

She was the first woman to win the top two prizes for science fiction writing, the Hugo and the Nebula, in 1968 and 1969 respectively following publication of her first two novellas set on the fictional planet of Pern.

McCaffrey moved to Ireland in 1970 after filing for divorce from her husband of 20 years. She had ancestral ties to Ireland, which also had just launched a unique program to woo novelists to live there exempt from income tax.

Her popularity surged with the 1978 publication of "The White Dragon," which completed her original trilogy begun in the late 1960s. It was her only novel to break into The New York Times best-seller list.

But she maintained a prolific writing pace, producing a further 21 novels set in Pern at various periods of its imagined history.

Over the past decade as her health faded, she increasingly collaborated with her son Todd, who co-authored five Pern-based novels and wrote three others on his own. The 23rd novel, 'Dragon's Time," was published in June with mother and son sharing the writing credit, while the 24th, "Sky Dragons," is set for publication next year.

She is survived by two sons and a daughter. Funeral arrangements were not announced.

[David Paleg]

British film director Ken Russell dies at 84
by Associated Press

Ken Russell, the British director whose daring and sometimes outrageous films often tested the patience of audiences and critics, has died at age 84.

Russell died in a hospital on Sunday following a series of strokes, his son Alex Verney-Elliott said Monday.

One of Russell’s biggest successes came in 1969 with Women in Love, based on the book by D.H. Lawrence, which earned Academy Award nominations for the director and for writer Larry Kramer, and an Oscar for the star, Glenda Jackson.

Music played a central role in many of Russell’s films including The Music Lovers in 1970, and Lisztomania and Tommy in 1975.

[rfhertz]

Don Harman, former WOWK weathercaster.

http://www.kansascity.com/2011/11/30/32 ... at-41.html

Fox 4's Don Harman dead at 41
By AARON BARNHART
The Kansas City Star
By AARON BARNHART The Kansas City Star
Updated: 2011-11-30T19:02:01Z

Don Harman
More News
Don Harman, the fun-loving weathercaster and personality on Kansas City’s most popular morning show, has died.

Harman, a 41-year-old native of Ohio, was hired by WDAF “Fox 4” in 1999 to replace Gary Lezak and quickly became part of a high-spirited team that was No. 1 in the ratings for years.

Fans were grieving reports of his death Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning, even as station officials at WDAF/Fox 4 struggled to balance the online outpouring of sympathy with their journalistic obligation to wait until the next of kin — in this case Harman’s father — could be notified.

Harman’s close friend and morning show co-host Mark Alford looked shell-shocked as he read the announcement at 4:45 a.m. asking for patience from viewers who were bombarding the station’s switchboard and posting messages to social media. The announcement was repeated through Fox 4’s morning newscast.

“We know a lot of you out there have questions about what’s going on. We do appreciate your concerns. We consider you our friends,” Alford said.

His co-anchor Loren Halifax continued: “We do ask you, though, to remember that family comes first. And we are honoring that.”

The station confirmed Harman’s death on-air during its noon news today. Kathy Quinn read from the announcement: “To all of us Don was like family and the news comes as a great shock to all the people he worked with at Fox 4.”

After graduating from Miami University of Ohio, Harman began his TV career with stints in Parkersburg and Huntington, W.Va., and Mason City, Iowa.

On arriving in Kansas City in 1999 he had big shoes to fill: Gary Lezak had parlayed his popularity as Fox 4’s morning weathercaster into a chief meteorologist’s role at KSHB-TV. But Harman proved, if anything, an even bigger hit with viewers, thanks to his on-air camaraderie with co-workers and his boyish enthusiasm for both the weather and silly stunts.

He is survived by his wife, Monica Johns, and their daughter, Avery.

Reach Aaron Barnhart at aaron@tvbarn.com.

[David Paleg]

'Laugh-In' comic actor Alan Sues dies at 85
Dec 5, 2:00 AM (ET)
By ANDREW DALTON

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Alan Sues, who brought his flamboyant and over-the-top comic persona to the hit television show "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In" in the 1960s and 1970s, has died, a close friend said Sunday night.

Sues died of cardiac arrest on Thursday at his home in West Hollywood, Michael Gregg Michaud, a friend since 1975, told The Associated Press.

"He was sitting in a recliner watching TV with his dachshund Doris who he loved in his lap," Michaud said.

Sues had various health problems in the last several years, but the death came as a shock to friends, Michaud said. He was 85.

A native Californian who moved to New York in 1952, Sues began his career as a serious actor and in 1953 appeared in director Elia Kazan's "Tea and Sympathy" on Broadway.

But he would be remembered for his wild comic characters.

They included "Big Al," an effeminate sportscaster, and "Uncle Al the Kiddies Pal," a hung-over children's show host, on "Laugh-In," the TV phenomenon that both reflected and mocked the era's counterculture and made stars of Goldie Hawn, Lily Tomlin and many others.

Sues also donned tights as the commercial spokesman for Peter Pan peanut butter, and appeared in the popular 1964 "Twilight Zone" episode "The Masks."

Fellow cast members and crew from "Laugh-In" remembered him as even more entertaining behind the scenes.

"Alan Sues was one of those guys even funnier in person than on camera," Ruth Buzzi, a co-star who appeared in many skits with Sues, said on her Twitter account. "Across a dinner table, over the phone ... hysterical. We'll miss him."

Executive producer George Schlatter, who would eventually bring Sues to "Laugh-In" after seeing him alongside future co-star Jo Anne Worley in the Off-Broadway comedy "The Mad Show," said Sues was "a free spirit," an "outrageous human being" and "a love child."

"He was a delight; he was an upper," Schlatter told the Los Angeles Times, which first reported the death. "He walked on the stage and everybody just felt happy."

Sues would always be best known for "Laugh-In," which he left in 1972 before its final season.

But Michaud said the Peter Pan spots brought Sues nearly as much recognition in later years.

And he said the "Twilight Zone" episode brought him appearances at sci-fi and autograph conventions for decades.

"Fans of 'The Twilight Zone' are cuckoo," Michaud said.

Michaud said that while Sues was always cast as the stereotypically gay character, he believed he needed to hide his own gay identity during his years on television.

"He felt like he couldn't publicly come out," Michaud said. "He felt like people wouldn't accept him."

Sues was grateful for "Laugh-In," but wasn't happy he was typecast in his comic persona as he sought to return to more serious acting.

He got one chance that he cherished in 1975, the serious role of Moriarty with the Royal Shakespeare Company in "Sherlock Holmes" on Broadway.

He stayed with the show until it closed the following year, then went out to perform it with the touring company.

In later years he would make many more theater appearances, do voiceover work for television, and appear in guest spots on TV series like "Punky Brewster" and "Sabrina the Teenage Witch."

Sues is survived by a sister-in-law, two nieces and a nephew.

There were no immediate plans for a memorial.


-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Indian film star Dev Anand dies in London at 88
Dec 4, 4:02 AM (ET)
By KATY DAIGLE

NEW DELHI (AP) - Bollywood star Dev Anand, a charismatic and flamboyant Indian film fixture for more than a half-century, has died of a heart attack in London, his family said Sunday. He was 88.

Famed for his roles in dozens of movies, including "Jewel Thief" and "Guide," the veteran actor, director and producer was working up to the last minute, with a new script in the works.

Anand lived and died on "his own terms," his nephew and renowned film director Shekhar Kapur said in a posting on Twitter. "He was working one minute. Sat down and smiled. And was gone the next. So much to learn."

Anand died of a heart attack Saturday night in a hotel in London, where he had gone recently for a medical checkup, the family said.

Full story at Iwon / AP News.

[genlock]

Col Sherman Potter, MD, USA is dead at 96





(Reuters) - Prolific character actor Harry Morgan, who appeared in more than 100 films but was best known for television roles including Colonel Sherman Potter in the popular series "M*A*S*H," died on Wednesday at his Los Angeles home, age 96.

A representative for his son, producer Christopher Morgan, confirmed the actor's death.

Morgan in 1980 won an Emmy award, honoring the best in U.S. TV, for his work on the anti-war comedy series "M*A*S*H" playing the upstanding commanding officer of a U.S. Mobile Army Surgical Hospital during the Korean War. Morgan appeared in "M*A*S*H" from 1975 to 1983.

He also appeared as Officer Bill Gannon on television crime series "Dragnet" from 1967 to 1970, alongside Jack Webb.

Morgan's ability to play a variety of roles, dramatic and comedic, made him an actor in demand for half a century. He starred in about a dozen U.S. TV series starting in the 1950s and appeared in movies with some of Hollywood's biggest stars.

He appeared in "The Ox-Bow Incident" in 1943 with Henry Fonda, "High Noon" in 1952 with Gary Cooper, "The Glenn Miller Story" in 1954 with Jimmy Stewart and "Inherit the Wind" in 1960 with Spencer Tracy.

But it was his role on "M*A*S*H," the long-running series on the CBS network, that earned him his most fame. The series was adapted from the successful 1970 feature film of the same name, presenting an anti-war theme at the same time the United States was extricating itself from the Vietnam War.

Morgan was not one of the original cast members. The series began in 1972 but his first appearance came in a guest-starring role during its third season. He signed on as a full-time cast member in 1975 after actor McLean Stevenson, who had played the fictional unit's commanding officer, left the show.

[jag]

Singer/Songwriter Dobie Gray Dies at 69

Dobie Gray was more than a smooth balladeer who recorded the timeless hit "Drift Away" in 1973.

He wrote songs for an array of country and pop performers, was a trailblazing entertainer in South Africa and, in death, a philanthropist.

Gray died in his sleep at his Nashville home Tuesday after a long battle with cancer. He was 69.

"Drift Away" also was recorded by rap artist Uncle Kracker in 2003 and became a hit again.

Gray's silky tenor also was heard on other hits including "The In Crowd" in 1965 and "Loving Arms" in 1973. His songs received radio airplay on several formats including Top 40, country, AOR and adult contemporary.

"He had such a unique style, so identifiable," said Bud Reneau, Gray's close friend and songwriting partner. "If you listened to his record, you knew right away it was him. It was a big factor in his marketability."

Gray toured extensively in Europe, Australia and Africa, and insisted on performing for integrated audiences in South Africa, according to his web site. After that declaration, he became especially popular in South Africa.

"I guess what you call my 'signature songs' will never die, thank God," he told The Tennessean newspaper in 1988. At the time, he was the only major black vocalist to call Nashville home.

He wrote songs recorded by Ray Charles, Johnny Mathis, Etta James, Three Dog Night, Julio Iglesias, John Denver, George Jones and Tammy Wynette.

Gray sang on several motion picture soundtracks including "Uptown Saturday Night," ''Out of Sight" and "Casey's Shadow." Additionally, he sang advertising jingles for companies such as Clorox, Budweiser, Hardee's, Honda and Buick.

"I talked to him the day before he died," said Charlie Andrews, Gray's attorney and friend. "We just talked about life and living and general stuff."

Gray was born into a family of sharecroppers in Simonton, Texas. He moved from Texas to California in the early 1960s where he met Sonny Bono, then an executive with Specialty Records. This led to his first record, "Look at Me," in 1963. While in Los Angeles, Gray appeared in a production of "Hair."

Funeral arrangements were incomplete. He was not married and had no children.

Reneau said Gray willed much of his property and future earnings to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn.

"He was a giver," Reneau said.

[unchoopfan]

Dan "Bee" Spears, Willie Nelson's bassist, dead at 62

Longtime Willie Nelson bassist Dan “Bee” Spears, was found dead outside his home in Nashville Dec. 8, according to Austin, Texas, television station KXAN. The Tennessean reports that the bassist died because of exposure to the elements after slipping and falling outside. He was 62.

Spears joined Willie Nelson’s band in 1968 when he was 19 years old. The bassist is featured on several of Nelson’s biggest albums including 1973’s Shotgun Willie, 1975’s Red Headed Stranger, 1976’s The Troublemaker and 1978’s Stardust. Spears appeared in a number of films alongside Nelson including 1980’s “Honeysuckle Rose” and 1984’s “Songwriter.” He also recorded with acts including Waylon Jennings, Leon Russell and Guy Clark, according to The Tennessean.

Nelson posted the following statement on his website Friday:

“We are deeply saddened by the death of Family member Dan ‘Bee’ Spears, long time friend and bassist for Willie Nelson and Family.

“We are still in shock and gathering details as the day continues. He apparently died of accidental exposure at his property near Nashville, Tenn.”

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Dick Sims, Clapton keyboardist, dead at 60

Keyboardist Dick Sims, a founding member of Eric Clapton's 70's backing group "Tulsa County Band" died Dec. 8 after battling cancer, according to Rolling Stone.

Sims, bassist Carl Radle and drummer Jamie Oldaker formed the country/rock group and became known for developing the “Tulsa sound," first backing Eric Clapton on his 1974 album 461 Ocean Boulevard and then continued playing and recording with the guitarist for nine years.

Sims also played with a long list of acts including Bob Seger, Etta James, Stephen Stills, Carlos Santana, Perry Farrell, J.J. Cale, Peter Tosh and Vince Gill. He released his only solo album, Within Arm’s Reach, in 2008.

Clapton dedicated his Dec. 10 show in Tokyo to Sims, according to a post on the Eric Clapton fan site Where’s Eric!

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Bob Burnett, member of the 60s folk group The Highwaymen, dead at 71

By: Valerie J. Nelson/L.A. Times

The members of the folk group the Highwaymen were freshmen in the same fraternity at Wesleyan University in Connecticut when they came together to perform at a campus party in 1958. By their senior year, the quintet had a No. 1 single with their haunting version of the African American spiritual "Michael, Row the Boat Ashore," which was a hit on both sides of the Atlantic in 1961.

Although the group had a significant impact on the folk scene in the early 1960s — turning "Big Rock Candy Mountain" and "All My Trials" into folk standards — the Highwaymen disbanded in 1964 when Bob Burnett and two other members decided to attend graduate school.

Burnett, the guitar-playing tenor who became a lawyer, died Wednesday at his home in East Providence, R.I. His family said he had a brain tumor. He was 71.

"The original Highwaymen, along with the Kingston Trio and later, Peter Paul and Mary, were among those responsible for popularizing American music — call it folk, blues, country, whatever," Kris Kristofferson told The Times when Dave Fisher, lead singer of the Highwaymen, died last year.

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Alan Styles, Pink Floyd roadie, "Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast" subject, dead at 75

From the Pink Floyd fan site: pinkfloydfan.net

Alan Styles, who for many years was a roadie for Pink Floyd, passed away yesterday (December 8th, 2011). Formerly from Cambridge, Alan had more recently moved to the USA, and his sister Ann said that he died peacefully in hospital there, and that he had been suffering from pneumonia. He was 75. Alan (seen on the left in the accompanying picture) was well-known to Pink Floyd fans, with his biggest exposure being his vocal on the eponymous track found on 1970's Atom Heart Mother - 'Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast'. This track features the Floyd in the background, whilst Alan talks about the breakfast he is getting ready, reminiscing about other breakfasts he has had: Breakfast in Los Angeles. Macrobiotic stuff... Alan is also included on the cover of Ummagumma, and he assists Nick Mason on the Merry Xmas Song (also known as Here Comes Santa), which was aired on BBC radio.

[David Paleg]

Booie, the smoking chimpanzee, dies at 44
Dec 14, 9:06 PM (ET)

LOS ANGELES (AP) - A chimpanzee that kicked a smoking habit and used sign language to beg for candy has died at a California animal refuge.

Martine Colette of the Wildlife WayStation says Booie (BOO'-ee) was being treated for a heart condition when he died Saturday at 44. The chimp had been living at the animal sanctuary near Los Angeles since 1995, after he retired from a research lab.

Colette says she turned Booie into a non-smoker but couldn't fix his sweet tooth. She says he would use his skill to panhandle by signing: "Booie see sweet in pocket."

Booie's death is a serious blow to the financially troubled refuge because he was one of its best fundraisers. Martine says he had fans around the world because of his TV appearances.

[David Paleg]

Barbara Orbison
Behind-the-scenes woman who helped a broken man make a big comeback


In 1968, Barbara Orbison was just 18, and went from Germany to a concert in England by singer Roy Orbison. It had been four years since he had a hit (but what a hit: "Oh, Pretty Woman"). He was fairly down and out; fans had turned away from his style, his first wife had died in an accident, and shortly after that two of his three children were killed in a house fire. But he still had his voice -- that voice -- that amazing voice. It sounded like "the cry of an angel falling backward through an open window," said Dwight Yoakam; a voice of "passionate intensity" that, Rolling Stone said, made "his love, his life, and, indeed, the whole world [seem] to be coming to an end -- not with a whimper, but an agonized, beautiful bang." He saw something in her, too, and within months had asked her to marry him; he was 32. "In the '70s, he was basically rebuilding a life," Barbara said recently. "He didn't want to do anything except be somebody in love, with a little money and lots of fun. By the '80s, he was ready again." And, as his new manager, she gave him the strength to return to the stage. He became an even bigger sensation -- and a best-selling artist -- and she kept that going after his 1988 death: in 1989, Orbison became the first musician since Elvis Presley to have two albums in the Top Five at the same time, and in 1991 she hosted a benefit to Roy that raised $1 million to help the homeless in Los Angeles. She also funded Orbison House, a home for the mentally impaired homeless in the city. Barbara Ann Marie Wellhoener Jakobs Orbison died in Los Angeles December 6 (23 years to the day after Roy died, at 52) from pancreatic cancer. She was 61.

[unchoopfan]

Ralph MacDonald, percussionist/songwriter, dead at 67

STAMFORD, Conn. (UPI) -- Ralph MacDonald, the composer of "Where is the Love" and "Just the Two of Us," died Sunday(Dec. 18) in Connecticut at the age of 67, his family announced.

MacDonald, a longtime percussionist with Jimmy Buffett's Coral Reefer Band, won two Grammys for producing "Calypso Breakdown" and wrote most of the songs on Harry Belafonte's landmark 1966 album "Calypso Carnival."

The New York Daily News said MacDonald battled lung cancer and suffered a stroke in recent years that forced him to give up touring.

The Harlem-born MacDonald was the son of calypso musician MacBeth the Great and worked with a roster of prominent singers, including Aretha Franklin, Paul Simon, Amy Winehouse and Billy Joel. He also wrote "Where is the Love," which Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway turned into a huge hit, and the Bill Withers/Grover Washington Jr. hit "Just The Two Of Us."

[rfhertz]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6z8iKVayOKk

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il dies at 69

PYONGYANG, North Korea — Kim Jong Il, North Korea's mercurial and enigmatic leader, has died. He was 69.

..Kim's death was announced Monday by state television from the North Korean capital, Pyongyang.

Kim suffered a massive heart attack on a train on Saturday, the North's KCNA news agency said in a separate dispatch about his death.

An autopsy conducted Sunday confirmed the cause of death, it said.

The leader's son, Kim Jong-un, was at the head of a long list of officials making up the funeral committee, indicating he will lead it.

Kim is believed to have suffered a stroke in 2008 but appeared relatively vigorous in photos and video from recent trips to China and Russia and in numerous trips around the country carefully documented by state media.

The leader, reputed to have had a taste for cigars, cognac and gourmet cuisine, was believed to have had diabetes and heart disease.

[David Paleg]

Dan Frazer, Kojak's Capt. McNeil, Dies at 90
Dec 19, 2011 09:49 AM ET
by Robyn Ross

Actor Dan Frazer, who was best known for his role as Capt. Frank McNeil on the '70s crime drama Kojak, has died, according to The Associated Press. He was 90.

Frazer died on Friday of cardiac arrest in his Manhattan home, according to his daughter, Susanna Frazer, who described her father as a "very truthful, naturalistic actor".

Born in New York City, Frazer began his acting career in 1950 and earned his first on-screen role in the 1963 film Lillies of the Field. He later appeared in the films Take the Money and Run, Cleopatra Jones, and Gideon's Trumpet.

In addition to his most famous role as the boss of Telly Savalas' Kojak, Frazer also appeared on such television shows as Car 54, Where Are You?, Barney Miller and Law & Order.

[EZ103.3FM]

HUNTINGTON — Award-winning reporter and long-time columnist Jack Hardin died Tuesday at the age of 84.
He is remembered for covering some of the biggest news stories in the Tri-State during his tenure at The Advertiser and The Herald-Dispatch, including the Marshall plane crash, President Lyndon Johnson’s visit and talking an escaped killer into surrendering to police.

Hardin was also the one tapped to mentor new reporters hired at the newspaper, said Don Hatfield, former editor and publisher of The Herald-Dispatch.

When Hatfield joined The Advertiser staff at age 18, he split time between sports and the city beat. His desk cityside was next to Hardin’s.
“I was in awe of this famous reporter,” Hatfield said.

In 1955, only five years after being hired at the newspaper, Jack Hardin won the Pall Mall Big Story award for talking an escaped murderer into surrendering. It was reenacted on the cigarette manufacturer’s television program.

“Pretty gutsy,” is how Hatfield depicts the event. After getting a call, Hardin needed a ride but couldn’t disclose what it was all about. Unarmed, Hardin met up with the criminal in the woods and convinced him to give up.

“He was a good reporter that a lot of journalists learned from, including me,” Hatfield said.

So seasoned, so smart, so sharp was Hardin that when Hatfield became managing editor, he paired up new reporters with him.

“As soon as they got there, we put them with Jack,” Hatfield said. “He gave them tips they never got in the classroom. He knew how to ask questions and how to get answers.”

The things best loved by Jack Hardin were his family and especially his grandchildren, Marshall sports, his church and his work.

“He loved his job, he loved getting up every day and going to work,” son Klu Hardin said. And he loved to be first to get a story.

His son did confess Jack Hardin was fired from the newspaper two weeks into the job, because he couldn’t really type. “He learned to hunt and peck and typed 60 words per minute,” and back to the job he went.

Not known for flowery stories like some reporters, “he was a hard-nosed news reporter,” Hatfield said. “He wrote straight, simple, hard news.”

Jack Hardin was witness to the horrific 1970 plane crash not far from his Ceredo home.

Hardin was the first reporter to the scene of the deaths of the Marshall University football team, staff and boosters.
“He called from a police radio (at the scene) and said, ‘Don, they’re all gone,’” Hatfield recalled. He confirmed the identity of the plane’s passengers by a wallet found at the scene.

A consultant on the movie, “We Are Marshall,” Jack Hardin surprised his son.

“I called dad and told him there was going to be a movie about the plane crash, and he said, ‘Son, I’ve known for about a year now. I’ve been meeting with them, but was sworn to secrecy.’”

He had tremendous connections. Knowing all the police officers and officials helped provide him access to events and news stories. In 1964, when President Johnson visited the region and his plane landed at Tri-State Airport, Jack Hardin was taken by police past the rope line to the plane. Johnson, apparently thinking this was some local dignitary, took him by the arm and walked along, talking about the crowd that turned out that day. He was the only reporter allowed beyond the line.

Jack Hardin retired from The Herald-Dispatch in 1989, but continued to write his column, About Town, until 2006.

He understood people like to see their names in the newspaper for birthdays and anniversaries. He got birthday calendars from community groups and used them to get all those names, plus his sharp recall when folks stopped him on the street and told them about a life’s milestone.

Considered to be a great jokester, Jack Hardin put a “chuckle” at the end of each column.

“It’s hard to come up with a chuckle every day,” said Brenda Lucas, who had the daunting task of taking over “Jack’s column” in March 2006.

“One time, Jack was going to get a haircut and someone asked if he was going on company time,” Lucas recalled. “Jack said, ‘Well, it grew on company time.’ ”

That sense of humor is what son Klu Hardin said he’ll take with him forever.

“He was quick-witted and always quick with a joke,” Klu Hardin said of his dad.

Klu Hardin said that humor was evident even on Tuesday, his father quipping to the doctors, “Hospital food is fit for a king - Here King, here King...”

Funeral arrangements for Jack Hardin are tentatively set for Thursday and Friday at his church, Ceredo First Congregational Church.

[jag]

Ralph MacDonald, session musician and songwriter who co-wrote hits including "Where Is the Love?" and "Just the Two of Us," died on Sunday of lung cancer in Stamford, Connecticut. He was 67.

Born in New York City to a musical father from Trinidad, MacDonald learned to play steelpan percussion at an early age and performed with Harry Belafonte's band for a decade before striking out on his own. MacDonald's distinctive Afro-Caribbean percussion flavored dozens of popular songs, including David Bowie's "Young Americans" and Jimmy Buffett's "Margaritaville." Over the years, MacDonald worked with a wide range of artists, from Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon and Aretha Franklin to Luther Vandross and Amy Winehouse.

MacDonald earned two Grammy Awards in 1978 as a producer and performer on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, for which he contributed the track "Calypso Breakdown." "My approach is to work with melody by simply enhancing it," MacDonald told The New York Times in 1977, when the newspaper called him "the ghost behind the million-selling albums."



Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/ ... z1hlVB69lY

[The Interpreter]

Lynn Samuels, of WABC and later, SiriusXm:

http://www.radiosurvivor.com/2011/12/27 ... nt-page-1/

[genlock]

WILLIAM “MICKEY” C. HALLERON, 64, of Culloden, husband of Michele, died Dec. 30 at CAMC Teays Valley. He was a retired radio station engineer and a U.S. Army veteran. Funeral service 11 a.m. Tuesday at Allen Funeral Home, Hurricane, W.Va. Visitation from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday at the funeral home. www.allenfuneralhomewv.com.

[rfhertz]

WILLIAM “MICKEY” C. HALLERON, 64, of Culloden, husband of Michele, died Dec. 30 at CAMC Teays Valley. He was a retired radio station engineer and a U.S. Army veteran. Funeral service 11 a.m. Tuesday at Allen Funeral Home, Hurricane, W.Va. Visitation from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday at the funeral home. http://www.allenfuneralhomewv.com.

Mickey worked for Roscoe at WNST in the 80s. Nice guy, I am sorry to hear of his passing.