The Rest In Peace and Remembrance Thread

[David Paleg]

'Poltergeist' actress Zelda Rubinstein dies at 76
Wed Jan 27, 8:46 pm ET

LOS ANGELES (AP) – Zelda Rubinstein, the 4-foot-3-inch character actor best known as Tangina, the psychic who tries to calm a family inhabiting a haunted house in the 1982 horror film "Poltergeist," has died. She was 76.

Her agent, Eric Stevens, tells the Los Angeles Times that Rubinstein died Wednesday at a Los Angeles hospital. Stevens says she recently suffered a heart attack.

Rubinstein made her film debut in the 1981 comedy "Under the Rainbow" and went on to roles in "Sixteen Candles," "Southland Tales" and the TV show "Picket Fences." She returned for both "Poltergeist" sequels.

The Pittsburgh native also appeared as the mother figure in a high-profile mid-1980s AIDS public awareness campaign and was an outspoken activist for the rights of little people.

[unchoopfan]

Former pro wrestling star Jack Brisco dead at 68
WWE Hall Of Famer, former NWA World Heavyweight champion, NCAA champion

From the Tampa Tribune: An Oklahoma native, Brisco was NWA World Heavyweight Champion from 1973 to 1975. "He won the state wrestling title three times at 191 pounds. He then went to Oklahoma State University, where he won the national title once in his weight class. He turned professional in 1965 to help support his young family ... Brisco wrestled in Oklahoma, Missouri, Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana, earning $25 to $50 a night on the mat. In three years, he built a following. By 1968, he had moved to Florida, where he joined National Wrestling Alliance's Florida Championship Wrestling. He fought many matches at the Fort Homer Hesterly Armory in Tampa when the sport's famed announcer and broadcaster, Gordon Solie, was at the helm.

He became Florida Heavyweight Champion in 1969, Southern Heavyweight Champion in 1970 and was World Heavyweight Champion from 1973-75.
He wrestled throughout the United States, in Tokyo and Australia, creating a rivalry with Dory Funk Jr. Although he was 6-foot-1 and weighed about 215 pounds, he wasn't considered large in the wrestling circuit, Jerry Brisco said. He had athleticism and amateur wrestling experience. He combined those abilities with professional moves he learned and pioneered a style, (brother) Jerry Brisco said. His match-defining moves included the figure-four leg lock and the suplex.

Later, Jack and Jerry Brisco formed a tag team duo in 1976. They were the Brisco Brothers, and they won the Florida tag team title, the Southern Heavyweight tag team title and, finally, the world tag team title in 1983, defeating Ricky Steamboat and Jay Youngblood in Greenville, S.C."

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Tom Brookshier, ex-CBS analyst and Philadelphia Eagles star, dies at 78
CBS NFL analyst for two decades; All-Pro defensive back for Philadelphia Eagles

From Associated Press: A member of the Philadelphia Eagles' 1960 championship team, Brookshire had 20 interceptions in seven seasons with the team, earning All-Pro honors in 1959 and 1960 ... "remained a revered figure in Philadelphia many years after he retired but became well known to football fans nationwide, calling games on CBS. From 1974 through 1980, he teamed with Pat Summerall as CBS's No. 1 team, announcing three Super Bowls before Brookshier was replaced by ex-Raiders coach John Madden in 1981."

[unchoopfan]

Film producer David Brown dies at 93
Film credits include "Jaws," "The Sting," "Driving Miss Daisy"; partner of legendary producer Richard Zanuck

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Veteran U.S. film producer David Brown, a four-time Oscar nominee whose credits include "Jaws" and "Driving Miss Daisy," died at his home in Manhattan on Monday after a long illness, the Hearst Corporation said. He was 93. The former journalist has also been credited with helping bring Elvis Presley to the big screen for the first time in "Love Me Tender" and with helping launch the career of Oscar-winning director Steven Spielberg.

After being hired in 1951 to head the story department at 20th Century Fox, Brown rose through the company before forming his own production company with Richard Zanuck in 1972.

One of the first movies the partnership produced was the 1973 hit "The Sting," starring Robert Redford and Paul Newman.

-----------------------------------

Andy Griffith Show producer Aaron Ruben dies at 95

From Entertainment Weekly: Aaron Ruben — a writer, producer, and director who worked on shows like Andy Griffith Show and Sanford and Son — died Jan. 30 in Beverly Hills, Calif., from complications of pneumonia. The creator and producer of Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., was 95.

Ruben, who first entered the industry as a writer for radio comedies, also co-wrote the 1969 film The Comic. He also used his power in Hollywood for good — the advocate for troubled children was awarded with the Writers Guild’s Valentine Davies award in 2003 for his volunteer work.

[genlock]

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id ... _article=1

[David Paleg]

The Knack lead singer Doug Fieger dies
Feb 14, 7:21 PM (ET)

WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. (AP) - Doug Fieger, leader of the power pop band The Knack who sang on the 1979 hit "My Sharona," died Sunday. He was 57.

Fieger, a Detroit-area native, died at his home in Woodland Hills near Los Angeles after battling cancer, according to The Knack's manager, Jake Hooker.

Fieger formed The Knack in Los Angeles 1978, and the group quickly became a staple of Sunset Strip rock clubs. A year later he co-wrote and sang lead vocals on "My Sharona."

Fieger said the song, with its pounding drums and exuberant vocals, was inspired by a girlfriend of four years.

"I had never met a girl like her - ever," he told The Associated Press in a 1994 interview. "She induced madness. She was a very powerful presence. She had an insouciance that wouldn't quit. She was very self-assured. ... She also had an overpowering scent, and it drove me crazy."

"My Sharona," an unapologetically anthemic rock song, emerged during disco's heyday and held the No. 1 spot on the Billboard pop chart for six weeks, becoming an FM radio standard.

It became a pop culture phenomenon, parodied by Weird Al Yankovic and others and sampled by rap group Run DMC.

In 1994, "My Sharona" re-entered the Billboard chart when it was released as a single from the soundtrack of the Ben Stiller film "Reality Bites."

"My Sharona" gained attention again in 2005 when it was reported that George W. Bush had the song on the presidential iPod.

Their songs, about young love and teenage lust, included the hits "Good Girls Don't,""She's So Selfish" and "Frustrated."

The Knack continued to release albums and tour through the mid-2000s but they never replicated the success they enjoyed with their first two albums, "Get the Knack" and "... But the Little Girls Understand."

Fieger battled cancer for six years. In 2006 he underwent surgery to remove two tumors from his brain.

He is survived by a sister, Beth Falkenstein, and a brother, attorney Geoffrey Fieger of Southfield, Mich., who is best known for representing assisted suicide advocate Jack Kevorkian.

A Los Angeles memorial service for friends and family is being planned.

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

Dick Francis, thriller writer and ex-jockey, dies
By SYLVIA HUI, Associated Press Writer
Sun Feb 14, 2:30 pm ET

LONDON – Dick Francis, the best-selling British thriller writer and former champion jockey, died on Sunday in his home in the Cayman Islands. He was 89.

A successful steeplechase jockey, Francis turned to writing after he retired from racing in 1957. He penned 42 novels, many of which featured racing as a theme. His books were translated into more than 20 languages, and in 2000 Queen Elizabeth II — whose mother was among his many readers — honored Francis by making him a Commander of the British Empire.

His son Felix said he and his brother, Merrick, were "devastated" by their father's death, but "rejoice in having been the sons of such an extraordinary man."

"We share in the joy that he brought to so many over such a long life," Felix said in a statement. Francis' spokeswoman Ruth Cairns said the writer had died from natural causes, but did not elaborate.

During his writing career, Francis won three Edgar Allen Poe awards given by The Mystery Writers of America for his novels "Forfeit" (1968), "Whip Hand" (1979) and "Come to Grief" (1995).

He also was awarded a Cartier Diamond Dagger from the Crime Writers' Association for his outstanding contribution to the genre. The association made him a Grand Master in 1996 for a lifetime's achievement.

Aside from novels, Francis also authored a volume of short stories, as well as a biography of British jockey Lester Piggot.

In recent years Francis wrote novels jointly with son Felix, including "Silks" (2008) and "Even Money" (2009). A new novel by the two, "Crossfire," will be published later this year.

"It is an honor for me to be able to continue his remarkable legacy through the new novels," Felix said in his statement.

Richard Francis was born Oct. 31, 1920, as the younger son of a horse breeder in Tenby, South Wales. During World War II he joined the Royal Air Force in 1940 and was stationed in the Egyptian desert before being commissioned as a bomber pilot in 1943, flying Spitfires, Wellingtons and Lancasters.

A few years later he returned to his father's stables and became a steeplechase trainer's assistant. Later, as a professional jockey, he won 345 of the more than 2,300 races he rode in between 1948 and 1957, taking the title of Champion Jockey for the 1953-54 season.

His most famous moment in racing came just a few months before he retired, when, riding for Queen Elizabeth, his horse collapsed inexplicably within sight of certain victory in the 1956 Grand National.

Despite his many successes, he had expressed regret at never winning the prestigious Grand National.

"The first one I rode in I was second, and the last one I rode in I won everywhere except the last 25 yards. I would love the opportunity of having another go, but it's a young man's job," he said once during an interview with the British Broadcasting Corp.

Francis' first book, published in 1957, was his autobiography, titled "The Sport of Queens." His first novel, "Dead Cert," came out in 1962 and was followed by a new title every year since.

He also worked for years as a racing correspondent for Britain's Sunday Express, and retired in the British Caribbean territory of the Cayman Islands.

Francis is survived by his two sons as well as five grandchildren and one great-grandson, Cairns said. A small funeral will be held at Francis' home on Grand Cayman, followed by a memorial service in London, she said, but could not say when they would be held.

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Stuntman and actor Bobby Hoy dies at 82
Sat Feb 13, 7:02 pm ET

LOS ANGELES (AP) – Bobby Hoy, a stuntman and actor known for his way with horses in Westerns like "Bonanza" and "The High Chaparral," has died. He was 82.

His wife, Kiva, tells the Los Angeles Times that Hoy died Monday of cancer at Northridge Hospital Medical Center.

From 1949 to 2005, Hoy acted and performed stunts in more than 150 productions, including the films "Spartacus," "Operation Petticoat" and "The Defiant Ones."

Hoy co-founded the Stuntmen's Assn. of Motion Pictures, which helped professionalize stunts, according to its Web site.

Besides Kiva, his wife of 22 years, Hoy is survived by a son, Christopher.

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Lucille Clifton, award-winning poet, dies at 73
Sun Feb 14, 2:40 am ET

BALTIMORE (AP) – Lucille Clifton, a National Book Award-winning poet and Pulitzer finalist, has died. She was 73.

Clifton's sister, Elaine Philip of Buffalo, N.Y., said the former poet laureate of Maryland passed away Saturday morning at Johns Hopkins University Hospital in Baltimore.

Philip said the cause of death was unclear but Clifton was hospitalized for an infection last week at a hospital in Columbia, Md., before being transferred to Baltimore.

The native of Depew, N.Y., won the National Book Award in 2000 for "Blessing the Boats: New and Selected Poems 1988-2000." She was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1988.

Survivors include three daughters, a son and three grandchildren.

[jag]

Sir John Dankworth, a mainstay of the British jazz scene for over 60 years, has died.

Saxophonist Sir John, 82, served as musical director to the likes of Nat King Cole and Ella Fitzgerald.

Sir John, known as Johnny, died in a London hospital on Saturday. He had been ill for several months.

His wife, the singer Dame Cleo Laine, announced his death at a concert at their Buckinghamshire theatre, where she was performing with their children.

The concert on Saturday was celebrating 40 years of the theatre, which the couple founded in the grounds of their home in Wavendon.

Dame Cleo broke the news to the artists before the concert began but did not tell the 400-strong audience until the finale.

The theatre's chief executive said the family had shown "incredible" bravery.

"I think the audience had a great sense of shock," said Monica Ferguson. "There were a lot of gasps and people I spoke to afterwards were visibly shaken and moved by it."

The concert featured performances from Dame Cleo and the couple's jazz musician children Alec and Jacqui.

Celebrities such as Paul O'Grady, Prunella Scales, Maureen Lipman, Timothy West and Victoria Wood also performed.

'International figure'

Sir John died at the King Edward VII Hospital in central London.

In a statement, his agent said: "The all-star concert, featuring numerous British stars of stage, screen and recordings, became a tribute to John."

He was hailed by Jazzwise magazine as "one of the totemic figures of British jazz" and the UK's "first major jazz musician".

His agent Jim Murtha, speaking from New York, told the BBC it was "a sad day".

Mr Murtha added: "For British jazz and jazz around the world, I believe John has become such an international figure, particularly since he became Sir John Dankworth a few years ago."

On his Twitter page, jazz singer Jamie Cullum hailed Sir John as a "genius".

He wrote: "Sir John Dankworth, a great man and one of our finest musicians and composers, has died. Rest in peace sir."


HAVE YOUR SAY John Dankworth was, and always will be a legend. There will never be another like him.
David, Bristol
Send us your comments Sir John and Dame Cleo met in 1950 while he was auditioning for singers with his band, the Dankworth Seven.

In 1993 Sir John formed the Dankworth Generation Band, with his son Alec.

After winning a place at the Royal Academy of Music aged 17, and following a short spell in the Army, the young Sir John was voted British Musician of the Year in 1949.

The same year he attended the Paris Jazz Festival, where he played with the legendary Charlie Parker.

In the 1960s, Sir John scored such films as Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, The Servant and Modesty Blaise and wrote the theme tunes for The Avengers and Tomorrow's World.

Sir John and Dame Cleo founded their charity, the Wavendon Allmusic Plan, in 1969, which led to the establishment of the Stables.

He was appointed CBE in 1974 and founded the London Symphony Orchestra Summer Pops in 1985.

Sir John was a fellow of the Royal Academy of Music and received the Freedom of the City of London in 1994.

He was knighted in 2006 for services to music.

In October last year he fell ill at the end of a US tour with his wife.

The couple cancelled a number of UK concert dates for the following month, although Sir John did return to the concert stage at the London Jazz Festival, playing his saxophone from his wheelchair at the Royal Festival Hall.

[Scott Reppert]

Former World Champion Pittsburgh Pirates' Pitcher Jim Bibby Dies At 65



LYNCHBURG, Va. (AP)—Former major league pitcher Jim Bibby has died. He was 65.

Community Funeral Home in Lynchburg said Wednesday that Bibby died Tuesday night at Lynchburg General Hospital. The cause was not disclosed. The family asked for privacy but said a statement would be released later.

Bibby played 12 years in the majors and pitched the first no-hitter in Texas Rangers history, beating Oakland 6-0 in 1973. He was a member of the Pittsburgh team that won the 1979 World Series, starting two games against Baltimore— including the deciding seventh game.

He also played for St. Louis and Cleveland during his major league years from 1972 to 1984.

[David Paleg]

Alexander Haig, former secretary of state, dies
Feb 20, 11:32 AM (ET)
By ANNE GEARAN

WASHINGTON (AP) - Former Secretary of State Alexander Haig, a four-star general who served as a top adviser to three presidents and had presidential ambitions of his own, died Saturday of complications from an infection, his family said. He was 85.

Full story at http://apnews1.iwon.com//article/201...D9E00SV80.html

[David Paleg]

Benson Actress Caroline McWilliams Dead at 64
Feb 22, 2010 07:12 PM ET
by Natalie Abrams, TV Guide online

Actress Caroline McWilliams died last week. She was 64 years old.

McWilliams, whose film and TV career spanned decades, died from complications of multiple myeloma, her family told the Los Angeles Times.

The actress is perhaps best known for playing Marcy opposite Robert Guillaume on the long-running sitcom Benson. She also appeared in recurring roles on Soap, Judging Amy and Beverly Hills, 90210. She began her career on Guiding Light.

McWilliams is survived by her son, Sean Douglas, from her marriage to actor Michael Keaton. The couple divorced in 1990.


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Ronald Howes, inventor of Easy-Bake Oven, dies at 83
Cincinnati.Com
Last Updated: 9:01 am | Friday, February 19, 2010

Millions of young girls – and at least some boys – baked their first
cookies, cupcakes and brownies because of Ronald Howes Sr.

A lifelong inventor whose creations ranged from high-tech defense weaponry
devices to electrostatic printers, Mr. Howes built an impressive resume
that will always be best known for the enormously popular toy that he
fathered nearly a half century ago: the Easy-Bake Oven.

As director of research and new product development for Cincinnati-based
Kenner Products in the early 1960s, Mr. Howes created what would become a
household name and one of America’s most iconic toys by drawing
inspiration from a Kenner salesman who had just made a trip to New York
City.

Upon returning, the salesman wondered aloud whether Kenner could develop a
toy version of the chestnut roasters seen on many New York City street
corners.

With that remark, the proverbial light bulb clicked on over Mr. Howes’ head.

“He started thinking about that and wondering how to create a safe version
of that for kids,” recalled Nancy Howes, his wife of 47 years, who met her
future husband at Kenner.

Some of his experimentation was conducted in the Howes’ own kitchen before
he and other Kenner engineers finally settled on the concept that made the
idea both safe and practical by deciding to use a light bulb to heat the
oven.

And the rest is toy industry history.

“Whenever someone brings up the subject, a woman always chimes in and
says, ‘Oh, I had one of those,’/” his wife said. “Everybody’s heard of the
Easy-Bake Oven.”

Mr. Howes, who lived in Anderson Township, died Tuesday. He was 83.

[Bob Campbell]

I'll never eat a light bulb baked cupcake again.

[jag]

Dale Hawkins Singer and record producer whose hit Susie Q embodied the rockabilly spirit

'Never had a white person sounded so crazed on a record,' said one music historian of Hawkins's Susie Q.

With its infectious, repetitive guitar figure, Susie Q, like Carl Perkins's Blue Suede Shoes, was the epitome of rockabilly, the 1950s music of white teenagers in the Southern states of America. Susie Q was sung and part-written by Dale Hawkins, who has died aged 73 of cancer.

Hawkins was born on his grandfather's cotton farm in Goldmine, Louisiana, and brought up there by his grandparents after his parents separated. It was a musical family. His father performed with bands in the 1930s and 40s and Dale's brother, Jerry, and cousin Ronnie Hawkins were both rockabilly singers in the 50s. Ronnie went on to work with future members of the Band – the group that provided backing for Bob Dylan, among others. After a spell in the US Navy, where he served in the Korean war, Dale was demobbed in 1956, returning home to join a band in the oil city of Shreveport, where his mother lived. His colleagues included James Burton, who would later perform with distinction on recordings by Ricky Nelson and Elvis Presley, and bass player Joe Osborn, later to move to Los Angeles and play on numerous hit records.

Shreveport had a vibrant musical scene involving white and black performers. It was centred on the radio station KWKH, which broadcast R&B and country music, and its flagship show the Louisiana Hayride, on which Presley had made his first broadcasts in 1954.

Hawkins impressed a local music impresario, Stan Lewis, who recommended him to the Chicago record label Chess. Although it mainly catered to black audiences, Chess had recently promoted another white teenager from Louisiana, Bobby Charles. It signed Hawkins, whose first record, produced by Lewis at KWKH, was See You Soon Baboon, an "answer" record to Charles's composition See You Later Alligator, which had become a million-seller for Bill Haley and his Comets.

This was only a minor hit, but it was soon followed by Susie Q, in which Hawkins's impassioned singing combined perfectly with Burton's atmospheric guitar riff and a persistent cowbell percussion sound. One music historian has written of Hawkins's performance that "never had a white person sounded so crazed on a record before".

The record was only a modest Top 30 hit in 1956, but it became a favourite of later generations of musicians. In the 1960s, Susie Q (sometimes with a variant spelling such as Suzy-Q, Suzie Q or Susie-Q) was recorded by, among others, José Feliciano, the Rolling Stones and Creedence Clearwater Revival, whose version was the most faithful to the original and was a top 20 US hit in 1968.

Hawkins's later records for Chess were unsuccessful, although My Babe (1957), with Roy Buchanan on guitar, is regarded as a rockabilly classic, and he recorded for several other small companies before turning to record production. He also made his own critically acclaimed album, LA, Memphis & Tyler, Texas, in 1969.

In the 1970s, Hawkins worked for RCA Records in Los Angeles, but a benzedrine addiction caused him to leave the industry and move to Little Rock, Arkansas, for rehabilitation. There he opened a crisis centre for young people and built his own recording studio, after receiving a large amount in unpaid royalties when Chess was sold to the MCA corporation.

His later albums included Wildcat Trainer (1999) and Back Down To Louisiana (2007).

A revival of interest in rockabilly in Britain and Europe had led to appearances by Hawkins at festivals in recent years. He also appeared at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage festival and was made a member of the Rockabilly and Louisiana Music Halls of Fame.

Hawkins was married and divorced three times. He is survived by his companion, Flo Murdock, sons Jeffrey and Jay Paul, three grandchildren and his sister Linda and brother.

[David Paleg]

Marie Osmond's teenage son commits suicide

Marie Osmond’s teenage son, Michael Blosil, 18, committed suicide Friday night by jumping from his downtown L.A. apartment at approximately 9 p.m., according to People (via Entertainment Tonight). Blosil, one of eight children Osmond raised with ex-husband Brian Blosil, had long struggled with depression — he entered a rehab facility for unspecified treatment in 2007 — and, according to People/ET, left a note saying he had no friends and could never fit in.

Donny Osmond contacted ET this morning to say, “Please pray for my sister and her family.” Marie Osmond has since released the following statement: “My family and I are devastated and in deep shock by the tragic loss of our dear Michael and ask that everyone respect our privacy during this difficult time.”

The Osmonds’ show at the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas has been canceled tonight.

Blosil is the second child of Hollywood to take his own life this month: The body of Growing Pains star Andrew Koenig — son of Star Trek’s Walter Koenig — was found Thursday in Vancouver. Koenig had also struggled with depression, and his father confirmed to police that his death was in fact a suicide.

Source: Entertainment Weekly (confirmed by Entertainment Tonight)

[Bob Campbell]

Pavel Chekov's son commits suicide.

The body of actor Andrew Koenig, 41, was found in Stanley Park in Vancouver, B.C., on Thursday, his father, Walter Koenig, said.

Walter Koenig, best known for playing Pavel Chekov on the original "Star Trek" television series, said his son took his own life. Walter Koenig was with the group who discovered his son's body.

[Hoosier Daddy]

Pavel Chekov's son commits suicide.

The body of actor Andrew Koenig, 41, was found in Stanley Park in Vancouver, B.C., on Thursday, his father, Walter Koenig, said.

Walter Koenig, best known for playing Pavel Chekov on the original "Star Trek" television series, said his son took his own life. Walter Koenig was with the group who discovered his son's body.

'He's Dead, Jim.'



C'MON. YOU KNOW YOU WERE THINKING THE SAME THING.

[unchoopfan]

Hall & Oates bassist Tom "T-Bone" Wolk dies at 58



LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Tom "T-Bone" Wolk, who performed with scores of musicians but was best known as the longtime bass player for the band led by pop-rock stars Daryl Hall and John Oates, has died. He was 58.

Wolk died Sunday (Feb. 28) in New York, hours after completing a recording session with Hall, who was working on a solo album, the duo's manager, Jonathan Wolfson, said Monday. Wolfson said the cause of death was believed to be a heart attack.

Wolk had been scheduled to appear Monday night (Mar. 1) on "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon" with Hall and Oates.

A busy session musician, he appeared on literally scores of recordings with such varied artists as Bette Midler, Billy Joel and Avril Lavigne. He played bass on several of Elvis Costello's recordings, accordion on Robert Palmer's "Heavy Nova" and guitar on Carly Simon's "Coming Around Again."

He was also the bass player in NBC's "Saturday Night Live" house band from 1986 to 1992 when it was led by guitarist G.E. Smith.

On his Web site, Wolk described himself as "that guy with the hat" who people had seen performing with Hall & Oates since 1981. In later years he also became the band's music director.

"Daryl used to refer to him as the ampersand in Hall & Oates," said Wolfson, adding both members of the duo were crushed by the loss.

"It's not if I will go on, but how," Hall said in a statement. "T-Bone was one of the most sensitive and good human beings that I have ever known."

Oates called him "peerless."

"Any instrument that he touched resonated with a sensitivity and skill level that I have never experienced while playing with any other musician," Oates said. "He possessed an encyclopedic knowledge of styles and musical history which he referenced to support all the artists that he played with over the years.

"He became our band's musical director over time, leading by example and by the deference and respect that everyone who played alongside him so rightfully accorded him. He made everyone he played with better."

[unchoopfan]

Ron Banks, founding member of The Dramatics, dead at 58
"Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get," "In The Rain"

From Billboard.com - Ron Banks, singer and a founding member of veteran R&B group the Dramatics, died yesterday (March 4) at his Detroit home of a reported heart attack. He was 58.

Originally a vocal sextet known as the Dynamics in the early 60s, the group changed its name and became a quintet comprised of Banks, William Howard, Larry Demps, Willie Ford and Elbert Wilkins. The Dramatics scored its first R&B-charting single (No. 43) in 1967 on the Sport label with "All Because of You." But it wasn't until four years later that the Dramatics broke into national consciousness with the 1971 Stax/Volt hit "Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get," which peaked at No. 3 R&B and No. 9 pop. The Dramatics claimed an R&B No. 1 the following year with "In the Rain."

Between 1972 and 1980, the Dramatics also recorded for ABC and MCA, notching seven more top 10 R&B singles. Those songs include a cover of "Me and Mrs. Jones," "You're Fooling You," "Be My Girl" and "Welcome Back Home." Over the ensuing years, the Dramatics underwent several personnel changes, the most notable occurring in 1973 when L.J. Reynolds and Lenny Mayes replaced Howard and Wilkins in 1973.

Banks, whose sweet falsetto helped give the Dramatics its signature sound, was a Detroit native who was born May 10, 1951. He is survived by his wife Sandy and six children. Banks is the fourth Dramatics member to pass away following the deaths of Wilkins (1992), Howard (2000) and James Mack Brown (2008).

[unchoopfan]

Redbone singer Lolly Vegas dies in Los Angeles
Sat Mar 6, 2010 7:55pm EST

(Reuters) - Lolly Vegas, a co-founder of Redbone who wrote the hit "Come and Get Your Love" for the 1970s band, has died in Los Angeles, a spokesman said on Saturday.

Vegas, 70, who had been battling cancer for several years, died at home Thursday, band spokesman Joe Ortiz said.

Singer/guitarist Vegas, whose real name was Lolly Vasquez, formed Redbone with his brother Patrick in 1969. The band, with members of Latino and native American origin, released its self-titled debut album the following year.

Their first commercial success came with the single "Maggie" from their second album, Potlatch, in 1970, and two other hit singles followed - "The Witch Queen of New Orleans" (1971, peaking at No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100) and "Come and Get Your Love" (1974, peaking at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 during a 24-week chart run).

Vegas is survived by his brother.

[David Paleg]

LAPD: 80s Teen Idol Corey Haim Dead at 38
KTLA News
8:34 AM EST, March 10, 2010


LOS ANGELES -- Actor Corey Haim has died at the age of 38, the Los Angeles Police Department has confirmed to KTLA.

It's believed Haim died at 3:30 a.m. Wednesday of an accidental overdose, police said. He was found unresponsive at an Oakwood apartment, near Burbank, police said. His mother was at the home at the time.

The actor, who has struggled with drug addiction, was pronounced dead Providence St. Joseph's Medical Center in Burbank.

Haim was a teen heartthrob in the 80s and appeared in several movies, including "The Lost Boys" along with fellow teen idol Corey Feldman.

[Bob Campbell]

Father Murphy Passes.

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - Utah State University football legend Merlin Olsen died from cancer Wednesday night from cancer. He was 69 years old.

Olsen was an All-American who played for the USU Aggie football team in the early 1960s. He was NFL Hall of Fame inductee after playing for the Los Angeles Rams as one of the "Fearsome Foursome." Olsen also starred on TV's Little House on the Prairie and Father Murphy.

Olsen was a Cache Valley native involved in several charitable projects. USU renamed the football field after him in a ceremony at a basketball game earlier this season.

A Logan City park is also named after Olsen.

Stay tuned to ABC4 News and ABC4.com for more on this story.

[David Paleg]

Actor Peter Graves Dies at 83
Graves found dead in his Pacific Palisades home.

Updated: Sunday, 14 Mar 2010, 6:10 PM PDT
Published : Sunday, 14 Mar 2010, 6:07 PM PDT
Posted by: Scott Coppersmith / myFOXla.com

Pacific Palisades - Peter Graves, a film and TV actor who starred in the original "Mission: Impossible" series, was found dead today at his home in Pacific Palisades, a police officer said. Graves was 83.

He died of "apparent natural causes," said Officer Karen Rayner of the Los Angeles Police Department.

She said the coroner was not investigating the death, and that there was no indication of foul play.

A journeyman actor with more than 130 film and TV credits listed on the Internet Movie Database Web site, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame last Oct. 30.

The younger brother of Jim Arness of "Gunsmoke" fame, Graves made his film debut in the 1951 crime drama "Rogue River." Two years later, he portrayed a German spy placed among allied prisoners of war in "Stalag 17."

One of his early TV credits was as Jim Newton on the Saturday morning children's series "Fury," about a horse and the boy who loved him, which ran from 1955-60.

In 1967, Graves was cast to replace Steven Hill as the leader of the Impossible Missions Force following the first season of the CBS spy drama "Mission: Impossible."

Graves played Jim Phelps, who would receive instructions for his team's next mission via a tape that would memorably self-destruct in five seconds, until the series' cancellation in 1973. Graves reprised the role on a 1988-90 revival on ABC.

In a departure from most of his dramatic roles, Graves starred as Capt. Clarence Oveur in the classic 1980 spoof of disaster movies "Airplane!"

Graves parlayed his portrayal of authority figures on "Mission: Impossible" and "Airplane!" into the hosting role on A&E's "Biography" from 1994-2006.

Born Peter Aurness on March 18, 1926 in Minneapolis, Graves joined the announcing staff of the Minneapolis radio station WMIN when he was 16 years old. He later attended the University of Minnesota, majoring in drama.

Graves' other movie credits included "The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell"; "A Rage to Live"; "The Raid"; "The Ballad of Josie"; "The Long Grey Line"; "Texas Across the River"; "Five Man Army"; "Spree"; "Number One with a Gun"; "Savannah Smiles"; "Survival Run" "Cruise Missile"; "Black Tuesday" and "Fort Defiance."

Graves also appeared in the ABC miniseries "The Winds of War" and its sequel, "War and Remembrance."

His last performance was as the narrator in 2010's "Darkstar."