Catch-up - Part 1: Three Months of Celebrity Death Watch
Um, I fell behind on this.
Celebrity Death Watch - April/May 2024: Duane Eddy was a rockabilly guitarist. Richard Tandy played keyboards for Electric Light Orchestra. Susan Buckner was an actress, best known for playing Patty in the movie version of Grease. Frank Shrontz was the CEO of Boeing from 1986-1996. Frank Stella was a painter, sculptor, and printmaker. Wayland Holyfield was a country music songwriter. John Barbata was a drummer for Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, The Turtles, Jefferson Airplane, and several other bands. Dame Shirley Conrad was designer along with her husband, Terry, and became a journalist and novelist later on. Bette Nash worked as a flight attendant for over 65 years, primarily on the east coast shuttle flights run by Eastern Airlines, US Air, and American. Ivan Bosky was an insider trader. Caleb Carr was a novelist and military historian, best known for The Alienist. Morgan Spurlock was a film director, best known for Super Size Me. Doug Ingle founded the band Iron Butterfly and wrote their hit song In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida. Bill Walton was a basketball player, whose career included stints with the Portland Trailblazers and the Boston Celtics. Jack Clemons led the development of the Apollo space program and the space shuttle.
William Calley was an Army Lieutenant who was blamed for the My Lai massacre. His original sentence was life imprisonment with hard labor, which was first commuted to 20 years imparisonment, then 10 years, and eventually by President Nixon to 3 years of house imprisonment. A lot of the controversy had to do with his being given complete blame for the massacre, while 25 other officers and soldiers involved were acquitted. I have particularly strong memories of the spoken word song “Battle Hymn of Lt Calley” by C Company featuring Terry Nelson. I also probably still have an editorial cartoon showing blood dripping off his hands. By the way, he died in late April, but his death was not announced until July 20th.
Dick Rutan co-piloted the Voyager aircraft on the first non-stop non-refueled around-the world flight, along with Jeana Yeager.
Pete McCloskey was served as a member of Congress from California from 1967-1983. He co-authored the Endangered Species Act in 1973 and was the first member of Congress to call for Richard Nixon’s resignation. The most interesting part of that is that he was a Republican at the time. (He later changed to the Democratic Party in 2007.)
Roger Corman directed a lot of pop culture films, notably Little Shop of Horrors (the 1960 non-musical version.
Alice Munro was a Canadian short story writer, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013. She also won the Man Booker prize in 2009. There was a major scandal over her having returned to her second husband, who had molested her youngest daughter.
Dabney Coleman was an actor, who was mostly known for playing acerbic characters. He appeared in such movies as 9 to 5,Tootsie,and You’ve Got Mail as well as television shows including Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman and Buffalo Bill.
Gordon Bell designed several computers for DEC, including several of the PDP machines, as well as overseeing development of the VAX computer systems.
Richard M. Sherman wrote a lot of the scores for Disney movie musicals, along with his brother, Robert. Their movies included Mary Poppins, Chitty Chity Bang Bang, and Bedknobs and Broomsticks. They also wrote the most annoying earworm of all time, “It’s a Small World.”
Celebrity Death Watch - June 2024: Uzi Gelled was an Israeli chess champion. Michael J. Karels designed BSD/OS, an early UNX version for he Intel platform. Parnelli Jones was a race car driver, who won the 1963 Indianapolis 500. Mark James was a songwriter whose hits for such artists as Anne Murray, Elvis Presley, and B.J. Thomas included “Hooked on a Feeling,” “Where Do We Go From Here,” and “Always on My Mind.” Edward C. Stone directed JPL from 1991 through 2001. Tony Mordent was an actor and choreographer who appeared in West Side Story on Broadway and was married to Chita Rivera from 1957 to 1966. Mike Downy was a long time columnist for The Chicago Tribune. Jerry West played basketball for the LA Lakers. Bruce Bastian cofounded WordPerfect. Buzz Carson wrote the song “Everlasting Love.” Peter Theisinger directed the Engineering and Science Directorate at JPL and was the project manager for the NASA Mars Exploration Rover mission. Martin Mull was an actor, best known for Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, as well as satirical songs. Orlando Cepeda played first base, primarily for the San Francisco Giants.
Janice Paige was an actress, who played Babe in The Pajama Game on Broadway and was the first replacement for Angela Lansbury in Mame. She also appeared in the film version of Please Don’t Eat the Daisies. She earned me 10 ghoul pool points.
William Anders was the Apollo 8 astronaut who took the famous photograph, Earthrise. He later held a held major positions with the Atomic Energy Commission and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, before becoming the U.S. Ambassador to Norway from 1976 to 1977. He followed that with a career in industry, eventually retiring as the CEO of General Dynamics.
Willie Mays was a true giant of the baseball world. In fact, he played for the Giants, both in New York and San Francisco, though he did finish off his career with a year (1972-1973)playing for the Mets and continued on their staff until 1979. I don’t have the room here to list all of his accomplishments. But do look up his biography, which is truly impressive. Say hey!
Narsai David was a food writer and restaurateur in the Bay Area. I have vague memories of his namesake restaurant in Kensington (part of Berkeley) but I doubt that I ever actually ate there. Maybe there was a shop selling some of his products in I. Magnin in San Francisco?
Donald Sutherland was a Canadian actor who appeared in numerous movies. He was particularly memorable for playing Hawkeye Pierce in the movie version of M*A*S*H. He had a lengthy career, with a wide range of roles, which is about as much as an actor can hope for.
Kinky Friedman was a musician and writer and politician. I was privileged to see him perform at the Washington Jewish Music Festival a few years ago. You have to be able to handle deliberately offensive lyrics, but he was genuinely funny. That was also reflected in his books (which include a series of mysteries) and in his run for governor of Texas. A unique character, who will be sorely missed.
Celebrity Death Watch - July 2024: Joe Egan was one of the two main members of Steelers Wheel and co-wrote their song “Stuck in the Middle With You.” Marina Kondratyeva was a ballerina with the Bolshoi. Joe Bonsail sang with The Oak Ridge Boys. Dave Loggins was a singer and songwriter, best known for the song “Please Come to Boston.” Joe Engel was a shuttle astronaut. Thomas Neff was a physicist who was involved with the dismantlement of thousands of nuclear warheads. Shelly Duvall was an actress who worked a lot with Robert Altman. Bill Viola was a video artist. Bob Booker produced the comedy record The First Family which stared Vaughn Meader and parodied the Kennedy family. James Sikking was an actor who its best known for having played Lt. Howard Hunter on Hill Street Blue. Benice Johnson Reagan was a founding member of The Freedom Singers and of Sweet Honey in the Rock. Jerry Fuller was a songwriter, whose work included a number of songs written for Ricky Nelson, including “Travelin’ Man.” He also wrote and produced songs for Gary Puckett and the Union Gap, including “Young Girl” and “Lady Willpower.” Lou Dobbs was a right wing political commentator, who promoted birtherism, as well as opposing left-wing positions on environmentalism, and immigration, and promoting assorted conspiracy theories. I know very little about anthropologist James C. Scott, but the titles of some of his books sound interesting, e.g. The Art of Not Being Governed. Sheila Jackson Lee was a long-standing member of Congress from Houston. Jerry Miller was a guitarist and a founding member of Moby Grape. John Mayall was an English blues and rock musician. Duke Fakir sang with The Four Tops. Lewis Lapham was a writer and long-time editor of Harpers Magazine. George B. Crist was a Marine general and commanded U.S. Central Command. Francine Pascal wrote the Sweet Valley High book series. Robert Banas was an actor and dancer and the first husband of Chita Rivera.
Jim Inhofe was the longest serving U.S. Senator from Oklahoma. He had previously served as mayor of Tulsa and as a U.S. representative. In general, his political positions were extremely conservative and he was particularly hostile to the EPA and to the Kyoto Protocol. He was also opposed to gun regulation, LGBT rights, and federal disaster relief.
Dr. Ruth Westheimer was a sex therapist and well known for her radio show. I really enjoyed the one-woman biographical play Becoming Dr. Ruth and recommend seeing it if you ever get the opportunity. It includes her experience with the Kindertransport and as a sniper for the Haganah, as well as her famous radio and television career.
Richard Simmons was an exercise instructor. I have to admit to owning a few of his Sweating to the Oldies videotapes, which did provide a decent dance workout, if you could get past his sheer weirdness and focus on weight loss vs. fitness for its own sake.
Shannen Doherty was an actress whose career include Beverly Hills 90210 and the movie Heathers. Her struggle with breast cancer was well publicized. She earned me 11 ghoul pool points.
Bob Newhart was a comedian and actor. His deadpan style was spot on and I remember both his television shows and his comedy recordings. His driving instructor routine was particularly funny.
Celebrity Death Watch - April/May 2024: Duane Eddy was a rockabilly guitarist. Richard Tandy played keyboards for Electric Light Orchestra. Susan Buckner was an actress, best known for playing Patty in the movie version of Grease. Frank Shrontz was the CEO of Boeing from 1986-1996. Frank Stella was a painter, sculptor, and printmaker. Wayland Holyfield was a country music songwriter. John Barbata was a drummer for Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, The Turtles, Jefferson Airplane, and several other bands. Dame Shirley Conrad was designer along with her husband, Terry, and became a journalist and novelist later on. Bette Nash worked as a flight attendant for over 65 years, primarily on the east coast shuttle flights run by Eastern Airlines, US Air, and American. Ivan Bosky was an insider trader. Caleb Carr was a novelist and military historian, best known for The Alienist. Morgan Spurlock was a film director, best known for Super Size Me. Doug Ingle founded the band Iron Butterfly and wrote their hit song In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida. Bill Walton was a basketball player, whose career included stints with the Portland Trailblazers and the Boston Celtics. Jack Clemons led the development of the Apollo space program and the space shuttle.
William Calley was an Army Lieutenant who was blamed for the My Lai massacre. His original sentence was life imprisonment with hard labor, which was first commuted to 20 years imparisonment, then 10 years, and eventually by President Nixon to 3 years of house imprisonment. A lot of the controversy had to do with his being given complete blame for the massacre, while 25 other officers and soldiers involved were acquitted. I have particularly strong memories of the spoken word song “Battle Hymn of Lt Calley” by C Company featuring Terry Nelson. I also probably still have an editorial cartoon showing blood dripping off his hands. By the way, he died in late April, but his death was not announced until July 20th.
Dick Rutan co-piloted the Voyager aircraft on the first non-stop non-refueled around-the world flight, along with Jeana Yeager.
Pete McCloskey was served as a member of Congress from California from 1967-1983. He co-authored the Endangered Species Act in 1973 and was the first member of Congress to call for Richard Nixon’s resignation. The most interesting part of that is that he was a Republican at the time. (He later changed to the Democratic Party in 2007.)
Roger Corman directed a lot of pop culture films, notably Little Shop of Horrors (the 1960 non-musical version.
Alice Munro was a Canadian short story writer, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013. She also won the Man Booker prize in 2009. There was a major scandal over her having returned to her second husband, who had molested her youngest daughter.
Dabney Coleman was an actor, who was mostly known for playing acerbic characters. He appeared in such movies as 9 to 5,Tootsie,and You’ve Got Mail as well as television shows including Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman and Buffalo Bill.
Gordon Bell designed several computers for DEC, including several of the PDP machines, as well as overseeing development of the VAX computer systems.
Richard M. Sherman wrote a lot of the scores for Disney movie musicals, along with his brother, Robert. Their movies included Mary Poppins, Chitty Chity Bang Bang, and Bedknobs and Broomsticks. They also wrote the most annoying earworm of all time, “It’s a Small World.”
Celebrity Death Watch - June 2024: Uzi Gelled was an Israeli chess champion. Michael J. Karels designed BSD/OS, an early UNX version for he Intel platform. Parnelli Jones was a race car driver, who won the 1963 Indianapolis 500. Mark James was a songwriter whose hits for such artists as Anne Murray, Elvis Presley, and B.J. Thomas included “Hooked on a Feeling,” “Where Do We Go From Here,” and “Always on My Mind.” Edward C. Stone directed JPL from 1991 through 2001. Tony Mordent was an actor and choreographer who appeared in West Side Story on Broadway and was married to Chita Rivera from 1957 to 1966. Mike Downy was a long time columnist for The Chicago Tribune. Jerry West played basketball for the LA Lakers. Bruce Bastian cofounded WordPerfect. Buzz Carson wrote the song “Everlasting Love.” Peter Theisinger directed the Engineering and Science Directorate at JPL and was the project manager for the NASA Mars Exploration Rover mission. Martin Mull was an actor, best known for Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, as well as satirical songs. Orlando Cepeda played first base, primarily for the San Francisco Giants.
Janice Paige was an actress, who played Babe in The Pajama Game on Broadway and was the first replacement for Angela Lansbury in Mame. She also appeared in the film version of Please Don’t Eat the Daisies. She earned me 10 ghoul pool points.
William Anders was the Apollo 8 astronaut who took the famous photograph, Earthrise. He later held a held major positions with the Atomic Energy Commission and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, before becoming the U.S. Ambassador to Norway from 1976 to 1977. He followed that with a career in industry, eventually retiring as the CEO of General Dynamics.
Willie Mays was a true giant of the baseball world. In fact, he played for the Giants, both in New York and San Francisco, though he did finish off his career with a year (1972-1973)playing for the Mets and continued on their staff until 1979. I don’t have the room here to list all of his accomplishments. But do look up his biography, which is truly impressive. Say hey!
Narsai David was a food writer and restaurateur in the Bay Area. I have vague memories of his namesake restaurant in Kensington (part of Berkeley) but I doubt that I ever actually ate there. Maybe there was a shop selling some of his products in I. Magnin in San Francisco?
Donald Sutherland was a Canadian actor who appeared in numerous movies. He was particularly memorable for playing Hawkeye Pierce in the movie version of M*A*S*H. He had a lengthy career, with a wide range of roles, which is about as much as an actor can hope for.
Kinky Friedman was a musician and writer and politician. I was privileged to see him perform at the Washington Jewish Music Festival a few years ago. You have to be able to handle deliberately offensive lyrics, but he was genuinely funny. That was also reflected in his books (which include a series of mysteries) and in his run for governor of Texas. A unique character, who will be sorely missed.
Celebrity Death Watch - July 2024: Joe Egan was one of the two main members of Steelers Wheel and co-wrote their song “Stuck in the Middle With You.” Marina Kondratyeva was a ballerina with the Bolshoi. Joe Bonsail sang with The Oak Ridge Boys. Dave Loggins was a singer and songwriter, best known for the song “Please Come to Boston.” Joe Engel was a shuttle astronaut. Thomas Neff was a physicist who was involved with the dismantlement of thousands of nuclear warheads. Shelly Duvall was an actress who worked a lot with Robert Altman. Bill Viola was a video artist. Bob Booker produced the comedy record The First Family which stared Vaughn Meader and parodied the Kennedy family. James Sikking was an actor who its best known for having played Lt. Howard Hunter on Hill Street Blue. Benice Johnson Reagan was a founding member of The Freedom Singers and of Sweet Honey in the Rock. Jerry Fuller was a songwriter, whose work included a number of songs written for Ricky Nelson, including “Travelin’ Man.” He also wrote and produced songs for Gary Puckett and the Union Gap, including “Young Girl” and “Lady Willpower.” Lou Dobbs was a right wing political commentator, who promoted birtherism, as well as opposing left-wing positions on environmentalism, and immigration, and promoting assorted conspiracy theories. I know very little about anthropologist James C. Scott, but the titles of some of his books sound interesting, e.g. The Art of Not Being Governed. Sheila Jackson Lee was a long-standing member of Congress from Houston. Jerry Miller was a guitarist and a founding member of Moby Grape. John Mayall was an English blues and rock musician. Duke Fakir sang with The Four Tops. Lewis Lapham was a writer and long-time editor of Harpers Magazine. George B. Crist was a Marine general and commanded U.S. Central Command. Francine Pascal wrote the Sweet Valley High book series. Robert Banas was an actor and dancer and the first husband of Chita Rivera.
Jim Inhofe was the longest serving U.S. Senator from Oklahoma. He had previously served as mayor of Tulsa and as a U.S. representative. In general, his political positions were extremely conservative and he was particularly hostile to the EPA and to the Kyoto Protocol. He was also opposed to gun regulation, LGBT rights, and federal disaster relief.
Dr. Ruth Westheimer was a sex therapist and well known for her radio show. I really enjoyed the one-woman biographical play Becoming Dr. Ruth and recommend seeing it if you ever get the opportunity. It includes her experience with the Kindertransport and as a sniper for the Haganah, as well as her famous radio and television career.
Richard Simmons was an exercise instructor. I have to admit to owning a few of his Sweating to the Oldies videotapes, which did provide a decent dance workout, if you could get past his sheer weirdness and focus on weight loss vs. fitness for its own sake.
Shannen Doherty was an actress whose career include Beverly Hills 90210 and the movie Heathers. Her struggle with breast cancer was well publicized. She earned me 11 ghoul pool points.
Bob Newhart was a comedian and actor. His deadpan style was spot on and I remember both his television shows and his comedy recordings. His driving instructor routine was particularly funny.