Aretha Franklin, after a long career as one of the greatest singers EVER, died today of cancer. Her passion for life and music will endure long past her living years.
Consider this your open thread/music post.
Margaret Thatcher *1925 – + 2013
British Prime Minister 1979 – 1990
Margaret Thatcher, aged 87, has died her family announced. De mortuis nihil, nisi bene. So I hold my tongue.
Stéphane Hessel has passed away during the night. The Holocaust survivor, member of the French Résistance, diplomat and author inspired the “Occupy” movement with his pamphlet “Time for Outrage” in his later years. I saw numerous interviews with him and greatly admired his intelligence, sense of humor and humanity. May he rest in peace.
EV
Today Peter Falk passed away at the age of 83.
He will,of course, be immortal as Inspector Columbo. My favourite shows were “Swansong” with Johnny Cash and “Playback” With Oskar Werner.
One more thing…
I loved you Peter Falk R.I.P
Elizabeth Taylor has died today aged 79. Some of my favourite films are hers. “Cleopatra”, “Butterfield 8” and “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” are my most favourite. Thank you Elizabeth for some great cinema moments and may you rest in peace.
A tenacious diplomat who earned a reputation as a “bulldozer” in negotiating the 1995 Dayton Accords that concluded the Bosnian war, [Richard] Holbrooke was once called “Washington’s favorite last-ditch diplomat” by Time magazine.
Nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize seven times, Holbrooke joined President Barack Obama’s administration in January 2009 as special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, dealing with two of Washington’s most vexing foreign policy challenges.
Ambassador Holbrooke, a lifetime public servant and diplomat, suffered a tear in the wall of his aorta, and did not survive surgery to repair the tear. He is survived by his wife and stepchildren.
(Reuters) – Senator Robert Byrd, who evolved from a segregationist to a civil rights advocate in becoming the longest serving member ever of the U.S. Congress, died on Monday at age 92, a spokesman for the West Virginia lawmaker said.(read more)
Malcolm McLaren died in his home in Switzerland after losing his battle with cancer.
“Rock and roll doesn’t necessarily mean a band. It doesn’t mean a singer, and it doesn’t mean a lyric, really. It’s that question of trying to be immortal.”
~Malcolm McLaren
I was a great fan of the ground-breaking show I Spy.
I Spy broke new ground in that it was the first American television drama to feature an African-American actor (Cosby) in a lead role. Originally an older actor was slated to play a fatherly mentor to Culp’s “Kelly Robinson.” But after seeing Cosby performing stand-up comedy on a talk-show, Sheldon Leonard decided to take a chance on hiring him to play opposite Culp. The concept was changed from a mentor-protege relationship to same-age partners who were equals. It was also notable that Cosby’s race was never an issue in any of the stories.
Rest in Peace, Mr Culp.
The author of A People’s History of the United States, died today of a heart attack. His was a voice of truth that will be sorely missed.
Miep Gies defied the Nazis in WWII Amsterdam in order to hide the Frank family and several others in the attic of an office building. She succeeded in doing this for 25 months, before all were arrested.
Gies preserved Anne Frank’s papers that were found in the attic, hoping to give to Anne after the war, but instead she gave them to Anne’s father, Otto, the only survivor of the Frank family.
Rest in Peace.
We members of a certain generation remember the weirdness that was Gumby & Pokey. I think I enjoyed my bendable Gumby figure than I did my Barbies.
Clokey first molded Gumby for a surreal student project at the University of Southern California called “Gumbasia.” That led to his making shorts for the “Howdy Doody Show” and several series through the years.
He said he based Gumby’s swooping head on the hairdo of his father, who died when Clokey was nine.
I always wondered about that sloping head. 😉
Rest in Peace, Mr Clokey.
I was too young to understand his show when I was a kid, but I loved it anyway. He always had so much fun in front of the camera, how could you not laugh?
Thanks for all the laughs, Soupy.
My favorite Patrick Swayze movie To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything.
Thanks for the laughs, Patrick. Sorry you had to go so soon…
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“Edward M. Kennedy, the husband, father, grandfather, brother and uncle we loved so deeply, died late Tuesday night at home in Hyannis Port (Massachusetts),” (Family Statement via Reuters)
Oscar G. Mayer, retired chairman of the Wisconsin-based meat processing company that bears his name, has died at the age of 95.
Mayer’s wife, Geraldine, said he died of old age Monday age at Hospice Care in Fitchburg.
He was the third Oscar Mayer in the family that founded Oscar Mayer Foods, which was once the largest private employer in Madison. His grandfather, Oscar F. Mayer, died in 1955 and his father, Oscar G. Mayer Sr., died in 1965.
Died of old age…I guess he didn’t eat Oscar Mayer wieners. 😉
Loved your car, Mr Mayer. Rest in Peace.
This is one of the most famous pictures of the Vietnam War. Photographer Hugh Van Es has died Friday in Hongkong, aged 67.
TheZoo 