Bring Out Your Dead! The celebrity death thread....
Juniemoon said:
Morgan Spurlock, of "SuperSize Me" fame .. at 53, of cancer. He opened such an important discussion about the dangers of fast food over-consumption in our country. Though he later confessed to addiction to alcohol & some negative aspects of his sexual life that caused the results of his important experiment to be questioned --even rejected --by peers & critics, the importance of his raising awareness of the dangers of many Americans' diets should not be under-rated or ignored. If he opened even a few eyes & caused customers AND the industry to make changes, that's a monumental achievement for which he deserves credit.
He literally admitted to raping a woman. I think that is a little more than "some negative aspects".
French chanteuse Françoise Hardy, at the age of 80, after having suffered with lymphatic cancer for many years.
This is her first song, released in 1962
Willie Mays. 93.
Gary Cohen and Keith Hernandez reflect on the life of the legendary Willie Mays pic.twitter.com/ZLeURHJfIT
— SNY (@SNYtv) June 19, 2024
[i really think this thread needs a ‘tears’ button rather than ‘like’]
Donald Sutherland as Clark Clifford and Michael Gambon as LBJ in "Path to War" (one NSFW word at the end).
Kinky Friedman, the renegade, Chicago-born Jewish country singer, has died at the age of 79.
He had been suffering from Parkinson's disease.
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/kinky-friedman-dead-1235047577/
(Image from the article linked to)
Fernwood 2 Night was a guilty pleasure during sleepovers at my cousin’s house, where my aunt and uncle went to bed early and left us downstairs to watch TV until we dropped.
Martin Mull, Comic Actor Who Starred in ‘Mary Hartman,’ Dies at 80 (NYT)
Oh dammit. Loved Martin Mull since my sister brought one of his early albums home back in the early 70's. I was around 9 and I knew most of this album by heart❤️ Heck, I still sing Miami every now and then.
Many many years ago, I had lunch with Richard Simmons (was with my aunt who was a successful clothing industry executive and they were discussing a Richard Simmons clothing line). Even now, I recall thinking at the time that he was a surprisingly sweet and genuine guy.
And now, we hear Shannen Doherty has died of her cancers.
Way too young, way too talented, and a truly horrible way to live for so many years let alone to live knowing it will claim you.
Blessings to all who loved and cared for her; may she rest in peace.
joanne said:
And now, we hear Shannen Doherty has died of her cancers.
Way too young, way too talented, and a truly horrible way to live for so many years let alone to live knowing it will claim you.Blessings to all who loved and cared for her; may she rest in peace.
Way too young.
blackcat said:
Shelley Duvall and Dr. Ruth also☹️
My great-aunt (who passed away about a decade ago) was in the same orphanage as Dr. Ruth in Switzerland. They were brought there by the Kindertransport, which rescued young Jewish children from Nazi Germany in the late 1930's. My great aunt said Dr. Ruth was very smart, even when she was quite young.
Shocked when I read he was 94! He just seemed ageless…
The Guardian had this to say:
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/article/2024/jul/18/bob-newhart-dead-comedian-sitcom-star
Man, if I was a celebrity over 80 right now I would be putting my affairs in order.
I’m bummed about Bob Newhart. I know he was 94, but what an understated talent. He had a talent for creating characters who were rational people surrounded by quirky weirdness. But he did it without ever coming across as mean, angry or condescending, just kind of gently exasperated. And by all accounts a genuinely nice person.
Any high schooler in the 80s, myself included, could do a terrible impression of Dr Ruth. And of course we didn’t see her for the work for what it was - openly talking about relationships and sex in a way that was so revolutionary and so necessary during the years following the “sexual revolution” and the early years of the AIDS epidemic. And apparently she was also a genuinely kind and pleasant person despite one of the most hellacious childhoods imaginable.
Another 80s memory for me was seeing some of Shelly Duvall’s “Faerie Tale Theatre”. Even though I had aged out of the target demographic I remember the zaniness and creativity of those adaptations. And I was always impressed by the big name talent she recruited to star in them. The only thing I would ask her about those shows is why were they almost 100% segregated casts. There are almost no actors of color in any episode except “Puss N Boots”. I’m sure it’s more of an artifact of the time but I’d be interested in how that came to be.
Newhart's reactions are priceless as things go to chaos on the first episode of his character's "Vermont Today" show when he had originally pictured an intellectual show with the guest being the president of the University of Vermont.
1950s or 60s, Newhart patiently and soberly explaining to 17th century Brits about smoking tobacco. You roll the leaves up and set them on fire....
Woke up to the sad news that the last of the Four Tops has passed:
Abdul ‘Duke’ Fakir, aged 88 years. Oh, what memories go with him!
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/22/abdul-duke-fakir-four-tops-dead
And…Joe Egan, from Stealers Wheel…
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/jul/22/joe-egan-obituary
Ear worm: Stuck in the Middle with you….
joanne said:
...Ear worm: Stuck in the Middle with you….
and forever ruined by Quentin Tarantino
Legendary bluesman, John Mayall, at the age of 90.
Who is he???