Literotica Cemetary

[Burcham]

NBA, Olympic coach Chuck Daly dies at 78

The Associated Press

Updated: 05/09/2009 03:53:39 PM MDT


Chuck Daly, the Hall of Fame coach, dies Detroit » The Detroit Pistons made plenty of enemies while winning titles and throwing blows two decades ago. Chuck Daly, though, was universally admired for his class and coaching acumen.

"I never understood how a great man and nice guy coached the Bad Boys," Charles Barkley said.

Daly died Saturday morning at 78 in Jupiter, Fla., with his family by his side, the Pistons said. The team announced in March he was being treated for pancreatic cancer.

The Hall of Fame coach led the Dream Team to the Olympic gold medal in 1992 after winning back-to-back NBA championships in Detroit.

Daly was renowned for his ability to create harmony out of diverse personalities at all levels of the game, whether they were Ivy Leaguers at Pennsylvania, Dream Teamers Michael Jordan and Barkley, or Pistons as dissimilar as Dennis Rodman and Joe Dumars.

Daly was voted one of the 10 greatest coaches of the NBA's first half-century in 1996, two years after being inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. He was the first coach to win both NBA and Olympic titles.

Daly had a career regular-season record of 638-437 in 13 NBA seasons. In 12 playoff appearances, his teams went 75-51. He left Detroit as the Pistons' leader in regular-season and playoff victories.

"Chuck was a great leader," Jordan said. "I only wish I could have played for him outside of the Dream Team." Added Bird: "He handled that team and its talent as well as anybody could. He treated us all with respect and had us all vying for the same goal."

Daly humbled the NBA superstars by coaching a group of college players to victory in a controlled scrimmage weeks before the Olympics.

"I was the happiest man in the gym," Daly said.

Born July 20, 1930, in St. Marys, Pa., Charles Jerome Daly played college ball at St. Bonaventure and Bloomsburg. He began coaching in the NBA in 1978 as an assistant under Billy Cunningham in Philadelphia. His first head coaching job was with Cleveland, but he was fired after the Cavaliers went 9-32 the first half of the 1981-82 season.

In 1983, Daly took over a Detroit team that had never had two straight winning seasons and led the Pistons to nine straight. He persuaded Rodman, Thomas, Dumars, Mahorn and Laimbeer to play as a unit and they responded with championships in 1989 and 1990.

Far from being intimidated by the Pistons' Bad Boys image, Daly saw the upside of it.

"I've also had players who did not care," he said a decade later. "I'd rather have a challenging team." Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson went up against Daly while coaching the Jordan-led Chicago Bulls.

"In the heat of those battles, Chuck was always a friend of coaches," Jackson said. "A good guy. He was always in the coaching fraternity and always extended a friendly hand."

After leaving Detroit, Daly coached the New Jersey Nets for two seasons and led them to the playoffs both times. He left broadcasting to return to the bench in 1997 with the Orlando Magic and coached them two seasons, then retired at 68 because he was weary of travel. Daly joined the Vancouver Grizzlies as a senior adviser in 2000.

In retirement, he divided time between homes in Jupiter and suburban Detroit.

The Pistons retired No. 2 in 1997 to honor Daly's two NBA titles. "Without you, there wouldn't be us," Mahorn told the coach during the ceremony.

Daly is survived by his wife, Terry, daughter Cydney and grandchildren Sebrina and Connor.

The funeral is Wednesday in Tequesta, Fla., at St. Jude Catholic Church. Visitation is Tuesday in nearby Jupiter at Aycock Funeral Home.

 

[Burcham]

Hollywood writer John Furia Jr. dies at 79

Hollywood writer John Furia Jr. dies at 79

A writer for "Bonanza," "Hawaii Five-O," "The Waltons" and more, he was also a USC professor.

Associated Press
5:26 AM PDT, May 9, 2009


Prolific screen and television writer John Furia Jr., who penned popular series including "Bonanza," "The Waltons," and " Hawaii Five-O" among many others, has died, according to a statement from the Writers Guild of America West released Friday. He was 79.

The cause or exact time of his death could not immediately be determined.

 

[JennyOmanHill]

Michael Landon's Son Found Dead at 60

Mark Landon, an actor and eldest son of "Little House on the Prairie" star Michael Landon, was found dead Monday at his home. He was 60.

The cause of death was not immediately clear but there was no evidence of foul play, said Sgt. David Infante of the Los Angeles County sheriff's office.

Mark Landon, among Michael Landon's nine children, appeared in three movies, including "Us" - a CBS television movie written and directed by his father in 1991 just before he died of cancer at age 54. The film was a pilot intended to be another series for Michael Landon. It aired a few months after his death.

Michael Landon also starred in such shows as "Bonanza" and "Highway to Heaven." He adopted Mark Landon after marrying his mother, Dodie Levy-Fraser, in 1956.

 

[JennyOmanHill]

Sooners Legend Tisdale Dies at 44

(May 15) - Wayman Tisdale, a three-time All-American at Oklahoma who played 12 seasons in the NBA, has died after a two-year battle with cancer. He was 44.

Tisdale died about 8 a.m. Friday at St. John Medical Center in Tulsa, hospital spokeswoman Joy McGill said.

After three years at Oklahoma, the 6-foot-9 Tulsa native spent 12 seasons in the NBA with the Indiana Pacers, Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns, then became an award-winning jazz musician, with several of his albums making the top 10 on the Billboard charts.

The famously upbeat Tisdale first learned he had cancerous cyst below his right knee after he broke his leg in a fall at his home in Los Angeles on Feb. 8, 2007. He said then he was fortunate to have discovered the cancer at an early stage.

"Nothing can change me," Tisdale told The Associated Press last June. "You go through things. You don't change because things come in your life. You get better because things come in your life."

His leg was amputated last August and a prosthetic leg that he wore was crimson, one of the colors of his beloved Oklahoma Sooners. He made a handful of public appearances in recent weeks, including on April 7 at an Oklahoma City Thunder game, at which he received the team's Community Hero Award.

Also within the past month, Tisdale was honored in a ceremony at the Greenwood Cultural Center in his hometown and presented with the Legacy Award. During the ceremony, he spoke about his fight with cancer, saying "In my mind, I've beaten it."

Last month, Tisdale also learned he had been chosen for induction into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame

In 1983, Tisdale became the first freshman to make The Associated Press' first-team All-America list, an honor he received again in 1984 and 1985. He averaged 25.6 points and 10.1 rebounds per game during his three seasons with the Sooners, earning Big Eight Conference player of the year after each season.

He still holds Oklahoma's career scoring record with 2,661 points and career rebounding record with 1,048. Tisdale also owns the school's single-game scoring mark, a 61-point outing against Texas-San Antonio as a sophomore, along with career records in points per game, field goals and free-throw makes and attempts.

In 1997, he became the first Oklahoma player in any sport to have his jersey number retired. Two years ago, then-freshman Blake Griffin asked Tisdale for permission to wear No. 23, which Tisdale granted. Griffin went on to become the consensus national player of the year this past season as a sophomore.
Tisdale also played on the U.S. team that won the gold medal in the 1984 Olympic Games. He went on to average 15.3 points per game during his pro career.

Tisdale's death was announced on the Oklahoma Senate floor Friday by Senate Majority Leader Todd Lamb, who led the chamber in prayer.
"Whether you're a Cowboy or a Sooner, Oklahoma has lost a great ambassador," Lamb said. "He was a gifted musician, a gifted athlete and he just wore that well wherever he went."

Tisdale is survived by his wife, Regina, and four children.

 

[JennyOmanHill]

Veteran TV Actor Frank Alletter Dies at 83

Frank Aletter, a veteran character actor who starred in the 1960s situation comedies "Bringing Up Buddy" and "It's About Time," has died. He was 83.

Aletter died of cancer Wednesday at his home in Tarzana, his daughter Kyle Oldham told the Los Angeles Times

Aletter acted in Broadway and films, but he was best known for his TV roles. In 1960-61 in "Bringing Up Buddy", he played Buddy Flower, an investment counselor living with his spinster aunts.

In "It's About Time, which aired in 1966-67. he played an astronaut who travels back in time to the Stone Age. He also had regular roles on "The Cara Williams Show" in 1964-65 and in "Nancy" in 1970-71.

Aletter also appeared as a guest star in more than 100 series, including "Perry Mason," "The Lucy Show," "MASH," "Kojak," "All in the Family," "Fantasy Island," "Murder, She Wrote" and "Dallas."

Born in Queens, N.Y. in 1926, Aletter studied acting after a stint in the Army from 1946-1948. He debuted on Broadway in 1950 in "Mister Roberts". His other Broadway credits include "Wish You Were Here" and "Time Limit!"
Aletter served for many years on the board of directors of the Screen Actors Guild.

He married actress and former Miss America Lee Meriwether in 1958. The couple divorced in the early 1970s.

He is survived by his second wife of 25 years, Estella; his other daughter, Lesley Aletter; stepdaughters, Alix and Julia Hodes; and a granddaughter, Ryan Oldham.

 

[JennyOmanHill]

Voice of Mickey Mouse dies in L.A. at 62

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Sound-effects specialist Wayne Allwine, who followed in the footsteps of Walt Disney to provide the falsetto voice of Mickey Mouse for the past 32 years, has died, Walt Disney Co said Wednesday.

Allwine succumbed to complications from diabetes at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles Monday. He was 62.

He was only the third person to lend his voice to the famed rodent. Disney himself started voicing Mickey Mouse in 1928, when he made his talking debut in "Steamboat Willie." Jimmy Macdonald took over the responsibilities in 1947 and handed over the reins to his protege Allwine in 1977.

Allwine provided Mickey's voice for such movies as "Mickey's Christmas Carol" (1983), "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" (1988), and "The Prince and the Pauper" (1990). He also brought Mickey to life for Disney theme parks, television, radio and live stage events.

"Wayne dedicated his entire professional life to Disney, and over the last 32 years, gave so much joy, happiness and comfort to so many around the world by giving voice to our most beloved, iconic character, Mickey Mouse," Disney Chief Executive Officer Robert Iger said.

Born in the Los Angeles suburb of Glendale in 1947, Allwine joined Disney in 1966, working his way up from a job in the mail room. He worked under sound-effects expert Macdonald for seven-and-a-half years, editing such Disney films as "Splash" (1984) and "Three Men and a Baby" (1987).

"Mickey's the real star," Allwine once said of his job. "You know you just have to love the little guy while you have him, because he won't be yours forever."

Allwine is survived by his wife, Russi Taylor, who provides the voice of Minnie Mouse, and five children from previous marriages.

 

[JennyOmanHill]

Gay & AIDS leader Rodger McFarlane

http://foundationnews.org/files/ACFBF17.jpg

Rodger McFarlane, an activist in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights and HIV/AIDS causes, and former executive director of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, died May 15 in New Mexico, it was reported. He was 54.

A statement released by Tim Sweeney, president of the Denver-based Gill Foundation, where Mr. McFarlane once worked, said that Mr. McFarlane committed suicide. McFarlane left a note citing back and heart problems that limited his ability to work and travel, the statement said.

In 1981, Before HIV even had a name, Mr. McFarlane set up the very first hotline anywhere, on his own phone. He was one of the original volunteers and the first paid executive director of Gay Men's Health Crisis, the nation's first and largest provider of AIDS client services and public education programs. Mr. McFarlane increased the organization's fundraising from a few thousand dollars to $25 million. Until his death, he was the president emeritus of Bailey House, the nation's first and largest provider of supportive housing for homeless people with HIV.

From 1989 to 1994, he was executive director of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS (BC/EFA), merging two small industry-based fundraising groups into a successful and influential AIDS fundraising and grant-making organizations. During his tenure at BC/EFA, annual revenue increased from less than $1 million to more than $5 million, while also leveraging an additional $40 million annually through strategic alliances with other funders and corporate partnerships. Mr. McFarlane was also a founding member of ACT UP - NY, a protest group responsible for sweeping changes to public policy as well as drug treatment and delivery processes.

Mr. McFarlane's interests were many and varied. A U.S. Navy veteran, he was a licensed nuclear engineer who conducted strategic missions in the North Atlantic and far Arctic regions aboard a fast attack submarine. An athlete and ardent explorer, he was a veteran of seven over-ice expeditions to the North Pole, and competed in the Eco-Challenges in Morocco and Fiji, where he captained an all-gay female-majority team.

He co-authored several books, including Larry Kramer's "The Tragedy of Today's Gays" (Penguin, 2005) and, in 1993, co-produced the Kramer's play The Destiny of Me.

His honors include the Patient Advocacy Award from the American Psychiatric Association; the New York City Distinguished Service Award; the Presidential Voluntary Action Award; the Eleanor Roosevelt Award; and the Emery Award from the Hetrick Martin Institute.

 

[JennyOmanHill]

Spider-Man actress found hanged

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/multimedia/archive/01407/lucy_1407656c.jpg

A successful young British actress who featured in the Hollywood film Spider-Man 3 hanged herself in her Paris flat while her boyfriend was asleep in a neighbouring room, it has emerged.

Lucy Gordon, 28, who attended Oxford High School, made her screen debut in 2001 and appeared in around a dozen films, including Serendipity, starring John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale.

In one of her most recent roles, she played the 60s actress and singer Jane Birkin in a French biopic of singer-songwriter Serge Gainsbourg.

Miss Gordon was found hanged from the ceiling of her mansion block apartment near the River Seine on Wednesday, two days before her 29th birthday.

Reports in France claimed Miss Gordon had been deeply affected by the recent suicide of a friend in Britain.

A local shopkeeper near her flat in Paris' fashionable 10th arrondissement claimed that Miss Gordon's boyfriend had burst into his shop on Wednesday morning calling for help.

The pair ran upstairs in la Rue des Petites Ecuries to find that the young actress had hanged herself, while her boyfriend lay sleeping in the flat, he said.

One local said: "She was an adorable girl. Two days ago, we were chatting over a drink. You think people are stable and then."

Police in the French capital said her death was being treated as a suicide.

One officer said: "It was an horrific scene, the young woman had taken her own life in terrible circumstances. We are not seeking anyone else. It was a clear case of suicide."

The Oxford-born actress played television reporter Jennifer Dugan in the third installment of Spider-Man and had most recently acted in Brief Interviews With Hideous Men.

Miss Gordon also worked as a model. She had been living in Paris for the last few years, having moved to the French capital from New York.

An autopsy will be carried out on Miss Gordon at Paris’ Institut médico-légal which is routine procedure.

 

[JennyOmanHill]

Diamondbacks Pitcher Schoeneweis’s Wife Found Dead at Home

May 21 (Bloomberg) -- The wife of Arizona Diamondbacks relief pitcher Scott Schoeneweis was found dead yesterday at the family’s home in Fountain Hills, Arizona.

“Words cannot describe how shocked and saddened we are,” team President and Chief Executive Officer Derrick Hall said in a statement. “We’re here to support Scott in any way during this traumatic period in his life.”

The body of Gabrielle Schoeneweis, 39, was discovered on the floor of the master bedroom by the couple’s 14-year-old daughter, MLB.com reported, citing the Maricopa County sheriff’s office. An autopsy will be performed to determine the cause of death.

There was no sign of foul play, sheriff’s spokeswoman Lindsey Smith said, according to MLB.com.

The Diamondbacks acquired Schoeneweis from the New York Mets during the off season. He has compiled a 2.53 earned run average in 19 Major League Baseball games this season.

 

[JennyOmanHill]

Ex-Gold Medalist Ruby Dies in Accident

CHAMONIX, France (May 29) - Karine Ruby, a former Olympic snowboarding champion, died Friday in a climbing accident on France's famed Mont Blanc. She was 31

Ruby was roped to other climbers when she fell into a deep crack, police said. Lt. Col. Pierre Bouquin said other climbers fell into the crevasse but provided no further details.

French Prime Minister Francois Fillon called Ruby an "exceptional sportswoman.''

"Karine incarnated the emergence of snowboarding in France,'' Fillon said in a statement. "The people of France will hold on to the memory of her talent and her joie de vivre.''

Ruby won a gold medal in the giant slalom at the 1998 Nagano Olympics and a silver in the parallel giant slalom at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games. She was a six-time world champion with 65 snowboard World Cup victories.

She retired after the 2006 Turin Olympics, where she was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the snowboardcross event.

 

[JennyOmanHill]

Former NHL Player Zezel Dies

TORONTO (May 26) - Peter Zezel, a center who played 15 NHL seasons after breaking into the league as a teenager with the Philadelphia Flyers, has died. He was 44.

Zezel struggled with the rare blood disease hemolytic anemia for the past 10 years and died on Tuesday. Zezel suffered from the ailment off and on, but had rebounded after being in critical condition in 2001.

He was admitted to the hospital last week for scheduled surgery, but complications developed and his conditioned worsened.

"Peter will forever be remembered as a great teammate and a wonderful individual who touched the lives of many both on and off the ice," Zezel's family said in a statement released by the National Hockey League Players' Association. "In his typical character of generosity, Peter donated his organs through the Trillium Gift of Life Network."

The gritty center was known on the ice for his strong two-way game. In 873 NHL games with Philadelphia, St. Louis, Washington, Toronto, Dallas, New Jersey and Vancouver, Zezel had 219 goals and 389 assists.

His matinee idol looks also earned him a small role in the 1986 hockey-based movie "Youngblood" that starred Rob Lowe and Patrick Swayze.

Zezel was born in Toronto and played junior hockey with the Toronto Marlies before the Flyers chose him with the 41st pick in the 1983 draft. He made his NHL debut in 1984 when he was 19.

Zezel scored a career-best 33 goals in the 1986-87 season for the Flyers and recorded a combined 49 assists for Philadelphia and St. Louis in the 1988-89 campaign.

"Peter was the ultimate caring friend and teammate," Toronto Maple Leafs alumni board member Mark Osborne said. "He was so dedicated to his family and friends and he would always freely give of his time and energies to help someone else.

"He was truly a passionate and loyal friend both on and off the ice. Our hockey family is devastated."

Following his NHL career, Zezel remained active in the hockey community, running a successful hockey school and coaching in the Greater Toronto Hockey League with the Don Mills Hockey Association.

Zezel was also an active member of the NHL Alumni Association and completed countless hours of charitable work during and following his hockey career.

Instead of flowers, Zezel's family asked that donations be made in his name to the James Birrell Fund at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.

"The hockey community has suffered a great loss," said Glenn Healy, a former goalie who is now the NHLPA director of player affairs. "Peter was a friend and a great family man who was well liked by everyone he crossed paths with in our game."

 

[JennyOmanHill]

Mike Tyson's daughter, 4, dies after treadmill accident

Boxer Mike Tyson's 4-year-old daughter has died from injuries she sustained in an apparent household accident, police said.

Exodus Tyson died at 11:45 a.m. Tuesday at a local hospital, one day after she was found with a rope or cord around her neck, according to a Phoenix police spokesman.

Additional information was not available. Sig Rogich, a friend and former Tyson agent, called the accident a “tragic, tragic thing.

“Mike was very dedicated to that baby,'' Rogich said. “I think every parent's greatest fear is that they live beyond their children. I know Mike has had his troubles in his life, but he's always been a good father.”

Police said they believe the girl was playing near some exercise equipment in an activity room Monday when she accidentally got tangled in a cord or rope hanging from a treadmill. The case is being treated as an accident.

Tyson was outside of Phoenix at the time of the accident, and immediately returned when he was notified, according to police.

Police said they arrived around 10:30 a.m. at the home in the 6100 block of North 10th Avenue, where they found the girl's mother had removed the cord from her neck and was administering cardio-pulmonary resuscitation.

Police said they think the girl's 7-year-old brother was watching television and her mother was busy cleaning in another room when the incident happened.

 

[NaughtyLil1]

Last known Titanic survivor dies.

Millvina Dean, believed to be the last survivor of the Titanic, has died at 97, her friends confirmed Sunday.

Dean was just an infant when the RMS Titanic -- publicized as "practically unsinkable" and the largest passenger steamship at the time -- struck an iceberg on the night of April 14, 1912, during its maiden voyage from Southampton in southern England to New York. The ship sank less than three hours later, killing more than 1,500 people.

Brian Ticehurst, a friend of Dean, said she died at 8 a.m. Sunday.

Dean was hospitalized a few days ago for medical complications before returning to the Woodlands Ridge Nursing Home in Southampton, said Charles Haas, a friend and president of the Titanic International Society based in New Jersey.

A nurse at the home declined to comment on Dean's passing.

Haas said Dean's last public appearance was at the British Titanic Society's convention in April, which she attended with her longtime companion, Bruno Nordmanis.

"She only visited a short while, but she wowed everybody with her charm," Haas told CNN. "She seemed in good spirits."

Haas noted that Dean's death fell on May 31, exactly 98 years after the Titanic was launched.

While Dean's survival brought her celebrity-like status in some circles, she was 8 years old before she knew she was on the fateful ship. Dean, along with her young brother and mother, survived the sinking of the Titanic, but her mother didn't tell her about it until years later, Haas said.

Although she didn't have memories of the historic and tragic event, Dean, who never married or had children, became a larger presence for Titanic enthusiasts and historians over the past three decades.

"Having gone through that disaster she was given extra years and an extra dose of vitality," said Haas, who recalled escorting Dean to a Titanic society gala a few years ago.

Dean became the last known Titanic survivor after Barbara Joyce Dainton died in October 2007. The last American survivor, Lillian Asplund, died in May 2006.

Dean's death leaves only artifacts and videotaped interviews with survivors to "speak to us about the Titanic," Haas said.

 

[omahaman2]

QUEEN OF THE BLUES” KOKO TAYLOR 1928 - 2009


Grammy Award-winning blues legend Koko Taylor, 80, died on June 3, 2009 in her hometown of Chicago, IL, as a result of complications following her May 19 surgery to correct a gastrointestinal bleed. On May 7, 2009, the critically acclaimed Taylor, known worldwide as the “Queen of the Blues,” won her 29th Blues Music Award (for Traditional Female Blues Artist Of The Year), making her the recipient of more Blues Music Awards than any other artist. In 2004 she received the NEA National Heritage Fellowship Award, which is among the highest honors given to an American artist. Her most recent CD, 2007’s Old School, was nominated for a Grammy (eight of her nine Alligator albums were Grammy-nominated). She won a Grammy in 1984 for her guest appearance on the compilation album Blues Explosion on Atlantic.

Born Cora Walton on a sharecropper’s farm just outside Memphis, TN, on September 28, 1928, Koko, nicknamed for her love of chocolate, fell in love with music at an early age. Inspired by gospel music and WDIA blues disc jockeys B.B. King and Rufus Thomas, Taylor began belting the blues with her five brothers and sisters, accompanying themselves on their homemade instruments. In 1952, Taylor and her soon-to-be-husband, the late Robert “Pops” Taylor, traveled to Chicago with nothing but, in Koko’s words, “thirty-five cents and a box of Ritz Crackers.”

In Chicago, “Pops” worked for a packing company, and Koko cleaned houses. Together they frequented the city’s blues clubs nightly. Encouraged by her husband, Koko began to sit in with the city’s top blues bands, and soon she was in demand as a guest artist. One evening in 1962 Koko was approached by arranger/composer Willie Dixon. Overwhelmed by Koko’s performance, Dixon landed Koko a Chess Records recording contract, where he produced her several singles, two albums and penned her million-selling 1965 hit “Wang Dang Doodle,” which would become Taylor’s signature song.

After Chess Records was sold, Taylor found a home with the Chicago’s Alligator Records in 1975 and released the Grammy-nominated I Got What It Takes. She recorded eight more albums for Alligator between 1978 and 2007, received seven more Grammy nominations and mad e numerous guest appearances on various albums and tribute recordings. Koko appeared in the films Wild At Heart, Mercury Rising and Blues Brothers 2000. She performed on Late Night With David Letterman, Late Night With Conan O’Brien, CBS-TV’s This Morning, National Public Radio’s All Things Considered, CBS-TV’s Early Edition, and numerous regional television programs.

Over the course of her 40-plus-year career, Taylor received every award the blues world has to offer. On March 3, 1993, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley honored Taylor with a “Legend Of The Year” Award and declared “Koko Taylor Day” throughout Chicago. In 1997, she was inducted into the Blues Foundation’s Hall of Fame. A year later, Chicago Magazine named her “Chicagoan Of The Year” and, in 1999, Taylor received the Blues Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2009 Taylor performed in Washington, D.C. at The Kennedy Center Honors honoring Morgan Freeman.

Koko Taylor was one of very few women who found success in the male-dominated blues world. She took her music from the tiny clubs of Chicago’s South Side to concert halls and major festivals all over the world. She shared stages with every major blues star, including Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, B.B. King, Junior Wells and Buddy Guy as well as rock icons Robert Plant and Jimmy Page.

Taylor’s final performance was on May 7, 2009 in Memphis at the Blues Music Awards, where she sang “Wang Dang Doodle” after receiving her a ward for Traditional Blues Female Artist Of The Year.

Survivors include Taylor’s husband Hays Harris, daughter Joyce Threatt, son-in-law Lee Threatt, grandchildren Lee, Jr. and Wendy, and three great-grandchildren.

Funeral arrangements will be announced.

 

[Burcham]

David Carradine

David Carradine Found Dead in Hotel Room
By Stephen M. Silverman

Originally posted Thursday June 04, 2009 10:05 AM EDT
Oscar-nominated actor David Carradine, best known for his leading role of Kwai Chang Caine on TV's Kung Fu in the 1970s, died Wednesday in Bangkok, where he was shooting a film, his manager confirmed Thursday. The star was 72.

According to manager Chuck Binder, the movie's producer went to Carradine's hotel room and found that he had passed away. Binder told Fox News the death is "shocking and sad. He was full of life, always wanting to work ... a great person."

Married five times and divorced four – he is survived by his widow, Annie Bierman, whom he married in 2004 – Carradine was nominated as Best Actor for his role as folksinger Woody Guthrie in 1976's Bound for Glory. Among his later screen roles was in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill, in which he played Bill.


Varied and Long Career
As profiled in PEOPLE in 1992, Carradine was born in Hollywood to the actor John Carradine and his first wife, Ardanelle, and was just 7 when his parents divorced.

Shuttled between the two, he grew up in boarding schools on both coasts. Although he was orphaned emotionally, he did become close to the seven stepbrothers and half brothers he would accumulate during Dad's four marriages: Ardanelle's older son, Bruce; Chris, Keith and Bobby (whose mother was actress Sonia Sorel); Mike Bowen (Sonia's son from an earlier marriage); and Mike and Dale Grimshaw (John's stepsons by third wife Doris Rich).

By 1970, Carradine says, "I had a house in the Hollywood Hills that virtually every brother has lived in. It was like this safe harbor. We all took care of each other."

David's acting breakthrough – as an Inca king on Broadway in 1965's The Royal Hunt of the Sun when he was 29 – came only after lean years of studying music and ballet at San Francisco State, a brief Army hitch and a life-support gig as a prune picker.

 

[omahaman2]

The Nation newspaper, citing Thai police sources, is reporting that Carradine was found hanged in his hotel closet and that it may have been a suicide

 

[JennyOmanHill]

Bruce Lee's 'Dragon' Rival Shih Kien Dies

Hong Kong movie legend Shih Kien, who spent decades playing the enemy in dozens of martial arts films including the Bruce Lee classic 'Enter the Dragon,' has died at age 96. Shih died Wednesday afternoon at a Hong Kong hospital with his children by his side, the Ming Pao Daily News reported Friday. The cause was kidney failure, the Apple Daily newspaper said.

"With his death, Hong Kong has lost an outstanding performing arts talent," Acting Hong Kong Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Gregory So said in a statement.

Shih made his film debut in 1940 and went on to act in about 350 films, most notably playing villains in films about Chinese folk hero Wong Fei-hong, according to Ming Pao.

He was best known to Western audiences for playing the evil martial arts expert Han in "Enter the Dragon." In the movie, Lee's character is hired by a foreign government to infiltrate Han's island and seeks to avenge his sister's death by Han's bodyguard.

 

[JennyOmanHill]

Randy Smith, former Brave, dies at 60

Randy Smith, Buffalo State's all-time athletic hero and one of the most popular players in Buffalo Braves history, died unexpectedly in Connecticut on Thursday, according to close friends and former college teammates.

Smith, 60, apparently suffered a heart attack, while riding a treadmill at his home in Norwich.

Durie Burns, a teammate of Smith's at Buffalo State, told The News that he had learned of Smith's death from Smith's wife, Angela.

"I was shocked," said Burns, who now lives in Orange Park, Fla. "My wife and I had been with Randy and his wife at Randy's mother's 78th birthday celebration in North Carolina not long ago."

Smith was drafted by the Buffalo Braves in the seventh round in 1971. Coach Johnny McCarthy gave the rookie his first career start as a 6-foot-3 small forward against Hall of Famer Elgin Baylor and the Los Angeles Lakers in Memorial Auditorium. He didn't shrink from that challenge and continued to excite Buffalo fans for the next seven seasons before the team moved to San Diego. By the time the Braves left, Smith had scored 10,465 points, surpassing Bob McAdoo's team record of 9,434. He averaged 24.6 points in the Braves' final season.

Over a stretch of 12 seasons — a record 906 games — Smith never missed a game in the NBA. The streak began in 1973 with Buffalo and continued until the 1982-83 season during his second stint with San Diego. He also played with Cleveland, the New York Knicks and Atlanta Hawks in his NBA career. He scored 16,262 points in 976 NBA games in his career and was the Most Valuable Player of the 1978 NBA All-Star Game in Atlanta after he scored 27 points off the bench.

By 1973-74, Smith was one of several stars on an exciting Braves team under Hall of Fame coach Jack Ramsay.

After his playing career ended, Smith joined the NBA front office as director of player programs. After a few years, he left the league office to coach the Hartford Hellcats team in the Continental Basketball Association in 1995. It was a failed effort. The easy- going Smith just wasn't hard-bitten enough to be a coach. A year later he went to work as an executive host for the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Conn., where he remained until his death.

The Randy Smith League, the inner-city youth basketball program he sponsored, carried on in Buffalo after he left the city. He was enshrined in the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame in 1992, the Hall's second class.

A native of Bellport, on Long Island, Smith is survived by his second wife, Angela, two sons, Brandon and Dominique, and a daughter, Terran.

 

[omahaman2]

Kenny Rankin, a brilliant pop vocalist and highly regarded musician-songwriter whose stylings ranged from jazz to pop to the world music influences he picked up as a child in New York, has died of complications related to lung cancer, his record company announced Monday. He was 69.

Rankin died Sunday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Mack Avenue Records spokesman Don Lucoff said.

The musician, who first gained acclaim as one of the guitarists on Bob Dylan's landmark 1965 album, "Bringing it all Back Home," had been preparing to record an album of new material when he became ill a few weeks ago. Recording sessions scheduled with producer Phil Ramone were canceled as his health began to deteriorate.

"That he was still at the top of his game is one of the saddest parts of his passing for me," Denny Stilwell, president of Mack Avenue Records, said in a statement. "He performed the new material in our office over the last few months and his voice was still in its finest form — he sounded absolutely amazing. Our hearts and prayers are with his family."

Rankin wrote and recorded the pop standard "Peaceful" and also wrote "In The Name of Love," which was recorded by Peggy Lee, and "Haven't We Met," performed by Carmen McRae and Mel Torme.

His own "The Kenny Rankin Album" was recorded live in 1976 with a 60-piece orchestra.

Rankin, who signed with Decca Records while still in his teens, once said his music career really began in the fourth grade when he sang "O Holy Night" in a school Christmas play and his teacher walked up to him afterward, patted him on the head and said, "Kenneth, that was lovely."

"She set me on the path in music that I find myself on today," he said.

After signing with Decca in the late 1950s he released a handful of singles before moving on to Columbia Records, also the home of Dylan. There, he took part in the recording of "Bringing it All Back Home," the album in which Dylan moved firmly from an all-acoustic folk music sound to an electric mixture of pop and rock 'n' roll.

Soon after, he made his first appearance on "The Tonight Show," where he impressed host Johnny Carson so much that Carson contributed liner notes to Rankin's first album, 1967's "Mind Dusters." Other albums included "Family," "Like a Seed" and "Inside."

He would go on to appear as Carson's "Tonight Show" guest more than 20 times.

Rankin's supple tenor voice on such recordings as "Spanish Harlem," "'Round Midnight" and a cover of the Beatles' "Blackbird" also won him the respect of fellow musicians as a singer's singer.

Mack Records said he so impressed the Beatles' Paul McCartney that McCartney asked him to perform "Blackbird" when he and songwriting partner John Lennon were inducted into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame.

 

[JennyOmanHill]

Former NFL Player Dies at Age 39

Pio Sagapolutele, a former player for the Cleveland Browns, New England Patriots and New Orleans Saints, passed away after a massive stroke and heart attack Sunday. The Samoan-born defensive lineman was only 39 years old.

Sagapolutele was born in American Samoa, grew up in Hawaii, and attended San Diego State University before being selected by the Browns in the fourth round of the 1991 NFL Draft. He played 92 games in seven seasons, amassing 7 career sacks and 89 solo tackles. He started at right defensive tackle in Super Bowl XXXI for Bill Parcells' Patriots. A bevy of injuries forced Sagapolutele to retire in 1999.

Off the field, Sagapolutele did some great work for underprivileged youth in both California and Hawaii -- running football camps for some children whose parents may not have been able to afford various summer football camps.
"I was able to attend a camp when I was young and it helped send me in the right direction," he says.

"I always remember the lessons I learned from my parents; treat people how you want to be treated," he says. "People deserve the right to feel special and I always try to find a way to make them feel like that."

Sagapolutele is survived by his wife and three children -- ages 13, 9 and 7.

 

[JennyOmanHill]

Bennigan's founder Norman Brinker dies

Most diners probably have never heard of Norman Brinker, who died today at the age of 78, but chances are they have been on a date in one of his restaurants -- or at least one of his restaurant concepts.

The chairman emeritus of Brinker International Inc. (EAT) was one of the pioneers of casual dining. In 1966, he used $10,000 and a $5,000 loan to launch Steak & Ale, a chain that went bankrupt in 2008, one of the first such companies to go bankrupt because of the recession. Another Brinker creation, Bennigan's, was also a casualty of the economic slowdown.

According to the Dallas Morning News, "While at Pillsbury's restaurant division, Brinker created the Bennigan's chain and became known as the originator of the 'fern bar' restaurant concept intended to attract single people." Among his many restaurant-related claims to fame is the development of the salad bar.

Brinker exited Steak & Ale and Bennigan's years before they got into trouble. Brinker also transformed a 21-location chain of burger joints named Chill's into Brinker International, which owns Chili's Grill & Bar, Maggiano's Little Italy and On the Border Mexican Grill & Cantina.

His personal life had its share of ups and downs.

His first marriage to tennis legend Maureen Connelly, who tragically died of ovarian cancer, was immortalized in the 1978 film "Little Mo." Brinker helped his third wife Nancy provide financial support in honor of her late sister Susan G. Komen, who died of breast cancer. That group eventually became the premiere charity associated with fighting breast cancer.

 

[JennyOmanHill]

Las Vegas Lounge legend Butera, 81, dies

LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

Sam Butera, whose saxophone kept the Strip swingin' for 50 years, died in Las Vegas. He was 81.

The Louis Prima band, with Butera as his saxophone sidekick, gave Las Vegas a distinctive sound and a freewheeling, all-night image when they made the Sahara lounge "The Wildest Show in Town" in late 1954.

Prima died in 1978, but Butera kept the legacy going until 2004, when he hung up the saxophone and declared himself retired, citing complications from a heart condition and disappointment in a Las Vegas that had moved beyond its lounge legacy.

A Las Vegan since 1961, Butera died of complications of pneumonia at Sunrise Hospital, a family member said.

It's impossible to know how many people shook hands with Butera as he capped each set with his signature sign-off song, "When the Saints Go Marchin' In," leading his band on a snake dance around the cocktail tables with a beaming smile.

Butera was born in New Orleans on Aug. 17, 1927. He started learning the saxophone at age 7. In 1946, when he was 19, Butera won a local contest sponsored by Look magazine that sent him to play with a band made up of other regional winners at New York's Carnegie Hall. From that band, he was singled out for "All American" honors for his tenor sax skills.

"I used to listen to everybody. That's how I learned how to play jazz, listening to those great musicians," he recalled in 2004.

Butera's eclectic sax sound found a perfect fit with Prima, a fellow New Orleans bandleader who had fallen on hard times, downsized his big band and begged an old friend, Bill Miller, for a two-week gig at the Sahara.

The band started to catch on in the Casbar lounge, but Prima knew something was missing.

"He wanted me to join him on December 25. I said, 'I got kids, man,'" Butera recalled. So he came the next day.

Butera started writing arrangements for the band, The Witnesses, in a shuffle beat that pushed the 4/4 rhythm onto the snare drum and made the song feel twice as fast as it really was.

He recorded both with Prima's band and on his own. His solo career included the 1960 Tony Curtis and Debbie Reynolds movie "The Rat Race" and its companion album and a 1964 album with Sammy Davis Jr., "Sam Meets Sam: When the Feeling Hits You!"

He recorded "Stargazer" with Frank Sinatra in 1976 and worked as Sinatra's opening act at Caesars Palace and on tour that year.

The Disney version of "The Jungle Book" featured Prima and Butera as animated primates. David Lee Roth revived the Prima version of "Just a Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody" for a hit single in 1985.

As the local lounge scene faded, Butera received a hero's welcome in Europe during his final performing years, playing to young crowds of early rock and swing fans. His last Las Vegas show was opening the Green Room lounge at Santa Fe Station in September 2002.

Butera and his wife, Vera, lived in the same house near the old Bishop Gorman High School they built in 1961. He is survived by his wife and four children: Cheryl, Diane, Sam Jr. and Nick

 

[Burcham]

The Nation newspaper, citing Thai police sources, is reporting that Carradine was found hanged in his hotel closet and that it may have been a suicide

Not a suicide....

 

[JennyOmanHill]

Everybody Hates Chris's Johnny Palermo Dies in Crash

Johnny Palermo, an actor who appeared in dozens of TV shows including Nickelodeon's Just for Kicks and Everybody Hates Chris, died Monday in a car accident. He was 27.

Palermo was riding in a car with his girlfriend, Alessandra Giangrande, who was driving in North Hollywood, Calif. She was also killed in the accident, and her brother suffered serious injuries, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

In addition to his regular role as Evan Ribisi on Just for Kicks, Palermo had guest roles in shows, including Without a Trace, General Hospital, CSI: Miami, Rules of Engagement, How I Met Your Mother and CSI: NY. He also filmed a role in the upcoming movie, Pizza with Bullets.

 

[JennyOmanHill]

Christian “Hitsch” Albin, Four Seasons chef

NEW YORK

Christian “Hitsch” Albin, who fed the world's luminaries for decades as executive chef of The Four Seasons – a restaurant that invented the “power lunch” – has died. He was 61.

Albin died at New York University Medical Center on Saturday, five days after being diagnosed with cancer, the restaurant's owners said in a statement.

The Swiss-born chef's hearty laughter filled the ritzy Manhattan restaurant's kitchen for 36 years, serving guests from Jacqueline Onassis and Elton John to President Clinton, Princess Diana and Martha Stewart.

“He was our hero: the man we always turned to when we knew we had to achieve the impossible,” said the statement released by the 50-year-old restaurant's managing partners, Julian Niccolini and Alex von Bidder.

The “impossible” at times meant wealthy, demanding guests “who would ask for everything you can possibly imagine!” Albin joked recently. “Like, an English muffin with an egg on top, for dinner.”

A bigger-than-life man, he put in 14-hour days at the restaurant off Park Avenue. With him in the kitchen, The Four Seasons won a James Beard Award, equivalent to a culinary Oscar.The Four Seasons is an international publicity machine and, despite its age, still a place to be seen. It even earned landmark status in 1989.

Raised in a Swiss village near the town of Flims, he trained in Switzerland before moving to the United States in the early 1970s.