Interesting, overlooked, and significant obituaries from around the world, as they happen, emphasizing the positive achievements of those who have died. Member, Society of Professional Obituary Writers.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Jack LeMaire
Actor, musician and standup comic -- via Variety. He started off in vaudeville as a toddler; he played guitar with Dizzy Gillespie, among many others. He acted in TV -- he ended up playing Colonel Sanders for a few years.
Marie "Baby Marie" Osborne Yeats aka Helen Alice Myres
First child star of American film -- via Classic Images and groups.google.com/group/alt.obituaries. After her early acting career, she moved on to stand-in work, and eventually became a highly regarded costumer on films such as "The Way WE Were" and "The Godfather: Part II."
How can I miss you if you won't go away?
A story in Slate magazine today gives graphic evidence that life spans are lengthening across the globe, and that years in good health are increasing also. I present it as food for thought: do our medical advances jeopardize resources for the young? Is there a "just" length of life? And do these statistics bear up in the vast majority of the world, in which basic medical care isn't remotely commonplace?
Roberto Pregadio
Composer and musician -- via lastampa.it. A prolific composer for film, his "Forgotten Pistolero" music (see video link below) is celebrated:
Donald McNarry
Miniature shipbuilder - via the Telegraph. The precision and verisimilitude of the his work made it highly prized by museums and private collectors.
Sandra Archer
Actress who was an integral part of the San Francisco Mime Troupe -- via the San Francisco Chronicle.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Robbins Barstow
Home-movie auteur -- via the New York Times. In his spare time, he created documentary narratives of his family; one, "Disneyland Dream," is now in elect company on the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress.
Coleman Jacoby aka Coleman Jacobs
Comedy writer -- via the New York Times. With Arnie Rosen, he wrote many episodes for Phil Silvers' "Sgt. Bilko" TV show, and created many of Jackie Gleason's greatest characters for him. Most memorably he paired Gleason with his great comic foil, Art Carney. When we think of the great writers of early TV, we think of the Simon brothers, Larry Gelbart, Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner; Jacoby was one of many other unsung creatives who made us laugh.
Friday, November 12, 2010
Nancy Anderson
Former West Coast editor of Photoplay magazine -- via Variety. Her friends included John Wayne, Walt Disney and Elvis Presley.
Purushottama Lal aka P. Lal
Poet, publisher, writers' mentor and translator -- via merinews.com. He is best known for his complete English translation of the Mahabarata.
Addison Powell (Shelburne)
Actor on stage, in film and television -- via legacy.com and the Burlington Free Press. He won an Obie for his work in a production of "The Iceman Cometh." He could be seen in TV series as varied as "Gunsmoke," "Law and Order," "The Bob Newhart Show" and "Dark Shadows." Most memorably, he played an assassin in "Three Days of the Condor" and could be seen in fare such as the original "The Thomas Crown Affair."
Nicholas Bornoff
Writer -- via the Independent. Apotheosized as "the Odysseus of Japanese sex" for his non-fiction work "Pink Samurai."
Sam Holmes
Extraordinary range of experiences: Pullman porter, Negro Leagues baseball player, manager for club whose members were excluded by others because of their faith -- via the Denver Post.
Henryk Gorecki
Composer -- via the Guardian. One of the great composers of the 20th century, albeit one of many whose use of atonality and serialism made their music irritating and incomprehensible to the general public. However, his Third Symphony, the "Symphony of Sorrowful Songs," which testified to the Holocaust, became one of the greatest-selling compositions of the last 50 years. The public caught up with him.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
James Mwandha
Minister of the Ugandan Parliament and disability rights activist -- via disabledfeminists.com.
Dino De Laurentiis
Legendary, award-winning film producer -- via AFP. He made some the best and worst and strangest films in history. The good: "Bitter Rice," "La Strada," "Nights of Cabiria," "Serpico," "The Bounty," "Blue Velvet," "Army of Darkness." The bad: "Dune" (at least the release cut), "Mandingo," "Lipstick," "Orca," the 1976 "King Kong," "Death Wish," "Year of the Dragon." The just plain weird: "Barbarella," "Danger: Diabolik," the 1980 "Flash Gordon," "Goliath and the Vampires," numerous Italian sex farces, and the Conan movies. What a career!
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
George Estock
Pitcher for the 1951 Boston Braves -- via Bill Schenley and http://groups.google.com/group/alt.obituaries.
Paul Hammond
Dancer and choreographer -- via the Herald Sun. Look closely and you wil see him performing in the classic film "The Red Shoes"!
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Jack Levine
Painter who was not afraid of the human figure, or making a political point, or stepping on toes -- via the New York Times.
Noel Taylor aka Harold Alexander Taylor Jr.
Award-winning costume designer for stage, film and television -- via the L.A. Times. Interesting sidebar -- a privileged youth, he summered in Austria in the 1930s. He saw the rise of Hitler, and out of conscience he raised $200,000 to help the Jews escape. Finally, he was caught organizing against the Nazis and thrown out of the country. An honorable man.
Jay Van Noy
Respected BYU coach who played six games with the Cardinals in 1951 -- via the Salt Lake City Tribune.
Princess Irmingard of Bavaria
Her family knew Hitler was nuts and dangerous, and fought his rise to power. Of course, he put them all in concentration camps. Somehow, she survived! Via the Telegraph
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