Thursday, December 23, 2010

"Top deaths" of the year: who rates remembrance?

Now that 2010 is coming to a close, many news agencies are preparing their "top ten" lists of people who died during the year. These feature packages, complete with photos and blurbs, usually inhabit leftover feature space along with best movies, weirdest news events, etc.

It begs the question, "Who is worth remembering?" Our culture is obsessed with sorting and ranking human worth, and those who pass into the Great Beyond are not exempt from that. Of course, the mere existence of Obit Patrol shows that I am part of the whole crazy impulse to identify "notable" lives -- even though it implies that to not receive notice in print or on line if you pass away means your existence was meaningless. The dead escape our judgment, much as we'd like to think they don't.

And what about my limited perspective? I know as much as I can about passings in America, Europe, Australia, and parts of Asia. Language and culture separate me from so much of the rest of the world. I place as many significant lives from little-known areas of the world as I can each week, in the hopes that I can expand our sense of who's out there and what they are up to. Western culture has ethnocentric blinders on, and I hope Obit Patrol will help to bring more people, ways of life, and amazing experiences out of the periphery.

In six months of Obit Patrol, I have created approximately 1,500 obituary links. Each year, approximately 57 million people die worldwide. Obviously, the ratio is ridiculous. Even though I am documenting deaths, I can't give you a Top 10. The criteria that selects current significance is based in the petty concerns of the living, and will shift as time passes. One hundred years from now, will we remember the sitcom star, or the surgeon, or the human rights activist, or the guy who juggled frogs? And in what order? Who has made the most lasting impact for good?

That's impossible to say. Death is the great leveler, and posterity can't be touched by human hands. For all we know, it's those among the masses of the unsung who make pivotal changes that affect our lives today and generations to come -- people who will never have a monument or memorial.

Every human life is significant, long or short, good or bad. When I make my highly personal choices of lives to highlight, I hope that I am reminding us of what good we can do for each other, and what light we can bring to the world, in each of our crazy, busy, frustrating, humbling life spans. My tiny slice of lives remembered will have to stand for the whole.

Nearly everyone I know loses someone close to him or her in the course of a year. This post is dedicated to you and the web of souls that surrounds you, to the memory of those who didn't get a write-up but who lived and fought and loved and gave. May they rest in peace.

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Fred Foy

Announcer for radio and television -- via the L.A. Times. His golden throat voiced the immortal opening of "The Lone Ranger" radio series from 1948 to 1956; he also announced for "The Green Hornet" and "Challenge of the Yukon." He later became the voice of ABC in Los Angeles. His utterly compelling delivery rightly placed him in the Radio Hall of Fame! Here's another tribute from boston.com . . .


Obit Magazine's Top Sites of 2010

The up-and-coming online magazine that treats the art of obituaries, and all things regarding the end of life, Obit, has listed its favorite sites of 2010 here. Please note that many of the sites chosen exhibit graphic photos and illustrations, cover topics many might find grisly or at least unseemly, and/or indulge in a morbid sense of humor.

This is in no way a lack of recommendation, merely a cautionary statement. Death is, like sex, a taboo topic that incites both fascination and dread. I hope, along with many others, to demystify the subject so that it no longer terrifies, confounds and alienates people. Obit, along with many other entities on- and off-line, is working to increase understanding, lend support and reduce fear. Thanks to all for their dedicated efforts this year!

We welcome "The Eulogizer"

Alan D. Abbey of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (jta.org) has begun a column, soon to be a blog, called "The Eulogizer," which will highlight "the life accomplishments of famous and not-so-famous Jews who have passed away recently. Learn about their achievements, honor their memories, and celebrate Jewish lives well lived with The Eulogizer. Write to the Eulogizer at eulogizer@jta.org."

Welcome to our brother- and sisterhood, Alan!
 

Jean-Pierre Leloir

Photographer -- via Le Monde.

Nikos Papatakis

Film director -- via ilmanifesto.it.

Helen Roberts aka Betty Walker

Actress and singer, notably as a performer of Gilbert and Sullivan operettas -- via math.boisestate.edu.

Frank Bessac

A man with some extraordinary tales to tell -- via the Telegraph. He was a spy, a world traveler, a social anthropologist, an educator and a writer!

John Alldis

A simply splendid choral conductor -- via the Telegraph.

Sarah "Sally" Goodrich

Educator and philanthropist -- via iberkshires.com. When her son was killed in the 9/11 attacks, instead of vengeance she reached out to help people in Afghanistan.

Patricia Thompson

TV producer and documentary filmmaker -- via the New York Times.

Marcia Lewis

Actress -- via Backstage.

Lupe Gigliotti

Actress -- via correiodoestado.com.br.

Tony Castillo

Jazz trumpeter and former child actor -- via the Straits Times.

Brian Hanrahan

Journalist -- via the Telegraph.

SuZan Noguchi Swain

Nature writer and illustrator -- via the Sioux City Journal.

Glen Adams

Musician, composer, producer -- via the Gleaner.

Trudy Pitts Carney

Jazz keyboardist, specifically the venerable Hammond B3 -- via the Philadelphia Inquirer. Man, she could swing it!

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Magnolia Shorty aka Renatta Lowe

Rapper -- via the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

Steve Landesberg

Standup and improvisational comedian who parlayed his skills into many comedic acting roles -- via Variety. A very funny guy, master of the deadpan and droll understatement. He will be best remembered as Sgt. Dietrich on the TV series "Barney Miller." Most recently, he had a nice cameo in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" as Dr. Rosenbaum -- check out the blown-takes reel at the end of the film to see just how sharp he was! A real pro -- I'll miss him.

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Philip Joseph Cavarretta

Star player for the Cubs -- via the Washington Post. 1945's NL MVP!

Walter "Walt" "Moose" Dropo

First baseman for several Major League teams -- via the Hartford Courant. He was the 1950 AL Rookie of the Year.

Clay Cole aka Albert Rucker Jr.

TV host and producer, radio dj, actor and dancer -- via voy.com. A key part of the early years of rock and roll, his "Clay Cole Show" on TV defined what was cool for the East Coast teen audience. He was witty, stylish -- and he hosted a fully integrated audience. Here's a nice take on him from the New York Times --

Derek V. Browne

Camera operator and director of photography -- via westernboothill.blogspot.com. His long career stretched from 1943 to 2007. He worked on classics such as "Peeping Tom," "A Hard Day's Night," and Zeffirelli's "Hamlet."

Adrienne Roy

Color artist for the comics -- via ComicMix. She was once voted "The Most Beautifully Tattooed Female"!

Jane Royle

Makeup artist -- via the Times of London.

Gary Chapman

Writer, educator and ethicist -- via the New York Times. For seven years, he was the executive director of Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility.

James Peterson

Blues guitarist -- via tboextra.com.

E. Gene Smith

A scholar of Tibetan literature and history -- via the Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center.

Jorge "George" Covarrubias

Tae kwon do instructor -- via the Chicago Sun-Times. He was a fun-loving guy with a unique collection -- one of over 1,500 G.I. Joes.

David Alexander

Stage magician, science museum curator and the authorized biographer of Gene Roddenberry -- via the Chicago Sun-Times.

Meirion Pennar

Poet and translator -- via the BBC.

Robin Rogers

Blues singer -- via Vermont Public Radio.

Friday, December 17, 2010

Captain Beefheart aka Don Van Vliet aka Don Vliet

One of the greatest musical minds of the 20th century -- via Rolling Stone. An eclectic and catholic spirit ruled his soul; he saw no barriers and broke them all. Beyond that, his work is endlessly fascinating, and even a bit danceable. He combined and transfigured genres into new dimensions, earning the respect of Frank Zappa, for one. The three albums of his I own -- "Trout Mask Replica," "Safe As Milk" and "Ice Cream for Crow" were essential to the development of my sensibilities. After his retirement from music, he developed his other artistic abilities and became a world-class painter.


Here are more comprehensive overviews of his life from the New York Times and the L.A. Times. If you don't know his work, find out about it -- it will change your life. Thanks, Captain!