Monday, June 6, 2011

David "Frankie" Toler

Drummer -- via the Bradenton Herald. Best known for his work with the Allman Brothers and the Marshall Tucker Band.

Dimi Mint Abba aka Loula Bint Siddaty Ould Abba

Musician and singer -- via the Canadian Press.

Fayrene "Faye" Treadwell

Pioneering female entertainment manager, most notably for the Drifters -- via the L.A. Times.

Karen Aqua

Innovative and independent animator -- via boston.com. Here's another incredibly well-written obit of her from the Wikes-Barres Times Leader.

Rosalyn Sussman Yalow

Medical physicist and Nobel Prize winner -- via the L.A. Times.

Miriam Karlin aka Miriam Samuels

Actress in film, TV and on stage -- via the Telegraph.

Albertina Sisulu

The mother of South Africa's anti-apartheid movement -- via the New York Times.

Josephine Hart

Novelist, producer and TV presenter -- via the New York Times.

Elmer G. "Geronimo" Pratt

Black Panther, political prisoner and human rights activist -- via the L.A. Times.

Ray Bryant

Jazz pianist and composer -- via the New York Times.

Harry Bernstein

Writer, editor and memoirist -- via the Washington Post.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Benny Spellman

Great R & B singer -- via WWL. His two big hits were "Lipstick Traces" and "Fortune Teller." He also sand backup on hits such as "Mother-in-Law" and "Trick Bag." A New Orleans institution!



Teck Murdock

Actor and singer -- via Legacy.com.

Ernestine Mercer

Singer and actress -- via Variety.

Peter Boom

Actor, singer, voice actor, lyricist, writer and activist -- via westernsallitaliana.blogspot.com.

Betty Taylor

Comic performer -- via the Orange County Register. With long-time partner Wally Boag, Taylor hosted Disneyland's Golden Horseshoe Revue as Slue Foot Sue for 40 years of live performances.

Wally Boag

Comic performer -- via the Beverly Hills Courier. A legendary and world-record-holding presence at Disneyland, Boag's act is a classic, and inspired among many others Steve Martin.

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Ellen McGarr

An extraordinary obituary -- via Legacy.com. Thanks to Kay Powell on Obit Forum for posting this to attention!

Abdias do Nascimento

Writer, scholar, painter, politician and civil rights leader -- via the New York Times.

Billy Harris

Pitcher -- via the Times and Transcript.

Albert M. Sack

Antiques dealer, expert and writer -- via the New York Times.

Da Real One aka Willie Lee Bell

Poet -- via the Miami Herald. A vibrant voice, cut down by killers.

Solvi Wang

Actress and singer -- via Nyheter.

Ram Man Trishit

Lyricist -- via myrepublica.com.

Syed Saleem Shahzad

Investigative journalist -- via the Daily Times (Pakistan). He was kidnapped, tortured and killed, presumably by Pakistan security forces.

Adolfas Mekas

Filmmaker, teacher and co-founder of Film Culture -- via the New York Times.

Hans Keilson

Novelist and psychoanalyst -- via the New York Times.

Andrew Gold

Singer, songwriter and musician -- via Yakkity Yak. He started being noticed due to his work with Linda Ronstadt during the height of her popularity (he played the guitar solos on "You're No Good"), then became a hit in his own right for songs such as "Lonely Boy" and "Thank You for Being a Friend." He is survived by his mother, the famous Marni Nixon, voiceover singer for Deborah Kerr, Natalie Wood and Audrey Hepburn. His father, Ernest Gold, won an Oscar for composing the score for "Exodus."

Friday, June 3, 2011

James Arness

Actor who played Marshal Dillon in TV's "Gunsmoke" for decades -- via the Hollywood Reporter. After small movie roles such as a baddie in "Wagon Master" and the creature in "The Thing from Another World," he landed a part that would make him a television icon. "Gunsmoke" was not just a Western; it was a dramatic anthology crammed with great writing and acting. Arness held it all together.

Haleh Sahabi

Scholar and women's rights activist -- via Frontline. She died under extremely suspicious circumstances in conflict with state security forces at her dissident father's funeral.

Dean Wells

Head of the electrical department at the Home Depot in Joplin, Missouri -- via the Effingham Daily News. He saved many lives during the devastating tornado of May 22; he was killed while searching for more people to rescue.

Wayne Greenhaw

Writer and journalist -- via blog.al.com.

Shiyani Ngcobo

Musician -- via worldmusic.net. A master of the rare and vanishing maskanda style.

Simon Anthony Helyar Walker-Heneage

Co-founder of the Cartoon Museum in London -- via the Telegraph.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Mala Sen

Writer, TV researcher and screenwriter -- via the Telegraph. She told the amazing but true story of India's Bandit Queen, Phoolan Devi, and turned it into an acclaimed film.

Leona "Little Rusty" Kronberg

Portland's "queen of vice"; madam -- via oregonlive.com.

Giorgio Tozzi

Bass-baritone -- via Spinner. He was a great success and a regular at the Metropolitan Opera; he also achieved greatness on the Broadway stage. The amazing singing of Emile de Beque in the 1958 film version of "South Pacific"? Acted by Rossano Brazzi; VOICED by Tozzi.

Leo Rangell

Psychoanalyst -- via the L.A. Times.

Clarice Taylor

Stage, TV and screen actress -- via TheaterMania. She may be best remembered as Grandma Huxtable on "The Cosby Show" and Harriet on "Sesame Street," but she worked in many films, as well as originating the role of Addaperle in "The Wiz," and won an Obie for her one-woman Moms Mabley show.

James "Curley" Cooke

Guitarist and teacher -- via the Seattle Times. A blues master, he was an original member of the Steve Miller Band.

Alys Robi aka Alice Robitaille

Singer -- via the Montreal Gazette.

Roger Franklin

Actor -- via voy.com. He played the original Officer Krupke in "West Side Story"; he will be best remembered as the long-time Santa Claus at the South Street Seaport in Manhattan.

Rick Dial

Actor -- via the Malvern Daily Record.

Jon Blake

Actor -- via ABC News.

Michael A. DeLuca aka Mikey Wild

Punk rocker, artist and South Street fixture -- via the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Lillian Adams

Actress -- via westernboothill.blogspot.com.

Nicholas V. Riasanovsky

Expert in Russian history -- via the New York Times.

Eugene "Gene" Smith

Great Negro Leagues pitcher -- via the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Janet Brown

Actress, comedian and impressionist -- via the Telegraph.

Dana Brand

The ultimate Mets fan -- via the New York Times. A professor at Hofstra, he turned his lifelong obsession with the A-Mazin's into a wonderful blog and many books.