Monday, June 13, 2011

Mildred Wolf

Silent film pianist -- via the Hollywood Reporter.

Grant Sullivan

Actor -- via westernboothill.blogspot.com.

John Mackenzie aka Frenzy Mackenzie

Film director -- via the Telegraph. He made one of the most amazing movies ever -- "The Long Good Friday."

Robert Foster

TV writer and producer - via Variety.

Laura Ziskin

Movie producer -- via popeater.com. No Ziskin, no "No Way Out," "Pretty Woman," "What About Bob?", "To Die For" and the "Spiderman" trilogy.

Carl Gardner

Co-founder and lead vocalist of The Coasters -- via Spinner. He co-founded the group with Billy Nunn, after leaving The Robins in 1955. The Coasters are one of the great vocal groups of all time -- a conduit for the profound silliness of Leiber and Stoller's brilliant songwriting, which had a truckload of hits and got exploited and shortchanged.

Gardner's theatricality, fine voice and ability to entertain helped make this ensemble's efforts forever memorable.


Not only did they serve as the exponents of the Lieber and Stoller songbook, but they made amazing covers of songs such as "Brazil," "Besame Mucho" and "Zing! Went the Strings of my Heart".

Rudy Williams

Trumpeter was the "mayor of Beale Street" -- via the Memphis Commercial Appeal.

Larry Berg

He led the town band for 30 years, and did much more for his community -- via the Bonner Springs Chieftain.

Lee J. Ames

Artist and illustrator -- via newsfromme.com. The author of the famous "Draw 50" instructional series.

Claudio Bravo

Artist -- via the New York Times.

Esthercita Forero aka Esther Foroero Celis aka La Novia di Barranquilla

Singer and composer -- via repeatingislands.com.

Sam Dardick

Disability rights activist -- via The Union.

Tommy Brent aka Thomas Brent Cheseldine

Theatrical producer -- via the New York Times.

Mietek Pemper

Man who typed "Schindler's List," saving more than 1,000 Jewish lives during the Holocaust -- via the Jerusalem Post.

Dennis Mascari

Man who created mausoleum for Cubs fans -- via the Chicago Tribune.

Wolfgang Laufer

Cellist -- via the Alanta Journal Constitution. A founding member of the Fine Arts Quartet!

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Jorge Semprun

Novelist, memoirist and screenwriter -- via the New York Times.

Edgar Zivanai Tekere

Revolutionary -- via the New York Times. A compatriot of Mugabe, he helped free Zimbabwe. Later, he fought against Mugabe's oppression and was jailed for a second time.

Sir Patrick "Paddy" Michael Leigh Fermor

Brilliant travel writer, author, scholar and soldier -- via the Telegraph. He walked across Europe; he kidnapped a German general; a man of mythic stature.

Friday, June 10, 2011

Pilu Momtaz

Singer -- via the Daily Star.

Leon Botha

Artist, musician and DJ -- via boingboing.net. He suffered from progeria, a disease that rapidly advances the aging process. At 26, he had one of the longest lives recorded for a progeria sufferer; it looks as though he used the time he had to the utmost.

Gordon Lorenz

Record producer and songwriter -- via the Daily Post.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Joel Rosenberg

Fantasy/sci-fi author and gun rights activist -- via sfscope.com.

Hugh Stewart

Film editor and producer -- via altfg.com. He edited the 1934, vastly better version of Hitchcock's "The Man Who Knew Too Much."

Donald Hewlett

Actor -- via the Guardian.

Maurice Garrel

Actor - via mauricegarrel.inmemoriam.org.

Glyn Hughes

Novelist, poet and painter -- via the Telegraph.

Alda Noni

Soprano -- via the Telegraph.

Armando Bandini

Actor -- via westernboothill.blogspot.com.

Jim Northrup aka the Silver Fox

MLB outfielder -- via MLB.com. He drove in the winning runs in Game 7 of the 1968 World Series.

Clara Luper

Civil rights activist -- via newsok.com.

Maqbool Fida Husain aka MF

Artist -- via the BBC.

Steve Popovich

Record exec -- via the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Leonard B. Stern


Emmy, Golden Globe and Peabody-winning writer/producer/director -- via Yahoo News. A specialist in comedy, he had a hand in many classic American TV shows, including "The Honeymooners," "Get Smart" and "McMillan and Wife." He got his start in late-period Abbott & Costello and Ma and Pa Kettle movies. And hey! He co-created Mad Libs with Roger Price, the latter of Droodles fame.

The House of Sight and Sound -- Salina, KS

An oasis of a record store smack-dab in the middle of Kansas -- via mighty1090kaay.blogspot.com.

Harry Redmond Jr.

Special effects artist for film and TV -- via the Hollywood Reporter. His career began in 1931; he worked on the original "King Kong," "She," "Lost Horizon," and many more. Later worked extensively with Ivan Tors on his TV series ("Flipper," "Daktari" and "Ripcord").

Azam Khan aka Mahbubul Haque Khan

Composer, lyricist, musician and singer -- via bdnews24.com. The Guru of pop music in Bangladesh.

Martin Rushent

Legendary sound engineer and record producer -- via the Telegraph. Among his work -- engineer: "Jesus Christ Superstar," "Electric Warrior," "Octopus"; as producer, the Stranglers, the Buzzcocks, Generation X and Human League.

Philip Rose aka Philip Rosenberg

Theatrical producer -- via the New York Times. Beginning with his successful, groundbreaking production of "A Raisin in the Sun," he went on to produce such works as "Purlie," "The Owl and the Pussycat" and "Shenandoah."

Roy Skelton

Actor and voice artist -- via the BBC. The original voice of the Daleks!

Jose Pagan

Marvelous baseball player -- via the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. His RBI double in the 8th inning of Game 7 of the 1971 World Series clinched the title for the Pirates.

Lilian Jackson Braun

Mystery writer -- via the New York Times.