Monday, November 7, 2011

From Listverse: "Top 10 Bizarre Premature Obituaries"

"You'll be stone-dead in a minute" -- from "Monty Python and the Holy Grail."
This may bring you a chuckle -- or not. I larfed. Ten cases of people thought dead when, actually, they weren't. Quite.

Papa Bue aka Arne Jensen

Trombonist and bandleader -- via the Washington Post.

Cory Smoot

Guitarist for heavy metal band GWAR -- via the Huffington Post.

Bhupen Hazarika

Singer, composer, lyricist, music director, and filmmaker -- via rediff.com.

Christiane Legrand

Vocalist -- via forum.bcdb.com. Original soprano for the Swingle Singers, and member of Les Double Six.

Liz Anderson aka Elizabeth Jane Haaby

Country singer/songwriter -- via the New York Times.

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Arthur Johnson

Civil rights leader -- via the Detroit News.

Rijk de Gooyer

Actor, writer, comedian and singer -- via Dutch News. Part of the comedy team of Johnny and Rijk.

Walter Norris

Jazz pianist and composer -- via artsjournal.com/rifftides.

Mohan Raghavan

Screenwriter and director -- via The Hindu.

Morio Kita aka Sokichi Saito

Novelist, essayist and psychiatrist -- via House of Japan.

John Makin aka Mister John

Singer-songwriter -- via the Telegraph. Best known for his novelty song "Potverdekke!"

Ruby Burman Cohn

Theater scholar and the one who "discovered" Samuel Beckett -- via the New York Times.

Tom Donovan

TV director -- via Variety.

Lloyd "Tommy" Doss

Musician -- the last of the legendary Sons of the Pioneers -- via Oregon Public Broadcasting. He replaced original baritone Bob Nolan, and sand with the group from 1949 to 1972. Their sound is an intergral part of my consciousness; you can hear them in John Ford's "Rio Grande," "The Searchers" and "Wagonmaster." A beautiful and essential part of the mythos and culture of the American West. My memory of the first film excerpt led me to name my first child Kathleen!


Bill Hale aka William Ely

Actor -- via westernboothill.blogspot.com.

Friday, November 4, 2011

Jean Bernstein

Activist -- via the Orange County Register.

Bob Forsch

Former pitcher for the Cardinals and the Astros -- via St. Louis Today. The third-winningest pitcher in Cards history, after Gibson and Haines; the only Cardinal pitcher with two no-hitters.

Alan Meltzer

Founder of Wind-Up Records -- via the Hollywood Reporter.

T. Max Graham aka Neil Moran

Actor -- via the Kansas City Star.

Ricky Adams

Utility infielder -- via ESPN.

Sid Melton

Character actor -- via the L.A. Times. One of the greats, he accumulated nearly 140 credits on film and television between 1941 and 1999. A hilarious comic presence as Alf Monroe in "Green Acres," and Charley Helper on "Make Room for Daddy." He also played Captain Midnight's sidekick, Ichabod Mudd, and appeared in projects as diverse as "Knock on Any Door," "The Steel Helmet" and "Bigger Than Life." A career of almost Storchlike proportions. The highest compliment you pay a comic performer is that you smile when they come on stage or hit the screen, because you know you're going to laugh. Such was the case with Sid Melton.

Here's a link to the "Green Acres" episode, "Alf and Ralph Break Up": http://www.hulu.com/watch/170090/green-acres-alf-and-ralph-break-up

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Leonard Stone

Character actor -- via TMZ. Best remembered as Mr. Beauregarde in "Willa Wonka and the Chocolate Factory," he acted extensively in television, on film and on stage. "You're turning violet, Violet!"

Beryl Davis

Big-band singer -- via the New York Times.

George "Tree" Rountree, Jr.

Musical director of the Four Tops -- via Spinner.

Richard Gordon

Film producer -- via the L.A. Times. Made some wonderfully cheesy horror and sc-fi B classics such as "Corridors of Blood," "Fiend Without a Face," "First Man into Space," and "The Haunted Strangler."

Axel Axgil aka Axel Lundahl-Madsen

Gay activist -- via the New York Times.

Matty Alou aka Mateo Rojas Alou

Great MLB batter -- via Dominican Today. With his brothers Felipe and Jesus, one of the great three-sibling combinations in major league history, alongside the DiMaggios and the Molinas. Below is some home-movie footage from 1960, showing Alou and some of his fellow Giants -- yes, the colors really looked like that back then.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

James Hillman

Psychologist -- via the New York Times.

Mark Kingston

Actor -- via the Telegraph.

Georgina Cookson

Actress -- via voy.com.

Dagoberto "Dag" "Burt" Concepcion Cueto

Former MLB pitcher -- via the Charlotte, NC Observer, Bill Schenley and groups.google.com/group/alt.obituaries.

Dave Cole

Former MLB pitcher -- via the Williamsport Herald-Mail. One of the wildest pitchers in MLB history -- once recorded three outs without throwing a stirke, somehow.

Dave Donnelly

Musician -- via the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011