Monday, December 26, 2011

Euclid James "Motorhead" Sherwood

Fabulous rock musician and original member of the Mothers of Invention -- via weirdomusic.com.

Adrienne Cooper

Legendary Yiddish vocalist -- via the Jewish Daily Forward.

Pedro Armendariz Jr.

Actor -- via the San Francisco Chronicle.

Nina Mula

Soprano -- via top-channel.tv.

Hana Andronikova

Writer -- via radio.cz.

Joaozinho Trinta

Designer of Carnival spectacles and parades -- via claudiocarvalhaes.com.

Shinichi Ichikawa

Screenwriter -- via animenewsnetwork.com.

Bonnie Prudden

Pioneering fitness expert -- via philly.com.

Will Townsend

Video game producer -- via gamasutra.com.

Norman Krim

Electronics whiz who helped popularize the transistor -- via the New York Times.

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Bill Morrison

Playwright and writer for radio -- via the Guardian.

Ernest Mehew

World's foremost expert on Robert Louis Stevenson -- via the Telegraph.

Maurice Huggett

Proprietor of the Phoenix Artist Club - via the Telegraph.

Hugh Carless

Career diplomat who accompanied Eric Newby to Afghanistan in 1956, an expedition that formed the substance of the classic travel memoir, Newby's "A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush" -- via the Telegraph.

David Spancer

Script coordinator, video editor -- via legacy.com.

Friday, December 23, 2011

Yoshimitsu Morita

Film director -- via the Chicago Tribune. Directed such well-regarded works as "The Family Game," "And Then" and "Paradise Lost."

Don Sharp

Film director -- via the New York Times. Best known for his efforts for Hammer films, including "The Kiss of the Vampire" and "The Face of Fu Manchu."

Warren Hellman

Financial whiz, civic leader, philanthropist, amateur athlete, bluegrass lover and musician, and founder of the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival -- via the New York Times.

Heidi Helen Davis

Director, actress and teacher -- via the L.A. Times.

Ronnie Wolfe aka Harvey Ronald Wolfe-Luberoff

Comedy writer for stage, radio and TV -- via the Telegraph.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Frances Melrose

Journalist and historian -- via the Denver Post.

John Higgins

Actor, director and dialect coach -- via the Hollywood Reporter.

Marilyn O'Connor Davis

Actress, singer and dancer -- via the Ventura County Star.

Paula Hyman

Historian -- via the Jewish Daily Forward.

Graham Brown

Actor -- via Playbill.

Rating the dead: is it wrong? I say yes, but what do you think?

Got this message in my inbox today -- I think it's interesting but misconceived, and I would love to hear what you think of it. My whole point with Obit Patrol is to focus on lives well-lived, of engaging personalities or those who made lasting contributions to those around them. This does not correlate with fame, necessarily -- although I am tracking obituaries through already-published sources, which indicates a modicum of notoriety on the part of the deceased. (There is a limitless number of "anonymous" lives that deserve similar attention here; unfortunately, I don't have the time or resources to give them the spotlight they deserve.)

My problem with this and all other "top-ranked" deaths of the year stories and posts is that it indicates that we value a person's visibility status -- the celebrity quantum of simply being knowable by the broadest base of people possible -- as the primary criterion for being remembered. I don't list people who I feel are already well-covered by the mainstream media (politicians, some sports figures, celebrities) or those who I feel were a blight on the planet rather than a boon (Ghaddafi, bin Laden, Kim Jong-Il). What do you think? Would love to hear from you on this.

"Dear Jayde Member,
With so many famous deaths in 2011 (Steve Jobs, Andy Rooney,
Osama Bin Laden, etc.), it's hard to determine who is the most
famous. Well FamousDead.com has put together a very intuitive
application that allows you to rank the most famous deaths of 2011,
by simply dragging and dropping them in order. After you submit your
choices, you can see the global top 10 list:
http://www.famousdead.com/top10/
Keep on Promoting!
Jayde Admin"

Dan Frazer

Character actor -- via the New York Times. Best remembered as Captain McNeil on "Kojak"; also known informally as the Mayor of 43rd Street for his long residence in the neighborhood of his brith -- Hell's Kitchen, aka Clinton.

Rahim Ghamzada

Singer -- via Ariana News.

Marvin Saul

The genius behind the wonderful Junior's deli in Westwood -- via the L.A. Times.

Billie Jo Spears

Country singer -- via the New York Times.

Khadzhimurat Kamalov

Journalist -- via the New York Times. Murdered in the course of duty.

Boris Chertok

Rocket scientist -- via the New York Times.

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Xue Jinbo

Rights activist -- via the New York Times. Died in police custody.

Anthony Amato

Founder and driving force behind the Amato Opera -- via the New York Times.

Ralph MacDonald

Grammy-winning songwriter, arranger, producer and percussionist -- via the New York Daily News. He wrote, among other tunes, "Where is the Love" and "Just the Two of Us."

Brian Alexander Leitch

Jolly steelyard owner -- via news.ninemsn.com.au. One of his lifelong goals was to pen his own humorous obituary. He succeeded!

Erica Wilson

A master of needlework who revived the craft in America -- via the Washington Post.

Bert Schneider

Film and television producer -- via the L.A. Times. He made a pile from "The Monkees," but used that money to finance films such as "Easy Rider," "The Last Picture Show," "Five Easy Pieces" and "Days of Heaven." Peter Biskind reports in Vanity Fair.