Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Aubrey Woods

Actor; best known for his role as Bill the candy-shop owner in "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory," in which he sang "The Candy Man."



Angelo Mango

Actor -- via the Battle Creek Enquirer.

David Connell

Actor -- via the Chicago Tribune.

Billy Raymond aka Raymond Jamieson Hubner

Entertainer and singer -- via The Herald.

Artus de Penguern

Actor and director -- via westernboothill.blogspot.com.

Albert Lance aka Lance Ingram

Tenor -- via the Melbourne Herald Sun.



Harold Shapero

Composer and pianist -- via Brandeis Now.






Jerome Reehuis

Actor and poet -- via De Telegraff.

Bernard Waber

Children's author; best known for "The House on East 88th Street" and "Lyle, Lyle Crocodile" -- via the Christian Science Monitor.


George Gray

Chemist; expert of liquid crystals -- via the Guardian.

Alan O'Day

Songwriter, singer, musician, and producer -- via the Hollywood Reporter. Though best remembered as the writer and performer on the 1977 pop hit "Undercover Angel," he also crafted many other hits, such as "Rock 'n' Roll Heaven" for the Righteous Brothers, "Angie Baby" for Helen Reddy, "The Drum" for Bobby Sherman, and "Train of Thought" for Cher.

He had a catchy way with a tune, and crafted bright, sunny ballads and strange, dark narratives as well. "Undercover Angel" remains a guilty pleasure for me -- bouncy, yearning, and absolutely absurd at the same time. (This is a prominent member of the vaguely masturbatory "dream" love songs of the period, which include "I Like Dreaming," "Dream Weaver," and "Imaginary Lover.")

Thanks, Alan! The world needs people who help us have fun! Thanks to you, I can still work on my White Man's Overbite funk dancing. Where are my acrylic shirts?







Nasser Al Din Al Nashashibi

Journalist and writer -- via alowaisnet.org.

Ernst Klee

Journalist and historian -- via the Guardian.

Richard Beeston

Journalist and editor -- via the Guardian.

Susan L. Mogull

Activist -- via the Sacramento Bee.

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Helen Lu


Customs officer, and mighty charity worker -- via the Toronto Star.

Penry Williams

Historian, and activist on behalf of asylum seekers -- via the Guardian.

Anne Valery

Writer, best remembered for her World War II TV drama "Tenko." According to her Guardian obit she did the following: "training for war combat, working in army intelligence, being a doyenne of the Fitzrovia literary set in postwar London, modelling on Paris catwalks, working as an actor, television presenter and cabaret performer, and running a junk shop on the Portobello Road, she finally found her vocation as a scriptwriter."

Valtr Komarek

Politician and economist who joined the Velvet Revolution -- via the Independent.

Hedda Bolgar

Psychoanalyst -- via the L.A. Times. She attended Freud's lectures; she escaped the Nazis; she was working until last week. Amazing!

Asghar Ali Engineer

Writer, reformer, scholar, and activist -- via the Times of India.

Ray Guy

Journalist and playwright -- via the Global News.

Enio Ioimmi

Sculptor -- via the Buenos Aires Herald.

John R. McKee

Actor -- via westernboothill.blogspot.com.

Paula Lynn Kaatz

Costumer and costume designer -- via the Hollywood Reporter.

Friday, May 17, 2013

Christine L. White

Actress -- via legacy.com. She was James Dean's girlfriend while they lived in New York; her best-remembered role is probably that of William Shatner's character's wife in the "Twilight Zone" episode "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet."

"The Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" - 1963 Version from Dylan JamesT on Vimeo.

Ron Weaver

TV producer -- via the Hollywood Reporter.

Arnold Peters

Actor -- via the Guardian.

Joe Farman

Geophysicist who discovered the diminishing ozone layer, possibly saving all humanity in the process. Nice! -- via the Guardian.

John LaMontaine

Composer -- via the New York Times.






Barbara Salinas-Norman

Activist and author -- via legacy.com.

Peter Worthington

Journalist -- via the Toronto Sun. Here's his self-composed obituary, which is comprehensive and lengthy -- but he is beyond the reach of editors now! A satisfying last word on his own life.

K Bikram Singh

Film director, producer, and writer -- via Bollywood Life.

Harold Pauley

Composer and musician -- via the Sacramento Bee.

Cesar Portillo de la Luz

Songwriter -- via the Guardian.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Fred White

Long-time broadcaster for the Royals -- via the Kansas City Star. He was there for the miracle Highway 70 Series in 75!


Zia Fariduddin Dagar

Vocalist -- via dnaindia.com.

Michael Earl

Performer and activist -- via The Stage.

Ken Whaley

Bassist and journalist -- via forujms.stevehoffman.tv.

Huguette Oligny

Actress -- via the CBC.