Monday, April 14, 2014

Sue Townsend

Novelist and playwright; best known for her Adrian Mole series -- via BBC.

Jesse Winchester

Singer and songwriter -- via Rolling Stone.







Python Vladimir Anghelo

Artist, game designer, and pinball machine designer -- via Polygon.

Aldo Braibanti

Writer and gay rights activist -- via Le Repubblicla.

Svetlana Velmar-Janković

Novelist, essayist, and historian -- via novosti.rs.

Liv Dommersnes

Actress -- via nrk.no.

Peter Liechti

Filmmaker -- via fandor.com.

Peter Liechti | Masterclass | Part 1 | Motivation from Scottish Documentary Institute on Vimeo.

Alena Hynkova

Writer and director -- via ceskatelevize.cz.

Andrei Bodiu

Poet -- via revista22.ro.

Richard "Doc" Worthington

Founder of the Monroe Symphony Orchestra -- via the News Star.

Friday, April 11, 2014

Anker Buch

Violinist -- via the Ekstrabladet.

Fred Kida

Comic-book artist -- via spidermancrawlspace.com.


George Dureau

Artist -- via the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

George Dureau 2001 Exhibition Walkthrough from Arthur Roger Gallery on Vimeo.


VK Murthy

Cinematographer -- via the Times of India. He was the D.P. on one of my favorite Bollywood films, "Pyaasa."

Harris Goldsmith

Teacher and writer -- via artsjournal.com.

Thursday, April 10, 2014

David Werdyger

Hazzan (cantor) -- via vosizneias.com. Quite literally a savior of Jewish music! A survivor of the Holocaust, who saved his own life by singing for the dreaded Nazi camp commander Amon Goth, who deigned to spare his life. Later, Werdyger was saved again as one of those on "Schindler's list." After the war, he recorded no fewer than 60 albums of sacred melodies, preserving them for all time.

Consuelo Moure

Actress -- via El Columbiano.

Carlos Oneto

Actor -- via rpp.com.pe.

Leee Black Childers

Photographer and writer -- via ultimateclassicrock.com.



Alan Davie

Artist and musician -- via the Telegraph.

David Lamb

Musician; half of folk duo Brown Bird -- via NPR.

John Shirley-Quirk

Bass-baritone -- via the Telegraph.

Chuck Stone

Journalist and community leader -- via Philly.com.


Mary Anderson

Actress -- via the L.A. Times.

Ivor Robinson

Master bookbinder -- via the Telegraph.

Urs Widmer

Novelist, playwright, essayist, and short-story writer -- via nzz.ch.

Mahjoub Sharif

Poet -- via allafrica.com.

Miloš Mikeln

Writer, playwright, director, and journalist -- via rtvslo.si.

Richard Brick

Filmmaker, producer, teacher; Film Commissioner for New York -- via the New York Times.

Regine Deforges

Writer, publisher, editor, director, and playwright -- via Le Monde.

Film Regine Deforges from BIGGGGIDEA.COM on Vimeo.

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Lawrence Hamilton

Singer and actor -- via the L.A. Times.

Walter "King" Fleming

Pianist and bandleader -- via the Chicago Tribune.



Jose Wilker

Actor -- via the Latin Times.

George Bookasta

Actor, director, and bandleader -- via the Hollywood Reporter.

Gyula Szabo

Actor -- via westernboothill.blogspot.com.


From the Guardian: Peaches Geldorf and death in the digital age

A sad-but-true analysis of how we examine "celebrity" deaths by Tanya Gold -- via Tanya Gold in the Guardian. As usual, I hope that Obit Patrol stands as a corrective to the vulturous attitude of contemporary media towards death, in that I ignore the tragic, intrusive, and exploitative aspects around someone's end of life . . . and focus on what that person did to make the world a better, or at least more happy, place.

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Essie Garrett

Ultrarunner and fundraiser -- via the Denver Post.

Monika Kinley

Curator, collector, and dealer; specialist in outsider art -- via the Guardian.

Wendy Westover

Calligrapher and miniaturist -- via the Telegraph.

Richard Vaughan

Historian, linguist, and ornithologist -- via the Telegraph.

Bob Larbey

TV writer -- via the BBC. He co-wrote "The Good Life," and created other Britcoms such as "A Fine Romance" and "As Time Goes By."

Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith

Guitarist, banjoist, mandolinist, violinist, and composer; wrote (of course) the immortal "Guitar Boogie," and "Dueling Banjos" as well -- via the Washington Post. Great story: he went to go see "Deliverance," which made "Dueling Banjos" world-famous . . . only problem -- he wasn't credited with or paid for his work. Two years of litigation later, he bought himself a 42-foot yacht, thanks to Warner Brothers.








George Shuffler

Bluegrass guitarist; inventor of cross-picking -- via Acoustic Guitar. What a wonderful musician! His music was so pretty, it made me cry. And to watch his fingers work was just such a treat. AND a good soul. Bless him!



Wayne Henderson

Trombonist and co-founder of the Jazz Crusaders -- via NPR.

Joan Miller

Dancer and teacher -- via the New York Times.

Philip W. Brickner

Doctor who reinvented the house call -- via the New York Times.