Activist, historian, writer, and journalist; Holocaust survivor and Resistance fighter -- via the New York Times.
Interesting, overlooked, and significant obituaries from around the world, as they happen, emphasizing the positive achievements of those who have died. Member, Society of Professional Obituary Writers.
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Jack Ely
Singer and guitarist; the singer of the classic "Louie, Louie" -- via AP and USA Today. Kicked out of the band shortly after the recording, Ely's life was a tangle of litigation and drug abuse, which led to eventual recovery ad spiritual peace.
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Verne Gagne
Wrestler -- via the Washington Post. An iconic "face" (good-guy archetype) in the ring from 1950 through the '80s, he was the mainstay and owner of the American Wrestling Association from 1960 through 1991.
Andrew Lesnie
Oscar-winning cinematographer who did all of the :Lord of the Rings" and "Hobbit" films -- via the Hollywood Reporter.
Monday, April 27, 2015
Don Mankiewicz
Novelist and screenwriter -- via mynewsla.com. A prolific writer for film and television, he is best remembered for writing the Oscar-nominated "I Want to Live!" -- for TV, he created "Ironside" and "Marcus Welby, M.D." For fans of marginalia, he wrote a few episodes ofthe excelent speculative sci-fi series "One Step Beyond," and the highly regarded two-part "Court Martial" episode of the original "Star Trek." Son of Herman ("Citizen Kane"), nephew of Joseph L. ("All About Eve") and father of John ("House of Cards") and uncle of Ben (TCM host and film journalist). A good union (WGA) man!
Kase Kunihiko
Guitarist and front man for the Wild Ones -- via newsonjapan.com. Their big hit, a kind of Shadows cover, "Omoide no nagisa" (Beach of Memories).
Richard West
Old-school journalist extraordinare; writer and someone I wish I'd met -- via the Telegraph. It's rare that I laugh hysterically through the length of an obituary; however, Mr. West sounds exactly like so many of my insane, bold, and complex fellow journalists, who made good company almost anywhere on the planet where there's alcohol, smokes, and (free) food.
Sid Tepper
Songwriter -- via Billboard. Best known for co-writing "Red Roses for a Blue Lady," he also wrote "Kiss of Fire" and many songs for Elvis.
Sabeen Mahmud
Human rights activist -- via CNN. Assassinated. "Things are dangerous and bad things happen. But you can't let fear control you, you'll never get anything done."
Sunday, April 26, 2015
Jim Fanning
Former MLB catcher and manager -- via the Montreal Gazette. Led the Blue Jays to their only playoff appearance, in 1981.
Bernard Stollman
Founder of ESP-Disk Records -- via Pitchfork. He recorded a large amount of music and spoken-word performance that otherwise might have been lost. This includes Albery Ayler's classic "Spiritual Unity," and work by Ornette Coleman, Sun Ra, Pharaoh Sanders, the Fugs, Timothy Leary, and William S. Burroughs. CAVEAT: It appears that Stollman never paid any of this artists.
Friday, April 24, 2015
M.H. Abrams
Teacher, scholar, writer, and editor -- via the New York Times. A profound analyzer of literature, he edited the first seven editions of the Norton Anthology of English Literature.
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