Friday, May 1, 2015

Bill Valentine

Ray Jackson

John "Johnny" Kazian

Acrobat, wingwalker, and stuntman -- via findagrave.com.

Teresa Castello Yturbide

Folklorist and writer -- via Informador. AKA Girasola, Pascuala Corona.

Colin Sauer

Violinist -- via the Telegraph. His recording of the Douglas Coates violin concerto, long thought lost, resurfaced to acclaim in 2006.

Richard LaSalle

Film and television composer -- via legacy.com. Born in Louisville, Colorado on January 18, 1918, he attended the University of Colorado. LaSalle began writing for local radio, then performed around the region as a pianist and an orchestra leader from 1940 to 1955. His film credits include "Tank Battalion" (1958), "Deadly Duo" (1962), "40 Guns to Apache Pass" (1967), "Piranha" (1972), TV movies such as "The Amazing Captain Nemo," "Fire!", and "Back to the Planet of the Apes"; and TV shows such as "F Troop," "Land of the Giants," "Room 222," and "Wonder Woman."

Too soon: on not listing some of the young deceased

I've recently passed on posting obituaries on 22-year-old Peter Cronkite and 19-year-old Sawyer Sweeten. In general, I try to focus on obituaries overlooked by the mainstream media. This is not to say that these young men, and others who die tragically, such as recent progeria victim Hayley Okines, did not make significant and lasting contributions to humanity in their short lives. However, their stories are told far more eloquently on sites and via journalism that can adequately foreground and emphasize the issues involved with their deaths. They deserve better and more thorough attention than I can give them. Thanks for listening.

Ben E. King

Legendary soul and R& B singer and songwriter -- via the BBC. AKA Benjamin Earl Nelson. As the lead singer of the Drifters, he had hits with "There Goes My Baby," "This Magic Moment," and "Save the Last Dance for Me"; as a soloist, he recorded more classics, including "Stand by Me," "Spanish Harlem," and "Don't Play That Song."
















Thursday, April 30, 2015

Guy LeBlanc

Keyboardist -- via Ultimate Classic Rock.

Batyrkhan Shukenov

Singer -- via kazpravda.kz.

Rick Freeman

Vocalist and guitarist with the Spirtles -- via the Indianapolis Star.

Charles Hamel

Whistleblower -- via the Washington Post.

Weekly reader: a collection of news worldwide on death, mourning, and more

MOURNING


Mourning the migrants killed at sea – via Christopher Miller at Mashable



Canada observes National Day of Mourning for workers who die on the job – via Vinh Tien Trinh at the Huffington Post

“Saying goodbye” – via Nation Hahn at Medium

University of Virginia plans reconstruction of memorial garden – via Catherine Griesedieck at the Cavalier Daily

California seeks to tax memorial DVDs – via Steve Rubenstein at SFGate


DEATH


Death and mourning in India – via Amrapali Maitra at Scope

Video: Lovely London, City of . . Death? – via Caitlin Doughty at the Order of the Good Death


Postmortem bioluminescence – via Esther Inglis-Arkell at io9

‘Edison’s Last Breath’ – via Dylan at Atlas Obscura

Thrill-seeking bicyclists love Bolivia’s “Death Road” – via John Otis at the Wall Street Journal

Digital immortality: a practical guide – via Jeff Reifman at tuts+



FUNERALS


Cremations line river in wake of Nepal quake deaths – via Julie Makinen at the L.A. Times




A history of changing Jewish burial rites – via Elon Gilad at Haaretz

Family sues after funeral home switches corpses, cremates wrong guy – via Levi Pulkkinen at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer

More on Lincoln-death anniversary rites – via Joan Dittmann at the Chicago Tribune


OBITS

Cancer victim writes her own obituary – via Melissa Chan at the New York Daily News



Find the Good’: New memoir from small-town obit writer – via Susan Richmond at On magazine, and the Yakima Herald

Oh dear – obituary requests for political action on the rise – via Hunter Schwarz in the Washington Post



Claudia Paz

Actress -- via t13.cl.

Betsy von Furstenberg

Actress, writer, and baroness -- via the New York Times. AKA Elizabeth Caroline Maria Agatha Felicitas Therese, Freiin von Furstenberg-Hedringen.

Marty Napoleon

Great jazz pianist -- via legacy.com. He worked with the greats -- Armstrong, Goodman, Krupa, Venuti, Hawkins, Torme . . .

Antonio Abujamra

Director and actor -- via Agencia Brazil.

Tony Drake

Great session guitarist; one of the fabled Funk Brothers -- via legacy.com. Can be heard on such classics as "Mr. Big Stuff" and "River Deep, Mountain High."



Koti Arpad

Actor -- via http://csokonaiszinhaz.hu.

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Wladyslaw Bartoszewski

Daya Alwis

Actor -- via apisrilankan.com.


Morris Freedman

Writer and educator -- via the Washington Post.

Nicholas Kallsen

Actor -- via Us magazine.

Paul Ryan

Actor, producer, and TV host -- via the Hollywood Reporter.

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.



Rolf Smedvig

Elisabeth P. Meyers

Writer -- via Dignity Memorial.


Pauline Brockless

Soprano -- via the Telegraph.


Suzanne Crough

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Ines Etienne Romeu

Tom Taplin

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.




T.H. Poole Sr.

Civil rights activist -- via the Orlando Sentinel.


Rene Feret

Andrew Lesnie

Jayne Meadows

Actress -- via the New York Daily News. AKA Jane Meadows Cotter.



Keith Harris

Ventriloquist -- via the Guardian.

Lenny Chernila

Poet -- via Westword.

Max Rojas

Poet -- via Periodico Correo.

E.M. Subramaniam

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!

Francis Tsai

Comic book artist, illustrator, writer -- via Comic Book Resources.

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).

Aideen O'Kelly

Actress -- via legacy.com.

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. 

Ellen Turner

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.



Vanda Barra

Actress -- via the Hollywood Reporter.

Rex Robinson

Actor -- via digitalspy.com.


Wang Guozhen

Poet -- via fireinews.com.


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.