Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Li'l Bob

Singer, drummer, and songwriter -- via The Advertiser. Leader of Lil' Bob and the Lollipops; wrote the classic "I Got Loaded."




Blaine Gibson

Sculptor and animator -- via Gizmodo. Creator of much of the iconic three-dimensional work at Disney theme parks, including "Pirates of the Caribbean," "The Haunted Mansion," "Hall of the Presidents," and much more.


Cheng-Hui Yu

Jerry Weintraub

Agent, promoter, and producer -- via the Hollywood Reporter. An emblematic show-biz player, her worked his way up from the mailroom at MCA. He started as an agent for people and groups such as Jane Morgan (whom he married), Joey Bishop, John Denver, and the Four Seasons. (He co-founded the Doodletown Pipers -- yikes!) He managed and promoted concerts and tours for Sinatra, Elvis, Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin, Neil Diamond, and many more. In film, he produced such work as "Nashville," "Diner," the "Karate Kid" series, and the "Ocean's" series.




Lenny McDaniel

Slavko Avsenik

Composer and musician -- via STA. The "Johann Strauss of the 20th Century," a master of Cleveland-style polka.





Edward Greenfield

Music critic, writer, and biographer -- via the Telegraph.

Elena Khudiakova

Artist -- via the Telegraph.


Red Lane

Songwriter -- via CMT. AKA Hollis Rudolph DeLaughter.






Burt Shavitz

Beekeeper and entrepreneur; founder of Burt's Bees products -- via the New York Times. AKA Ingram Shavitz. The reality is that his popular success was largely due to the work of Roxanne Quimby, who monetized the whole operation and eventually bought him out in 1999 for a house worth $130,000. Shavitz remained as the public face of the company, which became a subsidiary of Clorox. The recent documentary "Burt's Buzz" by Jody Shapiro examines his life with wit and intelligence. Like anyone who becomes a brand, Shavitz's life spanned contradictions.

Monday, July 6, 2015

Amanda Peterson

Former actress -- via the Denver Post.

Jane Aaron

Charles Harbutt

Photographer -- via the New York Times. A great shooter who moved away from facts, and towards truth. This fascinating 1997 interview with Margaret Regan outlines his concerns with journalism versus art. "If reality was going to be staged, that disillusioned me with journalism."








Robert Hollis

Sign painter -- via the L.A. Times.

Curtis Claude Varnam

Sandeep Kothari

Journalist -- via the Huffington Post.


Reader: World news on death, mourning, and more

DEATH

A ‘good death’ described – via John Paul at Beaver Countain

Hey, American guys! This is how you will die – via Chloe Della Costa at Cheat Sheet

Natural childbirth activist dies as she wished – via Celia and Jenny Kitzinger

Faces of Death Row – via Terri Langford in the Texas Tribune

‘The Lost Ritual of Photographing the Dead’ – via Alison Meier in Hyperallergic



’21 Warning Signs of Your Imminent Death’ – via Eric Bucholz in Cracked


Depoliticizing end-of-life planning – via Bruce Jepsen at Forbes

Serving as midwife and undertaker for 60 years – via Yu Hsueh-lan and Jake Chung in the Taipei Times

Super-rich fund immortality projects – via Tara Clarke at Money Morning



New musical features dying composer – via Ben Brantley in the New York Times

Doctor walks the talk, donates her organs – via Madeline Smith The Globe and Mail

MOURNING

Mourning the Charleston shootings—via Edward McAllister, Luciana Lopez, and Alana Wise at Reuters

‘The Condition of Black Life Is One of Mourning’ – via Claudia Rankine in the New York Times Mafaine

Mourning the death of a child – via Eric Meyer in Modern Loss

Incomplete mourning – via Sarah Baker at WBUR

Drag queen honors loving grandmother – via Nigel Duara at the L.A. Times

Songs of grief – via Robert Darden in the Huffington Post


Japan mourns stationmaster cat – via Danielle Demetrieu at the Telegraph

The cure for fear, grief, and death – via Dr. Harriet Lerner in Psychology Today

FUNERALS

Cleveland funeral home in trouble – via John Caniglia at the Cleveland Plain Dealer. A tough story, but brilliantly reported and beautifully written. Best lede I’ve read in quite some time.

Performance artist plans own funeral service – via Nancy Groves in the Guardian

Are funerals becoming wacky, happy occasions? – via Jon Kelly in the BBC News Magazine


Interview with Nigerian funeral practitioner – via Deolu at Information Nigeria

Portrait of a funeral singer – via Rob O’Flanagan at the Guelph Mercury

‘Funeral Insurance: Do You Need It?’ – via Selena Maranjian at the Motley Fool


New wrinkles at memorial services – via Krith Morelli at the Tampa Times

The sad story of abandoned cremains – via Zack Lemon at the Columbus Dispatch

Dedicated golfers want their ashes on the course – via John Paul Newport at the Wall Street Journal

OBITS


Quite a stylish obituary of Christopher Lee in The Economist. Unsigned and a bit unhinged.



Peter Quigley

Actor -- via the Belfast Telegraph.


Fred Dereschuk

Labor leader -- via the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.


Scott Reeder

Writer -- via the San Diego Union Tribune.


Anna Stanley

Activist, artist, and teacher -- via the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.


Tony Jordan

Worked with the developmentally disabled -- via the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.


Sunday, July 5, 2015

Diana Dill Douglas Webster

Actress -- via the Hollywood Reporter.

Jacques Sernas

Actor -- via La Repubblica. Fun Fact: The 1956 episode of the TV drama anthology series Conflict "The Man from 1997" shown here stars Sernas, but James Garner's small role in it as a gambler made him noticed, and gave him the role in the TV series Maverick that would make him a star.



Preshy Marker

Actress and singer -- via legacy.com. AKA Esther Somne Reyna. Best remembered as the original Philia in "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum."




Bart Williams

Actor -- via the Hollywood Reporter.


Gustavo Sainz

Writer -- via El Universal.




Friday, July 3, 2015

Von "Bob" Whitlock

Jazz bassist -- via Bass Player. The last original member of the Gerry Mulligan Quartet.

Alex Scott

Actor -- via the Melbourne Theatre Company.


Edward Burnham

Actor -- via Doctor Who News.


Helene Monette

Poet and novelist -- via La Presse.


Paolo Piffarerio

Cartoonist -- via La Repubblica. Best known for drawing the popular spy comic Alan Ford from 1975 to 1984.

Thursday, July 2, 2015

Val Doonican

Singer -- via the BBC.



Bruce Rowland

Drummer best known for work with Joe Cocker, Fairport Convention -- via Ultimate Classic Rock. Also a prolific session drummer, he can be heard on the original recording of "Jesus Christ Superstar."






"Machine Gun" Lou Butera

Pool player -- via the Scranton Times-Tribune.



Praful Bidwai

Sonny Madrid

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Nicholas Winton

Humanitarian -- via the BBC. Saved hundreds of Jewish children during World War II!

Leonard Starr

Cartoonist -- via News from ME. Best known for creating "Mary Perkins, On Stage" and successfully reviving "Little Orphan Annie."




Eddy Louiss

Jazz organist -- via Le Figaro.



Ladislav Chudik

Actor -- via the Slovak Spectator.

Theodore Weesner

Writer -- via the New York Times.


Sergio Sollima

Director and screenwriter; classic creator of pulp fiction -- via La Stampa. One of the three Sergios (with Leone and Corbucci) who made the spaghetti Western great. He started off writing sword-and-sandal epics ("Goliath Against the Giants," "The Fury of Hercules," "Spartacus and the Ten Gladiators"), moved up to spy films, then the Westerns "The Big Gundown," "Face to Face," and "Run, Man, Run." He finished up in TV, helming the successful costume adventure series "Sandokan," but made two early gritty urban thrillers as well -- "Violent City" (aka "The Family") and "Blood in the Streets" (aka "Revolver").