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.
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Simon Ward
A damn good actor -- via the Telegraph. He didn't work a lot, but I think he was one of the best of our time. He played the lead role in "Young Winston," and actually pulls Churchill off. He was the Duke of Buckingham in Lester's "Three Musketeers" trilogy. He played Vereker in "Zulu Dawn." He even made it into a Hammer film, playing assistant to Peter Cushing in "Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed." More recently he worked in TV series such as "Judge John Deed" and "The Tudors." Always fun to watch --
Ginny Tyler aka Merrie Virginia Erlandson
Voice artist and Mouseketeer -- via the L.A. Times. A Disney Legend, she voiced, among many others -- Olive Oyl, various animals in "The Sword and the Stone" and "Mary Poppins," Jan in "Space Ghost," Polynesia the parrot in "Doctor Doolittle," Casper the Friendly Ghost (TV series), and all the female characters in the first 13 episodes of "Davey and Goliath."
Bob Gamm
Inventor of the KangaROO shoe, the first shoe with a pocket in it -- via the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Tom Davis
Emmy-winning comic writer and performer -- via the New York Times. Half of the incredible duo of Franken and Davis, an original writer on "Saturday Night Live," he created much unforgettable laughter. Including his creations are: the Coneheads, Irving Mainway, Theodoric of York, Nick the Lounge Singer, the Continental, and many more. A genius -- I'll miss him greatly.
Else Holmelund Minarik
Children's author -- via the New York Times. Most memorably, she wrote the series of "Little Bear" beginning readers.
William Asher
TV director, producer and screenwriter -- via the New York Times. Will be best remembered as the cretor of "Bewitched" in conjunction with his then-wife, Elizabeth Montgomery.
Robert W. Creamer
Writer -- via Yahoo Sports. An original member of Sports Illustrated's writing staff, he wrote there for 30 years, as well as in the times. He specialized in baseball, and wrote what is considered the definitive biography of Babe Ruth, "Babe: The Legend Comes to Life"; and what is one of my top five baseball books -- "Baseball in '41: A Celebration of the 'Best Baseball Season Ever.'" He will be best remembered as one of the prominent talking heads in Ken Burns' "Baseball" miniseries.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Val Patterson
Electrical engineer -- via Yahoo News and Legacy.com. Perhaps the best self-penned obituary I have yet read; it includes several opportunely timed confessions as well.
Rosemary Furtak
Award-winning librarian who focused on art and artists' books -- via the Star-Tribune. The Walker Art Center in Minneapolis now houses an internationally-recognized collection of these works, thanks to her!
Monday, July 16, 2012
Jon Lord
Organist, keyboardist, composer; founder and long-time leader of hard rock pioneers Deep Purple -- via the New York Times.
Bob Babbitt aka Robert Kreinar
Bassist with the legendary Funk Brothers, the studio band at Motown Records -- via the Detroit News. The master of the funky bottom, rivaled in his time only by Larry Graham of Sly and the Family Stone. A genius.
He played on more than 200 top 40 hits. Think about alllllllllllll the brilliant songs he played the bass line on -- "Ball of Confusion," "Scorpio," "Oh How Happy," "Cool Jerk," "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours," "War," "Mercy Mercy Me," "Midnight Train to Georgia" -- and his ultimate creation, the masterpiece "Just My Imagination." Cannot praise him too highly. He got it.
He played on more than 200 top 40 hits. Think about alllllllllllll the brilliant songs he played the bass line on -- "Ball of Confusion," "Scorpio," "Oh How Happy," "Cool Jerk," "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours," "War," "Mercy Mercy Me," "Midnight Train to Georgia" -- and his ultimate creation, the masterpiece "Just My Imagination." Cannot praise him too highly. He got it.
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