Milestone Moments: All The Celebrity Vitals

[januaryman]

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/robert-john-sad-eyes-singer-dead-obituary-1235279707/

[MissAlmond]

Actor John Lawlor who played Leonard Marsh on the TV series Phyllis, headmaster Steven Bradley on the first season of The Facts of Life and the father who uttered "Good stuff, Maynard!" to his son's invisible friend in the 1980's Malt-O-Meal commercial has died, age 83. 

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/john-lawlor-dead-phyllis-facts-of-life-1236145443/

https://deadline.com/2025/02/john-lawlor-dead-1236300210/

https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/john-lawlor-the-facts-life-star-dead-83

Edited Wednesday at 01:28 PM by MissAlmond

[Hybridcookie]

Michelle Trachtenberg who played Dawn in Buffy has died. She was only 39.

https://pagesix.com/2025/02/26/celebrity-news/michelle-trachtenberg-gossip-girl-and-buffy-the-vampire-slayer-actress-dead-at-39/

 

[Cobalt Stargazer]

4 hours ago, Hybridcookie said:

Michelle Trachtenberg who played Dawn in Buffy has died. She was only 39.

https://pagesix.com/2025/02/26/celebrity-news/michelle-trachtenberg-gossip-girl-and-buffy-the-vampire-slayer-actress-dead-at-39/

 

I just saw that, and I'm literally in shock. Tractenberg underwent a liver transplant recently and may have been experiencing complications. Just.....shitting hell.

[MissAlmond]

 

[kittykat]

What the hell!  How awful.  I know Dawn Summers was hardly a fan favorite but... Harriet the Spy, Georgina Sparks, hell I even have a fondness for Ice Princess.  This sucks.

[Cloud9Shopper]

Ice Princess is one of my guilty pleasure favorite movies. Will have to watch it this weekend. 

[Spartan Girl]

I can’t believe it. This is so awful. I loved her ever since Harriet the Spy, and even though Dawn could be annoying in Buffy, we now know that she was done dirty by Whedon and his offscreen bullying to the point where he wasn’t allowed in the same room with her. (and she sure as shit deserved better than to end up with fucking Xander in the comics 🤮🤮🤮🤮)

RIP Michelle. 

Edited Wednesday at 07:39 PM by Spartan Girl

[Dimity]

I only know her as a little girl in Harriet the Spy.  39 is way too young 😔.

Edited Wednesday at 08:12 PM by Dimity

[Bastet]

Looking up her credits, the only things I've seen her in are the first Black Christmas remake and a terrible TV movie I sat through because of Mary McDonnell, but I know who Trachtenberg is because she's been around since she was such a little kid.  (Harriet the Spy was my favorite book as a child, and I still re-read it as an adult, so I've never watched the movie because I know I'll just fixate on the differences.)  This is sad.  Her poor mom, finding her child dead, and at only 39 years old.

[Spartan Girl]

People had been making nasty comments on her Instagram because of how thin and tired she looked, which forced to come forward about said liver transplant.

I fucking hate social media.

[Affogato]

9 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

People had been making nasty comments on her Instagram because of how thin and tired she looked, which forced to come forward about said liver transplant.

I fucking hate social media.

Yeah, that sucks. 
 

On the other hand, this is social media. Just slightly archaic. 

[kittykat]

1 hour ago, Spartan Girl said:

People had been making nasty comments on her Instagram because of how thin and tired she looked, which forced to come forward about said liver transplant.

I fucking hate social media.

People still have to defunct lies about Brittany Murphy and her husband.  There are those who still think it was drugs and not poisonous mold even though there are official records.  Seriously.

That's horrible that it sounds like her body rejected the liver.  2025 can just stop already.

[Annber03]

3 hours ago, Bastet said:

This is sad.  Her poor mom, finding her child dead, and at only 39 years old.

Oh, damn, I didn't know that. Ugh, how awful. 

3 hours ago, Dimity said:

I only know her as a little girl in Harriet the Spy.  39 is way too young 😔.

Yeah, that's where I first saw her, too. I also saw her on "Criminal Minds" and in the movie Eurotrip. 

Absolutely stunned to read this news. She was only a year younger than me. Way, way too young - condolences to her loved ones. 

[voiceover]

Dear Michelle!  such very sad news.

I was late to the Buffyverse, and while she wasn’t my favorite, I didn’t  really get the animosity her character sparked amongst the faithful.

Thought she & James played well off each other, and as a Spike fangirl I appreciated that Dawn was usually in his corner.

I also liked her scenes with Amber!  Those three were the Outsiders of the o.g. Scoobies; probably that’s what I found them a treat together.

Thinking of her family & friends at this time, and how they must be reeling.

 

[tearknee]

The public Michelle Trachtenberg will live on in things like "Harriet the Spy" and "Buffy", but the living memory of the private Michelle will end in the second half of this century when the last of the friends and family that knew her die.

 

[Blergh]

On 2/24/2025 at 5:35 PM, Crashcourse said:

I hated Lauren Hill's "hip hop" version of "Killing Me Softly."

Maybe  Miss Flack's share of royalties from it went to help make her later years more comfortable and/or helped support a worthy cause she believed in. We can hope.

FWIW, Miss Hill's vocals and arrangements were awful but her video of it killed the whole point of the song with Miss Hill spending the whole time looking. ..peeved instead of in any way appearing poignant, in love or troubled as Miss Flack had conveyed in her original rendition.

Hopefully more folks will look up Miss Flack's fantastic classic rendition and get inspired.

[Bastet]

23 minutes ago, Blergh said:

Maybe  Miss Flack's share of royalties from it

She didn't write it, so no royalties for another singer's rendition.

[Kel Varnsen]

14 hours ago, Annber03 said:

And in the movie Eurotrip. 

Eurotrip is freaking hilarious and has probably one of the best surprise cameos in a movie ever.

19 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

 we now know that she was done dirty by Whedon and his offscreen bullying to the point where he wasn’t allowed in the same room with her.

While Whedon is clearly a shit bag, isn't that the rule that all minor actors have to be with a parent when working on a movie or TV set? Christopher Mintz-Plasse was 17 when they filmed Superbad so his mom had to supervise his sex scene. It's like right in the SAG rules for minors that a parent who is not also working has to be able to be close enough to their kid to see and hear them at all times.

Edited Thursday at 03:00 PM by Kel Varnsen

[tearknee]

34 minutes ago, Bastet said:

She didn't write it, so no royalties for another singer's rendition.

exactly. the copyright to the lyrics and the composed music is not Flack's

(John Lennon songs (including Imagine) will be out of copyright at the end of 2050 but Lennon-McCartney songs won't be out of copyright until 70 years after McCartney's death).

[tearknee]

Fortunately, she will be with us forever…in reruns of Clarissa Explains it All, The Adventures of Pete and Pete, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Gossip Girl and other shows and movies on which she performed. She also leaves behind her loving family, a legacy of friends who were introduced to one another and inspired by her kindness, and a whole lot of fans. And of course, all that is true, but…

The work she did was wonderful, and I know we'll enjoy watching it again and again and again. But being around Michelle Trachtenberg as a person would have been even better.  

 

[scarynikki12]

Quote

Two-time Oscar-wining actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead on Wednesday afternoon in their New Mexico home in the US, the Santa Fe County Sheriff has said

https://bsky.app/profile/news.rte.ie/post/3lj5ikixbks2f

 

[Anduin]

From this one.

Quote

Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza confirmed the news to local media just after midnight on Wednesday that the couple had died, along with their dog.

The news was later confirmed to the Press Association news agency. Hackman was 95 and his wife 63.

Mr Mendoza said there was no immediate indication of foul play.

I wonder if it was some kind of accident. A gas leak, that kind of thing. Whatever the case, it's very sad. :(

[Spartan Girl]

I really hope this was an accident.

Gene Hackman was one of the greats. He’s done too many shows to list properly, but he brought full camp as Lex Luthor.

[Blergh]

6 hours ago, Bastet said:

She didn't write it, so no royalties for another singer's rendition.

Since Miss Flack seemed to perfectly capture all the intense angst of the lyrics, I somehow had thought she herself had written it. My mistake.

Oh well. Maybe more folks will be inclined to seek out her infinitely more moving version of it. RIP, Miss Flack.

[ABay]

https://deadline.com/2025/02/actor-gene-hackman-wife-betsy-arakawa-dead-in-santa-fe-1236303385/

With their dog, so maybe carbon monoxide as said upthread.

[rainsmom]

4 hours ago, Anduin said:

From this one.

I wonder if it was some kind of accident. A gas leak, that kind of thing. Whatever the case, it's very sad. :(

Very sad. It sounds like carbon monoxide.

[Browncoat]

Carbon monoxide was my first thought as well.  Terribly sad.  Gene Hackman was truly one of the greats.

RIP, sir.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

 

[roamyn]

5 hours ago, Anduin said:

From this one.

I wonder if it was some kind of accident. A gas leak, that kind of thing. Whatever the case, it's very sad. :(

Since the dog was found also deceased, it seems likely.

[scarynikki12]

3 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

Gene Hackman was one of the greats.

For sure. One of the writers I follow on instagram describes him as “the rare character actor who became a movie star” which is a perfect summation of his career. Just tremendous a talent and a loss. 

[voiceover]

Too many roles to choose a favorite, but I’ll always have a soft spot in my heart for his blind man cameo in Young Frankenstein:

”You’re a mute!…a big mute.”

”Wait!…I was gonna make espresso…”

[Snow Apple]

Two shocking deaths. So tragic.

I was shocked at the headline for Michelle Trachtenberg because she was so young, but found out about her health issues.

I was sad but not shocked at the headline for Gene Hackman because he was in his 90's, but the shock came reading that his wife and dog also passed away and realize it's not old age/natural causes. 

Condolences for both their families.

[Fool to cry]

So many great roles but my favorite is of the rascally patriarch in Wes Anderson's The Royal Tenenbaums:

[tearknee]

4 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

I really hope this was an accident.

Gene Hackman was one of the greats. He’s done too many shows to list properly, but he brought full camp as Lex Luthor.

He was the *best* LL IMO.

[AgathaC]

Oh man. I can’t say I’m shocked given his age, but Gene Hackman hits hard. My sisters and I always loved him because he looked a little like our dad. And Superman and Superman II were regular viewing in my childhood.

As an adult, I finally discovered his other great roles and realized what a wonderful, charismatic actor he was. I sense a viewing marathon coming on…

[MissAlmond]

 

Edited Yest. at 12:41 AM by MissAlmond

[Dimity]

Oh wow, like others not shocked by his death but certainly by what seems to be the manner of his death.

A favourite role of his for me was the overbearing Senator Keely in The Bird Cage.  "Don't leave me. Don't leave me here. I don't want to be the only girl not dancing!"

[Spartan Girl]

10 minutes ago, Dimity said:

Oh wow, like others not shocked by his death but certainly by what seems to be the manner of his death.

A favourite role of his for me was the overbearing Senator Keely in The Bird Cage.  "Don't leave me. Don't leave me here. I don't want to be the only girl not dancing!"

I love that movie.

Sarah Michelle Gellar posted this on Instagram:

 

😭😭😭😭

[Cobalt Stargazer]

Found this on Facebook. And cried.

 

[tearknee]

Some clips of Michelle as the babysitting charge from Hell in CEIA:

https://user.fm/files/v2-c59663c585311348514fb6cde74d1e00/MichMel60.wav

https://user.fm/files/v2-89091117e9dc0c1dac90fa2dd948fba6/MichMel62.wav

https://user.fm/files/v2-9d12c6dd2a7c4e50bb56f033988deb1d/MichMel64.wav  

https://user.fm/files/v2-8563e3877dd77b035bb6d602822558e4/MichMel65.wav  

https://user.fm/files/v2-f841238a6bfb11af9a047a1287503dde/MichMel66.wav  

https://user.fm/files/v2-15d49e62eaa94c58c9eb259f83b85e19/MichMel67.wav  

https://user.fm/files/v2-dfb1a7609e674ba8565d70fa00ae5232/MichMel70.wav  

https://user.fm/files/v2-e1f21a2fafa1e8e52cc24400cd5d12f8/MichMel71.wav

[kittykat]

Oh man Gene Hackman.  I know he was in his 90s but that is so sad especially since his wife and dog died too.  So many great roles.  The French Connection, the Conversation but my face was The Royal Tenenbaums, he just owned that role. He fully committed to The Birdcage as well.

I was gonna make espresso.

[Spartan Girl]

50 minutes ago, Cobalt Stargazer said:

Found this on Facebook. And cried.

 

I’m crying with you.

Update on Gene Hackman: there was no gas leak. Or at least no evidence of it. Either way, this is spooky…

Edited Thursday at 05:41 PM by Spartan Girl

[tearknee]

Then why did the dog die?

[andromeda331]

Such a great actor. So many great movies. The French Connection, Crimson Tide, Young Frankenstein, the Poseidon Adventure, the Firm, etc. My dad's favorite was Unforgiven. My favorite was Heartbreakers. He was so funny and terrible at the same time as the cigarette loving billlionaire Tensy. 

[Snow Apple]

35 minutes ago, tearknee said:

Then why did the dog die?

Now it's scary. I was sure it was carbon monoxide.

[Bastet]

Quote

The Academy Award-winning actor was found on the floor in the mud room, according to the search warrant. It appeared he fell suddenly, and he and his wife "showed obvious signs of death," the document said.

Arakawa was found lying on her side on the floor in a bathroom, with a space heater near her body, according to the search warrant.

Her body showed signs of decomposition, the document said. There was mummification to her hands and feet, the document said.

On the counter near Arakawa was an opened prescription bottle, with pills scattered, according to the search warrant.

A German shepherd was found dead about 10 to 15 feet from Arakawa, the document said.

But two other dogs were found alive. One healthy dog was near Arakawa and the other was located outside, according to the search warrant.

The Santa Fe City Fire Department found no signs of a possible carbon monoxide leak or poisoning, the document said. If there was carbon monoxide at the scene, it could have vented out of the home through the open front door before responders arrived.

Quote

 

Two maintenance workers said they hadn’t heard from Hackman and Arakawa in about two weeks, the document said.

A maintenance worker who initially responded to the home found the front door open, according to the search warrant affidavit. But there were no signs of forced entry and no signs items were taken or rummaged through, the document said.

Their manner and cause of death are not known, the document said.

The sheriff's office said foul play is not suspected.

 

 

[scarynikki12]

3 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

I love that movie.

Sarah Michelle Gellar posted this on Instagram:

 

😭😭😭😭

Sarah was the first person I thought of. In less than a year she’s lost two dear friends in Shannen and now Michelle. She and Michelle both have talked about how they instantly bonded when they first met on Buffy and maintained that relationship since. In Sarah’s Instagram post she included some lovely pictures of her and/or Michelle from over the years and it ends with one of them plus Shannen. I’m sure Freddie, the kids, and her other close friends are providing her with all the support she needs because she has to be absolutely gutted. 

[Is Everyone Gone]

I hate to think it but I'm thinking murder suicide for the Hackman case ...

[Dimity]

56 minutes ago, Is Everyone Gone said:

I hate to think it but I'm thinking murder suicide for the Hackman case ...

If they are ruling out natural causes and are calling the deaths suspicious then this is where my mind is going as well.  But, as Tearknee points out that doesn't explain the death of the dog.  Whatever happened I hope they figure it out soon.