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In Memoriam: Entertainment Industry Celebrity Deaths


Message added by Mr. Sparkle,

Reminder:

This thread is for deaths of celebrities in the entertainment business only. No notices about politicians, please. 

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It's not only amazing how long Miss Fabray lived (and yes she was quite a gifted comic as well as quite attractive in her day) but it also she be noted that she had had to overcome some serious challenges. Most notably, due to a hereditary inner ear condition, she became profoundly deaf in her early teens and it was only through surgery that she was able to hear at all. But also, it should be mentioned that she endured  a far more serious hazard of live television than mere forgetting lines, swearing or wardrobe malfunctions when between scenes of  Caesar's Hour, while she was bent down to brush off the front of her blouse -a large piece of stage ballast crashed down and glanced her head! This ballast was SO heavy and it fell with such velocity that it literally put a hole in the wooden stage floor but since she happened to be bent down, it did NOT do the same to her skull! She was knocked unconscious and her scream could be heard on live television and they asked the studio audience for a doctor! Well, she survived and even returned to the show a few weeks later but with bandages on her eyes due to extreme sensitivity to light afterwards. Miss Fabray also said that, despite that horrible accident, she loved working with Sid Caesar and honing her comedic gifts but that it came to an abrupt end when her manager asked for far higher billing and monies than the producers and network were willing to provide- and she only found out many decades later when she and Mr. Caesar compared notes at a tribute to him as she had had no idea this manager had sabotaged things without her knowledge. Anyway, if anyone wants to see her working with a comedy legend, I urge you all to check out her work with Mr. Caesar on that show  on that site that rhymes with Blue Voob.  RIP, Miss Fabray!

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19 hours ago, Ohwell said:

A life well lived.  I remember her as being delightfully funny.  RIP, Ms. Fabray/Fabares.

Enjoyed her performances.  She was Mary Tyler Moore's mother on the "Mary Tyler Moore Show".

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10 hours ago, LilWharveyGal said:

British actress Emma Chambers has passed away at only 53.  I loved her in Vicar of Dibley, but more Americans might remember her from Notting Hill.  Very sad.

How do u die of “natural causes” at the age of 53?  Because I’m 53, and don’t expect/want to die yet.

Notting Hill is one of my favorite movies, but I didn’t much care for Emna’s character, I admit.

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25 minutes ago, roamyn said:

How do u die of “natural causes” at the age of 53?  Because I’m 53, and don’t expect/want to die yet.

Notting Hill is one of my favorite movies, but I didn’t much care for Emna’s character, I admit.

I think natural causes is anything other than murder, suicide, overdose, or vehicular accident.  She could have had an illness (although they usually say that if that is the case) or had an embolism or whatever.  Unfortunately, it can happen at any age.  I knew a woman whose 32 year old daughter took a nap and never woke up--and they were never have to say, conclusively, what caused her death.

ETA: I need to watch Notting Hill again, because I simply can't remember her in that film.  I did enjoy her in The Vicar of Dibley, though.

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8 hours ago, OtterMommy said:

I think natural causes is anything other than murder, suicide, overdose, or vehicular accident.  She could have had an illness (although they usually say that if that is the case) or had an embolism or whatever.  Unfortunately, it can happen at any age.  I knew a woman whose 32 year old daughter took a nap and never woke up--and they were never have to say, conclusively, what caused her death.

ETA: I need to watch Notting Hill again, because I simply can't remember her in that film.  I did enjoy her in The Vicar of Dibley, though.

She could've had a stroke or heart attack without warning.

In Notting Hill, she played Hugh Grant's character's goofy younger sister, who was totally flustered to meet the movie star,

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15 hours ago, OtterMommy said:

I think natural causes is anything other than murder, suicide, overdose, or vehicular accident.  She could have had an illness (although they usually say that if that is the case) or had an embolism or whatever.  Unfortunately, it can happen at any age.  I knew a woman whose 32 year old daughter took a nap and never woke up--and they were never have to say, conclusively, what caused her death.

ETA: I need to watch Notting Hill again, because I simply can't remember her in that film.  I did enjoy her in The Vicar of Dibley, though.

This might help:

 

honeynottinghill.gif

Weirdly enough, Hugh's Four Weddings and a Funeral co-star, Charlotte Coleman, also died very young, I think from an asthma attack.

RIP Emma.

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1 hour ago, UYI said:

This might help:

 

honeynottinghill.gif

Weirdly enough, Hugh's Four Weddings and a Funeral co-star, Charlotte Coleman, also died very young, I think from an asthma attack.

RIP Emma.

Thank you, I still don't quite recall it, but I haven't seen that movie in probably over a decade (although I saw it more times than I'd like to admit before that!).  I'm definitely overdue for a viewing!

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39 minutes ago, OtterMommy said:

Thank you, I still don't quite recall it, but I haven't seen that movie in probably over a decade (although I saw it more times than I'd like to admit before that!).  I'm definitely overdue for a viewing!

I think her character was also the sort of girlfriend of Hugh Grant's weird roommate who told everybody that Julia Roberts' character was at his & Hugh Grant's characters' house.

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7 hours ago, BW Manilowe said:

I think her character was also the sort of girlfriend of Hugh Grant's weird roommate who told everybody that Julia Roberts' character was at his & Hugh Grant's characters' house.

They ended up together by the end of the movie. There’s a shot of them dancing, at Hugh and Julia’s wedding, or maybe their own, where Rhys us dangling her feet above the ground because she’s so much shorter than him.

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On 2/24/2018 at 1:54 AM, Blergh said:

It's not only amazing how long Miss Fabray lived (and yes she was quite a gifted comic as well as quite attractive in her day) but it also she be noted that she had had to overcome some serious challenges. Most notably, due to a hereditary inner ear condition, she became profoundly deaf in her early teens and it was only through surgery that she was able to hear at all.

She had what I currently have, otosclerosis....I have it in my right ear and need a hearing aid.  I freaked out upon reading her obit because if she hadn't gotten the operation she would have gone totally deaf, which is why she took up sign language.

As a fan of the original ODAAT (love you Rita Moreno but...no!), I loathed Katherine Romano with a passion but always liked NF.

So sorry to hear about Ensa.

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16 minutes ago, merylinkid said:

Regardless of how you feel about Bill Cosby, no parent should have to bury a child.   And he has had to bury two.   I feel for that family.

Yes.  Also, Bill Cosby is not the only person in the family and there are many people grieving this death and I feel for them.

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2 hours ago, BW Manilowe said:

I was curious where Ensa was in the birth order of the Cosby children, so I consulted her dad's Wikipedia page. If the birth order of Cosby's real children was the same as the Huxtable children--2 oldest girls, the only son, the youngest 2 girls (or if the birth order of just the girls on his Wikipedia page is the same as the Huxtable girls, which I think it is since they list Evinn, the Cosby daughter with the "male" name, last & Rudy, the Huxtable daughter with the "male" name, was the youngest fictional daughter--then that should make Ensa Cosby the daughter who became Vanessa (2nd youngest Huxtable daughter) in The Cosby Show.

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How do u die of “natural causes” at the age of 53?  Because I’m 53, and don’t expect/want to die yet.

New reports say Emma Chambers died of a heart attack.  In addition:

Quote

Emma had suffered from a raft of medical problems, including asthma and severe allergies to animals, which prevented her from being able to touch or be near furry creatures - even her own dog.

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47 minutes ago, opus said:

Aww man... I was just watching a M*A*S*H marathon, from the Winchester years, on WGN America before I read the obit. The ep that's on right now is the 1 where Margaret & an old friend/boyfriend are accused of being Communist sympathizers by a Congressman's Aide on a "factfinding" trip, & she's being threatened, by him, with having to testify against her friends at a hearing of the House Un-American Activities Committee (which would mean certain public embarrassment/professional ruin for Margaret & her friends) if she won't turn her suspected friend(s) in before the Congressional Aide (who's a real smarmy sleaze) returns to Washington.

The obit was written nicely, but I found 2 rather glaring (to me) errors in it. Throughout, M*A*S*H was written with a 4th * after the H; there are/were only 3 *'s in the title. And, at the end, when they were talking about his voice role as Jumba Jookiba in various productions that were part of Disney's Lilo & Stitch animated franchise in movies, TV, DVDs, video games, I think at least 1 Disneyland ride, & other products, etc., they cut out the first part of the quote they used from the original Lilo & Stitch movie. As I remember, that movie didn't even include Stiers' character, Jumba Jookiba (the alien scientist/creator of Stitch & at least 625 other "experiments" before Stitch, aka "Experiment 626", & perhaps others after Stitch/626... I forget). I don't think Jumba was introduced until the animated series (which I think aired on ABC) started.

The quote was supposed to have read, "ʻOhana means 'family'. 'Family' means nobody gets left behind or forgotten." The first sentence is important if you know, like I do, that this franchise is set in Hawaii. The Hawaiian language word for "family" is "ʻohana", as it says in the first sentence. As I remember, though it's notable from the original movie, the quote about ʻohana/family is a recurring theme throughout the franchise & related products.

Edited by BW Manilowe
To reword something and add comments.
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10 minutes ago, amaranta said:

I saw he was trending and I teared up a bit even before I clicked, hoping I was wrong as to the reason why.  RIP sir.  You were amazing.

Same. Man, that's Cogsworth.

giphy.gif

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He also did voices in 'Pocahontas' and 'Lilo & Stitch'. I remember seeing his name mentioned in the credits for the latter, but I didn't realize he was in the former.

And he was also on an episode of "Frasier" as an old friend of Hester's. 

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Dammit, not Cogsworth! ??????????

The line when he's suggesting gift ideas to the Beast -- "Flowers, chocolates, promises you don't intend to keep" was actually ad-libbed by him, and it's one of the best quotes in the cartoon.

As always, fuck you, cancer.

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First John Mahoney and now David Ogden Stiers, this year is going to to suck for TV lovers..but bless God, they live on in rerun and DVD's.

Stiers was a gem...absolutely my favorite character from MASH...

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6 hours ago, BW Manilowe said:

Aww man... I was just watching a M*A*S*H marathon, from the Winchester years, on WGN America before I read the obit. The ep that's on right now is the 1 where Margaret & an old friend/boyfriend are accused of being Communist sympathizers by a Congressman's Aide on a "factfinding" trip, & she's being threatened, by him, with having to testify against her friends at a hearing of the House Un-American Activities Committee (which would mean certain public embarrassment/professional ruin for Margaret & her friends) if she won't turn her suspected friend(s) in before the Congressional Aide (who's a real smarmy sleaze) returns to Washington.

I love Wincherter's line: "Sir, I am so conservative that I make you look like a New Dealer and I must tell you that to suspect Margaret Houlihan of political subversion is absurd."

I liked Charles because unlike Frank Burns, he was someone you could respect. My favorite scene of his is when he helps a soldier who was in despair because he was a concert pianist in civilian life and his right hand is permanently damaged. Charles tells him he still has a gift and gives him piano pieces written specifically for the left hand:

Edited by VCRTracking
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2 hours ago, stonehaven said:

First John Mahoney and now David Ogden Stiers, this year is going to to suck for TV lovers..but bless God, they live on in rerun and DVD's.

Stiers was a gem...absolutely my favorite character from MASH...

Yea 2018 is taking a lot of the good ones. :(

Anyone remember him as Michael Reston in the Perry Mason movies? I liked that role as well. Thought he did a good job against Raymond Burr.

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3 minutes ago, AntiBeeSpray said:

Yea 2018 is taking a lot of the good ones. :(

Anyone remember him as Michael Reston in the Perry Mason movies? I liked that role as well. Thought he did a good job against Raymond Burr.

Which is interesting since like Raymond Burr, David had a liking for the gentlemen.  I just found out that David came out of the closet in 2009.  How did that somehow escape my attention?

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My favorite scene with David Ogden Stiers as WInchester was the one in which he received his toboggan hat at Christmas time - "Dear Sis" was the episode.  We rarely saw his character that joyful.  He was so good in the dramatic scenes of MASH, but such a wonderful comedic actor too.  

And as always, fuck cancer.  

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18 hours ago, opus said:

One of the most telling (and candid) revelations I've ever seen re any family member of a celeb was when his parents were interviewed and his mother said that many people ask them if their son was like Major Winchester and she replied 'If he WAS, do you think we'd ADMIT it?!' (as opposed to a flat out denial). RIP, Major Winchester.

 

 P.S. Yes, I know that Mr. Stiers had a very steady career and was working almost to the end.

However; that character was the most iconic and as long as we're sharing fave Winchester moments, I always liked the Christmas episode in which he'd attempted to be a Secret Santa to local orphans by giving them the finest chocolates only to find out that their caretaker had sold them on the black market. He was ready to tear the caretaker a new one when the old man replied that he knew that the children would have loved the chocolate for Christmas Day. However; via the windfall, they'd have enough cabbage and rice to survive for a month!

Edited by Blergh
mixup re nutritious yet gassy foods
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1 hour ago, Blergh said:

However; that character was the most iconic and as long as we're sharing fave Winchester moments, I always liked the Christmas episode in which he'd attempted to be a Secret Santa to local orphans by giving them the finest chocolates only to find out that their caretaker had sold them on the black market. He was ready to tear the caretaker a new one when the old man replied that he knew that the children would have loved the chocolate for Christmas Day. However; via the windfall, they'd have enough beans and rice to survive for a month!

That's one of many Winchester moments found on the top of the "Heartwarming" page of the M*A*S*H page on TV Tropes.com.  The occasions where he showed a nice side meant more because  he was an arrogant snob most of the time!

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9 hours ago, Miss Dee said:

I've loved that piece when I first heard it on this episode. DOS made me fall in love with Charles Emerson Winchester. Rest in peace, sir. *sniff*

I fell in love with him too and always wished Major Winchester and Margaret (a/k/a Hot Lips) found true happiness together by the end of M*A*S*H.  Don't judge me!

R.I.P. Mr. Stiers.  

Edited by MissAlmond
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RIP Mr. Stiers.    Winchester could have been a more competent version of Frank Burns.   Instead, Stiers imbued him with a soul and a heart.   He was a good person.   Cogsworth was awesome.   He could tell The Beast off and live to tell about it.  

 

We also lost Sir Roger Bannister.   The first person to break the 4 minute mile.   Some may curse his name (not really) while running but he made history.  RIP Sir Roger.

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(edited)

My favorite MASH moment, as I said recently on another thread, is between Charles and Col. Flagg. I wish I could find a video of it but YouTube has failed me. Anyway, it went like this:

Flagg:..."your sister, Hon-a-ree-a." (rhymes with gonorrhea)

Charles: "That's Honoria." (on-OR-ree-a)

I have no idea why that made me giggle hysterically, but it did. Winchester was beyond arrogant and defined the word "snob" but he was capable of learning from his mistakes, unlike Frank, and he acted with grace when it counted.

Edited by ABay
Last time there was some confusion over how Honoria is pronounced.
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My favorite serious Winchester moments were:

1. "My dearest [insert girl's name that I forgot--Virginia, maybe?], It is with indescribable joy that I accept your gift.  It is a true testimony to the beauty of nature, but perhaps not more so than that found in a young girl's heart."

2. When he was devastated to learn that the patient who's leg he was so proud of saving was, himself, more upset about his hand because he was a professional pianist.

My favorite funny moment:

When he was dictating a letter to his sister and ended it with "I will say this as sincerely and succinctly [stumbles over his words as he tries to poor tea] as possible"  opens the lid on the tea pot and pulls out a rubber chicken. "GET ME THE HELL OUT OF HERE!"

I remember the first time I saw him as a character that was the complete opposite of Charles (in the movie The Creator) and it was almost shocking! 

May he rest in peace.

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(edited)

Does anybody remember when David Ogden Stiers was on the first season of Two Guys a Girl and a Pizza Place that late 90s-early 2000s sitcom starring Ryan Reynolds? Stiers played a crazy old man that was a frequent customer at the titular pizza place and every time you'd see him he was enacting scenes from different movies. He'd think he was Indiana Jones one episode, and in another:

Edited by VCRTracking
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