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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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52 minutes ago, BW Manilowe said:

Beth was certainly a force.  She had a very strong personality and was clear in her devotion to her family.  I posted around here somewhere about a documentary that aired a couple of years ago that covered Beth's initial fight against cancer.  She and Dog traveled to LA to receive surgery there.  They stayed as guests of Gene Simmons' wife, Shannon Tweed.  Beth and Shannon were best friends.  I never did figure that one out.  I think their shows may have been on the same network for awhile, but, I got the feeling that they were long time friends.  That documentary was very intriguing and showed the couple and their family in way that I had not expected.  Since, her death, I suspect it will be airing again, so, if you get the chance, check it out.  That's all I'll say about that. 

RIP Beth.  She was so young to lose her life.  I know the family was expecting it, but, it must still be so painful.  

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15 hours ago, BW Manilowe said:

Willie! His frustration was so funny at Alf(especially whenever he tried to eat the Tanners pet cat). He interacted so well with the puppet and played everything so real. I wish he and the rest of the family were in the TV movie that was made years after the show went off the air. I forgot he was on the Norm Show. My last memory of him post-Alf was him appearing as Rachel's boss at Central Perk during the first season of Friends.

15 hours ago, SimoneS said:

Billy Drago's most memorable role for me was in The Untouchables. Rest in peace, Billy.

Billy Drago Dies: Hollywood ‘Bad Guy’ Character Actor Was 73.

https://deadline.com/2019/06/billy-drago-dies-bad-guy-character-actor-obituary-1202638546/

9 hours ago, spiderpig said:

 "He died like a pig." (Drago to Costner after he'd shot Sean Connery).  Costner shoves him off the roof of the courthouse yelling "Did he sound anything like this?"   Drago crashes through the top of one of those way-cool 30s cars.

Back in the courthouse they ask where  Frank Nitti is.  Costner replies "he's in the car."

I absolutely love that movie.  All of that man candy running around in Armani suits!

Even though the real Frank Nitti wasn't like that nor did he die like that, he played a memorable villain in DePalma and Mamet's folklore take on Elliot Ness' takedown of Al Capone.

I was a huge fan of the shortlived The Adventures of Briscoe County Jr starring Bruce Campbell and loved Billy as Briscoe's main adversary, John Bly.

Edited by VCRTracking
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Back when AMC really was American Movie Classics, its prime-time films were introduced by magician, occasional actor, and huge fan of film Bob Dorian.  He died on the 15th, at 85, but the entertainment media just noticed his obituary (listed under his birth name) a couple of days ago.  Here's the Hollywood Reporter obituary.

Edited by Bastet
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On 6/27/2019 at 1:21 PM, Vixenstud said:

Aw man, loved Billy Drago!  Ma is a huge Charmed (original) fan so I'll tell her when I get home.

It's arguable that Charmed went to the Barbas well a time or two too many, but I never minded.  He drank deep into the part.

And the "elevator operator" turning on the trapped and helpless Oscar Wallace (Charles Martin Smith) and revealing himself as Nitti is possibly the high point of The Untouchables, as we feel Oscar's surprise and horror for ourselves.

Plus, of course, this:

…led to this:

Was+it+good+for+you+too.jpg

Never let it be said that Joss Whedon doesn't know how to steal from pay homage to the best…

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On 6/27/2019 at 1:28 AM, Jaded said:

I hope he found some peace before leaving this earth. When Twitch was showing all of the Alf episodes I read about Max online and he hit some tough spots in his life.

Wow, you weren't kidding. I was an Alf fan and enjoyed Max Wright on the show so I read some of the articles about him. Frankly, he was fortunate to have lived as long as he did. Addiction is hell. Rest in peace, Max.

Edited by SimoneS
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On 6/27/2019 at 2:45 AM, spiderpig said:

 "He died like a pig." (Drago to Costner after he'd shot Sean Connery).  Costner shoves him off the roof of the courthouse yelling "Did he sound anything like this?"   Drago crashes through the top of one of those way-cool 30s cars.

Back in the courthouse they ask where  Frank Nitti is.  Costner replies "he's in the car."

I absolutely love that movie.  All of that man candy running around in Armani suits!

Great movie. So many classic scenes and acting performances. One of Ennio Morricone's best movie scores.

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42 minutes ago, SimoneS said:

Great movie. So many classic scenes and acting performances. One of Ennio Morricone's best movie scores.

And the David Mamet script packed with quotable lines ("Gentlemen...I do NOT approve of your methods."  "Yeah?  Well you're not from Chicago.")

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1 hour ago, UYI said:

Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs has died at the age of 27.

Grew up in a baseball town.  R.I.P. to Mr. Skaggs and condolences to the Los Angeles Angels family.  27 is way too young.  

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6 hours ago, Mittengirl said:

Wasn’t it an Angels pitcher who died in a car accident mid-season a few years ago?

You might be thinking of Luis Valbuena. He had been an Angels infielder, but it was the off season and he wasn’t on the team anymore.

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14 hours ago, MissAlmond said:

Grew up in a baseball town.  R.I.P. to Mr. Skaggs and condolences to the Los Angeles Angels family.  27 is way too young.  

It's difficult to process something like this.   Do they have any idea as to what happened? I'm assuming there was no foul play. 

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58 minutes ago, SunnyBeBe said:

It's difficult to process something like this.   Do they have any idea as to what happened? I'm assuming there was no foul play. 

The police have said they don't suspect foul play, but nothing else has been said yet. All we know is that he was found dead in his hotel room in Arlington, Texas, as the Angels were set to play the Rangers last night, with Skaggs as the starting pitcher (it wound up being cancelled).

This reminds me of Darryl Kile's death in 2002, right before the Cardinals (his team) played the Cubs. There was one huge difference, though: this was not only before smartphones or social media, but many people didn't even have cell phones at all yet, so when the game was cancelled, no one in the crowd knew why until they went home.

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3 hours ago, UYI said:

The police have said they don't suspect foul play, but nothing else has been said yet. All we know is that he was found dead in his hotel room in Arlington, Texas, as the Angels were set to play the Rangers last night, with Skaggs as the starting pitcher (it wound up being cancelled).

Skaggs wasn't supposed to start yesterday. He was scheduled for Thursday.

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59 minutes ago, kariyaki said:

Skaggs wasn't supposed to start yesterday. He was scheduled for Thursday.

The only new piece of information I've seen is that the police have said it doesn't appear to be a suicide either.

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12 minutes ago, Calvada said:

Lee Iacocca dead at 94 of natural causes, credited with saving Chrysler from bankruptcy.  In the 80s he seemed to be everywhere.  

His "Buy a car, get a check" business model completely changed the retailing methods used by the auto industry. Eventually even the Japanese automakers were forced to start hyping rebates and special rate financing in order to compete with the US Big Three who they'd never really considered as competition until consumer demands for quality changed to consumer demands for rebates and cut-rate APRs. It's a self-inflicted hole that the auto industry will probably be stuck in permanently.

And he DID save Chrysler - for a time, anyway. Grazie, Lido.

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Here’s Arte Johnson’s obit from WGN-TV, Chicago. I’d swear he died a few years ago, but it seems he didn’t.

He was another among the celebrities I was fortunate enough to meet through working with The March of Dimes (we did a telethon together in either Knoxville or Chattanooga, TN, years ago). He was a very nice, & funny, man. May he RIP.

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I loved him as the dirty old man who was always propositioning spinster Ruth Buzzi on the park bench, and she'd whack him upside the head every time. 

RIP, Sir

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3 hours ago, Ohwell said:

I loved him as the dirty old man who was always propositioning spinster Ruth Buzzi on the park bench, and she'd whack him upside the head every time. 

RIP, Sir

My all-time favorite scene with Tyrone and Gladys was their meeting back at the park bench after they both walked out on their wedding, each thinking they had left the other at the altar. It takes comedy pros like Ruth Buzzi and Arte Johnson to create tangible emotion and pathos while embodying what could have been very one-note characters.

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6 hours ago, Popples said:

I wish I could say I was shocked, but I'm not.  He was in even more horrible shape, post-NFL.

(I will not post the picture of Lorenzen in the form-fitting [unfortunately] uniform of some team called the "River Monsters".  Scarred for life, honestly.)

Ford v. Ferrari trailer, with Jon Bernthal as Iacocca:

My first car was a Plymouth Horizon "K-Car" I inherited from my uncle.  On the whole, I'd rather have had a '64 Mustang, but the Horizon served for a good several years.

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Mr. Johnson's actual name was Arthur Stanton Eric Johnson but he used 'Art' for a nickname. Hence his intended stage name was 'Art E. Johnson' but it early on got mistakenly transformed to 'Arte' which he decided he LIKED and would keep the rest of his career. Verry interesting (what else could I add?). RIP, Mr. Johnson!

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1 hour ago, Blergh said:

Mr. Johnson's actual name was Arthur Stanton Eric Johnson but he used 'Art' for a nickname. Hence his intended stage name was 'Art E. Johnson' but it early on got mistakenly transformed to 'Arte' which he decided he LIKED and would keep the rest of his career. Verry interesting (what else could I add?). RIP, Mr. Johnson!

Thank you for this.  As I mentioned in an above post he absolutely nailed Dave Barry's audiobooks.  He makes me laugh to this day.

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11 hours ago, giovannif7 said:

My all-time favorite scene with Tyrone and Gladys was their meeting back at the park bench after they both walked out on their wedding, each thinking they had left the other at the altar. It takes comedy pros like Ruth Buzzi and Arte Johnson to create tangible emotion and pathos while embodying what could have been very one-note characters.

Oh my goodness; what a blast from the past!  Thank you so much for posting this clip.  R.I.P. Mr. Johnson.  

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13 hours ago, ratgirlagogo said:

MAD Magazine is ceasing publication.  I am crushed.  Nothing I encountered as a child did as much to develop my critical thinking skills.  They taught me that nothing in the grown-up world was beyond criticism or too serious to mock. Hail and farewell.

I never was a huge MAD Magazine fan but I'm sad to see it go.  However (IMO), the original MAD-TV was comedic gold!  Better than SNL!

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