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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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Richard Goodwin has passed away at age 86.  A speech writer for Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, and a consultant to presidential candidates Gore, Kerry, and Obama, Goodwin may be more familiar to PTV-ers as the protagonist of the movie Quiz Show, in which he was portrayed by Rob Morrow.  His widow, biographer Doris Kearns Goodwin, has made many TV appearances. RIP, Dick Goodwin.

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On 5/22/2018 at 5:30 PM, praeceptrix said:

Oh man, I just looked him up a few days ago because I was wondering how he was.  I loved watching westerns as a kid and he was my first crush.  That handsome face, those broad shoulders, and that beautiful baritone voice (he was a singer, too).  I know living to 90 is a damn good run, but I'm still sad. 

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Richard Peck, author of many, many young adult novels has died.  I haven't read all of his books, but I always enjoyed his books featuring Blossom Culp ('The ghost belonged to me', 'Ghosts I have been', etc.), his award-winning books 'A long way from Chicago' and 'A year down yonder'.  I also thought that his book 'Secrets of the shopping mall', about two kids who run away to live in a big department store (and find others had done the same) was a fun read.

https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-authors/article/76968-obituary-richard-peck.html

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RIP Gardner Dozois.

http://locusmag.com/2018/05/gardner-dozois-1947-2018/

 

He died around 4pm this afternoon.  He was a giant in the SFF field.  If I recall correctly, he won 15 Hugos while the editor of Asimov's Magazine.  He was a writer as well as an editor and reviewer.  I bought his "Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy" every year for my mother for Chanukah.  In recent years he had also edited a series of themed anthologies with George R.R. Martin.  And he was just an amazing raconteur who was super fun to hang out with at conventions.

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(edited)

I don't know if he was necessarily a celebrity, but he was a well-known newsman from my area-- WYFF 4's Mike McCormick (reporter/weekend anchorman at that NBC station in my area) passed on yesterday, along with his photographer Aaron Smeltzer, both at 36, after a tree fell down on their SUV and crushed it, and them. IIRC, they were on U.S. 176 in Tryon, NC covering the rain and flooding there, and by some force of nature, the rain uprooted a tree that came down suddenly on them as they were in transit; also IIRC, it was said that the rain was so hard that it defeated the root system, causing the tree to come out of the ground.

Story from WYFF 4 here:

Edited by bmasters9
Wasn't just a reporter
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16 minutes ago, bmasters9 said:

It is, and quite sudden, too!

Yeah. As the Fire Chief, or whatever he was--anyway, the first responder guy--said in the linked video, that same reporter & photographer had filmed an interview with him, about the weather &, I guess, how to stay safe in it not more than 10-15 minutes before being called to the accident scene involving the reporter & photographer (so that apparently makes him the last person who saw them alive).

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13 minutes ago, BW Manilowe said:

Yeah. As the Fire Chief, or whatever he was--anyway, the first responder guy--said in the linked video, that same reporter & photographer had filmed an interview with him, about the weather &, I guess, how to stay safe in it not more than 10-15 minutes before being called to the accident scene involving the reporter & photographer (so that apparently makes him the last person who saw them alive).

I think then that the Fire Chief should have made like Sgt. Phil Esterhaus (the late, great Michael Conrad of Hill Street Blues) and used his classic roll call line, "Let's be careful out there." 

That's just how I'm seeing it, albeit you might see it differently. 

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My condolences to their family and friends.

 

I hope this ends the practice of sending reporters out into weather where everyone is advised to find shelter and stay off the roads.

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22 hours ago, merylinkid said:

My condolences to their family and friends.

 

I hope this ends the practice of sending reporters out into weather where everyone is advised to find shelter and stay off the roads.

And I hope it starts the practice of Hill Street-style briefings with a senior reporter or producer of the station's newscasts making like Michael Conrad did as Sgt. Phil Esterhaus (from 1981-84) on that classic 1981-87 NBC police series. 

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On 5/30/2018 at 7:45 AM, merylinkid said:

I hope this ends the practice of sending reporters out into weather where everyone is advised to find shelter and stay off the roads.

Exactly.  I don't need someone standing out in a hurricane to tell me how bad it is.  A weather report in the studio is enough.

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On 5/31/2018 at 10:32 AM, Ohwell said:

Exactly.  I don't need someone standing out in a hurricane to tell me how bad it is.  A weather report in the studio is enough.

We always knew when a hurricane was about to direct hit us because In came Jim Cantore from the weather channel and his broadcasting vans. He came with such regularity that we then felt some pressure off of us because he grew to like our area, was known for going to a few local restaurants and he was usually quite genial. We figured if he wanted to get stuck somewhere that he’d rather be stuck with us. Unfortunately that didn’t stop a few good direct hits. 

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14 hours ago, Mindthinkr said:

We always knew when a hurricane was about to direct hit us because In came Jim Cantore from the weather channel and his broadcasting vans.

I always say that if you put on The Weather Channel, and Cantore is broadcasting from your neighborhood, you are pretty well screwed!

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(edited)
5 hours ago, Moose135 said:

I always say that if you put on The Weather Channel, and Cantore is broadcasting from your neighborhood, you are pretty well screwed!

Lol Moose. I know you know where I live and yes, it can get scary and dicey.

We have gotten off lightly a few times but it’s not unknown for me to have to deal with 3’ of water in my former houses. It’s happened a few times. They put in a new bulkhead 2 years ago but had engineering issues and was causing sink holes. A Nor’Easter would bring on a minor flood over its top. Long story short, I moved but still live in the area. There is still some flooding where I live but it has to be bad for that to happen. I feel worse for the folks up in the basin 20-30 miles inland. The water (when there’s heavy rain) has nowhere to drain and they’ll stay flooded for days. At least near the beach the water runs off within 24 hours.  

Edited to add: 2 distant family members were killed in Hurricane Fran in 1996. My fear is healthy. 

Edited by Mindthinkr
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Quote

I always say that if you put on The Weather Channel, and Cantore is broadcasting from your neighborhood, you are pretty well screwed!

When he arrives at my area for a possible hurricane hit, there is always video from the airport as he arrives.  It's big news here.  (There's a video on youtube called 'Running from Jim Cantore' that's hysterical). 

As for the topic, I checked the news and didn't see anything about celebrity deaths today, so I'm happy about that (although I hope I didn't jinx it by saying something). 

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7 minutes ago, legaleagle53 said:

Soap's Robert Mandan dead at 86.

It's interesting that he actually passed away on April 29, but it's only being announced now.  Is that a thing these days?

It seems to be with some people who were famous at one time and hadn't been heard from in quite awhile especially former soap opera stars.

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(edited)
7 hours ago, Jaded said:

It seems to be with some people who were famous at one time and hadn't been heard from in quite awhile especially former soap opera stars.

Actress Beth Howland, who played the ditzy waitress, Vera, in the sitcom Alice died on New Year's Eve (December 31st), 2015, from lung cancer. She was married since 2002 to actor Charles Kimbrough, who played FYI anchor Jim Dial/best friend to Murphy in the original version of Murphy Brown (& hopefully who'll at least make recurring appearances in the revival since he's not 1 of the characters/actors interviewed in the revival's preview trailer about the characters reuniting to report on the country/world after the surprising, to many/most, results of the last real-life Presidential election; Kimbrough's 82 now & apparently doesn't want the commitment of a full-time role at his age--or so I've heard--but I don't think you can really blame him).

Anyway, Beth Howland's death was never announced until Charles Kimbrough commented on it to The Associated Press in May, 2016--almost 6 months later. He said there was no announcement (before that, anyway), no memorial, & no funeral (presumably at her request).  

So, yeah, it's not super unusual Robert Mandan's death would be belatedly announced. There is precedent for it.

Edited by BW Manilowe
To fix spacing and correct the spelling of a word.
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Oh he did so much more than Soap.   I knew I recognized the name.   He was "Hey, it's that guy" for a while.   Plus he married Mrs. G and took her away from living with 4 teenage-20 something girls.   

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