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In Memoriam: Entertainment Industry Celebrity Deaths

Kromm

By Kromm
in Everything Else TV

Mr. Sparkle
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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Pete Martell

Pete Martell

Denise's family have started a gofundme for death expenses (if we aren't allowed to post that, my apologies)

So many seem to have gone this week. Another is film star Valentina Cortese, 1975 Oscar nominee.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/10/obituaries/valentina-cortese-dead.html

Ingrid Bergman won the Oscar that year. Ingrid, who felt her role and performance was not particularly award-worthy, decided to instead lament how bizarre and wrong it was that Academy rules meant that Cortese was nominated for Day for Night a year after it won Best Picture. It's a beautifully delivered speech by a luminous Bergman, and her rapport with Cortese is also a joy to watch. Unsurprisingly, it led the Academy to change their rules. 

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Bastet
Bastet

Piss up a rope, Val Kilmer.  If your physical illness got so bad that your life utterly sucked and no end to that suffering was in sight, so that suicide was or seemed to be the best of the available

wilsie
wilsie
BetterButter
BetterButter

Olivia Newton-John Has Died At 73

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IWantCandy71

IWantCandy71

I actually watched Rip Torn's old Columbo episode, "Death Hits the Jackpot", last night before I even knew he had died.  How strange is that ? It's one of my favorites (I have the complete box set of Columbo. I am a mystery nerd, and I am not ashamed). If any of you have never seen it, search it out. It's one of the most fun episodes out of that era (early nineties). 

Another favorite performance of Rip's-the Jeff Daniels/Michael Richards "Trial and Error" movie. I enjoyed that one, but it's been a long time since I've seen it.

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MissAlmond

MissAlmond

13 hours ago, ShadowHunter said:

Sorry to hear about Denise Nickerson. I remember her from the soap Dark Shadows.

I remember her too from DS.  I can't believe I missed she had a massive stroke earlier.  R.I.P. Ms. Nickerson.  

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Blergh

Blergh

Oh, poor Denise Nickerson and, especially her family having had to deal with that horrific stroke for so long.   Sadly, too, when they strapped her in that blueberry costume in Willy Wonka then rolled her around, it seemed to permanently damage her back!  At least HER suffering is no more! 

 Yes, I liked  her as Violet(the nicer of the two girls)  in Willy Wonka but I also liked her a great deal during the year she was on the original Electric Company as  Allison one of the Short Circus members and she was a fairly good singer (if one has the chance to catch her doing the "Sweet, Sweet Sway" song from that show, one is in for a treat- even if it sounds close to Lou Christie's "Lightning Strikes" song).  I don't know why she didn't stick around longer on that show but she was one of the best performers on it! RIP, Miss Nickerson. 

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Was-MArsenault

Was-MArsenault

New information about Denise:

On July 8, 2019, Nickerson accessed and ate various medications while her son and daughter-in-law were out of the house. Her son took her to a hospital in respiratory distress. In the intensive care unit, she developed pneumonia. On July 9, she had a massive seizure and went comatose.

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Vixenstud

Vixenstud

2 hours ago, Blergh said:

I also liked her a great deal during the year she was on the original Electric Company as  Allison one of the Short Circus members and she was a fairly good singer (if one has the chance to catch her doing the "Sweet, Sweet Sway" song from that show, one is in for a treat- even if it sounds close to Lou Christie's "Lightning Strikes" song).  I don't know why she didn't stick around longer on that show but she was one of the best performers on it!

I never saw WW but was a huge EC fan, so I certainly remember Denise there....loved Sweet, Sweet Sway but there was also Poison, which scared the crap outta me.

RIP, lovely lady.

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Inquisitionist

Inquisitionist

19 hours ago, Pete Martell said:

Ingrid Bergman won the Oscar that year. Ingrid, who felt her role and performance was not particularly award-worthy, decided to instead lament how bizarre and wrong it was that Academy rules meant that Cortese was nominated for Day for Night a year after it won Best Picture. It's a beautifully delivered speech by a luminous Bergman, and her rapport with Cortese is also a joy to watch. Unsurprisingly, it led the Academy to change their rules. 

Bergman misspoke:  Day For Night won Best Foreign Language Film, not Best Picture.  But then she also called it Day and Night.  Gracious speech, nonetheless -- and it's the only reason I knew who Valentina Cortese was when I read she had died.

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Was-MArsenault

Was-MArsenault

(edited)

Some more information about Denise:

It had already been reported by her family, before Denise died, that she had intentionally taken as much medication as she could find. That's what led to the hospitalization and, ultimately, her death.

The family also posted it on the Gofundme page for Denise.

Edited by MikaelaArsenault
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MarkHB

MarkHB

22 hours ago, Blergh said:

(if one has the chance to catch her doing the "Sweet, Sweet Sway" song from that show, one is in for a treat- even if it sounds close to Lou Christie's "Lightning Strikes" song

This was the first video I came across when I googled her.... RIP Angela.  (Skipping the embed since we already have another).  I loved that show.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtVnNdFWG0Q

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Blergh

Blergh

(edited)
38 minutes ago, MarkHB said:

This was the first video I came across when I googled her.... RIP Angela.  (Skipping the embed since we already have another).  I loved that show.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtVnNdFWG0Q

Thanks for the link but it was Denise Nickerson who played Allison on Electric Company who died while the one who uses the performing name of June Angela (who played Julie on the same show) is still with us (at age 59[!])- to the best of my knowledge.  The now-deceased Miss Nickerson was the lead singer of that particular song! 

Edited by Blergh
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Inquisitionist

Inquisitionist

20 hours ago, biakbiak said:

Not human but Cheddar, real name Stewart, from Brooklyn 99.

Aw, thanks for letting us know.  This passage caught my eye:

Quote

“We went to the beach (his favorite place) where he frolicked in the surf and then enjoyed a picnic lunch of In & Out burgers. We relaxed in the sun and just enjoyed each other’s company,” his owner wrote. “Our veterinarian met us there later and Stewart went to sleep peacefully in my arms while listening to the sounds of the ocean. He was a one in a million kind of dog, he was my supaah staah.”

It made me wonder how Cheddar's owner had decided that this was the time for Cheddar to depart.  Perhaps the dog had a terminal illness and was otherwise in pain.  We have a rescue dog of indeterminate age who is deeply in the throes of dementia, and I'm grappling with how we'll know that "it's time."  Feel free to send me a private message if you have advice/experience to share.

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MarkHB

MarkHB

3 hours ago, Blergh said:

Thanks for the link but it was Denise Nickerson who played Allison on Electric Company who died

Crap, I know who I meant I just got her character name wrong. Thanks!

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spiderpig

spiderpig

On 7/10/2019 at 4:44 PM, AimingforYoko said:

Sounds like a Bill Paxton-Pullman situation. (Alternatively, Dylan McDermott and Dermot Mulroney)

And Jeff Daniels who looked like Bill Pullman.

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Bastet

Bastet

3 minutes ago, Jaded said:

I remembered who Stephanie was after I saw her picture.

It's weird - I immediately recognized her picture as someone I'd seen, but looking up her credits, the only project of hers I've seen is Anywhere But Here, in which her role is just "Waitress," so now I wonder if I'm mistaking her for someone else.

At any rate, 52 is much too young, and she died unexpectedly, so I can just imagine the shock her family is feeling on top of the grief.

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doodlebug

doodlebug

6 minutes ago, SuprSuprElevated said:

Remains of actor Charles Levin, reported missing on July 8th, have reportedly been found in a remote area in Oregon.

charles-levin

I didn't recognize him from the item photo, but this younger pic...heck yes!  RIP

charles levin.jpg

Very sad story, I've seen him in a zillion things.  Even sadder that his dog apparently died while waiting for him in the car.  

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Rescue Mama

Rescue Mama

(edited)
30 minutes ago, SuprSuprElevated said:

Remains of actor Charles Levin, reported missing on July 8th, have reportedly been found in a remote area in Oregon.

charles-levin

I didn't recognize him from the item photo, but this younger pic...heck yes!  RIP

charles levin.jpg

I'm watching him on an old Alice repeat on Logo right now. 

RIP.  So sad. 

ETA, I just read the article, they found the remains just a couple of hours from my farm.  

Edited by Rescue Mama
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spiderpig

spiderpig

1 minute ago, MikaelaArsenault said:

He probably died from natural causes.

I am not at all being flip here but, when you are 88 or 91 you probably die of being 88 or 91l.  We look at our goddesses Betty White and Olivia DeHavilland and just wish them peaceful transfer when it's their time.

My mother-in-law passed just short of her 91st birthday,  Our sister simply stated that she was ready to go and wanted to be with Pa (her husband).

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doodlebug

doodlebug

3 hours ago, MikaelaArsenault said:

How did he die?

It doesn't say in the story, I presume they're waiting for the coroner to rule.  He was found outdoors in a remote part of Oregon in a place with steep and rugged terrain.  His car was nearby on a road that was almost impassable.  It seems like it is not clear what happened.  Perhaps he got lost and his car got stuck and he got out to find help.  His son reported him missing on July 8 after being unable to reach him for several days.

I am sure more details will be forthcoming.

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Lugal

Lugal

9 hours ago, MikaelaArsenault said:

How did he die?

Just speculation on my part, but he may have gone hiking or exploring and gotten ledged out and fell.

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Rescue Mama

Rescue Mama

4 hours ago, Lugal said:

Just speculation on my part, but he may have gone hiking or exploring and gotten ledged out and fell.

The thing I don't understand is if he was hiking and fell or something, why was his dog found dead in his car?   

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shapeshifter

shapeshifter

4 minutes ago, Rescue Mama said:

why was his dog found dead in his car?   

To me that implies that he only intended to leave the dog in the car for a short time. Perhaps he just needed to relieve himself or refill a water container from a stream, but then had a heart attack.

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hoosier80

hoosier80

Saw the news about Charles Levin yesterday, and just the day before had watched a couple of Alice reruns.  He'd been featured in several, namely the one where he was obsessed with playing the piano his parents gifted them (newlyweds Vera and Elliot).  

Sounds like maybe he was lost, trying to get help?  I would have thought he'd have a cell phone, but if it was remote enough, no service?  

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Halting Hex

Halting Hex

(edited)
On 7/11/2019 at 6:10 AM, BW Manilowe said:

From ESPN: Jim Bouton, Ex-Yankee and ‘Ball Four’ Author, Dead at 80

Ball Four was quite possibly the most important book ever written by an athlete.  An enthralling diary of a personal struggle to stay on top in difficult circumstances (Bouton had lost his fastball when his arm froze up in a game in Minneapolis [pre-dome] in April, 1965, and the 1960s Yankees were notorious for treating their players as disposable, leading to many early retirements), it also explored how baseball players were basically treated as chattel before the strikes and bargaining break-throughs of the mid-1970s.  Treated as a "leper" (to quote the always-lovely Dick Young) for daring to portray ex-teammate Mickey Mantle in a more-human light (Mantle had been fluffed as the All-American White God in the 1950s/1960s press, to combat the fact that more and more stars, especially in the National League, were turning out to be, you know…Negroes.  And how could we let the kids grow up with that?), Bouton shined a light on the extreme pettiness and chintziness of management (he got in a dispute with one general manager over being reimbursed for having purchased a new product called GatorAde™ for the team; it was less than $100 worth), the blind eye turned towards the widespread use of amphetamines ("greenies") in an era where competitive edges were deeply-sought (Bouton and the Houston Astros, eliminated from playoff contention, joking about how many greenies the Cincinnati Reds were taking while trying to catch Atlanta:  "Five more micrograms and he'd have had that one") and the sadly still-pervasive racism in 1969 America. Endlessly readable and rereadable, I treasure the copy (and the edition of his follow-up, I'm Glad You Didn't Take It Personally) that I was fortunate enough to have Jim sign at an event in 2009.

Bouton's later years were filled with all sorts of challenges, from his various careers (acting, sportscasting, inventing) to a midlife crisis-fueled comeback attempt that saw the end of his marriage and the start of a new one, to being thought of as persona non grata by the Yankees until he was finally invited back to Old-Timers' Day and similar events in 1998, to the heartbreaking tale of the tragic death of his daughter, Laurie (referred to in the book as "the Unsinkable Molly Brown" for her accident-prone toddlerhood) in a 1997 car accident (which likely was responsible for the Yankees lifting his ban the next year).  I'm still trying to find the piece on Laurie's death (it was in the 2000 revised edition of Ball Four, but it was in some newspaper first) online, but while I do, have this excellent obituary for the man himself.

Now, much like former teammate Steve Barber's arm, we can that Bouton isn't "sore, [he's] just a little stiff."  (As mentioned, players in the 1960s went to great pains to conceal injuries; Barber's constant denial of his arm injury is a source of both humor and anger in the book.)  In the immortal words of Seattle manager Joe Schultz, "Ah, shitfuck".

Oh, joy, I've found it.  If, like me, you're the sort of sick puppy who likes reading what a father writes about the death of his effervescent gone-too-soon daughter, this is for you.

(From the book version, apparently.  Apologies for the formatting difficulties.  Actually, now that I look at it, the link is to the entire book, with all the various appendices that came out with each ten-year reissue.   Very useful, despite the annoying formatting.  I'd still rather have the book, though.  [Yes, I have just seen a video review of the episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer where Giles has the speech about why he prefers books to computers.  I think that's just a coincidence, though.])

In other feel-good news from the world of sports this weekend, Pernell "Sweet Pea" Whitaker was killed when he was struck by a car in his hometown of Virginia Beach, VA.  Whitaker, age 55, won a gold medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, and was pretty much the best boxer in the world for the following decade, winning titles in four divisions (at his best as a lightweight), briefly unifying the welterweight title, reaching the Hall of Fame, battling alcohol problems after retirement, and having some success as a trainer, but not reaching the top because he didn't want to relocate to Las Vegas.  So, away from the neon lights, he got killed because his clothes were too dark and the driver didn't see him crossing the street.  And so it goes…

Whitaker's first title win (1989)

Edited by Halting Hex
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methodwriter85

methodwriter85

(edited)
On 7/14/2019 at 11:10 PM, spiderpig said:

I am not at all being flip here but, when you are 88 or 91 you probably die of being 88 or 91l.  We look at our goddesses Betty White and Olivia DeHavilland and just wish them peaceful transfer when it's their time.

My mother-in-law passed just short of her 91st birthday,  Our sister simply stated that she was ready to go and wanted to be with Pa (her husband).

My general thought process has been that if/when people die over the age of about 75, my general reaction is, "Well, they had a wonderful run."

I was pretty surprised about Florence Henderson and Tab Hunter, though. They both seemed like people I saw hitting the century mark.

It's funny though- I remember watching the movie American Graffiti, and thinking about how the 1950's generation- i.e. the people who were born in the 1930's and had their young adulthood in the 1950's- are dying off en masse. I mean, mathematically it makes sense- anyone born in the 30's is 79 at the absolute youngest, but it's weird to see that generation going because they were the first cohort to have a distinct and media-depicted "teenaged" culture.

Edited by methodwriter85
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Ohwell

Ohwell

6 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

My general thought process has been that if/when people die over the age of about 75, my general reaction is, "Well, they had a wonderful run."

Wow.  *gulp*

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Homily

Homily

(edited)
7 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

My general thought process has been that if/when people die over the age of about 75, my general reaction is, "Well, they had a wonderful run."

I can remember thinking 60 was a good run.  Thanks to a recent significant birthday I no longer see things that way!  It won't be long before I think if someone dies at 75 I'll be saying "so young, so young" 😊

Edited by Homily
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meep.meep

meep.meep

5 hours ago, Homily said:

I can remember thinking 60 was a good run.  Thanks to a recent significant birthday I no longer see things that way!  It won't be long before I think if someone dies at 75 I'll be saying "so young, so young" 😊

Morty Seinfeld:
We just came for the funeral.

Helen Seinfeld:
Poor Marvin Kessler. He went too early.

Jerry:
He was 96 years old.

Morty Seinfeld:
And that had nothing to do with it. The man was out of shape.

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Halting Hex

Halting Hex

Mr. Justice John Paul Stevens, who was no William O. Douglas (whose chair he filled), but still served with distinction, has died.  He was 99, the longest-lived former SCOTUS Justice in history.

His Wikipedia entry doesn't mention that, apparently, Citizens United got out of hand because he and David Souter were trying to settle old scores from other cases, but it's still a good biography.  I did not know that Stevens was one of the few surviving (perhaps the last such) attendees at Babe Ruth's famous "called shot" Home Run in Game 3 of the 1932 World Series, at Wrigley Field.  RIP, JPS. 

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roamyn

roamyn

9 hours ago, Halting Hex said:

Mr. Justice John Paul Stevens, who was no William O. Douglas (whose chair he filled), but still served with distinction, has died.  He was 99, the longest-lived former SCOTUS Justice in history.

His Wikipedia entry doesn't mention that, apparently, Citizens United got out of hand because he and David Souter were trying to settle old scores from other cases, but it's still a good biography.  I did not know that Stevens was one of the few surviving (perhaps the last such) attendees at Babe Ruth's famous "called shot" Home Run in Game 3 of the 1932 World Series, at Wrigley Field.  RIP, JPS. 

He was a champion of Gay and Equal Rights since the 80s, at least.  He roundly condemned Georgia’s anti-sodomy law for decades, before it was finally overturned less than five years ago.

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SuprSuprElevated

SuprSuprElevated

49 minutes ago, MissAlmond said:

Former NFL player, Mitch Petrus has died from heat stroke, age 32.   Watch yourselves in this weather people!  

https://people.com/sports/mitch-petrus-dies-heat-stroke/

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/27221616/ex-giants-lineman-petrus-32-dies-heat-stroke

People should take that stuff seriously.  Excessive heat is no joke.  For me, I wish to thank Willis Carrier's parents for copulating. <105 heat index here in flyoverland>

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Enero

Enero

On 7/16/2019 at 4:11 AM, methodwriter85 said:

My general thought process has been that if/when people die over the age of about 75, my general reaction is, "Well, they had a wonderful run."

Same here. We all have to die sometime and if someone makes it to 75 or above, they’ve had a long run and hopefully a full and for the most part amazing life. 

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