In Memoriam: Entertainment Industry Celebrity Deaths

[Hiyo]

Heath Freeman Dies: ‘Bones,’ ‘NCIS,’ ‘ER’ Actor Was 41.

 

[Hiyo]

Rapper Young Dolph shot and killed at age 36 in Memphis.

Young Dolph, a star of indie rap and a cousin of the late artist Juice Wrld, was shot and killed Wednesday in his hometown of Memphis, multiple law enforcement sources confirmed to Fox13 Memphis. He was 36 years old.

The rapper, whose real name was Adolph Robert Thornton Jr, was buying cookies at Makeda’s Butter Cookies at about 1pm Wednesday when a gunman drove up and shot through the window.

 

[BW Manilowe]

From NBC News: Glen de Vries, William Shatner Crew Mate on Space Flight, Killed in Small Plane Crash in New Jersey

He was 49. The other man besides de Vries on the plane was also killed. De Vries was the co-founder of Medidata Solutions, a software company which specializes in management of electronic data from clinical trials. He also served as a trustee for Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

 

Edited November 18, 2021 by BW Manilowe
To remove an extra comma.

[MissAlmond]

Actress Bergen Williams who played housekeeper and wrestler "Big Alice" on General Hospital has died, age 62.  Ms. Williams died July 20 of Wilson's Disease. 

https://deadline.com/2021/11/bergen-williams-dead-general-hospital-actor-big-alice-1234876302/

https://www.soapoperanetwork.com/2021/11/rest-in-peace-bergen-williams-general-hospital-actress-dead-at-62

https://people.com/tv/general-hospital-actor-bergen-williams-dead-at-62-after/

 

Edited November 19, 2021 by MissAlmond

[ElleryAnne]

I just wanted to link a couple more articles about Young Dolph if it's okay, because sometimes people hear "rapper" and they don't hear about other things.  

 

From The Washington Post's article: 

Up until his death, the Memphis-raised rapper was heavily involved in the city. He and his family started the Ida Mae Foundation, named after his grandmother, as a community organization focused on programming and philanthropy. Last year, he donated $25,000 to his high school, the money going to new sports equipment.

 

From CBS News' article:

Just two days ago, he and rapper Key Glock gave away 200 Thanksgiving turkeys at Memphis' West Cancer Center. 

 

[BW Manilowe]

I wonder if William Shatner sent any kind of condolences to the family of the guy who was on the outer space flight with him, or if he was the typically assholic person most people claim? I mean, I’m pretty sure the people on the flight were together for some kind of preflight training & they didn’t all just meet up wherever on the day, ride out to the capsule, do the flight & post flight stuff, then go their separate ways, maybe never to be in contact again.

[Bastet]

26 minutes ago, BW Manilowe said:

I wonder if William Shatner sent any kind of condolences to the family of the guy who was on the outer space flight with him, or if he was the typically assholic person most people claim?

Obviously I have no idea what he may have done privately, but as for what he did publicly:  A few days after the crash, he re-posted Blue Origin's tweet and wrote "Very saddened to have learned about Glen’s passing":

And, yikes, scrolling through his feed was painful; what a petulant jackass that guy is!  It seems he gets on Twitter for about an hour each day to toss out insults and engage in petty bickering.

[Inquisitionist]

1 hour ago, Bastet said:

It seems he gets on Twitter for about an hour each day to toss out insults and engage in petty bickering.

Isn't that what Twitter is for?  🙄😄

[Bastet]

4 minutes ago, Inquisitionist said:

Isn't that what Twitter is for?  🙄😄

Often, I'm sure, which is one of the reasons I'm not on it.  But I've checked in on some celebrity accounts over the years, looking to see if they commented on something, and never come across one like his; it's striking in its ridiculousness.

[BetterButter]

Dave Frishberg, Jazz Songwriter Behind ‘I’m Just a Bill’ on ‘Schoolhouse Rock,’ Dies at 88

[ABay]

 

 

Edited November 19, 2021 by ABay

[Bookish Jen]

9 hours ago, BetterButter said:

Dave Frishberg, Jazz Songwriter Behind ‘I’m Just a Bill’ on ‘Schoolhouse Rock,’ Dies at 88

Schoolhouse Rock was a big part of my Gen X childhood. This is sad.

[BetterButter]

Mick Rock: David Bowie, Iggy Pop and Queen photographer dies at 72

[Vermicious Knid]

Iman's given a pretty heartbreaking interview about her life without David Bowie.

Quote

Now that he's gone, says Iman, "There are days that are harder than others but the memories are not all sad of why the person isn't here. The memories are now of how great it was."

"Sometimes I have to remind myself that I had 26 years. So I have that to sustain me."

And she has no thoughts of ever marrying again. When her daughter, Alexandria "Lexi" Jones, now 21, asked her about it, Iman recalls, "I said 'No, I will not.' I still feel married. Someone a few years ago referred to David as my late husband and I said 'No, he's not my late husband. He's my husband.'" 

"I definitely feel his presence, especially when I look out over the glorious sunsets at our home because David loves sunsets," she says. "So in that way he is ever present."

"Through my memory, my love lives."

 

[truthaboutluv]

5 minutes ago, Vermicious Knid said:

Iman's given a pretty heartbreaking interview about her life without David Bowie.

 

That's both beautiful and sad. If she feels complete and fulfilled with never remarrying, then that's fine. Plenty of people never remarry after losing a spouse even if they may have long term relationships. 

But if she's just not moving on and essentially still holding onto a ghost, doesn't sound healthy to me. That said, who am I to judge. I've never even dated anyone for a decade, much less been with someone for 26 years. I can't imagine the sense of loss of someone who was present in your life for so long. 

[rcc]

44 minutes ago, truthaboutluv said:

That's both beautiful and sad. If she feels complete and fulfilled with never remarrying, then that's fine. Plenty of people never remarry after losing a spouse even if they may have long term relationships. 

But if she's just not moving on and essentially still holding onto a ghost, doesn't sound healthy to me. That said, who am I to judge. I've never even dated anyone for a decade, much less been with someone for 26 years. I can't imagine the sense of loss of someone who was present in your life for so long. 

I completely understand her. For me, 28 years and he will always be a part of me.

[DearEvette]

5 hours ago, Vermicious Knid said:

Iman's given a pretty heartbreaking interview about her life without David Bowie.

 

Sad and lovely.  I was a such an unabashed voyeur to their relationship.  They were two wildly beautiful people who were  beautiful together and that one Elle Von Unwerth photoshoot of them for Tommy Hilfiger is simply fierce!

Also I love that she brought up that MTV interview where he talked about their refusal to air black artists.  It was a great interview and his calm reasonableness really highlighted the fact they had no real answer except 'uh... midwest white kids wouldn't understand.."

[Annber03]

7 minutes ago, DearEvette said:

It was a great interview and his calm reasonableness really highlighted the fact they had no real answer except 'uh... midwest white kids wouldn't understand.."

Which strikes me especially hilarious considering the area of the country Prince is from. I mean, yeah, Minneapolis is a big city, which also factors in, but still...a) people of other races do exist in this part of the country, and b) there are plenty of white Midwestern kids who would love the kinds of music they think we "wouldn't understand". 

Seriously, the way people tend to stereotype this part of the country in regards to what we'd be open to watching or listening to never ceases to both amuse and irritate me. 

[SuprSuprElevated]

3 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

Which strikes me especially hilarious considering the area of the country Prince is from. I mean, yeah, Minneapolis is a big city, which also factors in, but still...a) people of other races do exist in this part of the country, and b) there are plenty of white Midwestern kids who would love the kinds of music they think we "wouldn't understand". 

Seriously, the way people tend to stereotype this part of the country in regards to what we'd be open to watching or listening to never ceases to both amuse and irritate me. 

Amen, my fellow flyover country inhabitant!

[Vermicious Knid]

Epitomized by the infamous "But will it play in Peoria?"

[BetterButter]

Art LaFleur, Actor in ‘The Sandlot’ and ‘Field of Dreams,’ Dies at 78

[legaleagle53]

On 11/18/2021 at 12:43 PM, Bastet said:

And, yikes, scrolling through his feed was painful; what a petulant jackass that guy is!  It seems he gets on Twitter for about an hour each day to toss out insults and engage in petty bickering.

Yes, we blocked each other on there years ago for that very reason!

Edited November 20, 2021 by legaleagle53

[shoregirl]

16 hours ago, BetterButter said:

Art LaFleur, Actor in ‘The Sandlot’ and ‘Field of Dreams,’ Dies at 78

Sad. He was good as the Babe in The Sandlot.

[SuprSuprElevated]

Dan Akroyd's younger brother has died.

peter-aykroyd-snl-cast-member-and-writer-dies-at-66

peter-aykroyd-dead-saturday-night-live-pays-tribute-to-former-cast-member-writer-

[Spartan Girl]

9 hours ago, SuprSuprElevated said:

Dan Akroyd's younger brother has died.

peter-aykroyd-snl-cast-member-and-writer-dies-at-66

peter-aykroyd-dead-saturday-night-live-pays-tribute-to-former-cast-member-writer-

Just saw. Poor Dan. Their dad died just last year too.

I remember Dan saying in an interview how well Peter got along with his best friend John Belushi got along with Peter. He said that was one of the things he missed most about John: that both his brothers got along so well.

I hope it’s comforting to think that both his brothers met up in the afterlife right now.

[Bastet]

I only "know" Peter as described by Dan in explaining how Dan used Peter to inform his wonderful portrayal of Mother in Sneakers.  Mother is a character that could have easily gone wrong then - early '90s - and could especially play terribly now, given all the conspiracy theories to which he subscribed.  But Dan read the script and thought, "That's my brother!"  Taking what was on the page and fleshing the character out based on a very real person he knew and loved, Aykroyd presented a character who, yes, has some outlandish beliefs his friends sometimes find interesting, sometimes tolerate, and sometimes roll their eyes at, but who is an intelligent person wanting to work for the greater good.

Like Fox Mulder, but maybe even a little better, even though Mother existed in a single film while Mulder had 11 seasons and two movies - and I'm sure that's because Aykroyd had such a close relationship with an actual example of the nuance that's possible.

So I think that performance of Dan's is a lovely tribute to Peter that can be enjoyed in perpetuity.

(Also, if anyone hasn't seen Sneakers, rectify that at once!  The cast is OMG! talented - Robert Redford, Sidney Poitier, Mary McDonnell, David Strathairn, River Phoenix, Ben Kingsley, Aykroyd, Stephen Tobolowsky, Lee Garlington - and it's just a fun, intelligent caper.  That still works surprisingly well all this time later, because while the plot technically hinged on the technology, it was really about the people.)

[Popples]

Emmy-Nominated Disney Voice Actor Will Ryan Dies

Quote

Ryan voiced Willie the Giant for The Walt Disney Company in numerous projects over a 35-year period, last doing so in 2020. He voiced Peg-Leg Pete in the Oscar-nominated animated short Mickey’s Christmas Carol, reprising the role 30 years later in the Mickey Mouse short, Get a Horse!, which was also nominated for an Oscar. He also voiced the latter character, among others, in the beloved Disney Afternoon series DuckTales, and portrayed several, including a herd of Ogres, in Adventure of the Gummi Bears, which was the first animated series from Walt Disney Television. Ryan also had the opportunity to portray Tigger and Rabbit, and to provide the singing voice of Eeyore, for the long-running Disney Channel series Welcome to Pooh Corner, which aired twice a day for 17 years.

 

[SuprSuprElevated]

Not personally familiar with the production, Scout's Guide To The Zombie Apocalypse.  28 years is far too soon.

young-movie-star-joey-morgan-dead-at-28

Edited November 22, 2021 by SuprSuprElevated

[MissAlmond]

Musician Billy Hinsche of the sixties group Dino, Desi, and Billy and member of the Beach Boys touring band has died, age 70.  

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/billy-hinsche-beach-boys-dino-desi-billy-dead-obit-1260824/

https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/billy-hinsche-dead-1235000964/

https://people.com/music/billy-hinsche-dead-age-70-giant-cell-carcinoma-cancer/

Edited November 23, 2021 by MissAlmond

[Blergh]

1 hour ago, MissAlmond said:

Musician Billy Hinsche of the sixties group Dino, Desi, and Billy and member of the Beach Boys touring band has died, age 70.  

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/billy-hinsche-beach-boys-dino-desi-billy-dead-obit-1260824/

https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/billy-hinsche-dead-1235000964/

https://people.com/music/billy-hinsche-dead-age-70-giant-cell-carcinoma-cancer/

I wonder if he and Mr. Arnaz kept in touch in the decades after the group's heyday? I believe Mr. Arnaz DID stay friends with the late Dean Paul Martin (1951-1987) until his untimely early death but they had more chances to interact via their parents being peers than I imagine Mr. Hinsche may have had with either of them! 

[bobalina]

25 minutes ago, Blergh said:

I wonder if he and Mr. Arnaz kept in touch in the decades after the group's heyday? I believe Mr. Arnaz DID stay friends with the late Dean Paul Martin (1951-1987) until his untimely early death but they had more chances to interact via their parents being peers than I imagine Mr. Hinsche may have had with either of them! 

Lucie Arnaz said they were still in touch with Mr. Hinsche.

[Rootbeer]

11 hours ago, bobalina said:

Lucie Arnaz said they were still in touch with Mr. Hinsche.

Hinsche's sister is Carl Wilson's widow, so he was part of the Beach Boys extended family as well.  Coincidentally, Hinsche's 95 year old mother died the same day he did.

[BetterButter]

Lou Cutell, Actor in ‘Seinfeld’ and ‘Pee-wee’s Big Adventure,’ Dies at 91

[Bastet]

8 hours ago, BetterButter said:

Lou Cutell, Actor in ‘Seinfeld’ and ‘Pee-wee’s Big Adventure,’ Dies at 91

Imagine having "the ass man" in the first line of your obituary.  But, yeah, that's what I associate him with, too.

[Vermicious Knid]

Luxury wedding cake pioneer Sylvia Weinstock, 'Queen of Cakes, dead at 91.
 

Quote

 

As the dessert designer to the stars, Weinstock has created elaborate cakes for everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Mariah Carey, Billy Joel, Robert De Niro, and Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones. In 2015, she designed a dramatic, floral-studded stunner for Sofia Vergara and Joe Manganiello's Palm Beach, Fla. wedding....

Weinstock nurtured generations of bakers and adoring fans through her numerous books and mentorship work. She made appearances as a guest judge on popular food competition shows like Bravo's Top Chef, Netflix's Nailed It! , and Food Network's Chopped Sweets.

 

 

[meowmommy]

7 hours ago, Vermicious Knid said:

Luxury wedding cake pioneer Sylvia Weinstock, 'Queen of Cakes, dead at 91.

Awww.  She was adorable on Nailed It.

[Hiyo]

Lisa Brown, known to soap fans for playing Nola Reardon on Guiding Light and Iva Snyder on As the World Turns, has passed away at the age of 67.

Edited November 26, 2021 by Hiyo

[Bastet]

Aw, first Quint and now Nola just a couple of months later. 

[MissAlmond]

1 hour ago, Bastet said:

Aw, first Quint and now Nola just a couple of months later. 

I was thinking the same thing. I remember Lisa Brown as GL's Nola and ATWT's Ida Snyder. R.I.P. Ms. Brown.

[Luckylyn]

Stephen Sondheim, Titan of the American Musical, Is Dead at 91

[Popples]

I'm absolutely gutted, Gypsy is my second favorite musical.

After his music, one of the first things I always remember about him was the story he told about when he was staying with Oscar Hammerstein II when Show Boat opened and he cried so hard he ruined Hammerstein's wife's fur coat.

RIP Mr. Sondheim, what an incredible talent and legend.

[Browncoat]

Oh, man, that's tough.  I think I liked all of his musicals.  My favorite is Sweeney Todd.

RIP, Mr. Sondheim.

[Spartan Girl]

91 is as good an age as any but this SUCKS. I love Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods and West Side Story.

[Wiendish Fitch]

Stephen Sondheim's talent defied description. An endlessly creative wordsmith whose songs can be torment to those learning to sing them, but a wonderful experience to the audience, he definitely lived by the credo of "high risk, high reward". It's too difficult for me to pick a favorite song, because nearly all his musical cast albums are great in their entirety: West Side Story, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods, the list goes on.

The musical world will never be the same without you, Mr. Sondheim.

Edited November 26, 2021 by Wiendish Fitch

[giovannif7]

I am gutted. 🎭💔😭😭😭😭😭

 

[ebk57]

I gasped when the alert showed up on my phone.  While I loved all of this shows, my favorite was the troubled Merrily We Roll Along.  The book will never work, but the score is gorgeous and the themes of longtime friends is near and dear to my ailing heart.  

[SusanM]

Sondheim was definitely one of those talents I thought would go on forever 😔

[GreekGeek]

My favorite Sondheim musical is an odd one: Assassins. I missed the original run but was fascinated by it after seeing the 2004 revival. My second favorite is Follies. I loved how Sondheim could write in the musical style of so many genres.

[Lady Whistleup]

What a genius. I have tickets to Company in two weeks. My favorite Sondheim score is also Merrily We Roll Along.

The final song "Our Time" is on the short list of all time most gorgeous B'way songs:

 

[ABay]

No! He looked pretty bad when Colbert had him on...a month ago?...but I'm devastated. A Little Night Music is my hands-down favorite. Some of my best memories are driving around with my best friend singing along to that and Sweeney Todd.