In Memoriam: Entertainment Industry Celebrity Deaths

[voiceover]

Ohhhh Kirstie.  This is sad news.  She had a twinkle and a gift for finding the funny, and her Pier One ads were a classic of the genre.

And even though I don’t like country music In an era of go-along-to-get-along, she was fearless.  I valued, and value, that the most about her.  
 

[Zella]

33 minutes ago, Bastet said:

And Drop Dead Gorgeous.

I love that movie and that is always what I associate her with too. I was too young for Cheers. I'm drawing a blank of anything else I've seen her in.

[Irlandesa]

I read someone from Cheers died and I didn't expect it to be her. 

I wasn't a big Rebecca fan and goodness did I think she could sound dumb but I also have a soft spot in my heart for Look Who's Talking.  Even enjoyed Veronica's Closet for a time. 

[Bastet]

6 minutes ago, Blergh said:

Poor Mr. and Miss Stevens

I've read conflicting information, but I believe the kids use Parker as their last name.  At least the son, as that's his own son's last name.

[Vermicious Knid]

What's supposed to happen to Scientologists when they die?

[partofme]

In recent years I’ve felt justified in my dislike of Rebecca on Cheers but she was too young.   

[Irlandesa]

4 minutes ago, Bastet said:

I've read conflicting information, but I believe the kids use Parker as their last name.  At least the son, as that's his own son's last name.

Parker Stevenson's given name was Richard Stevenson Parker Jr. so Parker would make sense if he didn't change his legal name. 

[Fool to cry]

I started watching Cheers when Kirstie joined the show, so the Rebecca years will always be my favorite era. She fit in with the other characters more and it just seemed more fun.

[Lady Whistleup]

Well I didn't much like her (I actually never liked Cheers) but damn, 71 is too young. Sorry for her family.

[GreekGeek]

People have already mentioned Cheers, Veronica’s Closet, and Look Who’s Talking, and I want to add Kirstie’s appearance on Dancing with the Stars. It was such fun watching her partnership with Max. She did really well, and she was an inspiration to larger women. I cheered when Bruno told her, “Your body is shrinking and your talent is huuuge!” I was shocked to read about her death.

[Jaded]

1 hour ago, Annber03 said:

I saw the first one of those films sooooooooo many times when I was little, thanks to my mom. 

I can't hear the song "Let My Love Open the Door" without thinking of those movies. I like to forget who was the female voice talking to the sperm though.

I remember the reality show Kirstie had years ago and thinking from her behavior that she seemed like she had mental health issues that her religion wanted her do ignore or deny. It was kind of a reality check seeing her that way and remembering how much I loved her in the movies and TV shows I had seen her in.

[Annber03]

10 minutes ago, Jaded said:

I can't hear the song "Let My Love Open the Door" without thinking of those movies. 

Same! I had a similar reaction with Talking Heads' "And She Was" for a time as well. 

[AgathaC]

I’m more of a Diane years fan and I had some issues with her as a person, but I’m still shocked and sad to hear about Kirstie Alley. I became old enough for Cheers in the Rebecca era and I was a big fan (until adulthood when I discovered the first couple of seasons and switched teams).

And I was a dedicated Sesame Street kid. I nearly wore out my Sesame Street Gold album and I can still hear Bob’s voice. It was so soothing and comforting. He seemed like a good, sweet man.

RIP to two more parts of my childhood.

[Jaded]

6 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

Same! I had a similar reaction with Talking Heads' "And She Was" for a time as well. 

I don't remember the other music that was in the movie.  I was at a really impressionable age when the movie came out so the talking sperm and eggs really got my attention which is probably why I remember "Let My Love Open the Door" the most.

[Snow Apple]

The first thing I ever saw Kirstie Alley in was the mini-series North and South. I thought she had such beautiful eyes and was a standout in a cast of thousands. I also preferred Rebecca to Diane in Cheers.

Even though she's more of a controversial figure now, I can't help my fondness for those early projects.

[stonehaven]

I love what writer Ken Levine had to say..He posted this to Facebook because he no longer writes his blog...

------So sorry to hear of Kirstie Alley's passing. She was such fun on CHEERS, game to do anything we gave her. She loved kids and threw elaborate Halloween parties for them every year. My kids absolutely adored her. My writing partner and I loved writing for her. She was so wonderfully funny, such a joy to work with, and when my son was in kindergarten selling raffle tickets for a dollar (to win a TV) she gave him twenty even though he warned her she might not win. RIP Kirstie.---------

Right about now, I miss being able to call my Mom and say "Did you hear who died????" We were each other's pop culture buddies. Nobody else in my life is like that. Plus, we voted for and rooted for her on Dancing With The Stars....RIP Kristie....

[Ohiopirate02]

11 hours ago, Vermicious Knid said:

What's supposed to happen to Scientologists when they die?

A form of reincarnation which is why people in the Sea Org sign a billion year contract and also why they reject any sane theory of child development.  All of their big bases and their main ship keep L. Ron's rooms at the ready for the day he returns complete with his cigarettes and alcohol of choice.

[Bethany]

Another bit of my youth (well young adulthood) gone with the loss of Kirstie Alley.  Sadly my most recent memories of her are not positive ones, she really seemed to go off the rails, but I am glad she was surrounded by people who loved her.  In the end that's what really counts.  RIP Kirstie.

[Fool to cry]

For a positive story Amy Adams was just doing local dinner theater in Minnesota when she got cast in Drop Dead Gorgeous. She said being in the movie made her want to pursue a career in Hollywood so she asked her co-star Kirstie:

"I kind of like very nervously went up to Kirstie Alley and I was like, Um, I was thinking of maybe moving to LA. And she's like, Oh yeah, you should do it. You're young. You're funny. You'll work. That's like all it took. I was like, I am young and funny. I will work. This will be great. I never thought it was going to be the struggle it is for everybody and for me"

[jah1986]

13 hours ago, Snow Apple said:

The first thing I ever saw Kirstie Alley in was the mini-series North and South. I thought she had such beautiful eyes and was a standout in a cast of thousands. I also preferred Rebecca to Diane in Cheers.

Even though she's more of a controversial figure now, I can't help my fondness for those early projects.

Yes, Virgilia in North and South, she was a force of nature. Kirstie was awesome and so beautiful. I was bummed when they recast Saavik in Star Trek 3 because she was so good in Star Trek 2. Really shocked and saddened, like others have said another piece of my childhood gone.

[Amello]

Kirstie Alley - Look Who's Talking, It Takes Two, The Village of the Damned, Summer School, Fat Actress ... I grew up watching these projects on TV.  I'll remember the actress fondly, no matter what the person may have been like.  But saying that, if you saw her when she did Celebrity Big Brother, she was so likable on there that it's even hard to marry who she showed herself to be on that show with unfortunate things she said elsewhere. Still, she was so talented and obviously beloved despite all that so rest in peace, Kirstie Alley. 

[chediavolo]

17 hours ago, Vermicious Knid said:

What's supposed to happen to Scientologists when they die?

Well what they think is going to happen & what will happen is most assuredly two completely different things. Then take into account that most of them at least the very higher ups like Kirstie ,Tom Cruise  etc. many of them treat other people absolutely horrifically and have prejudiced views of many different lifestyles. Just research some of the things Kirstie  has said in the past. That being said cancer is the devil and we really should be putting more money into funding in this country. I don’t wish that on anyone as a matter of fact I wish she would’ve seen the light and left Scientology like some others have. She was absolutely stunning when she was younger.

[ellenr33]

I watched Look Who's Talking and It Takes Two on constant repeat as a kid. Let my Love Open The Door will always be such a sweet song to me. Rest In Peace Kirstie! 

[AgathaC]

Yeah, I have conflicted feelings about Kirstie. I cannot condone things she said. In fact, I had gotten to the point I’d roll my eyes at the mention of her name. Yet the stories about her and some interviews I’ve seen made her seem like a cool person to hang out with. Regardless, no one deserves to die of cancer.

People are complicated.

[danderson400]

I feel like my childhood died with Bob and Kirstie.

[Quof]

2 hours ago, chediavolo said:

Well what they think is going to happen & what will happen is most assuredly two completely different things

The same may be said of every religion. 

[AstridM]

2 hours ago, Quof said:

The same may be said of every religion. 

You beat me to it.

[meowmommy]

I didn't think about it until just now, but Kirstie Alley died of the same disease as my mother, at the exact same age as my mother.  Makes me unutterably sad, for some reason.

[Vermicious Knid]

Co-founder of Stax records Jim Stewart dies at age 92.

Quote

Stewart was co-founder of Stax Records in Memphis, where, during an era of racial strife, white musicians and producers worked alongside Black singers, songwriters and instrumentalists to create the "Memphis sound" embodied by Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, Booker T. and the MGs, Carla and Rufus Thomas, the Staple Singers, Wilson Pickett, Sam & Dave and many others.

Stax and its affiliated record labels released 300 albums and 800 singles between 1959 and 1975, according to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame...Before Stax went bankrupt in 1975, the recording studio in Memphis' "Soulsville" neighborhood produced lasting hits such as Otis Redding's "Dock of the Bay," Eddie Floyd's "Knock on Wood," Sam & Dave's "Hold On, I'm Comin'" and "Soul Man," and "Green Onions" by Booker T. and the M.G.s.

[andromeda331]

8 hours ago, AgathaC said:

Yeah, I have conflicted feelings about Kirstie. I cannot condone things she said. In fact, I had gotten to the point I’d roll my eyes at the mention of her name. Yet the stories about her and some interviews I’ve seen made her seem like a cool person to hang out with. Regardless, no one deserves to die of cancer.

People are complicated.

So do I. I loved her in Cheers and Veronica's Closet. I loved her in Look Who's Talking. But she's said some really horrible things in the past decade or so that I've really hated and hated her. I am sorry she had cancer and lost her battle with it. Cancer is the worse. Thanks for Rebecca, Veronica and Molly.

[cynicat]

George Newall, a Creator of ‘Schoolhouse Rock,’ Dies at 88

Well, shit.  I mean RATS!!  I still have a lot of those songs on my playlist.  Schoolhouse Rock was brilliant.  RIP.

[Blergh]

29 minutes ago, cynicat said:

George Newall, a Creator of ‘Schoolhouse Rock,’ Dies at 88

Well, shit.  I mean RATS!!  I still have a lot of those songs on my playlist.  Schoolhouse Rock was brilliant.  RIP.

Those songs (and sketches) were a fantastic means to learn vital stuff! BTW, a friend of mine was in a high school civics class taking a test on the US Constitution and was expected to write out the Preamble and drew a blank until. .. one of his classmates started humming Schoolhouse Rock's 'We the People. .' song and everyone else hummed along and GOT it! None of the class sang a single word aloud so the teacher couldn't bust them on having cheated but she wasn't happy that they'd already HAD learned from the cartoon but hadn't (re)learned it in her class! LOL

RIP, Mr. Newall!

Edited December 8, 2022 by Blergh

[chediavolo]

On 12/6/2022 at 5:15 PM, Quof said:

The same may be said of every religion. 

Of course….Scientology is not a religion it’s a cult. And I was specifically referring to their wack a doodle beliefs on the afterlife or just about anything really..

[cynicat]

46 minutes ago, chediavolo said:

Of course….Scientology is not a religion it’s a cult. And I was specifically referring to their wack a doodle beliefs on the afterlife or just about anything really..

That could also be applied to any religion, at least IMO.

[Annber03]

1 hour ago, Blergh said:

Those songs (and sketches) were a fantastic means to learn vital stuff! BTW, a friend of mine was in a high school civics class taking a test on the US Constitution and was expected to write out the Preamble and drew a blank until. .. one of his classmates started humming Schoolhouse Rock's 'We the People. .' song and everyone else hummed along and GOT it! None of the class sang a single word aloud so the teacher couldn't bust them on having cheated but she wasn't happy that they'd already HAD learned from the cartoon but hadn't (re)learned it in her class! LOL

RIP, Mr. Newall!

Similar thing happened with me when I was in school :D. We also had to write out the Preamble on a test for extra credit, and that song helped me get that extra credit. Thank you, Schoolhouse Rock!

[MissAlmond]

4 hours ago, Blergh said:

Those songs (and sketches) were a fantastic means to learn vital stuff!

There are adults today in sore need of Schoolhouse Rock remedial courses.

R.I.P. Mr. Newall.

[Browncoat]

6 hours ago, cynicat said:

George Newall, a Creator of ‘Schoolhouse Rock,’ Dies at 88

Well, shit.  I mean RATS!!  I still have a lot of those songs on my playlist.  Schoolhouse Rock was brilliant.  RIP.

Aw, man!  I loved Schoolhouse Rock!  Like a lot of others here, I learned so much from those cartoons, and still remember the Preamble.  As long as I sing it, of course.

[GHScorpiosRule]

6 hours ago, cynicat said:

George Newall, a Creator of ‘Schoolhouse Rock,’ Dies at 88

Well, shit.  I mean RATS!!  I still have a lot of those songs on my playlist.  Schoolhouse Rock was brilliant.  RIP.

NOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Schoolhouse Rock was one of many staples on Saturday mornings, along with Bugs Bunny. "I'm Just A Bill" "Conjunction Junction", "The Preamble" oh and so many many more!

[Quof]

5 hours ago, chediavolo said:

Of course….Scientology is not a religion it’s a cult. And I was specifically referring to their wack a doodle beliefs on the afterlife or just about anything really..

Every religion is inherently illogical and cult-like, including their beliefs about the afterlife. Except your own.  

[magicdog]

RATS!!

So sad to hear about George Newall!!  I watched every Schoolhouse Rock every Saturday morning and every now and then, it helped me pass a test.  To this day all those songs still roll around my head.

2 hours ago, MissAlmond said:

There are adults today in sore need of Schoolhouse Rock remedial courses.

Indeed!  

[Yogisbooboo64]

To this day, when I'm counting money in my head I'm singsonging "5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30!"

Godspeed, sir.

[DearEvette]

20 hours ago, magicdog said:

RATS!!

🎼 Interjections, show excitement or emotion, They're generally set apart from a sentence by an exclamation point,
Or by a comma when the feeling's not as strong.🎼

Sorry... had to do it. 

To this day I still remember every lyric of the Schoolhouse Rock videos.  Man, what a fantastic, fun and engaging way to teach.  Knowing the preamble came in handy during a trivia contest where I won a cool $1,000!

RIP George Newall.

[MissAlmond]

Actor Helen Slayton-Hughes best known for playing court stenographer Ethel Beavers on Parks and Recreation has died, age 92.

https://deadline.com/2022/12/helen-slayton-hughes-dead-parks-and-recreation-actor-obituary-1235194879/

https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/helen-slayton-hughes-dead-parks-and-recreation-1235455951/

https://www.etonline.com/helen-slayton-hughes-parks-and-recreation-actress-dead-at-92-195795
 

[shoregirl]

She was one of my favorite secondary characters on the show. Such perfect delivery of her lines.

[Bastet]

3 hours ago, MissAlmond said:

Actor Helen Slayton-Hughes best known for playing court stenographer Ethel Beavers on Parks and Recreation has died, age 92.

To me, she's Marion Cotesworth-Haye from a scene in The West Wing that is an example of why Allison Janney has one of my favorite laughs (tied with Gillian Anderson) on television:

Edited December 10, 2022 by Bastet

[MissAlmond]

Longtime soccer journalist Grant Wahl has died after collapsing while covering a World Cup match, age 48.

https://www.npr.org/2022/12/09/1142054844/grant-wahl-soccer-writer-dies-qatar-world-cup

https://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/35221443/american-soccer-journalist-grant-wahl-dies-48-qatar

https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/09/football/grant-wahl-death-world-cup-qatar-intl-hnk/index.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/09/sports/soccer/grant-wahl-dead.html

Edited December 10, 2022 by MissAlmond

[Leeds]

4 hours ago, MissAlmond said:

Longtime soccer journalist Grant Wahl has died after collapsing while covering a World Cup match, age 48.

https://www.npr.org/2022/12/09/1142054844/grant-wahl-soccer-writer-dies-qatar-world-cup

https://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/35221443/american-soccer-journalist-grant-wahl-dies-48-qatar

https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/09/football/grant-wahl-death-world-cup-qatar-intl-hnk/index.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/09/sports/soccer/grant-wahl-dead.html

Tragic news, especially since he had been feeling unwell for several days and possibly could have been helped with further treatment/if he had removed himself from the pressures of reporting the World Cup.  (I imagine he was in a "I'll deal with it when I get home" frame of mind.)

I am annoyed that his death has led to more than one US news source talking about how Wahl had "volunteered to cover the sport as a junior reporter – back before it reached the heights of global popularity it now enjoys".

  https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/09/football/grant-wahl-death-world-cup-qatar-intl-hnk/index.html

Sorry America, football had been one of, if not the most popular sport in the world long before America started to pay attention.

Edited December 10, 2022 by Leeds
days not day

[Salacious Kitty]

4 hours ago, Leeds said:

Tragic news, especially since he had been feeling unwell for several days and possibly could have been helped with further treatment/if he had removed himself from the pressures of reporting the World Cup.  (I imagine he was in a "I'll deal with it when I get home" frame of mind.)

I am annoyed that his death has led to more than one US news source talking about how Wahl had "volunteered to cover the sport as a junior reporter – back before it reached the heights of global popularity it now enjoys".

  https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/09/football/grant-wahl-death-world-cup-qatar-intl-hnk/index.html

Sorry America, football had been one of, if not the most popular sport in the world long before America started to pay attention.

I read that quote as meaning the state of soccer in AMERICA had reached global popularity. When I was a kid, NO ONE played. Now, my kinders play at recess, wearing jerseys of their favorites. 

[BetterButter]

Ruth Madoc: Hi-de-Hi! actress dies aged 79

[Blergh]

NBC News has reported that Ronnie Turner, the son of Tina Turner and the late Ike Turner died on December 9,2022 at age 62. I hope Miss Turner's loved ones are rallying around her to help her cope with this- especially since her only other biological child Craig Turner died via suicide in 2018! I'm not sure if she still has contact with her stepsons by Ike that she helped raised nor if she has any grandchildren.