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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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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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MissAlmond

MissAlmond

(edited)

My goodness.  I took a PTV break Friday and came back to this:

R.I.P. Hank Aaron:  I knew the hell he went through when chasing breaking Babe Ruth's record.  Sadly I wasn't surprised.  Racism never fails to raise its ugly head when some deem you not worthy of your own accomplishments due to the color of your skin.  Rest easy sir.

R.I.P. Gregory Sierra:  He always was such a joyous presence on TV.  Glad to in the fan photo the joy was in still in his eyes. 

R.I.P. Larry King:  Whenever something big happened in the entertainment world,  it was a sure thing Larry King's show would have guests to discuss it that night.  I didn't realize how much I enjoyed them until after he retired and those type of interviews were no more.  

R.I.P Larry Botkin:  As a former Y&R soap fan, of course I know the show's opening theme.  Such a beautiful and haunting piece of music.

Edited by MissAlmond
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catlover79

catlover79

6 hours ago, MissAlmond said:

R.I.P. Gregory Sierra:  He always was such a joyous presence on TV.  Glad to in the fan photo the joy was in still in his eyes. 

One last thing I'd like to share - after about a decade from retiring from show biz, he was in a local stage production of See How They Run. He was interviewed by the local paper, who included several great photos. This is from late 2009:

https://www.ocregister.com/2009/11/16/an-old-pro-returns-to-stage/

 

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praeceptrix

praeceptrix

I'm not really sure what TikTok is, but 16 is far too young to die, especially by suicide. RIP Siya Kakkar.

https://nypost.com/2020/06/26/siya-kakkar-teen-tiktok-star-with-1-9-million-followers-dead-at-16/?utm_source=Outbrain&utm_medium=Discovery&utm_campaign=entertainment_content&utm_content=Siya+Kakkar%2C+teen+TikTok+star+with+2M+followers%2C+dead+at+16&utm_term=CNN+(Turner+U.S.)_CNN&dicbo=v1-57fa36700f129c30a4aa2ab9095cf1ce-00730586b2348a4d7fc0870204d9d20351-mrtdmn3egiydsljxgqzweljuge3gcljzgiytiljsge3dkzbzgaywgojrmy

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Kromm

Kromm

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On 1/25/2021 at 12:15 PM, praeceptrix said:

I'm not really sure what TikTok is, but 16 is far too young to die, especially by suicide. RIP Siya Kakkar.

https://nypost.com/2020/06/26/siya-kakkar-teen-tiktok-star-with-1-9-million-followers-dead-at-16/?utm_source=Outbrain&utm_medium=Discovery&utm_campaign=entertainment_content&utm_content=Siya+Kakkar%2C+teen+TikTok+star+with+2M+followers%2C+dead+at+16&utm_term=CNN+(Turner+U.S.)_CNN&dicbo=v1-57fa36700f129c30a4aa2ab9095cf1ce-00730586b2348a4d7fc0870204d9d20351-mrtdmn3egiydsljxgqzweljuge3gcljzgiytiljsge3dkzbzgaywgojrmy

Think of YouTube crossed with Twitter. Like Twitter it's deliberately designed to be short content only, except it's video.  I think it used to be 15 seconds, and now it's 60. It's controversial for a number of reasons.  First, because it's Chinese owned so there are fears that it could be harvesting data about people all over the world for the Chinese government to use.  Secondly, because it's often sexualized in nature.  A lot of the content that catches on is young girls sexy dancing. Recently there are also the same concerns about it being used to spread disinformation as all social media platforms are subject to now, perhaps even enhanced by the short maximum video length, because then people will just say outrageous stuff and not even try to provide evidence.  

Like any of these platforms it can be used for good, evil, truth, or lies.  It's just super-popular the last few years. Both with number of users (around a Billion, I think I've heard estimated) and that other media name checks it all of the time.  It also buys into all of the bad things about memes as well as the good.  You know... the whole idea that if you see someone do something online glorifying some bad behavior it might get copied.  Also, because of the extremely short attention span involved, it's rife with accusations about it being addictive. 

To bring this back to the subject of this whole thread, it's one of the most prolific platforms for people becoming stars from home and completely bypassing the traditional mechanisms of becoming famous.  And even more than some of the others with similar powers to do that (YouTube, Twitter, Instagram) it's pretty easy for those stars to be really young. Getting back to the whole thing about dangerous modeled behavior, certainly a fear of copycat suicides is probably a valid fear here. 

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MissAlmond

MissAlmond

(edited)
25 minutes ago, BetterButter said:

Cloris Leachman Dead at 94

<sigh>  Another one gone.  Loved Cloris.  R.I.P. Ms. Leachman.  

Additional links from the industry websites:

https://deadline.com/2021/01/cloris-leachman-dead-mary-tyler-moore-last-picture-show-mel-brooks-1234681853/

https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/cloris-leachman-dead-1234893925/

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cloris-leachman-dead-phyllis-star-oscar-winner-was-94-1014460

Edited by MissAlmond
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DearEvette

DearEvette

(edited)

RIp Cloris.  She has had some really good roles and a very long career.  From Film noir in Kiss Me Deadly -- the movie that created the mysterious "glowing suitcase" motif that Tarantino famously ripped off for Pulp Fiction to poor, neglected wife Ruth in The Last Picture Shown and of course, Frau Blucher and the tart mean girl Phyllis!

Edited by DearEvette
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Spartan Girl

Spartan Girl

(edited)
2 hours ago, VCRTracking said:

"He was.....MY BOYFRIEND!!"

"What am I doing, apologizing to you?!!"

RIP

“I am Frau Blucher” *horses whinny*

I did love her as Ida the grandmother from hell in Malcolm in the Middle.

94 is as good an age as any to go. RIP

Edited by Spartan Girl
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Blergh

Blergh

(edited)

PHYLLIS!?!! NOO!!!!!

Miss  Leachman didn't have a completely charmed life but she was definitely a performer who made her characters memorable. 

Miss Leachman definitely breathed life into what could have easily been a character too annoying for any viewers to want to keep watching but I somehow thought she'd make it to at least Betty White's 100th Birthday! Yeah, now Miss White is the last MTM woman regular still with us. 

 RIP, Miss Leachman!

Edited by Blergh
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WinnieWinkle

WinnieWinkle

(edited)

Oh damn.  I'm going to have to stop opening this thread.  I adored Cloris Leachman.  I loved her in everything she did but she will always be Phyllis to me. I still use one of her lines as I too have  "the uncanny knack of choosing the right wine for dinner."  RIP to one of the great ones.

Edited by WinnieWinkle
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Annber03

Annber03

She was also in one of the most infamous Twilight Zone episodes, with Anthony, who wishes everyone into the cornfield (and she was also in the updated version of that story that the 2002 version did).

Another legend gone. Rest in peace, Cloris Leachman. 

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MaryMitch

MaryMitch

47 minutes ago, Blergh said:

Miss Leachman definitely breathed life into what could have easily been a character too annoying for any viewers to want to keep watching but I somehow thought she'd make it to at least Betty White's 100th Birthday! Yeah, now Miss White is the last MTM regular still with us.

Ed Asner (Lou Grant) and Gavin MacLeod (Murray Slaughter) are still hanging in there. But yeah, it's getting harder and harder to see them all go.

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basiltherat

basiltherat

I'm so sorry, but I thought Cloris was already dead!  I thought I was the only one to watch Phyllis, too.  Everything from the beloved Frau Blucher (horse whinny inserted here) to the almost-unlikeable Phyllis to Anthony's mother on Twilight Zone . . . that's a versatile career right there.

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Blergh

Blergh

46 minutes ago, MaryMitch said:

Ed Asner (Lou Grant) and Gavin MacLeod (Murray Slaughter) are still hanging in there. But yeah, it's getting harder and harder to see them all go.

Yeah, not to mention that Miss Leachman had a career with some of the greats as far back as the late 1940's and the tales she told about her dealings with so many of were priceless! 

P.S. I fixed my omission in the earlier post.

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merylinkid

merylinkid

I knew her best as Mrs. Garrett's sister on the Facts of Life.   She took over as the mentor character when Charlotte Rae wanted to leave the show.  She wound up adopting Andy played by .....Mackenzie Astin, Sean's brother.    Hard to step  into an established show like that, but I liked her.  

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Kromm

Kromm

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(edited)
On 1/22/2021 at 1:34 AM, BetterButter said:

Mira Furlan, ‘Babylon 5’ and ‘Lost’ Actress, Dies at 65

I missed this a few days ago and only read about it today. What a shame. The three main Aliens on Babylon 5, Londo, G'Kar and Delenn (the last played by Furlan), permanently raised the bar on the level of acting expected from people in alien makeup. Before Furlan and her B5 co-stars, even Star Trek hadn't broken the expectation that anyone in makeup was silly and unbelievable. Maybe to some extent, Michael Dorn had. Somewhat. But only partially. And she was one of the more interesting characters on Lost too. 

Edited by Kromm
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GreekGeek

GreekGeek

Cloris Leachman's Frau Blucher was classic, and I'm happy to see a nod to her lesser-known sister in spirit, Nurse Diesel. Pauline Kael described her as a "Nazi Barbie doll" with her boobs in a "Sieg Heil!" salute.

I'll always remember her explaining in the "Phyllis Whips Inflation" episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show why her husband Lars, a dermatologist, was struggling to make ends meet. People will always find money for brain surgery, but when it comes to skin problems, "they just scratch until times get better." I was sad that her spinoff didn't last long. I posted about the theme song in the TV Themes thread. I loved the way it started as a tribute like the Mary Tyler Moore theme (with some "Mame" thrown in) and then ended with that snarky twist.

The last thing I saw her in was Dancing With the Stars back in 2008. At age 82, she was the oldest contestant ever. She did pretty well with Corky Ballas (dad of Mark), who was the oldest male pro ever. She survived quite a few rounds before the judges tired of her, but she was still an inspiration.

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andromeda331

andromeda331

She was in so many things Mary Tyler Moore, Young Frankenstein, History of the World Part I, the Beverly Hillibillies movie, Now and Then, Music of the Heart, Alex and Emma, Scary Movie 4, the Nanny as Maxwell's former nanny and Niles's former lover. RIP Cloris. You were awesome.

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VCRTracking

VCRTracking

(edited)
3 hours ago, Kromm said:

I missed this a few days ago and only read about it today. What a shame. The three main Aliens on Babylon 5, Londo, G'Kar and Delenn (the last played by Furlan), permanently raised the bar on the level of acting expected from people in alien makeup. Before Furlan and her B5 co-stars, even Star Trek hadn't broken the expectation that anyone in makeup was silly and unbelievable. Maybe to some extent, Michael Dorn had. Somewhat. But only partially. And she was one of the more interesting characters on Lost too. 

I love the part when Delenn emerges from the cocoon and becomes a human hybrid. Her dealing with hair for the first time is hilarious!

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57 minutes ago, Vermicious Knid said:

Upgraded and remastered Babylon 5 has just started on HBO Max.

One of Cloris Leachman's last appearances was as a lonely widow on Hawaii 5-0. Man, I think just about everyone from Young Frankenstein and HotW P1 are gone now. We've still got Mel Brooks himself and Terry Garr, who's been debilitated for years now with MS.

 

Gene Hackman(the blind hermit) is still alive.

Earlier I should have posted "He VAS my boyfriend!" 

Edited by VCRTracking
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merylinkid

merylinkid

5 hours ago, VCRTracking said:

I love the part when Delenn emerges from the cocoon and becomes a human hybrid. Her dealing with hair for the first time is hilarious!

Spa Day with Ivanova remains one of my favorite episodes.   When Lennier interrupts and she has curlers in her hair.   He's just like "oooookay."   Then he asks if they hurt.   Delenn says "they are actually quite relaxing."

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BW Manilowe

BW Manilowe

6 hours ago, Vermicious Knid said:

Upgraded and remastered Babylon 5 has just started on HBO Max.

One of Cloris Leachman's last appearances was as a lonely widow on Hawaii 5-0. Man, I think just about everyone from Young Frankenstein and HotW P1 are gone now. We've still got Mel Brooks himself and Terry Garr, who's been debilitated for years now with MS.

 

Regarding the bolded: Wasn’t Cloris Leachman in the ep directed by Daniel Dae Kim? The 1 where McDanno’s on a stakeout in an apartment building & there’s a cat named Mrs. Pickles involved, & Jerry helps her character feel a bit less lonely, thanks to a fern or other type of plant?

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Blergh

Blergh

(edited)

One thing no one can deny about the recently departed Miss Leachman: She always marched to her own drum!

 

This was evident when she got her first regular primetime television role in Lassie as Timmy's   adoptive mother Ruth Martin in 1957.  While she did a perfectly good job in the role of a young wife making a fresh start taking over a farm AND becoming an adoptive mother of a young boy in the process as well as having good chemistry with her co-star Jon Shepodd playing her husband Paul, she fell out of grace with the show's PTB when they tried to insist that she make commercials pitching for their main sponsor Campbell's Soup.

"Why should I sell Campbell's Soup when I make my own soup?" was her reported reply.

In those days, making one's own soup from scratch was something many believed that  only the poorest, most ignorant and/or most behind-the-times folks were still doing and, obviously, the  company were trying to make the pitch to their audience that even farmwives could do better  via buying processed soup than making their own.

Anyway,after that first year, Miss Leachman was let go- and,  because the PTB decided that it would be too confusing for the show's young audience if the original Paul Martin appeared with a new actress playing his wife, Jon Shepodd (1925-2017) was also let go after that first year (despite by all accounts not having said or done anything to tick anyone off) . Hence,  both Mr. and Mrs. Martin were recast  -with  Hugh Reilly and June Lockhart taking over the roles for the next six years . That is until TPB decided Timmy was getting too old for Lassie to keep rescuing him and had the whole human  Martin Family emigrate to Australia  sans the title collie with the leading canine in the care of an elderly family friend for a time before she eventually wound up becoming feral but never less than helpful to the humans she encountered. 

Edited by Blergh
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