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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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On 12/12/2021 at 9:15 PM, SusannahM said:

Les Emmerson from 5 Man Electrical Band dies of Covid

To this day whenever someone asks about seeing and what did that sign say, I automatically respond "The sign says long haired freaky people need not apply." R.I.P. Mr. Emmerson. 

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DNA science has confirmed that human remains discovered in 1982 are those of Frankie Little, Jr. born 1943 who played for the O'Jays!  I don't know if it's more tragic that he died in obscurity (possibly by murder) or that he seemed to have been  so quickly forgotten by his onetime bandmates and perhaps his own family. Did any or all of the above just think he went away to deliberately never contact them again?

 

I hope Mr. Little can rest in peace before too long (and, if he was a murder victim, his killer get apprehended, charged, convicted and sentenced).

https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/14/us/ojays-frank-frankie-little-jr-remains-identified-cold-case-trnd/index.html

Edited by Blergh
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1 hour ago, Blergh said:

Did any or all of the above just think he went away to deliberately never contact them again?

I don't know the man's story (I'd heard of the O'Jays and the sons of two of the members became a group in their own right in the 80s), but based on the CNN story, it seems this guy had a crazy life background.  It's possible the band mates thought he was on drugs or something and just figured they were better off without him and went on.  We're missing a big chunk of the story.  Even Little's son is missing and his whereabouts is unknown!  Strange.

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51 minutes ago, magicdog said:

It's possible the band mates thought he was on drugs or something and just figured they were better off without him and went on.

From what I’ve read, The O'Jays had left Ohio for California but Little was in love with a woman and returned to Cleveland to be with her.  The O'Jay's moved on without him.

https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/the-ojays-frank-little-jr-remains-identified

Edited by MissAlmond
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1 hour ago, MissAlmond said:

Author bell hooks has died, age 69.

No!  I'm still in touch with someone I first met in a park when we were teenagers; we'd set up near each other, and it turned out we were reading the same book, bell hooks's Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center.  A great conversation ensued, and we're still occasionally chatting 35 years later.

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Just finished Mr. A & Mr. M: The Story of A&M Records. They signed The Carpenters and the archival footage is almost physically painful to watch. We know a lot more about eating disorders and anorexia now and seeing Karen Carpenter look positively skeletal it's hard to think no one stepped in earlier. She had such an extraordinary voice, gone much too soon. And she had managed to stop, but no one was thinking about the strain starvation puts on the heart then.

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21 hours ago, Blergh said:

I hope Mr. Little can rest in peace before too long (and, if he was a murder victim, his killer get apprehended, charged, convicted and sentenced).

Little's death has been classified as a homicide which isn't surprising considering his remains were in a garbage bag.  It also seems Mr. Little had been dead 2 to 4 years prior to the discovery in 1982.  Hopefully his killer will be found.  

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15 hours ago, Vermicious Knid said:

We know a lot more about eating disorders and anorexia now and seeing Karen Carpenter look positively skeletal it's hard to think no one stepped in earlier. She had such an extraordinary voice, gone much too soon. And she had managed to stop, but no one was thinking about the strain starvation puts on the heart then.

I used to work with a woman who was a close friend of Karen's (so close Karen was supposed to be a bridesmaid at her wedding but she and her brother were scheduled for their first major tour).  She told me Karen was a little zoftig (not grossly overweight) and when she and Richard were making TV appearances, she was told the camera puts on 20 lbs - so lose 25.  She'd been dieting ever since - always being criticized for being too fat (!).  I don't know how Mamma Cass managed to deal with such insensitivity!  

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On 12/16/2021 at 2:00 PM, magicdog said:

I used to work with a woman who was a close friend of Karen's (so close Karen was supposed to be a bridesmaid at her wedding but she and her brother were scheduled for their first major tour).  She told me Karen was a little zoftig (not grossly overweight) and when she and Richard were making TV appearances, she was told the camera puts on 20 lbs - so lose 25.  She'd been dieting ever since - always being criticized for being too fat (!).  I don't know how Mamma Cass managed to deal with such insensitivity!  

In answer to your last sentence- neither of the above 'managed to deal with such insensitivity' in entirely healthy ways. Tragically,  BOTH Miss Carpenter and Miss Elliot never entirely overcame self-destructive demons exacerbated by said insensitivity  despite their best individual efforts (and, of course, in spite of their unique and enormous talents)!

Edited by Blergh
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Henry Orenstein, Holocaust Survivor and toy maker has died.

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Henry Orenstein, the innovator credited with inventing the Transformers toy franchise, has died. He was 98 years old. Orenstein, a Polish immigrant and Holocaust survivor, reportedly died at his home in New Jersey. Orenstein moved to the United States after World War II, and began working for Hasbro, contributing to the creation of the Johnny Lightning racing cars and the 1950s doll Betty the Beautiful Bride, which sold more than a million units. Later in life, he also changed the way fans can watch professional poker at home by introducing a glass tabletop compartment that allowed networks to broadcast games that allow the audience, but not the other players, to see player's cards....

"Henry basically had a sense that Transformers was going to be something that would be transformational for the toy industry," former Hasbro executive Alan Hassenfeld told Newsweek in 2016. "To be able to take a car and, with a little bit of dexterity, change it into another toy, that was something magical."

 

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14 hours ago, Inquisitionist said:

Sorry to read that she suffered from Alzheimer's.

That only leaves the three brothers still alive:  Robert Brown, David Soul, and Bobby Sherman.  Oh, and a few of the Brides, like Karen Carlson and Mary Jo Deschanel.

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5 hours ago, roamyn said:

That only leaves the three brothers still alive:  Robert Brown, David Soul, and Bobby Sherman.  Oh, and a few of the Brides, like Karen Carlson and Mary Jo Deschanel.

Susan Tolsky who played Biddie is still alive too.  Robert Brown is 95!

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6 hours ago, LexieLily said:

Perish the thought, but I hate seeing this thread pop up because I'm worried one of these days we're going to see Betty White's name in here. 

Alas, that is an eventuality for ALL of us humans- even Miss White.

I don't claim any inside info as to her current health. However, I don't recall her having made ANY commentary whatsoever when her MTM colleague Ed Asner died in August,2021 despite the fact that the outwardly tough yet secretly softie bulldog Lou Grant's interactions with  the outwardly flirtatious yet secretly vulnerable Sue-Ann were some of the most memorable and entertaining parts of the latter arc of the show- and their chemistry was priceless! RIP, Mr. Asner.

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9 hours ago, Hiyo said:

Il Divo singer Carlos Marín dies at 53 after being taken to hospital.

Baritone had been performing with the band in the UK in December before tour postponed due to illness.

The cause of death was not made clear, though reports in Spanish media suggested Marín was intubated after being admitted to an intensive care unit in Manchester.

Noooo!  I loved Il Divo and I saw them a couple times several years ago.  He had a beautiful, powerful baritone voice.  I don't know what David, Urs and Sebastian will do without him.

R.I.P., Mr. Marin

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On 12/17/2021 at 10:21 PM, MissAlmond said:

Actor Bridget Hanley who starred in the TV series Here Come the Brides has died, age 80.

I'm sorry to hear that she suffered from Alzheimer's.  I do have to admit that she was my least favorite character on 'Here come the brides', mainly because she was the love interest of Jeremy, played by Bobby Sherman and he was one of my big crushes back in the day.  So, my very young self was a wee bit jealous (of a totally fictional character). 

Edited by BooksRule
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1 hour ago, BooksRule said:

I'm sorry to hear that she suffered from Alzheimer's.  I do have to admit that she was my least favorite character on 'Here come the brides', mainly because she was the love interest of Jeremy, played by Bobby Sherman and he was one of my big crushes back in the day.  So, my very young self was a wee bit jealous (of a totally fictional character). 

I loved Bobby! But, I liked her character, because I could emulate her. I knew I was just a kid and Bobby wouldn’t be interested.  So, my daydreams were that I was her and worked on the set. Lol. I had a wild imagination. Loved that theme song.  Here Come The Brides.  
 

 

Edited by SunnyBeBe
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4 minutes ago, SunnyBeBe said:

Loved that theme song.  Here Come The Brides.  

I still have two of his albums (from way back when I was a pre-teen).  'Seattle' is on the 'Greatest Hits' album.  Hmmm, I might have to give them a play during my Christmas break.  My old stereo still works.

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I didn't realize that Haya Harareet died this year.  Don't recall any other movies she was in, but I do remember her from Ben-Hur as Esther, who was in love with Charleston Heston's character Judah Ben-Hur.     She was so stunningly beautiful in that movie.     I'm 54, but I watch it whenever I can catch it on tv.  In fact, it was on this week on TCM.    In fact, I just read she was the last surviving credited cast member. 

Edited by MissT
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14 minutes ago, MissT said:

I didn't realize that Haya Harareet died this year.  Don't recall any other movies she was in, but I do remember her from Ben-Hur as Esther, who was in love with Charleston Heston's character Judah Ben-Hur.     She was so stunningly beautiful in that movie.     I'm 54, but I watch it whenever I can catch it on tv.  In fact, it was on this week on TCM.    In fact, I just read she was the last surviving credited cast member. 

I also didn't realize she'd died. Ben-Hur was the only thing I remember watching her in, but I really liked her character, and yes, she was stunning. 

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6 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

I always thought that character was annoyed by DVD's character and only stayed around because she felt sorry for his motherless children having no one  as a buffer against their goofball dad and even goofier grandpa. I also thought that that character would have deserved to have been had a less cloying name and  in a much better movie- as would Miss Howes.

 

RIP, Miss Howes! 

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On 12/21/2021 at 8:11 PM, BooksRule said:

I'm sorry to hear that she suffered from Alzheimer's.  I do have to admit that she was my least favorite character on 'Here come the brides', mainly because she was the love interest of Jeremy, played by Bobby Sherman and he was one of my big crushes back in the day.  So, my very young self was a wee bit jealous (of a totally fictional character). 

I liked Candy fine when she wasn’t with Jeremy.  Together those too were nauseatingly sick.  And her S2 hairstyles in wilderness Seattle were OTT and unrealistic.

I never really got into Jeremy or Bobby Sherman.  But I do admire what he’s done with his life’s mission of training first responders.

But Joshua was my favorite.  Mostly because he was played by the angelically beautiful David Soul.

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43 minutes ago, kathyk24 said:

According to the Boston Globe Alicia Witt's parents were found dead in their home. I live in Worcester the same city as the Witt family and it is big news here.

How horrible.  Do they know what happened?

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29 minutes ago, roamyn said:

How horrible.  Do they know what happened?

According to the Globe article Alicia hadn't heard from her family so she asked her cousin to check on them. Foul play is not suspected they were found on Monday.

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40 minutes ago, roamyn said:

I never really got into Jeremy or Bobby Sherman.  But I do admire what he’s done with his life’s mission of training first responders.

But Joshua was my favorite.  Mostly because he was played by the angelically beautiful David Soul.

Aaron Stempel was my favorite.

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What do you see?

You people gazing at me?

You see a girl on a music box that's wound by a key

I can reel that off from memory. It seemed to be on TV constantly some years. I also got around to reading the book and it's like, 90% different. No Truly because Mrs. Potts is still alive in the original story.

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American author, Joan Didion, died of complications of Parkinson's disease at 87.  She was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for 'The Year of Magical Thinking' about the sudden death of her husband.  She was also a screenwriter, known for Panic in Needle Park and True Confessions.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/dec/23/joan-didion-american-journalist-and-author-dies-at-age-87

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2 hours ago, Rootbeer said:

American author, Joan Didion, died of complications of Parkinson's disease at 87. 

Wow, I just finally gotten around to watching the Netflix documentary last month, so this feels sudden to me even though it wasn't.  She had such a way with words.  And put her grief out there after losing her husband and then daughter in such a short time frame, helping others as well as herself with those writings. 

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