In Memoriam: Entertainment Industry Celebrity Deaths

[Browncoat]

Awwww, not Dr. Johnny Fever!  RIP, Howard.  You were the best morning DJ.

[Yogisbooboo64]

(Smashes glass, holds to 2022's neck)....one more 'gin, motherfucker.  Just one..more..'gin!!

Damn.  Always had a crush on HH, especially as Ann's husband Sam Royer on One Day at a Time.

Rest well, sir.

(Flips bird to 2022)

Edited January 30, 2022 by Yogisbooboo64

[MissAlmond]

4 hours ago, magicdog said:

Not to mention his character as "Mr. Moore" on Head of the Class (original version).  RIP

Or Mr. Hessman's turn as The Chief in Clue.  R.I.P., you beatnik.

Edited January 30, 2022 by MissAlmond

[Bastet]

29 minutes ago, MissAlmond said:

Or Mr. Hessman's turn as The Chief in Clue.  R.I.P., you beatnik.

My first thought, too. 

 

[stonehaven]

I loved Johnny Fever AKA "Heavy Early". Hessman had an amazing career. He guest starred in the last episode of one of my favorite series, "Boomtown"...He was perfection:

 

[BooksRule]

Oh, no!  Not Johnny Fever!  

(And because I just feel compelled to say it:  'booger!' :) )

[Vermicious Knid]

Quote

Howard Hesseman died.

God DAMMIT.

It's not his quote, but "As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly!"

I have the first season DVD box set, haven't gotten time to watch it through.

[andromeda331]

Damn not Johnny Fever! Howard Hesseman was so hilarious as Johnny Fever. He was incredible as the Chief on Clue. That stinks!

[Blergh]

8 hours ago, Rose Quartz said:

Man, this is another one that hurts.  Johnny was my favorite character on WKRP.  I really liked his friendship with Venus since they were total opposites and I always wished that he and Bailey would've gotten together because they were a cute couple. 

As I've gotten older I've appreciated the BOOGER scene more and more.  It starts out with Andy telling Johnny he can play rock and roll again but Johnny declines because he thinks he's too old.  Andy says he has confidence in Johnny and after some hesitation Johnny takes on the Dr. Fever persona. It's a nicely done bit about not being afraid to reach for your dreams, and I love that by the final episode Johnny is the #1 morning DJ in the entire city.  RIP.

And let's not forget that Dr Fever proved to be the Conquering Hero of KRP when, upon hearing the news that Mama Carlson decided to DUMP the format, Johnny decided he had nothing to lose but to get drunk and  confront her. She seemed as though she was about to sweep him away like table crumbs  but then, she overplayed her hand by admitting that the WHOLE point of WKRP's existence was to have it LOSE money so her own portfolio could GAIN extra via taxes (and her hapless son Arthur 'Big Guy' Carlson had had no idea that he was nothing but a chess pawn in her scheme- thinking that she'd wanted him to succeed). Well, Johnny caught on EXACTLY what her game was and let her know in no uncertain terms that if she didn't leave WKRP 'as was', he'd  let Mr. Carlson know that she'd depended on him being a failure for her to increase her fortunes his entire life. So Johnny got to stay #1 DJ AND WKRP's Unknown Savior in the final episode.

Anyway, Mr. Hesseman definitely gave more depth and appeal to the character than the scripts had mandated. RIP, Mr. Hessman!

[Rose Quartz]

35 minutes ago, Blergh said:

And let's not forget that Dr Fever proved to be the Conquering Hero of KRP when, upon hearing the news that Mama Carlson decided to DUMP the format, Johnny decided he had nothing to lose but to get drunk and  confront her. She seemed as though she was about to sweep him away like table crumbs  but then, she overplayed her hand by admitting that the WHOLE point of WKRP's existence was to have it LOSE money so her own portfolio could GAIN extra via taxes (and her hapless son Arthur 'Big Guy' Carlson had had no idea that he was nothing but a chess pawn in her scheme- thinking that she'd wanted him to succeed). Well, Johnny caught on EXACTLY what her game was and let her know in no uncertain terms that if she didn't leave WKRP 'as was', he'd  let Mr. Carlson know that she'd depended on him being a failure for her to increase her fortunes his entire life. So Johnny got to stay #1 DJ AND WKRP's Unknown Savior in the final episode.

Anyway, Mr. Hesseman definitely gave more depth and appeal to the character than the scripts had mandated. RIP, Mr. Hessman!

My two favorite episodes are the pilot with the booger scene and the final episode where Johnny saves the station as you described.  It’s rare for a show to maintain its quality over its entire run and Howard Hesseman definitely contributed to that.

[Hiyo]

Miss USA 2019 Cheslie Kryst dies at 30.

[Fool to cry]

I just remembered Hesseman being in CLUE!

Johnny also saved the day when that sleazy photographer was going to sell nude pictures he took of Jennifer. They tried everything from having both Jennifer, then Herb(!) seduce him but nothing worked. Johnny comes up with "The Sting" where he and Bailey pretend to be high class agents from New York offering to give him a job working for the big time magazines like Playboy or Penthouse if he gave them the photos. At least that's what I think the plan was, I don't remember. The pretend soap opera bickering Johnny and Bailey do is great.

 

Edited January 31, 2022 by Fool to cry

[Hiyo]

Leonard Fenton: EastEnders actor who played Dr Legg dies aged 95.

Fenton appeared in the first episode of EastEnders in February 1985 and his last scene came in 2019. He appeared in a total of 267 episodes of EastEnders.

Aside from acting, he was also a professional painter and held several exhibitions.

Edited January 31, 2022 by Hiyo

[MissAlmond]

Orven Schanzer film editor for Cleopatra and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes has died, age 97.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/orven-schanzer-dead-cleopatra-gentlemen-prefer-blondes-1235081107/

https://variety.com/2022/film/obituaries-people-news/orven-schanzer-dead-film-editor-1235164803/

Edited January 31, 2022 by MissAlmond

[ABay]

I have nothing to say about Howard Hesseman. So many actors who enriched my youth have died in the last few years that I've run out of ways to express the grief.

Edited January 31, 2022 by ABay

[crazycatlady58]

10 hours ago, Hiyo said:

Miss USA 2019 Cheslie Kryst dies at 30.

How unbearably sad. My heart hurts for her family. 

[MissAlmond]

Actor Donald May who played attorney Adam Drake on the soap opera The Edge of Night has died, age 92.

https://deadline.com/2022/01/donald-may-dead-obituary-the-edge-of-night-falcon-crest-actor-was-92-1234923125/

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/donald-may-dead-edge-of-night-1235084374/

https://soaps.sheknows.com/soaps/news/621867/donald-may-soap-star-edge-of-night-texas-dead/

 

 

Edited January 31, 2022 by MissAlmond

[MissAlmond]

Broadway and film actor Carleton Carpenter who sang Aba Daba Honeymoon with Debbie Reynolds has died, age 95.

https://deadline.com/2022/01/carleton-carpenter-dead-actor-debbie-reynolds-costar-was-95-1234923374/

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/carleton-carpenter-dead-two-weeks-with-love-1235084543/

https://variety.com/2022/film/people-news/carelton-carpenter-dead-father-of-the-bride-1235167965/

TCM Twitter:

 

Edited January 31, 2022 by MissAlmond

[SunnyBeBe]

I recall this actor from the Walking Dead. He was only 31.  His death is still under investigation.
 

https://people.com/tv/the-walking-dead-actor-moses-j-moseley-dead-at-31/

Edited February 1, 2022 by SunnyBeBe

[BetterButter]

Monica Vitti, Italian Film Icon, Dies at 90

[praeceptrix]

Four men have been arrested in connection with the death of Michael K. Williams.

[wilsie]

Thank you @praeceptrix

Here's another source of information about Michael K. Williams:

 https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/02/entertainment/michael-k-williams-overdose-death-arrests/index.html

[Hiyo]

James Bidgood, Creator of Film 'Pink Narcissus,' Has Died.

James Bidgood, the filmmaker behind the underground gay classic Pink Narcissus, has died at age 88.

[Miss Anne Thrope]

Don't think I saw this mentioned already but if so, please forgive -- for those lovers of Howard Hesseman/WKRP, the Decades channel is featuring WKRP in Cincinnati episodes Saturday, February 5, starting at 12 noon.   

https://www.decades.com/  

[dalek]

Argentine science fiction author Angelica Gorodischer has died.  In the US, she's probably best known via Ursula Le Guin's translation of her novel Kalpa Imperial.

https://then24.com/2022/02/05/angelica-gorodischer-emblem-of-science-fiction-literature-died/

[Macbeth]

On 1/30/2022 at 3:09 PM, Calvada said:

So sad about Howard Hesseman.  I loved WKRP and the character of Johnny Fever.  After Frank Bonner's death last year, I thought I should do a re-watch of WKRP but now I definitely have to do so. 

Rubaco, one of my favorite Johnny Fever moments is his rant about the phone cops -- "They see everything, they know everything, they have their own covert police force!" and JOHNNY (thinking the explosion at the transmitter was done by the phone cops because he smashed a telephone to bits):  "These phone cops play hardball."  ANDY:  I don't know how to tell you this, but there is no such thing as phone cops."  JOHNNY:  "Oh sure, cover for them."   ANDY:  "The real cops caught the maniac who did it."  JOHNNY:  "The real cops are in on it." 

Anyone old enough to remember "the" phone company, prior to the breakup of the Bell system, had to find that hilarious.  

OMG - I love the phone cops story line.  

Below are the relevant scenes from the 2 part episode.  Sorry for the quality.

WKRP - every member of the cast was talented.  And the show held it's quality through all 5 seasons.  22 episodes a year.

Edited February 6, 2022 by Macbeth

[shapeshifter]

On 2/2/2022 at 3:39 PM, praeceptrix said:

Four men have been arrested in connection with the death of Michael K. Williams.

"Painting Black Warriors, With Michael K. Williams as His Model"  (nytimes.com/2022/02/02/arts/design/chaz-guest-paintings-michael-k-williams.html)
"Chaz Guest, a favorite of Oprah, the Obamas and Angelina Jolie, has a gallery show featuring the actor, who posed just before he died."

[Hiyo]

Syl Johnson, much-sampled blues, funk and soul singer, dies aged 85.

Singer’s upbeat and socially conscious songwriting appears on tracks by Wu-Tang Clan, Public Enemy and Kanye West.

[andromeda331]

My favorite Johnny Fever was the hold up episode

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6oEe1VkWWM

its so hilarious.

[MissAlmond]

Film and TV producer Julian Fowles has died, age, 76.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/julian-fowles-dead-film-and-television-producer-1235087815/

https://deadline.com/2022/02/julian-fowles-producer-dead-at-76-1234927476/

https://variety.com/2022/film/news/julian-fowles-dead-producer-kcet-esparza-katz-1235173209/

[GHScorpiosRule]

FUCK COVID A GAZZILLION WAYS TO SUNDAY AND BACK!!!!🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬

Lata Mangeshkar, India’s BEST singer ever passed away due to COVID.

Godspeed Lata

Say hello to Kishore Da, Mohd. Rafi Bhai, Mukesh, And R.D.

😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

[MissAlmond]

Robert Blalack Oscar winning visual effects artist has died, age 73.

https://deadline.com/2022/02/robert-blalack-dead-star-wars-visual-effects-ilm-1234928142/

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/robert-blalack-dead-star-wars-visual-effects-1235088279/

https://comicbook.com/starwars/news/robert-blalack-star-wars-vfx-artist-dead-at-73/

https://www.animationmagazine.net/top-stories/oscar-winner-ilm-co-founder-robert-blalack-dies-age-73/

[Blergh]

Lata (as she was always called) lived a most incredible life overcoming amazing odds. Not the least of which included having started her literal background singing career in Indian movies at the age of 13 to support her widowed mother and younger sibs- and somehow having her voice be so popular among hundreds of others so she was able to have  very prolific career until very late in life! RIP, Miss Lata.

[GHScorpiosRule]

13 hours ago, Blergh said:

Lata (as she was always called) lived a most incredible life overcoming amazing odds. Not the least of which included having started her literal background singing career in Indian movies at the age of 13 to support her widowed mother and younger sibs- and somehow having her voice be so popular among hundreds of others so she was able to have  very prolific career until very late in life! RIP, Miss Lata.

So very true. It's impossible to provide top 10 or even top 5 favorite songs. Her songs, her duets with the late great Kishore Kumar, Mohd. Rafi? Impossible for me to list.

She sang for nearly 80 years. Hearing her live? NEVER failed to give me chills. Especially when she would end each concert with Aye Mere Watan Ke Logo, which is a patriotic song, in support of our troops. I got to see her when I was wee, a tween, a teen, and as an adult, when she toured the United States. The last time was in 1995, and she was in her 60s.

And now only Asha Bhosle, her baby sister is left. Asha has a different style, but she's just as talented and I think Asha is the only one who won a Grammy.

But Lata Di? THE BEST. There will never be another one like her.

ETA: Lata Di and Asha didn't do a lot of duets, but the below from Padosan (Neighbor)(1968) is one of my favorites. The song starts with lyrics sung by Lata (lip synched by Saira Banu), then followed by Asha.

 

Edited February 8, 2022 by GHScorpiosRule

[BetterButter]

Douglas Trumbull, Who Pioneered VFX on ‘2001,’ ‘Blade Runner’ and ‘Close Encounters,’ Dies at 79

[MissAlmond]

4 hours ago, BetterButter said:

Douglas Trumbull, Who Pioneered VFX on ‘2001,’ ‘Blade Runner’ and ‘Close Encounters,’ Dies at 79

DAMN! Still another one of the greats 2022? R.I.P. Mr. Trumbull. 

[BetterButter]

Betty Davis, Trailblazing Queen of Funk, Dead at 77

[Wiendish Fitch]

Stephanie Selby, the subject of the 1976 photo essay book A Very Young Dancer by Jill Krementz, has died at age 56.

How incredibly sad. I love A Very Young Dancer, and while I learned from a 2011 New York Times article that she had kind of a hard time after the book's publication, I knew Ms. Selby was living happily and quietly in Wyoming. May she rest in peace.

Edited February 9, 2022 by Wiendish Fitch

[Blergh]

4 hours ago, BetterButter said:

Betty Davis, Trailblazing Queen of Funk, Dead at 77

I wonder if she and the movie icon named Bette ever crossed paths. Also, did she and the older but trailblazing movie, television and stage icon Cicely Tyson ever trade stories about their mutual ex Miles?

[BetterButter]

 

[Annber03]

Wow. That's freaky. So weird how the head can be so tough and yet so fragile. 

[OllieSocks]

21 minutes ago, BetterButter said:

 

TBIs (traumatic brain injuries) are scary. I’ve had 5 in the last 10 years and while the last one was one over 5 years ago I’m still affected daily. 

[AgentRXS]

Very freaky. So sad 😞 and scary.

[Vermicious Knid]

Like Natasha Richardson, who hit her head while skiing and thought nothing of it, but actually had an epidural hematoma and was brain dead within hours.

[roamyn]

3 hours ago, BetterButter said:

 

That’s so terribly sad, and he died alone.

[MissAlmond]

8 hours ago, Vermicious Knid said:

Like Natasha Richardson, who hit her head while skiing and thought nothing of it, but actually had an epidural hematoma and was brain dead within hours.

Natasha Richardson was the first person I thought of after reading what happened to Bob Saget. 

Edited February 10, 2022 by MissAlmond

[Hiyo]

I think many of us did as well.

[Blergh]

13 hours ago, Annber03 said:

Wow. That's freaky. So weird how the head can be so tough and yet so fragile. 

I hope the authorities thoroughly investigated whether there was any chance that Mr. Saget truly was alone when he allegedly slipped and hit his head- and ruled out the possibility that anyone else might have pushed him. BTW, could he have been wearing  socks or bedroom slippers that might have been too slick for the hotel room floor and  was there any kind of rug or carpet? Regardless, one can't be   cavalier about one's head or neck! 

Edited February 10, 2022 by Blergh

[magicdog]

Longtime reporter Jim Angle dead age 75.

 

[Vermicious Knid]

2022 claims another one. Ian McDonald, founding member of King Crimson and Foreigner, dead at 75.