In Memoriam: Entertainment Industry Celebrity Deaths

[shapeshifter]

Look, God, the way things are going down here on Earth we need some good music -- so stop killing off the musicians.

A really nicely written piece: nytimes.com/2016/02/05/opinion/reading-rock-star-obituaries.html

...And notice both of the two most recent entries are cancer. What the hell is going on here?

My working theory as someone who recently got what amounts to at least a prognosis of a very short life expectancy after going for annual physicals each year and saying each year I felt worse than the year before: The current crop of doctors is composed of a high percentage of those who weren't good enough at math to go into computer science during the dot com boom. Why would this matter? Because math is based on logic, and logic is needed to diagnose.

I may be a crackpot, but at this point I feel entitled to espouse my opinions.

ETA: And in the 70s I did play music, so not OT here, right?

Edited February 9, 2016 by shapeshifter

[dalek]

RIP Daniel Gerson.

 

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/feb/08/monsters-inc-screenwriter-daniel-gerson-dies-at-49

[legaleagle53]

Cancer, you suck.  Go die in a fire -- as painfully as possible!

[GHScorpiosRule]

I'm shocked! And he was a celebrity in his own right.  Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia dead.

 

It's a developing story.

 

ETA:

 

Latest, his death was due to Natural Causes.

Edited February 13, 2016 by GHScorpiosRule

[BW Manilowe]

I'm shocked! And he was a celebrity in his own right. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia dead.

It's a developing story.

ETA:

Latest, his death was due to Natural Causes.

Whoa! I was wondering what they meant, in the forum for The West Wing, when they mentioned a seat had opened up on SCOTUS. It hadn't hit my Twitter feed before I got caught up there & came here, either. He wasn't all that old either, was he? At least in comparison to some of his fellow Justices.

[GHScorpiosRule]

Whoa! I was wondering what they meant, in the forum for The West Wing, when they mentioned a seat had opened up on SCOTUS. It hadn't hit my Twitter feed before I got caught up there & came here, either. He wasn't all that old either, was he? At least in comparison to some of his fellow Justices.

 

He was younger than Ginsberg. He was 79.  I think Rehnquist was older when he passed away. But I can't remember if Rehnquist was still a sitting Justice.

Edited February 13, 2016 by GHScorpiosRule

[BW Manilowe]

He was younger than Ginsberg. He was 79. I think Renquist was older when he passed away. But I can't remember if Renquist was still a sitting Justice.

Justice Rehnquist died in office/sitting on the Court, 4 weeks before his 81st birthday, on September 3, 2005, according to Google.

I didn't realize Scalia was 79--or that he'd already sat on SCOTUS for over 29/almost 30 years. I guess he looked younger, to me, on TV/in photos.

Edited February 13, 2016 by BW Manilowe

[GHScorpiosRule]

Rehnquist passed away in 2005, and Justice Roberts was his successor. He was 81 when he passed away, but he was also suffering from ill health. Cancer, I think.

 

Sotomayor and Kagan are more recent appointments and under Obama's administration.

Edited February 14, 2016 by GHScorpiosRule

[BW Manilowe]

Rehnquist passed away in 2005, and Justice Roberts was his successor. He was 81 when he passed away, but he was also suffering from ill health. Cancer, I think.

Sotomayor and Kagan are more recent appointments and under Obama's administration.

I just fixed my previous reply because I misread something in yours which I was attempting to reply to. Apologies.

And you are right on everything you said here.

By the way, the current SCOTUS Justices, other than Scalia, are: Roberts (Chief Justice), Ginsburg, Sotomayor, Kagan, Thomas, Kennedy, Breyer, & Alito. Not listed in the order in which they were appointed, though Chief Justice Roberts is listed first.

[Fisher King]

I hate it for Scalia's family. GOP has already said 'no' to the Prez's appointing a replacement. That was quick. I'll say no more.

Edited February 14, 2016 by Fisher King

[BetterButter]

Vanity dies at 57

[legaleagle53]

Damn, and only two years older than I am and on the night of the Grammys, too.  Death certainly has a fine sense of timing, if not irony!

[BW Manilowe]

Character Actor George Gaynes Dies at 98. Famous for roles in Punky Brewster, the Police Academy franchise, Tootsie & General Hospital, among others.

http://variety.com/2016/film/news/george-gaynes-dead-1201707777/

[Bastet]

Ninety eight!  I’m sorry for his loved ones, who are hurting regardless, but two months into this the year of abbreviated celebrity lifespans, this is an obituary I’m almost happy to read.

Edited February 17, 2016 by Bastet

[UYI]

I'm a 90's kid who watched Punky Brewster in reruns (and later got the DVDs!), and he was also great in the movie Tootsie. I really thought he would make it to 100. RIP. 

[cpcathy]

Oh goodness, he was funny in Tootsie, one of my favorite movies.

 

"Does Jeff know?"

[UYI]

Soleil Moon Frye on Twitter:

 

The universe just gained a gigantic star. You will be in my heart and soul always & forever.
Your little Punky
RIP George Gaynes

[St. Claire]

Is it awful that I saw that George Gaynes died and my first thought was that he'd been dead for years? 

[Moose135]

Is it awful that I saw that George Gaynes died and my first thought was that he'd been dead for years? 

Not really - I had the same reaction when Mitch Miller (who my folks watched regularly when I was just a little Moose) died at the age of 99.  Sort of "wow, who knew he was still around?"

Edited February 17, 2016 by Moose135

[BW Manilowe]

Is it awful that I saw that George Gaynes died and my first thought was that he'd been dead for years?

I think the obit I linked to (or another I read, but didn't link to) said he hadn't acted since 2003. If so, maybe his lack of public visibility gave the perception that he'd already passed.

[SnideAsides]

Oh hai cancer, it's been a while. This time, Mob Wives star Big Ang.

[BW Manilowe]

Oh hai cancer, it's been a while. This time, Mob Wives star Big Ang.

This was Tweeted after your linked report--at 9:52PM Eastern. The Tweeter says Big Ang's sister says she's NOT dead.

https://twitter.com/naughtynicerob/status/700150920403939328

Edited February 18, 2016 by BW Manilowe

[BW Manilowe]

It's TRUE this time (confirmed on her Twitter & Facebook pages), about 9 hours after first being erroneously reported. Mob Wives star Big Ang has died of cancer at age 55.

http://www.people.com/people/mobile/article/0,,20988164,00.html?xid=socialflow_twitter_peoplemag

Edited February 18, 2016 by BW Manilowe

[SistaLadybug]

I'm shocked at how saddened I am to hear of her passing.  Ang always seemed like a good egg, deep down.  May she rest.

[junemeatcleaver]

Entertainment Tonight should be ashamed of themselves.  Even if the news was true, they should have waited until Ang's family or reps confirmed it.

 

I hope Ang is at peace.

[RedKoolAide]

RIP Big Ang. She was the best part of Mob Wives and she seemed like a genuinely kind person. While I'm sad for her family and friends that she's gone, I hope they take comfort knowing she's no longer in pain or suffering.

[SmithW6079]

She was the best part of Mob Wives and she seemed like a genuinely kind person.

When your peers are murderers and thieves, that's not really a ringing endorsement.

[BW Manilowe]

To Kill a Mockingbird author Harper Lee dead at 89.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/harper-lee-dead-kill-a-867573

[Blergh]

 I'll always consider "To Kill a Mockingbird" to be one of the best classic novels of all time and nothing can erase that legacy(not even that debatably timed 'prequel' released last year). In any case, not only is she no longer afflicted by deafness and blindness but she can no longer be exploited by those who sought to use her aging decline to profit from. On a somewhat trivial note, she used her middle name of Harper for the pen name because she had never liked her actual first name of Nelle and didn't want to chance folks mispronouncing it as 'Nellie'. RIP and enjoy the reunion with your real loved ones, Miss Lee.

[Spartan Girl]

Wow, Harper Lee.  I'm not shocked, but still...at least 89 is a good age to go.

 

To Kill A Mockingbird was a classic.  Go Set A Watchmen wasn't as good, but taken as it was, as an early first draft and not a sequel, it had some merits.

[RedKoolAide]

RIP Ms. Nelle Harper Lee. I can't express how much I've loved reading To Kill a Mockingbird through the years. An extraordinary novel.

[Rick Kitchen]

Umberto Eco has died.

[merylinkid]

Not another author.   Geez.   First it was musicians, now it's authors.   What the hell is God up to?   

[Inquisitionist]

Harper Lee was 89, Eco 84.  Old people die.  (And having known quite a few old people in recent years, I've come to the conclusion that the human body is simply not designed to last much past 80, in most cases.  Every year of relative good health after that age is a gift!)

Edited February 21, 2016 by Inquisitionist

[Ohwell]

"Old" people die but it still sucks.  I don't feel philosophical about that at all.  It just fucking sucks.   

[roamyn]

IMO, there is no "right" way to feel abt an older person's death. Harper & Umberto lived long, fulfilling lives.

Their families & friends will miss them, their talents will be missed, but death is inevitable for all of us (except Keith Richards & Betty White).

It sucks, but it happens.

[Rick Kitchen]

My all time favorite San Francisco Giant, Jim Davenport, has died.  He was the ultimate pinch hitter.  He would come up as a pinch hitter and would practically always get a hit.

[BoogieBurns]

Edit: Wrong information

Edited February 22, 2016 by BoogieBurns

[MaryMitch]

Lou Myers from "A Different World" has died. He was 76, and it wasn't cancer this time. 

 

He died 3 years ago.

[Moose135]

He died 3 years ago.

 

Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead...

[BoogieBurns]

He died 3 years ago.

 

Oh goodness! Someone else posted it on my Facebook. Sorry!

[Cobalt Stargazer]

Oh goodness! Someone else posted it on my Facebook. Sorry!

 

They must have read that he dyed and become confused.

[BetterButter]

Douglas Slocombe, Legendary Cinematographer of ‘Indiana Jones’, Dead at 103

[merylinkid]

WOW 103.   What a life.   I can just imagine the stories he had.   

 

I draw the line at 100.   Anything after that is gravy.   Before that it's much too soon to go.

[Rick Kitchen]

Country singer Sonny James, who sang "Young Love" and "Runnin' Bear", has died at the age of 87.

 

Edited February 23, 2016 by Rick Kitchen

[Tunia]

Awww...Rest in peace, Sonny James.  "Young Love" was my favorite song for a very long time.

[Medicine Crow]

Awww...Rest in peace, Sonny James.  "Young Love" was my favorite song for a very long time.

Me too Tunia!!  Great memories of "young love".

[LilWharveyGal]

Johnny Murphy from The Commitments has died.

[kittykat]

Boooo.  The lord hath commanded Joey the Lips to return.  No he'll never know that Wilson Pickett showed up at their last gig.

[Fisher King]

What a great video and song. Sing in peace, Sonny.