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Celebrating 25 Years Of The West Wing

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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raven

raven

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I didn't know this about Nichelle Nichols.  RIP; trailblazer; icon.

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During her life, Nichols also created the NASA program, Women in Motion, which was made to recruit women and minority personnel. That program’s recruits included Dr. Sally Ride, the first female astronaut, and Air Force colonel Guion Bluford, the first African-American astronaut. 

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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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Bastet

Bastet

19 minutes ago, raven said:

During her life, Nichols also created the NASA program, Women in Motion, which was made to recruit women and minority personnel. That program’s recruits included Dr. Sally Ride, the first female astronaut, and Air Force colonel Guion Bluford, the first African-American astronaut. 

They show a clip of a video she did for that recruitment effort in the Netflix documentary series about the Challenger disaster, but I did not know she'd created the program.  Cool! 

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raven

raven

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I already knew the Dr. Martin Luther King story but it bears repeating here.  What a life! 

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I remember saying to myself, 'Whoever that fan is, whoever that Trekkie is, it’ll have to wait because I have to meet Dr. Martin Luther King.' And he walks up to me and says, 'Yes, Ms. Nichols, I am your greatest fan.' You know I can talk, but all my mouth could do was open and close, open and close; I was so stunned."

Dr. King revealed to Nichols that TOS was the only show that he and his wife, Coretta, allowed their little children to stay up and watch. Further, he told Nichols what the show meant to him personally and detailed the importance of her having created a character with "dignity and knowledge."

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ebk57

ebk57

4 minutes ago, Popples said:

Can today stop? Please?

She did a bunch of theatre here in the DC area and hosted the local theatre awards, The Helen Hayes Awards, a few times.  Wonderful person.  

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Annber03

Annber03

Awwwwwww, I was just watching The Little Mermaid last weekend! First movie I can remember seeing in the theater when I was a kid - Ursula was one of the most genuinely intimidating Disney villains ever. And that was in no small part due to how Carroll voiced her - you could tell she had a total blast voicing that character :D. 

Damn. Rough day all around in the entertainment world :(. Lots of legends gone. 

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Spartan Girl

Spartan Girl

Damn the rule of threes!

So sad about Nichelle because I know about that conservation mess. I hope she’s at peace now.

Pat Carroll?! 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭I KNOW 95 is as good a time as any, but dammit, Ursula was one of the best Disney villains ever! My favorite line: “Life’s full of tough choices, i’nt it?” Pat said in an interview that that was the way Howard Ashman said pronounced the line in the read through and she asked him if she could borrow it, and he said, “I was hoping you would!”

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MissAlmond

MissAlmond

1 hour ago, Popples said:

Can today stop? Please?

Wait. WTH? Pat Carroll too? R.I.P. Ms. Carroll. 

1 hour ago, Spartan Girl said:

Ursula was one of the best Disney villains ever!

Poor Unfortunate Souls and Be Prepared! are two of the best damn Disney villain songs out there.  Hellfire is in a league of its own and was robbed of an Oscar.  

23 hours ago, stonehaven said:

Ken Levine's tribute to his old boss at MASH...Burt Metcalfe...

http://kenlevine.blogspot.com/2022/07/burt-metcalfe.html

Thank you for posting this!

From Alan Alda:

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tessaray

tessaray

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It wasn't just little girls of color who were inspired by Ms. Nichols' Lt. Uhura.  In an era with very few kickass female role models, she inspired us all.

And Pat Carroll.  My first memory of her was in the Stuart Damon/Lesley Ann Warren Cinderella playing Prunella, one of the wicked stepsisters.  She was a natural comedienne. 

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Blergh

Blergh

(edited)

I first recall Miss Carroll having played Mary Richards's grumpy hospital roomy called Loretta on the Mary Tyler Moore Show episode titled 'Hi!' (Season One, 1971). After spending the whole episode pleading with then finally guilt tripping the sarcastic older woman to be friends with her, Loretta dropped the bombshell that she was having a torrid affair (and I believe was married to someone else) which got Mary to somewhat back off- not wanting to get mixed up in that.

Anyway, Miss Carroll had had a long career in comedy and drama and one of her earlier regular roles was playing Danny's agent's wife in Make Room for Daddy/Danny Thomas Show. Since the agent was played by the scrappy little Sid Melton (later Ralph Monroe's brother on Green Acres and Sophia Petrillo's flashback/ghost husband Salvatore in Golden  Girls) , and she was a notably larger woman,  it somewhat heightened the comedy- not unlike the contrast between the late Isabel Sanford as Louise and Sherman Helmsley as George Jefferson on their show!

RIP, Miss Carroll (and sad that Miss Nichols also has left us today).  I wonder if these two ladies ever met in life?

Edited by Blergh
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Annber03

Annber03

7 minutes ago, tessaray said:

And Pat Carroll.  My first memory of her was in the Stuart Damon/Lesley Ann Warren Cinderella playing Prunella, one of the wicked stepsisters.  She was a natural comedienne. 

Ohhhhhhhh, wow, I forgot she was in that. It's been so long since I've seen that version - I used to watch it with my mom when I was little. 

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magicdog

magicdog

(edited)
2 hours ago, tessaray said:

And Pat Carroll.  My first memory of her was in the Stuart Damon/Lesley Ann Warren Cinderella playing Prunella, one of the wicked stepsisters.  She was a natural comedienne. 

For me it was seeing her onstage in "Annie" playing Miss Hannigan on Broadway!  She was awesome in the role!  It's a shame she wasn't called back to do the role for the 1982 film version, but I guess TPTB didn't think her name was big enough for a marquee.

I'll also remember her as Mother Dunbar - the ferocious sorority den mother on Happy Days who gets a passionate kiss from none other than The Fonz during a panty raid! 

"Come back Slick!!"

Of course she also played Shirley's mom, Lily on Laverne and Shirley.  I would have loved to have seen more appearances as that character.

She also played Doris Day’s matchmaking sister in With Six You Get Eggroll (1968).  I think that woman was everywhere - we just didn't know it!

Thought I'd add this:

Pat Carroll along with Johnny Carson, on Password.

Edited by magicdog
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NCIS4Ever2001

NCIS4Ever2001

10 hours ago, Superclam said:

The Star Trek ones always sting for me. I'll be inconsolable when it's Shatner's time. 

Same here, but ah wouldn't it be fitting if Shatner was the last one standing, as befitting a captain.

"Hailing frequencies closed sir"

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blueray

blueray

I'm sad to hear about Nichelle Nichol :(. Talk about someone that made such a positive impact.

Kind of random but I remember recently she won a fan award (from the 7th rule). Someone filmed her accepting it, she was a good sport as it wasn't clear if she knew what she won (as it was a fan thing lol). But she was gracious and polite to the person. And that was probably one of the last things she filmed...

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GHScorpiosRule

GHScorpiosRule

8 hours ago, magicdog said:

I'll also remember her as Mother Dunbar - the ferocious sorority den mother on Happy Days who gets a passionate kiss from none other than The Fonz during a panty raid! 

That was Pat???!

Ursula, along with Maleficient, are the two bestest Disney villains ever. This just hurts.

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Bastet

Bastet

(edited)
16 hours ago, tessaray said:

It wasn't just little girls of color who were inspired by Ms. Nichols' Lt. Uhura.  In an era with very few kickass female role models, she inspired us all.

I didn't even watch Star Trek, yet I had still picked up she was kicking ass out there; I couldn't have told you her name or her character's name, but when I saw a picture of her, it made me smile as I had the general sense of what she represented and meant.  As you said, we didn't have a lot of women to look up to on TV at the time, since so many of them were just appendages to the men who were doing all the cool stuff and making all the decisions.

Edited by Bastet
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Prairie Rose

Prairie Rose

2 minutes ago, Bastet said:

I didn't even watch Star Trek, yet I had still picked up she was kicking ass out there and it made me happy; as you said, we didn't have a lot of women to look up to on TV at the time, since so many of them were just appendages to the men who were doing all the cool stuff and making all the decisions.

Yes!! Slim pickings for sure. In the late 1960s, there was Nichelle Nichols, Diana Rigg of The Avengers, and...????

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Yogisbooboo64

Yogisbooboo64

(edited)

One of my fave blaxploitation movies is Truck Turner with Isaac Hayes....Nichelle played a particularly violent madam named Dorinda and it tickled me watching the normally lady-like Ms. Nichols play such a foul mouthed ex-prostitute.

RIP, sweet lady.

Edited by Yogisbooboo64
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Annber03

Annber03

3 hours ago, Bastet said:

I didn't even watch Star Trek, yet I had still picked up she was kicking ass out there; I couldn't have told you her name or her character's name, but when I saw a picture of her, it made me smile as I had the general sense of what she represented and meant.  As you said, we didn't have a lot of women to look up to on TV at the time, since so many of them were just appendages to the men who were doing all the cool stuff and making all the decisions.

Yeah, I've not seen "Star Trek", either, but this sums up my thoughts as well. It's really cool that she was able to make that kind of an impact. And I'm glad she was able to see the kind of positive influence she had over the years, too :). Couldn't really ask for any higher compliment or honor than that. 

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CrazyInAlabama

CrazyInAlabama

6 hours ago, Bastet said:

I didn't even watch Star Trek, yet I had still picked up she was kicking ass out there; I couldn't have told you her name or her character's name, but when I saw a picture of her, it made me smile as I had the general sense of what she represented and meant.  As you said, we didn't have a lot of women to look up to on TV at the time, since so many of them were just appendages to the men who were doing all the cool stuff and making all the decisions.

Yes, when Uhura and Kirk kissed, it was a big issue, because it was an interracial kiss.   I think the network wanted it edited out, and both actors refused to allow that. 

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shapeshifter

shapeshifter

42 minutes ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

Yes, when Uhura and Kirk kissed, it was a big issue, because it was an interracial kiss.   I think the network wanted it edited out, and both actors refused to allow that. 

I am so glad Nichelle Nicholas gave an interview about that scene while she was still able to do so:

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NBC finally ordered that two versions of the scene be shot—one in which Kirk and Uhura kissed and one in which they did not.[11] Having successfully recorded the former version of the scene, Shatner and Nichelle Nichols deliberately flubbed every take of the latter version, thus forcing the episode to go out with the kiss intact.[12][13]

As Nichelle Nichols writes:[14]

Knowing that Gene was determined to air the real kiss, Bill shook me and hissed menacingly in his best ham-fisted Kirkian staccato delivery, "I! WON'T! KISS! YOU! I! WON'T! KISS! YOU!"

It was absolutely awful, and we were hysterical and ecstatic. The director was beside himself, and still determined to get the kissless shot. So we did it again, and it seemed to be fine. "Cut! Print! That's a wrap!"

The next day they screened the dailies, and although I rarely attended them, I couldn't miss this one. Everyone watched as Kirk and Uhura kissed and kissed and kissed. And I'd like to set the record straight: Although Kirk and Uhura fought it, they did kiss in every single scene. When the non-kissing scene came on, everyone in the room cracked up. The last shot, which looked okay on the set, actually had Bill wildly crossing his eyes. It was so corny and just plain bad it was unusable. The only alternative was to cut out the scene altogether, but that was impossible to do without ruining the entire episode. Finally, the guys in charge relented: "To hell with it. Let's go with the kiss." I guess they figured we were going to be cancelled in a few months anyway. And so the kiss stayed.

There were, however, few contemporary records of any complaints commenting on the scene.[15]Nichelle Nichols observes that "Plato's Stepchildren", which first aired on November 22, 1968, "received a huge response. We received one of the largest batches of fan mail ever, all of it very positive, with many addressed to me from girls wondering how it felt to kiss Captain Kirk, and many to him from guys wondering the same thing about me. However, almost no one found the kiss offensive" except from a single mildly negative letter from one white Southerner who wrote: "I am totally opposed to the mixing of the races. However, any time a red-blooded American boy like Captain Kirk gets a beautiful dame in his arms that looks like Uhura, he ain't gonna fight it."[15]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirk_and_Uhura's_kiss#In_Star_Trek

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ElleryAnne

ElleryAnne

(edited)

Zoe Saldana's post about Nichelle Nichols is also lovely: 

https://www.instagram.com/zoesaldana/

an excerpt:

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Meeting Nichelle was truly a very special moment in my life. Her energy was infectious every time I was in her presence. She convinced me in believing that anything was achievable, if you put your heart into it. I mean, she inspired Mae Jemison to follow her dreams of becoming an astronaut and that’s exactly what Mae did.


I knew I had big shoes to fill when I was chosen to play Uhura, and Nichelle made me feel safe, told me to play her with all the confidence in the world. My hope is that we continue to keep her memory alive by celebrating her amazing body of work, and by spreading the message of peace and equality amongst all people. She lived a long, impactful life and not only prospered, but helped so many others prosper too.

Edited by ElleryAnne
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magicdog

magicdog

5 hours ago, MissAlmond said:

Paul Coker Jr who designed many of the classic Rankin/Bass holiday characters has died, age 93.

https://deadline.com/2022/07/paul-coker-dead-rankin-bass-mad-magazine-illustrator-was-93-1235081190/

https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/news/paul-coker-jr-mad-magazine-illustrator-stop-motion-holiday-characters-designer-dies-93-obituary/

https://www.lambiek.net/artists/c/coker_jr_paul.htm

AWWW!

Those designs are such a vivid childhood memory!  RIP Mr. Coker.

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magicdog

magicdog

Legendary broadcaster for the Brooklyn and LA Dodgers, Vin Scully has gone to the field of dreams:

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Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully, whose dulcet tones provided the soundtrack of summer while entertaining and informing Dodgers fans in Brooklyn and Los Angeles for 67 years, died Tuesday night, the team said. He was 94.

Scully died at his home in the Hidden Hills section of Los Angeles, according to the team, which spoke to family members.

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Bastet

Bastet

Vin Scully was such a prevalent voice in my life, being born and raised in Los Angeles - so many changes on the team, of course, but always that voice - and also the source of the name for one of my favorite TV characters of all time (The X-Files' Dana Scully).

Despite his voice in my ear for so many years, I don't know much about him as a person, and what I do know is contradictory.  I'm disgusted by his condemnation of NFL players taking a knee during the pre-game national anthem to protest police brutality, yet I'll forever appreciate his enthusiastic - "What a marvelous moment for baseball ... What a marvelous moment for the country and the world" - reaction to Hank Aaron breaking Babe Ruth's home run record, for the Braves against Scully's Dodgers:

"A Black man is getting a standing ovation in the Deep South for breaking a record of an all-time baseball idol. And it is a great moment for all of us, and particularly for Henry Aaron, who was met at home plate, not only by every member of the Braves, but by his father and mother."

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bmasters9

bmasters9

 Opening of the 1984 NBC MLB Game of the Week opening broadcast with Scully and Garagiola, between the Detroit Tigers and Chicago White Sox (this game would be known for Jack Morris of the Tigers having a no-hitter here):

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andromeda331

andromeda331

14 hours ago, Bastet said:

Vin Scully was such a prevalent voice in my life, being born and raised in Los Angeles - so many changes on the team, of course, but always that voice - and also the source of the name for one of my favorite TV characters of all time (The X-Files' Dana Scully).

Despite his voice in my ear for so many years, I don't know much about him as a person, and what I do know is contradictory.  I'm disgusted by his condemnation of NFL players taking a knee during the pre-game national anthem to protest police brutality, yet I'll forever appreciate his enthusiastic - "What a marvelous moment for baseball ... What a marvelous moment for the country and the world" - reaction to Hank Aaron breaking Babe Ruth's home run record, for the Braves against Scully's Dodgers:

"A Black man is getting a standing ovation in the Deep South for breaking a record of an all-time baseball idol. And it is a great moment for all of us, and particularly for Henry Aaron, who was met at home plate, not only by every member of the Braves, but by his father and mother."

It was such a great moment. I love that his mother and father were there. I need to go find a tissue.

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Blergh

Blergh

On 8/3/2022 at 2:10 PM, andromeda331 said:

It was such a great moment. I love that his mother and father were there. I need to go find a tissue.

While I fully agree that it was great that the late Mr. Aaron's parents were there for his historic record-breaking triumph, what's chilling in retrospect (that I had had no knowledge of at that time being a preteen kid in a bubble in 1974) was, as he got closer to breaking Babe Ruth's record, Mr. Aaron had received many credible and vile threats against his very life which the authorities were taking seriously. Hence, when Mrs. Aaron ran on the field to hug her son after his triumph, Mr. Aaron would later reveal  it wasn't solely to support and help him celebrate his glorious achievement in the face of incredible odds and challenges, but that Mrs. Aaron literally made herself a human shield to protect her child from anyone attempting to harm him! HOORAY for her to have gone above and beyond a parent's call of duty but it's also so sad and infuriating that she had reason to believe that she had had to do so instead of solely being able to celebrate his achievement!

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meowmommy

meowmommy

I was playing "I'll Never Find Another You" in my head until y'all mentioned "Georgy Girl," and now the turntable in my brain is going crazy.

What a sweet, pure voice she had.  I feel really sad.

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Crashcourse

Crashcourse

1 hour ago, meowmommy said:

I was playing "I'll Never Find Another You" in my head until y'all mentioned "Georgy Girl," and now the turntable in my brain is going crazy.

What a sweet, pure voice she had.  I feel really sad.

Oh yes, I remember "I'll Never Find Another You." 

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