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Post by the Scribe on Jul 31, 2017 17:14:31 GMT -5
Jeanne Moreau R.I.P
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Post by the Scribe on Aug 8, 2017 18:43:44 GMT -5
Country legend Glen Campbell dies at age 81 Rob O'Connor 2 hours 50 minutes ago . With additional reporting by Wendy Geller Glen Campbell performing at the Staples Center during the 54th Grammy Awards in 2012: (Photo: Robyn Beck/AFP) With more than 50 years in show business and more than 45 million records sold, Glen Campbell, who according to Rolling Stone died Tuesday morning in Nashville at the age of 81, was a country music artist who made the crossing into mainstream pop look easy. He hosted the CBS variety show The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour in the early 1970s and was known for such countrypolitan hits as “Gentle on My Mind,” “By the Time I Get to Phoenix,” “Wichita Lineman,” “Galveston,” and “Rhinestone Cowboy.” Glen Travis Campbell was born the seventh son of 12 children in Billstown, near Delight in Pike County, Arkansas. His father was a sharecropper and his uncle Boo taught him the guitar. In 1954, he joined his uncle’s band Dick Bills and the Sandia Mountain Boys in Albuquerque, N.M., and by 1958, he’d formed his own band, the Western Wranglers. By 1960, a skilled guitarist, Campbell moved to Los Angeles to do session work. He soon became part of a studio group known as “The Wrecking Crew,” who played on many of the popular records of the day, including those by Elvis Presley, Phil Spector, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Jan & Dean, the Byrds, and the Monkees. From December 1964 through early March 1965, he filled in for Brian Wilson as a touring member of the Beach Boys. He later played guitar on the group’s landmark album, Pet Sounds, and took over bass guitar and falsetto harmonies on later tours. His own career got off to a number of modest or false starts, though in 1964 TV appearances on Star Route, Shindig!, and Hollywood Jamboree raised his profile substantially and a 1965 hit of Buffy Sainte-Marie’s “Universal Soldier” reached No. 45, despite Campbell’s lack of interest in the antiwar movement. Campbell, at risk of losing his record contract, teamed up with producer Al DeLory in 1966 and together worked on “Burning Bridges,” which became a top 20 country hit in early 1967. This led to the even bigger hit “Gentle on My Mind,” a song written by John Hartford. “By the Time I Get to Phoenix,” “Hey Little One,” “I Wanna Live,” “Dreams of the Everyday Housewife,” “Wichita Lineman,” “Galveston,” and “True Grit,” the latter by Elmer Bernstein and Don Black, continued Campbell’s streak to the end of the 1960s, when he hosted The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour on television. The series was canceled in 1972, but Campbell continued to appear in TV specials, made-for-TV movies, and talk shows, and he had a few more hits with “Rhinestone Cowboy,” “Country Boy (You Got Your Feet in L.A.),” “Southern Nights,” and “Sunflower.” Though his hits were confined to the county charts in the 1980s, Campbell remained a popular presence throughout the years, with new generations of musicians discovering his fine work with songwriter Jimmy Webb in particular. In June 2011, Campbell announced he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and would mount a final “Goodbye Tour” in support of his album Ghost on the Canvas, which featured songs by contemporary songwriters Paul Westerberg, Teddy Thompson, and Jakob Dylan. Campbell performed “Rhinestone Cowboy” at the 2012 Grammy Awards on Feb. 12, 2012, and completed his tour in Napa, Calif., on Nov. 30, 2012. Per his instructions, Campbell’s 62nd studio album See You There, recorded around the time of Ghost on the Canvas, was issued the following year in 2013, featuring a group of musicians who reimagined songs from his catalog, including the famous hits and two versions of “Waiting on the Comin’ of My Lord.” In 2014, the documentary Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me, executive-produced by Campbell’s friend and producer Julian Raymond, was released; it won a Grammy and was nominated for a Best Original Song Oscar for the theme “I’m Not Gonna Miss You.” Earlier this year, Campbell released Adiós, his final studio album. He is survived by his wife, Kim Campbell, and his eight children. Tributes For Glen Campbell Flood Social Media After News Of His Death HuffPost 2 hours 27 minutes ago .
After a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease, legendary singer Glen Campbell died on Tuesday in Nashville. He was 81.
Known for hits like “Rhinestone Cowboy” and “Gentle On My Mind,” Campbell was both a country music icon and an international TV star. News of his death was met with an outpouring of tributes, as family, friends, celebrities and fans took to social media to express their grief. Campbell is survived by his wife, Kim Campbell, their three children, Cal, Shannon and Ashley; his children from previous marriages, Debby, Kelli, Travis, Kane, and Dillon; ten grandchildren, great- and great-great-grandchildren; sisters Barbara, Sandra, and Jane; and brothers John Wallace “Shorty” and Gerald. This article originally appeared on HuffPost . ADIOS GLEN CAMPBELL. YOU WILL NEVER BE FORGOTTEN. YOUR MUSIC LIVES ON!!
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Post by the Scribe on Aug 8, 2017 23:22:17 GMT -5
RIP GODZILLA, DEAD AT 88
RIP Haruo Nakajima, The Original GODZILLA
Published on Aug 7, 2017
The man behind (or inside) the monster is gone but his legacy lives on!
Nakajima's Last Performance as Godzilla
The Man Who Became Godzilla・ゴジラになった男 (SciFi Japan TV #03)
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Post by the Scribe on Aug 20, 2017 2:42:35 GMT -5
Another one of a kind has left us but he has left us with a wonderful legacy and I must say his timing (Charlottesville) was perfect.Dick Gregory: The serious life of a humoristDick Gregory, Groundbreaking Comedian and Civil Rights Activist, Dies at 84 Cynthia Littleton,Variety 4 hours ago . Dick Gregory, the pioneering standup comedian and civil rights activist who made his advocacy work a key component of his on-stage persona, died Saturday night in Washington, D.C. He was 84.
Gregory’s death was confirmed by his family in an Instagram post.
“The family appreciates the outpouring of support and love and respectfully asks for their privacy as they grieve during this very difficult time,” read the post from son Christian Gregory.
Gregory was active on the standup and public speaking circuit on and off for more than a half-century. He had recently been making comedy appearances until he was hospitalized on Aug. 9.
Gregory recently released a new book, “Defining Moments in Black History: Reading Between the Lies,” and he recently penned a guest column for Variety on how communities can band together to end police brutality. In June Gregory was the subject of a lengthy profile on “CBS Sunday Morning.” Actor Joe Morton explored the ups and downs of Gregory’s standup career in the one-man show “Turn Me Loose,” which ran in New York last year.
Gregory made his mark in the early 1960s as a rare African-American comedian who was successfu in nightclubs geared to white audiences. One important break famously came in 1960 when he was invited by Playboy founder Hugh Hefner to perform at his Playboy Lounge in Chicago.
Gregory was known for his folksy delivery and for incorporating commentary about segregation and discrimination into his routines. During this period he released a number of successful spoken word albums, notably 1961’s “In Living Black and White,” 1962’s “Talks Turkey,” 1964’s “So You See … We All Have Problems” and 1968’s “The Two Sides of Dick Gregory.” In 1964, his autobiography was published with the provocative title: “N—-: An Autobiography.”
By the mid-1960s, after his friend and fellow activist Medgar Evers was murdered, Gregory turned his focus to full-time work as an activist with Martin Luther King Jr. and others. He was vocal advocate for the rights of African-Americans and Native Americans, and he was an early opponent of the Vietnam war and South Africa’s apartheid. Gregory tried his hand at politics, running unsuccessfully for mayor of Chicago in 1967 and mounting a presidential bid in 1968.
In a recent post that was widely circulated on social media, Gregory addressed the current flare-up of tensions in race relations, but he counseled younger activists to appreciate the gains that have come and to be mindful of history.
“Love will always be triumphant over hate,” Gregory wrote. “I have seen progress like most cannot appreciate because they were not there to bear witness. … The reality is far from perfect, but profoundly better than what daily reality was for my generation.”
A native of St. Louis, Gregory was one of six children who were abandoned in childhood by their father. He became a track star in high school, which led him to a scholarship Southern Illinois University in 1951. He left the school after his mother died in 1953 and was drafted into the Army. His comedy career was kindled during his time in the service, where he first performed in talent shows and variety shows.
In the 1970s, after his weight ballooned to 350 pounds, Gregory became active in the cause of world hunger and nutritional advocacy, as well as spiritual awareness of the mind-body connection. He developed a popular weight-loss regimen known as the Bahamian diet, and for a time had his own line of nutritional supplements. In 1981, he endured a medically supervised 70-day fast at a hospital in New Orleans.
Gregory was a frequent presence on the talk show and late-night comedy circuit during his 1960s heyday. But he logged only a few acting roles during his long career. He had guest shots in two episodes of Comedy Central’s “Reno 911” in 2004. He had a role in the 1995 Mario Van Peebles film “Panther” as an activist minister and a cameo in the 2002 Rob Schneider vehicle “The Hot Chick.”
A prolific writer, Gregory’s other books included “Up From N—–“, “No More Lies,” and “Callus on My Soul.” He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2015.
Gregory is survived by his wife of 58 years, Lillian, and 10 children.
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Post by philly on Aug 20, 2017 14:24:42 GMT -5
Jerry Lewis, comedy genius, is dead at 91Lewis died at home of natural causes, surrounded by family. "The world has lost one of the most significant human beings of the 20th century," Rozzano manager told USA TODAY.
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Post by the Scribe on Aug 20, 2017 14:26:10 GMT -5
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Post by the Scribe on Sept 4, 2017 0:09:47 GMT -5
recap...
Stars We've Sadly Lost So Far In 2017
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Post by the Scribe on Sept 4, 2017 0:42:51 GMT -5
WALTER BECKER STEELY DAN RIP
Walter Becker of Steely Dan Dead at 67 - Full Story and Tribute
Published on Sep 3, 2017
Walter Becker of Steely Dan Dead at 67 – Full Story & Tribute His passing was announced on his website this morning. There has been much speculation on either his relationship with Steely Dan partner Donald Fagen and/or his health lately after the guitarist missed both Classic East and West shows recently. Fagen had clarified a few weeks ago that it was medical.
Like the Eagles, Steely Dan had long careers with stretched breaks. For instance Eagles only recorded seven studio albums while Steely Dan wracked up nine.
Becker and Fagen met in 1968 at Bard College in New York. Recounting their first meeting Fagen says, "I hear this guy practicing, and it sounded very professional and contemporary.” At first Fagen thought he was African American. The two talked and agreed to be in a band. Steely Dan was named after a naughty toy from William S. Burroughs' Naked Lunch. In the beginning the band also included guitarists Jeff "Skunk" Baxter and Denny Dias, David Palmer and drummer Jim Hodder who later died in 1990 at 42.
Becker was born in Queens New York in 1950 and graduated High School in 1967 – the summer of love.
Every Steely Dan album scored, at least, #39 or better in the Billboard Top 200 with “Aja” going to #3 in 1977. Interestingly their 2000 comeback album “Two Against Nature” peaked at #6 out charting the follow up to “Aja”, “Gaucho” which reached #9 in 1980.
Steely Dan also reached the top 40 ten different times with hits like, 1972's “Do It Again, “Reelin' In The Years” the following years. They had their biggest hit in 1974 with "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" peaking at #4. They followed that up with "Black Friday,""Bad Sneakers,""Kid Charlemagne,""Peg""Deacon Blues""FM (No Static at All)"Josie" and "Hey Nineteen.”
Becker and Fagen were known as the ultimate music perfectionist. They're brand of groove pop Jazz/fusion showed a certain air of sophistication but Becker didn't like that tag calling their music Rock and Roll with swing.
Steely Dan employed some of the best musicians in the world for their recordings. Just for “Aja” they brought in on Piano, Joe Sample, Michael Omartian, Don Grolnick, On Guitars, Larry Carlton, Lee Ritenour, Denny Dias, Steve Khan, Jay Graydon. There were drummers Steve Gadd, Bernard Purdie, Rick Marotta and Jim Keltner. Tom Scott and Wayne Shorter on Sax and Michael McDonald and Timothy B Schmit on vocals and that just a fragment of who was on there.
Their manager told Rolling Stone magazine in 1977 that the American super-groups were Fleetwood Mac. The Eagles, Chicago and Steely Dan.
The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001 – by John Beaudin
The Top 10 Best Steely Dan Songs (RIP Walter Becker)
My favorite Steely Dan song:
The Stone Poneys and Steely Dan have something in common:
another great song
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Post by the Scribe on Sept 15, 2017 21:48:34 GMT -5
RIP HARRY DEAN STANTON
Harry Dean Stanton Discusses Life, Movies, Music & The VoidLinda Ronstadt connections:
Harry lived in a garage apartment behind the building Linda lived in (apartment) back in the 1970's
and of course, this video:Jon Cryer, Charlie Sheen, David Lynch and More Celebs React to Harry Dean Stanton's Death Liz Calvario Liz Calvario 47 minutes ago .
Hollywood is mourning the death of Harry Dean Stanton.
The veteran actor died at the age of 91 on Friday afternoon from natural causes. With a career spanning over six decades, and over 190 acting credits, Stanton leaves behind a great legacy -- one that his former co-stars and friends admired.
Upon hearing the news of his passing, Stanton's former Pretty in Pink co-star, Jon Cryer, tweeted a throwback black-and-white photo of the two from the '80s film, as well as released a touching statement.
"One of the most lovely, surreal moments I've ever had in Hollywood was the night I went to a party that had a country band sort of twanging away in the corner. At one point this ghostly, gorgeous voice cut through the din. I turned to see Harry Dean Stanton on the tiny stage playing with the band," Cryer expressed in a statement given to ET. "I'd come to know Harry as an incomparable character actor with a grizzled seen-it-all demeanor. But I was unprepared for his beautiful, affecting singing voice. It was the very definition of soulful. And I suppose I'll feel a little better knowing that soul has found peace. Rest In Peace Harry.”
RELATED: Harry Dean Stanton, 'Big Love' and 'Pretty in Pink' Actor, Dies at 91
Charlie Sheen, who shared the screen with Stanton on Red Dawn and Two and a Half Men, also expressed his sadness.
"Harry Dean Stanton, brilliantly and effortlessly, played my father twice and my Sage once. All the while, in between and often, he played with our collective hearts and imaginations, in methods unworthy of this scribe's deciphering," Sheen wrote in a statement given to ET. "From Cool Hand Luke to Alien, his on-screen poetry reminded the rest of us, to seriously consider a day job. His valiant cry to 'Avenge me' from the internment camp in Red Dawn, will forever echo in the pantheon of my greatest memories. Rest in peace, good sir."
David Lynch, who worked with Stanton on various Twin Peaks projects, released a statement on Showtime's official Twitter page, calling the late actor "a great human being."
Edward James Olmos also wrote some heartfelt words about Stanton on social media. "Harry Dean you gave us so much truth on and off camera. Thank you for living a full life! You are a great artist," the actor tweeted. Baby Driver director, Edgar Wright, paid his respects by naming his favorite Stanton films.
"RIP to the legendary Harry Dean Stanton. Impossible to cover his legacy in brief but here's a few favs: Alien, Paris Texas, Repo Man," he shared.
MORE: 'Sopranos' Star Frank Vincent Dies at 80
Shawn Doyle, who worked with Stanton in HBO's Big Love, tweeted, "You could watch him on set say a line as simple as ‘hello,’ and be mystified why it was so friggin compelling." No Small Parts: Episode #6 - Harry Dean Stanton
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Post by the Scribe on Sept 21, 2017 3:11:32 GMT -5
Tribute to Jake LaMotta - RIP 'The Raging Bull' Jake LaMotta, boxing's 'Raging Bull,' dies in his 90sBy Bill Trott ReutersSeptember 20, 2017 Former middleweight boxing champion Jake LaMotta poses in New York October 28, 2009. REUTERS/Teddy Blackburn/Files
By Bill Trott
REUTERS - Jake LaMotta, the brutish former boxing champion whose life of violence in and out of the ring was portrayed in the movie "Raging Bull," died on Tuesday, according to one of his daughters.
LaMotta, who admitted intentionally losing a fight at the behest of mobsters, was in his 90s, listing his birthday as July 10, 1922, while other sources had the year as 1921. His daughter Christi LaMotta announced the death on her personal Facebook page but did not disclose the cause of death.
LaMotta's seventh wife, Denise Baker, told ABC News that the boxer, who had been living in a nursing home in Miami, died of complications of pneumonia.
Actor Robert DeNiro, who won an Academy Award in 1981 for his movie portrayal of LaMotta, issued a statement saying, "Rest in Peace, Champ."
LaMotta, who grew up in a rough neighborhood in New York City's Bronx borough, had a fearless ring style in which he closed in on an opponent, leaning low and forward, and began battering away with little concern about the shots he might take in return. He had a reputation for having the strongest chin in the sport.
"Punches never bothered me that much," he once told the Times of London.
LaMotta's career was highlighted by a rivalry with the legendary Sugar Ray Robinson, who beat LaMotta in five of their six matches, including an especially ferocious title bout in 1951.
"The three toughest fighters I've ever been up against were Sugar Ray Robinson, Sugar Ray Robinson and Sugar Ray Robinson," LaMotta said.
"I fought Sugar so many times, I'm surprised I'm not diabetic," he said in a line that he would use often.
Fighting mostly as a middleweight and known as the "Raging Bull" and "Bronx Bull," LaMotta finished his 13-year career with 83 victories (30 by knockout), 19 losses and four draws. He was never knocked out and in 2002, the authoritative Ring Magazine ranked him 52nd on its list of the 80 best fighters of the previous 80 years.
While LaMotta's strength and volatility made him one of the top fighters of the 1940s and '50s, by his own admission, his paranoid, jealous and self-destructive nature led to a life of turmoil.
EARLY CRIMES
LaMotta was a raging bull of a hoodlum as a child. After being beaten up at school once, LaMotta told Reuters his abusive father gave him an ice pick to use on his attackers.
"And when I went after them with an ice pick, they ran away," he said. "Then I realized I didn't have to use an ice pick any more. I was good enough with my fists."
He fought other neighborhood boys in matches that adults bet on and ended up at a juvenile facility for attempting to rob a jewelry store. Due to an erroneous newspaper report, LaMotta went several years thinking he had beaten a bookie to death in a robbery.
As an adult, he was abusive to women and once severely beat his wife Vicki and his best friend after hearing they were having an affair.
Mobsters had a great deal of control over boxing during LaMotta's career but he refused to take on a Mafia-connected manager. He did, however, agree to throw his 1947 match against Billy Fox in return for a long-sought chance to fight for a championship. In his autobiography LaMotta said he had trouble making the Fox fight look convincing.
The referee stopped the fight in the fourth round as Fox pounded LaMotta, who was not defending himself. By that point, LaMotta wrote, "If there was anybody in the Garden who didn't know what was happening, he must have been dead drunk."
LaMotta was suspended for several months after the bout and admitted throwing the fight when he testified to a Senate subcommittee investigating boxing corruption in 1960.
The mob did give LaMotta his shot at the title, though, and he made good on it, defeating French-Algerian Marcel Cerdan in 1949 to win the middleweight crown.
LaMotta held the title almost two years before losing it to Robinson in their sixth fight on Feb. 14, 1951, a bout so fierce it became known as the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. LaMotta took a brutal pounding from Robinson but was never knocked down in a fight stopped by the referee in the 13th round.
LaMotta retired three years after that loss to Robinson.
Martin Scorsese's 1980 "Raging Bull" movie was based on LaMotta's 1970 autobiography and the boxer helped DeNiro prepare for the starring role by training and sparring with the actor.
"When I saw the film I was upset," LaMotta told an interviewer. "I kind of look bad in it. Then I realized it was true. That's the way it was. I was a no-good bastard ... It's not the way I am now but the way I was then."
After retiring from the ring, LaMotta tried standup comedy and had a few small acting roles, most notably in the Paul Newman-Jackie Gleason movie "The Hustler" and the 1960s sitcom "Car 54, Where Are You?"
He opened a nightclub in Florida and in 1967 was sentenced to prison for six months on a charge of promoting prostitution.
LaMotta was in his 90s when he took the stage for a poorly reviewed cabaret-style show based on his life and co-starring seventh wife Baker, recalling highlights from his career and reciting Marlon Brando's "I coulda been a contender" monologue from the movie "On the Waterfront."
LaMotta had six children from his seven marriages. Robinson was the best man at the sixth wedding.
(Writing and reporting by Bill Trott; Additional reporting by Jonathan Allen; Editing by Diane Craft and Matthew Lewis) Jake La Motta, Emotional Tribute, Best Moments!
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Post by the Scribe on Sept 27, 2017 14:15:33 GMT -5
THE MAN WHO SAVED THE WORLD
Published on Aug 20, 2010 From the documentary series "Strange Rituals" -- The story of how nuclear apocalypse was narrowly avoided in 1983 by the actions of one man - Stanislav Yevgrafovich Petrov. Soviet officer Stanislav Petrov was monitoring satellites when they warned of a U.S. nuclear attack. He had minutes to act. "All I had to do was to reach for the phone; to raise the direct line to our top commanders — but I couldn't move. I felt like I was sitting on a hot frying pan," said Petrov, who died earlier this year. He saw only five missiles were en route and, having been trained to expect an overwhelming attack, decided there’d been a malfunction.
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Post by the Scribe on Sept 27, 2017 22:35:05 GMT -5
Hugh Hefner RIP
Hugh Hefner's Son Tells Us What It Was Like Growing Up In The Playboy MansionDisturbing Things Everyone Just Ignores About Hugh HefnerHugh Hefner, Playboy Magazine Founder and Star of Girls Next Door, Dies at 91
By Natalie Stone•@natalie_j_stone
Hugh Hefner, the founder of Playboy magazine and star of E! reality show The Girls Next Door, has died, PEOPLE confirms. He was 91.
Born Hugh Marston Hefner on April 9, 1926 in Chicago, Illinois to parents Grace Caroline and Glenn Lucius Hefner, the businessman died on Wednesday.
“Hugh M. Hefner, the American icon who in 1953 introduced the world to Playboy magazine and built the company into one of the most recognizable American global brands in history, peacefully passed away today from natural causes at his home, The Playboy Mansion, surrounded by loved ones,” a rep for the Playboy Enterprises founder said in a statement to PEOPLE.
“My father lived an exceptional and impactful life as a media and cultural pioneer and a leading voice behind some of the most significant social and cultural movements of our time in advocating free speech, civil rights and sexual freedom. He defined a lifestyle and ethos that lie at the heart of the Playboy brand, one of the most recognizable and enduring in history. He will be greatly missed by many, including his wife Crystal, my sister Christie and my brothers David and Marston, and all of us at Playboy Enterprises,” said Cooper Hefner, his son and Chief Creative Officer of Playboy Enterprises.
Hefner quickly rose to fame after the first issue of men’s magazine Playboy published in December 1953, which featured a nude Marilyn Monroe. The same year, Hefner launched media and lifestyle company Playboy Enterprises, Inc., on which he served as a board member until the time of his death.
Of Playboy’s iconic logo, Hefner said in a 1967 interview: “The rabbit, the bunny, in America has a sexual meaning; and I chose it because it’s a fresh animal, shy, vivacious, jumping — sexy.”
Following his decade-long marriage to first wife Mildred Williams, with whom he shared daughter Christie and son David and whom he divorced in 1959, Hefner was public about sharing intimacies with numerous women.
In 1971, Hefner purchased the legendary Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles where he relocated to permanently and lived until the time of his passing.
After suffering a mild stroke in 1985, his daughter Christie assumed more responsibility in the management of the company (she was named president in 1982 and CEO in 1988 until she left in 2009). In 1989, he tied the knot with second wife and Playmate of the Year Kimberley Conrad. The couple had two children together, sons Marston Glenn and Cooper Bradford, before separating almost a decade later and officially divorcing in 2010.
Throughout his the five decades of life in the Playboy Mansion, Hefner was recognized for housing multiple young women in the home at the same time, including Girls Next Door stars Holly Madison, Bridget Marquardt and Kendra Wilkinson. The six-season E! reality series documented the lives of the Playmates and their relationship with Hefner inside the mansion.
After his seven-year relationship with “No. 1 girlfriend” Madison ended, Hefner began dating Crystal Harris, whom he married on Dec. 31, 2012. In April, Hefner’s younger brother Keith died at the age of 87 from cancer.
Known for hosting its annual Playboy Halloween party, the Playboy Mansion sold to Hefner’s neighbor Daren Metropoulos for $200 million in June with the stipulation that Hefner was able to live in the home until his death.
In an August 2017 interview, Hefner’s son Cooper, who took over as chief creative officer of Playboy Enterprises, admitted that it was hard to watch his father get older.
“It’s tough to watch him struggle,” he told The Hollywood Reporter of his father getting older. “But I’m just happy it’s physical and not mental.
He is survived by his wife and four children.
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Post by the Scribe on Sept 29, 2017 14:25:10 GMT -5
PAUL HORNER, RIP (OR NOT) {DEAD THAT IS}
Fake News Writer Paul Horner Found Dead
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Post by the Scribe on Sept 30, 2017 19:10:00 GMT -5
MONTY HALL, RIP
Monty Hall Of "Let's Make A Deal" Dies At 96
Amazing Life of Let's Make a Deal TV Legend Monty Hall
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Post by erik on Sept 30, 2017 20:10:18 GMT -5
Quote by ronstadtfanaz:
A terrible shame, but he lived a long life and gave us one of the wackier TV game shows on history. Also, he could probably teach the Cheeto-in-Chief a thing or two about the art of the deal, and how to make one (IMHO).
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Post by the Scribe on Oct 2, 2017 17:36:58 GMT -5
This is from a recent concert. Still not sure he is dead so until we know for sure enjoy Tom's music:
TOM PETTY : Live in Dallas 2017 (R.I.P. October 20, 1950 – October 2, 2017)
We all knew this was coming but it still chokes me up. Very very sad. I wonder if he had been found quicker he would still be alive?
Tom Petty, Legendary Singer, Dead at 66 Dan Hyman Entertainment TonightOctober 02, 2017
Tom Petty, one of the rock music world’s biggest stars and an American musical icon, died on Monday after suffering cardiac arrest at his home in Malibu, California. He was 66.
"On behalf of the Tom Petty family we are devastated to announce the untimely death of of our father, husband, brother, leader and friend Tom Petty," shared longtime manager of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Tony Dimitriades, on behalf of the family. "He suffered cardiac arrest at his home in Malibu in the early hours of this morning and was taken to UCLA Medical Center but could not be revived. He died peacefully at 8:40pm PT surrounded by family, his bandmates and friends."
Petty was the rare musician whose songs became intimately woven into the fabric of American life and who seemed to maintain his popularity from one generation to the next. Hits like “American Girl,” “Free Fallin'” and “Last Dance With Mary Jane” were staples not only of classic-rock radio, but are widely regarded as some of the most indelible, timeless songs in rock history.
Armed with a twangy, slightly nasally Southern voice, Petty sang of life’s roller coaster of emotions -- the confusion, excitement and angst that gives life its dramatic tension. Petty’s was the musical career artists yearn for -- one met with critical and commercial acclaim that drew in a diverse cross-section of fans spanning age, gender and background. As one music journalist noted today via Twitter, “I have never met a person who hates Tom Petty or his music.”
Over four decades in the limelight, Petty released 13 albums with his band, The Heartbreakers, as well as three solo LPs.
MORE: Initial Tom Petty Death Reports Inaccurate, Singer Remains Hospitalized Following Cardiac Arrest
Tom Petty - Super Bowl XLII Halftime Show
Born in Gainesville, Florida, Petty quit high school at age 17 to join the band Mudcrutch, but his career took off when he met guitarist Mike Campbell and keyboardist Belmont Tench. They released their self-titled debut album, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, in 1976, but it was 1979's Damn the Torpedoes that catapulted him to global acclaim.
While he continued touring with his band until his death, his 1989 solo debut, Full Moon Forever, spawned some of the biggest hits of his career, and the ones that frequently comprised his epic live shows, including "Runnin' Down a Dream" and "I Won't Back Down." A true American icon, the rocker even played the ultimate venue in 2008: the Super Bowl.
Petty remained on the road until his death, recently wrapping a 40th anniversary tour for his band. Below, we look back at seven of his most iconic songs.
Petty’s debut album did not immediately make him a star, but its final track would end up becoming one of his signature hits. Many would argue "American Girl," a tale of dreams deferred and open-ended possibilities, is Petty’s most recognizable song, but incredibly, the song didn’t even chart in the U.S. until it was re-released in 1994. Of course, that didn’t stop it from being a favorite of cover bands the world over and having it rank 76th on Rolling Stone’s list of “The 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time.”
It was the release of 1979’s Jimmy Iovine-produced Damn The Torpedoes, though, that made Petty a global star -- albeit one whose feisty attitude and no-nonsense take on the tumultuous world around him was just coming into focus. It didn’t help his outlook on life that he was simultaneously embroiled in a disagreement with his record deal. On “Refugee,” one of the album’s standout singles, Petty’s twenty-something angst comes blaring through the speakers. “Somewhere, somehow, somebody must have kicked you around some,” he sings in a fiery blast of repressed anger. “Everybody has to fight to be free, you see.”
MORE: Celebs Pay Tribute to Tom Petty as Singer Reportedly Clings to Life Following Cardiac Arrest
While "Refugee" and “Don’t Do Me Like That” may have been the most notable singles from Damn The Torpedoes, one of its easygoing, slightly sappy cuts was always one of its finest. “And then she looks me in the eye and says, ‘We’re gonna last forever,'” Petty sang on the Byrds-inspired “Here Comes My Girl.” The track is memorable in that it showcased Petty’s ability to take a relatively simple and sweet melody and a plaintive, romantic lyric and translate it into a tender yarn -- one he’d play in concert for decades to come.
Rumors circulated of discontent within the Heartbreakers when Petty decided to record Full Moon Fever, his five-times-platinum 1989 solo debut. But the sheer number of hits it spawned, not to mention it elevating his career to previously-unknown heights, was enough to leave any drama moot.
Perhaps no song better epitomizes the sing-along-inducing success of Petty’s finest work than “Free Fallin’.” Despite writing it in less than an hour, it became the singer’s highest-charting single at No. 7 -- and arguably one of his most beloved. As for Petty’s take on it? "Maybe it would be one of my favorites if it hadn't become this huge anthem,” he once said. "There's not a day that goes by that someone doesn't hum 'Free Fallin'” to me, or I don't hear it somewhere. But it was really only 30 minutes of my life."
MORE: Sam Smith Adds Tom Petty as Co-Writer of 'Stay With Me'
One of the biggest songs off Full Moon Fever almost never happened, though. “I Won’t Back Down” was recorded while the album was being mixed, and it only made it onto the tracklisting at the insistence of his bandmates and the other musicians in the studio. "I had a lot of second thoughts about recording that song," Petty admitted of the track, which features backing vocals from George Harrison, who also appeared alongside fellow Beatle Ringo Starr in its music video. "But everyone around me liked the song, and it turns out everyone was right."
As was the case with “I Won’t Back Down,” Petty had no interest in recording what became another one of his signature songs. When his record label asked him to record new songs for his 1993 Greatest Hits album, he plucked one of his demos from the Full Moon Fever sessions. Originally titled “Indiana Girl," lo and behold, “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” became a smash success. "I complained about that [song] so much," Petty said. "I'm really glad I did it now."
So are we.
Tom Petty 1999 VH1 Behind The Music (RIP 1950-2017)
Published on Sep 4, 2017 (Let's us fans celebrate his life with this tribute. Devastated at his passing.) Rare biography of him, starting from his childhood and teenage years in Gainesville Florida, deciding to get into rock and roll when he saw Elvis, being in his first bands as a teen, forming Mudcrutch and later The Heartbreakers when they moved to Southern California in the mid 70s, his bankruptcy and squabbles with record companies, recording "Southern Accents" and breaking his hand, the arson fire to his house in 1987, forming Traveling Wilbury's and his solo Full Moon Fever album and at the recent time, just releasing "Echo" and saying they didn't plan to quit any time soon (and still haven't).
Linda Ronstadt - The Waiting (Letterman 3-21-95)
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Post by the Scribe on Oct 8, 2017 0:03:11 GMT -5
Basketball Legend Connie Hawkins Dies At 75
Basketballography: Connie Hawkins
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Post by the Scribe on Oct 8, 2017 0:12:52 GMT -5
Music Legend Bunny Sigler Dies At 76
Bunny Sigler - Hanging With A Legend
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Post by the Scribe on Oct 8, 2017 0:15:56 GMT -5
Comedian Ralphie May Dead at 45 – The Last Time we Saw Him [2015] | TMZ
Published on Oct 6, 2017 Comedian Ralphie May died Friday at the age of 45 ... TMZ has learned.
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Post by philly on Oct 20, 2017 15:58:10 GMT -5
Going back to Hugh Hefner....
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Post by the Scribe on Oct 25, 2017 7:07:44 GMT -5
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Post by erik on Oct 25, 2017 8:58:02 GMT -5
A real shame about Robert Guillame. He was quite funny in an offbeat, sarcastic sort of way, especially on Benson.
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Post by the Scribe on Oct 26, 2017 2:28:48 GMT -5
Fats Domino - 1928/2017 - thank you for the music-a dedication-r.i.p.
RIP Fats Domino
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Post by the Scribe on Nov 7, 2017 1:27:30 GMT -5
Robert Knight Dead at 72 -- Robert Knight, Original 'Everlasting Love' Singer, Dies
The original version of "Everlasting Love" was recorded in Nashville by Robert Knight, whose producers Buzz Cason and Mac Gayden aimed to record him in a Motown style with especial reference to the Four Tops and the Temptations. Ultimately "Everlasting Love" was released as an A-side for Knight and reached #13 in 1967. Subsequently, the song has reached the US Top 40 three times, most successfully by Carl Carlton, who peaked at #6 in 1974, with more moderate success afforded later remakes by Rex Smith and Rachel Sweet (#32/ 1981) and Gloria Estefan (#27/ 1995).
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Post by the Scribe on Nov 8, 2017 2:05:15 GMT -5
NASA astronaut Richard Gordon, who circled moon during Apollo 12, dies at 88 AP and FLORIDA TODAYPublished 2:06 p.m. MT Nov. 7, 2017 | Updated 2:21 p.m. MT Nov. 7, 2017
Apollo 12 astronaut Richard Gordon has died, according to NASA. He was 88.
Gordon, born in Seattle, was one of a dozen people who flew around the moon but didn't land there. In total, 24 traveled to the moon.
A Navy test pilot with more than 4,500 flying hours, he was chosen for NASA's third group of astronauts in 1963 and flew on Gemini 11 in 1966, walking in space twice. During Apollo 12 in November 1969, Gordon circled the moon in the command module "Yankee Clipper" while Alan Bean and Charles Conrad walked on the lunar surface.
After retiring from NASA in 1972, he became executive vice president of the New Orleans Saints football team. He went on to be an executive in energy and science companies.
More: Glenn's historic flight one of the most dangerous ever
More: Pope Francis talks to ISS astronauts
“NASA and the nation have lost one of our early space pioneers," acting NASA Administrator Robert Lightfoot said. "We send our condolences to the family and loved ones of Gemini and Apollo astronaut Richard Gordon, a hero from NASA’s third class of astronauts."
The Astronaut Scholarship Foundation said Gordon died Monday at his home in California. He is survived by six children.
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Post by the Scribe on Nov 10, 2017 2:55:13 GMT -5
John Hillerman, Higgins on 'Magnum, P.I.,' dies at 84The Hollywood Reporter The Hollywood Reporter 8 hours ago .
Courtesy of Photofest
John Hillerman, the actor who made a career out of playing snooty types, including Tom Selleck’s fastidious estate caretaker Jonathan Quayle Higgins III on Magnum, P.I., died Thursday. He was 84.
Hillerman, who received four Emmy nominations in consecutive years for portraying Higgins and won in 1987, died at his home in Houston, family spokeswoman Lori De Waal told the Associated Press. She said the cause of death had not been determined.
Hillerman also appeared as Higgins on episodes of Murder, She Wrote and Simon & Simon.
His Higgins character was a natural extension of a part he played on the TV detective show Ellery Queen: Simon Brimmer, a radio personality and affected gent who fancied himself a savvy sleuth. Ironically, Hillerman, who often played condescending characters with more than a touch of the Tory Brit — the Mayfair accent — was a Texan from a tiny railroad town, the son of a gas station owner.
He also was recognized for his character on the 1977-78 sitcom The Betty White Show, in which he played the star’s director and former spouse; as Sandy Duncan’s father on Valerie’s Family: The Hogans; and as Bonnie Franklin’s stuffy boss Mr. Connors at a PR firm on One Day at a Time.
Hillerman received his first onscreen credit in 1971 at the relatively advanced age of 39 off a part in the 1971 Western Lawman. Also that year, he had a small role as a teacher in Peter Bogdanovich’s The Last Picture Show.
Later, he appeared for the director in What’s Up, Doc? (1972), Paper Moon (1973) and At Long Last Love (1975).
Hillerman had roles in many top films, including such hits as Mel Brooks’ Blazing Saddles (1974), where he played a chap named Howard Johnson, and Roman Polanski’s noir classic Chinatown(1974), as Russ Yelburton, deputy chief of the water department.
Hillerman also performed in High Plains Drifter (1973), Lucky Lady (1975), Audrey Rose (1977) and another Brooks’ film, History of the World: Part I (1981) and A Very Brady Sequel (1996).
John Benedict Hillerman was born Dec. 20, 1932, in Denison, Texas. He attended the University of Texas at Austin for three years before serving four years in the Air Force. During his tour of duty, he worked with theatrical groups. Upon his discharge, he moved to New York City to study at the American Theatre Wing.
He landed his first professional theatrical role in Middleton, Ohio, and went on to appear in productions at The Cincinnati Playhouse; it was there that he honed his British accent and natty style.
Read more from The Hollywood Reporter: Hollywood’s notable deaths of 2017 Karin Dor, Bond Girl in ‘You Only Live Twice,’ Dies at 79 Gloria Fallon, Mother of ‘Tonight Show’ Host Jimmy Fallon, Dies at 68
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Post by philly on Nov 16, 2017 21:22:12 GMT -5
I think Charles Manson is about to kick the bucket.
I have a feeling 2017 is going to be worse than 2016 so I am starting my thread now. Seems to be many seriously ill people and it is a proven fact the death rate increases when a Republican/Conservative is in the White House. People get ready. Charles Manson Hospitalized ... 'It's Just a Matter of Time'www.tmz.com/2017/11/15/charles-manson-hospitalized-near-death11/15/2017 3:34 PM PST Charles Manson is in the hospital and, as one source familiar with his situation tells TMZ, "it's not going to get any better for him."
We're told Manson was rushed to a Bakersfield hospital 3 days ago, and has been wheeled around on a gurney for various treatments ... escorted by 5 uniformed cops.
We're told the 83-year-old Manson, who lays still covered in blankets, looks ashen.
Our sources say Manson's health has been steadily deteriorating and, as it was put to us, "It's just a matter of time."
Manson had serious health issues back in January as well, when he was hospitalized for severe intestinal bleeding and needed surgery to repair a lesion ... but was deemed too weak by doctors and sent back to prison.
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Post by erik on Nov 16, 2017 23:38:40 GMT -5
I doubt anybody will miss Charlie Manson, to be honest. Certainly no one who lived in the hippie scene in L.A. during 1969 (including, I daresay, Linda) and lived in fear of him and his Family will.
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Post by the Scribe on Nov 19, 2017 1:26:28 GMT -5
Speaking of David Cassidy's failing health issues, because of dealing with dementia, another artist, guitarist and co-founder of AC/DC, Malcolm Young, has died at age 64 from dementia. Young co-founded the group with his younger brother Angus. Malcolm and Angus are the younger brothers of George Young, who played rhythm guitar in the 1960s as a member of the Easybeats. George was involved in his younger brothers' band, helping them to get a record deal and producing their recordings. As ro 2017 gets closer in drawing to a close, one can only wonder who may be next to leave the world. www.cnn.com/2017/11/18/entertainment/ac-dc-guitarist-malcolm-young-dies/index.html Malcolm Young ● A Simple Tribute
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Post by sliderocker on Nov 19, 2017 14:39:51 GMT -5
I doubt anybody will miss Charlie Manson, to be honest. Certainly no one who lived in the hippie scene in L.A. during 1969 (including, I daresay, Linda) and lived in fear of him and his Family will. I blame Charlie Manson for another death: the death of the hippie movement. Up until the crimes his "family" committed, the hippies were wearing down the more conservative elements about the way they looked and their life styles. Conservatives didn't like hippies because of things like the long hair and recreational drug use, but I think they were especially bothered by the communal spirit of the hippies. I was in my early teens when the Manson family committed the murders and except for the drug use, had to wonder why older conservative adults were giving young adults grief on how long they wore their hair and on being communal? With regard to being communal, I didn't think that was a bad idea as it helped to ease the financial burdens for some. Mama Cass Elliott also believed Manson and company brought an end to the hippies' ideas and that it was sad to see that happen.
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