Thursday, November 20, 2014

Richard Pasco

Actor -- via the Guardian. A great actor, completely unsung -- fresh, clear, and powerful, a particular treat in Shakespeare!

Leslie Feinberg

Carl Schlesinger

Typesetter, filmmaker, and tap dancer -- via the New York Times. AND he was kissed by Marilyn Monroe.


Ralph Herman

Clown and performer -- via the Guardian. AKA Nizhny Novgorod, Ralph Rockfeld. 

Zdenek Biran

Artist -- via the Prague Post.

Rokuro Naya

Voice actor -- via news.livedoor.com.

Mike Nichols

Director for film, stage, and TV; writer, producer, comedian, and improvisational performer -- via the New York Times. AKA Mikhail Igor Peschkowsky. One of the significant American talents of the 20th Century, he won a Grammy, Tonys (8), Emmys (4), and an Oscar.

His work as a performer was a hallmark of the wave of Second City-trained comic talent (he was half of the great Nichols and May team with Elaine May).



As a stage director, he gave us "Barefoot in the Park," "Luv," "The Odd Couple," "Streamers," "Comedians," "The Gin Game," "The Real Thing," "Hurlyburly," and many more.

Films: "The Graduate," "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?", "Carnal Knowledge," "Silkwood," "Working Girl," The Birdcage," and many more.



TV: "Wit" and "Angels in America," for example.



All in all, he shaped our senses of humor and then helped create the American New Wave of film in the 1960s and '70s. Even better, he could bridge the gap between popular success and deep artistic expression. In a time when it seemed like the craft of acting and connecting with an audience from the stage was going to dry up and blow away, he reinvigorated the theater with great direction and leadership, giving us entertainment and inspiration.






Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Jimmy Ruffin

Ivy Dixon

Charles Champlin

Editor, film critic, and columnist -- via the L.A. Times.

Lucilla Morlacchi

Actress -- via La Repubblica.

Ray Sadecki

Former MLB pitcher -- via sfgate.com.

Jeff Fletcher

Guitarist -- via the Independent.

Dave Appell

Musician, composer, arranger, and music producer -- via oldiesmusic.com. He had quite a career:

He started off as an arranger for the likes of Jimmie Lunceford, Earl Hines, and Benny Carter.

He led the studio band and served as music director for Ernie Kovacs' TV and radio during his time in Philadelphia. 



As leader of the Applejacks, had hits with "Mexican Hat Rock" and "Rocka-Conga." 




He was featured in the early rock film "Don't Knock the Rock." 



As jack-of-all-trades and house band leader at Cameo-Parkway Records, he backed such artists as Chubby Checker, Bobby Rydell, and the Orlons.

With Kal Mann he wrote such hits as "South Street," "Mashed Potato Time," "Bristol Stomp," and "Let's Twist Again." 






He wrapped it all up by producing hits for Tony Orlando and Dawn, including "Tie a Yellow Ribbon" and "Knock Three Times."




Marion Downs

Audiologist; the "mother of pediatric audiology" established the first infant hearing screening program in the United States -- via Hearing Aid News.

Hector Arredondo

Actor -- via El Universal.


Peter Kassig

Aid worker -- via legacy.com.

Kim Ja-ok

Actress -- via the Korea Times.

Lucien Clergue

Photographer -- via the Telegraph.

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Reinaldo Creagh

Singer -- via worldmusiccentral.org.

Ann Soyars

Hostess -- via the Tennessean.

Brian Griffith

Guitarist -- via thespec.com.

Jack Keenan

Old-time radio show host -- via Albany Times-Union.


Richard Duardo

Printmaker -- via the L.A. Times.

Ken Takakura

Iconic actor -- via Variety. AKA Goichi Oda. A hugely popular performer in Japan, he is known in America only for roles in such films as "The Yakuza" and "Black Rain." He typified the strong, silent an of action in films such as "The Yellow Handkerchief," "The Railroad Man," and "Abashiri Prison."




Monday, November 17, 2014

George "Buddy" Catlett

Bassist -- via the Seattle Times.

Hannes Hegen

Cartoonist and illustrator -- via mdr.de. AKA Johannes Eduard Hegenbarth. Best known for his cretion of the comic book Mosaik and its lead characters, the Digedags.


Zeinab El-Mahdy

Activist -- via ahramonline.com.

Jan Jones

Drummer -- via the Tennessean.

Soane Filitonga Watkins

DJ and music producer -- via 3news.co.nz.

DEATHCETERA: A weekly reader of stories from around the world on death and dying

TOP STORIES

Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips on living with the awareness of death – interview with Jennifer van Evra, animated by Blank on Blank – via Boingboing

Ask a Mortician: Can we compost the dead? – via Caitlin Doughty at the Order of the Good Death

“Don’t Lose the Body: 8 Tips to Plot a Funeral” from Elaine Ambrose in the Huffington Post


DEATH




10 Things Bodies Can Do After Death – from Confessions of a Funeral Director


FUNERALS

Ebola concerns reshape funeral practices in U.S. – via Andrew Meacham, Tampa Bay Times

Ice Age funeral site discovered by archaeologists – via Laura Geggel at Fox News

Another “drive-thru” funeral home – from Lauren Fluker at WHLT


OBITUARIES
Finding the right words for an obituary for a beloved aunt – from John Walsh in the Providence Journal




Troy Nabors

Mary-Edith Schreiber

Actress -- via westernboothill.blogspot.com.

Anne Cluysenaar

Writer and poet -- via the Independent.

Caroline Houseman Helms

Former actress -- via legacy.com. AKA Mary Blake.

Fumiko Hayashida

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Milan Rozsa

LGBT activist -- via gaystarnews.com.

Alexander Grothendieck

Mathematician -- via the New York Times.

Kajetan Kovic

Poet, writer, and translator -- via rtvslo.si.

Meesai Murugesan

Actor and musician -- via the International Business Times.

R.A. Montgomery

Writer -- via the Toronto Sun.

Bob Hicks

Morteza Pashaei

Musician, composer, and singer -- via Radio Free Europe.

Bruce Killeen

Poet and painter -- via the Guardian.


Gus Vlahavas

Restaurateur -- via the New York Times. He ran Tom's in Brooklyn!


Jerry Alan

Stuntman -- via the Daily Mail.

Saturday, November 15, 2014

Glen A. Larson

TV writer and producer -- via the Hollywood Reporter. He was the creator of a remarkable string of hits, including "Knight Rider," the original "Battlestar Galactica," "Quincy," "B.J. and the Bear," "Magnum, P.I.," "The Fall Guy" . . . and "Manimal." Larson was expert at retooling winning concepts, usually from feature films, for TV.

Fun fact: he started off in show biz as a singer and songwriter with the Four Preps -- their big hit "26 Miles (Santa Catalina)."



Friday, November 14, 2014

Ernest Kinoy

Writer for radio, TV, film, and stage -- via Variety. He joined NBC as a staff writer in 1948; he worked on shows such as "Dimension X," "Rocky Fortune," and "NBC Prsents: Short Story." In TV, he wrote for "Studio One," "Playhouse 90," "The Defenders," "Naked City," "Route 66," and much more. Films: "Buck and the Preacher," "Leadbelly," "Raid at Entebbe." Awards won for "The Defenders," "Roots," and "Skokie."

Little Joe Washington

Bluesman -- via the Houston Press.

Ravi Chopra

Film director and producer -- via NDTV Movies. Best known for his direction of the rpic Indian TV series, "The Mahabhrata."

Mike Burney

Saxophonist -- via thejazzbreakfast.