| MISCELLANEOUS - Art, Music, Movies, Literature, Culture and History ::: In Memoriam: Celebrities that passed away in 2007 |
 |
| Author | Message |
u_never_know
USA-Texas
 
1774 days with MM
2846 posts in Forum
977 days ago
1 Jan 2008 05:54
 for Interesting Attachments |
 Some of the famous people that died in 2007 are known around the world. Some may be recognized better by those of us in the west. I didn't realize that some of these people had lived to such an old age -and some died much too young.
Anna Nicole Smith, 39, Feb. 8: The zaftig model and reality show star suffered joy and tragedy in the months before her sudden death caused by a drug overdose: the birth of baby Dannielynn in September 2006, and the awful loss of her only son, Daniel, who also tragically died of an overdose just three days after her daughter was born. The former Playboy Playmate of the Year, Guess? jeans model and reality show star led a turbulent life, including marrying an octagenarian billionaire, J. Howard Marshall II, to whom she was wed until his death, and over whose estate a battle still rages. Another battle raged after Smith's death, for custody of her baby daughter. Several months ago, a paternity test finally confirmed that Larry Birkhead was Dannielynn's daddy. May her mom now rest in peace. (Pat/Stills/Retna Ltd.) |
 
  |
|
| | 321799 |
|
u_never_know
USA-Texas
1774 days with MM
2846 posts in Forum
977 days ago
1 Jan 2008 05:55
for Interesting Attachments |
 Oscar Peterson, 82, Dec. 23: During an illustrious career spanning seven decades, Peterson played keyboards with some of the biggest names in jazz, including Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie and Dizzy Gillespie. Peterson, who died in his home outside Toronto, was once called by Duke Ellington the "Maharajah of the keyboard," while Count Basie once said, "Oscar Peterson plays the best ivory box I've ever heard." In a statement, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said, "One of the bright lights of jazz has gone out." (David Redfern/Retna Ltd.) |
|
|
| | 321800 |
|
u_never_know
USA-Texas
1774 days with MM
2846 posts in Forum
977 days ago
1 Jan 2008 05:56
for Interesting Attachments |
 Dan Fogelberg, 56, Dec. 16: Fogelberg, one of the '70s' quintessential singer-songwriters, succumbed to prostate cancer after a long, courageous battle. Fogelberg's high, reedy tenor garnered millions of fans for such hits as "Leader of the Band." And he gave to us a gift we know we never can repay. (Barry Schultz/Sunshine/Retna Ltd.) |
|
|
| | 321801 |
|
u_never_know
USA-Texas
1774 days with MM
2846 posts in Forum
977 days ago
1 Jan 2008 05:56
for Interesting Attachments |
 Ike Turner, 76, Dec. 12: The influential rocker and R&B stylist, together with his mega-talented wife, Tina, was among rock's great innovators, incorporating blues beats with rock sensibilities. His musical achievements were overshadowed, however, by the portrayal of him in the film "What's Love Got to Do With It?" in which he was depicted as an abusive egomaniac. Still, there's no denying the lasting gifts he gave rock fans in tunes such as "It's Gonna Work Out Fine" and the rousing version of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Proud Mary." "I know what I am in my heart," Turner once said in an interview. "And I know regardless of what I've done, good and bad, it took it all to make me what I am today." (Harry Goodwin/Redferns/Retna Ltd.) |
|
|
| | 321802 |
|
u_never_know
USA-Texas
1774 days with MM
2846 posts in Forum
977 days ago
1 Jan 2008 05:57
for Interesting Attachments |
 Evel Knievel, 69, Nov. 30: The red-white-and-blue-spangled motorcycle daredevil jumped over crazy obstacles such as Greyhound buses, live sharks and Idaho's Snake River Canyon, making him an international icon in the 1970s. Even to this day, his televised stunts represent four of the top 20 most-watched "ABC Wide World of Sports" events of all time. Knievel suffered from diabetes and pulmonary fibrosis for years. Longtime friend and promoter Billy Rundel said of Knievel's death, "It's been coming for years, but you just don't expect it. Superman just doesn't die, right?" (Camera Press/Retna Ltd.) |
|
|
| | 321803 |
|
u_never_know
USA-Texas
1774 days with MM
2846 posts in Forum
977 days ago
1 Jan 2008 05:58
for Interesting Attachments |
 Kevin DuBrow, 52, Nov. 25: Lead singer for '80s band Quiet Riot, Kevin DuBrow's rowdy, in-your-face voice helped make the band's hit "Cum on Feel the Noize" a worldwide smash, paving the way for similar acts such as Ratt and Twisted Sister. The popularity of "Noize" shot their album "Metal Health" to No. 1 on the Billboard Charts, making it the first album by a heavy metal band to hit the top spot. Even today, baseball games just aren't the same without hearing "We'll get wild, wild, wild!" coming from the speakers. (Janet Macoska/Retna Ltd.) |
|
|
| | 321805 |
|
u_never_know
USA-Texas
1774 days with MM
2846 posts in Forum
977 days ago
1 Jan 2008 05:59
for Interesting Attachments |
 Luciano Pavarotti, 71, Sept. 6: The famed tenor — known as "King of the High C's" — succumbed to pancreatic cancer after a yearlong battle but died peacefully at his home in Modena, Italy. Pavarotti was arguably the highest profile operatic figure of the last half of the 20th century, known as much for his rich, creamy, unforced vocals as for his crossover appeal and showmanship. One of his partners in the popular Three Tenors trio, Plácido Domingo, said, "I always admired the God-given glory of his voice — that unmistakable special timbre from the bottom up to the very top of the tenor range." (Leo Sorel/Retna Ltd.) |
|
|
| | 321807 |
|
u_never_know
USA-Texas
1774 days with MM
2846 posts in Forum
977 days ago
1 Jan 2008 05:59
for Interesting Attachments |
 Jane Wyman, 90, Sept. 10: Wyman was known as much for being Ronald Reagan's first wife as she was as an actress with a career spanning several decades. She started acting in the '30s and went on to win an Oscar for her portrayal as a deaf rape victim in "Johnny Belinda" in 1948 (the year she and Reagan divorced). Later she would play matriarch Angela Channing on the long-running nighttime soap "Falcon Crest." She once said, "The opportunity for brotherhood presents itself every time you meet a human being." (JT/Retna Ltd.) |
|
|
| | 321808 |
|
u_never_know
USA-Texas
1774 days with MM
2846 posts in Forum
977 days ago
1 Jan 2008 06:01
for Interesting Attachments |
 Joe Zawinul, 75, Sept. 11: The Austrian Zawinul was a talented keyboardist and one of the founders of jazz fusion. He played with Miles Davis on recordings including "B1tches Brew" and would go on to form the seminal electric-jazz group Weather Report. He toured tirelessly up through spring 2007, when he sought medical attention for the rare form of skin cancer that would take his life. Austrian president Heinz Fischer gave a moving tribute to Zawinul, saying that "as a person and through his music, Joe Zawinul will remain unforgettable for us all." (Eamonn McCabe/Camera Press/Retna Ltd.) |
|
|
| | 321809 |
|
u_never_know
USA-Texas
1774 days with MM
2846 posts in Forum
977 days ago
1 Jan 2008 06:02
for Interesting Attachments |
 Yvonne De Carlo, 84, Jan. 8: De Carlo began as a B-movie starlet and went on to star as Moses' wife in "The Ten Commandments." But it was as the lovably ghoulish Lily Munster on the '60s sitcom "The Munsters" for which she will be best remembered. Of the role of the vampish Lily, she said, "It gave me a new, young audience I wouldn't have had otherwise. It made me 'hot' again." (AP) |
|
|
| | 321810 |
|
u_never_know
USA-Texas
1774 days with MM
2846 posts in Forum
977 days ago
1 Jan 2008 06:03
for Interesting Attachments |
 Art Buchwald, 81, Jan. 17: The Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist and satirist made his career as a chronicler of Washington, D.C., workings, with a sharp eye and wit to match. He once said, "If you attack the establishment long enough and hard enough, they will make you a member of it." Given only a few weeks to live in early 2006, Buchwald lived nearly a year before dying of kidney failure but insisted it was the "best time of my life" -- he held salons at home and even wrote a book about his experiences. He also famously fought Paramount Studios over ownership of the idea for the Eddie Murphy film "Coming to America"; a judge later found that Buchwald was entitled to profits from that film. (Derry Moore/Camera Press/Retna Ltd.) |
|
|
| | 321812 |
|
u_never_know
USA-Texas
1774 days with MM
2846 posts in Forum
977 days ago
1 Jan 2008 06:04
for Interesting Attachments |
 Barbara McNair, 72, Feb. 4: The pioneering African-American singer and actress made a name for herself in films such as "They Call Me Mr. Tibbs!" and the Elvis Presley film "Change of Habit." She also hosted her own variety show, "The Barbara McNair Show," in the late '60s and early '70s. One of her biggest hits was "You Could Never Love Him." "She was more than just a star or a famous personality," said her sister Jacqueline Gaither. "She was a person of her own." (AP) |
|
|
| | 321813 |
|
u_never_know
USA-Texas
1774 days with MM
2846 posts in Forum
977 days ago
1 Jan 2008 06:05
for Interesting Attachments |
 Brad Delp, 55, March 9: The Boston lead singer was behind the power-pop '70s band's hits like "More Than a Feeling" and "Peace of Mind." Sadly, he committed suicide at his New Hampshire home, leaving notes to loved ones and a public note saying, "I am a lonely soul." The band's official Web site was taken down and replaced with this tribute: "We've just lost the nicest guy in rock and roll." (Ad Spanjaard/Sunshine/Retna Ltd.) |
|
|
| | 321814 |
|
u_never_know
USA-Texas
1774 days with MM
2846 posts in Forum
977 days ago
1 Jan 2008 06:06
for Interesting Attachments |
 Calvert DeForest (aka Larry "Bud" Melman), 85, March 19: The gnomelike DeForest, a regular on David Letterman's show, made his name for doing random acts of impishness, such as singing a duet with Sonny Bono on "I Got You, Babe" or doing an impression of Mary Tyler Moore in Minneapolis. "Everyone always wondered if Calvert was an actor playing a character," said Letterman in a statement, "but in reality he was just himself — a genuine, modest and nice man." (Derek Storm/Retna Ltd.) |
|
|
| | 321815 |
|
u_never_know
USA-Texas
1774 days with MM
2846 posts in Forum
977 days ago
1 Jan 2008 06:06
for Interesting Attachments |
 Richard Jeni, 49, March 10: Jeni was one of America's most successful stand-up comics, appearing on "The Tonight Show" in a record number of appearances, dating back to Johnny Carson's days. But underneath the laughter, he suffered from severe depression, according to his girlfriend, and committed suicide in his West Hollywood, Calif., home. (AP) |
|
|
| | 321817 |
|
u_never_know
USA-Texas
1774 days with MM
2846 posts in Forum
977 days ago
1 Jan 2008 06:07
for Interesting Attachments |
 Kurt Vonnegut, 84, April 11: The master novelist, who wrote "Cat's Cradle," "Slaughterhouse-Five" and other landmark works of fiction and science fiction, helped shape American literature in the second half of the 20th century. His wife, photographer Jill Krementz, said Vonnegut had suffered head injuries in a fall not long before he died. Upon his death, Norman Mailer called Vonnegut "a marvelous writer with a style that remained undeniably and imperturbably his own. ... I would salute him our own Mark Twain." (Frank Herman/Camera Press/Retna Ltd.) |
|
|
| | 321821 |
|
u_never_know
USA-Texas
1774 days with MM
2846 posts in Forum
977 days ago
1 Jan 2008 06:08
for Interesting Attachments |
 Kitty Carlisle Hart, 96, April 17: The actress and socialite was a fixture in Hollywood and in New York society for decades. She made a splash in the Marx Brothers film "A Night at the Opera" in 1935; in later years she appeared in Woody Allen's "Radio Days" and other films. She also became well-known to TV audiences in the 1950s and '60s as a panelist for "To Tell the Truth." Her late husband was playwright Moss Hart, who co-wrote "You Can't Take It With You" and "The Man Who Came to Dinner" and won a Tony for directing "My Fair Lady" on Broadway. Her son Christopher said, "She had such a wonderful life, and a great long run, it was a blessing." (Reuters) |
|
|
| | 321822 |
|
u_never_know
USA-Texas
1774 days with MM
2846 posts in Forum
977 days ago
1 Jan 2008 06:08
for Interesting Attachments |
 Tom Poston, 85, April 30: The "Newhart" and "Mork & Mindy" character actor was gifted at playing the clueless bumbler, but Tom Poston was a trained Broadway actor and always received high accolades from his peers. In 1947 he played five roles in Jose Ferrer's "Cyrano de Bergerac" on Broadway. His third wife was actress Suzanne Pleshette, whom he met on "The Bob Newhart Show" in the '70s; they reconnected years later and were wed in 2000. Of his clueless characters, Poston once said, "In ways I don't like to admit, I'm a goof-up myself. It's an essential part of my character." And one his fans will always love. (Barry Talesnick/Retna Ltd.) |
|
|
| | 321823 |
|
u_never_know
USA-Texas
1774 days with MM
2846 posts in Forum
977 days ago
1 Jan 2008 06:09
for Interesting Attachments |
 Charles Nelson Reilly, 76, May 25: The wacky comedian with a gift for double entendres, and an affinity for appearing on a host of TV game shows, endeared himself so to Johnny Carson that he appeared on "Tonight" nearly 100 times. He got his start in Broadway musicals but was perhaps best known for his stints on shows such as "The Match Game" and "Hollywood Squares," where his signature look was loud plaids. "You can't do anything else once you do game shows," he told The Advocate, the national gay magazine, in 2001. Still, it was the life of Reilly. (Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.) |
|
|
| | 321825 |
|
u_never_know
USA-Texas
1774 days with MM
2846 posts in Forum
977 days ago
1 Jan 2008 06:10
for Interesting Attachments |
 Beverly Sills, 78, July 2: The Brooklyn-born Sills would become a global opera icon for decades. Her childhood nickname, Bubbles, reflected her upbeat personality and her sweet sense of humor (she performed often with the Muppets, and with longtime pal Carol Burnett). But it was her coloratura soprano that made memorable her roles in operas like "La Traviata," "Die Fledermaus" and "Manon." After retiring from the stage in 1980, she went on to her second career: serving on boards of arts companies and working as a tireless fundraiser. "One of the things that separates the two-legged creatures from the four-legged ones," she once said, "is compassion." (Ron Scheri/Retna Ltd.) |
|
|
| | 321826 |
|
u_never_know
USA-Texas
1774 days with MM
2846 posts in Forum
977 days ago
1 Jan 2008 06:10
for Interesting Attachments |
 Ingmar Bergman, 89, July 30: Director Bergman, considered one of the masters of modern cinema, created landmark films such as "The Seventh Seal," "Cries and Whispers" and "Scenes From a Marriage," infusing elements of his Swedish culture -- darkness, gloom, summer merriment -- into cinematic experiences that influenced generations of filmgoers and filmmakers. Though many of his films dealt with the subject of mortality, Bergman once said, "I was terribly scared of death." One of his most devoted disciples, Woody Allen, said in tribute that Bergman was "probably the greatest film artist, all things considered, since the invention of the motion picture camera." (Stillphoto/Sunshine/Retna Ltd.) |
|
|
| | 321828 |
|
u_never_know
USA-Texas
1774 days with MM
2846 posts in Forum
977 days ago
1 Jan 2008 06:11
for Interesting Attachments |
 Tom Snyder, 71, July 29: Avuncular late-night TV host Snyder was famous for his intense, free-flowing interview style, conducted in a haze of cigarette smoke and accompanied by his trademark belly laugh. Snyder died of leukemia in San Francisco. On NBC's "Tomorrow Show" in the '70s, he interviewed guests ranging from Johnny Rotten to Charles Manson to John Lennon. He gained even more fame when Dan Aykroyd of "Saturday Night Live" did a dead-on impersonation of him. Snyder's trademark saying of the show: "Fire up a colortini, sit back, relax, and watch the pictures, now, as they fly through the air." (AP) |
|
|
| | 321829 |
|
u_never_know
USA-Texas
1774 days with MM
2846 posts in Forum
977 days ago
1 Jan 2008 06:12
for Interesting Attachments |
 Michelangelo Antonioni, 94, July 30: Italian director Antonioni, known for art-house hits such as "L'Avventura," "The Passenger," and "Blow-Up," conveyed modern alienation with his nearly silent films and long, slow camera work. In presenting Antonioni with a lifetime-achievement Oscar in 1995, Jack Nicholson (who starred in "The Passenger"), said, "In the empty, silent spaces of the world, he has found metaphors that illuminate the silent places our hearts, and found in them, too, a strange and terrible beauty: austere, elegant, enigmatic, haunting." (Pero Marsili/Photomovie/Retna Ltd.) |
|
|
| | 321831 |
|
u_never_know
USA-Texas
1774 days with MM
2846 posts in Forum
977 days ago
1 Jan 2008 06:13
for Interesting Attachments |
 Merv Griffin, 82, Aug. 12: Griffin had many careers, all successful, including band singer, talk-show host and entertainer. But he also found enormous success as the force behind some of TV's most successful game shows, including "Jeopardy" and "Wheel of Fortune." "The Merv Griffin Show" aired for 20 years, and Griffin was spinning new ventures up until his death, including the new "Merv Griffin's Crosswords." "My father was a visionary," Griffin's son, Tony Griffin, said upon Merv's death. "He loved business." And business, like America, loved him back. (Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.) |
|
|
| | 321832 |
|
u_never_know
USA-Texas
1774 days with MM
2846 posts in Forum
977 days ago
1 Jan 2008 06:13
for Interesting Attachments |
 Max Roach, 83, Aug. 15: Jazz visionary Roach is credited with using unusual percussion instruments and timing to boost the drummer's position in a band to featured performer, no mere timekeeper. He got his break at 16 when he filled in for Duke Ellington's drummer, who had fallen ill, and went on to play with all the jazz greats of the 20th century, including Dizzy Gillespie, and Coleman Hawkins. Roach is seen as one of the founders of the bebop jazz movement. In 1988, Wynton Marsalis wrote in The New York Times: "The roundness and nobility of sound on the drums and the clarity and precision of the cymbals distinguishes Max Roach as a peerless master." (David Redfern/Retna Ltd.) |
|
|
| | 321834 |
|
u_never_know
USA-Texas
1774 days with MM
2846 posts in Forum
977 days ago
1 Jan 2008 06:14
for Interesting Attachments |
 Deborah Kerr, 86, Oct. 16: Shall we dance? The elegant Kerr graced many mid-20th-century films, all memorably. Her surf-splashed embrace with Burt Lancaster in "From Here to Eternity" is one of celluloid's greatest romantic moments. She also cavorted nimbly in "The King and I" and made sparks with Cary Grant in tear-jerker "An Affair to Remember," itself given homage in the Meg Ryan film "Sleepless in Seattle." Yes, it was an affair to remember. (Camera Press/Retna Ltd.) |
|
|
| | 321835 |
|
u_never_know
USA-Texas
1774 days with MM
2846 posts in Forum
977 days ago
1 Jan 2008 06:15
for Interesting Attachments |
 Marcel Marceau, 84, Sept. 22: Not many people have influenced pop culture without uttering a word. Famed mime Marceau is credited with reviving the ancient tradition of mime and influenced countless other performers, including Michael Jackson and his moonwalk. For 50 years, he acted out the entire spectrum of human emotions, touring tirelessly with his mime character, Bip. A French Jew, he escaped deportation and worked in the French Resistance. He said Charlie Chaplin was his greatest influence. He also was famously chatty offstage. "Never get a mime talking; he won't stop," he once said. Of his chosen art, he said: "Do not the most moving moments of our lives find us without words?" (Henrietta Bulter/Camera Press/Retna Ltd.) |
|
|
| | 321837 |
|
u_never_know
USA-Texas
1774 days with MM
2846 posts in Forum
977 days ago
1 Jan 2008 06:15
for Interesting Attachments |
 Joey Bishop, 89, Oct. 17: The deadpan comic was the last surviving member of Sinatra's Rat Pack, having starred with the gang in the original "Ocean's Eleven" and other films. He also gained fame as a talk-show host, opposite Johnny Carson's "Tonight" show on "The Joey Bishop Show," in the late '60s, when his young sidekick was a fresh-faced Regis Philbin. He would go on to sub on Carson's show 205 times. He was married to Sylvia Ruzga from 1941 until her death in 1999 and had one son, Larry. Son of a gun! (AP) |
|
|
| | 321838 |
|
u_never_know
USA-Texas
1774 days with MM
2846 posts in Forum
977 days ago
1 Jan 2008 06:16
for Interesting Attachments |
 Michael Brecker, 57, Jan. 13: The Grammy-winning tenor saxophonist lost his battle with leukemia but left a rich musical legacy. He won 12 Grammys in his career and played with musicians including James Taylor, Herbie Hancock and Joni Mitchell. His final album was completed just weeks before his death. Jazziz magazine recently called him "inarguably the most influential tenor stylist of the last 25 years." (Vanit/Retna Ltd.) |
|
|
| | 321839 |
|
u_never_know
USA-Texas
1774 days with MM
2846 posts in Forum
977 days ago
1 Jan 2008 06:17
for Interesting Attachments |
 Porter Wagoner, 80, Oct. 28: Wagoner, famed for his jeweled suits and carefully tended 'do, helped launch the career of a young Dolly Parton when the two teamed up for duets. His syndicated TV show aired for 19 years, and his hits included "Green Green Grass of Home" and "Skid Row Joe." In recent years, he won younger fans with a new record contract and a gig opening for the White Stripes during summer 2007. "The young people I met backstage, some of them were 20 years old. They wanted to get my autograph and tell me they really liked me," Porter said with tears in his eyes after one show this past summer. "If only they knew how that made me feel -- like a new breath of fresh air." (David Redfern/Retna Ltd.) |
|
|
| | 321841 |
|
|
| Now in topic: |
Del.icio.us
Digg
Furl
Blinklist
Reddit