DEATHS ; Notable Passings; The Thread to Pay Last Respects

[Edward]

N.Z. actor, Sam Neill has died aged 78. A very familiar face on our screens. Cause of death hasn't yet been disclosed & despite having had cancer (T-cell lymphoma) in 2022, treatment appeared to keep the disease in check & he was supposedly cancer free at the time of death. He could really rock any hat too.

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A very sad loss. Enjoyed his performances in anything and everything in which he turned up, though for me the stand out was his Major Chester Campbell in the first two series of Peaky Blinders. His characterisation, accent and dialect were all a perfect encapsulation of a man of a very specific placed and socio-political class in the north of Ireland in a particularly significant time period for that territory, and he inhabited the role perfectly.

 

[Doctor Strange]

One role I enjoyed Sam Neill in that I haven't seen mentioned anywhere was as King Charles II in Restoration (1995). Interesting historical drama with Robert Downey, Jr., Ian McKellen, and Meg Ryan (who's SO miscast).

 

[Harp]

^ Sam Neill first caught my note in Reilly, Ace of Spies, his signature series in the espionage
genre, followed later by The Hunt For Red October, Tudors as Wolsey, and any of a number of good roles; all capstoned with Campbell in Peaky Blinders. A master craftsman skilled to exquisite exacting detail and nuance. R.I.P.

 

[belfastboy]

I always thought he was an Aussie. It seemed for a while that every movie we watched from Aus or NZ had him it. And I wondered if it was mandated by gov't that in order to get a subsidy, Sam had to appear in the movie. I did enjoy his work.

 

[Boyo]

If you’re a denim-head you knew the name of Roy Slaper, I read today he has passed away

 

[Trenchfriend]

Glen Hansard, SH.T!! But that's the risk as a motorbike man...

 

[Tiki Tom]

Jeanne Gibson, Beloved “Rosie the riveter”, dies at age 100. R.I.P.

https://www.today.com/video/jeanne-gibson-who-represented-rosie-the-riveter-dies-at-100-267579461904

 

[Frunobulax]

Not everyone gets a medical procedure named after them. RIP

https://www.nbcnews.com/sports/baseball/former-mlb-pitcher-tommy-john-dies-age-83-rcna592800

 

[belfastboy]

Not everyone gets a medical procedure named after them. RIP

https://www.nbcnews.com/sports/baseball/former-mlb-pitcher-tommy-john-dies-age-83-rcna592800

I know folks that should have the prostate exam procedure named after them!!!

 

[Turnip]

Frank Beard, ZZ Top drummer, died yesterday at the age of 77.

 

[GHT]

Hayden Panettiere, Heroes and Nashville, passed away recently on August 16, 2026, at the age of 36.

 

[Frunobulax]

Frank Beard, ZZ Top drummer, died yesterday at the age of 77.

Ouch.

 

[Trenchfriend]

R.I.P.!

 

[BobHufford]

 

[Harp]

^ An era has passed with the death of Dolly Parton.

Also, noted yesterday that Shelly Fabares died. I can recall her from The Donna Reed Show.

 

[Frunobulax]

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"Queen of country music" doesn’t do her justice.

 

[Tiki Tom]

With her loss the world is a less kind place. I will miss her. R.I.P.

 

[Tiki Tom]

Tim Curry passes. Star of Rocky Horror Picture Show. 80. R.I.P.

https://variety.com/2026/film/obitu...ry-dead-rocky-horror-picture-show-1236843955/

 

[Hurricane Jack]

Also, noted yesterday that Shelly Fabares died. I can recall her from The Donna Reed Show.

Now that really makes me feel old! Johnny Angel has been playing over & over in my head since I learned of her passing.

 

[Doctor Strange]

Wow, two major losses in a single day...

Everyone thinks of Tim Curry as a movie actor, and he undoubtedly played lots of great roles on film, but I was lucky to also see him in two Broadway shows.

The second was as King Arthur in Spamalot around 20 years ago - and he was great - but the first was even more special... He played Mozart in the original production of Amadeus in 1980, with Ian McKellen as Salieri and Jane Seymour as Frau Mozart. Lemme tell ya, THAT production was really something.



(I've mentioned this here before, but it bears repeating: McKellen's performance at the start of this play included the greatest piece of theater magic I've ever experienced. In the movie, narrator Salieri just cuts from being an old man in the asylum to the court composer in his prime. In the play, as he begins the flashback, Salieri slowly stands up from his wheelchair, gradually assumes the bearing and posture of a younger man, drops his blanket revealing fine clothes, strengthens his voice, the lighting changes... and voila! He's suddenly 35.

McKellen astonished me with this performance... so let's just say that I was NOT surprised when he eventually became a film star 20 years later with the one-two punch of X-Men and LOTR.)

And of course, Dolly was an American treasure, I've loved her forever. Alas, I have no special story about her, but she transcends the need for special stories because she was just SO special!