DEATHS ; Notable Passings; The Thread to Pay Last Respects

[dhermann1]

Rise Stevens, the great Metropolitan Opera mezzo has died at age 99. She was THE Carmen of her day, among other things.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-21/rise-stevens-mezzo-soprano-star-of-carmen-dies-at-99.html

 

[LizzieMaine]

She was one of the "pop stars" of opera in the Era -- making guest appearances with Fred Allen and Orson Welles on radio, singing the National Anthem at the World Series, starring in movies alongside Bing Crosby. A very classy performer in all she did.

 

[LocktownDog]

Chinua Achebe ... a brave and honorable man. Told it like it is.

 

[MikeBravo]

Yes, he was 92, and as well as starring in "Are you Being Served" he was also in "Last of the Summer Wine", both great TV Programmes.

I was watching Last of the summer wine on television recently and thinking how nice that he and the other older actors were still with us. Brian Murphy from Man about the house and George and Mildred fame especially

 

[lolly_loisides]

I'm sad to hear about Richard Griffiths death at 65 after complications with heart surgery. He was a great character actor. He was wonderful in Withnail but I also loved Pie in the sky.
[video=youtube;pDl4ye22U-E]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDl4ye22U-E[/video]

 

[Lenore]

I'm sad to hear about Richard Griffiths death at 65 after complications with heart surgery. He was a great character actor. He was wonderful in Withnail but I also loved Pie in the sky.
[video=youtube;pDl4ye22U-E]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDl4ye22U-E[/video]

This makes me sad. It's a shame to lose someone of such talent so soon. 65 is far too young.

 

[MisterCairo]

It's never been a secret that my favourite film is Withnail & I. Uncle Monty, Richard Griffiths' character in that film, is a testament to his skills as an actor. Playing a character old enough to be uncle to a man turning 30, while himself but 39 years old, and making the character both lovable and loathsome, more the former than the latter. I am truly saddened today, but will watch Withnail & I, and drink a glass of claret in Richard's memory. Chin chin, Uncle Monty: 'Perhaps it is just that the eavesdropper should leave as his trade dictates, in secrecy and in the dead of night. I do sincerely hope that you will find the happiness that has sadly always been denied me. Yours faithfully, Montague H. Withnail.'

 

[MikeBravo]

Jordanaires singer Gordon Stoker dies after career backing Elvis Presley

THE name of Gordon Stoker may be unfamiliar to all but those who pore over the fine print of record sleeves, but his smooth, attractive tenor voice was known to millions. He was a member of the Jordanaires, the vocal quartet that backed Elvis Presley on many of his best-known hits, including Don't Be Cruel, All Shook Up, Jailhouse Rock, Can't Help Falling in Love, It's Now or Never, Are You Lonesome Tonight and Teddy Bear

When not working with Presley, the long list of singers backed by the Jordanaires included Ricky Nelson, Johnny Cash, Ringo Starr, Julie Andrews, Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, Red Foley, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Connie Francis, Johnny Hallyday, Waylon Jennings, George Jones, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Jim Reeves, Kenny Rogers, Sawyer Brown and Tammy Wynette. The group's website estimated that they backed more than 2,200 artists and recorded more than 30,000 songs over a 60-year career.

I think we've probably heard him sing at least once

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Simply amazing. The Jordanairs certainly had their own unique great sound and in high demand.
HD

 

[MrBern]

RIP- ABC Whipple


ABC Whipple, the LIFE editor who challenged military censors in WWII
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/25/nyregion/cal-whipple-dies-at-94-won-1943-fight-to-print-photo-of-war-dead.html

http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/28/a-photo-that-was-hard-to-get-published-but-even-harder-to-get/?src=recg

 

[GoldenEraFan]

R.I.P. Jane Henson

http://www.henson.com/jane.html

 

[Touchofevil]

The Chicago Sun-Times is reporting that its film critic Roger Ebert has died. He was 70.

The paper says on its website the Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic died Thursday.

Ebert was known for his thumbs-up, thumbs-down TV reviews that influenced moviegoers across the nation.

On Wednesday, he had announced on his blog that he was undergoing radiation treatment after a recurrence of cancer.

Ebert was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2002 and later had surgery for cancer of the salivary gland. He lost his chin and his ability to speak. But he later resumed writing full-time and eventually even returned to television.

Ebert started as a film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times in 1967. In 1975 he became the first movie reviewer to get the Pulitzer Prize for criticism

 

[MisterCairo]

Siskel and Ebert both gone now.

Two thumbs down...

 

[Sharpsburg]

Roger Ebert will be missed, but he had suffered enough for several lifetimes. Brave to the end!

 

[Lady Day]

I was sad when Gene Siskel passed away. I watched their program all the time as a kid. Was never the same. I'll miss Mr. Ebert's reviews. He was good at his craft.

 

[Doctor Strange]

He was more than a good critic... He changed the entire landscape of film criticism, championed less-commercial films and Internet reviewers, and introduced millions of people to great movies that they never would have seen otherwise. This piece lays it out nicely:

http://www.avclub.com/articles/some-thoughts-on-the-death-of-roger-ebert,96102/

 

[Tomasso]

He was a really good guy, down to earth; Siskel, on the other hand..............

 

[Doctor Strange]

Comic book titan Carmine Infantino, a bastion of DC comics for decades, both as a trendsetting artist and senior executive:

http://www.newsfromme.com/2013/04/04/carmine-infantino-r-i-p/

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/06/a...revamped-batman-and-the-flash-dies-at-87.html

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Margaret Thatcher died today at age 87.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/08/world/europe/uk-margaret-thatcher-dead/?hpt=hp_t1

 

[MisterCairo]

Margaret Thatcher died today at age 87.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/08/world/europe/uk-margaret-thatcher-dead/?hpt=hp_t1

An icon of twentieth century politics. A truly sad day; my father, bless him, would've been saddened indeed. I had the unique experience of touring her childhood home and father's grocery shop in Grantham. My aunt was an estate agent and in 1988 she was the listing agent for the couple selling it. They were eccentric to say the least. Rest in peace Lady Thatcher.