2016 Obituaries of Note

[waltky]

Father Daniel Berrigan passes on...

US anti-Vietnam war priest dies aged 94
Sun, 01 May 2016 - The American priest and poet Daniel Berrigan - famous for leading defiant protests against the Vietnam War - dies in New York aged 94.

Father Berrigan emerged as a radical Catholic voice against the war in the 1960s and won fame when he and his younger brother seized draft records of troops about to be deployed in Vietnam. The pair and other Catholics burned the files in rubbish bins. The brothers were convicted of destroying government property. But when they were due to be sentenced they went into hiding before eventually being arrested.

Released from prison in 1972 the left-leaning Fr Berrigan continued his peace activism until in his 80s, founding the anti-nuclear weapons Plowshares Movement in 1980. Fr Berrigan also protested against the Gulf War, the Kosovo War, the US invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, and abortion. He was even reported to have taken part aged 92 in the Occupy Wall Street movement in New York's Zuccotti Park. The priest was born into a German-Irish Catholic family in Minnesota and joined the Jesuit order in 1939, becoming ordained in 1952.

He authored more than 50 books, with his first volume of poetry, Time Without Number, winning the Lamont Prize in 1957. He also wrote a play, The Trial of the Catonsville Nine. Fr Berrigan in the 1960s became an intellectual star of the Roman Catholic "new left", The New York Times reports. The paper says he argued that racism and poverty, militarism and capitalist greed were all interconnected and part of an unjust society. Asked in a magazine interview for an inscription for his gravestone, Fr Berrigan said: "It was never dull. Alleluia."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-36180902

[MMC]

Guy Clark, Grammy-Winning Musician, Dead at 74.....



Texas singer-songwriter Guy Clark, who helped mentor a generation of songwriters and wrote hits like “L.A. Freeway” and “Desperados Waiting for a Train,” has died. He was 74.

Clark died Tuesday at his home in Nashville, Tennessee, according to his manager, Keith Case. He’d been in poor health, although Case didn’t give an official cause of death.

A native of Monahans, Texas, Clark belonged to a group of highly influential Texas songwriters that included Townes Van Zandt and Mickey Newbury. Together with his painter-songwriter wife, Susanna, Clark’s home in Nashville became a gathering place for artists like Rodney Crowell and Steve Earle. He wrote songs for Johnny Cash, Ricky Skaggs, Jerry Jeff Walker, Bobby Bare, Vince Gill and John Conlee.

His home became a musical haven for songwriters, singers and artists, and his house was full of demo tapes of songs and Susanna’s paintings and artwork. He was close friends with many of Nashville’s talented musicians, including Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris, Lyle Lovett and Shawn Camp.....snip~

https://www.yahoo.com/music/guy-clar...141551410.html

R.I.P. Guy Clark.

[MMC]

Original Beastie Boys Member John Berry Passes Away at Age 52.....



One of the original members of the Beastie Boys, John Berry, passed away this morning in Massachusetts after suffering from frontal lobe dementia, Rolling Stone reports.

Credited with coming up with the group’s name, Berry joined Mike Diamond, Adam Yauch, and Kate Schellenbach as the founding members of the early punk incarnation of the Beastie Boys in 1981.

Berry and Diamond left shortly after the recording of the group’s first EP, Polly Wog Stew, and were replaced by Adam Horowitz (Ad-Rock) as the band took on the hip-hop leaning identity that they became famous for. While he missed out on the group’s defining years, the Beastie Boys were always sure to credit him as an important part of the group’s history, shouting him out at their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction in 2002.

https://www.yahoo.com/music/original...020114875.html

R.I.P. John Barry.

[waltky]

Awww, Wilbur died...

Alan Young, star of 1960s sitcom 'Mr. Ed,' dies at 96
May 20, 2016 — Actor-comedian Alan Young, who played the amiable straight man to a talking horse in the 1960s sitcom "Mister Ed," has died, a spokeswoman for the Motion Picture and Television Home said Friday. He was 96.

The English-born, Canadian-educated Young died Thursday, according to Jaime Larkin, spokeswoman for the retirement community where Young had lived for four years. His children were with him when he died peacefully of natural causes, she said. Young was already a well-known radio and TV comedian, having starred in his own Emmy-winning variety show, when "Mister Ed" was being readied at comedian George Burns' production company. Burns is said to have told his staff: "Get Alan Young. He looks like the kind of guy a horse would talk to." Mr. Ed was a golden Palomino who spoke only to his owner, Wilbur Post, played by Young. Fans enjoyed the horse's deep, droll voice ("WIL-bur-r-r-r-r") and the goofy theme song lyrics ("A horse is a horse, of course, of course ... "). Cowboy star Allan "Rocky" Lane supplied Mr. Ed's voice.

An eclectic group of celebrities including Clint Eastwood, Mae West and baseball great Sandy Koufax made guest appearances on the show. "Mister Ed" was one of a number of situation comedies during the early to mid-'60s that added elements of fantasy. Others were "My Mother the Car," in which a man's dead mother spoke to him through an old car; "My Favorite Martian" in which a Martian took up residence on Earth disguised as the uncle of an earthling; and "Bewitched" in which a witch married a mortal. A loose variation on the "Francis the Talking Mule" movies of the 1950s, "Mister Ed" was one of the few network series to begin in syndication. After six months, it moved to ABC in October 1961 and lasted four seasons. When the cameras weren't rolling, the human and four-legged co-stars were friends, according to Young. If Ed was reprimanded by his trainer, Young said, "He would come over to me, like, 'Look what he said to me.'"

Like many series of its vintage, "Mister Ed" won new fans in later decades through near-constant cable TV syndication and video releases. Young also appeared in a number of films, including "Gentlemen Marry Brunettes," ''Tom Thumb," ''The Cat from Outer Space" and "The Time Machine," the latter the 1960 classic in which, speaking in a Scottish brogue, he played time traveler Rod Taylor's friend. Young had a small role in the 2002 "Time Machine" remake. In later years, Young found a new career writing for and voicing cartoons. He portrayed Scrooge McDuck in 65 episodes for Disney's TV series "Duck Tales" and did voice-overs for "The Great Mouse Detective."

Young's sly, low-key style first attracted a wide U.S. audience in 1944 with "The Alan Young Show" on ABC radio. He also drew attention from Hollywood, but early films such as "Margie" and "Mr. Belvedere Goes to College" did poorly and in 1950 he turned to the growing new medium of TV and moved "The Alan Young Show" to the small screen, where it offered a contrast to the slapstick and old vaudeville of other variety shows. His gentle comedy caused TV Guide to hail him as "the Charlie Chaplin of television," and the fledgling Academy of Television Arts and Sciences awarded Emmys to Young as best actor and to the show as best variety series.

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[waltky]

Gone home to be with the Lord...

Trinity Broadcasting Network founder Jan Crouch dead at 78
May 31, 2016 - Crouch suffered massive stroke last week

On Saturday, the Trinity Broadcasting Network announced that Crouch had suffered a stroke in the Orlando area. The statement said she was resting comfortably, but the diagnosis wasn't good. Early Tuesday, TBN said on Twitter: "Jan Crouch, known around the world as Momma Jan, has gone home." Her husband, Paul, died in 2013. Statement from Matt and Laurie Crouch:

"Laurie and I have just watched the transition of our precious Mother from this world to the next; watched her step into the presence of Jesus and into her heavenly reward. Jan Crouch, known around the world as Momma Jan, has gone home.

The founder of the world's largest Christian television network, Jan Crouch, has died.

"Those who battled for the Kingdom of God knew her as a fighter — someone who didn’t give up, someone who fought relentlessly to get the Gospel around the world.

"Jan Crouch loved many things, but most of all she loved Jesus, and now has seen Him face to face and has experienced His grace in fullness. "She has taken a piece of our hearts with her, but it’s so wonderful to know that Paul and Jan Crouch are together again, in the arms of Jesus."

http://www.wesh.com/news/trinity-bro...at-78/39800100

[waltky]

The Voice singer shot and killed in Orlando...

'Voice' singer Christina Grimmie fatally shot after Florida show
Jun 11 2016 - A man thought to be a deranged fan fatally shot Christina Grimmie, a rising singing star who gained fame on YouTube and as a contestant on television's "The Voice," while she was signing autographs after a concert in Orlando, Florida, police said on Saturday.

The suspect, identified as 27-year-old Kevin James Loibl of St. Petersburg, Florida, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after he was tackled by the 22-year-old singer's brother in the Friday evening attack, Orlando police said. Loibl is believed to have traveled to Orlando for the event. He had two loaded handguns, additional ammunition and a hunting knife at the time of the shooting, police said.

Orlando Police Chief John Mina told reporters the suspect did not appear to have a criminal record and there was no indication he and Grimmie knew each other. Mina said it appeared he may have been a deranged fan. "We believe he came here to commit this crime," Mina said. Grimmie, who had just performed as the opening act for the band Before You Exit, was inside the Plaza Live concert hall signing autographs at the time of the shooting.

The suspect approached Grimmie and opened fire. He was then rushed by the singer's brother. "Her brother, Marcus, is a hero and possibly saved countless other lives. He is not injured," Orlando police said in a statement, adding there were about 120 people at the venue at the time. Christina Grimmie was taken to a local hospital in critical condition and died early Saturday morning. The suspect died at the scene of the shooting.

Although patrons had their bags and purses checked for weapons at the venue, there were no metal detectors and the security guards were unarmed, Mina said.

SUPERSTAR AND LIFE PARTNER

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Singer Shot and Killed at Concert in Orlando
June 11, 2016 - Singer Christina Grimmie died early Saturday after being shot inside the Plaza Live concert venue in Orlando Friday night, police said.

he shooting was reported at the Bumby Avenue venue east of downtown about 10:30 p.m. after a concert by the band Before you Exit and Grimmie, who has appeared on NBC's singing competition, The Voice. Grimmie, 22, opened the show, then Before You Exit took the stage. The show ended about 10 p.m., police spokeswoman Wanda Miglio said. After the show, Grimmie and the band signed autographs near a merchandise table inside. That's when a man armed with two guns walked up and opened fire on her, Miglio said. She was hit at least once. Her brother tackled the suspect to the ground. The suspect then fatally shot himself.

Police are working to confirm his identity, Miglio said. "This is a very tragic event. This should have been something fun and exciting and for this to happen is just a tragedy," Miglio said. Grimmie was taken to the hospital in critical condition. Police confirmed at 3 a.m. Saturday that she died from her injuries. Miglio said no one else was injured because of the actions by Grimmie's brother. Miglio said she was unsure of the venue's security and how the man was able to enter with two guns.

Josh Call was outside the venue working a vegan hot dog stand when he heard four or five gunshots. "It was quick like pow, pow, pow, pow," he said. He said a security guard jolted and rushed to make sure others were out of harm's way. Call said he waited a few minutes and went inside where he saw a female on the ground of the venue with blood coming from her head. Someone was giving her chest compressions, he said.[ He looked over and said he saw another person injured. He said a man was on the floor in a pool of blood, his face was completely disfigured. "I don't think anyone expected something like this to happen," he said. "It was horrifying."

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[waltky]

Liked him in the 'Trinity' westerns with Terence Hill...

Italian actor Bud Spencer dies aged 86
Tue, 28 Jun 2016 - Italian actor and filmmaker Bud Spencer, who starred in a number of spaghetti westerns, dies aged 86.

He passed away peacefully on Monday in Rome "and did not suffer from pain", his son said. Spencer, whose real name was Carlo Pedersoli, was known among his fans as the "big friendly giant" of the screen because of his height and weight. Spencer, who was also a professional swimmer, played in more than 20 films from the 1950s to the 1980s. "He had all of us next to him and his last words were 'Thank you'," his son Giuseppe Pedersoli said.

In a tweet (in Italian), Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said: "Ciao #BudSpencer We loved you so much." Spencer was born in the southern Italian city of Naples in 1929, but later moved to Rome, where he became a promising swimmer. In 1950, he was the first Italian to swim 100m in under one minute.

He later abandoned his sporting career and began playing in westerns and comedy films, often alongside Terence Hill. Spencer appeared in movies including Ace High, They Call Me Trinity and A Friend is a Treasure. Spencer said he chose his name as a tribute to his favourite beer Budweiser and US actor Spencer Tracy.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-36648131

[waltky]

Futurist Alvin Toffler, author of Futire Shock, passes away at 87...

Alvin Toffler, futurologist guru, dies at 87
30 June 2016 - Alvin Toffler, the author of Future Shock and other works predicting social, economic and technological change, has died at the age of 87.

Future Shock, which sold 15 million copies, defined people's anxiety at the pace of social change in the 1960s. Toffler popularised terms such as "information overload" and his works led world leaders and business moguls to seek his advice. He predicted the rise of the internet and decline of the nuclear family. He died in his sleep late on Monday at his home in Bel Air, Los Angeles.

Online chat rooms

Although many writers in the 1960s focused on social upheavals related to technological advancement, Toffler wrote in a page-turning style that made difficult concepts easy to understand. Future Shock (1970) argued that economists who believed the rise in prosperity of the 1960s was just a trend were wrong - and that it would continue indefinitely. The Third Wave, in 1980, was a hugely influential work that forecast the spread of emails, interactive media, online chat rooms and other digital advancements. But among the pluses, he also foresaw increased social alienation, rising drug use and the decline of the nuclear family.

Space colonies

Not all of his futurist predictions have come to pass. He thought humanity's frontier spirit would lead to the creation of "artificial cities beneath the waves" as well as colonies in space. One of his most famous assertions was: "The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn." Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, China Prime Minister Zhao Ziyang and Mexican business guru Carlos Slim were among those who sought his advice. The futurologist, also termed futurist by some, was born to Jewish Polish immigrants in 1928 and honed his theories working for IBM and other technology firms in the 60s. Toffler is survived by his wife, Heidi, with whom he collaborated on many of his books.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-36670572

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Alvin Toffler: What he got right - and wrong
Thu, 30 Jun 2016 - Futurologist Alvin Toffler predicted everything from the rise of the Internet to the decline of the nuclear family, but he wasn't always right

Futurologist Alvin Toffler captivated millions worldwide with his profound forecasts on everything from the rise of the internet to a new wave of drugs and crime. The esteemed author, most remembered for his books Future Shock and Third Wave, died at the age of 87 at his home in Los Angeles. Future Shock - which sold millions of copies, was translated into dozens of languages and still remains in print - posited that rapid social and technological progress would sweep society into a new, unrelenting era of change. Toffler's work captured the attention of global figures including Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, China Prime Minister Zhao Ziyang and Mexican business guru Carlos Slim, all of whom sought advice from the futurologist guru. In honour of Toffler, who popularised the term "information overload", here are some of his most prescient predictions and other failed forecasts.

WHAT HE GOT RIGHT

Rise of internet and cable television

The author rightly predicted a knowledge-based economy would eclipse the post-industrial age, shifting focus from manufacturing and labour to information and data. "The illiterate of the 21st Century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn," he wrote in one of his observations. Toffler also predicted the spread of interactive media, online chatrooms and devices that remind you "of your own appointments". "Advanced technology and information systems make it possible for much of the work of society to be done at home via computer-telecommunications hook-ups," he wrote.
Genetic engineering and cloning

Though his predictions focused on the human condition more than scientific advancement, Toffler foresaw a future where a woman would be able to "buy a tiny embryo, take it to her doctor, have it implanted in her uterus...and then give birth as though it had been conceived in her own body". His forecast that humans would breed babies with "supernormal vision or hearing" and other abilities may now seem a bit outlandish, but he did foresee the advancement of cloning. "One of the more fantastic possibilities is that man will be able to make biological carbon copies of himself," he wrote.

The demise of the nuclear family

Toffler predicted a symptom of rapid change would be the dissolution of the family unit. The author noted it would lead to a rise in divorce rates while society would also begin to embrace the LGBT community. He wrote, "we shall... also see many more 'family' units consisting of a single unmarried adult and one or more children. Nor will all of these adults be women... As homosexuality becomes more socially acceptable, we may even begin to find families based on homosexual marriage."

He also acknowledged the societal shift in delaying the decision to have children. "Why not wait and buy your embryos later, after your work career is over? Thus childlessness is likely to spread among young and middle-aged couples; sexagenarians who raise infants may be far more common." Consumerism In the age of Amazon and the proliferation of online marketplaces and share economies, Toffler's thoughts on consumerism as a global trend ring true. "People of the future may suffer not from an absence of choice but from a paralysing surfeit of it. They may turn out to be victims of that peculiarly super-industrial dilemma: overchoice." In coining the term "prosumer," Toffler predicted the emergence of the combined role of producer and consumer, or the trend of do-it-yourself (DIY) in every aspect of life.

WHAT HE GOT WRONG

[waltky]

Elie Wiesel passes on...

Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor and author, dead at 87
Jul 2,`16) -- Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel, the Romanian-born Holocaust survivor whose classic "Night" became a landmark testament to the Nazis' crimes and launched Wiesel's long career as one of the world's foremost witnesses and humanitarians, has died at age 87.

His death was announced Saturday by Israel's Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial. No other details were immediately available. The short, sad-eyed Wiesel, his face an ongoing reminder of one man's endurance of a shattering past, summed up his mission in 1986 when accepting the Nobel Peace Prize: "Whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation, take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented." For more than a half-century, he voiced his passionate beliefs to world leaders, celebrities and general audiences in the name of victims of violence and oppression. He wrote more than 40 books, but his most influential by far was "Night," a classic ranked with Anne Frank's diary as standard reading about the Holocaust.

"Night" was his first book, and its journey to publication crossed both time and language. It began in the mid-1950s as an 800-page story in Yiddish, was trimmed to under 300 pages for an edition released in Argentina, cut again to under 200 pages for the French market and finally published in the United States, in 1960, at just over 100 pages. "'Night' is the most devastating account of the Holocaust that I have ever read," wrote Ruth Franklin, a literary critic and author of "A Thousand Darknesses," a study of Holocaust literature that was published in 2010. "There are no epiphanies in 'Night. There is no extraneous detail, no analysis, no speculation. There is only a story: Eliezer's account of what happened, spoken in his voice."

Wiesel began working on "Night" just a decade after the end of World War II, when memories were too raw for many survivors to even try telling their stories. Frank's diary had been an accidental success, a book discovered after her death, and its entries end before Frank and her family was captured and deported. Wiesel's book was among the first popular accounts written by a witness to the very worst, and it documented what Frank could hardly have imagined. "Night" was so bleak that publishers doubted it would appeal to readers. In a 2002 interview with the Chicago Tribune, Wiesel recalled that the book attracted little notice at first. "The English translation came out in 1960, and the first printing was 3,000 copies. And it took three years to sell them. Now, I get 100 letters a month from children about the book. And there are many, many million copies in print."

In one especially haunting passage, Wiesel sums up his feelings upon arrival in Auschwitz: "Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed. Never shall I forget that smoke. Never shall I forget the little faces of the children, whose bodies I saw turned into wreaths of smoke beneath a silent blue sky. ... Never shall I forget these things, even if I am condemned to live as long as God Himself. Never."

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[waltky]

Deer Hunter and Heaven's Gate film director Michael Cimino dies...

Deer Hunter film director Michael Cimino dies
Sun, 03 Jul 2016 - Michael Cimino, director of the landmark 1978 Vietnam War film The Deer Hunter, has died, his friend and former lawyer confirms.

Double Oscar winner Michael Cimino's body was found at his Los Angeles home on Saturday, Eric Weissmann said. Cimino, 77, who directed a total of eight films, will be remembered for a career of highs and lows. While The Deer Hunter has been hailed as one of the best movies in Hollywood history, his next project, Heaven's Gate, was derided as a flop. Mr Weissmann said Cimino's body was found after friends had been unable to contact him. No cause of death has yet been determined.

The Deer Hunter with its famous Russian roulette scene starred Robert de Niro and Christopher Walken and won five Oscars including the award for the best film in 1979. It chronicles the lives of a group of friends from a Pennsylvania town and the devastating effect of the Vietnam War, both on those who fought in it and those who stayed at home in small-town America. "Our work together is something I will always remember. He will be missed," De Niro said in a statement.

The director of the 1978 Vietnam War film The Deer Hunter has died, his friend and former lawyer has confirmed

Based on the success of The Deer Hunter, Cimino wrote and directed Heaven's Gate, loosely based on the Wyoming Johnson County war of 1889-93. It was a financial disaster that went four times over budget and a year behind schedule, It nearly bankrupted the United Artists studio. But the film, starring Christopher Walken and Kris Kristofferson, has more recently been hailed as a masterpiece.

Cimino in his earlier career was an advertising executive who moved into film with the Clint Eastwood and Jeff Bridges crime caper, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, in 1974. He also directed Desperate Hours (1990), starring Mickey Rourke and Anthony Hopkins, and the gangster film The Sicilian (1986), adapted from a novel by Godfather author Mario Puzo. Correspondents say Heaven's Gate led to the demise of director-driven productions in the late 1970s and the imposition of tighter controls on film budgets.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-36696560