Bring Out Your Dead! The celebrity death thread....

jamie said:

OMG - didn't expect this one - Norm was great!

https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/norm-macdonald-dead-dies-snl-1235064570/

 way too soon Norm-RIP


Very sad.  Truly funny guy.


This is fu_ked up news about Norm. SO funny. I just last night happened to watch his 12 minute joke about "I would never kill a woman in cold blood. But if I did..."

Damn! 


Melvin Van Peebles

Melvin Van Peebles, groundbreaking filmmaker, actor and novelist, dies at 89

https://www.nydailynews.com/snyde/ny-melvin-van-peebles-filmmaker-director-actor-novelist-dead-at-89-20210922-z6bjjwixp5gyvcofxq2bfn42bi-story.html

A true Renaissance man, Van Peebles — who influenced a younger generation of Black filmmakers including Spike Lee and John Singleton — was a novelist, playwright, songwriter, musician and painter.

Van Peebles directed the 1970 social comedy “Watermelon Man,” a commercial success about a white bigot who transforms into a Black man, but declined a three-picture contract from Columbia pictures to pursue his own path.

He followed that with 1971′s “Sweetback,” which was made in 19 days for a reported $500,000 and is widely considered to be the first movie in the Blaxploitation genre.

Melvin Van Peebles in 1967.
Melvin Van Peebles in 1967. (Keystone/Getty Images)

The film, about a poor Black man fleeing from the police, became an instant hit, raking in more than $15 million at the box office. With a $50,000 loan from Bill Cosby, Van Peebles raised his own financing for the 97-minute drama, considered the highest-grossing independent film in history at the time.

Van Peebles also directed a 1973 film adaptation of “Don’t Play Us Cheap!” and the 1989 action comedy “Identity Crisis,” which starred his son Mario.


joanne said:

Status Quo guitarist Alan Lancaster, only 72years.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-26/status-quo-bass-guitarist-alan-lancaster-dies-in-sydney-aged-72/100492996
https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-58698864

They were a fun band with some great songs; very sad to read this news.

 Status Quo took a lot of flak for making so much with only three chords, but they were a great band. Opened Live Aid in Wembley and set the tone for the rest of the day.


The_Soulful_Mr_T said:

Consolidate discussions of dead and dying celebrities here. Also, make predictions about who is next to go.

 I hear Tina Turner is not doing so good these days.  Fortunately, I saw her lighting up the stage in 2008 somewhere in California.  She was dancing and singing at age 69 and she looked amazing (better than her backup dancers) a third of her age or younger, but they just introduced a Broadway musical about her and that's when the countdown starts.  Born November 26, 1939 (81 years old) if you can believe it.  What a performer!


Tina Turner's Private Dancer tour in the summer of 1985 was the first concert I ever went to. (At Saratoga Springs, NY performance center). She was amazing!

(Actually.... I just remembered I saw Huey Lewis and the News there a year earlier.... but I apparently I'm trying to forget that one).


ConcernedHighTaxPayer said:

 I hear Tina Turner is not doing so good these days.  Fortunately, I saw her lighting up the stage in 2008 somewhere in California.  She was dancing and singing at age 69 and she looked amazing (better than her backup dancers) a third of her age or younger, but they just introduced a Broadway musical about her and that's when the countdown starts.  Born November 26, 1939 (81 years old) if you can believe it.  What a performer!

 The Acid Queen and Aunty Entity


Ruthie Tompson, Disney animation pioneer - what a life!

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/oct/12/ruthie-tompson-pioneering-disney-animator-dies-aged-111

Why don’t we know more about the early women in animation?


And Ronnie Tutt, 83, drummer for Elvis, Neil Diamond, Billy Joel, and others:

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-58951519


Colin Powell, 84.  Another victim of Covid-19.


now there's a guy with a mixed legacy.


drummerboy said:

now there's a guy with a mixed legacy.

Powell lied about WMDs in Iraq, helping initiate one of the longest and costliest wars in American history.


yahooyahoo said:

drummerboy said:

now there's a guy with a mixed legacy.

Powell lied about WMDs in Iraq, helping initiate one of the longest and costliest wars in American history.

well, that was the first thing that came to mind.

Meanwhile, the media is filled with hagiographies. 


here's a more realistic look at Powell's career

https://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2021/10/powell

I had forgotten that he helped to cover up My Lai.


Jay Black of Jay and the Americans. Can’t recall any hits right now.


Another person who is gone far too early. Peter Scolari from "Bosom Buddies" and "Newhart".

https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/22/entertainment/peter-scolari-obit/index.html


mrincredible said:

Another person who is gone far too early. Peter Scolari from "Bosom Buddies" and "Newhart".

https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/22/entertainment/peter-scolari-obit/index.html

In the shadow of Bob's previous hit series, "Newhart" had been pretty uneven through most of its first two seasons. At the end of the second season, they brought in Scolari to play Michael, the yuppie producer of a local Vermont show hosted by Newhart's character, Dick, and love interest to the spoiled housekeeper at the inn owned by Dick and his wife.

The series took off with this scene where Dick, expecting to hold a serious interview with the president of the University of Vermont gets blind-sided by Michael, who has subbed in a guest he feels will be a little more crowd-pleasing 


Mort Sahl, 94. Considered by many to be the first modern stand-up comedian.

I remember first seeing him as a kid, and I was immediately enthralled. Been a fan ever since (even after his rather grumpy interview with either Lehrer or Lopate on WNYC. Trying to find the audio, which I know is out there somewhere.)


There's mention of the interview on the WNYC website here: https://www.wqxr.org/story/20748-stand-up-pundit

It states that they don't have permission to re-air the interview, which was with Brian Lehrer. I suppose it may be out there on some other website. Or in the private collection of someone who would tape shows off the radio.


mrincredible said:

There's mention of the interview on the WNYC website here: https://www.wqxr.org/story/20748-stand-up-pundit

It states that they don't have permission to re-air the interview, which was with Brian Lehrer. I suppose it may be out there on some other website. Or in the private collection of someone who would tape shows off the radio.

I found a link to a youtube recording of it, but the video had been removed. It might be gone forever now. Just as well - it wasn't his best moment.


my turn to say I had no idea he was still alive....

Enjoyed his work back in the day. RIP.


In order to add a comment – you must Join this community – Click here to do so.