RIP thread

[patwynnfan]

South Africans have been paying tribute to renowned jazz musician Thandi Klaasen who has died aged 86. President Jacob Zuma said the nation had lost a leading pioneer of jazz who promoted a "cosmopolitan culture". Born to a shoemaker and a domestic worker in racially segregated South Africa, she performed with US stars such as Roberta Flack and Patti LaBelle in a career of more than 50 years. Klaasen was battling pancreatic cancer at the time of her death. "She was a role model to many of our young and upcoming musicians and her legacy will live on for generations to come," Mr Zuma said in a statement.
As a teenager, Klaasen's face was permanently disfigured in an acid attack by a jealous rival. Recalling the incident, she said that "even if people in the street make you feel like you have leprosy or like you're dirty... you must be strong".
Klaasen grew up under white minority rule in South Africa, and gained a reputation for fighting both racism and sexism. "Her career as a singer and dancer began in the mid-1950s when the apartheid and patriarchal system were entrenched but that did not deter her from pursuing her dreams," the governing African National Congress women's wing said in a statement.

[ball7]

Gunfire erupted early Monday at a club in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, leaving at least five people dead and more than a dozen others injured, officials said.

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/01/16/am...club-shooting/

[KissArmy]

http://www.imagebam.com/image/7176a0419675560

Mrs. Lownes since 1984. Recognize her?

[sledge]

probably most known for his appearance as "tortoise/turtle" in the german comedy Dittsche passed away at the age of 72

Franz Janach at the WIKIPEDIA

[johnbear]

The Oldest Known Gorilla born in captivity died age 60 natural causes.
http://www.livescience.com/57526-wor...colo-dies.html

[tsunamiSD]

Originally Posted by ball7

Dick Gautier has died at the age of 85.

Many will remember him for his role on Get Smart and as Robin Hood in the comedy When Things Were Rotten, but also for his appearances on game shows like Match Game, Password Plus and so on.

He also did voice acting for big roles like Rodimus Prime, Serpentor and Spike.

Because I do not know how to do an anonymous link to a blog, here is a full version of a post about Dick by someone who has been a writer, editor, and showrunner for animated tv...

My first obit of 2017 and it's going to take a while. That's because Dick Gautier did so much in his career.
You may know him best as the star of the short-lived sitcom, When Things Were Rotten, or as the recurring character of Hymie the Robot on the long-running sitcom, Get Smart. He was on dozens of other sitcoms as a guest star and sometimes as a regular. Mr. Terrific was one of the latter. His was often the first name to come to mind when some producer said, "We need a real good-looking guy who can do comedy."
He was also a stage actor, most notably the original Conrad Birdie in Bye Bye Birdie. If you wanted to hear a hilarious mix of bitterness and admitted denial, you only had to ask him if he was bothered he didn't get the role in the movie.
He was also a screenwriter and a stand-up comedian and a cartoonist and a very good joke-teller…a very funny man. Now and then, he even played Superman or Batman in a sketch of a commercial. (Some folks referred to him as "The guy you get when you can't afford James Garner." The first time I heard that someone was considering turning Will Eisner's great comic book The Spirit into a TV show, I was told, "They're hoping to get Jim Garner, which means they'll probably end up with Dick Gautier." Years later when a pilot was finally made, "they" got neither.)
He was serious about his cartooning, by the way. He even published several "how-to" books about caricatures and the few times I got to really talk one-on-one with him, that's what we talked about. I always thought he had the talent to be another James Garner but given the choice, would have preferred to be Mort Drucker.
I have, of course, a story. When we were doing Garfield and Friends, I needed an actor for one episode to play two roles — an unctuous game show host and a snotty French waiter. If this had been live-action, I would have hired Dick for the latter so I booked him to do both voices. When he came in, we talked about cartooning for about three minutes, then he asked about his parts. I told him about the waiter and he went immediately into the perfect attitude and accent. Okay, fine.
Then I told him about the game show host and said, "Chuck Woolery on Love Connection." He nailed it instantly, adding the proper soupçon of oiliness. I was impressed with how instantly he nailed both characters…and then it was into the studio.
This was a seven-minute Garfield cartoon and we recorded those very fast. Most shows would take 30-60 minutes for a seven-minute cartoon. All the actors though were sharp, their first reads were fine and as far as I, the director, was concerned we had everything needed in about thirteen minutes. Dick was not in the other cartoons we were recording that day so I told him he could leave, thanked him for a great job and had my assistant get him to sign the paperwork.
He looked kind of odd but he signed and left without saying much. I suppose if I hadn't been so preoccupied with prepping the next thing we'd record, I would have paid more attention to it.
Twenty minutes later, I get a call from Dick's agent. "What was wrong with Dick?" he asked. I said nothing was wrong with Dick. He was perfect. The agent said, "Well, he's sitting here in my office, concerned. He said you let him do one take, then threw him out. He's sure you hated what he did and got rid of him so you could get someone else to come in and redo his lines."
I said, "Put him on." The agent did and I told Dick, "I'm using what you did. I threw you out because I had everything I needed. You did it right the first time."
He said, "That's such a relief to hear. I was just disappointed because, you know, when I left you, I was out of work again. I was just hoping it would last longer. And besides, I still had three and a half hours on the parking meter outside."
Dick was 85 and he passed last night at an assisted living facility where he'd been for some time, fighting a long illness. Here's an obit from the Hollywood Reporter but if you really want to know about him, read the four-part interview our pal Kliph Nesteroff did with him. Here's Part One and you should be able to find your way to the others from there. He was a very clever, nice man.

[K_D]

Steve Wright
1948 - 2017

Songwriter / Bassist with Greg Kihn Band

http://www.noise11.com/news/r-i-p-st...-band-20170118




Greg Kihn Band - The Breakup Song (They Don’t Write ‘Em) (1981)
Greg Kihn / Steve Wright
https://tmblr.co/ZoHQpk1vBpCeE

[patwynnfan]

Rachael Heyhoe Flint, former England women's cricket captain, has died aged 77. Baroness Heyhoe Flint, vice-president of Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club, passed away in the early hours of Wednesday after a short illness. She leaves behind husband Derrick, their son Ben, and her stepchildren Rowan, Hazel and Simon. Ben said the family was "deeply saddened". Heyhoe Flint captained England between 1966 and 1978.
She also played in the first ever women's match at Lord's, against Australia, in 1976. During her career she played 22 Test matches and 23 one-day internationals. She was inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame in 2010. Rachael Heyhoe Flint's Desert Island Discs She also became a successful journalist, after dinner speaker and expert in public relations, which brought her back into contact with her beloved Wolves as she headed up the club's work in the local community. MCC president Matthew Fleming said: "Rachael Heyhoe Flint was a pioneer of women's cricket - she was the first global superstar in the women's game and her overall contribution to the MCC, cricket and sport in general was immense."
Clare Connor, the ECB's director of women's cricket, said: "She was so special, so ever-present and now she has gone - but her impact can never be forgotten. "Rachael was one of our sport's true pioneers and it is no exaggeration to say that she paved the way for the progress enjoyed by recent generations of female cricketers." Among the many others paying tribute to Heyhoe Flint was BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew, who said on Twitter: "Very sad news re Rachael Heyhoe Flint. Great champion of women's cricket, won first World Cup and one of life's real enthusiasts. #RIP."
Flags were flying at half mast at Lord's and Wolves' Molineux stadium. The club's players will also be wearing black armbands at Saturday's Championship game at Norwich. Wolves managing director Laurie Dalrymple said: "Everyone at Wolves is deeply saddened to hear the news that Rachael has passed away. "She was a wonderful lady who meant so much to so many people at the football club, in the city of Wolverhampton, and also much further afield. "Rachael's contribution to the world of sport, the local community, and in later years politics, cannot be measured, and neither can her seemingly never-ending kindness and generosity of spirit." The England Cricket Board said her development of cricket had been "immense".
When her playing career ended, Heyhoe Flint became one of the first women admitted to the MCC. In 2004 she became the first woman elected to the full committee. She was awarded the MBE in 1972, the OBE in 2008 and was made a life peer in 2011.

[haroldeye]

She was a childhood friend of my mother in law and was huge fun to be around. She had a wicked sense of humour and once was asked by Michael Parkinson on his show if Lady cricketers wore boxes. 'Yes she replied but we call them manhole covers'.

RIP

[gedly]

William Onyeabor, cult Nigerian musician, has died aged 70

https://www.theguardian.com/music/20...s-died-aged-70