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Ray Charles died on this day 18 years ago, aged 73. Charles was blind by 7 years old, possibly due to glaucoma. His school music teacher taught him how to use Braille music. His first major hit single, "I Got A Woman", was released in 1954. In 1960, his version "Georgia on My Mind" earned him four Grammys, and his following song, "Hit the Road Jack", is considered to be his most famous song. Once rock and roll came around, Charles' career was in decline. However, interest in him spiked when he appeared in 1980's The Blues Brothers, singing "Georgia on My Mind". In 1985, he was one of the singers for Live Aid's "We Are The World", and in 1989, he provided the lead vocals for Quincy Jones' "I'll Be Good to You". During the production of his biopic Ray, Charles met the actor who would portray him on the big screen, Jamie Foxx, once. He planned to attend a screening of the film, but died of liver failure before the film's release, which occurred four and a half months after his death. The following year, Foxx would sing the chorus of "I Got a Woman" as backing vocals for Kanye West's chart-topper "Gold Digger".

Not sure - is it you?

One half of They Might Be Giants, John Flansburgh is injured in serious car accident - tour postponed - not believed to be life threatening

Death Notice for Sir William Antony John Reardon Smith, 4th Baronet: http://announcements.telegraph.co.uk/deaths/257683/reardon-smith He was 84. All previous successors to the baronetcy had a given name of William, and unsurprisingly the eldest son and heir apparent is William Nicolas Henry Reardon Smith (b. 1963).

That would be telling, Comrade Dead Wait...

Set to undergo an operation next Monday that will "determine the rest of his life," reports his wife and manager, Sharon Osbourne. https://consequence.net/2022/06/ozzy-osbourne-surgery-determine-rest-of-life/

Clive Doyle, one of the Waco (everybody say Waco...Waco) massacre survivors who remained devout til the end of his days to Koresh and the Branch Davidian sect, reportedly dead aged 80: Interview with him here from 2018: https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/bible-study-david-koreshs-last-followers/ I'll leave it to @arghton to track down any names of still living escapees.

Alan Tracy aka Matt Zimmerman being reported dead, I can't access the FB post: This may mean that David Graham has outlived them all. IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0956757/

On this day in 1923 Princess Helena of the United Kingdom, third daughter and fifth child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, died aged 77 in Pall Mall London . Princess Helena was born in Buckingham Palace on the 25th May 1846.She spent all of her life living in the UK despite marrying a foreign Prince because Queen Victoria liked to have most of her daughters living nearby and often stipulated that as a condition when marriage proposals for her daughters were in the offing. As a young woman Helena had a brief flirtation with her father Prince Alberts German librarian who was promptly dismissed from his job when the Queen found out and earnt her lifetime enmity and hostility as a result. She went on to marry a Danish born minor German prince - Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein. This was a marriage that caused splits and controversy within the royal family and among some of the european royal houses. Essentially Prince Christian was a Prince of a realm that had a bitter and contested territorial history between Prussia and Denmark and some saw marrying into that family as taking sides or making a stance one way or the other. It was certainly particularly awkward that her sister in law and future Queen of the United Kingdom was Princess Alexandra of Denmark- Helenas marriage being something she never really accepted or reconciled herself too. However as more or less a middle daughter , despite Queen Victorias best efforts to find her daughter a suitable husband, it became apparent that Princess Helen was extremely unlikely to marry into a major european royal family and form a powerful alliance - so the union with minor Prince Christian was permitted. Helena was it could be argued the Princess Anne of her era, she was the busiest and most active member of the royal family year after year with numerous public engagements and charity patronages. One of her best achievements being one of the founding members of the British Red Cross, founding President of the Royal school of needlework and nursing- something she took a very passionate and special interest in ,lead her to become a President of the Royal British Nurses association. In this role she became a keen supporter of nurse registration ,something surprisingly that Florence Nightingale advised against. After her father Prince Albert died Helena ,along with some of her royal siblings, moved with their mother Queen Victoria to Osborne house on the Isle of Wight. Her sister Princess Alice was Queen Victorias unofficial secretary but needed support in the role but Helena, who Queen Victoria regarded unreliable because she was too emotional and prone to bursting into tears, was overlooked initially as someone who could provide this support . But after Alice married and her priorities changed , Helena became what many regarded as her mother's crutch and main support in latter years despite her being far from her mothers favourite or first choice. Personality wise they would clash often for example because Queen Victoria disapproved of Helenas support for womens rights. After her mother Queen Victoria died Helena still performed royal duties but far fewer as her brother King Edward Vll was not close to most of his siblings and his wife Princess Alexandra had never taken to Helena after her controversial choice of husband.Indeed for a time Helena devoted some time to actual nursing once her brother ascended the throne. Helena had six children, two died in infancy and her reportedly favourite son died of enteric fever after contracting malaria in South Africa while fighting in the second boer war in his thirties. She spent her final years living in Pall Mall and is a great aunt to the current monarch Queen Elizabeth who was born just under three years after Princess Helena died.

I see Bruce Kent also got a Guardian Obit, so much more readable. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jun/09/bruce-kent-obituary Never seemingly picked for the DDP? Astonishing. IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2622743/

Above from the Happy Birthday thread. Sadly CND campaigner Bruce Kent Telegraph Obituary: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2022/06/09/bruce-kent-catholic-priest-led-campaign-nuclear-disarmament/ Putting him in the Cleric thread wouldn't do him justice - one of the big names of the 1980s.

Two people from Britain and one from Morocco sentenced to death by "Donetsk PR" after show trial: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jun/09/britons-sentenced-to-death-russian-occupied-ukraine-aiden-aslin-shaun-pinner Aiden Aslin, 28, from Newark Shaun Pinner, 48, from Watford Saaudun Brahim, age not known, Morocco

Former member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from 2002 to 2007 Aamir Hussain, who also served as the Minister of Religious Affairs, died at 50 years: https://emeatribune.com/member-national-assembly-dr-aamir-liaquat-hussain-passed-away/ He went on to have a career as a television host for the Geo and ARY networks.

Richard M. Daley (wiki) US politician and former Mayor of Chicago mentioned a few times here before, hospitalised after feeling "out of sorts" but doesn't sound too serious.

I have only seen one house near me decorated with British flags. They also have Gary Barlow cardboard cut-out in their window! All the focus here has been on the first TT since 2019 rather than the Jubilee.

Reet gang, I'm seeing no challenger to Drol's achievement, feel free to pile in with congratulations and - assuming - no cooling corpse is discovered to spoil the fun by lunchtime tomorrow I'll negotiate a prize with Drol and we can mark off the un-prized podium places then allow the thread to die a natural death, or summat.

Liam Neeson is 70.

For some reason I read that as "between the loins". Can't imagine why.

Updated for the death of Vangelis. The one who nobody knows survives. Typical.

1922 Janis Paige / Ronald Blythe 1923 Pamela Sharples, Baroness Sharples / Bob Barker 1924 Countess Marianne Bernadotte of Wisborg / Leslie Phillips 1925 June Lockhart / Leo Esaki 1926 Irene Papas / Roscoe Bartlett 1927 Pat Carroll / Harry Belafonte 1928 Estelle Harris / Jayanta Mahapatra 1929 Joan Plowright / Don January 1930 Sandra Day O'Connor / Jean-Louis Trintignant 1931 Barbara Barrie / Adolfo Pérez Esquivel

@WEP... This article is about Gerhard Richter's 90th Birthday. There are more articles about this happy event. His birthday was last week. Then... Gerhard Richter was born in 1932: https://news.artnet.com/art-world/gerhard-richter-birthday-exhibitions-2070154

Sandhya Mukherjee a hit for me: https://popnews247.com/iconic-bengali-singer-sandhya-mukherjee-dies-at-90/ next round: 1922 Janis Paige / Ronald Blythe 1923 Pamela Sharples, Baroness Sharples / Bob Barker 1924 Countess Marianne Bernadotte of Wisborg / Leslie Phillips 1925 June Lockhart / Leo Esaki 1926 Irene Papas / Roscoe Bartlett 1927 Pat Carroll / Harry Belafonte 1928 Line Renaud / Charles Strouse 1929 Joan Plowright / Don January 1930 Sandra Day O'Connor / Jean-Louis Trintignant 1931 Barbara Barrie / Adolfo Pérez Esquivel

Sheldon Silver, former NY assembly speaker died at 77 years: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/24/nyregion/sheldon-silver-dead.html

Last republican senator from Washington Slade Gorton died at 92 years: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/former-u-s-sen-slade-gorton-92-dies/