Death Anniversary Thread

[John "요한" Sulu 419]

On this day 3 years ago, American actor Fred Willard, who played Frank Dunphy on the TV sitcom "Modern Family", passed away at the age of 86.

 

Photo Credit: Bridget Laudien per Creative Commons license

[Drewsky1211 4,739]

Ronnie James Dio died on this day 13 years ago, aged 67.

- Dio's actual last name was Padavona; he took his stage name from mobster Johnny Dio.

- Dio formed his first band when he was 15, called The Vegas Kings. It soon changed its name to "Ronnie and the Rumblers", "Ronnie and the Redcaps", and "Ronnie Dio and the Prophets", before dropping Ronnie's name in 1967 to become "The Electric Elves", then "The Elves", and finally just "Elf" in 1972 (a total of six name changes over 15 years for those keeping count).

- After Elf disbanded in 1975, Dio and three other band members joined Rainbow; he left in 1979 to replace Ozzy Osbourne as the lead singer of Black Sabbath.

- Dio quit Black Sabbath in 1982 and formed a self-titled band, with his signature song being released the following year:

- In 2006, Dio would reunite with his Black Sabbath bandmembers to form Heaven & Hell- Ozzy Osbourne had returned to Black Sabbath, and this was effectively the same 1979 lineup, just under a different moniker.

- Dio Brando, the main antagonist of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure manga and anime, was partially named after Ronnie James Dio (the "Brando" comes from Marlon Brando).

- Dio announced he was diagnosed with stomach cancer in November of 2009 (surprised he was omitted from the 2010 list), and died six months later.

[Hell 1,334]

American singer, dancer, actor, comedian, film producer and television director Sammy Davis Jr. died on this day 33 years ago, aged 64.

 

 

American puppeteer, animator, cartoonist, actor, inventor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notability as the creator of The Muppets and Fraggle Rock and director of The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth Jim Henson died on this day 33 years ago, aged 53.

 

[Drewsky1211 4,739]

Frank Gorshin died on this day 18 years ago, aged 72.

- Gorshin's TV career began in the late '50s, often appearing on drama shows such as The Untouchables and Hennesey.

- In 1957, Gorshin was in a serious car crash that left him comatose for four days, causing him to lose a role in a movie in order to recover. One newspaper falsely reported that he died.

- Gorshin was also known for his impression work, particularly those of Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster. He would guest star on The Ed Sullivan Show twelve times- one of these was the episode that began Beatlemania (February 9, 1964).

- Gorshin's most famous role was as the Riddler in the Adam West Batman show, and he was the first villain Batman fought in the series premiere. When he was unavailable, John Astin replaced him for two episodes, much to Gorshin's ire.

- Gorshin was also known for his role as Bele in the Star Trek episode "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield"- people erroneously believe he was nominated for an Emmy for this.

 

 - Voice roles that Gorshin was known for include Reverend Jack Cheese in Ren and Stimpy, Hugo Strange in the 2004 Batman cartoon, and Sir 1023 in Rudolph's Shiny New Year.

- In later years, Gorshin would star in the play Say Goodnight, Gracie as George Burns. His final performance was in April of 2005- while on a flight from Memphis to Los Angeles headed for the next venue, Gorshin experienced difficulty breathing, and he died three weeks later from undiagnosed lung cancer; Gorshin was known to smoke five packs of cigarettes a day.

[diego 1,984]

Valentim Magalhães died 120 years ago he was one of the founders of the Brazilian Academy of Letters, he occupied chair 7.Died at age 44

[The Ashes Urn 1,356]

American football player and coach, physician and university professor John Wilce died on this day 60 years ago, aged 75.

 

[Hell 1,334]

American statesman, patriot, diplomat, abolitionist, signatory of the Treaty of Paris, and a Founding Father of the United States John Jay died on this day 194 years ago, aged 83.

 

 

14th vice president of the United States John C. Breckinridge died on this day 148 years ago, aged 54.

 

[Drewsky1211 4,739]

Gustav Mahler died on this day 112 years ago, aged 50.

- Mahler was a Jew, but he had to convert to Catholicism in order to become the director of the Vienna Court Opera in 1897. Ironically, he drew influence from Richard Wagner, a known anti-Semite.

- Mahler created ten symphonies from 1888 to 1910; his magnum opus, however, was Das Lied von der Erde, released after his death:

- In 1902, Mahler married Alma Schindler, and they had two children- Maria (who died at the age of 4) and Anna. Their marriage soured after Maria's death and the fact that Gustav did not approve of Alma's composing aspirations, and Alma began an affair with Bauhaus artist Walter Gropius- they sought marriage counseling from Sigmund Freud.

-After performing at Carnegie Hall in February of 1911, Mahler was diagnosed with infective endocarditis. He was sent back to Europe in April, and eventually became comatose in May. After a week in a coma, Mahler died- probably because the doctors used the radioactive element radium to treat him.

- Mahler's widow Alma married Gropius almost immediately after his passing, and would later marry the author Franz Werfel.

[diego 1,984]

Georg Böhm died 290 years ago, he was a German organist

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7q7a2hf4sk

Lionel Kieseritzky died 170 years ago, was a French chess player who died at age 47 famous for playing the Immortal Game, which was a chess game played in 1851 by Adolf Anderssen and Lionel Kieseritzky and is one of the most famous games ever played

Steve Forrest died 10 years ago, the actor won the Golden Globe for best new actor in 1954 and died aged 87

[justonecornetto 950]

Can hardly believe it's 43 years since we lost the incredibly talented singer Ian Curtis of Joy Division at such the young age of 23

 

[John "요한" Sulu 419]

On this day 2 years ago, American actor Charles Grodin, who starred in the movies "The Heartbreak Kid", "King Kong", Midnight Run", and "Beethoven", passed away at the age of 86.

 

Photo Credit: Adam Schartoff per Creative Commons license

[lilham 752]

43 years since 57 people died in the Mt. St Helens eruption

 

[The Ashes Urn 1,356]

American football player Ernie Davis died on this day 60 years ago, aged 23.

 

[Hell 1,334]

American actress whose career spanned five decades in film, stage, and television Elizabeth Montgomery died on this day 28 years ago, aged 62. She began her career in the 1950s with a role on her father's television series Robert Montgomery Presents, and she won a Theater World Award for her 1956 Broadway debut in the production Late Love. In the 1960s, she was celebrated for her role as Samantha Stephens on the ABC sitcom Bewitched. Her work on the series earned her five Primetime Emmy Award nominations.

 

 

English actress and singer Jill Ireland died on this day 33 years ago, aged 54.

 

[John "요한" Sulu 419]

On this day 50 years ago, American suffragist, pacifist, and politician Jeanette Rankin, who was the first female member of Congress, passed away at the age of 92.

[Drewsky1211 4,739]

Alan Young died on this day 7 years ago, aged 96.

- Young first started acting on radio, beginning in 1944. In 1950, his own radio show started to be broadcast on television, and he earned two Emmys the following year.

- In 1961, Young began to star as the main human character on Mister Ed, as Wilbur, the titular horse's owner and only person able to understand him.

- Young was known in later years as the voice of Scrooge McDuck beginning in 1974- this included the entirety of the original DuckTales, which ran from 1987 to 1990. He would continue to voice the character into the 2010s, lending his voice to his appearances in video games such as DuckTales: Remastered and the Kingdom Hearts series.

- Young also voiced Mr. Flaversham in The Great Mouse Detective, Farmer Smurf in The Smurfs, and Haggis McHaggis in Ren and Stimpy:

- Young's final role was in 2015, providing the voice of Scrooge McDuck in the 2013 Mickey Mouse show. He would be replaced by John Kassir (the Cryptkeeper from Tales from the Crypt) on the show after his death, and David Tennant in the 2017 DuckTales reboot.

[diego 1,984]

Ivo de Kermartin died 720 years ago, he was born in Minihy-Tréguier in France, he is the Catholic patron saint of all legal professionals, especially lawyers, he died at the age of 49 in Trégor, France

Elizabeth of Austria, Duchess of Lorraine died in Nancy (FRA) 670 years ago, she was Duchess consort of Lorraine by her marriage to Frederick IV of Lorraine. He was also regent of the duchy from 1329 to 1331 during the minority of his son, Rudolf

Arthur Shrewsbury committed suicide 120 years ago, mistakenly believing he had an incurable disease, born in Nottinghamshire and died in Gedling aged 47, was an English cricketer. He was one of the best drummers of the 1880s. He played 23 Test matches for the England cricket team and was captain seven times (five wins, two defeats), he retired in 1902

[time 8,599]

Its 25 years since the death of composer and arranger  Edwin 'Ted' Astley. If the name is not familiar, his compositions will be - The Adventures of Robin Hood (the Richard Greene 1950s version) as well as the themes and/or incidental music to many ITC productions - The Champions,  Danger Man, Department S, Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased), The Saint, Gideon's Way and The Baron. He also composed for many films as well as the incidental music for the BBC (notably for the series Civilisations) and British Transport Films.

 

He retired from composing at the end of the 70s, prompted by the decline of the British film industry, but still arranged music, for example orchestral arrangements of works by The Who (Pete Townshend was his son-in-law) and Rolling Stones for the LSO.

 

Original recordings of his music were only released in the US but about a year before he died he achieved UK chart success of a sort, as his theme from The Saint reached number three in the UK chart, performed by Orbital (for the movie of the same name).

He died after a debilitating illness, aged 76.

[Hell 1,334]

American socialite, writer, photographer, and book editor who served as the first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis died on this day 29 years ago, aged 64.

 

[Drewsky1211 4,739]

Christopher Columbus died on this day 517 years ago, aged 54.

- Columbus was born in Genoa about a year after fellow transatlantic explorer John Cabot- perhaps they crossed paths in their childhood.

- Throughout the 1470s and '80s, Columbus would work for Genoan and Portuguese trading vessels, and travelled as far south as Ghana.

- Columbus thought the world was much smaller than it actually is, and believed it to be pear-shaped instead of spherical.

- Columbus was not the first European to step foot in North America- those would be Vikings about 500 years before his first voyage. Some celebrate Leif Erikson Day in favor of Columbus Day.

- Columbus' legacy has been marred by his treatment of the native Taino poulation- bishop Bartolome de las Casas provided the first eyewitness account of this in A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies, published in 1552:

- Columbus had very fragile health during his later voyages; his diet of beef, sardines, and wine gave him gout, was virtually blinded due to sun exposure (he notably thought manatees were mermaids), and got malaria from a mosquito bite on his fourth voyage.

- Columbus' family sold all his maps after he died- one reportedly got to Ottoman cartographer Piri Reis, who made this map of the Atlantic in 1513:

- Columbus' direct descendants are still considered nobility in Spain- the current titleholder, Cristobal Colon de Carvajal, holds these titles: Duke of Veragua, Duke of La Vega, Marquess of Aguilafuente, Marquess of Jamaica, and Admiral of the Ocean Sea.

[John "요한" Sulu 419]

On this day 1 year ago, American sportswriter and editor Roger Angell, who wrote articles for "The New Yorker", passed away at the age of 101.

 

Photo Credit: Karen Green per Creative Commons license

[diego 1,984]

Ray Manzarek (USA), died 10 years ago, was born in Chicago, He was the keyboardist of the rock band The Doors, from 1965 to 1973, and also from 2001 (for legal reasons, called Manzarek-Krieger since 2009) , played with Iggy Pop as well and died at the Romed Clinic in Rosenheim, Germany, after a long battle with bile duct cancer. He was 74 years old

 

[Hell 1,334]

Austrian Formula One driver and aviation entrepreneur Niki Lauda died on this day 4 years ago, aged 70. He was a three-time Formula One Drivers' Champion, winning in 1975, 1977 and 1984, and is the only driver in Formula One history to have been champion for both Ferrari and McLaren. Lauda was seriously injured in a crash at the 1976 German Grand Prix while racing at the Nürburgring.

 

[Drewsky1211 4,739]

John Gielgud died on this day 23 years ago, aged 96.

- Gielgud was a member of the Terry family of actors- he was a great-grandson of its progenitors, Benjamin and Sarah Terry, and also of the Polish actress Aniela Aszpergerowa.

- Gielgud's first role was in a 1921 Old Vic production of Shakespeare's Henry V. He continued to perform in plays until 1990.

- Gielgud was a rare EGOT winner:

Emmy- 1991's Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie for Haverford Downs in Summer's Lease

Grammy- 1979's Best Spoken Word, Documentary or Drama Recording for Ages of Man – Recordings from Shakespeare

Oscar- 1982's Best Supporting Actor for Hobson in Arthur

Tony- 1948's Outstanding Foreign Company for the cast of The Importance of Being Earnest

- While Gielgud lent his voice to many radio plays, he had only one voice role in animation: Merlin in the 1998 film Quest for Camelot (his final theatrical film).

- Gielgud was among the inaugural names on the 1987 list, at spot no. 18. He made a total of nine appearances over the next 13 years, and was the eighth hit of 2000 (or seventh- Barbara Cartland died on the same day, but it appears her death was reported first).

 

[diego 1,984]

Eric Hoffer (USA), born in New York and died 40 years ago at the age of 80, wrote ten books and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in February 1983. His first book, "The True Believer", published in 1951, was recognized like a classic

Trevor Bolder died 10 years ago aged 62, born in Kingston upon Hull, England, died in London, was an English musician and producer, having distinguished himself since the early 70s in the prolific British rock scene. He was part of incarnations of groups Uriah Heep, Wishbone Ash and singer David Bowie's band, at different times.