Death Anniversary Thread

[Hell 1,334]

Swedish screenwriter and film and theatre director Ingmar Bergman died on this day 16 years ago, aged 89. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential directors of all time, Bergman's films are known as "profoundly personal meditations into the myriad struggles facing the psyche and the soul." Some of his most acclaimed works include The Seventh Seal (1957), Wild Strawberries (1957), Persona (1966), and Fanny and Alexander (1982); these four films were included in the Sight & Sound Greatest Films of All Time 2012 critics poll. Bergman was ranked 8th in Sight & Sound's 2002 poll of The Greatest Directors of All Time.

 

[Drewsky1211 4,759]

Denis Diderot died on this day 239 years ago, aged 70.

- When Diderot decided to become a writer and translator, his father disowned him for refusing to enter law, theology, or medicine. His first work was a translation of English historian Temple Stanyan's History of Greece into French, in 1743.

- Diderot became friends with the philosophe Jean-Jacques Rousseau in 1742, having drank coffee and played games of chess with him.

- Diderot's first original work came in 1746 with Philosophical Thoughts, where he criticized Christianity and atheism and promoted deism (God's existence proved through nature). He followed this up the following year with The Skeptic's Walk, detailing a conversation between a deist, atheist, and pantheist (belief that God is the universe itself), and it went unpublished until 1830 due to threats from the authorities.

- Another of Diderot's early works was The Indiscreet Jewels from 1748, which was an allegory of the affairs of king Louis XV- portrayed as a sultan who is given a magic ring from a genie that makes women's vaginas talk when it is pointed at them.

- Diderot was arrested for criticizing the government in 1749, but was allowed to bring John Milton's Paradise Lost as reading material. He would be released after four months.

- Beginning in 1751, Diderot compiled his most famous work, the Encyclopedie- an encyclopedia consisting of 75,000 articles (effectively the Wikipedia of its day). Diderot stated that he wanted to make knowledge accessible to the general population, and the learning populace is considered one of the factors that led to the French Revolution. The Encyclopedie would be completed in 1772.

- Catherine the Great was a fan of Diderot, and offered to purchase all of his works when he was broke (she would receive his complete library after his death). Diderot visited her in Saint Petersburg in 1773, and stayed at her court for the winter. The two would remain good friends until Diderot's death in 1784 from a pulmonary embolism.

- Diderot's remains were unearthed by grave robbers in 1793, and were likely relocated to a mass grave by the authorities (the French Revolution was in its Reign of Terror at this point).

 

[John "요한" Sulu 421]

On this day 1 year ago, Filipino president Fidel Ramos, who served his term from 1992 to 1998, passed away at the age of 94.

[time 8,624]

Its 10 years since the death of Trevor Storer, aged 83.

Born into a family of bakers, he spent his National Service as an instructor in the Army's baking school, before re-joining the family firm. This was sold to Allied Bakeries in 1960, Storer being taken on as a trainee manager. He wrote the book Bread Salesmanship, which was used as an AB training manual. 

 

He left Allied in 1963 and founded his own company "Trevor Storer's Home Made Pies", which at his wife's suggestion was renamed Pukka, the following year.

 

He sold 1200 pies in his first week, mainly to pubs, but they soon became a staple of the High Street Fish & Chip shop, expanding nationwide, and by the time of the company's 50th anniversary in 2013 was selling approximately 60milion pies per year. He'd retired from running the company in 1995, but remained as Chairman until his death later that year.

[One shot Paddy 1,206]

40 years since Norman Brown was killed during the 1983 500cc British Grand Prix at Silverstone allong with Peter Huber who had crashed into the back of him (there's footage on youtube with a crash helmet bouncing down the track) after his bike suffered a problem.

 

 

At just 24 years old he had already won world championship races and the senoir TT for Suzuki and had a promising career ahead of him, sadly it was not to be.

[diego 1,992]

Eva Pawlik was born and died in Vienna, her death was 40 years ago, she was an Austrian figure skater. She won an Olympic silver medal in 1948, and won a silver medal at world championships.

João Ferreira, better known as Bigode was born in Belo Horizonte and died 20 years ago in São Mateus, he participated in the 1950 cup, played for Atlético MG, Flamengo, Fluminense

[Hell 1,334]

American country and popular music singer and songwriter Jim Reeves died on this day 59 years ago, aged 40. With records charting from the 1950s to the 1980s, he became well known as a practitioner of the Nashville Sound. Known as "Gentleman Jim", his songs continued to chart for years after his death in a plane crash. He is a member of both the Country Music and Texas Country Music Halls of Fame.

 

[Drewsky1211 4,759]

Wilford Brimley died on this day 3 years ago, aged 85.

- Before entering acting, Brimley was a Marine, a bodyguard for Howard Hughes, and a rancher. His acting career began in 1967 as a stuntman in Western films.

- Brimley's breakout role came in 1982's The Thing as the senior biologist, and saw further success in 1985 with Cocoon- in the latter, he was only 50 years old, and over 20 years younger than his fellow leads.

- Brimley was a close friend of Robert Duvall, who got him cast in the 1983 film Tender Mercies alongside him. Both would often clash with the film's director during its production.

- Brimley was also known for appearing in commercials, which included Quaker Oats cereal and Liberty Medical. He had become the latter's spokesman due to being diagnosed with diabetes in 1979, and was known for his unusual pronunciation of the disease (which would become an Internet meme in the late 2000s):

 

[Sinbabad 1,126]

On this day 120 years ago, Martha Jane Cannary aka Calamity Jane died aged 51.

 

On this day 50 years ago, Walter Ulbricht died. In 1950, he succeeded Wilhelm Pieck as the 2nd First Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party of East Germany, becoming the de facto ruler of GDR. He held that position until 1971. He also was Chairman of the State Council (head of state) from 1960 until his death.

[diego 1,992]

Guy Thys was born in died 20 years ago in Antwerp aged 80, was a Belgian football player and coach. As a coach, he was the most successful in the history of Belgian football, coaching the national team in the cups of 82, 86 and 90

 

[time 8,624]

Surprise, surprise, the unexpected hits you between the eyes

 

As it did for Cilla Black, 8 years ago today, when she died of a stroke, after falling and hitting her head, aged 75.

[John "요한" Sulu 421]

On this day 1 year ago, American Korean War Medal of Honor recipient Robert Simanek passed away at the age of 92.

[Hell 1,334]

Fahd of Saudi Arabia died on this day 18 years ago, aged 82–85. Upon the death of King Khalid in 1982, Fahd ascended to the throne. He is credited for having introduced the Basic Law of Saudi Arabia in 1992. He suffered a debilitating stroke in 1995, after which he was unable to continue performing his full official duties. His half-brother Crown Prince Abdullah served as de facto regent of the kingdom and succeeded Fahd as king upon his death in 2005. With a reign of 23 years, Fahd remains the longest-reigning Saudi king.

 

[Drewsky1211 4,759]

Shari Lewis died on this day 25 years ago, aged 65.

- Lewis was born as Phyllis Hurwitz. Her father, Abraham, was a magician who was named NYC's "official magician" by mayor Fiorello LaGuardia.

- Once Lewis got into ventriloquism, she competed on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts and won first prize on an episode. She would soon be signed as the host of a children's TV program in 1953 called Facts N'Fun, where she would perform with two puppets that she named Samson and Taffy.

- Lewis then hosted Kartoon Klub, which would be renamed to Shari & Her Friends in 1956, and Shariland shortly after. She would win local Emmys for this. In 1957, she starred in the show Hi Mom, where she would introduce some of her most well-known puppets which included Hush Puppy and Charlie Horse.

- Lewis' show The Shari Lewis Show was the replacement for '50s children's show icon Howdy Doody when it ended in 1960. This would run for three years.

- Lewis' most famous puppet, Lamb Chop, made her first appearance when Lewis guest starred on an episode of Captain Kangaroo in 1956. Lamb Chop would make a resurgence with the show Lamb Chop's Play-Along, which aired on PBS from 1992 to 1997. If you were a young child during that time (or if you had a VHS tape like myself), you might remember this song that ended every episode:

The show received 16 Emmy nominations during its run, winning 6.

- Lewis' final show was The Charlie Horse Music Pizza, which began in January of 1998 (in which Dom DeLuise co-starred). Lewis would be diagnosed with terminal uterine cancer in June of that year, and died six weeks after diagnosis. The show would be cancelled after that, and its last episode aired on January 17, 1999- what would've been her 66th birthday.

- Since her passing, her daughter Mallory Tarcher has succeeded her as the role of Lamb Chop, who plans to eventually pass Lamb Chop onto her son James.

[Sinbabad 1,126]

On this day 100 years ago, US President Warren G Harding died in office from a heart attack, he was 57. He’s one of the six presidents to die before turning 60, the last one being Kennedy.

He was the first president to be outlived by his father, the second and last one being JFK, who was survived by both his parents.

Also, he was the first president not to die in the Eastern part of USA. Since then, Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson and GHW Bush have died in Texas; Harry Truman in Missouri; and Reagan and Ford in California.

 

[time 8,624]

Twenty years since the death of singer/actor Don Estelle (Ronald Edwards). Born in Manchester in 1933, he was a boy soprano who developed into an adult tenor.

As an actor he's mostly remembered for playing Gunner Sugden - nicknamed Lofty, as he stood 4' 9" tall - in the BBC's It Ain't Half Hot Mum, though he had a few other film and TV appearances (Dad's Army, League of Gentlemen...). As a singer he's mainly remembered for his duet with IAHHM co-star Windsor Davies, Whispering Grass, which reached number one in 1975, and the accompanying album, which reached number 10. He also recorded a CD with former MP Sir Cyril Smith (pre-sexual abuse allegations).

 

This video was filmed at an air show in New Zealand in early 2003, less than 6 months before his death, of liver disease, aged 70.

 

[Sly Ronnie 886]

4 hours ago, time said:

Twenty years since the death of singer/actor Don Estelle (Ronald Edwards). Born in Manchester in 1933, he was a boy soprano who developed into an adult tenor.

As an actor he's mostly remembered for playing Gunner Sugden - nicknamed Lofty, as he stood 4' 9" tall - in the BBC's It Ain't Half Hot Mum, though he had a few other film and TV appearances (Dad's Army, League of Gentlemen...). As a singer he's mainly remembered for his duet with IAHHM co-star Windsor Davies, Whispering Grass, which reached number one in 1975, and the accompanying album, which reached number 10. He also recorded a CD with former MP Sir Cyril Smith (pre-sexual abuse allegations).

 

This video was filmed at an air show in New Zealand in early 2003, less than 6 months before his death, of liver disease, aged 70.

 

 

Also author of what is by reputation the worst/strangest autiobiography of all time.

[time 8,624]

44 minutes ago, Sly Ronnie said:

 

Also author of what is by reputation the worst/strangest autiobiography of all time.

I'll have to look out for that one!

[Sly Ronnie 886]

It'll cost you a pretty penny, mind. Prices are at a premium due to it's scarcity/awfulness.

[Handrejka 1,904]

50 years since The Summerland Disaster.

 

Summerland disaster - Wikipedia

[One shot Paddy 1,206]

1 hour ago, Handrejka said:

50 years since The Summerland Disaster.

 

Summerland disaster - Wikipedia

I was thinking about this the other week  that it would be comming up on 50 years. A guy I used to work with did maintenance in the re-opened part, he said when down in the basement there was a strange feeling of not being alone.

[Hell 1,334]

Scottish-born inventor, scientist and engineer Alexander Graham Bell died on this day 101 years ago, aged 75. His research on hearing and speech further led him to experiment with hearing devices which eventually culminated in Bell being awarded the first U.S. patent for the telephone, on March 7, 1876. Bell considered his invention an intrusion on his real work as a scientist and refused to have a telephone in his study. Many other inventions marked Bell's later life, including groundbreaking work in optical telecommunications, hydrofoils, and aeronautics. Bell also had a strong influence on the National Geographic Society and its magazine while serving as the second president from January 7, 1898, until 1903.

 

[John "요한" Sulu 421]

On this day 1 year ago, American sportscaster Vin Scully passed away at the age of 94.

 

Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin, Los Angeles Times per Creative Commons license

[Drewsky1211 4,759]

Jeffery Amherst died on this day 226 years ago, aged 80.

- Amherst first fought in the War of the Austrian Succession beginning in 1743, and would eventually become an aide to the commander-in-chief Prince William (the son of King George II).

- Amherst fought on both sides of the Atlantic during the Seven Years' War- he assisted Hessian forces against the French in Hanover, and led attacks on French Canada in North America (the French and Indian War campaign).

- Amherst would become the colonial governor of Virginia in 1759, and was the first English colonial governor of Quebec when it was seized from the French.

- Amherst would be made a baron in May of 1776, and would become the Commander-in-Chief of the British Army in 1778. He would try to prevent the spread of the American Revolution into Florida and Canada, and advocated for naval battles against American, French and Spanish troops.

- Amherst was forced to resign as Commander-in-Chief in 1782 partially due to the anti-Catholic Gordon riots of 1780.

- Amherst's role in Pontiac's War (1763-1766) has led to his legacy coming into question. He attempted to use biological warfare against the Lenape by giving their diplomats blankets exposed to the smallpox virus, and contemplated genocide against Native Americans:

 

"[...]Try Every other method that can serve to Extirpate this Execrable Race. I should be very glad your Scheme for Hunting them Down by Dogs could take Effect, but England is at too great a Distance to think of that at present." - Amherst in a 1763 letter to colonel Henry Bouquet

 

Recently, many institutions and municipalities named after him have reconsidered their names because of his actions.

[diego 1,992]

Elizabeth Webb Nicholls was born died in Adelaide, aged 93 80 years ago, Nicholls reinvigorated the WCTU's women's suffrage activism and encouraged women to write to local MPs. She put a lot of effort into educating women about their political potential, speaking in various places about the basics of registration and voting, using her "Principles Platform". , sent to the Parliament of South Australia

Carolyn Jones died 40 years ago aged 53, born in Amarillo, Texas, died in West Hollywood, California, nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for The Bachelor Party (1957) and a Golden Globe, In 1964, she played the role that made her well known, that of Morticia Addams, in the television series The Addams Family, broadcast from 1964 to 1966, won a Golden Globe for best new actress in 1959

Her Morticia Addams wig and dress were donated to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.