Death Anniversary Thread

[The Ashes Urn 1,358]

American field athlete Bud Houser died on this day 30 years ago, aged 93.

 

[Drewsky1211 4,759]

Gene Autry died on this day 26 years ago, aged 91.

- Autry's actual first name was Orvon. His first job was as a telegraph operator, but was fired due to playing his guitar too much during work hours.

- Autry would develop a persona as a singing cowboy and made his radio debut in 1928, soon getting signed to a Columbia Records the following year. His breakout song was 1932's "That Silver Haired Daddy of Mine":

 

He would often appear in movies from the 1930s and the 1950s (mostly Westerns), often used as a vehicle for him to sing on-screen (effectively early music videos). He would also do his own equestrian stunts while riding his own horse, named Champion.

- Autry is probably best remembered for his Christmas music- he was the one who first sang Christmas staples "Here Comes Santa Claus" (which he co-wrote), "Frosty the Snowman", and "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer".

- Autry was also the founder of the Los Angeles Angels baseball team, and was given the honorary jersey number of 26 (the team's roster was of 25 people, and Autry's support made him the '26th man'). The number would be retired by the team in 1982.

[The Ashes Urn 1,358]

German novelist Heinz G. Konsalik died on this day 25 years ago, aged 78.

 

 

 

[Drewsky1211 4,759]

Gaius Cassius Longinus died on this day 2066 years ago, aged 44.

- Little is known of Cassius' early life until he became a leading general in the Roman-Parthian War, with one particular ambush he led against Parthian troops in 51 BCE being seen as a massive success.

- In 49 BCE, Cassius would be elected the tribune of the plebs (leader of the Concilium Plebis branch of Rome's government), and would support Pompey over Julius Caesar during one of the empire's many civil wars. He became a naval officer in Pompey's army, and after his final defeat, Cassius would attempt to flee to Pontus only for Caesar to intercept him and force him to surrender- only to enlist him in his own army.

- Cassius was considered the Roman senator who brought forth the idea of assassinating Caesar, and also considered assassinating Mark Antony as well (which Brutus talked him out of).

- Following Caesar's assassination, Cassius would flee to Syria and amass his own army- but would eventually be killed in battle by the forces of Mark Antony, apparently being decapitated.

[The Ashes Urn 1,358]

American actress and author Janet Leigh died on this day 20 years ago, aged 77.

 

 

 

[Drewsky1211 4,759]

Graham Chapman died on this day 35 years ago, aged 48.

- Chapman went to Cambridge to study medicine, and it is there he joined the Cambridge Footlights comedy group and met John Cleese. The two of them would soon become writers for BBC variety shows.

- Chapman (and Cleese) would have their first major television appearance in 1967's At Last the 1948 Show, with Chapman notably portraying The Minister Who Falls to Pieces.

- After working with Cleese and four other people on The Frost Report, Chapman would co-found something completely different:

 

Chapman was notably the titular role in both Monty Python and The Holy Grail and Life of Brian:

- After developing the show Out of the Trees (with Douglas Adams) only for it to be cancelled after one episode (it aired at the same time as Match of the Day, which drew viewers away), Chapman would turn back to film and write (and star in) The Odd Job (1978) and Yellowbeard (1983).

- Chapman died after a year-long fight with metastatic tonsil cancer. His Monty Python co-stars would not attend his private funeral (to respect his privacy), and would hold their own public memorial service filled with Pythonesque humor.

[The Ashes Urn 1,358]

American jazz arranger Bill Challis died on this day 30 years ago, aged 90.

 

[John "요한" Sulu 421]

On this day 2 years ago, American country singer and songwriter Loretta Lynn passed away at the age of 90.

[John "요한" Sulu 421]

On this day 3 years ago, American tennis place Budge Patty passed away at the age of 97.

 

Photo Credit: Dutch National Archives, The Hague, Fotocollectie Algemeen Nederlands Persbureau (ANeFo), 1945-1989

[John "요한" Sulu 421]

On this day 3 years ago, American baseball player, coach, and manager Eddie Robinson, passed away at the age of 100.

[Drewsky1211 4,759]

Andrea de Cesaris died on this day 10 years ago, aged 55.

- De Cesaris was picked to join Formula One by Alfa Romeo in 1980, before being signed to McLaren in 1981 (due to his own endorsement of Marlboro cigarettes, with Marlboro being the team's main sponsor).

- De Cesaris would return to Alfa Romeo in 1982- largely due to how often he crashed his car (which happened regardless of the racing team he was signed to). Because of his frequent crashes, he earned the nickname "De Crasheris". An infamous crash occurred while he was in second place at the Long Beach Grand Prix (behind Niki Lauda), where his car had a brake failure when he forgot to shift gears.

- De Cesaris joined Ligier in 1984, where he was fired the following year after totaling his car in the Austrian Grand Prix. His infamy as a notoriously reckless driver continued over the next decade, with him not scoring a single point in several F1 seasons, before he retired following the 1994 European Grand Prix.

- De Cesaris died the way he lived- after colliding with a highway guardrail on his motorcycle. He was put on the inaugural 1987 DeathList (his only appearance).

[The Ashes Urn 1,358]

American center fielder and manager in Negro league baseball Oscar Charleston died on this day 70 years ago, aged 57.

 

[Drewsky1211 4,759]

Charles II of France died on this day 1147 years ago, aged 54.

- The son of Louis I (the Pious), Charles would ally with his older brother Louis II of Germany against their other brother Lothair I, who would accept defeat and give Charles control of western Francia (modern France) in 843.

- Charles would unsuccessfully try to invade Brittany, and his unpopularity led to dissatisfied nobles to invite the aforementioned Louis to come oust him; the clergy refused to crown Louis and he ended up leaving.

- Charles became Holy Roman Emperor after the death of his nephew Louis II (not to be confused with his German uncle) in 875. His brother would once again attempt to invade his controlled territory in response; Charles tried to lead a counter-invasion the following year but was repelled by Louis' successor Louis III (the elder Louis died earlier that year).

- Charles became ill and died while on the way to assist Pope John VIII in dealing with the Aghlabid Caliphate to the south (Charles was known for his diplomacy with Muslims, even being gifted pet camels by emir Muhammad I of Cordoba), but he fell ill and died trying to go home- coincidentally on the eighth death anniversary of his first wife Ermentrude. He would be succeeded as king of France by his son Louis the Stammerer, and as Holy Roman Emperor by his nephew Charles the Fat.

- Charles' epithet is "the Bald"- yet contemporary sources claim he had a full head of hair his full life.

[The Ashes Urn 1,358]

American professional golfer Walter Hagen died on this day 55 years ago, aged 76.

 

[Master Obit 832]

Can someone explain the point of this thread?

[En Passant 3,743]

1 hour ago, Master Obit said:

Can someone explain the point of this thread?

 

469 pages that aren't about Jimmy Carter.

 

 

Actually I don't know - nostalgia maybe?  You prompted me to go back to page 1 and look though.

[Master Obit 832]

9 minutes ago, En Passant said:

 

469 pages that aren't about Jimmy Carter.

 

 

Actually I don't know - nostalgia maybe?  You prompted me to go back to page 1 and look though.

It might be alright but it seems to be almost entirely spam about people that almost nobody has heard of, copied and pasted from Wikipedia.

[Clorox Bleachman 2,452]

1 hour ago, Master Obit said:

It might be alright but it seems to be almost entirely spam about people that almost nobody has heard of, copied and pasted from Wikipedia.

Have a skim. You've 15 years of riveting material to catch up on.

 

It started with really famous people, until there were no dead A-listers left. Then we started making career-related puns, until the puns became very generic. Then a poster whose name rhymes with Throw Rocks (or would that be Thaw Rocks?) suggested writing longer paragraphs about why the subject is worthy of posting.

[Toast 16,155]

Drewsky highlights some interesting characters, but most of the rest is spam.

[Drewsky1211 4,759]

Grim Natwick died on this day 34 years ago, aged 100.

- Natwick's actual first name was Myron, and his nickname was purposefully ironic- many of his friends at school called him "anything but grim".

- Natwick's first job in the art industry was drawing the covers of sheet music, before getting hired as a character designer for Fleischer Studios. In 1930, he created one of the most famous cartoon characters of the era- Betty Boop, who was originally designed as an anthropomorphic dog before being made human:

- From there, Natwick worked at Iwerks Studios beginning in 1933, redesigning his character Flip the Frog and designing the new character of Willie Whopper (a human boy who appeared in 14 cartoons between 1933 and 1934).

- Natwick was hired to work at Disney in 1934, with his first work being for their 1935 short The Cookie Carnival, mostly animating the female sugar cookie queen. He was also the lead animator for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, notably animating this scene:

- In his later years, he would work on the 1958 Felix the Cat TV show, The Thief and the Cobbler (which was in development hell for such a long time, it released three years after his death), and his final work, 1977's Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure.

[The Ashes Urn 1,358]

American actress and writer for television programs Hildy Parks died on this day 20 years ago, aged 78.

 

[Drewsky1211 4,759]

Wendell Willkie died on this day 80 years ago, aged 52.

- Initially, Willkie was a Democrat, with his first political idol being William Jennings Bryan- who stayed overnight once at his family's home in 1900.

- Willkie got his law degree in 1916, and would become well-known as an attorney in Ohio. He moved to New York in 1929 and took his law career to a nationwide level, becoming a well-known figure for defending private electric companies in Tennessee against being bought by the Tennessee Valley Authority (its creation being a part of FDR's New Deal).

- Dissatisfied with FDR's policies, Willkie switched his party registration to Republican in 1939. He was considered a dark horse candidate, but due to large support clubs and a deadlocked Republican National Committee, Willkie was nominated in the 1940 election. Willkie lost to FDR by 449-82 in the Electoral College, receiving 45% of the popular vote:

- Despite his opposition to FDR, he supported the Lend-Lease system, which enraged his fellow Republicans, and soon become a personal friend to his political rival, going on diplomatic visits to the UK during World War II.

- Willkie ran for president again in 1944, winning the New Hampshire Republican primary, but withdrew after a poor result in the Wisconsin primary.

- In the last two months of his life, Willkie suffered from several heart attacks, exacerbated by his smoking habits.

[The Ashes Urn 1,358]

14th president of the United States Franklin Pierce died on this day 155 years ago, aged 64.

 

 

 

[Drewsky1211 4,759]

Jan Hooks died on this day 10 years ago, aged 57.

- Hooks got her start as a stand-up comedian before getting TV roles on shows such as Not Necessarily the News, and also appeared in Pee-wee's Big Adventure as an Alamo tour guide:

- Hooks was initial turned down for a role on Saturday Night Live in 1985 in favor of Joan Cusack, but was hired for the show's 1986 season. She was known for her impersonations of politician's wives, which included but were not limited to Hillary Clinton, Nancy Reagan, and (not a future First Lady) Ivana Trump, as well as celebrities such as Sinead O'Connor.

- Hooks left SNL in 1991 in order to star in the final two seasons of Designing Women following Jean Smart's departure. Other well-known TV roles included Vicki in 3rd Rock From the Sun (which got her an Emmy nomination in 1998), and Apu's wife Manjula in six episodes of The Simpsons between 1997 and 2002:

- Hooks was diagnosed with leukemia in 2009, which went into remission. However, she was diagnosed with throat cancer in April 2014, opting to go into hospice care and succumbing to her battle six months later.

[The Ashes Urn 1,358]

English sportsman Raich Carter died on this day 30 years ago, aged 80.