Death Anniversary Thread

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On this day 50 years ago in 1972, legendary  Italian american bodybuilder  Charles Atlas died aged 80.

 

 

 

On this day one year ago critically acclaimed  american writer  Joan Didion died aged 87.

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Pierre Culliford, better known as Peyo, died on this day 30 years ago, aged 64.

Peyo began to make comics, starting with Johan in 1947. This comic strip revolved around an eponymous squire, who was joined by a secondary character in 1954, taking the final name of Johan and Peewit. This combined medieval adventure with fantasy elements. In 1958, one comic featured a race of small blue creatures- the Smurfs.

 

The Smurfs became breakout characters, and got their own spinoff comic in 1959. A film revolving around the Smurfs was released in Belgium in 1965. They made their American debut in 1976, and in 1981, Hanna-Barbera made a Saturday morning cartoon based on the comics; it lasted for 258 episodes and nine seasons, running until 1989.

 

Peyo's cause of death was a heart attack.

[Sir Creep 7,038]

Charles Durning died on Christmas Eve 10 years ago (89).

 

 

[The Ashes Urn 1,333]

American conga player, vocalist, songwriter and occasional backup drummer Bobby LaKind died on this day 30 years ago, aged 47.

 

 

 

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On this day 6 years ago in 2016 , british character actress Liz Smith,  latterly best known for her roles in Sitcoms The Royle Family,  The Vicar of Dibley and Two point four children , died aged 95.

A notable end of year hit for the official DeathList that year.

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Eartha Kitt died on this day 14 years ago, aged 81.

Kitt rose to stardom in the 1950s by singing songs in a seductive manner. These included "I Want to Be Evil", "Under the Bridges of Paris", and "C'est si bon". Her best-known song is 1953's "Santa Baby", in which she writes a Christmas wish list comprised of highly expensive things.

 

Kitt would also appear on TV during this time period, most notably replacing Julie Newmar as Catwoman in season 3 of the Adam West Batman series. Her career took a major downfall, however, when she made statements protesting the Vietnam War at a White House dinner, reportedly causing Lady Bird Johnson to cry- this caused the CIA to keep a libelous file on her.

 

Kitt would make a comeback in the '80s with the song "Where Is My Man", and soon returned to American venues after focusing on European and Asian ones. Kitt would soon turn to voice acting, which included two adaptations of The Jungle Book (as Kaa and Bagheera)- in 2000, she provided the voice of Yzma, the main antagonist of The Emperor's New Groove, and won an Annie Award for her work (and would subsequently receive two more in franchise spinoffs).

 

Kitt was also known as the voice of the recurring villain Vexus in Nickelodeon's My Life as a Teenage Robot.

 

Kitt died of colon cancer, and her daughter stated "she left this world literally screaming at the top of her lungs[...] she left the world with a bang, she left it how she lived it. She screamed her way out of here, literally."

[John "요한" Sulu 386]

Today is Christmas day and is also the anniversary of when Hall of Fame American painter and printmaker Wayne Thiebaud passed away at the age of 101 and I will remember him on that day for years to come.

 

Merry Christmas everyone!!

[The Ashes Urn 1,333]

American landscape architect and city planner Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. died on this day 65 years ago, aged 87.

 

[The Unknown Man 563]

James Brown died on this day 16 years ago, aged 73.

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The one and only legendary  star of Hollywoods golden age, actor and singer  Dean Martin ,died today 27 years ago in 1995 aged 78.

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English singer and songwriter George Michael died on this day 6 years ago, aged 53.

 

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George S. Irving died on this day 6 years ago, aged 94.

Born as Irving Shelasky, he made his acting debut in the original Broadway version of Oklahoma! in 1943. Irving would work on Broadway until 2005, being nominated for a Tony for Me and My Girl in 1987, and winning one for 1974's Irene.

 

Irving was also well-known for his voice acting, and was the narrator for Underdog- he also voiced the character of Running Board in the Go Go Gophers segments of the show. In 1974, he starred in his most-remembered role: the Heat Miser in The Year Without a Santa Claus.

In 2008, Irving would reprise his role in the sequel A Miser Brothers' Christmas; he and Mickey Rooney were the only two voice actors to reprise their roles from the original.

 

Irving would lend his voice for another Rankin-Bass special, Pinocchio's Christmas, in 1980- he voiced Geppetto.

 

After having seen one final green Christmas in his home city of Manhattan, Irving died of heart failure.

[The Ashes Urn 1,333]

Hungarian-American mathematician, computer scientist and educator John G. Kemeny died on this day 30 years ago, aged 66.

 

 

 

 

[John "요한" Sulu 386]

Today marks the first anniversary of the passing of three noted individuals.  They are Greek politician Karolos Papoulias (92) who was the president of Greece from 2005 to 2015, South African archbishop Desmond Tutu (90) who was an anti-apartheid activist as well as a Nobel Peace Prize recipient, and American naturalist E. O. Wilson (92) who was the pioneer of evolutionary biology.

[Hell 1,329]

33rd president of the United States Harry S. Truman died on this day 50 years ago, aged 88.

 

 

38th president of the United States Gerald Ford died on this day 16 years ago, aged 93.

 

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Its 10 years since the death of TV producer Gerry Anderson, aged 83.

 

He's best known for pioneering the use of puppets with electric-controlled animated elements, which he call supermarionation. This technique was untilised in worldwide hits Thunderbirds, Fireball XL5, Captain Scarlet, Stingray and more.

 

He also developed live-action science fiction series', including UFO and its sequel Space 1999.

 

In addition to his film and TV works, he directed the video for Dire Straits 1991 song Calling Elvis.
 

 

He'd suffered with dementia for several years prior to his death, raising money for the Alzheimers' society, and died in his sleep on Boxing Day 2012.

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On this day 18 years ago in 2004,  Angus Ogilvy, British aristrocrat,  businessman and husband of Princess Alexandra (cousin of the late Queen Elizabeth ll)who accompanied his wife on many of her royal duties and overseas visits/tours, died aged 76.

 

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Jack Sheldon died on this day 3 years ago, aged 88.

Sheldon was a trumpeter best known for his performances on The Merv Griffin Show, and led his own band.

 

However, he is best known for the songs he performed in Schoolhouse Rock. These include  "Conjunction Junction", "Rufus Xavier Sarsaparilla", and the most-well known, "I'm Just a Bill".

(the boy in I'm Just a Bill was voiced by Sheldon's son, John)

 

In later years, Sheldon would reprise the role of the bill in parody- the Family Guy episode "Mr. Griffin Goes to Washington" shows him getting picked up by a trash collector, while The Simpsons's "The Day the Violence Died" featured the "I'm an Amendment to Be" song:

 

Besides the previous roles, Sheldon had a starring role on The Cara Williams Show as the neighbor Fletcher Kincaid, and was the voice of Louie the Lightning Bug in PSAs regarding safety around electricity starting in 1984.

 

[John "요한" Sulu 386]

Today marks the 6th anniversary of Carrie Fisher's passing.  She was best known for playing Princess Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy and the sequel Star Wars trilogy.

[The Ashes Urn 1,333]

American astronaut Jack Swigert died on this day 40 years ago, aged 51.

 

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On this day 28 years ago in 1994 , Fanny Craddock, British television/celebrity chef,  restaurant critic and writer died  aged 85.

One of the UKs first, if not thee first, celebrity chiefs. 

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John Madden died on this day a year ago, aged 85.

Madden was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in 1958, but never got to play in a regulation game due to a knee injury. He would begin coaching for college football teams, and in 1967, became the coach of the Oakland Raiders. In 1977, his team would win Super Bowl XI; Madden would retire the next year due to occupational burnout.

 

Madden then became a sportscaster, notably hosting CBS' Super Bowl coverage with Pat Summerall beginning in 1981. He popularized the use of telestrator technology by using it to showcase diagrams discussing the players' strategies.

He would commentate on CBS, Fox, ABC, and then NBC, before retiring in 2009.

 

In 1988, Madden lent his likeness and voice to Electronic Arts' John Madden Football- this spawned a series of games that maintain popular annual releases to this day.

(this was possibly the first jumpscare in video game history, and it was unintentional)

[John "요한" Sulu 386]

On this day 6 years ago, American actress Debbie Reynolds passed away at the age of 84.  She starred in the movies "Singin' In the Rain", "The Singing Nun", "How the West Was Won", "The Unsinkable Molly Brown", and "Two Weeks with Love".

 

Her passing comes just one day after her daughter Carrie Fisher.

[John "요한" Sulu 386]

On this day 33 years ago, Romanian-born German rocket scientist Herman Oberth, who was best known as the father of space travel, passed away at the age of 95.

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American Major League Baseball pitcher, scout and pitching coach Sal Maglie died on this day 30 years ago, aged 75.