Death Anniversary Thread

[John "요한" Sulu 393]

On this day 1 year ago, American philosopher Harry Frankfurt passed away at the age of 94.

 

Photo Credit: American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) per Creative Commons license

[Drewsky1211 4,366]

Billie Holiday died on this day 65 years ago, aged 44.

- Holiday often skipped school as a child, dropping out at the age of 11. She became inspired to make music after listening to the works of Louis Armstrong, and began performing at nightclubs as a teen.

- Holiday would go professional in 1933, having her debut single "Your Mother's Son-In-Law", which she recorded with Benny Goodman and his big band, become a hit. From there, she often collaborated with pianist Teddy Wilson, with her biggest song at the time being 1936's "I Cried For You":

Holiday also performed for the big bands of Count Basie and Artie Shaw.

- In 1939, Billie Holiday recorded her signature song, "Strange Fruit". This song instantly became an anti-lynching anthem, and was named by Time magazine as the greatest song of the 20th century in 1999:

- In the 1940s, Holiday had a string of pop hits, which included "Lover Man" (1943) and "Don't Explain" (1946). In 1946, she starred in her only film New Orleans- a film notorious for having scenes deleted to lessen her and Louis Armstrong's roles.

- Armstrong was arrested and convicted in 1947 for possession of narcotics, being released the following year; she notably recalled how excited her dog (named Mister) was to see her after said release.

- Holiday's autobiography Lady Sings the Blues was published in 1956, which was adapted into an Oscar-nominated film starring Diana Ross as Holiday in 1972.

- Holiday was diagnosed with cirrhosis in early 1959, and died from heart failure relating to said cirrhosis.

[Drewsky1211 4,366]

Jane Austen died on this day 207 years ago, aged 41.

- Austen began writing books as a teenager, with her first notable work being the satirical The History of England, written in 1791. The illustrations were drawn by her sister Cassandra, and Jane would admit to bias in the work as it was a parody of history books. You can read it in its entirety here.

- Austen would continue to make parodies of popular writing styles, particularly Gothic novels in 1798's Northanger Abbey.

- Austen would publish her most famous novels- 1811's Sense and Sensibility and 1813's Pride and Prejudice- anonymously, and therefore did not make much money off of them during her life. Within her lifetime, unauthorized French-language copies were also made in France.

- Austen died after an undisclosed long-term illness. Among the leading hypotheses are Addison's disease (an autoimmune disorder) and Hodgkin's lymphoma. Other historians suggest chronic tuberculosis, recurring typhus, or stomach cancer.

[Drewsky1211 4,366]

James Garner died on this day 10 years ago, aged 86.

- Garner's surname before taking his stage name was "Bumgarner"; he was of German ancestry on his dad's side. He served in the Korean War, where he received a Purple Heart (in one instance being wounded by friendly fire).

- After the war, Garner's friend Paul Gregory would encourage him to begin an acting career, and his first role was a nonspeaking part in a 1954 Broadway production of The Caine Mutiny. He soon went to TV and was considered for the titular role of Cheyenne (which ended up going to Clint Walker).

- Garner's first major role was as the titular Bret Maverick of the 1957 Western show Maverick. With this new fame, Garner got roles in films such as The Great Escape, 36 Hours, Marlowe and Support Your Local Sheriff. Perhaps Garner's most notable role was as Jim Rockford in The Rockford Files, which ran from 1974 to 1980- he was nominated for eight Emmys during its run.

- In his later career, Garner would occasionally voice act. These roles included God in the short-lived adult cartoon God, the Devil and Bob, the wizard Shazam in Superman/Shazam!: The Return of Black Adam, and most notably the main antagonist of the Disney film Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Lyle Rourke:

- Garner appeared on the DeathList twice, in 2010 and 2013.

[Drewsky1211 4,366]

Chester Bennington died on this day 7 years ago, aged 41.

- After a horrible childhood (look at the Wikipedia page for the disturbing details), Bennington would join his first band at 17 years old- Sean Dowdell and His Friends?. Bennington and Dowdell would then go on to form the band Grey Daze.

- Bennington would leave Grey Daze in 1998, and soon won an audition to join Linkin Park- then-called 'Xero'. He was considered the lead vocalist of the band (occasionally sharing it with Mike Shinoda), with "In the End" propelling them into stardom, and they would also see further success with their Meteora and Minutes to Midnight albums:

 

- Bennington would co-found the band Dead by Sunrise in 2005, initially naming it 'Snow White Tan'. In 2013, Bennington would replace Scott Weiland as the lead singer of Stone Temple Pilots.

- Bennington was very good friends with Soundgarden's Chris Cornell- and Bennington's suicide occurred on what would've been Cornell's birthday, two months after Cornell's own.

[Drewsky1211 4,366]

Long John Baldry died on this day 19 years ago, aged 64.

- Baldry's 'Long' nickname came from the fact he was 6'7" (2.01 meters) tall.

- Baldry would become a blues musician as a member of Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated, and would take over the R&B All Stars band following the death of its frontman Cyril Davies. The latter group became known as the 'Hoochie Coochie Men', and later 'Steampacket', while he was the lead singer. Baldry would also form a band called Bluesology, which featured a certain Reginald Dwight as its keyboardist- who would take the latter half of his future name from Baldry's first name.

- Baldry recorded "Let the Heartaches Begin" in 1967, which topped the UK Singles Chart for two weeks in November of that year:

Baldry was also known for his song "Mexico", which became the British Olympic team's theme for the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.

- Baldry would later move to Canada, where he would become a voice actor. By far his most notable role was as Dr. Robotnik in The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog:

- Baldry died following a long-term chest infection, and he was known for his nosocomephobia (the fear of hospitals).

[Drewsky1211 4,366]

Estelle Getty died on this day 16 years ago, aged 84.

- Getty's last name was actually 'Gettleman'. Her first experience with acting was when her father took her to see a vaudeville show, and from that day she desired to become an actress.

- Getty would get minor roles in theatrical productions, before her breakout hit came in 1982 as Mrs. Beckoff in the Broadway version of Torch Song Trilogy.

- Soon after, Getty would be cast as Sophia in The Golden Girls- she had to don makeup to make herself look much older; she was a year younger than co-stars Betty White and Bea Arthur (who portrayed Dorothy, her daughter), and Sophia was 80 years old in the show- Getty was only 63 when the show began in 1985.

- Among Getty's film roles were as Evelyn in 1985's Mask, Estelle in the first Stuart Little movie (in 1999), and more notably as the titular mother Tutti in the critically-panned 1992 film Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot:

Getty would win the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress in 1993 for this role.

- Getty died 3 days before her 85th birthday due to Lewy body dementia. She was also known to have had a multitude of health issues (such as osteoporosis and possibly Parkinson's disease).

[John "요한" Sulu 393]

One year ago from yesterday, American pop singer Tony Bennett passed away at the age of 96.

 

Photo Credit: City of Boston Archives per Creative Commons license

[Drewsky1211 4,366]

Ulysses S. Grant died on this day 139 years ago, aged 63.

- Grant's full name was Hiram Ulysses Grant- he started going by his middle name in college because he believed the fact his initials spelt the word 'hug' would get him bullied. While some thought the 'S' stood for "Simpson" (his mother Hannah's maiden name), it is believed it actually stood for nothing at all (similar to future fellow US president Harry S. Truman).

- Before fighting in the Civil War, Grant was a veteran of the Mexican-American war, serving under Zachary Taylor. Grant was initially criticized for the high amount of casualties his unit suffered in the Battle of Shiloh, but it was the Vicksburg campaign that cut the Confederates from the Mississippi River that caused him to quickly rise through the ranks and become a hero. Ironically, Grant was squeamish at the sight of blood (and would also have meaty food served to him charred because of this). After the war's end, Grant and his wife Julia were invited by President Lincoln to accompany him to Ford's Theatre, but he (unknowingly luckily) declined because they wanted to return to their home in New Jersey.

- Grant ran for the Republican nomination for president in 1868 and was unanimously named the candidate at the convention, and would win the election 214-80 in the Electoral College (this was the first election African-American men were allowed to vote in).

- Grant was known for his support of civil rights (such as advocating the ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment protecting African-American voters, increased prosecution of KKK members, and his support of American Jews), but his cabinet has been regarded by historians as one of the most corrupt in American history (most notably the Whiskey Ring scandal of 1875).

- Grant was initially the Republican frontrunner for the 1880 election, but unexpectedly lost to James Garfield at the convention's 36th ballot.

- Grant was largely bankrupt during his last years, and his autobiography (published with the help of his friend Mark Twain) would not become a bestseller until after his death (Julia Grant, however, would see profits later on, until her death in 1902).

- Grant was a chronic smoker and would be diagnosed with throat cancer in October of 1884, dying after a nine month battle. Below is his last photo:

Grant's tomb became a staple of popular culture in the 1950s as Groucho Marx often asked contestants on You Bet Your Life "who is buried in Grant's Tomb?'- both Ulysses and Julia Grant are interred in aboveground sarcophagi.

[Drewsky1211 4,366]

Alex "Hurricane" Higgins died on this day 14 years ago, aged 61.

- Higgins joined a snooker league at his local YMCA in 1967, and from there would compete in amateur tournaments. He would go professional in 1971, and would win the 1972 World Snooker Championship- his first time competing in said competition, beating notable opponents such as John Spencer, John Pulman, and Rex Williams. At 23, he was the youngest winner (until Stephen Hendry won the 1990 tournament at the age of 21).

- Higgins would win a second World Snooker Champion title in 1982, and would win the Masters tournament in 1978 and 1981. At the 1990 World Championship, Higgins got drunk on vodka after losing and would insult other players, and punched an official, leading to him being banned for the 1991 Tournament.

- Outside of snooker, Higgins was known for recording a version of "Wild Thing" with The Troggs in 1992 (alongside his good friend, the actor Oliver Reed):

- Higgins was a severe smoker, reportedly smoking 80 cigarettes a day. He was diagnosed with mouth cancer in both 1994 and 1996, and throat cancer in 1998; the radiation therapy used to treat the throat cancer caused him to lose all his teeth. He would continue to abuse nicotine and alcohol until he died of malnutrition, weighing only 90 lbs (41 kg) at the time of his death. He had also become penniless due to his expensive treatment and addiction.

- Higgins appeared on the DeathList once, in 2002 at spot number 30 (his age was erroneously stated to be 54 instead of 53).

[John "요한" Sulu 393]

On this day 1 year ago, American actress Inga Swenson, who starred in the film "The Miracle Worker" and the TV series "Benson", passed away at the age of 90.

[Drewsky1211 4,366]

Pope Innocent VIII died on this day 532 years ago, aged 60.

- Innocent's name before ascending to the papacy was Giovanni Cybo. He was appointed as a bishop in 1467, and as a cardinal in 1473.

- After the death of Pope Sixtus IV in 1484, several cardinal electors convinced each other to vote for Innocent to prevent the election of cardinal Marco Barbo (probably due to the Papal States' political strain with Venice).

- Innocent spent his early papacy trying to assemble a Crusade against the Ottoman Empire, but failed to do so. Regardless, Ottoman sultan Bayezid II would pay Innocent to keep his brother Cem (claiming to be the true heir to the Ottoman throne) imprisoned- and Innocent would use this to his advantage by threatening to release him (which occurred in 1495, after Innocent's death).

- Innocent would issue a papal bull in 1484 condemning the practice of witchcraft, which was written to allow a German inquisitor (named Heinrich Kramer) to take witchcraft investigations into their own hands. Among the things Innocent wrote within the bull was that any cat owner could be identified as a witch, and that the cat was to be burned at the stake with its owner.

- Innocent was a slaveowner, having owned 100 Moorish slaves.

- Before ascending to the papacy, Innocent had at least seven bastard children (of which two were legitimized). His son Franceschetto married into the powerful Medici family.

- Innocent died after an 8-year papacy, and was succeeded by Pope Alexander VI.

[John "요한" Sulu 393]

On this day 1 year ago, American screenwriter Bo Goldman, who worked on the films One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Melvin and Howard passed away at the age of 90.

[John "요한" Sulu 393]

On this day 1 year ago, American football player Johnny Lujack passed away at the age of 98.

[Drewsky1211 4,366]

Winsor McCay died on this day 90 years ago, aged ~65.

- McCay's first name was Zenas, and he went by his middle name. His birth date is unknown, ranging from 1867 to 1871; one birth record says 1867, his gravestone says 1869, and he claimed to have been born in September of 1871.

- McCay would work on illustrating advertisements before becoming a comics artist. His first recurring strip was 1904's Mr. Goodenough (about a lazy rich man trying to become more active), with McCay seeing further success with Little Sammy Sneeze (the gag can easily be inferred by the title), which ran in papers from 1904 to 1907.

- McCay's comic strips soon turned to fantastical dream settings with 1904's Dream of the Rarebit Fiend (which was his longest-running comic, lasting until 1925), and in 1905 he created his most iconic comic series- Little Nemo in Slumberland:

Little Nemo was in instant smash-hit, with an extremely expensive stage musical debuting in 1907. McCay would follow this with a 1911 short film bringing the characters into animation (most of which was him displaying the process):

- In 1914, McCay made animation history when he made Gertie the Dinosaur, a vaudeville cartoon that was synced to McCay's commands:

Consisting of about 14 minutes of animation, Gertie was the first cartoon to use important animation techniques such as keyframes, tracing paper, and animation loops.

- McCay was also known for animating 1918's The Sinking of the Lusitania, one of the few propaganda cartoons to come out of World War I:

- McCay died of an embolism in his brain, and his son Bob McCay would end up later reviving the Little Nemo comic. Many of the animation industry's most innovative personalities viewed him as a direct inspiration to their work- such as the Fleischer brothers, Chuck Jones, and (of course) Walt Disney.

[Bibliogryphon 9,155]

3 hours ago, Drewsky1211 said:

Winsor McCay died on this day 90 years ago, aged ~65.

- McCay's first name was Zenas, and he went by his middle name. His birth date is unknown, ranging from 1867 to 1871; one birth record says 1867, his gravestone says 1869, and he claimed to have been born in September of 1871.

- McCay would work on illustrating advertisements before becoming a comics artist. His first recurring strip was 1904's Mr. Goodenough (about a lazy rich man trying to become more active), with McCay seeing further success with Little Sammy Sneeze (the gag can easily be inferred by the title), which ran in papers from 1904 to 1907.

- McCay's comic strips soon turned to fantastical dream settings with 1904's Dream of the Rarebit Fiend (which was his longest-running comic, lasting until 1925), and in 1905 he created his most iconic comic series- Little Nemo in Slumberland:

Little Nemo was in instant smash-hit, with an extremely expensive stage musical debuting in 1907. McCay would follow this with a 1911 short film bringing the characters into animation (most of which was him displaying the process):

- In 1914, McCay made animation history when he made Gertie the Dinosaur, a vaudeville cartoon that was synced to McCay's commands:

Consisting of about 14 minutes of animation, Gertie was the first cartoon to use important animation techniques such as keyframes, tracing paper, and animation loops.

- McCay was also known for animating 1918's The Sinking of the Lusitania, one of the few propaganda cartoons to come out of World War I:

- McCay died of an embolism in his brain, and his son Bob McCay would end up later reviving the Little Nemo comic. Many of the animation industry's most innovative personalities viewed him as a direct inspiration to their work- such as the Fleischer brothers, Chuck Jones, and (of course) Walt Disney.

 

 

[Drewsky1211 4,366]

Geoffrey Hughes died on this day 12 years ago, aged 68.

- Hughes got his start in acting on West End, performing in productions of The Wizard of Oz and Henry V.

- One of Hughes' earliest film roles was voicing Paul McCartney's animated counterpart in Yellow Submarine. Other films he was in included the Till Death Us Do Part movie, and Confessions of a Driving Instructor.

- Hughes began portraying Coronation Street's garbageman Eddie Yeats (picture used above) beginning in 1974, appearing in 511 episodes until 1987. He was also well-known for his roles as Onslow in Keeping Up Appearances, Twiggy in The Royle Family, and Vernon Scripps in Heartbeat.

- Hughes was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1996, and it went into remission- until it relapsed in 2010, and he died after a two-year battle with the disease. His diagnosis led to his only appearance on the DeathList in 2011 (spot 14).

 

[John "요한" Sulu 393]

On this day 3 years ago, Canadian-born American psychologist Albert Bandura, who originated social cognitive theory passed away at the age of 95.

 

Photo Credit: bandura@stanford.edu per Creative Commons license