RIP — 2024 Edition

[Bact PhD]

Bill Walton, NBA player & broadcaster, 71:

www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2024/05/27/bill-walton-dies/

Hall of Fame center Bill Walton, who won two NCAA championships at UCLA and two NBA championships before becoming a quirky broadcaster in retirement, died Monday following a battle with cancer. He was 71.

[snip]

Walton, a 6-foot-11 center who could score, rebound and loved to pass, followed in Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s footsteps at UCLA, leading the Bruins to national titles in 1972 and 1973 and winning the Final Four most outstanding player both years. Before being selected with the first pick in the 1974 draft by the Portland Trail Blazers, Walton guided the Bruins to an 86-4 record over three seasons.

[goldenvalley]

May 27, 2024 19:43:31 GMT Bact PhD said:

Bill Walton, NBA player & broadcaster, 71:

www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2024/05/27/bill-walton-dies/

Hall of Fame center Bill Walton, who won two NCAA championships at UCLA and two NBA championships before becoming a quirky broadcaster in retirement, died Monday following a battle with cancer. He was 71.

[snip]

Walton, a 6-foot-11 center who could score, rebound and loved to pass, followed in Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s footsteps at UCLA, leading the Bruins to national titles in 1972 and 1973 and winning the Final Four most outstanding player both years. Before being selected with the first pick in the 1974 draft by the Portland Trail Blazers, Walton guided the Bruins to an 86-4 record over three seasons.

I remember him as a Celtic in the days of the Celtics and Lakers rivalry. But I also remember him as an announcer who was irrationally critical of the Sacramento Kings back in the day when the Kings were contenders and his son was playing for the Lakers. His attitude adjusted when his son became a (short lived) coach of the Kings.  In the latter situation, with the Kings basically dominated by head case DeMarcus Cousins, criticism was warranted but not given.

[goldenvalley]

Willie Mays age 93.  The right field wall in Oracle Park where the Giants play is 24 ft high in honor of Mays' jersey number. And the ballpark's address is 24 Willie Mays Plaza with his statue at the entrance.  

[goldenvalley]

Donald Sutherland age 88. A really versatile character actor. 

[AnBr]

Martin Mull, 80

[Bact PhD]

James Inhofe, former Oklahoma Senator who displayed a snowball on the Senate floor as “proof” that climate change is a hoax, 89:

www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2024/07/09/oklahomas-former-us-sen-jim-inhofe-dies-at-89/74336935007/

Inhofe was noted for both his stubbornness and his political skill. After years of fighting activists over climate change, Inhofe flew to Copenhagen, the site of an international conference on global warming, in 2009 to say climate change was a hoax. In 2015, he took a snowball on the Senate floor to prove his point.

Years later, Inhofe said he didn't regret throwing the snowball in the Senate. He told The Oklahoman, “No. I’m trying to figure out who that offended because it was an enjoyable thing; people take things too seriously. ”

While Inhofe was also known for his support of conservative policies and for being outspoken, there were times in his career when he clashed with members of his own party. During the 2020 presidential election, Inhofe refused to back a delay of certification of the 2020 presidential election, drawing the anger of the GOP's right wing. He said doing so would have violated his oath of office.

[goldenvalley]

Jul 9, 2024 17:16:53 GMT Bact PhD said:

James Inhofe, former Oklahoma Senator who displayed a snowball on the Senate floor as “proof” that climate change is a hoax, 89:

www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2024/07/09/oklahomas-former-us-sen-jim-inhofe-dies-at-89/74336935007/

Inhofe was noted for both his stubbornness and his political skill. After years of fighting activists over climate change, Inhofe flew to Copenhagen, the site of an international conference on global warming, in 2009 to say climate change was a hoax. In 2015, he took a snowball on the Senate floor to prove his point.

Years later, Inhofe said he didn't regret throwing the snowball in the Senate. He told The Oklahoman, “No. I’m trying to figure out who that offended because it was an enjoyable thing; people take things too seriously. ”

While Inhofe was also known for his support of conservative policies and for being outspoken, there were times in his career when he clashed with members of his own party. During the 2020 presidential election, Inhofe refused to back a delay of certification of the 2020 presidential election, drawing the anger of the GOP's right wing. He said doing so would have violated his oath of office.

Even a blind squirrel finds nuts.  

[Bact PhD]

Dr. Ruth Westheimer, counselor and TV personality (“Good Sex”), 96

www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2024/07/13/dr-ruth-westheimer-sex-dead/

Ruth Westheimer, a child survivor of the Holocaust who became known to millions as Dr. Ruth, the perky sex therapist whose frankness on her long-running radio and television call-in shows made her a go-to guide for tips on the art and science of lovemaking, died July 12 at her home in Manhattan. She was 96.

Her death was confirmed by Pierre Lehu, a publicist and her co-author on several books, but no cause was noted.

Described as the first superstar sex therapist, Dr. Westheimer was over 50 when she debuted in 1980 on New York’s WYNY with “Sexually Speaking.” The radio program initially aired in 15-minute installments and was later syndicated and extended to two hours to accommodate the onslaught of queries she received from callers. More than a few listeners professed that she had saved their marriages.

[Bact PhD]

And, mere hours later, the word comes that Richard Simmons (known for “Sweating to the Oldies”) has died, the day after his 76th birthday:

abcnews.go.com/amp/US/fitness-guru-richard-simmons-dead-76/story?id=111912398

The Los Angeles Police Department responded to his home after a 911 call from his housekeeper and found Simmons dead, according to police sources. He appears to have died of natural causes, and no foul play is suspected, the sources said.

Simmons had spooked fans just three months ago when he posted that he was dying on Facebook, writing in March, "I have some news to tell you. Please don’t be sad. I am .... dying. Oh I can see your faces now. The truth is we all are dying. Every day we live we are getting closer to our death."

He later clarified that he was not actually dying, but that the message was intended to encourage everyone to "embrace every day that we have."

[Art Vandelay]

Shelley Duvall

[Bact PhD]

Bob Newhart (“The Bob Newhart Show”, “Newhart”), 94:

www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2024/07/18/bob-newhart-dead/

Bob Newhart was still living with his parents when he was 30. He was a balding, slouch-eyed former accountant who talked in a calculated, halting stammer. He was no one’s idea of a superstar.

Yet, within a year, his understated comedy routines that emphasized the absurdities of ordinary life made him a national sensation. Mr. Newhart, who died July 18 at 94, became the first comedian with a No. 1 record and the star of two long-running sitcoms. Regarded as one of the most influential figures in modern comedy, he helped shape the humor of Bill Cosby and Jerry Seinfeld, among others.

His debut album, “The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart,” soared past the pop and rock recordings of Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley to stand at No. 1 on the Billboard charts for 14 weeks in 1960. It was first comedy album to sell more than 1 million copies, and Mr. Newhart remains the only comedian to win Grammy Awards for best new artist and album of the year.

[goldenvalley]

Jul 18, 2024 20:06:06 GMT Bact PhD said:

Bob Newhart (“The Bob Newhart Show”, “Newhart”), 94:

www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2024/07/18/bob-newhart-dead/

He was great.  Back in the 1970's my grandma would make sure to catch him on the Tonight Show because "he looks just like Teddy". Teddy was my dad.  And they did look a lot alike and they both had that exceedingly low key way of saying something clever.  Thanks for the memories Bob!

[Bact PhD]

and in tribute:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgdUWXf8jJk&pp=ygUTbmV3aGFydCBmaW5hbCBzY2VuZQ%3D%3D

[Bact PhD]

Holy Cow! I just opened WaPo and found this:

www.washingtonpost.com/style/media/2024/07/18/lou-dobbs-obituary/

Lou Dobbs, who had a lengthy career as a business news anchor at CNN before becoming one of Donald Trump’s biggest defenders as a host on Fox, has died at the age of 78.

His death was announced by the former president on his Truth Social platform and confirmed in a statement on one of his social media accounts.

[snip]

No cause of death was given.

Dobbs worked primarily as a financial journalist throughout his career, and hosted a show for the Fox Business Network before it was canceled in early 2021.

Once upon a time, he was a fairly respectable biz journalist. Somewhere along the way, he fell into what became MAGA, even becoming such a proponent of the Big Lie that no less than Fox Business had a gut full.

[AnBr]

"I've never wished a man dead, but I have read some obituaries with great pleasure."

[goldenvalley]

Jul 19, 2024 10:06:15 GMT AnBr said:

"I've never wished a man dead, but I have read some obituaries with great pleasure."

Another good one was Bette Davis' about Joan Crawford:


"You should never say bad things about the dead, only good. Joan Crawford is dead? Good." 

[AnBr]

John Mayall, 30

[indy]

Jul 24, 2024 1:29:01 GMT AnBr said:

John Mayall, 30

Terribly confused for a moment while I thought, Wait??? who is this 30-year-old John Mayall???

Sad, though, as the Bluesbreakers have been in my collection since I was like 18.

[AnBr]

Don't know how that happened. I guess a copy and paste error. He, of course was 90. There are some deaths of public figures that hit you harder than others.

[Bact PhD]

Another figure from my childhood. The fact that he was pushing the century mark has me saying, “Damn, I’m old!” yet again. Peter Marshall, synonymous with the game show The Hollywood Squares, 98:

apnews.com/article/peter-marshall-dead-eb30a22ed1cf4766bb6d83de0b8bb5d1

Peter Marshall, the actor and singer turned game show host who played straight man to the stars for 16 years on “The Hollywood Squares,” has died. He was 98.

He died Thursday of kidney failure at his home in the Encino neighborhood of Los Angeles, publicist Harlan Boll said.

Marshall helped define the form of the smooth, professional, but never-too-serious modern game show host on more than 5,000 episodes of the series that ran on NBC from 1966 to 1981.

[snip]

“The Hollywood Squares” was more strait-laced when it began, but early in its run a producer suggested they write jokes for Lynde, the ever-snarky comic actor who occupied the center square and would become as identified as Marshall with the show.

The first joke would set the template for the years that followed:

Marshall: “Paul, why do motorcyclists wear leather?”

Lynde: “Because chiffon wrinkles.”

“That changed the whole thing,” Marshall told the TV archive. “I had been a straight man. So working with comics was easy for me.”

[goldenvalley]

Aug 16, 2024 14:58:17 GMT Bact PhD said:

Another figure from my childhood. The fact that he was pushing the century mark has me saying, “Damn, I’m old!” yet again. Peter Marshall, synonymous with the game show The Hollywood Squares, 98:

apnews.com/article/peter-marshall-dead-eb30a22ed1cf4766bb6d83de0b8bb5d1

Peter Marshall, the actor and singer turned game show host who played straight man to the stars for 16 years on “The Hollywood Squares,” has died. He was 98.

He died Thursday of kidney failure at his home in the Encino neighborhood of Los Angeles, publicist Harlan Boll said.

Marshall helped define the form of the smooth, professional, but never-too-serious modern game show host on more than 5,000 episodes of the series that ran on NBC from 1966 to 1981.

[snip]

“The Hollywood Squares” was more strait-laced when it began, but early in its run a producer suggested they write jokes for Lynde, the ever-snarky comic actor who occupied the center square and would become as identified as Marshall with the show.

The first joke would set the template for the years that followed:

Marshall: “Paul, why do motorcyclists wear leather?”

Lynde: “Because chiffon wrinkles.”

“That changed the whole thing,” Marshall told the TV archive. “I had been a straight man. So working with comics was easy for me.”

That was my second thought after “He was still alive?” 

[Bact PhD]

Phil Donahue, talk show host who in many respects paved the way for Oprah, Maury, et al., 88:

www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2024/08/19/phil-donahue-dead/

Phil Donahue, the host for nearly 30 years of a daytime television talk show that explored the serious and the salacious, popularizing a breezy format — with audience members asking questions and offering opinions — that opened the door to successors and rivals including Oprah Winfrey, died Aug. 18 at his home in Manhattan. He was 88.

[snip]

“The Phil Donahue Show” (later just “Donahue”) debuted on a television station in Dayton, Ohio, on Nov. 6, 1967, with a single guest: atheist Madalyn Murray O’Hair, sometimes called the most hated woman in America for her effort to end Bible reading in schools. Other installments that first week included a video of a woman giving birth and a discussion on the appropriateness of dolls with penises.

[Rue Bella]

Phil Donahue, 88.

If he had been a book, present day Republicans would have wanted to burn him. 
He exposed a lot of viewers to various aspects of life that they never knew about.  For example, I grew up sheltered and in Catholic schools. Back then, in my sphere, gay people were not vilified, they simply did not exist.  Years later, Donahue had on a very gay guest, and as I listened to him speak from his heart, I realized his being gay simply was not a choice. This was not a personal issue for me, but with that example, and others, the more you learn about different people, the easier life becomes.  Thanks Phil.

[AnBr]

James Earl Jones, 93

[Bact PhD]

Ed Kranepool, member of the “Miracle Mets” of 1969, 79.

www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/41197375/ed-kranepool-longest-tenured-player-mets-history-dies-79