RIP — 2024 Edition

[goldenvalley]

Sept 9, 2024 21:17:31 GMT AnBr said:

James Earl Jones, 93

He's in this clip. Clearly has a sense of humor about Darth Vader.

[goldenvalley]

Maggie Smith. What a tremendous career and yet:

She had long described herself as painfully shy. Much earlier, in a 1979 interview with The Times, she confessed, “I’m always very relieved to be somebody else, because I’m not sure at all who I am or what indeed my personality is.”

In the 2018 documentary “Tea With the Dames,” an interviewer asked Ms. Smith if the first days on a movie set were still scary for her.

“All days are scary,” she said.

[goldenvalley]

Kris Kristofferson varied career as a songwriter and actor.  This bit amused me:

Success in Nashville eluded Mr. Kristofferson at first, and not without reason. According to Ms. Wilkin, the first publisher to sign him to a songwriting deal, he had a few things to learn — and unlearn — before he arrived at the distinctive mix of vernacular and sophisticated idioms that became his stock in trade.

“He had been a poet and an English teacher, so his songs were too long and too perfect,” Ms. Wilkin said in a 2003 interview with Nashville Scene. “His grammar was too perfect. He had to learn the way people talk.”

[goldenvalley]

Dikembe Mutombo Not just a great basketball player:

Mutombo spoke nine languages and founded the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation in 1997, concentrating on improving health, education and quality of life for the people in Congo. His foundation led the building of a 170-bed hospital in Kinshasa, the capital city, and that facility has treated nearly a half-million people regardless of their ability to pay for care.

He also had served on the boards of many organizations, including Special Olympics International, the CDC Foundation and the U.S. Fund for UNICEF.

[Rue Bella]

Sept 30, 2024 16:22:32 GMT goldenvalley said:

Kris Kristofferson varied career as a songwriter and actor.  This bit amused me:

Success in Nashville eluded Mr. Kristofferson at first, and not without reason. According to Ms. Wilkin, the first publisher to sign him to a songwriting deal, he had a few things to learn — and unlearn — before he arrived at the distinctive mix of vernacular and sophisticated idioms that became his stock in trade.

“He had been a poet and an English teacher, so his songs were too long and too perfect,” Ms. Wilkin said in a 2003 interview with Nashville Scene. “His grammar was too perfect. He had to learn the way people talk.”

His parents were said to have disowned him because he chose to pursue a career in music instead of a 'more acceptable'Power Strip Surge Protector career. 

Years ago I saw him perform when I was in college. I can't say I was a great fan, but he seemed to be an interesting guy with broad talents. Including being a helicopter pilot he learned while in the military.

[Rue Bella]

Sept 30, 2024 16:27:13 GMT goldenvalley said:

Dikembe Mutombo Not just a great basketball player:

Mutombo spoke nine languages and founded the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation in 1997, concentrating on improving health, education and quality of life for the people in Congo. His foundation led the building of a 170-bed hospital in Kinshasa, the capital city, and that facility has treated nearly a half-million people regardless of their ability to pay for care.

He also had served on the boards of many organizations, including Special Olympics International, the CDC Foundation and the U.S. Fund for UNICEF.

I remember him. He was one of the first real foreigners to play in the NBA.

[Bact PhD]

Pete Rose, aka “Charlie Hustle.”

www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/41538454/pete-rose-all-mlb-hits-leader-dies-83

Pete Rose, the all-time hits leader who was banned from baseball for betting on the sport, has died at age 83, the medical examiner in Clark County, Nevada, confirmed to ABC News on Monday.

Rose was found by a family member. The coroner will investigate to determine the cause and manner of death but there are no signs of foul play, according to ABC News.

"Charlie Hustle," as he was known for his relentless playing style, fell short in his bid to make the Hall of Fame during his lifetime. Only the gambling prevented him from being inducted as his accomplishments on the field are unquestionably Hall of Fame worthy.

Another “Damn, I’m old” moment.

[AnBr]

And the sad thing is that his bet was on his team to win, which was his job, anyway.

[Bact PhD]

Another loss from the baseball world: Fernando Valenzuela, 63, noted pitcher for the Dodgers in the ‘80s

www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/41952316/dodgers-legendary-pitcher-fernando-valenzuela-dies-63

Fernando Valenzuela, the Mexican-born phenom for the Los Angeles Dodgers who inspired "Fernandomania" while winning the NL Cy Young Award and Rookie of the Year in 1981, has died at 63.

The Dodgers announced the news, saying Valenzuela died Tuesday night at a Los Angeles hospital. They did not provide the cause or other details.

[snip]

After pitching in the majors for 17 seasons, Valenzuela served as a Spanish-language broadcaster for the Dodgers, starting in 2003. He had stepped away from his broadcasting duties before the start of these playoffs to "focus on his health," the team said.

Called up late in the 1980 season as a reliever, Valenzuela, who was born in Navojoa, Mexico, took the baseball world by storm in the strike-shortened 1981 season. After Jerry Reuss was injured on the eve of Opening Day, Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda gave the ball to the 20-year-old Valenzuela, who had never started a major league game in his career.

[goldenvalley]

Oct 23, 2024 17:14:50 GMT Bact PhD said:

Another loss from the baseball world: Fernando Valenzuela, 63, noted pitcher for the Dodgers in the ‘80s

www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/41952316/dodgers-legendary-pitcher-fernando-valenzuela-dies-63

Fernando Valenzuela, the Mexican-born phenom for the Los Angeles Dodgers who inspired "Fernandomania" while winning the NL Cy Young Award and Rookie of the Year in 1981, has died at 63.

The Dodgers announced the news, saying Valenzuela died Tuesday night at a Los Angeles hospital. They did not provide the cause or other details.

[snip]

After pitching in the majors for 17 seasons, Valenzuela served as a Spanish-language broadcaster for the Dodgers, starting in 2003. He had stepped away from his broadcasting duties before the start of these playoffs to "focus on his health," the team said.

Called up late in the 1980 season as a reliever, Valenzuela, who was born in Navojoa, Mexico, took the baseball world by storm in the strike-shortened 1981 season. After Jerry Reuss was injured on the eve of Opening Day, Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda gave the ball to the 20-year-old Valenzuela, who had never started a major league game in his career.

there is a section in the Baseball Hall of Fame museum about Valenzuela and the other Mexican players that entered the League when he did. Kind of the first time since black players were in the League that Americans realized that more than just American born people could be fantastic ball players.

[Bact PhD]

Teri Garr, known for roles in Young Frankenstein and Tootsie, 79. Evidently she had been suffering from MS for decades.

www.cnn.com/2024/10/29/entertainment/teri-garr-death/index.html

Garr died Tuesday in Los Angeles, more than twenty years after she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, her manger Marc Gurvitz told CNN.

She first shared her diagnosis publicly in a 2002 interview with CNN in an effort raise awareness for others living with MS.

“I think everybody is scared and frightened when they hear something like that,” Garr recalled of first learning her diagnosis, after visiting 11 doctors and experiencing years of symptoms they couldn’t explain. “That’s because there’s so much – you know, there’s not a lot of information out there about it. And a lot of people don’t know that it’s not that bad. I mean, I’m going on with my life.”

[Bact PhD]

Music legend Quincy Jones, 91:

www.goodmorningamerica.com/news/story/quincy-jones-obituary-dead-at-91-115459540

Jones was often referred to as entertainment royalty -- and it would be difficult to overstate the breadth of his career or the depth of his influence on popular culture. He had begun his career as a composer and become a music producer. And he would eventually also made his mark on Hollywood.

[Bact PhD]

Bela Karolyi, gymnastics coach, 82:

www.espn.com/olympics/gymnastics/story/_/id/42433795/bela-karolyi-famed-us-gymnastics-coach-dies-82

Bela Karolyi, the charismatic if polarizing gymnastics coach who trained champions and turned the United States into an international power, has died. He was 82.

USA Gymnastics said Karolyi died Friday. No cause of death was given.

[snip]

Karolyi briefly became the national team coordinator for USA Gymnastics women's elite program in 1999 and incorporated a semicentralized system that eventually turned the Americans into the sport's gold standard. It did not come without a cost. He was pushed out following the 2000 Olympics after several athletes spoke out about his tactics.

It would not be the last time Karolyi was accused of grandstanding and pushing his athletes too far physically and mentally.

During the height of the Larry Nassar scandal in the late 2010s -- when the disgraced former USA Gymnastics team doctor was effectively given a life sentence after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting gymnasts and other athletes under the guise of medical treatment -- over a dozen former gymnasts came forward saying the Karolyis were part of a system that created an oppressive culture that allowed Nassar's behavior to run unchecked for years.

What price?

[goldenvalley]

Nov 17, 2024 2:25:36 GMT Bact PhD said:

Bela Karolyi, gymnastics coach, 82:

www.espn.com/olympics/gymnastics/story/_/id/42433795/bela-karolyi-famed-us-gymnastics-coach-dies-82


What price?

A high one...Olympic gold just isn't worth what he put those girls through.  We really need to back off from a system that pulls kids in for intensive and exclusive training. I remember my 9 year old daughter asking about Kerry Strong who vaulted on a broken ankle..."do you always cry after doing that?" Keeping those girls out of regular school and real life with their families is simply abusive.  Parents need to back off...this goes for tennis and figure skating too.  I imagine guys sports have similar issues.