DEATHS ; Notable Passings; The Thread to Pay Last Respects

[AbbaDatDeHat]

We lost a long-time lounge member. This "+1" is for you @RJR

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His +1s spoke volumes. When he commented on something you knew it really meant something. Humble is hard work. Bob worked hard.
+1
B

 

[Woodtroll]

We lost a long-time lounge member. This "+1" is for you @RJR

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Farewell, sir, Godspeed.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Doris Day has died at the age of 97.

A performer with three major phases to her career, she broke in as a teenage band singer with Bob Crosby and Les Brown at the end of the 1930s, but didn't make a lasting impression until the mid-forties, when she recorded a string of hits with that band, paving the way for her success as a solo singing star after the war. Hollywood beckoned, giving Miss Day a lengthy career as a slightly aging ingenue -- "I knew Doris Day before she was a virgin," quipped Oscar Levant -- in films best remembered for a will-they-or-won't-they sexual dynamic. After her film career evaporated in the mid-sixties, she thurned to television, where she enjoyed reasonable success for several years with her own sitcom, "The Doris Day Show."

With the end of her TV career in the mid-70s, Day retired from show business and became an animal rights activist -- emerging as a high-profile supporter of PETA, and forming the Doris Day Animal Foundation, which will be the main beneficiary of her estate.

Although she is musically remembered for her sticky ballads, in her early career with Les Brown she was known to swing. Note her hepcat credentials in this 1940 recording .

 

[Giftmacher]

So sad, she will be missed!

 

[Fading Fast]

-- "I knew Doris Day before she was a virgin," quipped Oscar Levant --

You'll only fire out a few lines ⇧ that good even if you live a long life.

Nothing but positive things to say about Doris Day - many uneven movies, but who cares - she gave them her all. A voice that belted out a song with more verve than nuance, but who cares - she gave them her all.

And only recently, when I saw her in "Love Me or Leave Me" where she plays Ruth Etting - and where her not-nuanced voice showed its shortcomings - did I see that there were deeper acting chops to her than just the "sunny" performances she gave in most of her movies.

 

[OldStrummer]

Variety's obituary notice. https://variety.com/2019/film/news/doris-day-dead-dies-actress-singer-1203212685/

It covers pretty much everything about her career.

 

[LizzieMaine]

And something I always admired about her -- when she'd had enough, she quit, on her own terms, and for good. That might be the hardest thing in the world for a performer to do, and she's one of the few who did it and made it stick.

 

[Benny Holiday]

We lost a long-time lounge member. This "+1" is for you @RJR
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Very sorry to hear of Bob's passing. I always enjoyed his posts. God bless you Bob.

 

[Benny Holiday]

I was only thinking about Doris Day a few days ago. Not many left from the Golden Era now. She was a star when it meant something. It's a very sad day.

 

[Lean'n'mean]

And something I always admired about her -- when she'd had enough, she quit, on her own terms, and for good. That might be the hardest thing in the world for a performer to do, and she's one of the few who did it and made it stick.

Brigitte Bardot was/is another. The future's not ours to see, Que será, será.

 

[Edward]

A friend who is a fabulous DJ - some of the Brits on here may know her, Julie Miranda, aka Miss Aloha - used to close her legendary Jive night, Hula Boogie, with Doris Day's recording of It's later than you think. Gives it something of an extra kick now the voice has passed on.

 

[LizzieMaine]

The most remarkable thing about Doris Day, now that I think of it, is that her retirement actually lasted longer than her career. She was the postwar era's Garbo.

 

[Fading Fast]

The most remarkable thing about Doris Day, now that I think of it, is that her retirement actually lasted longer than her career. She was the postwar era's Garbo.

Considering that her scumbag manager/husband stole/lost most of her money (she got some back throughs the courts and did pretty well with her TV show) and that she retired in '73 - and there's been massive inflation since - it's good that her money didn't run out.

 

[Tiki Tom]

"I knew Doris Day before she was a virgin," quipped Oscar Levant

Thanks for that quote. I used it at the water cooler today and it brought the house down.

Doris Day was a class act. May she Rest In Peace.

 

[Tiki Tom]

Aww. Tim Conway has passed away at age 85. One of the funniest guys ever born. I used to LOVE watching those scenes on the Carol Burnett show when Tim, Carol, and Harvey would simply bust each other up and they could barely hold it together. So funny. RIP.

 

[OldStrummer]

Another Hollywood trifecta? Yesterday Doris Day, today Tim Conway. These are bitter losses. Who's next?

 

[Zombie_61]

Another Hollywood trifecta? Yesterday Doris Day, today Tim Conway. These are bitter losses. Who's next?

Not "next", but actress Peggy Lipton died from cancer on May 11 at the age of 72.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Conway and Korman, in another era, would have been successful stars of two-reel comedies -- they were the only performers of the 1970s who would have fit in at Hal Roach Studios in 1932 without changing a bit of their style. It was a privilege to watch them in action each week.

 

[3fingers]

And 40 plus years later we are still laughing, talking about our favorite skits and watching reruns.

 

[LizzieMaine]

In memory of Mr. Conway (and Mr. Korman), here's what might be their most unforgettable piece of work. Dentist comedy is seldom all that funny, but I think you'll agree that this bit at least stands on a par with W. C. Fields' dental sketch.

Korman later admitted that he wet himself, for real, during this performance. Oh to have been backstage right after the fadeout.