DEATHS ; Notable Passings; The Thread to Pay Last Respects

[Zombie_61]

Yep. When I think of "90 year old comic" I think of Smith and Dale doing "Dr. Kronkheit" on the Sullivan show. Arte Johnson was, the last time I thought about him, a rising young talent who had yet to reach his full potential.

I have to agree. Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In was possibly his biggest career break, but he never really seemed to "cash in" on that popularity after that series ended despite numerous television appearances and working as a "voice actor".

 

[Trenchfriend]

R.I.P., Eva Mozes Kor (Auschwitz survivor).

 

[Zombie_61]

An unidentified body found alone in a house in Oregon two months ago has been identified as that of original TV "Mouseketeer" Dennis Day.

No relation to Jack Benny's tenor of the same name, the 76-year-old Day had been reported missing by his husband last year, and no trace of the former child performer was found until the body was discovered on property Day owned in the town of Phoenix, Ore. Although the body was too damaged to allow positive DNA or dental-record identification of the remains, forensic scientists say they have confirmed that it was Day's, but authorities have not revealed what caused his death.

Day was an original member of the "Mickey Mouse Club" from its formation in 1955 thru the 1957 season, and had a career on the stage as a dancer-actor in Los Angeles and New York into the 1980s.

And Daniel James Burda, 36, was taken into custody on Friday on suspicion of manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, abuse of a corpse, criminal mistreatment, and identity theft in relation to the death of Dennis Day. Neighbors say Burda had lived with Day and his husband in southern Oregon. Police declined to provide more details and couldn't immediately be reached for additional comment.

 

[Lean'n'mean]

Brazilian singer, songwriter & musician, João Gilberto, died yesterday aged 88. Pioneer of Bossa Nova, he has influenced countless musicians.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Maverick 1990s presidential candidate H. Ross Perot has died at 89. Without getting into his politics, Mr. Perot will live forever in my mind as the oddest interview I ever conducted. Somewhere I still have a tape of him railing at great length at the failure of the Rockland District High School Band to play his campaign theme song "Crazy For You" in the correct key.

 

[Fading Fast]

And the best thing about Perot's campaign was his running mate's comment at the vice-president debate:

When Hal Bruno of ABC News, the moderator, called a cease-fire between Mr. Quayle and Mr. Gore so Mr. Stockdale could get a word in on the economy, he could only say, "I'm out of ammunition on this one."
​

Back in those days, I'd actually watch all the debates and remember chuckling at that comment as every other politician - ever - seems to believe that the one who uses the most words wins, not Stockdale - very military.

 

[AbbaDatDeHat]

A Maverick and an unsung hero in America.
Smart enough to realize America needed a third voice....wealthy enough to do it.
RIP Ross Perot

 

[vitanola]

Maverick 1990s presidential candidate H. Ross Perot has died at 89. Without getting into his politics, Mr. Perot will live forever in my mind as the oddest interview I ever conducted. Somewhere I still have a tape of him railing at great length at the failure of the Rockland District High School Band to play his campaign theme song "Crazy For You" in the correct key.

Really?

He chose THIS as his campaign song?

That's almost as much of a hoot as Bryan's '08 theme! Certainly much better than that toasted Cocoanut dance which Clinton chose

 

[LizzieMaine]

I'da voted for him if he'd used that version!

 

[HudsonHawk]

Notorious former Major League pitcher and baseball iconoclast Jim Bouton has died at the age of 80. While enjoying some success early in his career with the New York Yankees, it is Ball Four, his memoir of the the 1969 season for which he was immortalized. Ball Four was unlike any sports book that came before it. Bouton held nothing back. He named names. He told of hilariously goofy stuff young men with free time and money often do to pass the time. He wrote about which players cheated on their wives. He documented the camaraderie as well as the petty jealousies. He also laid bare the seedy side of professional sports, the rampant drug use, and most particularly baseball’s infamous reserve clause, which essentially bound a player to one team for life. In short, he tore down the curtain and in the process many of America’s heroes. As a result, he was shunned from the game for a very long time, even though books that came after his were far more outrageous and scandalous. It was only much later that all was forgiven and he was more or less welcomed back into the baseball fraternity. He was certainly groundbreaking.

There are many quotes from Ball Four that are telling and hilarious at the same time. Stuff to make you actually laugh out loud. But it was the sign off that I remember best:

“You spend a good part of your life gripping a baseball, and in the end it turns out that it was the other way around all along.”

RIP, Bulldog.

 

[Zombie_61]

Actor Elmore Rual "Rip" Torn Jr. died Tuesday at the age of 88.

 

[Inkstainedwretch]

The old Sid Caesar show had a running skit that featured the "method actor" Torn Shreds.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Notorious former Major League pitcher and baseball iconoclast Jim Bouton has died at the age of 80. While enjoying some success early in his career with the New York Yankees, it is Ball Four, his memoir of the the 1969 season for which he was immortalized. Ball Four was unlike any sports book that came before it. Bouton held nothing back. He named names. He told of hilariously goofy stuff young men with free time and money often do to pass the time. He wrote about which players cheated on their wives. He documented the camaraderie as well as the petty jealousies. He also laid bare the seedy side of professional sports, the rampant drug use, and most particularly baseball’s infamous reserve clause, which essentially bound a player to one team for life. In short, he tore down the curtain and in the process many of America’s heroes. As a result, he was shunned from the game for a very long time, even though books that came after his were far more outrageous and scandalous. It was only much later that all was forgiven and he was more or less welcomed back into the baseball fraternity. He was certainly groundbreaking.

There are many quotes from Ball Four that are telling and hilarious at the same time. Stuff to make you actually laugh out loud. But it was the sign off that I remember best:

“You spend a good part of your life gripping a baseball, and in the end it turns out that it was the other way around all along.”

RIP, Bulldog.

And on top of it all, he was actually a pretty good ballplayer. Without him, the Yankees don't win the pennant in 1964.

His sequel to "Ball Four," "I'm Glad You Didn't Take It Personally," contains the most devastating portrait of Bowie Kuhn ever committed to print.

 

[MisterCairo]

English/South African musician and activist Johnny Clegg has died, aged 66. I learned a couple of years back he had terminal pancreatic cancer. He did a farewell tour two years ago.

I'm on a military computer, cannot access youtube, so perhaps someone could find the link for "Scatterlings of Africa". I still have the 45 I bought when it came out in the 80s, a fairly big hit in Canada at the time.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/johnny-clegg-dead-1.5213904

 

[MisterCairo]

See if this works:

 

[Harp]

Justice John Paul Stevens

A kind and thoughtful gentleman and peripatetic jurist whose inconsistency eventually landed his ballot
to the left of the Court, but whose opinions though well written, failed to establish a consistent jurisprudence
for either Court or legacy.

 

[LizzieMaine]

The last "first African-American player" in the major leagues has died at the age of 85. Elijah "Pumpsie" Green finally integrated the Boston Red Sox -- the last team to join the human race -- on July 21, 1959, when the rangy young infielder pinch-ran for Vic Wertz in the eighth inning of a game against the White Sox at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

Green wasn't the first black player to appear for a Boston team -- Sam Jethroe broke the city color line for the Boston Braves in 1950 -- nor was he the first black player signed by the Red Sox: Lorenzo "Piper" Davis played briefly in the Sox minor league system in 1950, and pitcher Earl Wilson, signed in 1953, would have broken the color line before Green had he not been drafted. But none of that takes away from the significance of Green's presence on the field that day -- the Red Sox had long lagged on racial matters, and continued to lag thru the end of the 20th Century. Green was not a superstar by any means -- he was a light-hitting middle-infielder with an average throwing arm, and never managed to earn a regular lineup berth over the course of his major league career -- but he was not unconscious of his role in history. Before his first game in Boston, he took a phone call in the clubhouse from Jackie Robinson -- who had been retired from baseball for three years -- congratulating him and offering words of advice on how to cope with the media and the fans. Green handled his role on the Red Sox with grace, and though he never accomplished great things on the field -- he had a few interesting off-field adventures as eccentric relief pitcher Gene Conley's straight man -- he's nevertheless fondly and respectfully remembered.

 

[Lean'n'mean]

Aussie tennis champion, Peter McNamara, has died from prostate cancer, he had just turned 64.

 

[belfastboy]

The last "first African-American player" in the major leagues has died at the age of 85. Elijah "Pumpsie" Green finally integrated the Boston Red Sox -- the last team to join the human race -- on July 21, 1959, when the rangy young infielder pinch-ran for Vic Wertz in the eighth inning of a game against the White Sox at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

Green wasn't the first black player to appear for a Boston team -- Sam Jethroe broke the city color line for the Boston Braves in 1950 -- nor was he the first black player signed by the Red Sox: Lorenzo "Piper" Davis played briefly in the Sox minor league system in 1950, and pitcher Earl Wilson, signed in 1953, would have broken the color line before Green had he not been drafted. But none of that takes away from the significance of Green's presence on the field that day -- the Red Sox had long lagged on racial matters, and continued to lag thru the end of the 20th Century. Green was not a superstar by any means -- he was a light-hitting middle-infielder with an average throwing arm, and never managed to earn a regular lineup berth over the course of his major league career -- but he was not unconscious of his role in history. Before his first game in Boston, he took a phone call in the clubhouse from Jackie Robinson -- who had been retired from baseball for three years -- congratulating him and offering words of advice on how to cope with the media and the fans. Green handled his role on the Red Sox with grace, and though he never accomplished great things on the field -- he had a few interesting off-field adventures as eccentric relief pitcher Gene Conley's straight man -- he's nevertheless fondly and respectfully remembered.

I have always had a soft spot for fringe/utility players and Pumpsie was one of them. I think his role along with his name very much appealed to me. Still have his baseball card somewhere amongst my 'stuff'.

 

[tonyb]

Paul Krassner died yesterday at age 87.

I met him a couple times, and once conducted a lengthy telephone interview with him.

I wrote elsewhere a remembrance of him and our brief encounters; this isn’t the place for rehashing all of that. But it’s worth noting that my dealings with him were entirely pleasant. He hadn’t an ounce of brag in him, as best I could tell, despite his having done many a brag-worthy thing.