DEATHS ; Notable Passings; The Thread to Pay Last Respects

[Doctor Strange]

I'm surprised I'm reporting this one before you, Worf!

Robbie Shakespeare, Prolific Reggae Bassist, Is Dead at 68 - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

 

[Frunobulax]

Al Unser, Sr.

 

[GHT]

Michael Nesmith, he shot to fame as a member of a made-for-TV rock group, but he denied that he was the group’s only “real” musician. He went on to create some of the first music videos.

He was a struggling 23-year-old singer and songwriter when he saw an advertisement in Variety seeking “4 insane boys” for “acting roles in new TV series.” Two aspiring television producers, Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider, inspired by the Beatles’ movies, were hoping to make a TV series about the zany antics of a rock band — not a real rock band (although the Lovin’ Spoonful was briefly considered for the job), but actors with musical backgrounds who could create the illusion of a band.

The four members were picked to fit types. Davy Jones, a British vocalist, was the cute scamp; Micky Dolenz, the drummer, was the wild jokester; and Peter Tork, the bass player, was the lovable dim bulb. Mike Nesmith, a guitarist, was variously described as the cerebral Monkee, the introspective Monkee, the sardonic Monkee, the quiet Monkee.

“He has that dry Will Rogers sense of humor,” Mickey Dolenz told Rolling Stone in 2012, characterising Nesmith’s real persona. “That’s probably one of the reasons they cast him.” He was 78.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/10/arts/music/michael-nesmith-dead.html

 

[Tiki Tom]

Oh no! I liked Michael Nesmith. Is it true that his mother invented white out? Or is that a folk myth? RIP

 

[Frunobulax]

Oh no! I liked Michael Nesmith. Is it true that his mother invented white out? Or is that a folk myth? RIP

Sources say...TRUE! Although it was Liquid Paper, not White Out.

 

[MisterCairo]

Man, I had just seen a documentary on YouTube about the Monkees, made when all four were still alive. First Davy, then Peter, now my favourite, Mike.

More of my childhood gone. My friend Billy and I watched the show in reruns after school in the early 70s. We did that crazy inter-locked leg walk thing they did in the intro, dreamed of owning a real Monkeemobile ( we had the die-cast toys), a d being in a band.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/monkees-michael-nesmith-dead-1.6281596

 

[MisterCairo]

 

[MisterCairo]

Sources say...TRUE! Although it was Liquid Paper, not White Out.

White out is often used as a generic term for correction fluid. It happens to also be a brand name.

 

[Frunobulax]

White out is often used as a generic term for correction fluid. It happens to also be a brand name.

Hence the capital letters (and it should be Wite Out).

 

[belfastboy]

White out is often used as a generic term for correction fluid. It happens to also be a brand name.

Way back in the days before computers I worked in the sales department of an industrial supply house. When we made an error on the order sheet we had to correct 6 copies with white out. My counterpart, John, used to spend half his day correcting his mistakes. One day the sales department chipped in and as a gag joke I bought him a pint of white paint and a small roller.......accompanied by a note saying it would save him time and the company money! He did not laugh!

 

[Doctor Strange]

Author of supernatural sagas Anne Rice:

Anne Rice, Who Spun Gothic Tales of Vampires, Dies at 80 - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

I read A LOT of her books. A few of the earlier ones were great, but she eventually went back to the well too often. And her later books could benefit from serious editing, they were massively overwritten... but she was so successful, I guess her publishers didn't care: longer books make more money. But at her best - Interview with the Vampire, The Vampire Lestat, The Witching Hour, Cry to Heaven - she was very good, and her novels were responsible for the entire media industry of reconsidering old-school monsters that followed in her wake.

 

[Worf]

I'm surprised I'm reporting this one before you, Worf!

Robbie Shakespeare, Prolific Reggae Bassist, Is Dead at 68 - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

Man... this one is a surprise. Never knew he was that old. Not flashy, not a crazed "thunker", but if you needed a groove laid down with a reggae beat... he was the MAN! I'll miss him.

Worf

 

[MisterCairo]

Canadian musician, singer and songwriter Les Emmerson, from the Five Man Electrical Band, has died, with covid but from underlying conditions, in Ottawa, aged 77:

Big hit, the song "Signs"


https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/les-emmerson-ottawa-singer-songwriter-dies-1.6284429

 

[belfastboy]

Canadian musician, singer and songwriter Les Emmerson, from the Five Man Electrical Band, has died, with covid but from underlying conditions, in Ottawa, aged 77:

Big hit, the song "Signs"


https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/les-emmerson-ottawa-singer-songwriter-dies-1.6284429

A local radio station that we have as our 'alarm clock' has a weekly feature called "Signs" where they scour the internet for crazy, stupid, funny signs on businesses, churches, advertising etc. As the intro to the bit they play this song....so for the past 6 years I have heard clips of this song weekly.

 

[Trenchfriend]

Mirco Nontschew, german 90s comedy TV superstar, member of RTL Samstag Nacht.

 

[GHT]

Desmond Tutu
South African priest:
Desmond Mpilo Tutu OMSG CH was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was the Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 and then the Archbishop of Cape Town from 1986 to 1996, in both cases being the first black African to hold the position.

 

[MisterCairo]

Yes, the loss of a giant of humanity.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/desmond-tutu-obituary-1.6298421

 

[Sharpsburg]

Before she was nerdy Rose Nyland, we grew up with man-hunting hussy Sue Ann Nivens! RIP, Betty White, even you could not live forever!

 

[Tiki Tom]

Desmond Tutu and Betty White. The year ends on a sad note. Both were legendary and bigger than life in two completely different ways. R.I.P.

 

[HudsonHawk]

Babe Ruth hit 552 home runs during Betty White’s lifetime.

Legendary.