Rolling Obituary Thread: 2019

Nancy Roman, Nasa’s first Chief of Astronomy

https://sh-s7-live-s.legocdn.com/is/image/LEGO/21312_alt3

Herb Kelleher, innovative founder of Southwest Airlines (first to dress flight attendants in hot pants, to name one innovation)

Man, massive news we all missed! The legendary Al Reinert, director of THE moon landing documentary For All Mankind -- which also produced a legendary soundtrack, Eno's Apollo -- passed on, initial news announced yesterday:

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Former-Chronicle-reporter-Al-Reinert-co-writer-13504713.php

I showed that to my daughters just a month ago - what a gem.

aw no :(

Howell Begle, who was a key figure via his pro bono support of Ruth Brown in getting royalties and more to any number of African American musicians from earlier years who'd been cheated out of them.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/howell-begle-lawyer-who-championed-penniless-randb-stars-dies-at-74/2019/01/03/fdf1ac7e-0e32-11e9-84fc-d58c33d6c8c7_story.html?utm_term=.bb6514e3f36c

Percussionist-composer Alvin Fielder, founding member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians.

Alan R. Pearlman, founder of ARP Instruments:
http://www.synthtopia.com/content/2019/01/06/arp-founder-alan-r-pearlman-has-died/

^ was just about to post that one :(

Eric Haydock, bassist for the Hollies from '62-'66

https://bestclassicbands.com/eric-haydock-obituary-1-6-19/?fbclid=IwAR0GGwtiK7RmlxLgfqk85EQ94VDEV3x4zCkb8pARcoktiM6fZEd1RVEQo-g

Victor "The Mascara Snake" Hayden died in December.

:(

jimmy hannan, old timey entertainment fellow

We made this little tribute to one of our favorite people ever in the world of comedy, the one and only Bob Einstein.

(And yes, I did give him the car..) pic.twitter.com/0cVMIERSL1

— Jerry Seinfeld (@JerrySeinfeld) January 5, 2019

Clydie King

https://m.facebook.com/451295254997830/posts/1917555085038499/

Ron Smith, seminal 2000ad artist.

We're very sorry to hear that Judge Dredd artist Ron Smith has passed away. From co-creating Chopper to the weird Otto Sump and the wonderful Mayor Dave, he was an incredible artist with a career spanning decades. Our deepest sympathies to his family.

Droid tribute by @PyeParr pic.twitter.com/sbLqGJHooa

— 2000 AD (@2000AD) January 10, 2019

RIP, best Dredd artist.

rip, second-best dredd artist behind the also-recently-deceased carlos ezquerra

Victor "The Mascara Snake" Hayden died in December.

Would probably have never known about this but for this thread. RIP Victor.

http://www.beefheart.com/victor-hayden-rip/

Indian filmmaker Mrinal Sen

https://variety.com/2018/film/asia/mrinal-sen-indian-film-director-dead-dies-1203096782/

Verna Bloom

https://variety.com/2019/film/news/verna-bloom-dead-dies-animal-house-1203104909/

^ whoa, I never put it together that the single mother in Medium Cool, the abandoned wife in The Hired Hand, and the sad lady in the bar in After Hours were all the same actress, let alone that she was also in the likes of Animal House

and Mary, Mother of Christ.

Joseph Jarman, formerly of the Art Ensemble of Chicago. I saw him with them in 2017 - he got up and read a poem at their NYC show. He seemed pretty frail but not teetering on the edge of the grave. He was 81.

Oh no! RIP, love those AEC recs

He made a live album in 1978 with Famoudou Don Moye, Egwu-Anwu (Sun Song), that I'm listening to for the first time right now; it's amazing.

Civil rights activist John Hunter Gray, 84.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-john-hunter-gray-lunch-counter-protest-photo-dead-20190110-story.html?fbclid=IwAR2DtjNRNUA-5ClSsO5I29aEpZFPVHyURoSMa41Lo9bPXP7HmdJGod04vL0

Jo Andres, 65. Steve Buscemi’s wife of 30 years.

Mathematician Michael Atiyah: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/11/obituaries/michael-atiyah-dead.html

RIP

Cartoonist Batton Lash (creator of Wolff & Byrd, writer of "Archie Meets the Punisher")
https://www.newsfromme.com/2019/01/12/batton-lash-r-i-p/

Music writer Dave Laing:

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/jan/14/dave-laing-obituary

Willie Murphy, "mayor" of Minneapolis' West Bank music scene, running partner of Koerner Ray & Glover and producer of Bonnie Raitt's debut LP.

http://www.startribune.com/heart-and-soul-of-minneapolis-music-scene-willie-murphy-dies-at-75/504291622/

https://youtu.be/lQPtAiggTnQ

Stage and screen star Carol Channing:
https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-46878018

;_;

comedian-actor William Stephenson

http://thecomicscomic.com/2019/01/14/r-i-p-william-stephenson-1957-2019/

John Bogle, founder of Vanguard

RIP

Openly gay Latin trap artist Kevin Fret, killed last week:
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/jan/11/kevin-fret-gay-latin-trap-rapper-shot-dead-puerto-rico

rip mary oliver

Guitar hero Reggie Young, 82. "Suspicious Minds", "Son of a Preacher Man", 'Hooked on a Feeling", "I Think I'll Just Sit Here and Drink", "Luckenbach, Texas", just for starters.

Love that guy. RIP:(

rip mary oliver

yes. she was/is my wife's favorite poet and one of the very few poets who was able to attract a large and loyal following in an age where perhaps one American in a hundred can name ANY poet who isn't dead already. her poetry ain't bad, neither.

Nick Redman

https://variety.com/2019/film/obituaries-people-news/nick-redman-documentary-filmmaker-and-soundtrack-producer-dead-1203111967/

Windsor Davies

Windsor Davies

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-46931129

I read somewhere once that he had two brothers named Stuart and Tudor.

"Oh dear.. How sad... Never mind."

#tomorrowsheadline

SHUT UPPPPPP!

I read there's confirmation on his Facebook but I can't see it

News was first reported by John McElroy, the publisher of Autoline, who has interviewed Mead on his webcast in the past. pic.twitter.com/e0ymc3SQzX

— cartoonbrew.com (@cartoonbrew) December 30, 2019

Jazz guitarist Vic Juris.

Norma Tanega

Wow, I like her music. I'd only heard the song from the tv show before. Definitely up there with E-40 among the great artists from Vallejo CA.

Former NBA commissioner David Stern

I made a new one.

Rolling Obituary Thread: 2020

https://www.nola.com/entertainment_life/music/article_b3410680-2677-11ea-a4a7-e3253f3bf2f5.html

Obit for Haitian vodou percussionist Daman FanFan Louis who died earlier in December. He lived in Haiti, then NYC, and for the past 8 years in New Orleans. He received a second line sendoff.

listening to david klion and others discussing norman podhoretz's MAKING IT (1967) on their stitcher podcast know your enemy and looking up to check when norman p died (he didn't yet, he's 90!), when midge decter died (ditto, she's 92!!), when gertrude himmelfarb died (30 dec 2019 aged 97, hence relevant to this thread's interests if not ilx's politics)

if you want to live for nearly ten decades be a neocon :0

By coincidence, I too had cause to Google Norman Podhoretz recently. after reading Janet Malcolm's piece about the MAKING IT reissue, excerpted here https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2018/03/22/norman-podhoretz-making-it/

I do like this review Malcolm quotes (by 'Wilfred Sheed, a prominent critic and novelist of the time'):

In this mixture of complacency and agitation, he has written a book of no literary distinction whatever, pockmarked by clichés and little mock modesties and a woefully pedestrian tone…. Mediocrities from coast to coast will no doubt take Making It to their hearts and will use it for their own justification…. In the present condition of our society and the world, I cannot imagine a more feckless, silly book.

Besides seeing Podhoretz's name in things like MAD magazine, I had no idea who or what he was (maybe a figure like Lionel Trilling, who seems equally obscure in the UK?) so the right wing politics were something of a surprise.

the podcast is good and even (very briefly) mentions lionel trilling

I only know about Podhoretz, Decter, and Himmelfarb from reading Gore Vidal.

Does this mean John Podhoretz and William Kristol are going to be around another 30 years? Greeeeaaaaaat.

N Podhoretz's rag Commentary was skewered regularly in Woody Allen films