Rolling Obituary Thread: 2021

i absolutely loved phantom tollbooth. still do, really.

RIP. There are several Phantom Tollbooth metaphors for life that pop into my head quite often... moving a pile of sand with tweezers just because someone says so, the house with four doors all answered by the same guy under different names, etc.

Not a celebrity or anything, just a refreshing example of an obit you don't see every day. Published this week in one of the local weeklies my company puts out. Wish more families would submit obits like this. Favorite line: "Ben lived life his way and had no regrets, except maybe accidentally burning down a slide at the park when he was around 13."
https://www.eastbayri.com/stories/benjamin-andrew-cook-26-of-bristol,88616

aww RIP Norton Juster. Phantom Tollbooth was huge for me too; I wish I had a copy in the house right now. I watched the animated version a few weeks ago. I liked it more than I expected to, but the book creates such a special universe.

Very rare that I remember when I learned certain words. I remember first hearing the word "debris" on 9/11. When I read The Phantom Tollbooth, I was introduced to "the doldrums." Thank you Norton Juster, and fuck Ariel Pink.

so many words i learned from that book. not only "the doldrums" but "lethargic," "din," "macabre," and probably more

yeah, same, esp "doldrums."

Yeah, lethargic! That one too for me.

Roger Mudd

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/roger-mudd-dead/2021/03/09/78ddf308-8117-11eb-9ca6-54e187ee4939_story.html

Most famous of course for...

Just finished Roger Mudd profile of Sen. Ted Kennedy I only intended to watch for the “Why do you want to be President?” bit, but stayed the whole hour. Mudd’s subtle & simple style asking Q’s only highlighted evasive answers more. Here’s the gem from ‘79 https://t.co/KQJ5MfCnqY

— Morgan Chesky (@BreakingChesky) March 10, 2021

(And in checking I realized that Mudd did an interview with RFK just minutes before the latter was killed so that makes the Teddy interview even more of a moment.)

It's good that he managed to see ninety. https://t.co/ls9mcvGGYf

— Jonny Morris (@jonnymorris1973) March 10, 2021

that's funny

Would have been funnier ...

Also, C-30, C-60, C-94, Go!

RIp Josky Kiambukuta of Tpok Jazz from the Congo. The 72-year-old singer, songwriter and performer had been ill for several years.

Josky was one of the last stars of Tout Puissant Ok Jazz (TPOK Jazz), founded by Luambo Luanzo Makiadi, better known as Franco

https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/magazine/tpok-jazz-josky-kiambukuta-dies-3315198

Facebook ppl announcing the death of British horror auteur Norman J Warren:

http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/1109079/index.html

RIP was only looking at the bluray box set the other day and wondering if I could justify it.

Slide it to the left of your bookshelf.

That indicator bluray set is very nice but I already have the Anchor Bay coffin DVD collection so haven't upgraded.

Roger Trigaux of uneasy listening Belgian avant-prog bands Univers Zero and Present: http://www.expose.org/index.php/articles/display/rip-roger-trigaux-3.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FceSW5MivAo

Murray Walker, over-excitable motorsports commentator, 97.

Sally Grossman, the woman in red on the cover of Dylan's Bringing It All Back Home album. Was the wife of Dylan's manager Albert Grossman and the photo was taken in their house.

Oh, RIP

Marvin Hagler

RIP

Met him once or twice when I was a kid

definite case for him being the G.O.A.T.

:(

RIP also (xp) wow

Leroy Radcliffe of The Modern Lovers and Robin Lane & the Chartbusters, towards the second half of January.

:( RIP

https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210314-senegalese-music-legend-thione-seck-dies-aged-66

Senegalese singing great Thione Seck has died at 66. He was in Orchestre Baobab & later had his own group Ram Daan. He also released an album called Orientation in 2005 that blended Senegalese, Egypt ,& India rhythms and that impressed some folks on ILM.

I was one of those impressed ILXors - RIP indeed.

Henry Darrow, perpetually smiling actor of many credits, known especially for TV roles such as the rancher "Manolo" on the western The High Chaparral (1967-1971). Was 87.

Eulalio Cervantes, saxophonist for late 80s/early 90s Mexican alt-rock band Maldita Vecindad. COVID. He was 52.

X-post - just noticed Spotify is calling 2005 Thione Seck album Orientissime not Orientation.

Yaphet Kotto ;_;

https://comicbook.com/movies/news/yaphet-kotto-alien-star-dead-at-81/

FUCK

Man he was a proper character actor; different in everything he was in, brilliant in them all. That grin on his face near the end of Midnight Run after being grouchy for the whole film.. outstanding.

Oh no, he was so great. I loved him as Gee on Homicide.

his death scene in Blue Collar is SO hard to take if you've seen the movie before, it really rocked me on a recent rewatch. RIP!

^^Probably one of the most horrifying kills in a non-Horror film EVAH.

(I just read the wikipedia page for that movie - they were fighting the whole time and the director almost quit? Did not know that.)

Gosh that last film credit of Kotto’s is something else. Rest In Peace.

He was great in Friday Foster, which we saw a few months back. His Wikipedia has a shot of his only episode of the High Chapparal!

Oh man he was great great great. 81! I had no idea...

Wonderful actor rip

RIP YK

https://wwd.com/fashion-news/fashion-scoops/jessica-mcclintock-favored-designer-for-proms-dies-at-1234778816/

Jessica McClintock, dress designer who commanded the 1980s prom dress market, 90.

I’m very sad to hear of the passing of Sabine Schmitz, the only woman to have won the #Nürburgring24Hours, rightly known as ‘Queen of the Nürburgring’, & a star of @BBC_TopGear, who’s succumbed to cancer, aged just 51. #RIPSabineSchmitz pic.twitter.com/LHg5ndr8tO

— Matt Bishop (@TheBishF1) March 17, 2021

James Levine, American conductor and pianist, 77.

As per his son on Reddit, Mark Kamiyama ("Ick" Ikagami from Real Genius) passed away on February 27th:

https://www.reddit.com/r/OldSchoolCool/comments/m3y637/my_father_as_ick_ikigami_to_the_right_of_val/

Not a lot of acting credits, but I love Real Genius and he was great in it. Not a lot of comedy roles for Asian actors in 80s Hollywood movies that weren't crass stereotypes... this one was an exception.

James Levine, American conductor and pianist, 77.