Rolling Obituary Thread 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPQnZmI2Sqw

I hope the Beach Boys cover "Bonzo Goes To Bitburg" in his honor.
https://www.firstcoastnews.com/article/entertainment/music/how-rock-music-was-banned-then-brought-back-to-the-national-mall-the-beach-boys-james-watt-ronald-reagan/77-439ad6a5-1266-4529-8915-e15f6910ee7a

THE MAN CAN'T BUST OUR DAD ROCK

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpL-eVpgJpY

Wasn't there in '83 a National Mall-adjacent protest concert by the Dead Kennedy's? I seem to recall some stage banter where Jello compared the Washington Monument to a giant Klansman.

I would have first guessed Sylvan Theater (a venerable venue adjacent to the Washington Monument) but you may be thinking of Rock Against Reagan, which was by the Reflecting Pool.

https://dcplislandora.wrlc.org/islandora/object/dcplislandora%3A37420

Good day for 80s assholes to be dying -- James Watt:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2023/06/08/james-watt-interior-secretary-dead/

― Ned Raggett, Thursday, June 8, 2023 7:43 PM

He has competition but it's worth noting he presaged Trump Cabinet assholes by 30 years -- the guy embodied conflict of interest.

Ted Kaczynski

https://apnews.com/article/ted-kaczynski-unabomber-dies-federal-prison-95fdd4f398fbfe20aaadf5d53a91dc26

Well, that was unexpected.

🥳

and i read it on the internet

suck it ted

“brilliant” “mastermind” who’s bomb victims were carted away in hefty bags yeah good fucking riddance

let him rot, "he was certainly brilliant", fuck off with that bullshit. Brilliance imo involves more than whatever he showed the world.

"While I certainly disagreed with his methods..."

granted that his bomb craft was more meticulous than the average nutter and he could write a tedious tldr anti-tech essay, any dickhead with a lot of time on their hands can do that. I hate these "brilliant" murderers

If he was so fucking brilliant why was he so fucking incarcerated

Silvio Berlusconi

good

Vaffanculo!

Good riddance.

this fucking guy

boom. had the opportunity of meeting him once. i still kind of wish i’d taken it up, but i really didn’t want to attend the Lega Nord meeting where he’d be. Really significant example of political trends we’ve seen since, I think.

yeah, he does feel like the prototype for a lot of world leaders since

So, farewell then
Silvio Berlusconi
"Bunga Bunga" was your catchphrase
I hope you fucking burn in hell

Vaffanculo!

― steely flan (suzy), Monday, 12 June 2023 08:56 (three hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

otm

What Suzy said!

yeah, he does feel like the prototype for a lot of world leaders since

It's far down on the list of his sins, but Berlusconi's TV station was the first to show porn in Italy, thus cutting off the last big source of revenue for Italian cinemas and speeding along the end of the golden age of Italian genre/exploitation cinema.

Roger Squires, crossword compiler extraordinaire. Rufus was always my favourite in the Guardian and for years the only setter whose puzzles I could even hope of completing.

The news was apparently first released via clues in Saturday's prize crossword in the Guardian (set by Paul), which is a nice touch.

Treat Williams, 71, from a motorcycle crash
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/treat-williams-dead-everwood-prince-of-the-city-1235513850/

RIP, I'm not sure I've seen him in anything but Hair, but he's super charismatic and likable in that.

I saw "Dead Heat" in the theater.

Seems like he was one of those guys who was <always> on TV in the late '80s into the early '90s.

And beyond! Everwood ran in the 2000s.

... which I see was some TV Movies & Mini-Series, plus a couple short-lived series, including a single com with Shelley Long called Good Advice

IMDb:

CBS renewed the series for a second season, set to premiere Friday, Oct. 22, 1993, but production was halted after Long became sick with the flu. Long's illness prompted the network to put the show on indefinite hiatus; the season premiere aired in the summer of 1994, but the show was canceled after the season ended.

Yeah, 'sick with the flu'...

creepy and great in smooth talk

Rock Writer Scott Schnider

https://variety.com/2023/music/news/scott-schinder-music-writer-dead-dies-1235640897/?

SCOTT SCHINDER

Shouldn't be, but amazing to me that Treat Williams was 71. Memorable in Prince of the City, though may be too method-y for some.

I thought he was several years older. Maybe just weatherbeaten from riding his motor. Last saw him on Chicago Fire, retired and roving and beloved in the Dept., but a bad Dad to Taylor Kinney. May have been a recurring character, but I hope not, because I quit watching before seeing him again.

Shit, terrible about Treat Williams.

After years of cop reporting, Prince Of The City was the only film that made me believe anyone else knew the truth about the drug war. So honored when Treat Williams signed on to deliver our own, later critique of the disaster. RIP to a legendary actor and a fine, gracious man.

— David Simon (@AoDespair) June 13, 2023

Prince of the City is a terrific movie, kind of a heartbreaker and a few truly devastating exchanges. He really gave it his all in that film.

Cormac

BREAKING NEWS: Cormac McCarthy, a preeminent voice in American literature over the better part of the past half-century, died today at his home in Santa Fe, N.M., his publisher, Knopf, confirmed. He was 89. Full obit to follow.

— Publishers Weekly (@PublishersWkly) June 13, 2023

Damn, well I was glad he was able to knock out a couple of final books recently

89's not bad.

Damn, hell of a run though.

McCarthy is easy to parody, and he was not always great. But when he was, boy was he. Special shout-out from the Knoxville fan base — Suttree is the best book anyone's ever written about the city, and most likely the best anyone will.

oh man i missed the treat williams news. he's incredible in "smooth talk" with laura dern.

rip to a master. time to finally pull suttree off the shelf

rip legend

blood meridian took me 3 attempts but once i got it, goddamn that thing will be printed on my brain forever

and i love the border trilogy

haven’t read everything but what i read, stayed with me

My wife and I organized a complete public read-through of Suttree back in 2017. We had people sign up to read about 5-10 pages each, and we did it at or near sites specific to the book. Took place over three days, it was so much fun. And if you ever struggle with the prose on the page, try reading it out loud. It's a blast.