In Memoriam, 2022: Legendary TV Broadcaster Barbara Walters Dead at 93, Pope Benedict XVI (95)

[Boudrias]

6 hours ago, Ilunga said:

Ronnie Spector has died 

 

Decades before the spice girls,who were meant to be ground breakers,The Ronettes cranking out the hits 

 

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-13/ronnie-spector-the-ronettes-dies/100753564

 

 

Any one who has the slightest love of music will fondly remember this song 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This one hurts. RIP Ronnie.

[DonLever]

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/lifestyle/other/producer-dwayne-hickman-who-played-dobie-gillis-has-died/ar-AASB7uP?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531

 

Dwayne Hickman, who played Dobie Gillis in a TV show from the 1950's called The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis has died at age 87.

 

 

 

[nuckin_futz]

WWE Hall of Famer, South Dakota native 'Mean' Gene Okerlund dies at age 76

 

 

 

"Mean" Gene Okerlund addresses the crowd before a pro wrestling event in Milwaukee in 1988. Okerlund, who interviewed pro wrestling superstars "Macho Man" Randy Savage, The Ultimate Warrior and Hulk Hogan, died at the age of 76. Okerlund grew up in Sisseton.

Eugene "Mean Gene" Okerlund, whose deadpan interviews of pro wrestling superstars like "Macho Man" Randy Savage, The Ultimate Warrior and Hulk Hogan made him a ringside fixture in his own right, has died. He was 76.

 

World Wrestling Entertainment announced Okerlund's death on its website Wednesday. Okerlund's son, Tor Okerlund, told The Associated Press that his father died early Wednesday at a hospital in Sarasota, Florida, near his home in Osprey, Florida, with his wife, Jeanne, by his side.

 

Tor Okerlund said his father, who had undergone three kidney transplants, fell a few weeks ago "and it just kind of went from bad to worse."

 

Okerlund started as an interviewer in the Minneapolis-based American Wrestling Association. He moved to WWE — then the World Wrestling Federation — in 1984 and hosted several shows, including "All-American Wrestling," ''Tuesday Night Titans" and "Prime Time Wrestling." Besides being the company's lead locker room interviewer, he also provided ringside commentary.

 

Former wrestler and ex-Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura, who wrestled as "The Body," dubbed Okerlund "Mean Gene."

 

Ventura told the Minneapolis Star Tribune on Wednesday that in an interview he "laughingly called him 'the Mean Gene Hot Air Machine,' and the 'Mean Gene' stuck."

Ventura called Okerlund "the best at what he did, the best straight man interviewer in wrestling history."

 

"You only had to tell him once" how to pitch and sell a wrestling story, Ventura told the AP about Okerlund's knack for salesmanship. "He's like a carnival barker. ... He was the best salesman. And he never did retakes. ... Ninety percent of the time if there was a screw-up on an interview, it was not because of Gene. That's how good he was."

 

A native of Sisseton, South Dakota, Okerlund was known for his natty attire and mustache. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006.

 

Okerlund also could sing and performed the national anthem at the first WrestleMania in 1985. He sang "Tutti Frutti" later that year on the WWF's "The Wrestling Album."

"He really was the ultimate, the consummate entertainer," his son said.

 

In a 2015 interview with the Star Tribune, Okerlund credited the late pro wrestling pioneer Verne Gagne for his start.

 

Okerlund worked in sales at the television station where Gagne's AWA was based and had experience in radio. Gagne approached Okerlund in the hallway when the regular interviewer could not make a taping in the early 1970s, Okerlund recalled.

 

"I said, 'Verne, I know zero about wrestling.' He said, 'Do you have a suit and tie? That's all you need.' There were a few bucks involved, so I dived in," Okerlund said.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

 

Okerlund was inducted into the entertainment company's Hall of Fame by Hulk Hogan in 2006 and continued to appear in WWE programming over the past decade, albeit sporadically.

 

 

[thedestroyerofworlds]

Had to post this one with ole Mean Gene passing 

 

[DonLever]

[DonLever]

Yvette Mimieux, the blond and blue-eyed 1960s film star of “Where the Boys Are”, “The Time Machine” and “Light in the Piazza”, has died. She was 80.

Michelle Bega, a family spokeswoman, said Mimieux died in her sleep of natural causes overnight Monday evening at her home in Los Angeles.

In 1960′s “The Time Machine”, based on H.G. Wells’ 1895 novel, Mimieux starred opposite Rod Taylor as Weena, a member of the peaceful, blond-haired Eloi people in the year 800,000, who don’t realize they’re being bred as food by the underground Morlocks.

 

That role and others that soon followed made Mimieux one of the ’60s most radiant starlets. The same year, she also starred in the MGM teen movie “Where the Boys Are” as one of four college students on spring break in Florida. Her character, distraught after being sexual assaulted in a motel, walks despondently into traffic.

“I suppose I had a soulful quality,” she told the Washington Post in 1979. “I was often cast as a wounded person, the ‘sensitive’ role.”

Yvette Carmen Mimieux was born on Jan. 8, 1942, in Los Angeles to a French father and a Mexican mother. She was “discovered” at age 15 when publicist Jim Byron, as he told it, spotted her on bridle path from a helicopter while flying over the Hollywood Hills. She and a friend were riding on horseback; Byron landed in front of them and gave her his card. Mimieux began as a model before MGM signed her in 1959.

 

“The subtle approach is the thing,” Byron told The AP in 1961. “I think we’ve got another Garbo on our hands.”

 

And for a few years, Mimieux was ubiquitous. Life magazine put her on the cover with the headline: “Warmly Wistful Starlet.” She made eight films before turning 21.

Mimieux starred in four films in 1962, including Vincent Minnelli’s “The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse” and Guy Green’s “Light in the Piazza.” In the latter, she played the beautiful, mentally handicapped daughter of Olivia de Havilland. On a trip to Italy, Mimieux’s character Clara is pursued by a young Italian in Florence, played by George Hamilton.

Mimieux played a bride in “Toys in the Attic” (1963), an epileptic surfer in “Dr. Kildare” (1964) and a bride in “Joy in the Morning” (1965). She was three times nominated for a Golden Globe, including for her role in the short-lived ABC series “The Most Deadly Game” from Aaron Spelling. In the ’70s and ’80s, she increasingly appeared in TV movies, some of which she helped write.

Mimieux co-wrote and co-produced the 1984 CBS TV movie “Obsessive Love,” about a deranged fan obsessed with a soap opera star. Mimieux said she had to battle the network over having a woman, played by herself, in such a role. Her idea stemmed from John Hinckley’s obsession with Jodie Foster, only with the gender roles reversed.

[DonLever]

https://www.ctvnews.ca/entertainment/meat-loaf-bat-out-of-hell-rock-superstar-dies-at-74-1.5749026

[DonLever]

Just now, DonLever said:

https://www.ctvnews.ca/entertainment/meat-loaf-bat-out-of-hell-rock-superstar-dies-at-74-1.5749026

 

NEW YORK -- Meat Loaf, the heavyweight rock superstar loved by millions for his "Bat Out of Hell" album and for such theatrical, dark-hearted anthems as "Paradise by the Dashboard Light," "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad," and "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)," has died.

The singer born Marvin Lee Aday died Thursday, according to a family statement posted on his official Facebook page.

"Our hearts are broken to announce that the incomparable Meat Loaf passed away tonight," the statement said. "We know how much he meant to so many of you and we truly appreciate all of the love and support as we move through this time of grief in losing such an inspiring artist and beautiful man... From his heart to your souls…don't ever stop rocking!"

 

No cause or other details were given, but Aday had numerous health scares over the years.

"Bat Out of a Hell," his mega-selling collaboration with songwriter Jim Steinman and producer Todd Rundgren, came out in 1977 and made him one of the most recognizable performers in rock. Fans fell hard for the roaring vocals of the long-haired, 250-plus pound singer and for the comic non-romance of the title track, "You Took The Words Right Out of My Mouth," "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad" and "Paradise By the Dashboard Light," an operatic cautionary tale about going all the way. "Paradise" was a duet with Ellen Foley that featured play by play from New York Yankees broadcaster Phil Rizzuto, who alleged -- to much skepticism -- that he was unaware of any alternate meanings to reaching third base and heading for home.

After a slow start and mixed reviews, "Bat Out of a Hell" became one of the top-selling albums in history, with worldwide sales of more than 40 million copies. Meat Loaf wasn't a consistent hit maker, especially after falling out for years with Steinman. But he maintained close ties with his fans through his manic live shows, social media and his many television, radio and film appearances, including "Fight Club" and cameos on "Glee" and "South Park." His biggest musical success after "Bat Out of Hell" was "Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell," a 1993 reunion with Steinman that sold more than 15 million copies and featured the Grammy-winning single "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)."

Steinman died in April.

Aday's other albums included "Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster is Loose," "Hell in a Handbasket" and "Braver Than We Are."

[thedestroyerofworlds]

RIP Meatloaf

[thedestroyerofworlds]

 

https://deadline.com/2022/01/louie-anderson-dead-obituary-comedian-baskets-family-feud-emmy-winner-1234917040/

Louie Anderson Dies: Comedian & Emmy Winner Was 68

 

AP

Louie Anderson, the veteran comedian, game show host and three-time Emmy winner, has died. He was 68.

The Baskets star died Friday morning in Las Vegas, where he had entered hospital this week for treatment of diffuse large B cell lymphoma, a form of cancer, his longtime publicist Glenn Schwartz told Deadline.

A constant presence on stage and screen since the mid-1980s, Anderson won the 2016 Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his role as Christine Baskets, the mother of the Zach Galifianakis-portrayed Chip and Dale on the FX series. The actor was nominated in the category over three consecutive years starting in 2016 for his Baskets performance. Anderson also won two Daytime Emmys for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program for Fox’s Life with Louie in 1997 and 1998.

According to Schwartz, Anderson, one of 11 children, was a counselor to troubled children before launching his comedy career with a first­-place trophy at the 1981 Midwest Comedy Competition. Henny Youngman, who hosted the competition, hired him as a writer.

Louie Anderson Remembered By Hollywood, Comedy World: ‘Heaven Has A Hell Of An Open Mic Night…”

Making his late-night debut on November 20, 1984, in front of Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show, Anderson had half a dozen solo stand-up specials over the years, most recently 2018’s Louie Anderson: Big Underwear

Born March 24, 1953, in Saint Paul, MN, Anderson appeared in 1988’s Eddie Murphy-led Coming to America and its 2021 sequel, among his big-screen roles. The ICM Partners-repped actor reprised his Maurice performance for two episodes of the Lena Waithe-created Twenties on BET in 2020. Playing a Gopher State psychotherapist, Anderson had short-lived sitcom The Louie Show on CBS during the 1995-96 TV season.

In 1995 Anderson debuted the Saturday morning animated series Life with Louie. The long-­running series based on Anderson’s own childhood and his life with his father won three Humanitas Prizes for writing on a children’s’ animated series, making him the only three­-time recipient of this award. The series was nominated for Outstanding Special Class Animated Program and Anderson won two Emmys for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program.

The host of Family Feud from 1999-2002 and appearing on Celebrity Family Feud in 2017, Anderson had been a regular panelist on the Jon Kelley-fronted Funny You Should Ask since the syndicated game show’s launch five years ago.

Anderson guest-starred in sitcoms including Grace Under Fire and the dramas Touched by an Angel and Chicago Hope. He had a memorable featured role in the classic 1986 film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

Meat Loaf Dies: ‘Bat Out Of Hell’ Singer & ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’ Actor Was 74

In 2013 he took a dive on the ABC reality series Splash, where he conquered his own fears while becoming an inspiration of hope. His stand-up special Big Baby Boomer premiered on CMT in 2013. He also guested on Young Sheldon, was a recurring character in TBS dark comedy Search Party and had recently joined the cast of the BET series Twenties.

His best-selling books included Dear Dad – Letters from an Adult Child, a collection of poignant and humorous letters from Anderson to his late father and Good­bye Jumbo…Hello Cruel World, a self-help book for those who struggle with self-esteem issues. Anderson’s most recent book, 2018’s Hey Mom, shared insights gained from his late mother.

Anderson is survived by his two sisters, Lisa and Shanna Anderson.

[Gurn]

 

[Gurn]

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/entertainment/music/news/don-wilson-rhythm-guitarist-and-founding-member-of-the-ventures-dies-at-88/ar-AAT2ZaN?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531

 

Don Wilson a founding member of the pioneering surf rock group The Ventures, has died. He was 88.

 

he rhythm guitarist's family tells PEOPLE he died peacefully of natural causes Saturday morning in Tacoma, Wash. Wilson had his four children by his side at the time.

"Our dad was an amazing rhythm guitar player who touched people all over world with his band, The Ventures," his son Tim said in a statement. "He will have his place in history forever and was much loved and appreciated. He will be missed."

Born Feb. 10, 1933, in Tacoma, Wilson founded The Ventures with his friend Bob Bogle in 1958. The quartet shot to international fame after dropping their first wide-release single "Walk, Don't Run" in 1960, which was later inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame for its lasting significance.

RELATED: New Doc The Ventures: Stars on Guitars Tells Story of Best-Selling Instrumental Band of All Time

"We never set out to be a surf band," Wilson told PEOPLE in 2020. "Honestly, I love playing surf music — it's very fun and it makes you feel good. But we never really considered ourselves a surf band. It was just all these things coming together — the surf culture, the electric guitar, Americana — when we were coming up in the early 1960s. Kind of a happy accident, I guess you could say. We play all kinds of music, though, including our 'Venturizing' of everything from classical to disco."

The Ventures had 14 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 and sold over 100 million records. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008. Groups like The Beatles, Beach Boys, Go-Go's, and even Kiss have cited The Ventures as inspiration, with Gene Simmons having been in the band's fan club and George Harrison saying he liked the sound of their guitar.

The instrumental group is also known for their tracks "Hawaii 5-0," "Wipeout," and "Perfidia," as well as for writing songs feature in movies like Pulp Fiction, Zoolander, Kangaroo Jack, and Dogtown and Z-Boys.

Until his retirement in 2015, Wilson remained an active member of the group and never missed a tour with The Ventures. He continued to record with the band's current lineup and produced the 2020 documentary The Ventures: Stars on Guitars with his family.

RELATED VIDEO: Rock Legend Meat Loaf Dead at 74

"This is the first actual documentary about The Ventures, if you can believe," he told PEOPLE at the time. "It means so much to me that my kids made this."

Wilson is survived by his four children, Jill, Tim, Cyd, and Staci and his ex-wife Nancy Bacon.

[Gurn]

 

[Gurn]

A clip of James Corden,  at 15 yrs old, and his first celebrity interview with Meat Loaf;

"

James Corden has a special memory of the late Meat Loaf.

 

The "Late Late Show" host paid tribute to the rock legend Monday after he passed away at age 74 on January 20.

Corden told viewers, "He truly, truly was one of a kind," before revealing that the singer was his very first celebrity interview after he won a competition as a teenager.

Corden shared, "For me personally, he'll always have a special place in my heart. You see, when I was 15, I won a competition back in the U.K. to be a showbiz reporter for a day on a morning show that airs in Britain.

"And my prize was that I got to interview a big celebrity."

The show then cut to footage of the then-15-year-old Corden sitting across from Meat Loaf in a fancy hotel asking some awkward but adorable questions.

The musician insisted he wasn't a huge fan of the promo side of his job but didn't actually mind it because he got to meet interesting people like Corden.

The host then mentioned that he was in a band and asked what advice Meat Loaf would give him.

"The one thing you gotta do is, you need to always do the best you can do," the star insisted.

"No matter the different situation, no matter what comes up against you, you do the best you can do, and you never give up. Never quit."

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/entertainment/tv/other/james-corden-shares-clip-of-his-first-celebrity-interview-at-age-15-with-meat-loaf/ar-AAT7WtL?ocid=uxbndlbing

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

-there is a vid- I just can't link it.

 

 

[Gurn]

Queens Palace Guards pay tribute to Meat loaf:

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/entertainment/music/other/queen-s-guard-pays-tribute-to-meat-loaf/ar-AAT8EpC?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U53

he musician died on Jan. 20 at 74. The cause of his death has yet to be confirmed.

To honour the Bat Out Of Hell artist, the Queen's Guard at Buckingham Palace performed his hit song, "I Would Do Anything For Love, But I Won't Do That."

A family statement released last week confirmed Meat Loaf's death.

“Our hearts are broken to announce that the incomparable Meat Loaf passed away tonight,” the statement said. “We know how much he meant to so many of you and we truly appreciate all of the love and support as we move through this time of grief in losing such an inspiring artist and beautiful man… From his heart to your souls…don’t ever stop rocking!”

A number of celebs remembered him including "Rocky Horror" co-star Susan Sarandon, Eric Church and James Corden, but it was a resurfaced interview the Guardian did with him that caught everyone's attention.

In the interview, Meat Loaf explained how Prince Andrew allegedly tried to push him in the moat as the pair filmed “It’s a Royal Knockout” for charity in 1987.

“Fergie wasn’t exactly flirting with me, but she was paying attention to me, and I think Andrew got a little, I could be wrong, I’m just reading into this, I think he got a little jealous,” he continued. “Anyway, he tried to push me in the water. He tried to push me in the moat.”

The singer added of Andrew, “So I turned around and I grabbed him and he goes, ‘You can’t touch me. I’m royal.’ I said, ‘Well you try to push me in the moat, Jack, I don’t give a s**t who you are, you’re goin’ in the moat.’”

[Gurn]

Rip Dr. Johnny Fever aka Charlie Moore:

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/entertainment/news/howard-hesseman-star-of-wkrp-in-cincinnati-dies-at-81/ar-AATiRDj?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531

NEW YORK (AP) — Howard Hesseman, who played the radio disc jockey Johnny Fever on the sitcom “WKRP in Cincinnati" and the actor-turned-history teacher Charlie Moore on “Head of the Class,” has died. He was 81.

Hesseman died Saturday in Los Angeles due to complications from colon surgery, his manager Robbie Kass said Sunday.

Hesseman, who had himself been a radio DJ in the '60s, earned two Emmy nominations for playing Johnny Fever on CBS’ “WKRP in Cincinnati,” which ran for four seasons from 1978-1982. The role made Hesseman a counterculture icon at a time when few hippie characters made it onto network television.

“I think maybe Johnny smokes a little marijuana, drinks beer and wine, and maybe a little hard liquor," Hesseman told The New York Times in 1979 as he readied for one of three “Saturday Night Live” hosting gigs. “And on one of those hard mornings at the station, he might take what for many years was referred to as a diet pill. But be is a moderate user of soft drugs, specifically marijuana.”

Hesseman played a hippie in one of his first roles, on “Dragnet,” in 1967, and also in the 1968 Richard Lester film “Petulia.” Born in Lebanon, Oregon, Hesseman wasn't so disconnected to some of the characters he played. In 1983, he told People magazine that he had conducted “pharmaceutical experiments in recreational chemistry.” He was jailed in San Francisco in 1963 for selling marijuana.

Hesseman started out as a member of the San Francisco improv group The Committee, and at the time he moonlighted on Saturdays as the disk jockey for the San Francisco rock-and-roll station KMPX. Later on “WKRP in Cincinnati," Hesseman often ad-libbed his on-air banter.

“Impossible to overstate Howard Hesseman’s influence on his and subsequent generations of improvisors,” said the actor and comedian Michael McKean on Twitter. He recalled first seeing Hesseman in 1971 with The Committee. “I saw that he was the real deal.”

[Gurn]

 

[RUPERTKBD]

^^^^ McKean and Hesseman also appeared together in Spinal Tap.

 

RIP Johnny....

[DonLever]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/bob-saget-head-trauma-cause-of-death-1.6345970

 

A medical examiner in Florida says comedian and actor Bob Saget died from blunt head trauma, likely from an "unwitnessed fall."

Saget was found dead in a Florida hotel room on Jan. 9 at age 65, after performing standup comedy the night before.

 

Thursday's statement from medical examiner Joshua Stephany in Orlando says a toxicology analysis didn't show any illicit drugs or toxins in Saget's body and that his death was an accident.

That conclusion was first announced by the family of the Full House star. Saget most likely hit the back of his head and "thought nothing of it and went to sleep," his family said in a statement to Reuters. No drugs or alcohol were involved.

"As we continue to mourn together, we ask everyone to remember the love and laughter that Bob brought to this world, and the lessons he taught us all," the statement said. 

Emergency responders found the actor unresponsive on Jan. 9 in a room at the Ritz-Carlton in Orlando and pronounced him dead at the scene, the Orange County sheriff's office said at the time.

Edited February 10, 2022 by DonLever

[Gurn]

18 minutes ago, DonLever said:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/bob-saget-head-trauma-cause-of-death-1.6345970

 

A medical examiner in Florida says comedian and actor Bob Saget died from blunt head trauma, likely from an "unwitnessed fall."

Saget was found dead in a Florida hotel room on Jan. 9 at age 65, after performing standup comedy the night before.

 

Thursday's statement from medical examiner Joshua Stephany in Orlando says a toxicology analysis didn't show any illicit drugs or toxins in Saget's body and that his death was an accident.

That conclusion was first announced by the family of the Full House star. Saget most likely hit the back of his head and "thought nothing of it and went to sleep," his family said in a statement to Reuters. No drugs or alcohol were involved.

"As we continue to mourn together, we ask everyone to remember the love and laughter that Bob brought to this world, and the lessons he taught us all," the statement said. 

Emergency responders found the actor unresponsive on Jan. 9 in a room at the Ritz-Carlton in Orlando and pronounced him dead at the scene, the Orange County sheriff's office said at the time.

ICP 

Inter 

Cranial 

Pressure

Bleeding inside the skull pushes the brain down into the spinal column. Damages the part of our brain, at the back of our heads, that controls automatic breathing.