Tag: passing

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Florence Henderson, “Brady Bunch” Mom & LGBTQ Ally, Dead At 82

Florence Henderson, who successfully transitioned from Broadway star (Wish You Were Here, Fanny, Oklahoma, The Girl Who Came To Supper) to TV icon as the mother in the 1970s sitcom The Brady Bunch, has passed away at 82 after being hospitalized for heart failure.

With the launch of The Brady Bunch in 1969, Henderson became one of America’s most beloved TV moms.

Via Rolling Stone:

Shortly after filming her big-screen debut in Song of Norway, Henderson was cast as Carol Brady, the widowed “lovely lady” with three daughters who formed a blended family when she married Mike Brady, played by actor Robert Reed, who had three sons.

The Brady Bunch debuted in September 1969 and ran for five seasons before the sitcom’s cancellation in 1974. Although the show didn’t generate huge ratings and critics largely ignored the saccharine sitcom in the turbulent era of Woodstock, counterculture and Richard Nixon, The Brady Bunch became a hit after entering syndication, spawning spinoff series and made-for-TV films that Henderson would always reprise her role for.

Henderson would also appear in the satirical big-screen Nineties reboot of The Brady Bunch in a cameo role as Carol Brady’s grandmother. In the five decades following The Brady Bunch, the ever-present Henderson would pop up as a contestant on game shows ranging from The $100,000 Pyramid, Hollywood Squares and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and would make countless “as herself” TV appearances, including The Surreal Life, 30 Rock, The Muppet Show and WWE Raw.

Recently, Henderson hosted a pair of shows on Retirement Living TV, the Florence Henderson Show and Who’s Cooking With Florence Henderson.

Henderson was a loyal and trusted ally to the LGBT community, returning to the stage several times to raise money for charities like Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS at their annual Broadway Backwards fundraiser, and GLSEN’s Respect Awards.

I should add that my friends who knew her share that “the perfect mom” also had a perfectly delicious (and salty) sense of humor 🙂

RIP Florence Henderson.

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Pete Burns, Frontman For DEAD OR ALIVE, Dead At 57

From The Guardian:

Singer Pete Burns, who founded pop group Dead Or Alive, has died aged 57 after a cardiac arrest.

Burns rose to fame in the 1980s with the band’s hit song You Spin Me Round. He also appeared on Big Brother in 2006, coming fifth in the final.

A joint statement released by his partner, Michael Simpson, his ex-wife, Lynn, and his manager, Steve Coy, read: “All of his family and friends are devastated by the loss of our special star. He was a true visionary, a beautiful talented soul and will be missed by all those who loved and appreciated everything he was and all of the wonderful memories he has left us with.”

Such a young age. Of course you know the massive dance hit.

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Transgender Actress Alexis Arquette Dies At 47

TMZ is reporting that actress and singer Alexis Arquette died Sunday morning surrounded by family and friends after battling an unspecified illness for some time.

Alexis’ brother, Richmond Arquette says Alexis died at 12:32 AM while listening to David Bowie’s, “Starman.”

Besides being the sibling of David and Patricia Arquette — Alexis was known for her roles in “Pulp Fiction” and “The Wedding Singer,” as well as being a champion for trans rights.

We last ran into Alexis earlier this year — when she talked to us about Caitlyn Jenner.

David released a statement about Alexis’ death, saying, “Never have I had the honor of knowing and loving a funnier more beautiful soul then my brother/sister Alexis.”

We’re told she’d been battling an illness.

You’ll notice an unusual mix of gender pronouns in the statement. You can only imagine that’s how Alexis preferred to be referred as.

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“Young Frankenstein/Willy Wonka” Star Gene Wilder Dead At 83

Gene Wilder

Is it possible that when you’ve inspired countless belly laughs through decades of sterling film work,  that the impact of passing away registers even more acutely?

That’s how I feel upon hearing the news that comic genius Gene Wilder passed away today at his home in Connecticut due to complications from Alzheimer’s disease.

Via USA Today:

Wilder was unforgettably funny in such classics as The Producers, Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles, his frizzy hair enveloping his head like a halo, his voice rising to a shriek when the role called for panic. And his roles usually did.

He was a specialist at playing panicked characters caught up in schemes that only a madman such as Brooks could devise, whether reviving a monster in Young Frankenstein or bilking Broadway in The Producers.

But he also knew how to keep it cool as the boozy sheriff in Blazing Saddles and as the charming candy man in the children’s favorite Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.

Wilder was twice nominated for the Academy Award: first for his performance in The Producers, second for co-authoring the screenplay for Young Frankenstein.

His last acting assignment was on the hit TV show “Will & Grace” during the 2003-04 season. He won an Emmy Award for that performance.

Wilder’s family issued a statement which read in part:

“We understand for all the emotional and physical challenges this situation presented we have been among the lucky ones — this illness-pirate, unlike in so many cases, never stole his ability to recognize those that were closest to him, nor took command of his central-gentle-life affirming core personality. The decision to wait until this time to disclose his condition wasn’t vanity, but more so that the countless young children that would smile or call out to him “there’s Willy Wonka,” would not have to be then exposed to an adult referencing illness or trouble and causing delight to travel to worry, disappointment or confusion. He simply couldn’t bear the idea of one less smile in the world.”

Countless tributes will undoubtedly pour in. The Twitterverse is already acknowledging the loss:

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Boxing Legend Muhammad Ali Passes Away At 74

Boxing legend Muhammad Ali passed away yesterday at the age of 74.

Ali, who had battled advanced Parkinson’s disease since the 1980s, died Friday after being taken to a Phoenix-area hospital due to respiratory issues. He had been placed on life support to regulate his breathing.

The three-time world Heavyweight Boxing champion referred to himself as “The Greatest,” and most sports experts would agree. Incredible skill, natural talent, and a charismatic, bigger-than-life personality earned Ali a legion of fans throughout his career.

A gold medal at the 1960 Summer Olympic games, followed by his first heavyweight championships in 1964 (when he knocked out Sonny Liston), were just a few of Ali’s achievements.

Ali retired from boxing in 1981 with a 56-5 record, three of the losses coming in his final four fights. He had 37 knockouts.

After his retirement, he concentrated on philanthropy and social activism.

The White House released a statement from President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama which read, in part:

Muhammad Ali was The Greatest. Period. If you just asked him, he’d tell you. He’d tell you he was the double greatest; that he’d “handcuffed lightning, thrown thunder into jail.”

But what made The Champ the greatest – what truly separated him from everyone else – is that everyone else would tell you pretty much the same thing.

Like everyone else on the planet, Michelle and I mourn his passing. But we’re also grateful to God for how fortunate we are to have known him, if just for a while; for how fortunate we all are that The Greatest chose to grace our time.

[snip]

Muhammad Ali shook up the world. And the world is better for it. We are all better for it. Michelle and I send our deepest condolences to his family, and we pray that the greatest fighter of them all finally rests in peace

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“60 Minutes” Reporter Morley Safer Dead At 84

Morley Safer, the legendary reporter who became the longest-serving reporter for CBS’s “60 Minutes” news magazine, has died at 84.

Safer retired just last week after 46 seasons with the venerable news magazine.

“A masterful storyteller, inspiration to many of us and a wonderful friend,” “60 Minutes” producer Jeff Fager tweeted Thursday.

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5-Time Emmy Winner Doris Roberts Dies At 90

Television icon Doris Roberts has passed away at the age of 90.

Although her TV debut dates back to 1951, but it wasn’t until the 1970s that she found her niche in maternal figures on shows like Soap (1978), Angie (1979-1980), Remington Steele (1983-1987), and the role of her lifetime – “Marie Barone” on Everybody Loves Raymond (1996-2005).

Along the way, Roberts won a total of five Emmy Awards – four for her performances on ‘Raymond;’ her first for a guest spot on St. Elsewhere.

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Former First Lady Nancy Reagan Dead At 94

From NBC News:

Former first lady Nancy Reagan has died, according to a spokeswoman with the Reagan Library. She was 94.

The cause of death was congestive heart failure, according to her rep Joanne Drake. “Mrs. Reagan will be buried at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, next to her husband, Ronald Wilson Reagan, who died on June 5, 2004,” Drake wrote in a statement.

“Prior to the funeral service, there will be an opportunity for members of the public to pay their respects at the Library.”

“It is a very sad day,” former Ronald Reagan Chief of Staff Ken Duberstein told NBC News.

In lieu of flowers, Mrs. Reagan asked that contributions be made to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Foundation at www.reaganlibrary.com, Drake said.

A former B-movie star, she married Ronald Reagan in 1952 and went on to become famous as a First Lady who was extremely loyal and protective of her husband.

While beloved by the conservative community, when I think of the Reagans I remember the tens of thousands who died during the early years of the AIDS epidemic, and the Reagans did little to nothing to stop it. It wasn’t until May 1987 that President Reagan finally addressed the issue of AIDS – after over 20,000 Americans had died from the disease.

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‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ Author Harper Lee Passes Away At 89

Harper Lee, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” has quietly passed away at the age of 89 in her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama.

“To Kill a Mockingbird,” written in 1961, was a semi-autobiographical tale of a crusading lawyer in the Jim Crow South that won a Pulitzer Prize, was turned into an Oscar-winning 1962 film and has been taught to generations of schoolchildren.