Tag: passing

Posted on

News Round-Up: January 28, 2016

Some news stories you may have missed:

• Abe Vigoda, who played the lovable “Detective Fish” on Barney Miller, passed away at the age of 94.

• President Obama met with Democratic White House hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders in an effort to show no endorsement has been made by Obama between Sanders and Hillary Clinton.

• However, President Obama DOES think Hillary Clinton is facing “unfair” scrutiny this primary season.

• The nominees for the 2016 GLAAD Media Awards, which recognize and honor media for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the LGBT community, have been announced.

• Hawaiian lawmakers have introduced legislation to ban so-called “conversion therapy” for minors.

• “Bundy militia” leader Ammon Bundy to his fellow domestic terrorists: “Please stand down. Go home and hug your families.”

• Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly urges Donald Trump to drop his boycott of tonight’s GOP debate: “Be the bigger man.”

I just like looking at him. Happy Thursday!
Posted on

Celine Dion’s Brother Daniel Passes Away At 59 Due To Cancer

Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

UPDATE: TMZ reports that Céline Dion’s brother, Daniel, died of brain, tongue, and throat cancer Saturday morning in Montreal.

He was 59.

Céline’s husband, René Angélil, died after a long battle with throat cancer on just three days ago.

****************************

Original post:

Less than a day after Celine Dion’s husband, Rene Angelil, passed away from throat cancer comes the news that the uber-famous singer’s 59 year-old brother Daniel is critically ill and may be close to death.

Via TMZ:

Daniel, 59, has been fighting brain, tongue and throat cancer in Celine’s native Montreal according to his sister, Claudette. He’s surrounded by family, including their 89-year-old mother, but it’s so bad the family doesn’t think he’ll make it through another week.

A family rep told HollywoodLife.com that “He was supposed to pass away already. It can happen at any moment.”

Posted on

Dan Haggerty Of “Grizzly Adams” Fame Passes Away At 74

Dan Haggerty, who played mountain man Grizzly Adams in a hit movie followed by a TV show in the 1970s, has died. He was 74.

Haggerty died Friday morning at a Burbank, California, hospital after battling cancer for five months. Doctors discovered the cancer after he had surgery for back pain, Haggerty’s family said in a statement.

Haggerty died surrounded by his family, said his manager, Terry Bomar.

The actor started taking chemo last summer for a spinal tumor, said Bomar, who was friends with the star for nearly 20 years and had been his manager most of that time.. Haggerty thought his condition was improving, but doctors later found a spot on his lung, he said.

“I talked to him yesterday and told him we’re praying for him,” Bomar said. “I told him ‘I love you, man.’ The last thing I heard him say was “I love you.’ “

With his long hair, full beard and 6-foot-1 build, Haggerty seemed born to play Adams, who was based on a 19th-century frontiersman. The character was a wrongly accused man who saves and raises a grizzly bear cub. The bear becomes his constant companion as Adams travels the West, caring for wild animals he finds.

“The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams,” made for a low six-figure budget, became one of the biggest movie hits of 1974. Three years later NBC turned it into a TV show with the same name.

“The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams” lasted two seasons, but the show’s unique subject and Haggerty’s rugged looks gave the star a name.

(from CNN)

Posted on

A True Legend, A True Original – David Bowie Passes Away At 69

Wow. A true rock legend has passed. And at the very young age of 69.

Bowie died last night after an 18 month long battle with cancer.

Complexly androgynous, Bowie was a leader in his generation of rock stars who created and presented music as theater. Showmanship, gender-bending and “glam-rock” were all a part of his mystique.

From the Hollywood Reporter:

“David Bowie died peacefully today surrounded by his family after a courageous 18-month battle with cancer. While many of you will share in this loss, we ask that you respect the family’s privacy during their time of grief,” read a statement posted on the artist’s official social media accounts.

The influential singer-songwriter and producer excelled at glam rock, art rock, soul, hard rock, dance pop, punk and electronica during his eclectic 40-plus-year career. He just released his 25th album, Blackstar, Jan. 8, which was his birthday.

Bowie achieved his first major American crossover success with the No. 1 single “Fame” off the top 10 album Young Americans, then followed with the 1976 avant-garde art rock LP Station to Station, which made it to No. 3 on the charts and featured top 10 hit “Golden Years.”

Other memorable songs included 1983’s “Let’s Dance” — his only other No. 1 U.S. hit — “Space Oddity,” “Heroes,” “Changes,” “Under Pressure,” “China Girl,” “Modern Love,” “Rebel, Rebel,” “All the Young Dudes,” “Panic in Detroit,” “Fashion,” “Life on Mars,” “Suffragette City” and a 1977 Christmas medley with Bing Crosby.

My two favorite Bowie songs below – his huge hit “Fame” from YOUNG AMERICANS in 1975, and his collaboration with Queen, “Under Pressure.”

And from his 1971 hit, “Changes:” 

“Turn and face the strange / Ch-ch-changes / Oh look out now you rock and rollers / Pretty soon now you’re gonna get older.”

Journey on, Ziggy Stardust – RIP.

Posted on

Natalie Cole Passes Away At 65

Grammy Award winning singer Natalie Cole has passed away due to congestive heart failure, according to TMZ.

Cole, whose hits include “This Will Be” and “Unforgettable” which she performed as a virtual duet with dad Nat King Cole — died from congestive heart failure, although we’re told the underlying medical issues were complications from a kidney transplant and Hepatitis C.

Natalie had been very sick recently, cancelling several tour dates in late December including a New Year’s Eve concert at Disney Hall in L.A. She also cancelled an upcoming February concert due to illness.

Natalie struggled with substance abuse and was plagued with health problems, suffering from liver disease in 2008. She also underwent chemo for Hepatitis C.

Natalie, who was married 3 times and has a son, was 65.

She died in a Los Angeles hospital.

Over the course of her career, Cole won nine Grammy Awards, three American Music Awards, the Songwriters Hall of Fame Hitmaker Award, and two NAACP Image Awards.

Posted on

Hollywood Veteran Robert Loggia Passes Away At 85

Hollywood veteran and Oscar nominee Robert Loggia passed away yesterday at the age of 85.

Loggia had been battling Alzheimer’s Disease for the past five years, according to his widow. They had been married for 33 years.

He was nominated for a supporting actor Academy Award for “Jagged Edge” in 1986 for his portrayal of blunt private detective Sam Ransom.

Loggia’s most notable film credits included “An Officer and a Gentleman,” “Prizzi’s Honor,” “Independence Day,” David Lynch’s “Lost Highway” and “Big,” in which he played a toy company owner and performed a memorable duet on a giant foot-operated piano with Tom Hanks. He played Miami drug lord Frank Lopez in “Scarface.”

Loggia was nominated for an Emmy in 1989 for his portrayal of FBI agent Nick Mancuso in the series “Mancuso FBI” — which has a spin-off of the character he created in the “Favorite Son” miniseries starring Harry Hamlin — and again in 2000 for his guest star role in “Malcolm in the Middle.”

Loggia’s “tough guy” voice was unmistakeable. But what rounded out his performances was his ability to balance “tough guy” with heart.

My favorite scene ever by the unforgettable Loggia – from the movie Big with Tom Hanks.

Posted on

Major League Baseball Mourns The Passing Of Yogi Berra

Posted on

Best-Selling Author Jackie Collins Passes Away At 77 From Breast Cancer

Collins kept her cancer battle private until just recently. According to People, she didn’t tell her famous sister Joan Collins until a few weeks ago.

Joan has given a statement saying that she is “completely devastated” following the news of sister Jackie Collins’ death.

“She was my best friend, ” Joan, 82, said. “I admire how she handled this. She was a wonderful, brave and a beautiful person and I love her.”

Posted on

Martin Milner, star of ADAM-12, ROUTE 66, Dead At 83

ADAM-12 star Martin Milner passes away at 83

My brother Gary and I grew up watching ADAM-12. It was the kind of TV we could understand, plus it taught us something about the law. How much, I don’t know, but for it’s time I remember the show feeling more “real” than most.

From Variety:

Martin Milner, who starred on TV on “Adam-12” with Kent McCord and, earlier, on “Route 66” with George Maharis, died Sunday night, Diana Downing, a representative for his fan page, confirmed. He was 83.

Milner was also known for his roles as a jazz guitarist in the brilliant 1957 film “Sweet Smell of Success” and in the 1967 camp classic “Valley of the Dolls.”

Milner began acting in movies while a teen, after his father got him an agent, first appearing in the 1947 classic “Life With Father.” The film starred William Powell and Irene Dunne, and thus Milner, along with his co-star Elizabeth Taylor, bridged the generations in Hollywood between the golden age and contemporary era.

He appeared as Officer Pete Molloy alongside Kent McCord’s Officer Jim Reed in NBC’s “Adam-12” from 1968-75. Molloy was the seasoned, savvy veteran bringing along Reed who was, at first, a rookie.

Trivia: Milner also has the distinction of having portrayed the victim in the premiere episode of Columbo entitled “Murder by the Book”.

RIP Martin Milner.

Posted on

Yvonne Craig, “Batgirl” From Iconic 1960s BATMAN Series, Passes Away At 78

Yvonne Craig, who began her professional performing life as a ballerina and created the role of “Batgirl” in the 1960s TV series BATMAN, has passed away at the age of 78 due to breast cancer.

From The Hollywood Reporter:

Craig also was known for playing “Marta,” an insane green Orion Slave Girl who wanted to kill Captain Kirk (William Shatner), in a 1969, third-season Star Trek episode, “Whom Gods Destroy.”

Craig joined Batman for its third season and final season (1967-68) as Batgirl/librarian Barbara Gordon, the daughter of Gotham City Police Commissioner Gordon (Neil Hamilton).

[snip]

Craig said they put her character on the show “because they needed someone who could encourage an over-40 male audience and a prepubescent female audience. That’s the real reason why they hired me!”

Craig did all of her own stunts and all of her motorcycle riding on the show. Her leatherette-clad character accessed her sleek Batgirl Cycle from an old, unused elevator that was hidden behind a revolving wall in her apartment and led to the street below.

On the series, only the Wayne butler Alfred (Alan Napier) knew her secret identity — not even Batman (Adam West) or Robin (Burt Ward)!

Batman was an immediate sensation when it debuted in January 1966 but ran out of steam by the time Craig joined the series for its final 26 episodes.

The dark-haired beauty, a native of Taylorville, Ill., began her theatrical career at age 17 as the youngest member of The Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. She traveled the U.S. and was with the troupe for three years when she was discovered by director John Ford’s son Patrick and cast for the lead in the movie The Young Land (1959).

She [also] starred opposite Elvis Presley in the films It Happened at the World’s Fair (1963) and Kissin’ Cousins (1964). The two dated for a spell.

My brother and I LIVED for when “Batgirl” would make an appearance on BATMAN. We thought she was the coolest chick ever.

Of course, since we both turned out to be gay, it was clearly our “cool factor” gene at work and not our young libidos.

But we really thought she was fab. RIP Yvonne Craig.

I knew every episode of the original STAR TREK by heart, and never put together that Craig played “Marta.” Looking at this now, you clearly see her dance training. Look at the line of her leg and foot at the 2:00 mark. Dang!