Tag: passing

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Former NAACP Chairman & LGBT Ally Julian Bond Passes At 75

From The Human Rights Campaign:

In addition to his lifetime of work within and on behalf of the American civil rights movement, Bond was a passionate and stalwart supporter of the equal rights of LGBT Americans.

In 2011, Bond highlighted his support of marriage equality through a video for HRC’s Americans for Marriage Equality and joined HRC in 2015 at the Supreme Court to hear oral arguments in Obergefell v. Hodges. In 2013, he wrote “LGBT rights are human rights” in a blog post on the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington.

Throughout the first half of this year, Bond wrote multiple opinion pieces in support of LGBT equality, including those that highlighted the need for equal treatment in the South, against anti-LGBT religious refusal legislation in state legislatures, and in strong support of comprehensive, federal LGBT non-discrimination protections.

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Popular Gay TV Host Chris Hyndman Passes Away at 49

Popular Canadian TV decorating personality Chris Hyndman, of Steven and Chris fame, has passed away at the age of 49. He is survived by his partner and husband Steven Sabados.

From The Globe and Mail:

The CBC reported that Mr. Hyndman’s body was found without vital signs late Monday in an alleyway just east of Toronto’s downtown core. He was 49.

A Toronto Police spokeswoman would not confirm the report, citing privacy concerns and the fact there was no ongoing criminal investigation.

Mr. Hyndman was a well-known design personality and part of “Canada’s reigning lifestyle couple” with his spouse and co-host Steven Sabados.

Mr. Hyndman and Mr. Sabados founded a design and event-planning company in 1992 before going on to star in HGTV’s Designer Guys and Design Rivals and Slice’s So Chic.

In 2007, they launched their own line of furniture, textiles and decorative accessories. The Steven and Chris show followed in 2008, focusing on home decor, entertaining and fashion.

It aired 910 episodes and was going in to its ninth season. It was syndicated in 17 countries worldwide.

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Iconic UK Recording Artist & TV Personality Cilla Black Passes Away at 72

Legendary UK recording star and TV host Cilla Black passed away in her home in Spain at the age of 72.

With a singing career that launched in 1964, Black’s early hits – “Anyone Who Had A Heart” and “You’re My World” – both reached number one.

She went on to have 11 Top Ten hits in the UK.

After conquering the music industry, Black hosted several long-running TV shows such as Cilla, Surprise Surprise, and Blind Date.

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RIP Bobbi Kristina Brown

Bobbi Kristina Houston with grandmother Cissy and mother Whitney

Bobbi Kristna Brown, daughter of Whitney Houston, passes away at 22.

From CNN:

Brown, the daughter of late superstar Whitney Houston and singer Bobby Brown, died Sunday at the age of 22, a representative of the Houston family said in a statement.

“Bobbi Kristina Brown passed away Sunday, July, 26 2015, surrounded by her family,” the statement said. “She is finally at peace in the arms of God. We want to again thank everyone for their tremendous amount of love and support during these last few months.”

Goodbye little one. It wasn’t your fault.

From ETOnline:

“She is finally at peace in the arms of God,” the Houston family said in statement to ET. “We want to again thank everyone for their tremendous amount of love and support during these last few months.”

On Jan. 31, Bobbi Kristina was found unresponsive in her bathtub, and was then taken to North Fulton Hospital in Roswell, Georgia, where she was put on a ventilator to assist her breathing. She was later placed in a medically induced coma at Atlanta’s Emory University Hospital.

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Beau Biden, Son Of Vice-President Joe Biden, Passes Away From Brain Cancer At 46

From Huffington Post:

Beau Biden, the son of Vice President Joe Biden, has died from brain cancer, the White House announced Saturday evening. He was 46.

Biden served as Delaware’s attorney general for eight years between 2007 to 2015. In 2010, he suffered a mild stroke but recovered and went back to work.

“Michelle and I are grieving tonight,” President Obama said in a statement.

From the Biden Family:

It is with broken hearts that Hallie, Hunter, Ashley, Jill and I announce the passing of our husband, brother and son, Beau, after he battled brain cancer with the same integrity, courage and strength he demonstrated every day of his life.

The entire Biden family is saddened beyond words. We know that Beau’s spirit will live on in all of us—especially through his brave wife, Hallie, and two remarkable children, Natalie and Hunter.

Beau’s life was defined by service to others. As a young lawyer, he worked to establish the rule of law in war-torn Kosovo. A major in the Delaware National Guard, he was an Iraq War veteran and was awarded the Bronze Star. As Delaware’s Attorney General, he fought for the powerless and made it his mission to protect children from abuse.

More than his professional accomplishments, Beau measured himself as a husband, father, son and brother. His absolute honor made him a role model for our family. Beau embodied my father’s saying that a parent knows success when his child turns out better than he did.

In the words of the Biden family: Beau Biden was, quite simply, the finest man any of us have ever known.

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Iconic Actress Anne Meara Passes Away at 85

Anne Meara with husband Jerry (L) and son Ben (R)

Anne Meara, iconic actress and comedian, has passed away at 85.

She and husband Jerry Stiller were a prominent 1960s comedy team, appearing as Stiller and Meara, and are the parents of actor and comedian Ben and actress Amy Stiller.

In 1975 she starred in her own series Kate McShane on CBS, which she was nominated for an Emmy Award.

Meara costarred with Carroll O’Connor and Martin Balsam in the early 1980s hit sitcom Archie Bunker’s Place, which was a continuation of the influential 1970s sitcom All in the Family. She played the role of Veronica Rooney, the bar’s cook, for the show’s first three seasons (1979–1982).

She also worked in the movie Fame, in which she played English teacher, Elizabeth Sherwood.

She was a cast member of the long running daytime drama All My Children from 1992-1999.

More recently, she has had recurring roles on the television shows Sex and the City (as Mary Brady) and The King of Queens (as Veronica).

She was also an accomplished Broadway actress appearing in several plays including A Month In The Country, Eastern Standard and Anna Christie among others.

The Stiller family released a statement to The Associated Press on Sunday describing Jerry Stiller as Meara’s “husband and partner in life.”

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Las Vegas: Legendary Guitarist & Singer BB King Passes Away At 89

Fifteen times Grammy Award winner BB King has died at age 89 in his home in Las Vegas.

Known as the “King of the Blues,” King’s hits included “Sweet Little Angel,” “Rock Me Baby,” and “My Lucille.” His latest Grammy Award ca,e om 2009 for his album One Kind Favor.

Although suffering ill health in recent years due to diabetes-related illness, King still performed at least 100 concerts a year.

He was an inductee to both the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

With a career stretching back to the 1940s, King’s body of work influenced generations of musicians including U2 and Eric Clapton.

(source)

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Ben E. King Passes Away at 76

Ben E King, best known for the classic song Stand By Me has died aged 76 of natural causes.

The list of the soulful singer’s hit songs includes  There Goes My Baby, Save The Last Dance For Me, Spanish Harlem, I (Who Have Nothing), and Don’t Play That Song (You Lied).

King began his singing career in doo wop group the Five Crowns. He went on to sing for The Drifters, leaving in 1960 over a contract dispute, thus launching his solo career.

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Broadway & Cabaret Star Julie Wilson Passes Away At 90

The Broadway and cabaret worlds mourn the loss of a true legend, Julie Wilson, who passed away last night.

From starring roles in Broadway musicals like Kismet, Pajama Game, Legs Diamond (Tony Award nomination) to reigning supreme on the cabaret stage, Wilson was revered for decades as not only a great artist but a generous in her support for everyone in the business.

Ann Hampton Callaway, one of today’s biggest cabaret stars, wrote this on Facebook upon hearing the news of Wilson’s passing:

“When I came to NY to pursue my dreams, Julie was one of the first people who welcomed, encouraged and inspired me. I loved her contrasts – she was pure glamour when she stepped on a stage and sang great songs with wry wisdom and humor and when she was done, she’d put on her Reboks and fold her gown in a shopping bag and call it a night.

“She may have left Omaha but Omaha never left her. Always down to earth, she balanced to perfect proportion, lady and broad, and a conversation with her always involved much laughter. I know of almost no other singer who was as generous to other singers as Julie, attending shows of so many of us starting out through the years and always with such love and enthusiasm.

“Singer, actress, mother and shining light, you will be dearly missed by all of us lucky enough to know you, Julie.”

Wilson was considered one of the great interpreters of Sondheim and Cole Porter. She not only “got” the lyrics, she could communicate their universal truths.

Just one example of Wilson doing what she did best posted below.

Rest well, Julie Wilson.