2023 RIP thread

[earendel]

Peter Nero, noted pianist and conductor of the Philadelphia Pops orchestra, died July 6, age 89.

[LucarioSnooperVixey]

Jane Birkin, Fashion Icon and namesake of the Birkin bag, 76

[DBear]

Tony Bennett, masterful stylist of American musical standards, dies at 96

A regular on the J! archives.

[alietr]

Singer Sinead O'Connor at 56.

[LucarioSnooperVixey]

Singer Sinead O'Connor at 56.

Gone too soon but like Lisa-Marie Presley, she outlived her son, who committed suicide at 17.

[Bamaman]

Inga Swenson, who played Benson’s nemesis on his sitcom, has died at 90.


https://j-archive.com/showgame.php?game ... light=Inga

[Robert K S]

Paul Reubens, aka Pee-wee Herman, at (hard to believe) 70, after an unpublicized 6-year cancer battle.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv ... 235547913/

[kerryoakie]

Angus Cloud, breakout star from HBO's "Euphoria," has died at the age of 25.

He doesn't have any hits in the archive, but Euphoria has been on a number of times.

[Robert K S]

William Friedkin, director of William Friedkin's Sorceror, at 87.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movie ... 1235557801

[alietr]

William Friedkin, director of William Friedkin's Sorceror, at 87.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movie ... 1235557801

You can't see it in the link, but also the director of The French Connection and The Exorcist.

Which means I have to trot out my Exorcist story again. To wit:

When I first moved to Washington, I lived in Georgetown. After I moved in, I went to Radio Shack to buy an item, and the salesman asked me for my address (as they always did at Radio Shack back then to send you a catalog or seven). I gave him my address, and he said "Oh, you must live near the Exorcist House." I replied, "What?". He said, "Don't you live near the Exorcist House?" (Mind you, the movie was less than 10 years old at that point). I said "What are you talking about?" and he said "Don't you live at the top of the big staircase?" and I replied "Yeah ... " and as he was talking, I put two and two together and grimly realized I lived directly across the street from the Exorcist House. I didn't sleep that night. Nor pretty much the next one, either. It took a while to get used to the concept. But at least I was able to figure out what the tourists were looking at all the time. And my daily commute involved climbing down the stairs in the morning and back up on my way home at the end of the day.

[cinemaniax7]

Guitarist-songwriter-singer Robbie Robertson, who led the Canadian-American group the Band to rock prominence in the 1970s, has died after a long illness. He was 80.

[alietr]

Rodriguez, a musician who was the subject of the Oscar-winning documentarySearching for Sugar Man at 81. He had an air of mystery about him, and achieved popularity in apartheid South Africa. If you've never heard his music, I encourage you to take a listen to it. The movie is great as well; a fascinating story.

[squarekara]

Lyricist Tom Jones, who partnered with Harvey Schmidt to create "The Fantasticks" and other notable musicals, passed away at age 95.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/12/thea ... -dead.html

[MDCSWildcats86]

Shelley Smith, model turned actor turned couples therapist, at age 70.

She starred opposite a then-unknown Martin Short in the late 1970s sitcom The Associates, but is best known for being a regular on the 1980s game-show circuit (especially $25K/$100K PYRAMID).

[alietr]

Jerry Moss, Herb Alpert's partner in A&M Records (the 'M' of the company's name), at 88.

[WooWho?]

Bob Barker, this morning, 99.

https://abc7.com/bob-barker-obituary-pr ... /13704249/

[Robert K S]

Arleen Sorkin, 1955-2023. Her name is not the J! canon, but the character she inspired and originated is. (She's no relation to Aaron Sorkin, but she was the wife of Christopher Lloyd. Not Doc Brown Christopher Lloyd. Frasier Christopher Lloyd.)

[MDCSWildcats86]

Arleen Sorkin, 1955-2023. Her name is not the J! canon, but the character she inspired and originated is. (She's no relation to Aaron Sorkin, but she was the wife of Christopher Lloyd. Not Doc Brown Christopher Lloyd. Frasier Christopher Lloyd.)

Arleen Sorkin also appeared as a semi-regular on Hollywood Squares during the John Davidson era.

[alietr]

Bob Barker, this morning, 99.

https://abc7.com/bob-barker-obituary-pr ... /13704249/

From his obit in The Washington Post:

Mr. Barker said the most challenging part of his job was protecting himself from elated game-show participants summoned to “Contestants’ Row” with the announcer’s signature catchphrase “Come on down!” He suffered broken toes when a hopping contestant landed on his foot and dental damage when a short contestant locked him in a bear hug and jumped up and down under his chin.

“I once had a Samoan woman pick me up as if I were a child and just throw me around,” he told the Minneapolis Star Tribune in 2007. “Frankly, I was terrified, but I thought, ‘Well, that will never happen again.’

“Believe it or not, the next year another Samoan came to Contestants’ Row, got on stage, picked me up and threw me around,” he continued. “Now another year or so passes, and a third Samoan shows up. I had her raise her right hand and swear that if she got on stage, she would not lay a hand on me. Well, she got on stage. She won a car and picked me up higher than either one of the other two had.

“I used to describe the Rose Parade for CBS and there were various broadcast booths all along the top of the bleachers, and as I’m walking by, a guy from up in a booth that said ‘Samoa’ across it yelled down at 5 a.m. on New Year’s Day, ‘Hey, Bob! I’ve got a woman up here who wants to pick you up.’ I walked faster and got away from there.”

[Bamaman]

Joe the plumber, who enjoyed 15 minutes of fame during the 2008 election, has died at 49.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/28/politics ... index.html