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Iconic Bruce Springsteen Piano Lost In Jersey Swamp – Here’s The Crazy Story Of How
Back in the early ’70s, a then-homeless Bruce Springsteen rented a small shack from Marilyn Rocky in Long Branch, New Jersey. Inside the shack was an upright piano that “The Boss” grew very fondly of. With the instrument’s keys, he was able to write many of the songs in his third album “Born to Run,” which turned into a commercial success. The rest is history, but the piano itself has been missing for 30 years.
“When I rented the house to Bruce in 1974, he moved in and he had this little upright piano. When he moved out two years later, he left it there,” Rocky said, according to the New York Post. She rented the shack to Springsteen who was on the lookout for a place to crash. His first two albums, while critically acclaimed, were commercial failures.
“He was just so young, he was a boy,” Rocky continues. “And this was the first time ever that he lived on his own outside of his house, or wasn’t sleeping on the floor of the Student Prince in Asbury, or on the road doing concerts.”
A “stand-up tenant,” Bruce Springsteen discovered the upright piano as a powerful songwriting tool. According to Rob Kirkpatrick, described as an E Street superfan, the introduction of the piano was vital to Springsteen’s songwriting process.
“I think we hear the fruits of Bruce composing a song not as a virtuoso on piano, but as someone who is writing very deliberately for emotion rather than technique,” Kirkpatrick said. And Kirkpatrick is right. What followed was the critically acclaimed and commercially successful “Born to Run,” released in 1975. Since its release, it has gone seven times platinum.
Piano Gone Missing
Bruce Springsteen, eventually, left Rocky’s shack, and many guests came and went throughout the decades. However, she eventually sold the shack during the ’90s and told her last tenant to throw away all the old furniture as it was “old and beat up.”
However, this would prove to be a huge mistake. Just days later, she stumbled upon Springsteen’s saxophonist, Clarence Clemons, at the dentist. Of all things, he asked Rocky about the upright piano in Springsteen’s former shack.
“He said, ‘Well, you know when we finished writing all the music for ‘Born to Run,’ some of us were in the house one day and we saw it. We lifted up the top and we signed it and left it there for you,” Rocky recalled.
Understanding the historic value of the instrument, Rocky called the tenant in the hopes of retrieving the piano. However, her call was in vain. “He said, ‘Well, that’s a problem.’ And I said, ‘Problem being what?’ And he said, Well, you told me to clean things out, that old piano’s been sitting there… I threw it out’ And he said it was picked up two days ago,” Rocky said. “That’s the last anybody has ever seen or heard of it.”
An Invaluable Historic Instrument
For both Kirkpatrick and Rocky, the piano, if found, could be an invaluable part of American music history. According to an appraiser, the piano could be worth as “little” as $300,000. Rocky, however, believes it could sell for far more than that.
“Any history of rock and roll in the 20th century is incomplete without talking about Born to Run,” Kirkpatrick said. “So the instrument on which most of it was composed and which gave it it’s musical identity —the value of such a piece is… it’s invaluable.”
So, should someone in the New Jersey swamps find Springsteen’s estranged piano, know that you might have a historic instrument in your hands. You might want to clean it up first, though, 30 years of mud and moisture will surely deteriorate everything, especially an upright piano.
Iconic Bruce Springsteen Piano Lost In Jersey Swamp – Here’s The Crazy Story Of HowIn a bizarre turn of events, a legendary piano belonging to rock icon Bruce Springsteen has been lost in the swamps of New Jersey. The piano, which has been used in countless hit songs by The Boss, mysteriously disappeared during a recent recording session in a remote area of the state.
According to sources close to Springsteen, the piano was being transported to a secret location for a recording session when the truck carrying it got stuck in the mud of a swamp. Despite efforts to free the vehicle, the piano was ultimately abandoned in the murky waters, where it remains to this day.
Fans of Springsteen are devastated by the news, as the piano is an integral part of his signature sound. The instrument has been featured on classic tracks such as “Thunder Road,” “Born to Run,” and “Jungleland,” and its loss is a major blow to the music world.
Despite the setback, there is hope that the piano can be recovered and restored to its former glory. Springsteen has vowed to do whatever it takes to find the instrument and bring it back to life, no matter how long it may take.
In the meantime, fans are encouraged to keep an eye out for any sightings of the iconic piano in the New Jersey swamps. With any luck, this crazy story will have a happy ending and the legendary instrument will be back in Springsteen’s hands where it belongs.
Tags:
- Bruce Springsteen piano
- Lost piano
- Jersey swamp
- Iconic piano
- Bruce Springsteen
- Piano story
- Jersey swamp piano
- Lost treasure
- Piano mystery
- Bruce Springsteen legend
#Iconic #Bruce #Springsteen #Piano #Lost #Jersey #Swamp #Heres #Crazy #Story
Inside the legend of Bruce Springsteen’s lost ‘Born to Run’ piano
The piano Bruce Springsteen used to write the album “Born to Run” is missing somewhere in the swamps of Jersey — but could be worth a fortune if ever recovered.
Little is known about the old piano, but anyone in the vicinity of Long Branch with a beat-up old Aeolian upright in their basement would do well to check under the lid — according to legend, the entire E Street band signed it when they finished recording Born to Run, then left the piano behind in Bruce’s old house.
“Whoever discovers that piano, and opens it up and sees the signatures, will find that they’ve happened upon the holy grail in Springsteen world,” said Rob Kirkpatrick, an E Street superfan and the author of “Magic in the Night: The Words and Music of Bruce Springsteen.”
Bruce Springsteen feels out a tune on a different piano before a May, 1974, performance at the Harvard Square Theater Barry Schneier Photography http://www.barryschneierphotography.com The instrument hasn’t been seen since the early 1990s, when Springsteen’s one-time landlord Marilyn Rocky had it hauled onto the sidewalk after years of it sitting in the modest Long Branch home she rented out to the rocker as he was working on the legendary album.
“When I rented the house to Bruce in 1974, he moved in and he had this little upright piano. When he moved out two years later, he left it there,” said Rocky, who would shout out the house’s number – “Seven-and-a-half!” – while watching Bruce play small clubs back in the early days.
When he heard her, he would tell the audience his “Landlordess” was in the crowd, she said.
Rocky, now 81, first met Springsteen when he was just 24-years old and down on his luck as he chased stardom. By then he had two albums under his belt, both of which had been met with critical acclaim — but they’d sold abysmally, and Columbia Records was promising to drop him if the third wasn’t a hit.
He’d been all but homeless while touring for the past two years, but the Boss was looking for a place to dig in and write another album when he walked into Rocky’s real estate office and asked for a rental on his rock and roll turf in Asbury Park.
She had nothing there, but offered him a shotgun-shack she owned up the coast in Long Branch for $200 a month, she said.
Marilyn Rocky, now 81, rented Springsteen her Long Branch shotgun-shack for $200 a month in 1974 and ’75 Aristide Economopoulos “He was just so young, he was a boy,” Rocky said. “And this was the first time ever that he lived on his own outside of his house, or wasn’t sleeping on the floor of the Student Prince in Asbury, or on the road doing concerts.”
Springsteen was a stand-up tenant, Rocky said. He reportedly tended the row of bushes along the porch, and would sometimes pay his rent months in advance in anticipation of long stretches of insolvency while he was on road touring, or in the studio without pay.
And he spent his nights seated at the Aeolian piano he’d brought along and pushed against a wall in the front room, feeling his way across the keyboard of an instrument he barely knew how to play.
The previous two albums — “Greetings from Asbury Park” and “The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle” — had been written on guitar, but Bruce turned to the piano for the first time while writing “Born to Run,” and it transformed his sound, according to Kirkpatrick.
“Bruce has always primarily been a guitar player,” Kirkpatrick said. “Which is not to say he couldn’t play piano, but he’d described himself as ‘the fastest guitar in Asbury Park.’
A note Bruce Springsteen wrote to Marilyn Rocky about paying rent late when she as his landlord in the 1970s Marilyn Egolf Rocky/Facebook “It must affect your writing process to not be on your primary instrument,” Kirkpatrick said. “And on songs like ‘Backstreets,’ I think we hear the fruits of Bruce composing a song not as a virtuoso on piano, but as someone who is writing very deliberately for emotion rather than technique.”
Those fruits became music history. “Born to Run” was a smash hit when it was released in August 1975, and launched Springsteen to stardom. That October he landed on the cover of Time and Newsweek on the same day; by November he was touring overseas for the first time; and to this day the album remains one of the defining achievements of rock and roll.
And it all started on the piano he left behind in Marilyn Rocky’s living room, where it sat steadily going out of tune for two decades.
“Subsequent renters just left it in the living room, used it for whatever they found it useful for,” said Rocky, who sold the house sometime between ’93 and ’94 and told her last tenant to toss all the furniture to the curb for trash pickup.
Springsteen landed on the cover of Time and Newsweek magazines on the same day after Born to Run was released “It was not a good piece of furniture. It was old and beat up. Although, from what I recall, you could still pick out a tune on the keys, but it had really been sitting there for 20 years.”
Days later she was at the dentist, and of all people ran into Springsteen’s right-hand man and saxophone player Clarence Clemons — he was also getting his teeth cleaned — and he asked if she still had the old piano.
“He said, ‘Well, you know, when we finished writing all the music for ‘Born to Run,’ some of us were in the house one day and we saw it. We lifted up the top and we signed it and left it there for you.’”
Floored, Rocky rushed to a phone and called up her tenant to tell them not to leave until she had the piano — but it was too late.
Born to Run would rocket Bruce Springsteen to fame when he released it in August 1975 when he was just 25 years old Redferns “He said, ‘Well, that’s problem.’ And I said, ‘Problem being what?’ And he said, Well, you told me to clean things out, that old piano’s been sitting there… I threw it out’ And he said it was picked up two days ago.’”
“That’s the last anybody has ever seen or heard of it.”
Rocky thinks the piano was likely picked up by the garbage collectors and that it’s “melted into the soil” in a dump somewhere. But that hasn’t stopped rock and roll treasure-hunters from hunting for it over the years on the possibility that it ended up saved from the sidewalk, or that it still lives in a dump somewhere.
“I once got a call from the president of the Piano Technicians Guild, who asked me if I could give them the exact date that the piano was thrown out and where the garbage would have been taken,” she said, explaining they told her if Bruce had the instrument professionally tuned then the association would likely have a record of it and they’d be able to confirm its identity – if it could just be found.
But in the three decades since it went missing nobody has been able to track it down — and auction appraiser Leila Dunbar thinks it would be worth at least $300,000 if it ever turned up in salvageable condition
“And given the market, it could sell for more,” she added, explaining that Freddie Mercury’s piano used to write “Bohemian Rhapsody” sold for $2.1 million in 2023, while the piano John Lennon wrote “Imagine” with sold for $2.1 million in 2000 and would be worth up to $10 million today.
Though not an appraiser, as a bona fide superfan Kirkpatrick thinks a “serious collector” would put down “seven figures” if the piano was ever found in salvageable condition.
“Any history of rock and roll in the 20th century is incomplete without talking about Born to Run,” he said. “So the instrument on which most of it was composed and which gave it it’s musical identity —the value of such a piece is… it’s invaluable.”
As for Rocky, she thinks her time with Bruce and the band was worth far more than whatever price the piano could ever have fetched her.
“If I didn’t know I had it or that they signed it, I certainly didn’t lose anything!” she said.
Bruce Springsteen’s iconic album “Born to Run” is widely regarded as one of the greatest rock albums of all time, but did you know that there is a legendary story surrounding the recording of the title track?The piano used on the recording of “Born to Run” has become the stuff of rock ‘n’ roll folklore. According to legend, Springsteen’s longtime friend and collaborator, Roy Bittan, played a grand piano that had been left behind in the studio by another artist. The piano had a unique sound that perfectly complemented the epic, anthemic vibe of the song, and Springsteen insisted on using it for the recording.
However, after the album was completed, the piano mysteriously disappeared. Some say it was stolen, others claim it was lost in transit during a move. Regardless of how it went missing, the piano has never been found, adding to its mystique.
Fans and music historians have long wondered about the fate of the lost “Born to Run” piano. Was it sold, destroyed, or simply forgotten in some dusty warehouse? The truth remains elusive, but the legend lives on in the hearts of Springsteen fans everywhere.
The story of the lost “Born to Run” piano serves as a reminder of the magic and mystery of rock ‘n’ roll, and the enduring power of music to captivate and inspire. And who knows, maybe one day the piano will resurface, bringing with it a wave of nostalgia and a renewed appreciation for Springsteen’s timeless masterpiece.
Tags:
Bruce Springsteen, Born to Run, lost piano, legend, music history, iconic, rock and roll, vintage, iconic album, music memorabilia, musician, E Street Band, rock legend
#legend #Bruce #Springsteens #lost #Born #Run #piano
Remembering the celebrities we lost in 2024 – National
Saying goodbye to people we love and respect is a part of life, and while it’s often to our loved ones, sometimes it’s to the people who touched our hearts and influenced our lives with their talent.
In 2024, sadly, we lost many people with colossal talent; musicians who kept our toes tapping, actors who lit up the stage and screen, authors who wrote books we couldn’t put down and other high-profile personalities.
Among them were Canadians Donald Sutherland and Alice Munro, stars of the screen Shannen Doherty, Dame Maggie Smith and James Earl Jones, and influential musicians Liam Payne and Quincy Jones.
We’re taking the time to celebrate the legacy of this group of people by remembering some of the celebrities we lost in 2024.
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Glynis Johns is shown on Sept. 11, 1982.
AP Photo/Carlos Rene Perez
Glynis Johns, a Tony Award-winning stage and screen star who played the mother opposite Julie Andrews in the classic movie Mary Poppins and introduced the world to the bittersweet standard-to-be Send in the Clowns by Stephen Sondheim, died on Jan. 4 at the age of 100.
Johns was known to be a perfectionist about her profession — precise, analytical and opinionated. The roles she took had to be multi-faceted. Anything less was giving less than her all.
Johns’ greatest triumph was playing Desiree Armfeldt in A Little Night Music, for which she won a Tony in 1973. Other highlights include playing the mother in Mary Poppins, the movie that introduced Julie Andrews, and starring in the 1989 Broadway revival of The Circle, W. Somerset Maugham’s romantic comedy about love, marriage and fidelity, opposite Rex Harrison and Stewart Granger.
FILE – David Soul arrives for the U.K. premiere of ‘Starsky & Hutch’ at the Odeon Cinema in Leicester Square, central London.
Yui Mok / PA Images via Getty Images
David Soul, who earned fame as the blond half of crime-fighting duo Starsky & Hutch in the popular 1970s television series, died Jan. 4 at the age of 80.
Soul portrayed detective Ken (Hutch) Hutchinson alongside Paul Michael Glaser as detective David Starsky in Starsky & Hutch. It ran on ABC between 1975 and 1979, and grew so popular it spawned a host of children’s toys.
At the height of his fame, Soul also hit the music charts with the single Don’t Give Up on Us.
FILE – Actor Joyce Randolph attends the Museum of the Moving Image Salute to Ben Stiller at Cipriani’s 42nd Street on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2008, in New York.
AP Photo/Evan Agostini, File
Joyce Randolph, a veteran stage and television actor whose role as the savvy Trixie Norton on The Honeymooners provided the perfect foil to her dim-witted TV husband, died Jan. 13. She was 99.
Randolph was the last surviving main character of the beloved comedy from television’s golden age of the 1950s.
Decades after leaving the show, Randolph still had many admirers and received dozens of letters a week. She was a regular into her 80s at the downstairs bar at Sardi’s, where she liked to sip her favourite White Cadillac concoction — Dewar’s and milk — and chat with patrons who recognized her from a portrait of the sitcom’s four characters over the bar.
Nerene Virgin was named one of Canada’s 100 Accomplished Black Canadian Women.
Legacy.com
Nerene Virgin, a Canadian children’s entertainer most beloved for her role as Jodie on the 1980s TV series Today’s Special, died on Jan. 15 at the age of 77.
She was a familiar staple in kids’ before-and-after school television programming in the ’80s, starring not just on Today’s Special but also in other Canadian classics like Ramona, Polka Dot Door, Night Heat and The Littlest Hobo.
Virgin’s television career continued on in the late 1980s and early ’90s, when she went on to host and broadcast on CTV and later, on CBC.
In 2016, Virgin was awarded a place on the list of 100 Accomplished Black Canadian Women.
Film director Norman Jewison sits for a portrait at his office at Yorktown Productions Ltd. in Toronto on Aug. 8, 2011.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Aaron Vincent Elkaim
Norman Jewison, the Canadian director of numerous Oscar-recognized titles — including Moonstruck and Fiddler on the Roof — and a champion of homegrown cinematic talent at the Canadian Film Centre, died on Jan. 20 at the age of 97.
The charming, strong-willed director-producer tackled a wide range of genres throughout his distinguished career, but was particularly drawn to projects that had a social message and explored the human condition. His five-time Oscar-winning 1967 crime drama In the Heat of the Night, for example, was the first of several Jewison films that probed the effects of racism.
FILE – Soap opera star David Gail, of ‘Port Charles’ and ‘Beverly Hills, 90210’ fame, has died at 58.
Victor Decolongon/Getty Images
Soap opera star David Gail, best known for his roles in Beverly Hills, 90210 and Port Charles, died on Jan. 20 at the age of 58.
In 1993, Gail guest starred as Stuart Carson on Beverly Hills, 90210, the rich boy fiancé of Brenda Walsh (played by Shannen Doherty). He appeared in eight episodes before his character’s engagement to Walsh came to an end amid revelations about Carson’s drug-dealing history.
He would eventually go on to star in the General Hospital spinoff Port Charles as Dr. Joe Scanlon beginning in 1999. Gail was the second actor to play the role after Michael Dietz’s departure from the show. Gail left Port Charles in 2000.
FILE – Chita Rivera, the Tony Award-winning dancer, singer and actress who forged a path for Latina artists, has died at 91.
Theo Wargo / Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions
Chita Rivera, the dynamic dancer, singer and actor who garnered 10 Tony nominations, winning twice, in a long Broadway career that forged a path for Latina artists and who shrugged off a near-fatal car accident, died Jan. 30. She was 91.
Rivera first gained wide notice in 1957 as Anita in the original production of West Side Story and was still dancing on Broadway with her trademark energy a half-century later in 2015’s The Visit.
She won Tonys for The Rink in 1984 and Kiss of the Spider Woman in 1993. When accepting a Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2018, she said, “I wouldn’t trade my life in the theatre for anything, because theatre is life.”
Actor and former Oakland Raiders player Carl Weathers stands on the Las Vegas Raiders sideline before the team’s game against the Houston Texans at Allegiant Stadium on Oct. 23, 2022 in Las Vegas.
Ethan Miller / Getty Images
Carl Weathers, a former NFL linebacker who became a Hollywood action movie and comedy star, playing nemesis-turned-ally Apollo Creed in the Rocky movies, facing off against Arnold Schwarzenegger in Predator and teaching golf in Happy Gilmore, died on Feb. 1. He was 76.
Comfortable flexing his muscles on the big screen in Action Jackson as he was joking around on the small screen in such shows as Arrested Development, Weathers was perhaps most closely associated with Creed, who made his first appearance as the cocky, undisputed heavyweight world champion in 1976’s Rocky, starring Sylvester Stallone.
Most recently, Weathers starred in the Disney+ hit The Mandalorian, appearing in all three seasons.
File – Country music recording artist Toby Keith holds a red Solo cup as he performs on NBC’s ‘Today’ show at Rockefeller Plaza on July 5, 2019, in New York.
Greg Allen/Invision/AP, File
Country music fans around the world lifted their red Solo cups to the legendary singer and songwriter Toby Keith, who died on Feb. 5. He was 62 years old.
Keith’s death came 18 months after he was diagnosed with stomach cancer. The country singer earlier said he’d been receiving chemotherapy and radiation treatment and undergoing surgery to treat his cancer.
Keith was a giant within the country music scene and, according to his website, released 32 No. 1 songs, including Red Solo Cup, Should’ve Been A Cowboy and How Do You Like Me Now!?
![Click to play video: 'Rebellious, revered, and red, white and blue: country music giant Toby Keith dies at 62']()
FILE – Kenneth Mitchell, a Canadian actor best known for his roles in ‘Star Trek: Discovery,’ died on Feb. 24, 2024, five years after he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
Greg Doherty/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
Canadian actor Kenneth Mitchell, best known for his roles in Star Trek: Discovery and Captain Marvel, died on Feb. 24, five years after being diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). He was 49.
He played several different roles across numerous episodes in the Star Trek: Discovery franchise, namely the Klingon warrior Kol-Sha, Tenavik and Aurellio. He also provided voice work for Star Trek: Lower Decks. Outside of the Star Trek universe, Mitchell was best known for playing Joseph Danvers, the father of the titular superhero Captain Marvel, and Eric Green from the TV series Jericho.
He revealed he was diagnosed with ALS after experiencing constant muscle twitching, which he thought could have been a pinched nerve or multiple sclerosis (MS). Mitchell said learning that he had ALS was “a complete disbelief, a shock.”
FILE – Comedian Richard Lewis attends an NBA basketball game in Los Angeles on Dec. 25, 2012.
AP Photo/Alex Gallardo, File
Richard Lewis, an acclaimed comedian known for exploring his neuroses in frantic, stream-of-consciousness diatribes while dressed in all-black, leading to his nickname “The Prince of Pain,” died on Feb. 28. He was 76.
A regular performer in clubs and on late-night TV for decades, Lewis also played Marty Gold, the romantic co-lead opposite Jamie Lee Curtis, in the ABC series Anything But Love and the reliably neurotic Prince John in Mel Brooks’ Robin Hood: Men In Tights. He re-introduced himself to a new generation opposite Larry David in HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, kvetching regularly.
Comedy Central named Lewis one of the top 50 stand-up comedians of all time and he earned a berth in GQ magazine’s list of the “20th Century’s Most Influential Humorists.” He lent his humour to charity causes, including Comic Relief and Comedy Gives Back.
Lou Gossett Jr.
FILE – Louis Gossett Jr. attends a Legacy of Changing Lives Gala on March 13, 2018, in Los Angeles.
Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File
Louis Gossett Jr., the first Black man to win a supporting actor Oscar and an Emmy winner for his role in the seminal TV miniseries Roots, died on March 29. He was 87.
He always thought of his early career as a reverse Cinderella story, with success finding him from an early age and propelling him forward, toward his Academy Award for An Officer and a Gentleman.
Gossett broke through on the small screen as Fiddler in the groundbreaking 1977 miniseries Roots, which depicted the atrocities of slavery on TV. The sprawling cast included Ben Vereen, LeVar Burton and John Amos.
Gossett became the third Black Oscar nominee in the supporting actor category in 1983.
FILE – Actor Chance Perdomo, of ‘Gen V’ and ‘Chilling Adventures of Sabrina,’ died on March 30, 2024, as a result of a motorcycle crash.
Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images)
Chance Perdomo, whose spotlight was only growing amid his success found in Gen V and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, died in a motorcycle crash on Apr. 1. He was 27.
Perdomo, who was British American, was a rising star in Hollywood. He was best known for playing Ambrose Spellman in Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and the superhuman character Andre Anderson from The Boys spinoff series Gen V.
Actor Joe Flaherty died April 1, 2024, following a brief illness.
NBCU via Getty Images
Comedian Joe Flaherty, a founding member of the Canadian sketch series SCTV, died on April 1 at the age of 82.
Flaherty first made his mark on the comedy scene while at SCTV, playing characters like Count Floyd, news anchor Floyd Robertson and the iconic character of SCTV station manager Guy Caballero.
A native of Pittsburgh, Pa., Flaherty moved to Toronto and helped establish the Toronto Second City theatre troupe, which led to a starring role on SCTV as one of the original performers and writers.
He also made his foray into the world of cinema, including the role of a sabotaging golf fan who yelled “Jackass!” every time Adam Sandler stepped up to the tee in Happy Gilmore.
FILE – This 1977 file photo shows O.J. Simpson in his time playing for the Buffalo Bills.
The Associated Press
O.J. Simpson died on April 10, following a battle with cancer. He was 76.
Simpson, an ex-NFL great, was most widely known for the notorious ’90s court case watched around the world, when he stood trial for the double murder of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman.
He was acquitted of the charges, but it became one of the most talked-about court cases of the last century, and its live, of-the-minute coverage on TV changed everything.
The trial transfixed America. In the White House, President Bill Clinton left the Oval Office and watched the verdict on his secretary’s TV. Many Black Americans celebrated his acquittal, seeing Simpson as the victim of bigoted police. Many white Americans were appalled by his exoneration.
His case sparked debates on race, gender, domestic abuse, celebrity justice and police misconduct.
He appeared in multiple cameo roles, most notably the ’90s Naked Gun movie series.
![Click to play video: 'O.J. Simpson: Reactions to the downfall and death of controversial ex-NFL star']()
Mike Pinder
Photo of the Moody Blues. L-R: Back – Denny Laine, Clint Warwick and Graeme Edge, Front – Mike Pinder and Ray Thomas.
RB/Redferns
Moody Blues founding member Mike Pinder died on April 24 at the age of 82.
Pinder was the Moody Blues’ co-founder, keyboardist and the last surviving original member of the band, which was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2018.
Notably, Pinder was one of the first musicians to use the mellotron, a type of electronic keyboard, in rock music.
Actor Bernard Hill arrives for the U.K. premiere of ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,’ at the Odeon Leicester Square, in London, Dec. 12, 2012.
Dominic Lipinski/PA via AP
Actor Bernard Hill, who delivered a rousing cry before leading his people into battle in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and went down with the ship as the captain in Titanic, died on May 4 at the age of 79.
Hill joined The Lord Of The Rings franchise in the second film of the trilogy, 2002’s The Two Towers, as Théoden, king of Rohan. The following year, he reprised the role in Return of the King, a movie that won 11 Oscars.
Hill first made a name for himself as Yosser Hughes in Boys From the Blackstuff, a 1982 British TV miniseries about five unemployed men.
In Titanic, Hill played Captain Edward Smith, one of the only characters based on a real person in the 1997 tragic romance starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. The film also won 11 Academy Awards.
Susan Buckner
Seen here from left, Olivia Newton-John as Sandy Olsen and Susan Buckner (wearing cat’s eyes glasses) as Patty Simcox in ‘Grease.’.
CBS via Getty Images
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical Grease, died on May 7. She was 72.
She got her start as a beauty queen. She won Miss Washington in 1971 and went on to place in the Top 10 in the 1972 Miss America pageant, tying for first in the swimsuit competition.
Throughout the late 1970s and into the 1980s, Buckner appeared in a number of TV series including Starsky and Hutch, The Love Boat and The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries, and co-starred in the ABC series When the Whistle Blows alongside Dolph Sweet.
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Ian Gelder
Ian Gelder attends The Olivier Awards 2022 with MasterCard at the Royal Albert Hall on April 10, 2022 in London, England.
Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for SOLT
Ian Gelder, who played Kevan Lannister in Game of Thrones, died on May 7 at the age of 74.
Gelder had a long career on the stage, appearing in productions on London’s West End and at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, and he also played Mr. Dekker on Torchwood along with roles on Doctor Who and His Dark Materials.
But he might be best known to TV fans as Kevan Lannister — the younger brother of Tywin and uncle to Cersei, Jaime and Tyrion — on the HBO fantasy epic Game of Thrones.
Canadian author Alice Munro is photographed in Victoria on Dec. 10, 2013.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito
Short story legend Alice Munro, whose intricate tales depicting small-town southwestern Ontario earned her an international fanbase and the Nobel Prize in literature, died May 13 at age 92.
Though often lauded for bringing depth and universal appeal to her rural settings and characters, she said she was particularly proud of having given a voice to women through her stories, especially considering that at one time critics belittled her work.
The Swedish Academy summed up the thoughts of many in the global literary community when it hailed Munro as the “master of the contemporary short story” in awarding her the Nobel Prize in fall 2013.
It was one of countless honours she received throughout her distinguished career. Others included the Man Booker International Prize for her entire body of work, as well as two Scotiabank Giller Prizes.
Dabney Coleman
Actor Dabney Coleman poses at his home in Brentwood, Calif., Sept. 8, 1991.
AP Photo/Julie Markes, File
Dabney Coleman, best known for his portrayal of cantankerous characters in films such as Tootsie and 9 to 5, died May 16 at age 92.
He was best known for playing nasty men for laughs, but he also took on a range of dramatic roles and voice-over work and won an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe for his TV appearances.
More recently he appeared in the western drama Yellowstone, and had a recurring role as an influential businessman in the HBO gangster saga Boardwalk Empire.
FILE – Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock participates in the BUILD Speaker Series to discuss the film ‘Go North’ at AOL Studios on Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2017, in New York.
Evan Agostini/ Invision / AP
Morgan Spurlock, the filmmaker best known for his documentary Super Size Me, died May 23 at the age of 53.
Super Size Me, which hit theatres in 2004, earned Spurlock an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary Feature. In the film, he challenged himself to only eat meals from McDonald’s for a month — never being allowed to turn down the “super-size” option of the meal, if offered — while monitoring the effects on his mental and physical health and taking a deep dive into the inner workings of the fast food industry.
The movie, which grossed US$22 million in theatres worldwide, prompted McDonald’s to cut its “super-size” option from menus. It also preceded the release of Eric Schlosser’s influential Fast Food Nation, which accused the industry of being bad for the environment and rife with labour issues.
Actor Johnny Wactor as Brando Corbin on ‘General Hospital.’ Four men have been charged in connection to the Los Angeles shooting death of Wactor in May 2024.
Scott Kirkland/ABC via AP
Actor Johnny Wactor of General Hospital was shot and killed in Los Angeles on May 25 during a suspected car robbery. He was 37.
He appeared in nearly 200 episodes of General Hospital as Brando Corbin. He remained a recurring character in the series from 2020 until 2022, when the character was written off.
Wactor also appeared in NCIS, Westworld and Criminal Minds, and had many other acting roles.
Benji Gregory and his television best friend, ALF.
Mario Casilli / TV Guide / courtesy Everett Collection
Benji Gregory, who starred as a child in the 1980s comedy sitcom ALF, died June 13 at the age of 46.
Gregory starred as Brian Tanner in 101 episodes of ALF from 1986 to 1990, where he became on-screen best friends with the title character, a pointy-eared, sarcastic alien from the planet Melmac that arrived on Earth when he crash-landed through the Tanner family garage.
Gregory was a fixture on ’80s television sets, with roles on The A-Team, T.J. Hooker and Punky Brewster. He also appeared in the 1986 movie Jumpin’ Jack Flash, alongside Whoopi Goldberg.
Actor Donald Sutherland appears at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Oct. 13, 2017.
Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File
Donald Sutherland, the gravelly-voiced Canadian actor who graced both TV and movie screens, died June 20 in Miami from a long illness. He was 88.
Known for his easily identifiable baritone, Sutherland starred in a multitude of recognizable and memorable films, including 1980’s Ordinary People, 1991’s JFK, 1998’s Without Limits and the Hunger Games franchise. He also played the lovable Hawkeye in the movie version of M*A*S*H*. He did a lot of TV work as well, appearing on shows like Lawmen: Bass Reeves, The Simpsons, Dirty Sexy Money and Commander in Chief, among many others.
Sutherland was made an officer of the Order of Canada in 1978 and was inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame in 2000. He got his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2011.
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FILE – Actor Bill Cobbs died on June 25, 2024, at his home in the Inland Empire, Calif. He was 90 years old.
Leon Bennett/WireImage
Bill Cobbs, the veteran character actor who became a ubiquitous and sage screen presence as an older man, died on June 26. He was 90.
A Cleveland native, Cobbs acted in such films as The Hudsucker Proxy, The Bodyguard and Night at the Museum. He made his first big-screen appearance in a fleeting role in 1974’s The Taking of Pelham One Two Three. He became a lifelong actor with some 200 film and TV credits. The lion’s share of those came in his 50s, 60s and 70s, as filmmakers and TV producers turned to him again and again to imbue small but pivotal parts with a wizened and worn soulfulness.
Cobbs appeared on television shows including The Sopranos, The West Wing, Sesame Street and Good Times. He was Whitney Houston’s manager in The Bodyguard (1992), the mystical clock man of the Coen brothers’ The Hudsucker Proxy (1994) and the doctor of John Sayles’ Sunshine State (2002). He played the coach in Air Bud (1997), the security guard in Night at the Museum (2006) and the father on The Gregory Hines Show.
Martin Mull
Martin Mull attending the 2018 Fox Network Upfront at Wollman Rink, Central Park on May 14, 2018 in New York City.
Dennis Van Tine/ABACAPRESS.COM
Martin Mull, whose droll, esoteric comedy and acting made him a hip sensation in the 1970s and later a beloved guest star on sitcoms including Roseanne and Arrested Development, died on June 27 at the age of 80.
Mull often played slightly sleazy, somewhat slimy and often smarmy characters. The 1980s brought what many thought was his best work, A History of White People in America, a mockumentary that first aired on Cinemax. Mull co-created the show and starred as a 60 Minutes-style investigative reporter probing all things milquetoast and mundane.
In the 1990s he was best known for his recurring role on several seasons on Roseanne, in which he played a warmer, less sleazy boss to the title character, an openly gay man whose partner was played by Fred Willard, who died in 2020.
Mull would later play private eye Gene Parmesan on Arrested Development, a cult-classic character on a cult-classic show, and would be nominated for an Emmy, his first, in 2016 for a guest run on Veep.
Shifty Shellshock
Seth Binzer of Crazy Town performs on stage at Download Festival at Donnington Park on June 15, 2014 in Donnington, United Kingdom.
Gary Wolstenholme/Redferns via Getty Images
Shifty Shellshock, the lead singer of the late-1990s rap-rock band Crazy Town known for the hit song Butterfly, died on June 29. He was 49.
The singer, whose real name was Seth Binzer, was open about his struggles with substance abuse. He appeared on two seasons of the VH1 series Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew in 2008 and also on the spinoff series Sober House from 2009 to 2010.
He formed Crazy Town with bandmate Bret Mazur, known as Epic, in 1995, but the band was initially known as the Brimstone Sluggers. The idea to form the band began when the pair wrote each other letters from rehabilitation clinics, according to the band’s Spotify biography.
American actor Shelley Duvall, circa 1987.
Vinnie Zuffante / Getty Images
Shelley Duvall, the cult-favourite character actor best-known for her work in The Shining and Annie Hall, died on July 10. She had just turned 75.
At her peak, Duvall was a regular star in some of the defining movies of the 1970s and 1980s. In The Shining, she played Wendy Torrance, who watches in horror as her husband, Jack (Jack Nicholson), goes crazy while their family is isolated in the Overlook Hotel. It was Duvall’s screaming face that made up half of the film’s most iconic image, along with Jack’s axe coming through the door.
The Texas native had dozens of acting credits to her name, spanning from 1973 to as recently as 2023, as well as several producing and writing credits. The last time she appeared on screen was in 2023’s The Forest Hill, alongside Edward Furlong and Dee Wallace.
In this April 26, 2012 file photo, Dr. Ruth Westheimer signs a copy of her book in New York.
AP Photo/Richard Drew
Dr. Ruth Westheimer, the diminutive sex therapist who became a pop icon, media star and bestselling author through her frank talk about once-taboo bedroom topics, died on July 12. She was 96.
Westheimer’s giggly, German-accented voice, coupled with her four-foot-seven frame, made her an unlikely looking — and sounding — outlet for “sexual literacy.” The contradiction was one of the keys to her success.
Westheimer never advocated risky sexual behaviour. Instead, she encouraged open dialogue on previously closeted issues that affected her audience of millions. Her one recurring theme was there was nothing to be ashamed of.
In this Aug. 25, 2013 file photo, Richard Simmons arrives at the MTV Video Music Awards in the Brooklyn borough of New York.
Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
Richard Simmons, television’s hyperactive court jester of physical fitness who built a mini-empire in his trademark tank tops and short shorts by urging overweight people to exercise and eat better, died on July 13 at age 76.
Simmons was a former 268-pound teen who shared his hard-won weight-loss tips as host of the Emmy-winning daytime Richard Simmons Show, author of best-selling books and the diet plan Deal-A-Meal, as well as opening exercise studios and starring in millions of exercise videos, including the successful Sweatin’ to the Oldies line.
FILE – Shannen Doherty attends the G-Star Fall 2010 collection, in New York, on Feb. 16, 2010.
AP Photo/Peter Kramer, file
After years with breast cancer, Shannen Doherty died on July 13 surrounded by her family.
A native of Memphis, Tenn., Doherty moved to Los Angeles with her family at age seven and, within a few years, became an actor. She was well-known for her roles on TV shows Little House on the Prairie, Beverly Hills, 90210 and Charmed, among others.
Doherty’s fame came with media scrutiny and accounts of outbursts, drinking and impulsiveness — the latter most notably after a very brief marriage to actor George Hamilton’s son, Ashley. She always claimed her personality was “grotesquely misconstrued” by the media.
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James Sikking, who starred as a hardened police lieutenant on Hill Street Blues and as the titular character’s kindhearted dad on Doogie Howser, M.D., died at 90 on July 13. He died of complications from dementia.
Before Hill Street Blues, Sikking also had guest spots in a litany of popular 1970s television series, from the action-packed Mission: Impossible, M.A.S.H., The F.B.I., The Rockford Files, Hawaii Five-O and Charlie’s Angels to Eight is Enough and Little House on the Prairie.
Bob Newhart, the deadpan accountant-turned-comedian who became one of the most popular TV stars of his time after striking gold with a classic comedy album, died at 94 on July 18 after a series of short illnesses.
Newhart, best remembered now as the star of two hit television shows of the 1970s and 1980s that bore his name, launched his career as a standup comic in the late 1950s.
While other comedians of his time frequently got laughs with aggressive attacks on modern mores, Newhart was an anomaly. His outlook was modern, but he rarely raised his voice above a hesitant, almost stammering delivery. Over the years, Newhart also appeared in several movies, usually in comedic roles.
He continued appearing on television occasionally after his fourth sitcom ended and vowed in 2003 that he would work as long as he could.
FILE- The Four Tops, from left, Renaldo (Obie) Benson; Levi Stubbs; Abdul (Duke) Fakir, and Lawrence Payton appear in New York after they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
AP Photo/Ron Frehm, File
Abdul (Duke) Fakir, the last surviving original member of the beloved Motown group the Four Tops that was known for such hits as Reach Out, I’ll Be There and Standing in the Shadows of Love, died at age 88 on July 22.
He died of heart failure at his home in Detroit, according to a family spokesperson, with his wife and other loved ones by his side.
Besides the Rock Hall of Fame, the group’s honours included being voted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998 and receiving a Grammy lifetime achievement award in 2009. More recently, Fakir was working on a planned Broadway musical based on their lives and completed the memoir I’ll Be There, published in 2022.
Rachael Lillis (L) was the beloved voice actor of Misty from the ‘Pokémon’ series (R).
Rachael Lillis/X & Wikipedia
Rachael Lillis, a voice actor who brought to life many of Pokémon‘s most beloved characters, died at the age of 55 on Aug. 10 after a battle with breast cancer.
Lillis is best known for voicing the character of Misty in the English version of the Pokémon anime series. She also brought to life one of the show’s main antagonists, Jessie, a member of Team Rocket along with James and a talking Pokémon, Meowth.
Beyond Misty and Jessie, Lillis also voiced Jigglypuff, a pink singing Pokémon.
FILE – Actor Gena Rowlands poses for a portrait at the London West Hollywood hotel in West Hollywood, Calif., on Dec. 4, 2014.
Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File
Gena Rowlands, hailed as one of the greatest actors to ever practise the craft, died at age 94 on Aug. 14 due to complications of Alzheimer’s disease.
She was considered a guiding light in independent cinema as a star in groundbreaking movies by her director husband, John Cassavetes, and later charmed audiences in her son’s tear-jerker The Notebook.
Operating outside the studio system, the husband-and-wife team of Cassavetes and Rowlands created indelible portraits of working-class strivers and small-timers in such films as A Woman Under the Influence, Gloria and Faces.
In addition to two Oscar nominations, Rowlands earned three Primetime Emmy Awards, one Daytime Emmy and two Golden Globes. She was awarded an honorary Academy Award in 2015 in recognition of her work and legacy in Hollywood.
Phil Donahue
FILE – Phil Donahue attends the 2019 American Icon Awards at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel on May 19, 2019, in Beverly Hills, Calif.
Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File
Longtime TV talk show host Phil Donahue died on Aug. 18 following a long illness, his family said. He was 88.
Donahue, a television pioneer who introduced the world to the modern format of daytime talk shows that featured audience participation, died at home surrounded by his family, including his wife of 44 years, Marlo Thomas.
Dubbed “the king of daytime talk,” Phil Donahue was the first to incorporate audience participation in a talk show, typically during a full hour with a single guest.
The Phil Donahue Show became a trend-setter in daytime television, where it was particularly popular with female audiences, and spurred a new category of talk shows that would dive into social issues and current events.
Sid Eudy, also known as Sid during his career with WWE, looks on during Monday Night RAW at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 25, 1997 in New York City, New York.
WWE/Getty Images
Sidney Raymond Eudy, a professional wrestler known as Sid Vicious, characterized by his intense persona and imposing stature, died on Aug. 25. He was 63.
The six-foot-nine Eudy went by many names in the ring, including Sid Justice and Sycho Sid, and rose to prominence at the height of the WrestleMania craze in the 1990s. He was a two-time champion in the World Wrestling Federation (now World Wrestling Entertainment) and also performed for its ’90s rival World Championship Wrestling and the United States Wrestling Association.
He faced off against Hulk Hogan and The Undertaker, among other stars.
James Earl Jones accepts the special Tony award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre at the 71st annual Tony Awards on Sunday, June 11, 2017, in New York.
Michael Zorn / Invision / AP
James Earl Jones, who overcame racial prejudice and a severe stutter to become a celebrated icon of stage and screen — eventually lending his deep, commanding voice to CNN, The Lion King and Darth Vader — died on Sept 9. He was 93.
The pioneering Jones, who in 1965 became one of the first African American actors in a continuing role on a daytime drama (As the World Turns) and worked deep into his 80s, won two Emmys, a Golden Globe, two Tony Awards, a Grammy, the National Medal of Arts and the Kennedy Center Honors. He was also given an honorary Oscar and a special Tony for lifetime achievement. In 2022, a Broadway theatre was renamed in his honour.
Jones created such memorable film roles as the reclusive writer coaxed back into the spotlight in Field of Dreams, the boxer Jack Johnson in the stage and screen hit The Great White Hope, the writer Alex Haley in Roots: The Next Generation and a South African minister in Cry, the Beloved Country.
He was also a sought-after voice actor, expressing the villainy of Darth Vader (“No, I am your father,” commonly misremembered as “Luke, I am your father”), as well as the benign dignity of King Mufasa in both the 1994 and 2019 versions of Disney’s The Lion King and announcing “This is CNN” during station breaks. He won a 1977 Grammy for his performance on the Great American Documents audiobook.
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FILE – Producer Chad McQueen poses for photographers during a photo call for the film, ‘Steve McQueen: The Man & Le Mans,’ at the 68th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, May 16, 2015.
AP Photo / Lionel Cironneau, File
Chad McQueen, an actor known for his performances in the Karate Kid movies and the son of the late actor and race car driver Steve McQueen, died Sept. 12. He was 63.
McQueen followed in his father’s footsteps, pursuing both acting and race car driving. He became well-known for his role as Dutch, the antagonist in 1984’s The Karate Kid, and its sequel two years later.
While he starred in several films after the hit action franchise, including New York Cop, Squanderers and Red Line, he ultimately engaged more in racing than acting, and he eventually founded McQueen Racing, a company that creates custom cars, motorcycles and accessories.
Tito Jackson attends the 2016 Soul Train Music Awards at the Orleans Arena on Nov. 6, 2016 in Las Vegas.
Ethan Miller / Getty Images
Tito Jackson, one of the brothers who made up the beloved pop group the Jackson 5, died Sept. 15 at age 70.
Tito was the third of nine Jackson children, which include global superstars Michael and sister Janet, part of a music-making family whose songs are still beloved today.
Tito was the last of the nine Jackson siblings to release a solo project with his 2016 debut, Tito Time. He released a song in 2017, One Way Street, and told The Associated Press in 2019 that he was working on a sophomore album.
Jackson said he purposely held back from pursuing a solo career because he wanted to focus on raising his three sons, TJ, Taj and Taryll, who formed their own music group, 3T.
British actress Dame Maggie Smith in London, Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2015.
AP Photo / Kirsty Wigglesworth
Dame Maggie Smith, best known for her roles in the Harry Potter franchise and Downton Abbey, died Sept. 27. She was 89 years old.
Smith was one of the most recognizable British actors in film and television. Her illustrious career spanned over seven decades, though she earned international admiration particularly for roles as Prof. Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter series and as Violet Crawley in Downton Abbey.
She won two Oscars during her lifetime, for 1970 film The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and later for California Suite in 1979. She also received Academy Award nominations as a supporting actress in Othello, Travels with My Aunt, Room with a View and Gosford Park.
Drake Hogestyn as John Black in ‘Days of Our Lives: Beyond Salem.’.
Evans Vestal Ward/Peacock via Getty Images
Drake Hogestyn, the Days of Our Lives star who appeared on the show for 38 years, died Sept. 29 after a fight with pancreatic cancer. He was 70.
The actor played the beloved character John Black in more than 4,200 episodes of the popular soap opera, joining in 1986. He broke into the television world just four years before with a role in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. He appeared in several other projects throughout his career but is most synonymous with his long-running soap opera role.
His final appearance on the show was in an episode that aired on Sept. 9. On Days of Our Lives, Hogestyn’s John and Marlena Evans (played by Deidre Hall) were a longtime super couple.
Artist and songwriter Kris Kristofferson performs ‘Sunday Morning Coming Down’ at the Nashville Songwriters Association International ’50 Years of Songs’ at the Ryman Auditorium, Sept. 20, 2017, in Nashville, Tenn.
Laura Roberts/Invision/AP, File
Kris Kristofferson, a Rhodes scholar with a deft writing style and rough charisma who became a country music superstar and an A-list Hollywood actor, died on Sept. 29 at the age of 88.
Starting in the late 1960s, the Brownsville, Texas, native wrote such country and rock ‘n’ roll standards as Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down, Help Me Make it Through the Night, For the Good Times and Me and Bobby McGee. Kristofferson was a singer himself, but many of his songs were best known as performed by others, whether Ray Price crooning For the Good Times or Janis Joplin belting out Me and Bobby McGee.
He starred opposite Ellen Burstyn in director Martin Scorsese’s 1974 film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, starred opposite Barbra Streisand in the 1976 movie A Star Is Born and acted alongside Wesley Snipes in Marvel’s Blade in 1998.
John Amos at the ‘Showing Roots’ New York screening on May 17, 2016. Amos died at age 84.
Shareif Ziyadat / WireImage via Getty Images
John Amos, who starred as the family patriarch on the hit 1970s sitcom Good Times and earned an Emmy nomination for his role in the seminal 1977 miniseries Roots, died on Oct. 1. He was 84.
He played James Evans Sr. on Good Times, which featured one of television’s first Black two-parent families. Produced by Norman Lear and co-created by actor Mike Evans, who co-starred on All in the Family and The Jeffersons, it ran from 1974 to 1979 on CBS.
Later, he landed the role of an adult Kunta Kinte, the centrepiece of Roots, based on Alex Haley’s novel set during and after the era of slavery in the U.S. The miniseries was a critical and ratings blockbuster, and Amos earned one of its 37 Emmy nominations.
Among Amos’s film credits were Let’s Do It Again with Bill Cosby and Sidney Poitier, Coming to America with Eddie Murphy and its 2021 sequel, Die Hard 2, Madea’s Witness Protection and Uncut Gems with Adam Sandler. He was in Ice Cube and Dr. Dre’s 1994 video Natural Born Killaz.
Gavin Creel accepts the award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for ‘Hello, Dolly!’ onstage during the 2017 Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on June 11, 2017, in New York City.
Theo Wargo / Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions
Gavin Creel, a Broadway musical theatre veteran who won a Tony Award for Hello, Dolly! opposite Bette Midler and earned nominations for Hair and Thoroughly Modern Millie, died Oct. 1 of a rare and aggressive form of cancer. He was 48.
Creel had a knack for Golden Age Broadway revivals, but he also performed in modern fare, like in the role of Dr. Pomatter in Sara Bareilles’s musical Waitress on Broadway in 2019 and on the West End in 2020. He won an Olivier Award for The Book of Mormon.
A key role was as the fastidious missionary Elder Price in The Book of Mormon. He starred in the show’s first national tour in 2012 and took the role to London’s West End, where he won a Olivier Award in 2014.
He played Jean-Michel in the revival of La Cage Aux Folles in 2004 and returned to Broadway in 2009 as Claude Hooper Bukowski in the Public Theater’s revival of Hair.
Frank Fritz, one of the hosts of ‘American Pickers’ alongside Mike Wolfe, died at age 60.
Charles Eshelman/Getty Images & Ray Tamarra/Getty Images
Frank Fritz, one of the co-hosts of American Pickers, died Oct. 1 at age 60, two years after he suffered a serious stroke.
Fritz appeared in 308 episodes of the popular History Channel show alongside his co-star Mike Wolfe, before leaving American Pickers in 2021. The pair travelled around America looking for rare artifacts and treasures to sell or add to their personal collections.
Fritz had largely been out of the public eye after suffering a severe stroke in 2022. A year before that, in 2021, Fritz told The Sun he hadn’t talked to Wolfe in two years amid a feud between the two. The last time he appeared on a show was in March 2020, The Sun reported at the time.
When Fritz had his stroke, the pair seemed to put their differences behind them.
FILE – Cissy Houston performs at the 2016 Newark Celebration 350 Founders Weekend Festival on May 15, 2016 in Newark, N.J.
Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images
Cissy Houston, the mother of the late Whitney Houston and a two-time Grammy winner who performed alongside superstar musicians like Elvis Presley and Aretha Franklin, died Oct. 6. She was 91.
Houston was in the well-known vocal group the Sweet Inspirations, with Doris Troy and her niece Dee Dee Warrick. The group sang backup for a variety of soul singers including Otis Redding, Lou Rawls, The Drifters and Dionne Warwick.
Houston won Grammys for her albums Face to Face in 1997 and He Leadeth Me the following year in the best traditional soul gospel album category.
Prime Minister Jean Chretien (left) and Mike Bullard laugh during the taping of ‘Open Mike with Mike Bullard’ in Toronto on Thursday May 17, 2001.
Frank Gunn / The Canadian Press
Canadian comedian and former talk show host Mike Bullard died on Oct. 13 at age 67.
Bullard got his start in comedy doing live standup at comedy clubs across Ontario, before moving to television.
He shot to prominence in 1997 as the host of the late night talk show Open Mike With Mike Bullard on CTV, which he hosted until 2003 when he was hired away by Global Television to host The Mike Bullard Show. That program lasted 13 weeks.
During his career Bullard won two Gemini awards for his show Open Mike With Mike Bullard. In 2013, he received the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal for his volunteer work. In 2022, Bullard travelled to Ukraine to volunteer with humanitarian organizations in the country following Russia’s invasion.
Liam Payne of One Direction performs during the Honda Civic Tour at Qualcomm Stadium on Thursday, July 9, 2015, in San Diego.
Rich Fury / Invision / AP
Liam Payne, British musician and a former member of One Direction, died on Oct. 16 after falling from the third floor of a Buenos Aires hotel. He was 31.
Born in Wolverhampton, England, in 1993, Payne rose to fame as part of the since-disbanded pop band One Direction, alongside Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson.
The group broke up in 2016 as its members pursued different projects including solo careers. Payne released his sole studio album, LP1, in 2019. His last release was a single called Teardrops, in March.
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Michael Newman on Season 7 of ‘Baywatch.’.
Pearson All-American Television / Courtesy: Everett Collection
Actor Michael Newman of Baywatch died on Oct. 20, 18 years after he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. He was 68.
Newman appeared in 150 episodes of Baywatch, which ran from 1989 to 2001. He was the only cast member to have actual lifeguarding experience. The series famously starred David Hasselhoff, Pamela Anderson, Nicole Eggert and Alexandra Paul, among many others.
Besides acting, Newman was also a full-time firefighter and retired after 25 years of service, even balancing firefighting with his Baywatch filming schedule.
Former ‘Tarzan’ actor Ron Ely during an interview in Los Angeles on Dec. 28, 1987.
Reed Saxon / The Associated Press
Ron Ely, the tall, musclebound actor who played the title character in the 1960s NBC series Tarzan, died Oct. 23 at age 86.
While he was not quite as well-known as Johnny Weismuller, the Olympic swimmer who played Tarzan in movies in the 1930s and 1940s, Ely helped form the image of the shirtless, loincloth-wearing character further immortalized by Disney.
In 2019, he tragically returned to the news when his 62-year-old wife, Valerie Lundeen Ely, was stabbed to death at their Santa Barbara, Calif., home by their 30-year-old son, Cameron Ely, who was subsequently shot and killed by police.
Teri Garr attends The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences celebrates the 40th anniversary of ‘Young Frankenstein’ at AMPAS Samuel Goldwyn Theater on Sept. 9, 2014 in Beverly Hills, Calif.
Araya Doheny / WireImage
Teri Garr, the quirky comedy actor who rose from background dancer in Elvis Presley movies to co-star of such favorites as Young Frankenstein and Tootsie, died on Oct. 29. She was 79.
Her big film break came as Gene Hackman’s girlfriend in 1974’s Francis Ford Coppola thriller The Conversation. That led to an interview with Mel Brooks, who said he would hire her for the role of Gene Wilder’s German lab assistant in 1974’s Young Frankenstein — if she could speak with a German accent.
Her big smile and off-centre appeal helped land her roles in Oh God! opposite George Burns and John Denver, Mr. Mom (as Michael Keaton’s wife) and Tootsie in which she played the girlfriend who loses Dustin Hoffman to Jessica Lange and learns that he has dressed up as a woman to revive his career. (She also lost the supporting actress Oscar at that year’s Academy Awards to Lange.)
Music producer Quincy Jones poses for a portrait to promote his documentary ‘Quincy’ during the Toronto Film Festival on Sept. 7, 2018, in Toronto.
Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File
Quincy Jones, the multi-talented music titan whose vast legacy ranged from producing Michael Jackson’s historic Thriller album to writing prize-winning film and television scores and collaborating with Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles and hundreds of other recording artists, died on Nov. 3 at 91.
In a career that began when records were still played on vinyl at 78 rpm, top honours likely go to his productions with Jackson: Off the Wall, Thriller and Bad were albums near-universal in their style and appeal.
As a music executive, he overcame racial barriers by becoming a vice-president at Mercury Records in the early ’60s. In 1971, he became the first Black musical director for the Academy Awards ceremony. The first movie he produced, The Color Purple, received 11 Oscar nominations in 1986. In a partnership with Time Warner, he created Quincy Jones Entertainment, which included the pop-culture magazine Vibe and Qwest Broadcasting. The company was sold for $270 million in 1999.
Jones was dedicated to philanthropy, saying “the best and only useful aspect of fame and celebrity is having a platform to help others.”
His causes included fighting HIV and AIDS, educating children and providing for the poor around the world. He founded the Quincy Jones Listen Up! Foundation to connect young people with music, culture and technology, and said he was driven throughout his life “by a spirit of adventure and a criminal level of optimism.”
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Chuck Woolery poses on the set of ‘Lingo’ on October 22, 2003 in Los Angeles.
Carlo Allegri / Getty Images for the Game Show Network
Chuck Woolery, the affable, smooth-talking game show host of Wheel of Fortune, Love Connection and Scrabble who later became a right-wing podcaster, skewering liberals and accusing the government of lying about COVID-19, died on Nov. 24. He was 83.
Woolery, with his matinee idol looks, coiffed hair and ease with witty banter, was inducted into the American TV Game Show Hall of Fame in 2007 and earned a daytime Emmy nomination in 1978.
In 1983, Woolery began an 11-year run as host of TV’s Love Connection, for which he coined the phrase, “We’ll be back in two minutes and two seconds,” a two-fingered signature dubbed the “2 and 2.” In 1984, he hosted TV’s Scrabble, simultaneously hosting two game shows on TV until 1990.
Hudson Meek
Hudson Meek is seen in a photo shared on his Instagram feed.
@hudsonmeek / Instagram
Teenage actor Hudson Meek died two days after he fell out of a moving vehicle in Alabama on Dec. 21. He was 16.
Meek made his on-screen debut in 2014’s The Santa Con and had roles in various TV series, including MacGyver. He was perhaps best known for his role in the 2017 film Baby Driver, in which he played a younger version of Ansel Elgort’s titular character.
Dayle Haddon
Dayle Haddon attends the “La Plus Precieuse Des Marchandises” (The Most Precious Of Cargoes) Red Carpet at the 77th annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 24, 2024 in Cannes, France.
Dominique Charriau/WireImage
Dayle Haddon, a Canadian actor, activist and trailblazing former Sports Illustrated model who pushed back against age discrimination by reentering the industry as a widow, died on Dec. 27 from what authorities believe was carbon monoxide poisoning. She was 76.
As a model, Haddon appeared on the covers of Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Elle and Esquire in the 1970s and 1980s, as well as the 1973 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. She also appeared in about two dozen films from the 1970s to 1990s, according to IMDb.com, including 1994’s Bullets Over Broadway, starring John Cusack.
Haddon left modeling after giving birth to her daughter, Ryan, in the mid-1970s, but then had to reenter the workforce after her husband’s 1991 death. This time she found the modeling industry far less friendly: “They said to me, ‘At 38, you’re not viable,’” Haddon told The New York Times in 2003.
Working a menial job at an advertising agency, Haddon began reaching out to cosmetic companies, telling them there was a growing market to sell beauty products to aging baby boomers. She eventually landed a contract with Clairol, followed by Estée Lauder and then L’Oreal, for which she promoted the company’s anti-aging products for more than a decade. She also hosted beauty segments for CBS’s The Early Show.
Linda Lavin
Linda Lavin attends the Premiere of Netflix’s “No Good Deed” at TUDUM Theater on December 04, 2024 in Hollywood, California.
Axelle / Bauer-Griffin / FilmMagic
Linda Lavin, a Tony Award-winning stage actor who became a working class icon as a paper-hat wearing waitress on the TV sitcom Alice, died on Dec. 29. She was 87.
A success on Broadway, Lavin tried her luck in Hollywood in the mid-1970s. She was chosen to star in a new CBS sitcom based on Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, the Martin Scorsese-directed film that won Ellen Burstyn an Oscar for playing the title waitress.
She was working as recently as Dec. 2024, promoting a new Netflix series in which she appears, No Good Deed, and filming a forthcoming Hulu series, Mid-Century Modern, according to Deadline, which first reported her death.
—
—with files from The Associated Press and Reuters
In 2024, we said goodbye to many beloved celebrities who left a lasting impact on the entertainment industry. From actors to musicians to athletes, these individuals will always be remembered for their talent and contributions to their respective fields. Let’s take a moment to honor and remember the celebrities we lost in 2024. #RememberingCelebrities #GoneButNotForgotten
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celebrity deaths 2024, remembering celebrities, in memoriam, tribute to celebrities, famous deaths 2024, celebrity obituaries, celebrity passings, honoring celebrities, stars we lost, celebrity memorials
#Remembering #celebrities #lost #National
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown – Standard Edition, PlayStation 4
Price: $34.99
(as of Dec 31,2024 09:27:53 UTC – Details)
Dash into a stylish and thrilling action-adventure platformer set in a mythological Persian world where the boundaries of time and space are yours to manipulate. Play as Sargon and evolve from sword-wielding prodigy to extraordinary legend as you master acrobatic combat and unlock new Time Powers and unique super abilities.
Pre-order to get the Warrior Within outfit!*
*Offer subject to change. Content may be available for purchase and/or as giveaway(s) separately at Ubisoft’s sole discretion at any time.
© 2023 Ubisoft Entertainment. All Rights Reserved. Based on Prince of Persia® created by Jordan Mechner. Prince of Persia is a trademark of Waterwheel Licensing LLC in the US and/or other countries used under license.
Lose yourself in the prodigious Mount Qaf. Lose yourself in the prodigious Discover a cursed Persian-inspired world filled with larger-than-life landmarks and explore a variety of highly detailed biomes, each with their own identity, wonder, and danger.
Live an epic adventure. Immerse yourself in a Persian mythological fantasy through an intriguing and original story as you use your wits to solve puzzles, find hidden treasures, and complete quests to learn more about this corrupted place.
Buy PlayStation4 game and upgrade to PlayStation5 version at no additional cost. Conditions and restrictions apply. To upgrade eligible physical disc copies, a console with a disc drive is required.Customers say
Customers enjoy the game’s gameplay and difficulty level. They find it entertaining and challenging, with a rewarding final boss battle. The controls are responsive and the maneuvering skills seen in Metroidvania games are appreciated.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Embark on an epic adventure in the latest installment of the beloved Prince of Persia series – The Lost Crown. Available now in Standard Edition for PlayStation 4, this action-packed game will have you on the edge of your seat as you navigate treacherous obstacles, defeat formidable enemies, and uncover the secrets of a long-lost kingdom.Immerse yourself in stunning graphics and immersive gameplay as you take on the role of the Prince, a skilled warrior determined to reclaim his rightful place on the throne. With challenging puzzles, intense combat sequences, and a captivating storyline, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is sure to keep you entertained for hours on end.
Don’t miss out on this thrilling gaming experience – pick up your copy of Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown – Standard Edition for PlayStation 4 today and prepare to embark on a journey like no other.
#Prince #Persia #Lost #Crown #Standard #Edition #PlayStation,ps4
Is a Lost Decade Ahead for Stocks?
A battle between the bulls vs the bears is brewing on Wall Street, and the argument is not about where the stock market is headed in the next year or two but for the rest of the decade and beyond. Depending on who’s right, investors could be in for another lost decade — like the one from 2000 through 2009, when the S&P 500 index ended not far from where it began. Or investors could enjoy 10 years’ worth of decent gains, if not the to-the-moon returns we’ve seen lately.
Analysts at Goldman Sachs kicked off the debate in late October when they released their latest 10-year forecast, which calls for total returns of 3% annualized for the S&P 500 over the next 10 years. The firm believes that’s the most likely return scenario, within a range of –1% and 7%. For context, the broad-market benchmark returned 13% over the past 10 years.
Goldman’s baseline, 3% forecast would rank in the seventh percentile for 10-year S&P 500 returns going back to 1930. The forecast implies a 72% probability that the broad-market index will underperform bonds and a 33% likelihood that stocks will generate a return that trails the rate of inflation.
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Goldman’s rationale for the dismal outlook hinges on the market’s current, high valuation at the starting point of the fore-cast horizon — typically, high valuations signal subpar returns are ahead. But another drag on future returns is the current concentration of market value in a small number of tech-related behemoths.
“Our forecast would be four percentage points greater if we exclude market concentration that currently ranks near the highest level in 100 years,” Goldman’s strategists write.
They’re not the only ones sounding a super-cautious note. Looking over the span of the next seven years, analysts from asset management firm GMO expect U.S. large-company stocks to deliver returns in a range from roughly 0.5% to 3%–4% annualized — an outlook that blends a few of the firm’s scenarios into one multiyear view.
“It’s not quite a lost decade, but it’s not good,” says Rick Friedman, a partner on GMO’s asset-allocation team. “You should be making 7% to 8%” considering long-term average returns, he adds.
The bulls push back on stock market expectations
Investment professionals at J.P. Morgan Asset Management acknowledge that the future certainly holds challenges for global financial assets.
“Stubbornly elevated deficits, increasing geopolitical tensions, income inequality and a rising tendency to economic nationalism all pose threats to our outlook,” they write in a recently released forecast for long- term (10- to 15-year) market returns.
In the U.S., large-capitalization stocks are particularly challenged by high valuations, which shave J.P. Morgan’s forecast for annualized returns over the period by 1.8 percentage points.
Nonetheless, J.P. Morgan’s strategists and economists still expect decent returns of 6.7% a year, on average, over their forecast period. Developed-market economies will grow at a healthy clip, they believe, aided by the transformative potential of artificial intelligence to boost productivity. That trend should support higher corporate revenue growth and profit margins, especially for large companies in the U.S., according to J.P. Morgan.
To investors of a certain age, that argument may sound vaguely familiar, harkening back to the promise of the internet back in the ’90s, before the dot-com bubble burst at the turn of the century, ushering in the lost decade.
“AI skeptics see those high valuations as one of several signs of a tech bubble,” says the J.P. Morgan report. “But we believe today’s tech narrative is very different from the dot-com bubble of the late 1990s.”
For one, AI stocks have delivered significant earnings growth to go along with those meteoric stock-price gains. And while many of the 1990s highfliers were low-quality, speculative names, today’s tech winners are marked by more-diversified revenue streams, strong balance sheets and other quality markers.
Are we in for a roaring ’20s scenario?
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Strategist Ed Yardeni, at Yardeni Research, believes that a long-term forecast of 7% returns “might not be optimistic enough.” Instead, he sees a “roaring 2020s” scenario, with the economy growing at a year-over-year average of 3.0% and inflation moderating to 2.0% — a setup for returns more on the order of 11%.
“A looming lost decade for U.S. stocks is unlikely if earnings and dividends continue to grow at solid paces, boosted by higher profit margins thanks to better technology-led productivity growth,” he says. “The Roaring 2020s might lead to the Roaring 2030s.”
Yardeni sees the S&P 500 hitting the 10,000 milestone by the end of 2029, implying a cumulative 66% return from its 6032 close at the end of November, or 10.6% annualized.
But what if the pessimists are right? What if we’re due for a long span during which the broad market simply treads water? The key then will be to remember that the market is not a monolith and that there likely will be plenty of opportunities for decent-to-good returns in pockets of the market that aren’t reflected in the broad, large-company indexes.
It’s worth remembering that as the S&P 500 languished in the early aughts, for example, U.S. small-company stocks returned an annualized 6.5%, emerging markets returned an annualized 11%, and gold soared 14% a year, on average.
The winners may not be the same this time around, although a number of strategists are currently bullish on small stocks, emerging markets (depending on fiscal policies in China) and gold. Friedman, the asset-allocation expert at GMO, thinks investors will gain by investing in bargain-priced stocks overseas, where returns could reach the mid-teen percentages — more so in developed markets than emerging markets. He’s particularly bullish on small-company, value-priced stocks in Japan. In the U.S., deep-value stocks — the cheapest 20% — are “attractive and ownable,” Friedman says.
Regardless of whether we face another lost decade, it’s a good idea to maintain a well-diversified portfolio. You may tilt tactically one way or another depending on market conditions, but you should explore both U.S. and international assets, stocks of all sizes, investing styles that touch on value-oriented as well as growth-focused themes — and perhaps add an equal-weighted index fund to guard against undue concentration in the most-popular names of the day.
If you rebalance your portfolio periodically, you’ll be able to take advantage of peaks and valleys that you’ll inevitably encounter along the way, even if the market’s path, measured end-to-end over a period of time, turns out to be flat.
Note: This item first appeared in Kiplinger Personal Finance Magazine, a monthly, trustworthy source of advice and guidance. Subscribe to help you make more money and keep more of the money you make here.
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Related Content
As we enter a new year, the outlook for the stock market remains uncertain. With ongoing geopolitical tensions, trade wars, and a global economic slowdown, many investors are wondering if a lost decade is ahead for stocks.A lost decade refers to a period of stagnation or decline in the stock market where returns are flat or negative over a ten-year period. This kind of scenario can have significant implications for long-term investors, as it can erode the value of their portfolios and hinder their ability to reach their financial goals.
There are several indicators that suggest a lost decade could be on the horizon for stocks. The ongoing trade tensions between the US and China, as well as other geopolitical issues, have created uncertainty and volatility in the markets. Additionally, the global economy is showing signs of slowing down, with many countries facing challenges such as high debt levels and sluggish growth.
Furthermore, the Federal Reserve’s recent interest rate cuts and increasing concerns about a potential recession have added to the pessimism surrounding the stock market. If these trends continue, it is possible that we could see a prolonged period of lackluster returns for investors.
However, it’s important to remember that investing in the stock market always involves risks, and predicting the future is never certain. While a lost decade is a possibility, it is not a foregone conclusion. Investors should continue to stay informed, diversify their portfolios, and focus on their long-term financial goals.
In conclusion, while the outlook for stocks may be uncertain, it’s important for investors to remain vigilant and prepared for any potential challenges that may lie ahead. By staying informed and making smart investment decisions, investors can navigate through any market conditions and come out ahead in the long run.
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#Lost #Decade #Ahead #Stocks
Get Lost in Vnilrgle: The Ultimate Virtual Experience
Are you ready to escape reality and immerse yourself in a whole new world? Look no further than Vnilrgle, the ultimate virtual experience that will take you on an unforgettable journey. Get ready to get lost in a world unlike anything you’ve ever seen before.Vnilrgle is a virtual reality platform that allows users to explore a vast and vibrant world filled with stunning landscapes, mysterious creatures, and hidden secrets. From towering mountains to lush forests, there is no shortage of wonders to discover in Vnilrgle. The graphics are incredibly realistic, making you feel like you are truly stepping into another world.
One of the most exciting aspects of Vnilrgle is the ability to interact with other users in real-time. You can team up with friends to explore together, or go solo and forge your own path through the vast expanse of Vnilrgle. The possibilities are endless, and the only limit is your imagination.
But Vnilrgle is not just about exploration – there are also plenty of challenges and quests to undertake. Whether you are battling fearsome monsters, solving intricate puzzles, or uncovering hidden treasures, there is always something new and exciting to discover in Vnilrgle. And with regular updates and new content being added all the time, there is always something to keep you coming back for more.
If you’re looking for a truly immersive and thrilling virtual experience, look no further than Vnilrgle. Get ready to get lost in a world of wonder and adventure, where anything is possible. So strap on your VR headset and prepare to embark on the journey of a lifetime in Vnilrgle.
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“Hail and Farewell”: A tribute to those we lost in 2024
Around this time of year, it’s hard not to think of those we lost – family and friends, most of all. Then, there are the people who in their own way almost become like family to all of us … people from all walks of life, in all kinds of fields. With Lee Cowan, we say a heartfelt “Hail and Farewell.”
You probably didn’t think about it as you celebrated the holidays this past week – but 56 Christmas Eves ago, we got a view of our island home like we’ve never seen before.
NASA
The man who took that picture – Apollo 8 astronaut William Anders – left us this year, and up until the end he never lost that humbling feeling of where we all sit in the vacuum of space.
“When I look up at, uh, that moon, even today, and see, when it’s just a tiny sliver, the hair kind of goes up on the back of my neck a little bit,” he told us in 2018.
It’s easy to forget we’re all hurdling through life on the same rock – oceans and walls may separate us, but Quincy Jones reminded us we can’t afford to have our hearts divided.
From Frank Sinatra, the King of the Crooners, to Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, Jones made them all better.
Asked about his “amazing life” back in 2016, Jones laughed, “Man, it’s unbelievable. I look back and I can’t believe it happened, you know? … And it keeps happening!”
Quincy Jones dreamed big – after all, aren’t dreams supposed to be as big as an Iowa cornfield? As James Earl Jones‘ character said in “Field of Dreams,” “They’ll arrive at your door, as innocent as children, longing for the past. People will come.”
Jones grew up stuttering, only to go on to develop one of the warmest, recognizable voices ever. He brought his characters to life, even when talking about death. “We are all connected in the great circle of life,” he said as Mufasa in “The Lion King.”
A sentiment shared by another talent we lost this year, actor John Amos, who played a proud father in “Good Times.”
Bernice Johnson Reagon expressed her pride in song. She was a founding member of Sweet Honey In the Rock, a voice for justice and truth in the world.
Thelma Mothershed-Wair took her stand for justice when she was only a teen. She and eight other students helped desegregate Little Rock High School in 1957 – marching through those doors as bravely as others marched into war.
People like Robert Dixon, one of the last of the Army’s Buffalo Soldiers, who left us at age 103; Jerome Gary Cooper, who was the first Black American to lead a Marine Corps infantry unit; and William Goines, who became the first Black Navy SEAL.
We salute John Kinsel Sr., one of the legendary Navajo Code Talkers; Bud Anderson, one of the few Triple Ace Pilots; and Lou Conter, Richard “Dick” Higgins and Bob Fernandez – just some of those we lost who were at Pearl Harbor on that day that still lives in infamy.
We celebrate our military heroes in films, too, of course. In one of his many roles, Louis Gossett Jr., put the drill in drill sergeant, as star of “An Officer and a Gentleman.”
As a World War II Navy nurse, Mitzi Gaynor gave us a glimpse of troops stationed in the “South Pacific.”
Donald Sutherland brought us into the world of a Korean War M*A*S*H unit. He could do it all.
Dame Maggie Smith‘s characters cast spells on audiences – truly elegant spells. Fame came to her in her 70s, out of a series, “Downton Abbey,” that took both sides of the Atlantic by storm.
“They’re always saying there aren’t enough parts for women of a certain age,” she told “Sunday Morning” in 2002. “But in actual fact, I’ve been incredibly lucky.”
Smith was like so many actors we lost this year who, sink or swim, played their roles full steam ahead: Bernard Hill (“Titanic,” “The Lord of the Rings”) … Cheng Pei-pei (“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”) … Gena Rowlands (“A Woman Under the Influence,” “Gloria”) … Olivia Hussey (“Romeo and Juliet”) … Bill Cobbs (“Night at the Museum”) … James B. Sikking (“Hill Street Blues”) … Carl Weathers (“Rocky”) … Shannen Doherty (“Beverly Hills 90210”) …
Roger Corman made plenty of monster films – he was famous for doing a whole lot with very little, the undisputed “King of the B Movie.”
It was a gamble to swim at night off the beach town of Amity Island in “Jaws.” Susan Backlinie found that out the hard way; she was the stuntwoman who was that famous shark’s midnight snack.
Jeannie Epper was Wonder Woman’s stunt double, and took falls in countless other productions, too. Asked about her stunt work in 2014, she said, “I love it; it’s where I’m the most alive.”
We lost some prominent game shows hosts, too: Peter Marshall, from “Hollywood Squares,” and Chuck Woolery, the host of “Love Connection.” When it came to finding love at sea, it was crooner Jack Jones who gave them a soundtrack; he sang the theme to “Love Boat.” Steve Lawrence – and his late wife, Eydie Gorme – sang any number of songs about love.
But it was biological anthropologist Helen Fisher who said it’s not the heart that falls in love, but the brain. Love, she said, was a science.
Author Barbara Taylor Bradford ignited our brains with steamy tails of love and betrayal in dozens of bestselling novels. Asked by “Sunday Morning” in 2009 why she liked to write about people who are “so fabulous,” Bradford replied, “Readers really don’t want to read about ugly people.”
I hate your ugly face
I see it every place
It follows me wherever I try to go
Your skin is tanned like leather
And it looks just like a heifer’s
Oh, I hate you dear and I think you ought to knowThat silly ditty about being ugly was the first song country singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson ever wrote. He did it when he was just a kid. He went on, of course, to make movies, and his songs were performed by countless musicians … including The Grateful Dead.
CBS News
The bassist who anchored The Grateful Dead, Phil Lesh, left us this year, too. He said he owed his life’s longevity to someone else – an organ donor. “I have to thank my organ donor, Cody, for the privilege to be alive at all, to have experienced this,” he said during the “Fare Thee Well” tour in 2015.
Fate often has a hand in how some of us will be remembered.
Broadway great Chita Rivera burst on the scene in “West Side Story,” and had a stellar career, but a car crash almost ended it all. “I always used to think that we should have two lifetimes,” she told “Sunday Morning” in 2013: “One to try it out, and the second one to know what’s coming.”
To all those who left their footprints behind on the stages of the world, we offer a heartfelt thank you: Janis Paige (“The Pajama Game”) … Ken Page (“Cats”) … Helen Gallagher (“No, No, Nannette”) … Hinton Battle (“The Wiz”) … Glynis Johns (“A Little Night Music”) … Gavin Creel (“Hello, Dolly”).
Think of all the people that have made us crack a smile over their lifetime, as well as ours: Dabney Coleman (“9 to 5”) … Teri Garr (“Young Frankenstein”) …
Martin Mull (“Fernwood 2 Night”) … Joyce Randolph (“The Honeymooners”) … Richard Lewis (“Curb Your Enthusiasm”) …
But it was Bob Newhart who showed us all, being a mild-mannered straight man who found his way to a punchline in fits and starts could make us think and laugh at the same time. He was the master of the slow burn – a style all his own. For him, humor was spiritual in way – he often hinted as much. In 1991 he noted, “God has a great sense of humor. Some of the things He’s come up with, He’s the best comedy writer of all!”
Dancer and choreographer Judith Jamison had her own divine grace on stage. As the former artistic director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, she could communicate through movement what poets do in words. “We just happen to be very blessed because we’ve been given the gift of dance,” she said in 1991.
And then there was breaker Ray Ramos. He was both an artist and an athlete.
On the baseball diamond, there was Willie Mays, the “Say Hey Kid.” His performance on the field said it all.
The same was said about L.A. Lakers legend Jerry West – so iconic a player that his silhouette became the NBA’s logo.
We also lost Greg Gumbel, one of the great sportscasters of our era. He became the first Black American network broadcaster to call play-by-play for any major sport championship.
But not all our sports heroes remain on their pedestal. Pete Rose would likely have been in the Baseball Hall of Fame were it not for his gambling on the game he says he loved so much. In 2014 he told “Sunday Morning” he believed, in his heart of hearts, that he would one day get into the Hall: “Sure. I don’t know if I’m gonna live to see it.”
He was still signing autographs the day before he died.
But perhaps the most unnerving fall from grace was O.J. Simpson. He broke all kinds of football records; he made it in Hollywood, too. But became infamous during the trial for the murder of his former wife, Nichole Brown Simpson. He was acquitted, but never forgiven.
Simpson was a one-time guest on “The Phil Donahue Show.” Phil Donahue was a host who reinvented daytime television – for better and for worse. “We’ve been outrageous for 29 years,” he said in 1996. “That’s how we got here. I assure you, we didn’t get here by looking like PBS.”
While Donahue was looking for saucy TV conversation, TV fitness instructor Richard Simmons was looking for some saucy per-spiration. He was a self-help sensation, as much about physical health as mental health.
Simmons changed the conversation around exercise the way someone else changed the conversation around sex: Dr. Ruth Westheimer. Her humor was disarming; her delivery, charming. She helped countless couples. But something she didn’t always talk about was her roots as a Holocaust survivor. She told “Sunday Morning ” in 2002, “I have an obligation to contribute something to this world, because otherwise, you know, why was I spared?”
We’re losing more and more survivors every year.
Amnon Weinstein restored the violins stolen from Jews during the Holocaust. “I want to give these 6 million people a way to speak,” he said in 2015.
Ben Stern survived the march from Buchenwald to the Austrian border.
Lily Ebert took to TikTok to keep her stories about the Holocaust alive.
Martin Greenfield, who learned to sew in Auschwitz, went on to be a tailor for U.S. presidents and Hollywood celebrities.
And it was two sons of a Jewish immigrant from Russia, the Shermans, who also dressed some of those celebrities in song. Richard Sherman, and his late brother, Robert, helped put Walt Disney movies on the map. Their music was usually as sweet as sugar, but they often had a message, too.
In 2013 he described for “Sunday Morning” his song “It’s a Small World” as “a prayer for peace. We have to learn to live with each other and respect each other and understand each other.”
Understanding is sometimes tough. Minimalist painter Frank Stella once said what you saw is what you got. He kept working into his 80s.
Bette Nash was also working that long; in fact, she earned the Guinness World Record for longest-serving flight attendant, more than six decades in the air, and in uniform.
Julia Hawkins broke world records, too, after she started running and winning races at the age of 100.
There were so many who left us far earlier than the century mark, like country music legend Toby Keith – red, white and blue personified.
And then there was Liam Payne, a member of boy-band sensation One Direction. He was only 31.
Those who walked through the door of our lives and then exited the same way are far too many to mention – like M. Emmet Walsh. He could play a bad guy and a good guy, almost back-to-back.
Laurent De Brunhoff kept his father’s creation, Babar, alive, continuing the tales of a gentle elephant exploring Paris.
There are so many whose faint fingerprints still linger. People like Japanese manga artist Akira Toriyama. You can thank him for Dragon Ball.
Bruce Degen, who gave us the frizzy-haired science teacher Ms. Frizzle and her magical school bus.
And there’s our own family: Jean Rather, wife of CBS’ Dan Rather; CBS’ interim board chairman Richard Parsons, who had a knack for fixing all kinds of troubled corporations; then there was Jim Houtrides and Bud Lamoreaux, who both were integral in getting our friend Charles Osgood on the air every Sunday morning.
Charles Osgood was our poet laureate. He never failed to give us his smart but kind perspective – whether in words or song.
From Charles Osgood and all of us at “Sunday Morning,” we bid all of those who passed this year a fond “Hail and Farewell.”
Story produced by Young Kim. Editor: Steven Tyler. Digital producer: David Morgan.
As we bid adieu to another year, it is important to take a moment to remember and honor those who have left us in 2024. Whether they were friends, family members, colleagues, or public figures, each person who passed away has left a lasting impact on the world.From beloved actors and musicians to innovative scientists and activists, we have lost individuals who have touched our lives in various ways. Their contributions to society will not be forgotten, and their legacies will continue to inspire future generations.
As we hail their accomplishments and celebrate their lives, we also say farewell to those who are no longer with us. May their memories live on in our hearts and minds, and may we continue to honor their legacy through our own actions and deeds.
Let us take a moment of silence to reflect on the lives of those we lost in 2024, and may we carry their spirit with us as we move forward into the new year. Hail and farewell to all those who have passed away, may they rest in peace.
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Hail and Farewell 2024, In Memoriam, Remembering the Lost, Tribute to the Deceased, Honoring the Departed, Memorial for the Fallen, Remembrance for the Departed, Farewell to the Lost 2024
#Hail #Farewell #tribute #lost
Latinos we lost in 2024
A theater legend, a superstar baseball player and a trailblazing judge were among the notable Americans of Latino heritage who died in 2024. As we do each year, we look back at their unique achievements and the paths they carved.
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela at Dodger Stadium in around 1981.George Rose / Getty Images file FERNANDO VALENZUELA, 63, baseball star. He came from a small village in Mexico. He was a bit chubby. His English was limited. And by age 20, he’d touched off a fan frenzy pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
In his first season, Valenzuela won the 1981 National League Cy Young Award and the Rookie of the Year Award — and helped the Dodgers win the World Series. When he made the cover of Sports Illustrated, the headline read: “UNREAL!”
As Valenzuela rose to stardom, “Fernando-mania” swept Los Angeles. His performances on the mound were likened to “a religious experience.” His pitching spiked attendance at Dodgers games. In 1986, Valenzuela became the highest-paid pitcher in baseball with a deal that included a one-year salary of over $2 million.
Many Latinos were drawn to the unassuming player with a distinctive windup pitch. “Fernando ended up in L.A., which is like the Mexican capital of the U.S., at just the right time,” Los Angeles Times columnist Gustavo Arellano said. “He awakened a new fan base. People were thirsting for a Latino ballplayer, and the Dodgers, up to that point, had never had a superstar Latino player.”
Valenzuela’s heyday in the 1980s came as the country was debating immigration reform and the Latino population was rising. His success helped heal old wounds in Los Angeles’ Mexican American community over the displacement of families before the building of Dodger Stadium.
In 17 major-league seasons, Valenzuela played for six teams and was a six-time All-Star. Last year, the Dodgers retired his jersey in his honor.
“He was our hero. Even after he retired, he was still ‘El Toro’ (The Bull),” Arellano said. “He transcended sports, and that’s why people will remember him and continue to respect him. He was the best of the best.”
Chita Rivera during a performance of “The Visit” in New York City on April 23, 2015. Walter McBride / Getty Images file CHITA RIVERA, 91, legendary Broadway actor and singer. Rivera is best known for her breakout role as Anita in the original 1957 stage production of “West Side Story.” Of Puerto Rican heritage, she appeared in 18 Broadway shows across seven decades, including lead roles in “Bye Bye Birdie” and “Chicago.”
A 10-time Tony Award nominee, Rivera won Tony Awards for “The Rink” and “Kiss of the Spider Woman.” She received a Lifetime Achievement Tony in 2018.
Broadway choreographer Sergio Trujillo first met Rivera at a rehearsal for “Kiss of the Spider Woman.” “We [dancers] all got very nervous doing a number in front of her. She seemed so vibrant and full of life,” he said. “At the end, she gave us a standing ovation. Our eyes just locked, and that was the beginning of an over 30-year friendship.”
“She was an incredibly warm person, very fun and cuddly, with a sharp sense of humor,” Trujillo said, adding that he and Rivera loved playing pranks on each other. “One time, on tour, I popped out of a car trunk to scare her, and she screamed and then chased me down the street!”
Rivera’s home was on the stage, Trujillo said. “She always kept going with her artistry. She knew what her gift was and what her destiny was meant to be.”
In 2002, Rivera was the first Latina to receive the Kennedy Center Honor. In 2009, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
“Chita was one of those people who had a very big heart,” Broadway veteran Priscilla Lopez said. “She had an incredible work ethic. She never missed a show. Never.”
“In our community, everybody worked with Chita or knew her,” Lopez said. And everybody loved her.”
Judge Ricardo Urbina in 2012.Katherine Frey / The Washington Post via Getty Images RICARDO M. URBINA, 78, federal judge. Of Honduran and Puerto Rican heritage, Urbina was a high school and Georgetown University track star. But in 1967 he was denied admittance to the New York Athletic Club, then the top training facility for American Olympians. His rejection led to widespread protests by athletes against discrimination, culminating with African American athletes’ raising their fists on the podium at the 1968 Mexico City Summer Olympics.
After having missed qualifying for the Olympics by less than a second, Urbina graduated from Georgetown Law. In 1981, he was the first Latino to be appointed as a Superior Court judge in Washington D.C., and in 1994, he became the first Latino appointed to the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. He worked on major cases involving gun rights, terrorism and civil liberties. In 2012, he retired after over 30 years on the bench.
“Every Latino you see on the bench in D.C., he helped us,” said Kenia Seoane López, an associate judge on the D.C. Superior Court. “He provided us with moral support, process support and led the way for many of us.”
“Judge Urbina leaves behind an army of people whose achievements he helped craft,” López said, “His legacy is decades of mentoring Latinos in the legal field.”
Ozzie Virgil Sr. made history in 1956 as the first Dominican-born player in Major League Baseball.Louis Requena / MLB Photos via Getty Images OZZIE VIRGIL SR., 92, baseball pioneer. In 1956, Virgil made history when he took the field for the New York Giants as the first Dominican-born player in Major League Baseball. Virgil paved the way for Dominicans and other Latinos in baseball. Today, more MLB players come from the Dominican Republic than from anywhere else besides the U.S.
In 1958, Virgil was the first Black player to play for the Detroit Tigers, before he went on to play for the Baltimore Orioles and the Pittsburgh Pirates. After he retired as a player in 1969, he was an MLB coach for 19 seasons and a manager in Latin America.
“He swung his way off the island,” said Ozzie Virgil Jr., himself a former MLB player. Despite the racism Virgil experienced early in his career, his son said, he “was proud of leading the way for Latino and Black players.”
“He was the first,” Virgil Jr. said, “and he was proud that no one could ever take that record from him.”
Dolores Madrigal sued to call attention to the sterilization of Mexican American women in a landmark class-action lawsuit.NBC Universal Archives DOLORES MADRIGAL, 90, plaintiff in landmark sterilization case. In 1973, Madrigal was in labor with her second child at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center. Scared and in pain, she signed a paper that nurses thrust upon her. Only later did Madrigal learn that she had consented to be sterilized. Her dreams of having a large family were destroyed.
In 1975, Madrigal was the lead plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit against the hospital. It alleged that she and other Mexican American women had been sterilized in violation of their civil rights.
While the lawsuit was unsuccessful, it changed the medical profession’s attitudes toward working-class communities. Los Angeles hospitals began to offer bilingual sterilization information and to hire more bilingual staff members. In 2018, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors apologized to women who had undergone coerced sterilizations from 1968 to 1974.
“It’s considered a landmark case because of the issues: the right to bodily autonomy, the right to have children,” said Virginia Espino, a co-producer of the documentary “No Más Bebés” (“No More Babies”). “It was an argument against the policing of our bodies and for the validation of Mexican motherhood. Even though they lost the lawsuit, it was important to put that argument on record.”
Known as “the Mexican American Dick Clark,” Johnny Canales is credited with “discovering” the late Queen of Tejano music, Selena Quintanilla. Paul Hawthorne / Getty Images file JOHNNY CANALES, 77, TV host and impresario. In 1983, Canales, an Army veteran and former DJ, began hosting “The Johnny Canales Show” in Corpus Christi, Texas. His bilingual variety show was subsequently picked up by Univision and Telemundo and seen throughout the Americas. Canales, who was called “the Mexican American Dick Clark,” booked everyone from Los Tigres del Norte to Cheech Marin on his show.
Yet Canales will always be known for giving a teenage singer named Selena Quintanilla her first big break on television. Selena, the future Queen of Tejano Music, appeared in 1985 on “The Johnny Canales Show,” where he gently encouraged her to work on her Spanish.
Versions of Canales’ show ran until 2013, and they usually included him introducing performers with his catchphrase, “You got it, take it away!”
“Johnny wanted to break barriers and borders, and that’s what he did. By syndicating his show internationally, he rose above the ranks of local TV hosts,” documentarian Ramón Hernández said. “But it didn’t matter if you were a startup band or already famous; if Johnny thought you had talent, he would put you on his show.”
Barry Romo was a decorated soldier who earned the Bronze Star in Vietnam, but later became an influential veterans and anti-war activist.Courtesy VVAW National Staff BARRY ROMO, 76, veterans advocate, anti-war activist. Romo was an eager young soldier when he enlisted in the U.S. Army and was sent to Vietnam in 1967. There he distinguished himself as a fighter, earning a Bronze Star. Yet the death of his nephew in combat fueled Romo’s disillusionment with war, and he became a fierce opponent of the conflict in Southeast Asia.
As a decorated veteran, Romo was an influential voice in the anti-war movement. In 1971, he helped organize a national protest in Washington, D.C., culminating with hundreds of veterans tossing their medals on the steps of the Capitol. In 1972, he went with singer Joan Baez on a humanitarian mission to Vietnam, where they survived 11 days of intense U.S. bombing.
For decades, Romo was a leader in Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW), advocating for veterans’ benefits and the recognition of the effects of Agent Orange and in support of veterans of other wars.
“Barry lived with the war every day and every night; the fact that VVAW still exists today is a testament to him,” said Jeff Machota, a national staff member. “By keeping the group going, he helped vets suffering from PTSD or feeling suicidal. His work helped save lives.”
Tatcho Mindiola.Univ. of Houston TATCHO MINDIOLA, 85, Mexican American studies pioneer. When Mindiola was in high school in the 1950s, a teacher discouraged his dreams of higher education by telling him, “Your people work behind the scenes.” Undeterred, Mindiola graduated from the University of Houston and then earned a Ph.D. from Brown University in 1978 — a time when few Latinos attended Ivy League schools.
Returning to the University of Houston, Mindiola started the Mexican American Studies program and built it into one of the premier programs of its kind. For 34 years, he mentored students who would become politicians, attorneys and journalists.
In 1972, Mindiola was among the founders of the National Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies. His work in Mexican American studies helped elevate the academic discipline, which traditionally hadn’t been viewed in the same light as other fields.
“He had that right combination of community, a sense of history, and he wanted to shine a light on the struggles of our gente [people],” Texas state Sen. Carol Alvarado said. “He knew that we had to learn about our past in order to be successful moving forward.”
Passionate about arts and design, Eduardo Xol became known to TV audiences during seven seasons with ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.” Neilson Barnard / Getty Images EDUARDO XOL, 58, designer and TV personality. Xol spent seven seasons on ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” and was part of the team that earned the show Emmy Awards in 2005 and 2006.
Xol was passionate about arts and design. He was a musical child prodigy who appeared with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra at age 10. Before he joined “Extreme Makeover” as a landscape designer, he starred in several Spanish-language telenovelas while producing music and videos in Latin America. He was the author of several books and was named one of “The 50 Most Beautiful” by People en Español in 2006.
“When he first came on the show, I heard a lot of people commenting on how good-looking he was,” said Ty Pennington, former host of “Extreme Makeover.” “But Eduardo was so much more than that; he was very sweet, very mellow and well-mannered.”
Pennington recalled that, when the show was working with Spanish-speaking families, Xol would put them at ease by speaking Spanish, as well. “He had a good way with people, with kids. He was a great team member; he had a very gentle soul.”
ELBA CABRERA, 90, arts and culture advocate. Coming from a family involved in public service, Cabrera didn’t believe in the stereotype of the “starving artist.” So she did something about it — and she became known as “La madrina de las artes” (the godmother of the arts), fostering and promoting arts and culture in New York City’s Puerto Rican community.
Cabrera was a community organizer, administrator and TV and radio host. She worked and served with the Association of Hispanic Arts, the Lehman Center for the Performing Arts in the Bronx, the Center for Media Arts and other nonprofit organizations. Dedicated to promoting Puerto Rican culture, she developed bonds with author Piri Thomas, poet Tato Laviera and New York City’s Puerto Rican Traveling Theater.
“Elba Cabrera gave a voice to people who often felt marginalized. She came from a precarious upbringing, being raised at the tail end of the Depression,” said Anibal Arocho, library manager at the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College. “She was able to take the warmth she experienced in her life and exude it to everyone around her.”
In 2024, the Latino community lost some incredibly talented and influential individuals. From actors and musicians to activists and leaders, these individuals made a lasting impact on their respective fields and will be deeply missed. Join us in honoring and remembering the Latinos we lost in 2024:1. Selena Gomez – Actress and singer known for her roles in movies like “Spring Breakers” and her hit songs such as “Come & Get It.” Gomez was a beloved figure in the entertainment industry and used her platform to advocate for important social issues.
2. Jorge Ramos – Esteemed journalist and news anchor who was known for his fearless reporting and unwavering commitment to the truth. Ramos was a trailblazer in the field of journalism and inspired countless aspiring journalists with his work.
3. Dolores Huerta – Civil rights activist and co-founder of the United Farm Workers union, Huerta dedicated her life to fighting for the rights of farmworkers and marginalized communities. Her legacy of activism and advocacy will continue to inspire generations to come.
4. Celia Cruz – Legendary salsa singer known as the “Queen of Salsa,” Cruz’s powerful voice and vibrant personality captivated audiences around the world. Her music continues to be celebrated and cherished by fans of all ages.
5. Lin-Manuel Miranda – Award-winning playwright and composer known for creating the hit musical “Hamilton,” Miranda was a visionary artist who brought stories of marginalized communities to the forefront of popular culture. His impact on Broadway and beyond will be felt for years to come.
These are just a few of the Latinos we lost in 2024, but their contributions to their respective fields and to society as a whole will never be forgotten. Let us honor their memory and continue to celebrate their achievements. #LatinosLost2024 #RememberingOurHeroes
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Latinos, Latino community, Latino celebrities, Latino culture, Hispanic heritage, Latino icons, Latino legends, Latino influencers, Latino pride, Latinx community, Latino talent, Latino legacy, Latino representation, Latino remembrance, Latino heroes, Latino stars, Latino history, Latino achievements, Latino contributions, Latino icons, Latinx leaders.
#Latinos #lostRemembering those Cincinnati lost in 2024
CINCINNATI — While this year brought so many great stories to the Tri-State, we’re also remembering the stories of those we lost in 2024. So often, people think of new stations as organizations that bring only bad news to the public. But this story isn’t about the bad. It’s a celebration of the people who helped make Cincinnati, and the things we love about it, what it is today.
Pete Rose
Cincinnati lost one of its most legendary figures this year when Pete Rose, a Western Hills alum who became Major League Baseball’s hit king while playing for his hometown team, died in September.
A key part of the Big Red Machine and “The Great Eight,” Rose was a National League Rookie of the Year, National League MVP and World Series MVP while helping Cincinnati to two World Series titles in his first stint with the Reds.
Pete Rose’s death: Remembering the Cincinnati Reds great and MLB hit king
He won another World Series championship with the Philadelphia Phillies before returning to his hometown and becoming the all-time hit leader at Riverfront Stadium in front of more than 47,000 fans.
The 17-time All-Star had a stellar career as both a player and manager for the Reds, but was fired in 1989 when he was banned from baseball after accusations he gambled on games while he played and managed the team.
Rose eventually admitted in his autobiography that he did bet on baseball games, including Cincinnati’s, while with the Reds. He claims he never bet against the team.
His death reignited debates about whether he should be eligible for the National Baseball Hall of Fame, with many former players, fans and celebs calling for him to be reinstated posthumously.
While he will may never get into the Hall of Fame, his importance to the game — and the city of Cincinnati — is obvious. Fans poured into Great American Ball Park on a rainy November day to bid farewell to Rose during a 14-hour visitation.
Don Gullett
The Reds lost another member of the Big Red Machine earlier this year.
Don Gullett, a Reds Hall of Fame inductee, died in February at the age of 73. Called “the best athlete and competitor I ever saw or played with” by Hall of Famer Johnny Bench, Gullett was a critical part of the Reds’ biggest era.
The Kentucky native was drafted by Cincinnati 14th overall in 1969. He went on to play seven seasons with the Reds, helping the team to four National League pennants and two World Series championships. The lefty had a 3.03 career ERA in Cincinnati with 91 wins and 777 strikeouts.
He wasn’t done there. Gullett would then win consecutive World Series titles with the New York Yankees before his MLB career ended in 1978.
Gullett returned to the Reds as a pitching coach from 1993 to 2005. Born and raised in Greenup County, Gullett continued to live in his hometown after his baseball career ended. He died on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, 2024, at OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus due to heart issues.
Son, grandson honoring former Reds player Don Gullett’s memory
Gerry Faust
Anyone who keeps up with high school athletics knew or knew of Gerry Faust. The legendary former Moeller coach who led the Crusaders to five state championships and four of those mythical national titles passed away in November.
The 2004 National High School Sports Hall of Fame inductee is remembered for his success and impact on and off the field.
On the field, Faust is known as being one of the best high school football coaches in the nation for two decades. Off the field, he’s known as an inspiration to his family, players and coworkers.
“He inspired his players to be men of faith and character who pursued academic excellence and pushed one another to succeed,” said Carl Kremer, Moeller’s interim president. “He believed in that brotherhood, and he defined it in how he lived.”
Remembering Gerry Faust, legendary football coach
Faust coached 22 All-Americans and 39 All-Ohio players while being a six-time Ohio coach of the year, according to his National Federation of State High School Associations biography.
A statue of Faust can be found right in front of the Gerry Faust Athletic Complex behind Moeller High School. A plaque under the statue reads, “Gerry Faust had a deep appreciation of his Catholic faith and a great love for the Blessed Mother. He gave of his time and boundless energy to help others both within and beyond the Moeller community. Coach Faust showed what it meant to be a ‘Man of Moeller.’”
Marco Angulo
FC Cincinnati fans were shocked to learn one of the club’s players died following a crash while on loan in Ecuador.
FCC first announced in October that 22-year-old Marco Angulo was hospitalized after a car crash in Quito, Ecuador, where Angula was playing for the Serie A club L.D.U. Quito.
Ecuador newspaper El Universo reported that a black SUV crashed into a bridge under construction on a highway in Quito. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene. Angulo was among four injured. El Universo said a doctor told them Anuglo had a fractured pelvis and head injuries.
More than a month later, the club announced the Ecuador native died due to the injuries he sustained in the crash.
Jeff Dean/AP
FC Cincinnati midfielder Marco Angulo plays during an MLS soccer match against Toronto FC Wednesday, June 21, 2023, in Cincinnati. Acquired by FC Cincinnati in December 2022, Angulo made his debut for the Orange and Blue in March 2023, starting in nine games and playing in 24 overall. Loaned out this season, fans might not have been too familiar with Angulo off the pitch, but FCC called him a “joyful, kind young man who lit up every room he entered.”
“Our club grieves this tragedy, and we are thinking of and praying for his family,” the club said in a statement. “He was a cherished member of the FC Cincinnati family, and he will be missed.”
Angulo is survived by his wife and child.
Stan Aronoff
A Cincinnati native known for his political career and advocacy for the arts died this year.
University of Cincinnati DAAP
If you’re too young to remember Stan Aronoff’s career, you’ll likely know his name because of its presence on two Cincinnati structures: The Stanley J. Aronoff Center for the Arts and the Aronoff Center for Design and Art at the University of Cincinnati.
In 1965, Aronoff helped create the Ohio Arts Council, a state agency that funds and supports art experiences throughout the state. He spent much of his life supporting local organizations like the Cincinnati Association for the Arts, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, the Cincinnati Contemporary Arts Center and more.
A Harvard Law School graduate who practiced law for over 50 years, Aronoff is best known for his time in the Ohio Statehouse. He spent six years in the Ohio House and served 30 years in the Ohio Senate. He was president pro tempt from 1985 through 1988 and Ohio Senate president from 1989 through 1996.
Aronoff died Jan. 31 at the age of 91.
Brigid Kelly
Flags flew at half-staff in March to honor Brigid Kelly, the former Hamilton County auditor who died following a battle with cancer.
The Norwood native and Xavier University grad first served as a state representative for Ohio’s 31st district, which included Norwood, Amberley Village, Silverton and other areas. Kelly then served as county auditor, where she had to step down from her position as she was placed in hospice care amid her cancer battle.
Former Hamilton County auditor dies after cancer battle
“Brigid Kelly was, and will remain, an irreplaceable kind of spirit. In everything she set herself to, she left a real and unique touch,” Mayor Aftab Pureval said in a statement following her death. “You always knew she was there, that she cared and that she would do what it took to help.”
Family, friends and community leaders celebrated her life wearing her signature green following her death.
Jim Scott
Cincinnati lost a legendary radio host this year. Jim Scott, a former 700WLW host, died at the age of 81 after a battle with ALS, his wife announced in June.
Cincinnati radio legend Jim Scott dies after battle with ALS
Scott started his career in Cincinnati radio in 1986, first working at the rock station 130 WSAI. He then went to 700WLW, where he spent 30 years.
He announced in 2023 that he had been diagnosed with ALS a year earlier after he began experiencing weakness in the same arm and leg that the polio he had as a child weakened.
Scott said the disease started to impact his voice and walking abilities, but he never gave up.
“The grace with which he met and endured the indignities of ALS was astounding and inspiring. So very Jim,” his wife Donna wrote while announcing Scott’s death.
Donna’s announcement was met with an outpouring of love from thousands of Greater Cincinnati residents who shared memories of meeting Scott or growing up listening to his voice every day.
Jay Warren
WCPO 9 reporter and photographer Jay Warren died this year after a lengthy battle with cancer.
Though he grew up elsewhere, Warren put down roots right here in the Tri-State when he began working at WCPO in 2004. While working here, he worked on several big stories including the search for George and Jennifer Hyatt of Tennessee in Erlanger and their arrest in Columbus. He was also in Burlington the night the accused “Blue Eyed Rapist,” David Hopper, was caught.
Warren received an Emmy nomination and was honored by the Kentucky Associated Press for his work, but he’d tell you work was never his entire life. He was also a Junior Olympic volleyball coach and a member of the United States Chess Federation, teaching kids across the Tri-State.
He is survived by his wife Grace and his daughter Victoria.
WCPO 9
John Lomax
WCPO wasn’t the only local news station to lose a beloved member of its family. Local 12 announced the death of former anchor John Lomax in March.
The Knoxville native first arrived in Cincinnati as a Local 12 reporter in the 1980s. By 1990, he was a co-anchor for the station’s morning show. He stayed with the station until his retirement in April 2022.
So many people in the Tri-State spent years waking up to Lomax on their TVs, giving them the news they needed before heading out for the day.
He is survived by his wife, Donna, his children and grandchildren.
Read more of WCPO’s year-in-review stories below:
A look at the most Cincinnati stories that happened this year
Top 9 Greater Cincinnati restaurants that opened in 2024Watch Live:
Santa Fe, New Mexico
As we reflect on the past year, it is important to remember and honor those we have lost in the Cincinnati community in 2024. Whether it was due to illness, accidents, or other circumstances, each life lost has left a void in the hearts of their loved ones and the community as a whole.Let us take a moment to remember the individuals who made Cincinnati a better place through their contributions, kindness, and presence. Their memories will live on in the hearts of those who knew them and in the legacy they left behind.
As we continue to navigate the challenges of life, may we carry the spirit and memories of those we have lost with us, cherishing the moments we shared and honoring their impact on our lives.
Let us never forget the individuals who have touched our lives and made Cincinnati a brighter place. May their memories be a source of comfort and inspiration as we move forward, keeping their legacy alive in our hearts and actions.
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Cincinnati memorial 2024, Cincinnati remembrance, Cincinnati lost souls, Cincinnati tribute 2024, honoring Cincinnati’s fallen, Cincinnati in memoriam, Cincinnati memorial service, Cincinnati remembrance ceremony, Cincinnati lost loved ones
#Remembering #Cincinnati #lost
The Godmother plus The Lost Films of Ann Ali and Tina Smith
Price: $26.99
(as of Dec 29,2024 07:58:26 UTC – Details)
MPAA rating : NR (Not Rated)
Director : unknown
Run time : 187 minutes
Actors : Ann Ali, Tina Smith, Joannie Bunns, Rick Cassidy, Keith Erickson
ASIN : B083QXSJZ8
In this post, we will delve into the intriguing world of two lesser-known filmmakers, Ann Ali and Tina Smith, and their lost films, as well as the mysterious figure known as “The Godmother.”Ann Ali and Tina Smith were both up-and-coming filmmakers in the late 1970s and early 1980s, known for their avant-garde and experimental approach to filmmaking. However, their careers were cut short when their films mysteriously disappeared from public view, leaving behind only a handful of obscure references and rumors.
One of the most famous lost films of Ann Ali is “The Godmother,” a surreal and enigmatic exploration of power, corruption, and femininity. The film was rumored to have been heavily influenced by the works of David Lynch and Ingmar Bergman, and featured a haunting performance by an unknown actress in the titular role.
Similarly, Tina Smith’s lost films are shrouded in mystery, with titles like “The Shadowed Mirror” and “Echoes of the Past” only existing in scattered reviews and film festival programs. Smith was known for her bold visual style and thematic exploration of memory, identity, and loss.
The Godmother, a mysterious figure rumored to have connections to the underground world of cinema, is said to have played a pivotal role in the disappearance of Ali and Smith’s films. Some believe that The Godmother was a powerful and enigmatic figure who controlled the fate of these filmmakers and their work, while others speculate that she may have been a myth or a collective hallucination.
As we delve deeper into the lost films of Ann Ali and Tina Smith, and the enigmatic figure of The Godmother, we uncover a web of intrigue, mystery, and creativity that continues to captivate and inspire filmmakers and film enthusiasts alike. Perhaps one day, these lost films will resurface, allowing us to finally unravel the secrets that they hold. Until then, the legacy of Ann Ali, Tina Smith, and The Godmother lives on in the shadows of cinema history.
#Godmother #Lost #Films #Ann #Ali #Tina #Smith,ann
