Saturday, December 27, 2014

The LuLac Edition #2801, December 27th, 2014

MOVING ON 2014

JANUARY

Pete DeCoursey, 52, American political journalist, cancer. DeCoursey was a mainstay on PCN TV and was one of the most widely respect of Pennsylvania :Political reporters. Throughout this year’s Governor’s race there wasn’t a day I wondered during that time how Pete would react to the Corbett/Wolf race. (Photo: PCN TV).
Juanita Moore, 99, American actress (Imitation of Life).
Jay Traynor, 70, American singer (Jay and the Americans), liver cancer.
Phil Everly, 74, American singer and musician (The Everly Brothers), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The Everly Brothers were an early influence on The Beatles. As a matter of fact, Paul McCartney wrote this song for the Everly Brothers in the 80s.

Jerry Coleman, 89, American baseball player, manager and broadcaster (Yankees, Padres) and Marine aviator, complications from brain bleeding and surgery. I had the opportunity to meet Jerry Coleman in his one year stint as the manager of The San Diego Padres in 1980. He was warm, funny, insightful and knew this team was not going anywhere. (Photo: LuLac archives).
H. Owen Reed, 103, American composer, conductor and educator.
Rynn Berry, 68, American vegetarian activist and author, heart attack.
Sam Berns, 17, American high school student, progeria sufferer and documentary subject (Life According to Sam), progeria.
Ike Borsavage, 89, American basketball player.
Larry Speakes, 74, American journalist, de facto White House Press Secretary (1981–1987), Alzheimer's disease. Speakes became Press Secretary after Reagan’s first pressman Jim Brady was gunned down during the Reagan assassination attempt.
Jerome Willis, 85, British actor (Doctor Who, Space Precinct).
Ariel Sharon, 85, Israeli politician and general, Minister of Defense (1981–1983), Prime Minister (2001–2006), heart failure.
Frank Marth, 91, American actor (The Honeymooners, Hogan's Heroes), heart failure and Alzheimer's disease. (Photo: Wikipedia).
Russell Johnson, 89, American actor (Gilligan's Island), kidney failure. Johnson was born in Ashley, Pennsylvania and gained fame and fortune as the brainy Professor on the island. Only Tina Louise and Dawn Wells survive from the cast.
Dave Madden, 82, Canadian-born American actor (Laugh In, The Partridge Family, Alice), heart and kidney failure.
Yuri Izrael, 83, Russian meteorologist.
Charlie Osgood, 87, American baseball player (Brooklyn Dodgers).
Raymond Weil, 87, Swiss watchmaker and businessman.
Gerald B. Whitham, 86, British applied mathematician.
Rusty York, 78, American musician.
Doris Witiuk, 84, American AAGPBL baseball player (Racine Belles, Battle Creek Belles
Sue Wallis, 56, American politician, member of the Wyoming House of Representatives (since 2007).
Stevie Woods, 62, American singer.
Johnny Allen, 96, American music arranger (Shaft), complications from pneumonia.
Campbell Lane, 78, Canadian actor (Cool Runnings, The X-Files, Scary Movie 4).
Anna Gordy Gaye, 92, American songwriter ("Baby, I'm for Real"), co-founder of Anna Records, natural causes
Christopher Jones, 72, American actor (The Legend of Jesse James, Ryan's Daughter, The Looking Glass War), cancer.

FEBRUARY

Maximilian Schell, 83, Austrian-Swiss Oscar-winning actor (Judgment at Nuremberg, Julia, Deep Impact), pneumonia.
Gordon Zacks, 80, American businessman and presidential adviser, cancer.
Bunny Rugs, 65, Jamaican reggae musician (Third World)
Philip Seymour Hoffman, 46, American Oscar-winning actor (Capote, Magnolia, Doubt), mixed drug intoxication.
Richard Bull, 89, American actor (Little House on the Prairie), natural causes.
Gloria Leonard, 73, American pornographic actress and magazine publisher (High Society), complications from a stroke. 
Joan Mondale, 83, (below) American arts advocate, Second Lady of the United States (1977–1981)
Ralph Kiner, 91, American Hall of Fame baseball player (Pittsburgh Pirates) and announcer (New York Mets), natural causes. One of the biggest thrills I had was to meet Kiner at Shea in the Press Box. In 1980 I saw at least 12 Met games that year and Kiner was always very amiable and welcoming to the out of state media people.
Abe Woodson, 79, American football player (San Francisco 49ers).
Roy Alvarez, 63, Filipino actor, cardiac arrest.
Sid Caesar, 91, American Emmy-winning comedian and actor (Your Show of Shows, Grease, Silent Movie). (Photo: TV archives). 
Ralph Waite, 85, American actor (The Waltons, Roots, NCIS, Cliffhanger).
Jim Fregosi, 71, American baseball player (California Angels) and manager (Philadelphia Phillies), complications from a stroke.
John Henson, 48, American puppeteer (The Muppets), heart attack
Roy Simmons, 57, American football player (New York Giants), complications from pneumonia.
Garrick Utley, 74, American television journalist (NBC News), prostate cancer.
Jim Lange, 81, American game show host and disc jockey (The Dating Game, Name That Tune), heart attack.
Don Pardo was an American radio and television announcer whose career spanned more than seven decades. A member of the Television Hall of Fame, Pardo was noted for his 70-year tenure with NBC, working as the announcer for early incarnations of such notable shows as The Price Is Right, Jackpot, Jeopardy!, Three on a Match, Winning Streak and NBC Nightly News. His longest, and best-known, announcing job was for NBC's Saturday Night Live, a job he held for 39 seasons, from the show's debut in 1975 until his death in 2014.
Aaron Allston, 53, American game designer (Dungeons & Dragons) and sci-fi author (X-Wing), heart failure.
Shirley Temple Black was an iconic child star of the 1930s who later became a TV personality and American Ambassador. began her film career in 1932 at the age of three. In 1934, she found international fame in Bright Eyes, a feature film designed specifically for her talents. She received a special Juvenile Academy Award in February 1935 for her outstanding contribution as a juvenile performer to motion pictures during 1934, and film hits such as Curly Top and Heidi followed year after year during the mid-to-late 1930s. Licensed merchandise that capitalized on her wholesome image included dolls, dishes and clothing. Her box office popularity waned as she reached adolescence.
Temple worked in TV in 1958 with a two-season television anthology series of fairy tale adaptations. She made guest appearances on television shows in the early 1960s and filmed a sitcom pilot that was never released. She sat on the boards of corporations and organizations including The Walt Disney Company, Del Monte Foods and the National Wildlife Federation. She began her diplomatic career in 1969, with an appointment to represent the United States at a session of the United Nations General Assembly. (Photo: Time Magazine). 
She entered politics and became a diplomat, serving as United States Ambassador to Ghana and later to Czechoslovakia, and as Chief of Protocol of the United States.

MARCH

Ted Bergmann, 93, American sports television and entertainment producer (NBC), complications following surgery.
Molly Bobak, 92, Canadian war artist, recipient of the Order of Canada
Porky Chedwick, 96, American radio announcer. Chedwick was a trailblazer in music and in radio. Starting in the late 1940s, he introduced music by black artists to young white radio listeners and gave early airplay to artists who later went on to be major stars, including Bo Diddley and Smokey Robinson. Mr. Chedwick was among radio personalities included in the "Dedicated to the One I Love" exhibit at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland in 1996. The exhibit featured air checks from Mr. Chedwick and others.

Gail Gilmore, 76, Canadian actress, lung cancer.
Sheila MacRae, 92, English-born American actress (The Honeymooners).
Gwen Matthewman, 86, English speed knitter.
William Clay Ford, Sr., 88, American businessman (Ford Motor Company, Detroit Lions), pneumonia.
Cynthia Lynn, 76, Latvian-born American actress (Hogan's Heroes), multiple organ failure
Joe McGinniss, 71, American author and political journalist, prostate cancer.
Tom Shanahan, 89, American broadcaster and sportscaster.
Ray Still, 94, American classical oboist (Chicago Symphony Orchestra)
Reubin Askew, 85, American politician, Governor of Florida (1971–1979), member of the Florida House of Representatives (1958–1962) and Senate (1962–197
Abby Singer, 96, American production manager (Remington Steele, St. Elsewhere), cancer
David Brenner, 78, American comedian, cancer. He also was a guest host for Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show.
Charlotte Brooks, 95, American photographer (Look).
Howard Callaway, 86, American politician, Secretary of the Army, ’’member of the US House of Representatives for Georgia, complications from a brain hemorrhage. Callaway, nicknamed "Bo" also ran President Ford’s 1976 primary campaign.
Mareike Carrière, 59, German actress, cancer.
Jim Compton, 72, American journalist (NBC News), heart attack.
Heather Robertson, 72, Canadian journalist (Winnipeg Free Press) and author, cancer.
Robert Schwarz Strauss, 95, American politician and diplomat, Ambassador to Russia (1991–19920. He was known as one of the wise men of the Democratic party from 77 to 99.
James R. Schlesinger, 85, American government official, Director of the CIA (1973), Secretary of Defense (1973–1975), Secretary of Energy (1977–1979), pneumonia.
Charles Keating, 90, American banker, key figure in the savings and loan crisis.
Frankie Knuckles, 59, American disc jockey and record producer, complications from diabetes.
Bob Larbey, 79, British comedy scriptwriter (Please Sir!, The Good Life, As Time Goes By.


APRIL

King Fleming, 91, American jazz pianist, natural causes.
William Mitchell, 85, Canadian hockey player (Detroit Red Wings), kidney failure.
Sandy Grossman, 78, American sports director (CBS Sports, Fox Sports), directed 10 Super Bowls, cancer.
Lucy Hood, 56, American television executive (News Corporation), President of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (since 2013), cancer.
Arthur Smith, 93, American musician and songwriter ("Guitar Boogie", "Dueling Banjos").
Ed Spencer, 85, American race car driver
Peter Kaberere, 30, Kenyan gospel singer, electrocuted.
Mickey Rooney, 93, American actor (Boys Town, The Black Stallion), Emmy Award winner (Bill). (Photo: Turner Classic Movies). 
Peaches Geldof, 25, English television presenter, writer and model, heroin overdose. (Photo: The Guardian). 
The Ultimate Warrior, 54, American Hall of Fame professional wrestler (WWE), heart attack.
Bill Henry, 86, American baseball player (Boston Red Sox, Cincinnati Reds), heart attack.
Carl Zimmermann, 96, American news anchor (WITI) and WWII war correspondent.
Hal Smith, 82, American baseball player (St. Louis Cardinals). Smith was a key hero of the 1960 World Series began Game 7 on the bench, but entered the contest in the eighth inning after starter Burgess was removed for a pinch runner. Smith came to bat in the bottom of the eighth with two outs, two runners on base, and the Pirates trailing by a score of 7–6. With two strikes, Smith hit a dramatic three-run home run off Jim Coates to give the Pirates a 9–7 lead. His home run electrified the Forbes Field crowd, who thought his blast would win the World Series for the Pirates. However, his hit would be overshadowed: the Yankees then battled back to tie the game at nine in the top of the ninth, leading to Bill Mazeroski's walk-off homer to win the Series in the bottom of the inning. Smith also was the first catcher to start a game in Houston in the 1962 season for the Colt 45s. (Photo: LuLac archives). 
Little Joe Cook, 91, American doo-wop singer. 
Basil Paterson, 87, American politician and labor lawyer, New York Secretary of State (1979–1983), member of the New York Senate (1965–1970). Patterson also ran for Mayor of New York City a few times in the 60s. His son David Patterson became the Governor after Elliot Spitzer stepped down. 
Lee Namey, former Mayor of The City of Wilkes Barre from 1988 to 1995. 
Steve Cappiello, 89, American politician, Mayor of Hoboken, New Jersey (1981–1984).
Bill Blair, 92, American baseball player (Indianapolis Clowns), journalist and civil rights activist.
Rubin Carter, 76, American middleweight boxer wrongfully convicted of murder, subject of "Hurricane" and The Hurricane, prostate cancer.
Ray Musto, 85, American politician, member of the U.S. House for Pennsylvania's 11th district (1980–1981), Pennsylvania House (1971–1980) and Senate (1983–2010), cancer.
Earl Morrall, 79, American football player (Baltimore Colts, Detroit Lions, Miami Dolphins), complications from Parkinson's disease.
Lee Marshall, 64, American radio personality, professional wrestling announcer and voice actor (Tony The Tiger), esophageal cancer.
Judi Meredith, 77, American actress (Ben Casey, The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, Hotel de Paree).
Janet Vivian "Jan" Hooks was an American actress and comedian best known for her work on Saturday Night Live, where she was a repertory player from 1986-91, and continued making cameo appearances until 1994. Her subsequent work included a regular role on the final two seasons of Designing Women, a recurring role on 3rd Rock from the Sun and a number of other roles in film and television.
Bob Hoskins was well known for playing Cockneys and gangsters. His best known works include lead roles in The Long Good Friday (1980), Mona Lisa (1986), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), Mermaids (1990), Super Mario Bros. (1993), and supporting performances in Brazil (1985), Hook (1991), Nixon (1995), Mrs. Henderson Presents (2005), A Christmas Carol (2009), Made in Dagenham (2010), and Snow White and the Huntsman (2012).


MAY

Mel Clark, 87, American baseball player (Philadelphia Phillies).
Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., 95, American actor (The F.B.I., 77 Sunset Strip, Batman: The Animated Series) If you were an impressionable young boy in the early 1960s you knew this guy always got the girl because of those great convertibles he drove on 77 Sunset Strip. (Photo: ABC TV). 
Jimmy Ellis, 74, American boxer, WBA heavyweight champion (1968–1970), dementia.
Beverly Long, 81, American actress (Rebel Without a Cause, Father Knows Best).[139]
Nancy Malone, 79, American Emmy Award-winning producer, director (Dynasty) and actress (Naked City), leukemia-induced pneumonia. [She played Libby on the television series Naked City from 1960 to 1963. During the same period, she played Robin Lang Bowden Fletcher on the daytime soap opera Guiding Light. She subsequently played Clara Varner on the television series The Long Hot Summer, which ran for one season on ABC, and appeared in The Outer Limits (episode "Fun and Games") and The Twilight Zone (episode "Stopover in a Quiet Town"). She played Dr. Edith Gibson, the love interest of Goober Pyle (George Lindsey), on the last original episode of the television series The Andy Griffith Show ("A Girl for Goober," which aired March 25, 1968).
In 1976, she became the first female vice-president of television at 20th Century Fox. In 1977, she was awarded one of the first Crystal Awards by Women in Film for outstanding women who, through their endurance and the excellence of their work, have helped to expand the role of women within the entertainment industry.
Malone won an Emmy Award for producing Bob Hope: The First 90 Years (1993) (TV) and was nominated for Emmy Awards for directing episodes of Sisters in (1991), and The Trials of Rosie O'Neill in (1992).
Malone always felt that her role on “Naked City” was confining. She played Detective Adam Flint’s fiance and there were always formulatic scenes where she’d meet up with Flint to discuss his work in the Police Department. There were never any recurring appearances in episodes, she had her slot and then the rest of the show went on. Malone was the last surviving member of that cast that included star Paul Burke, Horace McMahon and Harry Bellaver. 
Malone made the cover of Life Magazine as a child. (Photo: Life Magazine). 
This is a photo of Malone with "Naked City" star Paul Burke. (Photo: New York Times).
Tessa Watts, 68, British music video producer ("Sledgehammer"), pancreatic cancer.
Morning Glory Zell-Ravenheart, 65, American neopagan, author and priestess (Church of All Worlds), multiple myeloma.
Jerry Vale, 83, American singer ("Have You Looked into Your Heart", "The Star-Spangled Banner") and actor. His version of "The Star-Spangled Banner", recorded in the late 1963, was a fixture at many sporting events for years. The Gold Record Vale achieved for this was displayed at the National Baseball Hall of Fame located in Cooperstown, New York. Vale was a mainstay on the TV talk show circuit in the 60s, played at The Kirby in the late 80s and was famous for being in movies like “Goodfellas”. Vale’s last hit of any consequence for Columbia was in 1966.

Nitya Pibulsonggram, 72, Thai diplomat, Foreign Minister (2006–2008), Ambassador to the United States (1984–2000) and United Nations, stroke.
Lee Chamberlin, 76, American actress (The Electric Company, All My Children), cancer.
Mike Gordon, 60, American baseball player (Chicago Cubs), acute myeloid leukemia.
Roberto Vargas, 84, American Puerto Rican baseball player (Milwaukee Braves
Massimo Vignelli, 83, Italian graphic designer (New York City Subway map, American Airlines).
Maya Angelou, 86, American author (I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings), poet ("On the Pulse of Morning") and civil rights activist.
Malcolm Glazer, 85, American real estate executive (First Allied Corporation) and sports franchise owner (Manchester United, Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
Dave Herman, 78, American radio personality (WNEW), aneurysm.
Martha Hyer, 89, American actress (Some Came Running, Sabrina).
Lewis Katz, 72, American media (The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News, YES Network) and sport franchise owner (New Jersey Nets and Devils), plane crash.
Jack Dittmer, 86, American baseball player (Boston/Milwaukee Braves).


JUNE

Ann B. Davis, 88, American actress (The Bob Cummings Show, The Brady Bunch), Emmy winner (1958, 1959), subdural hematoma from a fall.
Tom Rounds, 77, American radio production executive (American Top 40), complications from surgery. Rounds was the brain trust behind the program that skyrocketed its host Casey Kasem to fame and fortune. Ironic that both died within a few weeks of each other in the same year.
Marjorie Stapp, 92, American actress (My Three Sons, Dragnet).
Roy M. Goodman, 84, American politician, member of the New York Senate (1969–2002), respiratory failure. Goodman made a run for Mayor of New York on the GOP ticket.
Don Zimmer, 83, American baseball player (Brooklyn Dodgers) and manager (Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs), heart failure as a complication from cardiac surgery.
Bob Abrahamian, 35, American disc jockey and record collector, suicide.
Don Davis, 75, American musician, songwriter (Who's Making Love, Disco Lady) and Grammy Award-winning producer (You Don't Have to Be a Star).
Anthony Keith "Tony" Gwynn, Sr. nicknamed "Mr. Padre", was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 20 seasons (1982–2001) in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres. The left-handed hitting Gwynn won eight batting titles in his career, tied for the second-most in MLB history. He is considered one of the best and most consistent hitters in baseball history. He was a 15-time All-Star, recognized for his skills both on offense and defense with seven Silver Slugger Awards and five Gold Glove Awards. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007, his first year of eligibility.
Jean Geissinger, 79, American baseball player (AAGPBL).
Bob Welch, 57, American baseball player (Los Angeles Dodgers, Oakland Athletics), Cy Young Award winner (1990).
Ruby Dee, 91, American award-winning actress (Decoration Day, American Gangster) and civil rights activist, National Medal of Arts laureate (1995).
Mark Ballinger, 65, American baseball player (Cleveland Indians).
Chuck Noll, 82, American football player (Cleveland Browns) and Hall of Fame coach (Pittsburgh Steelers), most coached Super Bowl wins (IX, X, XIII, XIV), natural causes.Noll is rarely touted as one of the greatest coaches of all time. That is patently unfair because he won 4 Super Bowl in virtually one decade. (Photo: Steelers Nation.com)
Casey Kasem, 82, American radio jockey (American Top 40) and voice actor (Scooby-Doo, Super Friends), Lewy body dementia.
Johnny Mann, 85, American composer, Grammy Award-winning arranger ("Up, Up and Away") and singer (Alvin and the Chipmunks).[Johnny Mann was the band leader for the late night Joey Bishop Talk Show on ABC TV in the late 1960s and also had a group called the Johnny Mann Singers.(Photo: ABC TV). 

Gerry Goffin, 75, American Hall of Fame lyricist ("Will You Love Me Tomorrow", "The Loco-Motion", "Go Away Little Girl", "Take Good Care of My Baby").Goffins was the husband of rock legend Carole King. Her breakthrough solo hit “Its Too Late” is based on their relationship ending.
Bill Renna, 89, American baseball player (New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia/Kansas City Athletics).
Steve Rossi, 82, American comedian (Allen & Rossi), cancer. Rossi was a mainstay on TV Variety Shows in the 1960s with his partner Maury Allen. They also had a short lived TV show.
Eli Wallach, 98, American actor (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, The Magnificent Seven, Baby Doll). Wallach starred in many early 60s TV Drama programs including The Naked City. He also played a role in Godfather 3 as a conniving don who was poisoned by cannolis.
Howard Baker, 88, American politician and diplomat, Senator from Tennessee (1967–1985), Senate Majority Leader (1981–1985), White House Chief of Staff (1987–1988), complications from a stroke.Baker was the Senate Minority Vice Chair of the Senate Impeachment committee that investigated the Watergate break in that led to the eventual resignation of Richard Nixon.
Bobby Womack, 70, American Hall of Fame R&B singer ("Harry Hippie") and songwriter ("I Can Understand It").
Meshach Taylor, 67, American actor (Designing Women, Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide), colorectal cancer.
Frank Cashen, 88, American baseball executive (Baltimore Orioles, New York Mets), complications from heart failure.
Bobby Castillo, 59, American baseball player (Los Angeles Dodgers, Minnesota Twins), cancer.
Bob Hastings, 89, American actor (McHale's Navy, The Munsters, Batman: The Animated Series), prostate cancer. Hastings later played on “Archie Bunker’s Place” but his real TV fame came as Lt. Elroy Carpenter, Captain Binghamton’s second in command on McHale’s Navy. 
(Photo: Wikipedia.com). 
Richard Jencks, 93, American broadcasting executive, president of CBS Broadcast Group.
Kenny Kingston, 87, American psychic and variety show personality, cardiovascular disease
Paul Mazursky, 84, American film director and screenwriter (An Unmarried Woman, Harry and Tonto, Moscow on the Hudson), pulmonary cardiac arrest.


JULY

Stephen Gaskin, 79, American counterculture figure, peace activist and commune founder
Walter Dean Myers, 76, American award-winning children's writer (Fallen Angels, Monster).
Seth J. Teller, 50, American computer engineer and scientist (MIT), pioneer in human-robot interactions.
Dave Legeno, 50, British actor (Harry Potter, Snatch, Batman Begins), heat stroke.
Dick Jones, 87, American actor (Pinocchio, Buffalo Bill, Jr.).
Don Lenhardt, 91, American baseball player and coach (St. Louis Browns/Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox).
Gloria Schweigerdt, 80, American baseball player (Chicago Colleens, Battle Creek Belles).
Eeieen Ford, 92, American model agency executive, co-founder of Ford Models, complications from meningioma and osteoporosis.
Sir Howard Cooke, 98, Jamaican politician, Governor-General (1991–2006), MP (WIF) (1958–1962) and MP for St James (1962–1980), Senate President (1989–1993).[
Tommy Ramone, 65, Hungarian-born American Hall of Fame record producer and drummer (The Ramones), bile duct cancer.
John Seigenthaler, 86, American newspaper journalist and editor (The Tennessean, USA Today), editor for team that won Pulitzer Prize . The journalist was also an aide to both President Kennedy and his brother Robert. He was also the point man for the Kennedy administration on the great Civil Right battles of the 1960s.
Kenneth J. Gray, 89, American politician, member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Illinois (1955–1974, 1985–1989), heart attack.
James MacGregor Burns, 95, American historian (Roosevelt: The Soldier of Freedom) and political scientist, recipient of the Pulitzer Prize (1971).
Johnny Winter, 70, American Hall of Fame blues guitarist, singer (Nothin' but the Blues) and triple Grammy Award-winning producer (1978–1980).
Ross Burden, 45, New Zealand celebrity chef (MasterChef, Ready Steady Cook, MasterChef New Zealand), infection from bone marrow transplant.
Ray DiPierro, 87, American football player (Green Bay Packers), complications of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases.
Elaine Stritch best known for her work on Broadway. She appeared in numerous stage plays and musicals, feature films and many television programs. She was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 1995. Stritch made her professional stage debut in 1944 and her Broadway debut in the comedy Loco in 1946. The actress's notable Broadway credits include her Tony Award nominated roles in the original production of William Inge's 1955 play Bus Stop, and musicals by Noël Coward (Sail Away, 1961) and Stephen Sondheim (Company, 1970), the latter included her performance of the song "The Ladies Who Lunch", plus the 1996 revival of the Edward Albee play A Delicate Balance and her 2001 Tony Award winning one-woman show Elaine Stritch At Liberty.

Bob McNamara, 82, American CFL (Winnipeg Blue Bombers) and AFL (Denver Broncos) football player.
Robert Newhouse, 64, American football player (Dallas Cowboys), heart disease.
Don Lanier, 78, American songwriter.
Robert Drew, 90, American documentary filmmaker (Primary, Crisis: Behind a Presidential Commitment), natural causes. Primary was a ground breaking documentary chronicling the 1960 primary battles in Wisconsin and West Virginia between John Kennedy and Hubert Humphrey.
Dick Smith, 92, American special effects make-up artist (The Godfather, The Exorcist, Amadeus), natural causes.
James Garner starred in several television series over more than five decades, including such popular roles as Bret Maverick in the 1950s western comedy series Maverick and Jim Rockford in the 1970s detective drama series The Rockford Files.
Garner also starred in more than fifty films, including The Great Escape (1963), The Americanization of Emily (1964), Grand Prix (1966), Blake Edwards' Victor Victoria (1982), Murphy's Romance (1985), for which he received an Academy Award nomination, Space Cowboys (2000), and The Notebook (2004). Garner was 86.(Photos: AP and NBC TV). 



AUGUST

Jess Marlow, 84, American news broadcaster (KNBC, KCBS), complications from Alzheimer's disease.
Ed Nelson, 85, American actor (Gun Smoke, Murder, She Wrote, Peyton Place), heart failure. Nelson was a heart throb in the 1960s for his role in the TV version of Peyton Place.
Myrtle Young, 90, American potato chip collector, heart failure
Peter Chippindale, 69, British newspaper journalist (The Guardian) and author.
Jim Command, 85, American baseball player (Philadelphia Phillies).
Rolf Larsen, 79, American judge, member of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court (1978–1994), only justice ever impeached by Pennsylvania Senate, lung cancer
Robin Williams, 63, American comedian and actor (Good Will Hunting, Hook, Aladdin), Oscar winner (1998), suicide by hanging
Lauren Bacall, 89, American award-winning actress (Key Largo, The Mirror Has Two Faces, Misery), stroke. In her earlier films with Bogart, you can see why the man went head over heels with her. She was absolutely stunning and remained an icon to her dying day. (Photo: Time). 
Jerry Lumpe, 81, American baseball player (Kansas City Athletics, Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees). (Photo: LuLac archives). 
Jim Jeffords, 80, American politician, member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Vermont's at-large district (1975–1989), Senator for Vermont (1989–2007).
Don Pardo, 96, American radio and television announcer (Saturday Night Live, Jeopardy!).
James Foley, 40, American photojournalist, beheading. (death reported on this date)
Richard Attenborough, 90, English award-winning actor, producer and director (Gandhi, The Great Escape, Jurassic Park).Attenborough’s role in The Great Escape was rated one of the most definitive in that movie. He played the ring leader of an Allied Prison camp hellbent on gumming up the works for The Nazis.
Bob Warren, 68, American basketball player.
Jim Petrie, 82, British cartoonist (Minnie the Minx).[
Jimmy Nesbitt, 79, Northern Irish police detective, investigated Shankill ButchersThe Shankill Butchers was an Ulster loyalist gang—many of whom were members of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)—that was active between 1975 and 1982 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It was based in the Shankill area and was responsible for the deaths of at least 23 people, most of whom were killed in sectarian attacks. The gang was notorious for kidnapping and murdering random civilians from the Catholic community.
Joseph E. Persico, 84, American writer. A Speechwriter for Nelson Rockefeller, Persico published "My Enemy My Brother: Men and Days of Gettysburg", an historical work of non fiction covering the American Civil War. He also wrote "The Imperial Rockefeller", a biography of his former employer. This was followed by a biography of Edward R. Murrow. In 1995, He co-wrote Colin L. Powell's autobiography.
Bobbie Clarke, 74, British drummer, cancer.
Samuel Dunbar, 82, American businessman.
Stan Goldberg, 82, American comic book artist (Archie), stroke.
Jimi Jamison, 63, American musician (Survivor), suspected heart attack.
Kevin Jordan, 57, area radio broadcaster at WARM Radio, WILK, WYOU TV and WBRE TV. He was also head of Luzerne County Voter Services. Here he is reporting at a rally in downtown Wilkes Barre in the 80s. (Photo: LuLac archives). 


SEPTEMBER

Frank Calloway, 99, American artist and longevity claimant.
Donnie Humphrey, 53, American football player (Green Bay Packers).
Joseph Shivers, 93, American textile chemist, developed spandex.
Rogers McKee, 87, American baseball player (Philadelphia Phillies)
Charlie Powell, 82, American football player (San Francisco 49ers, Oakland Raiders) and boxer.
Andy Stapp, 70, American political activist, founded the American Serviceman's Union.
Roy Leonard, 83, American radio personality (WGN), esophageal infection
Hopeton Lewis, 66, Jamaican singer, kidney failure
Joan Rivers, 81, American comedienne, actress (Spaceballs) and television host (Fashion Police), cardiac arrest. Rivers performed a few times in the Wilkes Barre Are wowing local fans.
David Lomax, 76, British television reporter and interviewer (Panorama).
Sean O'Haire, 43, American professional wrestler, suicide by strangulation.
Denny Miller, 80, American actor (Tarzan, the Ape Man, Wagon Train), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Bob Suter, 57, American ice hockey player, Olympic champion (1980), heart attack.
Grant Dunlap, 90, American baseball player (St. Louis Cardinals).
Richard Kiel, 74, American actor (The Spy Who Loved Me, Happy Gilmore, Tangled), heart attack.
Bob Crewe, 82, American songwriter ("Big Girls Don't Cry", "Rag Doll") and record producer (The Four Seasons). Crewe was the person who teamed with Bob Gaudio to write the most prolific hits of the Seasons 4. Crewe also struck out on his own with The Bob Crewe Generation and scored a huge hit in 1967 with “Music To Watch Girls By”.

Joe Sample, 75, American jazz musician (The Crusaders), and songwriter ("One Day I'll Fly Away", "Street Life").
Frank Torre, 82, American baseball player (Milwaukee Braves, Philadelphia Phillies), cardiac arrest. Torre made big news during the 1996 baseball season when his brother Joe, then Yankee Manager was trying to get the Yanks in the World Series for the first time in 16 years. He was waiting for a heart transplant that came right in the midst of the 6 game Series with the Braves, the former team of his and brother Joe.
Thomas Hale Boggs, Jr., 73, American lawyer, lobbyist and politician, heart attack.The sister of ABC and NPR commentator Cokie Roberts, Boggs was known as”The lobbyist lobbyist” in the 80s and 90s.(Photo: LuLac archives). 
Michael Hayes, 85, British television director (Doctor Who, Z-Cars, An Age of Kings) and newsreader.
Buster Jones, 71, American voice actor (Super Friends, The Transformers, The Real Ghostbusters).
Dr. Thomas O'Donnell, former Wilkes Barre Area School Director and Congressional candidate. 
George Hamilton IV, 77, American country music singer (Abilene), complications from a heart attack.
Margie Day, 88, American R&B singer.
Polly Bergen, 84, American singer and actress (Cape Fear, Cry-Baby, Desperate Housewives), Emmy Award winner (1958).
Eric the Actor, 39, American dwarf, member of The Wack Pack.
Skip E. Lowe, 85, American talk show host, emphysema.
Michael McCarty, 68, American actor (Casper, ER), heart failure.
James Traficant, 73, American politician, member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Ohio's 17th district (1985–2002).
Jerrie Mock, 88, American pilot, first woman to fly solo around the world.[
San W. Orr, Jr., 73, American businessman.
Martin Lewis Perl, 87, American physicist, discovered the tau particle, Nobel Prize laureate in Physics (1995), heart attack
Sheila Tracy, 80, British broadcaster and musician (Big Band Special).[
Angus Wilson Lennie was a Scottish actor best known for his film appearance as Archibald Ives in The Great Escape (1963). He was also known for being in the television soap opera Crossroads. Lennie was the third featured actor from the movie “The Great Escape” to pass away in 2014. (Photo: AMC). 


OCTOBER

Shlomo Lahat, 86, Israeli general and politician, Mayor of Tel Aviv (1974–1993), lung infection.
José Martínez, 72, Cuban baseball player (Pittsburgh Pirates), coach (Kansas City Royals, Chicago Cubs) and executive (Atlanta Braves).
Michael Goldberg, 55, American screenwriter (Cool Runnings, Snow Dogs), brain and sinus cancer.
Jean-Claude Duvalier, 63, Haitian politician, President (1971–1986), heart attack.
Paul Revere, 76, American musician (Paul Revere & the Raiders), cancer. Revere and his lead singer Mark used Colonial garb as a gimmick but their music was quite good. The band was a mainstay on American Bandstand as well as the Dick Clark spin off show “Where The Action Is’.
Bill Campbell, 91, American sportscaster.Campbell was one of the voices of my youth. I used to listen t him many times on the Phillies broadcasts as a kid, especially during the 1964 season. I met Campbell many times down at the Vet in the 1980s and enjoyed listening to his stories in the Press Box.This was the team that broadcasted Phillies games for many a year. Campbell, Ashburn and Saam. (Photo: Philly.com). 
Johnny Midnight, 73, Filipino radio and television host, prostate cancer.
Jack Bruce, 71, Scottish bassist (Cream, Manfred Mann) and composer, liver disease.
Jeff Robinson, 52, American baseball player (Detroit Tigers).
Gavin Smith, 59, American film studio executive, missing since 2012. body discovered on this date)
Gordy Soltau, 89, American football player (San Francisco 49ers.
Thomas Menino, 71, American politician, Mayor of Boston (1993–2014), cancer.
Ben Bradlee became a national figure during the presidency of Richard Nixon, when he challenged the federal government over the right to publish the Pentagon Papers and oversaw the publication of Bob Woodward's and Carl Bernstein's stories documenting the Watergate scandal. At his death he held the title of vice president at-large of the Post.
He was also an advocate for education and the study of history, including working for years as an active trustee on the boards of several major educational, historical, and archeological research institutions. (Photo: Washington Post). 
Geoffrey Lamont Holder was a Trinidadian-American actor, choreographer, director, dancer, painter, costume designer, singer and voice-over artist. He became worldwide for his 7UP uncola commercials and was featured in a 2011 episode of NBC TV’s “The Apprentice”.

NOVEMBER

Marian Brown, 87, American media personality. She became well known for her radio and TV programs in the Bay Area with her twin sister.
Pete Harman, 95, American businessman, opened first KFC franchise.
Mike Nichols, 83, German-born American director (The Graduate, Angels in America, Spamalot), Oscar winner (1968), cardiac arrest.
Dave Appell, 92, American musician, musical arranger and record producer. Appell (pronounced "AP-el") is associated mainly with the Cameo-Parkway record label, in whose history he played a substantial part. Appell was a frequent visitor to WARM Radio promoting his records locally here in the 1960s. Here is Appel at WBAX Radio with Joey Shaver and Dee Dee Sharp. 
Jimmy Ruffin, 78, American soul singer ("What Becomes of the Brokenhearted"

Ray Sadecki, 73, American baseball player (St. Louis Cardinals, New York Mets), blood cancer. Sadecki was one of the big guns of that storied 1964 Cardinals run to the World Series. 
Jadwiga Piłsudska, 94, Polish pilot and architect, WWII flying officer for the Air Transport Auxiliary.
Jane Byrne, 81, American politician, Mayor of Chicago (1979–1983.
María José Alvarado, 19, Honduran beauty pageant winner, Señorita Honduras (2014), shot.
Alvin Dark, 92, American baseball player (Boston Braves, New York Giants) and manager (San Francisco Giants, Cleveland Indians), Alzheimer's disease.
Big Bank Hank, 58, American rapper (The Sugarhill Gang), kidney complications from cancer
John Doar, 92, American lawyer and civil rights activist, heart failure.
Carol Ann Susi, 62, American actress (The Big Bang Theory, Cats & Dogs, Death Becomes Her), cancer.
Phil Crane, 84, American politician, member of the U.S. House from Illinois's 13th (1969–1973), 12th (1973–1993) and 8th (1993–2005) districts, lung cancer.
Gary Lane, 76, American bass player (The Standells), lung cancer.
Richard Schaal, 86, American actor (The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Phyllis, Trapper John, M.D.).
Frank Mankiewicz, a writer and Democratic political strategist who was Senator Robert F. Kennedy’s press secretary, directed Senator George S. McGovern’s losing 1972 presidential campaign and for six years was the president of National Public Radio, died on Thursday in Washington. He was 90.Mankiwicz was the the son of Herman J. Mankiewicz, who wrote “Citizen Kane,” and the nephew of Joseph L. Mankiewicz, who directed “All About Eve”. As Press Secretary to Robert Kennedy he announced his death on the morning of June 6th, 1968. 

DECEMBER

Sy Berger, 91, American baseball promoter.
Fred “Fuzzy” Thurston, 80, American football player (Green Bay Packers).
Mary Ann Mobley, 77, American actress (Diff'rent Strokes, Falcon Crest) and television personality, Miss America (1959), breast cancer.
Earl Hayes, 34, American rapper ("Nolia Clap"), suicide by gunshot
Russ Kemmerer, 84, American baseball player (Washington Senators, Chicago White Sox).
Brian Roy Goble, 57, Canadian musician (Subhumans), heart attack.
Mark Lewis, 60, American storyteller, actor and teacher.
Ken Weatherwax, 59, American actor (The Addams Family), heart attack.
Jimmy Del Ray, 52, American professional wrestler, traffic collision.
Stella Young, 32, Australian comedian and disability advocate.
Queen Fabiola of Belgium, 86, Spanish-born queen consort of King Baudouin.
Gil Marks, 62, American food writer and historian, lung cancer.
Bryan Burwell, 59, American sportswriter, cancer.
Vince Kabacinski, Homeless Advocate, Executive Director of Vision. 
Bob Montgomery, 77, American songwriter ("Heartbeat", "Misty Blue"), Parkinson's disease.
Jeremy Thorpe, 85, British politician, Leader of the Liberal Party (1967–1976), MP for North Devon (1959–1979), central figure in the Thorpe affair, Parkinson's disease.
Herman Badillo, 85, Puerto Rican-born American politician, member of the U.S. House from New York's 22nd (1971–1973) and 21st (1973–1977) districts, heart failure. Badillo ran for Mayor of New York in 1969 and 1973 but was widely regarded as "the minority candidate".
Bobby Keys, 70, American saxophonist (The Rolling Stones), cirrhosis.
Larry Auerbach, 91, American television director (Love of Life, One Life to Live, As the World Turns), complications of glioblastoma.
John Fry, 69, American record producer, founder of Ardent Studios, cardiac arrest.
Larry Henley, 77, American singer (The Newbeats) and songwriter ("Wind Beneath My Wings").
Mandy Rice-Davies, 70, British model, figure in the Profumo affair, cancer.
Dieter Grau, 101, German-born American rocket scientist.
Richard C. Hottelet, 97, American broadcast journalist (Murrow's Boys). He was the last surviving member of the storied CBS News crew dubbed Murrow's Boys. He also was the first to report from D-Day. (Photo: CBS NEWS) 

Ernie Terrell, 75, American heavyweight boxer, WBA champion (1965–1967.
David Garth, 84, American political consultant.
Sy Berger, 91, American baseball promoter.
Joe Cocker, 70, British singer ("With a Little Help from My Friends", "You Are So Beautiful", "Up Where We Belong"), lung cancer.

Buddy DeFranco, 91, American jazz clarinet player.
Joe Macko, 86, American baseball player and manager. He was also a member of the Chicago Cubs' College of Coaches in 1964. That was the experiment where Cubs owner Phil Wrigley had rotating managers from the College of Coaches. That stuck didn’t it?
Norman Ray Bridwell was an American author and cartoonist best known for the Clifford the Big Red Dog series of children's books.
Christine Cavanaugh, 51, American voice actress (Rugrats, Dexter's Laboratory, Babe, Darkwing Duck).
Edward Herrmann, 71, American actor (Gilmore Girls, The Practice, The Lost Boys), brain cancer.
Sources: Wikipedia.com, AP, The Guardian, LuLac archives.

11 Comments:

At 8:13 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Appreciate your hard work all year and on these end of year lists, but the death list is just so macabre. All people die, there is nothing special about death, and they are gone now, so at least the decreased the surplus population, why compile a list?

 
At 2:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

well here's the thing about making lists. there are names in there I missed. and i like the way yonk did this, everybody talks about robin williams and phillip seymour hoffman....but ray sadecki and bob hastings?
i think the beauty of this list is that there are names on it no one except the person's family will care about.
i get your point but i'd like a record.

 
At 4:16 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

How about Frank Marth? That guy was in a lot of TV shows as a character. He was interchangeable.
And Jerry Lumpe? Only on LuLac.
Nice job.

 
At 4:35 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

My favorites are Geoffrey Lamont Holder, the Uncola dude (got me off Coke and Pepsi and Joe Macko. College of coaches? As a Cubs fan....I remember it well.

 
At 6:14 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Jim Lange and the dating game. My favorite. RIP.

 
At 6:57 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wonderful placement of Mickey Rooney, a life well lived and Peaches Geldoff, a life wasted.

 
At 8:46 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yonk, no negative feedback here, I appreciate the opportunity to read about some of my favorite people passing on. I did mis a few and Jerry Vale among them. I think he had one of the best voices in my time. It upsets me a bit tht considering the vast amount of time you put into the effort of publishing the LuLac that anyone has the balz to pass on any negtive comment. Some people pass through life and not even their family misses them afterward and so few leave a memory worth having......... Thanks for all you do, it is truly a public service. Some fools will miss you when your gone but I appreciate you while your here. There are not that many that I can say acutally makes part of my day enjoyable.

 
At 12:00 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Bob Strauss was the guy who made sure when Jimmy Carter had his lead in '76 no one came after him. Wanted a united party.

 
At 10:03 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I was a big fan of the Joey Bishop show and loved the banter with Johnny Mann and Regis Philbin along with Mr. Bishop. I did not know that he was on The Chipmunk song.
And thank you for not glorifying Ray Musto, Robin Williams or Seymour Hoffman. Give me Hal Smith or that CBS dude a little more dapp anytime.

 
At 10:08 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Robin Williams should be glorified. He did the right thing for himself. He had no chance at any quality of life. His future was only decline. He made a rational decision to end his suffering while he was still mentally and physically capable.

 
At 1:24 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

10:08 AM........ hank you for your considerd comment. Too mamny people pass judgement on others with not a clue of what made that person maie the decisions that were made. I can't second guess Robin Williams and like you, I think he did what he thought was best. That was his decision and I will miss his ability to make me laugh and to aprciate his acting ability. I loved the guy when he was alive and I respect im in death.

 

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