TANYA ROBERTS
FULL NAME: Victoria Leigh Blum
BORN: October 15, 1955 in New York City, New York
DIED: January 4, 2021 (aged 65) in Los Angeles, California
CAUSE: Sepsis
Tanya Roberts began her career in Toronto, my hometown, as a teenager. She and her mother relocated to Canada in the late 1960's and it's there that Roberts began putting together a portfolio for acting and modelling. She moved back to New York after marrying Barry Roberts, a screenwriter, and began taking acting classes at the world famous Actors Studio with Lee Strasberg. She eventually moved to Los Angeles in 1977 and appeared in a few cult movies and TV pilots. In 1980, she beat out thousands of actresses to replace Shelley Hack on TV's "Charlie's Angels". From there she would be a Bond girl (A View To A Kill) and appear in many erotic thrillers (Night Eyes and Sins Of Desire to name two). In 1998, Roberts came to the forefront of popularity again with her role as Midge on the very successful TV show "That 70's Show". In late December of 2020, Roberts began to experience lower abdominal pain and difficulty breathing after a hike. Turns out she had a very serious urinary tract infection that advanced quickly to sepsis, taking her life just days later.
MICHAEL APTED
BORN: February 10, 1941 in Buckinghamshire, England
DIED: January 7, 2021 (aged 79) in Los Angeles, California
Cause: Unknown
One of the most audacious projects in film history, the UP series, was partly created by and mostly directed by Michael Apted. The documentaries follow a group of 14 people, ten men and 4 women, throughout their lives, starting in 1964 when the subjects were only seven years old. A new documentary was produced every seven years since, ending in 2019 with 63 UP, a span of 55 years! Along with this project, Apted made some very famous films in Hollywood as well; 1980's Coal Miner's Daughter, 1988's Gorillas In The Mist, 1999's The World Is Not Enough, along with nearly 20 others. He produced and/or directed dozens of TV shows and movies in both England and America in his career that spanned more than 50 years. From 2003 to 2009, Apted served as President of the Directors Guild Of America.
TOMMY LASORDA
FULL NAME: Thomas Charles Lasorda
BORN: September 22, 1927 in Norristown, Pennsylvania
DIED: January 7, 2021 (aged 93) in Fullerton, California
CAUSE: Cardiac Arrest
There are few people that stay with one company for decades. Tommy Lasorda's "company" was the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball, and he was employed by them for over 70 years in one capacity or another. Seventy years!! He was drafted by the then Brooklyn Dodgers in 1949 as a pitcher, playing for their minor league club in Montreal. After a very inconsequential Major League career (he was 0 and 4 with a 6.48 ERA), he began scouting in 1960. Soon he was managing a Dodgers' affiliate in the Rookie Leagues, moving up to AAA ball in 1969 managing the Dodgers' Pacific Coast League Team. In 1973 he started coaching third base for the Los Angeles Dodgers and just three years later was managing the big ball club. Lasorda stayed as Dodgers' manager until 1996, compiling 1,599 wins and two World Series titles (1981 and 1988). He held many other titles after managing (Vice President, General Manager, advisor, honorary coach) but always, and I mean always, praised the team he was a member of for so many years. He truly bled "Dodger Blue". His number 2 was retired by the Dodgers in 1997 and he was elected to the Baseball Hall Of Fame that same year.
PHIL SPECTOR
FULL NAME: Harvey Phillip Spector
BORN: December 26, 1939 in The Bronx, New York
DIED: January 16, 2021 (aged 81) in France Camp, California
CAUSE: Possible complications from COVID-19
In the late 1950's, Phil Spector did just about anything he could in relation to the music biz. He wrote songs, played as a session musician, produced a record here or there. By 1961, at only 22 years of age, he started his first record company, Philles Records, with Lester Sill, signing The Crystals to his new label. By 1963 he released "Be My Baby" by The Ronettes and he became one of the hottest record producers in the States. By 1965 he had The Righteous Brothers signed and released mega-hits "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" and "Unchained Melody". Spector went on to work with such major acts as The Beatles, Ike & Tina Turner, George Harrison, John Lennon, Leonard Cohen, The Ramones and many others. In 2003, Spector was charged with the murder of actress Lana Clarkson. His trial began in 2007 but ended in a hung jury. By the end of the second trial, Spector had been convicted of second degree murder and was sentenced to 19 years to life. He died while serving his sentence with the possibility of parole just a few years away. Even with the knowledge of his unconventional personal life, Spector is still regarded as one of the most successful record producers of all time.
HANK AARON
BORN: February 5, 1934 in Mobile, Alabama
DIED: January 22, 2021 (aged 86) in Atlanta, Georgia
CAUSE: Natural Causes
One doesn't have to know the sport of baseball to know the names of some of the greatest players that ever picked up a bat; Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Ted Williams, and of course, Hank Aaron. He was a star his whole life, coming up in the Negro Leagues as a teenager. In fact, he was the last Major League player to have ever played in the Negro Leagues, that's how long he played the game! He will always be known as the man who topped a once thought of as unbeatable record, Ruth's career home run total of 714. Well, in 1976, Aaron hit number 715 and finished with 755. He was also, and still is, in the Top 5 of many career totals in baseball history; third in games played, third in hits, fourth in total runs, and first in runs batted in and total bases. He won Gold Gloves, a World Series and played on 25 All-Star squads! The man was a monster in the sport and a personal hero of this writer.
HAL HOLBROOK
BORN: February 17, 1925 in Cleveland, Ohio
DIED: January 23, 2021 (aged 95) in Beverley Hills, California
CAUSE: Natural Causes
He was a mainstay of 1970's TV and films and always gave a great performance. In fact, Holbrook began his acting career way back in the mid 1940's when he was stationed in Newfoundland, Canada as a staff sergeant in the US Army. There he found time to perform in stage plays to pass the time. He became a "name" actor in the '50's when he started portraying Mark Twain in one-man shows. He continued to play Twain into his 90's, on and off-Broadway and in countries around the world. He actually played Mark Twain longer than Mark Twain did!! He started in TV in 1954, and his first major motion picture was 1966's The Group directed by Sidney Lumet. From there he made appearances in such hits as Magnum Force, All The President's Men, Midway, Julia, Capricorn One, The Fog, Wall Street, The Firm and many others. His appeal came to a wider audience when he appeared on the hit TV show "Evening Shade" for five years in the 1990's. He was a winner of Tony Awards and Emmy Awards and was nominated for an Academy Award late in life for his powerful role in 2008's Into the Wild.
LARRY KING
BORN: November 19, 1933 in New York City, New York
DIED: January 23, 2021 (aged 87) in Los Angeles, California
CAUSE: Sepsis/Acute Respiratory Failure
He was a giant in the broadcast industry, starting with his first job as a radio DJ in Miami back in 1957. For the next near 65 years, King never looked back. His first TV gig came soon after, a show called "Miami Undercover" that aired at 11:30pm on Sunday nights...not necessarily Prime Time. King started his own talk show on radio in 1978, called "The Larry King Show". The format included interviews for an hour, then callers for the next two hours. That format worked quite well for King and by 1985 he was doing the same thing on TV's CNN. "Larry King Live" aired from June of 1985 to December of 2010, an amazing 6,076 episodes! His success on his own show led to many appearances as himself on TV and in movies. Throughout his long career, King was bestowed with a great many accolades including 10 CableACE awards for Best Interviewer and Talk Show Series, inductions into the National Radio Hall Of Fame (1989) and the Broadcasters' Hall Of Fame (1996). He was also famously married a ridiculous eight times to seven different women.
GEORGE ARMSTRONG
BORN: July 6, 1930 in Skead, Ontario
DIED: January 24, 2021 (aged 90) in Toronto, Ontario
CAUSE: Heart Complications
For twenty years, George Armstrong was the heart and soul of the Toronto Maple Leaf teams that actually used to win stuff. He started with the Toronto Marlboros back in 1948. As a 19 year old in 1949 he set a record for goals scored in a season with 64 and finished the year with 115 points, in only 39 games! He was quickly promoted to the NHL and became a regular for the 1952-53 season. Named team captain for the 1957-58 season, it took only a year for Armstrong to lead his team to the Stanley Cup Finals, losing in 1959 to the Montreal Canadiens. By 1962, Armstrong would captain the team to three consecutive Stanley Cup Championships, winning one more in 1967, the last by any Maple Leafs team. He was the last man to score a goal in the Original Six era before the NHL doubled in size for the 1967-68 season. When he retired in 1971, Armstrong had the second most points by any Toronto Maple Leaf player at the time, and still remains fifth overall. He was elected into the Hockey Hall Of Fame in 1975.
CLORIS LEACHMAN
DIED: January 27, 2021 (aged 94) in Encinitas, California
CAUSE: Stroke
Cloris Leachman was in the entertainment biz for almost 75 years, and she was perfectly hilarious in just about everything I saw her in. She began in 1942 as a teenager appearing in plays in her home town of Des Moines. In 1946, she competed in the Miss America pageant and soon after began a career as a professional actress, taking classes at the famed Actors Studio in New York City. She began showing up in many early television shows including "Alfred Hitchcock Presents", "Gunsmoke" and "Lassie". Her first credited film role came in 1955's Kiss Me Deadly directed by Robert Aldrich. My first introduction to her was in the ultra-popular TV series "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" as Phyllis Lindstrom. She was so good in her role that she garnered her own spin-off "Phyllis" in 1975. I then went back and watched her in The Last Picture Show (where she really displayed her acting chops) and her hilarious role as Frau Blucher in Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein. She won a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award in 1971 for The Last Picture Show, was nominated for an incredible 22 Primetime Emmy Awards (winning 8 of them!), and was nominated for 4 Golden Globes. Such an incredibly talented actress who made me laugh every time I got to see her.
CICELY TYSON
BORN: December 19, 1924 in New York City, New York
DIED: January 28, 2021 (aged 96) in New York City, New York
CAUSE: Not disclosed
Starting her career as a fashion model, discovered by a photographer working for Ebony magazine, Tyson didn't appear in films until 1956 and on TV until 1961. She began to get some notice and did a lot of stage work as a result. It wasn't until 1972 that the world knew her name, when she appeared in the film Sounder about a black family living in the southern United States during the Great Depression. She received worldwide praise for her role, earning nominations at the Academy Awards and Golden Globe Awards. From there she appeared in tons of TV shows, miniseries' and movies including "Roots", Bustin' Loose, Fried Green Tomatoes, "How To Get Away With Murder" and "House Of Cards" to name just a few. She was nominated for 16 Primetime Emmy Awards in her career, winning three times, and received numerous honorary awards as a strong African-American presence in the entertainment industry for more than 65 years. Her autobiography, "Just As I Am", was published just days before her death.
DUSTIN DIAMOND
BORN: January 7, 1977 in San Jose, California
DIED: February 1, 2021 (aged 44) in Cape Coral, Florida
CAUSE: Lung Cancer
It seems easy to make fun of the man who played Screech on TV's "Saved By The Bell", but Dustin Diamond's only problem was that he played that role too well! He was type-cast for the rest of his career, always trying something out of the ordinary to break the stigma of his nerdy character, that was, by the way, unbelievably popular at the time. In 2006, he "released" a sex tape of himself and a couple of women in a hotel room. He later admitted he used a stunt double (!) and his face was superimposed onto the actor. He appeared at a handful of wrestling events, was a member of an alternative metal band called Salty The Pocketknife, appeared on "Celebrity Big Brother" in the UK and served time in prison for carrying a concealed weapon and disorderly conduct. His is a tragic story that ended tragically, but I gotta tell ya, I was always a fan.
CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER
BORN: December 13, 1929 in Toronto, Ontario
DIED: February 5, 2021 (aged 91) in Weston, Connecticut
CAUSE: Head Trauma after a fall
One of the most acclaimed actors to ever come out of my home country of Canada, Plummer became ultra-famous for his portrayal of Captain Von Trapp in 1965's The Sound Of Music, but he started his career almost 20 years before that role. While living in Montreal in the mid-1940's, he attended The Montreal Repertory Theatre with fellow Canadian William Shatner. He began acting in plays and made his Broadway debut in 1953 in a play called The Starcross Story, which was shut down Opening Night. That didn't deter Plummer, as he continued to act on stage and screen for the next 65 plus years. His first film role came in Sidney Lumet's 1958 film Stage Struck and he would go on to have acting credits in more than 200 movies and TV shows including The Fall Of The Roman Empire, The Man Who Would Be King, Murder By Decree (as Sherlock Holmes), Malcolm X, 12 Monkeys, and so so many more. He loved playing at the Stratford Festival as well, appearing in Henry V, Caesar And Cleopatra and The Tempest. Nominated for three Academy Awards, he won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for 2012's Beginners and was the winner of two Tony Awards; Cyrano in 1974 and Barrymore in 1997.
LEON SPINKS
DIED: February 5, 2021 (aged 67) in Henderson, Nevada
CAUSE: Prostate Cancer
As an amateur boxer, Leon Spinks became very successful very fast. He won the Light Heavyweight Bronze Medal at the 1974 World Championships in Havana, Cuba, a silver the next year at the Pan-Am Games in Mexico City, and the 1976 Olympic Gold Medal in Montreal. He turned pro in 1977, beating his first opponent Bob Smith in the fifth round by knockout. In only his 8th professional fight, after going 6-0-1 in his first seven, Spinks got a chance to fight Muhammed Ali for the Heavyweight Championship Of The World on February 15, 1978. In a shocking upset, Spinks won with a split decision. His victory was short-lived though, as he had one belt taken away from him for refusing to defend it against Ken Norton, and lost the other belt to Ali in a rematch just 7 months later. Spinks would go on to become a mediocre boxer at best, ending his 46-bout career with a record of 26-17-3. After boxing, Spinks wrestled for a while, but was known more for his many appearances at sport autograph shows in the 1990's. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2019.
MARY WILSON
DIED: February 8, 2021 (aged 76) in Henderson, Nevada
CAUSE: Hypertensive Heart Disease
Along with Diana Ross, Florence Ballard and Betty McGlown, Mary Wilson was an original member of one of the most successful acts of Motown's history, The Supremes. (Yes, they began as a quartet!). Wilson was the one that stuck around the longest, long after Ross became a huge solo artist. Wilson wasn't even 17 years old when Berry Gordy signed them to a Motown contract in January of 1961. From there, The Supremes had 12 number 1 U.S. singles and Wilson sang on every one of them. She stuck around until 1977, after many incarnations of the group, coming back for a reunion in 1983. In 1986, Wilson released her memoir Dreamgirl: My Life As A Supreme which was a national bestseller and remained on the best-seller list for months. Along with performing her hits in Vegas for many years, Wilson also became involved with a slew of charities such as The American Cancer Society, St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, UNICEF, the NAACP and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation just to name a few. Her death came as a true shock to everyone as she appeared on her YouTube channel just days before to announce the release of new solo material.
CHICK COREA
BORN: June 12, 1941 in Chelsea, Massachusetts
DIED: February 9, 2021 (aged 79) in Tampa Bay, Florida
CAUSE: Cancer
If you knew even a little about the Jazz movement in America in the 1960's, then you certainly know who Chick Corea was. He recorded his debut album in 1966 and by 1968 was touring and recording with the one and only Miles Davis. Along with Herbie Hancock and McCoy Tyner, Corea was considered one of the very best and most sought after concert jazz pianist of the era. He released over 80 studio albums from 1966 to 2020 and played on dozens more. In his illustrious career, Corea was nominated for a ridiculous 60 Grammy Awards, taking home 25 of the trophies, most recently from the 2021 ceremony. He was a Scientologist for most of his life, but we won't hold that against him.
LARRY FLYNT
BORN: November 1, 1942 in Lakeville, Kentucky
DIED: February 10, 2021 (aged 78) in Los Angeles, California
CAUSE: Heart Failure
There was certainly a lot to abhor about Larry Flynt...he was not a nice guy. But there is no denying the mark he made in the porn explosion of the 1970's, creating a magazine to rival the grandaddy of them all, Playboy. But before he created the empire of Hustler, Flynt ran bars and "Gentlemen's" clubs in the late 1960's. He called them the Hustler Club and made a small fortune with bars in many US towns. In 1972 he published the Hustler Newsletter about his clubs. This expanded to Hustler Magazine, the first being released in July of 1974. Hustler was a more raw, in-your-face pornographic magazine, something that irked the more regal Playboy. Because of his no-nonsense style, Flynt was sued a number of times for indecency and obscenity which led to many court battles about First Amendment Rights. On March 6, 1978, Flynt and his lawyer were shot in Lawrenceville, Georgia by Joseph Paul Franklin, a white supremacist and serial killer who was apparently angered by an inter-racial photo spread in Hustler Magazine. The shooting left Flynt paralyzed, which led to an addiction to painkillers, which led to a stroke, causing Flynt to have trouble speaking for the rest of his life. At the time of his death, Larry Flynt's porn empire gave him an estimated net worth of over $500-million.
RUSH LIMBAUGH
BORN: January 12, 1951 in Cape Girardeau, Missouri
DIED: February 17, 2021 (aged 70) in Palm Beach, Florida
CAUSE: Lung Cancer
I abhor Rush Limbaugh. But for those that care, there it is.
WALTER GRETZKY
DIED: March 4, 2021 (aged 82) in Brantford, Ontario
CAUSE: Parkinson's Disease/Hip Injury
If you're Canadian, especially a Canadian who grew up in the '80's, you know exactly why I would honour Walter Gretzky here. Sure, he was the father of the greatest hockey player to play the game, but his commitment to his son, and the rest of his family, not to mention hockey playing kids all over the nation, was astounding. He's the one who would make those ice rinks for his family out in Brantford, Ontario when Wayne was just the tiny Great One. He stood by his son's side through all the magnificent highs and all the terrible lows. His coaching style helped Wayne become the talented player he was, teaching his kids to play the game smart, not just hard. He never got to achieve his dream of playing in the NHL himself (he was deemed too small) and ended up working for Bell Canada for over 30 years. His charitable work included helping the CNIB (Canadian National Institute for the Blind) and establishing the SCORE program (Summer Computer Orientation Recreational Education) which helped blind kids learn computer skills.
MARVELOUS MARVIN HAGLER
BORN: May 23, 1954 in Newark, New Jersey
DIED: March 13, 2021 (aged 66) in Bartlett, New Hampshire
CAUSE: Apparent heart attack (not confirmed)
Just over a month after Leon Spinks passed away, another large name in the sport of boxing left us. Nicknamed "Marvelous" (only one 'L') he actually legally changed his name to Marvelous Marvin Hagler when sports announcers left the "Marvelous" off of his name when they talked about him. He began boxing when he was around 15 years old after being beat up in front of his buddies. After fighting as a amateur for a few years, compiling a 55-1 record during that time, Hagler turned pro in 1973, winning his first 17 bouts, earning a draw on his 18th fight. His first World title match came in November of 1979 vs. Vito Antuofemo for the WBA and WBC Middleweight Titles. It ended in a draw, and Hagler had to wait nearly a year to win the titles from Alan Minter on September 27, 1980 in a 3rd Round TKO. He defended his title 12 times from there, including in a famous unanimous decision over Roberto Duran in November of 1983 and a 3rd Round TKO over Thomas Hearns in April of 1985. He finally lost the WBC title to Sugar Ray Leonard on April 6, 1987, which would be Hagler's last fight. He ended his professional career with a 62-3-2 record, the 3 loses all coming by decision. He never lost a professional fight by knockout!
YAPHET KOTTO
BORN: November 15, 1939 in New York, New York
DIED: March 15, 2021 (aged 81) in Manila, Philippines
CAUSE: Unknown
He was usually the token black guy on many TV movies of the 1970's and '80's, but he should be remembered as a very good character actor who just happened to be black. I remember watching Kotto in the Bond flick Live And Let Die from 1973 and loving every minute of his screen time. He appeared in nearly 100 movies and TV shows; The Thomas Crown Affair, Alien, Brubaker, The Star Chamber, Midnight Run (so great!!), and episodes of "Bonanza", "Gunsmoke", "The A-Team", "Murder She Wrote" and so many more. In 1977, Kotto was nominated for an Emmy Award for his portrayal of Idi Amin in "Raid On Entebbe". A real talent that walked away from the entertainment biz more than a decade ago.
ELGIN BAYLOR
BORN: September 16, 1934 in Washington, D.C.
DIED: March 22, 2021 (aged 86) in Los Angeles, California
CAUSE: Natural Causes
He is regarded as one of the greatest basketball players to lace 'em up in the NBA, and almost single-handedly took the Lakers from one of the worst teams in the league to perennial contenders. He was drafted as the First Overall pick in 1958 by the Minneapolis Lakers (before they moved to Los Angeles) after leading his college team, the Seattle University Chieftans, to the NCAA Championship Game, averaging 32.5 points a game. He was the NBA's Rookie Of The Year in '59, taking the previous last place lakers to the NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics. In his 14-year career with the Lakers, the last two hardly playing due to injury, he appeared in 8 NBA Finals, 11 All-Star Games, held the record for points in a game with 71 (since surpassed), and set a record for most points in an NBA Finals game with 61 (still a record). In 2009, Baylor came in at number 11 in Slam Magazine's Top 50 NBA Players Of All-Time.
GEORGE SEGAL
DIED: March 23, 2021 (aged 87) in Santa Rosa, California
CAUSE: Complications from Bypass Surgery
I think it's almost necessary to include "Veteran Character Actor" before saying George Segal's name. He appeared in over 120 movies and TV shows in his career, and had several great roles on stage, and you've seen him in many things I guarantee it! I always loved when his face popped up in something, especially when he made appearances on "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson", something he did over 40 times. He won a Golden Globe Award in 1965 as Most Promising Newcomer - Male for his role in The New Interns. In 1967, he was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor for Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? opposite Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. He worked with such great directors as Stanley Kramer, Mike Nichols, Sidney Lumet, Robert Altman, Carl Reiner, Peter Yates and so many more. Most recently he played the role of "Pops" on the TV comedy "The Goldbergs", which I loved him in. A really great talent who always had a fun story to tell.
JESSICA WALTER
DIED: March 24, 2021 (aged 80) in New York, New York
CAUSE: Undisclosed
You may not know the name right away, but you have definitely seen Jessica Walter in some movie or TV show. She most recently gained more fame as the matriarch of the Bluth family on the wildly successful "Arrested Development". But before that, Walter was a very accomplished actress of stage and screen. In 1963, she won the award for Outstanding Debut Broadway Performance for her role in Peter Ustinov's Photo Finish. From there she showed up in many big TV shows of the '60s including "Route 66", "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour", "Flipper" (the very first episode), "The Fugitive" and many more. One of her first appearances in film, in 1966's Grand Prix, earned her a Golden Globe Nomination for New Star Of The Year. She was nominated again five years later, this time as Best Actress in Play Misty For Me with Clint Eastwood. I remember her role in 1984's The Flamingo Kid quite well, and seeing her on TV's "Three's A Crowd". But in my mind, she will always be the one and only Lucille Bluth.
JAMES HAMPTON
BORN: July 9, 1936 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
DIED: April 7, 2021 (aged 84) in Fort Worth, Texas
CAUSE: Complications from Parkinson's Disease
Here is yet another actor who I'm sure you've seen but may never have known the name. I remember him most as the dad from the Michael J. Fox vehicle Teen Wolf, but he was in so many movies and TV shows through the years. He was Caretaker in The Longest Yard with Burt Reynolds; was in The China Syndrome with Jack Lemmon; played one of the "bad" guys in Pump Up The Volume opposite Christian Slater. On TV he made appearances on "Gunsmoke", "Rawhide", "F-Troop", "The Rockford Files" and dozens more. Always good to see and fun to watch.
DMX
FULL NAME: Earl Simmons
BORN: December 18, 1970 in Mount Vernon, New York
DIED: April 9, 2021 (aged 50) in White Plains, New York
CAUSE: Cocaine Induced Heart Attack
I can't say that I was overly familiar with DMX or his songs, but I was well aware of his impact on the Hip-Hop world. He had a hard beginning, living in group homes and on the street as a teenager. In one of those homes, he learned to use a drum machine and began beat-boxing. The drum machine was called the Oberheim DMX, and a identity was born. At 14, he showed off his skills to New York rapper Ready Ron. His star would rise from then on, releasing his first single for Def Jam Records in February of 1998. Around the same time he started an acting career with a major role in the film Belly. His first 5 albums went to number 1 in the States and his "Ruff Ryders' Anthem" was a huge single in 1998. DMX always found himself in legal trouble, and his demons caught up with him at a young age.
PRINCE PHILIP, DUKE OF EDINBURGH
BORN: June 10, 1921 in Corfu, Greece
DIED: April 9, 2021 (aged 99) in Windsor, U.K.
CAUSE: Natural Causes
He was born a Prince, of Denmark and Greece actually, to his parents Prince Andrew of Greece and Princess Alice of Battenberg. From 1939 to 1952 he served for the United Kingdom in the Royal Navy, the British Army and the Royal Air Force. It was in 1939 that Philip first met his third cousin through Queen Victoria, and girl named Elizabeth. Although Elizabeth II was only 13 years old, they began exchanging letters. In 1947, Philip abandoned his Greek and Danish royal titles and became a British subject, just in time to announce his engagement to Elizabeth II on July 10, 1947. He was married to the Queen of England for the next 60-plus years. I can't say I understand everything it was to be the Duke Of Edinburgh, but Prince Philip received dozens of medal and honours throughout his life with Queen Elizabeth II and will always be held in high regard in the United Kingdom.
OLYMPIA DUKAKIS
DIED: May 1, 2021 (aged 89) in New York, New York
CAUSE: Natural Causes
It's all about Moonstruck when I think of Olympia Dukakis. She was in her mid-'50's, had been acting on stage and screen for over 25 years already, but her role as Rose Castorini made everyone who saw the movie fall in love with her instantly! Dukakis began acting on stage way back in 1961, first in her native Massachusetts then off and on Broadway in New York City. She made her first TV appearances just a year later on episodes of "The Nurses" and "Dr. Kildare". She appeared uncredited in 1964's Lilith and made a few movies after including 1974's Death Wish with Charles Bronson. But her fame skyrocketed after 1987's Moonstruck. For that role she won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, an American Comedy Award and a couple of film critics' awards. She was highly sought-after as a result, but never really gained the screen recognition as she did with that great role.
CHARLES GRODIN
BORN: April 21, 1935 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
DIED: May 18, 2021 (aged 86) in Wilton, Connecticut
CAUSE: Bone Marrow Cancer
One of my very favourite things growing up was watching Charles Grodin as a guest on "Late Night With David Letterman". His dry humour meshed perfectly with Letterman, usually producing great "arguments" when he was there. The first movie I remember seeing Grodin in was Midnight Run opposite Robert DeNiro, and I freakin' loved it!! He had appeared on stage and screen since 1954, where he had an uncredited bit part in 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea. Other big movies included Rosemary's Baby, Catch-22, King Kong, Heaven Can Wait and where a whole new generation got to know him, the Beethoven films. He was nominated for a Golden Globe for 1972's The Heartbreak Kid. He always seemed like a guy that didn't take himself too seriously, and it was one of the things that drew me to him. So very funny!
GAVIN MacLEOD
BORN: February 28, 1931 in Mount Kisco, New York
DIED: May 29, 2021 (aged 90) in Palm Desert, California
CAUSE: Natural Causes
Man, I absolutely LOVED "The Love Boat"!! From 1977 to 1987, Gavin MacLeod played the wonderfully kind Captain Merrill Stubing in 250 episodes. I had no idea, as a kid, that he was such an accomplished actor before that series, especially playing Murray Slaughter in 168 episodes of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show". In fact, MacLeod began his acting career way back in 1955 and made his first TV appearance in 1957. He'd appear in just about every big show from the '60's and '70's including "Peter Gunn", "The Untouchables", "Dr. Kildare", "The Dick Van Dyke Show", "Perry Mason", "Rawhide" and so many more. He appeared in some films in the 1960's, including The Sand Pebbles with Steve McQueen and The Party with Peter Sellers, but his bread and butter was on the small screen. He was nominated for 5 Golden Globe awards, 2 for "Mary Tyler Moore" and 3 for "The Love Boat", but never took home the prize. But in this boy's eyes, there were few things better than watching Captain Stubing do his thing!
B.J. THOMAS
BORN: August 7, 1942 in Hugo, Oklahoma
DIED: May 29, 2021 (aged 78) in Arlington, Texas
CAUSE: Lung Cancer
In the late 1960's and early 1970's, B.J. Thomas became one of the most accomplished singer/songwriters in the USA. He first shot to fame when he did a cover of Hank Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" back in 1966. He then wrote the song "Hooked On A Feeling" which sold more than a million copies and was covered by Blue Swede, who made it a number 1 song in 1974. He then performed the main tune in Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid, "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head", which became a number 1 hit and won an Academy Award. Probably the last big hit he performed, and the one with the longest title to top the Billboard Hot 100, was "(Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song" which won a 1976 Grammy Award for it's songwriters Larry Butler and Chips Moman. Thomas went on to become one of the biggest contemporary Christian musical artists of his time, winning five Grammy Awards for his inspirational recordings.
CLARENCE WILLIAMS III
DIED: June 4, 2021 (aged 81) in Los Angeles, California
CAUSE: Colon Cancer
He was Lincoln "Linc" Hayes on TV in "The Mod Squad" from 1968 to 1973, 123 episodes of COOOOL! He had bit parts on other shows after that, and some movies, but he is, was, and will forever be LINC FREAKIN' HAYES!!
NED BEATTY
BORN: July 6, 1937 in Louisville, Kentucky
DIED: June 13, 2021 (aged 83) in Los Angeles, California
CAUSE: Natural Causes
I first remember watching the fabulous Ned Beatty as Otis in the movie Superman. Luckily I was able to watch his other performances later on, and he became one of my very favourite actors. From 1956, at the age of nineteen, Beatty was purely a stage actor. His first big screen role was a doozie, Bobby Trippe in 1972's Deliverance. He'd go on to appear in over 150 movies and TV shows, always commanding the viewers' attention when on screen. Some of my favourites include the two mentioned plus Nashville, All The President's Men, Network (for which he received his only Academy Award nomination), The Big Easy, Hear My Song (Golden Globe nominated) and literally dozens more. It was, and will always be, a real pleasure to catch his mug on my TV whenever possible.
FRANK BONNER
BORN: February 28, 1942 in Little Rock, Arkansas
DIED: June 16, 2021 (aged 79) in Laguna Niguel, California
CAUSE: Lewy Body Dementia
His acting career began in 1970 in the movie Equinox. Other small film roles and one off appearances in TV shows like "Mannix" and "Emergency!" followed. Then, in 1978, Bonner was chosen for the role of Herb Tarlek, the crude, rude, and little dopey sales manager for a little radio station out of Cincinnati, Ohio. "WKRP In Cincinnati" was one of my favourite shows growing up, and Bonner's performance as Herb made each episode worth watching! The show would last only 5 years, Bonner appearing in 88 episodes, but to this day, people still know the character of Herb Tarlek and that can only be attributed to the way Bonner played him. He'd go on to appear in many other TV shows through the years, and became a rather prolific TV director, helming more than 100 episodes of various shows from 1980 to 2010, but he will always be remembered, and very fondly so, for his time at WKRP.
JOHN McAFEE
BORN: September 18, 1945 in Gloucestershire, England
DIED: June 23, 2021 (aged 75) in Catalonia, Spain
CAUSE: Apparent Suicide
This guy led a crazy life. He was a computer programmer that invented the first commercial anti-virus software in 1987 and became ultra-rich from it. He resigned from his own company in 1994, telling consumers to uninstall his software because it took up far too much memory. He almost went broke in 2008 during the financial crisis that year, then ran for President of the USA in 2016 and 2020 as a Libertarian. But wait, we're not done yet. In 2012, McAfee was wanted for murder! While in Belize, McAfee was wanted for questioning about the death of Gregory Viant Faull, an American expatriate. He fled, fearing the police were out to kill him. While on the run, he was arrested in Guatemala for illegally entering that country. He was supposed to be sent back to Belize, but was deported back to the United States instead. Nothing more came of that, but in 2020 he was arrested in Spain for tax evasion in the US. He was jailed in Spain, awaiting extradition back to the States. Just hours after the approval of extradition to the US, McAfee was found dead in his cell from an apparent suicide, though many theorists claim he was murdered. Crazy, man!
RICHARD DONNER
BORN: April 24, 1930 in New York, New York
DIED: July 5, 2021 (aged 91) in West Hollywood, California
CAUSE: Cardiopulmonary Failure
Initially, Richard Donner wanted to be an actor, but director Martin Ritt convinced Donner to direct rather than act. He started off doing commercials but quickly moved to directing TV shows like "Wanted Dead Or Alive" and "The Rifleman". He even directed one of the most famous episodes of "The Twilight Zone", the one titled "Nightmare At 20,000 Feet" starring William Shatner. While working in television, Donner began directing feature films, starting in 1961 with X-15, an aviation drama with Charles Bronson. Some big movies would follow soon after including The Omen and the original Superman. He was famously fired while filming Superman II and his version of that film was released in 2006. He directed all four Lethal Weapon films and a couple more favourites of mine, The Goonies and Scrooged. Although he was well-respected in the filming community, he was never nominated for any major awards.
BIZ MARKIE
BORN: April 8, 1964 in New York, New York
DIED: July 16, 2021 (aged 57) in Baltimore, Maryland
CAUSE: Complications From Diabetes
"You...you got what I neeeeed. But you say he's just a friend, but you say he's just a friend...Oh Baby Youuuuuuu.". He was big name in the New York rap scene before "Just A Friend" came out, but when that song hit the airwaves, Biz Markie became huge! In 1989 "Just A Friend" became a Top 40 hit in many major markets around the world. He only came out with five studio albums, and never had anywhere near the success he had with that single, but he would appear as a guest on many rap records of the 1990's and beyond. I always enjoyed listening to his contributions to albums put out by the Beastie Boys. One of the last jobs he had was as a DJ on LL Cool J's Rock The Bells Radio on SiriusXM radio.
JACKIE MASON
BORN: June 9, 1928 in Sheboygan, Wisconsin
DIED: July 24, 2021 (aged 93) in New York, New York
CAUSE: Natural Causes
I don't know if you have to be Jewish to know who Jackie Mason was, but it couldn't hurt. At one time, he was considered a very risqué stand-up comic, making fun of his audience members before Don Rickles became famous for it. He was a staple in the Borscht Belt, part of the summer resorts in the Catskill Mountains frequented by members of the Jewish Community in the 1950's and '60's. He became so popular there that he began doing nightclub spots in New York City earning upwards of $10,000 a week...in the 1960's!! Many TV appearances would follow; "The Steve Allen Show", "The Tonight Show", "The Perry Como Show" and so on. He would make brief appearances in some movies as well; It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World, The Jerk, History Of The World - Part I, Caddyshack II. Up to just a few years ago, he provided the voice of Krusty The Klown's father, Rabbi Hyman Krustofski, in 10 episodes of "The Simpsons". He was also one of my favourite comics to do an impression of when I was younger.
DUSTY HILL
BORN: May 19, 1949 in Dallas, Texas
DIED: July 28, 2021 (aged 72) in Houston, Texas
CAUSE: Unknown
He was "the bottom end" of the wildly popular rock band ZZ Top from 1969 until the day he died. He, Billy Gibbons and drummer Frank Beard were together for more than 50 years, selling millions of records and selling out concerts all over the world. He began playing in bars at the age of 13, but didn't start recording music until the late '60's with his band American Blues with his brother Rocky on guitar and Beard on drums. When he left that band, he brought Beard along to play with Gibbons, and they hit the ground running, becoming one of the most popular acts in the American South. ZZ Top would go on to release 15 studio albums, having monstrous success in 1983 with the release of Eliminator, the album that contained the huge hits "Gimme All Your Lovin'", "Sharp Dressed Man" and "Legs". Even though Billy Gibbons has said the band would play on without Hill (he'd be replaced by Hill's longtime guitar tech Elwood Francis) the band will absolutely never be the same again.
J.R. RICHARD
BORN: March 7, 1950 in Vienna, Louisiana
DIED: August 4, 2021 (aged 71) in Houston, Texas
CAUSE: Complications From COVID-19
He's not a Hall Of Famer, but if you ask anyone who followed baseball in the late 1970's and early 1980's, there were few pitchers that were more feared than J.R. Richard. He was a menacing figure on the mound, standing 6 feet 8 inches by the time he was a senior in high school. That year in high school, Richard not only never lost a game, he never gave up a run! He was a basketball star as well, turning down hundreds of scholarships to sign with the Houston Astros, who chose him 2nd overall in the 1969 amateur draft. It took Richard a few years of playing in the Majors to find his groove, but when he did, for the 1976 season, he was the best there was. From 1976 to mid-1980 he had a record of 84 and 55, a 2.79 ERA, threw 17 shutouts and struck out an average of 8.4 batters per game. On July 30, 1980, while warming up in the outfield before a game, Richard collapsed, suffering from a major stroke. He never played another game in the Majors. He attempted to comeback in '82 and '83, but was never the same pitcher again. Because of poor business management and a couple of divorces, Richard found himself homeless in 1994. This led him to turn to religion and he became a Christian minister which helped him turn his life around. He was a definite favourite player of mine growing up.
MARKIE POST
BORN: November 4, 1950 in Palo Alto, California
DIED: August 7, 2021 (aged 70) in Los Angeles, California
CAUSE: Cancer
Again, being a child of the 1980's, one of the shows I would watch every week was "Night Court". I watched this show for two reasons; the hilariously funny John Larroquette, and the equally funny and, much more beautiful, Markie Post. I had a big crush on hear as an impressionable 12-year old! She was mainly a TV actress, but showed up in a few movies along the way, probably most notably in 1998's There's Something About Mary. On the small screen she appeared in dozens of big name shows before and after "Night Court"; "CHiPs" (her TV debut in 1979), "The Incredible Hulk", "Hart To Hart", "Eight Is Enough", "Cheers", "The Love Boat", 64 episodes of "The Fall Guy", 54 episodes of "House Afire", "Scrubs", "30 Rock" and just about every celebrity game show on TV. I really feel like watching some "Night Court" reruns right about now...
TONY ESPOSITO
BORN: April 23, 1943 in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
DIED: August 10, 1978
CAUSE: Pancreatic Cancer
They called him "Tony O", not because his name ended in an "o", but as in "zero", like not letting any goals in. Tony Esposito was the best goalie around from the very first full season he played. He signed with the Montreal Canadiens, but played only 13 games for them in the 1968-69 season. He was picked up by the Chicago Black Hawks the next year and Tony O made history. As a rookie, because 13 games wasn't enough to get him out of that designation, he won 38 games for the Hawks, shutting out 15 opponents, a modern day record for goalies in a season. His goals against average was a paltry 2.17, and he earned Rookie Of The Year honours and was 2nd in voting for MVP of the NHL, in his first full season!! He had a remarkable run for the Black Hawks between 1969 and 1978 winning 287 games against 183 losses with 61 shutouts and GAA of 2.55. There were few better than Esposito during that time. He won the Vezina Trophy three times as the best goalie in the league and was named to the Hockey Hall Of Fame in his first year of eligibility. He still ranks tenth all time in wins by a goalie and tenth in career shutouts.
SONNY CHIBA
BORN: January 22, 1939 in Fukuoka, Japan
DIED: August 19, 2021 (aged 82) in Chiba, Japan
CAUSE: Complications From COVID-19
He was one of the most famous martial arts stars in Japan before becoming an international sensation with his Street Fighter films of the 1970's. He was the biggest Japanese martial artist in films for nearly two decades, and was a favourite of one Quentin Tarantino. When Tarantino wrote the Kill Bill films, he made sure to include a role for his hero Chiba, and he became well-known to a whole new generation of film-goers. Over the years, Chiba appeared in more than 200 TV shows and movies in Japan and the United States.
DON EVERLY
BORN: February 1, 1937 in Brownie, Kentucky
DIED: August 21, 2021 (aged 84) in Nashville, Tennessee
CAUSE: Unknown
He was the older brother of Phil, and together they were one of the most successful and influential duos in Rock history. They were both still teenagers when they started recording records, Don 19 and Phil 17. After signing with Cadence Records, they recorded a song that was rejected by more than 30 other artists. That song was "Bye Bye Love" and the record would catapult the duo into the stratosphere of Rock N' Roll. It went to number 2 on the charts and would be the Brothers' first million dollar record. They would go on to release 75 singles and record 21 studio albums, influencing many bands along the way with their harmonics, including The Beatles and The Beach Boys. Don wrote the hit "Cathy's Clown" but most of there hits were written by the husband and wife team of Felice and Boudleaux Bryant including "Bye Bye Love", "Wake Up Little Susie", "All I Have To Do Is Dream" and "Take A Message To Mary" to name a few. Phil passed away in 2014.
CHARLIE WATTS
BORN: June 2, 1941 in London, England
DIED: August 24, 2021 (aged 80) in London, England
CAUSE: Unknown
Another Rock N' Roll legend leaves us, this time the man who kept the beat for one of the most successful bands of all-time for over 50 years. Watts began drumming with a jazz band in 1958 called the Jo Jones All Stars. In 1961, while also working as a graphic designer, he joined the band Blues Incorporated, a band that, at various times, would employ Mick Jagger, Long John Baldry, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker to name a few. He met Mick and Keith Richards in 1962 because they would play some of the same clubs. He decided to join The Rolling Stones in 1963, and played as their drummer for the next 57 years!! He was the quiet type, never wanting any part of the Stones' spotlight. He never really enjoyed touring, but he loved playing with "the boys". Many in the music industry named Watts as one of the, if not THE, greatest Rock drummer of all-time. Rolling Stone magazine ranked him 12th in a 2016 list, and Modern Drummer magazine inducted him into their Drummer Hall Of Fame in 2006.
ED ASNER
DIED: August 29, 2021 (aged 91) in Tarzana, California
CAUSE: Natural Causes
I ask you this, is it possible to not absolutely adore Ed Asner??? Even as the grumpy Lou Grant, he still had a heart of gold and made you want to be his friend. He was drafted into the Army in 1951 and appeared in plays that toured Army bases in Europe until 1953. Upon his release, he helped to start the Playwrights Theatre Company in Chicago, which was a precursor to Second City. More stage work took place and many TV appearances until his film debut in 1962's Kid Galahad starring Elvis Presley. But it would be the small screen where Asner would shine. After dozens of guest spots on some of the most popular TV shows of the 1960's, Asner won the role of Lou Grant on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show", and the world completely fell for him! He would appear on 166 episodes of the show which created a spin-off series to focus on Asner's character, "Lou Grant" which would air for another 114 episodes. He'd go on to appear in literally hundreds of shows and movies in his career, accumulating 17 Emmy Award nominations and winning seven. Late in his career he became a sought-after voice actor, lending his skills to the ultra-popular Pixar film Up in 2009. He worked pretty much until the day he died, with at least three more appearances to come that were filmed before his passing.
WILLARD SCOTT
BORN: March 7, 1934 in Alexandra, Virginia
DIED: September 4, 2021 (aged 87) in Delaplane, Virginia
CAUSE: Natural Causes
His interest in broadcasting began as a 16-year old in Washington, D.C. where he got a job as a page at the radio station WRC-AM. He'd work at his University's radio station between 1951 and 1953, would serve in the Navy from 1956 to 1958, then work part time on children's TV shows as Bozo The Clown and Ronald McDonald. He'd get a job as the weatherman on WRC-TV in 1970 which would eventually lead to the weatherman's job on "The Today Show" in 1980, a job he'd have until his semi-retirement in 1996. He'd still show up to wish people a happy 100th-plus birthday, and fully retired in December of 2015. The plaza outside of Rockefeller Centre in New York where he worked for so many years was renamed Willard Scott Way in his honour.
JEAN-PAUL BELMONDO
BORN: April 9, 1933 in Ile-de-France, France
DIED: September 6, 2021 (aged 88) in Paris, France
CAUSE: Natural Causes
He was known as the French counterpart to James Dean, Marlon Brando and Humphrey Bogart. Throughout his near 60-year career as an actor, he refused to make American films even though every major production company in Hollywood courted him for years. Belmondo was huge in the French market, but became a mega-star after appearing in Jean-Luc Godard's Breathless in 1960, the beginning of what was known as the French New Wave Cinema. He would go on to star with some of the biggest names in foreign and American movies; Jeanne Moreau, Sophia Loren, Claudia Cardinale, Gina Lollobrigida, Catherine Deneuve, Ursula Andress (whom he was in a relationship with for seven years) and Genevieve Bujold to name a few. As a result of his popularity throughout Europe and the world, he was bestowed with many international honours including an honorary Palme d'Or at Cannes in 2011, a Golden Lion for lifetime achievement at the 2016 Venice Film Festival, and a lifetime achievement award at the Cesar ceremony in France in 2017.
NORM MacDONALD
BORN: October 17, 1959 in Quebec City, Quebec
DIED: September 14, 2021 (aged 61) in Pasadena, California
CAUSE: Leukemia
This one was a huge shock to me, and many others. Norm Mac Donald had been diagnosed with leukemia back in 2012 but never made it public. Only close relatives and friends knew of his condition. Yet he kept working, on TV, films and stand-up, and he kept making us all laugh. He was one of those funny Canadians that came to prominence in the 1990's. He began doing stand-up in Canada in the mid 1980's and appeared on TV's "Star Search" in 1990. That led to more exposure and he became a semi-regular guest on "Late Night With David Letterman". After getting a job as a writer on "Rosanne", Norm got his big break becoming a cast member on "Saturday Night Live" in 1993. Although it was quite evident Norm wasn't the best actor (although his impression of Burt Reynolds is a favourite of mine), he started doing the mid-show Weekend Update section and was loved instantly. His dry delivery and odd jokes endeared him to fans, and he made me laugh out loud every single time. In 1999, he had his own show on ABC, "The Norm Show", shortened to just "Norm", that lasted for three seasons. He was a great talent and a very funny man that has left us far too soon.
WILLIE GARSON
BORN: February 20, 1964 in Highland Park, New Jersey
DIED: September 21, 2021 (aged 57) in Los Angeles, California
CAUSE: Pancreatic Cancer
He had a ton of small roles in some of the most popular movies and TV shows since the late 1980's. Comedy, drama, action, it didn't matter, Willie Garson's mug would show up. He was perhaps most popular in his role as Henry Coffield in seven episodes of "NYPD Blue", that is until he won the role of Stanford Blatch on the ultra-popular "Sex And The City", which he appeared on for 27 episodes and two motion pictures. Other films he made brief appearances in include Groundhog Day, The Rock, Kingpin, There's Something About Mary, Being John Malkovich and Just Like Heaven. For the last few years, he was a regular celebrity guest on the new game show "25 Words Or Less". You'll be able to see him one more time on the "Sex And The City" sequel "And Just Like That..." which was released in December on HBOMax.
MELVIN VAN PEEBLES
BORN: August 21, 1932 in Chicago, Illinois
DIED: September 21, 2021 (aged 89) in New York, New York
CAUSE: Unknown
Some say he was the father of Blaxploitation films that began in the early 1970's. But he was so much more than that to not only black people, but to independent filmmakers around the world. He wrote plays, novels, movies and tried to break into the Hollywood scene as early as the mid-1950's. Nobody in Tinseltown was interested in his shorts, so he moved to the Netherlands. There he wrote a French language novel called La Permission, which he later made into his first feature film in 1967 titled The Story Of A Three-Day Pass. That movie actually gained the interest of Hollywood after winning a festival award, and he was able to make his first American film in 1970 called Watermelon Man. But instead of signing a contract with the Hollywood system, he began to produce his own films and in 1971 released Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssssss Song, a movie he wrote, directed, produced, edited and starred in. Even though the critics were mixed in their feelings towards the film, there was no doubt of the importance of the movie with regards to Black Cinema in the States. Van Peebles, who was the father of Mario Van Peebles (who played his dad in the 2003 film Baadassssss!), continued to create his own art right up to the mid-2010's.
COLIN POWELL
BORN: April 5, 1937 in New York, New York
DIED: October 18, 2021 (aged 84) in Bethesda, Maryland
CAUSE: Complications From COVID-19
He was a professional soldier in the United States Army for more than 35 years, starting in 1958 after he graduated college. He held many positions in the Army, all the way to General, before he began his political career. From 1989 to 1993, Powell held the highest military position in the United States Department Of Defence, the 12th Joint Chiefs Of Staff chairman, where he oversaw 28 crises including the invasion of Panama and Operation Desert Storm. In 2001 he was made the U.S. Secretary Of State, the 65th in the country's history, but first of African American descent. He was awards dozens of medals and ribbons including the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star Medal, the Presidential Medal Of Freedom and six different Distinguished Service Medals. When it came to military service for one's country, there were few that could top Colin Powell.
JAMES MICHAEL TYLER
DIED: October 24, 2021 (aged 59) in Los Angeles, California
CAUSE: Prostate Cancer
The name may not be familiar, but the short white hair surely is. Tyler played Gunther, the manager (owner??) of the Central Perk on the most popular TV show of the 1990's, "Friends". After "Friends" he appeared in a few other shows, most notably "Just Shoot Me", "Scrubs" and "Episodes", and a few films that went nowhere, but he never found even an inkling of the success he had as Gunther.
MORT SAHL
BORN: May 11, 1927 in Montreal, Quebec
DIED: October 26, 2021 (aged 94) in Mill Valley, California
CAUSE: Natural Causes
During the 1950's and 1960's, there were few comedians as popular or influential as Mort Sahl. He pioneered a way of satirically talking about politics and current events, something we see all the time with stand-up comics now, but back in the 1950's, those were taboo subjects. He influenced such huge names as Lenny Bruce, Jonathan Winters, George Carlin and Richard Pryor, some of the biggest names in stand-up comedy. Woody Allen, who saw Sahl perform in 1954, said "he was suddenly this great genius that appeared who revolutionized the medium". He was a stark opposite of the polished comics of the day, just riffing off of things he read in the newspaper that day, and became a favourite of Steve Allen's, who had him on his show a couple of times. Sahl would make very popular appearances on "The Ed Sullivan Show", "Tonight With Jack Paar", "The Tonight Show", "The Dick Caveat Show" and dozens of others, along with some of the big game shows of the day. And I had no idea he was Canadian! Neat.
DEAN STOCKWELL
BORN: March 5, 1936 in Los Angeles, California
DIED: November 7, 2021 (aged 85) in Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico
CAUSE: Natural Causes
My introduction to Dean Stockwell came in the late 1980's when he played the role of Al on TV's "Quantum Leap". I had no idea he was such a long-respected actor before that role. He started as a child actor in the mid-1940's, appearing in some pretty famous films like Anchors Aweigh, Gentleman's Agreement (for which he earned a special Golden Globe Award for Best Juvenile Actor) and Song Of The Thin Man. Television came calling in 1956, appearing on such popular shows as "Wagon Train", "The Twilight Zone", "Dr. Kildare" and "Bonanza". Dozens of other roles followed, including Best Actor Awards at the Cannes Film Festival for Compulsion in 1959 and Long Day's Journey Into Night in 1962, but it really wasn't until "Quantum Leap" that he started to get real recognition for his work. The show ran for five seasons and Stockwell was nominated for 4 Emmy Awards and 3 Golden Globes during that time, winning a Golden Globe in 1990. All in all, Stockwell appeared in more than 200 movies and TV shows in his long career, and was always a joy to watch.
F.W. de KLERK
BORN: March 18, 1936 in Johannesburg, South Africa
DIED: November 11, 2021 (aged 85) in Cape Town, South Africa
CAUSE: Mesothelioma
He was definitely a controversial political figure in South Africa for many years. He was elected as South Africa's president in September of 1989 and soon began making plans to end the Apartheid Era of the nation that began in 1948. Many imprisoned figures from the anti-apartheid movement were being freed, including the most famous of them, Nelson Mandela in February of 1990. He lifted the political Acts that kept South African Whites and Black segregated for decades. His work to end Apartheid earned him a Nobel Peace Prize, but some were not satisfied completely. There were detractors, especially from white nationalists, but also from those that felt his apology for what his National Party did during the Apartheid years wasn't nearly enough. He never took responsibility for what his police force did while he was in charge, including murder, rape and other abuses. He claimed he never ordered any of those things to be done to the Black population, nor did he even know those things were going on. Very few believed him and felt he needed to acknowledge his role in such atrocities. He never did.
STEPHEN SONDHEIM
BORN: March 22, 1930 in New York, New York
DIED: November 26, 2021 (aged 91) in Roxbury, Connecticut
CAUSE: Cardiovascular Disease
He was one of, if not THE, most important figure in 20th Century musical theatre, reinventing the genre with his complex songs and themes that mirrored society. As a child, he became friends with James Hammerstein, the son of Oscar Hammerstein II. The elder Hammerstein introduced Sondheim to the theatre, and became a kind of surrogate father to him. One of his first jobs in theatre was to write the lyrics for a little musical known as West Side Story which opens on Broadway in 1957 and played for 732 shows. The first time he wrote his own music and lyrics for a stage production was for A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum which opened in 1962 and ran for 964 performances, winning six Tony Awards. Other musicals that followed included Follies in 1971, A Little Night Music in 1973 and Sweeney Todd in 1979. All in all, Sondheim wrote the music and/or lyrics for 19 major musicals from 1954 to 2008, accumulating eight Tony Awards, eight Grammy Awards and one Academy Award.
BOB DOLE
BORN: July 22, 1923 in Russell, Kansas
DIED: December 5, 2021 (aged 98) in Washington, D.C.
CAUSE: Lung Cancer
Now this guy is what "service to one's country" really means. Dole entered the US Army in 1942 in order to fight in WWII. By the time he left the Army he had the rank of captain and won a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart. His lengthy political career followed soon after. In 1951 he held his first public office as a member of the Kansas House Of Representatives. From 1953 to 1961 he was the County Attorney for Russell County, Kansas. He then went to the US House Of Representatives in 1961 and became a US Senator for Kansas in 1969, a position he held until 1996 when he retired from public office. He ran for President Of The USA in that last year, 1996, and was also chosen to run with Gerald Ford back in 1976, when he lost to Jimmy Carter. Dole now held the distinction of being the first man to lose a Vice Presidential and Presidential nomination. Although he was a Republican, he seemed to go a little nutty in 2016 when he was the only former Republican presidential nominee to endorse Donald Trump. But I always enjoyed when he made fun of himself on "Saturday Night Live" back in the '90's.
AL UNSER
BORN: May 29, 1939 in Albuquerque, New Mexico
DIED: December 9, 2021 (aged 82) in Chama, New Mexico
CAUSE: Liver Cancer
Along with A.J. Foyt, Al Unser was one of the most famous and successful auto racing drivers in the United States for nearly 30 years. He and his brothers Jerry and Bobby tore up the racetracks in the 1970's and 1980's, and their legacy lived on in their own children. In fact, the members of the Unser family have won the Indianapolis 500 nine times in total. Of course, it helps that Al won that seminal event 4 times himself, in 1970, 1971, 1978 and 1987. He also won the National Championship in 1970, 1983 and 1985. In his 322 professional races between 1965 and 1993, Al Unser ended up in the Top 3 an incredible 97 times, coming out on top 39 of those times. He holds the record of leading the most laps at the Indy 500 for a career with 644. He is still the oldest driver to win the Indy 500, as a 47-year old in 1987. He was inducted into the Motorsports Hall Of Fame in 1991.
MICHAEL NESMITH
BORN: December 30, 1942 in Houston, Texas
DIED: December 10, 2021 (aged 78) in Carmel Valley, California
CAUSE: Heart Failure
Michael Nesmith became the second Monkee to die, after Peter Tork in 2019. As an 18-year old, Nesmith joined up with the US Air Force where he trained as an aircraft mechanic. He received a guitar as a Christmas gift after leaving the Air Force and taught himself how to play. He began writing songs and playing in clubs in the Los Angeles area. He began recording songs in 1963 on the Highness label. Then, as kind of a nonchalant lark, he auditioned for a role on a new musical-comedy show called "The Monkees". The producers apparently remembered "the guy in the wool hat" and Nesmith's life changed. "The Monkees" ran from 1966 to 1968 on TV but played as a band from 1965 to 1970, and became one of the most popular pop bands of their time. He had some success afterwards as a songwriter (he wrote and performed the Top-40 song "Joanne" in 1970) and showed up in a couple of movies (Repo Man and Tapeheads), but his name endured because of that funny band from the mid-'60's, and we loved him for it!
MEL LASTMAN
BORN: March 9, 1933 in Toronto, Ontario
DIED: December 11, 2021 (aged 88) in Toronto, Ontario
CAUSE: Unknown
If you grew up in Toronto as I did, you knew Mel Lastman for a number of reasons. First and foremost, he was the Mayor of North York, a suburb of Toronto, for nearly 25 years. From 1973 to 1997, when the position was abolished, Mel helped the little community grow and grow, making it a place for many businesses to open up and many people to move into. The day after his position was abolished, "Megacity Mel" was born, and he became the Mayor of the new amalgamated city of Toronto that now contained the cities of North York, Scarborough, Etobicoke, York, East York and Old Toronto. He was Mayor of the city from 1998 to 2003, always being a huge cheerleader for the city he loved. But before all this political success, Mel Lastman opened a furniture shop he called Bad Boy 1955, selling the chain in 1975. But, as we all know in the T-Dot, Bad Boy re-emerged in 1991 after Mel's son Blayne brought the name and stores back. And now, we all know Mel from those commercials where "Nooooooobody" beats his prices. He was always a high-spirited interview on TV which left some liking him and some not so much, but I always enjoyed a dose of Mel on the news. He will be missed in these parts.
ANNE RICE
BORN: October 4, 1941 in New Orleans, Louisiana
DIED: December 11, 2021 (aged 80) in Rancho Mirage, California
CAUSE: Complications From A Stroke
She became one of the biggest names in Fiction with her very first novel Interview With The Vampire which was published in 1976. She followed up that success with The Feast Of All Saints in 1979, then Cry To Heaven in 1982. Soon she returned to what she name "The Vampire Chronicles" and began writing sequel after sequel to her most famous book, starting with The Vampire Lestat in 1985. The thirteenth novel in the series, Blood Communion: A Tale Of Prince Lestat, was released in 2018. Her books have sold over 100-million copies, making her one of the most successful authors of our time. Film adaptations of her books include Interview With The Vampire, Queen Of The Damned and Exit To Eden.
DESMOND TUTU
BORN: October 7, 1931 in Klerksdorp, South Africa
DIED: December 26, 2021 (aged 90) in Cape Town, South Africa
CAUSE: Cancer
Another prominent figure in the fight to end Apartheid in South Africa has left us. Desmond Tutu was made an Anglican priest back in 1960, becoming Bishop in Johannesburg in 1985 and serving as Archbishop of Cape Town from 1986 to 1996. He was always a proponent for the end of Apartheid in South Africa, and played a huge role in helping F.W. de Klerk and Nelson Mandela getting together to show the world Apartheid had been beaten. He won a Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for his activism against Apartheid, and called Ronald Reagan "a racist pure and simple". As a constant activist and theologian, and with his dedication to God, Tutu received dozens of awards and honours throughout his life from all corners of the world, including more than 50 Honorary Degree and/or Doctorates from universities everywhere. He wanted peace, equality, and he lived his life pursuing this goal.
JOHN MADDEN
BORN: April 10, 1936 in Austin, Minnesota
DIED: December 28, 2021 (aged 85) in Pleasanton, California
CAUSE: Unknown
I've never been a huge football fan, but I certainly know the legends of the game. John Madden was a legend of football. He was a star player in college, and was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in 1958, but an injury ended Madden's playing career before getting to play in an NFL game. He got into coaching, and his true purpose in football was found. After successful coaching stints with college teams, Madden was hired by the Oakland Raiders as the linebackers' coach in 1967. That year, the Raiders played in the Super Bowl. By 1969 John Madden was the head coach, the youngest head coach in NFL history at 32. In ten years as the head coach of the Oakland Raiders, from 1969 to 1978, his team compiled a record of 103-32-7 for a .750 winning percentage which ranks second in the history of the NFL. He won the division title 7 times, but the Super Bowl only once. After his retirement, he became one of the most sought-after and beloved television commentators ever, a career he had for 30 years. His Madden NFL video games, which began in 1988, are one of the most successful video game franchises in the world. A legend, for sure!
BETTY WHITE
BORN: January 17, 1922 in Oak Park, Illinois
DIED: December 31, 2021 (aged 99) in Los Angeles, California
CAUSE: Unknown
Well fuck. What a way to end a year of sickness, death and heartache. One of the most beloved personalities in entertainment, weeks away from her 100th birthday, passes away. It is near impossible to relate the emotion being felt by literally millions upon hearing of the death of the remarkable Betty White. She was in the entertainment biz for 80 years!! She started in radio, as most did in the 1930's and '40's, doing bit parts and odd jobs until she built a name for herself. In the late 1940's she had her own radio show, The Betty White Show, which caught the attention of producers of a new TV show called "Hollywood On Television". She began co-hosting that show in 1949 alongside Al Jarvis. Soon she was hosting the show on her own, which led to her first TV comedy role in 1952, "Life With Elizabeth", which ran from 1952 to 1955. The show won White some local awards and got her name and face known across the country.
In 1954, White hosted and produced the TV version of her radio show, "The Betty White Show", on NBC. She had total creative control of the show, making her one of the first women in television to have that power. The show was short lived as it changed time slots often, but White kept very busy. In the 1960's, she became a regular on game shows, especially "What's My Line?", "To Tell The Truth", "I've Got A Secret", "The Match Game", and most importantly "Password" where she met her future husband, the host of the show, Allen Ludden. Her fame exploded in 1973 after making appearances on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" as Sue Ann Nivens, one of my all-time favourite characters in sitcom history! She appeared on that show for only 46 episodes, but every single one of them was a complete blast.
In 1977, she had another show named after herself, "The Betty White Show", which lasted only 14 episodes. She would continue to appear regularly on game shows and talk shows, getting a recurring role on "Mama's Family" in the early 1980's. Then, in 1985, White won the role of Rose Nylund on the incredibly popular, and hilariously funny show, "The Golden Girls". The show ran from 1985 to 1992, winning awards and hearts all over the world. She was in her 70's when that show came to an end, and most people would think about retirement at that time. Not Betty White! She made appearances on other big shows of the 1990's and 2000's like "Suddenly Susan", "Ally McBeal", "The Simpsons", "That '70's Show", "Malcolm In The Middle", "Family Guy", "30 Rock" and "Saturday Night Live" to name only a few. Then, after her 88th birthday, she began a new sitcom! "Hot In Cleveland" began in 2010 and played over 120 episodes, White appearing in most of them where her comic timing hadn't shown any signs of waning. She was nominated for a remarkable 21 Emmy Awards in her career, winning five of them, and was a Golden Globe nominee four times. She was a huge talent, one of the funniest people in the world, and she will be sorely missed by anyone who ever had the pleasure of seeing her smiling face.
Well, that was part of the shit show that was 2021. It seemed apparent, that if you appeared on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show", it was your time to go. Phyllis Lindstrom, Murray Slaughter, Lou Grant and Sue Ann Nivens all left us in 2021. If there is a heaven, I hope their having a blast up there with Mary, Ted, Rhoda, Georgette and Ida!!
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