2014 Obits: Remembrance thread

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Hal Douglas, voice of Hollywood movie trailers, dies at 89
Reuters

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hal Douglas, a veteran voice-over artist who worked on trailers for films such as "Philadelphia," "Forrest Gump" and "Lethal Weapon," died at the age of 89 last week, his daughter said on Thursday.

He passed away on March 7 at his home in Lovettsville, Virginia, surrounded by family after suffering from pancreatic cancer, which was diagnosed in 2010.

"Hal was known not only for his incomparable voice, which could be heard on thousands of movie trailers, television and radio promos, commercials, documentaries, and as the spokesman for numerous broadcast networks, but also for his warmth, humility, humor, and generosity of spirit," Sarah Douglas said on a memorial website for her father.

With his throaty voice, Douglas was one of the top talents in voice-overs for decades.

Director Casimir Nozkowski made a short film in 2013 about Douglas called "A Great Voice," in which he demonstrated and described his voice-over technique.

He also appeared on camera in a trailer for comedian Jerry Seinfeld's 2002 documentary "Comedian."

Born in Connecticut, Douglas was a pilot, wrote fiction and studied acting before turning to announcing and voice-over work for radio, television and films.

He worked in New York studios for most of his career but spent the last 15 years recording in his home studio in Virginia.

He is survived by wife Ruth, daughter Sarah, two sons, Jeremy and John, and three grandchildren.
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Comedian David Brenner, 'Tonight Show' Favorite, Dies
Associated Press
By LYNN ELBER


LOS ANGELES (AP) — David Brenner, the gangly, toothy-grinned "Tonight Show" favorite whose brand of observational comedy became a staple for other standups, including Jerry Seinfeld and Paul Reiser, died Saturday. He was 78.

Brenner, who had been fighting cancer, died peacefully at his home in New York City with his family at his side, according to Jeff Abraham, his friend and publicist.

"David Brenner was a huge star when I met him and he took me under his wing. To me, historically, he was the godfather of hip, observational comedy," comedian Richard Lewis said in a statement. "He mentored me from day one. ... His passing leaves a hole in my life that can never be replaced."

The lanky, always sharply dressed Brenner became one of the most frequent visitors to Johnny Carson's "Tonight" in the 1970s and '80s.

His 150-plus appearances as guest and substitute host turned the former documentary filmmaker into a hot comedian, one who was ubiquitous on other talk shows and game shows.

He also briefly hosted his own syndicated talk show in 1987 and starred in four HBO specials.

Full story at Yahoo TV.
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Jack Kinzler, Skylab’s Savior, Dies at 94
By MARGALIT FOXMARCH 14, 2014

Had Jack A. Kinzler not built model planes as a boy, had he not visited the post office as a youth and had he not, as a grown man, purchased four fishing rods at $12.95 apiece, Skylab — the United States’ $2.5 billion space station — would very likely have been forfeit.

Providentially, Mr. Kinzler had done all those things, and Skylab, imperiled by the loss of a thermal shield on its launch in 1973, was saved.

Mr. Kinzler saved it with a parasol.

A constitutional tinkerer, Mr. Kinzler, who died on March 4 at 94, was for decades NASA’s resident Mr. Fix-It, building the impeccable full-scale models of the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo spacecraft used in a welter of preflight tests, and solving a spate of other mechanical problems over the years — all without the benefit of a college degree.

Mr. Kinzler, the longtime chief of the Technical Services Center at NASA’s Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston, also put six flags — and six plaques — on the moon and helped make possible the rarefied sport of lunar golf.

Full story at NY Times.

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Skylab Astronaut William Pogue Dies at 84
by Robert Z. Pearlman, collectSPACE.com
March 05, 2014 11:41am ET

William "Bill" Pogue, a United States Air Force Thunderbirds pilot and NASA astronaut who served on the nation's first space station, died Monday (March 3). He was 84.

Pogue's death was confirmed by the Association of Space Explorers and Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, to which he belonged.

Selected by NASA in 1966 with the agency's fifth group of astronauts, Pogue made his first and only spaceflight as a member of the final crew to man the Skylab space station. Serving 84 days as the command module pilot of Skylab 3 (SL-4) from November 1973 to February 1974, Pogue and his two crewmates set numerous records for the distance they traveled and duration they spent in orbit. At the time, it was the longest human spaceflight in history. [Skylab, NASA's 1st Space Station (Photos)]

"I was scheduled to go to the moon on Apollo 19 but [the] missions 18, 19 and 20 were canceled," Pogue wrote his 2011 autobiography, "But for the Grace of God." "Instead, I was very fortunate to fly on the final visit to Skylab and spent 84 days in space studying the Sun, the Earth below, and ourselves."
Skylab in Orbit

"Every third working day," he continued, "one of us served as a test subject for a range of physiological and medical experiments or studies. The work was sometime tiresome and tedious, but the view was spectacular."

While living on Skylab, Pogue performed two spacewalks, including a Thanksgiving day outing and an excursion on Christmas 1973 that set a record at 7 hours and 3 minutes long. In total, he logged more than 13 hours spacewalking outside the orbiting outpost — a converted third stage of a Saturn V rocket — while mounting experiments, retrieving film cassettes and taking photographs.

Inside the space station, Pogue and his crewmates, Jerry Carr and Ed Gibson, staged an on-orbit strike, of sorts, six weeks into their stay. The astronauts took an unscheduled day off, in reaction to an overly-ambitious work plan set by NASA's Mission Control in Houston.

"We didn't find out until about halfway through [our stay] that we had been overscheduled. We were having trouble," Pogue recalled in a 2000 NASA oral history. "We were just hustling the whole day."

The time off, and the compromise they reached with flight controllers, resulted in a smoother workflow.

"I recall the last six weeks of the flight were very pleasant to me," Pogue recounted. "We all had a really much better feeling about the whole flight toward the end."

Splashing down Feb. 8, 1974, Pogue had circled the Earth 1,214 times and traveled 34.5 million miles in the course of 84 days, 1 hour, 15 minutes and 30 seconds.

full story at Space.com.
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Iggy Pop Drummer Scott Asheton Dead at 64
The Wrap
By Todd Cunningham

Scott Asheton, a founding member and the drummer in the seminal punk rock band the Stooges has died, singer Iggy Pop said on his Facebook page Sunday.

“My dear friend Scott Asheton passed away last night,” Pop said in his post. Asheton was 64.

“Scott was a great artist, I have never heard anyone play the drums with more meaning than Scott Asheton. He was like my brother. He and Ron have left a huge legacy to the world. The Ashetons have always been and continue to be a second family to me.

“My thoughts are with his sister Kathy, his wife Liz and his daughter Leanna, who was the light of his life.”

Asheton co-formed the Stooges in 1967 in Ann Arbor, Mich., along with Pop, Dave Alexander and guitarist Ron Asheton, his older brother who died in 2009. Their best known songs include “I Wanna Be Your Dog” and “Search and Destroy,” and the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010.

No cause of death was indicated. Asheton had suffered a stroke in 2011 that caused his temporary retirement.
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Fred Phelps Sr., leader of Westboro Baptist Church, dies at 84
By Adam Bernstein
Thursday, March 20, 11:56 AM

Fred Phelps Sr., a fire-and-brimstone preacher whose anti-gay picketing at military funerals inflamed the nation and drew international scorn but was protected by the U.S. Supreme Court as an exercise in free speech, died March 19 at a hospice in Topeka, Kan. He was 84.

His daughter Shirley Phelps-Roper confirmed his death to the Topeka Capital-Journal. The cause was not reported.

Rev. Phelps was an ordained Baptist minister, a disbarred Kansas lawyer and, according to a BBC documentary, the patriarch of the “most hated family in America.”

The Southern Poverty Law Center, a prominent civil rights group, described his Westboro congregation as a “family-based cult” and “arguably the most obnoxious and rabid hate group in America.”

The expression of Rev. Phelps’s bigotry managed to offend the conscience of the Ku Klux Klan, which staged protests to counter Westboro’s demonstrations at military funerals.

Rev. Phelps and his followers protested at hundreds, perhaps thousands, of funerals, including those of entertainer Frank Sinatra, Sen. Barry Goldwater (R-Ariz.), civil rights activist Coretta Scott King and the miners who died in the 2006 Sago Mine disaster in West Virginia.

Full story at Washington Post.
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LOTA C. CAINES, 91, of Flatwods, Ky., widow of John Paul Caines, died March 19 in Trinity Station. She had worked at WCMI radio and Kentucky Electrical Supply Corporation. Graveside services will be 2 p.m. Friday, Ashland Cemetery Mausoleum. Visitation one hour before service. Contributions are suggested to First United Methodist Church, 1811 Carter Ave., Ashland, KY 41101 or to AARF, c/o Dave Gillum, 131 New Hampshire Dr., Ashland, KY 41101.
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Sheriff: Johnny Cash's great-niece found dead
Mar 20, 3:14 PM (ET)

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The great-niece of the late singer Johnny Cash has been found stabbed to death and stuffed in a box in a house, authorities in Tennessee said Thursday.

Putnam County Sheriff David Andrews said Courtney Cash's body was found Wednesday morning in a home near Cookeville, about 70 miles east of Nashville.

Cash's body was found in a chest just inside the front door, Andrews said. A man identified as William Austin Johnson, Cash's boyfriend, was being treated for stab wounds at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Andrews said.

Andrews said the pair had gone out with a friend before an altercation took place in the house where Johnson and Cash lived with their young child. The friend, identified as Wayne Gary Masciarella, has been charged with first-degree murder.

Johnson escaped the attack and took the child with him before driving to the hospital, Andrews said. The scene inside the house was "somewhat bloody," Andrews told reporters at a news conference.

"There was a struggle," the sheriff said.

The suspect may have been trying to hide Cash's body, Andrews said. A motive was not released, but Andrews indicated the stabbings were likely connected to drugs.

"This is a senseless, tragic death of a young lady whose life was probably taken as a direct or indirect result of drugs," Andrews said.

Johnny Cash's brother, Tommy Cash, released a statement asking for prayers for the family after the loss of his granddaughter.

"We are completely heartbroken," the statement said.

Masciarella is being held without bond. He has a court date scheduled for April 21. Officials in Putnam County said they do not know if he has a lawyer.
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James Rebhorn, Star of 'Independence Day' and 'Scent of a Woman,' Dies at 65
By Bryan Enk
Sunday, March 23, 3:00pm
Yahoo Movies

Hollywood is mourning one of its most recognized "that guys" as James Rebhorn has died at age 65.

The veteran character actor, who had an extensive resume of memorable supporting roles in a wide variety of genres from sci-fi blockbusters ("Independence Day") to gritty thrillers ("The Game") to Oscar-winning tearjerkers ("Scent of a Woman"), passed away on Friday surrounded by his family, a rep for Rebhorn confirms to Yahoo Movies. The cause of death was a melanoma first diagnosed in 1992.

"He had been fighting it ever since but managed to keep working," his rep noted.

And work he did. In all, Rebhorn appeared in more than 100 television shows, feature films, and stage productions, staking his claim as one of the industry's go-to "that guy" thespians.

Rebhorn was born on Sept. 1, 1948, in Philadelphia and moved to Anderson, Indiana, shortly thereafter, where he matriculated from Madison Heights High School. He attended Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio, where he appeared in theatrical productions of Aristophanes's "Lysistrata" and Moliere's "Tricks of Scapin." After graduating in 1970, he moved to New York City, where he earned a Master of Fine Arts at Columbia University and became active in the theater scene.

Rebhorn made his big screen debut as the Casting Director in the little-seen show business comedy, "The Yum Yum Girls" (1976). Some of his most memorable roles include New England prep school headmaster Mr. Trask in "Scent of a Woman" (1992), Secretary of Defense Albert Nimzicki in "Independence Day" (1996), put-upon actor Jim Feingold in "The Game" (1997), and wealthy shipbuilder Herbert Greenleaf (the father of Jude Law's character) in "The Talented Mr. Ripley" (1999).

Rebhorn also worked with his "Scent of a Woman" co-star Al Pacino in "Carlito's Way" (1993) and his "The Game" co-star Michael Douglas in "Basic Instinct" (1992). Other notable film appearances include "Lorenzo's Oil" (1992), Ridley Scott's "White Squall" (1996), "Meet the Parents" (2000), "Scotland, Pa." (2001), and "Cold Mountain" (2003).

Rebhorn's most recent film roles include Marvin in "Real Steel" (2011), Joseph Crudstaff in "The Odd Life of Timothy Green" (2012), and Frank in Mike Birbiglia's "Sleepwalk with Me" (2012).

Rebhorn had several notable TV credits, including the recurring role of Reese Hughes on "White Collar" (2009-2013) and appearances on "Law & Order," "Boston Legal" and "The Book of Daniel." His most recent television role was Frank Mathison, the father of CIA operative Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes), on Showtime's "Homeland."
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Richard Petty's wife Lynda dies at 72
USA TODAY Sports staff
9:13 p.m. EDT March 25, 2014


Lynda Petty, the wife of seven-time NASCAR champion Richard Petty, died Tuesday after a long battle with cancer. She was 72.

She was diagnosed with central nervous system lymphoma four years ago.

Richard and Lynda Petty were married in 1959, and she played an instrumental role in her husband's early racing career. Richard Petty, who holds the Sprint Cup record with 200 victories, told USA TODAY Sports in 2008 that Lynda would feed their four children and the pit crew from the back of a 1960 Chrysler sedan parked in the infield.

Full story at USA Today.
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Ken Forsse Dead -- Teddy Ruxpin Toy Creator Dies at 77
3/26/2014 12:00 PM PDT BY TMZ STAFF

Ken Forsse -- the creator of the talking Teddy Ruxpin toy bear -- is dead at 77.

Giving young children nightmares since 1985 -- Teddy Ruxpin was able to move his mouth and eyes while reciting bedtime stories that were stored on cassettes inserted into his back.

Teddy was Forsse's claim to fame -- even developing a TV show named "The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin."

During the 1980s Ruxpin became the "Official Spokesbear for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children."
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SHAWKEY E. SABA, 85, of Proctorville, Ohio, husband of Lena Saba, died March 28 in Emogene Dolin Jones Hospice House. He retired from WSAZ television. Funeral services will be 11 a.m. Tuesday, First Presbyterian Church of Huntington; burial will follow in Sunset Memorial Park, South Charleston, W.Va. There will be no visitation. Klingel-Carpenter Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.
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Former 'Dynasty' star Kate O'Mara dies at age 74
Mar 30, 10:44 AM (ET)

LONDON (AP) - British actress Kate O'Mara, best known for her role in the 1980s soap opera "Dynasty," died Sunday at the age of 74, her agent said.

Phil Belfield said O'Mara died in a nursing home in southern England after a short illness.

The actress, who began her television career in the 1960s, became a household name for playing Cassandra "Caress" Morrell, sister to Joan Collins' Alexis Colby, in "Dynasty."

In Britain she is often remembered for her role in "Triangle" - a soap opera set aboard a North Sea ferry that is often cited as the worst piece of British television.

She also appeared in the original run of British series "Doctor Who" and BBC drama "Howards' Way." In the 1990s she starred in the comedy show "Absolutely Fabulous" with Joanna Lumley.

More recently she appeared in a 2012 stage adaptation of Agatha Christie's "Death on the Nile."

She is survived by her sister, actress Belinda Carroll.
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House music legend Frankie Knuckles dead at 59
Apr 1, 5:38 PM (ET)
By CARYN ROUSSEAU

CHICAGO (AP) - Frankie Knuckles, a Grammy-winning Chicago disc jockey known as the "Godfather of House Music" who worked with artists including Michael Jackson and Diana Ross, has died at age 59.

Knuckles died Monday in Chicago, the Cook County medical examiner said Tuesday. The medical examiner said a cause of death was not available.

Knuckles is considered a key figure in the evolution of the house music genre, dating back three decades to venues in Chicago and New York.

"When you're as fortunate as most of us working DJs to be able to share our creative blessings with the rest of the world, no matter how great or small, wouldn't you agree that it's best to give the world the best of who you are?" Knuckles said, in a quote provided Tuesday in a release from his company, Def Mix Productions.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel said Tuesday that Chicago has lost "one of its most treasured cultural pioneers."

Knuckles was born Francis Nicholls on Jan. 18, 1955, in the Bronx. He worked as a DJ in the early 1970s in New York before moving to Chicago in the late 1970s. In Chicago he was resident DJ at the city's The Warehouse club until it closed in 1983.

It was there that he defined House music's distinct style and took on the role of DJ as tastemaker, said Phil White, co-author of "On the Record: The Scratch DJ Academy Guide." Knuckles "defined really what House music was in terms of style," White said. Knuckles even would cut and tape together pieces of reel-to-reel recordings to make extended tracks, he said.

Knuckles went on to have his own recording career, putting out his own albums on Virgin Records and working as a producer and remixer with many famous musicians. He had a hit with his first album's first single, "The Whistle Song."

Knuckles won a Grammy in 1997 for Remixer of the Year and Chicago named a stretch of road near downtown for him, calling it "Honorary 'The Godfather of House Music' Frankie Knuckles Way." He also was a governor and trustee for the New York City chapter of The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.

"His electrifying remixes and high-energy performances on the turntables packed clubs for decades, and he inspired a generation of DJs, bringing house music to the mainstream," the academy said in a Tuesday statement.
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Savings and loan figure Charles Keating dies at 90
AP source: Charles Keating Jr., leading figure in 1980s savings and loan scandal, dead at 90
Associated Press
By Bob Christie, Associated Press 13 hours ago

PHOENIX (AP) -- Charles H. Keating Jr., the notorious financier who served prison time and was disgraced for his role in the costliest savings and loan failure of the 1980s, has died. He was 90.

A person with direct knowledge of the death confirmed on Tuesday that Keating had died but didn't provide further details. The person wasn't authorized to release the information and spoke on condition of anonymity.

When Keating's Phoenix-based home construction company, American Continental Corp., bought Lincoln Savings & Loan in 1984, the multimillionaire elevated its worth from $1.1 billion to $5.5 billion in a four-year period.

But his financial empire crumbled with state and federal convictions for defrauding investors. Keating allegedly bilked Lincoln customers by selling them $200 million of unsecured "junk" bonds. They became worthless when Keating's company became bankrupt.

The thrift's collapse cost taxpayers $2.6 billion and tarnished the reputations of five senators who became known as the "Keating Five." One of them was Republican U.S Sen. John McCain of Arizona, and the scandal re-entered the spotlight during the 2008 presidential campaign.

Full story at Yahoo News.
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Dane Witherspoon, 'Santa Barbara' star and first husband of Robin Wright, dead at 56
BY Margaret Eby
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Wednesday, April 2, 2014, 12:18 PM


Dane Witherspoon, a soap opera actor and the first husband of "House of Cards" star Robin Wright, died Saturday at the age of 56.

Witherspoon's former co-star on the daytime drama "Santa Barbara" announced the news on Facebook.

"Dane passed this morning," A Martinez wrote. "People who watched 'Santa Barabara' in its earliest days will remember him as Joe Perkins, a character to which he brought a quiet grave and deep, bittersweet sense of soul.
Dane Witherspoon and Robin Wright (Photo by Ron Galella/WireImage) Ron Galella/WireImage Dane Witherspoon and Robin Wright. Witherspoon, who was Wright's first husband, died at the age of 56.

"He was a singular, standup guy, loved and admired by many. My first thought, upon meeting him in 1984: 'This is the most beautiful man I've ever seen.' That beauty went all the way to his core."

Witherspoon and Wright met on the "Santa Barbara" set. She played his character Joe's childhood sweetheart, Kelly Capwell.

The former couple married in 1986, but divorced in 1988. Witherspoon then married "Trading Places" actress Tracy Shaffer, with whom he had two sons. Witherspoon and Shaffer divorced in 2011.

Witherspoon appeared on soap opera "Capitol," but had mostly retired from acting. The cause of his death has yet to be released.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainmen ... z2xlqFpdf9
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Legendary TV sports director Sandy Grossman has died after a long bout with cancer. He was 78.

The Hollywood Reporter says that the eight-time Emmy winner directed 21 seasons of NFL coverage fronted by analyst John Maddenand play-by-play man Pat Summerall for CBS and Fox. He came to Fox from CBS with Madden and Summerall for the 1994 season, when Fox first got NFC rights -- a major boon for the network.

Grossman directed a record 10 Super Bowls -- seven for CBS and three for Fox -- five Stanley Cup Finals for Fox and 18 NBA Finals for CBS during his career.

"The key to anything is, 'What does the viewer want to see?' " Grossman said in a 2011 interview with the Palm Beach Post. "It's not just what I want to show. Somebody out there is an aficionado of the sport and I didn't want to offend them. I always made a point to treat every event I did like it was the Super Bowl because, for them, it is."

Grossman worked with Madden and Summerall for 21 years. "How many guys can say that? It was an unbelievable experience." They were three of about 20 staffers who moved from CBS to Fox as a result of the 4-year, $1.58 billion deal in 1994.

He earned an Emmy for directing the 1980 Super Bowl and other statues for events such as the 1992 and 1994 Olympic Winter Games, where he directed hockey for CBS in Albertville and Lillehammer, respectively
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Arthur Smith, instrumentalist/songwriter (Dueling Banjos) 93

(CMT.com) - Arthur Smith, the multi-instrumentalist and composer perhaps best known for ‘Dueling Banjos,’ died at his home in Charlotte, N.C. on Thursday (April 3). He was 93.

Born in 1921 in Clinton, S.C., Smith grew up in Kershaw, where his father, a mill worker, also led a brass band. Smith played trumpet in that group as a child, and also mastered mandolin, fiddle and guitar, among other instruments. He played in a Dixieland group with his brothers, and began to cut records when he was 15.

At the age of 24, Smith released ‘Guitar Boogie,’ which is widely considered one of the earliest rock and roll records. He also began a career in radio that led to a syndicated TV shows, ‘The Arthur Smith Show,’ which featured a wide range of guests, including personal friends like Billy Graham and Johnny Cash.

In 1955 Smith recorded a song he’d written titled ‘Feuding Banjos,’ which became a popular bluegrass tune. It attained a permanent place in popular culture when it was used in the classic 1972 film ‘Deliverance’ under the title ‘Dueling Banjos.’ The appearance was not licensed, and Smith sued Warner Bros., reportedly receiving a substantial settlement.

In later years Smith turned his attention to a wide variety of business interests, including a recording studio, as well as boating and sports fishing.
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Legendary Actor Mickey Rooney is Dead

Mickey Rooney has died at the age of 93. His daughter Kelly has confirmed his passing on her website. He was born Joe Yule Jr. and his last acting job was The Muppets movie in 2011. He was nominated for four Oscars and was later given an honorary Academy Award.
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Comedian John Pinette dead at 50
By Associated Press on Apr 6, 2014 at 9:48PM
John-Pinette-01.jpg


John Pinette, the chubby stand-up comedian who portrayed a hapless carjacking victim in the final episode of Seinfeld, has died. He was 50.

Pinette died of natural causes Saturday at a hotel in Pittsburgh, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s office said Sunday evening. Pinette’s agent confirmed his death.

The portly Pinette was a self-deprecating presence on stage, frequently discussing his weight on stand-up specials Show Me the Buffett, I’m Starvin’! and Still Hungry.

Pinette had been working on another stand-up project when he died, his agent, Nick Nuciforo, said.

“He should be celebrated for the amazing comedian he was,” Nuciforo said.

The Boston native appeared in movies including The Punisher and had a trio of stand-up shows released on DVD but was perhaps best known as the portly carjacking victim whose plight lands the Seinfeld stars before a judge for failing to help under a “good Samaritan” law. Pinette also appeared in the television series Parker Lewis Can’t Lose.

Pinette also appeared on state in a national tour of Hairspray as Edna Turnblad, the mother of the play’s heroine.

The medical examiner’s office said no autopsy was performed and Pinette’s own physician signed off on the cause of death.

Pinette had been preparing for a stand-up tour of the U.S. and Canada, Nuciforo said.
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Peaches Geldof dies unexpectedly at age 25
Apr 7, 4:34 PM (ET)
By SYLVIA HUI

LONDON (AP) - Peaches Geldof, the wild-child second daughter of Irish singer Bob Geldof who filled the pages of British tabloids with her late-night antics as she partied through the world of fashion and celebrity, was found dead Monday at age 25.

There was no immediate word on the cause of her death at her home in Wrotham, Kent, southeast England but police called it "unexplained and sudden."

Peaches Geldof had admitted using drugs in the past but said in a 2009 interview that she had quit.

The news of her death came as a shock to Britain's entertainment and fashion circles, where Geldof had been active as a model, television presenter and fashion writer. She was a frequent attendee at fashion shows in London and New York, and was photographed just last week at a London show for the Tesco brand F&F.

Geldof was only a girl of 11 when her mother Paula Yates, a popular television presenter, died of a drug overdose in 2000, and those who knew her said it hit her extremely hard.

The last tweet she sent on Twitter came on Sunday, when she posted a photograph of herself as a toddler next to her mother along with the caption: "Me and my mum."

Full story at Iwon / AP News.
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