2012 Obits: R.I.P. and Remembrance thread

[unchoopfan]

Sam Coppola, 79, actor (Saturday Night Fever, Fatal Attraction)

(North Jersey.com) - Veteran character actor Sam Coppola, who gave John Travolta sage but salty advice in the 1977 film classic "Saturday Night Fever," died Sunday (Feb. 5). He was 79. The cause was aneurysm complications, said his son, Jason.

The Jersey City, NJ-born alumnus of Lee Strasberg's Actors Studio never starved for roles, appearing in nearly 70 films. He was a cop in "Serpico" (1973), starring Al Pacino, and a detective in "Fatal Attraction" (1987), starring Michael Douglas and Glenn Close. His many TV credits include "The Good Wife," "Law & Order," "The Sopranos," "Ryan's Hope" and the 2001 A&E movie "The Heist," in which he portrayed mob boss Paul Castellano.

Mr. Coppola, no relation to film director Francis Ford Coppola, played a nursing home resident in a Chevy commercial that aired during last year's Super Bowl and a hot dog vendor in a Ball Park Franks spot starring Michael Jordan.

But to many, he is forever Dan Fusco, owner of the Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, hardware and paint store where Tony Manero (Travolta) worked by day and dreamed of Saturday night, when he ruled the dance floor at the Odyssey disco.

Wearing a khaki-colored smock and thick black glasses, Mr. Coppola's character spoke a memorable line in "Saturday Night Fever," one of the most culturally significant movies of the '70s. Tony, frustrated that his boss thinks he should save his money and not splurge on a new disco shirt, cries that he doesn't care about the future. Mr. Coppola's Fusco shoots back with his own expletive-laced nugget of wisdom: The future "catches up with you … if you ain't prepared for it."

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Bill Hinzman, 75, actor (Night of the Living Dead)

(Reuters) - Bill Hinzman, who was cast on-the-spot as a zombie in 1968 cult film "Night of the Living Dead" in a role that earned him the longlasting admiration of horror fans, has died at age 75. Hinzman died of cancer on Sunday evening (Feb. 5) at his home in Darlington, Pennsylvania, his daughter Heidi Hinzman told Reuters.

He played a prominent role in Director George Romero's low-budget, black-and-white 1968 film "Night of the Living Dead," which is credited with revolutionizing the zombie genre. Hinzman was working as an assistant cameraman on the film when Romero decided to cast him as the zombie in the movie's opening sequence.

"We'd like to tell the story that it was a hard audition session, but Bill was there and old enough and thin enough and he had an old suit," said the film's producer Russ Streiner.

Dressed in that suit, Hinzman appears at a Pennsylvania cemetery and attacks a pair of young siblings by knocking the man's head against a tombstone and chasing the woman. He lurches across an open field and eventually chases the woman into a farmhouse.

Fans called Heinzman "No. 1 zombie," said Streiner, who also played a character named Johnny who fought with Hinzman in the cemetery.

"He was a very popular guy, he was very accessible to the fans," Streiner added.

Hinzman also went on to direct and star in the 1980s horror movies "The Majorettes" and "FleshEater."

He will be cremated, as he had asked, said Heidi Hinzman. "He always joked with me that if he got buried he would come back," she said.

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Irene McKinney, 72, poet/editor, W.Va. poet-laureate

(AP) - Irene McKinney, who served as West Virginia's poet laureate for 18 years, died of cancer Saturday (Feb. 4) at her family's farm in Barbour County. She was 72.

McKinney was appointed by Gov. Gaston Caperton in January 1994. She saw the poet laureate's job as being a promoter of a new group of emerging writers and students.

"I don't feel our writers have the exposure they should, so I've worked hard to make all those people better known," she said in a 1995 interview.

McKinney was the director of the creative writing program at West Virginia Wesleyan College. She also taught at the University of Utah, the University of California at Santa Cruz, Western Washington University and Hamilton College.

McKinney published her first book of poems, "The Girl with the Stone in Her Lap," in 1976. Other collections include "The Wasps at the Blue Hexagon" (1984), "Quick Fire and Slow Fire" (1988), "Six O'Clock Mine Report" (1989), "Vivid Companion" (2004) and "Unthinkable: Selected Poems 1976-2004" (2009).

The National Endowment for the Arts honored McKinney with a fellowship, and National Public Radio's Garrison Keillor has featured her poems on "The Writer's Almanac."

[jag]

'Big Valley' star Peter Breck dead at age 82

The actor who played a son of ranch owner Barbara Stanwyck on the 1960s Western "The Big Valley," has died. Peter Breck was 82.

Breck died Monday in Vancouver, British Columbia, after a long illness, his wife, Diane, announced on the website The Big Valley Writing Desk.

A native of Haverhill, Mass., Breck was also a regular on the TV Westerns "Maverick" and "Black Saddle." He had guest roles on series from the 1950s through the early 2000s including "Perry Mason," ''The Virginian" and "Fantasy Island."

His film appearances include "Thunder Road," ''I Want to Live!" and "Benji."

Breck was best known for his role as hot-tempered rancher Nick Barkley on "The Big Valley," which aired from 1965 to 1969.

He and his wife were longtime Vancouver residents.

[unchoopfan]

Jeffrey Zaslow, 53, author and Wall Street Journal columnist

(AP) — Best-selling author Jeffrey Zaslow has died after he lost control of his car on a snowy road in Michigan's northern Lower Peninsula. He was 53.

Literary agent Gary Morris says Zaslow was killed Friday (Feb. 10). Zaslow was co-author of "The Last Lecture" and recently released "The Magic Room." He was also a columnist for The Wall Street Journal.

The Antrim County sheriff's office says the accident occurred about 9:15 a.m. in Warner Township about 160 miles northwest of Lansing. Zaslow's car slid into the path of a semitrailer. He was killed on impact.

No other details of the crash were released.

Zaslow lived in the Detroit area. The author also has worked on memoirs of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and airline pilot Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger.

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Nello Ferrara, 93, candy company executive (Lemonheads/Atomic Fire Balls)

(AP) — Candy company executive Nello Ferrara, the man who brought the world Lemonheads and Atomic Fire Balls, died Friday (Feb. 3) at his home in the Chicago suburb of River Forest surrounded by his family. He was 93.

The Forest Park-based Ferrara Pan company was started in 1908, and Nello Ferrara took it over from his father decades ago. The company, which also makes Red Hots and Boston Baked Beans, produces 1 million pound of candy a day, Salvatore Ferrara said.

Ferrara, the company's current president and CEO, said his birth inspired his father to invent the Lemonhead candy.

"He always claimed that when I was born, that I came out of my mother sideways ... and my head was shaped like a lemon," he said.

The Atomic Fire Ball was invented after Nello Ferrara's time in Japan during World War II.

Nello Ferrara also loved to sing, and did so every day — especially when the family dined out, his son said.

"He would be walking around the restaurant, table to table, singing like you wouldn't believe," he said. "He was an impulsive singer."

His repertoire included Italian love songs and his favorite, "Wind Beneath My Wings". Once, Ferrara met Frank Sinatra at a charity event, and when the two ran into each other a year later, Ferrara tried to out-sing him. "My dad insisted that he had a better voice, he just wasn't as good looking," Salvatore Ferrara said.

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Janice E. Voss, 55, astronaut

Janice Voss, a NASA astronaut who first worked for the space agency as a teenager and logged nearly 19 million miles circling earth on five shuttle missions, died Feb. 6 in Scottsdale, Ariz., where she was receiving treatment for breast cancer. She was 55.

A native of South Bend, Ind., Dr. Voss started with NASA while attending Purdue University in 1973. She later worked as an instructor before being selected as an astronaut in 1990.

Dr. Voss flew four missions in the 1990s before a flight to the international space station in 2000. Her final trip was part of a radar topography mission that mapped more than 47 million square miles of Earth’s surface. NASA officials said Dr. Voss was one of six women to fly in space at least five times.

[genlock]

Whitney Houston, dead at 48



Whitney Houston, who reigned as pop music's queen until her majestic voice and regal image were ravaged by drug use, erratic behavior and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown, has died. She was 48.

Publicist Kristen Foster said Saturday that the singer had died, but the cause and the location of her death were unknown.

[unchoopfan]

Whitney Houston, 48, singer/actress, six-time Grammy Award-winner

(AP) — Whitney Houston, who ruled as pop music's queen until her majestic voice was ravaged by drug use and her regal image was tarnished by erratic behavior and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown, died Saturday (Feb. 11) on the eve of the Grammy Awards she once reigned over. She was 48.

At her peak, Houston was the golden girl of the music industry. From the mid-1980s to the late 1990s, she was one of the world's best-selling artists. She wowed audiences with effortless, powerful and peerless vocals rooted in the black church but made palatable to the masses with a pop sheen. Her success carried her beyond music to movies, where she starred in hits like "The Bodyguard" and "Waiting to Exhale."

Houston made her album debut in 1985 with "Whitney Houston," which sold millions and spawned hit after hit. "Saving All My Love for You" brought her her first Grammy, for best female pop vocal. "How Will I Know," "You Give Good Love" and "The Greatest Love of All" also became hit singles. Another multiplatinum album, "Whitney," came out in 1987 and included hits like "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" and "I Wanna Dance With Somebody."

Her decision not to follow the more soulful inflections of singers like Franklin drew criticism by some who saw her as playing down her black roots to go pop and reach white audiences. The criticism would become a constant refrain through much of her career. She was even booed during the "Soul Train Awards" in 1989.

She influenced a generation of younger singers, from Christina Aguilera to Mariah Carey, who when she first came out sounded so much like Houston that many thought it was Houston. But by the end of her career, Houston became a stunning cautionary tale of the toll of drug use. Her album sales plummeted and the hits stopped coming; her once serene image was shattered by a wild demeanor and bizarre public appearances. She confessed to abusing cocaine, marijuana and pills, and her once pristine voice became raspy and hoarse, unable to hit the high notes as she had during her prime.

"The biggest devil is me. I'm either my best friend or my worst enemy," Houston told ABC's Diane Sawyer in an infamous 2002 interview with then-husband Brown by her side. It was a tragic fall for a superstar who was one of the top-selling artists in pop music history, with more than 55 million records sold in the United States alone.

It would take several years for the public to see the "down and dirty" side of Houston. Her moving 1991 rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" at the Super Bowl, amid the first Gulf War, set a new standard and once again reaffirmed her as America's sweetheart.

In 1992, she became a star in the acting world with "The Bodyguard." Despite mixed reviews, the story of a singer (Houston) guarded by a former Secret Service agent (Kevin Costner) was an international success.

It also gave her perhaps her most memorable hit: a searing, stunning rendition of Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You," which sat atop the charts for weeks. It was Grammy's record of the year and best female pop vocal, and the "Bodyguard" soundtrack was named album of the year.

She returned to the big screen in 1995-96 with "Waiting to Exhale" and "The Preacher's Wife." Both spawned soundtrack albums, and another hit studio album, "My Love Is Your Love," in 1998, brought her a Grammy for best female R&B vocal for the cut "It's Not Right But It's Okay."

But during these career and personal highs, Houston was using drugs. In an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2009, she said by the time "The Preacher's Wife" was released, "(doing drugs) was an everyday thing. ... I would do my work, but after I did my work, for a whole year or two, it was every day. ... I wasn't happy by that point in time. I was losing myself."

Houston would go to rehab twice before she would declare herself drug-free to Winfrey in 2009. But in the interim, there were missed concert dates, a stop at an airport due to drugs, and public meltdowns.

Houston staged what seemed to be a successful comeback with the 2009 album "I Look To You." The album debuted on the top of the charts, and would eventually go platinum.

Things soon fell apart. A concert to promote the album on "Good Morning America" went awry as Houston's voice sounded ragged and off-key. She blamed an interview with Winfrey for straining her voice. A world tour launched overseas, however, only confirmed suspicions that Houston had lost her treasured gift, as she failed to hit notes and left many fans unimpressed; some walked out. Canceled concert dates raised speculation that she may have been abusing drugs, but she denied those claims and said she was in great shape, blaming illness for cancellations.

Houston was to make her return to film in the remake of the classic movie "Sparkle." Filming on the movie, which stars former "American Idol" winner Jordin Sparks, recently wrapped.

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Phil Bruns, 80, actor (Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, Barney Miller)

(LA Times/AP) - Philip Bruns, 80, a character actor who played the father on the 1970s comedy series "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman," died Wednesday (Feb. at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles of natural causes, his family announced.

Bruns appeared on two seasons of "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman," playing Mary's father on the soap-opera parody. He also was a regular on Jackie Gleason's comedy-variety show in the mid-1960s.

Born in 1931 in Pipestone, Minn., Bruns attended Yale University's drama school, then began his career in New York on the stage and as a prolific actor in TV commercials.

He later appeared in more than 40 feature films, including "Flashdance," "The Stunt Man" and "My Favorite Year."

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Jill Kinmont Boothe, 75, American alpine skier

(AP) — Jill Kinmont Boothe, the skiing champion who became a painter and a teacher after she was paralyzed during a race and was the subject of a book and two Hollywood films, has died. She was 75.

Kinmont Boothe died Thursday (Feb. 9) at a hospital in Carson City, Nevada, Ruth Rhines of the local coroner's office told the Los Angeles Times.

At age 18, the Los Angeles native was the national women's slalom champion and on the cover of Sports Illustrated. She was trying to make the U.S. Olympic team in 1955 when she crashed and broke her neck. She was paralyzed below her shoulders and would spend the rest of her life in a wheelchair. Her skiing career over, she learned to write, type and paint using her neck and shoulder muscles with the aid of a hand brace.

After graduating from UCLA with a degree in German and English, she applied to the university's school of education and was rejected because of her disability, she later said. Determined to further her education, she moved north with her parents, earned a teaching certificate at the University of Washington and taught remedial reading off and on for the rest of her life.

Her life was the subject of a 1966 book, "A Long Way Up: The Story of Jill Kinmont," by E.G. Valens, and two films, "The Other Side of the Mountain" in 1975 and a 1978 sequel.

[unchoopfan]

John Severin, 90, comic book artist (Hulk), cofounder of Mad Magazine

(EW.com) - John Severin, a prolific illustrator and comic book artist who was instrumental in creating the initial look of both MAD and CRACKED magazines, passed away on Feb. 12, according to a statement released by his family. He was 90.

Along with his work with MAD and CRACKED — both of which Severin helped to found in the 1950s — the World War II veteran also worked on Marvel comics like The Incredible Hulk and Kull the Conqueror. He was also a highly regarded illustrator of several western and historical titles for EC Comics. He was still working as recently as 2003, on a limited-run series that re-imagined Marvel’s western hero the Rawhide Kid as gay. That same year, Severin also was inducted in the Hall of Fame of the Eisner Comic Industry Awards.

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Freddie Solomon, 59, NFL wide receiver (Dolphins, 49ers)

(AP) - Freddie Solomon, the former Miami Dolphins and 49ers wide receiver who became known as “Fabulous Freddie” and committed himself to community service, has died. He was 59.

Solomon lived in Florida and had battled cancer over the past year. The 49ers announced his death on Monday (Feb. 13).

The Dolphins selected Solomon in the second round of the 1975 draft out of the University of Tampa. He spent his first three NFL seasons with Miami and his final eight in San Francisco, finishing with 371 receptions for 5,846 yards and 48 touchdowns in 371 games.

His 43 TD catches with the Niners are tied for sixth most in team history.

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Dory Previn, 86, film composer (Valley of the Dolls, Last Tango in Paris)

(AP) - Dory Previn Shannon, who helped pen the score for the film “Valley of the Dolls” and the theme for “Last Tango in Paris,” has died. She was 86.

According to her husband, Joby Baker, Previn Shannon died Tuesday (Feb. 14) of natural causes at her farm in Southfield, Mass.

She earned Oscar nominations in the 1960s for writing lyrics alongside Andre Previn’s music for the films “Pepe” and “Two for the Seesaw.” She and Previn were married from 1959 to 1970.

She won an Emmy Award in 1984 for co-writing the theme song for the TV show “Two of a Kind.”

She sang at Carnegie Hall, wrote a libretto for Mozart’s opera “The Impresario” and recorded many albums, including “Reflections in a Mud Puddle” and “Mythical Kings and Iguanas.

[just saying]

Gary Carter, Hall of Fame catcher, dies of brain cancer at 57:

Even as the world watched the Grade 4 brain cancer wither his body, Gary Carter was still, and is always, Kid. It is a testament to Carter's passion for the game, and for life, that the nickname that at times was applied derisively by crusty veterans ended up on his Hall of Fame plaque.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball ... 53122190/1

[unchoopfan]

Dick Anthony Williams, 77, actor (Edward Scissorhands, The Jerk)

(LA Times/AP) - Dick Anthony Williams, a prolific actor who was nominated for Tony Awards for his work in the 1970s Broadway dramas "Black Picture Show" and "What the Wine-Sellers Buy" and gained acclaim for his portrayal of Malcolm X in theater and TV productions, died Thursday (Feb. 16) in Van Nuys, Calif. after a long illness, said family friend Samantha Wheeler.

Williams played Malcolm X in the 1978 NBC miniseries "King" starring Paul Winfield in the title role and again played the militant in several theatrical productions of Jeff Stetson's play "The Meeting" as well as a version of the drama that aired on public television. He was a regular on the early '90s ABC-TV series "The Homefront" and had guest roles on "The Jeffersons," "Lou Grant," "L.A. Law," "The X-Files," "Law & Order," "The Larry Sanders Show," "NYPD Blue" and many other TV series. His film appearances included "The Mack," "Five on the Black Hand Side," "The Jerk," "Gardens of Stone," "Edward Scissorhands" and "Mo' Better Blues."

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Ric Waite, 78, cinematographer (Footloose, Red Dawn)

(AP) - Ric Waite, a cinematographer who won an Emmy Award for the 1976TV miniseries "Captains and the Kings" and whose film credits included "The Long Riders," "The Border," "48 Hrs.," "Footloose" and "Red Dawn," died Saturday (Feb. 18) of a heart attack at his home in Los Angeles, said his agent, Crayton Smith. He was 78.

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Michael Davis, 68, bassist (MC5)

(LA Times/AP) - Michael Davis, 68, bassist of influential late 1960s rock band MC5, died Friday (Feb. 17) of liver failure at Enloe Medical Center in Chico, Calif., said his wife, Angela Davis.

The Motor City Five, later known as MC5, rose to prominence in 1964, making waves with incendiary anti-establishment lyrics and a blistering early punk sound, starting with their first album "Kick Out the Jams," released in 1969. Known for its live performances, the band played outside the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago before rioting ended the concert. The band dissolved in 1972.

Writing in Village Voice in 1991, Mike Rubin stated that MC5's influence "lives on in any heavy metal band from Motley Crue to Metallica, and their anti-establishment posture was at least as big an influence on punk rock."

Davis later played in a version of the group called DKT-MC5 with former MC5 members Wayne Kramer on guitar and Dennis Thompson on drums.

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Jon McIntire, 70, Grateful Dead road manager

Jon McIntire, who managed the Grateful Dead in the 1970s and '80s and is credited with sparking the band's community of Deadhead fans, died of cancer Thursday (Feb. 16) at his home in Stinson Beach, CA. He was 70.

In 1971, Mr. McIntire slipped a notice into copies of the "Grateful Dead" (Skull and Roses) album that became what historians have called "the liner note heard 'round the world." It said, "Dead Freaks Unite! Who are you? Where are you? How are you? Send us your name and address and we'll keep you informed." With that, he inspired the Deadhead phenomenon, believed to be the most intense bond between a band and its fan base in rock history.

In 1968, Mr. McIntire had been working as a systems analyst for Fireman's Fund Insurance Co. when he was drafted to help manage San Francisco's Carousel Ballroom as well as the business affairs of the fledgling Grateful Dead. He once said the Dead "sort of swept me in. We were all psychedelic revolutionaries, and we all became great friends during that time."

Mr. McIntire became sole manager in 1970, guiding the Grateful Dead's breakthrough era with the albums "Workingman's Dead" and "American Beauty," now classics.

After leaving the post in 1974, he managed Dead singer-guitarist Bob Weir's solo career. He was asked to return as Grateful Dead manager in 1984, and oversaw the Dead's greatest commercial success with the "In the Dark" album and its 1987 single, "Touch of Grey," the Dead's only top 10 hit. In 1989, he was succeeded as manager by Cameron Sears.

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Anthony Shadid, 43, two-time Pulitzer Prize winning journalist (NY Times)

(AP) - New York Times correspondent Anthony Shadid, a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner whose dispatches captured untold stories from Baghdad under "shock and awe" bombing to Libya wracked by civil war, died Thursday (Feb. 16) of an apparent asthma attack in Syria while reporting on the uprising against its president.

Shadid, 43, who survived a gunshot wound in the West Bank in 2002 and was captured for six days in Libya last year, was returning with smugglers from Syria to Turkey when he collapsed, the Times said. Times photographer Tyler Hicks told the newspaper that Shadid had suffered one bout of asthma the first night, followed by a more severe attack a week later on the way out of the country.

"I stood next to him and asked if he was OK, and then he collapsed," Hicks told the Times. Hicks said that Shadid was unconscious and that his breathing was "very faint" and "very shallow." He said that after a few minutes he could see that Shadid "was no longer breathing."

Hicks carried Shadid's body to Turkey after this latest attack, the newspaper said.

"Anthony was one of our generation's finest reporters," Times Publisher Arthur Sulzberger said in a statement. "He was also an exceptionally kind and generous human being. He brought to his readers an up-close look at the globe's many war-torn regions, often at great personal risk. We were fortunate to have Anthony as a colleague, and we mourn his death."

Shadid, an American of Lebanese descent, had a wife, Nada Bakri, and a son and a daughter. He had worked previously for the AP, The Washington Post and The Boston Globe. He won Pulitzer Prizes for international reporting in 2004 and 2010 when he was with the Post. In 2004, the Pulitzer Board praised "his extraordinary ability to capture, at personal peril, the voices and emotions of Iraqis as their country was invaded, their leader toppled and their way of life upended."

Shadid also was the author of three books, including "House of Stone: A Memoir of Home, Family, and a Lost Middle East," in which he wrote about restoring his family's home in Lebanon, forthcoming next month from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

A native of Oklahoma City, Shadid graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He joined the AP in Milwaukee in 1990, worked on the International Desk in New York and served as the AP's news editor in Los Angeles. He was transferred to Cairo in 1995, covering stories in several countries.

[unchoopfan]

Billy Strange, 81, guitarist/songwriter & arranger ("Limbo Rock")

Guitarist, songwriter and arranger Billy Strange died Wednesday (Feb. 22) in Nashville at the age of 81. Strange wrote the arrangement for Nancy Sinatra's 1966 hit, "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" as well as for "Somethin' Stupid," her 1967 duet with her father, Frank Sinatra. Both songs went No. 1 on the pop charts. His songwriting credits include Elvis Presley's "A Little Less Conversation" and "Memories" and Chubby Checker's "Limbo Rock." In his early career, he performed with a variety of bands, among those led by Spade Cooley, Count Basie and Roy Rogers. Strange was also a member of the group of Los Angeles session musicians known informally as the Wrecking Crew. He was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame in 2007.

[unchoopfan]

Jan Berenstain, 88, children's writer/illustrator (Berenstain Bears)

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Jan Berenstain, who with her husband Stan wrote and illustrated the Berenstain Bears books that have charmed preschoolers and their parents for 50 years, has died. She was 88. Berenstain, a longtime resident of Solebury in southeastern Pennsylvania, suffered a severe stroke on Thursday and died Friday without regaining consciousness, her son Mike Berenstain said.

The gentle stories of Mama Bear, Papa Bear, Brother Bear and Sister Bear, were inspired by the Berenstain family. The stories addressed children's common concerns and aimed to offer guidance with coping with dentist visits, peer pressure, a new sibling or summer camp.

The first Berenstain Bears book, "The Big Honey Hunt," was published in 1962. Over the years, more than 300 titles have been released in 23 languages - most recently in Arabic and Icelandic - and have become a rite of passage for generations of young readers.

Stan and Jan Berenstain, both Philadelphia natives, were 18 when they met on their first day at art school in 1941. They married five years later and had two sons.

Mike Berenstain is an illustrator who collaborated on the bear books with his mother in recent years. His elder brother, writer Leo Berenstain, is involved with the business end of the family franchise.

About 260 million copies of Berenstain Bears books have been held in the hands of children and their parents since the earliest books were published with the help of Theodor Geisel, a children's books editor at Random House better known as Dr. Seuss.

Jan Berenstain is survived by her sons and four grandchildren.

[jag]

Monkees singer Davy Jones dies at 66.

Singer Davy Jones of The Monkees has died of a heart attack at 66, the medical examiner's office in Martin County, Fla. has confirmed to NBC News.

The news was originally reported by TMZ.

Jones was most famous for his role in the pop group The Monkees, which was put together in 1965 for the TV show of the same name. Their hits included "Daydream Believer," "Last Train to Clarksville," "I'm a Believer," and "Pleasant Valley Sunday." They also charted with the theme song from the show.

He also made a famous appearance on "The Brady Bunch."

In 2008, Yahoo Music named him the top teen idol of all time.

[EZ103.3FM]

Conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart dies at 43

http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/01/politics/ ... index.html

CNN) -- Andrew Breitbart, the conservative blogger whose posting of a sexually explicit photo of former U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner led to the congressman's downfall, has died, his attorney confirmed Thursday.

He was 43.

Joel Pollak, editor-in-chief and in-house counsel for Breitbart's website, Breitbart.com, posted a statement confirming his death.

"Andrew passed away unexpectedly from natural causes shortly after midnight this morning in Los Angeles," the statement read. "We have lost a husband, a father, a son, a brother, a dear friend, a patriot and a happy warrior."

Breitbart was the first to post Weiner's infamous Twitter photos last year, in which the married congressman appeared barechested and in his underpants in pictures sent to a woman online. Weiner eventually stepped down amid the scandal.

Breitbart's regular appearances on FOX News, his websites and his speeches to conservative groups made him a star on the right and a villain to the left.

Republican presidential candidates quickly responded to news of Breitbart's death. Former Sen. Rick Santorum called him a "powerful force" who was "constantly out there driving and pushing."

"What a huge loss, in my opinion, to our country and certainly to the conservative movement," Santorum said.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich tweeted: "Andrew Breitbart was the most innovative pioneer in conservative activist social media in America. He had great courage and creativity."

And former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney called Breitbart a "brilliant entrepreneur, fearless conservative, loving husband and father."

Breitbart was a driving force in the conservative tea party movement. In a statement on his death, the Tea Party Nation said Breittbart was an "amazing patriot" who"relished fighting those who would destroy this great country."

Texas Gov. Rick Perry, a former GOP presidential contender, said Breitbart "fought for what he believed in, exposing government corruption and media bias. His spirited voice will be missed, but not forgotten."

Breitbart came under heavy criticism in 2010 for posting an edited and incomplete video of a speech by Agriculture Department employee Shirley Sherrod, who is black, appearing to say she discriminated against a white farmer looking for assistance.

Sherrod was forced to resign over the video, which appeared on another of Breitbart's websites, BigJournalism.com.

A full version of the speech showed that Sherrod had assisted the farmer. The department later offered her job back when it was clear she had been misrepresented.

Sherrod issued a brief statement Thursday saying only she was surprised by the news and that her prayers go out to Breitbart's family.

"The news of Mr. Breitbart's death came as a surprise to me when I was informed of it this morning. My prayers go out to Mr. Breitbart's family as they cope during this very difficult time."

Breitbart also posted video of a sting operation against the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN, which showed conservative activists posing as a pimp and a prostitute seeking advice on how to set up a brothel.

The video prompted a groundswell of action against the organization, including a limited investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice and a slashing of funds from the federal government and several states. ACORN went bankrupt and closed its doors.

Breitbart got his start helping to run the original right-wing online media behemoth the Drudge Report and helped launch The Huffington Post before founding his own websites.

Drudge Report founder Matt Drudge on Thursday said Breitbart was a "constant source of energy, passion and commitment" in the site's early days and that the two "shared a love of headlines, a love of the news, an excitement about what's happening."

The statement on Breitbart'.com Thursday included a portion of the new conclusion he wrote to his book, "Righteous Indignation":

"I love my job. I love fighting for what I believe in. I love having fun while doing it. I love reporting stories that the Complex refuses to report. I love fighting back, I love finding allies, and -- famously -- I enjoy making enemies.

"Three years ago, I was mostly a behind-the-scenes guy who linked to stuff on a very popular website. I always wondered what it would be like to enter the public realm to fight for what I believe in. I've lost friends, perhaps dozens. But I've gained hundreds, thousands -- who knows? -- of allies. At the end of the day, I can look at myself in the mirror, and I sleep very well at night."

[unchoopfan]

Ronnie Montrose, 64, guitarist (Montrose)

(AllMusic.com/online sources) - Legendary American rock guitarist Ronnie Montrose, who got his big break as guitarist on Van Morrison's Tupelo Honey sessions before forming Montrose and Gamma, died Saturday (March 3) after a five-year battle with prostate cancer. He was 64.

Over the years, Montrose performed with a variety of musicians, including Sammy Hagar, Herbie Hancock, Van Morrison, The Beau Brummels, Boz Scaggs, Beaver & Krause, Gary Wright, Tony Williams, The Neville Brothers, Dan Hartman, Edgar Winter and Johnny Winter.

Montrose started his career in 1969, forming the band Sawbuck with Bill Church. Montrose had been in the process of recording what would have been his first album with Sawbuck when producer David Rubinson arranged an audition with Van Morrison. Montrose landed session work on Morrison's 1971 album "Tupelo Honey," playing on tracks for that album as well as "Listen to the Lion", which was recorded during the Tupelo Honey sessions but released on Morrison's next album, "Saint Dominic's Preview" (1972).

After cutting his teeth as a session musician with the likes of Morrison and the Edgar Winter Group, Ronnie decided to form his own, self-named band - Montrose - in 1973. Enlisting the help of Church (bass), fellow session pro Denny Carmassi (drums), and a talented up-and-coming Californian singer named Sammy Hagar, Montrose soon released their eponymous first album in November of that year. Although it never broke the Billboard Top 100, Montrose eventually went platinum and was arguably the first full-fledged heavy metal album by an American band (early proto-metal efforts by Blue Cheer and Steppenwolf notwithstanding).

With classics like "Space Station No. 5" and "Bad Motor Scooter" leading the charge to the nation's airwaves, it is still considered one of the finest, most influential releases of the decade, to boot. But trouble was already looming, as Church quit the group soon after and was replaced by bassist/keyboard player Alan Fitzgerald for the ensuing tour. Released less than a year after their debut, the erratic Paper Money proved to be a surprisingly diverse but unfocused follow-up that failed to match its predecessor's consistency or popularity. Making things worse, escalating tensions between Ronnie Montrose and Hagar soon led to the latter's departure following the Paper Money tour.

One of the first American-bred hard rock groups to challenge British supremacy in the early '70s, Montrose is remembered as, if not the most successful, then certainly one of the most influential bands of the era. In fact, many of the personalities responsible for the group's legendary, self-titled debut (producer Ted Templeman, engineer Donn Landee, vocalist Sammy Hagar) would later become instrumental players in the formative and latter-day career of the mighty Van Halen. And to his credit, though he ultimately lacked the focus and leadership skills to consistently guide his band's career, Ronnie Montrose was a true original. His superlative playing aside, the avid big-game hunter lived the guitar-playing gunslinger lifestyle long before Ted Nugent made the combination famous.

As for committed outdoorsman Ronnie Montrose, the guitarist took some time off to enjoy his other hobbies before releasing three albums with new band Gamma in the early '80s. He recorded under the Montrose name once again for 1987's "Mean," a one-off affair featuring singer Johnny Edwards (later, briefly of Foreigner), bassist Glenn Letsch, and drummer James Kottak (soon to form Kingdom Come, and eventually a member of the Scorpions).

He continued to record through the 1980s and 1990s, and Gamma put out a fourth album in 2005.

In early 2002, Ronnie formed a new Montrose lineup with bassist Chuck Wright (Quiet Riot), drummer Pat Torpey (Mr. Big), and singer Keith St. John (Burning Rain). They played West Coast dates throughout the year in support of their Rhino compilation The Very Best of Montrose.

Ronnie appeared on Sammy Hagar's "Marching To Mars" along with original Montrose members Bill Church and Denny Carmassi on the song "Leaving The Warmth Of The Womb." The original Montrose lineup also reformed to play as a special guest at several Sammy Hagar concerts in summer 2004 and 2005. Montrose also performed regularly in recent years with a Montrose lineup featuring Keith St. John on lead vocals and a rotating cast of veteran hard rock players on bass and drums.

----------------------------------------------------

Stan Sterns, 76, photojournalist (UPI)

(LA Times) - Stan Stearns, 76, who took the iconic photograph of John F. KennedyJr. saluting his father's coffin during the slain president's 1963 funeral, died Friday (March 2) of cancer at a hospice in Harwood, Md., said his son Jay.

As a photographer for United Press International, Stearns was assigned to cover John F. Kennedy's funeral on Nov. 25, 1963. He was standing outside a Washington cathedral with about 70 photographers when he saw Jacqueline Kennedy lean down to whisper to her son, who turned 3 that day. The boy then stepped forward as the flag-draped coffin rolled by.

"His hand went up, it went down; one exposure, that's all I got," Stearns told the Baltimore Sun in 1999. "Seconds, that's all it was. And I knew I had the picture of the funeral."

Other still photographers missed the picture because they had focused on Jacqueline Kennedy or the president's coffin, Stearns later said.

Another photographer, Joe O'Donnell, had taken credit for the photograph, but when his obituaries in 2007 mistakenly said he took the image, photojournalists offered evidence that Stearns had snapped the famous photograph.

Stanley Frank Stearns was born May 11, 1935, in Annapolis, Md., and discovered photography after receiving a Brownie camera for his bar mitzvah. He dropped out of high school at 16 to work as a photographer at a small newspaper.

He was a photographer in the Air Force and then for UPI before leaving in 1970 to open a private photography studio in his hometown.

"I got $25 for winning picture of the month" at UPI, Stearns said in the Sun. "That and my regular paycheck. It's frustrating when I think of how much money that picture has made in the last 30 years. Probably $3 [million] to $5 million."

[EZ103.3FM]

Robert B. Sherman, co-composer of 'It's a Small World', 'Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious', other Disney movie songs

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obi ... story.html

By Emily Langer, Published: March 7
Robert B. Sherman, half of the prolific Disney songwriting duo that composed the music for “Mary Poppins” and authored “It’s a Small World (After All),” which has been described as the most-played, most-translated and most-hair-pullingly-catchy tune on Earth, died March 5 in London. He was 86.

His death, of undisclosed causes, was confirmed by a representative from Walt Disney Co.

Despite a distant and at times hostile personal relationship, Mr. Sherman and his younger brother, Richard, wrote 150 songs that were featured in 27 Disney movies.

They shared two Academy Awards for their work on “Mary Poppins,” the story of a magical babysitter who enlivens a starchy British family — and forever changed the English lexicon by inventing the word “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” for that 1964 film.

During their five-decade career, the Sherman brothers drew much of their inspiration from their father, Al Sherman, a Tin Pan Alley songsmith who had an innate sense of the qualities that make a tune stick in listeners’ memories and resonate in their hearts.

Robert and Richard became two of Disney’s chief purveyors of good cheer, having been handpicked by the studio’s namesake for several of the company’s biggest movies of the 1960s.

Their credits from Disney included the bouncy “Let’s Get Together” from “The Parent Trap” (1961); the jazzy “I Wanna Be Like You,” sung by the primate “king of the swingers” in “The Jungle Book” (1967); and the title song, performed by Maurice Chevalier, in “The Aristocats” (1970).

For other studios, the Sherman brothers wrote the music for films including “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,” the zany 1968 movie adapted from Ian Fleming’s children’s story, and “Charlotte’s Web,” the 1973 animated film based on E.B. White’s book.

Their most enduring success — the film version of P.L. Travers’s novel “Mary Poppins” — began somewhat inauspiciously. Disney called the Shermans into his office and asked a question that, in an era before many American families employed babysitters, was not unreasonable: “Do you boys know what a nanny is?”

“Yeah,” Richard replied, according to an account in the New Yorker. “It’s a goat.”

In the original movie, the nanny was played by Julie Andrews; Dick Van Dyke was her chimney-sweep sidekick who sang the Cockney-infused “Chim Chim Cher-ee,” for which the Sherman brothers won the Oscar for best song. They also won the award for best overall film score.

Nearly all the numbers on the soundtrack became hits. The title of “A Spoonful of Sugar,” Mary’s song about the virtues of a good attitude and work ethic, was inspired by Mr. Sherman’s young son, who remarked that a lump of sugar made the polio vaccination more palatable.

“Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” was the result of practiced ingenuity. As boys, the Sherman brothers played a word-invention game at summer camp.

“We wanted something super colossal, and so then, well, supercalifragilistic,” Richard Sherman once told the Sacramento Bee. “Then we wanted an obnoxious word, and atrocious is obnoxious. And, also, you want to sound smart, so you’re precocious, and precocious rhymes with atrocious and that’s, of course, a good rhyme. Then we had three-fourths of the song.”

Robert Bernard Sherman was born Dec. 19, 1925, in New York and grew up in Beverly Hills. He served in the Army in Europe during World War II and was among the first American servicemen to enter the Dachau concentration camp. He also had been shot in his kneecap, a wound that left him unable to walk without a cane.

His traumatic experiences exacerbated an already somber disposition. He often fought with his brother, who was regarded as the sunnier of the two. In later years, they were known to throw typewriters at each other and sit noticeably far apart during premieres of their own films.

Robert Sherman graduated in 1949 from Bard College in upstate New York. He aspired to write novels, whereas his brother wanted to compose symphonies. Their father attempted to unite them by daring them to write a pop song together. The result was “Gold Can Buy Anything (But Love),” recorded by the singing cowboy Gene Autry in 1951.

Their other successes of the 1950s included “Tall Paul”(which was written with Bob Roberts and performed by Annette Funicello) and “You’re Sixteen.” (recorded in 1974 by Ringo Starr).

Perhaps their most famous song — the tune “It’s a Small World” — was written for an attraction at the 1964 World’s Fair. It was a “plea for international peace and friendship,” film music historian Jon Burlingame said in an interview.

Today the song is endlessly piped in over speakers at Disney amusement parks. Mr. Sherman admitted that he and his brother had “driven teenagers crazy in every language.”

In 2008, President George W. Bush honored the brothers with the National Medal of Arts for music that has “helped bring joy to millions.” By that time, Robert Sherman had settled in London.

His wife of 48 years, the former Joyce Sasner, died in 2001. Besides his four children, survivors include his brother, Richard, whose doorbell in Beverly Hills sings “It’s a Small World.”

[unchoopfan]

Jimmy Ellis, 74, R&B/Disco singer (The Trammps)

(AP/AllMusic.com) — James T. “Jimmy” Ellis, who belted out the refrain “Burn, baby burn!” in a 1970s-era disco hit that’s still replayed in modern sports arenas, has died. He was 74.

David Turner of Bass-Cauthen Funeral Home in Rock Hill, S.C., said the frontman for The Trammps died Thursday (March 8 ) at a nursing home in the city. A cause of death was not immediately known.

A founding member of disco's most soulful vocal group, Ellis joined original lead vocalist Gene Faith, Earl Young, guitarist Dennis Harris, keyboardist Ron Kersey, organist John Hart, bassist Stanley Wade, and drummer Michael Thomas in the original incarnation of the group that began in the '60s as the Volcanos, and later was known as the Moods. By the time they'd gone through various identities and emerged as the Trammps in the mid-'70s, the lineup featured lead vocalist Ellis, Norman Harris, and Stanley Wade, Robert Upchurch and Young.

A snappy revival of Judy Garland's '40s tune "Zing Went the Strings of My Heart" was their first chart single, reaching number 17 on the R&B list in 1972. Despite their well-deserved reputation and boisterous, jubilant harmonies and sound, the Trammps were never a huge commercial success even during disco's heyday. Indeed, they had only three R&B Top Ten hits from 1972 through 1978, and such wonderful records as "Soul Bones," "Ninety-Nine and a Half," and "I Feel Like I've Been Livin' (On the Dark Side of the Moon)" stiffed on the charts though they were beloved by club audiences and R&B fans alike.

Their only huge hit was "Disco Inferno" — the song with the popular refrain. Originally released in 1976, the song was featured in the iconic movie “Saturday Night Fever,” reaching number nine on the Billboard R&B chart in 1977. Yet it missed the Billboard Pop Top Ten, peaking at number 11 in May, 1978. The “Saturday Night Fever” soundtrack won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1978.

But the Trammps' prowess can't be measured by chart popularity; Ellis' booming, joyous vocals brilliantly championed the celebratory fervor and atmosphere that made disco both loved and hated among music fans.

[Greg Goodfellow]

Robert B. Sherman, co-composer of 'It's a Small World', 'Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious', other Disney movie songs

One of my students, a 7th grader, brought up the word 'Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious' this morning, as we're focusing on poetry and, ala' Dr. Seuss, it's perfectly okay to make up words to fit a rhyme scheme if no actual words exist.

[unchoopfan]

Michael Hossack, 65, drummer (Doobie Brothers)

SONOMA, California (AP) — Longtime Doobie Brothers drummer Michael Hossack has died at age 65.

The band's manager, Bruce Cohn, said in a statement that Hossack died of cancer Monday (March 12) in his home in Wyoming.

Hossack played with the group from 1971 to 1973 and rejoined in 1987. His drumming can be heard on early hits including "Listen To The Music," ''China Grove" and "Blackwater." He stopped performing with the band two years ago while struggling with cancer.

Doobie Brothers co-founder Tom Johnston said, "Mike has always been a part of my musical life and the life of the Doobie Brothers ... He was an incredible musician."

Hossack is survived by a son and daughter.

[cgarison]

Samuel Glazer, co-founder of Mr. Coffee, dies at 89

http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2 ... id=twitter
___________________________________________________________

Mr. Coffee, dies at 89
Richard Drew / AP

Samuel Glazer, a co-founder of Mr. Coffee, one of the first automatic drip coffee makers, has died. He was 89.

Glazer and his business partner Vincent Marotta, Sr. first introduced their drip coffee machines in 1972. They dreamed up the idea of adapting an industrial coffeemaker for home use and hired engineers to invent it, The New York Times reports.

Within a few years the traditional way of making coffee -- with a percolator or using instant coffee -- had virtually disappeared and automatic drip coffee makers had taken over.

Glazer and Marotta sold the company to a securities firm in an $82 million leveraged buyout in 1987, The Times said. It is now a brand of the Sunbeam Corporation.

Former New York Yankees player Joe DiMaggio was a spokesperson for the “Mr. Coffee” brand for many years, appearing in a number of commercials.
.

[David Paleg]

Bluegrass legend Earl Scruggs dies at 88 in Tenn.
Mar 28, 10:27 PM (ET)
By CHRIS TALBOTT


NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - It is impossible to overstate the importance of Earl Scruggs to American music. A pioneering banjo player who helped create modern country music, his sound is instantly recognizable and as intrinsically wrapped in the tapestry of the genre as Johnny Cash's baritone or Hank Williams' heartbreak.

Scruggs passed away Wednesday morning at 88 of natural causes. The legacy he helped build with bandleader Bill Monroe, guitarist Lester Flatt and the rest of the Blue Grass Boys was evident all around Nashville, where he died in an area hospital. His string-bending, mind-blowing way of picking helped transform a regional sound into a national passion.

Full story at AP/Iwon News.

[EZ103.3FM]

Boxing historian Bert Randolph Sugar dies at 75

By Todd Plitt, USA TODAYBert Randolph Sugar, the legendary boxing writer and historian, and one of the sport's most colorful and iconic characters, died Sunday afternoon in Mount Kisco, N.Y., after a long battle with lung cancer.

Sugar was 75 when he succumbed to cardiac arrest. He was surrounded by family at Northern Westchester Medical Center.

With his fedora and ever-present cigar, Sugar was an instantly recognizable figure who loved to talk, and he could talk and write about boxing like few others. There weren't many better ambassadors of the sport than Sugar.

Sugar wrote more than 80 books, and was present at many of the greatest fights in boxing history, including the unparalleled Ali-Frazier heavyweight trilogy. He wrote about those fights in a special Muhammad Ali edition for USA TODAY two years ago. Here's how Sugar started his story:

"Some day, when ring historians gather 'round boxing's smoldering campfire to tell stories of great fights, going all the way back to the time when spectators wore grapes in their hair and the lions ate the losers, one fight from that long laundry list will be remembered as having been one of the greatest two-sided fights in boxing history: Ali-Frazier III."

He was best known as the editor and publisher of Boxing Illustrated and Ring magazine. Sugar was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame as an observer in 2005.

"Bert Sugar was a truly colorful character in the sport of boxing," said Hall of Fame executive director Edward Brophy. "His quick wit and amazing knowledge about boxing made him a fan favorite as a writer and as a commentator. As the boxing community mourns his passing, the Hall remembers him and his contributions to the sport."

Sugar was also well-versed in other sports, and one of his books, Bert Sugar's Baseball Hall of Fame: A Living History of America's Greatest Game, has been described as a "treasure chest" of memories.

Sugar graduated from the University of Maryland and earned a JD and MBA from the University of Michigan in 1961. After passing the bar exam, he worked in the advertising business in New York City for a decade, and was one of the "Mad Men" of the '60s.

According to the boxing hall of fame, Sugar created the famous "N-E-S-T-L-E-S, Nestles makes the very best" ad campaign.

Sugar was not very fond of today's style of journalism, and in a 2010 interview with BigThink.com, he said:

"Sports writing is almost an extinct species, or soon to be. Point being, they're writing for blogs and they don't have a discipline. Once they state a subject, they can go on. There's no space restraint. And they're writing quickly, so there's no time for thought and cerebral thinking on an article, they're just banging away."

One of Sugar's favorite lines was, whenever he was asked to give his prediction of a fight, often picking the underdog, he would then add with a wry smile, "but then again, I picked the Japanese in World War II."

He said he always wanted to use Randolph as part of his name in honor of his mother.

Sugar's daughter, Jennifer Frawley, told the Associated Press that arrangements for a memorial service are still pending and anyone wishing to honor her father should make a donation to the boxing hall of fame.