Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Xue Jinbo

Rights activist -- via the New York Times. Died in police custody.

Anthony Amato

Founder and driving force behind the Amato Opera -- via the New York Times.

Ralph MacDonald

Grammy-winning songwriter, arranger, producer and percussionist -- via the New York Daily News. He wrote, among other tunes, "Where is the Love" and "Just the Two of Us."

Brian Alexander Leitch

Jolly steelyard owner -- via news.ninemsn.com.au. One of his lifelong goals was to pen his own humorous obituary. He succeeded!

Erica Wilson

A master of needlework who revived the craft in America -- via the Washington Post.

Bert Schneider

Film and television producer -- via the L.A. Times. He made a pile from "The Monkees," but used that money to finance films such as "Easy Rider," "The Last Picture Show," "Five Easy Pieces" and "Days of Heaven." Peter Biskind reports in Vanity Fair.

Monday, December 19, 2011

Jeff Stratton


First of all -- this is a eulogy, not an obituary. An obituarist gathers details about someone’s life; a eulogist gets to praise the departed. I am faced with the loss of a kindred spirit. As such, I am not willing to rack up and organize the mundane details. I just want to tell you how much I loved Jeff Stratton.

I like to think that Jeff would be the first to say that this is bullshit. To die, suddenly and unexpectedly, at the age of 47, leaving behind a young child and a beloved partner, is ridiculous. To leave the world abruptly in the middle of so many worthwhile projects is shocking. In fact, it’s downright rude. I imagine that as he gets to wherever he is going, he will want to talk to whoever is in charge. I hope they have some answers for him.

When I walked into the offices of a small independent newspaper in Boulder, Colorado in 1994, ready to leave the comedy world and step into a life in journalism, Jeff was occupying the cubicle in the upstairs back corner. His desk was littered with CDs, piles of papers and a host of strange little tchotchkes that are routinely sent by the music industry to music editors in an effort to flog their product. He welcomed me immediately, without hesitation.

Our friendship was cemented by a mutual love of music, mockery, moonshine and something else that starts with m. Night after night, we would venture around the back of the building to a magical place we liked to call Hooter Alley, where laughter was shared with the rest of our similarly-minded bunch (Mr. Pants, Cat Spacey, a shout-out to you!).

His cheerful, chirping voice; his sparkling eyes; and the mischievous look on his face as if he was always about to say the funniest thing imaginable, which he was, led me to dub him Skippy. In deference to my seniority, he dubbed me Uncle B.

As with most small, independent enterprises, the money was tight, the deadlines were harrowing, and the management was psychotic. Somehow, Skippy got me through each week. Our paychecks had a nasty habit of being utterly worthless. One Friday, we all piled en masse into my car, drove to the institution they were written on, and cashed them, singing together (to the tune of “My Boyfriend’s Back”), “The landlord said he’s gonna throw out my belongings/Hey, Lon, Hey, Lon/My paycheck bounced!/I am living on uncooked blocks of Ramen/Hey, Lon, Hey, Lon/My paycheck bounced!”

Our taste in music was pretty divergent. I was into jazz and opera; he wouldn’t or couldn’t stop playing Nick Drake. However, we came together in our appreciation for Nick Cave, Ween and Lee Perry. And he did turn me on to Jesus Lizard. His welcoming mind was open to all kinds of music . . . except bluegrass, a particular love of mine that he would mock incessantly by miming a mandolin and calling out, “Plinkety, plinkety, plink!”

Even after we both escaped that publication, we hung out. Lots of good times were spent at his creaky little rental house at 7th and Lipan, and later at his nice vintage starter home on Denver’s west side. He moved to Florida, and I stopped by down there as well. In each and every house of his, the CDs were shelved from floor to ceiling. In each, he was a jovial, talkative, funny, inclusive host.

And he could write. Boy, could he write. His writing was a model of clarity and forthrightness. He knew what he thought, and he could state it plainly and eloquently, and he could write it quickly. An editor’s dream. After years of writing about music, he moved into “straight” journalism, and won awards for his work there as well. He was a consummate journalist.

Finally, he moved beyond my reach to Roatan, off the coast of Honduras. Although I never got down there, we traded jokes and comments electronically. Not nearly as satisfying. He claimed to have turned his back on journalism. He taught English. He met Deirdra. He started podcasting as Duke Dubuque, unable to resist sharing his musical enthusiasms and knowledge, to everyone’s benefit. He and Deirdra had Cooper, a wonderful little kid who doesn’t deserve not to have his dad around.

In the end, Skippy couldn’t resist the urge to communicate, to inform, to share. Jeff had just started his own independent publication, the first his island home had ever seen. I jokingly referred to him as the Charles Foster Kane of Treasure Island, and imagined him chastising his workers as he swung through the office on a liana, cutlass clenched between his little teeth. Up to the end, he was making good things happen.

I am confused as to how he met his end. One report says complications from a stomach ulcer. Another says a heart attack. It doesn’t matter all that much, really. The important thing is that he has left the building.

Selfishly, I want him back. In my life, the people who really get me, who share my warped sense of humor, my wildly inappropriate way of looking at things, who I can feel absolutely and unequivocally able to be myself with, are extremely rare. Almost extinct. Jeff was one of those people. I could not see him for a year, then step into a room with him and pick up precisely where we’d left off.

The fact that so many other people have said the same thing in recent days shows you what kind of person he was. Everyone felt special, felt appreciated, felt heard in his presence. It’s a kind of inclusiveness of spirit, an essential friendliness, which I can only aspire to emulate imperfectly at best. He taught me a lot about how to live life and treat people.

I don’t know, don’t care and don’t want to speculate about why people die when they do or what comes after. That is not in my pay grade. All that can matter to me is what happens here in the scope of this time and space, this reality. Jeff Stratton got to tell his truths, love his loves, and share himself with a vast array of humanity. That’s good enough for me. Good job, Skippy.

UPDATE: 12/23/11 -- Here is a wonderful video tribute from Jeff's friend, Ej Q'aniluno -- 

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Vaclav Havel

Playwright,essayist, poet and dissident who became the first president of the Czech Republic -- via the BBC. A remarkable life -- his writing is stupendous. He walked the talked, going to jail many times for his beliefs and suffering from constant questioning and surveillance. Then, somehow, he negotiated the political waters with some success. Watch the excellent 2008 documentary "Citizen Havel" to see him at work. Ironically, I am right in the middle of his wonderful book "The Art of the Impossible: Politics and Morality in Practice." A fine soul!

Interview with President Václav Havel, playwright from Pew Center for Arts & Heritage on Vimeo.

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Martha Gifford Parker Melahn

Botanist, construction worker, decorator, executive secretary, reporter, businessperson and writer -- via the Miami Herald.

Bruno Bianchi

Animator -- via animationmagazine.net.

Juan Carlos Adrianza

Comic and actor -- via beautymania.biz.

David Montgomery

Labor historian -- via the New York Times.

Dugald Stermer

Illustrator and graphic and art designer -- via the New York Times.

Cesaria Evora

One of the greatest singers of the past half-century -- via dn.pt. The chanteuse from Cabo Verde was "discovered" when she was 47 -- proof that you should follow the commands of your heart and have faith that you will be heard! Specializing in momas, fados, modhinas and coladeras, her haunting, clear, penetrating voice had an effortless and intimate power that could rivet your attention instantly.



Friday, December 16, 2011

Bob Brookmeyer

Trombonist, pianist, composer and arranger -- via NPR.


Slim Dunkin aka Mario Hamilton

Rapper -- via wsbtv.com. UPDATE: Thanks to some diligent readers, I pulled down my incorrect photo and have placed a proper one where it belongs.

Elisabeth Young-Bruehl

Psychotherapist, academic, biographer and writer -- via the New York Times.

Elisabeth Young-Bruehl demonstrates 'One Hundred Years of Psychoanalysis a Timeline: 1900-2000 from Caversham Productions on Vimeo.

Joe Lonnett

Major-league catcher and coach -- via the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

John Jeremiah


Keyboardist -- via the Chicago Sun-Times.

Christopher Hitchens

Journalist and writer -- via the New York Times. A remarkable and witty contrarian, he was an atheist and a Jew; a left-winger who supported the Iraq War; a socialist who loved to drink and smoke and hobnob with the rich and powerful. He was cranky and funny, my favorite combo!

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Joe Simon

Comic book writer, artist, editor and publisher -- via Comics Beat. With Jack Kirby, the creator of Captain America.

Kevin Sharpe

Historian -- via the Guardian. "Kevin's writing was characterised by his lucid, reader-friendly prose; he always believed that proper scholarship need not be obscure and that historians should always make their arguments accessible without compromising their standards." Yes! Exactly.

John Dixon

Photographer -- via the Telegraph.

"English" Alan Styles

Famed roadie for Pink Floyd and centerpiece of the group's 13-minute "Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast" -- via the Mercury News.

Dick Sims

Keyboardist best known for his work with Bob Seger and Eric Clapton -- via Rolling Stone.

Akihiro Takahashi

Director of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum -- via the Telegraph. He survived the bombing of Hiroshima, and built on his personal experience of the horrors of atomic warfare to work for disarmament.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Alberto de Mendoza

Actor - via Fox News.

Vida Jerrman

Actress -- via westernboothill.blogspot.com.

Susan Gordon

Actress -- via the Hollywood Reporter.

Jo Ann Sayers aka Jo Ann S. Agle aka Miriam Lucille Lilygren

Actress on stage and in films -- via Princeton Town Topics.

Edgar "Chico" Edwards

Vocalist with the Spinners from 1956 to 1958 and 1962 to 1967 -- via the Motown Alumni Association.

George Ronald Mosley

Vocalist, guitarist and arranger with Ruby and the Romantics -- via ohio.com.

Dan "Bee" Spears

Bassist best known for his long-time work with Willie Nelson -- via Billboard.

George Whitman

Proprietor of the Shakespeare & Co. bookstore in Paris -- via the New York Daily News.Of course, Adrienne Monnier and Sylvia Beach ran the original Shakespeare and Co. in Paris, but Beach willed her stock and the store name in 1962, 11 years after George had opened his own English-language book shop at 37 rue de la Bucherie. A delightful eccentric and cultural sparkplug!

Russell Hoban

Writer -- via the Guardian.Although he is referred to in the obit as a "cult writer," he is one of my favorite writers of all time and, I think, one of the best writers of the last century. First of all, he wrote the classic "Frances" series of children's books, as well as the brilliant "The Mouse and His Child." He could write in a wide variety of genres, and composed the novel "Turtle Diary" and most importantly "Riddley Walker," an insanely ambitious, complex and disturbing novel of the future with its own weird meta-English.

Samuel Bosch

Tzaddik (righteous one) -- via citizensvoice.com. He served bravely in WW II; he served as a Jewish chaplain and emissary, he worked as an activist. His trademark was a pre-printed card containing a creed of tolerance that he gave to all. It said:

"In my opinion, we will never have peace in this world until all religions make peace with each other.

"I consider a true religion any that will accept and treat the stranger as one of his own and will work to making all people of the universe ONE HUMAN FAMILY.

"I believe that all who are of this universe, no matter the color of our skin, the difference in our features, the way we address and pray to our Creator, are all ONE HUMAN FAMILY, and that Creator loves every one of us."

Read more: http://citizensvoice.com/news/samuel-bosch-who-shared-knowledge-of-judaism-has-died-1.1243461#ixzz1gWJvcWzB

Lisa-Marie Calderone-Stewart

Activist, teacher and minister -- via the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

Harold Hopkins

Actor -- via ABC News.

Bob Burnett

Musician; member of the prominent folk group the Highwaymen -- via the L.A. Times.

Mario Miranda aka Mario JoĂŁo Carlos do Rosario de Brit de Miranda

Cartoonist -- via the Economic Times.