Monday, April 15, 2013

Rosine Delamare aka Denise Rosemonde Delamare

Costume designer -- via westernboothill.blogspot.com.

Rudolph Battek

Sociologist, politician, and dissident -- via Prague Daily Monitor.

Blaster Al Ackerman aka William Hogg Greathouse

Mail artist and writer -- via Baltimore City Paper.



Yadier Pedroso Gonzalez

Pitcher -- via NBC Sports.

Kong Ngai

Actor -- via asiaone.com.


Grady Hatton

Former MLB third baseman and manager -- via mlb.com.


Friday, April 12, 2013

Jesus “Jess” Franco aka Jesus Franco Manera aka David Khune aka Frank Hollman aka Clifford Brown ad infinitum

Film director, screenwriter, cinematographer, and actor -- via the Huffington Post. For complete look at his career, see my post in Bijou Street -- "Jesus Franco: The Sorrows of Perversion."

Maria Tallchief aka Elizabeth Marie Tall Chief

Prima ballerina -- via the Washington Post. As muse and wife of choreographer George Balanchine, she danced in pivotal works such as his "Firebird," "Orpheus," and "Symphony in C." Incidentally, the first Native American prima ballerina, and the first American to dance at the Bolshoi.







Jonathan Winters

Comedian, actor, artist, writer; the supreme improvisational genius of his time -- via TMZ. His non-stop ability to move in and out of a multitude of characters, create a narrative off the top of his head, and inhabit all so convincingly that you felt like you were being taken on a magic carpet ride every time you saw or heard him was amazing! One of the top comics of all time.



First and foremost, he was ALWAYS funny -- he couldn't veer away from that. Unlike other spastic, shape-shifting funnymen of the period -- Danny Kaye, Zero Mostel, Sid Caesar, Peter Sellers, Jerry Lewis, Red Skelton -- Winters was always ready and needed no script.



Despite his battle with manic depression, his wartime trauma, and his lapses into and out of popularity, his outlook, though sometimes edgy and rueful, was essentially positive, and was reflected in his thoughtful words on and off stage. He was alive in a way that none of us could be.



He was part of the zeitgeist that also brought together the improvisational Compass Players in Chicago, a year after he moved to New York to make the big time. Both suddenly freed comic performance up in revolutionary ways. His standup was completely unique -- he didn't just stand there and tell jokes. He became the stories he told. His rambling fantasies inspired a much looser delivery, influencing the work of acts as varied as Lenny Bruce, Robert Klein, Lily Tomlin, and Robin Williams.

His movie work, not as hailed as the rest, contains three characterizations back in back-to-back films that are still hilarious. His Lennie Pike in "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World":



in "The Loved One" as the evil Henry, and Wilbur, Glenworthy:



and Norman in "The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming":



All gems.

His amazing example really ignited my ambition to do comedy, giving me a lot of joy at the fun of thinking fast in front of a bunch of laughing strangers. I loved him on record, TV, in the theater, hey, I've even got his book. After spending time with Jonathan Winters, 1. you felt like you weren't the only one who was crazy. and 2. the possibilities of the human mind seemed endless, and the ability to communicate it seemed easy. What great gifts to give us. Thanks, Jonathan!

Trond Braenne

Actor, author, and radio personality -- via vg.no.

Robert Wilensky

Computer science professor; expert on digital information and artificial intelligence -- via The Daily Californian.

Subas Hererro aka Ricardo Wright Herrero

Comedian, actor, and singer -- via entertaiment.inquirer.net.



Hardrock Gunter aka Sidney Louie Gunter Jr.

Singer, songwriter, and guitarist; one of the forgotten fathers of rock 'n' roll! -- via  . His "Birmingham Bounce" is a rock precursor, released a year before "Rocket 88," generally considered the first rock 'n' roll recording. Other regional hits such as "Gonna Dance All Night" and "Sixty Minute Man" also pushed the genre forward.










Camilo Vives

Film producer -- via Cinema Tropical.

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Jeffrey Skitch

Actor, baritone, and teacher -- via the Telegraph.

Andre Panin

Actor -- via the Voice of Russia.

Wilbur "Jake" Striker

Former MLB pitcher -- via obitsforlife.com.

Carl Thomas

Former MLB player -- via baseball-almanac.com.

Ricardo da Force aka Jervis Ricardo Alfonso Lyte

Rapper and vocalist -- via newsflash.bigshotmag.com.






Damiano Damiani

Screenwriter and director -- via the Guardian.

Ward de Ravet

Actor -- via De Standaard.

Ray Martin

Former MLB pitcher -- via the Boston Globe.

Rajasulochana aka Pilliarchetty Bhakthavatsalam Naidu Rajeevalochana

Dancer and actress -- via the Times of India. More than 300 film credits!



Dieter Pfaff

Actor -- via bild.de.

Goro Naya

Actor and voice actor -- via japnator.com.

Raphael D. Silver



Film producer -- via cleveland.com. Best known for the trilogy of films made with his wife, director Joan Micklin Silver -- "Hester Street," "Between the Lines," and "Crossing Delancey."






Jose Sancho

Actor -- via westernboothill.blogspot.com. He did Almodovar's "Live Flesh" and "Habe con Ella."



Jaime Guadalupe González Domínguez

Journalist -- via the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Shabnam Shakeel

Poet, writer, and teacher -- via dawn.com.

Ric Menello

Filmmaker -- via the New York Daily News.






Campbell Armstrong aka Campbell Black aka Thomas Altman

Novelist, playwright, and memoirist -- via campbellarmstrong.com.

Alfred "Slick" Surratt

Former Negro Leagues baseball player -- via legacy.com.

Katharina Wolpe

Pianist -- via the Guardian.




Jack Stokes

Animation director -- via the Guardian. Best known for his work on "Yellow Submarine."


Tuesday, April 9, 2013