Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Vincent Dowling

Actor and director -- via independent.ie.


Peter Sehr

Film director -- via the Hollywood Reporter.

Grayson Minney

Musician -- via NBC Connecticut.

Geza Vermes

Dead Sea Scrolls scholar -- via the Guardian.

Barbara Callcott

Actress -- via news.com.au. Popular icon of Colgate toothpaste in Australia, as TV's "Mrs. Marsh."

Monday, May 13, 2013

Joyce Brothers

The first "television psychologist" -- via the New York Times. She came to fame as one of the few contestants to legitimately win "The $64,000 Question," as an expert on boxing; she later became the first female boxing commentator. Her camera-friendly manner made her an informed, kindly, unintimidating symbol for psychologists everywhere.



Dean Jeffries

Car designer, customizer, and painter; stunt driver -- via the New York Times.










Juan Tarodo

Drummer -- via Zee News.

Dallas Willard

Christian philosopher -- via the L.A. Times.

Ralph Brown

Sculptor -- via the Guardian.

Alfredo Landa

Actor -- via the Hollywood Reporter.

Peter Rauhofer

DJ and music producer -- via the Rolling Stone.

Rossella Falk aka Rosa Antonia Falzacappa aka "The Italian Garbo"

Actress -- via La Repubblica.

Dan Adkins

Illustrator and comic-book artist -- via Comic Book Resources.

Eric Kitteringham



Bassist -- via ultimateclassicrock.com.

Mato Ergovic

Actor -- via westernboothill.blogspot.com.

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Alice E. Korber: A Slight Corrected

From Margalit Fox at the New York Times, an obituary that took 6 years to update! regarding classics scholar Alice Korber, instrumental in deciphering Linear B script.

Friday, May 10, 2013

Al Fritz

Inventor of the Schwinn Sting-Ray bicycle -- via Bicycle Retailer. And hey, the Varsity and Continental models as well -- the latter two were among the first lightweight derailleur types to be mass-produced for American riders.

Until today, I didn't realize that Al Fritz was one of my major influences. Why? He made MY BIKE!

The 1979 Sting-Ray, yellow and lime. Mine was an earlier model, but looked substantially like this.
Christmas of 1967, I got this bike in a box. After many days of my dad tinkering, filling the ashtrays with cigarettes, swearing, and opening another beer, it all came together. 

This magnificent object was my best friend (hey, we didn't have a dog). I had freedom, mobility, autonomy, and stylish grace all in one. I was rocking a sweet ride that had ape hanger handlebars, bright yellow banana seat, 20-inch tires (no shifter -- one speed only, backpedal to brake!) -- an indestructible and faithful companion. It was my horse, my World War I biplane, my racecar. We did stunts in the vacant lots nearby, building ramps and obstacle courses, or trekked west to the Table Mesas. It ignited my love affair with bicycling (though, not cycling -- I don't own any aerodynamic underpants, air-cooled helmets, or those funny shoes that snap into place). I am on bike #3 now, but bike #1, above, never nicknamed, was my favorite. When I was not asleep or in school, I was on it. 

In this world where toys break easily and promises go unfilled, a well-made and reliable thing such as this really made a difference for me, and I'm sure for millions of other kids. Thanks, Mr. Fritz!




Robert Sickinger

The father of indigenous Chicago theater -- via the Chicago Tribune.


John Cain

Broadcaster -- via the Guardian.

Steve Martland

Composer -- via the Telegraph.





Francesco Sorianello

Opera singer and actor -- via the Press-Enterprise.

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Taylor Mead

Writer, actor, and performer; as early Warhol associate, became "the first underground film star" -- via The Gothamist.





Jeanne Cooper

Actress -- via the New York Times. A fixture as protagonist Katherine Chancellor on the long-running American TV soap opera series "The Young and the Restless."



Greg Quill

Musician and journalist -- via the Toronto Star.





Sue Draheim

Violinist AND fiddler -- via legacy.com.

David Lister

Origami maven -- via the Guardian.


Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Bryan Forbes aka John Theobald Clarke

Film director, screenwriter, actor, and author -- via the New York Times. He may be forever typed as the director of the first "Stepford Wives," but his achievements in all the categories he essayed reveal a very talented and innovative person.

As an actor, he was memorable in "The Guns of Navarone," "Qatermass 2," "The Colditz Story," and "The Small Back Room." He wrote the screenplays such as "Seance on a Wet Afternoon," "Hopscotch," and "Chaplin"; he directed innovative films like "Stepford" -- the hilarious "The Wrong Box" and the intriguing "Seance" among them.









Frederic Franklin

Beloved ballet dancer, choreographer, and living archive of dance -- via the New York Times.



Mario Machado

TV news anchor, and actor -- via the Hollywood Reporter.

Ted Beyer aka Edward Yarnell

Comedian and actor -- via the Sheffield Telegraph.

Braxton Schuffert

Musician; one of the original members of the Drifting Cowboys, Hank Williams' band -- via the Montgomery Advertiser.



Milan Peroutka

Drummer -- via Radio Prague.

Merrill Brockway

Producer and director of arts programming for TV -- via the Hollywood Reporter.

Herbert Blau

Pioneering theater director, scholar, and theorist -- via the New York Times.






Rashid Karapiet

Actor, singer, playwright, broadcaster, and teacher -- via the Guardian.

Martin Kevan

Voice actor and writer -- via polygon.com.

Antonia "Toni" Larroux

Her kids wrote a fun and loving obit for her -- via the Huffington Post.