Monday, June 2, 2014

Storme DeLarverie

Eldred "Griff" Blakewood IV

Tommy Blom

Singer and radio host -- via hd.se.

Percy Tuesday aka The Reverend

Jayalakshmi

Singer -- via kutcheribuzz.com. Half of the noted Carnatic vocal duo Radha Jyalakshmi.



READER: World roundup of stories on death and dying

The death mask of Han van Meergeren, notorious forger. Repurposed into a work of art itself, is its purchase by one museum he defrauded the ultimate act of revenge? See story below.

From Blunderbuss magazine, a reprint of of Essay Liu's 2005 award-winning piece "Seven Days After Father," which became the 2010 film "7 Days of Heaven"



From rabble.ca, Azeezah Kanji wonders why some victims of violence are remembered, and others are not.

From the Seven Ponds blog, a look at Victorian-era grief as social spectacle and wellspring of art

Daniel Lowe of the British Library discusses the political uses made of the death of Queen Victoria

From The Artifice, death as origin source in comics  -- and as circulation-raising gimmick

In the Toronto Star, Megan Ogilvie begins a series of stories on confronting the end of life, and making decisions concerning it; the story contains several links to related stories as well

From artnet news, a museum collects the death mask of a famous forger who fooled it and others with fake Vermeers

Via Alltop, and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, a handy and comprehensive graphic breaking down causes of death round the world, and through a variety of categories

A promotional video for a new episode of "The American Experience," via PBS -- "Death and the Civil War"



From the Times of India, Purnima Sharma talks about how that county faces the digital aftermath of death

In Time magazine, Lia Zneimer explores mourning in the age of social media

In an episode of Creepy Corners, Louise Hung reports on an outing with Caitlin Doughty of "Ask a Mortician"

From the Gothamist, Mark Yearsley's brilliantly written meditation on the funeral industry's recent convention in Las Vegas






Sunday, June 1, 2014

Ann B. Davis

Actress, later minister; best known for her iconic portrayal of housekeeper Alice Nelson in "The Brady Bunch" -- via the New York Daily News. One of America's most loved character actresses, she got her big break as Charmaine "Schultzy" Schultz in "The Bob Cummings Show" (aka "Love That Bob") from 1955 to 1959. In 1969, she gained immortality as Alice. In 1976, she went to work full-time for the Episcopal Church.










Mike Gordon

Former catcher with the Cubs -- via legacy.com.

Michael Schmidt

Photographer -- via the Independent. His latest work, Lenbenssmittel, was a seven-year study of the global food industry, which won him the prestigious Prix Pictet award -- three days before his death.

Michael Schmidt - Lebensmittel from Institut für Kunstdokumentation on Vimeo.

(Mariano) Uña Ramos

Lakshmi Kumari Chundawat

Writer and politician; preserved Rajasthani folklore and rejected purdah -- via the New Indian Express.

Father Shaheed aka Scott Phillips

Friday, May 30, 2014

Karlheinz Bohm

Iconic actor best remembered as star of "Peeping Tom" -- via the Hollywood Reporter. A remarkable actor who started off as a pretty face, but developed into much more. After making his name with appearances as Franz Josef I in the Austrian costume melodrama "Sissi" trilogy with Romy Schneider,



 he broke away sharply with his portrayal of the insane, murderous photographer Mark Lewis in Michael Powell's transgressive 1960 masterpiece "Peeping Tom."



Later in his career, he worked in four consecutive Rainer Werner Fassbinder films: "Martha," "Fox and his Friends," Effi Briest," and "Mother Kuster's Trip to Heaven." A gutsy actor!





He also worked extensively with efforts to provide relief for the people of Ethiopia, founding Humans for Humans.

Bob Bailey

Charlie Porter

Matthew Saeed Muhammad aka Matthew Franklin aka Maxwell Antonio Loach

Champion light-heavyweight boxer who became homeless, then homeless advocate --via the New York Times. Abandoned at 5 by his family, raised by nuns; member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Spent his winnings, became homeless. After turning his life around, he became an advocate and spokesperson for the homeless.



Wilson Gomes Barreto

Acrobat who died in stage fall -- via the Daily Mail.

Nikolai Pastukhov

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Tuesday, May 27, 2014