Friday, July 4, 2014

Walter Dean Myers

Sue Fryer Ward

Activist for elders' rights -- via the Washington Post.

Louis Zamperini

Athlete, war hero, and spiritual modeler of forgiveness -- via the New York Times. An Olympian, he survived 47 days at sea after a plane crash, then a long term of imprisonment and torture at the hands of the Japanese. After a period of despair and addiction, a religious epiphany led him to forgive his captors and remake his life.

Jim Brosnan

Frederick I. Ordway III

Space scientist, prolific writer, and art collector -- via the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. He dreamed of space flight as a child; he read avidly science fiction and joined the American Rocket Society in 1939, at the age of 12. His dreams came true -- he worked to develop rocket travel and space flight, and helped man go to the moon!






Stephen Gaskin

Man with a vision who figured out how to implement it; "Hippy Priest, Spiritual Revolutionary, Cannabis Advocate, shade tree mechanic, cultural engineer, tractor driver and community starter" -- via the New York Times.





Linda Rodney

Songstress -- via veooz.com.

Peter Pragas

Composer and musician -- via mysinchew.com.



Jeffrey Ressner

Journalist -- via Billboard.

Anatoly Klyan

Cameraman -- via the Guardian.

Francis Matthews

Actor; best known for roles as TV detective Paul Temple and voice of Captain Scarlet in the "supermarionation" series "Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons."






Paul Horn

Don Matheson

Actor best remembered for his role in "Land of the Giants" -- via Stefan Arngrim on Facebook. I was a sucker for all things Irwin Allen in 1960s television; loved this cheesy series in which Mathews played good guy Dan Erickson.



http://www.hulu.com/watch/2568


Terry Burnham

Child actress -- via twilightzonemuseum.com.

Lasse Kuhler

Dancer, choreographer, and teacher -- via the Aftonbladet.

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Bob Hastings

Actor in radio, film, and television -- via the New York Daily News. Best remembered as Carpenter in the TV comedy series "McHale's Navy," the long-lived Hastings began his career in 1936 in radio shows such as "Coast to Coast on a Bus" and, after WWII, the lead character in "The Adventures of Archie Andrews." He did extensive work in early TV -- "Captain Video," "Atom Squad," "Sgt. Bilko," and dozens of others. After "McHale's Navy," his extensive work continued on shows auch as "All in the Family," "General Hospital," and eventually he did an inrcedible amount of voice work, returning to his sound-studio roots. A thoroughly dependable performer!



Peire Bec

Poet -- via Generalitat de Catalunya.

Piero Nelli

Filmmaker -- via ansa.it.

Maria Luisa Spaziani

Poet -- via La Repubblica.

Neal Arden aka Arthur Neal Alston

Actor and playwright -- via britmovie.co.uk.

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Paul Mazursky aka Irwin Mazursky

Director, screenwriter, producer, actor, comedy writer, and comedian -- via the L.A. Times. Nominated for an Oscar five times, he is one of the key directors of the Silver Age of American cinema. Although he is not remembered as well as the heavy hitters, he is my personal favorite. I loved this man.

He was in Kubrick's first film, "Fear and Desire."
He played a punk in "The Blackboard Jungle."
He sold comedy sketches in the early days of TV, did standup, was in a duo with Herb Hartig called Igor & h that appeared on Steve Allen's show.

He wrote for "The Danny Kaye Show." He co-wrote the pilot of "The Monkees." He wrote "I Love You, Alice B. Toklas,"



which gave him a shot to direct. He made "Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice," and his career was made.



The films he made were my no means perfect, but somehow they touched me more deeply than many others. I loved "Alex in Wonderland,"



"Blume in Love,"



 "Harry & Tonto,"



 "Next Stop, Greenwich Village,"



"Tempest,"



 "Moon over Parador,"



"Enemies: A Love Story."



Hell, I even loved "The Pickle." (I didn't like "An Unmarried Woman" or "Moscow on the Hudson" or "Down and Out in Beverly Hills." In fact, they made me mad. Which means I really do love him.)



Read his memoir "Show Me the Magic" -- it's hilarious and wise.



I came out of nearly every film of his grinning and punching at the sky in delight. Somehow he just was able to get inside all of his characters. Like the great French directors he admired so much, he knew that everyone has his reasons, and could not fail to give a rounded portrait of even the most unlikable characters -- or the shadow side of even his nicest heroes. Above all, he was FUNNY. I am very very lucky to have grown up with him, and I hope to God I can write as well as him someday. Thank you, Paul.

Elizabeth Lebas

Nigel Calder

Science writer -- via the Guardian.

Christian Fuhrer

Pastor and activist -- via the Telegraph. His weekly "prayers for peace" were the catalyst that brought down the Berlin Wall!



Lois Geary

Actress -- via legacy.com.

Tjovoo aka Thuli Simelane

Actress -- via The Daily Sun.

Allen Grossman

Poet, scholar, critic, and teacher -- via the New York Times. "Poetry is a principle of power invoked against all our vanishing." 

Jory Sherman

Prolific writer -- via KSPR ranked out more than 500 books, primarily Westerns and horror titles.


Michael Brown

Frank M. Robinson

Writer; best known for works that made their way into films such as "The Power" and "The Towering Inferno" -- via the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. Also a speechwriter for Harvey Milk, and a columnist for Playboy.

Bobby Castillo

Monday, June 30, 2014

Dermot Healy

Poet and novelist -- via the Guardian.





Yuval Peleg

Archaeologist -- via zwingliusredivivus.wordpress.com.

Wolf Koenig

Vic Izay

Actor, writer, director, and Shakespeare scholar -- via westernboothill.blogspot.com.

Steve Viksten

OBIT READER: Our weekly roundup of stories on death, dying, mourning, and more

VA employee Paula DeWenter
TOP STORIES


As Jennifer Schuessler reports in the New York Times, our friends at Morbid Anatomy just opened a museum in Brooklyn

Joy Neighbors just opened an interesting new blog, A Grave Interest, that details many other funeral and death-care museums

DEATH

Via Rabbi Elliott N. Dorff in the Jewish Journal, the importance of preparing advance end-of-death directives and living wills. (Why are many advance directives changed or ignored? " . . . because afrter the patient dies, the patient will not sue the doctor, but any one of the family members might.")

How about a prebituary? Terry Wright of the Hunterdon County Democrat says it might clue our friends and family in about the hidden corners of your life

MOURNING

An interview with Kate Sweeney, author of the new book on the history of U.S. mourning, "American Afterlife," from Greta Johnsen of WCQS

Jeffrey Hatcher's new play, "Three Viewings," is set in a funeral home. The review from Carol Montana of the Middletown Times-Register

MISC


In England, Quaker Social Action fights excessive funeral costs for the impoverished, per Nayler.

Kate Petersen in The Millions writes about her dad, who mails her a lot of newspaper clippings -- of obituaries

Undertaker stole charity donations to balance books, writes Stephanie Linning of the Daily Mail

Nelson Mandela's personal assistant outlines the farcical doings at his funeral -- per Aislinn Laing in the Telegraph

Robert Gardner

Anne G. Sterling aka Anne G. Bergman aka Chana Sterlin aka 'The Polish Ava Gardner'

Actress -- via Dignity Memorial. Starting off in Yiddish theater and film, she went on to play gypsy girls in many Universal horror films of the Golden Age.


John Mast

Jazz pianist and composer -- via the Toledo Blade.

Nancy Garden

Novelist and LGBT activist -- via Publishers Weekly. Her 1982 book, "Annie on My Mind," was a pioneering effort to tell a non-tragic story about a lesbian relationship.