Monday, August 18, 2014

Don Pardo

Jan Ekier

Pianist and composer -- via thenews.pl.





Rick Parashar

Music producer -- via Billboard.

Marjorie Stapp

Actress -- via westernboothill.blogspot.com.

Peter McAlevey

Writer, promoter, film producer; was a roadie for the Dolls! -- via Variety.

Jerry Lumpe

Former MLB player -- via the Springfield News-Leader.

WEEKLY READER: Our roundup of stories on death, mourning, and more

TOP STORIES

GWAR’s Dave Brockie gets a flaming Viking funeral – a report from Miriam Coleman at Rolling Stone

From Modern Loss: Mark Liebenow on losing his wife

INFOGRAPHIC: Cremation: it's the way to go, from Macrina Cooper-White on Huffington Post


DEATH


An unattended, unnoticed death: Andy Park of the Sydney Morning Herald reports

Death selfies from Izismile

Medical examiner writes memoir, Dennis Kelly of USA Today reports

Native American tribes want ancestors' scalps from German Old West museums -- via Melissa Eddy at the New York Times


In Tablet Magazine, Sarah Ivry is not so fond of viral mourning

From Joel Mathis and Ben Boychuk of Newsday, a debate over the mourning of celebrity deaths

Funeral foods from Epicurious




OBITS

How prominent will your obituary be? It's all in the timing, per Thomas Vinciguerra of the New York Times

Get it right: ESPN posts wrong photo, headline for dead race car driver – Robert Littal of Black Sports Online reports

FUNERALS


Criminally neglectful funeral home story of the week – from KSAT-TV

Steve Furmanski

Guitarist -- via the Wilkes-Barre Citizens' Voice.

Jay Adams

Pioneering skateboarder -- via the New York Times.



Leonard Fein

Writer and activist -- via the New York Times.




Tunde Ra Aleem

Singer and keyboardist -- via Soul Tracks. With his brother Tarharqa, formed the duo GhettoFighters.

Mydin Ibrahim

Comedian -- via the New Straits Times.

Sunday, August 17, 2014

Mariana Briski

Comedian and actress -- via the Buenos Aires Herald.




Pierre Ryckmans

China expert, and writer -- via the New York Times. AKA Simon Leys

Mary MacCracken

Teacher of children with emotional and cognitive disabilities, and memoirist -- via the New York Times. Her books were turned into films: "A Circle of Children" and "Lovey."




Emigdio Vasquez

Artist -- via the L.A. Times.

Gordy MacKenzie

Former MLB player -- via Ultimate Astros.

Columba Dominguez

Irena "Kika" Szaszkiewiczowa

Artist, writer, and blogger -- via Dziennik Polski.

Daroji Eramma

Storyteller -- via The Hindu.


Frans Bruggen

Conductor and musician -- via the Guardian.





Lew Brown

Actor -- via legacy.com.

Friday, August 15, 2014

Licia Albanese

Soprano -- via Parterre. Best remembered as one of the most definitive Cio-Cio Sans, she sang for Toscanini, and with Corelli, Gigli, Bjorling, and Pavarotti, among others. Her singing career stretched from 1934 to 1987 -- 53 years!








Diann Blakely

Poet, essayist, and editor -- via legacy.com.

Maria "Tristessa" Kolokouri

Musician and vocalist -- via Loudwire.

Andre Bush

Jazz guitarist -- via the Fresno Bee.

Gabrielle Blunt

Actress -- via Equity Magazine.

Robert Boehm

Rights activist -- via the New York Times.

FRIDAY BOOK REVIEW: 'The Death Class'

The Death Class: A True Story about Life
By Erika Hayasaki
2014
Simon and Schuster

By BRAD WEISMANN

Dr. Norma Bowe’s death class at Kean University in New Jersey is the ostensible subject of this new book. However, the book quickly becomes a portrait of Bowe, as well as ones of selected members of her class. “The Death Class” is about overcoming tragedy, cruelty, the randomness of life, but to me it’s not that compelling, unfortunately.

Hayasaki’s prose suffers from both stiffness and self-importance. When she gets caught up in her parallel narratives in the center of the book, that awkwardness fades and we get a real flow of story, but it comes back in fits and starts towards the conclusion. At points, staggeringly awful sentences sit next to sublime observations. The jolting quality changes, as well as the up-close-and-personal revelations that stoke the narrative turn “The Death Class” into a long, haphazard feature story full of too many predictable moments.

It is very hard for a journalist not to track into the well-worn and effective template of personal suffering and redemption, but the cumulative impact of “The Death Class” is blunted severely simply by not showing readers the shape and content of Bowe’s course. It becomes the disjointed account of various field trips Bowe takes her class on. In fact, the writer falls for Bowe and what might have been a more effective look at an innovative teaching method turns into a mushy tribute. The reader deserves better.



Hans V. Engstrom

Actor -- via expressen.se.

Val Eddy

Musician -- via the Quad City Times.  AKA Valentino E. DeCastris


Gretta Bader

Sculptor -- via the Washington Post. AKA Margaret Marie Lange.

Guillermo Larrea

Actor -- via TV Notas.

Gunther Junghans

Actor -- via westenboothill.blogspot.com.

Thursday, August 14, 2014

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Myrtle Young

David Weidman

Ann Rowan

Actress -- via rte.ie.


Tommy Gill

Jazz pianist -- via the Charlestown Post and Courier.


Shree Krishna Shrestha

Actor -- via My Republica.

Arlene Martel aka Arline Sax aka Arlene Sax aka Tasha Martel aka The Chameleon

Actress --via treknews.com. Best remembered for her role as T'Pring in an episode of Star Trek-the Original Series, she also had a prominent role in one of the best episodes of "The Outer Limits" -- "Demon with a Glass Hand."






Ed Nelson

Actor -- via the New York Times. Best known for his lead role in TV's "Peyton Place" in the 1906s, he appeared in hundreds of B-movies and TV episodes.







Robert "Red" Wilson

Former MLB player -- via madison.com.

Jim Commnad

Former MLB player -- via Michigan Live.

Bob Wiesler

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

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Lauren Bacall aka Betty Joan Perske

Actress -- via TMZ. One of the last great performers from the Golden Age of Hollywood, Bacall started as a model, then got cast in "To Have and Have Not," which sparked both her career and her romance and eventual marriage with Humphrey Bogart. Since then, she did great work in film, on radio and stage, and on TV. Some other highlights: "The Big Sleep," "Key Largo," "Written on the Wind," "Applause," "Murder on the Orient Express," "Misery," and "Dogville." She even made fun appearances on such shows as "The Sopranos" and "Family Guy." She could act, she was funny, and she was smokin' hot.