In Memoriam: Celebrities

[omahanime]

John Glenn
Former United States Senator
John Herschel Glenn Jr. was an American aviator, engineer, astronaut, and United States Senator from Ohio. In 1962 he became the first American to orbit the earth, circling three times. Before joining NASA, he was a distinguished fighter pilot in both World War II and Korea, with five Distinguished Flying Crosses and eighteen clusters.

 

[Gengarzilla]

Not to devalue every other celebrity death, but 2016's just been especially horrendous in this field. David Bowie, Alan Rickman, Muhammed Ali, Gene Wilder. It's because of all these losses that my heart almost skipped a beat when I first heard about Stephen Hawking being hospitalised in Rome almost two weeks ago.

 

[RileyXY1]

Alan Thicke, most notable as Dr. Jason Seaver from the hit sitcom Growing Pains, has died of a heart attack.

Actor Alan Thicke, dad on 'Growing Pains,' dead at 69

 

[The Thin White Duke]

Not to devalue every other celebrity death, but 2016's just been especially horrendous in this field. David Bowie, Alan Rickman, Muhammed Ali, Gene Wilder. It's because of all these losses that my heart almost skipped a beat when I first heard about Stephen Hawking being hospitalised in Rome almost two weeks ago.

I feel you. David Bowie's death hit me especially hard. I must also add, my heart skipped a beat when I misread a headline that said 'Mick Jagger dad at 73'. Thank God he didn't go too.

 

[Kung Fu Ferret]

RIP to the inventor of the Heimlich Maneuver.

 

[omahanime]

Zsa Zsa Gabor
Actress
Zsa Zsa Gabor was a Hungarian-American actress and socialite. Gabor began her stage career in Vienna and was crowned Miss Hungary in 1936. She emigrated to the United States in 1941 and became a sought-after actress with "European flair and style," with a personality that "exuded charm and grace." Her first film role was a supporting role in Lovely to Look At. She later acted in We're Not Married! and played one of her few leading roles in Moulin Rouge, directed by John Huston, who described her as a "creditable" actress. Outside of her acting career, Gabor was best known for having nine husbands, including hotel magnate Conrad Hilton and actor George Sanders. She once stated, "Men have always liked me and I have always liked men. But I like a mannish man, a man who knows how to talk to and treat a woman – not just a man with muscles."

 

[indigohex]

Sad news with Rick Parfitt, guitarist from Status Quo dying yesterday (Christmas Eve) aged 68 (Rick Parfitt dead at 68 - Celebrity News US news by gmx.com).

 

[DracoMan]

George Michael from Wham! Died just a few hours ago.

 

[indigohex]

Sad to hear about that. My sister just said that Boy George had died, but I told her it was actually George Michael. The "Curse of 2016" has claimed yet another victim (Ex-Wham! singer George Michael dies - BBC News).

 

[Kung Fu Ferret]

Carrie Fisher died earlier today.......

 

[indigohex]

David Bowie. Leonard Cohen. Prince. George Michael. Florence Henderson. And now Carrie Fisher. We have lost a lot of talent in 2016. I remembered watching the original trilogy on the old VHS back in 2005 not long after watching Episode III. And now Princess Leia is gone. But it is worth noting that she will be in Episode VIII next year though, as filming ended before her death.

 

[omahanime]

Debbie Reynolds
American Actress
Mary Frances "Debbie" Reynolds was an American actress, singer, entertainer, businesswoman, film historian, humanitarian and a noted former collector of film memorabilia. Her breakout role was the portrayal of Helen Kane in the 1950 film Three Little Words, for which she was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer. However, it was her first leading role in 1952 at age 19, as Kathy Selden in Singin' in the Rain, that set her on the path to fame. By the mid-1950s, she was a major star. Other notable successes include The Affairs of Dobie Gillis, Susan Slept Here, Bundle of Joy, The Catered Affair, and Tammy and the Bachelor, in which her rendering of the song "Tammy" reached number one on the music charts. In 1959, she released her first pop music album, entitled Debbie.

 

[indigohex]

Debbie Reynolds has died, a day after her daughter Carrie Fisher died from complications relating to a heart attack a few days ago on a plane (Vale: Debbie Reynolds). According to the article, Debbie Reynolds suffered a stroke while planning her daughter's funeral and was rushed to Cedars-Sinai hospital where she died.

 

[PaulTheProtist]

Vera Rubin, the scientist who discovered dark matter, died a few days ago. She found that stars on the ends of spiral galaxies spun at the same rate as stars in the center, which couldn't be explained unless there was a lot of unaccounted matter pulling on the ends of the galaxy. Her results were confirmed in 1978. This revolutionized the field of astrophysics. We now believe that 90% of the universe is made of dark matter. Despite her influence in her field, she unfortunately never earned a Nobel Prize.

 

[omahanime]

William Christopher
American Actor
William Christopher was an American actor, best known for playing Father Mulcahy on the television series M*A*S*H and Private Lester Hummel on Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.

 

[indigohex]

Tommy Allsup, the guitarist who toured with Buddy Holly has died aged 87 (Tommy Allsup, guitarist who toured with Buddy Holly, dies). The article makes reference to the infamous coin flip which he lost to Ritchie Valens for the last seat on the plane that ultimately crashed killing all on board (including Buddy Holly and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson as well as Ritchie Valens) just after midnight on 3 February 1959, the tragedy was dubbed "The Day The Music Died" (The Day the Music Died - Wikipedia) in the Don McLean song American Pie.

 

[omahanime]

Richard Gautier
American Actor
Richard "Dick" Gautier was an American actor, comedian, singer, and caricaturist. Known for his television roles as Hymie the Robot in the television series Get Smart, and Robin Hood in the short-lived TV comedy series When Things Were Rotten, a Mel Brooks send-up of the classic legend.

 

[King Robert]

The guy who voiced Luigi in the later two Super Mario cartoon series died of a heart attack the other day.

 

[indigohex]

First up, Bronski Beat's Larry Steinbachek died from cancer at the age of 56 (Bronski Beat keyboardist Larry Steinbachek dies at 56 - BBC News)

And while the second person may not be as famous, Zhou Youguang, the "Father of Pinyin" has died at the age of 111 (a day after his 111th birthday). And if you study Chinese, you would've had crossed Pinyin, which he developed (Zhou Youguang - Wikipedia).

 

[omahanime]

Jimmy Snuka
Wrestler
James Reiher Snuka better known by the ring name Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka, was a Fijian professional wrestler and actor. Snuka wrestled for several promotions from the 1970s to 2010s. He was best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation in the early to mid-1980s and was credited with introducing the high-flying style of wrestling to the WWF. He was inducted into the WWF Hall of Fame in 1996. Snuka was the first WrestleMania opponent of The Undertaker, this being the first match in The Undertaker's undefeated WrestleMania streak. Snuka was the inaugural ECW Heavyweight Champion in Eastern Championship Wrestling. His children, Jimmy Reiher, Jr. and Tamina Snuka, are also wrestlers.