Patty Duke
 

Oscar-winning actress Patty Duke, who hit the trifecta of stardom with her turns on TV, in the movies, and on Broadway, is dead. She was 69.

The Queens-born daughter of a troubled cashier and alcoholic cab driver, Duke overcame a dark childhood to become one of the Hollywood's most respected actresses and president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1985 to 1988.

Duke rocketed to fame in the 1960's as the star of "The Patty Duke Show," which ran for 104 episodes over three seasons, and in which she played her rambunctious self as well as her more demure "identical cousin."

Diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 1982, Duke devoted her later years to championing mental health programs and raising her three sons, two of whom — Sean Astin and Mackenzie Astin — followed in their mother's footsteps and became actors as well.

Duke made her Broadway debut at age 12 playing Helen Keller in "The Miracle Worker." Three years later, at age 16, Duke won the best supporting actress Academy Award reprising her role as the young Helen in the celebrated 1962 screen adaptation of the play.

Then in 1979, Duke won an Emmy playing Keller's teacher — the role originally played on Broadway by Anne Bancroft — in a TV version of the same play.

After "The Patty Duke Show" was cancelled, Duke starred in the camp classic "Valley of the Dolls." She won a second Emmy in 1976 for her turn in the TV mini-series "Captains and the Kings." And she also appeared in TV shows like Police Story, Hawaii 5-O and Night Gallery.

Later, Duke became an advocate for the mentally ill, working with the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/...7326?cid=sm_fb

Theguardian.com
'Queen of the curve' Zaha Hadid dies aged 65 from heart attack
by Mark Brown.

Dame Zaha Hadid, the world-renowned architect, whose designs include the London Olympic aquatic centre, has died aged 65. The British designer, who was born in Iraq, had a heart attack on Thursday while in hospital in Miami, where she was being treated for bronchitis.

Hadid’s buildings have been commissioned around the world and she was the first woman to receive the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) gold medal.


From the swooping space-age shopping mall to the Z-shaped school with a running track through it, here are the buildings that Zaha Hadid will be remembered for

A lengthy statement released by her company said: “It is with great sadness that Zaha Hadid Architects have confirmed that Dame Zaha Hadid DBE died suddenly in Miami in the early hours of this morning.

“She had contracted bronchitis earlier this week and suffered a sudden heart attack while being treated in hospital. Zaha Hadid was widely regarded to be the greatest female architect in the world today.”

Speaking from Mexico, Richard Rogers, whose buildings include the Pompidou Centre and the Millennium Dome, told the Guardian that the news of Hadid’s death was “really, really terrible”.

“She was a great architect, a wonderful woman and wonderful person,” Lord Rogers said. “Among architects emerging in the last few decades, no one had any more impact than she did. She fought her way through as a woman. She was the first woman to win the Pritzker prize.

“I got involved with her first in Cardiff when the government threw her off the project in the most disgraceful way. She has had to fight every inch of the way. It is a great loss.”

Jane Duncan, RIBA’s president, said: “Dame Zaha Hadid was an inspirational woman, and the kind of architect one can only dream of being. Visionary and highly experimental, her legacy, despite her young age, is formidable.

“She leaves behind a body of work from buildings to furniture, footwear and cars, that delight and astound people all around the world. The world of architecture has lost a star today.”

The architect Daniel Libeskind said he was devastated by her death. “Her spirit will live on in her work and studio. Our hearts go out,” he said.

From the Olympic Aquatics Centre to a new Serpentine gallery, from Beijing to Baku, Zaha Hadid's buildings are everywhere. But she divides opinion: she's a genius, say some, but to critics she has lost touch with her original ideals. By Rowan Moore

Stirling prize winner Amanda Levete said: “She was an inspiration. Her global impact was profound and her legacy will be felt for many years to come because she shifted the culture of architecture and the way that we experience buildings. When my son was very young, Zaha showed him how to write his name in Arabic. It was the moment I realised the genesis of her remarkable architectural language.

“She was an extraordinary role model for women. She was fearless and a trailblazer – her work was brave and radical. Despite sometimes feeling misunderstood, she was widely celebrated and rightly so.”

Architect Graham Morrison said: “She was so distinct that there isn’t anybody like her. She didn’t fit in and I don’t mean that meanly. She was in a world of her own and she was extraordinary.”

The British culture minister, Ed Vaizey, posted on Twitter, saying he was stunned at the news and praising her “huge contribution to contemporary architecture”.
The London Aquatics Centre built for the 2012 Olympic Games.
The London aquatics centre built for the 2012 Olympic Games. Photograph: John Walton/PA

The London mayor, Boris Johnson, tweeted: “So sad to hear of death of Zaha Hadid, she was an inspiration and her legacy lives on in wonderful buildings in Stratford and around the world.”

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Hadid, born in Baghdad in 1950, became a revolutionary force in British architecture even though she struggled to win commissions in the UK for many years. The Iraqi government described her death as “an irreplaceable loss to Iraq and the global community”.

She studied mathematics at the American University of Beirut before launching her architectural career in London at the Architectural Association.

By 1979, she had established her own practice in London – Zaha Hadid Architects – and gained a reputation across the world for groundbreaking theoretical works including the Peak in Hong Kong (1983), Kurfürstendamm 70 in Berlin (1986) and the Cardiff Bay opera house in Wales (1994).

The first major build commission that earned her international recognition was the Vitra fire station in Weil Am Rhein, Germany (1993), but her scheme to build the Cardiff opera house was scrapped in the 1990s and she did not produce a major building in the UK until the Riverside museum of transport in Glasgow was completed in 2011.

Other notable projects included the Maxxi: Italian National Museum of 21st Century Arts in Rome (2009), the London aquatics centre for the 2012 Olympic Games (2011), the Heydar Aliyev centre in Baku (2013) and a stadium for the 2022 football World Cup in Qatar.
Heydar Aliyev cultural centre in Baku, Azerbaijan.
One of Hadid’s notable projects, the Heydar Aliyev cultural centre in Baku, Azerbaijan. Photograph: View Pictures/Rex

Buildings such as the Rosenthal Centre of Contemporary Art in Cincinnati (2003) and the Guangzhou opera house in China (2010) were also hailed as architecture that transformed ideas of the future. Other designs include the Serpentine Sackler Gallery in Kensington Gardens, west London, and the BMW factory in Leipzig, one of her first designs to be built.

She became the first female recipient of the Pritzker architecture prize in 2004 and twice won the UK’s most prestigious architecture award, the RIBA Stirling prize. Other awards included the Republic of France’s Commandeur de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and Japan’s Praemium Imperiale.

Hadid won acclaim in Scotland for designing the popular Riverside Museum in Glasgow, known for its distinctive roof structure. Muriel Gray, chair of the board of governors at the Glasgow School of Art, tweeted a picture of the Riverside museum with the message: “Horrible shocking news that Zaha Hadid, incredible architectural trailblazer has just died. Huge loss to design.”

Hadid was recently awarded the RIBA’s 2016 royal gold medal, the first woman to be awarded the honour in her own right.

Architect Sir Peter Cook wrote in his citation at the time: “In our current culture of ticking every box, surely Zaha Hadid succeeds, since, to quote the royal gold medal criteria, she is someone who ‘has made a significant contribution to the theory or practice of architecture … for a substantial body of work rather than for work which is currently fashionable’.

“For three decades now she has ventured where few would dare … Such self confidence is easily accepted in film-makers and football managers, but causes some architects to feel uncomfortable. Maybe they’re secretly jealous of her unquestionable talent. Let’s face it, we might have awarded the medal to a worthy comfortable character. We didn’t. We awarded it to Zaha: larger than life, bold as brass and certainly on the case.”
A computer generated image of the stadium
A computer-generated image of the stadium to be built in al-Wakrah for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

Speaking in February on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs, Hadid said: “I don’t really feel I’m part of the establishment. I’m not outside, I’m on the kind of edge, I’m dangling there. I quite like it … I’m not against the establishment per se. I just do what I do and that’s it.”

Levete, who co-designed the spaceship-like media centre at Lord’s cricket ground, described her as “a true and loyal friend … a confidante and someone I could turn to for advice”.

She said: “She was an absolute inspiration to many and her global impact was really profound.”

Kelly Hoppen, the interior designer who appeared in BBC2’s show Dragons’ Den, tweeted: “Deeply saddened by the news of Zaha Hadid’s death. She was an iconic architect who pushed the boundaries to another level xx ZahaHadid”

Angela Brady, a former president of RIBA, described Hadid as “one of our greatest architects of our time”.

She added: “She was a tough architect, which is needed as a woman at the top of her profession and at the height of her career. She will be sadly missed as an iconic leader in architecture and as a role model for women in architecture.”

A spokeswoman for BMW said: “She was an icon in the world of architecture, groundbreaking in her way to create with a very distinctive style. On the 10th anniversary of our Leipzig plant’s central building which she was the architect for , Zaha said that she felt it gave testament to the plant’s vision. We are glad she felt this way, too.”

Author Kathy Lette tweeted Hadid’s “beautiful, undulating feminine designs proved that u didn’t need a phallic edifice complex 2 be a brilliant architect”.

Tamara Rojo, English National Ballet director and dancer, tweeted: “Devastated by the passing of the great Zaha Hadid” with a picture of “her stunning Opera House in Guangzhou where we performed last year”.

http://www.zaha-hadid.com/

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Mother Angelica 92 year old doughty nun who founded EWTN in a garage with practically no funds passed away. She grew EWTN into TV, radio and other venues all through out the world reaching Catholics and Christians alike. She suffered a debilitating stroke in Dec 2015 and lost her battle on Easter Sunday. RIP .......May God bless you Mother Angelica and accept you into his kingdom.

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Merle Haggard, who over six decades composed and performed one of the greatest repertoires in country music, capturing the American condition with his stories of the poor, the lost, the working class, heartbroken and hard-living, died at his home in the San Joaquin Valley, California, after a battle with pneumonia, his spokeswoman Tresa Redburn confirmed. He was 79.

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/ne...at-79-20160406

Dang it Merle, you split on your birthday! Journey well, my friend!

Anne Jackson (1925 - 2016)
 

Tony-nominated actress Anne Jackson died April 12, according to The New York Times. She was 90.

Jackson was the widow of actor Eli Wallach, with whom she often worked on and off Broadway. The pair met while acting in a production of Tennessee Williams’ "This Property Is Condemned," going on to appear in 13 Broadway shows together. They married in 1948.

Together, they won Obie awards in 1963 for an off-Broadway double bill of "The Typists" and "The Tiger." Other productions in which they worked together included "The Glass Menagerie," "Luv," and "The Diary of Anne Frank."

But Jackson also excelled on her own, earning a Tony nomination in 1956 for her performance in Paddy Chayefsky's "Middle of the Night." Other notable stage credits include Tennessee Williams' "Summer and Smoke," George Bernard Shaw's "Arms and the Man," and Neil Simon's "Lost in Yonkers."

Though Jackson was known best for her stage work, she also appeared on television and in movies. She was a star of "How To Save a Marriage and Ruin Your Life" and "Lovers and Other Strangers," and in "The Shining," she played a doctor in an early scene. She made appearances on television shows including "Gunsmoke," "Highway to Heaven," "ER," and "Reading Rainbow."

Born Sept. 3, 1925, in Millvale, Pennsylvania, and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Jackson later wrote of her turbulent childhood in her 1979 memoir, "Early Stages." She found an early talent for drama in the impressions she would do of famous actors she saw at the movies. She honed this skill as a student of the Actors Studio, where she would later teach.

Wallach preceded Jackson in death, in 2014.

http://www.legacy.com/news/celebrity...kson-1925-2016

Joanie "Chyna" Laurer, WWE star dead at 45.


Joanie Laurer, the former WWE star known as Chyna, died Wednesday night at the age of 45.

The news was confirmed by Laurer's manager and a statement posted on her official Twitter account, which read: "oday we lost a true icon, a real life superhero. She will live forever in the memories of her millions of fans and all of us that loved her."

Laurer's body was found at a home in Redondo Beach, California. A cause of death is not known, though police are reportedly treating the case as a possible overdose.

Famous to a generation of wrestling fans for her run during WWE's "Attitude Era," Laurer redefined the possibilities for female performers as Chyna, a strong, silent enforcer billed as "The Ninth Wonder of the World." Thanks to her imposing physical presence, she quickly rose through wrestling's indie ranks, and by 1997 had achieved fame ­­– first as a bodyguard for Triple H, then as a member of the iconic D-Generation X stable. It was with DX that Chyna showed she could hang with the boys in more ways than one, a trend that would define her time in WWE. She was the first female to ever enter the Royal Rumble match and qualify for the King of the Ring tournament, and in 1999, was the first woman to win the Intercontinental Championship.

http://www.rollingstone.com/sports/n...at-45-20160421

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Another Music Legend gone :(
 

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Prince has died aged 57 at his estate in Minnesota, just days after he was rushed to hospital from his private plane with flu.

Paramedics were called out to the music icon's Paisley Park estate at 9.43am and Carver County Sheriff's Department confirmed that there had been a fatality.

A forensics team and a medical examiner are at the scene.

Prince - full name Prince Rogers Nelson.

Prince...
 

Taken too young:candle:

bbc.co.uk
Victoria Wood dies aged 62 after cancer battle - BBC News
Media captionVictoria Wood inspired a new generation of female comics in a hugely successful career on television and on stage.

Comedian, singer and writer Victoria Wood has died after "a short but brave" battle with cancer aged 62.

Her publicist said the star "died peacefully at her north London home with family" on Wednesday.

Wood's long-time comedy partner Julie Walters said she was "too heart sore to comment - the loss of her is incalculable".

Wood found fame in the 1980s and was best known for her BBC sketch Acorn Antiques and comedy Dinnerladies.

She won five Baftas including two for her one-off ITV drama Housewife, 49.
Julie Walters and Victoria Wood Image copyright PA
Image caption Julie Walters collaborated with Victoria Wood throughout her career

Wood got her first break on the TV talent show New Faces in 1974, while still a student at Birmingham University.

She established herself as a comedy star with her hit show Victoria Wood: As Seen On TV and went on to create the popular BBC comedies Acorn Antiques and Dinnerladies, featuring her long-time collaborator Julie Walters.

The pair became friends in the 1970s and first worked together on TV in 1981 on the comedy sketch show Wood and Walters.

Acorn Antiques also spawned a musical, which Wood wrote and was directed by Trevor Nunn in 2005.
'Inspiration to women'

Entertainer Michael Ball, who was a friend of Wood's and worked with her on the musical That Day We Sang, told the BBC she was a "trailblazer" for other female comedians.

The Radio 2 DJ said: "She gave inspiration to other women because she wasn't having to be sexy and rude, although she was all of those things. She was just brilliant.

"She made it seem to other women, you can do this. You just need to look at the various social media feeds to see the people she's influenced."
Media captionMichael Ball: Victoria Wood was "the most loyal and lovely friend you could ever wish for"

Ball said Wood, who he had "idolised" before working with, was "very private" and had not wanted people to know how ill she was.

"To then work with her and become friends and to become so close was a privilege," he added.

Fellow comedians have also been paying tribute, including Jennifer Saunders, who tweeted: "Can't believe Vic has gone. She was truly an inspiration and had so much left to to give and we won't see it. She was so funny."

Sir Lenny Henry said: "I am devastated - this is very, very sad news. Victoria will be sorely missed. Always funny, she worked incredibly hard. A killer stand-up and a fantastic songwriter. My condolences to all her family."
'Comedy icon'

Catherine Tate said: "The news is devastating. It's so shocking and sad. We have lost an incredible talent who was a huge influence and inspiration to so many - a true game changer."

Jenny Eclair tweeted: "All of us women in comedy owe a huge debt of gratitude to Victoria - she paved the way."

John Cleese tweeted: "Shocked by news of Victoria Wood. I worked with her last year and was reminded of just what a superlative performer she was. Only 62!"

Jack Dee tweeted: "I feel privileged to have known and worked with the great Victoria Wood. Unique and truly brilliant."

Ricky Gervais said: "RIP the brilliant Victoria Wood. So innovative, funny and down to earth. This has not been a good year."

Sarah Millican also tweeted her sadness: "So incredibly sad to hear that Victoria Wood has died. A true comedy icon."
Dinnerladies cast Maxine Peake as Twinkle, Anne Reid as Jean, Victoria Wood as Bren, Thelma Barlow as Dolly and Shobna Gulati as Anita
Image caption The Dinnerladies cast included Maxine Peake as Twinkle, Anne Reid as Jean, Victoria Wood as Bren, Thelma Barlow as Dolly and Shobna Gulati as Anita - Julie Walters played Bren's mother
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Analysis

BBC entertainment correspondent Lizo Mzimba

Victoria Wood will be remembered for her talent and her outstanding versatility.

Her keen observational style meant she was able to create memorable characters, routines and songs in the world of comedy and beyond - she applied the same skills to her Bafta-winning drama Housewife, 49.

Audiences related to her wit and warmth, and particularly her ability to find the humour in the most ordinary situations.

Most of all they recognised she was one of the most gifted entertainment figures of her generation. Comedian, writer, singer, actor. She could do it all.
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Wood appeared on BBC One's That's Life! in 1976, which brought her into millions of homes on a frequent basis.

The show's presenter and Childline founder Dame Esther Rantzen was also among those who paid tribute.

"I think she is one of our greatest comic writers and performers, but she could also deal with serious issues as well, and she's a huge loss," Dame Esther said.

"She did a one-woman show for Childline where I felt hugely privileged to interview her and she told the story of her life with such wit. She just held us all enchanted for a whole evening."

Harry Potter author JK Rowling retweeted a link to a video of Wood performing one of her comedy songs, Reincarnation Song, saying: "Watch and weep. 62 is far too young. RIP Victoria Wood."
Victoria Wood and her children Henry and Grace Image copyright PA
Image caption Victoria Wood took her children Henry and Grace to Buckingham Palace when she received her CBE in 2008

BBC director general Tony Hall said: "Victoria Wood was a woman with a stunning array of talents - a comedian, singer, songwriter, actress and director. People identified with her warmth and great charm.

"She brought people from all walks of life together and made them laugh and cry. She will be greatly missed and our thoughts are with her friends and family."

British Prime Minister David Cameron paid tribute, saying: "Victoria Wood was a national treasure loved by millions. My thoughts are with her family."

Wood also broke records with her stand-up tours, where her live comedy was interspersed with original comedy songs performed at the piano, and won her British Comedy Awards in 1990 and 2001.

She performed a record-breaking 15 nights at the Royal Albert Hall in 1993 as part of a six-month tour of the country - something her brother Chris was very proud of.

"The best thing for me was when she played the Albert Hall," he told the BBC. "I was very used to seeing her do her stand up in smaller halls and theatres but for her to be able to come on stage on her own and entertain, control and use an audience of 15,000 was absolutely superb.

"She had a great struggle early on and had to work hard for years to break through. It was her single-minded drive to succeed in the business that pulled her through."
Paul Hollywood, Victoria Wood, Mary Berry
Image caption Victoria won The Great Comic Relief Bake Off in 2015 with her Two Soups cake based on her famous sketch

Wood did a lot of charity work and visited Ethiopia in 1990 and Zimbabwe in 1998 for Comic Relief.

She also won the Great Comic Relief Bake Off in 2015.

The star also made documentaries including Victoria's Empire about the British Empire and Victoria Wood's Big Fat Documentary about the diet industry.

She was awarded an OBE in 1997 and awarded a CBE in 2008.

Wood married magician Geoffrey Durham, known as the Great Soprendo, in 1980 - and divorced in 2002.

She is survived by her two children, Grace and Henry.
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The Purple One has passed . . . I had to pull over in my car to cry. The world has been robbed of a good, wonderful person, as well as a supremely talented musician. The world is a poorer place. I will miss you and your work so much . . ."This is what it sounds like when doves cry . . ."

It's a sad day here in Minnesota today...

~
 

what is also sad about his death is that he recently couldn't finish a concert due to bad health ~ there is more to his death. Maybe a doctor's lack of judgement ? something is wrong somewhere . RIP PRINCE

RIP Prince
 

This is a real shock.
I loved Prince, and his music.
His numerous styles of music.
His passion for his art.
He was the most amazing artist I saw live.
Thank you Prince for sharing your gift with us.

Victoria Wood
 

What a very sad loss.
Loved her shows, loved her comic rhymes on the piano.
She was just brilliant.
Dinner ladies, absolute killer writing.
Will miss her, a national treasure.

I think I am beginning to know what it was like when movie stars and contemporaries of my parents started to die and they would feel sad about it.

When it was stars or singers, I would always think to myself, "You didn't even know them, what's the deal?".

I think that is the arrogance of youth.

Now, each time someone passes that I can mark a memory or moment in time, it makes me feel so nostalgic.

I have become my parents!

Prince's passing reminds me of so many great, fun, times in the 80's. I can remember 1999 on my cassette, popping it in my VW bug and singing it at the top of my lungs.

I am so sad!

The New Yorker cover, next week


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For Prince
 

May it rain purple in haven for him forever in peace. :-(

rip prince
 

I can't believe Prince is gone, as well as Chyna!

Patty Duke so far has hurt my heart the most, she was a huge advocate for bi polar disorder. She brought the disease to the forefront for my parents, to understand what is wrong with me.

So sad about Prince. Too many legends are being taken from us too young. He was too young. What a shock.

William Schallert
 

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William Schallert, an amazingly busy “everyman” character actor for nearly seven decades who had trouble on television with Tribbles, Dobie Gillis and those identical two-of-a-kind cousins played by Patty Duke, has died. He was 93.

Schallert, who has nearly 400 credits on IMDb stretching from 1947 to 2014, died Sunday at his home in Pacific Palisades, his son Edwin said.

Schallert in 2004 made the list of TV Guide’s 50 Greatest TV Dads (he placed No. 39) for playing the constantly bedeviled Martin Lane — the warm-hearted father of reckless teenager Patty Lane (Duke) and the uncle of her level-headed twin cousin Cathy (also Duke) — on The Patty Duke Show, which aired from 1963-66 on ABC.

On CBS’ hip sitcom The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, which ran from 1959-63, Schallert recurred as Leander Pomfritt, an English teacher often flummoxed by two students in particular: Dobie (Dwayne Hickman) and his beatnik buddy Maynard G. Krebs (Bob Denver). (Herbert Anderson was the first choice for the role of Pomfritt, but he chose to play the dad on Dennis the Menace.)

But for all his work — Schallert also played small-town Mississippi mayor Webb Schubert in the Oscar-winning best picture In the Heat of the Night (1967) — the actor often said that the character for which he was most recognized was Federation Undersecretary of Agricultural Affairs Nilz Baris. He’s the guy who discovered the batch of furry grain-devouring aliens in “The Trouble With Tribbles,” the classic December 1967 episode of NBC’s Star Trek.

The genial Los Angeles native starred in 1956 in the very first installment of the famed live CBS anthology series Playhouse 90, directed by John Frankenheimer, and played Admiral Hargrade, the brittle founder of CONTROL, on Get Smart; the librarian Mr. Bloomgarden on Leave It to Beaver; the fathers of Wendie Malick on Dream On and a grown-up Gidget (Caryn Richman) on The New Gidget; Agent Frank Harper on The Wild, Wild West (stepping in for Ross Martin, sidelined after a heart attack); and Mayor Norris on True Blood.

Oh, and later he was the voice of Milton the Toaster, the long-running spokesman in commercials for Kellogg’s Pop-Tarts.

Schallert served as SAG president from 1979-81, and during his tenure (which saw the actors go on strike for 94 days, with pay TV an issue for the first time), he founded the Committee for Performers With Disabilities. (Duke was SAG president after her TV dad was.)

In 1993, Schallert received the Ralph Morgan Award for service to the guild.

Roles in other science-fiction films like Them! (1954), Gog (1954) and The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957) followed, as did work in Red Badge of Courage (1951), Singin’ in the Rain (1952) — though his scene was left on the cutting room floor — The High and the Mighty (1954), Written on the Wind (1956), Roger Corman’s Gunslinger (1956), Friendly Persuasion (1956) and Pillow Talk (1959).

The dependable Schallert played Walter Matthau's mild-mannered deputy (his favorite role) in the Kirk Douglas starrer Lonely Are the Brave (1962), a down-and-out ex-racer opposite Elvis Presley in Speedway (1968), a professor in The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969) and a sheriff in Charley Varrick (1973) with his pal, Walter Matthau.

Later, he appeared in The Jerk (1979), and director Joe Dante cast him in such films as Gremlins (1984), Innerspace (1987) and Matinee (1993).

Schallert was poised to be a leading man when he signed on to play a cartoonist whose creation comes to life in ABC’s Philbert, a pilot created by famed animator Friz Freleng. But the show never made it on the air.

Schallert was a guest star on such TV series as The Lone Ranger, Gunsmoke, The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, Father Knows Best, The Twilight Zone, Peter Gunn, Perry Mason, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Maude, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Desperate Housewives and How I Met Your Mother.

And he had recurring roles on Philip Marlowe, The Waltons, Norman Lear’s The Nancy Walker Show, The Nancy Drew Mysteries (as the lawyer father of the amateur sleuth played by Pamela Sue Martin), The Duck Factory (as Jim Carrey’s dad) and The Torkelsons as an elderly boarder who lives on Martin Lane (get it?).

He performed in numerous miniseries, including 1979’s Blind Ambition (as Richard Nixon adviser Herbert Kalmbach), 1986’s North and South, Book II (as Robert E. Lee), 1988-89’s War and Remembrance, 2008’s Recount and 2011’s Bag of Bones, recruited by Stephen King.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/new...ty-duke-732312

Morley Safer
 

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Morley Safer, a CBS television correspondent who brought the horrors of the Vietnam War into the living rooms of America in the 1960s and was a mainstay of the network’s newsmagazine “60 Minutes” for almost five decades, died on Thursday at his home in Manhattan. He was 84.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/19/bu...dies.html?_r=0

Alan Young
 

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Actor-comedian Alan Young, who played the amiable straight man to a talking horse in the 1960s sitcom "Mister Ed," has died. He was 96.

Young was already a well-known radio and TV comedian, having starred in his own Emmy-winning variety show, when "Mister Ed" was being readied at comedian George Burns' production company. Burns is said to have told his staff: "Get Alan Young. He looks like the kind of guy a horse would talk to."

Mr. Ed was a golden Palomino who spoke only to his owner, Wilbur Post, played by Young. Fans enjoyed the horse's deep, droll voice ("WIL-bur-r-r-r-r") and the goofy theme song lyrics ("A horse is a horse, of course, of course ... "). Cowboy star Allan "Rocky" Lane supplied Mr. Ed's voice.

Young also appeared in a number of films, including "Gentlemen Marry Brunettes," ''Tom Thumb," ''The Cat from Outer Space" and "The Time Machine," the latter the 1960 classic in which, speaking in a Scottish brogue, he played time traveler Rod Taylor's friend. Young had a small role in the 2002 "Time Machine" remake.

In later years, Young found a new career writing for and voicing cartoons. He portrayed Scrooge McDuck in 65 episodes for Disney's TV series "Duck Tales" and did voice-overs for "The Great Mouse Detective."

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment...l?intcmp=hpbt4

Beth Howland
 

Beth Howland, the actress best known for her role as a ditzy waitress on the 1970s and '80s CBS sitcom "Alice," has died. She was 74.

Howland was born May 28, 1941, in Boston. At 16, she landed a role on Broadway alongside Dick Van Dyke in "Bye Bye Birdie." CBS later noticed Howland on stage in the 1970 production of "Company" and brought her to Hollywood for a bit part on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show."

Small roles on "The Love Boat" and "Little House on the Prairie" followed before she was cast as Vera Louise Gorman on "Alice," a comedy set in an Arizona greasy spoon diner based on the 1974 Martin Scorcese film, "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore."

Howland earned four Golden Globe nominations during the comedy's 1976-85 run for her performance as the naive Vera.

After "Alice" ended, Howland largely disappeared from television acting, aside from bit parts on series including "Murder, She Wrote" and "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch."

Howland created Tiger Rose Productions with actress Jennifer Warren. The company produced "You Don't Have to Die," a 1988 HBO documentary about a boy's battle against cancer that won an Academy Award for best short-subject documentary.

You were the greatest! RIP :'(
 

http://quotespics.com/wp-content/upl...4099701817.jpg

You know you're getting old when so many "legends" you grew up admiring pass away. RIP Mr Ali.

I have such fond memories of watching his fights side by side with my dad.

RIP :rrose:

Bretagne, 16, last known 9/11 search dog
 

Bretagne was 2 years old when she and her handler, Denise Corliss, were part of the Texas Task Force 1 sent to the World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan after the terrorist attack brought down the buildings on Sept. 11, 2001. They spent 10 days at the scene searching rubble for human remains.

Bretagne retired from active duty at age 9. She served as an ambassador for search and rescue dogs in retirement

She was nominated for a Hero Dog Award from the American Humane Association in 2014. At 15, she was taken by Corliss to the 9-11 memorial and participated in an interview with Tom Brokaw of NBC News.

In recent weeks she was in failing health.

About two-dozen first responders lined the sidewalk leading to the veterinarian’s office and saluted Bretagne as she walked by for the final time Monday. An American flag was draped over her as she was carried out of the facility.

http://globalnews.ca/news/2745804/91.../?sf28137339=1

Gordie Howe
 

Gordie Howe, one of the greatest and most durable players in the history of hockey, who powered his Detroit Red Wings teams to four Stanley Cup championships and was 52 years old when he officially retired from playing the sport, died on Friday. He was 88.

Howe played professional hockey for 32 seasons. He was named a first- or second-team N.H.L. All-Star 21 times. The four Stanley Cups he helped the Red Wings win came in 1950, ’52, ’54 and ’55.

By the time he retired for the second and final time in 1980 as the oldest player in N.H.L. history, Howe had set records for most seasons (26), games played (1,767), goals (801), assists (1,049) and points (1,850). He won both the Hart Trophy as the N.H.L.'s most valuable player and the Art Ross Trophy as the league’s top points scorer six times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/11/sp...smtyp=cur&_r=0

“Waltons” actress Ronnie Claire Edwards
 

Ronnie Claire Edwards, a veteran actress who is best known for playing Corabeth Godsey on “The Waltons” has died. She was 83 years old.

The Oklahoma-born actress began performing in 1963, but her most noted work was during the 1970s. She appeared on several television shows in various roles until taking the part of Corabeth on “The Waltons” in 1975. She remained with the series until 1981, appearing in over 100 episodes. She also appeared in three “Waltons” made-for-TV movies in 1982.

Remaning active into the 21st century, Edwards appeared in the films “Nobody’s Fool” (1986) with Roseanna Arquette, and “The Dead Pool” (1988) featuring Clint Eastwood. She was also in several TV movies such as “Sweet Bird of Youth” (1989), Guess Who’s Coming for Christmas” (1990), and other “Waltons” TV movie in 1993 and 1995. She also made appearances on such shows as “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” Edwards also landed recurring roles in a few more TV series, such as “Boone,” “Sara,” and “Just in Time,” none of these lasting more than a season.

Ronnie Clair Edwards also wrote, along with Allen Crowe, a play called “Idols of the King.” It deals with the passionate fans of Elvis Presley.

Edwards was known as a delightful storyteller when discussing her career, and published a book, “The Knife Thrower’s Assistant: Memoris of a Human Target.”

Ronnie Claire Edwards died in her sleep on the night of June 14, 2016. She had been living in Dallas, Texas.

obit

Ann Morgan Guilbert
 

Ann Morgan Guilbert, actress who played Millie Helper on “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” has died at the age of 87.

Guilbert was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She studied theater arts at Stanford University.

She is best known for her beloved role as the next door neighbor and best friend of Laura Petrie (Mary Tyler Moore) on the 1960s classic sitcom, “The Dick Van Dyke Show.” She appeared on 61 episodes of the show.

In the 1990s, she had a notable supporting role as Fran Fine’s feisty grandmother on the sitcom, “The Nanny.” Other television appearances by Guilbert include “Seinfeld,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” and “That Girl.”

She also had roles in films including “Grumpier Old Men,” and as recently as 2010 she had appeared in the movie “Please Give.”

Anton Yelchin, Star Trek actor, dies at 27
 

Anton Yelchin died Sunday morning in “fatal traffic collision".

Yelchin begin his acting career appearing in shows like ER, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Law & Order: Criminal Intent. In 2006, he received critical acclaim for his performance in crime drama Alpha Dog and starred as the title character in the next year’s Charlie Bartlett.

The actor made his Star Trek debut in the franchise’s 2009 film, where he played Pavel Chekhov. He reprised that role in 2013’s Star Trek Into Darkness and again in the upcoming Star Trek Beyond, which is set to arrive in theaters July 22.

Although Yelchin was most known for his Star Trek work, he made a name for himself appearing in smaller films like 2011’s Like Crazy, where he starred opposite Felicity Jones, and 2011’s The Beaver, directed by Jodie Foster and also starring Mel Gibson and Jennifer Lawrence.

He last was seen in this year’s Green Room, a horror film released this past spring.

Pat Summitt, iconic University of Tennessee basketball coach, dead at 64
 

Pat Summitt, the iconic University of Tennessee women's basketball coach who became the winningest coach in college basketball history, has died at the age of 64, several years after being diagnosed with early onset dementia, her son, Tyler, and her foundation's website say.

For 38 years, the trailblazing coach roamed courtside at Tennessee, racking up 1,098 wins against only 208 losses. Along the way, there were eight national championships and 16 conference titles that put Summitt and women's college basketball on the nation's sports map.

She stepped down as Tennessee's coach in 2012, one year after announcing her diagnosis of early onset dementia, Alzheimer's type.

After her diagnosis, Summitt played a leading role in the fight against Alzheimer's. She launched the Pat Summitt Foundation, which is dedicated to researching and educating people about the disease while also providing services to patients and caregivers.

Summit grew up in north-central Tennessee, in a family of five, according to a 2012 ESPN profile. She went to high school in Henrietta, Tennessee, where she played basketball. She later went on to attend University of Tennessee at Martin.

Summitt took over as coach the job of Tennessee Lady Volunteers at the age of 22 in 1974. She has the most career wins of any Division I men's or women's basketball coach.

During her time, Tennessee never failed to reach the NCAA tournament, never received a seed lower than No. 5 and reached 18 Final Fours.

She led the 1984 Olympic team to a gold medal, after having won an Olympic silver medal herself in 1976.

Summitt continued to hold a position as head coach emeritus of the Tennessee women's basketball team up until her death. She attended nearly every home game and many practices in the first year after stepped down as coach, though she had a less visible role in subsequent seasons. She cut back on public appearances in recent years.

Summitt was also an author of three books, her most recent released in 2014, titled "Sum it Up."

Alvin Toffler, author of 'Future Shock,'
 

NEW YORK (AP) — Alvin Toffler, a guru of the post-industrial age whose million-selling "Future Shock" and other books anticipated the disruptions and transformations brought about by the rise of digital technology, has died. He was 87.

One of the world's most famous "futurists," Toffler was far from alone in seeing the economy shift from manufacturing and mass production to a computerized and information-based model. But few were more effective at popularizing the concept, predicting the effects and assuring the public that the traumatic upheavals of modern times were part of a larger and more hopeful story.

"Future Shock," a term he first used in a 1965 magazine article, was how Toffler defined the growing feeling of anxiety brought on by the sense that life was changing at a bewildering and ever-accelerating pace. His book combined an understanding tone and page-turning urgency as he diagnosed contemporary trends and headlines, from war protests to the rising divorce rate, as symptoms of a historical cycle overturning every facet of life.

"We must search out totally new ways to anchor ourselves, for all the old roots — religion, nation, community, family, or profession — are now shaking under the hurricane impact of the accelerative thrust," he wrote.

Toffler offered a wide range of predictions and prescriptions, some more accurate than others. He forecast "a new frontier spirit" that could well lead to underwater communities, "artificial cities beneath the waves," and also anticipated the founding of space colonies — a concept that fascinated Toffler admirer Newt Gingrich, the former House Speaker and presidential candidate. In "Future Shock," released in 1970, he also presumed that the rising general prosperity of the 1960s would continue indefinitely.

"We made the mistake of believing the economists of the time," Toffler told Wired magazine in 1993. "They were saying, as you may recall, we've got this problem of economic growth licked. All we need to do is fine-tune the system. And we bought it."

But Toffler attracted millions of followers, including many in the business community, and the book's title became part of the general culture. Curtis Mayfield and Herbie Hancock were among the musicians who wrote songs called "Future Shock" and the book influenced such science fiction novels as John Brunner's "The Shockwave Rider." More recently, Samantha Bee hosted a recurring "Future Shock" segment on Comedy Central.

Toffler is credited with another common expression, defining the feeling of being overrun with data and knowledge as "information overload."

In the decades following "Future Shock," Toffler wrote such books as "Powershift" and "The Adaptive Corporation," lectured worldwide, taught at several schools and met with everyone from Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to network executives and military officials. China cited him along with Franklin Roosevelt, Bill Gates and others as the Westerners who most influenced the country even as Communist officials censored his work.

In 2002, the management consultant organization Accenture ranked him No. 8 on its list of the top 50 business intellectuals.

His most famous observation: "The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn."

After "Future Shock," Toffler also continued to sketch out how the world was changing and how to respond. In "The Third Wave," a 1980 best-seller that AOL founder Steve Case would cite as a formative influence, he looked to a high-tech society that Case, Steve Jobs and others were just starting to put in place. He forecast the spread of email, telecommuting, teleconferences, interactive media, devices that remind you "of your own appointments" and online chat rooms.

Overall, he pronounced the downfall of the old centralized hierarchy and looked forward to a more dispersed and responsive society, populated by a hybrid of consumer and producer he called "the prosumer."

Toffler collaborated on many of his books and other projects with his wife, Heidi, who survives him. He is also survived by a sister, Caroline Sitter. Toffler's daughter, Karen, died in 2000.

Toffler, a native of New York City, was born Oct. 4, 1928 to Jewish Polish immigrants. A graduate of New York University, he was a Marxist and union activist in his youth, and continued to question the fundamentals of the market economy long after his politics moderated. He knew the industrial life firsthand through his years as a factory worker in Ohio.

"I got a realistic picture of how things really are made — the energy, love and rage that are poured into ordinary things we take for granted," he later wrote.

He had dreamed of being the next John Steinbeck, but found his talents were better suited for journalism. He wrote for the pro-union publication Labor's Daily and in the 1950s was hired by Fortune magazine to be its labor columnist. The origins of "Future Shock" began in the 1960s when Toffler worked as a researcher for IBM and other technology companies.

"Much of what Toffler wrote in 'Future Shock' is now accepted common sense, but at the time it defied conventional views of reality," John Judis wrote in The New Republic in 1995.

"Americans' deepest fears of the future were expressed by George Orwell's lockstep world of 1984. But Toffler, who had spent five years in a factory, understood that Americans' greatest problem was not being consigned to the tedium of the assembly line or the office. As he put it: 'The problem is not whether man can survive regimentation and standardization. The problem ... is whether he can survive freedom.'"

https://www.yahoo.com/news/alvin-tof...48.html?ref=gs
___

Rest in Peace Elie Wiesel.

July 2, 2016

"Holocaust survivor, Nobel laureate and author Elie Wiesel has died at the age of 87.

Wiesel survived the World War II Nazi death camps of Auschwitz and Buchenwald. After liberation, he went to France, then Israel and the United States, where he advocated on behalf of victims of hate and persecution around the world.

Elie Wiesel was called many things during his life: a messenger of peace, a humanitarian, a survivor. He liked to call himself simply a witness. And as a witness, he said, it was his duty to never let those who suffered be forgotten.

To forget the victims means to kill them a second time," he told NPR in April 2012. "So I couldn't prevent the first death. I surely must be capable of saving them from a second death.....

..Wiesel said the world should never remain silent while humans suffer, for neutrality, he said, only aids the oppressor, never the victim."

NPR

Broadway Actor John McMartin Dies at 86
 

John McMartin, the Broadway veteran who created roles in landmark musicals including “Sweet Charity” and “Follies,” had died.

The death of the longtime actor, whose face was familiar to TV audiences from roles on “The Golden Girls,” “Murder, She Wrote” and, most recently, “The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” was attributed to cancer in a paid obituary announcement in the New York Times.

On Broadway, he’d been seen in “All the Way,” the Tony winning 2014 production that starred Bryan Cranston, as well as musicals “Anything Goes” (2011) and “Grey Gardens” (2006).

McMartin, who was nominated for five Tony Awards over the course of his career, made his Broadway debut in 1961 play “The Conquering Hero,” but his first signature role came in 1966 Neil Simon-Cy Coleman musical “Sweet Charity,” in which he played the nebbishy accountant Oscar, a Tony-nominated performance he reprised in the 1969 movie version opposite Shirley MacLaine.

His association with composer Stephen Sondheim began with the short-lived but legendary 1971 premiere production of “Follies,” and he went on to star in a 1991 staging of “A Little Night Music” at the L.A.’s Ahmanson Theater, as well as a 2002 Broadway revival of “Into The Woods.”

In the early 1970s, he was a member of the New Phoenix Repertory Company during the troupe’s season on Broadway, in plays including Moliere’s “Don Juan,” O’Neill’s “The Great God Brown” and Durrenmatt’s “The Visit.” In 2001, he starred opposite Chita Rivera in the original Chicago production of Kander and Ebb’s musical adaptation of “The Visit.”

His TV credits included “Cheers” and “Frasier” as well as “The Partridge Family.” His film work included parts in “All the President’s Men,” “Blow Out” and “Kinsey.”

Garry Marshall, Happy Days creator and Pretty Woman director, dies at 81
 

Garry Marshall, the director, writer, and producer who developed such television shows as The Odd Couple and Happy Days and who helmed 18 films, including Pretty Woman and The Princess Diaries, died Tuesday evening from complications of pneumonia following a stroke at a hospital in Burbank, California. He was 81.

A towering figure in the world of TV comedy, Marshall wrote for The Joey Bishop Show, The Lucy Show, and The Dick Van Dyke Show in the 1960s and went on to create and executive produce several popular sitcoms in the ’70s, including The Odd Couple, Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, and Mork & Mindy.

He earned five Emmy nominations over the course of his career: four for The Odd Couple and one for Mork & Mindy.

Marshall began directing films in the ’80s, and scored his breakthrough with the 1990 romantic comedy Pretty Woman. The movie grossed $463 million at the worldwide box office and vaulted Julia Roberts to stardom. Marshall and Roberts would reunite on 1999’s Runaway Bride and Marshall’s most recent movie, Mother’s Day.

Marshall’s other directing credits included Beaches, two Princess Diaries movies, Overboard, Valentine’s Day, and New Year’s Eve. He also compiled dozens of acting credits over the years, on the big and small screens.

A native of the Bronx, New York, Marshall was the son of an industrial filmmaker and a dance instructor. He studied journalism at Northwestern University, served a stint in the army, and worked as a reporter for the New York Daily News before entering into show business.

Marshall remained active even in his final days. He recently finished a rewrite of the book for a Broadway adaptation of Pretty Woman, and Mother’s Day hit theaters in April.

He was the brother of actress/director Penny Marshall.