An open R.I.P. thread

EgonSpengler · Nov 3, 2014

I see the occasional "R.I.P." thread, and I thought a general thread for people to celebrate the lives of celebrities who have recently passed away might be in order.

All the usual forum rules of course apply, but I'd also like to ask that folks not troll with negative posts. If you want to trash a recently-deceased celebrity or their work, you can open another thread for that.

EgonSpengler · Nov 3, 2014

Jack Bruce

Age 71, Scottish musician most famous for playing bass alongside Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker in Cream.

Link to video.

Cream was a part of my early adolescent psychedelia phase, long after the band's heyday. I was maybe 12 or 13, and had been listening to early 60s rock and 70s pop. "Tales of Brave Ulysses" in particular turned my head, for its bizarre, stream-of-consciousness lyrics and flowing, 'bendy' music lines, the audio equivalent of staring into a lava lamp. That music could be evocative rather than descriptive hadn't yet occurred to me, and of course I had no experience with drugs yet. Sting (The Police) and Geddy Lee (Rush) have cited Bruce as an inspiration, and contemporaries Geezer Butler (Black Sabbath) and Roger Waters (Pink Floyd) named him among their all-time favorites.

EgonSpengler · Nov 3, 2014

Wayne Wells, a.k.a. "Wayne Static"

Age 48, American musician most famous for his industrial-metal band Static-X.

Link to video.

I remember hearing Wisconsin Death Trip in a local music store, roundabout 1999, and excitedly asking the guy behind the counter what was playing. At the time, we fans of hard music were in the midst of the "nu metal" avalanche. For me, Static-X immediately hearkened back to the industrial punk of my youth and blended it with thrash metal. Skinny Puppy meets Metallica. Ministry's The Land of Rape and Honey and A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste had been the closest thing in my collection up to then. I hadn't heard anything like it in years.

EgonSpengler · Nov 3, 2014

Marcia Strassman

Age 66, American actor most famous for the television series Welcome Back, Kotter and the film Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.

Given how young I was, my memories of "Welcome Back Kotter" are hazy, but they include Strassman's down-to-earth Julie. That a tall, smart, beautiful woman could appreciate a nerdy goofball like Gabe Kotter/Kaplan gave this nerdy little boy a little nerdy hope.

Borachio · Nov 3, 2014

Yeah. Jack Bruce.

Acker Bilk, world class clarinetist, and trad jazzist.

Most famous track:

Link to video.

Incidentally, BBC Radio 4 has a weekly programme "Last Words" about people who have died in the previous week, which is pretty much what this thread is. So this is kind of neat, I think.

Kaitzilla · Nov 4, 2014

Brittany Maynard, 29

http://www.people.com/article/brittany-maynard-died-terminal-brain-cancer
Had terminal brain cancer and moved to Oregon so she could take her own life when the pain and seizures got too great.

RIP

EgonSpengler · Nov 4, 2014

Borachio said:
Incidentally, BBC Radio 4 has a weekly programme "Last Words" about people who have died in the previous week, which is pretty much what this thread is. So this is kind of neat, I think.

Yeah, a separate thread for every one would be ridiculous*, but I thought having a place to say "Hey, this person was cool" might be nice to have.

Bilk wasn't a name I knew before his passing, but some of his tunes ring a bell.

Kaitzilla said:
Brittany Maynard, 29

The "right to die" is a topic that recurs in the news now and again. One hopes that Maynard helped move the conversation along. We'll see.

*That said, if someone thinks a particular celebrity merits a separate thread, by all means go ahead, I won't argue. I don't see RIP threads running amok, and the mods will decide when enough's enough.

Farm Boy · Nov 4, 2014

Tom Magliozzi, 77.

Link to video.

Antilogic · Nov 4, 2014

One of the car talk guys died!? No...

I posted a separate thread about the former mayor of Boston passing away. Tom Menino's funeral was yesterday, kind of a big deal around here but doesn't receive as much national coverage. This city really loved their mayor.

Farm Boy · Nov 4, 2014

Antilogic said:
One of the car talk guys died!? No...

Complications from Alzheimer's disease. Man I still love that show. I get a little miffed if I don't have an excuse to drive somewhere on Saturday mornings when the archives are running.

Tee Kay · Nov 6, 2014

Yesterday was the memorial service for Gough Whitlam, former prime minister of Australia (1972-75).

Depending on where you are on the political spectrum he's either our best prime minister (according to the Left) or Satan Himself (according to the Right). First post-White-Australia prime minister. Also the only Australian prime minister to be fired by the Governor-General.

Noel Pearson's eulogy here. Cate Blanchett's here.

Borachio · Nov 6, 2014

Link to video.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-29937355

The celebrated French flamenco guitarist Manitas de Plata - "Little Hands of Silver" - has died in the south of France at the age of 93.

During a long international career he sold 93 million records.

Born Ricardo Baliardos in a Gypsy caravan, he mastered the guitar as a child without being able to read music.

He recorded his first album in 1963 and went on a world tour after a triumphant concert at New York's Carnegie Hall.

As a rising star, he frequented cafes on the French Riviera and associated with celebrities including actress Brigitte Bardot and the artists Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali.

He had dozens of offspring, and once admitted he could not say for sure how many children he had. Among his children, reports suggest, were various members of the popular Gypsy Kings group.

His talent continued to inspire generations of guitarists long after his celebrity had waned.

Nonetheless he died a poor man, having spent much of his earnings on his extensive family, French media report. His daughter Francoise said he died in a retirement home, with family members at his bedside.

In 2011 he described his main passions in life as "music and women" and said "I played with my heart, and I've always lived from one day to the next".

EgonSpengler · Nov 12, 2014

Henry Jackson, a.k.a. Big Bank Hank, age 57

Link to video.

EgonSpengler · Nov 16, 2014

Glen A. Larson, age 77 - American television writer, producer, and "show runner"; '70s & '80s pop culture icon

Larson was a writer, creator, and/or producer for *deep breath* It Takes a Thief, The Virginian, Alias Smith & Jones, McCloud, Quincy M.E., Battlestar Galactica, The Hardy Boys & Nancy Drew Mysteries, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, B.J. and the Bear, Manimal, Masquerade, Knight Rider, The Fall Guy, and Magnum, P.I. Among others.

Link to video.

bhsup · Nov 23, 2014

Marion Barry died.

Former Washington DC Mayor Marion Barry, who won re-election after a drug arrest, has died at the age of 78.

A Democrat, Mr Barry served three terms from 1979 to 1991 before his personal life overshadowed his politics.

He was arrested in an FBI sting operation and tried on drug charges in 1990, but was only convicted on a single count of possession.

He remained popular with many poorer African American voters, and served a final term as mayor from 1995 to 1999.