Who's Next To Croak?

[mogwai]

Rodney King Dies at 47



Rodney King, whose videotaped beating by four LAPD officers sparked the events that led to the 1992 Los Angeles riots, has died at 47, police said.

King, who appeared on VH1's "Celebrity Rehab" and "Sober House" in recent years as he battled a crippling addiction to alcohol, was found dead in a swimming pool, TMZ reported. The site said he was found by his fiancee.

King died in Rialto, Calif. Police there were investigating.

Four officers beat King in 1991 after he led them on a drunken high-speed chase. It was captured on camera by George Holliday, in one of the first cases of a private citizen's camcorder capturing what became a major news event. The release of the video sparked widespread outrage over the brutality and led to charges against the four officers.

When three of the officers were acquitted the following April 29 -- and jurors could not reach a decision on the fourth -- the outrage was immediate. It led to days of rioting that claimed 53 lives.

In one of the most heartbreaking moments of the riots, an obviously unnerved King briefly spoke to reporters, making a shaky plea for peace.

"Can we all get along?" he asked. "Can we stop making it horrible for the older people and the kids?

Story continues after the video:

In 1993, King testified against the officers in a federal trial in which they were accused of violating his civil rights. Two of them were convicted and two were acquitted.

King also sued the city of Los Angeles and was awarded $3.8 million in damages.

By then, King was in the midst of an ugly battle with alcohol. He said he turned to drinking as he dealt with the trauma of the beating. He crashed his car repeatedly and was accused of hitting his wife with it.

He joined "Celebrity Rehab" in 2008. Footage from the series showed him trying to work, but passing out on the job. But he announced in February 2010 that he had been sober for 11 months.

King most recently returned to the public eye this year, when he issued a statement saying he was "grieving" for Trayvon Martin, the Florida teenager shot by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman.

"The horrifying sound of a young black male screaming for his life on a 911 call reminded me of my horrifying scream on a videotape 20 years ago," King said. "At that time, I thought I was going to die. Very, very gratefully, I survived.  Unfortunately, Trayvon Martin did not."

[modage]

Later Sarris. cc GT.

[chere mill]

very sad news, but hardly unexpected. seems like just yesterday when he left the village voice. he was a strong critical voice - he wrote in depth about film, had his champions (the auteur theory) and foes (pauline kael). i didn't always share his film taste, but i enjoyed his books on the american cinema and film history. all in all, a sad day for film criticism.

[matt35mm]

Well, she's not dead yet, but since this thread is called "Who's Next To Croak?," I figure it falls in line to post this:

Writer and Director Nora Ephron Gravely Ill, Friends Say

Source: Good Morning America

The writer and director Nora Ephron is gravely ill in her battle with leukemia, a source close to the family told ABC News.

Ephron, the writer of such iconic films as "When Harry Met Sally," "Sleepless in Seattle,"  and "You've Got Mail," is 71 years old. Newspaper columnist Liz Smith told ABC that Ephron's funeral is already planned, and that Ephron is "deathly ill."

Writer Richard Cohen also confirmed to ABC News that Ephron's death is "imminent."

A source close to Ephron confirmed those reports.

Ephron is married to filmmaker Nicholas Pillegi, 79, and is the mother of two children from her previous marriage to journalist Carl Bernstein.

In recent years, Ephron earned acclaim for her novel about aging, "I Feel Bad About My Neck," as well as the play she coauthored with her daughter, "Love, Lost, and What I Wore."

She also wrote and directed the 2009 film "Julie and Julia," starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams.

Ephron has won three Academy Awards for her work.

---------------------------------------------

EDIT: Just read a breaking news thing that she has died.

[Just Withnail]

also

Charlie Kaufman's Ambitious Meta-Musical 'Frank Or Francis' Is Not Dead, But It Has Been Postponed
Source: Playlist

[ono]

Andy Griffith.  Loved him when I was a lad.  The gentle comedy of the Andy Griffith show was great growing up, and I can't tell you how many times Matlock was there when I was home sick from school.  Heh.  RIP, Sheriff Taylor.

[Pubrick]

Borgnine at 95.

[matt35mm]

Richard D. Zanuck has died of a heart attack at age 77.

[Reel]

Lupe Ontiveros dies at 69
source: LA Times

Actress Lupe Ontiveros, who received an Emmy nomination for her role as a nosy mother-in-law on "Desperate Housewives," died Thursday night of liver cancer in a hospital in Whittier, said her agent, Michael Greenwald. She was 69.

Ontiveros, a longtime resident of Pico Rivera, was surrounded by friends and family, including actors Esai Morales and Edward James Olmos.

Though Ontiveros was seen most frequently in maid roles in everything from "The Goonies"to the sitcom "Reba," her most prominent role was in the 1997 movie "Selena," in which she played Yolanda Saldivar, the president of Selena's fan club who was obsessed with the singing sensation to the point of murder. More recently, she had a recurring role on the ABC hit series "Desperate Housewives," playing the mother-in-law of Eva Longoria's character.

Ontiveros once estimated she had played maids or domestics over 300 times in films, TV and theater. She told an NPR interviewer in 2009 that the maid roles had helped raise her level of fame beyond what any character actor would expect.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

my favorite role of hers was in 'Chuck and Buck.' Favorite movie she was in, 'Storytelling,' hands down. Sad day. She had it maid.

[72teeth]

 

R.I.P. Gramma doppleganger

[Jeremy Blackman]

Pun of the day IMO.

[tpfkabi]

Sherman Hemsley seems to be virtually forgotten. He always cracked me up. I was watching episodes of Amen a few months ago just to watch the opening credits and cracking up.

[BB]

Sherman Hemsley seems to be virtually forgotten. He always cracked me up. I was watching episodes of Amen a few months ago just to watch the opening credits and cracking up.

If this is real, and I have no reason to suspect that it's not, I desperately hope for a Sherman Hemsley biopic.

http://badassdigest.com/2012/07/24/sherman-hemsley-had-an-lsd-lab-in-his-basement/

[The Perineum Falcon]

Chris Marker, 91 yesterday.

[Ravi]

Marvin Hamlisch at 68