Who's Next To Croak?

[bonanzataz]

[MacGuffin]

Former President Ford dead at 93

Gerald R. Ford, who picked up the pieces of Richard Nixon's scandal-shattered White House as the 38th and only unelected president in America's history, has died, his wife, Betty, said Tuesday. He was 93.

"My family joins me in sharing the difficult news that Gerald Ford, our beloved husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather has passed away at 93 years of age," Mrs. Ford said in a brief statement issued from her husband's office in Rancho Mirage. "His life was filled with love of God, his family and his country."

The statement did not say where Ford died or list a cause of death. Ford had battled pneumonia in January 2006 and underwent two heart treatments -- including an angioplasty -- in August at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

He was the longest living president, followed by Ronald Reagan, who also died at 93. Ford had been living at his desert home in Rancho Mirage, Calif., about 130 miles east of Los Angeles.

Ford was an accidental president, Nixon's hand-picked successor, a man of much political experience who had never run on a national ticket. He was as open and straight-forward as Nixon was tightly controlled and conspiratorial.

He took office minutes after Nixon flew off into exile and declared "our long national nightmare is over." But he revived the debate a month later by granting Nixon a pardon for all crimes he committed as president. That single act, it was widely believed, cost Ford election to a term of his own in 1976, but it won praise in later years as a courageous act that allowed the nation to move on.

The Vietnam War ended in defeat for the U.S. during his presidency with the fall of Saigon in April 1975. In a speech as the end neared, Ford said: "Today, America can regain the sense of pride that existed before Vietnam. But it cannot be achieved by refighting a war that is finished as far as America is concerned." Evoking Abraham Lincoln, he said it was time to "look forward to an agenda for the future, to unify, to bind up the nation's wounds."

Ford also earned a place in the history books as the first unelected vice president, chosen by Nixon to replace Spiro Agnew who also was forced from office by scandal.

He was in the White House only 895 days, but changed it more than it changed him.

Even after two women tried separately to kill him, the presidency of Jerry Ford remained open and plain.

Not imperial. Not reclusive. And, of greatest satisfaction to a nation numbed by Watergate, not dishonest.

Even to millions of Americans who had voted two years earlier for Richard Nixon, the transition to Ford's leadership was one of the most welcomed in the history of the democratic process -- despite the fact that it occurred without an election.

After the Watergate ordeal, Americans liked their new president -- and first lady Betty, whose candor charmed the country.

They liked her for speaking openly about problems of young people, including her own daughter; they admired her for not hiding that she had a mastectomy -- in fact, her example caused thousands of women to seek breast examinations.

And she remained one of the country's most admired women even after the Fords left the White House when she was hospitalized in 1978 and admitted to having become addicted to drugs and alcohol she took for painful arthritis and a pinched nerve in her neck. Four years later she founded the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, a substance abuse facility next to Eisenhower Medical Center.

Ford slowed down in recent years. He had been hospitalized in August 2000 when he suffered one or more small strokes while attending the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia.

The following year, he joined former presidents Carter, Bush and Clinton at a memorial service in Washington three days after the Sept. 11 attacks. In June 2004, the four men and their wives joined again at a funeral service in Washington for former President Reagan. But in November 2004, Ford was unable to join the other former presidents at the dedication of the Clinton presidential library in Little Rock, Ark.

In January, Ford was hospitalized with pneumonia for 12 days. He wasn't seen in public until April 23, when President Bush was in town and paid a visit to the Ford home. Bush, Ford and Betty posed for photographers outside the residence before going inside for a private get-together.

The intensely private couple declined reporter interview requests and were rarely seen outside their home in Rancho Mirage's gated Thunderbird Estates, other than to attend worship services at the nearby St. Margaret's Episcopal Church in Palm Desert

[Ravi]

http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/TV/12/22/obit.evans.ap/index.html?section=cnn_latest

Mike Evans, original Lionel Jefferson, dead
POSTED: 3:02 p.m. EST, December 22, 2006

TWENTYNINE PALMS, California (AP) -- Actor Mike Evans, best known as Lionel Jefferson in the TV sitcoms "All in the Family" and "The Jeffersons," has died. He was 57.

Evans died of throat cancer December 14 at his mother's home in Twentynine Palms, said his niece, Chrystal Evans.

Evans, along with Eric Monte, also created and wrote for "Good Times," one of the first TV sitcoms that featured a primarily black cast.

Michael Jonas Evans was born November 3, 1949, in Salisbury, North Carolina. His father, Theodore Evans Sr., was a dentist while his mother, Annie Sue Evans, was a school teacher.

The family moved to Los Angeles when Evans was a child.

He studied acting at Los Angeles City College before getting the role of Lionel Jefferson in 1970s situation comedy "All in the Family."

Evans kept the role of Lionel when "The Jeffersons" launched in 1975. The hit show was a spinoff featuring bigoted Archie Bunker's black neighbors in Queens who "move on up to the East Side" of Manhattan.

Evans was replaced by Damon Evans (no relation) for four years, then he returned to the series from 1979 to 1981.

He also acted in the 1976 TV miniseries "Rich Man, Poor Man" and made guest appearances on the TV series "Love, American Style" and "The Streets of San Francisco." His last role was in a 2000 episode of "Walker, Texas Ranger."

In recent years he had invested in real estate in Southern California.

[Reinhold]

USC Kicker Found Dead at Bottom of Cliff
By Associated Press
1 hour ago

LOS ANGELES - Southern California kicker Mario Danelo was found dead Saturday about 120 feet down a rocky cliff near Point Fermin lighthouse in the city's San Pedro section.

The body was reported by a passer-by at about 4:30 p.m., said Martha Garcia of the Los Angeles Police Department.

Danelo, the 21-year-old son of former NFL kicker Joe Danelo, made 15 of 16 field goals this season and led the Trojans in scoring with 89 points. The junior made two field goals in the Rose Bowl on Monday to help USC beat Michigan 32-18.

Speaking on behalf of Trojans coach Pete Carroll, USC spokesman Tim Tessalone said: "We were stunned to hear about this tragedy. This is a great loss. Mario was a wonderful young man of high character.

"He was one heck of a kicker. He was a key ingredient in our success the past two years. The thoughts and prayers of the entire Trojan family go out to the Danelo family on this sad, sad day."

The family declined to comment.

A former San Pedro High School linebacker and soccer player, Danelo made the Trojans as a walk-on in 2003. In 2005, he received a scholarship and earned the starting kicking job.

He only missed two field goals in his career, going 26-for-28, and was 127-of-134 on extra points. In 2005, he set NCAA single-season records with 83 extra points and 86 attempts

[Ravi]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070110/ap_en_tv/obit_de_carlo

'Munsters' star Yvonne De Carlo dies
By BOB THOMAS, Associated Press Writer

LOS ANGELES - Yvonne De Carlo, the beautiful star who played Moses' wife in "The Ten Commandments" but achieved her greatest popularity on TV's slapstick comedy "The Munsters," has died. She was 84.

De Carlo died of natural causes Monday at the Motion Picture & Television facility in suburban Los Angeles, longtime friend and television producer Kevin Burns said Wednesday.

De Carlo, whose shapely figure helped launch her career in B-movie desert adventures and Westerns, rose to more important roles in the 1950s. Later, she had a key role in a landmark Broadway musical, Stephen Sondheim's "Follies."

But for TV viewers, she will always be known as Lily Munster in the 1964-1966 horror-movie spoof "The Munsters." The series (the name allegedly derived from "fun-monsters") offered a gallery of Universal Pictures grotesques, including Dracula and Frankenstein's monster, in a cobwebbed gothic setting.

[Pubrick]

carlo ponti died and it was top news 5 hours ago, now this munster story has pushed him further underground in the headlines. jerry lewis must be rolling in his bed.


http://entertainment.tv.yahoo.com/entnews/ap/20070110/116846124000.html

Movie Producer Carlo Ponti Dies

Italian producer Carlo Ponti, who discovered a teenage Sophia Loren, launched her film career and later married her despite threats of bigamy charges and excommunication, has died in Geneva. He was 94.

Ponti died Tuesday night at a Geneva hospital, his family said Wednesday. He had been hospitalized about 10 days earlier for pulmonary complications, it said.

He produced more than 100 films, including "Doctor Zhivago," "The Firemen's Ball," and "The Great Day," which were nominated for Oscars. Other major films included "Blow-Up," "The Cassandra Crossing," "Zabriskie Point" and "The Squeeze."

In 1956, "La Strada," which he co-produced, won the Academy Award for best foreign film, as did "Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow" in 1964.

But it was his affair with the young ingenue Loren that captivated the public, rather than his work with top filmmakers such as Dino De Laurentiis, Federico Fellini, Jean-Luc Godard, Peter Ustinov, David Lean and Roman Polanski.

"I have done everything for love of Sophia," he said in a newspaper interview shortly before his 90th birthday in 2002. "I have always believed in her."

Born near Milan in the small town of Magenta on Dec. 11, 1912, Ponti studied law and worked as a lawyer before moving into film production in the late 1930s.

He was married to his first wife, Giuliana, when he met Loren then Sofia Lazzaro about 1950. At the time she was only 15 a quarter-century younger than Ponti.

They tried to keep their relationship a secret despite huge media interest, while Ponti's lawyers went to Mexico to obtain a divorce from his first wife.

Ponti and Loren were married by proxy in Mexico in 1957 two male attorneys took their place and the happy couple only found out when the news was broken by society columnist Louella Parsons.

But they were unable to beat stringent Italian divorce laws and the wrath of the Roman Catholic church. Ponti was charged with bigamy.

...[read the rest of the article at yahoo, it's interesting]

[MacGuffin]

Anna Nicole Smith has died, news reports say

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. -- Anna Nicole Smith, the former Playboy model and reality television star, collapsed in her hotel room in Florida, was rushed to a hospital and has died, various media reported.

Smith, 39, was found unconscious in her hotel room at the Hard Rock in Hollywood, Fla., according to CNN and CBS television reports.

CNN reported that Smith had collapsed at a casino and CPR was performed at the scene.

[matt35mm]

I know that this is probably entirely morally reprehensible and all that, but my first thought was:

"Trimspa, baby!"

[RegularKarate]

I know that this is probably entirely morally reprehensible

that doesn't matter.. you just have to ask yourself one thing "Is it funny?"

The answer: no





shame on you

[Ravi]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/TV/01/21/carey.obit.ap/index.html

'Barney Miller' actor Ron Carey dead at 71

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Ron Carey, an actor best known for his work as a cocky, height-challenged policeman on the 1970s TV comedy "Barney Miller," has died. He was 71.

Carey died of a stroke Tuesday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, said Michael Ciccolini, an extended relative and family spokesman.

Carey had a recurring role on "Barney Miller" from 1976 to 1982 as Officer Carl Levitt, who yearned for a promotion to detective in the New York squad room run by Capt. Barney Miller (Hal Linden).

Carey also appeared in several Mel Brooks movies, including "High Anxiety" and "History of the World Part I."

"Ron Carey was truly talented, very funny and one of the dearest men I've ever worked with," Brooks said in a statement. (Watch the Hollywood Minute remember Ron CareyVideo)

Carey played a Boston cab driver in the 1970 Jack Lemmon comedy "The Out of Towners." He also appeared in scores of commercials, and took pride in being a supporting player and a character actor.

"Stars are stars," he told Newsday in 1989. "But without us, the show wouldn't go on."

Carey was born Ronald Joseph Cicenia on December 11, 1935, in Newark, New Jersey.

He launched his stand-up comedy career in New York after earning a bachelor's degree in communications from Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey, in 1956. He made his first national television appearance a decade later on "The Merv Griffin Show." Appearances on "The Tonight Show" and the "Ed Sullivan Show" followed.

Carey is survived by his wife, Sharon, and his brother, Jimmy Cicenia.

[mogwai]

unless somebody can find a obituary written in english about this person, i'd like to write a few words about this...

an swedish actress by the name of johanna sällström passed away today. she was only 32 years old. her breakthrough came by the swedish movie "beneath the surface" (under ytan). she was awarded a guldbagge (a swedish oscar) for her portrayal of a troubled junkie.

i found a tribute video at youtube (made before her death):

[Pubrick]

unless somebody can find a obituary written in english about this person, i'd like to write a few words about this...

an swedish actress by the name of johanna sällström passed away today. she was only 32 years old. her breakthrough came by the swedish movie "beneath the surface" (under ytan). she was awarded a guldbagge (a swedish oscar) for her portrayal of a troubled junkie.

i found a tribute video at youtube (made before her death):

how did she die? wikipedia says she died at her home and link to this article which only you can understand. 

[mogwai]

various sources (swedish forums) says she committed suicide. but i will see what the official cause of death was.

it's such a shame because she was kind of the sweden's chloë sevigny in a way. she always picked roles that suited her persona (no offence to chloë, if that makes any sense). she always worked hard and it shows on screen.

she was in thailand when the tsunami struck in 2004. she was in the news after that and talked about coping with her experience. maybe that had something to do with it, i don't know.

[MacGuffin]

unless somebody can find a obituary written in english about this person

http://www.thelocal.se/6403/20070214/

[mogwai]

Dutch director Rademakers dies

Oscar-winning Dutch film director Fons Rademakers has died, aged 86.

He died of emphysema in a Geneva hospital after doctors turned off life-support machines at his request.

Rademakers won an Oscar in 1987 for best foreign-language film with De Aanslag, or The Attack, the high point of career in which he made 11 features.

Based on a novel by Harry Mulisch, it tells the story of a young boy whose family is killed by Germans during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands.

With Village on the River, his 1958 debut feature, Rademakers became the first Dutch filmmaker to be nominated for an Oscar.

He was also known for Max Havelaar, made in 1976, about corruption during the Dutch colonial period in Indonesia.