Who's Next To Croak?

[RegularKarate]

Love seeing the progression of a twitter-joke turning into one of those picture things (do they have a name?).

The internet is too available now.

[MacGuffin]

Jim Carroll and Patrick Swayze... who will be number 3?  Here are my nominees:

Kanye
Glenn Beck
The guy who kidnapped Jaycee Dugard
Glenn Beck again
Kim Jong Il

Nope. It was Thurston Howell:

'Laugh-In' original Henry Gibson dies
Also appeared in 'Boston Legal,' four Robert Altman films
Spource: Hollywood Reporter

Henry Gibson, a wry comic character actor whose career included "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In," "Nashville" and "Boston Legal," died Monday at his home in Malibu after a brief battle with cancer. He was 73.

Gibson's breakthrough came in 1968 when he was cast as a member of the original ensemble of NBC's top-rated "Laugh-In," on which he performed for three seasons. Each week, a giant flower in his hand, he recited a signature poem, introducing them with the catch phrase that became his signature: "A Poem, by Henry Gibson."

The poems proved so popular that they led to the release of two comedy albums, "The Alligator" and "The Grass Menagerie," as well as a book, "A Flower Child's Garden of Verses."

After "Laugh-In," he played the evil Dr. Verringer in "The Long Goodbye" (1973), the first of four films in which he appeared for director Robert Altman. Their second collaboration came in "Nashville" (1975), in which Gibson earned a Golden Globe nomination and a National Society of Film Critics supporting-actor award for his performance as unctuous country singer Haven Hamilton. He also wrote his character's songs.

In television, Gibson's recent work included a five-season stint as cantankerous Judge Clarence Brown on ABC's "Boston Legal" and providing the voice for sardonic, eye-patched newspaperman Bob Jenkins on Fox's animated series "King of the Hill."

Born James Bateman in Germantown, Pa., on Sept. 21, 1935, Gibson began acting professionally at age 8. After graduating from Catholic University, he served in France from 1957-60 as an intelligence officer with the Air Force, then studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London.

Back in New York, the actor developed the comic persona of "Henry Gibson" (a pun on the name of playwright Henrik Ibsen), a humble, wide-eyed poet laureate from Fairhope, Ala. Appearances on "The Tonight Show" and "The Joey Bishop Show" led to him being flown out to Hollywood by Jerry Lewis to be cast in "The Nutty Professor" (1963).

Also that year, Gibson appeared in his Broadway debut opposite Walter Matthau and Ruth Gordon in Lillian Hellman's "My Mother, My Father and Me."

Other memorable film roles for Gibson included a turn as the voice of Wilbur the Pig in the animated "Charlotte's Web" (1973); as an Illinois Nazi pursuing John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd in "The Blues Brothers" (1980); as a menacing neighbor opposite Tom Hanks in "The 'Burbs" (1989); as flamboyant barfly Thurston Howell in Paul Thomas Anderson's "Magnolia" (1999); and as a befuddled priest in "Wedding Crashers" (2005).

In 2001, he returned to Broadway in the Encores! New York City Center production of Rogers & Hart's "A Connecticut Yankee."

Offscreen, Gibson was active as an environmentalist; he contributed opinion pieces and poetry to publications such as the Washington Post and donated proceeds from the sale of posters featuring his poetry to the then-fledgling Environmental Defense Fund.

Gibson is survived by three sons -- Jon, a business affairs executive at Universal Pictures; Charles, a director and two-time Oscar-winning visual effects supervisor; and James, a screenwriter -- and grandchildren Matthew and Miranda.

Memorial services are pending. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Screen Actors Guild Foundation and Friends of the Malibu Public Library.

[polkablues]

That's much sadder than any of my choices.

[squints]

damn. i loved that guy. well i'm making my first trip to LA in 20 years to see nashville on the big screen.

[ᾦɐļᵲʊʂ]

Offscreen, Gibson was active as an environmentalist; he contributed opinion pieces and poetry to publications such as the Washington Post and donated proceeds from the sale of posters featuring his poetry to the then-fledgling Environmental Defense Fund.
...

Memorial services are pending. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Screen Actors Guild Foundation and Friends of the Malibu Public Library.

Ok, so what I don't get is, why didn't he leave any money for the Environmental Defense Fund?  I mean, the Malibu Public Library makes sense, but why would it suggest donations to the Screen Actors Guild Foundation?  I would hope it was his request to have that done, but then I'm left to guess why.

[MacGuffin]

Pro wrestler, music video icon Albano dies at 76

NEW YORK - Captain Lou Albano, who became one of the most recognized professional wrestlers of the 1980s after appearing in Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" music video, died Wednesday. He was 76.

Albano, whose real name was Louis Vincent Albano, died in Westchester County in suburban New York, said Dawn Marie, founder of Wrestlers Rescue, an organization that helps raise money for the health care of retired wrestlers. He died of natural causes, Marie said.

World Wrestling Entertainment called him one of the company's "most popular and charismatic legends."

With his trademark Hawaiian shirts, wily goatee and rubber bands hung like piercings from his cheek, Albano was an outsize personality who, in a career spanning nearly five decades, was known as much for his showmanship as for his talent in the ring.

His fame skyrocketed when he appeared in Lauper's 1983 music video, playing a scruffy, overbearing father in a white tank top who gets shoved against a wall by the singer.

Partly because of the success of Albano's partnership with Lauper, the entity then known as the World Wrestling Federation forged ties with the music industry. That helped bring it to a wider national audience in the mid-1980s, known as the "Rock n' Wrestling" era.

It was a time when wrestlers such as Albano, Hulk Hogan, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and Andre the Giant were so popular that they could headline a television cartoon series and appear in movies.

Albano later had a role in the music video for Lauper's 1984 song "Time After Time," and he appeared in episodes of the TV series "Miami Vice" and in the 1986 movie "Body Slam." He played Mario in "The Super Mario Bros. Super Show," a live-action animated show, from 1989 to 1991.

His career in the ring began in 1953 in Canada, and he went on to form the "The Sicilians" tag team with Tony Altimore. They were known for wearing fedoras and talking about the Mafia in interviews, according to the book "WWE Legends" by Brian Solomon.

Albano also coached popular tag teams such as The Wild Samoans, The Executioners and The Moondogs. He retired from the WWE in 1996.

Albano was born on July 29, 1933, in Rome. After moving to the U.S., the family settled in Mount Vernon, N.Y. Survivors include his wife, Geri, four children and 14 grandchildren.

[MacGuffin]

'Alien' writer Dan O'Bannon dies
'Star Wars,' 'Dark Star' also among his credits

Dan O'Bannon, the unassuming sci-fi screenwriter and quirky horror specialist behind the "Alien" film franchise, died Thursday in Los Angeles after a short illness. He was 63.

O'Bannon adapted the Philip K. Dick tales "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale" and "Second Variety" into "Total Recall" (1990) and "Screamers" (1995), respectively. He wrote 1985 space vampire tale "Lifeforce," wrote and directed the zombie parody "The Return of the Living Dead" (1985) and helmed "The Resurrected" (1992), an HP Lovecraft adaptation.

The St. Louis-born O'Bannon met John Carpenter at USC, where the two wrote a short film that turned into the low-budget cosmic comedy "Dark Star" (1974). O'Bannon co-wrote the pic with Carpenter, who also directed, and served as effects supervisor, production designer, editor and actor (playing Sgt. Pinback).

O'Bannon was hired by George Lucas to do some effects work on "Star Wars" in 1977, then set "Alien" on its course into space with his and Ronald Shusett's bug-filled action spec script "The Star Beast."

O'Bannon also worked on the sequels "Aliens" (1986), "Alien3" (1992), "Alien: Resurrection" (1997) and the two "Alien vs. Predator" films from 2004 and 2007. He was working on the untitled "Alien" prequel that is set for 2011.

[Gold Trumpet]

Reported: Brittany Murphy Dead of Cardiac Arrest

Source: The Wrap

Actress Brittany Murphy has died, according to TMZ.

The 32-year-old actress, who starred in "Clueless" and with Eminem in "8 Mile," went into full cardiac arrest and could not be revived on Sunday morning, multiple sources told the site.

TheWrap has not yet been able to confirm the report.

The Los Angeles City Fire Department said a 911 call was made at 8 a.m. from the Los Angeles home of Murphy's husband, Simon Monjack. She was pronounced dead on arrival at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

[matt35mm]

It's always especially sad when a person dies so young.

[Pas]

Unexpected! SNL made fun of her couple weeks ago too.

Must be drug related, she looked like a crazy/weird person.

[polkablues]

Besides being anorexic, she's been rumored to be a heroin addict for years, so this is sad, but unfortunately not too surprising.

[Ravi]

http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2009/12/29/avenged-sevenfold-drummer-james-sullivan-dies-28/

December 29, 2009
Avenged Sevenfold drummer James Sullivan dies 28

James Sullivan, the drummer for the Huntington Beach rock band Avenged Sevenfold, died on Monday, according to Orange County authorities.

The cause of death is still under investigation. Sullivan, 28, was found unresponsive inside his home.

"It is with great sadness and heavy hearts that we tell you of the passing today of Jimmy 'The Rev' Sullivan," band members posted in a statement on the group's official Web site. "Jimmy was not only one of the world's best drummers, but more importantly he was our best friend and brother. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Jimmy's family and we hope that you will respect their privacy during this difficult time."

News of Sullivan's death prompted an outpouring of grief on social media sites as well as on the band's official Web site.

"I cant believe it..The Rev is gone..R.I.P. Jimmy Sullivan..im crying so hard right now. I think Im in complete shock," a fan with the handle Star888Star posted on Twitter this morning.

The group, which blended hard rock with hard-core punk, was named Best New Artist at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2006.

[OrHowILearnedTo]

Don't worry, Johnny Christ should be able to bring him back

[Gold Trumpet]

French film-maker Eric Rohmer dies aged 89


The French arthouse film-maker Eric Rohmer has died aged 89, according to his production house.

Les Films du Losange said Rohmer, who was a key figure in the postwar French New Wave cinema movement, died in Paris earlier today. The cause of death was not immediately known.

Rohmer's best-known films included Tales of Four Seasons, My Night at Maud's and Claire's Knee. After the release of his last film, The Romance of Astrea and Celadon, at the Venice film festival in 2007, he said he was considering retirement.

Rohmer debuted in cinema in the early 1950s. In 2001, he was awarded a Golden Lion at the Venice film festival for his body of work.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/jan/11/eric-rohmer-death

[children with angels]

Good NYT obit on Rohmer:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/12/movies/12rohmer.html