Obituaries

[pbrower2a]

On the other side, classical musicians (except for French horn players -- it's a beautiful instrument but brutal on lungs) can live very long lives. It may be hard to believe, but Itzhak Perlman, who must have had as punishing a schedule as any rock star at one time, seems very healthy -- at 72. And he had polio.

Classical conductors are famous for long lives. Sure, there are accidents (Guido Cantelli, air crash; Istvan Kertesz, drowning) .. but even Bernstein lived into his seventies despite being gay and a smoker. Neville Marriner recently died at age 93. Toscanini died just short of age 90.

Fritz Reiner, Colin Davis, Georg Solti, Claudio Abbado, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Charles Mackerras, Thomas Beecham, Bruno Walter, Karl Boehm, and Herbert von Karajan reached their eighties. Bernard Haitink is 88, and Seijo Ozawa is in his 80s. Leopold Stokowski barely missed being a centenarian. Want to live a long life, and have the choice of any career? Be a symphony conductor. I am not saying that that is a choice for many people. Neither is being a rock star.

Concert pianists, violinists, and cellists? We have plenty of examples of octogenarians and nonagenarians. Horowitz, Serkin, Rubinstein... that's pianists. Don't forget harpsichordists, among which I can count Wanda Landowska, Gustav Leonhart, and some Czech harpsichordist whose name you can easily recover.

Do classical musicians take better care of themselves? Maybe. Maybe being well rested before a concert is a necessity. Junk food may not be part of the tour (although most of these performers lived before junk food was common).

[pbrower2a]

Jalal Talabani (Kurdish: جەلال تاڵەبانی Celal Tallebanî, Arabic: جلال طالباني‎‎ Jalāl Ṭālabānī;12 November 1933 – 3 October 2017)[2] was an Iraqi Kurdish politician who served as the sixth President of Iraq from 2005 to 2014, as well as the President of the Governing Council of Iraq (39th Prime Minister of Iraq). He was the first non-Arab president of Iraq, although Abdul Karim Qasim was of partial Kurdish heritage.[3] He is known as "Mam Jalal" meaning "uncle Jalal" among Kurdish people.

Talabani is the founder and had been secretary general of one of the main Kurdish political parties, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). He was a prominent member of the Interim Iraq Governing Council, which was established following the overthrow of the Saddam Hussein regime by the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Talabani was an advocate for Kurdish rights and democracy in Iraq for more than 50 years. Apart from his native Kurdish, Talabani was fluent in Arabic, Persian, and English.

When in September 1961, the Kurdish uprising for the rights of the Kurds in northern Iraq was declared against the Baghdad government of Abdul Karim Qassem, Talabani took charge of the Kirkuk and Silemani battle fronts and organized and led separatist movements in Mawat, Rezan and the Karadagh regions. In March 1962, he led a coordinated offensive that brought about the liberation of the district of Sharbazher from Iraqi government forces. When not engaged in fighting in the early and mid-1960s, Talabani undertook numerous diplomatic missions, representing the Kurdish leadership at meetings in Europe and the Middle East.

The Kurdish separatist movement collapsed in March 1975, after Iran ended their support in exchange for a border agreement with Iraq. This agreement was the 1975 Algiers Agreement, where Iraq gave up claims to the Shatt al-Arab (Arvand Rūd) waterway and Khuzestan, which later became the basis for the Iran–Iraq War. Believing it was time to give a new direction to the Kurdish separatists and to the Kurdish society, Talabani, with a group of Kurdish intellectuals and activists, founded the Kurdish Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (Yekiaiti Nishtimani Kurdistan). In 1976, he began organizing an armed campaign for Kurdish independence inside Iraqi Kurdistan. During the 1980s, Talabani sided with Iran and led a Kurdish struggle from bases inside Iraq until the crackdown against Kurdish separatists from 1987 to 1988.

In 1991, he helped inspire a renewed effort for Kurdish independence. He negotiated a ceasefire with the Iraqi Ba'athist government that saved the lives of many Kurds and worked closely with the United States, United Kingdom, France and other countries to set up the safe haven in Iraqi Kurdistan. In 1992 the Kurdistan Regional Government was founded. Talabani has pursued a negotiated settlement to the internecine problems plaguing the Kurdish movement, as well as the larger issue of Kurdish rights in the current regional context. He works closely with other Kurdish politicians as well as the rest of the Iraqi opposition factions. In close coordination with Masoud Barzani, Talabani and the Kurds played a key role as a partner of the US-led Coalition in the invasion of Iraq.[7] Talabani was a member of the Iraqi Governing Council that negotiated the Transitional Administrative Law (TAL), Iraq's interim constitution. The TAL governed all politics in Iraq and the process of writing and adopting the final constitution.


Talabani was elected President of Iraq on April 6, 2005 by the Iraqi National Assembly and sworn into office the following day. On April 22, 2006, Talabani began his second term as President of Iraq, becoming the first President elected under the country's new constitution. His office was part of the Presidency Council of Iraq. Nawshirwan Mustafa was Talabani's deputy until Mustafa resigned in 2006 and formed an opposition party called Gorran.

More here. He figures heavily in the Second Gulf War and its consequences.

[pbrower2a]

[url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Jouvet]French neuroscientist Marcel Jouvet[/url]

Michel Valentin Marcel Jouvet (16 November 1925 in Lons-le-Saunier, Jura, France – 3 October 2017) was Emeritus Professor of Experimental Medicine at the University of Lyon. He spent one year in the laboratory of the Horace Magoun in Long Beach, California in 1955. Since this date, he undertakes research of Experimental Neurophysiology in the Faculty of Medicine of Lyon and of Clinical Neurophysiology in the Neurological Hospital of Lyon.

Experimental Medicine Professor at the University of LYON 1, he was the Director of the Research Unit INSERM U 52 (Molecular Onirology) and of the Associated Unit UA 1195 of the CNRS (states of vigilance Neurobiology).
He described the electroencephalogram signs of cerebral death in 1959, and in 1961 categorized sleep into two different states: telencephalic (slow wave) sleep and rhombencephalic sleep (paradoxical sleep, known as REM sleep in English-language writings on the subject).

In The Paradox of Sleep (MIT Press, 1999) Jouvet proposed the speculative theory that the purpose of dreaming is a kind of iterative neurological programming that works to preserve an individual's psychological heredity, the basis of personality.

He was elected in 1977 to the French Academy of Sciences and has received the Intra-Sciences Prize in the United States in 1981 and the Prize of the Foundation for the Medical Research in 1983. In 1991 he was awarded the prestigious Prix mondial Cino Del Duca. His works, and those of his team, have brought about the discovery of paradoxical sleep and to its individualisation as the third state of functioning of the brain in 1959, to the discovery of its phylogenesis, of its ontogenesis and its main mechanisms.

Jouvet was the researcher who first developed the analeptic drug Modafinil.

In 1959 Michel Jouvet conducted several experiments on cats regarding muscle atonia (paralysis) during REM sleep. Jouvet demonstrated that the generation of REM sleep depends on an intact pontine tegmentum and that REM atonia is due to an inhibition of motor centres in the medulla oblongata. Cats with lesions around the locus coeruleus have less restricted muscle movement during REM sleep, and show a variety of complex behaviours including motor patterns suggesting that they are dreaming of attack, defense and exploration.

(Cat behavior and physiology are both highly predictable and highly applicable to humans).

[Eric the Green]

(10-03-2017, 02:45 PM)pbrower2a Wrote: On the other side, classical musicians (except for French horn players -- it's a beautiful instrument but brutal on lungs) can live very long lives. It may be hard to believe, but Itzhak Perlman, who must have had as punishing a schedule as any rock star at one time, seems very healthy -- at 72. And he had polio.

Classical conductors are famous for long lives. Sure, there are accidents (Guido Cantelli, air crash; Istvan Kertesz, drowning) .. but even Bernstein lived into his seventies despite being gay and a smoker. Neville Marriner recently died at age 93. Toscanini died just short of age 90.

Fritz Reiner, Colin Davis, Georg Solti, Claudio Abbado, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Charles Mackerras, Thomas Beecham, Bruno Walter, Karl Boehm, and Herbert von Karajan reached their eighties. Bernard Haitink is 88, and Seijo Ozawa is in his 80s. Leopold Stokowski barely missed being a centenarian. Want to live a long life, and have the choice of any career? Be a symphony conductor. I am not saying that that is a choice for many people. Neither is being a rock star.  

Concert pianists, violinists, and cellists? We have plenty of examples of octogenarians and nonagenarians. Horowitz, Serkin, Rubinstein... that's pianists. Don't forget harpsichordists, among which I can count Wanda Landowska, Gustav Leonhart, and some Czech harpsichordist whose name you can easily recover.

Do classical musicians take better care of themselves? Maybe. Maybe being well rested before a concert is a necessity. Junk food may not be part of the tour (although most of these performers lived before junk food was common).

Excellent point. Maybe rock stars can learn a thing or two from those within the longer classical musical tradition. It is not a given that rock stars must take drugs, eat poorly, or not stop touring even when the pressure becomes too much.

Of course, comparing rock stars to conductors and performers may not be totally fair. Rock musicians are frequently the creators of music today (although the music is usually not as good, from a refined and educated point of view), whereas the most apt comparison might be to classical composers. Rock n roll and jazz artists apparently have a tradition of drugs and/or alcohol to release inhibitions and open themselves to inspiration as well as to relieve pressure.

In the old days classical composers tended to die young. And they are still the best composers in the tradition, although society was less healthy than today. One of the best composers of recent times, though, Alan Hovhannes, lived to be 89. Harold Shapero lived to be 93.

[pbrower2a]

(10-05-2017, 11:18 AM)Eric the Green Wrote: Excellent point. Maybe rock stars can learn a thing or two from those within the longer classical musical tradition. It is not a given that rock stars must take drugs, eat poorly, or not stop touring even when the pressure becomes too much.

Of course, comparing rock stars to conductors and performers may not be totally fair. Rock musicians are frequently the creators of music today (although the music is usually not as good, from a refined and educated point of view), whereas the most apt comparison might be to classical composers. Rock n roll and jazz artists apparently have a tradition of drugs and/or alcohol to release inhibitions and open themselves to inspiration as well as to relieve pressure.

In the old days classical composers tended to die young. And they are still the best composers in the tradition, although society was less healthy than today. One of the best composers of recent times, though, Alan Hovhannes, lived to be 89. Harold Shapero lived to be 93.

 Does Igor Stravinsky count as 'recent'? He died when we were teenagers.

Conducting is a mildly-athletic activity which conductors don't usually give up (other musicians tend to go that way, as Perlman is doing).  Although vigorous physical exercise such as running is really good for extending a lifetime, and I might note that one of the best identities for living to an advanced age is "Old Order Amish" -- they have practically no white-collar or sedentary jobs, and men and women both do heavy work for a long time.

But yes, avoid drugs and cancerweed, drink in moderation if at all, don't sleep with everything that moves, keep physically active, get adequate rest, and avoid junk food. If I am to guess which rock star is to live to age 90 who is now about 70 -- try Mick Jagger. It also helps to be intelligent enough to find meaning in life even in tough times (ask me!), and some of those rockers really are brilliant people. And let us not forget how surprised we were to find not that Chick Berry died, but instead that he was 90. We have few early rockers yet in their 80's. I think that Paul McCartney will get there.

One can age oneself quickly with cocaine. Think of Whitney Houston. I can only imagine what her heart (the organ) was like -- probably nonagenarian for all practical purposes. But the old perils for composers were much the same as those for most people at the time -- largely infectious diseases, diabetes, and cancer. Handel, Haydn, Verdi, Sibelius, and Vaughan-Williams lived to ripe old ages.

[beechnut79]

(10-05-2017, 12:46 PM)pbrower2a Wrote:

(10-05-2017, 11:18 AM)Eric the Green Wrote: Excellent point. Maybe rock stars can learn a thing or two from those within the longer classical musical tradition. It is not a given that rock stars must take drugs, eat poorly, or not stop touring even when the pressure becomes too much.

Of course, comparing rock stars to conductors and performers may not be totally fair. Rock musicians are frequently the creators of music today (although the music is usually not as good, from a refined and educated point of view), whereas the most apt comparison might be to classical composers. Rock n roll and jazz artists apparently have a tradition of drugs and/or alcohol to release inhibitions and open themselves to inspiration as well as to relieve pressure.

In the old days classical composers tended to die young. And they are still the best composers in the tradition, although society was less healthy than today. One of the best composers of recent times, though, Alan Hovhannes, lived to be 89. Harold Shapero lived to be 93.

 Does Igor Stravinsky count as 'recent'? He died when we were teenagers.

Conducting is a mildly-athletic activity which conductors don't usually give up (other musicians tend to go that way, as Perlman is doing).  Although vigorous physical exercise such as running is really good for extending a lifetime, and I might note that one of the best identities for living to an advanced age is "Old Order Amish" -- they have practically no white-collar or sedentary jobs, and men and women both do heavy work for a long time.

But yes, avoid drugs and cancerweed, drink in moderation if at all, don't sleep with everything that moves, keep physically active,  get adequate rest, and avoid junk food. If I am to guess which rock star is to live to age 90 who is now about 70 -- try Mick Jagger. It also helps to be intelligent enough to find meaning in life even in tough times (ask me!), and some of those rockers really are brilliant people.  And let us not forget how surprised we were to find not that Chick Berry died, but instead that he was 90. We have few early rockers yet in their 80's. I think that Paul McCartney will get there.

One can age oneself quickly with cocaine. Think of Whitney Houston. I can only imagine what her heart (the organ) was like -- probably nonagenarian for all practical purposes.  But the old perils for composers were much the same as those for most people at the time -- largely infectious diseases, diabetes, and cancer. Handel, Haydn, Verdi, Sibelius, and Vaughan-Williams lived to ripe old ages.

Of course there are notable exceptions in the rock field. Chuck Berry lived to 90. Kristofferson has now passed 80 and Dylan is well into his 70s. Are they the exceptions to the rule; probably not. He wasn't really a rocker, but Pete Seeger lived to 94.

[gabrielle]

(10-05-2017, 02:03 PM)beechnut79 Wrote:

(10-05-2017, 12:46 PM)pbrower2a Wrote:

(10-05-2017, 11:18 AM)Eric the Green Wrote: Excellent point. Maybe rock stars can learn a thing or two from those within the longer classical musical tradition. It is not a given that rock stars must take drugs, eat poorly, or not stop touring even when the pressure becomes too much.

Of course, comparing rock stars to conductors and performers may not be totally fair. Rock musicians are frequently the creators of music today (although the music is usually not as good, from a refined and educated point of view), whereas the most apt comparison might be to classical composers. Rock n roll and jazz artists apparently have a tradition of drugs and/or alcohol to release inhibitions and open themselves to inspiration as well as to relieve pressure.

In the old days classical composers tended to die young. And they are still the best composers in the tradition, although society was less healthy than today. One of the best composers of recent times, though, Alan Hovhannes, lived to be 89. Harold Shapero lived to be 93.

 Does Igor Stravinsky count as 'recent'? He died when we were teenagers.

Conducting is a mildly-athletic activity which conductors don't usually give up (other musicians tend to go that way, as Perlman is doing).  Although vigorous physical exercise such as running is really good for extending a lifetime, and I might note that one of the best identities for living to an advanced age is "Old Order Amish" -- they have practically no white-collar or sedentary jobs, and men and women both do heavy work for a long time.

But yes, avoid drugs and cancerweed, drink in moderation if at all, don't sleep with everything that moves, keep physically active,  get adequate rest, and avoid junk food. If I am to guess which rock star is to live to age 90 who is now about 70 -- try Mick Jagger. It also helps to be intelligent enough to find meaning in life even in tough times (ask me!), and some of those rockers really are brilliant people.  And let us not forget how surprised we were to find not that Chick Berry died, but instead that he was 90. We have few early rockers yet in their 80's. I think that Paul McCartney will get there.

One can age oneself quickly with cocaine. Think of Whitney Houston. I can only imagine what her heart (the organ) was like -- probably nonagenarian for all practical purposes.  But the old perils for composers were much the same as those for most people at the time -- largely infectious diseases, diabetes, and cancer. Handel, Haydn, Verdi, Sibelius, and Vaughan-Williams lived to ripe old ages.

Of course there are notable exceptions in the rock field. Chuck Berry lived to 90. Kristofferson has now passed 80 and Dylan is well into his 70s. Are they the exceptions to the rule; probably not. He wasn't really a rocker, but Pete Seeger lived to 94.

Keith Richards is 73.  Jerry Lee Lewis is 82.  Little Richard is 84.

[pbrower2a]

Yelberton Abraham Tittle Jr.

(almost always known by his initials)

Y. A. Tittle, (October 24, 1926 – October 8, 2017) was a professional American football quarterback. He played in the National Football League (NFL) for the San Francisco 49ers, New York Giants, and Baltimore Colts, after spending two seasons with the Colts in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC).[b] Known for his competitiveness, leadership, and striking profile, Tittle was the centerpiece of several prolific offenses throughout his seventeen-year professional career from 1948 to 1964.

Tittle played college football for Louisiana State University, where he was a two-time All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) quarterback for the LSU Tigers football team. As a junior, he was named the most valuable player (MVP) of the infamous 1947 Cotton Bowl Classic—also known as the "Ice Bowl"—a scoreless tie between the Tigers and Arkansas Razorbacks in a snowstorm. After college, he was drafted in the 1947 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions, but he instead chose to play in the AAFC for the Colts.

With the Colts, Tittle was named the AAFC Rookie of the Year in 1948 after leading the team to the AAFC playoffs. After back-to-back one-win seasons, the Colts franchise folded, which allowed Tittle to be drafted in the 1951 NFL Draft by the 49ers. Through ten seasons in San Francisco, he was invited to four Pro Bowls, led the league in touchdown passes in 1955, and was named the NFL Player of the Year by the United Press in 1957. A groundbreaker, Tittle was part of the 49ers' famed "Million Dollar Backfield", was the first professional football player featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated, and is credited with coining "alley-oop" as a sports term.

Considered washed-up, the 34-year-old Tittle was traded to the Giants following the 1960 season. Over the next four seasons, he won multiple NFL MVP awards, twice set the league single-season record for touchdown passes, and led the Giants to three straight NFL championship games. Although he was never able to deliver a championship to the team, Tittle's time in New York is regarded among the glory years of the franchise.[3] In his final season, Tittle was photographed bloodied and kneeling down in the end zone after a tackle by a defender left him helmetless. The photograph is considered one of the most iconic images in North American sports history. He retired as the NFL's all-time leader in passing yards, passing touchdowns, attempts, completions, and games played. Tittle was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1971, and his jersey number 14 is retired by the Giants.


Tittle was the sixth overall selection of the 1948 NFL Draft, taken by the Detroit Lions.[16] However, Tittle instead began his professional career with the Baltimore Colts of the All-America Football Conference in 1948. That season, already being described as a "passing ace",[17] he was unanimously recognized as the AAFC Rookie of the Year by UPI after passing for 2,739 yards and leading the Colts to the brink of an Eastern Division championship.[8] After a 1–11 win–loss record in 1949, the Colts joined the National Football League in 1950. The team again posted a single win against eleven losses, and the franchise folded after the season due to financial difficulties.[18] Players on the roster at the time of the fold were eligible to be drafted in the next NFL draft.[19]

Tittle was then drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the 1951 NFL Draft after the Colts folded. While many players at the time were unable to play immediately due to military duties, Tittle had received a class IV-F exemption due to physical ailments, so he was able to join the 49ers roster that season.[20] In 1951 and 1952, he shared time at quarterback with Frankie Albert. In 1953, his first full season as the 49ers' starter, he passed for 2,121 yards and twenty touchdowns and was invited to his first Pro Bowl.[21] San Francisco finished with a 9–3 regular season record, which was good enough for second in the Western Conference, and led the league in points scored.[22]
In 1954, the 49ers compiled their Million Dollar Backfield, which was composed of four future Hall of Famers: Tittle; fullbacks John Henry Johnson and Joe Perry; and halfback Hugh McElhenny.[23][24] "It made quarterbacking so easy because I just get in the huddle and call anything and you have three Hall of Fame running backs ready to carry the ball," Tittle reminisced in 2006.[23] The team had aspirations for a championship run, but injuries, including McElhenny's separated shoulder in the sixth game of the season, ended those hopes and the 49ers finished third in the Western Division.[24][25] Tittle starred in his second straight Pro Bowl appearance as he threw two touchdown passes, including one to 49ers teammate Billy Wilson, who was named the game's MVP.[26]
[/url]


Tittle on the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1954

Tittle became the first professional football player featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated when he appeared on its fifteenth issue dated November 22, 1954, donning his 49ers uniform and helmet featuring an acrylic face mask distinct to the time period.[24][27] The cover photo also shows a metal bracket on the side of Tittle's helmet which served to protect his face by preventing the helmet from caving in.[28] The 1954 cover was the first of four Sports Illustrated covers he graced during his career.[29]

Tittle led the NFL in touchdown passes for the first time in 1955, with 17, while also leading the league with 28 interceptions thrown.[4] When the 49ers hired Frankie Albert as head coach in 1956,[30] Tittle was pleased with the choice at first, figuring Albert would be a good mentor.[4] However, the team lost four of its first five games, and Albert replaced Tittle with rookie Earl Morrall. After a loss to the Los Angeles Rams brought San Francisco's record to 1–6, Tittle regained the starting role and the team finished undefeated with one tie through the season's final five games.[4][31]

In 1957, Tittle and receiver R. C. Owens devised a pass play in which Tittle tossed the ball high into the air and the 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Owens leapt to retrieve it, typically resulting in a long gain or a touchdown. Tittle dubbed the play the "alley-oop"—the first usage of the term in sports[32]—and it was highly successful when utilized.[33] The 49ers finished the regular season with an 8–4 record and hosted the Detroit Lions in the Western Conference playoff. Against the Lions Tittle passed for 248 yards and tossed three touchdown passes—one each to Owens, McElhenny, and Wilson—but Detroit overcame a twenty-point third quarter deficit to win 31–27.[34] For the season, Tittle had a league-leading 63.1 completion percentage, threw for 2,157 yards and thirteen touchdowns, and rushed for six more scores. He was deemed "pro player of the year" by a United Press poll of members of the National Football Writers Association.[35][36] Additionally, he was named to his first All-Pro team and invited to his third Pro Bowl.[37][38]

After a poor 1958 preseason by Tittle, Albert started John Brodie at quarterback for the 1958 season, a decision that proved unpopular with the fan base.[4] Tittle came in to relieve Brodie in a week six game against the Lions, with ten minutes left in the game and the 49ers down 21–17. His appearance "drew a roar of approval from the crowd of 59,213," after which he drove the team downfield and threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to McElhenny for the winning score.[39] A right knee ligament injury against the Colts in week nine ended Tittle's season, and San Francisco finished with a 7–5 record, followed by Albert's resignation as coach.[4] Tittle and Brodie continued to share time at quarterback over the next two seasons.[4] In his fourth and final Pro Bowl game with the 49ers in 1959, Tittle completed 13 of 17 passes for 178 yards and a touchdown.[40]

Under new head coach Red Hickey in 1960, the 49ers adopted the shotgun formation.[41] The first implementation of the shotgun was in week nine against the Colts, with Brodie at quarterback while Tittle nursed a groin injury. The 49ers scored a season-high thirty points, and with Brodie in the shotgun won three of their last four games to salvage a winning season at 7–5.[4] Though conflicted, Tittle decided to get into shape and prepare for the next season. He stated in his 2009 autobiography that at times he thought, "The hell with it. Quit this damned game. You have been at it too long anyway." But then another voice within him would say, "Come back for another year and show them you're still a good QB. Don't let them shotgun you out of football!"[4] However, after the first preseason game of 1961, Hickey informed Tittle he had been traded to the New York Giants.[4]

In mid-August 1961, the 49ers traded the 34-year-old Tittle to the New York Giants for second-year guard Lou Cordileone.[42] Cordileone, the 12th overall pick in the 1960 NFL Draft, was quoted as reacting "Me, even up for Y. A. Tittle? You're kidding,"[24] and later remarked that the Giants traded him for "a 42-year-old quarterback."[43] Tittle's view of Cordileone was much the same, stating his dismay that the 49ers did not get a "name ballplayer" in return.[4][43] He was also displeased with being traded to the East Coast, and said he would rather have been traded to the Los Angeles Rams.[43]

Already considered washed up,[44] the Giants intended to have Tittle share quarterback duties with 40-year-old Charlie Conerly, who had been with the team since 1948.[45] The players at first remained loyal to Conerly, and treated Tittle with the cold shoulder.[46][47] Tittle missed the season opener due to a back injury sustained before the season.[48] His first game with New York came in week two, against the Steelers, in which he and Conerly each threw a touchdown pass in the Giants' 17–14 win.[49] He became the team's primary starter for the remainder of the season and led the revitalized Giants to first place in the Eastern Conference.[50] The Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) awarded Tittle its Jim Thorpe Trophy as the NFL's players' choice of MVP.[51][52] In the 1961 NFL Championship Game, the Giants were soundly defeated by Vince Lombardi's Green Bay Packers, as they were shut-out 0–37.[53] Tittle completed six of twenty passes in the game and threw four interceptions.[54]

In January 1962, Tittle stated his intention to retire following the 1962 season.[55] After an off-season quarterback competition with Ralph Guglielmi,[45] Tittle played and started in a career-high 14 games. He tied an NFL record by throwing seven touchdown passes in a game on October 28, 1962, in a 49–34 win over the Washington Redskins.[56][57] Against the Dallas Cowboys in the regular season finale, Tittle threw six touchdown passes to set the single-season record with 33, which had been set the previous year by Sonny Jurgensen's 32.[58] He earned player of the year honors from the Washington D.C. Touchdown Club,[59] UPI,[36] and The Sporting News,[60] and finished just behind Green Bay's Jim Taylor in voting for the AP NFL Most Valuable Player Award.[61] The Giants again finished first in the Eastern Conference and faced the Packers in the 1962 NFL Championship Game. In frigid, windy conditions at Yankee Stadium and facing a constant pass rush from the Packers' front seven, Tittle completed only 18 of his 41 attempts in the game. The Packers won, 16–7, with New York's lone score coming on a blocked punt recovered in the end zone by Jim Collier.[62]

Tittle returned to the Giants in 1963 and, at age 37, supplanted his single-season passing touchdowns record by throwing 36.[4][63] He broke the record in the final game with three touchdowns against the Steelers, three days after being named NFL MVP by the AP.[64] The Giants led the league in scoring by a wide margin, and for the third time in as many years clinched the Eastern Conference title.[63] The Western champions were George Halas' Chicago Bears. The teams met in the 1963 NFL Championship Game at Wrigley Field. In the second quarter, Tittle injured his knee on a tackle by Larry Morris, and required a novocaine shot at halftime to continue playing. After holding a 10–7 halftime lead, The Giants were shutout in the second half, during which Tittle threw four interceptions. Playing through the knee injury, he completed 11 of 29 passes in the game for 147 yards, a touchdown, and five interceptions as the Bears won 14–10.[65][66]

The following year in 1964, Tittle's final season, the Giants went 2–10–2 (.214), the worst record in the 14-team league.[67] In the second game of the year, against Pittsburgh, he was blindsided by defensive end John Baker.[68] The tackle left Tittle with crushed cartilage in his ribs, a cracked sternum, and a concussion.[4] However, he played in every game the rest of the season, but was relegated to a backup role later in the year.[44] After throwing only ten touchdowns with 22 interceptions, he retired after the season at age 39, saying rookie quarterback Gary Wood not only "took my job away, but started to ask permission to date my daughter."[44][69] Over seventeen seasons as a professional, Tittle completed 2,427 out of 4,395 passes for 33,070 yards and 242 touchdowns, with 248 interceptions. He also scrambled for 39 touchdowns.[70]

(More at the title link).






[url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y._A._Tittle]

[pbrower2a]

Scriptwriter Bob Schiller


Robert Schiller (November 8, 1918 – October 10, 2017) was an American screenwriter. He worked extensively with fellow producer/screenwriter Bob Weiskopf on numerous television shows in the United States, including I Love Lucy (1955–1957) and All in the Family (1977–1979) on the CBS network. For the latter series, he received an Emmy Award in 1978 as one of the writers of the episode "Cousin Liz."


[/url]
Schiller began writing for television in 1950. His credits include the 1955 CBS [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sitcom]sitcom Professional Father, starring Stephen Dunne as a child psychologist and Barbara Billingsley as his wife. That same year, he wrote for two competing series, NBC's The Jimmy Durante Show and CBS's It's Always Jan, starring Janis Paige as a widowed single mother in New York City.[2] During 1954–1955, Schiller was one of the writers for That's My Boy, starring Eddie Mayehoff and Gil Stratton. Schiller's producing credits include The Good Guys and All's Fair.

Schiller also penned radio scripts for such classic shows as Duffy's Tavern, Abbott and Costello, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, The Mel Blanc Show, Sweeney and March, The Jimmy Durante Show, and December Bride, and then for TV stars such as Danny Thomas, Ed Wynn, Garry Moore, and Red Buttons.

The creative partnership and friendship with Bob Weiskopf began in 1953. Weiskopf, also a comedy writer, had just relocated to Los Angeles from New York City. Schiller's first wife recommended a school to Weiskopf's wife, and also mentioned that Schiller was looking for a partner. The two writers first collaborated on a radio script for the Our Miss Brooks show before delving into the new medium of network television. They wrote for popular 1950s shows such as Make Room for Daddy, The Bob Cummings Show, I Love Lucy, the television adaptation of the popular radio series My Favorite Husband, The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, The Ann Sothern Show (which they co-created), and Pete and Gladys.

Further success would continue into the 1960s and 1970s with such series as The Lucy Show, The Red Skelton Show, The Good Guys (where they were also co-producers), The Phyllis Diller Show, The Carol Burnett Show, The Flip Wilson Show, Maude (which they also co-produced), All in the Family and its spinoff series, Archie Bunker's Place. Schiller and Weiskopf were honored with two Emmy Awards, a pair of Peabody Awards, a Golden Globe, and the Writers’ Guild of America's Paddy Chayefsky Laurel Award for Television Achievement.[3]

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Inventor of call waiting


The article is in Portuguese, so this is a very rough translation of a part of it.

Brazilian electrical engineer Nélio José Nicolai, inventer of Call Waiting, died at age 77 on October 11 of a cerebro-vascular accident. In recovery for two months, he died of pulmonary complications in Lago Norte, Brazil. 

His daughter, the entrepreneur Michelle Nicolai, says that he was the most wonderful father in the world, never missing an opportunity to do good for people. Her father struggled greatly not only to invent  things, but also serve his country. He dreamed to establish a technological school in which people could develop  their creativity to the fullest. He had plenty of opportunities to leave Brazil for greater opportunities abroad, yet he remained in Brazil to make them beneficial to Brazil.

(I would not be surprised to see a longer article in the English-language Wikipedia soon).

[url=https://g1.globo.com/distrito-federal/noticia/inventor-do-bina-nelio-nicolai-morre-em-brasilia-aos-77-anos.ghtml][/url]

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Maltese investigative journalist -- homicide under investigation:

Daphne Anne Caruana Galizia (née Vella; 26 August 1964 – 16 October 2017) was a Maltese journalist and blogger. She was known for her work as an investigative journalist and revealing controversial sensitive information, including reports and allegations related to the Panama Papers. She died in a car bomb attack in October 2017.[1]



Caruana Galizia began to work as a journalist in 1987. In the early 1990s, she was a regular columnist with The Sunday Times of Malta and an associate editor of The Malta Independent. She remained a columnist with The Malta Independent and The Malta Independent on Sunday, and was the editor of the Taste & Flair magazine.[3] She maintained a blog entitled Running Commentary, which included investigative reporting and commentary on a number of people, some of which would be labelled as personal attacks. The blog was one of the most popular websites in Malta.[4]

Caruana Galizia's controversial blog resulted in several legal battles. In 2010, she criticized Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera in her blog, who then opened a libel and defamation case against her.[5] The case was withdrawn in November 2011.[6]
She was arrested on 8 March 2013 for breaking the political silence on the day before the 2013 general election, after she posted videos mocking then-Leader of the Opposition Joseph Muscat. She was questioned by police before being released after a few hours.[7][2]

Caruana Galizia was aware of Minister Konrad Mizzi and Chief of Staff Keith Schembri's involvement with companies in Panama before the Panama Papers leak of April 2016.[8] On 22 February, she hinted on Running Commentary that Mizzi had connections with Panama and New Zealand. This compelled the minister to reveal the existence of Rotorua Trust, a New Zealand-registered family trust, two days later. On 25 February, Caruana Galizia revealed that Schembri also owned a trust in New Zealand which in turn held a Panama company.[9]
The April 2016 leak confirmed that Mizzi owned the Panama company Hearnville Inc, and that Mizzi and Schembri had also opened another company Tillgate Inc. The companies were also owned by the Orion Trust New Zealand Limited, which are the same trustees of Mizzi and Schembri's New Zealand trusts, Rotorua and Haast respectively.[8]
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As the first person to break news of Mizzi's and Schembri's involvement in Panama,[4] she was subsequently named by Politico as one of "28 people who are shaping, shaking and stirring Europe."[10] Politico described her as a "one-woman WikiLeaks, crusading against untransparency and corruption in Malta."[11]

In 2017, she alleged that Egrant, another Panama company, was owned by Michelle Muscat, the wife of Prime Minister Joseph Muscat. These allegations resulted in Muscat calling the June 2017 general elections, which saw Muscat's Labour Party remaining in government. After the elections, Caruana Galizia was also a harsh critic of the new Nationalist opposition leader Adrian Delia.[4]

Caruana Galizia was assassinated using a car bomb in her rented Peugeot 108 close to her home in Bidnija on 16 October 2017. The large explosion left the vehicle scattered in several pieces across nearby fields. She was found by her son Matthew, after he heard a blast from their home.[12] Caruana Galizia had reportedly filed a police report saying that she was being threatened about two weeks before her death.[13] The perpetrator is currently unknown.[14]

The murder was condemned by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, who stated that he "will not rest before justice is done" despite her criticism of him. President Marie Louise Coleiro Preca, Archbishop Charles Scicluna and a number of politicians also expressed their condolences or condemned the murder.[13] Opposition leader Adrian Delia called the murder "the collapse of democracy and freedom of expression"[15] and stated that "[the country's] institutions have let us down".[16] President of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani called the killing a "tragic example of a journalist who sacrificed her life to seek out the truth."[15] Gerard Ryle, director of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, stated that the organization is "shocked" by Caruana Galizia's murder and "is deeply concerned about freedom of the press in Malta."[17]

The murder was reported in both local and international media. Caruana Galizia's name began trending worldwide on Twitter,[15] and a number of Maltese expressed their mourning by blacking out their Facebook profile pictures. The hashtag #JeSuisDaphne, echoing the term Je suis Charlie, also appeared.[18]

Thousands of people attended a vigil in Caruana Galizia's hometown [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sliema]Sliema on the night of 16 October.[18] Another vigil was held at the Malta High Commission in London.[19]

Forensic teams and police investigators arrived at the crime scene soon after the murder. The head of the magisterial inquiry is to be Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera, who had fought a legal battle with Caruana Galizia in 2010–11. Caruana Galizia's family are challenging her role in the investigation.[4]

Muscat stated that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has been asked to help the police in investigating the murder.[16] A police forensic investigation team from the Netherlands will also assist.[20]

(Panama Papers -- a disclosure of tax cheating and money laundering by economic elites worldwide)

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Robert Guillaume (born Robert Peter Williams; November 30, 1927 – October 24, 2017) was an American actor, known for his role as Isaac Jaffe on Sports Night and as Benson on the TV series Soap and the spin-off Benson,[1] as well as for voicing the mandrill Rafiki in The Lion King.[2] In a career that spanned more than 50 years he worked extensively on stage (including a Tony Award nomination), television (including winning two Emmy Awards), and film.



As Benson in Soap, 1977.

Guillaume made several guest appearances on sitcoms, including Good Times, The Jeffersons, Sanford and Son, Saved By The Bell: The College Years and in the 1990s sitcoms The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and A Different World.[8] His series-regular debut was on the ABC series Soap, playing Benson, a butler, from 1977 to 1979.[11] Guillaume continued the role in a spin-off series, Benson, from 1979 until 1986.[3] Guillaume also played Dr. Franklin in season 6, episode 8 ("Chain Letter") of the series All in the Family, which he coyly referenced Marcus Welby, M.D., a TV series in which he had guest-starred on in 1970.[12]

In 1985, Guillaume appeared in the television mini-series North and South as abolitionist leader Fredrick Douglass, who escaped from slavery and became a leader of the anti-slavery movement prior to the American Civil War.[10]
He also appeared as marriage counselor Edward Sawyer on The Robert Guillaume Show (1989), Detective Bob Ballard on Pacific Station (1991–1992), and television executive Isaac Jaffe on Aaron Sorkin's short-lived but critically acclaimed Sports Night (1998–2000).[3] Guillaume suffered a mild stroke on January 14, 1999, while filming an episode of the latter series.[1] He recovered and his character was later also depicted as having had a stroke. He also made a guest appearance on 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter.[11]

His voice was employed for characters in television series Captain Planet and the Planeteers, Fish Police, and Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child.[5] He was known for the voice of Rafiki in the movie The Lion King and its sequels and spin-offs.[13] He voiced Mr. Thicknose in The Land Before Time VIII: The Big Freeze.[14] He also supplied the voice for Eli Vance in the 2004 video game Half-Life 2 and its subsequent sequels.[15]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Guillaume

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astronaut Paul J. Weitz

Paul Joseph Weitz (July 25, 1932 – October 22, 2017) was an American naval officer and aviator, aeronautical engineer, test pilot, and NASA astronaut, who flew into space twice. He was a member of the three-man crew who flew on Skylab 2, the first manned Skylab mission. He was also Commander of the STS-6 mission, the first of the Space Shuttle Challenger flights.



NASA career


Skylab 2 Commander Pete Conrad trims Weitz's hair in Skylab's crew quarters

In April 1966, Weitz was one of 19 men selected by NASA for Astronaut Group 5. He served as Pilot on the crew of Skylab 2 (SL-2), which launched on May 25 and splashed down on June 22, 1973. SL-2 was the first manned Skylab mission, and achieved a 28-day duration. Weitz and his two crewmates, Pete Conrad and Joseph P. Kerwin, performed extensive and unprecedented repairs to serious damage the unmanned Skylab sustained during its launch, salvaging the entire Skylab mission. In logging 672 hours and 49 minutes aboard the orbital workshop, the crew established what was then a new world record for a single mission. Weitz also logged two hours and 11 minutes of EVA. He may have also been assigned as the Command Module Pilot for the canceled Apollo 20 mission.



Weitz and Donald H. Peterson (right) aboard space shuttle Challenger during the STS-6 mission

Weitz was spacecraft commander on the crew of STS-6, which launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on April 4, 1983. This was the maiden voyage of the orbiter Challenger. During the mission, the crew conducted numerous experiments in materials processing, recorded lightning activities, deployed IUS/TDRS-A, conducted extravehicular activity while testing a variety of support systems and equipment in preparation for future space walks, and also carried three Getaway Specials. Mission duration was 120 hours before Challenger landed on a concrete runway at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on April 9, 1983. With the completion of this flight, Weitz logged a total of 793 hours in space.

Weitz was Deputy Director of the Johnson Space Center when he retired from NASA in May 1994.[1]
Weitz died on October 22, 2017 from myelodysplastic syndrome at the age of 85.[2][3]

[Galen]

(10-25-2017, 09:10 AM)pbrower2a Wrote: astronaut Paul J. Weitz

Paul Joseph Weitz (July 25, 1932 – October 22, 2017) was an American naval officer and aviator, aeronautical engineer, test pilot, and NASA astronaut, who flew into space twice. He was a member of the three-man crew who flew on Skylab 2, the first manned Skylab mission. He was also Commander of the STS-6 mission, the first of the Space Shuttle Challenger flights.

The Silent generation is dropping like flies.

[pbrower2a]

(10-25-2017, 03:08 PM)Galen Wrote:

(10-25-2017, 09:10 AM)pbrower2a Wrote: astronaut Paul J. Weitz

Paul Joseph Weitz (July 25, 1932 – October 22, 2017) was an American naval officer and aviator, aeronautical engineer, test pilot, and NASA astronaut, who flew into space twice. He was a member of the three-man crew who flew on Skylab 2, the first manned Skylab mission. He was also Commander of the STS-6 mission, the first of the Space Shuttle Challenger flights.

The Silent generation is dropping like flies.

Another case in point, on a very different sort of achievement:

Antoine Dominique Domino Jr. (February 26, 1928 – October 24, 2017) was an American pianist and singer-songwriter of Louisiana Creole descent. He had 35 records in the U.S. Billboard Top 40, and five of his pre-1955 records sold more than a million copies, being certified gold.[1]

From 1955-60, he had eleven top 10 hits and his record sales were reportedly surpassed only by Elvis Presley.[2]
During his career, Domino sold over 65 million records.[3] His musical style was based on traditional rhythm and blues, accompanied by saxophones, bass, piano, electric guitar, and drums.[1]


Domino was one of the biggest stars of rock and roll in the 1950s and one of the first R&B artists to gain popularity with white audiences. His biographer Rick Coleman argues that Domino's records and tours with rock-and-roll shows in that decade, bringing together black and white youths in a shared appreciation of his music, was a factor in the breakdown of racial segregation in the United States.[60] The artist himself did not define his work as rock and roll but as a Dixieland music, instead saying that "it wasn't anything but the same rhythm and blues I'd been playin' down in New Orleans".[61]
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Domino was also an important influence on the music of the 1960s and 1970s and was acknowledged as such by some of the top artists of that era. Elvis Presley introduced Fats at one of his Las Vegas concerts by saying "this gentleman was a huge influence on me when I started out". Presley also made this comment in a 1957 interview: "A lot of people seem to think I started this business. But rock ’n’ roll was here a long time before I came along. Nobody can sing that music like colored people. Let’s face it: I can’t sing it like Fats Domino can. I know that."[4]

Both John Lennon and Paul McCartney recorded Domino songs. According to some reports, McCartney wrote the Beatles song "Lady Madonna" in emulation of Domino's style,[62] combining it with a nod to Humphrey Lyttelton's 1956 hit "Bad Penny Blues". Domino also recorded the song in 1968.[2]

Domino returned to the "Hot 100" chart for the last time in 1968, with his recording of "Lady Madonna". That recording, as well as covers of two other songs by the Beatles, appeared on his Reprise album Fats Is Back, produced by Richard Perry and recorded by a band that included the New Orleans pianist James Booker; Domino played piano on only one track, "I'm Ready."[citation needed]
Domino was present in the audience of 2,200 people at Elvis Presley's first concert at the Las Vegas Hilton on July 31, 1969. At a press conference after the show, when a journalist referred to Presley as "The King", Presley gestured toward Domino, who was taking in the scene. "No," Presley said, "that's the real king of rock and roll."[63]


[url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Lennon]John Lennon covered Domino's composition "Ain't That a Shame" on his 1975 album Rock 'n' Roll, his tribute to the musicians who had influenced him.

American band Cheap Trick recorded "Ain't That A Shame" on their 1978 live album Cheap Trick at Budokan, and released it as the second single from the album. It reached 35 of the Billboard Hot 100. Reportedly, this was Domino's favorite cover.[64]. It remains a staple of their live performances, including at their 25th Anniversary concert (which was recorded as the album and DVD Silver) and at their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016.

The Jamaican reggae artist Yellowman covered many songs by Domino, including "Be My Guest" and "Blueberry Hill".
Richard Hell, an early innovater of punk rock, covered Domino's "I Lived My Life" with his band, the Voidoids. Jah Wobble, a post-punk bassist best known for his work with Johnny Rotten, released a solo recording of "Blueberry Hill".

The Jamaican ska band Justin Hinds and the Dominoes, formed in the 1960s, was named after Domino, Hinds's favorite singer.
In 2007, various artists came together for a tribute to Domino, recording a live session containing only his songs. Musicians performing on the album, Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino, included Paul McCartney, Norah Jones, Willie Nelson, Neil Young, and Elton John.[65]
According to Richie Unterberger, writing for AllMusic, Domino was one of the most consistent artists of early rock music, the best-selling African-American rock-and-roll star of the 1950s, and the most popular singer of the "classic" New Orleans rhythm and blues style. His million-selling debut single, "The Fat Man" (1949), is one of many that have been cited as the first rock and roll record.[66] Robert Christgau wrote that Domino was "the most widely liked rock and roller of the '50s" and remarked on his influence:

Quote:Warm and unthreatening even by the intensely congenial standards of New Orleans, he's remembered with fond condescension as significantly less innovative than his uncommercial compatriots Professor Longhair and James Booker. But though his bouncy boogie-woogie piano and easy Creole gait were generically Ninth Ward, they defined a pop-friendly second-line beat that nobody knew was there before he and Dave Bartholomew created 'The Fat Man' in 1949. In short, this shy, deferential, uncharismatic man invented New Orleans rock and roll.[67]

Domino's rhythm, accentuating the offbeat, as in the song "Be My Guest", was an influence on ska music.[68]

Much more here.

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First Hispanic four-star General, US Army

Richard Edward Cavazos (January 31, 1929 – October 29, 2017), was a United States Army four-star general. He was a Korean War recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross as a first lieutenant and advanced in rank to become the United States Army's first Hispanic four-star general.[1] During the Vietnam War, as a lieutenant colonel, Cavazos was awarded a second Distinguished Service Cross. In 1976, Cavazos became the first Mexican American to reach the rank of brigadier general in the U.S. Army.[2] Cavazos served with great distinction for thirty-three years, with his final command as head of the U.S. Army Forces Command.

Much more here.

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Roy Halladay, great MLB pitcher:

Roy Halladay reached the pinnacle of his profession on an 85-degree night in Miami in May 2010, when he dominated the Florida Marlins over 2 hours, 13 minutes for the 20th perfect game in MLB history. Three months later, he commemorated the occasion by giving 60 Philadelphia Phillies teammates, coaches, the training staff and other support personnel engraved Baume & Mercier watches in boxes with the inscription, "We did it together. Thanks, Roy Halladay."

Many of the 60 recipients committed to wearing the watches in subsequent years because Halladay was such an authentic sort, and he wouldn't have made such a heartfelt gesture for strictly ceremonial purposes. The perfect game was a team achievement, in his eyes, so it would have been disrespectful to bring the keepsakes home and just leave them in the boxes.

"I still wear my watch all the time," former Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said. "My brother David got me a Rolex one year, and he said, 'How come you don't wear my watch?' And I said, 'I don't wear your watch because Roy Halladay gave me this watch.'"

Roy Halladay, 1977-2017

Coverage chronicling the former MLB star's storied career.

Baseball received a gut punch of indescribable magnitude Tuesday afternoon, with the news that Halladay, 40, had died in a plane crash off the Florida coast. Circumstances are different in each case, and the vigil is more excruciating while playing out on social media, but the announcement from the Pasco County Sheriff's office left the same sad, helpless void that accompanied the deaths of Thurman Munson, Darryl Kile, Steve Olin and Tim Crews, Jose Fernandez and so many other young ballplayers who died before their time. Hauntingly, Halladay shared the same fate as his former Toronto and Philadelphia teammate, pitcher Cory Lidle, who died in a single-engine plane crash in New York City in 2006.


More from ESPN

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Astronaut Richard Gordon

Richard Francis "Dick" Gordon Jr. (October 5, 1929 – November 6, 2017), (Capt, USN), was an American naval officer and aviator, chemist, test pilot, and NASA astronaut. He was one of only 24 people to have flown to the Moon, as the Command Module Pilot for the Apollo 12 mission.

He received his wings as a Naval Aviator in 1953. He then attended All-Weather Flight School and jet transitional training, and was subsequently assigned to an all-weather fighter squadron at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida.
In 1957, he attended the United States Naval Test Pilot School at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, and served as a flight test pilot until 1960. During this tour of duty, he did flight test work on the F-8U Crusader, F-11F Tiger, North American FJ Fury, and A-4D Skyhawk, and was the first project test pilot for the F4H-1 Phantom II. He served with Fighter Squadron 121 (VF-121) at the Naval Air Station Miramar, California, as a flight instructor in the F4H-1 and participated in the introduction of that aircraft to the Atlantic and Pacific Fleets. He was also flight safety officer, assistant operations officer, and ground training officer for Fighter Squadron 96 (VF-96) at Miramar.

He won the Bendix Trophy race from Los Angeles to New York City in May 1961, in which he established a new speed record of 869.74 miles per hour and a transcontinental speed record of 2 hours and 47 minutes.[2]
He was also a student at the Naval Postgraduate School at Monterey, California.[2]
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He logged more than 4,500 hours flying time with 3,500 hours of those hours in jet aircraft.[2]



Gordon suiting up before Gemini 11
Gordon was one of the third group of astronauts, named by NASA in October 1963. He had been a finalist for the second selection, in 1962.[4]

Main article: Gemini 11
Gordon served as backup Pilot for the Gemini 8 flight. In September 1966, he made his first space flight, as Pilot of Gemini 11, alongside Pete Conrad. Gordon was already good friends with Conrad, who had been his roommate on the carrier USS Ranger. On the flight, Gordon performed two spacewalks, which included attaching a tether to the Agena and retrieving a nuclear emulsion experiment package.[2]

Main article: Apollo 12


Gordon in Command Module Simulator, training for Apollo 12

Gordon was subsequently assigned as backup Command Module Pilot for Apollo 9. In November 1969, he flew as Command Module Pilot of Apollo 12, the second manned mission to land on the Moon. While his crewmates, Pete Conrad and Alan Bean, landed in the Ocean of Storms, Gordon remained in lunar orbit aboard the Command Module, Yankee Clipper, photographing tentative landing sites for future missions.[2]

[url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_F._Gordon_Jr.]Much more here.
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After Apollo 12, Gordon was assigned as backup Commander of Apollo 15. He was slated to walk on the Moon as Commander of Apollo 18, but that mission was cancelled because of budget cuts.

Gordon completed two space flights, logging a total of 315 hours and 53 minutes in space, of which 2 hours and 41 minutes were spent in EVA.[2]
[url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_F._Gordon_Jr.#cite_note-auto-2]
Gordon retired from NASA and the U.S. Navy in January 1972.

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actor John Hillerman

John Benedict Hillerman (December 20, 1932 – November 9, 2017) was an American actor best known for his starring role as Jonathan Quayle Higgins III on the television show Magnum, P.I. that aired from 1980 to 1988. For his role as Higgins, Hillerman earned five Golden Globe nominations, winning in 1981, and four Emmy nominations, winning in 1987. He retired from acting in 1999.

Hillerman was born in Denison, Texas, the son of Christopher Benedict Hillerman, a gas station owner, and Lenora Joan (née Medlinger).[1] He was the middle child with two sisters.[2] His father was the grandson of immigrants from Germany and France,[3] and his mother the daughter of immigrants from Austria and Germany.[3] He developed an interest in opera at the age of ten, and traveled to Dallas to watch Metropolitan Opera productions.[4] Hillerman attended St. Xavier's Academy,[4] and after graduation, he attended the University of Texas at Austin for three years, majoring in Journalism.[5]

Hillerman served four years in the United States Air Force (1953-1957), working in maintenance in a B-36 wing of the Strategic Air Command, and achieving the rank of sergeant.[4][6] He became interested in acting after working with a theatrical group in Fort Worth during his service: "I was bored with barracks life. I got into [acting] to meet people in town. A light went on."[4] After his 1957 discharge, he moved to New York City, to study at the American Theatre Wing, and performed in professional theater for the next twelve years, in productions such as Henry IV, Part 2 and The Great God Brown.[7] Despite starring in over 100 lead roles,[4] Hillerman was unable to make a living as a stage actor, and he moved to Hollywood in 1969.[4][6]

Hillerman made his film debut in They Call Me Mister Tibbs! (1970) in an uncredited role as a reporter.[8] Director Peter Bogdanovich, with whom Hillerman had previously worked during his stage career, cast Hillerman in his films The Last Picture Show, What's Up, Doc?, and Paper Moon.[4] In 1974, he played the memorable role of Russ Yelburton, the deputy chief of the Los Angeles Water Department in the film classic, Chinatown. Hillerman worked steadily thereafter in motion pictures and television in the 1970s, but after being cast in Magnum, P.I., he shot only four additional pictures between 1980 and 1996, with his final film performance coming in A Very Brady Sequel.

In 1975, Hillerman was a co-star in Ellery Queen as Simon Brimmer, a radio detective who hosted a radio show and tried to outsmart the title character (Jim Hutton).[9]:305 From 1976 to 1980, he had a recurring role as Mr. Conners on the sitcom One Day at a Time, and he co-starred as Betty White's estranged husband on The Betty White Show (1977-1978).[9] He is perhaps best remembered for his role as former British Army Sergeant Major Jonathan Higgins in Magnum, P.I. (1980–1988),[9]:642 for which he learned an English accent by listening to a recording of Laurence Olivier reciting Hamlet.[10][note 1] He considered Higgins his favorite role,[11] and described the character in a 1988 interview as "think[ing] he's the only sane character [in the show], and everyone else is stark raving mad."[4]
In 1982, Hillerman starred in the television pilot of Tales of the Gold Monkey, as a German villain named Fritz the Monocle.[12] He hosted the 1984 David Hemmings-directed puzzle video Money Hunt: The Mystery of the Missing Link.[13] In 1990, Hillerman returned to television to perform for one season as Lloyd Hogan in the sitcom The Hogan Family.[9]:465 That same year, he portrayed Dr. Watson to Edward Woodward's Sherlock Holmes in Hands of a Murderer.[12]

In 1993, he appeared in Berlin Break for one season.[10] He played the role of Mac MacKenzie, a former spy and currently the proprietor of Mac's, a bar in West Berlin considered to be neutral territory during the Cold War.[9] Mac teamed up with two jobless spies as investigators: Valentin Renko (Nicholas Clay), an ex-KGB agent, and Willy Richter (Kai Wulff), an ex-BND (West German secret service) operative.[6] The show reunited him with Jeff MacKay, who portrayed "Mac" MacReynolds in Magnum P.I..[14]

More here (Wikipedia, the source).

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Vanu Gopal Bose (October 4 1965- November 11 2017) was an American electrical engineer and technology executive. He was the son of Amar Bose, the founder of Bose Corporation.[1]

He graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a BS in 1987, MS in 1994, and PhD in 1999.[2] He is the founder and CEO of Vanu, Inc., a firm which markets software-defined radio technology.[3][4] The company uses technology based on his graduate research work, called SpectrumWare, under supervisors David L. Tennenhouse and John Guttag.[5][6][7] The technology was licensed from MIT in 1999 after several rounds of negotiation.[8][9] In November 2004, its Anywave technology became the first use of software-defined radio certified by the US Federal Communications Commission, and ADC Telecommunications announced it would manufacture related hardware.[10] In 2005, work with India's Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) was announced to use its technology for base transceiver stations at cell sites in rural India.[11] By 2008, a telecommunications provider in India was reported to be testing the technology.[12]
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A venture capital investment of $9 million in 2007 from Charles River Ventures was followed by $32 million in 2008, from an arm of the Tata Group, Norwest Venture Partners.[13] A subsidiary, Vanu Coverage Company, announced $3.2 million investment in 2012.[14]


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanu_Bose

[url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanu_Bose#cite_note-15]