Obituaries

[pbrower2a]

Paul Westphal, NBA Hall of Fame player and coach:


Paul Douglas Westphal (November 30, 1950 – January 2, 2021) was an American basketball player, head coach, and commentator.
Westphal played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1972 to 1984. Playing the guard position, he won an NBA championship with the Boston Celtics in the 1974 NBA Finals. Westphal played in the NBA Finals again in 1976 as a member of the Phoenix Suns. His NBA career also included stints with the Seattle SuperSonics and the New York Knicks. In addition to being a five-time All-Star selection, Westphal earned three All-NBA First Team selections and one Second Team honor.
After his playing career ended, Westphal began coaching. He coached college basketball for Southwestern Baptist Bible College (now Arizona Christian University), Grand Canyon University, and Pepperdine University, and served also as head coach of the Phoenix Suns, the Seattle SuperSonics, and the Sacramento Kings in the NBA. Westphal coached the Suns to the NBA Finals in 1993.
In 2019, Westphal was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

Westphal was born in Torrance, California.[1] He went to Aviation High School in Redondo Beach, California, from 1966 to 1969.[2] He attended the University of Southern California (USC), where he played college basketball for the USC Trojans as a guard. The Trojans had a 24–2 (.923) win-loss record in 1971, setting a Trojans record for winning percentage. He was an All-American and team captain in 1972. Playing for USC from 1970 to 1972, he averaged 16.9 points per game and led the Trojans with 20.3 points per game in 1972.[3]


The Boston Celtics selected Westphal with the 10th overall pick in the 1972 NBA draft.[3] After three seasons in Boston, including a championship in 1974, the Celtics traded Westphal and two second round draft picks to the Phoenix Suns for Charlie Scott.[4] In 1976, Westphal helped the Suns reach their first-ever NBA Finals appearance, where they played against the Celtics. In Game 5 of that series, often called "the greatest game ever played" in NBA history,[5][6][7] he made several critical plays that pushed the game into triple overtime before Boston prevailed.[8][9]

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Westphal with USC

Westphal was sixth in the NBA in scoring average for the 1977–78 season at 25.2 points per game.[10] In that season, he became the first NBA All-Star Weekend H-O-R-S-E Competition champion.[11] The following 1978–79 season, he was seventh in scoring average with 24.0 points per game.[12]
After the 1979–80 season, the Suns traded Westphal to the Seattle SuperSonics for Dennis Johnson,[13] where he played one season before signing with the New York Knicks as a free agent.[14][15] In 1983, he signed a two-year contract to Phoenix.[16] The Suns waived him before the 1984–85 season.[17]

In his NBA career, Westphal scored a total of 12,809 points for an average of 15.6 points per game, with 3,591 assists for an average of 4.4 assists per game. He also had 1,580 rebounds, for an average of 1.9 per game. He was a five-time All-Star, a three-time All-NBA first team selection, and a one-time second team All-NBA selection. He is Phoenix's fifth all-time leading scorer (9,564), averaging 20.6 points (1975–80, 1983–84). His No. 44 was retired by the Suns, and he is a member of their Ring of Honor.[18] Westphal was also inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as a player on September 6, 2019.[19]

Westphal's coaching career started in 1985 at Southwestern Baptist Bible College (now Arizona Christian University), located in Phoenix. After compiling a 21–9 record in his lone season there, he moved on to Grand Canyon College, also in Phoenix, and after two seasons led them to the NAIA national title in 1988.[20][21]

In 1988, after three years in the college ranks, Westphal became an assistant coach with the Phoenix Suns under head coach Cotton Fitzsimmons, and in 1992, he succeeded Fitzsimmons as head coach of the Suns.[20][22] With players such as Kevin Johnson, Dan Majerle, rookie Richard Dumas, Charles Barkley, and Danny Ainge, the Suns made it to the NBA Finals in Westphal's first season as a coach, but lost to the Chicago Bulls in six games.[23] While the Suns made the playoffs during each of Westphal's seasons as coach, they did not return to the Finals, and Westphal was let go during the 1995–96 season.[24] He served as an assistant coach for a high school team in Arizona for two years before he returned to the NBA as a coach with the SuperSonics for the 1998–99 season.[2] He coached in Seattle until he was fired 15 games into the 2000–01 season.[25]

Westphal returned to the college ranks in April 2001 at Pepperdine University. In his first season, Westphal led the Waves men's basketball team to a 22–9 record and tied nationally ranked Gonzaga University for the WCC title. The team achieved an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament, but lost 83–74 to Wake Forest in the first round in a game played at ARCO Arena. This was the only postseason berth during the rest of Westphal's five-year tenure and he finished with an overall record of 74–72. After a 7–20 season in 2005–06, Westphal was fired on March 15, 2006.[26] Westphal has also worked as a studio analyst for Fox Sports Net West/Prime Ticket for Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers games, first joining them during the Clippers' run in the 2006 NBA Playoffs.[27]

Westphal with [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooklyn_Nets]Brooklyn Nets in 2014

On June 28, 2007, the Dallas Mavericks announced they had hired Westphal as an assistant coach under head coach Avery Johnson.[28] When Johnson was replaced by Rick Carlisle, Westphal left coaching to become executive vice-president of basketball operations (under Donnie Nelson) for the Mavericks in October 2008.[29] On June 10, 2009, Westphal was named head coach of the Sacramento Kings.[30] Westphal was fired from the Kings on January 5, 2012.[22][31]
For the 2014–15 season, Westphal was hired by the Brooklyn Nets as an assistant to new head coach Lionel Hollins.[32] Hollins had previously served as Westphal's assistant coach in Phoenix. When the Nets fired Hollins in January 2016, Westphal left the team.[33]

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

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The last known widow of a Civil War veteran has passed away... 155+ years after the end of the war, and not surprisingly 101 years after she was born.

  Helen Viola Jackson, when seventeen years old, married a 93-year-old widower, a veteran of the Missouri Cavalry (the part of Missouri on the Union side), in 1936. He promised her a veteran's pension that would ease her life during the Great Depression.  He died in 1939, and she lived 81 years after he died. 

The last known widow of a Confederate veteran died in 2008.

[GeekyCynic]

Yeah, a 17-year old marrying a 93-year old would not be considered very “woke” nowadays.

[pbrower2a]

Baseball manager Tommy Lasorda

Thomas Charles Lasorda (September 22, 1927 – January 7, 2021) was an American professional baseball pitcher, coach, and manager. He managed the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1976 through 1996. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame as a manager in 1997.

Lasorda played in MLB for the Dodgers in 1954 and 1955 and for the Kansas City Athletics in 1956. He coached for the Dodgers from 1973 through 1976 before taking over as manager. Lasorda won two World Series championships as manager of the Dodgers and was named the National League's Manager of the Year twice. The Dodgers retired his uniform number in his honor.

Lasorda became the Los Angeles Dodgers manager September 29, 1976, upon Alston's retirement.[1] He managed the final four games of the 1976 season.[20] Lasorda compiled a 1,599–1,439 record as Dodgers manager, won two World Series championships in (1981 and 1988), four National League pennants, and eight division titles in his 20-year career as the Dodgers manager.[21] His 16 wins in 30 NL Championship games managed were the most of any manager at the time of his retirement. His 61 postseason games managed ranks fourth all-time behind Bobby Cox, Casey Stengel (all of whose games took place during the World Series in baseball's pre-divisional play days), and Joe Torre. He also managed in four All-Star games.[22]


Lasorda managed nine players who won the National League Rookie of the Year award. The winners came in two strings of consecutive players. From 1979 to 1982, he managed Rick Sutcliffe, Steve Howe, Fernando Valenzuela, and Steve Sax. From 1992 to 1995, he managed Eric Karros, Mike Piazza, Raúl Mondesí, and Hideo Nomo.[14] Before retiring during the 1996 season, he had also managed that year's rookie of the year, Todd Hollandsworth.[23]

Lasorda's final game was a 4–3 victory over the Houston Astros, at Dodger Stadium, on June 23, 1996. The following day (June 24), he drove himself to the hospital complaining of abdominal pains, and in fact he was having a heart attack. He officially retired on July 29, 1996.[14] His 1,599 career wins ranks 22nd all-time in MLB history, at the time of his death.[22]

[pbrower2a]

Willie Mays is now the oldest living member of the Baseball Hall of fame. He turns 90 on May 6.

[beechnut79]

(01-09-2021, 01:17 AM)pbrower2a Wrote:

Baseball manager Tommy Lasorda

Thomas Charles Lasorda (September 22, 1927 – January 7, 2021) was an American professional baseball pitcher, coach, and manager. He managed the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1976 through 1996. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame as a manager in 1997.

Lasorda played in MLB for the Dodgers in 1954 and 1955 and for the Kansas City Athletics in 1956. He coached for the Dodgers from 1973 through 1976 before taking over as manager. Lasorda won two World Series championships as manager of the Dodgers and was named the National League's Manager of the Year twice. The Dodgers retired his uniform number in his honor.

Lasorda became the Los Angeles Dodgers manager September 29, 1976, upon Alston's retirement.[1] He managed the final four games of the 1976 season.[20] Lasorda compiled a 1,599–1,439 record as Dodgers manager, won two World Series championships in (1981 and 1988), four National League pennants, and eight division titles in his 20-year career as the Dodgers manager.[21] His 16 wins in 30 NL Championship games managed were the most of any manager at the time of his retirement. His 61 postseason games managed ranks fourth all-time behind Bobby Cox, Casey Stengel (all of whose games took place during the World Series in baseball's pre-divisional play days), and Joe Torre. He also managed in four All-Star games.[22]


Lasorda managed nine players who won the National League Rookie of the Year award. The winners came in two strings of consecutive players. From 1979 to 1982, he managed Rick Sutcliffe, Steve Howe, Fernando Valenzuela, and Steve Sax. From 1992 to 1995, he managed Eric Karros, Mike Piazza, Raúl Mondesí, and Hideo Nomo.[14] Before retiring during the 1996 season, he had also managed that year's rookie of the year, Todd Hollandsworth.[23]

Lasorda's final game was a 4–3 victory over the Houston Astros, at Dodger Stadium, on June 23, 1996. The following day (June 24), he drove himself to the hospital complaining of abdominal pains, and in fact he was having a heart attack. He officially retired on July 29, 1996.[14] His 1,599 career wins ranks 22nd all-time in MLB history, at the time of his death.[22]

Ed Bruce, 81, county singer, songwriter and actor best known for the iconic song “Manas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys”.  While his own version of the song made the country Top 20, when Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson got hold of it two years later it went to the top of the charts for four weeks. Another of his songs, “Texas(When I Die)” was a big hit for Tanya Tucker.  Mr. Bruce began his career with Sun Records, notable for launching the careers of Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash. He had a sting of country hits during the 1980s with his biggest hit being “You’re the Best Break This Old Heart Ever Had”.  When his music career began to wane in the late 1980s he turned to acting, starring in a remake of the Maverick TV series alongside James Garner.  In 2018 he was inducted into the Arkansas Music Hall of Fame.

[Eric the Green]

(01-09-2021, 01:28 AM)pbrower2a Wrote: Willie Mays is now the oldest living member of the Baseball Hall of fame.  He turns 90 on May 6.

It's still kind of amazing that he's not still out there playing. I saw him hit his 400th home run, which was followed by home runs by Willie McCovey and Orlando Cepeda (August 27, 1963). Time sure goes by fast. That's one reason I can't really believe that we only have one life, and that if it all just ends, it is a tale told by an idiot signifying nothing, as Shakespeare wrote.

[pbrower2a]

Diana Claire Millay (June 7, 1935 – January 8, 2021) was an American actress. She was best known for her work in television, having guest starred in close to one hundred prime time shows, both live and filmed, and for playing continuing roles on two daytime soap operas, Dark Shadows and The Secret Storm.

Millay was born in Rye, New York[1] and started her career as a model, first as a child for the Montgomery Ward catalogue, and later as a top Conover model for John Robert Powers.

Every year during high school summer vacation, she appeared in summer stock productions, playing leading or featured roles in classic stage plays such as Our Hearts Were Young and Gay, The Girl on the Via Flaminia, Come Back, Little Sheba, Time of the Cuckoo, The Seven Year Itch,[2] Ladies in Retirement, Bell, Book and Candle, Time Out for Ginger, Picnic, The Little Foxes, Tobacco Road, Life With Father and many more. In total, she appeared in seven seasons of summer stock.

Broadway


In 1957, Broadway came calling and Millay starred opposite Sam Levene and Ellen Burstyn in Fair Game.[3] Her subsequent Broadway appearances include Drink to Me Only[4] opposite Tom Poston, Roger the Sixth opposite Alan Alda, The Glass Rooster opposite Michael Allinson and Boeing Boeing[4] opposite Ian Carmichael. In addition, she spent a year touring the United States and Canada opposite Eddie Bracken in The Seven Year Itch.
Millay's first film role was in the 1957 United Artists movie Street of Sinners, opposite George Montgomery.[5]

Television

Her television debut came on an episode of the anthology series Star Tonight.[6] After that, one of Millay's early roles on television was being the timekeeper on Masquerade Party in 1956.[7] She began her extensive television career when she guest starred on Star Tonight in an episode entitled "Taste". She continued to appear in other "live" productions such as Robert Montgomery Presents, Kraft Television Theatre, Studio One, U.S. Steel Hour, Omnibus, Pond's Theatre, Philco Television Playhouse, Playhouse 90, and many others. She made three guest appearances on the CBS courtroom drama series Perry Mason, starring Raymond Burr. In 1961 she played Debra Bradford in "The Case of the Resolute Reformer," and title character and defendant Sue Ellen Frazer in "The Case of the Unwelcome Bride." In 1963 she played murder victim Eula Johnson in "The Case of the Bouncing Boomerang."

Her filmed television credits include guest star roles on most of the major shows that were running during the late 1950s and throughout the 1960s, including Stagecoach West, Father Knows Best, The Tab Hunter Show, My Three Sons, The Americans, Gunsmoke, Bonanza, The Virginian, Arrest and Trial, 77 Sunset Strip, Rawhide, Tales of Wells Fargo, Wagon Train, Laramie, Route 66, Hawaiian Eye, The Rifleman, Thriller, Maverick (in the episode "Dodge City or Bust" with Jack Kelly and a brief appearance by Roger Moore), The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, Dobie Gillis, Sam Peckinpah's The Westerner, Perry Mason, and The Man from U.N.C.L.E.. Millay made three television pilots for prospective new television series, Slezak and Son, Boston Terrier, and Las Vegas Beat.
In 1962, she was chosen as "Miss Emmy" because of her extensive appearances on primetime TV shows.[8]

Dark Shadows

After completing Paramount's Tarzan and the Great River opposite Mike Henry and Jan Murray that was shot in Brazil,[9][10] executive producer Dan Curtis offered her the contract role of "Laura Collins" on his ABC-TV daytime series, the cult classic Dark Shadows in November 1966.[11] She went on to appear in sixty-two episodes,[12] and became the show's first supernatural character, playing an immortal phoenix-woman who is burned in a fire and reborn to spend another century on Earth. After her present day incarnation was again consumed in a fire, she returned during the flashback story which took place in the 19th century, as yet another reincarnation of "Laura Collins". She appeared in a feature film inspired by the series, MGM's 1971 Night of Dark Shadows opposite David Selby.[10][13]
In 1970, Millay was offered a daytime role as "Kitty Styles" on the CBS soap The Secret Storm. Her run on this show gave her the opportunity to work once again with former Dark Shadows alumni Robert Costello, who was a producer on both shows, and Joel Crothers who played "Joe Haskell" on Dark Shadows and "Ken Stevens" on The Secret Storm.

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

[pbrower2a]

William Edwin (Ed) Bruce Jr. (December 29, 1939 – January 8, 2021) was an American country music songwriter, singer, and actor. He was known for writing the 1975 song "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys" and recording the 1982 country number one hit "You're the Best Break This Old Heart Ever Had". He also co-starred in the television series Bret Maverick with James Garner during the 1981-1982 season.

Bruce was born in Keiser, Arkansas, United States, and grew up in Memphis, Tennessee. In 1957, at the age of 17, he went to see Jack Clement, a recording engineer for Sun Records. Bruce caught the attention of Sun owner Sam Phillips, for whom he wrote and recorded "Rock Boppin' Baby" (as "Edwin Bruce").



In the early 1960s, Bruce recorded for RCA and some smaller labels like Wand/Scepter, singing rockabilly music, as well as more pop-oriented material such as "See the Big Man Cry." In 1962, he wrote "Save Your Kisses" for pop star Tommy Roe and in 1963 he reached No. 109 on the Billboard "Bubbling Under" chart with his own recording of "See the Big Man Cry" (Wand 140), both published by Bill Justis at Tuneville Music. Charlie Louvin recorded "See the Big Man Cry" (Capitol 5369) in 1965; Louvin's version reached No. 7 on the Billboard "Country Singles" chart. During his career many songs that Bruce wrote and recorded were more successful when re-recorded by others.

In 1966, Bruce returned to RCA and recorded "Puzzles", "The Price I Pay to Stay" and "Lonesome Is Me". He scored his first charted single with "Walker's Woods" in 1967, and also charted with his version of The Monkees' "Last Train to Clarksville." Both of these singles were minor hits. In 1969, Bruce signed with Monument Records, where he continued to have minor successes with "Everybody Wants To Get To Heaven" and "Song For Jenny".



Bruce wrote "The Man That Turned My Mama On" which became a major hit for Tanya Tucker in 1974, as was his "Restless" for Crystal Gayle the same year. He signed with United Artists Records in 1973 and released several singles, but only one single in 1974 became a minor hit. Bruce finally made the Top 20 on country charts with his version of "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys", a song he wrote with then-wife Patsy Bruce, in 1976.

Two more Top 40 hits followed for Bruce in 1976, and in 1977, he signed with Epic Records where he would score minor hits. In 1978, "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow up to Be Cowboys" was recorded by Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings. It became a major hit, and continued the upward swing in Bruce's career. In 1979, Tanya Tucker took Bruce's 1977 song "Texas (When I Die)" into the country Top 5.



In 1980, Bruce signed with MCA Records, where he would score his biggest successes. His early hits with MCA included "Diane", "The Last Cowboy Song", "When You Fall In Love (Everything's A Waltz)", "Evil Angel", and "Love's Found You And Me". His biggest hit, "You're the Best Break This Old Heart Ever Had" went to number one on the country chart in 1982. This was also Bruce's first Top 10 hit as a singer after 15 years. He had other hit songs that made the Top 10 like "Ever, Never Lovin' You"; "My First Taste of Texas"; and "After All".

In 1984, Bruce returned to RCA Records and scored a No. 3 hit with "You Turn Me On Like A Radio" in 1985. His last Top 10 single was "Nights" in 1986 and his last Top 40 single (and last chart single to date) was "Quietly Crazy" in 1987.



Bruce supplemented his songwriting income doing voice-overs for television and radio commercials.[1] After the 1986 album entitled Night Things and a 1988 self-titled follow-up, Bruce made a conscious decision to cut back on his music to focus on his acting career, appearing in several made-for-TV films.[1] He hosted two shows in the late 1980s, Truckin' USA and American Sports Cavalcade.[2] He had the second lead on the television revival of 1957's Maverick, called Bret Maverick. Starring James Garner as a legendary western gambler, the series ran on NBC-TV during the 1981-82 season. Bruce played the irascibly surly town lawman who found himself reluctantly co-owning a saloon with Maverick, with whom he seemed to maintain a surreally adversarial relationship more or less throughout the entire season. Bruce sang and wrote the theme song to the show,[3] while Garner himself sang the same song over the end titles at the show's close, while being relentlessly interrupted by network announcements about upcoming programming.


Bruce appeared in several theatrical cinematic releases, including Fire Down Below with Steven Seagal.[3]

[pbrower2a]

Sheldon Adelson, casino magnate and super-donor to the Trump campaign



Sheldon Adelson, GOP Megadonor Who Founded Las Vegas Sands, Dies
The casino mogul, whose billions gave him enormous influence with President Donald Trump and other Republican politicians, was 87.


By Lydia O’Connor

heldon Adelson, a billionaire casino magnate whose huge political donations made him a top influence on the Republican Party and President Donald Trump, has died. He was 87.

Adelson was the founder and CEO of the Las Vegas Sands Corp., which announced his death Tuesday from complications related to treatment for non-Hodgkin lymphoma. 

Adelson was 17th on the Forbes 400 list of the richest Americans in 2020, with a fortune estimated at $26.8 billion.



He lavished political contributions on Republican politicians and was Trump’s largest donor. He famously made the largest single donation to any U.S. presidential inauguration ― a sum of $5 million ― to Trump’s inaugural committee. 



He and his wife, Miriam, pumped at least $205 million into campaign and party committees and super PACs to support Republican politicians over the 2016 and 2018 election cycles, according to Federal Election Commission records. The nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks money in U.S. elections, reported in October that the Adelsons had set a new record for donations from individuals in a single election cycle, giving $172.7 million to Republican candidates.

In a last-ditch effort to reelect Trump in the 2020 election, the Adelsons gave $75 million to the super PAC Preserve America, which aimed to attack Joe Biden. Biden went on to win the election.



Adelson didn’t back Trump in the 2016 GOP primary ― his pick was Newt Gingrich. But he sank millions into Trump’s general election campaign. Since then, he has shown enormous influence on Trump’s policies, including scrapping the Iran nuclear deal and moving the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.


In February 2017 ― weeks after Trump took office ― Adelson met with the president, ProPublica reported. A day later, Trump met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The president stunned the Japanese leader by asking his government to approve Adelson’s bid for a Japan casino, according to the report, which cited two people present at the meeting.

The Adelsons also contributed $500,000 to a legal defense fund set up for Trump and his associates being investigated by special counsel Robert Mueller.

Trump awarded Miriam Adelson a Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2018.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/sheldon-adelson-gop-megadonor-dead_n_5c783781e4b033abd14a1223

comment: he did much to promote a monster, and I do not refer to gambling.

[Eric the Green]

I guess her wife will carry on Sheldon's evil ways.

[pbrower2a]

Siegfried of "Siegfried and Roy", the survivor of the pair of magicians who used Big Cats as props. He was 81.

[pbrower2a]

Harvey Phillip Spector (December 26, 1939 – January 16, 2021) was an American record producer, musician, and songwriter who developed the Wall of Sound, a music production formula he described as a Wagnerian approach to rock and roll. Spector is regarded to be among the most influential figures in pop music history[1] and as the first auteur of the music industry for the unprecedented control he had over every phase of the recording process.[2] After spending three decades in semi-retirement, in 2009, he was convicted for the 2003 murder of the actress Lana Clarkson.[3] At the time of his death, he was serving a prison sentence of 19 years to life.[4][5]
Born in the Bronx, Spector began his career in 1958 as co-founder, guitarist, and vocalist of the Teddy Bears, penning their US number-one single "To Know Him Is to Love Him". In 1960, he co-founded Philles Records, and at the age of 21, became the youngest ever US label owner to that point.[6] Throughout the 1960s, he wrote, co-wrote, or produced records for acts such as the Ronettes, the Crystals, and Ike & Tina Turner. He typically collaborated with arranger Jack Nitzsche, engineer Larry Levine, and a de facto house band that later became known as "the Wrecking Crew". Spector initially retired from the music industry in 1966.

In 1969, Spector returned to his career and subsequently produced the Beatles' album Let It Be (1970), as well as several solo records by the band's John Lennon and George Harrison. By the mid-1970s, Spector had produced eighteen US Top 10 singles for various artists, but following work with Leonard Cohen, Dion DiMucci, and the Ramones, he remained largely inactive and affected by personal struggles.[7] His chart-toppers included "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" (co-written and produced for the Righteous Brothers, 1964), "The Long and Winding Road" (produced for the Beatles, 1970), and "My Sweet Lord" (produced for Harrison, 1970). According to BMI, "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" is the song that received the most US airplay in the 20th century.[8]
Dubbed the "First Tycoon of Teen",

[size=x-small]FOOTNOTEWilliams2003[httpsbooksgooglecombooksidvyyVGNycEA0CpgPT5_5]-9][9][10] Spector's records helped engender the role of the studio as an instrument,[11] the integration of pop art aesthetics into music (art pop),[12] and the art rock genre.-13][13] His multi-artist compilation album A Christmas Gift for You from Philles Records (1963) is widely considered to be the finest Christmas record of all time.[14] Spector's honors include the 1973 Grammy Award for Album of the Year for co-producing Harrison's Concert for Bangladesh (1971), a 1989 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and a 1997 induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.[15] In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Spector number 63 on their list of the greatest artists in history.[16]

Spector died in prison on January 16, 2021 due to complications from COVID-19.[17]

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

[pbrower2a]

a hero of Chernobyl:



Nikolay Timofeyevich Antoshkin (Russian: Николай Тимофеевич Антошкин; December 19, 1942 – January 17, 2021) was a retired Mokshan[1] Russian Air Force colonel general, Hero of the Soviet Union and politician. Born in 1942 in Bashkortostan, Antoshkin was drafted into the Soviet Army in August 1961. After graduating from military aviation school, he served with reconnaissance aviation units. He became commander of the Air Force of the 20th Guards Army in May 1980. After graduation from the Military Academy of the General Staff, Antoshkin became commander of the Air Force and deputy commander of the Central Group of Forces.

In March 1985, he became chief of staff of the Air Force of the Kyiv Military District. In this role, he supervised the initial Chernobyl helicopter cleanup operations.[2] For his actions, Antoshkin was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. He later commanded the Air Forces of the Central Asian Military District and Moscow Military District. Between 1993 and 1997 Antoshkin led Russian Air Force Frontal Aviation. In 1997 he became head of Air Force combat training and retired a year later. Antoshkin was elected a deputy of the State Duma in 2014.[3] He was affiliated with United Russia.

Antoshkin was born on 19 December 1942 in the village of Kuzminovka in the Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. Between 1950 and 1951 he lived in the village of Kholmogorovka. In 1951, he moved to Kumertau. Antoshkin graduated from tenth grade in 1960. He worked as a worker in the repair and construction workshop and physical education instructor at the Kumertau Power Plant between 1960 and 1961.[3]



Antoshkin was drafted into the Soviet Army in August 1961. He was sent to the Orenburg Higher Military Aviation School, graduating in 1965. Antoshkin was promoted to lieutenant on 29 October 1965. He became a pilot, squadron chief of staff and flight leader in a separate reconnaissance aviation regiment in the Belorussian Military District. He was promoted to senior lieutenant on 6 December 1967. Between 1969 and 1970 he was a flight commander in a separate reconnaissance aviation regiment in the Far Eastern Military District. He received the rank of captain on 30 December 1969. Antoshkin graduated from the Gagarin Air Force Academy in 1973. On 29 June he was promoted to major. He became a squadron commander and deputy commander of a training reconnaissance aviation regiment in the Odessa Military District. Between September 1975 and June 1979 Antoshkin led the 87th Separate Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment in the Turkestan Military District. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel on 19 September 1975. On 22 February 1977, Antoshkin was awarded the Order for Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR 3rd class. During March 1979 the regiment conducted reconnaissance missions over Afghan territory. In June 1979 he was transferred to command the 11th Separate Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment in the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany. On 27 December, Antoshkin was promoted to colonel. He became commander of the Air Force of the 20th Guards Army in May 1980. After graduating from the Military Academy of the General Staff in 1983, Antoshkin was appointed commander of the Air Force of the Central Group of Forces and deputy commander of the group.[3]



In March 1985, Antoshkin became chief of staff of the Air Force of the Kyiv Military District. On 29 April, he was promoted to major general. Immediately after the Chernobyl disaster, Antoshkin carried out a helicopter flyby of the plant on 26 April 1986. Antoshkin organized and led the helicopter group tasked with dropping sand onto the crater of the reactor[5] until 5 May, by which time the fire had been contained.[6] For his leadership, he was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union and the Order of Lenin on 24 December 1986. In August 1988 he was transferred to become commander of the Air Force of the Central Asian Military District at Almaty. In November 1989 he became commander of the Air Force of the Moscow Military District. He was promoted to lieutenant general on 25 April 1990. On 28 November 1991 he was awarded the Order for Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR 2nd class. From November 1993 to March 1997 Antoshkin led Russian Air Force Frontal aviation. He was promoted to colonel general on 10 June 1994. On 28 August 1995 he received the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" 4th class. In 1996 he was made an honorary citizen of Kumertau. Between November 1997 and September 1998 he was deputy commander of the Air Force for combat training and head of Air Force combat training. Antoshkin became an honorary citizen of Mordovia around this time. He retired in September 1998.[3]


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

[pbrower2a]

pitcher Don Sutton

Donald Howard Sutton (April 2, 1945 – January 18, 2021) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 23 seasons as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland Athletics, and California Angels.[1] Sutton won a total of 324 games, 58 of them shutouts with five of them one-hitters and 10 two-hitters, seven of which were shutouts, and he is seventh on baseball's all-time strikeout list with 3,574.


Sutton was born in Clio, Alabama. He attended high school and community college in Florida before entering professional baseball. After a year in the minor leagues, Sutton joined the Dodgers. Beginning in 1966, he was in the team's starting pitching rotation with Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, and Claude Osteen. Sixteen of Sutton's 23 MLB seasons were spent with the Dodgers. He registered only one 20-win season, but earned 10 or more wins in every season except 1983 and 1988.

Sutton became a television sports broadcaster after his retirement as a player. He worked in this capacity for several teams, the majority being with the Atlanta Braves. Sutton was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998.[2]

After playing for the Sioux Falls Packers in South Dakota, Sutton entered the major leagues at the age of 21. Sutton's major league debut came with the Dodgers on April 14, 1966, the same day that future 300-game winner Greg Maddux was born.[13] On the 1966 Dodgers, Sutton was the fourth starting pitcher in a rotation that included Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale and Claude Osteen.[14] He struck out 209 batters that season, which was the highest strikeout total for a rookie since 1911.[2]

[/url]
Don Sutton circa 1971

Sutton was selected to the [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_League_Baseball_All-Star_Game]Major League Baseball All-Star Game four times in the 1970s.[15] The 1974 Dodgers made the postseason after winning 102 games during the regular season. They beat the Pittsburgh Pirates in the playoffs and Sutton accounted for two of the team's three wins.[16] They lost the 1974 World Series four games to one, with Sutton earning the only win for the team.[17] In 1976, Sutton had his best major league season, finishing the year with a 21–10 win-loss record.[18] He was the National League's starting pitcher and MVP of the 1977 All-Star game at Yankee Stadium. He earned a complete game win in the 1977 playoffs, followed by a 1–0 record in two appearances in that year's World Series, which the team lost to the Yankees.[1]

In August 1978, Sutton captured media attention after a physical altercation with teammate Steve Garvey. Sutton had criticized what he thought was excessive media attention paid to Garvey, saying that Reggie Smith was really the team's best player. When Garvey confronted Sutton about the comments before a game against the Mets, the men came to blows and had to be separated by teammates and team officials.[19] The team returned to the postseason that year. Sutton had a 15–11 record during the regular season, but he struggled in the postseason as the Dodgers lost the World Series to New York again. In 17 postseason innings that year, Sutton gave up 14 earned runs.[1]

Los Angeles made Sutton a free agent after the 1980 season. During his time in Los Angeles, he set a team record for career wins.[18] Sutton joined the Houston Astros in 1981. After the baseball strike interrupted the season, Sutton returned with seven wins and one loss. In an October 2 loss to the Dodgers, Sutton left the game with a patellar fracture, ending his season just as the Astros were about to clinch a berth in the NL postseason.[20]

Late in the 1982 season, the Astros sent Sutton to the Milwaukee Brewers for Kevin Bass, Frank DiPino and Mike Madden.[21] Astros player Ray Knight was critical of the trade, saying, "My first reaction to this trade is disbelief. I don't know who are the prospects we are getting, but I would think Don Sutton would bring a big name, a real big name. Here's a guy who is going to win you 15–20 games every year, and he never misses a start... He should really help the Brewers."[22] Sutton earned a win in a 1982 playoff game against the Angels, then started two games in the 1982 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals. He pitched 10 innings in the series, gave up nine earned runs and was charged with one loss.[1]

In 1985, Sutton was traded to the Oakland Athletics in exchange for Ray Burris. He was reluctant to report to the team, as he was hoping to play for a team in Southern California so that he could live at home with his family. Sutton ultimately reported to Oakland 12 days late for spring training. He said that he had his family's approval in the decision and he mentioned his win total – he was 20 wins shy of 300 career wins – as a factor in the decision.[23] After starting the season with a 13–8 record, Sutton was traded to the California Angels in September. In return, the Angels would send two minor league players to be named later to Oakland.[18]


Don Sutton's number 20 was retired by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1998.



Coming into the 1986 season, Sutton had 295 career victories. He struggled early in the season, but earned his 300th career win on June 18 that year, pitching a complete game against the Texas Rangers in which he allowed only three hits and one run while striking out Gary Ward for the final out of the game.[24] He appeared in two games in the 1986 ALCS against the Red Sox, earning a 1.86 ERA but registering two no-decisions.[1]



Sutton finished his career where he'd started it, signing with the Dodgers again in 1988. After spending 15 straight years with Los Angeles from 1966 to 1980, Sutton had pitched for five different teams in his last eight seasons. Before the 1988 season began, Angels pitcher John Candelaria criticized him for tipping off police that Candelaria was drinking the previous year, leading to one of Candelaria's two 1987 drunk driving arrests. Sutton said that he made the report out of concern for Candelaria's safety; Candelaria said that Sutton was practicing "self-preservation" and attempting to have Candelaria removed from the Angels' starting rotation since Sutton was not pitching well.[25]



In August 1988, Sutton spoke with Astros team leadership about a vacant assistant general manager position with the team. Dodgers executive vice president Fred Claire said that Sutton violated league rules by discussing such a position while under contract with a team, but Sutton said that he ran into Astros general manager Bill Wood at a game and simply mentioned his willingness to discuss the position later.[26] The team released him on August 10. Claire said that Sutton's stamina was a major consideration in the move, as the team was looking for pitchers who could last more than five or six innings per start.[27]



Sutton has the record for most at-bats without a home run (1,354). Sutton holds another record: seven times in his career, he pitched nine scoreless innings but got a no-decision. He also holds the major league record for most consecutive losses to one team, having lost 13 straight games to the Chicago Cubs.[28] At the time of his death, he held the franchise record for most wins (233) and strikeouts (2,696) as a Dodger.[29]

[beechnut79]

(01-20-2021, 02:45 AM)pbrower2a Wrote: pitcher Don Sutton

Donald Howard Sutton (April 2, 1945 – January 18, 2021) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 23 seasons as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland Athletics, and California Angels.[1] Sutton won a total of 324 games, 58 of them shutouts with five of them one-hitters and 10 two-hitters, seven of which were shutouts, and he is seventh on baseball's all-time strikeout list with 3,574.


Sutton was born in Clio, Alabama. He attended high school and community college in Florida before entering professional baseball. After a year in the minor leagues, Sutton joined the Dodgers. Beginning in 1966, he was in the team's starting pitching rotation with Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, and Claude Osteen. Sixteen of Sutton's 23 MLB seasons were spent with the Dodgers. He registered only one 20-win season, but earned 10 or more wins in every season except 1983 and 1988.

Sutton became a television sports broadcaster after his retirement as a player. He worked in this capacity for several teams, the majority being with the Atlanta Braves. Sutton was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998.[2]

After playing for the Sioux Falls Packers in South Dakota, Sutton entered the major leagues at the age of 21. Sutton's major league debut came with the Dodgers on April 14, 1966, the same day that future 300-game winner Greg Maddux was born.[13] On the 1966 Dodgers, Sutton was the fourth starting pitcher in a rotation that included Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale and Claude Osteen.[14] He struck out 209 batters that season, which was the highest strikeout total for a rookie since 1911.[2]

[/url]
Don Sutton circa 1971

Sutton was selected to the [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_League_Baseball_All-Star_Game]Major League Baseball All-Star Game four times in the 1970s.[15] The 1974 Dodgers made the postseason after winning 102 games during the regular season. They beat the Pittsburgh Pirates in the playoffs and Sutton accounted for two of the team's three wins.[16] They lost the 1974 World Series four games to one, with Sutton earning the only win for the team.[17] In 1976, Sutton had his best major league season, finishing the year with a 21–10 win-loss record.[18] He was the National League's starting pitcher and MVP of the 1977 All-Star game at Yankee Stadium. He earned a complete game win in the 1977 playoffs, followed by a 1–0 record in two appearances in that year's World Series, which the team lost to the Yankees.[1]

In August 1978, Sutton captured media attention after a physical altercation with teammate Steve Garvey. Sutton had criticized what he thought was excessive media attention paid to Garvey, saying that Reggie Smith was really the team's best player. When Garvey confronted Sutton about the comments before a game against the Mets, the men came to blows and had to be separated by teammates and team officials.[19] The team returned to the postseason that year. Sutton had a 15–11 record during the regular season, but he struggled in the postseason as the Dodgers lost the World Series to New York again. In 17 postseason innings that year, Sutton gave up 14 earned runs.[1]

Los Angeles made Sutton a free agent after the 1980 season. During his time in Los Angeles, he set a team record for career wins.[18] Sutton joined the Houston Astros in 1981. After the baseball strike interrupted the season, Sutton returned with seven wins and one loss. In an October 2 loss to the Dodgers, Sutton left the game with a patellar fracture, ending his season just as the Astros were about to clinch a berth in the NL postseason.[20]

Late in the 1982 season, the Astros sent Sutton to the Milwaukee Brewers for Kevin Bass, Frank DiPino and Mike Madden.[21] Astros player Ray Knight was critical of the trade, saying, "My first reaction to this trade is disbelief. I don't know who are the prospects we are getting, but I would think Don Sutton would bring a big name, a real big name. Here's a guy who is going to win you 15–20 games every year, and he never misses a start... He should really help the Brewers."[22] Sutton earned a win in a 1982 playoff game against the Angels, then started two games in the 1982 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals. He pitched 10 innings in the series, gave up nine earned runs and was charged with one loss.[1]

In 1985, Sutton was traded to the Oakland Athletics in exchange for Ray Burris. He was reluctant to report to the team, as he was hoping to play for a team in Southern California so that he could live at home with his family. Sutton ultimately reported to Oakland 12 days late for spring training. He said that he had his family's approval in the decision and he mentioned his win total – he was 20 wins shy of 300 career wins – as a factor in the decision.[23] After starting the season with a 13–8 record, Sutton was traded to the California Angels in September. In return, the Angels would send two minor league players to be named later to Oakland.[18]


Don Sutton's number 20 was retired by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1998.



Coming into the 1986 season, Sutton had 295 career victories. He struggled early in the season, but earned his 300th career win on June 18 that year, pitching a complete game against the Texas Rangers in which he allowed only three hits and one run while striking out Gary Ward for the final out of the game.[24] He appeared in two games in the 1986 ALCS against the Red Sox, earning a 1.86 ERA but registering two no-decisions.[1]



Sutton finished his career where he'd started it, signing with the Dodgers again in 1988. After spending 15 straight years with Los Angeles from 1966 to 1980, Sutton had pitched for five different teams in his last eight seasons. Before the 1988 season began, Angels pitcher John Candelaria criticized him for tipping off police that Candelaria was drinking the previous year, leading to one of Candelaria's two 1987 drunk driving arrests. Sutton said that he made the report out of concern for Candelaria's safety; Candelaria said that Sutton was practicing "self-preservation" and attempting to have Candelaria removed from the Angels' starting rotation since Sutton was not pitching well.[25]



In August 1988, Sutton spoke with Astros team leadership about a vacant assistant general manager position with the team. Dodgers executive vice president Fred Claire said that Sutton violated league rules by discussing such a position while under contract with a team, but Sutton said that he ran into Astros general manager Bill Wood at a game and simply mentioned his willingness to discuss the position later.[26] The team released him on August 10. Claire said that Sutton's stamina was a major consideration in the move, as the team was looking for pitchers who could last more than five or six innings per start.[27]



Sutton has the record for most at-bats without a home run (1,354). Sutton holds another record: seven times in his career, he pitched nine scoreless innings but got a no-decision. He also holds the major league record for most consecutive losses to one team, having lost 13 straight games to the Chicago Cubs.[28] At the time of his death, he held the franchise record for most wins (233) and strikeouts (2,696) as a Dodger.[29]

You mentioned how many at bats Don Sutton had. However, pitchers of the future won’t have that opportunity. I believe the DH becomes universal next year. I am actually surprised that the AL/NL split on the issue has lasted as long as it did considering that MLB has been under one umbrella for many years now. With the advent of inter league play in the late 1990s there have been only major league umpires. They used to be separate in each league with separate strike zone boundaries. And each league had it’s own league president. There was though a commissioner over the entire operation which I don’t believe exists today. Universal DH was the name of the game in last year’s COVID shortened season but believe it officially kicks in next year, 2022.

[pbrower2a]

Henry Louis Aaron (February 5, 1934 – January 22, 2021), nicknamed "Hammer" or "Hammerin' Hank," was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) right fielder. He played 21 seasons for the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves in the National League (NL) and two seasons for the Milwaukee Brewers in the American League (AL), from 1954 through 1976. Aaron held the MLB record for career home runs for 33 years, and he still holds several MLB offensive records. He hit 24 or more home runs every year from 1955 through 1973, and is one of only two players to hit 30 or more home runs in a season at least fifteen times.[2] In 1999, The Sporting News ranked Aaron fifth on its "100 Greatest Baseball Players" list.[3] He also later served as the senior vice president of the Atlanta Braves.


Aaron was born and raised in and around Mobile, Alabama. Aaron had seven siblings, including Tommie Aaron, who played major-league baseball with him. He appeared briefly in the Negro American League and in minor league baseball before starting his major league career.[4] By his final MLB season, Aaron was the last Negro league baseball player on a major league roster.

Aaron played the vast majority of his MLB games in right field, though he appeared at several other infield and outfield positions. In his last two seasons, he was primarily a designated hitter.[5] Aaron was an NL All-Star for 20 seasons and an AL All-Star for 1 season, from 1955 through 1975. Aaron holds the record for the most All-Star Game selections (25),[a] and is tied with Willie Mays and Stan Musial for the most All-Star Games played (24). He was a Gold Glove winner for three seasons. In 1957, he was the NL Most Valuable Player (MVP) when the Milwaukee Braves won the World Series. He won the NL Player of the Month award in May 1958 and June 1967. Aaron holds the MLB records for the most career runs batted in (RBI) (2,297), extra base hits (1,477), and total bases (6,856). Aaron is also in the top five for career hits (3,771) and runs (2,174). He is one of only four players to have at least 17 seasons with 150 or more hits.[6] Aaron is in second place in home runs (755) and at-bats (12,364), and in third place in games played (3,298). At the time of his retirement, Aaron held most of the game's key career power hitting records.

In 1982, he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Since his retirement, Aaron has held front office roles with the Atlanta Braves. In 1988, Aaron was inducted into the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame.[7] In 1999, MLB introduced the Hank Aaron Award to recognize the top offensive players in each league. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2002. He was named a 2010 Georgia Trustee by the Georgia Historical Society in recognition of accomplishments that reflect the ideals of Georgia's founders. Aaron resided near Atlanta.[8]

Much more at Wikipedia. [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hank_Aaron][/url]

[pbrower2a]

Sammie Nestico, musician

Samuel Louis Nistico (February 6, 1924 – January 17, 2021), better known as Sammy Nestico, was an American composer and arranger. Nestico is best known for his arrangements for the Count Basie orchestra.[4]

Samuel Luigi Nistico was born on February 6, 1924, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Luigi Nistico, an Italian immigrant, and Frances Mangone. His father was a railroad worker. During childhood, Sammy Americanized his name to Samuel Louis Nestico.[5][6] Nestico joined the Oliver High School beginner orchestra in 1937 as a trombonist.[7] In 1939, he wrote his first arrangement. At age 17, Nestico joined the ABC radio station WCAE in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as a trombonist.[7][8][9][10]

During World War II, Nestico joined the US Army and served for five years. After leaving the military, he completed a degree in music education at Duquesne University. His alma mater later awarded him with an honorary Doctor of Music degree and the Distinguished Alumni award.[11] After earning his degree, Nestico then returned to the military, where he arranged music for the U.S. Air Force Band (1950–1963), as well as leading the Glen Miller Army Air Corps dance band, which would later become known as the Airmen of Note. In 1963, he switched to the Marines and became director and arranger of the U.S. Marine Band, where he served under presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. During his tenure, a composition by Nestico led President Johnson to remark "You call this music?" In 2009, Nestico said in an interview "I didn't answer, although I didn't think [Johnson's] concept of music was worth a damn."[7][12]

After leaving the military, Nestico became a freelance arranger, working especially with the Count Basie Orchestra in 1968, where he composed, arranged, and conducted the last ten albums by Count Basie, four of which earned Grammy Awards. During his long career, he composed, arranged, or conducted albums for several major stars, including Quincy Jones, Phil Collins, Barbra Streisand, Michael Buble, Natalie Cole, Sarah Vaughan, Toni Tennille, Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, and many others. In addition, he played trombone, in the big bands of Tommy Dorsey, Woody Herman, Gene Krupa, and Charlie Barnet. He conducted and recorded his arrangements with several leading European Radio Jazz Orchestras, including the BBC Big Band in London, Germany's SWR Big Band and NDR Big Band and the DR Big Band, as well as the Boston Pops Orchestra in America.[7][12][13][14][15]
Nestico had a long career in the film and television industry. As orchestrator, he worked on nearly seventy television programs, including Mission: Impossible[14], Mannix, M*A*S*H[16], Charlie's Angels[17], and The Mod Squad.[18] He also worked as an arranger for the 81st Academy Awards, as well as some Grammy Awards. He worked as an orchestrator and arranger for the film The Color Purple.[19] Nestico composed commercial jingles for Anheuser-Busch, Zenith, Ford Motor Company, Mattel Toys, Pittsburgh Paint, the National Guard, Dodge, Remington Bank, and Americard.[15]
In the late 1960s, Sammy worked as an arranger and orchestrator for Capitol Records. In a partnership with Billy May, Nestico was involved in the transcription, arranging, and re-recording of 630 big band songs originally recorded in the 1930s and 1940s. This effort eventually resulted in the release of 63 albums by Time Life.[7][10]

Beginning in 1982, Nestico began releasing solo albums, with Dark Orchid" as his debut album. His solo albums eventually earned him four Grammy Award nominations, besides the awards he earned with Count Basie: in 2002 for his album This Is The Moment and for the arrangement "Kiji Takes A Ride"; in 2009 for his album Fun Time; and in 2016 for his arragement "Good 'Swing' Wenceslas".[7][20]

Nestico also had a career in music education, teaching at the University of Georgia from 1998 to 1999, where he taught orchestration and conducted the studio orchestra; after which he retired to Carlsbad, California, near San Diego. He wrote hundreds of arrangements for school band and jazz band programs. He wrote many books, including The Complete Arranger, first published in 1993, and has since been revised and published in at least four languages. His autobiography, The Gift of Music, was published in 2009. At the time of his death, a feature-length documentary film titled Shadow Man: The Sammy Nestico Story was in production.[7][15]

[pbrower2a]

Bob Avian (December 26, 1937 – January 21, 2021) was an American choreographer, theatrical producer and director.


Born in New York City to an Armenian family[1]in December 1937, Avian spent his early career dividing his time between dancing in such Broadway shows as West Side Story, Funny Girl, and Henry, Sweet Henry and working as a production assistant on projects like I Do! I Do! and Twigs. He first met Michael Bennett when they both appeared in the European tour of West Side Story in 1959, and over the course of the next two decades the two collaborated on Promises, Promises, Coco, Company, Follies, Seesaw, God's Favorite, A Chorus Line, Ballroom, and Dreamgirls, Avian's first credit as a solo producer. Additional Broadway credits include Putting It Together, Nowhere to Go But Up and the 2006 revival of A Chorus Line, which he directed.

In London's West End, Avian choreographed Follies, Martin Guerre, The Witches of Eastwick, Miss Saigon, and Sunset Boulevard, repeating the assignment for the Broadway productions of the latter two. He also staged Hey, Mr. Producer!, the Cameron Mackintosh tribute.

Avian was openly gay and survived by his husband Peter Pileski, and his sister, Laura Nabedian.[2]

[pbrower2a]

Jimmie Rodgers, pop singer from the 1960's and 1970's

James Frederick Rodgers (September 18, 1933 – January 18, 2021)[1] was an American singer. Rodgers had a run of hits and mainstream popularity in the 1950s and 1960s. His string of crossover singles ranked highly on the Billboard Pop Singles, Hot Country and Western Sides, and Hot Rhythm and Blues Sides charts; in the 1960s, Rodgers had more modest successes with adult contemporary music.
He is not directly related to the earlier country singer Jimmie C. Rodgers, who died the same year the younger Rodgers was born. Among country audiences, and in his official songwriting credits, the younger Rodgers is often known as Jimmie F. Rodgers to differentiate the two.

Rodgers was born in Camas, Washington,[2] the second son of Archie and Mary Rodgers.[3] He was taught music by his mother, a piano teacher,[4] and began performing as a child, first entertaining at a Christmas show when he was only five.[2] He learned to play the piano and guitar, and performed locally. After attending Camas High School, and briefly taking courses at Vancouver Clark Junior College,[3] he went to work in a paper mill; although he loved music, he was uncertain whether he could turn it into a career. He was subsequently drafted into the United States Air Force during the Korean War.[5] While in the military, he joined a band called "The Melodies" started by violinist Phil Clark. During his service, he was transferred to Nashville, where he was stationed at Seward Air Force Base from 1954-1956.[6] It was during this time that he began expanding his musical repertoire. And while he was in Nashville, he first heard the song that would become his first hit, Honeycomb.[5]

Like a number of other entertainers of the era, he was one of the contestants on Arthur Godfrey's talent show on CBS television; he won $700.[7] When Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore left RCA Victor for Morris Levy's company, Roulette Records, they became aware of Rodgers' talent and signed him up.

In the summer of 1957, he recorded his own version of "Honeycomb", which had been written by Bob Merrill and recorded by Georgie Shaw three years earlier.[8] The tune was Rodgers' biggest hit, staying on the top of the charts for four weeks. It sold over one million copies,[9] and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA.[10] Over the following year he had a number of other hits that reached the Top 10 on the charts: "Kisses Sweeter than Wine", "Oh-Oh, I'm Falling in Love Again", "Secretly", and "Are You Really Mine". Other hits include "Bo Diddley", "Bimbombey", "Ring-a-ling-a-lario", "Tucumcari", "Tender Love and Care (T.L.C)", and a version of Waltzing Matilda as a film tie-in with the apocalyptic movie On the Beach.

In the United Kingdom, "Honeycomb" reached number 30 in the UK Singles Chart in November 1957, but "Kisses Sweeter than Wine" climbed to number 7 the following month.[11] Both "Kisses Sweeter than Wine" and "Oh-Oh, I'm Falling in Love Again" were million sellers.[10]

The success of "Honeycomb" earned Rodgers guest appearances on numerous variety programs during 1957, including the "Shower of Stars" program, hosted by Jack Benny, on October 31, 1957,[12] and the Big Record with Patti Page, on December 4, 1957.[13] Rodgers also made several appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show, including on September 8, 1957,[14] and November 3, 1957.[15] In 1958, he appeared on NBC's The Gisele MacKenzie Show. Also in 1958, he sang the opening theme song of the film The Long, Hot Summer, starring Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward and Orson Welles.[16] He then had his own short-lived televised variety show on NBC in 1959.[17]

His biggest hit in the UK was "English Country Garden", a version of the folk song "Country Gardens", which reached number 5 in the chart in June 1962.[11] In 1962, he moved to the Dot label, and four years later to A&M Records. He also appeared in some films, including The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come, opposite Neil Hamilton, and Back Door to Hell, which he helped finance.

In 1966, a long dry spell ended for Rodgers when he re-entered the Top 40 with "It's Over" (later to be recorded by Eddy Arnold, Elvis Presley, Glen Campbell, Mason Williams, and Sonny James). In 1967, he changed record labels, signing with A&M Records.[18] It was with that label that Rodgers had his final charting Top 100 single, "Child of Clay", written by Ernie Maresca, (who had a top-40 hit back in 1962, "Shout! Shout! (Knock Yourself Out)".) [19] He performed the song on several television variety shows, including The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour,[20] but it never became a big hit; it only reached number 31 on the Billboard charts.

On December 1, 1967, Rodgers suffered traumatic head injuries after the car he was driving was stopped by an off-duty police officer near the San Diego Freeway in Los Angeles. He had a fractured skull and required several surgeries.[21] Initial reports in the newspapers attributed his injuries to a severe beating with a blunt instrument by unknown assailants.[22] Rodgers had no specific memory of how he had been injured, remembering only that he had seen blindingly bright lights from a car pulling up behind him.[23]

A few days later, the Los Angeles Police Department stated that off-duty LAPD officer Michael Duffy (at times identified in the press as Richard Duffy) had stopped him for erratic driving, and that Rodgers had stumbled, fallen and hit his head. According to the police version, Duffy then called for assistance from two other officers, and the three of them put the unconscious Rodgers into his car and left the scene.[24] This account was supported by the treating physicians who had first blamed the skull fracture on a beating; by the latter part of December, they concluded that Rodgers had in fact fallen and that had caused his injuries.[25]

The following month, Rodgers filed an $11 million lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles, claiming that the three officers had beaten him.[26] The police and the L.A. County District Attorney rejected these claims, although the three officers (identified in the press as Michael T. Duffy, 27; Raymond V. Whisman, 29, and Ronald D. Wagner, 32)[27] were given two-week suspensions for improper procedures in handling the case, particularly their leaving the injured Rodgers alone in his car. (He was later found by a worried friend.)[28][29] Duffy had had a previous four-day suspension for using unnecessary force; he had used a blackjack on a juvenile.[28][29]

The three officers and the LA Fire and Police Protective League filed a $13 million slander suit against Rodgers for his public statements accusing them of brutality.[30]

Neither suit came to trial; the police slander suit was dropped, and in 1973 Rodgers elected to accept a $200,000 settlement from the Los Angeles City Council, which voted to give him the money rather than to incur the costs and risks of further court action.[31] Rodgers and his supporters still believe that one or more of the police officers beat him, although other observers find the evidence inconclusive.[32] In his 2010 biography Me, the Mob, and the Music, singer Tommy James wrote that Morris Levy, the Mafia-connected head of Roulette Records, had arranged the attack in response to Rodgers' repeated demands for unpaid royalties he was due by the label. All of Rodgers' most successful singles had been released by Roulette, who were notorious for not paying their artists for their record sales.[33]

In 1993, Raymond Virgil Whisman, one of the three officers who were alleged to have assaulted Rodgers, was arrested for assaulting his wife and threatening to kill her. The arrest occurred after sheriff's deputies stormed his house after being informed that he was holding his wife at gunpoint. Deputies found 11 rifles, 4 shotguns, and two handguns in the home. Whisman was charged with two counts of assault and two counts of making terroristic threats.[34]

Recovery from his injuries caused an approximately year-long period in which Rodgers ceased to perform. Meanwhile, his voice was still being heard: several of his earlier hits were used in jingles in the 1970s, one for Spaghetti-Ohs and another for a Honeycomb breakfast cereal.[6] And Rodgers' songs continued to make the Billboard Country and Easy Listening charts until 1979. During the summer of 1969, he made a brief return to network television with a summer variety show [35] on ABC (which later bought the rights to Rodgers' Dot Records releases, now owned by Universal Music Group). It was not until the early 1980s when he began doing some limited live appearances again. Among the earliest was a series of shows in late February 1983: he performed at Harrah's Reno Casino Cabaret.[4] He also performed a few shows in other cities, including at a nightclub called Mister Days in Ft. Lauderdale FL in late 1983.[36]

Rodgers and his first wife Colleen (née McClatchey) divorced in 1970, and she died May 20, 1977.[37] They had two children, Michael and Michelle. He had remarried in 1970, and Jimmie and Trudy Rodgers had two sons, Casey and Logan. He and Trudy divorced in the late 1970s, and he remarried again. Jimmie and Mary Rodgers were still married when he died, and they have a daughter, Katrine, who was born in 1989.
Rodgers appeared in a 1999 video, Rock & Roll Graffiti by American Public Television, along with about 20 other performers. He stated that he had suffered from spasmodic dysphonia for a number of years, and could hardly sing.[38] Nevertheless, he gave "Honeycomb" a try, and he mentioned that he had a show in Branson, Missouri.

In 2010, Rodgers wrote and published his autobiography, Dancing on the Moon: The Jimmie Rodgers Story.[7] Rodgers returned to Camas, Washington in 2011 and 2012, performing to sell-out crowds. After the 2012 concert, he returned home for open heart surgery, following a heart attack three weeks earlier.[citation needed] In 2013, his neighbors successfully got a street named after him, in the neighborhood where he grew up.[38]
Rodgers died on January 18, 2021, at the age of 87.[39][40]