Obituaries

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Shirley G. Spork (May 14, 1927 – April 12, 2022) was an American professional golfer and one of the founders of the LPGA Tour. Spork finished second at the 1962 LPGA Championship. She worked as a teaching pro for many years and was recognized as LPGA Teacher of the Year in 1959 and 1984. Spork also taught golf with the National Golf Foundation and was an educator at Bowling Green State University. As a player, she started in her early teens and continued to play golf into her nineties.

Spork was raised outside Detroit in Redford, Michigan and grew up across the street from an 18-hole golf course.[1][2] As a child, she began to collect, wash and resell golf balls and at age 13, used these funds to buy her own golf clubs.[1] She began to practice after hours.[1] She played in tournaments in Detroit as young as age 14 and the Detroit Free Press wrote in 1941 that she "appears to be one of the future stars of Detroit."[3] She went on to attend a golf school given by the Free Press.[4] One of her first major wins took place in 1944 at a Red Cross golf event.[2]

Spork wanted to play golf after  high school, but was discouraged by her parents.[1] Instead, she started to attend Michigan State Normal College (now Eastern Michigan University) in 1945.[5] She had "top honors" atrthe Women's District Golf Association tournament in June 1946.[6] At college, she won the 1947 national individual intercollegiate golf championship, playing in between final exams.[7][8] She was runner-up in the intercollegiate championship in 1948.[9] She graduated from college in 1949.[9] Soon after this, she went pro and began to play professional events in 1950.[10][11] In the fall of 1950, Spork was hired to work at the health and physical education department of Bowling Green State University.[12]
Spork was one of the thirteen founders of the LPGA in 1950.[13][14][15] In 1951, she toured the United Kingdom and France.[16] She also started teaching golf at Tamarisk Country Club in Palm Springs, California in 1954.[17] She was also involved with creating a teaching division in the LPGA which became the Teaching and Club Professional Membership.[13] In 1962, she came in second in the LPGA Championship.[11] For a few years in the mid to late 1970s, Spork worked as an educator for the National Golf Foundation.[17]

Spork continued to golf into her 90s.[14] She was awarded the LPGA Teacher of the Year Award in 1959 and again in 1984.[17] In 1968, she joined the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame.[9] She was added to the Eastern Michigan University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1981.[9] She received the Heritage Award from the SCPGA in 2017.[18] Spork was inducted into the PGA of America Hall of Fame in 2019.[13] Spork is also featured in a documentary about the LPGA, The Founders (2016).[14] She wrote about her career in her 2017 autobiography, From Green to Tee.[19] Spork died on April 12, 2022 at the age of 94.[20][21]



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

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Radu Lupu CBE (30 November 1945 – 17 April 2022) was a Romanian Jewish pianist. He was widely recognized as one of the greatest pianists of his time.[3][4][5] Born in Galați, Romania, Lupu began studying piano at the age of six. Two of his major piano teachers were Florica Musicescu, who also taught Dinu Lipatti, and Heinrich Neuhaus, who also taught Sviatoslav Richter and Emil Gilels. From 1966 to 1969, he won three of the world's most prestigious piano competitions: the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition (1966), the George Enescu International Piano Competition (1967), and the Leeds International Pianoforte Competition (1969). These victories launched Lupu's international career, and he appeared with all of the major orchestras and at all of the major festivals and music capitals of the world.
From 1970 to 1993, Lupu made over 20 recordings for Decca Records. His solo recordings, which have received considerable acclaim, include works by Beethoven, Brahms, Grieg, Mozart, Schubert, and Schumann, including all of Beethoven's piano concertos and five piano sonatas and other solo works; the Grieg and Schumann piano concertos, as well as three major solo works of Schumann; nine piano sonatas and the Impromptus and Moments musicaux of Schubert; various major solo works and the first piano concerto of Brahms; and two piano concertos of Mozart. His chamber music recordings for Decca include all of Mozart's sonatas for violin and piano with Szymon Goldberg; the violin sonatas of Debussy and Franck with Kyung Wha Chung; and various works by Schubert for violin and piano with Goldberg. He additionally recorded works of Mozart and Schubert for piano four-hands and two pianos with Murray Perahia for CBS Masterworks, Schubert songs with Barbara Hendricks for EMI, and works by Schubert for piano four-hands with Daniel Barenboim for Teldec. In addition, Lupu is also noted for his performances of Bartók, Debussy, Enescu, and Janáček, among other composers.
Lupu was nominated for two Grammy Awards, winning one in 1996 for an album of two Schubert piano sonatas. In 1995, Lupu also won an Edison Award for a disc of three major piano works of Schumann. Other awards won by Lupu include the Franco Abbiati Prize in 1989 and 2006, and the 2006 Premio Internazionale Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli award.


The Moscow Conservatory, where Lupu studied from 1961 to 1969

Lupu was born in Galați, Romania on 30 November 1945, the son of Meyer Lupu, an attorney, and Ana Gabor, a linguist.[6] From his earliest days, Lupu "had always expressed himself by singing", and was given his first piano at the age of five.[7] He began piano studies in 1951, as a six-year-old, with Lia Busuioceanu. He made his public debut in 1957, at age 12, in a concert featuring his own compositions.[7] He told The Christian Science Monitor in 1970 that "from the very beginning I regarded myself as a composer. I was sure, and everybody else was sure, that one day I would become a famous composer". He gave up composing about four years later, saying that he thought he would be "much better as a pianist".[7]
After completing high school in Galați, and graduating from the Popular School for the Arts in Brașov, where he studied harmony and counterpoint with Victor Bickerich, Lupu continued his piano studies at the Bucharest Conservatory (1959–1961) with Florica Musicescu (who also taught Dinu Lipatti), and Cella Delavrancea, studying also composition with Dragos Alexandrescu. At the age of 16, in 1961, he was awarded a scholarship to the Moscow Conservatory, where he studied for seven years. In Moscow, he first studied with Galina Eguiazarova (a pupil of Alexander Goldenweiser) for two years, and then with Heinrich Neuhaus (who also taught Sviatoslav Richter and Emil Gilels) and later with his son, Stanislav Neuhaus.[8] He graduated in 1969.[9][10] Lupu was also a student of Maria Curcio, a student of Artur Schnabel.[9] However, in a 1981 interview, when asked about what types of influences his teachers had on him, Lupu answered that he thought of himself as more autodidactic: "My first teacher took me to every orchestral concert, and I am also grateful for what I learned in Moscow, but I think of myself, basically (in music anyway), as somebody who is more autodidactic. I took some from Furtwängler, Toscanini, everywhere...more and more so since I left Moscow."[11]


In 1965, Lupu was placed fifth at the International Beethoven Piano Competition in Vienna.[12] The following year, he won the first prize in the second Van Cliburn International Piano Competition; he also won special prizes for the best performance of a commissioned work (of Willard Straight's "Structure for Piano")[13] and the best performance of a movement[13] from the Aaron Copland Piano Sonata.[14] In the finals, his performance of the first movement of Sergei Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 2 (Op. 16), a required piece, was described by Paul Hume of The Washington Post as "the most fiery and thunderous of any of the six finalists". In addition to the Prokofiev, he performed Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 (Op. 73).[15] Alicia de Larrocha, who was on the jury, declared Lupu a genius.[16] "I did not expect it at all. I am just speechless," Lupu said after his victory.[13] Shortly after the competition, in April 1967, Lupu made his debut at Carnegie Hall in New York City in a program of Beethoven, Schubert, and Chopin.[17] However, Lupu reportedly turned down many of the other engagements that came with the prize, instead choosing to further his studies in Moscow.[4]

A year after his Cliburn Competition victory, in 1967, Lupu won the first prize in the George Enescu International Piano Competition. Two years later, in October 1969,[18] he won the Leeds International Piano Competition; he performed Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3 (Op. 37) in the finals.[19] The following month, in November 1969, Lupu made his solo debut in London; Joan Chissell of The Times wrote about his performance of the second movement of Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 7 at the recital: "He brought what seemed like a lifetime's experience to its alternating desolation and pride. Never could music come nearer to speech."[8][20][21]

In April 1970, Lupu made his first recording for Decca Records: Brahms' Rhapsody in B minor (Op. 79 No. 1) and Three Intermezzi (Op. 117), and Schubert's Piano Sonata in A minor (D. 784).[22] He continued to record for the label for the following 23 years.[23] In August 1970, the 24-year-old pianist made his debut at The Proms, performing Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 1 (Op. 15) with the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Edo de Waart at the Royal Albert Hall.[24] In November 1970, he made his first concerto recording for Decca, of the Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 3 with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Lawrence Foster;[25] he also recorded Beethoven's 32 Variations in C minor (WoO 80).[23]
Lupu's first major American appearances after his Leeds Competition victory were in February 1972 with the Cleveland Orchestra in the Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1 with Daniel Barenboim conducting at Carnegie Hall in New York City,[26] and in October 1972 with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in the Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 3 with Carlo Maria Giulini conducting.[27] The performance of the Brahms with the Cleveland Orchestra and Barenboim was reviewed by Harold C. Schonberg, a Pulitzer Prize-winning music critic for The New York Times who had ten years prior notably lambasted the famous New York Philharmonic concert of 6 April 1962 where the same concerto was played by Glenn Gould with the New York Philharmonic conducted by Leonard Bernstein.[28] Schonberg was also critical of the performance by Lupu and Barenboim, writing that not since the Bernstein-Gould performance "had there been such an interpretation" of the concerto, describing it as "willful, episodic and mannered, self-indulgent, capricious". However, he added that "yet through all the eccentricities came the feeling of two young musicians trying hard to get out of the rut and once in a while actually succeeding", but that "in future years this kind of approach may jell for them. Right now it does not come off."[29]


Although Schonberg had been critical of Lupu's debut with the Cleveland Orchestra conducted by Barenboim in February 1972, he was far more enthusiastic of Lupu's performance in November 1972 of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Lawrence Foster at Carnegie Hall, writing, in The New York Times, that "his performance did much to redeem the impression he had made last season in the Brahms D minor Concerto. Then he sounded mannered, finicky, artificial. This time he was a different pianist."[30] Schonberg added:

Quote:His proclamation in the cadenza‐like opening was big and bold, featured by a penetrating though glassy tone. This set the stage for a fiery performance that was consistently interesting. It may have been banged out a bit, it may have been lacking in color resource, but it did have propulsion, and it did have ideas. And it had superb momentum aside from a few bad rhythmic groupings in the slow movement.

T
he following year, Lupu recorded the piano concertos of Schumann (Op. 54) and Grieg (Op. 16) with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by André Previn, a recording described by Gramophone as "grandly commanding".[31] In February 1974, Lupu performed a recital at Hunter College in New York, which was raved by John Rockwell of The New York Times. Rockwell declared Lupu "no ordinary pianist" and wrote about Lupu's performance of Schubert's Piano Sonata in B-flat major (D. 960):[32]
 

Quote:During the Schubert, however, the audience's attentive silence was extraordinary. It was as though Mr. Lupu were employing some sort of alchemy to work a spell over everyone. That, indeed, is just about what he did, for he has that mysterious something that goes beyond technique, erudition and general musicality to reach into the sensibilities of listeners.

In November 1974, Lupu made his debut with the New York Philharmonic, performing Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21 (K. 467) conducted by James Conlon.[33][34] In 1975, Lupu debuted with the Concertgebouw Orchestra and gave the premiere of the André Tchaikowsky Piano Concerto, Op. 4 with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Uri Segal at the Royal Festival Hall.[35][36] In 1976, Lupu recorded Brahms' 6 Klavierstücke (Op. 118) and 4 Klavierstücke (Op. 119), which was described by Stereo Review as "a glowing realization of what Brahms set down that leaves one at a loss for words and simply glad to have ears."[11] In 1978, he gave his debut with the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Herbert von Karajan at that year's Salzburg Festival.[11] Reviewing a recital Lupu gave at Avery Fisher Hall in 1980,[37] Andrew Porter of The New Yorker hailed Lupu as "a master of the most satisfying kind".[11] By 1981 he had played with every major orchestra.[11]

In June 1982, Lupu made a critically acclaimed recording of Schubert's Impromptus (D. 899 & 935). John Rockwell wrote in The New York Times that Lupu's "singing tone here must be heard to be believed. Without belittling the other facets of Schubert's musical personality, he captures the composer's songful essence with a rare beauty – and, in so doing, he reaffirms once more the ability of present-day performers to do ample justice to the music of the past."[38] In addition, Gramophone said about the recording:[39]
 

Quote:To all eight pieces he brings insights all his own betokening acute awareness of the visionary in Schubert, while as piano playing pure and simple it could scarcely be lovelier in phrasing or tone. When first confronting this return to already over-recorded pieces my immediate reaction, I confess, was Why yet another? I now realize the catalogue would not have been complete without the viewpoint of so dedicated a Schubertian.

In 1989, Lupu was awarded the Franco Abbiati Prize by the Italian Critics' Association; he was awarded the prize again in 2006.[40][41] In 1995, he won an Edison Award for his album of Schumann's Kinderszenen (Op. 15), Kreisleriana (Op. 16) and Humoreske (Op. 20) which was also nominated for a Grammy Award.[42][43] In the Grammy Awards of 1995, he won a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance (without orchestra) for his album of Schubert's Piano Sonatas in B-flat major (D. 960) and A major (D. 664).[43]


In 2006, Lupu was awarded the Premio Internazionale Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli and in 2016 was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2016 New Year Honours for services to music.[44]
In June 2019, Lupu's agent announced that the pianist would retire from the concert stage at the end of the 2018–2019 season.[45][46][47]



Lupu at Symphony Center in Chicago, 2010

Lupu used a regular, straight-backed[4][48] chair at the piano as opposed to a standard piano bench.[2] He told Clavier in 1981 that while sitting on a bench he tended to lean forward, raise his shoulders, become impossibly stiff and develop pains all over. He also said that he practiced with a chair at home and found it natural for him.[11] Although Lupu was an admirer of the pianism of Arthur Rubinstein and Vladimir Horowitz, he named Mieczysław Horszowski as having the largest influence on his playing, saying that Horszowski "speaks to me like no one else". Lupu's initial approach to new music was to read it away from the piano, saying that he "reads more easily away from the instrument" and that "it is the only way to learn".[11] Lupu said in regards to tone production that "everything in music comes from the head', adding: "If you have any concept of sound, you hear it in your inner ear. All you have to work for is to match that sound on the instrument. The whole balance, the line, the tone, is perceived and controlled by the head." He further described tone production as a "matching process for which [one] practices", and the physical contact of the keyboard as "a very individual thing determined by the color or timbre you hear and try to get, the piece you are playing, the phrase".[11]

Lupu's playing garnered admiration not only from music critics, but also by fellow major artists. Mitsuko Uchida told Humphrey Burton in a 2002 BBC Radio 3 interview that "there is nobody on earth who can actually get certain range of colour, and also the control – don't underestimate this unbelievable control of his playing."[49] Nikolai Lugansky said in an interview that Lupu "possesses the rare power of letting the music speak for itself",[50] and András Schiff stated that Lupu had the "rare gift to illuminate anything that he plays with rare musical intelligence".[3] Other pianists who expressed admiration for Lupu or cited him as an inspiration in their music-making include Emanuel Ax, Daniel Barenboim, Seong-Jin Cho (who named Lupu's recording of the Schubert Impromptus as his favourite),[51] Kirill Gerstein, Stephen Hough, Robert Levin, Maria João Pires,[52] and Daniil Trifonov.[53] In addition, the conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin cited Lupu as an inspiration while he was a piano student, saying that listening to recitals and recordings by Lupu "shaped my conception of sound from a very young age", and the cellist Steven Isserlis called him "one of the greatest artists I have ever heard or known".[3]


In the span of 23 years, Lupu made over 20 recordings for Decca Records. His first recording was made in the spring of 1970. Lupu's solo recordings, which have received considerable acclaim, include works by Beethoven, Brahms, Grieg, Mozart, Schubert, and Schumann. His solo recordings without orchestra include 5 Beethoven piano sonatas (Opp. 13, 27/2, 49, and 53), as well as Beethoven's two rondos for piano (Op. 51) and 32 Variations in C minor; Brahms' Piano Sonata No. 3 in F minor (Op. 5), Two Rhapsodies (Op. 79), Intermezzi (Op. 117), 6 Pieces for Piano (Op. 118) and 4 Pieces for Piano (Op. 119); nine piano sonatas of Schubert (D. 157, 557, 664, 784, 845, 894, 958, 959, 960) as well as the Impromptus (D. 899, 935) and Moments musicaux (D. 780); and Schumann's Humoreske (Op. 20), Kinderszenen (Op. 15) and Kreisleriana (Op. 16). His concerto recordings include the complete cycle of Beethoven piano concertos with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Zubin Mehta; the Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1 (Op. 15) with the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Edo de Waart; the Grieg and Schumann piano concertos with the London Symphony Orchestra and André Previn; and two Mozart piano concertos (K. 414 and 467) with the English Chamber Orchestra conducted by Uri Segal. His chamber music recordings for Decca include all of Mozart's sonatas for violin and piano with Szymon Goldberg; the violin sonatas of Debussy and Franck with Kyung Wha Chung; the quintets for piano and winds of Beethoven (Op. 16) and Mozart (K. 452) with Han de Vries, George Pieterson, Vicente Zarzo, and Brian Pollard;[54] and various works by Schubert for violin and piano with Goldberg. He additionally recorded works of Mozart and Schubert for piano four-hands and two pianos with Murray Perahia for the CBS Masterworks, two albums of Schubert songs with Barbara Hendricks for EMI, and a disc of works by Schubert for piano four-hands with Daniel Barenboim for Teldec.[23][25]

In addition to the composers he has recorded, Lupu is also noted for his performances of Bartók,[55][56] Enescu,[57] and Janáček.[3][58]

Lupu's first wife was the cellist Elizabeth Wilson (born 1947), daughter of diplomat Sir (Archibald) Duncan Wilson, whom he married in 1971.[59][60] He resided in Lausanne, Switzerland with his second wife Delia, a violinist in the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne.[16]
For most of his career, Lupu regularly refused to grant interviews to the press[61] out of "fear of being misunderstood or misquoted".[2] His aversion to the press and publicity has prompted them to label him as "the reclusive Radu Lupu",[4] with The Independent referring to him as a "woolly recluse" and "like someone dragged unwillingly into the concert hall but asked to leave his begging-bowl outside."[61] In addition, Lupu usually did not allow radio broadcasts of his performances.[62] In 1994, Chicago Tribune noted that Lupu's press kit then contained one single interview he granted to the Clavier magazine in 1981. Other published interviews include a "conversation" that Lupu granted to Clavier in 1992[2] and an interview from 1975 that was aired on BBC Radio 3.[63]
Lupu died in Lausanne, after a long illness, on 17 April 2022, aged 76.[64]

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

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Guy Damien Lafleur OC CQ (September 20, 1951 – April 22, 2022), nicknamed "The Flower" and "Le Démon Blond", was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He was the first player in National Hockey League (NHL) history to score 50 goals in six consecutive seasons as well as 50 goals and 100 points in six consecutive seasons.[1] Between 1971 and 1991, Lafleur played right wing for the Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, and Quebec Nordiques in an NHL career spanning 17 seasons, and five Stanley Cup championships in 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, and 1979 (all with the Canadiens).[2] In 2017, Lafleur was named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players in history.[3]


With Lafleur and fellow French-Canadian Marcel Dionne among the top prospects in the 1971 NHL Amateur Draft, the Habs' general manager, Sam Pollock, was keen to find a way to trade to obtain one of the top two picks. He persuaded California Golden Seals owner Charlie Finley to trade the Seals' 1971 first-round pick and François Lacombe in return for Montreal's 1970 first-round pick and veteran Ernie Hicke. Unrelated to the draft of that year was the trading of Ralph Backstrom to the Los Angeles Kings, often credited as helping the Kings stay out of last place; however, at the time of the trade the Kings were ahead of the Seals, Red Wings, Sabres, and Canucks, and the deal had no effect on the Kings' standings that year.[10] Oakland finished last, leaving Montreal with the first overall pick. Pollock hesitated between Lafleur and Dionne, but chose Lafleur with the first draft choice.[11]



Statue of Guy Lafleur located at the entrance of the Bell Centre in Montreal
Lafleur wore No. 10, as Beliveau originally asked Lafleur to take his No. 4 then had second thoughts saying “Don’t try to be a second Jean Beliveau. Be the first Guy Lafleur. Take a number and make it your own.” Lafleur received little ice time in his rookie season, as the Canadiens were deep in veteran players. During his first three seasons, Lafleur struggled to live up to expectations in the league as he posted average statistics—the more so in that Dionne became an immediate star in Detroit who led his team in scoring over his first three seasons.[12][13]

In his fourth season, 1974–75, Lafleur had developed his trademark smooth skating style and scoring touch, making him one of the most popular players on a very popular team; fans chanted "Guy, Guy, Guy!" whenever he touched the puck.[14] Lafleur was described as a "Jackson Pollock painting on ice, a frenetic innovator who pushed the boundaries of his art beyond what had ever been conceived, a singularly dynamic force that turned an everyday sight as simple as a man on skates with a puck on his stick into a masterpiece — something you had seen before, perhaps, but never quite like that". Opposing players often hooked and slashed Lafleur, however he never retaliated.[12] He became known among English fans as "Flower" due to his literal translation of his surname, while among French fans he was dubbed "le Démon Blond" (the Blond Demon).[15]
Lafleur was a cornerstone of the Canadiens' four straight Stanley Cup championships from 1976 to 1979, including being named playoff MVP in 1977. During the 1978 Stanley Cup finals, Boston Bruins head coach Don Cherry ordered his players to put their sticks up and hit Lafleur whenever they encountered him.[citation needed] At the end of the series, Lafleur's head was swathed in bandages after numerous slashes from Bruin players. After Montreal won the Stanley Cup, he borrowed it for the weekend without telling anyone to show his friends back home in Thurso, where he set it out on his front lawn for all his neighbours to see.
In 1979, Lafleur released the album Lafleur!, consisting of Guy Lafleur reciting hockey instructions, accompanied by disco music.[16]
\
With Ken Dryden, Jacques Lemaire, and several other key players retiring after the conclusion of the 1979 season, the Canadiens' dynasty came to an end, losing in the second round of the 1980 playoffs to the Minnesota North Stars in seven games. Injuries shortened Lafleur's 1980–81 season and his production dropped significantly (during the previous six seasons, Lafleur had reached or exceeded 100 points and 50 goals). In the following seasons, he was overshadowed by Mike Bossy and Wayne Gretzky.
While driving home on March 24, 1981, Lafleur fell asleep at the wheel of his Cadillac and crashed into a highway fence. A metal post pierced the windshield, missing his head by inches while grazing his right ear.[17] During the 1980–81 season, Lafleur appeared in only 51 games and scored 27 goals. It was the first time since the 1973–74 season that he failed to score 50 goals or more in a season.[18]

The 1983–84 season produced Montreal's first losing record of the expansion era, and resulted in coach Bob Berry being replaced 63 games into the season by Lafleur's former teammate Jacques Lemaire.[19] At first, Lemaire's hiring was seen as a success as he guided the Canadiens to their first playoff series victories since 1980 and reached the Wales Conference Final. However, while the Habs' new coach had been Lafleur's centreman during the glory years of the 1970s, the former linemates quickly struggled to transform their relationship to an amicable one between coach and player. [20]
In time, Lemaire would become renowned as one of the NHL's finest defensively-minded coaches. However, Lafleur was always an offensive-minded player who believed his productivity overshadowed any defensive weaknesses. Lemaire's insistence that everyone on his teams contribute defensively promptly caused a rift between him and Lafleur that would never heal.[21]

By 1985, Lafleur's rocky relationship with Lemaire had become intolerable for him and he asked to be traded. General manager Serge Savard refused his request, as trading one of the most popular players in Canadiens history would have incurred a severe backlash from fans and the media.[22] With no other options, he decided to retire, and his departure from the Canadiens was considered acrimonious.[23]
Return to the NHL (1988–1991)

After being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, Lafleur came out of retirement to return to the NHL for three more seasons, from 1988 through 1991, with the New York Rangers and the Quebec Nordiques. Lafleur remained one of the few players who did not wear protective helmets due to a grandfather clause.[8]
Against the Edmonton Oilers in a 1988 exhibition game, Lafleur played well enough to earn praise from the Oilers' Mark Messier and convince Rangers general manager Phil Esposito to sign Lafleur to a one-year contract.[23] During his first game back in the Montreal Forum, he received a standing ovation when he came on the ice, and as in his heyday with the Habs, the crowd chanted "Guy! Guy! Guy!" every time he touched the puck. Lafleur scored twice against Patrick Roy, to heavy applause, during the Rangers' 7–5 loss to the Canadiens, and was awarded the first star of the game.[8] Although his high-scoring days were well behind him, his stint with the Rangers was moderately successful, and he helped the team to first place in the Patrick Division until being knocked out by a knee injury.

Lafleur then followed dismissed Rangers head coach and close friend Michel Bergeron to the Nordiques for his final seasons. Intending to finish his hockey career in Quebec where he had started, he reportedly turned down a $1 million offer from the Los Angeles Kings, which would have allowed Lafleur to play alongside Wayne Gretzky. He managed 24 goals in 98 games with the Nordiques over two seasons, mentoring young center Joe Sakic, who was emerging as a superstar despite the Nordiques owning the NHL's worst record in both seasons Lafleur played with them.

The Minnesota North Stars selected Lafleur with the 20th and last pick in the 1991 Expansion Draft. Lafleur had decided to retire for a second and last time as a player, and he had already verbally agreed to an off-ice job with the Nordiques. However, since his retirement papers had yet to be officially filed, the league's bylaws prevented him from accepting a job with a team that didn't own his playing rights. The North Stars solved Lafleur's quandary by trading him back to Quebec in exchange for the rights to a former Nordique who had been playing in Switzerland for two years, Alan Haworth. Haworth played just one more year of professional hockey, and never returned to the NHL.

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

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Orrin Grant Hatch (March 22, 1934 – April 23, 2022) 

A staunch conservative politician but also a remnant of a friendlier, more bipartisan political era.



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

Orrin Hatch, the longest-serving Republican senator, dies at 88

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/obituar...022-04-24/

WASHINGTON, April 23 (Reuters) - Orrin Hatch, the gentlemanly long-serving Republican U.S. senator from Utah who championed deep tax cuts, an anti-terrorism law and a children's health program while fighting for conservative judicial nominees, died on Saturday at age 88.

His death was announced by the nonprofit Orrin G. Hatch Foundation, which said he died surrounded by family in Salt Lake City.

Outpourings from fellow lawmakers, some of whom had known Hatch for decades, started flooding the internet late on Saturday as word of his death spread.

"This breaks my heart," Utah Governor Spencer Cox wrote on twitter. "Utah mourns with the Hatch family."
Longtime friend and fellow senator Jim Inhofe, a Republican from Oklahoma, said on Twitter, "Orrin was the one who I would go to for wisdom and we had the same love for Jesus and everything we hold dear."

Utah Senator Mike Lee posted that Hatch was a "friend, a mentor and an example" for him in his career. "His name and memory will forever be enshrined in the history of the U.S. Senate and the State of Utah," Lee wrote.

An enduring conservative voice in Congress, Hatch held a seat in the Senate from 1977 to 2019 and served under eight presidents, starting in the waning days of Gerald Ford's term and ending with Donald Trump's first two years in office. He served in the Senate longer than any other Republican ever.

Trump awarded him the Medal of Freedom, the highest U.S. civilian honor, in 2018.

Hatch fiercely advocated for conservative Supreme Court nominees including Robert Bork - nominated in 1987 by Reagan but rejected by the Senate - as well as Clarence Thomas, nominated in 1991 by Republican George W. Bush and narrowly confirmed by the Senate, and Brett Kavanaugh, nominated by Republican Trump and also narrowly confirmed by the Senate in 2018.

Hatch, a lay minister in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a champion of religious liberty and an opponent of abortion rights, represented the state that is home to the Mormon Church and was one of the foremost Mormons in public life in American history.

He was elected to seven six-year terms as Utah's longest-serving senator. His first election victory was boosted by an endorsement from future President Ronald Reagan. Hatch ran for his party's 2000 presidential nomination but dropped out early in the race.

He was known for a courteous demeanor and liked writing poetry and songs, but showed flashes of temper. He held powerful posts including chairman of the influential Senate Judiciary and Finance Committees.

Hatch was one the architects of the Patriot Act, passed in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States by the militant Islamist network al Qaeda. The law expanded the government's ability to track potential terrorists by, among other steps, expanding its surveillance powers.

The law's critics called it an infringement on individual liberties. Hatch called it constitutional, legal and effective.
Hatch was a driving force behind a Republican package of deep tax cuts particularly benefiting corporations and the wealthy that Trump sought and signed in 2017, despite vociferous Democratic opposition. The tax cuts were forecast to greatly increase the federal deficit.

Hatch was a staunch conservative but sometimes broke with fellow conservatives. He was willing to work with Democrats to get certain bipartisan bills passed, and often did so with close friend Edward Kennedy, a lion of liberalism who died in 2009.

The two senators partnered in 1997 to create the State Children's Health Insurance Program, in which the federal government helps states provide healthcare coverage for children in low-income families. The program has given medical care to millions of children whose families earn too much to qualify for the larger Medicaid healthcare program for the poor but still cannot afford private medical insurance.

He advocated for the nutritional supplements industry, for which Utah is a center. He authored a law allowing companies to make health claims about products but sparing them from federal reviews of safety or effectiveness. Hatch played a key role in Trump's 2017 action to scale back the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase national monuments covering millions of acres in Utah, a move condemned by conservationists.

A former boxer, he took off the gloves when he fought for conservative judicial nominees. He defended Thomas from a sexual harassment accusation by reading aloud from the horror novel "The Exorcist" during confirmation hearings, implying the nominee's accuser had cribbed lurid details of her allegations from the book.

Hatch defended Trump's nominee Kavanaugh after he was accused by a woman of sexually assaulting her years earlier, telling anti-Kavanaugh female protesters he would talk to them when they "grow up."

Hatch was born on March 22, 1934, in Pennsylvania and grew up in a poor family in Pittsburgh during the Great Depression. He practiced law after college and was a complete unknown when he decided to run for the Senate in Utah in 1976.

He vaulted out of obscurity when Reagan, a champion of the conservative movement, endorsed him before the Republican primary. Hatch then upset three-term incumbent Democratic Senator Frank Moss in the general election. That election was a harbinger of the conservative ascent nationally in 1980 and the decline of the Democratic Party in many Western states.

Early in his career, he called Democrats "the party of homosexuals." In 1990, he told the New York Times, "That was a dumb thing for me to say. I deserve to have fault found with me because I said it."

In 1988, Hatch had a showdown on the Senate floor with conservative North Carolina Republican Jesse Helms, who had offered an amendment that would have scuttled Hatch's bipartisan AIDS-fighting legislation by banning federal funds "to promote or encourage ... homosexual activity."

"I'm not sure I should stand here on the floor of the United States Senate and pass judgment on anybody," Hatch told Helms.
"Let he who is without sin cast the first stone," he added.

He is survived by his wife Elaine and their six children.

[pbrower2a]

Kane Tanaka, world's oldest person, who achieved the second-longest verified lifespan

Kane Tanaka (田中カ子, Tanaka Kane) (née Ota; 2 January 1903 – 19 April 2022) was a Japanese supercentenarian, who was the world's oldest verified living person following the death of Chiyo Miyako on 22 July 2018, until her own death at the age of 119 years, 107 days.[1][2][3] She is the oldest verified Japanese person and the second oldest verified living person in the world.[4][5]

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

[beechnut79]

Bobby Rydell, late t0s-early 60s teen idol, left this world on April 5, 2022 at age 79. He was the artist behind such teeny bopper hits as "Kissing Time", "We Got Love", "Wild One" and "WIldwood Days". His last real chart success came in early 1964 with a version of "A World Without Love", which was a much bigger hit for Peter and Gordon.

He also was part of the Broadway musical "Bye Bye Birdie", whose title character was loosely based on Elvis Presley as he was getting ready to go off to join the Army. It was the first real rock 'n roll Broadway musical. He continued to perform almost up to the end of his life, which is something I never really knew up until now. He had a total of 34 Top 100 hits. He also received countless love letters from young women proposing marriage.

Mr. Rydell was part of the South Philly rock 'n roll scene of the time which also included the likes of Frankie Avalon, James Darren and Fabian Forte, the latter of which usually performed under just his first name. These three are still alive as far as I know. Later in his career he began to embrace the swing tunes and American standards, following in the footsteps of Bobby Darin. This is another thing I was not previously aware of. Just thought he kind of faded away after his run on the pop charts was superseded by the artists of the British invasion, led by the Beatles and Rolling Stones.

Following the passing of his first wife in 2003, Mr. Rydell hit the skids, becoming a dependent alcoholic late in life. The ordeal was described in an autobiography titled "Teen Idol on the Rocks". In an interview he gave credit to his second wife, who survives him, for getting him to sobriety, much as June Carter Cash had done for Johnny.

[Eric the Green]

Most of our 1T and 2T rock heroes have passed away, but now we have lost one of the greatest musicians in the field of electronica, cosmic rock, ambient and new age meditation music. When I first heard his piece "Totem" from Picture Music. I was blown away and transfixed by the cascade of pictures taking me to deep and authentic places and happenings of the Awakening era. It became my favorite new age and electronica piece and remained there to this day. He recorded over 60 albums and released many fine pieces. His music was foundational to the electronics and new age genre, and this piece is related to the German classical music of Bach (especially Toccata and Fugue in D Minor) and Wagner, to classical sitar and tabla music, to shamanism and totem culture, to futuristic imagination, to ambient music and techno ambient rave music, to cosmic rock and psychedelia and space music, to meditation music, to electronic dance music, gothic horror music, occult and esoteric music, and to the Bewitched Genre I coined.

Passed away on what I call the birthday of today's humanity, April 26.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klaus_Schulze

[Tim Randal Walker]

From Wikipedia....

Longest well documented lifespan-122 years, 164 days. Attained by a Frenchwoman, Jeanne Calment. Born Feb. 21, 1875, died Aug. 4, 1997.

[sbarrera]

(04-28-2022, 07:59 PM)Eric the Green Wrote: Most of our 1T and 2T rock heroes have passed away, but now we have lost one of the greatest musicians in the field of electronica, cosmic rock, ambient and new age meditation music. When I first heard his piece "Totem" from Picture Music. I was blown away and transfixed by the cascade of pictures taking me to deep and authentic places and happenings of the Awakening era. It became my favorite new age and electronica piece and remained there to this day. He recorded over 60 albums and released many fine pieces. His music was foundational to the electronics and new age genre, and this piece is related to the German classical music of Bach (especially Toccata and Fugue in D Minor) and Wagner, to classical sitar and tabla music, to shamanism and totem culture, to futuristic imagination, to ambient music and techno ambient rave music, to cosmic rock and psychedelia and space music, to meditation music, to electronic dance music, gothic horror music, occult and esoteric music, and to the Bewitched Genre I coined.

Passed away on what I call the birthday of today's humanity, April 26.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klaus_Schulze

Oh, that saddens me. I love his music and listened to it a lot when I was young. I would sit in the dark and immerse myself in the moody atmosphere. My favorite was Timewind.

[sbarrera]

Neal Adams (June 15, 1941 – April 28, 2022) American comic artist.

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




https://13thdimension.com/neal-adams-dea...R4oiFirB10

Neal Adams, Comic Book Artist Who Revitalized Batman and Fought for Creators’ Rights, Dies at 80

He influenced multiple generations with his style and co-created such characters as Ra's al Ghul, the Man-Bat and one of DC's first Black superheroes, Green Lantern Jon Stewart.

Neal Adams, the legendary comic book artist who reinvigorated Batman and other superheroes with his photorealistic stylings and championed the rights of creators, has died. He was 80.

Adams died Thursday in New York of complications from sepsis, his wife, Marilyn Adams, told The Hollywood Reporter.

Adams jolted the world of comic books in the late 1960s and early ’70s with his toned and sinewy take on heroes, first at DC with a character named Deadman, then at Marvel with X-Men and The Avengers and then with his most lasting influence, Batman.

read more at...
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies...235138106/

[beechnut79]

Another big name in country music. Naomi Judd, the elder of the mother-daughter duo the Judds which included her daughter Wynonna. Ms. Judd was 76. She was working as a nurse when their first moderate success "Had a Dream for the Heart" broke through in early 1984. Not knowing if more hits would follow, both of them held onto their mainstream jobs at the time. Would more hits follow? Boy, did they ever. The first of the majors was "Mama He's Crazy", which was the last of the major hits penned by the also deceased Kenny O'Dell of "Behind Closed Doors" fame. Subsequent hits included "Girls Night Out" and "Why Not Me" . Their string of hits is too numerous to mention them all here.

In 1991 a bout with hepatitis forced the elder Judd into retirement. A TV farewell special with the same title as one of their mega hits, "Love Can Build a Bridge" was presented. Wynonna at this point continued on with a solo career. A Made for TV movie portrayed the pair as fighting a lot and Wynonna scared to death about launching her own career. Cannot say how much of this is really true. A more detailed look at Ms. Judd can be found on the Saving Country Music webside. The link here. For discussion purposes only.


https://www.savingcountrymusic.com/count...ssed-away/

[pbrower2a]

As a long-time fan of the Detroit Tigers I had to do a double-take on this one:



John (Jack) Bradley Morris (November 1, 1931 – April 27, 2022) was an American professional football player who was a defensive back for four seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played for the Los Angeles Rams, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Minnesota Vikings from 1958 to 1961, having earlier played college football at the University of Oregon.

Morris was born in White City, Kansas, on November 1, 1931.[2] He was raised in Medford, Oregon, and attended Medford High School.[2][3] There, he was a standout American football player and track and field athlete, winning three state titles in hurdling.[3] After graduating in 1950, Morris studied at the University of Oregon.[4] He joined the US Air Force after completing his freshman year and consequently served in the Korean War.[3] Upon his return from military service, he established an Oregon Ducks record with 68 points in a single season and started his school-record 23 straight successful conversions.[3][5] He then led the team with 519 rushing yards the following year,[3][5] and became co-captain of the team by his senior year.[5][6] At the time of his graduation, he was ranked third all-time at Oregon in points scored (130) and rushing yards (1,631).[3][5] Morris was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in the seventh round (84th overall selection) of the 1956 NFL Draft.[2]



Morris made his NFL debut with the Rams on September 28, 1958, at the age of 26, in a 30–27 loss against the Cleveland Browns [7] During his rookie season, he finished second in the league in interceptions returned for touchdown (1), fourth in interception return yards (152), and seventh in interceptions (6), longest interception return (44 yards), and defensive touchdowns (1).[2] He also led the franchise in interceptions that year.[4] After just under three seasons with the franchise, he joined the Pittsburgh Steelers midway through the 1960 season. He then joined the newly-established Minnesota Vikings the following year and recorded the third-longest interception return in the NFL (65 yards).[2]


Morris was part of the inaugural class inducted into Medford's Sports Hall of Fame in 1985. Twenty years later, he was enshrined in the University of Oregon Athletic Hall of Fame,[5] having earlier been honored as part of the 1957 Ducks football team when they were inducted in 1994.[3]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Morris_(American_football)

Not to be confused with the baseball pitcher.

[pbrower2a]

Left-wing terrorist from the Boom Awakening:


Kathy Boudin (May 19, 1943 – May 1, 2022)[1] was an American leftist activist. She was a member of the radical left militant organization Weather Underground who was convicted of felony murder for her role in the 1981 Brink's robbery. The robbery resulted in the killing of two Nyack, New York, police officers and one security guard, and serious injury to another security guard.[2] Boudin was released from prison on parole in 2003 and became an adjunct professor at Columbia University.[3]


More at Wikipedia.

[pbrower2a]

Politician and cabinet secretary Norman Mineta:

Norman Yoshio Mineta[1] (November 12, 1931 – May 3, 2022) was an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, Mineta served in the United States Cabinet for Presidents Bill Clinton, a Democrat, and George W. Bush, a Republican.


Mineta served as the mayor of San Jose from 1971 until 1975. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing California from 1975 until 1995. Mineta served as the United States Secretary of Commerce during the final months of Bill Clinton's presidency. He was the first person of East Asian descent to serve as a U.S. Cabinet secretary.[2]

As the United States Secretary of Transportation for President Bush, Mineta was the only Democratic Cabinet secretary in the Bush administration. During his tenure as the Secretary of Transportation, Mineta oversaw the creation of the Transportation Security Administration in response to the September 11 attacks that had occurred during his tenure. On June 23, 2006, Mineta announced his resignation after more than five years as Secretary of Transportation, effective July 7, 2006, making him the longest-serving Secretary of Transportation in the department's history. A month later, public-relations firm Hill+Knowlton Strategies announced that Mineta would join it as a partner. In 2010, it was announced that Mineta would join L&L Energy, Inc. as vice chairman.

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

[pbrower2a]

C&W performer Mickey Gillis

Mickey Leroy Gilley (March 9, 1936[1] – May 7, 2022) was an American country music singer and songwriter. Although he started out singing straight-up country and western material in the 1970s, he moved towards a more pop-friendly sound in the 1980s, bringing him further success on not just the country charts, but the pop charts as well.

Among his biggest hits are "Room Full of Roses", "Don't the Girls All Get Prettier at Closing Time", and the remake of the Soul hit "Stand by Me". Gilley charted 42 singles in the top 40 on the US Country chart. He was a cousin of Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl McVoy, and Jimmy Swaggart.

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

[pbrower2a]

Midge Rosenthal Decter (July 25, 1927 – May 9, 2022)[1][2] was an American journalist and author.[3][4][5][6][7] Originally a liberal, she was one of the pioneers of the neoconservative movement in the 1970s and 1980s.

Decter was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, on July 25, 1927.[8] She was the youngest of three daughters of Rose (née Calmenson) and Harry Rosenthal, a sporting goods merchant.[9][10] Her family was Jewish.[11] She attended the University of Minnesota for one year, the Jewish Theological Seminary of America from 1946 to 1948, and New York University, but did not graduate from any of them.[8][12] She initially identified as a liberal on the political spectrum.[8][13]

Decter was assistant editor at Midstream, before working as secretary to the then-editor of Commentary, Robert Warshow.[3] Later she was the executive editor of Harper's Magazine under Willie Morris.[3] She then began working in publishing as an editor at Basic Books and Legacy Books.[3] Her writing has been published in Commentary, First Things, The Atlantic, National Review, The New Republic, The Weekly Standard, and The American Spectator.[3][4][14]

Together with Donald Rumsfeld, Decter was the co-chair of the Committee for the Free World and one of the original champions of the neoconservative movement with her spouse, Norman Podhoretz.[4] She was also a founder of the Independent Women's Forum, and was founding treasurer for the Northcote Parkinson Fund, founded and chaired by John Train. She was a member of the board of trustees for The Heritage Foundation.[5] She was also a board member of the Center for Security Policy and the Clare Boothe Luce Fund.[4] She was also a member of the Philadelphia Society and she was, for a time, its president.[15] Following a tongue-in-cheek remark by Russell Kirk, the Society's founder, about the prevalence of Jewish intellectuals in the neoconservative movement, Decter labelled Kirk an anti-Semite.[16] She was also a senior fellow at the Institute of Religion and Public Life.[3] She is one of the signatories to Statement of Principles for the Project for the New American Century.[17] Decter served on the national advisory board of Accuracy in Media.[18] In 2008, Midge Decter received the Truman-Reagan Medal of Freedom from the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation.[19]

Decter married her first husband, Moshe Decter, in 1948.[13] Together, they had two children: Naomi and Rachel, who predeceased Decter in 2013.[8][12] They divorced in 1954.[8] Two years later, she married Norman Podhoretz, who went on to become editor of Commentary magazine.[8] They remained married until her death. Together, they had two children: Ruthie Blum and John Podhoretz.[8][12]
Decter died on May 9, 2022, at her home in Manhattan. She was 94 years old.[8][12]

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

[pbrower2a]

Robert Jerry Lanier Jr. (September 10, 1948 – May 10, 2022) was an American professional basketball player who was a center for the Detroit Pistons and the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Lanier was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992.

In 14 NBA seasons, Lanier played in eight NBA All-Star Games and was named Most Valuable Player of the 1974 game. His accomplishments came despite a long history with knee injuries. He had his No. 16 jersey retired by both the Pistons and the Bucks and his No. 31 jersey retired by St. Bonaventure University, for whom he played college basketball. After retiring from playing he was an assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors, and briefly served as their interim head coach. He went on to work as an NBA Cares Global Ambassador.




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


With a sweeping left-hand hook and a dominating inside presence, Bob Lanier was one of the most feared big men of his era. Opposing centers had to keep a watchful eye on Lanier because he had an equally impressive outside game. His sweet shooting touch from the perimeter placed him in a rarified class of being a true inside/outside force. This ability, combined with his single-minded determination to win, helped Lanier lead tiny St. Bonaventure University to the 1970 NCAA Final Four. Lanier still holds school records for scoring (27.6 ppg) and rebounding (15.7 rpg). During his 14-year NBA career with the Detroit Pistons and Milwaukee Bucks, he was a model of consistency averaging double figures in points and rebounds for his career. The number one draft choice of the Detroit Pistons, Lanier was named to the NBA's All-Rookie team in 1971 and earned MVP honors for his 24-point, 10-rebound performance at the 1974 NBA All Star Game.

http://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers/bob-lanier

[pbrower2a]

A warning: DO NOT DO LARGE-SCALE FRAUD in the banking industry, as there are few safe havens. Time runs out.

João Manuel Oliveira Rendeiro ( 22 May 1952 [ 1 ] – May 13 , 2022 [ 2 ] Westville, South Africa ) was a Portuguese banker.

Rendeiro was founder and director of Banco Privado Português . From September to December 2021, he was a fugitive from Portuguese justice, after being sentenced to several prison terms for economic and financial crimes, having been arrested in South Africa on December 11, 2021, in compliance with an international arrest warrant. .

Family
João Rendeiro was the son of João Augusto da Silva Rendeiro and his wife Joana Marques Gonçalves Oliveira. [ 3 ]

Portuguese Private Bank case
Following the bankruptcy of Banco Privado Português and during the BPP case , João Rendeiro was investigated for committing several crimes. On June 5, 2015, in a first trial, the three defendants João Rendeiro, Paulo Guichard and Salvador Fezas Vital were acquitted of the crime of qualified fraud .

In a second case, he was sentenced by the Judicial Court of the District of Lisbon, on October 15, 2018, to 5 years in prison with a suspended sentence, upon payment of €400,000, for the practice of computer forgery and forgery of documents. For the same crimes, his fellow directors of Banco Privado Português were also sentenced: Paulo Guichard to 4 years and 3 months in suspended prison, upon payment of €25,000, and Salvador Fezas Vital to 3 years and 6 months in prison with suspended, upon payment of EUR 15 000. [ 4 ] After appeal by the Public Prosecutor 's Office , on 10 July 2020 the Lisbon Court of Appealincreased the sentence of João Rendeiro to 5 years and 8 months of effective imprisonment and the sentence of Paulo Guichard to 4 years and 8 months of effective imprisonment. [ 5 ] After exhausting all appeals, the convictions became final on September 17, 2021.

In another case, on May 14, 2021, he was sentenced by the Lisbon District Court to 10 years in prison for the crimes of tax fraud, breach of trust and money laundering . Former administrators Salvador Fezas Vital and Paulo Guichard were both sentenced to 9 years and 6 months in prison for the same crimes. [ 6 ]

In a third conviction, on September 28, 2021, he was sentenced by the Lisbon District Court to 3 years and 6 months in prison for qualified fraud . In the same case, Paulo Guichard was sentenced to 3 years in prison and Salvador Fezas Vital to 2 years and 6 months in prison for the same crime. [ 7 ] On the same day, it was reported that Rendeiro had fled Portugal and Europe to evade serving the prison sentences to which he was sentenced. [ 8 ] The following day, an international arrest warrant was issued by the Court against João Rendeiro, joining the wanted list of theEuropol and Interpol .

On November 3, 2021, Maria de Jesus Rendeiro, wife of João Rendeiro, who stayed in Portugal after her husband fled, was detained by the Judiciary Police for reasons of danger of escape. She was made a defendant on suspicion of money laundering and embezzlement . After judicial interrogation, she was subject to house arrest with an electronic bracelet. [ 9 ]

Rendeiro was arrested in South Africa , near Durban , the largest city in the province of Kwazulu-Natal , pursuant to an international arrest warrant. The extradition process continued [ 10 ] until his death.

On February 23 , 2022 , the Lisbon Court of Appeal confirmed the 10-year prison sentence to which João Rendeiro was sentenced in one of the cases in the BPP case, for the crimes of qualified tax fraud, breach of trust and money laundering [ 11 ] .

On May 13, 2022, he was found dead, a victim of hanging , in the cell where he was serving a prison sentence. [ 2 ] The former banker had already admitted to suicide , but only in case of losing the extradition process to Portugal, which did not happen. [ 12 ] João Rendeiro's suicide occurred, however, a week before the preparatory session of the trial, and the trial itself, which would decide Rendeiro's eventual extradition to Portugal, was scheduled for June 2022. [ 13 ]

[pbrower2a]

Randall Claude Weaver (January 3, 1948 – May 11, 2022) was a survivalist[1] and former Iowa factory worker and Green Beret who was a central participant in the 1992 Ruby Ridge standoff at his cabin near Naples, Idaho that resulted in the deaths of his wife and son.[2][3][4][5][6] Weaver was charged with murder, conspiracy, and assault as well as other crimes. He was acquitted of all charges except for failing to appear in court for the original firearms charge and was sentenced to 18 months in prison.[1] His family eventually received a total of $3,100,000 in compensation for the killing of his wife and son by federal agents.[7]

A month after leaving the Army, Weaver and Victoria Jordison married in a ceremony at the First Congregationalist Church in Fort Dodge, Iowa, in November 1971. Randy attended a semester at the University of Northern Iowa but dropped out after finding well paying work at a local John Deere factory.[11] Vicki worked first as a secretary and then as a homemaker.[13]

Partially as a result of the 1978 purchase of The Late Great Planet Earth, the couple began to harbor more fundamentalist beliefs, with Vicki believing that the apocalypse was imminent.[11] To follow Vicki's vision of her family surviving the apocalypse away from what they saw as a corrupt civilization, the Weaver family moved to a 20-acre (8.1-hectare) property in remote Boundary County, Idaho in the early 1980s and built a cabin there.[13] They paid $5,000 in cash and traded their moving truck for the land, valued at $500 an acre.[11]



While the Weavers subscribed to ideas that broadly fell under the category of Christian Identity, their beliefs were still quite idiosyncratic.[14] Like many in that movement, Vicki Weaver developed a set of beliefs following Old Covenant Laws, and the family referred to God as Yahweh.[15] After charges were pressed against her husband, Vicki Weaver wrote to U.S. Attorney Maurice O. Ellsworth, addressing him as "Servant of the Queen of Babylon" and writing, "The stink of your lawless government has reached Heaven, the abode of Yahweh our Yashua," and "Whether we live or whether we die, we will not bow to your evil commandments."[16]



At the time of the Ruby Ridge siege, the Weavers had four children: Sara, 16; Samuel, 14; Rachel, 10; and Elisheba, 10 months.[13] Vicki homeschooled the children.[13]



Ruby Ridge was the site of an 11-day siege in 1992 in Boundary County, Idaho, near Naples.[13] It began on August 21, when deputies of the United States Marshals Service (USMS) initiated action to apprehend and arrest Randy Weaver under a bench warrant after his failure to appear on a firearms charge having, Weaver said, been given the wrong date for his court appearance.[13] He had attempted to sell a pair of illegal sawed-off shotguns to a federal informer within the Aryan Nation white supremacist group.[5] Weaver refused to surrender and remained at home with his family and friend Kevin Harris. The Hostage Rescue Team of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI HRT) became involved as the siege developed.[17]



During the Marshals Service reconnoiter of the Weaver property, six U.S. Marshals encountered Harris and Sammy Weaver, Randy's 14-year-old son, in woods near the family cabin. A shootout took place. U.S. Marshals shot the Weaver's dog Striker, then shot Sammy Weaver in the back as he ran away, killing him. During the firefight, Harris shot Deputy U.S. Marshal William Francis Degan in the chest, resulting in Degan's death.[11]



In the subsequent siege of the Weaver residence, led by the FBI, Weaver's wife Vicki was shot and killed[17] by an FBI sniper while standing in her home holding her 10-month-old daughter. Harris was also critically wounded and almost died during the subsequent standoff. Weaver was shot once and was not holding a weapon at the time.[13][18][19] All casualties occurred in the first two days of the operation. The siege and standoff were ultimately resolved by civilian negotiator Bo Gritz who was instrumental in getting Weaver to allow Harris to get medical attention. Harris surrendered and was arrested on August 30. Weaver and his three daughters surrendered the next day after being convinced by Gritz that there was no other sensible solution. [11]



Weaver was charged with multiple crimes relating to the Ruby Ridge incident – a total of ten counts, including the original firearms charges. Attorney Gerry Spence handled Weaver's defense, and successfully argued that Weaver's actions were justifiable as self-defense. Spence did not call any witnesses for the defense, rather focusing on attacking the credibility of FBI agents and forensic technicians.[20] The judge dismissed two counts after hearing prosecution witness testimony. The jury acquitted Weaver of all remaining charges except two, one of which the judge set aside. He was found guilty of one count, failure to appear, for which he was fined $10,000 and sentenced to 18 months in prison.[1] He was credited with time served plus an additional three months, and was then released. Kevin Harris was acquitted of all criminal charges.[11]
In August 1995, the U.S. government avoided trial on a civil lawsuit filed by the Weavers by awarding the three surviving daughters $1,000,000 each, and Randy Weaver $100,000 over the deaths of Sammy and Vicki Weaver.[21]

[pbrower2a]

Teresa Berganza Vargas OAXS (16 March 1933 – 13 May 2022) was a Spanish mezzo-soprano. She is most closely associated with roles such as Rossini's Rosina and La Cenerentola, and later Bizet's Carmen, admired for her technical virtuosity, musical intelligence, and beguiling stage presence. Berganza was a key singer in a Rossini renaissance which explored less performed operas and restored the leading roles to mezzo register. She appeared as Zerlina in Joseph Losey's Don Giovanni film in 1979. She participated in the opening ceremonies of the Expo '92 in Seville and of the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.

Teresa Berganza was born in Madrid on 16 March 1933.[1][2] She studied piano and voice at the Madrid Royal Conservatory, voice with Lola Rodríguez Aragón [es],[2] where she was awarded first prize for singing in 1954. She made her concert debut in Madrid in 1955.[3]


Berganza made her operatic debut as Dorabella in Mozart's Così fan tutte in 1957 at the Aix-en-Provence Festival.[2][4] That same year, she made her La Scala debut. She first appeared at the Glyndebourne Festival in 1958,[4] as Cherubino in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, and later also in the title role of Rossini's La Cenerentola.[3] In 1959, Berganza made her first appearance at the Royal Opera House as Cherubino, and the following year performed there as Rosina in Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia, which became one of her signature roles. She repeated it at the Opernhaus Zürich, where she returned in 1979 as Charlotte in Massenet's Werther.[3]



She appeared in the U.S. first in 1958, at the Dallas Opera as Isabella in Rossini's L'italiana in Algeri and then as Neri in Cherubini's Médée alongside Maria Callas in the title role.[2] In 1967, she made her Metropolitan Opera debut, again as Cherubino,[3][5] directed by Nikolaus Lehnhoff in his house debut, and conducted by Joseph Rosenstock, alongside Cesare Siepi as Figaro, Mirella Freni as Susanna, Tom Krause and Pilar Lorengar as the Almaviva couple.[6] She returned for Rosina the following year, first in a telecast performance conducted by Richard Bonynge, alongside Mario Sereni as Figaro, Luigi Alva and Fernando Corena as Bartolo.[5] A reviewer from the New York Daily News noted:

Quote:But the revival was really distinguished by the presence of Teresa Berganza as Rosina. The Spanish mezzo-soprano had not sung the role with the company before, although she has been a well-known recitalist here, and her way with Rossini's music is much admired. She is certainly the most charming Rosina at the Met since her compatriot Victoria de los Angeles. Like her, she sings the music in the low key, which makes it much more appealing to the ear than the constant chirping of coloratura sopranos one is usually subjected to. Short and dark, if not exactly petite, Miss Berganza is quite enchanting to look at, a pleasant if not volatile actress, and a singer of great style and skill. She lit the stage up whenever she was on it, without making any attempt to do so.[7]

Berganza was a leading singer for a renaissance of Rossini's operas, returning the roles to the original lower register according to critical editions by Alberto Zedda, promoted by conductors such as Claudio Abbado and Charles Mackerras.[2]

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Teresa Berganza during a master class in May 2009

Berganza appeared at the 1977 [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edinburgh_festival]Edinburgh Festival as Bizet's Carmen, conducted by Abbado,[8] regarded as one of her greatest successes on stage, and repeated the role at the Paris Opera.[3][9] She portrayed the character with intelligence, singing the Habanera with the flexibility of a lieder singer, and abrupt changes in timbre and dynamic, seemingly addressing the crowd but meaning one person, in a provokingly light tone demonstrating superiority.[2]

As a recitalist, Berganza made her Carnegie Hall debut in 1964.[10][11] Her concert repertoire includes Spanish, Italian, French, German, and Russian songs. From 1957 to 1977, Berganza was married to the composer and pianist Félix Lavilla, who accompanied her in recitals and recordings.[3][12] The couple had three children, including soprano Cecilia Lavilla Berganza.[3][13] She showcased songs from Spain, from medieval cantigas from the era of Alfonso X of Castile to miniatures by Manuel de Falla and Enrique Granados.[2]



For the opening of the National Auditorium of Music in Madrid, she performed in De Falla's Atlántida alongside Montserrat Caballé and Vicente. She participated in the concert for the opening of the Opéra Bastille in Paris on 13 July 1989.[3] In 1992, Berganza participated in the opening ceremonies of Expo '92 in Seville and the opening ceremonies of the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.[3]



Berganza's stage career ended in 2008.[14] She last taught singing at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía, continued to perform music of Spanish composers, and gave master classes all over the world. Her students have included María Bayo, Jorge Chaminé and Alicia Nafé.[3]


Berganza died on 13 May 2022 in San Lorenzo de El Escorial at age 89.[1][15]

(I long thought that she was Italian -- pbrower2a). 

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