Obituaries

[pbrower2a]

Michel Chapuis (French pronunciation: [miʃɛl ʃapɥi]) (15 January 1930 – 12 November 2017) was a French classical organist and pedagogue. He was especially known as an interpreter of the French and the German Baroque masters and he was dedicated to historically informed performances.

Chapuis was born in Dole, Jura, France and had his early training there, on the organ of the Cathedral of Dole. In 1943 he studied the piano with Émile Poillot in Dijon. In 1945 came his first serious study of the organ with Jeanne Marguillard, organist of the Besançon Cathedral. He then studied at the École César Franck in Paris under René Mahlherbe (composition) and Édouard Souberbielle (organ). He had further studies with Marcel Dupré at the Conservatoire de Paris, and won prizes in organ and improvisation in 1951 (the Prix Périlhou et Guilmant).

Chapuis was organist for the Paris churches of St. Germain l'Auxerrois 1951-54 and St. Nicolas des Champs 1954-72, accompanied at Notre Dame 1955-64, and was titular organist of St. Séverin from 1964. He also toured widely as a concert artist. From 1956-79 he was Professor at the Conservatoire de Strasbourg, 1979-86 at the Besançon Conservatoire, and 1986-95 at the Paris Conservatoire. From 1996-2010, he was organist at the Versailles Royal Chapel.

During his lifetime, he performed every surviving piece of French organ music from the 17th and 18th centuries on the Cliquot organ of St. Nicolas des Champs.

He also produced numerous recordings matching early repertoire to historic instruments. His important recordings included the complete organ works of Johann Sebastian Bach (1966), considered by many as one of the best recordings of this oeuvre.[1][2]

Michel Chapuis was very much in the forefront in France in his efforts to restore and build organs.

From Wikipedia

[gabrielle]

Chuck Mosley (December 26, 1959 – November 9, 2017)

Chuck Mosley, Former Faith No More Singer, Dead at 57

Quote:"After a long period of sobriety, Charles Henry Mosley III lost his life, on November 9th, 2017, due to the disease of addiction," Mosley's family wrote in a statement. "We’re sharing the manner in which he passed, in the hopes that it might serve as a warning or wake up call or beacon to anyone else struggling to fight for sobriety. He is survived by long-term partner Pip Logan, two daughters, Erica and Sophie and his grandson Wolfgang Logan Mosley. The family will be accepting donations for funeral expenses."

Faith No More added in a statement, "It’s with a heavy, heavy heart we acknowledge the passing of our friend and bandmate, Chuck Mosley. He was a reckless and caterwauling force of energy who delivered with conviction and helped set us on a track of uniqueness and originality that would not have developed the way it had had he not been a part. How fortunate we are to have been able to perform with him last year in a reunion style when we re-released our very first record. His enthusiasm, his sense of humor, his style and his bravado will be missed by so many. We were a family, an odd and dysfunctional family, and we’ll be forever grateful for the time we shared with Chuck."

I believe I posted a song of his with FNM some time ago on another thread:

[Eric the Green]

(11-13-2017, 07:16 AM)pbrower2a Wrote: Michel Chapuis (French pronunciation: [miʃɛl ʃapɥi]) (15 January 1930 – 12 November 2017) was a French classical organist and pedagogue. He was especially known as an interpreter of the French and the German Baroque masters and he was dedicated to historically informed performances.

Chapuis was born in Dole, Jura, France and had his early training there, on the organ of the Cathedral of Dole. In 1943 he studied the piano with Émile Poillot in Dijon. In 1945 came his first serious study of the organ with Jeanne Marguillard, organist of the Besançon Cathedral. He then studied at the École César Franck in Paris under René Mahlherbe (composition) and Édouard Souberbielle (organ). He had further studies with Marcel Dupré at the Conservatoire de Paris, and won prizes in organ and improvisation in 1951 (the Prix Périlhou et Guilmant).

Chapuis was organist for the Paris churches of St. Germain l'Auxerrois 1951-54 and St. Nicolas des Champs 1954-72, accompanied at Notre Dame 1955-64, and was titular organist of St. Séverin from 1964. He also toured widely as a concert artist. From 1956-79 he was Professor at the Conservatoire de Strasbourg, 1979-86 at the Besançon Conservatoire, and 1986-95 at the Paris Conservatoire. From 1996-2010, he was organist at the Versailles Royal Chapel.

During his lifetime, he performed every surviving piece of French organ music from the 17th and 18th centuries on the Cliquot organ of St. Nicolas des Champs.

He also produced numerous recordings matching early repertoire to historic instruments. His important recordings included the complete organ works of Johann Sebastian Bach (1966), considered by many as one of the best recordings of this oeuvre.[1][2]

Michel Chapuis was very much in the forefront in France in his efforts to restore and build organs.

From Wikipedia

Thanks pbrower. I have played his CDs of Bach organ works often, for myself and on my radio show. Sorry as always to see that a great artist has passed.

[pbrower2a]

Bobby Doerr, age 99, Hall of Fame second baseman for the Boston Red Sox. Then the oldest living former  major-league baseball player.

  Robert Pershing Doerr (April 7, 1918 – November 13, 2017) was an American professional baseball second baseman and coach. He played his entire 14-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career for the Boston Red Sox (1937–51). A nine-time MLB All-Star, Doerr batted over .300 three times, drove in more than 100 runs six times, and set Red Sox team records in several statistical categories despite missing one season due to military service during World War II. Doerr is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.

After he retired as a player, Doerr served as a scout and a coach, including work with Carl Yastrzemski before his Triple Crown season. From April 25, 2017, until his death on November 13 of that year, Doerr was the oldest living former major league player. He was the last living person who played in the major leagues in the 1930s, and was the oldest of only three living people who made their MLB debut before U.S. involvement in World War II, the other two being Chuck Stevens and Fred Caligiuri.[1]
[/url]
[url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Doerr]from Wikipedia
[/url]
National Baseball Hall of Fame:


“Bobby Doerr was an absolutely outstanding player. He was an exceptional second baseman, he rarely booted ground balls, he was a good clutch hitter and a good all-around hitter who could bat third, fourth, or fifth in a lineup of good hitters. We never had a captain, but he was the silent captain of the team.” --Ted Williams

Bobby Doerr was the second baseman for the Boston Red Sox from 1937-1951. He and teammate Ted Williams were both scouted on the same trip by Eddie Collins from the 1936 San Diego Padres of the Pacific Coast League.
Named to nine all-star teams, Doerr was steady, consistent, and showed leadership on and off the field. Defensively, he led the AL in fielding percentage six times and in double plays five times. He once held the AL record for most consecutive chances at second base without an error—414. “I never saw him misplay a ball, and he had the best backhand of any second baseman I ever saw,” said Red Sox teammate Johnny Pesky.

Offensively, Doerr hit .288 for his career, with 2,042 hits, 381 doubles, 89 triples, and 223 home runs, which at the time of his retirement, was the third highest total ever amassed by a second baseman. He racked up 1,094 runs scored and 1,247 runs batted in.
He missed the 1945 season in order to serve in the military, but returned to lead the team to the 1946 pennant with 18 home runs and 116 runs batted in. He hit .409 and drove in three more runs in the World Series loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.
He retired in his early thirties due to back problems. He scouted for the Red Sox from 1957-’66, and coached there from 1967-’69. He served as the hitting coach for the Toronto Blue Jays from 1977-’81. In 1969, Red Sox fans voted him the team’s all-time best second baseman. He was elected to the hall of Fame in 1986.

An all around gentleman with a great reputation in the game, New York Yankees rival Tommy Henrich said “Bobby Doerr is one of the very few who played the game hard and retired with no enemies.”




[url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Doerr]

[pbrower2a]

Veteran pilot Joy Lofthouse, who flew Spitfires and bombers for the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) during World War Two, has died at the age of 94.

From the BBC - the link is worth reading.



Mrs Lofthouse joined the ATA in 1943 after spotting a notice in a magazine calling for women to learn to fly.

She was one of only 164 female pilots, known as the Attagirls, who flew aircraft from factory to airfield.

The Royal International Air Tattoo said she was an "amazing character with even more amazing stories".

The ATA was formed in 1940 when, despite some male opposition, women were allowed to fly military trainer and communications aircraft.

Mrs Lofthouse, from South Cerney in Gloucestershire, learned to fly before she learned to drive.

In an interview last year, she said: "I saw this caption in the Aeroplane magazine that said the ATA had run out of qualified pilots and were training. So I applied and I was in."

Trained at Thame in Oxfordshire, she learnt to fly all types of single-seater aircraft but without a driving licence, she said she found "taxiing much more difficult than flying".

"We had nine days of technical training - it wasn't very technical - no navigation, just map reading," she said.

"After about 10 hours [of flying], they sent you off solo. My first solo flight I think you're only afraid if you're going to find the airfield again."


The auxiliary suffered 156 casualties, mostly due to bad weather, but Mrs Lofthouse said when you are young "you don't think about the danger".

"It was just part of the war effort. I felt very lucky that I was allowed to do something so rewarding," she said.

In 2015, she returned to the skies, taking control of a Spitfire 70 years after last flying in one.

Last summer, she was guest of honour in the Royal Box at Wimbledon, where she received an ovation from the centre court crowd.

And last November, she and fellow ATA pilot Mary Ellis were honoured in front of members of the Royal Family at the annual Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

In all, she flew 18 different types of aeroplane across her career but the "wonderful" Spitfire remained her favourite.

"It's the nearest thing to having wings of your own and flying," she said.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-glouc...e-42012740

[Marypoza]

RlP Malcolm Young

[gabrielle]

Malcolm Young, AC/DC Guitarist and Co-Founder, Dead at 64

Quote:Malcolm Young, guitarist and co-founder of AC/DC, died Saturday at the age of 64. Young had been suffering with dementia for the past three years, an illness that forced his retirement from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-inducted band he founded with his brother Angus Young in 1973.

"Today it is with deep heartfelt sadness that AC/DC has to announce the passing of Malcolm Young," AC/DC wrote in a statement.

"Malcolm, along with Angus, was the founder and creator of AC/DC. With enormous dedication and commitment he was the driving force behind the band. As a guitarist, songwriter and visionary he was a perfectionist and a unique man. He always stuck to his guns and did and said exactly what he wanted. He took great pride in all that he endeavored. His loyalty to the fans was unsurpassed."

[pbrower2a]

You probably best knew him as Bill Cosby's father on the Cosby Show:

(Earle) Hyman was born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, of African-American and Native American ancestry. Hyman's parents, Zachariah Hyman (Tuscarora) and Maria Lilly Plummer (Haliwa-Saponi/Nottoway), moved their family to Brooklyn, New York, where Hyman primarily grew up. Earle Hyman became interested in acting after seeing a production of Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen's Ghosts. “The first play I ever saw was a present from my parents on my 13th birthday — Nazimova in ‘Ghosts’ at Brighton Beach on the subway circuit — and I just freaked out.”[1][2]
[/url]
He made his Broadway stage debut as a teenager in 1943 in Run, Little Chillun, and later joined the American Negro Theater. The following year, Hyman began a two-year run playing the role of Rudolf on Broadway in Anna Lucasta, starring Hilda Simms in the title role.[3] He was a member of the American Shakespeare Theatre beginning with its first season in 1955, and played the role of Othello in the 1957 season.[4]

In December 1958 he came to London to play the leading role in the play [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_on_a_Rainbow_Shawl]Moon on a Rainbow Shawl by Errol John, at the Royal Court.[5] In 1959 he again appeared in the West End, this time in the first London production of A Raisin In the Sun alongside Kim Hamilton. The show ran at the Adelphi Theatre and was directed again by Lloyd Richards.

A life member of The Actors Studio,[6] Hyman appeared throughout his career in productions in both the United States and Norway, where he also owned a home on Norway's west coast and an apartment in Oslo. In 1965, won a Theatre World Award and in 1988, he was awarded the St Olav's medal for his work in Norwegian theater.

In addition to his stage work, Hyman appeared in various television and film roles including adaptions of Macbeth (1968), Julius Caesar (1979), and Coriolanus (1979), and voiced Panthro on the animated television series ThunderCats (1985–1990). He played two roles (at different times) on television's The Edge of Night. One of his most well known roles, that of Russell Huxtable in The Cosby Show, earned him an Emmy Award nomination in 1986. He played the father of lead character Cliff Huxtable, played by actor Bill Cosby, despite only being 11 years older than him.

He was the first cousin once removed of singer Phyllis Hyman.

Hyman died on November 16, 2017.[7]

[pbrower2a]

One of the last surviving ranking airmen for the interwar Polish Republic (born 1919, murdered 1939):

Franciszek Kornicki (18 December 1916 – 16 November 2017[1]) was a Polish fighter pilot who served in the Polish Air Force in Poland, France and Britain during the Second World War and later served in the Royal Air Force (RAF). He died just a few weeks short of his 101st birthday and was the last surviving Polish fighter squadron commander from the Second World War.

Eager for further education but unable to afford university, he was admitted as a cadet in the twelfth entry at the Polish Air Force academy in Dęblin. In July 1939 he completed his studies, passing out third out of a class of 173.[2] In the middle of a fortnight's leave prior to his first posting he received orders to report to his unit immediately in the general mobilization as the clouds of war were gathering and said his farewells to his family: he was never to see his father again and it was to be 25 years before he saw his mother and brothers again.

When the German armies invaded Poland on 1 September, he was a member of 162 squadron flying outdated PZL P.7 aircraft without radios and found the German fighters superior in all respects. The Polish Air Force was heavily outnumbered and losses were heavy, so the fighter squadrons were constantly being pulled back and regrouped. On 17 September pilots were informed at a briefing that the Soviet Army had crossed the border and was moving westwards through Poland and that, to continue the fight, they were to fly to Romania and make their way to France. Those who were without aeroplanes, including Kornicki, who found that his had been taken while he had been at the briefing, were to make their way to Romania overland. With several fellow pilots he crossed into Romania later that same night. By road and rail they travelled to the port of Balchik, which was then part of Romania, avoiding internment and being provided with false papers by the Polish embassy, and they then sailed with many other airmen on the SS Patris to Marseille. It was several months before flying training on the Morane 406 French fighter aircraft was provided, and shortly after Kornicki finished his training news of the French capitulation came through. Together with several thousand other Poles he made his way to Saint-Jean-de-Luz in the Basque country and was evacuated aboard the Arandora Star to Liverpool, where his first task was to start learning English.

By August 1940 the Polish Air Force already had more than 8,000 men on its strength in Britain and eventually it consisted of sixteen fighter and bomber squadrons had been formed which were operationally subordinate to the RAF. After flying training on the Boulton Paul Defiant he was posted on 11 October 1940 to 303 Squadron, just after it moved north to rest and reform after achieving in six weeks the highest score of all the squadrons that took part in the Battle of Britain. On joining 303 Squadron he converted to the Hawker Hurricane. In January 1941 he joined 315 Squadron, which in July moved to RAF Northolt and was reequipped with Spitfire MkIIs. On 23 July he flew his first mission over France, with the usual instructions to stick close to his section leader. He described the experience as follows: "We were over twenty thousand feet with France below us when I heard on the RT [radio transmitter] that enemy aircraft were approaching, and later there were reports of attacks and warning shouts - somebody was fighting somewhere. I thought we were moving about a bit nervously when I remembered the golden rule: never fly straight and level for any length of time - and so I too weaved behind my energetic leader, trying desperately not to collide with anybody and not to lose him. I managed, but I did not see much else except him and my immediate neighbours. Our squadron was not molested and we all came back in one piece. I landed drenched with perspiration, jumped out of my aircraft, lit a cigarette and inhaled deeply".[3]

On 13 February 1943, he took over command of No. 308 Polish Fighter Squadron: at 26 he was the youngest squadron commander in the Polish Air Force and the first from the twelfth entry at Dęblin to reach such a position. At the end of the month he came down with appendicitis, and on 7 May he became commanding officer of No. 317 Polish Fighter Squadron, which he led until December 1943. From January 1944, having survived over three years as a fighter pilot, Kornicki was transferred to a ground job as a liaison officer. He then attended the Polish Air Force Staff College in Weston-Super-Mare, after which he served in staff positions at 84 Group HQ, 2nd Tactical Air Force, in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. As a staff officer he was forbidden to fly operational sorties but he had just received permission to retrain on the latest model of Spitfire when the war in Europe came to an end. For his wartime service he was awarded the Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari (War Order No. 08487) and the Cross of Valour with two bars.

Like many of his fellow-countrymen, Kornicki was dismayed by the Yalta Agreement and had no wish to go to Soviet-occupied Poland after the end of the war.[4] Kornicki joined a course at Nottingham Technical College, but in 1948 he married Patience Williams and they began a career as hotel managers for Symonds Brewery. In June 1951, however, responding to an appeal for pilots for the RAF, which was expanding in response to Cold War pressures, he received a short-service commission as a Flight Lieutenant in the RAF and resumed flying.[5] In May 1953 he switched to the Catering Branch and served on RAF stations in England, Malta, Aden and Cyprus.[6] He was promoted to Squadron Leader on 1 January 1961,[7] and retired from the RAF on 8 January 1972.[8] He subsequently worked for the Gas Industry Training Board and then for the Ministry of Defence.

On 6 March 1948 he married Patience Ceridwen Williams, daughter of Ewart and Enid Williams. Their two sons are Peter Kornicki and Richard Kornicki. His memorabilia, including log-book, French goggles and the attaché case he was issued with at Dęblin in 1936, are in the Polish Museum at RAF Northolt. One of the aircraft he flew, Spitfire MkVB BM 597 is still flying in the colours of 317 Squadron: he was reunited with it at RAF Northolt on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain in September 2010, Kornicki then being 93. On 16 June 2011 he was awarded the Commander's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta and the award was conferred upon him in person on 24 September 2012 by the President of Poland Bronisław Komorowski. On 11 November 2012 he was promoted to the rank of full colonel (Pułkownik) in the Polish Air Force. He turned 100 in December 2016.[9]

In autumn 2017, in preparation for its centenary in 2018, the RAF Museum organised a poll to select 'The People's Spitfire Pilot' to be featured alongside a Spitfire Mk VB at the Museum's RAF centenary exhibition. Eleven pilots from differing backgrounds were nominated, and Kornicki was the runaway winner with over 325,000 votes (the second placed, British, pilot had 6,300).[10]. This was widely reported in the Polish press and on Polish television and radio.[11] In October 2017 he was awarded the Gold Medal of Merit for National Defence by the Polish Minister of Defence. [12]

More here.


Jeszcze Polska nie zginęła, Kiedy my żyjemy.

[pbrower2a]

Good riddance, and roast in Hell!
[/url]


Salvatore "Totò" Riina (Italian pronunciation: [salvaˈtoːre riːna]; 16 November 1930 – 17 November 2017), called Totò 'u Curtu (Sicilian: Totò the Short; Totò being the diminutive of "Salvatore"), was an Italian mobster and chief of the Sicilian Mafia, known for a ruthless murder campaign that reached a peak in the early 1990s when the assassinations of Antimafia Commission prosecutors Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino caused widespread public revulsion and led to a major crackdown by the authorities. He was also known by the nicknames la belva ("the beast") and il capo dei capi (Sicilian: 'u capu di 'i capi, "the boss of bosses").

Riina succeeded Luciano Leggio as foremost boss of the Corleonesi criminal organisation in the early 1980s and achieved dominance through a campaign of violence, which caused police to target his rivals. As a fugitive Riina was less vulnerable to law enforcement's reaction to his methods, as the policing removed many of the established chiefs who had traditionally sought influence through bribery. In violation of established Mafia codes, Riina advocated the killing of women and children, and killed blameless members of the public solely to distract law enforcing agencies. Assassin Giovanni Brusca estimated he murdered 100-200 people on behalf of Riina. Although Riina's scorched-earth policy neutralized any internal threat to his position, he increasingly showed a lack of his earlier guile by bringing his organisation into open confrontation with the state. After 23 years living as a fugitive he was captured, provoking a series of indiscriminate bombings of art galleries and churches by his organisation. His unrepentancy subjected him to the stringent Article 41-bis prison regime until his death in the prisoner's ward of a hospital.



...Does Dante Aligheri place this horrible mobster in Bolgia #5 for violence as a serial murderer or in Bolgia #6 for fraud as a grafter? Maybe even #9 for warring against the lawful authority of the Italian Republic?

Clearly one of the most evil persons who has ever lived who has never held public office or bureaucratic authority within it, or commanded a military or paramilitary unit. In orange, reflecting the color of the flames that now consume his soul.
[url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvatore_Riina]

[pbrower2a]

M-m-m-m-el T-t-tillis, country-music star and entertainer.


Lonnie Melvin "Mel" Tillis (August 8, 1932 – November 19, 2017) was an American country music singer and songwriter. Although he recorded songs since the late 1950s, his biggest success occurred in the 1970s, with a long list of Top 10 hits.
Tillis's biggest hits include "I Ain't Never", "Good Woman Blues", and "Coca-Cola Cowboy". On February 13, 2012, President Barack Obama awarded Tillis the National Medal of Arts for his contributions to country music.[1] He also has won the CMA Awards' most coveted award, Entertainer of the Year. He is also known for his speech impediment, which does not affect his singing voice. His daughter is country music singer Pam Tillis.

He died on November 19, 2017, at the age of 85.[2]
[/url]
[url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mel_Tillis]More at Wikipedia.


Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Nashville, Tennessee::



Mel Tillis

Send Me Down To Tucson - Mel Tillis

Coca Cola Cowboy - Mel Tillis

Heart Over Mind - Mel Tillis

Birth: 08-08-1932 | Birthplace: Tampa, Florida

Inducted: 2007

A gifted entertainer, Lonnie Melvin Tillis has distinguished himself as a songwriter, singer, film actor, and television personality. Born August 8, 1932, in Tampa, Florida, he grew up in small-town Pahokee, near Florida’s Lake Okeechobee. A childhood bout of malaria left him with a chronic stutter, a trait he turned to his advantage as part of his affable, down-home persona.

Tillis won local talent contests in the early 1950s and attended the University of Florida briefly. His first paying gig came in December 1951 at the roof garden of Jacksonville’s Mayflower Hotel, during festivities for the Gator Bowl. He served in the air force during the Korean War. Stationed in Okinawa, he worked as a cook and baker and sang regularly on Armed Forces Radio.

Tillis first visited Nashville in 1956, and he moved to Music City in 1957 to pursue a career in music. That year Webb Pierce scored a #3 hit with “I’m Tired,” a song Tillis wrote in Florida while watering strawberry plants. He became a favored source of material for Pierce. Through the balance of the 1950s, Pierce’s Tillis-penned hits included “Honky Tonk Song,” “Holiday for Love,” “Tupelo County Jail,” “A Thousand Miles Ago,” “I Ain’t Never,” and “No Love Have I.”

Tillis continued to prove his mettle as a writer in the 1960s, composing major hits for Ray Price (“One More Time,” #2, 1960; “Heart over Mind,” #5, 1961; “Burning Memories,” #2, 1964), Brenda Lee (“Emotions,” #7 pop, 1960–61), Bobby Bare (“Detroit City,” #6 country and #16 pop, 1963), and Johnny Darrell (“Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love to Town,” #9, 1967). Tillis also supplied winning songs to Jack Greene (“All the Time,” #1, 1967), Waylon Jennings (“Mental Revenge,” #12, 1967), and Kenny Rogers & the First Edition (“Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love to Town,” #6 pop and #39 country, 1969), among others.

In the late 1950s Tillis launched his own recording career on Columbia Records, scoring his first chart single, “The Violet and a Rose,” in 1958. He enjoyed modest success as an artist during the 1960s and worked with Porter Wagoner during the decade on Wagoner’s television show. “Stateside,” a Top Twenty hit for Tillis in 1966, gave his band their name, the Statesiders. “Life Turned Her That Way,” a Harlan Howard song, charted at #11 for Tillis in 1967. (It went on to become a #1 hit for Ricky Van Shelton in 1988.) In the late 1960s and early 1970s Tillis raised his national profile by appearing frequently on CBS’s Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour.

Tillis’s recording career gained new momentum in the 1970s. He earned his first Top Five hit, “Heart over Mind,” in 1970 for Kapp Records, and his recording of “I Ain’t Never” for MGM in 1972 became his first #1. The 1970s proved to be Tillis’s prime as a recording artist. For MCA he had #1 hits with “Good Woman Blues” (1976), “Heart Healer” (1977), “I Believe in You” (1978), and “Coca Cola Cowboy” (1979). He topped the charts again with “Southern Rains” (1980–81) on the Elektra label. In 1976 the Country Music Association voted him Entertainer of the Year, and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame made him a member the same year.

In the 1970s and 1980s Tillis amassed credits in a number of comedy-action feature films, including W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings (1975), Smokey and the Bandit II (1980), The Cannonball Run (1981), Cannonball Run II (1984), and Uphill All the Way (1989). He also has made numerous guest appearances on TV variety shows, talk shows, game shows, comedies, and dramatic series.

Tillis remains active today. With Bobby Bare, Waylon Jennings, and Jerry Reed, he released the album Old Dogs in July 1998. The CMA nominated the work for Vocal Event of the Year in 1999.

An astute businessman, Tillis has been involved in several commercial ventures, including management of his own extensive music publishing concerns, and his songs have continued to find favor with country artists. Ricky Skaggs had a #1 hit in 1984 with “Honey (Open That Door),” and George Strait cut a new version of Tillis’s “Thoughts of a Fool” (earlier recorded by Ernest Tubb) for the 1992 film soundtrack Pure Country.

In 1990 Tillis opened his own theater in Branson, Missouri, and kept it through 2002. He continues to play extended runs at the Welk Resort Theatre in Branson. He also tours nationally with the Statesiders. Tillis became a member of the Grand Ole Opry on June 9, 2007, inducted by his daughter, country singer and songwriter Pam Tillis.

Pam Tillis paid tribute to Mel with a 2002 release, It’s All Relative, on which she recorded her own versions of his compositions. “These songs,” she wrote in the album’s liner notes, “represent a magic, an innocence, and a wildness that sometimes seem to be missing from Nashville today.” Mel Tillis Jr. is also an accomplished songwriter, whose works include the Jamie O’Neal hit “When I Think about Angels.”

In his 1984 book, Stutterin’ Boy: The Autobiography of Mel Tillis, Tillis offered rich detail about his rise to stardom as a songwriter, singer, and entertainer. “Mel Tillis is one of the most interesting characters ever to come to Nashville,” the late Chet Atkins said at the time. “Also one of the most talented and likeable. His growth from a shy songwriter who stuttered to an international star is phenomenal.”

And now, in 2007, Tillis joins Atkins as a richly deserving fellow-member of the Country Music Hall of Fame.

[pbrower2a]

Great news! Murderous cult leader Charles Manson is dead!

Bad news -- he lived to a thoroughly rotten old age.  Demonic cult leader Charles Manson gets to be with his buddy Satan forever. In orange, depicting the heat of the place in which he now lives. A place that makes brutally-hot Kern County, California summers seem downright chilly by contrast.  

Quote:Charles Manson, the California drifter-turned-cult leader responsible for a string of murders that cast a dark pall over the summer of 1969, died Sunday night in a Kern County Hospital. He was 83.

Debra Tate, the sister of actress Sharon Tate, one of Manson's most famous victims, received a call from Corcoran State Prison telling her Manson died at 8:13 PM.

While Manson died of natural causes, Tate knew he had been sick for a long time and was "expecting" this.

Manson was recently taken to Bakersfield Hospital where he was being treated for intestinal bleeding since January. Surgery was recommended but it was later deemed too risky.  

He had been locked up since his arrest in December 1969 following his conviction for orchestrating the murders of pregnant actress Sharon Tate and six others. Some of his followers remain behind bars for their part in the killings. One, Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, attempted to kill President Gerald Ford, and was later released on parole in 2009.

Tate says she will make sure all of Manson's followers remain behind bars for the rest of their lives. “I’ve forgiven them, but that does not mean I’ve forgotten what they did … I will never forget,” she said.

At a former movie ranch outside Los Angeles, he and his devotees — many of them young runaways who likened him to Jesus Christ — lived commune-style, using drugs and taking part in orgies. Children from privileged backgrounds ate garbage from supermarket trash.

"These children that come at you with knives, they are your children. You taught them; I didn't teach them. I just tried to help them stand up," he said in a courtroom soliloquy.

It was the summer of the first moon landing. War raged in Vietnam. Hippies flooded the streets of San Francisco and gathered in upstate New York for the Woodstock music festival. But many remember the time for Los Angeles' most shocking celebrity murders.

Fear swept the city after a maid reporting for work ran screaming from the elegant home where Tate lived with her husband, "Rosemary's Baby" director Roman Polanski. Scattered around the estate were blood-soaked bodies.

The beautiful 26-year-old actress, who was 8½ months pregnant, was stabbed and hung from a rafter in her living room. Also killed were Abigail Folger, heiress to a coffee fortune; Polish film director Voityck Frykowksi; Steven Parent, a friend of the estate's caretaker; and celebrity hairdresser Jay Sebring, killed by Manson follower Charles "Tex" Watson, who announced his arrival by saying: "I am the devil, and I'm here to do the devil's work."

The next night, wealthy grocer Leno LaBianca and his wife, Rosemary, were stabbed to death in their home in another neighborhood.

Manson was arrested three months later.

https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Killer-Cult-Leader-Charles-Manson-Dies-409655795.html





I'm not taking back my assessment of Salvatore Riina.

[Marypoza]

One of Cincinnati's finest, Charles Manson, has up & gone to hell. May the devil kick his sorry no account ass

[pbrower2a]

(11-21-2017, 08:25 AM)Marypoza Wrote: One of Cincinnati's finest, Charles Manson, has up & gone to hell. May the devil kick his sorry no account ass

This man may have done more to ruin the Boom Awakening than anyone else. But that is good for another thread. Such may have created a very different Crisis Era ensuing the Boom Awakening from what we otherwise might have had.

Thread to be found here.

[pbrower2a]

PRAGUE (AP) — Jana Novotna, who won the hearts of the tennis world when she sobbed on the shoulder of a member of the British royal family after a heartbreaking loss in the Wimbledon final, has died at the age of 49.

The WTA announced Novotna's death on Monday, saying she died Sunday in her native Czech Republic following a long battle with cancer.

Novotna died "peacefully, surrounded by her family," the women's tennis body said.

Her family confirmed her death to the Czech Republic's CTK news agency. No details were given.

Martina Navratilova, the tennis great who was also born in what was then Czechoslovakia, tweeted: "The tennis world is so sad about the passing of Jana Novotna. I am gutted and beyond words. Jana was a true friend and an amazing woman."

Novotna won her only Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon in 1998, eventually triumphing after two losses in the final at the All England Lawn Tennis Club in 1993 and 1997. She also lost in the 1991 Australian Open final.

While she finally captured the Grand Slam singles title she longed for in 1998, she won over the Wimbledon crowd five years earlier after wasting a big lead in the decisive set in a tough three-set loss to Steffi Graf.

Unable to hide her disappointment, Novotna cried on the shoulder of Britain's Duchess of Kent at the prize giving ceremony and was gently comforted by the royal, who told her: "I know you will win it one day, don't worry."

Novotna ultimately had her moment five years later when she beat Nathalie Tauziat in straight sets to win Wimbledon. At the time, she was the oldest first-time winner of a Grand Slam singles title at age 29.

There wear tears again from Novotna, this time of joy, and the Duchess of Kent was present again to congratulate her.

"She was a true champion in all senses of the word, and her 1998 triumph will live long in the memory," Wimbledon organizers the All England Club said in tribute to Novotna. "The thoughts of all those at Wimbledon are with her family and friends."

Fellow Czech and four-time Grand Slam champion Hana Mandlikova, who coached Novotna for her Wimbledon win, said: "It's hard to find words. Jana was a great girl and I'm happy that she won Wimbledon after all. It's so sad when someone so young dies."

During a 14-year professional career, Novotna won 24 singles titles and reached a career-high No. 2 in the singles rankings in 1997. She was a prolific and top-ranked doubles player, collecting 16 slam titles in doubles and mixed doubles.

She won three Olympic medals, silver in the doubles at the 1988 Seoul Games and silver again in the doubles and bronze in the singles in Atlanta in 1996. She also won the Fed Cup with her country in 1988. Novotna was inducted into tennis' Hall of Fame in 2005.

Even after retiring in 1999, Novotna was desperate to stay involved in tennis and became a commentator and coach.

"I'm dependent on tennis," she said in an interview two years ago. "A day without it would be terrible."

Members of the current Czech Fed Cup team said Novotna "supported us in the stands any time she could be there. We'll miss her."

"Jana was an inspiration both on and off court to anyone who had the opportunity to know her," WTA chief executive Steve Simon said. "Her star will always shine brightly in the history of the WTA."




Copyright © 2017 The Associated Press.

[pbrower2a]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Della Reese, the actress and gospel-influenced singer who in middle age found her greatest fame as Tess, the wise angel in the long-running television drama "Touched by an Angel," has died at age 86.

Reese's co-star on the series, Roma Downey, said in a statement that the actress died peacefully Sunday evening in her home in the Los Angeles area. No further details were included.

Before "Touched by an Angel" debuted in 1994, Reese was mainly known as a singer, although she had costarred on "Chico and the Man," ''Charlie and Company" and "The Royal Family" and hosted her own talk show, "Della."

"Touched by an Angel" was a gamble for CBS from the start. The story of an apprentice angel (Roma Downey) and her supervisor (Reese) being sent to Earth to solve people's problems appeared to have little chance in a TV world dominated by sitcoms and police dramas.

The first season brought mediocre ratings, but slowly the show's audience grew until it became one of television's highest rated dramas. It lasted until 2003.

Click to get weekly celebrity death news delivered to your inbox.

"Through her life and work she touched and inspired the lives of millions of people. She was a mother to me and I had the privilege of working with her side by side for so many years on 'Touched By An Angel,'" Roma Downey wrote in a statement. "I know heaven has a brand new angel this day."

She had been ordained by the Chicago-based Universal Foundation for Better Living, and when co-star Downey got married, Reese performed the ceremony.

Reese's singing career also began in church, when she joined the junior gospel choir at the Olivet Baptist Church in her hometown of Detroit. Soon she was singing at other churches, at civic events and on the radio.

When Mahalia Jackson, known as The Queen of Gospel Music, came to Detroit, she needed a singer to replace a member of her troupe. She turned to Reese, who was only 13.

Jackson was so impressed by the teenager's voice that she enlisted her for a summer tour, and Reese went on to tour with her for five summers. In later years she would remark that she would never forget what she learned from the legendary gospel singer, including "how to communicate with people through song."

Reese is survived by her husband, Franklin Lett, and three children.

The late AP Entertainment Writer Bob Thomas contributed to this report.




Copyright © 2017

[Eric the Green]

Touched by an Angel just came back on MeTV. I'm a fan, and was just starting to enjoy her singing the theme song. Another great one has left us. Her version of Christianity was like mine, New Thought. And like Oprah. I hope the angel of death was there to guide her into the next world. Maybe her next assignment is to become an angel.

[Cynic Hero '86]

(11-20-2017, 07:18 AM)pbrower2a Wrote: Great news! Murderous cult leader Charles Manson is dead!

Bad news -- he lived to a thoroughly rotten old age.  Demonic cult leader Charles Manson gets to be with his buddy Satan forever. In orange, depicting the heat of the place in which he now lives. A place that makes brutally-hot Kern County, California summers seem downright chilly by contrast.  

You have to acknowledge that there is the possibility that Manson went someplace other than the lake of fire.

[Kinser79]

(11-21-2017, 09:05 PM)Cynic Hero Wrote:

(11-20-2017, 07:18 AM)pbrower2a Wrote: Great news! Murderous cult leader Charles Manson is dead!

Bad news -- he lived to a thoroughly rotten old age.  Demonic cult leader Charles Manson gets to be with his buddy Satan forever. In orange, depicting the heat of the place in which he now lives. A place that makes brutally-hot Kern County, California summers seem downright chilly by contrast.  

You have to acknowledge that there is the possibility that Manson went someplace other than the lake of fire.

Like no where, since there is no concrete evidence of an afterlife?  That being said, I'm glad that Charles Manson is wormfood.  Maybe people can shut the hell up about a failed hippy cult leader who stopped being interesting 10 years before I was born.

[pbrower2a]

(11-22-2017, 12:56 AM)Kinser79 Wrote:

(11-21-2017, 09:05 PM)Cynic Hero Wrote:

(11-20-2017, 07:18 AM)pbrower2a Wrote: Great news! Murderous cult leader Charles Manson is dead!

Bad news -- he lived to a thoroughly rotten old age.  Demonic cult leader Charles Manson gets to be with his buddy Satan forever. In orange, depicting the heat of the place in which he now lives. A place that makes brutally-hot Kern County, California summers seem downright chilly by contrast.  

You have to acknowledge that there is the possibility that Manson went someplace other than the lake of fire.

Like no where, since there is no concrete evidence of an afterlife?  That being said, I'm glad that Charles Manson is wormfood.  Maybe people can shut the hell up about a failed hippy cult leader who stopped being interesting 10 years before I was born.

It's simply attractive and comforting. You may be happy that Charles Manson and Salvatore Riina (gangster) have become worm-food, but there are some people listed in this Forum that I wish were not worm-food yet.  Of course we know that people in their eighties (like those two monsters, but also Della Reese and Mel Tillis), let alone people around age 100 (Bobby Doerr and Franciszek Kornicki) are living close to the reasonable limit under the best circumstances. Jana Novotna? Cancer at 48? How unfortunate.

We live in a terribly-flawed world, and an Afterlife might make some things right. You know -- poverty, persecutions, crime, industrial accidents, gross exploitation, children with horrible diseases... It is far less convincing to tell what Heaven is like because of the differing values of culture. For me it might be a composite of a Chautauqua and dude ranch at the beach in a place with a climate like that of San Diego. I would get an offer that I could not reasonably refuse (get my youth back, complete with my old figure and original teeth, and no Asperger's). For someone like Salvatore Riina... just re-read Dante's Inferno and decide which circle of Hell he belongs in.