Obituaries

[Marypoza]

(08-06-2019, 09:41 AM)Marypoza Wrote: RlP Toni Morrison

Here she is

[pbrower2a]

Peter Henry Fonda (February 23, 1940 – August 16, 2019) was an American actor. He was the son of Henry Fonda, younger brother of Jane Fonda, and father of Bridget and Justin Fonda (by first wife, Susan Brewer, stepdaughter of Noah Dietrich). Fonda was a part of the counterculture of the 1960s.[2][3]

He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Easy Rider (1969), and the Academy Award for Best Actor for Ulee's Gold (1997). For the latter, he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama. Fonda also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film for The Passion of Ayn Rand (1999).

Easy Rider

In 1968, Fonda produced, co-wrote and starred in Easy Rider, directed by Dennis Hopper. Easy Rider is about two long-haired bikers traveling through the southwestern and southern United States where they encounter intolerance and violence. Fonda played "Captain America", a charismatic, laconic man whose motorcycle jacket bore a large American flag across the back. Dennis Hopper played the garrulous "Billy". Jack Nicholson played George Hanson, an alcoholic civil rights lawyer who rides along with them. Fonda co-wrote the screenplay with Terry Southern and Hopper.

Fonda tried to raise finance from Roger Corman and AIP, with whom he had made The Wild Angels and The Trip but they were reluctant to finance a film directed by Hopper. They succeeded getting money from Columbia Pictures. Hopper filmed the cross-country road trip depicted almost entirely on location. Fonda had secured funding of around $360,000 (largely based on the fact he knew that it was the budget Roger Corman needed to make The Wild Angels).[21]

The guitarist and composer Robbie Robertson, of The Band, was so moved by an advance screening that he approached Fonda and tried to convince him to let him write a complete score, even though the film was nearly due for wide release. Fonda declined the offer, instead using Steppenwolf's "Born to Be Wild", Bob Dylan's "It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)" sung by the Byrds' Roger McGuinn, and Robertson's own composition "The Weight" performed by The Band, among many other tracks.

The film was released in 1969 to international success. Jack Nicholson was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar. Fonda, Hopper and Southern were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. The film grossed over $40 million.[22]

More at Wikipedia.
[url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Fonda#cite_note-22][/url]

[pbrower2a]

Jack Whitaker, sportscaster

John Francis "Jack" Whitaker (May 18, 1924 – August 18, 2019)[1] was an American sportscaster who worked for both CBS and ABC. He was a decorated veteran of World War II, fighting in the Normandy Campaign and was wounded by an artillery strike.[2]

He entered network sports in 1961 at CBS, where he did play-by-play for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League and hosted the anthology series CBS Sports Spectacular among other duties. He worked for CBS for more than two decades. Whitaker is probably best remembered for his coverage of golf and horse racing. He covered thoroughbred racing's Triple Crown Events, golf's four major championships, the very first Super Bowl, championship boxing, the National Professional Soccer League in 1967,[3] the North American Soccer League a year later, and Major League Baseball. He was a studio host for The NFL Today at CBS, the network's pre-game show.

The Whitaker character, played by Gary McKillips, appears in the June 2007 ESPN Original Entertainment production Ruffian. The film is based upon the storied 1975 match race between unbeaten filly Ruffian and Kentucky Derby-winning colt Foolish Pleasure. Ruffian broke her leg during the race and was later euthanized. The Whitaker character is shown introducing the race in the paddock area of Belmont Park in New York.

While Whitaker is best known as a sportscaster, he was also a game show host. In the summer of 1966, he hosted The Face Is Familiar, a celebrity panel show for CBS.

In the latter part of his career, Whitaker moved away from play-by-play or color commentary, and became known for his pre-game and post-game essays at major sporting events.

Whitaker was banned from covering the Masters golf tournament for CBS for five years after referring to a patron gallery at Augusta National Golf Club as a "mob" at the end of the 18-hole playoff in 1966. He was allowed to return to the telecast in 1972.[4]
With the death of Dick Enberg on December 21, 2017, Whitaker was the only living play-by-play announcer from the first 21 Super Bowls. He had been the only living television broadcaster from the first seven Super Bowls since the death of Frank Gifford on August 9, 2015.

Moving to ABC in 1982, Whitaker served as a reporter for both news and sports divisions. He was a part of ABC's sports team at the 1988 Winter Olympic Games and the 1984 Winter and Summer Olympic Games. He also reported sports for ABC's World News Tonight, Nightline, and 20/20. He left ABC around 2004, and retired from broadcasting soon after.

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

[pbrower2a]

Kathleen Blanco, Governor of Louisiana during Hurricane Katrina:

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Even after Hurricane Katrina ended her political career and as cancer ate away her strength, former Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco still described her life as “charmed.” With strength in her faith and her family, the state’s first elected female governor time and again refused to wallow in disappointment or disaster.

Blanco called it an “honor and blessing” to lead Louisiana through the fury and destruction of Katrina. As she knew her end was near from an incurable melanoma, Blanco talked of her final months as a “wonderful time for me.”


A pioneering woman in Louisiana politics, Blanco died Sunday in hospice care in Lafayette. She was 76.

“She was a woman of grace, faith and hope. She has left an eternal mark on all who knew her, because she was generous and unconditional in her love, warm in her embrace and genuinely interested in the welfare of others,” Blanco’s family said in a statement issued by Gov. John Bel Edwards’ office.

A Democrat, Blanco held Louisiana’s top elected job from 2004 to 2008, and served in state government offices for more than two decades. But her legacy rests with Katrina, the devastating August 2005 hurricane that killed more than 1,400 people in Louisiana, displaced hundreds of thousands and inundated 80% of New Orleans.

https://apnews.com/2823aae3be124ee38b0c2fa32896aebc

[pbrower2a]

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world...76186.html

The billionaire industrialist David Koch, both celebrated and demonised for transforming US politics by pouring money into conservative causes, died on Friday aged 79. 
The world’s eleventh richest man, Mr Koch was the director emeritus of Koch Industries and served as the vice president of the multinational corporation until 2018. He announced he was retiring from his web of political activities last year amid deteriorating health.

In a statement announcing his brother’s death, Charles Koch, the chairman and CEO of Koch Industries, wrote: “It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of my brother David.”



Anyone who worked with David surely experienced his giant personality and passion for life. Twenty-seven years ago, David was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer and given a grim prognosis of a few years to live,” the statement continued. “David liked to say that a combination of brilliant doctors, state-of-the-art medications and his own stubbornness kept the cancer at bay. We can all be grateful that it did, because he was able to touch so many more lives as a result.”

[Hintergrund]

(08-16-2019, 11:49 PM)pbrower2a Wrote: Peter Henry Fonda (February 23, 1940 – August 16, 2019) was an American actor. He was the son of Henry Fonda, younger brother of Jane Fonda, and father of Bridget and Justin Fonda (by first wife, Susan Brewer, stepdaughter of Noah Dietrich). Fonda was a part of the counterculture of the 1960s.[2][3]

Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, Jack Nicholson, Phil Spector... all of them Silents. Yes, the Boomer kids partied, but the Silents drove the magic bus.

[pbrower2a]

Valerie Harper ("Rhoda"), at age 80.



August 30, 20197:31 PM ET
Heard on All Things Considered

ELIZABETH BLAIR
FacebookTwitter

Enlarge this image

Valerie Harper and Mary Tyler Moore Showco-star Ed Asner pose with their Emmys at the 1971 award show.
AP
Updated at 8:08 p.m. ET

One of TV's most beloved sidekicks has died. Valerie Harper, best known for playing Rhoda Morgenstern on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, died Friday in Los Angeles. She was 80.

As the blunt, self-deprecating Rhoda, Harper created one of the most beloved sitcom characters of the 1970s. The Mary Tyler Moore Showwas a ratings powerhouse, centered on best friends Rhoda and Mary Richards, two single women making their way through life, love and career.

Rhoda was the perfect foil for the buttoned-up Mary, played by Mary Tyler Moore. "Rhoda had this wonderful quality of saying the unsayable," Harper told NPR in 2010. She would say things "that Mary Richards would not say because she's too much of a lady or, you know, it's not polite. Rhoda, the New Yorker from the Bronx, would just say it straight out."


The show set high standards for every sitcom that followed, and generations of TV writers and actors cite it as a major influence, including Tina Fey, Lena Dunham and Modern Family star Julie Bowen. Robert Thompson, who teaches television and popular culture at Syracuse University, says Harper and Moore were one of the great comedy teams of all time: "We had Lucy and Ethel — they were kind of the Romulus and Remus of TV girlfriends — and we get a lot thereafter: Laverne and Shirley, and Cagney and Lacey. But Rhoda and Mary, when they were on stage together, even though they weren't dancing, it was kind of like watching [Fred] Astaire and [Ginger] Rogers. They just worked perfectly together."

Harper's daughter Cristina Cacciotti tweeted her father Anthony Cacciotti's statement saying, "My beautiful caring wife of nearly 40 years has passed away ... Rest In Peace, mia Valeria."

https://www.npr.org/2019/08/30/512035751...dies-at-80

[Eric the Green]

Bye Mar, Bye Rhoda. See you on the other side. I'll be watching.

[pbrower2a]

Good acting on her part. She played a Jewish woman for several years, and got away with it. That is tricky. She convinced me that she was Jewish by birth and culture.

[pbrower2a]

Robert Mugabe, revolutionary and dictator in Zimbabwe:

Quote:Robert Gabriel Mugabe (/mʊˈɡɑːbi/;[2] Shona: [muɡaɓe]; 21 February 1924 – 6 September 2019)[3] was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987 and then as President from 1987 to 2017. He chaired the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) group from 1975 to 1980 and led its successor political party, the ZANU – Patriotic Front (ZANU–PF), from 1980 to 2017. Ideologically an African nationalist, during the 1970s and 1980s he identified as a Marxist–Leninist. He identified as a socialist after the 1990s. His policies have been described as Mugabeism.

Mugabe was born to a poor Shona family in Kutama, Southern Rhodesia. Following an education at Kutama College and the University of Fort Hare, he worked as a school teacher in Southern Rhodesia, Northern Rhodesia, and Ghana. Angered that Southern Rhodesia was a colony of the British Empire governed by its white minority, Mugabe embraced Marxism and joined African nationalist protests calling for an independent state led by representatives of the black majority. After making anti-government comments, he was convicted of sedition and imprisoned between 1964 and 1974. On release, he fled to Mozambique, established his leadership of ZANU, and oversaw ZANU's role in the Rhodesian Bush War, fighting Ian Smith's predominantly white government. He reluctantly took part in the peace negotiations brokered by the United Kingdom that resulted in the Lancaster House Agreement. The agreement ended the war and resulted in the 1980 general election, at which Mugabe led ZANU-PF to victory. As Prime Minister of the newly renamed Zimbabwe, Mugabe's administration expanded healthcare and education and—despite his professed Marxist desire for a socialist society—adhered largely to mainstream, conservative economic policies.
Mugabe's calls for racial reconciliation failed to stem growing white emigration, while relations with Joshua Nkomo's Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) also deteriorated. In the Gukurahundi of 1982–1985, Mugabe's Fifth Brigade crushed ZAPU-linked opposition in Matabeleland in a campaign that killed at least 10,000 people, mostly Ndebele civilians. Internationally, he sent troops into the Second Congo War and chaired the Non-Aligned Movement (1986–89), the Organisation of African Unity (1997–98), and the African Union (2015–16). Pursuing decolonisation, Mugabe emphasised the redistribution of land controlled by white farmers to landless blacks, initially on a "willing seller–willing buyer" basis. Frustrated at the slow rate of redistribution, from 2000 he encouraged black Zimbabweans to violently seize white-owned farms. Food production was severely impacted, leading to famine, drastic economic decline, and international sanctions. Opposition to Mugabe grew, but he was re-elected in 2002, 2008, and 2013 through campaigns dominated by violence, electoral fraud, and nationalistic appeals to his rural Shona voter base. In 2017, members of his own party ousted him in a coup, replacing him with former Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Having dominated Zimbabwe's politics for nearly four decades, Mugabe was a controversial figure. He was praised as a revolutionary hero of the African liberation struggle who helped free Zimbabwe from British colonialism, imperialism, and white minority rule. Critics accused Mugabe of being a dictator responsible for economic mismanagement, widespread corruption, anti-white racism, human rights abuses, and crimes against humanity.

Much more at Wikipedia.

[Hintergrund]

Finally!

[sbarrera]

Jessica Combs (July 27, 1980 – August 27, 2019)
Racer and TV personality, died attempting to break own land-speed record.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jessi-combs...ed-record/

https://people.com/tv/mythbusters-cast-r...ssi-combs/

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

Biography
Combs was born in Rockerville, South Dakota, on July 27, 1980, the daughter of Jamie Combs and Nina Darrington. The family moved to Piedmont, South Dakota, when she was two years old. She had three siblings, Kelly Combs, Austin Darrington, Danielle Theis, and two stepsiblings, Rebekah Hall and Arielle Hall. She graduated from Stevens High School in 1998. A local publication in Rapid City reported that Combs' great-grandmother was Nina DeBow, a jazz pianist who raced Stanley Steamers.

In 2004, Combs graduated from WyoTech in the Collision & Refinishing Core Program, as well as the Street Rod Fabrication and Custom Fabrication and High Performance Powertrain programs, all at the top of her class (she was briefly seen as a student of WyoTech during the sixth episode of the first season of Overhaulin). Following her graduation, Combs's first professional job came when the WyoTech marketing department hired her and another student to build a car from the ground up in six months to debut at the Specialty Equipment Marketing Association’s (SEMA) show.

Combs died during a land speed record attempt as part of the North American Eagle Project on August 27, 2019, in the Alvord Desert, Oregon.

[sbarrera]

This is a personal one from my family. I figured the group wouldn't mind me sharing.

https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituari...es-8823094

James Edward Jones
JUNE 22, 1938 – AUGUST 18, 2019

James Edward Jones, 1996 DC’s Boxing Hall of Fame boxer, trainer, school pioneer and promoter passed away after a long illness on Sunday August 18, 2019. James was born June 22, 1938 at 10:48 pm at Cincinnati Ohio General Hospital. He once noted " At precisely the same time, Joe Lewis knocked out Max Smelling for the Heavyweight World Boxing title. Coincidence or not, I always read something into my birth and that title fight."

Jim Ed Jones’ career has spanned every aspect of boxing from competitor to promoter, manager, trainer and educator. Born in Ohio, Jim Ed was introduced to the sport in Richmond, Virginia, at the age of 15. Four years later he won his first medal, as a light-middleweight at the Virginia Amateur Golden Gloves Championship and culminated his career as a heavyweight in 1975 with a win over Billy Howard. In the 1970’s he formed the Northern Virginia Boxing Club working out of his Arlington home encouraging young boxers to participate in amateur and professional bouts. Under his guidance, many of these athletes triumphed in local and national championships. In 1980 he opened the Olympia Boxing Center in Falls Church, VA, where his unique training concepts produced many star athletes whom he also managed and promoted, including “Irish” ‘Mike Baker, Tony “The Witch Doctor” Ojo, Scott Farmer, Willie “the Heat” Taylor, and two World Kickboxing Champions, Jeff Smith and Rodney Batiste. He trained and managed his son, Jimmy, to the level of national champion. Jim Ed Jones developed a training program that gave his students the tremendous rewards of boxing by combining aerobic fitness with the pugilistic skills needed for the art of self-defense; he was one of the first trainers to admit women to his renowned boxing center. Coach Jones devoted his career to expanding the knowledge and skills of the art of boxing to individuals of all walks of life.

He is survived by his longtime companion Joanne Barrera of Arlington, VA, daughter, Lisa Fox of Thornburg, VA, granddaughter Danielle Mae Linda Fox of Fredericksburg, VA, granddaughter Dawn Marie Hart of Daytona, FL, son, James D. Jones, Grandson James D. Jones Jr., and granddaughter Emily Jones of Westminster, MD, daughter Gail Jones and husband Scott D. Sanzone of Reisterstown, MD, son, Duane Jones of Tybee Island, GA, daughter, Kamera Loren McCain and husband Arn McCain of Sherman Oaks, CA, son, Randolph Jones of Bristow, VA and daughter Christine Coleman, husband Rocco Coleman and granddaughter Larissa Coleman of Burke, VA.

[Marypoza]

(09-08-2019, 09:44 AM)sbarrera Wrote: This is a personal one from my family. I figured the group wouldn't mind me sharing.

https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituari...es-8823094

James Edward Jones
JUNE 22, 1938 – AUGUST 18, 2019

James Edward Jones, 1996 DC’s Boxing Hall of Fame boxer, trainer, school pioneer and promoter passed away after a long illness on Sunday August 18, 2019. James was born June 22, 1938 at 10:48 pm at Cincinnati Ohio General Hospital. He once noted " At precisely the same time, Joe Lewis knocked out Max Smelling for the Heavyweight World Boxing title. Coincidence or not, I always read something into my birth and that title fight."

Jim Ed Jones’ career has spanned every aspect of boxing from competitor to promoter, manager, trainer and educator. Born in Ohio, Jim Ed was introduced to the sport in Richmond, Virginia, at the age of 15. Four years later he won his first medal, as a light-middleweight at the Virginia Amateur Golden Gloves Championship and culminated his career as a heavyweight in 1975 with a win over Billy Howard. In the 1970’s he formed the Northern Virginia Boxing Club working out of his Arlington home encouraging young boxers to participate in amateur and professional bouts. Under his guidance, many of these athletes triumphed in local and national championships. In 1980 he opened the Olympia Boxing Center in Falls Church, VA, where his unique training concepts produced many star athletes whom he also managed and promoted, including “Irish” ‘Mike Baker, Tony “The Witch Doctor” Ojo, Scott Farmer, Willie “the Heat” Taylor, and two World Kickboxing Champions, Jeff Smith and Rodney Batiste. He trained and managed his son, Jimmy, to the level of national champion. Jim Ed Jones developed a training program that gave his students the tremendous rewards of boxing by combining aerobic fitness with the pugilistic skills needed for the art of self-defense; he was one of the first trainers to admit women to his renowned boxing center. Coach Jones devoted his career to expanding the knowledge and skills of the art of boxing to individuals of all walks of life.

He is survived by his longtime companion Joanne Barrera of Arlington, VA, daughter, Lisa Fox of Thornburg, VA, granddaughter Danielle Mae Linda Fox of Fredericksburg, VA, granddaughter Dawn Marie Hart of Daytona, FL, son, James D. Jones, Grandson James D. Jones Jr., and granddaughter Emily Jones of Westminster, MD, daughter Gail Jones and husband Scott D. Sanzone of Reisterstown, MD, son, Duane Jones of Tybee Island, GA, daughter, Kamera Loren McCain and husband Arn McCain of Sherman Oaks, CA, son, Randolph Jones of Bristow, VA and daughter Christine Coleman, husband Rocco Coleman and granddaughter Larissa Coleman of Burke, VA.

-- sorry 4 your loss. Is Joanne your Mom?

[sbarrera]

(09-08-2019, 02:29 PM)Marypoza Wrote: -- sorry 4 your loss. Is Joanne your Mom?

 Yes she is. And thank you for the condolences.

[Hintergrund]

Sorry to hear that. May she Rest in Peace, Steve.

[sbarrera]

(09-09-2019, 05:01 AM)Hintergrund Wrote: Sorry to hear that. May she Rest in Peace, Steve.

To make it clear, my Mom is a survivor mentioned in the obituary. The deceased was her companion, James Edward Jones.

[pbrower2a]

(09-09-2019, 06:54 AM)sbarrera Wrote:

(09-09-2019, 05:01 AM)Hintergrund Wrote: Sorry to hear that. May she Rest in Peace, Steve.

To make it clear, my Mom is a survivor mentioned in the obituary. The deceased was her companion, James Edward Jones.

My condolences on the loss of your stepfather, then. I guess that that is the relationship.

[pbrower2a]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — U.S. authorities are conducting a criminal investigation into the fiery dive boat disaster that killed 34 people off the coast of California, two officials said Monday.


The FBI, Coast Guard and U.S. attorney in Los Angeles are overseeing the investigation, according to the two people who were not authorized to speak publicly and commented on condition of anonymity.
On Friday, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said the investigation had not yet taken a criminal turn, though charges were possible. That turn of events appeared to happen Sunday when federal agents raided the office of the boat’s owner, Truth Aquatics Inc. in Santa Barbara, and its two remaining vessels.

Investigators have been gathering other evidence, including interviewing the captain and four surviving crew members, since the Sept. 2 tragedy off the Channel Islands.

Thirty-three passengers and one crew member were trapped below deck when the fire broke out after 3 a.m. on the Conception. Initial examinations indicate the people died of smoke inhalation before being burned, Brown said. All but one body has been found.

Efforts by the crew to save the trapped victims were unsuccessful because the fire was out of control and they had to abandon ship, according to authorities who spoke with them and the boat’s owner.
Authorities are looking into various safety issues, including whether a night watchman was on duty when the blaze broke out before dawn.

I
If charges are brought, prosecutors are likely to apply an obscure federal law known as the Seaman’s Manslaughter Statute, which predates the Civil War and was enacted to punish negligent captains, engineers and pilots for deadly steamboat accidents that killed thousands.
The crime carries a potential penalty of up to 10 years in prison and sets a low bar for prosecutors, who only need to prove simple negligence or misconduct on the part of the captain or crew.
The law can also be extended to a boat owner or charterer who engages in “fraud, neglect, connivance, misconduct, or violation of law” that takes a life. That is harder to prove and used less frequently, said attorney Kierstan Carlson, who advises maritime clients to expect a criminal investigation in the case of deaths.

A ship captain could be convicted if found to not have proper firefighting or safety equipment aboard or failing to have someone keeping watch.

“That means somebody in charge of the vessel, in charge of major operations,” Carlson said. “There are some cases where a captain will put a really junior person who is not sufficiently experienced in charge. That would also be a breach of the standard of care.”

While the manslaughter law was not widely used after being written in 1838 and beefed up in 1852, it has been used more frequently in the 21st century, Carlson said.

The charge was brought in the 2003 Staten Island ferry crash that killed 11, the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil rig blowout and the sinking last summer of a duck boat in Missouri that killed 17.
The criminal probe is taking place as multiple agencies look into the cause of the fire aboard the boat.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is investigating the fire’s cause and origin, while the National Transportation Safety Board is looking into the safety aspects of the probe.
High winds have postponed the search for the final victim, as well as salvaging the vessel that sits upside down in 65 feet (20 meters) of water off Santa Cruz Island.

https://apnews.com/e4d2db0583904a13b5a33d08f86bb2ec

[sbarrera]

(09-09-2019, 04:50 PM)pbrower2a Wrote:

(09-09-2019, 06:54 AM)sbarrera Wrote:

(09-09-2019, 05:01 AM)Hintergrund Wrote: Sorry to hear that. May she Rest in Peace, Steve.

To make it clear, my Mom is a survivor mentioned in the obituary. The deceased was her companion, James Edward Jones.

My condolences on the loss of your stepfather, then. I guess that that is the relationship.

It was never really clear. Some weird Silent generation thing.