Obituaries

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John Henderson, notable for his extreme age (December 24, 1912 – October 16, 2020) was an American college football player who played four seasons as a guard for the Texas Longhorns. Raised in Fort Worth, Texas, he was a member of the team from 1932 through 1936. He later worked for Humble Oil for over thirty years and eventually became the school's oldest living former football player in 2010.


Henderson was born December 24, 1912, and grew up in Fort Worth, Texas. He entered the University of Texas at Austin in 1932 and joined the Longhorns as a guard that same year. He remained a member of the team until 1936, when he graduated with a master's degree in education.[2] He met his wife, Charlotte Curtis, two years his junior, in class in 1934. They were married December 22, 1939, and celebrated their 80th anniversary in 2019, as the oldest living couple in the world.[3]

Henderson joined the Longhorns in an era when the University of Texas neither recruited players nor offered them scholarships. To support himself, he worked at the Gregory Gymnasium two hours a day to earn $30 a month (approximately $562 in present-day terms). The University of Texas was part of the Southwest Conference at the time[2] and Henderson played his first season under coach Clyde Littlefield.[4] That year, the team finished 5-1, behind conference champions Texas Christian University, and 8-2 overall.[5] The following year, again under Littlefield, the Longhorns finished 2-3-1 in their conference and 4-5-2 overall.[6] In 1934 Littlefield was replaced by Jack Chevigny[4] and the squad went 4-1-1 in the conference, behind Rice, and 7-2-1 overall.[7] In his final season, under Chevigny, the Longhorns were 4-6 overall and 1-5 in their conference.[8]

Henderson and Curtis moved to Baytown, Texas after graduation.[4] They later married, and worked in Houston, where Charlotte found employment as a teacher and John at Humble Oil. John retired in the 1970s and in 2009 returned to Austin as the first resident of Longhorn Village, a retirement community for the school's alumni. Henderson became the Longhorns' oldest living former player in 2010[2][9] and turned 100 in 2012.[10] As of 2016, he has attended at least one Longhorn football game each season since his 1932 debut.[11] In November 2019 John, 106, and Charlotte, 105, were named world's oldest living couple by Guinness World Records.[3]
Henderson died on October 16, 2020 in Austin at the age of 107.[1]

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James Randi, magician and debunker of pseudoscience:


James Randi (born Randall James Hamilton Zwinge; August 7, 1928 – October 20, 2020) was a Canadian-American stage magician[3][4][5] and a scientific skeptic[6][7][8] who extensively challenged paranormal and pseudoscientific claims.[9] He was the co-founder of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), originally known as the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP). He also founded the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF). He began his career as a magician under the stage name The Amazing Randi and later chose to devote most of his time to investigating paranormal, occult, and supernatural claims, which he collectively called "woo-woo".[10] Randi retired from practicing magic at age 60, and from the JREF at 87.


Although often referred to as a "debunker", Randi said he disliked the term's connotations and preferred to describe himself as an "investigator".[11][12] He wrote about paranormal phenomena, skepticism, and the history of magic. He was a frequent guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, famously exposing fraudulent faith healer Peter Popoff, and was occasionally featured on the television program Penn & Teller: Bullshit!
Before Randi's retirement, JREF sponsored the One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge, which offered a prize of one million US dollars to eligible applicants who could demonstrate evidence of any paranormal, supernatural, or occult power or event under test conditions agreed to by both parties.[13] In 2015, the James Randi Educational Foundation said they will no longer accept applications directly from people claiming to have a paranormal power, but will offer the challenge to anyone who has passed a preliminary test that meets with their approval.[14] The foundation continues to make grants to non-profit groups that encourage critical thinking and a fact-based world view.


Randi was born on August 7, 1928 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada,[15] the son of Marie Alice (née Paradis) and George Randall Zwinge.[15] He had a younger brother and sister.[16] He took up magic after seeing Harry Blackstone Sr.[17] and reading conjuring books while spending 13 months in a body cast following a bicycle accident. He confounded doctors who expected he would never walk again.[18] Randi often skipped classes and, at 17, dropped out of high school to perform as a conjurer in a carnival roadshow.[19] He practiced as a mentalist in local nightclubs and at Toronto's Canadian National Exhibition and wrote for Montreal's tabloid press.[20]

In his twenties, Randi posed as an astrologer and, to establish that they were actually doing simple tricks, he briefly wrote an astrological column in the Canadian tabloid Midnight under the name "Zo-ran" by simply shuffling up items from newspaper astrology columns and pasting them randomly into a column.[21][22] In his thirties, Randi worked in the UK, Europe, Philippine nightclubs, and all across Japan.[23] He witnessed many tricks that were presented as being supernatural. One of his earliest reported experiences was that of seeing an evangelist using a version of the "one-ahead"[24] technique to convince churchgoers of his divine powers.

Though defining himself as a conjuror, Randi began a career as a professional stage magician[26] and escapologist in 1946. He initially presented himself under his real name, Randall Zwinge, which he later dropped in favour of "The Amazing Randi". Early in his career, he performed numerous escape acts from jail cells and safes around the world. On February 7, 1956, he appeared live on NBC's Today show, where he remained for 104 minutes in a sealed metal coffin that had been submerged in a hotel swimming pool, breaking what was said to be Harry Houdini's record of 93 minutes, though Randi calls attention to the fact that he was much younger than Houdini had been when he established the original record in 1926.[27][28]

Randi was a frequent guest on the Long John Nebel program on New York City radio station WOR, and did character voices for commercials.[29]:31:00 After Nebel moved to WNBC in 1962, Randi was given Nebel's time slot on WOR, where he hosted The Amazing Randi Show from 1967 to 1968.[29]:35:00 [30] The show often had guests who defended paranormal claims, among them Randi's then-friend James W. Moseley. Randi says he quit WOR over complaints from the archbishop of New York that Randi had said on-air that "Jesus Christ was a religious nut," a claim that Randi himself disputed.[29]:35:00



Randi also hosted numerous television specials and went on several world tours. As "The Amazing Randi" he appeared regularly on the New York-based children's television series Wonderama from 1959 to 1967.[31] In 1970, he auditioned for a revival of the 1950s children's show The Magic Clown, which showed briefly in Detroit and in Kenya, but was never picked up.[32] In the February 2, 1974, issue of the British conjuring magazine Abracadabra, Randi, in defining the community of magicians, stated: "I know of no calling which depends so much upon mutual trust and faith as does ours." In the December 2003 issue of The Linking Ring, the monthly publication of the International Brotherhood of Magicians, it is stated: "Perhaps Randi's ethics are what make him Amazing" and "The Amazing Randi not only talks the talk, he walks the walk."[33]

During Alice Cooper's 1973–1974 Billion Dollar Babies tour, Randi performed on stage both as a mad dentist and as Alice's executioner.[34] He also built several of the stage props, including the guillotine.[35] In a 1976 performance for the Canadian TV special World of Wizards, Randi escaped from a straitjacket while suspended upside-down over Niagara Falls.[36]



Randi has been accused of actually using "psychic powers" to perform acts such as spoon bending. According to James Alcock, at a meeting where Randi was duplicating the performances of Uri Geller, a professor from the University at Buffalo shouted out that Randi was a fraud. Randi said: "Yes, indeed, I'm a trickster, I'm a cheat, I'm a charlatan, that's what I do for a living. Everything I've done here was by trickery." The professor shouted back: "That's not what I mean. You're a fraud because you're pretending to do these things through trickery, but you're actually using psychic powers and misleading us by not admitting it."[37] A similar event involved Senator Claiborne Pell, a confirmed believer in psychic phenomena. When Randi personally demonstrated to Pell that he could reveal—by simple trickery—a concealed drawing that had been secretly made by the senator, Pell refused to believe that it was a trick, saying: "I think Randi may be a psychic and doesn't realize it." Randi consistently denied having any paranormal powers or abilities.[38]



Randi was a member of the Society of American Magicians (SAM), the International Brotherhood of Magicians (IBM), and The Magic Circle in the UK, holding the rank of "Member of the Inner Magic Circle with Gold Star."[39]
Randi has said that the hardest people to fool are not the highly educated, but children, who are not sophisticated enough to be fooled because they have not learned the body cues that adults recognize and which magicians take advantage of.

Randi is the author of ten books, among them Conjuring (1992), a biographical history of noted magicians. The book is subtitled Being a Definitive History of the Venerable Arts of Sorcery, Prestidigitation, Wizardry, Deception, & Chicanery and of the Mountebanks & Scoundrels Who have Perpetrated these Subterfuges on a Bewildered Public, in short, MAGIC! The book's cover says that it is by "James Randi, Esq., A Contrite Rascal Once Dedicated to these Wicked Practices but Now Almost Totally Reformed". The book selects the most influential magicians and tells some of their history, often in the context of strange deaths and careers on the road. This work expanded on Randi's second book titled Houdini, His Life and Art.[41] This illustrated work was published in 1976 and was co-authored with Bert Sugar. It focuses on the professional and private life of Houdini.[42]

Randi also wrote a children's book in 1989 titled The Magic World of the Amazing Randi, which introduced children to magic tricks. In addition to his magic books, he wrote several educational works about paranormal and pseudoscientific claims. These include biographies of Uri Geller and Nostradamus as well as reference material on other major paranormal figures. In 2011, he was working on A Magician in the Laboratory, which recounted his application of skepticism to science.[43][44] He was a member of the all-male literary banqueting club the Trap Door Spiders, which served as the basis of his good friend Isaac Asimov's fictional group of mystery solvers, the Black Widowers.[45]



Other books are Flim-Flam! (1982), The Faith Healers (1987), James Randi, Psychic Investigator (1991), Test Your ESP Potential (1982) and An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural (1995).


Randi was a regular contributor to Skeptic magazine, penning the "'Twas Brillig ..." column, and also served on its editorial board. He was a frequent contributor to Skeptical Inquirer magazine, published by CSI, of which he was also a Fellow.

Randi gained the international spotlight in 1972 when he publicly challenged the claims of Uri Geller. He accused Geller of being nothing more than a charlatan and a fraud who used standard magic tricks to accomplish his allegedly paranormal feats, and he presented his claims in the book The Truth About Uri Geller (1982).[25][46][47]

Believing that it was important to get columnists and TV personalities to challenge Geller and others like him, Randi and CSICOP reached out in an attempt to educate them. Randi said that CSICOP had a "very substantial influence on the printed media ... in those days."[29]:20:05 During this effort, Randi made contact with Johnny Carson and discovered that he was "very much on our side. He wasn't only a comedian ... he was a great thinker."[29]:21:15 According to Randi, when he was on The Tonight Show, Carson broke his usual protocol of not talking with guests before their entrance on stage, but instead would ask what Randi wanted to be emphasized in the interview. "He wanted to be aware of how he could help me."[29]:21:30

In 1973, Geller appeared on The Tonight Show, and this appearance is recounted in the Nova documentary "Secrets of the Psychics".[48][a][b]

In the documentary, Randi says that Carson "had been a magician himself and was skeptical" of Geller's claimed paranormal powers, so before the date of taping, Randi was asked "to help prevent any trickery". Per Randi's advice, the show prepared its own props without informing Geller, and did not let Geller or his staff "anywhere near them". When Geller joined Carson on stage, he appeared surprised that he was not going to be interviewed, but instead was expected to display his abilities using the provided articles. Geller said "This scares me" and "I'm surprised because before this program your producer came and he read me at least 40 questions you were going to ask me." Geller was unable to display any paranormal abilities, saying "I don't feel strong" and expressing his displeasure at feeling like he was being "pressed" to perform by Carson.[48][50] According to Adam Higginbotham's Nov. 7, 2014 article in the New York Times:

Quote:The result was a legendary immolation, in which Geller offered up flustered excuses to his host as his abilities failed him again and again. "I sat there for 22 minutes, humiliated," Geller told me, when I spoke to him in September. "I went back to my hotel, devastated. I was about to pack up the next day and go back to Tel Aviv. I thought, That's it — I'm destroyed."[6]

However, this appearance on The Tonight Show, which Carson and Randi had orchestrated to debunk Geller's claimed abilities, backfired. According to Higginbotham,

Quote:To Geller's astonishment, he was immediately booked on The Merv Griffin Show. He was on his way to becoming a paranormal superstar. "That Johnny Carson show made Uri Geller," Geller said. To an enthusiastically trusting public, his failure only made his gifts seem more real: if he were performing magic tricks, they would surely work every time.[6]

According to Higginbotham, this result caused Randi to realize that much more must be done to stop Geller and those like him. So in 1976, Randi approached Ray Hyman, a psychologist who had observed the tests of Geller's ability at Stanford and thought them slipshod, and suggested they create an organization dedicated to combating pseudoscience. Later that same year, together with Martin Gardner, a Scientific American columnist whose writing had helped hone Hyman's and Randi's skepticism, they formed the Committee for Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP).[6]

Using donations and sales of their magazine, Skeptical Inquirer, they and secular humanist philosopher Paul Kurtz took seats on the executive board, with Isaac Asimov and Carl Sagan joining as founding members. Randi travelled the world on behalf of CSICOP, becoming its public face, and according to Hyman, the face of the skeptical movement.[6]

András G. Pintér, producer and co-host of the European Skeptics Podcast called Randi the grandfather of European skepticism by virtue of Randi "playing a role in kickstarting several European organizations."[40]

Geller sued Randi and CSICOP for $15 million in 1991 and lost.[6][51] Geller's suit against CSICOP was thrown out in 1995, and he was ordered to pay $120,000 for filing a frivolous lawsuit.[52] The legal costs Randi incurred used almost all of a $272,000 MacArthur Foundation grant awarded to Randi in 1986 for his work.[6] Randi also dismissed Geller's claims that he was capable of the kind of psychic photography made famous by the case of Ted Serios. It is a matter, Randi argued, of trick photography using a simple hand-held optical device.[53] During the period of Geller's legal dispute, CSICOP's leadership, wanting to avoid becoming a target of Geller's litigation, demanded that Randi refrain from commenting on Geller. Randi refused and resigned, though he maintained a respectful relationship with the group, which in 2006 changed its name to the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI). In 2010, Randi was one of 16 new CSI fellows elected by its board.[6][54]


Randi went on to write many articles criticizing beliefs and claims regarding the paranormal.[55] He also demonstrated flaws in studies suggesting the existence of paranormal phenomena; in his Project Alpha hoax, Randi successfully planted two fake psychics in a privately funded psychic research experiment.[56] The hoax became a scandal and demonstrated the shortcomings of many paranormal research projects at the university level.[citation needed]


Randi appeared on numerous TV shows, sometimes to directly debunk the claimed abilities of fellow guests. In a 1981 appearance on That's My Line, Randi appeared opposite claimed psychic James Hydrick, who said that he could move objects with his mind and appeared to demonstrate this claim on live television by turning a page in a telephone book without touching it.[57] Randi, having determined that Hydrick was surreptitiously blowing on the book, arranged foam packaging peanuts on the table in front of the telephone book for the demonstration. This prevented Hydrick from demonstrating his abilities, which would have been exposed when the blowing moved the packaging.[58] Randi writes that, eventually, Hydrick "confessed everything".[57]



Randi was awarded a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship in 1986. The fellowship's five-year $272,000 grant helped support Randi's investigations of faith healers, including W. V. Grant, Ernest Angley, and Peter Popoff, whom Randi first exposed on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in February 1986. Hearing about his investigation of Popoff, Carson invited Randi onto his show without seeing the evidence he was going to reveal. Carson appeared stunned after Randi showed a brief video segment from one of Popoff's broadcasts showing him calling out a woman in the audience, revealed personal information about her that he claimed came from God, and then performed a laying-on-of-hands healing to drive the devil from her body. Randi then replayed the video, but with some of the sound dubbed in that he and his investigating team captured during the event using a radio scanner and recorder. Their scanner had detected the radio frequency Popoff's wife Elizabeth was using backstage to broadcast directions and information to a miniature radio receiver hidden in Popoff's left ear. That information had been gathered by Popoff's assistants, who had handed out "prayer cards" to the audience before the show, instructing them to write down all the information Popoff would need to pray for them.[59][60][61]

The news coverage generated by Randi's exposé on The Tonight Show led to many TV stations dropping Popoff's show, eventually forcing him into bankruptcy in September 1987.[62][63] However, the televangelist returned soon after with faith-healing infomercials that reportedly attracted more than $23 million in 2005 from viewers sending in money for promised healing and prosperity. The Canadian Centre for Inquiry's Think Again! TV documented one of Popoff's more recent performances before a large audience who gathered in Toronto on May 26, 2011, hoping to be saved from illness and poverty.[64]



In February 1988, Randi tested the gullibility of the media by perpetrating a hoax of his own. By teaming up with Australia's 60 Minutes program and by releasing a fake press package, he built up publicity for a "spirit channeler" named Carlos,[6] who was actually artist José Alvarez, Randi's partner. While performing as Carlos, Alvarez was prompted by Randi using sophisticated radio equipment. According to the 60 Minutes program on the Carlos hoax, "it was claimed that Alvarez would not have had the audience he did at the Opera House (and the potential sales therefrom) had the media coverage been more aggressive (and factual)", though an analysis by The Skeptic's Tim Mendham concluded that, while the media coverage of Alvarez's appearances was not credulous, the hoax "at least showed that they could benefit by being a touch more sceptical".[65] The hoax was exposed on 60 Minutes Australia; "Carlos" and Randi explained how they had pulled it off.[66][67]



In his book The Faith Healers, Randi wrote that his anger and relentlessness arose from compassion for the victims of fraud. Randi was also critical of João de Deus (John of God), a self-proclaimed psychic surgeon who has received international attention.[68] Randi observed, referring to psychic surgery, "To any experienced conjurer, the methods by which these seeming miracles are produced are very obvious."[69]





In 1982, Randi verified the abilities of Arthur Lintgen, a Philadelphia doctor, who was able to identify the classical music recorded on a vinyl LP solely by examining the grooves on the record. However, Lintgen did not claim to have any paranormal ability, merely knowledge of the way that the groove forms patterns on particular recordings.[70]



In 1988, John Maddox, editor of the prominent science journal Nature, asked Randi to join the supervision and observation of the homeopathy experiments conducted by Jacques Benveniste's team. Once Randi's stricter protocol for the experiment was in place, the positive results could not be reproduced.[71]





James Randi stated that Daniel Dunglas Home, who could allegedly play an accordion that was locked in a cage without touching it, was caught cheating on a few occasions, but the incidents were never made public. He also stated that the actual instrument in use was a one-octave mouth organ concealed under Home's large moustache and that other one-octave mouth organs were found in Home's belongings after his death.[72] According to Randi, author William Lindsay Gresham told Randi "around 1960" that he had seen these mouth organs in the Home collection at the Society for Psychical Research (SPR). Eric J. Dingwall, who catalogued Home's collection on its arrival at the SPR does not record the presence of the mouth organs. According to Peter Lamont, the author of an extensive Home biography, "It is unlikely Dingwall would have missed these or did not make them public."[73]The fraudulent medium Henry Slade also played an accordion while held with one hand under a table.[74] Slade and Home played the same pieces. They had at one time lived near each other in the U.S. The magician Chung Ling Soo exposed how Slade had performed the trick.[75]

Randi distinguished between pseudoscience and crackpot science. He regarded most of parapsychology as pseudoscience because of the way in which it is approached and conducted, but nonetheless sees it as a legitimate subject that "should be pursued", and from which real scientific discoveries may develop.[76] Randi regards crackpot science as "equally wrong" as pseudoscience, but with no scientific pretensions.[77]

Despite multiple debunkings, Randi didn't like to be called a "debunker", preferring to call himself a "skeptic" or an "investigator”:

Quote:(...) if you go into a situation calling yourself a debunker then it is as if you have prejudged the topic. It's not neutral or scientific, and it can turn people against you.[11]

Skeptics and magicians Penn & Teller credit Randi and his career as a skeptic for their own careers. During an interview at TAM! 2012, Penn stated that Flim-Flam! was an early influence on him, and said "If not for Randi there would not be Penn & Teller as we are today."[78]:1:40 He went on to say "Outside of my family ... no one is more important in my life. Randi is everything to me."[78]:5:34

At the NECSS skeptic conference in 2017, Randi was asked by George Hrab what a "'skeptic coming of age ceremony' would look like" and Randi talked about what it was like as a child to learn about the speed of light and how that felt like he was looking into the past. Randi stated "More kids need to be stunned".[79]


At The Amaz!ng Meeting in 2011 (TAM 9) the Independent Investigations Group (IIG) organized a tribute to James Randi. The group gathered together with other attendees, put on fake white beards, and posed for a large group photo with Randi. At the CSICon in 2017, in absence of Randi, the IIG organized another group photo with leftover beards from the 2011 photo. After Randi was sent the photo, he replied, "I'm always very touched by any such expression. This is certainly no exception. You have my sincere gratitude. I suspect, however that a couple of those beards were fake. But I'm in a forgiving mood at the moment. I'm frankly very touched. I'll see you at the next CSICon. Thank you all."


Exploring Psychic Powers ... Live was a two-hour television special aired live on June 7, 1989, wherein Randi examined several people claiming psychic powers. Hosted by actor Bill Bixby, the program offered $100,000 (Randi's $10,000 prize plus $90,000 put up by the show's syndicator, LBS Communications, Inc.[81]) to anyone who could demonstrate genuine psychic powers.

• An astrologer, Joseph Meriwether, claimed that he was able to ascertain a person's astrological sign after talking with them for a few minutes. He was presented with twelve people, one at a time, each with a different astrological sign. They could not tell Meriwether their astrological sign or birth date, nor could they wear anything that would indicate it. After Meriwether talked to them, he had them go and sit in front of the astrological sign that he thought was theirs. By agreement, Meriwether needed to get ten of the 12 correct, to win. He got none correct.[citation needed]
  
  
• The next psychic, Barbara Martin, claimed to be able to read auras around people, claiming that auras were visible at least five inches above each person. She selected ten people from a group of volunteers who she said had clearly visible auras. On stage were erected ten screens, numbered 1 through 10, just tall enough to hide the volunteer while not hiding their aura. Unseen by Martin, some of the volunteers positioned themselves behind different screens, then she was invited to predict which screens hid volunteers by seeing their aura above. Since random guessing would be expected to get about five correct, Martin needed to get eight of the ten right. She stated that she saw an aura over all ten screens, but people were behind only four of the screens.[citation needed]
  
  
• A dowser, Forrest Bayes, claimed that he could detect water, even in a bottle inside a sealed cardboard box. He was shown twenty boxes and asked to indicate which boxes contained a water bottle. He selected eight of the boxes, which he said contained water, but it turned out that only five of the twenty contained water. Of the eight selected boxes, only one was revealed to contain water and one contained sand. It was not revealed whether any of the remaining six boxes contained water.[citation needed]
  
  
• A psychometric psychic, Sharon McLaren-Straz, claimed to be able to receive personal information about the owner of an object by handling the object itself. In order to avoid ambiguous statements, the psychic agreed to be presented with both a watch and a key from each of twelve different people. She was to match keys and watches to each owner. According to the prior agreement, she had to match at least nine out of the twelve sets, but she succeeded in only two.[citation needed]
  
  
• Professional crystal healer Valerie Swan attempted to use ESP to identify 250 Zener cards, guessing which of the five symbols was on each one. Random guessing should have resulted in about fifty correct guesses, so it was agreed in advance that Swan had to be right on at least eighty-two cards in order to demonstrate an ability greater than chance. However, she was able to get only fifty predictions correct, which is no better than random guessing.[82]
  

[Eric the Green]

good riddance, not-so-amazing Randi, given too much space here. not surprising to see such a long article on wikipedia about this charlatan.

There's plenty of evidence for psychic abilities and paranormal phenomena, but it is suppressed and not allowed on wikipedia; speaking from personal experience.

[Eric the Green]

James Edward Narz (February 26, 1927 – October 7, 2020), known professionally as Tom Kennedy, was an American television host best known for his work in game shows. Game shows Kennedy hosted included Split Second, Name That Tune, and You Don't Say!

Born in Louisville, Kentucky, Kennedy was the son of John Lawrence Narz Sr., and the younger brother of host Jack Narz (1922–2008), whose son, David, related about his uncle's name change that the brothers wanted to avoid the perceived conflict of having two announcers with the same last name promoting competing products. "After a lunch meeting with his agent," he said, "... he emerged as Tom Kennedy."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Kenned...sion_host)

[pbrower2a]

(10-25-2020, 01:59 AM)Eric the Green Wrote: good riddance, not-so-amazing Randi, given too much space here. not surprising to see such a long article on wikipedia about this charlatan.

There's plenty of evidence for psychic abilities and paranormal phenomena, but it is suppressed and not allowed on wikipedia; speaking from personal experience.

There is a huge amount of quackery in the paranormal, including faith-healing, much of it for questionable profit of fake prophets and medical quacks. Much of what passes as astrology is obviously gibberish. Maybe not your style. You know enough to have avoided him; dumb astrologers aren't wise enough to do so. You8 would figure that James Randi would be someone not to tangle with.

He exposed the possibility of fraud in worthless 'spoon-bending', he exposed some fraudulent medical procedures (these people could excise cancers from anyone, whether people had a cancer or did not), and he made a mockery of the faith-healing Peter Popoff by sending some man in drag to be healed of uterine cancer. Sure enough, Popoff healed the person. Men of course do not have uteruses, and Popoff could not even figure out that his supplicant was a man. It turns out that Popoff was getting help from his wife, as he was getting signals from "God", who had a female voice (a rarity in that business) through a small listening device as his wife was sending people up to him to be healed. 

The point was that the "Amazing Randi" used not-so-amazing methods to expose some frauds. "God has a female voice and communicates on ----- Mhz". A partially-bent spoon can be shaken steadily until the weight of its bowl concentrates gravitational effects that weaken the bent area even more with every moment of shaking until the bend until the spoon breaks at the bend.

[beechnut79]

Jerry Jeff Walker, country outlawesque singer-songwriter whose best known songs were “Mr. Bojangles” and “Up Against the Wall Redneck Mother.” Although not a big provider of chart hits, he nevertheless had a big influence in the outlaw branc of country music. The above mentioned “Mr. Bojangles” was inspired by one he met while both were imprisoned for public drunkenness in New Orleans. Yet when Sammy Davis Jr. passed in 1990, it was often assumed that the song referenced him. He was embarrassed by his accomplishments, yet Austin, TX may have never been the musical hub it is today without him. A detailed bio can be found on the Saving Country Music website.

[Eric the Green]

(10-25-2020, 02:33 AM)pbrower2a Wrote:

(10-25-2020, 01:59 AM)Eric the Green Wrote: good riddance, not-so-amazing Randi, given too much space here. not surprising to see such a long article on wikipedia about this charlatan.

There's plenty of evidence for psychic abilities and paranormal phenomena, but it is suppressed and not allowed on wikipedia; speaking from personal experience.

There is a huge amount of quackery in the paranormal, including faith-healing, much of it for questionable profit of fake prophets and medical quacks. Much of what passes as astrology is obviously gibberish. Maybe not your style. You know enough to have avoided him; dumb astrologers aren't wise enough to do so. You8 would figure that James randi would be someone not to tangle with.

He exposed the possibility of fraud in worthless 'spoon-bending', he exposed some fraudulent medical procedures (these people could excise cancers from anyone, whether people had a cancer or did not), and he made a mockery of the faith-healing Peter Popoff by sending some man in drag to be healed of uterine cancer. Sure enough, Popoff healed the person. Men of course do not have uteruses, and Popoff could not even figure out that his supplicant was a man. It turns out that Popoff was getting help from his wife, as he was getting signals from "God", who had a female voice (a rarity in that business) through a small listening device as his wife was sending people up to him to be healed. 

The point was that the "Amazing Randi" used not-so-amazing methods to expose some frauds. "God has a female voice and communicates on ----- Mhz". A partially-bent spoon can be shaken steadily until the weight of its bowl concentrates gravitational effects that weaken the bent area even more with every moment of shaking until the bend until the spoon breaks at the bend.

I don't know all the details now, but Sheldrake and others have shown that Randi practiced a lot of fraud himself. His famous offer was not used honestly, for example.

I liked Jerry Jeff Walker's original version of "Mr. Bojangles", and I think it's somewhere on my top 400+ list. Sorry when good popular musicians bite the dust; new ones are generally not replacing them these days. The world we live in gets a little colder each time one of our older friends pass on. Soon, we will be passing on too. I hope the evidence for the paranormal is right, and that Randi and the skeptical-inquirer-led millennials who edit wikipedia are wrong, and that there's more to our being than these short little sojourns once-around on Earth.

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In any event, almost any person can be controversial if a political figure, academic, creative person, journalist, entrepreneur, or part of the entertainment business. I have listed criminals such as Charles Manson as notable deaths, and more recently the #2 man of the genocidal hierarchy of the Khmer Rouge.  James Randi gets credit for a favorite phrase of skeptics, namely "extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof", which is a good way of refuting such frauds as Holocaust denial, contentions that child abuse victims enjoy being abused or such pseudoscience as "creation science", and some dubious assertions of economics that support a vile ideology or outright fraud. I could use Randi's dictum heavily against Donald Trump.

People telling the truth, as about global warming, had the obligation to get the 'extraordinary evidence' on its behalf, but they now have it. This leads me to one of its deniers:

(Robert E. Murray, owner of the infamous and now bankrupt Murray Energy [coal] Company):

Quote:In June 2007, Murray told the United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works that "the science of global warming is suspect." He also wrote in a May 2007 MarketWatch editorial: "The actual environmental risk associated with carbon emissions is highly speculative."[18]

In a 2007 speech to the New York Coal Trade Association, Murray called Al Gore "the shaman of global gloom and doom" and added: "he is more dangerous than his global warming."[56]

Murray was a particular opponent of proposed global warming legislation in Congress, saying:

Quote:We produce a product that is essential to the standard of living of every American, because our coal produces 52% of the energy in America today, and it is the lowest cost energy, costing one-third to one-fourth the cost of energy from natural gas, nuclear and renewable energy resources. And without coal to manufacture electricity, our products will not compete in the global marketplace against foreign countries, because our manufacturers depend on coal, low-cost electricity and people on fixed incomes will not be able to pay their electric bills. Every one of those global warming bills that have been introduced into Congress today eliminates the coal industry and will increase your electric rates, four to five fold.[57]

Following the presidential election in November 2016, Murray pressed for Donald Trump to withdraw the United States from all international agreements on climate change and stated: "so-called global warming is a total hoax."[58] These claims were made in spite of near-universal agreement in the scientific community that climate change is a real, progressing, and primarily human-caused phenomenon.[59]

[/url]


This is out of sequence from the [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_E._Murray]Wikipedia article on his demise, but the transition requires that violation of a norm that I usually follow. 

Robert E. Murray (1939 or 1940 – October 25, 2020) was an American mining engineer and businessman. He founded and was the chief executive officer of Murray Energy, a mining corporation based in St. Clairsville, Ohio, until it filed for bankruptcy.[1] Murray was widely criticized for his denial of climate change,[2] his actions following the Crandall Canyon Mine collapse and his consistent support of the Republican Party. He died on October 25, 2020.

Murray has stated that he suffered from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis,[61] a scarring of the lung tissue leading to shortness of breath. In September 2020, he filed application for black lung benefits with the U.S. Department of Labor.[62] While running coal mining companies, Murray disputed claims filed by miners for black lung benefits, and was an advocate against federal regulations intended to reduce black lung.[63] Murray died on October 25, 2020 at the age of 80.[64]

Murray began his mining career at the North American Coal Corporation (NACC). He served in a variety of capacities at NACC, winning election to vice president of operations in 1969. From 1974 to 1983, Murray was president of NACC's Western Division and presided over four of its subsidiaries in North Dakota. In 1974, a strike took place at the Indian Head Mine in Zap, which North American was attempting to close.[6] In 1983, he became president and CEO of North American.[7]

Murray was a member of the boards of directors of the National Mining Association, American Coal Foundation, National Coal Council, Ohio Coal Association, and Pennsylvania Coal Association. He was a trustee and former president of the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers, Inc., and the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration, Inc., as well as past president of The Rocky Mountain Coal Mining Institute.

Murray founded Murray Energy in 1988 when he bought the Powhatan No. 6 mine from the Ohio Valley Coal Company. Murray focussed on high-heat bituminous coal which he thought would be in demand for power generation. The company later moved towards metallurgical coal which could be used to produce coke for steel production.[9] Murray claimed to be inspired to open the mine when a squirrel told him: "Bob Murray, you should be operating your very own mines."[10]


Murray told the White House in a letter dated August 4, 2017, that without an emergency order to restart coal-fired electrical generating plants, his company and a major customer, power plant operator FirstEnergy Solutions, would declare bankruptcy.[11]
Murray Energy Holdings, Co. filed bankruptcy in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio on October 29, 2019. Murray was replaced as CEO the same day, although he remained chairman of the board of the new entity, Murray NewCo, while his nephew Robert D. Moore will be president and CEO.[12][13][14] Employees expressed concern about losing their pensions and/or medical benefits. Murray is the last major coal contributor to the United Mine Workers of America's pension plan.[15]

In August 2007, six miners were trapped at the Crandall Canyon Mine in Utah, of which Murray Energy independent operating subsidiary UtahAmerican Energy had been a part-owner for 12 months. Prior to the collapse, the Crandall Canyon Mine had received 64 violations and $12,000 in fines.[16][17][18]

Murray himself claimed that the Crandall Canyon Mine collapse was triggered by a natural 3.9 magnitude earthquake,[19] and that the practice of retreat mining was not responsible.[20] Responding to reports of retreat mining, Murray said: "I wish you would take the word retreat mining out of your vocabulary. Those were words invented by Davitt McAteer, Oppegard, who are lackies for the United Mine Workers, and officials at the United Mine Workers, who would like to organize this coal mine."[21]



However, expert seismologists and government officials dispute this claim, stating that the mine collapse was the cause of a coal mine bump[19] caused by the mine's use of retreat mining.[20] Richard E. Stickler, the government's top mine safety official, said: "It was not—and I repeat, it was not—a natural occurring earthquake."[22] An analysis by seismologists at the University of California, Berkeley demonstrated that the seismic event was "consistent with an underground collapse".[23][24][25][26] Researchers at the University of Utah also confirmed that the tremor was not triggered by an earthquake as Murray had claimed.[27]



On July 24, 2008, the U.S. government's Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) announced its highest penalty for coal mine safety violations, $1.85 million, for the collapse. The government fined Genwal Resources $1.34 million "for violations that directly contributed to the deaths of six miners last year," plus nearly $300,000 for other violations. The government also levied a $220,000 fine against a mining consultant, Agapito Associates, "for faulty analysis of the mine's design."[22]



Robert Murray was heavily criticized for his actions during the rescue attempt. The MSHA cited his volatile behavior, especially at daily briefings for family members. MSHA reported that he "frequently became very irate and would start yelling," even making young children cry. He told family members that "the media is telling you lies" and "the union is your enemy."[23]


Murray has filed over a dozen defamation lawsuits against journalists and newspapers, none of which reached judgment in his favor.[38] As an example of the repeated lawsuits against journalists, Robert Murray and Murray Energy filed a lawsuit on August 27, 2012, against environment reporter Ken Ward Jr. and The Charleston Gazette.[39][40]

In June 2017, Murray Energy issued a cease and desist letter to the television show Last Week Tonight following the show's attempt to obtain comment about the coal industry.[41] The show went ahead with the episode (June 18),[42] in which host John Oliver discussed the Crandall Canyon Mine collapse and expressed the opinion that Murray did not do enough to protect his miners' safety. Three days later, Murray and his companies brought suit against Oliver, the show's writers, HBO, and Time Warner.[43] The lawsuit alleged that, in the Last Week Tonight show, Oliver "incited viewers to do harm to Mr. Murray and his companies."[44][45] The ACLU filed an amicus brief in support of HBO in the case; the brief has been described as "hilarious," and the "snarkiest legal brief ever."[46] The brief also included a comparison of Murray with the fictional character Dr. Evil that was used in the Oliver show, with the explanation that "it should be remembered that truth is an absolute defense to a claim of defamation."[47]
On August 11, 2017 a federal district court judge ruled that Murray Energy suits against The New York Times and HBO could each proceed in a lower state court.[48] The suit against HBO was dismissed with prejudice on February 21, 2018.[49]

In November 2019, John Oliver discussed the implications of the lawsuit on his show after Murray dropped the suit.[39] Oliver noted that Murray was able to incur little risk to himself by filing his lawsuit in West Virginia, a jurisdiction that neither Oliver nor Murray lived in and that did not have any anti-SLAPP legislation.[50][39] HBO was forced to cover $200,000 in legal fees, which smaller media outlets would not be able to absorb, discouraging negative coverage of Murray.[51] Murray's reputation for litigiousness may have deterred other media outlets from covering him, including sexual harassment charges against him.[51][39]

The 2019 episode ended with a musical number, led by Oliver, telling Murray to "eat shit", in which a series of intentionally outlandish and obviously false accusations were leveled at Murray, citing a statement by Jeffrey D. Cramer – the circuit court judge in the case between Murray and Oliver – noting that the Supreme Court has long upheld "'loose, figurative' language that cannot reasonably be understood to convey facts" as protected speech.[39][52] The song's telling Murray to "eat shit" was a reference to a 2015 incident where, in response to a bonus program implemented at one of Murray's mines which union members feared would undermine safety, a miner voided his bonus check, wrote "Eat Shit Bob" on the back of it, and returned it to management,[53][54] which Oliver covered in his original 2017 episode on the coal industry.[39][42]


From 2005 to 2007, the Murray Energy PAC donated over $150,000 to Republican candidates, including donations totaling $30,000 to Senate candidates such as George Allen, Sam Brownback, and Katherine Harris.[28] Donations to Republicans surpassed $1 million from 2005 to 2018.[29] The Ohio Valley Coal PAC, another group affiliated with Murray Energy, donated $10,000 for George W. Bush's 2000 Presidential campaign.[28]

In the wake of 2006's Sago Mine disaster, lawmakers in West Virginia and Ohio proposed legislation requiring mine workers to wear emergency tracking devices. Murray lobbied against the laws, calling them "extremely misguided."[18] He said that politicians were rushing to pass laws and thus "playing politics with the safety of my employees." Murray said that rather than create "knee-jerk" state laws after the disaster, such as in the case of West Virginia, which passed the law in less than one day after it was proposed, the federal government should host a panel which would study the industry and make recommendations for safety measures.[30]



Murray claimed that the federal government should be involved for uniform standards and because tension between unions and companies created difficulty in reaching private agreement on safety standards. Murray maintained that the personal tracking devices to be mandated in the state laws, called PEDs, did not work under certain common mining conditions (such as below 600 feet (180 m) in depth), and better devices needed to be developed in order to effectively guard miners in case of accident. He said: "The will is there. Unfortunately, the technology isn't."[30]

Murray has stated that he supported federal mandates for drug testing and fire prevention.[30]



On August 14, 2012, Murray hosted Mitt Romney at Murray Energy's Century coal mine in Beallsville, Ohio. Several miners contacted a nearby morning talk radio host, David Blomquist, to complain that they were forced to attend the rally without pay. Murray chief operating officer Robert Moore said: "Attendance was mandatory but no one was forced to attend the event." Murray closed the mine the day of the rally and suspended pay to workers, arguing that the rally was important to the coal industry and that attending was in the workers' "best interest." Murray and his corporation were a major donor to Romney and other Republicans, and employees report frequent instances of political pressure from management.[31]



In October 2012, the non-profit group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission against Murray and his company alleging violations of federal campaign law in which employees of Murray Energy were required to give one percent of their salary to the company's political action committee.[32]

On November 9, 2012, three days following the presidential election, Murray laid off 156 workers, citing a supposed "war on coal" by the Obama administration as the reason for his decision.[33]


During the 2016 American presidential election, Murray Energy donated over $300,000 towards candidate Donald Trump's inauguration. A memo from Robert Murray itemized a list of 16 energy actions he desired, including giving subsidies to nuclear and coal plants, reducing mine safety regulations, and reducing environmental oversight. The memo was given to Vice President Mike Pence, a similar memo was given to Department of Energy head Rick Perry, and Murray said he gave the memo to Donald Trump.[34][35]

Murray has continued to actively lobby on energy matters at both the state and national levels.[36][37]

In 2009, Murray Energy donated $20,000 to support the development of a state-of-the-art mine training facility at West Virginia University[65] and $10,000 to support the construction of a similar facility at Southeastern Illinois College.[66] Murray also made a personal gift of $1 million to the West Virginia University Research Trust Fund—the largest single donation in the fund's history—and the university established the Robert E. Murray Chairmanship of Mining Engineering in his honor.[67]

In 2018, Murray donated over $1.2 million to a project to construct a new building at the East Richland Christian School.[68] The 28,000 square foot centre is planned to house a gymnasium, kitchen, and classrooms for use by the school, local church, and wider community.[68]
Murray was an active volunteer with the Ohio River Valley Council of the Boy Scouts of America.[69]

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The #1 fugitive among Saddam Hussein's circle of criminals against humanity:



Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri (Arabic: عزة إبراهيم الدوري‎ ‘Izzat Ibrāhīm ad-Dūrī; 1 July 1942 – 26 October 2020) was an Iraqi politician and Army Field Marshal. He served as Vice Chairman of the Iraqi Revolutionary Command Council until the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and was regarded as the closest advisor and deputy under former President Saddam Hussein. He led the Iraqi insurgent Naqshbandi Army.[1][2]

Al-Douri was the most high-profile Ba'athist official to successfully evade capture after the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and was the king of clubs in the infamous most-wanted Iraqi playing cards. Al-Douri continued to lead elements of the Iraqi insurgency such as the Naqshbandi Army against the then-occupation forces and waged an insurgency against the current regime in Baghdad. Following the execution of Saddam Hussein on 30 December 2006, al-Douri was confirmed as the new leader of the banned Iraqi Ba'ath Party on 3 January 2007.[3] Al-Douri was reportedly killed in action—along with his nine bodyguards[4]—on 17 April 2015 in a large-scale military operation by Shiite militias and Iraqi forces near the Al-Alaas oil fields in Hemreen east of Tikrit.[5][6][7][8] The Shiite militant organization Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq has alleged that it killed him and transported his apparent body to Baghdad to confirm its identity.[4][9] According to the BBC, Shiite militias claimed to have killed him, but the Iraqi Baath party denied his death.[10] A Kurdish news source also reported that Iraq did not have al-Douri's DNA to confirm his death.[11] Al-Douri has since appeared in videos talking about events that have taken place after his alleged death.[12] According to several Arab media outlets, the Ba'ath party declared that Izzat al-Douri died on 26 October 2020.[13][14]

A hint: conversational German is highly useful where he is! 

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Matt Blair, star linebacker for Vikings, dies at 70
SPORTS
Associated Press

Posted: OCT 23, 2020 / 08:28 AM CDT | Updated: OCT 23, 2020 / 08:28 AM CDT

FILE – In this Jan. 12, 1975 file photo, Minnesota Vikings’ Matt Blair (59) goes high to block the kick by Pittsburgh Steelers’ Bobby Walden (39) during the fourth quarter of Super Bowl IX in New Orleans. The Vikings say Blair, one of the great linebackers in team history, has died. Blair had been suffering from dementia. (AP Photo/Jack Thornell, File)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Matt Blair, one of the greatest linebackers in Minnesota Vikings history and a six-time Pro Bowler who played in two Super Bowls, has died. He was 70 years old.

His death was announced by the team. Blair, who had been suffering from dementia, died Thursday after an extended period in hospice care, according to the Star Tribune.

“He’d been suffering for a while, so I guess maybe it’s a blessing in disguise,” former teammate Scott Studwell told the newspaper. “But it’s still too young. It’s a sad day.”

Vikings owner Mark Wilf said in a statement: “Matt Blair was a great presence at Vikings events and a tremendous teammate long after playing. He embodied the best of what it means to be a Viking. Matt is a Ring of Honor player whose legacy will live on forever with the franchise and in the community he loved.”

Drafted in the second round out of Iowa State in 1974, Blair played all 12 of his NFL seasons for the Vikings, from 1974 to 1985. He started 130 of the 160 regular-season games he played, racking up 1,452 tackles, the second most in team history.

He finished his career with 16 interceptions, 20 fumble recoveries and 20 blocked punts, extra points and field goals.

NFL adds new COVID-19 protocols, including possible forfeits for violations
In a 2015 interview with the Star Tribune, then-64-year-old Blair began crying, saying a neurologist told him and his wife, Mary Beth, that his early signs of dementia were likely the result of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, a degenerative brain disease linked to concussions. CTE cannot be diagnosed until after death.

Trademark and Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

https://www.newsnationnow.com/sports/mat...ies-at-70/

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Herb Adderley, Football Hall of Fame ... with monster Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys teams

Herbert Anthony Adderley (June 8, 1939 – October 30, 2020) was an American professional football player who was a cornerback for the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). In 1980, he was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.[1]

Adderley played college football for the Michigan State Spartans and was an All-Big Ten offensive star as a halfback.[1] He is the only player to appear in four of the first six Super Bowls.

Adderley was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the first round of the 1961 NFL draft, the 12th overall pick.[1] He began his professional career as a halfback on offense, but was later switched to defense because the Packers already had eventual Hall of Fame runners in Paul Hornung and Jim Taylor.[1] Adderley was first moved to cornerback to replace injured teammate Hank Gremminger against Detroit on Thanksgiving.[1][4][5] and made an interception that set up the game-winning touchdown.[6][7]


In 1962, the move became permanent and Adderley went on to become an all-NFL selection five times in the 1960s. Packers coach Vince Lombardi remarked, "I was too stubborn to switch him to defense until I had to. Now when I think of what Adderley means to our defense, it scares me to think of how I almost mishandled him."

Adderley recorded 39 interceptions in his nine seasons with the Packers. He held the Green Bay records for interceptions returned for touchdowns in a career (seven, tied with Darren Sharper, broken by Charles Woodson), and holds the record for interceptions returned for touchdowns in one season (three, in 1965).

Adderley started for the Packers from 1961–69, then played three seasons (1970–72) with the Dallas Cowboys. While with the Packers, he won rings for five NFL championships and wins in the first two Super Bowls.[1] Adderley was a factor in the Super Bowl II win over the Oakland Raiders, intercepting a pass by Raiders quarterback Daryle Lamonica in the fourth quarter and returning it 60 yards for a touchdown to put the game away.[1] It was the first Super Bowl touchdown scored on an intercepted pass.[1] After being traded to the Cowboys in 1970, Adderley became a vital cog in its "Doomsday Defense," assisting the Cowboys to a Super Bowl appearance in V and a win in VI.
Benched during the middle of the 1972 season,[8] Adderley was traded to the Los Angeles Rams in the summer of 1973. He opted not to report and retired on August 7, after a dozen seasons in the NFL.[1]

Along with the Patriots' Tom Brady, and two Packer teammates, offensive linemen Fuzzy Thurston (Colts) and Forrest Gregg (Cowboys), Adderley is one of only four players in pro football history to play on six world championship teams. However, in a revised edition of Instant Replay, a memoir by Packer teammate Jerry Kramer, Adderley is quoted as saying, "I'm the only man with a Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl ring who doesn't wear it. I'm a Green Bay Packer."[9]

Adderley admired Packer head coach Vince Lombardi, but not Tom Landry of the Cowboys.[10] His trade to Dallas in 1970, after a holdout and two weeks before the start of regular season,[11][12][13] was due to a strained relationship with Lombardi's successor, Phil Bengtson, in his third and final year as Packer head coach.[10] Adderley stated the Bengtson kept him off the Pro Bowl team in 1969 and requested to be traded.[14][15] A year after his induction in Canton, Adderley became a member of the Packer Hall of Fame in 1981.

In his 12 seasons, Adderley recorded 48 interceptions, which he returned for 1,046 yards and seven touchdowns, an average of 21.8 yards per return.[1] He also recovered 14 fumbles (returning them for 65 yards) and returned 120 kickoffs for 3,080 yards and two scores.[1]


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

https://www.profootballhof.com/players/herb-adderley/

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SEAN CONNERY


Sir Thomas Sean Connery (25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor and producer. He was best known as the first actor to portray the character James Bond in film, starring in seven Bond films (every film from Dr. No to You Only Live Twice, plus Diamonds Are Forever and Never Say Never Again) between 1962 and 1983.[1][2][3]


Connery was in smaller theatre and television productions until he got his break with the Bond films. He became a major actor with the success of his Bond role. His films also included Marnie (1964), Murder on the Orient Express (1974), The Man Who Would Be King (1975), A Bridge Too Far (1977), Highlander (1986), The Name of the Rose (1986), The Untouchables (1988), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), The Hunt for Red October (1990), Dragonheart (1996), The Rock (1996), and Finding Forrester (2000). Connery retired from acting in 2006. His achievements include one Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards (one being a BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award), and three Golden Globes, including the Cecil B. DeMille Award and a Henrietta Award. He received a lifetime achievement award in the US with a Kennedy Center Honor in 1999. Connery was knighted in the 2000 New Year Honours for services to film drama.[4]

Connery was polled in a 2004 The Sunday Herald as "The Greatest Living Scot"[5] and in a 2011 EuroMillions survey as "Scotland's Greatest Living National Treasure".[6] He was voted by People magazine as both the "Sexiest Man Alive" in 1989 and the "Sexiest Man of the Century" in 1999.



Seeking to supplement his income, Connery helped out backstage at the King's Theatre in late 1951.[28] He became interested in the proceedings, and a career was launched. During a bodybuilding competition held in London in 1953, one of the competitors mentioned that auditions were being held for a production of South Pacific,[28] and Connery landed a small part as one of the Seabees chorus boys. By the time the production reached Edinburgh, he had been given the part of Marine Cpl Hamilton Steeves and was understudying two of the juvenile leads, and his salary was raised from £12 to £14–10s a week.[34] The production returned the following year out of popular demand, and Connery was promoted to the featured role of Lieutenant Buzz Adams, which Larry Hagman had portrayed in the West End.[34]

While in Edinburgh, Connery was targeted by the Valdor gang, one of the most violent in the city. He was first approached by them in a billiard hall where he prevented them from stealing his jacket and was later followed by six gang members to a 15-foot-high balcony at the Palais.[35] There Connery launched an attack singlehandedly against the gang members, grabbing one by the throat and another by a biceps and cracked their heads together. From then on, he was treated with great respect by the gang and gained a reputation as a "hard man".[36]
Connery first met Michael Caine at a party during the production of South Pacific in 1954, and the two later became close friends.[34] During the production of South Pacific at the Opera House, Manchester over the Christmas period of 1954, Connery developed a serious interest in the theatre through American actor Robert Henderson who lent him copies of the Henrik Ibsen works Hedda Gabler, The Wild Duck, and When We Dead Awaken, and later listed works by the likes of Marcel Proust, Leo Tolstoy, Ivan Turgenev, George Bernard Shaw, James Joyce and William Shakespeare for him to digest.[37] Henderson urged him to take elocution lessons and got him parts at the Maida Vale Theatre in London. He had already begun a film career, having been an extra in Herbert Wilcox's 1954 musical Lilacs in the Spring alongside Anna Neagle.[38]
Although Connery had secured several roles as extras, he was struggling to make ends meet, and was forced to accept a part-time job as a babysitter for journalist Peter Noble and his actress wife Marianne, which earned him 10 shillings a night.[38] He met Hollywood actress Shelley Winters one night at Noble's house, who described Connery as "one of the tallest and most charming and masculine Scotsmen" she'd ever seen, and later spent many evenings with the Connery brothers drinking beer.[38] Around this time, Connery was residing at TV presenter Llew Gardner's house. Henderson landed Connery a role in a £6 a week Q Theatre production of Agatha Christie's Witness for the Prosecution, during which he met and became friends with fellow-Scot Ian Bannen.[39] This role was followed by Point of Departure and A Witch in Time at Kew, a role as Pentheus opposite Yvonne Mitchell in The Bacchae at the Oxford Playhouse, and a role opposite Jill Bennett in Eugene O'Neill's production of Anna Christie.[39]
During his time at the Oxford Theatre, Connery won a brief part as a boxer in the TV series The Square Ring, before being spotted by Canadian director Alvin Rakoff, who gave him multiple roles in The Condemned, shot on location in Dover in Kent. In 1956, Connery appeared in the theatrical production of Epitaph, and played a minor role as a hoodlum in the "Ladies of the Manor" episode of the BBC Television police series Dixon of Dock Green.[39] This was followed by small television parts in Sailor of Fortune and The Jack Benny Program.[39]

[/url]
Connery with Lana Turner in 1957 on the set of Another Time, Another Place

In early 1957, Connery hired agent Richard Hatton who got him his first film role, as Spike, a minor gangster with a speech impediment in Montgomery Tully's No Road Back alongside Skip Homeier, Paul Carpenter, Patricia Dainton and Norman Wooland.[40] In April 1957, Rakoff – after being disappointed by Jack Palance – decided to give the young actor his first chance in a leading role, and cast Connery as Mountain McLintock in BBC Television's production of Requiem For a Heavyweight, which also starred Warren Mitchell and Jacqueline Hill. He then played a rogue lorry driver, Johnny Yates, in Cy Endfield's Hell Drivers (1957) alongside Stanley Baker, Herbert Lom, Peggy Cummins and Patrick McGoohan.[41] Later in 1957, Connery appeared in Terence Young's poorly received MGM action picture Action of the Tiger opposite Van Johnson, Martine Carol, Herbert Lom and Gustavo Rojo; the film was shot on location in southern Spain.[42][43] He also had a minor role in Gerald Thomas's thriller Time Lock (1957) as a welder, appearing alongside Robert Beatty, Lee Patterson, Betty McDowall and Vincent Winter; this commenced filming on 1 December 1956 at Beaconsfield Studios.[44]
Connery had a major role in the melodrama Another Time, Another Place (1958) as a British reporter named Mark Trevor, caught in a love affair opposite Lana Turner and Barry Sullivan. During filming, star Turner's possessive gangster boyfriend, Johnny Stompanato, who was visiting from Los Angeles, believed she was having an affair with Connery.[45] Connery and Turner had attended West End shows and London restaurants together.[46] Stompanato stormed onto the film set and pointed a gun at Connery, only to have Connery disarm him and knock him flat on his back. Stompanato was banned from the set.[47] Two Scotland Yard detectives advised Stompanato to leave and escorted him to the airport, where he boarded a plane back to the US.[48] Connery later recounted that he had to lie low for a while after receiving threats from men linked to Stompanato's boss, Mickey Cohen.[46]
In 1959, Connery landed a leading role in Robert Stevenson's Walt Disney Productions film Darby O'Gill and the Little People (1959) alongside Albert Sharpe, Janet Munro, and Jimmy O'Dea. The film is a tale about a wily Irishman and his battle of wits with leprechauns. Upon the film's initial release, A. H. Weiler of The New York Times praised the cast (save Connery whom he described as "merely tall, dark, and handsome") and thought the film an "overpoweringly charming concoction of standard Gaelic tall stories, fantasy and romance."[49] He also had prominent television roles in Rudolph Cartier's 1961 productions of Adventure Story and Anna Karenina for BBC Television, in the latter of which he co-starred with Claire Bloom.[50]
James Bond: 1962–1971, 1983[edit]

Connery as Bond (with co-star Tania Mallet) during filming Goldfinger in 1964

Connery's breakthrough came in the role of British secret agent James Bond. He was reluctant to commit to a film series, but understood that if the films succeeded, his career would greatly benefit.[51] He played 007 in the first five Bond films: Dr. No (1962), From Russia with Love (1963), Goldfinger (1964), Thunderball (1965), and You Only Live Twice (1967) – then appeared again as Bond in Diamonds Are Forever (1971) and Never Say Never Again (1983). All seven films were commercially successful. James Bond, as portrayed by Connery, was selected as the third-greatest hero in cinema history by the American Film Institute.[52]
Connery's selection for the role of James Bond owed a lot to Dana Broccoli, wife of producer Albert "Cubby" Broccoli, who is reputed to have been instrumental in persuading her husband that Connery was the right man.[53] James Bond's creator, Ian Fleming, originally doubted Connery's casting, saying, "He's not what I envisioned of James Bond looks", and "I'm looking for Commander Bond and not an overgrown stunt-man", adding that Connery (muscular, 6' 2", and a Scot) was unrefined.[54] Fleming's girlfriend Blanche Blackwell told him that Connery had the requisite sexual charisma, and Fleming changed his mind after the successful Dr. No première. He was so impressed, he wrote Connery's heritage into the character. In his 1964 novel You Only Live Twice, Fleming wrote that Bond's father was Scottish and from Glencoe in the Scottish Highlands.[54]

Connery during filming for Diamonds Are Forever in 1971

Connery's portrayal of Bond owes much to stylistic tutelage from director Terence Young, which helped polish him while using his physical grace and presence for the action. Lois Maxwell, who played Miss Moneypenny, related that "Terence took Sean under his wing. He took him to dinner, showed him how to walk, how to talk, even how to eat."[55] The tutoring was successful; Connery received thousands of fan letters a week after Dr. No’s opening, and he became a major sex symbol in film.[56]
During the filming of Thunderball in 1965, Connery's life was in danger in the sequence with the sharks in Emilio Largo's pool. He had been concerned about this threat when he read the script. Connery insisted that Ken Adam build a special Plexiglas partition inside the pool, but this was not a fixed structure, and one of the sharks managed to pass through it. He had to abandon the pool immediately.[57] In 2005, From Russia with Love was adapted by Electronic Arts into a video game, titled James Bond 007: From Russia with Love, which featured all-new voice work by Connery, recorded by Terry Manning in the Bahamas, as well as his likeness, and those of several of the film's supporting cast.[58]
Beyond Bond[edit]

Connery starring in Alfred Hitchcock's Marnie (1964)

Although Bond had made him a star, Connery grew tired of the role and the pressure the franchise put on him, saying " fed up to here with the whole Bond bit"[59] and "I have always hated that damned James Bond. I'd like to kill him".[60] Michael Caine said of the situation, "If you were his friend in these early days you didn't raise the subject of Bond. He was, and is, a much better actor than just playing James Bond, but he became synonymous with Bond. He'd be walking down the street and people would say, "Look, there's James Bond." That was particularly upsetting to him."[61]
While making the Bond films, Connery also starred in other films such as Alfred Hitchcock's Marnie (1964) and Sidney Lumet's The Hill (1965). In Marnie, Connery starred opposite Tippi Hedren. Connery had stated that he wanted to work with Hitchcock, which Eon arranged through their contacts.[62] Connery also shocked many people at the time by asking to see a script; something Connery did because he was worried about being typecast as a spy and he did not want to do a variation of North by Northwest or Notorious. When told by Hitchcock's agent that Cary Grant did not ask to see even one of Hitchcock's scripts Connery replied, "I'm not Cary Grant."[63] Hitchcock and Connery got on well during filming. Connery also said that he was happy with the film "with certain reservations."[64] In The Hill, Connery wanted to act in something that wasn't Bond related, and used his leverage as a star to star in the film. While the film wasn't a financial success it was a critical one, debuting at the Cannes Film Festival winning Best Screenplay.

Audrey Hepburn and Connery in Robin and Marian (1976)

Having played Bond six times, Connery's global popularity was such that he shared a Golden Globe Henrietta Award with Charles Bronson for "World Film Favorite – Male" in 1972.[65] He appeared in John Huston’s The Man Who Would Be King (1975) opposite Michael Caine, with both actors regarding it as their favourite film.[66][67] The same year, he appeared in The Wind and the Lion, and in 1976 played Robin Hood in Robin and Marian where he starred opposite Audrey Hepburn who played Maid Marian. Film critic Roger Ebert, who had praised the double act of Connery and Caine in The Man Who Would Be King, praised Connery’s chemistry with Hepburn, writing: "Connery and Hepburn seem to have arrived at a tacit understanding between themselves about their characters. They glow. They really do seem in love."[68]

In the 1970s Connery was part of ensemble casts in films such as Murder on the Orient Express (1974) with Vanessa Redgrave and John Gielgud, and A Bridge Too Far (1977) co-starring Dirk Bogarde and Laurence Olivier.[69] In 1981, Connery appeared in the film Time Bandits as Agamemnon. The casting choice derives from a joke Michael Palin included in the script, in which he describes the character removing his mask as being "Sean Connery – or someone of equal but cheaper stature".[70] When shown the script, Connery was happy to play the supporting role. In 1982, Connery narrated G'olé!, the official film of the 1982 FIFA World Cup.[71]

Connery at the [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/60th_Academy_Awards]1988 Academy Awards

Connery agreed to reprise Bond as an ageing agent 007 in Never Say Never Again, released in October 1983. The title, contributed by his wife, refers to his earlier statement that he would "never again" return to the role. Although the film performed well at the box office, it was plagued with production problems: strife between the director and producer, financial problems, the Fleming estate trustees' attempts to halt the film, and Connery's wrist being broken by fight choreographer, Steven Seagal. As a result of his negative experiences during filming, Connery became unhappy with the major studios and did not make any films for two years. Following the successful European production The Name of the Rose (1986), for which he won a BAFTA Award for Best Actor, Connery's interest in more commercial material was revived.[72] That same year, a supporting role in Highlander showcased his ability to play older mentors to younger leads, which became a recurring role in many of his later films.

In 1987, Connery starred in Brian De Palma's The Untouchables, where he played a hard-nosed Irish-American cop alongside Kevin Costner's Eliot Ness. The film also starred Charles Martin Smith, Patricia Clarkson, Andy Garcia, and Robert De Niro as Al Capone. The film was a critical and box office success. Many critics praised Connery for his performance including Roger Ebert who wrote "The best performance in the movie is Connery... [he] brings a human element to his character; he seems to have had an existence apart from the legend of the Untouchables, and when he's onscreen we can believe, briefly, that the Prohibition Era was inhabited by people, not caricatures."[73] For his performance Connery received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.[74]

Connery starred in Steven Spielberg's Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), playing Henry Jones, Sr., the title character's father, and received BAFTA and Golden Globe Award nominations. Harrison Ford stated that Connery’s contributions at the writing stage enhanced the film. "It was amazing for me in how far he got into the script and went after exploiting opportunities for character. His suggestions to George [Lucas] at the writing stage really gave the character and the picture a lot more complexity and value than it had in the original screenplay."[75] His subsequent box-office hits included The Hunt for Red October (1990), The Russia House (1990), The Rock (1996), and Entrapment (1999). In 1996, he voiced the role of Draco the dragon in the film Dragonheart. He also appeared in a brief cameo as King Richard the Lionheart at the end of Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991).[76] In 1998, Connery received a BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award.[77]

Connery's later films included several box office and critical disappointments such as First Knight (1995), Just Cause (1995), The Avengers (1998), and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003); he received positive reviews for his performance in Finding Forrester (2000). He also received a Crystal Globe for outstanding artistic contribution to world cinema. In a 2003 poll conducted by Channel 4 Connery was ranked eighth on their list of the 100 Greatest Movie Stars.[78] The failure of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen was especially frustrating for Connery, who sensed during shooting that the production was "going off the rails" announced that the director, Stephen Norrington should be "locked up for insanity", and spent considerable effort in trying to salvage the film through the editing process, ultimately deciding to retire from acting rather than go through such stress ever again.[79]

Connery was offered the role of Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings series but declined it, claiming he did not understand the script.[80] Connery was reportedly offered $30 million along with 15 percent of the worldwide box office receipts for the role, which – had he accepted – would have earned him $450 million.[81][82] Connery also turned down the opportunity to appear as the Architect in The Matrix trilogy for similar reasons.[83] Connery's disillusionment with the "idiots now making films in Hollywood" was cited as a reason for his eventual decision to retire from film-making.[84] In 2005, he recorded voiceovers for a new video game version of his Bond film From Russia with Love.[85] In an interview on the game disc, Connery stated that he was very happy that the producers of the game (EA Games) had approached him to voice Bond.


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

[pbrower2a]

Two Canadians:

Alex Trebek, Jeopardy! host

George Alexander Trebek[2] OC (/trəˈbɛk/; July 22, 1940 – November 8, 2020) was a Canadian-American television personality and game show host. He was the host of the syndicated game show Jeopardy! for 36 years from its revival in 1984 until his death in 2020. He also hosted a number of other game shows, including The Wizard of Odds, Double Dare, High Rollers, Battlestars, Classic Concentration, and To Tell the Truth. Trebek also made appearances in numerous television series, in which he usually played himself..



Howard William Meeker, C.M. (November 4, 1923 – November 8, 2020) was a right winger in the National Hockey League, youth coach and educator in ice hockey and television sports announcer as well as a Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament. Meeker was the last surviving member of the Maple Leafs 1947 Stanley Cup team, the Maple Leafs 1949 Stanley Cup team, the Maple Leafs 1951 Stanley Cup team, and the inaugural NHL All-Star Game.

Meeker was born in Kitchener, Ontario, the son of Kathleen Wharnsby and Charles Howard Meeker.[1] He played his junior hockey with the Kitchener Greenshirts in the Ontario Hockey Association. In 1941–42, Meeker joined the Stratford Kist. In only 13 games, he scored 29 goals and had 45 points to lead all players in points. He played one more year of junior hockey before joining the Canadian Army. Meeker was badly injured during the war, but he made a full recovery. In 1945–46, after World War II had ended, Meeker returned to the OHA and played one season with the Stratford Indians.

In 1946–47, Meeker joined the Toronto Maple Leafs in the National Hockey League. He scored 27 goals and 45 points during his NHL debut and he was awarded the Calder Memorial Trophy.[2] Meeker also played in the 1947 NHL All-Star Game and he also tied an NHL record for most goals by a rookie in one game with five goals against the Chicago Black Hawks. Meeker also won his first Stanley Cup with the Leafs that season, the first of three consecutive Stanley Cups. The season, however, would prove Meeker's best as a pro, and he would never again approach that level of scoring.

In 1948–49, Meeker scored 34 points in 58 games and played in the 1948 NHL All-Star Game. He also helped the Leafs win their second consecutive Stanley Cup. Next season, Meeker sustained a collarbone injury that limited him to only 30 games and he did not play a single game in the playoffs as the Leafs took their third consecutive Stanley Cup. In 1950–51, Meeker won his fourth Stanley Cup with the Leafs as they beat the Montreal Canadiens in five games. Meeker would play three more seasons with the Leafs before retiring from the NHL. He continued to play hockey sporadically for 15 more years with different senior clubs.



He also coached the Maple Leafs, replacing King Clancy on April 11, 1956, leading the Leafs to a 21–34–15 record. He was promoted to general manager in 1957, but was fired before the start of the 1957–58 season.




Meeker spent two years as a Progressive Conservative MP while playing for the Leafs. In June 1951, Meeker won the federal by-election in the Ontario riding of Waterloo South. He did not seek re-election in the 1953 election.[3]

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

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Comedian Norm Crosby



Norman Lawrence Crosby (September 15, 1927 – November 7, 2020) was an American comedian born in Boston, Massachusetts. He was often referred to as "The Master of Malaprop".

Crosby went solo as a stand-up comedian, adopting a friendly, Blue collar, guy-next-door persona in the 1950s. Crosby refined his standup monologues by interpolating malapropisms. He first appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in December 1964. In late-1968, he co-starred on The Beautiful Phyllis Diller Show, an NBC twelve-week series.[2]

In 1974, he co-hosted a Canadian variety television series, Everything Goes.[3] From 1974 through 1984 he was on over half a dozen Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts including one of George Burns and two separate ones of Redd Foxx. From 1978 through 1981, he hosted a nationally syndicated series, The Comedy Shop, in which a mix of up-and-coming stand-up comics and vaudeville legends presented their material.[4]
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Crosby became a commercial pitchman for Anheuser-Busch Natural Light beer. During this time, he also appeared as a celebrity guest on a number of game shows, including Celebrity Bowling, Liar's Club, Tattletales, and Hollywood Squares. From 1983 until the program's dissociation with Jerry Lewis, Crosby co-hosted and contributed to the annual Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6560 Hollywood Boulevard.


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

[Eric the Green]

As a regular watcher of Jeopardy! I will miss Alex Trebek greatly. No-one could read (and edit) the clues as clearly, and no-one was such a dignified and class-filled presence on TV. I don't know who can fill his shoes.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/08/entertain...index.html

[beechnut79]

(11-09-2020, 05:35 AM)Eric the Green Wrote: As a regular watcher of Jeopardy! I will miss Alex Trebek greatly. No-one could read (and edit) the clues as clearly, and no-one was such a dignified and class-filled presence on TV. I don't know who can fill his shoes.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/08/entertain...index.html

As for cause of death, what is pancreatic cancer.

[David Horn]

(11-09-2020, 09:38 AM)beechnut79 Wrote:

(11-09-2020, 05:35 AM)Eric the Green Wrote: As a regular watcher of Jeopardy! I will miss Alex Trebek greatly. No-one could read (and edit) the clues as clearly, and no-one was such a dignified and class-filled presence on TV. I don't know who can fill his shoes.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/08/entertain...index.html

As for cause of death, what is pancreatic cancer.

Sadly, an increasingly common killer.  It used to be exceedingly rare.  Today, not so much.

[pbrower2a]

Anatoly Mikhailovich Stepin (Анатолий Михайлович Степин, 20 July 1940 – 7 November 2020) was a Soviet-Russian mathematician, specializing in dynamical systems and ergodic theory.

Stepin was born in Moscow on 20 July 1940. In 1965 he graduated from the Mechanics and Mathematics Faculty of Moscow State University. There he received in 1968 his Ph.D. under Felix Berezin with thesis "Применение метода аппроксимации динамических систем периодическими в спектральной теории" (Application of the method of approximation of dynamical systems by periodic spectral theory) and in 1986 his Russian doctorate (Doctor Nauk) with thesis "Спектральные и метрические свойства динамических систем и групп преобразований" (Spectral and metric properties of dynamical systems and groups of transformations). In 1970 he was an Invited Speaker at the ICM in Nice.[1] In 1993 he was awarded the academic title of Professor in Mathematics. Since 1993, he has taught at the department of the theory of functions and functional analysis of the Mechanics and Mathematics Faculty of Moscow State University. In 2009 he was awarded the title of Honorary Professor of Moscow State University. His doctoral students include Rostislav Grigorchuk and Yiangdong Ye.

On 7 November 2020, Stepin died at the age of 80.[2]

(It sounds important in mechanical engineering that designs the machines that do much of the vital work).

[pbrower2a]

journalist Seymour Topping


Seymour Topping (December 11, 1921 – November 8, 2020) was an American journalist best known for his work as a foreign correspondent covering wars in China, Korea, Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, and the Cold War in Europe. From 1969 to 1986, he was the second senior-most editor at The New York Times. At the time of his death, he was the San Paolo Professor Emeritus of International Journalism at Columbia University, where he also served as administrator of the Pulitzer Prizes from 1993 to 2002.

Topping was a member of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps and served as an United States Army infantry officer in the Philippines during World War II.[1] After this stint with the army, he joined the International News Service in Manila, and was assigned to China to cover the civil war in that region. He went on to join the Associated Press in 1948 as a foreign correspondent in China and Southeast Asia.[2] In 1949, while covering the civil war, he was taken a prisoner by the advancing communist forces in Nanjing and was released when the nationalist forces surrendered.[1][3] In the 1950s, he reported on the Korean War, and also was the first U.S. correspondent in Vietnam since World War II, where he covered the French colonial war against the communist forces led by Ho Chi Minh.[1]  


He joined The New York Times in 1959. Over the next 34 years, he held a variety of positions, including metropolitan reporter, Moscow and Southeast Asia bureau chief, foreign editor, assistant managing editor (1969–1976), deputy managing editor (1976), and managing editor (1977–1986). From 1969 onward, he was noted for being second only to executive editor A. M. Rosenthal.[3] His partnership with Rosenthal was credited with many innovations at the newspaper, including the introduction of feature sections and magazine supplements, facilitating unprecedented commercial success.[1] Following a reorganization of the company by Arthur Ochs Sulzberger in 1985, Topping became director of editorial development for The New York Times Company in 1987. In this position, his mandate was to focus on improving the journalistic quality of the then 32 regional associate newspapers owned by the Times Company.[3][4]

During Topping's time as the Moscow bureau chief, he covered the U-2 spy incident (1960), the Sino-Soviet split (early 1960s), the Soviet space program (early 1960s), and the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962).[1] Later, as Southeast Asian bureau chief from 1963 to 1966, he covered the Vietnam War, the Laotian Civil War, and the Cambodian Civil War.[1] Some of the key events that he covered therein include; the Chinese Revolution, the First Indochina War, and the Cold War in Europe.[1]
In 1993, he left The New York Times to join the Pulitzer Prize Board as its secretary and administrator. He held this position until his retirement in 2002.[4] He also taught at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism as the San Paolo Professor of International Journalism from 1994 to 2002.[5]

Topping served as the president of Emeritus Professors at Columbia,[6] president of the American Society of Newspaper Editors (1992–1993), president of the International Advisory Board of the School of Journalism at Tsinghua University,[7] and chairman of the ASNE's Committee on International Communication.[8] He was also a member of the National Committee on United States–China Relations,[9] the Council on Foreign Relations,[4] the Asia Society, and the Century Association.[10][11] New York Times journalist Robert D. McFadden stated that Topping was "one of the most accomplished foreign correspondents of his generation and a newsroom leader under the renowned executive editor A. M. Rosenthal."[1] John Daniszewski of the Associated Press described Topping as "among the most accomplished foreign correspondents of his generation for the Associated Press and The New York Times."[12]

Topping died on November 8, 2020 in White Plains, New York, at age 98, from a stroke.[1]

[pbrower2a]

Jerry John Rawlings (22 June 1947 – 12 November 2020)[1] was a Ghanaian military officer and politician who led the country from 1981 to 2001 and also for a brief period in 1979. He led a military junta until 1992, and then served two terms as the democratically elected president of Ghana.[2][3][4]

Rawlings came to power in Ghana as a flight lieutenant of the Ghana Air Force following a coup d'état in 1979. Prior to that, he led an unsuccessful coup attempt against the ruling military government on May 15, 1979, just five weeks before scheduled democratic elections were due to take place. After handing power over to a civilian government, he took back control of the country on 31 December 1981 as the Chairman of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC). In 1992, Rawlings resigned from the military, founded the National Democratic Congress (NDC), and became the first President of the Fourth Republic. He was re-elected in 1996 for four more years.[5] After two terms in office, the limit according to the Ghanaian Constitution, Rawlings endorsed his vice-president John Atta Mills as a presidential candidate in 2000. Rawlings served as the African Union envoy to Somalia.