In Remembrance:2007

[Wombat]

I give vast points to Bubbles (Beverley Sills).

She had a grand voice, she was very intelligent ... and she was a kook! She happily showed up for all her performances, but also showed up on The Muppet Show and with Carol Burnett.

She was a grand example of "Like something because you like it, not because you are supposed to like it."

Gonna miss you, Bubbles.

 

[GrayLinnorm]

Benny Hill theme composer dies

Saxophonist Boots Randolph died yesterday of complications following a cerebral hemorrage. He was 80.

Randolph was a fixture in Nashville nightclubs for 30 years. He recorded more than 40 albums and was a session musician for Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Buddy Holly, Johnny Cash, Brenda Lee, and REO Speedwagon. He is probably best known for writing and performing "Yakety Sax", which was used as the theme for The Benny Hill Show.

 

[GrayLinnorm]

Hy Zaret, who wrote the lyrics to "Unchained Melody", one of the most recodred songs of the 20th century AD, died Monday. He was 99.

Zaret was nominated for an Academy Award for "Unchained Melody", which was originally written for a movie called Unchained. He also wrote the theme for Your Hit Parade and songs for Jimmy Dorsey and the Andrews Sisters.

 

[coyote6]

I just read that Fred Saberhagen died Friday.

 

[Fast Learner]

I just read that Fred Saberhagen died Friday.

Aye, details above, in post 108.

 

[GrayLinnorm]

Charles Lane, a prolific character actor best known for playing crotchety authority figures, died Monday. He was 102.

Lane's career spanned more than 70 years. He was in It's a Wonderful Life, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, I Love Lucy, and Petticoat Junction. He continued to act into his 90s.

 

[GrayLinnorm]

Doug Marlette, a Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist, and creator of the comic strip Kudzu, was killed in a car accident yesterday. He was 57.

 

[GrayLinnorm]

Kathleen Woodiwiss, a pioneer of the modern historical romance novel, died last Friday. She was 68.

Before Woodiwiss wrote her first novel, The Flame and the Flower, in 1972, romance novels were a lot shorter and simpler. Her novels featured strong heroines, more details, and steamy sex scenes. All of her books were best sellers.

 

[RichCsigs]

"Lady Bird" Johnson

First Lady Claudia "Lady Bird" Johnson, widow of 36th U.S. President Lyndon Johnson, passed away at her home today at the age of 94.
An environmentalist before there even was a term (they called it "beautification" then), Lady Bird often supported causes that helped clean up water ways and forest areas. In 1982, on her 70th birthday, she created (with actress Helen Hayes) The National Wildflower Research Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and reintroducing native plants in planned landscapes.

 

[AuroraGyps]

Kathleen Woodiwiss, a pioneer of the modern historical romance novel, died last Friday. She was 68.

Before Woodiwiss wrote her first novel, The Flame and the Flower, in 1972, romance novels were a lot shorter and simpler. Her novels featured strong heroines, more details, and steamy sex scenes. All of her books were best sellers.

My mom was over here when I read this. Woodwise was the first romance author that my mom ever read... while she was pregnant with me! She's the author that got my mom hooked on romance novels. Those led to her reading mysteries and other books, which in turn, turned her into the bibliophile she is today, that goes to so many book sales and finds us both so many books (and she's gotten very good at knowing scifi/fantasy/RPG info now).

Goodbye Ms Woodwise and thank you.