R.I.P. The thread of death....celebrity or otherwise

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Wed Dec 11, 2019 2:18 pm

There seems to be a lot of celeb or semi celeb deaths these days and I seem to post a lot of RIP threads and was thinking a thread that holds them all might be in order. If you'd rather just keep it single threads so they may get seen easier speak up on your opinions. I kinda like separate ones but they are becoming legion.

RIP Philip McKeon, former child actor, has died at 55

He starred on Alice as her son. I remember him well from that show. He was also Nancy McKeon's of The Facts of Life brother.

McKeon died in Texas after a long illness, family spokesman Jeff Ballard said in a news release.
He was most recognizable as Tommy Hyatt, the son of the titular character on "Alice," played by Linda Lavin. The show, which ran from 1976 to 1985, followed Alice, an aspiring singer who worked as a waitress at a diner in Phoenix.

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RIP Outlander Child Actor and Ballet Dancer Jack Burns Dies at 14

Child ballet star and actor Jack Burns, best known for his role on the Starz series Outlander, has died at age 14.

According to Metro UK, Burns was found dead at his home in Greenock, Inverclyde in Scotland on Dec. 1.

While the cause of death has not yet been revealed, police told the outlet that they are not treating his death as suspicious.

McNutt · Post by **McNutt** » Wed Dec 11, 2019 2:20 pm

Sucks about Philip McKean (sucks about the other kid too, I just didn't know of him). I watched a lot of Alice as a kid, so I remember Philip well.

Jaymann · Post by **Jaymann** » Wed Dec 11, 2019 3:11 pm

This thread is a good idea.

gameoverman · Post by **gameoverman** » Wed Dec 11, 2019 5:00 pm

I have to admit the subject line confused me. I thought there was a thread called "The thread of death" and this thread was to mourn it being closed or deleted. The real purpose of this thread makes more sense.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Sat Dec 21, 2019 12:23 pm

RIP Chuck Peddle, lead designer of the MOS 650x series of CPU]]

The 6502 is what propelled the Commodore 64 to being "the best selling home computer of all time" for many years, as well as powered numerous gaming devices like the NES and the PC Engine through derivatives. RIP.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Sun Dec 22, 2019 5:57 pm

Online bulletin board inventor Randy Suess dies at 74

It's a sad week if you've ever posted on a social network or an internet forum. Randy Suess, the creator of the software for first online public bulletin board, died on December 10th at the age of 74. He and Ward Christensen built the Computer Bulletin Board System (CBBS) in 1978 to give users a central place to float ideas, post notices and otherwise coordinate without meeting in person. Of course, it wasn't nearly as sophisticated as the giant internet services you see today -- CBBS revolved around a customized personal computer that required a dial-up modem to access.

Thanks man. One of the big draws to me to the PC was that I could play multiplayer games with others and they didn't have to be beside me or me travel to them. That old 2400 baud modem only lasted me 5 months but it was a start with friend's and online games on BBSs

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Sun Dec 22, 2019 6:37 pm

My first online home was a small BBS called Argus. It got bought by a bigger one called Channel 1, which in turn got subsumed by that newfangled thing called the internet...which really meant Usenet, for forums. I stuck with Usenet until I found Gone Gold. Remember downloading batches of new messages, replying offline, and uploading your replies?

hitbyambulance · Post by **hitbyambulance** » Thu Dec 26, 2019 2:23 am

https://www.fidonet.org/

FIDOnet is still around!

gilraen · Post by **gilraen** » Fri Dec 27, 2019 7:47 pm

Radio host Don Imus dies at age 79

Don Imus, the broadcast provocateur who was a staple of morning drive-time radio for decades, died Friday in College Station, Texas after being hospitalized on Christmas Eve. He was 79.

Imus retired from his nationally syndicated “Imus in the Morning” radio show in March 2018. He told CBS News at the time he was suffering from emphysema.

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Fri Dec 27, 2019 8:37 pm

gilraen wrote: Fri Dec 27, 2019 7:47 pm Radio host Don Imus dies at age 79
Don Imus, the broadcast provocateur who was a staple of morning drive-time radio for decades, died Friday in College Station, Texas after being hospitalized on Christmas Eve. He was 79.

Imus retired from his nationally syndicated “Imus in the Morning” radio show in March 2018. He told CBS News at the time he was suffering from emphysema.

I feel like we’re about to be informed that Shock Jocks deserve polite respect or something...

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Fri Dec 27, 2019 11:08 pm

Never cared for shock jocks. I think even after a long career he will be remembered for just one thing.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Tue Dec 31, 2019 1:45 am

https://boingboing.net/2019/12/30/vaugh ... -desi.html

Vaughan Oliver 62 -- graphic designer for 4AD, Cocteau Twins, Pixies -- RIP

Vaughan Oliver, the graphic designer whose work defined the 4AD record label, has died. He was 62. His ethereal, surreal, magnificent album art for The Pixies, Cocteau Twins, This Mortal Coil, and Clan of Xymox brought together design and music in a way that forever changed and elevated the design of music packaging.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Thu Jan 02, 2020 1:47 pm

Former NBA commissioner David Stern dies at 77

Stern died as a result of the brain hemorrhage he suffered three weeks ago. His wife, Dianne, and their family were with him at his bedside, the NBA said.
...
Stern was commissioner for three decades and shepherded the league into the global market. He helped expand the game on the backbone of the NBA's star players, highlighted by the Dream Team's impact at the 1992 Olympics.

The NBA itself grew under Stern. Seven teams joined the league, and six relocated. Stern also helped in the creation of the WNBA, which had its inaugural season in 1997, and the NBA Development League, now known as the G League, providing countless opportunities for players to pursue careers playing basketball in the United States that previously weren't available.
...
Stern's tenure overlapped with two of basketball's all-time greats, Michael Jordan and LeBron James. Stern became commissioner in February 1984, the year Jordan entered the league. Stern stepped down from his post three decades later in 2014, the year after James won his second NBA title.

Hrdina · Post by **Hrdina** » Thu Jan 02, 2020 3:44 pm

Jazz Trumpeter Jack Sheldon Dies At 88

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Thu Jan 02, 2020 3:47 pm

Don Larsen

Former New York Yankees star Don Larsen, who is the only pitcher to throw a perfect game in World Series history, died on Wednesday, according to Bill Madden of the New York Daily News. He was 90.

Larsen, per the report, died in hospice care in Hayden, Idaho, after a battle with esophageal cancer.

Larsen spent 14 seasons in the league from 1953-1967. He spent five years with the Yankees — the most he spent with any of the seven teams he played for — from 1956-1959, and won two World Series titles in New York in 1956 and 1958.

Larsen threw the iconic perfect game in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series, putting the Brooklyn Dodgers away with just 97 pitches and seven strikeouts at Yankee Stadium. Larsen was named the MVP of that series, too, after the Yankees won the title in seven games.

dbt1949 · Post by **dbt1949** » Thu Jan 02, 2020 4:28 pm

I remember watching him pitch in LA.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Thu Jan 02, 2020 4:28 pm

For the most part I hated those schoolhouse rock edutainment commercials during my Saturday morning cartoons. Not only were they weird sounding but they were too long! I didn't want to learn on Saturday I wanted to just get back to my cartoon of the moment. When I saw one come on Id run for the kitchen snacks. I knew I had almost 2 minutes if not more. Unfortunately for me every damn one of them stuck in my head and I can sing right along with them. But I admit Conjunction Junction is the best.

McNutt · Post by **McNutt** » Thu Jan 02, 2020 5:18 pm

I don't know how to feel about David Stern as a commissioner. The man certainly did wonders for the NBA and its bottom line, but he also oversaw the period of the NBA that drove me away from the sport. I enjoyed it when people were afraid to enter the paint and hated the transition to ridiculous liberties that players were allowed to make the game "exciting" (switching pivot foots, the third step, the foul calls anytime someone contested the dunk).

But since Stern's job was to make the business profitable and not just to make McNutt happy I guess I'll give him a "well done" salute.

Jaymann · Post by **Jaymann** » Thu Jan 02, 2020 9:32 pm

Stern was the A-hole who nixed the Chris Paul trade to the Lakers but had no problem allowing players to collude to form super teams. Makes no sense.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Thu Jan 09, 2020 10:01 pm

ABC 7

Actor and former teen idol Edd Byrnes - best known for the show "77 Sunset Strip" and the film "Grease" - has died at age 87, according to his family.

Byrnes died Wednesday of natural causes at his home in Santa Monica, according to his son, Logan Byrnes, a news anchor in San Diego.
...
Brynes gained fame playing Kookie on the old ABC detective series, "77 Sunset Strip."

In 1959, during the show's run, he and Connie Stevens hit No. 4 on the Billboard charts with the song, "Kookie, Kookie, Lend Me Your Comb." The song went gold.

Byrnes also famously played "National Bandstand" host Vince Fontaine in the 1978 hit film "Grease."
...
Besides his son Logan, Byrnes is survived by his former wife Asa Maynor, long time partner Cathrine Gross and their maltipoo Marlowe.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Thu Jan 09, 2020 10:39 pm

I always wondered why she wanted that damn comb so much.

dbt1949 · Post by **dbt1949** » Thu Jan 09, 2020 11:29 pm

I used to watch the olde TV show. He was pretty "hip" back then. Remember his song too.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Thu Jan 09, 2020 11:39 pm

I like those two but I could never stand that song.

McNutt · Post by **McNutt** » Wed Jan 15, 2020 9:38 am

RIP Stan Kirsch - Richie from the Highlander series.

It was a cheesy show, but I liked it. Way too young.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Wed Jan 15, 2020 11:13 am

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Wed Jan 15, 2020 3:41 pm

What? Aw damnit. I knew who it was soon as I saw that pic. I didn't want to like the tv show but I fell in love with it. It just got better and better. Poor guy,. Wonder what happened to make him do that. I haven't seen him in a long time though. Shame. RIP man.

McNutt · Post by **McNutt** » Wed Jan 15, 2020 3:57 pm

I never forgave him for killing Carter Wellan. The guy just wanted a drink.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Wed Jan 15, 2020 4:22 pm

BBC

A large metal plate launched by an explosion at a chemical plant in Spain's autonomous Catalonia region killed a man 3km (two miles) away.

The man, named only as Sergio, was in his apartment when the one tonne object struck, causing part of the building to collapse, officials have confirmed.

A senior member of staff at the factory was also killed in the explosion, which seriously injured two others.

Tuesday's blast occurred at about 18:40 local time (17:40 GMT) in La Canonja.

Authorities said it was probably caused by a chemical accident, but that no toxic substances were released.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Wed Jan 15, 2020 4:45 pm

Geez.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Thu Jan 16, 2020 4:36 pm

https://www.tor.com/2020/01/16/christop ... h-obituary

Christopher Tolkien, the son of J.R.R. Tolkien who continued his father’s publishing legacy, has died, according to The Tolkien Society. He was 95.

The third son of the late epic fantasy author, Christopher was the initial audience for his father’s initial famous work, The Hobbit. While the elder Tolkien rose to international fame with his Lord of the Rings trilogy, he was also responsible for creating the massive world and backstory in which the novels were set. Following the death of his father in 1973, Christopher Tolkien was placed in charge of his massive literary estate, and began to organize his papers.

In 1977, he collected and published The Silmarillion, a work that Tolkien had intended to publish, which explored the origins of Middle-earth and set up the conflict that he explored in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

In the years that followed, he continued to produce new volumes of Tolkien’s unpublished writings, releasing Unfinished Tales in 1980, the 12-volume History of Middle-earth between 1982 and 1996, and edited and completed a number of longer narratives and translations of epic poems, including The Children of Húrin (2007), The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún (2009), The Fall of Arthur (2013), Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary, (2014), Beren and Lúthien (2017), and The Fall of Gondolin (2018).

In 2017, Tolkien stepped down as the director of the Tolkien Estate and Tolkien Trust, saying at the time that Beren and Lúthien would likely be his final book. Tolkien was a staunch critic of Peter Jackson’s adaptation of his father’s trilogy, telling Le Monde in 2012 that “They gutted the book, making it an action movie for 15-25 year-olds, and it looks like The Hobbit will be the same.” His death comes at a time when his father’s books are more popular than ever, and as Amazon works to create a massive TV series based on the works that he himself helped bring to the public.

While Tolkien was the author behind the world of Middle-earth, Christopher Tolkien was the one responsible for ensuring that his father’s stories remained in the public view by continuing to publish develop the backstory of the world that has influenced and inspired fans around the world.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Thu Jan 16, 2020 5:13 pm

That's sad, especially when you consider that The Hobbit was written for Christopher and his brother as bedtime tales, and it was Christopher who influenced his father to write the Lord of the Rings. He was as much a part of the books' history as his father, and I have a number of books he was responsible for on my shelf. With his passing, the stories go from being a personal thing to someone to being just another IP.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Thu Jan 16, 2020 6:19 pm

RIP. Seems he did good to keep it all alive except for dissing the movies. No one wants to sit through a true rendition of the book. Too boring for 3 hours. The movies also turned countless on to the book.

Is there no family left? Said he had 3 sons. None of them had kids? I dont like it when a great thing becomes the property of either an idiot family member who only sees dollar signs or a greedy idiot corp that only sees dollar signs.

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Sat Jan 25, 2020 10:52 pm

Sean Reinert, former drummer for Cynic and Death dead at 48. Suspected heart failure.

Had a chance to see Cynic before their nasty split, and Sean was absolutely incredible. It was mesmerizing to watch him do his thing.

His impact on the genre cannot be understated, as both Focus (Cynic) and Human (Death) were landmark albums.

As rock drummer passings go, this one hits me far harder than Pearts. RIP.

hitbyambulance · Post by **hitbyambulance** » Mon Feb 03, 2020 2:44 pm

RIP Andy Gill, last original member of Gang of Four

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/01/arts ... -dead.html

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Mon Feb 03, 2020 3:30 pm

Seems a lot of folk are dying younger in the early 60s.

Dramatist · Post by **Dramatist** » Tue Feb 04, 2020 12:20 pm

hitbyambulance wrote: Mon Feb 03, 2020 2:44 pm RIP Andy Gill, last original member of Gang of Four

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/01/arts ... -dead.html

A true original guitarist. RIP.

MHS · Post by **MHS** » Wed Feb 05, 2020 8:18 pm

I just wanted to add to a third post the news that Kirk Douglas has died at age 103. Carry on.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Wed Feb 05, 2020 8:29 pm

MHS wrote: Wed Feb 05, 2020 8:18 pm I just wanted to add to a third post the news that Kirk Douglas has died at age 103. Carry on.

Ive wondered about when he'd die for at least 20 years. An icon of old Hollywood. One of my all time favorites. I actually thought Death had given up on him after all the ass whoopins Kirk had given him. Rest in peace young feller.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Wed Feb 05, 2020 8:35 pm

The man lived longer than George Burns. That's saying something.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Wed Feb 05, 2020 8:46 pm

MHS wrote: Wed Feb 05, 2020 8:18 pm I just wanted to add to a third post the news that Kirk Douglas has died at age 103. Carry on.

So young. May your memory live forever, Spartacus.