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

[Daehawk]

Directed some great fun filled films. RIP.

[Blackhawk]

[Daehawk]

Biz Markie, 'Just A Friend' rapper, dead at 57

Biz Markie, who infused his music with so much fun and humor that he became known as "The Clown Prince of Hip Hop," has died, his manager, Jenni Izumi, confirmed to CNN.
He was 57.

God I hate that song. I dont think in my history of music that a song was professionally released that had a worse sounding singer on it.

[Kurth]

Biz Markie, 'Just A Friend' rapper, dead at 57

Biz Markie, who infused his music with so much fun and humor that he became known as "The Clown Prince of Hip Hop," has died, his manager, Jenni Izumi, confirmed to CNN.
He was 57.

God I hate that song. I dont think in my history of music that a song was professionally released that had a worse sounding singer on it.

That was kind of the point!

RIP Biz.

[Isgrimnur]

[Daehawk]

Lol was that him. I liked that scene.

I still dont know why that speedy guy's area is so quiet when the whole back side he is tossing through is open.

[Kraken]

Borscht belt comedian Jackie Mason, at 93. NYT's obit had me thinking maybe I vaguely remembered him, and then this:

Roles in sitcoms and films eluded him, although he did make the most of small parts in Mel Brooks’s “History of the World: Part I” (1981) — he was “Jew No. 1” in the Spanish Inquisition sequence — and “The Jerk” (1979), in which he played the gas-station owner who employs Steve Martin.

Ah, there we go. The Jerk is one of my favorites and I remember that character.

[Daehawk]

Had no idea he was still alive. I remember him but I cant recall if its from the 70s or 80s. Maybe it was Carson or some other show. I just cant place him. But when I saw the name I placed his look instantly.

[dbt1949]

I remember his comedy was pretty good even if mostly Jewish orientated.

[Kraken]

Physicist Steven Weinberg, 88. If you're into physics he was a giant. If you aren't, his contributions were mainly theoretical and of passing interest.

In his interview with the Nobel Institute, he was asked him about his often-quoted line near the end of “The First Three Minutes” — “The more that the universe seems comprehensible, the more it also seems pointless.”

“What I meant by that statement is that there is no point to be discovered in nature itself; there is no cosmic plan for us,” he said. “We are not actors in a drama that has been written with us playing the starring role. There are laws — we are discovering those laws — but they are impersonal, they are cold.”

He added: “It is not an entirely happy view of human life. I think it is a tragic view, but that is not new to physicists. A tragic view of life has been expressed by so many poets — that we are here without purpose, trying to identify something that we care about.”

[Hrdina]

Borscht belt comedian Jackie Mason, at 93. NYT's obit had me thinking maybe I vaguely remembered him, and then this:

Roles in sitcoms and films eluded him, although he did make the most of small parts in Mel Brooks’s “History of the World: Part I” (1981) — he was “Jew No. 1” in the Spanish Inquisition sequence — and “The Jerk” (1979), in which he played the gas-station owner who employs Steve Martin.

Ah, there we go. The Jerk is one of my favorites and I remember that character.

I will remember him more as Rabbi Hyman Krustofsky.

[Skinypupy]

Damn, it's been a bad couple of days for deaths in the metal community.

- Former Slipknot drummer Joey Jordison dies at 46.
- Metal Church singer Mike Howe passes at 55.

[Smoove_B]

RIP For ZZ Top's Dusty Hill

ZZ Top has shared the sad news that its bassist Dusty Hill has died at his home in Houston Wednesday at the age of 72.

“We are saddened by the news today that our Compadre, Dusty Hill, has passed away in his sleep at home in Houston, TX. We, along with legions of ZZ Top fans around the world, will miss your steadfast presence, your good nature and enduring commitment to providing that monumental bottom to the ‘Top’. We will forever be connected to that “Blues Shuffle in C.”You will be missed greatly, amigo. Frank & Billy”

[Reemul]

Dusty Hill - ZZ Top, passed away in his sleep, 72

[Jeff V]

Oh, fuck. That sucks. I saw ZZ Top 3 times, each concert was remarkable.

First time was their Deguello tour. It was at the Aragon Brawlroom and the special effects consisted of a neon campfire and a video projected on a screen behind them. It was all about the music, and this wasn't the biggest concert on that night...afterward we managed to catch half of the UFO concert being broadcast on radio and was where all the cool kids were.

Second time was the Eliminator tour. While the first time I saw them was the most austere stage show I'd ever seen done by an arena band, this tour couldn't have been more different. It was, at the time, the most expensive tour in rock history, clocking in at $25M. This was a sold out show at Alpine Valley, capacity 40,000 (Aragon maybe 8,000 ignoring fire codes). When we arrived, there was a big King Tut head in the middle of the stage, and a white sheet spanning the stage covering something. When the prelude music ramped up it's crescendo, suddenly the whole sheet was sucked up King Tut's nose. The set it was covering was the dashboard of a vintage Cadillac. The first half of their 3 hour set was all of their older music. At the end of the set, the guitars were spinning, fog machines were on, and then everyone was gone, just spinning guitars on stage. Then there was a pause when the dashboard converted from an old analog dashboard to a modern digital once. Then they did their new stuff, including most of the Eliminator album. It was really a spectacular show.

Third time was also remarkable. It was indoors (Rosemont Horizon for those familiar with the venue) but the opening act was an up-and-coming band, The Black Crowes, and it was an outstanding combination.

[Torfish]

Oh, fuck. That sucks. I saw ZZ Top 3 times, each concert was remarkable.

First time was their Deguello tour. It was at the Aragon Brawlroom and the special effects consisted of a neon campfire and a video projected on a screen behind them. It was all about the music, and this wasn't the biggest concert on that night...afterward we managed to catch half of the UFO concert being broadcast on radio and was where all the cool kids were.

Second time was the Eliminator tour. While the first time I saw them was the most austere stage show I'd ever seen done by an arena band, this tour couldn't have been more different. It was, at the time, the most expensive tour in rock history, clocking in at $25M. This was a sold out show at Alpine Valley, capacity 40,000 (Aragon maybe 8,000 ignoring fire codes). When we arrived, there was a big King Tut head in the middle of the stage, and a white sheet spanning the stage covering something. When the prelude music ramped up it's crescendo, suddenly the whole sheet was sucked up King Tut's nose. The set it was covering was the dashboard of a vintage Cadillac. The first half of their 3 hour set was all of their older music. At the end of the set, the guitars were spinning, fog machines were on, and then everyone was gone, just spinning guitars on stage. Then there was a pause when the dashboard converted from an old analog dashboard to a modern digital once. Then they did their new stuff, including most of the Eliminator album. It was really a spectacular show.

Third time was also remarkable. It was indoors (Rosemont Horizon for those familiar with the venue) but the opening act was an up-and-coming band, The Black Crowes, and it was an outstanding combination.

That's amazing!

Take a look at their documentary on Netflix. It's really good.

[Jeff V]

Sadly, don't have Netflix at the moment. I need a job so I can subscribe to such things again.

[Jeff V]

Oh, and once I stopped in LaGrange (TX) and got a carwash.

[Kraken]

I only saw ZZ Top once. They were touring with Kiss. The internet says that was in 1974, but I remember it being 76 or 77 because I was in junior college at the time. Can't find any record of that.

[Jeff V]

Ron Popiel, 86

I'm surprised he was, until yesterday, still alive and that he was only 86. Never had a Veg-o-Matic but I did have a Pocket Fisherman.

[dbt1949]

I had a Veg-o-Matic for years and it worked great. He was quite a character. RIP

[Max Peck]

[Sudy]

I'll never forget those informercials.

[Daehawk]

RIP to Ron and Dusty. I remember Ron from way back in the 70s. Even owned some of his schlock. Dusty and ZZ have been part of my music since the 80s. Not heard much from them in a decade or more.

[Jeff V]

My sister posted a picture of a Dusty Hill Pop! Rocks figurine she owns. There was a coworker who I never would have thought to be in the ZZ Top demographic, but she once told me she'd like to see them in concert...apparently she was a huge fan, and reiterated as much when I tagged her on the FB post.

[Isgrimnur]

Saginaw Grant

Saginaw Grant, the Native American actor known for his performance as Chief Big Bear in “The Lone Ranger” and for featured roles in “Breaking Bad” and other popular series and films, died Wednesday in Hollywood, according to the Associated Press. He was 85.

Grant’s publicist, Lani Carmichael, confirmed to the AP that he died peacefully of natural causes at a private care facility. “He loved both Oklahoma and L.A.,” Carmichael said about Grant, who was also the hereditary chief of the Sac and Fox Nation. “He made his home here as an actor, but he never forgot his roots in Oklahoma. He remained a fan of the Sooner Nation.”

Grant was born in Pawnee, Okla. in 1936 and later served in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Korean War.

[Daehawk]

Im afraid I dont know him. It does list My Name Is Earl and The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles as two of his roles so Im sure I must have seen him in those eps. RIP.

[dbt1949]

He did a good job with what he did. RIP

[Kraken]

He did a good job with what he did. RIP

I hope this will be my epitaph.

[hepcat]

Steve Martin is dead, although Steve Martin disagrees.

[Daehawk]

Steve says to say "Hi"

[dbt1949]

Markie Post passes away at the age of 70. One of the sexiest woman of all time. RIP

[Daehawk]

Awww liked her in Night Court and Fall Guy. She was so hot in that ep Buck Rogers too. Always had a crush on her hot self. The body the face and could do comedy. RIP.

[Unagi]

/edit: Meh... not worth it.

[Blackhawk]

/edit: Meh... not worth it.

+1

[Skinypupy]

Bobby Bowden passes at 91

[dbt1949]

Just read where Jane Withers died today at the ripe old age of 95. One of those people I thought had died 30 years ago. She was in the Little Rascals and used to do a lot of commercials.

[Daehawk]

I dont remember her from stuff. It says she retired in 1956! I saw where she said she would wash James Dean's favorite pink cowboy shirt during the filming of Giant. Said the studio laundry lost stuff. He told her to hang onto it until he picked it up. Said the last time was when he got killed in the car wreck. She still had the shirt waiting on him that time and she kept it all her life.

I should remember her from these commercials but I was so little in the early 70s I dont recall it....more a ghost memory that feels like I have.

hehe Look at her and Robby Benson

[Jeff V]

Markie Post - 70

Not a good year or so for Night Court actors.

[Brian]

I mean...