| RIP: George Carlin! |
[Jun. 23rd, 2008|06:40 am] |
Wow. Pity he didn't survive the current administration. He had a history of heart problems and it finally claimed him, he had a fatal heart attack Sunday afternoon, he was 71. He had some pretty insightful and incisive stuff, in fact, one could say that he finally had a place for his stuff. He was the first host of Saturday Night Live in 1975, appeared on The Tonight Show 130 times, "He produced 23 comedy albums, 14 HBO specials, three books, a couple of TV shows and appeared in several movies, from his own comedy specials to "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" in 1989". "Carlin won four Grammy Awards for best spoken comedy album, and it was announced Tuesday that he would be awarded the 11th annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor."
And here's something that I definitely did not know: he got his start in 1960 with George Burns! I wonder if there's footage of that around, I'm sure it will surface soon if it's available.
He'll be missed.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080623/ap_on_en_tv/obit_george_carlin
http://blog.wired.com/underwire/2008/06/comedian-george.html |
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| RIP: Erick Wujcik |
[Jun. 11th, 2008|12:40 am] |
Pancreatic cancer finally claimed him. He was highly regarded for his RPG designs and panels at game conventions. Though I probably attended some of the same conventions, I never met the man, more's the pity.
I'll have to dig out my Amber Diceless RPG and TMNT and give them a once-over. |
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| RIP: Harvey Korman |
[May. 29th, 2008|08:47 pm] |
He was quite a comedian.
http://www.imdb.com/news/ni0242561/
Comedian Harvey Korman, a multiple-Emmy award winner best known for his work on "The Carol Burnett Show" and in comedies such as Blazing Saddles and The Pink Panther Strikes Again, died Thursday at the age of 81. According to a family statement issued by UCLA Medical Center, Korman reportedly suffered complications related to the rupture of an abdominal aortic aneurysm he experienced four months ago. Korman’s television career spans back to the early ‘60s, including small parts on such classic series as "The Red Skelton Show" and "The Untouchables". It was not until he began to appear in skits on "The Danny Kaye Show" that he became known for his dry delivery and ease with playing the second banana. Korman joined that show’s cast in 1964 and remained with it until its cancellation in 1967, the same year he joined the skit comedy series that made him a household name, "The Carol Burnett Show." On "Carol Burnett" the lanky Korman’s claim to fame was playing the perfect straight man to the outrageous slapstick comedy of the other actors in the cast, but mainly Burnett and fellow cast member Tim Conway. They and the fourth member of the variety show's core ensemble, Vicki Lawrence, spoofed a number of iconic films and television series throughout the show’s run. "We were an ensemble, and Carol had the most incredible attitude,” Korman said in a 2005 Variety interview. "I've never worked with a star of that magnitude who was willing to give so much away.'' Korman spent ten seasons on "Carol Burnett” before leaving to helm his own series, "The Harvey Korman Show", which was quickly canceled. But the comedy actor soon parlayed his familiarity into a number of recognizable roles on series such as "The Love Boat", "Roseanne" and "Mama’s Family". He also lent his voice to The Great Gazoo on "The Flintstones" in 1966, before finding fame on "Carol Burnett." But it was his turn as Hedley Lamarr, a clumsy version a moustache-twirling villain in Mel Brooks' Western satire Blazing Saddles, that film buffs may recall best. He also appeared in two other Brooks comedies, History of the World: Part I and High Anxiety, in addition to playing Professor Auguste Balls in Trail of the Pink Panther and Curse of the Pink Panther. More recently Korman partnered with Conway for a live show, "Tim Conway and Harvey Korman: Together Again," which toured the country. He is survived his daughters Katherine and Laura, his wife Deborah Fritz, and two children from his previous marriage to Donna Ehlert, Maria and Christopher. |
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| RIP: Robert Asprin |
[May. 27th, 2008|01:33 pm] |
I wasn't a fanatical follower of Bob, but he wrote some very good stuff over the years. He will be missed.
http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?category=0&id=54812
Fantasy Author Asprin Is Dead
Best-selling fantasy author Robert Asprin died May 22 of natural causes at his home in New Orleans. He was 61.
Asprin was best known for his MythAdventures fantasy series, which began in 1978 with Another Fine Myth. The long-running series consists of 18 volumes, with a 19th volume forthcoming. Other notable work includes the Phule's Company series and the creation of the Thieves' World shared-world anthology series. The first book of a new series, Dragons Wild, was published in April.
According to Asprin's Web site, he had been "in good spirits and working on several new projects" at the time of his death.
Asprin, whose full name was Robert Lynn Asprin, was born on June 28, 1946, in St. Johns, Mich. Prior to publishing his first novel in 1977, he attended the University of Michigan and served briefly in the U.S. Army.
He is survived by his mother, sister, daughter and son. |
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| Another Pre-RIP: Borders Bookstore |
[Mar. 23rd, 2008|10:23 am] |
Apparently they're having severe financial problems and collapse is just around the corner, likely to be bought out by Barnes & Noble. I seem to recall reading about the closure of a Borders in someone's blog, I think Felisdemens, and I was quite surprised.
Many years ago, there were two major bookstore chains in Phoenix, they evolved into Borders and Barnes & Noble. Though I always felt that Borders had the better selection overall, I never liked the feel of the stores. I've yet to identify exactly what bothered me, and this is not to say that I go into throes of ecstacy when I walk into B&N, it's just that Borders has never been my primary destination. Dunno why. So now most of the mom & pops have died, though they seem to be making a bit of a come back, and now one of the majors is about to die. I wonder if Amazon might make a play for them.
http://blog.wired.com/sterling/2008/03/giant-bookstore.html |
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| Pre-RIP: Erick Wujcik |
[Mar. 23rd, 2008|09:19 am] |
I Was reading Knights of the Dinner Table last night and came across a bit of sad news. The reasonably well-known game designer, Erick Wujcik, has contracted a very nasty form of cancer: pancreatic, and it has already spread to his liver.
This is an extremely virulent form and frequently you don't have long to live once diagnosed, which he was in December. He's still kicking, and recently celebrated his 57th birthday.
Part of a list of games that he's responsible for, from Wikipedia, is: "numerous role-playing games and supplements for such gaming settings as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Other Strangeness, Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game, Amber Diceless Roleplaying Game, Paranoia, Robotech, Rifts, and many others."
I'm not a fan of Kevin Siembieda's business practices in silencing criticism, but he's extremely tight with Erick and has written a very glowing tribute at the following link:
http://www.erickwujcik.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erick_Wujcik |
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| RIP: Arthur C. Clarke |
[Mar. 19th, 2008|07:06 am] |
He made it to 90, and from what I've heard, he was in pretty good shape mentally. I was having a discussion with the owner of a small camera repair shop here in town last Friday, it's pretty much the only non-Wal Mart/Best Buy store that sells cameras here, and we were discussing how we got interested in classical music. As it turns out, I was born on Beethoven's birthday. I have become quite a fan of Ludwig's, though my taste runs more to the baroque and quartet areas. Likewise, Clarke was also a December 16 baby, and I know 2001 and Rendezvous With Ranma, sorry, Rama, was among the early scifi books that I read, along with the Foundation series.
We'll miss ya, Sir Arthur. Ya done good.
http://blog.wired.com/underwire/2008/03/arthur-c-clarke.html |
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| RIP: Bobby Fischer! |
[Jan. 19th, 2008|10:00 am] |
Huh. I didn't know what was going on with him, last I heard he was in an immigration tussle with the US. Apparently he died in Reykjavik, Iceland, where he defeated Spassky in '72 to become the world chess champion. He did a re-match in Yugoslavia in '92 and sort of became a criminal as at the time Americans weren't allowed to travel there. He moved around a bit, settled in Japan, where he was arrested in 2004 on immigration violation charges. It seems I heard about Iceland offering him citizenship, but the story fell off my news radar at that point.
He was absolutely brilliant at chess, but kind of screwed up otherwise as a person. He was strongly anti-Semitic, even though he was a Jew, might have had some mental health problems. Strange person. I never met him (I've met Karpov and Kasparov), and I really wasn't interested in meeting him.
One chess-symmetry thing is there are 64 squares on the chess board, and he died at the age of 64. A chessie to the end.
The story
If you want to see how twisted his mind was, take a look at his home page. |
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| RIP: Ike Turner |
[Dec. 13th, 2007|06:50 am] |
From IMDB:
Ike Turner Dead
Rocker and bluesman Ike Turner has died at his San Marcos, California home, aged 76. The "Proud Mary" hitmaker was born Izear Luster Turner Jr. in Clarksdale, Mississippi - the son of a trader who was beaten to death in a racial attack. He began his music career as a Mississippi-area DJ and pianist and later became a tough-talking, demanding band leader, finding early success with the Kings Of Rhythm, who scored a hit with Rocket 88 in 1951. The song turned Turner and his band into favorites in Memphis, Tennessee, where they recorded the track, and the Kings Of Rhythm spent four years backing blues greats like Howlin' Wolf, Elmore James and Buddy Guy, often recording with them at Sun Studios. The hard-working act went on to conquer other parts of America as Turner adopted a revue format for live performances and used the band to try out talented performers. One such talent was a teenage singer called Anna Mae Bullock, who became a regular part of Turner's revue in the mid-1950s. Bullock moved into Turner's house after falling pregnant by a bandmate. While living together, the pair embarked on a torrid affair and Bullock wed Turner, becoming Tina Turner, in 1958. Ike Turner enjoyed massive chart success in the 1960s and 1970s with his then-wife, scoring hits with tracks like "Proud Mary" and "Nutbush City Limits" - and touring with The Rolling Stones. With international success came problems and Turner developed a cocaine addiction, which, in turn, transformed him into a violent control freak, who would often pick on his wife and accuse her of trying to destroy his act. In her autobiography, she accused Ike of beating her and deliberately burning her with cigarettes and coffee. Unable to cope with the abuse any more, Tina walked out on her husband in the middle of a 1975 tour. The couple divorced the following year. Ike Turner became a famous cocaine addict during the late 1970s - the drug drained his finances, and brought him many legal woes. He was arrested numerous times for drug-related crimes. As his ex-wife's solo career took off, Ike struggled to stay clean and when he and Tina were jointly inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 1991, he was unable to attend the ceremony because he was serving prison time. Ike was vilified as a wife beater in the media and demonized in Tina Turner biopic What's Love Got To Do With It. During the 1990s, Turner remarried and turned his back on drugs. His autobiography, Takin' Back My Name, was a hit in 1999 and he released a comeback record in 2001, Here And Now, which was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Traditional Blues Album category. He lost that prize but won his second Grammy earlier this year. |
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happy