I Almost Forgot They Were Gone

It is the start of May … granted, over a week ago … and that means we need to mourn the loss of celebrities who have departed the last few weeks. If I do nothing else, I need to remember to pay homage to those that entertained us and those that didn’t, but who were still considered “celebrities”. Shall we?

Steven Bochco – 74 – TV Producer and writer – April 1

David Edgerton – 90 – Co-founder of Burger King – April 3

Ron Dunbar – 77 Songwriter Give Me Just A Little More Time – April 3

Soon-Tek Oh – 85 – Actor; The Man With The Golden Gun, Mulan, M*A*S*H – April 4

Johnny Valiant – 71 – Professional Wrestler – April 4

Tim O’Connor – 90 – Actor; Peyton Place, Buck Rogers in the 25^th Century – April 5

Peter Grünberg – 78 – German physicist. co-discoverer of giant magnetoresistance – April 7

Chuck McCann – 83 – Actor/Voice Actor G.I. Joe, Ducktales, lots of other things – April 8

Mitzi Shore – 87 – Owner of The Comedy Store – April 11

Miloš Forman – 86 – Film director One Flew Over The Cucko’s Nest, Amadeus – April 13

R. Lee Ermey – 74 – Actor Full Metal Jacket, Toy Story – April 15

Harry Anderson – 65 – Actor/Magician Night Court – April 16

Barbara Bush – 92 – Former First Lady – April 17

Gerard Baldwin – 89 – Animator/Director Smurfs, Super Friends, Rocky and Bullwinkle – April 18

Bruno Sammartino – 82 – Professional Wrestler – April 18

Avicii – 28 – Swedish DJ – April 20

Verne Troyer – 49 – Mini Me – April 21

Charles Neville – 79 – A Neville Brother – April 26

 

Be sure to get your bets in for May’s results being on time. Right now, the odds in Vegas are 347-1.

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Spring Has Died … So Have These Celebrities

I started off the year deciding I was back to blogging. I didn’t keep up too well. I am not going to promise to do better because, if you know me at all, you know that I am nothing close to consistent. The only thing consistent is that celebrities will die every month. MOT months, I will document this for those of you that are as disturbed as I am. Like I will this month. Sure, you could go to Wikipedia and look it up but … then you have to read about all kinds of prelates and Canadian immunologists. I keep track daily of deaths and give you just the folks I feel are celebrities. You know this already so … today you get a twofer! I missed last month and by the time I got around to it … yeah. Here we go.

February

Dennis Edwards – 74 – Singer The Temptations – Feb. 1

John Mahoney – 77 – Actor Frasier, Say Anything, Striking Distance – Feb. 4

Mickey Jones – 76 – Drummer/Actor Home Improvement, V, Justified – Feb. 7

Reg E. Cathey – 59 – Actor The Wire, House of Cards, Oz – Feb. 9

Craig MacGregor – 68 – Bassist for Foghat – Feb. 9

Wally Moon – 87 – Baseball Player; St. Louis, LA Dodgers – Feb. 9

Vic Damone – 89 – Singer – Feb. 11

Marty Allen – 95 – Actor/comedian – Feb. 12

Louise Latham – 95 – Actress Marnie – Feb. 12

Daryle Singletary – 46 – Country singer – Feb. 12

Victor Milan – 63 – Author Wild Cards, Battle Tech – Feb. 13

Billy Graham – 99 – God’s mouthpiece – Feb. 21

Nanette Fabray – 97 – Actress/Singer – Feb. 22

 

March

David Ogden Stiers – 75 – Actor Mash – March 3

Sir Roger Bannister – 88 – Athlete; first person to run a sub-4 min mile – March 3

Paul Magriel – 71 – 1978 World Backgammon Champion – March 5

Sudan – 45 – Last male northern white Rhino – March 19

Frank Avruch – 89 – Bozo the Clown (Boston)

Charles Lazarus – 94 – Founder of Toys R Us – March 22

Wayne Huizenga – 80 – Former owner of Blockbuster, Miami Dolphins, Florida Panthers – March 22

Saunders Davies – 80 – British Anglican prelate, Bishop of Bangor – March 30

The Update Is Back … But These Celebrities Won’t Be

Welcome to the first Celebrity Death update of 2018. Yeah, I am a day late for January but I wanted to see if winter was going to die quickly too. According to Phil … not going to for 6 weeks. Additionally, we are supposed to get a small butt load of snow here this weekend. Nothing Kardashian sized butt, but enough.

Let’s remember the rules of inclusion. These are people (or otherwise) that I, and I alone, consider to be celebrities. You may or may not agree with me but … it’s my blog … so there. As always, if I miss someone that you think is worthy of inclusion … keep it to yourself. Just kidding! Feel free to add a comment. I like comments. Gives me something to read at work. So, without further ado, let’s get on with this macabre celebration, shall we?

Jon Paul Steuer – 33 – Actor Grace Under Fire, Star Trek TNG – Jan 1

Thomas S. Monson – 90 – President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints – Jan 2

Jerry Van Dyke – 86 – Actor/Comedian; My Mother The Car, Coach – Jan 5

Thomas Bopp – 68 – Astronomer and co-discoverer of Hale-Bopp comet – Jan 5

Dave Toschi – 86 – Police Detective; Chief investigator of the Zodiac Killer case – Jan 6

Doug Young – 98 – Voice Actor; Doggie Daddy, Yippee, Grand Poobah – Jan 7

Donnelly Rhodes – 80 – Actor; Dutch on Soap­ – Jan 8

Milt Rosenberg – 92 – Radio host on WGN. Pretty big deal here – Jan 9

Eddie Clarke – 67 – Guitarist; motorhead – Jan 10

Simon Shelton – 52 – A Teletubbie

Mort Walker – 94 – Cartoonist Beetle Baily, Hi and Lois – Jan 27

Mark Salling – 35 – Actor; Glee – Jan 30

 

That’s it for today campers.  See ya soon.

Death Will Be The Exercise Of Me

I was going to go for a nice long walk today at work. I didn’t. My back hurts and I am lazy. Instead, I decided to exercise my brain and bring back the Celebrity Death Watch for 2018.

Of course, to start off the year, I need to make my predictions. I have had varying success over the years. Mostly, if you are a celebrity, and I put you on the list, you will more than likely make it until the following year. In the past, I have had 3 categories. I think we will go with that again. A brief explanation of the categories:

The Vigodas – He was on everyone’s list for years. Although he has passed, we will keep these “They’re still alive?” picks named after him. Mostly these are top picks from years past that are STILL hanging on.

Top Picks – Most likely. Usually on most lists.

Out On A Ledge – Unlikely to happen but … who knows.

I am glad I missed out on my predictions last year because … DAMN! There were so many out of left field that it boggled the mind. Let’s get this started though and move on.

 

The Vigodas – Some new ones added as some old ones have dropped off the list … literally.

Billy Graham – Pushing 100 and still pushing buttons. I think this might be the year.

Kirk Douglas – As of last month he was 101! He’s got himself a younger wife though (98) so she might be too much for him to handle

Ian McKellen – While not as old as the others … have you seen him lately?

Olivia de Havilland – 101 and going strong?

Herman Wouk – 102. I hear he wrote his own obit 4 years ago.

Carol Channing – Amazingly, her voice is getting deeper.

 

Top Picks

Liza Minnelli – While she isn’t that old comparatively, she hasn’t been doing well lately.

Bob Barker – All the spaying and neutering will finally catch up to him.

Stan Lee – I hate to say it but … Excelsior!

Jimmy Carter – The current state of affairs will be just too much.

Mel Brooks – Putting him on so that he’s got at least another year or 2!

Tim Curry – Just a feeling I got.

Pierre Cardin – Fashion is fleeting … right?

Steven Hawking – He has been making some bold statements lately. Thinking he is doing is to laugh at us soon.

 

Out On A Ledge

Charlie Sheen – The odds are stacked against him on so many levels.

Don Johnson – He hasn’t made a record in years.

Axl Rose – Obvious, isn’t it?

Jenny McCarthy – Plastic surgery accident while eating a Wahlburger.

All YouTube “stars” – Big pipe dream on that one but, still …

Hoda Kotb – She will go into withdraw from not being able to drink the first 3 hours of the Today Show

Going to end it here before I start getting into areas that cause WAY too much derision. And before I start using more words like derision. As always, if you have some picks of your own … drop a comment and save them for posterity. We can go back and look at the end of the year!

The Grammys: My Unqualified Assesment

So, I didn’t watch the Grammy’s last night because … Blackhawks. That and I really don’t have any idea of who most of the people up for awards even are or what any of the music is. (These days, my musical repertoire includes the themes for Paw Patrol, Shimmer & Shine and the like)  I figure I can watch anything that was really good (performance wise) on line today or tomorrow, once I hear what is good and what isn’t. This is so I can avoid the brain tumor and bleeding eyes and ears I received a few years ago watching some abomination that Nicki Minaj put forth.

As I look through the list of winners, I realize that I STILL have no clue what is really going on in the music world. I know a few names of artists and songs. For example, I know of Uptown Funk because my kids sing it all the time. I know of Bruno Mars because of the before mentioned song that made me spit take when I heard my children sing it for the first time (also the first time I heard it).

I know of Taylor Swift, although I wish I didn’t, and I am aware of her album 1989 due to the endless commercials that Xfinity had telling me to experience it. I declined.

I am familiar with Skrillex because it is fun to say although I admit, I couldn’t tell you anything he/she/it does.

I also see that Justin Bieber wasn’t REALLY killed in Zoolander 2. Marking THAT movie off my list now.

I know Buddy Guy, Ricky Martin, Louis CK and Jimmy Carter (I can really bust a move to some of his earlier work).

I can’t remember if I have heard any Glen Campbell (too soon?) and um … that’s about it.

Out of the many people/songs I don’t know by name or instant recognition, Alabama Shakes is something I thought you got from Southern Comfort withdrawal, pimping a butterfly just doesn’t make sense and I may have to search out Snarky Puppy just because I like the name.

I know there is a lot more to the Grammy’s than the awards but, I don’t get most of it. I will probably look up Lady Gaga’s performance so that I can pretend I am relevant since she apparently is.

Outside of that, I will continue to over-indulge in Schoolhouse Rock which my children are now addicted to. It was fun listening to it once an hour … once a week. Not so much everyday for 40 minutes straight.

 

I still have a picture of my dog as my main image. I still need a better image up there. Any suggestions?

Celebrity Deaths – A Long Time In The Works

Greetings and salutations to you all. It seems like it has been approximately 3 months and 10 days since my last post. I apologize for that. I was in a bizarre Hot Pocket accident … no, it was a one in a million fluke while Yak shaving in Nepal … no, I have just been lazy as of late. I would say I will try to change but … who are we kidding, right? In those months, a lot of famous folks have died. Since I haven’t done it (posting the dead celebs list) in so long, I will try to stick to the high points. Or are they low points? Regardless … I am going to miss a lot I think since it is hard to remember 3 months of dead guys. I will do my best though.

March

Minnie Minoso – 92 – Baseball player, Chicago White Sox – March 1

Daniel von Bargen – 64 – Mr. Kruger on Seinfeld – March 1

Sam Simon – 59 – Writer/producer/director (The Simpsons, Cheers, Drew Carey Show) – March 8

Gene Gene the Dancing Machine – 82 – Performer on The Gong Show – March 9

A.J. Pero – 55 – Drummer; Twisted Sister – March 20

Perro Aguayo Jr. – 35 – Mexican wrestler (killed in ring by Rey Mysterio) – March 21

Alberta Watson – 60 – Actress; 24, La Femme Nikita – March 21

April

Richard Dysart – 86 – Actor; LA Law, Wall Street – April 5

James Best – 88 – Rosco P. Coltrane – April 6

Ben Powers – 64 – Keith on Good Times – April 6

Stan Freberg – 88 – Cartoon legend – April 7

Mario Wallenda – 74 – Tight rope walker – April 12

Homaro Cantu – 38 – Chef – April 14

Percy Sledge – 73 – Singer – April 14

Betty Willis – 91 – Designer of the Las Vegas sign – April 19

Doug Buffone – 70 – Chicago Bear – April 20

Frankie Lee – 73 – Blues singer – April 24

Suzanne Crough – 52 – Tracy Partridge – April 27

Verne Gagne – 59 – Professional wrestler – April 27

Jack Ely – 71 – Singer Louie Louie – April 28

Jean Nidetch – 91 – Founder of Weight Watchers – April 29

Ben E. King – 76 – Singer Stand By Me – April 30

May

Grace Lee Whitney – 85 – Yeoman Janice Rand; Star Trek:TOS – May 2

B.B. King – 89 – Blues god – May 14

John Stephenson – 91 – Voice Actor; Benton Quest, Mr. Slate, Blubber Bear – May 15

Anne Meara – 85 – Comedian – May 23

This is what I remember. Not sure why May has suck a mental block as it was the most recent month … meh. See you all again soon!

Celebrity Deaths – They’re Still Dyin’ Even If I Forgot To Mention It

This year is already getting away from me. I forgot to do January deaths and now I plum near forgot to get the list for Feb. So, to get back on track, I have no clever witticisms, smart alec remarks or anything else. Let’s just view the best in memoriam list this side of the Oscars with this 2 fer.

 

January

Mario Cuomo – 82 – Governor of NY – Jan. 1

Donna Douglas – 82 – Ellie Mae Clampett – Jan 1

Stuart Scott – 49 – Sports journalist – Jan 4

Rod Taylor – 84 – Actor Time Machine, Inglourious Basterds – Jan 7

Curtis Lee – 75 – Singer Pretty Little Angel Eyes – Jan 8

Taylor Negron – 57 – Actor Fast Times at Ridgemont High – Jan 10

Melvin Gordon – 95 – CEO of Tootsie Roll – Jan 20

Ernie Banks – 83 – Mr. Cub – Jan 23

Danny McCulloch – 69 – Bassist The Animals – Jan 29

 

February

Stewart Stern – 92 – Screenwriter Rebel Without a Cause, Sybil – Feb 2

Richard Bonehill – 67 – Lando’s co-pilot in Return of the Jedi – Feb 4

Dave Corriveau – 63 – Co-founder of Dave & Buster’s – Feb 7

Jerry Tarkanian – 84 – HOF Basketball coach – Feb 11

Bob Simon – 73 – Journalist 60 Minutes – Feb 11

Gary Owens – 80 – TV Announcer – Feb 12

Louis Jourdan – 93 – Actor Swamp Thing – Feb 14

Lesley Gore – 68 – Singer It’s my Party, Judy’s Turn to Cry – Feb 16

Harris Wittels – 30 – Writer Parks & Rec – Feb 19

Leonard Nimoy – 83 – Spock – Feb 27

 

And Abe Vigoda is still alive.

Bring Out Your Dead … 2015 Celebrity Death Predictions

They’re not dead yet! But they will be soon, if the predictions I make here today have any merit that is. While others are celebrating the new year and making positive steps toward changing their lives, I am taking macabre pleasure in trying to figure out who will make the biggest changes this year.

As in previous years, I am going to divide this up into a few categories. The perennials, the standard predictions and instead of the “fantasy picks” I am going to go with “out on the ledge” since I realized just how sick calling it fantasy was. We did have a few come off the list this past year as “successful” predictions. Eli Wallach & Shirley Temple left us this year so they won’t be back … literally. Also at the suggestion of my friend David Mazzie, I am renaming the “they just keep hanging on category” the “Vigodas”. If you don’t know why, then shame on you. Well, shall we get to it?

We will start with:

The Vigodas – Named after the most speculated death in the history of celebrity deaths, these are the celebs that are on someone’s list every year.

Abe Vigoda – His category, he needs to be on the list. I don’t want to take him off because as soon as I do, he will die. And I don’t want him to die.

Zsa Zsa Gabor – Really? How can she still be alive?!?!

Billy Graham – Keeping him in the mix.

Kirk Douglas – If the prediction is good enough for People, it is good enough for me to keep him on the list.

Al Molinaro – Yup, still kicking and eating Encore.

Christopher Lee – Moving into the Abes as this is his 2^nd year in a row.

Ian McKellan – Staying on the list. The Hobbits are done, the lord got his ring and Michael Fassbender fits into his helmet.Oh yeah, he’s old.

 

This Year’s Top Picks – These are the slam dunks.

Herman Wouk – He is an author and he is old. 100 I believe. For you young’uns out there, he wrote books on paper. They were pretty good too. Look him up.

Olivia de Havilland – Not sure the last time I had her on the list but she is going back on.

George Bush Senior – Coming back into the fray given his recent health issues.

Valerie Harper – While she has beat all the odds so far, I am not sure it will last.

Vera Lynn – Does anybody here remember her? Extra points if you do.

Carl Reiner – I didn’t know he was 92! Comedy legend.

Carol Channing – Her voice has already cause thousands of deadly strokes.

Joseph Wapner – Yup, the man that started it all in the people court. He will bang his gavel for the last time this year.

Christopher Lloyd – This is the year of all the BTTF 2 stuff. Unfortunately, the rejuvenation isn’t real.

Maggie Smith – Hogwarts has closed and Downton Abbey is boring.

 

Out On A Ledge – These probably won’t happen but that is what is so unpredictable obout predictions.

Justin Bieber – I have to have him on here. One of these days the stupid things he does will bite him in the ass.

Steve Buscemi – I have to have a real shocker in here. No other reason.

Richard Grieco – Did you know he was still alive? While they didn’t let him in the 21 Jump Street movie, they DID let him in the sequel He has been vindicated and can die a happy “actor”.

Morgan Freeman – He will somehow deliver his own eulogy … from the grave oooooooooooo.

Tara Reid – Killed in a mishap on the set of Sharknado 4

Sears/Kmart – I mean … come on.

 

Of course I could go on and on but I think I will leave it here. I now have a record of 2 correct predictions to beat. As always, if you feel like adding any, please add them in the comments. Remember to tune in each month (mostly) for the ongoing recap.

 

 

2014 Is Dead … So Are These Celebs

Yes boys & girls, this is the last dead celebrity update for this year. It seems that this past year has been full of a lot of surprises in the celebrity death front. I am really going to have to think about the predictions for next year. It isn’t a dead on science anymore. See what I did there? Ok, in order get the crickets to stop chirping, we will get right to it.

Mary Ann Mobley – 77 – Actress, Miss America – Dec. 9

Judy Baar Topinka – Illinois Comptroller – Dec. 10

Robert Taylor – 70 – Animator/Director The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat – Dec. 11

Norman Bridwell – 86 – Author Clifford the Big Red Dog – Dec. 12

Booth Coleman – 91 – Actor, Dr. Zaius Planet of the Apes (original) – Dec. 15

Christine Cavanaugh – 51 – Voice Actor; Rugrats, Dexter’s Laboratory – Dec. 22

Joe Cocker – 70 – Singer – Dec. 22

Edward Hermann – 71 – Actor; Gilmore Girls, Lost Boys) – Dec. 31

Think that is everyone. Have to admit, I dozed off a few times typing this … New Year’s day and all. I will be putting together my predictions for the coming year in the next day or so … probably tomorrow at work.

Celebrity Death Watch November

I apologize for the non-creative title this time around. Work pretty much sucks lately and it has sucked my motivation for just about everything right out of me. Despite that, I need to get the death list out because … Celebrity deaths! I’m saving my energy for the fast approaching year end wrap up and next year’s predictions. Needless to say, I really didn’t pay much attention this month so, here is what I remember.

 

Big Bank Hank – 58 – Rapper The Sugar Hill Gang – Nov. 11

Glen A. Larson – 77 – writer/producer of the best 70s & 80s tv shows ever – Nov. 14

Jane Byrne – 81 – First female mayor of Chicago – Nov. 14

Pat Quinn – 71 – NHL Coach Flyers, Leafs, Canucks – Nov. 23

Marion Barry – 78 – Mayor of D.C and coke enthusiast – Nov. 23

 

I’ll be in a better mood for the predictions and yada yada yada. I need a good airing of grievances to get me turned around me thinks.