March 2007

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Concert for Bangladesh director dead at 70

Saul Swimmer died Saturday, March 3, in Miami of heart failure and kidney trouble. Swimmer was born in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, and began making movies in his 20s. Throughout his life, Swimmer would make music films and documentaries, including Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter (1968) with Herman's Hermits, the Beatles' Let It Be (1970), and Queen: We Will Rock You (1982). His crowning achievement was the 1972 film The Concert for Bangladesh, a documentary film about the UNICEF benefit concert at Madison Square Garden featuring George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Ravi Shankar, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, and more. Swimmer was 70.

Sources: imdb.com, Yahoo! News

Posted by Corey Anderson at March 30, 2007 6:37 AM | Comments (0)

 

Founder of Hot Rod and Motor Trend magazines dead at 80

Robert E. Petersen died Friday, March 23, of complications from neuroendocrine cancer at St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California. Born the son of a truck and equipment mechanic, Petersen worked as a messenger boy for MGM studios, followed by a stint in the Army Air Corps near the end of World War II. Petersen founded Hot Rod magazine in 1948 to promote a custom-designed car show at the Los Angeles Armory. He launched Motor Trend the following year. Before selling his business, the largest special-interest publishing company in America, in 1996, Petersen would launch Guns & Ammo, Sport, Motorcyclist, Hunting, Mountain Biker, Photographic, Teen, and Sassy. He was 80.

Sources: huntingmag.com, Associated Press, gunsandammomag.com

Posted by Corey Anderson at March 29, 2007 9:41 AM | Comments (1)

 

Monk who rebuilt Buddhism in Cambodia dead at 78

Maha Ghosananda, a Nobel Peace Prize-nominated monk, died Monday, March 12, at Cooley Dickinson Hospital in western Massachusetts. He lived in exile from 1975 through 1978, during which time the Khmer Rouge, led by the dictator Pol Pot, denounced Buddhism in Cambodia and killed nearly two million people. After the Vietnamese toppled the Khmer Rouge, Ghosananda was one of the first monks to return to Cambodia to train new Buddhist leaders. He began establishing temples in refugee camps on the Thai-Cambodia border. Later Ghosananda co-founded the inter-religious organization Mission for Peace and founded Buddhist temples in Cambodia and Cambodian resettlement communities in North America, Europe, and Australia. In 1988, he was honored for restoring Buddhism to the country by being elected a Supreme Cambodian Buddhist. In the late 1980s, Ghosananda moved to western Massachusetts, but throughout the 1990s, continued to spread his religious message in Cambodia. He was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize three times in the mid-1990s. He was 78.

Sources: Associated Press, buddhanet.net

Posted by Corey Anderson at March 28, 2007 5:28 PM | Comments (0)

 

Boys Choir of Harlem founder dead at 62

Walter Turnbull died in a New York City hospital on Friday, March 23. He had suffered a stroke several months earlier. Turnball was born in Mississippi and studied music at Tougaloo College. He moved to New York to be an opera singer, eventually performing with the New York Philharmonic. Turnball founded the Boys Choir of Harlem in 1968 at the Ephesus Church. The choir provides music training and personal counseling to hundreds of inner-city teenagers. The choir has released over a half-dozen albums and can be heard on the soundtracks to movies including Jungle Fever, Malcolm X, Bobby, and Glory. Turnball was 62.

Sources: Associated Press, boyschoirofharlem.org

Posted by Corey Anderson at March 26, 2007 12:40 PM | Comments (0)

 

Fortran language developer dead at 82

John W. Backus died in Ashland, Oregon, on Saturday, March 17. Backus, an employee of IBM, led the team that developed the Fortran programming language in 1957 that reduced the number of programming statements necessary to operate a machine by a factor of 20. The language would allow programmers to enter commands in a more intuitive system. The computer would then translate them on its own. Unix developer Ken Thompson in the New York Times: "95 percent of the people who programmed in the early years would never have done it without Fortran. It was a massive step." Backus continued breaking ground in programming languages until his retirement from IBM in 1991. He was 82.

Sources: Wikipedia, Associated Press, NYTimes.com

Posted by Corey Anderson at March 21, 2007 12:49 PM | Comments (0)

 

Unofficial mascots for the Cowboys and the Dolphins dead at 76 and 72

Wilford "Crazy Ray" Jones died at his home of complications from diabetes and cardiovascular disease on Saturday, March 17. "Crazy Ray" entertained the fans of the Dallas Cowboys from the 1960s through the 1980s as a sideline cheerleader, wearing a blue vest, white hat, chaps, and six-shooters. He would occasionally ride a stick horse or scuffle with the opposing team's mascot. Jones was even granted a special parking space at Texas Stadium and granted all-access at home games. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones: "Ray was the most dedicated, entertaining and passionate of Cowboys fans. He touched thousands of lives and generations of football fans." Wilford Jones will be buried in one of his costumes. He was 76.

Denny Sym, who had been battling kidney disease and cancer for several years, died Friday, March 16. Known as "Dolfan Denny," Sym cheered on Miami Dolphins fans for 34 years, starting with the Dolphins' first game in 1966. Sym led the crowds in cheers and chants wearing a glittering orange and aqua hat. In 1976, then-team owner Joe Robbie asked Sym to be the team's official motivator, paying him $50 a game and moving him to the field. Sym retired in 2000, his health and heckling from belligerent fans were the cited reasons. His wife Ingrid: "He did everything he could to always be with his team. He loved football until his last day." Sym was 72.

Sources: Associated Press, dallasnews.com, miamiherald.com

Posted by Corey Anderson at March 19, 2007 10:45 AM | Comments (0)

 

Medical coordinator for historic surgeon general report on smoking dead at 80

Dr. Peter VanVechten Hamill died Saturday, March 10, at Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis of complications from pneumonia. Hamill was a Golden Gloves boxing champion while attending Notre Dame. He also attended St. John's College in Annapolis, and graduated from the University of Michigan. He served in the Navy during World War II. In 1953, he received a medical degree from the University of Michigan, and, in 1962, received a master's degree in public health from Johns Hopkins University. In the 1960s, Hamill was scientific director and medical coordinator under U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Luther L. Terry. On January 11, 1964, Terry released the landmark study that determined smoking was a major cause of lung cancer and other diseases. One year later, Congress required tobacco companies to stamp each pack of cigarettes with the phrase "Caution: Cigarette smoking may be hazardous to your health," which was later revised to "Warning: The surgeon general has determined that cigarette smoking is dangerous to your health." In 1976, Hamill chaired a government study on human growth that was used to design development charts used by doctors. Dr. Peter VanVechten Hamill was 80.

Sources: Yahoo! News, surgeongeneral.gov, washingtonpost.com

Posted by Corey Anderson at March 15, 2007 4:27 PM | Comments (0)

 

The most decorated Native American soldier of the Vietnam War dead at 57

Billy Walkabout died on Wednesday, March 7, of pneumonia and renal failure at a Norwich (CT) hospital. Walkabout, a Cherokee of the Blue Holley Clan, received the Distinguished Service Cross, Purple Heart, five Silver Stars and five Bronze Stars and was believed to be the most decorated Native American soldier of the Vietnam War. His exposure to the Agent Orange defoliant and wounds suffered during a 1968 assassination mission left Walkabout with disabling injuries. He spent many years suffering from suicidal thoughts and bouts of self-isolation, but would find comfort in the Native American powwows he attended. In a 1986 Associated Press interview about his 23 months of service in Vietman, Walkabout declared, "War is not hell. It's worse." Walkabout was 57.

Source: Associated Press, Wikipedia

Posted by Corey Anderson at March 14, 2007 4:00 PM | Comments (0)

 

One of the "Angels of Bataan" dead at 88

Jean Kennedy Schmidt died Saturday, March 3, at her La Canada Flintridge, California, home from complications of a fall, her daughter, Susan Johnson of Bemidji, said last Friday. Schmidt received her nursing degree in 1941, then enlisted in the Army. She was stationed in the Philippines in 1942 when the Japanese attacked. Schmidt and other medical personnel treated the wounded in open-air field hospitals on the Bataan Peninsula. When the Philippines fell, Schmidt and 76 other nurses were held prisoner in Manila for nearly three years, treating military and civilian prisoners, sometimes eating weeds to stave off starvation. In 1945, a U.S. tank crashed through the gates freeing the prisoners. Schmidt later married a fellow prisoner, Richard Schmidt, and they settled in California. Only three "Angels of Bataan" are now believed to be living. Schmidt was 88.

Sources: worldwar2database.com, Associated Press

Posted by Corey Anderson at March 13, 2007 6:46 AM | Comments (1)

 

"Wide World of Sports" director dead at 76

Andy Sidaris died Wednesday, March 7, of throat cancer. Sidaris directed the first episode of Wide World of Sports for ABC, and continued directing the popular program for the next 25 years. He's also credited with inventing the "honey shot," in which close-ups of attractive women sitting in the stands were featured on sporting event broadcasts. Sidaris directed the 1968 Summer Olympics, for which he won an Emmy Award, and was the football choreographer for the Robert Altman movie M*A*S*H. During the 1970s, he directed television episodes (Kojak, The Hardy Boys) and began producing adult action pictures with names like Hard Ticket to Hawaii, Fit to Kill, and Hard Hunted. Sidaris was 76.

Sources: Associated Press, IMDB.com, AndySidaris.com, olympic.org

Posted by Corey Anderson at March 12, 2007 6:35 AM | Comments (0)

 

Mr. Humphries from Are You Being Served? dead at 71

Comedic actor John Inman died Thursday, March 8, at Saint Mary's Hospital in west London after suffering from Hepatitis A for a long period of time. Inman's best known for playing Mr. Humphries, an employee of Grace Brothers department store on the BBC comedy Are You Being Served? from 1972 to 1985. In 1976, Inman won an award for Funniest Man on Television by the British weekly TV Times. His character's pronouncement "I'm free!" became a popular catchphrase. From BBC News, former co-star Mike "Mr. Spooner" Berry: "I felt like going home at the end of the day and ironing my face, he made me laugh so much! As funny as he was in front of the camera, he was funnier off." Lesser known to fans was Inman's career on the London stage in pantomime. Fellow pantomime dame Danny La Rue: "John was wonderful in panto. The children adored him. He had a magic touch... He was such a fantastic and inventive actor, and he could play serious roles too." Inman was 71.

Sources: BBC News, Agence France-Presse

Posted by Corey Anderson at March 9, 2007 2:48 PM | Comments (1)

 

Original Tonight Show drummer dead at 82

Percussionist Bobby Rosengarden died on Tuesday, February 27, of kidney failure. He was born April 23, 1924, and began playing the drums at age four. He performed in Army bands during World War II, then moved to New York City, playing in nightclubs with groups led by Duke Ellington, Quincy Jones, Skitch Henderson, Gerry Mulligan, and Benny Goodman, and backed up singers such as Billie Holiday, Carmen McRae, and Tony Bennett. As an NBC network orchestra member, Rosengarden played on The Steve Allen Show, The Ernie Kovacs Show and in the early years of Johnny Carson's version of The Tonight Show. He moved to ABC to lead the band on The Dick Cavett Show from 1969 to 1974. A versatile performer, Rosengarden played the triangle on Ben E. King's hit Stand By Me, the conga on She Cried by Jay and the Americans, and made the hooting hyena sound for a radio-ready version of the theme to The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. He was 82.

Sources: MiamiHerald.com, spaceagepop.com, sfgate.com

Posted by Corey Anderson at March 8, 2007 5:48 PM | Comments (1)

 

First submariner to travel ocean to ocean under the North Pole dead at 85

Former U.S. Congressman William Robert Anderson died in Leesburg, Virginia, on Sunday, February 25, following a brief illness. Anderson took command of the Navy's Nautilus, the world's first nuclear-powered submarine, in 1957 and navigated to within 180 miles of the North Pole. The following year, Anderson assembled a crew of 116 and made the first voyage from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean by passing under the ice of the North Pole. At 11:15 pm on August 3, 1958, upon reaching 90 degrees north, Anderson announced to his crew, "For the world, Our Country, and the Navy—the North Pole." Following his service, Anderson consulted Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, and helped found the Peace Corps. In 1964, he was elected to the first of four terms representing Tennessee's 6th District in Congress. Anderson was 85.

Sources: Associated Press, ussnautilus.org

Posted by Corey Anderson at March 7, 2007 12:43 AM | Comments (0)

 

Actor chosen by Edgar Rice Burroughs to play Tarzan dead at 100

Olympic shot-putting champion Herman Brix died Saturday, February 24 of complications from a broken hip at Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center. Brix was born in Tacoma, Washington, on May 19, 1906. He excelled at track at the University of Washington and played in the 1926 Rose Bowl game. In 1928, Brix earned the Olympic silver medal for the shot put. Following his sports career, Brix began acting and was chosen by "Tarzan" author Edgar Rice Burroughs to play the vine-swinger in the independently produced The New Adventures of Tarzan. Burroughs had tired of his character portrayed as a monosyllabic brute in the successful Johnny Weissmuller films. The Internet Movie Database lists over 100 film and television credits for Brix, most under Bruce Bennett, a name he chose to avoid being typecast following his Tarzan role. Brix played Joan Crawford's husband in the 1945 melodrama Mildred Pierce, for which she won her Oscar, and a prospector in 1948's The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, starring Humphrey Bogart. Brix was 100.

Sources: IMDB.com, Associated Press, briansdriveintheater.com

Posted by Corey Anderson at March 6, 2007 6:35 AM | Comments (0)

 

Oregon's last living World War I veteran dead at 108

Howard V. Ramsey died in his sleep at an assisted living center in southeast Portland on Thursday, February 22. Ramsey was born in Colorado in 1898 and graduated from Washington High School in Portland in 1916. He enlisted in the Army later that year. A corporal stationed in France during World War I, Ramsey was a truck driver who ferried officers, carried water to troops on the front lines, and returned the bodies of soldiers killed in battle. Ramsey returned to Portland in 1920 and worked for Western Electric (the manufacturing arm of AT&T from 1881 to 1995). He retired in 1963 at age 65. By some accounts, he was the nation's oldest surviving combat veteran. Ramsey was 108.

Sources: Yahoo! News, Wikipedia

Posted by Corey Anderson at March 5, 2007 6:39 AM | Comments (1)

 

"My Way" and "New York, New York" guitarist dead at 87

Guitarist Al Viola died after a brief battle with cancer at his home in Studio City on Wednesday, February 21. Viola was raised in a big Italian family in Brooklyn, bringing home an impressive $22 a week during the Depression from his guitar playing. Viola met pianist Page Cavanaugh during a 4 ½ year stint in the army during World War II and formed a trio with bassist Lloyd Pratt. When Frank Sinatra heard the Page Cavanaugh Trio in the late 1940s, he brought them to New York and Atlantic City to perform with him. Viola worked with Sinatra for 25 years starting around 1954, performing on such hits as "My Way" and "New York, New York." Viola also worked with artists such as Julie London, Neil Diamond, and Linda Ronstadt on over 500 albums, and on the soundtracks for Blazing Saddles, Cool Hand Luke, West Side Story, and The Godfather, among others. Viola was 87.

Sources: alviola.com, Associated Press

Posted by Corey Anderson at March 2, 2007 6:22 AM | Comments (0)

 

Photographer who covered all 41 Super Bowls dead at 68

Sports photographer Richard Raphael died at his home on Saturday, February 17, after a sudden illness. While a photo editor at the Boston University News in the 1960s, Raphael pursuaded the Boston Celtics PR director to allow him to shoot the team's games on a freelance basis. This soon led to a position as the team's photographer. Raphael also shot the Bruins, the Red Sox, and the New England Patriots from when they were the AFL Boston Patriots. Raphael shot nine covers for Sports Illustrated between 1968 and 1988, and is one of only five photographers to cover all 41 Super Bowls. When an exhibit of his work was on display at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Raphael was touted as "the dean of Boston sports photographers and one of the premier photographers in the United States." He was 68.

Sources: cbc.ca, Associated Press, si.com

Posted by Corey Anderson at March 1, 2007 1:54 PM | Comments (0)

 

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