Author Topic: In Memoriam  (Read 117116 times)

Offline perc2100

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Re: In Memoriam
« Reply #465 on: July 06, 2021, 04:19:08 PM »
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Film Director Richard Donner, who got his big break with "The Omen" (1976), then went on to direct Mario Puzo's "Superman" (1978) with Christopher Reeve, as well as "The Toy" (1982) with Richard Pryor, then Steven Spielberg's "The Goonies" (1985), the "Lethal Weapon" franchise (1987-98) with Mel Gibson, "Conspiracy Theory" (1997), also with Gibson and "16 Blocks" (2006) with Bruce Willis, passed away today.  He was 91.  This is a pic I took of him posing with a fan at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood in 2013 after a showing and Q&A of "The Omen."

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Before THE OMEN he also directed _A TON_ of TV stuff in the 1960's-early 1970's, including about half a dozen original "Twilight Zone" eps (including the famous/brilliant "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet"), also executive producing (and directing a handful of eps) HBO's awesome "Tales from the Crypt."  I also adore SCROOGED: one of my favorite takes on 'A Christmas Carol' (with a Miles Davis cameo as a street musician that kinda blows me away every year when I watch this around the holidays).

He was a classic, Hollywood director (and producer, along with his wife - she produced all of the X-MEN films, while he produced the first 2000 film): heck, he gave Kevin Feige his big 'break' hiring him for the Donner's Production Company and making him a producer on X-MEN, knowing that Feige had a vast knowledge of the Marvel comics.  It can easily be said that Donner invented the modern comic book film adaptation w/SUPERMAN, and then re-invented it again hiring Feige to producer X-MEN and kick-starting the unprecedented modern comic film run!

I met him one year at Comic-Con, when they made the announcement that he'd be able to supervise his own cut of SUPERMAN II (long story short: he was hired to shoot both SUPERMAN and its sequel SUPERMAN 2 concurrently and because he was incredibly meticulous w/the special effects in particular he annoyed the producers who forced him to tweak the 3rd Act of SUPERMAN, thus radically altering both its ending + much of SUPERMAN II, and then he wasn't brought back to finish SUPERMAN II.  There's The Donner Cut of the film, but since the whole "Super spins the world backwards" end to the original film was made-up on-the-fly and about 1/4-1/3rd of II was shot by director Richard Lester, including scenes featuring Lex Luthor that Gene Hackman refused to come back to shoot and thus Lester had to use a body double; if you don't know that story, I recommend reading Superman vs Hollywood to hear alll about the problems of bringing Supes to movie theaters & TV sets You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login ).  That guy was, buy all accounts, a true professional who knew how to deliver a good movie/TV episode more often than not.  He hadn't directed a film since 15 years, but WOW did he deliver some classics!

Offline Andrew Costa Mesa

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Re: In Memoriam
« Reply #466 on: July 16, 2021, 05:42:11 PM »
Rapper Biz Markie, who became famous for his 1989 hit “Just a Friend,” passed away.  He was 57.  He also did another rap song with Rob Base in 1988 called “It Takes Two.”

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Re: In Memoriam
« Reply #467 on: Today at 07:06:27 AM »

Offline perc2100

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Re: In Memoriam
« Reply #467 on: July 16, 2021, 05:59:08 PM »
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Rapper Biz Markie, who became famous for his 1989 hit “Just a Friend,” passed away.  He was 57.  He also did another rap song with Rob Base in 1988 called “It Takes Two.”

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He used to hang with the Beastie Boys too.  Bummer...  :(

Offline sessionka

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Re: In Memoriam
« Reply #468 on: July 16, 2021, 06:59:14 PM »
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He used to hang with the Beastie Boys too.  Bummer...  :(

57...too young. 

And he made so many healthy decisions to lose weight.

Sad.
Phasers on Stun!!!

Offline Andrew Costa Mesa

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Re: In Memoriam
« Reply #469 on: August 24, 2021, 10:11:52 AM »
Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts passed away.  He was 80.

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Offline perc2100

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Re: In Memoriam
« Reply #470 on: August 25, 2021, 09:48:26 AM »
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Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts passed away.  He was 80.

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This one hits hard(ish) for me.  I'm  not a huge Rolling Stones fan, but as a life-long drummer Charlie Watts is one that I admired.  He always felt so antithetical/atypical of a "rock star" type drummer; he even admitted he'd been happily married so long because he ISN'T a 'rock star!'  But besides his impeccable dressing/grooming habits and personality, he was an incredibly unique drummer.  He somehow combined extensive jazz knowledge/styles into the Stones' rock/blues music in such a cool way.  He wasn't a basher, which is incredibly atypical of rock drummers, and he had such a great "touch" and sense of groove: like, he was always, impeccably in the 'pocket' of time!
It's hard to describe his playing style, and to 'complicate' the technical discussion, he plays with a psuedo-linear style: meaning, his left hand snare drum hits (often on counts 2 & 4 of a 4 beat measure) rarely hit at the same time of his right hand hi-hat & ride cymbal.  Meaning, his RH would play 1-and-NOTHING-and-3-and-NOTHING-and' as far as 8th not tempos, while almost making a awkward-looking motion while the 2 & 4 hi-hat counts were "resting" up in the air.  It's hard to explain, and maybe not something a non-drummer would think much about.  But when I was intensely studying/practicing drum set in HS & college, taking private lessons and attending masterclasses from some great teachers, I tried to incorporate that style a little in my playing, and it is TOUGH!

Anyway, Watts was a great drummer and by most accounts an even better humanbeing.  He was the engine of The Stones, as I think Keith Richards once said, and in a generation of incredibly iconic drummers (Ringo; Keith Moon; Ginger Baker; Bonham; etc) Watts was at the top of the echelon of greats & he will absolutely be missed.  He lived a long life, and leaves an awesome legacy on record

Offline Andrew Costa Mesa

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Re: In Memoriam
« Reply #471 on: September 04, 2021, 01:50:35 PM »
Willard Scott, the longtime weatherman for the Today show and WRC-TV, NBC’s station in Washington, passed away.  He was 87.

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Offline Michaelnaut

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Re: In Memoriam
« Reply #472 on: September 14, 2021, 11:48:14 AM »
Comendian, Norm Macdonald

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"I am serious...and don't call me Shirley"

Offline Old Man Grey

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Re: In Memoriam
« Reply #473 on: September 14, 2021, 03:10:00 PM »
R.I.P. Turd Ferguson. :'(

Offline Andrew Costa Mesa

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Re: In Memoriam
« Reply #474 on: September 22, 2021, 03:47:15 PM »
Melvin van Peebles, who made the cult hit “Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song,” passed away in Manhattan.  He was 89.

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Offline BenEatsRice

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Re: In Memoriam
« Reply #475 on: September 22, 2021, 04:22:43 PM »
Quote
Actor Willie Garson, known for his role on the "Sex and the City" series and films, has died, according to his son, Nathen Garson. He was 57.



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What is the air speed velocity of an unladen swallow?

Offline Andrew Costa Mesa

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Re: In Memoriam
« Reply #476 on: November 14, 2021, 05:55:53 PM »
Petra Mayer, a books editor for National Public Radio (NPR) and a self-described “resident nerd,” who did frequent reporting on San Diego Comic-Con, passed away at a hospital in Silver Spring, Maryland.  Her family said the cause was a pulmonary embolism.  She was 46.

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Offline perc2100

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Re: In Memoriam
« Reply #477 on: December 07, 2021, 09:28:59 AM »
George Perez, ICONIC artist who's work for both Marvel and DC has been massively influential (Crisis on Infinite Earth; Infinity Gauntlet; Wonder Woman; New Titans; JLA/Avengers; etc), announced that he has Stage 3 pancreatic cancer with a 6-12 month life expectancy.  He's been in bad health for a few years (losing sight in one of his eyes) and formally retired 3 years ago.  He's hoping to have one last big book signing, and is in the process of refunding anyone who has paid for a commissioned art piece he won't be able to complete.

Here's a link to a tweet that quotes his announcement to his fans: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login

Offline Andrew Costa Mesa

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Re: In Memoriam
« Reply #478 on: December 18, 2021, 11:58:10 AM »
Henry Orenstein, a toy maker who convinced Hasbro to start the Transformers line in 1984, passed away from Covid-19.  He was 98.

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Offline Andrew Costa Mesa

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Re: In Memoriam
« Reply #479 on: December 25, 2021, 11:44:08 PM »
Desmond Tutu, who was a leading activist against apartheid in South Africa, passed away in Cape Town.  He was 90.

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