Day Two of our farewells the notable persons of 2024. Today we celebrate the Creators who have enriched our lives with their craft, and the Newsmakers who both make the news and report it. So many we shouldn’t forget. If you’re unfamiliar with any of the people in these tributes, be sure to look them up, we learn so much from lives well lived. Rest in Love.
Tomorrow Musicians and Singers!
Newsmakers and Creators
Jimmy Carter, 100, 39th US President, Humanitarian, The Carter Center. Natural Causes.
Joe Leiberman, 82, Former US Senator, Complications from fall.
Tep Vong, 93, Cambodian Buddhist Community Leader, Long Illness
Peanut, 7, beloved Central Park Eastern Gray squirrel. Euthanized. 😦
Falco, 13, beloved Central Park Eurasian Eagle Owl, escaped from park for a year, hit building in Upper West Side.
William Anders, 90, Apollo 8 Astronaut, photographer of Earthrise. Plane Crash in his Beechcraft T-34 Mentor
Alexei Navalny, 47, Russian Activist for Democracy. Murdered by Putin
Akiro Toriama, 68, Dragon Ball Z Manga and Anime, Accute subdermal Hematoma
Morgan Spurlock, 53, documentarian, Supersize Me, Cancer
Marshall Brickman, 85, screenwriter Annie Hall, Candid Camera (undisclosed)
Michael Mosely, 67, Health Journalist, Author of Deep Calm.. Collapse while hiking in Symi, Greece
Roger Corman, 98, Director and ‘The King of Cult’ low budget movies. Little Shop of Horrors, Masque of the Red Death, The Raven, The Wild Angels (undisclosed)
Eli Noyes, 81, Inspirational Stop Motion Animator, Liquid Television. prostate cancer
Mark Gustafason, 63, Stop Motion Artist, Pinocchio, Fantastic Mr. Fox. Heart attack.
Christopner Ciccione,63,Visual artist, interior designer, brother of Madonna. Pancreatic cancer
Eduardo Xol, 58, Home Designer, 58, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Stabbed.
Tim Sullivan, 76, Sci-Fi Author, actor, screenwriter. V, Twilight of the Dogs, Vampyre Femmes. Congestive heart failure.
Ken Melton, 69, Animation Sculptor, Aladdin,The Little Mermaid ,Paranorman. dementia
Alice Munro, 92, Author, and Nobel Laureate, Dear Life, The Moons of Jupiter. Cancer, dementia
Bob Weatherwax, 83, Son of Rudd, second generation Trainer of Lassie COPD.
Greg Hildebrandt, 85Lord of the Rings artist
Hailey Merkt, 31,Contestant on The Bachelor. Leukemia
So here’s the story. A little over two months ago I started to assemble my annual Memorial Collage, that is my yearly tribute to those notable people who passed in the last year. (you can see last year’s here). It can be quite a progress; listing all the names, ages and causes of death, finding a good picture of the person, deciding who gets more than one picture due to lifetime achievement, etc. Then there’s the matter of sorting them into groups, and outlining and numbering them in a key, and so forth.
WELL, this year after many hours of mind-boggling re-arranging, I looked at the final project and I realized that it was TOO DARN BIG to really appreciate each individual’s contribution to society. Not to mention it overwhelming in scope!! Over 300 names! The last thing I want to do is overtax one’s brain looking for their favorite celebrity or news-maker. So two weeks ago I started ALL OVERagain. The best option was to divide all these people up into their own individual group collage. At least it was easier to create since the individual .png files had been cut out and labeled already!
So here, finally, is Part 1 in my series of 6 collages — Athletics! Appropriate for Super Bowl Sunday, no?
Now unlike most Americans, I am not into Football or most sports at all (save the occasional local baseball game or Battlebots!), but as every year, I enjoy learning about the people who passed, even if it’s sad to say goodbye. Bless them all.
Be sure to check back every day this week for a new category, and have a lovely day!
ATHLETES
Pete Rose, 83, Cardiovascular disease and Diabetes
Don Gullet, 73 Heart issues
Rickey Henderson, 65, Pneumonia
Rocky Colavito, 91, Type 2 Diabetes
Carl Erskine, 97, Pneumonia
Kelvin Kiptum, 24, World Record Holder, Car Accident
Bobby Allison, 86, (undisclosed)
Tamayo Perry, 49, Master of Surfing, Shark attack
Jose DeLeon, 63, Cancer
Mike Brumley, 61, Car Accident
Willie Mays , 93,“The Say Hey Kid” 93, Heart Failure
I’m sorry I haven’t been on in a while, but I found I hadn’t been posting in nearly 2 months and the system had logged me out!
Fortunately I was able to get back in today, and I’ll try to post more so I won’t get locked out again!
I admit, I haven’t been much in the mood to celebrate, but I did manage to get up a few decorations in the past few days.
This year I didn’t want to assemble our entire thirty-two year old, 7-foot tree, so I managed to ‘shrink’ it by only using half of the supporting pole and two tiers of branches plus the topper. It looks a little bushy, but I’m pleased with the result. It was a lot quicker to assemble and decorate, and makes my living room a little less crowded. I have it mounted on my late Dad’s desk which makes it all the more special! ❤
I also found these sweet globe-style Christmas lights to hang on the drapes. I love their retro style and they change colors slowly! I’m also including here my Christmas card to you all, and the greeting I made from our sweet cat Buddy! Enjoy!
I have some Trek stuff I’ve been meaning to post here for a while, and I will post some soon after Christmas! In the meantime, I send you all my heartfelt holiday greetings, and my you have joy and serenity in these special days. Our time is precious, cherish it.
Hi Everyone! It’s been a very busy few months, but I’m back baby!!
My friend Bobbie Reno has been working hard to get a commemorative stamp of Leonard Nimoy created for the Unites States Postal Service (USPS) and has created a petition to help move the process along. Wouldn’t that be great? Next year it will be a decade since his passing (hard to believe), and Bobbie has been contacting every outlet she can think of to show support and worthiness to the USPS stamp commission. She’s had letters of support from Adam Nimoy, Susan Nimoy, Adam Schiff, and The Elizabeth Peabody House which Leonard supported but by signing the following petition, this could give the project a bit groundswell!
I can’t think of a better tribute to Leonard than a commemorative stamp in time for Star Trek’s 60th Anniversary in 2026! Here’s an excerpt from the petition:
Examples of Leonard Nimoy’s influence and contributions.
On the iconic TV series and movies, Star Trek, through his legendary role as Mr. Spock, he encouraged people to seek careers as Astronauts and scientists. NASA considered Leonard a friend and colleague. Leonard was a talented fine arts photographer specializing in “conceptual” photographic projects focusing on social topics such as body image perception (“I am troubled by the fact that women in our culture are congratulated most for losing weight.” Leonard Nimoy), spiritual or religious themes and showing of introspective hidden personalities or persona. He earned a master’s degree in fine art photography from UCLA, where he studied under respected photographer, Robert Heineken.
Education was important in Leonard Nimoy’s life. He earned a master’s degree in education from Antioch University. He spoke frequently at colleges and universities around the Nation encouraging and supporting education programs. The Committee’s criteria for a stamp lists extraordinary and enduring contributions to American society, history, culture, or environment.
It is our contention that the Committee not just considered Leonard Nimoy’s role as Spock and his association with Star Trek only. Through his iconic role as Spock, Leonard is an ongoing major influence on American culture, sciences, and society; that continued beyond his role by positively influencing causes throughout his life.
Why is this important? Leonard Nimoy has been and continues to be a positive influence in the lives of many people. He has influenced people to become astronauts, sciences, artists and activists in social causes. Let’s honor him with a USPS Commemorative Stamp for Star Trek’s 60th Anniversary.
Hi Everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful Easter/Spring Break and that you were lucky enough here in the States to see the Total Solar Eclipse! We had perfect weather — the day BEFORE the eclipse— but it was grey and cloudy on the actual day 😦 . However we did experience a temperature drop and moderate darkness during the eclipse which was quite extraordinary!
In other news, the past couple of weeks I have indulged in my latest hobby, and it is highly gratifying! I’ve been learning to work with polymer clay and it has truly been a rewarding and somewhat life-changing experience! Thanks to watching the polymer master “Ace of Clay” on YouTube, it’s so satisfying to see a germ of an idea I had over a decade ago finally brought to fruition and completed!
So the project actually started years ago when I was in a craft shop and spotted a cute bag of craft pom-poms that looked like little tribbles with their perfect coloring of beige, brown, and white. I thought, it would make an cute sculpture someday with Kirk engulfed by tribbles! I bought the pom-poms with great ambition.
Of course I wasn’t sure how I’d make the sculpture. I considered a fabric one, with felt to be stuffed and painted with the pom-poms glued on, but the logistics bugged me. What proportions could it be and how to keep it stable? I let the idea stew for a while, and like many of my creative dreams, the pom-poms got put aside and buried among many of my creative dreams piling up in my closet.
It wasn’t until a month or so ago when I came upon a video by Anthony, the “Ace of Clay” whose polymer clay creations just blew. me. away! I realized that this was my ticket to create my Kirk sculpture, and on March 29th I finally started it! Keep scrolling to see the gallery from start to finish!
I’m very happy with the result and I think it’s okay for my first attempt. Of course I see its imperfections, (to me he looks more like Nicolas Cage that Bill Shatner) but that’s what learning is all about! I cannot describe the marvelous gratification one can have from creating something from scratch. And I am thrilled to add it to my other creative projects (photography and digital collages) — it is just a wonderful tactile, focusing hobby that challenges not only my sculpting skills, but painting too. Good for fine motor skills, and and just basic happiness! (And it only took 20+ years or so to make!) I cannot wait to start new project ! Enjoy the gallery, and watch the captain come to life! (I’ll have to share this with William Shatner!)
March 29th, 2024. We start with armature, made from aluminum wireAluminum foil is added to fill out the formAdding the base of Sculpy light, whose consistency is like working with marshmallow!Captain in the Oven! First bake. Polymer clay stays soft until it is bakedApril 4th. Shaping out manly torso and neckFamiliar neckline? Adding arms.The trim was hard to do and broke a couple times, but I managed. April 6. The first attempt at the head wasn’t quite right so I made a secondThe second head seemed better, but I wish now the lower half was broader. April 8,. Trim painted, but why is the badge black? Because it will make the metallic paint ‘pop’! Fun to try my painting skills after all these years. Shirt painted April 9. Hair, eye whites and gold accents addedI knew my hands might be a little too shaky to paint the eyes, so I used fine markers instead. April 10th. Let the Tribbles fall! Since there were no black tribbles, I used the black pom poms for filler.Sorting the sizesLeft SideBackRight SidePoor guy! Tribble on his shoulder! Ta-Daa!
Happy Heavenly Birthday to Leonard Nimoy, who would have been 93 today! I’m thankful I had the chance to see him a few times in my life, and just thankful to have been aware of such a wonderful human being. Rest in Serenity.
Well Kids, I finally finished it! After two and a half months, I have finished my annual Memorial Collage to remember the notable celebrities and news-makers we lost in 2023. As you can see from time stamp in the bottom right corner of the above image, I ‘finished’ the original collage on January 29th. But then as I suspected would happen in my most recent post, I found at least a dozen celebrities I missed, and then I had to add them all into the original, and re-factor into the black and white key. Then I had to re-outline and renumber each image (multiple times when several were missed or accidentally double numbered!). Anyway I can safely say that the collage is well and FULLY complete! Whew!!!
Every year when I make this, I realize how much I love human faces — so I posted the best picture of each person I could find, (and sometimes more than one depending on their brilliance!)
Some of these people I’ve never heard of, as I’m sure you haven’t also. And there is great pleasure in the learning of these diverse lives. I felt I got to know a lot of these talented people through their biographies. Many lived to be centenarians, and into their 90s. Far too many (as it seems every year) died tragically and too soon; but their light did shine as they lived.
Although they have all passed, it is only fair to rediscover them and their legacies. That’s one reason I make these tributes every year; for so many are easily forgotten although they might have been very well known in their time.
May you find as much joy and inspiration as I have in discovering all these talents. Let me know what you think, and thanks for you patience.
Love survives, Therese
The KEY below is in Black and White with sections in colored numbers determined by occupation:
GREEN is Athletics, BRIGHT BLUE is Actors and Entertainers I, NAVY BLUE is Actors and Entertainers II, RED is Musicians, YELLOW is News-makers, and PURPLE are the many performers who fall into the STAR TREK FAMILY. Truly a rainbow of incredible and inspirational people. 🙂
ATHLETICS 1-51
1.Cartier Woods. 18,Detroit Northwestern H.S. (cardiac arrest) 2 .Jessie Lemonier, 25, Detroit Lions, Los Angeles Chargers 3.Dick Butkus, 80, Chicago Bears Linebacker, philanthropist. 4.Rick Hoyt, 61,Wheelchair Boston Marathon racer (with dad pushing) (cerebral palsy) 5.Duangphet (Dom) Phromthep, 17, Soccer Captain of The Wild Boars, Rescued from Thai cave in 2018 (suicide) 6. Dick Fosbury, 76, Olympic Jumper, inventor of “The Fosbury Flop” 7. Bobby Charlton, 86, beloved Soccer captain Manchester United 8. Bob Richards, 97, “The Vaulting Vicar” 9. Stanley Wilson, 40, Detroit Lions, (pulmonary thromboembolism, after collapse from police beating) 10. Otis Taylor,80, Kansas City Chiefs 11. Charles White, 64, Heisman Trophy Winner, Browns, Rams 12. Homer Jones,82, wide receiver Giants, Browns 13. Joe Kapp, 85, Quarterback, Vikings 14. Greta Anderson 97, Long Distance Swimmer 15. Lisa Lyone70, Body Builder 16. Jim Brown, 87, NFL Legend, Hollywood Action Actor 17. Walt Garrison, 79, Fullback, Dallas Cowboys 18. Johnny Lujak,98, Heisman Winner, Quarterback Notre Dame 19. Betsy Rawls, 95, US Women’s Open Golf Champion 20. Dean Smith, 91, Sprinter and Stuntman 21. Ralph Boston, 83 Gold Medalist Long Distance Jumper 22. Tom Courtney, 90, Gold Medalist runner 23. Willis Reed, 80, Seven Time All-Star, Knicks 24. George McGinnis 73,Basketball Hall of Fame, Pacers #30 25. Robbie Knievel, 60,Second-Generation Daredevil, Son of Evel (pancreatic cancer) 26. Jim Hines 76, 1968 100 Meter Champion Sprinter 27. Pat McCormick, 92, Olympic Gold Medalist Diver 28. Larry Mahan,79, Champion “Rodeo Elvis” (bone cancer) 29. Tom Wakefield, 57, Unique pitcher, Pirates, Boston Red Sox (seizure from brain cancer) 30. Dick Groat, 92, Pirates. Eight time All Star Shortstop 31. Joe Pepitone, 82, Yankees Outfielder, Houston Astros, Chicago Cubs 32. Tim McCarver, 81,Catcher and Broadcaster, St Louis Cardinals 33. Nicki McCray-Pensen 51, 2-time Olympic gold-medalist, ABL MVP and Women’s Basketball Hall of Famer (breast cancer) 34. Tori Bowie, 32, 3-Time Olympic medalist, Sprinter, (childbirth) 35. Jean Faut, 92, Women’s Baseball league pitcher 36. Frank Howard, 87,Dodger,4-time All-Star who slugged 382 home runs 37. Ray Herbert, 93, Pitcher, Phillies, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City A’s 38. Sal Bando, 78, Third Baseman, Oakland A’s 39. Brooks Robinson, 86, Baltimore Orioles famed Third Baseman 40. Craig Breedlove, 86, Five-time world land speed record holder.(cancer) 41. Roger Craig, 93,Pitcher, LA Dodgers, NY Mets, St. Louis Cardinals, Manager, SF Baseball 42. Vida Blue 73.Pitcher, Oakland A’s CY Young MVP 1971 3x World Series Champ 43. Willie Hernandez, 69, Detroit Tigers relief Pitcher, 1984 MVP 44. Bobby Hull, 84,Chicago Black Hawks “The Golden Jet” 45. Bray Wyatt (Windham Rotunda), 36, WWE Superstar (heart attack) 46.The Iron Sheik, (Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri) 81, Iranian Pro Wrestler (heart attack) 47. Terry Funk, 79, Wrestler NWA World Champion (dementia) 48. Superstar Billy Graham, (Eldredge Wayne Coleman) ,79, Influential Pro Wrestler (sepsis, multiple organ failure) 49. Adam Johnson 29, Pittsburgh Penguins, Philly Flyers, and Nottingham Panthers Hockey, (horrific freak accident) 50. Nic Kersiles 29, Anaheim Ducks (Motorcycle crash) 51.Gino Odjic, 52, Vancouver Canucks. NY Islanders, Philly Flyers Hockey Left Wing. (AL Amyloidosis)
ACTORS AND ENTERTAINERS, I, 52-110
52. Bob Barker, 99,Beloved Game Show Host, The Price is Right, Animal Activist 53. Cody Longo, 34,Days of Our Lives, Hollywood Heights 54. Quinn Redeker, 86,Days of Our Lives, ‘The Young and the Restless 55. Billy Miller, 43,Young and the Restless, General Hospital (suicide) 56. Mike Nussbaum, 99,Glengarry Glen Ross, Field of Dreams. 57. Camden Toy, 68, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (pancreatic cancer) 58. Ben Masters, 75,Passions, Mandingo, (Dementia, Covid) 59. Tyler Christopher, 50,General Hospital, Days of Our Lives (positional asphyxia) 60. Andrea Evans, 66, One Life to Live, Passions (breast cancer) 61. Jacklyn Zeman, 70,General Hospital, Young Doctors in Love (cancer) 62. Pamela Blair, 73,A Chorus Line, All My Children (cancer) 63. James McCaffrey, 65,Rescue Me, Max Payne, Viper, (myeloma) 64. Andre Braugher, 61,Homicide: Life on the Street, Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ lung cancer) 65. Ricou Browning, 93, The Gill-Man in Creature From the Black Lagoon 66.Nancy Frangione,70,Another World, All My Children 67.Elizabeth Hubbard, 89, As the World Turns, The Doctors 68. George R. Robertson, 89,Police Academy Films 69. Al Brown, 89,The Wire, Red Dragon, The Replacements (Alzheimer’s) 70. Earl Boen, 81,Mama’s Family, The Terminator 71. Michael Levin, 90,Ryan’s Hope, Law and Order, N.Y.P.D. 72. Arleen Sorkin, 67,Days of Our Lives, 1st Voice of Harley Quinn 73. Brett Hadley, 92,Young and the Restless 74. Shannon Wilcox, 80,NCIS, Grey’s Anatomy, Dallas 75. Ellen Holly, 92,One Life to Live, Guiding Light, School Daze 76. Kamar de los Reyes, 56,One Life to Live, Call of Duty, (cancer) 77. Tom Wilkinson,75,Michael Clayton, The Full Monty 78. Dorothy Tristan, 88,Klute, Scarecrow, The Looking Glass 79. Richard Moll, 80,Night Court, But I’m a Cheerleader! & Voice actor 80. Gayle Hunnicutt, 80,Eye of the Cat, The Legend of Hell House 81. Burt Young, 83,Rocky, Rocky II, Betsy’s Wedding 82. Gerald Castillo, 90,General Hospital, Saved by the Bell 83. Richard Romanus, 80,Mean Streets, Wizards, The Sopranos 84. Angus Cloud, 25,Euphoria, The Line, (accidental drug overdose) 85. Lee Sun-kyun, 48,Parasite, Kingmaker, (suicide) 86. Coco Lee, 48,Disney Live Action Mulan Star (suicide) 87. Betta St. John 93,The Robe, Dream Wife 88. Emmanuelle Debever, 60, French Actress Who Accused Gerard Depardieu of Sexual Assault, (suicide) 89. Jansen Panettiere, 28, (Hayden’s Brother) The Walking Dead (enlarged heart) 90. Pat Cooper, 93, Angry Stand-Up Comedian 91. Carole Cook, 98,The Incredible Mr. Limpet, Sixteen Candles 92. Suzanne Somers, 76, American Graffiti, Three’s Company, Step By Step (breast cancer) 93. David McKnight, 87,J.D.’s Revenge, Under Siege, (cancer) 94. Mike Batayeh, 52,Comedian, Breaking Bad (possible suicide) 95. Evan Ellingson, 35,My Sister’s Keeper, CSI: Miami (accidental overdose) 96. Austin Majors, 27,Child Actor on NYPD Blue (accidental fentanyl overdose) 97. Koko Da Doll, 35,Kokomo City, (murdered) 98. Janet Landgard, 75,The Swimmer, The Donna Reed Show (brain cancer) 99. Judy Nugent, 83,The Ruggles, Adventures of Superman 100. Sara Lane, 73,I Saw What You Did, The Virginian 101. Elaine Devry ,93, With Six you Get Eggroll, Guide for the Married Man 102. Carol Locatell, 82,Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning 103. Sharon Farrell 82,It’s Alive, Marlowe, The Reivers 104. Margie Duncan, 92. Dancer, Stand-In for friend Debbie Reynolds 105. Phyllis Coates, 96, the First Lois Lane on Television,(Superman) Blood Arrow 106. Linda Haynes, 75,Rolling Thunder, Brubaker 107. Noreen Nash, 99,Giant, The Southerner 108. Margia Dean, 101,TheQuatermass Xperiment, I Shot Jesse James 109. Jean Veloz, 98,Famed Lindy Hop Dancer 110. Miiko Taki, 99, Sayonara, Walk-Don’t Run, Paper Tiger
ACTORS AND ENTERTAINERS,II
111. Ryan O’Neal, 82,Love Story, What’s Up, Doc?, Paper Moon, (leukemia) 112. Kevin O’Neal, 77,No Time for Sergeants, Gunsmoke, What’s Up Doc? (Ryan O’Neal’s little brother) 114. Lara Parker, 84,Dark Shadows, Kung Fu, The Rockford Files 115. Raquel Welch, 82, One Million Years B.C., The Three (and Four) Musketeers 116. Richard Roundtree, 81, Shaft, Roots, Desperate Housewives (pancreatic cancer) 117. David McCallum, 90,The Greatest Story Ever Told, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., ‘NCIS 118. Lisa Loring, 64, Original Wednesday on The Addams Family 119. Treat Williams, 71,Hair, Prince of the City, Everwood, Truman and the Swans (Motorcycle Accident) 120. Cindy Williams, 75,American Graffiti, Laverne & Shirley 121. Paul Grant, 56,Harry Potter films, Star Wars 122. Ray Stevenson, 58,Thor Movies, RRR 123. Adam Rich, 54,Eight Is Enough 124. Barry Newman, 92, Vanishing Point, Petrocelli, 125. Gail O’Neill, 61, Fashion Model, Journalist, CBS The Early Show 126. Gina Lollobrigida, 95,Legendary Italian Screen Siren, Dies at 95 127. Mark Goddard, 87,Lost in Space, Johnny Ringo, (pulmonary fibrosis) 128. Keith Jefferson, 58,Hateful Eight, Django Unchained. (cancer) 129, Alan Arkin, 89,Little Miss Sunshine, The In-Laws, Wait Until Dark 130. Rose Gregorio, 97,The Shadow Box, ER. 131. Robert Blake, 89,In Cold Blood, Baretta 132. Johnny Hardwick, 64, Voice of Dale Gribble on King of the Hill 133. Lance Kerwin, 62,James at 15, Salem’s Lot 134. Glenda Jackson, 87,Twice Oscar Winner, Women in Love, A Touch of Class 135. Julian Sands, 65,A Room with a View. (Hiking Accident) 136. Frederic Forrest, 86,Apocalypse Now, The Rose 137. Jim Tweto, 68,Flying Wild Alaska, (plane crash) 138. Dex Carvey, 32, Comedian, and Son of Dana Carvey (accidental overdose) 139. Bill Saluga, 86, “You Can Call Me Ray” Comedian 140. Charles Kimbrough, 86, Anchor Jim Dial on Murphy Brown 141. Matthew Perry, 54,Friends, (Anesthetic Ketamine, Accidental Drowning) 142. Darren Kent, 36,Game of Thrones, Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (osteoporosis) 143. Suzanne Shepherd,89,Sopranos, Goodfellas 144. Piper Laurie, 91,The Hustler, Carrie, Twin Peaks 145. Marisa Pavan, 91,The Rose Tattoo, Man in the Grey Flannel Suit, twin sister of Pier Angeli 146. Casey Kramer, 67, Daughter of Stanley Kramer, Mississippi Requiem, Baskets 147. Andrea Fay Friedman. 53, Life Goes On (Alzheimer’s) 148. Joan Evans, 89,On the Loose, Skirts Ahoy! Edge of Doom 149. Shirley Anne Field, 87, The Entertainer, Alfie, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning 150. Michael Gambon, 82. British Stage Legend, Dumbledore of Harry Potter Movies 151. Paul Reubens,70, (aka Pee-wee Herman) PeeWee’s Playhouse,movies 152. Jimmy Weldon, 99, Ventriloquist and Voice of the cartoon duck Yakky Doodle 153. Ted Donaldson, 89,Father Knows Best, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn 154. Sandra Seacat, 86. Actress, Beloved Acting Coach 155. Michael Lerner, 81,M*A*S*H, Barton Fink, Eight Men Out 156. Eileen Saki, 79, Rosie the Bar Owner on M*A*S*H 157. Judy Farrell, 84,Nurse Able on M*A*S*H, 158. Tom Sizemore, 61,Saving Private Ryan, Heat, Natural Born Killers 159. George Maharis, 94,Route 66, Rich Man Poor Man, Exodus 160. Chaim Topol, 87, Stage and Screen Tevye the milkman, Fiddler on the Roof 161. Joanna Merlin, 92, Broadway Fiddler on the Roof (original Tzeitel) Casting Director 162. Sheldon Harnick, 99, Famed Fiddler on the Roof Lyricist 163. Melinda Dillon, 83.Close Encounters of the Third Kind, A Christmas Story 164. Frances Sternhagen 93, Two-Time Tony Winner, Sex and the City 165. Betty Sturm, 89,The World’s Greatest Sinner 166. Inga Swenson, 90,The Miracle Worker, Benson 167.Shelley Smith,70, Super Model and Actress, For Love and Honor 168. John Beasley, 79, Everwood, The Soul Man 169. Peter Gonzales Falcon, 74,Fellini’s Roma, Bordertown 170. Ron Cephas Jones 66,This Is Us, Dolemite is my Name 171. Jane Birkin, 76, Model, Actress and Singer 172. Lew Palter, 94,Titanic Actor and Longtime CalArts Teacher 173. Paul O’Grady, 67,Comedian, aka Lily Savage 174. Barry Humphries, 89. Comedian, aka Dame Edna Everage. 175. Gordon Pinsent, 92, There Will Be Blood, Away from Her 176. Sylvia Syms, 89, British Star. The Queen, Victim 177. Samantha Weinstein 28,Big Girl, The Stone Angel, Carrie, (cancer) 178. Carlin Glynn, 82, Broadway actress, Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Sixteen Candles 179. Michael McGrath, 65, Plaza Suite, Nice Work if you can Get it. 180.Len Goodman, 78. Judge of Dancing with the Stars, Strictly Come Dancing 181. Wally Campo, 99, Little Shop of Horrors, Roger Corman Films. 182. Clifton Oliver, 47, Broadway Actor of Lion King, In the Heights 183. Marlene Clark, 85,Sanford and Son, Ganja & Hess 184. Barbara Bryne, 94, Actress of many Sondheim Musicals on Broadway 185. Hersha Parady, 78,Little House on the Prairie. Keenan and Kel 186. Paxton Whitehead, 85, Stage Veteran, Back to School 187. Josephine Chaplin, 74, Actress, and Daughter of Charlie Chaplin 188. Jean Boht, 91, Star of the BBC Sitcom Bread 189. Lelia Goldoni, 86,Shadows, Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore 190. Marc Gilpin, 56,Jaws 2, The Legend of the Lone Ranger (glioblastoma) 191. Lance Reddick, 60,The Wire, John Wick (heart disease) 192. Murray Melvin, 90,A Taste of Honey, The Phantom of the Opera
193. Kenny DeForest, 37,Comedian (Bicycle Accident) 194. Michael Chiarello, 61,Food Network Chef. Easy Entertaining With Michael Chiarello (allergic reaction, heart attack) 195. Jacky Oh, (Jacklyn Smith),33, Wild ‘N Out (Complications of cosmetic surgery) 196. Stella Stevens, 84,The Nutty Professor, The Poseidon Adventure 197. Richard Belzer, 78, Sharp Comic, actor on Law and Order SVU 198. Shecky Greene, 97, Legendary Las Vegas Comedian and Headliner
NEWS-MAKERS
199 Rosalynn Carter, 96, Outspoken Former First Lady, beloved wife of President Jimmy Carter 200. Senator Dianne Feinstein, 90, California Senator 201. Pat Schroeder. Colorado Representative if the House (stroke) 202. Justice Sandra Day O’Conner, 93,1st Female Supreme Court Justice. 203. Judy Heumann, 75, Author and Disability Rights Activist
CREATORS 204-222
204. Leo D. Sullivan, 82, Pioneering Black Animator, Disney, Fat Albert 205. Paco Rabanne, 88, Designer w/ Space-Age Aesthetic, Perfumes 206. Mary Quant, 93, Mastermind of Swinging ’60s Style 207. Larry Fink, 82, Legendary American Photographer 208. Lloyd Morrisett, 93, Co-Creator of Sesame Street 209. Norman Lear, 101,Sitcom Genius, All In the Family, Maude, The Jeffersons, and Citizen Activist 210 Mark Russell, 90, Piano-Playing Political Satirist 211 Elliot Silverstein, 96,Director Cat Ballou and A Man Called Horse 212 Cormac McCarthy, 89, Author of No Country for Old Men 213 Kenneth Anger, 96, Author Hollywood Babylon I and II 214 Bernard Kalb, 100, Veteran Journalist and TV Host 215 Walter Mirisch, 101.Producer, In the Heat of the Night , many more 216 Martin Amis, 73, Author of London Fields,Money 217 John Jakes, 90, Author, North and South,The Bastard 218 Marty Krofft, 86, Producer, H.R. Puffinstuff, The Bugaloos, more 219 William Friedkin, 87, Director The French Connection. The Exorcist 220 Carol Higgins Clark, 66, Best-Selling Author and Actress 221 Bert I. Gordon, 100, Director of Cult (and Cheap) Sci-Fi Classics 222 Al Jaffee, 102,Trailblazing Beloved Mad Magazine Cartoonist,creator of The MAD Fold-In.
MUSICIANS 223-280
223. Alan Copeland, 96, The Modernaires and Your Hit Parade 224. Dusty Street, 77, Pioneering Female DJ for LA Radio Station KROQ, 225. Magoo, 50, Rapper, One Half of Duo Timbaland & Magoo 226. Tony Bennett, 96,The Gold Standard of Singers Everywhere, Rags to Riches,I Left My Heart in San Francisco, 227. Ed Ames, 95, Singer and Daniel Boone Sidekick 228. Bill Lee, 94, Composer, Father of Spike Lee 229. Fred White, 67, Drummer of Earth, Wind & Fire 230. Tom Verlaine, 73, Guitarist and Songwriter in the band Television 231. Big Pokey 48, Houston Rapper, (Collapsing Onstage) 232. Jeremiah Green, 45, Modest Mouse Drummer, Founding Member 233. Brian Gillis, 47,Singer, founder LFO 234. Robbie Robertson, 80, Frontman of The Band 235. Roger Whittaker. 87, Folk Singer, The Last Farewell 236. Charlie Robison, 59, Country Singer-Songwriter 237. Bernie Marsden 72 Rock n’ Blues guitarist for Whitesnake 238. Denny Laine, 79, Co-Founder of The Moody Blues, Wings, (lung disease) 239. Faye Fantarrow, 21, British Singer and Songwriter 240. Jeff Beck,78,The Yardbirds, solo Guitar God (bacterial meningitis) 241. Barrett Strong, 81,Money Singer Songwriter, I Heard It Through the Grapevine 242. Clarence Avant, 92, “Godfather of Black Music” 243. Sinéad O’Connor ,56, Irish Singer, Nothing Compares 2U 244 Laura Lynch, 65,Founding Member of The Dixie Chicks 245.Tina Turner, 83, Electrifying Entertainer and Feminist Hero 246. Andy Rourke, 59The Smiths Bassist (pancreatic cancer) 247. Alan Rankine, 63, The Associates, Club Country, White Car in Germany 248. Astrud Gilberto, 83, Exotic Songstress, The Girl from Ipanema 249. Kyle Jacobs, 49, Songwriter and Kellie Pickler’s Husband, (suicide) 250. Cyntha Weil, 82, Grammy-Winning Lyricist Hungry, Shades of Grey, 251. C.J. Harris, 31, Former American Idol Contestant 252.Harry Belafonte, 96, Singer, Actor, Producer and Activist “The Banana Boat Song, (aka Day-O!”) 253. Gordon Lightfoot, 84, Singer/Songwriter, Time in a Bottle, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald 254. Peter Nero, 89, Grammy-Winning Pianist and Conductor, Love is Blue 255. Rudolph Isley, 84 Iconic Member of the Isley Brothers, Shout, This Old Heart of Mine 256. Gary Rossington, 71, Lynyrd Skynyrd (last surviving original member) 257. John Gosling, 75 Keyboard Player for The Kinks 258. DJ Casper, 58,Cha-Cha Slide (cancer) 259. Burt Bacharach, 94, Composer of Smooth Virtuoso of 1960s Pop I Say a Little Prayer for You, What the World Needs Now 260. Sixto Diaz Rodrguez 81 Musician, Searching for Sugar Man, Rich Folks Hoax 261. Randy Meisner, 77,Vocalist, Founding Member of The Eagles 262. Kiernan “AKA” Forbes, 49,South African Rapper Victory Lap, (Murdered) 263. Nashawn Breedlove,46, Rapper, Actor 8 Mile 264. Don Williams, 100, Last Surviving Member of The Williams Brothers 265. Lola Dee, 95, Popular Singer of the 1950s 266. Moonbin, 25,Member of K-pop Band Astro, (Suicide) 267. George Brown,74, Kool & the Gang Drummer 268. Bobby Caldwell, 71, Jazz, Pop singer, What You Won’t Do for Love 269. Sandra Reaves-Phillips 79,Singer. Round Midnight, Lean on Me 270. Gary Wright, 80,Singer, Dream Weaver, Fascinating Things 271. Steve Harwell, 56,Smash Mouth Founder, Former Lead Singer 272. Jimmy Buffett, 76,Margaritaville, Cheeseburger in Paradise 273. Trugoy the Dove, 54, De La Soul Co-Founder 274. Gangsta Boo, 43, Rapper, Three 6 Mafia 275. Paul Cattermole 46, S Club 7 Don’t Stop Movin’ 276. David Crosby, 81,The Byrds, and Crosby, Stills & Nash Founder 277. Irish Grinstead 43,Singer, 702. Where My Girls At?, Get it Together 278.Tom Smothers, 86, Comedian, Folk Musician, and the great Yo-Yo Man 279. Wayne Shorter, 89, Jazz Saxophone Pioneer. Moanin, Birdland 280.Lisa Marie Presley, 54, Singer, Songwriter and Elvis’ Daughter Lights Out, Idiot
THE STAR TREK FAMILY 281-302
281. Sharon Acker, 87.Star Trek TOS (Odona) Point Blank 282.Stephen Kandel, 96, Creator of Harry Mudd (Mudd’s Women, I Mudd, Mudd’s Passion) 283. Robert Butler, 95 Director on Star Trek pilot The Cage 284. Gerald Fried, 95,Star Trek and Roots Composer, Greatest. Fight. Music. EVER. in Amok Time. 285. Ed Fury, 94, Bodybuilder, Star Trek,(Omega Glory drummer) ‘Sword and Sandal’ Films 286. Patricia McNulty, 80,Star Trek,( as Tina Lawton in Charlie X , Tammy Tell me True, My Three Sons 286. Elizabeth Hoffman, 97,ST: TNG, Sisters, Fear No Evil 288. John Copage, 98,TOS and ST: TNG 289. Barbara Bosson, 83, Hill Street Blues, ST: TNG 290. J. Patrick McNamara, 80, ST: TNG. Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure 291. Annie Wersching, 45.Picard, ST: TNG, Bosch, 24, Runaways 292. Jerry Spicer, 64,ST: TNG, Voyager, Pump Up the Volume 293. Jack Axelrod, 93,ST: TNG, General Hospital, My Name Is Earl 294. Ken Lally, 52, Actor, Stuntman, fencer. Star Trek Enterprise, Resident Evil 2, (voice) 295. Nicholas Coster, 89, ST: TNG, Another World, All My Children 296 Julian Christopher, (James Watkins),78,ST: TNG, Elysium 297. Tom Kunis, 93,Star Trek: DS9, Hamlet, Taps 298. Paul Eckstein 59,Voyager, DS9, Law and Order, producer of Godfather of Harlem 299. Dan Kern, 74,ST: TNG, Star Trek Voyager, Me and The Big Guy 300. Nicolas Kepros, 90,ST: TNG, Broadway actor (St Joan) (stroke) 301. Peter White, 86,Star Trek: DS9, Love is an Many Splendored Thing, All My Children (melanoma) 302. Mark Margolis, 83,ST: TNG, Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul
How are you all doing? I pray you will have a very happy and healthy new year, and you are all always in my thoughts and prayers!
Not much new with me, although it appears my old desktop computer is giving up the ghost and I will probably be getting a new one or a laptop to replace it! I hope we get this resolved soon, but in the meantime, I just wanted to check in on you!
I have begun my annual Memorial collage for the year, recalling all the newsmakers we lost last year, will probably have that up in a couple of weeks, new computer pending. (I don’t want to save too many images to my current computer without back up or it could be lost!)
I’ve started a new hobby since December! I’m learning how to sculpt Plasticine clay as inspired by Ace of Clay on YouTube. I got some lovely clay modelling tools from my son this Christmas, and I have several ideas which I hope I can execute in time for a display I’ll have up at my local library in June!! In that display I will also include many of my silly collages and some of my photography. I can’t wait!
In the real world, I am enjoying being a substitute teacher, although I’ll be holding off for a while until the seasonal ailments (flu,covid,RSV, and pneumonia) ease off. I’ll be getting my last vaccination this week to help stave off any illnesses. I strongly urge you to get your vaccines too, and wear a mask in public. Just common sense!
(Spoiler: political commentary, feel free to skip to next paragraph after)
I know this will be a big year for our nation (USA) and the world, and I pray we can achieve stability and peace world-wide. Suffice to say (and you’re welcome to disagree) I DO NOT want Donald Trump back in the White House. He is a danger to our fragile democracy and I have no doubt that a new Trump Administration will become a Trump Autocracy or worse (dictatorship). His cruelty, misogyny, devotion to ‘strong man’ types (Putin, Jong -Un, JinPing and Orban,) is a clear enough indication of his intentions. (see Project 2025) One cannot be a dictator “for one day” and he knows we all know this. But he will continue to charm those who hate all the people he hates, and encourage violence. He will tear families apart again, crush civil rights, and degrade women further while aiding and abetting fellow Authoritarians and Dictators. This is not the America I believe in. I will rejoice the day that we never have to hear of him again. Fine if you disagree. FYI, most immigrants are NOT after YOUR job, unless you want to pick produce in poor conditions, clean toilets, haul trash, or care for the elderly. They take all the jobs that ‘good Americans’ don’t want. And if they can rise above menial labor into decent livable wage positions, it is well deserved! America was built on immigration and most of us are descendants of Immigrants. One must be really desperate in their own country (especially the southern border) to risk death coming here. To shuffle them around like cattle is inhumane. Enough said.
On lighter topics, I look forward to the next seasons of Lower Decks and Strange New Worlds. And the final (wah!) season of Discovery — hey it wasn’t that bad!! I want to spend more time organizing, getting rid of stuff, spending less, saving more, creating, and losing the elusive weight in my never ending battle.
As The Keeper says, “May you find your way as pleasant.”
I was lucky to attend a wonderful event in October! Adam Nimoy (son of Leonard) appeared at the Olav Shalom Synagogue in Albany NY to discuss the Jewish Connections to Star Trek. Not only did Adam find connections to Judaism through Trek, but also gave a preview of his next book that will be out in January.
Adam was delightfully laid back and his presentation was insightful and humorous as well as reflecting on life with his father; their faith, struggles and joys. While reading passages from his book manuscript, he corrected some last minute typos to our delight. “It’s okay,” he said “it’s not out until January!”
He also expressed his wishes for peace in Israel/Gaza and all the war-zones around the world. Amen to that.
Before the talk, there was a delicious brunch with egg and tuna salads, green salad, yogurt with fresh fruit, lots of desserts, and of course, bagels-I had my first lox ever!
Adam gave a list of the 10 episodes he found that suggested the influences of his Jewish faith. Of course there is the Vulcan Greeting, “Live Long and Prosper” and its v-formation based on the Hebrew letter Shin, and it being the first letter in the Hebrew word for Peace, which is “Shalom”. Alas, I should have taken notes, so I can only give a taste of Adam’s comparisons! (Sorry!) I was mostly just enjoying the moment, and it was wonderful.
Here’s some examples; Moses wandering in the dessert was like Captain Kirk and his crew wandering throughout the galaxy. He also made references to Metamorphosis (The Companion as a caring god figure) and Journey to Babel (Nations struggling to reach a common peaceful goal) His favorite episode of TOS was The Menagerie, as he loved that it incorporated his father’s first appearance as Spock into a two-episode arc.
And on a personal level, he also cited the story of Jonah and the Whale as it related to his own struggle with pot addiction, and finally being saved. This was very moving. I would add my own example here, the (New Testament) tale of The Prodigal Son in a way reflected the time between Adam and his father when their relationship was strained for a time, and not being in each other’s lives. Yet in time, and thankfully a good length time before Leonard was struck with COPD, he and Adam had reunited in love and a much better, closer father-son relationship, to the end of Leonard’s days.
(I noted that Adam’s talk was being recorded, so I’m hoping that if it is put on line, I’ll be able to share it with you!)
My friend Bobbie* and I attended this event together, and we both had the chance to meet and greet Adam and have our picture taken with him. (Yay!) Bobbie (who is her town historian) is working very hard on a project to get a commemorative USPS stamp of Leonard in time for the 10th year anniversary of his passing in 2015. (She was active in having the stamp of Edmonia Lewis made for the USPS Black Heritage stamp series most recently). Bobbie showed Adam her thick file, filled with all her work to date in her stamp proposal, with recommendations of insights to Leonard’s patriotism, philanthropy and how his character of Spock is a true American icon, with his brave and caring discipline. Adam said “You know more about my Dad than I know!” Here’s hoping Bobbie succeeds!
I gave Adam a 500 piece puzzle I had made up of the 90th birthday tribute to his Dad. He was surprised and intrigued by the intricate collage I made of his fathers life, and enjoyed seeing even tiny pictures of himself and his sister Julie contained within! I hope he and his family will enjoy the puzzle over the holidays!
Bobbie and I both got our pictures taken with him, and we each couldn’t resist throwing in a hug! What a fine mensch! Adam, if you’re reading this, Thank you again, and it was a pleasure!
NOTE: To see the pictures I took from this event, please check out my Instagram page. (I am using my Instagram account here now for my default images since I ran out of room for images here when I returned to my original membership with WordPress)
