And last but certainly not least, we say farewell to all of the veterans of Star Trek. Of course, many of these performers worked on many projects outside of the Star Trek Universe, (Hello-Teri Garr!) but I always honor them for the little piece of the future they blessed us Trekkies with through the years. Godspeed old friends, and blessings as you travel the great beyond.
The Star Trek Family
Gary Graham, 73, Actor, Musician,Tanis onStar Trek Voyager, Ambassador Soval Star Trek: Enterprise, and Star Trek Axanar. Detective Matthew Sikes on Alien Nation, Ragnar in Star Trek: Of Gods and Men, and also in Star Trek: Renegades.
Peter Crombie, 71,Fallit Kott on Star Trek DS9, Seinfeld. Brief Illness
Obi Ndefo 51, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Drex on Star Trek: Deep Space 9, Protector on Star Trek Voyager, Dawson’s Creek, Stargate: SG1, Orthoexia Nervosa
Kenneth Mitchell, 47, Kol/Kol-Sha, Tenavik, and Aurellio on Star Trek: Discovery, Black Ops Officer 2 / Romulan Guard 1/ Tweerk Captain on Star Trek: Lower Decks. Complications from ALS
Tony Todd, 69, Kurn in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Adult Jake Sisko and ‘Prey’ in Star Trek: Deep Space 9. Stomach cancer.
Jill Jacobson 70, Vanessa in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Chalan Aroya in Star Trek Deep Space Nine, Esophageal cancer
Alan Scarfe 77 Tokath on Star Trek: The Next Generation,
Erich Anderson 67 Commander Kieran on Star Trek: The Next Generation, Melrose Place, Felicity. Cancer
Whitney Rydbeck 79, Ensign Alans on Star Trek: The Next Generation, M*A*S*H, Rocky II, Scrubs, Friday the 13th Pt, IV. Prostate Cancer
Mickey Cottrell 79 Arlik in Star Trek: The Next Generation, My Own Private Idaho, Ed Wood. Parkinsons
Teri Garr, 79, Roberta Lincoln on Star Trek, The Sonny and Cher Show, Young Frankenstein, Tootsie, Oh God, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Advocate for MS. Multiple Sclerosis
James B. Sikking, 90, Dementia
Patti Yasitake, 70, Nurse Alyssa Ogawa on Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek Generations, Star Trek: First Contact. T-Cell Lymphoma
Charles Dierkomp, 87, Morla on Star Trek, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Batman, Mission Impossible, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Sting, Maverick, Heart attack and Pneumonia
Michael Barrier, 90, Actor and US Coast Guard Lieutenant Commander. Lieutenant LaSalle on Star Trek, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Mission Impossible, Angel in my Pocket. (undisclosed)
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!
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
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)
It’s been an interesting couple of weeks and if you have had problems logging into my site, I humbly apologize!
You see, the other week I received a note on my Paypal saying I owed $500+ to renew my site here on WordPress for two years. Now it’s a bit confusing, but I thought I had renewed my account here several months ago, but that was just for the domain name. The reason I had this enormous bill was because two years ago I had upgraded my trekkerscrapbook.com site to a commercial site so I could include a “Buy Me a Coffee” link that my readers could click on if they wanted to send a donation of support to the site.
Long story short, I got a hold of WordPress in a panic, letting them know that there was no way I could afford the commercial billing now. The associate was delightfully friendly, patient, and understanding of my dilemma. She let me know that, yes, I would be refunded the big amount and instead my site would go back to looking like it did two years ago, and it would only charge me $48 a year.
Whew!
Although I was relieved to be refunded my original amount, I noticed that I had to log back in to get back to doing all the stuff I do here. Fine! I’ll just look up my password…
Could not find my my password list!!! Fortunately I just found it today and here I am. HOWEVER, as well as my site being returned to its previous format (Coraline) it had also be changed to a ‘Private’ site, which is why some of you may not have been able to have access. Well, I just fixed that, and you should all have no problem seeing my site now. So sorry for the mess, and thanks again for your patronage.
And as to the donate button, I’d like to thank the two of you who donated! I did have a nice cup of tea! Greatly appreciated!
And now back to your regularly scheduled trekkerscrapbook.com. My next post will appear soon about my wonderful visit to Albany last month to see Adam Nimoy!
And yes, of course I am biased in saying that Spock is the greatest character in all of Science Fiction! (Feel free to submit your suggestions below) But one must admit, the character of Spock really was ground-breaking in the world of 1966, and I doubt that Trek would .have become the legend it is today without this amazing, cool, yet sympathetic character that so many people have identified with other the years. The struggle between his half-human/ half Vulcan selves serves as a metaphor for our own divisive experiences in our lives. Yet the calmness in which he solves his problems — never with violence, but with reason, logic, and compassion, is a lesson to us all.
Over and over in Trek canon, we hear of how the Vulcans nearly destroyed themselves with their own passions. These days, the Vulcan essence of IDIC; Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations, seems to be as far away in our current culture as is the earth to the sun. It’s hard to imagine a future where we can all live in peace regardless of race, sex, and indigenous culture in a world where we seem more divided than ever, and living in fear of “The Other” Sadly, I’ve seen the United States and other parts of the world becoming more divisive than ever in my lifetime (I’m 62) . Can mankind ever achieve the Utopian attitudes of the Star Trek world? The answer is in ourselves. Star Trek taught me not to be afraid of ‘the other’, but to embrace and learn from it in common courtesy. The more we learn from each other, the stronger we will be.
What aspects of Star Trek have made you a better person?
Here’s hoping for the brighter world that Star Trek promises. May we never give up hope.
I just finished watching the penultimate episode of season 2 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, and it was one of the most delightful hours of Star Trek I’ve ever known in its existence. (a few spoilers ahead)
I’ve enjoyed Strange New Worlds since it’s beginning, and this episode Subspace Rhapsody will surely be in my top 25 Treks of all time forever. (I’ll have to write up that list!) I always thought Star Trek would make a great musical, and this was the perfect spin-off series to do it in! The beautiful primary color uniforms have always made for a colorful setting and having this musical episode seemed a natural fit!
I love how ST:SNW had never been afraid to poke fun at itself. And this episode is no exception. When the crew discovers that an experiment with an anomaly is causing the crew to burst out in song, they are all uncomfortably aware that one does not just sing on the Enterprise! (at least not on duty!)
Suffice to say, the results are magical, and each character gets a song of their own. A lot of the cast has had musical theater training and it shows! The Voices!! Kudos to the whole cast, who not only sing but dance too! Just a splendid episode, and even if you don’t do musicals, you can’t help but fall in love with this one! You might even get a couple of good ear worms!
If you haven’t seen it yet, here’s the preview:
Of course the only thing that I don’t like about Strange New Worlds is that each season is ONLY ten episodes each. Which has me singing the blues! But at least after next week’s finale, I’ll have twenty to watch any time!
I made a donation to the Boston Museum of Science supporting the Leonard Nimoy monument that is being fund raised for! They are getting close to their goal, and I truly hope they achieve it! It will be a big crystalized hand in the form of Vulcan Greeting in front of the museum. I received this lovely thank you today from Tim Ritchie, the President of the Museum of Science:
Currently the total donations are $301,789 and it is 60% to reaching its mark (of $500,000) Please consider contributing any amount to can to complete this wonderful project! You can donate here. I am proud to be a part of this undertaking, and I’m sure Leonard is smiling from above!
TrekkerScrapbook 