Bobby Farrell, the lead singer of Boney M, a European chart-topping disco group in the 1970s, has died at age 61 while on tour in Russia.
The singer’s agent, John Seine, says the ‘Daddy Cool’ star was found dead in his hotel room in St. Petersburg on Thursday morning by hotel staff after he failed to respond to a wake-up call.
Seine said Farrell performed as scheduled Wednesday night, but complained of breathing problems before and after his show.
Officials in St. Petersburg said an investigation is underway. “There was no sign of violent death,” a source told the AFP. “The investigation continues.”
The original Boney M, which was based in Germany, disbanded in 1986 after scoring Europe-wide hits with ‘Daddy Cool’ and ‘By the Rivers Of Babylon.’ Watch a Pair of Boney M’s Big Hits:
While not a household name in the United States, Boney M’s music has influenced current hitmakers like Lady Gaga, who sampled the vocal “Ma-Ma-Ma” from ‘Ma Baker’ for her monster track ‘Poker Face.’
At the time of his death, the singer was leading a group called Bobby Farrell and Boney M, with three female backup singers. Farrell was born Alfonso Farrell in Aruba and lived in Amsterdam.
Blake Edwards, the director and writer known for clever dialogue, poignance and occasional belly-laugh sight gags in ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s,’ ’10′ and the ‘Pink Panther’ farces, is dead at age 88.
Edwards died from complications of pneumonia at about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday at St. John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, said publicist Gene Schwam. Blake’s wife, Julie Andrews, and other family members were at his side. He had been hospitalized for about two weeks.
Edwards had knee problems, had undergone unsuccessful procedures and was “pretty much confined to a wheelchair for the last year-and-a-half or two,” Schwam said. That may have contributed to his condition, he added.
At the time of his death, Edwards was working on two Broadway musicals, one based on the ‘Pink Panther’ movies. The other, ‘Big Rosemary,’ was to be an original comedy set during Prohibition, Schwam said.
“His heart was as big as his talent. He was an Academy Award winner in all respects,” said Schwam, who knew him for 40 years.
A third-generation filmmaker, Edwards was praised for evoking classic performances from Jack Lemmon, Audrey Hepburn, Peter Sellers, Dudley Moore, Lee Remick and Andrews, his wife of nearly half a century.
He directed and often wrote a wide variety of movies including ‘Days of Wine and Roses,’ a harrowing story of alcoholism; ‘The Great Race,’ a comedy-adventure that starred Lemmon, Tony Curtis and Natalie Wood; and ‘Victor/Victoria,’ his gender-bender musical comedy with Andrews.
He was also known for an independent spirit that brought clashes with studio bosses. He vented his disdain for the Hollywood system in his 1981 black comedy, ‘S.O.B.’
“I was certainly getting back at some of the producers of my life,” he once remarked, “although I was a good deal less scathing than I could have been. The only way I got to make it was because of the huge success of ’10,’ and even then they tried to sabotage it.”
For a decade, Edwards’ only hits were ‘Pink Panther’ sequels. Then came ’10,’ which he also produced and wrote. The sex comedy became a box-office winner, creating a new star in Bo Derek and restoring the director’s reputation. He scored again in 1982 with ‘Victor/Victoria,’ with Andrews playing a woman who poses as a (male) female impersonator. His later films became more personal, particularly the 1986 “That’s Life,” which he wrote with his psychiatrist.
After Sellers’ death in 1980, Edwards attempted to keep the ‘Pink Panther’ franchise alive. He wrote and directed ‘Curse of the Pink Panther’ in 1983 and ‘Son of the Pink Panther’ in 1993 but both were failed efforts.
Nielsen’s nephew told CJOB that the actor had been in the hospital in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida for 12 days and that with family and friends by his side at 5:30pm Sunday “he just fell asleep and passed away.”
The Canadian-born Nielsen came to Hollywood in the mid-1950s after performing in 150 live television dramas in New York. With a craggily handsome face, blond hair and 6-foot-2 height, he seemed ideal for a movie leading man.
Nielsen was indeed a lead actor for decades in Hollywood, appearing the 1956 sci-fi classic ‘Forbidden Planet’ as well as ‘The Poseidon Adventure.’ But his turn in 1980′s classic comedy ‘Airplane!’ as a deadpan doctor on a doomed flight, changed his career forever as he switched gears to become one of Hollywood’s top comic talents.
His turn as detective Frank Drebin in ‘The Naked Gun’ was a smash and was followed by two sequels. The role in the comedy actual was born in the short lived TV series ‘Police Squad’ which had followed on the heels of Nielsen’s success in ‘Airplane!’
The Los Angeles County Coroner has revealed that Simon Monjack died from the same two causes as his wife Brittany Murphy.
Monjack was found dead in the couple’s home in Hollywood just five months after his wife died in the same house. They both died from acute pneumonia and severe anemia.
Ed Winter, the Coroner Assistant Chief, said that “just like Brittany” there was some prescription drugs were found in his system but not in lethal levels. His family are requesting for another test to take place before the full autopsy report will be released.
That is all kind of freaky that they both died in the same house from the exact same causes and so soon to each other.
source: Husband Died from Same Causes as Brittany Murphy [People]
Tomorrow marks the first year since Michael Jackson died so expect to hear his music and see photos of him everywhere again, but here is some money news regarding the king of pop – he has earned $1 billion since his death.
Billboard say that Jackson’s estate sky rocketed after his death and he earned around $429 million alone in music sales because he sold around 33 million albums since his death on top of millions of music downloads and ringtone sales.
Then there was around $392 million taken in from TV and movie projects, mostly from the Michael Jackson: This Is It documentary which was released late last year.
Other royalty fees which includes ticket sales that were never refunded and his music catalog round up the rest of the money.
I guess it pays to be dead if your someone as big as Michael Jackson, my poor loved ones will only be given the rest of my debt when I die.
source: How Michael Jackson Made $1 Billion Since His Death [Billboard]
Doug Fieger, lead singer and songwriter for the L.A.-based new wave pop band The Knack, died Sunday in Los Angeles. He was 57.
Fieger had battled successive sieges with lung and brain cancer for six years, and underwent multiple operations to remove brain tumors.
He is best known for the Knack’s ubiquitous 1979 hit “My Sharona,” a lusty, incessantly riffing rocker inspired by his obsession with 16-year-old musician Sharona Alperin.
The song, co-written by Fieger and guitarist Berton Averre dominated U.S. radio airplay in the summer of ’79, and held the No. 1 spot on the national singles chart for six weeks. The band’s debut Capitol album “Get the Knack” spent five weeks at No. 1, and was certified double platinum.
“My Sharona” returned to the national charts in 1994 after it was used in the pic “Reality Bites.”
Though the group’s sophomore LP “But the Little Girls Understand” reached No. 15, none of their other singles ever reached the top 10, and the Knack never recaptured their initial success.
Born in Detroit, Fieger as a teenager was a member of the local band Sky, which recorded two albums for RCA Records. He relocated to Los Angeles and played and recorded in the band the Sunset Bombers before forming the Knack with Averre, drummer Bruce Gary and bassist Prescott Niles.
The act — which at its inception was categorized among L.A.’s plethora of so-called “skinny-tie” power pop and new wave bands — attracted equal measures of attention and derision on its way up for live shows that featured guest appearances by stars like Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen and the Doors’ Ray Manzarek.
Almost as soon as “My Sharona” reached the charts, the band sparked a “Knuke the Knack” campaign among naysayers who condemned the quartet as arrogant and misogynistic
Depleted by declining sales and negative press, the unit disbanded in 1982, but they regrouped sporadically into the new millennium; they issued their most recent album in 2001. Bruce Gary succumbed to non-Hodgkins lymphoma in 2006.
After treatment for lung cancer in 2004, Fieger was diagnosed with brain cancer after he became disoriented and forgot the lyrics to “My Sharona” during a show in Las Vegas.
This saddens me beyond measure!
Doug Fieger is survived by his brother Geoffrey and sister Beth.
Following earlier reports that Chris Henry was facing life threatening injuries, it has now been announced that he has sadly died.
Police said that the Cincinnati Bengals receiver died at 6:36 a.m. following a domestic dispute with his fiancee which resulted in her driving off in a vehicle, he then jumped on the vehicle but according to police he fell off about half-mile into the drive.
His fiancee, Loleini Tonga, had posted on her MySpace page that they had just bought their wedding rings yesterday, she hasn’t logged in since then.
Henry’s agent released a statement saying, “It is with great sadness to learn Chris has passed away, for those who knew Chris, he was nothing like his public perception. A loving and caring individual, he was thankful for what he had in life, and proud of what he had overcome.”
Henry has been arrested in the past for marijuana possession, gun possession and assault but he was given a second chance by the Bengals’ owner and had since cleaned up his act.
Chris Henry was just 26-years-old and leaves three children behind.
Henry Gibson, the quintessential character actor who played Nazis, priests, drunks and nosy neighbors during a 45-year career that included a stint as an original cast member on ‘Laugh-In,’ died Monday at his home in Malibu. His son, James, said Gibson died after a brief battle with cancer. He was 73.
Beginning with a role in ‘The Nutty Professor’ in 1963, Gibson worked steadily until just last year. His big break arrived in 1968 when he began a 3-year stint on ‘Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In,’ where each week he would hold a flower and read a poem.
The rest of the 1960s and 1970s were spent working on acclaimed TV shows, including ‘Love, American Style,’ and more meaty film projects like Robert Altman’s 1975 country music opus, ‘Nashville,’ for which Gibson earned a Golden Globes nomination.
In 1980, he played an Illinois Nazi going after a pair of soul-singing louts in ‘The Blues Brothers’ and later in the decade played the villainous neighbor in Tom Hanks’ hit ‘The Burbs.’
Other memorable films include a ‘Gremlins’ sequel, Paul Thomas Anderson’s ‘Magnolia,’ and most recently a turn as a clergyman who gets an earful from Vince Vaughn in ‘Wedding Crashers.’
Until last year, he carried on a recurring role on ‘Boston Legal.’
Born James Bateman in Germantown, Pa., Gibson began acting professionally at age 8. He is survived by his wife and three sons.
Laugh-In was one of my favorite shows, yes… that dates me. I loved Goldie Hawn the most on the show.
RIP funny man.
source: ‘Laugh-In,’ Film Actor Henry Gibson Dies [popeater]
Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the sister of President John F. Kennedy and a champion of the disabled who founded the Special Olympics, died Tuesday, the Special Olympics said. She was 88.
Born on July 10, 1921, in Brookline, Massachusetts, Shriver was the fifth of nine children to Joseph P. and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy. She emerged from the long shadow of siblings John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy as the founder of the Special Olympics, which started as a summer day camp in her backyard in 1962.
Today, 3.1 million people with mental disabilities participate in 228 programs in 170 nations, according to the Special Olympics.
No final decision has been made on funeral arrangements, a source close to the family said.
It’s hard for us to believe: the amazing Eunice Kennedy Shriver went home to God this morning at 2 a.m.
She was the light of our lives, a mother, wife, grandmother, sister and aunt who taught us by example and with passion what it means to live a faith-driven life of love and service to others. For each of us, she often seemed to stop time itself – to run another Special Olympics games, to visit us in our homes, to attend to her own mother, her sisters and brothers, and to sail, tell stories, and laugh and serve her friends. How did she do it all?
Inspired by her love of God, her devotion to her family, and her relentless belief in the dignity and worth of every human life, she worked without ceasing – searching, pushing, demanding, hoping for change. She was a living prayer, a living advocate, a living center of power. She set out to change the world and to change us, and she did that and more. She founded the movement that became Special Olympics, the largest movement for acceptance and inclusion for people with intellectual disabilities in the history of the world. Her work transformed the lives of hundreds of millions of people across the globe, and they in turn are her living legacy.
We have always been honored to share our mother with people of good will the world over who believe, as she did, that there is no limit to the human spirit. At this time of loss, we feel overwhelmed by the gifts of prayer and support poured out to us from so many who loved her. We are together in our belief that she is now in heaven, rejoicing with her family, enjoying the fruits of her faith, and still urging us onward to the challenges ahead. Her love will inspire us to faith and service always.
She was forever devoted to the Blessed Mother. May she be welcomed now by Mary to the joy and love of life everlasting, in the certain truth that her love and spirit will live forever.
The FAA is already deflecting blame for the death of Billy Mays — claiming the legendary TV pitchman wasn’t wearing a seat belt when he took a shot to the head during a rough landing on a flight he was on yesterday.
Here’s what we know — Billy Mays was aboard US Airways Flight 1241 flying from Philadelphia, which landed roughly when the front tire blew out as it touched down. After the flight, Billy told FOX 13 in Tampa that something struck him in the head — here’s Billy’s actual quote:
“All of a sudden as we hit you know it was just the hardest hit, all the things from the ceiling started dropping. It hit me on the head, but I got a hard head.”
The FAA was contacted for comment, and a spokesperson said,
“The passenger needs to wear a seat belt during landing and he didn’t.”
A spokesperson for US Airways did not want to comment until more information comes to light.
“Just had a close call landing in Tampa. The tires blew out upon landing. Stuck in the plane on the runway. You can always count on US Air.”
I call BS… the flight attendants always check to make sure everyone has their seat belt on. Do you think that he had it on… then unlatched it just before landing?
source: FAA — Billy Wasn’t Wearing a Seat Belt on Plane [TMZ]
Michael Jackson has suffered a heart attack and there are scant rumors (unconfirmed) that he has died.
TMZ is reporting that the fifty year old king of pop was rushed to a Los Angeles hospital.
Jackson reportedly collapsed at his home around noon today, where he was shortly rushed to emergency care while still unresponsive.
“The call came in because a person was not breathing,” says a spokesman for the Los Angeles City Fire Department.
“When the team arrived, they saw that CPR was already in progress by someone at the home. The person not breathing was transported to UCLA Medical Center and remains there.”
“He had a heart attack,” father Joe Jackson reported
They say it happens in three’s, Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and now Michael Jackson.
Farrah Fawcett died at 9:28 AM today. Ryan O’Neal and Alana Stewart were at her bedside.
She was 62.
Farrah Fawcett had taken a serious turn for the worse and her loved ones reportedly gathered at her bedside Wednesday night.
A priest also was summoned to the Los Angeles hospital where the 62-year-old “Charlie’s Angels” icon – a devout Catholic – is being treated for anal cancer, the television show “Extra” reported.
Her publicist, Arnold Robinson, would not comment on the reports, saying only that “she is still being treated for her condition.”
Those keeping vigil in the intensive care unit included longtime love Ryan O’Neal, who has been with the one-time sex symbol constantly since she was hospitalized two weeks ago.
Ryan O’Neal had recently proposed to Farrah — I wish she could have made it to the wedding, this makes me really sad.
source: Farrah Fawcett health worsening; priest summoned to deliver last rites [daily news]
UPDATE (James):
CNN (Farrah Fawcett, sex symbol and actress, dies):
Farrah Fawcett, the blonde-maned actress whose best-selling poster and “Charlie’s Angels” stardom made her one of the most famous faces in the world, has died. She was 62.
Farrah Fawcett, who skyrocketed to fame as one of a trio of impossibly glamorous private eyes on TV’s Charlie’s Angels, has died after a long battle with cancer. She was 62.
Fawcett died at 9:28 a.m. PST at St. John’s Heath Center in Santa Monica, Calif. She was with longtime partner Ryan O’Neal, friend Alana Stewart and her doctor Lawrence Piro. She had recently returned to St. John’s for treatment of complications from anal cancer, first diagnosed three years ago.
“She’s gone. She now belongs to the ages,” O’Neal tells PEOPLE. “She’s now with he mother and sister and her God. I loved her with all my heart. I will miss her so very, very much. She was in and out of consciousness. I talked to her all through the night. I told her how very much I loved her. She’s in a better place now.”
Like so much about Fawcett’s life – including her bumpy relationship with O’Neal – her heroic struggle to beat the disease was closely followed by her legion of fans.
“I’ve watched her this past year fight with such courage and so valiantly, but with such humor,” Fawcett’s Charlie’s Angels costar Kate Jackson told PEOPLE in November 2007.
[...]
In 1973, Fawcett married actor Lee Majors, forever known as Col. Steve Austin on TV’s The Six Million Dollar Man. Three years later, she appeared in the cult sci-fi film Logan’s Run and began her stint with costars Jackson and Jaclyn Smith on Charlie’s Angels. Well-coiffed and scantily-clad, the threesome created an instant sensation, with a weekly following of 23 million fans.
Fawcett moved on after just one season. By then, she was already a phenomenon, having donned a one-piece red bathing suit and a perfect smile for her legendary pin-up poster, which sold a still-record 12 million copies.
“I became famous almost before I had a craft,” Fawcett told The New York Times in 1986, four years after her divorce from Majors. (By then, she was already involved with Ryan O’Neal.) “I didn’t study drama at school. I was an art major. Suddenly, when I was doing Charlie’s Angels, I was getting all this fan mail, and I didn’t really know why. I don’t think anybody else did, either.
Though she left TV for what was assumed to be greener pastures – feature films – Fawcett’s initial three big-screen vehicles all crash-landed. Her first, 1978′s Somebody Killed Her Husband, was lampooned in MAD magazine under the title, Somebody Killed Her Career.
It took some serious dramatic TV roles, including that of a battered wife in 1984′s The Burning Bed (which earned her an Emmy nomination), as well as starring in small-screen biopics about pioneering photojournalist Margaret Bourke-White and ill-fated Woolworth heiress Barbara Hutton, for Fawcett to bounce back.
Fawcett is only slightly younger than my parents but she was the first iconic sex symbol I was ever aware of. She and Majors were the Hollywood “it” couple of the day and “Charlie’s Angels,” while not a show that has stood up well to the test of time, nonetheless remains a pop culture icon.
Even though she remained a celebrity through the end, she’ll always be remembered for that poster. It’s amazing how tame it was compared to the images of today’s sex symbols.
We’ve just learned that Dom DeLuise — who starred in such classics as “The Cannonball Run” and “Blazing Saddles” and was the voice of Pizza the Hutt in “Spaceballs” — died last night in a Los Angeles hospital.
We’re told he passed away peacefully in his sleep at around 6 PM.
He was 75.
Let’s remember Dom DeLuise as he would want us to (one of the best movies EVER made):
Bettie Page, a 1950s pinup model who helped set the stage for the 1960s sexual revolution, has died. She was 85.
Her agentMark Roesler says Page died Thursday night at a Los Angeles hospital after suffering a heart attack nine days ago. He says she never regained consciousness.
“She captured the imagination of a generation of men and women with her free spirit and unabashed sensuality. She is the embodiment of beauty.â€
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Page attracted national attention with magazine photographs of her sensuous figure in bikinis and see-through lingerie that were quickly tacked up on walls across the country. Her photos included a centerfold in the January 1955 issue of then-fledgling Playboy magazine, as well as controversial sadomasochistic poses.
Roesler says Page had been hospitalized for three weeks with pneumonia and was about to be released when she suffered the heart attack Dec. 2.
The song, co-written by Fieger and guitarist Berton Averre dominated U.S. radio airplay in the summer of ’79, and held the No. 1 spot on the national singles chart for six weeks. The band’s debut Capitol album “Get the Knack” spent five weeks at No. 1, and was certified double platinum.
