DIZZY GILLESPIE - January 6
Musician.
________________________________________
RUDOLF NUREYEV - January 6
(Same day as Dizzy Gillespie.)
Dancer.
[C.O.D.: AIDS.]
________________________________________
AUDREY HEPBURN - January 20
Actress.
________________________________________
THURGOOD MARSHALL - January 24
Judge.
________________________________________
ARTHUR ASHE - February 6
Pro tennis player.
[C.O.D.: AIDS.]
________________________________________
LILLIAN GISH - February 27
Actress.
________________________________________
RUBY KEELER - February 28
(Must have heard about Lillian Gish the day before.)
Dancer.
________________________________________
HELEN HAYES - March 17
Happy St. Patrick's Day - you're dead!
Actress married to playwright Charles MacArthur,
and was the mother of '60s Hawaii Five-O actor James MacArthur.
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BRANDON LEE - March 31
Actor of The Crow, shot by a gun that was supposed to have been
cleaned out by a stage hand, but it hadn't completely been. Oops!
Bet that stagehand felt mighty embarrassed. Where he is today?
________________________________________
PINKY LEE - April 3
King of the kiddie TV show hosts.
(Not a good week to have the last name of Lee.)
________________________________________
MARIAN ANDERSON - April 8
Superb singer who held a famous concert at the Lincoln Memorial
in 1939 after the Daughters of the American Revolution refused to
let her perform at Constitution Hall because she was black.
________________________________________
LESLIE CHARTERIS - April 15
Created The Saint.
________________________________________
JULIO GALLO - May 2
Started making wine with his brother Ernest
became the biggest winemaker in the U. S.
(Not the best, but the biggest.)
________________________________________
CONWAY TWITTY - June 5
Country singer Twitty's bank account wasn't bitty -
so starting tonight, his relatives will fight!
________________________________________
ALEXIS SMITH - June 9
Actress.
________________________________________
RAY SHARKEY - June 11
Actor.
[C.O.D.: AIDS.]
________________________________________
JOHN CONNALLY - June 15
Former Texas Governor wounded by the firing squad that killed JFK.
________________________________________
PAT NIXON - June 22
Politician's wife.
________________________________________
GEORGE "SPANKY" MCFARLAND - June 30
Acted in the Our Gang comedies.
________________________________________
FRED GWYNNE - July 10
Star of Car 54 Where Are You?, and The Munsters.
________________________________________
JOE "CURLY JOE" DERITA - July 3
The "last" official "third" stooge replacement member of
the classic slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges.
________________________________________
STEWART GRANGER - August 16
Star of King Solomon's Mines, and co-star with
his then-wife Jean Simmons in Young Bess.
________________________________________
RICHARD JORDAN - August 30
Played a southern general in Gettysburg.
________________________________________
HERVE VILLECHAIZE - September 4
Tattoo from Fantasy Island.
[COD: Suicide by gun.]
________________________________________
HELEN O'CONNELL - September 9
Great band singer of the 1940s and '50s, and second wife
of musician/composer Frank De Vol of America Tonight.
________________________________________
RAYMOND BURR - September 12
Star of classic lawyer TV series Perry Mason. Later also starred on Ironside.
________________________________________
JIMMY DOOLITTLE - September 27
Did a little flying.
________________________________________
JAMES LEO HERLIHY - October 20
Author of Midnight Cowboy.
[C.O.D.: Suicide.]
________________________________________
VINCENT PRICE - October 25
Actor in House On Haunted Hill and many others.
________________________________________
FEDERICO FELLINI - October 31
Greatest Italian movie director ever.
Happy Halloween - you're dead!
________________________________________
RIVER PHOENIX - October 31
(Same day as Federico Fellini.)
Actor and brother of J. Phoenix.
[C.O.D.: Drug overdose.]
________________________________________
FRITZ FELD - November 18
Played snooty cafe and hotel manager types in over
100 movies, and was married for more than 50 years
to Christina Christine of Mrs. Olson Folger's coffee
TV commercial fame. (Shown above.)
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BILL BIXBY - November 21
Actor who co-starred in My Favorite Martian, and starred in The Magician, and The Incredible Hulk.
He later also directed many TV shows, including Blossom.
[C.O.D.: Prostate cancer.]
________________________________________
ANTHONY BURGESS - November 25
Writer of the classic futuristic novel A Clockwork Orange.
________________________________________
GARRY MOORE - November 28
Star of The Garry Moore Show, which unleashed Carol Burnett upon a delighted world..
________________________________________
FRANK ZAPPA - December 4
This genius rock musician, who helmed The Mothers Of Invention,
was also the father of the fabulous Moon Zappa, Dweezel Zappa,
and Ahmed Zappa.
[C.O.D.: Prostate cancer.]
(Wow, that whole celebs dying of "prostate cancer"
phenomenon really got out of hand this year!)
________________________________________
DON AMECHE - December 6
Classic movie star who much later made a comeback in Cocoon.
Also did several other films, including Things Change, and Trading Places.
________________________________________
MYRNA LOY - December 14
William Powell's co-star in the popular Thin Man movie series.
________________________________________
SAM WANAMAKER - December 18
The driving force behind rebuilding the replica of the Globe Theater in London, England.
________________________________________
DON DEFORE - December 22
Starred as George Baxter in the popular Hazel TV series. (Shirley Booth played Hazel the maid.)
Geez, Don - if only you'd waited just three more days,
I could've given you our famous holiday sendoff of
Merry Christmas - you're dead! Oh, well - close enough.
________________________________________
= WELL, THAT'S ALL FOR THIS YEAR, FOLKS! BUT STAY TUNED - YOU KNOW THE GRIM REAPER AIN'T DONE WITH THOSE CELEBS YET! MEANWHILE, ON THE UPPER RIGHT YOU CAN ALWAYS CHECK OUT THE LIST OF LATE LAMENTED LAYABOUTS FROM OTHER YEARS! ENJOY! =