Notable Deaths of 2023

[flybynight]

Harry Belafonte
https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-65390525

That felt like a gut punch.
Even though I am mostly a *metal head* I always enjoyed his music.

Some people transcend all barriers. This man did , with style ,eloquence and  determination

[NT2C]

Harry Belafonte
https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-65390525

That felt like a gut punch.
Even though I am mostly a *metal head* I always enjoyed his music.

Some people transcend all barriers. This man did , with style ,eloquence and  determination

And a heckuva rapport with the Muppets.

[Lambykins]

Jerry Springer, aged 79
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/jerry-springer-host-tv-most-142246070.html

[slipkid42]

Pirates legend Dick Groat dead at 92 (wtae.com)

[NT2C]

Gordon Lightfoot, 84

[EBuff75]

Gordon Lightfoot, 84

My mother had a number of his albums, so I've been listening to his music for my entire life.  Last fall I traveled to the the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum in Whitefish Point, Michigan.  While I was there, one of the employees told me that she has been friends with him for 60 years!  IIRC, she had been in college at the time and had seen him perform at a local venue.  This was back in 1962, so he hadn't hit it big just yet.

Here's an excerpt from an email I sent to my parents that evening:

> Whitefish Point ended up being more memorable than last time.  I was
 > talking with one of the volunteers, a very nice older woman named
 > Maryann, and I mentioned listening to Gordon Lightfoot on the way up
 > to get into the mood.  It turns out that she's known him since 1962!
 > We had a great talk and she told me that her dog hears so much of his
 > music that he recognizes Gordon's voice.  One time when he called her,
 > the dog started acting up until she put him on the phone with the dog,
 > because the dog could hear him on the phone and recognized the voice!

[MPMalloy]

Gordon Lightfoot, 84

[MPMalloy]

Former FCC Comissioner Newton Norman Minow. He was 97.

[aikorob]

Larry Mahan
https://wranglernetwork.com/news/prorodeo-legend-larry-mahan-passes-away/

[MPMalloy]

Joseph Gerald Malloy.  Dad was 85.

His passing was out of the blue.

[flybynight]

 Sorry to hear that Malloy. You and your family are in my thoughts and prayers

[majorhavoc]

Joseph Gerald Malloy.  Dad was 85.

His passing was out of the blue.

So sorry to hear that, MPMalloy.  Thoughts and prayers.

[12_Gauge_Chimp]

Joseph Gerald Malloy.  Dad was 85.

His passing was out of the blue.

You and your family have my condolences, MP.

[Anianna]

Sorry, MP.

[NT2C]

Damn, that's a hard blow to take.  You have my number if you need to talk, old friend.

[Rednex]

You and your family have my condolences MP

[NT2C]

WWE Hall of Famer Superstar Billy Graham dead at 79

[MPMalloy]

Thank you everyone.  This does help. 

[12_Gauge_Chimp]

Actor ("Mars Attacks!", "100 Rifles", "The Running Man") and former NFL player (running back for the Cleveland Browns 1957 to 1965) Jim Brown passed away on May 18th at the age of 87.

Cause of death hasn't been released yet.

[Uomo Senza Nome]

Actor ("Mars Attacks!", "100 Rifles", "The Running Man") and former NFL player (running back for the Cleveland Browns 1957 to 1965) Jim Brown passed away on May 18th at the age of 87.

Cause of death hasn't been released yet.

Jim Brown wasn't just some running back who played for the Browns 60 years ago. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest athletes who ever lived.

In high school, Brown earned 13 letters playing football, lacrosse, baseball, basketball, and running track.

Brown broke all kinds of records in American Football at the college and professional level and is widely considered the best running back to have ever play the game, certainly the standard to which all others who aspire to greatness are compared. In NFL football the "Jim Brown Award" is given to the best Running Back every year. He was also an excellent kicker. in 1956, ".... a 61–7 Syracuse rout of Colgate, he rushed for 197 yards, scored six touchdowns, and kicked seven extra points for a school-record 43 points." A record that stands to this day.  Brown was so good in the pros he actually drug Cleveland into a Championship in 1964, the last year they ever won and they were runner-ups in 1965.

In 1965 the owner of the Browns, Art Modell, made the terrible decision to force Brown to choose between acting or football. Brown picked acting. Modell really regretted that later and said it was among the worst decisions he ever made.

The Lacrosse Hall of Fame regards him as the greatest lacrosse player who ever lived. The "Jim Brown Award" is given every year to the MVP in lacrosse. While he played they had to alter the rules because he was literally unstoppable.

Jim Brown served in the US Army Reserve for four years while playing professional football attaining the rank of Captain.

100 Rifles was one of the worst movies ever made by a major studio in that era with a full size budget and a disaster that sank his budding career. Before that however he played in The Dirty Dozen, an excellent work of fiction about a bunch of criminals recruited for a suicide mission during WWII. He was in several other films that were hits of that era such as Ice Station Zebra and Riot. I recommend all three films.