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Post by gth (Columbus OH) on Apr 9, 2021 17:00:34 GMT -5
Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh, 99, husband of Queen Elizabeth II for 73 years, died today (April 9).
Although his service as Prince Consort to the Queen has been relatively sedate, viewers of the series The Crown know that Phillip had an eventful early life. He was born in Greece, a prince in the House of Glücksburg, royal house of both the Greek and Danish thrones, his uncle being King Constantine I of Greece. But Philiip had to be spirited out of Greece when 18 months old, after a revolution threw out the Greek monarchy and forced the King to abdicate and the royal family to flee for their lives.
After spending time with relatives in France and Germany, Prince Phillip ended up in Great Britain, home of another uncle, Louis Montbatten, went to school at Gordonstoun in Scotland (where his son Prince Charles later attended -- and hated), graduated from the Royal Naval College and entered the Royal Navy, serving in World War II. After the war, he met and fell in love with the young Princess Elizabeth, older daughter of King George VI. Renouncing his foreign titles and taking the surname Mountbatten, he married Elizabeth in 1947. In 1952, after King George died of cancer, Elizabeth became Queen and Philip, who had reached the rank of commander, left active naval service to serve as her consort.
Phillip and Elizabeth had four children, the Princes Charles, Andrew and Edward, and Princess Anne.
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Post by SUVFan on Apr 11, 2021 12:38:24 GMT -5
LaDonna Brave Bull Allard
June, 8, 1956 – April 10, 2021LaDonna "Brave Bull" Tamakawastewin Allard, who led the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline, passed away yesterday at the age of 64. According to Native News Online, Alward: Allward was also a recognized Lakota historian.
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Post by gth (Columbus OH) on Apr 14, 2021 14:25:41 GMT -5
Bernard Madoff, 82, who ran the biggest Ponzi scheme in history, died today (April 14) in prison in Butner, North Carolina. Serving a 150 year prison term for bilking thousands of investors out of over $19 billion, he had been suffering end-stage kidney disease but was denied "compassionate release" in February 2020.
Like any Ponzi scheme, he paid off earlier investors with the contributions of later ones. He managed to keep it going for years, but the 2008 financial crisis was his undoing, as too many investors tried to cash out.
Not only did the assets of his clients disappear (a trustee made a partial recovery of $14.4 billion out of the assets of his family), but his oldest son committed suicide, his brother went to prison and several other associates who took part, pled guilty and gave up assets. Madoff died estranged from his wife and family.
I cannot imagine a non-violent crime worse than the theft of the magnitude that Madoff committed. While many of his clients were rich, stories at the time of his arrest stated that many small investors lost their life savings.
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Post by gth (Columbus OH) on Apr 20, 2021 10:33:43 GMT -5
Walter Mondale, 93, former US Senator, Vice-President and Presidential candidate, died Monday (April 19).
As Minnesota Attorney General, Mondale was appointed to fill the Senate seat left vacant when Hubert Humphrey was elected Vice-President on LBJ's ticket in 1964. He remained in the Senate until he himself was elected Vice-President under Jimmy Carter in 1976.
In 1984, Mondale beat out several rivals including Gary Hart (and Ohio's own Senator John Glenn) to win the Democratic nomination to run against Ronald Reagan. In one of the primary debates, Mondale famously asked Hart, "Where's the beef?" (invoking the famous Wendy's commercial at the time). Hart faltered in his answer and his campaign never recovered.
In the general election, Mondale selected as his running mate, Congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro, the first woman to run on a major party Presidential ticket. But Mondale himself fell victim to a debate quip when Reagan said, "I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent's youth and inexperience." That quip together with Reagan's "Morning in America" campaign resulted in Mondale losing in a 49 state landslide, one of only 2 Presidential candidates to lose 49 states (the other being George McGovern, who lost to Richard Nixon in 1972).
Later, Mondale served as US Ambassador to Japan and special envoy to Indonesia under Bill Clinton.
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Post by gth (Columbus OH) on Apr 29, 2021 7:43:27 GMT -5
Michael Collins, 90, the Apollo 11 "third man" who orbited the moon while Neil Armstrong accompanied by Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin took that "giant leap" on the moon's surface, died Wednesday (April 28) of cancer.
As pilot of the command module "Columbia," it was Collin's role to remain in the command module during the historic moon walk, which meant that on every lunar orbit, he was out of touch with the rest of humanity while over the far side of the moon. During his first orbit after the lunar module "Eagle" separated, he had to wait until he reemerged from the far side to find out the "the Eagle has landed."
As he related in his memoirs, he worried about an unsuccessful ascent and that if he returned alone, he would be a "marked man." He had a packet of 18 contingency plans to rescue Armstrong and Aldrin should the lunar module takeoff but not successfully rendevous with the command module.
Collins, an Air force lieutenant colonel, had previously gone to space on Gemini 10 in July 1966, practicing rendezvous and docking techniques with an Agena rocket, and conducing 2 EVAs, the first time an astronaut attempted more than one during a space mission.
After leaving NASA in 1974, he served in a variety of government posts, including a stint heading the Air and Space Museum, and in the business world.
With Collins's passing, "Buzz" Aldrin is the last surviving Apollo 11 astronaut. Neil Armstrong (a good Ohio boy from Wapakoneta) passed away in 2012.
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Post by SUVFan on May 1, 2021 19:48:04 GMT -5
Pete Lammons
October 20, 1943 – April 29, 2021
Former New York Jets Player Pete Lammons Dead at 77 After Drowning Accident During Fishing Tournament.
According to People.com:
Lammons played 6 years with the Jets, including their Super Bowl III win in 1969 with Joe Namath at QB.
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Post by gth (Columbus OH) on May 1, 2021 21:32:50 GMT -5
Olympia Dukakis, 89, Oscar-winning actress, died this morning (May 1) after a period of failing health, in her home in New York City.
Dukakis, a veteran of stage and screen, won her Oscar in 1988 for "Best Supporting Actress" her role as the mother of the character played by Cher in the romantic comedy Moonstruck.
She was the cousin of Massachusetts governor Michael Dukakis, who in 1988 was nominated by the Democratic Party to run for President, losing to Vice-President George Bush Sr.
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Post by SUVFan on May 3, 2021 20:15:04 GMT -5
Bobby Unser
Feb. 20, 1934 – May 2, 2021
Three time Indy 500 winner Bobby Unser passed away Sunday at the age of 87. According to Indycar.com's obit:
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Post by SUVFan on May 8, 2021 19:07:14 GMT -5
Tawny Kitaen
August 05, 1961 – May 7, 2021
Tawny Kitaen, ’80s Music Video Vixen and ‘Bachelor Party’ Star, Dies at 59. According to Variety:
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Post by SUVFan on May 9, 2021 9:06:47 GMT -5
GTH and I posted in early January of Tommy Lasorda's passing. GTH noted that he'd been in diet commercials: I think I saw him last in Weight Watchers commercials, bragging about all the weight he lost, saying I"m feeling great!" No word on whether he gained weight back again after he taped those commercials!
UPDATE: Not that it matters, but I think it was actually an "Ultra SlimFast" commercial! While getting in some time on the elliptical on this cold, rainy morning that's unsuitable for baseball or any other outdoor activity, I watched a Tonight Show rerun on PlutoTV from July 31, 1981. Johnny noted in his monologue that the baseball strike had just ended. Lasorda was a scheduled guest but, possibly due to the start of the season, he must not have had the time he originally planned to have. So Carson saw him off stage and beckoned him onto the set with Angie Dickenson as the night's lead guest. Johnny asked Lasorda how he'd been keeping busy during the strike. Lasorda responded that he'd been going to little league games, looking for an umpire. He said he just needed someone to yell at -- even a retired umpire would do! Johnny observed that it appeared that the manager had lost some weight, which Lasorda readily confirmed, saying that he'd done it by taking up jogging. He reported that he had newfound appreciation for the jogging craze then going on all over the US. Lasorda said he now understood the significance of the movement. Johnny bit and Lasorda explained that it used to be that badly out of shape men would die of heart attacks. Now, when men pass away from heart attacks, Lasorda explained, they're in great shape! Lasorda went on to say that, when he passes away, he hopes people say, "He looks good." The audience loved it! What a great segment! |
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Post by gth (Columbus OH) on May 10, 2021 7:01:34 GMT -5
Pete du Pont, 86, former Delaware governor and candidate for President, died on Saturday (May 8) at home in Wilmington, Delaware after a long illness.
Born into the du Pont family, Pierre "Pete" du Pont IV served a stint in the family business, the Du Pont chemical company but left to pursue a career in politics. He was elected to Congress in 1970, then ran for governor in 1976 and won. After what Politico describes as a "rocky" start, he forged bipartisan consensus on multiple issues and was reelected in 1980 as the first two-term Delaware governor in 20 years. He ran for the GOP nomination for President in 1988 (announcing all the way back in September 1986) but dropped out after the early primaries. Ultimately, George Bush Sr won the nomination, and the election.
Most memorably, du Pont proposed a Social Security privatization plan, which was not pursued at the time. Much later, George W Bush proposed a similar plan in his second term.
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Post by gth (Columbus OH) on May 10, 2021 7:09:22 GMT -5
GTH and I posted in early January of Tommy Lasorda's passing. GTH noted that he'd been in diet commercials: While getting in some time on the elliptical on this cold, rainy morning that's unsuitable for baseball or any other outdoor activity, I watched a Tonight Show rerun on PlutoTV from July 31, 1981. Johnny noted in his monologue that the baseball strike had just ended. Lasorda was a scheduled guest but, possibly due to the start of the season, he must not have had the time he originally planned to have. So Carson saw him off stage and beckoned him onto the set with Angie Dickenson as the night's lead guest. Johnny asked Lasorda how he'd been keeping busy during the strike. Lasorda responded that he'd been going to little league games, looking for an umpire. He said he just needed someone to yell at -- even a retired umpire would do! Johnny observed that it appeared that the manager had lost some weight, which Lasorda readily confirmed, saying that he'd done it by taking up jogging. He reported that he had newfound appreciation for the jogging craze then going on all over the US. Lasorda said he now understood the significance of the movement. Johnny bit and Lasorda explained that it used to be that badly out of shape men would die of heart attacks. Now, when men pass away from heart attacks, Lasorda explained, they're in great shape! Lasorda went on to say that, when he passes away, he hopes people say, "He looks good." The audience loved it! What a great segment!
The mention of onetime heartthrob Angie Dickinson prompted me to look her up. Angie Dickinson is still alive at the age of 89. Interestingly, her second husband was Burt Bacharach. Tragically, their daughter, who suffered from Asperger's syndrome, committed suicide. |
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Post by SUVFan on May 25, 2021 20:12:58 GMT -5
Arthur Hills
Feb. 7, 1930 – May 18, 2021
Arthur Hills, architect of 200-plus new courses, dies at age 91 According to MSN: I don't believe I ever played one of Hills' courses but I've definitely heard his name a lot. He did design one top Ohio public course that's on my list to play: Originally called The Longerberger Golf Club, it's now called the Virtues Golf Club located in Nashport, Ohio.
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Post by gth (Columbus OH) on May 30, 2021 21:31:47 GMT -5
John Warner, 94, former US Senator from Virginia and sixth of Elizabeth Taylor's seven husbands, died Wednesday (May 26).
A former Secretary of the Navy under Richard Nixon, Warner was elected to the Senate (while married to Taylor, whom he divorced in 1982) and served five terms, becoming known as a centrist Republican and a military expert. (He was a bit too centrist for my taste; among other things, he voted to acquit Bill Clinton of perjury and obstruction of justice charges after the latter was impeached).
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Post by SUVFan on Jun 9, 2021 9:52:39 GMT -5
B.J. Thomas
August 7, 1942 - May 29, 2021
B.J. Thomas, 'Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head' singer, dies at age 78. I almost missed this. Last night I was listening to a 60s Satellite Survey and host Dave Hoeffel noted his recent passing. CNN reports: Here's a live performance of Raindrops and some other stuff he did:
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