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Post by SUVFan on Nov 29, 2020 19:55:58 GMT -5
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Post by gth (Columbus OH) on Dec 3, 2020 10:57:46 GMT -5
Walter Williams, 84, economics professor, writer and commentator, died Wednesday (December 2). He had taught his George Mason University class the previous day.
Born in poverty, raised by a single mother, Williams rose to become a prominent black conservative, defending the American ideals of individual freedom, personal responsibility and limited government.
I heard him a few times as a guest host on Rush Limbaugh's radio show. On one occasion, he provocatively (and for an African-American, counterintuitively) criticized Abraham Lincoln for being the "Great Centralizer," probably referring to Lincoln's Civil War measures to preserve the Union that strengthened the federal government as a long-term result.
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Post by gth (Columbus OH) on Dec 9, 2020 14:45:12 GMT -5
Walter Hooper, 89, yesterday (December 8) from the coronavirus. A native of North Carolina, Hooper was briefly the secretary of, and later the literary caretaker of the estate of, the famed British Christian apologist and author CS Lewis.
Lewis, who died in 1963, wrote the Chronicles of Narnia, the Space Trilogy, Mere Christianity, the Screwtape Letters and many other works, both fiction/fantasy and Christian apologetics. Lewis was enormously influential in my spiritual life and I owe a great deal to Walter Hooper for assisting Lewis and preserving his work.
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Post by gth (Columbus OH) on Dec 13, 2020 10:42:42 GMT -5
Country singer Charley Pride, 86, in Dallas, from complications of the coronavirus, passing away Saturday (December 12). One of the first African-Americans to be successful in country music, Pride had a string of hits from the late 1960s into the 1980s such as “Kiss an Angel Good Morning,” won 3 Grammys and many other awards including the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award last month by the Country Music Association.
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Post by gth (Columbus OH) on Dec 21, 2020 22:39:09 GMT -5
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Post by gth (Columbus OH) on Dec 26, 2020 17:05:46 GMT -5
Basketball Hall of Famer KC Jones, 88, passed away Christmas Day. In a storied career, Jones won an Olympic gold medal, 2 NCAA titles with San Francisco, and 8 straight NBA titles with the Boston Celtics in the Bill Russell era, one of only seven players to win a gold medal, NCAA title and NBA title. After his playing career, he was assistant coach then coach with the Celtics, and won 2 more titles with Larry Bird.
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Post by gth (Columbus OH) on Dec 27, 2020 11:35:17 GMT -5
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Post by gth (Columbus OH) on Dec 28, 2020 10:26:16 GMT -5
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Post by gth (Columbus OH) on Dec 28, 2020 10:32:12 GMT -5
Spy thriller author John le Carre, 89, died December 12 from pneumonia.
Born David Cornwell, le Carre (his penname) turned stints with the British MI5 counterintelligence and MI6 intelligence services into subject matter for his novels. The best known of his Cold war era thrillers include The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.
UPDATE: More on le Carre, comparing his fictional world to the real history of British espionage, and another fictional British secret agent:
'That book introduced readers to George Smiley, le Carré’s most famous character. Although brilliantly written, Smiley’s initial introduction in the novel gave no hint that he would become the greatest ever credible fictional spy. Le Carré’s first description of Smiley—short, fat, quiet, unattractive, with “really bad clothes,” looking like a “bullfrog in a sou’wester,” who marries an astonishingly beautiful titled lady—was the antithesis to Ian Fleming’s James Bond, then dominating the field of spy fiction. From that novel onward, le Carré brought a gray drudgery to the world of espionage, which readers could identify with—including many intelligence officers.'
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Post by gth (Columbus OH) on Dec 30, 2020 20:42:31 GMT -5
". . .The ship's aground on the shore of this
uncharted desert isle
with Gilligan,
the Skipper too.
The millionaire and his wife,
the movie star,
the professor and Mary Ann,
here on Gilligan's Isle!"
Dawn Wells, 82, who played Mary Ann on "Gilligan's Island", died today (December 30) of the coronavirus.
Before joining the "seven stranded castaways," Wells was "Miss Nevada" in 1959 and was a Miss America contestant. She reportedly beat out Raquel Welch for the role of Mary Ann. On the show, her Mary Ann exuded a girl-next-door charm opposite the more sophisticated movie star Ginger, played by Tina Louise.
After the show ended its 3 year run, she was typecast and appeared mostly in B-movies and a series of "Gilligan's Island" reboots.
With the passing of Wells, Tina Louise is the last surviving cast member.
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Post by gth (Columbus OH) on Dec 30, 2020 23:13:12 GMT -5
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Post by gth (Columbus OH) on Dec 31, 2020 17:47:22 GMT -5
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Post by gth (Columbus OH) on Dec 31, 2020 19:17:56 GMT -5
Administrative note: On New Year's Day I'll open a new topic for the year 2021 and post the link here. People who died in 2020 may continue to be memorialized here for a week or so, then I will request this topic be locked.
UPDATE: The 2021 topic is here.
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Post by gth (Columbus OH) on Jan 8, 2021 23:28:10 GMT -5
I didn't expect to post here again, but this seems appropriate.
Tonight, the last episode of "Jeopardy" hosted by Alex Trebeck, who passed away on November 8, was aired. The episode, originally scheduled to be aired on Christmas Day, was of course taped months ago.
In his final signoff, he said, "we'll see you next week." Poignant.
After the episode, a short video was aired, showing Trebeck over the years. Amazingly, in the '80s sporting a bushy moustache and full hair, Trebeck uncannily resembled the '80s look of Tom "Magnum" Selleck!
Jeopardy will go on, with all-time Jeopardy champion Ken Jennings guest hosting for the time being. But we will always remember Alex Trebeck.
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Post by GM on Jan 15, 2021 7:50:57 GMT -5
Administrative note: On New Year's Day I'll open a new topic for the year 2021 and post the link here. People who died in 2020 may continue to be memorialized here for a week or so, then I will request this topic be locked.
UPDATE: The 2021 topic is here. This thread has been locked at the request of the OP. |
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