DEATHS ; Notable Passings; The Thread to Pay Last Respects

[Sharpsburg]

RIP Pete Seeger - a great champion of freedom and liberty! A great man and beacon.

 

[Feraud]

Sad news. The man lived a long and influential life. A loss to us all.

 

[hatophile]

Sad news. The man lived a long and influential life. A loss to us all.

The grandaddy of Folk!

 

[LizzieMaine]

About twenty years ago he performed at our local high school -- just him and his banjo, no entourage, no show-biz pretentiousness -- and I was astounded that someone of his stature would come to a little town like this and play a show in a little school auditorium for $8 a seat. One of the most inspiring performances I've ever heard.

 

[Doctor Strange]

I had a very similar experience when he played a barely advertized gig at New Rochelle High School back in the early 80s.

I also worked as a volunteer at one of the Clearwater's Great Hudson River Revival events at Croton Point Park in 1982, and I got a chance to hang around at breakfast with Pete... I have met a few famous people in my time, but I never encountered anyone who had such high-voltage charisma just sitting with a plate of pancakes. He radiated a remarkable aura!

About seven or eight years ago, my teenage daughter spent an afternoon at one of Pete's regular weekend honk-for-peace protest events in Wappingers Falls, just her and Pete and a couple of friends. Pete beguiled her: they shared snacks and sang Beatles songs - she came back with her mind totally blown. As you'd expect.

The man was a (inter)national treasure, an astounding force for good. As Bruce Springsteen memorably said onstage at Pete's 90th birthday concert at Madison Square Garden:

"Pete is like your grandpa... If your grandpa could kick your ***!"

Highly recommended: Pete Seeger: The Power of Song, a documentary from 2007 that ran on PBS American Masters after an art-house theatrical run (where I first saw it).

 

[MrBern]

A truly great American artist. Did a lot for our culture , dedicated politically activist & made a lot of kids laugh & sing...

[video=youtube;a5BJ9sbPvZ0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5BJ9sbPvZ0 [/video]

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/29/arts/music/pete-seeger-songwriter-and-champion-of-folk-music-dies-at-94.html?hp

the funny thing was i had jsut read about him making a surprise appearance at a Newspaper Union meeting. Got up on a chair to sing. He had wanted to beome a journalist, but singing paid better.

 

[MrBern]

Pete speaking to the Newspaper Guild
[video=vimeo;79404697]http://vimeo.com/79404697[/video]
http://www.buffaloguild.org/2013/11/22/buffalo-hosts-newspaper-guild-event-legendary-folk-singer-pete-seeger-makes-a-surprise-visit/

 

[Ernest P Shackleton]

Losing Seeger is a great loss. I'm not much of a fan of his voice, but that don't matter none. Had a great heart that was reliable and sharp. True consciousness in a contemporary world that lacks just that.

 

[Tomasso]

Huge coverage of Pete's passing in the NYT.

 

[DNO]

The world is definitely a lesser place with the passing of Pete Seeger. A truly sad event.

 

[Doctor Strange]

Noted European actor Maximilian Schell.

http://insidemovies.ew.com/2014/02/01/maximilian-schell-dies/

 

[HadleyH]

Noted European actor Maximilian Schell.

http://insidemovies.ew.com/2014/02/01/maximilian-schell-dies/

Rest In Peace Maximilian Schell.

...and one by one they are leaving us....

 

[LizzieMaine]

Philip Seymour Hoffman, dead of drugs at 46.

One of the better actors of this generation.

And, evidently, another damn fool.

 

[Feraud]

Very shocked to hear of the passing of Philip S. Hoffman. It was a year or so back we heard Hoffman had a relapse. I feared something like this would happen. What a loss.

 

[herringbonekid]

i'd never read anything about Hoffman's substance abuse problems. i only knew of him as a talented actor, so i'm shocked to hear of this.

 

[scotrace]

i'd never read anything about Hoffman's substance abuse problems. i only knew of him as a talented actor, so i'm shocked to hear of this.

I am also shocked and didn't know of his addiction. This is an actor I consciously looked forward to seeing in his 70's. But he leaves behind an extraordinary body of work.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Baseball Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner has died at the age of 91. One of the most dominating power hitters in the National League in the years immediately after the War, Kiner was pretty much the only player worth watching in the dismal Pittsburgh Pirate lineups of that period. After his retirement he began an even more successful career as a broadcaster, as a member of the New York Mets broadcast team since the team's formation in 1962. His malapropisms remain legendary, but he eventually matured into a smooth, insightful commentator.

"And we'll be right back, after this word from Manufacturer's Hangover..."

 

[Tomasso]

During salary negotiations with the Pirates one year, general manager Branch Rickey said to Kiner, "We finished last with you, we can finish last without you." Kinda hard to argue with that.....

 

[elserienkeklave]

Shirley Temple age 85. RIP

 

[Gregg Axley]

Shirley Temple age 85. RIP

My wife told me about it this morning.
So sad to see, but we can't last forever.
She was one of the rare child stars that actually transitioned into a normal life (as far as I know).
By that I mean, she didn't end up like so many of them, unemployed and broke.
In fact, as many here probably know, she was a Diplomat for the US, and an Ambassador to the Czech Republic.
In an article I read this morning, I thought this quote was pretty funny.
[QUOTEShe stopped believing in Santa Claus at age 6, she once said, when "Mother took me to see him in a department store and he asked for my autograph."][/QUOTE]