Obituaries

[Mongrel]

Aw man, I saw he was sick and was kinda hoping he'd pull through.

He was last of the three most notable athletes of the twentieth century (after Jesse Owens and Muhammad Ali), and we have yet to see their like this century either.

[Mongrel]

Barbara Walters

What can I say? She was as iconic as Cronkite, and earned the comparison. I can't even remember how many different shows and movies had a "Webra Walters" or such with the audience instantly recognizing her.

[Büge]

Ex-Pope Benedict XVI

He was the one that looked like Emperor Palpatine, if you remember. And he had to retire, for, you know, reasons.

[Caithness]

I don't think I ever heard what those reasons were

[Upthorn]

Iirc, it had something to do some scandal about choir boys and a church cover up? I never really took the time to research details

[Büge]

being a member of the Hitler Youth didn't help his image much either

[Mongrel]

You didn't really need scandals in his case anyway. He was conservative enough that even the Catholic Church (albeit one which had just spent decades under John II) was kind of like "Uhhhh... maybe this guy wasn't such a good idea?"

[Grath]

Iirc, it had something to do some scandal about choir boys and a church cover up? I never really took the time to research details

He was the first pope to actually address the issue of pedo priests at all, including defrocking almost 400 priests... but before then he had at least ignored (or possibly covered up) reports of abuse as an Archbishop in the 1980s and he was the one in charge of investigating allegations of abuse in 2001-2005 (he personally ordered that said investigations be kept secret) while John Paul II did nothing about them.

[Mazian]

[Büge]

[Thad]

Jeff Beck, virtuoso rock guitarist, dies at 78

[Joxam]

Blow by Blow was the album that got me into drumming.

[Mongrel]

[Destynova]

Lisa Marie Presley. (Help, I cannot do links)

[Thad]

David Crosby.

[Thad]

Lisa Loring, the original Wednesday Addams, dies at age 64

John Astin is still around, and the last surviving member of the main cast, at 92.

[Mongrel]

Motown heavyweight Barrett Strong, known for his work on Heard it Through The Grapevine, War, Papa Was a Rolling Stone, and others.

That's a big one, damn.

_________________

EDIT: Bobby Hull as well, known for introducing the curved blade to hockey sticks during his heyday as league high-scorer in the 60's, as the father of Brett Hull, as a horrific abuser of his family, and an unrepentant bigot, and racist.

Sort of everything that was both good and wretchedly awful about the "Good Old Days" in hockey, may we not see his like again. Please.

[Thad]

Cindy Williams, Shirley of Laverne and Shirley, age 75.

[Thad]

Burt Bacharach, prolific composer of pop hits, dies at 94

[Mongrel]

Floyd Sneed, the drummer for Three Dog Night as well as Tommy Chong's brother-in-law and intermittent collaborator.