The 2012 Off Topic Celebrity Dead Pool

[SlowwHand]

I liked it. Easy dancing.

[Wezil]

The families of both Gibb and al-Megrahi are doing the bedside vigil.

OneFootInTheGrave and myself are looking at a potential Daily Double and huge points...

[Wezil]

I liked it. Easy dancing.

You strike me as a rhinestones and leather sort of guy. No sequins for you.

[molly bloom]

The village shop shuts its doors in sympathy, the church bell tolls mournfully- Miss Read is dead.

Miss Read was the bestselling author who made real the idea of the English village school as a sane and safe haven for those growing up after the second world war. The books were written under a pen name by Dora Saint, who has died aged 98. She took her pseudonym from her mother's maiden name.

The fictional accounts, based on Saint's own life as a village school teacher, appeared almost annually for four decades from the mid-1950s. She was wonderfully gifted at describing, with apparent simplicity, the joys of the countryside, from discovering a robin's nest inside a hollow damson tree to smelling a field full of sage. Her stories of classroom life were similarly wholesome. They were translated into Japanese and Russian as well as German and Dutch, and were very popular in the US.

Dora started life in the city, the daughter of a London insurance agent, Arthur Shafe, whose wife, Grace, carried on his business while he was in France with the Royal Horse Artillery during the first world war. It was only when Grace had to undergo surgery and was advised to leave the smoke of the capital that the family moved to the country.

Encouraged by her parents, the young Dora was able to read before she went to the village school in Chelsfield, near Orpington in Kent, at the age of four. She knew all the Beatrix Potter stories and was immediately sent into a higher grade. Though she was poor at arithmetic, she shone at essays. Later she followed her elder sister to Bromley county school, and her love of language was stimulated by regular visits to the Aldwych farces, musicals and Shakespeare.

However, school remained her ideal world, her memories from Chelsfield being possibly rose-tinted but endearingly appreciative. She made her two fictional villages, Fairacre and Thrush Green, more real than reality, allowing scope for a degree of wry humour.

Village School, originally published in 1955, was the first of Miss Read's Fairacre novels.

Her father turned to teaching, and so did she. Once she had completed her training at Homerton College, Cambridge, she taught in Middlesex from 1933 until 1940, the year of her marriage to Douglas Saint. After the war, she did occasional work as a supply teacher, and started writing on school and country matters for a variety of magazines including Punch and the Times Educational Supplement. She also wrote scripts for the BBC schools service.

The first of the Fairacre novels, Village School, appeared in 1955; Thrush Green, the first of the new series, in 1959; and the last Fairacre, A Peaceful Retirement, in 1996. In two books of autobiography, Time Remembered and A Fortunate Grandchild, the main themes were a happy home and a happy school. They were brought together as Early Days (1995), which has since become one of a number of reprints by Orion. Saint also produced some books for children, as well as Miss Read's Country Cooking (1969).

In 1998 Saint was appointed MBE. She and Douglas lived in Berkshire – in a small village, naturally. He died in 2004. She is survived by their daughter, Jill.

Jenny Dereham writes: When the publisher Michael Joseph's autumn books began to appear – Miss Read's were always published on the first Thursday in September, and stayed in the Sunday Times bestseller list for five or six weeks – I came to appreciate what a following she had. As Anthea Joseph's editorial assistant, I found that very little needed to be done to any of her typescripts. After all, Dora had been an English teacher.

After Anthea's death in 1981, I had the honour of becoming Miss Read's publisher, and graduated from a somewhat gauche copy-editor to friend. But I nearly blew it. To fit in with the company accountants' plan, I wrote to Dora suggesting that she write alternate Fairacre and Thrush Green books for the next five years, and please could we have the typescript as early in the year as possible. Dora sent me such a nice letter saying that she didn't really write to order and, actually, she thought she might write a short autobiographical work next – and so she did.

Miss Read was an uncomplicated person. She wrote wonderfully about the things she held dear; good friendships, the countryside through the seasons and a bit of harmless tittle-tattle on the green. She did not shirk from speaking about the downs as well as the ups of village life. She wove the threat of school closure into her books with true feeling, and the unwelcome encroachment of new houses and incomers – but good always prevailed.

One of her Thrush Green characters, Ella Bembridge, "was a great admirer of Anthony Trollope, partly because she was impressed with the industry and perseverance of the man". Ella also prized loyalty and doggedness: these were all qualities displayed by the writer.

Although nearly blind for the last years of her life, Dora was always fully alert to the weather. The pace of life might have changed in her fictional villages as the years passed, but the joy of a hint of warmth early in the year, as in Winter in Thrush Green (1961), never alters: "It was one of those clear, mild days which come occasionally in mid-winter and lift the spirits with their hint of coming springtime. Catkins were already fluttering on the nut hedge behind Albert's house and the sky was a pale translucent blue, as tender as a thrush's egg-shell."

• Miss Read (Dora Jessie Saint), author, born 17 April 1913; died 7 April 2012

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/apr/12/miss-read

[molly bloom]

Resistance is not always futile. The world is less one brave man:

PARIS (AP) - Raymond Aubrac, one of the last major figures of the French Resistance who got away from the Nazis' grasp in a now-legendary escape led by his equally renowned wife, has died. He was 97.

Aubrac died late Tuesday at Paris' Val-de-Grace military hospital, said his granddaughter Helene Helfer Aubrac. She said he had been hospitalized in recent days after suffering from fatigue.

Born Raymond Samuel on July 31, 1914, to Jewish parents who were deported to Auschwitz, he and his wife - born as Lucie Bernard - took up the nom de guerre Aubrac after joining the Resistance early on in World War II. They helped set up Liberation-Sud (Liberation South), one of the first networks of the Resistance against the Nazi occupation of France.

Raymond Aubrac was captured along with celebrated Resistance hero Jean Moulin on June 21, 1943, when police raided a Resistance meeting spot - a doctor's office - near the southeastern city of Lyon.

Luci e Aubrac helped orchestrate her husband's escape from a Lyon prison following his arrest. She persuaded the local Gestapo leader, Klaus Barbie, to let her meet with her imprisoned husband. During the meeting, she told Aubrac of the Resistance's plan to attack the German truck that was to transfer him to another prison, then herself led the armed commando attack that sprung both her husband and Moulin.

President Nicolas Sarkozy, in a statement, said the escape had "entered into the legend of the history of the Resistance," and praised Aubrac and all Resistance members as "heroes of the shadows who saved France's honor, at a time when it seemed lost."

After the war, Lucie Aubrac returned to the classroom, teaching history and geography, while Raymond went on to a successful career in government and banking. He retained ties to Communists and Socialists.

Raymond Aubrac backed Socialist Francois Hollande for France's two-round presidential election starting on A pril 22; his wife died at age 94 just weeks before the last presidential election in 2007 when Hollande's longtime partner and fellow Socialist Segolene Royal lost to the conservative Sarkozy.

"The death of a man doesn't prevent his fight from continuing," Hollande told reporters. He said he'd met with Aubrac about three weeks ago and was told that the ex-Resistance fighter was closely watching the race.

Aubrac is survived by three children - son Jean-Pierre Aubrac and daughters Catherine Vallade and Elisabeth Helfer Aubrac - and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Funeral arrangements were not yet clear, Helfer Aubrac said.

JAMEY KEATEN, Associated Press

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/mycentraljersey/obituary.aspx?n=raymond-aubrac&pid=156939088

[Wezil]

If there's one time you shouldn't have to beat around the bush, it's when your dead. At least that seemed to be the sentiment for one Colorado man who's raising eyebrows for his not-so-subtle final words.

"He enjoyed booze, guns, cars and younger women until the day he died," reads the Denver Post obituary for Michael "Flathead" Blanchard.

And his cause of death? The obit attributes his maker-meeting moment to being "stubborn, refusing to follow doctors' orders and raising hell for more than six decades."

Fair enough.

The obituary then lists his late cat "Chopper" as his son, says someone named "Baba Yaba" can "kiss his butt" and notes his childhood friends are predominantly "criminals, prostitutes and/or Democrats."

While all the hell raising surely didn't help, his family told the Post "Flathead" actually died of natural causes. And, no, the obituary is not some cruel final jab by the family. They say the words are mostly Flatheads.

His brother Steve Blanchard said "Flathead" wrote a draft of the obituary before he died. The family just added the final touches.

"He lived every minute to its fullest and then some," Blanchard told the Post.

Not only is the obituary blunt, it's late. The man nicknamed for his love of fixing up cars -- including those with flathead engines -- died nearly a year ago. The family decided to wait until closer to the one-year anniversary of his death to publish the obituary and hold his memorial service.

Youngsters hoping to attend last Saturday's service may have been disappointed. There was an 18-year-old age limit because of the celebration's planned "adult material."

http://www.hlntv.com/article/2012/04/16/raw-blunt-obituary-booze-younger-women-cat?hpt=hp_t2

Obituary or Memoriam

Michael "Flathead" Blanchard| Visit Guest Book

Blanchard, Michael "Flathead"
1944 ~ 2012
A Celebration of the life of Michael "Flathead" Blanchard will be held on April 14th, 3 pm 8160 Rosemary St, Commerce City. Weary of reading obituaries noting someone's courageous battle with death, Mike wanted it known that he died as a result of being stubborn, refusing to follow doctors' orders and raising hell for more than six decades. He enjoyed booze, guns, cars and younger women until the day he died.
Mike was born July 1944 in Colorado to Clyde and Ethel Blanchard. A community activist, he is noted for saving the Dr. Justina Ford house from demolition and defending those who could not defend themselves. He was a Republican delegate, life member of the NRA, founder and President of the Dead Cats MC. He loved music.
Mike was preceded in death by Clyde and Ethel Blanchard, survived by his beloved sons Mike and Chopper, former wife Jane Transue, brother Stephen Blanchard (Susan), Uncle Don and Aunt Cynthia Blanchard(his favorite); Uncle Dill and Aunt Dot, cousins and nephews, Baba Yaga can kiss his butt. So many of his childhood friends that weren't killed in Vietnam went on to become criminals, prostitutes and/or Democrats. He asks that you stop by and re-tell the stories he can no longer tell. As the Celebration will contain Adult material we respectfully ask that no children under 18 attend.

Published in Denver Post on April 12, 2012

I like it.

[Uncle Sparky]

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/18/mo...ies-at-71.html
The Phantom is Dead

William Finley, a character actor who appeared in many films by Brian De Palma, most memorably as the title character in the 1974 rock opera “The Phantom of the Paradise,” died on Saturday in Manhattan. He was 71 and lived in Manhattan.

His wife, the former Susan Weiser, said he died after undergoing surgery.

Mr. Finley, who became friendly with Mr. De Palma when they were students at Columbia University, had an offbeat style that complemented the director’s quirky sensibility. He played alongside a young Robert De Niro in the 1969 De Palma comedy, “The Wedding Party,” and was Margot Kidder’s ex-husband in “Sisters,” Mr. De Palma’s first thriller, in 1973. His last movie part was in Mr. De Palma’s 2006 film noir, “The Black Dahlia,” based on a famous unsolved 1947 murder case in Los Angeles.

In “Phantom,” a lurid satire that became a cult favorite, Mr. Finley played a composer turned avenger whose face is mangled by a record press, forcing him to wear a helmet to cover his disfigured features. He seeks revenge against a record producer who steals his music, and the film — borrowing from “The Phantom of the Opera,” “The Picture of Dorian Gray,” “Faust” and “Frankenstein” — ends in a blood bath.

During filming, life came perilously close to imitating art, Ms. Finley said. The scene in which the composer’s face is crushed was filmed at a real pressing plant, and at one point the chocks that were supposed to keep the press from closing snapped under the pressure. Mr. Finley was pulled to safety before it clanged shut.

Mr. Finley also appeared in several horror films directed by Tobe Hooper, including “Eaten Alive” in 1977; television shows like “Sabrina, the Teenage Witch”; and plays, most notably “Dionysus in 69,” an exuberant adaptation of Euripides’ “Bacchae.” Mr. De Palma made a feature film from that production.

William Franklin Finley III was born in Manhattan on Sept. 20, 1940. He began his theatrical career as a theatrical set designer for Collegiate School, on the Upper West Side. (He also designed the sets for “Woton’s Wake,” a 1962 De Palma short film in which he made his film debut.) He earned a degree from Columbia and worked with Mr. De Palma and the director Wilford Leach at Sarah Lawrence College.

In addition to his wife, Mr. Finley is survived by a son, Dashiell.

[SlowwHand]

[q]If there's one time you shouldn't have to beat around the bush, it's when your dead. At least that seemed to be the sentiment for one Colorado man who's raising eyebrows for his not-so-subtle final words.

I like it.

That's style.

[SlowwHand]

I have Dick Clark at 7.,

[Guynemer]

Looks like several people are scoring some points today...

[Wezil]

I have Dick Clark at 7.,

Actually, you have him ranked 6...

Dick Clark, the ever-youthful television host and tireless entrepreneur who helped bring rock `n' roll into the mainstream on “American Bandstand,” and later produced and hosted a vast range of programming from game shows to the year-end countdown from Times Square on “New Year's Rockin' Eve,” has died. He was 82.

Spokesman Paul Shefrin said Mr. Clark had a heart attack Wednesday morning at Saint John's hospital in Santa Monica, a day after he was admitted for an outpatient procedure.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/television/dick-clark-broadcast-veteran-dead-at-age-82/article2406711/

After a long silence Dick Clark kicks off our spring hit parade as a choice of 4 players.

SlowwHand (6) = (171 - 6) + (100 - 82) = 183 points
ColdWizard (6) = 183 points
Guynemer (14) = 175 points
DaShi (15) = 174 points

[SlowwHand]

Dick Clark, outlasted by Zsa Zsa.

RIP, Mr. Clark.

[SlowwHand]

Men at Work musician Greg Ham found dead
By KRISTEN GELINEAU | Associated Press – 3 hrs ago

SYDNEY (AP) — Greg Ham, a musician with the iconic Australian band Men at Work, was found dead in his Melbourne home on Thursday, Australian reports said.

Victoria state police confirmed that the deceased was the 58-year-old resident of the house but did not identify him by name, in keeping with local practice. Ham was 58 and neighbors said he was the lone occupant of the house.

Two concerned friends who had not heard from Ham in some time found the body after going to check on him, police said, declining to release any details on how Ham died or if the circumstances were suspicious.

"There are a number of unexplained aspects to it which has caused our attendance here today, and we're assisting the local detectives to determine what has occurred," Detective Senior Sergeant Shane O'Connell told reporters.

Newspapers including The Australian and The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Ham had died.

Men at Work frontman Colin Hay issued a statement expressing a deep love for his longtime friend, whom he met in 1972 when they were seniors in high school. Hay recalled decades of shared experiences with Ham — from appearing on "Saturday Night Live," to flying through dust storms over the Grand Canyon, to getting lost in the rural Australian countryside.

"We played in a band and conquered the world together," Hay said. "I love him very much. He's a beautiful man. The saxophone solo on 'Who Can It Be Now' was the rehearsal take. We kept it, that was the one. He's here forever."

Ham was perhaps best known for playing the famous flute riff in the band's smash 1980s hit "Down Under." But the beloved tune came under intense scrutiny in recent years after the band was accused of stealing the catchy riff from the children's campfire song "Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree." The publisher of "Kookaburra" sued Men at Work, and in 2010 a judge ruled the band had copied the melody. The group was ordered to hand over a portion of its royalties.

Ham later said the controversy had left him devastated, and he worried it would tarnish his legacy.

"It has destroyed so much of my song," he told Melbourne's The Age newspaper after the court ruling. "It will be the way the song is remembered, and I hate that. I'm terribly disappointed that that's the way I'm going to be remembered — for copying something."

On Thursday, neighbor John Nassar praised Ham, whom he had known for about 30 years.

"He was a lovely human being, never judgmental about anyone," Nassar told reporters. "He was a very friendly human being."

Ham also played the saxophone and keyboards, and more recently worked as a guitar teacher.

"Down Under" and the album it was on, "Business As Usual," topped the Australian, American and British charts in early 1983. The song remains an unofficial anthem for Australia and was ranked fourth in a 2001 music industry survey of the best Australian songs. Men at Work won the 1983 Grammy Award for Best New Artist.

Australian rock historian Glenn Baker, who was Australian editor of Billboard magazine when Men At Work was at its peak touring the world, recalled Ham as bursting with energy during the band's glory days.

"When they came back (from tour), it was generally Greg who I would interview because he'd tell the best stories and he was effervescent, energetic, good fun, good-humored and good-natured," Baker said. "He was having a great time."

I wonder what the "number of unexplained aspects" are?

[Guynemer]

Can't say for sure, but he wouldn't be the first Aussie rock star to die of autoerotic asphyxiation.

[Wezil]

It wouldn't be a big surprise if he died playing with his flute.