not dead

[Mr. Analog]

I'm lovin' this haha

[Darren Dirt]

So here's a link for the "campaign" and the music video (complete with the middle containing his regal speechifying the only way Rik can -- with eyes bugging out for most of it )
http://www.digitalspy.ca/celebrity/news/a576695/rik-mayall-fans-campaign-for-world-cup-song-to-reach-no1.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMAFme1hBH0



Rik's life in pictures http://www.digitalspy.ca/celebrity/news/a576488/rik-mayall-1958-2014-comedy-icons-life-and-career-in-pictures.html

Rik's life in videos (top 5 roles) http://www.digitalspy.ca/british-tv/feature/a576501/rik-mayalls-5-best-roles-from-young-one-rick-to-drop-dead-fred.html

I think I'm done now. May he rest in piece (as may this topic hijack )

[Darren Dirt]

Joan Rivers was in her 80s (who knew!?) and Madame Trailblazer certainly had a great sense of humor about her own mortality:

...she?d laid out some fairly spectacular plans for her "huge showbiz funeral" for her daughter Melissa Rivers to follow.

"When I die (and, yes, Melissa, that day will come; and, yes, Melissa, everything's in your name), I want my funeral to be a huge showbiz affair with lights, cameras, action," she wrote in a chapter called "Death Be Not Proud" in her 2012 book I Hate Everyone? Starting With Me.

"I want Craft services, I want paparazzi and I want publicists making a scene! I want it to be Hollywood all the way. I don't want some rabbi rambling on; I want Meryl Streep crying, in five different accents.

"I don't want a eulogy; I want Bobby Vinton to pick up my head and sing "Mr. Lonely." I want to look gorgeous, better dead than I do alive. I want to be buried in a Valentino gown and I want Harry Winston to make me a toe tag.

"And I want a wind machine so that even in the casket my hair is blowing just like Beyonce's."

[Mr. Analog]

I just found out that comedienne Jan Hooks passed away, she worked alongside Phil Hartman on SNL at it's peak in the 90s. She wasn't even 60, a real shame...

[Darren Dirt]

tbh I am amazed how many of the 80s-90s comedians/comediennes I grew up on are still alive and still active in the industry ... considering the wild life some of them musta had in their "free time" between performing and writing (I'm thinking SCTV, KITH, SNL cast).

A few of them settled down and had families and their change in work tone reflected this (Sandler, Myers, Murphy) but others ... well, they look at Eugene Levy's career with envy.

For Jan, as fun as she was to watch on SNL (such as Mrs. Trump, or Mrs. Bakker, or half of that annoying lounge singing duo*), seems sad that after SNL nothing really noteworthy came her way beyond a regular spot on "3rd Rock From The Son". Well, except maybe a recurring voice acting role. Did not know "Mrs. Apu" was her.

But wow, so young. "Undisclosed illness" I hate when that's all they say ... makes people more curious, encourages speculation and TMZ rumors and whatnot.



* "...with Nora Dunn ... the Sweeney Sisters, an excruciatingly enthusiastic but minimally talented lounge act" such a perfect summary! methinks their approach/tone inspired a later SNL duo of similar high-energy-low-talent 

[Darren Dirt]

Wow, just found out that in early 2014 James Rebhorn ("one of those 'that guy' character actors who seemed to be everywhere") died.

He was perhaps best known as the asshole Defense Secretary in Independence Day (amid tons of other film roles as well as plenty of TV series -- see http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0714310/#actor ).


Check out his self-written obituary, it's uplifting and kinda inspiring in a "carpe-diem" kind of way...

James Robert Rebhorn was born on Sept. 1, 1948, in Philadelphia, PA. His mother, Ardell Frances Rebhorn, nee Hoch, loved him very much and supported all his dreams. She taught him the value of good manners and courtesy, and that hospitality is no small thing. His father, James Harry Rebhorn, was no less devoted to him. From him, Jim learned that there is no excuse for poor craftsmanship. A job well done rarely takes more or less time than a job poorly done. They gave him his faith and wisely encouraged him to stay in touch with God.

He is survived by his sister, Janice Barbara Galbraith, of Myrtle Beach, SC. She was his friend, his confidant, and, more often than either of them would like to admit, his bridge over troubled waters.

He is also survived by his wife, Rebecca Fulton Linn, and his two daughters, Emma Rebecca Rebhorn and Hannah Linn Rebhorn. They anchored his life and gave him the freedom to live it. Without them, always at the center of his being, his life would have been little more than a vapor. Rebecca loved him with all his flaws, and in her the concept of ceaseless love could find no better example.

His children made him immensely proud. Their dedication to improving our species and making the world a better place gave him hope for the future. They deal with grief differently, and they should each manage it as they see fit. He hopes, however, that they will grieve his passing only as long as necessary. They have much good work to do, and they should get busy doing it. Time is flying by. His son-in-law, Ben, also survives him. Jim loved Ben, who was as a son to Jim, especially through these last months.

His aunts Jean, Dorothy and Florence, numerous cousins and their families, and many devoted friends also survive Jim. He loved them all, and he knows they loved him.

Jim received his BA at Wittenberg University and his MFA at Columbia. He was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha Nu Zeta 624, a life-long Lutheran, and a longtime member of both the AMC and ACLU.

Jim was fortunate enough to earn his living doing what he loved. He was a professional actor. His unions were always there for him, and he will remain forever grateful for the benefits he gained as a result of the union struggle. Without his exceptional teachers and the representation of the best agents in the business, he wouldn?t have had much of a career. He was a lucky man in every way.

What a positive attitude for a guy fighting cancer for 20+ years realizing he was soon going to lose that battle. #humbling





PS: later since it's coming up to June 2015 -- 4 years after I started the OP -- will update the list further, a few are no longer with us...

*Died 14Jan2013: Conrad Bain (that's Mr. Drummond to you, Willis and Arnold ... and his brother "Hank" is the whole reason I got onto this little research-kick today)

*Died 08Jul2012: Ernest Borgnine (I guess he somehow survived the helicopter explosion in that Airwolf episode, you remember, the one with the loltastic SFX )

Don Rickles 85 (suck on that, The Situation!)

Sidney Poitier 84 (he still tours and gives speeches to crowds!)

Kirk Douglas 94 (HE STILL BLOGS REGULARLY!)

*Died 07Dec2011: Harry Morgan 94

Efrem Zimbalist Jr. 92
Harry Belafonte 84
Olivia de Havilland 94
Joan Fontaine 93
Shirley Temple 83
Sid Caesar 88
Mel Brooks 84
Carl Reiner 89
Charlotte Rae 85
Cloris Leachman 85
Angela Lansbury 85
Roger Moore 83
Sean Connery 80
Clint Eastwood 81
Christopher Plummer 81
*Died 10Sep2011: Cliff Robertson 87
James Garner 83
*Died 03Jul2012: Andy Griffith 85
Jerry Lewis 85
Mickey Rooney 90
*Died 19Nov2011: John Neville 86
Abe Vigoda 90
Jerry Stiller 83
Estelle Harris 83
*Died 07Apr2012: Mike Wallace 93
*Died 04Nov2011: Andy Rooney 92

and some later additions ITT: Roger Corman is now 87, Herman Wouk is now 98, Chuck Berry 86, Nancy Reagan and Steven Hill are 91.

Also, Robert Duvall is 82 (my daughter and I were watching that Will Ferrell soccer movie and she asked if he is still alive!)

[Darren Dirt]

"Yep-yep-yep-yep..." guess who was still ALIVE until last week! (died at 96)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Molinaro aka https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Delvecchio

[Mr. Analog]

"Yep-yep-yep-yep..." guess who was still ALIVE until last week! (died at 96)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Molinaro aka https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Delvecchio

The name didn't click until I saw the picture RIP

I remember watching Happy Days after school

So surreal

[Darren Dirt]

I remember watching Happy Days after school

So surreal

Yep.

[Darren Dirt]

typical pop-culture aware millennial: "WOW, a lot of famous people died in 2016!"





Relatively speaking, 2015 was actually SIGNIFICANTLY meaner to celebrities (and, tbh, so were 2011-2014 (!) )

https://www.deathometer.com/#compare

[Mr. Analog]

It became a trend and media sites picked up on it and reported a lot more celebrity deaths IMO

I think the other thing is that some names, like David Bowie, were more well known to many younger folks

[Darren Dirt]

Yeah for this generation when media covers death of an icon it's pretty easy for young 'uns to research and quickly "get it" why the person was significant to their elders in their particular field. Because internet.

Also just noticed this thread had *zero* posts during 2016.
I guess a bunch of those "still not dead" senior folks*** made it unscathed, while the major deaths were younger and unexpected (and earned their own thread e.g. Bowie.)


***speaking of, that Don Rickles documentary on Netflix is pretty cool, clips of him performing in his sunset years still classic Mr. Warmth, such a sharp mind still.

Only after I watched did I realize WOW it was released 10 years ago!

[Darren Dirt]

***speaking of, that Don Rickles documentary on Netflix is pretty cool, clips of him performing in his sunset years still classic Mr. Warmth, such a sharp mind still.

Only after I watched did I realize WOW it was released 10 years ago!

...aaand... he's gone. That hockeypuck
https://twitter.com/chrisrock/status/850092376597164032
"Don Rickles is funnier right now in death than most comics are in life."

Yeah. Sadly, yeah.

https://twitter.com/hashtag/RIPDonRickles?src=hash

Seriously if you haven't already I would suggest you watch the Netflix special "Mr. Warmth" this weekend in memory of His Insultness. Something about his offend-everyone** schtick that was timeless.


** one example from an old-school roast: https://twitter.com/MrAlfredGarnett/status/850106233352847360


Elton John tweeted what countless others have said for decades about this larger than life comedic character:
"one of the funniest and nicest men ever. I will miss his acid tongue and smiling face."

[Mr. Analog]

Yep another legend gone, he lived a long life at least.

[Darren Dirt]

Yep another legend gone, he lived a long life at least.

Math: if the Netflix special was ~10 years old, and he died at 90, that means he was STILL doing that celeberated live unscripted Vegas show at 80 or a bit younger. #Jelly