2016 Obituaries

[waltky]

Nat King Cole's daughter...

Singer Natalie Cole dead at 65
1 Jan.`16 - Grammy-winning singer Natalie Cole, the daughter of Nat King Cole, has died at the age of 65, her family said on Friday.

The family's statement said Cole died Thursday night at Cedar Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles from "ongoing health issues." The TMZ celebrity news website said Cole, who worked in the R&B, soul and pop genres, died from congestive heart failure following complications from a kidney transplant and Hepatitis C, diagnosed in 2008. "It is with heavy hearts that we bring to you all the news of our Mother and sister's passing," the Cole family statement said. " Natalie fought a fierce, courageous battle, dying how she lived - with dignity, strength and honor. Our beloved Mother and sister will be greatly missed and remain UNFORGETTABLE in our hearts forever.”

Natalie Cole poses backstage after winning Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album for "Still Unforgettable" at the 51st annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles​

Cole, who had struggled with drug problems in the past, broke out in 1975 with the hit "This Will Be," which won the Grammy for best R&B female performance and also earned her the Grammy for best new artist. Her career reached the superstar level in 1991 when she recorded "Unforgettable ... With Love," an album of songs related to her father, the silky-voiced singer who was one of the most popular performers of the 1940s and '50s but died before his daughter began her solo career.

Using technology that was cutting edge at the time, studio engineers merged her voice with her father's in the song "Unforgettable," which had been a hit for Nat King Cole in 1951. The result was a moving, sentimental No. 1 hit 40 years later, that actually sounded as if the two were singing a duet. The song, and the album it came from earned Cole three Grammy Awards. "I thank my dad for leaving me such a wonderful, wonderful heritage," Cole said in accepting her awards. In all, she won nine Grammys.

Singer Natalie Cole dead at 65

 

[Auld Phart]

Far too many this year.

IMDb Originals Video (In Memoriam: 2015) - IMDb

 

[waltky]

Bee Gees manager Robert Stigwood dies...

Bee Gees manager and Grease producer Robert Stigwood dies
5 Jan.`16 - Robert Stigwood, who managed Cream and the Bee Gees before producing the rock musicals Saturday Night Fever and Grease has died at the age of 81. The Australian impresario's death was confirmed on Facebook by Spencer Gibb, son of Bee Gees star Robin Gibb. A cause of death was not immediately available.

Andrew Lloyd Webber was among those paying tribute, describing Stigwood as a "great showman" who "taught me much". Spencer Gibb called him "a creative genius with a very quick and dry wit" adding that "Robert was the driving force behind The Bee Gees career". Stigwood started out as an advertising agency copywriter in his native Australia before moving to the UK at the age of 21 There, he made his name representing English singer John Leyton, securing him a role on the TV show Harpers West One. The deal allowed Leyton to perform a song - Johnny Remember Me - which spent four weeks at number one in 1961. By 1966, after a period of bankruptcy, he became a booking agent for The Who, luring them onto his own Reaction Records label, where they recorded the hit single Substitute.

Robert Stigwood joined the Bee Gees on stage as they accepted the lifetime achievement prize at the 1997 Brit Awards​

He went on to manage Cream and Eric Clapton, before signing the Bee Gees in 1967 and steering them to international success with an intensive promotional campaign for the single New York Mining Disaster 1941. By the early 1970s, though, the Bee Gees had fallen out of favour, and Clapton was inactive due to drug addiction. Stigwood turned his attention to musicals, producing the movie version of Jesus Christ Superstar and The Who's rock opera Tommy. Having bought the management rights to Evita and Jesus Christ Superstar, Stigwood was instrumental in cracking down on unlicensed performances of the musicals in the US - including school productions - to ensure profits went into pockets of its creators.

The manager shared the spoils of success with The Bee Gees in the 1960s and 70s​

He also formed RSO Records (short for Robert Stigwood Organization), where he resuscitated the careers of his two biggest acts - sending Clapton to the top of the charts with I Shot The Sheriff, and rebranding the Bee Gees as falsetto-voiced disco lynchpins on Jive Talking. The Australian's midas touch continued in the late 1970s, when he produced Saturday Night Fever, making a global star of television actor John Travolta and selling 40 million copies of the Bee Gees-powered soundtrack. Stigwood followed it with the evergreen teen musical Grease, and was particularly proud of casting fellow Australian Olivia Newton John in the role of Sandy.

The Duchess of York and Robert Stigwood at the premiere of Evita in 1996​

But he faltered with the 1978 Beatles musical Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - a fantastical but unfocused movie starring The Bee Gees, Peter Frampton and comedian Frankie Howerd. "If you like the Beatles and you like movies, do yourself a favour and stay away," wrote influential US film critic Jonathan Rosenbaum. Audiences took note, and the film flopped at the box office, although the soundtrack sold well. Stigwood went on to produce the similarly-disappointing sequels Grease 2 and Staying Alive - but found success later in life with the Madonna-starring musical Evita, which won the 1997 Golden Globe for best film. The movie's lyricist, Sir Tim Rice, paid tribute to Stigwood on Twitter, calling him "extraordinary, innovative [and] generous".

Bee Gees manager and Grease producer Robert Stigwood dies - BBC News

See also:

Widow of 1 of 5 Sullivan Brothers Killed During WWII Dies at Age 93
Jan 04, 2016 | The widow of one of Waterloo's five Sullivan brothers killed during World War II has died.

Katherine McFarland, 93, the widow of Albert Sullivan, youngest of the five brothers and the only one who married, died New Year's Day at the Western Home Communities in Cedar Falls, where she had been staying the past several months, said her granddaughter, Kelly Sullivan, a Cedar Falls elementary school teacher. Sullivan said her grandmother passed peacefully, fulfilling her granddaughter's wish to see in the New Year with her. "She was my best buddy," Sullivan said. McFarland was popular at the Western Home cottage where she stayed, sang karaoke and was referred to as "Kate the Great" by staff.

That's also what Albert "Al" Sullivan thought too, on May, 11, 1940, when he married McFarland, then Katherine Rooff, the daughter of Bulgarian and Irish immigrants, known as "Keena" to family. However, Al Sullivan passed out cold at the altar at their wedding Mass, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. "No kidding. Balk! Down he went. He was so nervous," Katherine recalled with a laugh in a 2012 interview. Albert was standing next to his best man, Leo Rooff, Katherine's cousin, who 30 years later would become mayor of Waterloo. Albert's sister, Genevieve Sullivan, was maid of honor. "We just looked at him. What could we do?" she said. But Albert came to and the ceremony went on without incident from that point.

Katherine McFarland -- widow of Albert Sullivan, the youngest of the five Sullivan brothers killed during World War II and the only one who married -- died New Year's Day at the Western Home Communities in Cedar Falls, Iowa. She was 93.​

Albert, or Al as he was known to friends, and Katherine had wed after about a year's courtship. They had met during outings at a park in the Riverview area off what is now La Porte Road and East Mitchell Avenue. "It really was nice at that time. It was nice and clean years ago. That was really a nice place to live," McFarland recalled. The sand pits there, now part of the Riverview Recreation Area, were a popular area for recreation and swimming. She went for bike rides there. Katherine went to West High School; Albert attended crosstown East High. The school rivalry did not impede their courtship. "I don't know, we just got acquainted," she said, adding modestly. "You know how things go." She paused a moment before breaking out laughing.

They both worked at The Rath Packing Co. in different areas of what was then Waterloo's largest employer. "I worked in the lard room," she said. "That was a mess." Albert also worked for a time in the Civilian Conservation Corps, a New Deal-era jobs program, doing construction work at Backbone State Park. "They were a real close family," Katherine said of the household of Thomas and Alleta Sullivan, the boys' parents. "Every Sunday around Sunday dinner, everyone was there, just a lot of fun. They were really a happy-go-lucky family."

MORE

 

[waltky]

Former principal conductor of the New York Philharmonic passes on at 90...

French conductor, composer Pierre Boulez dies at 90
Jan 6,`16 -- Pierre Boulez, the former principal conductor of the New York Philharmonic who moved between conducting, composition and teaching over a long career that made him one of the leading figures in modern classical music, has died at age 90.

Boulez, who had been unable to conduct recently due to increasing eye problems, died "peacefully" Tuesday at his home in Baden-Baden, Germany, said his assistant Marion Thiem. "Pierre Boulez made French music shine throughout the world," French President Francois Hollande said Wednesday in a statement. "As a composer and conductor, he always wanted to reflect on his era." Born in Montbrison, France, on March 26, 1925, Boulez initially studied mathematics as a youth before switching to music. He studied harmony at the Paris Conservatory with composer Olivier Messiaen and had lessons from Rene Leibowitz in the dissonant 20th-century style known as twelve-tone composition. His compositions include the Second Piano Sonata from 1947-48 and "Le Marteau Sans Maitre (The Hammer Without A Master), a setting of surrealist poetry by Rene Char for six instruments and alto voice.

He turned more and more from composition to conducting, leading the New York Philharmonic, where he succeeded Leonard Bernstein, and the BBC Symphony Orchestra during the 1970s. He led Wagner's "Ring" cycle of operas at the Bayreuth Festival Theater and also worked with the Chicago Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris and the London Symphony Orchestra. His recordings won 26 Grammys. In 1977, he launched IRCAM, a Paris-based institute focused on music, acoustics and electronics.

French conductor and composer Pierre Boulez conducts the Paris Orchestra at the Louvre museum in Paris. Boulez has died, Paris Philharmonic says Wednesday Jan.6, 2016. He was 90​

Boulez was a cool and contained presence on the podium, preferring a dark business suit and tie to tuxedo and tails, his gestures communicating logic and precision. He didn't use a baton. He had a reputation as an uncompromising modernist who rejected easy ways of pleasing audiences or music he found uninteresting. In a 2010 interview with Philip Clark for the classical music publication Gramophone, Boulez described the more conventional music of American composer Aaron Copland as "folklore and dance" and dismissed German composer Paul Hindemith by saying his music "is very well put together, yes" but "says nothing to me."

Yet as a conductor Boulez ranged well beyond the confines of modernism, often favoring Romantic audience favorites such as Bruckner, Mahler and Wagner. For some of his last recordings he chose the lush, moody works of early 20th century Polish composer Karol Szymanovski. "I may be wrong, but I equate music with culture," he was quoted as saying in the Gramophone interview. "I don't think music is an entertainment product. It's a product of culture - not for marketing, but to enrich lives." "All these years, I've been trying to convince people that music is not there to please them; it's there to disturb them." Thiem said Boulez never married. He is survived by a brother, Roger, and a sister, Jeanne Chevalier, along with several nieces and nephews. Funeral plans were incomplete.

News from The Associated Press

 

[waltky]

Another great R&B singer passes on...

Rhythm and blues singer Otis Clay dies, aged 73
Mon, Jan 11, 2016 - Blues Hall of Fame rhythm and blues artist Otis Clay, known as much for his big heart and charitable work in Chicago as for his singing, has died. He was 73.

The Mississippi-born Clay — whose gruff tenor-tinged voice on blues songs such as Trying to Live My Life Without You varied from his haunting but hopeful baritone on gospel standards like When the Gates Swing Open — died suddenly of a heart attack on Friday, his daughter Ronda Tankson said.

R & B singer Otis Clay​

The one-time Grammy nominee received two nominations for this year’s 37th Blues Music Awards — Soul-Blues Male Artist and Soul-Blues Album for This Time for Real, his collaboration with Billy Price, Clay’s manager Miki Mulvehill said. “Otis was the last standard-bearer for deep southern soul music, the really gospel-inflected music that was in its heyday in the late ’60s and early and mid-’70s,” Price said. “These styles change, and different styles are in the forefront, but Otis was just as strong in the past five years ... For that reason, he was an icon for a lot of us who work in this genre.”

Enthusiasts and record collectors flocked to Clay’s music because of its spare, “unvarnished” style wrought of the 1960s soul scenes in Memphis, Tennessee and Muscle Shoals, Alabama, Price said.

Rhythm and blues singer Otis Clay dies, aged 73 - Taipei Times

 

[Auld Phart]

David Bowie

David Bowie, Legendary British Singer, Dead at 69

David Bowie died on Sunday. He was 69. The British singer’s official Facebook page confirmed the news late Sunday night. “David Bowie died peacefully today surrounded by his family after a courageous 18 month battle with cancer. While many of you will share in this loss, we ask that you respect the family’s privacy during their time of grief,” read the post

 

[waltky]

Celine Dion's husband dies...

Rene Angelil, husband of Celine Dion, dies in Nevada
14 Jan.`16 — Rene Angelil, Celine Dion's husband and manager, who molded her from a French-speaking Canadian ingénue into one of the world's most successful singers, died Thursday after a long battle with throat cancer, officials and family members said.

The 73-year-old Angelil died in the suburban Las Vegas home in Henderson he shared with Dion and their three children. Angelil died of natural causes under the care of a doctor, Clark County Coroner John Fudenberg said. No further investigation was expected. A post on Dion's Facebook page said: "It is with deep sadness that we announce that René Angélil, aged 73, died this morning at her residence in Las Vegas after a long and courageous fight against cancer. The family wishes to live the mourning in privacy."

Canadian music star Celine Dion, right, and husband Rene Angelil posing for photos after being decorated with the Order of Canada in Quebec City. Authorities say Angelil, the husband and manager of Dion, has died in Las Vegas. He was 73 and had battled throat cancer. Clark County Coroner John Fudenberg said his office was notified Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016, of Angelil’s death.​

U.S. Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada issued a statement saying he has always appreciated the couple's support because they took a risk on Las Vegas when Dion began her residency in 2002 at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace. "As a result, we in Las Vegas feel Céline Dion is one of ours," Reid said. "She has brought so much positive attention to our city. Her love affair with René and her family was something that was so admirable." Calling Angelil an amazing showman and businessman, Caesars president Gary Selesner said it was impossible to overstate the impact he and Dion have had on the history of entertainment in Las Vegas and at Caesars Palace. Dion's shows on Saturday and Sunday were cancelled.

Angelil was born in Montreal to a Canadian mother and Syrian father. He became the love of Dion's life and the linchpin for her huge success, guiding her career for most of her life. Angelil was a former singer-turned-manager when he received an audio tape of Dion, then 12, from her mother. "At that time I had been in the business for 20 years," Angelil recalled in a 1991 interview with The Associated Press. "In those 20 years, I had never heard or had a feeling come out of someone like this little girl I had in front of me. I had shivers all over, you know."

MORE

 

[skye]

Celine Dion's husband dies...

Rene Angelil, husband of Celine Dion, dies in Nevada
14 Jan.`16 — Rene Angelil, Celine Dion's husband and manager, who molded her from a French-speaking Canadian ingénue into one of the world's most successful singers, died Thursday after a long battle with throat cancer, officials and family members said.

The 73-year-old Angelil died in the suburban Las Vegas home in Henderson he shared with Dion and their three children. Angelil died of natural causes under the care of a doctor, Clark County Coroner John Fudenberg said. No further investigation was expected. A post on Dion's Facebook page said: "It is with deep sadness that we announce that René Angélil, aged 73, died this morning at her residence in Las Vegas after a long and courageous fight against cancer. The family wishes to live the mourning in privacy."

Canadian music star Celine Dion, right, and husband Rene Angelil posing for photos after being decorated with the Order of Canada in Quebec City. Authorities say Angelil, the husband and manager of Dion, has died in Las Vegas. He was 73 and had battled throat cancer. Clark County Coroner John Fudenberg said his office was notified Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016, of Angelil’s death.​

U.S. Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada issued a statement saying he has always appreciated the couple's support because they took a risk on Las Vegas when Dion began her residency in 2002 at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace. "As a result, we in Las Vegas feel Céline Dion is one of ours," Reid said. "She has brought so much positive attention to our city. Her love affair with René and her family was something that was so admirable." Calling Angelil an amazing showman and businessman, Caesars president Gary Selesner said it was impossible to overstate the impact he and Dion have had on the history of entertainment in Las Vegas and at Caesars Palace. Dion's shows on Saturday and Sunday were cancelled.

Angelil was born in Montreal to a Canadian mother and Syrian father. He became the love of Dion's life and the linchpin for her huge success, guiding her career for most of her life. Angelil was a former singer-turned-manager when he received an audio tape of Dion, then 12, from her mother. "At that time I had been in the business for 20 years," Angelil recalled in a 1991 interview with The Associated Press. "In those 20 years, I had never heard or had a feeling come out of someone like this little girl I had in front of me. I had shivers all over, you know."

MORE

I read they were so close ...loved each other so much....she must be devastated

RIP Rene Angelil.

 

[Alex.]

Celine Dion's husband dies...

Rene Angelil, husband of Celine Dion, dies in Nevada
14 Jan.`16 — Rene Angelil, Celine Dion's husband and manager, who molded her from a French-speaking Canadian ingénue into one of the world's most successful singers, died Thursday after a long battle with throat cancer, officials and family members said.

The 73-year-old Angelil died in the suburban Las Vegas home in Henderson he shared with Dion and their three children. Angelil died of natural causes under the care of a doctor, Clark County Coroner John Fudenberg said. No further investigation was expected. A post on Dion's Facebook page said: "It is with deep sadness that we announce that René Angélil, aged 73, died this morning at her residence in Las Vegas after a long and courageous fight against cancer. The family wishes to live the mourning in privacy."

Canadian music star Celine Dion, right, and husband Rene Angelil posing for photos after being decorated with the Order of Canada in Quebec City. Authorities say Angelil, the husband and manager of Dion, has died in Las Vegas. He was 73 and had battled throat cancer. Clark County Coroner John Fudenberg said his office was notified Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016, of Angelil’s death.​

U.S. Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada issued a statement saying he has always appreciated the couple's support because they took a risk on Las Vegas when Dion began her residency in 2002 at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace. "As a result, we in Las Vegas feel Céline Dion is one of ours," Reid said. "She has brought so much positive attention to our city. Her love affair with René and her family was something that was so admirable." Calling Angelil an amazing showman and businessman, Caesars president Gary Selesner said it was impossible to overstate the impact he and Dion have had on the history of entertainment in Las Vegas and at Caesars Palace. Dion's shows on Saturday and Sunday were cancelled.

Angelil was born in Montreal to a Canadian mother and Syrian father. He became the love of Dion's life and the linchpin for her huge success, guiding her career for most of her life. Angelil was a former singer-turned-manager when he received an audio tape of Dion, then 12, from her mother. "At that time I had been in the business for 20 years," Angelil recalled in a 1991 interview with The Associated Press. "In those 20 years, I had never heard or had a feeling come out of someone like this little girl I had in front of me. I had shivers all over, you know."

MORE

Very sad indeed. They were very much in love from what I have read.

 

[Kat]

Sorry, but I read fairly recently they were getting a divorce. So, maybe not so close anymore.

Then his cancer came back.

RIP Rene

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

RIP...Democrat party.

 

[Hossfly]

I received an E-mail in early December from one of my fellow 1st Cavalry Div. Assoc. members about another member's death. I met him a number of times over the years and he was one of my heroes. He was a hero to his people while he was in a German concentration camp and a hero to members of the 8th Cavalry Regiment and members of the 1st Cavalry Div. He received the MOH for his bravery about 50 years later than he should have been awarded. His name was Tibor Rubin and here is his MOH citation and a brief biography. This has nothing to do with music but Tibor probably has the angels singing.


Tibor Rubin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[skye]

Poor Celine Dion has lost another loved one.

Celine Dion's brother dies of cancer days after death of husband Rene Angelil

 

[Alex.]

Poor Celine Dion has lost another loved one.

Celine Dion's brother dies of cancer days after death of husband Rene Angelil

That is very sad.

Also, to dispel all the rumors and haters. “'Rene says to me, 'I want to die in your arms.' OK, fine, I'll be there, you'll die in my arms.'”Looks like a true love story

Celine Dion: Rene hopes to 'die in my arms'

 

[Kat]

Yeah, isn't it sad they were about to divorce? They were already legally separated. I ♥ Celine.

 

[Gracie]

Dayum. Celine lost both within days. Double whammy. I can't even imagine.

 

[Auld Phart]

Many of are probably not old enough to remember this young lady.

Noreen Corcoran, the Adopted Niece on TV's 'Bachelor Father,' Dies at 72

It's only been a couple of months since her brother, Kevin 'Moochie' Cocoran passed away.

 

[Gracie]

Damn. 2016 is not looking so slick.

 

[Desperado]

Former NFL coach Ted Marchibroda
Former Colts coach, broadcaster Marchibroda dies at age 84

 

[Alex.]

RIP Glenn Frey



"Glenn Frey Eagles Guitarist Dead At 67


Glenn Frey, a founding member and guitarist of the Eagles, has died ... TMZ has learned.
We're told the cause of death was a combination of complications from rheumatoid arthritis, acute ulcerative colitis, and pneumonia.

Frey had been battling intestinal issues for months and had surgery in November. We're told in the last few days his condition took a turn for the worse. He died in New York City."

http://www.tmz.com/2016/01/18/glenn-frey-the-eagles-dead/#ixzz3xdcoeFSQ​

Glenn Frey - The Heat Is On