Among many other, more significant and memorable, roles. One of the more depressing things about getting old is that the very finest actors, artists, etc. become known for crappy, third rate shit that isn't worth even writing a paragraph about when people SHOULD know them for the other stuff.
Well, probably true. I must admit I do have a bias towards quality and less towards... y'know... SHITE!
No. Mods, please remove this post. Seriously, when I look at the obits in the newspaper (yeah, I still have one of those delivered each morning) and see the fringe famous person's obit my immediate thought is now wondering if it will be posted in the Big Soccer "Famous Person is Dead. R.I.P." thread
Gerard Smith of TV on the Radio, 34, from lung cancer: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1662395/tv-on-the-radio-gerard-smith-dead-34.jhtml I guess I hadn't kept up, but I didn't know he had cancer. Really, really sad.
He hasn't been famous for a long time now, but Michael Sarazin's performance as the monster in Frankenstein: The True Story was a very, very big deal to my ten year old self.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73qBnuzrjx0"]YouTube - TV on the Radio - Wolf Like Me on Letterman[/ame] RIP Gerard Smith. Dies of lung cancer in his mid-30s.
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/42763458/ns/today-entertainment/ Phoebe Snow, who I only knew as an entertaining guest on Howard Stern's radio show.
Her namesake, now forgotten, but long ago an icon of sorts: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoebe_Snow_(character) Says Phoebe Snow about to go upon a trip to Buffalo "My gown stays white from morn till night Upon the Road of Anthracite"
Lol, that commercial was on at just the moment I saw this post. Anyhow, no new dead people that I'm aware of.
No new dead people? He is: http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/obituaries/ct-met-hauldren-obit-20110427,0,6022542.story He actually wrote that jingle; he sang with an a capella group. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRhGVo_dwkk"]YouTube - Empire Carpet Commercial 1986[/ame] And even if you meant in addition to him, some people may not have understood the subtleness of my original post. Though now it's made its way to TMZ and Fark.com as well. I think it might be the most well-known phone number in the world.
And his granddaughter is singer-songwriter Rose Polenzani and his grandson (Rose's brother) is the lyric tenor Matthew Polenzani. I know this because my parents are friends with Lynn Hauldren's nephew and after seeing Matt Polenzani perform in New York City a few years ago, they were introduced to the "Empire Carpet guy" backstage after the show.
I think the creation of this thread has helped reduce the death rate of marginally famous people. Now then, if only those who think that punk rockers and Dr. Who actors are worthy of their own thread would realize that those people are EXACTLY the reason why this thread was created.
I only knew of him from a short lived 70s TV series, Mobile One, although I became dimly aware that he was also a former child star.
Seve Ballesteros http://www.thegolfchannel.com/tour-insider/ballesteros-dies-age-54-42821/ I was in the golf business in the '80s and Seve was an enigma. This guy was one of the least accurate drivers ever to succeed at that level. All it did was set up miraculous improvised fairway shots, like the famous one through the parking lot at St. Andrews. Here is a modest example. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5JfA1D1pkc"]YouTube - Amazing golf shot - Ballesteros on his knees[/ame]
This isn't even new, but this is a catch-all thread... I didn't realize character actor James Gammon died! Almost a year ago! He was in so many things... it's like his death went unnoticed... so here it is! Same thing with Brion James, who died in 1999! How did I miss that until recently.