Jerry Herman, Composer of 'Hello, Dolly!' and Other Broadway Hits, Dies at 88 - N.Y. Times https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/27/theater/jerry-herman-dead.html Jerry Herman, the Broadway composer-lyricist who gave America the rousing, old-fashioned musicals “Hello, Dolly!” and “Mame” in the 1960s and Broadway’s first musical featuring gay lovers, “La Cage aux Folles,” in the 1980s, died on Thursday in Miami. He was 88. Mr. Herman wrote music that left the nation singing — rich melodies with powerful lyrics that stopped shows, dazzled critics, kept audiences returning for more and paved Broadway with gold for producers and performers. To millions, he was the postwar theater’s clearest successor to Irving Berlin, a throwback to an era of songwriters who touched the heart with sophisticated simplicity, bringing audiences to their feet at the curtain calls and sending them home humming the unforgettable tune: “Hell-oh, Doll-ee!” At a time when Broadway musicals were exploring new boundaries, Mr. Herman was resolutely Tin Pan Alley. Unlike Stephen Sondheim and other contemporaries who experimented with dark, intricate melodies and witty, ambiguous lyrics, he wrote song-and-dance music that stuck to the story line with catchy tunes and sunny phrases of hope and happy endings. “There are only a couple of us who care about writing songs that people can leave the theater singing,” he told The New York Times in 1984 after “La Cage” had won six Tonys. “To me, the powerful tune has always been the nub, the meat and potatoes of the American musical theater.” Some people will never forgive Jerry Herman for his massive smash hits from the 60s, Hello, Dolly! and Mame. The usual nonsense about how shows so commercially successful can't possibly claim to have quality. But your work can't result in the enormous runs of those two shows--and La Cage aux Folles as well--without you having great talent. Dolly did 2,844 performances, Mame 1,508, and La Cage 1,761. Over 6,100 curtains! Not to mention that Jerry Herman's failures have plenty of fine material in their scores, which is always overlooked by his critics. People should give a listen to ALL of Mr. Herman's cast albums. He has nothing to apologize for. Shows: 1960- Parade (off-Broadway revue) 1961- Milk and Honey 1961- Madame Aphrodite (off-Broadway; no cast album) 1964- Hello, Dolly! (film version 1969) 1966- Mame (film version 1974) 1969- Dear World 1974- Mack & Mabel 1979- The Grand Tour 1983- La Cage aux Folles 1985- Jerry's Girls (career revue) 1996- Mrs. Santa Claus (television) 2002- Miss Spectacular (concept) Jerry Herman also contributed songs to the Broadway musicals Ben Franklin in Paris (1964) and A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine (1980).
Sue Lyon, Star of 'Lolita', Dead at 73 - Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/ente...711ecc-2aa2-11ea-bffe-020c88b3f120_story.html (AP) -- Sue Lyon, who at age 14 played the title character in director Stanley Kubrick’s 1962 film “Lolita,” has died. She had been in declining health for some time and died Thursday in Los Angeles. No further details on her death were provided. She was 73. Lyon was reportedly chosen from some 800 girls who sought the role of “Lolita” for the film based on Vladimir Nabokov’s 1955 novel about a middle-aged literature professor’s sexual obsession with a 12-year-old girl. Nabokov also wrote the screenplay for Kubrick’s adaptation, whose cast included movie luminaries James Mason, Peter Sellers and Shelley Winters. A close-up of her face wearing heart-shaped sunglasses with a lollipop at her lips was used as the movie’s poster and became its lasting iconic image, despite neither the glasses nor the sucker appearing in the film, which eliminated the book’s more graphic sexual depictions and played up its comic aspects. Kubrick described her as the "perfect nymphet." The role won her a 1963 Golden Globe for most promising female newcomer. While she never achieved that level of success again, Lyon did also appear in John Huston's 1964 film “Night of the Iguana,” where she played a teenager competing with several other women to seduce a disgraced preacher played by Richard Burton. Other credits included John Ford’s “7 Women” in 1966 and 1971’s “Tony Rome.” Her final acting job was in the 1980 horror film “Alligator.”
Don Larsen ... https://wtop.com/mlb/2020/01/larsen-who-threw-only-perfect-world-series-game-dies-at-90/ Don Larsen, the journeyman pitcher who reached the heights of baseball glory when he threw a perfect game in 1956 with the New York Yankees for the only no-hitter in World Series history, died Wednesday night. He was 90.
I hope soccer players are allowed here ... Hans Tilkowski, the West Germany goalkeeper in the 1966 World Cup final against England, has died. He was 84. https://wtop.com/soccer/2020/01/germanys-1966-world-cup-goalkeeper-tilkowski-dies-at-84/ "Tilkowski was best known outside Germany for conceding England’s third goal in extra time in the 1966 final, with the score at 2-2, when Geoff Hurst’s shot hit the bar and bounced downward. The decision to award the goal started decades of debate and much-disputed video analysis. Tilkowski always said he was sure the ball did not fully cross the line. In his statement of condolences, German soccer federation president Fritz Keller said Tilkowski would have been a worthy World Cup winner. “The title of world champion would have been the deserved culmination of his career with the national team,” Keller said. “He was not only an excellent player, but he also was very involved in society off the field. For me, he’s among German football’s greatest personalities and his death is a painful loss for the (federation) and for the football family.” In addition to his 39 games for West Germany, Tilkowski won the German Cup in 1965 and Cup Winners’ Cup the following year with Dortmund. Beating Liverpool 2-1 in Glasgow in the Cup Winners’ Cup final in May 1966 made Dortmund the first German club to win a major European competition."
Buck Henry, 'Graduate' Writer, 'Get Smart' Co-Creator & Early 'SNL' Favorite, Dies at 89 https://www.latimes.com/obituaries/story/2020-01-09/buck-henry-dead-89 Comedy writer Buck Henry, the legendary scribe who co-wrote “The Graduate,” “Catch-22" and “To Die For” and co-created the TV series “Get Smart,” has died. He was 89. Henry died in a Los Angeles hospital on Wednesday after a heart attack. A polymath of directing, acting and writing, the humorist most notably adapted Mike Nichols’ seminal 1967 film “The Graduate,” starring Dustin Hoffman, and earned an Oscar nomination for the screenplay he co-wrote with Calder Willingham. He was nominated again for co-directing the 1978 after-life comedy “Heaven Can Wait” with the film’s star, Warren Beatty. Henry co-created TV’s spy spoof “Get Smart” with Mel Brooks and the sci-fi comedy “Quark” in the 1970s, winning a Primetime Emmy Award for writing the “Ship of Spies” episodes of “Get Smart.” He was later credited on the 2008 film adaptation of the comedy series starring Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway. His other screenplays include “The Owl and the Pussycat” and “What’s Up, Doc?” The writer memorably hosted “Saturday Night Live” a then-record 10 times, famously playing John Belushi’s foil in the show’s samurai skits and dousing the stage in waves of fake blood in the process. Buck Henry, age 10, with Humphrey Bogart on the set of 'The Maltese Falcon.'
Wow! Incredibly talented and humble musician. Not a huge Rush fan but no denying his greatness and love and appreciation of jazz. RIP
Morgan Wootten - a local HS basketball coach with a national reputation: https://wtop.com/dc/2020/01/legendary-dematha-hoops-coach-morgan-wootten-dies-at-88/ Announcing his retirement in 2002 "The D.C. area has lost a legend and a leader: DeMatha Catholic High School basketball coach Morgan Wootten died Tuesday night. He was 88. DeMatha — where Wootten coached basketball for 46 years — announced his death on Twitter, saying he passed away peacefully at home Tuesday night surrounded by family. Earlier this week, the school said Wootten was in hospice care. Over a career spanning nearly half a century, Wootten notched 1,274 career victories, 33 Washington Catholic Athletic Conference titles and five mythical national championships. In 2000, he became the first coach inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame who only ever coached at the high school level."
R.I.P Jim Lehrer. What a journalist is, and should be. The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, and the MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour was the reason I watched PBS.
I am starting to see more and more confirmation so it appears to be true. CNN just confirmed as I’m typing this. Putting aside his sports career, he leaves behind four kids how sad.
Have they said who the other four people were ? Strange timing ... just a day or so after his long standing scoring record was bettered .. I thought the worst at first but now it’s been revealed that five people lost their lives it’s clear that it was simply a terrible tragedy ..
I heard just this morning on ESPN that LeBron surpassed Bryant in scoring. Kobe even commented on it. Sad that he died right after.
Cannot confirm but I saw that Kobe’s reps stated to TMZ that his daughter Gigi was also onboard. Again I cannot confirm beyond that one tweet but ******** what horrible news.