Tag Archives: celebrity musician/deaths

Celebrity/musician deaths

RIP: Chadwick Boseman 1976 – 2020…

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A young film actor by the name of Chadwick Boseman just passed away of cancer this week. Like most people, I’m shocked and saddened too. While Chadwick was mostly well-known as Black Panther in Marvel, he got well-known for a few other roles such as “42” in which he played baseball hero Jackie Robinson and in “Get on Up” in which he played the godfather of soul, James Brown for that biopic film.

As for his iconic role as Black Panther, he played that character 4 times. The Black Panther character first got its introduction in “Captain America: Civil War” and then the character appeared in the solo film, “Black Panther” and after that two Avengers films.

I wasn’t that crazy about the “Black Panther” solo film but I liked the Black Panther character in “Civil War” and the two Avengers movies “Infinity War” and “Endgame”. I have seen Chadwick in a few other roles such as “42”, “Get On Up” and “Message From the King”. I thought “Message From the King” was a great movie and it’s a Netflix exclusive too. I haven’t seen “Marshall” yet but I should check it out sometime.

Chadwick was a great talent and was too young to go. He died at 43, he was just my age. A big loss in Hollywood and I never saw this one coming like most. RIP Chadwick and thanks for the entertainment. I should give “Black Panther” another look, though and it’s streamable on Disney Plus which I have.

Kev

Celebrity/musician deaths

RIP: Wilford Brimley… 1934 – 2020

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Wilford Brimley was a well known commercial actor… that guy was such a star in commercials like Quaker Oats and commercials about diabetes that he earned a pretty successful film career out of it. He didn’t become a film actor over night, though, as it took him a long road to get there. In the beginning, he had no formal training as an actor and was pretty much self-taught. Like most actors, he got his start in acting through theater on the stage. Then he got casted for “The Waltons” TV show… him starring in those commercials I remember was later in the years.

While Wilford was mostly known as a commercial actor, he had some pretty huge roles in the movie industry though… like he was the leading actor for Ron Howard’s “Cocoon 1 & 2” and I remember watching those two movies a lot when I was young. Loved those two movies but haven’t seen them in a long time. He also had a big role in John Carpenter’s “The Thing” in which he starred alongside Kurt Russell. He also had a big role in the action movie “Hard Target” alongside Jean Claude Van Damme. Yeah, he was definitely in some pretty big movies over the years.

Brimley was also a Mormon as a member of the Later Day Saints and he was also a big Republican voter and conservative.

The year 2020 lost another good talent. The man was a great actor. I definitely remember watching him on TV a lot. “The Thing” is one of my favorite movies, though and he played a great character in it too. Wilford was the best part about that movie.

Kev

 

Celebrity/musician deaths

RIP: Naya Rivera 1987 – 2020…

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I don’t know much about the show “Glee” and never seen it and don’t plan to but the death of Naya Rivera is definitely hearbreaking. She was too young and she’s got a 4 year old son who is going to grow up without a mother.

This could be a big time wake-up call to all you swimmers out there. It doesn’t matter the skill level of a swimmer you are. Whether you’re a beginner, intermediate or expert swimmer… something like this could happen to anyone.

The reports aren’t saying anything about what happened out there. She was probably a good deep swimmer which was why she didn’t wear a life-vest… she probably didn’t think she would need one but reading about Lake Piru, it definitely looks dangerous out there. Lake Piru had many deaths and accidents there in the past. Being way out in the lake is very deep, you can’t touch anything… she was probably struggling and went out of breath. Even at lakes can have really strong waves due to strong wind. Not sure how windy it was when that happened to her. Doing a little reading on Lake Piru, it’s a very dangerous lake and from the pictures I’ve seen, looks kind of scary out there too. I can see how it took the police forever to find her…. glad they did, though and now her family can give her proper burial real soon.

I feel bad for her kid, though. He’s only 4 and think what he went through being alone on that boat.

It’s always sad when a young talent dies. My heart goes out to her family and her 4 year old.

Kev

Celebrity/musician deaths

RIP Kelly Preston: 1962 – 2020…

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It is with a very heavy heart that I inform you that my beautiful wife Kelly has lost her two-year battle with breast cancer. She fought a courageous fight with the love and support of so many.  My family and I will forever be grateful to her doctors and nurses at MD Anderson Cancer Center, all the medical centers that have helped, as well as her many friends and loved ones who have been by her side. Kelly’s love and life will always be remembered. I will be taking some time to be there for my children who have lost their mother, so forgive me in advance if you don’t hear from us for a while.  But please know that I will feel your outpouring of love in the weeks and months ahead as we heal. All my love, JT

A post shared by John Travolta (@johntravolta) on

John Travolta is going through another tragedy in his life. The actor himself announced the sad news that his longtime wife and actress, Kelly Preston died after two long years of breast cancer. The couple married in 1991… they had three children together but one of his kids Jett Travolta died at 16. John’s first wife, Diana Hyland also died of breast cancer in 1977.

Kelly is best known for starring as one of the female leads alongside Tom Cruise in “Jerry Maguire”.

Sad news. John may be devastated and hurt but at the same time, she’s no longer suffering. My heart goes out to him and his surviving kids.

Kev

 

 

Celebrity/musician deaths, music

RIP: Charlie Daniels… 1936 – 2020…

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The country music world just lost one of its biggest legends today. Singer/songwriter, guitarist and filldle/violin player Charlie Daniels passed away of a hemorrhagic stroke in Nashville.

Charlie wrote a lot of big hits in his career over the years but he is obviously “most” well known for “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” which was always considered his anthem. You can find that song on his 1979 album, “Million Mile Reflections” and I’m sure you can find that song on any Charlie Daniels greatest hits album, of course. Ever since Charlie wrote that song, it became so big, you heard it on radio everywhere and you continue to hear that song everywhere even to this day. Charlie wrote the song in the late 70’s… the song is so big that I’m sure he played it on every show he played on his tours.

Before Charlie passed, he continued to make music and toured pretty heavily even if he was in his 80’s. His last album was “Night Hawk” released in 2016 but he continued to tour after that.

Charlie was also not afraid to speak out about his politics ’cause as you all know, he had very strong conservative beliefs. His twitter presence was pretty huge in the conservative world. He had a lot of conservative fans ’cause they all admired him for fighting back at liberalism over the years.

There are a lot of liberal music fans… the most die-hard leftists but some of them support Charlie ’cause they can’t deny the musical talent that he had. A lot of leftists just loved him for the music and not his politics and there is nothing wrong with that, though.

I’ve always been a fan of Charlie’s music myself. Used to listen to him all the time back in high school ’cause I had a Greatest Hits album on CD that I used to own but don’t have it anymore, though.

RIP Charlie and thanks for the excellent music and thanks for helping us to fight against liberalism. I’m gonna miss his twitter for sure.

Kev

Celebrity/musician deaths

RIP: Joel Schumacher 1939 – 2020…

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Joel Schumacher movies aren’t for everyone. He’s another one of those directors who you either loved or hated. His movies over the years either got mostly positive or negative reviews. I’m sure a lot of you forgotten that he gave us a lot of movies that we all loved especially the classics, “The Lost Boys” and “St. Elmo’s Fire” those two movies which are part of the Brat Pack in the 80’s.

“The Lost Boys” a cult classic 80’s vampire film that starred Corey Feldman and Corey Haim in the leading roles… the film also starred Kiefer Sutherland, Jason Patric and a young Alex Winter. The film was a smash hit in the box office when it first came out and it is still the most loved horror/comedy type of film even to this day. The DVD/BluRay sales of that film sold pretty well over the years. If you’re a huge horror fan and don’t like “The Lost Boys” then what’s wrong with you? It’s definitely one of Joel’s best films in his career.

Joel was also responsible for taking over the Batman franchise as he directed “Batman Forever” and “Batman & Robin”. He took over the franchise after Tim Burton and Michael Keaton no longer involved. I thought “Batman Forever” was pretty good but hated “Batman & Robin” like everyone else.

Joel gave us other great movies too like “Falling Down” with Michael Douglas, “8MM” with Nicolas Cage, “Phone Booth” w/ Colin Farrell and he did another classic “Flatliners” with Kevin Bacon. He also did a few films based on John Grisham books. He also did the 2004 remake of “Phantom of the Opera” which was also pretty cool.

Schumacher was a great talent and he was one of those who wasn’t afraid to make the movies he wanted. I thought his best films, in my opinion were probably “The Lost Boys”, “Falling Down” and “8MM”. I’d like to add those three films to my BluRay collection at some point.

Another sad loss in Hollywood. Schumacher was great.

Kev

Celebrity/musician deaths

RIP: Max Von Sydow 1929 – 2020…

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2020 takes another good one… Max Von Sydow legendary actor has starred in so many films over the years but he’s mostly famous for roles in like “The Seventh Seal”, “The Exorcist”, “Flash Gordon”, Stephen King’s “Needful Things”, etc. The list keeps going on and on.

Max was an actor who loved what he did. He kept going at it until he couldn’t do it anymore. He kept acting until he died in reality ’cause it’s what he loved to do, it wasn’t about the money for him at all. Over the years, Max starred in films in just about every genre you could think of… he did it at all from drama, comedy, thrillers, science fiction and even horror films. He didn’t star in too many horror films but he was most famously in “The Exorcist” in which he played Father Merrin… the famous “The Power of Christ Compels You” scene and he was the leading villain in Stephen King’s “Needful Things”, the film in which he starred as the film’s leading villain, Leland Gaunt.

He also did a role in HBO’s “Game of Thrones” TV show and I remember seeing him in it. Max was a phenomenal actor and he could play everything that threw at him no matter the age. He really was a great talent. Probably the best out there. I also remembered him in “Rush Hour 3” and “Minority Report”. He’s been in so many good movies.

I thought his best role in his career was in “The Exorcist”, of course even though it was kind of a small role… he only appeared toward the end of it… the exorcism scene. Everybody wants to talk about “Flash Gordon” and I’m sure many will forget that he was in “The Exorcist” too.

RIP Max and thanks for the entertainment.

Kev

Celebrity/musician deaths, sports

RIP: Kobe and Gianna Bryant…

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Like most I’m heartbroken and sad about this news myself. The tragedy of basketball icon Kobe Bryant and his 13 year old daughter, Gianna, getting killed in a helicopter crash along with several other passengers. I was never much of an NBA fan and don’t really care for basketball at all but this is very sad and tragic.

Kobe was an icon in the NBA and was one of the greats. Thoughts and prayers go out to Vanessa Bryant and the surviving daughters of the Bryant family. Kobe (41) and Gianna (13) were both too young. They both had a long life ahead of them. What’s most heartbreaking about this is that this family just had a newborn baby and she’s going to have to grow up without a father now.

Yeah, life is short but keep in mind that famous people & sports figures… they are real people like the rest of us. Plane crashes and helicopter crashes are both quite common. Plane and helicopter crashes have killed many famous people over the years. Being famous may sound fun but it can be very dangerous with all that travelling they do… being on the road all the time and travelling through the sky a lot. Plane and helicopter crashes can happen.

Like most, I was shocked and felt a little devastated even though I’m not much of an NBA fan. Losing Kobe is a sad loss in America. RIP Kobe and Gianna. This is gonna be a tough week.

Kev

Celebrity/musician deaths

RIP Neil Peart: 1952 – 2020

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Well, here is your first musical passing of 2020… very sad news that Rolling Stone exclusively revealed the news that the long time drummer and one of the founders of Rush, Neil Peart just died. It was just found out that Neil has been battling brain cancer for 3 or 4 years before his passing.

Neil was more than a drummer, though. He was also a book author and an avid biker (aka motorcyclist). Neil wrote a few books writing mostly about his motorcycling adventures and he was also the prime lyricist of Rush. He wrote the lyrics to pretty much all Rush songs as he was responsible to writing lyrics for Rush’s biggest hits especially songs like “Tom Sawyer”, “Limelight”, “Subdivisions”, “Closer to the Heart”, “Fly By Night”, etc.

Now you  know why the band Rush has stopped playing music for the past couple of years. I remember a couple of years ago Geddy Lee says Rush had no plans of getting together to record a new album and go on tour but never said anything about Neil battling brain cancer. Probably out of respect for privacy? Well, Neil has always been a very private man and Geddy and Alex always respected his privacy.

The band did the smart thing stopping when they couldn’t do it anymore. When Neil was battling brain cancer before he died, he could no longer play the drums which forced the band to stop. Rush refused to continue on without Neil ’cause it’s not Rush without Neil. That Rush sound can’t be done without Neil ’cause Neil’s drumming style was what made Rush to begin with. Now that Neil Peart is gone then that probably means Rush is done for good. I think Geddy and Alex will soon put out a statement to announce an official breakup ’cause they can’t go on without him. Rush is probably done.

So that probably means “Clockwork Angels” will be the band’s final album? Probably… unless the band recorded new music before Neil got diagnosed with brain cancer but I doubt it, though. I’m sure the band will dig up some unreleased music from the vault someday as I’m sure they got plenty of unreleased music stored away. We’ll have to wait and see.

I’m a huge Rush fan. Always has been so this one hurts. I had the opportunity to see Rush live in concert myself at SPAC and I remember Neil doing a long drum solo that night. It was insane, I’ll never forget it. Neil was a pretty unique drummer… he knew how to make his drums sound musical which other drummers never knew how to do.

This is probably gonna be the end of Rush for good and I want to thank them for the great music over the years. They were one-talented band. Loved them so much.

Kev

 

Celebrity/musician deaths

RIP: Ric Ocasek 1944 – 2019…

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The rock world lost another great one and this one kind of hurts ’cause I really love the Cars. I didn’t buy much of their records over the years but I’ve heard their first self-titled album many times, though. I’m pretty sure I’ve heard their second album “Candy-O” before too. Of course, it was MTV that got me interested in the Cars ’cause MTV used to play their videos constantly back when they did play “music videos” so I heard plenty of their hits before.

Ric Ocasek was definitely a very talented musician. He also had a great look and great stage presence too. He had one of the coolest singing voices in rock.

Any fan of rock n’ roll would know who the Cars are and familiar with their songs ’cause they’ve been a huge inspiration for all of us.

Now Ric is up there with his bandmate and songwriting partner Benjamin Orr who died in Oct. of 2000.

This makes me want to get the Cars first two albums from Itunes soon. I was meaning to start buying some Cars albums anyways ’cause I’ve always loved the band ever since I was young.

Kev