There have been a lot of iconic sex symbols over the years. Everyone from Marilyn Monroe, Madonna, Anna Nicole Smith, Pam Anderson, Carmen Electra, etc., the list goes on. In my opinion, it was Jane Russell who is the true American sex symbol. She helped make, “sex” popular and mainstream in the 1940’s and 50’s. She was a film actress and a pinup model.
Her first film role was, “The Outlaw” which is a western film about Billy the Kid. It was the film that made her the sex symbol as the film’s goal was to show off the talent of her. She’s also famous for starring in, “The Paleface” with Bob Hope and “Gentlemen Prefers Blondes” with Marilyn Monroe.
Jane Russell died at her Santa Maria, California home due to respiratory-illness. Jane Russell was 89.
We have some very sad news to report today. The music industry lost another great one. Legendary guitarist, Gary Moore, who is most famous for playing guitar for the Irish blues band, Skid Row, and playing guitar for the Irish rock band, Thin Lizzy, passed away today. Gary only played for three albums with Skid Row. While he did play for Thin Lizzy, he only appeared on some songs on some of their albums, Gary didn’t play guitar on every Thin Lizzy song. Gary mostly concentrated on his solo career for most of life. While he did play every genre of music including heavy metal and jazz, his biggest influence was the blues. Gary Moore, in my opinion, is one of the true greats in guitar playing. Every time he performed on stage, the man was always on fire. We truly lost a great one. Gary Moore was just 58 years old.
Jack Lalanne, the man who started it all. The King of Fitness, the master. The one who is responsible for making bodybuilding & fitness mainstream. How did Jack get inspired into fitness? Well as a kid, he was addicted to junk food just like any kid would be. He also had a violent temper back in his childhood. Jack started learning from Paul Bragg, a pioneer at nutrition & wellness, so Jack decided to change his lifestyle at age 15 to eat better and exercise more. After graduating from high school, he took night time classes at Oakland Chiropractic College in San Francisco, and graduated with a Chiropractic Degree.
He invented a bodybuilding machine, called, the Smith Machine, which can be seen in all gyms all over the world to this day. The Smith Machine is used for squats and various other exercises. It was made so it can be safe to use without a spotter. Later in the years, Jack Lalanne hosted his own TV show for 34 years titled, “The Jack Lalanne Show” which he taught fitness, health & nutrition on the the show. He marketed a variety of vitamin supplements, he also invented special devices called, the “Juice Tiger” and “The Power Juicer”.
Later in the years, Jack was inducted into the California Hall of Fame by Governor Schwarzenegger (pictured above). Jack also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Over the years, Jack continued to workout every single day, non stop until the last day before his death.
He is such a hero and inspiration to the fitness world. He is the real hero in fitness. Not Schwarzenegger, Chuck Norris or Jillian Michaels. It was all about Jack. Jack has been doing bodybuilding and fitness way before the days of the supplement industry got too commercial. Think about this. If Jack wasn’t around to do what he did for us, there would be no bodybuilding. There would be no Arnold, Sly, Flex Wheeler, Jillian Michaels, Lou Farrigno and all those other fitness people in the media. Jack is responsible for bringing us this. Without him, none of us would be hitting the gym on a regular basis right now.
Bow down to Jack Lalanne! King of Fitness! Thanks Jack. In honor of Jack, I will continue to do my workout routines the old school way like how I’ve always been doing this ever since I started. Even though these video lessons are very old, they CAN still be very useful to this day!
Don Kirshner, known as the Man with the Golden ear, died today due to heart failure. He is a legendary producer, song publisher and rock music mogul. He was the one who created the fictional rock band, The Monkees, which was made into a hit sitcom show for TV. Kirshner also had his own TV series for ABC called, “Don Kirshner Rock Concert”, in the early 70’s. The show aired every other week and had different musical acts perform on the show. Don Kirshner was 76 years old.
This needs to be a serious obituary. It’s so sad. The child was laid to rest today. Christina is a true American Hero. This is really amazing of what they did for her for the Memorial in Tucson today.
The music world, lost another great one today. Legendary singer/songwriter, Gerry Rafferty, passed away today, after a long battle with liver disease. In 1972, Gerry and his best friend, Joe Egan, formed a band together called, Stealers Wheel. They are known for their hit song, “Stuck In the Middle” which Quentin Tarantino have chosen that song to be included in the film, “Reservoir Dogs”, for the soundtrack. Stealers Wheel only had three albums in their discography and they broke up in 1975. Gerry started a solo career soon after. Gerry Raferty was 63 years old. RIP, and thanks for the good music.
Pete Postlethwaite, a legendary theatre, TV and film UK actor died of cancer yesterday. He had roles in films such as “In the Name of the Father” with Daniel Day Lewis and “The Tempest” which are his two most well known roles. He was also in, “The Last of the Mohicans”, “Alien 3”, “The Usual Suspects”, “Aeon Flux”, and also had roles in the new films, “Clash of the Titans” remake, “Inception”, and “The Town”. “The Town” an action movie starring and directed by Ben Affleck was Pete’s final American film. Pete’s last film before his death, “Killing Bono”, will be released on April 1st later this year. Pete was just 64 years old.
Legendary R&B and Soul singer, Teena Marie was found dead by her daughter in her home in Pasadena, California. She died in her sleep while taking a Sunday afternoon nap and it might of been a seizure. Teena Marie is most famous for her hit song, “Lover Girl” which she was Grammy nominated for. She is also well known for her collaborations with funk legend, Rick James. Teen Marie was 54 years old.
There is another sad loss in the world of music today, folks. Don Van Vliet, aka “Captain Beefhart” died today in California due to multiple sclerosis. Before Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Black Sabbath, and other rock groups in the 70’s, it was Captain Beefhart that started it all. Captain Beefhart did it all. He sang, he wrote his own songs, played his own instruments, a poet, a painter, and he was even a film director.
He never played the guitar, but he did play harmonica, saxophone, clarinet, flute, and other instruments. Beefhart grew up listening to blues and jazz music. Which is where he got to meet guitar icon, Frank Zappa. Him and Frank became best friends, and they started to play music together in bands before they were famous. Frank Zappa and Beefhart together made a movie titled, “Captain Beefhart vs. the Grunt People” which is where he got his name from. Later, Beefhart formed his own band, “Captain Beefhart and the Magic Band”, and they got a record deal. In all, the band made 12 albums in their career. They are known for songs such as “Electricity”, “Safe as Milk”, “Bat Chain Puller”, “Ice Cream For Crow” and many more hits.
It is also widely known, that Robert Plant always said in his interviews, it was Captain Beefhart that got Robert into singing and rock n’ roll. Captain Beefhart was a hero and a huge influence to Robert Plant. Can you tell? Led Zeppelin borrowed a lot from Captain Beefhart’s music.
In the early 90’s, Beefhart was forced to retire from music due to being paralyzed on a wheel chair and suffering from multiple sclerosis. He’s been battling multiple sclerosis since then. Captain Beefhart was only, 67 years old. Died young, gone too soon. RIP Captain and thanks for the excellent music.
Elizabeth Edwards, attorney, best selling author, health care activist, and the wife of famous politician, John Edwards, died yesterday after a long battle with breast cancer. In 2007, she was trying very hard to battle it, and just a couple of days ago, the family announced to the public that she herself had stopped treatment, and revealed to the public that she wanted to pass on. Sadly, she posted an emotional goodbye message on her facebook page. She passed away at her home in Chapel Hill, surrounded by friends and family. She was 61 years old.
Kev
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