The RIP Thread

[Frothy Afterbirth]

Lance Reddick, Memorable Star of ‘The Wire,’ ‘John Wick’ Series, Dead at 60
The actor's reps confirmed his death, though a cause was not immediately given
By Jon Blistein March 17, 2023


David Buchan/Variety/Getty Images

Lance Reddick, the exceptional character actor famous for his performances in The Wire and the John Wick franchise, has died. He was 60.

Reddick’s reps confirmed his death to Rolling Stone, saying he “passed away suddenly this morning from natural causes.” The statement continues, “He is survived by his wife Stephanie Reddick and children Yvonne Nicole Reddick and Christopher Reddick. Donations in his memory can be made to momcares.org in Baltimore, his hometown. Lance will be greatly missed. Please respect his family’s privacy at this time.”

On Saturday, Stephanie Reddick shared a tribute to her husband along with photos on his Instagram. “Lance was taken from us far too soon. Thank you for all your overwhelming love, support and beautiful stories shared on these platforms over the last day. I see your messages and can’t begin to express how grateful I am to have them.”

She added: “And to the thousands of Destiny players who played in special tribute to Lance, thank you. Lance loved you as much as he loved the game,” she added. “Donations may be made to momcares.org in Baltimore, his hometown.”

Reddick enjoyed a prolific, nearly 30-year career as a professional actor. Along with The Wire, he had notable roles in hit TV shows like Oz, Lost, Fringe, and Bosch. His movie credits included action flicks like White House Down and Godzilla vs. Kong, as well as Spike Lee’s remake of Oldboy. And he frequently did voice overwork for blockbuster video games like the Quantum Break, the Destiny franchise, and Horizon Zero Dawn.

“A man of great strength and grace,” wrote one of Reddick’s Wire co-stars, Wendell Pierce, on Twitter. “As talented a musician as he was an actor. The epitome of class. An sudden unexpected sharp painful grief for our artistic family. An unimaginable suffering for his personal family and loved ones. Godspeed my friend. You made your mark here.

Born June 7, 1962 and raised in Baltimore, Reddick was initially headed for a life in music. He studied classical composition at the illustrious Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester, but after moving to Boston, he struggled to find any purchase as a professional musician. As he explained in a 2012 interview, he was working multiple jobs to make ends meet and support his family when he suffered a back injury that caused him to reconsider his career. It was then that he started to pursue acting (though he did return to music eventually, releasing an album in 2007).

Reddick started auditioning for and earning roles Boston, before securing a spot in another illustrious institution, the Yale School of Drama, where he earned a Masters of Fine Arts in 1994. Early parts came in the theater, with Reddick notably being cast as an understudy for Belize in Tony Kushner’s epic drama, Angels in America. Some small film and TV parts followed, including recurring roles on HBO’s prison drama Oz and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

His big breakthrough finally came in 2002 when he was cast as Cedrick Daniels, an honest cop in the Baltimore Police Department who rises from lieutenant to police commissioner only to (spoiler alert) resign after refusing to juice crime stats. Along with Lieutenant Daniels being an iconic role on an iconic TV show, Reddick said The Wire helped him realize “how important my work as an actor can be, socially and politically, not just artistically.”

The success of The Wire, followed by Reddick’s role as a Homeland Security agent in Fringe, did leave the actor with a bit of a typecasting problem. In fact, Reddick noted in a 2019 interview that he “flipped out” when he got the offer to play yet another cop on the Amazon procedural Bosch. Even though the role was a series regular part, Reddick said he thought it “could be the nail in the coffin in terms of typecasting.”

But around the same time he shot the pilot for Bosch in 2013, Reddick was finally starting to get the chance to show his range. He’d just filmed the first John Wick movie, in which he played Charon, the concierge at the underworld’s neutral ground, the Continental; and he’d gotten to play Papa Legba — an Iwa (spirit) in voodoo traditions — on American Horror Story: Coven. Around this time, he also had a role (albeit one as a military authority figure) in the acclaimed psychological thriller The Guest.

Of course, Reddick’s versatility was always evident if you knew where to look. Though certainly best known for his drama roles, he popped up in plenty of comedies as well, like It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Key & Peele, and the celebrated dark comedy Corporate. During an appearance on The Eric Andre Show he even seemed to rattle the usually unflappable comedian — before doing an absolutely deranged, shirtless bit poking fun at LeVar Burton.

More recently, Reddick appeared in Regina King’s One Night in Miami…, the animated sitcom Paradise PD, and the Netflix series adaptation of Resident Evil. Always working, Reddick completed several more projects before his unexpected death, including the fourth John Wick movie, which arrives next week, March 24. He’s also set to appear posthumously in the the Disney+ series Percy Jackson and the Olympians (he plays Zeus), as well as the White Men Can’t Jump remake and a new biopic of Shirley Chisholm, the first Black congresswoman.

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[Frothy Afterbirth]

Ryuichi Sakamoto, Grammy and Oscar-winning Japanese composer, dies at 71
Yuri Kageyama, Mari YamaguchiThe Associated Press
Published 3:14 p.m. ET April 2, 2023


Domenico Stonellis,AP

TOKYO — Ryuichi Sakamoto, a world-renowned Japanese musician and actor who composed for Hollywood hits such as “The Last Emperor” and “The Revenant,” has died. He was 71.

Japan’s recording company Avex said in a statement Sunday that Sakamoto died on March 28 while undergoing treatment for cancer.

He was first diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014. In 2022, he revealed that he had terminal cancer, a year after he disclosed suffering from rectal cancer.

Sakamoto was a pioneer of electronic music of the late 1970s and founded the Yellow Magic Orchestra, also known as YMO, with Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi.

Takahashi died in January.

Despite his battle with cancer, Sakamoto released a full-length album “12” on his 71st birthday in January, stating that composing had a “small healing effect on my damaged body and soul,” according to the official statement released with the latest album.

He was a world-class musician, winning an Oscar and Grammy for the 1987 movie “The Last Emperor.”

Sakamoto was also an actor, starring in the BAFTA-winning 1983 film “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence.”

He was mostly based in New York in recent years, though he regularly visited Japan.

Born in Tokyo in 1952, Sakamoto started studying music at the age of 10 and was influenced by Debussy and the Beatles.

The statement from Avex said that despite his sickness, when he was feeling relatively well, he kept working on his music in his home studio. “To his final days, he lived with music,” it said.

The statement expressed gratitude to the doctors who had treated him in the U.S. and Japan, as well as to all his fans around the world. It referenced the words Sakamoto loved: “Ars longa, vita brevis,” which refers to the longevity of art, no matter how short human life might be.

Sakamoto also left his mark as a pacifist and environmental activist. He spoke out against nuclear power following the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear plant meltdowns caused by an earthquake and tsunami.

Wayne Swinny:Guitarist and founding member of Saliva, dies after 'spontaneous brain hemorrhage'

He took part in rallies and made speeches in Tokyo, and was among a group of respected Japanese artists, like the Nobel-winning novelist Kenzaburo Oe, who were not afraid to take an unpopular stand on political issues.

In a July 2012 rally, he got up on stage and read from notes on an iPhone, warning Japan not to risk people’s lives for electricity.

“Life is more important than money,” he said in Japanese, then added in English, “Keeping silent after Fukushima is barbaric.”

He also appeared in advertising for Nissan electric cars, although he acknowledged he got a bashing for being so commercial. At his home in New York, he gets electricity from a company that relies on renewables, he said.

“How we make electricity is going to diversify, with fossil fuel and nuclear power declining,” Sakamoto told The Associated Press in an interview in 2012. “People should be able to choose the kind of electricity they want to use.”

'The Wire,' 'John Wick' actor Lance Reddick dies at 60: Keanu Reeves, Halle Berry pay tribute

Funeral services have been held with family and close friends, the Avex statement said.

Sakamoto is survived by his daughter Miu Sakamoto, a musician. She posted on her Instagram the years her father had lived — from Jan. 17, 1952, to March 28, 2023 — and a photo of a worn out, half-broken piano. He was separated from his former wife, singer and composer Akiko Yano.

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AP

[Frothy Afterbirth]

Dame Edna creator Barry Humphries dies at age 89
April 22, 20238:16 AM ET
By The Associated Press


Joel Ryan/Joel Ryan/Invision/AP

CANBERRA, Australia — Tony Award-winning comedian Barry Humphries, internationally renowned for his garish stage persona Dame Edna Everage, a condescending and imperfectly-veiled snob whose evolving character has delighted audiences over seven decades, has died. He was 89.

His death was confirmed Saturday by the Sydney hospital where he spent several days with complications following hip surgery.

Humphries had lived in London for decades and returned to native Australia in December for Christmas.

He told The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper last month that his physiotherapy had been "agony" following his fall and hip replacement.

"It was the most ridiculous thing, like all domestic incidents are. I was reaching for a book, my foot got caught on a rug or something, and down I went," Humphries said of his fall.

Humphries has remained an active entertainer, touring Britain last year with his one-man show "The Man Behind the Mask."

The character of Dame Edna began as a dowdy Mrs. Norm Everage, who first took to the stage in Humphries' hometown of Melbourne in the mid-1950s. She reflected a postwar suburban inertia and cultural blandness that Humphries found stifling.

Edna is one of Humphries' several enduring characters. The next most famous is Sir Les Patterson, an ever-drunk, disheveled and lecherous Australian cultural attache.

Patterson reflected a perception of Australia as a Western cultural wasteland that drove Humphries along with many leading Australian intellectuals to London.

Humphries, a law school dropout, found major success as an actor, writer and entertainer in Britain in the 1970s, but the United States was an ambition that he found stubbornly elusive.

A high point in the United States was a Tony Award in 2000 for his Broadway show "Dame Edna: The Royal Tour."

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese paid tribute to the celebrated comedian.

"For 89 years, Barry Humphries entertained us through a galaxy of personas, from Dame Edna to Sandy Stone," Albanese tweeted, referring to the elderly Stone, one of Humphries most enduring characters. "But the brightest star in that galaxy was always Barry. A great wit, satirist, writer and an absolute one-of-kind, he was both gifted and a gift."

British comedian Ricky Gervais tweeted: "Farewell, Barry Humphries, you comedy genius."

Piers Morgan, British television personality, also paid tribute. "One of the funniest people I've ever met," Morgan tweeted.

"A wondrously intelligent, entertaining, daring, provocative, mischievous comedy Genius," Morgan added.

Married four times, he is survived by his wife Lizzie Spender and four children.

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[Frothy Afterbirth]

Ballroom dancer and longtime 'Dancing With The Stars' judge Len Goodman dies at 78
April 24, 202310:21 AM ET
By Rachel Treisman


Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images

Len Goodman, the beloved ballroom champion and longtime judge on Dancing with the Stars and its British counterpart Strictly Come Dancing, has died of bone cancer at age 78.

Goodman died Saturday peacefully and surrounded by family at a hospice in Kent, England, his agent Jackie Gill told the BBC. Goodman is survived by his wife, son and two grandchildren.

"Len Goodman was a wonderful, warm entertainer who was adored by millions ... and felt like a member of everyone's family," BBC Director-General Tim Davie said in a statement. "He will be hugely missed by the public and his many friends and family."

Goodman began his career as a professional ballroom dancer. He first started dancing at the age of 19, and, after winning the British Championships in the 1970s, retired in his late 20s to open a dance school.

He made his way to television — and international fame — several decades later. Goodman was the head judge on the BBC's "Strictly Come Dancing" from its launch in 2004 until 2016, and on DWTS from 2005 until 2022.

He spent several years judging the British and American shows simultaneously, "criss-crossing the Atlantic weekly," the Associated Press reports.

Goodman also won the Carl Alan Award (the "Oscars of the dance world") in recognition of outstanding contributions to dance and wrote several books, including his 2009 biography, Better Late Than Never: From Barrow Boy to Ballroom.

Goodman announced his retirement from DWTS last November, at the end of season 31 (he had served as a judge in all but two of them). He said he wanted to spend more time with his family and grandchildren back in Britain.

"Doing a live show you have to be at the top of your game and quick to react. And as one gets older, then things start to get more challenging," he told People magazine shortly afterward. "I haven't fallen asleep or started dribbling yet on the show, so I thought it's best to go before I start to do so!"

Goodman added that part of his retirement would include digging through old DVDs to relive favorite memories of seasons past.

"I have had a wonderful run of good fortune and cannot thank everyone enough who assisted me along the way," he said.
Goodman rose to fame in his later years

Goodman grew up in London's East End and spent his formative years working at his father's fruit and vegetable stand ("and being bathed at night in the same water they used to cook the beetroot," per his autobiography) and then as a welder in the London Docks.

A foot injury dashed Goodman's dreams of becoming a professional soccer player, but did introduce him into the world of ballroom dancing, after his doctor suggested he try it as part of his recovery.

Goodman danced professionally for about a decade, winning several championships with his partner-turned-wife Cherry Kingston (they divorced in 1987, and he married dance teacher Sue Barrett in 2012).

But he didn't become a household name until his 60s, when he started judging on Strictly Come Dancing and DWTS.

"I think he was astonished and delighted by what had happened to him at an age when dancers retire or have long retired," British broadcaster Esther Rantzen told PA Media. "I think it really pleased him that ballroom dancing had become the flavour of the month, the country had fallen in love with it again."

Rantzen said she believes Goodman was so successful in the U.S. in part because "he was quintessentially British: firm but fair, funny but a gentleman."

Goodman became known for his colorful feedback and distinct delivery, from catchphrases like "pickle me walnuts" to his signature score proclamations of "se-VEN" and, on rare occasions, "it's a 10 from Len."

Some of his most memorable lines, as compiled by the AP and BBC, include: praising a salsa-dancing couple as "like two sizzling sausages on a barbecue," telling a dancer they had "floated across that floor like butter on a crumpet," comparing one contestant to "a stork who'd been struck by lightning" and another to a chess master: "You plotted your way around that floor. That was a mango of a tango."

Costars remember Goodman as a gentleman

The British royal family and prime minister offered their condolences on Monday, the BBC reports.

A spokesman for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak described Goodman as "a great entertainer, a popular face on TV screens up and down the country." Buckingham Palace said that Camilla — a fan of the show who danced with Goodman at a 2019 event — was "saddened to hear the news."

Tributes are also pouring in from Goodman's colleagues and fans, who are remembering him for his wit, warmth and integrity.

DWTS judge Carrie Ann Inaba shared a montage of photos and videos of the two together on Instagram, calling him "A Dancer. A teacher. A refined gentleman. A wonderful storyteller. A special soul. A mentor. A family man. And ... A treasured friend."

"Saying goodbye at the end of last season broke my heart," she wrote. "But today's news has shattered it all over again. I can't believe that you're gone."

Bruno Tonioli, who has judged on both shows, called Goodman his "dear friend and partner for 19 years, the one the only ballroom legend."

He wrote on Instagram that he is heartbroken over the loss and will "treasure the memory of our incredible adventures and hundreds of shows we did together."

Strictly Come Dancing host Claudia Winkleman described him as "one of a kind, a brilliant and kind man. Full of twinkle, warmth and wit."

"Len Goody Goodman is what I always called him and 'It's a 10 from Len & seveeeeern' will live with me forever," Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood tweeted.

Kristina Rihanoff, a former professional dancer on Strictly Come Dancing, tweeted that Goodman will always be her favorite judge, calling him an "honest & witty person with integrity & respect for us — fellow dancers."

British television personality Robert Rinder described Goodman as "a rare gentleman: Kind, charming, exacting, encouraging & danced like a dream."

"RIP Len Goodman," he added. "It's a 10 from us all."

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[Frothy Afterbirth]

Harry Belafonte, singer, actor and activist, has died at age 96
April 25, 202310:18 AM ET
Elizabeth Blair


AFP/Getty Images

Singer, actor and human rights activist Harry Belafonte died Tuesday at age 96 of congestive heart failure. He broke racial barriers and balanced his activism with his artistry in ways that made people around the world listen. Belafonte, who was an EGOT holder for his Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards, died at his home in New York, his publicist announced.

Style, class and charisma: That was Harry Belafonte as a performer. In the 1950s, his recordings for RCA Victor, which included his iconic version of the Jamaican folk song "Day-O" (also known as "The Banana Boat Song") set off a craze for calypso music. With his good looks and his shirt unbuttoned to his chest, audiences — Black and white — adored Belafonte at a time when most of America was still segregated.

Belafonte was born in Harlem. His parents were from the Caribbean; his mother was Jamaican, and his father was from the island of Martinique. His mother, who was a cleaning lady, took him back to her native Jamaica, where he absorbed the island's culture.

The singer told NPR in 2011 that his recording of "The Banana Boat Song" was inspired by the vendors he heard singing in the streets.

"The song is a work song," he said. "It's about men who sweat all day long, and they are underpaid. They're begging for the tallyman to come and give them an honest count: 'Count the bananas that I've picked so I can be paid.' When people sing in delight and dance and love it, they don't really understand unless they study the song — that they're singing a work song that's a song of rebellion."

And that song of rebellion was a smash. The album Calypso was a bestseller, holding a spot at the top of Billboard's then newly created album charts for several weeks in 1956.

Years earlier, Harry Belafonte dropped out of high school and joined the Navy. After serving in World War II, he was working as a janitor's assistant when someone gave him tickets to a performance at the American Negro Theatre. He was riveted.

He started training there, alongside Sidney Poitier and Ruby Dee. He also started singing in clubs. Pretty soon, he had a recording contract.

In 1954, he won a Tony Award for a revue called "John Murray Anderson's Almanac: A Musical Harlequinade." He starred in movies and appeared on TV variety shows. In 1959, he was given a one-hour show on CBS. Called The Revlon Revue: Tonight With Belafonte, the program had dance numbers, folk songs, and both Black and white performers. The program won an Emmy Award — the first for an African American.

Revlon asked him for more shows. According to Belafonte, CBS stations in the South complained about its integrated cast. In interviews, he said he was asked to make it all-Black. He says he refused, and left the show.

Belafonte was one of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s most trusted friends. In 1963, he helped organize the Freedom March on Washington, where King delivered his "I Have A Dream" speech.

Clarence Jones, who helped draft that speech, told NPR's Fresh Air in 2011 that it was Belafonte who explained to them how to use the power of television. "He said," Jones recalled, "'You have to look at this as a media event, not just as a march.' And so, for example, Harry was responsible for assembling what was called the 'celebrity delegation,' a lot of celebrities from Hollywood and performing artists. And he was very firm that they should sit in a certain strategic part on the podium, because he knew that the television cameras would pan to them, would look to them. And so he wanted to be sure that they were strategically situated, so that in looking at the celebrities, they'd also see a picture of the march and the other performers."

When Dr. King was held in a Birmingham jail, Belafonte raised money to bail him out. Coretta Scott King wrote in her autobiography, "Whenever we got into trouble or when tragedy struck, Harry has always come to our aid, his generous heart wide-open."

His relationship with the King family later turned rocky after Belafonte filed a lawsuit against King's estate in 2013 over the fate of three documents that the civil rights leader had given him, and which Belafonte tried to auction off in order to fund nonprofit work; the family claimed that the singer and actor had "wrongfully acquired" the documents. Belafonte and the estate settled out of court the next year, with Belafonte retaining the materials.

Throughout his career, Belafonte received numerous honors for his humanitarian work and the arts. He also helped organize Nelson Mandela's first trip to the U.S. after he was released from prison.

He was also an outspoken critic of people in power, including President Barack Obama, whom he once chastised for not showing enough concern for the poor. He singled out African American artists Jay-Z and Beyonce, telling an interviewer they've "turned their back on social responsibility." Jay-Z responded on his track "Nickels And Dimes": "Mr. Day-O, major fail." The two men eventually made up.

Harry Belafonte was an activist into his 90s. He told NPR in 2011 that was something he learned from his mother.

"She was tenacious about her dignity not being crushed. And one day, she said to me — she was talking about coming back from a day when she couldn't find work. Fighting back tears, she said, 'Don't ever let injustice go by unchallenged.'"

As his good friend Sidney Poitier once put it, Belafonte was an "invaluable energy force" and "always a gutsy guy."

Harry Belafonte is survived by his wife, Pamela Frank; four children; two stepchildren; and eight grandchildren.

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[Frothy Afterbirth]

Jerry Springer, talk show host and former Cincinnati mayor, dies at 79
Updated April 27, 202311:37 AM ET
By Rose Friedman, Ciera Crawford


Richard Drew/AP 9

Jerry Springer, the talk show host and former mayor of Cincinnati, has died. His death was confirmed by his longtime publicist, Linda Shafran, who said he died Thursday at his home in suburban Chicago after a brief illness. He was 79 years old.

"Jerry's ability to connect with people was at the heart of his success in everything he tried whether that was politics, broadcasting or just joking with people on the street who wanted a photo or a word," said Jene Galvin, a lifelong friend and spokesman for the family. "He's irreplaceable and his loss hurts immensely, but memories of his intellect, heart and humor will live on."

Springer was best known for The Jerry Springer Show, which featured guests — real people from around the country — revealing shocking, often sordid details of their lives (cheating spouses, love triangles, incest). Fights were not uncommon on the show, with the audience often erupting into cheers of "Jerry, Jerry, Jerry!"

Born in London during World War II, Springer came to New York with his family as a child. In the 1970s, he was elected to Cincinnati's city council and served a term as mayor.

Springer initially did not think he had much chance of success. "I remember when we announced the show in 1991," he once told the Cincinnati Enquirer, "and I was thinking: 'Who are we kidding? We'll be lucky to last 13 weeks!" The show ran for 27 years.

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[TheJuice]

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Some of Jerry's greatest hits:
Kungfu Hillbilly
Dude who tried to marry a horse
Guy who tried to chop of his own dick with scissors
Woman who chopped off her own legs
Countless guys who were hooking up with strippers that happened to be their girlfriends sister.
Klanfrontation (brawl KKK vs Italian Mob)

[Vodkaman]

I always watched his show for the tits then they came out with Jerry Springer uncensored DVD just had to buy it.

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[Frothy Afterbirth]

Tina Turner, Magnetic Singer of Explosive Power, Is Dead at 83
Story by William Grimes • 1h ago


Phil Ramey/Associated Press


Tina Turner, the earthshaking soul singer whose rasping vocals, sexual magnetism and explosive energy made her an unforgettable live performer and one of the most successful recording artists of all time, died on Wednesday at her home in Küsnacht, Switzerland, near Zurich. She was 83.

Her publicist Bernard Doherty announced the death in a statement but did not provide the cause. She had a stroke in recent years and was known to be struggling with a kidney disease and other illnesses.

Ms. Turner embarked on her half-century career in the late 1950s, while still attending high school in East St. Louis, Ill., when she began singing with Ike Turner and his band, the Kings of Rhythm. At first she was only an occasional performer, but she soon became the group’s star attraction — and Mr. Turner’s wife. With her potent, bluesy voice and her frenetic dancing style, she made an instant impression.

Their ensemble, soon renamed the Ike and Tina Turner Revue, became one of the premier touring soul acts in Black venues on the so-called chitlin’ circuit. After the Rolling Stones invited the group to open for them, first on a British tour in 1966 and then on an American tour in 1969, white listeners in both countries began paying attention.

Ms. Turner, who insisted on adding rock songs by the Beatles and the Stones to her repertoire, reached an enormous new audience, giving the Ike and Tina Turner Revue its first Top 10 hit with her version of the Creedence Clearwater Revival song “Proud Mary” in 1971 and a Grammy Award for best R&B vocal performance by a group.

“In the context of today’s show business, Tina Turner must be the most sensational professional onstage,” Ralph J. Gleason, the influential jazz and pop critic for The San Francisco Chronicle, wrote in a review of a Rolling Stones concert in Oakland in November 1969. “She comes on like a hurricane. She dances and twists and shakes and sings and the impact is instant and total.”

But if the Ike and Tina Turner Revue was a success, the Ike and Tina Turner marriage was not. Mr. Turner was abusive. After she escaped the marriage in her 30s, her career faltered. But her solo album “Private Dancer,” released in 1984, returned her to the spotlight — and lifted her into the pop stratosphere.

Working with younger songwriters, and backed by a smooth, synthesized sound that provided a lustrous wrapping for her raw, urgent vocals, she delivered three mammoth hits: the title song, written by Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits; “Better Be Good to Me”; and “What’s Love Got to Do With It.”

Referring to its “innovative fusion of old-fashioned soul singing and new wave synth-pop,” Stephen Holden, in a review for The New York Times, called the album “a landmark not only in the career of the 45-year-old singer, who has been recording since the late 1950s, but in the evolution of pop-soul music itself.”

At the 1985 Grammy Awards, “What’s Love Got to Do With It” won three awards, for record of the year, song of the year and best female pop vocal performance, and “Better Be Good To Me” won for best female rock vocal performance.

The album went on to sell five million copies and ignite a touring career that established Ms. Turner as a worldwide phenomenon. In 1988 she appeared before about 180,000 people at the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, breaking a record for the largest paying audience for a solo artist.After her “Twenty Four Seven” tour in 2000 sold more than $100 million in tickets, Guinness World Records announced that she had sold more concert tickets than any other solo performer in history.

‘Well-to-Do Farmers’

Tina Turner was born Anna Mae Bullock on Nov. 26, 1939, in Brownsville, Tenn., northeast of Memphis, and spent her earliest years on the Poindexter farm in Nutbush, an unincorporated area nearby, where she sang in the choir of the Spring Hill Baptist Church.

Her father, Floyd, known by his middle name, Richard, worked as the farm’s overseer — “We were well-to-do farmers,” Ms. Turner told Rolling Stone in 1986 — and had a difficult relationship with his wife, Zelma (Currie) Bullock.

Her parents left Anna and her older sister, Alline, with relatives when they went to work at a military installation in Knoxville during World War II. The family reunited after the war, but Zelma left her husband a few years later and Anna lived with her grandmother in Brownsville.

After rejoining her mother in St. Louis, she attended Sumner High School there. She and Alline began frequenting the Manhattan Club in East St. Louis to hear Ike Turner and the Kings of Rhythm.

“I wanted to get up there and sing sooooo bad,” Ms. Turner recalled in “I, Tina: My Life Story” (1986), written with Kurt Loder. “But that took an entire year.”

One night, during one of the band’s breaks, the drummer, Eugene Washington, handed her the microphone and she began singing the B.B. King song “You Know I Love You,” which Mr. Turner had produced. “When Ike heard me, he said, ‘My God!’” she told People magazine in 1981. “He couldn’t believe that voice coming out of this frail little body.”

In his book “Takin’ Back My Name: The Confessions of Ike Turner” (1999), written with Nigel Cawthorne, Mr. Turner wrote: “I’d be writing songs with Little Richard in mind, but I didn’t have no Little Richard to sing them, so Tina was my Little Richard. Listen closely to Tina and who do you hear? Little Richard singing in the female voice.”

Mr. Turner used her as a backup singer, billed as Little Ann, on his 1958 record “Boxtop.” When Art Lassiter, the group’s lead singer, failed to show up for the recording of “A Fool in Love,” she stepped in. The record was a hit, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard R&B chart and No. 27 on the pop chart.

Mr. Turner gave his protégée — who by now was also his romantic partner — a new name, Tina, inspired by the television character Sheena, Queen of the Jungle. And he renamed the group the Ike and Tina Turner Revue.

It was a dynamic, disciplined ensemble second only to the James Brown Revue, but until “Proud Mary,” it never achieved significant crossover success. Up to that point it had only one single in the pop Top 20 in the United States, “It’s Gonna Work Out Fine” in 1961. The group did generate several hits on the R&B charts, notably “I Idolize You,” “It’s Gonna Work Out Fine” and “Tra La La La La,” but most of its income came from a relentless touring schedule.

Ms. Turner’s relationship with Mr. Turner, whom she married in 1962 on a quick trip to Tijuana, Mexico, was turbulent. He was dictatorial, violent at times and, in the 1970s, hopelessly addicted to cocaine. She left him in 1976, with 36 cents and a Mobil gasoline card in her pocket, and divorced him two years later. He died of a cocaine overdose in 2007.

“When I left, I was living a life of death,” she told People in 1981. “I didn’t exist. I didn’t fear him killing me when I left, because I was already dead. When I walked out, I didn’t look back.”

Her marriage provided much of the material for the 1993 film “What’s Love Got to Do With It,” with Angela Basset and Laurence Fishburne in the lead roles. Ms. Turner rerecorded some of her hits, and a new song, “I Don’t Wanna Fight,” for the film, but otherwise declined to participate. “Why would I want to see Ike Turner beat me up again?” she said at the time.

A Second Career

In 1966, the record producer Phil Spector, after hearing the Ike and Tina Turner Revue at the Galaxy Club in Los Angeles, offered $20,000 to produce their next song, on condition that Mr. Turner stay away from the studio. The result, “River Deep, Mountain High,” is often regarded as the high-water mark of Mr. Spector’s patented “wall of sound.” It failed in the United States, barely reaching the Top 100, but it was a big hit in Britain, where it marked the beginning of a second career for Ms. Turner.

“I loved that song,” she wrote in her 1986 memoir. “Because for the first time in my life, it wasn’t just R&B — it had structure, it had a melody.” She added: “I was a singer, and I knew I could do other things; I just never got the opportunity. ‘River Deep’ showed people what I had in me.”

After she walked out on her marriage, encumbered with debt, Ms. Turner struggled to build a solo career, appearing in ill-conceived cabaret acts, before signing with Roger Davies, the manager of Olivia Newton-John, in 1979. Guided by Mr. Davies, she returned to the gritty, hard-rocking style that had made her a crossover star and would propel her through the coming decades as one of the most durable performers on the concert stage.

Her fellow artists took notice. In 1982, Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh, of the band and production company known as the British Electric Foundation, recruited her to record the Temptations’ 1970 hit “Ball of Confusion” for an album of soul and rock covers backed by synthesizers. Its success led to a second collaboration, a remake of Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together.” A surprise hit in the United States and Britain, it was the turning point that led to “Private Dancer.”

s. Turner followed the runaway success of “Private Dancer” with two more hit albums: “Break Every Rule” (1986) and “Foreign Affair” (1989), which contained the hit single “The Best.”

She made an impact onscreen as well. Ten years after she solidified her persona as a rock ’n’ roller with a riveting performance as the Acid Queen in Ken Russell’s film version of “Tommy,” the Who’s rock opera, she drew praise for her performance as Aunty Entity, the iron-fisted ruler of postapocalyptic Bartertown, in “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome” in 1985.

That film also provided her with two more hit singles, “We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)” and “One of the Living,” which was named the best female rock vocal performance at the Grammys in 1986.

In 1991 she and Mr. Turner, in prison at the time for cocaine possession, were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. (She was inducted again as a solo artist in 2021). She received a Kennedy Center Honor in 2005 and a Grammy lifetime achievement award in 2018.

In 1985 she began a relationship with the German music executive Erwin Bach, whom she married in 2013 after moving with him to Küsnacht and becoming a Swiss citizen. He survives her. Ron, her only child with Mr. Turner, died of colon cancer complications in 2022. Another son, Craig, from her relationship with Raymond Hill, the saxophone player for the Kings of Rhythm, died by suicide in 2018. Her sister, Alline Bullock, died in 2010. Ms. Turner raised two children of Mr. Turner’s, Ike Jr. and Michael

Complete information on her survivors was not immediately available.

After releasing the album “Twenty Four Seven” in 1999, at 60 and touring to promote it, Ms. Turner announced her retirement. It did not last. In 2008, after performing with Beyoncé at the Grammy Awards, she embarked on an international tour marking her 50th year in the music business.

She announced her retirement again a few years later, but she remained active in other ways. In 2018, she published her second memoir, “My Love Story.”

She and Mr. Bach were executive producers of “Tina: The Tina Turner Musical,” a stage show based on her life and incorporating many of her hits, which opened in London in 2018 and in Hamburg and on Broadway in 2019; Ms. Turner worked with the show’s choreographer and shared memories with its writers.

While reviews were mixed, the musical earned 12 Tony Award nominations; Adrienne Warren, who starred as Ms. Turner, won the award for best actress in a leading role. “In a performance that is part possession, part workout and part wig,” Jesse Green wrote in a review for The Times, “Adrienne Warren rocks the rafters and dissolves your doubts about anyone daring to step into the diva’s high heels.”

The show closed after four months because of the pandemic lockdown, reopening in October 2021 before closing again a year later and embarking on a U.S. tour.

Through it all, Ms. Turner’s music endured.

“My music doesn’t sound dated; it’s still standing strong,” she told The Daily Mail in 2008. “Like me.”

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IMO the greatest female entertainer with the most stage presence.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2T5_seDNZE

[Frothy Afterbirth]

The Iron Sheik, pro wrestling legend and Hall of Famer, dies at 81
Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterJun 7, 2023, 12:15 PM ET



The Iron Sheik, a standout Greco-Roman wrestler from Iran who gained global fame in professional wrestling with his 1980s rivalries against the likes of Hulk Hogan, died Wednesday at the age of 81, according to his official Twitter account.

Sheik, whose real name was Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri, was a former WWF World Heavyweight champion and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005. As a hated heel, he had legendary battles in the 1980s against Hogan, Bob Backlund and Sgt. Slaughter. Vaziri beat Backlund for the WWF title in December 1983, and, one month later, Hogan defeated Vaziri in front of more than 20,000 at New York's Madison Square Garden to win the belt for the first time. The match helped catapult Hulkamania into a phenomenon, leading into the first WrestleMania one year later.


"With his larger than life persona, incredible charisma, and unparalleled in-ring skills, he captivated audiences around the globe," said the statement from his Twitter account. "He was a trailblazer, breaking barriers and paving the way for a diverse range of wrestlers who followed in his footsteps."

Before starting in professional wrestling, Vaziri was a bodyguard for the last Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. He was a Greco-Roman wrestler in his home country, nearly making the 1968 Olympic team. Vaziri then moved to the United States, where he won an AAU Greco-Roman wrestling championship at 180.5 pounds and became an assistant coach for the U.S. wrestling team, including its Olympic team in 1972.

Around that time, he broke into professional wrestling in Minnesota with AWA promoter Verne Gagne under coach and catch wrestling legend Billy Robinson. Vaziri was given a character based on his Iranian heritage (inspired by the outset of the Iranian Revolution) and he leaned into it, shaving his head, growing a handlebar mustache and wearing shoes curled at the toes, which went on to be an iconic look. He joined the WWF for the first time in 1979, winning Madison Square Garden's first battle royal match and having matches with the likes of Bruno Sammartino and Chief Jay Strongbow.

After dropping the WWF title to Hogan in 1984, Vaziri had a memorable host of matches with Sgt. Slaughter, a U.S. military-based character. The feud played off the real-life tensions between the U.S. and Vaziri's Iranian homeland. Vaziri and Slaughter had a violent, bloody "boot camp" match in June 1984 at Madison Square Garden that was highly acclaimed and still holds up today.

In recent years, Vaziri developed a cult fan following on Twitter, even from people who never watched his legendary battles inside the squared circle.

Vaziri is survived by his wife, Caryl, to whom he was married for 47 years; his children, Tanya and Nikki; and his son-in-law, Eddie, according to his Twitter account.

"Beyond the glitz and glamour of the squared circle, The Iron Sheik was a man of immense passion and dedication," the Twitter statement read. "He embodied resilience. He overcame countless challenges in his life, both inside and outside the wrestling ring. His journey from a small village in Iran to becoming one of the most recognized figures in the world of wrestling is a testament to his unwavering dedication."



Wrestling world pays tribute to WWE Hall of Famer The Iron Sheik
ESPN staff Jun 7, 2023, 01:39 PM ET



The pro wrestling world has lost one of its iconic characters. The Iron Sheik, a staple of WWE and WCW from 1979-2010, died on Wednesday. He was 81.

Born Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri in Iran in 1942, Sheik went on to become a WWE Hall of Famer. He was a legendary wrestling heel and had notable rivalries with Sgt. Slaughter and Hulk Hogan. Sheik won the WWF Heavyweight Championship in 1983 and became the only Iranian champion in WWE history.

The Iron Sheik also purportedly originated the word "jabroni" in wrestling parlance that was later made famous by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

With news of his death, the wrestling world paid tribute to Sheik:

WWE is saddened to learn that Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri, known the world over as WWE Hall of Famer The Iron Sheik, passed away on Wednesday, June 7, at age 81.

WWE extends its condolences to The Iron Sheik's family, friends and fans.
— WWE (@WWE) June 7, 2023

Rest in Power, Uncle Sheiky
Thank you for paving the way
Love, light and strength to Caryl & the ohana x
— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) June 7, 2023

My Dear Friend Khosrow Vaziri!!! We Started Wrestling Together In 1972. Seems Like So Long Ago! We Crossed Paths So Many Times Over The Years & You Were Always So Entertaining. The Greatest Line You Ever Said To Me In 1972: "If I Had Your Hair, I Would Be With Elizabeth Taylor!"...
— Ric Flair® (@RicFlairNatrBoy) June 7, 2023

REMEMBERING THE IRON SHEIK

The wrestling world lost a true legend today, with the passing of Khosrow Vaziri, better known to fans across the globe as The Iron Sheik. Although I never got to know The Sheik well, I was fortunate to have been on hand for two of his most iconic...
— Mick Foley (@foleyispod) June 7, 2023

RIP to my old friend The Iron Sheik.

A true icon and someone who left a mark on wrestling that can never be erased. Another great one gone.
— JakeSnakeDDT (@JakeSnakeDDT) June 7, 2023

The legend. An all-time great performer and WWE Hall of Famer who brought his character to life and transcended our business.

My condolences to The Iron Sheik's family, friends and fans.
— Triple H (@TripleH) June 7, 2023

What a legend. Condolences to his friends and family. Any time I get to see or use Persian Meels for a workout, I think of the Iron Sheik. He was a great performer! Wrestlers should continue to study his body of work.
— Drew Gulak (@DrewGulak) June 7, 2023

AEW joins the wrestling world in mourning the passing of the Iron Sheik. Our thoughts are with his family, his friends and his fans.
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) June 7, 2023

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He was a man of truly incredible words using the most diverse verbiage.