The RIP Thread

[Frothy Afterbirth]

Jason David Frank dead: Power Rangers co-stars pay tribute to late Green Ranger
Tina Campbell
Mon, November 21, 2022 at 4:06 AM


Daniel Zuchnik/Getty Images for Saban Brands

The cast of the Power Rangers has paid tribute to Jason David Frank, who has died at the age of 49.

The actor and mixed-martial artist originally shot to fame in the 1990s, in hit children’s series Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers, as Tommy Oliver aka The Green Ranger. He later went on to portray the White, Red, and Black Ranger in future iterations of the franchise.

Amy Jo Johnson, who played Kimberly Hart, the Pink Ranger and Frank’s onscreen love interest, was among the first to share a tribute.

Taking to Instagram, Johnson, 52, uploaded a picture of her and Frank together.

She wrote alongside it: “Jase, you were beautiful and truly unique. My life just won’t be the same without your frenetic, hilarious, caring, driven and creative ball of energy. I will always love you, dear friend. Please Rest now In Peace…”

Walter Jones, who played Zack Taylor, the Black Ranger, also took to social media to share his memories of the late star.

“Can’t believe it…. RIP Jason David Frank,” he wrote. “My heart is sad to have lost another member of our special family.”

His death comes 21 years after that of Thuy Trang, who played original Yellow Ranger Trini Kwan. She died in 2001 from injuries sustained in a car accident. She was 27.

“Once a ranger, always a ranger” thoughts and prayers…” penned Austin St John, aka Jason Lee Scott, the Red Ranger, adding the hashtags “RIP” and “prayers”.

Karan Ashley, who played Aisha Campbell, the second Yellow Power Ranger, shared a snap from a convention, penning: “Jay you finally got me to shut up. Can you imagine me, of all people, at a loss for words. LOL… I know it’s unheard of. Calm down and Wipe that mischievous smirk off your face. It won’t last long.

‘All I can muster up is I love you. That just doesn’t seem to be a big enough phrase. I promise when I get my act together, I will have a long and mushy speech that’s all about you. You’ll love it!

“Until then, I love you, I’m so very sad and I’m anxiously awaiting the day we meet again.”


Steve Cardenas, who played Rocky DeSantos, the second Red Power Ranger, meanwhile hailed Frank as his “brother both on screen and off”.

Sharing a montage of photos of himself and Frank, he wrote: “Words simply cannot describe the shock and sadness I’m feeling in this moment.

“Jason David Frank is and forever will be an icon. He dedicated his life to the Power Rangers brand and most importantly his fans. Jason was the first person to welcome me on set in 1994 and later introduced me to social media, comic cons and event promoters all around the world so that I could reconnect with all of you as we did back then. I will be forever grateful.

“Everywhere he went he gave his fans an experience that will last a life time. He elevated the Mighty Morphin franchise to a pop culture phenomenon. JDF was a good soul and my brother both on screen and off. The Ranger Nation lost a real hero. We’re all equally crushed by this devastating news. My heart goes out to Tammie, his family, our family and all of you. I shall forever be grateful to you , J. I hope you finally have the peace you longed for in the end. RIPJDF #legend.”

A representative confirmed Frank’s passing in Texas on Sunday, to TMZ, saying: “Please respect the privacy of his family and friends during this horrible time as we come to terms with the loss of such a wonderful human being.

“He loved his family, friends and fans very much. He will truly be missed.”

No cause of death has been officially confirmed yet.

Frank was trained in disciplines including taekwondo, muay Thai, judo, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and fought professionally from 2008 to 2010.

He is survived by second wife Tammie Frank and their daughter, Jenna. He also has three children from a previous marriage.

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[Frothy Afterbirth]

Irene Cara, Oscar-winning singer of 'Fame' and 'Flashdance' title tracks, dies at 63
“She was a beautifully gifted soul whose legacy will live forever through her music and films,” her publicist, Judith A. Moose, said in a statement.



Nov. 26, 2022, 5:22 AM PST
By Henry Austin

Irene Cara, the Oscar-winning musician best known for singing the title tracks to the hit 1980s movies “Fame” and “Flashdance” has died, her publicist said Saturday.**

She was 63.*

“It is with profound sadness that on behalf of her family I announce the passing of Irene Cara,” Judith A. Moose said in a statement posted to Cara’s website and Twitter feed.

“The Academy Award winning actress, singer, songwriter and producer passed away in her Florida home. Her cause of death is currently unknown and will be released when information is available."

Moose said*that releasing the news was “absolutely the worst part of being a publicist,” adding, “I can’t believe I’ve had to write this, let alone release the news.

“She was a beautifully gifted soul whose legacy will live forever through her music and films,” Moose said.

Cara received a Golden Globe nomination for her performance as Coco Hernandez in the 1980 musical “Fame.” The movie's popularity spawned a TV show of the same name, which debuted on NBC in early 1982.

She later sang and co-wrote “Flashdance… What A Feeling” for the soundtrack of the 1983 blockbuster “Flashdance,” which starred Jennifer Beals as an aspiring dancer.

That year's Oscars host, Johnny Carson, turned over the podium to presenters Beals and Matthew Broderick who named the winner.

“There aren’t enough words to express my love and my gratitude,” Cara told the Oscars audience, thanking her parents, collaborators and teachers.

“And last but not least, a very special gentlemen who I guess started it all for me many years ago. To ["Fame" director] Alan Parker, wherever you may be tonight, I thank him.”

Cara was back on the Oscars stage in 1986, performing "Here's to the Losers," in a moving tribute to the greatest movies that didn't win best picture.

Cara won two Grammy awards for the song, best album of original score written for a motion picture or a television special, which she shared with other writers, and for best female pop vocal performance.*

She later appeared in films such as “D.C. Cab” and “City Heat” and various television shows. She also performed in live theater and musicals.

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[Frothy Afterbirth]

Kirstie Alley, ‘Cheers’ and ‘Veronica’s Closet’ star, dead at 71
By Dan Heching, Amy Simonson and Taylor Romine, CNN
Updated 7:59 AM EST, Tue December 6, 2022



Actress Kirstie Alley, star of the big and small screens known for her Emmy-winning role on “Cheers” and films like “Look Who’s Talking,” has died after a brief battle with cancer, her children True and Lillie Parker announced on her social media.

She was 71.

“We are sad to inform you that our incredible, fierce and loving mother has passed away after a battle with cancer, only recently discovered,” the statement read.

“She was surrounded by her closest family and fought with great strength, leaving us with a certainty of her never-ending joy of living and whatever adventures lie ahead,” the family’s statement continued. “As iconic as she was on screen, she was an even more amazing mother and grandmother.”

“Our mother’s zest and passion for life, her children, grandchildren and her many animals, not to mention her eternal joy of creating, were unparalleled and leave us inspired to live life to the fullest just as she did,” the statement said

Donovan Daughtry, a representative for Alley, also confirmed to CNN via email that the actress has died.

Career beginnings

A two-time Primetime Emmy Award winner, Alley was born in Wichita, Kansas in 1951.

After a standout role in 1982’s “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan,” she played roles in movies like 1984’s “Blind Date” and 1987’s “Summer School” opposite Mark Harmon.

That same year, Alley would follow Shelley Long to play the lead opposite Ted Danson in the latter part of TV classic sitcom “Cheers,” which premiered in 1982. Alley first appeared in 1987, playing strong and independent bar manager Rebecca Howe, staying on the acclaimed show until it ended in 1993.

After winning the Emmy for outstanding lead actress in a comedy series in 1991 for “Cheers” and another for lead actress in a miniseries or special for 1994’s “David’s Mother,” she again found TV success in the late ’90s with series “Veronica’s Closet,” which scored her another Emmy nod.

Additionally, Alley starred in a number of memorable films, like the “Look Who’s Talking” movies, 1990’s “Madhouse” and 1999’s “Drop Dead Gorgeous” with Ellen Barkin.

In 2005, Alley co-wrote and starred in the Showtime comedy “Fat Actress” before making a foray into reality TV.

She appeared in “Kirstie Alley’s Big Life” in 2010, was a contestant on Season 12 of ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” the next year and placed second on Season 22 of the British version of “Celebrity Big Brother” in 2018. In 2022, she competed in Season 7 of Fox’s “The Masked Singer.”

Though she had an impressive body of work, the later part of her career was marked by Alley’s penchant for stirring controversy, especially through social media.

In a 2007 interview, Alley said she was proud of her no holds barred ways.

“I’ve always felt like if someone asks me something, they want the real answer,” Alley told Good Housekeeping. “I think there’s also something about being from Kansas. Usually people think I’m from New York. The only similarity between New Yorkers and Midwesterners is that what you see is what you get.”

‘Her charisma was always iconic’

John Travolta, who costarred with Alley in 1989’s hit “Look Who’s Talking” as well as two sequels, wrote on Instagram on Monday, “Kirstie was one of the most special relationships I’ve ever had. I love you Kirstie. I know we will see each other again.”

Jamie Lee Curtis – who worked with Alley in 2016 on episodes of TV’s “Scream Queens” – shared a statement on Facebook to pay tribute to the late actress, writing, “She was a great comic foil in @tvscreamqueens and a beautiful mama bear in her very real life. She helped me buy onesies for my family that year for Christmas. We agreed to disagree about some things but had a mutual respect and connection. Sad news.”

Josh Gad tweeted, “My heart breaks for Kirstie and her family. Whether it was her brilliance in ‘Cheers; or her magnetic performance in the ‘Look Who’s Talking’ franchise, her smile was always infectious, her laugh was always contagious and her charisma was always iconic. RIP.”

Alley’s “Cheers” co-star Ted Danson told Deadline he had just watched Alley in an episode of the show while on a plane before learning of her death.

“I was on a plane today and did something I rarely do. I watched an old episode of ‘Cheers,’” Danson told the outlet. “It was the episode where Tom Berenger proposes to Kirstie, who keeps saying no, even though she desperately wants to say yes. Kirstie was truly brilliant in it. Her ability to play a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown was both moving and hysterically funny.”

“She made me laugh 30 years ago when she shot that scene, and she made me laugh today just as hard. As I got off the plane, I heard that Kirstie had died. I am so sad and so grateful for all the times she made me laugh,” Danson added. “I send my love to her children. As they well know, their mother had a heart of gold. I will miss her.”

Another “Cheers” star, Rhea Perlman, told CNN in a statement that she and Alley became friends instantly on the set of “Cheers.”

“Kirstie was a unique and wonderful person and friend. Her joy of being was boundless,” Perlman said. “We became friends almost instantly when she joined the cast of Cheers. She loved kids and my kids loved her too. We had sleepovers at her house, with treasure hunts that she created. She had massive Halloween and Easter parties and invited the entire crew of the show and their families. She wanted everyone to feel included. She loved her children deeply. I’ve never met anyone remotely like her. I feel so thankful to have known her. I’m going to miss her very, very much.”

“Baywatch” actor Parker Stevenson, who was married to Alley from 1983 to 1997 and is the father of her two children, also paid tribute to her on social media. In an Instagram post, confirmed to be Stevenson’s by a representative for the actor, he wrote: “Kirstie, I am so grateful for our years together, and for the two incredibly beautiful children and now grandchildren that we have. You will be missed.”

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[Frothy Afterbirth]

Brazilian soccer legend Pelé dies at 82
By Camilo Rocha, George Ramsay, Tara John, Flora Charner and Rodrigo Pedroso, CNN
Updated 7:29 PM EST, Thu December 29, 2022


Alessaandrp Sabatitini/Getty Images

Sao Paulo, Brazil CNN — Pelé, the Brazilian soccer legend who won three World Cups and became the sport’s first global icon, has died at the age of 82.

“Everything that we are, is thanks to you,” his daughter Kely Nascimento wrote in a post on Instagram, under an image of family members holding Pele’s hands. “We love you infinitely. Rest in peace.”

Pelé was admitted to a hospital in São Paulo in late November for a respiratory infection and for complications related to colon cancer. Last week, the hospital said his health had worsened as his cancer progressed. He died on Thursday from multiple organ failure due to the progression of colon cancer, according to a statement from Albert Einstein Hospital.

For more than 60 years, the name Pelé has been synonymous with soccer. He played in four World Cups and is the only player in history to win three, but his legacy stretched far beyond his trophy haul and remarkable goal-scoring record.

“I was born to play football, just like Beethoven was born to write music and Michelangelo was born to paint,” Pelé famously said.

Tributes have been pouring in for the soccer legend. Pelé’s first club, Santos FC, responded to the news on Twitter with the words “eternal” shared next to an image of a crown.

Brazilian footballer Neymar said Pelé “changed everything.” In a post on Instagram, he wrote: “He turned football into art, into entertainment. He gave a voice to the poor, to black people and especially: He gave visibility to Brazil. Football and Brazil have raised their status thanks to the King!” he added.

Portuguese star forward Cristiano Ronaldo sent his condolences to Brazil in a post on Instagram, saying “a mere “goodbye” to the eternal King Pelé will never be enough to express the pain that currently engulfs the entire football world.”

Kylian Mbappé of Paris Saint-Germain said of Pelé’s death: “The king of football has left us but his legacy will never be forgotten.”

Former English soccer player Geoff Hurst wrote on Twitter of his memories of Pelé, calling the late star “without doubt the best footballer I ever played against (with Bobby Moore being the best footballer I ever played alongside). For me Pele remains the greatest of all time and I was proud to be on the the pitch with him. RIP Pele and thank you.”

Brazil’s incoming President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took to Twitter to pay his respects to Pelé, saying “few Brazilians took the name of our country as far as he did.”

“As different from Portuguese as the language was, foreigners from the four corners of the planet soon found a way to pronounce the magic word: ‘Pelé,’” Lula added.

A public wake will be held for Pelé on Monday at the Urbano Caldeira stadium, popularly known as Vila Belmiro and home to Santos football club, in Brazil’s São Paulo state, according to a Thursday statement from Santos FC.

At dawn Monday, Pele’s body will be moved from the Albert Einstein Hospital to the stadium. The soccer legend’s coffin will be placed in the center of the pitch.

The wake at Vila Belmiro will continue until Tuesday 10 a.m. local time (8 a.m. ET), after which a funeral procession will carry Pelé’s coffin through the streets of the city of Santos, including the street where Pelé’s 100-year-old mother, Celeste Arantes, lives.

The cortege will continue to Pelé’s final resting place, the Memorial Necrópole Ecumênica cemetery in Santos, where a private funeral, reserved for family members, will be held.

Dazzling ability

Pelé was born Edson Arantes do Nascimento in Três Corações – an inland city roughly 155 miles northwest of Rio de Janeiro – in 1940, before his family moved to the city of Bauru in São Paulo.

The genesis of the nickname Pelé are unclear, even to the footballer. He once wrote in the British newspaper The Guardian that it likely started with school classmates teasing him for mangling the nickname of another player, Bilé. Whatever the origin, the moniker stuck.

As a child, his first taste of soccer involved playing barefoot with socks and rags rolled up into a ball – a humble beginning that would grow into a long and fruitful career.

But when he first took up the game, his ambitions were modest.

“My dad was a good football player, he scored a lot of goals,” Pelé told CNN in 2015. “His name was Dondinho; I wanted to be like him.

“He was famous in Brazil, in Minas Gerais. He was my role model. I always wanted to be like him, but what happened, to this day, only God can explain.”

As a teenager, Pelé left home and began training with Santos, scoring his first goal for the club side before his 16th birthday. He would go on to score 619 times over 638 appearances for the club, but it is his feats in the iconic yellow jersey of Brazil for which he is best remembered.

The world first got a glimpse of Pelé’s dazzling ability in 1958, when he made his World Cup debut aged 17. He scored Brazil’s only goal in the country’s quarterfinal victory against Wales, then netted a hat-trick in the semifinal against France and two in the final against host Sweden.

“When Pelé scored the fifth goal in that final, I have to be honest and say I felt like applauding,” said Sweden’s Sigvard Parling.

For Pelé, the standout memory from the tournament was putting his country on the sporting map.

“When we won the World Cup, everybody knew about Brazil,” he told CNN’s Don Riddell in 2016. “I think this was the most important thing I gave to my country because we were well known after that World Cup.”

Another World Cup victory came in 1962, although an injury sidelined Pelé for the tournament’s later stages. Further injuries hampered his next campaign in 1966 as Brazil exited the competition after the group stage, but redemption came in 1970.

“Pelé was saying that we were going to win, and if Pelé was saying that, then we were going to win the World Cup,” Brazil’s co-captain Carlos Alberto said about the tournament.

That team – featuring the likes of Jairzinho, Gerson, Tostão, Rivellino, and, of course, Pelé – is regarded as one of the greatest ever assembled.
soccer-gods-illustration

In the final – a 4-1 victory against Italy – Brazil scored arguably the most famous World Cup goal of all time, a sweeping, length-of-the-pitch move involving nine of the team’s 10 outfield players.

It ended with Pelé teeing up Alberto, who drilled the ball into the bottom corner of the net. Brazil’s mantra of jogo bonito (the beautiful game) has never been better encapsulated.

Pelé, who had considered retiring before the 1970 World Cup, scored a goal of his own in the final and a total of four over the course of the tournament.

“Before the match, I told myself that Pelé was just flesh and bones like the rest of us,” Italian defender Tarcisio Burgnich said after his side’s defeat in the final. “Later, I realized I’d been wrong.”

The tournament capped Pelé’s World Cup career but not his time in the spotlight. In 1975, he signed a $1.67-million-a-year contract in the United States with the New York Cosmos.

One of the greatest players

With his larger-than-life personality and extraordinary dribbling skills – a trademark of his game – Pele’s helped the Cosmos win the North American Soccer League championship in 1977 before officially retiring from football.

The league, which attracted further big names like Giorgio Chinaglia and Franz Beckenbauer, wouldn’t last, ultimately folding in 1984. But around the world, Pelé’s influence endured.

He remained in the public eye through endorsement deals and as an outspoken political voice who championed the poor in Brazil. He served as a Goodwill UNICEF ambassador for many years, promoting peace and support for vulnerable children.

Health problems persisted for much of Pelé’s later life. He got around with the support of a walker – an item he was filmed shoving around with disdain in a documentary released last year – and in September 2021, he underwent surgery to remove a tumor from his right colon.

Pelé’s cancer treatment continued over the past year. He was hospitalized in Sao Paulo in November as the 2022 World Cup was being played in Qatar, prompting an outpouring of support from the global soccer community and beyond.

Debate will inevitably rage about whether Pelé is the greatest player of all time – whether it is possible to compare Pelé’s achievements to those of Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi, who have rewritten soccer’s record books over the past 15 years, or to Diego Maradona, the late Argentinian star who captivated the footballing world in the 1980s and 90s.

In 2000, FIFA jointly named Maradona and Pelé as Player of the Century, but to some, the outright winner of the award should have been obvious.

“This debate about the player of the century is absurd,” said Zico, who represented Brazil in the decade after Pelé’s retirement. “There’s only one possible answer: Pelé. He’s the greatest player of all time, and by some distance, I might add.”

Exactly how many goals Pelé scored during his career is unclear, and his Guinness World Records tally has come under scrutiny with many scored in unofficial matches.

In March 2021, he congratulated Portugal’s Ronaldo for passing his “record of goals in official matches” – 767.

There is little doubt, however, that Pelé was, and always will be, football’s first global superstar.

“If I pass away one day, I am happy because I tried to do my best,” he told The Talks online magazine. “My sport allowed me to do so much because it’s the biggest sport in the world.”

CNN’s Jonny Hallam, Jennifer Deaton and Maija Ehlinger contributed to this report.

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[Frothy Afterbirth]

Barbara Walters, trailblazing TV icon, dies at 93
The pioneering TV news broadcaster was the first female anchor in evening news.

By Luchina Fisher and Bill Hutchinson
December 30, 2022, 7:05 PM


Cindy Ord/Getty Images

Barbara Walters, the trailblazing television news broadcaster and longtime ABC News anchor and correspondent who shattered the glass ceiling and became a dominant force in an industry once dominated by men, died Friday. She was 93.

Walters joined ABC News in 1976, becoming the first female anchor on an evening news program. Three years later, she became a co-host of "20/20," and in 1997, she launched "The View."

Bob Iger, the CEO of The Walt Disney Company which is the parent company of ABC News, praised Walters as someone who broke down barriers.

“Barbara was a true legend, a pioneer not just for women in journalism but for journalism itself. She was a one-of-a-kind reporter who landed many of the most important interviews of our time, from heads of state to the biggest celebrities and sports icons. I had the pleasure of calling Barbara a colleague for more than three decades, but more importantly, I was able to call her a dear friend. She will be missed by all of us at The Walt Disney Company, and we send our deepest condolences to her daughter, Jacqueline,” Iger said in a statement Friday.

In a career that spanned five decades, Walters won 12 Emmy awards, 11 of those while at ABC News.

She made her final appearance as a co-host of "The View" in 2014, but remained an executive producer of the show and continued to do some interviews and specials for ABC News.

"I do not want to appear on another program or climb another mountain," she said at the time. "I want instead to sit on a sunny field and admire the very gifted women -- and OK, some men too -- who will be taking my place."

Barbara Jill Walters was born in Boston on Sept. 25, 1929, to Dena and Louis "Lou" Walters. Her father worked in show business as a booking agent and nightclub producer, and discovered comedians Fred Allen and Jack Haley, who would go on to star as the Tin Man in the classic film "The Wizard of Oz."

Growing up around celebrities taught a young Barbara a lesson that she relied upon throughout her career.

"I would see them onstage looking one way and offstage often looking very different. I would hear my parents talk about them and know that even though those performers were very special people, they were also human beings with real-life problems," Walters said in a 1989 interview with the Television Academy of Arts & Sciences. "I can have respect and admiration for famous people, but I have never had a sense of fear or awe."

In her 2008 memoir "Audition," Walters revealed that she got her ambition to succeed from her older sister, Jacqueline, who was born developmentally disabled.

"Her condition also altered my life," Walters wrote. "I think I knew from a very early age that at some point Jackie would become my responsibility. That awareness was one of the main reasons I was driven to work so hard. But my feelings went beyond financial responsibility.

"Much of the need I had to prove myself, to achieve, to provide, to protect, can be traced to my feelings about Jackie. But there must be something more, the 'Something' that makes one need to excel," she added. "Some may call it ambition. I can live with that. Some may call it insecurity, although that is such a boring, common label, like being called shy, that means little. But as I look back, it feels to me that my life has been one long audition -- an attempt to make a difference and to be accepted."

After graduating from Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York, in the 1950s, Walters found work as a publicist and television writer, before landing a spot as a writer on NBC's "Today" show in 1961. She would become the program's first female co-host in 1974, and won her first Emmy award the following year for Outstanding Talk Show Host.

"No one was more surprised than I," she said of her on-air career. "I wasn't beautiful, like many of the women on the program before me, [and] I had trouble pronouncing my r's."

In her memoir, Walters wrote that she had dark hair, a sallow complexion and was often told she was skinny. She said her parents' term of endearment for her was "Skinnymalinkydin."

In 1976, Walters found a new home on ABC's "Evening News," making history as the first female co-anchor of an evening news program.

In her inaugural broadcast on Oct. 4, 1976, with co-anchor Harry Reasoner, Walters scored an exclusive interview with Earl Butz, who had just resigned as President Gerald Ford's Secretary of Agriculture after it was revealed he told a racist joke. She also conducted a satellite interview with Egyptian President Anwar Sadat on his plans to end his country's fighting with Lebanon.

At ABC, her interviews were wide-ranging and her access to public figures, unparalleled; Walters crossed the Bay of Pigs with Fidel Castro and conducted the first joint interview with Sadat and Israel's Prime Minister Menachem Begin. She also developed a reputation for asking tough questions.

"I asked Vladimir Putin if he ever ordered anyone to be killed," she once recalled. "For the record, he said 'no.'"

Upon the death of Castro in 2016, Walters released a statement saying the dictator had called her two interviews with him "fiery debates."

"During our times together, he made clear to me that he was an absolute dictator and that he was a staunch opponent of democracy," Walters said in her statement. "I told him that what we most profoundly disagreed on was the meaning of freedom."

There were lighter interviews, too. For years, she hosted an annual Oscars special, in which she interviewed Academy Award nominees and was known for making a number of them reveal deeply personal information and even cry. In 1994, she launched the "Most Fascinating People" special, which aired every December and afforded her the opportunity to chat with the year's top newsmakers.

In 1999, an estimated 74 million viewers tuned in to watch Walters interview Monica Lewinsky about the former White House intern's affair with then-President Bill Clinton. Toward the end of the interview, Walters asked Lewinsky, "What will you tell your children when you have them?" Lewinsky replied, "Mommy made a big mistake" to which Walters quipped, "And that is the understatement of the year."

Walters also interviewed every U.S. president and first lady from the Nixons to the Obamas. She interviewed President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump before they entered the White House.

With "The View," she created a forum for women of different backgrounds and views to come together and discuss the latest hot topics in the news, a format that has since been widely imitated by other networks. In a May 2019 New York Times Magazine cover story, "The View" was deemed "the most important political TV show in America."

Walters was married four times to three different men (she wed Merv Adelson, a television producer and real estate developer, twice) and adopted daughter Jacqueline Danforth with second husband Lee Guber, a theater producer and owner. She named her daughter after her sister, writing in her memoir that she "wanted Jackie to feel that she, too, has a child, because I knew by this time she never would."

"She keeps me sane, she keeps me grounded," Walters said of her daughter. "Children do that ... I think a lot of working women struggle with the job and being home and there's never a right answer. Whatever you do is wrong, but whatever you do will turn out eventually to be OK."

She was honored in 2001 with a wax portrait of her likeness at Madame Tussauds in New York City and in 2007 she was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

She was also the recipient of honorary doctoral degrees from her alma mater Sarah Lawrence College, as well as Ohio State University, Temple University, Marymount College, Wheaton College, Hofstra University and Ben-Gurion University in Jerusalem.

After 25 years in television, she was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1989 and was presented the award by Peter Jennings, then the anchor and senior editor of ABC's "World News Tonight."

"In all the years that Barbara has spent covering the world, those of us who have moved along in her wake have done better because she was there first setting standards, and she has taught us all something," Jennings, who died in 2005, said at the time.

In 2000, Oprah Winfrey echoed Jennings' speech when she presented Walters a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. "Had there not been Barbara Walters, surely all of the other women who have followed in her footsteps, including myself, could not stand where we stand and do what we do in this industry today," Winfrey said.

In her acceptance speech, Walters said, "I have been blessed with a life I never expected, and helping me up the steps of the ladder over the years have been hundreds of people."

Part of ABC News' Headquarters in New York was renamed "The Barbara Walters Building" in May 2014. During the ceremony, Walters accepted the honor, saying, "People ask me very often, 'what is your legacy?' and it's not the interviews with presidents, or heads of state, nor celebrities. If I have a legacy, and I've said this before and I mean it so sincerely, I hope that I played a small role in paving the way for so many of you fabulous women."

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[Frothy Afterbirth]

Former Pope Benedict XVI dies at 95
31 December 2022


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By Emily McGarvey
BBC News
Former Pope Benedict XVI has died, aged 95, almost a decade after he stood down because of ailing health.

He led the Catholic Church for fewer than eight years until, in 2013, he became the first Pope to resign since Gregory XII in 1415.

Benedict spent his final years at the Mater Ecclesiae monastery within the walls of the Vatican where he passed away at 09:34 (08:34 GMT) on Saturday.

His successor Pope Francis will lead the funeral on 5 January.

The Vatican said the body of the Pope Emeritus will be placed in St Peter's Basilica from 2 January for "the greeting of the faithful".

Bells rang out from Munich cathedral and a single bell was heard ringing from St Peter's Square in Rome after the death was announced.

In his first public comments since news of Pope Benedict's death broke, Pope Francis called him a gift to the church, describing him as a noble and kind man.

At a New Year's Eve service at the Vatican he paid tribute to his "dearest" predecessor, emphasising "his sacrifices offered for the good of the church".

The head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, said Pope Benedict was "one of the great theologians of the 20th century".

In a statement he said: "I remember with particular affection the remarkable Papal Visit to these lands in 2010. We saw his courtesy, his gentleness, the perceptiveness of his mind and the openness of his welcome to everybody that he met."

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called the former pope "a great theologian whose UK visit in 2010 was an historic moment for both Catholics and non-Catholics throughout our country".

King Charles III said he received the news of Pope Benedict's death "with deep sadness" and recalled "with fondness" meeting the him during a visit to the Vatican in 2009.

"I also recall his constant efforts to promote peace and goodwill to all people, and to strengthen the relationship between the global Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church."

Joe Biden - only the second Catholic to serve as US president - said Pope Benedict "will be remembered as a renowned theologian, with a lifetime of devotion to the Church, guided by his principles and faith". Mr Biden singled out the pope's remarks during a 2008 visit to the White House in which the former pontiff said "the need for global solidarity is as urgent as ever, if all people are to live in a way worthy of their dignity".

French President Emmanuel Macron said Pope Benedict "worked with soul and intelligence for a more fraternal world" and said his thoughts went out to Catholics in France and around the world.

Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Pope Benedict "was a giant of faith and reason".

"He put his life at the service of the universal Church and spoke, and will continue to speak, to the hearts and minds of men with the spiritual, cultural and intellectual depth of his Magisterium."

The German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, said for many, not only in Germany, Pope Benedict was "a formative figure of the Catholic Church, a forthright personality and a clever theologian".

Irish President Michael D Higgins said the former pope would be remembered for "his untiring efforts to find a common path in promoting peace and goodwill throughout the world".

Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, said Pope Benedict was "one of the greatest theologians of his age - committed to the faith of the Church and stalwart in its defence".

Russian President Vladimir Putin praised Pope Benedict as a "defender of traditional Christian values," in his New Year address to the nation.

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[Frothy Afterbirth]

Rally driver and YouTube star Ken Block dies in snowmobile accident aged 55
By George Ramsay, CNN
Published 8:04 AM EST, Tue January 3, 2023


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CNN —*Professional rally driver and YouTube star Ken Block died in a snowmobile accident on Monday, his Hoonigan Racing team announced. He was 55.

“Ken was a visionary, a pioneer and an icon. And most importantly, a father and husband,” Hoonigan Racing said in a statement. “He will be incredibly missed. Please respect the family’s privacy at this time while they grieve.”

The accident occurred at 2 p.m. when Block was riding a snowmobile down a steep slope in Wasatch County, Utah, according to the Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office.

The snowmobile upended and landed on top of Block, the Sheriff’s Office said, and he was later pronounced dead at the scene from injuries sustained in the accident.

“Mr. Block was riding with a group but was alone when the accident occurred,” a statement from the Sherriff’s Office said.

“The State Medical Examiner’s Office will determine the official cause of death. We are saddened to hear of the loss of Kenneth and our hearts are with his family and friends so deeply affected.

“We thank all of our first responders for their continued service.”

Before embarking on his rally driving career, Block co-founded sportswear company DC Shoes in 1994, which went on to become one of the most recognizable skateboarding apparel brands in the world.

He began rallying in 2005 and two years later made his debut on the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) circuit in Mexico. He started 25 WRC events and won five X Games medals in RallyCross between 2006 and 2015.

“Shocked and saddened to hear the passing of a true icon of our sport,” said Belgian rally driver Thierry Neuville. “A passionate racer and real pioneer that inspired so many of us. Rest in peace buddy. All my sympathies are with the family and friends.”

Block also gained fame for the Gymkhana YouTube series in which he performed driving stunts and drifts at different locations in the United States and around the world. The videos proved hugely popular and gained hundreds of millions of views.

“In shock at the passing of Ken Block. Such a talent that did so much for our sport,” ex-Formula One driver Jenson Button wrote on Twitter.

“He was a true visionary with his own unique style & infectious smile. Our sport lost one of the best today but more importantly a great man.”

Block is survived by his wife, Lucy, and three children.

CNN’s Chris Boyette and Taylor Romine contributed to reporting.

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[Frothy Afterbirth]

Jeff Beck, guitar god who influenced generations, dies at 78


[size=1]Laurent Gillieron/Keystone via AP, File[/SZE]

NEW YORK (AP) — Jeff Beck, a guitar virtuoso who pushed the boundaries of blues, jazz and rock ‘n’ roll, influencing generations of shredders along the way and becoming known as the guitar player’s guitar player, has died. He was 78.

Beck died Tuesday after “suddenly contracting bacterial meningitis,” his representatives said in a statement released Wednesday. The location was not immediately known.

“Jeff was such a nice person and an outstanding iconic, genius guitar player — there will never be another Jeff Beck,” Tony Iommi, guitarist for Black Sabbath wrote on Twitter among the many tributes.

Beck first came to prominence as a member of the Yardbirds and then went out on his own in a solo career that incorporated hard rock, jazz, funky blues and even opera. He was known for his improvising, love of harmonics and the whammy bar on his preferred guitar, the Fender Stratocaster.

“Jeff Beck is the best guitar player on the planet," Joe Perry, the lead guitarist of Aerosmith, told The New York Times in 2010. "He is head, hands and feet above all the rest of us, with the kind of talent that appears only once every generation or two.”

Beck was among the rock-guitarist pantheon from the late ’60s that included Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix. Beck won eight Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice — once with the Yardbirds in 1992 and again as a solo artist in 2009. He was ranked fifth in Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.”

“Jeff could channel music from the ethereal,” Page tweeted Wednesday.

Beck played guitar with vocalists as varied as Luciano Pavarotti, Macy Gray, Chrissie Hynde, Joss Stone, Imelda May, Cyndi Lauper, Wynonna Judd, Buddy Guy and Johnny Depp. He made two records with Rod Stewart — 1968's “Truth” and 1969's “Beck-Ola” — and one with a 64-piece orchestra, “Emotion & Commotion.”

“I like an element of chaos in music. That feeling is the best thing ever, as long as you don’t have too much of it. It’s got to be in balance. I just saw Cirque du Soleil, and it struck me as complete organized chaos,” he told Guitar World in 2014. “If I could turn that into music, it’s not far away from what my ultimate goal would be, which is to delight people with chaos and beauty at the same time.”

Beck career highlights include joining with bassist Tim Bogert and drummer Carmine Appice to create the power trio that released “Beck, Bogert and Appice” in 1973, tours with Brian Wilson and Buddy Guy and a tribute album to the late guitarist Les Paul, “Rock ‘n’ Roll Party (Honoring Les Paul).”

Beck’s album credits include “Talking Book,” Stevie Wonder’s landmark 1972 album. His tenderly rendered guitar solo on the ballad, “Lookin' For Another Pure Love” won him a warm “Do it Jeff” callout from Wonder that was included on the album cut.

Geoffrey Arnold Beck was born in Surrey, England, and attended Wimbledon Art College. His father was an accountant, and his mother worked in a chocolate factory. As a boy, he built his first instrument, using a cigar box, a picture frame for the neck and string from a radio-controlled toy airplane.

He was in a few bands — including Nightshift and The Tridents — before joining the Yardbirds in 1965, replacing Clapton but only a year later giving way to Page. During his tenure, the band created the memorable singles “Heart Full of Soul,” “I’m a Man” and “Shapes of Things.”

Beck’s first hit single was 1967’s instrumental “Beck’s Bolero,” which featured future Led Zeppelin members Page and John Paul Jones, and The Who drummer Keith Moon. The Jeff Beck Group — with Stewart singing — was later booked to play the 1969 Woodstock music festival but their appearance was canceled. Beck later said there was unrest in the band.

“I could see the end of the tunnel,” he told Rolling Stone in 2010.

Beck was friends with Hendrix and they performed together. Before Hendrix, most rock guitar players concentrated on a similar style and technical vocabulary. Hendrix blew that apart.

“He came along and reset all of the rules in one evening,” Beck told Guitar World.

Beck teamed up with legendary producer George Martin — a.k.a. “the fifth Beatle” — to help him fashion the genre-melding, jazz-fusion classic “Blow by Blow” (1975) and “Wired” (1976). He teamed up with Seal on the Hendrix tribute “Stone Free,” created a jazz-fusion group led by synthesizer player Jan Hammer and honored rockabilly guitarist Cliff Gallup with the album “Crazy Legs.” He put out “Loud Hailer” in 2016.

Beck’s guitar work can be heard on the soundtracks of such films as “Stomp the Yard,” “Shallow Hal,” “Casino,” “Honeymoon in Vegas,” “Twins,” “Observe and Report” and “Little Big League.” Beck recently completed a tour supporting his album with Depp, “18” and was heard on Ozzy Osbourne's “Patient Number 9” album.

Beck’s career never hit the commercial highs of Clapton. A perfectionist, he preferred to make critically well-received instrumental records and left the limelight for long stretches, enjoying his time restoring vintage automobiles. He and Clapton had a tense relationship early on but became friends in later life and toured together.

Why did the two wait some four decades to tour together?

“Because we were all trying to be big bananas,” Beck told Rolling Stone in 2010. “Except I didn’t have the luxury of the hit songs Eric’s got.”

Beck is survived by his wife, Sandra.

AP reporter Scott Stroud in Nashville contributed to this report.

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[Frothy Afterbirth]

Tatjana Patitz, one of the original supermodels of the '80s and '90s, dies at age 56
January 11, 20235:59 PM ET
The Associated Press


[size=1]Fabian Bimmer/AP[/SZE]

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Tatjana Patitz, one of an elite group of famed supermodels who graced magazine covers in the 1980s and '90s and appeared in George Michael's "Freedom! '90" music video, has died at age 56.

Patitz's death in the Santa Barbara, California, area was confirmed by her New York agent, Corinne Nicolas, at the Model CoOp agency. Nicolas said the cause was illness, but did not have further details.

Patitz, who was born in Germany, raised in Sweden and later made her life in California, was known as part of an elite handful of "original" supermodels, appearing in the Michael video along with Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell and Cindy Crawford.

She was a favorite of fashion photographer Peter Lindbergh, who highlighted her natural beauty in his famous 1988 photo, "White Shirts: Six Supermodels, Malibu," and for British Vogue's 1990 cover — leading Michael to cast the group in his lip-syncing video, according to Vogue.

The magazine quoted its global editorial director, Anna Wintour, as saying Patitz was "always the European symbol of chic, like Romy Schneider-meets-Monica Vitti. She was far less visible than her peers — more mysterious, more grown-up, more unattainable — and that had its own appeal."

In a 2006 interview, Patitz opined that the golden age of supermodels was over.

"There was a real era, and the reason that happened was because glamour was brought into it," she was quoted as saying in Prestige Hong Kong magazine. "Now the celebrities and actresses have taken over, and the models are in the backseat completely."

She also noted that models from her era had healthier physiques.

"Women were healthy, not these scrawny little models that nobody knows their names anymore," Patitz said.

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Tatjana Patitz in a dress by Saint Laurent Rive Gauche. Photographed by Arthur Elgort, Vogue, August 1987


Tatjana Patitz in Jean Paul Gaultier. Photographed by Irving Penn, Vogue, August 1989


Tatjana Patitz in Calvin Klein. Photographed by Arthur Elgort, Vogue, November 1994

[Frothy Afterbirth]

Lisa Marie Presley, Singer and Daughter of*Elvis, Dead at 54
The only child of Elvis and Priscilla Presley died after suffering from cardiac arrest at her home in Calabasas
By Charisma Madarang January 12, 2023


Christopher Polk/Getty Images for Wonderwall

Lisa Marie Presley, the singer whose blues-tinged voice carried across three albums and only child of Elvis Presley, died on Thursday at the age of 54.

“It is with a heavy heart that I must share the devastating news that my beautiful daughter Lisa Marie has left us,” her mother, Priscilla Presley, said in a statement, according to The Associated Press. “She was the most passionate, strong and loving woman I have ever known.”

The announcement came just hours after her mother had confirmed she was rushed to a local hospital earlier Thursday. Presley had suffered cardiac arrest at her home in Calabasas, the L.A. County Fire Dept. confirmed to*Rolling Stone. Just days before the incident, Presley attended the Golden Globes alongside her mother, Priscilla, where Austin Butler, who portrayed Elvis in the biopic about the musician, was awarded the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama. “Lisa Marie, Priscilla, I love you forever,” Butler said during his acceptance speech.

Born on Feb. 1, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee, nine months after Elvis and Priscilla’s wedding, Lisa Marie was raised in the area before moving to Los Angeles with her mother following her parents’ divorce in 1973. As the daughter of one of the most celebrated artists in history, Presley forged her own career in music. She released three albums: 2003’s*To Whom It May Concern, which was gold-certified for over 500,000 units sold in the United States, 2005’s*So What,*and 2012’s*Storm & Grace. Throughout her work she paid homage to a man whose a style and tone forever echoed throughout the American soundscape.

On her final album, Storm and Grace, the raw country, folk and blues collection embraced her Southern roots and family name. The year it was released, she spoke with Rolling Stone about finding her roots as she got older. “I’m always feeling a bit like I need to fight and kick, I don’t know why. But all I ended up doing in the past by trying to do anything else was stepping and tripping on my own feet,” she told Rolling Stone. “It was always against myself and hurting myself, though I was thinking I was fighting other people. I had to go through those phases, I did. So then, yes, I’m not doing that anymore.”

In 1998, she married musician Danny Keough. The pair separated after six years and had two children, including the actress Riley Keough and Benjamin Keough, who died by suicide in 2020 at the age of 27.

She was married to Michael Jackson from 1994 to 1996. Often billed as the daughter of the king of rock n’ roll who married the king of pop, their relationship was mired in tabloids and media attention. Two years after her marriage with Jackson ended, Lisa Marie married actor Nicholas Cage*on the 25th anniversary of Elvis’ death during a ceremony in Hawaii. Less than four months after their wedding, the pair announced they were separating.

Her fourth marriage was to Michael Lockwood, with whom she had twin daughters, Finley Lockwood and Harper Lockwood. They divorced in 2021.

Presley has been open about her health struggles in the past, including her sobriety journey after suffering from an addiction to opioids.

“You may read this and wonder how, after losing people close to me, I also fell prey to opioids,”*she wrote in*The United States of Opioids, referring to her father and ex-husband Michael Jackson, according to*Yahoo. “I was recovering after the [2008] birth of my daughters, Vivienne and Finley, when a doctor prescribed me opioids for pain. It only took a short-term prescription of opioids in the hospital for me to feel the need to keep taking them.”

In an essay for*People*in August 2022, she opened up about feeling “destroyed” following the death of her son Benjamin. “My and my three daughters’ lives as we knew it were completely detonated and destroyed by his death. We live in this every. Single. Day,” she wrote.

This is a developing story.

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