The RIP Thread

[Frothy Afterbirth]

Loretta Lynn, coal miner's daughter and country queen, dies
KRISTIN M. HALL, AP Entertainment Writer
Oct. 4, 2022
Updated: Oct. 4, 2022 6:47 p.m.


Christoper Berkey

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Loretta Lynn, the Kentucky coal miner’s daughter whose frank songs about life and love as a woman in Appalachia pulled her out of poverty and made her a pillar of country music, has died. She was 90.

In a statement provided to The Associated Press, Lynn's family said she died Tuesday at her home in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee.

“Our precious mom, Loretta Lynn, passed away peacefully this morning, October 4th, in her sleep at home in her beloved ranch in Hurricane Mills,” the family said in a statement. They asked for privacy as they grieve and said a memorial will be announced later.

Lynn already had four children before launching her career in the early 1960s, and her songs reflected her pride in her rural Kentucky background.

As a songwriter, she crafted a persona of a defiantly tough woman, a contrast to the stereotypical image of most female country singers. The Country Music Hall of Famer wrote fearlessly about sex and love, cheating husbands, divorce and birth control and sometimes got in trouble with radio programmers for material from which even rock performers once shied away.

Her biggest hits came in the 1960s and '70s, including “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” “You Ain’t Woman Enough,” “The Pill,” “Don't Come Home a Drinkin' (With Lovin' on Your Mind),” “Rated X” and “You're Looking at Country.” She was known for appearing in floor-length, wide gowns with elaborate embroidery or rhinestones, many created by her longtime personal assistant and designer Tim Cobb.

Her honesty and unique place in country music was rewarded. She was the first woman ever named entertainer of the year at the genre's two major awards shows, first by the Country Music Association in 1972 and then by the Academy of Country Music three years later.

“It was what I wanted to hear and what I knew other women wanted to hear, too,” Lynn told the AP in 2016. “I didn’t write for the men; I wrote for us women. And the men loved it, too.”

In 1969, she released her autobiographical “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” which helped her reach her widest audience yet.

“We were poor but we had love/That’s the one thing Daddy made sure of/He shoveled coal to make a poor man’s dollar,” she sang.

“Coal Miner’s Daughter,” also the title of her 1976 book, was made into a 1980 movie of the same name. Sissy Spacek's portrayal of Lynn won her an Academy Award and the film was also nominated for best picture.

Long after her commercial peak, Lynn won two Grammys in 2005 for her album “Van Lear Rose,” which featured 13 songs she wrote, including “Portland, Oregon” about a drunken one-night stand. “Van Lear Rose” was a collaboration with rocker Jack White, who produced the album and played the guitar parts.

Reba McEntire was among the stars who reacted to Lynn’s death, posting online about how the singer reminded her of her late mother. “Strong women, who loved their children and were fiercely loyal. Now they’re both in Heaven getting to visit and talk about how they were raised, how different country music is now from what it was when they were young. Sure makes me feel good that Mama went first so she could welcome Loretta into the hollers of heaven!”

Born Loretta Webb, the second of eight children, she wrote that her birthplace was Butcher Holler, near the coal mining company town of Van Lear in the mountains of east Kentucky. She literally put the place on the map, according to Peter Cooper, senior director, producer and writer at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. He wrote in his 2017 book “Johnny's Cash and Charley's Pride: Lasting Legends and Untold Adventures in Country Music” that she made up the name for the purposes of the song based on the names of the families that lived there.

Her daddy played the banjo, her mama played the guitar and she grew up on the songs of the Carter Family. Her younger sister, Crystal Gayle, is also a Grammy-winning country singer, scoring crossover hits with songs like “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue” and “Half the Way.” Lynn's daughter Patsy Lynn Russell also was a songwriter and producer of some of her albums.

“I was singing when I was born, I think,” she told the AP in 2016. “Daddy used to come out on the porch where I would be singing and rocking the babies to sleep. He’d say, ‘Loretta, shut that big mouth. People all over this holler can hear you.’ And I said, ‘Daddy, what difference does it make? They are all my cousins.’”

She wrote in her autobiography that she was 13 when she got married to Oliver “Mooney” Lynn, but the AP later discovered state records that showed she was 15. Tommy Lee Jones played Mooney Lynn in the biopic.

Her husband, whom she called “Doo” or “Doolittle,” urged her to sing professionally and helped promote her early career. With his help, she earned a recording contract with Decca Records, later MCA, and performed on the Grand Ole Opry stage. Lynn wrote her first hit single, “I’m a Honky Tonk Girl,” released in 1960.

She also teamed up with singer Conway Twitty to form one of the most popular duos in country music with hits such as “Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man” and “After the Fire is Gone,” which earned them a Grammy Award. Their duets, and her single records, were always mainstream country and not crossover or pop-tinged.

And when she first started singing at the Grand Ole Opry, country star Patsy Cline took Lynn under her wing and mentored her during her early career.

The Academy of Country Music chose her as the artist of the decade for the 1970s, and she was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1988. She won four Grammy Awards, was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2008, was honored at the Kennedy Center Honors in 2003 and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013.

In “Fist City,” Lynn threatens a hair-pulling fistfight if another woman won’t stay away from her man: “I’m here to tell you, gal, to lay off of my man/If you don’t want to go to Fist City.” That strong-willed but traditional country woman reappears in other Lynn songs. In “The Pill,” a song about sex and birth control, Lynn sings about how she’s sick of being trapped at home to take care of babies: “The feelin’ good comes easy now/Since I’ve got the pill,” she sang.

She moved to Hurricane Mills, Tennessee, outside of Nashville, in the 1990s, where she set up a ranch complete with a replica of her childhood home and a museum that is a popular roadside tourist stop. The dresses she was known for wearing are there, too.

Lynn knew that her songs were trailblazing, especially for country music, but she was just writing the truth that so many rural women like her experienced.

“I could see that other women was goin’ through the same thing, ‘cause I worked the clubs. I wasn’t the only one that was livin’ that life and I’m not the only one that’s gonna be livin’ today what I’m writin'," she told The AP in 1995.

Even into her later years, Lynn never seemed to stop writing, scoring a multi-album deal in 2014 with Legacy Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment. In 2017, she suffered a stroke that forced her to stop touring, but she released her 50th solo studio album, “Still Woman Enough” in 2021.

She and her husband were married nearly 50 years before he died in 1996. They had six children: Betty, Jack, Ernest and Clara, and then twins Patsy and Peggy. She had 17 grandchildren and four step-grandchildren.

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[Frothy Afterbirth]

Angela Lansbury, 'Murder, She Wrote' and 'Beauty and the Beast' star, dies at 96

Lansbury was a versatile actor who wowed generations of fans as a murderous baker, a singing teapot, a Soviet spy and a small-town sleuth, among many other memorable roles.

Oct. 11, 2022, 12:24 PM PDT / Updated Oct. 11, 2022, 2:25 PM PDT
By David K. Li


Angela Lansbury, a versatile actor who wowed generations of fans as a murderous baker, a singing teapot, a Soviet spy and a small-town sleuth among a host of memorable roles, died Tuesday, her family announced.

She was 96.

“The children of Dame Angela Lansbury are sad to announce that their mother died peacefully in her sleep at home in Los Angeles at 1:30 AM today, Tuesday, October 11, 2022, just five days shy of her 97th birthday," her family said in a statement.

The London-born actor took her life’s final bow as one of the most decorated players in stage history.

Lansbury won five Tony Awards, most recently in 2009 for best featured actress in a play for her work in Noel Coward’s “Blithe Spirit.”

Her best known work on the Great White Way was probably as ghoulish pie maker Nellie Lovett, in “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.” She cooked up a Tony for best musical actress in 1979 for that role.

Her other three Tony wins were for best actress in a musical for “Mame” in 1966, “Dear World” in 1969 and “Gypsy” in 1975.

Audra McDonald and Julie Harris are the only actors to win six Tonys; Harris’ sixth Tony was for lifetime achievement.

"We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Angela Lansbury," according to statement by Actors' Equity, the union representing live stage performers.

Lansbury earner her Actors' Equity card in 1957 with her work in "Hotel Paradiso."

"A star of stage, TV and movies, Lansbury was an Equity member for an astounding 65 years. She leaves behind a library of work to enjoy for many generations. We send our condolences to her friends and family."

Actor Eric McCormack, best known for his work on the long-running NBC sitcom "Will & Grace," fondly recalled his time with Lansbury on Gore Vidal's "The Best Man" in 2012.

"So privileged I got to spend time with this incredible woman," he said in statement. "No one like her."

Lansbury took her singing skill from Broadway to the big screen, via an animator’s drawing board in the 1991 musical “Beauty and the Beast.”

She voiced the sentimental Mrs. Pott, which scored as one of the popular movie’s most beloved moments.

She took to the stage at Lincoln Center in New York in 2016 to celebrate the film’s 25th anniversary, and brought the house down with a rendition of the title’s lead tune.

Referencing the lyrics to the "Beauty and the Beast" theme, NASA paid tribute to Lansbury by posting a photo of a "cosmic rose."

The actor had already enjoyed a long and successful career when she took on the small-screen role that many Americans will remember most — as mystery writer and amateur crime fighter Jessica Fletcher on the CBS Sunday night hit “Murder, She Wrote.”

“Murder” ran for 12 seasons, from 1984 to 1996, with Lansbury playing a widowed mystery writer whose keen observations always outwitted criminals and even the local police before the real killer would be unmasked within the hour.

The show was a staple of Sunday night TV at 8 p.m., and was one of CBS’ biggest hits in the 1980s.

It followed “60 Minutes” and, in the fall, the National Football Conference game. Lead CBS play-by-play man Pat Summerall would famously tell viewers to stay tuned for “Murder ... She Wrote” with a dramatically elongated pause.

“We found our audience and they were loyal to the end,” Lansbury said in a 1998 interview with the television academy.

Shows like “Murder, She Wrote” ushered in a new era of television with more female players taking lead roles on America’s small screen. The TV academy nominated Lansbury for 12 Emmys for “Murder,” although she never took home the trophy.

Lansbury was inducted into the TV Hall of Fame in 1996.

“‘Murder, She Wrote’ has given me more worldwide attention than any other role I played in the movies or on the stage,” she said in 2013 while receiving an honorary Academy Award. “It’s a wonderful thing to be known in Spain, Portugal, in Paris, in France and Germany and everywhere.”

Lansbury became such an important TV figure that some fans might have forgotten what an important movie career she had in the era of black-and-white film, and the three best supporting actress Oscar nominations she received for three legendary works.

She played the maid in the 1944 classic “Gaslight,” about a woman, played by star Ingrid Bergman, who was being manipulated to question objective truth. The term “gas lighting,” meaning to psychologically manipulate with lies and false narratives, became a popular term in the 21st century American vocabulary, particularly after Donald Trump was elected president.

Lansbury recalled that when working with director John Frankenheimer on the 1962 movie “All Fall Down,” the movie maestro slammed a book on the table in front of her and ordered her to read it. The book was Richard Condon’s “The Manchurian Candidate.”

“I took it home and I read it and I called him up and said, ‘Wow,’” Lansbury told the TV academy in 1998.

She was cast as Mrs. Eleanor Iselin, a scheming, domineering mother — a role that brought Lansbury her third Oscar nomination for best supporting actress.

“We certainly didn’t envision the longevity” of the Cold War-era thriller, Lansbury said in 1998. “We felt because of the extraordinary subject matter and the way in which the plot was devised, it was so extraordinary that it was going to either sink or swim. And it swam and it’s still swimming.”

The future acting great was born Angela Brigid Lansbury on Oct. 16, 1925, in London, the daughter of actor Moyna Macgill and timber executive Edgar Lansbury.

Both her father and grandfather (George Lansbury) were active in liberal British politics. Edgar Lansbury was mayor of the London borough of Poplar, while George Lansbury served as Labour Party leader in 1932-34.

“My grandfather was a very large figure in my life as a child,” Lansbury told the TV academy. “He was an extraordinary individual who garnered the admiration and love of the British labor movement, which he led, and because he was the most charismatic figure, a very kind simple plain man. He never drank, he never smoked.”

Though born into a culturally elite family, Lansbury’s childhood was chaotic.

Lansbury was 9 when her father died in 1935. At the outbreak of World War II a few years later, Lansbury’s mother feared London would soon be bombed by Nazi Germany.

“My mother sold everything that she could and we got on a boat,” Lansbury said.

The RMS Duchess of Atholl carried Lansbury, her mother and two younger brothers to Canada in the summer of 1940, and they immediately boarded a train for New York.

Lansbury landed at the Lucy Fagan School in Rockefeller Center, where she had a bird’s-eye view of the skating rink and what seemed like a perfect snapshot of utopian American life.

“I’ll never forget that first Christmas,” Lansbury recalled fondly. “America was still not at war, the tree was up and everything was beautiful.”

She scored her first professional gig at the Samovar Club in Montreal. The 16-year-old lied about being 19 and performed characters from Coward’s “I Went to a Marvelous Party” for a whopping $60 a week — what Lansbury thought was a small fortune then.

After that three-week gig ended, Lansbury’s mother was in western Canada with the touring company of “Tonight at 8:30.”

Macgill had the bright idea of sending for her daughter and having them both go to Los Angeles, capital of the world’s young motion picture industry.

The pair quickly became enveloped in the ex-pat British acting community in Hollywood, and those connections led Lansbury to her first screen tests for “Gaslight” and “Dorian Gray.”

She signed a seven-year deal with MGM, and at 17 she was making $500 a week. Under the old studio system, MGM controlled her work and cast the young actor in roles that Lansbury said she had no business playing.

But that turned out to be a boon and launched her extraordinarily versatile career.

“It was like an intense training period, playing character roles, playing older than myself, learning a lot of skills I otherwise would never have learned,” Lansbury said.

And despite Lansbury’s long and decorated career in the states, she never lost touch with her roots, and the United Kingdom never forgot about her.

Queen Elizabeth II bestowed the DBE (Dame Commander of the British Empire) honor on Lansbury in 2014 during a ceremony at Windsor Castle.

“It is a very proud day for me to be recognized by the country of my birth, and to meet the queen under these circumstances is a rare and lovely occasion,” Lansbury said that day.

She is survived by her three children, Anthony, Deirdre and David, her three grandchildren, Peter, Katherine and Ian, plus five great grandchildren and her brother, producer Edgar Lansbury.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 53 years, Peter Shaw. A private family ceremony will be held at a date to be determined, her family said.

Rania Soetirto and Bryan Gallion contributed.

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AP

[Frothy Afterbirth]

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“He’s a hero” Yu-Gi-Oh author reportedly died trying to save people from drowning
Terry Oh ❘ Published: Oct 12, 2022, 14:11 ❘ Updated: Oct 12, 2022, 14:11


Kazuki Takahashi, the creator of Yu-Gi-Oh, reportedly died attempting to save another person swimming from drowning at Mermaid’s Groto in Okinawa, Japan.

Yu-Gi-Oh is a massive franchise that originally debuted as a serialized manga. The series developed further, with anime adaptations, spin-offs, and a massive trading card game. On July 2022, Yu-Gi-Oh creator Kazuki Takahashi was proclaimed dead.

His exact reason for death at the time wasn’t known at the time, but speculations were made. A local citizen discovered Takahashi’s body wearing scuba gear, and officials confirmed the body.

Many assumed the mangaka drowned while going out snorkeling alone – but on October 11, new evidence was revealed to the public.


Yu-Gi-Oh creator dove in to save others

According to a report from the US military’s newspaper, Kazuki Takahashi dove into incredibly dangerous waters in an attempt to save other swimmers.

During the incident, three individuals were struggling in the riptide. Waves were crashing in, creating whirlpools that dragged in the swimmers. Trained scuba diving instructor and U.S. military officer Major Robert Bourgeau dove straight in, and rescued the three from drowning.

While the officer was rescuing them, Kazuki Takahashi also dove in, attempting to aid in the rescue. Unfortunately, witnesses claim they never saw him surface. Kazuki Takahashi drowned, and his body was found washed ashore two days later.

Bourgeau was not aware of Takahashi’s attempt during the ordeal, but called the author a hero.

“He died trying to save someone else,” the major mourned.

Kazuki Takahashi’s impacted the world in an amazing way. The gift of Yu-Gi-Oh is one that will always be remembered. And though Takahashi has passed, fans take solace in the fact that he died a hero.

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[Frothy Afterbirth]

Robbie Coltrane, Hagrid Actor in ‘Harry Potter’ Franchise, Dies at 72
By Jordan Moreau
Oct 14, 2022 9:59am PT


Everett Collection

Robbie Coltrane, who played the lovable half-giant Rubeus Hagrid in the “Harry Potter” franchise, has died, his agency WME confirmed to Variety on Friday. He was 72.

Coltrane featured in every “Harry Potter” movie, from “Sorcerer’s Stone” in 2001 to “Death Hallows -Part 2” in 2011, and was much beloved for bringing the character from J.K. Rowling’s book series to life. He was among one of the first characters to appear on screen, and he recited the famous line, “Yer a wizard, Harry,” to a young Daniel Radcliffe as he embarked on his journey into the wizarding world. A towering figure but a softie at heart, Hagrid had a sweet spot for ferocious beasts and cared for some of the “Harry Potter” world’s most ferocious, and iconic, creatures. Radcliffe paid tribute to his time spent with Coltrane on the “Potter” set. “I’ve especially fond memories of him keeping our spirits up on ‘Prisoner of Azkaban,'” Radcliffe said. “When we were all hiding from the torrential rain for hours in Hagrid’s hut and he was telling stories and cracking jokes to keep morale up.”

The Scottish actor, comedian and writer also appeared in two James Bond films, 1995’s “GoldenEye” and 1999’s “The World Is Not Enough,” as the Russian mafia man Valentin Dmitrovich Zukovsky.

One of his first major appearances was on the British sketch comedy series “Alfresco” in 1983. He co-starred with other soon-to-be greats like Hugh Laurie, Emma Thompson and Stephen Fry. A few years later, he reunited with Thompson on the 1987 BBC Scotland drama “Tutti Frutti” and earned his first best actor nomination from the British Academy Television Awards. From 1993-1995, he starred in the ITV crime drama “Cracker” as criminal psychologist Dr. Edward “Fitz” Fitzgerald, winning three British Academy Television awards. After hanging up Hagrid’s moleskin coat, Coltrane starred in the acclaimed Channel 4 drama “National Treasure,” playing a retired comedian who becomes accused of sexual assault. For the role, he won a handful of best actor awards from British orgs.

His long-time agent, Belinda Wright, reminisced about their work together. “He will probably be best remembered for decades to come as Hagrid in the ‘Harry Potter’ films, a role which brought joy to children and adults alike all over the world prompting a stream of fan letters every week for over 20 years,” Wright wrote via email to Variety. “For me, personally, I shall remember him as an abidingly loyal client. As well as being a wonderful actor, he was forensically intelligent, brilliantly witty, and after 40 years of being proud to be to called his Agent, I shall miss him.”

Coltrane is survived by his sister Annie Rae, his children Spencer and Alice and their mother Rhona Gemmell. The family expressed their gratitude to the medical staff at Forth Valley Royal Hospital in Larbert for their care and diplomacy.

The actor’s final appearance with his Harry Potter family was on the “Return to Hogwarts” 20th anniversary special released on HBO Max in January 2022. His thoughts on the series’ power also served as a stirring farewell to fans.

“The legacy of the movies is that my children’s generation will show them to their children,” Coltrane said. “So you could be watching it in 50-years time, easy. I’ll not be here, sadly, but Hagrid will, yes.”

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[Frothy Afterbirth]

Leslie Jordan, Actor on ‘Will & Grace‘ and ’Call Me Kat,’ Dies at 67 in Car Crash

The Emmy winner, who also stood out on 'American Horror Story' and 'The Cool Kids,' was declared dead at the scene in Hollywood.
By Miake Barnes October 24, 2022 12:06pm


Credit: Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for GLAAD

Leslie Jordan, the goofy comic actor perhaps best known for his Emmy-winning turn as Beverley Leslie, the cynical foil to Megan Mullally’s Karen Walker, on Will & Grace, has died. He was 67.

Jordan was at the wheel of a BMW when he crashed into the side of a building at Cahuenga Boulevard and Romaine Street in Hollywood on Monday morning. He was declared dead at the scene and could have suffered a medical emergency beforehand.

Jordan recurs as Phil, the gay baker at the café owned by Mayim Bialik’s character, on the Fox sitcom Call Me Kat, which returned for its third season last month. He appeared in all five of the new season’s episodes so far.

His other recent work includes turns on FX’s American Horror Story — playing different characters over three seasons — and the 2018-19 Fox sitcom The Cool Kids.

The 4-foot-11 Jordan, a native of Chattanooga, Tennessee, first showed up as the socialite Beverley during the third season of NBC’s Will & Grace in 2001 and returned for the show’s reboot in 2017, appearing on 17 episodes of the series in all. He won his Emmy in 2006.

Will & Grace star Sean Hayes lamented his death on Twitter, noting that Jordan was “one of the funniest people I ever had the pleasure of working with.”

Jordan also recurred from 1993-95 as Lonnie Garr on the Linda Bloodworth-Thomason/Harry Thomason created CBS series Hearts Afire, starring John Ritter and Markie Post.

In another notable role, he played Earl “Brother Boy” Ingram on the stage and reprised the character — a cross-dressing homosexual obsessed with Tammy Wynette — for the 2000 indie film written and directed by Del Shores and for a 2008 series. Both the movie and TV show featured Olivia Newton-John.

He also stood out as the newspaper editor Mr. Blackly in The Help (2011), directed by Tate Taylor.

Jordan’s popularity grew during the pandemic, when his silly Instagram posts grew his followers to 5.8 million. He recently rang in the new year with Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper on CNN, appeared on Fox’s The Masked Singer and guest-hosted on The Talk.

“For someone 65 years old to all of a sudden be, like, an internet star?” he said in a 2020 interview with The New York Times. “I’ve loved attention, wanted it my whole career, and I’ve never gotten this kind of attention. I mean, even on Will & Grace, winning an Emmy, it wasn’t anything like when you have social media. When you’ve become a success there, it’s unbelievable.”

Leslie Allen Jordan was born on April 29, 1955, in Chattanooga. His father, a lieutenant colonel with the U.S. Army, was killed in a plane crash in Mississippi when Leslie was 11.

He moved to Atlanta, where he went back to school to study journalism and took a theater class, which convinced him to pursue acting. That brought him to Los Angeles, and in 1982, he appeared on an episode of The Fall Guy in 1986 and in the Richard Pryor movie Moving On in 1987. He also did lots of commercials.

Two years later, he was hilarious as Kyle, a wrongly imprisoned inmate who is released thanks to Murphy Brown and hired as her secretary, on a classic 1989 episode of the Candice Bergen sitcom.

“I think that was probably my kind of break,” he said. “After that aired, my agent called me. He said, ‘I’ve never had this happen. I’ve been in this business for 30 years.’ He goes, ‘Burt Reynolds wants to see you, can you do a sitcom with his wife, Loni Anderson? Mr. Spielberg’s people want to meet you for this project. Peewee Herman wants to put you on his kids show.’ I mean, it was all like one day. I had a break, a true break. I’ve just been working ever since.”

Starting in 1993, Jordan starred in the autobiographical off-Broadway show Hysterical Blindness and Other Southern Tragedies That Have Plagued My Life Thus Far. He then wrote and starred in the stage production My Trip Down the Pink Carpet, produced by Lily Tomlin and Jane Wagner; that premiered in 2010.

His résumé also included regular or recurring TV stints on The People Next Door, Top of the Heap, Reasonable Doubts, Bodies of Evidence, Boston Public, Boston Legal, Con Man and Living the Dream.

After battling drug and alcohol abuse, Jordan said he was sober for more than two decades. Last year, he received the Timeless Star award from GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics for an “exemplary career that has been marked by character, wisdom and wit.”

Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of GLAAD, said Jordan was a “true class act when it came to sharing his platform and celebrity to help raise awareness and funds for our work to accelerate acceptance for the LGBTQ community.

“As someone who was very proud of their Tennessee roots, he made it a priority to help increase visibility for LGBTQ for people in the South by participating in The Concert for Love & Acceptance and serving as grand marshal at the Nashville AIDS Walk last year.”

Survivors include his sister, Jana. Her twin, Janet, died in April, and their mother, Peggy Ann, died in May.

“The world is definitely a much darker place today without the love and light of Leslie Jordan,” David Shaul, his agent, said in a statement. “Not only was he a mega talent and joy to work with, but he provided an emotional sanctuary to the nation at one of its most difficult times. What he lacked in height he made up for in generosity and greatness as a son, brother, artist, comedian, partner and human being. Knowing that he has left the world at the height of both his professional and personal life is the only solace one can have today.”

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[Frothy Afterbirth]

Jerry Lee Lewis dead at 87: Rock ‘Killer’ dies days after false report
By Tracy Swartz
October 28, 2022 1:00pm* Updated


Getty Images

Rock ‘n’ roll icon Jerry Lee Lewis died at his Mississippi home Friday, representative Zach Farnum said in a news release. He was 87.

TMZ reported Wednesday that Lewis had died, but then retracted the report and blamed a bad tip.

Nicknamed “The Killer,” the electric showman was one of the first stars inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. He was known for his boogie-woogie style with 1957 hits “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” and “Great Balls of Fire.”

The rock pioneer was born in Ferriday, Louisiana, on Sept. 29, 1935. In his biography, he recalled learning to tickle the ivories at age 9, with his father mortgaging the family farm to buy him his first piano shortly thereafter. His first public performance came at the age of 14, at the opening of a car dealership.

He attended Bible school in Texas, where he was reportedly expelled for a bad attitude and misconduct, including playing rock ‘n’ roll versions of hymns.

Lewis signed with Sun Records in 1956, but his scandalous marriage to his then 13-year-old cousin, Myra Gale Brown, threatened his ascent to stardom. The union — which occurred while he was still married to another woman — was revealed when Lewis embarked on a British tour in 1958. The tour was promptly canceled, and radio stations wouldn’t play his records. The couple divorced in 1970.

Lewis recorded several country albums and saw renewed interest in his career when he was inducted into the first class of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1986.

Dennis Quaid played Lewis in the 1989 biopic “Great Balls of Fire!,” while Winona Ryder portrayed Myra.

Lewis won the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame on Oct. 16 but was so ill that he couldn’t attend the awards ceremony, so Kris Kristofferson accepted the award on his behalf and presented it to him later.

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Betterman Archive

[Frothy Afterbirth]

Migos Rapper Takeoff Dead at 28 in Houston Shooting: Reports

The youngest member of the rap trio was shot dead outside a downtown Houston bowling alley early Tuesday morning, a representative who was not authorized to speak publicly confirmed

By Anna Lazarus Caplan
Published on November 1, 2022 09:55 AM



Scott Garfitt/Shutterstock

Migos rapper Takeoff was killed in an early-morning shooting in Houston, Texas, multiple outlets report.

The 28-year-old, whose real name was Kirshnik Khari Ball, was shot dead Tuesday outside a downtown bowling alley, the Associated Press confirms through a representative for Migos who was not authorized to speak publicly.

A Houston Police Department spokesperson tells PEOPLE they are waiting for the medical examiner's office to identify the victim and notify the family, which has not happened yet, before confirming themselves.

Takeoff was at a private party with fellow Migos rapper Quavo, according to TMZ, when an altercation broke out at 810 Billiards & Bowling at approximately 2:30 a.m. Quavo, 31, was not injured in the incident.

Officers with the Houston Police Department arrived at the scene where they found one person who was identified as a Black man in his 20s suffering a gunshot wound to the head or neck, according to Click2Houston.com.

Lt. Christina Salazar told the station that 40 to 50 people were at the party when the shooting took place. No arrests have been announced yet.

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Then I see this classy shit in my twitter feed. You can't take the hoe out of a hoe.

[Frothy Afterbirth]

Aaron Carter, singer, dead at 34
Chloe Melas
By Chloe Melas and Emma Tucker, CNN
Updated 8:23 AM EST, Sun November 6, 2022


MediaPunch/Shutterstock

CNN —Aaron Carter, a former child pop singer and younger brother of Backstreet Boys’ Nick Carter, has died, a source close to the family told CNN. He was 34.

A spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department told CNN they responded to a call for help at Carter’s Lancaster, California home on Saturday morning around 11 a.m. local time, where a deceased person was found at the scene.

He was found dead in his bathtub, the source said.

Authorities gave no information about a possible cause of death.

Carter, who first found fame as a boy with pop songs like “I Want Candy” and “Crush on You,” is survived by his 11-month-old son, Prince.

The singer’s debut studio album, “Aaron Carter,” was released in 1997 and he performed as the opening act for the Backstreet Boys earlier that year. His fifth and final studio album, “Love,” was released in 2018.

Carter was also known for his roles on television shows such as “Lizzie McGuire” on Disney Channel and “7th Heaven,” which debuted on The WB Television Network. He also appeared on his family’s reality series on E! Entertaiment Television, “House of Carters.”

The singer received an outpouring of of love and support from fans and other celebrities in 2017 after he came out as bisexual.

“There’s something I’d like to say that I feel is important for myself and my identity that has been weighing on my chest for nearly half of my life,” Carter wrote on Twitter. “This doesn’t bring me shame, just a weight and burden I have held onto for a long time that I would like lifted off me.”

He then explained that at around the age of 13 he “started to find boys and girls attractive.”

“There were years that went by that I thought about it, but it wasn’t until I was 17-year-old, after a few relationships with girls, I had an experience with a male that I had an attraction to who I also worked with and grew up with.”

The singer opened up in 2019 in an episode of “The Doctors” about his battle with multiple mental health issues, including multiple personality disorder, schizophrenia, acute anxiety and manic depression.

“This is my reality,” Carter said as he held up a plastic bag of multiple prescription bottles in one clip featured on the show’s Facebook page.

In 2017, Carter was arrested in Georgia under suspicion of driving under the influence and marijuana possession as he and then-girlfriend Madison Parker were traveling through Habersham County.

The singer later said in an interview that he doesn’t drink and denied that he has a drug problem, CNN previously reported.

“I don’t need help,” he said. “What I need is for people to understand that I’m human and that I make mistakes just like every other human in this world, but I would never risk my life or my girlfriend’s life.”

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[Frothy Afterbirth]

Kevin Conroy, iconic voice of Batman, dead at 66
By Andrew Court
November 11, 2022 11:25am* Updated


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Kevin Conroy, who famously voiced Batman in multiple TV shows, has died at the age of 66.

The star’s death was confirmed Friday by Diane Pershing, a voice actress who worked alongside Conroy on multiple projects.

Conroy’s final project was the 2019 animated movie “Justice League vs. the Fatal Five,” produced by Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment.

Conroy’s death was mourned by thousands of fans on Twitter, including several prominent figures in the comic book world.

“Kevin Conroy is gone. His deep and distinctive voice was the definitive sound of Batman for several generations of fans. I’m absolutely stunned and devastated. RIP,” film critic Zaki Hasan wrote.

“Mortal Kombat” co-creator Ed Boon also paid tribute, posting: “So sad to hear about Kevin Conroy. He was THE voice of Batman for generations, including our ‘INJUSTICE’ games. So iconic. What a loss. RIP.”

After graduation, he appeared in Shakespeare plays, soap operas and sitcoms, landing guest roles on “Murphy Brown” and “Cheers.” However, his career did not fully take off until he began voicing Batman in his mid-30s.

Conroy — who was openly gay — won acclaim earlier this year for penning his own story titled “Finding Batman,” a work which recounted his life and experiences as a gay man.

He is survived by his husband, Vaughn C. Williams.

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[Frothy Afterbirth]

Watermelon-smashing comedian Gallagher is dead at 76
By Ben Cost and Hannah Sparks
November 11, 2022 11:19am Updated


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Comedian Gallagher, famous for smashing watermelons onstage with a hammer, passed away Friday morning at age 76. The prop comic’s longtime manager confirmed his passing in a statement to TMZ.

According to the report, the comedian died of massive organ failure while at a hospice in Palm Springs, California. Gallagher had reportedly been sick for quite some time, having suffered multiple heart attacks over the years, starting in 2011, when he collapsed onstage in Minnesota. He also suffered a cardiac episode the following year, right before he was supposed to perform in Texas.

Leo Anthony Gallagher Jr. was born on July 24, 1946, in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He also lived in Ohio and Florida before enrolling at the University of South Florida, where he earned a degree in chemical engineering — and then, apparently, never looked back.

The funnyman broke into the mainstream after a stint on the Johnny Carson show in 1975, followed by a string of comedy specials for the Showtime network. He quickly became one of the most recognizable comics in the US.

Gallagher’s signature stunt was the “Sledge-O-Matic,” in which the performer used a giant mallet to pulverize vegetables, fruit and other objects to comedic effect. Initially starting as a spoof of the Ronco Veg-O-Matic commercials, it quickly became the entertainer’s most legendary bit and a major subject of parody.

Gallagher’s irreverent antics would inspire his run for governor of California in 2003. “I did it in order to get publicity,” he told the Vallejo Times Herald in 2019, with the promise of singing the national anthem in Spanish and employing military helicopters to clear traffic on Southern California freeways. As for his politics, he added, “I have insults for both sides.”

Gallagher lost that race, placing 16th out of 135 candidates, with 5,466 votes.

The stand-up wasn’t without controversy. In the 1980s, Leo gave permission to brother Ron to use his Sledge-O-Matic act, so long as he performed it under his own name. Eventually, Ron would assume the moniker Gallagher Too/Two, causing confusion among fans as the siblings shared a strong likeness. This, as well as Ron’s troubles offstage, would bring the brothers into conflict. In 2000, Leo sued Ron for trademark violations and false advertising, and won. Ron’s career as Leo’s impersonator then came to an end.

Leo’s reputation suffered further starting in 1999, after a show in Cerritos, California, made light of Mexican stereotypes. In years to come, critics would note homophobic and racist themes in his jokes. Fellow comic Marc Maron challenged Gallagher in 2011 on Maron’s “WTF” podcast. Gallagher ultimately walked out on the interview, and later blamed Maron for “taking the other side of everything.”

The prolific performer notched a whopping 17 comedy specials during his over-50-year career, as well as appearing on famous shows from “Hollywood Squares” to “Tosh.0.” He was also portrayed by fellow comedian Paul F. Tompkins in the new film “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story.”

In 2004, Gallagher placed last on Comedy Central’s “100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time” list — and he was not pleased. Claiming he’d never heard of anyone else on the list, he told the Oregonian‘s Ed Condran at the time, “I made 13 one-hour shows for Showtime, which are available on videotape. I invented the one-man show on cable.”

Gallagher is survived by his daughter Aimee and son Barnaby.

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