IRISH NEW YEAR BLESSING

 

THOSE WE LOST in 2023, PART 4

BURT YOUNG

Date of death:8 October, 2023

Age at death: 83

About:

• Young, was an American actor who played Rocky Balboa's brother-in-law and best friend Paulie Pennino in the Rocky film series, his performance in the first instalment of which earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
• Young also appeared in such films as Chinatown (1974), The Gambler (1974), The Killer Elite (1975), Convoy (1978), Uncle Joe Shannon (1978), Once Upon a Time in America (1984), The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984), A Summer to Remember (1985), Back to School (1986), Last Exit to Brooklyn (1990), Mickey Blue Eyes (1999), Transamerica (2005), Win Win (2011), and Bottom of the 9th (2019).

By the way:

• Served in U.S. Marines from 1957 to 1959.
• Used to be a boxer.
• Young claimed he boxed in the US Marines and posted a record of 32-2-0, 26 Knockouts.
• On July 4, 1972, his wife took their son, Richard Jr., aged 9, to Cunningham Park, Queens, and stabbed him to death with a 9" kitchen knife, In 1974 she was found not guilty by reason of insanity, and committed to Creedmoor psychiatric facility. She died of an overdose at Creedmoor in 1975.

Cause of death: Cardiac arrest, heart attack

MARK GODDARD

Date of death: 10 October 2023

Age at death: 87

About:

• Goddard was an American actor who starred in a number of television programs.
• He is probably best known for portraying Major Don West in the CBS series Lost in Space (1965–1968).
• He also played Detective Sgt. Chris Ballard, in The Detectives, starring Robert Taylor.

By the way:

• Has Masters Degree in Education,
• Taught at the Chamberlain School, Middleboro, Massachusetts, USA, a residential facility for students with behavioral problems. (1998)

Cause of death: Pulmonary fibrosis

BOBBY CHARLTON

Date of death: 21 October.2023

Age at death: 86

About:

• Charlton was an English professional footballer who played as a midfielder or centre-forward.
• Widely considered one of the greatest players of all time, he was a member of the England team that won the 1966 FIFA World Cup, the year he also won the Ballon d'Or. He finished second in the Ballon d'Or voting in 1967 and 1968.
• He played almost all of his club football at Manchester United, where he became renowned for his attacking instincts, passing abilities from midfield, ferocious long-range shooting from both left and right foot, fitness, and stamina.
• He was cautioned only twice in his career; once against Argentina in the 1966 World Cup, and once in a league match against Chelsea.
• With success at club and international level, he was one of nine players to have won the FIFA World Cup, the European Cup and the Ballon d'Or.
• Born in Ashington, Northumberland, Charlton made his debut for the Manchester United first-team in 1956, aged 18, and soon gained a regular place in the team, during which time he became a Football League First Division champion in 1957 then survived the Munich air disaster of February 1958 after being rescued by teammate Harry Gregg; Charlton was the last survivor of the crash from the club. After helping United to win the FA Cup in 1963 and the Football League in 1965 and 1967, he captained the team that won the European Cup in 1968, scoring two goals in the final to help them become the first English club to win the competition. Charlton left Manchester United to become manager of Preston North End for the 1973–74 season. He changed to player-manager the following season. He next accepted a post as a director with Wigan Athletic, then became a member of Manchester United's board of directors in 1984.
• At the time of his retirement from the England team in 1970, he was the nation's most capped player, having turned out 106 times at the highest level; Bobby Moore overtook this in 1973.
• Charlton was the long-time record goalscorer for both Manchester United and England, and United's long-time record appearance maker – his total of 758 matches for United took until 2008 to be beaten, when Ryan Giggs did so in that year's Champions League final.
• With 249 goals, he was the club's highest all-time goalscorer for more than 40 years, until his record was surpassed by Wayne Rooney in 2017.
• He is also the third-highest goalscorer for England; his record of 49 goals was beaten in 2015 by Rooney, and again by Harry Kane in 2022.

By the way:

• On 6 February, 1958, the aeroplane which took the United players and staff home from Zemun Airport needed to stop in Munich to refuel. This was carried out in worsening weather, and by the time the refuelling was complete and the call was made for the passengers to re-board the aircraft, the wintry showers had taken hold and snow had settled heavily on the runway and around the airport. There were two aborted take-offs which led to concern on board, and the passengers were advised by a stewardess to disembark again while a minor technical error was fixed.
• The team were back in the airport terminal for barely ten minutes when the call came to reconvene on the plane, and a number of passengers began to feel nervous. Charlton and teammate Dennis Viollet swapped places with Tommy Taylor and David Pegg, who had decided they would be safer at the back of the plane.
• The plane clipped the fence at the end of the runway on its next take-off attempt and a wing tore through a nearby house, setting it alight. The wing and part of the tail came off and hit a tree and a wooden hut, the plane spinning along the snow until coming to a halt. It had been cut in half.
• Charlton, strapped into his seat, had fallen out of the cabin; when United goalkeeper Harry Gregg (who had somehow got through a hole in the plane unscathed and begun a one-man rescue mission) found him, he thought he was dead. Nevertheless, he grabbed both Charlton and Viollet by their trouser waistbands and dragged them away from the plane, in constant fear that it would explode. Gregg returned to the plane to try to help the appallingly injured Busby and Blanchflower, and when he turned around again, he was relieved to see that Charlton and Viollet, both of whom he had presumed to be dead, had got out of their detached seats and were looking into the wreckage.
• Charlton suffered cuts to his head and severe shock, and was in hospital for a week. Seven of his teammates had perished at the scene, including Taylor and Pegg, with whom he and Viollet had swapped seats prior to the fatal take-off attempt. Club captain Roger Byrne was also killed, along with Mark Jones, Billy Whelan, Eddie Colman and Geoff Bent. Duncan Edwards died a fortnight later from the injuries he had sustained. In total, the crash claimed 23 lives. Initially, ice on the wings was blamed, but a later inquiry declared that slush on the runway had made a safe take-off almost impossible.
• Of the 44 passengers and crew (including the 17-strong Manchester United squad), 23 people (eight of them Manchester United players) died as a result of their injuries in the crash. Charlton survived with minor injuries. Of the eight other players who survived, two of them were injured so badly that they never played again.

Cause of death: Complications of dementia

RICHARD ROUNDTREE

Date of death: 24 October, 2023

Age at death: 81

About:

• Roundtree was an American actor, best known for his portrayal of private detective John Shaft in the 1971 blaxploitation film Shaft and four of its sequels as well as the eponymous television series (1973–1974). He was also known for his features in several TV series, including Roots, Generations, and Desperate Housewives.
• Considered as "the first Black action hero", Roundtree was credited with having an impact on the rise of African American leading actors in Hollywood projects, thanks to his successful performances in the blaxploitation genre. His portrayal of Shaft as a bold, confident, and charismatic figure also influenced cinematic depictions of Black men and Black masculinity, a contrast to Black men in films prior to Shaft having often been portrayed as mild-mannered or servile.

By the way:

He tried to disassociate himself as a "black action hero" ever since he portrayed his famed role as John Shaft in the three Shaft films, from playing Miles Quade, the motorcycle stuntman in an Evel Knievel mould in Earthquake (1974), to a senior citizen in Soul Food (2000). However, he came to terms with the fact that he would always be known as Shaft.

Cause of death: Pancreatic cancer

MATTHEW PERRY

Date of death: 28 October, 2023

Age at death: 54

About:

• Perry was an American and Canadian actor who gained fame for starring as Chandler Bing on the NBC television sitcom Friends (1994–2004).
• Perry also appeared on Ally McBeal (2002) and received Primetime Emmy Award nominations for his performances in The West Wing (2003) and The Ron Clark Story (2006).
• He played a leading role in the NBC series Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (2006–2007). He also became known for his leading film roles in Fools Rush In (1997), Almost Heroes (1998), Three to Tango (1999), The Whole Nine Yards (2000), Serving Sara (2002), The Whole Ten Yards (2004), and 17 Again (2009).
• Perry suffered from severe addictions to drugs and alcohol. Through his recovery, he became an advocate for rehabilitation and a spokesperson for the National Association of Drug Court Professionals. In 2013, Perry received the Champion of Recovery Award from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. In 2022, he released his memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing.

By the way:

Was the first one of the six main actors of "Friends" to pass away.

Cause of death:

On December 15, 2023, Perry's death was revealed to have occurred due to "acute effects of ketamine". Other circumstances that contributed to his death included the effects of buprenorphine, drowning, and coronary artery disease. The LA County medical examiner said in a statement that "at the high levels of ketamine found in his post-mortem blood specimens, the main lethal effects would be from both cardiovascular overstimulation and respiratory depression," while "drowning contributes due to the likelihood of submersion into the pool as he lapsed into unconsciousness; coronary artery disease contributes due to exacerbation of ketamine induced myocardial effects on the heart".

FRANK BORMAN

Date of death: 7 November, 2923

Age at death:95

About:

• Borman was an American United States Air Force (USAF) colonel, aeronautical engineer, NASA astronaut, test pilot, and businessman.
• He was the commander of Apollo 8, the first mission to fly around the Moon, and together with crewmates Jim Lovell and William Anders, became the first of 24 humans to do so, for which he was awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.
• In 1966, he set a fourteen-day spaceflight endurance record as commander of Gemini 7. He served on the NASA review board which investigated the Apollo 1 fire, and then flew to the Moon with Apollo 8 in December 1968.

By the way:

The Apollo 8 mission is known for the Earthrise photograph taken by Anders of the Earth rising above the lunar horizon as the Command/Service Module orbited the Moon, and for the reading from Genesis, which was televised to Earth from lunar orbit on Christmas Eve.

Cause of death: Stroke

ROSALYN CARTER

Date of death: 19 November, 2023

Age at death: 96

About:

• Carter was an American writer, activist and humanitarian who served as the first lady of the United States from 1977 to 1981, as the wife of President Jimmy Carter.
• Throughout her decades of public service, she was a leading advocate for women's rights and mental health.
• Carter was politically active during her husband's presidency, though she declared that she had no intention of being a traditional first lady. During his term of office, Carter supported her husband's public policies as well as his social and personal life. To remain fully informed, she sat in on Cabinet meetings at the invitation of the President. Carter also represented her husband in meetings with domestic and foreign leaders, including as an envoy to Latin America in 1977. He found her to be an equal partner. She campaigned for his re-election bid in the 1980 election, which he lost to Republican Ronald Reagan.
• After leaving the White House in 1981, Carter continued to advocate for mental health and other causes, wrote several books, and became involved in the national and international work of the Carter Center.

By the way:

She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom alongside her husband in 1999.

Cause of death: Natural causes

TERRY VENABLES

Date of death: 25 November, 2023

Age at death: 80

About:

• Venables was an English football player and manager who played for clubs including Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Queens Park Rangers and won two caps for England.
• As a manager, Venables won the Second Division championship with Crystal Palace in 1979. He reached the 1982 FA Cup Final with Queens Park Rangers and won the Second Division in 1983. With Barcelona, he won La Liga in 1985 and reached the 1986 European Cup Final.
• He guided Tottenham Hotspur to victory in the 1991 FA Cup Final.
• He also managed Middlesbrough and Leeds United.
• As the England national team manager from 1994 to 1996, he reached the semi-finals of the 1996 European Championships.
• His tactical style was modern and innovative, which was a contrast to the rigid tactical style that dominated English football at the time.

By the way:

Venables became manager of Australia in November 1996, following the resignation of Eddie Thomson. In the 1997 Confederations Cup, Venables led Australia to the final before defeat to Brazil. His side swept through the Oceania World Cup qualifiers, but were beaten in November 1997 in a play-off by Iran. The teams drew the first leg 1–1 in Tehran. Australia led the second leg 2–0 early in the second half, but they conceded two late goals to miss out on qualification for the 1998 World Cup on the away goals rule. Venables' tenure as Australia coach ended the following June. While Australia had never made the top 50 in the FIFA Men's World Ranking before his tenure, they reached the top 30 under him.

Cause of death: Not disclosed, died after a long illness

HENRY KISSINGER

Date of death: 29 November, 2023

Age at death: 100

About:

• Kissinger was an American diplomat, political scientist, geopolitical consultant, and politician who served as the United States secretary of state and national security advisor in the presidential administrations of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford between 1969 and 1977.
• Born in Germany, Kissinger came to the United States in 1938 as a Jewish refugee fleeing Nazi persecution. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II, and, after the war, was educated at Harvard University, where he excelled academically. He later became a professor of government at the university and earned an international reputation as an expert on nuclear weapons and foreign policy. He frequently acted as a consultant to government agencies, think tanks, and the presidential campaigns of Nelson Rockefeller and Richard Nixon before being appointed national security advisor.
• Kissinger pioneered the policy of détente with the Soviet Union, orchestrated an opening of relations with China, engaged in "shuttle diplomacy" in the Middle East to end the Yom Kippur War, and negotiated the Paris Peace Accords, which ended American involvement in the Vietnam War. For his role in negotiating the end of the Vietnam War, he was awarded the 1973 Nobel Peace Prize under controversial circumstances. A practitioner of a pragmatic approach to politics called Realpolitik, he has been widely considered by scholars to be an effective secretary of state.
• Kissinger has also been associated with controversial U.S. policies, including its bombing of Cambodia, involvement in the 1973 Chilean coup d'état, support for Argentina's military junta in its Dirty War, support for Indonesia in its invasion of East Timor, and support for Pakistan during the Bangladesh Liberation War and Bangladesh genocide.
• He was accused of war crimes for the civilian death toll of the policies he pursued, his role in facilitating U.S. support for dictatorial regimes, and wilful ignorance towards human rights abuses committed by the United States and its allies.
• After leaving government, Kissinger founded Kissinger Associates, an international geopolitical consulting firm. He authored over a dozen books on diplomatic history and international relations. His advice was sought by American presidents of both political parties.

By the way:

Kissinger and Lê Đức Thọ were jointly offered the 1973 Nobel Peace Prize for their work on the Paris Peace Accords which prompted the withdrawal of American forces from the Vietnam war. Lê Đức Thọ declined to accept the award on the grounds that peace had not actually been achieved in Vietnam. Kissinger donated his prize money to charity, did not attend the award ceremony and later offered to return his prize medal after the fall of South Vietnam to North Vietnamese forces 18 months later.

Cause of death: Not disclosed

SANDRA DAY O’CONNOR

Date of death: 1 December 2023

Age at death: 93

About:

• O'Connor was an American attorney, politician, and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1981 to 2006.
• O'Connor was the first woman to serve as a U.S. Supreme Court justice.
• A moderate conservative, O'Connor was known for her precisely researched opinions.
• Nominated by President Ronald Reagan, she was considered a swing vote for the Rehnquist Court and the first four months of the Roberts Court. Before O'Connor's tenure on the Court, she was an Arizona state judge and earlier an elected legislator in Arizona, serving as the first female majority leader of a state senate as the Republican leader in the Arizona Senate.
• Upon her nomination to the Court, O'Connor was confirmed unanimously by the Senate.

By the way:

• In 1992 was one of three co-authors of the lead opinion in Planned Parenthood v. Casey that preserved legal access to abortion in the United States.
• In 2009, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama.

Cause of death: Complications from dementia

RYAN O’NEAL

Date of death: 8 December, 2023

Age at death: 82

About:

• O'Neal was an American actor.
• Born in Los Angeles, he trained as an amateur boxer before beginning a career in acting in 1960.
• In 1964, he landed the role of Rodney Harrington on the ABC nighttime soap opera Peyton Place. It was an instant hit and boosted O'Neal's career.
• He later found success in films, most notably in the romantic drama Love Story (1970), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama; Peter Bogdanovich's What's Up, Doc? (1972); Paper Moon (1973), which earned him a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy; Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon (1975), in which he portrayed the titular character; Richard Attenborough's A Bridge Too Far (1977); and Walter Hill's The Driver (1978).
• From 2005 to 2017, he had a recurring role in the Fox television series Bones as Max, the father of the show's eponymous protagonist.

By the way:

Ryan O'Neal is credited with an 18-4, 13 knockouts amateur boxing record. Muhammad Ali commented that O'Neal was definitely a good boxer.

Cause of death: Congestive heart failure, with cardiomyopathy listed as a contributing factor.

TOMMY SMOTHERS

Date of death: 26 December, 2023

Age at death:86

About:

Smothers was an American comedian, actor, composer, and musician, widely known as half of the musical comedy duo the Smothers Brothers, alongside his younger brother Dick.

By the way:

Smothers and John Lennon played acoustic guitar during the live recording of Lennon's 1969 song "Give Peace a Chance".

Cause of death: Lung cancer

QUOTE FOR THE DAY

 

THOSE WE LOST IN 2023. PART 3

TONY BENNETT

Date of death: 21 July 2023

Age at death: 96

About:

• Bennett, was an American jazz and traditional pop singer who received many accolades, including 20 Grammy Awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award, and two Primetime Emmy Awards.
• Bennett sold more than 50 million records worldwide and earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
• Bennett began singing at an early age. He fought in the final stages of World War II as a U.S. Army infantryman in the European Theater. Afterward, he developed his singing technique, signed with Columbia Records and had his first number-one popular song with "Because of You" in 1951. Several popular tracks such as "Rags to Riches" followed in early 1953.
• He then refined his approach to encompass jazz singing. He reached an artistic peak in the late 1950s with albums such as The Beat of My Heart and Basie Swings, Bennett Sings. In 1962, Bennett recorded his signature song, "I Left My Heart in San Francisco".
• His career and personal life experienced an extended downturn during the height of the rock music era.
• Bennett staged a comeback in the late 1980s and 1990s, putting out gold record albums again and expanding his reach to the MTV Generation while keeping his musical style intact.
• Bennett continued to create popular and critically praised work into the 21st century. He attracted renewed acclaim late in his career for his collaboration with Lady Gaga, which began with the album Cheek to Cheek (2014); the two performers toured together to promote the album throughout 2014 and 2015. With the release of the duo's second album, Love for Sale (2021), Bennett broke the individual record for the longest run of a top-10 album on the Billboard 200 chart for any living artist; his first top-10 record was I Left My Heart in San Francisco in 1962.
• Bennett also broke the Guinness World Record for the oldest person to release an album of new material, at the age of 95 years and 60 days.

By the way:

• A firm believer in the Civil Rights Movement, Bennett participated in the 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches. He performed in the "Stars for Freedom" rally the night before Martin Luther King's "How Long, Not Long" speech. At the conclusion of the march, Bennett was driven to the airport by Viola Liuzzo, a mother of five from Detroit, who was murdered later that day by the Ku Klux Klan.
• In February 2021, Bennett revealed that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2016. Due to the slow progression of his illness, he continued to record, tour, and perform until his retirement from concerts due to physical challenges, which was announced after his final performances on August 3 and 5, 2021, at Radio City Music Hall.

Cause of death: Bennett died at his home in New York City on July 21, 2023, following a seven-year battle with Alzheimer's disease.

SINEAD O’CONNER

Date of death: 26 July 2023

Age at death: 56

About:

• O'Connor was an Irish singer, songwriter, and activist.
• Her debut studio album, The Lion and the Cobra, was released in 1987 and achieved international chart success. Her 1990 album, I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got, was her biggest commercial success, selling over seven million copies worldwide. Its lead single, "Nothing Compares 2 U", was honoured as the top world single of the year at the Billboard Music Awards.
• Her career encompassed songs for films, collaborations with numerous artists, and appearances at charity fundraising concerts. O'Connor's memoir, Rememberings, was released in 2021 and became a bestseller.

By the way:

• Consistently, O'Connor drew attention to issues such as child abuse, human rights, racism, organised religion, and women's rights.
• During a Saturday Night Live performance in 1992, she tore up a photograph of Pope John Paul II to protest against abuse in the Catholic Church, sparking controversy.
• Throughout her musical career, she openly discussed her spiritual journey, activism, socio-political viewpoints, and her experiences with trauma and struggles with mental health.
• After converting to Islam in 2018, she adopted the name Shuhada' Sadaqat while continuing to perform and record under her birth name.

Cause of death:

• On 26 July 2023, O'Connor was found unresponsive at her flat in Herne Hill, South London, and confirmed dead at the age of 56. The cause of death was not stated. The following day, the Metropolitan Police reported that O'Connor's death was not being treated as suspicious.
• A private funeral was held on 8 August in Bray, County Wicklow. It was attended by the president of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins. O'Connor's family invited the public to pay their respects at the seafront where the funeral cortege passed. Thousands attended bearing signs and tributes.

PAUL REUBENS

Date of death: 30 July 2023

Age at death:70

About:

• Reubens was an American actor and comedian, widely known for creating and portraying the character Pee-wee Herman.
• After a failed audition for Saturday Night Live, Reubens debuted a stage show starring Pee-wee, The Pee-wee Herman Show, in 1981. Pee-wee became an instant cult figure and, for the next decade, Reubens was completely committed to his character, doing all of his public appearances and interviews as Pee-wee.
• He produced and wrote a feature film, Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985), directed by Tim Burton, which was a financial and critical success.
• Its sequel, Big Top Pee-wee (1988), was less successful. Between 1986 and 1990, Reubens starred as Pee-wee in the CBS Saturday-morning children's program Pee-wee's Playhouse.
• Reubens was arrested for indecent exposure in an adult theater in Sarasota, Florida in 1991. The arrest set off a chain reaction of national media attention, though he received support from people in the entertainment industry. The arrest postponed Reubens's involvement in major projects until 1999, when he appeared in several big-budget projects including Mystery Men (1999) and Blow (2001). Reubens subsequently started giving interviews as himself rather than as Pee-wee.

By the way:

• Reubens was arrested for indecent exposure in an adult theater in Sarasota, Florida in 1991. The arrest set off a chain reaction of national media attention, though he received support from people in the entertainment industry. The arrest postponed Reubens's involvement in major projects until 1999, when he appeared in several big-budget projects including Mystery Men (1999) and Blow (2001). Reubens subsequently started giving interviews as himself rather than as Pee-wee.
• His father fought as a pilot during World War II, first for Britain's Royal Air Force and then for the United States Air Force. He was also one of the first pilots to fly in the Israeli Air Force.
• He was friends with the late Robin Williams.

Cause of death: 

• Acute hypoxic respiratory failure.
• At the time of his death he was diagnosed with both myelogenous leukemia and metastatic lung cancer. He had been diagnosed six years earlier, but had not revealed his diagnosis to the public.

MICHAEL PARKINSON

Date of death: 16 August 2023

Age at death: 88

About:

• Parkinson was an English television presenter, broadcaster, journalist and author.
• He presented his television talk show Parkinson from 1971 to 1982 and from 1998 to 2007, as well as other talk shows and programmes both in the UK and internationally.
• He also worked in radio and was described by The Guardian as "the great British talkshow host".

By the way:

• He was called up for National Service in 1955 and took part in the Suez operation. At the age of 19, he became the youngest Captain in the British Army.
• His favorite entertainers of all time were Ken Dodd, Frank Sinatra, Elton John, Barry Humphries, Fred Astaire, George Best, Billy Connolly, Louis Armstrong, David Attenborough and Muhammad Ali.

Cause of death: Not disclosed

YEVGENY PRIGHOZIN

Date of death: 23 August 2023

Age at death: 62

About:

• Prigozhin was a Russian mercenary leader and oligarch. who led the Wagner Group private military company, was a close confidant of Russian president Vladimir Putin until launching a rebellion in June 2023.
• Prigozhin was sometimes referred to as "Putin's chef" because he owned restaurants and catering businesses that provided services to the Kremlin.
• Once a convict in the Soviet Union, Prigozhin controlled a network of influential companies whose operations, according to a 2020 investigation, were "tightly integrated with Russia's Defence Ministry and its intelligence arm, the GRU".
• In 2014, Prigozhin reportedly founded the Wagner Group to support pro-Russian paramilitaries in Ukraine. Funded by the Russian state, it played a significant role in Russia's invasion of Ukraine and supported Russian interests in Syria and in Africa.
• In November 2022, Prigozhin acknowledged his companies' interference in United States elections.
• In February 2023, he confirmed that he was the founder and long-time manager of the Internet Research Agency, a Russian company running online propaganda and disinformation campaigns.
• Prigozhin openly criticized the Russian Defense Ministry for corruption and mishandling the war against Ukraine. Eventually, he said the reasons they gave for invading were lies.
• On 23 June 2023, he launched a rebellion against the Russian military leadership. Wagner forces captured Rostov-on-Don and advanced toward Moscow. The rebellion was called off the following day, and the criminal charges against Prigozhin were dropped after he agreed to relocate his forces to Belarus.

Cause of death:

• On 23 August 2023, exactly two months after the rebellion, Prigozhin was killed along with nine other people when a business jet crashed in Tver Oblast, north of Moscow.
• The Wall Street Journal cited sources within the US government as saying that the crash was likely caused by a bomb on board or "some other form of sabotage". Since then, researchers and other analysts have reached the conclusion that an on-board bomb or explosive likely downed the plane.

BOB BARKER

Date of death: 26 August 2023

Age at death: 99

About:

• Barker was an American media personality and animal rights advocate.
• He hosted CBS's The Price Is Right, the longest-running game show in North American television history, from 1972 to 2007.
• He also hosted Truth or Consequences from 1956 to 1975.
• Barker began hosting The Price Is Right in 1972. He became an advocate for animal rights and of animal rights activism, supporting groups such as the United Activists for Animal Rights, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. In 2007, Barker retired from hosting The Price Is Right after celebrating his 50-year career on television.

By the way:

Barker had a black belt in karate. He also earned a red belt in tang soo do karate under Chuck Norris.

Cause of death:

Barker died at his home following several years with Alzheimer's disease, a condition that Burnet and Barker's publicity team had kept hidden from the public. Hypertension, hyperlipidemia and hypothyroidism were listed as secondary causes of death.

ROGER WHITTAKER

Date of death: 13 September 2023

Age at death: 87

About:

• Whittaker was a British singer-songwriter and musician.
• His music was an eclectic mix of folk music and popular songs, he being best known for his baritone singing voice and trademark whistling ability as well as his guitar skills.
• Despite not having sustained chart success, he gained a large international following through TV appearances and live performances, with fan clubs in at least 12 countries (including Australia, Canada, Great Britain, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United States). One admirer was US president George H. W. Bush, at whose home he was invited to perform.
• Whittaker is best known internationally for his 1971 single "The Last Farewell", which charted in 11 countries. In the United States, where the song was released four years later, it became his only entry in the Billboard Hot 100, and reached number one on the Adult Contemporary chart.
• In total, he sold an estimated 50–60 million records during his career.

By the way:

After doing national service in Kenya, he went to medical school at the University of Cape Town, while singing in local clubs. He left med school after 18 months and decided to go into teaching, attending the University of Bangor in Wales. He composed some songs and sent a demo track to a music publisher. Soon he was recording his first single, The Charge of the Light Brigade.

Cause of death: Not disclosed

DAVID MACALLUM

Date of death: 25 September 2023

Age at death: 90

About:

• McCallum was a Scottish actor and musician who gained wide recognition in the 1960s for playing secret agent Illya Kuryakin in the television series The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
• His other notable television roles include Simon Carter in Colditz (1972–1974) and Steel in Sapphire & Steel (1979–1982).
• Beginning in 2003, McCallum gained renewed international popularity for his role as NCIS medical examiner Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard in the American television series NCIS, which he played for 20 seasons until his death. On film, McCallum notably appeared in The Great Escape (1963).

By the way:

• In an interview for a retrospective television special, he told of a visit to the White House during which, while he was being escorted to meet the U.S. president, a Secret Service agent told him, "You're the reason I got this job.".
• While making The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964), McCallum received more fan mail than any other actor in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's history, including such popular MGM stars as Clark Gable and Elvis Presley.

Cause of death: Natural causes

MICHAEL GAMBON

Date of death: 27 September 2023

Age at death: 82

About:

• Gambon was an Irish-English actor who started his acting career with Laurence Olivier as one of the original members of the Royal National Theatre.
• Over his six-decade-long career, he received three Olivier Awards and four BAFTA TV Awards. In 1998, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for services to drama.
• Gambon appeared in many productions of works by William Shakespeare such as Othello, Hamlet, Macbeth and Coriolanus.
• Gambon was nominated for thirteen Olivier Awards, winning three times for A Chorus of Disapproval (1985), A View from the Bridge (1987), and Man of the Moment (1990).
• In 1997, Gambon made his Broadway debut in David Hare's Skylight, earning a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play nomination.
• Gambon made his film debut in Othello (1965). His other notable films include The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989), The Wings of the Dove (1997), The Insider (1999), Gosford Park (2001), Amazing Grace (2006), The King's Speech (2010), Quartet (2012), and Victoria & Abdul (2017). He also acted in the Wes Anderson films The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) and Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009). He gained wider recognition through his role of Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter film series from 2004 to 2011, replacing Richard Harris following his death in 2002.
• For his work on television, he received four BAFTA Awards for The Singing Detective (1986), Wives and Daughters (1999), Longitude (2000), and Perfect Strangers (2001).

By the way:

Gambon was a qualified private pilot. His love of cars led to his appearance on the BBC series Top Gear. He raced the Suzuki Liana so aggressively that it went around the last corner of his lap on two wheels. The final corner of the Top Gear test track has been named "Gambon Corner" or simply "Gambon" in his honour. He appeared on the programme again on 4 June 2006 and set a time in the Chevrolet Lacetti of 1:50.3, a significant improvement on his previous time of 1:55.

Cause of death: Gambon died following a bout of pneumonia

QUOTE FOR THE DAY

 

FINAL FUNNY FRIDAY

Knock knock.

Who's there?

Mary.

Mary who?

Mary Christmas!

Knock knock.

Who's there?

Anna.

Anna who?

Anna happy new year!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, Byters and readers.

This is the last Funny Friday of 2023 so hopefully it will be a humorous and jolly note to end on.

Caution, however,there is risue content ahead.

---- 😊😊😊 -----

SOME HUMOUR:

__________

Before I agree to 2024, I'm going to need to see the terms and conditions.

__________

My New Year's resolution is not to procrastinate. I'll start tomorrow.

__________

Not to brag, but I already have a date for New Year's Eve—it's December 31.

__________

I'm not buying a 2024 calendar until I see the trailer.

__________

I went to my GP and admitted that I can't have sex any more. Every time I start to get frisky with a girl I suddenly start thinking about turtles or iguanas or lizards or crocodiles or geckos and then I can't get a boner.

The doc said I've got a reptile dysfunction.

__________

I've opened a gym, in which the instructors would go from door to door and brag about the various benefits of joining it.

I've named it 'Jehovah's Fitness'.

__________

While attending a marriage seminar dealing with communication, Tom and his wife Grace listened to the instructor, "It is essential that husbands and wives know the things that are important to each other."

He addressed the man, "Can you describe your wife's favourite flower?"

Tom leaned over, touched his wife's arm gently and whispered, "It's self-raising, isn't it?"

The rest of the story gets rather ugly.

__________

After returning from his honeymoon in Florida with his new bride, Virginia, Luigi stopped in his New York neighborhood barbershop to say hello to his friends.

Giovanni said, "Hey, Luigi. How was'a da treep?"

Luigi said, "Ever'thing was'a perfect except for da train'a ride down."

"What'a you mean, Luigi?" asked Giovanni.

"Well, we board'a da train at Grand Central'a Station. My beautiful'a Virginia had packed a big'a basket a food with vino and cigars for'a me, and'a we were looking 'aforward to da trip. All was OK until we got'a hungry and opened up'a da lunch'a basket.

"The conductor came by, wagged his'a finger at us and'a say, 'No eat in dese'a car. Must'a use'a dining car.'

"So, me and my beautiful'a Virginia, we go to dining car, eat a big'a lunch and begin to open'a bottle of vino.

Conductor come again, wag his'a finger and say, 'No drink'a in dese'a car. Must'a use'a club'a car.'

"So we go to club'a car. While'a drinking vino, I start to light'a my big'a cigar.

The conductor, he wag'a his finger again and say, 'No smoke'a in dese'a car. Must'a go to smoker car.'

"We go to smoker car and I smoke'a my cigar.

Later, my beautiful Virginia and I, we go to sleeper car and'a go to bed.

And then here come’a the conductor, he come'a through the car yelling, 'NO-FOLK'A, VIRGINIA!'"

---- 😊😊😊 -----

It was early New Years Eve when my new wife announced she was not well, and we would have to put off our plans for the evening. Later in the day after we had rang everyone and explained why we couldn’t make the party, I was invited out for a night with “the boys.” I told my new bride that I would be home by midnight … promise!

Well, one tall tale led to another while everyone bought me drinks. Before I knew it, it was almost 3:00 a.m. Drunk as a skunk, I took a cab home.

Just as I got in the door, the cuckoo clock started, and cuckooed 3 times. Quickly I realized she’d probably wake up, so I cuckooed another 9 times. I was really proud of myself, having the quick wittedness — even when smashed — to escape a possible conflict.

Next morning, the missus asked me what time I got in. I told her 12 o’clock. Whew! Got away with that one!

She then told me that we needed a new cuckoo clock. When I asked her why she said “Well, it cuckooed 3 times, said ‘Dang it,’ cuckooed another 4 times, belched and broke wind, cuckooed another 3 times, cleared its throat, and cuckooed twice and then giggled.”

__________

A man left work one Friday afternoon. Being payday, instead of going home, he stayed out the entire weekend hunting with the boys and spent his entire paycheck. When he finally appeared at home, Sunday night, he was confronted by a very angry wife and was barraged for nearly two hours with a tirade befitting his actions.

Finally, his wife stopped the nagging and simply said to him, "How would you like it if you didn't see me for two or three days?"

To which he replied, "That would be fine with me."

Monday went by and he didn't see his wife. Tuesday and Wednesday came and went with the same results.

Thursday, the swelling went down just enough where he could see her a little out of the corner of his left eye.

---- 😊😊😊 -----

LIMERICK OF THE WEEK:

An original limerick by moi . . .

I hope 2024's a blast.

Unlike the year that has passed,

However I fear

The coming new year

Will be just the same as the last.

Said a man to his spouse in East Sydenham,

“My best trousers! Now where have you hydenham?

It is perfectly true

They were not very new

But I foolishly left half a quidenham.”

(For the benefit of US readers, a “quid” is Brit slang (and Oz slang before we went decimal in 1966) for the pound unit of currency.)

---- 😊😊😊 -----

GALLERY:

---- 😊😊😊 -----

CORN CORNER:

__________

One of my resolutions is to take more risks.

I then had a Quality Street without looking at the flavour

__________

My New Year’s Evolution is to learn how to spell

__________

How do they say “Happy New Year” in Australia?

ɹɐǝ⅄ ʍǝN ʎddɐH

QUOTE FOR THE DAY

 

THOSE WE LOST IN 2023, PART 2

CRAIG BREEDLOVE

Date of death: 4 April, 2023

Age at death: 86

About:

American professional race car driver and a five-time world land speed record holder. 

By the way:

Breedlove was the first person in history to reach 500 mph (800 km/h), and 600 mph (970 km/h), using several turbojet-powered vehicles, all named Spirit of America.

Cause of death: Cancer

AL JAFFEE

Date of death: 10 April, 2023

Age at death: 102

About:

• Jaffee was an American cartoonist notable for his work in the satirical magazine Mad, including his trademark feature, the Mad Fold-in
• Jaffee was a regular contributor to the magazine for 65 years and is its longest-running contributor. In a 2010 interview, Jaffee said, "Serious people my age are dead."

By the way:

• With a career running from 1942 until 2020, Jaffee holds the Guinness World Record for having the longest career as a comic artist.
• In the half-century between April 1964 and April 2013, only one issue of Mad was published without containing new material by Jaffee.

Cause of death: Organ failure

MARY QUANT

Date of death: 13 April 2023

Age at death: 93

About:

• Dame Barbara Mary Quant was a British fashion designer and fashion icon who became an instrumental figure in the 1960s London-based Mod and youth fashion movements. 
• She played a prominent role in London's Swinging Sixties culture and was one of the designers who took credit for the miniskirt and hotpants. 
•  She named the skirt after her favourite make of car.

By the way:

Journalist and fashion writer Ernestine Carter wrote: "It is given to a fortunate few to be born at the right time, in the right place, with the right talents. In recent fashion there are three: Chanel, Dior, and Mary Quant."

Cause of death: Not disclosed.

BARRY HUMPHRIES

Date of death: 22 April, 2023

Age at death: 89

About:

• Humphries was an Australian comedian, actor, author and satirist best known for writing and playing his stage and television characters Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson.
• Originally conceived as a dowdy Moonee Ponds housewife who caricatured Australian suburban complacency and insularity, the Dame Edna Everage character developed into a satire of stardom – a gaudily dressed, acid-tongued, egomaniacal, internationally fêted "housewife gigastar".
• Humphries' other satirical characters included the inebriated cultural attaché Sir Les Patterson and archetypal Australian "bloke" Barry McKenzie.

By the way:

• Tributes to Humphries were given by members of the British royal family including Charles III and Sarah, Duchess of York, and by Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese and Western Australian premier, Mark McGowan. Tributes were also given by members of the entertainment industry including Michael Parkinson, Eric Idle and Ricky Gervais.
• Although Humpries was instrumental in founding the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and was the namesake of the Barry Award for best show from 2000 to 2019. the Barry Award was renamed in 2019 following comments Humphries made about transgender people, which were deemed as "not helpful" by festival organisers. The comments included calling gender-affirmation surgery "self mutilation" and labelling being transgender "a fashion". The name change came after previous winners of the Barry, including Hannah Gadsby and Zoe Coombs Marr, called for the award to be renamed. Entertainer Miriam Margolyes has said her longtime friend Barry Humphries was "very hurt and saddened" after being "cancelled" by the Melbourne International Comedy Festival in his final years.
• Despite being born and raised in Melbourne, Humphries' family accepted the NSW government’s offer of a state funeral to be held in Sydney instead of in Melbourne.

Cause of death: Complications after hip surgery

HARRY BELAFONTE

Date of death: 25 April, 2023

Age at death: 96

About:

• Harry Belafonte was an American singer, actor, and civil rights activist, who popularized calypso music with international audiences in the 1950s and 1960s.
• Belafonte's career breakthrough album Calypso (1956) was the first million-selling LP by a single artist.

By the way:

• Belafonte was best known for his recordings of "Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)", "Jump in the Line (Shake, Senora)", "Jamaica Farewell", and "Mary's Boy Child".
• He recorded and performed in many genres, including blues, folk, gospel, show tunes, and American standards.
• He also starred in films such as Carmen Jones (1954), Island in the Sun (1957), Odds Against Tomorrow (1959), Buck and the Preacher (1972), and Uptown Saturday Night (1974). He made his final feature film appearance in Spike Lee's BlacKkKlansman (2018).
• He is one of the few performers to have received an Emmy, Grammy and Oscar (2015, Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award)

Cause of death: Congestive heart failure

JERRY SPRINGER

Date of death: 27 April, 2023

Age at death: 79

About:

• Springer was an American broadcaster, journalist, actor, producer, lawyer, and politician.
• Born in London during World War II to German Jewish refugees escaping the Holocaust, Springer was raised in Queens, New York City.
• He attended Northwestern University School of Law, qualified as a lawyer, and first became actively involved in politics working for the campaign of Robert Kennedy in 1968.
• A Cincinnati City Council member, Springer served as the 56th Mayor of Cincinnati from 1977 to 1978.
• He then worked as a local news anchor in Cincinnati where he won several Regional Emmy Awards for commentary.
• Springer was best known for hosting the sometimes controversial tabloid talk show Jerry Springer from 1991 to 2018.
• He was also the host of America's Got Talent from 2007 to 2008, and of the courtroom show Judge Jerry from 2019 to 2022.
• Off television, he also hosted The Jerry Springer Podcast from 2015 to 2022.
• He was noted as a pioneer in the emergence of "trash TV"; his eponymous show was a "commercial smash and certifiable cultural phenomenon" in the 1990s.

By the way:

• Jerry Springer debuted on September 30, 1991. It started as a politically oriented talk show, a longer version of Springer's commentaries. Guests on the show included Oliver North and Jesse Jackson, and topics included homelessness and gun politics.
• In early 1994, Springer and his new producer, Richard Dominick, revamped the show's format to garner higher ratings. The show became more successful as it became targeted toward tabloidish sensationalism. Guests were everyday people confronted on a television stage by a spouse or family member's adultery, homosexuality, transsexuality, prostitution, transvestism, hate group membership, or other controversial situations. These confrontations were often promoted by scripted shouting or violence on stage. The show received substantial ratings and much attention. By 1998, it was beating The Oprah Winfrey Show in many cities, and was reaching around 8 million viewers.
• On July 10, 2002, the sons of guest Nancy Campbell-Panitz – who was murdered by her ex-husband after they appeared on a May 2000 episode with his girlfriend – filed suit in Sarasota County against Springer, his producers, and his distributor, claiming he created "a mood that led to murder". Ultimately, the estate of Campbell-Panitz dropped all monetary claims against Jerry Springer and the show agreed to waive its claims for malicious prosecution against the personal representative of the estate of Campbell-Panitz and his counsel.

Cause of death: Pancreatic cancer

JOCK ZONFRILLO

Date of death: 30 April, 2023

Age at death: 46

About:

Barry "Jock" Zonfrillo was a Scottish chef, television presenter and restaurateur. He was the founder of the Orana Foundation and a judge on MasterChef Australia.

By the way:

In 2016, Zonfrillo started The Orana Foundation, to preserve historical cooking techniques and ingredients of Indigenous Australians. The foundation was awarded The Good Food Guide Food for Good Award in October 2017.[26] One of the foundation's projects was a database of 1,443 Aboriginal food plants created in partnership with the University of Adelaide. Launched in September 2020, the database provided information about the plants' nutritional profile, taste, flavour, and optimal methods of preparation and cooking.

Cause of death: His body was found after police were called to conduct a welfare check at Zagame’s House hotel. There was no immediate confirmation of his cause of death, but the police were not treating the death as suspicious and are preparing a report for the coroner.

GORDON LIGHTFOOT

Date of death: 1 May 2023

Age at death: 84

About:

• Lightfoot was a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist who achieved international success in folk, folk-rock, and country music.
• He is credited with helping to define the folk-pop sound of the 1960s and 1970s.
• He has been referred to as Canada's greatest songwriter and his songs have been recorded by some of the world's most renowned musical artists.
• Lightfoot's biographer Nicholas Jennings said, "His name is synonymous with timeless songs about trains and shipwrecks, rivers and highways, lovers and loneliness."
• Lightfoot's songs, including "For Lovin' Me", "Early Morning Rain", "Steel Rail Blues", "Ribbon of Darkness"—a number one hit on the U.S. country chart[5] with Marty Robbins's cover in 1965—and "Black Day in July", about the 1967 Detroit riot, brought him wide recognition in the 1960s. He topped the US Hot 100 or Adult Contemporary (AC) chart with the hits "If You Could Read My Mind" (1970), "Sundown" (1974); "Carefree Highway" (1974), "Rainy Day People" (1975), and "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" (1976), and had many other hits that appeared in the top 40.

By the way:

Bob Dylan, also a Lightfoot fan, called him one of his favourite songwriters and said, "I can't think of any Gordon Lightfoot song I don't like. Every time I hear a song of his, it's like I wish it would last forever....”

Cause of death:

• In mid-April 2023, Lightfoot's declining health caused him to cancel the remainder of his 2023 tour. Lightfoot died of natural causes at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto.
• The Mariners' Church in Detroit (the "Maritime Sailors' Cathedral" mentioned in "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald") honored Lightfoot the day after his death by ringing its bell a total of 30 times, 29 for each of the crewmen lost on the Edmund Fitzgerald, and the final time for Lightfoot himself. Additionally, the Split Rock Lighthouse, which overlooks Lake Superior in Minnesota, shone its light in honor of Lightfoot on May 3.

ROLF HARRIS

Date of death: 10 May, 2023

Age at death: 93

About:

• Harris was an Australian musician, television personality, painter, and actor.
• He often used unusual instruments like the didgeridoo and the Stylophone in his performances, and is credited with the invention of the wobble board.
• He was convicted in England in 2014 of the sexual assault of four underage girls, which effectively ended his career.
• Harris began his entertainment career in 1953, releasing several songs, including "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport" (a Top 10 hit in Australia, the UK and the United States), "Sun Arise", "Jake the Peg" and "Two Little Boys", which reached number 1 in the UK.
• From the 1960s, Harris was a successful television personality in the UK, later presenting shows such as Rolf's Cartoon Club and Animal Hospital. In 1985, he hosted the short educational film Kids Can Say No!, which warned children between ages five and eight how to avoid situations where they might be sexually abused, how to escape such situations and how to get help if they are abused.
• In July 2014, Harris was sentenced to five years and nine months in prison after being convicted on twelve counts of indecent assault on four female victims, who were between the ages of eight and nineteen at the time that the offences took place between the 1960s and 1980s. He was released on licence in 2017 after serving nearly three years at HM Prison Stafford.

By the way:

• Harris’s 2005 Harris's oil portrait of Her Maj was undertaken as part of a BBC television documentary to mark the Queen's 80th birthday. The monarch sat twice for Harris to paint her over the summer of 2005. After it was unveiled in December that year, the portrait, which took Harris two months to complete, initially went on public display at the Queen's Gallery in Buckingham Palace.
• The portrait does not belong to the Palace and it is unknown where it is now.

Cause of death:

In October 2022, it was reported that Harris was suffering with neck cancer, unable to talk, and was being fed via a tube. He also required 24-hour care. His death certificate gave the cause of death as neck cancer and "frailty of old age".

JIM BROWN

Date of death: 18 May 2023

Age at death: 87

About:

• Brown (February was an American football fullback, civil rights activist, and actor.
• He played for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL) from 1957 through 1965.
• Considered to be one of the greatest running backs of all time, as well as one of the greatest players in NFL history, Brown was a Pro Bowl invitee every season he was in the league, was recognized as the AP NFL Most Valuable Player three times, and won an NFL championship with the Browns in 1964.
• He led the league in rushing yards in eight out of his nine seasons, and by the time he retired, he held most major rushing records. In 2002, he was named by The Sporting News as the greatest professional football player ever.
• Brown was one of the few athletes, and among the most prominent African Americans, to speak out on racial issues as the civil rights movement was growing in the 1950s. He participated in the Cleveland Summit after Muhammad Ali faced imprisonment for refusing to enter the draft for the Vietnam War, and he founded the Black Economic Union to help promote economic opportunities for minority-owned businesses. Brown later launched a foundation focused on diverting at-risk youth from violence through teaching them life skills, through which he facilitated the Watts truce between rival street gangs in Los Angeles.

By the way:

Shortly before the end of his football career, Brown became an actor. He retired at the peak of his football career to pursue an acting career. He obtained 53 acting credits and several leading roles throughout the 1970s. He has been described as Hollywood's first black action hero and his role in the 1969 film 100 Rifles made cinematic history for featuring interracial love scenes.

Cause of death: Death reported as due to natural causes

TINA TURNER

Date of death: 24 May, 2023

Age at death: 83

About:

• Tina Turner was a singer, songwriter and actress.
• Known as the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer of the husband-wife duo Ike & Tina Turner before launching a successful career as a solo performer.
• She was recognized for her "swagger, sensuality, powerful gravelly vocals and unstoppable energy."
• In 1994 she began living in Küsnacht, Switzerland, and relinquished her American citizenship after obtaining Swiss citizenship in 2013.
• The Ike & Tina Turner Revue became "one of the most formidable live acts in history." The duo released hits such as "It's Gonna Work Out Fine", "River Deep – Mountain High", "Proud Mary", and "Nutbush City Limits" before disbanding in 1976.
• In the 1980s, Turner launched "one of the greatest comebacks in music history." Her 1984 multi-platinum album Private Dancer contained the hit song "What's Love Got to Do with It", which won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year and became her first and only number-one song on the Billboard Hot 100.
• Turner also acted in the films Tommy (1975) and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985). In 1986, she published her autobiography I, Tina: My Life Story, which was adapted for the 1993 film What's Love Got to Do with It. In 2009, Turner retired after completing her Tina!: 50th Anniversary Tour.

By the way:

• Turner sold more than 100 million records worldwide, becoming one of the best-selling recording artists of all time.
• She received 12 Grammy Awards, which include eight competitive awards, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and three Grammy Hall of Fame inductions.
• She was the first black artist and first woman to be on the cover of Rolling Stone.

Cause of death:

Turner revealed in her 2018 memoir My Love Story that she had multiple life-threatening illnesses. She had high blood pressure since 1978, which remained mostly untreated, and resulted in damage to her kidneys and eventual kidney failure. In 2013, three weeks after her wedding to Erwin Bach, she had a stroke and needed to learn to walk again. In 2016, she was diagnosed with intestinal cancer. She attempted to treat her health problems with homeopathy, and they worsened.

RALE RASIC

Date of death: 8 June 2023

Age at death: 87

About:

• The coach who led the Socceroos to their first World Cup appearance almost 50 years ago is being remembered as one of Australia's most important sporting pioneers after his death aged 87.
• Rasic coached the Socceroos to their inaugural World Cup in 1974
• Rasic revolutionised the game in Australia, he was appointed coach in 1970 at just 34 years of age, and in 1974, he led the Australia national team to the World Cup as coach.

By the way:

After the World Cup, the Australian Soccer Federation sacked Rasic, replacing him with Englishman Brian Green. Rasic and others believe that he was dumped because he was not seen as being a real "Aussie." He has stated, "They took from me something that I was doing better than anyone else. I was a true-blue Aussie and nobody can deny that. I taught the players how to sing the national anthem."

Cause of death: Not disclosed

SILVIO BERLUSCONI

Date of death: 12 June, 2023

Age at death: 86

About:

Prime Minister of Italy, 1994-95, 2001-06, 2008-11.

By the way:

• With a net worth of US$6.8 billion as of June 2023, Berlusconi was the third-wealthiest person in Italy at the time of his death.
• He was the controlling shareholder of Mediaset and owned the Italian football club AC Milan from 1986 to 2017.
• On 1 August 2013, Berlusconi was convicted of tax fraud by the Supreme Court of Cassation. His four-year prison sentence was confirmed, and he was banned from holding public office for two years. Aged 76, he was exempted from direct imprisonment, and instead served his sentence by doing unpaid community service. Three years of his sentence was automatically pardoned under Italian law; because he had been sentenced to gross imprisonment for more than two years, he was banned from holding legislative office for six years and expelled from the Senate.
• After his ban ended, Berlusconi ran for and was elected as an MEP at the 2019 European Parliament election.
• He returned to the Senate after winning a seat in the 2022 Italian general election,[14] and died the following year from complications of chronic leukaemia, and was given a state funeral.
• Berlusconi was known for his populist political style and brash personality. In his long tenure, he was often accused of being an authoritarian leader and a strongman.

Cause of death: Complications of chronic leukaemia

GLENDA JACKSON

Date of death: 15 June, 2023

Age at death: 87

About:

• Jackson was an English actress and politician.
• She was one of the few performers to achieve the American Triple Crown of Acting, having won two Academy Awards, three Emmy Awards and a Tony Award.
• A member of the Labour Party, she served continuously as a Member of Parliament (MP) for 23 years, initially for Hampstead and Highgate from 1992 to 2010, and Hampstead and Kilburn from 2010 to 2015, following boundary changes.
• Jackson won the Academy Award for Best Actress twice, for the romance films Women in Love (1970) and A Touch of Class (1973), but she did not appear in person to collect either due to work commitments.
• She also won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971).
• Her other notable performances include Mary, Queen of Scots (1971), Hedda (1975), The Incredible Sarah (1976), House Calls (1978), Stevie (1978) and Hopscotch (1980).
• She won two Primetime Emmy Awards for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth I in the BBC series Elizabeth R (1971).
• She received both the British Academy Television Award for Best Actress and International Emmy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Elizabeth Is Missing (2019).

By the way:

At the 2010 general election, her majority of 42 votes, confirmed after a recount, was the narrowest margin of victory in Great Britain. Jackson stood down at the 2015 general election and returned to acting.

Cause of death: Not disclosed

ALAN ARKIN

Date of death: 29 June, 2023

Age at death: 89

About:

• Arkin was an American actor and filmmaker.
• In a career spanning seven decades, he received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Tony Award as well as nominations for six Emmy Awards.
• Arkin gained stardom with his roles in the films The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming (1966), Wait Until Dark (1967), The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (1968), Popi (1969), Catch-22 (1970), Freebie and the Bean, (1974), and The In-Laws (1979).
• He later took on supporting roles in Edward Scissorhands (1990), Glengarry Glen Ross (1992), Grosse Pointe Blank (1997), Slums of Beverly Hills (1998), Thirteen Conversations About One Thing (2001), Sunshine Cleaning (2008), Get Smart (2008), and Argo (2012).
• For his performance as a foul-mouthed grandfather in Little Miss Sunshine (2006), he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

By the way:

A founding member of the folk group The Tarriers, he co-wrote "The Banana Boat Song" (also known as "Day-o"), which later became a mega-hit for Harry Belafonte.

Cause of death: Heart problems