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In Memoriam

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#1 ·
A place to remember those who have touched our lives:


Lyricist Adolph Green dead at 86
From the Life & Mind Desk
Published 10/24/2002 7:44 PM


NEW YORK, Oct. 24 (UPI) -- Adolph Green, the screenwriter-lyricist whose six-decade collaboration with Betty Comden resulted in such classic Broadway and movie musicals as "Singing' in the Rain," "On the Town" and "The Will Rogers Follies" died in his sleep at his home in New York early Thursday. He was 86.

Green was born Dec. 2, 1915 -- although some sources list the date at 1914 -- in New York. After high school, he worked as a messenger on Wall Street and pursued a career in show business.

He first partnered with Comden and a young performer named Judy Tuvin -- who later changed her name to Judy Holliday -- in the late 1930s, as a trio called The Revuers, performing music and comedy at the Village Vanguard in New York's Greenwich Village. Collaborating with Leonard Bernstein, they had their first Broadway success in 1944 with "On the Town," the story of three sailors on a 24-hour leave in wartime New York.

Bernstein composed the music. Comden and Green not only wrote the book and the lyrics -- they also gave themselves plum roles. "On the Town" established their reputation on Broadway.

Comden and Green went on to work with such leading composers as Cy Coleman and Jule Styne, collaborating on hit shows for stars such as Lauren Bacall ("Applause"), Judy Holliday ("Bells Are Ringing") and Phil Silvers ("Do Re Mi"). Their collaboration resulted in such standards as "New York, New York," "The Party's Over," "Just in Time" and "Make Someone Happy."

With Styne, they created the 1954 production of "Peter Pan," starring Mary Martin. The show was adapted for TV in 1955, in a production that became a family favorite and was rebroadcast several times during the 1950s and '60s.

Marilyn Bergman, president and chairman of the American Society of Composers and Publishers (ASCAP), called Green one of the "most eloquent voices" in American music.

"Adolph Green, in his long collaboration with Betty Comden, created some of the most enduring classics in our music literature," said Bergman. "He will personally and professionally be missed by us and we mourn his passing."

Comden and Green were nominated for 12 Tony Awards, winning seven times. They won for best musical in 1953 ("Wonderful Town", 1968 ("Hallelujah, Baby!"), 1970 ("Applause") and 1991 ("The Will Rogers Follies").

In 1958, the partners staged a two-person show on Broadway, "A Party with Betty Comden and Adolph Green." They revived it from time to time over the years.

In Hollywood, Comden and Green were honored three times for best written musical by the Screenwriters Guild of America -- later the Writers Guild of America -- for "On the Town" (1949), "Singin' in the Rain" (1951) and "Bells Are Ringing" (1960).

They received Kennedy Center Honors in 1991, and the Writers Guild of America's highest honor, Screen Laurel Award, in 2001.

In one of his last public appearances, Green appeared with Comden and other principals from "Singin' in the Rain" at a 50th anniversary screening of their film classic at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Beverly Hills, Calif.

The movie is ranked No. 10 on the American Film Institute's list of the 100 greatest American movies of all time, but Green said when he and Comden first began work on the project he was sure it wouldn't work.

Arthur Freed -- who had produced MGM musicals including "On the Town" (1949) and the 1951 best picture Oscar-winner, "An American in Paris" -- assigned Comden and Green to write a screenplay around a stack of songs he had written over the years,

"We thought we were sunk," said Green.

Instead, he and Comden came up with the crown jewel of their legendary career.

Comden and Green also collaborated in Hollywood on "The Barkleys of Broadway" (1949), "The Band Wagon" (1953 and "Auntie Mame" (1958). Green also appeared occasionally as an actor in Hollywood. His screen credits included "The Substance of Fire" (1996) and "My Favorite Year" (1982).

Green is survived by his wife, actress Phyllis Newman, his son Adam and daughter Amanda.

Copyright © 2002 United Press International
 
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#2 ·
washingtonpost.com
Reactions
Friends and Colleagues on the Death of Sen. Wellstone


The Associated Press
Friday, October 25, 2002; 3:52 PM


"Paul Wellstone was a man of deep convictions. He was a plainspoken fellow who did his best for his state and for his country. May the good Lord bless those who grieve." – President Bush.

"Paul Wellstone was the soul of the Senate. He was one of the most noble and courageous men I have ever known. He was a gallant and passionate fighter, especially for the less fortunate. I am grateful to have known Paul and Sheila as dear and close friends." – Senate Majority Leader Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.)

"Today, the nation lost its most passionate advocate for fairness and justice for all. All of us who knew and loved Paul Wellstone in the Senate are devastated by his loss. He had an intense passion and enormous ability to reach out, touch and improve the lives of the people he served so brilliantly." – Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.)

"Rarely does a person come along who combines such passion for noble causes with such personal kindness. The loss of Paul, Sheila and Marcia is a devastating blow to me and my family and leaves a huge hole in our hearts as well as the U.S. Senate." – Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.)

"For the people of Minnesota, this is too heartbreaking for words. For the entire United States Senate, this is a death in our family. For all of us, this is a reminder of the dedication of the men and women who serve their country in public office." – Senate Republican leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.)

"Paul Wellstone was a man of conviction, who never swayed from his beliefs even when he was fighting a lonely battle. I admired his tenacity and his resolve and my heart goes out to his family at this tragic time." – Sen. Phil Gramm (R-Texas)

"This is a terrible, terrible loss for Minnesota and for the nation. Paul Wellstone was a very principled person who brought enormous, heartfelt passion to everything he did in the Senate. I had so much respect and affection for this fellow senator and fellow college professor." – Sen. Zell Miller (D-Ga.)

"I am completely overwhelmed by sadness at the tragic death of Paul, Sheila and Marcia Wellstone and the others who perished ... Minnesota has lost two compassionate and caring public servants. Nobody fought harder for the underdog than Paul and Sheila Wellstone." – Rep. Jim Ramstad (R-Minn.)

"So many people who never knew Paul are better off because of him. We all loved Paul for his energy and independence. He was the pied piper of modern politics – so many people heard him and wanted to follow him in his fight. His loss is monumental. I loved his passion, his spirit, and his zest for making peoples' lives better. This is sad beyond any words." – Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.)

"Senator Paul Wellstone stood up for the little guy, but he never had small thoughts. He was tireless and unapologetic for championing the rights of working men and women – even when he stood alone, and he often did." – AFL-CIO President John Sweeney


© 2002 The Associated Press
 
#3 ·
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OBITUARY

Richard Harris, 72




Associated Press

Friday, October 25 – Online Edition, Posted at 6:47 PM EST



London — Irish actor Richard Harris, the roistering star of screen gems such as A Man Called Horse and This Sporting Life and, later, the wise old Professor Dumbledore in two Harry Potter movies, died Friday night at a London hospital. He was 72.

"With great sadness, Damian, Jared and Jamie Harris announced the death of their beloved father, Richard Harris," his family said.

"He died peacefully at University College Hospital," where he was receiving treatment for Hodgkin's Disease after falling ill earlier this year.

A tall, sturdy figure with a reputation as a hellraiser and a lived-in face that he once described as looking like "five miles of bad country road," Mr. Harris was never cut out to join contemporaries as a smooth matinee idol.

The critic Clive Barnes called him one of a new breed of British actors, who are "rougher, tougher, fiercer, angrier and more passionately articulate than their well-groomed predecessors . . . roaring boys, sometimes with highly coloured private lives and lurid public images."

He caught the eye of critic Kenneth Tynan who once bracketed him with Albert Finney and Peter O'Toole as one of the three best young actors on the British stage.

Later in life, Harris found a new generation of fans as Dumbledore. He played the white-bearded wizard in last year's Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone, and returns in the role in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, which opens Nov. 15.

Mr. Harris was nominated twice for best-actor Academy Awards, for his role as violent, inarticulate Yorkshire miner Frank Machin in Lindsay Anderson's 1963 This Sporting Life, and then as the thundering Irish peasant Bull McCabe in director Jim Sheridan's little-seen 1990 film, The Field.

Mr. Harris also was nominated for an Emmy for 1971's The Snow Goose.

Within the last decade, Mr. Harris also appeared in two winners of the best-picture Oscar — Unforgiven in 1992 and 2000's Gladiator, in which he played the war-weary Emperor Marcus Aurelius.

Inspired by the writings of the Russian director Konstantin Stanislavsky, the young Mr. Harris initially had set his heart on directing, but acting soon claimed him, and he enjoyed his first stage success with Joan Littlewood's pioneering Theatre Workshop.

He also won the Best Actor award at the 1963 Cannes Film Festival for This Sporting Life. Other major roles include Major Dundee, Hawaii, Camelot, The Molly Maguires, A Man Called Horse and Cromwell.

Born Oct. 1, 1930, in Limerick, southern Ireland, Mr. Harris suffered a bout of tuberculosis in adolescence, which friends say fostered the brooding, introspective quality of his acting. He moved to London to study, but when he couldn't find a suitable directing course he joined an acting course at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, in 1956.

While still a student, he hired the tiny "off-West End" Irving Theatre and directed his own production of Clifford Odets's Winter Journey (The Country Girl).

The critics approved, but the production used up his savings and he was forced to sleep in a coal cellar for six weeks.

In 1956, Mr. Harris joined the Theatre Workshop, which helped lead the advance toward realism and experiment in British theatre. His first professional appearance was in 1956 as Mickser in the Littlewood production of Brendan Behan's The Quare Fellow at the Theatre Royal, Stratford.

It was a small part, but Lee Strasburg, director of the New York Actors Studio, said it had the "sharpest impact" of any performance he had seen by an actor in Britain.

A variety of roles followed: Louis in Arthur Miller's A View From the Bridge and Paulino in Pirandello's Man, Beast and Virtue.

To earn extra income, he turned to television, and his first film part was a cameo in a comedy called Alive and Kicking.

Mr. Harris's first lead role in London's West End came later that year when he opened as Sebastian Dangerfield in J.P. Donleavy's The Ginger Man, a study of the life of a drunken Dublin student.

After more TV work in England and the United States, Mr. Harris received good notices for his "sturdy" performance as a mutinous sailor in the 1962 remake of Mutiny on the Bounty with Marlon Brando, although the film itself drew generally unfavourable reviews.

This Sporting Life — his first film lead — took London and New York by storm and established him as an actor of the first rank.

New York Post critic Archer Winsten called it "a great, indelibly memorable performance," and William Peper in the New York World-Telegram wrote that Mr. Harris "reminds one fleetingly of Marlon Brando. He also has his own kind of raging power and startling sensitivity."

Typically, Mr. Harris turned his back on the plaudits to produce a financially unrewarding but artistically acclaimed presentation of The Diary of a Madman, which he and Lindsay Anderson adapted from Gogol's short story about a Russian clerk's decline into insanity.

Mr. Barnes described Mr. Harris's performance as the clerk, Aksenti Ivanovitch, as a tour de force that "struck me as one of the greatest things I have ever seen in the theatre."

After a series of bombs — Orca, The Ravagers, Game for Vultures, Your Ticket is No Longer Valid — Mr. Harris's career then hit the skids.

"I made a decision that half was made for me by the motion picture business," he recalled. "Around 1980, I decided that was it, that my career was really finished. I was doing a series of movies that I wasn't happy doing. The standard of the movies was very low. Because of what I was offered, I was unhappy."

He decided to quit films entirely. For three years he toured in Camelot, then from 1986 to 1989, he was content to do nothing. He decided to "finish my career on a high note" and embarked on Pirandellos's difficult Henry IV, winning plaudits all round.

Possessed of a sharp temper, Mr. Harris was no stranger to arguments and was known to cancel interviews and miss appearances if he felt indisposed.

After decades of heavy boozing, he gave up drinking in 1982 — typically, after drinking two last bottles of expensive wine at one sitting.

He is survived by his three sons from his first marriage to Elizabeth Rees-Williams.





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Copyright © 2002 Bell Globemedia Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
 
#4 ·
Actor James Coburn dies of heart attack at 74
Copyright © 2002 AP Online



By JOHN ROGERS, Associated Press

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (November 19, 2002 12:30 a.m. EST) - Actor James Coburn, who took on the role of the tough guy in such films as "Our Man Flint" and "The Magnificent Seven," but whose anguished portrayal of an abusive father in "Affliction" finally earned him an Oscar, died Monday. He was 74.
Coburn died of a heart attack at home while listening to music with his wife, said his manager, Hillard Elkins.

Coburn won the Academy Award for best supporting actor for the 1998 film after overcoming a 10-year struggle with arthritis that left one hand crippled.

Despite those earlier physical problems he had been upbeat and working regularly, Elkins said Monday night. Most recently, he appeared in the new film "The Man From Elysian Fields" and finished another called "American Gun."

"And I have five or six scripts I've got to get out of my office because he can't shoot them now," said Elkins, his voice breaking.

Born in Laurel, Neb., on Aug. 31, 1928, Coburn studied acting in Los Angeles and with Stella Adler in New York

He appeared on stage in New York and in such dramatic television series as "Studio One" and "General Electric Theatre" in the 1950s.

He made his movie debut in "Ride Lonesome" in 1959, following it with another Western, "Face of a Fugitive," the same year.

He caught the public's attention the following year, when he played knife-throwing Britt in the epic Western "The Magnificent Seven."

Although he had few lines compared with his other macho co-stars, who included Yul Brynner, Eli Wallach and Steve McQueen, film historian Leonard Maltin noted Coburn's mere screen presence grabbed the public's attention.

"He was a guy who looked like he was casual, but he studied and he worked and he understood character," Elkins said of Coburn's success.

"He was a hell of an actor, he had a great sense of humor and those performances will be remembered for a very long time," he added.

After "The Magnificent Seven," Coburn played sidekicks and villains until the late 1960s when he cashed in on the James Bond mania with the humorous spy spoofs "Our Man Flint" and "In Like Flint."

Such films as "The President's Analyst," which he also produced, the World War II escape epic "The Great Escape" and "Goldengirl" followed.

In the 1980s he all but disappeared from the screen with the onset of arthritis. He said he "healed himself" with pills that had a sulfur base. His knuckles remained gnarled, but he said in a 1999 interview with The Associated Press that the pain was gone.

He said then, when the film roles weren't coming, "I've been reading a lot of stuff. I want to go to work. It's what I do best; it's the only thing I can really do.

"Actors are boring when they're not working, it's a natural condition, because they don't have anything to do, they just lay around and that's why so many of them get drunk. They really get to be boring people. My wife will attest to that," he said with a hearty laugh.

Finally able to work again, he capped his career with an Oscar for a supporting role, after playing leads for most of his life. He portrayed Glen Whitehouse, the abusive father to Nick Nolte's cop character.

It was his only Oscar nomination, and it came after about 80 films.

"I've been working and doing this work for, like, over half my life and I finally got one right I guess," he said in his acceptance speech.

"Some of them you do for money, some of them you do for love," he added. "This is a love child."
 
#5 ·
Veteran Actor Richard Crenna Dies at 76
Sat Jan 18, 8:02 PM ET

By LAURA WIDES, Associated Press Writer

LOS ANGELES - Richard Crenna, the Emmy award-winning character actor who starred as a lovesick teenager on "Our Miss Brooks" and Sylvester Stallone (news)'s Green Beret mentor in the "Rambo" films, has died. He was 76.


Crenna, whose credits also included "Wait Until Dark," "The Flamingo Kid," and television's "The Real McCoys," died Friday of pancreatic cancer at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, daughter Seana Crenna said Saturday.


"This came very sudden," she said.


Crenna's role on the CBS drama series "Judging Amy (news - Y! TV)" was recently put on hold as he battled cancer.


"He was one of the brightest, nicest, funniest and most talented actors I've ever worked with," Sylvester Stallone said Saturday. "He was everyone's friend."


Crenna often played tough guys on screen, but at home he rarely lost his sense of humor, his family said.


"Even after 46 years, he had me laughing, even in the hospital," his wife, Penni Crenna, said Saturday.


Born in Los Angeles, Crenna's career began at the age of 10 when he broke into radio. The squeaky-voiced youngster appeared on "Burns and Allen"; later, he played love-sick teen Walter Denton on "Our Miss Brooks," moving with the show when it switched to television.


"For the first 20 years I was almost exclusively a radio actor — until television came in," Crenna told The Associated Press in 1999. "In those days, radio actors were considered actors who could talk, but they couldn't walk and talk at the same time."


Crenna disproved that theory, playing pitcher Daffy Dean in 1953 film "Pride of St. Louis" and bringing his Denton character to television and the big screen.


From 1957 through 1963, he played opposite Walter Brennan on the television series "The Real McCoys." In the show's last two seasons, Crenna directed some episodes; he later directed episodes of "The Andy Griffith (news) Show" and "Lou Grant."


In 1966, Crenna appeared with Steve McQueen in "The Sand Pebbles," and played one of three con men who terrorized a blind Audrey Hepburn in the 1967 thriller "Wait Until Dark."


Crenna moved easily between television and the movies, and worked steadily through the years. He appeared in several critically hailed movies, including roles as the cuckolded husband in the steamy 1981 film "Body Heat," and as the conniving card shark opposite Matt Dillon (news) in 1984's "The Flamingo Kid."


The latter role earned him a Golden Globe nomination for best supporting actor.


He also portrayed Col. Samuel Trautman, the mentor to Stallone's "Rambo" character, in all three of those films.


Crenna later spoofed that role in the 1993 comedy "Hot Shots! Part Deux," a parody of such high-testosterone films. His character's name: Col. Denton Walters, a nod to his old radio persona.


He earned an Emmy for his 1985 performance as the title character in "The Rape of Richard Beck," where he played a macho, sexist police officer whose world changes after he becomes the victim of a sexual assault.


Crenna's work as a tough-guy cop became a staple. He played Lt. Frank Janek in a series of television movies during the '80s and early '90s, and appeared in 1999 in a four-hour television series about three generations of a police family.

Most recently, he appeared as the love interest opposite Tyne Daly (news) on CBS' "Judging Amy." An episode featuring a wedding between the two characters was recently postponed because of Crenna's illness.

Crenna is survived by his wife and three adult children.

Family members were arranging a public service to be held Jan. 25.
 
#6 ·
Thanks Bruce I didn't know he had died. I liked him. I remember when he played a cop who was raped by two men and I thought it took a lot of guts to play that part! I think it was called "The Rape of Richard Beck"??? Not that that's all I remember him for! Another great loss to us. Take care. angel
 
#7 ·
I remember that show as well. He was always the gentleman, and had great versatility. I was surprised at his age, would have guessed he was younger. I enjoyed his role opposite Tyne Daily in "Judging Amy", and wonder how they will treat that relationship.

Dying of Pancreatic Cancer is some way to go. I understand that from point of diagnosis to death is mercifully fast.
 
#8 ·
Bruce: I had a friend who died of that and she died exactly one month from the diagnosis. I was amazed it was so fast as she didn't really look that sick at diagnosis...just some digestive problems. It was pretty sad. :( Take care. angel
 
#9 ·
My ex motherinlaw died in my bed 6 weeks post diagnosis, so that's why I said mercifully fast. She died about 6AM. At about three in the morning my two and a half year old niece woke up, walked over to the bed, and said "goodbye Nanna". It kind of made the whole process "special".
 
#10 ·
Bruce: That's sad. Arlene seemed to get worse after the chemo...she ended up dying in the nursing home I worked as a nurse at. She was in pain until they put her on Duragesic patches and then she quietly slipped away. Hospice helped out with her. She was 53. If I have to die just don't let it be in pain! I saw enough patients of mine die in agony...it hurts to not be able to help them all slip peacefully away. Take care. Marlene

Good night now for sure! :)
 
#11 ·
Thanks Bruce,
Richard Crenna was a terrific Character actor... It was merciful that he did not have a prolonged illness. That he was able to practice his craft and work almost till the end was wonderful.
I am sorry to see him go.
 
#14 ·
Hello, friends

I'm sorry to hear of your losses, and wish each of you the measure of peace to your hearts and souls that it takes to bear such things.

Why is it that so often you hear of some one being diagnosed with a sickness and and then, way too soon, that person is no more?

Sometimes it seems that one would be better off not being diagnosed in the first place.

I realize that perhaps some people wait too long to seek medical treatment, and some ailments progress faster than others. It;s just that I hear too often of an untimely resolution for some people that have been "recently diagnosed."

:mad:
 
#15 ·
RT seeing your post that make my heart heavy, i hope all is well, and may they decorate themselves for many more moons to come;)


you've been added to my list of those i wish a bit more luck to come your way each day when i rise, call it what you will; i believe in the power of positive thought - be well, to you and all that you love
 
#16 ·
I remember that wonderful description of you and Everett on the lawn, it just wasn't his time, and you two bonded so nicely. Ultimately, we're all just passing through, but I think most of us would agree that longer is better.

I just got off the phone with a friend that visited his brother-in-law's for Christmas, and then came back here. He just returned from that brother-in-laws funeral who died unexpectantly at 63. He had to turn around and go right back. We just never know, so savor every moment, that's my mantra:)
 
#17 ·
Thanks, jimi

You are a good human bean!;)

Things are Ok here, my grandaughter spent the weekend with us.
Ended up making hats out of colored cardboard - she wanted to use the stapler directly on my head when she measured mine to ensure a good fit!
I said I've got enough holes in the rocks in my head already!

Good advice Bruce, we could all benefit from your attitude. Because you never know what life has in store.

As the sage bd (used to be on the board, and my be back a litttle bit) has said:
We're all in this together, but none of us will get out alive.
 
#18 ·
Actress-Singer Collapses, Found By Son

Actress Nell Carter, who starred in the television comedy "Gimme A Break," died at her Beverly Hills home Thursday of natural causes, her publicist Roger Lane announced Thursday. She was 54.

Lane said the actress-singer collapsed and was found this morning by one of her 13-year-old adopted sons.

Carter starred as the sassy housekeeper in the sitcom "Gimme a Break!" from 1981 to 1987, and won a Tony for her performance in the Broadway musical "Ain't Misbehavin."

Carter also starred in the soap opera "Ryan's Hope" from 1978-79. She also appeared as a guest in several television series, including "Touched by an Angel," "Reba" and most recently, "Ally McBeal."

According to Lane, Carter had suffered from diabetes for years, and underwent brain surgery in 1992 to remove an aneurysm.

She recovered, and continued to perform -- and had been in rehearsals for the musical "Raisin."
 
#21 ·
Horst Buchholz, 'James Dean of German films,' is dead at 69

March 4, 2003










BERLIN--Horst Buchholz, a German actor whose Hollywood credits include a communist heartthrob in Billy Wilder's Cold War satire ''One, Two, Three,'' died Monday in Berlin, a hospital said. He was 69.

Mr. Buchholz, who was recovering from a broken thighbone, died in intensive care at the Charite hospital, spokeswoman Kerstin Ullrich said. She declined to provide further details.

Dubbed the James Dean of German films for the rebellious teens he played in the late 1950s, Mr. Buchholz moved to the United States and scored his first Hollywood hit with a role in ''The Magnificent Seven,'' the 1960 Western with Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen and James Coburn.

The next year, director Billy Wilder cast him alongside James Cagney in ''One, Two, Three.'' Set around the building of the Berlin Wall, the biting comedy features Cagney as a Coca-Cola executive who learns his boss' daughter has secretly married a communist, played by Buchholz.

He also made movies in Britain, Spain, Italy and France, and played a Nazi concentration camp doctor in Roberto Benigni's Oscar-winning 1997 film ''Life Is Beautiful.''

Born Dec. 4, 1933, in Berlin's working-class Prenzlauer Berg district, the shoemaker's son survived World War II in the countryside where Nazi officials sent children to protect them from Allied bombing raids on the capital.

In the tough postwar years, Buchholz landed his first stage role at 15 in a Berlin theater version of the German children's classic ''Emil and the Detectives.'' He dropped out of high school in 1950, took acting lessons and worked toward his film career with roles on Berlin stages over the next five years. His Broadway debut came in 1959 in ''Cherie.''

AP
 
#22 ·
Atlantic Monthly editor-at-large Michael Kelly killed covering war in Iraq

By Jonathan D. Salant, Associated Press, 4/4/2003 20:23

WASHINGTON (AP) Michael Kelly, editor-at-large for The Atlantic Monthly, was killed while covering the war in Iraq, the first American journalist to die in the conflict.

Kelly, also a columnist for The Washington Post and a former editor of The New Republic, died Thursday night along with a U.S. soldier when their Humvee went into a canal. Kelly, 46, was traveling with the Army's 3rd Infantry Division as one of 600 journalists embedded with U.S. forces.

Four foreign journalists have died covering the conflict.

Kelly, who also covered the first Gulf War, told ABC News last month that he did not consider his Iraq assignment overly dangerous.

''There is some element of danger, but you're surrounded by an Army, literally, who is going to try very hard to keep you out of danger,'' he said.

Condolences came Friday from government officials and Kelly's colleagues.

President Bush ''expresses his sorrow and his condolences to the Kelly family,'' White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said.

Atlantic Monthly owner David Bradley said the magazine ''has had 145 years of good times and bad, but no moment more deeply sad than this one now.''

''Michael Kelly will be remembered as a gifted wordsmith, someone whose creativity and pure skill was obvious in every column,'' said Alan Shearer, editorial director of the Washington Post Writers Group, which syndicated Kelly's column.

Kelly's former colleagues at The Cincinnati Post, an early stop in his career, remembered him for his doggedness, humor and unusual fashion choices, which included red socks and a pink sports coat.

Sue Hertz was one of Kelly's University of New Hampshire classmates and now teaches journalism at the school. She recalled how Kelly combined his love of beer and writing in one memorable story from the blizzard of 1978 that socked the region with snow and heavy flooding.

''While the rest of us were back on the UNH campus wondering what it would be like to be stuck in a bar during the storm, Michael Kelly was, and wrote about it,'' she said. ''Everyone has a Michael Kelly story he was that kind of guy.''

A native of Washington, Kelly was the son of two journalists Thomas Kelly, a former reporter, and Marguerite Kelly, who writes the syndicated column, ''Family Almanac.''

Kelly was fired as editor of The New Republic, a weekly political journal, in 1997 by owner Martin Peretz, a friend and former teacher of then-Vice President Al Gore. Peretz objected to what he felt was the magazine's constant criticism of the Clinton administration.

Kelly became a columnist for the Post and was hired as the editor of National Journal, a weekly magazine that covers the federal government. When the magazine's owner, Bradley, bought The Atlantic Monthly in 1999, he named Kelly editor.

Last September, Kelly stepped down from that post and became editor-at-large. He was also chief editorial adviser at National Journal.

Kelly covered the first Gulf War, and the Iraq-Kurdish conflict that followed it. He later wrote a book based on his reporting, ''Martyr's Day.''

Before taking the helm of The New Republic, Kelly was a reporter for The New York Times and a writer and editor at The New Yorker.

Kelly's final column for The Washington Post was published Thursday. In it, he wrote about accompanying an Army task force as it captured a bridge across the Euphrates River.

''On the western side of the bridge, Lt. Col. Ernest `Rock' Marcone, commander of Task Force 3-69, stood in the sand by the side of the road, smoking a cigar and drinking a cup of coffee,'' Kelly wrote. ''Marcone's soldiers say he deeply likes to win, and he seemed quietly happy.''

Kelly is survived by his wife, Madelyn, and two sons, Tom, 6, and Jack, 3.
 
#23 ·
Posted: 12:05 p.m. EDT April 11, 2003
Updated: 1:44 p.m. EDT April 11, 2003

The singer who took the pop song "The Loco-motion" to the top of the charts in 1962 has died.

Her manager says Little Eva -- Eva Narcissus Boyd -- died in Kinston, NC, Thursday after a long illness.

Boyd was just a teenager when the song became a hit. Various sources place her year of birth between 1943 and 1946.

Boyd was discovered by Carole King and Gerry Goffin after they hired her as a babysitter. They asked her to sing a demo of "The Loco-motion," which they had written together.

After hearing the demo, they decided to release it as a single.

The singer also had the top 20 songs "Keep Your Hands Off My Baby" and "Let's Turkey Trot."

Boyd is survived by two daughters, a son, 15 grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren, two brothers and three sisters. (What a lovely sized family she had!)
 
#25 ·
I don't have any cut-'n-paste, but I feel the need to mention Lynn Thigpen, who passed away suddenly last month.

She first came to my attention as The Chief on "Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego" and was most recently seen on "The District".

Until her passing I had no idea she previously was a soap star.

Anyway, The Chief deserves a mention.
 
#26 ·
I didn't know. I really appreciated her as an actress. Here's some bio:

LYNN THIGPEN Died Mar. 12, 2003

Tony award winning actress Lynn Thigpen died suddenly at age 54. Ms. Thigpen may be best known for her role in the children’s geography TV show "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?" She was currently was co-starring in the TV series "The District" with Craig T. Nelson on CBS. Ms. Thigpen won a Tony Award for her performance in the play "An American Daughter." Ms. Thigpen plays the judge in the soon to be released Adam Sandler/Jack Nicholson comedy "Anger Management." Ms. Thigpen appeared in nearly 50 films and TV series during her career. She made her debut in the rock version of the Gospel According to Matthew "Godspell." Walter Hill fans know her as the female D-Jay in "The Warriors" and from "Streets of Fire." She also appeared in Sidney Pollack’s "Tootsie," "Bob Roberts," "Sweet Liberty," "The Paper," "Naked in New York," "The Insider," the remake of "Shaft," "Novocaine" and the TV version of "An American Daughter." Ms. Thigpen had recurring roles on "L.A. Law," "Gimmie a Break," "thirtysomething" and "Law and Order." Ms. Thigpen was also nominated twice for the Image Award for her work on "All My Children" and "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?"

Here's a link:

http://www.einsiders.com/features/columns/mar03obituaries.php

Scroll down to her name.
 
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