Obituary
Dead Kennedys Drummer D.H. Peligro Dead At 63
Longtime Dead Kennedys drummer D.H. Peligro died Friday (October 28th) at the age of 63. According to a statement from the band, Peligro died “from trauma to the head caused by an accidental fall” in his Los Angeles home. “Arrangements are pending and will be announced in the coming days. We ask that you respect the family’s privacy during this difficult time. Thank you for your thoughts and words of comfort,” the statement added. D.H. Peligro, who was born Darren Henley, replaced original Dead Kennedys drummer Ted (Bruce Slesinger) in 1981. He made his debut on the EP In God We Trust, Inc., and also drummed on the albums Plastic Surgery Disasters, Frankenchrist, and Bedtime for Democracy, as well as singles/rarities collection, Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death. Related Video Following...
Jerry Lee Lewis, Rock Music Pioneer, Dead at 87
Jerry Lee Lewis, the rock and roll innovator whose career stumbled after his marriage to his 13-year-old cousin Myra Gale Brown, is dead at the age of 87. Lewis’ passing was announced on Friday, October 28th by his publicist, Zach Farnum of 117 Group. His death had previously been erroneously reported by TMZ and other outlets on October 26th. According to an accompanying obituary written by Rick Bragg, the musician “suffered through the last years of his life from various illnesses and injuries that, his physicians have often said, should have taken him decades ago.” Advertisement Related Video “He is ready to leave,” his seventh wife Judith was quoted as saying before his death in his home in Desoto County, Mississippi, just south of Memphis. A trailblazing pianist, Lewis helped popu...
Leslie Jordan Killed in Car Crash After Suffering Medical Emergency
Leslie Jordan, the beloved actor, writer, and singer, has died at the age of 67. TMZ reports that Jordan died Monday (October 24th) after suffering a medical emergency and crashing his car into the side of a building. “The world is definitely a much darker place today without the love and light of Leslie Jordan,” said Jordan’s agent David Shaul in a statement confirming his death. “Not only was he a mega talent and joy to work with, but he provided an emotional sanctuary to the nation at one of its most difficult times. What he lacked in height he made up for in generosity and greatness as a son, brother, artist, comedian, partner, and human being. Knowing that he has left the world at the height of both his professional and personal life is the only solace one can have today.” A native of...
Joanna Simon, Acclaimed Singer, TV Correspondent and Carly’s Sister, Dies at 85
Joanna Simon, an acclaimed mezzo-soprano, Emmy-winning TV correspondent and one of the three singing Simon sisters who include pop star Carly Simon, has died at age 85. Simon, the eldest of four, died Wednesday (Oct. 19), just a day before her sister Lucy died, according to Lucy’s daughter, Julie Simon. Their brother Peter, a photographer, died in 2018 at 71. All three had cancer. “In the last 2 days, I’ve been by the side of both my mother and my aunt, Joanna, and watched them pass into the next world. I can’t truly comprehend this,” Julie wrote on Facebook. Joanna Simon, who died of thyroid cancer, rose to fame in the opera world and as a concert performer in the 1960s. She was a frequent guest on TV talk shows. After her retirement from singing, she became an arts correspondent for PBS’...
Carly Simon Loses Both Sisters to Cancer a Day Apart
Joanna Simon and Lucy Simon, Carly Simon’s two older sisters, passed away a day apart this week following their respective battles with cancer. Joanna, a former opera singer, died October 19th at age 85 of thyroid cancer, while Lucy, a Broadway composer, died October 20th at age 82 of breast cancer. The daughters of Simon & Schuster co-founder Richard Simon, all three of the Simon sisters worked in the entertainment industry from a young age. Lucy and Carly performed as the folk duo The Simon Sisters in the 1960s before Carly’s pop career took off in the ’70s. Lucy continued her own solo career and even won two Grammy Awards for In Harmony: A Sesame Street Record and In Harmony 2, children’s music albums she produced with her husband, David Levine. In 1991, Lucy composed the Tony-nomin...
Mexican Woman Who Reportedly Inspired Pixar’s Mama Coco Dead at 109
María Salud Ramírez Caballero, who reportedly inspired Pixar’s character of Mama Coco in the animated film Coco, has died at the age of 109. Her death was confirmed on Sunday, October 16th by Roberto Monroy, the Secretary of Tourism in the Mexican state of Michoacán. No official cause of death was revealed. In a statement posted on Twitter, Monroy remembered the ceramic potter as “the inspiration” for the “beloved character” of Mama Coco. Released in 2017, Coco was inspired by the Mexican holiday of Día de los Muertos (or Day of the Dead) and stars a 12-year-old boy named Miguel who ends up in the Land of the Dead after strumming a guitar that once belonged to a famous musician. Mama Coco is Miguel’s great-grandmother in the movie and was voiced by Ana Ofelia Murguía. Advertisement Related...
Robbie Coltrane, Comic Performer Who Played Hagrid in ‘Harry Potter’ Movies, Dies at 72
Robbie Coltrane, the veteran comic and actor known for his star turns in the British crime series Cracker and the Harry Potter movie franchise, died Friday (Oct. 14), The Hollywood Reporter has learned. He was 72. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Coltrane’s agent Belinda Wright called him a “unique talent,” whom she’ll remember as “an abidingly loyal client.” “As well as being a wonderful actor, he was forensically intelligent and brilliantly witty, and after 40 years of being proud to be to called his agent, I shall miss him,” Wright added of Coltrane in a statement. The boisterous and decidedly eccentric Scotsman, who began his career in comedy and theater, also commanded the screen in two James Bond films during an illustrious career ...
R.I.P. Mike Schank, Unlikely Star of Award-Winning Documentary American Movie Dead 56
Mike Schank, who was immortalized as a good guy and a great friend in the award-winning documentary American Movie, has died at the age of 56. His passing was announced by his friend Jackie Bogenberger on social media and confirmed by the Milwaukee Record. On October 13th, she wrote that he “passed away early this morning in his mother’s arms. He immediately went on to meet his father and sister who he has missed for a very long time. He was very uncomfortable these last few days, and is in a much better place now.” She told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he had recently been diagnosed with cancer. Related Video Schank became an unlikely icon after American Movie premiered at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Grand Jury Prize for documentary. The fi...
Greg Epler, Longtime Fuel Manager, Dies at 64
Greg Epler, the veteran music manager and booking agent who worked closely with Fuel, Lisa Simone and others, has died at the age of 64. Epler began his career in the music business in the late 1980s and found his niche in 1994, with the launch of Greg Epler Management, which he built with an ethos of championing up-and-coming bands. One of those acts was Fuel, the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania rockers which he co-managed with Dave Sestak at Media Five. Epler worked with the group since its inception and was instrumental in getting Fuel signed to Epic Records in the 1990s, an alliance that delivered a string of platinum and double platinum recordings. The band has five career appearances on the Billboard 200, including a No. 15 for 2003’s Natural Selection; and a No. 17 peak for 2000’s Somethin...
R.I.P. Angela Lansbury, Golden Age Hollywood Star Dead at 96
Dame Angela Lansbury, the acclaimed British-American actress and one of the last surviving film stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age, has died at 96. “The children of Dame Angela Lansbury are sad to announce that their mother died peacefully in her sleep at home in Los Angeles at 1:30 AM today, Tuesday, October 11th, 2022, just five days shy of her 97th birthday,” her family said in a statement. Angela Brigid Lansbury was born in London to an English father and Northern Irish mother. After her father died from stomach cancer when Lansbury was nine years old, she coped by throwing herself into films and acting. The onset of the Blitz during World War II prompted Lansbury and her mother to relocate to the United States, where Lansbury began her stage acting career in New York City. Advertisement ...
Brooks Arthur, Grammy-Winning Producer and Engineer, Has Died
Brooks Arthur, the multiple Grammy Award-winning record producer and engineer who worked on hits by Leiber and Stoller, The Grateful Dead, Burt Bacharach, Bruce Springsteen, Van Morrison and many more, died Sunday (Oct. 9). Born Arnold Brodsky in New York City back in 1936, the music man cut his teeth in the industry while still in high school, scoring a part-time job in the Decca Records mailroom. From there, he could see how the entire business in action. Several years later, he was tapped by Aldon Music as a songwriter and demo singer, along with the likes of Carole King, Neil Sedaka, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil. There, he wrote “At the Edge of Tears,” recorded by a young Tony Orlando, who would introduce Arthur to his engineering mentor. The hits would roll on at Associated Studios, wh...
Art Laboe, DJ Known for Playing ‘Oldies but Goodies,’ Dies at 97
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/music-news/art-laboe-dead-oldies-but-goodies-1235238488/ Art Laboe, the DJ and music promoter who spent 79 continuous years on the radio, was an innovator of the compilation album and coined and trademarked the term “Oldies but Goodies,” has died. He was 97. Laboe died peacefully Friday at his home in Palm Springs after a brief bout with pneumonia, Joanna Morones, a spokesperson for his production company, Dart Entertainment, announced. He was on the air as recently as Sunday night with his pre-recorded The Art Laboe Connection, the syndicated program that he launched in 1991. “My favorite place to be is behind that microphone,” Laboe said. “I have one of the best jobs in the world, playing the music, interacting with our listeners, doing their dedica...
