Obituary
R.I.P. Ray Liotta, Goodfellas and Field of Dreams Actor Dead at 67
Ray Liotta, the veteran actor known for his roles in Goodfellas and Field of Dreams, has died at the age of 67. According to Deadline, Liotta passed away in his sleep in the Dominican Republic, where he was shooting the film Dangerous Waters. No cause of death has been made public at this time. Born December 18th, 1954, Liotta was bartending in New York when he caught his first break with a role on the daytime soap opera Another World. He joined the series in 1978 but left in 1981 to test his luck in Hollywood, booking parts on a Casablanca TV show and the crime drama Our Family Honor, before netting his first major film role in the Jonathan Demme-directed Something Wild (1986). The part earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Adve...
R.I.P. Alan White, Drummer for Yes and John Lennon Dead at 72
Alan White, the longtime drummer for prog-rock legends Yes, has died at age 72. The veteran musician, who was also a member of John Lennon’s Plastic Ono Band, passed away on Thursday (May 26th) after a “brief illness,” according to a Facebook posting by his family. White joined Yes in 1972 and remained their drummer until his passing. He joined the band for their tour in support of 1972’s Close to the Edge, replacing original drummer Bill Bruford, and made his recording debut with the band on 1973’s Tales from Topographic Oceans. He played on a total of more than 40 studio and live albums released by Yes, including their most recent full-length studio effort, 2021’s The Quest (the band’s 22nd studio album). Prior to joining Yes, White was recruited by John Lennon to be part of the ex-Beatl...
R.I.P. Norman Dolph, Early Velvet Underground Producer Dead at 83
Norman Dolph, the music industry polymath best known for his early work with The Velvet Underground, has died. He was 83. In a statement issued Friday, Planetary Group confirmed that Dolph had died on May 11th in New Haven, Connecticut, after a battle with cancer. “Touring galleries with someone who knew most of the artists personally was a privilege few people are lucky enough to experience,” added Invisible Hands Music owner Charles Kennedy, a close friend of Dolph’s. “I will miss Norman greatly but his friendship and the wisdom he imparted along the way is an endless well that I will cherish forever.” Dolph was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma on May 11th, 1939. After graduating from Yale with an electrical engineering degree in 1960, he moved to New York City, where he worked as a salesman at C...
R.I.P. Norman Dolph, Early Velvet Underground Producer Dead at 83
Norman Dolph, the music industry polymath best known for his early work with The Velvet Underground, has died. He was 83. In a statement issued Friday, Planetary Group confirmed that Dolph had died on May 11th in New Haven, Connecticut, after a battle with cancer. “Touring galleries with someone who knew most of the artists personally was a privilege few people are lucky enough to experience,” added Invisible Hands Music owner Charles Kennedy, a close friend of Dolph’s. “I will miss Norman greatly but his friendship and the wisdom he imparted along the way is an endless well that I will cherish forever.” Dolph was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma on May 11th, 1939. After graduating from Yale with an electrical engineering degree in 1960, he moved to New York City, where he worked as a salesman at C...
R.I.P. Vangelis, Composer Who Scored Chariots of Fire and Blade Runner Dead at 79
Vangelis, the acclaimed Greek composer who scored films including Chariots of Fire and Blade Runner, has died at the age of 79. According to the Guardian, Vangelis passed away in a French hospital, where he was reportedly being treated for complications related to COVID-19. Vangelis, who was born Evángelos Odysséas Papathanassíou in Agria, a coastal town in Magnesia, Thessaly, Greece, began composing music at the age of four. But when his parents enrolled him for music lessons, he quickly flunked out, preferring instead to develop his own techniques. In 1963 at the age of 20, Vangelis formed his first rock band with his childhood friends, and in 1966 he began scoring Greek films. Advertisement Related Video Two years later he achieved his first international hit, “Rain and Tears,” as part ...
Lil Keed, YSL Records Rapper, Dies at 24
Lil Keed, an up-and-coming Atlanta rapper signed to Young Thug‘s Young Stoner Life Records, has died. He was 24. Keed’s brother, Lil Gotit, first shared the news of the rapper’s passing in an Instagram post early Saturday morning (May 14). “Can’t believe I seened u die today bro I did all my cries I know what u want me to do and that’s go hard for Mama Daddy Our Brothers Naychur and Whiteboy,” Gotit wrote alongside a photo of the siblings. The cause of Keed’s (real name: Raqhid Render) death was not known at press time. Billboard has reached out to the artist’s representatives for further information. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Gotit shared another post on his Instagram Story on Saturday, writing, “@lilkeed Whyyy bra whyyy u leave ...
Atlanta Rapper Lil Keed Dead at 24
Atlanta rapper Lil Keed has died at the age of 24. Keed’s brother and fellow rapper, Lil Gotit, shared news of his passing in an Instagram post on Saturday. “Can’t believe I seened u die today bro,” he wrote. “I did all my cries. I know what u want me to do and that’s go hard for Mama, Daddy, Our Brothers, Naychur, and Whiteboy #ImaHoldthisShitDown.” Fellow members of the hip-hop community have also paid tribute to Keed, including Drake Rick Ross, Lil Yachty, and Quavo. Related Video A cause of death was not immediately clear. Lil Keed was a protégé of Young Thug and signed to his YSL record label. He released two mixtapes through YSL, 2019’s Long Live Mexico and 2020’s Trapped on Cleveland 3. Advertisement Earlier this week, Young Thug, Gunna, and several other members of YSL were arreste...
R.I.P. John R. Cherry III, Director and Ernest P. Worrell Creator Dead at 73
John R. Cherry III, the director and screenwriter known for creating the character Ernest P. Worrell, died on May 8th. He was 73. The news was announced on the official Ernest P. Worrell Facebook page, citing a long battle with Parkinson’s disease as his cause of death: “Unfortunately, I have some devastating news to share with you all. Our beloved John Cherry passed away this morning after a long and well-fought battle with Parkinson’s disease.” The tribute continues: “Buster, as his friends lovingly knew him by, was probably the most brilliant man I’ve ever met. Even as Parkinson’s began to rob him of some things, that creative mind of his was always going full-force to the best of its ability. He was kind, amazingly funny, generous and had a heart of gold. In addition to being a brillia...
Dennis Waterman, ‘The Sweeney’ Actor and ‘I Could Be So Good For You’ Singer, Dies at 74
Dennis Waterman, a stage and screen actor best known for The Sweeney and Minder, has died. He was 74. The actor’s manager Derek Webster told The Hollywood Reporter that Waterman’s wife Pam called with news of his death on Sunday, noting that Waterman died at a hospital in Spain. A cause was not given. The actor was born in 1948 in Clapham, London, and educated at the Corona Theatre School. He began his screen career as a child in 1960 in the drama Night Train for Inverness. In 1962 at the age of 14, Waterman took the role of William Brown in the BBC TV series William, which was based on the Just William books by Richmal Crompton. He followed this up with recurring roles in CBS comedy Fair Exchange and family series The Barnstormers, and films such as Peter Collinson’s Up the Junction and P...
Mickey Gilley, Country Star Who Helped Inspire ‘Urban Cowboy,’ Dies at 86
Country star Mickey Gilley, whose namesake Texas honky-tonk inspired the 1980 film Urban Cowboy and a nationwide wave of Western-themed nightspots, has died. He was 86. Gilley died Saturday (May 7) in Branson, Missouri, where he helped run the Mickey Gilley Grand Shanghai Theatre. He had been performing as recently as last month, but was in failing health over the past week. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “He passed peacefully with his family and close friends by his side,” according to a statement from Mickey Gilley Associates. Gilley — cousin of rock ‘n’ roll pioneer Jerry Lee Lewis — opened Gilley’s, “the world’s largest honky tonk,” in Pasadena, Texas, in the early 1970s. By mid-decade, he was a successful club owner and had enjoye...
R.I.P. Mike Hagerty, Mr. Treeger on Friends Dead at 67
Mike Hagerty, an icon of Chicago comedy known for roles on Friends and HBO’s Somebody, Somewhere, has died at 67. His passing was confirmed “with great sadness” by his Somebody, Somewhere co-star Bridget Everett. “A beloved character actor, his love of his hometown of Chicago and his family were the cornerstones of his life,” she wrote on Instagram. The cause of death has not been made public. Born May 10th, 1954 in Chicago, Illinois, Hagerty cut his teeth as part of the famed comedy troupe The Second City. He landed his first film role as an unnamed cop in 1983’s Doctor Detroit, and he booked his first small-screen job in an 1986 episode of Cheers. With his trademark mustache, thick Chicago accent, and impeccable comic timing, he became a constant presen...
Naomi Judd, Singer of Grammy-Winning Duo The Judds, Dies at 76
Naomi Judd, the Kentucky-born singer of the Grammy-winning duo The Judds and mother of Wynonna and Ashley Judd, has died. She was 76. The daughters announced her death on Saturday (April 30) in a statement provided to The Associated Press. “Today we sisters experienced a tragedy. We lost our beautiful mother to the disease of mental illness,” the statement said. “We are shattered. We are navigating profound grief and know that as we loved her, she was loved by her public. We are in unknown territory.” The statement did not elaborate further. The Judds were to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame on Sunday. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The mother-daughter performers scored 14 No. 1 songs in a career that spanned nearly three decade...
