Obituary
R.I.P. Joanna Cole, Author of The Magic School Bus Dies at 75
Joanna Cole, who combined wacky humor and plainspoken science in The Magic School Bus book series, has died at the age of 75. Her publisher Scholastic announced that she died last Sunday, July 12th. According to the New York Times, the cause was idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a disease that leads to irreversible lung scarring. Cole grew up in Newark, New Jersey, and graduated from City College of New York. She spent time as an elementary school teacher, a librarian, and an editor for magazines and children’s books. Her authorial debut was called “Cockroaches”, and she later said it was inspired by her “low-budget New York apartment.” Her humor and inventiveness attracted Scholastic senior editorial director Craig Walker. Walker had been hearing from teachers that they wanted more...
Body of Glee Actress Naya Rivera Recovered in California Lake
The body of Glee actress Naya Rivera was recovered in Lake Piru in Ventura Country, California on Monday, five days after she first went missing. Search and rescue members of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department found Rivera’s body in the early morning hours of Monday. Ventura County Sheriff Bill Ayub believes Rivera’s death was the result of an accidental drowning, as there was no indication of foul play or suicide. Autopsy results are forthcoming. Ventura County Sheriff’s Department began a search for Rivera after her four-year-old son was found floating alone in a rented boat in Lake Piru on Wednesday, July 8th. Police says Rivera rented a boat with her son around 1:00 p.m. local time on Wednesday. Three hours later, her son was spotted floating by ...
Eddie Gale, Jazz Trumpeting Great, Dies at 78
Eddie Gale, a pioneering jazz trumpeter who work on numerous classics with Sun Ra, Cecil Taylor and many more, died Friday (July 10) after a battle with cancer. He was 78. Born in Brooklyn in 1941, Gale got a frontrow seat with the finest jazz musicians of the era, including Bud Powell, the bebop pianist who lived nearby, and trumpeter Kenny Dorham. A fast learner, he soon found himself in jam sessions with the likes of drummers Art Blakey and Max Roach and saxophonists Illinois Jacquet, Sonny Stitt, and Jackie McLean. In the early ’60s, a 20-something Gale connected with Sun Ra. A long-standing professional relationship was formed and Gale toured and recorded with Ra’s Arkestra throughout the ’60s and ’70s. His output with the intergalactic jazz icon included the 1965 set Secrets of ...
Kelly Preston, Actress in ‘SpaceCamp,’ ‘Jerry Maguire,’ Dies at 57
Kelly Preston, the actress who starred in such movies as Jerry Maguire and, most recently, opposite husband John Travolta in Gotti, has died. She was 57. Preston died Sunday after a two-year battle with breast cancer, Travolta wrote on Instagram. “It is with a very heavy heart that I inform you that my beautiful wife Kelly has lost her two-year battle with breast cancer,” he wrote. “She fought a courageous fight with the love and support of so many. My family and I will forever be grateful to her doctors and nurses at MD Anderson Cancer Center, all the medical centers that have helped, as well as her many friends and loved ones who have been by her side. Kelly’s love and life will always be remembered. I will be taking some time to be there for my...
R.I.P. Kelly Preston, Jerry Maguire and Twins Actress Dies at 57
Kelly Preston, veteran actress of Jerry Maguire, Twins, and Nothing to Love, passed away on Sunday night (June 12th) after a two-year battle with breast cancer. She was 57. Her longtime husband, John Travolta, confirmed the news on Instagram: “It is with a very heavy heart that I inform you that my beautiful wife Kelly has lost her two-year battle with breast cancer. She fought a courageous fight with the love and support of so many. My family and I will forever be grateful to her doctors and nurses at MD Anderson Cancer Center, all the medical centers that have helped, as well as her many friends and loved ones who have been by her side. Kelly’s love and life will always be remembered. I will be taking some time to be there for my children who have lost their mother, so forgive...
R.I.P. Fiona Adams, Early Photographer of The Beatles Dies at 84
Fiona Adams, the iconic classic rock photographer who documented the early days of The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, and Bob Dylan, has died at 84. According to BBC News, her son Karl confirmed her death at a hospice on June 26th. She had been battling pancreatic cancer. Adams’ photography career early on featured architectural work, as well as assignments related to travel, advertising, wildlife, and general news coverage. It was her pivot to pop culture photography, however, that resulted in Adams’ worldwide fame. The Guernsey-born Adams captured numerous photos of the Fab Four, the most iconic of which — John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr jumping in the air on a London bomb site — was shot for Boyfriend Magazine in April 1963. The photograph was later used on the sle...
R.I.P. Charlie Daniels, “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” Singer and Fiddle Player Dies at 83
Charlie Daniels, the Country Music Hall of Fame member best known for the hit single “The Devil Went Down to Georgia”, has died at the age of 83. According to The Tennessean, Daniels passed away Monday, June 6th, after suffering a hemorrhagic stroke. Having mastered guitar, fiddle, banjo, and mandolin by the age of 20, Daniels got his start in Nashville as a session musician. Notably, he played bass on three Bob Dylan albums, including 1969’s Nashville Skyline. He also worked alongside Leonard Cohen and Ringo Starr. In 1972, Charlie Daniels formed the Charlie Daniels Band and promptly achieved a string of country hits in “Uneasy Ride”, “The South’s Gonna Do It Again”, and “Long Haired Country Boy”. In 1979, Daniels composed what proved to be the definitive song of his caree...
R.I.P. Ennio Morricone, Legendary Italian Composer Dies at 91
Ennio Morricone, the Oscar-winning Italian composer who gave life to Sergio Leone’s Spaghetti Westerns and scored over 500 titles for film and television, has died. He was 91. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Morricone died in Rome following complications from a fall last week that resulted in a broken femur bone. One of the most influential composers of all time, Morricone’s resume is infinite and involves essential collaborations with the aforementioned Leone, Giuseppe Tornatore, Dario Argento, Brian De Palma, Quentin Tarantino, John Carpenter, and the list goes on. This is a developing story… You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and...
Ennio Morricone, Legendary Composer for the Movies, Dies at 91
Ennio Morricone, the Oscar winner whose haunting, inventive scores expertly accentuated the simmering, dialogue-free tension of the spaghetti Westerns directed by Sergio Leone, has died. He was 91. The Italian composer, who scored more than 500 films — seven for his countryman Leone after they had met as kids in elementary school — died in Rome following complications from a fall last week in which he broke his femur. A native and lifelong resident of Rome whose first instrument was the trumpet, Morricone won his Oscar for his work on Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight (2015) and also was nominated for his original scores for Terrence Malick’s Days of Heaven (1978), Roland Joffe’s The Mission (1986), Brian De Palma’s The Untouchables (1987), Barry Levinson’s Bugsy (1991) and Giuseppe To...
R.I.P. Nick Cordero, Celebrated Broadway Actor Dies at 41 From Coronavirus
Nick Cordero, an accomplished Tony Award-nominated Broadway actor, has died at the age of 41 due to complications from coronavirus. Cordero’s wife, Amanda Kloots, announced her husband’s passing in a statement posted to Instagram on Sunday, July 5th. “God has another angel in heaven now. My darling husband passed away this morning. He was surrounded in love by his family, singing and praying as he gently left this earth,” Kloots wrote. “I am in disbelief and hurting everywhere. My heart is broken as I cannot imagine our lives without him. Nick was such a bright light,” Kloots added. “He was everyone’s friend, loved to listen, help and especially talk. He was an incredible actor and musician. He loved his family and loved being a father and husband. Elvis and I will miss him in everything w...
Nick Cordero, Standout Actor in Broadway Musicals, Dies of COVID-19 Complications at 41
He received a Tony nomination for ‘Bullets Over Broadway’ and starred in ‘Waitress,’ ‘A Bronx Tale the Musical’ and ‘Rock of Ages.’ Nick Cordero, the charming Tony-nominated actor known for his work in Bullets Over Broadway, Waitress and A Bronx Tale the Musical, died Sunday (July 5) after a grueling battle with the coronavirus, his wife announced. He was 41. Since being diagnosed with what was thought to be pneumonia in late March, the Canadian actor spent weeks in intensive care at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, had his right leg amputated, lost more than 60 pounds and was hoping to receive a double-lung transplant. Cordero had come to L.A. to star as Bourbon Room owner Dennis Dupree in an immersive adaptation of the long-runni...
R.I.P. Johnny Mandel, Composer of the M*A*S*H Theme Song Dies At 94
Johnny Mandel, the Oscar and Grammy-winning composer who wrote the M*A*S*H theme song , has died at the age of 94. According to The New York Times, Mandel’s daughter Marissa confirmed that he passed away on Monday (June 29th) at his home in Ojai, California. Mandel was born in New York City on November 23rd, 1925. His father was a garment manufacturer and his mother was an opera singer who noticed early on that her son had perfect pitch. After picking up trumpet and trombone as a child, Mandel would go on to study at both the Manhattan School of Music and New York’s esteemed Juilliard School. In the 1940s, he played the aforementioned brass instruments in groups with jazz greats like Joe Venuti, Jimmy Dorsey, Buddy Rich, June Christy, and many others. Although Mandel was a well-known ...
