Irving Brecher (January 17, 1914, New York City - November 17, 2008, Los Angeles) enjoyed early success as a screenwriter for the Marx Brothers; he was the only writer to get sole credit on a Marx Brothers film including At the Circus in 1939 and Go West in 1940. He was also one of the numerous uncredited writers on the screenplay of 1939's The Wizard of Oz. Some of his other screenplays were Shadow of the Thin Man (1941), Ziegfeld Follies (1946) and Bye Bye Birdie (1963).
He wrote and directed Sail A Crooked Ship starring Ernie Kovacs and a young Robert Wagner. He received an Academy Award nomination in 1944 for his screenplay of Meet Me in St Louis. His memoir is scheduled for 2008 publication by Ben Yehuda Press
Death of Irving Brecher Irving Brecher died of age-related causes at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Irving Brecher was 94 years old at the time of his death.
Jimmy Carl Black (born James Inkanish, Jr., February 1, 1938 – November 1, 2008) was a drummer and vocalist for The Mothers of Invention.
Born in El Paso, Texas, he was of Cheyenne heritage. His trademark line was "Hi Boys and Girls, I'm Jimmy Carl Black, and I'm the Indian of the group." He has been credited on some Mothers albums as playing "drums, vocals, and poverty".
He appeared in the movie 200 Motels and sings the song Lonesome Cowboy Burt.
He worked as a guest vocalist with Muffin Men, a Frank Zappa tribute band based in Liverpool, England, and with Jon Larsen, on the surrealistic Strange News From Mars project, featuring several other Zappa alumni, such as Tommy Mars, Bruce Fowler, Arthur Barrow.
Black was diagnosed with lung cancer in August 2008, and died on November 1st. A benefit will be held on 9 November 2008 at the Bridgehouse II in London.
Ray Ellis (July 28, 1923 Philadelphia - October 27, 2008 Encino, California) was an American record producer, arranger and conductor. The orchestration for Billie Holiday's Lady in Satin is perhaps his best known work in the jazz vein.
Ellis arranged many hit records in the 1950s and 1960s. Included are classics such as "A Certain Smile" by Johnny Mathis; Broken Hearted Melody by Sarah Vaughan; and "Standing On The Corner" by the Four Lads. In 1970 he produced Emmylou Harris' debut LP Gliding Bird.
Ellis work encompassed all areas of music, from records to film, commercials, and television. His television theme music credits include NBC News At Sunrise with Connie Chung and the original cartoon series Spider-Man. In the early 1960s, Ellis had a contract to produce his own easy listening record albums with RCA Victor, MGM, and Columbia, the most popular probably being Ellis in Wonderland.
Death of Ray Ellis Ray Ellis died of complications from melanoma Ray Ellis was 85 years old at the age of his death.
Muslim Mahammad oglu Magomayev (Azeri: Müslüm Maqomayev; born August 17, 1942 in Baku - October 25, 2008 in Moscow) was an Azerbaijani baritone operatic and pop singer of the 1960s and 1970s.
Death of Muslim Magomaev Muslim Magomaev died after a long illness. Muslim Magomaev was 66 years old at the time of his death.
Early life Muslim Magomaev represented one of the most respected artistic dynasties in Azerbaijan. His grandfather Muslim Magomayev (1885-1937), a friend and contemporary of the prominent Azerbaijani composer Uzeyir Hajibeyov, was one of the founders of Azerbaijani-composed music. Magomaev's father, Mahammad Magomaev, who died during World War II, was a gifted Scenic designer, and his mother was an actress.
Muslim Magomaev's biography continues on next page
Estelle Reiner (June 5, 1914 - October 25, 2008), described by The New York Times as "matriarch of one of the leading families in American comedy", was an actress who was the wife of Carl Reiner and the mother of Rob Reiner. Reiner, herself, has been credited with delivering one of the most memorable lines in movie history.
Death of Estelle Reiner Estelle Reiner died of natural causes on October 25, 2008 at age 94 in her home in Beverly Hills, California.
Estelle Reiner's most enduring film role was in 1989's When Harry Met Sally..., in which director Rob Reiner cast his mother as a customer in a scene with stars Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan at Katz's Delicatessen, in which Ryan fakes what was described as "a very public (and very persuasive) orgasm". Approached by a waitress after Ryan finishes, Reiner deadpans "I’ll have what she’s having". The line was ranked 33rd on the American Film Institute's list of the Top 100 movie quotations, just behind Casablanca's "Round up the usual suspects".
Merl Saunders (February 14, 1934 – October 24, 2008) was an American multi-genre musician who played piano and keyboards, favoring the Hammond B-3 console organ.
Born in San Mateo, California, Saunders gained notice in the 1970s when he began collaborating with Jerry Garcia, with the Grateful Dead and with Garcia's bands The Legion of Mary and Reconstruction.
Death of Merl Saunders Merl Saunders died in San Francisco, California on the morning of October 24, 2008, after fighting infections as a result of complications related to the stroke which he suffered in 2002. Merl Saunders was 74 years old at the time of his death.
Biography He led his own bands, as Merl Saunders and Friends, playing live dates with Garcia, as well as Mike Bloomfield, David Grisman, Tom Fogerty, Vassar Clements, Kenneth Nash, John Kahn and Sheila E.
He has worked with musicians Paul Pena, Bonnie Raitt, Phish, Miles Davis, and B. B. King. Merl also recorded with The Dinosaurs, a "supergroup" of first-generation Bay Area rock musicians.
Richard Blackwell (born Richard Sylvan Selzer) (August 29, 1922 - October 19, 2008) was a fashion critic, journalist, television and radio personality, artist, former child actor and former fashion designer, sometimes known just as Mr. Blackwell. He was the creator of the Ten Worst Dressed Women list, an annual awards presentation he unveiled in January of each year. He published the "Fabulous Fashion Independents" list and an annual Academy Awards fashion review, both of which receive somewhat less media attention. His longtime companion, former Beverly Hills hairdresser, Robert Spencer, managed him. He wrote two books, Mr. Blackwell: 30 Years of Fashion Fiascos and an autobiography, From Rags to Bitches.
Death of Richard Blackwell Blackwell died in Los Angeles on October 19, 2008, aged 86, of complications from an intestinal infection
Dee Dee Warwick (September 25, 1945 - October 18, 2008), was an African-American soul singer. She was born Newark, New Jersey as Delia Mae Warrick. Following the example of her elder sister, Dionne Warwick, she changed her surname from Warrick to Warwick in the early 1960s.
She is best-known for her hits during the 1960s, including the #13 R&B hit I'm Gonna Make You Love Me, co-written by Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff and later covered by Diana Ross & the Supremes, The Temptations, and Play. She is also a two time Grammy nominee for "Foolish Fool" and "She Didn't Know".
Recordings of both her Mercury Records years and her Atco years are available on CD and hopefully her RCA, Kama Sutra, Heritage and Private Stock Records will follow. In late 2006 Dee Dee returned to much success singing background for Dionne in concert and also was part of the "Family First" song in the Tyler Perry movie and soundtrack for "Daddy's Little Girls"
In January 2008 Dee Dee is featured in the title song from Dionne's gospel album "Why We Sing" and was continuing background work with her sister
In February 2008, Dee Dee continued her background vocals for Dionne's one woman show "My Music and Me" in Europe.
Warwick was the niece of gospel singer Cissy Houston and a cousin of Whitney Houston
Levi Stubbles (June 6, 1936 - October 17, 2008), better known by the stage name, Levi Stubbs, was an American baritone singer, best known as the lead vocalist of the famed Motown R&B group The Four Tops.
Death of Levi Stubbles Levi Stubbles died October 17, 2008 at his home in Detroit after a long serious illness including cancer and a stroke -- that forced him to stop performing in 2000. Levi Stubbles was 72 years old at the time of his death
The Four Tops Stubbs began his professional singing career with friends Abdul "Duke" Fakir, Renaldo "Obie" Benson and Lawrence Payton to form the Four Aims in 1954. Two years later, the group changed their name to the Four Tops. The group began as a supper-club act before finally signing to Motown Records in 1963; by the end of the decade, The Four Tops had over a dozen hits to their name.
Levi Stubbs' biography continues next page
Four Tops - I'll be there. Lead singer is Levi Stubbs
Edie Adams (April 16, 1927 - October 15, 2008) was an American singer, Broadway, television and film actress and comedienne.
Edie Adams made sporadic appearances through the decades on television, including on Fantasy Island The Love Boat, Murder, She Wrote and Designing Women.
Death of Edie Adams Edie Adams died of cancer and pneumonia in Los Angeles, where she resided, aged 81
Adams starred on Broadway in Wonderful Town (1953) opposite Rosalind Russell (winning the Theatre World Award), and as Daisy Mae in Li'l Abner (1956), winning the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. She played the Fairy Godmother in Rodgers and Hammerstein's original 1957 Cinderella broadcast. She played supporting roles in several well-known films in the 1960s, including "Miss Olsen" in The Apartment (1960). In 2003, as one of the last surviving headliners from the all-star movie, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, she joined actors Marvin Kaplan and Sid Caesar at 40th anniversary celebrations of the movie. She was also a favorite nightclub headliner. Adams "both embodied and winked at the stereotypes of fetching chanteuse and sexpot blonde".
Alton Ellis OD (born Alton Nehemiah Ellis) (September 1, 1940 - October 10, 2008) was a musician best known as one of the innovators of rocksteady music, and was often referred to as the "Godfather of Rocksteady". In 2006, he was inducted into the International Reggae And World Music Awards Hall Of Fame.
Alton Ellis died on 10 October 2008 at Hammersmith Hospital, West London, after collapsing during a show in London in August of that year.
Eileen Herlie (born Eileen Herlihy; March 8, 1918 – October 8, 2008) was a Scottish-American actress.
Until the late 1990s, Herlie was one of the few actresses to ever portray the same character on three different soaps. In 1993, she portrayed Myrtle on the All My Children sister-soap Loving. In December 2000, she portrayed Myrtle in crossover appearances on the soap opera One Life to Live, where a 'Who's the Daddy?' storyline was playing out on all four ABC soaps (All My Children, One Life to Live, General Hospital, and the now canceled Port Charles).
Death of Eileen Herlie On October 8, 2008, Eileen passed away due to complications from pneumonia. She was 90 years old.
Nick Reynolds is the father of folk songs, paved the way for Bob Dylan and Joan Baez.
Nick Reynolds (July 27, 1933 San Diego, California - October 1, 2008 San Diego, California) American folk musician and recording artist. One of the founding members of The Kingston Trio group, whose largely folk-based material captured international attention during the late fifties and early sixties.
Death of Nick Reynolds Nick Reynolds died on October 1, 2008, in San Diego, CA Nick Reynoldswas 75 years old at the time of his death
Nick Reynolds lived the last years of his life comfortably and well in Coronado, California with his wife Leslie. For eight years, Nick joined John Stewart to do a “Trio” fantasy camp in Scottsdale, Arizona. In addition to a dinner with a question and answer session, fantasy campers joined Reynolds and Stewart on stage to perform a song, becoming for that one moment a member of a "Kingston Trio," the group whose contributions to folk, pop, and world music constitute Nick Reynolds' musical legacy.
Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 - September 26, 2008) was an American actor, film director, entrepreneur, race car driver, racing team owner and humanitarian. He won numerous awards, including an Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Cannes Film Festival Award, and an Emmy award, along with many honorary awards. He won several national championships as a driver in Sports Car Club of America road racing and his race teams won several championships in open wheel Indy Car racing. He was also the founder of Newman's Own, a food company from which Newman donated all profits and royalties to charity. As of May 2007, these donations have exceeded US$220 million. Newman died at his long-time home in Westport, Connecticut after a battle with lung cancer.
Illness and death Newman was scheduled to make his professional directorial stage debut with the Westport Country Playhouse's 2008 production of John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, but he stepped down on May 23, 2008, citing health issues.
In June 2008 it was widely reported that Newman, a former chain smoker, had been diagnosed with lung cancer and was receiving treatment at Sloan-Kettering hospital in New York City. Photographs taken of Newman in May and June showed him looking gaunt. Writer A.E. Hotchner, who partnered with Newman to start Newman's Own salad dressing company in the 1980s, was quoted in the media as saying that Newman told him about the disease about 18 months ago. Newman's spokesman told the press that the star is "doing nicely," but neither confirmed nor denied that he had cancer. In August, Newman reportedly had finished chemotherapy and had told his family he wished to die at home. His daughter, Nell, is poised to take over Newman's Own.
Paul Newman died of lung cancer on September 26, 2008 aged 83 at his long-time home in Westport, Connecticut. He was surrounded by his family and close friends
** Connie Haines' mother Mildred JaMais is still alive at 109 years of age.
Yvonne Marie Antoinette JaMais (January 20, 1921 – September 22, 2008) was an American singer who performed under the stage name Connie Haines. Her 200 recordings were frequently up-tempo big band songs with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra and Frank Sinatra.
Life and career She began performing at age 4, and by age 9 had a regular radio show performing as Baby Yvonne Marie, the Little Princess of the Air.
After a number of regional successes and winning the Major Bowes contest, she was hired by Harry James, who asked her to change her name. She and James both later joined Tommy Dorsey, and Haines credited Dorsey with developing her style further. Haines performed in a number of films, including Duchess of Idaho.
She died in Clearwater Beach, Florida of myasthenia gravis.
Richard William Wright (July 28, 1943 - September 15, 2008) was a self-taught pianist and keyboardist best known for his long career with Pink Floyd. Though not as prolific a songwriter as his bandmates Syd Barrett, Roger Waters and David Gilmour, he wrote significant parts of the music for classic albums such as Meddle, Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here, as well as for Pink Floyd's final studio album The Division Bell. Wright’s richly textured keyboard layers were a vital ingredient and a distinctive characteristic of Pink Floyd's sound. In addition, Wright frequently sang background and occasionally lead vocals onstage and in the studio with Pink Floyd (most notably on the songs "Time," "Echoes," and on the Syd Barrett composition "Astronomy Domine").
Death of Richard Wright Richard Wright died of cancer on 15 September 2008. Richard Wright was 65 years old at the time of his death
Evan Tanner (February 11, 1971 – September 8, 2008) was an American professional mixed martial arts fighter. He was a former UFC Middleweight and USWF Heavyweight champion with a professional record of 32 wins and 8 losses. He was also the first American to win the Pancrase Neo-Blood tournament in Tokyo, Japan.
Death of Evan Tanner
According to San Diego Union-Tribune, Tanner was found Monday, September 8, 2008 in the Palo Verde mountain area, the Imperial Valley Press has reported.
Tanner, 37, had embarked on a camping trip some time around Sept. 2 into the desert-like region north of Brawley, Calif., approximately two and a half hours east of San Diego.
Sherdog.com has ascertained various unconfirmed reports that Tanner’s body was identified Monday and that relatives have been notified. An autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday.
Deana Epperson, who grew up across the street from Tanner and his family in his hometown of Amarillo, Texas, said she'd been told that the fighter had texted friends in Oceanside as late as Thursday, telling them that he'd run out of water and gas for his motorcycle. Authorities were then contacted to try and locate the fighter.
Anita Pomares, better known as Anita Page (August 4, 1910 – September 6, 2008), was an American film actress and one of a few people to have acted as an adult (albeit young) in silent films (Barbara Kent, Dorothy Janis, and Miriam Seegar are among the handful of others) to live into the 21st century. She was also the last known living attendee of the very first Academy Awards in 1929.
Death of Anita Page Anita Page died in her sleep on September 6, 2008 in Los Angeles, California of natural causes. Anita Page was 98 years old at the time of her death.
Biography
Page entered films via A Kiss For Cinderella in 1925. She and her family were very close to Betty Bronson's family, and she got the part through Betty. After a few small but well received parts, was offered a contract with MGM Studios. MGM moulded her into one of their biggest female stars of the silent era, pairing her with such popular actors as Ramon Novarro and William Haines. Her performances in Our Dancing Daughters (1928) opposite Joan Crawford (with whom she appeared in three films), and The Broadway Melody (1929) opposite Bessie Love were her greatest successes of the period, and her popularity allowed her to make a smooth transition into talking pictures.
José Cuauhtemoc "Bill" Meléndez (November 15, 1916 - September 2, 2008) is a Mexican-born American character animator, film director, and film producer, known for his cartoons for Warner Brothers and the Peanuts series. Meléndez provided the voice of Snoopy and Woodstock in the latter as well.
Death of Bill Meléndez Bill Meléndez's cause of death is unknown but he died peacefully Bill Meléndez was 91 years old at the time of his death.
In 1938, Meléndez was hired by Walt Disney to work on animated short films and feature-length films such as Bambi, Fantasia, and Dumbo.
After a decade Meléndez founded his own production company in 1964. Bill Melendez Productions helped produce the annually broadcast Christmas special A Charlie Brown Christmas, for which he won an Emmy Award and the George Foster Peabody Award despite having to work on short notice and with a tight budget. Meléndez performed the voice of Snoopy, who normally in the specials does not talk.
Meléndez has gone on to do over 75 half-hour Peanuts specials, including the 1989 miniseries This is America, Charlie Brown, as well as four feature-length motion pictures – all with partner Lee Mendelson.
Donald LaFontaine (August 26, 1940 – September 1, 2008) was an American voice actor famous for recording over 5,000 movie trailers, television commercials, network promotions, and video game trailers. His signature voice was both ominous and sonorous. Due to the sheer volume of trailer voiceovers LaFontaine recorded, he became identified with the phrase "In a world...", which has been used in movie trailers so frequently that it has become a cliché. He also parodied this cliché several times, more recently in a commercial for GEICO insurance.
Death of Don LaFontaine Don LaFontaine was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California with a blood clot in his lungs on August 22, 2008, and was reported as being in critical condition the following Tuesday. His family made a public appeal on the Mediabistro.com site. LaFontaine died September 1, 2008 following complications from pneumothorax
Jerry Reed Hubbard (March 20, 1937 - September 1, 2008), known professionally as Jerry Reed, was an American country music singer, country guitarist, session musician, songwriter, and actor who appeared in over a dozen films. As a singer, he may be best known for When You're Hot, You're Hot, for which he received the Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance in 1972 and East Bound and Down, the theme song to the first Smokey and the Bandit movie in which he portrayed the "Snowman", Cletus Snow.
Death of Jerry Reed Jerry Reed died in Nashville, Tennessee, of complications from emphysema. Jerry Reed was 71 years old at the time of his death
Jerry Reed's filmography & discography continues next apge
Hazel Warp (1914 – August 26, 2008) was an American stuntwoman. She was Vivien Leigh's stunt double in Gone with the Wind. Warp rode and trained horses in the film, was a Leigh's stand-in in all of her horseback-riding scenes. She also tumbled down the stairs in the famous scene near the end of the film where Scarlett O'Hara loses her balance and falls. Other films she appeared in included Wuthering Heights, Ben-Hur and National Velvet. She was born in Harlowton, Montana and was twice married. She died August 26, 2008 in Livingston Memorial Hospital, Montana aged 93
LeRoi Moore (September 7, 1961 - August 19, 2008) was an American saxophonist best known as a founding member of the Dave Matthews Band. Moore often arranged music for the songs written by frontman Dave Matthews. Moore also co-wrote many of the band's songs, notably "Too Much" and "Stay".
Death of LeRoi Moor: LeRoi Moor died of complications from his injuries in the ATV accident. LeRoi Moor was 46 years old at the time of his death
ATV accident and death: Moore was injured on June 30, 2008 in an ATV accident on his farm outside Charlottesville, Virginia, breaking several ribs and puncturing a lung, and was hospitalized at UVA for several days. Jeff Coffin, the saxophonist from Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, stood in for Moore on subsequent tour dates. Though released several days later, Moore was re-hospitalized in mid-July for complications related to the accident.
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Muslim Mahammad oglu Magomayev (Azeri: Müslüm Maqomayev; born August 17, 1942 in Baku - 
Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 - 
Anita Pomares, better known as Anita Page (August 4, 1910 – 
Donald LaFontaine (August 26, 1940 – 
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