Year: 2008

Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher was attacked on stage on the Toronto Islands.

Noel Gallagher was hospitalized for fractured rib and ligament damage.

Below is the footage of attack

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.

* Anita Page’s biography continues on next page

She was the leading lady to Lon Chaney, Buster Keaton, Robert Montgomery, and Clark Gable (among others) and during the early 1930s, she was one of Hollywood’s busiest actresses. She was involved briefly with Gable romantically during that time. At the height of her popularity, she was receiving more fan mail than any other female star, with the exception of Greta Garbo, and received multiple marriage proposals from Benito Mussolini in the mail.

One of her finest roles was as the prostitute, Jenny LeGrand, in the 1932 pre-Code movie, Skyscraper Souls, which starred Warren William and a young Maureen O’Sullivan.

Her body was featured in a poster labeling her "The Ideal Movie Star", which discussed her body parts and measurements, and another actress who possessed one comparable for each.

When her contract expired in 1933, she surprised Hollywood by announcing her retirement at the age of 26. She made one more movie (in the UK in 1936), and then left the screen, virtually disappearing from Hollywood circles for 60 years.

In a 2004 interview with author Scott Feinberg, she claimed that her refusal to meet demands for sexual favors by MGM head of production Irving Thalberg, supported by studio chief Louis B. Mayer, is what truly ended her career. She said that Mayer colluded with the other studio bosses to ban her and other uncooperative actresses from finding work.

She married composer Nacio Herb Brown that same year but their marriage was dissolved a year later. She married Admiral Hershel A. House in 1937 and they moved to Coronado, California and lived there until his death in 1991. They had two daughters, the elder of whom, Sandra, predeceased Anita.

She returned to the screen in 1996 after sixty years retirement and has since appeared in several low budget horror films, several of which appeared to have been uncompleted or not released. Film veteran Margaret O’Brien appeared in two of them.

Anita Page has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contributions to Motion Pictures, at 6116 Hollywood Boulevard.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson was hospitalized and undergoing tests Thursday after complaining of severe stomach pains. Gastroenteritis is an inflammation of the stomach and small and large intestines. It isn’t considered serious for most people.

Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr. (born October 8, 1941) is an American civil rights activist and Baptist minister. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as "shadow senator" for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1997. He was the founder of both entities that merged to form Rainbow/PUSH. Representative Jesse Jackson, Jr. is his eldest son. According to an AP-AOL "Black Voices" poll in February 2006, Jackson was voted "the most important black leader" with 15% of the vote

The Andrews Sisters a harmony singing group from the 30’s.  They were born in Minnesota to a Greek immigrant father and a Norwegian American mother. 

• LaVerne Sophie Andrews (contralto; July 6, 1911–May 8, 1967),
• Maxene Angelyn Andrews (soprano; January 3, 1916–October 21, 1995),
• Patricia Marie (a.k.a. Patty) Andrews (mezzo-soprano; lead; born February 16, 1918).

Patty Andrews is still alive.  She’s 90 years old as of 2008.  She sang "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy".  She probably listens to "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" on her iPod or XM Radio.  Can you imagine that?

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.

Breaking News – More coming

The most famous voice from many movie trailers

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

Discography
The Unbelievable Guitar and Voice of Jerry Reed (1967)
Nashville Underground (1968)
Alabama Wild Man (1968)
Better Things in Life (1969)
Jerry Reed Explores Guitar Country (1969)
Georgia Sunshine (1970)
Cookin’ (1970)
When You’re Hot, You’re Hot (1971)
Ko-ko Joe (1971)
Smell the Flowers (1972)
The New Scooby-Doo Movies (1972)
Jerry Reed (1972)
Hot a’ Mighty! (1973)
Lord, Mr. Ford (1973)
The Uptown Poker Club (1973)
A Good Woman’s Love (1974)
Mind Your Love (1975)
Red Hot Picker (1975)
Both Barrels (1976)
Jerry Reed Rides Again (1977)
East Bound and Down (1977)
Sweet Love Feelings (1978)
Jerry Reed Live! (1979)
Jerry Reed sings Jim Croce (1980)
Texas Bound and Flyin’ (1980)
Dixie Dreams (1981)
Roscoe and Jimmy (1981)
The Man with the Golden Thumb (1982)
The Bird (1982)
Ready (1983)
Poppin’, Lockin’, and Loadin’! (1983)
My Best to You (1984)
What Comes Around (1985)
Lookin’ at You (1986)
The Essential Jerry Reed (1995)
Flyin’ High (1995)
Pickin’ (1998)
Jerry Reed Visits Hit Row (2000)
Finger Dancing (2000)
Jerry Reed, Live Still! (2005)
Let’s Git It On (2006)
The Gallant Few (2008)

Filmography
Gator (1976)
Smokey and the Bandit (1977)
High-Ballin’ (1978)
The Concrete Cowboys (1979)
Hot Stuff (1979)
Smokey and the Bandit II (1980)
Smokey and the Bandit Part 3 (1983)
The Survivors (1983)
What Comes Around (1985)
Bat 21 (1988)
The Waterboy (1998)

Biography

Early life
Reed was born in Atlanta, Georgia, the second child of Robert and Cynthia Hubbard. Reed’s parents separated four months after his birth, and he and his sister spent seven years in foster homes or orphanages. Reed was reunited with his mother and stepfather in 1944. Music and impromptu performances helped ease the stressful times the new family was under.

By high school, (O’Keefe High School, Atlanta, Georgia) Reed was already writing and singing music, having picked up the guitar as a child. At age 18, he was signed by publisher and record producer Bill Lowery to cut his first record, "If the Good Lord’s Willing and the Creeks Don’t Rise." At Capitol Records, he recorded both country and rockabilly singles to little notice, until label mate Gene Vincent covered his "Crazy Legs" in 1958. By 1958, Lowery signed Reed to his National Recording Corporation, and he recorded for NRC as both artist and as a member of the staff band, which included other NRC artists Joe South and Ray Stevens.

Reed married Priscilla "(Prissy)" Mitchell in 1959. They have two daughters, Charlotte Elaine "Lottie" Reed Stewart, and Seidina Ann Reed Hinesley, born April 2, 1960.

Career
After a two-year stint in the military, Reed moved to Nashville in 1961 to continue his songwriting career, which had continued to gather steam while he was in the armed forces, thanks to Brenda Lee’s 1960 cover of his "That’s All You Got to Do." He also became a popular session and tour guitarist. In 1962, he scored some success with the singles "Goodnight Irene" and "Hully Gully Guitar," which found their way to Chet Atkins, who produced Reed’s 1965 "If I Don’t Live Up to It."

"Guitar Man"
In 1967, Reed notched his first chart hit with "Guitar Man," which Elvis Presley soon covered. Presley had come to Nashville to record in 1967, and one of the songs he was working on was "Guitar Man," which Reed had written and recorded. "I was out on the Cumberland River fishing, and I got a call from Felton Jarvis (then Presley’s producer). He said, ‘Elvis is down here. We’ve been trying to cut ‘Guitar Man’ all day long. He wants it to sound like it sounded on your album.’ I finally told him, ‘Well, if you want it to sound like that, you’re going have to get me in there to play guitar, because these guys (you’re using in the studio) are straight pickers. I pick with my fingers and tune that guitar up all weird kind of ways.’"

So, Jarvis hired Reed to play on the session. "I hit that intro, and [Elvis’s] face lit up and here we went. Then after he got through that, he cut  ‘U.S. Male’ at the same session. I was toppin’ cotton, son." Reed also played the guitar for Elvis Presley’s "Too Much Monkey Business" (1968), recorded in the same session. After Presley recorded another of Reed’s songs, "U.S. Male," the songwriter recorded an Elvis tribute, "Tupelo Mississippi Flash," which proved to be his first Top 20 hit.

1970s
After releasing the 1970 crossover hit "Amos Moses," a hybrid of rock, country, and Cajun styles, which reached #8 on the U.S. Pop charts, Reed teamed with Atkins for the duet LP Me & Jerry. During the 1970 television season, he was a regular on the Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, and in 1971 he issued his biggest hit, the chart-topper "When You’re Hot, You’re Hot," which was also the title track of his first solo album and reached #9 on the Pop charts.

A second collaboration with Atkins, Me & Chet, followed in 1972, as did a series of Top 40 singles, which alternated between frenetic, straightforward country offerings and more pop-flavored, countrypolitan material. A year later, he scored his second number one single with "Lord, Mr. Ford" (written by Dick Feller), from the album of the same name.

Atkins, who frequently produced Reed’s music, remarked that he had to encourage Reed to put instrumental numbers on his own albums, as Reed always considered himself more of a songwriter than a player. Atkins, however, thought Reed was a better fingerstyle player than he himself was; Reed, according to Atkins, helped him work out the fingerpicking for one of Atkins’ biggest hits, "Yakety Axe."

Reed was featured in animated form in a December 9, 1972 episode of Hanna-Barbera’s The New Scooby-Doo Movies, "The Phantom of the Country Music Hall" (prod. #61-10). He sang and played the song "Pretty Mary Sunlite." That song is played throughout the episode as Scooby and the gang search for Reed’s missing guitar.

In the mid-1970s, Reed’s recording career began to take a back seat to his acting aspirations. In 1974, he co-starred with his close friend Burt Reynolds in the film W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings. While he continued to record throughout the decade, his greatest visibility was as a motion picture star, almost always in tandem with headliner Reynolds; after 1976’s Gator, Reed appeared in 1978’s High Ballin and 1979’s Hot Stuff, which won the coveted Best Picture award from the Pawn Shop Association of America. He also co-starred in all three of the Smokey and the Bandit films; the first, which premiered in 1977, landed Reed a Number 2 hit with the soundtrack’s "East Bound and Down."

Reed also took a stab at hosting a TV variety show, filming two episodes of The Jerry Reed Show in 1976. The show featured music performances and interview segments, but did not contain the comedy skits that usually were a part of variety shows of the ’70s. Guests included Tammy Wynette, Ray Stevens, and Burt Reynolds.

In 1978, he appeared as himself in the television show Alice.

In 1979, he released a record comprised of both vocal and instrumental selections titled, appropriately enough, Half & Half. It was followed one year later by Jerry Reed Sings Jim Croce, a tribute to the late singer/songwriter. He starred in a TV movie in that year entitled The Concrete Cowboys.

1980s and 1990s
In 1982, Reed’s career as a singles artist was revitalized by the chart-topping hit "She Got the Goldmine (I Got the Shaft)," followed by "The Bird," which peaked at Number 2. His last chart hit, "I’m a Slave," appeared in 1983. That same year, he co-starred with Robin Williams and Walter Matthau in the Michael Ritchie comedy The Survivors. Reed guest-starred in the October 13, 1983 episode of Mama’s Family, "The Return of Leonard Oates" (Episode 13, Season 2), as Naomi Harper’s ex-husband Leonard Oates.

On the invitation of the band, Jerry Reed and his band joined the Dexys Midnight Runners U.S tour in 1984. Unfortunately, Jerry had to drop out after playing only a few dates due to a commitment on the U.S. television show Hee Haw. Jerry was to appear as a recurring character in the "cornfield" sketch.

After an unsuccessful 1986 LP, Lookin’ at You, Reed focused on touring until 1992, when he and Atkins reunited for the album Sneakin’ Around before he again returned to the road.

Reed had a role as a Commander/Huey Pilot for Danny Glover’s character in the 1988 movie Bat*21 starring Gene Hackman. Jerry also acted as executive producer on this film.

Reed starred in the 1998 Adam Sandler film, The Waterboy, as Red Beaulieu, the movie’s chief antagonist and the head coach for the University of Louisiana Cougars football team.

He teamed up with country superstars Waylon Jennings, Mel Tillis, and Bobby Bare in the group Old Dogs. They recorded one album, in 1998, entitled Old Dogs, with songs written by Shel Silverstein. (Reed sang lead on "Young Man’s Job" and "Elvis Has Left The Building," the latter possibly in deference to Elvis’ helping launch his career.)

In 1998, the American rock band Primus covered the Jerry Reed song "Amos Moses" on the EP entitled Rhinoplasty.

2000s
In October 2004, "Amos Moses" was featured on the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas soundtrack, playing on fictional radio station K-ROSE. His latest recording was released in 2006, named Let’s Git It On. In 2007, UK band Alabama 3 (Known as A3 in the USA) covered his hit "Amos Moses" on their album M.O.R.

Reed has appeared as a guest on the fishing television series Bill Dance Outdoors. In one memorable appearance, Reed caught a particularly big largemouth bass and planned to have it preserved and mounted by a taxidermist. Dance objected to this plan, and freed the fish when Jerry wasn’t looking. Reed became enraged when he discovered what had happened, and chased Dance off the boat and to shore. This incident was also mentioned in one of Jeff Foxworthy’s standup comedy routines.

Reed appeared as a character in the Red Sovine-based comedy fiction blog "Tales From the Truckstop".

In 2008, the Youtube sensation Red State Update parodied the song "When You’re Hot, You’re Hot" in their feud with Democrat Senator Joe Biden of Delaware with the song "Fightin’ Joe Biden".

Panflutist Gheorghe Zamfir (67) is hospitalized after getting hit buy a car.

The accident took place in Bucharest, near to his home. Zamfir was crossing the street when he was hit by a car that never stopped for him.

Gheorghe Zamfir is listed in stable condition

Gheorghe Zamfir (67 years old, born April 6, 1941) is a Romanian pan flute musician who has received 120 golden and platinum disc awards and sold over 40 million albums. He is widely known as "Zamfir, Master of the Pan Flute".

14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso (73) booked himself in the hospital.  He had to cancel his trip to Mexico and Dominical Republic.

Dalai Lama had abdominal discomfort last Friday (August 22, 2008)

Tenzin Gyatso is the 14th Dalai Lama.  He is the head of the Tibetan government-in-exile in Dharamshala, India. Tibetans traditionally believe him to be the reincarnation of his predecessors.

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