Celebrity deaths, illness, divorce and remembrance
Johnny Palermo (1982 – June 8, 2009) was an American television actor. He had appeared in more than 30 television shows. He was regular on the Nickelodeon series Just for Kicks, and had appeared in Everybody Hates Chris as Chris’ classmate Frank DiPaolo.
Death of Johnny Palermo
Palermo and girlfriend Alessandra Giangrande were both killed in an early morning car crash in North Hollywood. Johnny Palermo was 27 years old at the time of his death.
Television
Just for Kicks
Everybody Hates Chris
Cold Case
General Hospital
CSI: Miami
Rules of Engagement
How I Met Your Mother
CSI: NY
Independent movie in post production (to be released)
Pizza With Bullets
Huey Long (April 25, 1904 – June 10, 2009) was an African American singer and musician and the last living member of the Ink Spots.
Born in Sealy, Texas, Long began his musical career in 1925 playing banjo for Frank Davis’ Louisiana Jazz Band, based in Houston. He switched from the banjo to the guitar after migrating to Chicago, where he appeared at the 1933 World’s Fair with Texas Guinan’s Cuban Orchestra.
In early 1944, Ink Spots leader Bill Kenny offered Long a position with the group. He stayed with them until 1985, and eventually moved to New York City, where he taught and wrote music.
Death of Huey Long
Long celebrated his 105th birthday in April 2009 and resided at his Houston home until his death in June 2009.
Ink Spots – If I didn’t Care
Barry Beckett (February 4, 1943 – June 10, 2009) born in Birmingham, Alabama was a keyboardist who worked as a session musician with several notable artists on their studio albums. He was also a record producer, most notably of albums by Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Dire Straits, Joe Cocker, John Prine, McGuinn-Hillman, The Staple Singers, Phoebe Snow, Etta James, T. Graham Brown, Lorrie Morgan, Eddy Raven, Delbert McClinton, Frankie Miller, Jerry Jeff Walker, Alabama, Hank Williams, Jr., Neal McCoy, Confederate Railroad, Phish, Tammy Graham, Sonia Dada, Ilse DeLange and others.
As part of the Fame rhythm section, some of their songs involved are "I Never Loved a Man" (Aretha Franklin), "Land of 1000 Dances" (Wilson Pickett), "Kodachrome" (Paul Simon) and "When a Man Loves a Woman" (Percy Sledge).
He was involved in the "Muscle Shoals Sound", being a member of the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, and in 1969, one of the founders of the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio. The Sound studio produced such hits as "Torn Between Two Lovers" (Mary MacGregor) and "Smoke from a Distant Fire" Sanford-Townsend Band). Beckett moved to Nashville in 1982 to become A & R country music director for Warner Brothers Records and co-produced Williams, Jr.’s records with Jim Ed Norman. Beckett produced records independently after leaving Warner Brothers.
Death of Barry Beckett
Barry Beckett had been diagnosed with cancer and suffered strokes.
Barry Beckett was 66 years old at the time of his death.
BEAUTIFUL LOSER BOB SEGER – Barry Beckett on piano
* General public may not remember his name. But Jack Nimitz played with "Who’s who" in American Jazz history.
Jack Nimitz (January 11, 1930 – June 10, 2009) was an American jazz baritone saxophonist.
Jack Nimitz played with Bill Berry, Benny Carter, Gerald Wilson, Supersax, Frank Strazzeri, Thelonious Monk, Terry Gibbs, Dizzy Gillespie, Louie Bellson, Chuck Mangione, Shelly Manne, Charles Mingus, Horace Silver, Gil Fuller, Gene Ammons Oliver Nelson, Kenny Burrell, Quincy Jones, Milt Jackson, Frank Capp and Joey DeFrancesco into the 1980s.
Additionally he recorded with the vocalists Johnny Hartman, June Christy, Peggy Lee, Carmen McRae,Anita O’Day and Diane Schuur.
In the 1990s Nimitz recorded with Stewart Liebig, Bill Perkins, Bud Shank and Gerald Wilson.
In 1995 he released his first album under his own name. The Jack Nimitz Quintet played their final performance on May 10, 2009, in Northridge, California.
Death of Jack Nimitz
Jack Nimitz died from complications from emphysema
Jack Nimitz was 79 year of at the time of his death
Supersax / Night In Tunisia – Jack Nimitz on trumpet
Kenny Rankin (February 10, 1942 – June 7, 2009) was an American pop and jazz singer and songwriter from the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City, New York.
Rankin appeared on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson more than 25 times. Host Johnny Carson was so impressed by him that he wrote the liner notes to Rankin’s 1967 debut album Mind Dusters, which featured the single "Peaceful," a cover of which Helen Reddy would reach #12 in 1973. Georgie Fame also had a hit with this song in 1969.
When Paul McCartney and John Lennon were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1987, McCartney asked Rankin to represent them at the ceremony based on the strength of his 1975 versions of McCartney’s songs Blackbird and Penny Lane.
Death of Kenny Rankin
Rankin passed away from lung cancer on June 7, 2009
Kenny Rankin was 67 years old at the time of his death
Kenny Rankin – Blackbird
Kenny Rankin: Haven’t We Met
Sam Butera (August 17, 1927 – June 3, 2009) was a tenor saxophone player best noted for his collaborations with Louis Prima and Keely Smith. Butera is frequently regarded as a crossover artist who performed with equal ease in both R & B and the post-big band pop style of jazz that permeated the early Vegas nightclub scene
Death of Sam Butera
Sam Butera died in Las Vegas at age 81. Sam Butera had Alzheimer’s Disease.
Luis Prima – Hey Marie (Sam Butera on the Sax)
David Carradine (born John Arthur Carradine, December 8, 1936 – June 3, 2009) was an American actor, best known for his work in Kung Fu and more recently in Kill Bill.
Carradine was born in Hollywood, California, the son of Ardanelle Abigail (née McCool) and noted American actor John Carradine
Carradine was known for his roles as Kwai Chang Caine in the 1970s television series Kung Fu (as well as the sequels in the 1980s and 1990s), as well as ‘Big’ Bill Shelly in Martin Scorsese’s Boxcar Bertha (1972), folksinger Woody Guthrie in Bound for Glory (1976), Abel Rosenberg in Ingmar Bergman’s The Serpent’s Egg (1977), and as Bill in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill, Vols. 1 & 2 (2003, 2004, respectively).
Death of David Carradine
On June 4, 2009, Carradine was found dead in his room at the Park Nai Lert Hotel in Junfan Mulay, Bangkok, Thailand. The initial police investigation indicated that Carradine had hanged himself using a cord of the type which is used with curtains. Circumstances suggested that the death was an autoerotic asphyxiation.
David Carradine Filmography continues next page
David Carradine Filmography
| Year | Film | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1964 | Taggart | Cal Dodge |
| 1966 | Shane | Shane |
| 1967 | Johnny Belinda | Locky |
| The Violent Ones | Lucas Barnes | |
| 1969 | Heaven with a Gun | Coke Beck |
| Young Billy Young | Jesse Boone | |
| 1972 | Boxcar Bertha | ‘Big’ Bill Shelly |
| 1972-1975 | Kung Fu | Kwai Chang Caine |
| 1973 | The Long Goodbye | Dave aka Socrates – Marlowe’s Cellmate |
| Mean Streets | Drunk | |
| 1975 | Death Race 2000 | Frankenstein |
| 1976 | Cannonball | Coy ‘Cannonball’ Buckman |
| Bound for Glory | Woody Guthrie | |
| 1977 | The Serpent’s Egg | Abel Rosenberg |
| Thunder and Lightning | Harley Thomas | |
| 1978 | Deathsport | Kaz Oshay |
| Circle of Iron | The Blind Man/Monkeyman/Death/Changsha | |
| Gray Lady Down | Capt. Gates | |
| 1979 | Mr. Horn | Tom Horn |
| 1980 | The Long Riders | Cole Younger |
| 1982 | Q | Detective Shepard |
| Trick Or Treats | Richard | |
| 1983 | Lone Wolf McQuade | Rawley Wilkes |
| 1984 | The Warrior and the Sorceress | Kain |
| Airwolf | Dr. Robert Winchester | |
| 1985 | North and South | Justin LaMotte |
| 1986 | Kung Fu: The Movie | Kwai Chang Caine |
| 1988 | Tropical Snow | Oskar |
| 1990 | Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat | Jozek Mardulak/Count Dracula |
| Bird on a Wire | Sorenson | |
| 1991 | Karate Cop | Dad |
| Martial Law | Dalton Rhodes | |
| The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw | Caine | |
| 1992 | Evil Toons | Gideon Fisk |
| Roadside Prophets | Othello | |
| Waxwork II: Lost in Time | The Beggar | |
| 1993-1997 | Kung Fu: The Legend Continues | Kwai Chang Caine |
| 1997 | Last Stand at Saber River | Duane Kidston |
| 1998 | Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror | Luke Enright |
| An American Tail: The Treasure of Manhattan Island | Chief Wulisso | |
| 1999 | Charmed | Tempus |
| American Reel | James Lee Springer | |
| 2000 | Down ‘n Dirty | Gil Garner |
| 2001 | Queen Of Swords | The Serpent |
| 2002 | Balto II: Wolf Quest | Nava the Wolf Shaman |
| The Outsider | Haines | |
| King of the Hill | Junichiro Hill | |
| 2003 | Kill Bill: Vol. I | Bill |
| 2003-2004 | Alias | Conrad |
| 2004 | Kill Bill: Vol. II | Bill |
| Hair High | Mr. Snerz | |
| Dead & Breakfast | Mr. Wise | |
| Max Havoc: Curse of the Dragon | Grand Master | |
| 2005 | Danny Phantom | Clockwork |
| 2006 | Medium | Jessica’s Brother |
| Saints Row | William Sharp | |
| 2007 | Homo Erectus | Mookoo |
| Epic Movie | The Curator | |
| Fall Down Dead | Wade | |
| Camille | Cowboy Bob | |
| How to Rob a Bank | Nick | |
| Fuego | Lobo | |
| Big Stan | The Master | |
| 2008 | Chatham | Captain Zeb |
| Richard III | Buckingham | |
| Hell Ride | The Deuce | |
| Son of the Dragon | Bird | |
| Last Hour | Detective Mike Stone | |
| Death Race | Frankenstein | |
| My Suicide | Vargas | |
| 2009 | Absolute Evil | Raf McCane |
| Crank: High Voltage | Poon Dong |
Koko Taylor born Cora Walton, September 28, 1928 – June 3, 2009) was an American blues musician, popularly known as the "Queen of the Blues." She was known primarily for her rough and powerful vocals and traditional blues stylings.
Death of Koko Taylor
Taylor died on June 3, 2009, after complications from a surgery on May 19, 2009. Her final performance was at the Blues Music Awards, on May 7, 2009.
I’m a Woman – KoKo Taylor
Danny La Rue, OBE (July 26, 1927 – May 31, 2009) was an Irish-born British entertainer known for his singing and drag impersonations.
Accolades
He was made an OBE in the 2002 Queen’s Birthday Honours List. Other accolades included Royal Variety Performance appearances in 1969, 1972 and 1978, Variety Club of Great Britain Showbiz Personality of the Year (1969), Theatre Personality of the Year (1970), Entertainer of the Decade (1979) and the Brinsworth Award from the EABF for his outstanding contribution to the entertainment profession and the community.
Death of Danny La Rue
La Rue suffered a mild stroke in January 2006 and all of his planned performances were cancelled. He had several subsequent strokes. He died at his home shortly before midnight on 31 May 2009 after suffering from prostate cancer. His friend Annie Galbraith was with him at their home in Kent at the time of death
Personal life
La Rue would often perform parts of his show in men’s clothes, and was often seen out of costume on television. In later life, he was more candid about his private life, including his homosexuality. La Rue lived for many years with his partner and manager, Jack Hanson, until Hanson’s death in Australia in 1985, following a stroke.
Danny La Rue