Millvina Dean, Last Titanic survivor dies at 97

Related Story – Barbara West second last survivor of Titanic, dies 95

Last Titanic SurvivorMillvina Dean (February 2, 1912 – May 31, 2009) was the last living survivor of the sinking of the RMS Titanic which occurred on 15 April 1912. At nine weeks of age, she was the youngest passenger on board

Ill health and death of Millvina Dean
In December 2008, at the age of 96, Millvina Dean was forced to sell several of her family’s possessions to pay for her private medical care following a broken hip.

In response, the Millvina Fund was set up in May 2009 by the director and stars of the film Titanic, James Cameron, Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, who donated over £20,000 to support Dean with her bills. This fund was set up through a challenge by photographer Don Mullan, and matches one he set up through selling prints.

Dean died on 31 May 2009 at the age of 97, 98 years to the day after the Titanic was launched in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Millvina Dean’s biography continutes next page

Family
Elizabeth Gladys Millvina Dean was born in London to Bertram Frank Dean and Georgette Eva Light. She had a brother, Bertram Vere Dean (1910–1992), and a great great great niece Khara Barnard who lives in Las Vegas, Nevada. Dean never married and had no children.

Titanic voyage
Millvina’s parents decided to leave England and emigrate to Wichita, Kansas where her father had family living and where he hoped to open a tobacco shop. The Deans were not supposed to be aboard the Titanic, but owing to a coal strike, they were transferred to the ship and boarded it as third-class passengers at Southampton, England. Millvina was barely two months old when she boarded the ship. Her father felt the ship’s collision with the iceberg on the night of 14 April 1912, and after investigating, returned to his cabin telling his wife to dress the children and go up on deck. Millvina, her mother, and brother were placed in Lifeboat 10 and were among the first steerage passengers to escape the sinking liner. Her father, however, did not survive, and his body, if recovered, was never identified.

Return to England
At first, Millvina’s mother wanted to continue on to Kansas to fulfil her husband’s wish of a new life in the United States. However, after losing her husband and being left with two small children for whom to care, they returned to England aboard the RMS Adriatic. While aboard the ship, Millvina understandably attracted considerable attention. An article in the Daily Mirror newspaper dated 12 May 1912 described the ordeal:

She was the pet of the liner during the voyage, and so keen was the rivalry between women to nurse this lovable mite of humanity that one of the officers decreed that first and second class passengers might hold her in turn for no more than ten minutes.

Family deaths
Dean’s mother died on 16 September 1975, aged 96, and her brother, Bertram, died, aged 81, on 14 April 1992, 80 years to the day after the Titanic struck the iceberg.

Later years
It was not until Millvina was in her seventies that she became involved in Titanic-related events. Over the years, she participated in numerous conventions, exhibitions, documentaries, television and radio interviews, and personal correspondence. In 1998, Millvina traveled to the United States to participate in a Titanic convention in Springfield, Massachusetts, and another in 1999 in Montreal. She had also been scheduled to appear at a commemoration of the Titanic’s 94th anniversary in 2006, but a broken hip prevented her appearance.

In October 2007, she became the last-living Titanic survivor following the death of Barbara West Dainton, who died at the age of 96 in England.

steve cinabro-actor

The Chicago actor Steve Cinabro has died at the age of 49, according to an announcement from his family.

Steve was a longtime Chicago actor and member of the European Repertory Theatre. Among his credits with that company were Philippe Minyana’s “The Warriors” (2004), Tony Kushner’s “Slavs” (2003), “Happy End” (1998) and a very memorable Aegisthus in European Rep’s 1995 production of Steven Berkoff’s “Agamemnon.”

Steve, who was born in Blue Island, graduated from the Goodman School of Drama in 1987. He appeared in various TV shows and movies shot in Chicago, including “Turks,” “Early Edition,” and “The Untouchables.” Much of his work was for European Rep, but Steve also appeared in shows at the Shattered Globe Theatre, Organic Theatre and elsewhere.

Playwright Tracy Letts and fellow European Repertory Theatre member Dale Goulding both praised Steve’s contributions to the Chicago theater community that, in Goulding’s words, “he loved so much.”

Funeral mass is scheduled for Monday morning at 10 a.m. at the St Benedict’s Roman Catholic Church in Blue Island.

Comedy writer and producer Mickey Ross dies 89

Mickey Ross – An Emmy winning Comedy writer and producer, who worked on "All in the Family," "The Jeffersons" and "Three’s Company," died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles of complications from a stroke and heart attack. He was 89

Former Wilco’s member Jay Bennett dies in sleep at 45

Jay Walter Bennett (November 15, 1963 – May 24, 2009) was an American guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, engineer, producer, and singer-songwriter.

From 1994 through 2001 Bennett was a member of Wilco. Wilco won 2 Grammy Awards so far.

Bennett was a much sought after studio session player as well, having played on albums by Sheryl Crow, Allison Moorer, and Billy Joe Shaver, among many others.

Death of Jay Bennett 
In May 2009, Bennett sued Wilco front man Jeff Tweedy for breach of contract stemming from his work for Wilco. The suit came less than two weeks after Bennett publicly revealed that he needed hip replacement surgery which he could not afford due to lack of health insurance. On May 24, 2009 Bennett died unexpectedly in his sleep.

Jay Bennett’s MySpace Page
Jay Bennett

Former President of South Korea Committed Suicide 62

Roh Moo-hyun (August 6, 1946 – May 23, 2009) was the 16th President of South Korea. He held the position from 25 February 2003 to 25 February 2008. Before entering politics, he was a human rights lawyer.

Death of Roh Moo-Hyun
Roh Moo-Hyun died on 23 May 2009 after jumping from a 30-meter (100 ft) high cliff. He sustained serious head injuries and was sent to a hospital in the nearby city of Busan at around 8:15 a.m. and pronounced dead at around 9:30 a.m. According to his lawyer, Roh left a suicide note saying life was "difficult" and apologized for making "too many people suffer."

The South Korean police later confirmed Roh’s suicide. Current President Lee Myung-bak stated that "the news was truly unbelievable and deeply sad." The corruption cases were said by Justice Minister Kim Kyung-han to have been formally dropped.

 

Lucy Gordon, Spider-Man 3 Actress, Committed Suicide at 29

Actress died 2009Lucy Gordon (May 22, 1980 – May 20, 2009) was an English actress and model, born in Oxford. Gordon was found dead in her Paris flat, on 20 May 2009, two days before her 29th birthday.

Death of Lucy Gordon
A French police official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the cause of death appeared to be suicide

Lucy Gordon Filmography
1999: 2point4 children (episode "After the Fox") as Lampety Jones
2001: Perfume as Sarah
2001: Serendipity as Caroline Mitchell
2002: The Four Feathers as Isabelle
2005: The Russian Dolls as Celia Shelburn
2007: Serial as Sadie Grady
2007: Spider-Man 3 as Jennifer Dugan
2008: Frost as Kate Hardwick
2009: Brief Interviews with Hideous Men as Hitchhiker
2009: Cinéman as Fernandel’s friend
2010: Serge Gainsbourg, vie héroïque as Jane Birkin

Oleg Yankovsky Dies

Famed Russian actor Yankovsky dies at 65

MOSCOW (AFP) — Oleg Yankovsky (February 23, 1944 – May 20, 2009) a popular Russian actor best known internationally for his work with dissident Soviet filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky, died of cancer Wednesday aged 65.

Yankovsky died early Wednesday morning after a long battle with the illness, said Yulia Kosereva, a spokeswoman for Moscow’s Lenkom theatre where the actor had worked since 1973.

"He had cancer. He had been fighting it for more than half a year," Kosereva told AFP.

The renowned stage and screen actor was born in 1944 in Kazakhstan after his family was exiled there under the brutal dictatorship of Joseph Stalin. His father died in a Gulag labour camp in the Central Asian republic.

Oleg Yankovsky

Yankovsky left Kazakhstan in his youth and received a drama education in the southern Russian city of Saratov before being invited to join the troupe of Lenkom, one of Moscow’s top theatres.

Tall with an aristocratic manner, Yankovsky appeared in scores of films starting in the 1960s and was beloved by Soviet and Russian audiences.

Internationally, Yankovsky was perhaps best known for his roles in two films by art-house master Tarkovsky, "The Mirror" and "Nostalgia," the latter of which was filmed in Italy.

The actor died just as his last film — "Tsar," a historical epic about Russia’s infamous 16th-century ruler Ivan the Terrible — was on the programme at the Cannes Film Festival in France.

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev said he and his family were "shaken" by Yankovsky’s death.

"For many years we were friends with him. We loved him as an actor — an actor who was undoubtedly extraordinary — and respected him very much as a person," Gorbachev was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency.

Yankovsky’s funeral was set to take place on Friday, said Lenkom spokeswoman Kosereva.

The actor is to be buried at Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow, one of the most prestigious graveyards in Russia and the final resting place of many other artists and authors including playwright Anton Chekhov.

Voice of Mickey Mouse, Wayne Allwine dies 62

Wayne Anthony Allwine (February 7, 1947 – May 18, 2009) was an American voice actor, a sound effects editor and foley artist for Walt Disney Studios and the third voice of Mickey Mouse, a role he assumed from Jimmy MacDonald. Allwine was born in Los Angeles, California.

Allwine was married to Russi Taylor, the current voice of Minnie Mouse. They wed in Hawaii in 1991. They were both named Disney Legends in 2008.

Death of Wayne Allwine
Allwine died Monday May 18, 2009 from complications from diabetes.

Wayman Tisdale, Former NBA star, Jazz Bass Guitarist dies 44

Wayman Lawrence Tisdale (June 9, 1964 – May 15, 2009) was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association and a smooth jazz bass guitarist and a member of the Oklahoma Tourism Board. Tisdale and wife Regina have four children.

Death of Wayman Tisdale
Tisdale died from cancer on the morning of May 15, 2009, at age 44, at St. John’s Hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Basketball Career
As a center and power forward, Tisdale averaged over 15 points and six rebounds per game in a 12-season professional career with the Indiana Pacers, Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns. His best season was in 1989-90 with the Kings, when he averaged 22.3 points and 7.5 rebounds a game. Tisdale and Mitch "The Rock" Richmond combined to one of the most dynamic duos in the NBA. In 1997, Tisdale retired to focus on his musical career.

Music Career
Tisdale released his debut CD, Power Forward, in 1995. In 2002, he was awarded the Legacy Tribute Award by the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame. In an ESPN internet chat, Tisdale claims his musical influences include funk bands of the 1970s

Depeche Mode’s Dave Gahan Hospitalized

May 13th 2009 myspace bulletin: "On Tuesday, May 12th, 2009, at 9pm (local time), the sudden feeling of physical discomfort that hit the singer of Depeche Mode, Dave Gahan, just a few minutes before going on stage for the band’s performance, resulted in his immediate transfer to the hospital and the postponement of the band’s show.

Even though everyone hoped for the singer’s speedy recovery and the rescheduling of the band’s show for May 13th, 2009, according to the information received by the band’s management and the doctor on duty, the artist’s health condition does not allow it.

Shortly, a new announcement will follow that will regard either a new date for the show of Depeche Mode, or its final cancellation.

The show’s organizers kindly request that all you ticket holders keep your tickets as these will guarantee you your entrance if a new show date is scheduled or will allow you to get a refund in the event that the show is cancelled altogether.