Year: 2011

Arthur Laurents (July 14, 1917 – May 5, 2011) was an American playwright, librettist, stage director, and screenwriter. His credits include the stage musicals West Side Story and Gypsy and the film The Way We Were.

Arthur Laurents’s Notable Work
    * West Side Story – 1957 – Tony Nomination for Best Musical
    * Gypsy – 1959 – Tony Nomination for Best Musical
    * Hallelujah, Baby! – 1967 – Tony Award for Best Musical
   
Direction
    * Gypsy – 1974 – Tony Nomination for Best Direction of a Musical
    * La Cage aux Folles – 1983 – Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical
    * Gypsy – 2008 – Tony Award nomination as Best Director of a Musical

Arthur Laurents Cause of Death
Arthur Laurents died from complications of pneumonia.
Arthur Laurents was 93 years old at the time of his death.

Almost Unnoticed Deaths page is updated with below item

• May 5, 2011: Claude Choules, Last known World War I combatant, of 70 million survivors, dies 110.  British sailor witnessed surrender of German in 1918.

Go to: Almost Unnoticed Deaths

Sada Carolyn Thompson (September 27, 1927 — May 4, 2011) was an American stage, film and television actress.

Sada Thompson was nominated for the Emmy Award nine times in total. Additional television credits include Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law, The Love Boat, Father Dowling Mysteries, Andre’s Mother, Cheers, Indictment: The McMartin Trial, and Law & Order.

Thompson’s feature films include The Pursuit of Happiness, Desperate Characters and Pollock.

Sada Thompson Cause of Death
Sada Thompson died in Danbury, Connecticut of lung disease.
Sada Thompson was 83 years old at the time of her death.
In addition to her daughter, Liza, she was survived by her husband, a former executive for Pan American Airlines, and a brother, David.

Mary Murphy ( January 26, 1931 – May 4, 2011) was an American film actress of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. She was born in Washington, D.C., before moving to Los Angeles. Shortly out of high school she was signed to appear in films for Paramount Pictures in the late 1940s.

Murphy first gained attention 1953, when she played a good-hearted girl who tries to reform Marlon Brando in The Wild One. The following year, she appeared opposite Tony Curtis in Beachhead, and the year after that as Fredric March’s daughter in the thriller The Desperate Hours, which also starred Humphrey Bogart. She co-starred with actor-director Ray Milland in his Western A Man Alone. She appeared in dozens of television series including Perry Mason, I Spy and Ironside. She was long absent from the big screen before acting in 1972 with Steve McQueen in the Sam Peckinpah film Junior Bonner. She had retired from acting by the 1980s.

Mary Murphy Cause of Death
Mary Murphy died from heart disease complications on May 4, 2011; she was 80 years old.

 Johnny meets Kathie (Marlon Brando & Mary Murphy ) – The Wild One(1953)

Jackie Cooper (September 15, 1922 – May 3, 2011) was an American actor, TV director, TV producer and executive. He was a child actor who managed to transition to an adult career. He is also the youngest performer to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, an honor he received for the film Skippy (film) (1931).

Jackie Cooper dated Judy Garland when he was 14. He dated Joan Crawford when he was 17.

Jackie Cooper’s other notable movies, mostly as a child or teen actor, included "The Champ" (1931), "Treasure Island" (1934), "The Return of Frank James" (1940) and "Ziegfeld Girl" (1941).

Jackie Cooper worked as director on M*A*S*H (TV series) and The White Shadow earned him Emmy awards.

Jackie Cooper found renewed fame in the 1970s and 1980s as Daily Planet editor Perry White in the Superman film series starring Christopher Reeve.

Jackie Cooper has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, at 1501 Vine Street.

Jackie Cooper Cause of Death
Jackie Cooper passed away on May 3, 2011 after a short illness.

Columbo – Candidate For Crime – Ending – Jackie Cooper as a bad guy.

The death of Osama bin Laden was reported by international news media on Monday, May 2, 2011, at approximately 02:30 UTC, and officially announced by U.S. President Barack Obama about an hour later. At about 1:00 A.M. local time on May 2, (19:00 UTC, May 1), United States military forces shot and killed Osama bin Laden after a 40-minute firefight in Abbottabad, Pakistan, and then seized his body. The operation was carried out by 25 members of the United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group under the command of the Joint Special Operations Command forces in Pakistan working with the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

After careful monitoring of a compound suspected to be bin Laden’s Pakistani residence, U.S. military forces were sent across the border of Afghanistan to launch the attack. Pakistani officials confirmed that bin Laden was killed in Pakistan by the U.S. military.

The body was recovered by the U.S. military and was in its possession. ABC News has reported that the body has been identified by DNA testing. However, Reuters reports that DNA test results will be available in the next few days and that bin Laden’s body was identified using facial recognition techniques.

(comment closed – we don’t talk about politics)

William Campbell (October 30, 1923 – April 28, 2011) was an American actor who appeared in supporting roles in major film productions and also starred in several low-budget B-movies, including two cult horror films.

Campbell has obtained cult status for his guest starring roles on Star Trek, appearing first as the mischievous super-being Trelane (in part a parody of Liberace, whom Campbell resembled), in an episode of the original series called "The Squire of Gothos". Campbell also appeared twice as the Klingon Captain Koloth. Campbell first played Koloth on the original Star Trek series in the classic episode "The Trouble With Tribbles." He reprised the Koloth role on the series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, some thirty years later. Campbell appeared at several Trek conventions in the 1980s and 1990s and many Star Trek fans consider Campbell’s portrayal of the Trelane character as the first introduction of the "Q culture" to the series. (The Q are an omnipotent race made part of The Next Generation, then Deep Space 9 and Voyager series.) His last appearance was at the convention organized by Creation Entertainment at the Las Vegas Hilton in August 2006.

He died quietly on April 28, 2011, at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California.

Yvette Vickers (August 26, 1928 – death discovered April 27, 2011, in Beverly Hills, California) was a blond-haired, blue-eyed American actress, pin-up model and singer.

In 1959, she appeared as the Playboy Playmate of the Month for the July issue. Her centerfold was photographed by Russ Meyer. She also appeared in several other men’s magazines.

Her neighbor became concerned after noticing a large pile of yellowing mail in her mailbox as well as spider webs across her front door. Her mummified body was found inside her home on April 27, 2011. It was unclear when she died, but may have been months (up to almost a year).

 Really Cheesy edit on this video – but informative clip

There is a wave of visitors to this website, trying to confirm Al Jarreau’s death.

Al Jarreau is not dead. 

Thank you very much

Al Jarreau’s Official Website

 Al Jarreau – Moonlighting

We Are the World – Al Jarreau at 2:07-2:12

Marian Mercer (November 26, 1935 – April 27, 2011) was an American actress and singer.

She drew critical notice for her performance in New Faces of 1962, and won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Performance, and the Theatre World Award for Promises, Promises (1968).

Marian Mercer Cause of Death
Marian Mercer died from Alzheimer’s disease, in Newbury Park, California.
Marian Mercer was 75 years old at the time of her death.

IT’S A LIVING SITCOM INTRO