Year: 2011

Johnnie Robert Wright, Jr. (May 13, 1914 – September 27, 2011), known professionally as Johnnie Wright, was an American country music singer-songwriter who spent much of his career working with Jack Anglin as the popular duo Johnnie & Jack, and was also the husband of Kitty Wells.

In 1937, he married Kitty Wells.

In 1952, Johnnie & Jack’s “Poison Love” took them to the Grand Ole Opry, where the duo, along with Wells, were invited to join and where they remained for 15 years.

In 1964, he and his Tennessee Mountain Boys had a Top 25 hit with “Walkin’, Talkin’, Cryin’, Barely Beatin’ Broken Heart.” The following year, he had success with “Hello Vietnam”, a No. 1 hit. In 1968, he and Wells recorded an autobiographical duet, “We’ll Stick Together”, and continued playing live shows together through the early 1980s.

Johnnie Wright cause of death
Johnnie Wright passed away of natural causes at his home in Madison, TN on September 27, 2011.  Johnnie Wright was 97 years old at the time of his death.

Johnnie Wright – Is Love Worth All The Heartaches?

Johnny Wright – Hello Vietnam (Full Metal Jacket)

Jessy Dixon (March 12, 1938 – September 26, 2011) was an American gospel singer, songwriter, and pianist, with success among audiences across racial lines. He has three Gold albums and seven Grammy nominations.

Jessy Dixon cause of death
Jessy Dixon died affter long illness
Jessy Dixon was 73 years old at the time of his death

Operator by Jessy Dixon

Vesta Williams (December 1, 1957 – September 22, 2011) was an American R&B singer. Originally credited by her full name, she was sometimes simply billed as Vesta from the 1990s onwards. Although Williams never had any albums certified gold nor any Top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, she scored six Top 10 hits on the US Billboard R&B chart from the mid 1980s to the early 1990s. Williams was known for the hits, “Once Bitten, Twice Shy”, “Sweet Sweet Love”, “Congratulations” and “Special”

Vesta Williams cause of death
Vesta Williams was found dead in a hotel room in El Segundo, California, on September 22, 2011.  An autopsy was scheduled to determine the cause of death.
Vesta Williams was 53 years old at the time of her death

Congratulations – Vesta Williams

Dolores Hope (May 27, 1909 – September 19, 2011) was an American singer, philanthropist and wife of actor/comedian Bob Hope.

Dolores Hope cause of deaths
Dolores Hope died of natural causes on September 19, 2011
Dolores Hope was 102 year old at the time of her death.

SILVER BELLS – Bob and Dolores Hope 1978 special

Willie “Big Eyes” Smith (January 19, 1936 – September 16, 2011) was a Grammy Award-winning American electric blues vocalist, harmonica player, and multi-award winning drummer. He was best known for several stints with the Muddy Waters band beginning in the early 1960s.

On February 13, 2011, he won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album for Joined at the Hip, an album he recorded with Pinetop Perkins.

In 1961 Smith became a regular member of Muddy Water’s band, which then consisted of George “Mojo” Buford, Luther Tucker, Pat Hare, and Otis Spann. By the mid ’60s he’d left the band for more steady work as a cab driver. In the late ’60s he rejoined Muddy’s band and remained a permanent member until 1980.

Willie “Big Eyes” Smith Cause of death
Willie Smith died following a stroke on September 16, 2011.
Willie Smith was 75 years old at the time of his death.

Willie “Big Eyes” Smith Harmonica

Tom Wilson Sr. (August 1, 1931 – September 16, 2011) was an American cartoonist. Wilson was the creator of the comic strip Ziggy, and drew it from 1971 to 1987. Afterwards, the strip was continued by his son, Loveland, Ohio resident Tom Wilson, Jr.

Wilson’s career began in 1950, doing advertisement layout for Uniontown Newspapers, Inc. In 1955, he joined American Greetings (AG) as a designer, becoming Creative Director in 1957 and vice-president of creative development in 1978. While at AG, he developed the Soft Touch greeting card line. He also served as president of Those Characters From Cleveland, AG’s character licensing subsidiary.

Wilson was a survivor of lung cancer.

Tom Wilson cause of death
Tom Wilson died of pneumonia in his sleep at night
Tom Wilson was 80 years at the time of his death.

Frances Bay (January 23, 1919 – September 15, 2011) was a U.S.-based Canadian character actress, best-known for playing quirky, elderly women on film and television. She began her acting career in her mid-50s.

Bay may also be familiar from her performance in the music video for Jimmy Fallon’s comedy song, Idiot Boyfriend. She made an appearance as Mrs. Pickman in John Carpenter’s In the Mouth of Madness. She may be best-remembered for her performance as the hapless but loving grandmother of Adam Sandler’s titular character in the 1996 film Happy Gilmore.

Frances Bay appeared as Mrs. Hamilton in the Christmas television special Christmastime with Mister Rogers. She went on to play small roles in films like The Karate Kid, Big Top Pee-wee and Twins.

Her first major television appearance occurred playing the grandmother to the character of Arthur Fonzarelli (aka “The Fonz”) on Happy Days.  In 1983, she played the grandmother in Little Red Riding Hood in Faerie Tale Theatre for Showtime. In 1994, she played Mrs. Pickman in John Carpenter’s In the Mouth of Madness.

In 1986, Bay appeared as the doddery aunt of Kyle MacLachlan’s character in David Lynch’s Blue Velvet. This role seems to have endeared the actress to Lynch, who recast her in several subsequent works, including as a foul-mouthed madam in Wild at Heart, and as Mrs. Tremond on Twin Peaks and its movie spin-off, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me.

She has the distinction of appearing in the final episodes of three long-running sitcom series: Happy Days, Who’s the Boss? and Seinfeld. Bay had the opportunity to play Cousin Winifred in the fourth to last episode of Road To Avonlea, for which she won a Gemini Award.

Frances Bay cause of death
Frances Bay died of pneumonia and other complications.
Frances Bay  was 92 years old at the time of her death

Jerry Seinfeld Mugs an Old Lady for her Marble Rye

Wilma Lee Leary (February 7, 1921 – September 13, 2011), known professionally as Wilma Lee Cooper, was an American bluegrass-based country music entertainer.

Wilma Leary and the husband Stoney scored seven hit records between 1956 and 1961, with four top ten hits on Billboard charts, notably “Big Midnight Special” and “There’s a Big Wheel.” They remained connected to the Leary Family tradition as well, recording popular gospel songs like “The Tramp on the Street” and “Walking My Lord Up Calvary’s Hill.”

Husband Stoney Cooper died in 1977 but Wilma Lee stayed on the Opry as a solo star and on occasion recorded an album for a bluegrass record label. In 2001 she suffered a stroke while performing on the Opry stage which ended her career, but Cooper defied doctors who said she would never walk again and has since returned to the Opry to greet and thank the crowds.

The Cooper’s daughter, Carol Lee Cooper, is the lead singer for the Grand Ole Opry’s backup vocal group, The Carol Lee Singers.

Wilma Lee Cooper cause of death
Wilma Lee Cooper passed away in Sweetwater, Tennessee from natural causes.
Wilma Lee Cooper was 90 years old at the time of her death

Wilma Lee Cooper – Big Midnight Special

Wade Mainer (April 21, 1907 – September 12, 2011) was an American singer and banjoist. With his band, the Sons of the Mountaineers, he is credited with bridging the gap between old-time mountain music and Bluegrass and is sometimes called the “Grandfather of Bluegrass.” In addition, he innovated a two-finger banjo fingerpicking style, which was a precursor to modern three-finger bluegrass styles.

Mainer has been credited with bridging the gap between old-time mountain music and Bluegrass and musicians such as Bill Monroe, Ralph Stanley and Doc Watson have all cited Mainer as a source of influence. He has also been called the “Grandfather of Bluegrass.

Awards and honours
In 1987, president Ronald Reagan bestowed upon him a National Heritage Fellowship for his contributions to American music.[2] In 1996 he received the Michigan Heritage Award and the Michigan Country Music Association and Services’ Lifetime Achievement Award. In 1998 both he and his wife were inducted into the Michigan Country Music Hall of Fame, while Mainer received North Carolina’s Surry Arts Council Lifetime Achievement.

Wade Mainer caouse of death
Mainer died of congestive heart failure on September 12, 2011.
Wade Mainer was 104 years old at the time of his death

David Holt: Julia and Wade Mainer songs & banjo tricks

David Holt: Julia and Wade Mainer songs & banjo tricks

Wade Mainer – Worried Man Blues

Clifford Parker "Cliff" Robertson, III (September 9, 1923 – September 10, 2011) was an American actor with a film and television career that spanned half of a century. Robertson won the 1968 Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in the movie Charly. His most recent film role was "Uncle Ben Parker" in the Spider-Man film series.

Robertson’s television appearances included The Twilight Zone episodes "A Hundred Yards Over the Rim" (1961) and "The Dummy" (1962)

Cliff Robertson was in the air and piloting a private plane over New York City on the morning of September 11, 2001

Cliff Robertson Cause of Death
Robertson died in Stony Brook, New York, on September 10, 2011, one day after his 88th birthday, from natural cause.

Cliff Robertson in Twilight Zone – "The Dummy" (1962)