Michael Christopher "Mike" Starr (April 4, 1966 – March 8, 2011), was an American musician, best known as the original bassist in Alice in Chains, with whom he served from their formation in 1987 to 1993.
On 18 February, 2011, Starr was arrested and booked on suspicion of felony possession of a controlled substance in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Death of Mike Starr Mike Starr was found dead on March 8, 2011 in a residence in Salt Lake City, Utah. Cause of death has not yet been released
* Former singer of Alice in Chains, Layne Staley died in spring 2002 after overdosing on a mixture of heroin and cocaine
Charles Jarrott (June 16, 1927 – March 4, 2011) was a British film and television director. He was best known for costume dramas he directed for producer Hal B. Wallis, among them Anne of the Thousand Days, which earned him a Golden Globe for Best Director in 1970.
Death of Charles Jarrott Charles Jarrott had been suffering from prostate cancer. Charles Jarrott was 83 years old at the time of his death.
Johnny Preston (August 18, 1939 – March 4, 2011) was an American pop music singer, who was best known for his international number one hit in 1960, "Running Bear".
J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson offered Preston the chance to record a teenage tragedy song he had written, "Running Bear", which they did in Houston, Texas in 1958. The "Indian" sounds on the record were performed by Richardson and George Jones. The record was released after The Big Bopper’s death in the same plane crash that killed Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens. It entered the U.S. Hot 100 in October 1959, reaching number one in January 1960 and remaining there for three weeks. It was a transatlantic chart-topper, reaching #1 in the United Kingdom in March 1960.The sales of the record exceeded one million copies, earning Preston his first gold disc.
Preston quickly followed up with another hit called "Cradle of Love," (Billboard #7, UK # 2) and made several other records during the early 1960s that met with modest success.
Preston’s pioneering contribution to the genre was recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. He also performed at Dick Clark’s American Bandstand Theater in Branson, Missouri. In 2009, Preston performed at the Lamar State College, in his hometown.
Death of Johnny Preston Johnny Preston had coronary artery bypass surgery in 2010. He died of heart failure in Beaumont, Texas on Friday, 4 March 2011, after years of heart related illnesses. Johnny Preston was 71 years old at the time of his death.
Ernestine Jane Geraldine Russell (born June 21, 1921 – February 28, 2011) an American film actress and was one of Hollywood’s leading sex symbols in the 1940s and 1950s.
Russell was voted one of the 40 Most Iconic Movie Goddesses of all time in 2009 by Glamour (UK edition).
Death of Jane Russell Jane Russell died of respiratory problems. Jane Russell was 89 years old at the time of her death.
Jane Russell
Marilyn Monroe and Russell putting signatures, hand and foot prints in cement at Grauman’s Chinese Theater, 1953
On February 3, 1959, a small-plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa, killed three American rock and roll musicians: Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, as well as the pilot, Roger Peterson.
The day was later called The Day the Music Died by Don McLean, in his song "American Pie".
Monument for Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson
American Pie is a folk rock song by American singer-songwriter Don McLean. Recorded and released on the American Pie album in 1971, the single was a number-one U.S. hit for four weeks in 1972. The song is a recounting of "The Day the Music Died" – the 1959 plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper. The song was listed as the number five song on the RIAA project Songs of the Century. "American Pie" is Don McLean’s signature song.
The song is well known for its cryptic lyrics that have long been the subject of curiosity and speculation. Although McLean dedicated the American Pie album to Buddy Holly, none of the musicians in the plane crash are identified by name in the song itself. When asked what "American Pie" meant, McLean replied, "It means I never have to work again." Later, he more seriously stated, "You will find many interpretations of my lyrics but none of them by me… sorry to leave you all on your own like this but long ago I realized that songwriters should make their statements and move on, maintaining a dignified silence."
Notable references are based on interpretations of the song by Bob Dearborn and Jim Fann.
* Ritchie Valens * The Big Bopper * Buddy Holly – The Day The Music Died * The Father, The Son and The Holy Ghost * María Elena Holly – his widowed bride * "(Who Wrote) The Book of Love" – The Monotones * "Lonely Teenager" – Dion * "A White Sport Coat (and a Pink Carnation)" – Marty Robbins * Bob Dylan – the jester on the sidelines in a cast. * Elvis Presley – the King * Connie Francis or Queen Elizabeth II – the queen * James Dean * Lenin – However, Official Lyrics show this to be John Lennon, a play on words * Karl Marx or Groucho Marx * Jerry Moss – "moss grows fat on a Rolling Stone" * The Beatles – The Quartet * "Helter Skelter" – a Beatles song used by Charles Manson * The Byrds – "Eight Miles High" * "Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band" – (The Marching Band) – The Beatles – (sergeants played a marching tune) * Woodstock Festival – "There we were, all in one place" * The Space Race – "A generation lost in space" * The Rolling Stones – Jack Flash and "moss grows fat on a Rolling Stone" * Mick Jagger – Satan laughing with delight * Hells Angels at the Altamont Free Concert – "No angel born in hell" * Janis Joplin or Billie Holiday – Girl Who Sang the Blues * Fillmore East or The Fillmore – the sacred store
Singer Bobby Vee was 15 years old on The Day the Music Died. Vee and a hastily-assembled band of Fargo, North Dakota, schoolboys calling themselves The Shadows volunteered for and were given the unenviable job of filling in for Holly and his band at the Moorhead engagement. Their performance there was a success, setting in motion a chain of events that led to Vee’s career as a popular singer.
Susan Elizabeth Rotolo (November 20, 1943 – February 24, 2011) known as Suze Rotolo (pronounced Soo-zee), was an American artist, perhaps best known as Bob Dylan’s girlfriend between 1961 and 1964. She is the woman walking with him on the cover of his album The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan. In her book, A Freewheelin’ Time: A Memoir of Greenwich Village in the Sixties, Rotolo described her time with Dylan and other figures in the folk music scene in Greenwich Village, New York. She also discussed her upbringing as a "red diaper" baby—a child of radicals during the McCarthy Era. Later as an artist Rotolo specialized in artists’ books and taught at the Parsons School of Design in New York City.
Death of Suze Rotolo Rotolo died in New York on 24 February 2011, aged 67, following a long illness.
Perry Moore (November 4th, 1971 – February 17, 2011) was an American author, screenwriter, and film director. He was best known as the executive producer of The Chronicles of Narnia film series and the author of the award-winning book Hero (about a gay teenage superhero).
Death of Perry Moore Moore was openly gay and lived in New York City with Hunter Hill (a writer for Paper magazine). He died of an apparent drug overdose at his home in New York City on February 17, 2011. He was 39 years old. His body was discovered by his life-partner Hill.
Leonard King "Len" Lesser (December 3, 1922 – February 16, 2011) was an American actor. He was best known for his recurring role as Uncle Leo on Seinfeld, which began during the show’s second season in "The Pony Remark" episode.
Before he played the role of Uncle Leo, Lesser worked for years in film, TV and on stage. His resume includes projects with Clint Eastwood, Barbra Streisand, Lee Marvin, Dustin Hoffman and Steve McQueen. Lesser has appeared on American television steadily since 1955 on scores of TV classics such as The Monkees, "Bat Masterson," The Outer Limits, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Get Smart, Quincy, The Rockford Files, Mad About You, All in the Family, Boy Meets World, and, most recently, Castle. He has also appeared in a variety of films such as The Outlaw Josey Wales, including a key role in the Clint Eastwood movie Kelly’s Heroes.
Death of Len Lesser On February 16, 2011, Lesser died from cancer-related pneumonia in Burbank, California, at the age of 88.
Sir George Shearing, OBE (August 13, 1919 – February 14, 2011) was an Anglo-American jazz pianist who for many years led a popular jazz group which recorded for MGM Records and Capitol Records. The composer of over 300 titles, he had multiple albums on the Billboard charts during the 1950s, 1960s, 1980s and 1990s.
He became known for a piano technique known as Shearing’s voicing, a type of double melody block chord, with an additional fifth part that doubles the melody an octave lower. George Shearing credited the Glenn Miller Orchestra’s reed section of the late 1930s and early 1940s as an important influence.
Shearing’s interest in classical music resulted in some performances with concert orchestras in the 1950s and 1960s, and his solos frequently drew upon the music of Satie, Delius and Debussy for inspiration.
Death of George Shearing George Shearing died of heart failure in February 2011 in New York City George Shearing was 91 old at the time of his death
Lullaby of Birdland – George Shearing – 1987
George Shearig (piano) with Mel torme (sining) – Berlin 89 part 4
Betty Garrett (May 23, 1919 – February 12, 2011) was an American actress, comedienne, singer and dancer who originally performed on Broadway before being signed to a film contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. While there, she appeared in several musical films before returning to Broadway and making guest appearances on several television series.
Later, she became known for the roles she played in two prominent 1970s sitcoms: Archie Bunker’s liberal neighbor Irene Lorenzo in All in the Family and landlady Edna Babish in Laverne & Shirley.
In later years, Garrett appeared in television series such as Grey’s Anatomy, Boston Public and Becker as well as in several Broadway plays and revivals.
Betty Garrett won a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film for a role of landlady Edna Babish in Laverne & Shirley.
Death of Betty Garrett Betty Garrett died of an aortic aneurysm in Los Angeles on February 12, 2011, Betty Garrett was 91 years old at the time of her death.
