Author: John

Joseph Don "Dandy Don" Meredith (April 10, 1938 – December 5, 2010) was an American football quarterback, sports commentator and actor. He played nine full seasons in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys.

Death of Don Meredith
Don Meredith died on December 5, 2010, at the age of 72 after suffering a brain hemorrhage.

Jon D’Agostino (John P. D’Agostino Sr.) (June 13, 1929 – November 28, 2010) was an Italian-American comic-book artist best known for his Archie Comics work. As well, under the pseudonym Johnny Dee, he was the letterer for the lead story in the Marvel Comics landmark The Amazing Spider-Man #1 (March 1963), as well as other seminal Marvel comics.

D’Agostino is not the French comics artist Tony D’Agostino, a.k.a. Tony Dagos, whose early work was signed "D’Agostino". He is also not the concurrent early-Marvel letter John Duffy a.k.a. John Duffi, although he is listed as such in some databases.

Death of Jon D’Agostino
Jon D’Agostino died of bone cancer in Ansonia, Conn.
Jon D’Agostino was 81 years old at the time of his death

Leslie William Nielsen, OC (February 11, 1926 – November 28, 2010) was a Canadian actor and comedian. Although his acting career crosses a variety of genres in both television and films, Nielsen achieved his greatest successes in the comedy films Airplane! and The Naked Gun. His portrayal of serious characters seemingly oblivious to (and complicit in) their absurd surroundings gives him a reputation as a comedian.

Nielsen’s lead roles in the films Forbidden Planet and The Poseidon Adventure came long before he considered a turn to comedy. His deadpan delivery as a doctor in 1980’s Airplane! marked a turning point in Nielsen’s career, one that would make him, in the words of film critic Roger Ebert, "the Olivier of spoofs." Nielsen appeared in over 100 films and 1,500 television programs over the span of his career, portraying over 220 characters.

Death of Leslie Nielsen
In November 2010, Nielsen was admitted to a Fort Lauderdale, Florida hospital for pneumonia. On November 28, Nielsen’s nephew announced to the CJOB radio station that Nielsen had died in his sleep around 5:30 p.m. EST, surrounded by family and friends. His nephew reflected on Nielsen’s life, "He was truly a nice man. A very caring, naturally funny guy in day-to-day life, not just because someone wrote something on paper for him. He was a very tender-hearted man. He was one of my best friends and I loved him dearly. I’ll miss him greatly."

 Please turn down volume for this video

Naked Gun – Umpiring

Irvin Kershner (April 29, 1923 – November 27, 2010) was an American film director and occasional actor, best known for directing Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, Never Say Never Again and RoboCop 2.

After Empire Strikes Back, Kershner directed Never Say Never Again (Sean Connery’s return to the role of James Bond); the HBO film Travelling Man starring John Lithgow and Jonathan Silverman; for which Kershner was nominated for an ACE Award; and RoboCop 2. He also directed several episodes of the television series seaQuest DSV, and he made his debut as an actor in the Martin Scorsese film, The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), playing Zebedee, the father of the apostles James and John. He played a film director in Steven Seagal’s On Deadly Ground.

Death of Irvin Kershner
Irvin Kershner died at his Los Angeles home after a long illness (unspecified).
Irvin Kershner was 87 years old at the time of his death.

Empire Stikes Back – trailer (unofficial, created by a fan)

Lawrencia "Bambi" Bembenek (August 15, 1958 – November 20, 2010), known as Laurie Bembenek, was a Playboy bunny, turned police officer, then convicted of murdering her husband’s ex-wife in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on May 28, 1981.

Her story garnered national attention after she escaped from Taycheedah Correctional Institution and was recaptured in Canada, an episode which inspired a TV movie and the slogan "Run, Bambi, Run". Upon winning a new trial, she pled no contest to second-degree murder and was sentenced to time served and ten years probation. Since then, she had sought to have the sentence overturned.

Bembenek was a former Milwaukee police officer who had been fired and had gone on to sue the department, claiming that it engaged in sexual discrimination and other illegal activities. She worked briefly as a waitress at a Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, Playboy Club. At the time of her arrest, she was working for Marquette University’s Public Safety Department, in downtown Milwaukee.

Death of Lawrencia Bembenek
On November 16, 2010, WTMJ-TV in Milwaukee reported that Bembenek was slipping in and out of consciousness and near death in a hospice care center, suffering from liver and kidney failure. On November 20, 2010, she died at a hospice facility in Portland, Oregon, aged 52

Bembenek had written a book about her experience, titled Woman on Trial (ISBN 0-00-215746-2). Since her release, she had various legal and personal problems. She was arrested again on marijuana possession charges, filed for bankruptcy, developed hepatitis C and other health problems. She also admitted to being an alcoholic. She legally changed her name to Laurie Bembenek in 1994.

In 1996, she moved to Washington.

In 2002, Bembenek either fell or jumped from a second-story window, breaking her leg so badly that it had to be amputated below the knee. Bembenek claimed that she had been confined in an apartment by handlers for the Dr. Phil television show and was injured while attempting to escape.

Henryk Mikolaj Górecki (December 6, 1933 – November 12, 2010) was a composer of contemporary classical music.

Death of Henryk Mikolaj Górecki
Henryk Mikolaj Górecki died on 12 November 2010, in his home city of Katowice, of complications due to a lung infection. Henryk Mikolaj Górecki was 76 years old at the time of his death.

Henryk Górecki – Symphony of Sorrowful Songs

Baby Marie Osborne (November 5, 1911 – November 11, 2010) was the first major child star of American silent films. She was usually billed simply Baby Marie.

Death of Baby Marie Osborne
Osborne passed away on November 11, 2010, just 6 days after her 99th birthday. She was survived by her daughter, Joan, and five grandchildren.

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Matt Hughes, ‘Storm Chasers’ star, dies from non-chasing ‘injury’; report confirms hanging suicide

Jerrold Lewis "Jerry" Bock (November 23, 1928 – November 3, 2010) was an American musical theater composer. He received the Tony Award for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama with Sheldon Harnick for their 1959 musical Fiorello! and the Tony Award for Best Composer and Lyricist for the 1965 musical Fiddler on the Roof with Harnick.

Bock spoke at the funeral of 98-year-old Fiddler playwright Joseph Stein just 10 days before his own death.

Death of Jerry Bock
Jerry Bock died of heart failure.
Jerry Bock was 81 years old at the time of his death

* Andy Irons is a surfing world’s super star – equivalent to Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods.

Andy Irons (July 24,1978 – November 2, 2010) was a professional surfer. Irons learned to surf on the dangerous and shallow reefs of the North Shore in Kauai, Hawaii, and won three world titles (2002, 2003, 2004), three Quiksilver Pro France titles (2003, 2004, 2005), two Rip Curl Pro Search titles (2006 and 2007) and 19 elite tour victories. On September 3, 2010 he won the Billabong Pro in Tahiti.

Death of Andy Irons
Irons died on November 2, 2010; according to The Association of Surfing Professionals, "he had reportedly been battling with dengue fever, a viral disease." Professor Robert Booy, an infectious disease academic, was suspicious of this, saying that dengue fever deaths are rare. According to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office, in his hotel room was found the painkiller methadone and the sedative zolpidem. Investigators have ruled out foul play as a cause. He was found lying on the bed on his back by two hotel staff after he had failed to respond to knock on the door and they went in to investigate