Jean Ann Kennedy Smith (February 20, 1928 – June 17, 2020) was an American diplomat, activist, humanitarian, and author who served as United States Ambassador to Ireland from 1993 to 1998. She was a member of the Kennedy family, the eighth of nine children and youngest daughter born to Joseph P. Kennedy and Rose Fitzgerald, and was their last surviving and longest-lived child. Her siblings included President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, and Special Olympics founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver.
John David “Moon” Martin (October 31, 1945 – May 11, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He was given the nickname “Moon” because many of his songs had the word moon in the lyrics.
Born in Altus, Oklahoma in 1945, Martin gained recognition in the 1970s as a pop artist and composer. Originally a rockabilly artist, he wrote the songs “Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor)”, made famous by the English singer Robert Palmer, and “Cadillac Walk”, made famous by the American singer Willy DeVille.
Martin scored two minor hits of his own with “Rolene” (#30 Billboard Hot 100 and RPM Magazine Top 100) and “No Chance” (#50), both in 1979. His 1982 song, “X-Ray Vision” was an MTV hit music video.
Patricia Eva “Bonnie” Pointer (July 11, 1950 – June 8, 2020) was an American singer, best known for having been a member of the vocal group, The Pointer Sisters. Pointer scored several moderate solo hits after leaving the Pointers in 1977, including a disco cover of The Elgins’ “Heaven Must Have Sent You” which became a U.S. top 20 pop hit on September 1, 1979.
The Grammy winner died of cardiac arrest in Los Angeles, publicist Roger Neal saPointer died from cardiac arrest on June 8, 2020 in Los Angeles, California, aged 69.
Gerald Eugene Sloan (March 28, 1942 – May 22, 2020) was an American professional basketball player and coach. He played 11 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) before beginning a 30-year coaching career, 23 of which were spent as head coach of the Utah Jazz (1988–2011). NBA commissioner David Stern referred to Sloan as “one of the greatest and most respected coaches in NBA history”. Sloan was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009.
In April 2016, Sloan was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body dementia. He died on May 22, 2020, at age 78, from complications of the diseases.
Jerry Sloan (retirement) Tributes from Around the League
Frederick Charles Willard (September 18, 1933 – May 15, 2020) was an American actor, comedian and writer. He was best known for his roles in the Rob Reiner mockumentary film This Is Spinal Tap; the Christopher Guest mockumentaries Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, For Your Consideration, and Mascots; and the Anchorman films.
Willard died on May 15, 2020, at 86, of cardiac arrest at his home, according to his daughter Hope Mulbarger and his representative.
Gerald Isaac Stiller (June 8, 1927 – May 11, 2020) was an American comedian, actor, and author. He spent many years as part of the comedy duo Stiller and Meara with his wife, Anne Meara, to whom he was married for over 60 years until her death in 2015. Stiller saw a late-career resurgence starting in 1993, playing George Costanza’s father Frank in the sitcom Seinfeld, a part which earned him an Emmy nomination. The year Seinfeld went off the air, Stiller began his role as the eccentric Arthur Spooner on the CBS comedy series The King of Queens, another role which garnered him widespread acclaim.
Stiller was the father of actor Ben Stiller, and he and his son appeared together in films such as Zoolander, Heavyweights, Hot Pursuit, The Heartbreak Kid, and Zoolander 2. He also performed voice-over work for television and films including The Lion King 1½ and Planes: Fire and Rescue and Teacher’s Pet. In his later career, Stiller became known for playing grumpy and eccentric characters who were nevertheless beloved.
Jerry Stiller cause of death.
Stiller died from natural causes at his home on the Upper West Side of Manhattan on May 11, 2020 at the age of 92. His death was announced by his son, Ben Stiller.
Bessie Regina Norris (December 21, 1953 – May 10, 2020), better known by her stage name Betty Wright, was an American soul and R&B singer, songwriter and background vocalist. Beginning her professional career in the late–1960s as a teenager, Wright rose to fame in the 1970s with hits such as “Clean Up Woman” and “Tonight Is the Night”. Wright was also prominent in her use of whistle register.
Wright won the Best R&B Song Grammy Award for composing “Where Is the Love”.
Wright died from cancer, on May 10, 2020 at her home in Miami. She was 66.
Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), better known as Little Richard, was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Nicknamed “The Innovator, The Originator, and The Architect of Rock and Roll”, Penniman’s most celebrated work dates from the mid-1950s, when his charismatic showmanship and dynamic music, characterized by frenetic piano playing, pounding back beat and raspy shouted vocals, laid the foundation for rock and roll. Penniman’s innovative emotive vocalizations and uptempo rhythmic music also played a key role in the formation of other popular music genres, including soul and funk, respectively. He influenced numerous singers and musicians across musical genres from rock to hip hop; his music helped shape rhythm and blues for generations to come.
Little Richard cause of death
On May 9, 2020, Penniman died at the age of 87 in Tennessee. The cause of death was revealed to be bone cancer. At the time of his death, he was living with his brother in Nashville, Tennessee.
Martin Spellman IV was born in 1925 in Des Moines, Iowa. After his family moved to California, at the age of 9 he first entered the MGM studios not as a prospective actor but as a newsboy.
He became such a familiar figure at MGM that for Christmas 1937, they decided to give him a very special Christmas present. Clark Gable invited him to work as an extra for a few days on the film Test Pilot where he had an uncredited role. After that, he played Skinny in the 1938 film Boys Town, starring Spencer Tracy and Mickey Rooney. In 1939, he co-starred in Streets of New York with Jackie Cooper. The following year he had another leading role in Son of the Navy with Jean Parker and James Dunn.
Spellman’s film career ended in 1941. He then enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II. Returning to civilian life, he spent 27 years in the business world, and then switched to automobile finance and insurance.
Spellman died in Vancouver, Washington in May 2020 at the age of 94.
Streets Of New York – Full Movie. Martin Spellman as William McKinley ‘Gimpy’ Smith
