Tag Archives: Obituary

Arts & Humanities, Current Affairs, Film & Movies, Memories & History, Television

Lance Reddick Remembered at ‘John Wick 4’ Premiere by Keanu Reeves – Variety

By Angelique Jackson, J. Kim Murphy, March 20, 2023

Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images | Amy Sussman/Getty Images | Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

The Los Angeles premiere for “John Wick: Chapter 4” on Monday evening was a celebratory, yet somber occasion, as star Keanu Reeves and director Chad Stahelski paid tribute to the late Lance Reddick, who starred as Charon in all four “John Wick” films before dying suddenly on Friday.

Upon arriving at the TCL Chinese Theatre, attendees at the Los Angeles premiere were given blue ribbon pins to wear to honor Reddick. Blue was the late actor’s favorite color.

“Lance is a people person, a special artist, a gentleman of grace and dignity,” Reeves said on the carpet. “It’s just really something special, every time he stepped on set, to watch the passion he had for his work. It’s really easy to work with him.”

Source: https://variety.com/2023/film/news/lance-reddick-john-wick-chapter-4-premiere-keanu-reeves-1235559521/

Current Affairs, Love & Relationships, Memories & History, Politics

In memory of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II – Britain Magazine | The official magazine of Visit Britain | Best of British History, Royal Family, Travel and Culture

As the news of the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II breaks, we pay tribute to her remarkable life and reign

By Henrietta Easton, September, 2022

Credit: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images

On the afternoon of 8 September 2022, Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, sadly passed away at Balmoral, her home in the Scottish Highlands. Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland for 70 years, Her Majesty’s tenure can be defined by a sense of duty that has made her one of the world’s most respected heads of state.

Born Princess Elizabeth Windsor on 21 April 1926, she was the first child of the Duke and Duchess of York. During the Second World War, determined to do her bit, the 18-year-old princess joined the Women’s Auxiliary Territorial Service. She married Philip Mountbatten at Westminster Abbey in 1947, then welcomed her first child, Prince Charles, in 1948, and Princess Anne, in 1950.

Her relatively quiet life as a wife and mother came to an abrupt end in 1952 when she learned of the death of her father, King George VI, while on a royal tour of Kenya. She was crowned at the tender age of 27 in 1953, though she became Queen the moment her father died the previous year.

Arts & Humanities, Books & Reading, Current Affairs, Libraries, Memories & History

Remembering Our Friend David McCullough | Library of Congress Blog

Published August 8, 2022, by Neely Tucker

David McCullough, one of the nation’s most decorated historians and authors, died Sunday at the age of 89 at his Massachusetts home. He was a good friend of American readers and he was a good friend of the Library.

McCullough twice won the Pulitzer Prize and twice won the National Book Award (not to mention the Presidential Medal of Freedom), telling the story of both powerful and ordinary Americans, explaining the nation to itself in a genial and direct tone. He did this both in print, on the stage and on television, a thoughtful, reassuring presence. He was an honorary member of The Madison Council, the Library’s lead donor group, and appeared most recently at the National Book Festival in 2019 (before COVID-19 halted in-person festivals for two years).

“I’m saddened to hear about the passing of the great  historian David McCullough,” said Carla Hayden, the Librarian of Congress. “His dedication in telling this nation’s story taught us more about the American spirit and its value to our collective history. For that we are forever grateful. He truly was an American treasure.”

Source: Remembering Our Friend David McCullough | Library of Congress Blog

Current Affairs, Games, Libraries, Memories & History, Sports

Bill Russell: In His Own Words | Library of Congress Blog

from blog…

Published August 1, 2022 by Neely Tucker

Bill Russell, who died Sunday at the age of 88, was a towering figure in American life. Standing, he went 6 feet, 10 inches. In history, he seemed to stride the continent like Paul Bunyan, like John Henry: mythical, impossible, huge.

He won basketball titles everywhere he went — high school, college, the pros, the Olympics — and won them over and over again. His coach, Red Auerbach, summed up his career of 11 NBA titles by describing him as “the single most devastating force in the history of the game.” He was among the first Black superstars in professional sports, encountered racism at a brutish level and, strikingly for the mid-century era, made no attempt to be liked by problematic fans. Woe betide anyone who might have thought of telling William Felton Russell to “shut up and dribble.”

His high-profile civil rights work included, but by no means was limited to, going to Mississippi to work for integration in the wake of the assassination of Medgar Evers and participating in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama, who noted that he “stood up for the rights and dignity” of all people.

Current Affairs, Film & Movies, Love & Relationships, Memories & History, Television

Nichelle Nichols, Pioneering Star Trek Actress and NASA Recruiter, Dies at Age 89 | Vanity Fair

The communications officer aboard the original USS Enterprise delighted fans onscreen and at conventions for more than 50 years. 

By Jordan Hoffman, July 31, 2022

By CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images

Nichelle Nichols, best known for her groundbreaking role as Lt. Uhura on Star Trek, passed away on Saturday, a family spokesperson said on Sunday.

Her presence as one of the USS Enterprise’s heroic bridge officers was groundbreaking in 1966.

As an 11-year-old Whoopi Goldberg famously called out to her mother, “There’s a Black lady on TV and she ain’t no maid!” After completing the original show’s three seasons, Nichols continued her portrayal in a short-lived animated show in the early 1970s, and in a succession of six films from 1979 to 1991. She was 89 years old at the time of her death.

Born in 1932 in a suburb of Chicago, Nichols began her career as a singer and dancer, touring with both Duke Ellington and Lionel Hampton’s bands. She appeared at the legendary Blue Angel club in New York, as well as the Playboy Club, and was in a production of Carmen Jones in Chicago. She also had an uncredited role as a dancer in Otto Preminger’s 1959 film version of Porgy and Bess.

Source: Nichelle Nichols, Pioneering Star Trek Actress and NASA Recruiter, Dies at Age 89 | Vanity Fair

Current Affairs, Film & Movies, Memories & History, Pleasures, Television

James Caan: His 10 Toughest, Funniest and Most Unforgettable Roles – Rolling Stone

From ‘El Dorado’ to ‘Elf’ — the very best of the late, great ‘Godfather’ star

By David Fear & Alan Sepinwall, July 7, 2022

James Caan in a scene from ‘The Godfather.’
Paramount Pictures/CBS/ Getty Images

He was tough, he was sexy, and he was one of the most charismatic movies stars of the 1970s — he was James Caan, your go-to guy when you wanted someone who could be flinty yet charming, smooth yet volatile.

A Bronx-born, Queens-raised actor who claimed he was the “only New York Jewish cowboy,” the former Michigan State football player got bit by the acting bug when he transferred to Hofstra University, and was already making the bit-player rounds on TV shows (Dr. Kildare, Combat!, Route 66, The Alfred Hitchcock Show) in the early ’60s.

After director Howard Hawks cast him in two movies — Red Line 7000 (1965) and El Dorado (1966) — Caan started to attract attention as the next big up-and-comer. It wasn’t until the one-two punch of a TV movie about a gridiron hero and Paramount picture based on a bestseller about gangsters, respectively, that he became a bona fide star.

Even when he showed up in his later years, usually as a crusty old guy for added color or the human embodiment of AARP-age machismo, Caan was still the kind of performer who stopped you dead in your tracks.

Source: James Caan: His 10 Toughest, Funniest and Most Unforgettable Roles – Rolling Stone