In 2024, we've experienced the loss of several luminaries in the world of entertainment. These beloved figures—actors, comedians, musicians, singers, and coaches—have touched our lives with their talent, passion, and dedication. They've left an indelible mark on our hearts and shaped the world of entertainment in ways that will continue to inspire and influence generations to come.
Among the incredible actors who bid farewell this year, we mourn the loss of a true chameleon who effortlessly.
Dillinger played his last four seasons (1952-55) in the Pacific Coast League, where he moved to the outfield and led the league in hitting with a .366 mark in 1953.
Donald Harington died he was 73. Harington was an American Harington is acclaimed as one of America's greatest writers of fiction, if not one of its best known. author. All but the first of his novels either take place in or have an important connection to "Stay More," a fictional Ozark Mountains town based somewhat on Drakes Creek, Arkansas, where Harington spent summers as a child.
(December 22, 1935-November 7, 2009)
Harington was born and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas. He lost nearly all of his hearing at age 12 due to meningitis. This did not prevent him from picking up and remembering the vocabulary and modes of expression among the Ozark denizens, nor in conducting his teaching career as an adult.
Though he intended to be a novelist from a very early age, his course of study and his teaching career were in art and art history. He taught art history in New York, New England, and South Dakota before returning to the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, his alma mater, where he taught for 22 years before his retirement on 1 May2008.
Entertainment Weekly called him "America's greatest unknown writer." The novelist and critic Fred Chappell said of him "Donald Harington isn't an unknown writer. He's an undiscovered continent." Novelist James Sallis, writing in the Boston Globe: "Harington's books are of a piece -- the quirkiest, most original body of work in contemporary U.S. letters."
Harington died of pneumonia, after a long illness, in Springdale on 7 November2009.[1]
Harington's novels are available from The Toby Press in a uniform edition, with cover illustrations by Wendell Minor. Since his death, The Toby Press has made available the entire set of Harington novels as The Complete Novels of Donald Harington.
Joe Maross died he was 86. Maross was an Americanactor who appeared in movies and made guest appearances on many television series from the 1950s to the 1980s. He served in World War II and was stationed in Hawaii.
He was a voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He was reputed to be an enthusiastic screener of the DVDs which studios send to Academy members for award consideration.
On November 7, 2009, he died of cardiac arrest in Glendale, California at the age of 86. [1]
Counter was born in Phoenix, Arizona and grew up in the Denver area where he attended Denver East. He majored in electrical engineering at University of Colorado on a Boettcher scholarship. He was a football fullback, lettering as a senior. In their 21-20 win over Missouri in 1959, he scored the winning two-point conversion the year after the play was instated.[2]
At the 1990 WSOP Lund was heads-up against Mansour Matloubi. On the decisive hand, he had a slight chip lead before the hand started, when with A-9 offsuit he called a pre-flop raise from Matloubi. He raised Matloubi's bet on the 9-4-2 flop, to put him practically all-in. Matloubi called with 10-10. An ace on the turn meant Lund only had to avoid the last two tens in the deck for the championship, but a 10 came on the river. He eventually finished runner-up, with Matloubi taking the title. He also finished in the money of the main event in 1991 (19th) and 1992 (3rd).[1]
In addition to his two bracelets, Lund won a Hall of Fame watch, the Super Bowl of Poker main event and the Best All-Around Player Award at the Diamond Jim Brady tournament.[1]
Lund retired from playing tournaments on a regular basis in 1997. He made a resurgence on the tournament circuit with two deep finishes at World Poker Tour events in 2007. He finished in 20th place at the L.A. Poker Classic, and 15th place at the Bay 101 Shooting Star. He also cashed in the 2006 WSOP Main Event and in the 2006 Five-Diamond World Poker Classic championship event.[1]
His total live tournament winnings exceed $2,900,000.[2] His 22 cashes at the WSOP account for $1,079,504 of those winnings.[3]
Lund died November 6, 2009 after a long battle with cancer.[4]
Thomas Edward (Tommy) Reis was a relief pitcher who played in Major League Baseball in the 1938 season. He batted and threw right-handed.(August 6, 1914 – November 6, 2009)
At the time of his death, Reis was recognized as one of the oldest living MLB players. With the death of Gene Corbett on January 28, 2009, Reis became the last living former baseball player who played at Baker Bowl, the home ballpark for the Phillies between May 2, 1895 and June 30, 1938, as a member of the Phillies.
In addition to television writing, Sproat has also written for musical theatre including Abie's Island Rose and Back Home: The War Brides Musical, both of which ran off Broadway.[4][5]
Sproat received his MA from the University of Michigan, and performed undergraduate work at Hamilton College. While at Hamilton College, he won the William Duncan Saunders Award for creative writing. Sproat also attended Yale University where he earned a MFA. While attending Michigan, Sproat was also the recipient of the Avery Hopwood Award.[3]