Percy Sutton died he was 89

Percy Sutton died he was 89. Sutton was a civil-rights activist, entrepreneur and lawyer.^[1]

(November 24, 1920 — December 26, 2009)

Sutton was born in San Antonio, Texas, the last of fifteen children born to Samuel and Lillian Sutton. Both of his parents were educators with his father being one of the first blacks in Bexar County, Texas. His father, born into slavery, also served as principal of three high schools. S. J. Sutton, an early civil rights activist who did not use his first name for fear it would be shortened to Sambo, farmed, sold real estate and owned a mattress factory, funeral home and skating rink — in addition to being a full-time principal. All Percy Sutton's siblings graduated from college. His brothers included G. J. Sutton (the first black elected official in San Antonio^{[citation needed]}) and Oliver Sutton (a judge on the New York Supreme Court).

Percy milked cows and rode around San Antonio with his father in the same Studebaker that was used for funerals, distributing milk to the poor. He liked to attach strings to cans to pretend to be a radio broadcaster.

Sutton joined the Boy Scouts of America and attained the rank of Eagle Scout in 1936 and was recognized with the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award as an adult. Sutton stated that scouting was a key factor in shaping his life.^[2]

At 12, he stowed away on a passenger train to Manhattan where he slept under a sign on 155th Street. Far from being angry, his family regarded it as an adventure.

His family was committed to civil rights, and he bristled at prejudice. At 13, while passing out N.A.A.C.P. leaflets in an all-white neighborhood, he was beaten by a policeman.

He took up stunt-flying on the barnstorming circuit, but gave it up after a friend crashed. Later, during World War II, he served with the Tuskegee Airmen, the famed all-black unit in the Army Air Forces, as an intelligence officer. He won combat stars in the Italian and Mediterranean theaters.

Sutton attended Prairie View A&M University in Prairie View, Texas; the Tuskegee Institute in Tuskegee, Alabama; and the Hampton Institute in Hampton, Virginia. He went on to attend Brooklyn Law School in Brooklyn, a borough of New York City, New York.

During the 1950s and 1960s, Sutton became one of America's best-known lawyers^{[citation needed]}. He represented many controversial figures, such as Malcolm X. After the murder of Malcolm X, Sutton and his brother Oliver helped to cover the expenses of his widow, Betty Shabazz.^{[citation needed]} Sutton's civil-rights advocacy took him even further in the minds of many. Being jailed with Stokely Carmichael and other activists endeared him to the Harlem community and showed many that he was willing to be placed in harm's way for his client's sake.

Sutton was a longtime leader in Harlem politics, and was a leader of the Harlem Clubhouse. The Clubhouse has dominated Democratic politics in Harlem since the 1960s. His allies in running the Clubhouse were former New York City Mayor David Dinkins, U.S. Representative Charles Rangel, and former New York Secretary of State Basil Paterson.

He ran for borough president of the Manhattan borough of New York City in 1965, and won with 80% of the vote. He served in that post until 1977, when he ran for the Democratic nomination for New York City Mayor against U.S. Representative Ed Koch, New York Secretary of State Mario Cuomo, New York City Mayor Abraham Beame, former U.S. Representative Bella Abzug, and U.S. Representative Herman Badillo. Koch won the nomination and mayoralty.

In 1971, Sutton cofounded the Inner City Broadcasting Corporation which purchased New York City's WLIB-AM, which became the city's first African-American-owned radio station.

He initiated, December 2009 the revitalizing of the legendary Apollo Theater in Harlem. He also produced the successful It's Showtime at the Apollo, a syndicated, music television show, first broadcast in September 12, 1987.

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Vic Chesnutt died from an overdose he was 45

James Victor "Vic" Chesnutt died from an over dose he was 45. Chestnutt was a singer-songwriter living in Athens, Georgia. Injured in a car accident in 1983, the paraplegic artist's first big breakthrough to commercial success came with the release of the tribute album Sweet Relief II: Gravity of the Situation.^[1]

(November 12, 1964 – December 25, 2009)

Chesnutt released several albums during his career, including two produced by Michael Stipe, and a 1996 release on Capitol Records. His musical style is described as "skewed, refracted version of Americana that is haunting, funny, poignant, and occasionally mystical, usually all at once".^[2]

Around 1985, Chesnutt moved to Athens and joined the band, The La-Di-Da's.^[3] After leaving that group he began performing solo on a regular basis at the 40 Watt Club; it was there that he was spotted by Michael Stipe of R.E.M.; Stipe produced Chesnutt's first two albums, Little (1990) and West of Rome (1991).^[3]

In 1992, Chesnutt was the subject of a PBS documentary, Speed Racer. He also had a small role in the 1996 Billy Bob Thornton movie Sling Blade which he later described self-mockingly as a poor performance.^[4]

In 1996, Chesnutt was exposed to a wider audience with the release of the tribute album Sweet Relief II: Gravity of the Situation, the proceeds from which went to the Sweet Relief Fund. The album consisted of Chesnutt covers by famous musicians including Garbage, The Smashing Pumpkins (with Red Red Meat), Madonna, R.E.M. and Live.

He recorded with other groups and artists. Most notably he made two albums with a fellow Athens, Georgia group Widespread Panic, under the name of brute. Chesnutt's album The Salesman and Bernadette (1998) was recorded with alt-country group Lambchop as the backing band. The album Merriment was a collaborative effort between Chesnutt and Kelly and Nikki Keneipp, with Vic writing and singing the songs, and the Keneipps playing the music. The 2005 album Ghetto Bells featured famed guitarist Bill Frisell, whom Chesnutt met in 2004 at the renowned Century of Song concert series at the German festival RuhrTriennale. Ghetto Bells also featured the legendary eccentric lyricist and composer Van Dyke Parks on accordion and keyboards. Chesnutt's wife, Tina Chesnutt, would frequently play bass on his albums. His niece, and fellow songwriter, Liz Durrett also appeared on the Ghetto Bells album.

Chesnutt's first four albums were released on the independent Texas Hotel label. He then recorded About to Choke (1996) for Capitol Records, which was his first and only major record label recording. The Salesman and Bernadette (1998) was on PolyGram; Merriment (2000) was on the Backburner Records label; spinART was the label for the self performed and recorded Left to His Own Devices (2001). Vic then found a new home at the New West Records label, who released two albums for him. In 2004 New West also re-released the early Texas Hotel recordings, including expanded liner notes and extra tracks.

In the winter of 2006, he recorded North Star Deserter at the Hotel2Tango in Montreal. It was released on September 11, 2007 by Constellation Records. The record included contributions from Constellation artists Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band, members of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, as well as Fugazi’s Guy Picciotto. The album was produced by documentary filmmaker Jem Cohen. ^[5] He also appeared as a guest musician on Cowboy Junkies' 2007 album Trinity Revisited, a 20^th anniversary edition of their classic album The Trinity Session.

Chesnutt was also a supporter of medical marijuana^[6], which he claimed helped with his medical problems. He contributed the track Weed to the Rescue to the 1998 Hempilation II charity album, with proceeds going to NORML, an American organization dedicated to marijuana legalization.

Elf Power (also from Athens, Georgia) collaborated with Chesnutt on the album Dark Developments, released under the name Vic Chesnutt, Elf Power, and the Amorphous Strums. The "amorphous strums" refers to Curtiss Pernice and Sam Mixon, who also played on the album.

An adoptee, Chesnutt was raised in Zebulon, Georgia, where he first started writing songs at the age of 5. At 18, a car accident left him partially paralyzed, though it wasn't long afterward that he realized he could still play guitar.^[3] After his recovery he left Zebulon and moved to Nashville, Tennessee; the poetry he read there (by Stevie Smith, Walt Whitman, Wallace Stevens, W. H. Auden, Stephen Crane, and Emily Dickinson) served to inspire and influence him.^[3] Chesnutt stated his atheism since age 13.^[7]

On December 25, 2009, Chesnutt died from an overdose of muscle relaxants that had left him in a coma in an Athens hospital.^[1]

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Derek Loux died he was 37

Musician Derek Loux has died after a fatal car accident while he was on a ministry trip, he was 37. The accident had left him seriously injured and later he succumbed to his injuries. The accident happened and Derek Loux could not even meet his parents John Loux and Mini Loux, whom he had to go and visit at the end of his car trip to Nebraska.

Besides being a devout Christian he is also a person who is known well for his social causes. He set up the Josiah fund for social causes, meant for helping out the ignored and the needy children. He along with his spouse Renee Loux, adopted several kids and many people were inspired by their acts. After his death, a void has being felt in the Christian community as well as in the social causes community. His wife Renee and 10 children survive him.

He became immensely popular when he came out with his album ‘Paper Religion.’ His music has always been very famous among the devout Christians. He was a devout follower of Christianity himself. He used to work as the director of Kansas City’s International House of Prayer. He was also a part of the senior leadership team, a worship leader in the House of Prayer, and an IHOP-KC conference speaker.

The cause of the fatal car accident is still unknown, but it is being said that perhaps it took place due to a severe snowstorm in that area.

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Terry Lawless died he was 76

Terry died he was 76. Lawless trained the British boxer Frank Bruno to challenge Mike Tyson for the world title. Although he lost the fight, Lawless won several fans with Bruno's great effort. The London-based manager in fact has a distinction of guiding 4 other English fighters to big titles.

Lawless's world champions were John H Stracey, Maurice Hope, Jim Watt and Charlie Magri. He trained Frank Bruno for many years, and Bruno went on to win the title after leaving Lawless to join the stable of rival promoter, Frank Warren. Lawless also managed Joe Calzaghe early in his career.

"Born in West Ham on 29 March 1933, Lawless first took out a boxing manager's licence after completing his National Service in the mid-1950s," Giller wrote. "During the following 45 years, he managed more than 50 boxers.

"Throughout his managing career, Lawless was based at the Royal Oak gym in Canning Town, close to where he was born. He worked closely with promoters Mickey Duff, Jarvis Astaire, Harry Levene and Mike Barrett when they were the powers in British boxing throughout the 1960s and into the 1980s."

Lawless resided in Marbella, Andalusia, Spain after his retirement and he succumbed after a surgery to his gallbladder at a hospital. Lawless has been known to suffer from longstanding illness.

His career spanned for over 40 years and he managed 50 odd boxers during his active career.

Lawless is known for his knowledge of boxing as well as safety-first attitude. He was extra cautious when it came to protecting his fighters from exposure to dangers. He was also known as a very compassionate managers of his times; who other managers emulate
now.

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George Michael died he was 70

George Michael^[1] died he was 70, Michael was a sportscaster best known nationally for his long-running American sports highlights show called The George Michael Sports Machine. Started as a local show in 1980 called George Michael's Sports Final^[2] and then nationally syndicated in 1984, the nationally broadcast show was distributed for syndication by NBC until it left the air following the March 25, 2007 airing. Michael won a Sports Emmy in 1985 for his work on The George Michael Sports Machine.

George Michaels signed off he was 70
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(March 24, 1939 – December 24, 2009)

A native of St. Louis, Missouri, Michael anchored the sports desk at WRC-TV (News 4) in Washington DC from 1980 to 2007. Previously he was a WABC-AM disk jockey known as "King" George Michael, and was noted for his energetic style. Several incidents from his radio stint at WABC in New York City have been chronicled in deejay "Cousin Brucie" Morrow's autobiography.^[3] George Michael replaced Morrow at WABC in 1974. Before that he was the popular evening deejay at Philadelphia's WFIL Radio (560 kHz) from 1966 until his move to WABC. While in New York, he also served for several seasons as a commentator on New York Islanders telecasts, where he was paired mainly with Tim Ryan.

As a sports broadcaster at WRC, Michael was easily one of the most popular media personalities in the Washington area. Michael got significant latitude in his programming, employing a bevy of segments some might consider old-fashioned, including his "Tuesday Replays" and "Wednesday Wrestling." He also had devoted extensive coverage to and was considered a significant influence in the popularity of NASCAR, broadcasting interviews with famous drivers such as Dale Earnhardt well before that sport became what it is today. An avid equestrian himself, Michael also broadcast segments on bull riding and rodeo.

Michael's affable personality had endeared him to the curmudgeonliest of local and national sports personalities and landed rare interviews. For example, Michael's team at WRC had been the only local sportscasters allowed to broadcast from inside the Washington Redskins' FedEx Field during the season.

In November 2005, Michael was seriously injured in a horseback riding accident. He broke several ribs and injured his wrists during the equine mishap at his Comus farm in upper Montgomery County, Maryland. Michael resumed his duties in December 2005.

Michael left his role as WRC's daily sports anchor on March 1, 2007 following a dispute with WRC-TV (News 4) over layoffs of his staff. The George Michael Sports Machine went off the air on March 25, 2007.^[4][5] He continued to host weekend sports panel shows, such as Full Court Press (basketball season) and Redskins Report (football season) as well as interviews at Redskins Park on Mondays with Jim Zorn and Joe Bugel through December 2008. He was completely dropped from WRC due to budget cuts despite the fact Redskins Report was consistently one of WRC's top shows. He indicated at the time of his layoff, he would like to work on a panel show again but not on a nightly newscast.^[6]

Michael died on Dec. 24, 2009, at 70 years old after a two-year battle with cancer.^[7][8]

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Connie Hines died she was 79

Connie Hines died she was 78. Hines was a retired American actress, best-remembered for playing Alan Young's wife, Carol Post, on the 1960s syndicated and then CBS sitcom Mister Ed.

(March 24, 1931 – December 18, 2009)

Hines was one of four children born in Dedham, Massachusetts to an actress mother and a Boston-based teacher/acting coach father. As a child, she appeared in many of her father's stock-company plays. A member of the class of 1948 at Dedham High School, she was voted the most popular girl in her class. She also dated the captain of the football team and was class secretary. She tried out for a part in the senior class play, but did not get it.^[1]

After her father's death, she went on to marry an insurance agent and moved to Jacksonville, Florida. She worked as a model there and as a radio and stage actress, joining a stock company in Miami. By the time she was divorced, Hines traveled to New York City to study with the Helen Hayes Equity Group. When she came to Hollywood, California, she lived in an apartment, rented a car and got her start in acting on an episode of Whirlybirds. Her first film role was in 1960's Thunder in Carolina.

Hines auditioned and won the role of appropriate wife, Carol Post, on Mister Ed, which was, arguably, her best-known character. Hines considered her role to be just getting a steady paycheck as the storylines focused more on the relationship of Wilbur and Mr. Ed (the talking horse) than her. Her biggest line in the show was “lunch is ready!” ^[2] She also said that playing the same role wasn't the greatest part in the world. Around the same time, she took some acting, dancing and music classes. She continued playing that role until 1966. After the series ended she took guest parts on television shows (Bonanza, The Mod Squad) before retiring in 1971. Young and Hines performed together in 1996 in Irvine in the two-person play Love Letters, which deals with the correspondence of a man and woman over 50 years.

A divorcee, she remarried in 1970 to Lee Savin, an entertainment lawyer and producer. They retired to Dana Point in 1989 on the recommendation of Young, who had been living there. Hines hosted a local cable access show about animals, interviewing veterinarians and animal behaviorists and offering animals for adoption. They remained together until Lee Savin's death in 1995.^[3]

Hines died from heart problems at her home in Beverly Hills, California. She was 79 years old. (The LA Times obituary originally listed her age as 78, but corrected her birth date and updated her age as 79.)^[4]

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Kim Peek Died he was 58

Kim Peek has died he was 58, Peek was an American prodigious savant known as a megasavant.^[1][2][3] He had a photographic or eidetic memory, but also social developmental disabilities, possibly resulting from congenital brain abnormalities. He was the inspiration for the character of Raymond Babbitt, played by Dustin Hoffman, in the movie Rain Man. He was not autistic and likely had FG syndrome.

(11 November 1951 – 19 December 2009)

Kim Peek was born with macrocephaly, damage to the cerebellum, and, perhaps most important, agenesis of the corpus callosum, a condition in which the bundle of nerves that connects the two hemispheres of the brain is missing; in Peek's case, secondary connectors such as the anterior commissure were also missing. There is speculation that his neurons made other connections in the absence of a corpus callosum, which results in an increased memory capacity.^[4] According to Peek's father, Fran, Peek was able to memorize things from the age of 16-20 months. He read books, memorized them, and then placed them upside down on the shelf to show that he had finished reading them, a practice he maintained. He read a book in about an hour, and remembered almost everything he had read, memorizing vast amounts of information in subjects ranging from history and literature, geography, and numbers to sports, music, and dates. His reading technique consisted of reading the left page with his left eye and the right page with his right eye and in this way he could read two pages at time with a rate of about 8-10 seconds per page. It is believed he could recall the content of at least 12,000 books from memory. ^[5] Peek resided in Salt Lake City, Utah and was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.^[6] Peek died of a heart attack on December 19, 2009.^[7]

Peek did not walk until the age of four and walked in a sidelong manner.^[4] He could not button up his shirt and had difficulty with other ordinary motor skills, presumably due to his damaged cerebellum, which normally coordinates motor activities. In psychological testing, Peek scored below average (73) on general IQ tests.

Unlike many savants, Peek had shown increasing social skills, perhaps due to the attention that had come with being perceived as the "real Rain Man". His father says that his sense of humor had been emerging since 2004 or so. Also, he had developed well beyond the stage of being a mere repository of vast amounts of information; his skills at associating information he remembers were at least one of the signs of creativity. He displayed difficulty with abstractions such as interpreting the meanings of proverbs or metaphorical terms of speech.

Although never a musical prodigy, Peek's musical abilities as an adult were receiving more notice when he started to study the piano. He apparently remembered music he heard decades ago and could play it on the piano, to the extent permitted by his limited physical dexterity. He was able to give running spoken commentary on the music as he played, for example, comparing a piece of music to other music he had heard. In listening to recordings he could distinguish which instruments play which part and was adept at guessing the composers of new music by comparing the music to the many thousands of music samples in his memory.

In 1984, script writer Barry Morrow met Peek in Arlington, Texas; the result of the meeting was the 1988 movie Rain Man. The character of Raymond Babbitt, although inspired by Peek, was portrayed as having autism. Dustin Hoffman, who played Babbitt, met Peek and other savants to get an understanding of their nature and to play the role with accuracy (see Method acting). The movie caused a number of requests for appearances, which increased Peek's self-confidence. Barry Morrow gave Kim his Oscar statuette to carry with him and show at these appearances. It has been referred to as the "Most Loved Oscar Statue" since it's been held by more people than any other Oscar statue. Kim also enjoyed approaching strangers and showing them his talent for calendar calculations by telling them on which day of the week they were born and what news items were on the front page of major newspapers. Peek had also appeared on television. He traveled with his father, who took care of him and performed many motor tasks that Peek found difficult.^[4]

Peek died on 19 December 2009, of a heart attack. He was survived by his father.

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