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.
Jets owner Woody Johnson's troubled daughter Casey, who was battling drugs and alcohol, was found dead Monday in her California home she was 30. Casey Johnson, the heiress to the Johnson & Johnson fortune who recently made tabloid headlines with a purported engagement to reality star Tila Tequila.
(September 24, 1979 – January 4, 2010)
The body of the 30-year-old socialite, whose worried parents had cut off her trust fund in an act of tough love, was discovered by her maid.
Her death was announced by Tequila on her Twitter page and confirmed by police.
"Everyone please pray 4 my Wifey Casey Johnson," Tequila wrote. "She has passed away. Thank u for all ur love and support but I will be offline to be w/ family."'
Los Angeles police and firefighters were called to a house at 11:51 a.m. Monday. Johnson was pronounced dead at the scene.
"It appears to be a natural death," says police Officer Sara Faden. "There's no evidence of foul play. A toxicology report from the coroner's office will proceed next." Johnson, who leaves a toddler daughter Ava whom she had adopted, was the great-great granddaughter of the founder of the pharmaceutical giant, and the daughter of New York Jets owner Robert Wood Johnson.
An openly gay socialite, Johnson had a knack for attracting paparazzi -- and trouble. A nasty fight with ex-girlfriend Courtenay Semel, daughter of former Yahoo chief Terry Semel, reportedly resulted in Johnson's hair catching on fire last October. Then in November, she was arrested for allegedly breaking into another former girlfriend's house.
In December, Tequila announced the pair were engaged. "Tonight, my beautiful girlfriend has just asked me to marry her and check out this rock," the lingerie-wearing Tequila said in an Internet video. "Bam! That is a 17-carat diamond ring from my baby."
Roberto Sánchez died he was 64. Sanchez better known by his artist names Sandro/Sandro de América ("Sandro of America" in Spanish) or Gitano (gypsy), was an Argentine singer and actor.
(August 19, 1945 - January 4, 2010)
He learned to play the guitar as a child, identifying his music as Romani[1]. His paternal grandfather was Russian Rom - Roma are known in Argentina as Gitanos[2][3]. Considered as a precursor of Rock music in Spanish, initially he imitated Elvis Presley, but afterwards he created a personal style that marked his career. He started the musical group Sandro & los de Fuego, which gained popularity on the TV showSábados Circulares. He became well-known in the decades 1960-1970 with songs like Trigal, Tengo, ¿A esto le llamas amor?, Eres el demonio disfrazado, Porque yo te amo and Rosa, Rosa. He died on January 4, 2010 of complications from heart and lung transplant surgery. He was 64.
Sandro also appeared in various films, among others: Quiero Llenarme de Ti ("I Want to fill myself with you") and telenovelas, among others: Fue sin Querer ("It wasn't on purpose"), with Puerto Rican actress: Gladys Rodríguez. He was the first Latino singer to fill Madison Square Garden doing so five times during the 1970s. Sandro was also the first singer to do a television concert via satellite. The concert was broadcast from Madison Square Garden on April 1970. This concert marked the debut of Latino music for a world audience. In the 1990s Argentine and other Latin American artists made the CD Padre del rock en castellano ("Father of Spanish Rock") in his honor.On November 20, 2009, Sandro received a double transplant (heart and lungs) in Mendoza, Argentina. 5 days later, Argentine TV (Cronica TV) reported Sandro was breathing without a respirator. On 4 January at 20:40, after 45 days of receiving a double cardio-pulmonary transplant, and after many complications, Roberto Sanchez, Sandro de América died of septic shock, mesenteric ischemia and disseminated intravascular coagulation in the Hospital Italiano of Mendoza. Latin America media commented almost immediately on his death. [4].
In an eight-season career, Gleason was a .267 hitter (907-for-3395) with seven home runs and 298 RBI in 798 games, including 613 runs, 111 doubles, and 35 triples. Incomplete data shows him stealing 70 bases and getting hit by 52 pitches.
Gleason died in his native St. Louis at the age of 73.
Jean Carroll died she was 98. Carrol was an American actress and comedienne during the 1950s and 1960s died he was 98.
(January 7, 1911 – January 1, 2010)
Carroll was born as Celine Zeigman on January 7, 1911 in Paris, France She began her career as part of a song-and-dance team with her husband, vaudevillianBuddy Howe, who later became her manager. She appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show more than 20 times and had her own short-lived sitcom, The Jean Carroll Show (or Take It From Me), which aired for one season in (1953-1954).[1] In November 2006, she was honored with an evening at the Friar's Club in New York City, the emcee was Joy Behar and the main speaker was Lily Tomlin. In 2007, Carroll was featured in the Off-Broadway production The J.A.P. Show: Jewish American Princesses of Comedy, which includes live standup routines by four female Jewish comics juxtaposed with the stories of legendary performers from the 1950s and 1960s, Belle Barth, Pearl Williams and Betty Walker, Totie Fields, and Carroll herself. She was later featured in 2009 in the P.B.S. documentary, Make 'em Laugh.[2]
She died on January 1, 2010 in White Plains, New York, five days before her 99th birthday.[3]
To see more of who died in 2010click here
Richard Kindleberger was born in Baltimore, Maryland, 1943, and later grew in Lincoln, Nebraska. He had one sister and two brothers. His father, Charles P. Kindleberger, was an economist at MIT and an architect of the Marshal Plan. In 1960, Richard graduated from Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School and began to develop his fondess for languages and learned Russian, French, German, and Spanish. After graduating from Cornell Univeristy in 1967, he began to work as a reporter at the Worcester Evening Gazette for almost 3 years. When Richard received a master’s in Russian literature, he was later hired by the globe where he works as an environmental reporter and a copy editor in 1972. He joined a spotlight team and had to help investigate reports on abuses in the State's Civil Service System and the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. He explained to readers that civil service problems were transcended examples from workers that had political connections.
On 1978, Richard married Sarah Wells and later had two daughters named Kate and Carrie Kindleberger. Richard spent more than 12 years with Sarah until she died from a cancer. Richard took care of his two daughters for almost three years until he later married Jean Hale.
Spending at least thirty years as a reporter and editor, Richard died from a brain tumor on the first day of 2010.
Former Remy Zero drummer Gregory Slay Remy Zero are a Birmingham, Alabama-based alternative rock band made up of Cinjun Tate (vocals, guitar), Shelby Tate (guitar, keyboards, vocals), Cedric LeMoyne (bass guitar), Jeffrey Cain (guitar) and formerly Gregory Slay (drums, percussion) before his death in January 2010 he passed away New Year's Day following a lifelong battle with cystic fibrosis. He was 40..
(January 1, 2010)
In spite of the illness, Slay found immediate success with the Birmingham, Ala.-based band when the group's demo famously landed in the hands of Radiohead, who were so impressed they invited Remy Zero to join them on their 'Bends' tour. From there, Remy Zero went on to record three albums, scoring hit singles with 1998's 'Prophecy' and 2001's 'Save Me.' The latter would be their last hit; they disbanded in 2003. While there was talk of reuniting in 2006, the band decided to make the hiatus permanent and continue with their individual projects.
For Slay, that meant working on his own music as Sleepwell and various other projects, including his Emmy-nominated work on the theme song for the television series 'Nip/Tuck.' He also worked frequently with his former Remy Zero band mates, most recently teaming up with guitarist Jeffrey Cain on an album produced for Mobile, Ala. musician Eliot Morris called 'All Things In Time.'
The strong bond between the group is evidenced by the statement they issued on Slay's passing.
"Our beloved friend, partner, brother, master musician, beautiful artist -- passed away this morning, January 1, 2010. He was in a peaceful place and surrounded by his family. We are so grateful for the time we were allowed with each other and for the wonderful opportunity to create with him for so many years. Gregory inspired all who had the chance to see him perform, to hear the music that he made or just to be around his bountiful spirit. He will be greatly missed.With our deepest love ... Jeffrey Cain, Cedric LeMoyne, Cinjun Tate and Shelby Tate -- the members of Remy Zero."
John Shelton Wilder died he was 88. Wilder was an Americanpolitician who was a Tennessee state senator from 1968 to 2007 and the 48th lieutenant governor of Tennessee from 1971 to 2007,[1] possibly the longest time anyone has served as Lieutenant Governor or a similar position in the history of the United States.[2]
(June 3, 1921 – January 1, 2010)
Wilder was from Fayette County, near Memphis. He was from an affluent family with extensive agricultural and agribusiness interests. He attended Fayette County Public Schools and received an undergraduate degree from the University of Tennessee College of Agriculture and a law degree is from Memphis State University, now the University of Memphis.[1]
He and his family were known for fairer dealings with black farm employees and tenants than was typical of the area during the segregation era. This fact served him very well upon entering into elective politics at about the time that Tennessee blacks in rural areas were first being allowed their constitutional rights to participate in political decisions which had been guaranteed under the Tennessee and federal constitutions but previously unenforced. Wilder was also a prominent attorney in Somerville, the county seat of Fayette County.
Wilder married his wife Marcelle in 1941 and served in the U.S. Army during World War II.[1] He was a member of the former Fayette County Quarterly Court (now the County Commission) for 18 years.[3] A Democrat, he was first elected to the Tennessee Senate in 1958, serving until 1960.
Wilder did not run for reelection in 1960, but returned to the state Senate in 1966. After this time, a state constitutional amendment extended the length of terms in the state Senate to four years. Wilder was elected to a four-year term in 1968 and was reelected every four years thereafter until 2004. He represented Senate District 26, which currently included Chester, Crockett, Fayette, Hardeman, Hardin, Haywood, McNairy, and Wayne counties.
Wilder was elected Speaker of the State Senate by his fellow Senators in January 1971, which made him the state's Lieutenant Governor. Under the Tennessee state constitution, the Speaker of the Senate is first in line of succession to the governorship. The title of Lieutenant Governor was granted to the Speaker of the Senate by statute in 1951.
He was the first Tennessee Lieutenant Governor in almost half a century, and only the second since Reconstruction, to serve under a governor of a different political party, RepublicanWinfield Dunn, who had been elected the previous November.
Prior to this time, the General Assembly had never had its own independent staff, or even its own offices, frequently working out of hotel rooms. Wilder now oversaw a massive building project (which somewhat ironically entailed the demolition of one of the hotels that many legislators had previously favored) was undertaken to correct this and make the legislative branch of state government more co-equal to the other two.
Wilder defied precedent by seeking to serve as lieutenant governor for an extended period. Previously, no one had served more than three consecutive terms as Speaker of the Senate since Tennessee's current constitution was adopted in 1870. He faced little opposition until the mid-1980s. By then, many of the members of the Senate Democratic Caucus had tired of his leadership. There were also regional issues at stake – by this time the speakers of both houses of the legislature had been from West Tennessee for almost two decades. The dissident faction coalesced around the leadership of State Senate Majority Leader Riley Darnell from Clarksville in Middle Tennessee. When Darnell received the Democratic nomination for Lieutenant Governor in 1987, Wilder's long tenure as Lieutenant Governor appeared to be over.
However, in a surprise (but not entirely unprecedented) move, Wilder was then nominated by the Republican Caucus for Lieutenant Governor. With the support of all 15 Republicans in the chamber, and six dissenting Democrats, Wilder won the vote 21 – 15 and then proceeded to organize the Senate on a "bipartisan" basis, awarding a majority of the committee chairmanships to his Democratic loyalists with the remainder going to the Republicans. This was not out of character for Wilder; in 1979 he had acquiesced in the ouster of Governor Ray Blanton three days before his term was supposed to end after a series of controversial pardons. The state constitution is somewhat ambiguous on when a governor is supposed to be sworn in, so Wilder and his counterpart in the State House, Ned McWherter, supported the early swearing-in of his Republican successor, Lamar Alexander. Wilder called the move "impeachment, Tennessee style."
After this, Wilder, until 2005, continued to be reelected "unanimously" and to award chairmanships to his supporters in both parties, making the Tennessee Senate one of the few legislative bodies in the world to be elected on a partisan basis, but organized on a more-or-less nonpartisan one. Even when two outgoing state Senators switched parties in the mid-1990s, giving the Republicans a short-lived one-seat Senate majority, nothing of consequence changed.
This coalition had made Wilder one of the longest-serving (reputedly the longest) freely-elected legislative leaders in the world. Given his support among many Republican state senators, he long faced little opposition in holding onto his State Senate seat, even though the Memphis suburbs have become increasingly Republican.
Unlike many lieutenant governors, particularly in other states, Wilder never ran for governor. In 2009 he said that he had wanted to run for governor in 1975, but had been talked out of it by his family, and was "glad I stayed where I was because the Senate is the Senate."[4] In a now almost-vanished Southern style, he often referred to himself in the third person, as in, "The Speaker likes being Speaker."
Wilder was a cycling enthusiast and was a licensed private pilot for over a half-century, continuing occasionally until the end of his legislative career to fly himself 200 miles (320 km) from Fayette County to Nashville for legislative meetings.[5][6] When Republicans attacked him for this during his 2004 reelection campaign, claiming that the partial reimbursement that he receives for this has cost the state over $250,000 over the past ten years, his campaign's reply was that much of this travel was to enable him to both to attend to his Senate duties and still be involved in the giving of care to his wife of 63 years, Marcelle, who died in the summer of 2004.
On November 2, 2004, Wilder was elected to his 11th consecutive term (and 12th overall) in the Tennessee Senate. However, the Democrats lost control of the Senate, albeit by only a one-seat margin. This meant that if the Republicans could have established true party discipline, they could have chosen either to retain Wilder or replace him; however, since several incumbent Republicans who were either reelected or whose terms did not expire in this election cycle were known to be allies and close friends of Wilder, the outcome that was considered to be most likely by most close observers was that these Republicans would join with the Democratic minority to continue Wilder's working majority and that he would be reelected Lieutenant Governor.
At least one Nashville television station had speculated that Wilder would become a Republican before or at the start of the next session in order to maintain his power. This was not an unreasonable possibility, as Republicans have done very well in much of his district at all levels. However, others suggested that this was unlikely and that he would probably remain a nominal Democrat but would appoint Republicans to all or most of the committee chairmanships; by mid-November 2004 this was regarded to be by far the most likely outcome, despite some telephone calls to Wilder's Republican supporters from United States Senate Majority LeaderBill Frist.
In December 2004, the executive committee of the Tennessee Republican Party announced that sanctions were possible for Republican legislative members who cast votes for Democrats for organizational purposes. (These votes are open, not secret ballots). These were potentially to include party endorsement of opposing candidates in future primaries. This was a major policy change, as traditionally the Tennessee Republican Party has made no endorsements in contested primary elections. Nonetheless, two Republican members of the Tennessee State Senate – enough to assure Wilder's reelection provided his traditional unanimous Democratic support in recent years – voted for Wilder on January 11, 2005, and he was sworn in for his 18th term as lieutenant governor. (One of them, Micheal Williams, was then rewarded with the post of Speaker pro Tempore.) Wilder then appointed Republican majorities to seven of the nine committees but left the five existing Democratic chairmen in place; this resulted in Democratic majorities and chairs on two committees, including what is regarded as the most important one, the Finance Committee, which left many Republicans very upset.
Following the November 2006 elections, the Republican Party retained a one-seat majority in the Tennessee Senate. However, Republicans who had supported Wilder in the past, particularly Williams, found themselves under severe pressure to adhere to party discipline, with even the threat of officially-endorsed primary opponents, unprecedented for Tennessee Republicans, for those who failed to comply with the party line, according to a series of columns by Tennessean columnist Larry Daughtrey. Wilder was challenged within the Democratic caucus for nomination as speaker by State Senator Joe Haynes of Nashville. Later articles in The Tennessean and the Nashville City Paper cited the possibility that all 16 Republicans might vote for Senator Ron Ramsey and that 16 Democrats, including Wilder himself, would vote for Wilder, with Democratic State Senator Jerry Cooper, accused of wrongful business dealings with a bank controlled by Wilder, abstaining to prevent any appearance of conflict of interest. Under Senate rules, a 16-16 tie would result in Wilder's retention of the speakership.
However, in the vote held on January 9, 2007, all 17 Republicans voted for Ramsey and were joined by Democratic Senator Rosalind Kurita of Clarksville, ending Wilder's tenure as Speaker of the Senate and Lieutenant Governor of Tennessee.[7]
On March 8, 2007, the Tennessee news media reported that Wilder had been seriously injured in a fall and was in intensive care in a hospital in Memphis. He was released from the hospital on March 11, 2007, and returned home to finish his recuperation.[8]
On March 20, 2008, Wilder announced his decision not to run for re-election later that year.[9]
Wilder died early on the morning of January 1, 2010 at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis following a stroke on December 28, 2009.[10] He was survived by son Shelton Wilder.
Jets owner Woody Johnson's troubled daughter Casey, who was battling drugs and alcohol, was found dead Monday in her California home she was 30. Casey Johnson, the heiress to the Johnson & Johnson fortune who recently made tabloid headlines with a purported engagement to reality star Tila Tequila.
Johnson, who leaves a toddler daughter Ava whom she had adopted, was the great-great granddaughter of the founder of the pharmaceutical giant, and the daughter of New York Jets owner Robert Wood Johnson.
