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.
Christopher Mark Sievey was an Englishmusician and comedian known for fronting the band the Freshies in the late 1970s and early 1980s and for his comic persona Frank Sidebottom from 1984 onwards.[2]
(25 August 1955 – 21 June 2010)
The character was instantly recognisable by his large spherical head, styled like an early Max Fleischer cartoon. This was initially made from papier-mâché, but later rebuilt out of fibreglass.[3]
Frank, usually dressed in a 1950s-style sharp suit, was portrayed as an aspiring pop star from the small village of Timperley near Altrincham, Cheshire. His character was cheerfully optimistic, enthusiastic, and seemingly oblivious to his own failings. Although supposedly 35 years old (the age always attributed to Frank irrespective of the passage of time), he still lived at home with his mother, to whom he made frequent references. His mother was apparently unaware of her son's popularity. Frank sometimes had a sidekick in the form of "Little Frank", a hand puppet who was otherwise a perfect copy of Frank.
Comedy character Mrs Merton started out as Frank's sidekick on his radio show "Radio Timperley", and the similarity of the characters is evident, exuding a sense of great ambition which belies a domestic lifestyle in the North of England. Sidebottom's former "Oh Blimey Big Band" members include Mark Radcliffe and Jon Ronson, and his driver was Chris Evans.[3]
Frank was first revealed to the world on a 12 inch promotional record which came free with the Chris Sievey-created video game The Biz for the ZX Spectrum computer in 1984. The Frank Sidebottom character was initially created to be a fan of Sievey's band the Freshies but the popularity of the character led Sievey to focus his output on Frank Sidebottom comedy records, many of which were released on Marc Riley's 'In Tape' record label of Manchester[4] and previous to that, the 'Regal Zonophone' label.
He reached cult status in the late 1980s/early 1990s thanks to extensive touring of the country, and focusing on large towns such as St Helens. Performances were often varied from straightforward stand-up comedy and featured novelty components such as tombola, and a lot of crowd interaction. Sometimes the show also included lectures. Contrasting against the alternative comedians of the time, Frank Sidebottom's comedy was family-friendly, if a little bizarre for some.
Frank also had his own comic strip in the children's weekly comic Oink! which was launched around the mid 1980s as the children's alternative to Viz.
Frank was perhaps most popular in the North West of England, where his success was caught up in that of the Madchester scene, and for a time was a regular on regional ITV station Granada. He even featured as a reporter on its regional news programme, Granada Reports. At one point Frank had his own television show on ITV entitled Frank Sidebottom's Fantastic Shed Show.[5] He also made numerous appearances on Channel 4, including the British version of the game show Remote Control which was presented by Anthony H Wilson, where each week he would pose "Frank's Fantastic Question" to the contestants.[6] He also made several appearances on the Television South/ITV Saturday morning children's show No. 73.[7]
Frank faded into obscurity in the late 1990s, rarely appearing either on TV or live appearances. A one-off performance at Manchester's Club Indigo Vs Manic Street Mania in December 2005 seemed to be the catalyst for a comeback.
In 2006, Frank reappeared in Greater Manchester on local television channel, Channel M. His new show, Frank Sidebottom's Proper Telly Show in B/W, featured celebrity guests and animation. The first showing of each show was in black and white ("so you don't have to turn the colour down"), whilst subsequent repeats were shown in full colour. He has also made five appearances on Iain Lee's programme on London's LBC as well as on numerous community radio stations.
A recent appearance has been as a "test card" shown late at night on Channel M, where he and Little Frank ramble on and sing songs whilst framed in a parody of the classic "Test Card F". On 6 March 2007, in an episode of the Podge and Rodge Show, he appeared in their 'Sham-Rock' talent section, performing a medley of songs by the Smiths. He received an overall score of 22 points from judges James Nesbitt and Glenda Gilson, putting him in first place for all the series' acts so far.
Frank starred in his own exhibition of drawings, animation and cardboard at London's Chelsea Space Gallery next to Tate Britain between 4 July–4 August 2007. He also appeared at "Late" at Tate Britain on 3 August 2007. [14][15][16]
He appeared in the Series 3 Christmas special of BBC Scotland's Videogaiden, performing 'Christmas is Really Fantastic', and later appeared on the Series 3 Awards show, and the final web-exclusive episode ("Closedown").
In late 2009 and early 2010 he supported John Cooper Clarke on a UK tour.
Sievey was diagnosed with cancer in May 2010.[19] On Monday, 21 June 2010, Sievey died at Wythenshawe Hospital after collapsing at his home in Hale, Cheshire. He was 54 years old.[20][21] Sievey left a daughter Asher (aged 31) and two sons: Stirling, 31, and Harry, 18, who was still living with Sievey's ex-wife Paula. After it was reported that Sievey had died virtually penniless and was facing a "pauper's funeral" provided by state grants,[22] a grassroots movement on various social networking websites quickly rallied round and donated significant sums to help out with the costs, raising £6,500 in a matter of hours. The appeal closed on Monday 28th June with a final balance of £21,631.55 from 1632 separate donations..[23]
Sievey's funeral was held on 2nd July 2010 at Altrincham Crematorium. The private service was attended by more than 200 members of his family, friends and former colleagues.[24]
On 8th July 2010, over 5,000 fans of Frank Sidebottom gathered for a party at the Castlefield Arena in Manchester to celebrate Sievey's life. The acts included Badly Drawn Boy and surviving members of 'Frank's Oh Blimey Big Band' who played in tribute. To see more of who died in 2010 click here
(born Thomas Bennett Sim; 12 July 1942 – 21 June 2010)
Primarily known as a blues vocalist with a trademark gravel-voiced sound, in the 1960s he recorded with beat groupsThe Boston Dexters and then The Buzz, who recorded one single with producer Joe Meek in 1966. In the 1970s White was the first artist to sing live on Top Of The Pops[2], and he provided the vocals for Robbie Coltrane to mime to as Big Jazza McGlone in John Byrne's award-winning television series Tutti Frutti in 1987.
Mixed fortunes in the 1970s after the Boston Dexters split saw him hosting his own TV show on Scottish Television and performing in working men's clubs, followed by a spell when he returned to stonemasonry. He told the Scotsman: "Everyone wanted me to be somebody else. I did a series for STV in the 1970s, my own show, and I ended up in a monkey suit – it was incredibly embarrassing – and doing working men's clubs. I got hooked into that, anything to make a living." During this time White was drinking heavily, a habit he kicked in 1980.[3]
In the same year White reformed the Dexters with a changing line-up that over the years included guitarist Jim Condie and jazz pianist Brian Kellock, with whom he also recorded a duet album. Billed as Tam White & The Dexters, the band built up a solid and loyal following for their live appearances, which generally sold out. In addition to being "a fixture" at the Edinburgh Jazz And Blues Festival[4], there were also support slots for many better-known blues artists including BB King, Al Green and Van Morrison.[5] As the Dexters split for a second time, collaborations with musicians such as guitarist Neil Warden, the harmonica player Fraser Speirs and bassist Boz Burrell eventually developed into a permanent lineup known as The Shoestring Band, who continued performing together either as a trio or a larger band until Burrell's death in 2006. After this White re-formed the Dexters again and continued to be a firm favourite at the box office.
Tam White began acting on television in 1990, playing John Maguire in "The Wreck On The Highway" by Colin MacDonald. His most notable appearances include Paper Mask, The Negotiator, Braveheart, Cutthroat Island, Orphans, and two roles in Taggart, once in 1992 and once in 2000.
He also had roles in Rebus: Black and Blue, playing Rico Briggs, The Legend of Loch Lomond, Goodbye, Mr Steadman and Man Dancin'.
His latest television appearance's was playing Tony Macrae in EastEnders in late 2003 and early 2004, followed by a brief stint in 2009 in the BBC Scotland soap River City.
A fitness enthusiast, he died of a heart attack after a gym session in Edinburgh on 21 June 2010.[6]
Acclaimed songwriter Larry Jon Wilson, whose flannel-warm baritone voice and deeply lyrical storytelling made him a worthy and intriguing musical contemporary of Kris Kristofferson, Steve Earle, Townes Van Zandt and others, died Monday afternoon in Roanoke, Va. Mr. Wilson suffered a stroke while visiting family. He was 69.
“The South will never be the same,” said Jerry DeCicca, who co-produced Wilson’s intimate, self-titled “comeback” album that came out in 2009 on Drag City Records. It was Wilson’s first album in nearly 30 years. DeCicca, who called Wilson “My hero and friend,” said, “He never stopped giving himself to his art.”
Raised in Georgia, Mr. Wilson began writing songs when he was 30, after he’d celebrated a birthday, mourned the passing of his father, accepted the delivery of a Martin guitar and learned that his then-wife was pregnant, all within the same 24-hour period. He developed a distinct and unusual guitar style that served the songs he wrote about churchyards, poets and bucolic Georgia bottomland.
“People who’ve called me a great guitar player . . . I think they haven’t studied my guitar playing,” he said in a 2009 Tennessean interview. “It’s very limited, and I’m aware of that. But it properly accompanies what I play. Anything more would obscure it, and anything less wouldn’t hold it up.”
Jim McGuire, who has photographed many of Nashville’s greatest musicians, said of Mr. Wilson, “He was an artist of the highest order.” That artistry was depicted on four albums Mr. Wilson made for Monument Records in the 1970s, in a documentary film called Heartworn Highways and in the recent, self-titled album that was recorded while he played guitar and sang in a 15th floor hotel room in Perdido Key, Fla.
Those recordings, along with the still-talked-about concerts he played at small venues such as Nashville’s Bluebird Cafe and Decatur, Ga.’s Eddie’s Attic, established for Mr. Wilson a legend and reputation more significant than his modest commercial successes. Mr. Wilson didn’t so much refuse industry ladder climbing so much as he never got around to it.
“He was pretty different,” said famed publisher Bob Beckham, who signed Wilson to a deal with Combine Music in 1975. “He doesn’t fit the image, whatever the image is. . . . Back then, unique characters came along with the song.”
For his part, Mr. Wilson did not regret his decisions to step aside from mainstream motivations.
“Some people have used the ‘Outlaw’ tag effectively for a career move, but I don’t think ‘career move’ has ever entered my thinking,” he said. “When I was in Nashville, we did the streets an awful long time, and we weren’t exactly holding prayer meetings. I loved my drinking days. I stopped in the 1980s, but they were good. I’m not ashamed of any of it.”
After 29 years without a release, the Larry Jon Wilson album caused fans and critics to reexamine Mr. Wilson’s art and impact. The album wasn’t a chart hit, but it reintroduced the singer-songwriter to an international audience, some members of which weren’t even born when Mr. Wilson released his other albums. He toured in the United Kingdom, hung out with indie rockers and told his stories to fans and journalists. Mr. Wilson’s stories were less, and more, than linear. Presented with a question, he’d offer up elliptical poetry that might have something to do with the line of inquiry. And then he might offer up a song to illustrate his ever-shifting line of thought.
“Thank God I touched a few forsaken lives,” he once sang, by way of a modest thank you.
Robert Steven Perez, Honduran reggaeton musician known in the art as "Perry" was killed today in a street in the capital, police said. Te-nia 21. One of the most important singers of reggaeton from Honduras was killed in his car. The young singer had received telephone threats.While the homicide did not reach the levels of violence in the deaths of 2Pac and Notorious BIG in the U.S., the urban genre claimed its first victim.
Perez was hit in the neck by a bullet from one of two individuals on a motorcycle when the artist was traveling in his car. The bullet exited through the rear window of the vehicle.
"The Perry" had left his residence shortly before the colony Enmedio The Ranch, east of Tegucigalpa, where he was followed by criminals, police said in a statement.
Perez was a member of the renowned company BuLLaKa Musik.
The authorities have ruled out robbery as a motive for the murder, found in the car because all the belongings of the artist, including more than $ 300 in cash and two checks in his name for about $ 4.500.
According to police, "El Pery" recently had denounced death threats via cell phone. Steven Robert Perez Rodriguez was born in Tegucigalpa on February 15, 1989, his parents are Alex Humberto Perez and Alba Luz Rodriguez and made married life with the former television presenter of a youth program and also the granddaughter of former President Roberto Suazo Cordova, Davner Suazo , with whom he fathered a hija.Trabajaba in the family business selling used clothing and according to his personal website on social networking site Facebook, a student at Universidad Tecnológica Centroamericana (Unitec), but did not specify what career was studying; also had its own music studio where he helped other artists to record their albums.
He had composed several songs that sound like local radio and even after classification of the National Team to South Africa 2010 World Cup, made the famous song "Dame Gol."
Weeks ago the same way participated in a series of concerts organized by several official sponsors of the national team, called "Wheel of Dreams", in which he shared the stage with other artists, such as The Bohemians of Regueeton, Sherry and Sheyla, Bullaka Family, among others.
His first foray was in a rap rock band called Freestyle, which was characterized by mixed genres. He was noted for his versatility, acting ability and stage presence.
"Ella me Enamora" was the first song I recorded "The Pery" professionally four years ago, and that opened the doors of the art world in Honduras. He devoted himself after throwing his second single, "Desperate," which was located at the top of the charts.
A relative who spoke to TIME Journal said "do not know who and why had threatened Robert Steven, however, recalled that four years ago the boy was kidnapped for several days," he says. He continues, "the police captured the kidnappers and they went to prison, since that time, the boy was subjected to constant death threats," says TIME.
The wife of "El Pery, the television presenter spent Davner Suazo minutes after the event and was the first family to see the body of the singer."They killed the Pery, what the message was right," cried the girl he fathered a child with the musician.
The former host of Channel 54 experienced several fainting spells and was saved by police, arrived minutes after the parents of the now defunct singer.. According to the reggaeton family would have received messages like: "beware dog going to kill you." The Perry began his career at age 17, but it was not until 2008 when highlighted national issues such as: "Tattooing in the Heart," "Desperate," "She love me," among others . To see more of who died in 2010 click here
Bobby Meide, drummer for longstanding local rock band the Flamin' Ohs, passed away yesterday morning, only a few weeks after being diagnosed with a neurological disorder called Korsakoff's syndrome.
Born August 1, 1950, died peacefully on Sunday, June 20, 2010
"I have played with Bobby since 1970. I am heartbroken," Flamin' Ohs lead singer Robert Wilkinson wrote on the band's Facebook page.
The Flamin' Ohs have been active on the local scene for over 30 years; their most recent album, Long Live the King, was released in 2005 and was awarded as "Best Local CD" by the Minnesota Music Academy. In 2007, the band was inducted into the Minnesota Country Rock Hall of Fame.
Information on Meide's memorial service has yet to be announced. In the meantime, here's a classic Flamin' Ohs video for the song "I Remember Romance": To see more of who died in 2010 click here
Manute Bol was a Sudanese-born basketball player and activist has died he was , 47. Until the debut of Gheorghe Mureşan, Bol was the tallest player ever to appear in the National Basketball Association. Bol is believed to have been born on October 16, 1962 in either Turalie or Gogrial, Sudan. He was the son of a Dinka tribal chief, who gave him the name "Manute," which means "special blessing."
Bol played basketball for many teams over his career. He played for two colleges and four NBA teams. He was known as a specialist player; his shot blocking skills were considered among the best in the league during his tenure, but other aspects of his game were considered fairly weak. One statistical oddity highlights Bol's unique skill set: he is the only player in NBA history to have more blocked shots than points scored.
Bol came from a family of extraordinarily tall men and women: "My mother was 6 feet 10, my father 6 feet 8 and my sister is 6 feet 8," he said. "And my great-grandfather was even taller — 7 feet 10."[2]
As a boy, Bol had tended his family’s cattle. According to a tale he was often asked to repeat in interviews, he once killed a lion with a spear while he was working as a cowherd.
Bol started playing basketball in 1978 and played in Sudan for several years with teams in Wau and Khartoum. A coach from Fairleigh Dickinson University saw Bol play basketball in Khartoum and convinced him to come to the United States.[3] Bol was drafted by the San Diego Clippers in the 5th round of the 1983 NBA Draft, but the league ruled that Bol had not been eligible for the draft and declared the pick invalid.[4] He was then invited to Cleveland by Cleveland State University head basketball coach Kevin Mackey. While in Cleveland, he attended English language classes for several months at ELS Language Centers on the Case Western Reserve University campus. Bol never played for Cleveland State because its basketball program was placed on probation for two years as the result of providing improper financial assistance to Bol and two other African basketball players.[5] Bol lacked a strong command of written English, which reduced his chances of being eligible to play Division I basketball. He enrolled at the University of Bridgeport, a Division II basketball school, and played college basketball there during the 1984-1985 season.
In 1985 Bol was drafted in the second round by the Washington Bullets. He played in the NBA for ten years, from 1985–1995, spending parts of four seasons with the Bullets, parts of three with the Golden State Warriors, parts of four with the Philadelphia 76ers and part of one season with the Miami Heat. In 1987, the Washington Bullets drafted the 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m) point guardMuggsy Bogues, pairing the tallest and shortest players in the league on the court for one season.
Washington Bullets
Bol's first tenure with the Bullets lasted for three seasons from 1985 to 1988. In his rookie season (1985-1986) Bol appeared in 80 games and recorded a career-high 5.0 blocks per game. His total of 397 blocks set the NBA rookie record.
Golden State Warriors
Bol's first tenure with the Golden State Warriors lasted for two seasons from 1988 to 1990. It was his first season in Golden State that Bol first attempted to shoot three pointers with regularity. In that season, he shot a career-high 91 three pointers and made 20 of them. At this time he may have helped to popularize the expression "my bad", although a 2005 suggestion that he coined the phrase has been discounted.[6][7]
Philadelphia 76ers
Bol's first tenure with the Philadelphia 76ers lasted for three seasons from 1990 to 1993. Although he played in a career-high 82 games in his first season in with the 76ers, it was also in Philadelphia that Bol's production as a player began to decline (in terms of both games played and per game statistics). After playing in all 82 games in 1990-1991, he played in 71 games the next season, and in 58 (a career low at the time) games the following season. During Bol's last season in Philadelphia, Bol enjoyed a memorable night while playing against former teammate Charles Barkley and the Phoenix Suns. Bol hit 6 of 12 three-pointers all in the second half, albeit in a losing effort, against the Suns.[8] Fans have been known to yell out "shoot" as soon as Bol touches the ball when he is far from the basket.[9]
Miami Heat
Bol played in eight games in the 1993-1994 season with the Miami Heat. The Heat were the only team for whom Bol played that did not feature him in its starting lineup. He scored only a two-point field goal with the team and blocked 6 shots in 61 total minutes.
Washington Bullets (2nd stint)
Bol's second stint with the Bullets lasted only two games during the 1993-1994 season. Thereafter he was signed not to play in games, but instead to help with the development of 7 ft 7 teammate Gheorghe Muresan.
Philadelphia 76ers (2nd stint)
Bol's second stint with the 76ers lasted for four games near the end of the 1993-1994 season. There, he helped to mentor 7 ft 6 in teammate Shawn Bradley. In only 49 minutes, he played more aggressively than he did earlier in the season with Miami and Washington. He scored 6 points, grabbed 6 rebounds, and blocked 9 shots.
Golden State Warriors (2nd stint)
Bol's final NBA stop was with the 1994-1995 Warriors. Bol, who wore a No 1 Jersey, (he had worn No 10 with the Bullets and earlier stint with the Warriors and No 11 with the Sixers) made the season opening roster and played in what would be his five final NBA games. (It is known that Bol chose the # 1 jersey to establish himself as the most dominant rebounder and shot-blocker in the NBA). On a memorable night in the middle of November, Bol finally made his home debut, coming off of the bench to play 29 minutes against the Minnesota Timberwolves. He intimidated and blocked his usual shots and grabbed his usual rebounds. That night, however, served as a "blast from the past" as Bol was back to shooting three-pointers like he did in the late 1980s. In that game, Bol connected on all three of the three pointers that he took (each was shot several steps beyond the three point line). The crowd, in disbelief, cheered louder and louder with each shot he took. Seven nights later in Charlotte, on a game that was nationally televised by TNT, Bol was in the starting line-up again. By this time, two weeks into the season, Bol's career seemed to be rejuvenated under head coach Don Nelson in Golden State—he was again a defensive force, making threes, and contributing as a starter to create match-up problems. However, after playing in only ten minutes against the Hornets on November 22, 1994, Bol suffered what proved to be a career-ending injury, and never played in the NBA again. Before he left his final game, he recorded a block and two points, and also managed to unload a three point attempt in the limited minutes.
Shot blocking
With his great height and very long limbs, Bol was one of the league's most imposing defensive presences, blocking shots at an unprecedented rate.[10] Along with setting the rookie shot blocking record in 1985-86, over the course of his career Bol tied for the NBA record for the most blocked shots in one half (eleven) and in one quarter (eight, twice).[11] In a game against the Orlando Magic, he blocked four consecutive shots within a single possession.[12]
However, Bol's other basketball skills were very limited, and his rail-thin physique made it difficult for him to establish position against the league's physical centers and power forwards. The sight of the tall, gangly Bol spotting up for a three-pointer during blow-outs became a fan favorite. Off the court, he established a reputation as a practical joker; Charles Barkley, a frequent victim of his pranks, attested to Bol's sense of humor. Bol also developed a close friendship with teammate Chris Mullin.
Career accomplishments
Over the course of his career, Bol averaged 2.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, 0.3 assists and 3.3 blocks per game while only playing an average of 18.7 minutes per game. Bol finished his career with totals of 1,599 points, 2,647 rebounds, and 2,086 blocks, having appeared in 624 games over 10 seasons.[13] As of 2010, Manute Bol remains:
First in career blocks per 48 minutes (8.6), almost 50% beyond second-place Mark Eaton (5.8).[14]
Second in career blocks-per-game average (3.34).[15]
The only player in NBA history to block more shots than points scored, blocking 2,086 shots and scoring 1,599 points.[16]
After the end of his NBA career, Bol played 22 games for the Florida Beach Dogs of the Continental Basketball Association during the 1995-1996 season. In 1996, the Portland (Maine) Mountain Cats of the United States Basketball League announced that he would be playing with the team, and included him in the game program, but he never actually appeared in uniform. He then played professionally in Italy and Qatar before rheumatism forced him to retire permanently.
Bol was very active in charitable causes throughout his career. In fact, he said he spent much of the money he made during a 10-year NBA career supporting various causes related to his war-ravaged nation of birth, Sudan.[17] He frequently visited Sudanese refugee camps, where he was treated like royalty. In 2001 Bol was offered a post as minister of sport by the Sudanese government. Bol, who was Christian, refused because one of the pre-conditions was converting to Islam.[18] Later Bol was hindered from leaving the country by the Sudanese government, who accused him of supporting the Dinka-led Christian rebels, the Sudan People's Liberation Army. The Sudanese government refused to grant him an exit visa unless he came back with more money. Assistance by supporters in the United States, including Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman, raised money to provide Bol with plane tickets to Cairo, Egypt. After 6 months of negotiations with U.S. consulate officials regarding refugee status, Bol and his family were finally able to leave Egypt and return to the United States.[18]
Bol established the Ring True Foundation in order to continue fund-raising for Sudanese refugees. He gave most of his earnings (an estimated $3.5 million) to their cause. In 2002, Fox TV agreed to broadcast the telephone number of his Ring True Foundation in exchange for Bol's agreement to appear on their Celebrity Boxing show. After the referee goaded, "If you guys don't box, you won't get paid," he scored a third-round victory over former football player William "The Refrigerator" Perry.
In the fall of 2002, Bol signed a one-day contract with the Indianapolis Ice of the Central Hockey League. Even though he couldn't skate, the publicity generated by his single game appearance helped to raise money to assist children in Sudan.[19] Bol once suited up as a horse jockey for similar reasons.
Bol was involved in the April 2006 Sudan Freedom Walk, a three-week march from the United Nations building in New York to the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.. The event was organized by Simon Deng, a former Sudanese swimming champion (currently a lifeguard at Coney Island) who was a longtime friend of Bol. Deng, who was a slave for three years from the age of nine, is from another tribe in Southern Sudan. His Sudan Freedom Walk is especially aimed at finding a solution to the genocide in Darfur (western Sudan), but it also seeks to raise awareness of the modern day slavery and human rights abuses throughout Sudan. Bol spoke in New York at the start of the Walk, and in Philadelphia at a rally organized by former hunger striker Nathan Kleinman.
During his time in Egypt, Bol ran a basketball school in Cairo. One of his pupils was a fellow Sudanese refugee; Chicago Bulls player Luol Deng, the son of a former Sudanese cabinet minister. Deng later moved to the United States to further his basketball career, continuing a close relationship with Bol.
Life after basketball
After a political dispute in Sudan, in 2002 Bol was admitted to the United States as a religious refugee, and resided in West Hartford, Connecticut.[20] In July 2004, Bol was seriously injured in a car accident, breaking his neck when he was ejected from the taxi he was riding in hit a guardrail and overturned.[21] When Bol recovered from these injuries he moved to Olathe, Kansas.[20]
Bol was also the "Brand Ambassador" for Ethiopian Airlines and Ethiopian Airlines Journeys.
After his death, tributes to Bol's basketball career and charitable works came from around the United States and the world.[23][24][25][26][27][28]
His former teams, and the NBA, issued statements in recognition of his impact on the sport of basketball and on his native Sudan.[29][30][31]
A salute to Bol took place on the floor of the Unites States Senate just a few days after his death.[32]
Funeral Service and Tribute
The memorial service for Manute Bol was held on Tuesday, June 29, 2010, at 10:00 a.m. at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. The body of Mr. Bol lay in an eight-foot-long, specially built casket.[33]
Sparrow rembered Bol as 'Also a giant off the court' and should remembered for humanitarian work and his basketball career.[35]
Senator Brownback recalled that “He literally gave his life for his people. He went over (to Sudan), he was sick. He stayed longer than he should have. He probably contracted this ailment that took his life while in Sudan, and he didn’t have to do that. He was an NBA basketball player. He could have stayed here and had an easy life. I’ve never seen anybody use his celebrity status more nor give his life more completely to a group of people than Manute Bol did. It makes me look at efforts that I do as not enough.
Dr. Akec K.A. Khoc, Ambassador of Sudan to the U.S said that "Manute had a very great heart for his country and people. He did everything to support anybody in need of shoes, blankets, health service, food, and people who were struggling. He went to see them and to encourage them to continue their struggle for their rights, for their freedoms. Manute embodied everything we can think of in Sudan. Reconciling warring groups between the north and south, in Darfur he was working for reconciliation between Darfur and the south and between Darfur and the rest of Sudan. So Manute was a voice for hope."
Sudan Sunrise founder, Reverend Canon Tom Prichard, says Bol's work to reconcile former enemies lives on."Manute's legacy and vision of education and reconciliation, his determination to grow grassroots reconciliation - whether that reconciliation is expressed in a country that divides or holds together, wherever the boundary lines are drawn. Manute stood for grassroots reconciliation,"[36]
Reverend Pritchard went on to say "There’s no question Manute gave his life for his country.”[37][38]
Manute Bol's family patriarch, Bol Bol Chol, praised his nephew's efforts to bring about reconciliation between Muslims and Christians in Sudan - including Darfurians, who, he said, killed as many as 250 of Bol's relatives. "This man is not an ordinary man. I believe this man is a messenger like others messengers who were sent into this world - to do something in this world. He has accomplished most of his mission, and so God took him and left the rest of the work to be done by others,"[39]
A number of members of Bol's immediate family, including his sons, were at the service.
Manute Bol's remains will be flown to Sudan where they will be interred near his grandfather in a family cemetery.[40]
Vince O’Brien of Haworth, a character actor whose long career included memorable turns as a debauched businessman in the Broadway musical comedy “Promises, Promises” and an earnest hotel doctor in Woody Allen’s film classic, “Annie Hall,” died Saturday. He was 91.
O'Brien was perhaps most recognizable as the Shell Answer Man, in television and print ads for the petroleum company.
The cause was heart failure, said his son Liam.
Mr. O’Brien was adept at playing authority figures, a consequence of his balding, mature appearance.
“I’ve seen pictures of him as a young man,” his son said, “and he always had that older look.”
He had recurring television roles as a judge on “Law and Order” in the ’90s and the soap operas “Ryan’s Hope” in the ’70s and “The Edge of Night” in the ’60s, and as a sheriff in the cult soap “Dark Shadows,” also in the ’60s.
He was perhaps most recognizable, however, as the Shell Answer Man, in television and print ads for the petroleum company.
Mr. O’Brien said in a 1969 interview with The Record that landing the Shell gig “was so much like hitting the state lottery that I didn’t even worry.” He was appearing at the time in “Promises, Promises,” which was based on Billy Wilder’s 1960 movie, “The Apartment.” Mr. O’Brien was Mr. Eichelberger, one of four executives who used a colleague’s apartment for trysts.
Eight years later, Mr. O’Brien landed in “Annie Hall.” He was in the scene when Woody Allen’s neurotic New Yorker Alvy Singer, in Los Angeles to present at an awards show, was holed up in his hotel room, complaining of stomach distress.
“Why don’t you just try to get a little bit of this down; it’s just plain chicken,” Mr. O’Brien’s sympathetic doctor, proffering a room service plate, tells Singer while girlfriend Annie Hall (Diane Keaton) finishes a call in which the awards show producers agree to find a replacement presenter.
Singer’s stomach “problems” suddenly disappear. “Well, there’s nothing wrong with you, actually, as far as I can tell,” the doctor tells his hypochondriac patient. “You have no fever, no symptoms of anything serious. You haven’t been eating pork or shellfish … ”
The second of nine children, Vincent O’Brien was reared in New Britain, Conn. He served in the Army during World War II and received a drama degree from Carnegie-Mellon University in 1949. He came to New York in 1950, the same year he married his wife, Kate, whom he met at college.
Mr. O’Brien immediately began getting stage and TV work. He appeared in 23 live dramas on CBS’ “Studio One” and received equal billing with Walter Matthau on one show.
In 1953, the O’Briens moved to a 19th century farmhouse in Haworth with their two small children. Their family would grow to 10 children.
“His career was as a New York actor from Day One,” Liam O’Brien said. “He was a working actor — the only job he ever had.”
Mr. O’Brien’s stage credits also include the Broadway play “Advise and Consent” in 1960-61 and productions at the North Jersey Playhouse in Fort Lee, the Playhouse on the Mall in Paramus and the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn. He starred in a Haworth Summer Shakespeare Festival production of the monodrama “Clarence Darrow,” and played Willy Loman in a 1988 production of “Death of a Salesman” at Siena College in upstate New York.
His final film roles were in “Six Degrees of Separation” and “Quiz Show” in the early ’90s. His last stage work was eight years ago in his favorite musical, “The Fantasticks,” at the Ivoryton Playhouse in Connecticut. A quarter-century earlier, he directed a benefit presentation of “The Fantasticks” at his home parish, Sacred Heart R.C. Church.
Liam O’Brien said his father was “a complicated guy in some ways.”
“He was a Catholic of great faith and had certain things that were conservative and Old World about him, but he had a very global view — he was pro-Civil rights, anti-racism,” Liam O’Brien said.
Mr. O’Brien was predeceased by five of his children — Miriam, Molly, Austin, Mercedes and Tony. In addition to his wife of 60 years, he is survived by daughter Mary O’Brien of Closter and sons Vincent of Warwick, N.Y., Conal of Manhattan, Liam of Deerfield, Mass., and Dominic of Closter; five grandchildren, four great-grandchildren and a brother, Charles O’Brien, of Florida
Christopher Mark Sievey was an English musician and comedian known for fronting the band the Freshies in the late 1970s and early 1980s and for his comic persona Frank Sidebottom from 1984 onwards.[2] 
