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.
Wakanohana Kanji I was a sumo wrestler, the sport's 45th Yokozuna (the highest-ranking position).
Wakanohana's younger brother (by twenty-two years) was the late former ozekiTakanohana Kenshi and he was the uncle of Takanohana Koji and Wakanohana Masaru died from kidney cancer. he was , 82. He won ten top division yusho or tournament championships during his career and at a fighting weight of around 100 kg was one of the lightest yokozuna ever. He had a long-standing rivalry with Tochinishiki and was one of the most popular wrestlers of the 1950s. After his retirement in 1962 he established Futagoyama stable and was also head of the Japan Sumo Association from 1988 until 1992.
(若乃花 幹士,Wakanohana Kanji?, March 16, 1928 – September 1, 2010)
Contents
Career
He was born in Aomori and moved to Hokkaidō as a child. After working as a stevedore, he was scouted by the maegashiraOnoumi,[1] joining Nishonoseki stable in November 1946. He was trained harshly by Rikidōzan in Nishonoseki stable, but he reportedly bit Rikidōzan's leg in retaliation for his training.[2] Onoumi became head coach of Shibatayama stable after his retirement in May 1952, and Wakanohana followed him to the new stable. It was renamed Hanakago stable in September 1953.
He reached the top division in 1950. During his career he was nicknamed the Dohyo no Oni, or Devil of the Dohyo due to his great fighting spirit and endurance. In September 1955 he fought a bout against yokozunaChiyonoyama that lasted for over 17 minutes before being declared a draw.[1] (Most sumo matches are over in a few seconds). He was promoted to ozeki after that tournament. He won his first top division championship in May 1956. Shortly before the following tournament his four year old son was scalded to death when a boiling hot pot of chankonabe fell on him.[3] Despite being devastated by the tragedy,[4] Wakanohana chose to compete in the tournament but ended up dropping out with a fever.[3] He had to wait until January 1958 for promotion to yokozuna, which was confirmed shortly after he took his second tournament championship. He was the first yokozuna produced by the Nishonoseki ichimon or group of stables in over 20 years and consequently he had to borrow the kesho mawashi of the former Futabayama to perform his first dohyo-iri or yokozuna ring entering ceremony.[4]
Wakanohana's great rival as yokozuna was Tochinishiki. They were very evenly matched, being of similar height and weight, and both ended up with ten top division titles each. In March 1960, they faced each other undefeated on the final day – the first time ever that two yokozuna had met like this.[3] Wakanohana won the match and Tochinishiki retired after the next tournament. Wakanohana kept going until the new era of yokozunaTaiho and Kashiwado, retiring in May 1962.
Wakanohana was such a popular wrestler that he even starred in a feature film 若ノ花物語 土俵の鬼 Wakanohana monogatari dohyou no oni about his life, made by the Nikkatsumovie studio and released across Japan December 27, 1956.[4][5]
Retirement from sumo
After retirement he set up his own training stable, Futagoyama, which produced a string of top wrestlers, including ozeki Takanohana (his brother) and Wakashimazu, and yokozuna Wakanohana II and Takanosato. He was also head of the Japan Sumo Association from 1988 to 1992. Among his reforms was an attempt to improve the quality of the tachi-ai or initial charge of a bout by fining wrestlers who engaged in matta, or false starts. At the end of his last tournament in charge he presented the Emperor's Cup to his nephew, Takahanada. Upon his retirement from the Sumo Association in 1993, his stable merged with his brother's Fujishima stable. He became director of the Sumo Museum. He died of kidney cancer in September 2010 at the age of 82. Umegatani I, who lived to 83, is the only yokozuna to live longer than him.[6]
Fighting style
Wakanohana was a noted technician, and his trademark was his overarm throwing techniques.[6] As well as uwatenage and dashinage he was also well known for yobimodashi, or pulling body slam, a kimarite that has virtually disappeared from professional sumo today. He was equally adept at both a hidari-yotsu (right hand outside, left hand inside) and migi-yotsu (the reverse) grip on his opponent's mawashi.
Top division record
Note: The Osaka tournament resumed in 1953. The Kyushu tournament was first held in 1957, and the Nagoya tournament in 1958.
Eleanore Cammack "Cammie" King was an American former child actress died from lung cancer she was 76.. She is best known for being one of the actresses who portrayed "Bonnie Blue Butler" in Gone with the Wind (1939). She also provided the voice for the doe "Faline" in the animated Disney film, Bambi (1942).
(August 5, 1934 – September 1, 2010)
Life and career
King was born in Los Angeles, California. While her acting career only spanned four years during her childhood, she appeared in two of the biggest movies of the era, Gone with the Wind and Bambi.
She was the godchild of Herbert Kalmus, co-founder of Technicolor, and became his stepchild in 1949 when he married her mother, Eleanore King. Cammie King was married twice and had two adopted children.[1] Her father-in-law from her second marriage, Judd Conlon, was a musical arranger for many Disney films including Alice in Wonderland (1951) and Peter Pan (1953).
In the early 2000s, King made a guest appearance as a contestant on the TV game show To Tell the Truth, hosted by John O'Hurley. Upon reflecting on her film career, King once joked, "I peaked at 5." She spent 40 years working as a marketing coordinator for the Fort Bragg-Mendocino CoastChamber of Commerce.[1]
King privately published a small book Bonnie Blue Butler: A Gone With the Wind Memoir in 2009, mainly selling copies directly to fans via personal appearances and the internet. King died on September 1, 2010, at her home in Fort Bragg, California, at age 76, from lung cancer.[2] She is interred at Culver City, California's Holy Cross Cemetery[3].
Vance Bourjaily was an American writer, novelist, playwright, journalist, and essayist died he was , 87.[1][2]
(September 17, 1922 – August 31, 2010)
Life
Bourjaily was born in Cleveland, Ohio to Monte Ferris Bourjaily, a Lebanese immigrant who was a journalist and later became editor of the United Features Syndicate, and Barbara Webb, an American-born features author and novelist.[3] Bourjaily moved several times during his youth. His childhood was spent in Connecticut, Virginia, and New York. Bourjaily graduated from Handley High School in Winchester, Virginia in 1939. After graduating, Bourjaily enrolled in Bowdoin College. With the coming of World War II, Bourjaily became a volunteer ambulance driver from 1942 to 1944. He then served two years in the army from 1944 to 1946. Bourjaily's time in the army was a central theme to many of his later writings. Bourjaily graduated from Bowdoin College with a B.A. in 1947. While at Bowdoin, he became a brother of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity (Theta chapter).
Bourjaily married Bettina Yensen in 1946. The couple had two children and later divorced. Bourjaily re-married in 1985, to Yasmin Mogul (a former student) and had a son by her. He died in Greenbrae, California on August 31, 2010.[3]
Career
Bourjaily began his work with his first novel entitled The End of My Life. The book was heavily influenced by Bourjaily's wartime experiences.[citation needed] Critics said that the novel borrowed heavily from the style and tone of Ernest Hemingway.[citation needed] However, the novel was met with praise and was hailed by critic John Aldridge as a war novel on the level of Hemingway's Farewell to Arms.[citation needed]
Bourjaily's second novel, The Hound of Earth, paints a picture of Cold War America through the eyes of a scientist who helped develop the atomic bomb. His third novel, The Violated, dealt with the themes of violence and alienation. This book was also met with critical praise.[citation needed] Brill Among the Ruins is Bourjaily's most critically acclaimed novel.[citation needed] The novel was nominated for a National Book Award in 1970 and was praised in the New York Times Book Review.[citation needed]
Bourjaily spent much of his career in academia. From 1957 to 1980, he worked as a creative writing instructor and a professor at the University of Iowa. Bourjaily also worked at several other academic institutions such as Oregon State University, the University of Arizona, and Louisiana State University.
While living in San Francisco, Bourjaily wrote feature stories for the San Francisco Chronicle. [3]
Laurent Patrick Fignon[1] was a French professional road bicycle racer. He won the Tour de France in 1983 and in 1984. He missed winning it a third time, in 1989, by 8 seconds, the closest margin ever to decide the tour died from lung cancer.he was , 50,.[2] He also won the Giro d'Italia in 1989, after having been the runner-up in 1984, and the classic race Milan – San Remo in 1988 and 1989. He died of cancer on 31 August 2010.
(12 August 1960 – 31 August 2010)
Contents
Early life and amateur career
Fignon was born to Marthe Fignon[3] in Montmartre, Paris,[1][4] but lived in Tournan-en-Brie from 1963 until 1978, when they moved to Val-des-Dames.[5][6] Fignon's first sport was football and he got as far as playing for his département or area. Friends encouraged him into cycling and he rode his first official race in 1976, which he won.[6] Fignon's parents did not want him to race, and he raced without them knowing.[1] He won four more races in his first year, but only one in his second year. In this third year, he won 18 out of 36 races.[6]
By then, Fignon's parents allowed him to race, but still thought that he should study. Fignon entered the University of Villetaneuse, doing Structural and Materials Science.[1] This study did not go too well, and he left soon. Fignon then joined the army, and was posted at the Bataille de Joinville, known for its sporting reputation. After this, Fignon was sure he wanted to pursue a professional career.[1]
In 1981, Fignon rode the Tour of Corsica, where professional and amateur cyclists rode together. Fignon was able to hold the wheel of Bernard Hinault, for most of the race.[1]
It was when he rode with the national 100 km time trial team that he caught the eye of the former rider and manager, Cyrille Guimard, who gave him a place in his Renault-Elf-Gitane professional team in 1982, when he was 21 years old.[6]
Professional career
1982: first professional season
In 1982, Fignon rode the 1982 Giro d'Italia. After Fignon broke away in the second stage, he became the leader of the race, and got to wear the pink jersey.[6] He lost the lead in the next stage, but became Hinault's most trusted team mate in the mountains.[6] In Paris–Tours, Fignon had escaped and made a break of 40 seconds, when his crank broke.[6] During this first year as a professional, Fignon won the Critérium National.[7]
1983: first Tour victory
In 1983, Fignon was a part of the team that helped Bernard Hinault to win the 1983 Vuelta a España. Guimard did not want to send Fignon to the Tour de France, because two grand tours could be too much for a 22-year old rider.[8] When Hinault, winner of four of the five previous Tours, announced that he would not start due to injury, the Renault team was without a team captain. Fignon was added to the 1983 Tour de France selection for the Renault team, and the team decided to go for stage wins, with hopes of having Fignon or Marc Madiot compete for the best debutant category.[9] After stage nine, the first mountain stage, Fignon was in second place, behind Pascal Simon,[10] and he was allowed to be team leader.[11] In the tenth stage, Simon crashed and broke his shoulder blade. Simon continued, and only lost little time the next stages. In the fifteenth stage, a mountain time trial, Fignon was able to win back so much time that he was within one minute of Simon.[12] In the seventeenth stage, Simon had to give up, and Fignon became the new leader. In the next stages, Fignon was able to answer all attacks from his opponents, and he even won the time trial in the 21st stage. At 22 years old, Fignon was the youngest man to win the Tour since 1933.
Fignon later said that he was lucky to have won the 1983 Tour: if Hinault would have been present, Fignon would have helped Hinault, as Hinault was the team leader.[6]
With his round glasses and air of debonnaire, Fignon was a contrast to Hinault's hard-knocks image. He earned the nickname "The Professor", not only because of these glasses, but also because he was one of the few cyclists who had passed his baccalaureat exams.[13]
1984: second Tour victory
In 1984, Hinault changed to the new La Vie Claire team, established by the French entrepreneur Bernard Tapie and directed by Swiss trainer Paul Koechli. Fignon stayed with the Renault team, and became team leader. In the 1984 Giro d'Italia, Fignon was in leading position near the end of the race, with Italian Francesco Moser in second place. The highest mountain stage, where Fignon could have extended his lead as the better climber, was cancelled due to bad weather. In the final stage, an individual time trial, helicopters flew in front of Fignon, creating a headwind, and behind Moser, creating a tailwind. Moser won enough time to win the race, and Fignon ended in second place.[14] Hinault won the French National Road Race Championships. The 1984 Tour de France was a battle between Fignon and his former team captain Hinault. Hinault won the prologue, but Fignon won back time when his team won the team time trial in stage three.[15] After a large escape in the fifth stage, Fignon's team mate Vincent Barteau was leading the race. In the seventh stage, Fignon won the time trial, beating Hinault by 49 seconds.[16] Barteau was still leading the race, and remained the leader after the Pyrenées. In the sixteenth stage, Fignon again beat Hinault in a time trial, this time winning 33 seconds.[17] In the seventeenth stage, Hinault attacked five times on the penultimate climb, but every time Fignon was able to get back. Then, Fignon left Hinault behind, and won almost three more minutes on Hinault. Barteau was so far behind in this stage, that Fignon became the new leader.[18] Fignon won three more stages, for a total of five that year, and won the Tour with a ten minute margin. With his air of indifference in interviews and his crushing dominance, he was hailed as France's newest superstar.
1985 and 1986: injury years
The next two years Fignon had injury problems. Even though Fignon felt stronger than ever in early 1985,[6] a knee injury meant that Fignon missed the 1985 Tour.[19] Fignon switched to the Système U cycling team in 1986. That year, Fignon won the 1986 La Flèche Wallonne[11] Fignon entered the 1986 Tour de France, but could not compete for the victory retired on stage 12 to Pau.
1987 and 1988: return to the top
Fignon returned to his full strengths in 1987, when he finished third in the 1987 Vuelta a España, behind Luis Herrera.[11] After his retirement, Fignon wrote in his biography that Herrera's team manager bribed his team not to attack, which Herrera later denied.[20] Later that year, he finished 7th overall in the 1987 Tour de France, taking another victory at La Plagne (stage 21). In 1988, Fignon won Milan–Sanremo, but had to abandon the 1988 Tour.
1989: losing by 8 seconds
In 1989, Fignon overtook Sean Kelly as leader of the UCI Road World Rankings. That season included a win at Milan – San Remo and the Giro d'Italia.[11] In the 1989 Tour de France, Fignon was one of the big favourites, together with Greg LeMond and Pedro Delgado.[21] After Delgado was too late for the start and lost some minutes, it became a battle between LeMond and Fignon. LeMond won a minute in the time trial in stage five, using aerobars (handlebars which enabled a new and more aerodynamic riding position, also known as tri-bars as they had previously only been used in triathlons), a new type of teardrop-shaped aerodynamic helmet in the time trials and a rear disc wheel, Fignon used normal road handlebars and a bicycle with both front and rear disc wheels, which left him more affected by cross winds.[22] LeMond lead the general classification after that stage by 5 seconds. In the tenth stage, Fignon beat LeMond by 12 seconds, and became the new leader, 7 seconds ahead of LeMond. In the time trial of stage 15, LeMond again won time on Fignon, and took back the leading position. Fignon came back by dropping Lemond on Alpe d'Huez, taking back the lead, and after he won alone at Villard de Lans the next day, the margin was 50 seconds. Before the final stage, a short time trial of 24.5 km, the time difference between LeMond and Fignon was still 50 seconds, which seemed enough for the victory. French newspapers had prepared special editions with Fignon on the front page, preparing for his victory.[13] Although it was considered unlikely that LeMond would be able to win back 50 seconds on the 24.5 km, LeMond gave his best, and rode the fastest time trial to date. Fignon had developed saddle sores in stage 19, which gave him pain and made it impossible to sleep in the night before the time trial. Fignon, who rode after LeMond, lost 58 seconds during the stage, and although he became third in the stage, he lost the lead to LeMond.[23] It was calculated afterwards that if Fignon had cut off his ponytail, he would have reduced his drag that much that he would have won the Tour.[24]
During that Tour, he was on bad terms with the journalists, and he was given the "Prix Citron" for least likable rider.[25] That Tour has always been a sore point for Fignon since, and when he got the question "Aren't you do guy who lost the Tour by 8 seconds?" he answered "No, I'm the guy who won it twice."
1990–1993: later years
Fignon withdrew from the 1990 Tour, but finished 6th in 1991. He then stopped being team captain, and transferred to the Italian Gatorade team, to became a domestique for Gianni Bugno.[6] After a dramatic 1992 Giro d'Italia, in which he was in heavy crisis during mountain stages, he rode the 1992 Tour de France, finishing 23rd overall, taking his ninth and last stage win at Mulhouse on stage 11. Fignon's last victory as professional cyclist was in the early-season Ruta Mexico in 1993, after a tight duel with Francisco Villalobos and surviving a massive collision that saw the group hit by a tow truck driven by a drunken man.[26] Fignon retired as a professional cyclist late 1993.[11]
After retirement
In 1995, Fignon founded the "Laurent Fignon organisation", to organize races, notably Paris–Nice,[7][27] from 2000 until it was taken over by Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), the organiser of Tour de France, in 2002.[28]
Fignon remained organiser for races such as Paris–Corrèze.[29] He criticised French cycling, lamenting in L'Equipe that, "The sports directors don't do a good job any more. They lack competence and don't have authority over their riders. The non-results of French teams are not only the consequences of doping,"[29] alluding to the stringent French doping control.
On his relationships with Cyrille Guimard and Bernard Hinault, Fignon said that with Bernard Hinault, Guimard already found a champion, whereas with himself, Guimard made a champion. Therefore his bond with Guimard was stronger than Hinault's bond with Guimard.
Fignon wrote an autobiography entitled Nous étions jeunes et insouciants ("We were young and carefree"), which was released in June 2009.[30]
Also during June 2009, Fignon revealed that he was undergoing chemotherapy for metastatic cancer. He also admitted having used banned drugs[31]amphetamines and cortisone.[32] Fignon's cancer was diagnosed in April 2009 after being found in his digestive system.[33] In January 2010, his doctors discovered that the cancer originated in his lungs.[34] He died of the disease at 12.30 pm local time[35] on 31 August 2010[36] at Pitie-Salpetriere Hospital in Paris.[35][37] Fignon's funeral took place on 3 September 2010 at Pere Lachaise, Paris.[38] He is survived by both parents.[5] He is also survived by his son Jeremy and daughter Tiphaine, both by his first wife,[39] whom he divorced in 2000. He was married to Valerie from 2008 until his death.[1]
Mick Lally[1][2] was an Irish stage, film and television actor. He departed from a teaching career for acting during the 1970s died from heart failure and emphysema. he was , 64,.[2] Though best known in Ireland for his role as Miley in the television soap Glenroe,[3] Lally's stage career spanned several decades,[4] and he was involved in feature films such as Alexander and the Academy Award-nominatedSecret of Kells.[5] He died in August 2010 after a battle with emphysema.[6] Many reports cited him as one of Ireland's finest and most recognisable actors.[2][3][7]
(10 November 1945 – 31 August 2010)
Contents
Early life
Born in November 1945 and reared in Tourmakeady, County Mayo,[8] Mick (Michael) Lally was the eldest of a family of seven children; five sisters and one brother. He went to the local national school in Tourmakeady and then to St. Mary's College, Galway. After studying at University College Galway he taught history and Irish for six years in Tuam, from 1969 to 1975, but quit teaching to pursue his career as a stage actor.
Lally died on the morning of 31 August 2010, after a short stay in hospital.[2] Cause of death was reported as heart failure - arising from an underlying emphysema condition.[6] His death led to "widespread outpourings of sympathy".[11] TaoiseachBrian Cowen led tributes, saying he was "shocked and saddened" by the man's death, and calling him "one of the most loved actors of his generation and will be dearly missed by the public and his colleagues in theatre and television". Minister for Culture Mary Hanafin and Michael D. Higgins TD, former Minister for Arts, Culture & Gaeltacht, were among the other political tributes. Arts Council of Ireland chair Pat Moylan called it "a sad and shocking loss". Lally's screenwife Biddy aka Mary McEvoy said "Mick and I loved each other and we got on really well".[12]
Lally's funeral took place in Dublin on 2 September 2010.[13] It was said that the "nation has lost one of its favourite uncles".[14] Personalities from TV, film, theatre and politics attended, while President of IrelandMary McAleese sent a letter and Lally received a standing ovation at the end.[15][16]
Personal life
Lally was married to a nurse, Peige, with whom he celebrated his 30th wedding anniversary the year before his death. Three children resulted: Saileog, Darach and Maghnus. Lally's parents were both alive when he died.[17]
Lally was a fluent speaker of the Irish language, and his children study in Irish-speaking schools (gaelscoileanna). He appeared in several Irish language productions through-out his career, from Poitín in 1978, through to an appearance in the Irish language soapRos na Rún in 2008.
He was a supporter of socialist causes,[18] and canvassed for Socialist Party candidate Joe Higgins in the 1996 Dublin West by-election and the 1997 general election.[19] Lally was an atheist who did not believe in an afterlife, and regarded religion as nonsense and "codology".[20]
(January 31, 1932 – August 31, 2010)
Orsatti was born Alfred Kendall Orsatti in Los Angeles on January 31, 1932.[1] His father and two uncles were talent agents, who owned and operated a leading talent agency, the Orsatti Agency.[1] He received a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Southern California in 1956.[1]
Following graduation, Orsatti became a production assistant at Rorvic Productions, which was owned by his uncle, Vic Orsatti, and actor Rory Calhoun.[1] Ken Orsatti became a business representative at the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) in 1960.[1] He left AFTRA in 1961 and joined the Sreen Actors Guild (SAG) that same year.[1] He became the Screen Actors Guild's Western regional director in 1966.[1] He was promoted to SAG's Hollywood executive secretary in 1971, a position he held until 1981.[1]
Orsatti, became the executive director of the Screen Actors Guild in 1981. He negotiated and brockered more than 20 union contracts as SAG's chief negotiator during his nineteen year tenure.[1] In 1994, Orsatti told the Los Angeles Business Journal, "Someone once said that the perfect negotiation is one where both sides are unhappy. There's some truth to that."[1] He retired from the Screen Actors Guild in 2000.
Ken Orsatti died on August 31, 2010, of pulmonary disease at West Hills Hospital in West Hills, Los Angeles, at the age of 78.[1]
To see more of who died in 2010 click here
