Zoogz Rift, American musician, painter and professional wrestler died he was , 57.

Zoogz Rift (born Robert Pawlikowski;) was a musician, painter and professional wrestling personality  died he was , 57..

(July 10, 1953 – March 22, 2011)

Biography

Musical career

The Trouser Press describes Zoogz Rift as "an iconoclastic original" who is "as imaginative and stimulating as he is irritating and vitriolic."^[2] Rift was influenced by Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart as well as Salvador Dalí and Ayn Rand.^[2] Zoogz Rift began his recording career with the album Idiots on the Miniature Golf Course, released by Snout Records in 1979. His long-time collaborators included Richie Häss and John Trubee (the latter being famous for the songshark tune, "A Blind Man's Penis"). Rift released several albums through SST Records during the 1980s.^[3] Richard Gehr, writing for Spin, noted that by the time of 1985's Interim Resurgence, Rift had completed a transition from "Zappa sycophancy" to "a conceptual continuity of his very own."^[4] Keyboard Magazine, in a special "Experimental Music" issue, described Rift's album The Island of Living Puke as "moments of outstanding free-form rock, sandwiched between scrupulously obscene interruptions." ^[5]

Wrestling career

By 1985, Zoogz Rift had indicated his plans to enter professional wrestling.^[4] Zoogz Rift booked the UWF (Universal Wrestling Federation) in 1993. He left the promotion in March 1994, but returned in May 1995 to become Vice-President, alongside founder Herb Abrams. After Abrams died in 1996, the UWF promotion closed and Zoogz was left without a job. Zoogz hosted an online wrestling show, entitled Puke-A-Mania that provides a weekly assessment of WWE and TNA promotions, with Zoogz giving insight on wrestling issues. His rants on the show included the pushing of former WWF superstar Warlord, and his fascination with possibly training 60-year-old Vince McMahon to become a main-event wrestler. With Zoogz' former experience in wrestling, he claimed he could train any man, via the techniques of the Golden Crab, as stated in Episode #3 of Puke-A-Mania. ^[6]

 Death

Zoogz Rift died on March 22, 2011, aged 57. His death was due to serious complications from diabetes which he had been battling for well over a decade.^[7][8]

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Normie Roy, American baseball player (Boston Braves) died he was , 82.

Norman Brooks Roy III [″Jumbo″]  was a Major League Baseball pitcher. Listed at 6' 0", 200 lb., he batted and threw right handed  died he was , 82..

(November 15, 1928 – March 22, 2011)
 

Born in Newton, Massachusetts, Normie Roy grew up in Waltham, where he attended Waltham High School. He was signed by the Boston Braves in 1947, and spent four years with Class-B Pawtucket Slaters (1947) and AAA Milwaukee Brewers (1948-49, 1951) before joining the Braves in the 1950 season.^[2]

Roy posted a 4-3 record and a 5.13 ERA in 19 appearances for the Braves, including six starts, two complete games and one save. He allowed 38 runs (34 earned) on 72 hits and 39 walks while striking out 25 in 59⅔ innings of work.^[1]

Roy later returned to the Brewers (1951) and also played for AA Atlanta Crackers (1952). After that he developed severe pitching arm problems and was unable to continue his career. He went 27-15 with a 3.52 ERA in 70 minor league games.^[2]

Following his retirement, Roy was employed with Raytheon Company for more than 38 years at both the Bedford and Tewksbury locations.^[3]

Normie Roy died in Nashua, New Hampshire, at the age of 82, following a brief illness.^[3]

 

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Reuven Shefer,, Israeli actor died he was 85.

Reuven Shefer was an Israeli theater and film actor.

(7 June 1925 – 22 March 2011)  
 

Shefer was born in Tel Aviv in 1925. In 1957 Shefer joined the band "The Theatre Club Quartet" . Shefer played through two decades in the Giora Godik Theater and the Haifa Theatre and in 1973 he joined the Cameri Theater. During his career Shefer played varied prominent roles in theater.

Through his career Shefer also played in cinema in films including: "Sallah Shabati" (1964), "Moishe Ventalator" (1966), "Ervinka" (1967), "Blaumilch Canal" (1969), "Azit the parachuting dog" (1972), "Salomonico" (1974) and "Charlie and a half" (1974).

Shefer also dubbed cartoon series, such as "Maya the Honey Bee" (as Philip the top-hatted grasshopper), the TV series "Pippi Longstocking", and "Alice in Wonderland" (as the Mad Hatter).

Shefer died at his home in Tel Aviv at the age of 85.

 

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José Soriano, Peruvian football player died he was , 93.

José Eusebio Soriano Barco was a Peruvian football goalkeeper who played for the Peru national team and spent most of his career in the Argentine league died he was , 93.. He was the last surviving member of the legendary River Plate team known as "la máquina" (the machine).

(17 April 1917 - 22 March 2011) 

Early life

José Soriano was born on 17 April 1917 in Chiclayo, Perú. He began his playing career in 1940 with Alfonso Ugarte de Chiclín of Trujillo nicknamed "los diablos rojos" (the red devils). His good displays attracted the attention of several of the biggest teams in Peru such as Universitario and Alianza Lima and he played five games for the Peru national team without ever having played in the Peruvian top flight.

Playing in Argentina

After a number of strong performances at the 1942 South American Championship he attracted international attention and was signed up by Banfield of Argentina. He played 46 games for "el taladro" (the drill) between 1942 and his leaving the club in 1944 to join Argentine giants River Plate.

He was signed by River Plate alongside three other players (Vaschetto, Fachetti and another goalkeeper Besusso). he played 71 league games for River Plate in the legendary team nicknamed "la Máquina" (the machine). His team mates included Adolfo Pedernera, José Manuel Moreno, Ángel Labruna, Félix Loustau and "Pipo" Rossi. The Peruvian goalkeeper was well liked and was considered one of the true gentlemen of the game. He was made the captain of River Plate and in 1945 he led them to the Primera División championship.^[1] During his time as a River Plate player the directors of the Argentina national team offered him the chance to play for the Argentina national team but he declined the offer.

In 1947 he joined Atlanta who were abmitiously trying to build a dream team.^[2] The team included other star players from the Primera División including Adolfo Pedernera, León Strembel and Higinio García but the did not perform well suffering relegation at the end of the 1947 season prompting Soriano's early retirement from the game.

Later life

After his retirement as a player he continued his involvement with football, he was an important early figure in the Futbolistas Argentinos Agremiados (Argentine players union)^[3] and had a role in the organisation of the 1948 strike which resulted in the departure of a number of players to play in Colombia during the era of "dorado colombiano" (Colombian gold). Soriano rejected offers to come out of retirement from several Colombian clubs such as Millonarios, América de Cali and Cúcuta Deportivo deciding instead to set himself up as a businessman.

Despite having never played in the Peruvian top flight Soriano is considered one of the greatest Peruvian goalkeepers of all time and is also fondly remembered as one of the great River Plate goalkeepers.^[4] He died in a Buenos Aires clinic on 22 March 2011 at the age of 93 after several days of treatment after breaking his hip in a fall.^[5]

Titles

River Plate

• Primera División (1): 1945

 

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Helen Stenborg American actress died she was , 86,.

Helen Joan Stenborg was an American actress of stage, screen, and television died she was , 86.  She occasionally acted with her husband, actor Barnard Hughes (1915–2006), to whom she was married from 1950 until his death in 2006; they had two children.

(January 24, 1925 – March 22, 2011)

Career

Stenborg appeared on stage in revivals of A Doll's House, A Month in the Country, and The Crucible; the original, belated US production of Noël Coward's Waiting in the Wings, in which her husband had a notable role; and the Lanford Wilson plays, The Rimers of Eldritch and Talley & Son winning the Obie Award for her performance in the latter.

She portrayed Helga Lindeman on the soap opera Another World from 1977 to 1978.

Death

She died March 22, 2011, in New York City, aged 86.

 

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George Alfred Walker, British businessman, founder of Brent Walker ,died he was 81.

George Alfred Walker  was a British businessman. He was the founder of Brent Walker

Walker was born in Stepney, London the son of a brewery worker died he was  81..

(14 April 1929 – 22 March 2011)
 
He attended the Jubilee School in Bedford, Essex, leaving at 14 to work in an aircraft factory. He later worked as a salesman in Billingsgate Fish Market and did his National Service in the Royal Air Force. Walker was a keen amateur boxer becoming British amateur heavyweight champion in 1951. He turned professional and fought 14 professional fights winning 11 with eight knockouts. Walker then drifted into crime, working for East End gangster, Billy Hill, and eventually being convicted for theft and serving two and a half years in Wormwood Scrubs.

On release he became the owner of a motor garage and manager for his brother, Billy Walker a professional heavyweight boxer. Walker launched London's first discotheque, Dolly's in Jermyn Street, and a chain of cafes, Billy's Baked Potato, with his brother.

In 1974 Walker took over the Hackney & Hendon Greyhounds Co and merged it with his interests to form Brent Walker. The company developed the Brent Cross shopping centre on the site of an old greyhound racing track. Walker sold his equity in Brent Cross in 1979 netting £3.7 million in profit.

Brent Walker had a turbulent career through the 1980's, being worth about 250 million pounds at its zenith but eventually collapsing in 1990 after taking over William Hill Bookmakers in a leveraged buy out. Walker was accused of fraud after an investigation by the Serious Fraud Office but was cleared of all charges after a lengthy trial in 1995. He was however made bankrupt and moved to Russia where he ran a series of businesses selling cigarettes and perfume and later opening a chain of betting shops.

Walker was maried to Jean Maureen Hatton who he knew since he was 16 years old. They had two daughters and a son. Sarah Walker, their eldest daughter, married George Mountbatten, 4th Marquess of Milford Haven.

 

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Jesús Aranguren, Spanish footballer and manager died he was , 66.

Jesús 'Txutxi' Aranguren Merino was a Spanish football defender and coach died he was , 66..
His 13-year professional career was solely associated with Athletic de Bilbao, with which he played in nearly 400 official games, winning two Copa del Rey.

(26 December 1944 – 21 March 2011)

Playing career

Born in Portugalete, Biscay, Aranguren joined Basque Country giants Athletic Bilbao's youth system at the age of 16, from neighbouring Sestao Sport Club. On 18 November 1962, one month shy of his 18th birthday, he made his first team - and La Liga - debut, playing the entire 2–1 away win at Córdoba CF, and finished his first season with 18 appearances for the main squad.
Aranguren would be an important defensive unit for Athletic in the following 11 seasons, starting in 225 of the 229 games he appeared in the league for the club, which he helped to two Copa del Rey trophies. After no games in the 1974–75 campaign, he retired from football, aged only 30; during his spell with the club, he scored five own goals to another legendary club player, José Ángel Iribar.^[1]

Coaching career

Aranguren started managing at his only club, being in charge of its youth teams first, then the reserves. Subsequently, he spent nine seasons in the second division, starting with another local side, Deportivo Alavés, and achieving promotion in 1986–87 with CD Logroñés, a first-ever for the Riojan. Also under his guidance, the club managed to maintain its status in the following season.
After one year with Sporting de Gijón, Aranguren managed Athletic Bilbao during fifteen games in the 1991–92 season, following the dismissal of his former club teammate Iñaki Sáez. With six wins, two draws and seven losses, he eventually placed the team out of the relegation zone (14th position).
In 1994, Aranguren returned to Alavés, winning promotion in his first year, and staying with the team for a further two seasons, the second ending on 16 February 1997 following a 2–3 home loss against RCD Mallorca. In the following years, he worked mainly with Alavés' B-team. However, on 29 April 2003, he replaced Mané at the helm of the main squad, for the final seven games of the season, which ended in top flight relegation.^[1]

Honours

 Player

Athletic Bilbao

• Spanish Cup: 1968–69, 1972–73; Runner-up 1965–66, 1966–67

 Manager

Alavés

• Third Division: 1994–95

Death

Aranguren retired from management in 2005, to care for his sick wife. On 21 March 2011, whilst accompanying her to a checkup in the Cruces Hospital in Barakaldo, he succumbed to a heart attack, dying at the age of 66.^[2]

 

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