/ Stars that died in 2023

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Gordon Lorenz,, British songwriter died he was 61.

Gordon Lorenz was an English songwriter and record producer, who made his fame by writing the UK Christmas number one hit "There's No-one Quite Like Grandma" for St Winifred’s School Choir Gordon Lorenz,, British songwriter died he was  61.. Since the song's release, Lorenz has become one of the most prolific record producers in the music industry, producing over 800 albums (believed to be a world record), selling eight million records, and earning seventeen platinum, gold and silver discs.
(born 1943 – 5 June 2011),

Biography

Born in Childwall, an affluent suburb of Liverpool,[2] his parents were both members of the Salvation Army. To improve projection of his voice, his parents sent him to drama school, where he was first introduced to show business. After leaving school he became a travelling evangelist, travelling the United Kingdom in support of various Salvation Army endeavours.
After his father died, he approached his mother nervously and told her that he wanted to become a full time musician. After struggling for a while, he was offered a job by Border Television to write fill-in music between their various day time shows, where he was introduced to the recording studio: "I always liked working in studios. They don't have any windows, they're always very quiet, deliberately conducive to concentration and work."[1]

Writer/producer

In 1980, Lorenz wrote "There's No One Quite Like Grandma" to tie in with the Queen Mother's 80th birthday, and sent it to EMI. Having initially turned it down, the managing director rang me and said he decided to put it out because he said he could not get grandma, we love you out of his mind: "If it's caught in my mind chances are that it will with the public, and we'll put it out for Christmas".[1] It was one of the last Christmas singles to sell one million copies, won an Ivor Novello Award for highest selling record of 1980 - beating Barbra Streisand's "Woman In Love" and The Police's "Don't Stand So Close to Me".[1]
Subsequently employed full time by EMI, Lorenz became one of the most prolific record producers in the music industry, producing over 800 albums (believed to be a world record), selling 8 million records, earning 17 platinum, gold and silver discs featuring some of the biggest international artists. After being asked by Unicef to help raise funds for children in Africa suffering from HIV and Aids, he produced The Best Gospel Album In The World . . . Ever, which featured the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Choral Society and Howells Girls Choir. He also produced the five album series Your 100 Favourite Hymns that are still the biggest-selling religious recordings in history. In 2002, Lorenz wrote the song "Rejoice Rejoice" for the Queen's Golden Jubilee, sung by a 1,000 strong choir conducted by Sir David Willcocks outside Buckingham Palace as the Queen left in her coach for a Thanksgiving service at St Paul's Cathedral.[3]
Approached by music manager Jonathan Shalit, Lorenz was asked to produce two songs for a 12 year old Charlotte Church, and introduce her to the recording studio. Lorenz recorded and produced her first two recordings, including the recording of "Pie Jesu".
Lorenz was a member of the British Academy of Composers and Authors, The Good Turns Society and The Music Publishers Association. He was also a vice-president of the Morriston Orpheus Choir and Llandudno Town Brass Band.[4]

Death

He died on 5 June 2011 at his home in Llandudno, Wales.[5]

Produced artists

Choirs

 

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Dimi Mint Abba, Mauritanian singer, died from a brain haemorrhage he was , 52.

Dimi Mint Abba  was Mauritania's most famous musician. She was born Loula Bint Siddaty Ould Abba in 1958 into a low-caste ("iggawin") family specializing in the griot tradition.


(25 December 1958 – 4 June 2011)

Life and career

Dimi's parents were both musicians (her father had been asked to compose the Mauritanian national anthem), and she began playing at an early age. Her professional career began in 1976, when she sang on the radio and then competed, the following year, in the Umm Kulthum Contest in Tunis. Her winning song "Sawt Elfan" ("Art's Plume") has the refrain "Art's Plume is a balsam, a weapon and a guide enlightening the spirit of men", which can be interpreted to mean that artists play a more important role than warriors in society.

Her first international release was on the World Circuit record label, following a recommendation from Ali Farka Touré. On this album, she was accompanied by her husband Khalifa Ould Eide and her two daughters.
Later she composed famous and popular Mauritanian songs like "Hailala" and "Koumba bay bay". She died in June, 2011, in Casablanca, Morocco following a stage accident in Aioun ten days earlier when she was singing for Sahrawi public. Her death invoked a political embarrassment to the government of Mauritania who did not show any sign of sympathy towards the death of the popular musician.

Discography

  • Khalifa Ould Eide & Dimi Mint Abba, Moorish Music from Mauritania. World Circuit WCD 019, 1990.
  • Dimi Mint Abba, Music and Songs of Mauritania, Auvidis Ethnic 1992.

 

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Lilian Jackson Braun, American author (Cat Who series), died from natural causes he was , 97.

Lilian Jackson Braun was an American writer, well-known for her light-hearted series of "The Cat Who..." mystery novels. The "Cat Who" books center around the life of former newspaper reporter, James Qwilleran, and his two Siamese cats, KoKo and Yum Yum, in the fictitious small town of Pickax located in Moose County "400 miles north of everywhere died from natural causes he was , 97.." Although never formally stated in her books, the towns, counties and lifestyles described in the series are generally accepted to be modeled after Bad Axe, Michigan, where Braun resided with her husband until the mid-1980s.


(June 20, 1913 – June 4, 2011)

Life and career

Lilian Jackson Braun began her writing career as a teenager, contributing sports poetry for the Detroit News. She went on to write advertising copy for many of Detroit's department stores. For the Detroit Free Press she worked as the "Good Living" editor for 30 years, retiring from that post in 1978.
Between 1966 and 1968, she published three novels to critical acclaim: The Cat Who Could Read Backwards, The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern and The Cat Who Turned On and Off. In 1966, the New York Times labeled Braun, "the new detective of the year." The rising mystery writer then disappeared from the publishing scene for 18 years. In 1986, the Berkley Publishing Group reintroduced her work to a new generation of fans with the publication of an original paperback, The Cat Who Saw Red. Within two years, Berkley released four new novels in paperback and reprinted her first three from the sixties. Braun's series again rose to the top of best seller lists. The twenty-ninth novel in her series, The Cat Who Had 60 Whiskers was released in hardcover by the Penguin Group in January 2007.
Little was known about Braun, who was protective of her private life. Publishers long gave an incorrect year for her birth date, which remained unknown until she finally gave her true age during a 2005 interview with the Detroit News.
Like many writers of her generation, Braun, an admitted technophobe, continued to create her fiction on a typewriter. She resided in Tryon, North Carolina, with her husband, Earl Bettinger, and their two cats. Each of her books is dedicated to "Earl Bettinger the husband who..." Braun passed away at the Hospice House of the Carolina Foothills, in Landrum, South Carolina from a lung infection.[2]

"The Cat Who..." novels

  1. The Cat Who Could Read Backwards (1966)
  2. The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern (1967)
  3. The Cat Who Turned On and Off (1968)
  4. The Cat Who Saw Red (1986)
  5. The Cat Who Played Brahms (1987)
  6. The Cat Who Played Post Office (1987)
  7. The Cat Who Knew Shakespeare (1988)
  8. The Cat Who Sniffed Glue (1988)
  9. The Cat Who Went Underground (1989)
  10. The Cat Who Talked to Ghosts (1990)
  11. The Cat Who Lived High (1990)
  12. The Cat Who Knew a Cardinal (1991)
  13. The Cat Who Moved a Mountain (1992)
  14. The Cat Who Wasn't There (1992)
  15. The Cat Who Went into the Closet (1993)
  16. The Cat Who Came to Breakfast (1994)
  17. The Cat Who Blew the Whistle (1995)
  18. The Cat Who Said Cheese (1996)
  19. The Cat Who Tailed a Thief (1997)
  20. The Cat Who Sang for the Birds (1999)
  21. The Cat Who Saw Stars (copyright, 1998; published, 1999)
  22. The Cat Who Robbed a Bank (2000)
  23. The Cat Who Smelled a Rat (2001)
  24. The Cat Who Went up the Creek (2002)
  25. The Cat Who Brought Down the House (2003)
  26. The Cat Who Talked Turkey (2004)
  27. The Cat Who Went Bananas (2005)
  28. The Cat Who Dropped a Bombshell (2006)
  29. The Cat Who Had 60 Whiskers (2007)
  30. The Cat Who Smelled Smoke (cancelled by publisher, Putnam)[3]

Short stories

  1. The Cat Who Had 14 Tales (1988)
  2. The Private Life of the Cat Who... (2003)
  3. Short and Tall Tales (2003)

 

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Claudio Bravo, Chilean painter, died from epilepsy he was , 74.

Claudio Bravo was a Chilean hyperrealist painter. He has lived and worked in Tangier, Morocco since 1972 died from epilepsy he was , 74.

(November 8, 1936 – June 4, 2011)

Bravo was born in Valparaíso, Chile. In 1945, he joined the Colegio San Ignacio in Santiago, Chile and studied art in the studio of Miguel Venegas Cienfuentes in Santiago. In 1954, he had his first exhibition at "Salón 13" in Santiago at the age of 17. In 1955, he danced professionally with the Compañía de Ballet de Chile and worked for Teatro de Ensayo of the Universidad Católica de Chile.
Later, Bravo established himself in Madrid in the 1960s as a society portraitist, gaining recognition for his astounding ability to create verisimilitude. His ability to depict complex objects and shapes is reminiscent of Velázquez.
In 1968, Bravo received an invitation from President Marcos of the Philippines to come and paint him and his wife, Imelda Marcos as well as members of the high society.
In 1970, Bravo had his first exhibition at the Staempfli Gallery in New York which received rave reviews from renowned New York Times art critic John Canaday. Years later, when Bravo's work reflected the hippie movement, Canaday would refer to Bravo's work as "cheap and vulgar".
Bravo moved to Tangier in 1972 where he purchased a 19th century three story mansion. He had many of the walls removed and the remaining walls were painted white to encourage the Mediterranean light so present in his paintings.
Bravo has painted many prominent figures in society including dictator Franco of Spain, President Ferdinand Marcos and First Lady Imelda Marcos of the Philippines and Malcolm Forbes.
Works by Bravo are included in the collections of El Museo del Barrio, New York, the Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, Maryland; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York; Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Santiago, Chile; Museo Rufino Tamayo, Mexico City, Mexico; Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Museum of Modern Art, New York, New York; Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany; The Palmer Museum of Art, State College, Pennsylvania; and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The artist passed away at his home in Taroudant, Morocco, on June 4, 2011, due to an epilepsy attack.

 

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Sunday, July 10, 2011

Lindsey Durlacher, American Greco-Roman wrestler died he was , 36

Lindsey Durlacher was an American Greco-Roman wrestler whose career highlight was a bronze medal at the 2006 FILA Wrestling World Championships  died he was , 36. He died at the age of 36 in his sleep on June 4, 2011, at his home in Denver, Colorado.


(September 14, 1974  – June 4, 2011)

Durlacher had surgery three days earlier. He was a graduate of Buffalo Grove High School in Buffalo Grove, IL where he still coached and mentored students.

 

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Lawrence Eagleburger, American diplomat and politician, Secretary of State (1992–1993) died he was , 80

Lawrence Sidney Eagleburger was an American statesman and former career diplomat, who served briefly as the United States Secretary of State under President George H. W. Bush died he was , 80. Previously, he had served in lesser capacities under Presidents Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and George H. W. Bush. Eagleburger is the only career Foreign Service Officer to have served as the United States Secretary of State.


(August 1, 1930 – June 4, 2011)

Education and personal life

Eagleburger was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the son of Helen (née Van Ornum), an elementary school teacher, and Leon Sidney Eagleburger, a physician.[4] He graduated from P J Jacobs High School in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, then attended Stevens Point State College (now the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point), before earning his Bachelor's and Master's degrees from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. During his time at Wisconsin, he joined Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity. On May 6, 1995, he delivered the commencement address to the 1995 graduating class of James Madison University.[5]
He was formerly a member of the Board of Visitors at the College of William and Mary.
Eagleburger also served in the United States Army (1952–1954), attaining the rank of First Lieutenant.
He had three sons, all of whom are named Lawrence Eagleburger, though they have different middle names.[1] The eldest is from his first marriage, which ended in divorce. The other two are from his second marriage, which was to Marlene Heinemann from 1966 until her death in 2010.[6]

Governmental career

In 1957, Eagleburger joined the United States Foreign Service, and served in various posts in embassies, consulates, and the Department of State. From 1961 to 1965 he served as a staffer at the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade, Yugoslavia.
Starting in 1969, he served in the Nixon administration as an assistant to National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger. He stayed in this appointment until 1971; thereafter he took on several positions, including advisor to the U.S. Mission to North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Brussels, and, following Kissinger's appointment as Secretary of State, a number of additional posts in the State Department.
Following Nixon's resignation, he briefly left government service, but was soon appointed as ambassador to Yugoslavia by President Jimmy Carter, a post he held from 1977 to 1980.
In 1982, Reagan appointed him as Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs (the State Department's third-ranking position), a position he held for several years. In 1989, President George H. W. Bush appointed him Deputy Secretary of State (the Department's second-ranking position); he also served as the President's primary advisor for affairs relating to the quickly disintegrating Yugoslavia. On August 23, 1992, James A. Baker resigned as Secretary of State (to head up Bush's unsuccessful re-election campaign), and Eagleburger served as Acting Secretary of State until Bush gave him a recess appointment for the remainder of the Bush administration.
His period as advisor for Yugoslavian affairs from 1989 to 1992 was highly controversial. He gained a reputation for being a strong Serbian partisan, most controversially denying that Serbian paramilitaries and the Yugoslav National Army had committed atrocities in the breakaway republic of Croatia. This perceived partisanship led the European press to dub him Lawrence of Serbia[7] (a reference to Lawrence of Arabia).
In 1991, President Bush awarded him the Presidential Citizens Medal. He was a member of the board of directors of the International Republican Institute.[8]

International Commission on Holocaust-Era Insurance Claims

Eagleburger became chairman of the International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims, or ICHEIC, which was set up in 1998. The purpose of the Commission was to resolve unpaid Nazi-era insurance claims for survivors of the Holocaust. In 2005, Eagleburger announced that the ICHEIC was offering approximately 16 million dollars to Holocaust victims and their heirs, noting as he did so the research ability of the ICHEIC staff which allowed them to evaluate claims from companies which no longer existed.[9][clarification needed] In the years prior to this there had been some controversy about the Commission, including reports that it was over-budgeted and too slow, and that insurance companies which had previously agreed to work with the ICHEIC had failed to disclose policyholder lists.[10] Eagleburger responded to these accusations by saying, among other things, that it was difficult to work quickly when many of the claimants lacked basic information such as the name of the insurance company involved.[11]

Stance on Middle Eastern conflict

After serving in the Foreign Service for 27 years, Eagleburger retained an interest in foreign policy and was a familiar figure on current events talk shows. He caused some discussion with public comments about President George W. Bush's foreign policy. In August 2002, Eagleburger questioned the timing of possible military action in Iraq, saying, "I am not at all convinced now that this is something we have to do this very moment."[12] He did indicate he believed that Iraqi regime change could be a legitimate U.S. endeavor at some point, but that at that time he did not believe the administration was fully prepared for such a conflict.[13] In April 2003, following warnings by the Bush administration to the government of Syria, Eagleburger condemned the possibility of military action in Syria or Iran, saying that public opinion would not support such a move and that "If President Bush were to try it now, even I would feel he should be skinned alive."[14]
On January 5, 2006, he participated in a meeting at the White House of former Secretaries of Defense and State to discuss United States foreign policy with Bush administration officials. On November 10, 2006 it was announced that he would replace Secretary of Defense designate Robert Gates in the Iraq Study Group.[15]
After the election of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Eagleburger seemed to think that Iran was moving in a direction which may at some point call for military action, saying in an interview that while "we should try everything else we can first," at some point it would probably be necessary to use force to ensure that Iran did not obtain or use nuclear weapons.[16]
He was Chairman of the Board of Trustees for The Forum for International Policy, and a member of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP) Board of Advisors.

2008 Presidential election

Before Republican primaries, Eagleburger endorsed John McCain for President.[17] In an NPR interview on October 30, 2008, he described McCain's running-mate Sarah Palin as "not prepared" for top office. He also stated that many Vice Presidents have not been ready.[18] The next day, in an interview on Fox News, he retracted his comments about Palin.[19]
On October 30, 2008, on the Fox News Channel, Eagleburger referred to Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama as a "charlatan", citing his fundraising methods and other aspects of his presidential campaign.[20]

Death

Eagleburger died of pneumonia at the University of Virginia Medical Center in Charlottesville, Virginia.[21] He was 80 and had lived outside Charlottesville since 1990. He is survived by his three sons.[6]

 

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Donald Hewlett, English actor died he was , 90.

Donald Marland Hewlett was an English actor, born in Northenden, Manchester, and best known for his sitcom roles al Colonel Charles Reynolds in It Ain't Half Hot Mum and Lord Meldrum in You Rang, M'Lord?, both written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft died he was , 90. He also had a number of parts in British film and television productions.


(30 August 1920 – 4 June 2011)

Early life

Hewlett was born into a wealthy family, his father Thomas Hewlett owned the Anchor Chemical Company which is based in Clayton, Manchester and is now a subsidiary of Air Products.
Hewlett was educated at Clifton College followed by St John's College, Cambridge where he was part of the Footlights Revue.[5] During World War II he served in the Royal Navy as a meteorologist[3] and was stationed for several years in Kirkwall in the Orkney Islands where he was a founder member of the Kirkwall Arts Club.[6][7] He was later posted to Singapore.[5]

Career

Following his demobilization, Hewlett trained at RADA and gained his first professional acting job in repertory theatre at the Oxford Playhouse where he worked alongside Ronnie Barker.[5] His first television acting role was the part of Lincoln Green in 1954's Orders are Orders.
His television appearances included The Ronnie Corbett Show, The Ronnie Barker Playhouse, The Saint, The Avengers, The Dick Emery Show and the 1971 Doctor Who story The Claws of Axos. However, he gained his most prominent role in the Croft and Perry sitcom It Ain't Half Hot Mum (1974–81) as Colonel Charles Reynolds. He was reunited with fellow actor Michael Knowles in another David Croft sitcom, the sci-fi spoof Come Back Mrs. Noah (1977–78), and later with the successful You Rang, M'Lord? (1988–93) as Lord George Meldrum. Other roles included 'Winkworth' in Morris Minor's Marvellous Motors in 1989 and The Adventures of Brigadier Wellington-Bull. His last TV appearance was in The Upper Hand in 1995.[8]
Hewlett made a number of film appearances including Spike Milligan's Adolf Hitler - My Part in His Downfall, A Touch of Class, Carry On Behind and The First Great Train Robbery.[8]
Hewlett's previous marriages, to Christine Pollon and Diana Greenwood, ended in divorce.[1] He had two sons and a daughter by Greenwood.[1] Having previously lived for several years in Whitstable, Kent, he lived in Fulham, SW London,[citation needed] with his third wife Therese McMurray-Hewlett, by whom he had a son and daughter.[citation needed] He died from pneumonia, aged 90.[citation needed] He is survived by his wife and his five children.[1]
His daughter, Siobhan Hewlett, is an actress, best known for her role in Irina Palm.

Selected television roles

Year
Title
Role
1959
The Adventures of Brigadier Wellington-Bull
Captain Sooty Pikington
1974–1981
It Ain't Half Hot Mum
Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Reynolds
1977–1978
Come Back Mrs. Noah
Carstairs
1988–1993
You Rang, M'Lord?
George, Lord Meldrum

Filmography

 

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Dickey Betts died he was 80

Early Career Forrest Richard Betts was also known as Dickey Betts Betts collaborated with  Duane Allman , introducing melodic twin guitar ha...