/ Stars that died in 2023

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Otto von Habsburg, Austro-Hungarian royal and politician, MEP (1979–1999) died he was , 98.


 Otto von Habsburg also known by his royal name as Archduke Otto of Austria, was the last Crown Prince of Austria-Hungary from 1916 until the dissolution of the empire in 1918, a realm which comprised modern-day Austria, Hungary, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, and parts of Italy, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia and Ukraine died he was , 98.. He remained the Crown Prince of Hungary until 1921. He was the head of the House of Habsburg and the Sovereign of the Order of the Golden Fleece between 1922 and 2007,[5] and at the same time, the Habsburg pretender to the former thrones.

(20 November 1912 – 4 July 2011)

The eldest son of Charles I, the last Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary, and his wife, Zita of Bourbon-Parma, Otto was born as third in line to the thrones, as His Imperial and Royal Highness Archduke and Prince Imperial Otto of Austria, Prince Royal of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia. With his father's accession to the thrones in 1916, he was himself likely to become the Emperor. As his father never abdicated, Otto was considered by himself, his family and Austro-Hungarian legitimists to be the rightful Emperor-King from 1922.[6] Had the dual monarchy still existed, he might have had an 89-year reign.[7]
Otto was active on the Austrian and European political stage from the 1930s, both by promoting the cause of Habsburg restoration and as an early proponent of European integration—being thoroughly disgusted with nationalism—and a fierce opponent of Nazism and communism.[3][8] He has been described as one of the leaders of the Austrian anti-Nazi resistance.[9] After the 1938 Anschluss, monarchists were severely persecuted in Austria, and—sentenced to death by the Nazis—Otto fled to the United States, with a visa issued by Aristides de Sousa Mendes.
Otto Habsburg was Vice President (1957–1973) and President (1973–2004) of the International Paneuropean Union, and served as a Member of the European Parliament for the Christian Social Union of Bavaria (CSU) 1979–1999. In 1961, Francisco Franco offered him the crown of Spain, but he declined on account of the Habsburg dynasty's long absence from the Spanish throne, and recommended Juan Carlos.[10] As a newly elected Member of the European Parliament in 1979, Otto had an empty chair set up for the countries on the other side of the Iron Curtain in the European Parliament, and took a strong interest in the countries behind the Iron Curtain during his tenure. Otto von Habsburg played a central role in the revolutions of 1989, as a co-initiator of the Pan-European Picnic. Later he would be a strong supporter of the EU membership of central and eastern European countries.[11] A noted intellectual, he has published several books on historical and political affairs. Otto has been described as one of the "architects of the European idea and of European integration" together with Robert Schuman, Konrad Adenauer, and Alcide De Gasperi.[12]
Otto was exiled in 1918 and grew up mostly in Spain. His devout Catholic mother raised him according to the old curriculum of Austria-Hungary, preparing him to become a Catholic monarch. During his life in exile, he lived in Switzerland, Madeira, Spain, Belgium, France, the United States, and from 1954 until his death, finally in Bavaria (Germany), in the residence Villa Austria. At the time of his death, he was a citizen of Germany, Austria, Hungary and Croatia, having earlier been stateless de jure and de facto and possessed passports of Monaco, the Order of Malta, and Spain.
His funeral took place at St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna on 16 July 2011; he was entombed in the Imperial Crypt in Vienna and his heart buried in Pannonhalma Archabbey in Hungary.

Early life

Otto was born at Villa Wartholz in Reichenau an der Rax, Austria-Hungary. He was baptised Franz Joseph Otto Robert Maria Anton Karl Max Heinrich Sixtus Xavier Felix Renatus Ludwig Gaetan Pius Ignatius on 25 November 1912 at Villa Wartholz by the Prince-Archbishop of Vienna, Cardinal Franz Xaver Nagl. His godfather was the Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria (represented by Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria); his godmother was his grandmother Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal.[13]
In November 1916, Otto became Crown Prince of Austria, Hungary and Bohemia when his father, Archduke Charles, acceded to the throne. However, in 1918, at the end of the First World War, the monarchies were abolished, the Republics of Austria and Hungary founded instead, and the family was forced into exile. Hungary did become a kingdom again, but Charles was never to regain the throne. Instead, Miklós Horthy ruled as regent until 1944, in a kingdom without a king.
He spoke German, Hungarian, Croatian, English, Spanish, French and Latin fluently. In later life, he would write books in German, Hungarian, French and Spanish.[14] His mother made him learn many languages because she believed he one day might rule over many lands.[15]

Years in exile

Otto's family spent the subsequent years in Switzerland, and on the Portuguese island of Madeira, where Charles died prematurely in 1922, leaving the 9-year-old Otto pretender to the throne. On his father's deathbed, his mother, then-Empress Dowager Zita, told the 9-year old, "your father is now sleeping the eternal sleep—you are now Emperor and King".[16] The family eventually relocated to the Basque town of Lekeitio, where 40 Spanish grandees bought them a villa. Meanwhile, the Austrian parliament had officially expelled the Habsburg dynasty and confiscated all the official property (Habsburg Law of 3 April 1919).

In 1935, he graduated with a PhD degree in Political and Social Sciences from the University of Louvain in Belgium.[17] From his father's death throughout the remainder of his time in exile, Otto considered himself the rightful emperor of Austria and stated this on many occasions. In 1937 he wrote,[18]
“I know very well that the overwhelming majority of the Austrian population would like me to assume the heritage of the peace emperor, my beloved father, rather earlier than later. (...) The [Austrian] people have never cast a vote in favor of the republic. They have remained silent as long as they were exhausted from the long fight, and taken by surprise by the audacity of the revolutionaries of 1918 and 1919. They shook off their resignation when they realized that the revolution had raped their right to life and freedom. (...) Such trust places a heavy burden on me. I accept it readily. God willing, the hour of reunion between the Duke and the people will arrive soon.”
He continued to enjoy considerable public support in Austria; from 1931 to 1938, 1,603 Austrian municipalities named Otto an honorary citizen.[19]

World War II

Otto strongly opposed the Anschluss of Austria to Nazi Germany. In 1938 he requested Austrian Chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg to resist the Nazis and supported an international intervention,[8] and offered to return from exile to take over the reins of government in order to repel Hitler.[20] According to Gerald Warner, "Austrian Jews were among the strongest supporters of a Habsburg restoration, since they believed the dynasty would give the nation sufficient resolve to stand up to the Third Reich".[21]
Following the German annexation of Austria, Otto was sentenced to death by the Nazis.[1] As ordered by Adolf Hitler, his personal property and that of the House of Habsburg were confiscated and not given back after the war.[22] The so-called "Habsburg Law", which had previously been repealed, was reintroduced by the fiercely republican and anti-monarchist Nazis. The leaders of the Austrian legitimist movement, i.e. supporters of Otto, were arrested by the Nazis and largely executed (Stefan Zweig's novella The Royal Game is based on these events). Otto's cousins Max, Duke of Hohenberg, and Prince Ernst of Hohenberg were arrested in Vienna by the Gestapo and sent to Dachau concentration camp where they remained throughout the Nazi rule. Otto was involved in helping around 15,000 Austrians,[23] including thousands of Austrian Jews, flee the country at the beginning of the Second World War.[17][24]
Rudolf Hess ordered that Otto was to be executed immediately if caught.[25] After the German invasion of France the family left the French capital and fled to Portugal with a visa issued by Aristides de Sousa Mendes, the Portuguese consul in Bordeaux. For his own safety, he left the European continent and lived from 1940 to 1944 in Washington, D.C. In his war-time exile in the United States, he worked to stop or limit the bombing campaign against Austria.[23] In the United States, he initiated the Austrian Day and was able to get Austria included in a postage stamp series on "Occupied Nations". He obtained the support of Winston Churchill for a conservative "Danube Federation", in effect a restoration of Austria-Hungary, but Joseph Stalin put an end to these plans.[20] He lobbied for the recognition of an Austrian government-in-exile, for the rights of the German-speaking population of South Tyrol, against the deportation of the German-speaking inhabitants of Bohemia and eastern Europe, and against letting Stalin rule Eastern Europe.[26]
In 1941, Adolf Hitler personally revoked the citizenship of Otto, his mother, and his siblings, and the imperial-royal family found themselves stateless.[27]

After World War II

At the end of the war, Otto returned to Europe and lived for some years in France and Spain.
In 1949, he ennobled several people, granting them Austrian noble titles, although not recognized by the Austrian republic. As he did not possess a passport and was effectively stateless, he was given a passport of the Principality of Monaco, thanks to the intervention of Charles de Gaulle in 1946. As a Knight of Malta, the Order also issued him a diplomatic passport. Later, he was also given a Spanish diplomatic passport.[28]
In 1956, Otto was recognized as an Austrian citizen by the Lower Austrian state government and was given an Austrian passport that was "valid in all countries except Austria".[25]
On multiple occasions, and as late as the 1960s, the Austrian police would be looking for Otto, suspecting that the "enemy of the republic" had entered the country.

Political career


In a declaration dated 31 May 1961, Otto renounced all claims to the Austrian throne and proclaimed himself "a loyal citizen of the republic", a move that he made only after much hesitation and certainly "for purely practical reasons".[29] In a 2007 interview on the occasion of his approaching 95th birthday, Otto stated:
The Habsburg Law of 1918 stated that Charles' descendants could only return to Austria if they renounced their royal claims and accepted the status of private citizens. The Austrian administrative court found on 24 May 1963 that Otto's statement was sufficient to meet this requirement. However, several elements in the country, particularly the Socialists, were ill-disposed to welcoming back the heir of the deposed dynasty. This touched off political infighting and civil unrest that almost precipitated a crisis of state, and later became known as the "Habsburg Crisis." It was only on 1 June 1966, after the People's Party won an outright majority in the national election, that Otto was issued an Austrian passport, and was finally able to visit his home country again on 31 October 1966 for the first time in 48 years.[31]
An early advocate of a unified Europe, Otto was president of the International Paneuropean Union from 1973 to 2004.[32] He served from 1979 until 1999 as a Member of the European Parliament for the conservative Christian Social Union of Bavaria (CSU) party, eventually becoming the senior member of the European Parliament. He was also a member of the Mont Pelerin Society.[33] He was a major supporter of the expansion of the European Union from the beginning and especially of the acceptance of Hungary, Slovenia and Croatia. During his time in the European Parliament, he was involved in a fracas initiated by fellow MEP Ian Paisley.[34] In 1988, Pope John Paul II had just begun a speech to the Parliament, and Protestant Paisley shouted at the Pope, "I denounce you as the Antichrist!", holding a poster reading "Pope John Paul II Antichrist". Otto snatched Paisley's banner and, along with other MEPs, helped eject him from the chamber.[35][36]
He was one of the men instrumental in organising the so called Pan-European Picnic at the Hungary-Austria border on 19 August 1989.[3] This event is considered a milestone in the collapse of Communist dictatorships in Europe.[37]
He was reportedly a patron of the Three Faiths Forum, a group which aims to encourage friendship, goodwill and understanding amongst people of the three monotheistic faiths of Christianity, Judaism and Islam in the United Kingdom and elsewhere.[citation needed]
In December 2006, he observed that, "The catastrophe of 11 September 2001 struck the United States more profoundly than any of us, whence a certain mutual incomprehension. Until then, the United States felt itself secure, persuaded of its power to bombard any enemy, without anyone being able to strike back. That sentiment vanished in an instant. Americans understand viscerally for the first time the risks they face."[38]
On 5 July 2007, Otto von Habsburg received the Freedom of the City of London from the hands of Sir Gavyn Arthur, a former Lord Mayor of London.[39]
He was known as a supporter of the rights of refugees and displaced people in Europe, notably of the ethnic Germans displaced from Bohemia where he was once the Crown Prince.[40] He was a jury member of the Franz Werfel Human Rights Award.[41] He also held Francisco Franco in a high regard and praised him for helping refugees, stating that he was "a dictator of the south American type, not totalitarian like Hitler or Stalin".[10]
In 2002, he was named the first ever honorary member of the European People's Party group.[42]

Death and funeral



Otto and Regina lying in repose in the Capuchin Church, Vienna, draped with the Habsburg flag. The guards of honour are dressed in Austro-Hungarian uniforms.
After the death of his wife, Regina in 2010, Otto stopped appearing in public. He died at the age of 98 on Monday, 4 July 2011, at his home in Pöcking, Germany. His spokeswoman reported that he died "peacefully and without pain in his sleep". He was survived by his younger brother, Felix, as well as 7 children, 22 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren.[3][6]
On 5 July, his body was laid in repose in the Church of St. Ulrich near his home in Pöcking, Bavaria, and a massive 13-day period of mourning started in several countries formerly part of Austria-Hungary.[43] Otto's coffin has been draped with the Habsburg flag decorated with the imperial–royal coats of arms of Austria and Hungary in addition to the Habsburg family coat of arms.
In line with the Habsburg family tradition, Otto von Habsburg was buried in the family's crypt in Vienna, while his heart will be buried in a monastery in Pannonhalma, Hungary.[6]

Family



4-year old Crown Prince Otto of Hungary in Budapest in 1916, attending his parents' coronation as King and Queen of Hungary, painted by Gyula Éder.
He was married to Princess Regina of Saxe-Meiningen from 1951 until her death in 2010. They had seven children, 23 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren (as of 2011):[citation needed]
  • Andrea von Habsburg (born 1953). Married Hereditary Count Karl Eugen von Neipperg. They have three sons, two daughters and two grandchildren.
  • Monika von Habsburg (born 1954). Married Luis María Gonzaga Gonzaga de Casanova-Cárdenas y Barón, Duke of Santangelo, Marquess of Elche, Count of Lodosa and Grandee of Spain, who is a descendant of Infanta Luisa Teresa of Spain, Duchess of Sessa and sister of Francis, King-Consort of Spain.
  • Michaela von Habsburg, born on 13 September 1954 (age 56). Monika's twin sister. Married firstly Eric Alba Teran d'Antin, and secondly Count Hubertus of Kageneck. She has two sons and a daughter from her first marriage. Twice divorced.[citation needed]
  • Gabriela von Habsburg, born on 14 October 1956 (age 54)
    Married Christian Meister in 1978, divorced in 1997.[citation needed]
  • Walburga von Habsburg, born on 5 October 1958 (age 52)
    Married Count Archibald Douglas
  • Karl von Habsburg, born on 11 January 1961 (age 50) -
    Married Baroness Francesca Thyssen-Bornemisza, born on 7 June 1958 (age 53)
  • Georg von Habsburg, born on 16 December 1964 (age 46)
    Married Duchess Eilika of Oldenburg, born on 22 August 1972 (age 38)
Otto lived in retirement at the Villa Austria in Pöcking bei Starnberg, Starnberg, near the lake Starnberger See, Upper Bavaria, Bavaria, Germany.

Titles and styles

  • 20 November 1912 – 21 November 1916: His Imperial and Royal Highness Archduke and Prince Imperial Otto of Austria, Prince Royal of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia
  • 21 November 1916 – 12 November 1918: His Imperial and Royal Highness The Crown Prince of Austria, Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia
  • 12 November 1918 – 4 July 2011: His Imperial and Royal Highness Crown Prince Otto of Austria, Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia
Titles of pretence from 1 April 1922
Official in Austria
  • 20 November 1912 – 21 November 1916: His Imperial and Royal Highness Archduke and Prince Imperial Otto of Austria, Prince Royal of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia
  • 21 November 1916 – 12 November 1918: His Imperial and Royal Highness The Crown Prince of Austria, Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia
  • 12 November 1918–1919: Otto Kaiserlicher Prinz, Erzherzog von Österreich, Königlicher Prinz von Ungarn
  • 1919–1941 (citizenship revoked by Adolf Hitler in 1941): Herr Otto Habsburg-Lothringen
  • (1941–1965 Otto did not have citizenship in any country, but he had a passport of Monaco from 1946 as His Imperial and Royal Highness Otto von Habsburg, plus a passport of the Order of Malta and a diplomatic passport of Spain under the same name)
  • 1965–4 July 2011: Doktor Otto Habsburg-Lothringen
Official in Germany[citation needed]
  • 12 November 1918 – 4 July 2011: Otto Kaiserlicher Prinz Erzherzog von Österreich Königlicher Prinz von Ungarn

Ancestry

[show]Ancestors of Otto von Habsburg

Honours and awards

Habsburg/Austrian orders and awards

Other dynastic orders

Governmental orders and awards

Non-governmental awards

Academic awards

 

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Billy Hardee, American football player (Denver Broncos, Ottawa Rough Riders), died from a motorcycle accident he was , 56.

William Abraham "Billy" Hardee, Jr  was a former American football defensive back  accident he was , 56..

(born August 12, 1954 in Lakeland, Florida, died July 4, 2011 in Phoenix, Arizona)

He played college football for Virginia Tech from 1972-1975. Hardee started his collegiate career as a wide receiver, transitioning to defensive back in 1974. Hardee finished in the Top 10 nationally in 1975, with seven interceptions. This, along with his work as a kickoff returner, earned him Honorable Mention as an AP All American and a spot on the National Independent All-Star Football squad.
Following graduation from Virginia Tech, Hardee went on to play in the National Football League, the Canadian Football League and the United States Football League. Hardee retired from professional football in 1985.
Hardee was elected to the Virginia Tech Athletic Hall of Fame in 2005.
He worked in the administration department at Lake Region High School in Eagle Lake, Florida. He and his wife Deborah have three children of which, their son (Billy III) went on to follow in his dad's footsteps and play for the Hokies from 1999-2001.

Death

Hardee died from injuries sustained from a motorcycle accident near Phoenix, AZ. He was in a coma for two days and died shortly thereafter July 4, 2011.

 

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Jane Scott, American rock music critic died she was , 92

Jane Scott was an influential rock critic for The Plain Dealer in Cleveland, Ohio. During her career she covered every major rock concert in Cleveland and was on a first name basis with many stars died she was , 92. Until her retirement from the newspaper in April 2002 she was known as "The World’s Oldest Rock Critic." She was also influential in bringing the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to Cleveland.[2]
Scott was born at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio in 1919. She is a 1937 graduate of Lakewood High School in Lakewood, Ohio, and a 1941 graduate of the University of Michigan, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in English, Speech and Drama and she also earned a teachers certificate. Scott had one brother, Will (also deceased); she had no children and never married.

(May 3, 1919 – July 4, 2011)

Career history

Scott’s first experience with journalism was as a staff member of the school newspaper, the Michigan Daily, while she attended the University of Michigan. In 1942, the Cleveland Press newspaper hired Scott as a secretary in their advertising department. Later that year, she enlisted in women's branch of the Navy, the WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service), rising to the rank of Lieutenant.[3] After leaving the Navy, she took some additional classes at the Wilcox College of Communication in Cleveland to learn typing and shorthand. Around this time, she also began working for a suburban newspaper, the Chagrin Valley Herald, as the Women's Editor. This also opened doors for her as a stringer reporter for The Plain Dealer. As such, she was not a member of The Plain Dealer staff, but she reported on events in the Cleveland suburbs of Chagrin Falls, Russell, Bentleyville and Pepper Pike.[4]
On March 21, 1952, Cleveland disc jockey Alan Freed promoted The Moondog Coronation Ball at the Cleveland Arena which is recognized as the first rock and roll concert, but Scott was not in attendance at this historic show. [5] Three days later, on March 24, 1952, at age 33, Scott was hired as an assistant society reporter at The Plain Dealer, covering the local social scene of A-List weddings and Debutante Balls. After two years as a general reporter, Scott got her own column called “Senior Class,” covering topics of interest to senior citizens, which she wrote for almost twenty years.[6]
In 1958, she inherited the “Boy & Girl” column; at the time, it was a full page in the newspaper each Saturday. Aimed at seven- and eight-year-olds, it was the beginning of the present day rock coverage in The Plain Dealer. The column name became “Young Ohio” and eventually was called “Teen Time.” Scott described her reporting beat as “covering everything from pimples to pensions.”[7] Scott covered the Beatles' first Cleveland performance at Public Hall on September 15, 1964 and traveled to England in 1966 to cover their tour. She also interviewed the Beatles before their August 14, 1966 show at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. “When the Beatles appeared on Ed Sullivan’s show, I knew what the kids really wanted to read. Once I found rock, I was never interested in anything else.”[8] At the time, The Plain Dealer was the only major American newspaper to have a full time music critic on staff, thus Scott is considered to be the world’s first rock critic. In the 1960s, in preparation for her eventual work as The Plain Dealer's Rock Editor, she spent every Saturday night for six straight years at the WEWS television station for the tapings of the "Upbeat" show.[9]
By May 1966, Scott's "Teen Time" column became a five-page cornerstone for a new idea in The Plain Dealer, a tab format entertainment section called "Go With The Plain Dealer." Published every Friday, the "Go" name lasted only four weeks and was renamed “The Action Tab.” That name changed again to the present "Friday Magazine" on June 4, 1976. Throughout 1970s, 1980s and 1990s she wrote the weekly "What's Happening" column in The Plain Dealer's Friday Magazine, along with regular artist interviews, album reviews and concert reviews.[10] She appreciated all forms of rock and made friends of many musicians. Lou Reed said she was one of the only people to treat him with respect in his early years as a performer; Lyle Lovett called her a "true friend"; she herself often told the story of accompanying Jimi Hendrix to buy a blue Corvette.[11]
In 1987, The Plain Dealer attempted to replace Scott but was met with strong public outcry and backlash, including feature stories in People Magazine,[12] MTV News and The Wall Street Journal,[13] resulting in the newspaper’s editors backing down from their plans. Scott was inducted in 1991 into the Cleveland Press Club Hall Of Fame.[14] Scott retired in April 2002,[15] after 50 years at The Plain Dealer. Scott estimated that she had attended over 10,000 concerts and music events during her career. Jane’s signature interview question was: ‘What was the name of your high school?’

Favorites and Hobbies

The first record that she ever purchased was ‘’Sent For You Yesterday (And Here You Come Today)’’ by Jimmy Rushing of Count Basie’s orchestra. Scott listed her favorite rock artists: from the 1960s, The Beatles; 1970s, Bruce Springsteen, her favorite rock star of all time; 1980s U2; and 1990s, Lyle Lovett. Her favorite rock song was “Black Water” by the Doobie Brothers. Her favorite rock album was Springsteen’s Born To Run. In August 1975, a review of hers stated "His name is Bruce Springsteen. He will be the next superstar." [16] She wrote about that review later: "Springsteen's 1975 show at the Allen Theatre was memorable. He stood like a pirate, with a cap over his eye and a ring in his left ear, pulling us all into fascinating stories of his youth. I reviewed this show and over the objections of skeptical editors, predicted Springsteen would be a superstar. Lucky for me, Bruce came through." [17]
Scott was an early supporter who campaigned to bring the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum to Cleveland, and was interviewed on ABC’s Good Morning America television show during the grand opening of the Museum in September 1995. She had even made a cameo appearance on ‘’The Drew Carey Show’’. Besides music, Scott’s hobbies included handwriting analysis and being an avid deltiologist, with a collection primarily of Cleveland landmarks, and she was a member of the Western Reserve Post Card Society.[18] Scott also was a chirologist, once causing the Who to be late going on stage for a Cleveland concert because she was reading their palms backstage.

 

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Monday, August 22, 2011

William G. Thrash, American Marine Corps lieutenant general , died he was 94.

William Gay Thrash was a retired United States Marine Corps three-star general and highly decorated Naval Aviator died he was 94.. He retired from active duty on June 30, 1972 after more than 30 years of distinguished service.
Thrash earned the Silver Star and the Legion of Merit during the Korean War, and a Gold Star in lieu of a second Legion of Merit for exceptionally meritorious conduct as senior United Nations officer in a Chinese Communist prisoner of war camp.

(September 17, 1916 – July 4, 2011) 

Biography

Early years

William Gay Thrash was born in Tifton, Georgia on September 17, 1916. He graduated from Boys' High School in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1934. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Georgia School of Technology in 1939. During his senior year, he was a member of Georgia Tech's famed gridiron squad, the Yellow Jackets.
Thrash was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps on July 14, 1939. He was assigned to the Basic School at the Philadelphia Navy Yard until June 1940, when he was transferred to Camp Elliott in California. He remained at Camp Elliott serving in various assignments as an engineering officer until transferred to Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida in September 1941 for flight training.

World War II

Promoted to first lieutenant in January 1942, Thrash received his wings as a Naval Aviator on March 18, of the same year. He was promoted to Captain that May, then remained at Pensacola until September 1942 as an instructor. Captain Thrash joined the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing in October and was deployed overseas with the Wing in November. While overseas, he was promoted to major in April 1943. During the period June to September 1943, he flew more than 100 combat reconnaissance missions over enemy territory in the Gilbert-Solomon islands area, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross and five Air Medals. Returning to the United States in January 1944, he was assigned to Marine Fleet Air, West Coast, until June 1945 when he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. Following another tour of overseas duty, where he saw service at Pearl Harbor, Saipan, and Okinawa, he was assigned to the Division of Aviation at Headquarters Marine Corps in January 1946. That October, he began a two-year assignment in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations in Washington, D.C.
In August 1948, he entered the Naval War College at Newport, Rhode Island. Upon graduation from its logistics course in May 1949, he was assigned as an instructor in the Aviation Section, Marine Corps Schools, Quantico, Virginia.

1950s

Transferred to the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing in June 1951, Lieutenant Colonel Thrash earned the Silver Star for gallantry in action, October 25, 1951, as Tactical Officer and pilot of a plane in Marine Aircraft Group 12. Encountering 24 hostile jets while leading his flight of 11 Corsairs on a strike against a strategic enemy supply point, he led his flight in an aggressive attack, forcing the enemy planes to break off the engagement and retire. On reaching the target area, he succeeded in scoring direct hits, inflicting serious damage on the enemy.
While serving as Tactical Officer of Marine Aircraft Group 12, Thrash was engaged in a reconnaissance flight over enemy anti-aircraft positions in Korea on December 21, 1951. When his plane was struck by enemy fire, he parachuted after radioing his base that he was bailing out. Taken prisoner after landing in the heavily fortified enemy area, he remained a prisoner for almost two years.
Thras was awarded his first Legion of Merit with Combat "V" and his sixth and seventh Air Medals prior to being captured and imprisoned by the Chinese Communists in December 1951. Following his repatriation in September 1953, he returned to the United States and was subsequently assigned as Executive Officer, and later, Commander of Marine Wing Service Group 37. From May 1955 to July 1958, he was attached to the Division of Aviation, Headquarters Marine Corps, serving consecutively as Assistant Head, and Head, Plans and Readiness Branch, and Deputy Assistant Director of Aviation. While there, he was promoted to colonel in November 1955. In June 1959, he completed the National War College in Washington, D.C.
In July 1959, Colonel Thrash reported to the Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, as Commanding Officer of Marine Aircraft Group 13. During this assiqnment, he led a trans-Pacific flight of Marine light attack jet aircraft in a record-making first flight from Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, to Naval Air Station Alameda, California.

1960s

In August 1960, he was named Chief of Staff of the 1st Marine Brigade at Kaneohe. He served in this capacity until May 1962 when he was deployed to Thailand as Chief of Staff of the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Unit. He returned from Thailand in August 1962 and assumed duty as Chief of Staff of the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, Aircraft, FMF, Pacific, Iwakuni, Japan. The following June, he arrived in the United States, and assumed duty at Norfolk, Virginia, as Assistant Chief of Staff, G-3, Fleet Marine Force, Atlantic.
In March 1964, he was promoted to brigadier general and assigned as Legislative Assistant to the Commandant of the Marine Corps, and was awarded the Navy Commendation Medal for service during this assignment. Following his promotion to major general onJanuary 19, 1967, he assumed duties the following month as Commander, Marine Corps Air Bases, Western Area/Commanding General, Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, California and earned his third Legion of Merit.

Vietnam War

Major General Thrash was ordered to the Republic of Vietnam in July 1969, for a one year tour of duty as Commanding General, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing in the I Corps Tactical Zone, and earned the Distinguished Service Medal for his outstanding performance of duty during this tour.

1970s

Upon his return to the United States in July 1970, he reported to the Marine Corps Base, Quantico, for duty as Deputy for Education/Director, Education Center, Marine Corps Development and Education Command. MajGen Thrash was nominated for promotion to three-star rank and his nomination was approved by President Richard Nixon in February 1971. On March 12, 1971, his promotion was confirmed by the U.S. Senate and he received his third star upon assignment as commanding General, Marine Corps Development and Education Command at Quantico. He served in this capacity until he retired from active duty on June 30, 1972. For exceptionally meritorious service during his last tour of duty while stationed at Quantico, he was awarded a Gold Star in lieu of a second Distinguished Service Medal.

Present day

LtGen Thrash and his wife, the former Virginia Merryman of Atlanta, Georgia, have two sons, William Gay Jr., and Ralph Merryman Thrash, both Marine Corps officers. LtGen and Mrs. Thrash have resided in Newport Beach, Calif, but presently live in Hilton Head, South Carolina. Thrash died on July 4, 2011 at the Hilton Head Hospital in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.[2]

Awards and medals


Naval Aviator Badge
1st Row
Navy Distinguished Service Medal w/ 1 award star
Silver Star
Distinguished Flying Cross
Legion of Merit w/ 2 award stars & valor device
2nd Row
Purple Heart
Air Medal w/ 6 award stars
Navy & Marine Corps Commendation Medal
Navy Presidential Unit Citation
3rd Row
Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal
American Defense Service Medal
American Campaign Medal
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal w/ 1 service star
4th Row
World War II Victory Medal
Navy Occupation Service Medal w/ Asia clasp
National Defense Service Medal w/ 1 service star
Korean Service Medal w/ 2 service stars
5th Row
Vietnam Service Medal w/ 1 service star
Korean Presidential Unit Citation
United Nations Korea Medal
Vietnam Campaign Medal

 

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Iain Blair, British romance novelist, published under the name Emma Blair died he was , 69


Iain Blair  was a Scottish actor and author who, using the pen name Emma Blair wrote a series of romantic novels died he was , 69.

(12 August 1942 – 3 July 2011)

Life and career

Blair was born in Glasgow and spent the first few years of his life there. His father died shortly after his birth, and following the death of his mother, when Blair was aged eleven, he moved to the United States to live with an aunt. He wanted to return to Scotland, however, and got a part time job at age fifteen to save up for his fare home. After graduating a year later from West Division High School in Milwaukee he returned to Glasgow to begin work with an insurance company. But he quickly became bored with the job and he moved to Australia at seventeen where he worked as a proof reader on the Sydney Bulletin newspaper, and as a life guard at Sydney's South Steyne Beach.[2]
After a year in Australia he returned to his native Glasgow once again, where he worked as a feature writer on the Sunday Post. But following a visit to the cinema to see Burt Lancaster in The Flame and the Arrow he resolved to become an actor. He won a place at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, and after graduating from there secured work with the Royal Shakespeare Company.[2] During a 20 year career in acting he appeared in many acclaimed television dramas. Among his television acting credits are roles in The Borderers, the police series The Sweeney and Juliet Bravo, The Brontes of Haworth, Rock Follies, The Saint and the sitcom Citizen Smith. In addition to these roles, he recorded an educational video in which he portrays an "oil man" who cons David Jason's Del Boy with a dodgy deal.[3]
His acting career came to an end after an exchange with Steven Spielberg when he went to audition for a part in the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark. He once recalled a difficult journey to the studio followed by a lengthy wait: "Eventually a rather small man came into the room. 'I'm Steven Spielberg. Can you come back tomorrow?' he announced, not expecting a negative. 'No, I fucking can't,' I replied in traditional Glasgow fashion. And that was the end of my acting career."[2]
Blair began writing while a stage actor, doing so in his spare time. Initially he wrote plays for theatre and television, but later began to write novels. He started out as a thriller writer, but after being unsuccessful with this genre, switched to writing romantic fiction.[1] Upon submitting the first of these stories, titled Where No Man Cries, to his publishers in 1982, it was suggested the book would sell better if the author was a woman. Consequently he adopted the pseudonym Emma Blair. Speaking about his change of name, he once joked: "The publishers decided on a sex change and so that was that. Emma I became and Emma I stayed."[3] His wife, Jane Blanchard, has said of the Emma Blair nom de plume: "Emma was not the quiet, retiring type but a 6ft 3in Glaswegian called Iain Blair who enjoyed a pint and a smoke."[3]
When No Man Cries, a story set in Glasgow during the inter war years, features a central character who overcomes social and financial hardships and ultimately finds the woman he loves. The book was an immediate success and generated good sales. Blair followed it with a series of other Emma Blair stories, many of them set in Scotland. Writing of Blair, The Scotsman's Alasdair Steven said: "Many of his books were of that genre: strongly romantic but very realistic. Blair had a fine ability to reflect social conditions within the body of his writing while the romantic element provides the main thrust to the story. He was a fine wordsmith and an exceptional story-teller...As he indeed demonstrated in two of his most acclaimed books. Flower of Scotland was about a family of whisky distillers in Perthshire as the First World War is about to break out. The family face many problems and as the war ends, they return to Scotland much changed."[3]
During a writing career spanning three decades he wrote some 30 novels,[3] but his true identity remained a secret until 1998 when his novel Flower of Scotland was nominated for the Romantic Novel of the Year Award,[2] something which required him to admit to being the author of the books.[1] He was one of Britain's most popular authors and his books the most borrowed from British libraries.[4] He was forced to give up writing in 2007 after being diagnosed with diabetes. He died as a result of the condition at his home in Torquay, Devon, on 3 July 2011.[1]

 

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Francis King, British writer died he was , 88


Francis Henry King, CBE  was a British novelist, poet and short story writer died he was , 88.

(4 March 1923 – 3 July 2011)
 
He was born in Adelboden, Switzerland, brought up in India and educated at Shrewsbury School and Balliol College, Oxford. During World War II he was a conscientious objector, and left Oxford to work on the land. After completing his degree in 1949 he worked for the British Council; he was posted around Europe, and then in Kyoto. He resigned to write full time in 1964.
He was a past winner of the W. Somerset Maugham Prize for his novel The Dividing Stream (1951) and also won the Katherine Mansfield Short Story Prize. His 1956 book "The firewalkers" was published pseudonymously under the name Frank Cauldwell.
A President Emeritus of International PEN and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, he was appointed an Officer (OBE) of the Order of the British Empire in 1979 and a Commander of the Order (CBE) in 1985.[1]

Personal life

King came out as homosexual in the 1970s; in Yesterday Came Suddenly (1993), after his long-term partner had died from AIDS in 1988, he described the relationship.[citation needed] King suffered a stroke in 2005.
Francis King died on 3 July 2011 at the age of 88.[2]

Works

  • To the Dark Tower (1946) novel
  • Never Again (1948) novel
  • An Air That Kills (1948) novel
  • The Dividing Stream (1951) novel, 1952 Somerset Maugham Award
  • Rod of Incantation (1952) poems
  • The Dark Glasses (1954) novel
  • The Firewalkers: a Memoir (1956) (wrote under the name Frank Cauldwell)
  • The Man on the Rock (1957) novel
  • The Widow (1957) novel
  • The Custom House (1961) novel
  • The Japanese Umbrella and Other Stories (1964) – short stories
  • The Last Pleasure Gardens (1965)
  • The Waves Behind the Boat (1967) novel
  • Robert de Montesquiou by Philippe Julian (1967) – translator, along with John Haylock
  • The Brighton Belle and other stories (1968)
  • The Domestic Animal (1970) novel
  • Flights (1973)
  • A Game of Patience (1974)
  • The Needle (1975)
  • E.M. Forster and his World (1978) – a biography of the author of A Passage to India and Howards End
  • Act of Darkness (1983)
  • Voices in an Empty Room (1984)
  • Visiting Cards (1990)
  • Punishments (1989)
  • The Ant Colony (1992)
  • Yesterday Came Suddenly (1993) – autobiography
  • The Nick of Time (2002) novel
  • The Sunlight on the Garden (2006) – short stories
  • With My Little Eye (2007) novel

 

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Thursday, August 18, 2011

Anna Massey, British actress (Frenzy, Hotel du Lac), died from cancer she was , 73.

 Anna Raymond Massey, CBE  was an English actress died from cancer she was , 73..[2] She won a BAFTA Award for the role of Edith Hope in the 1986 TV adaptation of Anita Brookner’s novel Hotel du Lac.

(11 August 1937 – 3 July 2011)



Early life

Massey was born in Thakeham, West Sussex, England, the daughter of British actress Adrianne Allen and Canadian-born Hollywood actor Raymond Massey.[4] Her brother, Daniel Massey, was also an actor. She was the niece of Vincent Massey, a Governor General of Canada, and her godfather was film director John Ford.[5]

Career

Though she had no formal training at either drama school or in repertory, in May 1955 at the age of 17 Anna Massey made her first appearance on stage at the Theatre Royal, Brighton, as Jane in The Reluctant Debutante, subsequently making her first London appearance in the same play at the Cambridge Theatre in May 1955 "and was suddenly famous [6] She then left the cast in London to repeat her performance in New York in October 1956.[7]
She made her cinema debut in 1958 in the Scotland Yard film Gideon's Day, as Sally, daughter of Jack Hawkins's detective inspector. The director was her godfather John Ford.[6]
In 1960, she played a potential murder victim in Michael Powell's cult thriller Peeping Tom; she then appeared in Otto Preminger's Bunny Lake is Missing (1965) opposite Laurence Olivier and later played the role of the cockney barmaid Babs in Alfred Hitchcock's Frenzy (1972). She appeared with her brother Daniel playing deadly siblings in the 1973 horror film The Vault of Horror.
Massey continued to make occasional film and stage appearances, but worked more frequently in television, making her first small screen appearance as Jacqueline in Green of the Year in October 1955[7] and in dramas such as The Pallisers (1974), the 1978 adaptation of Rebecca (in which she starred with her ex-husband, Jeremy Brett), The Mayor of Casterbridge (1978), The Cherry Orchard (1980), and Anna Karenina (1985). She had roles in the British comedy series The Darling Buds of May (1991) and The Robinsons (2005). She also appeared in a number of mysteries and thrillers on television, including episodes of Inspector Morse, The Inspector Alleyn Mysteries, Midsomer Murders, Strange, Lewis, and Agatha Christie's Poirot.
With Imelda Staunton, she co-devised and starred as Josephine Daunt in Daunt and Dervish on BBC radio. She was the narrator of This Sceptred Isle on BBC Radio 4, a history of Britain from Roman times which ran for more than 300 fifteen-minute episodes. In 2009 she also appeared in a new radio version of The Killing of Sister George. [6]
In 1986, Massey was awarded the British Academy TV Award for Best Actress for her role in Hotel du Lac. She also appeared as Mrs. D'Urberville in the 2008 BBC adaptation of Tess of the D'Urbervilles, an older version of May and as Rosie in An Angel For May, and in the 2004 BBC version of Our Mutual Friend.[5]

Acting Style

Although Massey's parts were varied, her 'cut-glass English accent, conveyed a cold and repressed character on screen'. [8] On the stage, a number of her performances were said to be characterised by 'stillness', such as the National Theatre's production of Harold Pinter's A Kind of Alaska.[9]

Personal life

In the New Year's Honours List published 31 December 2004 she was created a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to drama.[10]
She published an autobiography in 2006, Telling Some Tales, which revealed a difficult early life and her failed marriage to actor Jeremy Brett (who struggled with bipolar disorder), their son, writer David Raymond William Huggins (b. 1959), her successful second marriage in 1988 to Russian scientist Uri Andres, (whom she married in 1988[11]) and of being a grandmother. Massey was quoted as saying, "Theatre eats up too much of your family life. I have a grandson and a husband and I'd rather I was able to be a granny and a wife."

Death

Massey died from cancer on 3 July 2011, aged 73. She is survived by her son, grandson and second husband.[5]

Filmography

Year
Film
Role
Notes
1958
Gideon's Day
Sally Gideon
1960
Peeping Tom
Helen
1965
Bunny Lake is Missing
Elvira Smollett
1972
Frenzy
Babs Milligan
1973
The Vault of Horror
Donna Rogers
1986
Hotel du Lac
Edith Hope
BAFTA award-winning role
1986
Foreign Body
Miss Furze
1997
Deja Vu

2002
The Importance of Being Earnest
Miss Prism
2004
The Machinist

He Knew He Was Right
Miss Stanbury
TV Movie
Belonging

2005
Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont
Mrs Arbuthnot
2006
The Gigolos
Edwina
2007
Fairy Stories by The Brothers Grimm
Narrator
Audiobook
Doctor Who - The Girl Who Never Was
Miss Pollard
8th Doctor audiobook
2008
Tess of the D'Urbervilles
Mrs D'Urberville
The Oxford Murders (Film)
Mrs. Julia Eagleton
Affinity (film)
Miss Haxby
TV movie

Books

 

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Dickey Betts died he was 80

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