/ Stars that died in 2023

Saturday, December 7, 2013

Dobie Gray, American singer ("The 'In' Crowd", "Drift Away"), died he was 71.


Dobie Gray was an American singer and songwriter, whose musical career spanned soul, country, pop, and musical theater died he was 71.. His hit records included "The 'In' Crowd" in 1965 and "Drift Away", which was one of the biggest hits of 1973, sold over one million copies, and remains a staple of radio airplay.[2]

(July 26, 1940 – December 6, 2011)


Life and career

He was born near Houston, Texas, by his own account in Simonton although some sources suggest the nearby town of Brookshire.[4][5] His birth name was most likely Lawrence Darrow Brown,[5][6] who is listed in Fort Bend County birth records as being born in 1940 to Jane P. Spencel and Jethro Clifton Brown. Other sources suggest he may have been born Leonard Victor Ainsworth,[2] a name he used on some early recordings.
His family sharecropped. He discovered gospel music through his grandfather, a Baptist minister.[4] In the early 1960s he moved to Los Angeles, intending to pursue an acting career while also singing to make money. He recorded for several local labels under the names Leonard Ainsworth, Larry Curtis, and Larry Dennis, before Sonny Bono directed him towards the small independent Stripe Records. They suggested that he record under the name "Dobie Gray", an allusion to the then-popular sitcom The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.[5] His first taste of success came in 1963 when his seventh single "Look At Me", on the Cor-Dak label and recorded with bassist Carol Kaye,[7] reached #91 on the Billboard Hot 100.[6][8] However, his first album, Look!, failed to sell.[7] Greater success came in early 1965 when his original recording of "The 'In' Crowd" (recorded later that year as an instrumental by Ramsey Lewis, and also covered in 1965 by Petula Clark) reached #13. Written by Billy Page and arranged by his brother Gene,[9] and produced by Fred Darian,[6][10] Dobie Gray's record reached #11 on the US R&B chart, and #25 in the UK. The follow-up, "See You at the Go-Go", recorded with such top session musicians as Kaye, Hal Blaine, and Larry Knechtel, also reached the Hot 100, and he issued an album, Dobie Gray Sings For 'In' Crowders That Go Go Go, which featured some self-penned songs.[7]
Gray continued to record, though with little success, for small labels such as Charger and White Whale, as well as contributing to movie soundtracks.[8] He also spent several years working as an actor, including 2½ years in the Los Angeles production of Hair.[2][5] In 1970, while working there, he joined a band, Pollution, as singer and percussionist. They were managed by actor Max Baer Jr. (best known as "Jethro" in The Beverly Hillbillies) and released two albums of soul-inspired psychedelic rock, Pollution I and Pollution II.[7][11] The band also included singer Tata Vega and guitarist/singer James Quill Smith.
He also worked at A & M Records on demo recordings with songwriter Paul Williams.[5]
In 1972, he won a recording contract with Decca Records (shortly before it became part of MCA) to make an album with producer Mentor Williams---Paul's brother---in Nashville. Among the songs they recorded at the Quadrafonic Sound Studios, co-owned by session musicians Norbert Putnam and David Briggs, was Mentor Williams' "Drift Away", featuring a guitar riff by Reggie Young.[5][12] Released as a single, the song rose to #5 on the US pop chart and remains Dobie Gray's signature song.[2] It placed at #17 in the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1973.
The follow-up, a version of Tom Jans' much-covered song "Loving Arms", hit #61. Gray also released three albums with MCA, Drift Away, Loving Arms, and Hey, Dixie, but later stated that MCA were unsure of how to market the albums---"They didn't know where to place a black guy in country music."[5]

Gray performing in 2004
In the mid-1970s, he moved permanently to Nashville and signed for Capricorn Records, writing songs in collaboration with Troy Seals.[2] His last solo hit singles were "If Love Must Go", #78 in 1976, and "You Can Do It", #37 in 1978.[6] He increasingly concentrated on songwriting, writing songs for a variety of artists including Ray Charles, George Jones, Johnny Mathis, Charley Pride, and Don Williams.[5][8] He also toured in Europe, Australia and Africa in the 1970s. He performed in South Africa only after persuading the apartheid authorities to allow him to play to integrated audiences, becoming the first artist to do so.[2] His popularity in South Africa continued through numerous subsequent concert tours.[4][5]
Dobie Gray re-emerged as a recording artist for Capitol Records in the mid-1980s, recording with producer Harold Shedd. He placed two singles on the US country chart in 1986-87, including "That's One to Grow On" which peaked at #35.[2][13] His country albums included From Where I Stand in 1986, and he made several appearances at Charlie Daniels' popular Volunteer Jam concerts.[8] He also sang on a number of TV and radio jingles.[5] In 1997, he released the album Diamond Cuts, including both new songs and re-recordings of older material.[2]
In 2000, Wigan Casino DJ Kev Roberts, compiled The Northern Soul Top 500, which was based on a survey of northern soul fans.[14] Gray's "Out On The Floor", a 1966 recording which had been a British hit in 1975, made the Top 10.
"Drift Away" became a hit again in 2003, when it was covered by Uncle Kracker on his No Stranger to Shame album as a duet with Dobie Gray, who was also featured in the video. It hit #9 and placed at #19 in the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 2003.

Death

On December 6, 2011, Gray's official website stated that he had died.[15] According to the Associated Press, he died at his home in Nashville, Tennessee after a long battle with cancer.[16] Sources differed as to his age; his official site stated he was 71, while the AP stated he was 69.

Discography

Albums

  • Look (Stripe, 1963)
  • Dobie Gray Sings For "In" Crowders (Charger, 1965)
  • Pollution (Prophecy/Atlantic, 1970)
  • Pollution II (Prophecy/Atlantic, 1971)
  • Drift Away (Decca/MCA, 1973) US #64
  • Loving Arms (MCA, 1974) US #188
  • Hey Dixie (MCA, 1975)
  • New Ray Of Sunshine (Capricorn, 1976)
  • Let Go (Capricorn, 1977)
  • The Best Of Dobie Gray (Gallo, 1978)
  • Dobie Gray & Mary Wells (Gusto Inc., 1978)
  • Midnight Diamond (Capricorn, 1978) US #174, R&B #72
  • Dobie Gray (Infinity, 1979)
  • Welcome Home (Equity / Robox, 1981)
  • From Where I Stand (Capitol/EMI/Amer., 1986)
  • Love’s Talkin’ (Capitol/EMI/Amer., 1987)
  • Dobie Gray: His Very Best (Razor & Tie, 1996)
  • Diamond Cuts (Dobie Gray Prods., 1998)
  • Soul Days (CDMemphis, 2001)
  • Dobie Gray: The Ultimate (Universal Hip-O, 2001)
  • Songs Of The Season (Dobie Gray Prods., 2001)
  • Dobie Gray: A Decade of Dobie (1969–1979) (UMG/Select-O-Hits, 2005)
Source:[17]

Chart singles

Year Single Peak chart positions Certifications
(sales threshold)
US
[18]		 US R&B US AC US Country CAN CAN AC CAN Country UK[19]
1963 "Look at Me" 91 — — — — — — —
1965 "The 'In' Crowd" 13 11 — — 8 — — 25
"See You at the Go-Go" 69 — — — — — — —
1969 "Rose Garden" 119 — — — — — — —
1973 "Drift Away" 5 42 — — 7 — — —
"Loving Arms" 61 81 7 — 70 2 — —
"Good Old Song" 103 — — — — — — —
1974 "Watch Out for Lucy" 107 — — — — — — —
1975 "Out on the Floor" — — — — — — — 42
1976 "If Love Must Go" 78 — — — — — — —
"Find 'Em, Fool 'Em & Forget 'Em" 94 71 — — — — — —
1979 "You Can Do It" 37 32 — — 58 — — —
"In Crowd" — — — — — 47 — —
1986 "That's One to Grow On" — — — 35 — — — —
"The Dark Side of Town" — — — 42 — — 48 —
"From Where I Stand" — — — 67 — — — —
1987 "Take It Real Easy" — — — 82 — — — —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released to that country

Featured singles

Year Single Artist Peak chart positions Album
US US Adult US AC US Pop NZ
2003 "Drift Away" Uncle Kracker 9 2 1 10 25 No Stranger to Shame



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Ron Fletcher, American dancer and pilates teacher, died from heart failure he was 90.

Ron Fletcher was an American Pilates Master Teacher,[1] an author [2] and a Martha Graham dancer.[3] He was also a Broadway stage, network television, cabaret and International Ice Capades choreographer.[3] Fletcher is identified as a “Pilates Elder” – a “first-generation teacher” who studied directly under Joseph and Clara Pilates.[1]
 
(May 29, 1921 – December 6, 2011)

Originally referred to Joseph Pilates by fellow dancer, Allegra Kent, for treatment of a chronic knee injury,[4] Fletcher was schooled in the principles of Body Contrology (the name Pilates gave to his fitness and conditioning method) [5] by Joseph and Clara Pilates with whom he studied - in their New York City studio at 939 8th Avenue [6] - on and off from 1948 until one year after Joseph Pilates’ death in 1967.[3]

Career

Following his turn with the Martha Graham Company, Fletcher was cast by Japanese choreographer Yeichi Nimura, alongside Yul Brynner [7] and Mary Martin,[7] in the role of Imperial Attendant (142 performances) in Nimura’s 1946 Broadway and London productions of The Lute Song.[7] Following his professional dance career, Fletcher’s principal avocation, and that for which he became widely known in the entertainment industry, was choreography.
Fletcher worked from the late 1940s until 1971 as a theater, network television, nightclub stage, film and International Ice Capades choreographer. He set dance numbers in New York City for Broadway musicals including 1951’s long-running “Top Banana” (350 performances)[8] as well as for Radio City Music Hall, Roxy Theatre, Latin Quarter and Copacabana stage dance/musical productions.[9] In television’s early days in New York City he worked as both dancer and choreographer for the prime-time television studio production of the “NBC All Star Revue” where his featured dance partner was Tallulah Bankhead.[10] Between 1954 and 1967 Fletcher choreographed shows in Chicago at Chez Paris; in San Francisco at Le Club; and in New Orleans at the Beverly Club. He was also lead choreographer in Paris at the Le Lido for four years where, among other things, he and long-time collaborator, Donn Arden, created “Gala” a show which included skaters on a tank of ice on stage.[11] During that period, Fletcher also choreographed the large-scale Italian production of the 1965 musical “Il Diplomatico” at Teatro Milano [12] as well as the 1954 film version of “Top Banana” and 1961’s comedy “Snow White and the Three Stooges.” [13]
The use of ice skaters in a dance number drew on Fletcher’s experience, continuous from 1954 to 1967, as lead choreographer for the International Ice Capades.[3] During his tenure, featured performers included US figure skating champion Donna Atwood,[14] and world skating champion, Alena Vrzanova, better known as Aja Zanova, who claimed, it was Ron Fletcher who “made me a star.” [15] Each year, after setting choreography for the Ice Capades’ season, Fletcher regularly choreographed shows in Las Vegas at the Desert Inn, Moulin Rouge, Latin Quarter, The Dunes and The Flamingo hotels for the likes of Pearl Bailey, Vic Damone,[16] Shirley Jones, Paula Kelly, Tallulah Bankhead and Jane Kean (with whom he also partnered on stage).[3]

The Ron Fletcher Studio, Beverly Hills, CA

Though Fletcher achieved significant notice in the entertainment industry for his choreography, he is best known in the 21st century for having introduced the Pilates conditioning method, from its home base in New York City, to the American west coast via his Ron Fletcher Studio for Body Contrology, which he opened May 1, 1972 on Rodeo Drive at Wilshire Boulevard. in Beverly Hills, California.[17]
Fletcher’s approach to the Pilates method – originally referred to as “The Ron Fletcher Work” or “Fletcher Work”,[4] (today, simply Fletcher Pilates®)[18] – incorporated Graham-based elements of movement and dance into the equipment-centric structure of Joseph Pilates’ original creation.[4] Fletcher was the first to “take the Pilates work vertical.” [17]
Fletcher’s new studio attracted well-known film personalities such as Ali MacGraw, Barbra Streisand, Candice Bergen and Katharine Ross, as well as studio executives, celebrities, dancers and many prominent and influential members of Hollywood society including Betsy Bloomingdale and Nancy Reagan.[17]
Fletcher’s development of his now-trademarked Floorwork and Towelwork - machine-less applications of the Pilates principles that could be performed in a studio, home or workshop setting - was crucial to the spread of the Pilates method.[1]
Writing for The Guardian in June, 2008 (‘Pilates is an Art’), investigative reporter Alice Wignal concluded, “if Fletcher hadn't come up with a way for people to practise the method without needing the equipment, you probably wouldn't have heard of Pilates at all.”[17]
By the late 1970s, as the original Pilates studio was “withering away in New York,” [17] Fletcher’s high-profile name, and his celebrated Hollywood clientele, led to a renaissance of the work that is largely credited with keeping the Pilates name alive and in front of the public.[17]

Publicity

Beginning with features in The Los Angeles Times and Vogue Magazine in 1971, the decade that followed found Fletcher’s studio and his take on the Pilates method featured in Good Housekeeping, Cosmopolitan, Town & Country, Ladies Home Journal, Women’s Wear Daily, Self and Beverly Hills Times Magazine, among others. Ron Fletcher#Archival References

The Ron Fletcher Program of Study

A comprehensive formal education curriculum called The Ron Fletcher Program of Study was established in 2003[19] for the purpose of training and qualifying new Fletcher Pilates teachers as well as for the accurate preservation of Fletcher’s approach to the Pilates method.[1] Headquartered in Tucson, Arizona,[20] it is based on the apprenticeship-learning model Fletcher experienced as a student and disciple of Joseph and Clara Pilates.[21]
In July 2005, The Ron Fletcher Program of Study was licensed, according to the criteria for post-secondary education, as a school by the State of Arizona.[20] The comprehensive Fletcher Pilates education program and continuing education courses are now being conducted on five campuses in the United States as well as in Canada, Mexico, Colombia, Australia, Singapore, London, Tokyo and Madrid.[21]
On December 23, 2008, the US Patent and Trademark Office registered to Ron Fletcher exclusive-use rights to, and trademark protection of, the term “Fletcher Pilates.” [18]
Fletcher died of congestive heart failure in Stonewall, Texas in 2011.[22] He was 90.


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Tony Fell, British music publisher, died he was 79.

Robert Anthony "Tony" Fell was a British businessman and musician  died he was 79..[1]

(27 December 1932 – 6 December 2011) 


Fell worked for various firms, including ICI in the 1950s, becoming Managing Director of Hortors Printers from 1968 to 1974, and Managing Director of Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers from 1974 to 1996.[citation needed]
He founded the Johannesburg Bach Choir, which he conducted from 1964-74. He became Chair of the Royal Philharmonic Society from 1997-2005: the Society awarded him an Honorary Membership, which it rarely bestows, in 2011.[citation needed]

Death

Fell died on 6 December 2011, aged 78, from undisclosed causes.[where?]



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Brent Darby, American basketball player (Ohio State University), died from blood clots he was 30.

Brent Darby [1] was a 6-foot-1 basketball player playing guard with the Ohio State Buckeyes between 1999 and 2003 and part of two Big Ten champions died from blood clots he was 30.. He averaged 9.6 points his sophomore season, 12.8 points as a junior and 18.3 points his senior year 4.4 assists for the Buckeyes in his senior year in 2002-03 and ranked No. 25 in the school's career scoring list with 1,368 points.[2][3]

(born in River Rouge, Michigan in 1981 - died December 6, 2011)


After graduation, Darby played professional basketball internationally from 2003 until 2009,[4] in Israel, Poland, Spain, France (Limoges CSP) and many years in Italy (Pepsi Juvecaserta Basket, Giorgio Tesi PT, Banco di Sardegna Sassari, S.S. Felice Scandone (Sidigas AV), Umana Reyer Venezia Mestre). He had to stop playing as he battled a series of blood clot problems. Doctors had implanted filters in Darby's body to break up clots before reaching his lungs and had a surgery to remove a large clot from his leg.


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Violetta Villas, Belgian-born Polish singer, died she was 73.


Violetta Villas  was a Belgian-born Polish and international cabaret star, singer, actress, composer and songwriter died she was 73.. Her voice was characterized as coloratura soprano. She could play the piano, violin and trombone and had absolute pitch.[1] She has been nicknamed "the voice of the atomic age",[2] "the singing toast of the continent",[3] "a voice like French champagne",[4] "Polish Yma Sumac". Villas was the first star of the Casino de Paris at Dunes Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas (1966–1971).[1]

(pron.: /ˈvɪllæs/; born Czesława Maria Cieślak, 10 June 1938 – 5 December 2011)



Villas was known for her conspicuous, outstanding appearance and numerous number-one hits. During her career in show business Villas starred in six films, performed in numerous musical shows, and recorded almost three hundred songs in ten languages, including Polish, English, French, German, Italian, Latin, Neapolitan, Russian, Spanish and Portuguese. She was an animal rights activist.
Villas was a very controversial person for her alcohol[5] and morphine addiction[5][6] and being a Security Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs informant[5][7][8] with a code name Gabriella.[5][9] Moreover she had a delusional disorder,[10] which has a bad influence on her contacts with her environment and family.[5]
In 2011 Villas received the Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artist

Early life

Villas was born in Heusy, Liège province, the third of four children. She spent her childhood in Belgium. Her father Bolesław Cieślak (4 December 1907 – 9 May 1960) was a miner and bandmaster, and her mother Jane (26 January 1914 – 17 February 1985) was a housewife. In 1948 she came with her parents to Poland and settled in Lewin Kłodzki where she began studying music. She played the piano and violin in her youth.
In 1956 she began studying solo singing at the State Musical High School in Szczecin. She continued her artistic education in Wrocław with a professor Gisela Posh. In 1959 she began classical vocal lessons with a professor Eugenia Falkowska in Warsaw. Her 5-octave vocal range[citation needed] and timbre abilities were significant, worthy of a promising operatic career, but she had decided to pursue more contemporary forms of music, touring and giving vocal performances on stage.

1960–1965: Early career

In 1960 Villas was given her debut on Polskie Radio by its director of music, Władysław Szpilman.[14] Her first broadcast songs were Gdy zakwitną czereśnie and Ja nie mogę tamtej drugiej znieść. She recorded her first album, "Rendez-vous with Violetta Villas" in 1962. She received her first noteworthy prize at the Sopot Festival in 1961 and 1962. In 1964, 1965 and 1966 she performed at National Festival of Polish Song in Opole.
In the early 1960s Villas toured many countries in Europe, including Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Spain, Russia, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria and Romania, also in United States, Canada and Israel.

Villas in Christian Dior crinoline
In 1964 at the National Festival of Polish Song in Opole she was approached by Bruno Coquatrix, who invited her to France. At the 3rd Festival International des Variétés et Music-Halls in Rennes, Villas received her Grand Prix International d'Interpretation (she sang including Ave Maria). In 1965 she performed at Fontaine Theatre (show Roue de la Chance, director - André Chanu). In 1966, at a personal request of Bruno Cocquatrix, Villas appeared in the Grand Music Hall de Varsovie, revue program at Olympia. The premiere was 26 July 1966. Villas sang including Ave Maria no Morro and Hiroshima Mon Amour. In Paris she was approached by Frederic Apcar, who invited her to Las Vegas.

1966–1971: Las Vegas and Casino de Paris

In December 1966 Villas was the star of the Casino de Paris at Dunes Hotel & Casino, where she sang songs, operettas and operatic arias in nine languages.[citation needed] In her first program she sang including "Under Paris Skies", "Granada", "O Sole Mio", "Strangers in the Night" and "Libiamo ne' lieti calici". Villas sang in duets with Frank Sinatra, Paul Anka, Barbra Streisand, Charles Aznavour, Sammy Davis, Jr., Eartha Kitt, Dean Martin.[1]
Her personal stylist was Patrick Valette, a Frenchman from fashion house Dior. She performed her show with a hundred-person French ballet. She lived in a villa with private swimming pool.[1] In late 60s Villas recorded twenty songs for an American Television and Capitol Records. In March 1968 began a screen test for MGM film studio, where she was later signed to a movie contract. She acted in films including: the musical "Paint your wagon" with Lee Marvin and the western "Heaven with a gun" with Glenn Ford.[citation needed]

1971–1987: Isolation and great comeback

Villas was offered a lucrative eight-year contract with Paramount Pictures but turned it down because of her mother's illness which saw her to return to Poland.[1] Later in the 1970s Villas had to return to Poland to her dying mother. Authorities of the Communist regime confiscated her passport, and she was forced to stay in Poland for more than a decade. However, she was not completely banned from the media and was able to pursue her career locally. In 1985 she had her great comeback, just a few years after martial law ended. The performances were sold out even weeks beforehand. Authorities returned her passport, and she resumed her international career. She later toured the USA and Australia.
In 1987 she went to the tour, "Violetta" after the United States and Canada. The premiere was September 14 at Carnegie Hall, where she received a standing ovation. In New York her concert was sold out. Villas performed in Las Vegas, Denver, Miami, Texas, Montreal and Chicago.

Personal life

In 1954, when she was 16, Villas married lieutenant Gospodarek but they divorced just two years later in September 1956. Her parents had pressured her into the marriage but she did not truly love him.[15] She left her husband to study music in Szczecin. They had one child, Krzysztof Gospodarek.

Villas recital
In 1987 she met an American businessman and millionaire of Polish descent, Ted Kowalczyk, and married him on 6 January 1988 in Chicago. The wedding ceremony was held at a banquet room of the "Orbit" Restaurant, a fixture of Chicago's Polish Village. They divorced in December 1988. He gave many interviews in the media about their marriage, but she said on a TV show "I made an error, that I believed so fast."[16]

Death

Villas died on 5 December 2011 in Lewin Kłodzki at the age of 73.[17]

Voice characteristics

Villas was a soprano whose voice had an extraordinary register and a very wide range of vocal color.[18] It covered five octaves from the baritone middle E2 to the soprano E7.[citation needed] Villas' best range was from C4 to C6. In her songs she showed a remarkable ability for naturally assimilative styles and for eliciting a multiplicity of voices. Villas could perform as a baritone, tenor, contralto, mezzo-soprano, and as a soprano, a unique attribute amongst singers of any gender, in the fields of both classical and popular music.

Theatre

Before Villas started her theatre career in Poland, she performed in international revue shows in France and United States. In 1978 she played at the Grand Theatre in Łódź in the musical show Kochajmy się. In the 1970s/80s Villas was a star of the Siren Theatre in Warsaw. Villas played several roles in her theatre career, including Lygia in Trzeci program (The third programme, 1978) and the main role in the revue Violetta (1986–1988). In 1986 she returned to theatre, performing in Violetta with an orchestra and ballet.[1]
In 1992, Villas played in the musical Hello, Dolly! at Cracow Operetta House. In the 1990s she performed at Warsaw Operetta House in her own programme, The Violetta Villas Show.

Discography

Studio albums

  • 1962 Rendez-vous with Violetta Villas
  • 1966 Violetta Villas
  • 1967 Violetta Villas (reedition)
  • 1968 For you my darling
  • 1968 About Love...
  • 1977 There is no love without jealousy
  • 1985 Las Vegas
  • 1986 Violetta Villas (reedition)
  • 1992 The most beautiful Christmas carols
  • 1996 Daddy 2 guest star
  • 1997 Christmas carols
  • 1997 Villas sings Christmas carols
  • 2001 When Jesus Christus was born...
  • 2001 Violetta Villas (reedition)
  • 2001 There is no love without jealousy (reedition)
  • 2001 For you my darling (reedition)
  • 2003 Valentine hits
  • 2004 Christmas carols from heart
  • 2008 To comfort the heart and warmth the soul
  • 2009 The most beautiful Christmas carols (reedition)

Live

  • 1994 Dolly
  • 1994 I am what I am (reedition)
  • 1998 Dolly (reedition)
  • 2006 I am what I am (reedition)

Singles

  • 1961 I don't believe you
  • 1961 Such a frost
  • 1961 I don't make it
  • 1961 For you my darling
  • 1961 Red Marianna
  • 1961 Secret
  • 1962 Get married, Johny!
  • 1962 Cuckoo clock
  • 1962 It speak maracas
  • 1962 Look straight into my eyes
  • 1962 When Allah goes
  • 1962 Ali alo
  • 1963 Fan
  • 1964 To you, mother
  • 1964 Joseph
  • 1964 The love begins with a smile
  • 1964 There is a time for love
  • 1964 Is not
  • 1966 To you, mother
  • 1978 For mum
  • 1986 Mundial'86
  • 1987 The pine from my dream
  • 1987 Take me from Barcelona
  • 1987 Everywhere you go
  • 1987 The wild woman

Flexi discs

  • 1962 Do you like to dance?
  • 1964 There is a time for love
  • 1964 Forty chesnut-trees
  • 1964 Recalling Masuria
  • 1965 Mamma
  • 1965 I will travel to you
  • 1965 To you, mother
  • 1968 It's raining in Zakopane
  • 1970 I returned to you
  • 1972 There is no love without jealousy
  • 1974 To you, mother

Compilation albums

Filmography

Movie
Television
  • 1963 Revue of the Polskie Nagrania
  • 1964 Dancing Joe
  • 1965 Roue de la chance
  • 1966 Professor Tutka's club
  • 1970 Violetta Villas sings
  • 1975 The wedding
  • 1977 Sentiments
  • 1978 Good evening, it's Łódź!
  • 1985 Summer Studio
  • 1985 Beautiful and excellent
  • 1988 Violetta
  • 1993 Violetta Villas show – live at Warsaw Operetta
  • 1995 Only to You
  • 1996 Concert on a barge
  • 1999 Violetta V. – live

Repertoire

1. Song festivals – Sopot, Opole, Knokke-Heist, Basel etc. (1961–1964)
  • Ave Maria no Morro
  • For You My Darling
  • Look Straight Into My Eyes
  • Si señor
  • The Time Will Come
  • To You, Mother
2 "Roue de la chance", Theatre Fontaine in Paris (1965)
  • Ave Maria no Morro
  • Look Straight Into my Eyes
3. "Grand music hall de Varsovie", Olympia in Paris (1966)
  • Ave Maria no Morro
  • Hiroshima Mon Amour
  • Look Straight Into my Eyes
  • Non C'est Rien
4. "Casino de Paris", Dunes in Las Vegas (1967–1969)
5. "Villas Revue", Congress Hall in Warsaw (1968)
  • Dark Eyes
  • Hello, Dolly!
  • L'amour Est Un Oiseau Rebelle
  • Libiamo ne' Lieti Calici
  • My Heart Belongs to Daddy
  • Strangers in the Night
  • This Is My Song
6. "Violetta", international concert tour started at Carnegie Hall in New York (1987–1988)
  • Arias from Carmen
  • Dark Eyes
  • Granada
  • Happiness (polish – Szczęście)
  • If you go away
  • Kiss me hotly (polish – Całuj gorąco)
  • Mechanical doll (polish – Mechaniczna lalka)
  • Strangers in the night
  • Summertime
  • Violetta


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Friday, December 6, 2013

Celia, Viscountess Whitelaw of Penrith, British ATS volunteer, philanthropist/charity worker and horticulturist, died she was 84.

Celia, Viscountess Whitelaw of Penrith was the wife of William “Willie” Whitelaw, MP, former Home Secretary, Deputy Prime Minister and aide to Margaret Thatcher died she was 84..
(born 1 January 1917, Lilliesleaf, Roxburghshire, Scotland – died 5 December 2011, Edinburgh, Scotland)

Born as Cecilia Doriel Sprot (she later changed her name to Celia) at her family home, Riddell Estate near Melrose to Major Mark Sprot of the Scots Guards and his wife, Meliora (née Hay),[1] she attended school at the now defunct Oxenfoord Castle boarding school in Midlothian. During World War II, she volunteered to serve with the Women's Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) and was posted to Edinburgh Castle as a clerk with the Scottish Command. She was referenced in the book, Debs At War 1939-1945: How Wartime Changed Their Lives, written by Anne De Courcy.

Marriage

She was engaged in 1942 and married Whitelaw in St Giles' Cathedral, Edinburgh on 6 February 1943. They had four daughters. After he returned to civilian life following World War II, she played an active role in helping him run his family estates in Dunbartonshire and Lanarkshire. When he decided to go into politics in the 1950s, she became first a vivacious campaigner and later an active parliamentary wife. When her husband was appointed Viscount Whitelaw of Penrith in 1983, she became Viscountess Whitelaw of Penrith, however the lack of a male heir ended the viscountcy with Whitelaw's death. Lady Whitelaw served on the Lakeland Horticultural Society and was vice-president of the Penrith and District Gardeners' and Allotment Holders' Association. After her husband suffered a series of strokes from 1987, she cared for him until his death in 1999.[2]

Charity work

Lady Whitelaw was heavily involved in charity work and philanthropy, including Barnardo's, British Red Cross, the Blencowe Women's Institute, Wives of Westminster, the Eden Valley hospice (in Carlisle), and the Yellow Brick Road Appeal of the Children's Foundation.[3]

Death

Viscountess Whitelaw died on 5 December 2011, aged 94, and was survived by her four daughters (Elizabeth, Carolyn, Mary and Pamela), twelve grandchildren, and a brother, Aidan. She and her husband's funerals were held and their remains interred at St Andrew's Church, Dacre.[4]


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Darrell K. Sweet, American artist, died he was 77.

Darrell K. Sweet was a professional illustrator best known for providing cover art for science fiction and fantasy novels, in which capacity he was nominated for Hugo award in 1983  died he was 77..

(August 15, 1934 – December 5, 2011)

Sweet was born in Highland Park, New Jersey. He graduated from Syracuse University in 1956 with a degree in fine arts.[2] He also produced art for trading cards and calendars. He was famous for providing the covers of the fantasy epic saga The Wheel of Time. He was also the illustrator for the well-known Xanth series by Piers Anthony, the Saga of Recluce series by L. E. Modesitt, Jr. and the Runelords series by David Farland as well as the original cover artist for Stephen R. Donaldson's series The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever.
Beginning in 1975 and as of 2005, Sweet had produced over 3000 images.[3] He died in 2011.[4]


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