/ Stars that died in 2023

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Wayman Tisdale died he was 44




Wayman Lawrence Tisdale died he was 44, Tisdale was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association and a smooth jazz bass guitarist. A three-time All American at the University of Oklahoma,[1] he was elected to the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009.[2]
(June 9, 1964 – May 15, 2009)
Tisdale was born in Fort Worth, Texas.[1] His father, Louis Tisdale, was a well-known pastor in Tulsa, Oklahoma, serving for 21 years as senior pastor of Friendship Church;[3] after his death in 1997, the former Osage Expressway in Tulsa was named L. L. Tisdale Parkway in his honor.[4] Wayman's older brother Weldon has been pastor of the church since 1997.[5][6]
Growing up, Tisdale was not interested in basketball; when Weldon and another older brother, William, played pickup games in their yard, he usually quit before they finished, retreating to the family's sandbox. However, Tisdale began taking to the sport in the eighth grade when he first learned to dunk.[5]
He met his future wife Regina in April 1981 at church. At the time, they were juniors at different Tulsa high schools, and she did not know he was one of the most heavily-recruited basketball players in the country.[5]
Tisdale called music his "first love". He learned to play music by watching Elvis Presley; he never took any lessons, never knew what key any of the pieces he played is written in, or even the names of the notes. Throughout his youth, continuing through his college basketball career, he played bass guitar at his father's church.
Music and church were so important to Tisdale that after recruiting him to the University of Oklahoma, Sooners head coach Billy Tubbs changed the team's practice schedule to accommodate Tisdale, moving the team's Sunday practice from the morning to the evening to allow him to play in the Sooners' band and at morning services in his father's church in Tulsa.[5]


Tisdale graduated from Booker T. Washington High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he grew up. As a college player at Oklahoma from 1983 to 1985, he was a three-time Big Eight Conference Player of the Year and the first player in collegiate history to be named a first-team All American by the Associated Press in his freshman, sophomore, and junior seasons.[7] He still holds the record at Oklahoma for the most points scored by any player through his freshman and sophomore seasons. He won a gold medal as a member of the 1984 U.S. Olympic basketball team coached by Indiana University's Bobby Knight, and the Indiana Pacers made Tisdale the second overall pick in the 1985 NBA Draft.
As a center and power forward, Tisdale averaged over 15 points and six rebounds per game in a 12-season professional career with the Indiana Pacers, Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns. His best season was in 1989–90 with the Kings, when he averaged 22.3 points and 7.5 rebounds a game. Tisdale and Mitch "The Rock" Richmond combined to form one of the most dynamic duos in the NBA. In 1997, Tisdale retired to focus on his musical career.
In 1997, Tisdale became the first player in any sport to have his jersey number (23) retired by the University of Oklahoma.[8] When Blake Griffin was granted permission to wear it during his career at OU (2007–2009), he sought and received Tisdale's blessing before accepting it.



Wayman Tisdale and Dave Koz at the Dave Koz & Friends Smooth Jazz Cruise 2006.
Tisdale launched his music career with Power Forward in 1995 on the Motown Label. Primarily a bass player, he recorded eight albums, with the 2001 release Face to Face climbing to No. 1 on Billboard's contemporary jazz chart.[9] In 2002, he was awarded the Legacy Tribute Award by the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame. In an ESPN internet chat, Tisdale said his musical influences include funk bands of the 1970s.[10] His most recent release, Rebound, was written and released after he had been diagnosed with cancer.
Tisdale was well known for his optimistic outlook.[5] Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry appointed him to be a member of the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Commission in 2003.[2][11]


In March 2007, Tisdale underwent treatment for cancer in his knee (osteosarcoma), which was discovered after he fell down a flight of stairs in his home on February 8, and broke his leg.[12] In May, Tisdale announced on his website that he was recovering from a procedure to remove the cyst, and expected to recover 100%.[13] He and Regina agreed not to tell their children about his diagnosis until the fall of that year, when the entire family was together (their oldest daughter lives in Atlanta and their second-oldest was attending college at the time). However, the first round of chemotherapy was unsuccessful, leading to a second round. As Tisdale recalled later, "The doctor had never given anyone chemo that was my size. They just calculated how much chemo to give me and said, 'We hope it doesn't mess up your kidneys. If it does, sorry."[5] He drew on some of the challenges he faced during his basketball career to battle the disease, specifically recalling, "I had some coaches that literally didn't want me to make it, and one in particular was Bobby Knight. At the time, I frowned on that … I look at it today that had I not persevered through a lot of the stuff he put me through, I probably wouldn't be here today. I thank God for that dude because he pushed me."[5]
In August 2008, Tisdale had part of his right leg amputated because of the bone cancer.[12] On his web site, Tisdale said removing a portion of the leg would be the best way to ensure that the cancer would not return.[14] In a video message at halftime of a September 28 Sooners' football game, Tisdale affirmed he was doing well and that he was at peace following the operation.[15]
Shortly after the operation, he was fitted for a prosthesis. Scott Sabolich, the clinical director, said that in his 21-year career, he had never created a prosthesis as large as the one he had to design for Tisdale. At the same time, Sabolich noted that it typically takes a new amputee from three to six months to acclimate to a prosthesis, while it took Tisdale a month. He proved to be equally quick in learning to walk on his new limb; a physical therapist Tisdale has been working with in Tulsa said that he was months ahead of a typical patient in that respect. Tisdale's experience led him to establish the Wayman Tisdale Foundation to raise funds to help amputees with the prosthetic process, which is not always covered by health insurance.[5]
In April 2009, Tisdale accepted an award from the Greenwood Cultural Center in Tulsa, and then set off on a 21-date national concert tour.[16]


Tisdale died at age 44 on the morning of May 15, 2009 at St. John Medical Center in Tulsa, where his wife had taken him when he had trouble breathing. Tisdale's agent described his death as a "great shock" and noted that Tisdale had been planning to go into the recording studio the following week for a project with jazz guitarist Norman Brown.[17] As yet, it is unconfirmed whether his death was related to his battle with cancer.[1][18] Tisdale and his wife Regina had four children.[1]
On May 21, 2009, 4,000 mourners attended Tisdale's memorial service at the BOK Center in Tulsa.[19]

Discography
Power Forward (1995)
In The Zone (1996)
Decisions (1998)
Face to Face (2001)
Presents 21 Days (2003)
Hang Time (2004)
Way Up! (2006)
Rebound (2008)


Wayman Tisdale - Let's Do It Again

Koko Taylor died she was 80



Cora Walton died she was 80. Ofcourse the world knew Cora as Koko Taylor, Taylor was an American blues musician, popularly known as the "Queen of the Blues." She was known primarily for her rough powerful vocals and traditional blues stylings.

September 28, 1928 – June 3, 2009

Born in Shelby County, Tennessee, Taylor left Memphis for Chicago, Illinois in 1952 with her husband, truck driver Robert "Pops" Taylor. In the late 1950s she began singing in Chicago blues clubs. She was spotted by Willie Dixon in 1962, and this led to wider performances and her first recording contract. In 1965, Taylor was signed by Chess Records, for which her single "Wang Dang Doodle" (written by Dixon, and a hit for Howlin' Wolf five years earlier) became a major hit, reaching number four on the R&B charts in 1966, and selling a million copies. Taylor recorded many versions of this Dixon-penned song over the past few decades and has added more material, both original and covers, but never repeated that initial chart success.

National touring in the late 1960s and early 1970s improved her fan base, and she became accessible to a wider record-buying public when she signed with Alligator Records in 1975. She recorded nine albums for Alligator, 8 of which were Grammy-nominated), and come to dominate the female blues singer ranks, winning twenty five W. C. Handy Awards (more than any other artist). After her recovery from a near-fatal car crash in 1989, the 1990s found Taylor in films such as Blues Brothers 2000, and she opened a blues club on Division St. in Chicago in 1994, but it closed in 1999.

Taylor influenced musicians such as Bonnie Raitt, Shemekia Copeland, Janis Joplin, Shannon Curfman, and Susan Tedeschi. In the years prior to her death, she performed over 70 concerts a year and resided just south of Chicago in Country Club Hills, Illinois.

In 2008, the Internal Revenue Service said that Taylor owed $400,000 in back taxes, penalties and interest. Her tax problems concerned 1998, 2000 and 2001; for those years combined, her adjusted gross income was $949,000.[2]

Taylor died on June 3, 2009, after complications from a surgery for gastrointestinal bleeding on May 19, 2009. Her final performance was at the Blues Music Awards, on May 7, 2009.


Awards
Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album - 1985
Howlin' Wolf Award - 1996
Blues Hall of Fame - Inducted 1997
Blues Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award - 1999
NEA National Heritage Fellowship - 2004
Blues Music Award (formerly the W. C. Handy Award) - 24 times, including the following categories:
Contemporary Blues Female Artist
Entertainer of the Year
Female Artist
Traditional Blues Female Artist
Vocalist of the Year
At age 76 in 2004, she appeared as a special guest with Taj Mahal on an episode of Arthur.
At age 80 in 2008, she appeared as a special guest with Umphrey's McGee at their New Year's Eve performance at the Auditorium Theater in Chicago, IL.

Love You Like a Woman (Charly Records) - November 30, 1968
Koko Taylor (MCA/Chess) - 1969
Basic Soul (Chess) - 1972
South Side Lady (Evidence Records) - 1973
I Got What It Takes (Alligator) - 1975
Southside Baby (Black & Blue) - 1975
The Earthshaker (Alligator) - 1978
From The Heart Of A Woman (Alligator) - 1981
Queen of the Blues (Alligator) - 1985
An Audience with Koko Taylor (Alligator) - 1987
Live from Chicago (Alligator) - 1987
Love You Like a Woman (Charly Records) - November 30, 1968
Wang Dang Doodle (Huub Records) - 1991
Jump for Joy (Alligator) - 1992
Force of Nature (Alligator) - 1993
Royal Blue (Alligator) - 2000
Deluxe Edition (Alligator) - 2002
Old School (Alligator) - 2007

Koko Taylor ft. Little Walter - Wang Dang Doodle




Koko Taylor, "Voodoo Woman"


Saturday, May 9, 2009

NBA, Olympic coach Chuck Daly dies at 78

Charles Jerome "Chuck" Daly died. Daly was an American basketball head coach. He is famous for coaching the Detroit Pistons for nine years, winning consecutive NBA championships in 1989 and 1990, and for coaching the gold medal-winning basketball Dream Team in the 1992 Summer Olympics. During his 14-year NBA career, Daly also coached the Cleveland Cavaliers, New Jersey Nets and Orlando Magic. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame on May 9, 1994. (July 20, 1930 - May 9, 2009[1])
The Detroit Pistons, a club that had never recorded back-to-back winning seasons, hired Chuck Daly in 1983. The Pistons got into the playoffs every year he was there and reached the NBA finals three years in a row, winning two consecutive championships, in 1989 and 1990. Daly, who retired from coaching the first time, after the 1993-94 season with the New Jersey Nets, coached a total of 14 NBA seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, New Jersey Nets and Orlando Magic. He compiled a 564-379 (.598) career record, 13th best among all coaches and ninth best by percentage. On the combined NBA/ABA victory list, Daly's 564 wins places him 17th all-time. His 74-48 playoff record, which includes back-to-back NBA championships ranks fourth best in NBA history by wins and eighth best by percentage (.607). He is the only Hall of Fame coach to win both an NBA championship and an Olympic gold medal. In the strictest sense, Chuck Daly is a player's coach. His success at all levels of competition has been built around taking diverse personalities and creating a harmonious, successful team. Daly had started his coaching career at Punxsutawney High School, the home of the famous ground hog Phil, in Pennsylvania. He was a high school coach for seven years, then became an assistant at Duke University. He spent two years as head coach at Boston College, before going to the University of Pennsylvania in 1971. Daly guided Penn to four Ivy League championships and two second-place finishes in six years. He compiled a 151-62 record in eight college seasons, including four straight 20-win seasons at Penn. He died Saturday morning in Jupiter, Fla., with his family by his side, the Pistons said. The team announced in March the Hall of Fame coach was being treated for pancreatic cancer.
In 1978, Daly joined the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers as an assistant coach. During the 1981 season, he was hired as head coach by the Cleveland Cavaliers, but was fired before the season ended. He then returned to the 76ers as a broadcaster until he was hired in 83' by the Pistons. He gained worldwide notoriety as coach of the famed Olympic Dream Team, but long before Barcelona and the gold medal, Daly had established himself as one of the game's premier coaches. Daly was coach of the U. S. "Dream Team" that swept to an easy gold medal at the 1992 Olympics. He had resigned from the Detroit job and was hired by the NBA's New Jersey Nets that fall. After two seasons with the Nets, Daly retired. However, he returned to coaching in 1997 with the Orlando Magic. Daly spent two more seasons in Orlando before retiring permanently at the end of the 1998-99 season.

Daly died of pancreatic cancer on May 9, 2009. He had been diagnosed with the disease the previous March.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Dominick "Dom" DeLuise died he was 75

Dominick "Dom" DeLuise died he was 75. DeLuise was an American actor, comedian, film director, television producer, and chef. He was the husband of actress Carol Arthur, and the father of actor, writer, director Peter DeLuise, and actors David DeLuise and Michael DeLuise.
(August 1, 1933 – May 4, 2009)

DeLuise was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Italian American parents Vincenza "Jennie" (née DeStefano), a homemaker, and John DeLuise, who was a civil servant. DeLuise graduated from Manhattan's High School of Performing Arts. He later attended Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts.


DeLuise generally appeared in comedic parts, although an early appearance (in the movie Fail-Safe as a nervous enlisted airman) showed a possible broader range. His first acting credit was as a regular performer in the television show The Entertainers in 1964. In the 1970s and 1980s, he often co-starred with Burt Reynolds; together they appeared in the films The Cannonball Run and Cannonball Run II, Smokey and the Bandit II, The End, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas and All Dogs Go to Heaven. DeLuise was the host of the television show Candid Camera from 1991 to 1992.

TV producer Greg Garrison hired DeLuise to appear as a specialty act on the popular Dean Martin show. DeLuise ran through his "Dominick the Great" routine, a riotous example of a magic act gone wrong, with host Martin as a bemused volunteer from the audience. Dom's catch phrase in broken Italian dialect, No Applause Necessary, Sava to the End. The show went so well that DeLuise was soon a regular on Martin's program, participating in both songs and sketches. Garrison also featured DeLuise in his own hour-long comedy specials for ABC. (Martin was often just off-camera when these were taped, and his distinctive laugh can be heard loud and clear.)

DeLuise was probably best known as a regular in Mel Brooks's films. He appeared in The Twelve Chairs, Blazing Saddles, Silent Movie, History of the World, Part I, Spaceballs & Robin Hood: Men in Tights. In Silent Movie (1976), Brooks plays a film director and his strange friends, DeLuise (as "Dom Bell") and Marty Feldman, struggle to produce the first major silent film in forty years. Brooks' late wife, actress Anne Bancroft, directed Dom in Fatso (1980). He also had a cameo in Johnny Dangerously as the Pope, and in Jim Henson's The Muppet Movie as a wayward Hollywood talent agent who comes across Kermit the Frog singing "The Rainbow Connection" in the film's opening scene.



DeLuise exhibited his comedic talents while playing the speaking part of the jailer Frosch in the comedic operetta Die Fledermaus at the Metropolitan Opera. In the production, while the singing was in German, the spoken parts were in English.

An avid cook and author of several books on cooking, in recent years he appeared as a regular contributor to a syndicated home improvement radio show, On The House with The Carey Brothers, giving listeners tips on culinary topics. He also wrote several children's books.



DeLuise died in his sleep around 6 p.m. on May 4, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. He was hospitalized at the time, suffering from kidney failure and respiratory problems.DeLuise was 75 years old.

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Sunday, April 26, 2009

Beatrice Arthur died she was 86

Beatrice Arthur
Beatrice "Bea" Arthur died she was 86. Arthur was an American comedian, actress, and singer. In a career spanning seven decades, Arthur achieved success as the title character, Maude Findlay, on the 1970s sitcom Maude, and as Dorothy Zbornak on the 1980s sitcom The Golden Girls; she won Emmys for both roles.




(May 13, 1922 – April 25, 2009)



Arthur was born Bernice Frankel to Philip and Rebecca Frankel in New York City on May 13, 1922.[2] Her family soon moved to Maryland where her parents operated a women's clothing shop. She attended the now-defunct Blackstone College in Blackstone, Virginia where she was active in drama productions.

Arthur began her acting career as a member of an off Broadway theater group at the Cherry Lane Theatre in New York City in the late 1940s. On stage, her roles included "Lucy Brown" in the 1954 Off-Broadway premiere of Marc Blitzstein's English-language adaptation of Kurt Weill's Threepenny Opera, "Yente the Matchmaker" in the 1964 premiere of Fiddler on the Roof on Broadway, and a 1966 Tony Award-winning portrayal of "Vera Charles" to Angela Lansbury's Mame. She reprised the role in the 1974 film version opposite Lucille Ball. In 1981, she appeared in Woody Allen's The Floating Lightbulb.[3]



In 1972, Arthur was cast as the title character in the television series Maude. She played Maude Findlay, an outspoken liberal living in the affluent community of Tuckahoe, Westchester County, New York, with her husband, Walter (Bill Macy) and divorced daughter Carol (Adrienne Barbeau). The show was a spin-off from All in the Family, on which Arthur had appeared a couple of times in the same role, playing Edith Bunker's cousin, a feminist, and antithesis to the bigoted, conservative Archie Bunker, who described Maude as a "New Deal fanatic". Her role garnered several Emmy and Golden Globe nominations, including her Emmy win in 1977 for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.

In 1978, she costarred in the poorly-received The Star Wars Holiday Special, in which she had a song and dance routine in the Mos Eisley Cantina.

After appearing in the short-lived 1983 sitcom Amanda's (an unsuccessful U.S. version of the British hit series Fawlty Towers), Arthur was cast in the hit sitcom The Golden Girls in 1985, in which she played Dorothy Zbornak, a divorced substitute teacher living in a Miami house owned by Blanche Devereaux (Rue McClanahan). Her other roommates included widow Rose Nylund (Betty White) and Dorothy's Sicilian mother, Sophia Petrillo (Estelle Getty). Getty was actually a year younger than Arthur in real life, and was heavily made up to look significantly older. Arthur's character, Dorothy, had a caustic sense of humor and was prone to making witty and sarcastic wisecracks. The series was a huge hit, remaining a top ten ratings fixture for six seasons. Her performance led to several Emmy nominations over the course of the series and an Emmy win in 1988. Arthur decided to leave the show after seven years and in 1992, the show was moved from NBC to CBS and retooled as The Golden Palace in which the other three actresses reprised their roles. Arthur made a guest appearance in a two-part episode, but the show only lasted for one season before it was cancelled.


After Arthur left The Golden Girls, she made several guest appearances on television shows and even organized and toured with her one-woman show. She made a guest appearance on the American cartoon Futurama, in the Emmy-nominated episode, "Amazon Women in the Mood", as the voice of the Femputer who ruled the giant Amazonian women. She also appeared in an episode of Malcolm in the Middle as Dewey's babysitter. She was nominated for a guest-star Emmy for her performance. She also showed up as Larry David's mother on Curb Your Enthusiasm.

In 2002, she returned to Broadway starring in Bea Arthur on Broadway: Just Between Friends, a collection of stories and songs (with musician Billy Goldenberg) based on her life and career. The show was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Special Theatrical Event, but lost to Elaine Stritch: At Liberty.

In 2005, she participated in the Comedy Central roast of Pamela Anderson, delivering a deadpan reading of excerpts from Pamela's book Star: The Novel, most notably the part that describes receiving sodomy-related advice.


Arthur was inducted into Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame in 2008.[4] On June 8, 2008, The Golden Girls was awarded the Pop Culture award at the Sixth Annual TV Land Awards. Arthur accepted the award with co-stars Rue McClanahan and Betty White.[5]


Influences
In 1999, Arthur told an interviewer of the three influences in her career: "Sid Caesar taught me the outrageous; [method acting guru] Lee Strasberg taught me what I call reality; and [the original Threepenny Opera star], Lotte Lenya, whom I adored, taught me economy."[6]


Older picture of Beatrice ARthurArthur was married twice, first to Robert Alan Aurthur, a screenwriter, television, and film producer and director, whose surname she took and kept though with a modified spelling, and second to director Gene Saks from 1950 to 1978 with whom she adopted two sons, Matthew (born July 14, 1961), an actor, and Daniel (born May 8, 1964), a set designer.

She primarily lived in the Greater Los Angeles Area and had sublet her apartment on Central Park West in New York City and her country home in Bedford, New York.


According to her spokesman, Dan Watt, Beatrice Arthur died peacefully at her home in the Greater Los Angeles Area in the early morning hours of April 25, 2009, aged 86. She had been suffering from cancer, but Watt declined to go into specific details.[7][6][8]

In addition to her sons, she is survived by a sister who lives in Montreal, Quebec, and two granddaughters.

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Thursday, April 9, 2009

Nick Adenhart Angels pitcher died in crash he was 22

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Los Angeles Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart and two other people were killed early Thursday by a suspected drunk driver just hours after the rookie made his first start of the season.
The Angels postponed Thursday night's game with Oakland, and players planned to gather to remember their teammate, manager Mike Scioscia said.
About Adenhart
Nick Adenhart was selected by the Angels in the 14th round of the 2004 draft. At the time of his death, he was the youngest pitcher on a big league roster.• Age: 22 (born Aug. 24, 1986)• MLB debut: May 1, 2008• Career MLB record: 1-0 (4 starts)• Career minor league record: 37-28
"It is a tragedy that will never be forgotten," he said at an Angel Stadium news conference.
Adenhart, 22, from Silver Spring, Md., was a passenger in a silver Mitsubishi Eclipse that was broadsided in an intersection in neighboring Fullerton at about 12:30 a.m. local time by a minivan that apparently ran a red light, police said.
The impact spun around both vehicles, and one then struck a third car, but that driver was not hurt, police said.
The minivan driver fled the crash scene on foot and was captured a half-hour later. Police identified him as Andrew Thomas Gallo, 22, of Riverside, and said he had a suspended license because of a previous drunken driving conviction.
Preliminary results indicated Gallo's blood-alcohol level was above the legal limit, police Lt. Kevin Hamilton said, adding that Gallo could face charges including vehicular manslaughter or possibly murder.
Adenhart died in surgery at the University of California, Irvine Medical Center. A 27-year-old man in the car and the driver, 20-year-old Courtney Frances Stewart of Diamond Bar, were pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
The Herd with Colin Cowherd

Steve Phillips says the death of a player during the season can derail a locker room and explains how the Angles will try to pull things together.
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The Angels said no other members of their organization were involved in the accident. A 24-year-old man who was in the same car as the three killed remained hospitalized in critical condition, police said.
Stewart's mother said her daughter and Adenhart had known each other since last season but were not dating as far as she knew, Hamilton said.
The mother said Adenhart and the others had gone dancing at a club about a block away from the crash site, although the crash scene appeared to indicate the car was heading in the direction of the club, Hamilton said.
Stewart died in the crash, along with another occupant of Adenhart's car, Henry Pearson. According to friends of Adenhart at Cal State Fullerton, Pearson was a law student who wanted to be a sports agent. The fourth occupant, Jon Wilhite, survived the wreck. Wilhite is a former catcher for the Cal State Fullerton Titans.
The Los Angeles Times identified the third person killed as Henry Pearson, and the car's lone survivor as Jon Wilhite, a former catcher for the Cal State Fullerton Titans.
A 21-year-old passenger in the van driven by Gallo was treated for minor injuries, police said.
Fans, some wearing Angels shirts or carrying flowers, gathered at the intersection Thursday, and a shrine of flowers and stuffed animals had started growing outside the entrance to Angel Stadium.
Adenhart's death came just hours after he made his fourth major league start, throwing six scoreless innings in Wednesday night's loss to Oakland.
[+] Enlarge
AP Photo/Nick UtNick Adenhart was a passenger in the Mitsubishi that was broadsided; two others were killed, and a fourth is in critical condition.
Adenhart's father, Jim, had flown out from Baltimore to watch the game.
"He summoned his father the day before and he said, 'You better come here because something special's gonna happen,' " said Adenhart's agent, Scott Boras.
After the game, "he was so elated ... he felt like a major leaguer," Boras said, weeping.
Adenhart also is survived by his mother, Janet.
"He lived his dream and was blessed to be part of an organization comprised of such warm, caring, and compassionate people," the family said in a statement issued through the team.
"The Angels were his extended family. Thanks to all of Nick's loyal supporters and fans throughout his career. He will always be in everyone's hearts forever."
The Major League Baseball Players Association said its members were shaken and saddened about the accident.
"Just hours before the accident, Nick demonstrated his passion for baseball and his prospects for a very bright future when he pitched six scoreless innings for the Angels," the association said in a statement.

He had his whole life ahead of him. He's only 22, he's still a kid. He was a great kid, he was funny, he was very popular in the clubhouse and off the field. People loved him. ” -- Angels outfielder Torii Hunter
Adenhart was the Angels' No. 3 starter. Adenhart struggled with a 9.00 ERA in three starts with the Angels last season, but Scioscia said last month the pitcher had worked hard during the winter and arrived at spring training with a purpose.
Angels outfielder Torii Hunter was sleeping when his wife called him, asking whether the news was true. Hunter immediately called the Angels' team trainer, who confirmed that Adenhart had been killed.
"I'm in shock right now," Hunter said. "He just pitched last night. It doesn't seem like this is happening.
"This is real life. This isn't about baseball. This is his whole life, he had his whole life ahead of him. He's only 22, he's still a kid. He was a great kid, he was funny, he was very popular in the clubhouse and off the field. People loved him."
Adenhart, a 6-foot-3, 185-pounder from Silver Springs, Md., was a 14th-round pick in the 2004 draft, and made his major league debut on May 1, 2008, also against the Athletics.
He made two other major league starts, getting his only decision in a victory over the Chicago White Sox on May 12. He was 37-28 in the minor leagues from 2005 to 2008, including 9-13 last year at Triple-A Salt Lake.
The Salt Lake Bees game Thursday night also was postponed.
[+] Enlarge
Courtesy Fullerton Police DepartmentPolice apprehended Andrew Gallo half an hour after he fled the scene of the crash.
He got his break this year with a good spring training and the fact the team needed help in the starting rotation, with John Lackey, Ervin Santana and Kelvim Escobar all starting on the disabled list.
Adenhart also was a member of the 2006 national team that qualified the United States for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He started one game for Team USA during qualifiers, held in Cuba, earning a no-decision and striking out six batters in an 8-7 win over Brazil.
"One of the highlights of managing for USA Baseball is the opportunity to work with bright, young players who are eager to learn the game. Nick embodied all of those attributes," Davey Johnson, manager of the 2006 team, said. "He was a joy to manage in Cuba and was a key contributor to our success there. This is such a tragedy -- his career was just getting started."
Information from ESPN.com's

Monday, April 6, 2009

Steven Bach died he was 70


Steven Bach [1][2] was senior vice-president and head of worldwide productions for United Artists studios. In Final Cut (1985), Bach chronicles his involvement in the troubled production of Heaven's Gate (1980), a film widely considered to have been the decisive reason for the financial bankruptcy of United Artists.
Bach is the author of The Life and Legend of Marlene Dietrich and Dazzler: The Life and Times of Moss Hart. He taught film studies at Columbia University and Bennington College.

(April 29, 1938 – March 25, 2009)
His biography of the Nazi-associated filmmaker Leni: The Life and Work of Leni Riefenstahl (2007) overturns many of the claims Riefenstahl put forward in her self-defence regarding her contact with Hitler's regime, and was named by the New York Times as one of the most notable books of 2007.
Bach died after a brief illness in March of 2009. He was survived by his companion, Werner Röhr.[1]

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...