Harlan Erwin Mitchell, American politician, U.S. Representative from Georgia (1958–1961), died he was 87.

Harlan Erwin Mitchell, Sr. was a United States Representative from Georgia died he was 87..

(August 17, 1924 – September 13, 2011) 

Mitchell was born in Dalton, Georgia and attended the Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina. From 1943 through 1946, he served as a first lieutenant in the United States Army Air Corps. He also served in the United States Air Force in 1951 and 1952.
Between his years of service in the two military branches, Mitchell attended the University of Georgia School of Law in Athens and earned LL.B. in 1948. He was admitted to the bar on April 17, 1948, and practiced law in Dalton.
Mitchell served as the Cherokee Judicial Circuit solicitor general from January 1, 1953, until December 31, 1956 and as a judge in that circuit's Superior Court from January 1, 1957, until January 8, 1958. Upon the 1957 death of U.S. Representative Henderson Lovelace Lanham from the Georgia's 7th congressional district, Mitchell ran as a Democrat and won the special election to fill Lanham's term in the 85th United States Congress. He won re-election in 1958 and did not seek re-election in 1960. Mitchell was elected to the Georgia State Senate in 1960 and served for one full term. After his political service, Mitchell returned to his law practice in Dalton and resided there until his death on September 13, 2011 at the age of 87.
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John Parke, Northern Irish footballer (Linfield, Hibernian, Sunderland, Northern Ireland), died from Alzheimer's disease at 74.

John Parke was a Northern Irish association football player who played for Linfield, Hibernian, Sunderland, KV Mechelen and the Northern Ireland national football team as a full back died from Alzheimer's disease at 74..

(6 August 1937 – 27 August 2011)

Club career

He started his professional footballing career in his native Northern Ireland with Cliftonville before joining their rivals Linfield in 1954.^[1] Having been a key player in the club's 'Seven Trophy' season of 1961/62, he moved to Scotland with Hibernian in 1963 where he made 23 appearances, scoring no goals and moved to Sunderland in 1964.^[1] Parke made his debut for Sunderland on 21 November 1964 against Sheffield United in a 3–0 defeat at Bramall Lane.^[2] He went on to make 85 league appearances for the club.^[3] He joined Belgian club KV Mechelen before retiring in 1968.^[1]

International career

He won his first cap for Northern Ireland on 12 November 1963 in a 2–1 win against Scotland. He went on to make a further 13 caps for his country, making it a total of 14 caps, with 0 goals.^[1]



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N. F. Simpson, British dramatis, died at 92.

Norman Frederick Simpson was an English playwright closely associated with the Theatre of the Absurd died he was 92. To his friends he was known as Wally Simpson, in comic reference to the abdication crisis of 1936.

(29 January 1919 – 27 August 2011)

  Early years

Born in London, Simpson studied at Emanuel School before taking a job as a bank clerk. During the Second World War war he served in the Royal Artillery and Intelligence Corps, travelling to Italy, Palestine and Cyprus. Following studies at Birkbeck College for a degree in English Literature from the University of London after the war,^[2] but Simpson taught English in adult education for almost 20 years.^[3]

Theatre debut

The turning point in Simpson’s life came in 1957 when he won third prize in The Observer newspaper’s quest for new writers, headed by theatre critic Kenneth Tynan.^[4] A Resounding Tinkle premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, London on 1 December 1957 with Nigel Davenport as Bro Paradock and Wendy Craig as Middie Paradock. Under pressure from Tony Richardson,^[5] Simpson, to his regret, truncated the play to a 50-minute one-act piece. In 1959 the first complete production of the two-act version was performed by the Cambridge Theatre Actors, under the direction of John Bird with Peter Cook in the leading role.^[6] The Royal Court belatedly staged a full rendition on 17 January 2006.

Style

A Resounding Tinkle typifies Simpson’s aversion to plot and establishes his talent for memorable one-liners and non-sequiturs. As with all of his subsequent work, the play demands absolutely straight delivery from actors. Such an approach fosters a conviction within the audience that the characters are living in a form of reality, where the formation of a government can be arranged via door-to-door enquiries. The extraordinary and impossible are treated as perfectly rational everyday events. This comic balance is recognised as a major influence on the early work of Peter Cook, particularly the E. L. Wisty monologues.
Many comparisons have been drawn to the work of key absurdist playwright Eugène Ionesco. However, Simpson denies any link, adding that he had never even heard of the writer when he commenced a career in nonsense. In his own view, the valid literary parallels are with Lewis Carroll, James Thurber and P. G. Wodehouse.^[7]
Simpson’s early work must also be viewed in its cultural context. BBC Radio’s The Goon Show was widely admired, bringing surrealism to the masses for the first time. Plays such as A Resounding Tinkle arguably gentrified the idiom for London’s theatregoers, and with them the highbrow elite.

Theatre career

A close relationship between Simpson and the Royal Court continued after Tinkle, encompassing the plays The Hole (1958), his key work One Way Pendulum (1959) and The Cresta Run (1965). He wrote The Form (1961) for the Arts Theatre, and contributed to the West End revues One To Another (1959), One Over The Eight (1961) and On The Avenue (1961), which variously involved Peter Cook, John Mortimer, Harold Pinter, Beryl Reid and Kenneth Williams.
Following a long break from substantial theatre writing, Simpson returned to the Royal Court in 1972 with Was He Anyone?, which formed the basis of Harry Bleachbaker, a novel published in 1976.
In November 1976, Simpson was appointed Literary Manager of the English Stage Company at the Royal Court.^[8] Having supported new work by Barrie Keefe, Sam Shepard and Snoo Wilson, he left in April 1978,^[9] returning to theatre for an Eduardo De Filippo translation, Inner Voices, at the National Theatre in 1983.

Radio

The BBC were at first resistant to the new wave of English playwrights that emerged in the late 1950s. Simpson’s A Resounding Tinkle and The Hole were both rejected by the radio network controller in November 1959.^[10] Tinkle was eventually broadcast on the BBC Third Programme in July 1960, in its one-act form with Deryck Guyler and Alison Leggatt as the Paradocks.
That year saw Simpson’s first radio commission, a sketch for the BBC Home Service’s weekly revue Monday Night At Home. Cold feet amongst the production team caused it to be dropped before transmission.^[11] Subsequently Simpson’s radio work rarely strayed from the confines of the Third Programme, most notably the 1982 monologues Snippets, read by Richard Vernon.

Film and television

The Theatre of the Absurd arrived on television in 1961, with productions of Simpson plays on both British networks. BBC TV produced a live performance of One Way Pendulum, now lost, whilst Granada mounted a shortened version of A Resounding Tinkle for ITV.
He was invited to contribute to BBC TV’s That Was The Week That Was, although his sketch, ‘Televising Parliament’, was dropped due to overruns in the live transmission on 16 November 1963.^[12] and has never surfaced.
Hot on the heels of his Summer Holiday success, director Peter Yates agreed to shoot Simpson’s most celebrated stage play, One Way Pendulum, for release in 1964. Starring Eric Sykes, George Cole and a mute Jonathan Miller, Yates’ rendition of the play captured Simpson’s matter-of-fact approach to nonsense but failed at the box office.
As the BBC’s Acting Assistant Head of Light Entertainment, Frank Muir invited Simpson to write for BBC2 in 1965.^[13] The central characters of Tinkle were expanded into seven half-hours of Three Rousing Tinkles (1966) and Four Tall Tinkles (1967), featuring Edwin Apps^[14] and Pauline Devaney^[15] as Bro and Middie. He followed this with World in Ferment (1969), a six-part parody of current affairs programming starring John Bird, Eleanor Bron, Jack Shepherd and Angela Thorne. His final series for television was the unsuccessful Charley’s Grants (1970), co-written with John Fortune and John Wells, starring Hattie Jacques, and produced by Ian MacNaughton, the producer of Monty Python’s Flying Circus.
Plays followed, including a satire on advertising, Thank You Very Much (1971), and an effective three-hander for ITV, Silver Wedding (1974), directed by Mike Newell. Simpson’s highest-profile production for television was Elementary, My Dear Watson (1973), a Sherlock Holmes parody for BBC One’s Comedy Playhouse starring John Cleese and Willie Rushton. It has been screened several times at the National Film Theatre in London.
It is frequently argued that Simpson’s work operates better in small doses, so it is natural that he should have produced so much sketch material for television. World in Ferment lent towards this strength, and his skilful monologues for women were seen again in But Seriously – It’s Sheila Hancock (1972). Other vehicles included Ned Sherrin’s A Rather Reassuring Programme (1977), Beryl Reid Says… Good Evening (1968) and The Dick Emery Show (1977–1980).

Later activities

Simpson lived in Cornwall in later life.
A radio documentary about his life and work, Reality is an Illusion Caused by Lack of N. F. Simpson, produced by Curtains For Radio on BBC Radio 4 on 5 April 2007, featured contributions from Eleanor Bron, Jonathan Coe, John Fortune, Sir Jonathan Miller, Sir John Mortimer, David Nobbs, Ned Sherrin, Eric Sykes and Simpson himself.
It featured material recorded at a workshop for a new play, If So, Then Yes, his first full-length piece in 30 years. The Royal Court presented a rehearsed reading on 11 July 2007. The script was published in February 2009. The production made its world premiere at the Jermyn Street Theatre in September, 2010, featuring actor Roddy Maude-Roxby, who appeared in the 1959 production of Simpson's play, One Way Pendulum, at the Royal Court Theatre.
Absurdia, a grouping of short plays by Simpson and Michael Frayn ran at the The Donmar Warehouse from July to September 2007. The short version of A Resounding Tinkle and the sketch Gladly Otherwise were directed by Douglas Hodge and starred Peter Capaldi. Both scripts were republished by Faber to mark this revival.
A London revival of Was He Anyone? was staged at the Union Theatre during November 2007 by Oblique House.
A comprehensive season of Simpson's work for the screen – both silver and small – took place at BFI Southbank during May 2008.
If So, Then Yes premiered at the Jermyn Street Theatre, London, running from 7 September – 2 October 2010.

Theatre

• A Resounding Tinkle (1957)

• The Hole (1958)

• One To Another [sketch writer] (1959)

• One Way Pendulum – A Farce in a New Dimension (1959)

• The Form (1961)

• On The Avenue [sketch writer] (1961)

• One Over The Eight [sketch writer] (1961)

• The Cresta Run (1965)

• How Are Your Handles? [sketches old and new] (1970)

• Playback 625 [with Leopoldo Maler] (1970)

• The Bear by Anton Chekhov [adaptation] (1972)

• Was He Anyone? (1972)

• Whither the Ancient Burial Mounds of Old New Brunswick (1978)

• Inner Voices by Eduardo De Filippo [adaptation] (1983)

• One Way Pendulum [revival by Jonathan Miller] (1988)

• Royal Court 50: A Resounding Tinkle (2006)

• If So, Then Yes [reading at Royal Court Theatre] (2007)

• Absurdia: A Resounding Tinkle [revival by Douglas Hodge] (2007)

• Was He Anyone? [revival at Union Theatre] (2007)

• If So, Then Yes [premiere at Jermyn Street Theatre] (2010)

Radio

• A Resounding Tinkle [one-act play] (1960)

• Something Rather Effective [play] (1972)

• Sketches for Radio [sketches] (1974)

• Whither the Ancient Burial Mounds of Old New Brunswick (1979)

• The Parrot Cage Inspector [monologue] (1982)

• Snippets [monologue] (1982)

• Snippets Two [series] (1982)

Television

• One Way Pendulum (1961)

• A Resounding Tinkle [for Television Playhouse] (1961)

• Uhu… Huh? [sketches for Canadian television] (1965)

• 'Make-A-Man, or The Human Being: Is It Obsolete?' [for New Release] (1966)

• Three Rousing Tinkles [series] (1966)

• Four Tall Tinkles [series] (1967)

• Beryl Reid Says… Good Evening [sketches] (1968)

• World in Ferment [series] (1969)

• Charley’s Grants [co-writer, with John Wells and John Fortune] (1970)

• Thank You Very Much [for Play For Today] (1971)

• But Seriously – It’s Sheila Hancock [sketch writer] (1972)

• 'People Ltd.' [for Full House] (1972)

• Elementary, My Dear Watson [for Comedy Playhouse] (1973)

• Silver Wedding [for Late Night Theatre] (1974)

• An Upward Fall [for Crown Court] (1977)

• The Dick Emery Show [sketch writer] (1977–1980)

• 'One Of Our St Bernard Dogs Is Missing' [poem, for Closedown] (1977)

• A Rather Reassuring Programme [sketch writer] (1977)

• Wainwright’s Law [scene writer for educational series] (1980)

Films

• One Way Pendulum [screenplay] (1964)
• Diamonds for Breakfast [contributing writer] (1968)

Recordings

• He’s Innocent of Watergate [sketch writer] (1974)

Publications

• A Resounding Tinkle [one-act] (1958)

• The Hole (1958)

• The Observer Plays [featuring two-act Tinkle] (1958)

• New English Dramatists [featuring two-act Tinkle] (1960)

• One Way Pendulum: A Farce in a New Dimension (1960)

• 'The Overcoat' [short story for Man About Town magazine, illustrated by Peter Blake] (1960)

• Sketches from One To Another (1960)

• 'The Strawlined Hydrant' [short story for Vogue magazine] (1960)

• The Form (1961)

• New Directions: Five One-Act Plays in the Modern Idiom [featuring one-act Tinkle] (1961)

• The Hole, and Other Plays & Sketches (1964)

• The Long and the Short and the Tall [featuring one-act Tinkle] (1964)

• The New British Drama [featuring One Way Pendulum] (1964)

• The Cresta Run (1966)

• A Resounding Tinkle [two-act] (1968)

• Some Tall Tinkles [selected television scripts] (1968)

• Was He Anyone? (1973)

• Harry Bleachbaker: A Novel (1976)

• Play Ten [featuring two short plays] (1977)

• Inner Voices by Eduardo De Filippo [translation] (1983)

• Snippets (2006)

• A Resounding Tinkle [two-act, also featuring 'Gladly Otherwise'] (2007)

• If So, Then Yes (2009)

Unproduced or unfinished works

• Crates [stage play] (1957)

• 'Out There By All Means But Not In Here If You Don’t Mind' [sketch] (1960)

• 'Televising Parliament' [sketch] (1963)

• A Seasonal Swing [television play] (pre-1965)

• The Consultant [television play] (1965)

• The Row [television play] (1965)

• Afternoon Tea (In A High-Ceilinged Room) [television play] (1975), [radio play] (1978)

• Napoli Milionaria by Eduardo De Filippo [translation, used as basis for Peter Tinniswood’s 1991 script produced at the National Theatre]

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Keith Tantlinger, American mechanical engineer and inventor, died at 92.

Keith Walton Tantlinger was a mechanical engineer and inventor whose inventions played a major role in globalization died he was at 92.. Working with Malcom McLean, who spearheaded the container ship revolution in the 1950s, Tantlinger developed much of the early technology that made modern container shipping possible. His designs included the corner casting and Twistlock systems found on every intermodal container, the spreader bar for automatic securing of containers lifted on and off ships, and the ship-shore container transfer apparatus for the first cellular container ship.^[2] In the course of his professional career, Tantlinger was granted 79 United States patents, all related to transportation equipment. Many of his patents related to commercial highway freight trailers and transit buses.

(March 22, 1919 – August 27, 2011) 

Life and career

Tantlinger was born in Orange, California, on March 22, 1919. He was educated the University of California, Berkeley, where he was awarded a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. During World War II, he worked for the Douglas Aircraft Company (later McDonnell Douglas), where he designed tools used to produce the B-17 bomber.^[2]
He married Marjorie Cunningham. They had a daughter, Susan Tantlinger, and they later divorced.^[2]
In the 1950s, Tantlinger persuaded McLean that shipping containers should be built so they could be separated from a chassis, with strong corner posts and built so they could be stacked on top of each other.
Tantlinger also worked on the basic structure and many features of the Bay Area Rapid Transit cars for San Francisco and the rapid transit cars for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority.
During his career he also worked as chief engineer and vice president of engineering at Brown Trailers in Spokane; vice president of engineering and manufacturing at Fruehauf Corporation in Detroit; and senior vice president, ground transportation systems at Rohr Industries in Chula Vista, California.
On September 10, 1981, he married Wanda Mae Gunnell Delinger in Las Vegas, Nevada.^[2]
In 2010, Tantlinger was awarded the Gibbs Brothers Medal by the National Academy of Sciences for his role in developing the expansion of world trade. He died in Escondido, California, on August 27, 2011, age 92.^[2]



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Bobby Rhine, American soccer player (FC Dallas), died from a heart attack at 35.

Bobby Rhine  was an American soccer player who last played for FC Dallas of Major League Soccer.

(April 18, 1976 – September 5, 2011)

Rhine played college soccer at the University of Connecticut from 1994 to 1998. In 1997, he redshirted his senior season in order to complete his master's degree requirements.^[1] In 1998, he returned for his last season, earning second-team All-American recognition. In February 1999, the Dallas Burn selected Rhine in the first round (sixth overall) in the 1999 MLS College Draft. During his Dallas career, Rhine filled a variety of positions as an on-and-off starter, usually playing up front or in the midfield. His versatility even led to a switch to defense for the 2005 season. His best season came in 2002, when he scored seven goals and six assists and added another goal in the playoffs. In eight MLS seasons, Rhine's regular-season totals stand at 23 goals and 33 assists. In 1999, he went on loan to the Milwaukee Rampage of the USL A-League.^[2] In 2000, he played one game on loan with the Tennessee Rhythm.^[3] Rhine played his final career game against Los Angeles Galaxy on October 26, 2008, a game in which normal team captain Duilio Davino insisted Rhine take the captain's armband.
Rhine retired at the end of the 2008 season. Upon retiring, he accepted the position of Manager of Community Development with the FC Dallas front office. In addition, Rhine also worked as the color commentator for the team's television broadcasts.
On September 5, 2011, while vacationing with his family in Florida, Rhine died from a sudden heart attack at the age of 35.^[4]



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Shigeri Akabane, Japanese professional wrestler, died from a heart attack he was 70.

Shigeri Akabane  known by his ringname Little Tokyo, was a Japanese professional midget wrestler who competed in North American promotions during the 1970s and 1980s including Herb Abrams' Universal Wrestling Federation, the American Wrestling Association and the World Wrestling Federation, most notably appearing at WrestleMania III in a mixed tag team match with Lord Littlebrook and King Kong Bundy against Hillbilly Jim, the Haiti Kid and Little Beaver in 1987 died from a heart attack he was 70..

(July 5, 1941 – September 6, 2011)

During the early 1990s, he appeared in World Class Championship Wrestling and independent promotions including Windy City Wrestling.
At the age of 69, Akabane was diagnosed with base tongue cancer. Doctors said it was cureable and family and friends gathered around him for support. He was living in St. Joseph, Missouri.

Death

On September 6, 2011, Shigeri Akabane died after suffering a heart attack at the age of 70.^[1][2]

Championships and accomplishments

• National Wrestling Alliance

• NWA World Midget's Championship (3 times)

• Universal Wrestling Federation

• UWF Midget World Championship (1 time)

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Pete Pihos, American Hall of Fame football player (Philadelphia Eagles), died from Alzheimer's disease at 87.

Peter Louis Pihos  was a professional American football player in the National Football League for the Philadelphia Eagles.^[1] He was a high school junior when his mother moved the family to Chicago. His father was a murder victim, and when a suspect was acquitted, Pete decided to become a lawyer. He was just one semester short of a law degree when he became disenchanted with the idea.

(October 22, 1923 – August 16, 2011)

College career

Pihos was an All-American at Indiana University, as a defensive end.

Professional career

Pihos was drafted in the 5th round of the 1945 NFL Draft by the Eagles, but two years of military service prevented him from joining the team until 1947. During his nine seasons of play, he missed just one game.
Immediately after Pete joined the Eagles, the team marched to its first divisional championship. In the playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers for the Eastern Division crown, he blocked a punt to set up the first touchdown in the Eagles 21-0 win. Philadelphia won three straight divisional championships and then back-to-back NFL titles by shutout scores. In 1948, the Eagles defeated the Chicago Cardinals 7-0. One year later, Pihos caught a 31-yard touchdown pass in the Eagles 14-0 win over the Los Angeles Rams.
Pete led the NFL in receiving from 1953 through 1955 and earned first-team All-Pro or All-League honors six times and was named to six Pro Bowls.

Death

Pihos died at age 87 after succumbing to Alzheimer's disease.^[1]

Films

The documentary short Dear Dad by his daughter Melissa Pihos ^[2] explores the effects of Alzheimer’s by juxtaposing photos and footage from his days as a player for the Philadelphia Eagles with images of him as he fights the disease. A feature-length documentary Pihos: A Life in Five Movements is shooting and editing throughout 2011 and 2012.^[3] Melissa Pihos also created PIHOS: A Moving Biography in March 2011. Through film and dance, she explores aspects of her father's life and his struggle with Alzheimer's disease through film and dance. She hopes to tour the production to various cities as an Alzheimer's fundraiser while creating awareness to such a devastating disease.

 

 

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