Vitaly Tseshkovsky, Russian chess Grandmaster, died he was 67.

Vitaly Valerianovich Tseshkovsky was a Russian chess Grandmaster and a former champion of the USSR died he was 67..

(Russian: Виталий Валерьевич Цешковский, September 25, 1944 – December 24, 2011) 

Tseshkovsky (Cieszkowski) was born in Omsk into a Polish family (his noble ancestors lived in Volhynia).
He was awarded the International Master title in 1973 and became an International Grandmaster in 1975.
His best tournament victories include first at Leipzig 1975, Dubna 1976, Yerevan 1980, Banja Luka 1981, Sochi 1981 and Minsk 1982. He was co-winner of the 1978 Soviet Championship (with Mikhail Tal) and winner of the 1986 Championship.^[1] He beat some world champions: Vasily Smyslov at the Moscow Spartakiad 1974, Tal at Sochi 1970, and a young Garry Kasparov at the 1978 Soviet Championship. Tseshkovsky himself almost qualified for the World Championship candidates matches when he finished fourth in the 1976 Manila Interzonal, one place lower than was needed to progress to the next stage. At the 27th Chess Olympiad in 1986, he scored 2½/5 as the second reserve board to help the USSR team win the gold medal.^[2]
His 6/9 result in St Petersburg, 2004 qualified him to play in the Russian Championship final later in the year, alongside Russia's seven top players and five other qualifiers.^[3] In 2010, he tied for 2nd-4th with Algimantas Butnorius and Nikolai Pushkov in the European Seniors’ Rapid Championship.^[4]
In the opening, his choice was 1.e4 with the white pieces. With Black he played the Ruy Lopez, Sicilian Defence, Pirc Defence and Modern Defence against 1.e4, and against 1.d4 he most often played the Grünfeld Defence and Benko Gambit.
Tseshkovsky maintained a high standard of chess throughout his career, registering his highest Elo rating of 2600 in October 2005. As a coach, he assisted with the training of many high profile players including Vladimir Kramnik, Bartlomiej Macieja and Boris Savchenko.
He died on 24 December 2011 in Krasnodar.^[5]


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Lynn Samuels, American radio personality, died he was 69.

Lynn Margaret Samuels  was an American radio personality and blogger, based in New York City. She attended Bard College  died he was 69..

(September 2, 1942 – December 24, 2011)

She began her radio career at WBAI in 1979, where in addition to her on-air work she was music director and an engineer and producer.^[1] Walter Sabo, in a tribute on the Alex Bennett program (hosted by Richard Bey) on December 27, 2011, stated that Lynn first worked for WOR on Saturdays from 4–6 p.m. "for quite some time".
Samuels was heard on WABC from 1987 until 1992, 1993 until 1997,^[2] and 1997^[3] until 2002,^[4] including two breaks in which she was fired and then rehired. Her third and final dismissal in 2002 was allegedly due to budget cuts.
Samuels was also a call-screener for Matt Drudge. In 2002, she joined WLIE^[5] for a brief time before being hired by Sirius in 2003.^[6]
From 2003 to 2011, Samuels hosted The Lynn Samuels Show initially from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on the weekends before being moved to the shift from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET on the Sirius Satellite Radio channel SIRIUS Left. Early in 2011, after SIRIUS Left was folded into Sirius XM Left, Sirius reduced her hours and she began a new weekend talk show on Sirius XM Stars from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.^[7] She also made television appearances on FOX News, CNN, MSNBC, The Sally Jesse Raphael Show, Geraldo at Large and Politically Incorrect.

Death

Lynn Samuels died on December 24, 2011, aged 69, of a heart attack in her Woodside, New York apartment.^{[8][9][10][11]} She is survived by her sister Judy and two nephews. She is buried in Linden Hills Jewish Cemetery in Ridgewood, Queens, NY^[12]


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Jody Rainwater, American bluegrass musician and radio personality, died from heart disease he was 92.

Jody Rainwater aka Little Jody Rainwater (born Charles Edward Johnson,  was an American bluegrass musician and radio personality died from heart disease he was 92..^[1]

^{(Surry County, North Carolina, 1920 — died Richmond, Virginia, December 24, 2011)}

Jody Rainwater was one of thirteen children of M. Wilson and Emma Johnson. He was well known for having played bass with the The Foggy Mountain Boys. An elder brother had taken up guitar, and soon they began playing together as "Chuck and Slim, The Johnson Brothers". They played at reunions and social gatherings around the area. The brothers found themselves in High Point, North Carolina, auditioning for the new radio station WMFR which began broadcasting in 1936. They were offered a regular time slot every Thursday morning. Their father believed farm work should take priority, so they eventually cancelled their weekly show. The next big thing for The Johnson Brothers occurred at the 1937 Fourth of July Horse Show in Kernersville, North Carolina. There the brothers entered a competition for performers and won the award for "Best Individual Entertainers".^{[citation needed]}
Rainwater decided to move to Winston-Salem. For four years he found few opportunities in music. He served in the Marines during World War II. In April 1945 he was discharged from active duty and returned to Winston-Salem, where he found work at an auto dealership. While employed there he met a local musician, Woody Hauser. The two formed the band the Blue Ridge Mountain Boys. In 1946 they helped sign on station WTOB and became a regular part of its programming. While playing for WTOB the band played a few local shows in nearby schools. It was during this time that Charles Johnson became "Little Jody". Clad in baggy pants, suspenders, and old shirts the character that would soon be made famous with Flat and Scruggs was born. Little Jody and Woody played together for almost three years. After a trip with Woody and several friends to the Grand Ole Opry, Jody determined that he would one day play the Opry. After the trip Jody and Woody were offered the chance to play during the intermission of a Bill Monroe road show in Lexington, North Carolina, which is where Rainwater first met Lester Flatt.^{[citation needed]}
In 1948, Jody Rainwater left North Carolina for Roanoke, Virginia where he joined the Blue Star Boys. Later that year he learned that Flatt, Earl Scruggs, and others were leaving the Blue Grass Boys to form the Foggy Mountain Boys. Jody was asked to join them to handle bookings and advertising, but he decided to stay in Roanoke. In 1949 a coal strike devastated the Bristol area's economy and the Foggy Mountain Boys left WCYB for Lexington, Kentucky. WCYB offered the Farm and Fun Time slot to the Blue Star Boys and they took it. This didn't work out well, and at this point Flatt again offered the booking job to Jody, who immediately accepted it.^{[citation needed]}
In addition to booking, Jody joined the group on their Saturday night slot on WVLK's Jamboree as Cedric Rainwater's comedic partner. The comedy duo was a hit and Jody was soon being billed as Cedric's younger brother. Lester Flatt suggested the name Little Jody Rainwater and it really stuck. However, the comedic antics of the Rainwater brothers were short lived. Soon Cedric decided to join Hank Williams' Drifting Cowboys and leave bluegrass. The Foggy Mountain Boys found themselves in need of a bassist. For the next three years Rainwater played an important part in the band's sound and stage presence. He was both booking and playing shows. Working seven days a week up to eighteen hours a day. By May 1952 Jody was "right at a nervous breakdown", and, at the advice of a physician he put in his notice. The band was working in central Virginia at the time and he was offered a job working as a deejay at WSVS. With flexible hours and steady pay Jody jumped at the chance. On June 7, 1952 Rainwater left the Foggy Mountain Boys and began his career in radio.^{[citation needed]}

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Richard Bessière, French author, died he was 88.

Richard Bessière was a French author of science fiction and espionage novels died he was 88.. His œuvre, particularly abundant, was published primarily by publisher Fleuve Noir.^[1] Bessière was one of the leading authors of publisher Fleuve Noir's popular imprints Anticipation and Espionnage. 

(1923 – 22 December 2011)

Bessière was born and died at Béziers - a year after his death, his home town announced that a street would be named in his honour.^[2] His first science fiction series (1951–54) featured the Conquérants de l’Universe [Conquerors Of The Universe], a band of Earthmen led by professor Bénac, the inventor of a spaceship called Meteor, who explore the Solar System. Bessière’s most popular series featured the adventures of American journalist Sydney Gordon, his ditzy wife Margaret, his catastrophe-prone son, Bud, and his scientist friends, Archie and Gloria Brent. The series began with serious tales of alien or extra-dimensional invasions, but eventually took a satirical turn. Bessière's other popular series involved the hard-boiled adventures of Dan Seymour, a futuristic James Bond.
Bessière also made his mark on French science fiction through a number of non-connected novels that featured an original blend of horror and science fiction. Monstrous aliens threatening to take over mankind were featured in Escale chez les Vivants [Stop-Over Among The Living] (1960); evil entities from beyond human ken whose only weakness was sound invaded Earth in Les Maîtres du Silence [The Masters Of Silence] (1965); Cette Lueur Qui Venait Des Ténèbres [That Light Which Came From The Dark] (1967) featured ghastly body-snatching parasites. The ultimately doomed reconquest of a post-cataclysmic Earth ruled by mutants and deadly lifeforms, was the subject of Légion Alpha (1961), Les Sept Anneaux de Rhéa [The Seven Rings Of Rhea] (1962), in which Earth was described as seven concentric spheres with Hell at its core, and Les Jardins de l’Apocalypse [The Gardens Of The Apocalypse] (1963). Les Marteaux de Vulcain [The Hammers Of Vulcan] (1969) described a nightmarish planet where survival was all but impossible.
Bessière also wrote almost a hundred spy thrillers for the Espionnage imprint of Fleuve Noir under the pseudonym of F.-H. Ribes. Many of these starred a hero called Gérard Lecomte.


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Zsuzsi Mary, Hungarian pop singer, committed suicide she was 64.

Zsuzsa Mary also known as Zsuzsi Mary was a Hungarian pop singer committed suicide she was 64..

(13 October 1947 – 24 December 2011)

Career

She appeared first time on stage in 1965, later she finished on the first place in the Hungarian Television's song contest, the Táncdalfesztivál, with the song "Mama" (Mom) in 1968. The songwriter was Attila Dobos, who would be her first husband. She was successful in the Eastern Bloc countries too. In 1969, she married György Klapka, and soon after emigrated with her husband. They divorced in 1987, but maintained a good relationship. She returned to Hungary after the end of Communism. Mary came out as bisexual in 2008.^[2]

Death

She committed suicide on Christmas Eve, 2011, aged 64.^[3][4][5] According to Magyar Távirati Iroda (MTI) her body was found the next day, 25 December 2011.^[6] Her suicide was confirmed by her second husband, György Klapka.^[7]

Albums

• 1991 - Ez az utolsó tangó (This is the last tango)
• 2002 - Premier M (My premier)
• 2005 - Sodor a szél (Drifting in the wind)

Posthomous releases

December 26., 2011 - Elszálltaka az évek (CD Single) (Vanished over the years)
It's as if this song would have she said goodbye.
The refrain:
"Flew off over the years
They do not hurt the silence
The tranquility locking arms
So rock out"


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Marvin Knopp, American mathematician, died he was 78.

Marvin Isadore Knopp was an American mathematician who worked primarily in number theory died he was 78.. He made notable contributions to the theory of modular forms.

(January 4, 1933 – December 24, 2011) 

Life and education

Knopp was born on 1933 in Chicago, Illinois. He received his PhD under Paul T. Bateman from the University of Illinois in 1958 where he became friends with fellow student Gene Golub.^[2] Over the course of his career, he advised twenty Ph.D. students.^[3] He is the father of pianist Seth Knopp, and of Yehudah, Abby, and Elana.^[4] Marvin was married to Dr. Josephine Zadovsky Knopp for 25 years but the marriage ended in divorce. Knopp died on December 24, 2011 during a vacation in Florida. Marvin's true loves in life were his children, old movies, great music and numbers.

Career

After receiving his PhD in 1958, Knopp taught at the University of Wisconsin and then, for a few years, at the University of Illinois Chicago before moving, in 1976, to Temple University where he stayed until his sudden death in 2011.^[5] He was closely associated with Emil Grosswald.^[6] In Jean Dieudonne's influential book A Panorama of Pure Mathematics (Academic Press, 1982), he is mentioned (p. 95) as one of those who "made substantial contributions" to the theory of modular forms.

Selected publications

• Knopp, Marvin (1970). Modular Functions in Analytic Number Theory. : Rand McNally. ISBN 0-528-60000-1.

Further reading

• American Mathematical Society. Marvin Knopp ..., ed. (1993). In Knopp, Marvin; Sheingorn, Mark. A Tribute to Emil Grosswald. Providence: American Mathematical Society. ISBN 978-0-8218-5155-5. Retrieved 2009-02-06. A set of papers in honor of Grosswald; includes reminiscences, list of PhD students, and a list of papers and books.

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Johannes Heesters, Dutch actor and singer, died from a stroke he was 108.

Johan Marius Nicolaas "Johannes" Heesters was a Dutch actor, singer, and entertainer with a career dating back to 1921 died from a stroke he was 108.. Active almost exclusively in the German-speaking world from the mid-1930s, he was a controversial figure for his actions during the Second World War and his success in Nazi Germany.^[1] Heesters was considered one of the oldest stage performers in history.

(5 December 1903 – 24 December 2011) 

Early life

Heesters was born in Amersfoort, Netherlands, the youngest of four sons. His father Jacobus Heesters (1865–1946) was a salesman and his mother Geertruida Jacoba van den Heuvel (1866–1951), a homemaker.

Heesters in 1919 (age 16)

Heesters was fluent in German from a very early age having lived for several years in the household of a German great uncle from Bavaria.^[2] Heesters decided to become an actor and a singer at the age of sixteen and began vocal training. Heesters specialized in Viennese operetta very early in his career, and made his Viennese stage debut in 1934 in Carl Millöcker's Der Bettelstudent (The Beggar Student).

Nazi Germany

Heesters after a performance on stage in 1923, age 19

Aged 31, Heesters permanently moved to Germany with his wife and daughters in 1935. During his time there, he performed for Adolf Hitler and visited the Dachau concentration camp which made him a controversial figure for many Dutch.^[3] Joseph Goebbels placed Heesters on the Gottbegnadeten list as an artist considered crucial to Nazi culture.^[4]
Heesters is known to have funded the German war machine by donating money to the weapons industry.^[5] While he became a very controversial figure in the late 1970s, Heesters always denied these accusations despite reliable evidence.^[6]
Heesters befriended several high-ranking Nazi-officials and SS-officers.^[7] Mr. "Jopie" also performed regularly for people such as Hitler and Goering,^[8] with the former being known to have been an avid admirer of his acting skills.^[9][10] He met Hitler several times and was reportedly Hitler's favorite actor^[11] in the role of Danilo.^[12] Throughout the war Heesters continued to perform for German soldiers in camps and barracks. He always denied having visited concentration camps, although he did have knowledge of their existence.^[13]
According to German author Volker Kühn, Heesters did in fact perform for the SS in Dachau concentration camp. For this claim he uses as evidence the testimony of Dachau inmate Viktor Matejka who worked for the SS and told Kühn he pulled the curtain when Heesters performed in 1941.^[14][15] According to German writer Jürgen Trimborn however, the interview with Matejka may not be reliable as it occurred some fifty years after the performance was said to have taken place.^[16] In December 2009, Heesters lost his libel suit against Kühn.^[17] While acknowledging having visited the camp, Heesters denied having performed as entertainment for the SS troops. In its ruling, the German court did not find that Kühn's allegations were true, but rather that too much time had passed for an accurate determination of fact to be made.^[18]
Heesters' signature tune was Count Danilo Danilovitch's entrance song "Da geh' ich ins Maxim" from Franz Lehár's Die Lustige Witwe (The Merry Widow).

After the war

Heesters with his future wife Louisa Ghijs in 1928

Heesters worked extensively for UFA until almost the end of the Second World War (his last wartime movie being Die Fledermaus, produced in 1945) and easily made the transition from the Nazi-controlled cultural scene to post-war Germany and Austria, appearing again in a number of films. These included Die Jungfrau auf dem Dach and the 1957 version of Viktor und Viktoria. Heesters stopped making movies around 1960 to concentrate on stage and television appearances and on producing records.
In later years Heesters spoke fondly of Hitler as a person, but condemned his political stance.^[19] In the 1990s, he and his wife toured Germany and Austria with Curth Flatow's play Ein gesegnetes Alter (A Blessed Age), which was also televised in 1996. On 5 December 2003, he celebrated his 100th birthday with a television special Eine Legende wird 100 (A legend turns 100) on the ARD television channel.

Heesters' second wife Simone Rethel

On his 100th birthday Heesters received the title "Kammersänger". In December 2004, aged 101, Heesters appeared in Stuttgart at the Komödie im Marquardt theatre in a show commissioned on the occasion of his 100th birthday, Heesters – eine musikalische Hommage. In 2005 aged 102 he was featured as a soloist in a major concert tour with the Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg under the direction of Scott Lawton.
On 5 December 2006 Heesters celebrated his 103rd birthday with a concert at the Wiener Konzerthaus. On 5 December 2007 he celebrated his 104th birthday with a concert at the Admiralspalast, Berlin, and in February 2008 he performed in his home country for the first time in four decades amidst protests against his Nazi associations.
Heesters apologised for calling Adolf Hitler a "good chap" on the popular German TV show Wetten, dass..? on Saturday, 13 December 2008, aged 105. He said that he had said something stupid and horrible and asked for forgiveness.^[20] In addition, German media suggested that he had failed to understand the show's satirical nature.^[21]
Heesters became less active in his last years and played smaller roles, as he began to lose his eyesight due to macular degeneration and could not perform on stage for long periods of times. Unable to read a teleprompter, he had to memorize his lines before a show.

Personal life

My secret to a long, healthy life is love and passion; age differences do not matter.

—Johannes Heesters, December 2010^[22]

Johannes Heesters as Franz Joseph I of Austria

Heesters had two daughters by his first wife Louisa Ghijs, whom he married in 1930. After her death in 1985, he remarried in 1992; his second wife, Simone Rethel (born 1949), is a German actress, painter, and photographer. His younger daughter Nicole Heesters is a well-known actress in the German-speaking world, as is his granddaughter Saskia Fischer.
In December 2010, the 107-year-old Heesters announced that he had quit smoking for his then 61-year-old wife: "She should have me as long as possible."^[23]
On 1 January 2008, he fell down some stairs in his holiday house in Tyrol and broke two ribs.^[24]
On 29 November 2011, he suddenly fell ill, developing a fever, and was rushed into hospital.^[25] He was operated on to fit a heart pacemaker and following a good recovery, was allowed home less than a week later, on 4 December, in time to spend his 108th birthday the next day with family. He did not feel strong enough to make the planned stage appearance to sing in celebration of his birthday and also had missed the premiere of his last film, Ten. Due to a relapse in his condition, on 17 December he was readmitted to hospital, where he subsequently suffered a stroke,^[26] dying on Christmas Eve 2011.^[27] He is survived by two daughters, five grandchildren, eleven great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren.^[28][29]

Discography

Albums

• 1965: Jetzt geh' ich ins Maxim
• 2003: Ich werde 100 Jahre alt

Singles

• 1937: "Ich werde jede Nacht von ihnen träumen"
• 1939: "Musik, Musik, Musik" (featuring Marika Rökk)
• 1941: "Liebling, was wird nun aus uns beiden"
• 1941: "Man müßte Klavier spielen können"
• 1949: "Das kommt mir spanisch vor"
• 1949: "Tausendmal möchte' ich dich küssen"
• 1998: "Ich werde 100 Jahre alt" (song)
• 2007: "Generationen" (featuring Claus Eisenmann)

Honours, decorations, awards

• 1984: Bavarian Order of Merit
• 1993: Berlinian Order of Merit
• 2000: Ring of Honour of the City of Vienna
• Bambi in 1967, 1987, 1990, 1997, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011
• 2001: Platinum Romy (TV award)
• 2003: Goldene Kamera
• 2004: Kammersänger

Filmography

1924: Cirque hollandais 1934: Bleeke Bet 1935: De Vier Mullers 1936: Die Leuchter des Kaisers 1936: Der Bettelstudent 1936: Das Hofkonzert 1937: Wenn Frauen schweigen 1937: Gasparone 1938: Nanon 1938: Immer wenn ich glücklich bin..! 1939: Hello Janine! 1939: Das Abenteuer geht weiter 1939: Meine Tante – Deine Tante 1940: Liebesschule 1940: Die lustigen Vagabunden 1940: Rosen in Tirol 1941: Immer nur … Du! 1941: Jenny und der Herr im Frack 1941: Illusion 1942: Karneval der Liebe 1944: Es lebe die Liebe 1944: Glück bei Frauen 1944: Es fing so harmlos an 1944: Frech und verliebt (1948) 1946: Die Fledermaus (1946) 1946: Renée / Renée XIV. Der König streikt 1947: Wiener Melodien 1949: Liebe Freundin 1950: Wenn eine Frau liebt 1950: Hochzeitsnacht im Paradies 1951: Professor Nachtfalter 1951: Tanz ins Glück 1951: Die Csardasfürstin 1952: Im weißen Rößl 1953: Die geschiedene Frau 1953: Die Jungfrau auf dem Dach

1953: Schlagerparade 1953: Hab' ich nur Deine Liebe 1954: Stern von Rio 1955: Bel-Ami 1955: Gestatten, mein Name ist Cox (Film) 1956: Ein Herz und eine Seele / …und wer küßt mich 1956: Opernball 1956: Heute heiratet mein Mann 1957: Bel Ami. Der Frauenheld von Paris 1957: Viktor und Viktoria 1957: Von allen geliebt 1958: Bühne frei für Marika! 1958: Besuch aus heiterem Himmel / Jetzt ist er da aus USA 1958: Frau im besten Mannesalter 1959: Die unvollkommene Ehe 1960: Am grünen Strand der Spree (TV, part 5) 1961: Junge Leute brauchen Liebe 1968: Unsere liebste Freundin (TV) 1973: Hallo, Hotel Sacher…Portier (TV, episode 2) 1974: Hochzeitsnacht im Paradies (TV) 1980: Liebe bleibt nicht ohne Schmerzen (TV) 1982: Sonny Boys (TV) (Carl-Heinz Schroth) 1984: Die schöne Wilhelmine (TV four part series) 1985: Otto – Der Film 1991: Altes Herz wird nochmal jung 1993: Zwei Münchner in Hamburg 1994: Silent Love (Short film) 1995: Grandhotel 1996: Ein gesegnetes Alter (TV) 1999: Theater: Momo (TV) 2001: Otto – Mein Ostfriesland und mehr (TV) 2003: Zurück ins Leben 2008: 1½ Ritter – Auf der Suche nach der hinreißenden Herzelinde 2008: Wege zum Glück 2011: Ten (short film)

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