Dave Charnley, British boxer died he was 76

David Fraser Charnley  was an English lightweight boxer considered to be one of the greatest British fighters in his weight class died he was 76.^[2] Known as "The Dartford Destroyer", the left-handed Charnley had a 10-year career lasting from 1954 to 1964.

(10 October 1935 – 3 March 2012)

 

Charnley won a bronze medal at the 1954 Commonwealth Games and went on to become undefeated British lightweight champion (1957–63), Commonwealth lightweight champion (1959–62) and European lightweight champion (1960–61).^[1]

Charnley made two unsuccessful world title challenges against his arch-rival Joe 'Old Bones' Brown. He was stopped by Brown on a cut eye in Houston, Texas, in 1959 and was narrowly out-pointed in a controversial 15 round bout in London on 18 April 1961. Ring Magazine called this second bout "Fight of the Year." Many say Charnley should have won.^[3] The decision is still contested by Charnley and most British writers.

He eventually defeated Brown in six rounds in a non-title fight in Manchester on 25 February 1963.

Dave was born in Dartford, Kent, to Scottish parents from Craigneuk, Lanarkshire. Before becoming a boxer, Charnley worked at Vickers Engineering Crayford as a boilermaker. He started competing in 1954 and turned professional the same year.^[4]

He became British Lightweight Champion at 21 by outpointing Joe Lucy, another southpaw, on 9 April 1957, but in his first attempt later that year to win the Empire title on 9 July he was beaten on points by Willie Toweel. In 1958 he met future world champion, Puerto Rican Carlos Ortiz at Harringay Arena where he lost on a 10 round decision.

In a return match against Willie Toweel on 12 May 1959, Dave Charnley punched with such authority that the championship changed hands in the 10th round, when Dave won by a knockout.

Dave challenged for the World Title at Houston, Texas on 2 December 1959, against Joe Brown but was forced to retire in the fifth round with a badly damaged eye. He fought Brown again, this time in London on 18 April 1961, and lost a bitterly contested duel that many fans thought he had won. By way of consolation Dave knocked out Brown in six rounds in a third meeting, but only after the American had lost his World title.

Before his second bout with Brown, Dave added the European Lightweight Title to his British and Empire Titles, when he met Mario Vecchiatto of Italy on 29 March 1960. He forced Vecchiatto to retire in the 10th round.

On 20 November 1961 Dave Charnley met challenger David "Darkie" Hughes of Wales for his third title and stopped the Welshman in 40 seconds, including the count, a record win in the British Lightweight class.

In 1962 Dave went to Jamaica, losing his Empire title on a close point verdict to Bunny Grant, but he won his Lonsdale Belt outright by defeating Maurice Cullen in Manchester on 20 May 1963. That year he also forfeited his European title.

As there were no worthy challengers in the Lightweight division, to continue boxing, it was necessary for Dave to move up to the Welterweight division. He was then game enough to challenge the World Champion, Emile Griffith, but took a bad beating and the fight was stopped in round eight.

Dave retired from the ring in 1964 as unbeaten British Lightweight Champion.

Charnley had a powerful build and large forearms and was often compared to the "Toy Bulldog" Mickey Walker, but he also had good tools. He had double and triple hooks and was a true scrapper with plenty of bottle.

His trademark was an aggressive attacking style. Quiet-spoken and an introvert outside the ropes, his self-effacing modesty was no public relations gimmick; Charnley was merciless once ring battle commenced. Inside the ring he was a furious brawler who gave and took brutal punishment.

Only Joe Brown stopped him on cuts and until his last fight, only welterweight great Emile Griffiths stopped him from going the distance. Charnley ended his career fighting welterweights and was a really tough opponent for anyone.

Charnley estimated his ring earnings to have been in excess of £400,000, a considerable sum at the time, and when he retired from boxing in 1964 he took a different direction in his life and opened and operated hair salons, which became quite profitable for him.^[4]

He later moved into building and property refurbishments buying land and building estates in the Dartford area. He established the offices of his company in Regent Street, where the business expanded through restorations of hotels and other projects. His various business enterprises generated him a lot of money late in his life.^[4]

Charnley's biographer, James Kirkwood, said: "It may be a cliché, but it really was true of Dave that you never heard anybody say a bad word about him." Charnley died of lung cancer on 3 March 2012, at the age of 76.^[4]

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Steve Bridges, American impressionist (George W. Bush), died from anaphylaxis he was 48

Steve Bridges  was an American comedian, impressionist, and actor who was known for his impressions of politicians, television characters and broadcasters including Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Barney Fife, Homer Simpson, Tom Brokaw, Paul Harvey, and Rush Limbaugh died from anaphylaxis he was 48.^[2]

^{(May 22, 1963 – March 3, 2012)}

<sup>Bridges graduated from Biola University in 1986.[3]

In 2006, he appeared alongside President George W. Bush at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner, mimicking the president by voicing the president's "inner thoughts" during Bush's presidential speech.[4] His accurate portrayal of Bush led to Bridges being cast as the president in episodes of both JAG and its spin-off, NCIS.</sup> 

^{On March 3, 2012, Bridges was found dead by his maid in his Los Angeles home after he failed to return a call the day before. According to his agent, Bridges had just returned from performing in Hong Kong and went to bed complaining that he felt "super-jetlagged".[5] His death was ruled an accident, with the probable cause “upper airway anaphylaxis” from a severe allergic reaction.[6]}

• Nurses (1994) as Torrance
• The District (2000)
• ER (2001) as Leone
• Lange Flate Ballær 2 (2008) as General of the U.S. Navy

As George W. Bush[edit]

• JAG episode "Dangerous Game" (2002)
• "The Nick Cannon Show" episode "Nick Takes Over a Wedding" (2002)
• NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service episode "Yankee White" (2003)
• Whoopi episode "The Vast Right Wing Conspiracy" (2003)
• George Lopez (2003)
• Comedy Central Roast of Jeff Foxworthy (2005)
• Merry F#%$in' Christmas (2005)
• The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
• White House Correspondents Dinner (2006)
• Blue Collar Comedy Tour: One For the Road (Yankee Doody Dandy segment)
• The View (May 29, 2006)
• Larry King Live (2006)
• Lange Flate Ballær II (2008) (Norwegian movie)
• I Love the New Millennium (2008)

  

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George Firestone, American politician, Secretary of State of Florida (1978–1987), died from Alzheimer's disease he was 80

George Firestone was an American politician from the U.S. state of Florida  died from Alzheimer's disease he was 80. He was a Democrat. He served as the 20th Florida Secretary of State from 1979 to 1987.

(May 13, 1931 – March 2, 2012)  

Firestone was born in New York City in 1931. He moved to Miami, Florida with his family as a child in 1936. Firestone served in the United States Army and was honorably discharged in 1952. He became a Miami business leader and served in many civic organizations.

Firestone was elected to the Florida House of Representatives from Dade and Monroe counties in 1966. He was elected to the Florida Senate in 1972, where he would serve until 1978.^[1] He was elected Secretary of State of Florida in 1978 and was reelected twice, serving until he resigned in 1987.^[2]

He used the Secretary of State's position as chief cultural officer to promoted the arts, and during his term Florida seal to include the sabal palm.^[1] During his tenure, he also traveled a great deal to promote foreign investment in Florida, and was a supporter for Free Trade Zones in the state.^[1]

support for the arts increased more than 3,200 percent. He also helped update the

Later in life, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. On March 2, 2012, he died in a Hollywood, Florida assisted living facility at the age of 80.^[1]

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Van T. Barfoot, American soldier, Medal of Honor recipient, died from head injuries from a fall he was 92

Van Thomas Barfoot (born Van Thurman Barfoot;  was a United States Army officer and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War II died from head injuries from a fall he was 92.

(June 15, 1919 – March 2, 2012) 

Barfoot was born on June 15, 1919, in Edinburg, Mississippi.^[4] His grandmother was Choctaw, but Barfoot himself was not an official member of the Choctaw Nation; although he was eligible, his parents had never enrolled him.^[5]

After enlisting in the Army from Carthage, Mississippi, in 1940  1st Infantry Division in Louisiana and Puerto Rico. In December 1941, he was promoted to sergeant and reassigned to the Headquarters Amphibious Force Atlantic Fleet in Quantico, Virginia, where he served until the unit was deactivated in 1943. He next joined the 157th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division, and was shipped to Europe.^[5]

and completing his training, Barfoot served with the

During the Italian Campaign Barfoot participated in a series of amphibious landings: the Allied invasion of Sicily in July 1943, the invasion of mainland Italy at Salerno in September 1943, and finally the landings at Anzio in late January 1944. His unit pushed inland from Anzio, and by May 1944 had reached the small town of Carano in northeastern Italy, near Austria. They set up defensive positions and Barfoot conducted patrols to scout the German lines. When his company was ordered to attack on the morning of 23 May 1944, Barfoot, now a technical sergeant, asked for permission to lead a squad. Because of the patrols he had made, he knew the terrain and the minefield which lay in front of the German position. He advanced alone through the minefield, following ditches and depressions, until he came within a few yards of a machine gun nest on the German flank. After taking out the gun and its crew with a hand grenade, he entered the German trench and advanced on a second machine gun, killing two soldiers and capturing three others. When he reached a third machinegun, the entire crew surrendered to him. Others also surrendered, and Barfoot captured a total of seventeen German soldiers and killed eight.^[5]

When the Germans launched an armored counterattack with three Tiger tanks directly against his positions later that day, Barfoot disabled the lead tank with a bazooka, killed part of its crew with his Thompson submachine gun, and turned the German attack. He then advanced into enemy-held territory and destroyed an abandoned German artillery piece. He returned to his own lines and helped two wounded soldiers from his squad to the rear.^[5]

Van Thomas Barfoot newly promoted US Army Lieutenant circa 1944.

Barfoot was subsequently commissioned as a second lieutenant. His division moved into France, and by September 1944 was serving in the Rhone valley. Lt. Barfoot learned he would be awarded the Medal of Honor and chose to have the presentation ceremony in the field, so that his soldiers could attend. He was formally presented with the medal on September 28, 1944, in Épinal, France, by Lieutenant General Alexander Patch.^[5]

Having grown up in the strictly segregated south, Barfoot was noted for a comment he made in 1945 regarding African-Americans. Mississippi senator and Ku Klux Klan member Theodore G. Bilbo asked Barfoot if he had much trouble with the African-American soldiers he had served with during the war. To Bilbo's embarrassment, Barfoot responded, "I found out after I did some fighting in this war that the colored boys fight just as good as the white boys...I've changed my idea a lot about colored people since I got into this war and so have a lot of other boys from the south".^[6]

Barfoot later served in the Korean War and the Vietnam War, and earned a Purple Heart. He reached the rank of colonelbefore retiring from the Army.^[7] In retirement, he lived on a farm in Amelia County, Virginia and later moved to, Henrico County, Virginia, near his daughter. On October 9, 2009, the portion of Mississippi Highway 16 which runs from Carthage through his hometown of Edinburg to the border between Leake and Neshoba counties was named the "Van T. Barfoot Medal of Honor Highway".^[8] A building at McGuire Veterans Hospital in Richmond, VA also carries his name.

Barfoot suffered a skull fracture and bleeding in the brain from a fall two days earlier in front of his home, and died on March 2, 2012 at the age of 92
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