Deaths of the RIch and Famous - May, 2020

Arts & Letters   ––   Business   ––   Miscellaneous


Movies, Stage, & Television   ––   Politics & Government   ––   Music   ––   Sports

Arts and Letters

Peter Alexander (age 81) - Alexander was a sculptor, part of Southern California's "Light and Space" movement during the 1960s. His early medium was resin, often translucent. His sculptures have appeared in several films. Alexander stopped sculpting with resin for more than thirty years, during which he painted. His work is shown in galleries and one of his murals is on display at teh Walt Disney Concert Hall. Alexander died May 26, 2020.

Stanley Bing (age 68) - Bing, real name Gil Schwartz, split his time between two careers, that of an executive for CBS (VP of corporate communications) and a writer and humorist. In that latter vocation, Bing wrote for Esquire and Fortune magazines for a total of thirty years, chiefly business writing and satire of the business and political worlds. He published thirteen books. Bing died of a heart attack on May 2, 2020.

Larry Kramer (age 84) - Kramer was a playwright and public health advocate, known mainly for founding the gay-rights organization Act Up in the 1980s to focus attention on the AIDS epidemic. He was a two-time Obie Award winner and a finalist for the 1992 Pulitzer Prize for drama. Kramer died of pneumonia May 27, 2020.

Michael McClure (age 87) - McClure was a multi-talented wordsmith; writing reportage, poetry, plays, novels, and song lyrics. He first became famous as a Beat Generation poet who hung around with Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac. He also appeared in a handful of films. McClure passed away after a stroke on May 4, 2020.

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Business

S. David Freeman (age 94) - Freeman, an electrical engineer by trade, picked up a law degree in his late 20s and became an attorney for the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). He eventually headed that agency, as well as the LCRA in Texas and the public utilities of NYC, Sacramento, and LA. He also served as an energy policy advisor to presidents Johnson and Carter, especially on renewables. Freeman suffered a heart attack and died May 12, 2020.

Samuel Horchow (age 91) - Horchow founded the mail-order business that still bears his name in 1971, a luxury mail-order business that was the first of its kind without a brick-and-mortar store. He sold the company to Nieman-Marcus seventeen years later. He then turned to theatre, becoming a Broadway producer, winning a Tony his first time out for Crazy for You base on George Gershwin's musical Girl Crazy. Horchow died of Cancer May 2, 2020.

Carolyn Reidy (age 71) - Reidy's career in publishing lasted from her first days at Random House in the early '70s until her death. During her years at Random House, she headed up the Vintage Books and Avon Books imprints. She joined Simon and Schuster in 1992, eventually becoming CEO in 2008. Reidy died of a heart attack on May 12, 2020.

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Miscellaneous

Gregg Bemis (age 91) Bemis was a marine explorer and diver who, through a series of purchases and court battles, became the sole owner of the wreck of the RMS Lusitania. The wreck lies off the Irish coast near Kinsale Head. Bemis died of cancer on May 21, 2020.

David Owen Brooks (age 65) - Brooks, a native of Houston, was convicted of murder in 1975 as an accomplice of two other men. In all the three were alleged to have killed at least 28 men and boys in 1970-73. Brooks was sentenced to life in prison and died May 28, 2020.

Barry Farber (age 90) - Farber was a nationally-syndicated radio talk-show host, the capstone to a career in radio that stretched across the second half of the twentieth century. He was still contributing to CRN Digital Talk Radio at his death. Farber was also adjunct professor of linguistics (he studied 25 different languages) at St. Johns and a one-time candidate for mayor of New York. Farber died May 6, 2020.

Wilson Roosevelt Jerman (age 91) - With a name combining the surnames of two  presidents, Jerman was almost type-cast for the job he held over a 45-year career, a staffer in the White House. In that time, he served in various roles from cleaner to butler under eleven presidents, from Eisenhower to Obama. Jerman died of COVID-19 on May 16, 2020.

Darrin Patrick (age 49) - Patrick founded The Journey, a St. Louis-based megachurch, in 2002; and was its lead pastor until he was removed from the ministry in 2016. After a "restoration process," he re-entered the ministry as an associate of Seacoast Church in 2017. Patrick died of what appears to have been a self-inflicted gunshot wound on May 7, 2020.

Saturn (age 83?) - Saturn, an American-born alligator, was a resident of the Berlin Zoological Garden and a favorite of Adolf Hitler. Although the zoo was destroyed by Allied bombing, Saturn survived and was moved to Moscow. He died of old age May 22, 2020.

Ronald Shurer (age 41) - Shurer was awarded the Medal of Honor in 2018 for his actions during a battle in Afghanistan in 2008. The former Special Forces medic became a Secret Service agent after leaving the army. He was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2017 and succumbed to the disease on May 14, 2020.

Robert Weighton (age 112) - At his death on May 28, 2020. the Englishman was the oldest living person. He was born in 1908 and lived through two world wars and the Spanish Influenza. He died of cancer.

Oliver E. Williamson (age 87) - Williamson was Professor Emeritus of economics in the Edgar F. Kaiser chair at Cal Berkeley. He had previously taught at University of Pennsylvania and Yale. He shared the 2009 Nobel Prize in Economics with Elinor Ostrom. Williamson died of pneumonia on May 21, 2020.

Greg Zanis (age 69) - Zanis, by trade a carpenter, began building and installing crosses in memory of the victims of gunshot deaths. He is said to have built, delivered, and installed more than 26,000 crosses; recording his work in a handwritten ledger. Zanis succumbed to bladder cancer May 4, 2020, after arranging for a Lutheran charity to continue his mission.

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Movies, Television, and Stage

Phyllis George (age 70) George's chief claim to fame is probably being one of the first female sport hosts on a national television show, an honor bestowed on the former Miss America (1971) when she began co-hostint the GBS pregame show for NFL football in 1975. She also hosted the SBS Morning News for three years and was the First Lady of Kentucky when her husband, John Y. Brown, was elected. George died of complications of a blood disease on May 14, 2020.

Richard Herd (age 87) - Herd's face is familiar to both film and television viewers from more than forty years in show business. Among his many film appearances were roles in All the President's Men and Dog Days of Summer. On the small screen, Herd played a police captain in "T. J. Hooker" and made multiple appearances in "Seinfeld" and "Star Trek Voyager." Herd died of cancer on May 26, 2020.

Lynn Shelton (age 54) - Shelton came late to her career as a film director after a decade or more of other jobs in the industry, including editor. After her first feature film, We Go Way Back, won critical acclaim, Shelton directed a number of independent and art house films including Sword of Trust (2109) and Outside In (2017). She also directed episode of TV shows. Shelton died of a blood disorder on May 16, 2020.

Jerry Stiller (age 92) - Stiller's fame is cross-generational, as he is best known to those of his generation as half of the comedy duo Stiller and Meara, but is far more familiar to later generations as a character on the television comedies "Seinfeld" and "King of Queens." A quintessentially Jewish comedian from the 1950s, Stiller parlayed an obnoxious stage personality into roles beloved of a certain demographic. The three-time Emmy nominee was also the father of "comedic actor" Ben Stiller, and shares a Hollywood Walk of Fame star with his late wife, Anne Meara. Stiller died May 11, 2020.

Fred Willard (age 86) - Willard had a long and funny career as an actor, mostly on the small screen; however his most enduring roles came in Christopher Guest's "mocumentaries" such as This Is Spinal Tap and A Mighty Wind. On television, he appeared in "Fernwood 2 Night" and multiple episodes of "Everybody Loves Raymond" and "Roseanne," among hundreds of roles. Willard was nominated for an Emmy four times and won an American Comedy Award (2001). He died May 15, 2020.

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Music

Sweet Pea Atkinson (age 74) - Hillard Atkinson was an R&B vocalist, perhaps best known as a member of the 1970's band Was (Not Was). He also had a brief solo career, and sang backup on a wide range of artists' albums including Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, and Iggy Pop. He was a founding member of the little-known band The Boneshakers. Atkinson succumbed to a heart attack on May 5, 2020.

Bucky Baxter (age 65) - Baxter was a multi-instrumentalist on strings, mainly the guitar and pedal steel guitar. He was a founding member of the backup band for Steve Earle and appeared on four of Earle's albums. He played pedal steel in Bob Dylan's touring band in the 1990s, also appearing on Dylan's Grammy-winning "Time Out of Mind" in 1996. Baxter died May 25, 2020.

Jimmy Cobb (age 91) - Cobb was a respected jazz drummer with a long career. He may be best known for his work on the iconic Miles Davis album, "Kind of Blue." He played with dozens of jazz musicians afterwards, including such legends as Wes Montgomery, Stan Getz, and Richie Cole. Cobb succumbed to lung cancer on May 24, 2020.

Richie Cole (age 72) - Cole was a jazz musician, primarily an alto saxophonist. He also composed and arranged music for a number of jazz groups. Over the years, Cole was associated with such bad leaders as Lionel Hampton, Doc Severinsen, and Buddy Rich. His discography stretches to nearly a hundred performances as both a leader and a sideman. Cole died May 2, 2020, of natural causes.

Cady Groves (age 30) - The Kansas native Groves was a singer-songwriter who released a handful of singles and EPs of pop music. Her best-known work is probably "This Little Girl," which she released at the age of 21. Groves died May 2, 2020, of unstated causes, apparently natural.

Little Richard (age 87) - Born Richard Penniman, "Little Richard" was considered a pop icon for much of the past seventy years. His earliest work dates to the 1950s, although his influence reaches across pop to rook to blues to hip-hop. He received a lifetime achievement Grammy Award in 1993, and is a member of the Songwriters, R&B, Blues, and Rock and Roll halls of fame; as well as having a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Little Richard died of bone cancer on May 9, 2020.

Frederick Tillis (age 90) - Tillis composed and taught jazz music, as well as performing on saxophone and writing poetry. He retired from teaching but remained a professor emeritus at U. Mass, Amherst. He published a dozen or so books of poetry and authored a textbook on jazz theory. Tillis died May 4, 2020.

Betty Wright (age 66) - Wright was a singer, songwriter, and background singer in soul and R&B. Her biggest hit came in 1971, when she released "Clean Up Woman," though she had already been a recording since she was thirteen. Wright picked up a Grammy in 1974 for "Where Is the Love?" She released dozens of singles over a fifty-year career and appeared as a background vocalist on many more. She died of cancer on May 10, 2020.

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Politics

Sam Johnson (age 89) - Johnson spent almost thirty years in the U. S. House as a Republican congressman from the Dallas area in Texas. He had been an Air Force pilot in both the Korean and Vietnam Wars. IN the second, he was captured by the North Vietnamese and held in the notorious Hanoi Hilton. Johnson retired after being re-elected in 2018. He died May 27, 2020.

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Sports

Ashley Cooper (age 83) - Cooper was a professional tennis player from Australia who competed in the 1950s and 1960s. He collected four each singles and doubles wins in the Grand Slam Series from 1957 to 1958. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1991. He died May 22, 2020.

Ernie Gonzalez (age 59) - Gonzalez, a native Californian, was a professional golfer who played on PGA tour during the 1980s. His one tour win was the 1986 Pensacola Open, making him only the third lefty to win a tour event. He taught in Nevada after leaving the tour. He dies of early-onset Alzheimer's disease on May 15, 2020.

Matt Keough (age 64) - Keough pitched all or part of ten seasons in the majors, the first six with the Oakland Athletics from 1977-1983. A "legacy" player, Matt was the son of outfielder Marty Keough. He started 175 of his 215 games, finishing with a 58-84 W-L record and seven shutouts with a 4.17 ERA and 590 Ks. He made the AL All-Star team in 1978. Keough passed away May 1, 2020.

Johnny McCarthy (age 86) - McCarthy played six seasons in the NBA for such teams as Rochester / Cincinnati, St Louis, Pittsburgh, and the Celtics. His chief claim to fame is having recorded a triple-double in his first game, against the Lakers in 1960. He finished his career with 2450 points and 1184 assists. McCarthy died May 9,2020, after a fall.

Biff Pocoroba (age 66) - Yes, his birth name was "Biff." Go figure... Podoroba spend all or part of ten seasons in the majors as a back-up catcher, all of them with the Atlanta Braves. He was an All-Star in 1978, mainly for his defensive skills. After retiring in 1984, he and two brothers operated Sausage World, a meat business in the Atlanta area. He died May 24, 2020.

Mary Pratt (age 101) - Pratt was a pitcher on three different teams in the celebrated All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, as chronicled in A League of their Own.  She finished her career with a 28-51 record, including a no-hitter while pitching for Kenosha in 1944. After retiring, Pratt became a teacher. She died May 6, 2020.

Don Shula (age 90) - Shula spent six seasons as an NFL defensive back (Browns, Colts, Redskins) before retiring to the college coaching ranks in 1958. By 1960 he was back in the NFL as a defensive backs coach for the Lions, finally taking over as head coach of the Colts in 1963. After six seasons with Baltimore, he moved to Miami where he remained until 1995. He was a 2-time Super Bowl champ and a 4-time coach of the year, including the Dolphins' perfect-season year, 1972. Shula was voted into the Hall of Fame in 1997. He died May 4, 2020.

Jerry Sloan (age 78) - Sloan played eleven seasons in the NBA, primarily with the Chicago Bulls. After retiring in 1976, he became an NBA coach, spending three seasons with his old team before moving to the Utah Jazz in 1985. As a player he was a two-time All-Stat, collecint more than 10,000 points and 5,000 rebounds. As a coach, he had a career 1221-803 record, earning him a berth in the NBA Hall of Fame as a coach. Sloan died of complications of Parkinson's Disease on May 22, 2020.

Mike Storen (age 84) - Storen joined the NBA Chicago Zephyrs straight out of college, and stayed in pro basketball for the remainder of his career. He was general manager of the ABA Indiana Pacers and then part-owner of the Kentucky Colonels before becoming the league commissioner in 1973. He was, at one time, general manager of the Hawks, commissioner of the CBA, and commissioner of the IPFL before retiring in 2002. Storen died of cancer on May 7, 2020.

Roosevelt Taylor (age 82) - Rosey Taylor spend 12 seasons as a safety in pro football, the bulk of it with the Chicago Bears. He was twice a Pro Bowler and a three-time ALl-Pro, while never missing a game in nine seasons with the Bears. He finished his career with the Redskins in their 1972 Superbowl season. Taylor died May 29, 2020.

John Teerlinck (age 69) - Teerlinck had a brief, injury-shortened NFL career with the Chargers in the mid-'70s. After his playing career ended, Teerlinck spent several seasons as a college coach before being tapped by the Browns as a Defensive line coach. He held that position with six different NFL teams, including two Super Bowl-winning seasons with the Broncos and one with the Colts. He was fired by the Colts in 2011, and retired. Teerlinck died May 10, 2020.

Ryan Wetnight (age 49) - Wetnight plpayed eight NFL seasons as a tight end, the first seven with the Bears. He accounted for 175 receptions for 1542 yards, including 9 TDs. He retired in 2000, returning to his native California where he became a realtor. Wetnight succumbed to stomach cancer on May 1, 2020.

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Deaths in April, 2020 --- Deaths in June, 2020