R.i.p 2011

[Elvis_Christ]

Originally Posted by newb

Gil Scott-Heron died Friday afternoon in New York, his book publisher reported. He was 62. The influential poet and musician is often credited with being one of the progenitors of hip-hop, and is best known for the spoken-word piece "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised."

Yeh this was a shame. Dude put out some epic shit.

[newb]

Originally Posted by _____V_____

Gunsmoke' Legend James Arness Dies at 88






James Arness, the tall man who towered over TV screens for 20 seasons as the iconic Marshal Matt Dillon on CBS’ Gunsmoke, has died.

He was 88.

The 6-foot-7 actor, who also starred in the 1950s sci-fi classics Them! and The Thing From Another World, passed away of natural causes Friday in his home in Brentwood, according to his business manager, Ginny Fazer.

His death comes 14 months after his brother, Mission: Impossible actor Peter Graves, died of a heart attack at age 83.

Arness’ official website posted a letter from the actor on Friday that he wrote with the intention that it be posted posthumously.

“I had a wonderful life and was blessed with some many loving people and great friends,” he said. “I wanted to take this time to thank all of you for the many years of being a fan of Gunsmoke, The Thing, How the West Was Won and all the other fun projects I was lucky enough to have been allowed to be a part of. I had the privilege of working with so many great actors over the years.”

As the stoic Marshal Dillon, Arness kept the peace in rough and tumble Dodge City, Kan., on Gunsmoke, which aired on CBS from September 1955 to March 1975 for a total of 635 episodes. It set a record for the longest-running, live-action primetime series by seasons, since tied by NBC’s Law & Order.

Arness’ 20-year primetime stint on TV is another record, since tied by Kelsey Grammer’s two decades years as the character Frasier Crane on two shows, Cheers and then Frasier.

Said a statement from CBS on Friday, “Our network headquarters at CBS Studio Center in Studio City looks out at Stage 3, which was home to Gunsmoke’s “Dodge City.” All of us here today tip our hat in that direction for everything Mr. Arness contributed to Gunsmoke, to CBS and to the medium we all love.”

After starring in the title role as a thawed-out alien bent in eating humans in The Thing, he was spotted by John Wayne, who signed him to a contract with his production company, Batjac Prods. The actors worked together on such films as Big Jim McLain (1952), Island in the Sky (1953), Hondo (1953) and The Sea Chase (1955).

Wayne recommended Arness for the role of Marshal Dillon on Gunsmoke, which was coming to TV after beginning as a radio program in 1955. (The show ran on radio until 1961, with William Conrad voicing the lawman.)

“Go ahead and take it, Jim,” Wayne urged him. “You’re too big for pictures. Guys like Gregory Peck and I don’t want a big lug like you towering over us. Make your mark in television.”

Gunsmoke, created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston, was TV’s No. 1 ranked show from 1957-61.

Arness made five Gunsmoke telefilms from 1987 to 1994. The actor also starred as Zeb Macahan, who leads his family across the American West, in the popular miniseries ’70s How the West Was Won, based on the 1962 MGM film (Arness played the James Stewart character).

Arness’ final TV series, the police drama McClain’s Law, aired from 1981-82.

Survivors include his wife Janet, two sons and six grandchildren. Services will be private.

R.I.p.......I actually thought he died years ago.

[newb]

Originally Posted by Elvis_Christ

Yeh this was a shame. Dude put out some epic shit.

The Bottle....say no more

[neverending]

Leonard Stern, Mad Libs creator and TV writer, dies at 88

Leonard Stern, an [adjective] writer best known for writing [number] episodes of classic TV shows like “The Honeymooners” and “Get Smart,” [verb ending in "ing] [adverb ending in "ly"], and creating the fill-in-the-blanks party game Mad Libs along with partner Roger Price, died Tuesday in Los Angeles. He was 88. Stern got his start in show business at the tender age of 16, when he began writing jokes for Milton Berle. He and Price came up with the idea for their popular game in 1953, according to The L.A. Times.

At the time, Stern was working on a “Honeymooners” script and struggling to come up with the best word to describe how Ralph Kramden’s new boss’s nose looked. “I asked Roger for an idea for an adjective, and before I could tell him what it was describing, he threw out ‘clumsy’ and ‘naked.’ We both started laughing,” Stern told Publishers Weekly in 2008. “We sat down and wrote a bunch of stories with blanks in them. That night we took them to a cocktail party and they were a great success.” The pair would go on to self-publish the first Mad Libs in 1958. Today, more than 110 million copies of various volumes of the game have been sold.

http://news-briefs.ew.com/2011/06/09...tern-mad-libs/

My family used to play Mad Libs on long automobile trips. It kept us from fighting with each other, and my 10 year old brain delighted in coming up with outrageous adjectives like spaghetti-fingered or blubber-faced.

RIP to a really creative, funny guy.

[bwind22]

Mad Libs were great!

[_____V_____]

'Spider-Man' Producer Laura Ziskin Dies at 61


Spider-Man" producer Laura Ziskin died Sunday evening. She was 61 and had been battling breast cancer for seven years.

Ziskin was perhaps best known for her work on the "Spider-Man" franchise, which brought in over $1.5 billion worldwide, making her one of the most powerful producers in Hollywood.

Ziskin produced the Academy Awards telecast two times, becoming the first woman to produce the awards show solo in 2002 and earning multiple Emmy awards in the process.

Though she struggled with cancer since receiving a Stage 3 diagnosis in 2004, Ziskin remained indefatigable, overseeing one of Sony's highest-grossing franchises and the broadcast of the industry's top awards shows.

She also became active in the movement to combat the disease, drawing on her contacts in the entertainment industry to help found Stand Up To Cancer in 2008.

After graduating from the University of Southern California's School for Cinematic Arts, Ziskin worked as a game show writer and personal assistant to producer Jon Peters. From there, she moved on to become a development executive, eventually forming Fogwood Films with partner Sally Field.

At Fogwood, Ziskin produced the Oscar nominated "Murphy's Romance" as a vehicle for Field and the Cold War thriller "No Way Out," which provided a crucial early role to a young Kevin Costner.

Ziskin would go on to work as a producer at Touchstone Pictures and as president of Fox 2000, where she oversaw hits such as "Pretty Woman" and "Courage Under Fire," as well as occasional misses such as the William Hurt medical drama "The Doctor."

During the 1990s, Ziskin would also executive produce "As Good As it Gets," which received seven Oscar nominations, including one for Best Picture. She also produced such critically acclaimed films as "Fight Club" and "To Die For."

After leaving Fox 2000 in 1999, Ziskin landed an independent production deal at Columbia Pictures, where she would go on to shepherd "Spider-Man" to the big screen. A new installment in the comic book series, "The Amazing Spider-Man," hits theaters next summer.

[Elvis_Christ]

RIP Seth Putnam of Anal Cunt :(

[Bizarre]

A heart attack at 43?

Damn....

[hammerfan]

Haven't seen anything online yet, but just heard on the morning news that Clarence Clemons passed away last night.

RIP Big Man!

[TheWickerFan]

Originally Posted by hammerfan

Haven't seen anything online yet, but just heard on the morning news that Clarence Clemons passed away last night.

RIP Big Man!

How dreadful. RIP Clarence.