Culture Icons... R.I.P

Discussion in 'Art & Culture' started by R1D2, Aug 25, 2012.

  1. Boo88 Registered Member

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    Seamus Heaney, Irish Poet and Nobel Laureate has passed aged 74.
     
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  3. StrangerInAStrangeLand SubQuantum Mechanic Valued Senior Member

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    Frederik Pohl

    Frederik George Pohl, Jr. (/ˈpoʊl/; November 26, 1919 – September 2, 2013) was an American science fiction writer, editor and fan, with a career spanning more than seventy-five years—from his first published work, the 1937 poem "Elegy to a Dead Satellite: Luna", to the 2011 novel All the Lives He Led and articles and essays published in 2012.

    From about 1959 until 1969, Pohl edited Galaxy and its sister magazine If; the latter won three successive annual Hugo Awards as the year's best professional magazine.[2] His 1977 novel Gateway won four "year's best novel" awards: the Hugo voted by convention participants, the Locus voted by magazine subscribers, the Nebula voted by American science fiction writers, and the juried academic John W. Campbell Memorial Award. He won the Campbell Memorial Award again for the 1984 collection of novellas Years of the City, one of two repeat winners during the first forty years. For his 1979 novel Jem, Pohl won a U.S. National Book Award in the one-year category Science Fiction. It was a finalist for three other years' best novel awards. He won four Hugo and three Nebula Awards.

    The Science Fiction Writers of America named Pohl its 12th recipient of the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award in 1993 and he was inducted by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 1998, its third class of two dead and two living writers.

    Pohl won the Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer in 2010, for his blog, "The Way the Future Blogs".

    Pohl went to the hospital in respiratory distress on the morning of September 2, 2013, and died that afternoon at the age of 93.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederik_Pohl

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  5. StrangerInAStrangeLand SubQuantum Mechanic Valued Senior Member

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    Pete Hoffman

    Pete Hoffman (February 22, 1919 - September 7, 2013) was an American cartoonist.[1] He is known for his work on the adventure strips Steve Roper (later Steve Roper and Mike Nomad) and Jeff Cobb.

    Early years

    Born in Toledo, Ohio, the youngest of four children, Hoffman showed artistic talent in his boyhood. He attended the University of Toledo, where he majored in advertising and marketing but also did editorial and commercial cartooning.

    World War II

    Graduating in 1941, Hoffman served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. Afterwards, he returned to Toledo and stopped by to see Steve Roper authors Allen Saunders and Elmer Woggon; he had met them as a student cartoonist and had been sending them additional sketches during the war. Liking his work, Saunders then hired him as a new ghost for Woggon because Publishers-Hall Syndicate had complained that the artwork still looked too cartoonish for an adventure strip. To judge by the change in drawing style, Hoffman began in December 1945, and yet the strip continued to appear as "Steve Roper by Saunders and Woggon." Hoffman's name was seen in it just once (June 9–14, 1947) — when Roper's friend Sonny Brawnski wrestled "Poison Pete Hoffman" after threatening to throw him into Toledo's Maumee River.

    "Giving up the ghost"

    Hoffman gave the postwar Steve Roper the more serious, consistent look it needed as it settled into a modern urban setting. He portrayed the main characters engagingly, and realistically showed them maturing in their lives and careers. (His villains, on the other hand, were grotesque or deformed, as in Dick Tracy.) In a later interview, he modestly understated his contribution: "The strip was in a transition stage and a more illustrative style of drawing was desired. My style fit their needs. I enjoyed ghost-drawing the characters for nearly nine years." The ghost was no secret, however: a 1953 article on Steve Roper in the Toledo Blade described Hoffman's role in the strip and pictured him working with Saunders and Woggon in their studio. At that time, ghosting was regarded as a new artist's apprenticeship until he could start his own strip. And following the two previous Steve Roper ghosts — Elmer Woggon's younger brother Bill Woggon (Katy Keene) and Don Dean (Cranberry Boggs)—Hoffman did just that in mid-1954, leaving Steve Roper to produce his own strip, Jeff Cobb. The parting was amicable, and Saunders and Woggon sponsored him when he joined the National Cartoonists Society in 1955. Starting with the July 12, 1954 strip, his replacement on Steve Roper was William Overgard, who put an end to the ghosting and boldly signed his artwork.

    Jeff Cobb

    Jeff Cobb debuted on June 28, 1954, both written and drawn by Hoffman and distributed by General Features Syndicate. As Hoffman said in a later interview, "Hopefully, some of Allen Saunders' expertise rubbed off on me when I worked on Steve Roper." Indeed, Cobb could have been a blond clone of Roper circa 1952, except that he didn't smoke a pipe and wore a black eye-patch after losing his right eye in a roof cave-in the 1960s. (It actually made him more popular.) Also like Roper, Cobb was an attractive, clean-cut, two-fisted investigative reporter (working for the Daily Guardian) who defended his standards, fought crime, and endured near-fatal threats to his life; he had to, "to keep his creator eating regularly". On the other hand, Hoffman's Jeff Cobb developed a greater range of expression and a more mature level of fine-line photorealism than his Roper. Like Saunders, he also emphasized characterization in plot development, and said he never ran out of ideas: the well-written stories were inspired by newspaper articles he read, and characters were often based on real people. Jeff Cobb developed a loyal following of readers in the U.S. and abroad, especially in Sweden.

    Later career

    When Jeff Cobb' ended in 1975, "a victim of the phase-out" of newspaper continuity strips in general,[3] Hoffman turned to freelance work and University of Toledo alumni projects.

    Honors

    Hoffman continued to live in his native Toledo, and in 2004, on the 50th anniversary of Jeff Cobb, he was honored there by appreciative fans—and by a collection of fellow cartoonists' caricatures, each sporting a Jeff Cobb eye-patch.

    Personal life and death

    Hoffman never married, regarding himself as "married to the drawing board".

    Hoffman died of a heart attack, aged 94.


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    Pete Hoffman's Jeff Cobb
     
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  7. StrangerInAStrangeLand SubQuantum Mechanic Valued Senior Member

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    Fred Katz

    Frederick Katz (February 25, 1919 – September 7, 2013) was an American cellist and composer. He was among the earliest jazz musicians to establish the cello as a viable improvising solo instrument. Katz has been described in CODA magazine as "the first real jazz cellist." Cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm (b. 1962), who recorded a 2002 tribute album to the older musician (A Valentine For Fred Katz, Atavistic Records), praises Katz for introducing his instrument to jazz: "[Katz] managed to find a way to make it swing."

    Born in New York City, Katz was classically trained. He studied under Pablo Casals and performed with several symphony orchestras. However, Katz is best known as a member of drummer Chico Hamilton's quintet, one of the most important West Coast jazz groups of the 1950s. Hamilton's group, including Katz, appeared in the film noir The Sweet Smell of Success (1957), starring Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis, where Katz was described in passing as the Quintet's primary composer. Katz and Hamilton wrote a score for the film which was ultimately rejected in favor of one by Elmer Bernstein.

    Katz also recorded several albums as a leader. Another high point in Katz's career was writing and conducting the arrangements for singer Carmen McRae's 1958 album Carmen For Cool Ones.

    One of his most recognizable pieces of music was his score for the film A Bucket of Blood, directed by Roger Corman, as the music appeared in a total of seven Corman films, including The Wasp Woman and Creature from the Haunted Sea.

    Later in his career, Katz became a professor of ethnic music in the Anthropology Department at California State University, Fullerton and also at CSU Northridge, where he taught world music, anthropology and religion for over 30 years. He was a longtime Fullerton resident. One of his students was John Densmore, drummer of The Doors.

    Katz died on September 7, 2013, in Santa Monica, California.

    Discography

    As leader
    Soul Cello (1957)
    Fred Katz and Jammers (1958)
    Folk Songs for Far Out Folk (1958)

    As sideman

    With Dorothy Ashby
    The Rubaiyat of Dorothy Ashby (Cadet, 1970)

    With Chico Hamilton
    Chico Hamilton Quintet in Hi Fi (1956)
    Chico Hamilton Quintet (1957)
    Gongs East! (1959)

    With Carmen McRae
    Carmen for Cool Ones (1958)

    With Ken Nordine
    Word Jazz (1957)
    Love Words (1958)
     
  8. StrangerInAStrangeLand SubQuantum Mechanic Valued Senior Member

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    Sunila Abeysekera

    Sunila Abeysekera (1952 – September 9, 2013) was a Sri Lankan award-winning human rights campaigner. She worked on women's rights and human rights issues in Sri Lanka and in the South Asia region for over 20 years as an activist and scholar. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan presented Abeysekera with a United Nations Human Rights Award in 1999. She was also honoured for her work by Human Rights Watch.

    Since 1992 Abeysekera has been working with the Global Campaign for Women's Human Rights and has been actively working in lobbying at all the UN Conferences since then – 1993 in Vienna and 1995 in Beijing –focusing on the issue of mainstreaming women's human rights concerns within the international human rights system.

    Abeysekera died in Sri Lanka on September 9, 2013.


    Selected works

    "Women and the Media in Sri Lanka: The Decade from Nairobi to Beijing," in Facets of Change. (Sri Lanka: CENWOR, 1995). CENWOR - Centre for Women's Research

    "Women's Human Rights: Questions of Equality and Difference," (MA Thesis) (The Hague: Institute of Social Studies, 1994).

    "Representations of Women in the Sinhala Cinema." Cinemaya: Indian Film Journal (1996).

    "Organising for Peace in the Midst of War: Experiences of Women in Sri Lanka," in From Basic Needs to Basic Rights. Ed. M. Schuler. (Washington DC: Women, Law and Development International, 1995).

    "The Abortion Debate in Sri Lanka," in Reproductive Health Matters. (London: 1995).

    "Consolidating Our Gains at the World Conference on Women's Human Rights: A Personal Reflection." Canadian Women's Studies Journal 15 (Spring-Summ 1995).
     
  9. StrangerInAStrangeLand SubQuantum Mechanic Valued Senior Member

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    Patricia Blair

    Patricia Blair (born Patsy Lou Blake; January 15, 1933 – September 9, 2013) was an American television and film actress, primarily on 1950s and 1960s television. She is best known as Rebecca Boone in all six seasons of NBC's Daniel Boone, with co-stars Fess Parker, Darby Hinton, Veronica Cartwright, and Ed Ames. She also played Lou Mallory on the ABC western series The Rifleman, in which she was cast in assorted roles in 22 episodes with Chuck Connors, Johnny Crawford and Paul Fix.

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    Patsy Lou Blake was born in Fort Worth, Texas and grew up in Dallas. She became a teenage model through the Conover Agency. While acting in summer stock, Warner Bros. discovered her and she began acting in films under the names Patricia Blake and Pat Blake. In the late 1950s she appeared as the second female lead in several films for Warner Bros. and later for MGM. Her first movie was Jump Into Hell (1955), about the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in French Indochina.

    She had a recurring role as Goldy, one of Madame Francine's hostesses, on the 1958 TV series Yancy Derringer. In 1962, she starred as Lou Mallory in The Rifleman, replacing actress Joan Taylor as Chuck Connors' love interest on The Rifleman. In 1963 she made a guest appearance on Perry Mason as murderer Nicolai Wright in "The Case of the Badgered Brother." She also made guest television appearances on The Bob Cummings Show, Rescue 8, Richard Diamond, Private Detective, The Virginian, and Bonanza.

    She had considered moving to New York City in 1964 when screenwriter Gordon Chase helped her get a role in the series Daniel Boone. She played wife Rebecca Boone, opposite Fess Parker for six seasons, with Darby Hinton as son Israel and Veronica Cartwright as daughter Jemima. After the show ended in 1970, she appeared in a few minor films and television spots. Her last appearance on film was as the fashion narrator in the 1979 feature film The Electric Horseman. starring Robert Redford and Jane Fonda. In later years she produced trade shows in New York and New Jersey.

    On February 14, 1965, the 30-year-old Blair married 42-year-old[5] land developer Martin S. Colbert in Los Angeles, California. They were divorced in 1993.

    She died at home in North Wildwood, New Jersey.
     
  10. StrangerInAStrangeLand SubQuantum Mechanic Valued Senior Member

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    William A. Graham

    William A. Graham (1926 – September 12, 2013) was an American television and film director.[1][2]

    Graham directed episodes of many TV series including The Fugitive, Twelve O'Clock High, The Big Valley, Batman and Ironside. He also produced and directed the romance adventure sequel Return to the Blue Lagoon (1991).

    Graham was the director of Elvis Presley's final acting role in a motion picture, Change of Habit in 1969.[
     
  11. StrangerInAStrangeLand SubQuantum Mechanic Valued Senior Member

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    Jerry G. Bishop

    Jerry G. Bishop (August 3, 1936 – September 15, 2013) was a radio and television personality who is known for being Chicago's original "Svengoolie", and for his award-winning twelve-year stint on "Sun-Up San Diego."

    Born Jairus Samuel Ghan in Chicago to Russian Jewish parents,[2] he graduated from Wright Junior College, the University of Illinois and Columbia College Chicago.

    Radio

    In 1961, he got his start in radio at WNMP-AM (now WCGO-AM) in Evanston, hosting the morning-drive program. He also worked part-time on stations in Rockford and Springfield. In 1962, he was hired at WPGC-AM in Washington, D.C., where he stayed for a year, before being hired on at Cleveland giant KYW-AM as a night-time DJ. He had used his real name of Jerry Ghan at his previous jobs, but program director Ken Draper requested he change his on-air name to simply "Jerry G."

    During his three-year stint at KYW, Jerry G. toured with the Beatles as a reporter for Group W and NBC Radio stations on their 1964 and 1965 tours, hosted a weekly dance-party program, "Jerry G & Co.," on KYW's television outlet and recorded a song, "She's Gone," backed by local group the Statesmen. Released as a single on the Clevetown label as by "Jerry G & Co.," it became a local hit in 1966.

    When Ken Draper was program director at Chicago's WCFL-AM from 1965 to 1968, he hired Bishop in 1967. Draper then asked him to pick a last name to go with the "Jerry G." name he had been using. He and his wife flipped through the Cleveland phone book, and together settled on the name "Bishop."

    Television

    In 1969, Jerry G. became a staff announcer and the host an afternoon local version of the movie/call-in contest show Dialing For Dollars on WFLD-TV, which was also located in Marina City in what is now The House of Blues building. This affiliation with WFLD would, of course, lead to Jerry inventing his most famous role as Svengoolie on Channel 32's Screaming Yellow Theater in 1971.

    Bishop was the announcer of the station's Friday-night scary-movie anthology "Screaming Yellow Theater," when he had an idea to create a live host for the program-the character that became known as Svengoolie - at first a Bela Lugosi-type voice under a title-card (and over Link Wray's 1958 hit "Rumble"), then on-screen, in the guise of a green-haired, green-bearded, guitar-strumming hippie who slept in a psychedelic-painted coffin and told corny, vaudeville-era jokes given a horror-movie skew.

    The show's title was derived from Screaming Yellow Zonkers, a yellow, sugary glazed popcorn snack, first produced in the 1960s. Svengoolie was a pun on the name Svengali + ghoul. The show, and character, proved to be wildly successful; the show lasted from 1970 until 1973, when parent company Field Communications sold WFLD-TV to Kaiser Broadcasting, which chose to replace "Theater" with a similar show popular in Cleveland, "The Ghoul Show." (The Svengoolie persona would be resurrected, with Bishop's permission, in 1979 by Rich Koz, who had been a writer for the original series; Koz continues in the role today.)

    Return to radio

    After leaving WFLD, Bishop would be hired by WMAQ-AM as their morning-drive personality. He also worked on the station's television outlet (channel 5), hosting "Chicago Camera," a Sunday-afternoon variety program. He also anchored the "Today in Chicago" segment of NBC's "Today" show. He would work for WMAQ until 1975, when WMAQ-AM changed formats from MOR/talk to country and replaced their entire announcing staff. Bishop remained in the Windy City for a short time afterwards, acting as Director of Corporate Affairs for The National Easter Seal Society of Chicago.

    In August 1978, he headed West, to San Diego and KFMB-TV, where he assumed the co-host chair of the long-running morning-talk program "Sun-Up San Diego." He collected three local Emmy Awards and a National Press Club Award for his work on the show, which he co-hosted for twelve years until its cancellation in 1990. In 1980, he served as local moderator of the discussion segment of the innovative Norman Lear project "The Baxters"; the segment was titled "The Baxters with Bishop." In 1992, He worked at adult-contemporary KPOP-AM (now KLSD-AM), and wound up his broadcasting career with a three-year stint hosting a show (via voice-tracking from San Diego) on WRLL ("Real Oldies 1690"), a Regional Mexican extended-AM station aimed at the Chicago area, beginning in 2003.

    Restaurateur

    Away from his radio/television pursuits, Bishop and his family operated two Chicago-themed restaurants in San Diego's Seaport Village for 33 years: the Greek Islands Cafe (based on a similarly-named restaurant in Chicago) and Asaggio Pizza and Pasta (featuring deep-dish pizza and Chicago Cubs decor).

    Death

    Bishop died on September 15, 2013, at the University of California - San Diego Medical Center, of a heart attack. He was survived by his wife of 49 years, Liz, and his children Melissa and Christopher.
     
  12. StrangerInAStrangeLand SubQuantum Mechanic Valued Senior Member

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    Joyce Jacobs

    Joyce Jacobs (15 April 1922 – 15 September 2013) was a British Australian character actress. She was born in Surrey, England. Arriving in Australia in 1965, during the 1970s, Jacobs played the small, recurring role of Mrs. Carson in Number 96 and Muriel Palmer on The Young Doctors.

    Joyce appeared in the pilot episode of A Country Practice , she appeared in the pilot episode as a character in the medical clinic called Norma after which she returned to the series thereafter donning Edna Everage style glasses and playing Esme Watson on the long-running Seven Network drama series A Country Practice in which her popularity grew, originally conceived as a gossip character, she became more sympathetic as the series progressed, and became one of the series' most beloved characters. Becoming a regular, starting with Episode 99 in 1982. Having worked on the series for 12 years, she was one of the show's longest-serving actresses. She remained with the show until it ended in 1993.

    In 1994, Network Ten continued the series under the same title, but with a new setting and a mostly new cast. Jacobs, however, reprised her role of Esme. The new version was not as successful as the original and was cancelled after 29 episodes. She appeared in the short film, Heaven on the 4th Floor, in 1998 opposite Bunney Brooke. She appeared in a guest episode on G.P. and in the 1986 television movie Hector's Bunyip. A guest appearance on All Saints in 2000 reunited her with Georgie Parker, her co-star on A Country Practice. She appeared in many A Country Practice reunions, including the Television Turns 50 special in 2006.

    After retirement, in an interview with the magazine Woman's Day in 2012 she acknowledged that she had had Parkinson's disease for 10 years. After her long-time husband of 64 years Ian Jacobs died, she resided in a rest home facility and celebrated her 90th birthday with fellow cast members.

    Jacobs died from Parkinson's Disease, aged 91 at Taren Point, New South Wales, on 15 September 2013.
     
  13. StrangerInAStrangeLand SubQuantum Mechanic Valued Senior Member

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    Jackie Lomax

    John Richard 'Jackie' Lomax (10 May 1944 – 15 September 2013) was an English guitarist and singer-songwriter, best known for his association with George Harrison and Eric Clapton. Born in Wallasey, Cheshire, England, he later resided in Ojai, California, United States, with his wife, Annie (previously Norma Richardson), mother of fashion photographer Terry Richardson.

    Lomax was a member of Dee and the Dynamites, The Undertakers, The Lomax Alliance, Heavy Jelly and Badger. He worked with The Tea Bags, George Harrison, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Leon Russell and Nicky Hopkins.

    1962–1970

    In January 1962, Jackie Lomax left Dee and the Dynamites to join the Merseybeat band, The Undertakers. They followed The Beatles' route through local venues before setting out for Hamburg, Germany, and securing a recording contract. They signed with Pye Records and released four singles, but they only managed one week on the UK Singles Chart between them. In 1965 they decided to try their luck in the United States.

    Lomax spent two years in the US with The Undertakers and a couple of other groups. In 1967, Brian Epstein took his latest line-up, The Lomax Alliance, back to the UK to showcase them at London's Saville Theatre. He arranged for a single and an album to be recorded, and they signed to CBS before Epstein's death. During that period, CBS released two Lomax Alliance singles and one Jackie Lomax solo single. More than enough tracks for an album were recorded but it was never released.

    After Epstein's death, The Beatles' new record label, Apple Records, took over responsibility for Lomax's recording career, and George Harrison became involved in production. Despite having three-quarters of The Beatles on the record, plus Eric Clapton and Nicky Hopkins, Lomax's debut single on Apple – the Harrison-penned "Sour Milk Sea" – made little impression commercially. Lomax and Harrison recorded the remainder of the Is This What You Want? album in Los Angeles, with Hal Blaine and other members of the Wrecking Crew; but as with the concurrent single, the Lomax produced "New Day", success remained elusive when the album was released in early 1969. A final Apple single followed, a cover version of "How the Web Was Woven" featuring Leon Russell. By 1970, The Beatles' breakup left the remaining Apple Records artists in limbo.

    1970–1977

    After leaving Apple, Lomax joined a band called Heavy Jelly. Heavy Jelly began as a hoax review in Time Out magazine. Guitarist John Morshead from The Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation and three ringers had posed for the "group's" photo in the magazine, so to cash in on the buzz Morshead and drummer Carlo Little released a single on promoter John Curd's Head Records ("Chewn In" / "Time Out", Head HDS4001, 1969). They were beaten to the punch however by the group Skip Bifferty who released their own single as Heavy Jelly ("I Keep Singing That Same Old Song" b/w "Blue") on Island Records. The A-Side became fairly well-known at the time from its inclusion on the Island sampler "Nice Enough To Eat." Curd owned the rights to the name however, and stopped Island from releasing any other Heavy Jelly productions. With his former Aynsley Dunbar mate bassist Alex Dmochowski in tow, guitarist Morshead formed another version of Heavy Jelly with Jackie Lomax. Mike Kellie from Spooky Tooth drummed on some sessions but was later replaced by Barry Jenkins, formerly of The Animals. Also helping out were the tragic Badfinger duo of Pete Ham and Tom Evans on backing vocals and "horn section to the stars" Bobby Keys and Jim Price. The self-titled Heavy Jelly album was recorded, entirely consisting of Lomax songs, but was only issued for promotional purposes and never released commercially due to contractual issues with Apple. After the album was finished, the band began touring but was bedeviled by line-up changes. Drummer Dave Rowland and bassist Steve Thompson were with the group at one point. After a few months the band disintegrated. In December 2013 it was announced that after his untimely death in Autumn 2013 his family resolved all issues with Apple amicably and the was released on by Angel Air Records on 10 March 2014.

    Confusing matters further, another Heavy Jelly produced by Simon Napier-Bell released their only single in the U.S. and France on Avco Embassy ("Humpty Dumpty" b/w "Throw Down A Line") in a nice picture sleeve. This may have been a studio group since both sides were written by Producer Napier-Bell and vocalist and sometime partner Ray Singer.

    In 1971, Lomax returned to the US to live and work in Woodstock, New York. He signed to Warner Bros. Records and reunited with members of the Lomax Alliance and The Undertakers. They returned to the recording studio but the two albums released, Home is in My Head and Three, failed to sell.

    Disappointed with his lack of success, Lomax returned to the UK at the end of 1973. He joined Badger, a progressive rock band originally formed by ex-Yes keyboard player Tony Kaye, and turned them into a R&B and soul band he had used on his solo albums. The band became a vehicle for Lomax's songs and singing but was short-lived, releasing only one album, the Allen Toussaint-produced White Lady, on Epic Records.

    Lomax crossed the Atlantic again to resume his solo career and Capitol Records signed him in 1975. He released two Capitol albums, Livin' for Lovin' and Did You Ever Have That Feeling? before leaving the label in 1977. The latter set was only released in the UK.

    1978–2000

    The 1980s were a quiet time in Lomax's career. In the mid-1980s he played guitar and sang background vocals on demos for various artists, produced by his friend Patrick Landreville. He briefly played with The Tea Bags, a Los-Angeles based group which included Ian Wallace, Kim Gardner, Mick Taylor, Brian Auger, Terry Reid, Peter Banks, Graham Bell and David Mansfield amongst others. In the 1990s, he spent time playing with other British artists on America's West Coast, and he toured as the bassist for The Drifters, The Diamonds, and The Coasters. In California, particularly Ventura County, Lomax played live with a succession of line-ups including Tom Petty, drummer Randall Marsh, Jim Calire, Patrick Landreville and Mitch Kashmar.

    In 1990, Lomax recorded the Tim Buckley song, "Devil Eyes" for the True Voices album. Others appearing on the album included Gene Clark, John Stewart, P. F. Sloan and Lucinda Williams.

    2001–2013

    In 2001, Lomax completed the recording of his first solo album since 1977, The Ballad of Liverpool Slim. 2002 saw him continuing to play on the West Coast of America. In 2003, he made a return to The Cavern in Liverpool, where his career began more than 40 years earlier. In 2004, Lomax was a guest on the 'BeatlesandBeyond' Radio Show in Walsall, hosted by Pete Dicks. Dicks later wrote the sleeve notes for, and organised, the UK release of Lomax's The Ballad of Liverpool Slim...and Others album. Lomax returned to Liverpool on several occasions, playing in the Liverpool pub in James Street.

    Percy Sledge included Lomax's song, "Fall Inside Your Eyes", on his 2004 album, Shining Through The Rain.

    During the last few years Jackie was a regular visitor to Parrjazz at Studio 2, Liverpool where his wonderful music was always warmly appreciated by an enthusiastic audience.

    On 13 April 2012, Lomax played on the 50th Anniversary of the Hamburg based Star-Club in the Kaiserkeller, with the Star Club All-Star-Band plus Brian Griffiths (Big Three), Bobby Thompson (Dominoes) and Joe Fagin (Strangers) and also with The Undertakers.

    On 15 September 2013, Jackie Lomax died on the Wirral Peninsula while staying in England for the wedding of one of his children.

    Recordings

    The Undertakers Unearthed 1963-65
    The Lomax Alliance and CBS Recordings 1966-1967
    Is This What You Want? 1969 No. 145 US
    Heavy Jelly 1970
    Home Is In My Head 1971
    Three 1972
    "White Lady" / "Badger" 1974
    Livin' For Lovin' 1976
    Did You Ever Have That Feeling? 1977
    True Voices (Various Artists) 1991
    The Ballad of Liverpool Slim 2001 & 2004
    The Ballad of Liverpool Slim...and Others (Angel Air Records)
    Against All Odds (Angel Air Records) 2014
     
  14. StrangerInAStrangeLand SubQuantum Mechanic Valued Senior Member

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    Mac Curtis

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    Wesley Erwin "Mac" Curtis, Jr. (January 16, 1939 – September 16, 2013) was an American rockabilly musician.

    Born in Fort Worth, Texas, Curtis began playing guitar at the age of 12, entering local talent competitions. He moved to Weatherford in 1954, and while there he formed a band with two classmates, Jim and Ken Galbraith. They played at school events, but during one of the events, their show was shut down due to sexually suggestive on-stage movements. Instead, the group played locally, and in 1955 they were offered a deal with King Records, who released their debut single, "If I Had Me a Woman".

    Soon after Alan Freed heard the group and invited them to play on his Christmas radio special in 1956. Curtis returned to Weatherford to finish school in 1957, and then became a disc jockey in Seoul, Korea after joining the military. Upon his return in 1960, he continued work as a DJ in the South, and released a few albums; his 1968 release, The Sunshine Man, hit No. 35 on the U.S. Country albums chart. As rockabilly grew in popularity in the 1970s, he began recording with Ray Campi and signed to Ronnie Weiser's Rollin' Rock Records; his career took off there in the 1980s and 1990s. He was later elected to the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.

    He died on September 16, 2013, following injuries received in a car accident.
     
  15. StrangerInAStrangeLand SubQuantum Mechanic Valued Senior Member

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    Kim Hamilton

    Kim Hamilton (born Dorothy Mae Aiken; September 12, 1932 – September 16, 2013) was an American film and television actress, whose career spanned from the 1950s to the 2010s. Her early film credits included the 1959 film noir, Odds Against Tomorrow, opposite Harry Belafonte, and The Leech Woman in 1960. Hamilton, who was one of the first African American actors to appear on the soap opera, Days of our Lives, broke the color barrier on the television series, Leave It to Beaver.

    Hamilton portrayed, in an uncredited role, Helen Robinson in 1962 film adaptation, To Kill a Mockingbird, based on Harper Lee's novel of the same name. She was the film's last surviving African American adult cast member with a speaking role.


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    Hamilton with Ivan Dixon and Steven Perry in The Twilight Zone episode "The Big Tall Wish", 1960.

    Hamilton initially wanted to be a model, but could not work in the fashion industry due to her short stature and race. Instead, she found a advertisement in the Los Angeles Times, which led to acting classes and an agent. Hamilton made her professional acting debut in the 1950s television sitcom, Amos 'n' Andy. She played Andy's (Spencer Williams) girlfriend on the show for several episodes.

    She briefly moved to London to pursue acting. Hamilton was able to find some roles, but returned to the United States after the British Actors' Equity Association and the Secretary of State for Employment denied her work permit, a practice commonly used against American actors at the time.

    Hamilton appeared in more sixty television series and television films throughout her career. In 1960, she guest starred in an episode The Twilight Zone called "The Big Tall Wish." She became one of the first black actresses to appear on the soap opera, Days of Our Lives, Other roles included guest spots on The Thin Man, General Hospital, Sanford and Son, In the Heat of the Night and Law & Order. She played Songi in "Final Mission" a 1990 episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Her last television credit was a 2008 episode of the ABC series, Private Practice.

    Hamilton was also an artist, director, and writer. In her final credits, she was credited as Kim Rousseau.

    In December 2007, Hamilton was honored for her career achievements by Columbia University and the Harlem community at an event held at the Museum of the City of New York. Hamilton's honor was part of series of Columbia University's Big Read program, focusing on To Kill a Mockingbird through guest lectures, productions, and panel discussions.

    Hamilton was born Dorothy Mae Aiken on September 12, 1932 in Los Angeles, California. A former resident of Harlem, she divided her time between her homes in Los Angeles and the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

    She was married three times in her life and had two children; her son, Robert, predeceased her. Her first marriage, at age 18, was to Robert Henry Hamilton (1951 until divorce later that decade); this union produced two children. A second marriage was to television director, Dave Geisel (1962–65). She dated German-born actor Werner Klemperer for more than two decades before their marriage in 1997. They remained together until Klemperer's death on December 6, 2000.

    Hamilton died of undisclosed causes on September 16, 2013, aged 81, in Los Angeles, California.
     
  16. StrangerInAStrangeLand SubQuantum Mechanic Valued Senior Member

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    Joan Hanke-Woods

    Delphyne Joan Hanke-Woods (November 11, 1945 – September 2013) was an American science fiction artist and fan, whose name is sometimes credited as joan hanke-woods, delphyne joan hanke-woods, delphyne woods, or Mori. She won the Hugo Award for Best Fan Artist in 1986, after having been nominated for the award every year since 1980 (inclusive). In 1984, she was the Fan Guest of Honor at Windycon.

    While best known as a fan, she also worked professionally, illustrating works by Philip José Farmer, Michael Resnick, Theodore Sturgeon, and A. E. van Vogt, among others.

    She was taught to read by her grandfather in 1949, using his son's 1930s science fiction and fantasy pulp magazines stored in the attic. She later worked as a typesetter, and in the computer industry.
     
  17. StrangerInAStrangeLand SubQuantum Mechanic Valued Senior Member

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    Jimmy Ponder

    Jimmy Ponder (born May 10, 1946 - died September 16, 2013 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) was an American jazz guitarist.

    Ponder started playing guitar at age 14, and was heavily influenced by Wes Montgomery and Kenny Burrell. He began playing with Charles Earland at 17, and in the following years played with Lou Donaldson, Houston Person, Donald Byrd, Stanley Turrentine, and Jimmy McGriff. He moved to Philadelphia and later New York City in the 1970s, and recorded extensively as a leader for a number of jazz labels. Since the late 1980s, Jimmy frequently returned to his hometown to perform with his popular trio alongside two of Pittsburgh's other Jazz greats; Roger Humphries and Gene Ludwig. Ponder's most commercially successful releases were his 1978 Muse Records set All Things Beautiful (U.S. Billboard Jazz Albums #38) and 2000's Ain't Misbehavin', for HighNote (U.S. Jazz #16).
     
  18. StrangerInAStrangeLand SubQuantum Mechanic Valued Senior Member

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    Patsy Swayze

    Yvonne Helen "Patsy" Swayze (February 7, 1927 – September 16, 2013) was an American film choreographer, dancer, and dance instructor. Her credits included the choreography for Urban Cowboy, Liar's Moon and Hope Floats. Her five children included the actors Patrick Swayze and Don Swayze. She has been credited with training Patrick in dance, leading to his starring role in Dirty Dancing in 1987.

    A native of Houston, Texas, and surrounding Harris County, Swayze was born Yvonne Helen Karnes (nicknamed Patsy) on February 7, 1927.[2] Swayze was the daughter of Victor Elliott Karnes and Gladys Snell Karnes. She married Jesse Wayne Swayze (1925–1982), an engineering draftsman. The couple had five children. The family lived on Wakefield Street in the Garden Oaks neighborhood of Houston. They later moved to another home on Del Norte Street.

    Patsy Swayze's interest and career in dance began in the aftermath of a car accident as a child. Her mother had her take dances classes as part of her recovery.

    Swayze founded the Houston Jazz Ballet Company and served as the ballet's director. She also opened a Houston dance studio, the Swayze School of Dance. Her son Patrick met his future wife, film director and actress Lisa Niemi, while they were enrolled as her students at the Swayze School of Dance. (The couple married in 1975). In addition to her own dance studio, Swayze taught dance and choreography at the University of Houston for eighteen years. Patsy Swayze's former students included Debbie Allen, Randy Quaid, Jaclyn Smith and Tommy Tune.

    Patsy Swayze transitioned to film by choreographing her first movie, Urban Cowboy, starring John Travolta and Debra Winger. The success of Urban Cowboy essentially launched her career as a film choreographer. In 1980, Patsy Swayze moved from Houston to southern California. She choreographed numerous films over the next three decades including Liar's Moon in 1982 and Hope Floats, directed by Forest Whitaker, in 1998. She teamed with her daughter-in-law, director Lisa Niemi, to choreograph the 2003 film, One Last Dance, which starred Niemi, Patrick Swayze and George de la Peña.

    In addition to her film work, Swayze also directed a dance studio in Simi Valley, California, for more than twenty years.

    Patsy Swayze suffered a stroke in September 2013. She died of stroke complications at her home in Simi Valley, California, on September 16, 2013, at the age of 86.
     
  19. StrangerInAStrangeLand SubQuantum Mechanic Valued Senior Member

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    Otha Bailey

    Otha Bailey (born June 30, 1931 - September 17, 2013) was an American baseball player in the Negro Leagues baseball player. He was a catcher for many teams. He played for the Birmingham Black Barons, Chattanooga Choo-Choos, Cleveland Buckeyes, Houston Eagles, and the New Orleans Eagles from 1949 to 1959. Throughout his career, his nickname was "Little Catch".

    He was born in Huntsville, Alabama and died in Birmingham, Alabama.
     
  20. StrangerInAStrangeLand SubQuantum Mechanic Valued Senior Member

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    Michael or Mihalis Giannatos (11 July 1941[1] – 17 September 2013), alternatively spelled as Yannatos (Greek: Μιχαήλ or Μιχάλης Γιαννάτος), was a Greek actοr.

    Ηe was born in Constantinople (Istanbul), Turkey, which at the time still had a major Greek presence. He left the city for Greece in 1964 during the long eviction period of Greeks.

    He studied in Konstantinos Demopoulos' school of drama and first appeared as a professional actor in Georgios Zervoulakos' film Oi stigmatismenoi (Greek: Οι στιγματισμένοι) in 1966. When still a student, he participated in the theatrical play Capetan Michalis (Greek: Καπετάν Μιχάλης) next to Manos Katrakis.

    During his long cinematic career, he appeared in close to 100 films, television series and plays. He was a regular in Theodoros Angelopoulos films since he was one of the director's favorite actors. After Megalexandros (Greek: Μεγαλέξανδρος) in 1981, Aggelopoulos was always calling him to play in his movies.

    He was fluent in five languages; Greek, Turkish, French, Italian and Spanish. Due to that, he appeared in many international productions, including Midnight Express, Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Munich and more. He worked next to great actors such as Anthony Quinn, John Hurt, Nicolas Cage, Penélope Cruz, Christian Bale, Eric Bana and Daniel Craig.

    He also played in the film A Touch of Spice [Greek title: Politiki kouzina (Greek: Πολίτικη Κουζίνα)] by Tassos Boulmetis and in the European co-production Le Dernier Seigneur des Balkans.

    Giannatos was married to Chaido whom he was with until the day he died. They have three children together; Gerasimos (born at 1979), Ioannis (born at 1980) and Maria (born at 1982).

    Since 1979, when his first son was born, Giannatos was working night shifts as a receptionist at the Hotel Caravel. He needed the job so he could take care of his family, while at the same time he was working as an actor every time he had the chance. His son Gerasimos said: "His main job was receptionist. With that job we made it through. He was working from 1979 when I was born till 1996 as a receptionist".

    In an interview to Giannis Kasapis in 2012, Giannatos said that he loved classical music: "Classical music is the crown of music. Let me tell you how I first loved it. At my school in Constantinople I had an Italian classmate who asked me if I had ever heard classical music. I said no and she invited me to her house. She played one of Chopin's Polonaises...I froze! I heard them all! Since then I became a devotee". Giannatos also stated that he was hearing Greek songs as well, Stelios Kazantzidis and rebetiko, and sometimes even flamenco, tango or csárdás. In the same interview he said that he loved the three ancient Greek tragedians — Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides — and of course Aristophanes. Also Hemingway and Agatha Christie.

    Giannatos died on 17 September 2013 at the age of 72 due to a heart attack, while watching a football match with friends. As his son said, no one of his friends realized that he was gone, till the moment someone called him and he didn't respond.

    The Greek Minister of Culture and Sports expressed his condolence to Giannatos family while stating: "Michalis Giannatos was an exquisite actor who played in many important Greek, but also foreign, movies. But he was also one of those artists and, deep down, one of those people who are proving every day that it's not necessary to have the main part of a movie to be a protagonist".
     
  21. StrangerInAStrangeLand SubQuantum Mechanic Valued Senior Member

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    Bernie McGann

    Bernard Francis "Bernie" McGann (22 June 1937 – 17 September 2013) was an Australian jazz alto saxophone player. He began his career in the late 1950s and remained active as a performer, composer and recording artist until near the end of his life.

    Born in Granville, New South Wales, in Sydney's western suburbs, McGann first came to prominence as part of a loose alliance of modern jazz musicians who performed at the El Rocco Jazz Cellar in Kings Cross, Sydney in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He had an enduring collaboration with drummer John Pochee.

    During the 1960s and early 1970s, McGann (like many other local jazz players) also performed with rock and pop groups and as a session musician, and ca. 1970 he was a member of the Sydney rock-soul band Southern Comfort.

    He led the Bernie McGann Trio and Bernie McGann Quartet through his career. The most well-known lineup of the Trio was McGann (alto sax), John Pochee (drums), Lloyd Swanton (bass), with the addition of Warwick Alder (trumpet) in the quartet.

    He approved Catherine O'Brien's lyrics to his compositions including Spirit Song, Lady's Choice, Last Straw, Sweet Lucy, Mr Harris and Nights at the Wizz.

    McGann died on 17 September 2013, following complications from heart surgery. He was 76.

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    Career highlights

    1974 – Founding member of The Last Straw (jazz group).
    1980–82 – Played support to US jazz artists, including Freddie Hubbard, Lester Bowie, and Dave Liebman.
    1981 – Played and recorded with US saxophonist Sonny Stitt.
    1983 – Studied in New York on a grant from The Australia Council.
    1986 – Bernie McGann Trio toured Australia with US saxophonist Dewey Redman.
    1987 – Toured with The Last Straw to Tasmania. Recorded two albums, one trio and one quartet, for Emanem which received critical acclaim internationally
    1988 – Toured Australia and USA with the Australian Jazz Orchestra, a special Bicentennial project. Feature artist in award-winning documentary film Beyond El Rocco. The Last Straw tour of New Zealand jazz festivals with an Australia Council international touring grant. Bernie McGann Trio played at London's famous Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club, before touring jazz festivals in Poland, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, India and Malaysia.
    1989 – Solo artist at Auckland's Jazz & Blues Festival. Appeared with The Last Straw at the prestigious Montreal Jazz Festival in Canada. Performed with Nat Adderley
    1990 – Toured USSR with The Last Straw, performing to enthusiastic audiences at jazz festivals including Leningrad
    1992 – ARIA award for Bernie McGann Trio CD 'Ugly Beauty', Spiral Scratch MO Award for Bernie McGann Trio in Jazz Group of the Year[3]
    1993 – Toured Canadian Jazz Festivals
    1994 – Australian Mo Awards for Jazz Instrumentalist of the Year.
    1995 – ARIA award for Bernie McGann Trio CD 'McGann McGann' on Rufus Records, which featured McGann originals
    1996 – Toured Canada and Europe including Northsea Jazz Festival and Munchener Klaviersummer.
    1997 – Bernie McGann Trio appeared at the Chicago Jazz Festival. ARIA award for Bernie McGann Trio CD Playground (Rufus Records).
    1998 – Wins the Don Banks Music Award, the first time it has been awarded to a non-classical musician/composer. Launch of biography Bernie McGann: A Life in Jazz by Geoff Page (Kardooraire Press)
     
  22. StrangerInAStrangeLand SubQuantum Mechanic Valued Senior Member

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    Marvin Rainwater

    Marvin Karlton Rainwater (July 2, 1925 – September 17, 2013), was an American country and rockabilly singer and songwriter who had several hits during the late 1950s, including "Gonna Find Me a Bluebird" and "Whole Lotta Woman", a UK no.1 record. He was known for wearing Native American-themed outfits on stage and was 25 percent Cherokee.

    Rainwater was born in Wichita, Kansas, to Stella (née Miller) and Cicero Percy Rainwater, and grew up during the Great Depression. As a child, instead of listening to the Grand Ole Opry with his father, he took classical piano lessons, which ended after he lost part of his right thumb to a work accident as a teenager. He originally trained to be a veterinarian, but after some time in the Navy during World War II took up the guitar.

    He became fascinated with Roy Acuff and started playing and writing songs. With his brothers, he played concerts around Virginia. He sometimes wore a buckskin jacket and headband. Rising guitarist Roy Clark worked with Rainwater and together they cut a few demos for 4 Star Records. Pop singer Teresa Brewer turned one of his compositions, "I Gotta Go Get My Baby", into a big hit. Others were overdubbed and released on budget record labels.

    Rainwater got his big break in the music business when he performed on Arthur Godfrey's programs. He won first place on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts on May 9, 1955. He had a regular role on ABC-TV's Ozark Jubilee for several years in Springfield, Missouri beginning in 1955. He signed with MGM Records and recorded a series of songs for the label, including peppy numbers like "Hot and Cold". Such songs were showcases for Rainwater's voice, and his energy and versatility led him to record rockabilly.

    Rainwater was one of country's most noteworthy stars in the late 1950s, when his good looks and baritone voice made him popular. One of the first country songs he recorded was "Gonna Find Me a Bluebird", which he wrote. Released in 1957, the song became a big country-pop crossover hit, making Rainwater among the first country singers to appeal to a pop market. The song reached No. 5 on the country chart and 18 on the pop chart. It sold one million copies by 1957, and gave Rainwater his first gold record. During the song's success, Rainwater relocated to the New Jersey-New York area."The Majesty of Love" (1957) was a duet with Connie Francis, which also sold over one million copies. His next single, "So You Think You Got Troubles", was a successful follow-up on the country charts, but not on the pop charts. His self-penned "Whole Lotta Woman" reached UK No. 1 for three weeks in April and May 1958. A second UK single, "I Dig You Baby", made No. 19 in June 1958. "Nothin' Needs Nothin' (Like I Need You)" missed the UK Top Thirty chart, but returned him to the US Country chart.

    Rainwater performed and toured throughout the rest of the 1950s. In 1959, he added three more gold records: "My Love Is Real", "My Brand Of Blues" and "Half Breed" (A cover version of a John D. Loudermilk song,) all sold in excess of one million records. In 1959, Rainwater recorded another Loudermilk song, "The Pale Faced Indian". His original version went unnoticed, but later efforts by Don Fardon and Paul Revere & The Raiders under the title "Indian Reservation" were hits. Marvin recorded a number of songs with his little sister Patty Rainwater who was almost 12 years his junior. They recorded songs like "Down In The Cellar" as well as some of Patty's compositions like "Because I'm A Dreamer" and "Two Fools In Love".

    His voice began to give out, and he developed calluses on his vocal cords. As a result, Rainwater and MGM Records parted ways in 1960. He went into brief retirement to rest his voice and then recorded sporadically for Warwick Records (United Kingdom), although without any hits. In the 1960s, he recorded for a series of record labels including United Artists, Warner Bros. and Sonet; and started his own record company called Brave Records.

    In the 1970s, Rainwater developed throat cancer, from which he slowly recovered, and moved to Aitkin, Minnesota. He appeared occasionally at rockabilly festivals in Europe and was still loved by many fans.

    Rainwater was the 73rd inductee into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.

    He died of heart failure on September 17, 2013, in Minneapolis. Marvin had five children. Jimmy and Judi by his first wife Charline; Wade, Lora Lee and Barbie by his second wife Barbara.

    Rainwater's song "Gamblin' Man" was covered by Mike Ness on his 1999 album, Under the Influences. "So You Think You've Got Troubles" was covered by Harry Nilsson, as evidenced on his 1966 Spotlight on Nilsson compilation album. "Gonna Find Me a Bluebird" was covered by Petula Clark in 1957 and by Steve Young on his 1969 album, Rock Salt & Nails. "Hot and Cold" was featured on Bob Dylan's radio show, Theme Time Radio Hour.

    Albums

    1957 Songs By Marvin Rainwater (MGM E3534)
    1958 Sings With A Heart - With A Beat (MGM E3721) (1985:Bear Family BFX 15132)
    1960 Sing for You (Audio Lab)
    1962 Gonna Find Me A Bluebird (MGM E4046)
    1963 Marvin Rainwater (Crown CST307)
    1985 Rockin' Rollin' (Bear Family BFX15079) (MGM Whole Lotta Woman)
    1970 Country's Favorite Singer (Mount Vernon MVM146)
    1972 Gets Country Fever (Philips)[
     
  23. StrangerInAStrangeLand SubQuantum Mechanic Valued Senior Member

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    Eiji Toyoda (豊田 英二 Toyoda Eiji?, 12 September 1913 – 17 September 2013) was a Japanese industrialist. He was largely responsible for bringing Toyota Motor Corporation to profitability and worldwide prominence during his tenure as president and later, as chairman.

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    Toyoda studied mechanical engineering at Tokyo Imperial University from 1933 to 1936. During this time his cousin Kiichiro established an automobile plant at the Toyoda Automatic Loom Works in the city of Nagoya in central Japan. Toyoda joined his cousin in the plant at the conclusion of his degree and throughout their lives they shared a deep friendship. In 1938, Kiichiro asked Eiji to oversee construction of a newer factory about 32 km east of Nagoya on the site of a red pine forest in the town of Koromo, later renamed Toyota City. Known as the Honsha ("headquarters") plant, to this day it is considered the "mother factory" for Toyota Motor production facilities worldwide.

    Toyoda visited Ford's River Rouge Plant at Dearborn, Michigan during the early 1950s. He was awed by the scale of the facility but dismissive of what he saw as its inefficiencies. Toyota Motor had been in the business of manufacturing cars for 13 years at this stage, and had produced just over 2,500 automobiles. The Ford plant in contrast manufactured 8,000 vehicles a day. Due to this experience, Toyoda decided to adopt US automobile mass production methods but with a qualitative twist.

    Toyoda collaborated with Taiichi Ohno, a veteran loom machinist, to develop core concepts of what later became known as the 'Toyota Way', such as the Kanban system of labeling parts used on assembly lines, which was an early precursor to bar codes. They also fine-tuned the concept of Kaizen, a process of incremental but constant improvements designed to cut production and labor costs while boosting overall quality.

    As a managing director of Toyota Motor, Toyoda failed in his first attempt to crack the U.S. market with the underpowered Toyota Crown sedan in the 1950s, but he succeeded with the Toyota Corolla compact in 1968, a year after taking over as president of the company. During the car's development phase, Toyoda, as executive vice-president, had to overcome the objections of then-president Fukio Nakagawa to install a newly developed 1.0-liter engine, air conditioning and automatic transmissions in the Corolla.

    Appointed the fifth president of Toyota Motor, Toyoda went on to become the company's longest serving chief executive thus far. In 1981, he stepped down as president and assumed the title of chairman. He was succeeded as president by Shoichiro Toyoda. In 1983, as chairman, Eiji decided to compete in the luxury car market, which culminated in the 1989 introduction of Lexus. Toyoda stepped down as chairman of Toyota in 1994 at the age of 81.

    In his later years, Toyoda was hospitalised for hip problems, and was wheelchair-bound for a time, yet remained affable and smiling in interviews. Retaining a clear mind into his 90s, he enjoyed tackling sudoku puzzles. He spent most of his last years undergoing treatment at the Toyota Memorial Hospital in Toyota City, Japan, close to company headquarters.

    Five days after his 100th birthday, Toyoda died of heart failure in the Toyota Memorial Hospital on 17 September 2013. Paying tribute to Toyoda, David Cole, former chairman of the Center for Automotive Research, said "He was a real visionary and inspirational leader who understood what it would take to make Toyota a successful company." Leslie Kendall, curator of the Petersen Automotive Museum, described Toyoda as the Japanese equivalent of Henry Ford.

    Honours

    Japanese

    April 1971 – Medal of Honor with Blue Ribbon
    November 1983 – Grand Cordon of the Order of the Sacred Treasure
    November 1990 – Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun

    Non-Japanese

    March 1985 – Commander of the Order of Prince Henry of Portugal (ComIH)
    December 1990 – Knight Commander of the Order of the White Elephant of Thailand
    April 1991 – Grand Officer of the Order of the Crown of Belgium
    April 1992 – Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown of Thailand
    September 1993 – Honorary Companion of the Order of Australia (AC)
    1994 – Automotive Hall of Fame, USA
    May 2001 – Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Direkgunabhorn of Thailand



    Born into a family of textile manufacturers, Eiji Toyoda is the son of Heikichi Toyoda, the brother of Toyoda Loom Works founder Sakichi Toyoda. The descendants of Sakichi Toyoda have long dominated the upper management of Toyota Motors, which was incorporated in 1937. Eiji Toyoda died in September 2013. With his wife, Kazuko (died 2002), he had three sons (Kanshiro, Tetsuro and Shuhei) and many grandchildren.
     

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