Obit of the Day

Obit of the Day: He Was Gumby (Dammit) and Speedy, the...

Wed, 30 May 2012 19:23:40 -0500

and Speedy, the Alka-Seltzer mascot, and Davey from Davey and Goliath, and Richie Rich’s annoying rival, Rollo, and the voice of dozens of other children on television and film. Dick Beals, who passed away at 87, suffered from a glandular disorder that limited his height (4’ 7”) and never allowed his voice to mature. But he parlayed that unique vocal characteristic into a six-decade career.

A graduate of Michigan State University, Beals got his start playing boys on various radio programs that were originally broadcast from Detroit including The Lone Ranger and The Green Hornet. He would end up in Hollywood and his first film was the animated cartoon, From A to Z-Z-Z-Z (see above). Although he plays the lead character, Ralph Phillips, Beals is uncredited. The cartoon would earn a 1953 Academy Award nomination. (Toot, Whistle, Plunk, and Boom from Disney won the Oscar.)

In an unusual move for the voice-over industry, Mr. Beals would always wear a suit and tie to recording sessions. Mark Evanier, who wrote the obit to which this post links, thought it was Mr. Beals’ way of reminded people that he was an adult not just a boy. (Mr. Evanier’s post has a link to an old Alka-Seltzer commercial featuring “Speedy” and…Buster Keaton. Brilliant.)

(From A to Z-Z-Z-Z is copyright of Warner Brothers and courtesy of abloink on YouTube.com. I recommend watching it. Note: There is a scene of Ralph being chased by stereotypical “Indians” that is tasteless by 21st century standards by acceptable in 1953.)

Obit of the Day: Two-Time Caldecott Award Winner Leo and Diane...

Wed, 30 May 2012 11:32:00 -0500

Obit of the Day: Two-Time Caldecott Award Winner

Leo and Diane Dillon were the only back-to-back winners of the Caldecott Medal, given to the illustrators of “the most distinguished American picture book for children.” In 1976, the Dillons won the award for Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears by Verna Aardema and followed up the next year with an award for their illustrations of Margaret Musgrove’s Ashanti to Zulu: African Traditions.

Leo Dilllon and Diane Sorber met while students at Parsons School of Design in New York City and married in 1957. They began working freelance before working co-illustrating their first children’s book, The Ring in the Prairie by John Bierhorst, in 1970. Their final book together, If Kids Ran the World, will be published in 2014. In between the couple illustrated more than 40 books for children.

Leo Dillon passed away at the age of 79.

Random Note: The Dillons also illustrated covers for various novels including works by Leo Tolstoy and Harlan Ellison. To see examples, click here.

(Why Mosquitoes Buzz in Peoples Ears is copyright Dial Books, an imprint of Penguin Books and courtesy of indiebound.org)

In May 2012 we lost 1964 Caldecott Medal winner Maurice Sendak and in January 2012 OOTD recognized 2000 Caldecott Medal winner (and Happy Meal box designer) Simms Taback. You can find a full list of Caldecott Award winners here.

Obit of the Day: Survivor’s Tale Otis Clark died just ten...

Tue, 29 May 2012 20:42:00 -0500

Obit of the Day: Survivor’s Tale

Otis Clark died just ten days before the 91st anniversary of one of the worst episodes of racial hatred in American history. An event he not only witnessed but managed to escape with his life. On May 30, 1921, a nineteen-year-old black man named Dick Rowland entered a Tulsa elevator to ride to the 3rd floor bathroom - segregated for black use only. Operating the elevator was Sarah Page a white seventeen-year-old. No one knows what happened but not long afterwards, Sarah Page was in tears and Dick Rowland was nowhere to be found. He was later arrested for assault; most presumed rape.

Dick Rowland’s arrest would then ignite a conflagration both literal and figurative. The African American neighborhood Greenwood, located within Tulsa, was called “Black Wall Street” for its affluence - relative to other segregated neighborhoods in the South. But the arrest of Dick Rowland gave Tulsa’s Ku Klux Klan an opportunity to teach the residents of Greenwood a “lesson.” Beginning on May 31 and ending on June 1 Greenwood was razed to the ground. As you can see in the image above a fire set by the KKK leveled the neighborhood, leaving most of the residents homeless. When it was over 300 people were dead, approximately 270 of those were black. Greenwood was in ruins. And Tulsa would remain silent about it for 8- years.*

One of those who survived was Otis Clark. He spent the two days running through Greenwood, ducking down alleys, jumping into cars, racing through buildings to avoid the armed, white mobs. Eventually Mr. Clark jumped onto a freight train and ended up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Mr. Clark would head west not long after and was hired as the butler of Ms. Joan Crawford, the Oscar-winning actress. Through his connection with Ms. Crawford, Mr. Clark met stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age including Clark Gable and Charlie Chaplin. He also developed a personal friendship with Stepin Fetchit - the first African American actor to become a millionaire.

Mr. Clark’s life changed after an arrest for selling liquor during Prohibition. Converting to Christianity while in jail, he would spend the rest of his life as an evangelist. “The rest of his life” ended up being 80 more years. He was able to travel as a missionary to Africa in 2006 - when he was 103. He made his final trip abroad in 2010 to Jamaica at the age of 107.

Otis Clark - riot survivor, butler to the stars, and “world’s oldest evangelist” - died at the age of 109.

(Image of a devastated Greenwood section of Tulsa following the riots is courtesy of sfbayview.com)

* It was not until 2001 that the city of Tulsa undertook a complete investigation of the riots. Following the report issued by the investigating commission, the Oklahoma State Legislature passed a bill offering scholarships to 300 descendants of Greenwood residents, a memorial, and additional economic development for the neighborhood. It was recommended that survivors of the riots and their descendants be given reparations but the legislature did not agree. For more information on the riots, here is the Wikipedia entry.

Obit of the Day: Most Decorated Athlete in the History of the...

Tue, 29 May 2012 18:43:00 -0500

Obit of the Day: Most Decorated Athlete in the History of the Olympics

Edoardo Mangiarotti won his first Olympic gold medal as part of Italy’s épée team at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. At 17, he was the youngest medalist at the Games. Mangiarotti would participate in every Games that followed (excluding the 1940 and 1944 Games that were cancelled due to World War II) ending his athletic career after the 1960 Rome Games. When everything was totaled up he had accumulated 13 Olympics medals (six gold, five silver, and two bronze). When his world championship medals were included, Mangiarotti had earned 39 medals, more than any other athlete in any Olympic sport.*

Mangiarotti was the son of an Olympic fencer (1908 London) and the brother of two more: Dario, who won the silver in épée in 1952 - Edoardo won gold - and Carola who participated, but did not medal, in the 1976 and 1980 Olympics.

Although his career as an athlete ended in 1960, he would continue to attend the Games in a variety of roles. By the time he passed away on May 25, 2012 at the age of 93, Edoardo Mangiarotti had attended 17 consecutive Summer Games from Berlin through Beijing. Sadly he missed the London Olympics Games by only 63 days.

(Image courtesy of Sport e Motori 2.0)

* The record for most individual Olympic medals earned is held by Soviet gymnast Larissa Latynina who earned eighteen over three Summer Olympics: Melbourne-1956, Rome-1960, and Tokyo-1964. American swimmer Michael Phelps has 17 medals but also has the most gold medals with fourteen.

Obit of the Day: Obit of the Week!! Before you go running off...

Fri, 25 May 2012 12:42:01 -0500

Obit of the Day: Obit of the Week!!

Before you go running off for your beach/mountain/lake/nowhere, don’t forget to take time to check out this week’s nominees* for Obit of the Week!

Robin Gibbs - The only Bee Gee featured on Sesame Street Fever.

Gunnar Sonsteby - Norway’s Greatest War Hero (WWII)

Led Zeppelin II - The most fun I’ve had writing a post since Sherwood Schwartz passed away in July 2011.

Of course if you want to see your vote permanently engraved on the internet (no, not actually possible) you can head over the Obit of the Day Facebook page and make your selection.

And Obit of the Day is also on Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, and through the RSS Feed. If you have no plans this weekend, might I also recommend a glance through the OOTD Archive?

So who is this week’s Obit of the Week?

Obit of the Day: 1st African American Graduate of the U.S. Naval...

Thu, 24 May 2012 09:56:01 -0500

Obit of the Day: 1st African American Graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy

When Lt. Commander (Ret.) Wesley A. Brown entered the U.S. Naval Academy in 1945, the military was still segregated. It would not be until President Harry Truman issued Executive Order 9981 in July 1948 that every branch of the armed forces were required to treat all members, black and white, equally. That would not prevent Lt. Cmdr. Brown from becoming the first black graduate of the nation’s second oldest military academy.

Lt. Cmdr. Brown was not the first black midshipman at the Academy. Five had preceded him but none had managed to graduate. Fortunately for him, he had served as Cadet Corps Battalion Commander* while at Baltimore’s Dunbar High School as well as in World War II prior to entering the Academy.

While at the USNA, Lt. Cmdr. Brown was a successful athlete on the track and cross-country teams. He would often find himself running with fellow midshipman, and future President of the United States, Jimmy Carter.

Following his graduation from the Academy in 1949, Lt. Commander Brown would serve in the Korean and Vietnam Wars as well as Liberia, Cuba, and the Philippines. He would retire from the Navy in 1969.

In 2007, the Naval Academy dedicated the Wesley A. Brown Field House in his honor. Lt. Commander Wesley Brown died at the age of 85.

(Image is copyright of Simmie Knox, who was also commissioned to paint the official White House portraits of former President Bill Clinton and former First Lady Hillary Clinton, as well as Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.)

*The military-like program was similar to today’s JROTC

Obit of the Day: Radio Pioneer Hal Jackson was a man of many...

Thu, 24 May 2012 07:57:00 -0500

Obit of the Day: Radio Pioneer

Hal Jackson was a man of many firsts. As an African American in radio, Mr. Jackson would overcome obstacle after obstacle while continuing to grow his own reputation as one of the legends of the medium.

Attending Howard University in the 1930’s, Jackson became the first African American sports broadcaster as he called not only college games but Negro League contests as well. Not long after graduating Jackson was hired by Washington, D.C.’s WINX, a recognizable achievement since only weeks earlier the station owner had told Jackson, “No nigger will ever be on my radio station.” (Note: I could not find any mention of what changed the owner’s mind. I assume Mr. Jackson’s talent outweighed the color of his skin.)

By the mid-1940’s Jackson was hosting four different radio programs on four different stations in the D.C. area. By the 1950’s Hal Jackson was in New York City where he became the first African American host on WABC.

Mr. Jackson’s next great breakthrough occurred in 1971 when he co-founded Inner City Broadcasting Corporation (ICBC) with Percy Sutton. The two men would become the first African Americans to own stations on AM and FM when they purchased the signals for WLIB. They would change the FM call letters to WBLS (“the Total BLack Experience in Sound”), eventually becoming the number one R&B station in New York.

For his work in the medium, Hal Jackson was the first African American inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame (1990) and the Radio Hall of Fame (1995). He was also named a “Giant of Broadcasting” by the American Library of Broadcasting (2010).

Hal Jackson, who was hosting his Sunday afternoon radio show on WBLS until a few weeks ago, died at the age of 96.

Note: ICBC declared bankruptcy in 2011 and were forced by a court to sell a majority share to other investors, most famously Magic Johnson Enterprises.

Additional sources: New York Daily News and Wikipedia.org

(Undated image of Hal Jackson is courtesy of BET.com)

Obit of the Day: Led Zeppelin II

Wed, 23 May 2012 12:31:00 -0500

George Blackburn felt that he didn’t receive a “Whole Lotta Love” from his wife in 2011 so they divorced. After their marriage dissolved, Blackburn seemed “Dazed and Confused” so he decided he needed a fresh start. He changed his name, officially, to Led Zeppelin II.

A fan of the band for decades having seen them perform more than 20 times in concert, Blackburn felt his life improved immensely once he changed his name. By adding the “II” Blackburn was honoring of the legendary rock group’s second album, released in 1969. It would reach number one on the Billboard charts in the US and top the charts in Japan, UK, and Canada and Australia.

Blackburn understood that it was an odd move (some would say it’s “What Is and What Should Never Be”) but told the local paper that “I don’t want to appear to be some off-the-wall, drug-addict idiot. I just changed my name from the standpoint that I can be a better person than I used to be.”

Blackburn took the “Stairway to Heaven” at the age of 64. There is no notice of whether he owned a “Black Dog.”

ilovecharts: Annual Incomes of Dead Celebrities Left to right:...

Wed, 23 May 2012 11:27:03 -0500

ilovecharts:

Annual Incomes of Dead Celebrities

Left to right: Kurt Cobain, Elvis Presley, John Lennon, Andy Warhol, Ray Charles, Marilyn Monroe

Obit of the Day: Norway’s Greatest War Hero After the...

Wed, 23 May 2012 07:39:00 -0500

Obit of the Day: Norway’s Greatest War Hero

After the Nazis invaded Norway in 1940, Gunnar Sønsteby decided to take part in the fight against the Third Reich - by joining them. Sønsteby signed up as a member of the Nazi-controlled Norwegian State Police. His role allowd him to travel freely around the country, cross the border into neutral Sweden (where he joined Britain’s Special Operations Executive, aka “SOE”), and surveil German operations including the building of U-boats in Trondheim.

For two years Sønsteby managed to escape notice of the Germans through a combination of security clearances, handmade forged documents, and disguise. (The above image is one of Sonsteby’s fake passports. His identity is given as “Tor Hansen.” He is listed as a “politibetjent,” a police officer.) His last mission before needin to go into hiding was the theft of engraved bank note plates the SOE could use to create authentic-looking counterfeit bills to fund the Norwegian underground movement. During his escape into Sweden with the plates, a colleague was captured forcing Sønsteby to stay out of Norway for over a year.

He returned by parachute in November 1943 and began leading a group of Norwegian resistance fighters who went about the country sabotaging German records, arms plants, planes and ships. When the Allies invaded in 1944, Sønsteby and his men destroyed vital rail links, preventing Nazi reinforcements from reaching the front lines.

For his service in World War II, Sønsteby was awarded Norway’s War Cross with three swords the highest honor ever presented in the country’s history. He also earned the Distinguished Service Order from the United Kingdom and the Medal of Freedom from the United States.

In 2007, a statue of Sønsteby and his bicycle was unveiled on Solli Plass in Oslo. Gunnar Sønsteby died at the age of 94.

(Image of Sonsteby’s false passport is courtesy of www.sbsf.no - which is apparently a Norwegian veterans’ group.)

cheetah the chimp

Tue, 22 May 2012 18:17:39 -0500

Yes. December 2011.

http://www.obitoftheday.com/post/14916795314/cheetahthechimp

Welcome to the “are they dead yet?” portion of our show. I guess.

Obit of the Day: Designer of the Raleigh...

Tue, 22 May 2012 14:12:00 -0500

Obit of the Day: Designer of the Raleigh “Chopper”

The Schwinn Stingray was a popular, maybe the most popular, bicycle for kids in the the U.S. in the early 1960s. Like many competitors, the Raleigh Bicycle Company tried to copy the success of the Stingray, literally. But they could not seem to gain traction in the market.

Then Alan Oakley drew the design for a new model on the back of an envelope as he flew home to England, where Raleigh was based, from a trip to the West Coast of the United States. Seeing how children in California were attempting to recreate the look of low-slung, high handle-barred, motorcycles (aka “choppers”), Oakley simply created a bicycle that was already built to look that way.

The Raleigh Chopper was released in 1968 and sales were flat. Upon the release Dennis Hopper’s classic, Easy Rider, kids wanted to emulate the look of the bikes from the film and headed straight for Raleigh’s Chopper model. The bikes flew off the racks.

There were few design glitches, though. For instance, the bike often flip over when doing wheelies. The gear shift (available in 3-, 5-, and 10-speed models) was placed in such a way that groin injuries were inevitable. Attach a luggage rack to the back and your friend could ride behind you - smashing his or her teeth on the “sissy bar” over the black seat in an accident. But where parents saw danger, kids saw “cool.” (Raleigh did make some changes based on safety concerns, including the addition of a warning sticker on the seat.) Between 1968 and the early 1980’s over 1.5 million Choppers were sold - and that doesn’t include other variations of the model built by Raleigh.

Random note: According to the Telegraph, the downfall of the Chopper, and similar bicycles, was due to an increased interest in BMX bikes. And once again Hollywood had an impact. As Elliot and his friends raced through suburban streets on BMX-style bicycles in order to save their alien friend, E.T., moviegoers fell for the speedy, stylish two-wheelers.

Alan Oakley began working for Raleigh when he was 15 years old and remained with the company for forty years. During his career he designed not only the Chopper but also worked on the Raleigh Small Wheels and the Raleigh Grifter, one of the company’s early entries into the BMX market which killed the Chopper. Oakley resigned from the company in 1982, the same year the last Raleigh Chopper was manufactured.

Mr. Oakley died at the age of 85.

(1970 Raleigh Chopper advertisement from the U.S. is courtesy of www.retroist.com)

Obit of the Day: Inventor of the Wireless Remote Control The...

Tue, 22 May 2012 07:58:27 -0500

Obit of the Day: Inventor of the Wireless Remote Control

The founder of the Zenith Radio Company, Commander Eugene McDonald, Jr. recognized something very early on about the television industry - viewers hate commercials. But owners of Zenith televisions had little control over the ads that would frequently pop-up during shows. Getting up to change the channel? That involved a lot of effort. Commander McDonald wanted to see that changed.

Enter Eugene Polley. In 1955, Polley develop the first weapon in the war on commercials: the Flash-Matic Remote Control. Using photo cells embedded in the television screen (one in each corner) Polley’s hyper-accurate flashlight would be pointed at a corner to turn off the TV, to turn off the sound (especially helpful to “shut off long annoying commercials while the picture remains on the screen”), and, most importantly, to change the channel. It was the first wireless remote control and television would never be the same again.

Eugene Polley worked his way up Zenith’s corporate ladder beginning as a 20-year-old stock boy in 1935 before moving his way up into engineering. During his 47 years with Zenith Mr. Polley would also develop the push button car radio as well as the video disk, ancestor of today’s DVD and Blu-Ray discs. But it was the Flash-Matic that would earn him an Emmy from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame in 1997 - and a place in couch potato history.

Mr. Polley passed away at the age of 96.

(Image of a 1955 Zenith ad for the Flash-Matic is courtesy of vintagetvsets.com)

Almost exactly one year ago, in April 2011, Obit of the Day featured another inventor who changed the television industry - Hub Schlafly

Obit of the Day: NCAA, Olympic, and NBA Star Bob Boozer Bob...

Mon, 21 May 2012 12:11:20 -0500

Obit of the Day: NCAA, Olympic, and NBA Star Bob Boozer

Bob Boozer was the first overall pick in the 1959 NBA Draft by the Cincinnati Royals*. But Boozer asked to wait a year to join his new team, in order that he could maintain his amateur status and qualify for the 1960 Olympics. (He would play the 1959-1960 season for the AAU Peoria Caterpillars.)

Good choice. The 1960 men’s basketball team is considered the second best Olympic basketball team of all time after the original “Dream Team” which would dominate the 1992 Olympics. The 1960 team, composed entirely of amateurs, won every game they played by an average of 42 points. Of the twelve men on the roster, ten (including Mr. Boozer) would play in the NBA and four would be elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame (Oscar Robertson, Jerry Lucas, Jerry West, and Walt Bellamy). The entire 1960 Olympic team was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010 - along with the 1992 Dream Team.

After winning the gold medal, Boozer returned to the Royals - along with Oscar Robertson who was the number one overall pick in the draft in 1960 - and would begin an 11-year professional career. Boozer would play three full seasons with the Royals before being traded to the New York Knicks in the middle of his fourth. After a season-and-a-half with the Knicks, followed by one with the Lakers, Boozer was selected by the NBA’s newest team, the Chicago Bulls, in the expansion draft following the 1965-1966 season.

Boozer would make his only All-Star appearance with Chicago during the first season, and would play one more with the Bulls before being traded to the Seattle Supersonics. After one year in the Northwest, Boozer would find himself and hour-and-a-half north of Chicago playing with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and the Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks would win that year’s NBA Championship and Boozer would retire, with a ring on his finger.

Bob Boozer, who also led the Kansas State Wildcats to the 1958 Final Four and a number one ranking in 1959, died at the age of 75.

(Through no fault of his own, Bob Boozer may be part of some of the worst sports card sets in history. All images are courtesy of vintagecardprices.com. Left, 1961 Fleer; Center, 1969 Topps; Right, 1971 Topps )

* The Royals are one of the NBA’s greatest wanderers having started in Rochester, heading to Cincinnati, then Omaha, Kansas City, and eventually finding themselves in Sacramento as the Kings.

Would it be possible to make a few corrections to my mom's (Paula Zyto Banks) obituary? 1. Only my mom was in forced labor, not entire family 2. At Neusalz, we do not know that mom was sewing parachutes so would prefer this sewing part be left out 3. She gave birth to 6 children (she survived one of them) 4. We kids were raised in Chicago, my parents moved to Oak Park when they were in their 80s.

Mon, 21 May 2012 10:31:03 -0500

The changes were made. Thank you for the information, unfortunately my write-ups are only as good as the source material.

For those not in the Banks family, here is the post for their mother’s incredible story of survival:

http://www.obitoftheday.com/post/22318253252/paulazytobanks

Re-blogging for the link to the NY Times obituary as well as the...

Mon, 21 May 2012 08:07:04 -0500

Re-blogging for the link to the NY Times obituary as well as the photo. I just love the photo.

obitoftheday:

Obit of the Day (Breaking): Bee Gee Robin Gibb

Robin Gibb, one of three brothers who created the popular rock group The Bee Gees, has died at the age of 62. Gibb fell into a coma on April 14 and although he recovered his health remained weak.

Although British-born, Robin, his twin brother Maurice, and their older brother Barry, moved to Australia as children and began performing not long after their arrival. (The younger brother Andy was an infant when they moved.) The Bee Gees released their first album in 1965, and actually became international stars for the first time in 1967 with the release of Bee Gees 1st.

Of course the Bee Gees hit the height of their fame with the release of the Saturday Night Fever film soundtrack in 1977. The Gibb brothers performed six songs on the two-album set, four of which became number 1 hits: “Stayin’ Alive,” “More Than a Woman,” (actually the version sung by Tavares, but written by the Gibbs, was the hit), “How Deep Is Your Love,” and “Night Fever.” They also wrote Yvonne Elliman’s number hit from the soundtrack, “If I Can’t Have You.”(The album went 15x platinum and earned five Grammy Awards in 1978 and 1979 and was the best-selling of all time until the release of Thriller in 1984.)

The Bee Gees were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. They are the sixth best-selling music act in rock and roll history after Elvis, The Beatles, Michael Jackson, Garth Brooks, and Paul McCartney. (Well as of their induction they were.)

Robin, who actually had a successful solo career, during the 1960s - his hit “Saved by the Bell” would reach #2 on the UK charts in 1967 - would share lead vocal duties with his brother, Barry. (It’s Barry’s falsetto that is most recognizable in their disco-era hits, though.)

Robin Gibb was suffering from several recent health problems including cancer and intestinal surgery. Of the four Gibbs brothers, only Barry is still alive - ironically he is the oldest. Maurice died suddenly in 2003 at 53, while Andy died at 30 in 1983 from myocarditis.

Additional source: Wikipedia.org

(Image of Barry, left, Robin, center, and Maurice circa 1959 after they had moved to Australia from England is courtesy of the Daily Mirror.)

h/t to Josh Sternberg - a fellow Jersey boy you should follow.

Obit of the Day (Breaking): Bee Gee Robin Gibb Robin Gibb, one...

Sun, 20 May 2012 18:50:00 -0500

Obit of the Day (Breaking): Bee Gee Robin Gibb

Robin Gibb, one of three brothers who created the popular rock group The Bee Gees, has died at the age of 62. Gibb fell into a coma on April 14 and although he recovered his health remained weak.

Although British-born, Robin, his twin brother Maurice, and their older brother Barry, moved to Australia as children and began performing not long after their arrival. (The younger brother Andy was an infant when they moved.) The Bee Gees released their first album in 1965, and actually became international stars for the first time in 1967 with the release of Bee Gees 1st.

Of course the Bee Gees hit the height of their fame with the release of the Saturday Night Fever film soundtrack in 1977. The Gibb brothers performed six songs on the two-album set, four of which became number 1 hits: “Stayin’ Alive,” “More Than a Woman,” (actually the version sung by Tavares, but written by the Gibbs, was the hit), “How Deep Is Your Love,” and “Night Fever.” They also wrote Yvonne Elliman’s number hit from the soundtrack, “If I Can’t Have You.”(The album went 15x platinum and earned five Grammy Awards in 1978 and 1979 and was the best-selling of all time until the release of Thriller in 1984.)

The Bee Gees were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. They are the sixth best-selling music act in rock and roll history after Elvis, The Beatles, Michael Jackson, Garth Brooks, and Paul McCartney. (Well as of their induction they were.)

Robin, who actually had a successful solo career, during the 1960s - his hit “Saved by the Bell” would reach #2 on the UK charts in 1967 - would share lead vocal duties with his brother, Barry. (It’s Barry’s falsetto that is most recognizable in their disco-era hits, though.)

Robin Gibb was suffering from several recent health problems including cancer and intestinal surgery. Of the four Gibbs brothers, only Barry is still alive - ironically he is the oldest. Maurice died suddenly in 2003 at 53, while Andy died at 30 in 1983 from myocarditis.

Additional source: Wikipedia.org

(Image of Barry, left, Robin, center, and Maurice circa 1959 after they had moved to Australia from England is courtesy of the Daily Mirror.)

h/t to Josh Sternberg - a fellow Jersey boy you should follow.

Obit of the Day: 10,000 Followers! Well just five months ago in...

Fri, 18 May 2012 14:01:00 -0500

Obit of the Day: 10,000 Followers!

Well just five months ago in December 2011 Obit of the Day hit 5,000 followers, now here we are again: you, me, and the party skeleton celebrating 10,000 followers on tumblr. Awesome. Thanks to all of you have chosen OOTD as your go-to site for obituaries on tumblr. (Can I comfortably call myself “the most popular obituary site on tumblr”? I believe I can. Niche blogs have advantages.)

I am proud of OOTD and as I have written before, the tumblr platform has allowed me to know that folks are reading the 1700+ posts I’ve generated in the last 23 months. (OOTD’s second anniversary is next month. Get me something nice. Cotton is the traditional gift.) So I will continue highlighting the lives of the famous, the infamous, the not-so-famous, and unique lives that have shuffled off this mortal coil.

Have a great weekend!

For those who aren’t tumblrers…you can find Obit of the Day in a variety of convenient locations:

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or the RSS Feed

(Image is copyright Alex Fraser of www.phatcore.com)

Obit of the Day: Hero of the Cowchilla Kidnappings Frank Woods...

Fri, 18 May 2012 08:25:54 -0500

Obit of the Day: Hero of the Cowchilla Kidnappings

Frank Woods and brothers Richard and Jim Schoenfeld thought they had the perfect plan. The wealthy, and greedy, 20-somethings decided they could make a quick $5 million if they kidnapped a school bus full of children and ransomed them back to their parents.

So on July 15, 1976, the threesome pulled over Ed Ray’s (above, center) school bus while wearing stocking masks and armed with handguns and took 27 children, ages 5-14, and Mr. Ray hostage. The group was placed in two white vans that had the windows covered and were driven 100 miles from Cowchilla, California to a quarry owned by Frank Woods’ father, in the town of Livermore. By some estimates, Mr. Ray and the children spent eleven hours in the van.

Arriving in Livermore the hostages were moved from the vans into a the container section of a moving van that the kidnappers had buried seven months earlier. After spending another twelve hours in the truck, all while parents and law enforcement frantically searched for them, Mr. Ray led an escape effort.

With some of the older children, mattresses and box springs were stacked in order to reach a hole in the top of the van. After prying off a board that covered the hole, Mr. Ray discovered and removed two 100-pound industrial batteries that were used to prevent escape. He then made sure that every child made it out before he pulled himself to freedom. Wandering through the quarry, the hostages were found by several workers who provided water - and a pair of overalls for Mr. Ray who had his pants taken by the kidnappers - and called the police.

After 36 hours the hostages returned home to Cowchilla into the relieved arms of their parents, while Mr. Ray was toasted as a hero whose leadership and calm demeanor helped get the children through a terrifying ordeal.

Within two weeks, and assisted by the Schoenfeld’s confessions, all three kidnappers were in custody. At trial they were found guilty of kidnapping and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. In 1981, the sentence was changed to life with the possibility of parole. Since then Jim Schoenfeld has been denied parole 16 times. Frank Woods was denied 12 times. Richard Schoenfeld was granted parole in April 2011 and is scheduled to be released in November 2021 (not a typo - 2021).

Ed Ray would continue to drive buses until his retirement in 1988. While on his deathbed, many of the children he helped to rescue 36 years earlier came to offer their thanks one more time. He passed away at the age of 91.

Additional sources: KFSN-TV, Wikipedia.org, and TruTv’s Crime Library

(Image of Mr. Ray at a press conference on July 16, 1976 is copyright Skip Shuman/Sacramento Bee)

Obit of the Day: “A Tree Stump in the Valley of...

Thu, 17 May 2012 13:49:46 -0500

Obit of the Day: “A Tree Stump in the Valley of Redwoods”

Kenneth Hudson was first noticed by NBA legend Bill Russell as Hudson was officiating a college game. Russell told his coach, Red Auerbach, that Hudson was excellent and should serve as ref for the Boston Celtics’ scrimmages. Both Russell and Auerbach had eyes for talent, so when the NBA brought on its second African American referee they turned to Ken Hudson. (The first was Jackie White in 1967-1968. However White didn’t ref in the 1968-1969 season so Hudson was the only black official on the court that season.)

He would wear the stripes in four full NBA seasons (1968-1972) before retiring. After leaving the court he would help found one the premiere high school basketball tournaments in the country, The Boston Shootout. He would later serve on the board for Coca Cola New England.

Hudson, who was only 5’6” (the post title was the title of his autobiography), died at the age of 72.

Additional source: USA Today

(Image courtesy of USAToday.com. Interesting that this was the only photo of Hudson I could find in uniform.)