Obit of the Day
Looking at the famous, infamous, not-so-famous, and unique lives that have shuffled off this mortal coil.
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Obit of the Day: Longtime Phillies Announcer
For Phillies fans of the 1980s listening to baseball on the radio meant hearing three legends: Harry Kalas, Richie Ashburn and Andy Musser. Musser was with the team from 1976 until he retired in 2001. A graduate of Syracuse, the incubator of sports broadcasters, Musser had the opportunity to broadcast two World Series, two Super Bowls, and two Masters. He was also the broadcaster for the Philadelphia 76ers and did Eagles games as well.
Musser, who died at 74, became the East Coast sales rep for Anchor Steam beer and Maytag Dairy Farms, famous for their blue cheese.
(The audio features Musser calling the Phillies final at-bat on Sept. 9, 1980 when they won in 14 innings.)
Obit of the Day: How 3 Fingers Led to 42 Novels
A tragic accident started Leslie Esdaile Banks’ writing career. In 1991, Banks’ six-month-old lost three fingers when she received a severe burn at daycare. In order to pay her medical bills Banks decided to write a romance novel. It took five years to get Sundance published but she wrote 41 more novels after that.
Banks, who also wrote under the names L.A. Banks (above), Leslie Esdaile, and Leslie E. Banks, featured African American characters and often set the novels in and around her hometown of Philadelphia. A graduate of the Wharton School of Business and Temple University (M.A., filmmaking), Banks wrote in a variety of genres including romance, a fantasy series, and a series of bestselling novels that started with The Vampire Huntress.
Only 51 when she died of adrenal cancer, Banks was also named one of Philadelphia’s “Sexy Singles” in 2010 by the Philadelphia Daily News.
(Image copyright Leslie Esdaile Banks, LLC courtesy of myspace.com)
Obit of the Day: Maker of a “Magic Christmas Tree”
Bert Medland was an electrical engineer so when put lights on his Christmas tree he could so something a little more impressive than make them blink. He first animated a Christmas tree at his home using five hundred lights and modified ham radio equipment. The public response was so positive that he offered his tree to several downtown Philadelphia retailers. Wanamaker’s, now Macy’s, loved the idea. The first Magic Christmas Tree show was held in 1956.
For fifty-five years Mr. Medland’s tree, accompanied by a Wanamaker organ, and has entertained audiences with its synchronized light display. Macy’s “Grand Court of Light” (as it is now called) will be open again for the 2011 holiday season.
(Image copyright Wanamakerorgan.com)
Obit of the Day: Put a Ring On It
Joe Mitchell bled black and orange. Right out of high school Joe got a job, through his brother, in the Philadelphia Flyers ticket office. His timing could not have been better. The Flyers won the Stanley Cup in 1974 and 1975, their last two Cups. After he received his Stanley Cup ring, he never took it off. Even as he needed to be taken to the hospital after a car accident years later, he refused to leave until they found his ring which had fallen off.
Joe, who was thought off as “a real character” also dealt with his share of tragedy. His wife of only three years died in a car accident when he was only in his 30s. His father died when he was only 59 years old. His brother Bobby died when he was only 59 years old.
Joe’s wish was to live to see 60. He died at 59 just like his dad and brother.
His best friend began his eulogy for Joe two minutes late, since Joe was never on time.
(Editorial note: It is never mentioned in the article which ring Mr. Mitchell wore so OOTD picked an image of the 1974 ring from classicauctions.com. The ring above belonged to Joe Scheinfeld an original Flyer vice president.)
