Celebrity Deaths, 2011 Edition

[Kris_Roth]

Benjamin Franklin once remarked, "There is nothing Certain in life, except for Death and Taxes." A wise man, Ben Franklin was.

So, I was browsing the Net, and came across an article that actor John Dye, age 47, best known for his role as Andrew, the angel of death on "Touched by an Angel" and its spinoff, "Promised Land" has died of a heart attack. Man, I used to watch Touched by and Angel Sunday evening after 60 Minutes. Now they have some Sunday evening movie thing that isn't decent to watch (unless I watch the NFL Playoffs or Super Bowl, or the Fox Animation Domination lineup (Simpsons, Family Guy, Bob's Burgers, and the Cleveland Show).

John Dye was just going to have a guest role on the show, where someone dies, and he shows up to comfort them as they go to Heaven. Then, because of his character, they added him to the cast of Roma Downey as Monica and Della Reese as Tess. Later, they added Valerie Bertenelli as Gloria to help Monica with her case assignments.

My heart goes out the the people in Arizona. A 22 year old mentally unstable man shot and killed 6 people at a public meeting, hosted by Arizona Congresswoman Giffords. The youngest, age 9, was one of the kids featured in a post-9/11 story, as she was born on 9/11. Congresswoman Giffords is still in critical condition, and her prognosis is very good. A federal judge is dead as well as the lady who attempted to shield the 9 year old girl. I don't understand why people are allowed to have access to weapons when they are mentally ill or harbor evil in their hearts.

[AmbushCat]

Oh, no. Randy Savage died this morning from a combination heart attack/car accident. He was 58.

[Kris_Roth]

yeah, I heard about that! He was a good wrestler. He made OHHH Yeah! famous, along with his theme song, Pomp and Circumstances, which is usually played at graduation ceremonies. When I get my Master's Degree and hear the Pomp and Circumstances theme, I will think of Macho Man Randy Savage. He also was the Slim Jim spokesman before Ultimate Warrior and Edge did Slim Jim commercials.

So, Snap into a Slim Jim!



He had many memorable quotes from his time in the WWE. I am certain he will be mentioned on tonight's episode of WWE Smackdown, on Syfy Channel, at 8PM.

[AmbushCat]

I remember hearing Space Ghost's father in one Coast to Coast episode. It wasn't until just a few years ago that I found out that R. Savage had voiced him.

I never saw those Slim Jim commercials, but in retrospect I realize now that my older brother liked to imitate him when he was in that role. Aside from these two things, I didn't know much about him.

[Kris_Roth]

You can check out youtube videos of Macho Man Randy Savage when he first came to WWE. All the heel managers at the time, like Mr. Fuji, Jimmy "Mouth of the South" Hart, and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan wanted him. Then he revealed Elizabeth, who would later be his wife.

Savage won the Intercontinental Title from Ricky the Dragon Steamboat at Wrestlemania 3 and participated in Wrestlemania IV's big tournament to decide the WWE Championship, after Hulk Hogan and Andre The Giant's match. Andre "won" the WWE Championship and handed it to the Million Dollar Man Ted Dibiase. Title was vacated and a special tournament was held. Randy Savage beat four wrestlers, the last being Ted DiBiase, with the aid of Hulk Hogan, to win the WWE Championship. He fueded with Ultimate Warrior as the Macho King Randy Savage (heel), and lost to Warrior at Wrestlemania 7. Elizabeth returned to throw Queen Sherri out of the ring. (she later managed Shawn Michaels and Ted DiBiase).

[AmbushCat]

Peter Falk, known for his role in the Columbo series, has died. 83 years old, if I recall correctly.

[Kris_Roth]

Singer Amy Whinehouse has died at the age of 27. She was addicted to alchohol and drugs, and best known for her song about going to rehab.

[Harri-chan]

Another extremely talented musician dies at 27. Scary. Ok, she's not in the same league as Jones, Hendrix, Joplin, Morrison or Cobain, but her first two albums were really good, and people such as Adele and Lady Gaga have said she was a big influence on them.

[Albedo]

Does the MacBook Original count as a Celebrity?

Either way, I have a feeling Winehouse will be a drug death.

[AmbushCat]

It's all over the news, so it's kinda hard to miss. I'll mention it anyway: Steve Jobs has passed away. He was in his 50s, if I recall.

[Kether]

[Helel]

Oh my god, he's the highlander! FEAR HIM!

All joking aside though, it was terrible how he died and while you can love him or hate him, he was a brilliant orator. Many will try to reproduce what he accomplished, but I get the feeling that achieving what he did is done with a mixture of luck and talent- it's not something you often work yourself to.

That's my thought on Jobs, anyways.

[Miku-chan]

Manga-ka Kei Aoyama was found dead in his apartment on 12 October 2011...Aoyama was serializing Yoiko no Mokushiroku in Kodansha’s Evening magazine. He also drew the manga SWWEEET is Shogakukan’s Monthly Ikki magazine, China Girl, and Strobe Light.

[Kris_Roth]

We finally got Momarr Gadaffi of Libya. Another dictator bites the dust!

[Kris_Roth]

Joe Frazier, best known for being the former boxing heavyweight champion of the world, and his memorable bout in the "Thilla in Manilla" with Muhammad Ali in the late 1960's, has died of cancer at the age of 68.

Bil Keane, comic strip artist (Family Circus) died Tuesday. The stip featured a family, based around Bil Keane's life. There were references to the Billy's Journey through the neighborhood, with black dash marks around where Billy travelled from school to home. Also introduced invisible gremlins "Ida Know" and "Not Me" when the kids got into trouble. The comic strip was made into several cartoons for Easter, Valentines Day, and Christmas specials.