2020 Notables - Passages

[RenoZag]

A thread to note time's passage.

[RenoZag]

RIP former NBA Commissioner David Stern, Age 77

Former NBA commissioner David Stern died Wednesday afternoon, the league announced. He was 77 and had been in serious condition following surgery for a brain hemorrhage on Dec. 12.

Stern’s wife, Dianne, and their family were with him at his bedside, the league said in a statement.

“For 22 years, I had a courtside seat to watch David in action,” current NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. "He was a mentor and one of my dearest friends.

“We spent countless hours in the office, at arenas and on planes wherever the game would take us. Like every NBA legend, David had extraordinary talents, but with him it was always about the fundamentals — preparation, attention to detail, and hard work.”

[RenoZag]

Redactions Happen

After posting this:

Pick your names and list them here--
the folks who shouldn't live in fear
Of mortality's sudden silent creeper:
The wraith we know as Grim Reaper

1. Alex Trebek
2. Jimmy Carter
3. Little Richard
4. Willie Mays
5. Michael J. Fox
6. Henry Kissinger
7. Michael Douglas
8. Mel Brooks
9. Johnny Depp
10. Pete Davidson

I later chose to scuttle the traditional FOO "dead pool" thread for 2020 .

Not going to promote it. Unwilling to keep score. Wondering why it seemed a good idea in the first place.

Noting renowned "passers - on" is healthier for the spirit than predicting someone's demise, would you agree ?

Cynically prognosticating departures from our mortal coil isn't the wicked good fun it used to be. It's just a bit wicked and borderline morbid.

* * * * * *

Better to tip the cap as the hearse glides past, as it unlocks impressions of the departed. We can benchmark these transitions in tense-- from present to past -- as the Foo always has, taking note of heroes, villains, and others who leave this world behind.

Have at it.

[RenoZag]

Don Larsen, the only man to pitch. . .

. . .a perfect game in a World Series, passed today in Hayden Lake, Idaho. He was 90 years old.

669 World Series games have been played since 1903.

NYT Obit: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/01/o...rsen-dead.html

Spokesman-Review with the local angle https://www.spokesman.com/stories/20...ake-transplan/

[LongIslandZagFan]

I posted this earlier today. . .



* * * * * *
And then chose to. . .

. . .scuttle the FOO "dead pool" idea this year.

Not going to promote it. Unwilling to keep score. Wondering why it seemed a good idea in the first place.

(Pauses and briefly considers the media meme that lit the earlier excursions. . . )

Noting renowned "passers - on" is healthier for the spirit than predicting someone's demise, would you agree ?

Cynically prognosticating departures from our mortal coil isn't the wicked good fun it used to be. It's just semi-wicked.

* * * * * *

Better to tip the cap as the hearse glides past, as it unlocks impressions of the departed. We can benchmark these transitions in tense-- from present to past -- as the Foo always has, taking note of heroes, villains, and others who leave this world behind.

Have at it.

I was actually going to suggest this. We don't really guess anymore and honestly, it is more a tribute to those that pass. Thanks for doing this Reno.

[sittingon50]

Sounds like a good idea.

[RenoZag]

Sam Wyche, former NFL coach, Age 74

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/28411101/former-bengals-buccaneers-coach-sam-wyche-dies-74

Wyche received a heart transplant a few years ago, as documented here: https://www.foxsports.com/nfl/story/...sgiving-112416

[RenoZag]

Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, 62-year-old head of Iran’s security machinery, was killed by an American drone strike near the Baghdad airport.

[RenoZag]

Syd Mead, a designer whose wide-ranging work included envisioning vehicles of the future as well as helping to shape the look of environments in movies like “Blade Runner,” “Tron” and “Aliens.” He was 86.

Animation Magazine Obit: https://www.animationmagazine.net/pe...d-dies-age-86/

NYT Obit: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/03/a...mead-dead.html

[RenoZag]

Prozac Nation author Elizabeth Wurtzel, age 52.

Writing with extreme candor, Ms. Wurtzel was one of several authors who helped reinvigorate the personal memoir in the 1990s. The form had long been dominated by politicians, artists or entertainers — celebrities and other bold-faced names. But Ms. Wurtzel was largely unknown outside circles who had read her rock criticism in publications such as the New Yorker and New York magazine.

Her literary debut, “Prozac Nation: Young and Depressed in America” (1994), took its name from an antidepressant that she was one of the first to be prescribed, and drew immediate comparisons to William Styron’s book “Darkness Visible” (1990), which helped draw increasing attention to depression, and Susanna Kaysen’s “Girl, Interrupted” (1993), which recalled the author’s mental health struggles as a young woman in the 1960s.

WaPo Obit: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local...fac_story.html

[RenoZag]

Screen writer, Actor, Mel Brook's buddy Buck Henry died tonight of a heart attack. He was 89.

Brief Obit: https://www.kgun9.com/news/national/...lub-dead-at-89

Buck Henry, an actor, director, comedian and writer who was nominated for two Academy Awards, died on Wednesday at the age of 89, Deadline reported .

Henry died from a heart attack at Cedars-Sinai Health Center in Los Angeles, Deadline reported, citing a family member.

Henry was the first member of Saturday Night Live's "Five-Timer Club." He was later joined by Steve Martin, Elliot Gould, Paul Simon and Chevy Chase, among others. Henry would up hosting SNL 10 times, placing him fourth in most appearances as host behind Alec Baldwin, Martin and John Goodman.

Henry was nominated for an Academy Award in 1968 for Best Adapted Screenplay for "The Graduate." He was then nominated in 1979 for Best Director for "Heaven Can Wait."

https://twitter.com/i/status/1215109175660945408

From Patton Oswalt's twitter feed:

David Letterman: Do you have any hobbies?
Buck Henry: I have hobbies.
DL: Do you have any pets?
BH: I'm not allowed to have pets.
DL: Why?
BH: Because of my hobbies.

[sittingon50]

Buck Henry was a talented man.

[Rangerzag]

‘Grease’ and ’77 Sunset Strip’ Star Edd Byrnes Dies at 87

https://variety.com/2020/tv/obituaries-people-news/edd-kookie-byrnes-dead-87-grease-77-sunset-strip-1203462364/

[RenoZag]

Pete Dye, golf course architect, age 94.

Obit: https://www.golfchannel.com/news/leg...-sawgrass-dies

Dye designed numerous golf courses during a career that began in 1959 . . . The Dye portfolio, which spanned over six decades and featured more than 100 courses, included several major and PGA Tour venues, including TPC Sawgrass’ Stadium Course, Kiawah’s Ocean Course, Harbour Town and this year’s Ryder Cup venue, Whistling Straits’ Straits Course, as well as other highly-ranked designs such as The Honors Course and Pete Dy

[LongIslandZagFan]

@&#&# HELL...

Neil Peart, 67. Drummer for seminal prog rock band Rush.

This just sucks. Another part of my youth... gone. RIP Neil.