2020 Notables - Passages

[Rangerzag]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/02/25/101-nasa-star-katherine-johnson-has-passed-away-she-blazed-path-blackgirlmagic/

After 101 years, Katherine Johnson left this earth with a contribution that far exceeds her work at NASA: she has inspired young black girls to reach for the stars. The film “Hidden Figures” made famous her work calculating the trajectory the Mercury space capsule had to follow to reenter the Earth’s atmosphere. While these calculations were first derived by an electronic computer, astronaut John Glenn refused to launch until the computer’s data were confirmed by manual calculation. And there was only one person he trusted fully to do that calculation: Johnson. Only when her work was complete did Glenn declare the mission a go.

[sittingon50]

RIP Ms. Johnson.

That was a terrific movie, Ranger.

[RenoZag]

Ousted Egyptian leader Hosni Mubark, age 91.

[seacatfan]

David Roback, one of the founders of the band Mazzy Star, 61.

[RenoZag]

Writer Clive Cussler, age 88

NYT OBIT: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/26/b...bits&smtyp=cur

Mayan jungles, undersea kingdoms, ghost ships, evil forces out to destroy the world, beautiful women, heroes modeled on himself — Mr. Cussler’s vivid literary fantasies and his larger-than-life exploits swirled together for four decades, spinning off more than 85 books and locating almost as many shipwrecks.

A college dropout who once pumped gas and wrote advertising copy, Mr. Cussler resorted to a hoax to get his first book published. But his work — mostly action thrillers of the James Bond-Indiana Jones kind, plus nonfiction accounts of his marine quests and a few children’s books — made him a global celebrity.

His Arvada, CO, car museum displays roughly 70 of the 120 vintage cars he collected: https://www.cusslermuseum.com/

[seacatfan]

Wow. I've read a handful of Clive Cussler's Dirk Pitt novels, always entertaining. RIP.

[willandi]

Wow. I've read a handful of Clive Cussler's Dirk Pitt novels, always entertaining. RIP.

I love Cussler.

His son has co-written a few and others have been co-writing as well. It would be my guess that just like the Bourne books didn't die, the Numa books will not either, nor will the other series, Isaac Bell and the Fargos will live on...in my opinion.

[seacatfan]

I love Cussler.

His son has co-written a few and others have been co-writing as well. It would be my guess that just like the Bourne books didn't die, the Numa books will not either, nor will the other series, Isaac Bell and the Fargos will live on...in my opinion.

You're probably correct, I think he's been co-writing for a while now. I've read at least one Isaac Bell novel, maybe a couple. I think I read a stand alone book of his as well, might've even been non-fiction.

[willandi]

You're probably correct, I think he's been co-writing for a while now. I've read at least one Isaac Bell novel, maybe a couple. I think I read a stand alone book of his as well, might've even been non-fiction.

He has written a couple about his search for historic shipwrecks. One book was centered in the south Pacific and another on the Mississippi, and around the US. They found, and have brought up, the USS Hindley (sp), the first submersible, sunk in the Civil War.

[sittingon50]

Nick Forte

https://centurylink.net/news/read/article/deadline-nick_apollo_forte_dies_broadway_danny_rose_actor_w-rpenskemc/category/news

[Jazzgirl_127]

He has written a couple about his search for historic shipwrecks. One book was centered in the south Pacific and another on the Mississippi, and around the US. They found, and have brought up, the USS Hindley (sp), the first submersible, sunk in the Civil War.

I think it was CSS Hunley because it was trying to pass under the Union ships' blockading Charleston Harbor. There was a movie (maybe A&E or the history channel?) about it shortly after we visited Charleston when I was a teen.

[willandi]

I think it was CSS Hunley because it was trying to pass under the Union ships' blockading Charleston Harbor. There was a movie (maybe A&E or the history channel?) about it shortly after we visited Charleston when I was a teen.

Yep. I am sure you are right. I was going from memory and got the sound of the name right.

Thanks.

[RenoZag]

Trader Joe

Joe Coulombe, who founded Trader Joe’s, the popular grocery known for its kitschy vibe and beloved private label wine dubbed "Two Buck Chuck,'' died late Friday at his Pasadena, California home. He was 89.

Coulombe’s son, also named Joe, said in a statement his father died following a long illness.

Born on June 3, 1930, Coulombe was raised on an avocado ranch in Del Mar, California, near San Diego. He served a year in the Air Force and got a bachelor’s degree in economics, followed by an MBA from Stanford University in 1954.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2020/02/29/joe-coulombe-obituary-trader-joes-founder-dies-89/4884608002/

Trader Joe's "Charles Shaw" private label wine is affectionately known as "Two Buck Chuck" for its affordability.

May his funeral be held someplace that actually has enough available parking.

[RenoZag]

James Lipton, of "Inside the Actors Studio"

James Lipton, who plumbed the dramatic arts through perceptive, mostly admiring interviews with celebrity actors as host of the Bravo television series “Inside the Actors Studio,” died on Monday at his home in Manhattan. He was 93

NYT Obit: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/02/a...imes&smtyp=cur

During his 23-season run as host — he left the show when it moved from Bravo to Ovation TV in 2019 — “Inside the Actors Studio” became a coveted stop for writers, directors and performers, who would give some of their longest and most unguarded interviews to Mr. Lipton.

His manner was sympathetic — fawning, to some, and often lampooned — but the formula worked, and among the 275 or so stars he interviewed were some of the brightest: Paul Newman, Alec Baldwin, Neil Simon, Sally Field, Dennis Hopper and Sidney Lumet, to name a few — and they came along in just the first season.

His raw interviews lasted four to five hours and were then edited down to one hour for television. He had a talent for eliciting unexpected disclosures — what he called “omigod” moments.

Ben Kingsley cried while speaking of his mother’s death. Jack Lemmon revealed his alcoholism so casually that Mr. Lipton did not know whether the actor was describing himself or a character in a movie. Sally Field suggested that Mr. Lipton had read her diary. Julia Roberts asked whether he had called her mother.

Inside the Actors Studio was one of my favorite shows.

[RenoZag]

Jack Welch, who led General Electric through two decades of extraordinary corporate prosperity and became the most influential business manager of his generation, died on Sunday at his home in Manhattan. He was 84.

The cause was renal failure, his wife, Suzy Welch, said.

Combative and blunt, Mr. Welch became the chief executive of General Electric in 1981, a few months after Ronald Reagan took office as president. It was a time of outsize gains for many of America’s big, multinational corporations and their leaders, who were helped by lower taxes and pro-business policies.

G.E. led the pack. The company’s revenue jumped nearly fivefold, to $130 billion, during Mr. Welch’s tenure, while the value of its shares on the stock market soared from $14 billion to more than $410 billion.