In 2024, we've experienced the loss of several luminaries in the world of entertainment. These beloved figures—actors, comedians, musicians, singers, and coaches—have touched our lives with their talent, passion, and dedication. They've left an indelible mark on our hearts and shaped the world of entertainment in ways that will continue to inspire and influence generations to come.
Among the incredible actors who bid farewell this year, we mourn the loss of a true chameleon who effortlessly.
While at Beckenham, Parker regularly cycled 10 miles (16 km) Bexleyheath to watch George Webb's Dixielanders perform. Around this time, he joined the Catford Rhythm Club and played at regular sessions. He became the resident pianist, performing at the club until 1948 when he was called up for National Service. He served with the Royal Army Ordnance Corps as an ammunitions examiner, while accompanying jazz musicians such as Beryl Bryden and Mike Daniels.[2][1]
After a failed attempt to start his own band, Parker took a position inspecting components at an aircraft assembly plant.[1] He continued playing in jazz bands alongside artists such as Alexis Korner, Diz Disley, Cyril Davies, and Long John Baldry. He worked on-and-off in inspection until early 1969, when he joined Kenny Ball's Jazzmen. He performed with ball until 1978.[1]
Until his retirement in 2005, Parker led his own jazz bands around London and toured the Middle East.[1]
Later life and death
Parker retired in 2005, citing long-term health problems. He died on 11 June 2010.[1]
Personal life
Parker was married twice. He has four children – two (Rebecca and Robert) from his marriage to Maureen Wallis, and two (Abigail and Beverly) from his marriage to South African singer Peggy Phango. Phango, who was the first cousin of Miriam Makeba,[5] died in 1998.
Parker underwent a spinal operation in December 1969. He recovered within months and returned to regular touring.[1]
Drag racer Neal Parker, 58, of Millville N.J., died of injuries he sustained in an accident while qualifying his Top Alcohol Funny Car Friday afternoon in the National Hot Rod Association SuperNationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, N.J.
According to a NHRA release, Parker "crashed at a high rate of speed in the shutdown area.''
"On behalf of everyone at NHRA and Raceway Park, we are deeply saddened and want to pass along our sincere condolences to the entire Parker family,'' the statement read.
This is the same facility where two-time NHRA Top Fuel champion Scott Kalitta was killed in June of 2008 in a high speed crash also in the shutdown area at the end of the track. That accident prompted the NHRA to shorten the race tracks from the traditional quarter-mile length to 1,000-foot.
Parker's death while competing in the Top Alcohol class -- drag racing's version of a "triple-A" -- is the second fatality at an NHRA national event this season. A spectator was killed in February when a tire came off driver Antron Brown's Top Fuel dragster and struck a woman near the grandstands at Firebird Raceway outside Phoenix.
Busi Mhlongo , born as Victoria Busisiwe Mhlongo, was originally from Inanda in Natal, South Africa, Busi Mhlongo was a virtuoso singer, dancer and composer[1] whose music defies categorization.
(October 28, 1947 – June 15, 2010)
Drawing on various South African styles such as mbaqanga, maskanda, marabi and traditional Zulu, fused with contemporary elements from jazz, funk, rock, gospel, rap, opera, reggae and West African music she produced a fresh and exciting sound. Her infectious music and singing style have a universal appeal and her lyrics carry powerful and poignant messages. In the 1960s, she adopted the artistic name Vickie, only later she became known by Busi Mhlongo.
Her work also spaned more urban styles, with several tracks on URBANZULU being remixed for the dancefloor.
In 2000, Busi scooped three awards at the FNB South African Music Awards for best female artist, best adult contemporary album (Africa), and best African pop album. Busi has since also scored a KORA award and MELT has released a compilation called INDIZA with two new tracks produced by Brice Wassy and a series of remixes by Club 3.30.
The first South African music Benefit concert was held by South African Broadcasting Corporation to celebrate Busi's birthday and raise fund for her hospital bills, President Thabo Mbeki was one of the Honourable guests. On May 21, 2010, Ngwenyama Holdings a company owned by Swazi Prince Makhosini Dlamini announced A Tribute Concert to Busi Mhlongo at the South African Playhouse on May 30. Her album UrbanZulu, was the very first time that Maskanda has been expressed by a Zulu woman commercially to an international audience.[2]
Busi had been diagnosed with cancer and was undergoing treatment when she died on June 15, 2010.
Heidi Kabel was born in Hamburg, she was married to stage director and actor Hans Mahler until his death in 1970. Their daughter, Heidi Mahler, is also an actress.
Honors
Bambi 1984, 1990, 2004
Biermann-Ratjen-Medaille, Hamburg 1984
BĆ¼rgermeister-Stolten-Medaille for art and science, Hamburg 1981
EdelweiĆ of the magazine "Frau im Spiegel" 1993
Ehrenkommissarin of the Hamburger Police 1994
Honour medal for art and science, Hamburg 1989
Goldene Kamera 1985
Goldener Bildschirm 1967, 1972
Hermann-Lƶns-Medaille in platin for special services to the Volksmusik 1989
Until 1987 AzĆ³car was a left-handed pitcher (lifetime 14–5, 2.30 ERA as a pro), but then switched to the outfielder position. AzĆ³car was a classic example of the impatient hitter who will swing at almost anything and usually put it in play. It took him 100 Major League at-bats to draw his first walk. He normally obliged the pitchers by hitting whatever they threw, and his batting average dropped accordingly.
Shunsuke Ikeda was a Japaneseactor and model died from complications of diabetes.he was 68.
(ę± ē° é§æä»,Ikeda Shunsuke?, November 11, 1941 – June 11, 2010)
Acting career
Born Norio Ikeda (ę± ē° ē“ē,Ikeda Norio?), he was best known to tokusatsu fans as the android Ichiro in the Kikaider 01 series (1973–74).[1] Ikeda's interest in acting came at an early age from his father, respected swordfight choreographer Tatsuo Ouchi. He also had a black belt in judo and karate.[2] Ikeda studied with the Bunka-za Theater, first appearing on-screen in Hibari's Guitar of Motherly Love (1962).
Ikeda made only a handful of films, but found his niche on television, where he appeared in such shows as Special Mobile Investigation Unit (1963), Comrades (1963), Story of Coming Wind (1963), Aboard With 27 People (1964) and Onihei Hankacho (1969–70).[1]
Ikeda developed a fan following in Hawaii as well as Japan. In 2001, he and Kikaider star Daisuke Ban made a personal appearance in Hawaii, meeting with fans who grew up watching the Honolulu broadcasts of Kikaider and Kikaider 01. This led to both series being revived on TV and released on DVD, as well as additional live appearances, special events, and autograph sessions in both Japan and Hawaii.[1]
In a 2008 interview, Ikeda mentioned that he was upset that Kikaider's Hawaii popularity was not widely known in Japan.[3]
Death
Ikeda died on June 11, 2010 from complications of diabetes.[1][2]
Dean died on June 13, 2010, of natural causes at his Varina, Virginia, home at the age of 81. He is survived by his wife Donna.[1]
(August 10, 1928 – June 13, 2010)
Biography
Early career
Dean was born in Olton, Texas, in 1928. He has attributed his interest in music to the Seth Ward Baptist Church.[2] He dropped out of high school and became a professional entertainer after a stint in the U.S. Air Force in the late 1940s. According to his personal website, www.deancountry.com, he was the host of the popular Washington D.C. radio program Town and Country Time on WARL, and with his Texas Wildcats became popular in the Mid-Atlantic region.
Both Patsy Cline and Roy Clark got their starts with Dean, who eventually fired Clark, his lead guitarist, for his chronic tardiness. Dean replaced Clark with Billy Grammer. Cline and Dean became good friends during the run of Town and Country Time in the mid-50s. He had his first hit, "Bummin' Around", in 1953, but had no other hits for the rest of the decade.
Dean hosted another TV variety show for CBS in New York in the 1950s, where signed with Columbia Records. For several years in the late 1950s–early 1960s, he was a host of the CBS News program, The Morning Show, which aired prior to Captain Kangaroo.
The 1960s
Dean became best known for his 1961 recitation song about a heroic miner, "Big Bad John". Recorded in Nashville, the record went to number one on the Billboard pop charts and inspired many imitations and parodies. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.[3] The song won Dean the 1962 Grammy Award for Best Country & Western Recording. He had several more Top 40 songs including a Top 10 in 1962 with "PT-109", a song in honor of John F. Kennedy's bravery in World War II.
Dean turned to acting after his TV show ended in 1966. His best-known role was as reclusive Las Vegas billionaire Willard Whyte in the 1971 James Bond movie, Diamonds Are Forever. He also appeared as Josh Clements in six episodes of Daniel Boone (1967–70) and as Charlie Rowlands in two Fantasy Island episodes (1981–82), as well as on other TV shows.[4]
Later singing career
Dean's singing career remained strong into the mid-1960s; in 1965, he achieved a second number one country hit with the ballad "The First Thing Ev'ry Morning (And the Last Thing Ev'ry Night)", and he had a Top 40 hit that year with "Harvest Of Sunshine". In 1966, Dean signed with RCA Records and immediately had a Top 10 hit with "Stand Beside Me". His other major hits during this time included "Sweet Misery" (1967) and "A Thing Called Love" (1968). He continued charting into the early 1970s with his major hits including a duet with Dottie West, "Slowly" (1971); and a solo hit with "The One You Say Good Morning To" (1972).
In 1976, Dean achieved a million-seller with a recitation song as a tribute to his mother and mothers everywhere called "I.O.U.". The song was released a few weeks before Mother's Day and quickly became a Top 10 country hit, his first one in a decade, and a Top 40 pop hit, his first in 14 years. The song was re-released in 1977, 1983 and 1984, but with minor success each time.
Businessman
In 1969, he founded the Jimmy Dean Sausage Company with his brother Don. The company did well, in part because of Dean's own extemporized, humor-themed commercials.
Its success led to its acquisition in 1984 by Consolidated Foods, later renamed the Sara Lee Corporation. Dean remained involved in running the company, but the new corporate parent eventually began phasing him out of any management duties, a period that took a toll on his health. In January 2004, Dean said that Sara Lee had dropped him as the spokesman for the sausage brand, but beginning in 2008 until his death in 2010, Dean reappeared in a series of successful, whimsical ads for the sausage product.
In the fall of 2004, he released his blunt, straight-talking autobiography30 Years of Sausage, 50 Years of Ham. Dean lived in semi-retirement with second wife, Donna Meade Dean, a singer, songwriter, and recording artist he married in 1991, who helped him write his book. The couple lived on their property at Chaffin's Bluff overlooking the James River in Henrico County, on the outskirts of Richmond, Virginia. On April 20, 2009, the main house was largely gutted by a fire, although the Deans escaped injury. The Deans rebuilt their home on the same foundation and returned early in 2010.
Dean, who dropped out of high school in 1946 to work to help his mother, announced on May 20, 2008, a donation of $1 million to Wayland Baptist University in Plainview, the largest gift ever from one individual to the institution. Dean said: "I've been so blessed, and it makes me proud to give back, especially to my hometown."[5]
Dean had three children, Garry, Connie and Robert; and two granddaughters, Caroline Taylor (Connie's daughter) and Brianna Dean (Robert's daughter).
Other "Jimmy Deans"
Because of the similarities in their names, Dean is sometimes confused with actor James Dean in song lyric references of Madonna's "Vogue" or David Essex's "Rock On". James Dean's nickname, "Jimmy," was frequently used in press accounts during his lifetime.
Another country singer is Jimmie Dean, brother of Western singer, songwriter and actor Eddie Dean, from Lubbock County, Texas.