/ Stars that died in 2023

Monday, June 7, 2010

Johnny Parker British jazz pianist ("Bad Penny Blues") has died he was , 80,

Johnny Parker was a British jazz pianist has died he was , 80,

(6 November 1929 – 11 June 2010)

Parker was born in Beckenham, Kent.[1] In 1940, his family moved to Wiltshire where Parker was exposed to American Forces Network broadcasts, and first heard boogie-woogie piano at a US Air Force base. Parker returned to Beckenham after the Second World War and worked a paper round to be able to buy records from artists such as Pete Johnson and Albert Ammons.

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 his service, Parker enrolled at Regent Street Polytechnic, and – from 1950 to 1951 – played in Mick Mulligan's band. Later in 1951 he joined the band of Humphrey Lyttleton. He performed the opening piano riff to 1956's "Bad Penny Blues".[1] Parker's piano riff has been cited as similar to (and a possible influence on) Paul McCartney's piano playing in "Lady Madonna".[3][4]


He stayed with Lyttleton for six years, performing with Sidney Bechet and supporting Louis Armstrong and Eddie Condon.[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]


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Drag Racer Neal Parker Killed During NHRA National Event he was 5

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.

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Busi Mhlongo, South African musician, has died of cancer.she was 62

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.


Mhlongo has worked with other top African folk / pop artists, like Hugh Masekela, Dr. Philip Tabane, Mabe Thobejane, and many legends - Robert "Doc" Mthalane making meticulously produced, melodic and modern South African music.

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.


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Heidi Kabel, German stage actress has died she was , 95


Heidi Bertha Auguste Kabel was a German musician and actress has died she was, 95. Most of her stage roles were performed at the Ohnsorg-Theater in Hamburg, many of them in Low German.

(27 August 1914 – 15 June 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
  • EdelweiƟ 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
  • Richard-Ohnsorg-Preis 1983
  • Silberne Maske of the Ohnsorg-Theater 1982
  • Silbernes Lorbeerblatt of the Dramatiker-Union 1986

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Oscar AzĆ³car, Venezuelan baseball player (New York Yankees, San Diego Padres) has died he was 45

Oscar Gregorio AzĆ³car was a Major League Baseball outfielder and left-handed batter who played for the New York Yankees (1990) and San Diego Padres (19911992) has died he was 45.

(February 21, 1965 in Soro, Venezuela – June 14, 2010 in Valencia, Venezuela)

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.

In his 202-game career AzĆ³car hit for .226, with 5 home runs, 36 runs batted in, 38 runs scored, 99 hits, 16 doubles, 10 stolen bases and 12 base on balls. Despite his free-swinging style, he had only 36 strikeouts in 439 at-bats (one every 12 at-bats). AzĆ³car also used his speed selectively and never was caught stealing.

He signed with Navegantes del Magallanes after leaving the Padres and finished his baseball career in Mexico in 2001.[1]

AzĆ³car died in Valencia, Venezuela on June 14th, 2010. [2]

AzĆ³car spent most of his career in the minors and later in the Venezuelan and Mexican leagues:


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Shunsuke Ikeda, Japanese actor (Kikaider 01, Ultraman Mebius & Ultraman Brothers), died from complications of diabetes.he was 68

Shunsuke Ikeda was a Japanese actor and model died from complications of diabetes.he was 68.
(ę± ē”° é§æ介 Ikeda Shunsuke?, November 11, 1941 – June 11, 2010)

Acting career

Born Norio Ikeda (ę± ē”° ē“€ē”Ÿ 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]

While Ikeda's biggest and best-known tokusatsu role was in Kikaider 01, he also appeared in Operation: Mystery (1968–69), Silver Mask (1971–72), Secret Squadron Goranger (1975–77), and Ultraman Mebius & Ultraman Brothers (2006).[1]


Education

Ikeda graduated from Hosei University in 1967 with a degree in economics.[1]

Popularity

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]


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Jimmy Dean, American country music singer, television host, actor and businessman, died of natural causes he was , 81

Jimmy Ray Dean was an American country music singer, television host, actor and businessman. Although he may be best known today as the creator of the Jimmy Dean Sausage brand, he first rose to fame for his 1961 country crossover hit "Big Bad John"; and became a national television personality in the 1960s. His acting career included a supporting role in the 1971 James Bond movie, Diamonds Are Forever. He lived near Richmond, Virginia, and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2010.

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.

In the early 1960s, he hosted the Tonight Show on occasion and one night introduced Roy Clark, with whom he had remained friendly. His mid-1960s ABC-TV variety series, The Jimmy Dean Show, was one of the few to regularly present country music entertainers to a mainstream audience, including Roger Miller, George Jones, Charlie Rich, Buck Owens and some, like Joe Maphis, who seldom received network exposure. He is also remembered for his sketches with one of Jim Henson's Muppets, Rowlf the Dog.

He appeared on several TV talk shows and game shows, as well as performed on variety programs, including The Ed Sullivan Show and The Hollywood Palace.[4]

Acting career

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.

Later years

A Virginia resident since 1990, Dean was inducted into the Virginia Country Music Hall of Fame in 1997. Former Virginia governor Jim Gilmore appointed Dean to the Virginia Board of Game and Inland Fisheries, which oversees the state's wildlife efforts and boating laws.

In the fall of 2004, he released his blunt, straight-talking autobiography 30 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]

On February 23, 2010, Dean was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.


Children

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.


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Ellen Holly best known for her groundbreaking role as Carla Gray on the daytime television series One Life to Live died she was 92

Ellen Holly Ellen Holly.   DISNEY GENERAL ENTERTAINMENT CONTENT VIA GETTY Ellen Holly, born on October 31, 1930, in New York City, passed aw...