In Memoriam-Gone by not forgotten 2

[Reply #240 on:]

My Facebook newfeed indicates that Beau Biden, the Vice President's son, has passed.

I am having trouble actually loading any articles on the matter. If anyone would like to quote here or private message to me a copy of an article (with a corresponding link), I would greatly appreciate it.

[Reply #241 on:]

Vice president’s son Beau Biden dies at 46 of brain cancer

"Vice President Joe Biden's oldest son has died after a fight with brain cancer. Beau Biden was 46 years old.

Beau Biden had been diagnosed with brain cancer in 2013, at a time he'd been considering making a run for governor of Delaware. (Video via BarackObama.com)

>> Read more trending stories
Photos: Beau Biden through the years gallery
Photos: Beau Biden through the years

His speech at the 2008 Democratic National Convention introducing his father was moving and personal, and launched him onto the national stage.

A statement from the office of the vice president called the former Delaware attorney general "the finest man [the Biden family have] ever known."

Beau Biden is survived by his wife and two children."

[Reply #242 on:]

My aunt died from brain cancer three years ago, and it's probably the worst way someone can go out. It's so heartbreaking if you know everything joe Biden has gone through on the past, also sad for beau's wife and kids

[Reply #243 on:]

Christopher Lee died today, at the age of 93. It shouldn't really be a surprise, I suppose. I mean, he was old. But at the same time, I sort of expected him to be around a little longer.

He was a WWII vet, a spy, sang in a metal band, and of course, he was in more films than you can shake a stick at. He's played Death, Saruman, Dracula, Frankenstein's monster, Rasputin, a Bond villain, Sherlock Holmes, and rumour has it that he would have been in Star Wars had they ever made a prequel trilogy.

So. He was a celebrity I'll actually miss. Which is more than I can say for most of them.

[Reply #244 on:]

So basically, he accomplished more than I ever will, nine times over. I'm only obtusely aware of him, but his sounds like a life well lived.

Rest In Peace

[Reply #245 on:]

This is very sad. The LOTR movies are unquestionably my favorite movies ever, and Chris Lee's portrayal of Saruman was top notch.

[Reply #246 on:]

   Dusty Rhodes, wrestler.

 

[Reply #247 on:]

the fact that Lee was still working to the very end and had well over 250 credits in an almost 70 year career is really telling of his level of talent, dedication, and awesomeness.

[Reply #248 on:]

RIP Christopher Lee. That and Nimoy's made me sad. 

[Reply #249 on:]

I remember reading a meme a few months ago that mentioned that Christopher Lee challenged Peter Jackson's direction, stating something along the lines that "someone being stabbed doesn't sound like that" leading to the conclusion that, given his enigmatic wartime service, Christopher Lee knew what someone being stabbed sounded like...

A remarkable and very full life. I'd also like to shout out for Ron Moody, who famously played Fagin in the film Oliver! and in particular to James Last, the band leader, whose stirring use of brass and strings in particular made many of his covers of popular songs my favourite versions. Both died recently, having led remarkable and full lives.

And yet, I mourn not only their passing but the fact that we no longer share the planet with these people. It may sound wrong, but I do lose a connection with people's works when they pass away. Even when some actors or artists retire and spend their final years or decades in seclusion, I always take solace to know that they are still alive.

That probably sounds wrong.

[Reply #250 on:]

I think that it's human nature to feel that way, Zed.  I certainly agree that a person losing their life is generally of far more import than the fact that they'll no longer be able to portray a treasured character or write another book in a favourite series.

Yet, the passing of Nimoy was a very profound and almost palpable demarcation in my life.  Yes, I know it sounds silly, but I had grown up with his character and poured out a lot of emotion over the years.

When some of my fave musicians begin to pass, that feeling of great loss will hit me very hard.

[Reply #251 on:]

Yet, the passing of Nimoy was a very profound and almost palpable demarcation in my life.  Yes, I know it sounds silly, but I had grown up with his character and poured out a lot of emotion over the years.

This is exactly how I feel about the late Christopher Lee. Several actors in Lord of the Rings have iconic performances that defined the trilogy (and their careers), and were met with huge amounts of critical acclaim. The most notable of these are probably Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen, and Andy Serkis; however no casting choice in LoTR feels as perfect to me as Christopher Lee's chilling portrayal of Saruman the White. He's ridiculously tall and has a voice that's so deep and menacing that I swear all the windows in my house shake whenever he speaks.

Now, there's only a few celebrities that've died that I'm even vaguely family with (off the top of my head: Steve Irwin, Michael Jackson, Neil Armstrong, Leonard Nimoy and Christopher Lee), but Lee's death has certainly been the first that has had a substantial impact on me.

He lived a long, good life at least.

[Reply #252 on:]

Steve Irwin, Michael Jackson, Neil Armstrong, Leonard Nimoy and Christopher Lee

That's an intriguing dinner party lineup, with an interesting set of connections. The first was a lunatic, the second moonwalked, the third walked on the moon, the fourth went beyond the moon (to where nobody had gone before), and the fifth died as the moon began to wax, which takes us back to the first, as he would frequently wax lyrical over the "beauty" and "majesty" of the world's most dangerous or venomous animals (whilst he poked at them with sticks, usually).

They've also all got a Bacon Number of two.

[Reply #253 on:]

Steve Irwin, Michael Jackson, Neil Armstrong, Leonard Nimoy and Christopher Lee

That's an intriguing dinner party lineup

So which one of them would you eat first?

[Reply #254 on:]

So which one of them would you eat first?

Ew. I'm not eating a dead celebrity. Living people only, please.

[Reply #255 on:]

So which one of them would you eat first?

Ew. I'm not eating a dead celebrity. Living people only, please.

You could meet in the middle and eat a half dead/half living celebrity

[Reply #256 on:]

Eat part of them, lightly kill them, then lovingly dip them in glucose and consume the rest.

I'm still bummed out about Nimoy  I had not known the plot elements of "Wrath of Khan" before I saw it in the theatre during opening week, and the scene in the engineering spaces gutted me savagely.  I was literally too choked-up to speak, and the crowd was dead-silent^*.



^*Except for the quiet sobbing.

[Reply #257 on:]

They're just... people you never expected to die.

[Reply #258 on:]

Valar Morghulis, Cudry.

[Reply #259 on:]

RIP Patrick Macnee, AKA John Steed in The Avengers... a favourite show of mine
 

Sad to hear that he died so soon after his friend Sir Christopher Lee.

[Reply #260 on:]

RIP Chris Squire, bassist from one of my favorite bands ever, Yes. His playing was a huge element of what made them so phenomenal.

[Reply #261 on:]

Awwww that's sad, what can you do :/ everybody dies but not everybody lives

[Reply #262 on:]

R.I.P. Welsh-American actor Roger Rees.

Known by many for his stage career on and off Broadway, many here may better know him as Robin Colcord from Cheers or Lord John Marbury from The West Wing.

[Reply #263 on:]

RIP Saturo Iwata, President and CEO of Nintendo. Died at 55 years of age from cancer.

He was an important programmer for early Nintendo games, and was a fun, humorous presence in press videos more recently. He also had been a huge force in pushing the company to embrace modern gaming, and in 2013 he supposedly took a large salary-cut to prevent layoffs of employees. An important figure in the video game industry for sure.

[Reply #264 on:]

I saw that about Iwata, very sad considering he was only 55. RIP.

[Reply #265 on:]

Do you really want to live to be 55?  Trapped in a decaying prison of a body as its functions slowly grind away and your conscious self dwindles to a hazy fog.

[Reply #266 on:]

Hey... I resemble that remark!

So long as you've retained significant mobility, dexterity, and reasonable levels of mental acuity and are not experiencing debilitating pain I think it's a given that you should want to live far beyond the age of 55.

[edit]

To be clear, I fully understood that you were waxing philosophic and inviting people to think and contribute to the conversation, winna: I was simply giving my personal view of part of your statement; I wasn't being derisive or dismissive of your views.

[Reply #267 on:]

My uncle just turned 70 and still bikes excessively long distances.

[Reply #268 on:]

Has he ever hunter bears?

[Reply #269 on:]

That is very sad about Mr. Iwata, and quite surprising as well. Beyond his significance in programming and leadership at Nintendo, he seemed like a genuine spirit -- probably the most virtuous, endearing quality, in my opinion.

[Reply #270 on:]

More of a personal shoutout, given motorsport is a niche interest on this board, but while millions of Formula One fans (such as myself) hope/pray for the survival, let alone recovery of racing driver Jules Bianchi after his horrific crash yesterday at the Japanese Grand Prix, former F1 driver Andrea De Cesaris, one of the most memorable of racing personalities of the 1980s and early 90s, has died in a bike accident in Rome, aged 55, and I am very, very upset.

Forza Jules!

RIP Andreas

We've lost Jules now, too.

A rising star, Ferrari protégé and by all accounts a great guy as well. As a stalwart Manor/Marussia fan I'm particularly upset as he scored the team's best result in Monaco last year and everyone was so elated at the time. Sadly he's proven to be the centre of one of the best news stories in F1 recently and now undoubtedly the worst.

First driver fatally injured during a Formula One Grand Prix since Ayrton Senna in 1994.

Fuck

RIP!

[Reply #271 on:]

R.I.P. George Coe, original cast member of Saturday Night Live, guest star of many, many tv shows and, most perhaps most recently and well-known, the voice of Woodhouse on Archer.

[Reply #272 on:]

I win the tontine!

[Reply #273 on:]

Another great character actor/voice actor passed away recently. Alex Rocco was best known for his role as Moe Greene in the Godfather, as well as voicing Roger Meyers Jr in the Simpsons

[Reply #274 on:]

I just saw The Godfather for the first time last weekend (and quite admired Moe Greene's glasses, and bemoaned their tragic fate), and while I certainly recognized Alex Rocco's voice from The Simpsons I knew I recognized his handsome mug from somewhere else. So I read this article about his death and realized that I must have seen him on The Facts of Life, which I watched religiously as a child...so that was kind of neat, but also ultimately a bummer. Rest easy, Mr. Polniaczek.

Edit: He was also apparently on The Golden Girls - another of my elementary school cultural touchstones; I happened to catch a rerun this morning and there he was. Be still my gruff '80's sitcom dads-loving heart.

[Reply #275 on:]

¬_¬

[Reply #276 on:]

R.I.P. Rowdy Roddy Piper, one of my favorite wrestlers... From what I saw of him outside of films like They Live and various Wrestling clips, he seemed like a very happy, upbeat man. I'm glad I got the chance to meet him last year.   

[Reply #277 on:]

The world is all out of bubblegum.

I'm not a wrestling fan, but I've enjoyed watching movies with him in them and I've heard many fans relate how much of a pleasure he was to meet in real life.

[Reply #278 on:]

My country's name (New Zealand) caught my eye in wikipedia's Recent Deaths listing for August 4th:

Les Munro, 96, New Zealand pilot, last surviving pilot of Operation Chastise.

Operation Chastise is more commonly knows as the Dam Busters raid.

I can't say I'd ever heard of him but it's easy to forget that quite a few kiwis were in the RAF during WW2.

[Reply #279 on:]

That's a surprisingly long life for a WWII vet, they've been dying off at an alarming rate