Mary Travers, best known as Mary from Peter, Paul and Mary passed away yesterday at the age of 72. Peter, Paul and Mary were a legendary folk revival group that became popular during the 1960’s, creating such classics as “If I Had a Hammer”, “Puff The Magic Dragon” and “Leaving on a Jet Plane”.
Mary was not only known for her music but also her championing of civil rights. The entire group fought for change throughout the 60’s and were also well known for introducing the world to the work of a young Bob Dylan. They sang “Blowin’ in the Wind” at peace rallies and protests and turned it into the movement’s anthem.
For me, I’ll always remember Mary’s voice from my childhood, when my parents would play me “Puff the Magic Dragon” over and over again. It always calmed me and made me happy. It still does.
R.I.P. Mary.
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DJ AM — also known as Adam Goldstein — has passed away, according to sources within the NYPD.
The famous DJ, who survived a plane crash with rocker Travis Barker back in 2008, was found dead in his New York apartment around 5 PM today. Drug paraphernalia, including prescription drug bottles, were also found in the apartment.
TMZ is reporting that the body has not yet been removed from the apartment. The police were called after friends hadn’t seen Goldstein in several days.
He was 36.
5:49: Authorities are saying a “crack pipe” was found on the scene. Goldstein had spoken publicly about his past addictions to crack cocaine. The prescription pills were found in his kitchen.
This is a developing story. Stay with us for more…
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Edward "Ted" Kennedy
Ted Kennedy, a senator who was truly one of the most popular, most accomplished men in his profession, passed away last night. He was the last of the Kennedy brothers, an elder statesman and a legend in American politics. While not a celebrity per se, his impact on this country is massive. Accordingly, his colleagues and fans are sending their support to the Kennedy family at this time.
Some choice reactions:
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger: “Maria and I are immensely saddened by the passing of Uncle Teddy. He was known to the world as the Lion of the Senate, a champion of social justice, and a political icon. Most importantly, he was the rock of our family: a loving husband, father, brother and uncle. He was a man of great faith and character.”
George H.W. Bush: “Ted Kennedy was a seminal figure in the United States Senate – a leader who answered the call to duty for some 47 years, and whose death closes a remarkable chapter in that body’s history.”
Sarah Palin: “I would like to extend our sympathies to the Kennedy family as we hear word about the passing of Senator Ted Kennedy. He believed in our country and fought passionately for his convictions.”
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Don Hewitt
Another important political television figure has passed away. Don Hewitt, the man who created the legendary news program and also crafted political news coverage, has died at age 86. Hewitt is also credited as the director of the first television presidential debate, being between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon. In fact, it was Hewitt who advises Mr. Nixon to apply make-up. Nixon refused and the end result, as we all know, was a rather ill and nervous looking candidate. Many say it was his appearance in that debate that cost him the election.
Hewitt was an executive at CBS News, where he worked on 60 Minutes until about five years ago. His work ranged from politics to other news events, including assassinations, weddings and the like.
60 Minutes is one of the longest running and most successful news programs in history.
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Liam Neeson
Liam Neeson, who has shown such strength since the passing of his wife Natasha Richardson, walked the red carpet last night for his new film Five Minutes of Heaven. The actor didn’t take any personal questions and appeared only to support his film, not to talk about his private life.
Five Minutes of Heaven, which opens August 21, regards Neeson as a former member of an Irish paramilitary group. It is his first film since the death of his wife. Since her death, he has stayed close to his boys and stayed very private. As we all know, Richardson died in a skiing accident last March. She was 45.
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Mays
Surprising, disappointing news today as we learn that Billy Mays, the lively TV spokesman who died on June 28, had cocaine in his system. Officials say that Mays had heart disease but the drug contributed to his death. I can honestly say that I did not see that coming. Even with his rambunctious, loud demeanor, you didn’t take Mays as a cocaine user. I guess I just can’t read certain people.
The initial autopsy didn’t find any amounts of drugs in his system but the toxicology reports, which were just released, revealed the sad information. Mays was 50 when he died last month.
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R.I.P.
Sad news today as we learn that director John Hughes, whose films included The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink and many, many more has passed away. He was only 59.
Hughes suffered a heart attack while visiting family in New York and died earlier today, a spokeswoman said. No official statement has been released by his family just yet.
There are so many memorable characters and stories from John Hughes that it’s sad to see him go. When I think of his films, I think of a smiling John Candy or a young Molly Ringwald or, of course, the group from The Breakfast Club. Not only did he direct several classics, he also produced many films that are ingrained into our cultural DNA. I think he set the standard when it came to coming-of-age stories. Even though he was much older than his subjects, he understand the simple troubles and issues that young people faced and portrayed them honestly.
He will be missed.
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TwitPic logo
Hackers broke into Britney Spears and Ellen DeGeneres’s Twitpic accounts over the weekend, spreading false information about the stars. The hackers even went so far to claim that Britney had passed away. The fake message read “Britney has passed today. It is a sad day for everyone. More news to come.”
Twitpic is looking into who did the hacking and how they can prevent future issues. They had to temporarily shut down the entire website for a brief time over the weekend to fix the problems caused by hackers.
Twitpic is a website that allows Twitter users to post pictures. Apparently the hackers were able to get into the system because of a “vulnerability” in the system.
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Billy Mays
More news on the Billy Mays front. It looks like the famous pitchman had heart disease and that may have contributed to his death.
A medical examiner in Florida said that Mays had a heart ailment that was “certainly capable of causing the sudden death”. Mays had injured himself on a plane flight earlier in the week and some had thought that could have caused his sudden death. The examiner says that probably wasn’t the case, saying Mays had “no evidence of any head trauma.”
Sadly, whatever the cause, Mays died Sunday morning in Florida. He was 50.
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Poor Ron Silver…
He has passed away at the age of 62 from esophageal cancer. He was pretty young. RIP Ron- our condolences to your family during this sad time.
Ron Silver was an actor in a few great GREAT shows like West Wing and Chicago Hope. His best show of all time might just be Heat Vision Jack. HAH.
I do know of the writer of Heat Vision Jack, Dan Harmon (Directed by Ben Stiller). One time I saw him at a party and another time I saw him at Dreamworks in the cafeteria pasta aisle where I made fun of his gut. He is really funny so check out his blog DanHarmon.com and check out some vintage Ron Silver in Heat Vision Jack.
HEAT VISION AND JACK VIDEO LINK
Heat Vision and Jack
Heat Vision and Jack (1999) is Rob Schrab and Dan Harmon’s famous ‘failed’ pilot. Despite critical acclaim, directing by Ben Stiller, and a star cast, FOX turned down the chance for Heat Vision and Jack to be made into a TV series.
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