Growing up, she was a beloved celebrity in her home country. Thousands of girls were named after her. So was a bestselling
perfume. But Josef Stalin's "Little Sparrow," his only daughter, (born Svetlana Stalina) defected to the United States in 1967. Upon arriving in New York, she promptly held a
press conference that surprised the world, denouncing her father's regime.
Svetlana became a naturalized US citizen, moved to Taliesin West, married an American, changed her name to Lana Peters, then returned to the Soviet Union in 1984,
declaring that she had not been free "for one single day" in the U.S., only to once
again return to America in 1986. She lived out her remaining days in a
small town in Wisconsin. Mrs. Peters
passed away from
colon cancer on November 22nd, at the age of 85. [more inside]
posted by zarq
on Nov 28, 2011 -
39 comments
"For the progress of humanity, work alone is not adequate, but the work should be associated with love, compassion, right conduct, truthfulness and sympathy. Without the above qualities, selfless service cannot be performed."
On
Sunday morning, Indian guru Sri Sathya Sai Baba
passed away. He leaves behind a massive
empire, several million
mourning devotees worldwide, an
extensive religious philosophy, a great deal of
controversy and a legacy of large-scale philanthropic projects in India, including
free hospitals and mobile medical facilities,
a free university and schools, and other efforts which included supplying
clean water to hundreds of rural villages.
[more inside]
posted by zarq
on Apr 25, 2011 -
41 comments
A last sheet flutters onto the pile:
Stephen J. Cannell, the mystery novelist and television deity responsible for
21 Jump Street,
The A-Team,
Baa Baa Black Sheep (or
Black Sheep Squadron),
Baretta,
Booker,
Broken Badges,
Chase,
Cobra,
The Commish,
The D.A.,
The Duke,
The Greatest American Hero,
Hardcastle and McCormick,
The Hat Squad,
Hawkeye,
Hunter,
J.J. Starbuck,
The Last Precinct,
The 100 Lives of Black Jack Savage,
Palace Guard,
Profit,
The Quest,
Renegade,
Richie Brockelman: Private Eye,
Riptide,
The Rockford Files,
The Rousters,
Silk Stalkings,
Sonny Spoon,
Stingray,
Stone,
Street Justice,
Tenspeed and Brown Shoe,
Toma,
Top of the Hill,
Unsub, and
Wiseguy,
has passed away. He was 69.
[more inside]
posted by Iridic
on Oct 1, 2010 -
56 comments
Aaron-Carl Ragland, known simply as "Aaron-Carl" to most, was a songwriter, remixer, producer, radio show host, record label founder and all-around character. The news of Ragland's death was first posted on his friend and fellow
Detroit musician Piranha Head's Facebook page in a status update, saying simply:
Just lost one of his best friends, Aaron-Carl, and my arms are far too short to box with GOD. One of the best Human beings in the WORLD is gone. I have no words. Music is Silence.
Aaron-Carl himself posted
this video just five days ago on his blog discussing his diagnosis and upcoming surgery after
canceling his upcoming European tour.
Factmag reports that Aaron-Carl is believed to have died shortly after or during essential lymph node surgery; it appears that he died overnight after beginning his first chemotherapy session.
[more inside]
posted by Unicorn on the cob
on Sep 30, 2010 -
15 comments
Mitch Miller has died at the age of 99. In the years before rock'n' roll took over, Miller, as an A&R man first at Mercury, and then at Columbia Records, signed and produced hits for a large stable of stars, including Patti Page, Frankie Laine, Johnny Mathis, and Tony Bennett. While he did have a disdain for rock music later, he did offer Elvis Presley a contract and brought Bob Dylan and Aretha Franklin into the fold. Artists like Frank Sinatra would later criticize Miller for forcing novelty tunes like
Mama Will Bark on them.
In 1955 he had a number one hit with the old Civil War-era standard,
The Yellow Rose of Texas.
Beginning in 1961 he turned a series of records into a hit NBC series,
Sing Along with Mitch and his goateed face became a television staple as he encouraged viewers at home to follow the bouncing ball and join in. The show helped launch the career of future Sesame Street star
Bob McGrath and inspired the Flintstones parody
Hum Along with Herman.
posted by evilcolonel
on Aug 2, 2010 -
37 comments
When "Proto-Pop" artist
Larry Rivers' died in
2002, he left behind extensive archives of his letters, paperwork, photographs and film documenting the New York artistic and literary scene from the 1940s through the 1980s. They chronicle his friendships and relationships with dozens of artists, musicians and writers, from Willem de Kooning and Andy Warhol to Frank O’Hara. Also included: films and videos of his two adolescent daughters, naked or topless, being interviewed by their father about their developing breasts. Now, one daughter, who says she was pressured to participate beginning when she was 11, is
demanding that material be removed from the archive and returned to her and her sister. [more inside]
posted by zarq
on Jul 8, 2010 -
74 comments
She's been called "the greatest posthumous success story in music history." But when she died of melanoma at age 33, few people outside of the Washington DC-area had heard of
Eva Marie Cassidy.
[more inside]
posted by zarq
on Jun 17, 2010 -
62 comments
