Replies

“...been a rough year”

You ain’t kidding. Below is an email I just sent out.

The following people passed away in 2016. Of a huge list, these are the ones that touched my life, for good or bad, whose names jumped out at me from the list:

Carrie Fisher (Princess Leah)
George Michael (Singer/Songwriter)
The Alexandrov Ensemble (formerly known as the Red Army Chorus and Band, whom I saw perform in 1989)
Zsa Zsa Gabor (A celebrity from my childhood days)
Fidel Castro (The evil guy who gave American Children nightmares in the 60’s)
Alan Thicke (actor that I liked)
Leonard Cohen (Poet/Songwriter who greatly influenced my own songwriting)
Leon Russell (What can I say? I was a huge fan)
Robert Vaughn (The Man from U.N.C.L.E.)
Kongar-o Ondar (Native Tuva Singer that I liked)
Ron Glass (From “Barney Miller”)
Tom Hayden (political activist back in the 60’s)
Bobby Vee (50’s Pop singer)
Tammy Grimes (actress and singer from my childhood days)
The Lady Chablis (Real-Life Savannah Transvestite featured in the movie “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil”)
Edward Albee (American Playwright)
Bobby Breen (Child star who ended up being an agent in Florida who booked my gigs)
Arnold Palmer (Famous golfer from my childhood days)
Neil Armstrong (First man to walk on the Moon)
Glenn Yarborough (Singer/Songwriter)
Kenny Baker (R2D2 actor from the original Star Wars)
Jack Riley(Actor who played the crazy “Mr. Carlin” on the Bob Newhart Show)
Steven Hill(The crabby DA from “Law & Order”)
Gene Wilder (what can I say? One of my ALL-TIME FAVORITES)
Elie Weisel (Holocaust Survivor and author of “Night”)
Marni Nixon (The beautiful soprano who did the voices for actresses who couldn’t sing)
Tim LaHaye (Author of the “Left Behind” series of books)
Miss Cleo (TV Psychic who evidently did not see “it” coming)
Jerry Doyle (Actor who played Security Chief Garibaldi in “Babylon 5”)
Mohammed Ali (AKA Cassius Clay who dominated sports, politics, and religious news in the 60’s)
Alan Rickman (Brilliant actor. he was great in “Galaxy Quest”)
Alvin Toffler (Author of “Future Shock”)
David Bowie (What can I say?..loved his music)
Alan Young (Wilburrrr from Mr. Ed)
B.B. King (again speechless)
Jan Crouch (Of the big hair, subjected my faith to ridicule with her antics on TBN)
Gato Barbieri (Jazz Musician)
Merle Haggard (Giant of Country Music)
Prince (I wasn’t a big fan, but recognized his genius)
Jerry Bridges (you probably never heard of him, but he founded The Navigators, an excellent Christian teaching series)
Nancy Reagan (She’s with her Ronnie now)
Sir George Martin (Producer and arranger for The Beatles)
Frank Sinatra Jr. (Never quite filled his father’s shoes)
Larry Drake (Played the mentally challenged intern on LA Law. He was such a good actor i thought he really WAS)
Joe Garagiola Sr. (Great Baseball player)
Garry Shandling (A comedian of the “Old School” whom I enjoyed)
Mother Angelica (Founder of Catholic network EWTN. She was always bucking the “system”. I liked her for that)
Edgar Mitchell (Astronaut Apollo 14)
Maurice White (Earth, Wind, and Fire...loved them back-in-the-day)
Judge Antonin Scalia (I am still suspicious about the cause of his death)
Boutro Boutros-Galli (UN guy who wasn’t very friendly to the USA)
Umberto Eco (Author of “The name of the Rose” made into a movie with Sean Connery)
Harper Lee (Author of “To Kill A Mockingbird”)
Peter Mondavi (Vintner, founder of Mondavi Wines)
Lennie Baker (The voice of “Sha Na Na”)
Pierre Boulez (French Classical conductor and composer)
Glenn Frey (of the “Eagles”)
LaVoy Finnicum (American Freedom-Fighter slain by the feds)
Abe Vigoda (Detective Fish from “Barney Miller”)
Paul Kantner (Jefferson Airplane)
Andrew Sachs (Manuel from “Fawlty Towers”)
Rick Parfitt (Musician from “Status Quo”)
Florence Henderson (The Mom on “The Brady Bunch”)
Anton Yechin (Checkov from the new Star Trek movies)

Your list may vary, but these were the names I recognized from a HUGE list of people who passed on in 2016.