Posted on 12/31/2018 4:33:54 PM PST by Twotone
Here's my take on some of those who left us these last twelve months. It's not a comprehensive list, because, as the late Diana Mosley used to say to me with rueful weariness, "People die non-stop", which is very true. But here's some of the passings we noted, with more at the links - from furniture salesmen to superhero godfathers to make-believe presidents, first ladies to Bond girls to Pigeon sisters:
CHARLES AZNAVOUR, troubadour On September 19th the 94-year-old Charles Aznavour was on stage at the NHK Hall in Osaka, Japan. After a triumphant concert he returned to his home in Mouriès, the lovely olive-oil town in the south of France, and died there suddenly last Monday. It was a spectacular run for a man who outlived all his contemporaries, and indeed an entire musical tradition.
RICHARD BAKER, BBC survivor In contrast to Baker's smooth purring middlebrow equanimity, his sidekick Kenneth Robinson was prone to get carried away. Mention of a dating agency for the disabled, for example, prompted Robinson to sigh (to Baker's horror) that in some parts of the country "you can hear the wheelchairs banging together all night long". His days were numbered... One morning, Robinson turned up to be told his services would no longer be required, and, to add insult to injury, then had to sit through Richard Baker's bland perfunctory thank-you at the end of the week's show. From off-mike, Robinson raged, "It's a bloody disgrace after seventeen years."
"Yes, well, there we are," purred Baker, and on came the ten o'clock pips.
(Excerpt) Read more at steynonline.com ...
“you can hear the wheelchairs banging together all night long”
Should have given that guy his own show!
Thanks for the post!
As an avid bicyclist and lover of the epic annual race that is the Tour de France, I would include Paul Sherwen (died age 62 on 2 Dec. 2018), the long-time co-host of NBC SPORTS’ broadcast with Phil Liggett. He will be sorely missed by his fans. RIP ‘Climber’!
Colonel Beltrame took four bullets, and from his sick bed, in hospital at Carcassonne, was married to his fiancée Marielle. They had planned a June wedding, but could no longer wait.
Some great stuff here.
Sorry to hear about his beloved kitty!
The TdF won’t be the same without Paul Sherwen.
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