Obituary News

Beverly Roberts Singer with Dorsey Brothers Passes

Source: Michael Ricci
July 20, 2009

Beverly Roberts, 95, who co-starred with Humphrey Bogart in the 1936 film “Two Against the World," died July 13 at her home in Laguna Niguel of natural causes, her second cousin Christina Baker said.

Born May 19, 1914, in Brooklyn, N.Y., Roberts became a Warner Bros. contract player in 1935. She made her first film the next year with Al Jolson in the musical “The Singing Kid."

She starred as a female lumberjack in “God's Country and the Woman" in ...

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Dee Dee Bellson Singer, Daughter of Pearl Bailey and Louie Bellson

Source: Michael Ricci
July 20, 2009

Dee Dee Bellson, 49, the daughter of Broadway entertainer and singer Pearl Bailey and jazz drummer Louie Bellson who went on to craft her own singing career, died July 4 at her home in Charlottesville, Va., after a heart attack. Bailey and Louis Bellson married in London in 1952 and later adopted two children, Dee Dee and Tony. The family settled in Northridge. Dee Dee, who was born April 20, 1960, often traveled with her mother on tour. She began ...

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Gordon Waller 60's Pop Duo Peter and Gordon Dies

Source: Michael Ricci
July 20, 2009

Gordon Waller of the pop duo Peter and Gordon, who were part of the 1960s British Invasion and had a string of hits including several written by their friend Paul McCartney, has died. He was 64.

Waller died Friday at The William W. Backus Hospital in Norwich, Conn., nursing supervisor Nity Oris confirmed Monday. The duo's Web site says Waller, who lived in Ledyard, Conn., went into cardiac arrest Thursday night, and the state medical examiner's office lists his cause ...

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Walter Cronkite: And That's the Way It Was

Source: Michael Ricci
July 17, 2009

The mix of eloquence and authority that the CBS newsman embodied is a far cry from today's anxiety-provoking TV outlets.

For many who grew up in the 1960s and '70s, Walter Cronkite was the voice of unfolding history. On the “ CBS Evening News" and on the spot, his eloquent mediation of the great events of an age almost pathologically overflowing with them was essential to the way those events were understood. Even when he was temporarily at a loss ...

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Legendary CBS Anchor Walter Cronkite Dies at 92

Source: All About Jazz
July 17, 2009

EW YORK – Walter Cronkite, the premier TV anchorman of the networks' golden age who reported a tumultuous time with reassuring authority and came to be called “the most trusted man in America," died Friday. He was 92. Cronkite's longtime chief of staff, Marlene Adler, said Cronkite died at 7:42 p.m. at his Manhattan home surrounded by family. She said the cause of death was cerebral vascular disease. Adler said, “I have to go now" before breaking down into what ...

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British Conductor Sir Edward Downes and His Wife Die at Swiss Clinic

Source: All About Jazz
July 14, 2009

The distinguished British conductor Sir Edward Downes and his wife Lady Joan have ended their lives at the Dignitas clinic in Zurich, their children revealed today.

The 85-year-old maestro had become virtually blind and had lost some of his hearing, while his 74-year-old wife had been suffering from cancer, according to a statement released by their son and daughter, Caractacus and Boudicca.

Rather than struggle on with their health problems, they decided to end their lives peacefully together last Friday, ...

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Michael Jackson's Death Might Be Ruled Homicide, Police Chief Says

Source: All About Jazz
July 12, 2009

Investigators probing the death of Michael Jackson are awaiting the results of a toxicology report before determining whether the superstars sudden cardiac arrest on June 25th can be ruled an accidental overdose or homicide.

Los Angeles Police chief William Bratton told CNN: We are still awaiting corroboration from the coroners office as to cause of death. That is going to be very dependent on the toxicology reports that are due to come back. And based on those, we ...

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Tom Wilkes Grammy Award-Winning Art Director and Album Cover Designer Dies

Source: Michael Ricci
July 11, 2009

Wilkes designed album covers for the Rolling Stones, Neil Young, Janis Joplin and other legendary musicians.

Tom Wilkes, a Grammy Award-winning art director and album cover designer whose work included albums for the Rolling Stones, Janis Joplin, Neil Young and other music legends, has died. He was 69.

Wilkes, who was diagnosed with a form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease) in 1999, died of a heart attack June 28 at his home in Pioneertown, Calif., said his daughter, ...

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