Obituary News

Fred Travalena Open Celebration of Life

Source: All About Jazz
July 2, 2009

You are invited to a Celebration of the Life of FRED TRAVALENA

Date: Saturday, July 18, 2009 Time: 1:00pm Place: The Church on The Way The Living Room 14300 Sherman Way Van Nuys, CA 91405 (Southeast Corner of Sherman Way and Lennox)

This is open to the public; please feel free to pass this information on. In lieu of flowers, donations will be accepted in Memory of Fred ...

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Harve Presnell Commanding Baritone in Broadway Musicals Dies

Source: Michael Ricci
July 1, 2009

Best known for his stage roles in 'The Unsinkable Molly Brown' and 'Annie,' he also appeared on television shows and in films.

Harve Presnell, the commanding baritone who starred in such Broadway musicals as “The Unsinkable Molly Brown" and “Annie," died of pancreatic cancer Tuesday at St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica, according to his agent, Gregg Klein. The actor was 75.

Although best known for his roles in musical theater, Presnell also appeared on television, including a three-year ...

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Michael Jackson Will Not Be Buried at Neverland Ranch

Source: Michael Ricci
July 1, 2009

Funeral arrangements for Michael Jackson are still in flux, but one thing is clear: The pop icon will not be buried at Neverland Ranch.

Jacksons family wanted him interred at the Santa Barbara County estate, the site of some of the happiest and saddest times in his life, and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger had agreed to help clear any state bureaucratic hurdles, a source close to the situation told The Times.

But in the end, the source said, county officials could ...

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Fayette Pinkney Soulful Singer with the Three Degrees Passes

Source: Michael Ricci
July 1, 2009

Fayette Pinkney, an original member of the Three Degrees who lent her strong, soulful voice to the 1970s hits “When Will I See You Again?" and “T.S.O.P." (The Sound of Philadelphia), the theme song of the television show Soul Train, died Saturday in Lansdale, Pa. She was 61.

The death was confirmed by Abington Health Lansdale Hospital. The cause was acute respiratory failure, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

The Three Degrees formed in the early 1960s when Ms. Pinkney, who was ...

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Jackson's Body to Return to Neverland

Source: All About Jazz
June 30, 2009

Michael Jacksons body will be driven to his Neverland Valley Ranch in central California as early as 10 am Thursday with public viewing being set for later this week, according to media reports on Tuesday.

A motorcade of as many as 30 cars is expected to accompany Jacksons body to his ranch, which is located near the town of Los Olivos, north of Santa Barbara, according to reports by TV network CNN and celebrity website TMZ.com, citing police officials.

Michael ...

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Fred Travalena Master Impressionist and Singer Dies

Source: Michael Ricci
June 29, 2009

'The Man of a Thousand Faces' could voice Bugs Bunny as well as Luciano Pavarotti. Travalena, a Vegas performer, talk-show regular and star of his own specials, died of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Fred Travalena, the master impressionist and singer whose broad repertoire of voices ranged from Jack Nicholson to Sammy Davis Jr. to Bugs Bunny, has died. He was 66.

Travalena, who began being treated for an aggressive form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2002 and saw the disease return last July ...

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Nazir Ali Jairazbhoy Expert on the Music of India Dies

Source: Michael Ricci
June 28, 2009

Nazir Ali Jairazbhoy, 81, the founding chairman and professor emeritus of UCLA's department of ethnomusicology, died June 20 of lung cancer at his home in Van Nuys, according to the university.

With his comprehensive knowledge of India's folk, classical and popular music, Jairazbhoy had an international reputation as a researcher, teacher and administrator. He joined the UCLA department of music as a full professor in 1975 and became the founding chairman of the new department of ethnomusicology and systematic musicology ...

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Lisa Marie Presley: I really needed to say this right now, thanks for listening

Source: All About Jazz
June 26, 2009

Lisa Marie Presley, who was married to Michael Jackson for 20 months following their 1994 wedding, posted the following statement (titled “He Knew") on her MySpace blog one day after the singer's death:

“Years ago Michael and I were having a deep conversation about life in general.

I can't recall the exact subject matter but he may have been questioning me about the circumstances of my Fathers Death

At some point he paused, he stared at me very intensely and ...

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