Obituary News

Alan Livingston Capitol Records Prez Brought Beatles to U.S. Dies

Source: All About Jazz
March 13, 2009

Alan Livingston, music exec who created Bozo the Clown and brought the Beatles to America as president of Capitol Records, died March 13 in Los Angeles. He was 91.

Livingston created the Bozo character for a bestselling series of children's story records for Capitol, later producing a TV show before selling rights to the late Larry Harmon. He left Capitol to become VP of network programming at NBC, where he brought “Bonanza" to the network, with a theme song by ...

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Hal Gaba Dies at 63; Chairman and Co-Owner of Concord Music Group

Source: Michael Ricci
March 13, 2009

Hal Gaba and longtime friend and business partner Norman Lear bought Northern California-based Concord Records in 1999 and turned it into one of the world’s largest independent record companies. It’s now based in Beverly Hills and called the Concord Music Group.

Hal Gaba, a veteran entertainment industry executive who was chairman and co-owner of Concord Music Group, one of the world's largest independent record companies, has died. He was 63.

Gaba, who also was co-chairman of Village Roadshow Entertainment Group ...

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Ralph Mercado Impresario Dies

Source: Michael Ricci
March 13, 2009

Ralph Mercado, a promoter who took his passion for Latin music and built an empire around it, not only staging concerts but creating a recording and publishing label, a film and video company, and nightclubs and restaurants, died on Tuesday in Hackensack, N.J. He was 67.

Mercado promoted salsa, Latin jazz, Latin rock and merengue, and shaped musical careers. The cause was cancer, said Blanca Lasalle, a spokeswoman, who gave no other details.

Mr. Mercado managed stars like Tito Puente ...

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Willie King Alabama Blues Singer, Guitarist

Source: Michael Ricci
March 11, 2009

Willie King, 65, an Alabama blues singer and guitarist whose career took him from backwoods juke joints to the largest blues festivals in North America and Europe, died Sunday in Alabama.

King had a heart attack at his home in the Old Memphis community of Pickens County near the Mississippi line, said band member Debbie Bond. She said he died on the way to the hospital.

King appeared in the 2003 Martin Scorsese film “Feel Like Going Home" and was ...

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Tullio Pinelli Co-Writer of Fellini Films Dies

Source: Michael Ricci
March 11, 2009

Tullio Pinelli, 100, the Italian screenwriter best known for his close association with director Federico Fellini, died Saturday in Rome, according to European newspapers. The cause of death was not announced.

Working with Fellini, and on occasion Ennio Flaiano, Pinelli co-wrote more than a dozen of Fellini's films, including such legendary works as “La Strada," “La Dolce Vita" and “8 1/2 ."

Four of his films with Fellini were nominated for Academy Awards. He also worked with several other leading ...

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Jimmy Boyd Singer of 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus' Dies

Source: Michael Ricci
March 9, 2009

Jimmy Boyd, a singer best known for recording the Christmas novelty hit “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” in 1952 when he was 13, died Saturday. He was 70.

Boyd, who also was a child actor, died of cancer at a Santa Monica convalescent hospital, said Eleanor Pillsbury, a longtime friend.

Three weeks after the yuletide kiss-and-tell was released, the song was No. 1 on the Billboard charts. It sold 2 million records in less than 10 weeks. Tens of ...

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Grand Ole Opry Member Hank Locklin Dies in Ala

Source: All About Jazz
March 9, 2009

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Horton Foote Playwright, Screenwriter Chronicled Small-Town Southern Life Dies

Source: Michael Ricci
March 7, 2009

Horton Foote, whose bittersweet stories of heartbreak and regret set in small Southern towns earned him wide popular acclaim as well as two Academy Awards and a Pulitzer Prize, died Wednesday. He was 92.

Foote died in his sleep at his apartment in Hartford, Conn., said Paul Marte, a spokesman for the Hartford Stage theater company. Foote was in Hartford with his family, including his actress daughter Hallie and son-in-law Devon Abner, who are appearing in a stage adaptation of ...

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