Obituary News

Jazz Drummer, Singer Lee Young Dies at 94

Source: All About Jazz
August 10, 2008

Lee Young, who emerged from a family with musical roots deep in New Orleans jazz, drummed for greats like Ellington and Basie, became a pioneering black man in music's executive suites -- and survived his musician brother, Lester, by a half-century -- died on July 31 at his home in Los Angeles. He was 94. The death was confirmed by his grandson Wren Brown. In contrast to his brother, whose debilitating battle with alcohol and personal demons is almost as ...

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Actor and Comedian Bernie Mac Dies at Age 50

Source: Michael Ricci
August 9, 2008

Bernie Mac, the actor and comedian who teamed up in the casino heist caper “Ocean's Eleven" and gained a prestigious Peabody Award for his sitcom “The Bernie Mac Show," died Saturday at age 50.

“Actor/comedian Bernie Mac passed away this morning from complications due to pneumonia in a Chicago area hospital," his publicist, Danica Smith, said in a statement from Los Angeles. She said no other details were available and asked that his family's privacy be respected. The comedian suffered ...

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Erik Darling Dies Musician in the Weavers

Source: Michael Ricci
August 9, 2008

A virtuoso guitarist and banjo player, Erik Darling performed with two of the leading folk groups of the day, the Tarriers and the Weavers, which he joined after Mr. Seeger left in 1958.

Darling, a preppy Ayn Rand devotee who replaced Pete Seeger in the Weavers and who was associated with two of folk music's biggest commercial hits, “The Banana Boat Song" and “Walk Right In," died Sunday in Chapel Hill, N.C. He was 74.The cause was lymphoma, said Allan ...

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Norman Dello Joio Pulitzer and Emmy Award-Winning Composer

Source: Michael Ricci
August 9, 2008

Norman Dello Joio, a Pulitzer Prize-winning composer with a lyrical style who wrote works for orchestra and chorus as well as several operas and an Emmy Award-winning television score,

He died July 24 at his home in East Hampton, N.Y. of natural causes, according to his son Justin Dello Joio, who also is a composer. He was 95.

Much of Norman Dello Joio's repertoire was inspired by sacred scripture, religious poetry and the lives of Christian saints. He sometimes worked ...

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Hollywood Player Bernie Brillstein Dies at 77

Source: Michael Ricci
August 9, 2008

Bernie Brillstein, a Hollywood talent agent, manager, producer and studio head who over half a century guided the careers of “Saturday Night Live" comedians and helped package a slew of TV and movie hits, has died. He was 77.

Brillstein died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Thursday night at a Los Angeles hospital, according to information provided Friday by Brillstein Entertainment Partners. Bernie Brillstein Starting in the mail room of the William Morris talent agency in 1956, Brillstein moved up ...

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Nicola Rescigno, Helped Found Opera Companies in Chicago and Dallas Dies

Source: Michael Ricci
August 8, 2008

Nicola Rescigno, a conductor who seized advantage of a new interest in opera after World War II and helped found two major American opera companies, died on Monday in Viterbo, Italy. He was 92.

He died in a hospital awaiting surgery after falling and breaking his femur about a week ago, Jeanne Rescigno, wife of the conductor Joseph Rescigno, Nicola's nephew, said.

Mr. Rescigno (pronounced resh-EEN-yo) was a favorite conductor of Maria Callas, conducting her American debut in 1954 at ...

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Lou Teicher Half of Ferrante & Teicher Piano Duo

Source: Michael Ricci
August 6, 2008

Lou Teicher, half of the popular Ferrante & Teicher piano duo that had top-10 hits in the 1960s with lushly orchestrated movie-theme singles, has died. He was 83.

Teicher, a longtime resident of Sarasota, Fla., died unexpectedly of heart failure Sunday at his summer home in Highlands, N.C., said Scott W. Smith, Teicher and Arthur Ferrante's personal manager.

Ferrante & TeicherIn a musical collaboration that spanned five decades and ended when the duo retired from the concert stage in 1989, ...

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Robert Maheu Confidant to Billionaire Howard Hughes

Source: Michael Ricci
August 6, 2008

Robert Maheu, who worked for the FBI and the CIA before he became billionaire Howard Hughes' confidant and right-hand man, has died. He was 90.

Shielding the eccentric industrialist from the public he feared and crafting the deals that made him a Las Vegas power player during a critical period in the city's development.

The cause was congestive heart failure, according to his son, Peter, who said his father died Monday at Desert Springs Hospital in Las Vegas.

Robert MaheuFormidably ...

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