Obituary News

Supreme Court on George Carlin

Source: All About Jazz
June 28, 2008

WARNING! The following is directly quoted from the Supreme Court Decision of FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION v. PACIFICA FOUNDATION, 438 U.S. 726, 98 S.Ct. 3026 (1978). Mr. Justice STEVENS (delivering the majority opinion) This case requires that we decide whether the Federal Communications Commission has any power to regulate a radio broadcast that is indecent but not obscene. A satiric humorist named George Carlin recorded a 12-minute monologue entitled “Filthy Words" before a live audience in a California theater. He began ...

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Mickey McMahan Trumpeter for Lawrence Welk Dies

Source: All About Jazz
June 28, 2008

Mickey McMahan, trumpet player with big-band leaders Lawrence Welk, Les Brown and others, died June 11.

McManhan 77, died at his home in Van Nuys of neuropathy and an unrelated blood disease, his stepson Steve Land said. McMahan played trumpet on “The Lawrence Welk Show" from 1967 to 1982. He also played with Les Brown's Band of Renown on “The Steve Allen Show" in the 1950s and '60s and toured with Brown's band when it accompanied comedian Bob Hope on ...

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Leonard Pennario Top Selling Recording Pianist Dies

Source: Michael Ricci
June 28, 2008

Pianist Leonard Pennario, a best-selling recording artist

Pennario who made his concert debut with the Dallas Symphony at age 12 after learning Grieg's Piano Concerto in a week so he could play it from memory, died Friday at his home in La Jolla after a long illness, according to his biographer, music critic Mary Kunz Goldman. He had been battling Parkinson's disease, she said. He was 83. “Playing with this musician has been one of the joys of my life," ...

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Sonny Okosun Pioneer of Nigerian Pop Music Dies

Source: All About Jazz
June 28, 2008

Sonny Okosun, key figure in Nigerian pop music who mixed traditional African forms with Western rock elements

Okosum died May 24 of colon cancer at Howard University Hospital in Washington, D.C., according to news reports, he was 61. Born in Benin, Nigeria, in 1947 to musician parents, Okosun taught himself to play the guitar. He began his music career by covering British and American rock 'n' roll tunes. Singing and playing guitar, Okosun led a string of bands that showcased ...

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Bassist Dave Carpenter, Nov. 4, 1959 ~ June 24, 2008

Source: Two for the Show Media
June 26, 2008

Dave Carpenter Respected Bassist Dies at 48

Bassist Dave Carpenter appeared on over two hundred recordings, and had dozens of television, film theme and soundtracks to his recording credit. He worked with major artists including Buddy Rich, Maynard Ferguson, Woody Herman, Mike Stern, Allan Holdsworth, Sadao Watanabe, Alan Pasqua and Herbie Hancock. He appeared as a soloist with the Los Angeles and Berlin Philharmonic Orchestras plus Tanglewood and BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestras. Carpenter was a founding member of ...

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FM Stereo Developer Carl G. Eilers Dies

Source: Michael Ricci
June 26, 2008

Carl G. Eilers, 83; Zenith engineer led team that developed FM stereo broadcasting

Eilers, an electrical engineer who helped develop production of high-fidelity stereo sound over the airwaves, died Friday at his home in River Forest, Ill., apparently of a heart attack. He was 83.

A 50-year employee of Zenith Electronics, Eilers led the team that developed FM stereo broadcasting. Before 1961, only phonographs could produce the high-quality sound.

Four decades ago, high-fidelity stereo sound revolutionized the radio listening experience, ...

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Kermit Love Big Bird CO-Creator Dies

Source: Michael Ricci
June 26, 2008

Kermit Love, 91; helped create memorable 'Sesame Street' characters The Jim Henson Company

Long before creating Big Bird for “Sesame Street" and his involvement in children's television, Kermit Love had collaborated with some of the greatest choreographers of the 20th century: George Balanchine, Agnes de Mille, Robert Joffrey, Jerome Robbins and Twyla Tharp. His design work on one of the most influential television shows in history made him a partner in the early education of generations of children.

After years ...

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Carlin a Fine Troublemaker

Source: Michael Ricci
June 24, 2008

George Carlin Tested Limits of Speech and Society.

The comedian liked to cause a fuss with his observations -- and we liked him for it.

It was always comforting to know that George Carlin was out there making trouble. Like Richard Pryor, he straddled the great cultural divide that was the 1960s, coming in as a lamb and going out as a lion. I remember him first as another of that age's suit-and-tie comics, putting on funny characters: the Hippy-Dippy ...

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