Obituary News

Doris E. Travis, Last of the Ziegfeld Girls, Dies at 106

Source: Michael Ricci
May 13, 2010

For a quarter century, Florenz Ziegfeld auditioned hundreds of thousands of young women vying to become chorus girls, the Ziegfeld Girls, those lace and chiffon visions of glamour who were as much a part of the Jazz Age as Stutz Bearcats, the Charleston and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Doris Eaton Travis may have been the youngest Ziegfeld Girl. In all, from 1907 to 1931, he picked about 3,000, and on Tuesday the last Ziegfeld Girl died. She was Doris Eaton Travis, ...

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Bob Mercer Chief Executive of 'Now That's What I Call Music!' Dies

Source: Michael Ricci
May 13, 2010

Bob Mercer, a music industry executive who was managing director of EMI Music in Britain in the 1970s and most recently was chief executive of the “Now That's What I Call Music!" venture that releases a bestselling series of hit-single compilation albums, has died. He was 65. Mercer died of lung cancer May 5 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, said his wife, Margie. As chief executive of “Now That's What I Call Music!," Mercer presided over an enterprise ...

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Willie Pooch | 1937-2010

Source: Michael Ricci
May 12, 2010

Loss of 'great vocalist' leaves fans, musicians blue Rebounding from a health scare, Willie Pooch took the stage in January before a packed house at a Worthington restaurant--where 300 people had gathered for a tribute to the bluesman. So many musicians showed up that the entertainment lasted 10 hours. His right leg had recently been amputated, but the ebullient Pooch--wearing a white mink coat--joined in nonetheless: He crooned from his wheelchair. “He made you want to get up there and ...

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Lena Horne Singer and Civil Rights Activist Who Broke Barriers

Source: Michael Ricci
May 11, 2010

Horne achieved a place in the pantheon of female jazz vocalists and broke ground in Hollywood as an African American star in the '40s. She also won acclaim on Broadway and as a cabaret performer.

On screen, on records and in nightclubs and concert halls, Horne was at home vocally with a wide musical range, from blues and jazz to the sophistication of Rodgers and Hart. “Stormy Weather" was Lena Horne's signature song as well as a chillingly apt metaphor ...

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Lena Horne, 1917-2010

Source: Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
May 11, 2010

Lena Horne is being remembered with the respect and admiration that her talent and tenacity won her in decades of struggle and refusal to compromise. Her travails and triumphs are recounted in dozens of obituaries on the air, on web sites and in publications around the world. This one from The New York Times has the essential details of her remarkable life. The stories emphasize the prejudices she battled, the barriers she shattered and the major stardom as an actress ...

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Stephanie Jordan on the Passing of Lena Horne

Source: Sylvain Music Notes
May 10, 2010

Lena Horne, the enchanting jazz singer and actress known for her signature song “Stormy Weather" and for her triumph over the bigotry that allowed her to entertain white audiences but not socialize with them, has died. She was 92 according to AP writer Verena Dobnik. Horne died Sunday at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, according to hospital spokeswoman Gloria Chin. Chin would not release any other details. Horne, whose striking beauty and magnetic sex appeal often overshadowed her talent and artistry, was ...

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Lena Horne, Singer and Actress, Dies at 92

Source: Michael Ricci
May 10, 2010

Lena Horne, who was the first black performer to be signed to a long-term contract by a major Hollywood studio and who went on to achieve international fame as a singer, died on Sunday night at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York. She was 92 and lived in Manhattan. Her death was announced by her son-in-law, Kevin Buckley. Ms. Horne might have become a major movie star, but she was born 50 years too early, and languished at ...

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Legendary Singer Lena Horne Dies

Source: Michael Ricci
May 10, 2010

Lena Horne, the enchanting jazz singer and actress who reviled the bigotry that allowed her to entertain white audiences but not socialize with them, slowing her rise to Broadway superstardom, died Sunday. She was 92. Horne died at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, according to hospital spokeswoman Gloria Chin. Chin would not release any other details. Horne, whose striking beauty and magnetic sex appeal often overshadowed her sultry voice, was remarkably candid about the underlying reason for her success. “I was unique in ...

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