ShowMeBlog

Jackie Cooper dead at 88

“LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jackie Cooper, the former child movie star who won a best actor Oscar nomination at the age of 9 for "Skippy" and grew up to play The Daily Planet editor in Christopher Reeves' four "Superman" movies, has died. He was 88.
Cooper died Tuesday of old age at a nursing facility in Santa Monica, Calif., said his son, John Cooper.
"He was a fascinating guy who really did everything, from all different aspects of the business," said his other son, Russell Cooper. "You can't really say that about many people."
Cooper reigned with Shirley Temple as one of the most popular child stars of the 1930s. Starting in comedy shorts, he rose to top ranks with "Skippy," a sentimental adaptation of a popular comic strip. He followed with such hits as "The Champ," ''The Bowery," ''Treasure Island" and "O'Shaughnessy's Boy," all co-starring Wallace Beery...”

Read more: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/kansascity/obituary.aspx?n=jackie-cooper&pid=150794383#ixzz1LSs1HlfW

Jerry L. Winship

  I was doing a search on the Internet and I found out that a guy that I went to high school with has passed away.  He was an identical twin.  I went to high school with him and his brother.  
  Jerry Winship was born in January of 1941 and he passed away in August of 2010 in Kansas City (MO). I had not seen him since the 70s.  I did call him back about 3 or 4 years ago.  He was in bad health at the time.
  Jerry and Larry were my best friends in high school. We went to drive in movies with each other etc.
  I saw Larry and his wife and kids many times over the years.  We lived in the same area and I would see him and his wife and kids often at Research Belton Hospital when they would come in with some sort of medical problem.
  I attempted to pull up an obituary on Jerry but I could not find one.

  I found a lot of places that want me to pay to pull up data on him. 
  It is a shame that you can not search the deaths in Kansas City (MO) online at the newspaper.  They keep a few months online and the rest you have to pay to see. 

Geraldine Ferraro dead at 75

“Geraldine Anne Ferraro (August 26, 1935 – March 26, 2011)^[1] was an American attorney, a Democratic Party politician and a former member of the United States House of Representatives. She was the first female Vice Presidential candidate representing a major American political party.

Ferraro grew up in New York and became a teacher and lawyer. She joined the Queens County District Attorney's Office in 1974, where she headed the new Special Victims Bureau that dealt with sex crimes, child abuse, and domestic violence. She was elected to Congress in 1978, where she rose rapidly in the party hierarchy while focusing on legislation to bring equity for women in the areas of wages, pensions, and retirement plans. In 1984, former Vice President and presidential candidate Walter Mondale selected Ferraro to be his running mate in the upcoming election. In doing so she became the only Italian American to be a major-party national nominee in addition to being the first woman. The positive polling the Mondale-Ferarro ticket received when she joined faded as questions arose of her and her husband's finances. In the general election, Mondale and Ferraro were defeated in a landslide by incumbent President Ronald Reagan and Vice President George H. W. Bush.

Ferraro ran campaigns for a seat in the United States Senate from New York in 1992 and 1998, both times emerging as the front-runner for her party's nomination but losing in primary elections both times. She served as a United States Ambassador to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights from 1993 until 1996 in the presidential administration of Bill Clinton. She also continued her career as a journalist, author, andbusinesswoman, and served in the 2008 presidential campaign of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. Ferraro died on March 26, 2011, after a 12-year battle with multiple myeloma…^{”  Wikipedia}

Elizabeth Taylor Dead at 79

“Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor, DBE (27 February 1932 – 23 March 2011), also known as Liz Taylor, was an English-American actress. A former child star, she grew to be known for her acting talent and beauty, as well as her Hollywood lifestyle, including many marriages. Taylor is considered one of the great actresses of Hollywood's golden age. The American Film Institute named Taylor seventh on its Female Legends list…”

 

  Elizabeth Taylor was very pretty when she was young.  She was great in National Velvet and other movies as a child star.  I do not see what was so great about her acting in the movies she made as an adult.  But she was considered a great star.

Actress Jane Russell dead at 89

“Actress Jane Russell, a veteran of five decades of films including "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," in which she co-starred with Marilyn Monroe, died Monday morning, her daughter-in-law Etta Waterfield said. Russell was 89.

Russell was "a pillar of health" but caught a bad cold and died of respiratory difficulties, Waterfield said.”  CNN

 

“…Russell has had three husbands: Bob Waterfield, a UCLA All American, Cleveland Rams and Los Angeles Ramsquarterback, Los Angeles Rams head coach, and Pro Football Hall of Fame member (married on April 24, 1943, then divorced in July 1968); the actor Roger Barrett, (married on August 25, 1968 through his death on November 18, 1968); and the real-estate broker John Calvin Peoples (married January 31, 1974 through his death on April 9, 1999). Russell and Peoples lived in Sedona, Arizona for a few years, but spent the majority of their married life residing in Montecito, California. In February 1952, she and Waterfield adopted a baby girl, Tracy. In December 1952, they adopted a fifteen-month-old boy, Thomas, and in 1956 she and Waterfield adopted a nine-month-old boy, Robert John. Russell herself was unable to have children and, in 1955, she founded World Adoption International Fund (WAIF), an organization to place children with adoptive families that pioneered adoptions from foreign countries by Americans.^{[citation needed]}

At the height of her career, Russell started the "Hollywood Christian Group", a weekly Bible study at her home which was arranged for Christians in the film industry.^[4] Russell appeared occasionally on the Praise The Lord program on the Trinity Broadcasting Network, a Christian television channel based in Costa Mesa, California.^[5] Russell was at times a prominentRepublican Party member who attended Dwight Eisenhower's inauguration along with other notables from Hollywood such as Lou Costello, Dick Powell, June Allyson, Anita Louise and Louella Parsons.

Russell resides in Santa Maria Valley along the Central Coast of California…”

Last U.S. World War I Veteran Dies

“Washington (CNN) -- Frank Buckles, the last U.S. World War I veteran, has died, a spokesman for his family said Sunday. He was 110.

Buckles "died peacefully in his home of natural causes" early Sunday morning, the family said in a statement sent to CNN late Sunday by spokesman David DeJonge.

Buckles marked his 110th birthday on February 1, but his family had earlier told CNN he had slowed considerably since last fall, according his daughter Susannah Buckles Flanagan, who lives at the family home near Charles Town, West Virginia.

Buckles, who served as a U.S. Army ambulance driver in Europe during what became known as the "Great War," rose to the rank of corporal before the war ended. He came to prominence in recent years, in part because of the work of DeJonge, a Michigan portrait photographer who had undertaken a project to document the last surviving veterans of that war.

As the years continued, all but Buckles had passed away, leaving him the "last man standing" among U.S. troops who were called "The Doughboys."

DeJonge found himself the spokesman and advocate for Buckles in his mission to see to it that his comrades were honored with a monument on the National Mall, alongside memorials for veterans of World War II and the conflicts in Korea and Vietnam…”

Seinfeld’s ‘Uncle Leo’ dead at 88

(CNN) -- Veteran actor Len Lesser died in his sleep Wednesday morning in Burbank, California, of complications from pneumonia. He was 88.

"It was very peaceful," his daughter, Michele Lesser, told CNN, saying the family had hoped for a quick and painless death. "He was a great grandpa, and an amazing father. He had a heart of gold -- and a sense of humor of platinum."

Best known as Jerry Seinfeld's Uncle Leo on TV's "Seinfeld," Lesser made more than 500 film, television and stage appearances. His TV roles ranged from "Studio One in Hollywood" in 1949 to a 2009 role on "Castle."  …

Peggy Rea dies at 89

“(PEOPLE) -- Actress Peggy Rea, possibly best known for her work on "The Dukes of Hazzard," died of congestive heart failure on Saturday at her home in Toluca Lake, California. She was 89.

Aside from playing Lulu Hogg on "The Dukes of Hazzard," Rea's other notable TV roles include Cousin Bertha on "All in the Family," Rose Burton on "The Waltons," Ivy Baker on "Step By Step" and Jean Kelly in "Grace Under Fire," according to Hollywood Reporter.

Rea also acted in several films, including "Made in America" and "In Country."

The L.A.-born actress first appeared on "I Love Lucy" in 1953. While her career didn't really take off until she was in the 40s, Rea worked well into her 70s.”

 

  I remember her from Cousin Bertha in All in the Family and that seems a long time ago.  She was very good as Jean Kelly on Grace Under Fire.  I was a fan of Grace Under Fire.  RIP Rea.

Sargent Shriver is dead at age 95

“(CNN) -- R. Sargent Shriver, who was responsible for launching the U.S. Peace Corps after marrying into the Kennedy family and joining John F. Kennedy's White House, has died, according to his family.

Shriver, whose full name was Robert Sargent Shriver Jr., was 95. He had suffered for years from Alzheimer's disease…”

“Robert Sargent Shriver, Jr. (November 9, 1915 – January 18, 2011) was an American politician andactivist. Called R. Sargent Shriver or just Sarge, he is best remembered as part of the Kennedy family and was the driving force behind the creation of the Peace Corps. He was also the Democratic Party's candidate for U.S. vice president — having replaced nominee Thomas Eagleton, who resigned from the ticket — during the 1972 U.S. presidential election…”  Wikipedia

  That was a long time ago but I remember those times.  I was one of the first people to apply for the Peace Corps.  I was one of the very first to take the test for it. 
  I failed the background check!    They could not find people that knew anything about me.  I spent all my time in my room listening to my shortwave radio.  They told me I could fill out the forms with other people that knew something about me and re-submit.  I did not do that it.  I just gave up.
  What is interesting…I am not very smart…Never was very sharp…I do not remember them telling me a score on the test that I took but I aced it.  I knew the answer to every question!  So NO it was not a standard IQ type test.  I often wonder if they changed the test.
  I wish I could have joined the Peace Corps.  But I think with my hearing problems that I would have had a very hard time learning a foreign language.

“Goodnight, my Angel, time to close your eyes”

“The father of Christina Green, the youngest of six people killed January 8 at U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' meet-and-greet outside an Arizona supermarket, told CNN Friday that some of his daughter's organs "went to a little girl in Boston."

"It was very poignant to find out. That's what Christina was all about," John Green said. "It's a blessing."

On Thursday, Christina's family, friends, classmates and hundreds of mourners filled St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church in Tucson for a funeral, all of them passing under a giant American flag that was recovered in the aftermath of the terror attacks in New York on September 11, 2001 - the day Christina was born….”  CNN

 

“…Pink and white flowers, along with pink bows, adorned the church. The University of Arizona choir sang "Ave Maria." Family friend Katy Martin sang Billy Joel's "Lullaby." "Goodnight, my Angel, time to close your eyes," the song began…”