Is It Soup Yet?
October 23, 2009 09:49 AM
Dear CDT™
Reader,
It brings a smile to our faces here at the Celebrity Death Trio™ when we see that celebs are living to ripe old ages. These days, that means just about anything older than 50. After a summer of Baby Boomer icons taking their sleigh ride to Satan, the fact that some classic octo- and nonagenarians are able to bring their game to the table - or to the slab - is heart-warming. And heart stopping.
It's all Hollywood in this edition of the CDT™, especially the golden era of TV. So go find a black and white Zenith or Magnavox television set, adjust the rabbit ears, and hoist a glass in praise of those days when everything in the world really was as simple as black or white.
Herewith, the departed.
• Soupy Sales
Comedian. 83. One of the first comedians to bring slapstick to television, Sales had a huge TV show in the 1950s, one that inexorably led to him getting hit in the face with a pie. Born Milton Supman, Sales was a natural performer who was in the right place at the right time when radio and TV were looking for programming six decades ago. He became a radio DJ in the early 1950s and then the host of a kids' show in Detroit. There he started a format-which we will politely refer to as "zany"-that predated Captain Kangaroo and Pee Wee Herman. Guests would come in and receive a pie in the face-including people like Frank Sinatra, who begged to be on the show. Sales himself claims that he went through more than 20,000 pies. Soupy was considered a cultural subversive as the 1960s dawned and college students and adults became fans of the show. He became infamous for once telling kids across America to take "the green paper" from their mommies' purses and send it to him. That little stunt got him kicked off the air-but only for a week. Sales later went on to become a daily staple of the "What's My Line?" game show and appeared on Broadway and in films up through the 1990s. Now he's gone to that final pie in the sky.
• Vic Mizzy
Composer. 93. Vic wrote a TV theme that made him a rich man. It goes something like this: "They're creepy and they're kooky, mysterious and spooky, they're all together ooky . . ." Yes, Vic was the composer-and the singer-of the theme to "The Addams Family" TV show. And it is ironic that we're just a week away from Halloween and talking about the theme song that refuses to die. You know it the minute you hear the opening "bah duh bah bump," followed by the memorable and oh-so-droll, SNAP SNAPs. But Vic was no one-hit wonder. His pop songs were recorded by the likes of Dean Martin, Doris Day, and Perry Como. He composed the score to Don Knotts' classic comedies "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken," "The Shakiest Gun in the West," and "The Love God?" and contributed music to "Spider-Man 2." He also wrote the theme to "Green Acres," which in our opinion is as memorable as "The Addams Family." And you know what? Darling, we love you, but give us Park Avenue.
• Joseph Wiseman
Actor. 91. Though he appeared in dozens of films - including "The Apprenticeship Of Duddy Kravitz," "Viva Zapata!" and "The Valachi Papers" - and every TV show you can imagine from "The Twilight Zone" and "Magnum P.I." to "Macgyver," Wiseman is best known for a single role. He played Dr. No in the 1962 James Bond movie of the same name. "Dr. No" was the first Bond flick starring Sean Connery, and playing the title character gave Wiseman the distinction of being the first Bond villain to appear on screen. While he couldn't parlay it into a leading man film career, it did lead to more than 70 TV show appearances, which by any measure is one of the most impressive runs the CDT has seen in a long time. Apparently, Wiseman said "yes" more often than he said "no."
RIP, one and all.
It brings a smile to our faces here at the Celebrity Death Trio™ when we see that celebs are living to ripe old ages. These days, that means just about anything older than 50. After a summer of Baby Boomer icons taking their sleigh ride to Satan, the fact that some classic octo- and nonagenarians are able to bring their game to the table - or to the slab - is heart-warming. And heart stopping.
It's all Hollywood in this edition of the CDT™, especially the golden era of TV. So go find a black and white Zenith or Magnavox television set, adjust the rabbit ears, and hoist a glass in praise of those days when everything in the world really was as simple as black or white.
Herewith, the departed.
• Soupy Sales
Comedian. 83. One of the first comedians to bring slapstick to television, Sales had a huge TV show in the 1950s, one that inexorably led to him getting hit in the face with a pie. Born Milton Supman, Sales was a natural performer who was in the right place at the right time when radio and TV were looking for programming six decades ago. He became a radio DJ in the early 1950s and then the host of a kids' show in Detroit. There he started a format-which we will politely refer to as "zany"-that predated Captain Kangaroo and Pee Wee Herman. Guests would come in and receive a pie in the face-including people like Frank Sinatra, who begged to be on the show. Sales himself claims that he went through more than 20,000 pies. Soupy was considered a cultural subversive as the 1960s dawned and college students and adults became fans of the show. He became infamous for once telling kids across America to take "the green paper" from their mommies' purses and send it to him. That little stunt got him kicked off the air-but only for a week. Sales later went on to become a daily staple of the "What's My Line?" game show and appeared on Broadway and in films up through the 1990s. Now he's gone to that final pie in the sky.
• Vic Mizzy
Composer. 93. Vic wrote a TV theme that made him a rich man. It goes something like this: "They're creepy and they're kooky, mysterious and spooky, they're all together ooky . . ." Yes, Vic was the composer-and the singer-of the theme to "The Addams Family" TV show. And it is ironic that we're just a week away from Halloween and talking about the theme song that refuses to die. You know it the minute you hear the opening "bah duh bah bump," followed by the memorable and oh-so-droll, SNAP SNAPs. But Vic was no one-hit wonder. His pop songs were recorded by the likes of Dean Martin, Doris Day, and Perry Como. He composed the score to Don Knotts' classic comedies "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken," "The Shakiest Gun in the West," and "The Love God?" and contributed music to "Spider-Man 2." He also wrote the theme to "Green Acres," which in our opinion is as memorable as "The Addams Family." And you know what? Darling, we love you, but give us Park Avenue.
• Joseph Wiseman
Actor. 91. Though he appeared in dozens of films - including "The Apprenticeship Of Duddy Kravitz," "Viva Zapata!" and "The Valachi Papers" - and every TV show you can imagine from "The Twilight Zone" and "Magnum P.I." to "Macgyver," Wiseman is best known for a single role. He played Dr. No in the 1962 James Bond movie of the same name. "Dr. No" was the first Bond flick starring Sean Connery, and playing the title character gave Wiseman the distinction of being the first Bond villain to appear on screen. While he couldn't parlay it into a leading man film career, it did lead to more than 70 TV show appearances, which by any measure is one of the most impressive runs the CDT has seen in a long time. Apparently, Wiseman said "yes" more often than he said "no."
RIP, one and all.
Summer Shutdown
September 18, 2009 02:31 PM
Dear CDT™
Reader,
Summer is technically not over until next week, but that hasn't stopped the chill of autumn from crawling into the bones of another three celebrities. It has been a summer of Celebrity Death Trios like no other, and just keeping up with the Morbid March to the Eternal Exit has required that we put our staff on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Apparently, the Grim Reaper doesn't keep bankers' hours, and neither do we.
This week the Hollywood morgue was putting in extra hours of its own as all our slab-ready celebs were entertainers. Note that we said "entertainers." That's different from being "entertaining," and we leave you to figure out the nuance of that particular distinction. We've got a singer who has left on her last jet plane, a dirty dancer who's now dancing in his own grave, and a Laugh-In staple who's had his last laugh. The fact that all of this week's formerly famous died of cancer is a reminder that this is a disease that really should have been cured by now.
Herewith, the departed.
• Patrick Swayze
Actor. 57. Swayze's fight with pancreatic cancer during the last year reminded a lot of people that the actor had some high points in a career that seemed to be on B-Movie autopilot. He was quite good in "Red Dawn," "Donnie Darko," and "Ghost," Sure, there were clunkers ("Tiger Warsaw," "Black Dog," and yes, cult favorite "Road House" sucked), but Swayze never devolved to, say, David Hasselhoff status. His famed dancing and gymnastic skills were acquired as a lad hanging out in his mother's dancing school, and those skills landed him roles as both a dancer and a martial artist. He dropped off the radar for a while in the late 80s to do some serious rehab. After that, he began a long road back to fame that culminated in his new TV show, "The Beast."
• Mary Travers
Singer. 72. One third of the pioneering folk trio of Peter, Paul, and Mary, Travers was forever linked to her cohorts in song and in history. As the first commercially popular folk/protest singers of the 1960s, the bearded Peter Yarrow and Paul Stookey and the willowy blond Travers were the faces and sound of the coffeehouse generation. They smoothed off the edges of Bob Dylan with their rendition of "Blowin' In The Wind," made a star of John Denver by recording his "Leaving On A Jet Plane" (and yes, we've forgiven them for that), and created one of the world's most conspiracy-laden children's songs with "Puff The Magic Dragon." The group broke up in 1970, but reunited regularly over the past three decades to perform for various political and charitable causes. Without Mary, though, any future reunions will sound like a Mounds candy bar.
• Henry Gibson
Actor. 73. Noted for his little poems on "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" variety show, Gibson was a man who played a variety of quirky supporting roles in movies and TV during a long career career. Younger readers will recognize him as Judge Clark Brown on "Boston Legal," while film fans will remember him from "Nashville," "Wedding Crashers," "The Long Goodbye," "Innerspace," "Magnolia," and "The Blues Brothers." Gibson, born James Bateman, appeared in almost every sitcom that aired in the 1960s and 70s, from "F Troop" and "Bewitched" to "Love, American Style." A very underrated actor, Gibson could switch easily from meek Southern gentleman to crotchety old man, and always did it with a twinkle in his eye.
RIP, one and all.
Summer is technically not over until next week, but that hasn't stopped the chill of autumn from crawling into the bones of another three celebrities. It has been a summer of Celebrity Death Trios like no other, and just keeping up with the Morbid March to the Eternal Exit has required that we put our staff on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Apparently, the Grim Reaper doesn't keep bankers' hours, and neither do we.
This week the Hollywood morgue was putting in extra hours of its own as all our slab-ready celebs were entertainers. Note that we said "entertainers." That's different from being "entertaining," and we leave you to figure out the nuance of that particular distinction. We've got a singer who has left on her last jet plane, a dirty dancer who's now dancing in his own grave, and a Laugh-In staple who's had his last laugh. The fact that all of this week's formerly famous died of cancer is a reminder that this is a disease that really should have been cured by now.
Herewith, the departed.
• Patrick Swayze
Actor. 57. Swayze's fight with pancreatic cancer during the last year reminded a lot of people that the actor had some high points in a career that seemed to be on B-Movie autopilot. He was quite good in "Red Dawn," "Donnie Darko," and "Ghost," Sure, there were clunkers ("Tiger Warsaw," "Black Dog," and yes, cult favorite "Road House" sucked), but Swayze never devolved to, say, David Hasselhoff status. His famed dancing and gymnastic skills were acquired as a lad hanging out in his mother's dancing school, and those skills landed him roles as both a dancer and a martial artist. He dropped off the radar for a while in the late 80s to do some serious rehab. After that, he began a long road back to fame that culminated in his new TV show, "The Beast."
• Mary Travers
Singer. 72. One third of the pioneering folk trio of Peter, Paul, and Mary, Travers was forever linked to her cohorts in song and in history. As the first commercially popular folk/protest singers of the 1960s, the bearded Peter Yarrow and Paul Stookey and the willowy blond Travers were the faces and sound of the coffeehouse generation. They smoothed off the edges of Bob Dylan with their rendition of "Blowin' In The Wind," made a star of John Denver by recording his "Leaving On A Jet Plane" (and yes, we've forgiven them for that), and created one of the world's most conspiracy-laden children's songs with "Puff The Magic Dragon." The group broke up in 1970, but reunited regularly over the past three decades to perform for various political and charitable causes. Without Mary, though, any future reunions will sound like a Mounds candy bar.
• Henry Gibson
Actor. 73. Noted for his little poems on "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" variety show, Gibson was a man who played a variety of quirky supporting roles in movies and TV during a long career career. Younger readers will recognize him as Judge Clark Brown on "Boston Legal," while film fans will remember him from "Nashville," "Wedding Crashers," "The Long Goodbye," "Innerspace," "Magnolia," and "The Blues Brothers." Gibson, born James Bateman, appeared in almost every sitcom that aired in the 1960s and 70s, from "F Troop" and "Bewitched" to "Love, American Style." A very underrated actor, Gibson could switch easily from meek Southern gentleman to crotchety old man, and always did it with a twinkle in his eye.
RIP, one and all.
Better Off Ted
August 28, 2009 02:18 AM
Dear CDT™ Reader,
Helter skelter, in a summer swelter . . . That's what it's been like here at the CDT for the past three months. Lots of sweating and very little time for the beach - all because people are feeling better about the economy, and celebs are feeling better about dying in threes. In fact, they appear to be hurriedly following each other up to St. Peter's Paradise Bar, as you'll see below.
As an indication of how busy it's been at the CDT Worldwide Headquarters, here's something that doesn't happen often. As we were getting ready to send out this week's CDT, look what we found on our intern's desk: LAST WEEK'S CDT! Apparently our little scamp of an intern never got around to sending that one out before heading back to Oxford to study metaphysics. Seriously, it's so hard to get good help these days.
But Oxford's curse is good news for you, because you get to end your week with a CDT two-fer. Talk about an unexpected summertime treat. It's like finding that your raspberry-and-acai smoothie also contains a special ingredient. Like a diamond tiara. Or a shot of vodka. Or a trip to Costa Rica. Or whatever else gets you through the summer.
So think of this installment of the CDT as a mini-daycation in one easy-to-read package. Our gift to you, no charge.
Herewith, the departed.
• Edward Kennedy
Politician. 77. What can be said about Teddy that hasn't been said elsewhere, except that he was the only Kennedy boy not to be killed by another human being. But then, Ted never was like his brothers. He was kicked out of Harvard for cheating, killed a woman in a drunken car accident, and had his marriage of 24 years annulled by the Catholic Church. Those facts aside, Kennedy has been one the most effective legislators in the history of the Senate (not to mention having the third longest tenure ever). His push for civil rights, including rights for the disabled, resulted in landmark laws. His involvement in healthcare, education, and fair wages has never wavered. Some historians have already said that he'll have a better political legacy than either of his brothers. In a final Kennedy family twist, Ted's sister Eunice Shriver died just two weeks ago, and was a featured performer in our Ladies First CDT.
• Stanley Kaplan
Educator. 90. You might not know the Stanley part of his name, but if you've ever had a brush with higher education, you certainly know the Kaplan part. Kaplan Test Prep & Admissions, known as Kap Test, is ubiquitous in the world of education testing. Stanley started the business in 1946 by tutoring college students out of his Brooklyn basement. Soon, he had kids lining up outside his door to learn his test-taking secrets. Once Kaplan started offering classes in other cities, the College Board - those fun folks who annually scare the crap out of students with their PSAT and SAT tests - claimed that his courses didn't help test takers. The College Board made that claim right up until 1979, when the Federal Trade Commission found that taking Kaplan courses helped improve scores. After that, Kaplan's business went through the roof, and he became a very rich man. Fun fact: the Kaplan company is now worth $2.3 billion, and is the biggest part of the Washington Post company (including the newspaper and Newsweek magazine).
• Dominick Dunne
Writer. 83. Beginning his career in Hollywood as a film producer, Dunne ultimately made a bigger splash as a novelist and writer for Vanity Fair. His specialty was true crime, a pursuit that arose in the wake of the murder of his 22-year old daughter. He left filmmaking behind and became a fixture at many of the most salacious and celebrity-studded trials of the past three decades. Dominick wrote about O.J. Simpson, Claus Von Bulow, Phil Spector, the Menendez Brothers, and Michael Skakel and William Kennedy Smith (the latter two defendants part of the storied Kennedy clan, with William's trial including accusations of binge drinking with now-dead uncle Teddy, above). His movies included "Panic In Needle Park" and "Boys In The Band," while his best-known novel was "An Inconvenient Truth." Dunne's family actually waited a day to announce his death so as not to have it obscured by Teddy's death.
And now, last week's CDT, delivered straight from our former intern's desktop . . .
• Les Paul
Legendary guitarist. 94. As a youngster, Lester Polfuss was quite the tinkerer. He grew into a popular jazz guitarist and, with wife Mary Ford, had one of the earliest live TV shows . . . broadcast from their home. But his real achievement was in creating the first solid body electric guitar, which changed the face of popular music. He also invented multi-track recording, which allowed for different parts of a song to be recorded at different times (previously, all songs had to be recorded live and in one take). Les was playing shows in New York City every Monday night right up until a few weeks ago. That, dear friends, is staying power. Go read our exclusive interview with Les (conducted before he died) over at the CDT's sister site, The National GUITAR Museum: http://www.nationalguitarmuseum.com/page9/page9.html
• Don Hewitt
"60 Minutes" creator and producer. 86. One of the last reputable places to get real news, "60 Minutes" was hatched in Hewitt's brain 41 years ago. His invention, now a staple of television, was the TV newsmagazine - what Hewitt figured a broadcast version of LIFE magazine should be like. Prior to that, he had worked for Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite (inducted into the CDT just last month!), establishing his credentials in news before launching "60 Minutes." Yet he admitted that by merging news with entertainment that he might have ultimately ruined TV news. The format allowed shows to blur the line between gossipy Hollywood-style tabloid reporting and serious news journalism. Thanks to Don, we don't know who to believe anymore.
• Robert Novak
Political reporter. 78. Renowned for his white hair, black eyebrows, aggressive personality, and now the brain tumor that killed him (Hey! just like Ted Kennedy), Novak was the essential Washington political journalist. Best described as "pugnacious," he was an insider who wrote about the denizens of D.C. for four decades in a column syndicated in 300 papers. He later became a featured face on politico porn shows like "The McLaughlin Group" and "Crossfire." He got into trouble for revealing CIA agent Valerie Plame's name in his column - yet he was never in danger of being punished for it. Ah, the power of the press.
RIP, one and all.
Helter skelter, in a summer swelter . . . That's what it's been like here at the CDT for the past three months. Lots of sweating and very little time for the beach - all because people are feeling better about the economy, and celebs are feeling better about dying in threes. In fact, they appear to be hurriedly following each other up to St. Peter's Paradise Bar, as you'll see below.
As an indication of how busy it's been at the CDT Worldwide Headquarters, here's something that doesn't happen often. As we were getting ready to send out this week's CDT, look what we found on our intern's desk: LAST WEEK'S CDT! Apparently our little scamp of an intern never got around to sending that one out before heading back to Oxford to study metaphysics. Seriously, it's so hard to get good help these days.
But Oxford's curse is good news for you, because you get to end your week with a CDT two-fer. Talk about an unexpected summertime treat. It's like finding that your raspberry-and-acai smoothie also contains a special ingredient. Like a diamond tiara. Or a shot of vodka. Or a trip to Costa Rica. Or whatever else gets you through the summer.
So think of this installment of the CDT as a mini-daycation in one easy-to-read package. Our gift to you, no charge.
Herewith, the departed.
• Edward Kennedy
Politician. 77. What can be said about Teddy that hasn't been said elsewhere, except that he was the only Kennedy boy not to be killed by another human being. But then, Ted never was like his brothers. He was kicked out of Harvard for cheating, killed a woman in a drunken car accident, and had his marriage of 24 years annulled by the Catholic Church. Those facts aside, Kennedy has been one the most effective legislators in the history of the Senate (not to mention having the third longest tenure ever). His push for civil rights, including rights for the disabled, resulted in landmark laws. His involvement in healthcare, education, and fair wages has never wavered. Some historians have already said that he'll have a better political legacy than either of his brothers. In a final Kennedy family twist, Ted's sister Eunice Shriver died just two weeks ago, and was a featured performer in our Ladies First CDT.
• Stanley Kaplan
Educator. 90. You might not know the Stanley part of his name, but if you've ever had a brush with higher education, you certainly know the Kaplan part. Kaplan Test Prep & Admissions, known as Kap Test, is ubiquitous in the world of education testing. Stanley started the business in 1946 by tutoring college students out of his Brooklyn basement. Soon, he had kids lining up outside his door to learn his test-taking secrets. Once Kaplan started offering classes in other cities, the College Board - those fun folks who annually scare the crap out of students with their PSAT and SAT tests - claimed that his courses didn't help test takers. The College Board made that claim right up until 1979, when the Federal Trade Commission found that taking Kaplan courses helped improve scores. After that, Kaplan's business went through the roof, and he became a very rich man. Fun fact: the Kaplan company is now worth $2.3 billion, and is the biggest part of the Washington Post company (including the newspaper and Newsweek magazine).
• Dominick Dunne
Writer. 83. Beginning his career in Hollywood as a film producer, Dunne ultimately made a bigger splash as a novelist and writer for Vanity Fair. His specialty was true crime, a pursuit that arose in the wake of the murder of his 22-year old daughter. He left filmmaking behind and became a fixture at many of the most salacious and celebrity-studded trials of the past three decades. Dominick wrote about O.J. Simpson, Claus Von Bulow, Phil Spector, the Menendez Brothers, and Michael Skakel and William Kennedy Smith (the latter two defendants part of the storied Kennedy clan, with William's trial including accusations of binge drinking with now-dead uncle Teddy, above). His movies included "Panic In Needle Park" and "Boys In The Band," while his best-known novel was "An Inconvenient Truth." Dunne's family actually waited a day to announce his death so as not to have it obscured by Teddy's death.
And now, last week's CDT, delivered straight from our former intern's desktop . . .
• Les Paul
Legendary guitarist. 94. As a youngster, Lester Polfuss was quite the tinkerer. He grew into a popular jazz guitarist and, with wife Mary Ford, had one of the earliest live TV shows . . . broadcast from their home. But his real achievement was in creating the first solid body electric guitar, which changed the face of popular music. He also invented multi-track recording, which allowed for different parts of a song to be recorded at different times (previously, all songs had to be recorded live and in one take). Les was playing shows in New York City every Monday night right up until a few weeks ago. That, dear friends, is staying power. Go read our exclusive interview with Les (conducted before he died) over at the CDT's sister site, The National GUITAR Museum: http://www.nationalguitarmuseum.com/page9/page9.html
• Don Hewitt
"60 Minutes" creator and producer. 86. One of the last reputable places to get real news, "60 Minutes" was hatched in Hewitt's brain 41 years ago. His invention, now a staple of television, was the TV newsmagazine - what Hewitt figured a broadcast version of LIFE magazine should be like. Prior to that, he had worked for Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite (inducted into the CDT just last month!), establishing his credentials in news before launching "60 Minutes." Yet he admitted that by merging news with entertainment that he might have ultimately ruined TV news. The format allowed shows to blur the line between gossipy Hollywood-style tabloid reporting and serious news journalism. Thanks to Don, we don't know who to believe anymore.
• Robert Novak
Political reporter. 78. Renowned for his white hair, black eyebrows, aggressive personality, and now the brain tumor that killed him (Hey! just like Ted Kennedy), Novak was the essential Washington political journalist. Best described as "pugnacious," he was an insider who wrote about the denizens of D.C. for four decades in a column syndicated in 300 papers. He later became a featured face on politico porn shows like "The McLaughlin Group" and "Crossfire." He got into trouble for revealing CIA agent Valerie Plame's name in his column - yet he was never in danger of being punished for it. Ah, the power of the press.
RIP, one and all.
Ladies First
August 11, 2009 06:06 AM
Dear CDT™ Subscriber,
If you're a dead celeb, this has been a really busy summer. If you're in the business of reporting on dead celebs, this summer has been busier than Bill Clinton explaining to Hillary what he was doing last week with two Asian chicks in a private jet - alone - over North Korea. But we digress.
Here's how busy it's been: Here at the Celebrity Death Trio™ World Headquarters, we're still digging out from the whole Michael Jackson megadeath. In fact, with his lawyers, family, ex-wives, and advisors piling on his legacy, the only person not digging out from the aftermath of Jackson's death is Michael himself. And that's because he's six feet under, and that's way too much digging to expect of a dead 50-year old. Unless it was 50-year old ex-pitchman Billy Mays, who according to the coroner's report this week was doing a lot of shoveling - most of it up his nose.
But we digress again. Let's fast-track this, shall we? Herewith, the departed.
• Eunice Kennedy Shriver
Social reformer and famous sister. 88. Eunice was the sister of political powerhouses John, Robert, and Teddy, and the most socially active member of the Kennedy clan. Unlike her siblings, she skipped elected office and went straight into social work from college, ultimately developing programs for the mentally retarded (based in part on her experience with sister Rosemarie, who was secretly lobotomized in 1941). After creating a camp for kids, Eunice founded the Special Olympics, an event that helped yank the stigma of mental handicaps right out of the closet. While that is her greatest legacy, many knew her best as the mother of talking head Maria Shriver, which also made her Arnold Schwarzenegger's mother-in-law. That makes for an interesting family tree, to say the least. With Eunice's death, the only surviving members of the original nine-sibling Kennedy Dynasty are brother Teddy and sister Jean Kennedy Smith.
• Corazon Aquino
Former president of the Philippines. 76. Most of us forget that Cory was a breath of fresh democratic air in a country previously ruled over by the famed power couple of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos. Imelda had her collection of 5000 pairs of shoes; Aquino had a simple yellow dress and a sincere desire to fix the Philippines. After her politically active husband was assassinated, allegedly by the weasel-like Ferdinand, Cory found popular support amid the revulsion over the country's corrupt leaders. Marcos was forced to flee the country, and Aquino was voted in as president in 1986, going on to serve for the next six years. During her tenure she re-established the elected Parliament and an independent judiciary. Although there were several plots to overthrow her, she hung on tenaciously. It appears that the colon cancer she contracted last year was the only thing that could bring her down.
• John Hughes
Film writer and director. 59. The man who-for better, and sometimes worse-gave us those smarmy teen actors known as The Brat Pack, died of a heart attack in New York. It almost seems pointless to point out how much influence this guy had on movies in the 1980s, but we'll do it for the historical record. He either wrote and/or directed the following flicks: “The Breakfast Club,” “Sixteen Candles,” “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles,” “Ferris Bueller's Day Off,” “Home Alone,” “Pretty In Pink,” “National Lampoon's Vacation,” and about a dozen others. That is one hell of a lot of teen angst. Admit it, though . . . now that you've seen this list, you just flashed back to your entire post-adolescent life, didn't you?
RIP, one and all.
If you're a dead celeb, this has been a really busy summer. If you're in the business of reporting on dead celebs, this summer has been busier than Bill Clinton explaining to Hillary what he was doing last week with two Asian chicks in a private jet - alone - over North Korea. But we digress.
Here's how busy it's been: Here at the Celebrity Death Trio™ World Headquarters, we're still digging out from the whole Michael Jackson megadeath. In fact, with his lawyers, family, ex-wives, and advisors piling on his legacy, the only person not digging out from the aftermath of Jackson's death is Michael himself. And that's because he's six feet under, and that's way too much digging to expect of a dead 50-year old. Unless it was 50-year old ex-pitchman Billy Mays, who according to the coroner's report this week was doing a lot of shoveling - most of it up his nose.
But we digress again. Let's fast-track this, shall we? Herewith, the departed.
• Eunice Kennedy Shriver
Social reformer and famous sister. 88. Eunice was the sister of political powerhouses John, Robert, and Teddy, and the most socially active member of the Kennedy clan. Unlike her siblings, she skipped elected office and went straight into social work from college, ultimately developing programs for the mentally retarded (based in part on her experience with sister Rosemarie, who was secretly lobotomized in 1941). After creating a camp for kids, Eunice founded the Special Olympics, an event that helped yank the stigma of mental handicaps right out of the closet. While that is her greatest legacy, many knew her best as the mother of talking head Maria Shriver, which also made her Arnold Schwarzenegger's mother-in-law. That makes for an interesting family tree, to say the least. With Eunice's death, the only surviving members of the original nine-sibling Kennedy Dynasty are brother Teddy and sister Jean Kennedy Smith.
• Corazon Aquino
Former president of the Philippines. 76. Most of us forget that Cory was a breath of fresh democratic air in a country previously ruled over by the famed power couple of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos. Imelda had her collection of 5000 pairs of shoes; Aquino had a simple yellow dress and a sincere desire to fix the Philippines. After her politically active husband was assassinated, allegedly by the weasel-like Ferdinand, Cory found popular support amid the revulsion over the country's corrupt leaders. Marcos was forced to flee the country, and Aquino was voted in as president in 1986, going on to serve for the next six years. During her tenure she re-established the elected Parliament and an independent judiciary. Although there were several plots to overthrow her, she hung on tenaciously. It appears that the colon cancer she contracted last year was the only thing that could bring her down.
• John Hughes
Film writer and director. 59. The man who-for better, and sometimes worse-gave us those smarmy teen actors known as The Brat Pack, died of a heart attack in New York. It almost seems pointless to point out how much influence this guy had on movies in the 1980s, but we'll do it for the historical record. He either wrote and/or directed the following flicks: “The Breakfast Club,” “Sixteen Candles,” “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles,” “Ferris Bueller's Day Off,” “Home Alone,” “Pretty In Pink,” “National Lampoon's Vacation,” and about a dozen others. That is one hell of a lot of teen angst. Admit it, though . . . now that you've seen this list, you just flashed back to your entire post-adolescent life, didn't you?
RIP, one and all.