Celebrity Death Thread

[FVD]

Family: Michael Crichton dies of cancer

Michael Crichton, the million-selling author of such historic and prehistoric science thrillers as "Jurassic Park," "Timeline" and "The Andromeda Strain," has died of cancer, his family said.

He died Tuesday in Los Angeles at age 66 after a long battle with the illness.


Chrichton was a brand-name author, known for his stories of disaster and systematic breakdown, such as the rampant microbe of "The Andromeda Strain" or dinosaurs running amok in "Jurassic Park," one of his many books that became major Hollywood movies.


"Through his books, Michael Crichton served as an inspiration to students of all ages, challenged scientists in many fields, and illuminated the mysteries of the world in a way we could all understand," his family said in a statement.


The 6-foot-9-inch author was also a screenwriter and filmmaker, earning producing and writing credits for the film versions of many of his titles. He also created the TV hospital series "ER" in 1994.

[gv laker]

R.I.P., MC. Tough way to go. I enjoyed his creativity.

[Drew]

6'9"!!? The dude was a monster.

RIP Michael.

[Islair]

One of my favorite authors, great writer, had a knack to draw a reader in to really make them care about the characters. He will be missed.

[ghandi]

"6'9"!!? The dude was a monster."

I guess he'd be the T Rex of writers........

[YT]

RIP Mr. Crichton.

[gjdodger]

Maybe the greatest football player of all time. Sammy Baugh. Dead at 94.

http://spartyandfriends.com/2008/12/18/the-greatest-player-ever-slingin-sammy-baugh-1914-2008/

[gv laker]

RIP Slingin' Sammy. One of the last of a dying 2-way breed.

[DanO]

RIP Sammy.

A truely great player.

GO LIONS "08" !!!!!!!!

[ghandi]

"RIP Slingin' Sammy. One of the last of a dying 2-way breed."

LOL it reminds me of a quote I heard that was attributed to him...... IT said something like "You cant be one of the great ones unless you go both ways".......

[OR Lion]

I guess that means DanO is the best ever.

[romster]

LOL!

I didn't know much about Sammy until I heard a piece on him on NPR this morning. Sounds like tough and prolific player.

[romster]

Deep Throat died too.

[gjdodger]

Sammy was also on the short end of the biggest rout in NFL history; the Bears beat his Skins in the 1940 championship game, 73-0. It was so bad, they were running out of footballs and the Bears had to start running for extra points. Earlier in the season Washington had beaten Chicago 7-3. A Redskins touchdown early in the game got called back and Sammy was asked if that had made any difference. "Sure," he said. "The score would have been 73-7." A Redskins player said when the two teams came out on the field, the Bears ran wildly along the sidelines and circled the goalposts like they were hopped up on something.

[gjdodger]

Acid really IS bad for you

Dock Ellis, the former major league pitcher best remembered for his flamboyance and social activism as a member of the great Pittsburgh Pirates teams of the 1970s, died Friday of a liver ailment in California, his former agent, Tom Reich, confirmed. Ellis was 63.
Ellis spent 12 years in the majors with Pittsburgh, the New York Yankees, Oakland, Texas and the New York Mets. He retired in 1979 with a record of 138-119, but was best known for several colorful incidents on and off the field.
In his autobiography, "Dock Ellis in the Country of Baseball,'' Ellis revealed that he threw a no-hitter against the San Diego Padres in June 1970 while under the influence of LSD.
In May 1974 -- in an effort to inspire a lifeless Pittsburgh team -- Ellis drilled Pete Rose, Joe Morgan and Dan Driessen in the top of the first inning. After walking Tony Perez, Ellis threw a pitch near Johnny Bench's head and was lifted from the game by manager Danny Murtaugh.
Ellis also gave up Reggie Jackson's memorable home run off the Tiger Stadium light tower in the 1971 All-Star Game in Detroit.
Off the field, Ellis spoke freely about racial issues, once telling reporters that he wouldn't start against Oakland's Vida Blue in the All-Star Game because Major League Baseball would never start "two soul brothers'' against each other.
"Dock Ellis was my first client in baseball, and he gave me as much joy as anybody outside of my family," Reich said. "He was so unique. He was viewed by some people as an outlaw, but he was far from that. He was so ahead of his time. He was so intuitive and smart and talented and independent. And he wasn't about to roll over for the incredible prejudices that existed at the time.
"He was a very special person and he had an absolute army of fans and friends. He was at the cutting edge of so many issues, and he never backed down. I was proud to be his friend and stand with him."
Ellis suffered from cirrhosis of the liver and was placed on a list to receive a liver transplant in May. The Los Angeles Times wrote that Ellis had no health insurance, but received help paying his medical bills from friends in baseball.
Bill Scaringe, an agent who represented Ellis after he retired, said Ellis worked for years in the California department of corrections helping inmates transition from prison back to the community. He also ran a drug counseling center in Los Angeles.
"It's very disheartening," Scaringe said. "Dock was such a likeable person -- very gregarious, very outgoing. I would set up personal appearances for him, and after like 30 seconds, people were like relatives or neighbors. Dock was very easy to talk to. He was just a pleasure to be around."

Also, check out http://www.snopes.com/sports/baseball/ellis.asp . I didn't remember he'd served up Reggie's home run; I was there, though.