Celebrity Death Thread

[YT]

RIP Gates

[Drew]

It was just amazing how often he came thru, and made me (single digits in age) wonder why he wasn't an everyday player.

[Rocky Bleier]

I met Gates Brown at a Burger King about 20 years ago. I think it was in Dearborn. I told him I enjoyed watching him play ball. Seemed like a very nice guy. He was friendly and polite to the people working behind the counter and me.

[kayrone]

OMG who is that cutie in your avatar?!

[Chuck Cunningham]

Sad to hear about Gates Brown

[Rocky Bleier]

OMG who is that cutie in your avatar?!

I don't know...wish he/she was mine.

[Tony G]

Report: Military thriller author Tom Clancy has died

• The Detroit News
• <LI class=comment-count>2
  Comments
• 

Tom Clancy (Brendan Smialowski / Getty Images)


Tom Clancy, known for his riveting volume of military-themed best-sellers, which led to numerous popular films and video games, has died at age 66, according to the New York Times.
Clancy grew up in Baltimore, the son of a mailman and department store credit employee.
"The writing bug hit me when I was in high school," he recalled in 1996. "It was my dream to become a published author. I just never let go of the dream. I started a few books that never really went anywhere.
"Finally, in 1982, I just decided I was going to go all the way with one. I had my own insurance business then, so I'd carry my IBM Selectric home with me at night, set it up on the dinner table and hack away."
At that point, the sum total of Clancy's published work was one article and one letter, both of which appeared in Proceedings, a military journal published by the Naval Institute Press (NIP), the unofficial publishing arm of the U.S. Naval Academy.
His first book, of course, was “The Hunt for Red October,” about American and Soviet efforts to recover a Russian submarine whose officers want to defect.
“Red October” was released in 1984, when America was beginning to get over the mental scars of Vietnam. The military, if not chic, was at least acceptable. Ronald Reagan was in the White House, and the commander-in-chief himself called the book "non-put-downable."
Suddenly a book with a modest first printing from a company that had never published a novel before was riding high on the best-seller list. The average first novel sells about 4,500 copies — if the author has a large family. “Red October” sold approximately 300,000 copies in hard cover and well over 2 million in paperback.
"I got lucky," Clancy said.
Certainly Clancy's timing was right. Naval Institute Press had just decided to publish fiction, if it could find a decent maritime novel. Normally, an NIP novel would hardly create a ripple in the rough seas of publishing. The company did little promotion and a first novel released by an obscure publishing house was unlikely to be reviewed. But, again, Clancy's timing was on target.
Eventually, the book would lead to a franchise of blockbuster films, starring first Alec Baldwin and then Harrison Ford in “Patriot Games” and “Clear and Present Danger.”








From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2...#ixzz2gZso5TDy

[Islair]

Loved his books. RIP Mr. Clancy.

[Tony G]

He got pretty formulaic at the end but he did well even after the Iron Curtain came down.

[Marko69]

Gifted man, but his books were way too technical for me. Tried to read one many years ago, ended up quitting after 47 pages and reached for the migraine tablets.

RIP Tom

[Tony G]

Bah, anyone with the wits to understand the myriad of HVAC systems knows enough to get through his stuff. Though I will admit, the 45 pages of nuclear theory in "The Sum Of All Fears" was a little dry

[Islair]

I really thought that Clear and Present Danger read like a how to manual about how to deal with the war on drugs. What a great idea. Find the planes that carry drugs....shoot them down. Find the ships that carry drugs....sink them. Find out where the drug cartel leaders are (no matter what country they live in)....drop a bomb on their head. Find out where the coke is made.....burn it down.

I remember looking at the book saying, "This is exactly how we should be dealing with this problem."

[bimmer84]

RIP Mr. Clancey. My favorite was Red Storm Rising, back before the Soviet Union went away.

[Marko69]

I threw the book "Casino Royale" by Fleming into a cupboard after 48 pages, saying to myself, "Wtf have I just read?" Must be an Espionage "thing" on paper...... I either don't understand it, or it just gets on my tits. The films are great though!

[DanO]

RIP, Mr. Clancy.