Celebrity Death Thread

[WingsFan]

RIP

The Classic movie “Stalag 17” will be shown again on TCM. He played a Nazi spy in a German POW prison camp. The authors of the original Stalag 17 play-relates that CBS apparently ripped off their idea and made a television series called Hogan's Heroes. [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paramount_Pictures"]Paramount Pictures[/ame] now owns the DVD rights to Hogan's Heroes.

[Panoptes]

RIP

pands

I bet CBS told that guy, "We know nuh-seeeeeeeenk!"

[YT]

RIP Mr. Graves!

I kind of figured that his brother, James Arness, would go first!

[Dan V]

(CNN) -- Rock guitarist and singer Alex Chilton, known for his work with bands the Box Tops and Big Star, died Wednesday.
He was 59.
Chilton was having heart problems and died in an emergency room in New Orleans, Louisiana, said longtime friend and business associate John Fry.
"Obviously, we are all stunned and deeply saddened at this news," Fry said.
Chilton started in music as a teen in the 1960s, as vocalist for the psychedelic soul group the Box Tops, Fry said. They were known for the No. 1 hit "'The Letter" and songs such as "Neon Rainbow" and "Cry Like a Baby."
After that group disbanded in 1970, Chilton formed the Memphis rock group Big Star.
Though that band had a short life, breaking up in 1974, its music catapulted the group and Chilton to cult status.
"While Big Star struggled with success commercially, their early '70s, power-pop sound is often cited as directly influencing bands like Cheap Trick, R.E.M. and the Replacements," Billboard magazine said in its biography of Chilton's group.
The evidence of that: a song the Replacements released in 1987, called "Alex Chilton."
Part of the chorus of that song is "Children by the million sing for Alex Chilton when he comes 'round. They sing, I'm in love."
In the 1990s, Big Star got back together.
Chilton and the band were scheduled to perform at the South by Southwest music festival in Texas this weekend.

I liked Big Star. Their first two albums were power pop classics.


[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cn1t6l7UUPc&feature=related"]YouTube- Big Star - Ballad of El Goodo[/nomedia]


Check out this band if you have never heard of them!

[Larsky]

I downloaded the Big Star albums after hearing of Chilton's death. I've heard his name for years, but never really checked out his music.

Big Star's song "September Gurls" is really, really wonderful. And just one of many that I've been listening to in the past few days.

[Dan V]

Good choice about September Gurls, it was remade by the Bangles in the mid 80's and give Big Starr a dose of notoriety.

[-Deborah-]

Robert Culp, star of ?I Spy,? dead at 79

Actor reportedly collapsed while taking walk, was rushed to hospital


Ron Frehm / AP file

BREAKING NEWS
updated 7 minutes ago

LOS ANGELES - Robert Culp, the versatile actor who teamed with Bill Cosby in the groundbreaking comedy-adventure TV series "I Spy," has died. He was 79.

The actor's agent Hillard Elkins says Culp died after collapsing Wednesday on a sidewalk outside his Hollywood home. Los Angeles police say he hit his head while on a walk and was pronounced dead after arriving at a hospital.

A preliminary investigation found that his death is accidental.

"I Spy," which aired from 1965 to 1968, was a television milestone. Its combination of humor and adventure broke new ground, and it was the first integrated television show to feature a black actor in a starring role.

This is a breaking news story. Check back for updated information.

[Desert Lion]

RIP

The Classic movie ?Stalag 17? will be shown again on TCM. He played a Nazi spy in a German POW prison camp. The authors of the original Stalag 17 play-relates that CBS apparently ripped off their idea and made a television series called Hogan's Heroes. Paramount Pictures now owns the DVD rights to Hogan's Heroes.

I just watched it, Sunday. I DVR'd it. Another loss of those we watched and looked at in awe...........years ago.

[WingsFan]

Robert Culp also played a good villon in an old Columbo episode. RIP

[Drew]

I saw that one, Packie. He played good guy and bad guy equally well. RIP.

[DanO]

RIP Robert.

GO LIONS "10" !!!!!!!!!!

[Larsky]

I first became aware of Culp when he co-starred in "The Greatest American Hero," as a scenery-chewing FBI agent. He was hysterical, especially with his character's compulsive need to insert the word "scenario" into as many conversations as possible.

Agree that his villianous on "Columbo" remains a classic.

His breakthrough series, "Trackdown," remains an underrated classic.

[Mainevent]

I remember when we were kids and we'd pretend to be supeheros. A friend of my brother's would always pretend he was FBI Agent Bill Maxwell (Culp's character Greatest American Hero). It cracked us up even back then.

[Nick Pappageorgio]

Greatest American Hero........great show

[mason reese]

Malto, was he a relative of yours?

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10082/1044872-122.stm

Obituary: Mikel Scicluna / Infamous baron of professional wrestling
July 29, 1929 - March 21, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
By Robert Dvorchak, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
In addition to the red velvet robe he wore into the wrestling ring, Baron Mikel Scicluna was known for hiding a foreign object that he used to gain the upper hand against his opponents.
He would play a sort of shell game with the referee, concealing the object -- said to be a roll of quarters -- in his trunks or boots while the crowd went wild.
"He played the role well. Those who didn't know him thought that's who he was," said his son, Michael. "But he couldn't have been more different in real life than he was in the ring. He was a quiet man who enjoyed his family and who liked to travel."
Mr. Scicluna, of Ross, died Sunday of pancreatic cancer. He was 80.
A native of the Isle of Malta, a fact that was part of his ring introductions, Mr. Scicluna was inducted into the World Wrestling Federation Hall of Fame in 1996.
A former world heavyweight champion in Australia, he enjoyed success teaming with other wrestlers. He won the U.S. tag team championship with Smasher Sloan in 1966, and became world tag team champion with King Curtis Iaukea in '72.
A frequent performer on Channel 11's "Studio Wrestling," Mr. Scicluna was a ring rival of Bruno Sammartino in the 1960s. In two heavyweight title matches at Madison Square Garden, Mr. Scicluna lost on a disqualification and a pin.
The two men were friends, and it was hoped Mr. Scicluna could be part of Thursday's festivities in which Mr. Sammartino will be presented with the Dapper Dan Lifetime Achievement Award.
"I had some of my greatest matches in the '60s against Mike," Mr. Sammartino said. "I loved guys who were dedicated to what they did. He worked hard to stay in great shape, and he always gave it everything he had. He could really move. I had heard Mike wasn't feeling well. I was shocked when I got the news."
Once a year, Mr. Scicluna and his wife, Gloria, would return to his homeland, where he had an apartment on St. Paul's Bay overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.
He originally wrestled under the name Mike Valentino while competing out of Toronto. He took the name Baron Scicluna when he joined the World Wide Wrestling Federation under Vince McMahon Sr. in 1965.
Mr. Scicluna retired from active competition in 1984 after three decades in the ring. At his induction into the Hall of Fame, Gorilla Monsoon was his presenter.
In addition to his wife and son, Mr. Scicluna is survived by a sister, Teresa Longstaff, and two grandsons.
The family will receive friends from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at T.B. Devlin Funeral Home, 806 Perry Highway, Ross, where a service is scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday.
"He was a phenomenal athlete and a respected performer," said family friend Marc Bodell. "He was a genuinely nice and gentle man."