In Memoriam
Total 1768 Posts
Walter Gretzky was Canada's Hockey Dad, raising and coaching his son Wayne Gretzky, arguably the greatest hockey player of all-time. I always enjoyed Walter telling the story about getting the call from Wayne after he scored his 50th goal in his 39th game. I remember I got a phone call
Bunny Wailer was an original member of The Wailers along with Bob Marley and Peter Tosh. He's won three Grammy awards for Best Reggae Album.
Frank Orr covered hockey for The Toronto Star from 1961 until his retirement. He was awarded the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award and elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame as a member of the media in 1989.
Mary Wilson was a founding member of The Supremes. She, along with Diana Ross and Florence Ballard, had 12 number one hits with songs like Baby Love, Come See About Me, Back In My Arms Again, You Can't Hurry Love and Stop! In the Name of Love.
Leon Spinks was the boxer who won the undisputed heavyweight championship in 1978 after defeating Muhammad Ali in a split decision. It was only his eighth professional fight.
Christopher Plummer was the Toronto-born Oscar-winning actor best known for The Sound of Music. His Oscar for best supporting actor was for his role in 2012's Beginners,
Hal Holbrook was the actor who played Mark Twain for more than six decades in his one-man show Mark Twain Tonight and played Deep Throat in "All the President's Men."
Dustin Diamond was the actor best known for playing Samuel "Screech" Powers on Saved By The Bell.
I used to listen to a lot of sports radio on The Fan 1430 and then The Fan 590, so I've heard my fair share of ads for Korry's Clothiers. Saul Korman owned the shop and did his own ads, and he was a character. They rarely seemed scripted, and
Jim Bawden had been a TV critic for 40 years starting at The Globe And Mail in 1970. In 1971 he became TV critic at The Spectator and in 1980 TV columnist at The Toronto Star, Canada's largest newspaper, retiring in 2008. He had written widely on movies and TV
Cicely Tyson was the three-time Emmy winner and Tony winner who was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar for her role in 1972's "Sounder".
Cloris Leachman was best known for playing Phyllis Lindstrom in The Mary Tyler Moore Show even though I first saw her as Beverly Ann Stickle on The Facts of Life. She won eight Emmy Awards from 22 nominations, making her the most nominated actress in Emmy history. She also won
"The Chief" George Armstrong played for the Toronto Maple Leafs for twenty-one seasons and served as the team's captain for eleven of them, the longest such tenure in Leafs' history. He played in seven all-star games and won four Stanley Cups with the Leafs, scoring an empty net goal in
Larry King was a nationally syndicated radio host who hosted a popular show on CNN from 1985 through 2010.
Hammerin' Hank Aaron played 21 seasons for the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves and two seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers in a Hall of Fame career in which he hit a then-record 755 home runs. Aaron continues to hold the record for the most career runs batted in (2,297), extra base
Don Sutton pitched in 23 major league seasons as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland Athletics, and California Angels. He won a total of 324 games, 58 of them shutouts with five of them one-hitters and 10 two-hitters, seven which were shutouts, and he
Phil Spector was the record producer, musician, and songwriter who developed the Wall of Sound. He produced such iconic songs as “Be My Baby” by The Ronettes, “Then He Kissed Me” by The Crystals, “Unchained Melody” by The Righteous Brothers, "My Sweet Lord" by George Harrison and “Let It Be”
Siegfried Fischbacher was one half of Siegfried & Roy, magicians and entertainers best known for their appearances with white lions and white tigers.
Kathleen Heddle and rowing partner Marnie McBean won Olympic gold medals in 1992 and 1996 in the coxless pair and double sculls respectively. Heddle also earned gold with the women's eight in 1992.
Tommy Lasorda was the fiery Hall of Fame manager who guided the Los Angeles Dodgers to two World Series titles and later became an ambassador for the sport he loved during his 71 years with the franchise.
John Muckler was an NHL coach and executive who was a part of five Stanley Cup winning teams with the Edmonton Oilers.
Gerry Marsden was best known for being leader of the Merseybeat band Gerry and the Pacemakers, known for such hits as "How Do You Do It", "I Like It", "You'll Never Walk Alone", It's Gonna Be Alright", "I'm the One", "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying" and "Ferry Cross
Dawn Wells is the actress best known for playing Mary Ann on Gilligan’s Island.
Phil Niekro was the Hall of Fame pitcher who played 24 MLB seasons, 20 of them with the Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves. Niekro's 318 career victories are the most by a knuckleball pitcher and rank 16th on MLB's all-time wins list. He started three games for the Toronto Blue Jays in
Leslie West was the towering guitarist who created the hard-rock milestone “Mississippi Queen” with his band Mountain.
