In Memoriam
Total 1768 Posts
John Prine was 73. He's one of the most celebrated singer/songwriters of his generation whose songs have been recorded by a long list of well-respected artists, including Johnny Cash, Bonnie Raitt, Kris Kristofferson, George Strait, Bette Midler, Paul Westerberg, and Dwight Yoakam.
Al Kaline was 85. Nicknamed "Mr. Tiger", he was the Hall of Fame right fielder who played his entire 22-year Major League Baseball career with the Detroit Tigers collecting 3,007 hits including 399 career home runs.
Bill Withers was 81. He was the singer-songwriter who gave us such hits as "Ain't No Sunshine", "Grandma's Hands", "Use Me", "Lean on Me", "Lovely Day", and "Just the Two of Us".
Kenny Rogers was 81. He was the smooth, Grammy-winning balladeer who spanned jazz, folk, country and pop with such hits as "Lucille," "Lady" and "Islands in the Stream" and embraced his persona as "The Gambler" on record and on TV. I dropped a short and bitter sweet slice of audio
Henri Richard was 84. He was the younger brother of Maurice "Rocket" Richard and a 20-year veteran of the Montreal Canadiens who won 11 Stanley Cups.
James Lipton was 93. He was the creator and host of Inside the Actors Studio for 23 seasons where he interviewed approximately 275 stars and did his own homework.
David Roback was 61. He was the songwriter and guitarist who co-founded Mazzy Star alongside Hope Sandoval.
Tony Fernandez was 57. I loved Tony Fernandez. He was on the team when I started paying attention back in 1983 and he was a key part of our first pennant winning team in 1985. He was awesome with the glove, but he could hit for average as well. Always
Christie Blatchford was 68. She was Canada's first female sports reporter with the Globe and Mail before moving to The Toronto Star as a general assignment reporter, then the Toronto Sun, National Post, back to the Globe and Mail and back to the National Post.
Kirk Douglas was 103. He was nominated three times for best actor by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, for Champion, The Bad and the Beautiful and Lust for Life, but he's perhaps best known for starring as a slave in Spartacus.
Kobe Bryant was 41. He played his entire twenty-season NBA career as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers winning five NBA championships. He also won an Oscar.
Terry Jones was 77. He was a founding member of Monty Python and a beloved comedian, screenwriter, film director, poet, historian and author.
Neil Peart was 67. He was the Hall of Fame drummer and primary lyricist for Rush. He was also an accomplished author.
Danny Aiello was 86. He was the actor best known for his roles in "Do The Right Thing", "The Godfather Part II", and "Moonstruck". He also had a cameo in Madonna's video for "Papa Don't Preach".
Marie Fredriksson was 61. She was the lead singer and songwriter for Roxette, a Swedish band best known for their hits The Look, Joyride and It Must Have Been Love.
Caroll Spinney was 85. He was the puppeteer most famous for playing Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch on Sesame Street. He portrayed their voices from the show's inception in 1969 until his retirement last year.
John Mann was 57. He was best known as the frontman of the rock band Spirit of the West whose track "Home for a Rest" is still considered a classic frosh week anthem at universities across Canada.
Jim Gregory was 83. He was General Manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs for 10 seasons during which time they made eight playoff appearances. Jim came up in my recent conversation with Jim McKenny beause he famously said he wouldn't trade McKenny for Bobby Orr straight up.
Ron Fairly was 81. He was the major league ballplayer and broadcaster who played for both the Montreal Expos and Toronto Blue Jays over a 20 year career. He's the only player to represent both franchises at the MLB All-Star Game.
Robert Forster was 78. He was the actor best known for his Oscar-nominated performance in Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown. Prior to this late career resurgence, he was best known for his roles in Medium Cool and the detective series Banyon.
Rip Taylor was 84. Known as the "King of Confetti" and "The Crying Comedian," he was a television and nightclub mainstay for more than six decades.
Ginger Baker was 80. He was a drummer and founder of Cream who was known as "rock's first superstar drummer".
Diahann Carroll was 85. She starred in Julia, the first US sitcom to centre on a black woman, and she was also the first black woman to win the Tony for best actress in 1962 for the Broadway musical No Strings.
Rik Ocasek was 75. He was a founding member of the Cars, a band best known for the hits "Just What I Needed", "My Best Friend's Girl", "Good Times Roll", "Shake It Up", "You Might Think" and "Drive".
Eddie Money was 70. He was the singer and songwriter whose songs “Baby Hold On,” “Two Tickets to Paradise,” “Shakin'” and “Take Me Home Tonight” were big hits in the 1970s and 1980s.
