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The Massive Roll Call of Celebrities Who Died in 2016: Carrie & Debbie, Prince, Bowie, Natalie Cole, Alan Rickman, Et Al

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This is a long, long roll call of celebrities who died in 2016. This list should also include Florence Henderson, Fritz Weaver, Grant Tinker, Bernard Fox (Dr. Bombay!), plus James Stacy, Jon Polito, Hugh O’Brian, Steven Hill, Jack Riley, Marvin Kaplan, Noel Neill, Michael Cimino, the towering writer Elie Wiesel, the great singer Sir Mack Rice (he wrote Mustang Sally), Ann Guilbert from the Dick van Dyke Show, Seinfeld, and the Nanny, Morley Safer, Doris Roberts, Ann Jackson, Bob Elliott of Bob and Ray fame, Pat Harrington Jr, Paul Kantner of Jefferson Airplane, Gloria deHaven, Julius LaRosa, New York actor David Margulies, Earl Hamner Jr, who created “The Waltons,” and the amazing legendary playwright Edward Albee, credits including “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”

If I missed someone, please send it in to showbiz411@gmail.com. We’re going to keep updating…

December 31st Natalie Cole age 64 (singer)

January 4th Robert Stigwood, age 81 (record company owner, “Saturday Night Fever” producer)

Jan 10th David Bowie age 69 (Rock Icon)

Jan 14th Alan Rickman age 69 (Actor)

Jan 18th Glenn Frey age 67 (Eagles Rocker)

Jan 26th Abe Vigoda age 94 (TV Actor)

Feb 3rd Maurice White age 74 (Earth, Wind & Fire Star)

Feb 19th Harper Lee age 89 (To Kill A Mocking Bird Author)

Feb 28th George Kennedy age 91 (TV & Movie Great)

March 6th Nancy Reagan age 94 (Former First Lady)

Mar 8th George Martin age 90 (famed Beatles Producer)

Mar 11th Keith Emerson age 71 (ELP Rock Legend)

Mar 16th Frank Sinatra Junior age 72 (Sinatra’s Singer Son)

March 22nd Rob Ford age 46 (crazy, drug addicted ex mayor of Toronto)

Mar 23 Joe Garagiola age 90 (Baseball Catcher & Announcer)

March 23rd Ken Howard age 71 (“White Shadow” actor, president of SAG-AFTRA)

Mar 24th Garry Shandling age 66 (Comedian Great)

Mar 29th Patty Duke age 69 (Child Star)

April 6th Merle Haggard age 79 (Country Legend)

April 12th David Gest age 62 (Liza Minnelli ex husband, “entrepreneur”)

April 17th Doris Roberts age 90 (TV Actress)

April 20th Joanie “Chyna” Laurer age 46 (WWE Wrestling Legend)

April 21st Lonnie Mack age 74 (Blues Guitar Great)

April 21st Prince age 57 (Pop Icon)

April 21st Guy Hamilton age 93 (director four James Bond movies including “Goldfinger”)

April 24th Billy Paul age 80 (R&B hit singer “Me and Mrs. Jones”)

May 8th William Schallert age 93 (SAG president, actor, played Patty Duke’s dad)

May 17th Guy Clark age 74 (Country Legend)

May 19th John Berry age 52 (Beastie Boys Star)

May 19th Alan Young age 96 (“Wilburrrr!” Mister Ed TV Star)

May 21st Nick Menza age 51 (Megadeth Drummer)

June 3rd Muhammad Ali age 74 (Boxing and Civil Rights Legend)

June 10th Gordie Howe age 88 (NHL Legendary Star)

June 14th Henry McCullough age 72 (Wings Guitarist)

June 19th Anton Yelchin age 27 (Star Trek’s Chekov)

June 24th Bernie Worrell age 72 (Funkadelic Star)

June 28th Scotty Moore age 84 (Elvis Presley’s Guitarist)

July 7th John McMartin, age 86 (Broadway and TV legend)

July 16th Alan Vega age 78 (Suicide Punk Pioneer)

July 19th Garry Marshall age 81 (Creator of Happy Days & The Odd Couple)

Aug 13th Kenny Baker age 81 (R2D2 from Star Wars)

Aug 29th Gene Wilder age 83 (Comic Genius)

Sept 11th Alexis Arquette age 47 (Transgender Actress)

Sept 17th Charmian Carr age 73 (Sound of Music’s Liesl)

Sept 24th Bill Nunn age 63 (Actor “Spider Man,” “Do the Right Thing”)

Sept 25th Arnold Palmer age 87 (Golfing Legend)

Sept 25th Jose Fernandez age 24 (Miami Marlins Pitcher)

Sept 28th Agnes Nixon age 93 (creator of All My Children, One Life to Live)

October 16th Jeffrey Slonim, age 56 (celebrity journalist)

Oct 24th Bobby Vee age 73 (1960’s Teen Idol)

Nov 7th Leonard Cohen age 82 (Iconic Singer & Writer)

Nov 11th Robert Vaughn age 83 (Veteran Actor, Man from UNCLE)

Nov 13th Leon Russell age 74 (US Rock Legend)

Nov 14th Gwen Ifill age 61 (journalist, PBS)

Nov 18th Sharon Jones age 60 (R&B star)

Nov 25th Florence Henderson age 82 (Brady Bunch Star)

Nov 25th Fidel Castro Age 90 (Cuban Leader)

Nov 25th Ron Glass age 71 (Barney Miller Tv Star)

Dec 6th Peter Vaughan age 93 (Games of Thrones Star)

Dec 8th John Glenn age 95 (First to Orbit Earth)

Dec 8th Greg Lake age 69 (ELP Legend)

Dec 10th Joseph Mascolo, age 86 (Days of Our Lives)

Dec 13th Alan Thicke age 69 (Growing Pains Actor)

Dec 18th Zsa Zsa Gabor age 99 (socialite, talk show guest, actress. model)

Dec 25th George Michael age 53 (Pop Icon)

Dec 27th Carrie Fisher age 60 (Writer, “Star Wars” actress)

Dec 28th Debbie Reynolds age 84 (actress, singer)

The Tale of How George Michael Taught the Paparazzi a Lesson on the Great Wall of China

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One of George Michael’s pals who has been in demand by TV shows– such this past Tuesday night’s ABC “20/20” network special to pay tribute to him — is our old friend Martin Lewis.

Martin produced “Foreign Skies” the documentary about George Michael’s historic Wham! concert tour of China in 1985. Wham! were the first Western pop act to perform in China.

Lewis and George Michael arranged for the film – for which Lewis had recruited the iconic Lindsay Anderson as director – to have its World Premiere at London’s Wembley Stadium in June 1986 in front of 100,000 fans at Wham’s farewell concert.

“George’s idea was that it would break the world record for the most people ever to attend a film premiere – and as usual he was right!” explains Lewis who stayed friendly with the star over the following decades.

Among his many affectionate recollections about the young George was a spontaneous jokey action by George in China – shown in the music video that Lewis produced for Wham’s 1985 hit “Freedom” that in hindsight provides an early glimpse into George’s growing unhappiness with the fame-game aspect of being a musician in the tabloid-obsessed 1980s.

Lewis took George on an excursion to view and walk on the Great Wall of China – but George’s visit was blighted by the omnipresent paparazzi who followed him everywhere. George knew that Lewis always carried an ancient camera on which he was shooting his own personal home movie during the China tour (his father’s 1958 Standard-8 hand-cranked Bell & Howell!) and he asked to borrow it. George then proceeded to film the offending photographers with it! Turning the tables to make clear that he didn’t enjoy constantly being in the goldfish bowl as a mandatory quid pro quo for his desire to simply create music.

Lewis recounted that story and showed the actual movie camera George had used in China during his tribute to his old pal on the “Good Day L.A.” TV show.

Broadway Box Office: “Hamilton” Soars to New Heights with a $3.3 Million Holiday Week

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“Hamilton” just keeps getting bigger and bigger.

Last week Lin Manuel Miranda’s Tony winning Pulitzer Prize winning musical took in over $3.3 million. They were up by over $1 million from the prior week. It was their highest week since November 27th, and the biggest week ever for the political rap hip hop sensation.

Broadway is buzzing this Christmas. Josh Groban has surged ticket sales for “Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812.” Cate Blanchett is selling out her previews in “The Present,” which doesn’t open until January 8th. “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Jersey Boys,” and “Something Rotten” are all pulling in last minute sold crowds before they close shortly.

All the big hits– “Wicked,” “Lion King,” “Book of Mormon”– continue to entertain the masses.

PS This Sunday at 10pm HBO will re-air Carrie Fisher’s “Wishful Drinking.” Not to be missed, a real New Years treat! ;(

 

CBS Rewards Alt-Right Offender Milo Yiannopolous with $250K Book Contract After Twitter Bans Him Forever

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It wasn’t enough that Twitter banned him forever, or that repugnant conservative Milo Yiannopolous is Public Enemy #1 in show business.

So CBS has rewarded him with a $250,000 book contract. CBS owns Simon & Schuster, which operates the conservative book imprint Threshold Editions. They were founded by Mary Matalin, and publish books by Donald Trump, Glenn Beck, Michelle Malkin, and Dick and Liz Cheney.

They know their audience. It’s the opposite of S&S’s famed main political stem that is famous for publishing serious books edited by the famed Alice Mayhew. Richard Simon and Max Schuster must be rolling in their graves.

Yiannopolous is an editor of Breitbart News, the alt-right (which means crazy, far right conservative verging on neo-Nazi propaganda) website. He was booted from Twitter for attacking “Saturday Night Live” star Leslie Jones last summer. You can read his whole repulsive background on Wikipedia.

It’s interesting that CBS has gotten in bed with Yiannopolous. This means that Charlie Rose, Gayle King, Stephen Colbert, et al might be used to promote a book with such a hefty advance once it’s published. Maybe we’ll see Milo on “The Talk” with Sharon Osbourne, or as a member of “Big Brother.” Cannot wait.

Sean Ono Lennon Devastated: “Carrie and Debbie’s relationship was a template for mine and my mother’s

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Who knew that Sean Lennon and his mom Yoko Ono were such close friends of Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds? It doesn’t seem like an organic fit, but you never know in this world what bonds people. According to Sean’s Instagram and Twitter posts, the four spent a lot of time together, even watching one of the Presidential debates together. (Debbie was “passionately against Trump.”)

Sean also turns out to be profound on the subject of grief, and that does make sense since he and Yoko (and Julian Lennon) suffered an unspeakable loss in 1980. The younger Lennon wrote on Instagram today:

I’m absolutely speechless with the news of Debbie passing just a day after her daughter. I knew how close they were, and because of Carrie I have so many wonderful memories of Debbie in her house next to Carrie’s. They were so absolutely close it seems clear that Debbie wanted to be with her daughter. Carrie and Debbie’s relationship was a template for mine and my mother’s. I’m so stunned.

Before Reynolds died, Sean also posted:

And to Carrie, I hope you and David and George Martin and Prince and Leonard and the others lost this year are having the best party ever, and I hope my dad greeted you at the door. Love, Sean

More from Sean’s earlier, eloquent post:

Now we must double our efforts to send love to Billie, and to Todd. I don’t know what to say right now, I’m truly in shock. I’m just…this is too much. Debbie was indeed a timeless legend and so much of Carrie’s effortless grace on screen came from Debbie’s mentoring. Debbie taught me many things. I literally have no energy left in my body I feel completely drained of all blood, I feel utterly deflated. I can’t imagine how Billie feels please concentrate your energies on helping her through this tornado of tragedies. I can’t imagine losing two such pillars in such a short time. I love you Billie. And I love you Carrie and Debbie always. Thank you for what was an endless fountain of kindness and generosity from both of you. (Debbie we had just watched one of the debates w Carrie at your house and I’ll never forget you telling Carrie and I to shut up because you were so passionately against Trump and wanted to hear the television but Carrie and I were joking around a bit loudly. I miss you so much!)

Earlier, Sean had written: I was talking to a friend about grief just now and I think I’d like to share an excerpt: ‘I’ll tell you this much, it never goes away, and the mistake we sometimes make is expecting it to. Once we stop hoping for it to go away, once we accept that it is a permanent edifice in our lives, then the sharpness of its edge becomes more and more tolerable each day. We also come to be thankful for the strength and wisdom gained in having to scale that edifice for the rest of our lives. Not one day passes that I don’t miss my father since he died. The people we lose live on in us, and much of that vicarious immortality hurts to bear. But therein lays the paradox of existence: what hurts us the most also gives us the most strength, beauty, and understanding. Those of us who have never lost are living in a half dream state. To know suffering is to know truth, for reality comes at a price. In the end the balance works out because we all pay the ultimate price for living, eventually. So whatever wisdom gained during our brief flicker of awareness–that spark of consciousness we call a lifetime–is a gift and a privilege. That’s how I try to see it anyway. xo, Sean’

 

Photo of Carrie Fisher by Sean Ono Lennon via Instagram

 

 

 

Extraordinary End of an Era: Debbie Reynolds Dies 1 Day After Famous Daughter Carrie Fisher

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In what is maybe the most extraordinary Hollywood ending ever Debbie Reynolds has died one day after her famous daughter Carrie Fisher. Todd Fisher said his mother wanted to be with his sister. They leave behind Carrie’s daughter Billie to deal with cruel tragedy. Unbelievable.

What is going on here? How did this happen? All I know is that for several days, a posting on Debbie Reynolds’ Twitter that Carrie was “Stable” was taken seriously and literally by news organizations. In reality, Reynolds has not been seen in almost two years publicly.

In January 2015 she appeared at the SAG Awards to pick up her Lifetime Achievement honor. In her acceptance speech, Reynolds repeated herself and contradicted herself, and got lost. Clearly, something was wrong with our Debbie.

By November 2015 she was unable to accept her Oscar Lifetime Achievement Award. She sent granddaughter Billie to the Governors Awards to make a speech. Carrie was there, of course. That was a little over a year ago. Debbie Reynolds had not been seen in that time.

So we don’t exactly how frail Debbie Reynolds really was when she had to be told her daughter had died. It was obviously too much for her. And she obviously had not been Tweeting anything at all. News organizations just picked up the story and ran with it.

Watching Oprah’s 2011 interview with mother and daughter, it’s also pretty clear that they tied to each other in deep ways. And now, in what seems like a snap of fingers, they are gone. It’s surreal.

When Carrie was touring her one woman show “Wishful Drinking,” she made a stop in Hartford, where my own mother — a theatre critic– spotted Debbie in the audience. No fuss was made over her. She was just there, my mom says. My mom approached her and asked Debbie why she was there in Hartford, Connecticut. It wasn’t like this was a Broadway opening.

My mom says Debbie responded, “Where else would I be? It’s my daughter.”

Says it all, I think.

Mark Hamill aka Luke Skywalker on Carrie Fisher: “She played such a crucial role in my professional & personal life”

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Mark Hamill posted this message on Twitter overnight about his friend and co-star of 40 years, Carrie Fisher:

mark hamill statement

Carrie Fisher Books Jump to the Top of Best Seller Lists: “Princess Diarist” #1 at Amazon

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This is so crazy and unbelievable that Carrie Fisher has died. And now of course her books have jumped to the top of the best seller lists.

On Amazon, “The Princess Diarist” is number 1. This book came out on November 22nd and was only doing so- so, even with the revelation of the Harrison Ford affair.

A month later it’s number 1 under the worst possible conditions. But I’m sure Carrie would be pleased.

She also has “Wishful Drinking” at 7 and “Postcards from the Edge.” You guys should read “Surrender the Pink,” too. It’s hilarious.

The books may be selling well on Barnes & Noble, too, but I can’t figure out their website.

 

 

Sean Lennon Posts Heartbreaking Message about Carrie Fisher on Instagram: “I feel that you were part of me, and you will always be”

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Sean Ono Lennon, son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono posted this message on Instagram. It’s truly heartbreaking. Carrie Fisher meant so much to so many people. He says: “This is the kind of loss that you never recover from. I know because I still miss my dad every single day.”

I mean, omg doesn’t even begin to express how you feel when you read that.

I can honestly say that Carrie was one of the best and closest friends I’ve ever had in my life. She was the smartest, funniest, kindest, and most generous person I have ever known. My heart is completely and permanently broken. This is the kind of loss that you never recover from. I know because I still miss my dad every single day. Carrie, I love you so much. I can’t imagine living my life without you there to fix it. You meant more to me than just friend or family, I feel that you were part of me, and you always will be. I can never thank you enough for all those magical evenings. Thank you Debbie and Billie for sharing your prodigal princess with me. My thoughts are with you now and forever. R.I.P. Carrie Fisher.

Found this old picture of my mother and I taking Carrie out in NY. Just want to mention because I forgot to say earlier that regarding the trials and tribulations of being a son or daughter of celebrities, no one helped or inspired me more than Carrie Fisher. She was a super nova of talent and good character. She made the impossible seem effortless–of course thinking twice as fast as everyone else didn't hurt. One of my favorite things she used to say is, 'Resentment is like swallowing poison and expecting the other person to die.' Carrie and I even wrote a song or two together. I'm going to find them and put them out if it makes sense. I'm still shattered, can't think clearly. I'll just say please send all your love and light energy to Billie and Debbie, for they are suffering the most. I know what it's like to have your world torn apart by a loved one taken before their time. It never gets easy, although one learns to live through the pain. Please let's just get to 2017 without losing anymore geniuses.

A photo posted by Sean Ono Lennon (@sean_ono_lennon) on

Hollywood Heartbreak: The Amazing Carrie Fisher Dies at 60 Days After Heart Attack

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Just heartbreaking: Carrie Fisher, Hollywood’s heart and soul, has died at age 60 several days after a heart attack aboard a flight from London to Los Angeles.

No real word from her family since she was taken from the plane to UCLA Medical Center was not a good omen. A fellow seat passenger’s observation that Fisher wasn’t breathing– plus her being placed on a ventilator when got to the hospital– all of that spelled doom.

Carrie’s death really is heartbreaking for her family– mother Debbie Reynolds, brother Todd Fisher, half sisters Joely and Tricia Lee Fisher, her daughter Billie Lourd. But it’s also mind blowing for her friends– and there are legions and legions of them — and her millions of fans.

Carrie’s status as a daughter of Hollywood royalty– Reynolds and late singer Eddie Fisher– plus her own royalty– she’s gone from Princess Leia to General Leia in “Star Wars,” the most successful movie series of all time, has been huge. She’s a trailblazer for girls and young women. She’s been a guiding light as a Hollywood iconoclast.

And she’s been hilarious. Her take on everything made her the wiser, warmer version of Fran Lebowitz or Dorothy Parker. She was jaundiced but in the best way. She had to fight to give herself a space in the world of celebrity, and did it with grace even when she was falling down.

I hope the drug part of her life doesn’t become the emphasis of her passing. She was a very gifted writer and humorist, author of many best sellers and script doctor for many movies. Carrie knew innately what was funny, and how humor worked. I used to laugh out loud– in the right way– reading “Surrender the Pink” or “Postcards from the Edge.”

Everyone will say they were her friend, but Carrie’s real friends were people like Penny Marshall and Buck Henry. Her parties were legendary. Everyone wanted to be her friend.

And the irony is that she was at the top of her game, with “Rogue One” hinging on her, and Star Wars Chapter 8 in the can, and “Princess Diarist” on the best seller lists, her dog Gary a cult hero, and daughter Billie launched as an actress.

What a terrible, terrible day at the end of a terrible, terrible year.