Archive - Jul 2008

Elizabeth Taylor, 76, was admitted to St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, Calif., on Tuesday, a source told Access. "Ms. Taylor is fine"

There was a rumor saying Elizabeth Taylor is in life support after suffering heart failure.

For now, Elizabeth Taylor's status is not disclosed to public.

Not much informatioin on her death is available.

Gordon Ramsay slipped off a cliff and then nearly drowning in freezing cold water. clambering down a 280ft drop.  "I thought I was a goner," he told The Sun. 

Gordon James Ramsay, (born November 8, 1966) is a chef, television personality and restaurateur. He has been awarded a total of 12 Michelin stars, and in 2007 became one of only three chefs in the United Kingdom to hold three Michelin stars at one time. He is best known in the United States as the host of FOX's Hell's Kitchen, which premiered in May 2005, and of Kitchen Nightmares, which premiered in September 2007, based on his successful British show Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares.

Shia Saide LaBeouf (June 11, 1986) is a Daytime Emmy Award- and BAFTA-winning American actor and comedian.

Shia LaBeouf was in the recent movies such as Transformers & the Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

In the early morning hours of July 27, 2008, authorities arrested LaBeouf on drunk driving charges in Los Angeles, after the actor was involved in a car collision in which he, his passenger and another driver were injured.

The car was rolled.  Shia LeBeouf is hospitalized after DUI arrest

* A few days before, Robert Novak ran over a homeless man with his Corvette.  This was a semi-top news in The US. 

Robert David Sanders "Bob" Novak (born February 26, 1931) is a conservative American political commentator, syndicated columnist and journalist who writes the longest-running current U.S. syndicated political column (45 years, as of February 2008).

Brain Tumor:
On July 27, 2008, Novak was admitted to Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston where he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. In a written statement given to his publisher, Novak said: “Doctors will soon begin appropriate treatment. I will be suspending my journalistic work for an indefinite but, God willing, not too lengthy period.”

* Youssef Chahine is an important figure in world cinema history. But, he remains as a inor celebrity for people in Western nations.

Youssef Chahine (January 25, 1926 - July 27, 2008) was an Egyptian film director active in the Egyptian film industry since 1950. He was credited with launching the career of actor Omar Sharif.

Illness and death
Chahine was hospitalized at Ach-Chourouq hospital in Cairo in a coma following an apparent cerebral haemorrhage, on Sunday, June 15, 2008.

On Monday, June 16, 2008, Chahine was flown to Paris on an emergency flight and admitted to the American Hospital in Neuilly-sur-Seine, west of Paris, where his niece told AFP his condition was "critical but stable."

Youssef Chahine died in his Cairo home on Sunday July 27, 2008

Kelsey Grammer has been hospitalized in New York after feeling faint following a recent heart attack .

Publicist Stan Rosenfield says Grammer checked himself into an undisclosed hospital over the weekend as a precaution and his condition is not life threatening.

Kelsey Grammer had a heart attack that nearly killed him two months ago.

Buy From Amazon: Johnny Griffin CDs

John Arnold Griffin III (April 24, 1928 – July 25, 2008) was an American bop and hard bop tenor saxophonist.

Death of Johnny Griffin
Johnny Griffin died in Availles-Limouzine, France, where he had lived for the past 24 years.
Johnny Griffin was 80 years old at the time of his death.
Cause of death is unknown for now.  Griffin's wife Miriam found him dead before he was due to give a concert.

Johnny Griffin's last concert was July 21, 2008, in Hyères, France.

Early life and education
Griffin studied music at DuSable High School under Walter Dyett, starting out on clarinet before moving on to oboe and then alto sax. While still at high school at age 15, Griffin was playing with T-Bone Walker in a band led by Walker's brother.

* Johnny Griffin's biography & discography continues next page
* Buy From Amazon: Johnny Griffin CDs

Johnny Griffin's Sax Solo

Early career
Alto sax was still his instrument of choice when he joined Lionel Hampton's big band three days after his high school graduation, but Hampton encouraged him to take up the tenor, playing alongside Arnett Cobb. He first appeared on a Los Angeles recording with Hampton's band in 1945 at the age of 17.

In 1947, Griffin and fellow Hampton band member Joe Morris formed a sextet, where he remained for the next two years. His playing can be heard on various early Rhythm and Blues recordings for Atlantic Records. By 1951 Griffin was playing baritone sax in an R&B sextet led by former bandmate Arnett Cobb.

After returning to Chicago from two years in the Army, Griffin began establishing a reputation as one of the premiere saxophonists in that city. Thelonious Monk enthusiastically encouraged Orrin Keepnews of Riverside Records to sign the young tenor, but before he could act Blue Note Records had signed Griffin.

He joined Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers in 1957, and his recordings from that time include a memorable album joining together the Messengers and Thelonious Monk. Griffin then succeeded John Coltrane as a member of Monk's Five Spot quartet; he can be heard on the album "Thelonious Monk at the Five Spot."

Recordings
As leader of his own band, his first Blue Note album Introducing Johnny Griffin in 1956, also featuring Wynton Kelly on piano, Curly Russell on bass and Max Roach on drums, brought him critical acclaim.

A 1957 Blue Note album A Blowing Session featured him with fellow tenor players John Coltrane and Hank Mobley. He played with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers for a few months in 1957, and in the Thelonious Monk Sextet and Quartet (1958). During this period, he recorded a set with Clark Terry on Serenade To a Bus Seat featuring the rhythm trio of Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, and Philly Joe Jones.

At this stage in his career, Griffin was known as the "fastest tenor in the west", for the ease with which he could execute fast note runs with excellent intonation.

Subsequent to his three albums for Blue Note, Griffin did not get along with the label's house engineer Rudy Van Gelder, he recorded for the Riverside label.

From 1960 to 1962 he and Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis led their own quintet, recording several albums together.

Move to Europe
He went to live in France in 1963, moving to the Netherlands in 1978. Apart from appearing regularly under his own name at jazz clubs such as London's Ronnie Scott's, Griffin became the "first choice" sax player for visiting US musicians touring the continent during the 60s and 70s. He briefly rejoined Monk's groups (an Octet and Nonet) in 1967.

Griffin and Davis met up again in 1970 and recorded Tough Tenors Again 'n' Again, and again with the Dizzy Gillespie Big 7 at the Montreux Jazz Festival. In 1965 he recorded some albums with Wes Montgomery. From 1967 to 1969, he formed part of The Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Big Band, and in the late 70s, recorded with Peter Herbolzheimer And His Big Band, which also included, among others, Nat Adderley, Derek Watkins, Art Farmer, Slide Hampton, Jiggs Whigham, Herb Geller, Wilton Gaynair, Stan Getz, Gerry Mulligan, Rita Reys, Jean "Toots" Thielemans, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Grady Tate, and Quincy Jones as arranger. He also recorded with the Nat Adderley Quintet in 1978, having previously recorded with Adderley in 1958.

His last concert, July 21, 2008 was played in Hyères, France. Johnny Griffin died in Availles-Limouzine, France, where he had lived for the past 24 years.

Selected discography
Introducing Johnny Griffin (1956)
A Blowing Session (1957)
The Congregation (1957)
Johnny Griffin Sextet (1958)
The Little Giant (1959)
The Big Soul Band (1960)
White Gardenia (1961; Riverside Records)
The Kerry Dancers and Other Swinging Folk (1961)
Tough Tenor Favourites (1962)
Grab This! (1962)
The Man I Love (1967)
Tough Tenors Again 'n' Again, with Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis (1970)
Bush Dance (1978)
That Old Feeling (Rita Reys, Trio Pim Jacobs ft. Johnny Griffin (1979)
Take My Hand (1988)
The Cat (1990)
Dance of Passion (1992)
Johnny Griffin/Steve Grossman Quintet (2000)

Buy From Amazon: Connie Frances CDs

Connie Francis (born December 12, 1938 in Newark, New Jersey) is an American pop singer best known for international hit songs such as "Who's Sorry Now?", "Where The Boys Are", and "Stupid Cupid".

Singer Connie Francis is being treated at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New York where she was hospitalized after falling ill earlier this week.

69 years old Connie Francis had been scheduled to perform July 23, 2008 with Neil Sedaka at The Capital One Bank Theatre at Westbury.  Instead, she was taken to the hospital with dangerously high blood pressure.

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Buy From Amazon: Golden Girls and other Estell Getty Movies 

Estelle Getty (July 25, 1923 – July 22, 2008) was an Emmy and Golden Globe Award winning actress (theatre and screen). In her later years, she retired from acting and was battling Lewy Body dementia.

Death of Estelle Getty
On July 22, 2008, at approximately 5:30 a.m. PDT, Getty died in her Hollywood Boulevard home in Los Angeles from natural causes (according to her manager), three days before her 85th birthday.

Each of Getty's former Golden Girls co-stars reflected on her death: Rue McClanahan told the Associated Press, "Don't feel sad about her passing. She will always be with us in her crowning achievement, Sophia." Bea Arthur said in a statement, "Our mother-daughter relationship was one of the greatest comic duos ever, and I will miss her." Betty White remarked, "The only comfort at this moment is that although Estelle has moved on, Sophia will always be with us."

In honor of Estelle, Lifetime TV, which airs The Golden Girls, announced that it will air ten episodes of the series featuring the best of Sophia on Friday, July 25. Fans can vote for their favorite episode on Lifetime's website. The winning episode will be aired last in the marathon.

Related Pages: Deaths of Golden Girls Cast

• Rue McClanahan, 'Golden Girls', dies from stroke 76 (2010-06-02)
  
• Golden Girls TV star Bea Arthur dies 86 (2009-04-25)
• FYI: Betty White (88) is alive and well.

* Buy From Amazon: Golden Girls and other Estell Getty Movies

Estelle Getty Biography
Getty was born Estelle Scher. She got her start in the Yiddish theater, and her most important early role was playing Harvey Fierstein's mother on Broadway in the play Torch Song Trilogy. However, she is best known for her role as Sophia Petrillo on the popular 1980s sitcom, The Golden Girls. In it, she played the wise-cracking old Sicilian mother of Dorothy Zbornak, who was the show's main protagonist, played by Beatrice Arthur. Getty was actually one year younger than Arthur. 

She was married to Arthur Gettleman (from whose name she adapted her stage name) from 1946 until his death in 2004. Getty had two grown sons: Carl Gettleman, who lives in California, and Barry Gettleman, who lives in Florida.

She wrote her autobiography, with Steve Delsohn, titled If I Knew Then, What I Know Now. . .So What? (Contemporary Books, 1988).

In 1991 Estelle Getty opened her heart to her nephew, Steven Scher (age 29), who was in the final stages of AIDS and near death in 1991. With Steve's parents living in England and his friends no longer able to care for him in Greensboro, North Carolina, Estelle had Steve flown out to California where she admitted him to hospice care. Steve died in January 1992. An extensive account of her act of charity was published in STAR Magazine.

In 2000, she stopped making public appearances after revealing that she had Parkinson's Disease and osteoporosis. In 2002, it was revealed to the media that she was also suffering from Alzheimer's Disease. It was later discovered that she actually had Lewy Body Dementia, and both the Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diagnoses were incorrect. In 2003, there was a Golden Girls reunion hosted on the Lifetime television network but Getty did not appear in it due to her failing health.

Awards

Emmy Awards
1992 - Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series - The Golden Girls - (Nominated)
1991 - Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series - The Golden Girls - (Nominated)
1990 - Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series - The Golden Girls - (Nominated)
1989 - Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series - The Golden Girls - (Nominated)
1988 - Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series - The Golden Girls - (Won)
1987 - Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series - The Golden Girls - (Nominated)
1986 - Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series - The Golden Girls - (Nominated)

Golden Globe Awards
1991 - Actress In A Supporting Role - Series, Mini-Series Or Television Movie - The Golden Girls - (Nominated)
1986 - Actress In A Leading Role - Musical Or Comedy Series - The Golden Girls - (Won)
1985 - Actress In A Leading Role - Musical Or Comedy Series - The Golden Girls - (Nominated)

Jerome Holtzman (December 11, 1926 - July 19, 2008 ) was an award-winning baseball writer and had been the official historian for Major League Baseball from 1999 until his death.

Death of Jerome Holtzman
On July 15th, 2008, Jerome Holtzman suffered a massive stroke in Evanston, Illinois. He died on July 19th, 2008 in Illinois.

Quick Biography:
Holtzman wrote for his hometown papers in Chicago for over 50 years. Beginning as a copyboy at the Chicago Daily News in 1943, Holtzman wrote for the paper through its merger with the Chicago Sun. In 1999, Holtzman retired as a newspaper writer and was named as the official historian of Major League Baseball. He wrote occasional columns on the mlb.com website. Holtzman has written or edited more than a dozen books, including the critically acclaimed No Cheering in the Press Box, a collection of interviews with 18 sportswriters that was published in 1974.

Darryl "D.M.C." Matthews McDaniels (44) (born May 31, 1964) is an American musician. He is one of the pioneers of hip hop culture and founding members of the legendary hip hop group Run-D.M.C..

Doctors examined McDaniels, who was suffering from pain and swelling in his left arm, and discovered two major blood clots. He is undergoing surgery Friday.

McDaniels, 44, had been scheduled to perform Saturday at the AVP Beach Volleyball Tournament; the appearance was canceled.

Related Story: Jason William Mizell (January 21, 1965 – October 30, 2002), also known as Jam-Master Jay, was Killed in New York.  Jam-Master jay was a founder and the DJ of Run-D.M.C.,