Archive - Nov 2009 - Forum topic

Ken Ober (July 3, 1957 – November 15, 2009)was an American game show host, comedian, and actor.

Born in Brookline, Massachusetts, he was raised in Hartford, Connecticut. Ober hosted four game shows over the course of his career. He received his break after appearing as a contestant on Star Search. He was most widely known for his role on the MTV game show Remote Control, which he hosted for three seasons, spanning 1987 to 1989, then in reruns for an additional two years. Ober was known among '90s and '00s audiences for his hosting jobs on Make Me Laugh, Smush, and the ESPN game show Perfect Match.

In 1995, Ober hosted a Los Angeles talk radio show with former Brady Bunch star Susan Olsen. The show, known as Ober and Olsen, aired on 97.1 KLSX. (Olsen had previously appeared on an episode of Remote Control that featured Brady Bunch cast members competing.)

In 2002, Ober served as supervising producer for Colin Quinn's Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn, which was a reunion of sorts; Quinn was the announcer on Remote Control. He was also a guest on one episode.

Ober starred in the Blues Traveler video for the song "Hook". He also had a smaller role in the same band's videos for "Run-Around" and "The Mountains Win Again".

He served as a producer for the CBS comedy The New Adventures of Old Christine, and is also known for a series of Jenga commercials.

Death of Ken Ober
Ken Ober died at his home in Santa Monica on November 15, 2009 at the age of 52. According to friends, Ober had been feeling ill and was complaining of headaches, chronic chest pain, and flu-like symptoms the previous afternoon and did not meet them later as planned.

John Allen Muhammad (December 31, 1960 - November 10, 2009) was a spree killer from the United States. With his younger partner, Lee Boyd Malvo, he carried out the 2002 Beltway sniper attacks, killing 10 people. Muhammad and Malvo were arrested in connection with the attacks on October 24, 2002, following tips from alert citizens. Born John Allen Williams, Muhammad joined the Nation of Islam in 1987 and later changed his surname to Muhammad. Drawings by Malvo describe the murders as part of a "jihad" (Arabic for "struggle in the way of God"). At Muhammad's trial, the prosecutor claimed that the rampage was part of a plot to kill his ex-wife and regain custody of his children, but the judge ruled that there was insufficient evidence to support this argument

Death of John Allen Muhammad

Muhammad was executed by lethal injection on November 10, 2009, at 9:11 PM EST at Greensville Correctional Center in Jarratt, Virginia. He declined to give a last statement before his execution. His family plans to claim the body for burial in Muhammad's native Louisiana.

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Carl Ballantine (born Meyer Kessler; September 27, 1917 - November 3, 2009) was an American actor, magician and comedian. Billing himself as "The Great Ballantine," "The Amazing Ballantine" or "Ballantine: The World's Greatest Magician," his vaudeville-style comedy routine involved transparent or incompetent stage magic tricks, which tended to flop to the wisecracking Ballantine's mock chagrin.

Ballantine is probably best remembered as Lester Gruber, one of the PT boat sailors in the ABC sitcom McHale's Navy (1962-1966), starring with Ernest Borgnine, Joe Flynn and Tim Conway. He made his only appearance on Broadway as Lycus the slave merchant in the 1972 revival of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum starring Phil Silvers.[2] His most recent film appearance was in Aimee Semple McPherson, a 2006 biopic about the female evangelist.

Ballantine's wife was actress Ceil Cabot (March 8, 1927 - January 24, 2000) He was known as an inveterate smoker of Cuban stogies.

Death of Carl Ballantine
Carl Ballantine died of natural causes on November 3, 2009 at his Hollywood, California home. He is survived by his daughters actress Sara Ballantine and Molly and his sister Esther Robinson.

Carl Ballantine