Ben Gazzara (August 28, 1930 – February 3, 2012) was an American film, stage, and Emmy Award winning television actor and director.
Ben Gazzara had an extensive career but a lot of men remember him as Brad Wesley (the bad guy) from Roadhouse (Starring Patrick Swayze).
In the 1950s, Gazzara starred in various Broadway productions, most notably Tennessee Williams' Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, directed by Elia Kazan. He was nominated three times for the Tony Award. Gazzara had a long and varied acting career, with spells as an accomplished director, mostly in television. He directed Columbo episodes "A Friend in Deed" and "Troubled Waters".
Gazzara appeared in thirty-eight films—many for TV—in the 1990s. He worked with a number of renowned directors, such as the Coen brothers (The Big Lebowski), Spike Lee (Summer of Sam), David Mamet (The Spanish Prisoner), Walter Hugo Khouri (Forever), Todd Solondz (Happiness), John Turturro (Illuminata), and John McTiernan (The Thomas Crown Affair).
Ben Gazzara cause of death Ben Gazzara was diagnosed with throat cancer in 1999. On February 3, 2012, he died of pancreatic cancer at Bellevue Hospital Center in New York. Ben Gazzara 81 years old at the time of his death
Part 1 - Opening Night - Ben Gazzara & Gena Rowlands
Catherine Louise "Kaye" Stevens (July 21, 1932 – December 28, 2011) was an American singer and actress.
Stevens's big break in show business came at the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas, when the headliner for the night, Debbie Reynolds, became ill and Stevens filled in for the night. She then went on to do small shows at the Plaza Hotel's Persian Room, New York's Waldorf Astoria, and Caesars Palace on the Las Vegas Strip near Las Vegas, Nevada. One of these shows includes the Frank Sinatra Spectacular TV Show. She went on to appear on such television game shows as Match Game, Hollywood Squares, Celebrity Sweepstakes, The Price is Right, and Password.
Stevens went on a USO tour with Bob Hope in 1965. She traveled to Vietnam with Hope and a group of fellow entertainers in the hopes of boosting the morale of thousands of American soldiers. She was quoted as saying “I came back in 1965 and my life was in shambles because of what I saw.”
Kaye Stevens cause of death Kaye Stevens lived in retirement in Summerfield, Florida. She died of breast cancer and blood clots. She left no immediate survivors. Kaye Stevens was 79 years old at the time of her death
Sammy Davis Jr. hosts Hollywood Palace 2-11-67 with Liberace Kaye Stevens is the third act. Kaye Stevens comes after Sammy Davis Jr. and roller skate stunt.
Billie Jo Spears (January 14, 1937 – December 14, 2011) was an American country music singer. She reached the top-10 of the Country music charts five times between 1969 and 1977, her biggest hit being "Blanket on the Ground", which, in 1975, became her only number one. She was known for her bluesy voice.
Billie Jo Spears cause of death Billie Jo Spears died of cancer on December 14, 2011 Billie Jo Spears was 74 years old at the time of her death.
Bill McKinney (September 12, 1931 – December 1, 2011) was an American character actor whose most famous role was the sadistic mountain man in the movie Deliverance. McKinney was also recognizable for his performances in seven Clint Eastwood films, most notably as Union cavalry commander Captain "Redlegs" Terrill in The Outlaw Josey Wales.
He appeared in First Blood (1982), Against All Odds (1984), Heart Like a Wheel (1983), Back to the Future Part III (1990), and The Green Mile (1999). As well as films, McKinney has appeared in the classic TV movie The Execution of Private Slovik (1974), while guest-starring on some of the top TV shows, including The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, Starsky and Hutch, The A-Team, Murder, She Wrote and Columbo.
Bill McKinney Cause of Death Bill McKinney was died of esophagus cancer. He smoked for 25 years when he was younger. Bill McKinney was 80 years old at the time of his death.
Joseph William "Joe" Frazier (January 12, 1944 – November 7, 2011), also known as Smokin' Joe, was a former Olympic and Undisputed World Heavyweight boxing champion, whose professional career lasted from 1965 to 1976, with a brief comeback in 1981.
Frazier emerged as the top contender in the late 1960s, defeating the likes of Jerry Quarry, Oscar Bonavena, Buster Mathis, Eddie Machen, Doug Jones, George Chuvalo and Jimmy Ellis en route to becoming undisputed heavyweight champion in 1970, and followed up by defeating Muhammad Ali on points in the highly-anticipated "Fight of the Century" in 1971. Two years later Frazier lost his title when he was knocked out by George Foreman. He fought on, beating Joe Bugner, losing a rematch to Ali, and beating Quarry and Ellis again.
He is an inductee of both the International Boxing Hall of Fame and the World Boxing Hall of Fame.
Joe Frazier cause of death Joe Frazier was diagnosed with liver cancer in late September 2011 and admitted to hospice care and died November 7, 2011. Joe Frazier was 67 years old at the time of his death.
Margaret Field (born Margaret Morlan, May 10, 1922 – November 6, 2011) was an American film actress.
She appeared in television Westerns including Wagon Train, The Virginian and The Range Rider. She also appeared in the science fiction films Captive Women and The Man from Planet X.
Margaret Field cause of death Margaret Field died of cancer (6 years battle). Margaret Field was 89 years old at the time of her death.
Roger Williams (born Louis Weertz, October 1, 1924 – October 8, 2011) was an American popular music pianist. As of 2004, he had released 116 albums.
In 1955 Williams recorded "Autumn Leaves", the only piano instrumental to reach #1 on Billboard's popular music chart. In 1966 he had another Top Ten hit with the song "Born Free" from the motion picture soundtrack. His other hits include "Near You", "Till", "The Impossible Dream", "Yellow Bird", "Maria", and "The Theme from Somewhere in Time". Billboard magazine ranks him as the top selling piano recording artist in history with 18 gold and platinum albums to his credit. Williams was known as the "Pianist to the Presidents" having played for nine administrations beginning with Harry S. Truman. His last White House performance was in November 2008 for a luncheon hosted by former First Lady Laura Bush.
Roger Williams cause of death He died on October 8, 2011, one week after his 87th birthday of pancreatic cancer.
Steven Paul "Steve" Jobs (February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was an American entrepreneur and inventor. He was co-founder, chairman, and former chief executive officer of Apple Inc. Jobs also previously served as chief executive of Pixar Animation Studios; he became a member of the board of directors of The Walt Disney Company in 2006, following the acquisition of Pixar by Disney. He was credited in Toy Story (1995) as an executive producer.
On August 24, 2011, Jobs announced his resignation from his role as Apple's CEO. In his letter of resignation, Jobs strongly recommended that the Apple executive succession plan be followed and Tim Cook be named as his successor. Per his request, Jobs was appointed chairman of Apple's board of directors.
Steve Jobs cause of death Steve Jobs died of pancreatic cancer. Steve Jobs was 56 years old at the time of his death.
The Ethiopians were a ska, rocksteady, and reggae vocal group, founded by Leonard Dillon ( December 9, 1942, Port Antonio, Jamaica – September 28, 2011), Stephen Taylor and Aston Morris.
Leonard Dillon cause of death. Leonard Dillon died of lung and prostate cancer on 28 September at his daughter's home in Kingston, Jamaica. Leonard Dillon was 68 years old at the time of his death.
Nickolas Ashford (? - August 22, 2011) and Valerie Simpson (born August 26, 1946 in The Bronx) were a husband and wife songwriting/production team and recording artists. They met at Harlem's White Rock Baptist Church in 1963. After having recorded unsuccessfully as a duo, they joined aspiring solo artist and former member of the Ikettes, Josie Jo Armstead, at the Scepter/Wand label where their compositions were recorded by Ronnie Milsap ("Never Had It So Good"), Maxine Brown ("One Step At A Time"), as well as the Shirelles and Chuck Jackson. Another of the trio's songs "Let's Go Get Stoned" gave Ray Charles a number one U.S. R&B hit in 1966. That same year Ashford & Simpson joined Motown where their best-known songs included "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", "You're All I Need To Get By", "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing", and "Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)". As performers, Ashford and Simpson's best-known song is "Solid" (1984 US and 1985 UK). The duo was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002.
Nick Ashford Cause of Death Nick Ashford died August 22, 2011, from complications of throat cancer
The Four Freshmen is a multiple (six) Grammy-nominated American male vocal band quartet that blends open-harmony jazz arrangements with the big band vocal group sounds of The Modernaires (Glenn Miller), The Pied Pipers (Tommy Dorsey), and The Mel-Tones (Artie Shaw), founded in the barbershop tradition. The Four Freshmen is considered a vocal band because the singers accompany themselves on guitar, trumpet, bass, and drums, among other instrumental configurations.
The group tours internationally to sold-out audiences and records jazz harmonies since its late '40s founding in the halls of the Jordan School of Music at Butler University (Indianapolis).
Ross Barbour cause of death The last surviving founding member Ross Barbour died on August 20, 2011 from lung cancer in Simi Valley, California. Ross Barbour was 82 years old at the time of his death
Annette Charles (March 5, 1948 – August 3, 2011) was an American actress, probably best remembered for her role as "Cha Cha" DiGregorio in Grease. She has made several appearances on television, as well.
Charles was born Annette Cardona in Los Angeles, California. She speech at California State University, Northridge.
Annette Charles cause of death Charles died August 3, 2011 in Los Angeles due to complications from cancer.
Related Story: In the movie Grease, Cha Cha's dance partner was Kenickie, played by Jeff Conaway. Jeff Conaway died in May 11, 2011 from Pneumonia (drugs may have contributed).
Linda Christian (November 13, 1923 – July 22, 2011) was a Mexican movie actress, who filmed films in Mexican cinema and in Hollywood, her career reached its peak in the 1940s and 1950s. She played Mara in the last Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan film Tarzan and The Mermaids (1948). She is also noted for being the first Bond girl, appearing in a 1954 TV adaptation of the James Bond novel Casino Royale. In 1963 she starred in an episode of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, "An Out for Oscar".
Linda Christian Cause of Death Linda Christian died of colon cancer. Linda Christian was 87 years old at the time of her death.
Tom Aldredge (February 28, 1928 – July 22, 2011) was an American actor. He achieved notice on television, in films and in theatre.
Tom Aldredge cause of death Tom Aldredge died July 22, 2011 in a hospice in Tampa, Florida from lymphoma, Lymphoma is a cancer in the lymphatic cells of the immune system. Tom Aldredge was 83 years old at the time of his death
John Joseph Maus (November 12, 1943 - May 7, 2011), known professionally as John Walker, was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist, best known as the founder of The Walker Brothers, who had their greatest success in the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom.
The Walker Brothers sold about 23 million albums and disbanded in the late 60s.
John Walker Cause of Death In 2010 Walker was diagnosed with liver cancer from which he died, at his home, in Los Angeles on 7 May 2011. JohnWalker was 67 years old at the time of his death
The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine (Anymore) - Walker Brothers
John Walker - Kentucky Woman (of The Walker Brothers)
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