Hollywood Memoir

Gil Bernal (February 4, 1931  in Watts, Los Angeles – July 17, 2011)  was an American saxophonist (Tenor).  Gil Bernal played Jazz, Rhythm and Blues.

Gil Bernal’s memorable saxophon solos:
Duane Eddy’s "Rebel Rouser" and the Robins’ "Smokey Joe’s Cafe."

He worked with artists such as Spike Jones, Lionel Hampton and Ry Cooder.

Gil Bernal cause of death
Gil Bernal died of congestive heart failure.
Gil Bernal was 80 years old at the time of his death.

The Robins – Smokey Joes Cafe
Gil Bernal was not a member of of The Robins.  He was a guest player.

Sherwood Charles Schwartz (November 14, 1916 – July 12, 2011) was an American television producer. He worked on radio shows in the 1940s, and created the television series Gilligan’s Island on CBS and The Brady Bunch on ABC. On March 7, 2008, Schwartz, at the time still active in his 90s, was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

He wrote the theme song for three of his shows: Gilligan’s Island (co-wrote), It’s About Time, and The Brady Bunch. Actresses Dawn Wells and Florence Henderson, who appeared in Gilligan’s Island and The Brady Bunch, respectively, accompanied Schwartz when he received his Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Sherwood Schwartz cause of death
On July 12, 2011, Sherwood Schwartz died peacefully in his sleep of natural causes. He is survived by his wife of 69 years, Mildred Schwartz and their four children: Donald, Lloyd (the creator of The Munsters Today), Ross, and Hope (Mrs. Juber; reportedly named after Bob Hope).  Sherwood Schwartz was 94 years old at the time of his death.

Filmography

Robert Frank "Rob" Grill (November 30, 1943 – July 11, 2011) was an American lead singer, songwriter and bass guitarist of the rock and roll band, The Grass Roots.

Grill launched a solo career in 1979, assisted on his solo album by several members of Fleetwood Mac. Responding to 60s nostalgia, Grill then reformed The Grass Roots (billed "The Grass Roots Starring Rob Grill") and had with the toured the United States with the reunited outfit since the 1980s.

Grill composed sixteen songs for The Grass Roots and his solo album. One of these appeared as a single "A" side. It is "Come On And Say It". His other fifteen compositions appeared on single "B" sides and albums. He wrote frequently with Warren Entner and they were considered a songwriting team. Grill played with The Grass Roots on sixteen albums, seven of which charted. He took part in thirty two Grass Roots singles released, twenty one of which charted.

Rob Grill Cause of Death
Grill died July 11, 2011 in an Orlando, Florida hospital. He had been in a coma since sustaining a head injury several weeks earlier when he fell after suffering a stroke in northern California. Rob Grill was 67 years old at the time of his death.

Michael Burston (October 23, 1949 – July 9, 2011) commonly known by the stage name Würzel, was an English musician and formerly a guitarist in the British heavy metal band, Motörhead.

Wurzel Cause of Death
On 9 July 2011, Tim Butcher — longtime bass technician of Motörhead leader Lemmy — reported that Würzel had died. The cause of death was ventricular fibrillation triggered by cardiomyopathy.  Wursel was 61 years old at the time of his death

*Ventricular fibrillation: uncoordinated contraction of the cardiac muscle of the ventricles in the heart.

Elizabeth Ann Bloomer Warren Ford (April 8, 1918 – July 8, 2011), better known as Betty Ford, was the wife of former United States President Gerald Ford and served as the First Lady of the United States from 1974 to 1977. As First Lady, Ford was active in social policy and shattered precedents as a politically active presidential wife.

Following her White House years, she continued to lobby for the ERA and remained active in the feminist movement. She is the founder, and served as the first chairwoman of the board of directors, of the Betty Ford Center for substance abuse and addiction and is a recipient of the Congressional Gold Medal (co-presentation with her husband, Gerald R. Ford, October 21, 1998) and the Presidential Medal of Freedom (alone, presented 1991, by George H.W. Bush).

On April 8, 2011, Ford turned 93, the same age that her late husband, President Ford reached on his last birthday, July 14, 2006.

Death 0f Betty Ford
Betty Ford died on July 8, 2011 in Rancho Mirage, California.  Cause of death was not released.

Roberts Scott Blossom (March 25, 1924 – July 8, 2011) was an American actor and poet.

Blossom won three Obie awards. After his long career, Roberts Blossom is perhaps best known for a small role in Home Alone.

In the thriller Deranged, Blossom played the leading role as killer Ezra Cobb. In the Oscar-winning film drama The Great Gatsby (1974), he was accompanied on-screen by Robert Redford. He won the Soapy Award for his role on Another World, on which he appeared from 1976-1977. In 1990 he starred in Home Alone as Kevin McCallister’s (Macaulay Culkin) snow-shoveling neighbor, Old Man Marley. In the comedy Doc Hollywood (1991), he appeared on-screen with Michael J. Fox.

He retired from acting in the late-1990s to pursue writing poetry. He lived in Berkeley, California, and resided in Southern California until his passing on July 8, 2011.

Roberts Blossom cause of death
Roberts Blossom died of natural causes.  Roberts Blossom was 87 years old at the time of his death.

"Deranged" movie trailer (1974 Roberts Blossom A.I.P.)

Manuel Galbán (1931 – July 7, 2011) was a Grammy winning Cuban guitarist, pianist and arranger, most notable for his work with Los Zafiros, Ry Cooder and the Buena Vista Social Club. The last surviving member of Los Zafiros,

In 2001 he recorded Mambo Sinuendo with Ry Cooder which won the 2003 Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental Album.

Manuel Galban Cause of Death
Manuel Galban passed away on July 7, 2011 of cardiac arrest at his home in Havana, Cuba. Manuel Galban was 80 years old at the time of his death.

Elaine Stewart (May 31, 1929 – June 27, 2011) was an American actress and model.

Stewart made her debut by winning Miss See in See Magazine in 1952, with measurements 34-25-36. She was in many magazines such as Playboy and Photoplay.

She had a supporting role in The Bad and the Beautiful (1952), as Laila. She appeared in other films, such as Brigadoon, Night Passage and The Adventures of Hajji Baba.

She is also known as the co-hostess on two 1970s game shows, Gambit with Wink Martindale and the nighttime edition of High Rollers with Alex Trebek, both produced by her husband.

Elaine Stewart cause of death
Elaine Stewart died after a long illness.
Elaine Stewart was 81 years old at the time of her death

Gambit (CBS) with Wink Martindale & Elaine Stewart 

Peter Michael Falk (September 16, 1927 – June 23, 2011) was an American actor, best known for his role as Lieutenant Columbo in the television series Columbo. He appeared in numerous films and television guest roles, and has been nominated for an Academy Award twice (for 1960’s Murder, Inc. and 1961’s Pocketful of Miracles), and won the Emmy Award on five occasions (four for Columbo) and the Golden Globe award once.

In 1968 he starred with Gene Barry in a ninety-minute TV pilot about a highly-skilled, laid-back detective. Columbo eventually became part of an anthology series entitled, The NBC Mystery Movie, along with McCloud and McMillan And Wife.

Peter Falk Cause of Death
Peter Falk died at his Beverly Hills home on June 23, 2011. According to his daughter, Catherine Falk, the actor had been suffering from dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Cause of death is not known.

 Columbo Fantastic Interrogation Example
Lower quality video, but this is also my favorite scene.

Eugene “Gene” Colan (September 1, 1926 – June 23, 2011) was an American comic book artist best known for his work for Marvel Comics, where his signature titles include the superhero series, Daredevil, the cult-hit satiric series Howard the Duck, and The Tomb of Dracula, considered one of comics’ classic horror series. He co-created the Falcon, the first African-American superhero in mainstream comics.

Colan was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2005.

Gene Colan cause of death
Gene Colan died, following complications from liver disease and a broken hip received in a fall.  Gene Colan was 84 years old at the time of his death.