07:17 AM EDT 07/24/2008
Tributes
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Golden Girls Star Estelle Getty Dies at 84
Originally posted 07/22/2008 02:10PM
Estelle Getty, who won an Emmy and a Golden Globe as the tart-tongued Sophia Petrillo – mother of Bea Arthur's character – on TV's The Golden Girls, has died. She was 84.
Getty's longtime manager, Alan Siegel, told PEOPLE on Tuesday: "As of 5:35 this morning, surrounded by her family in her Hollywood Hills home, Estelle Getty passed away peacefully in her sleep of natural causes. Her family and close friends thank everyone for being so loving and supportive of Estelle in her last few years."
For many years, Getty had suffered with Lewy's Body Dementia, which has been described as a type of Alzheimer's disease.
Also starring with Betty White and Rue McClanahan on the NBC sitcom, Getty's Sophia resulted in her receiving seven Emmy nominations, and a win in 1988. Equally winning were her well-delivered insults on the show. A typical Petrillo put-down: "I think there's a connection between your brain and wallpaper paste."
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Gone With the Wind Costar Evelyn Keyes Dies at 91
Originally posted 07/14/2008 04:25PM
Evelyn Keyes – who as Suellen O'Hara in 1939's Gone With the Wind had her beau Frank Kennedy stolen away by her older sister, Scarlett O'Hara – died July 4 of uterine cancer at her home in Montecito, near Santa Barbara, Calif., the Associated Press reports. She was 91.
In real life, besides some high-profile marriages to Big Band leader extraordinaire Artie Shaw, illustrious film directors John Huston and Charles Vidor, Keyes had numerous lovers – at least 20, by one count.
One, the impresario Mike Todd, she lost to another, much younger screen beauty: Elizabeth Taylor.
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Former White House Press Secretary Tony Snow Dies at 53
Originally posted 07/12/2008 10:35AM
Former White House press secretary Tony Snow died Saturday after a second battle with cancer. He was 53.
"The Snow family has lost a beloved husband and father. And America has lost a devoted public servant and a man of character," President Bush said Saturday in a statement. "It was a joy to watch Tony at the podium each day."
Snow, who had been undergoing chemotherapy treatments for a recurrence of the disease, which he spoke to PEOPLE in May 2007 about, served as press secretary from May 2006 to September 14, 2007. He then joined CNN as a conservative commentator.
"To find yourself the object of love of people you don't know, that hits you. It's incredibly moving," Snow told PEOPLE of the outpouring of well-wishes he received.
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Bozo the Clown Actor Larry Harmon Dies at 83
Originally posted 07/03/2008 06:35PM
Larry Harmon, who played the beloved character Bozo the Clown, has died at 83, the Associated Press reports.
The actor died Thursday of congestive heart failure at his home, said his publicist, Jerry Digney.
"Bozo is a combination of the wonderful wisdom of the adult and the childlike ways in all of us," Harmon said in a 1996 interview of the character he was so famous for.
Harmon was not original Bozo, but portrayed the clown in many appearances – including at the Rose Parade in Pasadena in 1996 – and licensed the character to others.
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Paul McCartney Opens Up About Final Moments with George Harrison
Originally posted 07/01/2008 07:30AM
I Want to Hold Your Hand. And they did.
So says Paul McCartney, speaking for the first time of his final moments with fellow Beatle George Harrison, who was succumbing to cancer.
"We held hands," McCartney, 66, tells Britain's Uncut magazine. "It's funny, even at the height of our friendship, as guys, you'd never hold hands."
"I sat with him for a few hours when he was in treatment about 10 days from his death," McCartney says of Harrison, who died in 2001, at the age of 58. "We joked about things – just amusing, nutty stuff. It was good. It was like we were dreaming."
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Carlin Remembered: He Helped Other Comics with Drug Problems
Originally posted 06/24/2008 08:20AM
Despite his gruff stage persona, offstage the late George Carlin was a gentleman who showed kindness to strangers and offered a hand to others hoping to beat addiction problems, Tom Arnold and other comics tell PEOPLE – while Jerry Seinfeld and Joan Rivers are expressing their appreciation of their unsentimental friend.
"Several times he'd call young comics who were messed up on drugs, and just introduce himself as 'George, a recovering addict, and why don't you go to a meeting with me or we can get together and talk,' " says Arnold, 49, who's also battled with drugs and alcohol. "And it blew them away. Nobody said no."
Arnold and those other comics who worked alongside Carlin over the decades made their remarks Monday night at Hollywood's the Laugh Factory, during a taping of Supreme Court of Comedy. Carlin, 71, died of heart failure Sunday.
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Ben Stiller, Jay Leno Pay Tribute to George Carlin
Originally posted 06/23/2008 03:35PM
George Carlin – who once wryly wondered, "Why do they lock gas station bathrooms? Are they afraid someone will clean them?" – is being mourned by fellow comedians such as Ben Stiller and Jay Leno, not only for being a groundbreaker in entertainment but an individual of great honor.
"George Carlin was a hugely influential force in stand-up comedy," Stiller, 42, said in a statement. "He had an amazing mind, and his humor was brave, and always challenging us to look at ourselves and question our belief systems, while being incredibly entertaining. He was one of the greats and he will be missed."
Carlin, 71, died Sunday of heart failure.
Staff members of Saturday Night Live and David Letterman's Late Show are said to devastated by the loss, a former associate of both programs tells PEOPLE.
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Legendary Comedian George Carlin Dies at 71
Originally posted 06/23/2008 06:15AM
George Carlin, the edgy comedian and counterculture icon, died Sunday at the age of 71.
The stand-up comic and author – best known for his groundbreaking routine "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television" – reportedly died of heart failure at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica. (Carlin, who was open about his long struggle with drugs and alcohol, had a history of heart problems, including a previous heart attack.)
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Luke Russert Delivers His 'Dad's Last Speech'
Originally posted 06/18/2008 03:15PM
A composed, 22-year-old Luke Russert delivered what he termed "my Dad's last speech" at funeral services in Washington, D.C., Wednesday for powerhouse journalist Tim Russert. The elder Russert, longtime host of NBC's Meet the Press, died Friday of a heart attack at age 58.
"My dad was my best friend," said the younger Russert, who acknowledged wondering if he were capable of speaking at the service. "Well dad, I am the man for this job."
Speaking for his father, he advised parents, journalists and politicians to be their best selves. Saying that "we are all a small part of a grand design," Luke told his listeners: "Anyone can withstand anything" – even the loss of a beloved father.
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Elegant MGM Dance Star Cyd Charisse Dies at 86
Originally posted 06/17/2008 06:00PM
Movie dancer Cyd Charisse – whose elegant legwork wooed Fred Astaire in such classic '50s musicals as The Band Wagon and Silk Stockings and Gene Kelly in Singin' in the Rain and Brigadoon – died early Tuesday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center after suffering an apparent heart attack, says her rep. She was 86.
The resident MGM ballet dancer at the height of Hollywood's golden era of musicals had danced in the Ballet Russes before landing at the studio – though for all the glamour she exuded, Charisse, who was adored by her coworkers, was often referred to by her real name, Tula Finklea, from Amarillo Texas.
Kelly, an ardent fan of his beautiful brunette costar, would often lament that MGM didn't really know what to do with her, and once the studio system collapsed, Charisse made only the occasional appearance, often on TV or in nightclubs with her husband since 1948, singer Tony Martin. (Her first husband, from 1939-47, was the dancer Nico Charisse.)
Martin, who earlier this year – at age 95 – performed a well-received live performance at Feinstein's cabaret in New York, survives her.
– Stephen M. Silverman
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