[TheZookie007]

William Hurt was a great actor. He pulled the extremely rare feat of being nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor back-to-back-to-back in 1986 (Kiss of the Spider Woman), in 1987 (Broadcast News), and in 1988 (Children of a Lesser God). He of course won the Oscar for Kiss of the Spider Woman.

I liked him as Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross in the MCU (The Incredible Hulk, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame and Black Widow.) but I think Sam Elliott was just as good as the character in 2003's Hulk.

[TheZookie007]

"Traci Braxton, Singer and Braxton Family Values Star, Dies at 50"

Traci Braxton, a singer and actress who appeared with her sisters on the WE tv reality series Braxton Family Values, has died after a battle with esophageal cancer. She was 50.

Her younger sister, Toni Braxton, shared the news in an Instagram post:

"It is with the utmost regret that we inform you of the passing of our sister, Traci. Needless to say, she was a bright light, a wonderful daughter, an amazing sister, a loving mother, wife, grandmother and a respected performer. We will miss her dearly.

Traci passed this morning as the snow was falling, our angel is now a snowflake.

We ask that you respect our privacy as we plan to send her home with love, celebrating her life.

We are family forever.

Love,

The Braxton Family"

The younger sister of R&B superstar Toni Braxton, Traci Braxton co-starred with Toni and her other sisters — Towanda, Trina and Tamar — on Braxton Family Values, a reality series exploring their lives which ran for seven seasons on WE tv from 2011-2020. The show became one of the network's biggest hits, averaging 1.5 million viewers for the fourth season.

All five sisters had been signed to Arista Records in 1989 and released a single, "Good Life," as a fivesome the following year. But the song failed to become a hit, and in 1991, L.A. Reid and Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds' LaFace Records signed Toni as a solo artist — launching a long hit-making career.

After the reality show took off, Traci Braxton launched a solo music career with her 2014 solo album Crash & Burn whose single, "Last Call," reached No. 16 on Billboard's R&B Adult chart.

In addition, Traci Braxton hosted a radio show on the internet station BLIS.FM and acted in such films as 2018's Sinners Wanted and the upcoming Chaaw.

[TheZookie007]

The first American woman to ever become Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, died on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. She was 84.

[TheZookie007]

Always on the list of best contemporary drummers, Taylor Hawkins was a member of Foo Fighters since 1997.

On March 25, 2022, emergency services were called to the Casa Medina hotel in Bogotá, Colombia, where Hawkins was suffering from chest pain in his hotel room. Health personnel arrived and found Hawkins unresponsive; they performed CPR, but he was declared dead at the scene. No cause of death was given. The following day, Colombian authorities announced that a preliminary urine toxicology test indicated that Hawkins had ten substances in his system at the time of his death, including opioids, benzodiazepines, tricyclic antidepressants, and THC, the psychoactive compound in cannabis.

He was 50 years old.

From their 2007 album Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace:

"The Pretender"




From their 2005 album In Your Honor:

"Best of You"




From their 2002 album One on One:

"All My Life"

[TheZookie007]

The New York Times, March 31, 2022: "Paul Herman, Mainstay of Gangster Movies, Is Dead at 76"

[MaxBigfoot]

The New York Times, March 31, 2022: "Paul Herman, Mainstay of Gangster Movies, Is Dead at 76"

Please don't link up articles I need to get a subscription to read.

[solvegas]

Bill Fries, whose stage name was C.W. McCall back in the 70's and 80's, was a Country music star who mostly did trucker songs and is best known for his #1 hit, " Convoy", which inspired a Sam Peckinpah movie. This happened in 1976 during the CB (Citizens Band) craze. He died of cancer at age 93 in April 1,2022. 

[TheZookie007]

Nehemiah Persoff — who appeared in the likes of The Harder They Fall, Some Like It Hot, Yentl and An American Tail — died on April 5 at age 102.

The Israel native is survived by his four children and five grandchildren.

Barbra Streisand, who played his daughter in the title role of Yentl, paid tribute to her co-star on Twitter: "Nicky lived a long loving life. I'll miss you Papa!!"

[TheZookie007]

Gilbert Gottfried, the comedian, “Aladdin” star and owner of the most recognizable voice in Hollywood, has died after battling a long illness, his family announced Tuesday. He was 67.

His publicist told the Washington Post that he died due to complications from muscular dystrophy.

“We are heartbroken to announce the passing of our beloved Gilbert Gottfried after a long illness. In addition to being the most iconic voice in comedy, Gilbert was a wonderful husband, brother, friend and father to his two young children. Although today is a sad day for all of us, please keep laughing as loud as possible in Gilbert’s honor,” his family wrote on Twitter.

Many people in Hollywood, including comedians Jason Alexander, Dane Cook and more, paid tribute to Gottfried after the shocking news of his death. “Gilbert Gottfried was never not funny,” wrote Cook. “He was a lovely guy, always friendly and made many people happy.”

[rtpoe]

Like all great comics, Gottfried tailored his material to his audience.

Here he is, one memorable day on Hollywood Squares:


"The best part of his career, however, was just how over-the-top blue he worked. It was an act that did not border on tasteless. It crossed the border, rampaged through Tastelessland, and set up a puppet regime in the burned out wreckage of its capital, Tasteless City." - Craig Calcaterra

Like when he roasted George Takei at the Friar's Club:

[TheZookie007]

They almost literally invented the phrase "too soon! too soon!" for Gilbert Gottfried, who made one of the first public jokes about September 11, 2001:

“I have to catch a flight to California,” he told the crowd during Friar’s Club Roast of Hugh Hefner a few weeks after that day. “I can’t get a direct flight. They said they have to stop at the Empire State Building first.”

[TheZookie007]

"9 minutes of Gilbert Gottfried giving ZERO F***S on The Ce l ebr ity Apprentice"

[MaxBigfoot]

That's the thing with Gilbert.  Half the time you were laughing, and the rest of the time you were going, "I can't believe he said that!".

[TheZookie007]

That's the thing with Gilbert.  Half the time you were laughing, and the rest of the time you were going, "I can't believe he said that!".

And somehow, he always got away with it.

What a guy.

[TheZookie007]

Variety, April 17, 2022: "Patrick Carlin, Comedy Raconteur and Influence on Brother George Carlin, Dies at 90"