Animated Views Celebrity Obituary Thread

GeorgeC · Post by **GeorgeC** » June 7th, 2009, 1:31 pm

UPDATE:
http://specials.msn.com/A-List/Millvina ... ina%20Dean

Links a-plenty to Titanic-related items.

Oh, and the Renault car loaded into one of the cargo bays?

One of the expeditions that went into the ship's interiors found the crate the car was supposedly placed in. The inside contents of the crate were in such a bad shape that it was hard to identify anything. I think something like a hub cap or wheel might have been photographed. The car probably would have disintegrated into a big rust pile by now what with with the salt content of the water...

Good luck finding anything valuable in the wreck's cargo holds. Everything's smashed or disintegrated into a rubbish pile.

The main values of the Titanic itself are biological, architectural, and investigative.

Biological as in seeing how the sea claims and recycles shipwrecks of which this particular wreck is a fascinating example of bacteriological recycling.

Architectural as in examining the break-up and survival of components of the hull. It's a rich example of the aftermath of a wreck. It's a great way to understand the forces that stress hulls and what happens when you go past the breaking point.

Investigative as in historical examination and a kind of CSI, post-mortem examination of a victim. What can be identified after decades of decay? How were things/structural components damaged or misplaced (tying into architectural investigations)?

This story won't be over until the wreck finally collapses into an orange rust pile which is still a few decades off.

GeorgeC · Post by **GeorgeC** » June 23rd, 2009, 9:08 am

Ed McMahon, longtime second banana and sidekick to Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show has passed away at UCLA Medical Center after a long illness.

He was 86 years old.

McMahon was a staple of late night talk over the course of 3 decades and became a celebrity in his own right hosting Star Search in the 1980s and co-hosting TV Bloopers and Practical Jokes specials with Dick Clark.

McMahon was a favorite spoof target in both animation and live-action. He was also famously made into a Spitting Image puppet in the late 1980s.

GeorgeC · Post by **GeorgeC** » June 25th, 2009, 1:35 pm

Farrah Fawcett passed away this morning in Santa Monica. She was 62.

She had battled cancer for over two-and-a-half years and had a relapse earlier this year when it was revealed it had spread to her liver. She voluntarily stopped treatments in May.

Best known for her role on the original "Charlie's Angels" TV series and for a millions-selling bathing suit poster, Fawcett is survived by her companion Ryan O'Neal and their son.

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I didn't much care for her Lifetime Cancer special.

Things like this are tough and I think generally better left private. It's painful enough dealing with these diseases when they're not immediately life-threatening. I think most of us knew Fawcett's case was terminal. We just never expected it to end this quickly after the publicity of the recent film she made. A lot of times when celebrities bring news to their diseases and other medical maladies, it seems self-serving even if the intentions are not purely selfish and for PR.

Regardless of how I felt about that special, I am sorry for her family and friends. She was in a lot of pain for a long period of time and ultimately death was her last relief.

Another icon passes on...

GeorgeC · Post by **GeorgeC** » June 25th, 2009, 1:50 pm

One last look back....

How many people will remember her.

GeorgeC · Post by **GeorgeC** » June 25th, 2009, 5:58 pm

http://www.tmz.com/

In addition to Farrah Fawcett, there's word that Michael Jackson passed away today.

He suffered a heart attack at home and was rushed to an LA Hospital. Attempts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful.

The MSM is being mum about it until further confirmation but TMZ says he has died...

Post by **Whippet Angel** » June 25th, 2009, 9:47 pm

Good God, I STILL can't believe it.

Say what you will about his odd lifestyle, but you must admit, the man was immensely talented.

Post by **Josh** » June 26th, 2009, 12:05 pm

Cartoon Brew has a nice summary of Jackon's animation-related works.

On a side note, I had no clue Brad Bird directed the "Do the Bartman" music video.

Post by **eddievalient** » June 27th, 2009, 10:21 am

I think the last Michael Jackson album I heard was HIStory, but my sisters and I listened to his music a lot growing up. I still think Thriller is a great short film and it's a shame they couldn't find a way to expand it to feature length. It would be a great tribute to the man if someone made a musical film building a story around his existing songs (ala Across The Universe). There must be a hundred different ways it could be done, so hopefully someone will think of something.

Post by **droosan** » June 30th, 2009, 8:57 am

In addition to the stuff listed on Cartoon Brew, an animated 'Max Headroom-esque' Michael Jackson appeared as a 'video waiter' in Back to the Future II's 'Cafe 80's' sequence .. and a character named 'Space Michael', seen in both Space Channel 5 video games, was voiced by (and patterned after) Jackson ..

GeorgeC · Post by **GeorgeC** » July 7th, 2009, 12:58 am

I get really annoyed with these 24-hour-a-day news cycles. Please, do your jobs guys and report on more than the same half-dozen stories 80 times a day!

There are tons of things happening in the world now that are more important than Michael Jackson's death. Wars are happening on most major continents and governments are being mismanaged left and right!

Seriously, Michael Jackson hasn't been "hip" for over 20 years and now he's being proclaimed the greatest entertainer ever? Who are the media kidding? These are the same jerks who couldn't wait to tear into him after his post-Thriller albums didn't live up to their sales and hype and especially after the alleged child molestations!

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I felt this way during coverage for both Princess Diana's and Reagan's passings, too.

Reagan was arguably the most impactive of the three famous persons/celebrities I've mentioned but even I felt the week-long "funeral dirge" for him on network TV was a bit much...

The news media obviously feels most of us think our lives are worthless and that we have to live vicariously through rich and famous people.

What a joke!

They become less relevant to me the more obvious their manipulation becomes... Thank goodness for TCM and the Discovery Networks.

Post by **estefan** » July 7th, 2009, 5:59 am

I agree. Before his death, nobody would give Michael Jackson the time of day and labeled him as a monster and a crazy person and now he's a musical genius?

Post by **eddievalient** » July 7th, 2009, 8:37 am

Have you listened to any of his music lately? Whatever you thought of his personal life, he WAS a musical genius.

Post by **estefan** » July 7th, 2009, 10:44 am

Oh, no. I'm not denying that his music was very good (particularly in the '80s), but you can't deny that people were calling him a monster and a weirdo and after his death a couple of weeks, suddenly people shifted their views. I definitely think we should be looking at his music rather than his controversies and personal life, but it only took until his death for people to actually do that.

Nonetheless, in regards to the world of music, I think the Beatles are going to be (and still are) more culturally significant.

Post by **Ben** » July 9th, 2009, 5:52 am

Good points on both sides.

I wasn't a <I>huge</I> fan, and whatever one thinks about the man, the music and the image was what made him, and there isn't anyone else out there like this in the world anymore.

RIP MJ.

GeorgeC · Post by **GeorgeC** » August 6th, 2009, 9:15 pm

http://movies.msn.com/movies/article.as ... &GT1=28101

John Hughes, the director of "Ferris Bueller," "The Breakfast Club," and so many other teen comedies of the 1980s has passed away from an apparent heart attack. He was 59.

Hughes was visiting family in NYC when the episode occurred during a morning walk.

And so another iconic entertainment figure passes on...

Animated Views Celebrity Obituary Thread

RIP, Ed McMahon

RIP, Farrah Fawcett

RIP, Michael Jackson

RIP, John Hughes -- director of "Ferris Bueller"