Entertainment industry obituaries

[Rewind]

Herman won Tony awards for Hello Dolly and La Cage Aux Folles and in 2009 was honored with a Tony for Lifetime Achievement. He also composed the scores for Parade, From A To Z, Mack & Mabel, Milk & Honey, Dear World and The Grand Tour. Among his best-known songs: Hello Dolly, Put On Your Sunday Clothes, If He Walked Into My Life and We Need A Little Christmas.

Mame, Hello Dolly, La Cage Aux Folles composer Jerry Herman dies at 88

https://www.wlwt.com/article/mame-an...t-88/30343814#

[Rewind]

LaBeef, born Thomas Paulsley LaBeff in Smackover, Arkansas, formed a country band when he was 18 and began performing in clubs and on the radio. LeBeef released 25 albums and had minor country hits with I'm Through, Every Day, Blackland Farmer and a remake of Jimmie Rodgers' Oh Oh I'm Falling In Love Again.

Rockabilly veteran Sleepy LaBeef dies at 84

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/...153834294.html

[Rewind]

Mendelson produced a documentary about Willie Mays. Then he produced a documentary about Charles Schulz. Then Coca-Cola management asked if he'd like to produce an animated Christmas special they could sponsor. Schulz allowed Mendelson to use the Peanuts characters and A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) became the first of 45 (so far) Peanuts specials. There have also been five Peanuts feature films and three Peanuts television series. Good grief!

Lee Mendelson, Peanuts producer and Christmas Time Is Here co-writer, dies at 86

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/m...d-obit-931727/

[Rewind]

In Vladimir Nabokov's 1955 novel Lolita, a middle-aged professor becomes sexually obsessed with a 12-year-old girl who reminds him of a childhood sweetheart who had died of cancer. He marries the girl's mother and begins an affair with his new stepdaughter. The novel was first published in France after six American publishers rejected it. I can't imagine any American publisher putting out such a book in 2019. Fifteen-year-old Sue Lyon starred in the 1962 movie adaptation and later appeared in The Night Of The Iguana, The Flim-Flam Man, 7 Women, Tony Rome and Four Rode Out.

Sue Lyon, teenage star of Stanley Kubrick's Lolita, dies at 73

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/ne...was-73-1265070

[Rewind]

The surreal, unpredictable, norm-shattering sketch comedy series Monty Python's Flying Circus aired on the BBC from 1969 to 1974. Beginning in 1974, the episodes were shown on PBS in the United States. There were also five Monty Python movies, 15 comedy albums, several books and a touring stage show. Jim Carrey, Mike Myers, Seth MacFarlane, Weird Al Yankovic, The Simpsons creator Matt Groening and South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone are among the many entertainers who credit Monty Python as a major influence.

Neil Innes, Monty Python collaborator and Rutles singer, dies at 75

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation...dies-at-age-75

[Rewind]

Producer Herb Bernstein heard Tanega singing at a camp in the Catskills in 1965 and brought her to see Four Seasons songwriter/producer Bob Crewe, who signed her to his New Voice label. Her first single, Walkin' My Cat Named Dog, was a #22 hit in the first week of April 1966. Yes, she really did have a cat named Dog. On April 16, Tanega performed the song – lip-synced it, actually – on American Bandstand. She never had another hit.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SPZVrmJ2HH8

Singer-songwriter Norma Tanega dies of cancer at 80

http://normatanega.com/site/biography/

[Rewind]

Lexii, born Alexis Alijai Lynch, was the granddaughter of Roger Troutman, who, with his three brothers and some friends, formed Zapp in 1977 and had hits with Computer Love, More Bounce To The Ounce and I Want To Be Your Man. Lexii released several mixtapes and original songs via SoundCloud. Among her best-known songs: 18, Jealous, Joseph's Coat, Cold Hearted, Growing Pains and Love Me For Me. Roger died in 1999 after being shot several times by his brother Larry, who then committed suicide. Lexii died today. She was only 21.

Rapper Lexii Alijai dies at 21

https://heavy.com/entertainment/2020...ies-at-age-21/

[Rewind]

Sheldon released 22 albums as a bandleader and/or singer and recorded several albums with Stan Kenton, Herbie Mann, André Previn, Tom Waits, Art Pepper, Anita O'Day and others. Sheldon also was a trumpet player and music director on The Merv Griffin Show, co-starred in The Cara Williams Show (1964-65), starred in Run Buddy Run (1966-67) and appeared in several episodes of Dragnet.

Jack Sheldon, jazz trumpeter and Schoolhouse Rock! singer, dies at 88

https://www.latimes.com/obituaries/s...-rock-obituary

[Rewind]

Grebb played keyboards, guitar and saxophone with the Buckinghams, who had five top-20 hits in 1967-68: Kind Of A Drag, Don't You Care, Mercy Mercy Mercy, Susan and Hey Baby They're Playing Our Song. When the Buckinghams broke up in 1970, Grebb joined Lovecraft. When Lovecraft broke up in 1972, he formed the Fabulous Rhinestones. He also released two solo albums, toured with Chicago in 1980-81 and was a member of Bonnie Raitt's band for 25 years. Grebb committed suicide this morning. Yikes!

Buckinghams keyboardist Marty Grebb dies at 73

https://sportinfo.com.ng/marty-grebb...t-passed-away/

[Rewind]

The telenovela Yo Soy Betty, La Fea ("I am Betty, the ugly one") aired on Colombian television from 1999 to 2001. Adaptations of the series have been produced in 25 countries. Nine are still on the air in 2020. The United States adaptation, Ugly Betty, starred America Ferrara and aired on ABC from 2006 to 2010. Horta was the head writer and executive producer. He had previously written and produced the sci-fi series Jake 2.0 and The Chronicle.

Silvio Horta, Ugly Betty creator, found dead of apparent suicide at 45

https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/sil...ty-1203459934/