I was watching the TCM Turner Classic Movies the other night and they showed this tribute to to all of our fallen actors, actresses, directors, producers and writers.
I thought it was very well done and I love the song that they used in the tribute. The song is “Before You Go” by OK Sweetheart (lyrics). Once the tribute finished, I Googled the song to find out all I could about the song and who sang it. It is now on my iPod.
Here is a list from the Toronto Sun of the Celebrity Deaths of 2011.
JANUARY
2 –Actor Pete Postlethwaite, age 64, pancreatic cancer
3 — Actress Anne Francis, age 80, lung cancer
4 — Singer/songwriter Gerry Rafferty, age 63, after a long illness
8 –Canadian actor Peter Donaldson, 57, cancer
11 — Canadian actor Al Kozlik, 76, stroke
15 –Stage director Michael Langham, 91, natural causes
23 — Jack LaLanne, father of the fitness movement, age 96, pneumonia
24 –Canadian dancer Lois Smith, 81, complications from Alzheimer’s
FEBRUARY
16 –Actor Len Lesser (aka Seinfeld’s “Uncle Leo”), age 88, cancer-related pneumonia
28 –Actress Jane Russell, age 89, respiratory illness
MARCH
8 –Alice in Chains bassist Mike Star, age 44, drugs and alcohol overdose
15 –Musician Nate Dogg (aka Nathaniel Dwayne Hale), age 41, heart failure
17 — Actor Michael Gough (Alfred the Butler in the Burton/Schumacher Batman films), age 94, natural causes
21 — Soul/disco singer Loleatta Holloway, age 64, heart failure
23 –Actress Elizabeth Taylor, age 79, heart failure
26 –Air Farce actor Roger Abbott, age 64, chronic lymphocytic leukemia
APRIL
9 — Director Sidney Lumet, age 87,
25 –Singer Poly Styrene (aka Marianne Joan Elliott-Said), age 53, cancer
26 — Singer Phoebe Snow, age 60, complications resulting from a cerebral hemorrhage
MAY
20 –Randy “Macho Man” Savage, age 58, heart attack followed by car crash
27 –Actor Jeff Conaway, age 60, pneumonia
30 — Actress Clarice Taylor (“Cosby Show” grandman), age 93, congestive heart failure
JUNE
3 — Actor James Arness (Gunsmoke), age 88, natural causes
18 –Saxaphonist Clarence Clemons (Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band), age 69, complications from stroke
20 –Jackass star Ryan Dunn, age 34, car accident
23 — Actor Peter Falk (Columbo), age 83, cardio respiratory arrest with pneumonia
JULY
12 –Sherwood Schwartz (Brady Bunch creator), age 94, natural causes
21 –Elwy Yost, Canadian film historian and TV host, age 86, natural causes
23 –Soul-pop singer Amy Winehouse, age 27, alcohol poisoning
AUGUST
3 — Actor/NFLer Bubba Smith, age 66, drug intoxication and heart disease
10 –Jani Lane (frontman of rockband Warrant), age 47, alcohol poisoning
15 –Russell Armstrong (“Real Housewives” husband), age 47, suicide
22 –Actor Michael Showers, age 45, drowning
22 –R&B singer Nick Ashford, age 70, throat cancer
29 –Bluesman David “Honeyboy” Edwards, age 96, heart failure
SEPTEMBER
10 — Actor Cliff Robertson, age 88, natural causes
15 –Canadian actress Frances Bay, age 92, complications from pneumonia
30 –Alexander Grant, former artistic director of National Ballet of Canada, age 86, natural causes
OCTOBER
5 — Actor Charles Napier, age 75, natural causes
8 –Mikey Welsh (former Weezer bassist), age 40, suspected drug overdose leading to heart attack
NOVEMBER
3 –Gwar guitarist Cory Smoot (aka Flattus Maximus), age 34, undetermined
4 — Journalist Andy Rooney (60 Minutes), age 92, complications from surgery
8 –Rapper Heavy D, age 44, pneumonia
8 –Cartoonist Bill Keane (“Family Circus”), age 89, unknown
19 –John Neville, actor and former artistic director of the Stratford Shakespearean Festival, age 86, natural causes
21 — Sci-fi writer Anne McCaffrey, age 85, stroke
27 — Director Ken Russell, age 84, natural causes
DECEMBER
7 –Actor Harry Morgan (Col. Potter on M*A*S*H), age 96, pneumonia
8 — Comics writer Jerry Robinson, age 89,
15 — Writer/politico Christopher Hitchens, age 62, complications from cancer
26 — Comedy writer Joe Bodolai, age 63, suicide by poisoning
(List may not include everyone who passed away in 2011.)
This is one of my favorite quotes from the TV show The West Wing, episode 20 Hours in America (2002).
President Josiah Bartlet: “… The streets of heaven are too crowded with angels…”
Filed under: In Memoriam, Movies | Tagged: Before You Go, OK Sweetheart, TCM, Turner Classic Movies | Leave a Comment »
