Ruth Slenczynska obit

Ruth Slenczynska, last surviving pupil of Rachmaninoff, dies aged 101

 

She was not on the list.

Virtuoso pianist Ruth Slenczynska, who was the last surviving pupil of Sergei Rachmaninoff, has died at the age of 101, following an astonishing nine-decade career.

Born in California to Polish parents, the musician gave her first recital at the age of four, and debuted with a full orchestra in Paris aged seven.

Noted for her impeccable technique and musical insight, she played for five US Presidents - even performing a four-hand Mozart duet with Harry Truman at the White House.

Slenczynska performed into her 90s, releasing her final album in 2022. She died peacefully at an assisted living facility in California, said her former pupil Shelly Moorman-Stahlman in a statement to the BBC.

"Tonight, heaven gained a very special angel," said the musician and teacher, adding that Slenczynska's health had faltered after a series of falls.

During recent visits, "she was particularly energetic and mentally clear" and even "played the piano one day", Moorman-Stahlman recalled.

"Always a teacher, during a conversation about a recent performance with orchestra, she 'assigned' me the Mozart Concerto in A M[inor] to learn and bring to her the next time we visited."

After another fall, however, she "passed away peacefully" surrounded by friends, including Moorman-Stahlman's husband, Randy.

Born in 1925, Slenczynska was heralded one of the greatest child prodigies since Mozart.

A Pathé newsreel, filmed when she was five years old, noted that the toddler had "surprised musical critics by her playing of Beethoven".

Her concerts were "an electrifying experience," wrote the New York Times in 1933, "something nature has produced in one of her most bounteous moods".

The musician's father, Josef Slenczynski, was a well-known violinist and head of the Warsaw Conservatory before being wounded during World War One.

After moving to America, he resolved to raise a successful musician, and deemed his daughter a potential pianist or violinist within hours of her birth.

By the age of three, she was versed in basic musical theory and harmony - and the family moved to Europe so she could access the best teachers and rub shoulders with the most influential musicians of the day.

Tyrannical rule

She met Rachmaninoff in 1934, after substituting for him in a concert.

"Mr Rachmaninov had to cancel due to a problem with his elbow," she later recalled. "The manager did not want to lose money from the ticket sales so he contacted my father to see if I could play the concert."

She was summoned to meet the maestro soon afterwards.

"I was a frightened little girl at the door of his apartment at the Villa Majestic in Paris," Slenczynska told NPR in 2022, "and he pointed this long index finger down at me and he said, 'You mean that plays the piano?'"

The nine-year-old shook in fear, until Rachmaninov sat her down and showed her a picture of his speed boat, making buzzing noises to imitate the motor.

Once calm, she played a showpiece for him, then transposed the key instantly when he requested. They became lifelong friends - and she often wore a Fabergé egg necklace that he had given her.

In those early years, she was mentored by Josef Hoffman, Alfred Cortot, Egon Petri and Artur Schnabel.

She also studied alongside Samuel Barber, hearing his world-famous Adagio for Strings in the classroom, before it even had its title.

However, the tyrannical rule of her father proved to be too much.

"The reason that people were startled at what I could do at the piano was quite simple: Father was making me practice nine hours a day, every single day of the week," she wrote in her 1957 autobiography, Forbidden Childhood.

"If I showed signs of wanting to be just an ordinary little girl, like wanting to cuddle my sisters' dolls or make a little noise or jump up and down and run with the neighbourhood kids, father would come down on me with his pail of ice-cold water: 'That's all baby stuff! You're not a baby. You're a musician. Stay away from those kids and their stupid games. It's all a waste of time! You've got to act like a grown-up young lady.'"

At the age of 15, she rejected her concert career, cut off her father completely, enrolled for a psychology degree at the University of California and eloped with a fellow student, named George Born.

The couple divorced in 1953 and, needing to make ends meet, Slenczynska began teaching piano. Before long, she returned to the stage, ending an absence of more than a decade.

Thereafter, she toured with the Boston Pops orchestra for four years, enjoying an on-stage rivalry with conductor Arthur Fiedler.

"At first, Mr Fiedler got standing ovations, and I didn't," she told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in 1999. "By the third year, I started getting them, too. I learned how to manage an audience, how to let them know you're glad to be there."

Finally, there was a concert in Chicago where a critic praised Slenczynska at Fiedler's expense, writing: "You don't serve champagne and beer together."

"After that, I was not renewed," she later remarked. "There was room for only one star on that tour."

Undeterred, she went on to record 10 sparkling LPs for Decca, showcasing her sense of drama and rhythmic control, especially when playing her speciality - the works of Chopin.

In 1961, she wrote a textbook - Music at Your Fingertips: Aspects of Pianoforte Technique - which remains in print, and later joined the Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, first as an artist-in-residence, then as a faculty member.

A couple of years later, she married for the second time, to Dr James Kerr, a political science professor. They remained together until his death in 2000, and she described him as the "love of my life".

"I'd marry him again if I could, he's still my sweetheart," she told The Guardian in 2022.

She remained active throughout her life - and, during the first Covid-19 lockdown in 2020, uploaded home recordings of Beethoven's Sonatas to YouTube, to celebrate his 250th anniversary.

She celebrated her 97th birthday with a recital at Lebanon Valley College, Pennsylvania; and returned to Decca in 2022 to record what would become her final album.

Titled My Life In Music, it included touching performances of pieces by Rachmaninoff, Bach and Debussy - approached with a sense of tender nostalgia, as she reflected on her career.

Among the recordings was a version of Chopin's Prelude in F Major, a tribute to her Polish roots, which became one of her personal favourites.

"I had the honour of being with her during her recording session," said Moorman-Stahlman.

"After recording several takes of this work... she quietly turned to me and said, 'This one is good. I would like to have this one played when I ascend into heaven'."

Formal plans for a memorial service and concert will be announced in the coming days.

Dean Tavoularis obi

Dean Tavoularis, Production Designer on the ‘Godfather’ Films and ‘Apocalypse Now,’ Dies at 93

The Oscar winner and five-time nominee teamed with Francis Ford Coppola on 13 features after getting his start as the art director on 'Bonnie and Clyde.'

 He was not on the list.

Dean Tavoularis, the revered Oscar-winning production designer who collaborated with Francis Ford Coppola on 13 films, including all three Godfather movies, Apocalypse Now and One From the Heart, has died. He was 93.

He died Wednesday night in a Paris hospital of natural causes, THR writer and film critic Jordan Mintzer reported. The two teamed on the 2022 book Conversations With Dean Tavoularis.

Tavoularis received his Academy Award in the best art direction-set decoration category for The Godfather Part II (1974) and also was nominated for his work on three other Coppola-directed films — Apocalypse Now (1979), Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988) and The Godfather Part III (1990) — plus William Friedkin‘s The Brink’s Job (1978).

In his first movie as art director, Tavoularis came up with the bleak Dust Bowl look for Arthur Penn’s fabled Bonnie and Clyde (1967), the first of six best picture nominees on which he worked. Two of those — the first two Godfather films — took home the ultimate prize.

Tavoularis also teamed with director Coppola on The Conversation (1974), The Outsiders (1983), Rumble Fish (1983), Peggy Sue Got Married (1986), Gardens of Stone (1987), New York Stories (1989) and Jack (1996).

Talking about Coppola, “There are many partnerships in all different kinds of businesses that can always turn out badly, but sometimes it can turn out to be a collaboration. You see eye to eye; you feel supportive,” Tavoularis said in a 2018 interview. “When you’re doing a film, no matter how tough you are, no matter how strong you are, you need a feeling of support. And I always had that with Francis.”

“Like all great collaborations,” Coppola said in 1997, “I began to depend on Dean. This grew into a natural and wordless collaboration, which provided so much comfort to me and added to the style of the films we worked on together.”

He received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Art Directors Guild in 2007.

For The Godfather Part II, Tavoularis transformed East Sixth Street between Avenues A and B in Lower Manhattan into Little Italy in 1918, complete with a dirt road and quaint, old-fashioned storefronts.

There was nothing quaint about the making of Apocalypse Now, for which Tavoularis created a nightmarish jungle kingdom with a decaying temple — inspired by the ancient Angkor Wat in Cambodia — as its centerpiece. His scheduled 14-week stay in the Philippines wound up lasting two years. (In all, the movie took four years to finish.)

“You never had the feeling at the end of the day that it is one day less and you were one day closer to completion,” he told the Los Angeles Times in 2012.

And for the nostalgic (and pricey) love story One From the Heart (1981), who needed to trek to Las Vegas when you could have Tavoularis construct a multimillion-dollar, high-tech version of Sin City at Coppola’s American Zoetrope in San Francisco?

Covering nine soundstages, his set included replicas of casinos and Fremont Street with loads of neon lights and a paved intersection, a residential neighborhood, a desert motel and a faux runway at McCarran International Airport.

“I’ve bought a movie studio, which is like getting a theater. What the hell am I going to Las Vegas for?” Coppola told Rolling Stone in 1982. “Let’s build it inside the studio and totally control it and have the sets be on one stage, as on Saturday Night Live, and have the actors literally perform it like a play — ‘Ready, begin!’ — and do the whole movie as a performance and then go back and put the cameras in different places with the transitions, music, everything. There’d be nothin’ like it!”

He continued, “Dean, in his mind, couldn’t get with the idea of creating the illusions of the movie with matte shots and trickery on that level. He wanted to build the fantasy — that’s what cost the extra 10 or so million dollars.”

On Thursday, Coppola called Tavoularis “a dear friend” and said his death is “a profound loss. I would be unable to list the many ways he benefited my work and my personal life. He was a great artist, a great friend, a great production designer and a great man.”

Constantine Tavoularis was born on May 18, 1932, in Lowell, Massachusetts. When he was a kid, the family moved to Los Angeles, where his dad was in the coffee business.

“We are Greek Americans, and one of [his father’s] clients was Fox studio, which was owned by [Greece native] Spyros Skouras,” Tavoularis said. “In the summer sometimes I would go with my dad and spend a day going around on his deliveries. We would drive back to the commissary, and you saw stage pieces and ladies dressed in their period gowns. It was a mysterious, magical paradise.”

He studied architecture and painting at Otis College of Art and Design and joined Disney as an in-betweener in its animation department, where one of the first films he worked on was Lady and the Tramp (1955).

He served under art director Robert Clatworthy on the live action Disney films Pollyanna (1960) and The Parent Trap (1961), then was Clatworthy’s assistant at Warner Bros. on Robert Mulligan’s Inside Daisy Clover (1965), set in Santa Monica in 1936.

Despite Tavoularis’ lack of experience, Penn gave him a great opportunity on Bonnie and Clyde, and he delivered.

“We made Bonnie and Clyde on a minuscule budget. It was barely more than a couple of million dollars,” Penn said. “But Dean Tavoularis and Theadora Van Runkle, who designed the costumes, created a whole era.”

 

After working on Michelangelo Antonioni’s Death Valley-set Zabriskie Point (1970), he reteamed with Penn on Little Big Man (1970), a Western filmed in Montana and Calgary.

 

Tavoularis first met Coppola while he was an assistant art director on the Marlon Brando-starring Candy (1968).

 

He said that Paramount execs pushed for the director to make The Godfather (1972) in St. Louis. “Why St. Louis? I went over there and looked around; it was ridiculous. It wouldn’t have made the picture better; they only wanted to escape the New York unions,” he said. “Everything that Paramount wanted would have made this movie a flop. Everything that Francis fought against and fought for made The Godfather a screen classic.”

 

For Apocalypse Now, Tavoularis went in search for helicopters and a river.

 

“We went to the Pentagon, this huge mythical Pentagon building, but the Department of Army read the script and they said, ‘No.’ No helicopters from the United States,” he recalled. “So we started looking for helicopters elsewhere — and we needed a river. … I went to Thailand, Borneo, Jakarta, Malaysia — it was educational, and I still remember the weirdness of these trips. I ended up in the Philippines, and like a lot of war films finally did, the government co-operated and gave us helicopters, and they had the rivers. So we shot the film in the Philippines.”

 

He once described the shoot as “living in the house of death that I was making.”

 

Tavoularis’ other credits included Farewell, My Lovely (1975), Caleb Deschanel’s The Escape Artist (1982), Wim Wenders’ Hammett (1982), Shelf Life (1993), Philip Kaufman’s Rising Sun (1993), Warren Beatty’s Bulworth (1998), Nancy Meyers’ The Parent Trap (1998), Roman Polanski’s The Ninth Gate (1999) and Roman Coppola’s CQ (2001).

 

After a decade away to paint, he returned to work for Polanski again on Carnage (2011), his final feature.

 

In The Offer, Paramount+’s 2022 limited series about the making of The Godfather, Tavoularis was portrayed by Eric Balfour.

 

Survivors include his second wife, French actress Aurore Clément, whom he met on the set of Apocalypse Now and then married in 1986 at Coppola’s home, and his daughters, Alison and Gina.

(His wife’s scenes in the mesmerizing French plantation sequence of Apocalypse Now were cut from the original release but restored for the expanded redux version.)

 

In an introduction to a 2007 exhibit that showcased Tavoularis’ career as a film designer and painter, writer Jean-Paul Scarpitta said the designer “attained a higher reality, that of poetry.”

 

“In his art, he doesn’t dwell on magic, visual deception, optical illusion or unreality … His penetrating eyes allow him to watch and feel things deeply, which leads him to capture what others are not privy to see: the gimmicks, the artifices, the tricks, the element of life upon which the veil of illusion is cast,” Scarpitta wrote. “In his mind, there is a clear parallel between painting and cinema, in that he considers one and the other as different yet compatible means to create an illusory world that only exists in a dimension of its own.”

Production Designer

A Therapy (2012)

A Therapy

6.1

Short

Production Designer

2012

 

Jodie Foster, John C. Reilly, Kate Winslet, and Christoph Waltz in Carnage (2011)

Carnage

7.1

Production Designer

2011

 

Jennifer Lopez in Angel Eyes (2001)

Angel Eyes

5.7

Production Designer

2001

 

CQ (2001)

CQ

6.2

Production Designer

2001

 

Johnny Depp in The Ninth Gate (1999)

The Ninth Gate

6.7

Production Designer

1999

 

Dennis Quaid, Natasha Richardson, and Lindsay Lohan in The Parent Trap (1998)

The Parent Trap

6.7

Production Designer

1998

 

Warren Beatty in Bulworth (1998)

Bulworth

6.8

Production Designer

1998

 

Robin Williams in Jack (1996)

Jack

5.8

Production Designer

1996

 

Julia Roberts and Nick Nolte in I Love Trouble (1994)

I Love Trouble

5.4

Production Designer

1994

 

Sean Connery and Wesley Snipes in Rising Sun (1993)

Rising Sun

6.3

Production Designer

1993

 

Shelf Life (1993)

Shelf Life

5.5

Production Designer

1993

 

The Godfather Trilogy: 1901-1980 (1992)

The Godfather Trilogy: 1901-1980

9.3

Video

Production Designer

1992

 

Kim Basinger and Richard Gere in Final Analysis (1992)

Final Analysis

5.9

Production Designer

1992

 

Al Pacino, Andy Garcia, Sofia Coppola, and Talia Shire in The Godfather Part III (1990)

The Godfather Part III

7.5

Production Designer

1990

 

New York Stories (1989)

New York Stories

6.4

Production Designer (segment "Life Without Zoe")

1989

 

Jeff Bridges in Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988)

Tucker: The Man and His Dream

6.9

Production Designer

1988

 

Mary Stuart Masterson and D.B. Sweeney in Gardens of Stone (1987)

Gardens of Stone

6.3

Production Designer

1987

 

Kathleen Turner in Peggy Sue Got Married (1986)

Peggy Sue Got Married

6.4

Production Designer

1986

 

Diane Lane, Matt Dillon, and Mickey Rourke in Rumble Fish (1983)

Rumble Fish

7.1

Production Designer

1983

 

Tom Cruise, Matt Dillon, Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe, Patrick Swayze, C. Thomas Howell, and Ralph Macchio in The Outsiders (1983)

The Outsiders

7.0

Production Designer

1983

 

Marilu Henner, Peter Boyle, Frederic Forrest, David Patrick Kelly, and Lydia Lei in Hammett (1982)

Hammett

6.4

Production Designer

1982

 

Teri Garr, Raul Julia, Desi Arnaz, and Griffin O'Neal in The Escape Artist (1982)

The Escape Artist

6.1

Production Designer

1982

 

Teri Garr in One from the Heart (1981)

One from the Heart

6.5

Production Designer

1981

 

Marlon Brando and Martin Sheen in Apocalypse Now (1979)

Apocalypse Now

8.4

Production Designer

1979

 

The Brink's Job (1978)

The Brink's Job

6.5

Production Designer

1978

 

Robert Mitchum in Farewell, My Lovely (1975)

Farewell, My Lovely

7.0

Production Designer

1975

 

Al Pacino in The Godfather Part II (1974)

The Godfather Part II

9.0

Production Designer

1974

 

Gene Hackman, John Cazale, and Allen Garfield in The Conversation (1974)

The Conversation

7.7

Production Designer

1974

 

Marlon Brando in The Godfather (1972)

The Godfather

9.2

Production Designer

1972

 

Dustin Hoffman in Little Big Man (1970)

Little Big Man

7.5

Production Designer

1970

 

Zabriskie Point (1970)

Zabriskie Point

6.9

Production Designer

1970

 

Art Director

A Man in Love (1987)

A Man in Love

5.8

Art Director

1987

 

Spoon River (1969)

Spoon River

TV Movie

Art Director

1969

 

Marlon Brando, Richard Burton, James Coburn, Walter Matthau, John Huston, Charles Aznavour, John Astin, Ewa Aulin, and Ringo Starr in Candy (1968)

Candy

5.1

Art Director

1968

 

The Young Loner (1968)

The Young Loner

7.6

TV Movie

Art Director

1968

 

Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway in Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

Bonnie and Clyde

7.7

Art Director

1967

 

Art Department

Burt Reynolds and Peter MacNicol in Heat (1986)

Heat

5.7

visual consultant

1986

 

Petulia (1968)

Petulia

6.8

associate art director

1968

 

Natalie Wood in Inside Daisy Clover (1965)

Inside Daisy Clover

6.1

assistant art director (uncredited)

1965

 

America America (1963)

America America

7.7

assistant art director (uncredited)

1963

 

Actor

Pina Colada (2009)

Pina Colada

Short

Vincent Miller

2009

 

CQ (2001)

CQ

6.2

Man at Screening (uncredited)

2001

 

Additional Crew

Wait Until Spring, Bandini (1989)

Wait Until Spring, Bandini

6.2

pre-production consultant

1989

 

Thanks

La saga Rassam-Berri, le cinéma dans les veines (2023)

La saga Rassam-Berri, le cinéma dans les veines

7.4

TV Movie

thanks

2023

 

Dans ta bouche (2010)

Dans ta bouche

Video

thanks

2010

 

Machete Maidens Unleashed! (2010)

Machete Maidens Unleashed!

7.3

our deepest appreciation to our interviewees

2010

 

Francis Ford Coppola in Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse (1991)

Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse

8.1

special thanks

1991

 

Marlon Brando and Al Pacino in The Godfather Family: A Look Inside (1990)

The Godfather Family: A Look Inside

7.8

TV Movie

thanks

1990

 

Self

The Look of One from the Heart (2024)

The Look of One from the Heart

Short

Self - Production Designer

2024

 

Kinoscope

Short

Self - Narrator (voice: English version)

2017

 

Machete Maidens Unleashed! (2010)

Machete Maidens Unleashed!

7.3

Self

2010

 

Les derniers révoltés d'Hollywood (2008)

Les derniers révoltés d'Hollywood

6.3

Self

2008

 

Revolution! The Making of 'Bonnie and Clyde' (2008)

Revolution! The Making of 'Bonnie and Clyde'

7.0

Video

Self

2008

 

The 11th Annual Art Directors Guild Awards

TV Special

Self

2007

 

Festival de Cine de San Sebastián (1996)

Festival de Cine de San Sebastián

TV Series

Self

2005

2 episodes

 

Masters of Production: The Hidden Art of Hollywood

7.7

TV Movie

Self

2004

 

Dean Tavoularis in Dean Tavoularis, le magicien d'Hollywood (2003)

Dean Tavoularis, le magicien d'Hollywood

6.7

TV Movie

Self

2003

 

The Godfather: On Location

6.6

Video

Self

2001

 

Metropolis (1995)

Metropolis

7.0

TV Series

Self

2001

1 episode

 

James Lipton in Inside the Actors Studio (1994)

Inside the Actors Studio

8.6

TV Series

Self

2001

1 episode

 

Writing with Light: Vittorio Storaro (1993)

Writing with Light: Vittorio Storaro

7.2

TV Movie

Self

1993

 

Francis Ford Coppola in Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse (1991)

Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse

8.1

Self

1991

 

The Making of 'One from the Heart' (1982)

The Making of 'One from the Heart'

6.5

Short

Self

1982

 

47th Annual Academy Awards (1975)

47th Annual Academy Awards

6.8

TV Special

Self - Winner

1975

 

Archive Footage

The Dream Studio (2004)

The Dream Studio

5.0

Video

Self (archive footage)

2004

Michael Tilson Thomas obit

Michael Tilson Thomas, Renowned Conductor, Dies at 81

A protege of Leonard Bernstein, he guided the San Francisco Symphony for 25 years and led the London Symphony Orchestra and Los Angeles Philharmonic as well. 

He was not on the list.

Michael Tilson Thomas, the charismatic conductor and composer who won 12 Grammys and presided over the San Francisco Symphony for 25 years, the London Symphony Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, has died. He was 81.

Tilson Thomas died Wednesday in his home in San Francisco of glioblastoma, it was announced on his website. He underwent brain surgery to remove a tumor in 2021 after being diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme and announced the tumor had returned in February 2025.

Two months later, he conducted his final concert with the San Francisco Symphony.

A pianist and protege of West Side Story composer Leonard Bernstein, Tilson Thomas was known for his energetic interpretations of Austria’s Gustav Mahler. He specialized in music from Russia and work by Americans George Gershwin and Aaron Copland as well.

The 2010 National Medal of Arts recipient and 2019 Kennedy Center honoree also had a reputation as a bad boy of classical music, once leaving the stage at the Hollywood Bowl to protest noise from a police helicopter.

Tilson Thomas served as the San Francisco Symphony’s 11th music director from 1995 until he resigned following the 2019-20 season. His work as a composer included From the Diary of Anne Frank, a UNICEF commission that premiered in 1991 and was narrated by Audrey Hepburn.

Tilson Thomas was born in Los Angeles on Dec. 21, 1944. His father, Theodor Thomashefsky, was a producer who worked for Orson Welles’ Mercury Theater Company and later for Roy Rogers cowboy serials, and his mother, Roberta, was a researcher at Columbia Pictures. Grandparents Boris and Bessie Thomashefsky were founding members of the Yiddish Theater in America.

Tilson Thomas started playing the piano at age 3, had a musical epiphany by 13 when he listened to Mahler — “I was so shocked to discover that it described the shape of my own unresolved life,” he told The Guardian in 2012 — and at 19 was named music director of L.A.’s Young Musicians Foundation Debut Orchestra.

Later, he conducted the full L.A. Phil for youth concerts and studied at USC under Jascha Heifetz and Gregor Piatigorsky. He first met Bernstein in 1968, and the two began working together in New York.

In his mid-20s, he became assistant conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and was a sensation after making his New York debut at Lincoln Center.

Tilson Thomas was a guest conductor of the L.A. Phil in the 1980s and the principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra from 1988-95, taking it on tours in Europe and the U.S. In 1987, he co-founded the Miami-based New World Symphony to prepare young musicians around the world for careers in classical music.

In 2009, he created the YouTube Symphony Orchestra, made up of young players from 30 different countries, to give a concert that could be watched on the internet.

Joshua Robison, his husband and manager, died in February at age 79.

“I think I’m somewhere between a director and a sports coach,” Tilson Thomas told The Guardian. “You recognize how uniquely talented the different musicians are and try to imagine how they can come to the fore in performance. No good director, working with a particular cast, would try and force them to be something other than what they are. Nor would a good director say to an actor, ‘Say the first three words quickly, then the next two slowly,’ and so on for the whole of the play.

“The point is that the actor must become the role. It’s the same with music. You try to show the musicians ways they can make the most out of the music and get the most out of each other.”

Darrell Sheets obit

Darrell Sheets Dies: ‘Storage Wars’ Star Was 67

 He was not on the list.

Darrell Sheets, a longtime regular on the A&E reality competition series Storage Wars died early this morning at his home in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. He was 67.

Lake Havasu City police said he died of what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

According to a police department statement obtained by Deadline, officers were dispatched to Sheets’ home around 2 a.m. local time, where they discovered Sheets and pronounced him dead. The department’s Criminal Investigations Unit was notified and responded to the scene to assume the investigation, which is ongoing.

Sheets’ body was turned over to the Mohave County Medical Examiner’s office for further investigation.

Born on May 13, 1958, in California, Sheets appeared on 163 episodes of Storage Wars between 2010 and 2023, vying with other buyers of abandoned and unopened storage lockers being auctioned. An episode’s winner is determined by the value of the lockers’ contents.

After suffering a heart attack in 2019, Sheets largely retired from the locker trade, appearing on the show only infrequently in recent years after moving to Arizona, where he ran an antiques store.

In a short bio on the series’ website, Sheets is described as having been “addicted to the ‘high’ of storage auctions for 32 years.”

“While others have turned the gambling side of storage buying into steady businesses,” the bio states, “Darrell is always going for the ‘big hit.’ Boasting a big game, Darrell is quick to tell you about the four Picassos and the world’s most lucrative comic book collection that he has scored through storage auctions.”

The bio concludes, “After years in the business, Darrell no longer collects: ‘The only thing I collect these days is dead presidents.’ Darrell takes pride in the adventure and education storage buying has provided him. It’s a lifestyle and skill set he hopes to pass on to his son [Brandon].”

Complete information on survivors was not immediately available.

 

Starring           

Dave Hester

Darrell Sheets

Brandon Sheets

Jarrod Schulz

Brandi Passante

Barry Weiss

Dan Dotson

Laura Dotson

Ivy Calvin

Rene Nezhoda

Casey Lloyd

Mary Padian

Kenny Crossley

Emily Wears

Shana Dahan

Edwina Registre

Justin Bryant

Lisa Delarios

Dusty Riach

Lupe Riach

Emily Pokoj

Narrated by     Thom Beers

Theme music composer          Andy Kubiszewski

David Scott obit

David Scott, longtime Georgia Democrat, dies at 80

 He was not on the list.

Rep. David Scott (Ga.), a groundbreaking Democrat who served in Congress for more than two decades, has passed away, according to members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC).

First elected in 2002, Scott, 80, rose to prominence in 2021 when he became the first Black lawmaker to serve as chair of the House Agriculture Committee.

He was immediately hailed by members of the CBC, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), who characterized Scott as “a trailblazer” on Capitol Hill.

“David Scott was a trailblazer who served the district that he served admirably,” Jeffries told reporters in the Capitol shortly after the news broke.

“[He] rose up from humble beginnings to become the first African American ever to chair the House Ag Committee. He cared about the people that he represented. He was fiercely committed to getting things done for the people of the great state of Georgia. And he’ll be deeply missed.”

Scott, the founder of a small advertising business in the Atlanta area, served in Georgia’s state House and Senate before arriving in Washington in 2003. He rose through the ranks on the Agricultural Committee, a powerful panel with a broad jurisdiction, before rising to lead the committee in 2021 under former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

Four years later, however, Scott was pushed out of the top Democratic seat on the committee, replaced by the younger Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.). The shift was widely viewed as part of a larger trend of generational change within the House Democratic Caucus. Yet the larger concern was Scott’s failing health, as evidenced by the fact that virtually all of the other old-guard committee heads kept their seats in that cycle.

Craig on Wednesday quickly issued a statement praising Scott as “a strong voice for Georgia’s farmers, hungry veterans and young people.”

“The House Agriculture Committee will remember him for his strong faith, kindness and dedication to our nation’s farmers and working people,” she said.

Scott, who used a wheelchair in recent years, was in the Capitol on Tuesday afternoon, when he voted for what would be the last time.

Gregg Foreman obit

The Delta 72 Frontman Gregg Foreman Dies at 53

The rocker played with artists like Cat Power, Lucinda Williams, Linda Perry and more 

He was not on the list.

DJ and musician Gregg Foreman, the former frontman of alternative group The Delta 72, has died. He was 53.

Foreman died on Tuesday, April 21, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner. His cause of death was deferred.

The multi-instrumentalist was fresh off a run of shows with Cat Power, including a stop at New York City’s Webster Hall in March, and recently posted to Instagram that his new band was mixing and recording their first EP.

Friends and collaborators paid tribute to Foreman on Instagram, with actress Juliette Lewis commenting on a post that she thanked him “for sharing your gifts with us and your humor and kindness.”

Cold Cave's Wesley Eisold also shared a tribute post, writing that he’d met Foreman in 2000.

“For better or for worse, he lived a life that others only claim to have lived and he was one of one,” wrote Eisold. “His love for music was as genuine as the pain he harbored. Wishing you peace Gregg, for all of eternity, heavenly sounds and cosmic rhythms.”

Foreman said in a 2000 interview with Ink 19 that seeing the movie Purple Rain had inspired him to pick up the guitar, and that his music taste was inspired by his parents — his mom, a former Motown intern, loved soul, while his dad favored country rock.

Over the years, he played with a number of artists including The Gossip, Beth Ditto, Lucinda Williams, Jesse Malin, Linda Perry and more.

With The Delta 72, he released three studio albums between 1994 and 2001.

In one of his final Instagram posts, Foreman shared a touching note on New Year’s Day in which he said he’d been trying to “live in presence every day.”

“My main daily course of action is; to help myself heal, find self love and help others not feel alone,” he wrote. “With everyday, I ask the universe to; relieve me of the bondage of self, (which can be a prison between my ears and a malady of the spirit), if that makes sense? So I can get out of my own way to a part of all there is & help others!”

Dick Eastman obit

 

End of an Era: Dick Eastman, Global Prayer Leader, Dies After Decades of Ministry

He was not on the list.

The global church has lost a mighty voice of intercession, but heaven has welcomed home a faithful servant.

On April 21, 2026, Dick Eastman stepped into eternity, leaving behind a legacy that helped ignite prayer movements and advance the gospel to the ends of the earth.

A Life Anchored in Prayer

For more than five decades, Eastman stood at the forefront of a global call to prayer. As international president of Every Home for Christ for 34 years, he helped lead one of the most far-reaching evangelistic efforts in modern history—bringing the message of Jesus Christ into homes across more than 200 nations.

His life message was both simple and transformative: prayer is not secondary—it is the foundation. Eastman believed deeply that lasting revival is born not of strategy alone but of surrendered hearts seeking God.

“Prayer changes things. Prayer changes people. Prayer changes me,” Eastman used to say.

In a touching post from Every Home for Christ International, the organization wrote:

Today, we mourn the passing of Dick Eastman.

He believed two things throughout his whole life.

That prayer could change anything.

And that every person on earth deserved to hear the name of Jesus.

He gave everything he had to both.

Dick served with Every Home for Christ for over 46 years, including 34 as international president. He authored 17 books on prayer and evangelism with more than 3 million copies in print. Under his leadership, the gospel reached families in 215 nations, resulting in over 250 million people responding to Jesus.

But the numbers only tell part of the story. What Dick cared about was faithfulness. Showing up. Praying when no one was watching. Believing God for the impossible and then getting out of the way.

He leaves behind his beloved wife, Dee, daughters Dena and Ginger, and nine grandchildren, who were the joy of his life.

He fought the good fight. He kept the faith. And, today, Dick Eastman finished the race.

We love you, Eastman family. And we are praying for you today.

Dick Eastman 1944 — 2026

The National Day of Prayer also shared a powerful post about Eastman’s dedication to prayer and for bringing the glory of God to the world.

Honoring Dick Eastman

The moment I heard that Dick Eastman had finished his earthly race and stepped into glory a flood of prayers, testimonies and memories flooded my heart. I had the privilege of praying, learning, and serving with Dick for over 25 years.

Oh, how he loved to talk about the Lord and to give Him glory! When the Board of Directors for the National Day of Prayer Task Force would get together to meet and fellowship, the room would always quiet and turn our attention to the latest praise report that Dick was sharing or even an old story that some of us had never heard…or we just wanted to hear again and again. He was a wealth of wisdom and wit!

His life was filled and fueled by the Word of God and prayer. Dick wanted every person in the world to hear about the Good News and great love of Jesus and to learn how to pray. He worked tirelessly to give everyone in the world the opportunity to follow Jesus as their Lord and Savior and then make sure the decision was followed up with discipleship.

Dick didn’t just talk about prayer; he was dedicated to hours and hours of daily prayer. He fasted and prayed fervently and frequently, and his prayer closet reflected decades of prayers and magnified the God who heard and answered all of them.

Dick and his wife Dee have served and supported The National Day of Prayer Task Force since it began and our hearts continue to thank God for their lives and love, and especially their prayers.

Please join us in keeping Dick’s family in your prayers.

Kathy Branzell

President

 

Elsie Kelly obit

LEGEND GONE 

Elsie Kelly dead: Star of ITV sitcom Benidorm passes away aged 89 after five-decade career as tributes pour in

 She was not on the list.

BENIDORM star Elsie Kelly has died aged 89 – as her devastated co-stars lead touching tributes to the actress.

Elsie, who played Noreen on the ITV sitcom for more than a decade, passed away “surrounded by her family” yesterday, her agent confirmed.

Aside from her role in Benidorm, Elsie has also starred in various TV roles, including playing gossipy cleaner Mrs Tardebigge in Crossroads.

And after a long break from TV, Elsie went on to appear in the 1996 film Intimate Relations.

She also appeared in an episode of E4 drama Skins and played Joan the cook in the 1996 adaptation of The Famous Five.

Her agent, Michelle Sykes, confirmed beloved actress Elsie had passed away after a “short illness”.

A statement read: “She passed away peacefully, after a short illness, surrounded by her loving family on 21st April 2026 at the age of 89.

“With a career spanning decades across television, theatre, and film, she most recently became a household name through her work on Benidorm…

“Her unmistakable charm, sharp timing and gentle humour made her a fan favourite.

“Beyond this iconic role, she appeared in numerous British television programmes, including Inside No. 9, Harry & the Wrinklies, The Famous Five and Crossroads.”

Elsie played Noreen Maltby and, in series 10, she even played Noreen’s identical twin sister Doreen in a dual role.

Noreen was the mother of Johnny Vegas‘ on-screen character, Geoff – also known as The Oracle.

Crissy Rock, who also starred in Benidorm, hailed Elsie as “an absolute joy” in a touching tribute on social media.

She wrote: “So sad to hear of the passing of Elsie Kelly this morning.

“We shared so many wonderful memories filming Benidorm, moments I’ll always treasure.

“She was an absolute joy to work with and brought so much warmth and laughter wherever she went.

“I was so touched that she came to see me on tour a couple of times recently at St Helens Theatre Royal – it meant a lot.

“Thinking of her family and all who loved her. She’ll be deeply missed.”

Derren Litten, the creator and writer of the popular ITV show, described Elsie as a “comedic genius”.

He wrote: “So sad to pass on the news of the passing of Elsie Kelly aka Noreen in Benidorm.

“One of the best loved characters in the show and certainly one of the most beloved cast members.

“Elsie’s acting abilities and comic genius were so natural they were almost taken for granted.

“Thanks for your talent but most of all your friendship Elsie, I am very sad today but also happy to think of such a wonderful life well lived.”

ITV said: “In Noreen Maltby, Elsie Kelly created one of British comedy’s best loved characters, quickly becoming a Benidorm audience favourite with an always underplayed wit and spark in her eye.

“She will be greatly missed and our thoughts are with her family and friends.

Actress

Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith in Inside No. 9 (2014)

Inside No. 9

8.5

TV Series

MaggieParty Guest

2015–2024

2 episodes

 

Paul Bazely, Janine Duvitski, Kate Fitzgerald, Julie Graham, Selina Griffiths, Tim Healy, Mark Heap, Sherrie Hewson, Elsie Kelly, Bobby Knutt, Tony Maudsley, Johnny Vegas, Steve Edge, Jake Canuso, Shelley Longworth, Adam Gillen, Josh Bolt, Nathan Bryon, and Danny Walters in Benidorm (2007)

Benidorm

7.6

TV Series

Noreen MaltbyDoreen

2007–2018

48 episodes

 

Brief Encounters (2016)

Brief Encounters

7.7

TV Mini Series

Estelle

2016

1 episode

 

Peter Adamson, Jean Alexander, Johnny Briggs, Margot Bryant, and Doris Speed in Coronation Street (1960)

Coronation Street

5.6

TV Series

Mrs. Hargreaves

2011

2 episodes

 

Late Bloomers (2011)

Late Bloomers

5.7

A Grey Panther

2011

 

Occupation (2009)

Occupation

7.6

TV Mini Series

Dorothy Ferguson

2009

1 episode

 

Nicholas Hoult, Jack O'Connell, Dakota Blue Richards, Dev Patel, Kaya Scodelario, and Kathryn Prescott in Skins (2007)

Skins

8.2

TV Series

Lovely Old Lady

2009

1 episode

 

Peter Serafinowicz in The Peter Serafinowicz Show (2007)

The Peter Serafinowicz Show

8.0

TV Series

Various

2008

1 episode

 

Harry and the Wrinklies (1999)

Harry and the Wrinklies

7.4

TV Series

Aunt Florie

2000–2002

21 episodes

 

Verity-Jane Dearsley, Will Theakston, and Lee Godwin in The Ghost Hunter (2000)

The Ghost Hunter

7.3

TV Series

Mrs. Humphries

2000

1 episode

 

The Famous Five (1995)

The Famous Five

7.3

TV Series

Joan

1995–1997

25 episodes

 

Intimate Relations (1996)

Intimate Relations

6.2

Enid

1996

 

Jean Boht, Nick Conway, Ronald Forfar, Peter Howitt, Victor McGuire, and Jonathon Morris in Bread (1986)

Bread

6.3

TV Series

Lady in Street

1988

1 episode

 

Crossroads (1964)

Crossroads

4.5

TV Series

Mrs. TardebiggeMrs. Tarbridge

1979–1988

10 episodes

 

Soundtrack

Paul Bazely, Janine Duvitski, Kate Fitzgerald, Julie Graham, Selina Griffiths, Tim Healy, Mark Heap, Sherrie Hewson, Elsie Kelly, Bobby Knutt, Tony Maudsley, Johnny Vegas, Steve Edge, Jake Canuso, Shelley Longworth, Adam Gillen, Josh Bolt, Nathan Bryon, and Danny Walters in Benidorm (2007)

Benidorm

7.6

TV Series

performer: "YMCA"

2009

1 episode

 

Self

Benidorm: 10 Years on Holiday (2018)

Benidorm: 10 Years on Holiday

7.0

TV Movie

Self

2018

 

Vernon Kay in All Star Family Fortunes (2006)

All Star Family Fortunes

5.3

TV Series

Self

2011

1 episode

 

The Peter Serafinowicz Show Best Of

TV Special

Self - Jean

2008

 

Eamonn Andrews in This Is Your Life (1955)

This Is Your Life

6.4

TV Series

Self

1988

1 episode

 

Wayne Moss obit

Nashville Session Musician Wayne Moss Dead at 88

 

He was not on the list.

Wayne Moss, a Nashville-based session musician who worked with some of rock’s biggest acts, has died. He was 88 years old.

“Wayne was a musical torchbearer and a creative pathfinder who left his own resounding stamp on music history,” Kyle Young, CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, said in a statement confirming the news.

Born in 1938 in South Charleston, West Virginia, Moss spent his teenage years playing in local bands, and then made the big move to Nashville in 1959. Before long, Moss had befriended the right people, leading to session work with people like Patsy Cline, Waylon Jennings, Loretta Lynn, Charley Pride, Joan Baez and more. Eventually, Moss helped found two bands of fellow Nashville session players, Area Code 615 and Barefoot Jerry.

What Did Wayne Moss Play On?

Moss appeared on a number of highly successful recordings through the ’60s and ’70s, including Roy Orbison‘s hit song “Oh, Pretty Woman,” Bob Dylan‘s 1966 album Blonde on Blonde and Dolly Parton‘s iconic “Jolene.”

Other artists Moss worked with include Fats Domino, the Everly Brothers, Kris Kristofferson, Mike Nesmith, Carl Perkins and Nancy Sinatra.

Moss also founded one of Nashville’s oldest independent recording studios, Cinderella Sound. Over the years, it hosted the likes of Jackie DeShannon, theSteve Miller Band, Linda Ronstadt, Grand Funk Railroad, James Gang and many more.

“We’re not even in the phone book, you know?” Moss explained to Sound on Soundin 2011. “So unless you know somebody that knows somebody, you can’t even get in here. But Steve Miller did and Ronstadt did and Leo Kottke did and a lot of folks. So we’ve had the business, despite the fact that you can’t even find us, you know? You can’t Google us or anything else, therefore there’s not a Gray Line bus tour coming through here every day saying ‘Is that Johnny Cash in here? I wanna get his autograph.’ That drives artists crazy.

“And Steve Miller didn’t want anybody in the studio that wasn’t hired to play on it, and that’s what he got. He wanted to engineer his own vocals? Fine, go ahead. You know? So we try to bend in whatever direction the artist wants and we’ve had a lot of people in here over the years.”

“My dear friend, the great guitarist Wayne Moss, has died,” Roy Orbison Jr. wrote on social media following the news of Moss’ passing, describing Moss as “my Dad’s good friend” and sharing a photo. “We love you Wayne.”

Rod Martin obit

Raiders Super Bowl legend dies at 72

 

He was not on the list.

Las Vegas Raiders Super Bowl hero Rod Martin has died, the Review-Journal learned Monday.

He was 72 years old.

The linebacker was a 12th-round pick of the Raiders from USC in 1977 and played 12 seasons .......We hope you appreciate our content. Subscribe today to continue reading this story, and all of our stories.

Roderick 'Rod' Martin, the cerebral Raiders linebacker who holds the enduring NFL record for the most interceptions in a single Super Bowl, passed away on April 18, 2026, at the age of 72. Known as the 'thinking man's linebacker,' Martin transformed from a 12th-round longshot into a two-time champion and a respected computer systems manager.

Born in Welch, West Virginia, Martin moved to Los Angeles at age 12 in 1968. He graduated from Alexander Hamilton High School in 1972 as a standout linebacker for the Yankees. After two years at Los Angeles City College, he transferred to the University of Southern California, earning First-team All-Pac-8 honors in 1976. Despite his collegiate success, the Oakland Raiders selected him late in the 1977 NFL Draft as the 317th overall pick in the 12th round.

Former Raiders Head Coach Tom Flores validated his football intelligence early on. "Rod Martin was one of the most underrated players in the history of the game," Flores said. "He was a great athlete, but he was also a very smart player who always knew where the ball was going."

This analytical preparation collided with NFL history during Super Bowl XV against the Philadelphia Eagles. Martin set an enduring record by intercepting three passes in the championship game, a feat recognized by Guinness World Records. His performance proved that intellectual diagnosis was as lethal as physical force, earning him a spot on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

He spent his entire 12-season career with the Raiders in Oakland and Los Angeles, winning a second title in Super Bowl XVIII. He earned consecutive Pro Bowl selections in 1983 and 1984, First-team All-Pro honors in 1984, and the UPI AFC Defensive Player of the Year award in 1983. He finished his career with 14 interceptions, 33.5 sacks, and 10 fumble recoveries, scoring six total defensive touchdowns, according to Pro Football Reference.

His transition away from the gridiron bridged two seemingly disparate worlds. Martin became a programmer and manager of technical and user support services at the USC Information Sciences Institute. This career as a computer systems manager was not a departure from his football life, but a continuation of the same processing power that defined his defensive play.

He was married to Regina Martin and raised two daughters, Jessica and Jade, who both became collegiate athletes. In 2021, he was inducted into the Los Angeles City Section Hall of Fame, as reported by the Los Angeles Times.

Martin leaves behind a legacy defined by anticipation and intellect. He saw the game several steps ahead of everyone else, processing formations and tendencies with the precision of the mainframes he later managed. As former Raiders teammate Jeff Barnes noted, "He was the thinking man's linebacker. Rod had a way of diagnosing plays before they happened, which is why he was always in the right spot."

Martin went to Hamilton High School class of 1972; two years ahead of NFL hall of fame quarterback Warren Moon (c/o 1974).

Martin was one of the top linebackers in the NFL during his 12 seasons and made the Pro Bowl twice during his career, in 1983 and 1984. Selected in the twelfth round of the 1977 NFL draft, Martin was initially a 210 lb (95 kg) tweener, undersized for a linebacker and slow for a safety, but eventually bulked up to 220–225. In 1978, his second year, Martin started 8 games, filling in at inside linebacker By 1979, he settled in at the weak-side LB spot, becoming a mainstay on the Raider defense, assisting the Silver & Black to two Super Bowl victories (1980, 1983 seasons) and having an outstanding performance in each one. In Super Bowl XV, Martin recorded a Super Bowl record three interceptions from Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski, and returned them for 44 yards. His interceptions were not only a Super Bowl record, but they also tied linebacker Chuck Howley's record for career Super Bowl interceptions. Between the two players, Martin is the only one to have recorded all 3 of his interceptions in one game. In Super Bowl XVIII, Martin broke up a third down pass on his own 7-yard line in the second quarter, sacked Joe Theismann once, tackled Washington Redskins Hall of Fame running back John Riggins for no gain on a fourth down and one conversion attempt deep in Raiders territory on the last play of the third quarter, and recovered a fumble in the final period.

A legendary NFL coach found linebacker Rod Martin not by scouting him at USC, but almost by accident.

The Oakland Raiders had a throwaway 12th-round pick in the 1977 draft, and then-coach John Madden grew frustrated hearing his personnel executives contemplate using it on a basketball player or track guy. Finally, Madden blurted out that he could find a random kid walking around the USC campus in sandals who could have more of an influence than that.

“Ron Wolf says, 'All right, smart guy,'" recalled Madden’s son, Mike. “So they were a couple picks away and dad goes, 'Let me call [USC coach] John Robinson.'"

Robinson had one question: Has Rod Martin been drafted? Some of his first teammates include Mark van Eeghen, Clarence Davis, Lester Hayes, Mike Davis. Ken Stabler, Cliff Branhc, Mike Haynes, Dave Casper, Ray Guy, Willie Brown, Art Shell, Dave Dalby, Ted Hendricks, Jack Tatum and Jim Plunkett.

George Ariyoshi obit

Former Governor Ariyoshi dies at age 100

 

He was not on the list.

HONOLULU (KHON2) — Hawaiʻi has lost one of its greatest leaders. Flags were lowered to half-staff across the state on April 20 to honor the service of former Governor George Ariyoshi.

He was Hawaiʻi’s longest-serving governor and the first American of Asian descent to serve as governor of any US state.

In a statement this morning, the Ariyoshi family said: “Governor Ariyoshi passed away on the night of April 19th. He was surrounded by his wife Jean, daughter Lynn, sons Rryozo and Donn. We would like to thank all our friends, family and supporters for all your support and friendship all these years.”

Gov. Ariyoshi was the state’s third governor and served from 1974 to 1986.

He and first lady Jean Ariyoshi celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary on Feb. 5. He had turned 100 on March 12.

“Governor loves you all. Governor sacrificed and worked hard for most of his life to build a better future for the state of Hawaiʻi and its people,” the family’s statement said. “Governor Ariyoshi loves you all very much!”

Ariyoshi’s political career began in 1954 when he was elected to the Hawaiʻi Territorial House of Representatives. He progressed through to the Senate and was elected lieutenant governor in 1970 with Governor John A. Burns. Three years later, Governor Burns fell ill, and Ariyoshi became acting governor before winning the office the following year.

“Governor Ariyoshi devoted his life to Hawaiʻi with humility, discipline and an unwavering sense of responsibility to the people he served,” Governor Josh Green said. “He led our state during a pivotal moment with quiet strength and integrity, and his legacy as a trailblazer and public servant will endure for generations. Our hearts are with his family and loved ones.”

The City and County of Honolulu said Ariyoshi helped “guide Hawaiʻi through its early post-statehood decades, marked by economic transition, growth and the strengthening of state institutions.”

From now through sunset on the day of his memorial service, the US and state of Hawaiʻi flags will fly at half-staff at the state capital, all state offices and agencies, as well as all Hawaiʻi National Guard facilities.

Ariyoshi was born on March 12, 1926 in Honolulu, then in the Territory of Hawaiʻi, to Japanese immigrant parents, who named him after George Washington. Ariyoshi graduated in 1944 from McKinley High School. As World War II drew to a close, he served as an interpreter with the U.S. Army Military Intelligence Service in Japan. Upon returning stateside, he first attended the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, then transferred to Michigan State University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1949. He then went on to receive his J.D. degree from the University of Michigan Law School in 1952.

Alan Osmond obit

Alan Osmond, eldest brother of The Osmonds and renowned performer, dies at 76

 He was not on the list.

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Alan Osmond has died at the age of 76, according to a statement sent from a spokesperson for the Osmond family. Alan and his siblings were part of a Utah-based musical group “The Osmonds”, which included his brothers, Alan, Merrill, Jay, Donny and Jimmy.

Alan Osmond was born in Ogden, Utah on June 22, 1949, was the oldest of the performing Osmond brothers, and the third oldest of his siblings. He married Suzanne Pinegar, also from Utah, and had eight children with her.

A spokesperson for the family confirmed that he died at 8:30 p.m. tonight and that his wife and children were at his bedside when he passed. The spokesperson initially stated that Alan passed away at 77 but has since confirmed he is 76.

Throughout his life, Alan Osmond and his brothers performed on various stages with a variety of musical instruments. He also worked on several TV series, including ‘Donny and Marie’ and ‘The Osmond Family Show’ as a producer, according to IMDB.com.

Alan was reportedly designated by his father as the leader of the Osmond brothers as they appeared as a barbershop group and developed “a long-lasting relationship not only with [Walt] Disney, but with Andy Williams on his weekly televised show.”

In the 70s, Alan joined the National Guard, serving for six years before returning to music-waiting and concern performances.

Alan ultimately retired from show business after his diagnosis with Multiple Sclerosis but continued to represent his family in many philanthropic endeavors.

Alan helped create the Children’s Miracle Network Telethon, which has raised over two billion dollars for children’s hospitals. He also founded the One Heart Foundation to help support orphans.

“Upon meeting the entertainer, an ever-ready smile was ever prevalent. One might feel as though they had known him all their life,” said the family spokesperson. “Others’ importance seemed to outshine his own, and he especially treasured the countless fans who supported the group.”

According to the family spokesperson, Alan recently commented that he was anxious to be with his brother Wayne, who died in January 2025. He stated, “We still have a lot of work to do together- there is much catching up to keep us busy for a very long time.”