David Gamble obit

David Gamble obituary

 

He was not on the list.

My husband, David Gamble, who has died aged 70, was an award-winning film editor who worked in documentaries, TV dramas and feature films.

As the editor on the 1998 film Shakespeare in Love, starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Joseph Fiennes, David won a Bafta, and was nominated for an Academy Award (the film, directed by John Madden, won the Oscar for best film).

More films followed, including Veronica Guerin (2003), starring Cate Blanchett, and Shopgirl (2005), featuring Steve Martin and Claire Danes.

David was born in Derry, Northern Ireland, to Ida (nee Haire), a housewife, and William Gamble, a clerk. He attended the Model primary school, then Foyle college, before studying ecology at Edinburgh University. It was while living in Edinburgh that his love of film grew, through the annual film festival. On graduation in 1977 he worked in various jobs including as a park ranger in the Hermitage of Braid, Edinburgh, and as a wildlife conservation researcher in Loch Leven, where he studied the mating patterns of brown trout.

But his heart lay in the visual arts, and in 1983, on hearing from a friend that there were jobs going in London selling tickets at the Royal Academy, he made his way there. He then got a job as assistant projectionist at the London Film School, before working as a freelance assistant editor from 1984 to 1989, then freelance editor thereafter.

One of his first editing credits was on the 1989 TV series Streetwise, starring Andy Serkis. In the 1990s David co-edited the miniseries Tales of the City starring Laura Linney, and edited dramas including the TV movies Loved Up, Black Easter (both 1995) and Truth or Dare (1996), as well as the pilot episode of Cold Feet in 1997. Moving into feature films he edited Different for Girls (1996) and My Son the Fanatic (1997), written by Hanif Kureishi, before going on to Shakespeare in Love.

The essence of great film editing is storytelling, and David was a wonderful storyteller. His wit and musicality informed his editing and the passions of his life were film and music – in the late 2000s he sometimes DJed at his friends Steve and Ali’s live music club What’s Cookin‘ in east London. In 2006 David moved from editing to teaching, inspiring students at various film schools including the National Film School and London Film Academy, and universities such as Edinburgh, Kent, Goldsmiths, University of London and Southampton Solent, which made him an honorary fellow in 2015. He continued teaching until last year.

David was the kindest of men. His wit and humour, and his distinctive laugh, were all commented upon by colleagues, friends and neighbours. His love for art, music and literature made him an erudite companion.

David and I met in 1983, at a gig by the electro-funk band Prince Charles and the City Beat. We were together from then, marrying in 1997.

I survive him, as do his sisters, Jenny and Heather.

 

Editor

Claire Danes, Steve Martin, and Jason Schwartzman in Shopgirl (2005)

Shopgirl

6.3

Editor

2005

 

Snuff-Movie (2005)

Snuff-Movie

3.8

Editor

2005

 

Cate Blanchett in Veronica Guerin (2003)

Veronica Guerin

6.8

Editor

2003

 

Timothy Spall, Lennie James, James Nesbitt, and Bill Nighy in Lucky Break (2001)

Lucky Break

6.2

Editor

2001

 

Andrew McCarthy in The Sight (2000)

The Sight

5.8

TV Movie

Editor

2000

 

Gwyneth Paltrow and Joseph Fiennes in Shakespeare in Love (1998)

Shakespeare in Love

7.1

Editor

1998

 

My Son the Fanatic (1997)

My Son the Fanatic

6.8

Editor

1997

 

Robert Bathurst, James Nesbitt, Hermione Norris, Fay Ripley, and John Thomson in Cold Feet (1997)

Cold Feet

8.2

TV Series

Editor

1997

1 episode

 

Screen One (1985)

Screen One

6.9

TV Series

Editor

1996

1 episode

 

Rupert Graves and Steven Mackintosh in Different for Girls (1996)

Different for Girls

7.0

Editor

1996

 

Ian Hart and Lena Headey in Loved Up (1995)

Loved Up

6.8

TV Movie

Editor

1995

 

Screen Two (1984)

Screen Two

6.6

TV Series

Editor

1995

1 episode

 

Queen of the East (1995)

Queen of the East

7.3

TV Movie

Editor

1995

 

Tales of the City (1993)

Tales of the City

8.3

TV Mini Series

Editor

1993

6 episodes

 

The Secret (1991)

The Secret

TV Series

Editor

1991

 

Frankie Howerd in All Change (1989)

All Change

6.6

TV Series

Editor

1989–1991

6 episodes

 

Streetwise (1989)

Streetwise

7.4

TV Series

Editor

1989

12 episodes

 

Editorial Department

Borrowed Time (2012)

Borrowed Time

5.9

editorial consultant

2012

 

One World: The Years that Rocked the Planet

off-line editor

1992

 

Bill Paterson in Traffik (1989)

Traffik

8.4

TV Mini Series

assistant editor: Britain

1989

 

Rowan Atkinson, Jeff Goldblum, Emma Thompson, Kim Thomson, and Emil Wolk in The Tall Guy (1989)

The Tall Guy

6.2

assistant editor

1989

 

Elliott Spiers in Paperhouse (1988)

Paperhouse

6.6

second assistant editor

1988

 

Paul Weller, The Style Council, Mick Talbot, and Dee C. Lee in The Style Council: Jerusalem (1987)

The Style Council: Jerusalem

6.8

Music Video

assistant editor

1987

 

Geoffrey Palmer in Fairly Secret Army (1984)

Fairly Secret Army

7.2

TV Series

assistant editor

1984

1 episode

 

Sound Department

Driving Me Crazy (1988)

Driving Me Crazy

6.6

sound editor

1988

 

Geoffrey Palmer in Fairly Secret Army (1984)

Fairly Secret Army

7.2

TV Series

assistant sound editor

1986

1 episode

 

Thanks

Patricia Clarkson in Out of Blue (2018)

Out of Blue

4.8

thanks

2018

 

Doremi (2011)

Doremi

Short

special thanks

2011

 

Lorraine Ashbourne, Angela Walsh, and Dean Williams in Distant Voices, Still Lives (1988)

Distant Voices, Still Lives

7.4

with special thanks to

1988

Stranger Cole obit

Stranger Cole, ska and rocksteady pioneer, has died

 

He was not on the list.

Stranger Cole, a pioneer ska/rocksteady singer known for songs like Bangarang and Just Like A River, died at the University Hospital of the West Indies on Thursday. He was 83 years-old.

His son, drummer Wilburn “Squiddly” Cole, confirmed his death in an interview with Observer Online. He said his father was admitted to hospital two weeks ago after ailing for some time, but did not disclose a cause of death.

Last December, Stranger Cole did six shows in Australia, where he had a loyal following through his songs from the 1960s. He was also popular in Europe.

Born in Portland, Cole moved to Kingston as a child. He lived in Trench Town, which was a hotbed of musical activity during the early 1960s, when ska was taking off in the city’s clubs and dance ‘lawns’.

His initial hit songs, Rough And Tough and When You Call my Name (with Patsy Todd) were produced by Duke Reid. They were followed by Just Like A River (with keyboardist Gladstone Anderson) and Bangarang (with Lester Sterling of The Skatalites).

Stranger Cole played major roles in the early careers of Ken Boothe and The Mighty Diamonds. He wrote and produced Oh My Baby, the latter’s first song.

In the early 1970s, Cole migrated to Toronto, Canada where he became part of the city’s growing reggae community. His years there are recalled in Ruff and Tuff — Stranger Cole’s Toronto Roots, a 2018 documentary by Chris Flanagan and Graeme Mathieson.

Wilburn “Stranger” Cole is survived by seven children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

– Howard Campbell

Jane Yolen obit

Jane Yolen (1939–2026)

 She was not on the list.

Author Jane Yolen, 87, died peacefully in her home, surrounded by family, in Hatfield MA on June 11, 2026.

Jane Hyatt Yolen was born February 11, 1939 in New York City NY. She graduated Smith College with a BA in 1960, at which time she was already writing poetry and articles, and received a master’s in education from the University of Massachusetts in 1978. Between degrees, in 1962, she married David W. Stemple, and they were married for 44 years before he died of cancer in 2006. She gained attention as a writer through children’s book Pirates in Petticoats (1963), published on her 22nd birthday and went on to write over 450 books and a monumental oeuvre of short fiction and poetry. From 1986 to 1988, she was president of the Science Fiction Writers Association and later was named a Damon Knight Grand Master. She ran her own young adult fiction imprint at Harcourt Brace from 1990 to 1996, and she was on the board of directors for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators for over 25 years. She lived in Western Massachusetts and had a house in Scotland which she would visit for a part of the year.

Yolen’s more than 40 novels were mostly aimed at young adults and children, and she produced many series: To name a few, the Mythopoeic Award-winning Young Merlin trilogy included Passager (1996), Hobby (1996), and Merlin (1997); the Great Alta series included Sister Light, Sister Dark (1988), White Jenna (1989), and The One-Armed Queen (1998); the Pit Dragon series included with Dragon’s Blood (1982), Heart’s Blood (1984), A Sending of Dragons (1987), and Dragon’s Heart (2009); and the Seelie Wars series, written with her son Adam, was The Hostage Prince (2013), The Last Changeling (2014), and The Seelie King’s War (2016). She also wrote standalones The Devil’s Arithmetic (1988), which was nominated for a Nebula Award and a World Fantasy Award; adult fantasy Briar Rose (1992), which won a Mythopoeic Award and was nominated for Locus, Nebula, and World Fantasy Awards; and Locus Award winner Pay the Piper (2005), among many others.

Her poetry was nominated for 13 Asimov’s Readers’ Poll Awards, of which four won: “Angels Fly Because They Take Themselves Lightly” (1991), “A Street Away” (2019), “Ode to Cassini” (2020), and “Mars Rover, Curiosity” (2021). Her poetry and short fiction was published frequently in Asimov’s, as well as in Eye to the Telescope, Sycorax, Shoreline of Infinity, Strange Horizons, Star*Line, and more, plus many anthologies and more than 60 of her own collections and chapbooks. Among the more notable collections are Locus Award nominee Sister Emily’s Lightship and Other Stories (2000) and World Fantasy Award winner The Emerald Circus (2017). “Sister Emily’s Lightship” (1998) is one of her two works to have won a Nebula Award, along with novelette “Lost Girl” (1999). She also edited over a dozen anthologies, including Things That Go Bump in the Night (1989) with Martin H. Greenberg and Mirror, Mirror (2000) with her daughter Heidi.

Yolen collected multiple lifetime achievement awards, including NESFA’s Skylark Award in 1990, the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 2009, the Rhysling Award for Grand Master Poet in 2010, and the SFWA Grand Master Award in 2017.

She is survived by her children Adam, Heidi, and Jason, and a community that loved her.

Margaret Kerry obit

Margaret Kerry Dies: Model For Disney’s Animated Tinker Bell Was 97

 She was not on the list.

Margaret Kerry, the early sitcom actor and dancer who modeled the movements and expressions for Disney animators as they drew Peter Pan‘s pixie Tinker Bell into being, died of lung cancer on Thursday, June 11, in Wilmington, North Carolina. She was 97.

Her death was announced by her family in a Facebook message.

“It is with profound sadness that we share news of the passing of Margaret Kerry (Boeke), our beloved Tinker Bell,” reads the statement. “Margaret passed peacefully into the arms of Jesus on June 11, 2026, in Wilmington, North Carolina. Her three adoring children, Ellen, Christina and Eric, were with her as she lost her courageous battle with lung cancer at the age of ninety-seven.”

“And remember,” the statement continues, “on any given night, look up into the night sky and search for that ‘Second Star to the Right’. Upon closer look, you might just notice that star shining a little brighter in Margaret’s honor. With love to an irreplaceable friend, talented entertainer and loving mother.”

Born Margaret McCarty on May 11, 1929, in Springfield, Illinois, Kerry lost her mother during childbirth and, along with two siblings, was placed for adoption. At age three, she and her adoptive parents moved to Los Angeles.

By the mid- to late-1930s Kerry was working as a child actor, with small roles in such films as A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Television work followed, with a 1950 appearance on The Lone Ranger and, in the early 1960s, two episodes of The Andy Griffith Show.

Her most significant TV roles was as a regular cast member of the early ABC family sitcom The Ruggles (1949-1952). She played the college-age Sharon Ruggles, daughter of star Charlie Ruggles (for whom the series and its family were named).

Kerry also had an early and successful career as a voice actor, with credits including the 1959 cartoon Clutch Cargo and, in 1962, Space Angel and, in 1965, Captain Fathom. All three shows are remembered today for the sometimes bizarre-looking practice of superimposing real human mouths on the animated characters’ faces.

Kerry’s signature, if virtually offscreen, role arrived in the early 1950s when she auditioned at Disney Studios for Peter Pan, the film that would become an animated classic upon its release in 1953. Although Hollywood lore would often have Marilyn Monroe as the inspiration for the blonde pixie Tinker Bell – the bombshell icon might indeed have provided some visual inspiration for the curvy fairy – Kerry was without question the primary source, a reference model performing the movements and facial expressions for the loyal, if mischievous, sidekick to Peter Pan.

The Tinker Bell character, with pointy little wings and a short green strapless dress with a hemline resembling the leaves of a flower, would prove so popular that she became Disney’s de facto mascot right along with Mickey Mouse. It was the flying Tinker Bell, with fairy dust trailing, that opened episodes of Disney’s classic The Wonderful World of Disney anthology series.

Kerry published her autobiography Tinker Bell Talks: Tales of a Pixie Dusted Life in 2016, and worked as a motivational speaker later in life. From 1992 to 2004 she was a producer, writer and host of a Christian radio program for Los Angeles’ KKLA-FM.

Kerry’s first marriage to The Ruggles director Dick Brown ended in divorce, and a second marriage with John Wilcox ended with his death in 1999. In 2020, she married Robert Boeke, a former boyfriend from the 1940s with whom she’d recently reconnected; he died this year on May 24.

 

Actress

Before There Were Rings (2020)

Before There Were Rings

Short

Nana

2020

 

Public Access (1993)

Public Access

5.3

Marge

1993

 

The New 3 Stooges (1965)

The New 3 Stooges

7.0

TV Series

Good Little BoyHousewifeMother (uncredited) ...

1965

48 episodes

 

Space Angel (1962)

Space Angel

6.1

TV Series

Crystal MaceEvil Queen ZoraJohnny Kendell ...

1962–1964

52 episodes

 

Ron Howard, Frances Bavier, and Andy Griffith in The Andy Griffith Show (1960)

The Andy Griffith Show

8.4

TV Series

Bess MugginsHelen Scobey

1960–1961

2 episodes

 

Clutch Cargo (1959)

Clutch Cargo

5.7

TV Series

SpinnerPaddlefootDoctor Assistant ...

1959

52 episodes

 

Summer Theatre

6.5

TV Series

1953

1 episode

 

June Foray, Kathryn Beaumont, Tony Butala, Candy Candido, Paul Collins, Hans Conried, Bobby Driscoll, Robert Ellis, Connie Hilton, Margaret Kerry, Tommy Luske, John Wilder, Jeffrey Silver, and Stuffy Singer in Peter Pan (1953)

Peter Pan

7.2

Mermaid (voice, uncredited)

1953

 

The Ruggles (1949)

The Ruggles

7.4

TV Series

Sharon Ruggles

1949–1952

137 episodes

 

Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels in The Lone Ranger (1949)

The Lone Ranger

7.7

TV Series

Jane Carter

1950

1 episode

 

David Bruce, Adeline De Walt Reynolds, Charles Halton, Gloria Holden, Robert Emmett Keane, Margaret Kerry, Gene Lockhart, Kathleen Lockhart, Anne O'Neal, Arthur Stone, Kent Taylor, and Emmett Vogan in The Sickle or the Cross (1949)

The Sickle or the Cross

5.9

Betty Deems

1949

 

Scott Brady in Canon City (1948)

Canon City

6.5

Maxine Smith

1948

 

Eddie Cantor and Joan Davis in If You Knew Susie (1948)

If You Knew Susie

5.9

Marjorie Parker

1948

 

Bing Crosby in The Star Maker (1939)

The Star Maker

6.3

Chorus Member (as Peggy Lynch)

1939

 

George 'Spanky' McFarland, Billy Mindy, and Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer in Aladdin's Lantern (1938)

Aladdin's Lantern

6.5

Short

Tap Dancer (uncredited)

1938

 

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938)

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

7.0

Schoolgirl (uncredited)

1938

 

Darla Hood, Eugene 'Porky' Lee, George 'Spanky' McFarland, and Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer in The Pinch Singer (1936)

The Pinch Singer

6.9

Short

Call-in voter (as Peggy Lynch)

1936

 

James Cagney, Olivia de Havilland, Mickey Rooney, Hugh Herbert, Ross Alexander, Joe E. Brown, Frank McHugh, Jean Muir, Dick Powell, and Max Reinhardt in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935)

A Midsummer Night's Dream

6.8

Fairy (uncredited)

1935

 

Teacher's Beau (1935)

Teacher's Beau

7.3

Short

Student (as Peggy Lynch)

1935

 

Additional Crew

TinkerBellTalks.Com Video (2014)

TinkerBellTalks.Com Video

Short

creative consultant (uncredited)

2014

 

June Foray, Kathryn Beaumont, Tony Butala, Candy Candido, Paul Collins, Hans Conried, Bobby Driscoll, Robert Ellis, Connie Hilton, Margaret Kerry, Tommy Luske, John Wilder, Jeffrey Silver, and Stuffy Singer in Peter Pan (1953)

Peter Pan

7.2

live action model: Mermaidlive action model: Tinker Bell (uncredited, uncredited)

1953

 

Elizabeth Taylor, Mickey Rooney, Donald Crisp, and Jackie 'Butch' Jenkins in National Velvet (1944)

National Velvet

7.3

stand-in: Miss Taylor (uncredited)

1944

 

Soundtrack

Eddie Cantor and Joan Davis in If You Knew Susie (1948)

If You Knew Susie

5.9

performer: "My Brooklyn Love Song" (1948)

1948

 

Thanks

Chi-Walt (2016)

Chi-Walt

Short

special thanks

2016

 

You Can Fly!: The Making of Walt Disney's Masterpiece 'Peter Pan' (1998)

You Can Fly!: The Making of Walt Disney's Masterpiece 'Peter Pan'

6.8

Video

thanks (as Margaret Kerry-Wilcox)

1998

 

Self

Mears - How One Woman Changed American Christianity (2025)

Mears - How One Woman Changed American Christianity

Self

2025

 

Hollywood Icons

TV Series

Self

2021

1 episode

 

Eli Austin in The Mayberry Effect (2021)

The Mayberry Effect

7.2

Self

2021

 

Stay 'Tooned! LIVE (2020)

Stay 'Tooned! LIVE

TV Series

Self

2020

1 episode

 

47th Annie Awards (2020)

47th Annie Awards

TV Special

SelfSelf - Paddlefoot

2020

 

Margaret Kerry Tinker Bell Talks

Self

2020

 

Dizney Coast to Coast (2014)

Dizney Coast to Coast

TV Series

Self

2019

1 episode

 

Tim Drake in On the Mic Podcast with Tim Drake (2013)

On the Mic Podcast with Tim Drake

Podcast Series

Self

2018

1 episode

 

The Tiara Talk Show (2013)

The Tiara Talk Show

1.4

TV Series

Self - Guest

2016

1 episode

 

The Nation's Favourite Disney Song (2015)

The Nation's Favourite Disney Song

6.2

TV Movie

Self - Tinker Bell, Peter Pan

2015

 

Stu's Show (2006)

Stu's Show

6.4

Podcast Series

Self - Guest

2013

1 episode

 

Chronicles of Comic Con (2012)

Chronicles of Comic Con

8.1

TV Series

Self

2013

1 episode

 

The DizRadio Show (2010)

The DizRadio Show

Podcast Series

Self - Guest

2010

1 episode

 

Tinker Bell: A Fairy's Tale (2007)

Tinker Bell: A Fairy's Tale

7.6

Video

Self

2007

 

Breakfast (2000)

Breakfast

5.2

TV Series

Self

2007

1 episode

 

The 100 Greatest Family Films (2005)

The 100 Greatest Family Films

7.2

TV Movie

Self

2005

 

You Can Fly!: The Making of Walt Disney's Masterpiece 'Peter Pan' (1998)

You Can Fly!: The Making of Walt Disney's Masterpiece 'Peter Pan'

6.8

Video

Self - Model for 'Tinker Bell'

1998

 

Light Magic at Disneyland: A Spectacular Journey

TV Special

Self

1997

 

Archive Footage

TinkerBellTalks.Com Video (2014)

TinkerBellTalks.Com Video

Short

Self (archive footage)

2014

 

WatchMojo (2006)

WatchMojo

5.5

TV Series

Self - Mermaid (archive footage, voice)

2014

1 episode

 

Classic Comedy Teams (1986)

Classic Comedy Teams

7.5

Video

Self - Receptionist (archive footage, segment "The Three Stooges")

1986

 

David Hockney obit

David Hockney Dies: Legendary British Artist Was 88

 

He was not on the list.

David Hockney, the legendary British artist behind some of the most recognizable works of contemporary painting, such as ‘The Splash’ and ‘Pool with Two Figures,’ has died. He was 88.

News of Hockney’s death was first reported in the French press and was later confirmed by his publicist in a statement to the BBC and London’s Evening Standard.

The statement reads: “The celebrated British artist David Hockney, one of the most important figures in contemporary art in both the 20th and 21st centuries, passed away peacefully at home on 11 June 2026, one month short of his 89th birthday.”

Born in Yorkshire, England, Hockney studied at the Bradford College of Art and the Royal College of Art, where he worked alongside artists such as Frank Bowling and R. B. Kitaj, and graduated with a Gold Medal, emerging as one of the leading talents in a new generation of British artists.

In 1964, he moved from London to Los Angeles, where he began to document Southern Californian life, first with his seductive swimming pool series, which would later become some of his most recognizable work. In 2018, Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures), one of the works Hockney painted during this era, sold at Christie’s in New York City for $90 million (£70 million), becoming the most expensive artwork by a living artist sold at auction. The sale broke the previous record, which was set by the 2013 sale of Jeff Koons’s Balloon Dog (Orange) for $58.4 million. Hockney held the record until 2019 when Koons reclaimed the honor by selling his Rabbit for more than $91 million at Christie’s in New York.

Discussing the sale at the time, Hockney simply said in a statement to the BBC: “Paint the things you love.”

Hockney quickly began contributing work in various other mediums, including opera, theatre, film, and photography. This interdisciplinary mix would shape the rest of Hockney’s career, which spanned decades and touched virtually every artistic discipline.

The artist relocated back to London in 2023 after years living in the United States and France, and he was the subject of several large-scale retrospectives. He recently received France’s Légion d’Honneur, and next year Tate Britain will host a comprehensive survey of his work.

In his later years, Hockney has been best known for his vivid digital paintings, all rendered on his iPad. A collection of those works is currently on show at London’s Serpentine Gallery. The tagline for the show, handwritten by Hockney, reads: “Put Your Phone Down, Look with Both Eyes.”

John Sanders obit

John Sanders, former KDKA-TV sports reporter and Pirates announcer, has died

 He was not on the list.

John Sanders, a former KDKA-TV sports reporter and announcer for the Pittsburgh Pirates, has died. Sanders died Wednesday, just a week after his 83rd birthday.

He was born in Kansas and worked in television in Topeka and Kansas City, Missouri, before moving to Pittsburgh. He came to KDKA-TV in 1978 as the weekend sports anchor and eventually became the station's sports director.

In 1980, he was paired with Lanny Frattare to call the Pirates games during the 1981 season, and he continued to be a part of the Pirates' broadcast team for nine seasons.

Sanders left Pittsburgh in 1991, but he continued to do play-by-play work for other teams for many more years.

Sanders leaves behind a legacy of decades of excellence in sports broadcasting that will never be forgotten.

Bill Cody obit

Longtime Grand Ole Opry announcer Bill Cody has died

 

He was not on the list.

For more than three decades, Bill Cody helped bring country music into the homes, cars and workplaces of millions of listeners.

The longtime WSM radio personality and Grand Ole Opry announcer died Tuesday in Nashville at age 67, according to an Instagram post from WSM Radio.

Cody had been a fixture on Nashville's legendary WSM-AM since 1994, hosting the popular morning show Coffee, Country & Cody while also serving as one of the most recognizable voices associated with the Grand Ole Opry.

No official cause of death has been released, but in recent weeks, many members of the country music community had shared requests for prayers after Cody's daughter revealed that he was in critical condition and in need of heart and kidney transplants.

Tributes from across the country music world quickly poured in in the comments on the social media posts announcing Cody's death.

"There might be someone somewhere in the world who loved country music as much, but nobody loved country music more than Bill Cody," wrote Garth Brooks.

Dierks Bentley wrote, "Country music has lost one of its pillars. Bill was just as important to the fabric of our music and city as any artist, songwriter or musician. No one loved country music, its history and its characters more than Bill Cody."

"Bill Cody was one of those rare people who didn't just work in Country Music—he lived it, protected it, and loved it with every fiber of his being," wrote Ty Herndon. "For decades, Bill was a trusted voice, a champion of artists, a keeper of our stories, and a bridge between generations of country music fans. Whether you were a superstar or a struggling songwriter with a dream, Bill made you feel like you mattered. I was fortunate to call him a friend. His kindness was genuine, his passion was contagious, and his belief in this music never wavered. He understood that country music is more than songs and charts—it's people, community, and heart."

According to Variety, Cody began his broadcasting career at age 17 after answering a help-wanted ad at a Kentucky radio station. Born Trent Clutts, he adopted the on-air name Bill Cody in honor of childhood hero Buffalo Bill Cody.

Over the course of his career, he became one of country radio's most respected personalities. He was inducted into the Country Music Disc Jockey Hall of Fame in 2008 and received a star on Nashville's Music City Walk of Fame in 2024. He is also set to be inducted posthumously into the Tennessee Radio Hall of Fame later this year.

Saturday night's live broadcast of the Grand Ole Opry will be dedicated to Cody's memory, while WSM plans to air a special marathon featuring memorable moments from Coffee, Country & Cody.

Ruth Watson Henderson obit

Ruth Watson Henderson

Toronto, Ontario

November 23, 1932 - June 9, 2026

 She was not on the list.

Ruth Louise Watson Henderson (23 November 1932 – 9 June 2026) was a Canadian composer and pianist, best known for her choral music. She was the accompanist for the Festival Singers of Canada under Elmer Iseler for many years, where she developed her ear for composing mixed-choral works. Henderson also accompanied the Toronto Children's Chorus under Jean Ashworth Bartle from its inception in 1978 to 2007 and was music director for Kingsway-Lambton United Church in Toronto from 1996 to 2013.

An associate of the Canadian Music Centre, Watson Henderson's compositional output includes works for organ, piano, violin, trumpet, string orchestra, and more than 200 choral pieces. Her works are known for their use of modal and impressionistic harmonies. In 1989 her Chromatic Partita for Organ won a prize in an International Competition for Women Composers in Mannheim, Germany. In 1992 her Voices of Earth won the National Choral Award for Outstanding Choral Composition. In 1996 she received the Distinguished Service Award of the Ontario Choral Federation. Many of her works have been recorded and enjoy international popularity. Additionally, Canadian choirs often perform entire concerts of her compositions.

Born Ruth Louise Watson in Toronto, Watson Henderson studied the piano with Viggo Kihl from 1937 to 1945. She then entered The Royal Conservatory of Music where she studied from 1945 to 1952 and earned an associate's diploma (ARCT) in 1949 and a licentiate diploma (LRCT) in 1951. Her piano teacher there was Alberto Guerrero. She also studied composition privately with Oskar Morawetz, Samuel Dolin and Richard Johnston. From 1952 to 1954 she studied piano at the Mannes College of Music in New York City with Hans Neumann.

Watson Henderson made her professional concert debut in 1952 in Toronto and quickly became active as a solo concert pianist with symphony orchestras throughout Canada. She also played with some frequency on CBC Radio. In 1956 she won the grand prize on the CBC radio talent show Opportunity Knocks. After this, she moved to Manitoba where she lived in Winnipeg until 1961. After a few years in Kitchener, she returned to Toronto where she still resided.

While she was the accompanist for the Festival Singers of Canada she began to compose choral music, including her 'Missa Brevis.' Later large works influenced by her experience in working with fine choirs include 'Voices of Earth' and 'From Darkness to Light.' When she was the accompanist for the Toronto Children's Chorus, she wrote many compositions for children's voices, including Clear Sky and Thunder, a music-drama about Inuit children, which the TCC premiered in 1984 and 'The Last Straw' which featured tenor Ben Heppner in 1990.

In 2003, she was made an honorary Fellow (FRCCO) of the Royal Canadian College of Organists.

In celebration of her 70th birthday, a special concert of Henderson’s work was performed by the Elmer Iseler Singers, recorded and released by the CBC in 2004 as the album ‘’Sing We Joyful’’

Gilad Janklowicz obit

Gilad Janklowicz Dies: ‘Bodies In Motion’ TV Fitness Pioneer Was 71

 He was not on the list.

Gilad Janklowicz, a fitness instructor whose signature syndicated TV program Bodies In Motion brought daily exercise routines to viewers newly dazzled by the exercise and aerobics movement of the 1980s and ’90s, died Tuesday, June 9. He was 71 and lived in Hawaii.

His death was announced by Jewish Life Television, the North American TV network where Janklowicz’s program long anchored a morning programming block. Although a cause was not disclosed, JLTV described Janklowicz’s death as a “sudden passing.”

“A beloved household name, an exceptional athlete, and a cherished member of the JLTV family, Gilad leaves behind an indelible legacy that transformed the fitness landscape in North America and across the globe,” the announced said.

Born on July 27, 1954, in Israel, Janklowicz was a one-time Olympic hopeful in the decathlon, and dedicated his early years to track and field before serving as a fitness instructor in the Israel Defense Forces. He later moved to the United States to attend film school at UCLA.

In 1983, Janklowicz launched Bodies in Motion, the first nationally syndicated half-hour fitness show to be taped entirely on location: The picturesque beaches of his home of Hawaii, airing on ESPN from 1985 to 1996, and later moving to Discovery Fit and Health. Other series hosted by Janklowicz included Total Body Sculpt, Total Body Sculpt Plus and the game show Gilad’s Minds in Motion.

Known for its accessible approach to fitness for people of all ages, the Bodies In Motion program reached millions of viewers with precise instruction and an emphasis on keeping exercise simple. His programming aired extensively across North America and internationally, spanning continents from Europe to Asia, making him one of the most recognizable fitness personalities ever.

Over the course of his career, Janklowicz was inducted into the National Fitness Hall of Fame, receiving the “First in Fitness” award for his historic achievement as the first creator to host a national fitness show on location. In 2024, his lifetime of impact was capped by receiving the Jack and Elaine LaLanne Inspirational Achievement Award, honoring his role in inspiring people to lead healthier lives.

His signature sign-off at the conclusion of his broadcasts was “Till next time, keep in motion.”

“We are absolutely heartbroken,” said Brad Pomerance, JLTV Executive Vice President. “Gilad was a force of nature – an incredible, singular talent who built an empire out of making people feel healthy, capable, and alive. But beyond the screen and the global brand, Gilad was a dear, deeply loyal friend. Losing his presence in our lives is devastating, and losing his friendship leaves a void that is truly impossible to fill. Our thoughts and prayers are with his loved ones during this unimaginably difficult time.”

JLTV will broadcast a special 12-hour marathon tribute on Monday, June 22, beginning at 6 a.m. ET, featuring classic episodes of Bodies in Motion and Total Body Sculpt, and highlighting “his incredible journey, his family, and his enduring spirit.”

Gina Ferrall obit

Gina Ferrall Dies: Broadway’s ‘Leopoldstadt’, ‘Mamma Mia!’ Actor Was 67

 

She was not on the list.

Gina Ferrall, a Broadway performer whose career spanned decades in such productions as Mamma Mia!, Big River and, most recently, Tom Stoppard’s acclaimed Leopoldstadt, has died following a brief battle with uterine sarcoma. She was 67.

Ferrall’s death was reported yesterday by her husband, the Broadway drummer and percussionist Kory Grossman, to the theater publication Playbill.

Born September 6, 1958, in California, Ferrall made her Broadway debut as a replacement cast member in Les Misérables, followed by roles throughout the 1990s in Beauty and the Beast, A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum and The Sound of Music. In the early- to mid-2000s she appeared in Jane Eyre, Mamma Mia!, Big River, It Shoulda Been You and She Loves Me.

In Stoppard’s Leopoldstadt (2022), she played Poldi, the loyal servant to a wealthy Jewish family that comes under attack by Nazis during the Holocaust.

In national touring productions, Ferrall played Madame Morrible in Wicked and Madame Thénardier in Les Misérables.

Television credits include episodes of Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU, FBI, Blue Bloods, The Good Cop, The Sound of Music Live!, and a 2017 presentation of She Loves Me on PBS’s Great Performances.

She is survived by her husband.

 

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Warden Maureen Lee

2019

1 episode

 

Mariska Hargitay in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999)

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Judge Mary Connor

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1 episode

 

Tony Danza and Josh Groban in The Good Cop (2018)

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7.0

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Quinlan's Secretary

2018

1 episode

 

She Loves Me (2016)

She Loves Me

8.5

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Ensemble

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The Sound of Music Live! (2013)

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DancerChorus

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Lipstick Jungle (2008)

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Live from Lincoln Center

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Great Performances (1971)

Great Performances

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Great Performances (1971)

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Dick Strahm obit

UF Football Legend Dick Strahm Passes Away

 

He was not on the list.

Former University of Findlay head football coach and legendary figure in college athletics Dick Strahm passed away on Tuesday, June 9. He was 92 years old.

“We are all deeply saddened by the passing of Dick Strahm,” said Director of Athletics Jim Givens. “Coach, as many knew him, represents an era of excellence for the football program and for this university. He was a ferocious competitor, a dedicated leader, and a spirited ambassador for Findlay who helped cultivate the championship culture we still strive for to this day. While we grieve his passing, we also reflect on his time with gratitude for the impact he made on the lives of so many student-athletes who called Findlay their home. Our thoughts today are with his family as they mourn the loss of an incredible man.”

Born in February 1934 in Toledo, Ohio, Strahm began his coaching career at the University of Toledo as a defensive coordinator in 1970. He then headed west to Kansas State in 1973 where he spent two years as an assistant coach before eventually landing his position as head coach at the University of Findlay in 1975. Little did he know at the time, but his next 24 seasons would not just be good, they would be legendary.

Coach Strahm’s confidence was evident from the beginning. While assembling his first team at Findlay, Dick went recruiting in his hometown of Toledo where he met with Kevin Cassidy. As recounted in the book, Just Call Me Coach, Strahm told Cassidy, “Kevin, if you come to Findlay, we’ll win a national championship. If you don’t come, we’ll win a national championship.” That confidence was the basis of what would become a hall of fame career.

Over the next 24 years, Strahm built the Oilers into one of the most successful and respected NAIA college football programs in the country. From 1975 to 1998, he compiled an overall record of 183-64-5 (.736), standing to this day as the winningest football coach in program history. In just his fourth season, Coach Strahm had Findlay playing in its first national championship game. The following year, in 1979, the Oilers brought the program’s first national title back to Northwest Ohio.

That was the first of four national championships won under Strahm’s leadership. The Oilers also claimed NAIA national titles in 1992, 1995, and 1997. His 1997 team remains the only squad in program history to go a full season without a defeat, capping off a perfect 14-0 campaign.

Throughout his illustrious tenure, Coach Strahm was recognized as a four-time National Coach of the Year and a 12-time District 22 Coach of the Year. His programs were a standard of excellence, producing 13 conference titles, 38 NAIA All-Americans, 16 NAIA Scholar-All-Americans, and one NAIA National Player of the Year.

In recognition of his unparalleled career and contributions to the sport, Coach Strahm was inducted into the University of Findlay Athletic Hall of Fame in 1989 and the NAIA Hall of Fame in 1999. In 2004, he achieved the ultimate honor of being enshrined in the National Football Foundation’s College Football Hall of Fame.

Prompted by friends to memorialize his football anecdotes and experiences on and off the field, Strahm worked with writer John Grindrod to publish his biography, “Just Call Me Coach,” in 2008.

Along with challenges on the football field, Strahm has also met with personal challenges, including four heart attacks, a stroke and cancer. He considers his “greatest victories” to be those over his illnesses. He served as honorary chair of the American Heart Association’s Heart Walk in 2007 and received UF’s Arch Award for more than 25 years of service in 2009. In 2015, Strahm received an honorary doctorate from the University of Findlay and in 2023, Dick Strahm Champions Field was built on campus, a practice facility that will serve as the training grounds for student-athletes for years to come.

“Many words come to mind when describing Dick Strahm – master motivator, football tactician, charismatic leader, and fighter of indomitable spirit both on the field and in the many doctors’ offices and hospitals that have become as much a part of his life as the August two-a-days that were the harbingers to each new season. But, perhaps, the most apt word to describe Dick Strahm is the simplest, winner.” – John Grindrod (Author of Just Call Me Coach)

Rest in peace, Coach Strahm. You will not soon be forgotten.

His biography entitled Just Call Me Coach, written by John Grindrod of Lima, Ohio, was released in December 2008.

In 2023, Findlay announced plans to construct an athletic facility in his honor.

Coaching career (HC unless noted)

1970–1972      Toledo (DC)

1973–1974      Kansas State (assistant)

1975–1998      Findlay

Head coaching record

Overall            183–64–5

Tournaments    18–8–1 (NAIA D-II playoffs)

4–0 (NAIA playoffs)

Accomplishments and honors

Championships

3 NAIA Division II (1979, 1992, 1995)

1 NAIA (1997)

8 Hoosier–Buckeye (1976–1979, 1982–1985)

3 SMFA Midwest League (1995–1997)

Awards

2× NAIA Division II Coach of the Year (1979, 1995)

NAIA Coach of the Year (1997)

Bob Simmons obit

Bob Simmons, former Oklahoma State football coach, dies at 77

 

He was not on the list.

Former Oklahoma State football coach Bob Simmons tied on Tuesday, the school announced.

He was 77.

Specifics of his death are not yet known.

Simmons, who was the first and only Black head football coach at Oklahoma State, spent six seasons leading the Cowboys. The school hired him ahead of the 1995 campaign to replace Pat Jones, who had managed just two conference wins over the past four seasons combined.

Simmons led the Cowboys to an 8-4 record in 1997. They reached as high as No. 12 in the national rankings that season and earned a trip to the Alamo Bowl, which was the program’s only bowl appearance under his watch and the school’s first in nearly a decade. Simmons earned Big 12 Coach of the Year honors that season, too.

In total, Simmons finished with a 30-38 record over his six seasons with the Cowboys. He parted with the program after the 2000 season, and was eventually replaced by Les Miles.

That marked Simmons’ only head coaching stop in his career, though he spent decades as an assistant throughout the sport, and was on staff as the linebackers coach at Colorado in 1990 when the Buffaloes won the national championship. Simmons also spent time on staff at Notre Dame, Washington, Toledo and West Virginia.

He served as the head football coach at Oklahoma State University–Stillwater from 1995 to 2000, compiling a record of 30–38 and being named the Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year in 1997. In 2013, he was hired as the head football coach at Boulder High School in Boulder, Colorado.

 

Biographical details

Born    June 13, 1948

Livingston, Alabama, U.S.

Died    June 9, 2026 (aged 77)

Playing career

1968–1970      Bowling Green

Position           Linebacker

Coaching career (HC unless noted)

1976    Bowling Green (WR)

1977–1979      Toledo (OLB)

1980–1987      West Virginia (OLB)

1988–1991      Colorado (OLB)

1992–1994      Colorado (DL)

1995–2000      Oklahoma State

2002–2004      Notre Dame (LB)

2005–2007      Washington (TE/ST)

2013–2015      Boulder HS (CO)

Head coaching record

Overall            30–38 (college)

10–19 (high school)

Bowls  0–1

Accomplishments and honors

Awards

Big 12 Coach of the Year (1997)