Oliver Sacks obit

Oliver Sacks, Neurologist and 'Awakenings' Author, Dies at 82

He was not on the list.

Oliver Sacks, the neurologist whose memoir Awakenings was the basis for the 1990 Oscar-nominated film, died Sunday at his New York City home. He was 82.

His personal assistant, Kate Edgar, told the New York Times that Sacks died of cancer. Sacks had written an essay for the Times in February, discussing that he was in the late stages of terminal cancer following a melanoma in his eye spreading to his liver.

A medical doctor, Sacks wrote several books, many of which centered on people with neurological disorders. His 1973 nonfiction book about his work aiding post-encephalitic patients was adapted into the film of the same name, which starred Robin Williams and Robert De Niro. It earned three Academy Award nominations, including best picture and best screenplay.

Sacks was a frequent contributor for publications including The New Yorker and The New York Review of Books. His essay The Last Hippie, which appeared in the Review of Books in 1992, was adapted into the 2011 film The Music Never Stopped, starring J.K. Simmons as a father whose brain tumor prevents him from storing new memories.

Born in London, Sacks moved to New York City in 1965, where he practiced neurology ever since. He was an instructor and then clinical professor of neurology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine from 1966 to 2007, followed by an appointed professor at the New York University School of Medicine from 1992 to 2007 and a professor of neurology and psychiatry at Columbia University from 2007 to 2012.

Sacks, who never married, earned honorary doctorates from numerous institutions, including the University of Oxford, and was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2008.

Wes Craven obit

Wes Craven, master of horror and slasher films, dies at 76

He was not on the list.

Wes Craven, who had a strict religious upbringing that forbade the watching of movies, only to gain renown as a master of the horror genre with the “Nightmare on Elm Street” and “Scream” franchises, died Aug. 30 at his home in Los Angeles. He was 76.

The cause was brain cancer, his family announced in a statement.

“A Nightmare on Elm Street” (1984), “Scream” (1996) and their many sequels helped Mr. Craven win recognition as one of the major figures behind the slasher film.

With the razor-fingered Freddy Krueger of “Elm Street” becoming an internationally known symbol of menace, Mr. Craven achieved popular if not always critical success. By 2011, his movies were said to have grossed more than $1 billion at box offices around the world.

In many of his films, Mr. Craven explored, to terrifying effect, the edge — even the razor’s edge — between dreams and daily life. The outlandishness of the nightmare world, embodied in particular by Krueger, intrudes on what is depicted as real life.

In one of the “Scream” movies, characters engaged in making a horror movie find themselves to be imperiled in their presumably real lives by the fiendish Ghostface, who symbolizes just the sort of frightfulness that they are trying to depict.

Abounding in ironies, in self-awareness and the self-referential, the “Scream” films, displaying Mr. Craven’s penchant for tweaking the conventions of his genre, managed the feat of leaving audiences amused as well as afraid.

Mr. Craven asserted that the horror or slasher film was about more than splashing blood for gore’s sake. Instead, he told the Los Angeles Times, “I think the genre goes outside the boundaries of reality in many ways in order to get at some central truths and feelings that aren’t served well by very factual states.”

Wesley Earl Craven was born in Cleveland on Aug. 2, 1939, and he was brought up in a firmly observant Baptist home. He was in college when he saw his first movie — “To Kill a Mockingbird” (1962), based on the Harper Lee novel — and realized that the silver screen was essentially harmless.

He graduated from Wheaton College in Illinois — where he developed an interest in writing for a college publication — and received a master’s degree in writing and philosophy from Johns Hopkins University in 1964. He was teaching at what is now Clarkson University in Potsdam, N.Y., when he was exposed to world cinema at a nearby art house theater.

He called it a revelation to see works by Ingmar Bergman, Federico Fellini, François Truffaut and Luis Buñuel. After a period of reflection, he bought a 16mm camera he saw in a pawnshop, made a break with academia and tried to break into moviemaking.

“I was 27, and I hadn’t become a world-famous novelist,” he told the New York Times. “I wasn’t sure if I was doing something that made sense or I was just a total lunatic.”

Filmography

Film

Year       Film       Director                Producer              Writer   Notes

1972      The Last House on the Left           Yes         No          Yes         Also editor

1975      The Fireworks Woman   Yes         No          Yes         Credited as Abe Snake;

Also editor

1977      The Hills Have Eyes          Yes         No          Yes         Also editor

1981      Deadly Blessing                 Yes         No          Yes        

1982      Swamp Thing     Yes         No          Yes        

1984      The Hills Have Eyes Part II             Yes         No          Yes        

1984      A Nightmare on Elm Street           Yes         No          Yes        

1986      Deadly Friend    Yes         No          No         

1987      A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors     No          executive            Yes        

1988      The Serpent and the Rainbow     Yes         No          No         

1989      Shocker                Yes         Yes         Yes        

1991      The People Under the Stairs        Yes         executive            Yes        

1994      Wes Craven's New Nightmare     Yes         executive            Yes        

1995      Vampire in Brooklyn       Yes         No          No         

1996      Scream Yes         No          No         

1997      Scream 2              Yes         Yes         No         

1999      Music of the Heart           Yes         No          No         

2000      Scream 3              Yes         No          No          Uncredited co-writer

2005      Cursed Yes         No          No         

Red Eye                Yes         No          No         

2006      Pulse     No          No          Yes         Remake

Paris, je t'aime   Yes         No          Yes         Segment Père-Lachaise

2007      The Hills Have Eyes 2      No          Yes         Yes         Remake

2010      My Soul to Take                Yes         Yes         Yes        

2011      Scream 4              Yes         Yes         No          Final film / Uncredited co-writer

Producer Only

Year       Film       Notes

1971      Together             

1993      Laurel Canyon   

1995      Mind Ripper       aka The Hills Have Eyes III

1997      Wishmaster        Executive producer

2000      Dracula 2000

2002      They     

2003      Dracula II: Ascension      

2005      Dracula III: Legacy           

Feast     Executive producer

2006      The Hills Have Eyes          Remake

The Breed           Executive producer

2009      The Last House on the Left           Remake

2015      The Girl in the Photographs        

Ray Hirsch obit

R.I.P Ray Hirsch, Great So-Cal “Swing” Dancer

 

He was not on the list.

Ray Hirsch, great original Southern California swing dancer, passed away at 94 years of age on Aug. 29, 2015.

Ray was a true “Swing” dancer as they would have called it — meaning, he didn’t do just one dance; he instead did any and every step swing music inspired, mixing the styles and moves of Shag, Balboa, Bal-Swing, Lindy, and the numerous wild tricks he and his partner Patty Lacey could think up. He especially loved performing in contests and films. (For instance, Mad Youth)

He spent the later years of his life traveling the world as a special guest at swing dance events, and was always known for being kind, excited, and in good spirits.

I first heard the news at the International Lindy Hop Championships, an event that celebrates the music and dancing he spent his life doing and its influence across the world.

The final night, Nick Williams and I gave a tribute to Ray over the microphone, ending by urging that Ray was not the kind of guy who would want people sad over his passing. So we instead encouraged the dancers to pay tribute to him by rolling up their pant legs, getting out onto the floor, and dancing any and every step they felt inspired to do.

The next time you’re on a dance floor, take a moment to do the same. The smile on your face will match Ray’s.

Ray Hirsch went dancing home on August 29, 2015 to his wife Betty. He was born in Phoenix, Arizona in 1921 but it all began in Hollywood, dancing at the age of 12. Ray won the National Jitterbug Contest in 1938. He taught Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney and others to dance and did movies with them and various artists in early days of the big screen.

He fought as a Marine in WWII in the Pacific campaign, including the liberation of the Philippines and battles of Iwo Jima and Guadalcanal. After returning from the War, he did a few more movies in Hollywood before eloping with the love of his life of 67 years, Betty Biggs.

He has always entertained in a variety of venues- the St. Bernard Club, San Francisco Fashion Guild, and Mended Hearts since 1961. In 2008, he was inducted to the California Swing Dance Hall of Fame. He was the humorous and larksome type and had endless interesting stories to tell. Ray loved his wife, children, life, Big Band, dance and dogs.

Ray is survived by three children: Rae Dawn, Radley (Paula), Jana (Jim), granddaughter: Larisa, step-granddaughters: Kasey and Sara, and great-grandchildren: Vincent Jr., Autumn and Alyvia.

Hirsch was born on February 6, 1921 in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. He was an actor, known for Her First Romance (1940), Mad Youth (1939) and Music with Spice (2023). He died on August 29, 2015 in San Rafael, California, USA.

Actor

John Garfield, Beatrice Pearson, and Marie Windsor in Force of Evil (1948)

Force of Evil

7.2

Newsboy (uncredited)

1948

 

John Carroll, Ruth Hussey, and Vera Ralston in I, Jane Doe (1948)

I, Jane Doe

7.0

Newsboy (uncredited)

1948

 

Susan Hayward, Frances Farmer, Harry Carey, and Albert Dekker in Among the Living (1941)

Among the Living

6.4

Jitterbug Dancer (uncredited)

1941

 

Her First Romance (1940)

Her First Romance

6.1

Student Butch

1940

 

Mad Youth (1939)

Mad Youth

5.0

Jitter Bug

1939

 

Arthur Lake, Larry Simms, and Penny Singleton in Blondie Meets the Boss (1939)

Blondie Meets the Boss

6.7

Jitterbug Dancer (uncredited)

1939

Henry Gaston obit

Henry Gaston Obituary

 

He was not n the list.

Henry L. Gaston "Shane" CHARLOTTE - Mr. Henry L. Gaston" Shane" of Charlotte, passed on August 24, 2015. Service will be Saturday, August 29, 2015, at 1 p.m. with visitation at 12 noon at A. E. Grier & Sons Chapel located at 2310 Statesville Ave. A.E. Grier & Sons is entrusted to serve the Gaston family.

He was a member of the music group Maurice Williams and The Zodiacs.

Maurice Williams & the Zodiacs were an American doo-wop and rhythm & blues vocal group, active during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Originally The (Royal) Charms, the band changed its name to The Gladiolas in 1957 and The Excellos in 1958, before finally settling on The Zodiacs in 1959.

Maurice Williams was born 26 April 1938 in Lancaster, South Carolina. His first experience with music was in the church, where his mother and sister both performed. By the time he was six, Williams was performing regularly there. With his childhood friend Earl Gainey, Williams formed the gospel group The Junior Harmonizers. As rock and roll and doo-wop became their primary interest, the Junior Harmonizers changed their name to The Royal Charms.

In addition to Williams and Gainey, The Royal Charms were made up of Willie Jones (baritone), William Massey (tenor, baritone, trumpet), and Norman Wade (bass). In the winter of 1956, while still in high school, Williams and his band traveled to Nashville, Tennessee to record for the Excello record label. At the time they were going by the name 'The Royal Charms,' but the founder of Excello Records, Ernie Young, convinced them to change their name to 'The Gladiolas.' At the time, there were at least two other bands using the same name.

The song "Little Darlin'" was a #11 hit on the R&B chart in 1957, but did not break the Billboard Hot 100's Top 40. However, when the song was covered by the Canadian group The Diamonds, it moved up to #2.

Williams finished high school and while on the road with the band (after their station wagon broke down in Bluefield, West Virginia), the band came across a small car known as "The Zodiac" and the band changed their name. Shortly thereafter, Henry Gatson replaced Earl Gainey.

In the spring of 1959, Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs performed at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, South Carolina. Around that time, the group split and reformed. The members were Williams, Gatson, Wiley Bennett, and Charles Thomas. Later, Little Willie Morrow and Albert Hill were added. One month later, in the early summer of 1959, the band recorded in a Quonset Hut on Shakespeare Road in Columbia. The recording engineer, Homer Fesperman, recorded several tracks that the band had hoped would fetch them a hit. One of the last tracks that they recorded that day was "Stay," a song that Williams had written a couple of weeks before.

After taking the demo of "Stay" to Al Silver at Herald Records in New York City, the song was pressed and released in early 1960. "Stay" is the shortest recording ever to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States (1:39, though the label read 1:50). Later versions of "Stay" by The Four Seasons (1964) and Jackson Browne (1978) also reached the Top 20, each selling over one million copies in the United States alone. The inclusion of "Stay" on the soundtrack to the film Dirty Dancing in 1987 led to the song selling more records than it had during its original release. At the end of 1963, British band the Hollies covered "Stay", which gave the group their debut Top Ten hit single in the UK, peaking at #8.

A 1961 recording by the group, "May I", also released by Herald Records became, over the years, another million selling record.

Williams continued recording, touring, and releasing music through the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. He is still active on the music industry, residing in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Williams was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame in 2010.

Al Arbour obit

NHL Hall-Of-Fame Coach Al Arbour Dies At Age 82

He was not on the list.

Al Arbour, who set an NHL record by coaching 1,500 games, has died at age 81. As the head coach of the New York Islanders, he led the team to four Stanley Cup championships in 19 seasons. He also won four NHL titles as a player.

"Al will always be remembered as one of, if not the, greatest coaches ever to stand behind a bench in the history of the National Hockey League," Islanders President and General Manager Garth Snow said, as the team announced Arbour's death Friday.

"Arbour was being treated for Parkinson's disease and dementia near his home in Sarasota, Florida," NHL.com reports. 

When he retired in 1994, Arbour had logged 1,499 games as a coach. He made it an even 1,500 in 2007, when the Islanders brought him back to coach one game. An inductee of the NHL Hall of Fame, Arbour won 782 games as a coach — second all-time to Scotty Bowman (1,244 wins).

During his playing days, Arbour, a defenseman, was on Stanley Cup-winning teams for the Detroit Red Wings (1954), Chicago Blackhawks (1961), and the Toronto Maple Leafs (1962 and '64).

Born in Sudbury, Canada, Arbour became a coach after playing in the NHL and other pro leagues for parts of three decades. He spent three years as the head coach of the St. Louis Blues, moving into that role directly after playing there.

In 1973, Arbour became the head coach of the Islanders, a young team that he eventually turned into a perennial contender.

From The New York Times:

"With General Manager Bill Torrey supplying the future Hall of Famers Denis Potvin on defense, Bryan Trottier, Mike Bossy and Clark Gillies at forward and Billy Smith in goal, Arbour coached the Islanders to the league championship from 1980 to 1983. The Islanders became the second franchise in N.H.L. history to win four consecutive Stanley Cup titles, the Montreal Canadiens having captured five straight Cups from 1956 to 1960 and four straight in the seasons before the Islanders' streak."

Arbour is survived by his wife, Claire, and children Joann, Jay, Julie and Janice.

He is third to Joel Quenneville for games coached in National Hockey League history and fifth all-time in wins, behind Scotty Bowman, Joel Quenneville, Ken Hitchcock and Barry Trotz.

 

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season             Playoffs

Season Team            League            GP            G            A            Pts            PIM            GP            G            A            Pts            PIM

1949–50            Windsor Spitfires            OHA            3            0            0            0            0            1            0            0            0            0

1949–50            Detroit Hettche            IHL            33            14            8            22            10            3            0            0            0            4

1950–51            Windsor Spitfires            OHA            31            5            4            9            27            —            —            —            —            —

1951–52            Windsor Spitfires            OHA            55            7            12            19            86            —            —            —            —            —

1952–53            Windsor Spitfires            OHA            56            5            7            12            92            —            —            —            —            —

1952–53            Washington Lions            EAHL            4            0            2            2            0            —            —            —            —            —

1952–53            Edmonton Flyers            WHL            8            0            1            1            2            15            0            5            5            10

1953–54            Detroit Red Wings            NHL            36            0            1            1            18            —            —            —            —            —

1953–54            Sherbrooke Saints            QHL            19            1            3            4            24            2            0            0            0            2

1954–55            Edmonton Flyers            WHL            41            3            9            12            39            —            —            —            —            —

1954–55            Quebec Aces    QHL            20            4            5            9            55            4            0            0            0            2

1955–56            Edmonton Flyers            WHL            70            5            14            19            109            3            0            0            0            4

1955–56            Detroit Red Wings            NHL            —            —            —            —            —            4            0            1            1            0

1956–57            Detroit Red Wings            NHL            44            1            6            7            38            5            0            0            0            6

1956–57            Edmonton Flyers            WHL            24            2            3            5            24            —            —            —            —            —

1957–58            Detroit Red Wings            NHL            69            1            6            7            104            4            0            1            1            4

1958–59            Chicago Black Hawks            NHL            70            2            10            12            86            6            1            2            3            26

1959–60            Chicago Black Hawks            NHL            57            1            5            6            66            4            0            0            0            4

1960–61            Chicago Black Hawks            NHL            53            3            2            5            40            7            0            0            0            2

1961–62            Toronto Maple Leafs            NHL            52            1            5            6            68            8            0            0            0            6

1962–63            Toronto Maple Leafs            NHL            4            1            0            1            4            —            —            —            —            —

1962–63            Rochester Americans            AHL            63            6            21            27            97            2            0            2            2            2

1963–64            Toronto Maple Leafs            NHL            6            0            1            1            0            1            0            0            0            0

1963–64            Rochester Americans            AHL            60            3            19            22            62            2            1            0            1            0

1964–65            Rochester Americans            AHL            71            1            16            17            88            10            0            1            1            16

1964–65            Toronto Maple Leafs            NHL            —            —            —            —            —            1            0            0            0            2

1965–66            Toronto Maple Leafs            NHL            4            0            1            1            2            —            —            —            —            —

1965–66            Rochester Americans            AHL            59            2            11            13            86            12            0            2            2            8

1966–67            Rochester Americans            AHL            71            3            19            22            48            13            0            1            1            16

1967–68            St. Louis Blues            NHL            74            1            10            11            50            14            0            3            3            10

1968–69            St. Louis Blues            NHL            67            1            6            7            50            12            0            0            0            10

1969–70            St. Louis Blues            NHL            68            0            3            3            85            14            0            1            1            16

1970–71            St. Louis Blues            NHL            22            0            2            2            6            6            0            0            0            6

NHL totals            626            12            58            70            617            86            1            8            9            92