Rusty Staub obit

Rusty Staub, beloved Mets icon, dead at 73

He was not on the list.


In every way, Rusty Staub, the beloved Mets' hitting icon, who passed away early Thursday morning at age 73, was bigger than life — a bigger-than-life baseball personality, humanitarian, gourmet chef, wine connoisseur, friend-to-all and, to the fans of Montreal, quite simply, "Le Grand Orange."


The hulking 6-2 Staub, whose post-retirement weight fluctuated from 250-300 pounds, had battled a number of health issues in recent years, including a near-fatal heart attack, October 2, 2015, on a flight from Ireland to New York. He reportedly became woozy while playing golf near his Palm Beach Gardens, Florida home in late January and was later discovered to be suffering from cellulitis, which evolved into a blood infection that resulted in a shutdown of his kidneys.


Staub died at 12:30 a.m. Thursday at the Good Samaritan Medical Center in West Palm Beach due to multiple organ failure. He was initially admitted with pneumonia, dehydration and an infection and had spent the last eight weeks in the hospital. He would have turned 74 on Sunday.


Staub’s legacy is immense and will be immediately felt at Citi Field Thursday afternoon, when the Mets open their season against the Cardinals.

"The Mets family suffered another loss earlier today when Daniel 'Rusty' Staub passed away in a West Palm Beach Hospital after an illness," the team said in a statement before taking the field in Flushing. "He was almost as well known for his philanthropic work as he was for his career as a baseball player, which spanned 23 seasons. There wasn't a cause he didn't champion. Rusty helped children, the poor, the elderly and then there was his pride and joy, The New York Police and Fire Widows' and Children's Benefit Fund.

"A six-time All-Star, he is the only player in major league history to have collected as least (sic) 500 hits with four different teams. The entire Mets organization sends its deepest sympathy to his brother, Chuck and sisters Sue Tully and Sally Johnson. He will be missed by everyone."

A prolific hitter, Staub compiled a lifetime .279 average with 2,716 hits, 292 homers, 499 doubles and a major league record-tying 25 pinch hit RBI in 2,951 games over 23 seasons with Houston, the Montreal Expos, Mets, Detroit Tigers and Texas Rangers from 1963-85. In 1983, at age 39 with the Mets, he tied Dave Philley as the only players in baseball history with eight consecutive pinch hits. In addition, Staub and Ty Cobb, Alex Rodriguez and Gary Sheffield are the only four players in history to hit home runs in the majors before turning 20 years old and after turning 40.

"So sad," Tom Seaver told the Daily News by phone from Calistoga, California. "Rusty was a close, close friend. Great teammate. He visited me often out here in the vineyard. I will miss him. Most of all I will miss his energy. Everything he did was at 90 miles an hour."

Off the field, Staub was a prominent humanitarian. His Rusty Staub Foundation, which in 1986 established the New York Police and Fire Widows' and Children's Benefit Fund, distributed over $11 million in the first 15 years of its existence to the families of New York area police and fire fighters killed in the line of duty, and since the September 11, 2001 attacks, received over $112 million in contributions. On January 8, Staub announced that, in conjunction with Catholic Charities, his foundation had also served 9,043,741 meals to the hungry at food pantries throughout New York over last 10 years, with funds though his annual wine auction dinner and foundation golf tournament. i

Remembering the life and career of baseball icon Rusty Staub


“For more than thirty years, Rusty dedicated his life to helping others," said Stephen Dannhauser, the foundation's chairman, in a statement. "He worked tirelessly on behalf of the widows, widowers, and children of New York City's fallen heroes.


"He cared about each and every family and they felt the same way about him. Rusty started more than just a charity — he started a family. While many admire Rusty for his impressive record as a baseball player, it is his work off the field that truly made him one of the greats. We will miss his laughter, friendship, and leadership but we will work to carry on his mission through our continued stewardship of the charity he founded."

Added MLB commissioner Rob Manfred: "Rusty was a superb ambassador for our sport and a generous individual known for community efforts, particularly for the New York City Police and Fire Departments. On behalf of Major League Baseball, I extend my deepest condolences to Rusty's family and friends, Mets fans and his many other admirers in the United States and Canada."

Daniel Joseph Staub was born April 1, 1944 in New Orleans, but as his mother, Alma, explained, he became "Rusty" before he left the hospital. "One of the nurses nicknamed him “Rusty” because of the red fuzz he had all over his head and it just stuck." His father, Ray, was a minor league catcher in the Class D Florida State League in 1937-38 who gave him a bat when he was 3 years old and instructed him to swing at anything round he could find. By the time he was a teenager, Rusty was a star first baseman at Jesuit High in New Orleans and after leading his team to the 1961 Louisiana State AAA championship, he signed a $100,000 bonus with the then-National League expansion Houston Colt 45s.


After just one season of minor league ball, Staub joined the Colt 45s in 1963 as a 19-year-old rookie and Opening Day cleanup hitter, but hit only .224 with six homers in 150 games. He clearly wasn't ready, but after being sent back to the minors in mid-season 1964, he returned to Houston in 1965 a much more finished product, batting .256 with 14 HR and 63 RBI. Two years later, made his first of his six All-Star teams, batting .333 with 10 HR, 74 RBI and a league-leading 44 doubles.

Staub attributed his '67 breakthrough to Houston's move to the spacious Astrodome (where they were renamed the Astros). "I was originally signed as a home run hitter," he said, "but when we moved to the Dome, I didn't try to pump the ball as much."

At the same time he was establishing himself as Houston's first star, he was developing a reputation for being a very tough salary negotiator, holding out for eight days into the 1968 season before finally signing his contract. The holdout led to a strained relationship with Astro GM "Spec" Richardson who, the following January, traded him to the Expos for outfielder Jesus Alou and first baseman Donn Clendenon. However, the trade hit a snag when Clendenon, an African American, decided to retire rather than to report to the Astros, purportedly because he felt Houston manager Harry Walker (for whom he'd played previously in Pittsburgh) was a racist.

A major dispute ensued between Astros CEO Roy Hofheinz and Commissioner Bowie Kuhn after Kuhn ordered the trade to go through with Montreal sending two (far inferior) substitute players to Houston in place of Clendenon.

For Staub, who, by his New Orleans heritage was steeped in French culture, the trade to Montreal became an instant love affair with the French-Canadian fans. He hit .302 with 29 homers his first season, 1969, with the Expos as the lone All-Star on a dreadful 110-loss team. After hitting a two-run homer and making a specular game-ending catch to break a 20-game Expo losing streak, Montreal Gazette sportswriter Ted Blackman began referring to him as "Le Grand Orange." It stuck with him the rest of his life.

 

Jerry Moses obit

Jerry Moses, Red Sox All-Star Catcher, Dead At 71

Moses was on the roster during the 'Impossible Dream' season of 1967.

 

He was not on the list.

BOSTON, MA — Jerry Moses, the catcher who was called up to bullpen duty during Boston's "Impossible Dream" before becoming an All-Star, has died. He was 71.

The Red Sox did not say what the cause of death was, only that Moses had been in failing health for some time.

Moses made his major league debut in 1965, when at 18 he became the youngest Red Sox player to hit a pinch-hit home run. He was called up during the 1967 "Impossible Dream" run to the World Series, but you won't find Moses in the box scores - he served as the bullpen catcher.

Moses started behind the plate on Opening Day in 1970, the year he went on to earn an All-Star nod. Injuries shortened his season, and he was traded to California. Moses bounced around five more teams before retiring at the age of 29.

After his playing days, Moses was active in the Jimmy Fund and a kids' baseball camp. One of the kids who attended was current Red Sox President and CEO Sam Kennedy.

"I was blessed to get to know Jerry later," Kennedy said, "through his many charitable efforts and in his frequent visits to Fenway Park, a place for which he had such obvious fondness. "

Moses played 155 games for the Red Sox over four seasons, hitting .278 with 13 home runs and 51 RBIs.

"I loved every minute that I played for Boston," Moses said. "The Red Sox experience after ’67 particularly was wonderful because that’s when the crowds started to come. For guys like me just coming to the big leagues, it was a wonderful time to be a Red Sox."

Moses first appeared briefly with the Red Sox in 1965 at age 18 due to his bonus status, hitting a home run for his first hit, and also becoming the youngest player to hit a home run with the Red Sox, but soon returned to the minor leagues for more seasoning. He made the majors for good in 1969, and in 1970 Moses served as Boston's first-string catcher and was selected to the American League All-Star team. But after that season, he was included with Red Sox slugger Tony Conigliaro in a blockbuster trade to the California Angels. He did not win the Angels' starting catcher job and batted only .227 in 1971, and then began his career as a journeyman, never spending more than one full season with the Angels, Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers, San Diego Padres and Chicago White Sox. Moses was traded along with Graig Nettles from the Indians to the Yankees for John Ellis, Charlie Spikes, Rusty Torres and Jerry Kenney at the Winter Meetings on November 27, 1972. He served as Detroit's regular catcher in 1974.

After his playing career, Moses was extremely involved with the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association, championing increased benefits for inactive, non-vested former players who did not originally qualify for pension benefits, and acting as a catalyst for countless charitable events, including the Legends for Youth Clinic Series. Beloved by many due to his kind-hearted nature, Moses served as the chairman emeritus for Major League Alumni Marketing until his death.

Though in failing health, Moses attended the anniversary to the Red Sox "Impossible Dream" season at Fenway Park in August 2017. A Catholic, he attended Mass every Sunday in Rowley, Massachusetts, for the last few years of his life.

Moses died on March 27, 2018, in Haverhill, Massachusetts. He was 71 and had been in failing health for some time.

Debbie Lee Carrington obit

Return of the Jedi & Total Recall Actress Debbie Lee Carrington Dies at 58 

She was not on the list.


Sad news out of Hollywood today. Reports have surfaced that veteran actor Debbie Lee Carrington has passed away at the age of 58. Carrington played roles in a wide variety of projects throughout her career, but was probably best known for playing an Ewok in Return of The Jedi, Thumbelina in Total Recall, and her involvement in the Chucky movie franchise. In fact her scene in Total Recall that sees her gut a man with a Bowie knife before jumping on a bar and opening fire on a group of Mars police is one of the most remembered scenes from the movie.


Carrington was a well rounded performer, with voice roles and stunt roles in addition to her acting credits. She appeared in a wide variety of television and movies such as Total Recall, Batman Returns, Baywatch, Men In Black, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Elf, The Polar Express, Mighty Joe Young, Seed of Chucky, Nip/Tuck and a number of other projects. While there hasn’t been much information surrounding Carrington’s death, former colleagues and fans are sharing their condolences and remembering the actress on social media.

Return of The Jedi‘s Mike Quinn, who worked with Carrington during filming, expressed his sadness at hearing of her death on his Facebook. “So sad to hear of the passing of a fellow Return Of The Jedi performer Debbie Lee Carrington,” he wrote. “She was an advocate for actors with disabilities and had a degree in child psychology. She had done so much, not only as an Ewok but was inside the costume for Howard The Duck, appeared in Total Recall, Grace & Frankie, Dexter, Captain EO (shown at Disney theme parks), the list goes on…” He then posted a picture from last summer when they appeared at a show together.


Jennifer Tilly, who worked alongside Carrington in Bride of Chucky – Carrington acted as Tilly’s stunt double – also took to social media to pay her respects.



“RIP #DebbieLeeCarrington, “the other Tiffany”. You were such a joy to work with. You had inimitable spirit, and a great attitude. Whenever you were on the set you kept everybody laughing and happy,” Tilly wrote.



The actress then shared another picture from set with Carrington writing, “We will miss you Debbie,” before adding, “She was the best.”



Carrington was born on December 14, 1959 to an insurance manager father and schoolteacher mother. The actress and stuntwoman, who was born with dwarfism, made her first big screen appearance in the 1981 Chevy Chase/Carrie Fisher movie ‘Under the Rainbow’ before landing the role of Ewok Romba in 1983’s Return of The Jedi. She then began doing stuntwork, beginning with the TV movies, Ewoks: The Battle for Endor and The Ewok Adventure. She also portrayed the Ewok Weechee, Wicket’s older brother in The Ewok Adventure in addition to her stunt work.



Carrington’s impressive resume shows she continued to work up until her death. Most recently Carrington made an appearance on the Netflix hit show Grace and Frankie in 2016, had a role in the 2017 movie Special Unit and according to her IMDB page was currently in pre-production on the murder mystery, Escape from Paradise.



It’s clear from the massive amounts of tributes pouring in online that Carrington made an impact on fans and those of whom she worked with. Screenwriter and director Don Mancini, who created the Chucky series that Carrington was so deeply involved in, expressed his condolences online, sharing a sweet picture from on set that simply stated, “WE LOVE YOU ALWAYS.” 

Delores Taylor obit

Delores Taylor, co-star of 'Billy Jack' films, dies at 85

 

She was not on the list.

Delores Taylor, who co-starred with her husband Tom Laughlin in his productions of the Billy Jack series of films, has died in Southern California, her daughter said Monday. She was 85.

Teresa Laughlin told The Associated Press that Taylor died March 23 of natural causes at the Motion Picture and Television Fund Home near Los Angeles. She said her mother had suffered from dementia.

Taylor was born in 1932 in Winner, South Dakota. She grew up near the Rosebud Indian Reservation, an experience which she drew from when creating the namesake character of the Billy Jack films in the 1970s.

Taylor starred in three of the four Billy Jack films in which she played a teacher whose progressive school is defended by Billy Jack — a half-white, half-Native American Vietnam veteran who had come to hate war. The films became counterculture favorites.

Billy Jack was first seen in the 1968 biker movie Born Losers, but became widely known after Billy Jack, the second of four films Laughlin made about him (only three made it to theaters).

Billy Jack was released in 1971 after a long struggle by Laughlin to gain control of the low-budget, self-financed movie, a model for guerrilla filmmaking. The film became a surprise hit and the theme song, One Tin Soldier, was a hit single for the rock group Coven.

Taylor was nominated for a Golden Globe for New Star of the Year in 1972.

Her daughter said Taylor was a "reluctant" celebrity and preferred her roles of wife, mother and grandmother.

"She loved performing but didn't enjoy the Hollywood trappings," Teresa Laughlin said.

Taylor is survived by two sisters, three children and five grandchildren. Tom Laughlin died in 2013.

Filmography

Year       Title       Role       Notes

1967      The Born Losers                Pedestrian with Children / Opening Off Screen Narrator Uncredited

1971      Billy Jack              Jean Roberts     

1974      The Trial of Billy Jack      

1976      Billy Jack Goes to Washington    

1986      The Return of Billy Jack (final film role)

DuShon Monique Brown obit

'Chicago Fire' mourns the death of star DuShon Monique Brown

She was not on the list.

DuShon Monique Brown, who played the no-nonsense assistant to the chief on the NBC drama Chicago Fire, died Friday at age 49.

Chicago's Cook County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed to USA TODAY that Brown died just after 12 p.m. on Friday at St James Olympia Fields hospital. No cause of death was given. An autopsy will be performed Saturday.

Robert Schroeder, Brown's representative, said the star's "untimely death" was sudden and from "natural causes."

"We are devastated by the loss of a very talented and kindhearted soul. DuShon was a film, television, commercial and voice-over actress who also graced the stages of many Chicago theaters," Schroeder said in a statement to USA TODAY. "She brought laughter and joy to many and will be greatly missed."

 

Zell Miller obit

Former Georgia Gov. Zell Miller, 86, dies 

He was not on the list.

 

Zell Miller, a former two-term governor and U.S. senator who gave birth to Georgia’s HOPE scholarship, has died at the age of 86.

Miller was a keynote speaker at a Democratic National Convention — and a Republican National Convention. A veteran politician who really wanted to be a minor-league shortstop. A man unswervingly loyal to his mountain roots who came to be seen as a traitor by many in his political family. A statesman who never strayed from his basic principles, yet seemed utterly unpredictable.

Miller helped resuscitate Bill Clinton’s failing 1992 Democratic presidential campaign and ended up becoming one of the Republican Party’s most vocal supporters. In his 80s, he suffered from several illnesses, including Parkinson’s disease and late last year his family sent word that he would no longer be making any public appearances.

“I learned more from Zell Miller both professionally and personally than from anyone else I have encountered,” his grandson, Bryan Miller said Friday. “He was more than my grandfather. He was my dear friend and mentor.”

 

Alvin Wright obit

Rams Star Alvin Wright Has Died 

He was not on the list.

Wright, a nose tackle, played with the National Football League's Los Angeles Rams from 1986 to 1991 and was All-Pro in 1990.

Wright graduated from Randolph County High School in 1980 after leading the football team to the state playoff finals in 1979 and earned a football scholarship with Jacksonville State University in Alabama. Wright was Gulf South Conference Freshman of the Year in 1980 and Defensive Player of the Year in 1981. He earned Honorable Mention All-America honors after the 1981 season. Wright lettered four years at Jacksonville State and had 200 career solo tackles, 388 total tackles, and 30 quarterback sacks. Wright led the Gamecocks to two Gulf South conference championships and three trips to the NCAA Division II playoffs.

After college, Wright was drafted in the 14th round by the Birmingham Stallions of the USFL. Rather than report to the Stallions, Wright went undrafted by the NFL and later signed as an undrafted free agent with the Rams in 1985. He briefly left the Rams' camp, but returned in 1986 and spent most of that season on the injured list with a knee injury. Wright was the first Rams player to cross the picket line during the 1987 NFL players' strike and started his first career game against the New Orleans Saints in Week 3. He played 84 career games over seven seasons, starting 62, and recording 163 career solo tackles, 71 assists, and eight quarterback sacks. Wright led all Rams defensive linemen in tackles for four consecutive seasons and started 50 consecutive games from 1988 to 1991.

He also had a samll part in the movie Hawmps!