Gene Shue obit

Former NBA Coach of the Year winner Gene Shue dies at 90

The 2-time Coach of the Year took Washington and Philadelphia to The Finals in his career.

 

He was not on the list.

Gene Shue, who found success as a player, coach and executive in the NBA, has died. He was 90.

Shue spent 22 years as an NBA coach, played 10 seasons in the NBA and had 19 years of experience as an executive in the league, too. He was a five-time All-Star with Detroit Pistons (1957-62) and led the team to five straight playoff berths. Prior to his success with Detroit, he spent his first two NBA seasons with the Philadelphia Warriors and New York Knicks and struggled to find success at either stop.

As a coach, Shue was well-known for his mix of fundamentals and willingness to embrace new wrinkles in the game. When the 3-pointer was officially adopted by the NBA in the 1979-80 season, it was Shue’s Clippers that led the league in 3-point attempts (543), 3-pointers (177) and had the league leader in 3-pointers made (Brian Taylor, 90). Overall, he was 784-681 in the regular season and 33-47 in the playoffs as an NBA coach.

His willingness to take on challenging situations and turn them around was also a hallmark of his career and one for which he was rewarded. He was NBA coach of the year in 1968-69 after taking the Baltimore Bullets (now Washington Wizards) from a 36-46 season to a 57-25 finish that season. He won it again in 1981-82 with the Bullets when they finished 43-39 after back-to-back 39-43 marks in 1979-80 and ’80-81.

Two years after his playing career ended in 1964, Shue began a 22-season long coaching career. He spent the first seven seasons of his career with the Bullets, compiling a 291-257 mark which included a run to the 1971 Finals (which Baltimore lost 4-0 to the upstart Milwaukee Bucks). He resigned after the 1972-73 season.

From there, Shue oversaw the start of one of the most successful eras in Philadelphia 76ers history as their coach. Although his debut season in Philadelphia ended with a 25-57 finish in 1973-74, he had the Sixers as a playoff team by 1975-76 behind talented guards Doug Collins and George McGinnis. The 1976-77 season saw Shue guide the Sixers — led by Julius Erving, Collins, McGinnis and others — to their first Finals in 10 seasons. Philadelphia took a 2-0 lead in those Finals, but lost four straight games to the youthful Portland Trail Blazers to lose the series.

Shue was fired six games into the 1977-78 season as the Sixers would go on to make three more Finals over the next six seasons and won the NBA title in 1983. After his stop with the Sixers, Shue coached the San Diego Clippers (now Los Angeles Clippers) from 1978-80, going 78-86, before heading back to the Bullets in 1980. In his second stint there, he went 231-248, made the playoffs three times, but only advanced out of the first round once and was fired in March of 1986.

He closed out his coaching career with another stop with the Clippers from 1987-89, amassing a 27-93 mark in 1 1/2 seasons of work before he was fired in January of 1989. After his coaching days were done, Shue served as GM of the 76ers from July, 1990 to May, 1992.

Peter Vecsey shared the news that Shue has died at age 90.

Gene Shue, 90, has died. A 5-time NBA all-star, twice coach of the year (twice lost Finals) he was an acquired taste whose always accessible company I enjoyed. Confident & conceited, with good reason, Gene could laugh at himself & often at what was written about him. God Bless!

As a coach, Shue was named NBA Coach of the Year twice — once with the Baltimore Bullets in 1969 and then again with the Washington Bullets in 1982. He later became the general manager of the Philadelphia 76ers and had some issues with Charles Barkley. The Hall of Famer once called Shue a “clown” while trying to force a trade.

Shue played college ball at the University of Maryland. He was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 1991. He and Mike D’Antoni are the only NBA coaches to win Coach of the Year twice and not be in the Naismith Hall of Fame.

Shue played 10 seasons in the NBA, and was the third overall pick by the Philadelphia Warriors in 1954 after a stellar collegiate career at Maryland. He played six games with Philadelphia before he was sold to the New York Knicks, for whom he played from 1954-56 and again from 1962-63.

In between Knicks stints, Shue played for Fort Wayne before owner Fred Zollner moved the team to Detroit following the 1956-57 season.

Shue was an All-Star all five seasons he played in Detroit, averaging 22.8 points in 1959-60 and 22.6 and 6.8 assists in 1960-61. On some forgettable Pistons teams — they made the playoffs in Shue's five seasons, despite having a losing record each year — Shue was a star at point guard.

Every time he would score in Detroit, whether at Olympia Stadium or Cobo Arena, the public-address announcer would say, "Two for Shue!"

"“The Detroit Pistons are saddened by news of the passing of Gene Shue — a five-time NBA All-Star, two-time All-NBA performer and member of the franchise’s 50th Anniversary All-Time team," the Pistons said in a statement. "During his tenure with the Pistons, he led the club in scoring once and finished second in his other four seasons.

"He was a great ambassador for the game and a great representative of the Pistons.

"We extend our heartfelt condolences to the Shue family.”

After a brief stint with ESPN, Shue became general manager of the 76ers, with whom he famously feuded with star player Charles Barkley.

Shue was known for his temper. He took the game very seriously.

"If he lost a basketball game he wouldn't speak to anyone, even me," his former wife, Sandy, once told the Washington Post. "When we first began dating I really didn't like it."

The NBA said in a statement posted to Twitter: "Gene dedicated his life to the game and left an indelible mark as a player, head coach and executive. We extend our deepest condolences to the Shue family."

Shue, the godfather of former NBA player and executive Danny Ferry, is in the Maryland athletics Hall of Fame, but has missed out five times on the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame ballot.

Details on funeral arrangements weren't immediately available. He lived his later years in California.

Norma Swank-Haviland obit

Norma Swank-Haviland, Disney Ink-&-Paint Artist And Early Chip Voice Actor, Dies At 97

 

 She was not on the list.

Norma Swank-Haviland, a Disney animator and an uncredited voice actor for Chip of Chip ‘n’ Dale, passed away in early April of this year.

Swank-Haviland was one of the few surviving artists who worked at Walt Disney Studios during the 1940s. She spent 28 years working for the ink and paint department as a painter and an animation final checker.

Born in Alaska in 1925, she spent her childhood in Washington before heading south to Glendale, California with her family. Once there, she began working in traffic for Walt Disney Studios before moving to the ink and paint department, where she would spend most of her career. Her first feature work came on 1944’s The Three Caballeros.

“That particular picture had a lot of feathers,” she once told historian Mindy Johnson, author of Ink & Paint : The Women of Walt Disney’s Animation, “that was a little difficult for a beginning painter with all those little pointy things!”

While at the studio, other opportunities came her way, and eventually she stated to do voice acting work. Her debut came in 1946’s Casey at the Bat, where she can be heard shouting “Kill him! Kill the umpire!” Swank-Haviland also helped out by doing voicework for the mice in Cinderella and singing on Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom.

But her biggest recurring contribution came when she was asked to voice Chip (the black-nosed chipmunk). Along with Dale, the two chipmunk brothers first appeared as side characters in the 1943 short Private Pluto before headlining their own theatrical shorts starting in the mid-1940s. The role of Chip during this period is commonly credited to Disney sound effects department head Jimmy MacDonald, however women from the ink-and-paint department were commonly recruited to perform voices uncredited in films. While it’s impossible to know where Swank-Haviland’s contributions end and MacDonald’s begin, it’s safe to say that both of their voices can be heard on the Chip ‘n’ Dale shorts of the 1940s-50s.

When Swank-Haviland retired from Disney in 1971, she worked as a final checker. “In the final checking, which was much more demanding, I had quite a bit of training,” she told Johnson. “We had to know everything about ‘camera,’ and we had to go through each scene as if we were shooting in camera.”

Swank-Haviland leaves behind a legacy that has held up for nearly eight decades. Chip, the character she voiced for many years, will appear later this month in a new Chip n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers feature on Disney Plus.

“The main thing I was most proud of, was the fact that I was at Disney’s,” she recalled when speaking with Johnson. “I was doing motion picture work and I’ve always been a motion picture buff… I still am very proud of the fact that I worked at Disney’s.”

Actress (7 credits)

 1956 Chips Ahoy (Short)

Chip (voice, uncredited)

 1954 The Lone Chipmunks (Short)

Chip (voice, uncredited)

 1952 Pluto's Christmas Tree (Short)

Chip (voice, uncredited)

 1950 Cinderella

Mice / Additional Voices (voice, uncredited)

 1946 Casey at the Bat (Short)

Woman in Crowd (voice, uncredited)

 1946 Make Mine Music

Angry Woman in Crowd (segment "Casey at the Bat") (voice, uncredited)

 1943 Private Pluto (Short)

Chip (voice, uncredited)

 

Animation department (1 credit)

 1944 The Three Caballeros (ink-and-paint artist - uncredited)

Fitzroy Bunny Diamond obit

Mighty Diamonds members Fitzroy 'Bunny' Simpson, Donald 'Tabby' Shaw die days apart

 

He was not on the list.

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Fitzroy "Bunny Diamond" Simpson of reggae trio Mighty Diamonds has died just two days after the shooting death of lead singer Donald "Tabby Diamond" Shaw, according to associates.

Simpson died of a prolonged ailment at the Chest Hospital in the Jamaican capital Kingston on Friday after suffering a major stroke in 2015.

His band partner Shaw, 66, was one of two persons killed in a drive-by shooting in Kingston on March 30 that police said could be related to a gang feud involving his son.

The chairman of the Jamaican Association of Vintage Artistes and Affiliates, Frankie Campbell, told The Associated Press on Monday that Simpson had been partially immobile and unable to perform with the group.

“He got a major stroke in 2015 and subsequently he got other strokes, so he couldn’t really work with the group anymore. Obviously he couldn’t travel. For the past five or six years, unfortunately, he couldn’t really move so he didn’t go on the road much.”

He said Simpson and Shaw “were very close all their lives as childhood friends and coming up through the ranks.”

Formed in 1969, the Mighty Diamonds are known for hits like “I Need a Roof” and “Pass the Kutchie,” which found great success in the United Kingdom and across Europe.

Shaw was the group’s lead vocalist, with Simpson and Lloyd "Judge" Ferguson providing harmony vocals.

Last October, the group received the order of distinction at Jamaica’s National Honors and Awards Ceremony.

Willie Tasby obit

WILLIE TASBY, JR.

January 8, 1933 ~ April 3, 2022 (age 89) 

He was not on the list.

Willie was born in Shreveport, LA January 8, 1933

He was preceded in death by his Father, Willie Tasby, Sr., and mother, Leanna B. Tasby.  He was also preceded in death by his son, Richard K. Tasby.

He is survived by daughters, Sharon Tasby and Leanna Tasby,

Son Lester Cooper,

Grand children Richard Tasby, Jr.; Matthew Tasby, Juanita Tasby, Malachi Tasby, Keisha Cooper Owens

Great Grand children:  Ayanna, Imani, Gracie, Joy, Matthew Tasby, Jr., Mariah Owens

He is also survived by his loving god daughter,

He was an American outfielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) who appeared in 583 games as a member of the Baltimore Orioles (1958–1960), Boston Red Sox (1960), Washington Senators (1961–1962) and Cleveland Indians (1962–1963). He was primarily a center fielder, with 459 of his 545 career defensive appearances at the position. Although Tasby was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, he was a graduate of McClymonds High School of Oakland, California, alma mater of star American athletes Bill Russell, Frank Robinson, Curt Flood and Vada Pinson during the 1950s. He also attended Oakland's Laney College.

Tasby threw and batted right-handed, stood 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m) tall and weighed 170 pounds (77 kg). He began his minor-league career in 1950 in the organization of the St. Louis Browns, predecessors of the modern MLB Orioles. He spent nine seasons in the franchise's farm system before making his major league debut on September 18, 1958, and played in 18 games for the Orioles at the end of the season. Tasby's performance in 1959 was solid as he played 142 games and batted .250 with 13 home runs, while patrolling center field for the Orioles. Baltimore's sixth-place finish in the AL was not impressive, but Tasby's rookie performance was, as he was selected to the inaugural Topps All-Star Rookie Team along with future Hall of Famer Willie McCovey.

In 1960, the Orioles were much improved. They contended for the AL pennant until late September. In June, however, with a tenuous hold on first place, they were swept in a four-game series at home by the Detroit Tigers. June 9 was the low point for Tasby, as his Orioles lost both ends of a double header to the Tigers and then traded him to the last-place Boston Red Sox. Boston plugged Tasby right into their lineup, and the center fielder responded with a career-best .281 batting average.

Tasby's performance for the Red Sox garnered some attention, as he became an expansion draft selection of the new Washington Senators franchise. The expansion Senators' opening season showed promise for Tasby. He started 134 games in center field, hit a career-high 17 home runs and collected 63 RBI in 141 games played. However, Washington acquired former American League All-Star center fielder Jimmy Piersall during the offseason. Then, after just 11 games with Washington in 1962, seven as the club's left fielder, Tasby was traded on May 5 to the Cleveland Indians for pitchers Steve Hamilton and Don Rudolph. Tasby scratched out 127 games over two partial seasons with Cleveland to finish his big-league career. All told, Tasby collected 467 hits in the majors, with 61 doubles, ten triples and 46 home runs accompanying his .250 career batting mark. He was credited with 174 runs batted in.

Willie Tasby died on April 3, 2022, at the age of 89. He is buried in Plant City, Florida.

Betty Rowland obit

Betty Rowland, One of Burlesque's Last Queens, Dies at 106

Known as “the Red Headed Ball of Fire,” she began performing at age 14, became a headliner on two coasts, and outlived most of her peers. 

She was not on the list.

Betty Rowland was a legendary burlesque dancer during the “Golden Age of Burlesque” who was known as the “Red Headed Ball of Fire.”   

Died: Sunday, April 3, 2022 (Who else died on April 3?)

Details of death: Died in Culver City, California, at the age of 106.

We invite you to share condolences for Betty Rowland in our Guest Book.

Red Headed Ball of Fire   

Betty Rowland and two of her sisters started out as dancers in vaudeville before moving into burlesque. Betty became a performer at the famous Minsky’s Theater in Times Square in New York City. She moved to Los Angeles where she was a burlesque star known as the “Red Headed Ball of Fire.” Her signature dance piece was called “Bumps in the Ballet,” in which she spoofed a ballet routine. In 1952, she was arrested for putting on a lewd performance and sentenced to four months in jail. A local columnist defended her publicly, saying the sentence was unfair and she was released after 3 weeks. In 1943, she sued Samuel Goldwyn for using her stage name “Ball of Fire” for the title of a film but was unsuccessful. She was featured in the 2010 documentary film “Behind the Burly Q,” which told her story and the story of other famous burlesque dancers.

Notable Quote 

“People whisper, for heaven’s sake, they say, ‘Do you know what she used to do?’ And they’re saying it like I was a porno worker or something. Well they shouldn’t whisper — I was a dancer. It was the only thing I knew how to do, and I was a success at it.” – She told Liz Goldwyn, according to the New York Times

Tributes to Betty Rowland

Betty Rowland, One of Burlesque's Last Queens, Dies at 106https://t.co/GkFhIX6I5U pic.twitter.com/RczpGy5d1b

— Jacqueline Antonovich (@jackiantonovich) June 30, 2022

Betty Rowland performed in Pittsburgh for the city’s burlesque baron, George Jaffe. https://t.co/CzfFiWE62H

— David Rotenstein (@iVernacular) June 30, 2022

"Let’s put a little juice in the Ballets Russes, and give the dying swan a goose. In a classical sort of way, might I put a bump in this ballet?"#BettyRowland #RIP #TheRedHeadedBallOfFire #burlesque @greenpnyt https://t.co/fqPai0eBNR

— Daniel Paisner (@DanielPaisner) June 30, 2022

An epic Ohio girl has passed – Betty Rowland, One of Burlesque's Last Queens, Dies at 106 https://t.co/9cfx4U5zdR

— Omnivorous Cravings (@nomnomnivore1) June 30, 2022

Filmography

Films

Let's Make Music (1940) – Betty, Chorus Girl

Spavaldi e innamorati (1950) – Dorothy

Love & Kisses (1965) – Dancer

A Time for Dying (1969) – Dancer

Sunset Strip (2012)

Forbidden Cinema: Volume 5 – Lost Blue Classics (2014)

 

Documentaries

The Last First Comic (2010)

Behind the Burly Q (2010)

Pretty Things (2005)

Striptease: The Greatest Exotic Dancers of All Time (2004)

Gypsy (TV Series 1965)

International Burlesque (1950)