Lee May obit

Former MLB All-Star, 18-Year Veteran Lee May Dies at Age 74

He was not on the list.

The Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association announced Sunday that three-time All-Star

Lee May died at the age of 74.

May spent time with the Cincinnati Reds, Houston Astros, Baltimore Orioles and Kansas City Royals during his 18-year career, hitting 354 home runs from 1965-82.

A couple of former major leaguers had some nice words to say about the Big Bopper:

Ken Singleton ✔ @29alltime

So sorry to hear of the passing of former teammate Lee May. A superb sense of dry humor was Lee's trademark. A feared slugger. #RIPBIGBOPPER

12:14 PM - Jul 30, 2017

 44 44 Replies   83 83 Retweets   486 486 likes

Mark Gubicza ✔ @Markgubicza

RIP Lee May. Great player, great friend and great person. #Reds #Orioles #Astros #Royals #MLB

12:23 PM - Jul 30, 2017 · Toronto, Ontario

May was one of the most consistent home run hitters of his era, hitting at least 20 home runs in 11 straight seasons. His best years came with the Reds from 1969-71 when he crushed 111 home runs and drove in 302 runs during that stretch.

 

May began his professional career in 1961 with the Tampa Tarpons in the Florida State League.

He went to the World Series twice, once with Cincinnati and once with Baltimore, but never earned a ring.

Per Mike Klingaman of the Baltimore Sun, May died Saturday of heart disease.

Some of his notable teammates and managers were: Dick Sisler, Frank Robinson, Pete Rose, Vada Pinson, Tony Pérez, Sammy Ellis, Jim Maloney, Deron Johnson, Milt Pappas, Don Heffner, Dave Bristol, Leo Cárdenas, Billy McCool, Gary Nolan, Ted Abernathy, Johnny Bench, Bobby Tolan, Jim Merritt, Wayne Granger, Hal McRae, Dave Concepción, Sparky Anderson, Harry Walker, Salty Parker, Leo Durocher, Jimmy Wynn, Larry Dierker, César Cedeño, Doug Rader, Jerry Reuss, Dave Roberts,
Jesús Alou, Preston Gómez, Jim Palmer, Earl Weaver, Mike Flanagan, Brooks Robinson, Doug DeCinces, Don Baylor, Dave Duncan, Mike Cuellar, Reggie Jackson, Dennis Martínez, Ross Grimsley, Rick Dempsey, Eddie Murray, Rudy May, Don Stanhouse, Ken Singleton, Gary Roenicke, Steve Stone,
Mike Boddicker, Tim Stoddard, Tippy Martinez, Jim Frey, George Brett, Dan Quisenberry, Willie Wilson, Frank White, Dick Howser, Jamie Quirk, Atlee Hammaker, César Gerónimo, Bud Black, Vida Blue, Dennis Leonard, Rance Mulliniks, Willie Aikens, Jerry Martin and Larry Gura.

As a coach he helped younger hitters such as Chris Sabo, Bo Diaz, Barry Larkin, Eric Davis, Mariano Duncan and Paul O'Neill. 

In his 18-season career, May posted a .267 batting average, with 354 home runs, 1244 runs batted in, and 2031 hits in 2071 games. Defensively, he recorded a .994 fielding percentage. May was prone to strike out; 10 times he fanned more than 100 times in a season and compiled 1,570 in his career. However, he is one of 11 major leaguers to reach the 100-RBI plateau playing for three teams, the others being Dick Allen, Joe Carter, Orlando Cepeda, Rocky Colavito, Goose Goslin, Rogers Hornsby, Reggie Jackson, Al Simmons, Vic Wertz, and Alex Rodriguez.

Dave Grayson obit

Dave Grayson, San Diego prep and AFL star, dies at 78

 

He was not on the list.

Dave Grayson, a football star at San Diego and Lincoln High who went on to a 10-year pro football career as a cornerback, has died.

Grayson was 78. No cause of death was listed in the weekend announcement by the Oakland Raiders, for whom Grayson played his final six seasons.

Grayson joined the Raiders in 1965 after playing his first four seasons with the American Football League franchise that began as the Dallas Texans before moving to Kansas City Chiefs. He intercepted 48 passes in his pro career, returning five for touchdowns. In 1968, Grayson led the AFL with 10 interceptions.

The AFL lasted 10 seasons and Grayson — the league’s all-time interceptions leader — was selected to the league’s All-Time Team as a cornerback.

“He was one hell of a defensive back,” said Pete Gumina, who played with Grayson at San Diego High and the University of Oregon. “The best defensive back I’ve ever seen.

“He always had this little smile on his face, and that little smile was like, ‘I know what I can do, and I can do it better than anybody else can.’ He never told anybody how good he was, but everyone knew how good he was.”

Grayson began his prep career at San Diego High as a running back and defensive back. Len Burnett, who played with Grayson at Lincoln, San Diego City College and Oregon, remembers his old teammate best for his running back skills.

“He wasn’t very big, but he played big,” said Burnett, who played one season as a defensive back with the Pittsburgh Steelers. “He was always muscled, almost chiseled, even though we didn’t lift weights in those days. He was born that way, and he hit the hole hard.”



In 1955, as a sophomore at San Diego High, Grayson played on a Cavers team coached by Duane Maley that went 11-0-1, outscored opponents 382-65 and won a mythical national championship. The National Sports News Service bestowed the national title on the Cavers.

Grayson transferred to Lincoln for his final two seasons.

“He wasn’t particularly vocal. He kind of kept his own counsel,” said Rick Smith, former media relations director for the Chargers and Rams and a San Diego high school sports historian. Smith attended Lincoln High with Grayson.

“I just remember him as a real professional, in the way he prepared for the game, the way he dealt with the media (in the AFL). He was a top-drawer guy.”

At San Diego City College, Grayson was on the 4 x 200 relay team that set a national junior college record.

“He was a very fast little fellow,” said longtime San Diego Union Chargers beat writer Jerry Magee, who also saw Grayson play in high school. “I think his speed is what distinguished him.”

Burnett, who now lives in Orlando, Fla., said Grayson married while he was in college.

“He seemed to be a little bit more mature than we were,” said Burnett. “If there were four or five people standing talking, he would be a little bit apart, kind of talking as if he were a little older than we were.

“He was a leader. Very perceptive with great instincts. One thing he liked to do is go to a new place, like a hotel or bar and strike up a conversation with a stranger, just making conversation. He was real good one-on-one.”

In 2010, Grayson was selected to the Breitbard Hall of Fame at the San Diego Hall of Champions. He is also a member of the state of Oregon Sports Hall of Fame. His son, David Lee Grayson, played at Lincoln High and spent five seasons in the NFL as a linebacker, including one year with the Chargers.

Services will be held at 11 a.m. Aug. 25 at Bayview Baptist Church in Encanto.

Leonard Landy obit

Leonard Landy Dies: 'Our Gang' Little Rascal Was 84

He was not on the list.

Leonard Landy, the former "Our Gang" and "Little Rascals" child star, died Wednesday at 84, according to Variety.

The freckled-face Landy acted in 21 of the original "Our Gang" comedy shorts, in 1938 through 1941.

"Our Gang" started as a series of film comedy shorts that followed a group of poor neighborhood children, which was shown in movie theaters beginning in 1922. Sound was added to the movie shorts in 1929.

Landy, who stood out because of his big ears and occasional one-liners, premiered in the episode "Feed 'Em and Weep" in 1938.

The "Our Gang" series was repackaged for syndicated television in the 1950s and retitled "The Little Rascals," which is how many remember the child stars from that series today, per Variety. Some 41 children participated in the series and about five are still living today.



Filmography


1941 Fightin' Fools (Short)

Leonard (as Our Gang)

1940 Goin' Fishin' (Short)

Leonard (as Our Gang)

1940 Waldo's Last Stand (Short)

Leonard (as Our Gang)

1940 Good Bad Boys (Short)

Leonard (as Our Gang)

1940 Bubbling Troubles (Short)

Leonard (as Our Gang)

1940 All About Hash (Short)

Leonard (as Our Gang)

1940 Alfalfa's Double (Short)

Leonard (as Our Gang)

1939 Time Out for Lessons (Short)

Leonard (as Our Gang)

1939 Dad for a Day (Short)

Leonard (as Our Gang)

1939 Captain Spanky's Show Boat (Short)

Leonard (uncredited)

1939 Auto Antics (Short)

Leonard (as Our Gang)

1939 Joy Scouts (Short)

Leonard (as Our Gang)

1939 Cousin Wilbur (Short)

Leonard (as Our Gang)

1939 Clown Princes (Short)

Leonard (as Our Gang)

1939 Alfalfa's Aunt (Short)

Leonard (uncredited)

1938 Practical Jokers (Short)

Leonard (uncredited)

1938 Football Romeo (Short)

Phooey (as Our Gang)

1938 Men in Fright (Short)

Leonard (as Our Gang)

1938 Aladdin's Lantern (Short)

Deacon (as Our Gang)

1938 Hide and Shriek (Short)

Percy (as Our Gang)

1938 Feed 'em and Weep (Short)

Percy (as Our Gang)

Rosemary Anne Sisson obit

Rosemary Anne Sisson, prolific writer of period drama – obituary

 

She was not on the list.

Rosemary Anne Sisson, or Romy as she was known to all her friends, was a former Writers’ Guild Chair, President, activist and also the best role model any of us could have had.

Romy (pictured above with former WGGB General Secretary Bernie Corbett) was a prolific playwright, author and screenwriter. Her career was vast and varied. When she started, she co-authored a play, A Ghost On Tiptoe, with Robert Morley. She told me she learned a lot and the luncheons were wonderful.

On television, she wrote for Upstairs, Downstairs, The Duchess of Duke Street, The Six Wives of Henry VIII and how long have you got?

Romy cocked a snook at ageism. Late in her career, she wrote The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles for George Lucas. She took great pride in wearing her Lucasfilm silk bomber jacket well into her late 70s.

She was delighted that she wrote Murder, She Wrote when Angela Lansbury and she were both nearly 80.

Did I mention Romy also wrote films starring Bette Davis, David Niven and Jodie Foster?

Yet in her spare time she worked ceaselessly for the Guild and negotiated some of the television agreements which we still benefit from today.

Once, with Guild support, Romy and six other writers brought a case of copyright infringement against a major television company. They claimed their work had been used without credit or payment.

Romy refused to back down. The Guild won the case but coincidentally Romy’s work dried up shortly after.

Romy of course wrote to the company and asked if she was on an unofficial blacklist? The company of course denied it. She was soon offered work again. You didn’t mess with Romy.

When the new Broadcasting Act was passed in the early 90s, some disreputable people without any credentials – or money – set themselves up as independent producers. Romy wrote:

“A producer who has no money is not a producer but a wannabee, and if he commissions work without paying for it, he is a crook.”

Romy was part of the Guild negotiating team who, along with the PMA, gave us the first PACT agreement, which lays out the terms for writers when working with independent producers. We all have a lot to thank her for.

Till the end of her life, Romy was passionate about the Guild and attended AGMs. No one knew our Rule Book better than her.

She was the first person I ran to with Guild news and gossip and, most importantly, for wise counsel. I miss Romy’s enthusiasm, friendship and also her talent. Now let’s celebrate some of her work.

 

Filmography

Film

Sisson was asked to write screenplays for several Disney films:

 

Ride a Wild Pony (1975)

Escape from the Dark (1976, aka The Littlest Horse Thieves)

Candleshoe (1977)

The Watcher in the Woods (1980), which she co-wrote with Brian Clemens and Harry Spalding

The Black Cauldron (1985)

Television credits

The Ordeal of Richard Feverel (1964)

Upstairs, Downstairs, for which she wrote 11 episodes

The Talking Parcel (1978 animated film)

The Wind in the Willows (1983 animated film)

The Wind in the Willows (1984) animated TV series, continuation of the above film.

Follyfoot

Together

The Irish R.M.

The Six Wives of Henry VIII, the episode concerning the King's marriage to Catherine of Aragon

The Shadow of the Tower (Henry VII), two episodes

Elizabeth R, the episode The Marriage Game

The Duchess of Duke Street

A Town Like Alice (1981 miniseries)

Manions of America

A Dorothy L. Sayers Mystery (TV Series, 1987) Lord Peter Wimsey

The Bretts (1987–88), which Sisson co-created with Frank Marshall

The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, on which she co-wrote screenplays with George Lucas