Friday, December 31, 2021

THOSE WE LOST IN 2021, CONTINUED . . .

In lieu of Funny Friday today, there is a continuation of those we lost in 2021, followed tomorrow by a list of those we lost in 2021 in Australia . . . 

Patricia Maginnis

 


Date of death:

August 30, 2021

Age at death:

93

About:

In the decade before Roe v. Wade legalized abortion nationwide, she emerged as one of the country’s first abortion rights activists, campaigning on behalf of women’s freedom to safely end unwanted pregnancies.

Pat Maginnis was considered the first abortion rights activist in American history and was also a political cartoonist, painter, and peace activist.

By the way:

Macginnis was born into a staunchly Catholic family.  During her brief service in the United States Army, she was deployed to Panama, as punishment for fraternizing with a Black soldier. She described her time in Panama and the horrible treatment of pregnant women in the army hospital as her inspiration to advocate for women's reproductive freedoms during her life. She began her activism when she returned to the United States, settling in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1959.

Cause of death:

Unknown.

 

WILLARD SCOTT


Date of death:

September 4, 2021

Age at death:

87

About:

American weather presenter, radio and TV personality, actor, narrator, clown, comedian, and author, with a career spanning 65 years.

He is best known for his television work on the Today show as weather reporter who also presented a tribute greetings segment for people celebrating their 100th or above birthdays as well as select marriage anniversaries.

By the way:

Scott was the creator and original portrayer of Ronald McDonald.  Scott wrote in his book The Joy of Living that he originally created the Ronald McDonald character at the local franchise's request, which had also sponsored the Bozo the Clown show on which he portrayed Bozo.

In his book Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser claims that McDonald's replaced Scott on account of his weight, supposedly concerned about McDonald's image. Scott denied the claims and cited other commitments he had at the time.


Willard Scott as the Ronald McDonald he created.

By the way #2:

What we call Macca's in Oz, the Americans call Mickey D's.

Cause of death:

Natural causes.


JANE POWELL


Date of death:

September 16, 2021

Age at death:

92

About:

American actress, singer, and dancer who first appeared in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musicals in the 1940s.

With her soprano voice and girl-next-door image, Powell appeared in films, television and on the stage. She was notable for her performances in A Date with Judy (1948), Royal Wedding (1951), Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954), and Hit the Deck (1955).

Powell also made appearances on stage such as in My Fair Lady and The Sound of Music. She also appeared occasionally on television, including recurring guest roles on The Love Boat (1981–1982), as well as the sitcom Growing Pains (1988–1992). She was a veteran of the Golden Age of Hollywood.

By the way:

In 1949, Powell sang at Harry S. Truman’s inaugural ball.

she sang for five U.S. presidents and the queen of England.

Cause of death:

Natural causes.

 

COLIN L POWELL


Date of death:

October 18, 2021

Age at death:

84

About:

American politician, statesman, diplomat, and United States Army officer who served as the 65th United States secretary of state from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African-American secretary of state.

Powell served as the 16th United States national security advisor from 1987 to 1989.

Powell's last military assignment, from October 1989 to September 1993, was as Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, the highest military position in the United States Department of Defense. During this time, he oversaw 28 crises, including the invasion of Panama in 1989 and Operation Desert Storm in the Persian Gulf War against Iraq in 1990–1991. He formulated the Powell Doctrine, which limits American military action unless it satisfies criteria regarding American national security interests, overwhelming force, and widespread public support.[4] He served as Secretary of State under Republican president George W. Bush. As secretary of state, Powell gave a speech before the United Nations regarding the rationale for the Iraq War, but he later admitted that the speech contained substantial inaccuracies. He was forced to resign after Bush was reelected in 2004.

By the way:

While at school, Powell worked at a local baby furniture store, where he picked up Yiddish from the Eastern European Jewish shopkeepers and some of the customers.  He once spoke to a Jewish reporter in Yiddish, much to the man's surprise.  He also served as a Shabbos goy, helping Orthodox families with needed tasks on the Sabbath.

Cause of death:

On October 18, 2021, Powell, who was being treated for multiple myeloma, died at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center of complications from COVID-19 at the age of 84. He had been vaccinated, but his myeloma compromised his immune system; he also had early-stage Parkinson's disease.

President Joe Biden and four of the five living former presidents issued statements calling Powell as an American hero. Donald Trump disparaged him as having made "big mistakes" and as a "classic RINO".  (Republican in Name Only)

 

Sunao Tsuboi


Date of death:

October 24, 2021

Age at death:

96

About:

Japanese anti-nuclear, anti-war activist, and teacher. He was a hibakusha, a survivor of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, and was the co-chair of Nihon Hidankyo, a Japan-wide organisation of atomic and hydrogen bomb sufferers. He was awarded the Kiyoshi Tanimoto peace prize in 2011.

By the way:

In 1945, he was a student of the Hiroshima City Technical School. When the bomb exploded he was walking to school and he became badly burned. He went to an aunt's house nearby but did not wish to be a burden to her, so he left. He was later taken to Ujina (Hiroshima port) by a truck and then to Ninoshima by barge. Only young men were being evacuated, as they were considered valuable for the war effort.

He asked a woman visiting to inform his family. He stayed on Ninoshima for several days, cared for by a classmate who fed him; this classmate was then sent elsewhere. His mother and uncle searched among the dead and dying for three days with no success. When her uncle suggested leaving and holding a funeral for him, his mother began running around screaming his name. He heard her and put up his hand and said, "Here I am." He was then taken to his home in Ando, but was not conscious of this. He did not know the war had ended and did not believe that it had when he was told.

Cause of death:

Tsuboi died of arrhythmia due to anemia, in Hiroshima.

 

F.W. de Klerk


Date of death:

November 11, 2021

Age at death:

85

About:

South African politician and Nobel Peace Prize laureate who served as state president of South Africa from 1989 to 1994 and as deputy president from 1994 to 1996.

South Africa’s last White president opened the door to Black majority rule in one of sub-Saharan Africa’s most prosperous nations by releasing Nelson Mandela from prison.

He and his government dismantled the apartheid system and introduced universal suffrage.

By the way:

De Klerk was a controversial figure among many sections of South African society, all for different reasons. He received many awards, including the Nobel Peace Prize for dismantling apartheid and bringing universal suffrage to South Africa. Conversely, he received criticism from anti-apartheid activists for offering only a qualified apology for apartheid, and for ignoring the human rights abuses by state security forces. He was also condemned by South Africa's white nationalists, who contended that by abandoning apartheid, he betrayed the interests of the country's white minority.

Cause of death:

On 19 March 2021, it was announced that de Klerk had been diagnosed with mesothelioma. Just under eight months later, on 11 November, he died from complications of the disease in his sleep at his home in Cape Town.

 

Stephen Sondheim


Date of death:

November 26, 2021

Age at death:

91

About:

American composer and lyricist, among the most important figures in 20th-century musical theatre,

Sondheim was praised for having "reinvented the American musical" with shows that tackled "unexpected themes that range far beyond the [genre's] traditional subjects" with "music and lyrics of unprecedented complexity and sophistication". His shows addressed "darker, more harrowing elements of the human experience" with songs often tinged with "ambivalence" about various aspects of life.

Sondheim started his theatre career by writing the lyrics for West Side Story (1957) and Gypsy (1959) before becoming a composer and lyricist. Sondheim's best-known works include A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1962), Company (1970), Follies (1971), A Little Night Music (1973), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1979), Merrily We Roll Along (1981), Sunday in the Park with George (1984), and Into the Woods (1987).

Sondheim's accolades include eight Tony Awards (including a Lifetime Achievement Tony in 2008),[1] an Academy Award, eight Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize, a Laurence Olivier Award, and a 2015 Presidential Medal of Freedom. 

By the way:

Sondheim detested his mother, who was said to be psychologically abusive and to have projected her anger from her failed marriage onto her son:  "When my father left her, she substituted me for him. And she used me the way she used him, to come on to and to berate, beat up on, you see. What she did for five years was treat me like dirt, but come on to me at the same time."  She once wrote him a letter saying that the only regret she ever had was giving birth to him.  When she died in the spring of 1992, Sondheim did not attend her funeral. He had already been estranged from her for nearly 20 years.

Cause of death:

Sondheim died of cardiovascular disease at his home

 

BOB DOLE


Date of death:

December 5, 2021

Age at death:

98

About:

American politician and attorney who represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996. He was the Republican Leader of the Senate during the final 11 years of his tenure, including three non-consecutive years as Senate Majority Leader. Prior to his 27 years in the Senate, he served in the United States House of Representatives from 1961 to 1969.

Dole was also the Republican presidential nominee in the 1996 election and the vice presidential nominee in the 1976 election.

By the way:

Dole joined the United States Army's Enlisted Reserve Corps in 1942 to fight in World War II, becoming a second lieutenant in the Army's 10th Mountain Division.

In April 1945, while engaged in combat southwest of Bologna, Italy, Dole was seriously wounded by a German shell that struck his upper back and right arm, shattering his collarbone and part of his spine. "I lay face down in the dirt," Dole said. "I could not see or move my arms. I thought they were missing." As Lee Sandlin describes, when fellow soldiers saw the extent of his injuries, they believed all they could do was "give him the largest dose of morphine they dared and write an 'M' for 'morphine' on his forehead in his own blood, so that nobody else who found him would give him a second, fatal dose."

Dole was paralysed from the neck down and transported to a military hospital near Kansas. Suffering blood clots, a life-threatening infection, and a fever of almost 109 °F (43 °C), he was expected to die. After large doses of penicillin were not successful, he overcame the infection with the administration of streptomycin, which at the time was still an experimental drug.  Dole was operated on seven times and recovered from his wounds.



Cause of death:

In February 2021, Dole announced that he had been diagnosed with stage four lung cancer, and subsequently underwent immunotherapy, forgoing chemotherapy due to its negative effect on his body. He died from the disease at his home in Washington, D.C.

 

RAY ILLINGWORTH



Date of death:

24.12.2021

Age at death:

89

About:

English cricketer, cricket commentator and administrator.

As of 2015, he was one of only nine players to have taken 2,000 wickets and made 20,000 runs in first-class cricket.

He is stated to have been 'tough, combative, grudging, shrewd, and an instinctive reader of the game', and an experienced, no-nonsense captain who expected his team to play like professionals. David Gower wrote 'no matter how highly Ray might regard you as a player he would not have you in his team, come hell or high water, unless he was utterly convinced that you could do the job he had allocated to you'.  He managed 'difficult' players like Geoff Boycott and John Snow well, and they responded with their best Test form. 'Most of all, because he insisted on his "own side", he was able to get the best out of his players, both mentally and physically. He built up a tremendous team spirit which stood us in good stead on numerous occasions', and they tended to close ranks and treat the opposition, umpires, press and public as the enemy, an attitude that became prevalent amongst Test teams in the 1970s.

Illingworth captained England for five seasons (1969–1973) and under Illingworth, England beat the West Indies 2–0 in 1969, held a powerful Rest of the World side to 1-4 in 1970, won the Ashes in Australia in 1970–71 and beat Pakistan in 1971.

Illingworth captained England in 31 Test matches, winning 12, losing 5 and drawing 14.

By the way:

Illingworth led England to a 2–0 Ashes victory in 1970–71, the only time a touring team has played a full Test series in Australia without defeat. The future Australian captain, Greg Chappell, later wrote:

Ray Illingworth's England side in 1970–71 were mentally the toughest English side I played against, and the experience of playing against them first up in my Test career reinforced what I had learnt in the backyard. Test cricket was not for the faint of heart. Illingworth subjected us to a mental intimidation by aggressive field placings, and physical intimidation by constant use of his pace attack, ably led by one of the best fast bowlers of my experience, John Snow. Winning to Illingworth was something he expected of himself and demanded of his team.

Cause of death:

In November 2021, he advocated assisted suicide, revealing that he had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of oesophageal cancer. He died on 24 December 2021, at the age of 89.


DESMOND TUTU


Date of death:

December 26, 2021

Age at death:

90

About:

South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist.

According to the New York Times, he was “… the cleric who used his pulpit and spirited oratory to help bring down apartheid in South Africa and then became the leading advocate of peaceful reconciliation under Black majority rule . . .”

As leader of the South African Council of Churches and later as Anglican archbishop of Cape Town, Archbishop Tutu led the church to the forefront of Black South Africans’ decades-long struggle for freedom. His voice was a powerful force for nonviolence in the anti-apartheid movement, earning him a Nobel Peace Prize in 1984.

Archbishop Tutu preached that the policy of apartheid was as dehumanizing to the oppressors as it was to the oppressed. At home, he stood against looming violence and sought to bridge the chasm between Black and white; abroad, he urged economic sanctions against the South African government to force a change of policy.

By the way:

Archbishop Tutu had always said that he was a priest, not a politician, and that when the real leaders of the movement against apartheid returned from jail or exile he would serve as its chaplain. While he acknowledged that there was a political role for the church, he prohibited ordained clergy from belonging to any political party.

Cause of death:

Tutu died from cancer at the Oasis Frail Care Centre in Cape Town on 26 December 2021, at the age of 90. His daughter Naomi Nontombi said, "He was ready. He went to meet his God, ready and willing."

QUOTE FOR THE DAY

 


Wednesday, December 29, 2021

A COMMENT:

Bytes has lately been going out at varying times and at odd hours, plus sometimes there is no Thought/Quote for the Day and sometimes there are a number.

It is not me doing that - I post the items to the blog and the blog setup determines when it is sent out to subscribers.

Sorry for any inconvenience, readers.

Otto

QUOTE FOR THE DAY

 


THOSE WE LOST IN 2021, CONTINUED:

 -------oOo------- 

GEORGE SEGAL



Date of death:

March 23, 2021

Age at death:

87

About:

American actor, comedian and musician who was  popular in the 1960s and 1970s for playing both dramatic and comedic roles.

Co-starred with Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor and sandy Dennis in the classic drama Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), receiving a nomination for Best Supporting Actor for the role.

On television, he was best known for his regular roles in two popular sitcoms, playing Jack Gallo on Just Shoot Me! (1997–2003) and Albert "Pops" Solomon on The Goldbergs (2013–2021).

By the way:

Segal was also an accomplished banjo player. He released three albums and performed with the instrument in several of his acting roles and on late-night television.

Cause of death:

Segal died of complications from bypass surgery.

 

G GORDON LIDDY



Date of death:

March 30, 2021

Age at death:

90

About:

American lawyer, FBI agent, talk show host, actor, and figure in the Watergate scandal as the chief operative in the White House Plumbers unit during the Nixon administration.

Liddy was convicted of conspiracy, burglary, and illegal wiretapping for his role in the scandal.

Working alongside E. Howard Hunt, Liddy organized and directed the burglary of the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate building in May and June 1972. After five of Liddy's operatives were arrested inside the DNC offices on June 17, 1972, subsequent investigations of the Watergate scandal led to Nixon's resignation in 1974.

 Liddy was convicted of burglary, conspiracy, and refusing to testify to the Senate committee investigating Watergate. He served nearly fifty-two months in federal prisons.

Liddy served as a radio talk show host from 1992 until his retirement on July 27, 2012 and was a guest panellist for Fox News Channel.

By the way:

I recall reading Liddy’s autobiography Will when it came out in 1980.  I also recall him describing his German pro-Nazi nanny With him whom he was left a lot) instilling in him the belief of the triumph of the will. Liddy set out his use of the power of the will to overcome his childhood fear of lightning and thunder by climbing to the top of a tall tree during a violent electrical storm and tying himself there; and of rats by catching and eating one raw.

Cause of death:

Liddy died on March 30, 2021, at his daughter's house in Fairfax County, Virginia. He was 90, and had suffered from Parkinson's disease.

 

DMX


Date of death:

April 9, 2021

Age at death:

50

About:

A gruff-voiced, chart-topping rapper who electrified listeners with songs such as “Party Up (Up in Here)” and “X Gon’ Give It to Ya,” drawing inspiration from his hardscrabble life while also emerging as a star of action films and crime thrillers.

By the way:

He was the first artist to debut an album at No. 1 five times in a row on the Billboard 200 charts.[5] Overall, DMX sold over 74 million records worldwide.

Cause of death:

On April 2, 2021, DMX was hospitalised due to a cocaine-induced heart attack. He never regained consciousness and died of multiple organ failure a week later.

 

PRINCE PHILIP


Date of death:

April 9, 2021

Age at death:

99

About:

Prince Philip was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II, the marriage having taken place in 1947.

He was the consort of the British monarch from Elizabeth's accession on 6 February 1952 until his death in 2021, making him the longest-serving royal consort in history.

He retired from his royal duties on 2 August 2017, aged 96, having completed 22,219 solo engagements and 5,493 speeches from 1952.

He was also noted for his gaffes, as well as his two fingers to convention, protocol and the press.

By the way:

From Her Majesty’s 2021 Christmas speech:

Although it's a time of great happiness and good cheer for many, Christmas can be hard for those who have lost loved ones. This year, especially, I understand why.

 But for me, in the months since the death of my beloved Philip, I have drawn great comfort from the warmth and affection of the many tributes to his life and work – from around the country, the Commonwealth and the world.

 His sense of service, intellectual curiosity and capacity to squeeze fun out of any situation – were all irrepressible. That mischievous, enquiring twinkle was as bright at the end as when I first set eyes on him.

But life, of course, consists of final partings as well as first meetings; and as much as I and my family miss him, I know he would want us to enjoy Christmas.

Cause of death:

Philip died of "old age" two months before his 100th birthday

 

BERNARD L MADOFF

 


Date of death:

April 14, 2021

Age at death:

82

About:

The mastermind of perhaps the largest Ponzi scheme in history, a reviled symbol of Wall Street greed and, once, one of the most sought-after stockbrokers in high finance.

By the way:

Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, the largest Ponzi scheme in history, was worth about $64.8 billion.

A Ponzi scheme is a form of fraud that lures investors and pays profits to earlier investors with funds from more recent investors. The scheme leads victims to believe that profits are coming from legitimate business activity (e.g., product sales or successful investments), and they remain unaware that other investors are the source of funds.

A Ponzi scheme can maintain the illusion of a sustainable business as long as new investors contribute new funds, and as long as most of the investors do not demand full repayment and still believe in the non-existent assets they are purported to own.

It is named after Charles Ponzi who carried out this scheme in the 1920s.  Such schemes had been carried out earlier, even being included in some of Charles Dickens’ books, but became known by that name because of the huge amount of money that he took in and the resultant wide press coverage.

Cause of death:

A death certificate obtained by TMZ lists the cause of death as hypertension, atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and chronic kidney disease.

 

WALTER MONDALE



Date of death:

April 19, 2021

Age at death:

93

About:

42nd vice president of the United States from 1977 to 1981 under President Jimmy Carter.

The former Democratic senator and vice president’s bid to become President was blocked by President Ronald Reagan’s landslide re-election victory in 1984.

By the way:

Ronald Reagan won both the Electoral College vote and the popular vote by a landslide. Reagan won 49 states while Mondale carried his home state of Minnesota and the District of Columbia.

Cause of death:

Mondale died of natural causes in his sleep at his home in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

 

MICHAEL COLLINS



Date of death:

April 28, 2021

Age at death:

90

About:

Apollo 11 astronaut who orbited alone in the command module Columbia while Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin went to the surface of the moon in 1969.

By the way:

Buzz Aldrin, 91, is now the only surviving member of the mission.

Paying tribute to Collins, Aldrin wrote in a tweet: "Dear Mike, Wherever you have been or will be, you will always have the Fire to Carry us deftly to new heights and to the future. We will miss you. May you Rest In Peace."

Cause of death:

Collins died from cancer.

 

JOHN W WARNER



Date of death:

May 25, 2021

Age at death:

94

About:

The five-term U.S. senator from Virginia who helped plan the nation’s 1976 bicentennial celebrations, played a central role in military affairs and gained respect on both sides of the political aisle for his diligence, consensus-building and independence.

By the way:

Warner was the sixth husband of actress Elizabeth Taylor, whom he married in December 1976, before being elected to the Senate. They divorced in November 1982. Warner was the last surviving, as well as the longest-lived, of Taylor's seven husbands.

Cause of death:

Warner died from heart failure at his home in Alexandria, Virginia.

 

F LEE BAILEY



Date of death:

June 2, 1987

Age at death:

87

About:

American criminal defense attorney.

Bailey's name first came to nationwide attention for his involvement in the second murder trial of Sam Sheppard, a surgeon accused of murdering his wife. He later served as the attorney in a number of other high-profile cases, such as Albert DeSalvo, a suspect in the "Boston Strangler" murders, heiress Patty Hearst's trial for bank robberies committed during her involvement with the Symbionese Liberation Army, and US Army Captain Ernest Medina for the My Lai Massacre.  He was a member of the "dream team" in the trial of former football player O. J. Simpson, who was accused of murdering Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman.

By the way:

For most of his career he was licensed in Florida and in Massachusetts, where he was disbarred in 2001 and 2003 respectively, for misconduct while defending marijuana dealer Claude Louis DuBoc.

Bailey had transferred a large portion of DuBoc's assets, including stock, into his own accounts. The stock, worth about $5.9 million, was supposed to be included in the forfeiture of assets that DuBoc made as part of a plea bargain. It had been held by Bailey because it would be sold immediately if it came into government possession, but it was expected to rise dramatically in value. Bailey later refused to turn it over, saying that it was payment of his legal fees and not part of DuBoc's asset forfeiture.

in 2013 he was denied a law license by the Maine Board of Bar Examiners, a decision upheld by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court in 2014.

Cause of death:

After a period of ill health, he died under hospice care in Atlanta on June 3, 2021, a week before his 88th birthday

 

DONALD H RUMSFELD

 


Date of death:

June 29, 2021

Age at death:

88

About:

American politician, government official and businessman who served as Secretary of Defense from 1975 to 1977 under president Gerald Ford, and again from 2001 to 2006 under President George W. Bush.

Additionally, Rumsfeld was a three-term U.S. Congressman from Illinois (1963–1969), director of the Office of Economic Opportunity (1969–1970), counselor to the President (1969–1973), the U.S. Representative to NATO (1973–1974), and the White House Chief of Staff (1974–1975).

From The Guardian 01.07.2021:

Donald Rumsfeld’s name will forever be associated with the biggest military fiasco in US history, the 2003 invasion of Iraq in pursuit of non-existent weapons of mass destruction, alongside the widespread use of torture that has dogged America’s reputation ever since.

It is not just the poor decisions he made as defence secretary for which Rumsfeld will be remembered, but also his efforts to cover up inconvenient facts that did not align with his version of reality.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jul/01/history-unlikely-to-forgive-donald-rumsfelds-iraq-warmongering

By the way:

He was both the youngest and the oldest Secretary of Defense.

Cause of death:

Rumsfeld died from multiple myeloma at his home in Taos, New Mexico.

 

DON EVERLY


Phil and Don Everly (left and right respectively)

Date of death:

August 21, 2021

Age at death:

84

About:

His soaring harmonies and aggressive rhythm guitar work as part of the Everly Brothers duo with his younger brother, Phil, influenced generations of rock performers.

The duo combined elements of rock and roll, country and pop, becoming pioneers of country rock.

The group declined in popularity in the 1960s, though the brothers continued to release hit singles in the U.K. and Canada, and had many highly successful tours throughout the 1960s. In 1973 they officially broke up. Starting in 1983, the brothers got back together, and would continue to perform periodically until Phil's death in 2014. D

By the way:

The group was highly influential on the music of the generation that followed it. Many of the top acts of the 1960s were heavily influenced by the close-harmony singing and acoustic guitar playing of the Everly Brothers, including the Beatles, the Beach Boys, the Bee Gees, and Simon & Garfunkel.

In 2015, Rolling Stone ranked the Everly Brothers No. 1 on its list of the 20 Greatest Duos of All Time. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as part of the inaugural class of 1986, and into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2001.

Cause of death:

Cause of death not disclosed.

 

ED ASNER

 


Date of death:

August 29, 2021

Age at death:

91

About:

American actor and president of the Screen Actors Guild. H

e is best remembered for portraying Lou Grant during the 1970s and early 1980s, on both The Mary Tyler Moore Show and its spin-off series Lou Grant, making him one of the few television actors to portray the same character in both a comedy and a drama.

He is the most honoured male performer in the history of the Primetime Emmy Awards, having won seven – five for portraying Lou Grant (three as Supporting Actor in a Comedy Television Series on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and two as Lead Actor in a Dramatic Television Series on spin-off Lou Grant). His other Emmys were for performances in two television miniseries: Rich Man, Poor Man (1976), where he won for Outstanding Lead Actor for a Single Performance in a television series, and Roots (1977), for which he won for Outstanding Single Performance by a Supporting Actor in a television series

By the way:

The sudden cancellation of Lou Grant in 1982 was the subject of much controversy. The show had high ratings, being in the ACNielsen top ten throughout its final month on the air. However, the CBS television network declined to renew it. Asner believed that his left-wing political views, as well as the publicity surrounding them, were the actual root causes for the show's cancellation.

Cause of death:

Not disclosed.