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OCTOBER 2024
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ETHEL KENNEDY
Date of death: October 10, 2024
Age at death: 96
Cause of death: Complications from a stroke.
About:
Ethel Kennedy was an American human rights advocate, the wife of U.S. senator Robert F. Kennedy, a sister-in-law of U.S. president John F. Kennedy, and a daughter of businessman George Skakel. Ethel Kennedy was 3 months pregnant when her husband Robert Kennedy was assassinated on June 5, 1968, she being present at the scene.
By the way:
In 1989 Robert Kennedy’s assassin Sirhan Sirhan told British journalist David Frost: "My only connection with Robert Kennedy was his sole support of Israel and his deliberate attempt to send those 50 fighter jets to Israel to obviously do harm to the Palestinians." Some scholars believe that the assassination was the first major incident of political violence in the United States stemming from the Israeli–Palestinian conflict Sirhan carried out the attack on the first anniversary of the 1967 Arab–Israeli War), though it occurred at a time when the American public was overwhelmingly focused on the Vietnam War. He remains in jail, parole having been repeatedly refused and also blocked by the Governor.
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LIAM PAYNE
Date of death: October 16, 2024
Age at death: 31
Cause of death: Fall from a balcony.
About:
Liam Payne rose to fame in One Direction, the boy band formed on X Factor in 2010. The group went on to become one of the most successful pop bands of all time, achieving huge chart success and touring stadiums around the world with hits including What Makes You Beautiful, Story Of My Life, and Best Song Ever. Payne had wanted to be a singer from a young age, and forged a career as a solo star after the group's break-up. He signed a deal with Capitol Records, had hits including Strip That Down and Get Low, and worked with a range of high-profile artists.
By the way:
"Liam lived wide open, with his heart on his sleeve, he had an energy for life that was infectious," said Harry Styles in his tribute. "He was warm, supportive and incredibly loving. The years we spent together will forever remain among the most cherished years of my life. I will miss him always, my lovely friend."
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MITZI GAYNOR
Date of death: October 17, 2024
Age at death: 93
Cause of death: Natural causes
About:
Mitzi Gaynor, was an American actress, singer and dancer whose notable films included We're Not Married! (1952), There's No Business Like Show Business (1954), The Birds and the Bees (1956), and South Pacific (1958) – for which she was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical at the 1959 awards.
By the way:
Gaynor was one of the last surviving actors of the "Golden Age" of the Hollywood Musical.
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ELIZABETH FRANCIS
Date of death: October 22, 2024
Age at death: 115
Cause of death: Not disclosed.
About:
Elizabeth Francis (July 25, 1909 – October 22, 2024) was an American supercentenarian, a person who lives to be older than 110. She was the oldest-living person in the United States and the third oldest person in the world.
By the way:
Francis and her sister, Bertha Johnson (see photo above, Francis on the left) made history as the sibling pair with the oldest combined age in the world – Johnson reached 106 before her death in 2011. Francis’ daughter is aged 96 years old and is reported to be taking the loss well.
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NOVEMBER 2024
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QUINCY JONES
Date of death: November 3, 2024
Age at death: 91
Cause of death: Pancreatic cancer
About:
Quincy Jones was a legendary music producer and composer who worked with stars from Frank Sinatra to Michael Jackson, with the historic Thriller album among his best-known credits of a career spanning more than 75 years. Jones collected 28 Grammy award wins out of 80 nominations, and was named one of the most influential jazz musicians of the 20th century by Time magazine. He also composed the soundtrack to the hit 1969 British film The Italian Job, starring Michael Caine, and oversaw the all-star recording of the 1985 charity record We Are The World.
By the way:
In 1974, Jones developed a life-threatening brain aneurysm, leading to a decision to reduce his workload to spend time with his friends and family. Since his family and friends believed Jones' life was coming to an end, they started to plan a memorial service for him. He attended his own service with his neurologist by his side, in case the excitement overwhelmed him. Some of the entertainers at his service were Richard Pryor, Marvin Gaye, Sarah Vaughan, and Sidney Poitier. Jones had two brain surgeries, and after the second was warned to never play the trumpet again, because "if he blew a trumpet in the ways that a trumpet player must, the clip [a metal plate in his head that was implanted after his brain aneurysm] would come free and he would die". He ignored that advice, went on tour in Japan, and one night after playing trumpet had a pain in his head. Doctors said the plate in his brain had nearly come loose, as they had warned, and Jones never played the trumpet again.
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EARL HOLLIMAN
Date of death: November 25, 2024
Age at death: 96
Cause of death: Not disclosed.
About:
Earl Holliman was an American actor, animal rights activist, and singer known for his many character roles in films, mostly Westerns and dramas, in the 1950s and 1960s. He won a Golden Globe Award for the film The Rainmaker (1956) and portrayed Sergeant Bill Crowley on the television police drama Police Woman throughout its 1974 to 1978 run. Holliman's other notable film roles include Broken Lance (1954), The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954), The Big Combo (1955), I Died a Thousand Times (1955), Forbidden Planet (1956), Giant (1956), Hot Spell (1958), Anzio (1968), The Desperate Mission (1969), The Biscuit Eater (1972), Sharky's Machine (1981), and Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge (1987). He also had several notable television appearances in The Twilight Zone; Hotel de Paree; The Thorn Birds; Gunsmoke; Murder, She Wrote; and Caroline in the City. From 1958 to 1963, Holliman also performed as a singer, and had a record deal with such notable recording studios as Capitol Records, Prep, and HiFi.
By the way:
Aside from acting, Holliman was also an activist and was an honorary chairman for Toys for Tots. He was also the president of Actors and Others for Animals for 25 years.
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TOM HUGHES
Date of death: November 28, 2024
Age at death: 101
Cause of death: Not disclosed.
About:
Tom Hughes was an Australian barrister and politician. A member of the Liberal Party, he served as Attorney-General in the Gorton government from 1969 to 1971, and was a member of the House of Representatives from 1963 to 1972, representing the New South Wales seats of Parkes and Berowra. He was a president of the New South Wales Bar Association and was one of Sydney's most prominent barristers for a number of decades. Hughes was the last surviving Liberal minister of the Gorton and McMahon governments.
By the way:
Hughes came into conflict with university students on a number of occasions. He was "jostled" by protestors after a speech at the University of Sydney in July 1970 and subsequently abandoned his car, inadvertently causing over 300 police to be called out when the event's organisers could not locate him. At a speech to the Australian National University's Liberal Club in September 1970, he was interrupted by anti-war demonstrators and "grabbed a Vietcong flag from a student and tore it from its supporting pole". The previous month his home in Bellevue Hill had been invaded by anti-war demonstrators, resulting in eight students and two press photographers being arrested. He reportedly "came out carrying a cricket bat and scuffled with some of the demonstrators" before performing a citizen's arrest on one student. Hughes was charged with unlawful assault in relation to his use of the bat, but was found not guilty by reason of provocation.
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DECEMBER 2024
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MICHAEL COLE
Date of death: December 10, 2024
Age at death: 84
Cause of death: Not disclosed.
About:
Michael Cole was an American actor best known for his role as Pete Cochran on the television crime drama The Mod Squad (1968–1973).
By the way:
The Australian television awards are known as the Logies, after TV inventor John Logie Baird. Cole took to the stage to accept the Logie for Mod Squad. Slurring and fumbling his words, the broadcast being live with no time delay to delete content, he then said “Oh, shit!”. He was the first person to say 'shit' during a live telecast. More than 2,000 people then complained when his speech was edited out of the replay in another broadcast later that same week.
Watch the clip:
Skip ahead to 2.14 if you wish.
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OLIVIA HUSSEY
Date of death: December 27, 2024
Age at death: 73
Cause of death:
Hussey was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008, and underwent a double mastectomy. After being in remission for nearly a decade, the breast cancer returned in 2017, with Hussey undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatment to remove a small tumour growing between her heart and lungs. Hussey died on 27 December 2024, at the age of 73, following a recurrence of her breast cancer.
About:
Olivia Hussey was a British actress. The daughter of Argentine tango singer Osvaldo Ribó, Hussey was born in Buenos Aires but spent most of her early life in her mother's native England. She aspired to become an actress at a young age and studied drama for five years at Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts in London. Hussey began acting professionally as an adolescent. She appeared in a 1966 London production of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, opposite Vanessa Redgrave; this led to her being scouted for the role of Juliet in Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 film adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. Hussey received widespread acclaim and international recognition for her performance. In 1974, she appeared as the lead character Jess Bradford in the cult slasher film Black Christmas. This and her roles in the horror productions Psycho IV: The Beginning (1990) and Stephen King's It (1990) earned her the label of scream queen.
By the way:
Her parents considered naming her Victoria after the city in eastern Argentina where her father, Osvaldo Ribó, was born in. Once her parents saw a poster of Olivia de Havilland starring in The Heiress (1949) at a local movie theatre in Buenos Aires that played that movie, they decided to name her after the movie star.
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