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Michael James Ryan, aka Busbee, Grammy-nominated songwriter and producer, dead at 43.
https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/g ... dead-at-43

Ron Sebastian, owner and proprietor of Des Plaines Hobbies (Des Plaines, Ill.) passed away suddenly Wednesday morning (Oct. 2), according to his daughter and as reported in several online modelers' discussion groups. No obituary has been posted at this writing.

Ron was a former employee of All Nation Hobby Shop in Chicago and a US Army veteran (a chopper pilot in Vietnam) before Des Plaines Hobbies. Ron also owned and operated Centralia Car Shops and S Scale America.

Diahann Carroll, Pioneering Actress on 'Julia' and 'Dynasty,' Dies at 84
https://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment ... spartanntp

Ginger Baker, legendary Cream drummer, dead at 80.
https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/g ... ummer-dead

Rip Taylor, Flamboyant Comic and Host of 'The $1.98 Beauty Show,' Dies at 84

Rip Taylor, the exuberant comedian whose zany shtick and over-the-top delivery made him a television and nightclub mainstay for more than six decades, has died. He was 84.

Taylor died Sunday in Beverly Hills, publicist Harlan Boll announced.

Taylor became a comedy legend through pure exhilaration. Believing that the more exaggerated the gag, the bigger the laugh, he overemphasized everything, from his shaggy blonde toupee and bushy mustache to the campy props that were the basis of his bits. His jokes were far from cutting edge, but he would deliver them with such shrieking gusto, it was hard not to howl.

The self-described "King of Confetti," Taylor was famous for dousing his audience with buckets of colored paper, and anyone attending a Rip Taylor performance expected to be wearing confetti by the end of it.

As he explained during a 2011 interview with Kliph Nesteroff for the Classic Television Showbiz blog, his signature gag came about purely by accident.

"I did props and I was 'The Prop Comedian.' I was dying like hell on Merv Griffin's show. The jokes were dumb, and I tore the 5 x 8 cards, threw them up in the air and it became confetti," he recalled. "I knocked over his desk, walked up the aisle, went to Sardi's and said, 'Well, that's the end of my television career.' I went home that night. Their switchboard had lit up. They said, 'Get the guy that went crazy!' And that is how the confetti started."

One of his more memorable big-screen appearances came when he played himself in Wayne's World 2 (1993). A quest by Wayne (Mike Myers) to put on WayneStock, the ultimate music festival, gains stature when Taylor agrees to attend as a special guest.

"Rip Taylor's going to be there," he tells Cassandra Wong (Tia Carrere), trying to convince her to perform. "Rip Taylor? He's a god in my country," she says. "He gets mobbed in the street."

He also appeared as himself in the first three Jackass movies.


Survivors include his longtime partner, Robert Fortney. In lieu of flowers, a donations can be made to the Thalians.

Here's a funny clip from Super Password from January 21, 1988 with Rip Taylor, where Patty Duke messes up on gives the password as the clue and mayhem ensues on the set.

Oracle co-CEO Mark Hurd dead at 62
https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/ora ... -62-report

'Maude' star Bill Macy dead at 97
https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/b ... dead-maude

William Milliken, former Governor dead at 97

https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/ ... 753672001/

R.I.P. singing comedian Julie Gibson, who starred in two "Three Stooges" shorts. She died on October 2, 2019 at the age of 106.
https://metv.com/stories/rip-julie-gibs ... pe52Shu9k8

John Clarke, who was best known for playing Mickey Horton on the daytime soap opera, "Days of Our Lives" for 39 years, until 2004, died on October 16th. He was 88.
https://ew.com/celebrity/2019/10/22/day ... 6wHxjJWzEw

Actor and comedian John Witherspoon, dies at 77
His career, which included roles in the "Friday" franchise and “The Boondocks" animated series, spanned decades.

https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/mov ... 7-n1073756

Oct. 30, 2019, 1:49 AM EDT / Updated Oct. 30, 2019, 2:10 AM EDT
By Diana Dasrath and Phil Helsel

Actor and comedian John Witherspoon, a notable figure in the "Friday" franchise and voice actor in the animated series “The Boondocks," died at his home Los Angeles Tuesday at the age of 77, his family said.

Manager Alex Goodman confirmed the news.

"It is with deepest sorrow that we can confirm our beloved husband and father, John Witherspoon, one of the hardest working men in show business, died today at his home in Sherman Oaks at the age of 77," Witherspoon's family said in a statement from Goodman to NBC News.

"He is survived by his wife Angela, and his sons JD, Alexander, and a large family. We are all in shock, please give us a minute for a moment in privacy and we will celebrate his life and his work together. John used to say 'I'm no big deal', but he was huge deal to us.”

Witherspoon was born in Detroit in 1942 as John Weatherspoon and launched a stand-up and comedy career that began in the late 1970s with television roles, according to the online news site Deadline, which reported Witherspoon's death earlier Tuesday evening.

He appeared in 1980's "The Jazz Singer." He starred as John "Pops" Williams in "The Wayans Bros." television show and as Mr. Jackson in “Boomerang,” among many other film and TV roles.

Witherspoon played the father figure Mr. Jones alongside Ice Cube in the 1995 hit "Friday" and reprised his role in sequels "Next Friday" and "Friday After Next."

Witherspoon also appeared in the 1995 Eddie Murphy film "Vampire in Brooklyn," in which he played Silas Green, and in the 1988 film "I'm Gonna Git You Sucka." He also was a voice actor in the animated series “The Boondocks.”

He also appeared on "The Tracy Morgan Show" and more recently played Lloyd in the "Black Jesus" television series, according to film database IMDB.

The comedian Sinbad was among those mourning Witherspoon’s death Tuesday night, tweeting that the actor and comedian was an inspiration and "one of my early heroes and a beautiful person." Arsenio Hall said it was "heart wrenching news" and called Witherspoon "one of our comic brothers."

Oscar-winning actress and director Regina King tweeted: "My dad, my grandpa, my comedic inspiration! I love you Spoons! Rest In Paradise, King."

Director and producer Judd Apatow called Witherspoon “Pure funny” and “Hilarious and always kind.”

Comedian and actor David Alan Grier tweeted: "RIP my brother. You will be missed. Mannnnnnn this is a hard one."