Gawker
and now she's dead
Posts Tagged “
and now she's dead
”
and now she's dead
and now she's dead
Remembering Bob Marley's Mom
Thousands of people in Jamaica turned out last weekend to celebrate the life of Bob Marley's mother, who apparently died earlier this month, in a development I totally missed. Her name was Cedella Booker, and she died at the age of 81, outliving her son by 27 years. Bob Marley, the reggae superstar who was (argument starter) the most notable musician of the 20th century, now leaves behind only his seemingly endless procession of kids to carry on his name—his British dad died in 1955. We should also note that Marley once had a brief affair with Vogue editor Anna Wintour. Noted! Anyhow, let's take a moment to remember Cedella Booker, who recorded two albums herself, and wrote two books about her son [The Root]. Her life produced a net gain in the world's happiness. How shall we memorialize her? With a video of her son singing "Natural Mystic," of course: More »
Critic, biographer and novelist Elizabeth Hardwick, co-founder of the New York Review of Books, has died. In a response to a letter from screenwriter and New Yorker columnist Penelope Gilliatt that complained about Hardwick's trashing of Lillian Hellman in 1968, Hardwick wrote: "Perhaps Miss Gilliatt doesn't yet understand all there is to know about New York and the literary and intellectual world here. When we remember the number of unjustified slams and unwarranted raves, the way convictions sometimes cross uncomfortably, it is astonishing that relations remain as humorous, slap-dash, unparanoiac, and, above all, as pleasantly disorganized as they really are." [NYO]
murders
Medical Examiner Rules On Linda Stein Killing
Yesterday, real estate agent to the stars, former Ramones manager and ex-wife of Belle and Sebastian muse Seymour Stein was found lying in a pool of blood in her multimillion dollar apartment. The medical examiner has since ruled that she died from "blows to the head and neck." She lived, as the Times writes in a "building, at the corner of 78th Street, [that[ has the security of doormen, elevator operators, and surveillance cameras mounted on the sidewalk canopy and in the lobby." However: "a reporter found an unlocked service door on the side street."
and now she's dead
'Meerkat Manor' Fans Devastated By Loss of Flowers
"meerkat manor" "funerals"
The New York Times' Ginia Bellafante reminds us today of how the untimely death-by-snake of matriarchal "Meerkat Manor" star, Flower Whiskers, has touched so many, so deeply. YouTube memorial videos like the one above abound, and Animal Planet has this to say: "We at Animal Planet our devastated by her loss and recognize that her death will have a deep impact on our viewers. Life in the Kalahari will never be the same." Perhaps our favorite line comes from narrator and 'Rudy' star Sean Astin: "Flower was a formidable leader and a noble mother. The desert has lost its favorite rose."
Related: US detains nearly 25,000 in Iraq [AFP]
America will observe a Very Gay National Day of Mourning; Brett Somers, queen of Match Game, has passed away at the age of 83. So long, comic genius. [Westport Now]
Anita Roddick, founder of the Body Shop and pioneer of "ethical beauty," general greenness and all-around good personness, died yesterday; she was 64. [The Business]
Madeleine L'Engle, beloved author of our first chapter book A Wrinkle In Time, among many many others, is dead at 88. Thank you, Madeleine L'Engle, for introducing us to the pleasure of the written word. And, later on, for all those hot sexual fantasies about twins Sandy and Dennys Murry. [AP]
American hero Grace Paley, one of the great writers and humanists of our time, is dead at the age of 84. Start here, if you haven't. [Maud Newton]
why should you
Remembering Leona Helmsley
Leona Helmsley was more than just a former secretary who helped her third husband create a massive real estate empire while becoming a recognizable face to New Yorkers through a series of commercials in which she starred. She was a pioneer whose conviction on tax fraud (Rudy Giuliani was her prosecutor!) established that if a female executive is as abrasive, rude towards the help, and generally corrupt as her male counterparts, she deserves to be treated easily twice as harshly as a man would. Because, you know, that's not what we expect from ladies. In many ways, we can view the late Mrs. Helmsley as a precursor to fellow orange-jumpsuit wearer Martha Stewart. Thank you for blazing that trail, Leona! In memoriam, here's a clip of actress Suzanne Pleshette portraying the hotelier in the 1990 television movie "Leona Helmsley: The Queen of Mean."
Hotelier and ex-con Leona Helmsley—whose famous remark that "Only the little people pay taxes" will be her lasting legacy—has died at the age of 88. [1010Wins]
and now she's dead
Live At Brooke Astor's Funeral
New York Times photog Bill Cunningham works the pit outside the funeral, which is set to start at 2:30 p.m., up at St. Thomas Church, Fifth Avenue and 53rd Street.
Brooke Astor died this afternoon. She was 105. A grand life—one only slightly marred by having idiots in her family. [City Room]
D. D. Ryan, of fashion-world fame and Harpers Bazaar, passed away this morning. [Michael Gross]
Maybellined televangelista Tammy Faye Bakker Messner passed away on Friday. If you haven't seen this final interview with Larry King, fair warning: it's pretty creepy. Still, you have to admire the fact that she stuck with that look all the way to the end. You're in God's hands now, Tammy. Thanks for all the fun. [Bloomberg]
Beverly Sills, who embodied opera in New York for more than fifty years, has passed away at the age of 78. [NYT]
Fashion designer Liz Claiborne, 78, has passed away. [AP]
