Les Paul, who invented the electric guitar and changed the world of music as we know it, passed away in White Plains, New York at the age of 94 from pneumonia, according to his rep.
Paul invented many things that we use in music making like overdubbing, delay effects such as “sound on sound” and tape delay, phasing effects, and multitrack recording.
Most of us probably learned Pauls’ name by seeing it on the guitar of our favorite music stars over the past 60 years. Gibson started making the Les Paul signature guitar back in 1952. Every guitarist in the world has played a Les Paul at some point.
Former President John F. Kennedy’s sister, Eunice Kennedy Shriver passed away Tuesday morning, August 11th.
Eunice was the mother of Maria Shriver and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s mother-in-law. Eunice was passionate about her work and was best known for raising awareness of the mentally disabled and was one of the founders of the Special Olympics.
In addition to Maria Shriver, Eunice had four other children, Robert Sargent Shriver lll, Timothy Perry Shriver, Mark Kennedy Shriver and Anthony Paul Kennedy Shriver.
Eunice was 88 years old and her family was at her bedside when she passed.
Detroit Rapper, Baatin, a member of the rap group Slum Village, has passed away.
The cause of death has not been released and Baatin’s manager, Tim Maynor would only say that Baatin’s death is “too fresh right now.”
Khalid El-Hakin, the founder of the Black History 101 Mobile Museum, said, ” He was a very spiritual brother. He brought a spirituality to Detroit hip-hop that you didn’t see with other artist. That’s what he was known for.”
Author E. Lynn Harris passed away today from a heart attack at age 54, while on a promotional tour for his new book, Basketball Jones.
Harris was best known for such successful novels as Invisible Life, Just As I Am, Too Good To Be True, Abide With Me, as well as his 2004 memoir What Becomes of The Brokenhearted. He specialized in writing about African-American gay culture, including the “down-low” phenomenon in the world of professionalsports. (Basketball Jones is the story of an NBA star and his gay lover.) Born in Michigan and raised in Arkansas, Harris recently taught English at the University of Arkansas as a visiting professor.
The summer of death is not just consuming people but animals as well. Taco Bell’s mascot, Gidget the chihuahua, has passed away. The lovable “Yo Quiero, Taco Bell” dog died last night of a stroke at age 15.
A chihuahua named Dinkywas the original Taco Bell dog, but he was quickly replaced by Gidget. Gidget was in several commercials, print ads for Taco Bell and even went on to star in Legally Blonde 2 as Bruiser’s mom!
Spider-Man 3 actress Lucy Gordon was found dead in her apartment after an apparent suicidal hanging.
Gordon, 28, appeared as reporter Jennifer Dugan in “Spider-Man 3,” and portrays British singer and actress Jane Birkin in the upcoming film “Serge Gainsbourg (A Heroic Life).”
Gordon’s boyfriend discovered her body hanging in her apartment at la Rue des Petites Ecuries and alerted authorities. According to an officer, “It was an horrific scene. The young woman had taken her own life in terrible circumstances. We are not seeking anyone else. It was a clear case of suicide.”
The British actress would have turned 29 on Friday.
To read more about Lucy Gordon and her work click here.
Comedic actor Dom DeLuise sadly passed away in his sleep last night in a Los Angeles hospital. He was 75.
The Golden-Globe nominated actor was best known for his comedic roles in Mel Brooks films, and also co-starred in the films “Cannonball Run,” “Smokey and The Bandit 2″ and “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” with Burt Reynolds. He was also an avid cook and author, penning several cooking guides and children’s books.
Reynolds was contacted by ETonline and gave the following statement:
“I was thinking the other day about this. As you get older you think about this more and more, I was dreading this moment. Dom always made everyone feel better when he was around. I never heard him say an unkind word about anyone. I will miss him very much.”
I remember DeLuise best from his hosting gig of the 1991-1992 hit tv show “Candid Camera.”
David Cook’s brother, Adam, lost his battle with brain cancer early this morning, May 3rd.
Adam had been battling brain cancer for 11 years, but things turned for the worst this weekend. Adam passed away around 1:00 am this morning with his family at his side.
Adam was 36 years old. Our thoughts are with his family.
You may not know his name, but you definitely know his voice. Don LaFontaine is the man with the distinguished voice behind movie trailers. Sadly, LaFontaine passed away in LA yesterday at the age of 68, due to complications from Pneumothorax, the presence of air or gas in the pleural cavity, the result of a collapsed lung. However, the official cause of death has not yet been released.
Over the past 25 years, Don’s extraordinarily unique voice has appeared on over 5,000 movie trailers and 350,000 commercials. He is most famous for the introductory line, “In a world where…”
LaFontaine most recently appeared in a Geico Insurance commercial, where he was referred to as “that announcer guy.”
He is survived by his wife, singer/actress Nita Whitaker, and three children Christine, Skye and Elyse.
This is super sad news. I know he’s not an actor, but I can’t imagine what movie trailers will sound like without him. He has an awesome voice like none other!
Johnson & Johnson heiress, Casey Johnson, was found dead at her L.A. home around 11:51 am Monday morning, January 4th.
