notable deaths in MARCH 2021

This is a list of recent notable deaths in March 2021.

The following deaths of notable and famous people occurred in March 2021. Death list of celebrities, athletes, politicians and other famous peoples who died in March 2021. Huge list of all important deaths organized by day. Names are reported under the date of death. New deaths articles are added to their respective date in March 2021.

A typical entry reports in the list of Recent notable Deaths in March 2021 contains the following information:

Name, age, country of citizenship, what subject was noted for, cause of death, and reference. dummy text

   March 1, 2021 

   NOTABLE  deaths    

Jahmil French, 29,

 Canadian actor Jahmil French, 

 'Degrassi: The Next Generation' 

 star, has died of undisclosed 

 causes at the age of 29. 

(July 29, 1991 – March 1, 2021) 

 

Canadian actor, best known for his regular role as Dave Turner in '' Degrassi: The Next Generation '' - Linda Schuyler's teen drama television series set in the Degrassi universe, has sadly died of undisclosed causes at the age of only 29, his agent Gabrielle Kachman announced. For his role in Degrassi: The Next Generation, French's received a prestigious Canadian Screen Award (French: Les prix Écrans canadiens), nomination for Best Performance in a Children's or Youth Program or Series that honours performances in English language at the 1st Canadian Screen Awards in Meridian Hall, Toronto, Ontario (2013). He also had roles in Netflix musical drama streaming television series Soundtrack (2019), created by screenwriter Joshua Safran, alongside Paul James, Callie Hernandez, and Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Pop series Let’s Get Physical (2018), an american television sitcom created by Ben Newmark, alongside Matt Jones, AnnaLynne McCord and , Jane Seymour, Canadian medical drama Remedy (2015) at the Global Television Network , and American pay television channel WE-tv legal drama The Divide (2014), alongside Marin Ireland, Damon Gupton and Nia Long. Toronto-born star also played the character of Anthony 'A-Mac' Macdonald in the 2017 Canadian indie film ''Boost'' directed by Darren Curtis, alongside actorsNabil Rajo and Oluniké Adeliyi. Jahmil French attended the Wexford Collegiate School for the Visual & Media Arts and Performing Arts in Scarborough, Ontario.

 

Caude of death: unknown

   March 2, 2021 

   NOTABLE  deaths    

Bunny Wailer, 88

 Bunny Wailer, Reggae 

 Pioneer With the Wailers 

 and 3x Grammy winner 

 has died of complications 

 from stroke aged 73. 

 (10 April 1947 – 2 March 2021)

 

Jamaican singer-songwriter, percussionist, Reggae pioneer and Grammy winner (1991, 1995, 1997), Bunny Wailer (born Neville O'Riley Livingston), has died of complications from stroke at the Medical Associates Hospital in Kingston, Jamaica, State's Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sports Olivia Grange announced. He was 73 years old. Wailer had been in the hospital since July 2020, after suffering stroke. Wailer was an original and founding member of reggae group The Wailers (''Bob Marley and the Wailers'') along with his childhood friend Bob Marley, a global figure in popular culture who considered one of the pioneers of reggae and Peter Tosh (Winston Hubert McIntosh). Wailer won three Grammy awards throughout his career (1991, 1995, 1997), two for Best Reggae Album; 1997 Hall of Fame: A Tribute to Bob Marley's 50th Anniversary and 1995 Crucial! Roots Classics and one for Best Reggae Recording for "Time Will Tell -- A Tribute To Bob Marley," 1991. Wailer had been the last surviving member of The Wailers, following Marley's death from an acral lentiginous melanoma, which is a form of skin cancer in May 1981, and Peter Tosh's murder during a robbery in 1987 (he was shot twice in the head). Wailer left group in 1973, and began to work on his solo album Blackheart Man, originally released on September 1976, in Jamaica on Solomonic Records and internationally on Island Records (British-Jamaican record label owned by Universal Music Group). Blackheart Man included classic songs like Dreamland and Fighting Against Conviction, which was inspired by Wailer’s problems with the law and stint in prison. Wailer went on to release several acclaimed albums, including Protest (1977) Solomonic,1981's Rock 'n' Groove,1980s' Bunny Wailer Sings The Wailers, Marketplace (1985) Solomonic, Roots Of Jamaica (1986),Clinton,1987s Rootsman Skanking, Shanachie, Communication (2000) Solomonic, World Peace (2003) Solomonic, Rub A Dub (2007) Solomonic, Cross Culture (2009) Solomonic, and Dub Fi Dub (2018) R.O.K./The Original Genesis.

 

Cause of death: complications from stroke.

   March 3, 2021 

   NOTABLE  deaths    

Joe Altobelli, 88

 Joe Altobelli, Rochester's 

 "Mr. Baseball." manager 

 who led Orioles to 1983 

 World Series title, has died 

 at the age of 88. 

 (10 April 1947 – 2 March 2021)

 

Former American professional baseball first baseman and outfielder, and major league manager Joe Altobelli (born Joseph Salvatore Altobelli), who played for the Cleveland Indians (1955, 1957), and Minnesota Twins (1961), and led Orioles to their most recent 1983 World Series title, has died from natural causes aged 88, at the rehabilitation center in Rochester, New York, The Orioles and Altobelli's adopted hometown team the Rochester Red Wings announced. He has been in poor health for the last decade of his life, especially after surviving a severe stroke three years ago. Altobelli was also a head manager for the San Francisco Giants (1977–1979), and for just one game in the 1991 major league season for the Chicago Cubs. Altobelli managed the Orioles three seasons (1983–1985). He was fired after a Team's bad start in 1985 (29 - 26). Certainly It should be noted that he was 3 × International League Manager of the Year (1971, 1976, 1980) and Junior World Series champion, Manager (1971). In 1998, he began serving as the color commentator for Red Wings home-game NBCSN broadcasts, but after a year of commenting Altobelli announced his retirement. Rochester's "Mr. Baseball." was inducted into the Rochester Red Wings Hall of Fame (1976) and the International League Hall of Fam (2008). A tremendous leader, Altobelli's incredible positive energy and baseball expertise contributed to the Hall of Fame careers of Eddie Murray (nicknamed "Steady Eddie"), Jim Palmer (the winningest MLB pitcher in the 1970s), and Cal Ripken, Jr. (nicknamed "The Iron Man ”).

 

Cause of death: natural causes

   March 4, 2021 

   NOTABLE  deaths    

   March 5, 2021 

   NOTABLE  deaths    

John Cardos, 91

 John "Bud" Cardos, Director, 

 Stuntman, Actor,  Animal Wrangler 

 and teamster driver has died at 

 the age of 91. 
(death announced on this day). 

(December 20, 1929 –  5 March 2021)

 

American film director, actor, Animal Wrangler, teamster driver, and stuntman John "Bud" Cardos, who worked on lots of exploitation films, often with prolific director of B-grade horror and exploitation films Al Adamson, had died peacefully aged 91 of natural causes at his horse ranch in Acton, California, his wife Letty announced. He was born in St. Louis, but he moved with his family to Los Angeles when he was four years old. Already as a five-year-old boy, Cardos became a child actor in Hal Roach’s Our Gang comedies. As a teenager, he participated in rodeos and delivered horses to the sets of Gene Autry movies. He was an actor and stuntman on Adamson's exploitation films including, 1969 horror cult B-movie ''Blood of Dracula's Castle'', alongside John Carradine, Paula Raymond and Robert Dix, 1969 American outlaw biker film ''Satan's Sadists'', alongside Russ Tamblyn, Kent Taylor and Scott Brady, Five Bloody Graves (1969), action film ''The Female Bunch'' (1971), alongside Russ Tamblyn and Lon Chaney Jr. (in his final feature film), 1977 American blaxploitation film ''Black Samurai'' alongside Jim Kelly, and 1978 American B-list action thriller and martial arts film ''Death Dimension'' (also known as The Kill Factor, and Black Eliminator), alongside Jim Kelly, Harold Sakata and George Lazenby. Mr. Cardos was a driver on such movies as Evzen Kolar's 1997 neo-noir crime thriller film ''City of Industry'' (1997) and Christopher Nolan neo-noir psychological thriller film''Memento'' (2000). Cardos also made television guest appearances on television series including, Milt Rosen's ''The Monroes'' (1966–67), alongside Michael Anderson Jr., Barbara Hershey and Keith Schultz, David Dortort's  ''The High Chaparral'' which was broadcast on NBC from 1967 to 1971, and NBC's action-adventure television series ''Daniel Boone'' (1964 - 1970), alongside Fess Parker, Patricia Blair and Darby Hinton. He serve as second unit director on The Wild Bunch, a 1969 American Revisionist Western film directed by Sam Peckinpah. John Cardos made his directorial debut with The Red, White and Black (1970), a Romance Western featuring Lincoln Kilpatrick, Rafer Johnson, Isabel Sanford, Janee Michelle, Barbara Hale and Byrd Holland. Cardos directed later in his career; 1977 American science fiction horror film Kingdom of the Spiders, starring William Shatner, Tiffany Bolling and Woody Strode ; 1979 science fiction horror filmThe Dark, starring William Devane, Cathy Lee Crosby and Casey Kasem ; 1984 American horror film Mutant, starring Bo Hopkins, Wings Hauser and Lee Montgomery ; Skeleton Coast (1988), featuring Ernest Borgnine, Robert Vaughn, Oliver Reed and Herbert Lom; 1988 American/South African thriller film Act of Piracy, starring Gary Busey, Belinda Bauer and Ray Sharkey and a highly regarded documentary (IMDb, Rating: 8.1/10), Legends of the West (1992), Cast: Jack Palance, Brooke Shields, Cody Palance, Floyd 'Red Crow' Westerman and others. Cardos is the subject of the 2016 "ACTION!" John 'Bud' Cardos: The True Story of a Renaissance Cowboy,  by actor Robert Dix and his wife. Mr. Cardos also appeared as himself and talked about his longtime stunt career in the documentary film Danger God (Love and Other Stunts), directed by Joe O'Connell, which is about his longitme bliskom friend and fellow stuntman Gary Kent (2018). In late1993, Cardos won Best Director for Legends of the West at the Western Heritage Awards in Oklahoma City.


Cause of death: natural causes

   March 6, 2021 

   NOTABLE  deaths    

   March 7, 2021 

   NOTABLE  deaths    

Olivier Dassault, 69

 French billionaire politician 

 Olivier Dassault has died aged 69 

 in private helicopter crash 

 in France's region of Normandy. 

 (1 June 1951 – 7 March 2021)

 

French billionaire, reserve commander in the France air force and politician who represented conservative Les Républicains party as a deputy (1988–1997, since 2002) in the National Assembly (French: Assemblée nationale), has sadly died aged 69 in a helicopter crash in Normandy, near Deauville, where he had a holiday home, France Police announced. Dassault's pilot was also killed in crash. No-one else was on board. Olivier Dassault was the grandson of Marcel Dassault, who founded the company Dassault Aviation SA, an international French aircraft manufacturer of military and business jets. Dassault Aviation SA builds Rafale war planes, a twin-engine, canard delta wing, multirole fighter aircraft and owns Le Figaro French daily morning newspaper. The Company ownded by one of the most influential family in France, has been a leading French and European plane manufacturer for the last seven decades and is also behind the Falcon private jet and the Mirage warplane. Olivier Dassault was director of civil aircraft strategy at the company from 1986 until 2011, when he was appointed chairman of the supervisory board of Groupe Dassault SE, but later stepped down to avoid any conflict of interest in his political career in the National Assembly. Dassault was a 1974 graduate of the Air Force Academy (École de l'air) in Salon-de-Provence, France, and held a master's degree in mathematics and a doctorate in business management computing in the early 1980s. Dassault was elected to the National Assembly (French: Assemblée nationale) - France's lower house of parliament - in early 2002 and represented the Oise area of northern France,  located immediately north of the French capital Paris and the Ile de France. Dassault cultivated a passion for photography and published several successful books of his photographs in France. He was also a distinguished composer and musician, and contributed scores for several france films in the 1970s and 1980s. According to Forbes, Dassault was considered the 361st richest man in the world (US$7.3 billion). Having qualified as a professional IFR (Instrument flight rules) pilot in the mid-1970s, Mr. Dassault set a number of world speed records, including; New York to Paris in a French super-midsize, long-range business jet Dassault Falcon 50 (1977); New Orleans to Paris in a  trijet French-built corporate jet aircraft Dassault Falcon 900 (1987) and Paris to Abu Dhabi in a Dassault Falcon 900 EX (1996).  


Cause of death: helicopter crash.

   March 8, 2021 

   NOTABLE  deaths    

Leon Gast, 85

 Leon Gast, Oscar 

 -Winning Documentarian 

 Behind 'When We Were Kings,' 

 (1997), has died at the age of 85. 

(1936 – 8 March 2021)

 

Leon Gast, producer, cinematographer, editor and the director of the Oscar-winning documentary “When We Were Kings,” (1996) about Muhammad Ali's (born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.) iconic “Rumble in the Jungle” boxing match vs George Foreman in Kinshasa, Zaire (now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo), has sadly died at the age of 85, Meira Blaustein, his longtime friend and the co-founder of high quality Woodstock Film Festival announced. Gast's cause of death has not been announced. It took Gast over two decades to edit and finance the iconic documentary before it was finally released in early 1996. “When We Were Kings,” also win the Independent Spirit Award (originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards - dedicated to independent filmmakers). Mr. Leon Gast was born in Jersey City, N.J. He studied dramatic arts at Columbia University in the City of New York, and in that same period worked on TV series High Adventure presented by actor and broadcaster Lowell Thomas. Gast is also known for his osebujnim photography which has often appeared in such magazines asAmerican monthly fashion and lifestyle magazine Vogue, American men's magazine Esquire, and  American monthly women's fashion magazineHarper's Bazaar. The Guest is also known for;  B.B. King - Sweet 16 (1974), ''Our Latin Thing (Nuestra Cosa)'', 1972 documentary film about the burgeoning Latin music scene in New York City.; Celia Cruz and the Fania Allstars in Africa (1974), The Grateful Dead Movie (1974), documentary film that captures live performances from rock band the Grateful Dead; Soul Power (2008),; The Trials of Muhammad Ali (2013), and Manny (2014).His documentary entitled Smash His Camera (2010), a film about american photographer Ron Galella (who known as a pioneer paparazzo), won "Best Director" of a documentary at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, Salt Lake City. 


Cause of death: unknown.

   March 9, 2021 

   NOTABLE  deaths    

Steve Ortmayer, 77

 Former football player, coach, 

 executive and two-time Super 

 Bowl champion, Steve Ortmayer, 

 has sadly died at the age of 77. 

(February 13, 1944 – March 9, 2021)

 

American football player, coach and executive Steve Ortmayer (born Conrad Stephen Ortmayer), who served as the assistant head coach for the University of Kentucky and general manager of the National Football League's San Diego Chargers (two-time Super Bowl champion) and St. Louis Rams, has sadly died at the age of 77, his family and The University of Kentucky announced. The cause of death has not yet been announced. Ortmayer was born in Painesville, Ohio, but grew up in Nashville, Tennessee, and Dallas, Texas, where he moved with his family. As a standout at receiver and defensive back he played one season at the Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, and three seasons at University of La Verne, in La Verne, California. His brilliant career in coaching spanned parts of 50 years and included two Super Bowl championships and Conference Championships in 1980 and 1983. (as assistant under Mexican-American head coachTom Flores). Ortmayer began his coaching career as an assistant head coach, offensive line coach, and defensive line coach at The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder) (1967-1973). He also spent a season at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, Georgia. From 1975 to late 1999, he was a football coach in the National Football League (NFL), for Kansas City Chiefs (1975–1977 ) and Oakland Raiders (1979–1994). Steve Ortmayer had worked for nine years under Mr. Al Davis, the longtime  principal owner and general manager of the Oakland Raiders. In early 2003, he became assistant head coach, special teams coordinator, and tight ends coach at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky, where he finishing his coaching career in late 2010. He also has coached in five college football bowl games.


Cause of death: unknown.

Roger Mudd, 93

 Roger Mudd, Anchorman 

 Who Stumped a Senator 

 Edward Kennedy, has died 

 of complications related to 

 kidney failure at the age of 93. 

(February 9, 1928 – March 9, 2021)

 

Roger Mudd (born Roger Harrison Mudd), longtime political TV journalist, has sadly died of complications related to kidney failure at his home in Fairfax County, Virginia, his family announced. Former CBS News political reporter was 93 years old. Mudd was probably best known for his famous interview with Senator from Massachusetts and Democratic presidential candidate Edward M. Kennedy in 1979, when he asked a simple question that blindsided and undermined his presidential campaign: "Why do you want to be president?". Mudd worked for CBS  (Columbia Broadcasting System) from early 1961 to midle 1980 as a Washington correspondent and weekend substitute anchor and was being groomed to succeed Walter Cronkite who served as anchorman for 19 years (1962–1981) on the “CBS Evening News.” In 1980 Mudd joined the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) as chief Washington correspondent and in 1982 became co-anchor with Thomas John Brokaw on the NBC news/interview program “Nightly News,” and  the co-moderator with Marvin Kalb of the NBC-TV weekly television news/interview program Meet the Press ( the longest-running program in television history), and American Almanac TV programs until 1987, when he moving to PBS (The Public Broadcasting Service). At PBS Mudd reported as essayist and political correspondent for daily evening television news“The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour” from 1987 to 1992. He then taught at Washington University in Greater St. Louis, Missouri,  Lee University in Virginia, and at his alma mater Princeton University in New Jersey. From 1995 until his retirement in late 2005, Mudd also hosted documentaries on the History Channel (A&E Networks pay television network). He was the recipient of the George Foster Peabody Award, for two most controversial CBS programs, "The Selling of the Pentagon" (1970) and "Teddy," (1979) a iconic interview with Edward M. Kennedy. He has also won the Joan Shorenstein Barone Award for Distinguished Washington Reporting and excellence in journalism, and five prestigious Emmy Awards.


Cause of death: kidney failure

   March 10, 2021 

   NOTABLE  deaths    

Joe Tait, 83

 Joe Tait, Veteran broadcaster 

 who inspired generations of 

 Cleveland Cavaliers fans 

 has died of kidney failure, 

 liver cancer and blood clots, 

 at the age of 83. 

(May 15, 1937 – March 10, 2021)

 

Joe Tait, Veteran Cleveland sports broadcaster, play-by-play announcer and legendary voice of Cavs fans for more than 40 years of the Cavs of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and both Television and radio for the Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball (MLB) for 16 seasons, has died after months of battles with kidney failure, liver cancer and blood clots in his leg at hospice care in Lafayette Township, Ohio, U.S., the Cleveland Cavaliers and Cleveland Indians announced. Veteran broadcaster who inspired generations of Cavs fans was 83 years old. He was born in Evanston, Illinois, a city in the Chicagoland area. Tait attended Monmouth College, a private Presbyterian liberal arts college  in western Illinois, where he began his radio career. He was play-by-play and operations manager on a local radio station in Monmouth ( Radio Station WRAM 1330 AM). Tait graduated in 1959. After college, served three years in the Army (United States Army Security Agency). From early 1966 to late 1968 Tait was the official voice of the Ohio Bobcats  football program, served as sports director for WOUB (AM) radio station , and taught sportscasting at the Athens campus. From 1969 until 1970 Tait was the pre-game host for the professional basketball team Indiana Pacers, in addition to being the station manager and morning host at radio station WBOW (1230 AM) which broadcast between 1927 and 2001 in Terre Haute, Indiana. He was with the the Cleveland Cavaliers from its inception in early 1970, when team began play as an expansion team, until he retired after more than four decades of a brilliant career in 2011, calling over three thousand Cavs games. In his final season  (2010-2011), The Cleveland Cavaliers honored him with a commemorative banner that hangs alongside some of the Cleveland's retired jersey numbers in the rafters of multi-purpose arena ''Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse'' in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. Among his more memorable calls was the Cavs' "Miracle in Richfield'' run in the 1975-76 playoffs of the 30th season of the National Basketball Association, when Cavs rallied to knock off Washington Bullets (4 - 3). Tait also called Len Barker's perfect game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Cleveland Stadium in 1981. He also had several signature sayings like; "Wham with a right/left hand!", "To the line, to the lane..." , "It's a beautiful day/night for baseball!", "Sights it, shoots it, got it.", his warmly and sounding welcome with "It's basketball time at the Cleveland Arena / Coliseum / Gund / Q!" and of course, the inevitable famous sentences; It's a beautiful day / night for baseball! "And" This is Joe Tait. Have a good night everybody! " Joe Tait was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame media wing in 2010 (The Curt Gowdy Media Award), Ohio Broadcasters Hall of Fame Inductee (class of 1992), Indiana Broadcasters Hall of Fame Inductee (class of 2004), awarded with the OAC (The Ohio Athletic Conference) Bill Nichols Media Award (2012), Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame Inductee (class of 2005), Cavaliers Wall of Honor (class of 2019), Cleveland Press Club Journalism Hall of Fame Inductee (class of 2003), Tait was also a Eight-time NSSA (The National Sports Media Association) Ohio Sportscaster of the Year (1974, 1976, 1978, 1991, 1996, 1999, 2002, 2003).


Cause of death: kidney failure, liver cancer and blood clots.

   March 11, 2021 

   NOTABLE  deaths    

Norman J. Warren, 78

 The cult British 

 horror filmmaker 

 Norman John Warren, 

 has died aged 78. 

(25 June 1942 – March 12, 2021)

 

The cult British filmmaker Norman John Warren, best known for a series of cult classics horror films in the 1970s and 1980s, including Satan's Slave (1976), Prey (1977), Terror (1978), Inseminoid (1981), and Bloody New Year (1987), has sadly died at the age of 78, his family announced. Warren's cause of death has not been announced. Warren was definitely one of English genre cinema's most important and distinctive independent film directors, and his cult classic films still play all over the world. He had directed his first two feature-length sexploitation films, '' Her Private Hell '' (1968), starring Lucia Modugno, Terry Skelton and Daniel Ollier, which was described as "Britain's first narrative sex film", and 1968 British sex comedy-drama ''And Loving Feeling'', starring Georgina Ward and Françoise Pascal. Warren's trio of horror films from the late ‘70s have become cult horror classics: ''Satan’s Slave'', a 1976 British independent supernatural horror film  written by producer, playwright, screenwriter and film critic David McGillivray, starring Michael Gough, Martin Potter, Candace Glendenning and Barbara Kellerman; '' Prey '' (also known as Alien Prey) 1977 science fiction horror film produced by Terry Marcel, which was filmed in under 12 days on a budget of less than £ 65,000, starring Barry Stokes, Glory Annen, Sally Faulkner;  and ''Terror'', a 1978 supernatural horror film, starring John Nolan, Carolyn Courage, James Aubrey and Sarah Keller. 'Terror' went to the number one spot in the United Kingdom box office. Warren best known film is ''Inseminoid'' (also known as Horror Planet),  a 1981 British independent science-fiction horror filmabout a group of British archaeologists who are excavating the ruins of an ancient civilization on a distant and unexplored planet, starring Judy Geeson, Robin Clarke, Jennifer Ashley and Stephanie Beacham. The cult filmmaker did not release a feature film between 1987 and 2016, but he continued to work as director and promotional director of music videos and educational short films such as BBC's educational  ''Person to Person''.


Cause of death: unknown.

   March 12, 2021 

   NOTABLE  deaths    

Bob Walkup, 84

 Former Tucson Mayor 

 Bob Walkup has died after 

 a long battle with idiopathic 

 pulmonary fibrosis at the age of 84. 

(November 14, 1936 – March 12, 2021)

 

Bob Walkup (born: Robert E. Walkup), a moderate Republican politician, who served three terms as Tucson’s mayor from 1999 to 2011, and played a key role for setting the foundation for downtown Tucson’s revitalization, has died after a long battle with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis at the age of 84, his son Jonathan Walkup and Current Tucson Mayor Regina Romero announced. Walkup served as the 40th Mayor of Tucson, as the last Mayor that was a member of the Republican Party. Former Mayor Walkup is survived by his wife Beth, five children and six grandchildren. Walkup has a bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering from Iowa State University of Science and Technology in Ames, Iowa. He also served in an engineer formation of the United States Army. Before becoming involved in politics in the late 1990s, Walkup was an industrial engineer and managing director in the aerospace industry for more than three decades. Walkup worked for three major American aerospace manufacturing conglomerate; Rockwell International, with assets of over $8 billion and over 110,000 employees,  Fairchild Aircraft and aerospace manufacturing company and Hughes Aircraft Company, best known for producing the Hughes H-4 Hercules Spruce Goose aircraft, and the AIM-4 Falcon guided missile. Walkup also serves as Chairman of the Aviation Subcommittee for the US Conference of Mayors’ Transportation Committee, the lead subcommittee with jurisdiction over the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). He was first elected on November 1999, defeating Democratic former City Councilwoman and former teacher Molly McKasson and local businessman and owner of Fire Agate International Robert Bob Beaudry. He was re-elected for a second term November 4, 2003, narrowly defeating a Professor of Political Science at the University of Arizona and Democratic former Mayor Tom Volgy. He was re-elected for a third term on November 2007, defeating a Green Party candidate Dave Croteau. During Walkup's twelve-year tenure there were numerous progressive changes in the way the Tucson region and the city of Tucson operates.The city began utilizing its share of Colorado River water - the most important source of water, to supplement its increased potable water supply and reduce its dependence on unsustainable groundwater dependence. Walkup also helped form Tucson’s Meth-Free Alliance and the Men’s Anti-Violence Partnership, which working in conjunction with the Tucson Police Department to increase Tucson’s public safety support over a decade period with over five hundred more police officers and over three hundred more firefighters and paramedics. He was also instrumental in forming the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) intended for working on a second plan to provide transportation improvements and gaining voter approval for its over $ 2 billion multi-modal advanced plan, including obtaining 100% funding for the implementation of the first- generation All-American Modern Streetcar System for the city of Tucson. Walkup’s constant efforts and new advanced programs in economic development have contributed to a net increase of over 50,000 jobs and an incredible increase of $ 10,000 per year in average worker earnings during his three tenures. He was also the first Arizona Mayor to sign the U.S. Mayor’s Climate Protection Agreement which offers examples of actions that local governments can take to reduce global warming emissions. Measures taken in and around Tucon resulted in doubling City’s recycling rate. In addition to engaging in politics, Former Mayor Walkup enjoyed cycling and astronomy in his spare time. He also initiated the Healthy Tucson Initiative locally and the Global Alliance for Community Wellness internationally to demonstrate healthy lifestyles, reduce the number of users of alcohol and tobacco products and support health prevention programs in order to improve Tucson’s quality of life.


Cause of death: idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

   March 13, 2021 

   NOTABLE  deaths    

Marvelous Marvin Hagler, 66

 Former undisputed middleweight 

 champion and actor Marvelous 

 Marvin Hagler, has died suddenly 

 at the age of 66. 

(May 23, 1954 – March 13, 2021)

 

Former undisputed middleweight champion and actor Marvelous Marvin Hagler (born Marvin Nathaniel Hagler), one of the greatest middleweight boxers to step in the ring, who dominated the middleweight division from early 1979 until his defeat by boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard (Ray Charles Leonard) in April 1987, has died suddenly at his home in New Hampshire, his wife Kay announced. The cause of death of the former boxing champion is still unknown. The day before death, he sought help at a hospital in New Hampshire after experiencing trouble breathing and chest pains at home. American Hall of Fame boxer was born in Brockton, a city in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, but Hagler spent his early years in Newark, New Jersey's Central Ward. Following the Newark Riots during the "Long Hot Summer of 1967"., in which in over the four days of rioting, looting, and property destruction, 26 people died and hundreds were injured and over ten million dollars in property damage was caused , including the destruction of Hagler’s tenement, he is with his entire family moved back to his hometown of Brockton, Massachusetts. In 1969, Hagler, has definitely decided to become a boxer. He learned his first boxing steps in the gym owned by boxing trainers and managers brothers Pat and Goody Petronelli. In 1973, he won the National AAU (The Amateur Athletic Union) 165-pound title after defeating a twenty-three-year-old U.S. Marine  champion from Atlanta, Georgia, Terry Dobbs. In March 1973, in the semi-final fight of the National Golden Gloves (Light Middleweight), in Lowell, Massachusetts, Hagler lost to Dale Grant ( half-brother of fellow boxer Sugar Ray Seales) by decision. Marvelous Marvin Hagler completed his amateur boxing career with an impressive 55–1 record. Hagler got his first title shot in '79 against World Middleweight Champion Vito Antuofermo in Las Vegas, Nevada, which got called a draw after fifteen rounds, despite many feeling Hagler had definitely taken it. Already in 1980 he got a 2nd shot at the title, this time against British boxer Alan Minter, whom Hagler pounded into a 3rd round stoppage at London's Wembley Arena. Year after year (1980 - 1987), he successfully defended his title, but his reign came to an end in April 1987 against one of the greatest boxers of all time, the true boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard, who came out of retirement for another shot at the title in "The Super Fight" which was scheduled for April 6, 1987, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. "The King of the Ring" went all twelve rounds, and despite many saying Hagler got the better of Sugar Ray Leonard, yet Sugar was announced as the winner in a split decision. Marvin Hagler completed his Professional boxing career with an impressive 62 wins (by knockout 52, by decision 9 and one by disqualification), and 3 losses ( all three by decision). After he stopped his professional boxing career, Hagler moved on to a  career in films. As an actor, Hagler is best known for 1989 Italian action films ''Indio'', 1991 ''Indio 2'' (en.The Revolt) directed by Antonio Margheriti, Tommy Lane and Richard Liberty and 1997 Italian comedy-science fiction film Cyberflic (also known as Virtual Weapon) alongside famous Terence Hill, Giselle Blondet. In 1993, Marvelous Marvin Hagler was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), located in Canastota, New York, United States. Hagler is survived by his current wife Kay Guarrera and five children from a previous marriage with first wife Bertha. 


Cause of death: unknown

   March 14, 2021 

   NOTABLE  deaths    

Henry Darrow, 87

 Henry Darrow, the first Hispanic 

 actor to portray Zorro, a dashing 

 masked vigilante who defends 

 the peoples, has died 

 of natural causes aged 87. 

(September 15, 1933 – March 14, 2021)

 

American character actor of stage and film Henry Darrow (born Enrique Tomás Delgado Jiménez), the first Hispanic actor to portray Zorro  (Spanish for 'Fox'), a dashing masked vigilante who defends the peoples of California against villains, and also starred in NBC TV series “The High Chaparral,” in the late 1960s, as Manolito "Mano" Montoya, has died of natural causes aged 87 at his home in Wilmington, North Carolina, U.S., his longtime friend and former publicist, Michael B. Druxman, announced. Darrow starred in the series ''Zorro and Son'' (1983) created by Walt Disney Television, and also has provided the voice for the Filmation's animated mini TV series of ''The New Adventures of Zorro'' (1981). Darrow replaced actor Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. as Zorro's father from 1990 to 1993. in the Family Channel's action-adventure drama series, ''The New Zorro'' (also known as The New Zorro, New World Zorro, and Zorro 1990) .
Henry Darrow also played San Diego police detective Manny Quinlan alongside David Janssen in the first season of the 1974-76 ABC private detective series ''Harry O'' directed by Richard Benedict and Daryl Duke and also received a Daytime Emmy by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in 1990 for his turn as Rafael Castillo, on the NBC television soap opera ''Santa Barbara'' (1984 - 1993). His other significant film roles include; neo noir crime thriller film ''Badge 373'' (1973), alongside Robert Duvall, Verna Bloom and Eddie Egan, Peter Glenville's drama film Summer and Smoke (1961), alongside Laurence Harvey, Geraldine Page and Rita Moreno, Antonio Santean's The Glass Cage (1964), alongside Arlene Martel, John Hoyt and Elisha Cook Jr.; St. Helens (also known as St. Helens, Killer Volcano - 1981), television film directed by Ernest Pintoff, Robert Harmon's road thriller film The Hitcher (1986), alongside legendary Rutger Hauer, C. Thomas Howell and Jeffrey DeMunn,  Gary Fleder's legal thriller film Runaway Jury (2003) alongside Brian Koppelman, David Levien and Rick Cleveland, and in the Michael Feifer's Soda Springs (2012) alongside Jay Pickett, Tom Skerritt, Victoria Pratt. In recent years, he had cut back on his public appearances.


Cause of death: natural causes.

   March 15, 2021 

   NOTABLE  deaths    

Doug Parkinson, 74

 Australian pop and rock 

 singer Doug Parkinson, 

 "Australia's greatest soul voice", 

 has died suddenly aged 74. 

(30 October 1946 – 15 March 2021)

 

Australian pop and rock singer Doug Parkinson (born Douglas John Parkinson), has died suddenly at his home on Sydney’s northern beaches in New South Wales aged 74, just days away from his next big concert, his longtime friend and Publicist Lionel Midford announced. Parkinson's cause of death is not yet known. The legendary recording artist had a career that spanned over 50 years. Doug Parkinson was born in Waratah, a north-western residential suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales. As a teenager, Doug spent six months of rehabilitation bed-ridde at Mona Vale Hospital, after he almost died when he was hit by a surfboard, and almost drowned. Mr. Parkinson formed and  led the band Strings and Things/A Sound from 1965, alongside Helen Barnes on bass guitar, Syd Barnes on drums and David Lee on guitar. From 1968 to 1971, he led hard rock super group Doug Parkinson in Focus & Fanny Adams. Doug in Focus's cover version major hit of the Beatles' track Dear Prudence from their 1968 double album The Beatles and Their follow-up single, Without You / Hair peaked at number 5 on the Go-Set National Top forty, in 1969. In the summer of 1972, Doug launched his solo career and released the single debut, "Lonely". Since 1973, Doug Parkinson has taken major stage roles in The Who's australian rock opera Tommy, alongside Linda George, Jim Keays, and Ian Meldrum; Australian production of the stage musical The Wizard of Oz, and Jesus Christ Superstar, alongside Mike Wade (guitar) and Greg Henson (drums). Doug appeared alongside many international music stars including English rock band ''The Who'',  American vocal group from Detroit ''The Temptations'', English rock band from London ''The Small Faces'', American R&B singing group from Oakland ''The Pointer Sisters'', legendary Bob Marley and The Wailers and American jazz and R&B singer Randy Crawford. From 1988, he was mostly engaged in musical theater with roles in William Hauptman's stage productions of Big River: '' The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn '' (1990), Mike Batt's musical based on Lewis Carroll's 1876 poem '' The Hunting of the Snark '' (1990) and Alan Janes's musical in two acts '' Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story '' as the Big Bopper (1991 - 1992). In 2019 he toured New South Wales, a state on the east coast of Australia with a tribute to English singer known for his gritty voice Joe Cocker in which he was billed by many music critics as "Australia's greatest soul voice" List of some Doug singles, with Australian chart positions credited as Doug Parkinson in Focus; 1969 "Dear Prudence"/"This Must Be the End"(19), 1969 "Without You"/"Hair"(4), and 1970 "Baby Blue Eyes" / "Then I Run" (42),  Credited as Doug Parkinson; 1972 "Lonely"/"Takin It Easy" (42), 1974  "Everlasting Love"/"All I Need Is a Song" (92), 1981 "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine (Anymore)"/"Gonna Shake It" (18), 1982 "Better Keep Your Hands Off My (Potential New Girlfriend)"/"Lady Luck" (97) and 2003 "To Love Somebody" (with Marcia Hines, Brian Cadd & Max Merritt) (96), Credited as Doug Parkinson & The Southern Star Band; 1978 "I'll Be Around" / "Riff Raff"(22), 1979 "Now You're On Your Own"/"You Ain't Going Nowhere Without Me" (70). Doug also had two albums, on Australian chart positions; I'll Be Around (with The Southern Star Band), Released in March 1979, Peak chart positions 37, and Heartbeat to Heartbeat, Released in March 1983, Peak chart positions (59). Parkinson continued performing in stage shows and recording until his sudden death. Doug Parkinson is survived by his wife Suzie and two sons.


Causeof death: unknown.

Yaphet Kotto, 81

 Yaphet Kotto, star of 007 

 spy film ''Live and Let Die'' 

 and science-fiction/horror 

''Alien'', has died at the age of 81. 

(November 15, 1939 – March 15, 2021)

 

Yaphet Kotto (born Yaphet Frederick Kotto), the American actor best known for memorable roles in the Ridley Scott's science-fiction/horror film Alien and the Guy Hamilton's 007 spy film ''Live and Let Die'' (1973), as well as the hit police procedural television series ''Homicide: Life on the Street'' has sadly died at the age of 81 in the Philippines, his wife announced on social media. Kotto's cause of death is not given. He was born in New York City. Kotto's father Avraham was businessman from Cameroon (a country in Central Africa) who emigrated to the US in the early 1920s. Kotto's mother was an American nurse and United States Military officer. Kotto was raised by his maternal grandparents after his parents divorced. Already as a sixteen-year-old teenager, he began studying acting at the Actors Mobile Theater Studio in New York City. At the age of nineteen, Kotto made his professional acting debut in  Shakespeare tragedy Othello. He also started acting on Broadway where he appeared in ''The Great White Hope'' a 1967 play written by Howard Sackler.  Kotto is known for numerous film roles, including; in the Paul Michael Glaser's dystopian action film ''The Running Man'' (1987), alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jesse Ventura and María Conchita Alonso; in Martin Brest's buddy action comedy thriller film ''Midnight Run'' (1988) as FBI Agent Alonzo Mosley, alongside Robert De Niro, Dennis Farina, and Charles Grodin; Stuart Rosenberg's prison drama film ''Brubaker'' (1980), alongside legendary Robert Redford, Jane Alexander and David Keith; Peter Hyams's crime thriller film ''The Star Chamber'' (1983), alongside Michael Douglas, Hal Holbrook and Sharon Gless; 1985 science fiction-horror film ''Warning Sign'' directed by Hal Barwood, alongside Sam Waterston and Kathleen Quinlan; ''The Park Is Mine'', Canadian-American drama TV film wich focuses on Vietnam War veteran, Mitch (starring Tommy Lee Jones); Gary Sherman's television movie ''After the Shock'', alongside Jack Scalia, Rue McClanahan; Rachel Talalay's slasher film ''Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare'' a sequel to ''A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child'', alongside Robert Englund, Lisa Zane and Lezlie Deane and his Final Film Role in the Charles Robert Carner's  comedy crime film ''Witless Protection'' alongside Larry the Cable Guy, Ivana Miličević and Eric Roberts. Yaphet Kotto also received an Emmy nomination for playing former Ugandan President Idi Amin (Popularly known as the "Butcher of Uganda") in the 1977 NBC television film ''Raid on Entebbe'' directed by     Irvin Kershner. Kotto also worked as a scriptwriter for police drama television series ''A-Team and Law and Order'', in wich he played Lieutenant Al Giardello. Kotto is also known for numerous Television roles, including; in the ''Homicide: Life on the Street'' (1993 - 2000) for wich his Nominated for NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series; in American sci-fi TV series '' seaQuest DSV'' (1993) created by Rockne S. O'Bannon, alongside Roy Scheider, Jonathan Brandis and Stephanie Beacham; anthology series ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' (1985) and in the NBC TV series ''Night Gallery'' (1971). Kotto was married three times: to Rita Ingrid Dittman, a German immigrant (1959-1976)​, Toni Pettyjohn (1975-1989) and Filipina Tessie Sinahon (1998). Kotto had six children.

 

Cause of death: unknown.

   March 16, 2021 

   NOTABLE  deaths    

erhan onal has died

 Erhan Önal, the first 

 Turkish immigrant to play soccer 

 in the German Bundesliga (FC Bayern Munich), 

 has died aged 63. 

(3 September 1957 - 16 March 2021)

 

Turkish international soccer player who played as a central defender for FC Bayern Munich, Royal Standard de Liège, Fenerbahçe SK, Galatasaray SK and for the Turkish National Soccer Team (1979–1987), has died at the age of 63, the Turkish Super Lig club Galatasaray SK announced. Önal's cause of death is not yet known. He was the first Turkish immigrant in Germany to play in the Bundesliga, the top of the German soccer league system. Nowadays when many children of Turkish migrants play in the Bundesliga and in the German national team (Mesut Özil, Serdar Tasci and many others), many soccer analysts emphasize the importance of Önal’s pioneering performances in one of the world’s strongest soocer leagues. Erhan Önal was the pioneer and trailblazer for all of today's immigrant children in the Bundesliga. During his tenure at FC Bayern Munich, he played with German soccer legends such as Gerd Müller, Sepp Maier, Ulrich Hoeneß, and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. While playing in Turkish Galatasaray, Önal was nicknamed ''the Priest'' because of his specifične beard. Önal helped Galatasaray win two Turkish Super Lig titles (1987 and 1988). He ended his soccer profesionalni life in a Galatasaray jersey on July 1992. After his playing retirement, he started working as Göztepe Sports Club's manager and sports director. Önal was also soccer commentator on the Gol program that appeared on MNG Media Group's TV8.

 

Cause of death: unknown.

   March 17, 2021 

   NOTABLE  deaths    

Sabine Schmitz, 51

 Top Gear star Sabine Schmitz, 

 also known as the; 

 "Queen of the Nürburgring" 

 has died of cancer aged 51. 

(14 May 1969 – 17 March 2021)

 

Top Gear star and German professional motor racing legend Sabine Schmitz (Sabine Reck while married) widely known as the "Queen of the Nürburgring", has died too early aged 51 after a long battle with cancer, her family announced. She was diagnosed with extremely persistent cancer in late 2017. Schmitz was definitely best known as a presenter on a BBC’s Top Gear, a famous British motoring factual television show, from May 2016 to 2020. Schmitz, first appearance on British television was on the Jeremy Clarkson's 2002  ''Meets the Neighbours'' where 'Queen of the Nürburgring' took famous presenter around the Nürburgring in the "ring taxi". The Nürburgring most famous female racing driver also appeared alongside Richard Hammond and James May and retained a recurring role throughout various iterations of the most famous British motoring TV serie over the years. Sabine Schmitz won in BMW Driving Experience Challenge (circuit racing challenge Nürburgring) and the Nürburgring Langstrecken Serie events (formerly VLN), the Veranstaltergem einschaft Langstreckenpokal Nürburgring endurance racing championship in 1998, and won the 24 Hours Nürburgring (24-hour annual touring car and Grand tourer endurance racing and the Land Motorsport Grand Prix track circuits of the Nürburgring in central Germany)  in 1996 and 1997, as the first woman ever to win the 24-hour race, all with a BMW M3 entered and co-driven by team principal and racing veteran Johannes Scheid. She and German race car driver Klaus Abbelen finished third in the 24 Hours Nürburgring 2008 entered by Land Motorspor, with a Porsche 997. Schmitz came to mass public attention and gained great popularity driving one of the two BMW M5 "ring taxis" around the 12.9 miles-long iconic German racing track in an safe, but also an unforgettable entertaining manner. As a result of her popularity in Germany and her amazing charisma, Schmitz, since 2006, she became an occasional motorsport guest commentator and motoring show co-host on German television (men's lifestyle channel D Motor on the DMAX TV). Schmitz herself stopped driving the Nürburgring "ring taxi" in early 2011, but Her company '' Sabine Schmitz Motorsport '' continued to provide advanced driving training services and a "ring taxi" service for passengers.

 

Cause of death: cancer. 

Dick Hoyt, 80

 Dick Hoyt, Boston Marathon 

 Icon Who Pushed His Son Rick 

(Duo ''Team Hoyt'') in a Wheelchair 

 at Races, has died aged 80. 

(June 1, 1940 - March 17, 2021)

 

Dick Hoyt (born Richard Eugene Hoyt Sr.), American marathon and triathlon runner, best known as Part of Legendary Boston Marathon Duo ''Team Hoyt'', who pushed his almost completely paralyzed son Rick Hoyt (born 1962) in a wheelchair at the Boston race for over three decades, has died in his sleep at his Holland, Massachusetts home, his family and the Boston Athletic Association announced. The beloved Boston Marathon runner was 80 years old. The exact cause of death has not been announced, but it is known that Dick had been dealing with health issues recently and also had an ongoing heart condition. Dick Hoyt finishing over thirty races with son Rick, many of them at almost incredibly impressive speeds. Team Hoyt have been one of the biggest fan favorites at the Boston marathon since the early 1980s. His son Rick, now 59 years old, was born with a severe form of cerebral palsy characterized by motor dysfunction all over the body, after complications during childbirth cut off the necessary oxygen supply to his brain. Unfortunately, he is unable to speak and Rick's head and knees are the only parts of his body he can move voluntarily and which have enabled him to achieve a career as a disabled athlete and become an inspiration to many runners worldwide. In four decades of running, they had competed in over a thousand endurance events, and participated in 72 marathons, 22 duathlons, 6 Ironman distances, a races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC), and ran 257 triathlons. In the 2013 Boston Marathon (the 117th running of the annual marathon), Team Hoyt had less than a mile to go when terrorist bombs exploded on the sidewalk, near the finish line, killing three people and injuring several hundred other people. American multinational basic cable sports channel ESPN honored Team Hoyt with the Jimmy V Perseverance Award (sometimes called the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance) at the ESPY Award show in the West Coast headquarters of ESPN at LA Live (July 17, 2013). Za njihov unforgettable contributions to the growth of the sport, Team Hoyt was inducted to the Ironman Hall of Fame in early 2008.


Cause of death: unknown. 

   March 18, 2021 

   NOTABLE  deaths    

Bill Young, 74

 Former American football 

 player and Long-time coach 

 Bill Young, has died aged 74. 

(August 17, 1946 – March 18, 2021)

 

Former American football player and coach whose brilliant career spanned almost five decades at the high school, collegiate, and professional levels, Bill Young (born William L. Young), has sadly died of pneumonia at the age of 74, his wife Lawana announced. Until retiring after the 2018 season, he had stints on some of the sport's biggest stages. He was born in Hereford, a city in and county seat of Deaf Smith County, Texas. After an illustrious career as a defensive lineman for the Oklahoma State Cowboys, where he was an academic all-conference player, he moved on to Central Oklahoma University for his master's degree (1968) and immediately joined the program as a alternate coach. Young, one of the nation's top assistant coach, coached at the Putnam City West High School in Oklahoma City (1970–1975), The Iowa State Cyclones at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa (1979), The Tulsa Golden Hurricane at University of Tulsa (1980–1982), The Arizona State Sun Devils football team at Arizona State University (1985–1987), The Ohio State Buckeyes at Ohio State University (1988–1995), The USC Trojans football at University of Southern California (1998–2000), NFL's Detroit Lions based in Detroit (2001), The Kansas Jayhawks at University of Kansas (2002–2007), The Miami Hurricanes at University of Miami (2008), The Wyoming Cowboys at University of Wyoming (2013), the Yukon High School  located within Canadian County in Yukon, Oklahoma (2014) and the Tulsa Golden Hurricane at University of Tulsa Hurricane (2015 -2018) among other schools across the country. While at University of Kansas in 2007, he was a finalist for the Broyles Award, which is presented to the nation's best assistant coach. Long-time football coach who had a huge influence on a variety of college football programs  throughout the country also helped the Cowboys win the Big 12 championship and Fiesta Bowl in 2011 as a defensive coordinator, and he was an assistant when OSU won the Big Eight in 1976 under legendary Jim Stanley.


Cause of death:  pneumonia.

   March 19, 2021 

   NOTABLE  deaths    

Glynn Lunney, 84

 Glynn S. Lunney, a legendary 

 NASA engineer best known as 

 flight director for the Gemini and 

 Apollo programs, has died aged 84. 

(November 27, 1936 – March 19, 2021)

 

Glynn S. Lunney, a legendary American space engineer who has worked for NASA since its inception in 1958, serving as flight director for the Gemini and Apollo, NASA's second and third human spaceflight programs and on duty during historic events like the Apollo 11 lunar landing and the pivotal hours of the Apollo 13 crisis, has died of leukemia aged 84, his family and NASA announced. Glynn was born and grew up in the coal city of Old Forge, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. In 1953, he graduated from Scranton Preparatory School. He moved to the University of Detroit after attending the University of Scranton (1953–1955), where he enrolled in the Lewis Research Center's cooperative training program in Cleveland, Ohio. The center was a part of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), a US federal agency founded with purpose to conduct, encourage, and institutionalize aeronautical research.  After graduation, he remained with NACA, until 1958, when he was recruited by the newly-formed NASA (The National Aeronautics and Space Administration) at the age of only 22. For the early Project Mercury flights, Glynn worked at a remote tracking station. Glynn Lunney also worked the final three original astronaut missions from the Mercury Control Center in Merritt Island, Florida after the launch of legendary John Glenn on the first U.S. crewed mission to orbit Earth in February 1962, before becoming chief of the flight dynamics branch. Lunney was chosen as a flight director for the Gemini program in 1964, just as it was getting started. He was one of the first four people to lead Mission Control. Lunney led the "Black team" alongside flight directors Chris Kraft (Red team), John Hodge (Blue team), and Gene Kranz (White team). Aged only 28, Glynn was the youngest of the four. After overseeing all Apollo test flights, he also led his first shifts in the Mission Operations Control Room (sometimes called a flight control center or operations center) in the Mission Control Center at NASA's center for human spaceflight (today, The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center JSC ) for the Gemini 9A (officially Gemini IX-A) in June 1966. Lunney was also involved in Project Apollo from the start, just as he was with Project Mercury.
Lunney led shifts for the first Apollo mission, Apollo 7 commanded by Walter M. Schirra, on October 1968; the first crewed spacecraft to leave low Earth orbit (to orbit the moon) Apollo 8 on December 1968 (and, at around the same time, Glynn Lunney was named chief of the flight director's office); the dress rehearsal for the first lunar landing and testing all the components and procedures, Apollo 10 on May 1969; and then the historic first landing, Apollo 11 on July 20, 1969, during which Lunney oversaw two, perhaps the most important procedures: the ascent from the moon and the complex task of rendezvousing with the command module in lunar orbit. During the Apollo 13 crisis, after an oxygen tank in the service module failed 2 days into the mission, Glynn played a key role, when his quick thinking and excellent memory were crucial to his team's success in the hours that followed. Lunney was also selected as a member of a NASA delegation to the Communist Soviet Union in the early 1970s, while still a flight director, to discuss the possibility of cooperation between the two nations in the field of human spaceflight. He becoming the technical director for the United States side of the  Project. After the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, Lunney serve as deputy associate administrator for spaceflight and acting associate administrator for space transportation operations. He then returned to Space Center Houston to become Space Shuttle Program Manager before retiring from NASA in late 1985. After leaving NASA , he went to work for Rockwell International, the company in charge of the Space Shuttle's design, operation, and maintenance. Glynn Lunney was a Fellow of the American Astronomical Society and of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AAS)  headquartered in Washington, DC. and of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). The Rotary National Award for Space Achievement Foundation awarded Lunney with the National Space Trophy in 2005. The award had previously been given to famous astronauts Neil Armstrong and Chris Kraft. In 2008 he received the Elmer A. Sperry Award, an American transportation engineering prize for their work on the Apollo – Soyuz mission in the mid-1970s. In the 1995 Ron Howard's space docudrama film Apollo 13, Glynn Lunney was portrayed by actoe Marc McClure. 


Cause of death: leukemia.

   March 20, 2021 

   NOTABLE  deaths    

Dan Sartain, 39

 Dan Sartain, 

 Garage punk, rockabilly and 

 blues singer-songwriter, 

 has died aged 39. 

(August 13, 1981 – March 20, 2021)

 

American Singer-songwriter Dan Sartain (born Daniel Fredrick Sartain) has died aged 39, his family announced. While the exact date and cause of death are not known, his loved ones are raising money via a GoFundMe to fund his funeral. Legendary Garage punk, rockabilly and blues musician was born on August 13, 1981 in Center Point, Alabama. Sartain started his career in the 1990s as a member of the hardcore band Plate Six. Sartain released third album ''Dan Sartain vs. the Serpientes'', his first commercially available studio album, in 2005 through Swami Records in San Diego, California, after releasing two self-produced albums  ''Crimson Guard'' and ''Romance in Stereo'' through independent San Diego-based record labels. Over the last two decades, Sartain released several records on One Little Independent, John Reis' Swami Records, Jack White's Third Man and other labels including;  the fourth album ''Join Dan Sartain'' released in 2006 by Swami Records, the fifth album ''Dan Sartain Lives'' released in 2010 by One Little Indian Independent, Compilation album ''Legacy of Hospitality'' in 2011, ''Too Tough To Live'' (2012), ''DUDESBLOOD'' (2012) and his last album ''Century Plaza'' (2016). Sartain also played many shows with Jack White, Swedish rock band ''The Hives', American punk rock band ''Social Distortion'', Rick Froberg 's post-hardcore band ''Hot Snakes'' and more. Sartain hadn't released an music album since Century Plaza in 2016, however, with a new album in the works, he also released a new single "You Can't Go Home No More" last fall.


Cause of death: unknown.

Taryn Fiebig, 49

 Taryn Fiebig, 

 Australian award-winning 

 soprano, has died from 

 ovarian cancer aged 49. 

(1 February 1972 – 20 March 2021) 

 

One of Australia’s greatest opera sopranos, Taryn Fiebig has died of cancer at her home in Elizabeth Bay, New South Wales, her family announced. In 2017, Taryn Fiebig was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Before returning to the stage in 2018, she took a break from a number of roles to undergo therapy. Unfortunately, the cancer reappeared last year, and she died at the age of only 49. Fiebig joined Sydney's principal Opera Australia in 2005 as a principal soprano. Her roles for  Sydney's Opera include; Susanna in the comic opera ''Marriage of Figaro'', Zerlina in two acts opera ''Don Giovanni'', Musetta in  Giacomo Puccini's ''La bohème'', Galatea in George Frideric Handel's ''Acis and Galatea'', Belinda in opera in a prologue and three acts ''Dido and Aeneas'', The Plaintiff in a comic opera in one act ''Trial by Jury'', Clorinda in Gioachino Rossini.'s operatic dramma giocoso in two acts ''La Cenerentola'', Gianetta in the Arthur Sullivan's Savoy Opera ''Gondoliers'', Adele in ''Die Fledermaus'' an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II, Rose in opera in three acts ''Lakmé'', Servilia in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's ''La clemenza di Tito'', Karolka in opera in three acts ''Jenůfa'', Lisa in opera semiseria in two acts ''La sonnambula'', Aphrodite in opera in two actsThe Love of the Nightingale. Fiebig's performances and recordings ranged from major operatic roles to musical theater and even Celtic folk songs, making her a hugely popular and versatile artist. In 2010 and 2019, Fiebig received two Helpmann Awards for her work. She also frequently performed with Pinchgut Opera company in Sydney, most recently starring in a Pinchgut's film "A Delicate Fire" during coronavirus lockdown. More roles for Opera Australia include Gutrune in Richard Wagner's ''Götterdämmerung'' (2016), Nannetta in  Giuseppe Verdi's comic opera in three acts ''Falstaff'' (2014), Mother in  adaptation of Kafka's ''Metamorphosis'' (2018), and Despina in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's  Italian-language opera buffa in two acts ''Così fan tutte'' (2016).


Cause of death: ovarian cancer.

Fred Wyant, 86

 Former Mountaineer Quarterback 

 and long-time NFL referee 

 Fred Wyant, has died aged 86. 

(April 26, 1934 – March 20, 2021)

 

West Virginia University Hall of Fame Quarterback and long-time NFL referee Fred Wyant (born Frederick Mount "Fred" Wyant, Jr.) has sadly died after months of declining health in Morgantown, West Virginia, his family and WVU Director of Athletic Content John Antonik announced. A native of Weston, West Virginia, "Fred" Wyant, Jr is definitely one of the most prolific signal-callers in program history, winning 30 games in a four-yea stretch (from 1952 to 1955) with the West Virginia Mountaineers, and also led the Mountaineers to the 1954 Sugar Bowl, but went on to play professionally for Washington Redskins (1956) and Toronto Argonauts (1957) and spent nearly 30 years as an official and referee in The National Football League (NFL). Wyant went into officiating after completing his playing career. He began his career as a referee in high school and small colleges before progressing to major colleges for five years. In 1966, he returned to the National Football League (NFL) as a line judge after gaining valuable experience at the college level. In 1971, Wyant was promoted to referee, a position he held until 1990. Less than two years after his promotion, he decided to end his sports and refereeing career. Wyant officiated the 1981 AFC divisional playoff game at Miami Orange Bowl Stadium, between the Miami Dolphins and the San Diego Chargers, one of the greatest games in NFL history, which the Chargers won 41-38 in overtime. This game would become known as "The Epic in Miami" in NFL lore. Wyant is survived by wife Dolores, three children and three grandchildren.


Cause of death: unknown.

   March 21, 2021 

   NOTABLE  deaths    

   March 22, 2021 

   NOTABLE  deaths    

Johnny Dumfries, 62

 Former Formula 1 driver 

 (JPS Team Lotus) Johnny Dumfries 

 has died aged 62. 

(26 April 1958 – 22 March 2021)

 

Former Formula 1 driver Johnny Dumfries (born John Crichton-Stuart, 7th Marquess of Bute), who raced for Lotus in the 1986 season under the name Johnny Dumfries and also won the 56th Grand Prix of 24-hour race, Le Mans, (the 56th Grand Prix of Endurance) in June 1988, has sadly died after a short illness, his family announced. Johnny Dumfries was born in Rothesay, Argyll and Bute, the principal town on the Isle of Bute, Scotland, into one of Scotland's oldest aristocratic families. He dropped out of high school at the prestigious Ampleforth College in North Yorkshire to devote himself entirely to a career in motor racing. Dumfries debuted in the world of motorsport In 1984 as the F3 season's biggest sensation, winning 14 races on his way to winning and dominating the British Formula 3 Championship for David Price's Team BP. In the same year, he finished second to Italian driver Ivan Capelli in the European Formula Three Championship. In early 1985, Dumfries graduated to the newly created FIA (English: International Automobile Federation) International Formula 3000 Championship, initially competing for Britain 's Formula One constructor team Onyx Race Engineering before switching to Eric Broadley's Lola Motorsport.In 1986 Dumfries made his breakthrough into Formula 1, and raced a single season for the JPS Team Lotus, one of the most successful racing teams of all time. He was a late addition to JPS Team Lotus, reportedly as a result of  Ayrton Senna not wanting English driver Derek Warwick as a Lotus teammate. He competed in 15 Grands Prix for Lotus and scored 3 championship points.The only race he did not compete in was The 1986 Monaco Grand Prix. He was replaced for 1987 by the first full-time Japanese Formula One driver Satoru Nakajima as part of Lotus's deal to use Japanese Honda engines instead of turbocharged Renault engines from that season onwards. Dumfries won the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1988, definitely the biggest racing victory of his career, driving a sports-prototype race car Jaguar XJR-9 for Tom Walkinshaw’s Silk Cut Jaguar Team alongside nizozemca Johannes Antonius "Jan" Lammers and UK driver Andy Wallace. John Crichton-Stuart, 7th Marquess of Bute, also participated in the 1-hour endurance race in the 1988 Dunlop RAC British Touring Car Championship at motorsport circuit Donington Park with former UK Formula 1 driver Guy Richard Goronwy Edwards for Andy Rouse's Kaliber Racing team in a high-performance version of the Ford Sierra called  Ford Sierra RS500, finishing 3 overall and in Class A. He ranked 616th in the Sunday Times richest 1,000 people or families in the United Kingdom List 2008, with an estimated wealth of over $180m. He spent much of his time on his namesake Scottish island (the Isle of Bute), at his ancestral home, a 19th-century mansion Mount Stuart on the east coast of the Isle of Bute. After his second marriage to the fashion designer Serena Solitaire Wendell in 1999, he completely restored Mount Stuar. Bute had also chaired the Board of Mount Stuart Trust since early 2005.


Cause of death: unknown. 

Elgin Baylor, 86

 Elgin "Rabbit" Baylor, Lakers 

 Legend, Basketball Hall of Famer 

 and longtime Clippers executive, 

 has died aged 86. 

(September 16, 1934 – March 22, 2021) 

 

American Hall of Fame basketball player (Minneapolis / Los Angeles Lakers), coach (New Orleans Jazz) and executive (Los Angeles Clippers) Elgin "Rabbit" Baylor, who played 14 seasons from 1958 to 1971 in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the professional basketball team Minneapolis (1958–1960) / Los Angeles Lakers (1960–1971) appearing in 8 NBA Finals, has died from natural causes aged 86 in Los Angeles, CA, his family and The Los Angeles Lakers announced. Baylor is considered as one of the game's all-time greatest basketball players, having been the number one pick in the 1958 draft, the league Rookie of the Year in 1959, an eleven-time National Basketball Association All-Star, and a ten-time member of the All-NBA first team as one of the best players in the league following NBA season. He also spent over two decades as general manager of the Los Angeles Clippers, a professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. "Rabbit" also won the National Basketball Association's Executive of the Year Award in 2006. Baylor's huge popularity led to appearances on George Schlatter's sketch comedy television series 'Rowan and Martin's Laugh In' in 1968, ABC Saturday morning 'the Jackson Five's first TV special' in early 1971, and a  Glen A. Larson's science fiction adventure television series 'Buck Rogers' in the 25th Century episode, "Olympiad." He started playing basketball as a teenager at the age of 14 at the Southwest Boys Club and Brown Jr. High, where he was named to the All-City team three times. Elgin "Rabbit" Baylor was drafted in the 14th round of the 1956 NBA Draft by the Minneapolis Lakers, but he chose to stay in school instead. Baylor averaged 29.7 points and 20.3 rebounds per game for Seattle University Chieftains during the 1956–57 season. He also led the Seattle University Chieftains to the NCAA championship game (also known as NCAA March Madness), in 1957–58, averaging 32.5 points per game. In 1959, "Rabbit" was selected with the No. one pick in the 1958 National Basketball Association Draft again by the Minneapolis Lakers, and he finally decided to leave school and begin a professional basketball career. Five decades after (2009) he left Seattle University, they named its basketball court in honor of him. The Seattle Redhawks now play on the Elgin Baylor Court in multi-purpose KeyArena in Seattle, Washington. Baylor was named NBA Rookie of the Year after leading the Lakers from last place the previous season to the NBA finals, where they were swept by the Boston Celtics in four games. During his fourteen-year career, he helped lead the Los Angeles Lakers to the NBA Finals 7 more times. On November 15, 1960, Elgin "Rabbit" Baylor also set a new NBA scoring record, when he scored 71 points and grabbed 25 rebounds in a win over the New York Knicks. During the 1961–62 NBA season, Baylor, a United States Army Reservist, was called to active duty, and because he was stationed at United States military facility Fort Lewis in Tacoma, "Rabbit" could only play for the Los Angeles Lakers on a weekend pass. During the 1963–64 NBA season, Elgin "Rabbit" Baylor started to suffer from knee problems. The problems resulted in a serious knee injury sustained during the Western Division playoffs in 1965, which necessitated knee surgery. While "Rabbit" remained a formidable force, it was never quite the same again and never averaging more than trideset points per game. Baylor only played two games in 1970–71 before rupturing his Achilles tendon, and he was forced to retire nine games into the following 1971–72 season due to nagging knee problems and the pain he often began to feel while playing matches.Despite the fact that Baylor had retired earlier in the season, the Lakers awarded him with a 1972 NBA championship ring. In 1974, he was hired to be an assistant coach and later the head coach for the New Orleans Jazz, a professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City, but he resigned after the 1978–79 season due to his team's weak results. The Los Angeles Clippers hired him as their vice president of basketball operations in 1986. Baylor stayed in that capacity for twenty-two years (1986 - 2008) before reportedly resigning in October 2008 aged 74. In February 2009, Baylor sued the Clippers, team owner Donald Sterling, team president Andy Roeser, and the complete NBA organization for employment discrimination. He claimed he was underpaid and then fired because of his age and black race. In 2010 he dropped the racial discrimination claims in the suit. Elgin "Rabbit" Baylor is survived by his wife Elaine, and his two children. 


Cause of death: natural causes. 

   March 23, 2021 

   NOTABLE  deaths    

George Segal, 87

 Oscar-Nominated Actor 

 George Segal has died 

 after complications during 

 surgery aged 87. 

(February 13, 1934 – March 23, 2021)

 

Oscar-Nominated Actor and 'Goldbergs' Star George Segal, has died at age 87 after complications during bypass surgery at hospital in Santa Rosa, California, U.S., his wife Sonia Schultz Greenbaum and his longtime agent Abe Hoch announced. Segal was a prolific actor and musician with a career that spanned more than 60 years. For his role in the 1966 American black comedy-drama film "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?", the beloved dramatic and comedic actor received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Segal also won two Golden Globe Awards, including the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his unforgettable roles in Melvin Frank's romantic comedy "A Touch of Class", and as Most Promising Newcomer-Male in 1965. Segal attended Haverford College after graduating from George School in Pennsylvania in 1951. In 1955, he earned a Bachelor of Arts in performing arts and drama from Columbia College of Columbia University in New York City. Segal rose to prominence in the 1960s and 1970s as a dramatic and comedic actor. Some of his most well-known roles include; Roger Corman's American gangster film ''The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1967), alongside Jason Robards and Ralph Meeker, Stanley Kramer's drama film ''Ship of Fools'' (1965), alongside Vivien Leigh José Ferrer, Lee Marvin and Simone Signoret, American war film ''King Rat'' (1965), alongside Tom Courtenay, James Fox and Denholm Elliott, Carl Reiner's black comedy film ''Where's Poppa?'' (1970), alongside Ruth Gordon and Ron Leibman, comedy-drama caper film directed by Peter Yates ''The Hot Rock (1972)'', alongside Robert Redford, Ron Leibman and Paul Sand, Paul Mazursky's  romantic comedy drama film ''Blume in Love'' (1973), alongside Susan Anspach, Kris Kristofferson, Marsha Mason and Shelley Winters, Robert Altman's comedy-drama film California Split (1974), alongside Elliott Gould, Ann Prentiss, and Gwen Welles, Mark Rydell's musical comedy-drama film For the Boys (1991), alongside Bette Midler and James Caan, and David O. Russell's black comedy film Flirting with Disaster (1996), alongside Ben Stiller, Patricia Arquette, Téa Leoni, and Alan Alda. Segal is best known for his roles on television as Jack Gallo on NBC sitcom television series Just Shoot Me! (1997–2003), Albert "Pops" Solomon on ABC period sitcom television seriesThe Goldbergs (2013–2021), Daedalus Patrick Murphy on crime drama series Murphy's Law (1988–1989), Gordon on Steve Waterman's TV series High Tide (1996–1997), voice of Dr. Benton C. Quest on Hanna-Barbera's animated television series (1996–1997), Murray Berenson on Doug Ellin's comedy-drama television series Entourage (2009), and Alan Robbins on Chris Case's sitcom Retired at 35 (2011–2012). Segal married three times in his life. He married Marion Segal Freed, a film producer, editor and screenwriter, in 1956 and they were married for 26 years until their divorce in late1983. From 1983 until her death in 1996, he was married to Linda Rogoff, a former manager of  R&B singing group The Pointer Sisters whom he met at  New York's concert venue Carnegie Hall when he was playing the banjo with his band. In 1996, Segal married Sonia, a former George School boarding school classmate.


Cause of death: complications from bypass surgery. 

Houston Tumlin, 28

 Former child actor 

 Houston Tumlin (28), 

 has committed suicide at his 

 home in Pelham, Alabama. 

(December 27,1992 – 23 March 2021)

 

Former child actor Houston Tumlin, who played 15 years ago the eldest son of Will Ferrell's main character in Adam McKay's 2006 sports comedy film "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby," has committed suicide by self-inflicted gunshot wound at his home in Pelham, Alabama, Shelby County Coroner announced. Tumlin was only 28 years old. Tumlin’s lifeless body was found by his girlfriend, Charity Robertson. The 2006 sports comedy was his only acting credit. Despite the fact that he became very famous acting alongside Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Sacha Baron Cohen, Gary Cole and Michael Clarke Duncan, Tumlin did not choose to pursue a film career. As of 2015, he was serving as a sergeant in the "Screaming Eagles" US Army’s 101st light infantry division at Fort Campbell, which specializes in air assault operations.


Cause of death: by self-inflicted gunshot wound.

   March 24, 2021 

   NOTABLE  deaths    

Bob Plager, 78

 Bobby Plager, the St. Louis 

 Blues hockey legend who played 

 in the NHL for 14 seasons, was killed 

 in a car accident aged 78.  

(March 11, 1943 – March 24, 2021)

 

Bob Plager, Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman,  coach, and executive who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 14 seasons from early 1964 until 1978, for the professional ice hockey teams New York Rangers and  St. Louis Blues, was killed in a car accident that happened along eastbound Interstate 64 past Kingshighway in Greater St. Louis, Missouri U.S., his family and the St. Louis Blues announced. Blues hockey legend was 78 years old. Plager was born and raised in the Timiskaming District in Northeastern Ontario, Canada, in a hockey family. He had two brothers who also played in the National Hockey League (NHL), Bill who played for the Minnesota North Stars, St. Louis Blues and Atlanta Flames, and Barclay, who was defenceman player and coach for the St. Louis Blues. His father was also a hockey player and the Northern Ontario Hockey Association’s chief official. Plager played junior hockey with the Canadian junior ice hockey teams, Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters (often known as the "Biltmores") and the Guelph Royals. In 1964, Bob Plager signed a professional contract with the New York Rangers, but he only appeared in 29 games for them over the next 3 years and spending most of his time playing on loan in the minor league Baltimore Clippers. In June 1967, he was traded to St. Louis for defenceman Rod Seiling, along with right winger Gary Sabourin, left winger Tim Ecclestone, and defenceman Gordon Cameron "Gord" Kannegiesser. He immediately started playing in the new team together with his brothers Bill and Barclay as the St. Louis Blues started their existence with a legendary defensive-oriented team that appeared in 3 straight Stanley Cup Finals (1968–70). Plager, a bruising player and prankster, despite many injuries, played over six hundred games for the St. Louis Blues over eleven NBA seasons. He retired from the game playing in 1978 to move into the ranks of the Blues management. Over the half a century since then, Plager has performed just about every task; from the Blues' head coach, Blues' vice president of player development to the position of head coach of the Peoria Rivermen, a Blues affiliate club in the Southern Professional Hockey League.


Cause of death: traffic collision.

Toshihiko Koga, 53

 Former Olympic and world 

 judo champion Toshihiko Koga, 

 has died of cancer at the 

 age of only 53. 

(November 21, 1967 – March 24, 2021)

 

Former Olympic and world judo champion, Japanese judoka Toshihiko Koga, who also worked as the Japanese Women’s Judo Team coach, has sadly died of cancer at his home in Kawasaki, Japan, her family announced. He was only 53 years old.The three-time Olympian had been temporarily hospitalized in May last year due to cancer and underwent surgery. One of the world's best judoka of all time in the-71 kg and-78 kg divisions having missed the podium only once in the XXIV Summer Olympiad in Seoul, South Korea. After winning the World Judo Championships in Belgrade, Yugoslavia (1989) and Barcelona, Spain (1991), he won the gold medal in the men's 71-kg category at the Barcelona Games in 1992, despite a left leg injury, and earned silver medal in the 78-kg class at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, losing in the final to French judoka of Algerian origin Djamel Bouras. Following his performance at the Barcelona Olympics, Koga decided to take a break from competitive judo, but returned victorious with a gold medal at the 19th edition of the World Judo Championships, in Chiba, Japan (1995). After retiring as a competitor in 2000, Koga served as a head coach for the the All-Japan women's judo team. In early 2003, Toshihiko Koga founded the Koga Juku, a judo school for young children, definitely today one of the strongest judo schools in the country, located in Kawasaki in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Koga also became the head coach of the Higashi-ku's International Pacific University's judo team in early 2007. As a judo 7th dan rank holder, he has gained nacional hero status in Japan, appearing on many Japanskim television shows.


Cause of death: cancer.

   March 25, 2021 

   NOTABLE  deaths    

muMs da Schemer, 52

 MuMs the Schemer, 

 poet and "OZ" Star, has died 

 at the age of only 52. 

(December 18, 1968 – March 25, 2021)

 

MuMs the Schemer (born Craig Grant), an American poet and actor best known for playing charismatic Arnold "Poet" Jackson, a drug addict imprisoned for attempted murder, on HBO's cult prison drama series Oz, has died of natural causes at the age of 52, according to his family statement. muMs da Schemer, is also known for his films roles as; Ali on Jim McKay's 2004 drama film Everyday People, alongside Jordan Gelber and Reg E. Cathey; Moose on Julian Mark Kheel's 2008 comedy film The Brooklyn Heist, alongside Danny Masterson, Leon Robinson and Serena Reeder; Wards Island Orderly on Steven Soderbergh's 2013 psychological thriller film Side Effects, alongside Jude Law, Rooney Mara, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Channing Tatum; Broadway Man on black comedy-drama film The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance (2014), directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, alongside Michael Keaton, Zach Galifianakis and Edward Norton; Iji Upla on 2017 American drama film The Price, alongside Aml Ameen, Lucy Griffiths, Peter Vack and Michael Hyatt and as Denny on Josh Safdie's 2017 crime thriller film Good Time, alongside Robert Pattinson, Barkhad Abdi and Jennifer Jason Leigh. muMs da Schemer was a longtime member of the LAByrinth Theater Company in New York City. Since 2007, muMs has starred in a dozen theater productions, including;  "A View from 151st Street" (2007),  "A Sucker Emcee"(2014) - written and performed by him, "Paradox of the Urban Cliché"(2015), and "The Insurgents" (2015). In 2016, muMs also appeared as Reggie in the Netflix series Marvel's Luke Cage, created by Cheo Hodari Coker. muMs da Schemer was part of a poetry group called Vibe Chameleons, and also performed his poetry on seasons 2 – 4 of HBO's Russell Simmons presents Def Poetry (Def Poetry Jam). Schemer, is also known for his television roles as; Lysol on Chappelle's Show (2003), Joseph Washington on Boston Legal (2007), Himself on Def Poetry Jam (2003 – 2005), Mop on Episode: "The Fleshy Part of the Thigh" of The Sopranos series (2006), Ricardo on Horace and Pete (2016), Zeb 'Zen' Edwards '09 on Cold Case (2009), Reggie "Squabbles" on Luke Cage (2016), Walter Mora on Bull (2020), Cash Jackson on She's Gotta Have It (2017–2019) and his last role as Wayne on crime drama television series Hightown (2020).


Cause of death: natural causes. 

Stan Albeck, 89

 Legendary Former NBA Coach 

 Stan Albeck, has died from stroke 

 at the age of 89. 

(May 17, 1931 - March 25, 2021)

 

Legendary Former NBA Head Coach Stan Albeck, has sadly died after a few days in hospice care at son home following stroke, his son John Albeck announced. Albeck also had a stroke in early 2001 when he was an assistant to the legendary Lenny Wilkens, the Toronto Raptors head coach and one of the top 10 coaches in the National Basketball Association history. Stan Albeck was born and grew up in Chenoa, a city in McLean County, Illinois, United States. He graduated from Chenoa High School in Chenoa, Illinois, and went on to Bradley University for his bachelor's degree in 1955 and Michigan State University for his master's degree in 1957. In 1956, Albeck began his longtime coaching career at Adrian College in Adrian, in the U.S. state of Michigan. Albeck coached from 1956 to 2002 for several ABA and NBA teams, including The Denver Pioneers men's basketball team (1968–1970), The Denver Rockets  (ABA) (1970–1973), The Kentucky Colonels (1974–1976), The Los Angeles Lakers (1976–1979), The Cleveland Cavaliers (1979–1980), The San Antonio Spurs (1980–1983), The New Jersey Nets (1983–1985, 1995–1996), The Chicago Bulls (1985–1986) with legendary Michael Jordan in his second season, The Bradley Braves men's basketball team (Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois) in 1981, he was inducted into the Bradley University Sports Hall of Fame, The Atlanta Hawks (1997–2000) and The Toronto Raptors (2000–2002). Stan Albeck took the San Antonio Spurs to the consecutive Western Conference Finals, in which they were both defeated by the Showtime Los Angeles Lakers, led by the legendary Magic Johnson; in 1982, 4-0 and 1983, 4-2. In 1981, he was inducted into the San Antonio Sports Hall of Fame.


Cause of death: stroke. 

Bobby Brown, 96

 Bobby Brown, a Yankee 

 legendary Infielder, executive 

 and respected Cardiologist, 

 has died at the age of 96. 

(October 25, 1924 – March 25, 2021)

 

Former professional baseball third baseman (the New York Yankees) and executive Bobby Brown, nicknamed as "Golden Boy" and "Blond Phenom", who was the president of The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs (AL), from 1984 to 1994, has died from natural causes at his Home in Fort Worth, Texas, U.S., his family announced. Dr. Born was born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee. Bobby was the son of a front office executive in Major League Baseball, Leland S. MacPhail Sr., who worked for the Cincinnati Reds, Brooklyn Dodgers, and New York Yankees as the club president and general manager. He served in the United States Navy during World War II, and was among the first troops to land at a Japanese fort on Iwo Jima Island in February of 1945, and participated in a historic battle of the American Navy. In 1946, he signed with the Yankees and appeared in seven late-season games for the team. Brown, a left-handed hitter, played third base in a platoon with third baseman Billy Johnson and then infielder Gil McDougald.During his eight-year playing career with the New York Yankees (1946–1952, 1954), Bobby Brown (born Robert William Brown) also earned his medical degree at UCLA, San Diego Naval Hospital and Tulane University and practiced medicine in the Dallas area. He played and won four World Series championships (1947, 1949–1951) for the New York Yankees, before opening a cardio practice, then returned to baseball once more in early 1984 as President of The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs (the American League, AL) when he succeeded Lee MacPhail, a longtime AL's front-office executive. In 1998, he along with his father Leland S. MacPhail Sr. were elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, as the only father and son members throughout the Hall of Fame's history. Bobby Brown also won the Sporting News Executive of the Year Award in 1966. Dr. Bobby Brown is survived by his son, two daughters, eleven grandchildren, and numerous great-grandchildren. His wife of more than six decades, Sara Brown, died in 2012. 


Cause of death: natural causes.

   March 26, 2021 

   NOTABLE  deaths    

Mike Bell, 46

 Minnesota Twins bench 

 coach Mike Bell, has died 

 of kidney cancer at the 

 age of only 46. 

(December 7, 1974 – March 26, 2021)

 

Former professional baseball player (Cincinnati Reds) and Minnesota Twins bench coach Mike Bell, has died of kidney cancer in Phoenix, Arizona, his family and the Minnesota Twins announced. Bell was only 46 years old. In July 2020, he was diagnosed with kidney cancer and after his health deteriorated, he took a medical leave of absence in February this year. Mike Bell, played as a third baseman in MLB's Central division for the Cincinnati Reds (2000). He returned to the minor leagues after the 2000 season, playing for the Chicago White Sox, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Colorado Rockies affiliates before retiring on April 28, 2005, after a brief stint with the Memphis Redbirds, a St. Louis Cardinals affiliate. He was the bench coach of the Minnesota Twins under the head coach, Rocco Baldelli, during the 2020 MLB season. He replacing Derek Shelton, the current manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Mike Bell was the brother of David Bell, a former professional baseball third baseman who is now the manager of the Cincinnati Reds, the son of Buddy Bell, a former third baseman who is now the Cincinnati Reds vice president and senior advisor, and the grandson of Gus Bell (David Russell "Gus" Bell Jr.), a former outfielder who played in MLB from early 1950 to 1964. Mike Bell worked as a minor-league manager and player-development executive with the Arizona Diamondbacks (D-backs) for a decade before joining the Minnesota Twins in late 2019, where he became a very important part of the Minnesota manager's staff. Several clubs, including the Mets and the Pirates, expressed interest in Bell as a managerial candidate this offseason.


Cause of death: kidney cancer. 

Paul Polansky, 79

 Paul Polansky, 

 an American writer, poet 

 and prominent Romani activist, 

 has died at the age of 79. 

(February 17, 1942 – March 26, 2021)

 

Paul Polansky, an American author, poet and prominent Romani activist, who fought for Romani rights in the Balkans and Eastern Europe for more than four decades, has died aged 79 after a long illness, his family announced. In the early 1990s, Mr. Polansky founded the Czech Historical Research Center Inc, in Mason City, Iowa, U.S, and attended numerous American and European scientific conferences on Eastern European human rights. In early 1992, he came across over 40,000 documents in archives in the Czech Republic about the World War II internment camp for Romani people from Bohemia at Lety u Písku. He took up residence in Prague for several months in order to continue his detailed research into the subject. The result of Polansky's efforts were revelations about part of the tragic history of the Romani people during the Second World War on the partially annexed territory of Nazi Germany. Polansky also began organizing conferences and public debates devoted to them at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) in Southwest, Washington, D.C. In 1998, he published a book, Black Silence, which contains numerous shocking testimonies of camp survivors about the fate of the Roma in the Nazi Holocaust. In late 1999, he began working for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to serve as a special advisor for Roma refugees in the partially-recognized state of Kosovo. Polansky was also the executive director of the Kosovo Roma Refugee Foundation (KRRF). He has published over fifty books and poems with historical themes, including; Living Through It Twice: Poems Of The Romany Holocaust (1998), The River Killed My Brother (2001), Bus Ride in Jerusalem (2003), Gypsy Taxi (2007), Boxing Poems (2010), Black Silence (2011), The silence of the violins (2012) and Cry, Gypsy, poems of Germany’s Forced Deportations of Kosovo (2012). In late December 2004, the Weimar City Council in the federal state of Thuringia, Germany, awarded him with the Human Rights Award.


Cause of death: unknown (long illness).

   March 27, 2021 

   NOTABLE  deaths    

Howard Schnellenberger, 87

 The legendary NFL and college 

 (Miami Hurricanes) football coach, 

 Howard Schnellenberger, 

 has died aged 87. 

(March 16, 1934 – March 27, 2021)

 

Howard Schnellenberger (Howard Leslie Schnellenberger), the legendary NFL and college football coach, who led the University of Miami Hurricanes to their first national championship in 1983, died in Boca Raton, Florida, at the age of 87, according to his family and Florida Atlantic University. The cause of Schnellenberger's death was not revealed. After a fall last year, he developed a subdural hematoma, which necessitated hospitalization. In the 1950s, Schnellenberger began his football career as an All-American tight end for Kentucky. Schnellenberger also worked as a Kentucky Wildcats' assistant coach under legendary head coach Blanton Long Collier in 1959 and 1960. He also worked as an offensive coordinator for the head coach, Paul William "Bear" Bryant, at the University of Alabama, where he helped the Crimson Tide win 3 national championships in 1961, 1964, and 1965 before leaving in early 1966 to become the Los Angeles Rams' receivers coach under head coach George Herbert Allen. Don Shula, the winningest NFL coach, hired Schnellenberger as the offensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins in 1970. He also participated in the team's perfect 1972 season and Super Bowl win. On February 14, 1973, Schnellenberger signed a 3-year contract to succeed Baltimore Colts' head coach John Sandusky, but was expressly fired on September 29, 1974 after a heated argument with team owner Robert Irsay, and a 30–10 defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles In 1979, Schnellenberger signed a contract as the head coach of the Miami Hurricanes football team, and the best story of his coaching career began. In 1983, he led Miami to a national title by beating the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team in the 50th edition of the college football bowl game (Orange Bowl). Following the winning season, he resigned to become the co-owner and head coach of The Spirit of Miami in the newly formed The United States Football League (USFL), a league that played for only 3 seasons, 1983, 1984 and 1985. He was replaced as head coach of the Hurricanes by James William Johnson, the first coach to win both a college football national championship and a Super Bowl. By the end of his coaching career, Schnellenberger coached three football teams; The Louisville Cardinals football team (1985–1994), The Oklahoma Sooners football, Florida Atlantic Owls football team (1995) and, for a full ten years, the Florida Atlantic Owls football team (2001–2011). The Florida Atlantic Owls, led by Howard Schnellenberger, captured the 2007 Conference championship and earned their first-ever bowl berth by beating Memphis 44–27 in the New Orleans Bowl. Schnellenberger also had a cinematic experience in Robert Altman's 1970 black comedy war film M * A * S * H, when he played the referee in a football game. Schnellenberger was also known for his impossible gravelly voice and for smoking a signature pipe like Sherlock Holmes, but he stopped smoking after discovering that his son Stephen had been diagnosed with cancer and was confined to a wheelchair as a result of the disease. In the early 1980s, Louisville Schnellenberger was also well known for wearing a sports or distinctive suede jacket and a banker's striped tie, and for his lively press conference quotes that will be remembered for a long time.


Cause of death: unknown.

   March 28, 2021 

   NOTABLE  deaths    

Liu Kai-chi, 66

 Veteran Hong Kong actor 

 Liu Kai Chi, has died 

 of stomach cancer aged 66. 

(7 April 1954 – 28 March 2021)

 

Liu Kai Chi, a veteran Hong Kong actor who has starred in more than 80 television series and 60 films over the course of his 40-year career, including an award-winning appearance (Best Supporting Actor) as Prince Sam in Jacob Cheung's film Cageman (1992), has died of stomach cancer aged 66 at Hong Kong’s Prince of Wales in Sha Tin, his family announced. Liu Kai-chi is survived by his wife, Barbara Chan Man Yee, 60, a former TVB star, and their two sons. In 2006, a famous Hong Kong actor couple experienced a tragic loss when their young,  only six year old son Liu Man, died of leukemia after years of treatment. While Liu had an early interest in acting, he first gained industry experience working behind the scenes as a camera assistant, lighting technician, and sound engineer before pursuing his dream of becoming an actor. From 1990 to 2005, Liu, also known as “Uncle Chi”, mostly worked for Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB), Hong Kong's first and most watched over-the-air commercial station, which operates 5 terrestrial television channels. Liu Kai-chi won the Best Supporting Actor award twice at the prestigious Hong Kong Film Awards for Jacob Cheung's 1992 satirical comedy-drama film Cageman and Dante Lam's 2008 action thriller film Beast Stalker. Some of Liu's most well-known roles include; as Ming in the 1989 Hong Kong action film In the Line of Duty IV, as Inspector Lee in the 1991 action police procedural television series Police on the Road, as Officer Tung in the 1999 Hong Kong-Japanese romance film Moonlight Express, as Commander Tai in 2004 Hong Kong action film New Police Story, as Hor Sum in 2005 TVB modern drama series The Academy, as Inspector Fung Chak in 2011 thriller film The Detective 2, as Sung Man-san in 2014 political drama television series The Election, as Prisoner in 2015 prison comedy film Imprisoned: Survival Guide for Rich and Prodigal, and as Ng Yam in the 2018 Hong Kong-Chinese action film Project Gutenberg.


Cause of death: stomach cancer.

   March 29, 2021 

   NOTABLE  deaths    

Bibian Mentel-Spee, 48

 Bibian Mentel-Spee, 

 a three-time Paralympic 

 snowboarding champion, has died 

 of cancer at the age of only 48. 

(27 September 1972 – 29 March 2021)

 

Bibian Mentel-Spee, a three-time Paralympic snowboarding champion and five-time world champion para-snowboarding athlete from the Netherlands, died at the age of 48 after a long battle with bone cancer, her husband, and longtime coach Edwin Spee and the International Paralympic Committee announced. Mentel was told earlier this month that her cancer had spread to her brain and that she would have to say goodbye to her loved ones because recovery was no longer possible. Mentel-Spee fought bone cancer for two decades while dominating her sport, including becoming the first Paralympic snowboarding champion at the 2018 Paralympic Winter Games and also winning gold medals in the snowboard cross, and the banked slalom event at the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games. Mentel-Spee began snowboarding in the early 1990s. She competed in the International Ski Federation (FIS) Snowboard World Cup for the first time in 1996. Before being hit by medical problems, she was a six-time Dutch champion in the regular, able-bodied half-pipe extreme, and boardercross disciplines.The Dutch snowboarder was also a top contender for the XIX Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City, US (2002), but after a recurrence of a malignant tibia tumor, she opted to have her lower right leg amputated. Despite still being unable to walk without crutches, she was able to ride a snowboard just a few months after the amputation. She was treated for cancer over 15 years since her early first diagnosis at the age of twenty-seven and was undergoing radiotherapy for cancer in the run-up to the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games. Mentel's back surgery in late 2019, unfortunately, left her with half-body paralysis with no movement in the lower half of her body, and she was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor earlier this month. Mentel-Spee has won several national and foreign awards, including the golden CAPaward for overcoming physical handiCAPs (2009), the prestigious Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau, a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry (2012), the Whang Youn Dai Achievement Award (formerly the Whang Youn Dai Overcome Prize) in 2014, the Courage Award at the 2015 Paralympic Sport and Media Awards, and the Strong Woman Award from Dutch company VanHaren (2017). Mentel and Australian Paralympian Toby Kane, who won a bronze medal in the men's super G Standing, got the Whang Youn Dai Achievement Award at the 2014 Sochi Games' closing ceremony. In addition to her international honors, Mentel-Spee also launched the Mentelity Foundation to help and inspire young people with physical or mental health challenges to start or continue playing sports. She was also a prominent motivational speaker who spoke in both Dutch and English and occasionally taught at a wakeboarding school in the Netherlands.Mentel-Spee has also co-authored two books about her life, career, and cancer battles.


Cause of death: bone and brain cancer.

   March 30, 2021 

   NOTABLE  deaths    

G. Gordon Liddy, 90

 Watergate mastermind, 

 former FBI agent, talk show host, 

 and actor, G. Gordon Liddy, 

 has died aged 90. 

(November 30, 1930 – March 30, 2021

 

G. Gordon Liddy (born George Gordon Battle Liddy), a former FBI agent, lawyer, the Republican adviser, talk show host, actor, and one of the central players in the Watergate case as the chief operative in the White House Plumbers unit during the 37th president of the United States Richard Nixon administration, died at his daughter's home in Mount Vernon, Virginia, his son Thomas announced. He did not disclose the cause of his father's death, but Gordon Liddy is known to have been in very poor health in recent years (Parkinson's disease). Before joining the FBI, he served in the US Army and graduated from Fordham University Law School with a law degree. He joined the Marines, but his ambition to serve in the Korean War was never realized. Liddy stood for a New York congressional seat but lost, then he went to work for the US Treasury Department and then the White House." For his part in the affair and because he declined to testify, his father was accused of treason, fraud, and unlawful wiretapping and received the longest jail sentence. In 1973, G. Gordon Liddy was found guilty of fraud, burglary, and secretly wiretapping the Democratic Party's headquarters at the Watergate office and sentenced to twenty years in prison. At the time, Liddy was President Nixon's general counsel and a member of his campaign committee. He was a member of the "White House plumbers," a tiny but well-organized group of operatives whose goal was to find anyone who had leaked classified or compromising details that made the Nixon administration look bad. Before the Watergate break-in, G. Gordon Liddy also helped to illegally enter the office of Daniel Ellsberg's psychiatrist and military analyst. Daniel Ellsberg leaked the Pentagon's top-secret Papers, proving that the former President Lyndon B. Johnson administration had lied to the public about the United States military's role in the Vietnam War from 1963 to 1969. He later said the famous sentence for which many consider him a hero rather than a criminal, "I'd do it again for my president," He said this after serving more than four years in jail for his proven Watergate offenses, including more than three months in solitary confinement. During the early 1990s, Liddy, one of the masterminds of the Watergate burglary became a radio host of the nation's most popular conservative talk shows “The G. Gordon Liddy Show,” “G Man”, “This is Radio Free D.C., and I’m G. Gordon Liddy” after his release from prison. Liddy also acted on numerous films including; Roger Duchowny's television movie Camp Cucamonga (1990) and William Friedkin's war and legal drama film Rules of Engagement (2000). He also appeared on such television shows as NBC stunt/dare game show Fear Factor, action-adventure television series MacGyver (1985), action-adventure-themed television series The Highwayman, alongside Sam J. Jones, and military drama television series Airwolf. He had recurring roles in Miami Vice as Capt. William 'Mr. Real Estate' Maynard and Super Force as Teo Satori, and guest-starred in Al Franken'ssitcom television series LateLine.


Cause of death: unknown. 

   March 31, 2021 

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