Re: Departed Cultural Icons 2022

[RJBowman]

Robbie Coltrane. He would have gotten at least a namecheck in a short film idea I once had, but the lead for that film died before I could pitch it to him.

[Rockula]

Nicholas Robert Turner (26 August 1940 – 10 November 2022)

I would argue that, as a founder member of the band 'Hawkwind', Nik Turner classifies as a 'cultural icon'.

[RJBowman]

News has come of two losses.

Kevin Conroy, who has been the voice of Batman in Animation since the 1990's. Many readers hear his voice in their minds when they read Batman comics.

And the comedian Gallagher, who was most popular in the 1980's, and best known for his "Sledge-O-Matic" routine in which he smashed watermelons and other items with a large wooden mallet. He was not always the most respected comedian, but he was iconic.

[Sir Henry]

Nicholas Robert Turner (26 August 1940 – 10 November 2022)

I would argue that, as a founder member of the band 'Hawkwind', Nik Turner classifies as a 'cultural icon'.

I would agree with you 100%. Sad news.

[von Corax]

Frederick Phillips Brooks Jr. (April 19, 1931 – November 17, 2022) was an American computer architect, software engineer, and computer scientist, best known for managing the development of IBM's System/360 family of computers and the OS/360 software support package, then later writing candidly about the process in his seminal book The Mythical Man-Month. That book in turn introduced Brooks' Law which states, "Adding manpower to a late software project makes it later."

[Rockula]

Wilko Johnson (born John Peter Wilkinson; 12 July 1947 – 21 November 2022)[1] was an English guitarist, singer, songwriter and occasional actor. He was a member of the pub rock/rhythm and blues band Dr. Feelgood in the 1970s. Johnson was known for his distinctive guitar playing style which he achieved by not using a pick but instead relying on fingerstyle. This enabled him to play rhythm guitar and riffs or solos at the same time creating a highly percussive guitar sound.

He has pancreatic cancer and in 2013 was given less than a year to live.

Johnson underwent radical new surgery techniques and this extended his life spam by nearly 10 years.

But it caught up in the end.

I first saw him play (with Dr. Feelgood) in 1977, the last time was in 2019.

[Sir Henry]

Wilko Johnson (born John Peter Wilkinson; 12 July 1947 – 21 November 2022)[1] was an English guitarist, singer, songwriter and occasional actor. He was a member of the pub rock/rhythm and blues band Dr. Feelgood in the 1970s. Johnson was known for his distinctive guitar playing style which he achieved by not using a pick but instead relying on fingerstyle. This enabled him to play rhythm guitar and riffs or solos at the same time creating a highly percussive guitar sound.

He has pancreatic cancer and in 2013 was given less than a year to live.

Johnson underwent radical new surgery techniques and this extended his life spam by nearly 10 years.

But it caught up in the end.

I first saw him play (with Dr. Feelgood) in 1977, the last time was in 2019.

I also saw Dr. Feelgood first in 1977 and have been singing Milk and Alcohol (

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4IjrjMbmC4)sporadically ever since.

Very sad news, and slightly worrying as he and I were both diagnosed with incurable cancer at about the same time and both managed to dodge the bullet at the time.
But he was ten years older than me, so fingers crossed...

[Rockula]

I also saw Dr. Feelgood first in 1977 and have been singing Milk and Alcohol (

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4IjrjMbmC4)sporadically ever since.

Very sad news, and slightly worrying as he and I were both diagnosed with incurable cancer at about the same time and both managed to dodge the bullet at the time.
But he was ten years older than me, so fingers crossed...
[/quote]

You know he'd left Dr. Feelgood before they recorded that song, right?
The BBC News have been using it and Wilko fans have been complaining.

[Sir Henry]

You know he'd left Dr. Feelgood before they recorded that song, right?
The BBC News have been using it and Wilko fans have been complaining.

I do now (and did then) but the intervening years have had an obfuscating effect on my memory. Listening to it again after posting the link, the guitar is obviously Gypie and the chorus is slightly different to the one I've had in my head for the last few years. Slightly less obvious is that it was co-written with Nick Lowe, which makes a lot of sense.
I used to play Stupidity to punk friends to broaden their tastes, with varying degrees of success.

[von Corax]

Christine Anne McVie (née Perfect; 12 July 1943 — 30 November 2022) was an English musician, and the co-lead vocalist and keyboardist of Fleetwood Mac, which she joined in 1970.

[J. Wilhelm]

Christine Anne McVie (née Perfect; 12 July 1943 — 30 November 2022) was an English musician, and the co-lead vocalist and keyboardist of Fleetwood Mac, which she joined in 1970.

Oh, wow.  Fleetwood Mac were a smidgen before my time, but Stevie Nicks going solo is contemporary to my highschool era. Sad to see people you knew gone.

[RJBowman]

I just got word of the death of Aline Kominsky-Crumb. She was an underground cartoonist, and editor of anthologies. She is survived by he husband, cartoonist Robert Crumb, and daughter Sophie.

[von Corax]

Robert Emmett McGrath (June 13, 1932 – December 4, 2022) was an American actor, singer, musician, and children's author best known for playing original human character Bob Johnson on the long running educational television series Sesame Street.

[Cora Courcelle]

Chris Boucher 1943 - 11 December, 2022 was a writer and script editor of Dr Who, Blake's 7 and Star Cops among many other series.

[Sir Henry]

Pelé (1940 - 2022).

One of the few people known simply by one name (his real name was Edson Arantes do Nascimento), and believed by many to be the greatest footballer (soccer) of all time. I have never been a fan of football, but as a kid even I had to admit he was amazing to watch playing.

[Sir Henry]

Today is a very bad day.  

Now they've just announced that Vivienne Westwood has died.

For those steampunks who were once just punks, she was a true cultural icon.

[von Corax]

Bad day all round.

Ian Dawson Tyson CM AOE (September 25, 1933 – December 29, 2022) was a Canadian singer-songwriter who wrote a significant number of modern folk songs, including "Four Strong Winds" and "Someday Soon", performed with partner Sylvia Tyson as the duo Ian & Sylvia.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/ian-tyson-dead-at-89-1.6699778

[von Corax]

This looks like a last-minute rush.

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI (16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) served as Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013, making him the first to resign since 1415 and only the third ever to do so. Highs and lows of his reign I leave to your own research.

[von Corax]

Barbara Jill Walters (September 25, 1929 – December 30, 2022) was an American broadcast journalist and television personality. Known for her interviewing ability and popularity with viewers, Walters appeared as a host of numerous television programs, including Today, the ABC Evening News, 20/20, and The View. Walters was a working journalist from 1951 until her retirement in 2015.

[von Corax]

Anita Marie Pointer (January 23, 1948 – December 31, 2022) was an American singer-songwriter, best known as a founding member of the vocal group the Pointer Sisters. She co-wrote and was the lead singer on their hit song "Fairytale", which garnered them their first Grammy Award in 1975. She was also the lead singer on many of their other hits, including "Yes We Can Can", "Fire", "Slow Hand", and "I'm So Excited".