Birgit Nilsson 25 December 2005 at the age of 87, she was a celebrated Swedish dramatic soprano who specialized in operatic works of Wagner and Strauss, though she sang the operas of many other composers, including Verdi and Puccini.
Born Märta Birgit Svensson on the 17th of May 1918 on a farm at Västra Karup in Skåne (100 km/60 miles north of Malmö) to Nils Svensson and Justina Svensson née Paulsson.
When she was three years old she began picking out melodies on a toy piano her mother bought for her.
She once told an interviewer that she could sing before she could walk, adding, "I even sang in my dreams".
Her vocal talent was first noticed when she began to sing in her church choir. A choirmaster near her home heard her sing and advised her to take voice lessons.
In 1946, Nilsson made her debut at the Royal Opera in Stockholm with only three days' notice, replacing the ailing Agathe in Carl Maria von Weber's Der Freischütz.
Conductor Leo Blech wasn't very kind to her and, as she wrote in her autobiography, she even contemplated suicide after the performance. In 1947 she claimed national attention as Verdi's Lady Macbeth under Fritz Busch.
A wealth of parts followed, from Strauss and Verdi to Wagner, Puccini, and Tchaikovsky.
In Stockholm she built up a steady repertoire of roles in the lyric-dramatic field, including Donna Anna, Aida, Lisa, Tosca, Venus, Sieglinde, Senta and the Marschallin, one of her favorite roles (though she later lamented that she was never asked to sing it outside of Stockholm), all sung in Swedish.
Her long career at the Bayreuth Festival and her immersion in Wagner in general, began in the mid-1950.
No dramatic soprano truly approached her stature thereafter, and in the roles of Isolde, Brünnhilde and Sieglinde, she began her stately 30-year procession around the opera houses of the world.
Her United States debut was in San Francisco in 1956. Three years later she made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera, singing Isolde under Karl Bohm, and some listeners treasure the memory of that performance as much as they do her live recording of the role from Bayreuth in 1966, also under Bohm.
The exuberant review of her first Met performance appeared on the front page of The New York Times on December 19, 1959, under the headline, "Birgit Nilsson as Isolde Flashes like New Star in 'Met' Heavens."
Nilsson was suspicious of opera's recent youth culture and often remarked on the premature destruction of young voices brought on by overambitious career planning.
"Directors and managers don't care about their futures," she once said. "They will just get another young person when this one goes bad."
Saturday, 9 January 2016
Friday, 8 January 2016
Nipsey Russell, comedian, Died at 87
Julius "Nipsey" Russell died on October 2, 2005 at the age of 87, he was an American comedian, best known today for his appearances as a guest panelist on game shows from the 1960s through the 1990s, especially Match Game, Password, Hollywood Squares, To Tell the Truth and Pyramid.
Born in Atlanta, Georgia on September 15, 1918, Russell went to Booker T. Washington High School in Atlanta and attended the University of Cincinnati for one semester in 1936.
He served as a medic in the United States Army during World War II, enlisting as a private on June 27, 1941, and returning from Europe in 1945 as a second lieutenant.
He got his start in the 1940s as a carhop at the Atlanta drive-in The Varsity, where he increased the tips he earned by making customers laugh.
In the late 1950s, Russell appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show, which led to a supporting part as a New York policeman in the sitcom Car 54, Where Are You? In 1961, in 1965 he became a co-host of ABC's Les Crane Show.
During the 1970s, he was a co-star in the ABC sitcom Barefoot in the Park and appeared regularly on The Dean Martin Show and The Dean Martin Comedy World.
Scattered appearances on television series followed, as well as occasional guest-host stints on The Tonight Show during the Johnny Carson era.
Russell also appeared frequently in Las Vegas; including a series of appearances with Sergio Franchi at the Frontier Hotel in 1978 and 1979, and with Franchi in 1979 at the Sands Hotel Copa Room.
By the age of 6, he had become the singing and dancing master of ceremonies for a local Atlanta children's troupe run by the jazz musician Eddie Heywood, Sr. Russell traced his interest in comedy back to seeing a performance by the African-American performer Jack Wiggins around the age of 9.
Russell recalled, "He came out immaculately attired in a well-dressed street suit and he tap-danced.
As he danced, he told little jokes in between. He was so clean in his language and was lacking in any drawl, he just inspired me. I wanted to do that."
By age 10, he was devouring the works of English poets such as Chaucer, Shelley and Keats as well as working through Homer's epics in the original Greek.
He graduated early from high school at the age of 15, having spent his senior year living with an aunt in Cincinnati so that he could attend the University of Cincinnati tuition-free.
However, Russell's studies were interrupted by the outbreak of World War II.
To his surprise, on a 2003 episode of Hollywood Squares, it was revealed that the character Little Nipper in the cartoon strip Wee Pals had been named for him.
Nipsey Russell was never married and did not have any children. He often joked, "I have enough trouble living with myself, how could I ever live with anyone else?" Russell passed away in New York City after a yearlong struggle with cancer.
Born in Atlanta, Georgia on September 15, 1918, Russell went to Booker T. Washington High School in Atlanta and attended the University of Cincinnati for one semester in 1936.
He served as a medic in the United States Army during World War II, enlisting as a private on June 27, 1941, and returning from Europe in 1945 as a second lieutenant.
He got his start in the 1940s as a carhop at the Atlanta drive-in The Varsity, where he increased the tips he earned by making customers laugh.
In the late 1950s, Russell appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show, which led to a supporting part as a New York policeman in the sitcom Car 54, Where Are You? In 1961, in 1965 he became a co-host of ABC's Les Crane Show.
During the 1970s, he was a co-star in the ABC sitcom Barefoot in the Park and appeared regularly on The Dean Martin Show and The Dean Martin Comedy World.
Scattered appearances on television series followed, as well as occasional guest-host stints on The Tonight Show during the Johnny Carson era.
Russell also appeared frequently in Las Vegas; including a series of appearances with Sergio Franchi at the Frontier Hotel in 1978 and 1979, and with Franchi in 1979 at the Sands Hotel Copa Room.
By the age of 6, he had become the singing and dancing master of ceremonies for a local Atlanta children's troupe run by the jazz musician Eddie Heywood, Sr. Russell traced his interest in comedy back to seeing a performance by the African-American performer Jack Wiggins around the age of 9.
Russell recalled, "He came out immaculately attired in a well-dressed street suit and he tap-danced.
As he danced, he told little jokes in between. He was so clean in his language and was lacking in any drawl, he just inspired me. I wanted to do that."
By age 10, he was devouring the works of English poets such as Chaucer, Shelley and Keats as well as working through Homer's epics in the original Greek.
He graduated early from high school at the age of 15, having spent his senior year living with an aunt in Cincinnati so that he could attend the University of Cincinnati tuition-free.
However, Russell's studies were interrupted by the outbreak of World War II.
To his surprise, on a 2003 episode of Hollywood Squares, it was revealed that the character Little Nipper in the cartoon strip Wee Pals had been named for him.
Nipsey Russell was never married and did not have any children. He often joked, "I have enough trouble living with myself, how could I ever live with anyone else?" Russell passed away in New York City after a yearlong struggle with cancer.
Thursday, 17 December 2015
Debbie Constantino, American paranormal expert, Died at 52
Debby Constantino was born in 1962, in Nevada and died on September 22, 2015.
She has starred on several hit shows about paranormal activity.
She and her husband, Mark, specialized in EVP (electronic voice phenomena).
Debby and Mark have been married since 1989.
They had a daughter together named Debbie.
They starred on shows like Dead Famous, Paranormal Activity, and Ghost Adventures.
They both lectured and were famous for going on live ghost hunts.
She was best known for starring on shows with her husband like: “Dead Famous,” “Paranormal State” and “Ghost Adventures.
Sadly, Debby and Mark were estranged and she had moved out into an apartment.
Police were called to the apartment at 8:00 a.m. on Sept. 22 after one of her roommates was found dead.
Police founded Debby at her daughter’s apartment, where she was being held hostage by Mark. At 1:30 p.m., The couple had a earlier dispute that ended in her dog and husband charged and arrested for the assault on her, apparently she was abusive to her kids.
Both Mark and Debby was found dead.
She survived two children.
Debby Constantino passed away at 52 yrs old allegedly she was shot.
She has starred on several hit shows about paranormal activity.
She and her husband, Mark, specialized in EVP (electronic voice phenomena).
Debby and Mark have been married since 1989.
They had a daughter together named Debbie.
They starred on shows like Dead Famous, Paranormal Activity, and Ghost Adventures.
They both lectured and were famous for going on live ghost hunts.
She was best known for starring on shows with her husband like: “Dead Famous,” “Paranormal State” and “Ghost Adventures.
Sadly, Debby and Mark were estranged and she had moved out into an apartment.
Police were called to the apartment at 8:00 a.m. on Sept. 22 after one of her roommates was found dead.
Police founded Debby at her daughter’s apartment, where she was being held hostage by Mark. At 1:30 p.m., The couple had a earlier dispute that ended in her dog and husband charged and arrested for the assault on her, apparently she was abusive to her kids.
Both Mark and Debby was found dead.
She survived two children.
Debby Constantino passed away at 52 yrs old allegedly she was shot.
Saturday, 12 December 2015
Barry Schweid, American news correspondent, Died at 83
Barry Schweid was born on July 30, 1932, in New York City and died on December 10, 2015.
He graduated from Columbia University in 1953 and from its journalism school in 1954.
Barry served in the Army as a public relations specialist.
Barry then joined the AP’s New York City bureau and transferred to Washington in 1959.
He was assigned to cover major U.S. Supreme Court decisions 6 yrs after.
In the early 1970s, Barry was tapped to chronicle the globe-trotting Kissinger.
Barry was also inducted into the Washington Society of Professional Journalists’ Hall of Fame in 2002.
Schweid also covered the negotiations at Camp David that President Jimmy Carter brokered to reach a historic peace treaty in 1977 between Egypt’s Anwar Sadat and Israel’s Menachem Begin.
Barry had many scoops.
Barry had reported on a Sunday in April 1980 that Cyrus Vance was resigning as secretary state because he disagreed with the Carter administration’s decision to send a military mission to try to rescue the American hostages in Iran, which as unsuccessful.
Barry Schweid chronicled the Cold War and then its end with the implosion of the Soviet Union, filing news alerts from officials traveling with Secretary of State James Baker.
Barry retired in 2012.
He left behind his wife, Nina Graybill of Washington; and a sister.
Barry Schweid passed away at 83 yrs old, allegedly due to complications from a degenerative neurological condition.
He graduated from Columbia University in 1953 and from its journalism school in 1954.
Barry served in the Army as a public relations specialist.
Barry then joined the AP’s New York City bureau and transferred to Washington in 1959.
He was assigned to cover major U.S. Supreme Court decisions 6 yrs after.
In the early 1970s, Barry was tapped to chronicle the globe-trotting Kissinger.
Barry was also inducted into the Washington Society of Professional Journalists’ Hall of Fame in 2002.
Schweid also covered the negotiations at Camp David that President Jimmy Carter brokered to reach a historic peace treaty in 1977 between Egypt’s Anwar Sadat and Israel’s Menachem Begin.
Barry had many scoops.
Barry had reported on a Sunday in April 1980 that Cyrus Vance was resigning as secretary state because he disagreed with the Carter administration’s decision to send a military mission to try to rescue the American hostages in Iran, which as unsuccessful.
Barry Schweid chronicled the Cold War and then its end with the implosion of the Soviet Union, filing news alerts from officials traveling with Secretary of State James Baker.
Barry retired in 2012.
He left behind his wife, Nina Graybill of Washington; and a sister.
Barry Schweid passed away at 83 yrs old, allegedly due to complications from a degenerative neurological condition.
Jon Gadsby, writer and comedian, Died at 62
Jonathan Ernest "Jon" Gadsby was born on November 1, 1953, and died on December 12, 2015 from cancer.
He was a New Zealand television comedian and writer, most well-known for his role in the comedy series McPhail and Gadsby co-starring alongside David McPhail.
Jonathan was born in Derbyshire, England and went to school in Invercargill when his family moved to New Zealand.
He studied law at the University of Otago, he worked at Radio Dunedin.
Jonathan entered television with David McPhail in the comedy A Week of It, before the pair went on to the successful and long-running political satire McPhail and Gadsby.
Jonathan Gadsby appeared in numerous television programmes, several films, and wrote more than 20 books, mainly for children.
He wrote for The New Zealand Herald, Metro and The Listener, and performed corporate speaking.
Jonathan was the former editor of Christchurch magazine Avenues.
In 2008, Jonathan received a conviction for drink-driving, after being stopped at a checkpoint in December 2006.
In 2011, Jonathan was convicted of his fourth drink-driving charge, having been stopped with a breath alcohol reading 2.5 times in excess of the legal limit.
Jonathan passed away on December 12, 2015 after a battle with cancer.
He was a New Zealand television comedian and writer, most well-known for his role in the comedy series McPhail and Gadsby co-starring alongside David McPhail.
Jonathan was born in Derbyshire, England and went to school in Invercargill when his family moved to New Zealand.
He studied law at the University of Otago, he worked at Radio Dunedin.
Jonathan entered television with David McPhail in the comedy A Week of It, before the pair went on to the successful and long-running political satire McPhail and Gadsby.
Jonathan Gadsby appeared in numerous television programmes, several films, and wrote more than 20 books, mainly for children.
He wrote for The New Zealand Herald, Metro and The Listener, and performed corporate speaking.
Jonathan was the former editor of Christchurch magazine Avenues.
In 2008, Jonathan received a conviction for drink-driving, after being stopped at a checkpoint in December 2006.
In 2011, Jonathan was convicted of his fourth drink-driving charge, having been stopped with a breath alcohol reading 2.5 times in excess of the legal limit.
Jonathan passed away on December 12, 2015 after a battle with cancer.
Tokyo Rose, Typist and broadcaster, merchant, Died at 90
Iva Toguri, better known as “Tokyo Rose,” died on September 26, 2006 at the age of 90; she was an American-born Japanese woman who hosted a Japanese propaganda radio program aimed at U.S. troops during World War II.
After college, she visited Japan and was stranded there after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Forced to renounce her U.S. citizenship, Toguri found work in radio and was asked to host “Zero Hour,” a propaganda and entertainment program aimed at U.S. soldiers.
After the war, she was returned to the U.S. and convicted of treason, serving 6 years in prison. Her father was a Japanese-American who owned an import shop.
Caught between two cultures, Iva Toguri aspired to be like all American teenagers.
She wanted to become a doctor and attended UCLA, graduating in 1941, but then there was a twist of fate.
Born July 4, 1916, in 1942, the U.S. government rounded up Japanese-Americans and put them in internment camps.
Iva’s family was relocated to such camps, but she didn’t know about it.
The letters between her and her parents stopped, and she was suddenly isolated without information about their lives.
She needed a job, so she went to an English-speaking newspaper and got a position listening to short-wave-radio newscasts and transcribing them.
Iva then got a second job with Radio Tokyo as s typist, helping to type out scripts for programs broadcast for GI’s in Southeast Asia.
Then, she was unexpectedly asked to host a show called the “Zero Hour,” an entertainment program for U.S. soldiers.
Her feminine, American voice was meant to reach the U.S. soldiers.
Toguri called herself "Orphan Ann," but she quickly became identified with the name "Tokyo Rose", a name that was coined by Allied soldiers and that predated her broadcasts.
After the Japanese defeat, Toguri was detained for a year by the United States military before being released for lack of evidence.
Department of Justice officials agreed that her broadcasts were "innocuous".
But when Toguri tried to return to the US, a popular uproar ensued, prompting the Federal Bureau of Investigation to renew its investigation of Toguri's wartime activities.
She was subsequently charged by the United States Attorney's Office with eight counts of treason.
On September 29, 1949, the jury found Toguri guilty on a single charge: Count VI, which stated, "That on a day during October, 1944, the exact date being to the Grand Jurors unknown, said defendant, at Tokyo, Japan, in a broadcasting studio of The Broadcasting Corporation of Japan, did speak into a microphone concerning the loss of ships."
She was fined $10,000 and given a 10-year prison sentence, with Toguri's attorney Collins lambasting the verdict as "Guilty without evidence".
She was sent to the Federal Reformatory for Women at Alderson, West Virginia.
She was paroled after serving six years and two months, released January 28, 1956, and moved to Chicago, Illinois.
On January 15, 2006, the World War II Veterans Committee awarded Toguri its annual Edward J. Herlihy Citizenship Award, citing "her indomitable spirit, love of country, and the example of courage she has given her fellow Americans".
According to one biographer, Toguri found it the most memorable day of her life.
After college, she visited Japan and was stranded there after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Forced to renounce her U.S. citizenship, Toguri found work in radio and was asked to host “Zero Hour,” a propaganda and entertainment program aimed at U.S. soldiers.
After the war, she was returned to the U.S. and convicted of treason, serving 6 years in prison. Her father was a Japanese-American who owned an import shop.
Caught between two cultures, Iva Toguri aspired to be like all American teenagers.
She wanted to become a doctor and attended UCLA, graduating in 1941, but then there was a twist of fate.
Born July 4, 1916, in 1942, the U.S. government rounded up Japanese-Americans and put them in internment camps.
Iva’s family was relocated to such camps, but she didn’t know about it.
The letters between her and her parents stopped, and she was suddenly isolated without information about their lives.
She needed a job, so she went to an English-speaking newspaper and got a position listening to short-wave-radio newscasts and transcribing them.
Iva then got a second job with Radio Tokyo as s typist, helping to type out scripts for programs broadcast for GI’s in Southeast Asia.
Then, she was unexpectedly asked to host a show called the “Zero Hour,” an entertainment program for U.S. soldiers.
Her feminine, American voice was meant to reach the U.S. soldiers.
Toguri called herself "Orphan Ann," but she quickly became identified with the name "Tokyo Rose", a name that was coined by Allied soldiers and that predated her broadcasts.
After the Japanese defeat, Toguri was detained for a year by the United States military before being released for lack of evidence.
Department of Justice officials agreed that her broadcasts were "innocuous".
But when Toguri tried to return to the US, a popular uproar ensued, prompting the Federal Bureau of Investigation to renew its investigation of Toguri's wartime activities.
She was subsequently charged by the United States Attorney's Office with eight counts of treason.
On September 29, 1949, the jury found Toguri guilty on a single charge: Count VI, which stated, "That on a day during October, 1944, the exact date being to the Grand Jurors unknown, said defendant, at Tokyo, Japan, in a broadcasting studio of The Broadcasting Corporation of Japan, did speak into a microphone concerning the loss of ships."
She was fined $10,000 and given a 10-year prison sentence, with Toguri's attorney Collins lambasting the verdict as "Guilty without evidence".
She was sent to the Federal Reformatory for Women at Alderson, West Virginia.
She was paroled after serving six years and two months, released January 28, 1956, and moved to Chicago, Illinois.
On January 15, 2006, the World War II Veterans Committee awarded Toguri its annual Edward J. Herlihy Citizenship Award, citing "her indomitable spirit, love of country, and the example of courage she has given her fellow Americans".
According to one biographer, Toguri found it the most memorable day of her life.
Friday, 11 December 2015
Douglas Hoylman, American crossword puzzle solver, Died at 72
Douglas John Hoylman was born on July 2, 1943, in Kalispell, Mont and died December 2, 2015.
He was an American crossword puzzle solver.
Douglas Hoylman skipped a grade in high school.
Then earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1964 and a doctorate in mathematics from the University of Arizona in 1969.
Reportedly he told the newspapers, he completed 20 to 30 crossword puzzles a week,and has a young boy he loved reading.
Hoylman settled in the Washington area around 1970 and retired from Geico in the 1990s.
Douglas began competing in crossword tournaments in the mid-1980s by filling out a qualifying puzzle, and he won his first tournament in 1988.
Douglas entered other championships came in 1992, 1994, 1996, 1997 and 2000.
He also had three second-place finishes and three third-place finishes.
Earlier this year, Douglas has finished in the top 40, which is said to be highly unusual for a man of 72.
He has competed in 81 tournaments between 1993 and 2009, at the Washington unit of the North American Scrabble Players Association.
His single best performance was in 2006, when he won a divisional title.
Douglas trivia expertise came in handy in 1999 when a friend and crossword competitor, Trip Payne, appearing on the TV game show “Who Wants To Be a Millionaire,” and use his ask a friend option to call Douglas.
Douglas Hoylman passed away at 72 yrs old due to heart disease.
He was an American crossword puzzle solver.
Douglas Hoylman skipped a grade in high school.
Then earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1964 and a doctorate in mathematics from the University of Arizona in 1969.
Reportedly he told the newspapers, he completed 20 to 30 crossword puzzles a week,and has a young boy he loved reading.
Hoylman settled in the Washington area around 1970 and retired from Geico in the 1990s.
Douglas began competing in crossword tournaments in the mid-1980s by filling out a qualifying puzzle, and he won his first tournament in 1988.
Douglas entered other championships came in 1992, 1994, 1996, 1997 and 2000.
He also had three second-place finishes and three third-place finishes.
Earlier this year, Douglas has finished in the top 40, which is said to be highly unusual for a man of 72.
He has competed in 81 tournaments between 1993 and 2009, at the Washington unit of the North American Scrabble Players Association.
His single best performance was in 2006, when he won a divisional title.
Douglas trivia expertise came in handy in 1999 when a friend and crossword competitor, Trip Payne, appearing on the TV game show “Who Wants To Be a Millionaire,” and use his ask a friend option to call Douglas.
Douglas Hoylman passed away at 72 yrs old due to heart disease.
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