2021 Obituaries Thread

[jude_este]

I may not have been a fan of Saved By The Bell when TBS was airing reruns for several years after it ended on NBC. I'd have to agree with what people have been saying that whether you liked the character or not, Screech was the heart of the show. There may have been bad blood between him and his co-stars over the ghostwritten tell-all book from the late 2000s that he apologized for years later, along with making peace with one of them. I do hope that the revival on Peacock will pay tribute to him in their upcoming second season.

[SeaBreeze341]

And now, we start off February with Screech himself, Dustin Diamond.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/dustin-diamond-screech-on-saved-by-the-bell-dies-at-44-report

Not even 2/3 into the new month (albeit a short month) too.  However, the guy wasn't feeling well toward the end.  Sadly, him not feeling well was a combination of emotions & health.

A couple of my most memorable moments from Saved By The Bell as it relates to Screech include the rare times that he was actually serious.  In serious, I mean not his over the top personality that drove Lisa crazy, but when he acted "out of character" and respected.  After all, he did finish first in his class.
One time he was ready to fight Zach but as a true friend, Zach wasn't coming to blows with Screech (like Zach did with Slater).  In the end, Zach and Screech made up and that was that.

The bigger one comes during one of the several times that Screech annoyed Lisa, but for good reason.  Screech barely edged out Jessie for valedictorian; despite that, the former showed true class and opted to pass the honor to Ms. Spano.  Screech pleaded for Lisa to keep it a secret, but inadvertently broke away from his well wishes after Jessie made fun of him.  Ms. Turtle ended up doubling down in a way and ended up spilling the beans, which led to the eventual top student receiving his well-deserved honor.

Say what you will about his character, but Screech was still a classy person, when he didn't really need to be.  It's unfortunate how things spiraled out of control for Dustin Diamond, and it's very sad to see it come to this.  I too hope he's found peace, and he no longer has to suffer anymore.

[Ccook]

Hal Holbrook, renowned for his one-man show Mark Twain Tonight among many things, age 95. No cause mentioned.

[jude_este]

Captain Sir Tom Moore, the British army veteran who gained fame and affection by walking sponsored laps in his garden to raise funds for charity before his 100th birthday last spring, passed away today from the coronavirus.

[jmorgan]

Jim Weatherly, the songwriter behind the #1 hit "Midnight Train To Georgia" passed away Wednesday of natural causes at age 77. His biggest pop hit on his own was "The Need To Be", which peaked at #11 in 1974. He also peaked at #9 country the following year with "I'll Still Love You."

[pricefan18]

Professional Wrestler The Natural Butch Reed, who had stints in the WWF, WCW (as part of the Doom tag team with Ron Simmons/Farroqq), and Mid-South Wrestling before that, has died at 66 due to heart complications. https://www.mandatory.com/wrestlezone/news/1221408-the-natural-butch-reed-passes-away-at-age-66

[FieldsFan336]

Canadian actor Christopher Plummer, best known for portraying Captain Von Trapp in the film version of The Sound of Music, died this morning at 91 in his Connecticut home.  He also narrated the Madeline series of specials for which he won an Emmy Award

https://variety.com/2021/film/news/christopher-plummer-dead-sound-of-music-1234901760/

[Superballer]

Also enjoyed him as the English language narrator for David the Gnome back during Nickelodeon's glory days; while much of his narration was essentially the same spiel with some variants, it still gave a lot of gravitas for the episodes they were used in. 

[jude_este]

Olympic and heavyweight champion Leon Spinks, who surprised the boxing world by beating Muhammad Ali for the world heavyweight title in 1978, passed away Friday night at age 67, according to Firm PR, a public relations firm that represented him. Cause of death not disclosed, but FirmPR reported he was suffering from prostate and other cancers for five years.

[Ccook]

George Shultz, former Secretary of State,  age 100. No cause given.

[whowouldeverhurtawhammy]

I have multiple deaths that have been brought to my attention within the last 24 hours.

* Ron Rodecker, the artist from Laguna Beach, CA., whose dragon-inspired artwork became the basis for the characters of the PBS Kids series Dragon Tales, passed away on 1/25/21 at the age of 90. The cause of his death is currently not known.
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2947624125526861&id=100008379070265

* For those who may have grown up in Mexico and/or enjoyed Dragon Ball Z in Español Latino, Ricardo Silva, the lead singer for the opening theme for DBZ, passed away yesterday after suffering COVID-19-related complications. He was 67.
https://www.euroweeklynews.com/2021/02/08/well-known-dragon-ball-z-voice-actor-ricardo-silva-dies-aged-67/amp/

[pricefan18]

Big one in sporting world too yesterday. ESPN baseball analyst Pedro Gomez, died suddenly yesterday at the age of 58. No known cause has been given yet that I have seen. https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/30857724/espn-baseball-reporter-pedro-gomez-dies-58

[Ccook]

Mary Wilson, co-founder of the Motown group the Supremes, age 76. No cause disclosed as her death was sudden.

[JarodJGames]

Marty Schottenheimer Head Coach for the Cleveland Browns, San Diego (now Los Angeles) Chargers, Kansas City Chiefs, and the Washington Football Team passed away from Alzheimer's at age 77.

[Ccook]

Larry Flynt, publisher of Hustler magazine, age 78 of heart failure. He had been confined to a wheelchair since 1978 after a murder attempt on him left him paralyzed from the waist down.