General "RIP" announcements that might be of interest

[ethanedwards]

RIP Tony

[BatjacAuburn]

It's interesting. R.G. was a very close friend of Andy Griffith's, and they died within a few weeks of each other.

And George Goober Lindsey was only two months ago...wonder how Jim Nabors is doing

[may2]

I don't think Jim is in good health. He hasn't been able to sing Back Home Again In Indiana at the Indy 500 for several years.

[BatjacAuburn]

I don't think Jim is in good health. He hasn't been able to sing Back Home Again In Indiana at the Indy 500 for several years.

Found the article below and another that said this was the first year that he missed at Indy since 1987 and he did a tape this year.


Honolulu resident Jim Nabors, best known for his 1960s television role as Gomer Pyle, was among the first patients to successfully undergo a new heart valve procedure last week at the Queen's Medical Center.
The heart valve replacement via catheter through the groin was approved late last year by the U.S Food and Drug Administration for heart disease patients previously deemed inoperable. The procedure is an alternative to the more invasive open-heart surgery that involves exposing the heart with an incision in the breast for patients with failing aortic heart valves, which sit between the heart and aorta.
Nabors, 81, missed his annual singing performance at this year's Indianapolis 500 over the Memorial Day weekend to undergo the surgery. He had suffered for four years from the effects of aortic stenosis, a severe narrowing of the heart valve that causes fatigue.
"I just get very weak. I don't want to do anything and am in bed all day. It's really no way to live," said the Hollywood actor with a rich classical baritone voice. "My strength is coming back and I'm having more energy now. One of the things I noticed first is my thinking was clearer, my body was getting blood. The recovery was amazing, they had me on my feet the very next day. It's phenomental that they're actually able to do this or I wouldn't be here."

[The Tennesseean]

Thanks, Batjac and May. I just didn't think about 'Ol Goob when I posted about R.G.

Time is the "Great Equalizer" for everyone. I hope Jim is at least comfortable, and well cared for.

[may2]

http://www.wthr.com/story/18032786/j...-after-surgery

May 1, 2012

A famous face will not be at the Indianapolis 500 this year.

Eyewitness News sports director Dave Calabro confirmed Tuesday night that Jim Nabors will miss the Indy 500 pre-race celebration for the second time in the last six years. Nabors, whose rendition of "Back Home Again In Indiana" became a Speedway tradition in 1972, will undergo heart valve surgery later this month.

"It's a very, I don't know, to me, it's just magical," Nabors said in a 2009 interview. "To be here all of those years, it's part of my life, part of my history now. It's been great to see all the kids grow up."

Doctors expect the 81-year-old to make a complete recovery.

Nabors will record the song on video before his surgery and that video will be played at the race.

Nabors also missed the 2007 race for health reasons.

[may2]

Gore Vidal died. Strange man.

http://www.people.com/people/article...617174,00.html

[The Tennesseean]

I agree with you, May. He was a VERY strange man.

[alamo221]

Another familiar character actor has died, Norm Alden



http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/2012...nown_actor.htm

[alamo221]

Always liked him, a welcome addition to any film.

[WaynamoJim]

First time I saw Alden was in My Three Sons in the late 60's. He played the father of Chips girlfriend and was constantly trying to break them up. He was also in Tora Tora Tora as the pilot of one of the B-17's coming in from California that flew right into the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

[ethanedwards]

RIP Gore & Alden

[BILL OF PA]

Long time veteran actor R.G.Armstrong Jr. 95
Played in many westerns on TV and movies.
Several Sam Peckinpah films Ride the High Country,Major Dundee and Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. RIP

[ethanedwards]

Long time veteran actor R.G.Armstrong Jr. 95
Played in many westerns on TV and movies.
Several Sam Peckinpah films Ride the High Country,Major Dundee and Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. RIP

This of course was originally posted last week,
but thanks Bill.

[alamo221]

Veteran stuntman Tony Epper died at his home in Idaho on July 20 after a long fighter with cancer. He was 73.

His stunt work included such recent films as "Lethal Weapon 2," "Thelma and Louise," "Patriot Games," Francis Ford Coppola's "Dracula," "The River Wild," "Waterworld," "Money Train," "Jingle All the Way," "Volcano" and "Con Air."

Epper also worked steadily in television, first appearing in an episode of "Bachelor Father" in 1958 and racking up guest roles in series including "I Spy," "The Green Hornet," "Daniel Boone," "Batman," "Gunsmoke," "Kung Fu," "The Six Million Dollar Man," "The Rockford Files," "Charlie's Angels," "The A-Team" and "MacGyver." He last appeared in 1996 in an episode of "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" as a drunken Klingon.

Born John Anthony Epper in Los Angeles on October 1, 1938, he was the son of actor-stuntman John Epper [1906-1992]. He did his first Hollywood work as an actor and stuntman in the early 1950s, appearing uncredited in the films "Carbine Williams," "The Story of Will Rogers" and "Ma and Pa Kettle at Home." He appeared with John Wayne in "The Cowboys".

He was second unit director on the Abel Ferrara-helmed 1986 telepic "The Gladiator."

Epper's brothers Andy [1943-2010] and Gary [1944-2007] were also actor-stuntmen but preceded him in death. He's survived by his wife, Donna; two sons, Danny, an actor and stuntman, and Roger; a daughter; two step-daughters and a variety of other Epper family members who work in the business, including his sister Jeannie Epper.