2019 deaths of notables
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Newsreading great Peter Sissons, who went to school with the Beatles, dies aged 77
Peter Sissons, the former BBC and ITN newsreader and Question Time host, has died at the age of 77.
Sissons joined ITN in the 1960s before moving to the BBC in 1989 to present Question Time and the Six O'Clock News.
BBC director general Tony Hall described him as "one of the great television figures of his time".
Tributes also came from such figures as Piers Morgan and Tony Blair, who said he was "a journalist of exceptional talent, commitment and integrity".
Good Morning Britain host Morgan hailed him as "an excellent journalist and TV newsreader, and splendidly combative and amusing man", while BBC presenter Simon McCoy said Sissons was "a great journalist and a fine presenter".
Born in Liverpool in 1942, Sissons went to school with John Lennon, George Harrison and Paul McCartney. He studied at Oxford University, but returned to Liverpool to work as a bus conductor in the summer holidays - and later said the experience of dealing with difficult customers prepared him for handling difficult interviewees.
His journalistic career began when he joined ITN in 1964 as a writer, and he became a reporter three years later.
As a foreign correspondent, he was wounded by gunfire in Biafra in 1968. He was later promoted to ITN's news editor and then industrial editor before becoming a presenter of ITN's News at One in 1978.
When Channel 4 was launched in 1982, he was chosen to present their nightly news programme, and during his time as anchor, Channel 4 News won three consecutive Bafta Awards.
In 1989, he interviewed the Iranian ambassador about the fatwa issued to author Salman Rushsdie , and admitted in his autobiography that he found it "very hard" to keep his anger from showing. That interview resulted in the fatwa being extended to him, meaning he and his family needed 24-hour protection.
After joining the BBC later that year, he took over from Sir Robin Day as host of Question Time, which he hosted for four years, and also went on to present the Nine O'Clock News and 10 O'Clock News.
"He was a gold standard broadcaster," said BBC News presenter Huw Edwards. "For a decade or more, he was the face of Channel 4 News, and he really was an outstanding interviewer and presenter.
"He was very supportive when I started off as a presenter, he couldn't have been more generous, and I think that was a reflection of him as a man as well."
In 2002, he faced criticism for wearing a burgundy-coloured tie rather than the customary black when breaking the news of the Queen Mother's death.
When he was moved to BBC News 24 in 2003, he accused the corporation of ageism. "Ageism is still the BBC's blind spot. Yet it is blindingly obvious that maturity goes with grey hairs," he said.
Sissons retired from broadcasting in 2009. Two years later, he published an autobiography in which he criticised the BBC for having what he saw as a left-wing bias.
Paying tribute, Lord Hall said: "Peter Sissons was one of the great television figures of his time - as an interviewer, presenter and world-class journalist. During his distinguished career he was one of the most recognisable and well-respected faces of television news.
"He was always a great person to be with and to work with. He will be missed by his many friends and colleagues and our thoughts are with his family."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/entertainment-arts-49908660
Peter Sissons, the former BBC and ITN newsreader and Question Time host, has died at the age of 77.
Sissons joined ITN in the 1960s before moving to the BBC in 1989 to present Question Time and the Six O'Clock News.
BBC director general Tony Hall described him as "one of the great television figures of his time".
Tributes also came from such figures as Piers Morgan and Tony Blair, who said he was "a journalist of exceptional talent, commitment and integrity".
Good Morning Britain host Morgan hailed him as "an excellent journalist and TV newsreader, and splendidly combative and amusing man", while BBC presenter Simon McCoy said Sissons was "a great journalist and a fine presenter".
Born in Liverpool in 1942, Sissons went to school with John Lennon, George Harrison and Paul McCartney. He studied at Oxford University, but returned to Liverpool to work as a bus conductor in the summer holidays - and later said the experience of dealing with difficult customers prepared him for handling difficult interviewees.
His journalistic career began when he joined ITN in 1964 as a writer, and he became a reporter three years later.
As a foreign correspondent, he was wounded by gunfire in Biafra in 1968. He was later promoted to ITN's news editor and then industrial editor before becoming a presenter of ITN's News at One in 1978.
When Channel 4 was launched in 1982, he was chosen to present their nightly news programme, and during his time as anchor, Channel 4 News won three consecutive Bafta Awards.
In 1989, he interviewed the Iranian ambassador about the fatwa issued to author Salman Rushsdie , and admitted in his autobiography that he found it "very hard" to keep his anger from showing. That interview resulted in the fatwa being extended to him, meaning he and his family needed 24-hour protection.
After joining the BBC later that year, he took over from Sir Robin Day as host of Question Time, which he hosted for four years, and also went on to present the Nine O'Clock News and 10 O'Clock News.
"He was a gold standard broadcaster," said BBC News presenter Huw Edwards. "For a decade or more, he was the face of Channel 4 News, and he really was an outstanding interviewer and presenter.
"He was very supportive when I started off as a presenter, he couldn't have been more generous, and I think that was a reflection of him as a man as well."
In 2002, he faced criticism for wearing a burgundy-coloured tie rather than the customary black when breaking the news of the Queen Mother's death.
When he was moved to BBC News 24 in 2003, he accused the corporation of ageism. "Ageism is still the BBC's blind spot. Yet it is blindingly obvious that maturity goes with grey hairs," he said.
Sissons retired from broadcasting in 2009. Two years later, he published an autobiography in which he criticised the BBC for having what he saw as a left-wing bias.
Paying tribute, Lord Hall said: "Peter Sissons was one of the great television figures of his time - as an interviewer, presenter and world-class journalist. During his distinguished career he was one of the most recognisable and well-respected faces of television news.
"He was always a great person to be with and to work with. He will be missed by his many friends and colleagues and our thoughts are with his family."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/entertainment-arts-49908660
Ginger Baker: Legendary Cream drummer dies aged 80
Ginger Baker, one of the most innovative and influential drummers in rock music, has died at the age of 80.
A co-founder of Cream, he also played with Blind Faith, Hawkwind and Fela Kuti in a long and varied career.
His style combined the lyricism of jazz with the crude power of rock. One critic said watching him was like witnessing "a human combine harvester".
But he was also a temperamental and argumentative figure, whose behaviour frequently led to on-stage punch-ups.
Nicknamed Ginger for his flaming red hair, the musician was born Peter Edward Baker in Lewisham, south London, shortly before World War Two.
His bricklayer father was killed in action in 1943, and he was brought up in near poverty by his mother, step-father and aunt.
A troubled student, he joined a local gang in his teens and became involved in petty theft. When he tried to quit, gang-members attacked him with a razor.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-49827436
Ginger Baker, one of the most innovative and influential drummers in rock music, has died at the age of 80.
A co-founder of Cream, he also played with Blind Faith, Hawkwind and Fela Kuti in a long and varied career.
His style combined the lyricism of jazz with the crude power of rock. One critic said watching him was like witnessing "a human combine harvester".
But he was also a temperamental and argumentative figure, whose behaviour frequently led to on-stage punch-ups.
Nicknamed Ginger for his flaming red hair, the musician was born Peter Edward Baker in Lewisham, south London, shortly before World War Two.
His bricklayer father was killed in action in 1943, and he was brought up in near poverty by his mother, step-father and aunt.
A troubled student, he joined a local gang in his teens and became involved in petty theft. When he tried to quit, gang-members attacked him with a razor.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-49827436
Rip Taylor has died at 84
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rip-ta...dead-at-84-cause-of-death-unclear-2019-10-06/
He was a flamer and funny.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rip-ta...dead-at-84-cause-of-death-unclear-2019-10-06/
He was a flamer and funny.
Elijah Cummings Has Died
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/leahbarkoukis/2019/10/17/breaking-elijah-cummings-has-died-n2554907
One of Trump's most vocal haters became a millionaire after he was elected to congress.. RIP
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/leahbarkoukis/2019/10/17/breaking-elijah-cummings-has-died-n2554907
One of Trump's most vocal haters became a millionaire after he was elected to congress.. RIP
Considering Trump's close Russian ties, Cummings body should be examined for Novichok and Polonium poisoning.
The last remaining survivor of the Hindenburg disaster has died at the age of 90.
Werner Gustav Doehner passed away in Laconia, New Hampshire last Friday, more than eight decades after the German airship caught fire and was destroyed while docking in Lakehurst, New Jersey on May 6, 1937.
The disaster left 35 people dead, including Doehner's father and sister.
Some 62 passengers and crew managed to survive the blaze, which became one of the most infamous air disasters of all time, after it was captured by news crews who were on the scene to document its arrival.
Doehner, who was just eight years old at the time of the crash, was on the 804-foot-long zeppelin with his parents and older brother and sister.
'He did not talk about it,' his son Bernie Doehner told The Associated Press on Friday, adding that his father took him to visit the naval station years later, but not the Hindenburg memorial, itself.
At the time of its completion in 1936, the LZ 129 Hindenburg was the largest aircraft ever built, and was the pride of Germany's Third Reich.
The airship completed several trips across the Atlantic prior to the 1937 disaster. At the time of the fire in New Jersey, the Hindenburg had travelled from Frankfurt. There were plans for the airship to then head down to South America.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7691527/Last-survivor-Hindenburg-disaster-dies-age-90.html
Probably will never be a notable but my sweet young fried Kendra died of Leukemia on Wednesday. Not quite 18.
Cancer in children used to be rare.
Half of Canadians expected to get cancer
http://www.cancer.ca/en/about-us/news/national/2017/july/story3/?region=on
SERIOUSLY: WTF?
Better monetize that and if the peeps get too riled about that, then weaponize it.
Most doctors who were terminally ill would AVOID aggressive treatments such as chemotherapy - despite recommending it to their patients
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/...emotherapy-despite-recommending-patients.html
Farid Fata, Doctor Who Gave Chemo to Healthy Patients, Faces Sentencing
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/canc...emo-healthy-patients-faces-sentencing-n385161
Half of Canadians expected to get cancer
http://www.cancer.ca/en/about-us/news/national/2017/july/story3/?region=on
SERIOUSLY: WTF?
Better monetize that and if the peeps get too riled about that, then weaponize it.
Most doctors who were terminally ill would AVOID aggressive treatments such as chemotherapy - despite recommending it to their patients
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/...emotherapy-despite-recommending-patients.html
Farid Fata, Doctor Who Gave Chemo to Healthy Patients, Faces Sentencing
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/canc...emo-healthy-patients-faces-sentencing-n385161
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