The Gone But Not Forgotten Thread

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Joe Engle, longtime Shuttle astronaut who was originally supposed to fly to the Moon on Apollo 17, passed this week at age 91.
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Eccentric fitness guru Richard Simmons, known for his unrelenting positivity, has died, according to his representative.

Simmons just celebrated his 76th birthday on Friday.

The Los Angeles Police Department responded to his home after a 911 call from his housekeeper and found Simmons dead, according to police sources. He appears to have died of natural causes, and no foul play is suspected, the sources said.


PHOTO: Richard Simmons poses in a promotional photo for the ABC TV series 'General Hospital,' in 1979. (Walt Disney Television/ABC via Getty Images, FILE)

PHOTO: Richard Simmons poses in a promotional photo for the ABC TV series 'General Hospital,' in 1979. (Walt Disney Television/ABC via Getty Images, FILE)
Simmons had spooked fans just three months ago when he posted that he was dying on Facebook, writing in March, "I have some news to tell you. Please don’t be sad. I am .... dying. Oh I can see your faces now. The truth is we all are dying. Every day we live we are getting closer to our death."

He later clarified that he was not actually dying, but that the message was intended to encourage everyone to "embrace every day that we have."
 
Also today,
Ruth Westheimer, the German-Jewish psychologist who enlightened and entertained radio, television and newspaper audiences for more than two decades with her frank, funny and warm advice on ****** matters, has died. She was 96.

Westheimer became the media personality “Dr. Ruth” in 1980 when she was invited to host a 15-minute radio show aired after midnight on Sundays on WYNY-FM in New York. Tackling topics from multiple orgasms to menage a trois, it quickly became a sensation, attracting 4,000 calls a night by the time it expanded to a one-hour format in 1981.

Within a few years she was a national celebrity with a radio audience that stretched coast to coast and a cable television show. She eventually wrote a widely distributed newspaper column, “Ask Dr. Ruth,” and more than two dozen books, including a pop-up book for preschoolers and kindergarteners that straightforwardly addressed basic questions about ***.
 
Jacoby Jone, Ravens WR and owner of the longest play in Super Bowl history with his 108 yard return TD passed quite unexpectedly at age 40.
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Also quite tragic, the actress Shannen Doherty (90210, Charmed) passed away yesterday at age 53 after a long battle with breast cancer.

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BALTIMORE -- Jerry Walker, who at age 20 became the youngest player to start the All-Star Game when he took the mound representing the Baltimore Orioles in 1959, has died. He was 85.

The Orioles announced Walker's death Wednesday. The team later said he died Sunday following an apparent heart attack at his home in Ada, Oklahoma.

Walker pitched eight seasons in the major leagues for Baltimore, Kansas City and Cleveland. He made his debut as an 18-year-old in 1957 and two years later earned his lone All-Star selection. He started the second of baseball's two All-Star Games in 1959.

Walker's age of 20 years, 172 days broke the record set by Tigers outfielder Al Kaline (20 years, 205 days) in 1955. Kaline remains the second-youngest player to start an All-Star Game, according to Sportradar.

The second-youngest pitcher to start was Fernando Valenzuela of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who was 20 years, 281 days old in 1981. Pittsburgh rookie right-hander Paul Skenes (22 years, 48 days) started for the National League this week.

Following his playing days, Walker managed in the New York Yankees' minor league system and became a scout for them. He also worked as a pitching coach for the Yankees and Houston Astros.

Walker worked a stint as general manager for the Detroit Tigers in the early 1990s and later spent time in the front office for the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds.
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Bob Newhart, the former accountant who rose to comedy superstardom with a mathematical precision in timing a deadpan routine down to a decimal point, died Thursday, according to his publicist.

He was 94.


Newhart certainly looked the part of the weary everyman that he played so well on the comedy albums that launched his career, and on the two major sitcoms that bore his name — “The Bob Newhart Show,” which ran on CBS from 1972 to 1978, and “Newhart,” which ran on the same network from 1982 to 1990.

But Newhart managed a third act. He found renewed popularity in the 21st century with a memorable supporting role in the 2003 movie “Elf,” playing opposite Will Ferrell, and then a recurring role as the former host of a children’s science show named Professor Proton on “The Big Bang Theory.”

“What was important about ‘Big Bang Theory’ is that it brought that Newhart character that he had perfected over his entire, long career and brought it to a whole new audience,” said Thompson. “There were a lot of people who saw him ... who probably never had seen an episode of either of his two previous sitcoms.”

The role also gave him a long-overdue actor Emmy, for outstanding guest actor in a comedy series
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Duke Fakir, last surviving original member of the classic era Motown group the 4 Tops passed at age 88. He was with the group from 1953-2024. You read that right, he sang with the 4 Tops for 71 YEARS!
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