R.I.P. CELEBRITY DEATHS 2019(NON WRESTLERS)

[jimsteel]

Australian TV legend Paul Cronin dies aged 81: Iconic actor and passionate AFL supporter who starred in The Sullivans passes away

Australian actor Paul Cronin, best known for his roles in The Sullivans and Matlock Police, has died at the age of 81.

The TV legend died surrounded by his four daughters and grandchildren on Friday night.

At the peak of his career, he was best known for playing motorcycle policeman Gary Hogan in Matlock Police and then went on to play Dave Sullivan in popular soap opera The Sullivans.

Cronin won the Silver Logie five times, including three years consecutively from 1978 for his role in The Sullivans.

He was also endearingly crowned the King of Moomba - a community festival in Melbourne - in 1980.

Cronin was a big supporter of the AFL and took it upon himself to establish the Brisbane Bears team in 1986.

[jimsteel]

Ric Ocasek, Lead Singer of The Cars, Dead in New York at 75

Ocasek and The Cars were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2018

Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Ric Ocasek, lead singer of the rock band The Cars, died Sunday in New York at age 75.

Police said they received a call around 4 p.m. for an unconscious male at a townhouse on East 19th Street. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Law enforcement sources confirmed the deceased was Ocasek.

Ocasek and his band were inducted into the Rock Hall in 2018. The institution described the band as "hook-savvy with the perfect combo of new wave and classic rock."

The band had 13 top-40 singles, including radio staples like "Good Times Roll" and "Just What I Needed," and Ocasek went on to a successful producing career after The Cars broke up in the late 1980s.

He was also known for his long-running marriage to the Czech supermodel Paulina Porizkova. She announced their separation in 2018 after 28 years of marriage.

They listed the 19th Street residence for sale earlier this year for more than $15 million.

[TTX]

Really used to enjoy The Cars. RIP Ric.

[jimsteel]

NASCAR'S MIKE STEFANIK DIES IN PLANE CRASH

NASCAR champion Mike Stefanik -- a 9-time touring series winner -- died in a plane crash near Rhode Island on Sunday. He was 61.

Stefanik was flying a single-engine, single-seat Aerolite 103 -- which took off from the Riconn Airport in Coventry, Rhode Island -- when something went wrong.

Officials say the plane was attempting to return to the airport when it crashed in the woods near the runway, killing the pilot.

"He recorded achievements in this sport that are likely untouchable, and his legacy as a champion will endure. We will keep his wife Julie and his family and friends in our prayers."

Stefanik was named Busch Series Most Popular Driver in 1995, 1997, 1998 and 2004.

Most people know Stefanik for crushing the Whelen Modified Tour Circuit from 1989 to 2006, when he won 7 different times!

Stefanik made NASCAR history in 1997 and '98 when he won dual titles by winning both the Modified and K&N Pro Series East divisions

[jimsteel]

'Carnivale' Actor Brian Turk Dead at 49 from Cancer


The veteran actor passed away Friday due to complications from cancer, according to his rep. We're told he was diagnosed a year ago, but that his cancer recently became terminal.

He's acted in some of Hollywood's biggest shows and movies over the years, including supporting roles in series like "Two and a Half Men," "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "The Jamie Foxx Show," "Step by Step," "Wings," "Beverly Hills, 90210," "Boy Meets World," "ER," "Criminal Minds," "General Hospital," "Animal Kingdom," "NCIS" and others.


Brian also had smaller roles in flicks like "American Pie 2," "A.I. Artificial Intelligence," "Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles," "The Lost World: Jurassic Park," "Big Fat Liar" and more. He had 42 acting credits to his name, per his IMDb page.

He's perhaps best known for his starring role on "Carnivale" in the early 2000s, in which he played strongman Gabriel, who was part of the travelling circus depicted on screen.

[jimsteel]

Legendary journalist and political commentator Cokie Roberts dies at 75

Renowned ABC News journalist and political commentator Cokie Roberts has died at the age of 75.

Roberts won countless awards, including three Emmys, throughout her decades-long career. She has been inducted into the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame and was cited by the American Women in Radio and Television as one of the 50 greatest women in the history of broadcasting. She was named a "Living Legend" by the Library of Congress in 2008.

"We will miss Cokie beyond measure, both for her contributions and for her love and kindness," her family said in a statement.

Her death was due to complications from breast cancer.

Roberts, born Mary Martha Corinne Morrison Claiborne Boggs, said she got the name "Cokie" from her older brother, who couldn't pronounce Corinne and dubbed her Cokie instead. The name stuck with her ever since.

[jimsteel]

Crayon Shin-Chan Voice Actress Passes Away Due To Cancer, She Was 49

[jimsteel]

Sander Vanocur, Journalist Who Covered U.S. Politics for Decades, Dies at 91

Sander Vanocur, a television newsman who for decades covered momentous events from political campaigns to assassinations, the Vietnam War to the civil rights movement, has died, his son said Tuesday.

Vanocur died Monday night in Santa Barbara, California, said Chris Vanocur. He was 91. He had been dealing with dementia in recent years.

As national political correspondent at NBC in the 1960s, Vanocur was a questioner at the first presidential debate between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon in 1960, then covered Kennedy’s administration as a White House correspondent.

“His storied career put him on the front lines of the biggest political stories of the 1960s, the first stories being televised for many of us,” NBC News political director Chuck Todd said in a segment Tuesday.

Vanocur was among the last people to interview Sen. Robert F. Kennedy at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, where he was assassinated shortly after winning the California Democratic primary in his run for president in 1968.

Vanocur was probably most familiar to TV viewers from his reporting on the floor of political conventions, including the violent 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago. He and three NBC colleagues who reported on the conventions, Frank McGee, John Chancellor and Edwin Newman, became known as the Four Horsemen. Vanocur was the last survivor of the four.

He was also the last survivor of the four questioners at the Nixon-Kennedy debate. Vanocur said while he had a front-row seat to one of the most important moments in 20th century politics, he felt like he missed it because he hadn’t seen it like a viewer would have.

[TTX]

Just a continual reminder how much cancer sucks.

[Bazzy]

Dutch (Netherlands) footballer (soccer) Fernando Ricksen died aged 43 from motor neurone disease . Played for (teams) Fortuna Sittar , AZ , Glasgow Rangers , Zenit Saint Petersburg and international team Holland . R.I.P