R.I.P. Celebrities(Non Wrestlers or Sports related) 2023

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Trailblazing artist Radcliffe Bailey dies at 55 after battling brain cancer

Frequently incorporating a sound element, Bailey's sculptural assemblages and paintings evoked Black Americans' past, present and future via existing images and objects.

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Steve Norton, Who Oversaw Opening of First Atlantic City Casino, Dead at 89

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Terry R. Taylor, the first female sports editor at The Associated Press who ran the department from 1992-2013, died Tuesday. She was 71.

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Heath, Bassist of Rock Band X Japan, Dead at 55

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Conny Van Dyke, Motown Singer and ‘W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings’ Star, Dies at 78

In 1961, Van Dyke signed with Motown Records, making her one of the first white recording artists on the label. Her first two singles, “Oh, Freddy,” written by Smokey Robinson, and “It Hurt Me Too,” previously written and recorded by Marvin Gaye, were released in 1963.

In 1969, Van Dyke starred as Betsy, Jeremy Slate’s love interest, in the outlaw biker film “Hell’s Angels ’69.” Also starring in the film were Tom Stern, Steve Sandor, Sonny Barger and the Oakland Hells Angels motorcycle club as themselves. Van Dyke described filming the movie as “a terrifying, and yet, exhilarating experience.”

After starring in “Hell’s Angels ’69,” Van Dyke released two country albums, “Conny Van Dyke” and “Conny Van Dyke Sings for You.” In 1975, she also went on to star in “W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings” alongside Burt Reynolds and Art Carney and “Framed” as singer Susan Barrett with Joe Don Baker. Van Dyke made a slew of television appearances on “Adam-12,” “Barbary Coast” and “Nakia” with game show appearances on “The Hollywood Squares,” “Match Game,” “Tattletale” and “The Gong Show,” among others.

Van Dyke retired from acting in the late 1970s to take care of her son, but returned in 2008 with a guest role on “Cold Case” and, later, “CSI,” before suffering a stroke that left her partially paralyzed and from which she never fully recovered.

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SUZANNE SHEPHERD
'SOPRANOS' ACTRESS DEAD AT 89

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PETER SPELLOS ,,'TRANSFORMERS' STAR DEAD AT 69

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Former first lady Rosalynn Carter, the Georgia-bred former first lady and humanitarian who championed mental health care and provided constant political counsel to her husband, former President Jimmy Carter, died Sunday at her home in Plains, Georgia, according to The Carter Center. She was 96 years old.

The Carter Center said she died Sunday after living with dementia and suffering many months of declining health. Carter had entered hospice care at home on Friday.

The Carters were married for more than 77 years, forging what they both described as a “full partnership.” Unlike many previous first ladies, Rosalynn sat in on Cabinet meetings, spoke out on controversial issues and represented her husband on foreign trips. Aides to President Carter sometimes referred to her — privately — as “co-president.”

“Rosalynn is my best friend ... the perfect extension of me, probably the most influential person in my life,” Jimmy Carter told aides during their White House years, which spanned from 1977-1981.

Carter devoted herself to several social causes in the course of her public life, including programs that supported health care resources, human rights, social justice and the needs of elderly people.

The Carters shared four children and a combined 22 grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

[on_the_edge]

Life is weird. It was a few months ago that it looked like it would be President Carter that would pass but he has held on and now it is his lovely wife. RIP

[TTX]

RIP Rosalyn.