Obituaries Notable people that have passed

2016 turning out to be the year the music died.
 
An 85 year-old Sydney man named Don Ritchie died a few days ago. He was a retired insurance salesman who had served in the Royal Australian Navy in World War II and lived for the last half-century in a house in Watson's Bay where he and his wife had raised their three daughters. So what made him notable?

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The cliffs in the picture above are known as "The Gap". For over a century, suicidal Sydney-siders have been taking their own lives by jumping from The Gap. About 50 people die there each year. Don Ritchie was known as the "Angel of the Gap". His house was on the edge of that park on the right and for 50 years he had been talking people back from the edge, before taking them home for a cup of tea. He was credited with saving at least 160 lives.
 
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Hilary Putnam, Philosopher, one of the most important minds from the so-called "second generation" of Analytic Philosophers. Unlike contemporaries like G.E.M. Anscombe or W.V.O. Quine, he did not have enough first names for a fancy abbreviation. But he was arguably the most influential philosopher of his age when it comes to pop culture: He popularized the thought experiment of "brains in a vat", which stated that we can not know whether our perceptions are real or if we are just brains in a vat hooked up to a computer simulation. That he demmed this to be nonsensical is beside the point - what is important is that it became the plot of The Matrix movies.
 
His recent Commedians in Cars...episode was entitled, "Garry Shandling is Still Alive". :(
 
Patty Duke passed away at the age of 69 from a ruptured intestine.

Her son Sean Astin released this statement-

?This morning, our beloved wife, mother, grandmother, matriarch and the exquisite artist, humanitarian, and champion for mental health, Anna PATTY DUKE Pearce, closed her eyes, quieted her pain and ascended to a beautiful place. We celebrate the infinite love and compassion she shared through her work and throughout her life.?
 
This is very sad. I'm not the biggest fan of her work, but she was a genuine visionary and had the ability and drive to turn fantasy into reality.


Zaha Hadid, Groundbreaking Architect, Dies at 65



Getting any building built, even with 100% standard construction and ordinary details is a monumental effort. To make things like this happen takes and unbelievable amount of dedication.
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he-he said:
Ronnie Corbett :(
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It is sad but he had a good innings. I never quite understood the appeal of Morecambe and Wise but I was very fond the Two Ronnies. I know it was Barker who was the real genius but Corbett was a great foil for him and they worked extremely well together.
 
Erik Bauersfeld, Admiral Ackbar Voice Actor in 'Star Wars' Films, Dies at 93

He also voiced Bib Fortuna in 1983's 'Return of the Jedi.'

Erik Bauersfeld, who memorably voiced the Rebellion's Admiral Ackbar in Return of the Jedi and Star Wars: The Force Awakens, has died. He was 93.

The voice actor and radio drama producer passed away on Sunday morning at his home in Berkeley, Calif., his manager, Derek Maki, confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter.

In the 1983 space opera, Bauersfeld voiced Ackbar? delivering the iconic line, "It's a trap!" ? when the fate of the alliance looks grim during the Death Star fleet attack.

He also voiced Jabba the Hutt's staffer Bib Fortuna in the same film. He returned to voice Ackbar in last year's J.J. Abrams-directed blockbuster Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Bauersfeld's other roles include voice work in last year's Guillermo Del Toro film Crimson Peak and Steven Spielberg's 2001 film A.I. Artificial Intelligence.

"The voice work I did in movies was accidental," wrote Bauersfeld on the website for his non-profit, Bay Area Radio Drama. "I was working with Randy Thom on radio dramas at his technical quarters at Lucasfilm. One day Ben Burtt, sound designer for Star Wars, came by and asked if I would audition for a voice in the movie."

He is also credited with voiceover work for the Ackbar character in Star Wars: X-Wing, a 1993 flight simulator video game.
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