Goodbyes
Michael Jackson to be buried on his birthday
Michael Jackson will be buried on what would have been his 51st birthday, his dad Joe Jackson told the AFP today.
Jackson’s birthday burial will take place at L.A.’s Forest Lawn Cemetary on August 29
Joe, 80, told the AFP that the burial would be a private event, although he could not say which family members would be present.
Jackson died June 25 of an apparent cardiac arrest, but the official cause of death will not be revealed until the final autopsy report is released by the Los Angeles County coroner’s office and the manslaughter investigation is complete, an official said last week.
Taco Bell dog dies
Forget Michael Jackson, let’s mourn a true international star. The Taco Bell dog has died.
Gidget, the chihuahua best known for her Taco Bell ad campaign, died from a stroke on Tuesday night at age 15.
“She made so many people happy,” Gidget’s trainer, Sue Chipperton said. She was still active to the end – in February, the pooch was at a Hollywood animals photo shoot in February.
The mostly-retired canine actor lived out her days laying in the sun.
“I like to joke that it’s like looking after a plant,” said Chipperton and entertaining at shoots when her trainer brought her along.
“Gidget always knew where the camera was,” said Chipperton.
Adios, Gidget, adios.
Farrah Fawcett’s final moments
Farrah Fawcett’s final moments were sealed with a smile, according to Ryan O’Neal.
The “Charlie’s Angels” actress, who lost her battle with anal cancer last month at age 62, clung to life for much longer than her doctors thought she would, O’Neal added in an interview with “The Today Show”.
“Doctors thought that she would live just another couple of hours, and she lived a couple of days. So I had a bed put in the room for me. And I just lay by her side. She wouldn’t – move on. She wouldn’t pass,” he recalled.
“In her dying moments, Farrah just looked at us with a slight smile and then all the machines flat lined. She was gone.”
O’Neal also discssed the last time their son Redmond spoke to his mother on a phone call.
Redmond, serving a stretch in prison on felony drugs charges, was not allowed to visit Farrah on her deathbed, but was given permission to attend her funeral.
Regarding the final phone call, O’Neal explained: “I think it was about regret. And the horror of not being able to see her again, and the promise of a good life – one she would be proud of. He has a wonderful plan in mind to restore order in his life. And he will, with my help.”
Redmond is struggling to come to terms with the loss of his mother, but his father deals with his grief by writing to her.
“In her final moments, I said I’d see her soon, and I see her every day. I write to her in my journal. Redmond says it’s harder to grieve, but I told him to be patient. And when he got out, we’d grieve together,” said O’Neal.
“I’m using what she taught me to survive, to go on. I have launched into this massive job of answering the mail that has come in for her over the last few weeks. Hundreds and hundreds of letters of pain and sorrow and hope. I’m answering every one of them. That’s my life now.”
David Carradine found dead
There are some actors who die and an entire generation will mourn. David Carradine is that actor. The “Kill Bill” star was found dead in a Bangkok hotel room Wednesday, according to his manager. He was 72.
Chuck Binder said Carradine was staying in Bangkok while shooting a movie. The film crew noticed his absence when they went out to eat Wednesday and when a producer went to his room, he discovered that the actor had died.
A statement on behalf of his family has yet to be released, but Binder called the death “shocking and sad.”
The cause of death is under investigation, but The Nation claims that an unidentified Thai police source said the actor was found hung in his hotel room from curtain rope in an apparent suicide.
The Nation also reported that the hotel maid found Carradine’s half naked body in a closet Thursday morning and that there were no signs of a struggle or assault.
I (and legions of viewers) remember seeing him as a kid in “Kung Fu” and “Kung Fu: The Legend Continues.” The original show is about Kwai Chang Caine, a Shaolin priest traveling the 1800s American frontier West and in the sequel, he portrayed Caine’s grandson.
He returned to fame in recent years as the title character in Quentin Tarantino’s two-part saga “Kill Bill.”
Mike Tyson’s daughter dies after tragic accident
Police have confirmed that Mike Tyson’s four-year-old daughter Exodus has died.
The child was hospitalized this weekend after getting tangled in a cord dangling from a treadmill in the family home.
She was found by her seven-year-old brother after she had accidentally hung herself from the apparatus. Her brother told the girl’s mother, who then removed the cable from the girl and called 911.
Tyson was in Las Vegas at the time and rushed home when he heard the news.
‘Spider-Man’ actress found dead
British film star Lucy Gordon was found dead in her Paris apartment. She appears to have committed suicide, according to French police.
Gordon appeared as a British reporter, Jennifer Dugan, in “Spider-Man 3.” She played Jane Birkin in the upcoming biopic on Serge Gainsbourg.
According to the London Times, Gordon was discovered in her apartment. The paper also quotes a news source as saying the actress’s boyfriend was asleep in the residence when she hanged herself. An autopsy has been ordered.
Friday would have marked her 29th birthday.
Celebrity deaths: Lynyrd Skynyrd bassist, Stanley Tucci’s wife
Lynryd Skynyrd bassist Donald “Ean” Evans died of cancer Wednesday at age 48.
A statement posted Thursday on lynyrdskynyrd.com announced Evans’ death “with profound sadness.” It said he had “put up a valiant battle with an aggressive form of cancer.”
Evans was born in Atlanta, but moved to Columbus, Mississippi after marrying his wife, Eva. He joined Lynyrd Skynyrd in 2001 and toured with them until 2008, when he was diagnosed with cancer.
In other Hollywood deaths, Stanley Tucci’s wife, Kate, also died of cancer last week. The actor hosted a wake for his wife of 14 years over the weekend. The couple have three children.
“My wife was an extraordinary person who showed us all what great strength is,” Tucci told the New York Daily News.
Dom DeLuise dies at 75
The world is a little sadder today. Comedian Dom DeLuise has passed away. DeLuise died Monday at a Los Angeles hospital at the age of 75, according to ET.
He starred in Mel Brooks classics like “Blazing Saddles,” “History of the World Part One” and “Space Balls” and hosted Candid Camera. He co-starred with Burt Reynolds in “Cannonball Run,” “Smokey and the Bandit 2″ and “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.”
“I was thinking the other day about this. As you get older you think about this more and more, I was dreading this moment,” said Reynolds in a statement. “Dom always made everyone feel better when he was around. I never heard him say an unkind word about anyone. I will miss him very much.”
DeLuise was married to actress Carol Arthur and has several children in the T.V. industry.
David Cook’s brother dies of brain cancer
David Cook is mourning the loss of his older brother today. The “American Idol” champ’s Web site reports that Adam Cook, 36, died of brain cancer early Sunday morning after an 11-year battle with the disease. The disease had spread to his spine.
David made the announcement at the 12th annual Race for Hope 5k run/walk in Washington, D.C., the proceeds of which benefit finding a cure for brain cancer. David and his team raised more than $97,000 for the cause.
His late brother was spotted in the audience April 2008 and saw David perform his rendition of Mariah Carey’s “Always Be My Baby.”
Residents of their hometown in Terre Haute, Indiana, raised $45,000 so that Adam could be flown in with the proper medical care.
Adam, a lawyer, leaves behind his wife, Kendra, and their children.
Travolta takes off to Tahiti
John Travolta has headed to Tahiti alone as he mourns the death of his son, Jett, earlier this year.
The actor flew from Australia Saturday morning in his private 707 to an upscale hotel, the Intercontinental Tahiti resort. There he stayed in a deluxe room with a lovely view, where he stayed until Sunday evening. He headed to the island four days after what would have been Jett’s 17th birthday after the he and his wife, Kelly Preston, vacationed in Melbourne for three days.
“He told the hotel manager, ‘I don’t want to see anyone. I only want to rest,’” a source told PEOPLE. He did pose briefly for a photo with three tourist bureau greeters.
After the death of his 16-year-old son from a seizure disorder in January, Travolta and Preston have mostly stayed home with their daughter, Ella Bleu.
A source who knows Travolta said, “He is still in mourning about his son. This is not easy and everyone has their own process. He’s always there for his family but he is still healing.”
Kieran Culkin coping with sister’s loss
After the sudden and unexpected death of Dakota Culkin in a car accident in December, Kieren Culkin threw himself into his work.
He almost decided to step away from Hollywood to cope with the grief, but persevered with promotion for his upcoming movie, “Lymelife,” to get him through.
He told Interview magazine, “It’s been a rough couple of months. I won’t speak for anyone else, but I’m doing okay.
“That’s the point of doing this interview and stuff. For a little while there, I wasn’t going to do any press. I wasn’t going to do Sundance. This was all a sort of getting-out-of-bed-and-start-walking thing.”
He has plenty of work to keep him busy with five movies in the pipeline, “Margaret” (completed), “Paper Man” in post-production, “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” filming, “The Other Side” in pre-production and “The Stanford Prison Experiment” announced.
Jade Goody’s widower visits her grave
Jack Tweed didn’t attend the funeral of his wife, Jade Goody, in order to take her two sons to Australia for their own heartfelt goodbyes, but he made an emotional trip to her grave Saturday.
Two friends came along as he left flowers and a large Easter egg next to the cross marking her plot in Essex, England.
“Jack is finding it very hard and is doing everything he can to be as close to Jade as possible,” Goody’s rep, Max Clifford, told PEOPLE. “Jack’s close friends have been very supportive of him as well.”
Goody died at age 27 on March 22 after a long battle with cervical cancer. Her very public funeral took place April 4.
“It is difficult for Jack. Remember, he is only a 21-year-old and a lot went on over the last few weeks,” said Clifford. “There was his wedding, the christening and then Jade died. At the moment Jack is taking one day at a time and he will probably be like that for a long time to come.”
Friday it was announced that Goody will be immortalized in a wax figure. Tweed, however, will be begging for the mercy of the court soon. He will be sentenced in an assault case next Thursday. Unless he beat the crap out of a nun, I’m going to go with no jail, kids.
Dungeons and Dragons co-creator dies at age 61
Geeks around the world are in mourning, Dave Arneson, one of the co-creators of the Dungeons and Dragons and a pioneer of role-playing entertainment, died Thursday at age 61.
Arneson had battled cancer for two years. His daughter, Malia Weinhagen said her father died peacefully Tuesday in hospice care in St. Paul.
He and Gary Gygax developed DnD in 1974 using medieval characters and mythical creatures. The game known for its oddly shaped dice and attraction to geeks and the socially awkward.
Gygax died in March 2008.
“The biggest thing about my dad’s world is he wanted people to have fun in life,” Weinhagen said. “I think we get distracted by the everyday things you have to do in life and we forget to enjoy life and have fun.
“But my dad never did,” she said. “He just wanted people to have fun.”
Jade Goody’s sons say a private farewell
While thousands had a very public goodbye to Jade Goody on Saturday, her sons had a simple, private tribute while on vacation in Australia with their father, Jeff Brazier.
Bobby, 5, and Freddie, 5, wrote messages to their late mother, drew pictures and put them in a bottle. They sealed the bottle and dropped it into the ocean.
It was Goody’s decision not to have her sons at the funeral because she felt they were too young and it would be too upsetting for them. Her ex agreed to take them to Australia, out of the public eye.
On Saturday, Bobby and Freddie colored pictures and wrote special messages to her. One read, “We love you Mummy and we miss you Mummy.”
Earlier in the week, the kids had written a message for their mom to be included with flowers. It read:
“To Mummy,
Please speak to God and ask him to make the clouds go away on holiday because we can’t see the stars.
We love you very much and speak about you every day, we know you are with us when we play on the beach, eat our dinner and even when we are colouring in pictures for you, we know we can talk to you and you’ll hear us.
You are always in our thoughts and in our hearts mum, we are proud of you and you’ll never to be forgotten.
We miss you, love your little men, Bobby and Freddie.
xx”
That sound you hear is my heart breaking for these poor kids.
Crowds say farewell to Jade Goody
Thousands of mourners said their goodbyes to reality star Jade Goody today. Her funeral, like much of her life, was a media event.
Goody, originally made famous on the UK “Big Brother” show, died of cancer March 22 at age 27, not long after marrying fiance Jack Tweed.
A flower-laden vintage Rolls Royce hearse, followd by photographers and a television helicopter mad eits way from St. John the Baptist Church in Buckhurst Hill, just east of London, where large television screens were installed to relay the service to the public.
Her publicist said Goody wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.
“She will have a big smile on her face when she sees what is going on today,” Clifford told reporters before the burial.
Those gathered to attend the funeral Saturday said Goody – known simply as Jade – was a British everywoman made good.
“She was just a real woman who always put her kids first to the end,” said mother-of-seven Kirsty Brooks, 34, who traveled more than seven hours with her three sisters to witness the funeral.
Goody was carried in a white coffin from the church as mourners applauded.
Clifford said Goody would have been pleased with the attention.
“In life she loved being loved and it is pretty clear that this is the overwhelming feeling today,” Clifford said.
Jade Goody’s sons to miss service
British reality star Jade Goody’s public funeral is set for Saturday and while thousands of mourners and media are expected to attend, her two young sons aren’t. Goody, 27, died March 22 after a long battle with cancer.
Bobby, 5, and Freddy, 4, will instead travel to Australia with their father, TV presenter Jeff Brazier.
Among the celebrity mourners is Michael Jackson. The singer sent his condolences to Goody’s mother, Jackiey Budden, and Goody’s husband Jack Tweed.
“He sent a message saying Jade was a ‘very brave girl.’ He said ‘You must be very proud of her and what she achieved, that so man lives will be saved because of her,’” said family spokesman Max Clifford. “He sent them his condolences and said that he will be sending flowers for the funeral this weekend.”
‘Angel’ castmember Andy Hallett dead at 33
Andy Hallett has sung his swan song. The actor who starred as Lorne (“The Host”) on “Angel” died of heart failure Sunday night at the young age of 33, according to his agent and friend Pat Brady.
Hallett passed away at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles after a five-year battle with heart disease, with his father Dave Halllett by his side.
The actor, who portrayed the friendly demon on more than 70 episodes of “Angel” also sang on the show’s soundtrack “Angel: Live Fast, Die Never,” released in 2005.
After Angel, Hallett pursued a music career, playing around the country. He was admitted to the hospital over the years for his condition.
A private funeral service is planned for family and close friends in Cape Cod, most likely over this weekend.
A life saved by Richardson’s loss
A small good has come from the tragic death of Natasha Richardson. CNN is reporting an Ohio girl’s life was saved as the result of the publicity about head injuries.
Morgan McCracken, 7, was hit in the head with a baseball during a game with her family and seemed fine for two days after. She even earned an A on a spelling test, but news of her Richardson’s death prompted Morgan’s parents to wonder if things were OK.
That night, when Morgan began complaining of a headache, her parents took her to the ER. Doctors discovered the same injury as Richardson and rushed the girl to a children’s hospital by helicopter, a luxury Richardson didn’t have. Morgan had surgery and is now doing fine.
“(Our doctor) told us that if we hadn’t brought her in Thursday night, she never would have woken up,” Mr McCracken told CNN.
In related news, Liam Neeson returned to work late last week after his wife’s funeral services. Neeson was spotted sitting alone at the bar of the Hazelton Hotel in Toronto, where he’s shooting “Chloe” with Julianne Moore.
“It was so sad,” a source told the New York Daily News. “He looked like he was in an Edward Hopper print.”
Richardson’s sister, Joely Richardson, also returned to work last week. A rep for Neeson said the actor did return to work and “completed the movie.”
Report: Richardson’s organs donated
Natasha Richardson’s family has decided to give the gift of life, according to People.com. According to an unnamed “family friend,” the actress’s family has donated the Richardson’s organs to save other patients’ lives.
The source said Richardson’s family had requested her organs be donated after she was taken off life support last week. No word on who may have received them.
Alan Nierob, publicist for Richardson’s husband Liam Neeson, said he had no information on the matter.
Richardson died March 18 of a head injury that caused bleeding on the brain after a fall during a beginners’ ski lesson in Montreal two days before.
Friends say goodbye as questions arise over Natasha Richardson’s death
This weekend family and friends will say goodbye to Natasha Richardson. Friday, the star’s husband, Liam Neeson, their two sons, family and close friends like actors Matthew Modine, Ralph Fiennes, Uma Thurman, Ethan Hawke and Sarah Jessica Parker; director Mike Nichols and amfAR head Mathilde Krim (Richardson had served on the charity’s board of trustees since 2006) gathered for a wake at the American Irish Historical Society in Manhattan on Friday. Neeson was the last to leave the viewing, at about 8:40 p.m. after more than six hours of receiving condolences.
On Sunday, Richardson will be buried in a private family ceremony near her Millbrook Dutchess County home in New York.
Police are preparing for traffic congestion and huge crowds to head to Millbrook to pay tribute to the late star, who died on Wednesday after suffering a traumatic brain injury while learning to ski in Montreal, Canada.
Questions have arisen about her medical treatment at the time of her accident. The province of Quebec lacks a medical helicopter system to airlift stricken patients to major trauma centers, a service common in the United States and other parts of Canada. Now Montreal’s top head trauma doctor told the Associated PressFriday that may have played a role in Richardson’s death.
“It’s impossible for me to comment specifically about her case, but what I could say is … driving to Mont Tremblant from the city (Montreal) is a two and a half hour trip, and the closest trauma center is in the city. Our system isn’t set up for traumas and doesn’t match what’s available in other Canadian cities, let alone in the States,” said Tarek Razek, director of trauma services for the McGill University Health Centre, which represents six of Montreal’s hospitals.
Richardson’s initial refusal of medical treatment cost her two hours, but after that she also had to be driven to two hospitals. She didn’t arrive at a specialized hospital in Montreal until about four hours after the second 911 call from her hotel room at the Mont Tremblant resort, according to a timeline published by Canada’s The Globe and Mail newspaper.
The lack of an airlift directly to that trauma center might have cost Richardson crucial moments, Razek said.
“A helicopter is obviously the fastest way to get from Point A to Point B,” he said.
After Richardson’s fall on the beginning slopes, the first ambulance crew left when they spotted a sled taking the still-conscious actress away to the resort’s on-site clinic.
A second 911 call was made two hours later from Richardson’s hotel room as the actress deteriorated. Medics tended to her for a half-hour before taking her to a hospital about a 40-minute drive away.
Centre Hospitalier Laurentien in Ste-Agathe does not specialize in head traumas, so her speedy transfer to Sacre Coeur Hospital in Montreal was critical, said Razek.
“It’s one of the classic presentations of head injuries, ‘talking and dying,’ where they may lose consciousness for a minute, but then feel fine,” said Razek.
