Ric Ocasek passed away today at the age of 75 according to WPIX. He was found unresponsive in his townhome around 4p, and he was declared dead. No foul play is suspected.
He is best known as the lead singer of The Cars. The New Wave band formed in 1976. Their sound was a mixture of the ’60s Rock with a modern synthesized sound. As time went on, they were not only known for their defining tunes that evolved with age, but also for the music videos that went with them. In fact, You Might Think was the first Best Music Video at the MTV Awards.
They had several hits from ’76 until their first breakup in 1988. Songs like Just What I Needed, My Best Friend’s Girl, Good Times Roll, Shake It Up, You Might Think, Magic, Hello Again (which is my phone’s ringtone) and Tonight She Comes. Benjamin Orr, who sang Drive, passed away in 2000 from pancreatic cancer. Tonight, he is going to drive Ocasek home to heaven.
On that note, Ocasek met his wife Paulina Porizkova when she co-starred in the Drive music video. On May 2, 2018, she announced that they had “peacefully separated for the past year.” The couple has 2 sons, Jonathan Raven and Oliver. He has four other sons, Christopher, Adam, Eron and Derek, two from each of previous two marriages.
Also last year, The Cars were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The last time the band would perform with their lead.
Today, remember a man that helped to shape modern music by listening to their songs that will bring a smile to your face. They always do that for me.
Valerie Harper passed away today 8 days after her 80th birtday from a long battle with a rare type of brain cancer accoding to The Washington Post.
The actress is best known for playing Rhoda Morgenstern on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Rhoda. She was a wise cracking, fearless, independent woman, you could not help but to love. Since I am a girl from The Bronx, I grew up wanting to be her. In some ways, I am lot like Rhoda.
Before she became one of the biggest television stars of the ’70s, she starred on Broadway. After Rhoda, she still did plays, starred in a few more televsion shows along with many telemovies and movies.
She never stopped acting even when she started having health issues. In 2009, she was diagnosed with lung cancer. She beat it. However, in 2013, she was revealed she was suffering from leptomeningeal carcinomatosis and was told she had 6 months to live. Thanks to experimental treatments, 6 months turned into 6 years.
Today, let’s remember her with a huge smile, one as big as hers. I know I will be doing that.
Cameron Boyce passed away yesterday at the age of 20. The actor “passed away in his sleep due to a seizure which was a result of an ongoing medical condition for which he was being treated.”
Even though he was just 20 years old, he had been acting nonstop for over his half of life. Boyce is best known for playing Luke on Jessie and Carlos De Vil in the Descendants franchise. The third and final movie is slated to air August 2nd on Disney Channel.
Boyce was also the title voice of the popular kids’ cartoon Jake and the Never Land Pirates. Not only was he a Disney star, but he also played Adam Sandler’s on in Grown Ups and its sequel.
Along with Descendants 3, he has two other projects coming out. The television series Paradise City and the movie Runt.
Today, let’s honor this great talent that was taken away from us way too young and watch many of his enjoyable acting roles. I will be rewatching him in Descendants. He had such a bright future because he had such an amazing past.
My heart goes out to his family and friends. Remember to tell your loved ones that you love them because this is a reminder life is way too short.
The World is a lot less funny because Tim Conway passed away yesterday at the age of 85 from complications of Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus according to People.
Conway was always the funniest person in the room, ask anyone who worked with him. When I asked Betty White who was the only person who could make her break and she told me it was Tim Conway. No one would crack up more than his scene partner on The Carol Brunet Show, Harvey Korman. You almost felt bad for Korman but then you would think he got to experience Conway’s humor better than anyone.
Conway is most known for The Carol Burnett Show, but he was always acting. He appeared o several talk shows, The Shaggy DA, McHale’s Navy, The Apple Dumpling Gang, Married…with Children, Spongebob Squarepants, Hot In Cleveland and so many more.
No matter what he did, he made us laugh until we peed our pants. Today, honor him by laughing. Let out laughter lift him up to heaven where he can torture his good friend Harvey Korman again.
Georgia Engel passed away on Friday at the age of 70. According to ABC News, her friend said the cause of death is unknown because she was a Christian Scientist.
Engel is best known for playing the lovable, naive Georgette, who was smarter than everyone thought, on The Mary Tyler Moore. From that show on, she continued to act, sing and dance on television and on the stage. In fact, her last role was One Day at a Time just last year.
Between those two shows, her big welcoming smile was seen on Mork & Mindy, Coach, Passions, The Office, Two and a Half Men and Hot In Cleveland to name a few.
Along with those roles, she had a memorable one as Brad Garrett’s sweet and innocent mother-in-law with a little bit of a naughty side to her. To me that perfectly sums up the actress, she looks so sweet and innocent, but you can tell there is just some so naughty about her.
She just had a way about her that drew you to her. Her comedic timing came naturally. I have been watching her in repeats of The Mary Tyler Moore Show on Sundance Channel, and the newbie held her own against all of those comedic legends. In fact, sometimes she was even better than all of them. There was just so much light in that little package.
Today honor the Tinkerbell of the Hell’s Angels, as Don Rickles described her as, in one of her many great roles. Remember her with a smile as big as hers because I am sure that is how she would want to be remembered.
