Category: Obituaries

Michael O’Hare: 1952-2012

Michael O'HareJ. Michael Straczynski posted earlier today on Facebook that Babylon 5 star Michael O’Hare has died at the age of 60.

I regret that I must convey the sad news that Michael O’Hare passed away today. He suffered a heart attack on Sunday and was in a coma until his passing this afternoon. This is a terrible loss for all B5 fans and everyone involved with the show wishes to convey their condolences to the O’Hare family. He was an amazing man.

Michael O’Hare was born in Chicago, Illinois. He attended Harvard University, majoring in English literature, and studied at the prestigious Juilliard School of Drama, as well as with Sanford Meisner. He appeared in a number of theatrical productions on Broadway and in the New York area, including an acclaimed revival of Shaw’s Man and Superman with Philip Bosco and originating the role of Col. Jessup in the original stage version of A Few Good Men (the role played by Jack Nicholson in the film version) He was the first white actor nominated by the black theater community of New York for the AUDELCO Award for the Best Actor for his performance in the play Shades of Brown which examined the effects of apartheid in South Africa.

In 1992, he was cast in Babylon 5 in the lead role of Commander Jeffrey Sinclair. O’Hare remained with the series for the first season, and came back for appearances in the second and third season. He had various appearances in other TV shows, from Law & Order to The Trial Of The Incredible Hulk.

I had a few conversations with Michael over the years, though I hadn’t seen him in almost half a decade. He was a kind and gentle man, and much funnier than his roles would have made you think. And his voice makes for one of the best intros to a science fiction series ever:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtrUhIuEqdY[/youtube]

Our condolences to his family and friends.

Jerry Nelson: 1934-2012

This is a Muppet News Flash: Puppeteer Jerry Nelson, the man behind Sesame Street muppet Count von Count, died yesterday at age 78. Nelson, a cast member of the show for over 40 years, also brought to life the characters Herry Monster, Fat Blue, Sherlock Hemlock and the Amazing Mumford.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfDNgzKlSfQ[/youtube]

Nelson’s first job with the Muppets was The Jimmy Dean Show in 1965 as Rowlf the Dog’s right hand man, literally. After learning that the Muppets were used on Sesame Street, he rejoined Henson and Oz as a puppeteer, beginning in the second season. He received a number of his major characters early in the show’s run, including the Sherlock Holmes parody Sherlock Hemlock, a hapless magician named The Amazing Mumford, and the overly strong but sensitive Herry Monster (1970–2012). His most famous character is the arithmomaniac vampire Count von Count, which he voiced until his death. He was also the first puppeteer to perform Mr. Snuffleupagus. Jerry Nelson also made a cameo appearance as the giant in the “Sesame Street News” story of Jack and the Beanstalk.

Nelson also performed many characters on The Muppet Show, including Sgt. Floyd Pepper (the bassist of the Electric Mayhem band), Pigs in Space star Dr. Julius Strangepork, the boomerang fish-throwing Lew Zealand, Kermit the Frog’s nephew Robin the Frog, Gonzo’s girlfriend Camilla the Chicken, and the Phantom of the Muppet Show, Uncle Deadly. On Fraggle Rock he performed Gobo Fraggle, Pa Gorg and Marjory the Trash Heap.

Nelson has also performed character voices in Sesame Street cartoons and Private Public from Sheep in the Big City.

He reprised the role of the announcer in [[[The Muppets]]]. His final performance as the said announcer was part of the Jim Henson’s Musical World concert at Carnegie Hall.

Our condolences to his family, friends and fans.

 

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Josepha Sherman

Josepha Sherman: 1946-2012

Josepha ShermanJosepha Sherman, folklorist, anthologist, and science fiction and fantasy author and editor, has died at the age of 65.

Josepha published many books over the years, know equally for her tie-in work on Star Trek, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Highlander, Gene Roddenberry’s Andromeda, and Xena, her original fiction such as the Prince of the Sidhe series, her anthologies such as Rachel the Clever: And Other Jewish Folktales and Urban Nightmares (which happened to be where my first original short story, “Dark Of Night”, was published) and her academic and educational books.

Her last fiction book was Epiphany: Vulcan’s Soul Trilogy Book Three, co-written with Susan M. Shwartz. Her masterwork, the 904 page Storytelling: An Encyclopedia of Mythology and Folklore which she edited and contributed to heavily, was published in 2008. With her focus on pop culture and folklore, collaborator Mercedes Lackey called Josepha “the common man’s Joseph Campbell”.

She was also a tremendous fan of the ponies, and she would invariably greet me whenever we met with, “So, who do you like in the (insert next big horse race here)?”

Funeral services will be held in Connecticut on Monday. Details to follow.

Our condolences to all her friends and fans.

stainless-steel-rat-1-1192910

Harry Harrison: 1925-2012

stainless-steel-rat-1-1192910Harry Harrison, best known for his character Jim DiGriz, the Stainless Steel Rat, and the novel Make Room! Make Room! (adapted into film as Soylent Green) died yesterday at the age of 87.

Harrison started as a comics illustrator in 1947, notably with EC Comics’ two science fiction comic books, Weird Fantasy and Weird Science, as well as a short stint on Blackhawk for Quality, and various war, western, and romance comics– even western romance comics. Harrison was one of Wally Wood’s early employers and the man who brought Woody to EC.

He also edited comics in the 50s for very small publishers. He used house names such as Wade Kaempfert and Philip St. John to edit magazines, and has published other fiction under the names Felix Boyd, Hank Dempsey, and even as Leslie Charteris on the novel Vendetta For The Saint. Harrison also wrote for syndicated comic strips, creating the Rick Random character and writing the Flash Gordon comic strip during the 50s and 60s.

Harrison is now much better known for his writing, particularly his humorous and satirical science fiction, such as the Stainless Steel Ratseries (which was adapted into a comics series by Kelvin Gosnell and Carlos Ezquerra) and the novel Bill, the Galactic Hero (which satirizes Robert A. Heinlein’s Starship Troopers). But he may be best known for Make Room! Make Room! which was adapted into film under the title Soylent Green— which (spoiler alert) is delicious.

He is survived by two children, Todd and Moira. Our condolences to his family, friends, and fans.

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Joe Kubert, 1926 – 2012

Joe Kubert, one of the greatest masters of the comics art form, died today after a short illness, three weeks short of his 86th birthday.

Best known as the artist of the long-running war feature Sgt. Rock, Joe was almost equally well-known for his work on both the golden age and silver age Hawkman and on such features as Enemy Ace, Tarzan, Firehair, Tor (which he created for St. John’s comics in the 1950s and owned and returned to throughout his life), the Tales of the Green Beret newspaper strip, and numerous other features and countless covers. In his later years he wrote and drew a great many graphic novels, both original creations (Jew Gangster, Fax from Sarajevo, Yossel) and based upon his well-established Tor and Sgt. Rock characters. DC is currently publishing his work as an inker on Before Watchman: Nite Owl, pencilled by his son Andy. He also served as an editor at DC Comics in the 1970s.

Over the years Joe received numerous awards, including the Harvey Awards’ Jack Kirby Hall of Fame and the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame. These honors are dwarfed by his legion of respecting collaborators, fans, students, and medium fellows.

Perhaps his greatest and most enduring contribution to the medium was his establishment in 1976 of The Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art in Dover, New Jersey, which teaches the craft of comics and boasts such graduates as Timothy Truman, “Rags” Morales, Amanda Conner, Shane Davis, Tom Mandrake, Stephen Bissette, Jan Duursema, Rick Veitch, Matt Hollingsworth, Karl Kesel, Scott Kolins, Steve Lieber, Dave Dorman, Eric Shanower, Alex Maleev, and Bart Sears. His sons, Andy and Adam, received special live-long training from their gifted father.

Joe’s wife Muriel had served as a model — intentionally and, one strongly suspects, unintentionally — lending her image to many of Kubert’s female characters. Muriel passed away in 2008. Their marriage ran an incredible 57 years.

In addition to Andy and Adam, the Kubert family also consisted of sons David and Danny and daughter Lisa Zangara, as well as numerous grandchildren.

A man whose broad smile triggered an enormously infectious laugh, Joe Kubert was one of those artists who looked like he had drawn himself into creation. A fast artist, he often amazed convention-goers by producing a fully-formed intricate Hawkman image in ink within minutes after starting with a couple simple lines drawn on paper. Much of his original art reveals he often did not produce finished pencils, relying upon sketchy blue-lined (non-reproducing) layouts before going on to final inks.

Much can — and will — be said about this pillar of American comics history. For now, we report his passing and our most profound condolences to his family, friends, and students.

Mary Tamm: 1950-2012

Doctor Who star Mary Tamm, who played companion Romana alongside Tom Baker, has died aged 62.

The actress, who was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, fought a long battle with cancer and died in hospital in London.

Agent Barry Langford, who confirmed the news, said she had a “zest for life”.

“She was a darling companion and wonderfully witty and kind,” said Tom Baker, who played the fourth Doctor. “I’m so sorry to hear of her death.”

Colin Baker, who played the sixth Doctor, wrote on Twitter: “Shellshocked to hear Mary Tamm is gone. A funny, caring, talented, lovely and down to earth lady.”

via BBC News – Doctor Who actress Mary Tamm dies.

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Sally Ride: 1951-2012

Sally Ride, the first American woman in space.
Sally K. Ride, the first U.S. woman to travel into space, died on Monday after a 17-month battle with pancreatic cancer, according to her organization, Sally Ride Science, in San Diego. She was 61.

Ride, a physicist, blasted off in the U.S. space shuttle “Challenger” on June 18, 1983.

“Sally’s historic flight into space captured the nation’s imagination and made her a household name,” Sally Ride Science said in a statement.

via Sally Ride, first U.S. woman in space, dies – Yahoo! News.

Robert L. Washington III, drawn by Chris Ivy

Robert L. Washington III: 1964-2012

Robert L. Washington III, drawn by Chris IvyRobert Lee Washington III, a comic book writer best known for writing the first 18 issues of Static for Milestone Media, passed away today after suffering from multiple heart attacks.

Robert had a heart attack yesterday afternoon. He collapsed, unconscious, and was rushed to Mount Sinai hospital in Queens. In the following twenty four hours, he had two additional heart attacks. His heart stopped at 7:18pm tonight and he passed away.

Robert first came to prominence in 1993 writing the debut of Static for the new Milestone Comics line, and later writing Shadow Cabinet. He also wrote Extreme Justice for DC Comics, The Good Guys for Defiant, and Ninjak for Acclaim.

In later years, he’d gone through some rough patches. He’d been homeless a few times, and had received assistance from the Hero Initiative to get back on his feet, but by all accounts was getting back on his feet. He’d even started writing comics again, and his last job was a one page autobiographical story for Hero Comics 2012, a benefit for the Hero Initiative that came out just last month.

His quirky sense of humor made his run on Static a classic. He will be missed.

 

Ray Bradbury, 1920 – 2012

Ray Bradbury, generally considered to be among America’s greatest writers, died Tuesday night in Los Angeles. He was 91.

The author of such modern classics as Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles, Something Wicked This Way Comes and Dandelion Wine, Ray Bradbury was born August 22, 1920, in Waukegan, Illinois, on Lake Michigan near the Wisconsin border. From these placid roots came a gargantuan imagination that gifted the world with nearly 30 novels and collections of his 600-plus short stories, helping the fantasy and science fiction genre shake the coils of its adolescent, bug-eyed monsters and big-breasted blondes image.

Heavily influenced as a child by futuristic imagery of Buck Rogers, Bradbury maintained his enthusiasm for the comics medium. When EC Comics William M. Gaines publisher “inadvertently borrowed” one of his stories for adaptation, Ray sent him a polite note informing Gaines that his payment check must have been lost in the mail. An enduring relationship quickly followed, and Bradbury’s work was adapted by such great artists as Wallace Wood and Al Williamson.

On a personal note, I had met Ray several times – the first at the premiere of his first play, The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit, directed by Stuart Gordon (later made into a movie by Gordon starring Edward James Olmos, Joe Mantegna, Esai Morales, Gregory Sierra and Michael Saad). One of those great moments in life came when I was asked to share an autograph table with Ray at the San Diego Comic Con; we spent some time talking about his fellow Waukeganite, Jack Benny. He was a marvelous, charming man – a surprisingly opinionated man who, despite his reputation as a science fiction author (which he denied; he was a fantasist), Ray Bradbury declined to fly in airplanes.

He helped inspire the imaginations of several generations. I can think of no greater tribute.

 

A.J. Confessore: 1969-2012

There really is no easy way to write an obituary, but it seems even harder to write one for a man who might be best known for going to comic book conventions in a banana suit.

Yet, sadly, we have to.

A.J. Confessore, comedian and rock and roll interviewer, died this week at the age of 43. A staple of the New York City comics scene since his days at NYU, he is perhaps best known to many comics fans as CC Banana, who would attend comic conventions in attire not unlike what we have pictured on the right. I remember him most recently dressed up as a Wolverine banana– presumably a banana that sliced itself.

“A.J. was one of the most creative and driven people I had ever known,” said Manhattan Comics & More’s Robert V. Conte. “While working at Village Comics in the early 1990s, I recognized his ambition and talent.  We became friends quickly sharing our love for comics, Kiss and Star Wars.  That friendship lasted almost 21 years.”

“A.J. was one of a few whom, I believe, could handle anything thrown at him, ” says Conte. “Unfortunately, he was unable to conquer some unusual inner demons that plagued him for years.  It’s a shame because A.J. had so much more to offer this world.  I’ll miss him deeply.”

So will we all.

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