Summer of Death?
- From: birdparents@xxxxxxxxx (S. R. Newport)
- Date: Tue, 22 Sep 2009 04:26:21 -0400
JAKE COYLE | AP, KJIH-TV Media
From Walter Cronkite to Sen. Ted Kennedy, the nonstop loss of luminariescontinued.
If a filmmaker were trying to capture the summer of 2009, Michael
Jackson news would be playing in the background. Many thought coverage
of Jackson's death was too much; a Pew Research Center poll released in
July found that 64 percent of those surveyed thought the media blitz was
overdone (though none could top MTV Japan, which designated an entire
week of mourning for Jackson).
But news outlets went heavy on coverage for the many others who passed.
Collectively, it made the constant commemorating hard to escape,
especially for anyone active on social networks and the Web.
The phrase "summer of death" popped up, perhaps first used by New York
magazine, which cheekily claimed the trademark.
There's no particular reason for such an aberration; the death rate is
typically higher during winter.
Early May saw the passing of the beloved Dom DeLuise, 75. But the portly
entertainer was only a springtime harbinger of what was to follow.
On June 4, the "Kung Fu" actor David Carradine, 72, was found dead in a
Bangkok hotel room.
On June 23, Ed McMahon, the loyal "Tonight" show sidekick to Johnny
Carson, died at the age of 86.
Just two days later, two icons of Generation X died. First was the news
that Farrah Fawcett, the `70s sex symbol and "Charlie´s Angels" star
had died of cancer at 62. Late in the day, came the more unbelievable
reports that Jackson had died.
Jackson's cultural importance alone would have been enough to keep his
passing in the news cycle for weeks. But the complex nature of his
estate and the murky details surrounding his death (eventually labeled a
homicide by the medical examiner's office) insured Jackson remained on
front pages and on cable news crawls. He was only buried on Sept. 3.
Prosecutors are still investigating.
Before the end of June, the TV pitchman Billy Mays died. Like Jackson,
he was just 50.
Early July saw the passing of Robert S. McNamara, 93. The Pentagon chief
who directed the escalation of the Vietnam War ? and was vilified by
many for it.
Walter Cronkite, who memorably commented in 1968 that Vietnam appeared
an unwinnable stalemate, died on July 17. A voice of authority and the
premier TV anchorman of the century, Cronkite's death was felt across
journalism.
Don Hewitt, the TV news pioneer who created "60 Minutes" and was, like
Cronkite, a CBS legend, died later in the summer on Aug. 19. That was
just a day after the passing of political columnist Robert Novack.
Two days after Cronkite's death was Frank McCourt's. The teacher and
"Angela's Ashes" author, died of cancer at the age of 78. Perhaps more
than anyone, the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer blazed the trail of the
popular modern memoir.
August saw the death of writer-director John Hughes, whose films such as
"The Breakfast Club," "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" and "Sixteen Candles"
defined `80s youth. Hughes was 59.
On Aug. 11, Eunice Kennedy Shriver died. Famous to some for being the
sister of President John F. Kennedy, Shriver's great accomplishment was
founding the Special Olympics.
Two days later, Les Paul died at the age of 94. His contributions to
music can't be underestimated; he developed multitrack recording and the
solid-body electric guitar.
And just two weeks after Shriver's death, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy died at
his home in Hyannis Port at the age of 77 after battling a brain tumor.
The liberal lion of the Senate served for 46 years in Washington where
he helped pass countless laws on many parts of civic life, from civil
rights to health care.
The glamorous New York author Dominick Dunne, who specialized in stories
about the rich and famous, died on Aug. 26 at the age of 83. Two days
later followed DJ AM, the 36-year-old celebrity disc jockey.
Last week, Patrick Swayze. The "Dirty Dancing" actor, 57, lost his long
fight with pancreatic cancer. But even he wasn't the last.
With just days of summer officially remaining, perhaps ? and hopefully
? the last star to pass away in the summer of '09 was Mary Travers,
who was one-third of the `60s folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary. She died
Wednesday at the age of 72 after battling leukemia for several years.
And that summary still omits the passings of many others, including TV
actress Gale Storm, Academy Award-winning actor Karl Malden, music
manager Allen Klein, former NFL quarterback Steve McNair, British
conductor Sir Edward Downes, the jazz composer George Russell, and Merce
Cunningham, the avant-garde dancer and choreographer.
Together, those who died in the summer of 2009 came from seemingly every
phase of life. Among them were titans of the news business, moviemaking,
television, politics, music and literature.
.
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