Posts Tagged ‘RIP’

Gary Coleman’s young “widow” has fallen under suspicion in the late star’s fatal fall on the heels of the release of a bizarre 911 call placed last Wednesday and a new report from Coleman’s former lawyer — who claims Gary and Shannon were divorced at the time of the star’s death on Friday.

It was Shannon who made the decision to remove Gary from life support last week, but if she was not his wife at the time, its highly-unlikely the 24-year-old redhead had the legal right to do so.

The two divorced on August 12, 2008, according to Randy Kester, Gary’s onetime lawyer, who handled the divorce.

Shannon has also raised eyebrows with her cool demeanor in a damning call to emergency dispatchers. She seems almost unwilling to do anything that may help Gary, who suffered an intracranial hemmorhage after allegedly falling in the couple’s Utah home on May 26.

“I really don’t know what happened! There’s a lot of blood on the floor…. There’s blood all over. And I can’t do anything.” “It’s on the back of his head,” Price tells the dispatcher, adding that she “can’t be near the blood” because she has seizures. “He’s conscious,” she says. “But he’s not with it. … I don’t know if he had a seizure or … what.” You can hear her telling him, “Gary, you have to put pressure on your wound.”

“I just can’t be here with the blood. I’m sorry, I can’t do it. I can’t… There’s blood all over and I can’t do anything,” she told the emergency dispatcher. “I’m gagging, I got blood on myself, I can’t deal.”
Very Shady!!!

Former child star Gary Coleman has died aged 42 following a brain hemorrhage, according to a hospital statement.

The diminutive Coleman starred in the hit TV series Diff’rent Strokes from 1978 to 1986 as a plucky Harlem eight-year-old adopted by a wealthy white family.

He died early on Friday at the Utah Valley Regional Medical Centre in Provo, Utah, when he had been in a coma, the hospital said. He reportedly suffered a brain hemorrhage after falling and hitting his head at his nearby home on Wednesday night.

“Family members and close friends were at his side when life support was terminated,” said a hospital statement. “Family members express their appreciation and gratitude for the support and prayers that have been expressed for Gary and for them.”

Born in Zion, Illinois in February 1968, Coleman had been inflicted with health problems throughout his life. A rare kidney defect meant that he never grew more than 1.42 metres and forced him to undergo two kidney transplants before the age of 14.

He is estimated to have earned more than $18 million from his showbiz career, but his profligate spending ways left him bankrupt by 1999.

He is survived by his wife Sharon Price, whom he married in August 2007.

The acclaimed jazz singer Lena Horne has died in New York, aged 92.

The great-granddaughter of a freed slave is credited with smashing racial barriers in a career starting in the 1930s.

She got her first break at Harlem’s Cotton Club, where black performers played for wealthy white audiences.

But by the early 1940s, she had become the first black entertainer to sign a major Hollywood deal, paving the way for future generations of black superstars.

When Halle Berry became the first black woman to win the best actress Oscar in 2002, she paid tribute to Horne and said that “this moment” belonged to her.

Twice-married Horne was known for her uncompromising stand on civil rights.

She once said: “I was always battling the system to try to get to be with my people. Finally, I wouldn’t work for places that kept us out… it was a damn fight everywhere, every place I worked, in New York, Hollywood, all over the world”.

Career highlights included a lead role in 1943 all-black movie Stormy Weather – her signature song. She also appeared on Broadway in the 1957 musical Jamaica and won a special Tony award for her 1981 one-woman show, as well as two Grammys.

Despite her achievements mother-of-two Horne always claimed she was defined by her colour. But she said: “I wouldn’t trade my life for anything because being black made me understand.”

RIP

The World of Hip Hop has lost one of its greatest artists!!!
Rapper Keith “Guru” Elam, best known as the former frontman of the group Gang Starr, died after a long bout with cancer on April 19, leaving behind a letter to his fans and prompting an outpouring of love on the web.
Guru and his Gang Starr partner DJ Premier helped define the sound of New York’s underground hip hop scene in the 1990s, according to MTV.

“Their unique sound combined Premier’s production palette, which leaned heavily on sampled jazz records and scratched vocals on the choruses, with Guru’s uncompromising rhymes,” MTV’s Gil Kaufman reports. MTV has put up a collection of interviews with Guru, including one in which he discusses hip hop’s influence on pop culture.
Guru’s longtime collaborator Solar released a statement, saying, “The world has lost one of the best MCs and hip-hop icons of all-time — my loyal best friend, partner, and brother, Guru. Guru has been battling cancer for well over a year and has lost his battle!”
Solar says the rapper wrote a letter to his fans while in the hospital. “I, Guru, am writing this letter to my fans, friends and loved ones around the world,” it starts. “I have had a long battle with cancer and have succumbed to the disease. I have suffered with this illness for over a year. I have exhausted all medical options.”

RIP Brother!!!

You can watch some of Guru’s Music Video with his group Gang Starr in the Video Section

The Dapartment of Arts and Culture will pay tribute to Makeba by hosting festival from November 7th to 9th in Gauteng. This includes a free, public concert at the Union Buildings in Pretoria on November 7th, just two days ahead of the first anniversary of the music icon’s death on November 9th 2008.

In a recent speech, Minister of Arts and Culture, Lulu Xingwana said: “Today we pay tribute to the first African cultural activist to address the United Nations General Assembly, ‘Mama Afrika’, Miriam Zenzile Makeba, whom all of us remember as a songstress, tireless activist and a selfless patriot.”

The National Heritage Council has also thrown its weight behind the event as part of its vision to be the leading agent for the preservation, protection and promotion of the South African heritage, both tangible and intangible, for sustainable development.

Family spokesperson and Makeba’s grandson, Nelson Lumumba Lee said: “The Miriam Makeba concert is very important to us, her family, as it means that the world will never forget Miriam Makeba and we are delighted to celebrate with the rest of the country on the day.”

Makeba passed away on 9th November 2008 shortly after performing on stage in Castel Volturno in Southern Italy whilst lending her support to a just cause.