Top British Sitcom Writer John Sullivan Dies

Top British Sitcom Writer John Sullivan Dies
Saturday, 23 April 2011

British comedy writer John Sullivan, the creator of the much loved Only Fools and Horses television sitcom, has died. He was 64 years old.

British media say Sullivan died Saturday at a hospital in Surrey, south of London, battling viral pneumonia. He leaves behind wife Sharon, three children and two grandchildren.

Sullivan also wrote classics of the 1970s and 1980s including Citizen Smith and Just Good Friends, but it was his work on Only Fools and Horses that made him a much loved writer in television circles.

Actor David Jason, who played Del Boy in the sitcom, said, “Britain has lost the greatest comedy writer, but he also leaves us a great legacy — the gift of laughter.”

BBC Director General Mark Thompson said, “John Sullivan had a unique gift for turning everyday life and characters into unforgettable comedy.”

Elizabeth Taylor update

Elizabeth Taylor from the trailer for the film The Last Time I Saw Paris, 1954.

Hollywood Icon Elizabeth Taylor Dead at 79
Wednesday, 23 March 2011

Legendary Hollywood actress Elizabeth Taylor has died at the age of 79.

A statement from Taylor's family says she died peacefully, with her children at her side.

The veteran actress, known for movies such as National Velvet, which made her a star at the age of 12, and Cleopatra, had been suffering from congestive heart failure. She had been hospitalized in Los Angeles for the past six weeks.

Taylor won Academy Awards for her role in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Butterfield 8. In later years, she was a spokeswoman for humanitarian causes, notably AIDS research, helping raise millions of dollars. That work gained her a special Oscar in 1993.

Born in London to American parents, Taylor moved to Los Angeles before World War II, and went from child star to Hollywood starlet to a movie icon sometimes called the most beautiful woman in the world.

She appeared in more than 50 Hollywood films, teaming up with other major stars in the 1940s and '50s to make such movies as Raintree Country, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Suddenly Last Summer.

In 1963, Taylor was paid $1 million to star opposite Richard Burton in the epic Cleopatra. Their on-screen romance turned into a real-life love affair, and they married a year later, divorced and then got married again before divorcing for a final time in 1976.

In all, Taylor married eight times, making her almost as famous for her off-screen drama as for her beauty and acting ability. Her friendship with pop icon Michael Jackson also made her a constant source of stories for the press.

She had a passion for jewels and jewelry and introduced her own perfumes, including one called White Diamonds.

France awarded her the prestigious Legion of Honor in 1987 and Britain's Queen Elizabeth made her a dame, the female equivalent of a knight, in 2000.

In 2001, Taylor received the Presidential Citizens Medal from former U.S. president Bill Clinton for her efforts to spur more AIDS research and better care.

In a joint statement, Mr. Clinton and his wife, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, called Taylor one of America's “greatest talents and fiercest advocates for HIV/AIDS research.” They said the lives of many people around the world will be longer and better because of Taylor's AIDS work.

Jazz Great George Shearing Dies at 91

George Shearing: Swing Era (Photo: Idem)

Jazz Great George Shearing Dies at 91
Monday, 14 February 2011

Legendary jazz pianist and composer George Shearing has died. He was 91.

Shearing succumbed to congestive heart failure in New York on Monday.

Born blind in London in 1919, he began playing the piano at the age of three. He was already popular in England when he decided to emigrate to the United States in 1947 where he embarked on an extraordinary career.

Shearing wrote more than 300 compositions. But he is probably best known for the 1952 classic Lullaby of Birdland .

Shearing received numerous awards during his six-decade career, including a BBC Lifetime Achievement Award. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2007 for his contribution to music.

Oil Heir John Paul Getty III Dies

Oil Heir John Paul Getty III Dies
Tuesday, 8 February 2011

John Paul Getty III, grandson of billionaire oil tycoon John Paul Getty, has died at the age of 54 following a lengthy illness.

Family members say Getty died Saturday at his home northwest of London. The cause of death was not known, but Getty had been in poor health since a drug overdose in 1981 left him paralyzed and partially blind.

Getty gained notoriety after having part of his ear cut off during a 1973 kidnapping in Rome at the age of 16. The oil heir was released after five months in captivity and a ransom payment of nearly $3 million by his grandfather, who initially refused to pay and thought the abduction was a hoax.

Reports say the younger Getty continued to struggle with the after-effects of his abduction throughout his life. As a young man, he suffered from drug and alcohol problems that led to his paralyzing stroke in 1981 at the age of 25.

He later had to turn to the courts to have his father, who had inherited his grandfather's fortune, pay for his medical care.

John Paul Getty III is the father of U.S. television actor Balthazaar Getty.