Death has been mighty busy lately, and so ye scribe needs to catch up.
Major League Baseball has been hit with a double whammy in the last week, days after the passing of Don Zimmer. Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn, who played his entire career with San Diego, lost his battle with cancer on Monday at 54. Former All-Star pitcher Bob Welch, who famously dueled with the Yankees' Reggie Jackson in the World Series while with Oakland, passed away a week ago at 57.
In Gwynn's case, he'd been back in the game as a coach for San Diego State. Son Tony, Jr. currently plays for Philadelphia, and likely has taken bereavement leave for the duration.
Actress Ruby Dee was also a social activist, in addition to her long career, often with husband Ossie Davis, who passed away a few years ago. Ms. Dee passed away last week at 91. A list of accomplishments would require more space than is available here.
Chuck Noll coached the Pittsburgh Steelers to their firsr 4 Super Bowls between the mid-70's and early 80's, including some memorable battles with the Dallas Cowboys. Noll passed away at 82, and I would guess the current Steelers will dedicate the 2014 season to his memory.
Finally, and we covered this in greater detail over at Saturday Morning Archives, radio & cartoon icon Casey Kasem lost his battle with Dewy's Body disease on Sunday at 82. His radio career spanned more than 50 years, starting at the regional level in his hometown of Detroit before landing in Los Angeles in the mid-60's. He made a number of guest appearances on shows such as Ironside, Charlie's Angels, Matt Houston, Hawaii Five-O, & Saved By The Bell, in addition to founding and launching the long running radio series, American Top 40, which is still on the air nearly 45 years later (currently hosted by Ryan Seacrest, an acknowledged fan of Kasem's work). Of course, most people will think of Kasem more for his cartoon work, particularly as Norville "Shaggy" Rogers in the many incarnations of Scooby-Doo.
Rest in peace, one and all.
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