Obituary
R.I.P. Geno Silva, Scarface Actor Dead at 72
Geno Silva, the veteran character actor best known for playing the hitman who kills Al Pacino’s Tony Montana in Scarface, has died at the age of 72. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Silva died on May 9th at his home in Los Angeles due to complications from dementia. Over the course of his four-decade career, Silva appeared in films including Tequila Sunrise, Mulholland Drive, and The Lost World: Jurassic Park. On television, his credits included episodes of Hill Street Blues, Miami Vice, Walker, Texas Ranger, Star Trek: Enterprise, and Alias. But Silva will, without a doubt, be best remembered for playing The Skull, Alejandro Sosa’s silent chief assassin who shoots Tony Montana in the back at the end of Scarface. Revisit the scene in question below. Silva’s family is asking that donati...
R.I.P. Lynn Shelton, Acclaimed Indie Filmmaker Dead at 54
Lynn Shelton, acclaimed independent filmmaker of Humpday, Your Sister’s Sister, and last year’s Sword of Trust, passed away in Los Angeles on Friday. She was 54. Shelton’s longtime publicist Adam Kersh confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that she died as a result of a previously unidentified blood disorder. Born in Ohio, Shelton attended Oberlin College before going on to study Drama at Seattle’s University of Washington. She continued exploring the arts in New York City, receiving a Master’s of Fine Arts in photography and related media at the School of Visual Arts. After cutting her teeth as a film editor in the industry, Shelton began setting the template for the indie filmmaking movement of the aughts. Her 2006 debut We Go Way Back turned heads at that year’s Slamdance Festival, but it...
R.I.P. Fred Willard, Beloved Comic and Actor Dead at 86
Fred Willard, the beloved comic and actor who kept Hollywood laughing with roles in This Is Spinal Tap, Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, For Your Consideration, and Anchorman, has died at the age of 86. Willard’s daughter, Hope, told The Hollywood Reporter that her father passed “very peacefully” from natural causes. “He kept moving, working and making us happy until the very end. We loved him so very much! We will miss him forever,” Hope added. A native of Shaker Heights, Ohio, Willard began pursuing comedy in the 1950s, following a brief tenure in the US Army. He was initially part of a comedy duo with Vic Grecco, performing in clubs in New York’s Greenwich Village. He later moved to Chicago and became a member of the city’s legendary comedy troupe, Second City...
R.I.P. Phil May, Frontman of UK Rock Band Pretty Things Dies at 75
Phil May, the longtime vocalist of UK rock band Pretty Things, has died at the age of 75. According to The Guardian, May died in a Norfolk, UK hospital due to complications from hip surgery. His death was not COIVD-19 related. May formed Pretty Things in 1963 alongside former Rolling Stones guitarist Dick Taylor. They were initially a part of the British blues rock scene, achieving six top 50 hits between 1964 and 1966. Their biggest single, “Don’t Bring Me Down”, peaked at No. 10 on the UK charts, while its follow-up, “Honey I Need”, hit No. 13. Despite their early success, and sharing the same management as Pink Floyd, Pretty Things failed to achieve the same international success as fellow rock bands of their times. They later attributed their lack of fame in the US to a decision to tou...
R.I.P. Astrid Kirchherr, Legendary Beatles Photographer Dies at 81
Astrid Kirchherr, the legendary rock photographer who documented the earliest days of The Beatles, has died at 81. Via The Guardian, Beatles historian Mark Lewisohn announced the news of her passing on Friday. No cause of death is known at this time. Born in 1938 in Hamburg, Germany, Kirchhherr became one of The Beatles’ earliest fans during their 1960 residency at Hamburg’s Kaiserkeller club. At the time the band consisted of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Stuart Sutcliffe, and Pete Best. Kirchherr convinced them to sit for their first photo session, and later became engaged to Sutcliffe until his death in 1962. In addition to capturing the band’s time in Germany, Kirchherr famously advised them to cut their hair into mop tops. Those hairstyles became one the band...
Melissa Etheridge Son, Beckett Cypher, Dies at 21
Melissa Etheridge’s 21-year-old son, Beckett Cypher, has died. Both Beckett and his sister, Bailey, were born to Etheridge’s former partner, Julie Cypher, via artificial insemination. David Crosby was later revealed to be the biological father of both children in a 2000 Rolling Stone cover story. Etheridge announced the passing of Beckett on Wednesday afternoon via Twitter. A cause of death was not disclosed. <img data-attachment-id="1036191" data-permalink="https://consequenceofsound.net/2020/05/melissa-etheridge-son-beckett-cypher-dies-at-21/melissa-etheridge-family/" data-orig-file="https://consequenceofsound.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Melissa-Etheridge-family.jpg?quality=80" data-orig-size="411,500" data-comments-opened="1" ...
R.I.P. Jerry Stiller, Legendary Comedian Dies at 92
Jerry Stiller, legendary actor and comic of Seinfeld and The King of Queens, passed away on Monday morning. He was 91 years old. His son, Ben Stiller, confirmed the news on Twitter: “I’m sad to say that my father, Jerry Stiller, passed away from natural causes. He was a great dad and grandfather, and the most dedicated husband to Anne for about 62 years. He will be greatly missed. Love you Dad.” A comic, an actor, an author, Stiller spent years on the comedy circuit with his wife Anne Meara as the team Stiller and Meara. He’s perhaps best known for his iconic role as Frank Costanza in Seinfeld and Arthur Spooner in The King of Queens. In addition to his roles in both hit series, Stiller also appeared in a number of films alongside his son, including Zoolander, Heavyweights, The Heartbreak ...
R.I.P. Betty Wright, Veteran R&B Singer Dies at 66
Betty Wright, the veteran R&B singer known for hits such as “Clean Up Woman” and “Where Is the Love?”, has died at the age of 66, according to TMZ. A native of Miami, Florida, Wright achieved her first Top 40 single at the age of 14 with “Girls Can’t Do What the Guys Do”. Arriving three years later, Wright’s signature song, “Clean Up Woman”, spent eight weeks at No. 2 on the Billboard R&B charts in addition to peaking at No. 6 on the Billboard Top 100. “Clean Up Woman” was later sampled by a number of prominent R&B and hip-hop artists, including Mary J. Blige (“Real Woman”) and Chance the Rapper (“Favorite Song”). Even Sumblime sampled the song on their 40oz. To Freedom track “Get Out!”. In 1974, Wright earned her first and only Grammy Award for “Where Is the Love”, which ...
Betty Wright, Soul Hitmaker and ‘Clean Up Woman’ Singer, Dies at 66
R&B singer Betty Wright, best-known for a string of soulful hits in 1970s and early 1980s, including “Clean Up Woman” and “Where Is the Love?”, has died at age 66. Wright’s niece confirmed the news but didn’t reveal a cause of death, TMZ reports. Wright, born in Miami in 1953, launched her career as a child member of her family’s gospel act, the Echoes of Joy. But she ventured into soul and funk with her first solo album, 1968’s My First Time Around. Wright first found commercial success with 1972’s “Clean Up Woman,” famously sampled three decades later for a remix of Mary J. Blige’s “Real Love.” The vocalist issued a string of solo records and singles in the decade, including minor hits like 1972’s “Is It You, Girl?”, 1974’s “Secretary” and 1975’s “Where is the Love?”, which earned th...
R.I.P. Andre Harrell, Hip-Hop Mogul and Founder of Uptown Records Dies at 57
Andre Harrell, the founder of Uptown Records who was credited for discovering artists including Diddy, The Notorious B.I.G., Mary J. Blige, Jodeci, and Teddy Riley, has died at the age of 59. According to Harrell’s ex-wife, Wendy Credle, the cause of death was heart failure (via The New York Times). Harrell was a member of the 80’s hip-hop duo Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde before transitioning to the business side of the music industry. He initially worked alongside Russell Simmons at Def Jam Records, but in 1986, he launched his own label, Uptown Records. During a prolific 10-year stretch in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Uptown Records was the home to artists including The Notorious B.I.G., Sean “Diddy” Combs, Mary J Blige, Heavy D & The Boyz, Al B. Sure!, Jodeci, and Tedd...
Little Richard, Legendary Rock’n’Roll Pioneer, Dies at 87
Little Richard, one of the first and greatest rock’n’roll icons and innovators, has died at age 87, as reported by Rolling Stone. The cause of death has not yet been reported. Born Richard Wayne Penniman, he revolutionized popular music in the 1950s with such culturally irreplaceable hits as “Tutti Frutti,” “Good Golly Miss Molly,” and “Long Tall Sally.” He was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, the very first year it began, and performed at Bill Clinton’s presidential inauguration in 1992. The Library of Congress added “Tutti Frutti” to the National Recording Registry in 2010 for its cultural significance, particularly its unforgettable a cappella intro: “A-wop-bop-a-loo-bop-a-wop-bam-boom!“ Born in Macon, Georgia, the second of 12 children, Penniman was kicked out o...
Andre Harrell, Founder of Uptown Records, Dies at 59
Andre Harrell, music mogul and founder of influential R&B and hip-hop label Uptown Records, has died. Details are if his death are not yet known, but Harrell’s passing was first announced by DJ D-Nice on his Instagram Live early Saturday morning (May 9), and sources have separately confirmed it to Billboard. He was 59. Raised in the Bronx, New York, Harrell started a career in music as half of the early-’80s hip-hop duo Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (with Alonzo Brown). The pair had a handful of minor hits on Billboard‘s Hot R&B Songs chart — the biggest being the No. 31-peaking, Tom Tom Club-sampling “Genius Rap” in 1982 — but Harrell soon found other career aspirations, particularly after meeting Def Jam records founder Russell Simmon...
