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The story of Jo Sullivan Loesser, who has died aged 91, could easily have been plucked from one of the Broadway shows she starred in. When the actor and singer left Missouri to pursue fame in New York, little did she know that she would land a Tony Award nomination, marry a prolific composer and be given creative control over some of the biggest songs of musical theatre .
Elizabeth Josephine Sullivan was born in 1927 in Mounds, Illinois. Her father worked for a lumber-distributing company and her mother sold cosmetics. After graduating from high school, she went on to study singing in St Louis, Missouri, and then took her dream of becoming a Broadway star to the Big Apple.
Despite failing to get a scholarship at the city’s prestigious Juilliard School, she was discovered singing in a nightclub and was offered the chance to be the understudy for the lead female role in Oklahoma! on Broadway.
But her career truly started to take off when she was discovered by the producers of an upcoming musical, The Most Happy Fella , written by composer and lyricist Frank Loesser. The actor was performing in The Threepenny Opera at the Theatre de Lys in Greenwich Village, when, she said: “The producers saw me and then dragged Frank down to see me.”
But landing the leading role for The Most Happy Fella wasn’t a done deal just yet. Frank Loesser opened the windows of the room when he heard Sullivan, his future wife, sing for the first time at her audition. “Too loud,” he said. He then made her audition 20 more times and tried to annoy her by making her sing “Happy Birthday to You” as highly pitched as she possibly could.
“Loud is good,” he concluded. And indeed, it was; Sullivan’s soprano voice was an outstanding fit for the role of the mail-order bride Rosabella in the acclaimed Broadway show which ran for 676 performances and for which she received a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical in 1957.
Show all 91 1 /91Culture stars we lost in 2019 Culture stars we lost in 2019 Dean Ford Ford, whose real name was Thomas McAleese, was the frontman of guitar-pop group Marmalade. The band the first Scottish group to top the UK singles chart, with their cover of the Beatles’ Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da in December 1968. Ford died in Los Angeles on 31 December 2018, at the age of 72 from complications relating to Parkinson's disease.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Pegi Young A singer, songwriter, environmentalist, educator and philanthropist, she was also married to Neil Young for 36 years. She died of cancer on 1 January, aged 66, in Mountain View, California.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Daryl Dragon The singer and pianist achieved fame as half of the musical duo Captain & Tennille, best known for their 1975 hit "Love Will Keep Us Together". Dragon died on 2 January, from kidney failure in Prescott, Arizona, aged 76.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Darius Perkins The actor was best known for playing the original Scott Robinson on Neighbours when the show launched in 1985 on Australia's Channel Seven. Perkins died from cancer on 2 January, aged 54
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Bob Einstein The Emmy-winning writer appeared in US comedy shows Curb Your Enthusiasm and Arrested Development, becoming known for his deadpan delivery. He died on 2 January, shortly after being diagnosed with leukemia, aged 76.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Carol Channing The raspy-voiced, saucer-eyed, wide-smiling actor played lead roles in the original Broadway musical productions of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Hello, Dolly!, while delivering an Oscar-nominated performance in the 1967 film version of the musical Thoroughly Modern Millie. Channing died on 15 January of natural causes at her home in Rancho Mirage, California at the age of 97.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Mary Oliver Oliver, a winner of the Pulitzer Prize, wrote rapturous odes to nature and animal life that brought her critical acclaim and popular affection, writing more than 15 poetry and essay collections. She died on 17 January, aged 83, in Hobe Sound, Florida.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Windsor Davies The actor was best known for his role as Battery Sergeant-Major Williams in the TV series It Ain't Half Hot, Mum, which ran from 1974 to 1981. He died on 17 January, aged 88, four months after the death of his wife, Eluned.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Jonas Mekas The Lithuanian-born filmmaker, who escaped a Nazi labour camp and became a refugee, rose to acclaim in New York and went on to work with John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Janis Joplin and Andy Warhol. He died on 23 January, aged 96, in New York City.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Andre Previn Andre Previn, the four-time Oscar-winning composer, conductor and pianist, died at his Manhattan home aged 89. The German-born virtuoso, who enjoyed a career spanning eight decades, worked on more than 500 albums and films including Gigi, My Fair Lady, and Porgy and Bess. Alongside success in Hollywood, the pianist also memorably performed a beloved classic music sketch with the comedy duo Morecambe and Wise.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Diana Athill The writer, novelist and editor worked with authors including Margaret Atwood, Philip Roth, Jean Rhys and VS Naipaul. She died at a hospice in London on 23 January, aged 101, following a short illness.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Michel Legrand During a career spanning more than 50 years, the French musician wrote the scores for over 200 films and TV series, as well as original songs. In 1968, he won his first Oscar for the song “The Windmills of Your Mind” from The Thomas Crown Affair film. He died in Paris on 26 January at the age of 86.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 James Ingram The singer and songwriter, who was nominated for 14 Grammys in his lifetime, was well known for his hits including “Baby, Come to Me,” his duet sung with Patti Austin and “Yah Mo B There,” a duet sung with Michael McDonald, which won him a Grammy. Ingram died on 29 January, aged 66, from brain cancer, at his home in Los Angeles.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Dick Miller The actor enjoyed a career spanning more than 60 years, featuring hundreds of screen appearances, including Gremlins (1984) and The Terminator (1984). The actor died 30 January, aged 90, in Toluca Lake, California.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Jeremy Hardy The comedian gained recognition on the comedy circuit in the 1980s and was a regular on BBC Radio 4 panel shows, including The News Quiz and I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue. He died of cancer on 1 February, aged 57.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Clive Swift Known to many as the long-suffering Richard Bucket in Keeping Up Appearances, the actor's first professional acting job was at Nottingham Playhouse, in the UK premiere of JB Priestley’s take the Fool Away, in 1959. He died on Friday, 1 February after a short illness, aged 82.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Julie Adams The actor starred in the 1954 horror classic Creature From the Black Lagoon, playing Kay Lawrence, the girlfriend of hero ichthyologist Dr. David Reed (Richard Carlson) and the target of the Creature’s obsessions. She died 3 February in Los Angeles, aged 92.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Albert Finney The actor was one of Britain’s premiere Shakespearean actors and was nominated for five Oscars across almost four decades – for Tom Jones (1963), Murder on the Orient Express (1974), The Dresser (1983), Under the Volcano (1984) and Erin Brockovich (2000). He died aged 82, following a short illness.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Peter Tork Born in 1942 in Washington DC, Tork became part of The Monkees with Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Davy Jones in the mid-sixties, when the group was formed as America’s Beatles counterpart. All four were selected from more than 400 applicants to play in the associated TV series The Monkees, which aired between 1966 and 1968.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Mark Hollis As the frontman of the band Talk Talk, Hollis was largely responsible for the band's shift towards a more experimental approach in the mid-1980s, pioneering what became known as post-rock, with hit singles including “Life’s What You Make It” (1985) and “Living in Another World” (1986).
Culture stars we lost in 2019 Andy Anderson Musician Andy Anderson, former drummer for The Cure and Iggy Pop, died aged 68 from terminal cancer, after a long and successful career as a session musician
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Lisa Sheridan Having attended the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama in Pittsburgh, Sheridan went on to star in a string of film and TV credits of the next two decades, including Invasion and Halt and Catch Fire. She died aged 44, at her home in New Orleans.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Janice Freeman Freeman appeared on season 13 of the TV singing competition The Voice, making a strong impression early on with her cover of 'Radioactive' by Imagine Dragons, performed during the blind auditions. She had an extreme case of pneumonia and had a blood clot that travelled to her heart. She died in hospital on 2 March.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Keith Flint Flint quickly became one of the figureheads of British electronic music during the Nineties as a singer in the band The Prodigy. He died, aged 49, on 4 March.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Luke Perry Perry rose to fame as teen heartthrob Dylan McKay in 'Beverly Hills, 90210', and most recently played Fred Andrews in The CW's 'Riverdale'. He died on 4 March after suffering a 'massive stroke', his representative said in a statement.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Jed Allan Allan was best known for his role as Rush Sanders, the father of Ian Ziering’s Steve Sanders, on Beverly Hills, 90210; Don Craig on Days of Our Lives; and CC Capwell on Santa Barbara. He died on Saturday, 9 March, aged 84.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Hal Blaine As part of the Wrecking Crew, an elite group of session players, Blaine played drums on some of the most iconic songs of the 1960s and 1970s, including The Beach Boys's “Good Vibrations”, the Ronettes’s ”Be My Baby”, and Simon & Garfunkel’s “Mrs Robinson”. He died on 11 March, aged 90.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Pat Laffan The Irish-born actor had roles in almost 40 films and 30 television shows, including in BBC’s Eastenders, Stanley Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon, and RTE’s The Clinic. He died on Friday, 15 March, aged 79
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Mike Thalassitis Mike Thalassitis was a semi-professional footballer before finding fame on the third season of Love Island. He died aged 26.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Dick Dale Dale is credited with pioneering the surf music style, by drawing on his Middle-Eastern heritage and experimenting with reverberation. He is best known for his hit "Misirlou", used in the 1994 film Pulp Fiction. He died on Saturday, 16 March, aged 81.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Bernie Tormé Guitarist Bernie Tormé rose to fame in the seventies before joining Ozzy Osbourne on tour in 1982, following the death of guitarist Randy Rhoads in a plane crash that same year. The Dublin-born musician died on 17 March, 2019 at the age of 66.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Andre Williams R&B singer and songwriter Andre Williams co-wrote "Shake a Tail Feather" among many other hits, signing first with Fortune Records then with Motown. The Alabama native, who relocated to Detroit as a young man, died on 17 March, aged 82.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Scott Walker The American British singer-songwriter and producer who rose to fame with The Walker Brothers during the Sixties and was once referred to as "pop's own Salinger", died on 22 March, aged 76. He was one of the most prolific artists of his generation, despite shunning the spotlight following his brief years as a teen idol, and released a string of critically acclaimed albums as well as writing a number of film scores, and producing albums for other artists including Pulp.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Agnès Varda French New Wave filmmaker Agnès Varda died on 29 March, aged 90. She was best known for the films "Cléo from 5 to 7" and "Vagabond" and was widely regarded to be one of the most influential experimental and feminist filmmakers of all time.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Tania Mallet Model and Bond girl Tania Mallet died on 30 March, aged 77. She earned her only credited acting role opposite Sean Connery in 1964 film Goldfinger, playing Tilly Masterson.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Boon Gould (right) One of the founding members of Level 42, Boon Gould, died on 1 March, aged 64. He was a guitarist and saxophone player.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Nipsey Hussle Grammy-nominated rapper Nipsey Hussle was shot outside his clothing store in Los Angeles on 1 April. He was 33. Hussle, who was once signed to Sony’s Epic Records, had a breakthrough with Victory Lap, his critically acclaimed major-label debut album on Atlantic Records. The album appeared on several "best of" lists including Complex and Billboard.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 John Singleton John Singleton, the famed director best known for his film Boyz N the Hood, died aged 51. Singleton had been on life support following a stroke on 17 April, at which point he was taken to an intensive care unit in Los Angeles. His family decided to take him off of life support on 29 April. The acclaimed filmmaker was the first African American nominated for a best director Oscar for Boyz N the Hood, and was the youngest ever to be nominated for that same award at the time in 1991. He directed that film while he was in his 20s, and fresh out of film school.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Freddie Starr Comedian Starr was the star of several eponymous TV shows during the 1990s such as Freddie Starr, The Freddie Starr Show and An Audience with Freddie Starr. Starr was the subject of one of the most famous tabloid headlines in the history of the British press, splashed on the front page of The Sun in 1986: "Freddie Starr ate my hamster." Starr was found dead in his home in Costa Del Sol on 9 May 2019.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Peggy Lipton Twin Peaks star Peggy Lipton died of cancer, aged 72 on 11 May.
Culture stars we lost in 2019 Doris Day Doris Day became Hollywood’s biggest female star by the early 1960s starring in Calamity Jane, Pillow Talk and Caprice to name a few. Day died on 15 May after a serious bout of pneumonia.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Andrew Hall Andrew Hall died on 20 May, 2019 after a short illness, according to his management group. The actor was best known for playing Russell Parkinson in the BBC show Butterflies and Marc Selby in Coronation Street. He had also recently appeared as The Gentleman in Syfy's Blood Drive.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Carmine Cardini Carmine Cardini, who was most famous for playing two different roles in the Godfather franchise, died on 28 May, 2019 at Cedars Sinai Hospital, aged 85. He played Carmine Rosato in The Godfather Part II (1974) before returning to the franchise in 1990 as Albert Volpe in The Godfather Part III.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Judith Kerr Judith Kerr, the author and illustrator best known for The Tiger Who Came to Tea, died at the age of 95 on 23 May. Born in Berlin in 1923, the daughter of a German-Jewish theatre critic, Kerr was forced to flee Germany with her family after the rise of the Nazi Party because her father had been openly critical of the Nazis. His books were burnt shortly after they left the country. The Kerrs travelled first to Switzerland, then to France and finally to Britain, where Kerr remained for the rest of her life. Although she had always wanted to be an author, she only began to write and draw when her own children were learning to read. Alongside The Tiger Who Came to Tea – which concerns a young girl and her mother, whose afternoon tea is interrupted by the arrival of said feline – Kerr is also known for her 17-book Mog series, which details the adventures of an ordinary house cat.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Dr John The celebrated pianist and musician who for decades delighted audiences and fans around the world using the stage name Dr John, died aged 77 on 6 June. The man who combined blues, honky-tonk and elements of ragtime to create a style as memorable and captivating as his home city of New Orleans, died early on Thursday from a heart attack.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Peter Mayhew Peter Mayhew, best known for his role as Chewbacca in the Star Wars film series, died at the age of 74. The film star stood over seven feet tall and played the fictional character who serves as a loyal friend to the franchise’s protagonist, Han Solo.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Leon Redbone Leon Redbone died on 30 May, 2019, aged 69. The singer-songwriter, who was noticed by Bob Dylan in the Seventies and was an early guest on Saturday Night Live, released more than 15 albums over the course of four decades.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Paul Darrow Blake’s 7 and Doctor Who star Paul Darrow died in June aged 78 following a short illness. The Surrey-born actor was best known for playing Kerr Avon in BBC sci-fi series Blake’s 7 during the 70s and 80s, but also appeared in more than 200 other shows including The Saint, Z Cars, Emmerdale, Hollyoaks and Little Britain.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Cameron Boyce Disney Channel star Cameron Boyce died in his sleep on 6 July, aged 20. His family later confirmed the actor, who appeared in Jessie and descendants, had epilepsy.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Rip Torn Rip Torn, the film, TV and theatre actor, died on 9 July, 2019, aged 88. His career spanned seven decades.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Michael Sleggs Michael Sleggs, who appeared as Slugs in hit BBC Three sitcom This Country, died from heart failure on 9 July, 2019, aged 33.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Freddie Jones Emmerdale actor Freddie Jones died aged 91 in July. The British star was most recently known for playing Sandy Thomas in the soap from 2005 until 2018. He also starred in Hollywood films Dune, The Elephant Man and Firefox.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Rutger Hauer Dutch actor Rutger Hauer famously played replicant Roy Batty in Ridley Scott's Blade Runner. As Batty, he delivered the iconic "tears in the rain" monologue. Hauer died on 19 July, 2019 aged 75.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Paula Williamson Actor Paula Williamson, who starred in Coronation Street and married criminal Charles Bronson, was found dead on 29 July, 2019.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Toni Morrison Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison died at the age of 88 on 6 August. Her death was confirmed “with profound sadness” by the Morrison family, who said she had passed away in the Bronx, New York, “following a short illness”. The celebrated writer of 11 novels was known for her searing works about slavery and the experiences of black women, including 1987’s Beloved, the story of a runaway female slave – for which she won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction the following year. She became the first African American woman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1993.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 David Berman David Berman, frontman of Silver Jews and Purple Mountains, died by suicide on 7 August, 2019, aged 52.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Peter Fonda Peter Fonda died of respiratory failure due to lung cancer on 16 August, 2019. aged 79, his family said. He was the co-writer and star of counterculture classic Easy Rider (1969).
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Ben Unwin Home and Away star Ben Unwin was found dead aged 41 on 14 August, according to New South Wales Police. He starred as 'bad boy' Jesse McGregor on the popular Australian soap between 1996-2000, and then 2002-2005 before switching to a career in law
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Franco Columbu Italian bodybuilder, who appeared in The Terminator, The Running Man and Conan the Barbarian, died on 30 August, 2019, aged 78. The former Mr Olympia enjoyed a successful career as a boxer and was best friends with Arnold Schwarzenegger.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Kylie Rae Harris The country singer died in a car crash on 4 September, 2019, at the age of 30. Harris, of Wylie, Texas, she was scheduled to perform at a music festival in New Mexico the next day.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 LaShawn Daniels Songwriter and producer LaShawn Daniels died 4 September aged 41. He was best known for his collaborations with producer Darkchild, and had songwriting credits on a number of pop and R&B classics by artists including Beyonce, Destiny's Child, Janet and Michael Jackson, Lady Gaga, Brandy and Whitney Houston.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Carol Lynley The actor, best known for her role as Nonnie the cruise liner singer in The Poseidon Adventure, died on 3 September at the age of 77.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Jimmy Johnson Jimmy Johnson, revered session guitarist and co-founder of the Muscle Shoals Sound Studios, died 5 September 2019, aged 76.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 John Wesley John Wesley, the actor who played Dr Hoover on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, died in September 2019 aged 72 of complications stemming from multiple myeloma, according to his family. His other acting credits included Baywatch as well as the the 1992 buddy cop comedy film 'Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot'.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Daniel Johnston Influential lo-fi musician Daniel Johnston died in September 2019 following a heart attack, according to The Austin Chronicle. His body of work includes the celebrated 1983 album 'Hi, How Are You'.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Ric Ocasek Ric Ocasek, frontman of new wave rock band The Cars, died 15 September at the age of 75. Ocasek was pronounced dead after police were alerted to an unresponsive male at a Manhattan townhouse. A cause of death has yet to be confirmed, though The Daily Beast reports that an NYPD official said Ocasek appeared to have died from “natural causes”. Ocasek found fame as the lead singer of The Cars, who were integral in the birth of the new wave movement and had hits including “Drive”, “Good Times Roll” and “My Best Friend’s Girl”.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Suzanne Whang The former host turned narrator of HGTV's House Hunters died on 17 September. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006 and initially recovered, until the disease returned in October 2018.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Robert Hunter The lyricist, who's behind some of the Grateful Dead's finest songs, died on 23 September at the age of 78. His best known Grateful Dead songs include 'Cumberland Blues,' 'It Must Have Been the Roses,' and 'Terrapin Station'.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Linda Porter Linda Porter, best known for her role as elderly supermarket employee Myrtle on the US sitcom Superstore, died 25 September after a long battle with cancer. She also appeared in series including Twin Peaks, The Mindy Project, ER and The X-Files
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Ginger Baker Ginger Baker, the legendary drummer and co-founder of rock band Cream, died at the age of 80 on Sunday 6 October after being critically ill in hospital. The musician co-founded Cream in 1966 with Eric Clapton and Jack Bruce.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Alicia Alonso Legendary ballet dancer Alicia Alonso died aged 98 on 18 October. Cuban president Miguel Diaz-Canel said: “Alicia Alonso has gone and left an enormous void but unbeatable legacy. “She positioned Cuba at the altar of the best of dance worldwide. Thank you Alicia for your immortal work.” Alonso was born Alicia Ernestina de la Caridad Martinez del Hoyo on 21 December 1921. She first appeared on stage at the age of 10, and fell in love with ballet. “When you look out and you see the theatre full of people, you feel that you are alive, that you have been born,” she told the BBC in 2015. “It's wonderful, it's unique.”
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Robert Evans Producer Robert Evans died on 26 October aged 89. He backed seminal films such as 'Chinatown', 'The Godfather', 'Harold and Maude' and 'Love Story'.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Ariel Burdett Ariel Burdett died on 12 November, aged 35. She appeared on The X Factor in 2008 and is considered to have had one of the most memorable auditions in the ITV show's history.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Jill Galloway Heitz Jill Galloway Heitz died at the age of 78 from congestive heart failure on 13 November. Her TV appearances included Glee and Prison Break, and she also starred in David Lynch film The Straight Story.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Terry O'Neill Terry O’Neill, who died aged 81 on 17 November, photographed some of the world’s most legendary stars and public figures, from Audrey Hepburn to David Bowie, Elton John, Winston Churchill and Frank Sinatra. He also shot members of the Royal Family, including the Queen. Among his most recent works was an image of Amy Winehouse at the height of her fame in 2008.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Goo Ha-ra South Korean singer and actor Goo Ha-ra died in November 2019 at the age of 28.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Gary Rhodes Gary Rhodes died on 27 November, aged 59. The English restaurateur and television chef, known for his love of British cuisine and ingredients and for his distinctive spiked hair style, fronted shows such as MasterChef, MasterChef USA, Hell's Kitchen, and his own series, Rhodes Around Britain.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Godfrey Gao Godfrey Gao died on 27 November, aged 35. He suffered a cardiac arrest after collapsing on set of a game show in China. Gao was considered the first Asian supermodel, and appeared in 2013 Hollywood film The Mortal Instruments.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Ron Leibman Ron Leibman, who played Rachel’s father in Friends, died 7 December at the age of 82. The actor died from pneumonia, a representative for his family confirmed. Leibman won a Tony Award in 1993 for originating the role of the closeted gay lawyer Roy Cohn in the first Broadway production of Tony Kushner’s Angels in America. He also appeared in films including Norma Rae and Slaughterhouse-Five.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Juice Wrld Chicago-born rapper Juice Wrld, real name Jarad Anthony Higgins, died 8 December at the age of 21. The Associated Press confirmed that the “Lucid Dreams” rapper suffered a "medical emergency" at Chicago's Midway International Airport, and was later pronounced dead in hospital.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Caroll Spinney Puppeteer Caroll Spinney, who portrayed Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch on the children’s programme Sesame Street, has died at the age of 84. Spinney died 8 December at his home in Connecticut after suffering from Dystonia for some time, the Sesame Workshop confirmed.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Rene Auberjonois Prolific character actor Rene Auberjonois died 8 December at the age of 79. His credits included the Robert Altman film MASH and TV shows Benson and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Marie Fredriksson Marie Fredriksson, one-half of the pop duo Roxette, died 9 December after suffering a long illness. Roxette's most famous hits include "It Must Have Been Love" and 'Listen to Your Heart".
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Chris Cotton The US comedian Chris Cotton, best known for the Comedy Central web series Every Damn Day, died on 13 December at the age of 32. A cause of death has yet to be announced. Cotton is survived by his wife Ericalynn, who is due to give birth to their first child in February.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Danny Aiello Actor Danny Aiello, best known for his role as Sal in Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing, died on Thursday, 12 December at the age of 86.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Chuy Bravo Comedian and entertainer Chuy Bravo, who found fame as the sidekick to comic Chelsea Handler, died 15 December at the age of 63. Bravo was taken ill during a trip to his native Mexico, and died in hospital.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Kenny Lynch Entertainer Kenny Lynch, known for roles in Carry On Loving and TV show The Sweeney along with a successful pop career, died aged 81. Lynch was born in east London in 1938, to a Barbadian father and a mother of British and Jamaican heritage. He was one of the UK’s first black pop stars, who toured with The Beatles and achieved two top 10 hits including “Up on the Roof”, which was originally recorded by The Drifters. He was also the first artist to cover a Beatles song, when he released a version of Lennon and McCartney composition “Misery” in 1963.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Jerry Herman The Tony Award-winning composer and lyricist Jerry Herman, who wrote the music and lyrics for shows including Hello, Dolly! and La Cage aux Folles, died 26 December at the age of 88. Herman’s death was confirmed by his goddaughter, who told the Associated Press that he died of pulmonary complications in Miami, Florida. Herman created 10 Broadway shows, and won two Tony Awards for Best Musical for Hello, Dolly! (1964) and La Cage aux Folles (1983). He also won two Grammys and, in 2010, became a Kennedy Center honouree.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Andrew Dunbar The extra, who worked as a body double for Theon Greyjoy actor Alfie Allen, reportedly died at his home in Belfast on 23 December. He was in his thirties. Pamela Smyth, head of Crowd Makeup on the hit HBO show, told Belfast Live: “Even among the thousands of extras that came through the crowd room on Thrones – Andrew always stood out.” Dunbar’s co-star and friend Andy McClay said: “Everyone always wanted Andrew. There was just something about him that was special."
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Kelly Fraser Kelly Fraser, the Canadian pop artist who gained worldwide attention for her Inuit-language colour of “Diamonds” by Rihanna, died in December aged 26. Fraser was known for her advocacy efforts for her indigenous culture, and wrote or translated songs into the Inuit language of Inukitut with the aim of using pop music to raise awareness of it.
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Culture stars we lost in 2019 Neil Innes Comedian and musician Neil Innes, who collaborated with Monty Python and played with The Rutles, died on 30 December aged 75. Essex-born Innes wrote music for Monty Python’s albums including Monty Python’s Previous Record and The Monty Python Matching Tie and Handkerchief, after becoming involved with the comedy group in the 1970s.
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Although they tried to keep it hidden, they would fall in love during the production of The Most Happy Fella . “Well, you just couldn’t work with Frank and not fall in love with him. I admired his work greatly, he was witty,” she said in a 2006 interview on national radio. “There was a spark there. People sort of… knew it.
“[He] was just a wonderful human being to be with and both of us were not exactly happy in the arrangements we had. Both of us were married.”
The production closed at the end of 1957, by which point Sullivan gave Loesser a deadline: either they married by 1 May 1959, or she would carry on with her career and forget about him. They married on 29 April 1959.
This was the start of a 17-year hiatus in Sullivan’s performing career. “Though I still had the longing to perform,” she said in 1980, “it wasn’t appropriate because Frank didn’t want to come home at night to an empty house.
“He wanted me to go where he went and we had two beautiful children, two girls. But it worked out fine, I was very happy.”
Until her husband’s death from lung cancer in 1969, just 10 years after they married, she accompanied him on every trip and worked closely with him while raising their two daughters, Hannah and Emily. The latter would follow in her mother’s footsteps as a singer and actor.
Jo Sullivan Loesser and Sir Paul McCartney, who owns the rights to her husband's music, although she retained creative control over the production of his plays (Getty) Sullivan Loesser inherited her husband’s estate, including his publishing company and now had creative control over his highly sought-after theatre music from shows such as Guys and Dolls , How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying and The Most Happy Fella .
It wasn’t until 1977 that the acclaimed soprano would return to the stage, slowly starting to sing in Manhattan venues such as the Ballroom, the Russian Tea Room and Michael’s Pub.
She would go on to perform in bigger productions, appearing in a few reprises of Loesser’s works. In 1989, she would co-star her with daughter Emily in Together Again for The First Time at the Kaufman Theatre in New York.
Although Sir Paul McCartney owns the rights to Frank Loesser’s music today, she retained creative control over the production of his plays. She oversaw the Guys and Dolls revival on Broadway in 1992 which won a Tony Award.
Sullivan is survived her daughter Emily; two stepchildren, four grandchildren and her partner Jacquin Fink.
Jo Sullivan Loesser, actor and singer, born 28 August 1927, died 28 April 2019
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