Famed Artist LeRoy Neiman Dead at Age 91, Artist Best Known for Famous Sporting Images Has Passed

Anyone who followed sports, boxing, Super Bowls and the Olympics knows who LeRoy Neiman was. His bold colors and brash paintings of sporting events were all the rage in their day. Sadly, the iconic artist LeRoy Neimna has passed away at the age of 91. Rest in Peace … he will now be painting brilliant colors in Heaven.

LeRoy Neiman, whose brilliantly colored, impressionistic sketches of sporting events and the international high life made him one of the most popular artists in the United States, died on Wednesday in Manhattan. He was 91.

LeRoy Neiman – Montreal -76

Mr. Neiman’s kinetic, quickly executed paintings and drawings, many of them published in Playboy, offered his fans gaudily colored visual reports on heavyweight boxing matches, Super Bowl games and Olympic contests, as well as social panoramas like the horse races at Deauville, France, and the Cannes Film Festival.

He was named official artist of the Olympic Winter Games in Lake Placid and in Sarajevo as well as the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Check out the LeRoy Neimna website.

Mr. Neiman’s most famous images came from the world of sports. His long association with the Olympics began with the Winter Games in Squaw Valley in 1960, and he went on to cover the games, on live television, in Munich in 1972, Montreal in 1976, Lake Placid in 1980, and Sarajevo and Los Angeles in 1984, using watercolor, ink or felt-tip marker to produce images with the dispatch of a courtroom sketch artist. At the 1978 and 1979 Super Bowls, he used a computerized electronic pen to portray the action for CBS.

Although he was best known for scenes filled with people and incident, he also painted many portraits. Athletes predominated, with Muhammad Ali and Joe Namath among his more famous subjects, but he also painted Leonard Bernstein, the ballet dancer Suzanne Farrell, the poet Marianne Moore and Sylvester Stallone, who gave Mr. Neiman cameo roles in three “Rocky” films.

Daily Commentary – Monday, June 18, 2012 – Rodney King Dies of Drowning at Age 47

• The man who’s beating by Los Angeles cops sparked the 1992 L.A. riots found dead in his pool at age 47

Daily Commentary – Monday, June 18, 2012 Download

Rodney King Dead at 47 … Found Dead in Swimming Pool … Victim at the Center of the 1991 LA Police Beating & Subsequent Riots is Dead … Rest in Peace

47 year old Rodney King has been found dead in his swimming pool according to his fiancee, Cynthia Kelly.  Police in Rialto, CA received a 911 call at about 5:25 am PT from King’s fiancee. According to reports, King was found in the pool by his fiance. Responding officers found King at the bottom of the pool, removed him and attempted to revive him. Rodney King was pronounced dead at a local hospital. King is best known as the victim of the LAPD beating that sparked riots in 1992. Since that sad mark in history, King was arrested or detained by police at least a dozen times on charges ranging from DUI to domestic violence.

Rodney King, whose beating by Los Angeles police in 1991 was caught on camera and sparked riots after the acquittal of the four officers involved, was found dead in his swimming pool Sunday, authorities and his fiancee confirmed. He was 47.

Police in Rialto, California, received a 911 call from King’s fiancee, Cynthia Kelly, about 5:25 a.m., said Capt. Randy DeAnda. Responding officers found King at the bottom of the pool, removed him and attempted to revive him. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital, DeAnda said.

There were no preliminary signs of foul play, he said, and no obvious injuries on King’s body. Police are conducting a drowning investigation, DeAnda said, and King’s body would be autopsied.

“His fiancee heard him in the rear yard,” he said, and found King in the pool when she went outside.

As reported by TMZ, Rodney King, was pronounced dead after CPR was attempted on King. Law enforcement sources say Rialto PD will open a drowning investigation.

Sadly, Rodney King became famous in 1991 when he was the victim of the police brutality beating at the hands of the LAPD. Matters became even worse in Los Angeles when the police officers involved in the beating incident were acquitted the following year. The announcement of the acquittal verdict led to the Los Angeles riots.

VIDEO OF THE RODNEY KING BEATING

A bystander videotaped much of the incident from a distance. The footage shows four LAPD officers severely beating King, striking him 56 times.

The L.A. riots, which started April 29, 1992, was the worst riot in U.S history. Fifty-three people died and more than 2,000 were injured. Arsonists set some 7,000 fires and caused $1 billion in damage.

ABC News reminds us that it was Rodney King who made the famous plea for peace following the acquittal: “I just want to say – can we all get along?” For those of you too young to remember or who have forgot, see the VIDEO below of the aftermath of the Rodney King verdict and the backlash, violence that took place.

UPDATE I: TMZ is reporting that Rodney King was drinking and smoking weed before he was found drown in pool. However, some friends of King are questioning her story. Honestly, let the man Rest in Peace. In his immortal words, “Can’t we all just get along” and let this man’s soul rest in eternal peace?

According to our sources, King’s fiancée, Cynthia Kelley, is telling friends King was at the house all day drinking, and he smoked marijuana at some point, before she went to bed at 2:00 AM.

Legendary Host of ‘Family Feud’ Richard Dawson Dies at 79 … Rest in Peace

Richard Dawson, the legendary TV host of ‘Family Feud,’ has died at the age of 79 from complication due to esophageal cancer at Ronald Reagan Memorial hospital. The British entertainer was apart of so many other TV shows like ‘Hogan’s Hero’s', ‘Dick Van Dyke Show’, ‘Love American Style’, ‘The Love Boat’ and the movie ‘The Running Man’; however, he will always be known for the host of Family Feud. Also, who will ever forget him a s regular on the TV game show Match Game? Dawson hosted “Feud” from 1976-1985, and then from 1994-1995, where he became famous for kissing each woman contestant.

How Richard Dawson made it thru this family is beyond me

On his last “Family Feud” in 1985, the studio audience honored Dawson with a standing ovation, and he responded: “Please sit down. I have to do at least 30 minutes of fun and laughter and you make me want to cry.”

Classic moment from Family Feud

Gary Dawson posted a Facebook message early this morning that read via TMZ:

“It is with a very heavy heart that I inform you that my father passed away this evening from complications due to esophageal cancer. He was surrounded by his family. He was an amazing talent, a loving husband, a great dad, and a doting grandfather. He will be missed but always remembered…”

Brian in a Blue State

Last Dance … Donna Summer, The Queen of Disco Has Died at the Age of 63 from Cancer

The death of a music icon …

Donna Summer, the Queen of Disco has passed away at the age of 63. She passed away at her home in Naples, Florida after a long battle with cancer. How very sad, for those of you old enough to remember vinyl records and 8-track tapes, Donna Summer was the diva of diva’s of the 1970′s music era and the undisputed Queen of Disco. Donna Summer then went on to have a career beyond disco and had such 80′s hits as with “She Works Hard for the Money” and “This Time I Know It’s for Real.” TMZ is reporting that Donna Summer died of lung cancer which she and her family kept very secret and private.

We’re told Summer was in Florida at the time of her death. She was 63 years old.

Sources close to Summer tell us … the singer was trying to keep the extent of her illness under wraps. We spoke to someone who was with Summer a couple of weeks ago … who says she didn’t seem too bad.

In fact, we’re told she was focused on trying to finish up an album she had been working on.

 Donna Summer: 1948 – 2012 … Rest in Peace

From the LA Times, much more on the life and times of Donna Summer.

An early fan of gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, Summer sang in a psychedelic rock band called Crow in the late 1960s. She left home for New York City at 18 and quickly landed a role in a touring production of the Broadway show “Hair.”

She spent the next three years living and touring in Europe. While there she met and married singer Helmuth Sommer, and took a variation of his last name as her stage name. In Europe she also met Moroder, whose early dance tracks were making an impact there.

“Love to Love You Baby” was their first hit together. A shortened version of it that was released in 1975 by Casablanca, then a hot label, peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard singles chart.

Donna Summer’s family released a statement:

Her family released the following statement Thursday: “Early this morning, surrounded by family, we lost Donna Summer Sudano, a woman of many gifts, the greatest being her faith. While we grieve her passing, we are at peace celebrating her extraordinary life and her continued legacy. Words truly can’t express how much we appreciate your prayers and love for our family at this sensitive time.”

MTV Interview: Donna Summer Calls Singing ‘The Greatest Gift’ In 1989 … ‘Sometimes you can’t communicate in words, but in a song, you can.

“Music is part of my life. For my judgment, music is the greatest of all the gifts,” Summer told MTV News’ John Norris in a rare 1989 interview. “The voice — not my voice, but the voice — to me is the greatest gift. Having a voice. You need no other instrument, all you have to do is sing. Open your mouth, and it’s there.”‘

She will be laid to rest in Nashville, TN.