2018 Celebrity Dead Pool

[MerryCarey]

Over the weekend:
Senator John McCain
Neil Simon

 

[XmasDreams]

You forgot Robin Leach as well.

 

[AuntieMistletoeDear]

Over the weekend:
Senator John McCain
Neil Simon

Neil Simon - my parents were pleased that I enjoyed his work and films like The Goodbye Girl, The Odd Couple, The Prisoner of Second Avenue, The Out of Towners, Only When I Laugh, etc. because they could watch them more than once and I wouldn't complain.
One time we were returning from our trip to Vegas and California and switched planes in Chicago and as we were taking off I said in my best impression of Sandy Dennis, "Oh, my God, we're being hijacked to Cuba, George!"
So right there, I learned that it's not as funny when you're on a plane with nervous travellers.

 

[AuntieMistletoeDear]

You forgot Robin Leach as well.

I did not hear about that until you posted it. That's why it's good to check in from time to time. It's not at all about the competition, 'cause people lose one way or the other.

 

[MerryCarey]

Neil Simon was also a writer for the great Sid Caesar in his heyday in the 1950s. Also wrote “The Sunshine Boys.”

 

[Mr. Hankey]

Ed King, former Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist and co-writer of Skynyrd's top 10 song "Sweet Home Alabama" has died at 68. King also played in the band Strawberry Alarm Clock ("Incense And Peppermints")

 

[MerryCarey]

It finally came to Gloria ... our own beloved Gloria Jean. (That's her in my avatar picture, a colorized screenshot from "Snowtime Serenade.)

It's not the usual thing to do here, but as many people haven't heard of Gloria, I'd like to share the obituary that Mr. wrote for her this morning after we got the news:

Gloria Jean, Hollywood singing star of the 1940s who co-starred with W. C. Fields, Bing Crosby, Donald O'Connor, and Mel Tormé, died on August 31 at the age of 92 in Mountain View, Hawaii. She made her screen debut for Universal Pictures in 1939, and at the time of her death she was the studio's oldest surviving star. She died of heart failure, according to her daughter-in-law, Jennifer Cellini.

Born Gloria Jean Schoonover on April 14, 1926 in Buffalo, New York, she became a popular singer in early childhood, appearing on radio in Scranton, Pennsylvania at the age of three. She was a guest performer with bandleader Paul Whiteman, and was being trained as the youngest professional coloratura soprano.

Her operatic coach took her to an audition for Universal producer Joe Pasternak, where she won the leading role in the 1939 feature film "The Under-Pup." The film was an instant success, and the young actress became a dependable lead or second lead opposite Universal's biggest stars. Her most famous film is the 1941 W. C. Fields comedy "Never Give a Sucker an Even Break." Between 1939 and 1959 Gloria Jean starred or co-starred in 26 feature films, and made frequent appearances on radio, television, and the vaudeville stage.

As her musical career wound down in the late 1950s, she accepted a job as a hostess in a Polynesian restaurant, where movie people gathered. Her reduced circumstances prompted many sympathetic stories in the press, resulting in occasional TV and movie work. She married Franco Cellini in 1962 but the union was unsuccessful due to his frequent absences from home. The couple had one child, Angelo Cellini, who died in 2017.

Now divorced and with a child to support, Gloria Jean became a receptionist for the Redken Laboratories, a national cosmetics firm. This became her second career, and she retired in 1993.

Gloria Jean retained her fan following and received fan mail steadily for the rest of her life. She collaborated on her book biography, "Gloria Jean: A Little Bit of Heaven," which was published in 2005. Shortly thereafter she moved to her son's home in Hawaii, to enjoy her remaining years with her family.

Funeral arrangements are incomplete at this writing.

If you're curious about her career, video and audio clips are available on GloriaJeanSings.com, which will be dedicated to her memory. She was also heard on the Merry Podcasts, telling her story of what it was like to be there when Mel Torme was putting the finishing touches on "The Christmas Song"---on her family's piano. She was also heard in a Kringle Radio (then Merry Christmas Radio) show where she reminisced about her childhood Christmases (including participating in Hollywood's Santa Claus Lane Parade) and Christmas during wartime. She will be greatly missed, as a personality and as a dear, dear friend.

 

[Jeff Westover]

How sad. I will miss hearing of her from you. But I count on many memories to be shared in the years to come.

 

[MerryCarey]

How sad. I will miss hearing of her from you. But I count on many memories to be shared in the years to come.

Thank you, Jeff. She was an amazing lady ... it always awed me that we were talking to someone who worked with so many legends and had seen and participated in the golden age of Hollywood firsthand.

 

[AuntieMistletoeDear]

It finally came to Gloria ... our own beloved Gloria Jean. (That's her in my avatar picture, a colorized screenshot from "Snowtime Serenade.)

It's not the usual thing to do here, but as many people haven't heard of Gloria, I'd like to share the obituary that Mr. wrote for her this morning after we got the news:

Gloria Jean, Hollywood singing star of the 1940s who co-starred with W. C. Fields, Bing Crosby, Donald O'Connor, and Mel Tormé, died on August 31 at the age of 92 in Mountain View, Hawaii. She made her screen debut for Universal Pictures in 1939, and at the time of her death she was the studio's oldest surviving star. She died of heart failure, according to her daughter-in-law, Jennifer Cellini.

Born Gloria Jean Schoonover on April 14, 1926 in Buffalo, New York, she became a popular singer in early childhood, appearing on radio in Scranton, Pennsylvania at the age of three. She was a guest performer with bandleader Paul Whiteman, and was being trained as the youngest professional coloratura soprano.

Her operatic coach took her to an audition for Universal producer Joe Pasternak, where she won the leading role in the 1939 feature film "The Under-Pup." The film was an instant success, and the young actress became a dependable lead or second lead opposite Universal's biggest stars. Her most famous film is the 1941 W. C. Fields comedy "Never Give a Sucker an Even Break." Between 1939 and 1959 Gloria Jean starred or co-starred in 26 feature films, and made frequent appearances on radio, television, and the vaudeville stage.

As her musical career wound down in the late 1950s, she accepted a job as a hostess in a Polynesian restaurant, where movie people gathered. Her reduced circumstances prompted many sympathetic stories in the press, resulting in occasional TV and movie work. She married Franco Cellini in 1962 but the union was unsuccessful due to his frequent absences from home. The couple had one child, Angelo Cellini, who died in 2017.

Now divorced and with a child to support, Gloria Jean became a receptionist for the Redken Laboratories, a national cosmetics firm. This became her second career, and she retired in 1993.

Gloria Jean retained her fan following and received fan mail steadily for the rest of her life. She collaborated on her book biography, "Gloria Jean: A Little Bit of Heaven," which was published in 2005. Shortly thereafter she moved to her son's home in Hawaii, to enjoy her remaining years with her family.

Funeral arrangements are incomplete at this writing.

If you're curious about her career, video and audio clips are available on GloriaJeanSings.com, which will be dedicated to her memory. She was also heard on the Merry Podcasts, telling her story of what it was like to be there when Mel Torme was putting the finishing touches on "The Christmas Song"---on her family's piano. She was also heard in a Kringle Radio (then Merry Christmas Radio) show where she reminisced about her childhood Christmases (including participating in Hollywood's Santa Claus Lane Parade) and Christmas during wartime. She will be greatly missed, as a personality and as a dear, dear friend.

Mr. did a great job; bit of a merry connection there - sorry you lost a friend of Christmas and retro works.

 

[MerryCarey]

Mr. did a great job; bit of a merry connection there - sorry you lost a friend of Christmas and retro works.

Thank you, Auntie.

 

[AuntieMistletoeDear]

This was an interview that I liked on YouTube.


Oddly enough, whether or not you believe in ghosts or spirits, Deanna Durbin's (who was Canadian) "likeness" visited me in a haunted hotel in Winnipeg (where she was born). I never really understood the connection between us or why she was in my hotel room nor did I know the hotel was noted for being haunted until breakfast the next morning.

Have to admit I was bigger fan of Gloria's work.

 

[MerryCarey]

Have to admit I was bigger fan of Gloria's work.

From what we heard about Miss Durbin's attitude toward Gloria during her Universal Studios days ... your preference may be why you were haunted.

I think we already had a "visit" from Gloria ... we once gave her a hollow-center clear acrylic penguin. She put it on a base with a color-changing LED, and we loved seeing that when we visited. We could never find another similar penguin for ourselves. Until this morning, when there was a PAIR of the identical penguins on eBay. Of course we ordered them. Now I'm looking for two color-changing light bases.

 

[RadioJonD]

Sad for your, and consequently our, loss, MerryCary. I also enjoy learning about her from you.

Her voice overs for the 'Mistletoe Mix' are forever treasured!

 

[MerryCarey]

Sad for your, and consequently our, loss, MerryCary. I also enjoy learning about her from you.

Her voice overs for the 'Mistletoe Mix' are forever treasured!

Thank you, RJD. We're still feeling numb, but we're also reliving happy memories.

 

[AuntieMistletoeDear]

Reminds me of how I felt when we lost Burl Ives, only I never actually met him and Dorothy in person just a few conversations and carols exchanged over the phone. My brother who was working on a biography a few years before he past, still gets choked up over the loss.

 

[MerryCarey]

Reminds me of how I felt when we lost Burl Ives, only I never actually met him and Dorothy in person just a few conversations and carols exchanged over the phone. My brother who was working on a biography a few years before he past, still gets choked up over the loss.

Some friends are as dear as family, and Gloria told us more than once that she considered us family. We really cherish that. We haven't played her music or watched her in a movie since she passed; I know that will be difficult at first, but so much of the Gloria we knew shines through in the movies that they will ultimately be a comfort.

 

[Meceka]

Oh, Merry, I'm so sorry for you and Mr.'s loss. Praying for you both and for Gloria's family. {{{HUGS}}}

 

[MerryCarey]

Oh, Merry, I'm so sorry for you and Mr.'s loss. Praying for you both and for Gloria's family. {{{HUGS}}}

Thank you, Meceka. She will be missed sadly and remembered joyously by her many friends and fans.

We were afraid that the media would ignore her passing, but the Hollywood Reporter e-mailed us this morning for information and photos ... and later this afternoon The New York Times obituary manager called Mr. to get information and photos. I'm glad she will be remembered by a news outlet with such prominence. We've been hearing from fans who exchanged emails with her ... she still has many fans around the world. She will not be forgotten.

 

[RadioJonD]

Posted in the Nostalgia Digest FaceBook group today...