Paul Jackson Pollock (January 28, 1912 – August 11, 1956) was an American painter. A major figure in the abstract expressionist movement, Pollock was widely noticed for his “drip technique” of pouring or splashing liquid household paint onto a horizontal surface, enabling him to view and paint his canvases from all angles. It was called all-over painting and action painting, since he covered the entire canvas and used the force of his whole body to paint, often in a frenetic dancing style. This extreme form of abstraction divided the critics: some praised the immediacy of the creation, while others derided the random effects. In 2016, Pollock’s painting titled “Number 17A” was reported to have fetched $200 million in a private purchase.
A reclusive and volatile personality, Pollock struggled with alcoholism for most of his life. In 1945, he married the artist Lee Krasner, who became an important influence on his career and on his legacy. Pollock died at the age of 44 in an alcohol-related single-car collision when he was driving. In December 1956, four months after his death, Pollock was given a memorial retrospective exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City. A larger, more comprehensive exhibition of his work was held there in 1967. In 1998 and 1999, his work was honored with large-scale retrospective exhibitions at MoMA and at the Tate in London.
Françoise Paulette Louise Dorléac (March 21, 1942 – June 26, 1967) was a French actress. She was the elder sister of Catherine Deneuve, with whom she starred in the 1967 musical, The Young Girls of Rochefort. Her other films include Philippe de Broca’s movie That Man from Rio, Francois Truffaut’s The Soft Skin, Roman Polanski’s Cul-de-Sac and Val Guest’s Where the Spies Are.
Dorléac modeled for Dior and made her film debut in The Wolves in the Sheepfold (1960). She went on to appear in The Door Slams (1960). Dorléac had a small role in Tonight or Never (1961), The Girl with the Golden Eyes (1961), All the Gold in the World (1961) and Adorable Liar (1961).
Dorléac’s parents were protective of her and her siblings, and well into adulthood she shared a bunk bed with her sister Deneuve in the family home, to which she regularly returned, according to Roger Vadim.
In December 1960, she met future co-star Jean-Pierre Cassel at the Épi-Club, a fashionable Montparnasse nightclub where she danced and partied with her younger sister, who also met Vadim there through mutual acquaintances. Cassel wrote in his 2004 autobiography that Dorléac had been the “love of his youth.”
She was briefly the companion of Francois Truffant in 1964, during and after the filming of the film La Peau Douce. This affair quickly turned into a friendship between the actress and the director, who affectionately called her “Raspberry.”
In an interview with Liberation, Guy Bedos, who also appears in Ce Soir ou Jamais, evokes his missing relatives and significant others including her: “I had a fiancée, Françoise Dorléac. Since her death, I can no longer pass in front of the Louvre without seeing her.”
Later she lived in an apartment at 159, boulevard Murat, in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, just opposite the building where she grew up and where her parents lived.
Dorléac was on the brink of international stardom when she died in a traffic accident on June 26, 1967, aged 25. She lost control of her rented Renault 10 and hit a signpost ten kilometres from Nice at the Villenauve-Loubet exit of the autoroute La Provencale. The car flipped over in a field and burst into flames. Dorléac had been en route to Nice Airport after vacationing with Deneuve at Saint-Tropez and was afraid of missing her flight. She was pinned under the steering wheel and was seen struggling to get out of the car, but was unable to unbuckle her seat belt and open the door. Police later identified her body only from the fragment of a cheque book, a diary, and her driver’s licence.
Rasual Butler (born Felix Rasual Cheeseborough; May 23, 1979 – January 31, 2018) was an American professional basketball player. In his 14-year National Basketball Association (NBA) career, he played for the Miami Heat, New Orleans Hornets, Los Angeles Clippers, Chicago Bulls, Toronto Raptors, Indiana Pacers, Washington Wizards and San Antonio Spurs. He was born in Philadelphia, and raised in the Point Breeze area of South Philadelphia. After playing college basketball at La Salle, he was drafted in second round of the 2002 NBA draft by the Heat.
On January 31, 2018, Butler and his girlfriend, singer Leah LaBelle, were killed instantly in a high-speed car accident in the Studio City neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, after he lost control of his Range Rover on Ventura Boulevard and crashed violently into a strip mall parking lot. Their bodies were cremated and Rasual’s cremated remains were given to his adult daughter Raven. Autopsy reports showed traces of methamphetamine, oxycodone and marijuana in Butler’s body, and a blood alcohol content of 0.118.
Thuy Trang (December 14, 1973 – September 3, 2001)
Thuy Trang was a Vietnamese-American actress. She was known for her role as Trini Kwan, the first Yellow Ranger on the original cast of the television series Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.
Trang’s father was a South Vietnamese army officer who fled the country in 1975 after the fall of Saigon, leaving his family behind. When Trang was six, she and her mother and brothers boarded a cargo ship bound for Hong Kong, a difficult journey during which Trang became very ill. They reunited with Trang’s father in the United States in 1980 and settled in California. She enrolled at the University of California, Irvine to study civil engineering, but switched her focus to acting after a talent scout spotted her.
Trang was chosen for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, her first major role, after participating in an audition process that included about 500 actresses. Like the other cast members, Trang mostly portrayed her character in scenes when she was out of her Power Rangers uniform; the in-costume fight scenes were footage adapted from the long-running Japanese television series Super Sentai, with Trang’s voice dubbed over the action. Trang appeared in 80 episodes in the series, which included the entire first season, and the first twenty episodes of the second. She performed many of her own stunts, and repeatedly got hurt on the set.
Trang left Mighty Morphin Power Rangers in the middle of the second season, along with fellow cast members Austin St. John and Walter Emanuel Jones, due to contractual and payment disputes and was replaced by Karan Ashley as the Yellow Ranger. She had a brief appearance in the film Spy Hard (1996), and played one of the lead villains in the film The Crow: City of Angels (1996). Trang had planned to appear in several films along with St. John and Jones, but none were ultimately made.
On September 3, 2001, the 27-year-old Trang was traveling with her friend, the actress and model Angela Rockwood, for whom Trang was to be a bridesmaid in her upcoming marriage to Dustin Nguyen.They were passengers in a car traveling on Interstate 5 between San Jose and Los Angeles, driving back late at night after having visited Rockwood’s maid of honor in San Jose. The driver, another bridesmaid named Steffiana de la Cruz, struck some loose gravel in a groove along the side of the street, and lost control of the vehicle. The car swerved violently across the road before hitting the roadside rock face, flipping several times before hitting the safety rail and plunging over the bank and into a second rock face. Rockwood was thrown 35 feet out of the car and survived, but her spinal cord was severed and she was rendered quadriplegic. The driver also survived the accident. Trang suffered internal injuries; and, after a paramedic inserted an endotracheal tube in her throat, blood began gushing out due to internal bleeding. A helicopter arrived to take her to the hospital, but she died along the way.
José Ariel Camacho Barraza was a Mexican singer-songwriter who performed the Sierreño and Regional Mexican music genre. He was the lead singer of his band, Ariel Camacho y Los Plebes del Rancho. In 2013 Ariel Camacho y Los Plebes del Rancho signed to JG Records. Then In 2014 they signed with DEL Records.
Ariel Camacho was born to Benito Camacho and Reynalda Barza on July 8, 1992 in Guamuchil, Sinaloa. He started singing at the age of 12 in Angostura, Sinaloa. When he was in middle school, he met César Iván Sánchez, who played guitar and did back up vocals. Camacho later sought to expand his group and found a tuba player, Omar Burgos. His first concert was held in Tijuana, in which he played for more than 40,000 people. He quickly became known for his expressive way of playing the requinto (12 string guitar). He became known as “La Tuyia” due to a childhood nickname given to him by his grandfather because his guitar was much bigger than him. He decided to form a band in the start of 2013. His band “Ariel Camacho y Los Plebes del Rancho” consisted of “El Tigre”, Cesar Sánchez (rhythm guitar and backing vocals) and Omar Burgos, “El Cenizo” (tuba). Camacho was the lead singer and played lead guitar (Requinto) in the band. His band quickly became known due to their unusual combination of standard guitar, requinto, and tuba. Among their most successful songs were Hablemos, Te Metiste, El Karma and Rey de Corazones. He was later nicknamed “El Rey de Corazónes” after releasing Rey de Corazones a song that quickly made his group known through social media. Camacho was praised for maintaining a classical element in his regional music by paying attention to the songwriters who had come before him such as Miguel y Miguel (Camacho’s favorite artists). He was also a frequent collaborator with other corrido singers, including Grupo Fernandez, Marca Registrada, Los Traviesos De La Sierra and Regulo Caro.
On February 25, 2015, Camacho and four other people were in a car accident on the road from Angostura, Sinaloa. Camacho was returning from a performance at a music festival, Carnaval de Mocorito. Camacho and two others died and two other persons were injured. They were riding in a 2004 Honda Accord when Camacho lost control. The accident reportedly occurred at two in the morning on Highway Angostura- La Reforma. Camacho died on impact. It is unclear whether he was driving intoxicated although it was reported he was driving at excessive speed. He had posted a video on his Facebook page a day before his death, inviting his fans and “all the beautiful ladies out there” to attend his next concert in March 2015. He died at the age of 22.
Following his death, his group’s song El Karma reached #1 on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart in March and the album hit the top five of the Latin albums chart. Shortly after his death, his band Los Plebes del Rancho changed their name as a tribute to Camacho to Los Plebes Del Rancho de Ariel Camacho. They continue to make albums in honor of Camacho, like Recuerden Mi Estilo, alongside Camacho’s father, Benito Camacho. Many have paid tribute to Camacho through the use of songs such as Virlan Garcia with Hasta el Cielo, Los Traviezoz de la Zierra with Mis Ultimos Momentos and Un Mentado Ariel. An album in tribute to Camacho was also released in 2017 called Ariel Camacho Para Siempre that features artists such as Gerardo Ortiz, Regulo Caro, and Revolver Cannabis. Each year on the 25th of February in memory of Camacho, his band, family members, fans, and other artists come together at his grave to commemorate him. Ariel is now known by many as “El Rey del Requinto”, “El Mentado”, “Rey de Corazones” and “La Tuyia.”
Mildred Lisette Norman, was an American spiritual teacher, mystic, pacifist, vegetarian activist and peace activist. In 1952, she became the first woman to walk the entire length of the Appalachian Trail in one season. She was on her seventh cross-country journey when she died.
Norman was born on a poultry farm in Egg Harbor City, New Jersey, in 1908, the oldest of three children. Her mother, Josephine Marie Ranch, was a tailor, and her father, Ernest Norman, a carpenter. Although poor, the Norman family was admired in a community of German immigrants, whose relatives originally settled the area after escaping Germany in 1855.
In 1933 she eloped with Stanley Ryder and moved to Philadelphia in 1939. They divorced in 1946.
In the book, Peace Pilgrim: Her Life and Work in Her Own Words, she related that her physical journey began after having experienced a “spiritual awakening,” following a long period of meditation practice. She said that this awakening was a direct, mystical experience of the “creator’s” love. She claimed that this spurred her to then start her decades-long walking journey for peace.
Her pilgrimage spanned almost three decades beginning January 1, 1953, in Pasadena, California. The Korean War was in progress. She continued walking for 28 years, spanning the American involvement in the Vietnam War and beyond. Peace Pilgrim was a frequent speaker at churches, universities, and local and national radio and television.
Expressing her ideas about peace, she referred to herself only as “Peace Pilgrim.” Peace Pilgrim’s only possessions were the clothes on her back and the few items she carried in the pockets of her blue tunic which read “Peace Pilgrim” on the front and “25,000 miles on foot for peace” on the back. She had no organizational backing, carried no money, and would not even ask for food or shelter. When she began her pilgrimage she had taken a vow to “remain a wanderer until mankind has learned the way of peace, walking until given shelter and fasting until given food.”
On July 7, 1981, while being driven to a speaking engagement near Knox, Indiana, Peace Pilgrim was killed in an automobile accident. The accident occurred on Indiana State Road 23, around 330 feet (100 m) south of the bridge crossing Eagle Creek about 1.6 miles (2.6 km) north of Indiana State Road 23’s intersection with Indiana State Road 8. A marker is in the front lawn on the west side of the highway.
At the time of her death, she was crossing the United States for the seventh time. After her death, her body was cremated, and her ashes were interred in a family plot near Egg Harbor City, New Jersey.
Friends of Peace Pilgrim is an all-volunteer non-profit organization dedicated to making information about the life and message of Peace Pilgrim available freely to all who ask. Since 1983 they have published and distributed over 400,000 copies of the book, Peace Pilgrim: Her Life and Work in Her Own Words, and over 1.5 million copies of the booklet, Steps Toward Inner Peace. Books and booklets have been sent to over 100 countries. The book has been translated into 12 languages and the booklet into over 20 languages.
In 2005 Peace Pilgrim Park was created in her hometown of Egg Harbor City, New Jersey on part of the site of the former Neutral Water Health Resort Sanitarium. Since 2007 an annual Peace Pilgrim Celebration has been observed in the park and at sites throughout Egg Harbor City on September 20–22.
In 2017 she was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame. The same year, she was inducted into the Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame.
Sammi Kane Kraft (April 2, 1992 – October 9, 2012)
Sammi Kane Kraft was an American recording artist, child actress and baseball player. Kraft was born in Livingston, New Jersey and starred in the 2005 remake of Bad News Bears as Amanda Whurlitzer. She was featured in an ESPN.com Page 2 story about her athletic skills, and competed in the Junior Olympics. Kraft began a garage folk project in San Francisco under the name of Scary Girls and recorded music.
On October 9, 2012, at 1:30 AM, Kraft was riding in the passenger seat of a car when it rear-ended a semi trailer and was then struck by another vehicle, according to the California Highway Patrol. Subsequently, she was pronounced dead at the Cedars Sinai Medical Center. Alana Haim of the band HAIM has the initials “SKK” taped to her guitar in memory of Kraft. Kraft’s heart was donated by her parents to Yvonne Payne, wife of Fox Business Network’s Charles Payne.
Lamont Bentley (October 25, 1973 – January 19, 2005)
Born Artimus Lamont Bentley in Milwaukee, Bentley was an American actor and rapper best known for his role as Hakeem Campbell on the UPN sitcom Moesha and the spin-off The Parkers. Bentley was also known for his role as Crazy K in the 1995 horror film Tales from the Hood and C-Money in the 2001 film The Wash featuring Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg.
Bentley moved to Los Angeles early in his life with his mother, Loyce, who wished to pursue a career as a professional singer. He began his career as a child actor appearing in television commercials and guest spots on various television series before landing a role on the short-lived but critically acclaimed television series South Central in 1994. In 1995, South Central creator Ralph Farquhar cast Bentley in the series Moesha, which ran for six seasons on UPN. After Moesha ended, Bentley continued acting while pursuing a career as a rapper.
Shortly after midnight on January 19, 2005, Bentley was driving alone when he was killed in a single-car accident in southern California’s Ventura County. He was driving on Highway 118 near Simi Valley (30 miles northwest of Los Angeles). Witnesses to the accident stated that Bentley’s vehicle was traveling at a high speed towards the Rocky Peak Fire Road off ramp. After running through a stop sign, the vehicle went through a chain-link fence situated across the street and rolled down an embankment. Bentley was ejected from the vehicle into traffic where five cars struck him. He sustained multiple blunt force injuries and was pronounced dead at 12:23 a.m. Bentley was survived by two daughters and his mother, who lived with him in Granada Hills, Los Angeles. Bentley was 31 years old.
Born Sylvester Ritter in Wadesboro, North Carolina, he was a professional wrestler and college football player, best known for his work in Mid-South Wrestling (during the early 1980s) and the World Wrestling Federation (from the mid to late 1980s) as the Junkyard Dog (or JYD), a nickname he received while working in a wrecking yard. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2004. Ritter entered the ring with his trademark chain attached to a dog collar, to the music of Queen’s Another One Bites the Dust, JYD became “the first black wrestler to be made the undisputed top star of his promotion,” routinely selling out major venues. JYD was most known for his headbutt and upper body strength, the latter of which saw him regularly bodyslam large wrestlers. The word “thump,” which referred to JYD’s powerslam, was prominently displayed on his wrestling trunks. After his stint with the WWF (now the WWE), Ritter wrestled with World Championship Wrestling until 1993. He finished his wrestling career in 1994 and 1995 on the indepedent circuit.
Tragically, Ritter died on June 1, 1998 in a single vehicle accident on Interstate 20 near Forest, Mississippi at age 45. He was returning home from his daughter LaToya’s high school graduation in Wadesboro (his hometown). The final footnote: LaToya also tragically died young at age 31. She had been talking on the phone to a friend October 19, 2011 when her friend heard a loud thud. Her friend called some family members to check on her fearing she had fallen down the stairs. Her brother found her unresponsive and paramedics were unable to revive her. The details of LaToya’s death had never been shared publicly. I was able to find an article about Ritter on http://www.prowrestlingstories.com which included an update from a friend of the family that stated that Ms. Ritter died of a heart attack. Doctors say that LaToya was gone “before she hit the floor” and “that she didn’t suffer.”
Born Vera Jayne Palmer, Jayne Mansfield was an American film, theater, and television actress. She was also a nightclub entertainer and a singer, and one of the early Playboy Playmates. She was a major Hollywood sex symbol during the 1950s and early 1960s while under contract at 20th Century Fox, securing said contract after the death of Marilyn Monroe, who she was supposed to replace. She was also known for her well-publicized personal life and publicity stunts, such as “wardrobe malfunctions.”
Mansfield’s film career was short-lived, but she had several box-office successes, winning a Golden Globe. She enjoyed success in the role of fictional actress Rita Marlowe, both in the 1955–1956 Broadway version and the 1957 film version of Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? Her other major movie performances were in The Girl Can’t Help It (1956), The Wayward Bus (1957), and Too Hot to Handle (1960). She became the first major American actress in a Hollywood film to have a nude scene in Promises! Promises! (1963).
Mansfield was married three times: From 1950 to 1958 to public relations professional Paul Mansfield (whose name she retained through her professional career), from 1958 to 1964 to actor Miklos “Mickey” Hargitay and from 1964 to 1966 to film director Matt Cimber. She had a daughter with Mansfield (Jayne Marie Mansfield), three with Hargitay (Mickey Hargitay Jr., Zolton Hargitay and actress Mariska Hargitay) and a son with Cimber (Tony Cimber). Mansfield is also known for her alleged affairs: including Robert and John F. Kennedy, her attorney Samuel S. Brody, and Las Vegas entertainer Nelson Sardelli.
In June 1967, Mansfield was in Biloxi, Mississippi, for an engagement at the Gus Stevens Supper Club. After two appearances on the evening of June 28, Mansfield, Sam Brody (her attorney and companion), their driver Ronnie Harrison (age 20), and three of her children— Miklós, Zoltán, and Mariska—left Biloxi after midnight in a 1966 Buick Electra 225. Their destination was New Orleans, where Mansfield was to appear on WDSU’s Midday Show the next day. At about 2:25 a.m., on U.S. Highway 90 west of the Rigolets Bridge, the Buick crashed at high speed into the rear of a tractor-trailer that had slowed behind a truck spraying mosquito fogger shrouded in an insecticide fog. The three adults in the front seat died instantly. The children, asleep in the rear seat, survived with minor injuries.