Deaths So Far (and it's just July)

[IceWizard]

AUG CONTINUED




Rob Riley in the film 'True Nature'

Rob Riley, an actor and former Saturday Night Live writer, died Aug. 8 from
complications from a stroke. He was 80. Born in Long Grove, Ill., Riley began
his career in the Chicago improv scene, joining the famed Second City improv
troupe in the 1980s and working alongside the likes of Jim Belushi,
Tim Kazurinsky, and George Wendt. He was a writer for SNL between
1984 and 1985. Riley also made a name for himself in the Chicago theater
scene, including productions of The Mystery Circle and Cadillac. He had
several minor television and film roles, with credits including 2010’s
A Nightmare on Elm Street, Chicago Fire, and Groundhog Day — in which
he played a DJ whose voice wakes up Bill Murray each day when his
radio alarm clock goes off. He is survived by his wife,
actress Nonie Newton-Riley, and his son.








Ray Brooks in 1984.

Ray Brooks, an English TV and film actor known for roles in Mr. Benn, The Knack …
and How to Get It, Big Deal, and Taxi, died Aug. 9 at 86. His role as Terry Mills
in Taxi in 1963 jumpstarted his career, and he followed that up with a role on the
long-running ITV soap Coronation Street a year later. Around this time, Brooks
also had small roles in British films such as H.M.S. Defiant, Play It Cool and
Some People, but rose to prominence in the Cannes Palme d'Or winner The Knack …
and How to Get It. In the '80s, he had recurring roles on the TV series Big Deal
and Running Wild. In later years, he was known for playing Joe Macer on the
long-running BBC soap opera EastEnders. Other acting credits include Two
Thousand Acres of Sky, Growing Pains, The Pickwick Papers, Death of an
Expert Witness, King Rollo, Two People, Jackanory, Rooms, Pathfinders,
Black and Blue, A Thinking Man as Hero, among several others.









Bobby Whitlock in 1975.

Keyboardist and rock singer Bobby Whitlock, who co-founded the pioneering group
Derek and the Dominos alongside Eric Clapton, died on Aug. 10 at age 77.
Whitlock was born in Memphis in 1948 and quickly found himself at the heart of
the city's booming soul and blues scene. He was signed to the iconic Stax Records
label, which helped break the careers of acts like Otis Redding and Isaac Hayes.
Through Stax, he joined the touring band of husband and wife duo Delaney & Bonnie,
where he met Clapton, bassist Carl Radle, and drummer Jim Gordon. The quartet
formed the short-lived Derek and the Dominos, but managed to release the seminal
Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs in 1970. Beyond the Dominos, Whitlock played
on the sessions for George Harrison's All Things Must Pass, performed at
John Lennon's 1969 "Peace for Christmas" concert, and released 14 albums as a
solo artist, six with his wife, CoCo Carmel.









David Ketchum circa 1975.

David Ketchum, the prolific television writer and comedic actor best known for his role
as the hapless Agent 13 on the cult 1965 sitcom Get Smart, died Aug. 10 at age 97.
Ketchum made his TV debut in 1961, appearing on episodes of such programs as
The Jim Backus Show and The Munsters before joining season 2 of Get Smart in
1966 as Agent 13, a character whose signature became finding himself stationed
in tight, uncomfortable spaces — mailboxes, fire hydrants, etc. — while undercover
for assignments. His other memorable TV roles include Mel Warshaw on I'm Dickens,
He's Fenster and Spiffy on Camp Runamuck, plus guest spots on The Mary Tyler
Moore Show, The Odd Couple, The Partridge Family, Maude, Mork & Mindy, and
Happy Days. Ketchum also wrote episodes of Get Smart, and other classic shows
like MacGyver, The Love Boat, Lottery!, Laverne & Shirley, T.J. Hooker, M*A*S*H,
Here's Lucy, The Bionic Woman, Wonder Woman, The Six Million Dollar Man, and Full House.








Danielle Spencer on 'What's Happening'.

Former child star Danielle Spencer, who became a household name playing Dee Thomas
on the ABC sitcom What’s Happening, died on Aug. 11 at age 60. Born in the Bronx, N.Y.,
and raised by her mother, Cheryl, a French teacher, and stepfather, actor Tim Pelt, Spencer
began acting at age seven in a repertory company co-founded by Pelt. She mostly booked
bit parts before booking What's Happening! in 1976, when she was 11 years old. Spencer
played Dee Thomas, the smart-aleck younger sister of Roger "Raj" Thomas (Ernest Thomas)
and daughter of Mabel (Mabel King). Her character became known for her catchphrase,
"Ooooh, I'm gonna tell Mama!" Initially a summer replacement that had a successful
four-week run, the series ran for three seasons. Almost a decade later, the series was
revived as What's Happening Now from 1985-88. Spencer reprised her role as a college-aged
Dee on a recurring basis. When the original What's Happening ended its three-season run,
Spencer and her family moved to the Ivory Coast before she returned to the U.S. to attend
the University of California, Davis, to pursue veterinary medicine. Following the cancellation
of What’s Happening Now, she attended Tuskegee University Veterinary School in Alabama
and became a veterinarian in 1996. Spencer is survived by her mother, Cheryl,
and her brother Jeremy, a jazz musician.









Ronnie Rondell Jr.

Ronnie Rondell Jr., a stuntman who was famously pictured afire on the cover of
Pink Floyd’s 1975 album Wish You Were Here, died Aug. 12 at a senior living facility
in Missouri, his family announced in an obituary. He was 88. Over a career that
began in the 1950s and continued through 2003, Rondell also appeared on TV shows
such as Charlie's Angels, Mod Squad, Baretta, and Gunsmoke. He played a part in
films including Blazing Saddles, Lethal Weapon, and The Matrix Reloaded. One of
three men to found the stunt company Stunts Unlimited in 1970, he also worked
as a stunt coordinator on movies including The Mighty Ducks and Batman and Robin.
Rondell's survivors include his wife of 56 years, Mary.









Tristan Rogers on 'General Hospital'

Tristan Rogers, the soap star known for his long run playing Robert Scorpio on more
than 1,400 episodes of General Hospital, died Aug. 15, at 79. Born in Melbourne,
Australia, Rogers also played the private investigator Hunter Jones in 27 episodes
of The Bold and the Beautiful in 1997. He later portrayed Colin Atkinson on more
than 100 episodes of The Young and the Restless in the early 2010s. He received a
Daytime Emmy for playing Doc on Amazon's Studio City in 2020, and scored another
nomination for the same role in 2021. He acted in more than 100 episodes of the
web soap opera The Bay as well. Rogers' other screen credits included The Love Boat,
The Rescuers Down Under, Babylon 5, The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest,
and Aaahh! Real Monsters.








Terence Stamp at the BFI FLARE Film Festival in London in 2019

Terence Stamp, the prolific English star of international masterpieces like Pier Paolo
Pasolini's Teorema and Federico Fellini's Toby Dammit and the memorable villain of
Richard Donner's 1978 Superman and its sequel, Superman II, died on Aug. 17 at
the age of 87. Stamp was born in the Stepney borough of London's East End on
July 22, 1938. He won a scholarship to undergo classical training at the prestigious
Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art. His debut film role, the titular part in
Peter Ustinov's 1962 adaptation of Herman Melville's Billy Budd, won him an
Academy Award nomination at only 24. In the first few years of his screen career,
he starred opposite legends like Laurence Olivier and Melvyn Douglas, worked
with directors like William Wyler and Joseph Losey, and earned the Best Actor prize
at the Cannes Film Festival. Stamp appeared as the memorable General Zod in
two Superman films, winning a broad fan base. He starred in two films by Tim Burton
toward the end of his career, turning in one final, electric performance in
Last Night in Soho in 2021.








Judge Frank Caprio at the 51st Daytime Emmy Awards on June 7, 2024.

Frank Caprio, the municipal judge who became a household name for presiding
over cases in his Rhode Island courtroom on the reality series Caught in Providence,
died Aug. 20 after "a long and courageous battle with pancreatic cancer." He was 88.
Francesco Caprio was born in Providence, R.I., on Nov. 24, 1936, as the second of
three sons. He was appointed to the Providence Municipal Court in 1985, and served
as chief judge until his retirement in January 2023. Caprio rose to prominence when
clips of the proceedings he presided over, which mainly included low-level citations
and ran for over two decades on local television, went viral on social media. Viewers
found that Caprio showed an unusual mercy and kindness to those who appeared
before him in court, earning him the nickname of the "Nicest Judge in the World."
After the clips of him went viral, Lionsgate's Debmar-Mercury division began distributing
Caught in Providence throughout the U.S. in 2018. The show was renewed for a
second season of syndication in January 2019. The reality series was executive
produced by Providence resident Paula Abdul, and nominated for Daytime Emmys
in 2021, 2022, and 2023. Caprio was nominated on his own in 2024 for
Outstanding Daytime Personality.
He is survived by his wife, five children, seven grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.









Brent Hinds of Mastodon performing at Riot Fest 2024 in Chicago on Sept. 22, 2024

Brent Hinds, the founding lead guitarist for Mastodon, died August 20 after a motorcycle
accident in Atlanta. He was 51. Born in Helena, Ala., in 1974, Hinds began his musical
pursuits playing the banjo at the behest of his father. Hinds moved to Atlanta to pursue
a music career in the late 1990s, and he connected with bassist Troy Sanders, with whom
he played in the band Four Hour Fogger. The duo later joined forces with drummer
Brann Dailor and rhythm guitarist Bill Kelliher to form Mastodon in 2000. The group
ultimately released eight studio albums as a quartet, with Hinds sharing vocal duties
with Sanders and, later, Dailor. The group has been nominated for six Grammys to date,
winning the award for Best Metal Performance for "Sultan's Curse" from their seventh album,
Emperor of Sand, at the 2018 ceremony. Hinds departed Mastodon in March 2025.
He also played with Fiend Without a Face, West End Motel, Giraffe Tongue Orchestra,
and Legend of the Seagullmen.