Dead people — 6/15/2025

a once-weekly roundup,
usually on Sundays

Being old, death gets my attention, so I read the obituaries. This is a collection of recent obits for people whose work touched my life, because I want to say thanks, or maybe give ’em a final fuck you.

There’ll be a roundup like this occasionally, until I’m on the list myself.
   

George Annas
thought patients have rights

Terry Louise Fisher
co-creator of Hooperman

Frederick Forsyth
author, The Day of the Jackal

Melissa Hortman
assassinated

Clifton Jones
actor, Space: 1999

Sister Jane Kelly
“That damn nun from Ukiah”

Kenneth Kelly
forgotten person

Jennifer Lyell
survivor & activist

Stanley Nelson
journalist, Concordia Sentinel

Johnny O’Brien
basketballer turned baseballer

Davy Pichel
forgotten person

John Shulock
scab 🖕

Sly Stone
rock’n’roller, “Everyday People”

Paul Thomas
actor, Jesus Christ Superstar,
and Debbie Does Dallas Again

unborn child
2nd Amendment

unnamed, 2
2nd Amendment

Brian Wilson
“Good Vibrations,” troubled soul

Harris Yulin
actor, Scarface

Last week’s dead people

6/15/20252

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10 responses to “Dead people — 6/15/2025”

  1. johnthebasket Avatar
    johnthebasket

    It’s 3:00 Monday morning and I’ve spent the last hour reading obits of Brian. I think you picked the best of them, and I don’t have much to add. Except to say that Brian Wilson didn’t surf. He didn’t give a shit about surfing. And except to say that Wikipedia has a list of people with absolute pitch that includes Ludwig van Beethoven, Ray Charles, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Oscar Peterson, Yo-Yo Ma, and Brian Wilson.

    Brian Wilson was in the control booth as usual and the drummer couldn’t find the right tone to accompany one of Brian’s pop symphonies. The Wrecking Crew was burning money as the clock ran toward midnight, and the drummer had tried every surface with every stick he had. Brian hit “talk” and said “Hit the water cooler”. The drummer did. Over the speaker came Brian’s voice: “lose the water”. The drummer turned the plastic container upside down, splashing a few of the Crew, ran to the bathroom, and started flushing. He came back, turned the empty container over, and hit it with his favorite stick. That’s the beat of one of Brian’s most celebrated songs. That story is from Carol Kaye, Wilson’s favorite bass player, and one of the few musicians he would see when he went into isolation.

    During one of Brian’s absences from craziness, he put together a 17-piece band and toured. This is what a song is supposed to sound like:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ2RJwTwbzg

    Adios, Brian.

    Reply
    1. Doug Holland Avatar
      Doug Holland

      One of those great songs that makes me want to stop everything and simply listen.

      So what’s the song with the empty water cooler rhythm?

      Reply
      1. johnthebasket Avatar
        johnthebasket

        If I remembered that I certainly would have included the name of the song. I read 30 to 50 books a year, and something like a third of them for the last five years have been about popular music, its history, and how it gets made, so I remembered the story but not the detail of which song it was. My increasingly fading memory tells me it might be Good Vibrations (verses only) but don’t hold me to it. Brian changed everything from pitch to tone in the control booth, so it probably wouldn’t sound like a water cooler on the record, and would have been played on the drum kit in performance.

        jtb

        Reply
        1. johnthebasket Avatar
          johnthebasket

          Now I’m thinking it was Wouldn’t It Be Nice. I’m trying to identify the book the story is in, but I have a few books on music and I’ve had to sell some.

          jtb

          Reply
          1. Doug Holland Avatar
            Doug Holland

            “Caroline, No, says Wikipedia.

            Respect, for the perfectionism of chasing an elusive sound without even knowing what sound he’s looking for. And I can hear it!

            Reply
            1. johnthebasket Avatar
              johnthebasket

              Nice detective work Doug. Yeah, this song, which started its life as “Carol, I know” became the last cut on Pet Sounds and a Wilson sleeper classic. This little detective story demonstrates why there’s a library of books about popular music.

              jtb

              Reply
  2. Roger Longnose Avatar
    Roger Longnose

    Paul Thomas, Jesus Christ Superstar to a career in porn. Only in America!

    Reply
    1. Doug Holland Avatar
      Doug Holland

      He was a decent actor, better than porn average. It’s because of his co-stars that I keep a few clips handy, but he comes across as a human, not a Ron Jeremyesque monster.

      Reply
  3. Claude Reigns Avatar
    Claude Reigns

    https://youtu.be/DATadl9seGc?si=oSztH0ubaoJjpMG0

    There’s 40 more minutes of fatherly browbeating from just this recording session alone

    Reply
    1. Doug Holland Avatar
      Doug Holland

      I almost never read about celebrities, but listening to this plus a quick Wikipedia skim gets me thinking there’s an obvious *why* Brian Wilson was emotionally fragile.

      Reply

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