Celebrity deaths

What a shock, only 60, very sad.  RIP Anne.

Anne Kirkbride, Coronation Street's Deidre Barlow, dies aged 60

Coronation Street star Anne Kirkbride, who played the character Deirdre Barlow in the long-running television soap, has died aged 60 after a short illness.
ITV said the actress, who was in the show for 44 years, passed away peacefully in a Manchester hospital.
Her husband David Beckett and the programme's cast and crew were said to be "heartbroken and deeply saddened".
Coronation Street executive producer Kieran Roberts said: "We feel blessed and honoured to have known her."
He added: "There are no words to describe the sense of grief we feel at Anne's passing. We know only too acutely how much Anne meant to the millions of people who watched her create the legendary character of Deirdre Barlow.
"She will be greatly missed by the Coronation Street team who share happy memories of working with her. Our thoughts are with David and their family."
'Greatly missed'
ITV director of television Peter Fincham said the character she played on the programme was "unique and unforgettable".
"Anne has been a truly loyal servant to Coronation Street since joining the programme in the early 1970s," he said.
"She created a unique and unforgettable character in Deirdre Barlow and she'll be greatly missed on and off screen.
"Our sincerest condolences to Anne's husband David and her family at this very sad time."
Ken Farrington, who played Billy Walker in Coronation Street for more than 20 years, told BBC News her death was "absolutely devastating".
"I'm still a bit shocked. She had just tremendous fun and talent," he said.
Kirkbride started in Coronation Street in 1972 and over the years became known for her character's large glasses and husky voice.
One of the soap's most famous storylines hinged on whether she would stay with onscreen husband Ken Barlow, played by William Roache.
Roache said: " "I feel Anne's loss so personally having worked closely with her for over 40 years. She was such a loving and vibrant person. You always knew she was there because her laugh was never far away.
"She was an impeccable performer with superb comedy timing and an immense gift for really heightened drama. We had some rows over the years as Ken and Deirdre and it was wonderful to play those scenes opposite her.
"Coronation Street has lost one of its iconic characters and Anne will be greatly missed."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-30891246

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2917307/Coronation-Street-s-Anne-Kirkbride-dead-60-short-illness.html

Lots of pictures here.

That is really sad.

Ah poor lady, only 60, that's young today.

Sad to hear of her death. RIP Anne.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3msMUM9gig

Leonard Nimoy - Mr Spock - has died.

He was an icon of my childhood. RIP.

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/mar/12/terry-pratchett-author-of-the-discworld-series-dies-aged-66

Terry Pratchett has died.

I've read his books since tbe mid '80s.    Just finished a very recent autobiographical collection of stories about his life.  
Really shocked, I had no idea that it would be so soon and was under the i pression that the drugs he took were keepung the end at bay for many years to come. 

Wherever  you are Sir Pratchett -  thank you for your wonderful books and I hope that you got a personal service from Death, as you said he's a very nice chap really. 


A priest once told me that 'Small Gods' is the best book on religion  he'd ever read.

RIP Sir Terry Pratchett

Great actor. 

Legend.

RIP sir.

Ron Moody has also died.

Freedom wrote:Ron Moody has also died.

He was 91 and Christopher Lee 93, so they got to a good age. RI

Blessed age, considering that OAP was "invented" shortly after WW2 for people 65 years of age.
Having worked all their lives, often since childhood, they were allowed to spend the last year of their expected life to sit before the house on a bench in the sun and smoke a pipe for a year - and be happy :-)

Nowadays some, especially those of the type of "civil servant" retire at 50 and live to be a 100 ...

ETA My Maman will be 98 soon and is living on OAP, but she doesn't smoke ;-)

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/patrick-macnee-dead-avengers-star-dies-aged-93-10346352.html


Patrick McNee, star of the legendary Avengers TV series, has died in California at the age of 93. 

The English-American actor, known for playing the secret agent John Steed in the 1960s television series, died at his home, Rancho Mirage, surrounded by his family.


A statement on his website reads: "Wherever he went, he left behind a trove of memories."


"He was at home wherever in the world he found himself. He had a knack for making friends, and keeping them."


Notable deaths in 2015 


Educated at Eton College, he served in the Royal Navy during World War Two, working on torpedo boats in the English Channel and the North Sea.[/size]

Val Doonican - one of the few people whose shows I could watch with my mother without her blowing a fuse.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-33363938#"

RIP Val x

Sad news - like him a lot, RIP Val

Here's Delaney's Donkey...

My Irish Mum loved Val and so did we as children. RIP Val x

I remember the anecdote he told about how, when his two daughters were very young, they knew a song about a girl called Susie (I think) and the things she did. Most of it was tame but there was a line about "leaving her underwear in her boyfriend's car". This caused a bit of surprise at the dinner table and they were asked why they thought she might have done that.

The reply was that perhaps she was changing for her ballet lesson - the innocence of children, bless 'em!

Another anecdote involving my then lack of knowledge about Irish names.

I remember reading an article about how, sadly, Val and his wife's first daughter died aged six months. Her name was Siobhan. I knew that S and I could be pronounced as SH so I thought the name was SHOBBAN.

It wasn't until many years later that I realised it's SHIVORN!

I remember learning "Paddy McGinty's Goat" for a concert at primary school.
And I can still sing it all the way through!

Bless you Val, you keep right on wearing your jumpers and swinging on your rocker with the angels.

Let's all join in and sing about that old goat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3x76tT_oCeI

All the old entertainers are sadly leaving us,gentle Saturday evening entertainment for all the family,long gone now,ah well,rafferty's motor car was a favourite.