Bill Morrissey

Bill Morrissey (born on November 25, 1951 in Hartford, Connecticut, died July 23, 2011) was an American folk singer/songwriter from New Hampshire. Many of his songs reflect the harsh realities of life in crumbling New England mill towns.

July 23...
Butch Lewis, 68, American boxing promoter, heart attack.

Robert Chester Wilson Ettinger (4 December 1918–23 July 2011) was an American academic, known as "the father of cryonics" because of the impact of his 1962 book The Prospect of Immortality. He is considered by some a pioneer transhumanist on the basis of his 1972 book Man into Superman.

Ettinger founded the Cryonics Institute and the related Immortalist Society and until 2003 served as the groups' president. His body has been cryopreserved, like the bodies of his first and second wives, and his mother.

Alonzo "Skip" Thomas aka "Dr. Death" (February 7, 1950 — July 24, 2011) was an American football cornerback who played in the National Football League.

Thomas played for the Oakland Raiders his entire professional career between 1972 and '77. He had back-to-back six-interception seasons in '74 and '75. His fierce tackling gave him the nickname "Doctor Death".

Thomas died of a heart attack on July 24, 2011.



Dan Peek (born 1 November 1950, Panama City, Florida; died July 24, 2011) was a former member of the rock band, America from 1970 to 1977, together with Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell. He contributed lead and backing vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards, and harmonica to their recordings during his tenure in the band. As a member of America, Peek contributed with four Top 100 singles: "Don't Cross The River" (#35), his most successful single "Lonely People" hit (#5), "Woman Tonight" (#44), and "Today's The Day" (#23). "Lonely People" and "Today's the Day" also hit number 1 on the Billboard AC charts.




Gervais Duan "G. D." Spradlin (August 31, 1920 – July 24, 2011) was an American actor. He often played devious authority figures. He is credited in over 70 television and film productions, and has performed alongside such notable actors as Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Johnny Depp, and George C. Scott, among others.

A notable break for Spradlin resulted from his work in television in the 1960s. Fred Roos, an accomplished producer, director and casting director, had cast Spradlin in such television shows as I Spy and Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.. When Roos co-produced The Godfather Part II, he recommended Spradlin play the role of Senator Geary. He worked with Jack Webb on the series Dragnet playing multiple roles from a safecracker to a low-level con man.

Spradlin portrayed a corrupt U.S. Senator from Nevada, Pat Geary, in The Godfather, Part II. He also played a conspirator in the attempted assassination of a state governor in Nick of Time. Among his film credits are One on One (1977) (as an authoritarian basketball coach), Apocalypse Now (as the general who assigns Martin Sheen's character to the search mission). He played the head football coach B.A. Strother of the North Dallas Forty (1979), General Durrell the commandant of the "Carolina Military Academy" in the 1983 movie The Lords of Discipline, and Ed Wood and The Long Kiss Goodnight, as the President of the United States.

In 1984, Spradlin played a villainous Southern sheriff in Tank. In 1988, he played Admiral Raymond A. Spruance in the miniseries War and Remembrance. In 1989, Spradlin played a small role in the film War of the Roses as a divorce lawyer, with Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner.

Spradlin retired from acting after his last film, Dick (1999), in which he played Ben Bradlee. He appeared in the Electronic Arts Godfather II video game in 2009.

Spradlin died in San Luis Obispo, California on July 24, 2011 at the age of 90

Jeret "Speedy" Peterson (December 12, 1981 – July 25, 2011) was a World Cup aerial skier from Boise, Idaho, skiing out of Bogus Basin. A three-time Olympian, he won the silver medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Through the 2006 season, Peterson had won four World Cup events in aerials, and a total of nine World Cup podiums. His best season was 2005, with three World Cup wins and three seconds. With the help of these six strong placings, he took the 2005 World Cup season title in aerials. He finished in sixth place for the 2006 season.

A member of three Olympic teams, he participated in the 2002 Games in Salt Lake (placing 9th) and the 2006 Games in Torino, Italy. In the finals of the 2006 aerial competitions, Peterson was in third place after the first round, but fell to seventh place after the second jump, when he failed to solidly land the difficult "Hurricane" maneuver, which involves five spins and three somersaults.

The following day February 24, 2006, he was dispatched from the Games after a drunken altercation during a post-competition celebration. U.S. Olympic official Jim McCarthy said, "This type of conduct is irresponsible and will not be tolerated. Like every athlete, Jeret had an opportunity to represent himself, his sport, and his country in a positive manner. He chose to do otherwise, and because of his unacceptable actions, his Olympic experience is ending early."

A month after the Olympics in Italy, Peterson won the 2006 U.S. National Championships at Killington, Vermont.

He was an alumnus of Timberline High School in Boise, and was one of the six athletes featured on the Week 6 episode of The Biggest Loser: Couples 3.

After a tumultuous four years on and off the snow following the 2006 Olympics, Peterson made a career comeback and in January 2010 was named to the U.S. Olympic freestyle team for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Entering the Olympic finals in fifth place, he successfully landed his signature "Hurricane" maneuver (5 twists, 3 flips) to win the silver medal.

On July 25, 2011, Peterson was found dead in Lambs Canyon, Utah. The cause of death was determined to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Three days previously, Peterson had been arrested for driving while intoxicated. In Italy, he was still reeling from the suicide of a friend, who had shot himself in front of Peterson only months before. Peterson also had problems with alcohol and depression and admitted he had his own thoughts of suicide stemming from a childhood in which he was sexually abused and lost his 5-year-old sister to a drunken driver.


Frank Foster (September 23, 1928 – July 26, 2011) was an American tenor and soprano saxophonist, flautist, arranger, and composer. Foster collaborated frequently with Count Basie and began a long career as bandleader during the early 1950s.

Richard Drew Harris (January 21, 1948 – July 26, 2011) was an American football defensive end who played seven seasons in the National Football League. He was and All-American in 1970 for Grambling and was drafted in the first round (5th overall pick) of the 1971 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles. He was named All-Rookie in 1971, playing defensive end. Harris spent seven seasons as a defensive end in the NFL, the first three with the Philadelphia Eagles, the next two with the Chicago Bears and the final two with the Seattle Seahawks.

He was the assistant head coach and defensive line coach for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League. Harris died on July 26, 2011.



Tim Smooth, 39, American rapper, cancer.


Polly Platt (January 29, 1939 – July 27, 2011) was an American film producer, production designer and screenwriter.

Platt was married to Peter Bogdanovich from the early 1960s until the early 1970s. She helped him write his first movie Targets (196, and did set design on that film, along with The Last Picture Show (1971) and Paper Moon (1973). They divorced after Bogdanovich left her during the filming of The Last Picture Show for star Cybill Shepherd. Platt and Bogdanovich had two children: Antonia and Sashy.

She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Art Direction for Terms of Endearment (1983). She has also worked as an executive producer; Broadcast News (1987) and The War of the Roses (1989) are among the films she has worked on. Her screenwriting credits include Pretty Baby, Good Luck, Miss Wyckoff, and A Map of the World.

The 1984 film Irreconcilable Differences, starring Ryan O'Neal, Shelley Long and Drew Barrymore, was reportedly loosely based on her marriage to Bogdanovich, and their divorce.

In 1994, she was awarded the Women in Film Crystal Award.


Hideki Irabu joined the New York Yankees 14 years ago in a swell of international excitement. The quirky, flamethrowing Japanese right-hander seemed destined to become a pioneering star for American baseball's marquee franchise.

Irabu never reached those enormous expectations, and his career spiraled. On Wednesday, the 42-year-old was found dead, an apparent suicide in a home in Rancho Palos Verdes, a wealthy Los Angeles suburb.

"He was a world-class pitcher," said former major league manager Bobby Valentine, who managed Irabu in Japan in 1995. "When Nolan Ryan saw him, he said he had never seen anything like it. There were just some days when he was as good a pitcher as I had ever seen. A fabulous arm."

Los Angeles County coroner's official Ed Winter said his office is investigating Irabu's death as a suicide, revealing no additional circumstances. An autopsy will be performed Friday or Saturday.

Irabu was billed as the Japanese version of Ryan when he arrived in the United States in 1997, a hard-throwing starter with a 98-mph fastball who excelled as a strikeout specialist - an almost unfair addition to the defending World Series champions.

After an impressive debut with the Yankees that summer, he was a disappointment to the Yankees and himself during three seasons in the Bronx. Instead, he was forever tagged with a label from late Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, who called him a "fat ... toad" after Irabu failed to cover first base during an exhibition game.

Irabu finished 34-35 with a 5.15 ERA in his tenure with the Yankees, two years in Montreal and a final season in the Texas bullpen in 2002. He was a member of two Yankees teams that won the World Series, but his only postseason action was a single relief appearance in the 1999 AL championship series when Boston tagged him for 13 hits.

Irabu pitched in an American independent league and signed with a Japanese team in recent years while living with his family in Southern California. Neighbors believe Irabu had grown despondent recently because of a split with his wife.

Mary Feuerlicht said she was about to go pick up her son on Wednesday morning when a man came running down the driveway from Irabu's large two-story home, perched atop a hill with views of the harbor and downtown Los Angeles, pleading with her to call police.

Feuerlicht said she was later told by sheriff's deputies and the man who asked her for help that Irabu's wife had left him, taking their two young daughters. She hadn't seen Irabu's wife and children for two months, but said the family regularly left town for the summer.

"When I saw him for the past month or so he seemed kind of down," she said. "He wasn't kind of perky like I've seen him before."

Ichiro Sakashita, who identified himself as Irabu's friend, arrived late Thursday to place huge bouquets of flowers in front of the former player's home. Sakashita said Irabu wanted to become a baseball coach and stay involved with the sport after his retirement, but ultimately decided to spend time with his family.

Sakashita said Irabu and his wife had been separated for about a month.

"He decided to go to heaven," he said. "So we must accept that."

Irabu's death is the second apparent suicide by a sports figure this week. Police say American Olympic freestyle skier Jeret "Speedy" Peterson shot himself in a Utah canyon on Monday.

Valentine said he got the news about Irabu on Thursday when it came across on his mobile phone.

"I got a little sick to my stomach, actually," he said.

Irabu was one of several pitchers from Japan who hoped to duplicate Hideo Nomo's trailblazing achievements in the major leagues. Irabu also was a curiosity - he taped magnets all over his body when he pitched, hoping they would bring wellness.

Although Irabu largely struggled in the majors, he left a lasting legacy. Several big stars, from Ichiro Suzuki to Hideki Matsui, followed Nomo and Irabu from Japan to the United States.

"He was one of the pioneers," Valentine said. "There was a lot riding on his shoulders."

Irabu starred in Japan for nearly a decade before the San Diego Padres purchased his contract from the Chiba Lotte Marines. But Irabu declined to join the Padres, insisting he would only play for the Yankees.

The Yankees put together a package and traded for Irabu a few months later and signed him to a four-year, $12.8 million contract.

"We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Hideki Irabu," the Yankees said in a statement. "Every player that wears the Pinstripes is forever a part of the Yankees family, and his death is felt throughout our organization."

Irabu pitched just eight games in the minors before making his big league debut at Yankee Stadium on July 10, 1997. The crowd was buzzing even before his first pitch, and fans on two continents watched him. T-shirts with "Typhoon Irabu" were on sale at the concession stands at Yankee Stadium and sushi was sold alongside the hot dogs and beers.

With current Yankees manager Joe Girardi as his catcher that night, Irabu retired the first six Detroit batters, striking out four of them and showing a 96 mph fastball. He fanned nine in 6 2-3 innings and got the win.

When he walked off the mound in the seventh inning, Yankees fans gave him a standing ovation. Some even bowed with both hands over their heads, and Irabu came out of the dugout for a curtain call.

That, however, was perhaps his finest moment in the majors.

"He was a work in progress. It just didn't progress I guess the way he had planned or the way some people planned," Valentine said.

Irabu posted a team-leading 16 saves - the only saves of his major league career - with Texas in 2002. He then returned to Japan for the 2003 season and enjoyed renewed success, earning a win in the All-Star game, going 13-8 and helping Hanshin win its first league title in 18 years.

Irabu made a comeback in April 2009 in the independent Golden Baseball League, going 5-3 with a 3.58 ERA for the Long Beach Armada. He then returned to Japan and was introduced that August as a member of the Kochi Fighting Dogs, saying, "I have high expectations for myself."

But Irabu also had off-the-field trouble in recent years.

In August 2008, he was arrested in Japan for allegedly assaulting a bartender after drinking 20 mugs of beer. Police said he became angered after his credit card was rejected.

In May 2010, Irabu was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol in Gardena, another Los Angeles suburb. Police said he was stopped after his car drifted outside of traffic lanes and he nearly collided with a parked car.

He posted $5,000 bail but it was not immediately clear whether he was criminally charged.

"I think that he was one of his own worst enemies," Valentine said.


JULY 29...

Gene McDaniels, 76, American singer-songwriter.

JULY 28...

Frank Bender, 70, American autodidact forensic artist, mesothelioma.

Howard W. Creecy Jr, 57, American preacher and civil rights leader, President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, heart attack.

John Marburger, 70, American physicist and presidential adviser.