Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesFilmmaker and documentarian Richard Leacock (center) died March 23 in Paris. Leacock was one of the first filmmakers to embrace the "cinema verite" genre.
Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty ImagesLongtime NFL tight end John Mackey and the first National Football League Players Association president John Mackey died at the age of 69 after a decade long battle with rontal temporal dementia.
Sasha Mordovets/GettyNorth Korean leader Kim Jong Il, the mercurial strongman extolled at home as the "Dear Leader" and reviled abroad as a tyrant, died at 69 on Saturday Dec. 17, 2011. No cause of death was reported, but Kim was believed to have suffered in recent years from diabetes and heart disease.
Scanpix Denmark / ReutersKenyan Nobel Peace Prize winner and environmentalist Wangari Maathai died in hospital where she was undergoing treatment for cancer; she was the founder of Green Belt Movement, a civil and women rights activist and also served as a Member of Parliament.
Tami Chappell / ReutersCivil rights activist Shuttlesworth died at age 89.
Ed Perlstein/Redferns/Getty ImagesStanley was a promoter and former manager of the Grateful Dead, as well as an influential LSD producer for the counterculture in 1960s San Francisco. Jimi Hendrix's "Purple Haze" is thought to be written about Stanley's product. Stanley died in a car crash on March 13 in Queensland, Australia at age 76.
Scott Gries, Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival / February 20, 2011Movie producer Parry Moore died Feb. 17 after being found unconscious in his bathroom. Police say no foul play was suspected. Moore was the executive producer of "The Chronicles of Narnia" film series and also an award-winning novelist. He was 39.
REUTERS/Alexander NatruskinRussian actress Lyudmila Gurchenko (pictured here with Russian President Putin) died on March 30 at the age of 75. She received the title of People's Artist of the USSR, the highest honor that could be bestowed to a musical artist, in 1983.
Samir Hussein/Getty ImagesPoet and musician Gil Scott-Heron died May 27, 2011, reportedly after becoming following a trip to Europe. Known for spoken-word poetry on such songs as "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised," the Chicago-native put out a new album in 2010 following a 13 year hiatus. Scott-Heron was 62.
David Montgomery/Getty ImagesFamed British stage actress Anna Massey died July 2 of cancer at the age of 73.
Joyce Naltchayan/Getty ImagesFormer Oregon Sen. Mark Hatfield dies at 89
RENE MACURA/AFP/Getty ImagesStern, pictured with Marilyn Gleason and Jane Kean, was a television writer, director and producer for such programs as "The Honeymooners" and "Get Smart." Stern was also the co-creator and publisher of Mad Libs. He died on June 7 at the age of 87.
Alison Braun/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty ImagesMike Starr, the former bassist for the band "Alice in Chains," in Salt Lake City on March 8. He was 44.
NBA Photos/NBAE via Getty ImagesFormer NBA All-Star Mike Mitchell died June 9, 2011, following a long battle with cancer. A first round pick by Cleveland in 1978, the fan favorite spent 10 seasons in the NBA, the final six and a half with San Antonio. Mitchell was 55.
CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images
Los Angeles TimesFormer "Tonight Show" band member Snooky Young died May 11, of complications from a lung disorder. He came to prominence in the early 1940s as the lead trumpeter and soloist in Jimmie Lunceford's big band and would also play with Count Basie before his long TV stint. Young was 92.
Rodney Williams-Itier/WireImage"Spider-Man," "Dark Knight" and "The Tick" comic writer Dwayne McDuffie died Feb. 22 at the age of 49. McDuffie is also well known for co-creating the Emmy Award-winning animated TV series "Static Shock."
Focus on Sport/Getty ImagesWorld Series hero Jose Pagan died June 7, 2011. A two-run double in Game Seven of the 1971 series led his Pittsburgh Pirates to an eventual win over the Baltimore Orioles. Pagan spent 15 seasons in the big leagues with Pittsburgh and the Philadelphia Phillies. He was 76.
Louis Requena/MLB Photos via Getty ImagesFormer Detroit Tigers outfielder Jim Northrup died June 8, 2011, after having a seizure. His two-run triple in Game Seven of the 1968 World Series helped lead the Tigers to a 4-1 win. Northrup spent 12 seasons playing ball with Detroit, the Montreal Expos and Baltimore Orioles before moving into the broadcast booth. He was 71.
Michael P. Malarkey/Getty ImagesPro football hall of famer Andy Robustelli died May 31, 2011. Small for defensive end position at six feet one inch, Robustelli was picked for the Pro Bowl seven times and a First-team All-Pro seven times over 13 seasons with the Los Angeles Rams and the New York Giants. Robustelli was 85.
Los Angeles Times / November 18, 2010Newsweek owner Sidney Harman died of complications from leukemia April 12. He was also a pioneer in home and car audio as the Harman in Harman/Kardon Inc. Harman was 92.
REUTERS/Jason RedmondLaura Ziskin, executive producer for hit movies such as "Pretty Woman" and the Spiderman series, died June 13 after a public battle with breast cancer. She was 61. Ziskin co-founded Stand Up To Cancer, and organization that raises and donates money for cancer research.
Jim Shea/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty ImagesSinger/songwriter Andrew Gold, who enjoyed chart success in the 1970s with the songs "Lonely Boy" and "Thank You For Being a Friend," died in his sleep on June 3. He was 59.
Keystone/Getty ImagesMusician John Walker (born John Maus) of the power-pop trio The Walker Brothers, died on May 7. He was 67.
Archive Photos/Getty ImagesDolores Fuller, the onetime actress-girlfriend of schlock movie director Ed Wood, who co-starred with Wood in his low-budget 1950s cult classic "Glen or Glenda," died on May 9. She was 88.
Paul Hawthorne/Getty ImagesSinger/songwriter Phoebe Snow died April 26 at the age of 60. During her career in the mid-70's she graced the cover of Rolling Stone magazine and was nominated for a Grammy. She stepped back from the spotlight when her daughter, Valerie Rose Laub, was born in 1975.
Michael Ochs Archives/Getty ImagesBritish musician Jet Harris, who enjoyed a string of hits in the late 1950s and early 1960s with Cliff Richard's band The Shadows, has died March 18 after a two-year battle with cancer. He was 71.
Tim Boyles/Getty ImagesFormer professional wrestler 'Macho Man' Randy Savage died after losing control of his car due to a heart attack on May 20. He was 58.
Cindy Ord, Getty ImagesEvelyn Lauder, a member of the Estee Lauder cosmetic company who helped create the pink ribbon symbol for breast cancer awareness, died Saturday in New York City at age 75.
Daniel Boczarski/Getty ImagesTV on the Radio bassist Gerard Smith died on April 20 of lung cancer, the band announced on its Web site. He was 34.
Frank Edwards/Fotos International/Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesJoseph Brooks, the Oscar-winning composer of "You Light Up My Life," was found dead on an apparent suicide on May 22. Brooks, who was 73, was awaiting trial on rape charges.
Rob Grabowski/US PresswireWinnipeg Jets center Rick Rypien was found dead at his Alberta home on Monday, with the police telling local media there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding the 27-year-old's death. Rypien had signed a one-year, $700,000 contract with the Jets as a free agent last month after six seasons with the Vancouver Canucks.
Getty ImagesRoger Williams, a pianist who was one of the most popular instrumentalists of the mid-20th century and who hit No. 1 on the pop charts in 1955 with his arpeggio-strewn "Autumn Leaves," died on Oct.8.
Kevin Winter/Getty ImagesDirector Gary Winick (pictured here with actress Amanda Seyfried) died Feb. 27 after a battle with brain cancer. He was 49.
Jackson Laizure/Getty ImagesOklahoma senior linebacker Austin Box has died after being found unconscious in his home. The cause of his death so far is unknown. Box was 22.
Photo by Samir Hussein/Getty ImagesBritish singer Amy Winehouse was found dead at her home in north London on July 23, 2011. She was 27 years old.
Evening Standard/Getty ImagesBritish playwright Shelagh Delaney, best known for her debut work "A Taste of Honey" from 1958, has died aged 71, her agent said on Nov. 21, 2011. Her words were a major influence on Morrissey, lead singer of indie band The Smiths, who also grew up in Manchester. He used lyrics from her plays, notably A Taste of Honey, and featured her in the artwork for the "Louder Than Bombs" album.
Peter Kramer/Getty ImagesSol Saks, a comedy writer who created the classic sitcom "Bewitched," died in Los Angeles on April 16. He was 100.
Ron Galella/WireImageMichael Sarrazin, a tall, dark-eyed Canadian actor who starred opposite Jane Fonda in Sydney Pollack's 1969 film "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?", died of cancer on April 17 at a Montreal hospital. He was 70.
Christopher Polk/Getty ImagesComedian Patrice O'Neal passed away on Nov. 28, 2011 at the age of 41. He struggled with diabetes and suffered a stroke in Oct. 2011. O'Neal was known for several appearances on "The Office" and "Chapelle's Show," as well as an appearance on "Comedy Central Roast of Charlie Sheen."
Brian Snyder/ReutersDorothy Rodham, Hilary Clinton's mother, died this morning at age 92.
Shannon Stapleton/Reuters
Photo by Ronald C. Modra/Sports Imagery/Getty ImagesClarence Clemons, saxophonist most famous for playing in Bruce Springsteen 's E Street Band, died June 18th following complications from a stroke suffered the previous week. He was 69
Photo by Mark Sullivan/WireImageRapper Nate Dogg (Nathaniel Dwayne Hale) died at the age of 41 of unknown causes. He's best known for his 1990s rap hit "Regulate" and working with rappers like Eminem, Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre.
John Bartley/Tribune file photoMondale arrives at Planet Hollywood to cover an event on Aug. 29, 1996, in Chicago.
Vic Stein /Getty ImagesHall of Fame football star Ollie Matson died Feb. 19 of respiratory failure in Los Angeles. He spent 14 years in the NFL playing on both sides of the ball. Despite spending most of his seasons on terrible teams, Matson was NFL Rookie of the Year in 1952, made All-NFL four times and was a six-time Pro Bowl selection. Matson was 80.
Jesse Grant/WireImage"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and "The Trolley Song" composer Hugh Martin Jr. died of natural causes on March 11. He was 96. Martin was a successful songwriter and composer for Broadway and film in the 1940s, '50s and '60s.
Larry Busacca/Getty Images for City of HopeGrammy award and Broadway musical producer John Cossette died April 26 at the age of 54.
Photo credit should read MATT CAMPBELL/AFP/Getty ImagesFormer UNLV star, and NBA basketball player Armen Gilliam died at the age of 47 while reportedly playing basketball at a gym in Pennsylvania. Gilliam was the No. 2 overall pick in the 1987 NBA draft.
ReutersHollywood publicist Gene Shefrin (R) stands with his client Dick Clark (L). Shefrin, who worked as a publicist for 42 years, died of Parkinson's disease on April 6 at the age of 90.
Jay L. Clendenin, Los Angeles TimesAssisted suicide advocate and convicted murderer, Dr. Jack Kevorkian, died June 3, 2011. He was known as "Dr. Death" for taking part in more than 100 suicides. Kevorkian was 83.
CBS via Getty ImagesActor James Arness died June 3, 2011. At 6' 7", he towered over his co-stars on the show "Gunsmoke" where he played Marshal Matt Dillon for 20 years. Arness was 83.
Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty ImagesFarley Granger, who is best known for his work in the 1950s Alfred Hitchcock movies "Rope" and "Strangers on a Train" died of natural causes on March 27, 2011. He was 85.
Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty ImagesMargo Dydek, a 7-foot-2-inch Polish-born former NBA player, died May 27, eight days after suffering a heart attack. Dydek is the tallest woman ever to play in the WNBA, and is the league's all-time blocks leader with 877 in 323 games. She was 37.
G. Gershoff/WireImageGerard Smith (far right), bassist and keyboardist for TV on the Radio died of lung cancer on April 20. He was 36.
Chuck Painter / Stanford News ServiceArtificial intelligence pioneer John McCarthy in 1966, when he and his students programmed a computer to play chess with a computer in Russia.
Chicago TribuneWeezer bassist Mikey Welsh passed away unexpectedly in Chicago on Oct. 8. He was 40 years old.
Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty ImagesLeading home run hitter and Hall of Fame baseball player Duke Snider died Feb. 27 at the age of 84. Snider played for the Brooklyn Dodger teams in the 1940s and '50s.
CBS TelevisionPioneering CBS reporter Joseph Wershba died May 7, from pneumonia in a New York hospital. During his 50-plus years in the business he helped expose the McCarthy era's communist witch hunt on Edward R. Murrow's "See It Now" series and was a original "60 Minutes" segment producer. Wershba was 90.
Bloomberg/Getty ImagesLong time New York Times journalist died at the age of 85.
Brian Snyder/ReutersKennedy speaks during her father's funeral service in Boston in 2009.
Charles Cherney/Chicago Tribune)Former NFL defensive back Dave Duerson died Feb. 17 from a self-inflicted gun shot. The four-time Pro Bowl safety won Super Bowls with the 1985-1986 Chicago Bears and the 1990-1991 New York Giants. Duerson was 50. Duerson is shown in the photo in 2005. (Charles Cherney/Chicago Tribune)
David Zentz/Chicago TribuneJazz legend Sam Rivers died Dec. 26, 2011 from pneumonia. Rivers was 88 years old.
Kevin Winter/ImageDirect.'Columbo' actor Peter Falk died June 23. Falk won four Emmys for his portrayal of the detective sporting his signature overcoat. He also received two Academy Award nominations during his long acting career. Falk was 83.
Brian Ach/WireImageLanford Wilson, the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winning playwright of "The Hot L Baltimore," "Burn This" and "Fifth of July" died on March 24 at his home in Sag Harbor, N.Y. He was 73.
Ho New/ReutersNobel prize for medicine winner Ralph Steinman.
Los Angeles TimesBob Flanigan (top center), a founding member and original lead singer of the innovative vocal group the Four Freshmen, died May 15, at his home in Las Vegas of congestive heart failure. He retired as singer of the band in 1992 but would remain as manager until his death. The band had a series of hits in the '50s, including "Graduation Day" and '"It's a Blue World." Flanigan was 84.
David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty ImagesFormer NBA player Robert "Tractor" Traylor was found dead of an apparent heart attack in his apartment in Puerto Rico, May 11. Known for his size, Traylor was the number six pick in the 1998 draft. His size contributed to health problems leading to heart surgery in 2005. Traylor was 36.
Redferns/Getty ImagesGrand Ole Opry star Billy Grammer, best known for his 1959 hit "Gotta Travel On", died at age 85.
Michael Ochs Archives/Getty ImagesLoleatta Holloway, the disco singer best known for her 1980 hit 'Love Sensation,' died on March 21. She was 64.
Photo by Alex Wong/Getty ImagesPulitzer Prize-winning columnist David Broder died on March 9th from complications due to diabetes. Broder was a political comlumnist for the Washington Post.
Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesJackie Cooper, who came to prominence as a child star in the 1930s and went on to develop a long career as a director and character actor, died on May 3 in Beverly Hills. He was 88.
Los Angeles TimesThe former first lady at home in Rancho Mirage in 1995. She founded the Betty Ford Center for the treatment of chemical dependencies a mile from her home in 1982. Since then it has treated more than 75,000 people.
Will Burgess/ ReutersFormer heavyweight World boxing champion Joe Frazier died in Philadelphia a month after being diagnosed with liver cancer. He died at the age of 67 years old on Monday, Nov. 7.
Bobby Bank/WireImageActress Yvette Vickers was found dead in her Southern California home April 27, 2011. The coroner for the case says she may have been dead for up to a year. Known for her roles in "Attack of the 50 Foot Woman" and "Attack of the Giant Leeches," she lived in seclusion for the last several years. Vickers was 82.
Brian Ach/WireImageComedian Mike DeStefano died of a heart attack on March 6 at the age of 44. He gained notoriety on season seven of NBC's "Last Comic Standing" and had since gone on to perform in his own popular stand-up shows in New York.
Rogers Photo Archive/Getty ImagesHall of Fame pitcher Paul Splittorff died May 26, 2011. He was being treated for oral cancer and melanoma. Splittorff was an announcer with the Kansas City Royals but was on limited duty for the last two seasons with speech issues. He was 64.
Lucy Nicholson/ReutersGrammy-winning Delta bluesman David "Honeyboy" Edwards died today at age 96.
Petr Josek Snr/ReutersFormer Czech President Vaclav Havel, a dissident playwright jailed by Communists who then became Czech president and a symbol of peace and freedom after leading the bloodless "Velvet Revolution," died at 75.
Michael Caulfield/WireImageActor Andy Whitfield, the former star of TV show "Spartacus: Blood and Sand," died on Sept. 11 of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in Sydney, Australia at 39 years old.
Frederick M. Brown/Getty ImagesRapper M-Bone, real name Montae Talbert, was killed in a drive-by shooting on May 15. He was 22. M-Bone was a member of the The Cali Swag District, which is most well known for the hit song "Teach Me How to Dougie"
NBC/Carsey-Werner Distribution"Cosby Show" and "Sesame Street" actress Clarice Taylor died on May 30. She was 93.
Kevin Mazur/WireImageAmerican Film Institute "Female Legend" and three-time Academy Award-winning actress Elizabeth Taylor died March 23. She was 79.
Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty ImagesJani Lane, former lead singer of the 1980s glam-band Warrant, was found dead in a hotel room in California.
Getty Images"Grease" and "Taxi" actor Jeff Conaway died on May 27 in Encino, California. He was 60.
FRANCOIS GUILLOT/AFP/Getty ImagesAmerican painter and knight in France's Legion of Honor Cy Twombly, famous for his large-scale abstract paintings and use of graffiti, died in Rome on July 5. He was 83.
Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesThe only daughter of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin, Svetlana Peters, who denounced communism but later said she regretted coming to the United States, has died in Wisconsin.
Victor Blackman/Dave Hogan/Getty ImagesBritish actress Elisabeth Sladen, who starred in two iterations of the popular "Doctor Who" sci-fi series and the spin-off show "The Sarah Jane Adventures," died on April 19. She was 63.
Hannah Foslien /Getty ImagesMinnesota Twins great Harmon Killebrew died May 17 following a long battle with cancer. The hall of famer played for three teams over 22 seasons and is regarded by many as one of the best to ever play the game. Killebrew was 74.
Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesLionel Rose (L), the first Australian Aborigine to win a world boxing title, died May 8, after falling ill several months earlier. He won the world bantamweight title by beating Japan's Masahiko "Fighting" Harada (R) in February 1968. Rose was 62. This picture is from the actual fight.
Al Messerschmidt/Getty ImagesFormer Dallas Cowboys running back Ron Springs died May 12, of a heart attack. Battling diabetes and other health issues much of his life, Springs had been in a coma since 2007. Drafted by the Cowboys in 1979 out of Ohio State, he spent his last two seasons in Tampa Bay. Springs was 54.
Michael Buckner/Getty Images'Jackass' star Ryan Dunn died June 20, 2011, following a fiery car crash. He was 34.
TONY AVELAR/AFP/Getty ImagesSteve Jobs shows off the new Macbook Air ultra portable laptop during his keynote speech at the MacWorld Conference & Expo in San Francisco.
Kirby Lee/US PRESSWIREOakland Raiders owner Al Davis is dead at age 82.
John Kobal Foundation/Getty ImagesActress Mary Murphy died at her home May 4, from heart disease. Probably best remembered for playing the small-town girl opposite Marlon Brando's rebellious motorcycle gang leader in "The Wild One," she would go on to do numerous movies and television shows. Murphy was 80.
Frazer Harrison/Getty ImagesBlues great Pinetop Perkins, who in 2011 became the oldest person to win a Grammy, died on March 21 in Austin, Texas. He was 97.
Michael Ochs Archives/Getty ImagesDot Records founder Randy Wood, whose practice of having white singers such as Pat Boone cover rhythm and blues hits by black artists is credited with helping black musicians -- and early rock music -- break into the commercial mainstream, died on April 9. He was 94.
Michael Ochs Archives/Getty ImagesActress Annette Charles, best known for playing Cha Cha DiGrigorio in the 1978 movie 'Grease', died at age of 63 from cancer.
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Filmmaker and documentarian Richard Leacock (center) died March 23 in Paris. Leacock was one of the first filmmakers to embrace the "cinema verite" genre.
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By Wesley Case
PUBLISHED: | UPDATED:
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
Sad news from the rap world: Slim Dunkin, the 1017 BrickSquad member and right-hand man for Waka Flocka Flame, was shot dead in an Atlanta recording studio Friday night.
Details, including a motive, remain unknown
, but regardless, this is a loss for the Southern rap community and rap as a whole. Dunkin didn’t have any mainstream hits, but he was an emerging BrickSquad talent, making the most out of his opportunities, including features on Waka’s debut album “Flockavelli” and many mixtapes.
In terms of quality, Dunkin’s output was uneven but full of potential —
eerily sampling a defiant 2pac interview, is a good example of the threatening trap-rap Dunkin was making with ease. The main differences between generic, boring gangsta rap and the high-quality stuff are a rapper’s delivery and having the
right
voice, two things Dunkin possessed. Slim Dunkin was 24. R.I.P.
The best BrickSquad music is extremely visceral, where the artist and the beat find common ground in turning it all up to 10. Slim, obviously taking cues from Waka, was good at this, but enough with trying to put the appeal into words — here’s a video (warning: explicit language) of Slim and Waka tearing down a club.
http://www.youtube.com/v/El4K-ooPg2o?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0
