New York Daily News' Obituary News https://www.nydailynews.com Breaking US news, local New York news coverage, sports, entertainment news, celebrity gossip, autos, videos and photos at nydailynews.com Thu, 29 Feb 2024 15:07:16 +0000 en-US hourly 30 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://www.nydailynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/cropped-DailyNewsCamera-7.webp?w=32 New York Daily News' Obituary News https://www.nydailynews.com 32 32 208786248 Comedian Richard Lewis, star of ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm,’ dead at 76 https://www.nydailynews.com/2024/02/28/richard-lewis-cause-of-death-heart-attack-parkinsons-disease/ Wed, 28 Feb 2024 21:36:36 +0000 https://www.nydailynews.com/?p=7549861 Richard Lewis, a Brooklyn-born comedian and recurring guest on “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” died Tuesday at his home in Los Angeles at the age of 76.

His cause of death was a heart attack, a rep for the actor confirmed.

Lewis announced in April of last year that he’d been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and was retiring from stand-up comedy. At the time, he had recently wrapped the 12th and final season of “Curb” — currently airing on HBO.

Comedian and actor Richard Lewis poses during a portrait session in Los Angeles in 1989. (Photo by George Rose/Getty Images)
Comedian and actor Richard Lewis poses during a portrait session in Los Angeles in 1989. (Photo by George Rose/Getty Images)

Lewis previously missed filming most of the 11th season of the sitcom while recovering from a series of surgeries.

Born in Brooklyn on June 29, 1947, Lewis was raised in New Jersey and later studied marketing at Ohio State. After graduating, he moved back to New York City to work as an advertising copywriter by day and perform at open mics by night.

He developed his trademark neurotic and self-deprecating style during that time, touching on subjects like his alcohol abuse and struggles with mental health.

Larry David, left, and Richard Lewis attend ATAS Presents An Evening With "Curb Your Enthusiasm" at The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Theatre on November 9, 2005 in North Hollywood, California.  (Photo by Stephen Shugerman/Getty Images)
Larry David, left, and Richard Lewis attend ATAS Presents An Evening With “Curb Your Enthusiasm” at The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Theatre on November 9, 2005 in North Hollywood, California. (Photo by Stephen Shugerman/Getty Images)

Lewis was discovered by comedian David Brenner while performing in the early 1970s at a club in Greenwich Village. Brenner offered to help a young Lewis launch his career, introducing him to others in the industry and landing him his first spot on “The Tonight Show.”

By 1975, publications including the Daily News were naming Lewis among the “new breed” of comedians, alongside the likes of Richard Pryor, George Carlin and Andy Kaufman.

On top of appearances on late-night talk shows, Lewis was also beamed into people’s homes in several stand-up specials, including 1985’s “I’m in Pain” and 1997’s “Magical Misery Tour,” the latter of which has been hailed as his best show of all time.

Richard Lewis and Joyce Lapinsky attend HBO's Post Emmy Awards Reception at The Plaza at the Pacific Design Center on September 17, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images)
Richard Lewis and Joyce Lapinsky attend HBO’s Post Emmy Awards Reception at The Plaza at the Pacific Design Center on September 17, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images)

Between 1989 and 1992, he starred alongside Jamie Lee Curtis in the ABC sitcom “Anything But Love” and served as a celebrity spokesman for adult-aimed juice box brand Boku, appearing in a number of offbeat ads.

He also popped up in a variety of films, including Mel Brooks’ “Robin Hood: Men in Tights” (playing the feckless Prince John) and “Leaving Las Vegas.” In 1994, he starred in the comedy-western “Wagons East” alongside John Candy, whose untimely death earlier that year partly inspired Lewis to get sober. In turn, Jamie Lee Curtis credits Lewis for her own sobriety.

I’ve devoted my life to comedy and my sobriety the last almost 27 years,” he told Variety in 2021.

However, it was “Curb Your Enthusiasm” that arguably gave Lewis his biggest stage, a new audience and the chance to work with lifelong friend Larry David. He appeared in more than 40 episodes of the series over 24 years, including the 2000 pilot.

Richard Lewis is pictured outside the J.G. Melon restaurant on E. 74th St. in Manhattan in 2000. (Thomas Monaster / New York Daily News)
Richard Lewis is pictured outside the J.G. Melon restaurant on E. 74th St. in Manhattan in 2000. (Thomas Monaster / New York Daily News)

A recent episode featured Lewis and David arguing about putting each other in their wills before deciding to get healthier and outlive each other out of spite.

“Richard and I were born three days apart in the same hospital and for most of my life he’s been like a brother to me,” David said in a statement Wednesday. “He had that rare combination of being the funniest person and also the sweetest. But today he made me sob and for that I’ll never forgive him.”

Lewis is survived by his wife, Joyce Lapinsky, to whom he was married since 2005.

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Kenneth Mitchell, ‘Marvel’ and ‘Star Trek’ actor, dead at 49 from ALS https://www.nydailynews.com/2024/02/25/kenneth-mitchell-death-star-trek-marvel-als/ Mon, 26 Feb 2024 01:51:42 +0000 https://www.nydailynews.com/?p=7542864 Kenneth Mitchell, best known for his roles in “Star Trek: Discovery” and “Captain Marvel,” has died at age 49 after a five-year battle with ALS.

His family announced the sad news just after midnight on Saturday, releasing a statement to his official social media accounts.

“With heavy hearts we announce the passing of Kenneth Alexander Mitchell, beloved father, husband, brother, uncle, son and dear friend,” the family wrote.

“Ken was widely known as an actor in many films and television shows. He’s portrayed an Olympic hopeful, an apocalypse survivor, an astronaut, a superhero’s dad, and four unique Star Trekkers,” the statement added.

Mitchell, a Toronto native, leaves behind two children, 16-year-old Lilah and 11-year-old Kallum, whom he shared with his wife Susan May Pratt.

The actor accumulated over 50 film and TV credits, including his roles as Klingons Kol, Kol-Sha, Tenavik and Aurellio, on CBS’ “Star Trek: Discovery.”

He also played the father of Carol Danvers in the 2019 movie “Captain Marvel” and had roles in “Miracle,” “Jericho,” “The Astronaut Wives Club,” “Ghost Whisperer,” and “Switched at Birth.”

After being diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease in 2018, Mitchell began sharing his experience with his followers on social media.

Recognizing the five-year anniversary of his diagnosis last August, he wrote, “I’m so thankful to have this day in front of me. It’s been a long 5 years. So much lost, so much gained. Incredibly hard times, mixed with so many more blessings.”

“Regardless of his later disabilities, Ken discovered a higher calling to be more fully himself for his kids,” his family said in their post Sunday.

“For five and a half years Ken faced a series of awful challenges from ALS. And in truest Ken fashion, he managed to rise above each one with grace and commitment to living a full and joyous life in each moment,” they added.

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Namibia’s President Hage Geingob dies at age 82 https://www.nydailynews.com/2024/02/04/namibia-president-hage-geingob-dead-cancer-age-82/ Mon, 05 Feb 2024 00:59:05 +0000 https://www.nydailynews.com/?p=7506840 Namibian President Hage Geingob, an anti-apartheid activist turned statesman and the country’s founding prime minister, died Sunday. He was 82.

His death was announced by Acting President Nangolo Mbumba, who was sworn in hours after Geingob’s passing. Geingob died just after midnight at Lady Pohamba Hospital in Windhoek, where he was being treated for cancer, with his wife and children at his side, Mbumba said.

“The Namibian nation has lost a distinguished servant of the people, a liberation struggle icon, the chief architect of our constitution and the pillar of the Namibian house,” Mbumba wrote on X.

Geingob’s office recently announced that the president was undergoing treatment for “cancerous cells” discovered in a biopsy following a routine colonoscopy. He had flown to the U.S. for a week for treatment last month.

Born in 1941, Geingob spent 27 years in exile in Botswana and the U.S., driven out of Namibia for his anti-apartheid activism. While in the U.S. starting in 1964, he earned a politics degree at Fordham University in New York City. He also studied at The New School and in Philadelphia at Temple University.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh,right, and Namibian Prime Minister Hage Geingob smile during her visit to the People's Primary School in Katutura, Namibia, on Oct. 10, 1991. (AP)
AP
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, right, and Namibian Prime Minister Hage Geingob during her visit to Katutura, Namibia, on Oct. 10, 1991. (AP)

He returned to Namibia in 1989 as the country was on the cusp of gaining independence from South Africa. The following year, Geingob became Namibia’s first prime minister, serving from 1990 to 2002 and then again from 2008 to 2012. He was the country’s third president, elected to his first term in 2015, and was in the middle of his second term at the time of his death.

That term was slated to end later this year, with Deputy Prime Minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah replacing him on the South West Africa People’s Organization party’s ticket in upcoming elections. Mbumba will lead Namibia until March 21 of next year, when the winner will be inaugurated. On Sunday, Nandi-Naditwah paid tribute to Geingob as “a true democratic and a transformational leader who touched many lives.”

Newly elected Namibian president Hage Geingob is sworn in as Namibia's third president at an inauguration ceremony in Windhoek, Saturday, March 21, 2015. (AP Photo/Dirk Heinrich)
AP Photo/Dirk Heinrich
Geingob is sworn in as Namibia’s third president at an inauguration ceremony in Windhoek on March 21, 2015. (AP Photo/Dirk Heinrich)

While Geingob’s administration was dogged by a scandal centering on bribes related to fishing quotas, his legacy was that of an advocate for self-determination. Condolences poured in from African leaders, as well from other nations.

Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa praised Geingob’s “leadership and resilience,” while South African President Cyril Ramaphosa bemoaned “the loss of a strong, brave and iconic leader” who was a “towering veteran of Namibia’s liberation from colonialism and apartheid” and a close personal friend.

President Biden issued condolences as well, calling Geingob “an eloquent advocate for his country and continent, who stood up for his values and beliefs.”

With News Wire Services

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7506840 2024-02-04T19:59:05+00:00 2024-02-04T19:59:05+00:00
Joyce Randolph, Trixie in ‘The Honeymooners,’ dies at age 99 https://www.nydailynews.com/2024/01/14/joyce-randolph-trixie-honeymooners-dead-age-99/ Sun, 14 Jan 2024 23:01:28 +0000 https://www.nydailynews.com/?p=7398573 Joyce Randolph, known for playing Trixie on “The Honeymooners” and the last surviving cast member, has died. She was 99.

Randolph, a veteran of the stage and small screen, played the sarcastic Trixie Norton opposite slow-on-the-uptake husband Ed Norton (Art Carney) on the beloved 1950s sitcom.

The actress died at her home on the Upper West Side of Manhattan on Saturday night. Her death of natural causes was confirmed Sunday by her son Randolph Charles, her only survivor. Her husband, marketing executive Richard Lincoln, died in 1997.

Randolph’s character rounded out the foursome formed by star Jackie Gleason, who played bus driver Ralph Kramden; Audrey Meadows as his wife, Alice, and Carney as a sewer worker.

Set in Brooklyn, the series, starting as variety-show skits and then spending a year as a sitcom, was loosely modeled on Gleason’s life growing up. The tenement dwellers shivered through shutoff heat in winter, railed against rent hikes and delighted audiences with their wisecrack-infused bickering.

Gleason died in 1987 at age 71, Meadows in 1996 and Carney in 2003.

The Finnish-American actress, born Joyce Sirola in Detroit in 1924, moved to New York City at age 18 after touring in several shows and appeared with Gloria Swanson on Broadway in “A Goose for the Gander.” She spent much of the late 1940s playing homicide victims in detective dramas, joking to the Daily News in 2004 that she had been “the most murdered actress on television.”

In 1951, Gleason spotted her doing a live chewing gum commercial during his variety show, “Cavalcade of Stars,” and asked her to audition for the role of Trixie in what was then a recurring sketch, “The Honeymooners.” That skit retained its title and became part of “The Jackie Gleason Show” after its star switched networks, then ran from 1955 to 1956 as its own series for a single season, with 39 episodes.

Cast of the television series The Honeymooners from left: Jackie Gleason, Art Carney, Audrey Meadows, and Joyce Randolph. (Photo by �� John Springer Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)
Getty Images
Cast of the television series ‘The Honeymooners’ from left: Jackie Gleason, Art Carney, Audrey Meadows, and Joyce Randolph. (Getty Images)

Those black-and-white episodes took on a life of their own, syndicated and aired worldwide. It became hard for Randolph to get parts after playing that character because she was too well known as Trixie.

“Never in our wildest dreams did we think we were making TV history,” Randolph told The News in 2004. “But there isn’t a day that goes by when I’m not deeply proud to have been part of ‘The Honeymooners.'”

The show spawned a pandemic-era combination tribute and online remake during the COVID-19 lockdown, “The Honeyzoomers.”

“I’ve heard about it, and I think it’s a wonderful idea,” she told the Daily News in 2021, admitting she watched marathon reruns of the original show.

Over the decades, she remained astonished and gratified at the series’ staying power.

“Back then, we never knew for a second that we’d last for all these years, that the show would endure,” Randolph told The News in 2015, when the show turned 60. “People loved it at the time, and it just has gone on and on. Here we are, 60 years later, still talking about it.”

 

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‘Days of our Lives’ star Bill Hayes dead at 98 https://www.nydailynews.com/2024/01/13/bill-hayes-dead-at-98/ Sat, 13 Jan 2024 17:25:27 +0000 https://www.nydailynews.com/?p=7395730 Soap opera actor Bill Hayes, who starred on “Days of our Lives” for some 50 years, has died. He was 98.

“It is with a heavy heart that we share the passing of our beloved Bill Hayes,”  a rep for the television series told PEOPLE on Friday. “One of the longest-running characters on ‘Days of our Lives,’ Bill originated the role of ‘Doug Williams’ in 1970 and portrayed him continuously throughout his life.”

One of the longest running characters on the hit daytime show, Hayes appeared as Williams, the patriarch of the Williams-Horton family, in more than 2,000 episodes, the last of which aired in December 2023.

Bill Hayes and Susan Seaforth Hayes appear at the "Days Of Our Lives" book signing at Barnes and Noble on Nov. 3, 2015, in Bethesda, Md. (Larry French/Getty Images for for Corday Productions)
Bill Hayes and Susan Seaforth Hayes appear at the “Days Of Our Lives” book signing at Barnes and Noble on Nov. 3, 2015, in Bethesda, Md. (Larry French/Getty Images for for Corday Productions)

Hayes also met his wife, actress Susan Seaforth Hayes, during his early years on the show. They married in 1974, just two years before his character tied the knot with her character, Julie.

“In 1974, Susan and I got married in my living room with 16 people,” Hayes once said. “In 1976, when Doug and Julie got married, we had 16 million people.”

The pair have since been celebrated as one of the most beloved couples of daytime television, both on and off-screen. In 2018, they were both honored with the Daytime Emmy’s Lifetime Achievement Award for their decades of work on the show.

Honorees Bill Hayes and Susan Seaforth Hayes accept the Lifetime Achievement Award onstage during the 45th annual Daytime Emmy Awards at Pasadena Civic Auditorium on April 29, 2018, in Pasadena, Calif. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
Honorees Bill Hayes and Susan Seaforth Hayes accept the Lifetime Achievement Award onstage during the 45th annual Daytime Emmy Awards at Pasadena Civic Auditorium on April 29, 2018, in Pasadena, Calif. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

“I have known Bill for most of my life and he embodied the heart and soul of ‘Days of our Lives,'”  the show’s executive producer, Ken Corday, told People.  “Although we are grieving and will miss him, Bill’s indelible legacy will live on in our hearts and the stories we tell, both on and off the screen.”

Born in Harvey, Ill., Hayes picked up his love of performing, in part from his bookseller father, who enjoyed singing and local community theater, according to his bio on IMDb.

Prior to his turn on television, Hayes pursued a career as a tenor, joining barbershop quartets and directing choirs. He landed several Broadway and silver screen gigs in his early career, before catching his big break on “Days of our Lives.”

In June, he celebrated his 98th birthday on set. Upon presenting him with his cake, featuring an image of him from his younger years, Seaforth-Hayes told cast and crew her husband was the first person to sing on daytime television.

 

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Glynis Johns, known for ‘A Little Night Music’ and ‘Mary Poppins,’ dead at 100 https://www.nydailynews.com/2024/01/04/glynis-johns-dead-natural-causes/ Fri, 05 Jan 2024 00:25:29 +0000 https://www.nydailynews.com/?p=7360294 Glynis Johns, whose husky voice first gave life to Stephen Sondheim’s “Send in the Clowns,” has died at the age of 100.

The Welsh star of stage and screen, born in South Africa on Oct. 5, 1923, died at a Los Angeles assisted living home of natural causes, her manager, Mitch Clem, confirmed.

“Today’s a sad day for Hollywood,” Clem said. “She is the last of the last of old Hollywood.”

Beginning in the 1930s when she was just a child, Johns acted in more than 50 feature films and more than two dozen theatrical productions, in addition to logging numerous TV appearances. She debuted in London’s West End in 1931, at the age of 8, in Elmer Rice’s “Judgment Day,” and had her breakout role in 1938’s “South Riding” at age 15. In 1942, she played “Peter Pan” and later left her mark on film as the titular mermaid in 1948’s “Miranda,” for which she won accolades for her flirty, quirky comedic style.

Johns moved on to Broadway as the lead character in the 1952 comedy “Gertie.” She appeared on Broadway two more times before 1973, when she was cast as Desiree Armfeldt in Sondheim’s “A Little Night Music,” winning a Tony Award for capturing a glamorous, once-prominent actress whose ebbing career has her touring in small-town productions.

“Send in the Clowns,” the character’s solo that Sondheim wrote specifically for Johns’ eclectic voice, became a classic over the decades. It was later covered by the likes of Frank Sinatra, Judy Collins, Barbra Streisand, Sarah Vaughan, Olivia Newton-John and, most recently, by Elijah Wood in 2023 during season 2 of Showtime’s “Yellowjackets.”

However, Johns’ version remained Sondheim’s favorite, an admiration that was mutual.

“I’ve had other songs written for me, but nothing like that,” Johns said in a 1990 interview. “It’s the greatest gift I’ve ever been given in the theater.”

She also was renowned for starring opposite Julie Andrews as the ardent feminist Winifred Banks, mother to the two children who enticed Mary Poppins into service as their nanny. The Walt Disney Co., which produced the 1964 movie of the same name, paid tribute to its star.

“Johns became everyone’s favorite sister suffragette,” the company said in a statement, referring to her character’s signature anthem. “Walt Disney himself personally selected her to play the career-defining role, having been drawn, like many a moviegoer, by her sparkling screen persona.”

For her role as Mrs. Firth in 1960’s “The Sundowners,” Johns earned a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her portrayal of a widowed saloon and hotel owner in the Australian outback.

Television appearances included her own sitcom series “Glynis” in 1963, and as Lady Penelope Peasoup opposite Rudy Vallee’s Lord Marmaduke Ffogg in the original “Batman” series.

She played Diane Chambers’ (Shelley Long’s) mother in the inaugural season of NBC’s “Cheers” and a slightly delusional grandmother in 1995 Sandra Bullock hit “While You Were Sleeping.” Her last film role was as the grandmother of Molly Shannon’s character in the 1999 comedy “Superstar.”

Married and divorced four times, Johns left behind a grandson and three great-grandchildren, according to Deadline. Gareth Forwood, her son with first husband Anthony Forwood, died in 2007.

With News Wire Services

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7360294 2024-01-04T19:25:29+00:00 2024-01-04T19:37:43+00:00
Tom Smothers, half of ‘The Smothers Brothers’ comedy duo, dies at age 86 https://www.nydailynews.com/2023/12/27/tom-smothers-half-of-the-smothers-brothers-comedy-duo-dies-at-age-86/ Wed, 27 Dec 2023 18:08:20 +0000 https://www.nydailynews.com/?p=7326322 Tom Smothers, half of the groundbreaking “Smothers Brothers” comedy duo whose envelope-pushing commentary on Vietnam and various social issues got them taken off the air in the 1960s, has died of cancer. He was 86.

“Tom was not only the loving older brother that everyone would want in their life, he was a one-of-a-kind creative partner,” his brother Dick Smothers, the other half of the music-comedy pair, said in a statement from the National Comedy Center, which announced his death.

“I am forever grateful to have spent a lifetime together with him, on and off stage, for over 60 years. Our relationship was like a good marriage — the longer we were together, the more we loved and respected one another. We were truly blessed.”

American musicians and comedians the Smothers Brothers, aka Dick (foreground) and Tom Smothers, struggle to fit inflatable toys into a taxi, 23rd December 1967. (J. Wilds/Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
American musicians and comedians the Smothers Brothers, aka Dick (foreground) and Tom Smothers, struggle to fit inflatable toys into a taxi, 23rd December 1967. They are taking the toys to the children of Great Ormond Street Hospital in London. They are in London to launch a new 13-week BBC television series. (Photo by J. Wilds/Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

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“The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” debuted on CBS in 1967 and ran for just three years before it was abruptly canceled. Network censors had wearied of fighting with Tom Smothers over the duo’s comedic skewering of the powers that be, and for addressing controversial topics.

The brothers sued CBS for $31 million over the cancellation; they were awarded $775,000.

The variety show was an immediate hit whose viewership sometimes surpassed its time-slot competitor, NBC’s “Bonanza.” Featuring young rock groups such as the Who, Buffalo Springfield and Jefferson Airplane, and showcasing new comedic talent such as Steve Martin, the pair also wove faux sibling rivalry into the mix with Tom Smothers’ catchphrase, “Mom always liked you best!”

FILE - This Oct. 29, 2002 file photo shows The Smothers Brothers, Tom Smothers, left, and Dick Smothers at the Kennedy Center in Washington for the Mark Twain Prize for Humor Award ceremony honoring Bob Newhart. Tom Smothers, half of the Smother Brothers and the co-host of one of the most socially conscious and groundbreaking television shows in the history of the medium, has died, Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2023 at 86.. (AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson, File)
This Oct. 29, 2002 file photo shows The Smothers Brothers, Tom Smothers, left, and Dick Smothers at the Kennedy Center in Washington for the Mark Twain Prize for Humor Award ceremony honoring Bob Newhart. (AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson, File)

The show’s appeal and subsequent demise were chronicled in the 2002 documentary “Smothered: The Censorship Struggles of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.” as the brothers interspersed music and comedy to explore race relations, drugs, draft evasion and political dissent over the objections of network executives.

While the show was short-lived, it paved the way for much of today’s late-night fare. Decades later, when accepting an honorary Emmy in 2008, Smothers jokingly thanked the writers whom he said had gotten him fired. The brothers continued to perform live and released albums.

FILE - Tom Smothers does yo-yo tricks during arrivals at CBS's 75th anniversary celebration Sunday, Nov. 2, 2003, in New York. Tom Smothers, half of the Smother Brothers and the co-host of one of the most socially conscious and groundbreaking television shows in the history of the medium, has died, Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2023 at 86. (AP Photo/Louis Lanzano, File)
Tom Smothers does yo-yo tricks during arrivals at CBS’ 75th anniversary celebration Sunday, Nov. 2, 2003, in New York. (AP Photo/Louis Lanzano, File)

The National Comedy Center dubbed Smothers “a true champion for freedom of speech, harnessing the power of comedy to push boundaries and our political consciousness,” executive director Journey Gunderson said in the center’s statement. “Tom was a true pioneer who changed the face of television and transformed our culture with ‘The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour,’ which satirized politics, combated racism, protested the Vietnam War, and led the way for ‘Saturday Night Live,’ ‘The Daily Show,’ today’s network late night shows and so much more.”

Smothers died at home with family, his brother said. Besides younger brother Dick, Smothers is survived by his wife, Marcy Carriker Smothers; children Bo and Riley Rose Smothers; two grandchildren; sister-in-law Marie Smothers, several nephews and a niece, the National Comedy Center said.

With News Wire Services

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7326322 2023-12-27T13:08:20+00:00 2023-12-27T16:51:58+00:00
Who is Brianna Suggs? A look at the Adams fund-raiser targeted in FBI search https://www.nydailynews.com/2023/11/03/who-is-brianna-suggs-a-look-at-the-adams-fund-raiser-targeted-in-fbi-search/ Fri, 03 Nov 2023 18:59:25 +0000 https://www.nydailynews.com/?p=7182699 The campaign fund-raiser for Mayor Adams whose Brooklyn residence was searched by FBI agents probing Adams’ 2021 campaign is a 25-year-old with especially close ties to the mayor’s chief adviser.

Brianna Suggs is the goddaughter of Ingrid Lewis-Martin, a conservative-leaning Democrat and chaplain who is the mayor’s top political adviser and among the most powerful voices in City Hall. Adams has known Lewis-Martin since the mid-1980s. 

Suggs served as a chief fund-raiser for Adams’ 2021 campaign and had been tapped to lead his fund-raising operations in his 2025 reelection run. She lives in a three-story building in Crown Heights, the site of the Thursday raid.

She has not been accused of wrongdoing.

The New York Times, citing portions of the search warrant, reported Thursday that federal prosecutors were examining whether Adams’ campaign conspired with the Turkish government to pocket illicit donations. The Times reported that investigators were examining whether Turkish officials and a Brooklyn construction group received benefits from the campaign.

Suggs did not immediately reply to requests for comment on Friday. Lewis-Martin declined to comment.

Suggs worked for several years under Adams during his time as Brooklyn borough president, before holding an intimate role in fund-raising during his successful mayoral campaign. At Borough Hall, she focused heavily on gender equity.

What was Suggs’ role on the 2021 campaign?

In the 2021 campaign, Suggs held the title of “director of logistics,” her LinkedIn page said, and she has worked since 2021 as a fund-raiser for the Brooklyn Democratic Party. On her LinkedIn page, she claims credit for raising $18 million for Adams in the 2021 election cycle.

Evan Thies, Adams’ campaign spokesman, said in a text message that Suggs “was a fundraiser to the campaign.”

“She did not have an official title,” Thies added.

But the scope of Suggs’ fund-raising role in Adams’ 2021 race was significant, despite her age and limited experience. Adams, who sneaked past Kathryn Garcia in the 2021 Democratic primary, said Friday on WPIX-TV that Suggs ran his campaign’s “entire fund-raising apparatus” in 2021.

Adams told WPIX that he had no plans to remove Suggs from his political operation, describing her as a “bright, energetic, smart young lady.” He said she was qualified for her role in the 2021 campaign.

“I have full confidence in her,” Adams told the station. “She has done an amazing job. And she will stay with the campaign team.”

New York City mayoral candidate Eric Adams speaks outside the ATF field office Thursday morning April 29, 2021 in lower Manhattan, News York. (Barry Williams)
Eric Adams focus on gun crime in 2021. (Barry Williams for New York Daily News)

What did she do before the mayoral campaign?

She studied at Benjamin Banneker High School and then at Brooklyn College from 2017 to 2020, majoring in biology, according to her LinkedIn. During college, she interned and worked under Adams at Borough Hall, the LinkedIn page said.

Her website described her as having an “interdisciplinary approach to project management” and a focus on “efficiency, critical thinking, and communication.” It was unclear if she had raised money for any campaigns before Adams’ mayoral run.

What else has Suggs worked on?

Suggs’ website also indicated she worked on a doomed Assembly campaign of Hercules Reid, a Brooklyn organizer who worked on Adams’ campaign. He declined to comment.

Also listed on her website were a state Senate campaign of Miguelina Camilo, and a reelection campaign for Assemblyman Al Taylor. Neither immediately replied to requests for comment.

What are Brooklyn Democrats saying?

Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, chairwoman of the Brooklyn Democratic Party, said in a brief interview on Thursday that she viewed Suggs as a “very respectful young professional who understands the rules and regulations.”

New York City Mayoral Candidate Eric Adams opened his Campaign Office at 280 East 149th Street in the Bronx on Sunday June 6, 2021. 1100. (Theodore Parisienne)
Adams narrowly won the 2021 Democratic primary. (Theodore Parisienne for New York Daily News)

“We hold Brianna Suggs in very high regard,” Bichotte Hermelyn said. “She’s been very successful at raising funds for the mayor. And she’s been a volunteer for us in a few of our fund-raising activities, as part of a team.”

Joseph Bova, a district leader from Bensonhurst who said he had worked with Suggs in a limited capacity, described her as “very nice” and “very professional.”

Of the search of her home, he said: “It’s a little surprising, but then again I don’t know.”

“You don’t know what you don’t know,” Bova said. “I know the mayor — I know he wouldn’t be involved in anything nefarious. The little that I know of Brianna, I would say the same.”

With Chris Sommerfeldt

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7182699 2023-11-03T14:59:25+00:00 2023-11-03T20:06:41+00:00
Peter S. Fischer, co-creator of ‘Murder, She Wrote,’ dies at age 88 https://www.nydailynews.com/2023/11/02/peter-fischer-murder-she-wrote-crime-writer-dead-age-88/ Fri, 03 Nov 2023 02:33:26 +0000 https://www.nydailynews.com/?p=7182261 Peter Fischer, co-creator of “Murder, She Wrote” and writer for a host of other beloved mystery shows, has died. He was 88.

His death at a care facility in Pacific Grove, Calif., was confirmed by his grandson Jake McElrath, who did not disclose a cause.

Fischer was born in 1935 and began writing for television in 1971, first with the TV movie “The Last Child” and then moving on to episodes of such well-recognized shows as “Marcus Welby, M.D.,” “Kojak,” “Baretta” and “McMillan & Wife,” among others.

He collaborated with William Link on “Columbo” from 1974 to 1976 after working with him on “Ellery Queen.”

Fischer and Link also collaborated to create “Murder, She Wrote,” starring Angela Lansbury. He stayed with the series for the first seven years of its 12-year run, writing more than 40 episodes.

The prolific Fischer also wrote 12 “Columbo” episodes and a season’s worth of “Ellery Queen.” He earned an Edgar Allen Poe award from the Mystery Writers of America in 1985 for a “Murder, She Wrote” episode. Fischer also garnered three Emmy nominations and two Golden Globes, among other accolades.

Four years after retiring from Hollywood in 2002, Fischer moved to Pacific Grove, according to The Hollywood Reporter. After television, he went on to pen more than 20 crime novels in a series titled “The Hollywood Murder Mysteries.”

“We are very lucky to have so much of his work still accessible, like pieces of him left behind,” McElrath told TheWrap. “He was an amazing presence to have in our lives, our Pa. We are all going to miss him.”

Surviving Fischer are two children and six grandchildren, Variety reported. He was married to his wife, Lucille, for nearly 60 years before she died in May 2017, according to the publication.

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7182261 2023-11-02T22:33:26+00:00 2023-11-02T22:33:26+00:00
NYC mom mourns Israeli daughter killed by Hamas: ‘Part of me died with her’ https://www.nydailynews.com/2023/10/11/nyc-mom-mourns-israeli-daughter-killed-by-hamas-part-of-me-died-with-her/ Wed, 11 Oct 2023 22:14:21 +0000 https://www.nydailynews.com/?p=7151681 A mourning Manhattan mother whose free-spirited 26-year-old Israeli daughter was killed in Hamas’ brutal weekend rampage said Wednesday that “part of me died with her.”

“She had this smile that could melt a mountain of ice,” Hannie Ricardo, 58, of the Upper East Side, said of her daughter Oriya, who lived outside Tel Aviv.

Oriya Ricardo was discovered dead by her boyfriend as he searched for her Tuesday near the site of an all-night concert festival that turned into a Hamas killing ground, Hannie Ricardo said.

Oriya Ricardo was one of more than 250 people who perished after Hamas fighters rained bullets early Saturday on the Supernova Sukkot Gathering, a holiday festival in the desert near Israel’s border with Gaza.

Her body was discovered near an overturned car, Hannie Ricardo said.

Hannie Ricardo
Hannie Ricardo

The shaken mother, who moved to New York four years ago, described her daughter as an admirer of music and nature who made friends easily and loved to go to parties.

“She was the best thing in the world,” Hannie Ricardo said by phone. “She had the best sense of humor. She was funny, and a happy girl.”

“She was my heart,” added the mother of three, a Jerusalem-bred musician who is also in graduate school at Hunter College.

Oriya Ricardo, who worked at an insurance firm, never lived in New York, but she visited her mother in the city.

The full scope of the carnage from Hamas’ bloody weekend blitz is still coming into view, but the death toll has eclipsed 1,000, according to authorities. At least 22 Americans have died in the violence, the State Department said Wednesday.

Hannie Ricardo said she was stunned by the attack.

“It’s just a massacre,” she said. “They came in to kill.”

It is unclear how many, if any, of the dead Americans were New Yorkers.

Hamas has also taken Americans hostage, President Biden has said.

On Tuesday, the president described Hamas’ assault as “an act of sheer evil,” adding that civilians in Israel had been “slaughtered — not just killed, slaughtered.”

Mayor Adams’ office said Wednesday that it did not have any information about whether any of the dead were from New York City. The city is home to an estimated 1.6 million Jews, the largest Jewish population in any city on the globe.

Israel has launched intense retaliatory attacks on the blockaded Gaza Strip, and more than 1,000 Palestians have died, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

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7151681 2023-10-11T18:14:21+00:00 2023-10-12T15:20:55+00:00