R.i.p. 2008
 

Climb every mountain, search high and low
Follow every by way, every path you know
Climb every mountain, ford every stream
Follow every rainbow, till you find your dream

http://www.theage.com.au/ffximage/20..._470x317,0.jpg


Everest conqueror Sir Edmund Hillary has died, New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark announced today.

He died this morning at the age of 88.

Sir Edmund became the first person to stand on Mt Everest, the world's highest peak, on June 2, 1953 - the day of Queen Elizabeth's coronation.

His chance to make his mark in history came when selected for the 1953 British expedition to climb Mt Everest, led by former commando Colonel John Hunt, later Lord Hunt.

On the mountain, the first assault team that tried to reach the 8848m summit was driven back by altitude sickness.

Hillary, who was renowned for his fitness and speed, was chosen along with Sherpa Tenzing to try next.

As he and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay descended from the May 29 attempt on the mountain, Hillary told fellow climbers: "We knocked the bastard off."

Clark said today that the passing of Hillary was a profound loss to New Zealand.

"My thoughts are with Lady Hillary, Sir Edmund's children, wider family, and close friends at this sad time," Clark said in a statement.

"Sir Ed described himself as an average New Zealander with modest abilities. In reality, he was a colossus. He was an heroic figure who not only 'knocked off' Everest but lived a life of determination, humility, and generosity."

Hillary a 'giant'

Acting Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has also paid tribute, describing Sir Edmund Hillary as a giant of New Zealand.

"Sir Edmund's name is synonymous with adventure, with achievement, with dreaming and then making those dreams come true," Ms Gillard told Sky News this morning.

"I'm sure there will be many Australians today who reflect on his death.

"People always looked at him as a man of achievement and I think people today will mark his passing with regret."

Ms Gillard said Sir Edmund had led a "long and well-lived life".

"For generations to come, people will study what Sir Edmund achieved by being, of course, the first to get to the top of the world and to successfully conquer Everest.

"Edmund Hillary was one of New Zealand's giants, of course, and known around the world and someone of whom they were so rightly proud."

Welcome 2008 version. Such a shame. It wont be long until the very last (That's right, there's only one since october!) Titanic survior passes on. Millvina dean, the survivor, happens to have been the youngest person on the ship at only two months of age. Funny, the youngest at the time survives the longest. IT works right on papaer but usually in practise things aren't like that!

RIP Sir Edmund. You were a legend to me growing up. Don't know if the quote that's always attributed to you is true or not (Why did you climb Everest? Because it was there.) but it's the archtypical statement of striving to do your best because you can. A great loss.

R.I.P. Maila Nurmi a.k.a. Vampira

Maila Nurmi aka VampiraA true genre legend has passed on. Maila Nurmi, known to fans as Vampira, passed away in her sleep at the age of 86 due to natural causes.

Born Maila Elizabeth Syrjäniemi on December 21, 1921, Nurmi will always be remembered for her classic Gothic look that inspired many of our favorite horror icons including the world famous Elvira. Nobody did it better. Nobody ever will.

Her most noted role came in the form of playing "Vampire Girl" in the infamous Ed Wood, Jr., classic Plan 9 from Outer Space. We're sure she, Ed, and Bela are all catching up right now at the big show in the sky.

http://myweb.wvnet.edu/e-gor/tvhorro...ix/vampira.jpg

Ah sweet Maila... terrible/

Simply Tragic.

I posted a tribute to Ms. Nurmi on my blog a couple days ago, for those who may be interested:

http://thevaultofhorror.blogspot.com

It's a couple posts from the top...

No doubt she is working with Lugosi to haunt Elvira.


Karloff and Phil hartman are telling them to give it a rest.

Nice site ya got there Vault.

Brad Renfro (BULLY, APT PUPIL, THE CLIENT) - dead at 25

Actor Brad Renfro was found dead at his Los Angeles home on Tuesday, according to TMZ.com. The cause of death has not been determined.

a buddy of mine died recently - he was only 50 and died of a massive cardiac. i went to the viewing but kind of felt weird so didn't stay for the funeral.

25.....now THATS tragic.

R.I.P.

R.I.P. Zero's buddy

50 is too young also


believe me

it was a total shock - i'd just seen him earlier that week and he was fine. . . life is so odd

it tis

thats why I say......have fun today...there may not be a tomorrow.


ok....not very profound........most likely I stole it from a book....or Hallmark card.

That one shocked the hell out of me. He had been a little out of the loop since Apt Pupil and Bully, but I enjoyed his work and thought he was a good actor. Looking forward to seeing his final movie. Truly a shame.

He got busted on skid row last summer buying heoirn from an undercover LAPD officer, so it isn't exactly out of the blue, but still...he was a talented and really young guy.

Very sorry to hear about your friend, Zero.

Yeh, sorry to hear the news Zero. I've never been to a funeral.

Trust me, you're not missing anything good, the last one I went to was my cousin's and I'm still depressed about it.

And Zero, sorry to hear about your friend, I know exactly what its like, seeing them one day and the next they are gone. 2 years ago I had a long time friend over at my house, drinking a beer with me, after we had just come back from a day in the woods hunting. So we were sitting around talking and he said he had to leave. Not 4 hours later my family got a call from his wife telling us that he got home, and had a heart attack, and died before the ambulance could get there. He was only 53

So yeah... Live life like every moment is your last. Probably over-used but its the truth.

Georgia Frontiere, the owner of the St. Louis Rams, died yesterday after being hospitalized for awhile with breast cancer.



http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b7...ce/georgia.jpg
1927-2008
R.I.P.

A couple of 70's TV favorites. R.I.P.

Susanne Pleshette---Newhart show

http://members.cox.net/classicliz/im...leshette-s.jpg

Allan Melvin---The Brady Bunch, Archie Bunkers Place

http://www.nationalledger.com/artman...he_butcher.jpg

R.I.P.

This is always sad news.

Totally shocked at this one

R.I.P.

HEATH LEDGER

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The actor Heath Ledger was found dead this afternoon in an apartment building at 421 Broome Street in SoHo, according to the New York City police. Mr. Ledger was 28.

At 3:31 p.m., a masseuse arrived at Apartment 5A in the building for an appointment with Mr. Ledger, the police said. The masseuse was let in to the home by a housekeeper, who then knocked on the door of Mr. Ledger’s bedroom. When no one answered, the housekeeper and the masseuse opened the bedroom and found Mr. Ledger unconscious. They shook him, but he did not respond. They immediately called the authorities. The police said they did not suspect foul play. Officials said pills fear found near the body.

Mr. Ledger, a native of Perth, Australia, won acclaim for his role as a co-star in “Brokeback Mountain”, a 2005 film. The film, based on a short story by Annie Proulx about two cowboys who fall in love, won critical acclaim. Reviewing the film in The New York Times, the critic Stephen Holden wrote, “Mr. Ledger magically and mysteriously disappears beneath the skin of his lean, sinewy character. It is a great screen performance, as good as the best of Marlon Brando and Sean Penn.”

Mr. Ledger met the actress Michelle Williams while filming ‘’Brokeback Mountain.” The two actors fell into a very public romance. They had a daughter, Matilda Rose, who was born on Oct. 28, 2005. They moved to Brooklyn, but then separated last year.

Calls by The New York Times to Mara Buxbaum, a publicist for Mr. Ledger, and Steve Alexander, the actor’s agent, were not immediately returned this afternoon.

WTF, Heath Ledger died? Dude that really sucks.

Very very sad..

didn't see that one coming

I'm actually really saddened by this one

Just heard from a friend... That's really unfortunate.

Man, They just found him 2 hours ago, and they think it was drug related.

Oh my god!!! That one has shocked me the most. Wow. I wonder if it'll be like Halloween 6 and they have to change the ending of batman,

Wow, that one's surprising.

No, they are in post-production of the movie, so it will be his last film that he finished. The problem is, they were filming The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
which he had a role in. But i'm not that sure about what kind of role he had, because IMDB has taken down any information of the role he played, but I believe that he had the lead role, which is definitely not good.

This shocks the hell out of me as well. Renfro I was sad to hear it, but somehow I wasn't really completely surprised when I heard. But this one....wow...yes, very, very sad.

I don't know what to say.

I'm stunned.

Lots of potential wasted there... sad news.

I know, he was a great actor, and he was really just starting his career.

Holy shit... I just read that.

So shocked...

Huh...never figured him for a junkie.
Too bad, one of the few Australian actors that doesn't give the rest a bad name...
Guess at least Batman's done.

Heard it on the radio about an hour ago. Kind of shocked. Then disappointed on the cause of death.

They havent confirmed the cause of death yet, at thsi point they are jumping to conclusions because he is young and a celebrity. it could have been a congenital birth defect for all we know. Wait until they announce and actual cause of death before getting too upset that he did drugs.


At this point, I am just sad that someone so young and talented died.